This is my name in a code 128-B barcode. Check yours out here. Only type 128-B seems to support a full alpha-numeric character set. It really works, I’ve been scanning my name into Excel all afternoon.

np – The Flaming Lips / Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

From my kitchen window, I can see the flagpoles in front of the Ontario Coroner’s building and I get mildly alarmed when I see they’re flying at half-staff. Took they’re flying low in honour of form governor-general Ray Hnatyshyn, who died Wednesday.

The #1 review in the new Big Takeover is Coalesced, by For Against. I’ve heard the name, but never the music. The writeup on AMG sounds like something I’d like, I’m going to have to check out some samples and maybe put them on the Boxing Day list. Jack Rabid has rarely let me down with his picks (though I didn’t bother with the Bad Religion that took #1 last issue).

Also some excellent editorials about the state of the major labels in the new BTO.

Haven’t heard boo from anyone I’m supposed to be seeing The Two Towers tonight with. If no one gets in touch with me by this afternoon, I will probably just ditch them and get tickets for myself. I’m not waiting to see this any longer just because no one else can get their shit together.

np – The Kinks / Greatest Hits, Vol. 1

Soundscapes comes through again. Not only do they have the new Big Takeover before anyone else in the city, it’s $4 cheaper than the newsstand. Some good solid reading material for the holidays. They also confirmed they’d be having a Boxing Week sale starting the 27th, but didn’t specify what that sale would be, exactly. I figure I’ll still take part in the big Rotate This orgy of spending on the 26th, and pick up everything else I want at Soundscapes after.

Today started out as terribly, with the morning devoted to my favorite of all bureaucratic activities, writing emails and memos, but thankfully turned into an afternoon of just coding and playing with barcodes. I got a barcode scanner sent to me by a client working, and reading barcodes I was dynamically generating online. Cool. And it made fun beeping noises! Does it get any better than that?

I don’t know if anyone is going to band rehearsal tonight, I’m heading down to tidy up the room which was a bloody mess when I swung by on Monday, and play some drums if nothing else. Thought maybe I’d be ready to try a vocal session but I spent last night on the phone instead of writing. Soon, though. It’s coming.

Apparently Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel has a radio show on WFMU out of New York City. They have archives of the broadcasts available to stream here. Bizarre stuff – the one I’m listening two opened with what sounded like four minutes of ocean noises and now there’s church bells sounding off the hour while crows cackle in the background.

Madness.

Bit of a slow day, blog-wise. Not a helluva lot going on – work, work, work.

You can vote for your choice of new World Trade Centre designs here.

The Two Towers is opening today, and I’m not going till Friday. I’m curiously okay with that, but don’t look forward to tomorrow as Mark and Scott are going to see it tonight and I’ll bet you dollars to donuts they don’t shut up about it for weeks.

np – Quasi / The Sword Of God