electrocuting an elephant with nikola and tom

earlier today, in the dreary cabin in the middle of nowhere known as ts headquarters, we were discussing the differences between nikola tesla, thomas edison and their feuding. more specifically, the war of the currents. the subject came up following a series of paralleled conversations, particularly why there is a difference with 110 and 220 voltage in the united states and europe. basically, the system of three-phase alternating current electrical generation was invented by tesla, and he found that 60hz (cycles per second) was the best frequency for an AC (alternating current) power generation. tesla preferred 240 volts, which angered edison, whose DC (direct current) systems were 110 volts. our mindful kt then added that edison (in my opinion just a lucky inventor and by no means on the scientific level tesla was) had once electrocuted an elephant. we found the video, and if you haven’t seen it, it’s disturbing but historically present. i could go on about their differences, in hygiene and interpersonal skills, but we can leave that for another post on some other day. by sv

CATEGORIES: clips, history, mind candy

this charming charlie

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an absolutely incredible tumblr i was introduced to by an equally incredible human being.  i grew up immersed in the world of charlie brown, the van pelts and their other assorted playfellows; not to mention my gothically induced adolescence and soft spot for mr. steven patrick morrissey himself.  the combination of sketches and lyrics is certainly a winner.
by sv

CATEGORIES: music, musings

“does good music need to be good?”

daft-punk-random-access-memories-album-cover-art“the duo has become so good at making records that i replay parts of ‘random access memories’ repeatedly while simultaneously thinking it is some of the worst music i’ve ever heard.” 

sasha frere-jones, the new yorker’s brilliant columnist and music critic wrote this article in may, and it is still looming in my conscious each time i hear a track from the “noodly jazz fusion” album. we were discussing the album here at ts headquarters earlier, and dd noted on the brilliant inconsistency, once again bringing the above words to mind. really good bad music. as usual, the french are onto something; especially since we are talking about this, months later. by sv

CATEGORIES: music, read