The year 2012 was the year of the trap. The term was seen everywhere this year — to describe not just the ATL-based hip-hop of 2Chainz and Future but also the dubstep and bass music scenes that were mixing crunked out hip-hop with dance music to come up with something new.
So for tonight’s DJ Party I put together a set full of spaced-out psychedelic bass music. I think this might be my best mix yet so turn up the stereo and enjoy. Continue reading
It’s a well known fact that manliness is currently in inexorable decline. I blame the fact that no one works with their hands anymore (other than manipulating a video game controller). And when something breaks? We hire someone to fix it for us, or more likely, just throw it out and go buy a new one at Target.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Tools are awesome, and once you own them you’ll start looking for reasons to use them. That’s why I put together a gift guide featuring 10 great gifts for the handy man (or woman) in your life. Continue reading
Welcome to Art Talk With Botswana, where we like discuss paintings and shit. Today I’m going to tell you about my recent trip to see the Barnes Foundation at its brand new home in Center City Philadelphia. They actually let me in to see one of the most famous art collections in the world. Yeah, I was as surprised as you are. Continue reading
You’ve been dealing with a heavy case of Outkast withdrawal lately. I know all about it. We’ve all been affected. After all, it’s been nine long years since the masterpiece double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below came out and two years since Big Boi’s last solo joint (the incredibly dope Sir Luscious Leftfoot album).
Luckily Big Boi will release his new album Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors on Dec. 11. But that’s two weeks of Outkast-related anticipation we have to deal with. Some of us aren’t up to it and will crack under the pressure, but I have a plan to get us through these troubling times. Continue reading
Since Homoviper interviewed me last month, it was my turn to pick a Crasstalker. I couldn’t resist the urge to interview Rowen. He’s usually so shy and reticent. Also it took him like two weeks to do this whole thing but that’s because he was binge-watching Dance Moms (I assume). Continue reading
Have you heard of NaNoWriMo? That’s the National Novel Writing Month, an event sponsored by a group of literary terrorists who encourage bored housewives and unwashed yokels to write an entire 50,000-word novel during the month of November.
NaNoWriMo’s growth in popularity is simply astounding. It was launched in 1999 by a group of 21 writers in the San Francisco area, but within two years had 5,000 “writers” participating in it. By 2010, the non-profit group that sponsors the event had over 200,000 participants.
There are surprisingly few people who are openly critical of NaNoWriMo — probably because actual published authors are understandably wary of offending the kinds of people who buy lots of books. But this event sucks, and to pretend otherwise is to humor the delusional, literature-destroying idiots that participate in it. Continue reading
Thanks to Tchotchke for inspiring the name this week! I haven’t done any mixes in a while, but tonight I have an hour and 14 minutes of deep house and disco vibes for you crazy kids. Get sweaty.
The mix and tracklist are after the jump.
Recently my friend Misty and I were having lunch and she mentioned that she’s looking for a new job. She told me her rather plain middle name and asked me if I thought she should use that on job applications. I told her I liked the name Misty but didn’t have a good answer about what would be most effective at landing a new job. Here’s an essay she wrote about living with her name.
I’m thinking about ditching my first name for job applications, and using my middle name instead. The other day I remembered that while I worked briefly at a restaurant back in 2006, the manager asked me if Misty was a nickname. He might have asked before writing out the first paycheck. When I said no, he replied that he thought it might have been my “dancing name.” His name is one of the most common- one that doesn’t register a blip on any snobbiness radar- yep, John. The Social Security website lists the most popular names by decade here. Continue reading
Whenever I see someone request their freaky, ultra-specific fetish on Craigslist, I immediately fear for human civilization, then take solace in the fact that these people are pretty much the only ones on the planet looking for a partner who will “fart all over the place before making it too the toilet” or whatever. But somehow Crasstalk’s own SusanBAwesome and I stumbled upon a sprawling world of widespread freakiness that defies all logical explanation.
Did you know that YouTube fetish videos of girls (and a few guys) sneezing routinely get thousands and thousands of views? Oh, you didn’t know that and would have been perfectly content to someday die without ever realizing that insane nutballs get their jollies from watching girls sneeze? WELL TOO BAD. Continue reading
Hey, I just met you. And this is crazy, but here’s my bath salts-fueled midget gang bang in the Taco Bell parking lot, so call me maybe.
This week Slim and I found so many insane Craigslist ads that we couldn’t help but ponder what the world would be like if it operated on the social norms of Casual Encounters, Strictly Platonic and other insane CL.com forums. Every single worker in the economy would make a living posing for “erotic art photoz” and the housing market would be based on skeevy dudes offering rooms to vulnerable single ladies “who just need a little help.” Shiver. It’d basically be like “Children of Men,” but with more ball gags.
OK, now that our dystopian vision has brought the frisson, let’s get to the fuckery.
Warning: Craigslost is NSFW. Continue reading