Skynet Symphonic

This video is awesome not only because Terminator 2 is one of my all-time favorite movies, but also for the strange coincidence that I happened to watch it last night before discovering this (via Laughing Squid).

Pogo has also remixed clips from other classic films such as Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter, and more.

Check out his website and YouTube channel.

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Micachu & the Shapes

A friend of mine recently sent me a mix CD of a whole bunch of bands she thought I might like. I do have pretty wide musical tastes, but I've been in an "experimental" phase for a while now. I like music that pushes boundaries with the instruments they use (bonus points for homemade instruments, especially of the electronic variety), the chaotic noises they make, and the sometimes loose definition of singing that they employ. But it's still gotta be pop music.

While listening to this mix CD, I was nodding my head as each band played, weighing their merits in my head. When I got to Micachu and the Shapes, I immediately had to listen to it again. And again. And again. I stuck all their songs on repeat and called it a day.




[Here's a live version of my favorite Micachu song, "Curly Teeth"]

Sure, I like moody, angry, bob-your-head introspective stuff. But there's nothing like a song that actually makes me want to get out of my seat, jump around, and then look up the band online to find out how they made that noise.

I don't know a lot about 22 yr. old front-woman, Mica Levi, except that she's a classically trained musician from the U.K., and I want to listen to everything she's ever created. She made a bowed instrument out of a CD rack, fer chrissake!

[Check out more from Micachu and the Shapes on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/micayomusic
I strongly encourage you to search for more songs and videos around the web. There seem to be quite a few.]

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Valentine Giveaway!

From now until Feb. 14th, any purchase of $25 or more (not including shipping) will receive a FREE "I Heart Music" Recycled Glass Corked Bottle, while supplies last.

It's a roly poly bud vase! Or a perfect gift, if you fill it with candy. Or a keepsake bottle, great for displaying colored sand, glitter, or your favorite spice mix. You could use it as a scented oil diffuser... There are so many possibilities!

We have lots of offbeat Valentine's Day gifts, especially if you're searching for the ever-elusive "guy gift".

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Kittehs

It's Thursday. That means you need kittehs! Triana is turning into a teenager with lots of attitude, so I've been taking lots of photos.

Oh, and if you feel like browsing, I created a clearance section in my Etsy shop for all the sale stuff. And I marked down the retired pint glasses and soap dispensers to 40-50% off. In case you need something non-fuzzy to peruse.

These are my favorite cat photos that I've taken recently, but I have more on Flickr.

Triana got into our chalk line, and wound up with red chalk on her face and paws for about a week.

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Homegrown Mushrooms

Sean's mom sent him three different mushroom growing kits for his birthday last fall, and we've been doing our best to care for them. It looks like we're only going to get one shiitake from this batch, but it's been expanding like mad the past few days. The picture above shows it 4 days ago, and the one below is from this morning.

We have a bucket full of "Espresso" button mushrooms (which required a couple lbs. of spent coffee grounds to grow), which are multiplying, but still don't really have caps yet.

The third mushroom is for making tea, but I forget what it's called. I love that it's growing straight through the side of the plastic bag it came in!

You can buy your own mushroom growing kits from Fungi Perfecti, which is where ours came from. If you want to see more pictures of our mushrooms, I put them up on Flickr.

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