Paniponi Dash! is a little of this, and a little of that, with some obvious inspiration from Azumanga Daioh. The video includes the DVD menu (because the music is fun), then the lead-in with the opening credits, the closing credits, and a trademark false preview that has nothing whatsoever to do with the next episode.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/JUN07/PaniponiDash.flv 425 240]
100 Movies on the Screen, 99 Movies …
My sister Jean has spotted a gem of a YouTube video. [Link] It’s an amateur’s take-off of the American Film Institute’s multiple lists of 100 movies. [Link] The aspect ratio is screwed up on many of the clips, but that doesn’t spoil the fun. This one may get pulled from YouTube for obvious reasons, so I’d better post it myself.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/JUN07/AFI100.flv 400 300]
Summer of Love in Monterey
There’s a lot of coverage about the 40th anniversary of the Monterey Pop Festival. NPR has a nice segment on it with Michelle Phillips and record producer Lou Adler, who was one of the organizers of the show. [Link] Although it’s funny, because there was almost nothing about the festival that was Pop music. It was, I would say, the moment that Pop music for AM radio lost its dominance. FM alternative radio would appear in cities across the U.S. in a matter of months.
Janis Joplin singing “Ball and Chain” is amazing. One highlight among many, from the Monterey Pop Festival. I checked out the offerings of “Ball and Chain” on YouTube and found all of them lacking, so I’ve made my own video transfer.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/JUN07/Monterey.flv 400 300]
Oh my goodness, look how young she was! Unbelievable. So long ago.
Something I find interesting are the parallels and differences between Big Brother and the Holding Company and the Jefferson Airplane. Both were fronted by a forceful and neurotic woman, although Janis was much more bluesy than Grace Slick, of course. The Jefferson Airplane turned political, and Joplin left her psychedelic backup band behind, which I must admit was when I lost interest in her. Play the video again. Now listen to this.
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/JUN07/IPutASpellOnYou.mp3]Hmm… what do you think?
Windows Critical Updates
Sigh. Another Tuesday with numerous critical security updates from Microsoft. If you have automatic updates enabled you probably already know this.
Apple Jungle
My friend Tom Tastewar (yes, that’s a handle) pointed out that Apple has released Beta 3 of its Safari browser for Windows. [Link] Click the thumbnail picture to enlarge a screen cap I made after installing Safari. Overall, it seems slick and smooth, although the Cleartype fonts are a bit overdone to the point of being fuzzy. Safari seems to work all right for viewing my blog, but it screws up the WordPress editor. Perhaps it’s more compatible with the latest version of WordPress, which is something I intend to install in the not distant future.
The Two Sides of Sgt. Pepper
At the moment, I’m listening to WGBH radio in Boston, which is playing “The Two Sides of Sgt. Pepper”, a documentary on the making of the album and its impact and influence, then and now. It’s pretty good, and is available for listening online. [Link]