S.o.t.D. - The Great Divide – Portion Control

The Great Divide – Portion Control

Freaky to think this track is getting on to 30 years old. Loved this driving beat when I first heard it, and it still sounds great to me all these years later.

S.o.t.D. - North To Future – Solar

North To Future – Solar

I think this would be good to listen while racing around on a bicycle.

3D Terrain Maps for 3D Printing

At the Dundas Valley Trail Centre is a very large and very impressive diorama of the whole valley. I covet it. Way too big for my space, but if I buy that huge mansion one day, I might make something similar.

I know I’m nerd, but I’ve thought that it would be neat to have a 3 dimensional representation of favoured areas. A mountain you’ve climbed, a trail you’ve hiked, a park you’ve canoed, even just an area you’ve lived in, etc. A sculpture to remind of good times. Or, a SAR team might benefit from a model they could use to brief their team members with. Use topo maps enough and you learn to be able to visualize the terrain, but there is something to be said for a physical, visual representation. 

Well, the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, their national mapping and surveying authority, offers a free web-based three-dimensional topographical map of Japan that can be used for 3D printing.

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20140322-japan-now-offers-free-3d-terrain-maps-for-3d-printing.html

Uhm....yummy. Given that Canada has largely given up on updating their topographical maps, it might be a bit much to assume that our government will offer anything similar soon, but one can hope.

S.o.t.D. - Grace (Synkro Remix) – Indigo

Grace (Synkro Remix) – Indigo

S.o.t.D. - Stay With You – Lemon Jelly

Stay With You – Lemon Jelly

Super fun summer song.

S.o.t.D. - A Certain Something – Taxi

A Certain Something – Taxi

There may have been a time when giving your band a name like Japan or Taxi wasn’t such a bad idea. With the advent of the internet, a search on a band with a name like Taxi proves to be a frustrating experience. All I know about them is that it is producers Paul Cullen and Simon Lovejoy with studio vocalist Jo Laundy, and they formed in 1996 in Norwich, England. They released a few records on INFRAcom!, but I think they are now defunct. But, I don’t know for sure, because trying to find out anything about them requires more work than I want to bother with.

S.o.t.D. - Amtrack – Trace & Nico

Amtrack – Trace & Nico

Uh, yeah, harder!

I want a new razor

I shaved off my beard today. I’ve always been clean shaven, and I’ve only ever made two efforts to grow a beard. Just a weird sensation, and not sure I can get used to it. Then I get a wild hair up my butt and there it goes. Don’t think I’ve ever been able to get past the 2 month mark. One day I might persevere, but for now I think I will remain a shaver.

I’m embarrassed that I usually use some crappy disposables. There are a lot of things to say against them, and one of them is that on two occasions the razor has broken in my travel toiletry kit. The head has snapped off the handle. And at that point it’s pretty much unusable.

I’ve tried a few different ones over the years, but at the end of the day, they’re still plastic that clogs up landfills. And I’m not buying expensive 5 blade vibrating head razors.

I’ve looked around in antique stores on a few occasions without any luck for an old razor that I could use double sided razor blades in. Yes, those are also a disposable item, but much less so. The other thing I would really like is a head that screws off. Mainly for the sake of making it a little bit less bulky for packing.

I’ve thought of straight razors, since they fold up nicely and can be stropped with just the leather belt you have on. But straight razors make me a bit squidgy.

Looked around and found Standard Razors

Made in the USA of aluminum, and the reviews I read were all very favourable.

I think I will order one soonish and see for my self.

Vintage Dutch Safety Posters

Maybe I’m biased, but I love Dutch graphic art.

Stumbled across these safety posters, spanning from the 1920’s to the 1970’s.

A small selection.

From 1972 – Look Out - Sharp

From the 1950’s – Protect Your Eyes - They’re Worth It

From 1969

Many more examples:
http://50watts.com/Vintage-Safety
http://50watts.com/Hoogspanning-More-Dutch-Safety-Posters

S.o.t.D. - Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime – The Korgis

Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime – The Korgis

Kevin Crompton recently made me aware of this. From 1980, and it was apparently something of a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.....but I had never even heard of it.

S.o.t.D. - Stay With Us – Seoul

Stay With Us – Seoul

Montreal band, with a really smooth sound. Dream pop is how I would describe their sound. Nice stuff.

S.o.t.D. - The Loophole – Garfunkel and Oates

The Loophole – Garfunkel and Oates

I rarely, come to think of it, never, post any comedy songs, but this one made me laugh out loud. Avoid if you’re easily offended or religious. Which often seems to be the same people.

S.o.t.D. - I’ll Go (Ft. Jenny Mayhem) – O S L O

I’ll Go (Ft. Jenny Mayhem) – O S L O

I think I hear a little sample of yesterday’s Acid Bitter and Sad by This Mortal Coil in there.

S.o.t.D. - Acid Bitter and Sad – This Mortal Coil

Acid Bitter and Sad – This Mortal Coil

Off of Lonely Is An Eyesore.

S.o.t.D. - Wake Up – Herbert

Wake Up – Herbert

Consistently great stuff.

S.o.t.D. - For Real (AtJazz Remix) – AtJazz

For Real (AtJazz Remix) – AtJazz

Is it kosher for an artist to do a remix of their own stuff? When it’s someone whose stuff is as consistently good as AtJazz, what the hell.

S.o.t.D. - Transgenic – Trifonic

Transgenic – Trifonic

Another recent discovery that has really impressed me.

S.o.t.D. - Spy – Journeyman

Spy – Journeyman

A Ninja Tune artist I’ve never heard.

Straight Lines North & South

S.o.t.D. - Rhubarb – Aphex Twin

Rhubarb – Aphex Twin

One of the most exquisite pieces of music ever.

S.o.t.D. - Bronchusevenmx24 – Autechre

Bronchusevenmx24 – Autechre

I’m not a very big fan of Autechre, but this track is exceptional. And a good example of what made Warp Records such a great label.

S.o.t.D. - Night Bus – Burial

Night Bus – Burial

Burial can do no wrong.

S.o.t.D. - Quincy – Utah Jazz

Quincy – Utah Jazz

I have to wonder if the Mormons actually even allow jazz in Utah. And I suspect this Summer In The City by Quincy Jones sampling track makes them uncomfortable too.

S.o.t.D. - Murano (Onka Onichi Mix) – Vs_Kurayami

Murano (Onka Onichi Mix) – Vs_Kurayami

Crunchy and dubby and angular.

S.o.t.D. - Windschatten – Extrawelt

Windschatten – Extrawelt

S.o.t.D. - March – Trampique

March – Trampique

Trampique is a new guise for Volor Flex. Same quality - different name. Nice imagery too.

Sosoetry – Brycely

Wrote this about the shop apprentice, Bryce. Well, to be honest, I don’t think it took too long for him to outpace the term “apprentice”. Given how quickly he was knocking them out of the park, and where he’s at now, I think it’s fair to call him a full fledged tattooist. 

guys think that he’s disarming

find him a total hoot

gals regard him as charming

giggle that he’s cute

that the lad has some talent

is quite readily apparent

clearly evident was a strong work ethic 

his prodigious output was tremendous

not to mention his very unique aesthetic

he was asked to become the shop apprentice

he proved to be one of those quick studies

rapidly grasping the art of dermography

with the trust of some uninked buddies

that didn’t end in multi-hued catastrophe

he has a distinctive style all his own

his skills by leagues they’ve grown

but he gets dirty handprints on the door

and drops ink splatters all over the floor

gets to watch a hot young thing get stripped

before etching into her flesh some silly script

there isn’t much he hasn’t depicted

no style to which he’s restricted

whether sea monsters from the briny deep

or skeletal remains that from crypts creep

from a cybernetic cricket skull

to barnacles on a frigate hull

from the characters of Lewis Carroll

to snarling badgers on a large mural

he can render on a young lass a delicate bird

or a comic book super hero sleeve on a nerd

he can wax poetic about fossilized whale poop

while tattooing a plesiosaur in ectoplasmic goop

studies up on cryptozoological pathology

while painting scenes of future mythology

reads books on Pleistocene megafauna

while snuggled up with his pet iguana

even though his name is Huffman

he absolutely refuses to puff one

at one of our safety meets

he defers the tasty treats

Bryce will tell you he likes beers

but on this point he is clearly fibbin’

anything with flavour or body he fears

preferring instead Pabst Blue Ribbon

he’s very slack about pop can recycling

and isn’t visible enough while bicycling

too consumed painting zombie snails

to answer his many unread emails

too busy drawing a musk ox

to deal with his stuffed inbox

Bryce fails to update his blog

his talents he refuses to flog

on the goodness of his co-workers he’s hopin’

always leaving his email and Facebook open

regrettably he listens to whiny screamo bands

“oh...turn that shit off!” everyone commands

S.o.t.D. - Kalyke – Nanobyte

Kalyke – Nanobyte

Digging that deep bass and those pitched Lisa Gerrard vocals. 

S.o.t.D. - Time Change – Marko Fürstenberg

Time Change – Marko Fürstenberg

Seeing as today is the day the clocks spring forward, this seemed appropriate.

S.o.t.D. - Seek – Upwellings

Seek – Upwellings

The architectural imagery is an apt accompaniment to this track.

S.o.t.D. - Turn It On Again – Genesis

Turn It On Again – Genesis

I’d forgotten how great a track this is. 

S.o.t.D. - Firefly – Echospace

Firefly – Echospace

Can’t get enough of this sound. That echoing, pulsating sound really gets me.

S.o.t.D. - Beats Still Own The Rhythm – Bachelors of Science

Beats Still Own The Rhythm – Bachelors of Science

After a long  and brutal winter, the imagery in this is especially appealing.

S.o.t.D. - Needing You – Soular Order

Needing You – Soular Order

S.o.t.D. - Summertime – Smote

Summertime – Smote

Yeah. Summertime. Can’t wait.

S.o.t.D. - All For You – Tom Day

All For You – Tom Day

I’d like to watch whatever movie this beautiful track should score, although the gorgeous nature scenes that accompany this track are also entirely appropriate.