Evolve Happy

I also posted these tracks on my blog, ‘Compound Fractures from Black Fontanelle‘. These are three new songs I’ve been working on the last five months. I’ve been enjoying my new surroundings and not absorbing much new music, hence the slim pickings of my last few Audio Treats. Plus, I really like this site, Soundcloud. I finally started using my account there and it’s awesome for posting straight to blogs, etc. You can download these tracks by clicking the arrow on the side on each player.

Mountain Husband – California King & Queen by Black Fontanelle

Mountain Husband – Caught In It by Black Fontanelle

Mountain Husband – You’re In My Dream by Black Fontanelle

Mountain Husband on myspace

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“The Battle at Coal River Mountain has officially begun.

At the same time President Obama invoked the “legacy of daring men and women” in our nation’s quest for renewable energy initiatives, and as millions of concerned citizens rallied in support of 350.org climate change events around the world this weekend, Big Coal bulldozers reportedly clear cut a swath of lush deciduous forests in the carbon sink of Appalachia and fired the opening salvos in the mountaintop removal mining process to destroy the historic range slated for the Coal River Mountain Wind Project—the most symbolic clean energy project in the nation.

But not without a fight.

Just as Appalachian mountaineers single-handedly turned the tide of the American Revolution, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, in defeating the British loyalists who threatened to lay waste to mountain communities at the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780; just as mountaineers and union coal miners marched to liberate mountain communities at the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921 against Big Coal and its armed thugs, an extremely organized and growing coalfield uprising movement against mountaintop removal has marked a line in the sand on Coal River Mountain as the ultimate battleground to stop mountaintop removal and launch President Obama’s clean energy jobs program.” read entire article posted by Jeff Biggers @ Grist…also read this related article…

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Three weeks ago, Roberto went to the emergency room because of a severe headache and high fever (103 degrees F). After a week in the hospital, a whole bunch of antibiotics and careful observation, he was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. The doctors concluded that a cerebrospinal fluid leak had caused this infection. This meningitis was not the contagious kind, but one that originated internally. It hasn’t been confirmed, but the doctors believe it might be connected to some head trauma that happened very early in his life.

For the past two weeks, he’s been taking it easy and has been taking more IV antibiotics through a PICC line. On Thursday, the PICC line was taken out and he was given a clean bill of health. Besides being a little tired at times, he’s feeling better. He just celebrated his 35th birthday yesterday in style by dining on some sea urchin (stay tuned for more on this).

The next step is meeting with a neurologist, as well as an ear, nose and throat doctor on November 2nd, in regards to a surgery to fix the problem so it is not reoccurring. Apparently, Roberto’s condition is a textbook cause for this surgery. We’ve been told that it would be ideal to have this surgery before the end of the year, so we’re expecting to start this process as soon as possible.

Roberto has a couple ideas for upcoming posts and has really been contemplating the future of Evolve Happy. While in the hospital, he started to really use Twitter to update everyone on his progress (since it was a bit easier to use on his iPhone than Blogger). If you’d like to be kept in the loop on Twitter, you should follow him @evolvehappy.

Evolve Happy has become its own little community and we wanted to share the development of this situation with everyone. I think it’s nice to know what’s going on in fellow members’ lives, despite distance, schedules and availability. As we find out more about what will be going on the rest of this year, we will definitely let you know. All of your positivity and empathy are much appreciated. Keep evolving happy.

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Are you ready for Halloween? Because Tim Burton is. Just in time for the horrific holiday, here are some ghastly get-ups from a Burton photo shoot with Harper’s Bazaar Magazine. Both the drama and the storytelling aspects are so Burton-esque. My favorites are the shots with the Chanel dress and hat and also the one with the Givenchy dress/shoes and Alexander McQueen headpiece, shown below. These outfits juxtaposed with the natural and soft setting turns up the volume even more. They’re BOO-tiful! (Did you like how I snuck that in? Ah, so elegant.) I could have looked at like a hundred more.

thanks cinematical

Related: Tim Burton Retrospective at the MoMA, November 22, 2009–April 26, 2010

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This looks really interesting. November 3 on HBO. 9pm (east) / 8pm (central)

hbo.com/docs/programs/bythepeople/

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I’m still in the process of moving into my new house, so I don’t have anything in mind for an Audio Treat. Also, I’m kind of wondering why I’m one of the only people posting new material, that wasn’t scheduled in advance. I feel like the only sad sack updating their Friendster profile, at this point.

In the meantime, check out some fresh music at some of my favorite blogs:
Unpiano (I don’t think I’ve downloaded anything from there I didn’t like.)
Arthur (This used to be a free magazine, but now is online only.)
Big Eats (Bill Porter of Richmond, VA has some great new music posted. Check out Bloodbanks and the quiet live set by Bermuda Triangles from The Lighthouse, in DC.)
WFMU’s Beware of the Blog (I have found so many good things here. Check out my current favorite entry, ‘Songs The Fall Taught Us.’)
Silver Currant (Ethan Miller of Comets On Fire & Howlin’ Rain has a blog and it’s got a lot of good music on it.)
Tuff Rock (Full of music that makes me want to drive a Trans Am on mushrooms.)

I’m-not-that-lazy bonus tracks:
I have been listening to The Flaming Lips‘ new album, Embryonic, for the last week. It’s a double album full of stripped down, amazing songs. Here are the first and the last song. Imagine what the rest are like. Now find them.

The Flaming Lips – Convinced of the Hex .mp3
The Flaming Lips – Watching the Planets .mp3
Downloads will expire on October 27, 2009.

Let’s see:

The Flaming Lips – Watching the Planets live in Hollywood, Oct 15, 2009.

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The National Priorities Project has a counter which shows us how much money is being spent on the Iraq & Afghanistan wars. It is a chilling visual; either a reminder or a cold, hard wake-up call, depending on your awareness level of these two current U.S.A. wars. Take a look:

COSTOFWAR.COM – The Cost of War

Posted using ShareThis

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The t-shirt is one of my favorite parts of the modern wardrobe. They’re so liquid and flexible; you can dress them up and dress them way down. But it’s not everyday that you get to wear a custom-made t-shirt by Animal Glitches and this is exactly the fortune that was bestowed upon Roberto.
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The tee is supersonically neon and dangerously flirtatious with geometry. It’s extremely well-crafted and looks like it belongs in a high-end boutique somewhere in NYC or LA. (According to their Etsy site, their products are actually available in Rumors Boutique in Richmond, VA.) The layers actually add a three-dimensional aspect to it; I seriously could not stop running my hand up and down Roberto’s chest when he wore it (okay, EH readers, behave!). The t-shirt itself accurately represents what I think time traveling would be like: dots and dashes, shocks of color, parallelograms and sensory overload. They even donned the shirt with an Evolve Happy patch on the right sleeve to finish it off. Two thumbs up.
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Taking a dilly dally through their Flickr gallery, my intrigue did not cease. Not only would I happily wear every t-shirt I saw, but they also have the cutest little coin purses (or pencil cases). Oh, and they also make these little cube figures that I want to use to build a giant castle to the clouds. The quality and creativity behind their handiwork is apparent. I am especially in love with the way they mix and layer patterns. I can’t wait to sport one of their tees with a cardigan and scarf.
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Above are a few of my favorites.

etsy / facebook / myspace / twitter

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Holy mountain! One of my favorite bands, on planet Earth, Lightning Bolt, put out their new album today. This will be their fifth album, and although I don’t expect anything different from their other four, I always enjoy to hear new music from them. They’re a two piece (bass, drum, vocals, and a lot of effects) from Providence, Rhode Island on Load Records. They kick out some of the most intense jams you’ll ever hear from a band so few in members. That’s an understatement. They blow most bands out of the water no matter how many members they have. Below, you’ll find some tracks from their albums, for download, as well as the first track released from their new album, Earthly Delights. The track was leaked a month or so back and is a rock epic.

Download:
Lightning Bolt – Colossus .mp3 from the album, Earthly Delights
Lightning Bolt – Dead Cowboy .mp3 from the album, Hypermagic Mountain
Lightning Bolt – 2 Towers .mp3 from the album, Wonderful Rainbow
Lightning Bolt – 13 Monsters .mp3 from the album, Ride The Skies
Note: All downloads will expire on October 20, 2009.

Let’s see:

Lightning Bolt – Saint Jacques video by Devin Flynn
related: “Y’all So Stupid” series by Devin Flynn *originally on Super Deluxe.com (RIP)

Lightning Bolt – Dead Cowboy live in Philadelphia (circa 2006)

theirspace / @ Load Records

***This post was edited and reposted today (October 13, 2009) because I am currently moving out of my house and didn’t have time to write a new post. The mp3’s will expire a week from today.

One final note: I heard Lightning Bolt’s new album, Earthly Delights, and it is incredible. I suggest you get yourself a copy. It’s a great addition to their career and even a little different than I’m used to. Repeated listens will convince you.***

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“Federal trappers say they have eliminated the remaining members of a wolf pack that roamed the Centennial Valley and blamed for attacking sheep and cattle in Montana and Idaho.

Carolyn Sime, wolf program coordinator for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, says trappers shot and killed the last four members of the Sage Creek pack last week.

Biologists say the pack was comprised of eight adults, but got into trouble this summer in Idaho by preying on sheep at the Idaho Agriculture Experiment Station near the Montana border.

At the time, Idaho officials decided to kill some of the wolves. But Sime says Montana officials decided to act when the pack crossed back into Montana and attacked sheep again.

Sime says trappers shot the remaining animals from the air.” view photo here…take action here…read more here…Wolf Awareness week info here…

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