I’m probably already preaching to the choir on this, but I just wanted to put out one request to my fellow mass transit riders:
There are 56 seats on your average BART car, but only 2 of them allow bike riders to sit comfortably without having to hold on to their bicycles the whole ride. IF YOU ARE SITTING IN ONE OF THESE SEATS PLEASE SHARE IT WITH OTHER RIDERS!
Obviously these are priority seating for elderly or disabled riders, and if I was sitting in this area with my bike, I would hop out of my seat whenever I saw a rider who could use the seat more than I could. So all I’m asking is for a similar courtesy from other riders. If you don’t need that space, don’t hog it up.
Yesterday a rider cut in front of me as I was boarding the train and she took up this whole seat. There were at least 40 other seats open for her, so I asked if she would mind letting me use that space. “I was here first” she replied. Then I asked if she would at least move her bags so I could sit in the seat next to her while I propped my bike against the wall and she said “I need the whole seat”.
In a recent music post, I blogged about La Blogotheque’s video of “In An Aeroplane Over The Sea”. I mistakenly referred to the band performing the song as Neutral Milk Hotel, but it was actually performed by a NMH cover band named Neutral Uke Hotel. Since then, I’ve been digging up more of Neutral Uke’s fantastic covers, and I’m bummed I missed them during their recent tourhole.
This weekend is the annual San Francisco Zine Fest at the County Fair Building in San Francisco. People always ask me why I prefer the SFZF to the Alternative Press Expo. First off, SFZF is free for the public. Anytime an event asks people to pay to get in… which instantly turns those possible consumers into spectators. I NEVER make as much money or have as much fun at events that charge at the door. Secondly, the SFZF has a far more infinite vibe. Even though APE is absolutely packed with attendees, they don’t actually like to stop and talk. They just wanna get through the crowd and find Dan Clowes’s table, but SFZF attendees are there to check out what people have made and how they made it. I always have a bunch of nice conversations there.
I’m real excited that Falling For a Square’s new album is online. “Quiet Songs For Computer People” was created with Nanoloop for iPhone along with other iPhone applications and a little Casio SK 1. It’s great music to work along to on lazy Tuesday afternoon. Did I mention it’s free?
Another great album to work along to is Kid Koala’s “Music To Draw Too” which is available for free for the next 20 (or so) hours! Stop reading this, go download it now! I’ll wait… Get it? Good. This scratch mix could never be sold for fear of licensing issues, but has some nice moments on it.
Cut Chemist has a new mix out too. I have to admit I was a huge fan of Chemist back in the day, but he really started losing me from Product Placement on. “Sound Of the Police” yet another mix album from the man, but with a twist. “Different than the traditional mix CD using two turntables, this exclusive offering was created live using only one turntable, a mixer, a loop pedal and all original vinyl pressings. CUT thought when performing this mix live it would challenge the contemporary DJ as well as himself.” Definetly more interesting then simply hearing a bunch of obscure records mixed back to back. “Sound Of the Police” is ten bucks on bandcamp, but a bonus cut titled “Adidas to Addis” is free for download. You can also listen to the entire album streaming.
8bitSF just had another awesome show at the DNA Lounge. You may have missed it, but the sampler for the show is still up, featuring music Crashfaster, Mr. Spastic, Minusbaby, and Anamanaguchi. Download the sampler here.
Speaking of Anamanaguchi, the fantastic music video blog La Blogotheque recently posted a fantastic live performance of Anamanaguchi’s new single “Airbrushed”. Watch the video here. Download Anamanaguchi’s new singles here.
Here is a quick video I made about the Hurricane Simulator, a cheesy “wind tunnel” which claims to reach speeds of 78mph. As you can see in this video, it never reaches anything close to that, but it was fun to yo-yo in. A quick search for 78 mph winds pulls up several videos with similar experiences [re: 78 meh per hour].
Be sure to watch the whole video to hear my chiptune rendition of Rock You Like a Hurricane.
