Sdtrk: ‘Sweet hit sherbet’ by Masonna

Instead of tackling architecture (sounds painful), this volume is about a really fab Danish designer by the name of Verner Panton. It’s still on topic!

Panton’s other great contribution to mid-century design is his ceaseless experimentation with lighting. His “Fun” series of shell lamps, his hanging “Globe” lamp and a wide variety of chandeliers introduced a new approach to lighting. He designed entire walls filled with lit panels and futuristic UFO shaped hanging lights. Panton’s designs were made to sway, spiral, create sounds and, most of all, to use color to create completely unique lighting systems for interiors.
quoted from this site

Verner’s designs exemplified a lot of the Euro-design from the mid-to-late Sixties. Back then, even if you didn’t know his name, more than likely you’d have seen one of his lamps, or sat in one of his chairs, or been lucky enough to wander around in one of his environments. You could argue that his style is ‘dated’ today, but that makes it all the better. These days, you’d be hard-pressed to find any contemporary styles that even come close to his uniqueness, and that’s what makes Verner’s futuristic Pop-art visions even more worthy of investigation

Sdtrk: ‘Piazza, New York catcher’ by Belle and Sebastian

To quote the inimitable Withnail, I’ve got a bastard behind the eyes. Actually, I’ve had it for a couple of days now, and I’m sure going to class this eve, where every other student was coughing, didn’t help. Brilliant. 😐
When I awaken tomorrow, I’ll be sure to grab a fistful of ibuprofen to stave it off, and if that doesn’t work, then I’ll pronounce it a tumour. Bleh.

At least I bought my copy of Nausicaä, a snip at $17, from Meijer. Not too shabby

Sdtrk: ‘Warner’s reverie’ by Mount Vernon astral temple

Right, so I see that I’ve wasted yet another hour desperately looking for interesting blogs by other people. And once again, I’ve come up trumps. So far, from what I’ve seen, the ‘Bloggerverse’ is 95% shite, plain and simple. Here, then, would be a small list of pet peeves regarding my blog surfing experiences:

+ Political blogs: I don’t give a steamy white toss if you think all Democrats are hippies, or all Republicans are Nazis. I honestly don’t fucking care. The more of these types of blogs that I see, the less I like people as a whole. People who write these aren’t going to convince a person who sits on one side of the political fence to switch to the other. You’re not just wasting your time; more importantly, you’re wasting mine

+ Religious blogs: see above

+ Adverts cleverly disguised as blogs: You’ve seen ’em. ‘Go Home Leukemia Newsletter Archives Leukemia Links Advertise on this site Add URL LeukemiaLeukemiaFeline LeukemiaLeukemia SymptomsLeukemia SymptomsChronic Lymphocytic LeukemiaAcute LeukemiaSymptoms Of Leukemia’ ad infinitum ad nauseam. Blogger needs to do what BlogExplosion does, and have humans check these sites, and verify that they aren’t just big adverts. Is that too much to ask? Apparently, yes

+ Blogs in a Foreign Tongue: I know this can’t be helped, and I hate to even mention it, as it sounds really bigoted/xenophobic. But if I’m madly clicking the ‘Next Blog’ button atop my site in a single-minded masochistic pursuit, I find that a good portion of sites are in either Spanish, Portugese or Italian. (Never French. I can handle French, but there’s never any French ones..) There should be a set of selection boxes you can check off, to indicate if you wish to view Blogs written in other languages

+ People who don’t fill in their profile: So you’re typing away, publicising your most private secrets, or even your day-to-day existence (such as it is) for the InfoBahn to scrutinise. Why have you not filled in your profile? Maybe it’s just me, but I view the profile question section as another opportunity to be witty (such as it is). Also, I like to know a wee bit about the author. Call me crazy, I know, but hey.
Besides, if you maintain that you’re so dreadfully boring that no-one wants to know about your boring details, then why did you start your boring blog in the first place?

+ That goddamned spelling ‘style’, where eVErY OtHeR leTTeR iS TypEd liKe tHiS: I swear, if I ever meet someone who admits to doing that, I will tie them down, break their hands, and make them watch as I set their Ashlee Simpson and/or Good Charlotte Cds on fire. Who started this bullshit, and why?? Furthermore, I should bloody well hope they have some sort of programme that mixes up the cases for them, cos if they’re actually typing like that, then they are irredeemably retarded. It took me thirty seconds to type ‘eVErY OtHeR leTTeR iS TypEd liKe tHiS’, and these people have their whole blog written like that. Do they start a post on Monday, and finish it Wednesday afternoon??

+ Blogs that have to have some sound file instantly load: I’m gonna hazard a guess, but if you have one of these, chances are very verrrry slim that it’s going to be something I want to hear. Do yourself and your intended audience a favour — get rid of your soundfiles. They slow the load time, and in any case, your taste in music is repellent

+ JavaScript abuse: Just before the site loads, some insipid dialogue box pops up, that you have to click on to enter the site. What in shit is that all about? You’re not clever, you know. And usually it’s something wRiTtEN LikE tHIs. If you’re doing stuff like that, you have just confirmed that your Blog is the equivalent to a Scandinavian black metal band: all ‘style’, no substance.
Even worse is when you leave the site, and another dialogue box pops up. I’m leaving your site. Let go of my hand now, and fuck off.

Lastly, my personal fave,
+ Spelling, grammar, and a lack thereof:

*exhales* Ahhh, all better now!
So send me links to blogs that don’t make me want to disconnect my Internet! Cos at this point, it really can’t get much worse

Sdtrk: ‘Que sera sera’, from the ‘Katamari damacy’ sdtrk

So I see my Other Favourite Jean-Luc Godard Film, Weekend, is finally out on DVD! Of course, this is the sort of thing that gets released when I’m on the dole. I was waiting about three years for this to come out back when I had a job, and now, it’s finally out. *shrugs* Guess I’ll just have to go commit a petty crime!

And does anyone out there want or need a Gmail account? Between myself & Shi-chan, we’ve got about 80 invites. 😐
Leave a comment, or hit me squarely at pulsedemon [at] gmail [dot] com

I’m gonna quote an excerpt here, and you can just go and click that link yourselves.

Op to remove baby’s second head

Manar Maged was originally one of conjoined identical twins, but her sister failed to develop in the womb.

As a result she was born with a second head attached to her own — a condition known as craniopagus parasiticus.

Yeah. Now may I follow that up with ‘AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHH!!!!’

Sdtrk: ‘Video 5.8.6’ by New order

My ‘100 things’ list is finally complete! Only I’m 15 things short. Tch!
Now you can all learn more than you ever wanted to know about me. Heh heh, you have no idea. Unless of course, you actually know me, then you might have some idea. Nevertheless!

Comments / snide remarks are always welcome. Well, not so much the second one

Holy crap, another one? Already? So soon? Yeah, why not.
Sdtrk: ‘Ushiwaka kurama iri’ by Merzbow

Europe, you need to send some of your cooler architecture over here. Or at the very least, some of your cooler architects…

I’m sure a lot of you have seen this building before, and never knew what it was called. I just learned its name recently, cos I remember seeing it years ago, on the inner sleeve/lyric sheet of the ‘Sparks in outer space’ 12″ vinyl. This would be the Atomium, in Brussels.

Designed by the engineer André Waterkeyn for the International Exhibition of Brussels, that took place here in 1958, the Atomium is a structure that is half way between sculpture and architecture, symbolising a crystal molecule of metal by the scale of its atoms, magnified 165 billion times. [..]

The Atomium was not intended to survive the Exhibition of 1958. Its popularity and success, however, ensured its place as a major landmark on the Brussels skyline.

If that doesn’t scream ‘ATOM AGE FIFTIES FUTURE’, I don’t know what does. It’s a bit too wonky to be practical, but who says all buildings have to be practical?
Thankfully, not only did the Belgian government not tear it down after its initial usage was complete (yes, it was an exposition building), but they’re currently renovating it. Gooooo Belgium!