Category: consumerism
I Bought Shoes
(August 25, 2022)WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC CUSTOMER SERVICES But I do not know what to do this information. And er OK.
My New Couture Blog
(January 7, 2021)My New Innovations in Packaging Blog
(September 23, 2020)Today I’ve gotten two musicalish things in the mail. The first is by Crickets: Which is JD Samson’s new thing. It’s in this very papery paper sleeve. Nice. The other odd thing I’ve gotten today is “It’s A Project” by Chicks on Speed. I think this is pretty old? I got this from somebody on … Continue reading My New Innovations in Packaging Blog
Have You Ever Seen Something That Is So Ugly That You Think “I Have To Have That”?
(August 7, 2020)Well, I did! It’s a teapot from Jason Miller Areaware. You may not be surprised to hear that they don’t make these any more. After only three years with a watchlist on Ebay, I finally got one! And it didn’t shatter in the mail! Isn’t that just uniquely horrible? It’s a bit less horrifying on … Continue reading Have You Ever Seen Something That Is So Ugly That You Think “I Have To Have That”?
My New Innovations in Packaging Blog
(August 7, 2020)So I’m opening packages, and out of an envelope this drops: Hi, Jack! Wut? Oh, it’s a record cover used as packaging: Reuse before recycle! (Oh, it was used as packaging for this classic comic by Lee Marrs):
The Horror
(July 23, 2020)So I was unpacking a mega package from the US today (I’m using a forwarding service, because it’s just … more fun), and one of the packages inside contained this item. “Queensryche? On tape?” I thought? “JUST HOW DRUNK HAVE I BEEN!!!1” “Oh, OK, perhaps it’s something so avant garde that they sell it in … Continue reading The Horror
Innovations in Music Distribution
(January 30, 2020)I was at a concert the other day, and as usual, I checked out what wares the musicians had to sell in the interval. And there was this box: … with a card inside: It’s USB! Isn’t that great? It conducts light really well, so that if your USB hub has a LED, it looks … Continue reading Innovations in Music Distribution
My New Innovations in Packaging blog
(September 21, 2019)While unpacking this week’s haul, I was surprised when unpacking a Laraaji album (Sun Transformations) sent to me by… … All Saints Records. It’s this intricately, but beautifully cut paper. It feels like just kinda normal paper, but since it’s been cut in this way, it replaces bubble wrap. It’s kinda magical: It’s light but … Continue reading My New Innovations in Packaging blog
Crimson
(July 5, 2019)I’m not a King Crimson fanatic, but I really love the three albums with Adrian Belew from the early 80s (the ones all Crimson fans hate). And it turns out that Fripp is re-releasing the entire oeuvre in a ridiculously lavish fashion. It’s like 20 discs per “era”. It’s ludicrous! I love it! So I … Continue reading Crimson
My New “Trends In Packaging” Blog
(February 12, 2019)So I bought a Kid606 remix CD via Discogs… That’s a very normal envelope. And then there’s paper. And then there’s… A Frank Ocean CD from… er… Channel Orange? And then there’s the CD I bought! So Frank Ocean is now packaging material for Kid606. These are the latest trends in packaging.
8K: Metropolis
(December 2, 2018)Look! *gasp* The number of albums er um musical units I have surpassed an arbitrary nice-looking number in the decimal number system! But what album was the eight thousandth? It’s this one! Metropolis! A jazz-ish album from the late 60s by Mike Westbrook, who I discovered recentlyish after Phil Minton did a gig here, so … Continue reading 8K: Metropolis
Useful Consumer Review
(November 13, 2018)The backlight to the monitor in the hallway half died, and the monitor was more than ten years old, so getting a replacement seemed more prudent than trying to get it fixed. I wanted a kinda small monitor for the table. The main use cases is me scanning record sleeves and paying bills (because this … Continue reading Useful Consumer Review
Fighting Thirst…
(July 15, 2018)… and capitalism at the same time.
Innovations in Music Distribution
(June 29, 2018)I was at a jazz concert the other week, and I was looking at the CDs and stuff the musicians had brought to sell. Adam Pulz Melbye had brought a shrinkwrapped bass string: With a Bandcamp download code. (Censored above.) I just had to buy one! Genius! It’s weird that I haven’t seen anybody doing … Continue reading Innovations in Music Distribution
Useful Consumer Review
(May 26, 2018)Some weeks ago I bought this Levimoon lamp. I didn’t really think it was going to work or anything, but hey: Unfortunately, despite being totally cool and fun, it makes a “BzbbbzbbzzHhghghzzbz” sound after it’s been switched on for about two minutes, so it’s a crapgadget instead of a useful lamp. And getting the moon … Continue reading Useful Consumer Review
Nice Vinyl
(May 25, 2018)Zola Jesus’ album Okovi was one of the best albums released in 2017, so now there’s a remix/additions album out, and it’s on totes groovey vinyl: How pretty! Sounds great, too. And for some reason, Norman Records sent me a signed picture of Chris Carter in the same parcel: Thanks? It’s what I’ve always wanted? … Continue reading Nice Vinyl
Bookshelf Porn
(September 10, 2017)I enjoy those shelf porn posts that pop up from time to time (“Ooo! Books! Comics! Avarice!”) so I thought I’d do one, too, since I just got this fabulous bookcase and is just about finished sorting stuff out to put in it. But first I had to rip out the baseboard so that the … Continue reading Bookshelf Porn
Compact Video Data
(August 26, 2017)I’m thinking about watching a buttload of older films… perhaps all from the 40s? I’m not sure. In any case, I’ve started poking around to see what’s available, and I stumbled onto a 50 musicals box set for $7 (used), which made me so curious I just had to get it. And it arrived today: … Continue reading Compact Video Data
Blacker than Black? A Small Monitor Review
(February 2, 2017)I’ve been using an Emacs-based alarm clock for almost a decade through various hardware incarnations. The main issue is the screen: It’s difficult to find a small screen that has a good black level. The last version used this USB IPS screen from MIMO, and it’s just about as good as you can get with … Continue reading Blacker than Black? A Small Monitor Review
Bordering on Insanity
(October 7, 2016)I use Borderlinx to bounce packages via when I buy stuff from ebay, since so many American ebay sellers don’t want to ship cheap items abroad. And it gives me greater control on when packages arrive, and it’s cheaper. So everything went well for months, and then two packages were stopped because they apparently contained … Continue reading Bordering on Insanity
Useful Consumer Review
(October 4, 2016)WIFI doesn’t work, but some wireless solutions work less than others. After years of searching, I’ve been using an ASUS AC87 wireless access point (what other people for inexplicable reasons call “a router”, even if you’re just running it as a bridge), and it’s almost worked, most of the time. That is, even with a … Continue reading Useful Consumer Review
Useful Consumer Review
(June 25, 2016)What with all these cocktails, I was getting tired of carrying bags of ice cubes from the store. So I bought an ice cube machine today: Logik L12IM14E. It’s not connected to the water mains, so it can be placed anywhere, but it’s on the kitchen counter for now. And it’s kinda noisy. I guess … Continue reading Useful Consumer Review
Useful Consumer Review
(June 24, 2016)I got some of these Duralex Provence glasses last year because they’re the prettiest glasses ever: But I was putting some of them away just now, and I er dropped one of them onto another a stack of them: The glass broke and totally disintegrated! Into a gazillion teensy bits! I’ve never seen a glass … Continue reading Useful Consumer Review
Innovations in DVD Case Technology
(May 28, 2016)I’ve got quite a few DVD cases that have four DVDs inside a normal size DVD case. Arranged like this: Now the Australians have innovated: Look! Six DVDs in one single normal size DVD case! I’m amaze!
I Bought Something
(May 20, 2016)After watching Prisoner Queen the other month, I started thinking about maybe perhaps watching Prisoner: Cell Block H again. In like, 20 years or so. When I’m feeling poorly. And I’ve gotten old timers’ disease. So I started idly looking for it… Didn’t seem to be any active torrents going for the whole series… And … Continue reading I Bought Something
“EXTERNALIZE REALITY”
(March 5, 2016)Every pair of pants should have a manifesto.
Useful Consumer Review
(November 11, 2015)I bought a bluetooth numpad today. It’s a fresh and exciting experience: Fresh! Scandinavian design! Thor! Is that you!? Sure… Or perhaps they mean the packaging? Perhaps not. Anyway, I can’t get it to pair with my Ubuntu laptop, so I guess it doesn’t work under Linux. Oh, well. It it’s wireless, it doesn’t really … Continue reading Useful Consumer Review
My New “Trends in Packaging” Blog
(June 26, 2015)So how do the kids pack 7″ singles these days? Reuse before recycling!
My New Furniture Blog
(May 24, 2015)It’s some sort of christian holiday here this long weekend (Presumption? Assumption?), and it’s kinda almost spring-like, so I’ve been getting the balcony into shape. Which inevitably means that I ended up at the garden center. This time to buy a new chair-ey/table-ish thing. I just had to buy this one: It’s so nautical. Which … Continue reading My New Furniture Blog
Useful Consumer Review
(May 23, 2015)I got a space age butter knife the other month. It was Kickstartered. (That’s a word.) So let’s test it! I got some butter cold from the fridge… And as the control I used a normal knife to … spread? some of the butter onto the piece of bread. Eww! So uneven! That’s not kawaii … Continue reading Useful Consumer Review
Omnomnom
(May 23, 2015)I got some chawklits from Iceland… My, that’s a handsome box… These are from Omnom in Iceland. They have a pretty annoying web site. Lots of lightbox popups… And Iceland isn’t known for their great chocolate. To put it mildly. But these ones are really delish. Subtle and complex cocoa. Nom. Om nom.
Use Once, Then Destroy
(May 16, 2015)Language News
(May 3, 2015)The following was included in a CD I got the other day: “Digital” now exclusively means “on your computer” or something, so a CD is no longer digital. Neither is a Bluray disc.
Yoga
(February 20, 2015)End! User!
(December 11, 2014)The latest Nadja album, from the latest mega-package from Norman Records.
Make Free Money Now
(November 16, 2014)I was rooting through the Cupboard Of Mysterious Odds’n’Ends a month back, and I found a major stash of pre-Euro money. It must have been in there for years and years. I vaguely remember thinking that I should, perhaps, bring it with me to an airport sometime to put into those “spare change” charity things, … Continue reading Make Free Money Now
What I See Is At The Store
(November 12, 2014)In this “consumerism” series of posts, I usually feature unusual music packaging. This one isn’t that unusual. It’s just three albums of two vinyls each, some of which are oddly coloured. But it’s a really nice set of albums. snd made an album in 1999 called makesnd cassette, part of the then-current glitch/clicks & cuts … Continue reading What I See Is At The Store
I Am The End User
(November 12, 2014)A CD by Maps and Diagrams from the Handstitched record label… But is it really? Enhance! That stitching is way to regular to be hand-stitched! They’ve sown this paper on a machine! The outrage!
Signature Elided
(October 4, 2014)I stopped buying stuff from Amazon like a year ago (I know, I’m slow on the uptake about their eeeevil), so I’m now buying all my DVDs and BluRays via play.com, which is a shopping portal. All the orders apparently go to smaller shops that send out the stuff. Which has to be better. I … Continue reading Signature Elided
Conspicuous Consumption
(September 29, 2014)I Am The Product Chooser
(September 6, 2014)I was too poor at the time (1993, I think?) to buy the limited-edition version of This Rimy River by Vaughan Oliver, but reading the 4AD biography reminded me that I had to buy it. The regular version is very pretty, and has an overview of Oliver’s design career. The limited edition is weirder. The … Continue reading I Am The Product Chooser
My Needs Manufactured
(July 9, 2014)Look at this nice 7″ from Bluefaced People.
I Am Consumer
(June 25, 2014)Look at how nice the latest album from Peter Christopherson (from Coil) is. (Although he died a few years ago.) It’s called Time Machines II, and it comes on a wooden USB stick inside a pewter box wrapped in a leather bag. And the music is high-class, too. AIFF with lots of bits and stuff. … Continue reading I Am Consumer
Meh. Amazon.
(December 15, 2013)I was reading yet another story about how Amazon working conditions totally suck, so I thought it was about time to ditch Amazon. And I’m someone who orders stuff from Amazon like every other day. But the question remains, as ever: Why do all non-Amazon web shops suck? Badly? For books I’ve now used bookstore.co.uk … Continue reading Meh. Amazon.
I Heart Japan
(December 4, 2013)I ordered an album by Tujiko Noriko and Nobukazu Takemura (two of my favourite artists) the other week and forgot all about it. Today I got this in the mail: What’s that purple thing? It’s a bird!!! This is already my favourite album, and I haven’t even heard it yet.
Epic Unboxing
(October 26, 2013)I got chocolates from Demarquette today. He makes the best chocolate in the world, probably. And just look at this packaging. Nom, nom, nom.
My New Concert Blog vs Useful Consumer Review
(October 17, 2013)So I wanted to test the camera again. I mean, filming. I decreased the HD-ness to perhaps save some battery life. There’s apparently no way to shut the screen off while filming. That’s annoying, because a bright screen sitting on a table at the front is kinda annoying. The camera shut itself off every 20 … Continue reading My New Concert Blog vs Useful Consumer Review
Useful Consomer Review vs My New Concert Blog
(October 13, 2013)I got a Canon S120 the other day, because I thought it’d be nice to have a camera small enough to actually schlep around again. So I went to the Deciders concert: After sixteen minutes the “I’m dying!!!” battery symbol started flashing in red, so I switched the camera off. I switched it on during … Continue reading Useful Consomer Review vs My New Concert Blog
Livin’ in the 1980s
(July 28, 2013)I got a new tape deck! Now that newspapers have started reporting on how all the hipsters have moved from vinyl to tape (because vinyl got too popular), hipsters have probably stopped buying tape decks. (Too mainstream now.) So I was finally able to pick up a good one today, after looking for a month. … Continue reading Livin’ in the 1980s
Book!
(July 3, 2013)I have literally no idea why I might have ordered this book, but I’m unpacking stuff. And just look at this cover: That’s just totally fabulous. And the book feels fantastic. I want to read it right now! But I’m not going to. Probably next week.
Useful Consumer Review
(July 2, 2013)I’m going to the Kongsberg Jazz Festival this weekend, but the schedule on Saturday is the weakest it’s been in years. So we thought we’d do a micro-hackathon. And then I needed a laptop with functioning built-in 3G. And I needed a new one for work purposes, anyway. I’d never use it for anything but … Continue reading Useful Consumer Review
My New Tea Blog
(June 27, 2013)I bought some fancee tea yesterday. It said “golden” on the label, so I assumed it would be the normal black tea, only slightly paler. But look: It’s yellow! Or “golden”. Truth in advertising. Very disappointing. It tasted quite nice, though.
I Got Tapes!
(April 4, 2013)That’s the best music ever!
Haworthia Is The New Black
(March 21, 2013)Breaking The Law
(February 18, 2013)Package With Another Package Inside I Did It Anyway. Hah!
Pet Peeve #942: Amazon Packaging
(January 29, 2013)If you order a book or two from Amazon, they know how to pack them. If you order more than that, they just throw everything into a thin cardboard box, and if the books are heavy, they then sometimes throw that box into a mail bag. Exhibit A: Thin cardboard boxes with heavy books inside … Continue reading Pet Peeve #942: Amazon Packaging
Useful Consumer Review
(December 12, 2012)Whenever I’m out flying around, I needs my music. Sony NWZ-A845. Nice mp3 player! I’ve been using this Sony Walkman NWZ-A845 for years. It’s fine. It boots up pretty fast, and the controls are nice. No yucky touch-screen interface, but nice buttons that do what you expect them to do. It’s nice. But it only … Continue reading Useful Consumer Review
Special CD
(July 11, 2012)I was ripping CDs tonight, and one was giving me more problems than usual. It was a cd by the band called disc, which is a Matmos offshoot. I took the CD out of the drive and stared at it a bit. Oops. I think it might be one of those conceptual non-playable CDs. And … Continue reading Special CD
Euro Crisis
(June 17, 2012)Today I bought a used CD from Greece. Don’t say I don’t do my part to fix the European economic crisis.
London Review of Chocolate
(June 16, 2012)I was in London the other week. When in London, I always try to visit a snobby chocolate store. The Brits make the best chocolate, for some reason or other. My favourites are Artisan du Chocolat and Demarquette. They make the most tasty box of chocolates ever. But featured here in this photo feature we … Continue reading London Review of Chocolate
Useful Consumer Review
(June 15, 2012)Micro SD playing headphones I have a love/hate affair with wiring. I love that stuff works. That’s why I love ethernet cables. Because wifi doesn’t work. But I hate getting tangled in cables. And I love music. So walking around is a conundrum. Micro SD card Fortunately, some geniuses came up with the idea of … Continue reading Useful Consumer Review
Useful Consumer Review
(April 1, 2012)I bought this catch-and-release fly catcher… gun… a few weeks back. But, despite the warmest March ever (or something), I hadn’t seen a single fly since getting the device. Until today. It works! I caught the fly and released it out the window. I didn’t really think it would work, because the suction kinda sucks. … Continue reading Useful Consumer Review
January 13th, 2012
(January 14, 2012)Dear diary, today is the most joyful day of my entire life. The Samsung 830s for my new server arrived! Sort of out of the blue! The web shop insisted upon them not arriving until the end of the month, and then they sent them anyway. Look at how pretty they are. One might even … Continue reading January 13th, 2012
Useful Consumer Review
(January 2, 2012)Ugly OS This year, I’m finally actually really (this time) learn to read French. So I needed a dictionary by the couch, so I bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which is the tablet with the longest battery life, allegedly. (Apart from the tablets from The Company That Shall Not Be Mentioned.) The most immediately … Continue reading Useful Consumer Review
Useful Consumer Review
(December 1, 2011)I bought these tipping tea cups… They actually work. I mean, they tip and the tea leaves don’t fall out when I drink the tea. However, the cups are made out of a kind of nasty plastic that feels just wrong. And they taste like plastic, too. So my rating here is: Unusable. But the … Continue reading Useful Consumer Review
Cartridge
(November 1, 2011)Gem I bought a new pick-up for the record player (I know, how au courant) today. They didn’t have the one I wanted so I bought this one instead. Look at the pretty packaging!
Oh, Brando
(September 9, 2011)I bought some USB3->SATA adapters from Brando. They came with US->Euro plug adapters. (Yes, the adapters had adapters with adapters. Geez.) See if you can spot the problem. In addition, the speed I get when ripping CDs via these adapters is, as they say, teh sux. Oh, well. It’s not as if I actually expected … Continue reading Oh, Brando
Useful Consumer Review
(April 19, 2011)I got a new phone today. The Nokia E7. And look! It’s perfect! It runs Gnus under ssh! Look how pretty Gnus is on the phone! (The only thing that would have been perfecter would be if it actually ran Emacs on the phone itself, but I guess that’ll have to wait until somebody produces … Continue reading Useful Consumer Review
My Favourite Shop
(April 16, 2011)I buy tons of music, and most of it I buy from Norman Records. One of the many things I like about them is how some of their reviews are both concrete and abstract at the same time.
Lolz
(February 5, 2011)Square McSweeney’s
(January 10, 2011)The fun people at McSweeney’s have done a lot of amusingly formatted issues of their Quarterly Concern (a shaving kit, an advertising folder, etc), but this one is certainly the bulkiest one: It’s a 15x15x15cm box, and when you crack open his forehead, you find lots of neat litte pamphlets inside instead of brains: And … Continue reading Square McSweeney’s