South Korea’s First Astronaut Freaked Out by Re-entry
Posted on 21. Apr, 2008 by James in Science
On April 10th, 29-year-old South Korean bio-engineer Yi So-yeon became the country’s first astronaut. On Monday, she became the first South Korean to be scared shitless by a rough return to planet Earth.
“During descent I saw some kind of fire outside as we were going through the atmosphere,” said Yi So-yeon, a 29-year-old bioengineer. “At first I was really scared because it looked really, really hot and I thought we could burn.”
But then she said she noticed it was not even warm inside the Soyuz capsule. “I looked at the [...]
Sleepercar to Play The Tonight Show and Tour North America
Posted on 18. Apr, 2008 by James in Music, Videos
I didn’t like At the Drive-In. The Mars Volta makes me ill most of the time, and Sparta puts me to sleep. So, when I went to go see Jim Ward at this year’s SXSW with his new band Sleepercar, I wasn’t too brimming with anticipation. I ended up being very pleasantly surprised, and as it turns out, Jim’s a pretty cool guy. Sleepercar’s debut West Texas is due out on this coming Tuesday, April 22nd. If you like his aforementioned three bands, you might not be too stoked. But [...]
Video for Granite by Pendulum
Posted on 17. Apr, 2008 by James in Music
Pendulum has the rare distinction of being an electro-punk band I can get down to. This video for their song “Granite” is pretty tight, featuring footage of UFOs captured in chaotic news footage. Don’t worry. It’s not real. OR IS IT?!
“Granite” is featured on their US debut album Silico, which is due out May 12th.
Synthesis Band You’ve Never Heard of Band of the Day: Lords and Barons
Posted on 17. Apr, 2008 by James in Band of the Day, Music
On their Sonic Bids page bio, Lords and Barons simply write, “We make noise.” And they do. And it’s good.
This trio of Los Angelean rockers keep it simple with their sound, too. It’s just sloppy-good rock ‘n’ roll without excess tricks or gimmicks. The lineup is simple guitar, vocals and drums, though it sounds like they had someone playing bass on the recordings. “Sidewalks” is a fun dose of ballsy guitar-heavy pop/rock, but I really like their dirge-y, plaintive anthem “Prelude” the best so far.
Their MySpace page is pretty light [...]
Rare Swinhoe’s Turtle Found in North Vietnam
Posted on 17. Apr, 2008 by James in Science
The Swinhoe’s soft-shell turtle was believed to be extinct; however, researchers from the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo claimed they’ve found one of the rare, mythical beasts in northern Vietnam. The giant turtle is the only known specimen in the wild, though three others are in captivity — two in Chinese zoos and one that is cared for in a lake in downtown Hanoi.
“This is an incredibly important discovery because the Swinhoe’s soft-shell turtle is one of the most critically endangered species of turtle in the world,†said Doug Hendrie, the Vietnam-based [...]
California Ready to Start Executing Again
Posted on 16. Apr, 2008 by James in Apocalypse, Crime
Now that the US Supreme Court has ruled to uphold the use of lethal injections as a form of capital punishment, the state of California is chomping at the bit to off some of its more undesirable residents.
California hasn’t killed anyone since January 2006 when it sent 76-year-old triple murderer Clarence Allen down the River Styx. He was the oldest inmate on death row at the time and had his sentence delayed for health and age reasons. I guess they need to be good and healthy to die. There [...]
Set Your Goals “Echoes” Video
Posted on 16. Apr, 2008 by James in Music
I don’t know if this is indicative of all their songs, but after checking out the “Echoes” video, Set Your Goals is okay in my book. I usually don’t listen to this sort of thing, because I don’t wear eyeliner, but I do like the fact that the band isn’t afraid to be pop-y. They holler out shitty harmonies like no one’s business, and they just don’t give a fuck. Best of all, there’s no misguided metal influence in this song, and that’s refreshing, because the only thing worse than [...]
Blue Scholars Premier Video for “Loyalty,” Ready New Digital EP
Posted on 15. Apr, 2008 by James in Music
Seattle hip-hop group Blue Scholars sure keeps busy. On April 26th, the group will release its second digital EP since their critically acclaimed 2007 album Bayani dropped. In addition, they’ve also released a pretty sweet clip for the song “Loyalty,” which appears on Bayani as well as the new EP, Butter&Gun$. The EP also includes the title track, “27″ and instrumental versions of all three. Check out the video for “Loyalty,” which is conveniently embedded below, or you could go see a super swanky HD version at Vimeo.com.
Blue Scholars “Loyalty” [...]
