Random

[urbpan]

The kid discovered, through her internet connections, a love song written from the point of view of a supervillain toward one of his captives ("Skullcrusher mountain"). The lyrics "I made this half-pony half-monkey monster to please you / But I get the feeling that you don't like it / What's with all the screaming?" are pretty darn charming. A little investigation shows the singer-songwriter to be Jonathan Coulton, who has staked out some musical territory between Flight of the Conchords and They Might Be Giants. It turns out I'd heard him some time ago, with his sweet folk cover of "Baby Got Back." (Even white boys got to shout!) Picking through his long list of songs, which you can listen to in their entirety free before buying them for a dollar, I found a lot of interesting stuff, not the least of which was an unexpectedly spooky tribute to the town I live in. ("For when the darkness finds you, the sun will cease to shine / In the end, your only friend, Brookline")

The problem with Pandora by the way, is that it doesn't know who I was dating when certain songs came out, or where I was working, or what friends of mine were in bands, or how drunk I was when I heard the song for the first time, or any of the other important variables that determine whether I like a song or not. I am, however, currently enjoying the radio station it created based on "Spanish Flea."

I saved this news story mostly for my brother, who is inordinately fond of a certain phrase in the headline: Completely starkers cop nabs would-be thief.

In other, sadder news, another dog-related tragedy happened, this time in Mt. Carmel Illinois. A beloved family pet, apparently without warning, bit a two year old toddler so badly that he needed 200 stitches and had to have his ear reattached. Large dogs and small children are a bad mix, especially when both are unsupervised. It makes you wonder if certain dog breeds should be banned outright. Read about this golden retriever attack here.

Comments

[miz-geek.livejournal.com]

Please tell me you listened to JC's Re: Your Brains. There just aren't enough zombie songs out there :)

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I wasn't too into it until the powerchord chorus. Very nice.

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

Hmm... Zombie Jamboree by Harry Belafonte, Zombie by the Cranberries and I suppose Richard Cheese's version of Down With The Sickness is a zombie song now. You're right, we need more.

[badnoodles.livejournal.com]

"Skullcrusher Mountain" *will* be played at my wedding. Oh yes.

[elizaeffect.livejournal.com]

I went to middle school with a boy who had severe facial disfigurements from the time when, as nine-year-olds, he and a friend were viciously attacked by a pair of laborador retrievers.

[bellelvsbeast.livejournal.com]

I don't think the breeds should be banned, I think certain people shouldn't have children...:P
DER I WILL LEAVE MY KID AND DOG ALONE DER NOTHING WILL HAPPEN.
Right, people are stupid. Dogs are animals, they have hot buttons...if a kid pokes it's eye, it's going to react...badly...but maybe if said kid was SUPERVISED, the dog wouldn't be blamed for acting like...A DOG.

[bellelvsbeast.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't think the dog attacked "for no reason" as the article claims...I just don't...people don't want to admit they weren't watching their kid...

[bellelvsbeast.livejournal.com]

Ok another though...in theory all dogs have the possibility of attacking someone, so if you ban one breed, wouldn't ALL breeds need to be banned? We will be left with no dogs...very sad...:(
I think people need to put more effort into training their dogs. Dan has a "acquaintance" who has a pit and I have a sneaking suspicion he trains her to fight...she is ridiculously misbehaved and more concentrated on "prey" animals than I've ever seen a pit be...so that kind of training would definitely cause an animal to attack a small child...some people need to get educated. I'm not saying all pit owners train their dogs to fight (of course not!) but incorrect or no training isn't a good thing, that's what I was getting at...:P

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

I suspect urbpan was being sarcastic in the comment about breed-banning, given that he owns one of the most vilified breeds around, especially given his addition of "golden retriever" to the link...

[(Anonymous)]

Well yes, but who knows who else is reading this and might not catch the sarcasm...also you'd be surprised, I'm in the animal control field and I constantly get members of the public telling me "this" breed should be banned and "that" breed and goldens are often mentioned...so are huskies...:P
Then I tell them I own one and they get all rude...ahhh I love dealing with uneducated people...:P

[bellelvsbeast.livejournal.com]

Oops that was me...:P Stupid LJ...GRRR...:(

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

Sorry -- sometimes it's hard to tell who can read the sarcasm and who can't. :)

Banning breeds is just idiotic and it rouses me to hypertensive rage every time I see it. So does the insurance crap about certain breeds (can't get homeowners insurance if you happen to own a given breed). The so-called problem breeds shift from decade to decade -- whichever breeds are overbred as "family dogs" and which ones are machismo dogs. I remember when the problem family dog was the Collie. Over my lifetime, the machismo dogs have shifted from German Shepherds to Doberman Pinschers to Rottweilers to Pit Bulls. My parents used to run into older people who were terrified of Airedales because they were a machismo breed in the 1930s.

Ban a "problem breed"? New "problem breeds" arise. Because the "problems" are man-made, not dog-made.

(/preaching to the choir)

[(Anonymous)]

No worries...:)
EXACTLY, it was so hard to find a house to rent because I own a husky...wtf...:P
Forget insurance we don't own a house yet, but I'm not looking forward to dealing with morons there...:P
OMG I do remember when it was the Collie...my friend owned a BEAUTIFUL one and my mom would freak if I went near her! Airedales are creepy though, hehehehe...;)
Exactly, like I said, ban one breed eventually you will have no dogs left...I deal with these people everyday and I tell them that...
haha

[bellelvsbeast.livejournal.com]

GRR that was me again!!! LJ keeps logging me off, wtf LJ

[iheartoothecae.livejournal.com]

JoCo!! <3

He played here last fall. It was fantastic.

[wirrrn.livejournal.com]

Completely starkers cop foils crime? I've had several dreams like that *g*

Golden Retriever- I don't think it's the fault of the breeds, rather than the way they're raised. You could have a Rottweiler with the personality of a labrador if you treated/trained it right...

[kryptyd.livejournal.com]

Golden retriever huh? I suppose I shouldn't be, but I'm always surprised when an "unexpected" breed is involved in a bad attack. I nearly fainted what I heard that that woman who had the first ever face transplant there a few years back had her face bitten off by a labrador. Her own labrador! You can't predict the actions of all animals all the time is the message I suppose. Even if they are friendly, lovely labs and retrievers.

[sayashaw.livejournal.com]

Jonathan Coulton is pretty great...if a tad creepy at times...I love Skullcrusher Mountain though...it's the song that introduced me to him

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

Dammit! I thought I'd manage to keep secret my love of the phrase "be thief."

[(Anonymous)]

I say ban toddlers, not dogs.

~Flaneuse in DC