Radiohead - FOLLOW ME AROUND

"You will become a hypocrite. You'll become a liar. You'll try to paper up your own cracks. And everybody does it, and that's what being an adult is. ...sorry."

This song and Thom's quote have been in my head all day. A bit of dismal realism is good on occasion. It keeps you honest. As for the song, I only know of it from the documentary, "Meeting People is Easy."

"I Want To Get High, But I Don't Want Brain Damage."

A new single from The Flaming Lips and Lightning Bolt...

Awesome!

Grey Alien Caught on Tape

One of the creepiest things on the internet...

WASHINGTON by Cox & Combes

One of my favorite things on the internet...

Gullah: Where did "ya'll" come from?

What follows is a brief report on a lecture about the Gullah. It lacks detail, but it serves as a decent introduction this Creole language.

GULLAH

Jerry Moss is an academy award nominated filmmaker who visited class to discuss the Creole language, Gullah. He began by briefly outlining the circumstances in which the language developed. During British expansion, the territory known as Georgia was colonized by the second and third sons of prominent families. Rice farming was more desirable that cotton, but due to the irrigation needs of the crop, coastal locations were essential. It was difficult and complicated to condition the land, as it had to be dredged manually; therefore, land owners sought specialists from the Rice Coast of Africa. These specialists supervised and directed the slaves working the fields. As a result, Gullah began as the pidgin spoken on rice plantations, which were located along the Eastern Seaboard, from North Florida to North Carolina. It started out of the necessity for efficient communication among landowners and specialists; specialists and laborers.

Two things must be considered when considering the conditions that brought the language into fruition. One must first pay attention to the labor system of most rice plantations that existed. Task systems were incorporated as the desired labor system. Under this mechanism, slaves had free time to spend after their chores were completed. This allowed for many leisure activities that would have encouraged casual communication among the laborers, which were from diverse societies in Africa. Development of a pidgin would have been essential. Also, during the summer, no whites were around at all. In other words, no native English speakers were on the plantations. This brought about a language more influenced by African retention. Lorenzo Turner investigated the Gullah and discovered over 1400 words retained from African languages. There are few remaining English influenced words in use today.

Mr. Moss spoke briefly about the grammar, and I mean really briefly. He stated the language has a word for second person plural, “ya’ll."

Dead Eyes Open: Free Web Zombie Comic

http://deadeyesopen.com/dead-eyes-open-1-cover/

This comic is an introduction to what is great about zombie literature. Like good science fiction, it uses the subject matter to address complex social issues. It helps you step outside of reality to view events more objectively. Enjoy...

Even as I left Florida...

I moved from Jacksonville ten years ago this week. It was only four formative years, but I had a lifetime of experiences. Rarely a day goes by that I don't think of someone I knew or something that happened there. Granted, I lived in Tallacrappy a while before moving to Atlanta, but I think of those months as sort of a decompression chamber.

SIGNAL by Paul Duffield

http://www.spoonbard.com/signal/

This comic by the illustrator of http://www.freakangels.com/ is absolutely beautiful. As the site mentions, it is inspired by SETI and Carl Sagan's COSMOS series.

On a personal note, it parallels the most lucid dream I've ever had:

I was in my late teens, still living with my folks. In the dream, I walk through their kitchen and suddenly realize I am dreaming. To test this, I stand in front of the screen door leading to the front yard. I thrust my arms forward and blow the door of its hinges, sending it flying to land crumpled on the lawn. To go a bit further, I begin doing somersaults across the grass until I reach the drive way. I then look up, take a few steps forward and take flight.

At this point it becomes a balancing act to keep this state of mind. I soon get control, and I find that the harder I tighten my fists, the faster and further I travel. I streak into the farthest reaches of space until I stop in this area of gaseous "caterpillars." I realize I am witnessing the birth of stars in some sort of galactic incubator.

I wake.

Martin Prado Shows His Versatility

One of the most underrated players in the MLB...