It's Monday. Monday's suck. Let's make this Monday a little less awful. IT'S TIKI TIME!

I... I don't have anything else to add to this. To my friend Jian, who is now the proud(?) owner of this incredible/awful tattoo... cheers? Your tattoo has made you internet-infamous!

As seen on Geekologie, The Daily What, and a ton of Tumblrs, including the guy who made this thing real.

There's a new Symphony of Science video! Now, admittedly, we prefer songs about the end of the world. But the beginning of the universe is pretty mind-blowing, too. Watch, enjoy, get your nerd on.

Does anyone want to know what is way freakier than old-school Soundgarden videos?



Didn't think that was possible, did you? WELL IT IS.

Read these seven not-so-lucky-words: ‘It could swallow our solar system whole’

Now who, you may ask, could possibly think a bunch of star stuff* is so appetizing that they would throw it in a blender and call it gravy for Thanksgiving dinner?

Hint: It's not this guy. Or this guy.

Wait for it... wait for it...

M87 bitches!  RAAAAAWWWWWRRRR


...and you thought supermassive black holes only existed in soundtracks for terrible fake-vampire movies (which you will never ever see linked to in this blog).

Let's get the facts on this mother-of-all-black-holes:

• It "lives relatively close by -- just 50 million light-years away."

• It "weighs in at 6.6 billion suns, making it the local universe's heavyweight champ." 

• "The black hole's event horizon—the edge from within nothing can escape, not even light—is four times as large as the orbit of Neptune, the outermost planet in our solar system." 

• It uses a JET PACK. Yes, I just said JET PACK.

And what makes this beast M87 even more gnarlier is the possibility that it was formed "as a result of hundreds of smaller black holes merging into one at some point in the past."

Bottom line: Because of M87's ginormous size, this discovery gives us hope that in the very near future, astronomers may be able to detect the edge of its event horizon, ultimately leading to our ability to "see" black holes.

M87: We know you're out there. And we know you don't stick to a very planet-friendly diet.

Busted.

Okay, kids. Chew on that for a while. Before you get chewed on by the rudest next door neighbor ever.


*not be confused with frog stuff. though they sound a shit-ton like each other.

Good evening! We want to remind you that this Sunday, we're playing a show with Field Mouse and Allison Weiss at the Velvet Lounge in Washington, DC.

Doors open at 7:30 p.m., music will start at 9 p.m. Tickets are $8 at the door, and you have to be 21 or older (sorry kids).

According to a release from the Associated Press via Apple, South Korean director Park Chan-wook is going to release a new movie in his home country Jan. 27. The film, "Paranmanjang," breaks new ground in filmmaking -- it's filmed entirely using the iPhone. The plot seems sufficiently twisted, but I'm going to stick with the technical side of things. Click that AP/Apple link to read more about the plot.

As you can see in the behind-the-scenes promo video below, they didn't simply point and click to "film" this 30-minute thriller. There's a sophisticated lens attachment system and of course appropriate dolly and lighting equipment for a major cinematic release. Even with this, make-up, costumes and the other trappings of a film set, Park still managed to keep the film's budget around $133,000. (For comparison, the Troma classic B-movie "The Toxic Avenger" had a budget of about $475,000.)

This will definitely change how movies, especially shorts, are made. Knowing Park from his previous work (Oldboy, Thirst), it'll probably mess with your head in ways far beyond "how-in-the-hell-did-he-do-that-with-a-phone?"

*Please pardon the Engrish on the video title. I just realized it calls the movie a "firm." I blame Google for the bad translation.




WOW. I definitely want to make a music video with my phone now! Granted, it doesn't look easy, and I can't even imagine how complicated the capture/edit process could get, but I'm seriously impressed and can't wait to try my hand.

Anybody got a script or any ideas they want to throw my way for a potential Lenorable music video? Let's get weird on a budget.

Better believe you'll see this one at our show this Sunday!  We finished recording synth-cellos and organs and whatnot for a cover of "Under the Milky Way" by the Church, and needed to test the mix and make sure Ian didn't screw up the structure (what a jerk). So while we practiced, we turned on the camera and played with GarageBand a bit.





Love it? Hate it? Indifferent? Want to hear us cover something else? Leave us a comment and let us know, we might just perform a song for you.

See you Sunday night at the Velvet Lounge!  Music starts at 9 p.m., don't be late, or you'll miss good stuff.

Hi, friends!

This week, let's take a walk through the Den of Geek's wonderful world of sci-fi corridors!

I think my favorite is the skeletal corridor:

"...as we enter the bone-ridden and gruesome imagination of H.R. Giger, and the skeletal corridor leading to the space-jockey inside the alien derelict. Dank, dark and positively dripping, there's something quite Victorian about this section of set; with the cantilevered arches finishing off in boney protrusions, it's like being inside some dank and rotten musical instrument..."


Astronaut Woman: "Honey, do you think we could get this wallpaper in charteuse?"

My most favored sci-fi corridor was from Logan's run. Until I realized that if I was really there, I would have already been convinced to throw myself into a giant human-laser-popcorn machine like 5 months ago. That's uplifting.

On the bright side, there's always a chance to have a tinfoil dance party with BOX!


In other spacey news, I found the most amazing fake Jonathan Frakes Twitter account in the entire universe. How do I know it's a faux Frakes? Well, according to The Blog for Fandom Conventions, it was "called out by Wil Wheaton as a total fake."

Busted.

Lucky for us, fake Jonathan Frakes' profile is still active and available! What does fake Jonathan Frakes have to say on his fake Twitter account? Well, he ponders meaningless questions, like:

"Diet Coke with lemon - didn’t that used to be called Pledge?"

and...

"If you ate pasta and antipasto, would you still be hungry?"

and...

"Couldn't you guys ask about some better foods? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0pxUR6ZvM8"

Want to know where the real Jonathan Frakes is? Then don't go milling around Rikers Island bakery, a NYC prison bakery. That's where fake Jonathan Frakes hangs out -- or is at least linking to -- not the real one. Unfortunately, Rikers' bread (not to be confused with Rikers' beard) is only available to other prisons in the city, not the public. No worries! They've got you covered with their Rikers Island Carrot Cake Recipe (makes 25 loaves).

Fake Jonathan Frakes' humble Twitter beginnings commenced in December of 2009 - a little over a year ago. Unfortunately, the last Tweet from fake Jon Frakes was on Monday, November 9th, 2010 at 2:53:17am:

"I once knew a man who gave up beef, sweets and soft drinks. He was the picture of health right up to the day he killed himself!"

We are saddened by our beloved fake Commander's departure from this social networking platform. We wish him the best on his voyage through life, and may his sticks of butter prosper.

We leave this inspirational video in memoriam:




That's all, kids. Now go read up on dark energy, or something.

I read a great post today by Jenny Owen Youngs regarding fan purchases.

Specifically, someone asked her which method of buying an album is most beneficial to the musician: a physical copy at a store, a physical copy from the merch table at a show, or a digital download from iTunes or Bandcamp?

Her response is not only spot on, in my opinion, but it's also a good little primer on how money flows through the music industry. She also points out a few good tips for fans to know about their favorite musician on the road.

I don't want to try to summarize or rehash her thoughts on the matter, lest I fail to do them justice. Click here to read what she had to say, it's definitely worth a few minutes to ponder.

Okay, so I've decided that perhaps doing something I really love might be worth it... especially since our band kind of needs the funds to progress in our infant career, given that we haven't been signed to an awesome label or anything yet.  Anyway, this past weekend I started on my little venture to make some art to sell at our next show.  I've got 9 canvases - we'll see if I can actually fill all of these with paint come next weekend (Sunday, Jan 23rd). 

I started taking painting classes outside of school in junior high, and have had a very on/off relationship with my visual art since. (I've had a few extra-curricular flings with other mediums such as theater and poetry.)  My skills are pretty much limited to landscapes -- I can't draw a person to save my life -- so those have somehow evolved into rather surreal color schemes and styles. 

Anyhow, here's a fun little preview of my unfinished work on our dining room table.  I really need to put together something more studio-ish that does not consist of furniture that we actually value, because I can be a messy, messy girl with my oils:

You'll find out quickly that Lenorable is a bit obsessed with Amanda Palmer. As of right now, I can't think of a single thing she's done that I haven't been impressed with. Even her potentially corny music video for Tegan and Sara's song "Hell" ends up being a brilliantly whimsical tribute.

Her newest venture is sure to raise an eyebrow when first mentioned -- for me it raised both (you know, like in excitement). The punk cabaret progenitor and Queen Bee of awesome on the internet self-released Amanda Palmer Plays the Popular Hits of Radiohead on Her Magical Ukulele last summer.

This article on NPR's music blog takes a look into her cover of "Idioteque," contrasting it with the original performance by Radiohead.  I'll spare you the music-nerding and let you listen in yourself.  Definitely take a look at the stuff she has online, if you like good music I promise you won't regret it.

Seriously, it's 2011?  I remember 2001 pretty clearly still: I thought girls would never like me, my high school punk band hadn't broken up yet and I had only been skateboarding for a few months.

CJ played bass in my band in 2001. In 2010 we restored sanity together.

But, I digress.  Now that it's 2011, it's time to look back on 2010, right?  For me it was a tumultuous, but ultimately very rewarding year. I began the year in two bands; by year's end I had started another (the one whose blog you're reading) and quit those two.
It turns out when three groups all want the same thing -- fame, riches, and everything else you'll find in a hip-hop video -- it can be a stressor on one's personal life.

I also had two iPhones stolen, some jerk sideswiped my car, and I lived in a crap apartment with crack dealers down the hall (allegedly).  Ugh, just thinking about it stresses me out.

But at the end of the year I moved into a sweet house in D.C. with a rad girl -- we're a band now! I also got some fun new toys, went on some epic road trips, and wrote some interesting new songs.  So things came out all right, I think.

After all, at least I wasn't Nicolas Cage, right? I mean, that dude's whole life bombed. Click that link, you won't be disappointed.

And I didn't get banned, blocked or kicked out of anywhere, like FourLoko did. Guess I'll just have to go back to my previous energy cocktail: tons of Jameson and Red Bull.

Just like the AP Stylebook, I went through some changes. Not all for the better initially (see my previous comment about Jameson + Red Bull), but it was a net positive.

So here's to 2011! Let's all be nice to each other, so next year we can all have a beer and say, "Hey, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Or we'll have drank the last of the world's FourLoko surplus and we can say, "My head hurts... are you serious, it's 2012? Urrghghghhh."

FourLoko did NOT have a good 2010.

(tip o' the hat to the Boston Phoenix for the linked articles)

Here we go again.  The weather advisory is up, so you can be sure as hell that for the next few hours DC residents will be pillaging local supermarkets for enough toilet paper, bottled water and basic food items to last them through three nuclear holocausts.

At least we know that if the District makes it out alive from the predicted 2 to 4 inches of snow, everyone will have enough of the basic papier-mache-construction materials to fill the National Mall with 2 billion giant paper cows, or something.

Let's get to the point: As proven year after year, DC residents just don't how to behave themselves come "severe" weather.  So I've put together a few necesseties that could make this impending precipitation a little bit easier to handle. And by necessities, I mean things you must have to withstand being snowbound in a small area with at least 1 other person -- and both of you make it out alive.

This does not include things like toilet paper or mittons, which don't lessen the chance that within a few hours your roommate/significant other may be tempted to chase you through the house with an axe quoting cheesy one-liners from late night television.



1. Liquor.  Apparently, vodka works so well in staving of the unpleasantries of harsh weather that this drink of choice for Russia was declared a national emergency by the President at one point. Whiskey works wonders too -- Jameson, preferably.

2. Metalocalypse. Lots of Metalocalypse. And if you need a break from that, watch reruns of Christopher Walken on SNL. It never gets old.

3. Board Games.  When else are you going to actually finish a round of Monopoly or Risk? 

4. Canned food.  Actually, canned food doesn't really lessen your chance of survivablity in a snowed-trapped situation with a crazy person -- given the lethality of blunt-force-trauma-via-Chef-Boyardee, but I just wanted a chance to post this fun video.



5. Outdoor Activities.  What better way to prevent cabin fever than by going outside?  Winter weather offers plenty of special opportunities that you won't have during the rest of the year. We suggest: snow margaritas,  Star Wars-related snow sculptures, and snow angels:



6.  Finally, the #1 most important tool to surviving an impending Snowpocalypse is the knowledge of early(ish) warning signs that you or your buddy may be having an onset of cabin fever.  Look for these possible symptoms:

• Hallucinations of being a pirate stranded at sea surrounded by dancing Muppets.
• A strong temptation to pull out your old typewriter and finish that novel you planned on writing 5 years ago, but not being able to get past that first sentence. Over. And over. And over again.
• Someone claiming they need to "get out now," and taking the nearest exit by way of closet door... where they just kind of hang out for a while with the coats.
• If you hear that your friend has Kenny G.'s "Breathless" on repeat playing from the other room, EXIT THE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY.  Anyone with the temptation to listen to this is clearly not sane, plus you too may endure psychological trauma from soprano-sax-on-extended-play.

Any questions? Didn't think so. Stay safe, kids.

When I first saw Colorpulse's auto-tuned remix of Carl Sagan clips, not only did it re-spark my interest in playing with synthesizers and vocoders, but it also sent me on a little wave of Sagan obsession (did you know all of his landmark PBS series Cosmos is on Hulu? you're welcome).




From Symphony of Science:
"A Wave of Reason" is the seventh installment in the Symphony of Science music video series. It is intended to promote scientific reasoning and skepticism in the face of growing amounts of pseudoscientific pursuits, such as Astrology and Homeopathy, and also to promote the scientific worldview as equally enlightening as religion. It features Carl Sagan, Bertrand Russell, Sam Harris, Michael Shermer, Lawrence Krauss, Carolyn Porco, Richard Dawkins, Richard Feynman, Phil Plait, and James Randi.
All rights to clips from Carl Sagan's Cosmos are owned by Druyan-Sagan Associates, Inc., and credit is due to Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter for the relevant lyrics and audio-visual material.

So at one point I demanded that there be no cat blogging anywhere on our page, given that it doesn't seem any blogger anywhere can resist tiling their site with pics/video of cats doing boring cat-related things like eating, sleeping, chasing cell phone reflections on walls, etc.  Well, I appear to be breaking my own rule... in my very first post.

Regardlesss - isn't this guy kind of adorable? 



...though kitty's love for music does have a way of impeding on our band progress. He wasn't so happy when I snatched his my lyrics notebook from under him.  I made it up to Tito by feeding him cat nip about an hour ago.  This thrills Ian to no end, given the early a.m. timing, and all.

Oh, hello there.

Now that you've landed here, the first thing you're probably thinking is "OHHHHH THIS IS SO SWEET."  But the next thing is probably something along the lines of "What in the world is a Lenorable, and what's a gothwave?"

Here's the long and short of it:  Lenorable is a band from Washington, DC, made up of Lisa Reed and Ian Graham.  Lenorable plays an electronically enhanced brand of post-punk* dubbed "gothwave" by a good friend.

This blog will serve as a window into Lenorable's collective mind.  In addition to the band's own music, videos, photos and shows, Ian and Lisa will post daily news articles, random rants, YouTube links and all of those other things for which blogs are generally known.  Hopefully, as time goes on, you'll feel like part of the Lenorable family, and when we're all together at a show, there won't be an impersonal handshake and a request for your e-mail address, it'll be a meeting of friends.

With sincere thanks, Lenorable hopes you continue to follow along on this journey into music and minutiae.

In the meantime, feel free to check out some of the things we have on the blog.  Lenorable's music can be streamed over on the righthand side (just under the show calendar), and across the top of the page are links to Lenorable's various social networking sites. Click away, join, be friends, follow -- do what people do on the internet.

*For those who don't know what we mean when we say "post-punk," here you go.