Ceci n'est pas une blog post

This is, instead, a mere future reflection of posts to come. An intentional and hopeful self-fulfilling prophecy. And so I present to you Things I Have Been Meaning To Write About But Haven't So I Am Posting Them As A List Both To Encourage Writing and Pass The Time:

- Historical Justification for my obsession with Scion commercials

- Why David Lynch is a such a baller

- Understanding hallucination perception

- Bonnaroo memories (Completely unrelated to previous item. I think.)

- I FINALLY GOT A CAR and all is well in the world.

- General World Cup enthusiasm

- Postmodern analysis of some Adult Swim programs

I know part of the point of blogging is spurting out information in a well-paced, timely manner but I only have limited access to caffeine and (more importantly) a stable internet connection so this is no longer an option. Plus I am lazy. Very very very lazy.

Hope Springs Eternal

in the cerebral cortex.

But that's harder to rhyme with.

Damn.

I am THISCLOSE to being done with school, graduating and becoming a real person. Definitely feeling overwhelmed and overworked, but it's nothing I can't drown in a few cups of caffeine juice. More serious is the lingering anxiety about closing off an entire life-phase...eek!

In the end, I've decided that the best way to get through this inordinately stressful time is to just stop focusing on it. We all know it sucks. So let's pretend it doesn't. There are so many positive opportunities awaiting our release from the hedges of Rice U. Obviously, thinking happy thoughts won't make schoolwork go away...but it's helpful to remind yourself there's (quite a bit) more to life than these awe-inspiring todo lists. Like flying. Happy thoughts make you fly, right?

Last of all, beware: the ides of May will be upon us sooner than we think. Except, if we're lucky we'll just graduate and not get stabbed to death. (The power of optimism!)

Today's Playlist: Optimism! featuring ELO, The Icicles, Ben Kweller, M83 etc.

The Sound of Surrealism

Isn't it fascinating how our brains have trained themselves to interpret reality? All we're doing is inputting vibrations from the environment. Somehow this assault of stimuli is translated into electrochemical signals and sorted into networks, popping out the other end as sound, color, and meaning. (It's magic! ...fucking magnets...)

After awhile we get pretty used to how things are supposed to sound, look and feel. I mean, we've built up a lifetime of experience to tell us what is or is not physically possible. And that is why surrealism rocks so hard. I like to think of it as the art of stomping on your expectations. Ironic, absurd, subconsciously extracted- call it what you will. Sometimes it means transcending reality by drawing inspiration from internal reservoirs (ex: dreams). Sometimes it means messing with the fundamental laws of nature (ex: melting clocks). Sometimes it means disturbing you on a fundamental level, forcing you to question what exactly it is that you've been experiencing all along.

So, here to wake you up from this perceptual operating system we call reality, I present Zeitguised, a 3D motion-design group, self-described as "the strange, obscure twin of contemporary zeitgeist imagineering." I found their videos browsing through Vimeo staffer's favorites (a very redeeming way to waste time, for sure).

This audio-visual candy comes from a six-act (but only three-minute) exhibit they aired for the opening of the Zirkel Gallery. It presents a hyperrealistic fusion of plants, human bodies, textures, sounds and architecture. Watch it fullscreen. With headphones. Relax let yourself travel to a reality controlled by sound waves and fueled with lysergic acid diethylamide. Delicious.

First up, the original Peripetics. And because I so love the way they describe themselves, this is an "installation of an irreversible axis on a dynamic timeline."

Don't worry, there's more : Peripetics Ex Machina features scenes, outtakes, and iterations of the exhibition that didn't make it into the final cut.

(and that is why I want to learn 3D modeling)

Other gems among their work include Room Zoo, commercials for the Toyota Aygo & Yaris TVC and Untitled Geometries: Booleay. They remind me a lot of ATTIK's work on the new Scion ad campaign, but that's a whole different can of worms (/blog post).

Honestly, I'm curious how watching these videos makes other people feel. After all, that's the best part about perception, maaaaaaan. Even when presented with the same stimuli, we all walk away with our own personal gut-feelings. Brilliant or nonsensical, you decide!

: : : : : Want MORE Zeitguised? Visit their portfolio, blog, or videos

And I've decided to make playlists again.Partly because it's fun to think of songs that are conceptually linked to posts and partly because I like documenting what I'm listening to. Unfortunately, seeqpod is dead and buried and took all of my previous playlists with it. So it goes. Cristina-from-the-future, this is for you.

The Sound of Surrealism

Alan Parsons, Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve, Chemical Bros, Lemon Jelly, MM MMM GOOD.

Some things to look forward to

We're out of Federal Holidays for the school year and I'm tired of counting down til Graduation. Time to set some new markers to cross off your calendar for the next few months.

NEW THE NATIONAL! (May 11)

EEEEEEEE! Listen to the singles: Bloodbuzz Ohio and The Runaway

NEW CHEMICAL BROTHERS! (June 7th)

Get ready for 8 tracks and 8 accompanying psychedelic short films. Listen to the single: Escape Velocity

NEW WOLF PARADE! (~July 2010)

Album name: Expo 86.

NEW DOES IT OFFEND YOU, YEAH?! (um, either March or Summer 2010)

NOT the album name, I just like the word: Interrobang.

NEW JUSTICE! (Projected: early 2010)

Vague article. Also: Spaceship Cross Shirt.

NEW INTERPOL! (Projected: early 2010)

Confirmed by an interview from Nov. 2009 and three million rumors spread by rabid fans.

: : : : : EDIT! FOUND SOME MORE! : : : : :

NEW LCD SOUNDSYSTEM! (May 18)

Play songs, preorder the album -> here. This is happening!

NEW OF MONTREAL! (September-ish?)

False Priest. (thanks for the tip, Dean)

NEW THE AVALANCHES! (October. Maybe.)

I certainly hope so...

Drink! Watch Short Films! Be Merry!

Okay so-

a) There's going to be a viewing of of some short films made by Rice students at the Media Center (the one by the Police Station) this Wednesday, April 14th.

2) I think we should go to Valhalla, drink a lot, and THEN go watch them.

iii) I won't ask you to vote for my video, but I will say this: the video voted the "audience favorite" at the screening wins a prize. So that's cool.

If you like beer and want to support Rice students making short films- JOIN US!

: : : : : The Official Rice-Sponsored and Tragically Beer-less Facebook Event