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January 28, 2005
Skeletons + Outtakes
Despistado - Bubbles
Another great band, broken up. Despistado called it quits earlier this month, no reason given as to why. However, just like Black Eyes (mentioned just yesterday!), Despistado decided to dissolve right after recording an LP- 'The People Of and Their Verses' will be released by Jade Tree on April 5th. But, weirdly enough, this album (which is actually their debut), will be brought to the public digitally, which I suppose either means as a free download (doesn't make much sense, but would be nice), or via iTunes or some other such crazy service.
Anyway, 'Bubbles'. This song is crackling summer tension. There's a (get ready for this) maelstrom (!) of percussion that blows through the entire track, while Dagan Harding and Leif Thorseth's guitars squawk and keen with dischord. If you play this in your car in, say, mid-July or so, with the windows down and everything- you will feel like a badass. It definitely adds a sense of urgency and intrigue to even the most mundane of activities, catalyzing late-night peel-outs and risky parallel parking. Be careful with it. The rest of their EP, the Emergency Response, which you can buy here, is just as good or better at provoking reckless, humidity-drunk behavior.
This cold weather is getting to me.
Here, below, is the third part of Dan's 'Adventures in Kenya' series.
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The philosophy department here is pretty funny. I TA for a philosophy of science class that is probably the most atrocious course I have ever seen. For two weeks, the subject was the benefits and drawbacks of technology. The "technology" was the science aspect of the course, while the "benefits and drawbacks" comprised the philosophical facet. One lecture was spent on the drawbacks of cloning. One point the professor made: "if we allowed human cloning, there would be an identity crisis. Your clone might sneak into your house and start pretending to be you. Hence, cloning is bad." I suspect that this lecture was inspired by a recent viewing of Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Sixth Day".
All types of interesting folks pass through the Guest House here at the University. The latest was Frans, a 50 year old gas chromatography technician from Holland. He is fairly jovial, and humorously rotund. Or maybe the other way around. Anyway, we agreed to split a car to Lake Begoria the other day, to see it's famous flock of flamingos (pictured on some of the postcards I sent out). Well, I wake up at 6 am and walk out the door of my house. Standing in front of me is Frans, grinning from ear to ear, decked out in brand-new, full-out safari gear from head to toe, down to a khaki peacock hat. It was like staring at a continuous series of beige; he looked like he was about to shoot an elephant. Appalled, all I could muster was, "Frans, have you lost your mind?" The only explanation I could think of was that he was undergoing a fugue that momentarily instilled in him the belief that he was Teddy Roosevelt. He shrugged, "what can I say, I am unbwogable." 'Unbwogable' is the slang word popularized as of late by an oft-played radio song here. So translated, he said, "what can I say. I let the dogs out. woof, woof woof." This was a bad omen.
However, the trip was pretty good, though Frans' inquiries to our guide concerning the edibility of flamingos were taken without the necessary gravity, in my opinion. There were flamingos as far as the eye could see.
Read installments: one and two of Dan's correspondence.
Posted by matt at January 28, 2005 08:00 AM
Comments
Dear Molars, love the new motto. Very catchy. Also more teeth are always a plus. Keep running Mr. Yi's correspondence. They bring joy into the lives of so many.
Yours, C.W.
Posted by: Capt. Wogan at January 28, 2005 02:44 PM