I am so ready for a second album from Phantogram. Sadly, who knows when we'll get one. Well, I suppose the members of Phantogram know, but that doesn't help me, now does it? Late last year, they released the short Nightlife EP. That's where you'll find Don't Move, which begins the following poppy playlist. I say 'pop'

Here's a playlist of mellow covers. A few of these are downright superb. One in particular worth noting. If you listen to only one song here, I highly recommend you check out track #4: Any Way You Want It. Clem Snide's cover of the Journey classic is really... well... it's both surprising and a treat.

Every now and then, the internet makes the world a very small place. A year or so ago, I filed away a link for the blog of a writer named Neil Cross. He writes horror novels, and though that's a genre I have absolutely no interest in, I enjoyed the blog he writes about his writing. Odd? Yes. One day, I discovered that

I'm still on a big Donovan Woods kick, so... here's another playlist with that sort of sound in mind. Last time, it was piano based. This time, it's guitar.

This is not a review of the new Sony a77. The a77 is a superb camera, about which plenty has been written online and elsewhere. Just google "a77" and you’ll find more reviews than you’ll have time to read. Most detail things like the cameras excellent specs (24 megapixel sensor, 12 frames per second, HD video, etc) a

Dear Nose; Come on. We've been fighting this cold for over a week. Enough with the goo. All you're doing is pissing me off. You get blown, you get blown, you get blown, and then you end up sore. I don't know what kind of game you think you're playing, but we're both losing. P.S. Dear Penis; I know what you heard, bu

I wish there were a better way to find new music. Sure, there are all sorts of streaming options online, like Slacker and Pandora, or lists upon lists, like Last FM. What we really need is a combination of the two. Pandora with charts, perhaps. A list that is based on your tastes and changes with input, such as "Only al

I'm on a bit of a Bombay Bicycle Club kick lately. 'How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep' is from their latest album A Different Kind Of Fix. The album came out in August, but somehow I missed it. Ah well... It's one of the things I was looping while editing all of the code it took to rebuild this site last week.

Obviously, I kid. Steve Jobs didn't wreck my website. The continuing march of technology made my site's design confusing if not unusable on touch devices. There is no such thing as an image rollover (where scrolling over an image reveals something hidden such as a link) on a touchscreen. Before I get into that, let's ta

Rob: "Hello coffee, my long lost love." Coffee: "Long lost? What the hell? I see you all the time." Rob: "I haven't seen you since LAST YEAR!" Coffee: "FACEPALM." Rob: "You can't facepalm me! You don't even have a face." Coffee: "I don't have a mouth either, but that hasn't stopped you from having a conversation wit

I think we should make a list of all of the late-December holidays. I'm talking about Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, Winter Solstice... Boxing Day... Santa Lucia Day... surely there are others. Let's make a list of them all. Then, every other year, let's all shift our chosen holiday one place down the list. On eve

Goodbye 2011. Though you weren't half bad, I've never been one to judge how good something was based on how bad it wasn't. In many ways, you arrived with more potential than you could possibly live up to, leaving me feeling let down in the end. Then again, I have to remind myself that you could have been worse. Regardle

A gentle Christmas playlist.

It's no secret that I love photography, and even though I have a DSLR, I often shoot with my iPhone. What can I say? It's fun, and it's always in my pocket when I'm out. One of my favorite iPhone apps has been Hipstamatic, by Synthetic. When Synthetic announced a new camera app, I

Raise a glass and we'll have a cheer, my dear acquaintance, it's almost time for a happy new year. I'll post a Christmas playlist next week, but today, my mind is already thinking about 2012. If you're in the mood for a Christmas playlist, click here.

Death Cab's version of Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) is my favorite modern Christmas song - cover or otherwise. And since it is that time of year again, I can't think of anywhere better to begin a playlist than that.

Along with the launch of a complete overhaul of the design of my beloved Jalpuna, I realized I should write a proper "about" page... so... Let's start with a few links: Social Media: You can find me on: Facebook.

A holiday playlist for your listening pleasure. We only get to enjoy this stuff for a few weeks each year, so let's get to it.

What do vegetarians in Turkey call their country? Would the Ottomans still have an empire if they hadn't always had their feet up? The rule of threes requires that I add a third Turkey joke here, but alas, I have none. ...happy Thnksgiving! P.S. Here's a little something that showed up in my email yesterday. ...so bad

A playlist about thanks and giving, and so on and so forth.

It was a long weekend in Portland. Our local "Occupy" movement got evicted from the three city parks they'd taken over. Downtown was filled with protesters, gawkers, media and riot police. My head and my heart were filled with frustration. Yes, the richest 1% have more wealth than the remaining 99% combined. And, yes,

Just when I was starting to wonder if Wilco was done, they release a great new album. I haven't really had enough time to absorb their new CD "The Whole Love" yet, but I'm really enjoying it so far. The opening track reminds me of their brilliant Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album, but I Might would sound at home on Summerteeth.

"I do believe it's true that there are roads left in both of our shoes, but if the silence takes you then I hope it takes me too." A fabulous quote from Soul Meets Body. I'm in a pop sort of mood tonight... so, here's a playlist for that. Sort of.

As Apple enters a post-Steve Jobs era (may he rest in peace), their next big thing is obvious. It's so bluntly obvious that I'm amazed they haven't launched it already: Apps on Apple TV. Apple TV 3 simply needs three things: #1: ATV3 needs a bit more storage. Many people don't realize the second generation Apple TV box

Do you remember the first time you ever sent a text message from your phone? Or the first time you checked your email from a phone? It was the dawn of a new era. Suddenly, those keys weren't just for dialing anymore, and the little screen on your phone wasn't just for scrolling through contacts and missed calls. Remembe

Before you get sick of it, let's do an acoustic version of Pumped Up Kicks. It's excellent. And, as long as we're doing acoustics... let's do acoustics...

It was a particularly foggy night in Portland, and a bright green glow shined over the city. In fact it was the only thing that could be seen in the darkness. And then it was gone. And then it was back? And then it was gone. And then I thought "WTF?" And then the light was back again. And then more WTF. And then, I

The following playlist is mostly alternative/pop based. If you like the opening track, buy the Foster The People CD and prepare to be thrilled. It's excellent.

What are you thinking of? Who are you dreaming of? It's time for a playlist.

This playlist is mostly harmless pop. And I'm ok with that.