I hope Santa treats everyone nicely this year. Here is a link to the Hanft e-card. I swore I would never be the kind of person who made a video of my cat, but that’s kind of what happened. See for yourself here.
The human body is an astonishingly flexible thing. Grade school taught us to categorize our senses into five categories, but the boundaries between them is much fuzzier than most of us realize. I find myself fascinated by stories where senses are heightened are used for other purposes. Here are a few links to some fascinating stories of sensory manipulation that came onto my radar recently…
1. After a few minutes of “training” your ears can translate speach that has been distorted beyond recognition. While other people here noise you will be able to hear words. (Via Kottke)
3. What would happen if a camera was used to turn visual information into sound? Answer: strangely interesting. (Via Retrothing)
The end of the year means lots of “best of 08″ lists. I wanted to get my music list up a little early this year in case you need some ideas for stocking stuffers for the music lover on your list. You can’t go wrong with these albums. (All links take you to Amazon, by the way.)
Top Ten Albums of 2008
1. The Shepherd’s Dog, by Iron and Wine
2. Orakular Spectacular, by MGMT
3. Lose Big, By Eef Barzelay
4. In Ghost Colours, by Cut Copy
5. Fleet Foxes, by Fleet Foxes
6. Silent Movie, by Quiet Village
7. Fate, by Dr. Dog
8. Carried to Dust, by Calexico
9. Dead Calm Horizon, by Ketch Harbour Wolves
10. Modern Guilt, by Beck
Older music, but new to me in 2008
This year I was introduced to some great older music. Here are the bands that just recently appeared on my radar:
Avalanches
Grin
Incredible String Band
Fairport Convention
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Heatmiser
Nada Surf
New Music From Great Bands
Some of my favorite artists released new music this year. These didn’t make my top ten list, but they are good albums from my favorite bands.
1. Way to Normal, by Ben Folds
2. Distortion, by Magnetic Fields
3. Acid Tongue, by Jenny Lewis
4. Ode to J. Smith, By Travis
5. Attack and Release, by The Black Keys
6. A Mad and Faithful Telling, by Devotchka
Best of the Past
If you are interested in my “Best Of” lists from other years, check out these links:
Best of 2007
Best of 2006
Best of 2005
Best of 2004
Just a seasonal reminder that today marks day one of Taco Johnukkah! In case you forgot, the season of tacos is the eight business days before Christmas. Stop by your local Taco Johns and see if they give you a funny look when you ask for the Johnukkah special.
(If you are scratching your head in confusion right now it’s because this is a very inside joke. Somehow we started this tradition at our office a couple years ago and for some reason it has stuck. Seriously though if you haven’t had the cini-sopapilla bites you should give yourself a little treat. Yummy.)
