So I just bled out. I went to blow my nose as my allergies have been on fire these past few days (I think spring is finally in bloom, no, it’s not July yet) and what do you know? I just ruined a shirt as blood just gushed out my both sides of my nose. Nice.

About 40 minutes later it stopped. I’ll tell you what, I made some pretty cool artwork in the sink as the blood streamed off of the tip of my nose. It really accented the cream color of the sink bowl. I’m pretty sure I could have sold those pictures to the world at large, but I didn’t want to put my sticky, red stained hands on my camera. Or walk anywhere. I only have so much carpet cleaner.

So, just to let you know, it is possible to almost die from a nose bleed. I’m pretty sure I’m down a good quart of blood. Damn. Too bad it’s a weeknight cause I’m a cheap date tonight.

Coming out in Japan is a “game” entitled KORG DS-10 and it is a full blown synthesizer that utilizes the Nintendo DS and it’s unique touchscreen functionality. To me, this is a great idea that borders on genuis when seen/heard in action. Just watch.

There are a couple interesting things going on here. First, the DS allows for multiple uses on one cart. Meaning, only one of you needs to have the “game.” Now, I’m not sure this is true of this program and I can see it’s technical limitations getting in the way of multi-cart use, but the interesting thing is that (like the video shows) you can connect a couple DS’s using wi-fi and all play on the same song. This makes the idea of creating electronic music that much simpler for a group of people.

Another interesting aspect is simply the quality of sound. Sure, the DS speakers can’t cut it, but patching them into something else (headphones even) still create a quality sound.

My favorite aspect, however, has to be the touch screen interactivity. Sure, twisting the knobs and navigating screens with the stylus looks about as intuitve as using a mouse, but the on-the-fly improvisation is unparalled. I have never seen a program in which it is easier to jam out a song on the fly.

So, if you have a DS this looks like a great buy. Unfortunately it is currently slated for a Japan-only release, but the everything is in English, so importing it is very viable.

I just got turned onto this podcast/radio show called Sound Opinions. It is exactly what I want in a music show. The hosts are both music critics, but they aren’t too overly pretentious. The music they play is generally of the higher echelon in terms of quality and they tend to focus on bands and artists that aren’t entirely mainstream. Sure, they do reviews of more mainstream albums and they will have guests along the lines of Radiohead and Wilco, but they also have lesser known acts like Art Brut, Bob Mould and The New Pornographers. Acts that you may have heard of, or may even be fans of, but aren’t generally world reknowned. Basically, they focus more on indie rock bands, but mix things up with some hip-hop or R&B. (If they play the South By Southwest festival, they’re bound to be mentioned.)

Sound Opinions offers their shows as a free podcast download at their website (or you can stream it), but they are also part of public radio so you can possibly find them on your local NRP station (see list here).  For fans of music I can’t recommend their show enough. So, click this link and start enjoying some new tunes.

Except a podcast or radio show this weekend.

Good to know. I agree with Joe Rogan, he performs well, but . . .