Continuing my exploration of the byways of Finnish culture . . . One of the less overlooked aspects of Finnish musical culture consists of their excellent surf bands, which have attracted fans throughout the world.  Here’s the best known Finnish surf band, Laika and the Cosmonauts, who have attracted praise from no less an authority […]

Here’s another addition to this week’s series of unlikely cover songs. This is by the Bobs, who also recorded a lot of original material, for all that there’s nothing on Youtube but the cover songs. (Note: the Bobs are difficult to track down even with Google, which would rather reveal Bob’s Burgers (the New Mexico […]

I’m continuing my prep for the worldcon by investigating Finnish culture, and I discovered this video by Steve’n’Seagulls, with their own interpretation of a modern classic. Gotta love the anvil.  The accordion player with a dead animal on his head.  And the fact that, for the first time, I can actually understand the words.

Today we breathlessly awaited the launch of New Zealand’s first rocket, which finally happened after bad weather forced several delays.  Check the video to see the Electron two-stage vehicle leaping into orbit on its fiery kerosene/LOX tail.  (I advise going to full screen.) The Electron is a small, low-cost vehicle, designed to hurl aloft small […]