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Dave Barry’s Year In Review
Dave Barry reviews the past year.
SPOILER: It’s for 2016.
In the future, Americans — assuming there are any left — will look back at 2016 and remark: “What the HELL?”
They will have a point. Over the past few decades, we here at the Year in Review have reviewed some pretty disturbing years….But we’ve never seen one as weird as 2016. This was the Al Yankovic of years.
Read it all here.
When Did Russia Become The Moral Leader?
In Current Year, Russia criticizes you for being Godless.
Vladmir Putin’s Christmas speech criticized the West for abandoning its Christian roots (video from iBankCoin.com) –
I grew up in the 80s, when things were quite the opposite. A short and not-really-exaggerated summary –
Trump Elected World President in Japan!
Swiped this, title and all, from John C. Wright, who notes –
It is not clear to me whether this charming weirdness is meant to mock Trump or applaud him, or just a neutral bit of fun that means nothing. For myself, I like Trump better, seeing this.
Rocktober – Monster Mashup
Some truly monster-ous mashups for your Halloween.
One of the first mashups to go big was Steely Dan’s “Do It Again” crossed with Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” circa 1983 –
By the 90s, mashups were becoming quite the thing, and during the 2000s (especially with everyone having a computer and YouTube coming online), mashups exploded. Most are crap, but some are really good, such as this Daft Punk/Adele mix –
DJs and home remixers began digging up old classics to mix with more modern songs –
Nirvana is one of the more popular bands for mashups…. consider this mix with Amy Winehouse or this even better mix with No Doubt, both based around Nirvana’s “About A Girl.”
A Korn song was massively improved by combining it with a Cure song –
There was a real video for that song, but it’s gone now. Had a neat Escher ending, not to mention Robert Smith getting slowly eaten by the Spider Man (no, not that Spider-Man).
Disco is a prime fountain of pure unrefined mashup material. Especially when mixed with the most incongruous types of music –
Speaking of incongruities, this takes the cake right out of the rain –
It works so well!
Dance music goes well with more classically-influenced works –
Who knew Enya could spit rhymes like that?
If you feel like your childhood has been violated, your teen years touched inappropriately, your college years…. well, something involving microaggressions and a rape hoax, I’m sure… then this song is dedicated to you.
Word Machines
So it occurred to me that words are machinery.
Language is the machine that propels ideas forward, and words are the moving parts. A carefully chosen word provides momentum for an idea to travel, while a poorly chosen word slows or impedes the transmission of the idea, and an incorrect word can alter the idea during transit.
So when some dipshit “progressive” changes the meaning of a word to suit their feelz, the machinery can’t properly perform its function anymore and begins breaking down.
Anyone heard of this idea previously? I’m sure I’m not the first to think of it.
Anyway, just a random thought. Have some music. It has words. About words.
Real Life Batman Chases Killer Clown
Not a dream, a hoax, or an imaginary story…. a man costumed as Batman went after a clown in Britain, where nutbars have been dressing as clowns to scare and hurt people.
The Telegraph reports –
A photograph has been shared on Facebook of ‘Batman’ seemingly chasing off a killer clown.
BBC Cumbria reported local company Cumbria Superheroes is behind the effort to rid the streets of clowns.
They have reassured that the costumed man is not a vigilante, but just trying to reassure local children who are scared of the ‘killer clowns’.
And elsewhere…
In another incident, George Birkbeck said he spotted a sinister figure holding a hammer in a Tesco car park in Plymouth on Friday.
The clown was dressed as Batman’s ‘Joker’ character and ran off after Mr Birkbeck brandished a beer bottle at him.
This is where we’re going – life has gotten so strange that dressing as a comic book character to fight bizarre crime actually seems like a natural thing to do.
There was a clown just a couple blocks from here scaring kids at a school recently. Maybe some of the locals should look into this cape-and-cowl idea…
Rocktober Saturday Night Studio – Liphlich Great Nonsense Skam
By request, here’s some Liphlich for Wdydfae, whose site you really should check out. I have no idea what the hell the deal is with this band, they’re almost like a collision of Glam Rock and Lounge Style with some Scandinavian metal thrown in over a disco beat. Or something.
Skam Life –
Move every Zig for Great Nonsense –
Whatever happened to that Manic Pixie that you used to know?
Some live Liphlich, not the greatest video quality but good enough –
Thanks to Wdydfae for making this an easy one.
NightSky ClubRadio
I just discovered a site called NightSky Club Radio. “Best EDM & House Music,” or so it says. Has nothing to do with me.
First thing I heard upon listening was Maxi Priest’s “Close To You” –
Eh, not bad, I guess. The next couple songs were crap, but I kinda liked “HOT4EVA” by DJ Short-E (whoever that is). I probably shouldn’t admit to that in public, however.
I’m wondering if I should try to get a gig on there, but I don’t really know all that much about club music. But if they’re cool with kinda sorta electronica like Poe, we might get somewhere.
Norwegian Black Metal Musician Unwillingly Elected, Cat Declines Statement
Glyve “Fenriz” Nagell – a black metal musician, disc jockey, and postal worker – was elected against his will to town council in Kolbotn, Norway.
“Don’t vote for me! Really!!”
A postal worker? Taking a risk there, aren’t they?
Fenriz, of the band Darkthrone, explains –
My campaign was a picture of me holding my cat saying, “Please don’t vote for me.” But people just went nuts. After the election, the boss called me and told me I was a representative. I wasn’t too pleased, and I’m not too pleased about it. It’s boring. There’s not a lot of money in that, either, I can tell you!
Here is the cat, whose name loosely translates into English as “Peanut Butter” –
Peanut Butter will dictate town policy through its human host
Basically, I have to step in when the usual people who go to the big meetings are sick or something. Then I have to go sit there and feel stupid among the straight people.
Day Of The Waffle
August 24 started out as nothing…. literally –
Waffles are the highest form of breakfast food. One can deduce the greatness of waffles through the scientifically-proven “New York Times Test” – if the New York Times says something, there’s a 95% chance that the exact opposite is true. NYT columnist Tom Friedman is a hardcore supporter of pancakes. Therefore, while pancakes are indeed great, waffles are betterer. Indeed, pancakes are fabled in story and song for not living up to their golden-brown promise –
Pancakes may be more versatile, but waffles reign supreme as the breakfast choice. It’s mathematically proven. [Click to embiggen]
Thanks to my wife for providing the mathematical research.
nightskyradio 