RIP Michael!

Michael Jackson was a really special human being.

I forgot I love this song.

RIP

Simian Mobile Disco - Audacity of Huge (ft Chris Keating)

This song is HOT! I love Chris Keating's voice (of Yeasayer) and he sounds awesome in something so downright danceable. Any song that mentions Mama Cass, Damien Hirst, and PM Dawn is cool in my book. The video is pretty great as well.

Amorphophallus Titanum

I went to see the "Corpse Flower" that bloomed at the Huntington Botanical Gardens near S. Pasadena CA outside of LA. This is that infamous plant you've heard of that smells like a corpse (though I think there may be more than one type). Its other defining feature is its large phallic shape. I'm talking like 6 feet of plant phallus. Whoa.

More amazing is the infrequency of this potent plant eroticism. These plants don't bloom for up to 80 years!!! The blooms only live a couple days, so this was truly a rare opportunity. This plant bloomed in 1999, which was reportedly the first bloom in CA. It bloomed again in 2002, and now in 2009.

There was quite a line in the conservatory, so my pictures are from above which distorts the scale. Trust me that sucker is big! But I was disappointed that there was very little rotting corpse smell. Damn!

I also wandered around the Desert Gardens and Japanese Garden, which was lovely. There are so many great things to do near LA!

Your (monthly) Weekly Logical Conclusion

Blue for blue sky!

Patrick Wolf - Damaris

I haven't had the opportunity to listen to The Bachelor, Patrick Wolf's follow-up to the exuberant The Magic Position. However, I have had the pleasure to to listen to one amazing track, Damaris. This song is beyond melodramatic, but something about the way Wolf does it, makes it work. Its at the same time sincere and camp. In my mind I see an epic story, with Patrick in all his regalia, and its great, and it moves me.

The orchestral arrangements of this song are really what make it stand out. They are supremely cinematic but at the same time catchy and almost fun. Wolf sings of a lover lost, while he waits by his grave. The song crescendos with a choral voodoo chant - rise up, rise up, rise up... Magic at its best.

Howard Dean Tells it Like It Is about the Obama DOMA Brief

I've always liked Dean, and Rachel. Thank god they've got our backs, unlike Obama apparently. I understand the argument that Gay issues need to be put on the back burner before we get through this crucial healthcare battle, but to outright diss the gay community is beyond the pale. I'm not sure what Obama was thinking, and unfortunately there's political capital to be paid. I think its a safe bet to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell. Its not a popular policy. Our Military needs everyone they can get, especially all the specialists and linguists they've fired. And it is discrimination! Its time for it to go!

AmericaBlog has been doing amazing reporting on this story!