The Contractually Obligated Christmas Post

   Apparently, this is the 500th post on the B-List blog.  But if you
   include email-only posts that pre-dated the blog, this is the 983rd
   B-List post.

   Best wishes for a happy and safe festive season.

   1. "Dear Economist: What's the best Christmas present?"
     <http://blogs.ft.com/undercover/2008/12/dear-economist-
        what%E2%80%99s-the-best-christmas-present/>
   "All this points to the optimal gift-giving strategy... buying small
   gifts and striving for emotional resonance. Look for something
   inexpensive, and consider supplementing it with a letter, a photo,
   or time spent together."

   2. "Researchers explain the science behind bad gift giving"
     <http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2006/12/06/consumer-gifts.html>
   "Research on product attitude predictions suggests, and this research
   confirms, that familiarity with another consumer is not particularly
   helpful when predicting the other's product attitudes."

   3. "Tips From the Potlatch, Where Giving Knows No Slump"
     <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/science/16tierney.html?_r=1>
   Suggested strategies from the Kwakwaka'wakw Indians, "the world's
   most experienced gift-givers."

   4. "The scientific guide to gift wrapping"
     <http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026873.800?full=true>
   "Mathematicians could offer them some help because they have thought
   long and hard about how to pack things into the smallest possible
   space."

   5. Wrapping up 2008
   * 2008 Year-End Google Zeitgeist
     <http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/zeitgeist2008/>
   Based on "billions of search queries that people type into the Google
   search box."
   * The year according to Wikipedia
     <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008>
   2008 is the "International Year of the Potato", among other things.

Cocteau Twins - A Rough Guide

   "Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative rock band active from 1979 to
   1997. The band were named after the song 'The Cocteau Twins' by fellow
   Scotsmen 'Johnny and the Self-Abusers' (who later renamed themselves
   Simple Minds)."  [Wikipedia]
     <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocteau_Twins>

   The two core members of the band were guitarist Robyn Guthrie and
   singer Elizabeth Fraser.  According to Wikipedia:
   "At times barely decipherable, Fraser seemed to veer into glossolalia
   and mouth music. Allmusic reviewer Ned Raggett writes that 'part of her
   appeal is how she can make hard-to-interpret lyrics so emotionally
   gripping.'"

   Although the band had long since broken up, I only started listening to
   its music recently.  There is that Eighties-style atmosphere, but
   Fraser's vocals sets the band's music apart and renders it timeless.
   The hard-to-understand lyrics only adds to the band's lasting appeal.
   I'm sure I could find the lyrics on the 'net, but for now I'd prefer to
   keep a little mystery.

   The band's official website:
     <http://www.cocteautwins.com/>

   The links in the guide below are to YouTube movies.  If the links
   are blocked, you can try viewing clips in Quicktime format via the
   official site:
     <http://www.cocteautwins.com/html/media/video.html>

   The "rough guide" ...

   1. "Heaven or Las Vegas"
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=dtBr5JKSuks>
   I've decided to kick things off with the title track from the band's
   sixth album, released in 1990.  "Heaven or Las Vegas" is considered by
   many critics and fans as the band's best album.  It was also the band's
   biggest commercial success.

   2. "Ivo"
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWcgFUpypXg>
   This is the opening track from the band's third album, "Treasure",
   released in 1984.  While earlier albums had their moments, on "Treasure"
   the band was really starting to get it together.

   3. "Carolyn's Fingers"
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh83z5vIP0w>
   This is the music video for a single from the band's fifth album, "Blue
   Bell Knoll", released in 1988.

   4. "For Phoebe Still A Baby"
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=3atilTsBoxs>
   This album track from "Blue Bell Knoll" always manages to send a chill
   up and down my spine.  Excuse the home-made fan video, but unfortunately
   there's no official video for this ethereal song.

   5. "A Kissed Out Red Floatboat"
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=a5o5hVSgrK4>
   Another haunting and blissful album track from "Blue Bell Knoll".

   6. "Iceblink Luck"
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl5EqjtRuGU>
   This is the first single from 1990's landmark "Heaven or Las Vegas".

   7. "I Wear Your Ring"
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=tkWI85aGKSs>
   Another great album track from the filler-free "Heaven or Las Vegas".
   As pointed out in one of the comments, this song combines multiple vocal
   tracks to great effect.

   8. "Bluebeard"
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=DqEYJnIWgeE>
   The second single from the band's seventh album, "Four-Calendar Café",
   released in 1993.  This album is considered the most "accessible",
   mainly because Fraser's lyrics are more clearly understandable.

   9. "Oil of Angels"
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=oqB0RyARUHE>
   One of my personal favourites from "Four-Calendar Café".  Another song
   that sends chills up and down my spine.  Angels indeed!

   10. "Pur"
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=_0k4GPi0O-8>
   The final track on "Four-Calendar Café".  This fan-made clip has English
   "subtitles" to help the listener work out the lyrics.  I think the song
   is dedicated to Fraser's daughter.

   11. "Half-Gifts"
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ELIq96lmr-I>
   "Milk & Kisses" was the band's eighth and final studio album, released
   in 1996.  Fittingly, this is a break-up song for the break-up album.
   This is a stripped-back version from a promo video.

   12. "Seekers Who Are Lovers" (Live)
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=N7ZqPaLcEQs>
   This is a live version of the last track from "Milk & Kisses".

   It wasn't easy trying to pick just 12 songs the songs from the band's
   large repertoire.  On another day I probably would've picked a different
   set of songs.

   This is a band I wish I'd known about when it was still together.  I'm
   sure I would've looked forward to each new release, wondering if it
   could top previous efforts.  Oh well, better late than never.

   Bonus tracks:
   Check out some of the Elizabeth Fraser's collaborations, for example:
   * This Mortal Coil: "Song to the Siren"
   * Massive Attack: "Teardrop", "Black Milk", "Group Four" (Mezzanine)
   * "All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun", a duet with Jeff Buckley

Remixed Art and Demotivators

   1. "If other artists drew the Mona Lisa"
     <http://aviary.com/bizblog/posts/if-other-artists-drew-the-mona-lisa>


   2. "Understanding art for geeks"
     <http://gemssty.com/2008/01/28/art-for-geeks/>
   The "Mona Lisa" images reminded me of a collection of photoshopped
   masterpieces that emerged briefly start of the year, entitled
   "Understanding art for geeks".  The flickr set was removed by its
   creator before I could mention it on the B-List.  But thanks to Google
   image search, I've located some of the pics:
   * "The Scream" by Munch
     <http://www.made-in-england.org/images/the_scream.jpg>
   * "St. Matthew and the Angel" by Caravaggio
     <http://a1.vox.com/6a00c225239a5e8fdb00e398d5d0b10003-500pi>
   * "The Creation of Adam" by Michelangelo
     <http://www.valeriovalerio.org/images/god_linux.jpg>
   * "Napoleon on Horseback" by Jacques-Louis David
     <http://www.phfactor.net/wp-pics/2208736809_4df829bfc8.jpg>
   * "Waterfall" by M.C. Escher
     <http://www.valeriovalerio.org/images/water_fall.jpg>
   * "This is Not a Pipe" by Magritte
     <http://www.ecrans.fr/local/cache-vignettes/L450xH347/understanding2-
        ed7e3.jpg>

   Use this Google images search URL to dig up others:
     <http://images.google.com/images?q=Understanding%20art%20for%20geeks>

   Here's a post with an explanation why the original set was taken down:
     <http://gemssty.com/2008/01/28/art-for-geeks/>


   3. Demotivators - The Complete Collection
     <http://despair.com/viewall.html>
   The original and official set of motivational parody posters.

   Along the same lines, some unofficial demotivational posters...
     <http://www.squidoo.com/demotivator>

Odds and Ends, Wed 3 December 2008

   1. "Mystery piano in woods perplexes police"
     <http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/11/23/massachusetts.piano/>
   "Was it a theft? A prank? A roundabout effort to bring some holiday
    cheer to the police? Authorities in Harwich, Massachusetts, are probing
    the mysterious appearance of a piano, in good working condition, in the
    middle of the woods."

   2. "One Woman's Story as Told by Shuffle Mode"
     <http://www.macnewsworld.com/rsstory/65330.html>
   "How much can someone tell about you by looking at what's on your iPod?
    Try this -- set your iPod on shuffle mode, then write up a list of Big
    Life Events. Each milestone gets its own randomly selected theme song,
    for better or for worse, and the result is your life's soundtrack. One
    thing it taught Amanda Deprospero: She needs to clean out her
    playlists."

   3. "Barry Manilow music used as punishment"
     <http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/27/2430951.htm>
   "A US judge has hailed as a success a new form of punishment for people
    who go to court for being too noisy - an hour of listening to Barry
    Manilow or the theme tune from the children's TV show Barney And
    Friends."

   4. "Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year 2008"
     <http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/08words.htm>
   "With politics and the economy foremost on the minds of many, it is no
    wonder that bailout -- a word ubiquitously featured in discussions of
    the presidency and fiscal policy -- took home honors as Merriam-
    Webster's Word of the Year for 2008."

   5. "Oxford compiles list of top ten irritating phrases"
     <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/debates/3394545/Oxford-
        compiles-list-of-top-ten-irritating-phrases.html>
   "Heading the list was the expression 'at the end of the day', which was
    followed in second place by the phrase 'fairly unique'."

   6. "Life Is A Highway: Study Confirms Cars Have Personality"
     <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081125161542.htm>
   "Now a study co-authored by a Florida State University researcher has
    confirmed through a complex statistical analysis that many people see
    human facial features in the front end of automobiles and ascribe
    various personality traits to cars -- a modern experience driven by
    our prehistoric psyches."

   7. "Man petitions to marry comic book character"
     <http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/30/2405987.htm>
   "A Japanese man has enlisted hundreds of people in a campaign to allow
    marriages between humans and cartoon characters, saying he feels more
    at ease in the 'two-dimensional world.'"

   8. "The Matrix Runs on Windows"
     <http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1886349>

   9. "Star Wars Vs. Star Trek"
     <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=v4ijDlbvAxw>