This is so good to me on so, so many levels. The only words I understand are the swears.

Dutch rappers. Long ‘feat.’ list. Like a Hype Williams knockoff.

I am going to listen to this one more time and then put it away until tomorrow.

The folks who made that QuadCamera app that I love so much also have a single shot version called ToyCamera.

I have a hunch I will be goofing around with this a lot.

Thanks to yewknee for the heads up.

Frank Black and his wife Violet Clark are Grand Duchy. I found a copy of the album to stream and it sounds really good. He’s traded his rough and tumble country twang rock for bass/synth/guitar goodness. V Clark’s vocals are a great counterpoint to the F Black rumble and wail. It’s out in the UK on Monday but doesn’t come out here in the US until April. Sucks for me. Until then, their MySpace has a couple of songs to stream. There will also be a 3-song digital ep from Cooking Vinyl that I will try to grab when it’s out on Feb. 16th.

Sky Larkin is a trio from Leeds. The video is alright, but the song is terrific. I think the drummer is in blue…

Sky Larkin – Beeline from Sky Larkin on Vimeo.

(here’s a MySpace link to hear some more)

I’m a longtime fan of Alex Thibodeau work so I was excited to hear he’s got some new stuff up for sale over at Ink Ape.

Loving this one, ‘Duck Duck Goose’:

The CNN article is here.

2. Elmo: The way it’s described by a Sesame Street writer, apparently this extra red puppet was just lying around. People would try to do something with him, but nothing really panned out. In 1984, puppeteer Kevin Clash picked up the red puppet and started doing the voice and the personality and it clicked — thus, Elmo was born.

Oh! To think that red bane of my existence was an accident! I now have a new Time Machine To-Do List #1: go back and knock that puppet out of K Clash’s hands!

I’m looking into some overnight getaway for Michelle and I in April for our 10th wedding anniversary(!) and we’re kicking around the idea of taking a train somewhere. Charlottesville is not, apparently, an easy place to get to (or from) by train:

So they’re offering me a train ride from downtown to the west end of the city, and then a bus ride to get to Charlottesville. And then a train ride back to Richmond via DC with a 4 hour layover at Union Station.

Awesome.

NYT article on this guy who dropped out of school in the 10th grade to ride into the Canadian wilderness with his dog and is now a member of the Garmin-Slipstream cycling team.

And on one September day, after he had turned 18, he left with Bear, his German shepherd mix, and headed nearly 600 miles to the remote Bella Coola Valley in British Columbia. He said he rode 12 hours some days, pulling the trailer packed with about 200 pounds of gear and food — and his dog. When Tuft struggled to climb hills, Bear jumped out and sprinted along the roadside grass.

[ via Bike Hugger]

And for the record, I love the argyle those Chipotle/Slipstream dudes wear. In fact, I’m a sucker for just about anything argyle.

Apparently the President had a friend who swore all the time. When he talks about this guy in the book he quotes him. Of course, Barack Obama read the audiobook version so there are some outstanding bits of awesomeness in there.

Go here to listen to them.

I am at work and can’t get copies uploaded. I will try to get some of it up on my own space tonight.

The Associated Press is accusing Shepard Fairey of copyright infringement for his appropriation of the above photograph for the iconic HOPE poster that was all over everything this campaign season. I am very curious to see how this plays out. Image appropriation is Fairey’s whole deal and if he gets sued and loses on this one it will put a big crimp in his style.

[via OMG Posters]