The Wendell August Forge has been in Grove City since sometime in the 1930s and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It caught fire today. I haven’t heard what the cause was yet but the associated press released that it’s “thought to have started in the workshop, where lacquer was sprayed on bronze pieces.”

A few of us walked down and they let us get fairly close to the scene. The fire was under control but still going pretty strong when we got there. Jonathan Durfee got some pictures.

But whatever first led me to his site, I was immediately hooked on the style and quality of the pieces I found there. Whimsical and surreal with a touch of the dark, some of the pieces send a shiver down your spine even as you’re smiling at how cute they are. I love this kind of stuff.

What really caught me though was the quality, and that’s why I keep going back to see more. If you browse around deviantArt you’ll find an abundance of artists “going for” this style, but it’s rare to see it done so well. Yang’s work is impressively clean and reveals a great amount of skill.

I definitely need to get some of this on my walls one day.

You can check out Yang’s website suckatlife.com (because we all suck at life… well, sometimes) for his online store, gallery and blog.

I also enjoy following it’s counterpart blow at life where he posts a photo a day of whatever he’s working on at the moment.

So go check it out already. It’s good stuff. You’ll be glad you did.

First, I have to say that this band is always fun to play with. The night previous to the show we managed to get three guitars, three percussionists rotating around a kit, bongos, and a tambourine, and even a saxophone. So much fun, even if it was cut short by a noise complaint or two…

Aevory Nash has gone through several changes in line-up, but the two constants are singer/songwriter Brian Campbell who also plays rhythm guitar and occasionally piano, and Dan Van Matre, a young lead guitarist who’s one of the most gifted individuals I’ve had the fortune of sharing a stage with.

Dan had told me before the show that Aevory Nash’s sound had changed drastically since the last time I had heard them. It had, and I was thrilled.

The old sound was good, but it wasn’t the sort of thing I’d play night after night. It was light, “chill,” and had that sort of sound that felt acoustic despite being a full band.

Dan described the new sound (a little tongue in cheek) as “passionate eclectic indie alternative rock.” I’d describe it as “full.” That was the key for me. Brian’s lyrics were just as creative and engaging, but here was a band that felt more mature, that was doing a better job at taking advantage of it’s member’s talent. They new sound was stronger, and bigger. What had entertained before now felt like it hit you. What had been “well done” and “creative” was now “compelling” and “exciting.”

I’m a person who loves stories. I love knowing about the people behind the music I enjoy and few things give me more joy than seeing a band evolve, grow and really “come into it’s own.” Aevory Nash has certainly been in that place lately, and I look forward to the next time I can catch them live.

To pre-order Aevory Nashes upcoming EP “We Could Be Lovers… Or Friends” check them out at http://aevorynash.bigcartel.com/

Now I love most music, and can usually appreciate and enjoy most music even if I’m not exactly crazy about it. But every once in a while I run into a band that absolutely floors me and I can’t stop listening. Freelance Whales has done that.

These guys have a sound that is truly unique and just plain fun. And good. I understand the tendency to equate “creative, fun, unknown band” with “had a cool idea but not much talent.” Trust me, this is quality music that will have you catching yourself closing your eyes and bobbing your head in public places. Add some of the best writing, lyrically, that I’ve heard from a new band in a while, and you’ve got a great album.

How to describe their sound… Imagine if you could combine Modest Mouse (okay, that’s pretty vague I know, think songs like Float On and Missed the Boat) with Death Cab. Yeah, that good.

So go to their MySpace. Do it now. Every song on it is a hit. I mean that. My personal favorite is “Hannah,” and I was tempted to tell you to start there. Don’t do it. “Generator” is one of the best “track 1″s out there, and when you get to the end and finish up with “Great Estates…” Don’t be shocked if you feel a burning need to play it again.

Since then I’ve kept up with the band and their sound has really grown into something excellent. It’s original and very rich musically while still being accessible. I’m listening to a demo CD of some of the tracks they’ve newly recorded right now and it’s great, just great. You can hear a few of them on there myspace here:

http://www.myspace.com/recession

I especially love that “Lose Your Head” is finally among the songs available online. It’s one of their older songs now, but it’s always been a favorite of mine at their shows. And the next online track, “Contagious” well… let’s just say you’ll be hitting repeat the second it’s done.

Anyway, I had meant to write a review of the band for an older site that’s no longer really living. Shamefully, it never went up, and now seems like a great time to remedy that, because there’s every indication that the band will be making some major moves soon.

Guitarist Brian Schultz told me recently that they had sent off a few tracks to LA to be mixed and promoted by Bernd Bergdorf, who’s worked with Green Day, Pink, Spearhead, Tom Waits, The Bangles, and even my personal hero’s the Brian Jonestown Massacre.

The name’s they’ve been sharing stage with have gotten increasingly impressive as of late as well. Among the one’s that have stood out to me are Love Drug, Mae, Plain White Ts, and Augustana. (I was lucky enough to make the night with Augustana. That was a hell of a show.)

Also, at the very moment I write this, several major labels are browsing through recessions online catalog and presence. This is a band with a great sound that’s really starting to catch some attention… I can’t help but anticipate big things in the near future. Keep an eye out for these guys.

(Oh, and while you’re on their myspace, feel free to post and tell them that they ought to get a recording of “Meant To Shine” up already. That song kicks.)

It’s basically a primer on cognitive neuroscience.  Trust me, that kind of thing is actually fun to read if it’s well written.  Most chapters actually include some easy try-at-home experiments that demonstrate interesting little things about how your mind works.  One of the coolest ones I’ve come across so far is the McGurk effect.

To experience the McGurk effect, scroll down and watch the video of the dirty looking white guy at the bottom of this post.  Listen to what he’s saying.  Make sure you watch him as you do this.  What sound is he making?

Most people hear “Da Da” when they watch this video.  A couple times I’ve also heard people tell me it sounds like “La Da.”

Now close your eyes or look away and listen without being able to see the video.  You can now hear him very clearly saying “Ba Ba.”  What’s going on?

In reality, our dirty white guy here was filmed saying “Ga Ga” but the audio that goes along with the video is of him saying “Ba Ba.”  Your eyes and your ears are giving you conflicting signals so your mind interprets them as a sound that can make sense of (for the most part) both sources of input.  The wild thing is that now, even though you know he’s saying “Ba Ba” you can still only hear “Da Da” when you’re watching his mouth, no matter how hard you try to hear the correct sound!

It’s a really cool reminder that the “sounds” we hear are not actually floating around out there.  It’s just the way that our mind interprets vibrations picked up by our ear drums, and obviously it takes more than one sense into account.

Pretty cool.

Now I’m off to go buy a Titanium Spork.  What in the world could I ever need a Titanium Spork for?

…

…quit asking stupid questions.

We’ve all most likely heard this phrase at some point.  It’s a proverbial sounding way to say that beauty is a subjective quality.  That the only true standard for beauty is that the observer finds the object to be beautiful.  Something might be beautiful to me but not to you.

Because there are always differing opinions on things, it’s natural to assume that something like beauty is a subjective quality.  This is especially true in our modern “everyone is right” society in which it’s taboo to say that any opinion can be wrong.  But is beauty really solely in the eye of the beholder?  If you and I look at the same thing, and one of us finds it beautiful and the other doesn’t, are we both right?  Or is one of us missing out.

I’ve thrown this question around on a few forums and discussed it with some friends.  It seems that most people want to answer that yes, beauty is subjective.  They usually then wind up siting something that they find beautiful that other people may not.  When the question is phrased differently though, opinions tend to change.

Think of something specific that you find incredibly beautiful.  A person, a work of art, something in nature, an emotion, a past experience, anything that is, in your opinion, one of the most beautiful things in the world.  Got it?  Good.

Now tell me this.  If you were the only one on earth who thought that was beautiful, would it still be beautiful?  Most people answet that question with “of course.”  But how about this one.  What if no one, including you, thought it was beautiful?  Nothing has changed about the object or experience, it still has all those same qualities that have made you choose it as something beautiful.  The only thing that’s different is that no one, not even you, holds the opinion that it is beautiful.  Now, at this point, is it still beautiful?  Does it retain that beauty that you’ve ascribed to it even if no one believes it?

Interestingly, most people, the same people who at first thought beauty was subjective, will answer yes to that last question.  Something inside us is not willing to believe that the things we find beautiful would lose their beauty if they went unrecognized.  Now, if we believe that, then we have to believe that beauty comes from somewhere other than our own opinions.  Something about that beautiful object must make it beautiful.  This means that beauty must be a concrete objective quality which has standards.  Otherwise, if beauty is simply rooted in opinion, then an object cannot be beautiful without some person there to think it’s beautiful.  It has no actual beauty, nothing does.

So logic takes me to a point where I have to believe that beauty is either an objective quality… or it simply doesn’t exist.  It’s just an illusion of perception.  I have a hard time believing that an idea that has played a major role in society since before written history isn’t based in some sort of truth.  That, and as someone with a passion for art I’m rather obligated to believe in beauty. ; )

So I’ve arrived at this idea that there are concrete standards for beauty.  What are they?  I’m not sure to be honest.  I’ve got some ideas, but not a workable definition that hasn’t fallen apart yet.  I think I’ll throw a few more posts on this topic if I come across any interesting in my little quest for a standard.  I’d also love to see your comments.  And while I feel pretty convinced about the whole objective/subjective thing, I won’t stick to my guns without reason.  I want to hear if you agree or not.

As a self confessed Third Eye Blind fanatic (if I had to choose a favorite band of all time…) and a lover of all things “90s alt rock” I haven’t been on this much of a musical high since the 2006 re-release of Slow Motion with the full lyrics intact.

Third Eye Blind’s new album “Ursa Major” is slated to come out this spring sometime, but 5 days ago (that’s the 18th folks) they release a digital-only EP “Red Star.”  You can stream the album from the band’s MySpace.  It includes the three brand new songs: Red Star, Why Can’t You Be, and NonDairy Creamer.  Music reviews are not my forte, this is not one.  I just felt a need to do a quick little spotlight on this release because it’s got me more excited then I’ve been in a long time.

If I wasn’t excited enough about Ursa Major already, Red Star has done the trick.  Listening to the EP makes me feel like the 90s is coming back.  With so many artists trying to re-invent themselves to keep up with trends today, it’s great to hear 3eb sounding like themselves.  The song Red Star especially takes you back to their first two albums and really embodies they feel that the band has always embraced. 

Why Can’t You Be has the remarkable ability to make me laugh and bring a tear to my eye in the same 5 minute time span.  In part because it’s recorded live for the EP and begins with the deep philosophical words of Stephan Jenkins “…but I’m drunk!” Why Can’t You Be seems at first to have a deceptively light tone.  Then you really start to hear the lyrics and you realize “oh man… any one who’s ever been in a relationship is gonna feel this somewhere deep.”  And suddenly the line “a water massager’s the purest love I’ve ever known” doesn’t just make you laugh… it makes you wonder if it might not hold some truth.

NonDairy Creamer is downright fun to listen to, and is the kind of song I’ll wind up singing in the shower.  It takes a bold stab at some of the issues we deal with in today’s crazy world, treating our media and politicians to heaping helping of satire.  After the song apparently raised some controversy on Stereogum, Stephan Jenkins commented on the song.

“The great thing about music is that it brings all types of people together, and I remain astonished at the capacity of lyrics to move things. Don’t know why 3eb’s lyrics have been so controversial in the past — they are about as racy as your current novel. Most importantly, I continue to be inspired by our audience, which is mostly college kids. While we as a band try to move past politics, I personally had been on the campaign trail in a grass roots fashion for many months supporting Obama, which leads me to this song.

“In regards to “Non-Dairy Creamer,” indeed humor is the intent, both musically and lyrically. I’ve felt provoked and poisoned by our politics and culture in the last few years. I wanted to amplify that provocation with some irony and take a knock at some of these fear-based phrases like “threat level orange.” All kinds of hypocrisy in current headlines then popped into my head and I rhymed em. I meant for it to be a hoot (though I know it has some teeth). Bombastic humor being the balm to move past a pretty nasty period.“

The EP’s been out almost a week now, but even a day after it’s release it had already made it to the ears of countless fans.  Jenkins had this to say on the Third Eye Blind’s MySpace blog:

“I am totally freaked out at how many people are finding and listening to these songs. There’s a line in the song Red Star “the system shut us down now, we find each other in the underground”. There’s also a line in Non-Dairy Creamer that says “I sincerely want to thank you all for listening… I thank you all.” That’s what I have to say today. I’m currently nursing a sore throat which I hope will be gone by this Friday in New Orleans and I’m in the studio today trying to finish songs for Ursa Major. I have tingles going up the back of my neck today, and it came from you guys.“

Again, I can’t even describe how much hearing 3eb back and sounding like themselves puts me on cloud nine.  Can’t wait for Ursa Major.  I’m gonna go rock out to Wounded now.  Peace.

The video game industry suffers from a surprising lack of celebrities.  It’s a little odd when you think about it.  Games nowadays are becoming every bit as much an art form as films and some cult classics have fan-bases large enough to be capable of subjugating a small country.  So it’s surprising we don’t see as much developer buzz as you might expect.  Of course everyone knows who Shigeru Miyamoto is, and Spore fans will know Will Wright just like Fable fans will recognize Peter Molyneux.  But even though a God of War junkie might know all about David Jaffe, would they recognize the name of combat designer Jason “Shirts” de Heras who’s working on the God of War 3 right now?  Chances are they wouldn’t.

Sexy Videogame Developerland is the brainchild of Leigh Alexander, news director at Gamasutra.  (Check out her personal blog Sexy Videogameland.)  It’s an interesting little project that encourages video game industry professionals to submit little blurbs/bios/fun facts about themselves.  The goal isn’t to create some comprehensive database of developers, but simply to give readers a look at some of the people responsible for putting together the games they love.

SVGDL, now up and running with nine developer bios, takes a relaxed and humorous look inside the video game industry.  If you’re a video game junkie like myself you need to check this out, if only to ask yourself whether Fred Zeleny of Bethesda really wears a necklace of human teeth. ; )

I was having a great discussion with a few friends the other day.  We had gotten on the topic of movies and the incredible power they have to influence our feelings and emotions.  It’s incredible really.  Think of those moments when you’ve really been drawn in to a movie.  Usually you don’t even realize it, it kind of catches you off guard.  You suddenly realize that you’ve been holding your breath for the last minute, or that you’re about to fall off the edge of your seat.  It’s wild when you think about.  We know going into a movie that we’re about to see fiction.  There’s absolutely no illusion of reality here.  We know this is fake.  So you would think it shouldn’t be able to affect us so intensely.  Yet time and time again, it does.

So we were throwing back and forth some ideas of why this might be, what it is about movies that makes us buy into them so easily.  We came up with a few intriguing ideas, and one stood out as being very interesting and potentially pretty valid.

That Guy with the Hat on VH1

I don’t know if anyone out there actually spends a significant amount of their time watching VH1′s reality shows, but there’s one running right now called “The Pick Up Artist.”  (I promise this will relate to the topic I started, just stick with me for a paragraph or two.)  The show, if you haven’t seen it, features this guy who goes by the moniker “Mystery” and is apparently the guru on picking up women.  They hand him a bunch of socially awkward 25 year old virgins and he teaches them his trade to varying degrees of success.  The show is somewhere between hilarious, pathetic and oddly voyeuristic, and I’ll admit I’ve watched more than one episode.  Some of the guys on there are the sort of car wreck you just can’t look away from.

Anyway, one of the concepts that “Mystery” introduces to his students is the idea of a “false disqualifier.”  Baiscally, in the first few mintutes of approaching a beautiful woman, they are supposed to throw in some kind of comment that disqualifies them as a “potential partner.”  It could be as simple as “you know why we’d never work? You’re way to nice for me.”  The thought is that if you can get her not to think of you as potential she won’t feel threatened by your presence, and will relax her defenses, allowing you to flirt with her.

So the that’s the concept of a “false disqualifier.”  Keep that in your mind, we’ll come back to it.  You can forget the Mystery man in the fuzzy hat.  We’re done with him.

Keeping Tabs on Reality

I have wild dreams.  I mean wild.  Long, involved, epic, intricate dreams that resemble movies written by cracked out new-age artsy types.  I remember them often too, rarely is there a night where I don’t remember at least one dream.  However, I almost never lucid dream.  (Again, I promise I’ll tie this all together at the end.  Just trust me.)

The thing is, I’ve always wanted to lucid dream.  Who wouldn’t?  Once you realize you’re dreaming you can pretty much go nuts, or even if you don’t have that “I can fly if I want” kind of control that some people have, you can at least fully appreciate the crazy things going on.

So a few weeks ago I decided to check out some literature on lucid dreaming and see if there are any techniques for inducing it, that kind of thing.  Along with a few other resources, my search led me to a site called Dream Views.  Now it didn’t take long for me to lose interest in trying to keep a dream journal and train myself to lucid dream, but there was one idea that stuck in my head.  Reality checks.

A reality check is just that, a simple assessment of whether or not what’s going on around you at any given moment is “real.”  According to the website, we do this naturally on occasion in everyday life.  Most often when we’re surprised or when things don’t make sense.  It’s as simple as thinking you heard someone say something odd and asking “wait, what?”

Dream Views reccomends training yourself to perform reality checks often as a great way to train yourself to lucid dream.  For example, if you can get used to doing things like checking your watch to make sure that the time it shows makes sense with how long it’s been since lunch, checking to see if lights work, or looking at a sign twice to make sure it still says the same thing during your everyday life, you’ll start to do it in your dreams as well.  This increases the chance that you’ll notice that something is up – like “hey, my watch says 2pm, but it’s dark out…” – and realize that you’re dreaming.

So how am I gonna relate Pick Up Artists and Lucid Dreaming to Movies?

This is the part where I exclaim “I’m so glad you asked!” even though you probably didn’t.  But here’s the basic idea.

I think the screen is sort of a false disqualifier.  When we sit down to watch a movie, we know from the get go that we’re not looking at anything real.  We don’t feel any need to make judgements about what is real and what isn’t in a movie, because we know that none of it is.  So we relax – that’s what we’re there to do after all, relax and enjoy – and we stop making reality checks.  We drop all of our defenses and open ourselves up to whatever input is shot at us.  We’re not going to actually believe the events on the screen are taking place, but while we’re watching that horror movie, we’ll let all the signals of fear, tension and anxiety right in, so that when that frightening face appears in the window we’re ready to jump out of our seats.  Or we’ll get wrapped up in that love story and accept all of the passion, desire, joy and grief that’s being flashed at us so that when x has to leave y at the end we feel almost as heartbroken as the characters.

It’s that obvious realization that everything is fake that makes us drop our gaurds.  If you look at it from that angle, its no wonder some movies can effect our emotions in such powerful ways.