Happy Holidays- no posts for a while
December 22, 2011
I’m about to be busy with Holiday travel and other stuff, so I won’t be posting for a good week or so. Next week I may do a special “A Few Good Shows” post for New Year’s weekend activities, but I don’t know. I may or may not feel like it. I don’t owe you people shit!
KIDDING!
Happy Holidays!
Kepler finds earth-sized alien planets/Some amazing volcano photos
December 21, 2011
Credit: NASA
The Kepler team at NASA announced yet another exciting discovery yesterday: the first confirmed earth-size alien planets, Kepler 20f and 20e. The mission has found other exoplanets that pretty close to earth-size, but these two are by far the closest yet. What really befuddled me about this announcement was that that in addition to those two smaller, rocky worlds, there are three bigger gas-giant or super-earths in this system as well. No only that, but all five of these exoplanets’ orbits would fit inside our own Mercury’s orbit around our sun! That’s a lot of planets crammed into a tiny area! Of course that also means that these planets are scorching hot- far too hot to be habitable. But, it’s very reassuring to confirm that Kepler can positively identify alien planets that are earth-size and even tad bit smaller (Kepler 20e is about 87% the size of earth). As usual, Dr. Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy has a very good explanation of the whole thing. And I’ll also point you toward this article on space.com about the likelihood of us finding a true earth-twin within the coming year.
And now I will simply tell you to go take a look at this amazing set of volcano photographs and have a a few eyegasms. You’re welcome.
BURGERS Winter 2011/2012 Mixtape is out!
December 20, 2011
The Burgers Winter 2011/2012 Mixtape is here and available for you listening/downloading pleasure. I kicked it off with some classic deep cuts, then took it to a chill/sexy/moody vibe, then finished it off with some great new discohouse. I’m kinda proud I managed to crank out a mix that didn’t involve Breakbot or Bit Funk. Those two dudes make pure gold out of everything they touch. It’s really hard to resist. But right now my DJ hard-on is all for Gigamesh. Seriously- that dude’s been busy making amazing remixes and golden original tracks. Check out his EP called “Space Dinosaur Stuff.“
LOL. It’s actually just “Gigamesh EP.” Anyway, here’s my mix:
Tracklist:
Prince-Controversy
Gino Soccio-Try it Out
Madi Diaz-Trust Fall (Jensen Sportag RMX)
Niki & The Dove-Mother Protect (Goldroom RMX)
Gigamesh-When You’re Dancing
The Magician ft. Jeppe-I Don’t Know What to Do (Fabian RMX)
Knight One-Hearts of Oak
Girls Generation-The Boys (Robotaki RMX)
Database-New Disco
P Money and Dan Aux-Kinda Lovin’
Caravan Palace-Clash (Jupiter RMX)
A Few Good Shows: 12/16/11
December 16, 2011
Before I get to the regular listings I have a bit of shameless self-promotion. I’ve been drumming in a new-ish (at least to Nashville) band called Scale Model, and we’re playing a free show at the 5 Spot this Sunday night along with I Believe in Hotpants, Girls & Money, and Karma Kite. This show is all noobs, so we decided it should be a freebie- therefore you have no excuse not to come. All of us are good bands with good songs and each is worth your attention. Now, on to the other good stuff happening around town this weekend:
FRIDAY:
Futurebirds w/ Grass Giraffes @ The Basement. 9pm $10 Adv/$13 DOS 21+
Mayhem performs The Doors’ LA Woman w/ Buffalo Clover @ the 5 Spot. 9pm $5 21+
SATURDAY:
Moon Duo, D. Watusi, Spanish Candles, and The Black Faces @ The End. 9pm $10
3rd annual Beatles vs. Stones Christmas Bowl, benefiting Second Harvest Food Bank. Ft. Mayhem & members of By Lightning!, Lonely H, Nite Nite, Jeremy Lister, Derek Hoke, Mike Grimes, Nikki Lane, Chuck Mead, Tommy Womack, Warren Pash, and many more… 9pm. $7 or 3 cans of food for admission. 21+
Natural Child, Ranch Ghost, Electric Dollhouse Groovebuggy, NEW BAND ft. members of the Cannomen and Bad Cop. @ Mount Swag. $3 It’s a house show so if you wanna go you can figure out the address. 🙂
SUNDAY:
Scale Model, I Believe in Hotpants, Girls & Money, Karma Kite @ the 5 Spot. 9pm FREE 21+ (See above!)
Have a great weekend!
Today’s ridiculous headlines
December 15, 2011
For some reason there have been several hilarious/ridiculous headlines popping up around my various internet haunts today. So I decided to just post them together here, for you clicking pleasure.
Two of them were on New Scientist:
“Mystery of the male ostrich’s erection solved.”
“Selectively bred fruit flies who can survive Titan’s harsh conditions after a diet of vodka rain.”
(Apparently they changed that last one… but that’s how it showed up in my reader initially, I promise.)
“Man Arrested After Attacking People At Toys R Us With Lightsaber”
“Wonder Woman and She-Hulk give themselves breast exams in Mozambique.”
And this one is just cute:
“Baby Seal Enters House, Sleeps on Couch”
You’re welcome.
The Higgs boson: progress made but nothing conclusive yet
December 13, 2011
You’ve no doubt already seen or heard mention of this breaking news elsewhere, but I simply must weigh-in: This morning physicists at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider announced that they are making significant progress toward discovering the Higgs boson, or what many tend to call “the God Particle.” They really are on the verge of making a discovery that will change the face of physics forever, and vastly improve our understanding of the building blocks of EVERYTHING in the universe, and how the universe came into existence. The announcement does not mean that they have found the Higgs, just that they’ve seen a series of spikes in activity (the few nanoseconds right after a particle collision) within the predicted mass range for the Higgs. They’ve narrowed its mass down to a pretty small range with a fairly high degree of certainty because they’ve amassed quite a bit of data, and the chances that this is just a statistical fluke are getting lower and lower. Still though, the certainty is not high enough for physicists to claim an actual discovery. This elusive Higgs boson is the last missing “link” in the most widely accepted theory of particle physics- The Standard Model. If the Higgs is finally confirmed to exist within the range of mass predicted by the Standard Model, then this theory will essentially become rock-solid.
*Steps onto soapbox.*
But the beauty of science and the scientific method is that it will be just as exciting, if not MORE exciting, if the Higgs is proven to either exist outside the predicted range of mass or not exist at all! Science relies strictly on data, and if the data shows something not predicted then you go back to the drawing board and keep trying until you have a theory that fits the reality of the data. That method is infallible, and that is why I love science.
*Steps down from soapbox.*
For more-
the Guardian has been posting live updates to their story.
But BBC News has the best coverage I’ve seen.
A Few Good Shows: 12/9/11
December 9, 2011
This weekend has a pretty good selection of show-going opportunities in Nashville. Here we go:
FRIDAY:
Vitalic Noise presents CRAVE at Tavern (1904 Broadway). Nashville’s hottest Friday night dance party is back in a new location, and last week was a very successful kickoff. This week’s DJ lineup includes Losici (Josiah Lester), Dali Drama (Jenn Harbin), and Burgers (me). FREE, 21+ 10pm
White Rabbits w/ SONOI @ Exit/In. 9pm $10
DJ Craze @ Mai. 10pm $???
SATURDAY:
Little Viking, King Arthur, Calicocat, and O Giant Man @ The End. 9pm $5
Carolina Chocolate Drops w/ Frazey Ford @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $18
SUNDAY:
The Greater Good, Dead Legs, Night Beds @ The Basement. 9pm 21+ $5
Have a great weekend!
P.S. If you haven’t seen the glory that is Texts From Bennett, take care of that problem right now.
The music of Les Miserables in a concert benefitting YEAH: tonight & tomorrow at Mercy Lounge
December 7, 2011
It’s been a big season of benefit shows for YEAH! but this one is probably the biggest- a bunch of local musicians/artists have teamed up to present the music of Les Miserables live in concert two nights in a row at Mercy Lounge. It kicks off tonight, tickets are $18, and it will be awesome. With Larissa Maestro and Jordan & Alex Caress at the helm and a huge cast of local musicians from such acts as Uncle Skeleton, By Lightning!, Ponychase, The Privates, Umbrella Tree, The Non-Commissioned Officers, Happy Little Trees, Blue Heart Hour, and many more, this is quite the undertaking. Again, this is a two night stand, but I have a feeling tonight will be the biggest of the two since Hall & Oates are at the Ryman tomorrow night. YEAH! is just about the coolest non-profit in all of TN and I’m proud to be an active volunteer with them. They deserve your support!
On a completely separate note (but still relevant to this blog), I’ve been approved by YEAH’s music programs director to start a new workshop at the Tennessee Teens Rock & Roll Camp this year- the Science of Music. Here’s the description I came up with, with the help of fellow volunteer (and former camper/fellow nerd) Alyssa Scheele:
How does an electric guitar work? How does a microphone work? How does MUSIC work? Learn this and much more in the brand new Science of Music workshop. This workshop will give campers a crash course in the science behind music and how different instruments and audio equipment create and amplify sound. This workshop is ideal for campers who might be interested in the production side of music. The Science of Music will empower campers to pursue science as well as music by showing them how science is an integral part of art.
I’m ecstatic about getting to teach kids how basically everything, let alone modern music, would not be possible without science. I want to get them to make that connection and realize that science isn’t all far-off labs, atom smashers, and old dudes in white coats. It’s also a part of literally EVERYTHING. I think that focusing on how science makes music possible is the best way to make it “hit home” with them. AND it will hopefully jumpstart some of them in the direction of music production, both studio and live.
Kepler finds potentially habitable exoplanet 2.4x size of earth
December 5, 2011
Should’ve gotten to posting this earlier today but I was waaay too busy.
Very exciting news in the science world today- NASA’s Kepler mission has been very busy lately, finding exoplanets left and right. Problem is, those observations have to be followed-up and duplicated by other telescopes, usually ground-based. Thus, it takes a while to fully confirm the existence of an exoplanet discovered by Kepler. Finally though, they’ve found one that is close to earth’s size, and orbits a star similar to our sun within its habitable zone. It’s not quite the “holy grail” of planet hunting because the planet is 2.4 times the size of earth, but it’s getting us ever-closer to the discovery of a true earth-twin. This is awesome. It’s only a matter of time…
Credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech
For more, check out this article on Space.com, or this article on Discovery News.
A Few Good Shows: 12/2/11
December 2, 2011
Busy weekend. Lots of good shows and stuff to do in Nashville. Let’s get right to it-
FRIDAY:
Last Year’s Men, Fly Golden Eagle, Ranch Ghost @ The End. 9pm $7
Mashville 4 year anniversary+Girls & Boys Nashville @ Mercy Lounge. $5 (This one features Coach, Hands Off Sam, Wick-it, Kidsmeal, Bateman, Mike Vulcan, Wildcub, Kevin Perryman, Revenant, Jenn Harbin, DJ Orig, and others- a very diverse DJ lineup indeed.)
Vitalic Noise presents the return of CRAVE @ Tavern. FREE, 21+ 10pm-3am. CRAVE was becoming THE place to be on Friday nights when it was hosted at the Wine Loft, but then Wine Loft was shut down by its parent company. Justin and the Vitalic Noise team have been hard at work finding the perfect new home for CRAVE and they’ve found it at TAVERN (sister company to Virago, Whiskey Kitchen, and Kayne Prime. This new installment features DJ sets by Losici, Donny Rest, Vitalic Noise (Justin Katerberg), and d.Babe. Did I mention it’s FREE?
SATURDAY:
Happy Little Trees 7″ release show w/ Poly and Frances Foundation @ the Basement. 9pm 21+ $5
Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers w/ Split Lip Rayfield and the Dirt Daubers @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $12 adv $14 DOS
Mr. Gnome w/ Cry Baby, Pushy Lips, and Thelma & the Sleaze @ The End. 9pm $7. Mr. Gnome was just named a “band to watch” by Rolling Stone, and I just checked out their record- it feels a bit scattered but there are some phenomenal tracks toward the middle and end. Moody, psychedelic, and dynamic, they never cease to just rock. I’ve heard very good things about their live shows and am thinking this could be one of those amazing shows that slips under the media radar for whatever reason. But I’d recommend not letting it slip under your radar.
SUNDAY:
Birdcloud, Denny & The Jets, Ranch Ghost @ the 5 Spot. 9pm $5 (Natural Child was on this bill initially but were replaced by Ranch Ghost.)
steve cross loves music and science 