Vince Levey

The Badgermin: Theremin vs. badger taxidermy

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:36:00 +0000

The Badgermin: Theremin vs. badger taxidermy

Pingu’s The Thing

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:18:12 +0000

Pingu’s The Thing

[+]

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 19:59:44 +0000

[+]

Cartoony ghost urns for cremains.

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:04:25 +0000

Cartoony ghost urns for cremains.

Stephen Malkmus — Jenny & The Ess-Dog #nowplaying

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:15:56 +0000

Stephen Malkmus — Jenny & The Ess-Dog #nowplaying

Snuff — Chocs Away #nowplaying

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 09:35:08 +0000

Snuff — Chocs Away #nowplaying

Time-lapse sunrise over snowy Ventnor, Isle of Wight.

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 14:21:02 +0000

Time-lapse sunrise over snowy Ventnor, Isle of Wight.

Pavement — Stereo #nowplaying

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 21:07:34 +0000

Pavement — Stereo #nowplaying

Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band — Ice Cream For...

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:43:46 +0000

Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band — Ice Cream For Crow #musicmonday

Captain Beefheart's 10 Commandments of Guitar Playing

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:39:00 +0000

Listen to the birds.

That’s where all the music comes from. Birds know everything about how it should sound and where that sound should come from. And watch hummingbirds. They fly really fast, but a lot of times they aren’t going anywhere.

Your guitar is not really a guitar.

Your guitar is a divining rod. Use it to find spirits in the other world and bring them over. A guitar is also a fishing rod. If you’re good, you’ll land a big one.

Practice in front of a bush.

Wait until the moon is out, then go outside, eat a multi-grained bread and play your guitar to a bush. If the bush doesn’t shake, eat another piece of bread.

Walk with the devil.

Old Delta blues players referred to guitar amplifiers as the “devil box.” And they were right. You have to be an equal opportunity employer in terms of who you’re brining over from the other side. Electricity attracts devils and demons. Other instruments attract other spirits. An acoustic guitar attracts Casper. A mandolin attracts Wendy. But an electric guitar attracts Beelzebub.

If you’re guilty of thinking, you’re out.

If your brain is part of the process, you’re missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something that is fur bearing.

Never point your guitar at anyone.

Your instrument has more clout than lightning. Just hit a big chord then run outside to hear it. But make sure you are not standing in an open field.

Always carry a church key.

That’s your key-man clause. Like One String Sam. He’s one. He was a Detroit street musician who played in the fifties on a homemade instrument. His song “I Need a Hundred Dollars” is warm pie. Another key to the church is Hubert Sumlin, Howlin’ Wolf’s guitar player. He just stands there like the Statue of Liberty — making you want to look up her dress the whole time to see how he’s doing it.

Don’t wipe the sweat off your instrument.

You need that stink on there. Then you have to get that stink onto your music.

Keep your guitar in a dark place.

When you’re not playing your guitar, cover it and keep it in a dark place. If you don’t play your guitar for more than a day, be sure you put a saucer of water in with it.

You gotta have a hood for your engine.

Keep that hat on. A hat is a pressure cooker. If you have a roof on your house, the hot air can’t escape. Even a lima bean has to have a piece of wet paper around it to make it grow.¹

Schinder, Scott. Rolling Stone’s Alt Rock-a-Rama. New York: Delta, 1996. ↩

Understanding Pac-Man Ghost Behavior

Sat, 04 Dec 2010 22:43:19 +0000

Understanding Pac-Man Ghost Behavior:

Inky actually uses both Pac-Man’s position/facing as well as Blinky’s (the red ghost’s) position in his calculation. To locate Inky’s target, we first start by selecting the position two tiles in front of Pac-Man in his current direction of travel, similar to Pinky’s targeting method. From there, imagine drawing a vector from Blinky’s position to this tile, and then doubling the length of the vector. The tile that this new, extended vector ends on will be Inky’s actual target.

As a result, Inky’s target can vary wildly when Blinky is not near Pac-Man, but if Blinky is in close pursuit, Inky generally will be as well. Note that Inky’s “two tiles in front of Pac-Man” calculation suffers from exactly the same overflow error as Pinky’s four-tile equivalent, so if Pac-Man is heading upwards, the endpoint of the initial vector from Blinky (before doubling) will actually be two tiles up and two tiles left of Pac-Man.

The Ting Tings — Great DJ #nowplaying

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 23:07:34 +0000

The Ting Tings — Great DJ #nowplaying

#musicmonday New York Dolls — Personality Crisis

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:53:29 +0100

#musicmonday New York Dolls — Personality Crisis

BEST. VIDEO. EVAH. #katyperry

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 08:35:00 +0100

BEST. VIDEO. EVAH. #katyperry

#nowplaying Gem — I Am A Tree (Doug Gillard’s...

Sat, 18 Sep 2010 21:14:36 +0100

#nowplaying Gem — I Am A Tree
(Doug Gillard’s pre-Guided By Voices epic version)

#nowplaying Sparklehorse — Weird Sisters

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 14:26:29 +0100

#nowplaying Sparklehorse — Weird Sisters

Favoured guitar pick.

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:26:23 +0100

Favoured guitar pick.

#musicmonday Catherine — Four Leaf Clover

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 21:27:40 +0100

#musicmonday Catherine — Four Leaf Clover

Wookiee the Chew, or, Star Wars re-imagined as A.A....

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:39:22 +0100

Wookiee the Chew, or, Star Wars re-imagined as A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh.

#nowplaying Guided By Voices — Game Of Pricks

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:21:43 +0100

#nowplaying Guided By Voices — Game Of Pricks