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Unlawful Detention: Walmart Tries To Steal Shopper's Baby

This is kind of shit infuriates me. All this fear and everyone so anxious to be a fucking hero.

 
 

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via Consumerist by Ben Popken on 9/11/07

avaandstacy.jpgA Walmart security guard demanded a woman hand over her baby at checkout, thinking it might have been a baby that was reported missing in the store, according to a Myspace post by the mother, Stacy Arrington of Parkville, MD (pictured):

"They are trying to tell me that Ava is not my child. She started fussing so I began taking her out of the seat. The whole time this security guard is asking me to "give him the baby". FUCK YOU! There was no way I was handing her over! I tried to walk away, leaving her car seat, the diaper bag, even my wallet...they blocked me! I am screaming for them to get the fuck away from me. I start crying, sobbing, just holding Ava near me. Everytime the security guard put his hands near her I shifted away. Ava is screaming at the top of her lungs by this time. I am screaming to get a manager. I started telling them everything I could think of to prove she is mine. Her birthmark, hospital card in the diaper bag, my ID in my wallet...pictures of her in my wallet. I am screaming that I am going to sue the FUCK out of them and God help them when my husband and father hear about this!

Finally the manager realizes they have the wrong person..... he gives me everything for free... he puts the bags in my card and I basically run out of the store, still holding Ava. I couldnt get out of that parking lot fast enough."

We're getting really sick of these stories of unlawful detention by stores. Your rentacop badge doesn't make you God.

September 10, 2007 - Monday [Stacy Arrington] (Thanks to Amanda!)


 
 

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More famous dead than alive



 
 

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via Reuters Blogs by Kayan Ng on 9/11/07

Peter Hook of Joy Division REUTERS/Mark Blinch

Joy Division helped define a musical era, opening the gate to the electronic age amid halting lyrics of hits such as "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and "Shadowplay." Their time together was cut short when lead singer Ian Curtis committed suicide the night before the band was to go on its first North American tour. It has been 27 years since Curtis died. For those too young to remember Joy Division or Curtis' death, a contemporary version would be the death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain in 1994.

Perhaps enough time has passed for the players involved that they're ready to tell the story. Fans of the band -- indeed, anyone with an appreciation for modern music -- may be excited to see two Joy Division-related films screening at the festival this year. "Control" is a black-and-white biopic by celebrated photographer Anton Corbijn, whose previous directing experience was music videos. The film is a perfect companion piece to Grant Gee's documentary "Joy Division."

In death, Curtis has become an enigma. Adding to the mythology is that there exists little footage of him, except for some grainy images, two albums, and artefacts and memories saved by those around him. But no one really knows the man, said Sam Riley, who plays Ian Curtis in "Control."

"The fact that he took his life at 23 is compelling and fascinating and I think that's why young people are still interested," he said in an interview. "Because the music is incredible, his lyrics are phenomenal for that age that he was, at any age really."

Peter Hook, the bassist, thinks Curtis would have been "grateful" for the band's success, but wouldn't have liked that people were upset by his death.

What do you think about Ian Curtis, his legacy and why he has achieved more fame in death than when he was alive?


 
 

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Roq La Rue Gallery: Hultberg, Sol, Badrak, Hiemstra



 
 

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via Boing Boing by David Pescovitz on 9/8/07

Femkehaem
Seattles' Roq La Rue has stellar art hanging right now. First, a mini show of Femke Hiemstra's "Heatwave" series of exquisite drawings and digitally-colored prints. Above, "Skinny Dipping" (graphite on paper, 7" x 7"), which my lovely wife just purchased for me as a birthday gift. Link to Hiemstra exhibition

And the main exhibition features the incredible talents of Stella Hultberg, Amy Sol, and Oksana Badrak. Seen here, from left to right, Hultberg's "Sometimes" (oil and ink on tea-stained paper, 12" x 16"); Sol's "Music of Turtles" (acrylic on wood, 8" x 10"); Badrak's "Lost #3" (giclee print, 8" x 10").
Showpages September2007 Gallery Stella Images Stella 1 Showpages September2007 Gallery Amy Images Amy 4 Showpages September2007 Gallery Oksana Images Oksana 14
Link to Hultberg, Sol, and Barak exhibition


 
 

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I Think You're Fat - Esquire

It's not about fat people, It's about being honest with everyone and getting to the point.

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Frank Zappa Explains the Decline of Music

Not to disagree with Zappa because he's dead and genuine music still exists but Frank does have a humorous take on why a good majority music is not available to listeners of music.

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Possibly the most useful thing to consider before browsing the Internet [pic]

 
 

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Unusual Musical Instruments

 
 

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via Dark Roasted Blend by Avi Abrams on Sep 04, 2007

"QUANTUM SHOT" #265
link


You mean this device plays music, too?

This article will cover a few bizarre musical instruments, an oddities used by musicians to convey that special feeling or a melody. Some of the uniquely crafted items may cost a fortune, others are very simple and can be easily assembled from parts found in your kitchen. All of them have loads of character, and that special sound that no other instrument can make.

"The madness" started in 1619 with the "Temple of Music" acoustic experiments:


(image credit: Bibli Odyssey)

But I am going to devote a special post to vintage music machines, as they are endlessly fascinating to my inner "music geek". Fast-forward to the modern times:


Thumb Pianos, or Kalimbas

Robert Patterson Collier makes custom and very aesthetically pleasing miniature instruments. There are many varieties on display in his Flickr set and, with his permission, here are a few that we particularly like:

Kalimba made from lamp parts and an ashtray:



The Ultimate Portable Thumb Piano? "A Camera Piano" -
Kalimba fitted inside a bellows camera case:



"The thumb piano, known as a kalimba or mbira and by many other names, is a lamellaphone that uses plucked prongs called tongues, keys or tines to generate acoustic vibrations."

Another Collier's set shows easy-to-make "Screw Lamellaphone" in detail and this Instructables article describes the DIY process:



Zither Kalimba:


Robert writes: "The sound produced is idiosyncratic to each instrument, often colored by creaks, buzzing, humming, croaking, twittering, hyper-resonance and other strange artifacts... While many of the instruments are wired with a piezo transducer and some even have their own built-in amplifier or digital recorder, the manner in which the sound is captured and the signal processed offers great potential for exploration."

On his Flickr set page are many links to the videos, marrying the lamellaphone's "ambient sounds" with minimalist abstract imagery. Some are very relaxing, check them out.


On the other end of piano scale

High Fashion... Fluid Forms... Consider this futuristic "Pegasus" piano made by the German firm Schimmel and designed by legendary Luigi Colani himself:



...or a classic upright piano nicely complementing your Porsche (or your SonicAir toothbrush)



We also like this transparent concert piano idea:



Another model "Otmar Alt" that even your kid would love:




The Ondes Martenot - very strange French keyboard with a plaintive spacey sound

Definitely better sounding than most analog synthesizers, this highly refined instrument has been invented in 1928 by a French radio enthusiast Maurice Martenot. The pure "space bliss" sounds are made by pressing the sensitive button with your left hand (modulating the waves) and stretching the special string assembly with your right hand.


(image credit: Keyboardmuseum)

Here is a demonstration of the technique:



Watch Radiohead perform on the Ondes Martenot the techno despair sounds that this instrument was plainly designed to produce. "The Martenot Waves" keyboard was also used in the "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Mad Max" soundtracks.


Guitar Solos with Bite

Bill Stahl Photography site has a groovy picture of this bass guitar: (unfortunately there is little information on where to order this thing)



From this monumental compendium of curious instruments (thanks to Barry Wood) come a few guitars that may cause some head-scratching:

Split-Level Doubleneck from China (quite ergonomic, we might add)-



Spanish coolness -



Hindu Doubleneck (would come handy to have goddess-like four hands to play it, they say) -



Some gorgeous acoustic guitars:
Delmundo -



Zemaitis engraved guitar:





Weirdomatic has collected more examples of bizarre bass guitars. Here is a couple of our favorites:

This one is made from "Ouija" board, apparently for communicating with the "Grateful Dead":



Assault Bass, made by The Armando Custom Case company:
(order it from here - but just don't take it thru the airport security checkpoint!)




For a True Audio Gourmet: Drums Made From Cheese!

If you consider yourself a sophisticated partaker of sublime sounds... sort of like a gentleman shown here:


(original unknown)

then you will appreciate the yummy sounds produced by a set of drums MADE FROM CHEESE.


(image credit: Quixoticals.com)

Seen at Quixoticals.com, they were created by Dutch artist Walter Willems for the Mocca Contemporary Art exhibition. The cheese must be really aged to make a thumping sound, plus the whole thing may be used to feed the starving artist for a week, if paid gigs would dry up.


Finally a truly EPIC instrument

Bored of the tinny sounds your little piano or guitar makes? In the mood for something as big and mysterious as the ocean itself? Come to Zadar, Croatia, and listen to "The Sea Organ". Giant 70 meters long instrument has 35 pipes and resonating underwater cavity - they interact with tides and wind to produce the deep, entirely natural sounds.



Designed by award-winning architect Nikola Basic and built in 2005, this project is not only extremely popular with tourist, but also a welcome redeeming feature for what was once an ugly concrete-enclosed waterfront.



Such nature-affected instruments are often called "aerophones", and at any given moment listeners can hear at least five pipes played in harmony by the waves and wind movements. This page has a sample of "sea Organ" sounds.

The air holes "breathe in" the wind along the shore, and the pipes hidden deep underwater make lower sounds.




(image credit: OddMusic)

Aeolian Wind Harp is the only other instrument comparable in its aural majesty to the "Sea Organ" - a grand Aeolian harp is very rare instrument, first introduced ages ago in Ancient Greece. A perfect choice for the "Myst/ Riven" game sound effects.



I leave you with a link that just might totally swallow you up. This page is the best compilation of bizarre instruments to my knowledge, with a sound sample from each of them! Prepare to spend a while there.

Hope you enjoyed this little tour of instruments we found since our last publication on this theme. Hats off to these musicians who master the art of playing such oddities. It takes a certain panache and loads of determination to learn to play an unusual instrument. As for me, I only play normal-looking keyboards. "Sometimes I also play the fool", like John Lennon used to say.

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