Einstein, Miller explains, was deeply inspired by Mozart's music, and sensed an affinity between their work. Mozart's music "was so pure that it seemed to have been ever-present in the universe, waiting to be discovered by the master," Einstein once said. And he held similar views of his own work in physics, which revealed the "pre-established harmony" of the cosmos.

The link between physics and music may seem abstract at first. But TED has always been about making — and encouraging — such non-obvious connections. With any luck, Lisa Randall will draw such inspiration from the extraordinary musicians in Monterey next month ...

You could almost add this to the annals of great moments in televised lipsynching, but no, this is a video clip of Kurt Cobain doing what can only be described as karaoke (download video, 28 meg, mpeg file). The only catch is that he's doing karaoke to one of his own songs, Smells Like Teen Spirit. This is from Nirvana's Top of the Pops appearance from November of 1991. For reasons still unclear to me, the BBC asked the band to perform the song with a live vocal, using the instrumental backing track from Nevermind. Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic make no effort to appear to be playing, and Cobain turns in a magnificent performance, swallowing the microphone, singing lyrics like "load up on drugs, kill your friends" with a sarcastic lounge-like baritone. A little more info here. And if you enjoyed this, you're sure to enjoy Public Image, Ltd. or Prince on American Bandstand. via fulminatia

"I'm Hope Larson, an American cartoonist living in Canada. In December 2004 I became a permanent resident, and in April 2005 my husband and I moved to Nova Scotia, a fairly isolated province east of Maine. It's so far east that it's in the Atlantic time zone, which we didn't know existed! The locals call people like us 'come from aways.' It's not exactly a term of endearment...In October Mal and I moved into our first house, in a rural area north of Halifax. SFA is a chronicle of our lives as we continue to adjust to life in the Maritimes. Look for a new strip every Thursday."

Via Digitaler Lumpensammler.

I do not have a lot to say about the nominees. Pretty predictible. I am glad that A History of Violence was able to squeeze in a few. William Hurt was really, really funny and sick in it!

My only criticism is in the Best Original Song nominations. They are:

"In the Deep" - CRASH (I LOVE this song. I just gave Bird York a shout out yesterday!)

"It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" - HUSTLE & FLOW (OK, I sing this song all the time. It makes me laugh a lot. But nominating it for an Academy Award! This is kind of upsetting and I for one do not want to see Terrence Howard in his suit performing this song on Awards night. I have a big problem with this one and I think I can not watch them do this. Yikes! Friends kept yelling at me for singing this song because it was so insanely offensive but I am a sarcastic gal and cannot help myself. I somehow feel that this nomination is some strange punishment.)

"Travelin' Thru" - TRANSAMERICA (This is the WORST song ever. TERRIBLE!!!! So so so bad. When the credits were going up after Transamerica, Beebs and I looked at one another when this song came on. We thought, "What the heck is this?!" We kept singing it to each other again as a JOKE! Can't Hollywood take a joke? These songs are bad and not bad in a slang way, in a real way.)

tomorrow is our permanent address...

…McLuhan claimed some decades ago but nowadays we are simply already immersed and embedded …Arthur C. Kroker (editor of ctheory) states that we live in the electronic culture that he (McLuhan) prophesied. And since he wrote about it, technology has become more pervasive, but silent. It’s invisible. An elder article (written 2005 to remind McLuhan’s actuality 25 year after his death) gives..(an) overview on McLuhan’s opinions and as well both the enthusiasm and critique his thoughts evoked.

"For the first time, the central nervous system has been 'exteriorized," says Kroker, U Vic's Canada Research Chair in technology, culture and theory. "It is our plight to be processed through the technological simulacrum…in a "technostructure" which is nothing but a vast simulation and amplification of the bodily senses." McLuhan’s early (1960s) wake-up call about the extent to which people’s very identities are determined by the tools that they themselves invent can be listened to via these two links of the old recordings.

The Medium is the Massage; with Marshall McLuhan.
Long-Playing Record 1968.
Produced by John Simon.
Conceived and co-ordinated by Jerome Agel. Written by Marshall McLuhan, Quentin Fiore, and Jerome Agel.
Columbia CS 9501, CL2701.

[posted on mind the_GAP*]

This memorial is painted on the side of Mamma’s Food Shop on 6th street and Avenue C. Click the image above for a larger version. The mural is signed by Taboo!, an East Village drag queen. I couldn’t find much about her online except mention (and a photo) in this old Wigstock release.

The piece commemorates a mix of stars, artists, drag queens, and others. Some died of AIDS, others were East Village locals. Some names I recognize, others I do not. Members of a family quietly fading.

Artist: Spekter