jim henson

1. A blog update this week: One more vintage jazz LP image added to my post focusing on Don Martin's work apart from MAD magazine; It's the artwork from 'The Brothers', an album that featured Stan Getz and Zoot Sims in sessions recorded in 1949 and '52.







2. Speaking of cool platters, Marc Weinstein of Amoeba Music has posted some great thoughts about musical passions in a piece posted on their web site concerning
Record Store Day on Saturday, 4/19/08.

As independent stores become a dying breed, a link at the bottom of the page leads to a nice little video that reflects the fun, enlightenment and education that can occur at these 'altars of vinyl worship'.

3. - - and then there's Bill Cosby's new, soon-to-be-released hip-hop album.

Whaa - - ?

Oh, but he won't be rapping or singing on it? Umm, okay.

Whatevers - - Go, Cos, go. You just do what you need to do.
(Thanks to Big Dave for the heads up)

The news makes me wish all the more that I could find a copy of his 1977 LP, 'Disco Bill'.
I remember when it was all over the place...

OHH, how I yearn to hear his track
'What Ya Think 'Bout Lickin' My Chicken' again...

(Psst! Anybody out there who can hook me up?
Oh, but I'd be cheerful all over)

(UPDATE, 9.21.08: Never mind! Found it!)

Two for the Star Wars faithful this week...

4. Firstly, via / Film and via the always eye-popping
Dark Roasted Blend came a link to the 'Star Wars Urban Photography' images of French photographer Cedric Delsaux.







5. Meanwhile,
The Jawa Report has shots of the much-awaited
Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru action figures!

(Click on link to view in a new window)

Perhaps it was a no-brainer, a little obvious, but it still amuses me greatly.
Thanks, as always to MC 8th-Grader, keeper of the faith.

From sci-fi to items more factual but perhaps still a bit geek-centric...

6. Gizmodo posts a list of Things You Don't Know About Modern Elevators
(via STWALLSKULL's Interesting Links) - -

7. - - and the 'Drinkpee' post at Ali Collins' Random Good Stuff offers solutions to an issue I ignorantly didn't realize was a problem;

"The smart folks at EAWAG Aquatic Research in Switzerland have developed a way to extract the phosphorus and nitrogen from urine to be used as fertilizer.

"Cultivating the nutrients leaves urine harmless to wildlife, otherwise untreated urine reaches the oceans, feeding algae causing algae blooms (also known as Red Tides) which soak up all the oxygen and suffocate fish."

8. Countering the 'quirky' science is this unadorned but breath-taking view of our home. ⬇

NASA took this photo of the Pacific Ocean as viewed from the International Space Station on July 21, 2003, but it's popped up recently on their perfectly essential Astronomy Picture of the Day website.

(Via David Thompson's Culture, Ideas and Comic Books)

9. - - and finally, speaking of global perspective, there's 'Pangea Day', coming up on May 10, 2008.

What is it?

Oh, just 'A Global Film Event Harnessing the Power of Film to Inspire and Compel Social Change', that's all...

I confess that when I first took a look at the videoclip
'Imagine! France sings for USA', that my first thought was that it serves as sound and shameful retribution for the head-scratchingly silly 'Boycott France' bumper stickers that I *still* see every now and then.

Y'know, those stickers that make 'us' look so bad - - ?

More often than not, when I see some dirty old beater American shitbox wagon driving down the street with that slogan on it, I chuckle and think - -

'There, that'll show 'em. All of those American dollars that you adamantly refuse to spend on haute couture and expensive perfume and finely aged wine and exquisite cheese and pâté and truffles are really sending a strong message.'

But there, see, my inappropriate ranting may indicate that I'm not truly understanding the beauty of Pangea Day...
(Thanks again to Big Dave)

See also: Pangea Day's Channel at YouTube