Archive for November, 2005

Lewis Taylor: yet another reason to miss London

Published on November 30, 2005 in music. 0 Comments

This week’s Morning Becomes Eclectic features London-based Lewis Taylor, a jazzy souly crooner of sexy songs and beautiful rhythms. He reminds me of Prince and Jamiroquoi, and in some respects, are better than both (better than Prince? is this possible?). His lyrics are HAWWWWT. And his voice is gorgeous.

Sadly, he hasn’t made it into the U.S. main stream, and so most of his albums are priced at spendy import prices. (Someone in the UK wanna hook me up? wink! wink!) But KCRW’s podcast is almost just as good. The interview is quite charming, as well.

Some reviews that should make you want to listen to Lewis Taylor RIGHT NOW:

The Guardian: “Taylor… can transform one man’s world-weariness into his own anthem, His time cannot be far away”

The Times: “Here’s a bloke with an abundance of talent…dazzling us with his cerebral, convoluted chord structures…made all the more impressive when you realise that he played every instrument and wrote all its songs.” Album of the Week

Time Out: “This is the soundtrack of sun, ice cream and bronzed bodies. Smooth.”

LearnOutLoud: my new favorite website

Published on November 30, 2005 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

This is freakin’ AWESOME.

(And so yesterday’s news, but indulge me!)

LearnOutLoud: a huge directory of audio books, MP3’s, podcasts, and video.

They have a TON of Richard Feynman stuff. huzzah!!!

Lomo Fisheye a la Bike Ride

Published on November 28, 2005 in photos. 2 Comments

A few more photos from the bike ride in Wimberley. I brought my Lomo Fisheye with me, and rigged it to my handlebars. Fun stuff.


Cycling behind Matt

Pure Luck Texas Goat Farm

Matt on top of Devil's Backbone

Photos from Houston

Published on November 26, 2005 in photos. 0 Comments

I was in Houston for the past couple days, and have the pictures to prove it.

Highlights: FINALLY seeing Stephanie and Marcella’s crib, meeting Marcella’s sis, meeting the pets, cooking and eating, Tetris benchmarks, cardboard box sledding, the Surreal Calder, Michael’s first tattoo, Stephanie’s bitchin’ tattoo shop, cosmopolitans, orange ginger honey carrots (RIP), a new hat, tattoo art brainstorming, sleeping in a tent in the rain, morning coffee with friends.

Art in Houston

Published on November 25, 2005 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

I’ve been in Houston for the past few days for the Thanksgiving holiday, having a wonderful time thanks to the hospitality of my astral friend, Marcella. This afternoon I rolled my potato padded butt to the Menil for some surreal art and the Rothko chapel. I was very impressed.

The galleries and grounds were fantastic - and free! One of the more thought provoking artists I discovered was Robert Grober.

Is he a surrealist? A minimalist? A conceptualist? I’m not sure. But I do know that he’s a master sculptor of beeswax. I wish I could find a picture of the “Long Haired Cheese”. Marvelous.

Other favorites included Tanguy, Magritte, and the Menil’s current exhibit of nearly 60 Calder pieces, surrealistic mobiles that are as fun to look at as they are fascinating to comprehend. We’ve decided that Calder must have used small counterweights to finish his pieces. If he didn’t, then he is a mathematical genius and should get an honorary PhD or something.

Interesting Calder factoid: In his early career, Calder’s work consisted primarily of sculptures and paintings of animals and figures. But it was in 1930, after a visit to Piet Mondrian’s studio, that he was “shocked” into embracing abstract art.

Technorati Tags: | | | | | |

Leaping into the abyss: photos from camping and biking in Wimberley, Texas

Published on November 24, 2005 in cycling and photos. 0 Comments



Leaping into the abyss…

Originally uploaded by spacekadet.

Link to photos.

Last weekend, Matt and I enjoyed a blend of extreme adventure cycling with the humble simplicity of hobo life. We started with a bike ride through the Hill Country, meandering our way through various facets of Texas geography. After the 40 mile ride, we retreated to our campsite in Wimberley, where we recovered from a day of hard work with water, wine, and food cooked over (and sometimes in) an open flame. On Sunday, after a quick splash in Jacob’s Well, we begrudgingly packed up camp and headed further west towards Blanco, where we toured the Real Ale Brewing Company. We ended our trip on a mammalian note, stopping at Pure Luck Texas goat farm for fresh goat cheese (alas, it was an anticlimactic finale – the cheese was not for sale, but there were plenty of pure goat kisses to pass around).

gone camping

Published on November 18, 2005 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments



Resting by Lake Buchanan

Originally uploaded by spacekadet.

this weekend, i’m escaping from the glowing box called ‘iBook’ and the snug but itchy sweater called ‘Austin’ and heading a few miles west with matt for some extreme rump shaking in the great texas hill country.

first, we will cycle ‘Devil’s Backbone’ and Canyon Lake, then camp out in the humble town of Wimberley. on Sunday, at last, a tour of the Real Ale Brewing Company, with a bonus goat farm tour in Dripping Springs.

after that, we’ll return, muscles like jello, brimming with goat cheese and stories.

speaking of stories, i’ve been meaning to write about last weekend’s cycling (mis)adventure. but that will have to wait. for now, enjoy some photos. from the outing. it was a fantastic ride, and here’s to more of the same tomorrow!

if we could only decide on a route.

a camping bonus extra: the grocery list (’cause we know where our priorities are)…

bike ride food: power bars (Power Bar Harvest Bars are the bomb!), water, carrots, fruit++, pb & banana sammich for monica, pb & sprout sammich for matt (yeah, i’m not sure about that combo, either)

post bike ride campout dinner: pretzels, veggie hot dawgs, wheat buns, saurkraut, mustard, relish, green beans, apples, red wine, dark chocolate

breakfast: coffee, oatmeal, banana, nuts, hard boiled eggs

Autumn is here and it’s time for The Clientele

Published on November 16, 2005 in music. 2 Comments

The sun is shining and I’m wearing a sweater. I love this time of year.

A cold front blew into Austin last night and made for very chilly fingertips on the bike ride in to work this morning. I was around 24th and Rio Grande when Morning Becomes Eclectic started up, featuring the Clientele.

Oh my! Go download the podcast right this very instant and listen to some hopelessly beautiful dreamy autumn melodies!

I challenge you: tell me what could be more perfect for the changing season than the Clientele?

Now I want to make myself a cup of tea, wrap an afghan blanket around me, and cozy up with someone special.

Yes, it’s that good.

The first song on the podcast is actually about autumn, but I can’t seem to locate the lyrics or the album that this song belongs to. Is it new? I love it, and I must have it!

Nickodemus: Music I Can Work To

Published on November 12, 2005 in music. 0 Comments

Nickodemus - Funky in the Middle

Yesterday I discovered Nickodemus on KCRW’s music broadcast. Nickodemus is pure electronic, hip hop, funk, jazz, world beat, turntable music, straight up from NYC.

Can you dig it?

If the answer to the above is “yes”, then you might also dig this directory of mp3 goodness. I’m not sure if the webmaster at nickodemus.com knows that this is publicly available, but we do, and we’re most grateful for the offering!

Central Texas Bike Routes a la Google Maps (v0.1)

Published on November 12, 2005 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Central Texas Bike Routes: my first encounter with the Google Maps API.

I think I’m in love!

The goal of the page is to provide an overview of Austin area bike rides with links to route maps.

Your thoughts?

Technorati Tags: | | | |
« Older Entries