He (or she, maybe) held a paw up to the glass to pseudo-touch my finger. Needless to say, that made my morning.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Isis - Ghost Key: By their musicianship and lengthy melodic introductions to songs, I wouldn't anticipate Isis being a "scream like a bear" band when it comes to vocals. Oddly, it all seems to flow together, with Ghost Key being rather mellow for the band (at least, for a while).

Amon Tobin - Triple Science: One of the more techno-ie sounds from Tobin.

Lucienne Boyer - La Barque D'yves: Consistent throwback to the 78 rpm age.

Poster Children - Tommyhaus: It's been a while for the powerful Poster Children with this track from the solid Tool of the Man album.

Toru Takemitsu - 3: From a Japanese various artist concert CD that I know nothing about, this is a series of yelps and screams that, while experimental, is probably the least experimental recording on the album.

Chainsaw Kittens - We Got the Beat: Yep, it is that song, with the cover being a bit more offbeat and creepy than the original. It wraps up nicely with Tyson Meade singing "Nightclubbing" from Iggy Pop.

Thievery Corporation - Mandala: Kinda never really got into Thievery Corp even though I've heard raves about them. This is a song with Indian roots and a generic beat that really doesn't go anywhere.

Bob Mould - Shoot Out the Lights: A cover of the Richard Thompson standard that is well done, but probably not comparable to the original.

As, I suppose, most babies do.

Zooborns documents her original-assembly size.

I'm not proud of the fact that the first time I used a flash to take this guy's picture, he fell right off the tiny moss growth he was crawling up.

But, right back on the horse he went, as they say.

Cocteau Twins - Golden Vein: From a BBC Sessions CD, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, this was an impulse purchase I'm not sure I totally like. But they are creepy vocals, so that counts for something.

Parson Sound - Skrubba: 30 minutes of jammy, jazzy, horn-blowing, self-indulgent musicianship.

Cynthia Dall - Be Safe With Me: I first saw Cynthia Dall playing with Smog back in the 90's and have haphazardly followed her releases since then. They are minimalistic, often having little more than a guitar or two with her singing. It is very entertaining, and an interesting contrast to the overblown Parson Sound song that preceded it.

Husker Du - Broken Home, Broken Heart: From the punk-manic Zen Arcade, good stuff if you are into the rough guitar, rougher screaming sound of the old Huskers.

The Everly Brothers - Lonely Street: The contrasts keep coming today.

Philemon Arthur & The Dung - Scoutvisan: Just strange.

The Living Blue - Conquistador: This is probably one of my favorite recent bands that fizzled from their lack of success. Fire, Blood, Water is a remarkable, straight-forward rock album that is nothing but fun. It is really a shame no label picked up their subsequent releases.

Mission of Burma - 13: A consistently good band who I think will outlive me.

Just to prove that every picture I take doesn't need to be of an insect.

Although I'm sure insects are in there somewhere...

They are a little darker than some of the pictures I've found online, but I think they are eggs.

Pardon me, Ms. Slug.

Until recently, I was unaware that there is a monthly moth blog. But I can always count on The Wanderin' Weeta Blog to fill me in on all the good internet insect goings-on.

This is probably my favorite photograph I shot this summer. It seems that the DC area is filled with a humid haze almost exclusively, so when a good, blue sky day appears, it is fun to get some actual color in my shots. Add a bright orange flower and, most importantly, Flying Guys, and I had a picture in the waiting.

Spiritualized - Cop Shoot Cop: A lengthy track from the Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space release; a bit jammy and jazzy, but still keeping the noisy and inventive sound from this strong CD.

Deerhoof - Kidz Are So Small: Another weirdly catchy song.

Laibach - Rossiya: An interesting CD containing covers of national anthems from around the world. The industrial-ish Laibach never ceases to come up with interesting concepts for recordings, and this is one of the better ones I've heard in years.

Motorhead - Going Down: Can never really go wrong with Lemmy in the morning.

Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey - Taken: Bit of a cheesy song from the fun Mavericks album.

The Locust - Pulling the Christmas Pig By the Wrong Pair of Ears: The band that never ceases to be screamy loud.

The Velvet Underground - Heroin: Such a fantastic song.

Hella - Madonna Approaches R&B Blonde Wreckages: Nice, chaotic way to end the Random Eight with a synth- and drum-heavy attack on the ears.

Lots of stuff I wasn't expecting when I put the tank together.

I've already mentioned the slugs, but it appears more babies are being born by the day.

This one seems to be somewhere between egg and born. I need to read up more on the birthing of slugs to know for sure.

Spiders, of course, are everywhere, but I'm glad to see them in the tank. Hopefully there are enough ants and small insects to keep them healthy.

It would seem that, when I collected soil for my terrarium, I must have captured some slug eggs.

I already posted a shot of one a few days ago that has grown quickly, but I've noticed at least two tiny guys. They look like little more than specs on the side of the tank's glass, but when observed closely, they are very distinctive slugs.

It would appear the terrarium is going to have a full population.

Nicole was outside raking leaves when two observers critiqued her work.

Fortunately for all, they approved of a job well done.

Stereolab - Peng! 33: A fun song from the first, and my favorite, Stereolab album.

Archers of Loaf - Banging on a Dead Drum: A fun song from the last (studio), and my favorite, Archers album.

Deerhoof - Fresh Born: Another maniacal drumming exercise with wacky time rhythms from one of my favorite current bands (lots of favorites today!).

The Ex - Getatchew: Instrumental punk mania.

Cursive - Staying Alive: A favorite sorta day - my favorite Cursive album and probably my favorite song from it (although they are all good).

Sonic Youth - Saucer-Like: I think I've talked about Washing Machine before and its interesting transition between what was the 80's sounding SY and what would be the 2000's sounding band. This is probably the least remarkable song on the album, but still just really good even standing alone from the package.

Tom Waits - Spidey's Wild Ride: Appeared here a few months ago, just Waits at his craziest.

Boomtown Rats - The Elephant's Graveyard: 28 years strong.

It's been a long week.