Looking for the Perfect Metaphor
Well, we ended up finishing in 11th place. Shit started going downhill Saturday evening when we missed the question asking where the initial run of "Jelly Roll Blues" orthophonic records were pressed. We had the right answer but kept getting a busy signal when we tried to call it in. We made our comeback starting around 4AM but it was too little too late, unfortunately. It was a good time, though. I got home around 1 yesterday and went to sleep. Woke up sometime that night and chilled with Becca and Stevie before going back to sleep. While I am fully-rested, I sure don't feel like it. Must be the lack of Toad Hill.At any rate, I now have the Stevens Point contest to look forward to.
The museum for my trivia team, the Flying Zupan Brothers, is due to open on March 4th. By "museum" I mean a series of displays of some kind and a bar in a garage in Deerfield. One exhibit is called "Living Zupan". I asked Kias what it was to be but he didn't know exactly. Presumably this means a Zupan sitting before a bunch of books with a beer in hand and joint in mouth.
Claybourne is an audio drama that I discovered at the now-defunct mp3.com a few years ago. I managed to snag the first 8 episodes only and have been wondering how the series pans out. Looks like I'll have my chance soon as it will be podcasted! If anyone wants to hear some good radio drama from New Zealand, go to the Claybourne blog. You can get an RSS feed for updates.
I begin my literacy tutor training after work tonight. It'll be 3 hours so I'm hoping that it will be interesting in some capacity because, right now, I think I'll fall asleep if it's boring. After that, it's off to The Dulcinea's for a V-Day quickie. I feel bad because I haven't gotten her anything yet. I was considering that Make-Your-Own-Dildo kit but I want to be a bit more frugal as I'm looking at paying Dogger's mortgage. I'll find something. But I had better do it soon lest I end up sleeping with the dog. I'm looking forward to seeing her as I'm pretty frisky today.
Tomorrow is part deux of my Celtic music class. We're to cover bagpipes and dancing so it should be fun. Then training again on Wednesday. And Saturday. I think I'll be spending the evening with The Dulcinea on Thursday. Gaming on the weekend too. Busy busy busy.
I asked Lola for permission to see her naughty photos and it was granted. I've gotta say, she does like butt plugs and being tied up. But who doesn't?
On the ride home yesterday, I continued with The Perfect Age. I've got mixed feelings about the book. The relationship between Helen and her mother, Kathy, has potential but it just seems to be flat. There's too little conflict. I just don't find a girl in her late teens to be all that interesting. Only when thrown into conflict with her mother does she appeal to me because the contrast and comparisons between their situtations comes to the fore and lends the character of Helen some life. Let's face it, teenagers are generally boring and stupid. All they do is complain and wallow in confusion. Helen is young. She has precious little experience in life to draw on for reflection, not that teenagers reflect much. So it's interesting when mother and daughter use one another as mirrors, however dark. The one bit that really interested me was when the husband, Edward, fears that he's been cuckolded and tails Kathy as he suspects she's going for a rendezvous with her lover. Having been in the grips of the Green-Eyed Monster, I related very well to that scene. My only complaint was that his jealousy wasn't intense enough. You don't follow your significant other around on a whim. The confusion and jealousy is very intense and I don't think that came across in the book. Maybe it's just me being a man, though. I don't know what it's like to be female nor do I have any first-hand experience of relationships between mother and daughter. Perhaps there are cues in the story that womyn pick up on and I don't. "Oh, X happened so Y."
I find Kathy a much more interesting character than Helen. Reading about a teenager being confused is as exciting as watching grass grow. It's a given. Tell me something new, something interesting. But I can see the parallels between Helen and Kathy that are to make her interesting. Helen is in the process of becoming a sexual person. Kathy never liked sex much but is "discovering" it via her affair. Each of them hiding things from friends and family. Still, this side-by-side comparing and constrasting doesn't reveal much of interest - to me, at least.
Despite this, I'll still finish it. Heather has an easy-going writing style that I can get through fairly quickly. And I suspect my novel would be a piece of crap whereas she is competent. This being the case, I feel like I'm missing something. The other thing that I don't care for is the setting. It takes place in Las Vegas but it's the desert that gets to me. In general, deserts don't do anything for me. The images that form in my head of the scenario are bland. And I don't think Heather is taking advantage of it. Yeah, there's the metaphor of drought. Kathy is nearing middle age and menopause - drought. Helen is young and just discovering all the world has to offer so she works as a lifeguard at a pool and is thus always in or near water. As a metaphor, the desert is underused, in my humble opinion. Unused is the metaphor of Vegas itself. There hasn't been an attempt to use the glitzy, casino and tourist-ridden area in contrast to the areas where residents live as a metaphor. Hey, I dig metaphors.
14 February, 2005
What Harry Lime Knew
I read an article about how a memorial service to commemorate the bombing of Dresden during World War II was disrupted by neo-Nazis. While a small minority can make a big noise, I read that 5,000 people with neo-Nazi sympathies demonstrated. 5,000 is not an insignificant number. While the article focused on the march, it did talk about an increase in popularity of the neo-Nazi political party the National Party of Germany. Disturbingly, the NPD won a seat in Saxony's parliament. Britain's ambassador downplayed this by saying that it was a fluke caused by low voter turnout. Still, it should be a cause of consternation.
The whole thing reminded me of Harry Lime's comments in The Third Man. I'm pretty sure they come just after his famous cuckoo clock diatribe - about how the Germans need to be put down once and for all because, being a bunch of Goths at heart, they'll try to conquor the world again. While I don't know much about the situation in Germany, I find these developments disturbing. The NPD candidate didn't get elected dogcatcher, the Herr or Frau was elected to parliament. One NPD voter is quoted, "We believe that the German state favours foreigners and the Jews." Does that unholy marriage of xenophobia and anti-Semitism sound familiar? Apparently the unemplyment rate in the former Easy Germany is around 20%. And now it seems that an increasing number of people are blaming it on foreigners and Jews. Ya know, people ought to try to get to those kinds of people. "Hallo Frau Scheißkopf. There are reasons for unemployment that have nothing to do with foreigners and Jews and I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut that these explain the high unemployment over there. If the Juden were so crafty and powerful, you'd think they'd have figured out a way to control everything secretly. They have had thousands of years to practice and many a pogrom for incentive.
While the NPD may not have a blueprint for another Reich, that they captured 9.2% of the vote in an election is cause cause enough to start sounding klaxons. It sure seems like there's a cancer growth that must be removed.
I read an article about how a memorial service to commemorate the bombing of Dresden during World War II was disrupted by neo-Nazis. While a small minority can make a big noise, I read that 5,000 people with neo-Nazi sympathies demonstrated. 5,000 is not an insignificant number. While the article focused on the march, it did talk about an increase in popularity of the neo-Nazi political party the National Party of Germany. Disturbingly, the NPD won a seat in Saxony's parliament. Britain's ambassador downplayed this by saying that it was a fluke caused by low voter turnout. Still, it should be a cause of consternation.
The whole thing reminded me of Harry Lime's comments in The Third Man. I'm pretty sure they come just after his famous cuckoo clock diatribe - about how the Germans need to be put down once and for all because, being a bunch of Goths at heart, they'll try to conquor the world again. While I don't know much about the situation in Germany, I find these developments disturbing. The NPD candidate didn't get elected dogcatcher, the Herr or Frau was elected to parliament. One NPD voter is quoted, "We believe that the German state favours foreigners and the Jews." Does that unholy marriage of xenophobia and anti-Semitism sound familiar? Apparently the unemplyment rate in the former Easy Germany is around 20%. And now it seems that an increasing number of people are blaming it on foreigners and Jews. Ya know, people ought to try to get to those kinds of people. "Hallo Frau Scheißkopf. There are reasons for unemployment that have nothing to do with foreigners and Jews and I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut that these explain the high unemployment over there. If the Juden were so crafty and powerful, you'd think they'd have figured out a way to control everything secretly. They have had thousands of years to practice and many a pogrom for incentive.
While the NPD may not have a blueprint for another Reich, that they captured 9.2% of the vote in an election is cause cause enough to start sounding klaxons. It sure seems like there's a cancer growth that must be removed.
12 February, 2005
This Ain't Good
Well, we took a nosedive towards the bottom but halted the slide. It wouldn't be so bad if A) we didn't get jammed on the fucking orthophonic question and B) Pete knew how to use Google. The question asked for the name of the puppy in the film Song of the South so he starts looking up Alabama lyrics. I correct him and he starts looking elsewhere. He doesn't find it so I take over but it was too late. Time was up. All he had to do was type in "Song of the South name of puppy" and the first result had it. But no - he had to use "dog" and omit "name" or whatever the fuck he did.
Some humour came about for the question asking the name of the theme song to Wheel of Fortune. I found it and told Kias, "Changing Key" which he somehow transmogrified into "Ching-Ching Key". He was on the phone with a judge saying "Ching-Ching Key!" and I overheard him. I was incredulous - what the fuck was he saying. So I corrected him. Next was the question about what the 24th Amendment did. "Ended the poll tax," I told him. So everyone starts saying "abolished pull tabs". It all came to a head when the question was "What was Eric Clapton's father's occupation?" Pete answered, "A poll tax collector."
Because of our poor performance, the boys back in Cambridge sent us a picture:
Well, we took a nosedive towards the bottom but halted the slide. It wouldn't be so bad if A) we didn't get jammed on the fucking orthophonic question and B) Pete knew how to use Google. The question asked for the name of the puppy in the film Song of the South so he starts looking up Alabama lyrics. I correct him and he starts looking elsewhere. He doesn't find it so I take over but it was too late. Time was up. All he had to do was type in "Song of the South name of puppy" and the first result had it. But no - he had to use "dog" and omit "name" or whatever the fuck he did.
Some humour came about for the question asking the name of the theme song to Wheel of Fortune. I found it and told Kias, "Changing Key" which he somehow transmogrified into "Ching-Ching Key". He was on the phone with a judge saying "Ching-Ching Key!" and I overheard him. I was incredulous - what the fuck was he saying. So I corrected him. Next was the question about what the 24th Amendment did. "Ended the poll tax," I told him. So everyone starts saying "abolished pull tabs". It all came to a head when the question was "What was Eric Clapton's father's occupation?" Pete answered, "A poll tax collector."
Because of our poor performance, the boys back in Cambridge sent us a picture:
Update #1
So far, so far. We fucked up a couple questions and we've got something like 85 out of 105 points. Zeke is freaking out back in Cambridge as he can't hear the question right away and we have to read it to him.
The Badgers are playing Illinois on the TV and I'm enjoying a new brew by Dan at New Glarus - Black Wheat. A fine "conditioned weiss" that "is bursting with Midwestern wheat, corn, rye and finshished by malted barley." It does a body good. On the way up, we stopped at Fran's Coffee Cup in Plainfield, the home of Ed Gein. They have that graded coffee prices. All the coffee you can drink is $.50 while all the coffee you can drink all day is only $4.50. AND you get an hour off for lunch so you can head home for a bit and come back and continue drinking from their bottomless cup o'joe. As we were leaving, there was a group of old duffs suppin' coffee and playin' cards. A Texas Hold 'Em contest in Plainfield, perhaps?
So far, so far. We fucked up a couple questions and we've got something like 85 out of 105 points. Zeke is freaking out back in Cambridge as he can't hear the question right away and we have to read it to him.
The Badgers are playing Illinois on the TV and I'm enjoying a new brew by Dan at New Glarus - Black Wheat. A fine "conditioned weiss" that "is bursting with Midwestern wheat, corn, rye and finshished by malted barley." It does a body good. On the way up, we stopped at Fran's Coffee Cup in Plainfield, the home of Ed Gein. They have that graded coffee prices. All the coffee you can drink is $.50 while all the coffee you can drink all day is only $4.50. AND you get an hour off for lunch so you can head home for a bit and come back and continue drinking from their bottomless cup o'joe. As we were leaving, there was a group of old duffs suppin' coffee and playin' cards. A Texas Hold 'Em contest in Plainfield, perhaps?
11 February, 2005
Goblet of Fire
The next Harry Potter flick is due out later this year. Some snaps from the production have been released.
Man, that Emma Watson or whatever the name is of the girl who plays Hermione is a little hottie. I'd like to schtup her when she's legal.
And playing the baddie is:
He-who-must-not-be-named
The next Harry Potter flick is due out later this year. Some snaps from the production have been released.
Man, that Emma Watson or whatever the name is of the girl who plays Hermione is a little hottie. I'd like to schtup her when she's legal.
He-who-must-not-be-named
10 February, 2005
Malaprop
WOMAN IN AUDIENCE: I don't really understand. How is it the new [Social Security] plan is going to fix that problem?
DUBYA: Because the -- all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculated, for example, is on the table. Whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those -- changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be -- or closer delivered to what has been promised. Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a series of things that cause the -- like, for example, benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate -- the benefits will rise based upon inflation, as opposed to wage increases. There is a reform that would help solve the red if that were put into effect. In other words, how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if those -- if that growth is affected, it will help on the red.
-- Dubya explains the virtues of his Social Security plan, Tampa, Florida, Feb. 4, 2005
It's one thing to be a parody of a Richard Brinsley Sheridan character but to not know what the fuck you're calling for when you advocate reform of SSI is another. I genuinely don't think the guy knows anything about the issue other than the system will be paying out less at some point. He's heard about the variables involved but I honestly don't think he understands what they are and how they figure into the equation.
To be sure, being an ineloquent speaker doesn't make you unfit to be President. Thomas Jefferson was not a great public speaker - his forte was with the written word. But, from what I've read, he didn't just dish out a series of malaprops. If he were asked about revolting against the King, he wouldn't give the Declaration of Independence. Instead he'd say, "Hey, we want to be free of tyranny" not "Well, the taxing of tea is done...look, it's muddled...we don't have anyone in the House of Lords across the pond to make sure..." Dubya may be a plain guy but he should at least be able to explain himself coherently. In a plain manner would be fine - not a stream of malapropisms.
WOMAN IN AUDIENCE: I don't really understand. How is it the new [Social Security] plan is going to fix that problem?
DUBYA: Because the -- all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculated, for example, is on the table. Whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those -- changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be -- or closer delivered to what has been promised. Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a series of things that cause the -- like, for example, benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate -- the benefits will rise based upon inflation, as opposed to wage increases. There is a reform that would help solve the red if that were put into effect. In other words, how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if those -- if that growth is affected, it will help on the red.
-- Dubya explains the virtues of his Social Security plan, Tampa, Florida, Feb. 4, 2005
It's one thing to be a parody of a Richard Brinsley Sheridan character but to not know what the fuck you're calling for when you advocate reform of SSI is another. I genuinely don't think the guy knows anything about the issue other than the system will be paying out less at some point. He's heard about the variables involved but I honestly don't think he understands what they are and how they figure into the equation.
To be sure, being an ineloquent speaker doesn't make you unfit to be President. Thomas Jefferson was not a great public speaker - his forte was with the written word. But, from what I've read, he didn't just dish out a series of malaprops. If he were asked about revolting against the King, he wouldn't give the Declaration of Independence. Instead he'd say, "Hey, we want to be free of tyranny" not "Well, the taxing of tea is done...look, it's muddled...we don't have anyone in the House of Lords across the pond to make sure..." Dubya may be a plain guy but he should at least be able to explain himself coherently. In a plain manner would be fine - not a stream of malapropisms.
Let The Hobbit Happen
If you're keen on having Peter Jackson turn The Hobbit into a flick, check out this site.
If you're keen on having Peter Jackson turn The Hobbit into a flick, check out this site.
Wilco + Orpheum = Bonus Disk
According to Wilco's webpage, A Ghost is Born will be released in Europe with a bonus disc featuring live tracks and a couple studio outtakes. The live songs were recorded here in Madtown when the band played at the Orpheum in October of last year. The live tunes are:
"At Least That's What You Said"
"The Late Greats"
"Handshake Drugs"
The studio tracks are:
"Panthers"
"Kicking Television"
These will all be availabe at iTunes and for free download from Wilcoweb at some point.
According to Wilco's webpage, A Ghost is Born will be released in Europe with a bonus disc featuring live tracks and a couple studio outtakes. The live songs were recorded here in Madtown when the band played at the Orpheum in October of last year. The live tunes are:
"At Least That's What You Said"
"The Late Greats"
"Handshake Drugs"
The studio tracks are:
"Panthers"
"Kicking Television"
These will all be availabe at iTunes and for free download from Wilcoweb at some point.
H2G2
Some pictures from the upcoming Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy flick have been posted. Check 'em out. It does seem weird to see Zaphod without 2 heads. On the bright side, Stephen Fry will be doing the voice of The Book while Alan Rickman will be the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android.
Some pictures from the upcoming Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy flick have been posted. Check 'em out. It does seem weird to see Zaphod without 2 heads. On the bright side, Stephen Fry will be doing the voice of The Book while Alan Rickman will be the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android.
RotS
There's some funky pictures relating to Revenge of the Sith to be found here. That shot of Mace Windu & Company stepping into Palpatine's office looking pissed off got me all fired up. Gonna be some ass kickin' to be had!!
There's some funky pictures relating to Revenge of the Sith to be found here. That shot of Mace Windu & Company stepping into Palpatine's office looking pissed off got me all fired up. Gonna be some ass kickin' to be had!!
Thanks For the Throw There, Howard
It’s been an interesting week. I started my Celtic music class on Tuesday. There’s only a handful of us and the professor seems to be a froody guy. We listened to a bit of carnyx playing. The carnyx is this huge horn and is the oldest known Celtic musical instrument. Then the prof put on some harp music from the Robert Ap Huw Manuscript of 1613 and the Edward Jones’s Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards (1784-1825). The older stuff was really cool. OK, all of the material on here is at least 300 years old so it’s all “old”. But I mean that I really dug the piece from the pre-Renaissance piece. It’s all variations on a theme and dissonant and weird which was fine by me. The later material was more melodic and, although I enjoyed it, I liked the “primitive” stuff more. All of the songs were played on replicas of period harps that were strung with steel strings instead of gut. Really good stuff. Next week we investigate the bagpipe and learn about Celtic dancing. Call me crazy but I’m thinking we’re not gonna go over Riverdance.
Yesterday I had an orientation meeting to become a literacy tutor with the Madison Area Literacy Council. The 7 of us got the intro speech and paperwork to fill out. We shall see if they want me as a volunteer soon, I suppose. Oh! When I got home on Tuesday night, I found out that my cousin Guy had stopped by while I was at class. I wish that he’d have emailed me to let me know he was passing through. Now that he’s out of the navy, he’s got time to relax. He is making his way down to Florida where his dad and stepmom live. I shall have to call them soon. He left me a bag of stuff from the USS Stennis on which he was stationed. Got me a new baseball cap! Now this may sound like no big deal to you but, for me, it’s neat because it’s my only cap not covered in sweat stains.
The weekend looms which means TRIVIA! For anyone who’s interested, you can keep track of our (The Flying Zupans) progress at the WISS trivia webpage.
I see that Son Volt announced some new tour dates but nothing around here in the upper Midwest. Their new album comes out this summer while a DVD of their performance on Austin City Limits comes out next month. And it will be the full show, not the truncated 30-minute set that PBS broadcast. (God! Jay Farrar looks young there. And Gillian Welch is *hot*! I wouldn’t kick her out of bed for eatin’ chicken. Is she schtooking David Rawlings?)
If anyone out there lives in District 3 here in Madtown, don’t forget to vote for Amy Westra.
It’s been an interesting week. I started my Celtic music class on Tuesday. There’s only a handful of us and the professor seems to be a froody guy. We listened to a bit of carnyx playing. The carnyx is this huge horn and is the oldest known Celtic musical instrument. Then the prof put on some harp music from the Robert Ap Huw Manuscript of 1613 and the Edward Jones’s Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards (1784-1825). The older stuff was really cool. OK, all of the material on here is at least 300 years old so it’s all “old”. But I mean that I really dug the piece from the pre-Renaissance piece. It’s all variations on a theme and dissonant and weird which was fine by me. The later material was more melodic and, although I enjoyed it, I liked the “primitive” stuff more. All of the songs were played on replicas of period harps that were strung with steel strings instead of gut. Really good stuff. Next week we investigate the bagpipe and learn about Celtic dancing. Call me crazy but I’m thinking we’re not gonna go over Riverdance.
Yesterday I had an orientation meeting to become a literacy tutor with the Madison Area Literacy Council. The 7 of us got the intro speech and paperwork to fill out. We shall see if they want me as a volunteer soon, I suppose. Oh! When I got home on Tuesday night, I found out that my cousin Guy had stopped by while I was at class. I wish that he’d have emailed me to let me know he was passing through. Now that he’s out of the navy, he’s got time to relax. He is making his way down to Florida where his dad and stepmom live. I shall have to call them soon. He left me a bag of stuff from the USS Stennis on which he was stationed. Got me a new baseball cap! Now this may sound like no big deal to you but, for me, it’s neat because it’s my only cap not covered in sweat stains.
The weekend looms which means TRIVIA! For anyone who’s interested, you can keep track of our (The Flying Zupans) progress at the WISS trivia webpage.
I see that Son Volt announced some new tour dates but nothing around here in the upper Midwest. Their new album comes out this summer while a DVD of their performance on Austin City Limits comes out next month. And it will be the full show, not the truncated 30-minute set that PBS broadcast. (God! Jay Farrar looks young there. And Gillian Welch is *hot*! I wouldn’t kick her out of bed for eatin’ chicken. Is she schtooking David Rawlings?)
If anyone out there lives in District 3 here in Madtown, don’t forget to vote for Amy Westra.
07 February, 2005
This Is a Good Entry…
…for me to poop on!
I’ve gotta say that Triumph the Insult Comic Dog’sDVD is fucking hilarious. In one sequence he goes to Hawaii to cover tryouts for American Idol and Fox kicks him off the premises. So he goes to the local NBC affiliate and pleads his case. Then he does the weather forecast. “Thanks for the throw there, Howard.” Frickin’ heelarious! Check it out.
The Dulcinea noticed that Ozric Tentacles are touring here in the States again. I think we’re gonna catch them at the Abbey Pub in March.
For any Windows users who are keen on the Dock in Max OSX, your dream has come true. I installed it on my box at work and Winders didn’t crash once all day!
Christ! Where did I leave off? This is what I get for not writing everyday. Oh! I start my class on Celtic music tomorrow and on Wednesday become orientated for my new status as an adult literacy tutor. I’ll be having these half-literates saying words like “usufruct” and “campestral” in no time! Finally, a chance to mold the verbal skills of another human being in my own image. In other news, I’ve gotta find The Dulcinea a Valentine’s Day gift. I’m contemplating this but have some reservations. When she dumps me, it will give her the perfect voodoo doll and I’d rather avoid that kind of situation.
This weekend is trivia up north. A couple changes this year: 1) we’re going to be playing at Benke’s instead of Joe’s place. 2) We are going to be working with a smaller crew. To make up for this, we are going to do a little conference call with Yahoo! Messenger. This is made possible with a cable modem! I think Pete is gonna head up with us again this year. One can only wonder just how much mayhem we can cause at the new venue.
On Friday night, I met up with Marv, Pete, Dogger, and Old Man Standiford at the Bou and drank way too much. Driving home is something I should most definitely not have done. Thankfully it turned out all right. We shot the shit for hours. I even got all serious and told Dogger to not be afraid to come to us for help regardless of the type.
Ya know, I had a lot to write about before I actually started this entry and can’t fucking remember what it was I wanted to say. Oh! Today had this penumbra over it because Toad Hill closed its doors – about 3 hours ago. On the one hand, I feel horrible for The Caffeinatrix because it’s a failure of sorts. But on the other, I know that she’ll get some much-deserved rest and, I suspect, take on a cheerier disposition. Hopefully I’ll get to see her and Miss Vicki and Downtown in a social setting soon. I wish them all the best. So now where the fuck am I gonna get coffee? Well, I suppose stopping in at CZ or Mother Fools in the A.M. is a viable proposition. Unfortunately, CZ’s coffee isn’t great and finding a parking spot near Mofos is a tricky proposition. I sure as fuck won’t go to Francois’ den of iniquity.
A bit about work. It goes. I think I’ve been fully assimilated. I think a majority of people in my section know who I am and quite a few in different sections as well. I’ve discovered that DCFS has some hot interns. One blonde was particularly pulchritudinous. I chatted with her for a while and discovered that she’ll be heading back to LaCrosse at the end of the semester. Hell, I’ll probably be gone before that. My situation has finally settled down to the point where I’m usually the only one doing any work. Why do I bother? I mean, we all surf the Net but I seem to surf less than most. Or maybe I’m full of shit.
I made some chicken mole. It’s not bad. I deliberately didn’t add any sugar in hope that it might be somewhat carb-friendly. I suspect I’ll be the only one eating it, though.
…for me to poop on!
I’ve gotta say that Triumph the Insult Comic Dog’sDVD is fucking hilarious. In one sequence he goes to Hawaii to cover tryouts for American Idol and Fox kicks him off the premises. So he goes to the local NBC affiliate and pleads his case. Then he does the weather forecast. “Thanks for the throw there, Howard.” Frickin’ heelarious! Check it out.
The Dulcinea noticed that Ozric Tentacles are touring here in the States again. I think we’re gonna catch them at the Abbey Pub in March.
For any Windows users who are keen on the Dock in Max OSX, your dream has come true. I installed it on my box at work and Winders didn’t crash once all day!
Christ! Where did I leave off? This is what I get for not writing everyday. Oh! I start my class on Celtic music tomorrow and on Wednesday become orientated for my new status as an adult literacy tutor. I’ll be having these half-literates saying words like “usufruct” and “campestral” in no time! Finally, a chance to mold the verbal skills of another human being in my own image. In other news, I’ve gotta find The Dulcinea a Valentine’s Day gift. I’m contemplating this but have some reservations. When she dumps me, it will give her the perfect voodoo doll and I’d rather avoid that kind of situation.
This weekend is trivia up north. A couple changes this year: 1) we’re going to be playing at Benke’s instead of Joe’s place. 2) We are going to be working with a smaller crew. To make up for this, we are going to do a little conference call with Yahoo! Messenger. This is made possible with a cable modem! I think Pete is gonna head up with us again this year. One can only wonder just how much mayhem we can cause at the new venue.
On Friday night, I met up with Marv, Pete, Dogger, and Old Man Standiford at the Bou and drank way too much. Driving home is something I should most definitely not have done. Thankfully it turned out all right. We shot the shit for hours. I even got all serious and told Dogger to not be afraid to come to us for help regardless of the type.
Ya know, I had a lot to write about before I actually started this entry and can’t fucking remember what it was I wanted to say. Oh! Today had this penumbra over it because Toad Hill closed its doors – about 3 hours ago. On the one hand, I feel horrible for The Caffeinatrix because it’s a failure of sorts. But on the other, I know that she’ll get some much-deserved rest and, I suspect, take on a cheerier disposition. Hopefully I’ll get to see her and Miss Vicki and Downtown in a social setting soon. I wish them all the best. So now where the fuck am I gonna get coffee? Well, I suppose stopping in at CZ or Mother Fools in the A.M. is a viable proposition. Unfortunately, CZ’s coffee isn’t great and finding a parking spot near Mofos is a tricky proposition. I sure as fuck won’t go to Francois’ den of iniquity.
A bit about work. It goes. I think I’ve been fully assimilated. I think a majority of people in my section know who I am and quite a few in different sections as well. I’ve discovered that DCFS has some hot interns. One blonde was particularly pulchritudinous. I chatted with her for a while and discovered that she’ll be heading back to LaCrosse at the end of the semester. Hell, I’ll probably be gone before that. My situation has finally settled down to the point where I’m usually the only one doing any work. Why do I bother? I mean, we all surf the Net but I seem to surf less than most. Or maybe I’m full of shit.
I made some chicken mole. It’s not bad. I deliberately didn’t add any sugar in hope that it might be somewhat carb-friendly. I suspect I’ll be the only one eating it, though.
04 February, 2005
Me & Dolby
I've got a couple months yet to assemble myself a 5.1 surround stereo system. April 18th is the release date for the SACD version of Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Unfortunately it seems that Deadwing has been pushed back until April 26th.
My downloading progresses. On a local note, I've got David Bowie's appearance here in Madison back in 1974, Pink Floyd's Camp Randall gig from 1988, the demos Nirvana made over at Smart Studios in 1990, and Tull's show from November of last year. Speaking of the Tull show, here's a couple snaps from it:
Being in the middle of a one, there's always lots to be said about war. But I'm sick of the talking heads on the news and the talk shows. They tend to bandy about terms like freedom" and "democracy" as if some grammarian in the sky was about to remove them from the English language. While we do hear about soldiers being killed, we really don't get to hear the soldiers' stories. The stories of the people whose lives are in danger everyday. The Library of Congress is attempting to remedy the situation. Check out the stories of America's veterans. Hear the stories of the men and womyn in the thick of it instead of the politicos with their banal hyperbole.
Now to answer my anonymous commenter's comment. Let me clarify the question. I did not mean to ask if it was OK to invade a country ruled by a dictator to bring democracy but rather if the imposition of democracy in general were morally just regardless of the current ruler. Would it be just to invade a socialist country? A communist? Anarchist? Or how about a country with no government at all? If we were to say that it is justifiable only if the war were to be brief, then democracy is cheap, is tawdry because it isn't worth a long conflict. Why bother to spread something not worthy of sacrifice? Wasn't our own struggle to be freed from the English monarchy "long"? And how are we to determine overall good and overall harm?
Let's agree that democracy is the best form of government. So what kind of democracy should we impose? What should the voting age be? A unicameral legislature? Looking at the recent election in Iraq, just how "democratic" was it? If you've got a ballot with dozens of candidates on it and the voters know anything about only a few of the candidates, just what was accomplished? (And how is it that they had more choices than we, the paragon of democracy in the world, had on our ballots in November?)
Personally, I don't think invading a non-hostile country explicitly to make it democratic is morally just. Invading a peaceful socialist nation to impose democracy would be wrong for the same reason invading peaceful dictatorship to only impose democracy for the same reason. In the real world, of course, there's lots of nuance. There's human rights violations, weapons of mass destruction, threat to allies but not ourselves, et al. Lots of grey in this world.
I've got a couple months yet to assemble myself a 5.1 surround stereo system. April 18th is the release date for the SACD version of Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Unfortunately it seems that Deadwing has been pushed back until April 26th.
My downloading progresses. On a local note, I've got David Bowie's appearance here in Madison back in 1974, Pink Floyd's Camp Randall gig from 1988, the demos Nirvana made over at Smart Studios in 1990, and Tull's show from November of last year. Speaking of the Tull show, here's a couple snaps from it:
Being in the middle of a one, there's always lots to be said about war. But I'm sick of the talking heads on the news and the talk shows. They tend to bandy about terms like freedom" and "democracy" as if some grammarian in the sky was about to remove them from the English language. While we do hear about soldiers being killed, we really don't get to hear the soldiers' stories. The stories of the people whose lives are in danger everyday. The Library of Congress is attempting to remedy the situation. Check out the stories of America's veterans. Hear the stories of the men and womyn in the thick of it instead of the politicos with their banal hyperbole.
Now to answer my anonymous commenter's comment. Let me clarify the question. I did not mean to ask if it was OK to invade a country ruled by a dictator to bring democracy but rather if the imposition of democracy in general were morally just regardless of the current ruler. Would it be just to invade a socialist country? A communist? Anarchist? Or how about a country with no government at all? If we were to say that it is justifiable only if the war were to be brief, then democracy is cheap, is tawdry because it isn't worth a long conflict. Why bother to spread something not worthy of sacrifice? Wasn't our own struggle to be freed from the English monarchy "long"? And how are we to determine overall good and overall harm?
Let's agree that democracy is the best form of government. So what kind of democracy should we impose? What should the voting age be? A unicameral legislature? Looking at the recent election in Iraq, just how "democratic" was it? If you've got a ballot with dozens of candidates on it and the voters know anything about only a few of the candidates, just what was accomplished? (And how is it that they had more choices than we, the paragon of democracy in the world, had on our ballots in November?)
Personally, I don't think invading a non-hostile country explicitly to make it democratic is morally just. Invading a peaceful socialist nation to impose democracy would be wrong for the same reason invading peaceful dictatorship to only impose democracy for the same reason. In the real world, of course, there's lots of nuance. There's human rights violations, weapons of mass destruction, threat to allies but not ourselves, et al. Lots of grey in this world.
02 February, 2005
G.I. Cody
Oh, this is classic. Terrorists have apparently used an action figure in a photo purporting to show a captured U.S. soldier. Check out the doll's webpage and compare for yourself.
Oh, this is classic. Terrorists have apparently used an action figure in a photo purporting to show a captured U.S. soldier. Check out the doll's webpage and compare for yourself.
31 January, 2005
Questions Questions
I wrote an entry yesterday but never got around to publishing it. D’oh! Work is going slowly. We’ve had about 5 cases come in so far and I’ve dealt with 2 of them and I’m now just festering. There is a womyn in Milwaukee that I’ve been trying to get a hold of since last week but she remains unwilling to call or email me. What can I do?
I hope everyone had a good weekend. The elections in Iraq went off hitches and all. Not only is it too early to know who the victor is, but it’s also too early to say that democracy has taken hold. But it’s a start and I’m glad that it went off without mass killings. Honestly, I don’t know much about how it went other than there were a few dozen killed and more injured by mortar attacks and such. Supposedly 60% of eligible voters cast ballots. Will they be counted correctly? Will insurgents start assassinating elected officials? I was against our invasion of Iraq, am still furious with the Bush administration for their justifications of the it but find myself to be ambivalent about what’s happening now. First Bushy pushed the idea that Hussein harbored, aided, and abetted terrorists. When it was pointed out that Iraq was no Islamic state and was, in fact, a secular government – something that Osama bin Laden abhors - then it became the threat of WMDs. When this became suspect, we then stopped acting out of self-interest and were cast by Bushy as the good guys deposing a brutal dictator with nary a mention of WMDs or ties to Al Queda. So we went from self-defense to altruism. And who among use actually believes that our invasion was done expressly out of altruism? No one in this country is distraught over Hussein’s removal from power. The question is motive. Who is the more morally just: a person who desires to kill someone but refrains for fear of punishment or a person who harbors anger towards someone else but refrains from killing him or her because the act of murder is morally repugnant? I’ll admit wholeheartedly that geopolitics is not my strong suit but my country has a history of imperialism. To be sure, not exactly on par with that of, say, England, but it’s still there. I don’t recall King Kamehameha inviting the U.S. over for dinner and cocktails. Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Mexico – we’ve been fighting other countries for land and resources throughout most, if not all of, our existence.
Here’s a question that I’ve been pondering lately: Is it morally right for the Untied States to invade another country that does not pose a threat if for the express purpose of making it into a republic? Republican democracy is certainly the best choice for this country but does that mean it is the best choice for all countries? If we support freedom as an idea, must we also support the freedom of other peoples to reject democracy? OK, I should have written “some questions that I’ve been pondering” instead. Everyone on the left and right can agree that Hussein’s disappearance from the scene was good regardless of anything else. And I think that everyone agrees that our invasion of Afghanistan was just in that it aided and abetted Al Queda members. If people like David Horowitz are right and our invasion of Iraq was justified by the evil of Hussein, then what are our moral obligations now? Are we now required to invade Iran and North Korea? What about Saudi Arabia?
Any notion that the United States should, for any reason, spread democracy scares me a bit. All of this talk about when freedom spreads, America is safer sounds like a justification of taking measures to ensure that democracy is propagated which sounds a lot like the old “white man’s burden”. How do we address the problem of the Arab world’s perception of the USA however wrong it may be? Lots of folks in the Middle East hate us. Even if their reasons are wrong, it’s still a massive PR problem that needs to be addressed.
Ugh! So many questions, so few answers.
I joined my 3rd Genesis group recently so now I’m a member of 3 Yahoo groups and 1 Google group. Mark Batatis is a long-tim Genesis collector and the Google group is his. Unfortunately there’s been precious little discussion about Genesis’ music or trading bootlegs as most of the discussion has been about trashing Alan Hewitt, the publisher of the Genesis fanzine, The Waiting Room. I personally have had only the most minimal contact with the guy although I know that he’s been rude to various folks at the Genesis Forum. Regardless of how deserving he is of criticism, must the whole group be dedicated to giving him a slogging?
I wrote an entry yesterday but never got around to publishing it. D’oh! Work is going slowly. We’ve had about 5 cases come in so far and I’ve dealt with 2 of them and I’m now just festering. There is a womyn in Milwaukee that I’ve been trying to get a hold of since last week but she remains unwilling to call or email me. What can I do?
I hope everyone had a good weekend. The elections in Iraq went off hitches and all. Not only is it too early to know who the victor is, but it’s also too early to say that democracy has taken hold. But it’s a start and I’m glad that it went off without mass killings. Honestly, I don’t know much about how it went other than there were a few dozen killed and more injured by mortar attacks and such. Supposedly 60% of eligible voters cast ballots. Will they be counted correctly? Will insurgents start assassinating elected officials? I was against our invasion of Iraq, am still furious with the Bush administration for their justifications of the it but find myself to be ambivalent about what’s happening now. First Bushy pushed the idea that Hussein harbored, aided, and abetted terrorists. When it was pointed out that Iraq was no Islamic state and was, in fact, a secular government – something that Osama bin Laden abhors - then it became the threat of WMDs. When this became suspect, we then stopped acting out of self-interest and were cast by Bushy as the good guys deposing a brutal dictator with nary a mention of WMDs or ties to Al Queda. So we went from self-defense to altruism. And who among use actually believes that our invasion was done expressly out of altruism? No one in this country is distraught over Hussein’s removal from power. The question is motive. Who is the more morally just: a person who desires to kill someone but refrains for fear of punishment or a person who harbors anger towards someone else but refrains from killing him or her because the act of murder is morally repugnant? I’ll admit wholeheartedly that geopolitics is not my strong suit but my country has a history of imperialism. To be sure, not exactly on par with that of, say, England, but it’s still there. I don’t recall King Kamehameha inviting the U.S. over for dinner and cocktails. Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Mexico – we’ve been fighting other countries for land and resources throughout most, if not all of, our existence.
Here’s a question that I’ve been pondering lately: Is it morally right for the Untied States to invade another country that does not pose a threat if for the express purpose of making it into a republic? Republican democracy is certainly the best choice for this country but does that mean it is the best choice for all countries? If we support freedom as an idea, must we also support the freedom of other peoples to reject democracy? OK, I should have written “some questions that I’ve been pondering” instead. Everyone on the left and right can agree that Hussein’s disappearance from the scene was good regardless of anything else. And I think that everyone agrees that our invasion of Afghanistan was just in that it aided and abetted Al Queda members. If people like David Horowitz are right and our invasion of Iraq was justified by the evil of Hussein, then what are our moral obligations now? Are we now required to invade Iran and North Korea? What about Saudi Arabia?
Any notion that the United States should, for any reason, spread democracy scares me a bit. All of this talk about when freedom spreads, America is safer sounds like a justification of taking measures to ensure that democracy is propagated which sounds a lot like the old “white man’s burden”. How do we address the problem of the Arab world’s perception of the USA however wrong it may be? Lots of folks in the Middle East hate us. Even if their reasons are wrong, it’s still a massive PR problem that needs to be addressed.
Ugh! So many questions, so few answers.
I joined my 3rd Genesis group recently so now I’m a member of 3 Yahoo groups and 1 Google group. Mark Batatis is a long-tim Genesis collector and the Google group is his. Unfortunately there’s been precious little discussion about Genesis’ music or trading bootlegs as most of the discussion has been about trashing Alan Hewitt, the publisher of the Genesis fanzine, The Waiting Room. I personally have had only the most minimal contact with the guy although I know that he’s been rude to various folks at the Genesis Forum. Regardless of how deserving he is of criticism, must the whole group be dedicated to giving him a slogging?
30 January, 2005
No Monday, Please
Another weekend draws to a close, unfortunately. As The Simpsons nears, I’m watching a symposium on Tom Wolfe’s latest book, I Am Charlotte Simmons or whatever it’s called.
It was a pretty good past couple days. The Dulcinea came over for 45 minutes yesterday before I left to grab Pete and go play D&D. I was delighted to find that Marv, our DM, is taking us on a little side venture to Hellgate Keep. Severus has wanted to go there since he heard of the place. Someone has gotta die if we end up going there. Once again, Miss Regan hung out with us in the basement. At one point, Chris had her up on his shoulder and he said, “Who runs Bartertown?” Geek humor at its best.
The Dulcinea spent some more time together today. We went to the Cottage Café for breakfast. Unfortunately, Botox Lady was not there. So we ate heartily and then zipped over to TH for a spell. I hadn’t seen Miss Vicki in a while so she and I caught up on one another’s lives. Ronaldo and Beth were there as well so I shot the fecal matter with them. From there it was off to Border’s where I bought Russian Ark and a photobook about Stanley Kubrick. Then it was back to my place for a short stint and over to The Dulcinea’s. Her kids were returning at 4 so we only had a couple hours together.
I see that Roger Dean is making an animated movie . You may know him as the guy that painted all the classic Yes album covers. I had no idea that “There is a secret story embedded in the art that Roger has painted for the Yes album covers.” Here’s what it’s all about:
The story is of a boy Loki, growing up, his imagination fired by the myths and legends his uncle had read to him as a child. One story in particular, about a tiny planet that breaks up and is rescued by a hero who builds a space ark, inspires him.
As a young man, visiting his uncle, Loki tells him that he wants look for the missing space ark and asks his uncle for help. His uncle at first refuses, telling him of the incredible difficulties, the very real dangers, the immense scale of the task. Eventually his uncle relents but will only help if Loki takes very seriously his preparations for the journey. The film is about a coming of age, a quest and a love story.
Porcupine Tree’s new single, “Shallow”, is available now online. I snagged a copy of it at Napter which is offering a week of free service right now. The song is a lot like “Futile” but a bit less dark and more poppy. It’s a good song and Steve Wilson hasn’t lost his fascination for the darker side of humanity. In other music news, I’m downloading a copy of the Jethro Tull show from here in Madison back in November – an excellent audience recording. Also downloading is a sweet Wilco show from last year. “The Late Greats” is such a blatantly catchy tune! And I’ve got part 1 of a Gentle Giant video. Now I’ve gotta figure out how to play PAL vids correctly.
Another weekend draws to a close, unfortunately. As The Simpsons nears, I’m watching a symposium on Tom Wolfe’s latest book, I Am Charlotte Simmons or whatever it’s called.
It was a pretty good past couple days. The Dulcinea came over for 45 minutes yesterday before I left to grab Pete and go play D&D. I was delighted to find that Marv, our DM, is taking us on a little side venture to Hellgate Keep. Severus has wanted to go there since he heard of the place. Someone has gotta die if we end up going there. Once again, Miss Regan hung out with us in the basement. At one point, Chris had her up on his shoulder and he said, “Who runs Bartertown?” Geek humor at its best.
The Dulcinea spent some more time together today. We went to the Cottage Café for breakfast. Unfortunately, Botox Lady was not there. So we ate heartily and then zipped over to TH for a spell. I hadn’t seen Miss Vicki in a while so she and I caught up on one another’s lives. Ronaldo and Beth were there as well so I shot the fecal matter with them. From there it was off to Border’s where I bought Russian Ark and a photobook about Stanley Kubrick. Then it was back to my place for a short stint and over to The Dulcinea’s. Her kids were returning at 4 so we only had a couple hours together.
I see that Roger Dean is making an animated movie . You may know him as the guy that painted all the classic Yes album covers. I had no idea that “There is a secret story embedded in the art that Roger has painted for the Yes album covers.” Here’s what it’s all about:
The story is of a boy Loki, growing up, his imagination fired by the myths and legends his uncle had read to him as a child. One story in particular, about a tiny planet that breaks up and is rescued by a hero who builds a space ark, inspires him.
As a young man, visiting his uncle, Loki tells him that he wants look for the missing space ark and asks his uncle for help. His uncle at first refuses, telling him of the incredible difficulties, the very real dangers, the immense scale of the task. Eventually his uncle relents but will only help if Loki takes very seriously his preparations for the journey. The film is about a coming of age, a quest and a love story.
Porcupine Tree’s new single, “Shallow”, is available now online. I snagged a copy of it at Napter which is offering a week of free service right now. The song is a lot like “Futile” but a bit less dark and more poppy. It’s a good song and Steve Wilson hasn’t lost his fascination for the darker side of humanity. In other music news, I’m downloading a copy of the Jethro Tull show from here in Madison back in November – an excellent audience recording. Also downloading is a sweet Wilco show from last year. “The Late Greats” is such a blatantly catchy tune! And I’ve got part 1 of a Gentle Giant video. Now I’ve gotta figure out how to play PAL vids correctly.
28 January, 2005
It's Been A Long, Long Time
OK, not that long.
Let me begin by getting some geeky stuff out of the way first. To wit:
His Highness, George Lucas, has released the opening crawl for Revenge of the Sith. For those too lazy to follow the link, here it is:
Firefox has surpassed 20 million downloads! I highly recommend that all Internet Exploder users go grab a copy. Not only will it make browsing easier, but it also goes a long way in avoiding spyware. Plus you can avoid being arrested for making a donation to a tsunami relief fund.
In geeky news closer to home, I’ve finally got my PC up and running again after having bought a new motherboard and CPU. The mobo has SATA if I should ever decide to go in that direction plus two USB 2.0 heads. It took me hours and hours but it’s all back to normal. Before I left for work, I had DC++ up and running with a couple shows downloading. One is a David Bowie gig recorded here in Madtown in October ’74 and some outtakes of Nirvana down at Smart Studios as they readied the material for Nevermind. I have also jumped on a couple weeks recently so I’ve got BURP29 on its way as well as Tull’s complete performance of Aqualung recorded in November in the studios of XM Radio. BURP is a remastering group for Genesis bootlegs. 29 is an audience recording from Leiden, Holland on May 20, 1978. The boys do “Down and Out” so I’m looking forward to eharing it. Thanks to Usenet, I now have the latest Doctor Who audio adventure, The Juggernauts. Haven’t listened to it yet, though. On a related note, BF (Big Finish – the folks who make the DW audio dramas) have started a series about the adventures of UNIT. They’re an earthbound organization in Doctor Who with the venerable Brigadier. The first of the series is Time Heals. Now I’m on the lookout for Her Final Flight and A Storm of Angles.
I’m all fired up because I got front row tickets for the Tempest show in Stoughton come April. I saw them in 1996 at The Chamber which is now the Opus Club or something similar. It went from a place where the gals at Pachinko shows could kick my ass to a place where the womyn can’t get through life without a cell phone and credit card. Progress! Why the band decided to play in Stoughton is beyond me. Yeah, the lead singer is Norwegian and Stoughton is populated by a bunch of Norwegians on LSD, but can one really expect buncha hicks to flock to the Stoughton Opera House for this? There had better be some publicity for this show soon. I'd swear that there’s a gig coming up next month that I wanna see but can’t remember what the hell it is. I do know that Porcupine Tree returns to the States in May in support of Deadwing and I’m psyched to see them again.
Things with The Dulcinea and I had been going alright until last night when she got all liquored up and wanted to see me. I, however, was ensconced in paperwork and drew her ire. It’s been a while since either of us had boy/girlfriend that we’re a bit rusty on the whole deal. Outside of this, it’s been good. Lots of sex, of course, which seems to get kinkier by the day. It’s ironic that, upon beginning to date earlier this month, we resolved to try to have a real relationship which involved more than sex yet sex has been the focus of our time together. Well, we’ll get used to the situation sooner or later.
I read a post up at the Isthmus forum about a new radio station in one of the Twin Cities that A) is not owned by Clear Channel and B) plays “real” “alternative” rock all the time. The author of the post pondered as to whether such an idea would fly here in Madison. Perhaps. But why the fuck would we want one? Between WORT and WSUM, I’m thinking we’ve got more than enough alternative rock on the airwaves to satisfy all the cynical hipsters in town. Some people in this city need to understand that there’s more good music in this world than rock and that just because some someone can play 3 chords and her band is on an independent label doesn’t automatically make the band any good.
Right now I’m listening to Meek’s Genesis Café. Meek is a guy in New York with a huge collection of Genesis boots and he webcasts on Friday evenings/nights. I requested “The Lady Lies” and it’s playing right now. I’d like to give it a try. I suppose I’ll have to check out Shoutcast. If I don’t go to Andy’s tonight to lose money playing poker, I may download it and see what it can do. Otherwise I’ve got to redo Severus and get ready for gaming tomorrow. The plot has unfolded and it’s quite a predicament we find ourselves in at the moment. We killed a priest of Shar named Keshaba so a couple priests were sent out to find us and avenge his death. Along the way, they ran into some illithids and came under their control. The priests were used by the illithids as they pillaged the land. Then they found the lair of a white dragon. One of the priests found a potent magic item and the minions of Shar escaped. Meanwhile we killed some, if not all, of the dragon's progeny. And so we have these priests after us to avenge the death of one of their own, a dragon wanting to avenge the death of its children, and some angry illithids who want us as we double-crossed them. We have to escape death from folks out for revenge, recover the magic object, and, as always, avoid orcs coming in from the north. It’ll be amusing.
OK, not that long.
Let me begin by getting some geeky stuff out of the way first. To wit:
His Highness, George Lucas, has released the opening crawl for Revenge of the Sith. For those too lazy to follow the link, here it is:
War! The Republic is crumbling under the attacks by the ruthless Sith Lord, Count Dooku. There are heroes on both sides. Evil is everywhere.
In a stunning move, the fiendish droid leader, General Grievous, has swept into the republic capital and kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine, leader of the Galactic Senate.
As the Separatist Droid Army attempts to flee the besieged capital with their valuable hostage, two Jedi Knights lead a desperate mission to rescue the captive Chancellor...
In a stunning move, the fiendish droid leader, General Grievous, has swept into the republic capital and kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine, leader of the Galactic Senate.
As the Separatist Droid Army attempts to flee the besieged capital with their valuable hostage, two Jedi Knights lead a desperate mission to rescue the captive Chancellor...
Firefox has surpassed 20 million downloads! I highly recommend that all Internet Exploder users go grab a copy. Not only will it make browsing easier, but it also goes a long way in avoiding spyware. Plus you can avoid being arrested for making a donation to a tsunami relief fund.
In geeky news closer to home, I’ve finally got my PC up and running again after having bought a new motherboard and CPU. The mobo has SATA if I should ever decide to go in that direction plus two USB 2.0 heads. It took me hours and hours but it’s all back to normal. Before I left for work, I had DC++ up and running with a couple shows downloading. One is a David Bowie gig recorded here in Madtown in October ’74 and some outtakes of Nirvana down at Smart Studios as they readied the material for Nevermind. I have also jumped on a couple weeks recently so I’ve got BURP29 on its way as well as Tull’s complete performance of Aqualung recorded in November in the studios of XM Radio. BURP is a remastering group for Genesis bootlegs. 29 is an audience recording from Leiden, Holland on May 20, 1978. The boys do “Down and Out” so I’m looking forward to eharing it. Thanks to Usenet, I now have the latest Doctor Who audio adventure, The Juggernauts. Haven’t listened to it yet, though. On a related note, BF (Big Finish – the folks who make the DW audio dramas) have started a series about the adventures of UNIT. They’re an earthbound organization in Doctor Who with the venerable Brigadier. The first of the series is Time Heals. Now I’m on the lookout for Her Final Flight and A Storm of Angles.
I’m all fired up because I got front row tickets for the Tempest show in Stoughton come April. I saw them in 1996 at The Chamber which is now the Opus Club or something similar. It went from a place where the gals at Pachinko shows could kick my ass to a place where the womyn can’t get through life without a cell phone and credit card. Progress! Why the band decided to play in Stoughton is beyond me. Yeah, the lead singer is Norwegian and Stoughton is populated by a bunch of Norwegians on LSD, but can one really expect buncha hicks to flock to the Stoughton Opera House for this? There had better be some publicity for this show soon. I'd swear that there’s a gig coming up next month that I wanna see but can’t remember what the hell it is. I do know that Porcupine Tree returns to the States in May in support of Deadwing and I’m psyched to see them again.
Things with The Dulcinea and I had been going alright until last night when she got all liquored up and wanted to see me. I, however, was ensconced in paperwork and drew her ire. It’s been a while since either of us had boy/girlfriend that we’re a bit rusty on the whole deal. Outside of this, it’s been good. Lots of sex, of course, which seems to get kinkier by the day. It’s ironic that, upon beginning to date earlier this month, we resolved to try to have a real relationship which involved more than sex yet sex has been the focus of our time together. Well, we’ll get used to the situation sooner or later.
I read a post up at the Isthmus forum about a new radio station in one of the Twin Cities that A) is not owned by Clear Channel and B) plays “real” “alternative” rock all the time. The author of the post pondered as to whether such an idea would fly here in Madison. Perhaps. But why the fuck would we want one? Between WORT and WSUM, I’m thinking we’ve got more than enough alternative rock on the airwaves to satisfy all the cynical hipsters in town. Some people in this city need to understand that there’s more good music in this world than rock and that just because some someone can play 3 chords and her band is on an independent label doesn’t automatically make the band any good.
Right now I’m listening to Meek’s Genesis Café. Meek is a guy in New York with a huge collection of Genesis boots and he webcasts on Friday evenings/nights. I requested “The Lady Lies” and it’s playing right now. I’d like to give it a try. I suppose I’ll have to check out Shoutcast. If I don’t go to Andy’s tonight to lose money playing poker, I may download it and see what it can do. Otherwise I’ve got to redo Severus and get ready for gaming tomorrow. The plot has unfolded and it’s quite a predicament we find ourselves in at the moment. We killed a priest of Shar named Keshaba so a couple priests were sent out to find us and avenge his death. Along the way, they ran into some illithids and came under their control. The priests were used by the illithids as they pillaged the land. Then they found the lair of a white dragon. One of the priests found a potent magic item and the minions of Shar escaped. Meanwhile we killed some, if not all, of the dragon's progeny. And so we have these priests after us to avenge the death of one of their own, a dragon wanting to avenge the death of its children, and some angry illithids who want us as we double-crossed them. We have to escape death from folks out for revenge, recover the magic object, and, as always, avoid orcs coming in from the north. It’ll be amusing.
20 January, 2005
13 January, 2005
Violent Death Will Be Unavailable
"Violent Death will be unavailable from 08:00 Sunday 01/16/05 until further notice."
You heard it here first.
I'm at NPR's site listening to an excerpt from a new Son Volt song called "Afterglow 61". It sounds really great.
I spent New Year's Eve with Marv and Old Man Standiford at a few taverns. A day or 2 after that, The Dulcinea and I talked and got back together. While there is much more to be said about this, it will have to wait for a later time. But I will say that it's been fun. Last weekend, I went to see Spamalot! with Dogger, Mel, and Old Man Standiford. It was awesome! Tim Curry walked by us in the lobby as we were waiting. If Standiford had know the cast were to be coming through the front door, he'd have had a Rocky Horror Picture Show line ready for him. I think a lot of the secondary cast members thought we were somehow associated with the show as they acknowledged our presence as they traipsed on by. We were the only audience members in that part of the lobby as we had Mel in her wheelchair and the usher said that we could wait there.
I got a special mini-issue of Progression which was dedicated to the career of Gentle Giant and now I can stop listening to them. I've got a CD here that has a medley of "Knots" & "The Advent of Panurge" from a 1974 concert recorded by the King Biscuit Flower Hour. The opening of "Knots" has John Weathers just pounding the living fuck out of the drums.
Freethinkers is quite good so far. A lot about Thomas Paine. At this point, I'm in mid-19th century and so the role of freethinkers in the abolition movement is the central topic. However, Jacoby has also brought in the women's rights movement and is discussing how the 2 interacted and how freethinkers in each camp were perceived.
Here's what's in my craw at the moment: reality TV. I am so fucking tired of Monster Garage, Monster House, Monster Outhouse, Monster Dinghy, etc. Remember back in the 90s when Beverly Hills 90125 spawned all those imitators? The shows were labeled "rich kids with problems". Today we find ourselves with a glut of "men arguing while remodeling" shows. It really disappoints me that most of this crap is on The Learning Channel and the Discovery Channel. I have no desire to learn about how a father & son fight over a motorcyle rim or discover how some slacker doesn't pull his weight and gets booted. I give the makers of these shows credit for the use of editing and staging. They impose a dramatic narrative on a really boring and almost narrative-free series of events.
How Stevie can sit around for hours on end watching this crap is beyond me. It's not that I seek to ban these shows but - christ! - how many of them does a channel need? For every one of these atrocities on the air, it fills time that could potentially be filled with something interesting. It's just done to death. These shows have as much educational value as Coke has nutrition.
"Violent Death will be unavailable from 08:00 Sunday 01/16/05 until further notice."
You heard it here first.
I'm at NPR's site listening to an excerpt from a new Son Volt song called "Afterglow 61". It sounds really great.
I spent New Year's Eve with Marv and Old Man Standiford at a few taverns. A day or 2 after that, The Dulcinea and I talked and got back together. While there is much more to be said about this, it will have to wait for a later time. But I will say that it's been fun. Last weekend, I went to see Spamalot! with Dogger, Mel, and Old Man Standiford. It was awesome! Tim Curry walked by us in the lobby as we were waiting. If Standiford had know the cast were to be coming through the front door, he'd have had a Rocky Horror Picture Show line ready for him. I think a lot of the secondary cast members thought we were somehow associated with the show as they acknowledged our presence as they traipsed on by. We were the only audience members in that part of the lobby as we had Mel in her wheelchair and the usher said that we could wait there.
I got a special mini-issue of Progression which was dedicated to the career of Gentle Giant and now I can stop listening to them. I've got a CD here that has a medley of "Knots" & "The Advent of Panurge" from a 1974 concert recorded by the King Biscuit Flower Hour. The opening of "Knots" has John Weathers just pounding the living fuck out of the drums.
Freethinkers is quite good so far. A lot about Thomas Paine. At this point, I'm in mid-19th century and so the role of freethinkers in the abolition movement is the central topic. However, Jacoby has also brought in the women's rights movement and is discussing how the 2 interacted and how freethinkers in each camp were perceived.
Here's what's in my craw at the moment: reality TV. I am so fucking tired of Monster Garage, Monster House, Monster Outhouse, Monster Dinghy, etc. Remember back in the 90s when Beverly Hills 90125 spawned all those imitators? The shows were labeled "rich kids with problems". Today we find ourselves with a glut of "men arguing while remodeling" shows. It really disappoints me that most of this crap is on The Learning Channel and the Discovery Channel. I have no desire to learn about how a father & son fight over a motorcyle rim or discover how some slacker doesn't pull his weight and gets booted. I give the makers of these shows credit for the use of editing and staging. They impose a dramatic narrative on a really boring and almost narrative-free series of events.
How Stevie can sit around for hours on end watching this crap is beyond me. It's not that I seek to ban these shows but - christ! - how many of them does a channel need? For every one of these atrocities on the air, it fills time that could potentially be filled with something interesting. It's just done to death. These shows have as much educational value as Coke has nutrition.
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