.:DataWhat?:.

See you at The Bang!

::

Thanks Jeremy

Tsunami coverage continues Here.

If you're thinking of making a Tsunami relief donation, Rob encourages you to look into Architecture For Humanity's site.
"while it’s very important for the red cross to receive donations, these guys could use a little nudge too. they do good things, quietly."

::



::

"It's a Wonderful Life" in 30 Seconds Re-enacted by Bunnies.
Click the bunny silhouettes at the end for bonus scenes!

::

Making People Happy

The President, the First Lady and Dick Cheney are flying on Air Force One.

George looks at Laura, chuckles and says, "You know, I could throw a $1,000 bill out the window right now and make somebody very happy."

Laura shrugs her shoulders and says, "Well, I could throw ten $100 bills out the window and make ten people very happy."

Cheney says, "Of course then, I could throw one hundred $10 bills out the window and make a hundred people very happy."

Hearing this, the pilot rolls his eyes and says to his co-pilot, "Such big shots back there...hell, I could throw all of THEM out the window and make 56 million people very happy."

::

A ghost in this UK pub is accused of pinching barmaids' bums.
See! I told you it wasn't me.

::



::

The science of recording handclaps.
"If you have four drumers clapping perfectly in time, it sucks. But when you get your neighbor to come over, who will always slightly lag behind because he's so nervous, that lag spreads out the clap and gives you that 80's drum machine type of clap that is SUPER fat".

::

It's almost 2005, so here's my "Things of 2004" list from a couple days ago.

::

Over 8000 hits today, me boyos!

::
Thanks Steve Hall
Thanks Miss Mapping
Thanks Paul
Thanks Rob
Thanks Fark

I plan on posting more Tsunami Images and Video as I find them.
So check back, if'n you're innerested.


::

Remember that post-election website SorryEverybody.com?

Well these people aren't sorry.
Scary maybe, but not sorry.


::

This site keeps pinging the websites of fake banks that you hear about in fraud e-mails.
The theory is that if enough people are eating up their bandwidth, they'll lose money and have to shut down.


::

Hmmm...I cant tell if www.gullible.info is telling me the truth or not...
I mean "In the United States, there are more employed video game programmers than there are policemen"...that could be true, right?

::

Hyar! Video of a kid trying to say "Dump Truck" but, brother does it come out wrong.
He's got quite a career as a longshoreman ahead of him.

::

Man I just found a whole bunch of good stuff on Horkulated.com tonight. They're like DataWhat without the inside jokes that probably infuriate everyone who doesn't work at AMG.

Their slogan is: "Action, Pathos, Weirdness, Humor, Boobies."

Who could argue with that?

::

.:DataWhat?:. got over 1,000 hits today.

::

Thanks everybody

Video:

WaveOfDestruction.org seems to be one of the best sites for video and photos.

Believe In Magic (Austin's Blog) is hosting the most widely known videos.

.:Note:. Respect to AsianTsunamiVideos.com
since they are displaying and hosting the video information in the most clear and stable manner possible. Nice work, citizen.


.:New:.
Thailand-Wave 2:16     10.2 MB

The image doesn't really do it justice. This is a longer video shot from the balcony of a hotel. An Australian(?) family, or at least a father and a young son, see the first (relatively) smaller wave come in. It's funny 'cause the father says "Jay-sus Kroist" and then the kid follows him and says "Jay-sus Kroist" just like his ol' pop. The second wave comes into the resort pretty spectacularly, and then the Dad tells the kids to "Get In, Get In" and they all run for cover (although in reality, they are high enough not to be hit by the wave...not that I blame them mind you).
Courtesy of AsianTsunamiVideos.com...scroll down


.:New:.
Indonesia-Roar :52 Seconds     4.48 MB

This one doesn't actually show the wave, but does show a massive river of debris flowing down the middle of the street including whole buses and uprooted trees.
Courtesy of AsianTsunamiVideos.com...scroll down


.:New:.
Tsunami-Wall :56 Seconds     2.3 MB

Amateur footage from people visiting the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, situated at the southern tip of Kanyakumari. The tsunami wave hits the wall and sends large amounts of water over the top of the memorial which has a height of 113 feet. The footage is repeated at the end of the clip in slow motion.
Courtesy of AsianTsunamiVideos.com...scroll down



.:New:.
0106thailand_video :59 Seconds Real Media

This is footage shot by a restaurant owner from high above, you see a lone man on the beach as the wave really hits.

I had some trouble linking directly. If you can't find it, try to go here: http://www.ap.org/
then, click on 7,000 More Bodies Discovered in Indonesia on the right.
scroll down to Amateur Video Shows Tsunami Striking Thai Beach. This may rotate around with another couple videos, so hunt around...

Courtesy of AP


.:New:.
Phuket-Resort-English-And-Dutch-Views-At-Same-Moment :28 Seconds

Sort of a "Picture-In-Picture" shot of the wave coming into a Phuket Resort shot by two different people.
Courtesy of WaveOfDestruction.org


Tsunami-Hits-Khao-Lak-by-German-Tourist 3:21 10.2 MB

About three and a half minutes narrated by a German tourist. He films the wave as it is first noticed way out on the horizon. You can see two or three large boats/yachts hustling to get out of the way. He keeps filming until the wave goes past the ships then heads back to a beachside bungalow. Really clear sweeping shots of the whole horizon as the wave is coming closer.
Courtesy of WaveOfDestruction.org


Zeebeving 1:30 1.5 MB

This is a collection of videos from a Dutch News Program. A good overview for those who have not seen any footage yet, and some footage I had not seen before.
Courtesy of Alexander Meijer


BBC Long 14:10 13.1 MB

This is a 14 minute long broadcast/recap from the BBC. Some science, some footage of the wave, some occasional (mild) graphic content. I have not watched it all...or even most of it.
Courtesy of Alexander Meijer


Aftonbladet footage Quicktime... maybe three minutes long?



Amateur footage of the wave coming in. This looks like it may be directly above the spot where that older couple was seen clinging to the wall.
Courtesy of This site(?)


On the beach of Koh Lanta. 1:01 minutes 4.8 MB

This one starts with a volleyball net, then you can see the huge wave roll in from across the sea. People think of it as a curiosity until they realize the magnitude of it, then run into a more jungle-y area to safety. A guy says "Holy Crap!" I don't blame him.
Courtesy of Asian Tsunami Videos (at the bottom called "The most amazing tsunami video I've seen")


In a hotel at Banda Aceh (KATC). 1:48 minutes 3.5 MB

This one starts with semi-grainy footage from inside either a large house or hotel in Indonesia. Looks like some people were filming and then noticed noise outside, so they go to their window/balcony and you can see huge masses of water rolling by the window. Note: this is not the footage with the couple clinging to the wall in what looks like a swimming pool.
Courtesy of Asian Tsunami Videos (called "Wow")


14 Seconds In Thailand. :14 seconds 1.6 MB

A really quick shot of the wave coming in and crashing into a garden between two large hills. Three people are standing in the garden as the wave comes in, and the video stops as the wave gets close to them.
Courtesy of Asian Tsunami Videos (called "From Thailand")


Tafmil nadu India "Sea Spills". 3:37 minutes 1.5 MB

Shot almost from above, this footage of the wave coming into an Indian beach, through trees and flooding into the streets. This is in Quicktime, and relatively small.
Courtesy of Cheese & Crackers


Patong Beach. 2:08 minutes 10.3 MB

From a rooftop of a hotel on Patong Beach, you see the big wave come into the beach, then crash through a low building with many arches. There is extended footage of water filling the streets below.
Courtesy WaveOfDestruction.org


On the Beach at Penang. 1:01 minutes 72 KB

Another one shot from the beach. The cameraman is standing on a cement platform probably 50 yards from the beach. He is amused by the waves and the lone wader out in the water until the larger waves come up the beach and hit the bottom of the platform where he and a woman are standing.
Courtesy of Asian Tsunami Videos (called "From Penang, Malasia")


Sri Lanka Hotel Balcony. 1:40 minutes 7.8 MB

A couple from Australia(?) film from their hotel balcony as the wave comes across the beach and floods into the huge swimming pool. People are standing in street clothes around the pool but they run into the hotel when they see the wave coming. The film ends with the couple running down the corridor of the hotel.
Courtesy of Asian Tsunami Videos (called "From Sri Lanka")


Inside a Phuket Hotel Restaurant. 2:14 minutes 11.7 MB

Shot from inside a hotel restaurant, there is a lot of pretty shaky footage at first, then the wave comes into the building. The cameraman rushes outside and sees an older couple clinging to a railing that gives way.
Courtesy of Asian Tsunami Videos (called "Tsunami hitting Phuket Beach, Thailand")


Another Sri Lanka Hotel Balcony. 3:44 minutes 6.3 MB

Footage by an English speaking couple who shoot from their hotel balcony as the wave comes through an open-air restaurant/cabana and into a lagoon in the courtyard of the hotel. The clip ends with footage of the debris floating around in the courtyard.
Courtesy of Asian Tsunami Videos (called "Amazing video, maybe the best of the bunch at giving you the impact of the wave.")


Indonesia: Pantai Cermin(?). :35 Seconds

A short and shaky video of the wave rolling into Indonesia. A long boat takes on a pretty big wave (grainy). Lots of jumpy footage of people's backs as they're running away or escaping on scooters. This version is kinda crappy 'cause you have to sit through an ad...


Waves in Kenya :56 Seconds

A short video of comparatively smaller waves rolling on the beach in Kenya. Some empty boats get tossed around.
A kid seems to be having the best day of his life.
Courtesy of Asian Tsunami Videos (called "From Kenya, fishing boats being tossed around like toys in the water.")


.:Slightly Misleading but Still Pretty Amazing:.
Tidal Surge in China in 2000 Quicktime...maybe two minutes long

I guess every year the Quiantang River in China gets a "Tidal Bore" that wooshes through the riverbed. People line up every year to watch it go by, but this year it was slightly larger than expected. Again, not from the 2004 Tsunami, but pretty amazing nonetheless.
Courtesy of USC's Tsunami information page


This interview from the dreaded Fox News talks with one of the bloggers from Boing-Boing.net about how the blogging community has been a real news source for this event. It also shows some footage of the wave that I've seen on TV but nowhere on the net.

BRTurbo shows these same videos in a nice streaming layout.

Andy Baio put together This List of videos with descriptions on Waxy.org.

A similar collection of videos on Cheese & Crackers.

More Tsunami info is grouped at tsunami-videos-and-pictures.blogspot.com
No images but good text links



Photos:

.:Note:. There are several photos of a huge wave crashing around a temple. A noteworthy one was of a huge brown and frothy wave with a bunch of people running in front of it Apparently these are from a Tidal Surge in China in 2002, and not from this current event.
They were cool, but here at DataWhat we are all about data integrity. You can still see 'em at WaveOfDestruction.org

Man oh man, Here's a spooky shot taken from a trolley just before the wave hit:




.:New:. 10 photos from Koh Lanta.

Courtesy WaveOfDestruction.org


.:New:. Four images from this site.

There's also a pretty spectacular fake photo on this page too...


21 images of children playing on a Malaysian beach moments before the tsunami sends them scrambling for shelter.

The family survives unharmed.


9 tourist images from a beach in Thailand.



A series of images as the tsunami hit Phi Phi Island.

Photos by J.T. and Caroline Malatesta, posted on WaveOfDestruction.org


A series of images taken from an airplane as the Tsunami hit.

Photos by Peter Litherland, posted on WaveOfDestruction.org


This was the image of the wave coming in that we kept seeing on TV the first night.



Interesting series Here :



Multiple pages Grouped Here :



Site with a bunch of really amazing photos of the Tidal Wave from a balcony on the beach.



.:New:. Three Photos of the wave coming into Krabi, Thailand.
Also seen in the six photos at Getty Images.

The family seen in the photos made it out alive just fine.


.:New:. Collage from a Swedish Newspaper.



Photo of the wave coming in.



Really well-shot series of photos from one of the locations.

These photos are non-graphic (i.e. no dead bodies or grief stricken people).


This Photo is huge, but really interesting.

Legal shoutout to DigiGlobe.


Another photo of the landscape left behind.



One more.



Two photos from on the ocean as it happened.
 
you can see how quickly the water rose and fell against that island near Patong Beach.
That long brown section was moving really fast according to the guy who gives the account.
Translation and more story here


Photos of Indonesia before and after.


Also, Tony Demark's site has a really neat function where you can toggle back and forth between before and after satellite photos.


Photo of a car floating away.



Another Car.



Some of the same photos are on WaveOfDestruction.org but they're laid out really nicely.

This Page of Thailand photos might be interesting, but it's down temporarily.


Info for Science Dorks:

Wikipedia's entry is really well done.

Looks like the quake altered the map and rattled the earth's orbit.

Really cool Seismic Monitor Map showing current and recent activity.

Seismic report from the campus of Virginia Tech.

Finally, I really like this headline: "Jet Li escapes tsunami with minor injuries"
...like he was jumping out of the way at the last second.

Just a reminder: Mother Nature can kick your ass.


::

Teaser trailer for "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is now online.
Don't Panic.

::

I have no clue what this Ewok Role Playing page is all about, but I like it.
Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt! Sleep!

::

Hyar! Chicken shacks from every state in the union.
Who knew those birds were so well travelled?

::

Uh, I put together a "Things of 2004" list. Dunno if you saw it...
Google did the same thing, but mine has swear words in it.

::

Thanks Goody
Thanks Dadid
Thanks David
Thanks Steve
Thanks Rob

I put together a "Things of 2004" list. Dunno if you saw it...

::


DisturbingAuctions.com

::

Footage of the Tsunami that may have killed 23,000 people.
The initial wave may have been traveling at over 500 miles per hour.

::

Attention Firefly fans: "Gorram" is now an official slang term according to the New York Times.
interj., a euphemistic oath, used in place of an actual curse word. From the space cowboy television series "Firefly."

Also listed: Ridonkulous
n. (very) ridiculous. Also ridonculous, redonculous, redonkulous, redonculus, redonkulus, ridonculus, ridonkulus, redunculous, redunkulous, ridunkulous, ridunculous, ridunkulus, redunkulus, redunkulus, ridunkulus.

::

New Sin City trailer now online.
Looks nice. Verrry nice.

::

Rob wants you to look at Heavy Metal Parking Lot.
"Videotaped in a concert arena parking lot before a Judas Priest show in '86, HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT is truly the most magnificent portrait of dirt-rockin', headbanging, booze guzzling, dope smokin', trailer trash America has ever seen. It's truly an ingenious masterpiece, made complete with the vast display of bare feet, muscle shirts, bare-chested guys, bleach blonde frizzy perms, Mullets From Hell, BIG hair, bad teeth, scar tissue, and by far, the largest collection of late 70s Camaros ever seen in one location."

::


DisturbingAuctions.com

::

An Arab Guy wanted me to tell you there is a Comments Section at the bottom of each .:DataWhat?:. page.
Down there where it says "Comments"

::

Thanks PJ
Thanks Rob
Thanks Arab Guy

Things about 2004

in which we discuss the things that will always remind me of 2004,
be they good, bad, or just shit I just don't care about.

Gallant:

PJ
Best girl around.

Data Processing (The Crew, not necessarily The Task)
Consistently the hardest working buncha guys I know. I'd take a bullet for any one a them. Ferreal.

Patty Griffin's "Impossible Dream"
Heartwrenching and beautiful.

Drinking
Fuck, do I love drinking.

.:DataWhat?:.
.:DataWhat?:. was born this year because I was talking to somebody about the Subservient Chicken viral thing online and I was saying "Man isn't that funny?!?" and they were all like "I have no idea what you're talking about" and I was all like "Man, there oughta just be one place where people could go and see all this funny junk" so Rob set up this little message board community, but you had to become a member and sign in and all that, so I figured I'd just stick 'em on one page and then people here at work and pals could just hit it and see what's up. And Rob came up with the name. So he's the greatest.

Matt Pond PA's "Emblems"
Here's to songwriting. And we got to play with 'em which was a highlight of the year.

DSL
Never. Going. Back.

Scarlett Johansson
Just her acting though, it's a shame she's so ugly...

Blanche's "If We Can't Trust the Doctors"
Like a snake-oil carnival rolling into town.

Books
Not any one in particular, just books.

Maeve
Just a fucking cool broad.

Loretta Lynn's "Van Lear Rose"
Hi Dave! I hear you back there!

Cincinnati Chili
This blew up big in '04.

Firefly
If anybody wants to see this spectacular TV series on DVD, Penny and I have two loner sets. Just let us know.

Seeing The Darkness at Clutch Cargos.
Men what do rock, baby!

Lindsay Lohan
Love her or hate her (or just not be sure why she's famous 'cause she's really only been in a couple movies): She was everywhere in '04.

Blogs in general.
One of the things Dave Serra and I both do is to go to the top of a Blogger page and just click "Next Blog" and then click it again. There are a lot of people in this world, and nearly every one of 'em has a Blog.

Blogs specifically:
Rob's Blog: First with all the funniest stuff floating around out there, digs deep with the politics, and should be given the Pulitzer for his "Out Of Ten" feature. Rob Theakston 10/10

Matthew Tobey's City of Floating Blogs: Funniest guy I've ever met. Serious. And he occasionally gives links to Filthy Celebrity Imposter (which should be updated more often).

Whatevs.org: At times, I've been known to talk a lot of smack about Uncle Grambo. His taste is usually dumbfounding and often infuriating. The lingo tends to get on my nerves. I can't help but be envious of his traffic. So why do I check in on Whatevs about two-dozen times a day? Because it's hands-down the best pop-culture blog in the Internet. There's no better place for unsubstantiated celeb dirt, underage nip-slip pics or any other guilty-pleasure scoops. iously. (I wrote this text. iously...uh, Matt? Is "iously" a new Whatevs slang term? Christ, I can't keep up anymore...)

MotorCityRocks: Providing a free service, celebrating the true spirit of rock and roll in Detroit (and not just representing the usual suspects). Every Detroit band should buy the staff a beer. Oh, and Ryan, I am quite envious of your one million page views, thank you very much.

Toshi Station: The first blog ever. Consistently indulging my inner geek like none other.

Hem's "Eveningland"
Nighty Night.

Daisy
DataMutt.

Ish from Pimp My Ride.
So on the TV show Pimp My Ride, they take a junky car and bling it all out so it looks really fresh. The guys at West Coast Customs are all these bad-ass, from-tha-hood gang banger types with tattoos and gold teeth, and they go in and rip cars apart with their bare hands and do arc welding and power grinding and stuff: Tough bros. So they always have this round table discussion of what they're going to do to this '74 Impala, and one guy says "Oh, I'm gonna put 37-inch rims on it," and another guy talks about the hydraulics and whatever, then they get to Ish, who does "Interiors" and he says (in a dope Chicano accent) "Mang, we gonna do velour seats with a gold brocade piping and a nice gabardine wrap for the steering column, ees gon' be sweet, mang," and then he kisses his fingers like "MmmmmmWAH!" So then they go into the shop and guys are throwing sparks and eating raw metal, then they show Ish who is sewing on like a Husqvarna sewing machine. He's the best one. Much love Ish.

Paul Simon's first album.
Released in 1972 when he was 32, and I discovered it in August as I was turning 32.

Hi-Fives from Dave Serra.
Each worth their weight in gold.

Lil Porky's Pizza.
Right behind Fox Village Theater on Dexter-Ann Arbor road. Mark Deming called it "The Grease Wheel Supreme."

When Chris Holoka thought he was 33, and I revealed to him he was only 32.
He was so amazed. He bent over at the waist and started taking deep breaths like he was gonna pass out. He said it was like I had just told him he was adopted.

Madeleine Peyroux's "Careless Love"
I wish Billie Holiday would release another album...Oh good, here's this!

Rachael Yamagata's "Happenstance"
I wish Fiona Apple would release another album...Oh good, here's this!

Speaking of, Fiona Apple's new song "Extraordinary Machine" is extraordinary.
What the hell is wrong with Sony? Hey Sony: Release this Album!

Moving into the new building.
One big happy.

Karl
You know what I'm talking about.

Brian Wilson's "SMiLE"
This made me really, really happy.

The three of us finishing off a Crave Case on the way back from Jacoby's on the night that Stirling sang "Rocks Off" with us.
Oh, by the way: the van still smells like White Castle died in there.

Steve Bekkala.
Although he takes a lot of shit for being "Steve Version 2.0" and being a world adventurer and "The Kid" but he's brought a new spirit and a new spark to the band. Big ups, buddy.

Dan Trenz.
Brought some mad skills to the table. AMGRadio!!!

Faces' "Five Guys Walk Into a Bar..."
"There has never been a better box set than the Faces' Five Guys Walk into a Bar.... There has never been a box that captures an artist so perfectly, nor has a box set taken greater advantage of unreleased and rare material, to the point where it seems as essential and vital as the released recordings. Simply put, there's never been a box set as necessary as this, since it tells the band's entire tale and explains exactly what the fuss is all about." - Tom Erlewine

Homestarrunner
Best show on not TV.

Sloan's "Action Pact"
This album made me so glad to be in a band.

Charisma Carpenter taking off all of her clothes.
Warning: if you click on this link, you will see boobies.
If you are somewhere where you are discouraged from looking at boobies, you should probably not click on this link.
If you have never seen boobies before...well..this is actually a pretty good place to start.

Mozilla's Firefox
Lo, I am converted. Get it now.

Our pal Joyce lost a million pounds.
She seriously dropped like "A Jockey's Worth" of weight.

Watching Tennis.
Dunno why, this year we just got into it. I can assure you Maria Sharapova had nuthin' to do with it.

Google
Doin' it right, and busting out new stuff all the time.

Lee Morgan's "The Rumproller"
aw, Hells yeah.

Digital cameras
I took a lotta Pictures this year.

Havilland and Flatfoot
We played with a lot of bands this year, but Flatfoot and Havilland are blood brothers.

Points of Ellipsis
My favorite punctuation...It's just so...I dunno...conversational? Anyway...

Pals (The Lattice)
Much love. Ferreal.



Goofus:

The political heebie jeebies that took over my life for about three months this fall.
Christ, what was that about?

People moving away.
J+K, S+S, Blank00, I'm looking in your directions.

Slobberbone broke up.
Dragsville.

Stupid War.
Fer nuthin.

My Grandad died.
Best: He worked for GTE for most of his life and one of his jobs was dealing with small companies who wanted to expand and he would fly in and get their telecom and any A/V stuff they needed up to speed. Well, one of his jobs in the early Seventies was to help this little community access television company called Children's Television Workshop in New York because they were going to be doing a national show called "Sesame Street." So he goes out there and does his thing, working with Jim Henson and everything, and when he came back his only comment was "Not a one of them took a shower, and they all smelled like DOPE!" Sorely missed.

Firefly Movie pushed back to September 2005.
Universal, you punks.

The Michigan Quarter
"Hey, let's put The State on there!" "Hey, Great thinking!"
Morons.

Dog poop.
C'mon, who could really be for dog poop.

Radio
Eh, I kinda went off on this a couple days ago.

Tara Reid's boob
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of boobs...maybe the biggest, but I never need to see this boob again.



Completely Indifferent:

Paris Hilton
It may be cliché, but man oh man do I find that hawk-faced alien woman to be not attractive.

Movies
I can't think of one movie that I really, really enjoyed this year. C'mon Wes Anderson, don't let me down.

TV
See "Movies"

Janet Jackson's boob.
"My child saw a brief glimpse of a human breast on national television, and now the world is slowly grinding to a halt."

That guy who made up stuff for that one newspaper.
Who cares. Just fire him, it's not a national tragedy.

Sports.
Meh...

Steriod use in Sports.
See "Sports"

The Olympics.
NBC totally dumbed it down for the ADD crowd, and our CBC station never has any sound.

The media hype surrounding Scott Peterson killing his wife.
Do you know how many people get killed in Detroit every day?

Scissor Sisters, Franz Ferdinand, Rilo Kiley, !!!, The Arcade Fire, Deerhoof, The Fiery Furnaces, The Hives, The Killers, The Walkmen, The Secret Machines, The Streets, Kanye West, Gretchen Wilson, Interpol.
Meh...

Awesomest Awesome of the Day!

This Video is Tommy Seebach and the Seebach Band, from 1977, doing “Apache/Bubblesex.”
Looks best in Full-Screen mode, and it's pretty quiiet, so you gotta turn it up.


He's like the European Doug Henning.

::

New AMGer added to the Blogroll: Katy Zinn.
Note: not technically a blog.

::

One of the DataWhat Ministers of Informnation put together this Fart-tastic X-mas greeting.
Keep it clean please.

::

PJ and I were transfixed by this game Sober Santa.
Santa's up on the rooftop and keeps drinking champagne and getting drunker and drunker and nearly falling off, so you have to eat fruitcakes to stay upright.

::

Keeping with today's theme of farting, Santas and music, Here are farting Santas set to music.
Don't say I never got you nuthin.

::



::

Holy Mackerel!
Not to blush like a schoolgirl, but we've been bumped up to Whatevs.org's "Creme de la Creme" status!
I'd like to thank the Academy, and all the people in the back, you're the real fans!

::

Thanks Joy
Thanks David
Thanks PJ
Thanks Rob

Remember how you were wishing there was a place to read Steve Perry fan fiction?
Now there is.

::


Go little guy!

::

A little Christmas present from Google: Google Suggest.
As you type in a search, it makes suggestions and tries to complete the word you might be looking for. Quite cool.

::

Funny Flash Snowglobe.
Whoop! There they go!

::

Very funny commercial.
need sound, has cuss words.

::


It's a Festivus Miracle!

::

Thanks Dadid
Thanks Earl
Thanks Katy
Thanks David
Thanks Paul

A brilliant photo collection of Kids who are terrified of Santa

uh...I'm an adult and I'm scared of that Santa...

::

January 23rd at the Old Town:
Greg McIntosh of The Victrolas will be playing at 8pm at the Old Town on January 23rd.
With Eric Kelly.


Also, Tim Monger has put two new songs on his website. One Christmas Song, one Remix of "Metroparks."
If "Airstream" doesn't work, you can maybe find it Here:


Also also, the Great Lakes Myth Society has a new website.
Looks good, me boyos.

::

The Flaming Lips were on Austin City Limits this week.
and I missed it.

::

A drunk was proudly showing off his new apartment to a couple of his friends late one night. When they made it to the bedroom, they saw a big brass gong next to the bed.

"What's a big brass gong doing in your bedroom?" one of the guests asked.

"It's not a gong. It's a talking clock," the drunk replied.

"A talking clock? Seriously?" asked his astonished friend.

"Yup," replied the drunk.

"How's it work?" the friend asked, squinting at it.

"Watch," the drunk replied. He picked up the mallet, gave the gong an ear-shattering whack, and stepped back. The three stood looking at one another for a moment.

Suddenly, someone on the other side of the wall screamed, "You idiot! It's ten past three in the morning!"

::

Hey! What the hell is this?!? Cows are getting to drink Beer on the job! And I'm not!
Lucky cows.

::

Reuters Pictures of the Year 2004.


this one ain't in there...

::

Thanks Goody
Thanks Rob
Thanks Joy
Thanks Chris

Last minute gift wrapping?


I'm particularly fond of the Turtle with the blender on his back.

::

Nice website fetishizing different brands of blank tape:
Mmmm...the TEAC Cobalt Type 2 (IEC2)

::

Some really nice Data-Inspired Wallpapers.


Noice!


::

The Flaming Lips cover The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army"
"I'm going to Florida/I'm gonna cut off both my legs."

::

"'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' is completed and has been delivered to my English-language publishers,'" JK Rowling said yesterday on her Web site.
July 16th, 2005. Get in line now, dorks.

::

I've really been into this picture George took over the summer...

It's very...caring, for some reason.

Like this girl (Erin?) was just looking through rocks,   and George had his Holga,    and they were
both doing their own thing, but at the same time and right next to each other.  Maybe she didn't
even know he took her picture,   and when he did,  George kinda looked down at his camera and
smiled in that way that he does, and then advanced the film while looking around for his next shot



Thanks Dan
Thanks Rob
Nice work George

Link of the Day!
This guy has spectacular control over the Foosball table. And, obviously, his own foosball table in his parents' basement.
And, obviously, far too much time on his hands.

::


THE KNAVES!!!!

::

Jeopardy whiz Ken Jennings and I think exactly alike as This clip demonstrates:
Jennings: I'll take "tool time" for 200.
Trebek: This term for a long handled gardening tool can also mean an immoral pleasure seeker.
Jennings: What is a hoe?

::

Despite the fact that Stryper loves Jesus, I think they may be jerks.
They bailed out of a benefit concert in Mexico and refused to give back the money they received up front.

::

He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake, he knows when you are buying Christmas presents from corporations that spent a buttload of money supporting the Republican Party,
so be good for goodness sake.

::

Creepy X-mas songs:
Please Mr. Jesus is about child abuse, sung by a little girl.
A Soldier's Silent Night sounds like Wilford Brimley singing about a soldier's home.
In all honesty, I have no idea how either of them end, because my ears were so full of tears by the end...

::


KNAVES!!!!



Thanks Dadid
Thanks Paul
Thanks David
Thanks Brian
Thanks Steve

  A: He wanted to beat the crowd.

::
New Eisley album in '05.

Cute Rock!

::

Rob brings these predictions on predictions on what music will sound like in 2002 from an article written in 1979.
"I don't have any definite ideas but I have a feeling that I can only get at by describing this low budget Italian movie that I saw on TV the other night. It was real weird. There are these two bebop horn players out there blowing in this completely deserted field, and one guy, is lying on his, back and the other guy is standing on his head.

"Then, while they are playing, these spys wearing bubble sunglasses, come running in and start shooting each other, but the two horn players just keep right on playing, and finally everybody kills each other and these guys are still out there and they're playing this stuff that sounds sort of like roller derby music and then the movie just ends. Real nuts. Anyway, that's sort of how I feel about music in 2002."

::

Here is a website called MyBandGotScrewed.Com which has nothing to do with eager groupies unfortunately...
It's a forum that has the potential to be pretty good, along the lines of The Shitty Tipper Database.

::



::

The Love Shack where the B-52s wrote "Love Shack" has burned to the ground.
Insert "Hot as an Oven" joke here.

::

Richard Thompson on Pat Metheny on Kenny G.: Click on "I Agree With Pat Metheny"
Still nerdy, but put to music.

::

If you think Deep-fried Mars bars sound good, you should move to Scotland.
Or maybe even farther away, you freak.

::

By popular demand: Photos of Jessica Simpson as Daisy Duke

 
Thanks to everyone who sent this to me.



Thanks Rob
Thanks Earl
Thanks David
Thanks Brian
Thanks Mark
Thanks PJ
Thanks Steve

OK, here's the thing that ground work to a halt today:
Identify 60 of these 72 album covers and win an iPod.

                           
                                                                              Easy                                               Considerably Harder

::

Here's a funny Ikea ad.
Put all your stuff away in Ikea furniture, otherwise, little kids will play with it.

::

What people are looking for and finding .:DataWhat?:.
interpol carlos herpes
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"carlos" + "herpes" + "interpol"
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and
rich boy undresses, hobo sucks rick boys cock

::

Pat Metheny on Kenny G.: Go Pat Go!
Remember in Junior High when obvious nerds would try to separate themselves from other nerds by saying "Who Nathan? I'm not FRIENDS with NATHAN! He's a NERD!" when it was very clear that they are both nerds, but somehow by disassociating himself from the other nerds, Geoff would feel better about himself?

Remember?

::

Finally! Anti-Masturbatory Gum!
Don't be a jerk. Buy some for your circle of friends!

::

Rolling Stone announced their People of 2004

         
Hot                                                                      Also Hot



Thanks Collar
Thanks Steve
Thanks Dan
Thanks Earl

Damn!

::

Fun little Fred Armisen movie.
He auditions for a job that requires tap dancing, completely unencumbered by any tap dancing abilities.

::

Much like Martin Luther King, last night I had a dream where AMG was a high school and Mike Burger was a phys-ed teacher who caught a 262 pound bluegill and brought it in to show everybody, and Chris Woodstra was a science teacher who wrote a paper on Bell Peppers and Green Peppers (but not yellow peppers) and I bluffed "Oh, yeah, I read your paper, it was great" to which he asked "Oh really, what was the paper about" and I floundered around through all of my Trapper Keeper folders looking for his published scholarly paper about peppers like the Secretary in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" "uhmmm..ermm....." and finally I couldn't present it and Chris Woodstra realized I was fulla shit.

::

Chicago Sara Hall has posted a charming list of Why a Woman should be President.
2. Her Cabinet would be cedar-lined.

::

Here's where I complain about the radio:

New Strongbad E-mail where he makes fun of everything on the radio.
This is so funny, because as Penny can attest, any time on college radio when it is quiet, I just chant "Dead Air Dead Air Dead Air" over and over again until they start talking again...yep. She's still married to me for some reason.


Also, back before I was staying out until four in the morning as a rock and roll musician (and before Paul decided to have babies and Goody decided to have a dog), Paul and Goody and I thought it would be a cool idea to stay up until four in the morning as WCBN DJs. Our plan was seamless: We would all three of us go on air and just play whatever we wanted, and if one of us was sick or unable to make it, the other two would just pick up the slack. So we went in and went through the "Orientation" (please notice the quotes) and then all of the sudden, in the middle of "Orientation" the current on-air DJ bedraggled himself out of the booth and said to the Station Manager(?)/Orientation Leader(?) "Hey man, I know Jason's supposed to start his shift, but he's not here so I gotta split" and the lady giving us orientation (which was sorta funny because she was explaining what Vinyl was to Paul who was well into his mid-prime Thirties at this point, and also Paul and Goody had both had their own radio stations in college, so "orientation" was a little bit presumptious to everyone in the room except me)...so that lady said "Oh, OK. So you guys will get a crash course in how to do a radio show." So we walk into the booth where some indie hit is still playing, and the girl pushes the "On Air" button and says 'Ok" (in a real hushed voice, picture) "OK, now we're gonna hear some more music..." and, my hand to God, without looking she reaches behind her in the stacks and pulls out a CD and puts it in, cueing it up to song 8 or whatever and pushes "play" and it turns out to be a 13 minute long Cambodian funeral march, sung in solo voice by one woman. So this song is mournfully wailing away over the airwaves, and she kinda turns around back to us, straightens her outfit kinda like "CRISIS AVERTED" and "WHEW!" continues the tour. It was at that moment that I realized "Aha! This is why nobody listens to WCBN:" Nine times out of ten, whomever is on the air has just reached behind them and grabbed whatever came into their hand and put it on the air...including Cambodian Death March CDs.

The only legit exception to this is Sean's show, which is always full of Zappa-esque zany goodness, and quite possibly Wade's show, which is probably good but I never get to hear it. Also, and I am remiss to have not thought of this sooner, but The Down Home Show usually brings the countrified goods. Nice work Jim.

P.S. The local Show is totally unlistenable. Seriously. Look back through all of the past year's previous playlists and if you see a week with a non-Fred Thomas or His Name Is Alive-related song on there, I'll buy you a beer.
Believe you me, nuthin' agin' Fred, SLGTM, or Warren, but Hey Mr. DJ, there's gotta be other music out there!

Another goddamn P.S: Right now it is 10:00 on a Wednesday night during the "Local" show and they are playing Ben Gibbard songs and other non-local music. Noice!


Also! memo: stop posting while drunk

In my house I really only get one radio station: Through my TV, through my amp, through my kitchen appliances, everywhere: I just get this Clear Channel Ann Arbor "A3" station. So every morning when I wake up, this is the station that I hear on my clock radio. And more often than not they're playing a Sheryl Crow song. No Shit!

So in the interest of Data, I started keeping a log:

Monday       10.25.2004    6:46    "The First Cut is the Deepest"
Wednesday 10.27.2004    6:46    "Soak Up The Sun"
Friday          10.29.2004    6:46    "Every Day is a Winding Road"
Monday       11.08.2004    6:46    "Soak Up The Sun"
Friday          11.26.2004    6:46    "Every Day is a Winding Road"
Wednesday 12.01.2004    6:46    "The First Cut is the Deepest"
Tuesday      12.14.2004    6:46    "Every Day is a Winding Road"

There were probaly more, but I'm usually mostly asleep, but those seven days alone are bullshit.

::

OK, so I promised on Day 1 "No Rants' but I lied, so here is a picture of a guy whose family got killed by Ninjas:

I hear ya, brother...

::

Thanks David
Thanks Rob
Thanks Sara
Thanks Chris

Hoo boy... This little instructional video about sexual harassment seems legit....for a while.
Then when the lady says that the copy room "smells like vagina" you start to suspect that it may be just for joking and funny.

::

I'm really into this bridge:


::

Lock up the nice Jewish girls: Mark Deming has a blog.
Anticipate music and musings.

::

Looks like the U of M library and Google are joining forces to make some kind of super data robot.
Like Voltron with glasses on.

::

This guy is really really excited to be on The Price is Right.
or possibly on really really good drugs.

::

at the ARK:

HEM
w/sg David Mead and Dawn Landes
Wednesday, January 19, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $13.50

::

I often ask myself "How well do I know Penny?" How well do you know Penny?
I could pick her out of a crowd, just so's you know...

::

Hey look: a book called Data Quality: The Accuracy Dimension!
and Christmas is coming up...

::


where is that confounded bridge?



Thanks Dadid
Thanks Aaron
Thanks Rob
Thanks Paul
Thanks Steve
Thanks Goody
Thanks Exquisite Dead Guy

.:DataWhat?:.

::

Semi-creepy cartoon skeletons like Hello Kitty and Barney Rubble.
What? No Spongebob?

::

If you like seeing fish driving cars, you'll love this commercial.

::

Hey Client Services, here is a movie with a guy streaking by a reporter and farting.
I don't care what grade you're in: Farts Are Awesome!!!!

::

Hey former Tower employees, anyone remember a guy named David Kube who used to leave these long Xeroxed typewritten manifestos on the CD racks? 'Member how he would talk about how he was implanted with the "Freddy Kruger Device" and that managers at Burger King should be treated as war criminals? He is still out there:
Anyone who is curious can search around here:

I still have all of those leaflets and am planning on giving copies to Davy Rothbart at this Wednesday's Found Magazine event at Henrietta Fahrenheit at 8pm.
Get there!

::

Attention Creeps:
If you ever wanted to hear a Children's Choir singing the Divinyls' "I Touch Myself" Here you go:
Was this a special project for health class or what?

::

Homemade iPod ad using the Darling Buds' "Tiny Machine"

This is pretty interesting because savvy companies could create these homemade viral ads
and pass them around the 'net without ever getting permission from the band or label.

::

Thanks Earl
Thanks Dadid
Thanks Goody

Whoa... For the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing is going to build something called a Watercube.
Looks weird...good weird.

::

Trailer for the Tim Burton Willie Wonka movie.
Looks weird...good weird.

::

Very nice cards you can hand to people who are talking too loud on their cell phone:

Available in pdf for easy printing.

::

To the guy who keeps Googling "Scarlett Johansson + Headphones" and getting DataWhat:
Here are three photos for you:

There may be some more among the 8346 Scarlett Johansson pictures on this site...

There certainly aren't any at this site, but I may need to go back and check a couple times...

Oh and here's a short clip of her from A Love Song for Bobby Long...I think...aw it doesn't really matter does it?

Enjoy

::

PJ found this awesome Transformer Car commercial:
I want one...

::


Coulda used one of these this week.



Thanks Dadid
Thanks Earl
Thanks Rob
Thanks PJ

Dimebag Darrell from Pantera?
He's D.Y.K.

::


blowin' up Dig-Dug style

::

Gahiji Ngozi, a 22-year-old craftsman, speaks for the entire Mandinkan tribe when he says,
"Worshipping Salma Hayek's breasts has added meaning, direction and wonder to my life."
Can I get an amen?

::

Steve Albini extolling the virtues of Peavy amplifiers in a cheesy Italian Accent:

I like the way these Peavey company runs herself.

In these 1990s, when these live music begins to die, and these Peavey, she no make sell no many amplificatore, these Hartley Peavey, he make no reduce to the staff! He say, okay, you of the consruzzione d'amplificatore, you are no today to make amplificatora we can no sell! Today to replace roof! And you, of the hideous chitarra-bassa, you no make her today! You are to cut all of these grass on beautiful Peavey compound. So nobody to lose job! Is so cool!

I like that these produtti di Peavey they will work forever. This is so cool thing for young musician with the no even little money. So cool thing. And can wail away in these basement in Missoula, Montana or Dallas or Palatine. So cool to wail.

But is no so cool for the sound. And no so cool for money for Repubblicani.

Except, I like very much these T40 bass! I use her many times, and is cool! So heavy, like the lead metal. So cool the bridge. So ugly the logo.

Also, I no hate these Mark II, Mark III, Mark IV bass amplifier. Can be no so bad.

Also, these steel-chitarra player di Nashville, they are all to love these Peavey combo. I no like, but to them, is "the sound." Okay, okay. Maybe you know something old man, maybe you do. Me, I no like, but you can hear it and be "I love it the Peavey!" so okay.

Anything made the Peavey, if you find her today, even bury in landfill, you can plug her, and throw switch -- she will come on! She will make sound! She will sound bad, but who cares! You can wail with her! So cool!
_________________

steve albini
Electrical Audio

::

A little Borat Movie.
"He will crush his opponent."

::

Lonely whale singing his song on the high seas...
Reminds me of a book I read.

::

"Hey, have you seen that new VT-16?"

"They say it's...quite a thing to see..."

::

Thanks Mark
Thanks Chris
Thanks Collar
Thanks Rob
Thanks Dadid
Thanks Ryan

                                          Best

::

Married Women Who Will Probably Not Hyphenate Their Last Names.
Call me old-fashioned, but Roberta Butts-McKracken has a lovely ring to it...kinda like Julie Dick-Fudge.

::

Dadid brings this Music Map website back around.
Potentially interesting.

::

Drunken Shoutouts.
Sound files from drunken answering machine messages.


and they provide you with a business card you can keep with you at all times...


::

More shots of Natalie Portman from "Closer."
and closer...and closer...

::

Thanks Dadid
Thanks David
Thanks Whatevs.org
Thanks Lee
Thanks Brendan

Lost Frog flyer.
"I'll find my frog..."

::


Only got one channel and they're makin' it clear.
They're not playin' anything I wanna hear

::

If you've ever thought about putting a fireworks rocket betwixt your ass cheeks and then lighting it, let these photos be a lesson to you.
I know, I know, you were planning on doing that for New Year's Eve. You don't have to thank me...

::

It was a hot day in Minnesota. Helga hung the wash out to dry, put a roast in the oven, then went downstairs to pick up some dry cleaning.

"Gootness, it's hot," she mused to herself as she walked down Main street.

She passed by a tavern and thought, "Vy nodt?" so she walked in and took a seat at the bar.

The bartender came up and asked her what she would like to drink.

"Ya know," Helga said, "it is so hot I tink I'll have myself zee cold beer.."

The bartender asked, "Anheuser Busch?"

Helga blushed and replied "Vell fine, tanks, und how's yer pecker?

::

A little cute for .:DataWhat?:. but here is a hippo and a dog singing The Tokens' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" now's your chance.
...quite possibly from Nick Park's Aardman Studios(?).

::

George Bush dressed up as a Wise Man?
Oh, I get it. It's a wax figure.

::



::

Thanks Dan
Thanks Perry
Thanks Chris
Thanks Earl
Thanks Darren "Skinny" McKinney

Butter Fi

::

These nitwits called the cops when somebody stole their weed.
Aw, man...and we were gonna sell that too!

::

In case you didn't know, DJ Dangermouse put together a Mash-Up of The Beatles' White Album and Jay-Z's Black Album and made The Grey Album. Now some crafty souls have taken elements of the film "A Hard Day's Night" and some Jay-Z video footage and made a Grey Video.
Plus you get to see John Lennon breakdancing.

::

Three girls all worked in the same office with the same female boss.

Each day, they noticed the boss left work early. One day the girls decided that, when the boss left, they would leave right behind her. After all, she never called or came back to work, so how would she know they went home early?

The brunette was thrilled to be home early. She did a little gardening, spent playtime with her son, and went to bed early.

The redhead was elated to be able to get in a quick workout at the spa before meeting a dinner date.

The blonde was happy to get home early and surprise her husband, but when she got to her bedroom, she heard a muffled noise from inside. Slowly and quietly, she cracked open the door and was mortified to see her husband in bed with her lady boss!

Gently, she closed the door and crept out of her house.

The next day, at their coffee break, the brunette and redhead planned to leave early again, and they asked the blonde if she was going to go with them.

"No way!" the blonde exclaimed. "I almost got caught yesterday."

::

How can this not warm the cockles of your heart? The Boobies For Peace Advent Calendar!
While 23 is vaguely disturbing and 8 is overtly erotic, 25 is a whole lotta fun.

::

Unfounded Rumor: Hem may be playing at the Ark on January 18th.
So sayeth Jim Manheim

::

While obvoiusly the joke is the guy with the "I Beat Anorexia" t-shirt on, Lee and I were always way more into the guy on the right...

Mebbe he ate all that butter?

::

Thanks Dan
Thanks David
Thanks Rachel
Thanks Jim
Thanks Chris
Thanks Earl

Hilarious Thing Of The Day:
This bout of photoshopping this poor woman on a motorcycle had me nearly in tears.
OK, the first two are sort of borderline embarassing/funny, but when it gets into the photoshopping in airplanes and Bubb Rubb's head it gets downright hilarious.

::



::

Big excitement in Tree Town:
a mediocre "musician" and a girl with horrifying boobs were in Ann Arbor last night.
And I feel just like Jimmy Olsen.

::

Carlos from Interpol has herpes. And someone has a blog about these herpes apparently.
P.S. there's rumors on the innernets.

::

Singer/Songwriter Kevin Coyne?
He's D.Y.K.

::

New website set up for the Elbow Room Tribute Night events that happen monthly.
April 28, 2005: Smashing Pumpkins. Mr. Bekkala, I'm looking in your direction...do it up McRorie stylee.

::



Geez, Mark...

::

Thanks Sean
Thanks Rob
Thanks Whatevs.org
Thanks Ryan

Does whatever a spider can...

...including grossing me out.

::

Witness: Don Stroud's movie career.
featuring photos of Stroud as the psycho murderer and rapist Lep in Death Weekend.

::
Silly little flash movie about the End of the World.
"About that time chap?".."Righto"

::

U2/Negativland iPod available on eBay
Yeah! That'll Show 'Em!

::

"Blog" is the word of the year according to Merriam-Webster's editors.
With "self-centerd dork" following closely behind.

::

Local bands: Radio Fever wants YOU!
It's in the mail, fellas.

::

I put my pants on one leg at a time,

but when they're on, I make gold records.

::

Thanks Collar
Thanks Rob
Thanks Goody
Thanks Ryan
Thanks Dadid

Slobberbone is breaking up.
everything you thought was right was wrong today

::

Please sit down.
Take two minutes.
Now watch this trailer for Dubya's life story as performed by Don Knotts.
"That's my Grandfather, and that's my Father. They handed me a great name! ...and I failed..."

::



::

Nice prank Yale pulled on those Harvard rubes.
Ha ha Harvard, you're so stupid.

::

Here's a whole society of guys who like to wear female masks and dress up in sexy outfits.
What? What? Hey, Squares: Expand Your Minds! sheesh.

::

Arch nemesis of McRorie, the One Man Band: here's some French guy with a bunch of bike horns.
Honky.

::

Those South Park yay-hoos wrote a song called America: Fuck Yeah! which is pretty effin' great.
Now it has been set to images, highlighting the Patriotism all the more.
"McDonalds, Wal-mart, the Gap, Baseball, NFL, Rock and Roll, the Internet, Slavery, F@#k yeah, f@#k yeah!"

::


I'm really into this Skyline Chili from my grocer's freezer...

::

A little Song for Daisy from Rob.
sung by Hal, the computer in 2001.

::

Thanks Lee
Thanks Dadid
Thanks Rob
Thanks David
Thanks Brian
Thanks Steve