Safe As Milk

I was going to post this photo and ask the intarweb if it knew what what on Earth this was and, more importantly, how badly it needed killing because it looks like the kind of spider that could knock a man down.
As it turns out, all I had to do was Google ‘black and yellow spider’ to get the answers I needed. So yes, the intarwebs answered my question, but it was Google-brain that did it. Again.
(and for those of you wondering, it bites, but the venom doesn’t seem to affect humans so I’m probably not going to make with the squish-squish on this big, bad mama)

Here’s the link. It’s a really short interview but it’s only the 2nd or 3rd one I’ve ever seen with him online. I don’t think he’s a crazy/hermit/man or anything, I just think he prefers to spend his time doing art.

My favorite quote: “I’m a working illustrator with a loyal fan base, f— that “art star” bullsh1t… ” (sorry, had to clean that up for the workplace readers - ed.)

From what little I have read he seems like a fairly low-key dude that can draw like cuh-razee.

Here’s a link to his latest poster it’s supposed to go on sale next week. Yes, I am geeked for it.

You might not know it, but you know who Bill Withers is. He wrote and originally performed the song “Lean On Me” which was a big hit when it was released back in the 70’s and then again in the 80’s when it was re-recorded for the movie that starred Morgan Freeman.

Anyway, Just As I Am was Bill Withers’ first solo album and it is rightly regarded as a soul classic. The album is fairly scattered thematically; he goes from heartbreak (’Ain’t No Sunshine’) to lovey dovey (’Sweet Wanomi’) to bouncing soul (’Harlem’) and finally to mortal depression (’Better Off Dead’). But somehow, the honesty in his voice and the easy hook of the music that keep all of these disparate songs from becoming a mess. It’s quite a feat.

‘Sweet Wanomi‘ is a great little love song. Warm organ, lightly strummed guitar, and the silky smooth voice practically compel you to get close to your lady. Mmm hmmmm.
‘Better Off Dead‘ comes from the opposite end of the scale. I’m not going to lie, this song is a downer, but its raw honesty makes up for it in my mind. It can’t all be puppy dogs and pony tails, right? Oh, and it doesn’t end well, just a heads up.

Friend of SaM Chris Hope has an illustration in the latest issue of Seed magazine.
If you haven’t already, I definitely recommned checking out Seed. You know how Wired takes a cool-kid approach to all things tech without going too far over people heads? Seed does the same thing for hard sciences. Michelle and I really like it. The fact that they have good taste in illustrators is just icing on the cake.

This Xbox360 Fanboy article has an embedded movie of Gears of War in real-time action. It looks double-sweet, no doubt. But it doesn’t get crazy until the last 30 seconds or when homeboy whips out the chainsaw and goes to work with it.

It’s worth checking out.

Update: and now there’s confirmation that Gears of War will have co-op play available over Xbox Live for the whole game! This one is climbing its way up to must-own status pretty quickly.

This very dark photo of me with my liter mug of lager was one of the last happy moments for almost 20 hours:

The Capital Ale House has a great Oktoberfest. I legit oompah band and a family of traditional German dancers make it a barrel (unnecessary, sorry - ed.) of fun. Saturday, unfortunately, was a shambling catastrophe. I was wrecked. All day long. Miserable. To the point that a beer seems…like a bad idea right now. Worry not, I will get back up on this particularly delicious horse again. Have faith, dear readers.

And then a guy played ‘Amazing Grace’ on the alpenhorn.

Allison spotted this the other night. We were watching the season premiere of The Office, our first episode in HD. The certificate on the wall behind Michael Scott (played by Steve Carrell) reads:

This certifies Michael Scott as the proud owner of a Seyko [sic] Timepiece.

Nice. BTW, finally watched the premiere of The Unit. perhaps Jinxy liked it more than me. It was okay, but it was lacking that David-Mamet-pop in the dialogue. I bet it took Mamet a couple hours to bang that script out. If that.

I am a sucker for a music video. kottke linked to Stylus list of the “Greatest Videos” whihc would be pretty boring except that they have embedded the YouTube videos for all of them. It’s good viewing.

And I agree whole-heartedly with this being included and with the reasons why:

084. Bright Eyes – “First Day of My Life”
(Dir. John Cameron Mitchell, 2004)

It’s a conceit that probably shouldn’t have worked; have a bunch of people listen to the song on headphones, mostly couples, and tape them listening to it. You have people smiling in recognition, gazing longingly at each other, grow abashed, kiss, hug, try not to cry, and so on. The song is a decent enough trembling love song, but the video really does turn it into something magical, the same way Found magazine and the online art project PostSecret manage to have such emotional power—as much as we are different, we have far more in common. From the glazed-eyed Billy Joel lookalike to the guy who only looks at his boyfriend when his boyfriend looks away, to, hell, the dog—we have met those we love, and they are us.

I’m a softy.

…and all of them were T.O. with the Eagles.
It’s been forever since I was in a Toys R Us. Good times.