2010 grievances. yeah, i got 'em.

i figured, if google can do their 2011 thing two hours before the 31st of December (i'm in the pacific time zone), i can list my first-world problems with 2010 on the penultimate day of the year.

and so, in honour of Festivus, i would like to list a few of of my grievances for the year 2010. [however, unlike the Seinfeld Festivus tradition, when one "tells their friends and family all the instances of how or when they disappointed the person during the year", my grievances are toward/with the world in general. this is because i have no control over a lot of stuff and i like to complain, but it is especially so because i am extremely fortunate since my friends and family were the only things to NOT disappoint me this year.*]

venus' grievances are as follows:

• Dr. Alexander Shulgin is unable to afford required treatment for a stroke, experienced earlier this year, and for a stubborn foot ulcer. ** speaking of which, reminds me of...
• Gov. Schwarzenegger's vetoes against Assembly Bill 3632 [AB3632].*^ for more info, please also see CA Dept. of Mental Health website.
  
• KCET in Los Angeles is no longer carrying PBS programming as of 1 January 2011. what to do, southern california? hellooooooooooo KOCE!
  
• whenever i highlight a word to edit in my Blogger entry, an extra word is deleted along with the highlighted word.
• Twitt'r accounts used by cities, government, entities, professionals and/or organisations in general to simply market and advertise, instead of providing real or true information, action, interaction and/or feedback.
  
• the prevalence of Liz Lemon/Tina Fey-shaped eyewear, and the dearth of Penelope Garcia/Kirsten Vangsness-shaped eyeglasses. speaking of which, reminds me of...
  
• the mediocrity of my optometrist's front office staff. they can't be bothered to find the right eyeglass frames for me...and they're too busy upselling stuff that ends up falling apart. s.o.w.r.m.o...
• the rude front office chicks at my doctor's office.*** s.o.w.r.m.o...
• good therapists who don't take my insurance. and, the bad ones who do.
• our PS3's broken blu-ray drive. s.o.w.r.m.o...
• TV repairmen in Orange County or Los Angeles who refuse to make housecalls to repair CRT televisions.**^ s.o.w.r.m.o...
• Guitar Hero haters. s.o.w.r.m.o...
• the small number of available Rockband keyboard songs and Pro songs.
  
• CREDO formerly known as Working Assets for having a terrible online payment system which forced us to lose our long distance telephone service.^*
  
• blizzard entertainment. love what they do, but i hate how they make you register for an account to get a stinking gametime gift for someone.****
• product placement in general, but especially on the Jeopardy game show.
  
• sites use the FB to login with, more often than openID.
• point-and-shoot/point-and-click digital cameras have all these supposedly cool features one can adjust and use...yet the user manuals give no information as to how or when they are to be used...just that they can be used.
• sebastien loeb.*****
• city of Buena Park's city council election, which was won by the highest spender(s).
  
• hipsters' (and others'!) outright rejection of MySpace. s.o.w.r.m.o...
• the absolutely pathetic web presence of most stand-up comics/comedians and magician/illusionist types i like.*^^^
  
• ALEX WONG's injury.***^
• Jack in the Box has no fish and chips. And Wendy's has no baked potatoes.
  
• water + gravity = yikes.
• celebrities. these non-experts're taking away all the voiceover jobs and officiant jobs and other jobs traditionally held by other experts. s.o.w.r.m.o...
• --$ha and the Beebs.**^^ s.o.w.r.m.o...
• Kristen Wiig.
• jerks still email me nasty things about how i don't deserve to have the mdma.com domain.
• MAX KARAOKE is too far away and too expensive.
  

==because footnotes are next to impossible on blogger==
* omg I LOVE MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!! [here are a few of them.] i also love a lot of other things, such as animals, my job, music, health and... um...my family and friends.
**Dr. Shulgin is a man who, through his tireless scientific research of 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (and many other chemicals with true therapeutic potential) in the face of mounting scrutiny, has benefited, and continues to benefit, many of us. as far back as 1985, MDMA was vilified by the media and was made a Schedule I drug by the DEA in the United States. it is a total shame that just one dollar has not been given in thanks to this brave man, by every person who has been touched by ecstasy in a positive way...especially, in this supposed world of "happy happy raver" b.s., also known as PLUR (or Peace Love Unity and Respect). see articles in Time magazine, May of the year 2000 and in June of the year 2000
*^ not to mention, the effects of his attempt to balance the California state budget, at the cost of helping those with homelessness and autism.
***however, i love the nurse at my dr.'s office.
**^i will pay a couple of hundred dollars cos we cannot afford to buy a new flatscreen/LCD/plasma television for several more hundreds of $$$!!!!
^*YES, i DO KNOW i should use skype or some other VoIP thing.
****yes, you can buy WoW gametime at amazon, but, um, not for one month.
*****as opposed to: HURRAH PETTER SOLBERG!
*^^^THANK YOU, marc maron, wonderground in Las Vegas, StandUp! Records and Punchline mag!!!
***^see more non-SYTYCD videos here.
**^^despite my love of the song they used on the Simpsons and the song they slowed down.

for Smaug the Desolate's One Year Memorial...

in honour of our kind, sweet, strong and sensitive guy...

Smaug the Desolate - Februaryish 1993 to 12 October 2009

he is so dearly missed, and we think of him often.

we love you, smaug!!!!

news: good and bad about cats

first off, MANY MANY THANKS to each and every friend and family member who has expressed concern for smaug and for us! the three of us love you very much.

well, smaug is returning home after his exploratory surgery today (after much human fear and anxiety)! dr. took biopsies of intestinal wall and the masses, which have spread to other organs, but there's not much else a surgeon can do for him. an oncologist may be an option, but we'll have to wait and see for results... it seems chemotherapy isn't the best option for senior cats to undertake, and in this case radiation has a lot of side effects which could hurt smaug even more in the long run.

as of this morning, dr. said smaug is "really doing very well" recovering from the surgery. he did receive a blood plasma transfusion, because he was having trouble clotting yesterday...but otherwise he is eating and up and alert. :))

and in case you didn't see this video from the HuffPo today:

sometimes, i wish i prayed.

erm, i mean, rather, sometimes, i wish i was a pray-er.
god this sucks.

...but, i really think we have to try.

who is KUTIMAN?

i sometimes call my cat Smaug CUTEYman.

wow, i can only imagine how long it took to do this...audio AND video! holy crap. but please give a listen, i know you'll enjoy it!

anyway, a huge thanks to JaHe for this.
this guy rocks. see KUTIMAN's other videos too.

TOP ALBUMS OF 2008

so, for the past few weeks, i've been going over this list and trying not to miss anything, and then i realised it's getting pretty damn close to the end of the year, so i better get a move on! be warned: this is like the total antithesis of a hipster Pitchfork countdown (no offense)...meaning, you will find no Lil' Wayne or Kanye on here, even though you will find M83 and TV on the Radio.

with my apologies (esp. to WaDi), i present to you (with further ado) in alphabetical order, by name of band/artist:

ALL THE SAINTS: Fire on Corridor X on Touch and Go - yeah. i really like this one. sounds like the Jesus and Marychain collided with a groove and then was possessed by a grunge band. can't really make out all the words, but the production sounds awesome and is everything i like about analogue recording...riffs + noise + distortion = good.

BLOC PARTY: Intimacy on Atlantic - with the exception of 'Mercury', Bloc Party put out an album with all the stuff you'd expect from a band that now has a little more time and cash to release records. hmm, that doesn't sound like the most glowing review, does it? they still sound like that familiar post-80s city-dwelling band you didn't listen to in high school.

CATZ 'N DOGZ: Stars of Zoo on Mothership - awwwwwyeeeeaaaah!!! tech-house music at its finest, from the Claude von Stroke-related (via Dirtybird) Mothership label. these guys are dance masters straight out of Poland, and they'll make you want to moooooove.

EAT STATIC: Back to Earth on Interchill - one of my dance music hero groups. they released a lot of b-sides and now have compiled them into this full-length record, which is a masterpiece...except for two songs. they tread everywhere from house to spacey sci-fi to ambient, with Eat Static precision and production.

ROY HARGROVE QUINTET: Earfood on Decca - i mean, seriously. this record is f*&^ing fantastic. Decca Records' offshoot EmArcy has truly released relevant, modern, cool jazz records all year. trumpeter Hargrove hasn't updated his MySpace since summer, but i don't care, if it was because he was working on this record. and, if you even remotely like jazz, you must hear this! every single song is strong, and it just may lure people from the outside in to the room, wherever you have this on.

JUNO REACTOR: Gods & Monsters on Metropolis - psytrance and then some, juno reactor's drum sounds are still like no one else's. there's a little less tribal stuff and a little more spacey stuff on this album, but it's a solid release that unfortunately didn't get much attention. they blew through L.A. with their live show at the start of November, which we missed for one reason or another...but i am SO glad they're making music still!

JAPANESE POPSTARS: We Just Are on Gung Ho! Recordings - i'm sick of asian-sounding record labels, like Dim Mak, Ace Fu, and now Gung Ho...but i'll overlook it for now. this album is part Prodigy, part Justice, part Chemical Brothers and part name-your-favourite-electronic-band-here. In the scene in Ireland, they've been around for a while now. Listen to Total Distorted Mayhem! and you'll see what i mean. jump in jump in, jump...jump in jump in, jump...

JOZI: Title Unknown on African Swim - there were some promos that ran for a brief while, during the commercial breaks on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programmes, and they showcased some pretty incredible hip-hop/rap crews i've never seen or heard of before. once you find the AFRICAN SWIM section of the Adult Swim site, there are mp3s and videos of a group called Jozi who sound like Zulu music "mixed with the crunk". the result is something so much more exciting and original than any of that tired, homogenous crap rap out there.

KING KHAN & THE SHRINES: The Supreme Genius of King Khan & the Shrines on Vice Records - this is punk-soul mixed with a little psychobilly, featuring a full band complete with horn section and organ. It's like a gospel revival meeting coming out of a garage band.

LADY DOTTIE & THE DIAMONDS: self -titled on Hi-Speed Soul - many thanks to my friend and indie music radio promoter Liz Koch for this one! it's a young band with modern sounds, and not at all lacking the life/pain/experience/soul that goes into the blues. Lady Dottie has the energy and ferocity of only the best singers, and in person she is far-out, man!

JAMIE LIDELL: Jim on Warp Records - if you don't like R&B vocal sounds coming out of the mouth of a 30 year-old through a processor, or if you don't like the sounds of yesteryear coming through a 20th century filter, you might not like this...but, since i still have a lot to catch up on in terms of classic soul, i am excited about hearing a sound like this. Jamie Lidell is one my most favourite contemporary singers, for sure. this album didn't have the electronic quirkiness of the (Multiply) that made me fall in love with him, but that's ok, because this time, he was backed up with a very talented live band who also toured with him.

M83: Saturdays = Youth on Mute

N*E*R*D: Seeing Sounds on Star Trak

POP LEVI: Never Never Love on Counter/Ninja Tune - the first time i ever heard Pop Levi's 'Sugar Assault Me Now' i was completely annoyed and in love at the same time. that song's full album, last year's The Return to Form Black Magick's Party, was fantastic, as is this new album. this guy just has so many freaking melodies in his head! apparently, he used to be in Ladytron, but i won't hold that against him. how a person can be so prolific and catchy at the same time is beyond me. plus, he plays all the instruments on the album...and i love how it all sounds like a giant, freaky folk rock and pop music collision in a manic phase on helium. i'd love to see him live, but i don't want to be disappointed if he doesn't pull it off. i say listen to the first five songs on the album. and then listen to the rest of it.

THE RACONTEURS: Consolers of the Lonely on Warner Brothers - this came out in March, and i almost forgot how much i love it. there is nothing to not like about the record...unless you don't like Jack White's voice, i suppose... the songwriting is different; it sounds simple but has a lot going on, and nearly every song has a memorable riff or melody. the instrumentations and arrangements are clever and unusual. and, a true test of catchiness is that i still wake up in the morning with one of their songs stuck in my head.

TV ON THE RADIO: Dear Science on Interscope - this album made it onto a lot of people's favourite lists this year, so i probably don't need to write about it. all i can say, tho, after you've read everyone else's description of it, is: listen to the album all the way through.

an honourable mention goes to...
BRYN CHRISTOPHER: My World (on ? as an import) - here's a singer who didn't seem to get too much attention in the States, but he got quite a bit of chart recognition in the UK. this guy can sing! He has a powerful, soulful facility with his instrument that sounds feminine at times... the song 'Smilin' ' sounds like Gnarls Barkley 2.0 and is just as accessible as 'Crazy' and just might get stuck in your head on your first listen. i hope this guy gets the recognition he deserves.

and out last year, is an album i loved this year...
CHRISTIAN SCOTT: Anthem on Concord Records - remember that Miles Davis album, Doo-Bop? i fear it was too acid jazz/trip hop for the jazz purists, and too jazz for the electronica heads, but it was a great record, nonetheless. Anthem has all these great horn lines set solidly on a hella groovy rhythm foundation. good stuff.



SeeqPod - Playable Search

Personal timelines as social networks?

If you know me, you know i have been trying to find an online interactive personal timeline for a while now. Gina Trapani of Lifehacker.com couldn't say it any better:

"I have a terrible memory, especially when it comes to when things happened. Significant life events - like graduating and 9/11 - are all landmarks that help me remember when events occurred relative to them (i.e., "that was before I moved to California.") But there are still long periods of my past that are just a big amorphous blur - especially before I started using a computer every day.

"As a result, I've always been fascinated with digital timelines as a memory aid and reference: the ones that occur as artifacts of other activities (like our sent email folder and digital photo collection), and the ones we can purposefully construct for historical documentation."

She goes on to tout the merits of a widget called TIMELINE which as morphed into something i don't quite understand, and worse, i do not think i want to use. There are others, such as DANDELIFE, FREE TIMELINE, and ALL OF ME. There is also OUR STORY, and the lamely named TIME RIME and DIPITY.

All this got me thinking about, how come there are so many damn timeline sites, and only a couple of them show up in google searches, and how come only a few haven't prevailed by now, and none of them have the features i am looking for??!! i know everyone is thinking about ideas for startups, so how come no one has started up one ideal timeline that does or maybe doesn't incorporate all of our online stuff (blah blah yet another thing to connect to MySpace, Facebook, google this and picasa that...)? What i'm after is something that automatically saves my status updates or Twittrs (since they somewhat document my goings-on), and that all my friends can contribute to while having their own timelines...not a timeline that i have to look at separately from my own! Because, after all, my friends and family's timelines are intrinsically connected with my own life...so why would i want to separate them? (With the exception of some things, of course, which i should be able to determine with an easy on or off privacy thing...)

Nic Harcourt leaving KCRW?

Well, not quite...but he's no longer going to be their music director. i can't believe he's been there for ten years. It seems he replaced Chris Douridas so recently...and Harcourt's been there, and been responsible for, the huge explosion KCRW has experienced in about the last seven years or so.

What a dream job! How cool would it be to put a few hours of music together, crafting tracks chosen by you, each day? There have been times when i thought, jesus, what an artist...cos Harcourt would completely get on a roll and transport me out of my car in a simple 20 minute set. i remember having aspirations to be music director of just a small college station (which i managed to do for a short while), let alone any local FM station...but to be at KCRW??!!! Holy smokes. i think music is one of the only things i absolutely love to give and take and give again (forgive me, AlSto)...although some of my friends may say i force it on them...It's like falling in love a little bit every month or year or whenever you hear something awesome. And wouldn't you want to tell everyone you know about your new love!!!???

i still miss Tom Schnabel...but i try to catch him every so often on the weekends.

ANNOYING: X-Games 14 Rally coverage

first off, we lagged and didn't acquire tickets to the X-GAMES again this year, because we thought it was going to be the insane clusterf*&^ it always is... wouldn't you know it, we switch on the TiVO delayed broadcast of the RALLY RACING qualifying stages and there are BARELY ANY PEOPLE IN THE STANDS!!!??? there were so few people there, i am now afraid the X-Games will 'X' all rally racing from its event in future years.

on top of the sparse crowds, the co-drivers barely speak a word to the drivers. if you didn't know anything about rally, you would think the co-drivers were there just as eye candy for the drivers, or maybe as looming girlfriends who wouldn't let their b/f go out to a professional competition. in any case, in the X-Games, the co-drivers are mostly females for some reason...in fact, judging by their silence during the preliminary stages, you'd think they were just required for the tradition of it and were chosen because they weigh less than their male counterparts! here's EXPN's half-decent video homage (make that a video explanation) as to what a rally co-driver, erm, navigator's true purpose is:



there's also a less-than-enthusiastic article touting rallying as "Moto's Little Secret" (although the title makes it sound like dirty secret instead of a best-kept one...).

Raves & Pharma

we got turned on to a new DJ/artist(producer), TIGERSKIN, saturday night at the ABSURD RECORDINGS party in downtown l.a. he had some really fat sounds, performing live with an 8 channel mixing desk, an 808 and i think a 303, plus his powerbook that was running serato, i think... tigerskin showed me once again why i love german techno so damn much. there was a portion of his set where he used the cool repeating man-voice from DHS' 'House of God' track, which was f*&^ing brilliant. and then he twisted up a piece of that stabby siren-sounding thing from Prodigy's 'Charly'... ah, memories!

and to top the night off into the morning was the legendary EVIL EDDIE RICHARDS. he played a great set as he always does, albeit a little slow, maybe? who knows, it was probably just my perception. in any case, we are so lucky to have him play out here a few times a year!

the location was more or less near alameda between staples centre and the 10 freeway. the temperature inside was good, even tho everyone seemed to be smoking cigarettes indoors...COUGH. but the sound was freaking excellent, as it always is at absurd parties. if you know me, you know how much i despise clubs and promoters who gather a bunch of people together to listen or dance to music and then have crap sound systems. the absurd parties never disappoint.

our friend JaHe was in town from las vegas, and he went with us. we all had a freaking GREAT time, except this bunch of 30 year olds dancing on concrete for hours came home with some leg and back pain. i'm so out of shape.

one last thing, i'm doing my own version of this fabulous article on SLATE.com from a while back. check back with me for details!

A TV ADDICT'S TAKE ON THE WRITER'S STRIKE

if you know me, you know that i really, really love television. i refer to my TiVO as an animate object. i want to teach a graduate course on "television and its impact on ____" with my friend FraKa, complete with weekly podcast. i rewind an episode after i've watched it, just to see who the writer(s) was (were), and the directors, too (some of the time). tv is something i hold dear to my heart and i spend as much time watching tv as most people do watching films.

in any case, i noticed in the past few weeks that the quality of writing in television programmes has become, i don't know, better...or at the very least, different.

it's as if all the writers knew how imminent the strike was, and so they decided to go balls out, so to speak. it's as if the writers wanted us to realise that there is something to be said for shows that do not rely on the reality factour. it's as if the writers knew they didn't know when their stuff would get made next, so they decided to put their best foot forward and give us some tv that would make us, the true tv fanatic, miss their writing.

i've been rationing out my new television episode broadcasts (read: i've been hoarding on my TiVO) over the past month or so. i like how the networks have tried to make their new episodes/shows last over the duration of the season. but, the tap is running dry.

please, directors, actors, studios: negotiate with the writers! admit it, they've got what you need. television needs writers.

and god*@&^ it, KCRW fundraiser started today. S%^# !!!

it's 24th December 2007...

venus' BEST MUSIC OF 2007 in alpha order

• !!!: Myth Takes - Warp ~ MAN i wish i would've seen these guys live!

Arrested Development: Since the Last Time - Vagabond ~ SOOOO glad Speech and co. are back!

Band of Horses: Cease to Exist - Subpop ~ music that automatically makes me feel like it's a sunny day, even when they're singing about love and loss.

Battles: Mirrored - Warp ~ brilliant. almost about as close as seeing the Bays live, i think.

The Budos Band: II - Daptone ~ funky as hell, fantastic, and all live, baby.

Clutchy Hopkins: The Life of Clutchy Hopkins - Ubiquity ~ shawn lee's genius alter ego, and dare i say, even more brilliant.

Fujiya and Miyagi: Transparent Things - Deaf Dumb & Blind ~ three guys on db's (of Breakbeat Science fame) label. electronic and original.

Grand National: A Drink & A Quick Decision - Recall ~ oh sh&* these guys are fantastic.

Karizma: A Mind of Its Own - !K7 ~ just when i thought i had lost hope in dance music...

Kenna: Make Sure They See My Face - Interscope/Star Trax ~ made this jaded music lover believe again. hell, it made me LOVE AGAIN.

Long Range: Madness and Me - Beat ~ a little bit o' ORBITAL brilliance. love it.

Mark Ronson: Versions - RCA~ he's talented, young, and has a helluva band.

Meat Puppets: Rise to Your Knees - Anodyne ~ welcome baaaaaaaaaack!

Motor: Unhuman - Mute ~ oh, SHIT.

Paul Hartnoll: The Ideal Condition - ACP ~ absolutely lovely. now, how about a license agreement for virgin america?

Soulsavers: It's Not How Far You Fall, It's How You Land - Columbia ~ i swear to g.d it's MARK LANEGAN of screaming trees and oh my g.d it's good!

Tom Middleton: Lifetracks - Six Degrees ~ the brains of inland knights with an album that is close to perfection.

Ungdomskulen: Cry-Baby - Ever ~ hands down, the BEST CMJ SHOW this year. you could hear everyone concur outside the venue after the show.

Various Artists: Waveform Transmissions Vol. 1 - Waveform ~ welcome back, forest and WAVEFORM! g.d i missed you!

VHS or Beta: Bring on the Comets - Astralwerks ~ just cos they're at the end of the alphabet doesn't mean they are any less good.

VERY HONOURABLE mentions go out to two dance music veterans who i am SO glad still put out new records:

Chemical Brothers: We Are The Night - Astralwerks

Underworld: Oblivion with Bells - ATO

Music i wish i had heard before 2007

Dirt Nap: Love Songs for Short Term Friends - Anodyne

Elliott Smith: New Moon - Kill Rock Stars

Band of Horses @ Glass House in Pomona

i REALLY like Band of Horses. if you know me, you know they're my most recent favourite. if you're still not convinced, let me tell you, they're the only record i've played at work which has caught the interest of my (totally disparate in terms of taste, age, lifestyle, etc.) co-workers... i'm talking, they came into my office at separate times and asked me who i was playing.

it was a f(*&ing brilliant show.

and, it sounded as if their tour was coming to an end...for north america, anyway, cos if you check their website, they're on their way to europe for the next couple of months. it was weird cos the entire crowd was completely silent during and after each song. god, i HATE l.a. crowds! the keyboardist called us the "most well-behaved audience" but that's such crap. if l.a. people are SO into music, then how come no one sings a goddamn word aloud like they do in britain, and no one screams during the songs like they do in japan, and no one makes a little noise like they do in every other part of the country???!

many thank yous to the nice sound guy who gave me the set list.