April 27, 2013

And now . . . this - Apr. 27/13 (the "Floridians putting the 'Duh' in 'Floriduh'" edition)

Man . . . there's got to be something in the water in Florida. And I'm guessing bath salts.

A Florida woman is accused of intentionally setting her car on fire at a gas station and then sitting in the middle of a Daytona Beach highway, claiming to be God.

All that's left of 29-year-old Alexandra Barnes' Scion is charred remains.

[Full Story]

So not only was she disappointed that the car was not consumed, but when Moses didn't show up it only added insult to injury.

To paraphrase Dire Straits, when two people say they're Jesus, one of 'em must be wrong . . .

University of Florida student Michael Joseph Silecchia was wandering around campus apartments when Gainesville police responded to a reports of a suspicious person.

When police arrived, Silecchia took his clothes off and said he was "God" and "straight," according to The Independent Florida Alligator. The student told officers, "Don’t cut my penis off," then changed his mind and said, "Cut my penis off," according to the police report.

[Full Story]

Well, it's like the old ad said: Sometimes you feel like a nut, and sometimes you don't.

Sheesh. 45 years after Woodstock, and some people still don't know not to take the brown acid.

April 18, 2013

Storm Thorgerson (1944-2013)

Last month was the 40th anniversary of the classic Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon. Today, Storm Thorgerson, the key figure of the graphic arts group Hipgnosis and the designer of Dark Side's iconic album cover, died at the ripe old age of 69.

Thorgerson was the designer of the majority of Pink Floyd's covers, but also designed the artwork for albums by Led Zeppelin, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Dream Theater, the Cult, and many others. Doing a quick count down the list in Wikipedia's entry on Thorgerson, I counted 19 albums that I owned featuring his artwork.

Thorgerson's designs were more than just something to make an album look attractive in the record store. They were an integral part of the experience. As often as not I would have the album in my lap as I listened.

Of course, with the shift from LPs to CDs and now downloadable music, the graphics have arguably become redundant. I wonder whether we will see the likes of another Storm Thorgerson again.