Winnie the Pooh as Animated by Soviets!

How very different from the Disney version! The animation is quaint and quite "proletarian" but make no mistake, this is Winnie the Pooh. While there are no subtitles, one can easily discover which exact Winnie the Pooh story this is: it's the one where he eats too much honey and gets stuck in Rabbit's entrance.

I can't help but think about the vastly different approach from the Winnie that we have all familiarized ourselves with. This is simpler, cruder — and very refreshing. There is also an apparent humour that is quite Russian. It's almost like we are reading a sunny Dostoyevsky novel set in the English countryside.

In essence, this Soviet Winnie the Pooh is surreal but very innocent. If anyone knows Russian, please add subtitles! (Thanks to Anonymous for providing me a link with subtitles). In my mind, this is an unknown classic.

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Jandek

I got into Jandek last January. Here in Surrey, it doesn't snow so much as it rains. Factor in the fact that I work at night and take the bus, it is easy for me to get an appetite for atonal, jangled, and morose tunes. As "unlistenable" as Jandek may be, I simply cannot get enough of him as he seems to provide the perfect soundtrack to my nighthawk life.

I also couldn't get over the sheer creepiness and loneliness of his lyrics. They are a little bit disturbing but strangley fascinating. With a monotonous voice accompanied by something that does not sound like a guitar at all, yet sounds like simple mayhem, imagine listening to these lyrics:

I had a vision
Of a teenager daughter
Who's growin' up naked
In the afternoon light

That said, even if his music isn't for you, he at least has an interesting story. To put it succinctly, he is quite a social hermit, had never done a concert till recently, and rumour has it that he is an executive at the Firestone Corporation.

As a bonus for you, I'm also including a recording of one rare interview with Jandek done in 1985. This will give you a little insight about the person who develops this kind of music.

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Shoes on Powerlines

If you are like me and have often wondered why someone has thrown shoes onto powerlines, but have been content to just let the shoes be, you will appreciate this Flickr set of nothing but shoes on powerlines.

I think there is something captivating about the mystery of such occurrences. You know there is a story to be told, so often times you have to guess. Was there an argument between husband and wife with the wife compelled to throw her husbands good shoes to a place he could not recover it? We'll never know.

That's part of the fun of looking at these photos.