Well, with all the working, skiing, and Christmasing, it seems this little corner of the internet has been negleted for a little while. Now I suppose it's time for an update...
First, let's talk about Christmas. Geez, this was a pretty good one...though it was for a fairly shallow reason. Typically, I don't get all excited for presants. I like Christmas because it's a day off to spend with the family and eat like you can't really eat any other time of the year (like Thanksgiving, but with more cookies). But hell, I got, like, a shit-ton of great gifts this year. Okay, last year was awesome too...I mean, I got a 2004 Red Sox autographed baseball for fuck's sake...but this year, consistency was the key. I'll run through it for y'all real quick.
1) iPod...holy shit did I not expect to get this. I mean, I've wanted one for quite some time, and I finally got one. Haven't had much time to play with it, but I'm beginning the long process of putting my record collection on it. Once that's done, I'll start exploring the other features.
2) Hunter S. Thompson's Hell's Angels Pretty excited to read this...once I finish Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs (which merits it's own post by the by), this is next up. Also got a hansome hardcover book that titles something like "Baseball Book of Firsts" which includes the first time just about anything happened in baseball. which is pretty sweet. It would work well on our coffee table...if our coffee table wasn't covered in food scraps and whiskey.
3) Socks, Gloves, and Hat...now, this might not seem that great, until you try on the gloves. I could shovel so much snow with these gloves...best...gloves...ever...
4) Bob Dylan Another Side of Bob Dylan I had meant to ask for Bringing it All Back Home and this was sort of a miscommunication...but it's growing on me...and it does have "It Ain't Me Babe" on it...which makes me want to end a relationship just so I can righteously blast that song.
5) Beard trimmer...this is the beard trimmer of the gods...I could do all kinds of crazy shit with this thing...like lightning bolt side burns (causing my mother to scream in horror).
6) More gloves...you can never have too many pairs of gloves...unless you live in Figi...even then, it's a good idea to have a couple pairs around...
7) A pair of jeans.
Neeeeeeeways...Happy New Year all...quit smoking or compulsively having sex or something...then come to your senses around February and realize it's more fun being flawed.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
The Semester is over...now what?
Oh the places I'll go! Now with the semester finishing on an adequate note with my final final (which went satisfactorily, thank you), I'm free for about an entire month to work long hours at a low paying job, go skiing whenever I can, and get ready for some serious Christmas action. I'm a little upset that my family's usual Christmas tradition of getting up early, opening presents, then eating lots of cookies, watching movies or basketball, the eating lots of food, then more movies, some more cookies, all the while never leaving our pajamas is being changed by my sister having to work until three, so the presents and dinner will come later in the day. Bull-poo I say! I'll just have to satisfy my aching hunger Christmas Day by eating more cookies I suppose. Also, my mom said she'd go skiing with me, and since we're actually getting snow this year, I'm excited about that, though I would have to change out of my pajamas. Well, anyway, Happy Holidays all (ZT Krogman is all about the inclusiveness, baby).
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Finals status report...
I'm 2/3 done with my finals for the semester, I only have one more tomorrow. So yee-haw...this is how they went.
My Civil Rights/Civil Liberties final went as good as can be expected since I've mostly been reading Dead Souls in class instead of paying attention. I should probably get a B on it...I think...I really hated the essays. ugh
While it wasn't the orgy of insightful analysis that my midterm was, my WWI final went very well. I should get an A on it I'm pretty sure. The essays went pretty well, and I knew the terms. Plus I didn't just stop writing on the second essay because I was tired like the last test.
My Civil Rights/Civil Liberties final went as good as can be expected since I've mostly been reading Dead Souls in class instead of paying attention. I should probably get a B on it...I think...I really hated the essays. ugh
While it wasn't the orgy of insightful analysis that my midterm was, my WWI final went very well. I should get an A on it I'm pretty sure. The essays went pretty well, and I knew the terms. Plus I didn't just stop writing on the second essay because I was tired like the last test.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Slavophiles
So I said I'd write more about history, and now I'm inspired. So I'm droppin' a little commentary, Russian style...
I was just thinking this morning that I think I would make fun of (hardcore) slavophiles if I'd been around during their heyday (mid to late 19th Century Russia). I'll break this down for those that have no knowledge on Russian history pre-Sputnik...
Russia had always been questioning its identity ever since Peter the Great made an X in the ground and declared that it would be St. Petersburg/Petrograd/Leningrad. Were they European? Were they something else? I mean, they really do have a tricky geography if you think about it. In addition to all those geographical quandries, their culture was quite different from the rest of Europe (what with their Caftans and Orthodox Church). So when that giant among men Peter (not just because he was a great Tsar, he was seriously a giant, like 7 feet tall, or something like that) was getting pickles lovingly made by his wife and trying to Westernize (see modernize) Russia, there entered an identity crisis in Russia. Perhaps they understood the need to build a navy that was more than a couple rafts with some good stone throwin' guys on them, why oh why did Peter have to grab nobles and forcibly cut off their beards? Why did he try to diminish the power of the church? Do we really want to be like those Germans (they're a little cold you know...and the French are so damn arrogant)? While there were many in the upper class who cheered the notions of plumbing and the possibility of less repressive government, some wondered if they were losing their Russian-ness in the process.
There were two real catalysts to the Slavophile movement. First, the development of a Russian literature that truly began with Pushkin. Finally, there was Russian literature that could stand up to European works. Other writers, especially Gogol, celebrated the Russian folktale as well. Second, the defeat of Napleon by the Russians gave them another boost of confidence.
So there was a set of people who felt, rather than looking to Europe for direction, Russia should turn inward. It was felt, Russian culture and Russian people were better than Europe's, it just had to be awoken. But how was this 'Great Russian Rennaissance' to be awoken. For the Slavophile, it was in the Russian peasant, that great man with no education and a drinking problem. So slavophiles revelled in 'authentic' peasant craftsmanship (not made in factories), wore caftans, grew enormous beards, and wrote stories like "Master and Man" (which is by Tolstoy, and is actually pretty good. Worth reading, check it out). Many of the prominent writers in Russia at this time were Slavophiles. Dostoevsky and especially Tolstoy are prime examples. In fact, Tolstoy is pretty much the example. He even was part of the curious movement by aristocrats to go out into the countryside and flail away at manual labor and educate the peasants (only to be laughed away). One prominent critic of Slavophiles was Ivan Turgenev, who was a westernizer. His book Fathers and Sons has a particularly scathing satire on slavophiles in his depiction of the character Sitnikov.
Anyway, slavophiles remind me of people who go to crafts shows and talk about some band that had an a great dobro player, suck down organic coffee...and...wait, I'm talking about my parents. And aside from my parents, I kind of make fun of those people. But they seem nice enough. And I really like Tolstoy, and most of them could write pretty damn well. But I would make fun of them a lot nonetheless.
I was just thinking this morning that I think I would make fun of (hardcore) slavophiles if I'd been around during their heyday (mid to late 19th Century Russia). I'll break this down for those that have no knowledge on Russian history pre-Sputnik...
Russia had always been questioning its identity ever since Peter the Great made an X in the ground and declared that it would be St. Petersburg/Petrograd/Leningrad. Were they European? Were they something else? I mean, they really do have a tricky geography if you think about it. In addition to all those geographical quandries, their culture was quite different from the rest of Europe (what with their Caftans and Orthodox Church). So when that giant among men Peter (not just because he was a great Tsar, he was seriously a giant, like 7 feet tall, or something like that) was getting pickles lovingly made by his wife and trying to Westernize (see modernize) Russia, there entered an identity crisis in Russia. Perhaps they understood the need to build a navy that was more than a couple rafts with some good stone throwin' guys on them, why oh why did Peter have to grab nobles and forcibly cut off their beards? Why did he try to diminish the power of the church? Do we really want to be like those Germans (they're a little cold you know...and the French are so damn arrogant)? While there were many in the upper class who cheered the notions of plumbing and the possibility of less repressive government, some wondered if they were losing their Russian-ness in the process.
There were two real catalysts to the Slavophile movement. First, the development of a Russian literature that truly began with Pushkin. Finally, there was Russian literature that could stand up to European works. Other writers, especially Gogol, celebrated the Russian folktale as well. Second, the defeat of Napleon by the Russians gave them another boost of confidence.
So there was a set of people who felt, rather than looking to Europe for direction, Russia should turn inward. It was felt, Russian culture and Russian people were better than Europe's, it just had to be awoken. But how was this 'Great Russian Rennaissance' to be awoken. For the Slavophile, it was in the Russian peasant, that great man with no education and a drinking problem. So slavophiles revelled in 'authentic' peasant craftsmanship (not made in factories), wore caftans, grew enormous beards, and wrote stories like "Master and Man" (which is by Tolstoy, and is actually pretty good. Worth reading, check it out). Many of the prominent writers in Russia at this time were Slavophiles. Dostoevsky and especially Tolstoy are prime examples. In fact, Tolstoy is pretty much the example. He even was part of the curious movement by aristocrats to go out into the countryside and flail away at manual labor and educate the peasants (only to be laughed away). One prominent critic of Slavophiles was Ivan Turgenev, who was a westernizer. His book Fathers and Sons has a particularly scathing satire on slavophiles in his depiction of the character Sitnikov.
Anyway, slavophiles remind me of people who go to crafts shows and talk about some band that had an a great dobro player, suck down organic coffee...and...wait, I'm talking about my parents. And aside from my parents, I kind of make fun of those people. But they seem nice enough. And I really like Tolstoy, and most of them could write pretty damn well. But I would make fun of them a lot nonetheless.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
History
History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again.
-Kurt Vonnegut
I realize that I don't talk a whole lot about history on here. Which is sort of weird, since it is my major in college and one of my biggest interests. My best writing is on historical subjects. I have many papers I've written for history classes that I am very proud of. I currently spend a good deal of my time working on a paper about immigration's effect on anarchism in America. Most of my favorite books are 19th century Russian works, since Russian culture and history fascinates me. I just finished my last session of my World War I class, one of the best classes I've had in my time at Winona State. So I feel inspired to write about history a little.
I've been thinking about World War I a lot. It is a forgotten war to most of us now. The last real lesson I had on World War I before this class was a brief mention in American History. Popular culture climbs all over itself to sell the romanticism and good versus evil epic of World War II, but in many ways, World War I is more important to understanding the 20th Century than World War II. It is also compulsively interesting to read and learn about. There is so much great literature, especially from the British, that comes out of the war. The disillusion created some incredible visual art, especially among the Germans. It is this artwork and literature that engrosses me.
It is humanity at its darkest, and it deserves more of a place in our consciousness. Any picture of the 20th Century world is woefully incomplete without an understanding of The Great War. So, here's some stuff to read up on, and some pictures and paintings. So you can be, you know, an informed person.
Otto Dix:
-Kurt Vonnegut
I realize that I don't talk a whole lot about history on here. Which is sort of weird, since it is my major in college and one of my biggest interests. My best writing is on historical subjects. I have many papers I've written for history classes that I am very proud of. I currently spend a good deal of my time working on a paper about immigration's effect on anarchism in America. Most of my favorite books are 19th century Russian works, since Russian culture and history fascinates me. I just finished my last session of my World War I class, one of the best classes I've had in my time at Winona State. So I feel inspired to write about history a little.
I've been thinking about World War I a lot. It is a forgotten war to most of us now. The last real lesson I had on World War I before this class was a brief mention in American History. Popular culture climbs all over itself to sell the romanticism and good versus evil epic of World War II, but in many ways, World War I is more important to understanding the 20th Century than World War II. It is also compulsively interesting to read and learn about. There is so much great literature, especially from the British, that comes out of the war. The disillusion created some incredible visual art, especially among the Germans. It is this artwork and literature that engrosses me.
It is humanity at its darkest, and it deserves more of a place in our consciousness. Any picture of the 20th Century world is woefully incomplete without an understanding of The Great War. So, here's some stuff to read up on, and some pictures and paintings. So you can be, you know, an informed person.
Otto Dix:
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Some books worth reading:
The Rights of Spring Modris Ecksteins: Connects the artistic and intellectual feeling of the time with the move towards war, and then looks at how these things change in the aftermath of war.
Goodbye to All That Robert Graves: Description of a soldier's life, and in addition, a meditation on the destruction of the Old World.
Under Fire Henri Barbusse: Written from the pespective of a French soldier in the trenches (as Barbusse was). Illustrates an angry disillusionment.
There's more out there...maybe I'll post some of them later.
If they cry, they die...
Yesterday, I got the first disc of Homicide, Season 3 from Netflix, and the season seems promising. Crosetti has been absent so far (and I hear he doesn't come back, but why?). But the first three episodes dealt with 1) a serial killer and 2) focused on detective Pembelton. Which pretty much assured some good episodes. None of them matched the "If they cry, they die!" episode. In fact there were two episodes from seasons 1-2 that beat these first three out, but all three were better than all the other shows from seasons 1-2. I can't wait to see this season at its absoulute height. So I suppose that sort of makes up for "Curb Your Enthusiasm" season three being a dud.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Jesus Walks is an absolute masterpiece
Okay, so I basicly feel sad about everything...but one ray of hope right now is the song "Jesus Walks" by Kanye West. Beautiful, an absolute, undoubted mastepiece. Kanye's finest moment. There's a connection in that song that I haven't felt in a long time...
Friday, December 02, 2005
Sigh...
Usually, I'm a pretty happy person, but lately a lot of stuff is making me unhappy. No real overall depression or anything but just a series of things that has me discouraged. So for all you unhappy people populating the world and whatnot, I guess this is for you (misery loves company). My list of things that got me feeling down lately:
1) I got "Curb Your Enthusiasm" Season 3 from Netflix and was pretty disappointed in it. Only one was as funny as anything from seasons 1 and 2, and it wasn't even that great.
2) It's been too damn long since Arrested Development has been on. I guess it's still sort of in limbo these days, but probably going to be cancelled.
3) I haven't gotten any new David Cross standup downloaded in days.
4) A friend of mine got mad at me and has made a concerted effort to be mean to me, though not out in the open, but little subtle ways.
5) I have this creeping feeling that I'm more annoying than anything else.
6) We're involved in an ill-planned and seemingly endless conflict in Iraq. The person running this conflict is dishonest, evasive, and inept. The only way he answers to criticism is to dismiss it and say that it "helps the terrorists". All this scandal riddling the administration and the ruling Republicans just saddens me more than anything. Of course, most of the opposition just gets all gleeful about every scandal like opportunistic vultures. The whole business is pretty revolting. Thousands are dying, and all our leaders/media can think about is the 2006 elections.
7) I am so tired of driving home every weekend to work.
Thanks for letting me bitch a little.
1) I got "Curb Your Enthusiasm" Season 3 from Netflix and was pretty disappointed in it. Only one was as funny as anything from seasons 1 and 2, and it wasn't even that great.
2) It's been too damn long since Arrested Development has been on. I guess it's still sort of in limbo these days, but probably going to be cancelled.
3) I haven't gotten any new David Cross standup downloaded in days.
4) A friend of mine got mad at me and has made a concerted effort to be mean to me, though not out in the open, but little subtle ways.
5) I have this creeping feeling that I'm more annoying than anything else.
6) We're involved in an ill-planned and seemingly endless conflict in Iraq. The person running this conflict is dishonest, evasive, and inept. The only way he answers to criticism is to dismiss it and say that it "helps the terrorists". All this scandal riddling the administration and the ruling Republicans just saddens me more than anything. Of course, most of the opposition just gets all gleeful about every scandal like opportunistic vultures. The whole business is pretty revolting. Thousands are dying, and all our leaders/media can think about is the 2006 elections.
7) I am so tired of driving home every weekend to work.
Thanks for letting me bitch a little.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
I feel like doing a survey...hoo-ray!
1-What time did you get up this morning? 9 am-ish
2-Diamonds or pearls? Hmm...I'll go diamonds...
3-What was the last film you saw at the cinema? I think it was "A History of Violence"...seems like a long time ago though...
4-What is your favorite tv show? Hmm, I don't think it's on TV anywhere anymore, but I've been getting "Homicide: Life on the Streets" DVDs from Netflix...either that or "Cheers"
5-What do you usually have for breakfast? Usually a bagel, I really like eggs over-easy
6-Favorite food? Brats
7-What foods do you dislike? Um I dunno, I've come to like just about everything, though I used to be a really picky eater.
8-What is your favorite chip flavor? Chedder
9-What is your favorite CD at the moment? Wilco Kicking Television
10-What kind of car do you drive? Toyota Tercel
11-Favorite sandwich? Meatball sub
12-What characteristic do you despise? self-righteousness
13-Favorite item of outfit? Shoes
14-If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Hmm, Russia
15-What color is your bathroom? Whitish
16-Favorite brand of clothing? American Eagle fits pretty well
17-Where would you retire to? Hmm, nice cabin on the lake
18-Favorite sport to watch? Baseball
19-When is your birthday? April 18
20-Favorite flowers? daisies
21-Are you a morning person or a night person? Depends on what happened the night before...
22-What did you want to be when you were little? baseball player
23-How are you today? not too shabby
24-What is a date on your calendar you are looking forward to? December 16, end of the semester...
2-Diamonds or pearls? Hmm...I'll go diamonds...
3-What was the last film you saw at the cinema? I think it was "A History of Violence"...seems like a long time ago though...
4-What is your favorite tv show? Hmm, I don't think it's on TV anywhere anymore, but I've been getting "Homicide: Life on the Streets" DVDs from Netflix...either that or "Cheers"
5-What do you usually have for breakfast? Usually a bagel, I really like eggs over-easy
6-Favorite food? Brats
7-What foods do you dislike? Um I dunno, I've come to like just about everything, though I used to be a really picky eater.
8-What is your favorite chip flavor? Chedder
9-What is your favorite CD at the moment? Wilco Kicking Television
10-What kind of car do you drive? Toyota Tercel
11-Favorite sandwich? Meatball sub
12-What characteristic do you despise? self-righteousness
13-Favorite item of outfit? Shoes
14-If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Hmm, Russia
15-What color is your bathroom? Whitish
16-Favorite brand of clothing? American Eagle fits pretty well
17-Where would you retire to? Hmm, nice cabin on the lake
18-Favorite sport to watch? Baseball
19-When is your birthday? April 18
20-Favorite flowers? daisies
21-Are you a morning person or a night person? Depends on what happened the night before...
22-What did you want to be when you were little? baseball player
23-How are you today? not too shabby
24-What is a date on your calendar you are looking forward to? December 16, end of the semester...
Cool Blog
Found a cool blog, it can be found here:
http://discordharmony.blogspot.com/
I'd tell you what it's about, but that would sort of ruin the fun, now wouldn't it?
http://discordharmony.blogspot.com/
I'd tell you what it's about, but that would sort of ruin the fun, now wouldn't it?
Current Favorites (December 1, 2005)
Music:
Devendra Banhart Rejoicing in the Hands: I finally "aquired" the whole album, after living on scraps obtained, well you know how (incidently, I like talking about file-sharing like it's super illegal and should be kept hush-hush. Think George Costanza saying, "I'm a bootlegga!" and tell me that isn't fun. Now don't get all mad at me if your like, 'you should support the artist you asshole!' Vonnegut once wrote that writers just secretly want others to hear what they have to say, and I doubt it's much different for musicians, and in addition, whilst I'm making decisions on which cheap ass canned food to eat this week and whether or not it's wise to spend money on this or that, I'm sure Mr. Banhart is doing just fine and dandy. Hell, he can afford musical equiptment and to travel around the country doing his singy-sing thing. I still buy albums from time to time, but I'm not going to waste my money on an unproven product, so I'm going to listen to some songs first. And since I usually can't stand listening to the radio, voila, file-sharing is a beautiful solution. If something is really truly worthwhile, I'll buy it. That or a special pantheon of artists whose albums I'll buy without knowing anything about it. And that's reserved for Beck, Radiohead, and Wilco. Everyone else needs to earn their way into my record collection.) Okay, enough of that tirade, back to the album. I like it quite a bit. The best moments are the quiet ones, when he's just strumming on his guitar and letting his wonderful voice do its thing. When he gets a little more daring, he kind of gets off track, and it's more jarring than anything else. Also, the pedophilia theme is a bit disturbing, and I'm not sure if that's good or bad yet.
***1/2
Billy Bragg & Wilco: Mermaid Avenue
It's a cool concept, Billy Bragg and Wilco put music to a bunch of Woody Guthrie's unpublished words. They do a fabulous job with it, creating an album that has some great moments, such as "California Stars", "Ingrid Bergman", and "Christ for President". Makes me feel all leftist, wishing I was in the midst of some activity with the Wobblies. Only complaint is that Bragg and Wilco don't work together, they feel sort of split up on this disc. I would've preferred a little more cohesiveness from the two.
****
What else am I listening to?
Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo, the superb Kicking Television by Wilco (sense a theme?), and I've really been rocking The Hold Steady (especially "Cattle and the Creeping Things")
Things I've sort of abandoned: Feist, which excited me initially just isn't that interesting anymore, I gave Art Brut another try, and still don't like it that much...um, I can only get one song by Vetiver, and I'm not gonna go buying an album on the strength of one song. Given another chance, The Arcade Fire still doesn't connect.
Things I've sort of forgotten about, and I feel bad about that: Tricky, I keep saying I'll listen to it more, and I love it, and then I just, don't. He's like the grilled cheese sandwich of my record collection. I love grilled cheese sandwiches, they're cheap and easy to make, and they're always satisfying...but I never make them. I can't explain it, but I just never think to make them when I'm hungry. Same thing with the Maxinquaye album. Great album, I could listen to it any time...I just, don't...
Movies:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005): Great remake, and wasn't pointless like most. It was significantly different from the original one. Not sure if it was better (I haven't seen it in awhile), but it was pretty darn good.
8/10
Books:
Rites of Spring Modris Eksteins: I've been reading this book over the semester for my WWI class, and it's my favorite one of the bunch. Most of the chapters are good. Eksteins does a great job talking about the time leading up to the great war, expressing the psyche of the prewar world, but the best comes with the chapters on the shattered psyche of post-war Europe. Incidently, my professor met the author and has a great story about an intrusive Ukrainian named Igor giving Dr. Eksteins some offense with a recording device.
Dead Souls Nikolai Gogol: I'm about halfway through, and I'm enjoying it so far. Plenty of laugh out loud moments occur. Gogol has wonderful, biting wit. I've read "The Overcoat" by him and loved it, so I don't expect the second half to be a letdown. Incidently, the writing style used by Gogol is very much out of vogue in fiction nowadays. The narrator is always expected to stay out of the story, never giving little quips. Gogol does this constantly, and to great effect. Most prose today is sparse and utilitarian. Only non-fiction really inserts the narrator straight into the story to make comments on the action of the story. I wouldn't mind if a few writers of fiction would at least try and revive this way of telling a story. It's more intimate. Author's seem too concerned with making a movie with words rather than telling a good story.
Devendra Banhart Rejoicing in the Hands: I finally "aquired" the whole album, after living on scraps obtained, well you know how (incidently, I like talking about file-sharing like it's super illegal and should be kept hush-hush. Think George Costanza saying, "I'm a bootlegga!" and tell me that isn't fun. Now don't get all mad at me if your like, 'you should support the artist you asshole!' Vonnegut once wrote that writers just secretly want others to hear what they have to say, and I doubt it's much different for musicians, and in addition, whilst I'm making decisions on which cheap ass canned food to eat this week and whether or not it's wise to spend money on this or that, I'm sure Mr. Banhart is doing just fine and dandy. Hell, he can afford musical equiptment and to travel around the country doing his singy-sing thing. I still buy albums from time to time, but I'm not going to waste my money on an unproven product, so I'm going to listen to some songs first. And since I usually can't stand listening to the radio, voila, file-sharing is a beautiful solution. If something is really truly worthwhile, I'll buy it. That or a special pantheon of artists whose albums I'll buy without knowing anything about it. And that's reserved for Beck, Radiohead, and Wilco. Everyone else needs to earn their way into my record collection.) Okay, enough of that tirade, back to the album. I like it quite a bit. The best moments are the quiet ones, when he's just strumming on his guitar and letting his wonderful voice do its thing. When he gets a little more daring, he kind of gets off track, and it's more jarring than anything else. Also, the pedophilia theme is a bit disturbing, and I'm not sure if that's good or bad yet.
***1/2
Billy Bragg & Wilco: Mermaid Avenue
It's a cool concept, Billy Bragg and Wilco put music to a bunch of Woody Guthrie's unpublished words. They do a fabulous job with it, creating an album that has some great moments, such as "California Stars", "Ingrid Bergman", and "Christ for President". Makes me feel all leftist, wishing I was in the midst of some activity with the Wobblies. Only complaint is that Bragg and Wilco don't work together, they feel sort of split up on this disc. I would've preferred a little more cohesiveness from the two.
****
What else am I listening to?
Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo, the superb Kicking Television by Wilco (sense a theme?), and I've really been rocking The Hold Steady (especially "Cattle and the Creeping Things")
Things I've sort of abandoned: Feist, which excited me initially just isn't that interesting anymore, I gave Art Brut another try, and still don't like it that much...um, I can only get one song by Vetiver, and I'm not gonna go buying an album on the strength of one song. Given another chance, The Arcade Fire still doesn't connect.
Things I've sort of forgotten about, and I feel bad about that: Tricky, I keep saying I'll listen to it more, and I love it, and then I just, don't. He's like the grilled cheese sandwich of my record collection. I love grilled cheese sandwiches, they're cheap and easy to make, and they're always satisfying...but I never make them. I can't explain it, but I just never think to make them when I'm hungry. Same thing with the Maxinquaye album. Great album, I could listen to it any time...I just, don't...
Movies:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005): Great remake, and wasn't pointless like most. It was significantly different from the original one. Not sure if it was better (I haven't seen it in awhile), but it was pretty darn good.
8/10
Books:
Rites of Spring Modris Eksteins: I've been reading this book over the semester for my WWI class, and it's my favorite one of the bunch. Most of the chapters are good. Eksteins does a great job talking about the time leading up to the great war, expressing the psyche of the prewar world, but the best comes with the chapters on the shattered psyche of post-war Europe. Incidently, my professor met the author and has a great story about an intrusive Ukrainian named Igor giving Dr. Eksteins some offense with a recording device.
Dead Souls Nikolai Gogol: I'm about halfway through, and I'm enjoying it so far. Plenty of laugh out loud moments occur. Gogol has wonderful, biting wit. I've read "The Overcoat" by him and loved it, so I don't expect the second half to be a letdown. Incidently, the writing style used by Gogol is very much out of vogue in fiction nowadays. The narrator is always expected to stay out of the story, never giving little quips. Gogol does this constantly, and to great effect. Most prose today is sparse and utilitarian. Only non-fiction really inserts the narrator straight into the story to make comments on the action of the story. I wouldn't mind if a few writers of fiction would at least try and revive this way of telling a story. It's more intimate. Author's seem too concerned with making a movie with words rather than telling a good story.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
I've started using the word "whilst" a lot more often...
After years of neglecting this helpful conjunction, I've started using it. It seems to work a lot better than "while". I like the sound of it, though I'm still having trouble pronouncing it correctly every time since it has been so seriously ignored by my vocabulary. But i think that will clear up with more repetition. I suggest trying it more often, you'll like it better than "while".
Sunday, November 27, 2005
I looked ridiculously attractive last night!
Sometimes, it's just in the stars...and last night was one of those nights. I was ridiculously attractive last night. I mean, top ten hot. I just kind of wish there had been a camera there. See, I wasn't super dressed up, but I put some thought into my appearance, and all in all, it was a pretty good outfit. But the real difference maker was the hair. My locks were, to put it lightly, touched by the Gods. My physical appearance was the work of mighty Aphrodite herself. Unfortunately, at no point was I able to get a picture of myself, so you'll just have to take my word for it...
Monday, November 21, 2005
Wilco - Kicking Television Live in Chicago
If you ask my dad what his favorite album by an artist is, he will almost invariably mention one of their live albums. He insists that a band sounds its best when it's live (and if they don't, well, then they weren't worth much anyway). I've always disagreed, most of the material on a live album isn't new, and the live album demonstrates something different from a studio work. It's the documentation of a band putting on a show, rather than creating some creative work. It's the difference between a playwrite and an actor. However, while playwrites are not asked to be actors, the musician must pull double duty. In a sense, the album is the songwriter's statement, the live concert the musicians. My dad, being a musician, will inevitably enjoy the live album as the musicians defining moment.
Therefore, there's a different set of criteria in judging Wilco's Kicking Television as opposed to, say, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. And I'm in alien territory so to speak. I haven't played a musical instrument since I gave up the trumpet in 8th grade. More important to me in a live album is what it adds to the understanding of the artist and their songs. Do the changes in the original version sound as good or better? Is the sense of energy transferred from the live event to the album?
I don't know how Wilco's shows at the Vic Theatre this past May were live. My summer living conditions turned my usual 5 hour drive time to Chicago into a 20 hour one (I traded my car for a riding mower in one of the worst trades I've ever made). So I, much to my chagrin, missed the show. A live show, in the best case, adds appreciation to the artist. When I saw The Hold Steady, I liked them even more than I did before. When I saw Beck, while the show was great, it didn't really make me appreciate him more. I don't have unlimited resources and time to go see every band I would like to. Living in the charming, but ultimately small city of Winona, MN further complicates matters. So what is one to do, when they love a band as I love Wilco, but can't seem to find my way to one of their concerts? Hope for a live CD! But of course. Then again, sometimes the live CD doesn't do anything really. The Roots Come Alive failed to capture the energy of their live show. So how would that add to my appreciation?
Luckily, Kicking Television, is an incredible artifact. Not only does it increase my appreciation of Wilco, it improves a number of songs (many of which, were damn near perfect to begin with: see "Ashes of American Flags", "Shot in the Arm", and "At Least That's What You Said"). In addition, it makes "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" a classic out of a forgetable song. The only real dud is "I'm the Man That Loves You", which is still good, just not as good.
Of course, one of my favorite parts of any live CD is the banter between band and the audience (the master of which is hands down Perry Ferrel of Jane's Addiction). In this respect, Wilco holds up. Jeff Tweedy quips with no semblance of a straight face before "Jesus, ect.", "Let's get this party started, with some midtempo rock!" On a whole, Kicking Television works on multiple levels: as a document of Wilco's hometown shows, as a treasure trove of great moments for the Wilco fan, and as an introduction to Wilco for the unitiated. This things damn near perfect.
*****
Therefore, there's a different set of criteria in judging Wilco's Kicking Television as opposed to, say, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. And I'm in alien territory so to speak. I haven't played a musical instrument since I gave up the trumpet in 8th grade. More important to me in a live album is what it adds to the understanding of the artist and their songs. Do the changes in the original version sound as good or better? Is the sense of energy transferred from the live event to the album?
I don't know how Wilco's shows at the Vic Theatre this past May were live. My summer living conditions turned my usual 5 hour drive time to Chicago into a 20 hour one (I traded my car for a riding mower in one of the worst trades I've ever made). So I, much to my chagrin, missed the show. A live show, in the best case, adds appreciation to the artist. When I saw The Hold Steady, I liked them even more than I did before. When I saw Beck, while the show was great, it didn't really make me appreciate him more. I don't have unlimited resources and time to go see every band I would like to. Living in the charming, but ultimately small city of Winona, MN further complicates matters. So what is one to do, when they love a band as I love Wilco, but can't seem to find my way to one of their concerts? Hope for a live CD! But of course. Then again, sometimes the live CD doesn't do anything really. The Roots Come Alive failed to capture the energy of their live show. So how would that add to my appreciation?
Luckily, Kicking Television, is an incredible artifact. Not only does it increase my appreciation of Wilco, it improves a number of songs (many of which, were damn near perfect to begin with: see "Ashes of American Flags", "Shot in the Arm", and "At Least That's What You Said"). In addition, it makes "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" a classic out of a forgetable song. The only real dud is "I'm the Man That Loves You", which is still good, just not as good.
Of course, one of my favorite parts of any live CD is the banter between band and the audience (the master of which is hands down Perry Ferrel of Jane's Addiction). In this respect, Wilco holds up. Jeff Tweedy quips with no semblance of a straight face before "Jesus, ect.", "Let's get this party started, with some midtempo rock!" On a whole, Kicking Television works on multiple levels: as a document of Wilco's hometown shows, as a treasure trove of great moments for the Wilco fan, and as an introduction to Wilco for the unitiated. This things damn near perfect.
*****
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Current Favorites (November 17, 2005)
Music:
Wolf Parade With Apologies to the Queen Mary: This is in heavy rotation nowadays. I enjoy pretty much every song, with the exception of the overly long and overly dramatic "Dinner Bells". They ratchet up the tension often to great effect, especially the brilliant "I'll Believe in Anything", but the album is at its best when they let loose on "Shine a Light" and "This Heart's on Fire".
****1/2
Bob Dylan Highway 61 Revisited: I doubt I can add anything terribly significant in the way of critique here. Many people say this is one of the best albums of all time, and I heartily agree. This is Bob Dylan at his absolute peak. "Like a Rolling Stone" is probably the best song, though "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, it Takes a Train to Cry" is the one I've been listening to most lately.
*****
Music I'm getting aquainted with:
Feist: I just got some stuff by her yesterday. I like it, great for studying or just chilling.
Old favorites that are getting played again:
Radiohead, especially Kid A and OK Computer, though that's getting intersperced with some Hail to the Thief. I also sort of rediscovered the song "Like Spinning Plates" off the oft ignored (by me at least) Amnesiac album.
Tricky Maxinquaye: I was in the old auto listening to the college radio station in Winona since I didn't have a CD in the player, and I heard someone on there that sort of sounded like Tricky and got me to dig that one out of the record collection. I don't know why I've ignored it so long. This is one of my favorite albums...guess I just wasn't in the mood. Best song is probably "Weeping Willow"
****1/2
Movies:
Mean Streets: Directed by Martin Scorcese and starring Harvey Keitel and Robert DeNiro. Pretty good movie, but it never really gets exciting, it's just sort of one thing happening after the other. I don't now that it really said anything like Scorcese's best work does.
6/10
Batman Begins: Best Batman movie by far, and Christian Bale does a wonderful job as the flying mammal superhero. I like the focus on Bruce Wayne's life, which was lacking in the previous three pictures (along with any noticeable features of competent filmaking).
8/10
Wolf Parade With Apologies to the Queen Mary: This is in heavy rotation nowadays. I enjoy pretty much every song, with the exception of the overly long and overly dramatic "Dinner Bells". They ratchet up the tension often to great effect, especially the brilliant "I'll Believe in Anything", but the album is at its best when they let loose on "Shine a Light" and "This Heart's on Fire".
****1/2
Bob Dylan Highway 61 Revisited: I doubt I can add anything terribly significant in the way of critique here. Many people say this is one of the best albums of all time, and I heartily agree. This is Bob Dylan at his absolute peak. "Like a Rolling Stone" is probably the best song, though "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, it Takes a Train to Cry" is the one I've been listening to most lately.
*****
Music I'm getting aquainted with:
Feist: I just got some stuff by her yesterday. I like it, great for studying or just chilling.
Old favorites that are getting played again:
Radiohead, especially Kid A and OK Computer, though that's getting intersperced with some Hail to the Thief. I also sort of rediscovered the song "Like Spinning Plates" off the oft ignored (by me at least) Amnesiac album.
Tricky Maxinquaye: I was in the old auto listening to the college radio station in Winona since I didn't have a CD in the player, and I heard someone on there that sort of sounded like Tricky and got me to dig that one out of the record collection. I don't know why I've ignored it so long. This is one of my favorite albums...guess I just wasn't in the mood. Best song is probably "Weeping Willow"
****1/2
Movies:
Mean Streets: Directed by Martin Scorcese and starring Harvey Keitel and Robert DeNiro. Pretty good movie, but it never really gets exciting, it's just sort of one thing happening after the other. I don't now that it really said anything like Scorcese's best work does.
6/10
Batman Begins: Best Batman movie by far, and Christian Bale does a wonderful job as the flying mammal superhero. I like the focus on Bruce Wayne's life, which was lacking in the previous three pictures (along with any noticeable features of competent filmaking).
8/10
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Two things that kick ass
Long, hair raising, fist pumping, air guitar inducing guitar solos. (Current favorites include "Charlemagne in Sweatpants" by the Hold Steady, "Ball and Biscuit" by the White Stripes, and "Let's Call it Love" by Sleater-Kinney, not to mention the older stuff)
Gun fights involving big fucking guns. (In movies that is, in real life, I'd be scared shitless seeing people duking it out with big fucking guns, making loud boom boom sounds. Current favorite, Heat.)
Gun fights involving big fucking guns. (In movies that is, in real life, I'd be scared shitless seeing people duking it out with big fucking guns, making loud boom boom sounds. Current favorite, Heat.)
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
World War II Video Games
So I was bored and saw an ad for "Call of Duty 2: The Big Red One" or whatever it's called, and it said it was, like, the best war story ever told or something along those lines. I laughed at it, like I laugh at myself when I say I'm going to party with movie stars when I'm really just going to class. Obvious lies, especially gigantic exaggeration lies are always good for a punch line. So I checked it out, to see what this great war story was. As far as I could tell, it was some division in WW2 involving a red number "1" which I'd probably know more about if I watched the history channel. But that's about all I gleaned about the story line (which is probably because it's a video game, which means the plot was written by some overworked intern once they figured out all the cool graphics).
However, the trailer for the video game was filled with massive amounts of bullshit wartime romanticism created by computer programmers who probably don't know how to clean a gun, let alone have been to war. With shouting people charging romanticly at the evil enemy, shells pounding down on both sides with swelling music and all that stupid crap. Which in a sense I understand, since as a friend of mine pointed out, "If they made war games realistic, it would be days of boredom, followed by short burst pure, horrible, terror". Which, really, doesn't sound like much fun to me.
The problem I have with World War II video games (of which, there are approximately 472 billion), is that they cheapen the horror of war, and contribute to the romanticized notion of brave men risking it all charging at the enemy guns for valor and the girlfriend back home. There's an entire industry out there peddling institutionalized violence out there. People grow up playing these games, and their attitude towards war is shaped by them.
Not that I'm some "back in the good old days" type person or anything. This crap has been around forever, in the form of novels, poems, plays, movies, and songs. Any entertainment medium is tempted to look at the romantic aspect of war, to sanitize it's random cruelty and the hell on earth it creates. And I admit it can be attractive. There's a thin line between exploiting the limitless potential for human drama that war creates, and romanticizing war. And sometimes, the romanticizing can be entertaining. But in the end, it makes me sick, and makes me angry, to think that this romanticization of war warps minds to think of war as something besides the awful, disgusting thing that it is. And while other mediums are capable of walking that line, video games, it seems, would not be all that fun to play, if they don't go headlong into war romanticism.
Anywhere, here's my top 5 books/movies dealing with war:
1 Slaughterhouse 5 Kurt Vonnegut
2 Apocolypse Now
3 The Thin Red Line (1999)
4 This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentleman Tadeuz Borowski
5 Goodbye to All That Robert Graves
Anyway, I'll bet anyone $500 that these are much better war stories than the crap being dished out by "Call of Duty: The Big Red One"
However, the trailer for the video game was filled with massive amounts of bullshit wartime romanticism created by computer programmers who probably don't know how to clean a gun, let alone have been to war. With shouting people charging romanticly at the evil enemy, shells pounding down on both sides with swelling music and all that stupid crap. Which in a sense I understand, since as a friend of mine pointed out, "If they made war games realistic, it would be days of boredom, followed by short burst pure, horrible, terror". Which, really, doesn't sound like much fun to me.
The problem I have with World War II video games (of which, there are approximately 472 billion), is that they cheapen the horror of war, and contribute to the romanticized notion of brave men risking it all charging at the enemy guns for valor and the girlfriend back home. There's an entire industry out there peddling institutionalized violence out there. People grow up playing these games, and their attitude towards war is shaped by them.
Not that I'm some "back in the good old days" type person or anything. This crap has been around forever, in the form of novels, poems, plays, movies, and songs. Any entertainment medium is tempted to look at the romantic aspect of war, to sanitize it's random cruelty and the hell on earth it creates. And I admit it can be attractive. There's a thin line between exploiting the limitless potential for human drama that war creates, and romanticizing war. And sometimes, the romanticizing can be entertaining. But in the end, it makes me sick, and makes me angry, to think that this romanticization of war warps minds to think of war as something besides the awful, disgusting thing that it is. And while other mediums are capable of walking that line, video games, it seems, would not be all that fun to play, if they don't go headlong into war romanticism.
Anywhere, here's my top 5 books/movies dealing with war:
1 Slaughterhouse 5 Kurt Vonnegut
2 Apocolypse Now
3 The Thin Red Line (1999)
4 This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentleman Tadeuz Borowski
5 Goodbye to All That Robert Graves
Anyway, I'll bet anyone $500 that these are much better war stories than the crap being dished out by "Call of Duty: The Big Red One"
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Blake reaches new low
On successive nights, Blake has refused Aloe Vera and Saline Solution as remedies for various ailments. However, he did snort caffein pills, take acid, snort advil cold and sinus, drink over 20 drinks, and go bowlin at various points in his life.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Status of the Blog War
While Blake has admitted defeat and called the Blog War a stalemate, we have made several breakthroughs in this war on Blakeism:
1) We have several prominent leads on discrediting Huey Lewis as an actual musician, finding him to be, rather, a d-bag and hack.
2) While we have found WMDs in former Blakeist territory, most of them were poorly designed due to his laziness. In reality, they posed more harm to him than me.
3) Several covert operations have uncovered a Blakeist plot to convince people that Will Farrell isn't funny. Everyone knows Will Farrell is funny, don't try to fight it, just because you want to be different, Mr. Stockdale!
With regards to the 20,000 "peace-keepers" sent to my room, they were a rag tag group of poorly fed and politically oppressed neaderthals who couldn't even read...leading them to fail in their attempts to take over my bookshelves. They have been taken in and are being given a good education.
Also, according to Blake, there has been ethnic cleansing of dirty laundry. Well, everyone knows that dirty laundry is the scum of the earth, and must be purged in order to create a more perfect bedroom. Why do you think there's so much disease emenating from Blake's room?
We shall never waver in our defense of liberty, justice, bourgeois values, and lemonade!
1) We have several prominent leads on discrediting Huey Lewis as an actual musician, finding him to be, rather, a d-bag and hack.
2) While we have found WMDs in former Blakeist territory, most of them were poorly designed due to his laziness. In reality, they posed more harm to him than me.
3) Several covert operations have uncovered a Blakeist plot to convince people that Will Farrell isn't funny. Everyone knows Will Farrell is funny, don't try to fight it, just because you want to be different, Mr. Stockdale!
With regards to the 20,000 "peace-keepers" sent to my room, they were a rag tag group of poorly fed and politically oppressed neaderthals who couldn't even read...leading them to fail in their attempts to take over my bookshelves. They have been taken in and are being given a good education.
Also, according to Blake, there has been ethnic cleansing of dirty laundry. Well, everyone knows that dirty laundry is the scum of the earth, and must be purged in order to create a more perfect bedroom. Why do you think there's so much disease emenating from Blake's room?
We shall never waver in our defense of liberty, justice, bourgeois values, and lemonade!
Monday, October 10, 2005
Blake's Nickname
I would appreciate if everyone referred to Blake as Admiral AssPlunger from now on. Thank you.
Blake Stockdale Hates Black People
Blake Stockdale, mad brute and leading proponent of barbarious Blakeism hates black people. He recently commented he didn't really like the song "Golddigger" by confirmed African-American Kanye West. Also, he created AIDS and infected black people in Africa and also created crack and spread it througout inner-city America.
In addition, here is a picture of his new "Fall Wardrobe"
Unusually large number of male sexual noises coming from Blake's room
Yeah, it's kind of uncomfortable...I hope it's just his insatiable appetite for pornography, but he's probably just doing dudes...
Daily Briefing on the Blog War (October 10, 2005)
Status of the troops:
Full mobilization has been achieved and we hope to move from defensive positions to making really mean comments and starting viscious rumors by the end of the day.
Atrocities committed by the enemy:
-Blake Stockdale insinuated yesterday that I ate an entire wedding cake at a ceremony I wasn't even invited to. This comment breaks several laws of blog war.
1) Actions committed while drunk are completely exhonerated. Does Blake want that excuse rendered moot? Because I really, really don't think he does.
2) Insulting someone on their cake intake is a violation of basic human rights.
-Blake Stockdale has invaded the neutrality of Switzerland by hoarding Swiss Army Knives.
-Blake Stockdale has instigated chemical warfare by refusing to wear deoderant.
-Blake Stockdale raped ten baby seals in order to create the "Zach Krogman drinks his own piss" post.
Allowing a little emotion to slip through, I must remark that the rampaging barbarism of Blakeism is the most serious threat to civilized blogging cyberspace has ever seen. I am not shocked that a man who once epitimized such values as only drinking half a soda and choosing to use restaurant tables as a bathroom in his pre-blog days has turned to such attrocities in order to prop up his war machine. We must not waver in our defense of liberty, justice, bourgeois values and lemonade in the face of Blakeist Barbarism.
Domestic Threats:
It has been brought to my attention that there are Blakeist elements in this blog. While I would like to purge any traces of Blakeism from this page, but we must remember, if we give up our ideas of liberty, we have let Blakeism run rampant everywhere.
Thank you and God Bless...
Zachary T. Krogman
Infrequent Reporter of Inane Crap
Lover of Lemonade
Full mobilization has been achieved and we hope to move from defensive positions to making really mean comments and starting viscious rumors by the end of the day.
Atrocities committed by the enemy:
-Blake Stockdale insinuated yesterday that I ate an entire wedding cake at a ceremony I wasn't even invited to. This comment breaks several laws of blog war.
1) Actions committed while drunk are completely exhonerated. Does Blake want that excuse rendered moot? Because I really, really don't think he does.
2) Insulting someone on their cake intake is a violation of basic human rights.
-Blake Stockdale has invaded the neutrality of Switzerland by hoarding Swiss Army Knives.
-Blake Stockdale has instigated chemical warfare by refusing to wear deoderant.
-Blake Stockdale raped ten baby seals in order to create the "Zach Krogman drinks his own piss" post.
Allowing a little emotion to slip through, I must remark that the rampaging barbarism of Blakeism is the most serious threat to civilized blogging cyberspace has ever seen. I am not shocked that a man who once epitimized such values as only drinking half a soda and choosing to use restaurant tables as a bathroom in his pre-blog days has turned to such attrocities in order to prop up his war machine. We must not waver in our defense of liberty, justice, bourgeois values and lemonade in the face of Blakeist Barbarism.
Domestic Threats:
It has been brought to my attention that there are Blakeist elements in this blog. While I would like to purge any traces of Blakeism from this page, but we must remember, if we give up our ideas of liberty, we have let Blakeism run rampant everywhere.
Thank you and God Bless...
Zachary T. Krogman
Infrequent Reporter of Inane Crap
Lover of Lemonade
Today Shall Live in Infamy
War is not the holiday that is depicted in such jingoistic hawk films as Apocolypse Now and The Thin Red Line. No, rather it is hell on earth. And a Blog War is hell in cyberspace. It is a decision that cannot be made lightly, and only when all other options are exhausted. Today, your humble, infrequent reporter of inane crap was the victim of a vicious attack upon his person. In response to a valid and true statement about the slipping quality of his blog, Blake Stockdale declared an offensive blog war against this blog. In response, I have no option but to defend myself and the rest of civilized blogdom from the horrible scourge of Blakeism. There will be no surrender in the defense of liberty, justice, bourgeois values, and lemonade.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Current Favorites (October 9, 2005)
Alright, well I haven't posted one of these in a coon's age...but here goes:
Music
Devendra Banhart: I'm just to starting to listen to this, but it's pretty darn cool. I've only been able to "procure" songs from the album Rejoicing in the Hands, aside from one from the newest album, Cripple Crow. You can listen to Cripple Crow here. Reviews of Banhart's work can be found here.
Sufjan Stevens: I guess I'm just a folkie at heart, but this is the other artist I've really started to dig. I swear I'll buy an album and not just keep the freebies...really...here's his website. I don't see any info about his newest album, Illinois, but it has stuff about Michigan.
Also, I started a Facebook group for The Hold Steady. It's called The Hold Stead Rock So Hard it Makes Me Want to Cry Blood. Join today!
Movies:
Now that I have Netflix, I get see a heck of a lot more movies. Anyway, just last Thursday I had a movie trioverate (I watched three movies in one day) and all of them were damn good movies. First, I watched Lords of Dogtown, which kicked ass, 8/10. Then I went to History of Violence which was also insanely good, also an 8/10, then I hit up the movie Crash, which was incredibly depressing (as was History of Violence) but also very good, 7/10. Also, with Netflix, I got to watch Martin & Orloff again, which was awesome as all get out, then I just got Curb Your Enthusiasm season 2, disc two waiting for me...life is good.
Not much to report in books...
Some Current Not So Favorites:
Blake's Blog: Apparently, it has become a vehicle of either making fun of me or retelling drunk stories that everyone's heard already. It's really taken a dive in quality lately.
Our Government: Lately, under Bush, it seems completely inept, dishonest, and corrupt...you know, more than usual.
Bonus Picture: Devendra Banhart
Music
Devendra Banhart: I'm just to starting to listen to this, but it's pretty darn cool. I've only been able to "procure" songs from the album Rejoicing in the Hands, aside from one from the newest album, Cripple Crow. You can listen to Cripple Crow here. Reviews of Banhart's work can be found here.
Sufjan Stevens: I guess I'm just a folkie at heart, but this is the other artist I've really started to dig. I swear I'll buy an album and not just keep the freebies...really...here's his website. I don't see any info about his newest album, Illinois, but it has stuff about Michigan.
Also, I started a Facebook group for The Hold Steady. It's called The Hold Stead Rock So Hard it Makes Me Want to Cry Blood. Join today!
Movies:
Now that I have Netflix, I get see a heck of a lot more movies. Anyway, just last Thursday I had a movie trioverate (I watched three movies in one day) and all of them were damn good movies. First, I watched Lords of Dogtown, which kicked ass, 8/10. Then I went to History of Violence which was also insanely good, also an 8/10, then I hit up the movie Crash, which was incredibly depressing (as was History of Violence) but also very good, 7/10. Also, with Netflix, I got to watch Martin & Orloff again, which was awesome as all get out, then I just got Curb Your Enthusiasm season 2, disc two waiting for me...life is good.
Not much to report in books...
Some Current Not So Favorites:
Blake's Blog: Apparently, it has become a vehicle of either making fun of me or retelling drunk stories that everyone's heard already. It's really taken a dive in quality lately.
Our Government: Lately, under Bush, it seems completely inept, dishonest, and corrupt...you know, more than usual.
Bonus Picture: Devendra Banhart
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
New project!
So I'm beginning a new project with Blake. It's a tabloid called Winona Tattler that will be a mix of celebrity gossip and local (Winona, MN) gossip. One of the first breaking stories we have involves Will Smith being outed. So it should be good. Also, I'm working on a lead connecting the Winona mayor to a cattle rustling ring. Regardless, it can be found here.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Found a cool Blog this morning
Hey, check out this blog, by someone named Mary. Mostly just links to news articles with some commentary. I know, nothing revolutionary, but I enjoyed reading it, and hope it keeps up.
>>>>click---here<<<<
>>>>click---here<<<<
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Things I'd like to say with complete seriousness (Celebrity Edition)
Hey Meat Loaf, are you actually gonna order the meatloaf?
Bruce Springsteen never springs for dinner...
Kurt Cobain is a bitch of a ghost to have in your attic...
Yeah, it was going well till I found out Whoopi Goldburg is a dude...
It turns out Jason Alexander has a huge collection of anime porn...
That guy who plays Kramer gets really pissed when you tell him he was your least favorite character on Seinfeld, but hey, the lawsuit's gnna be a cool payday...
I don't know how it happened, but I know with certainty either Jessica Alba or Wynona Ryder has syphillis...
Wilford Brimley turns into a pussy once he sees spicy food...
Scarlett Johanson hogs all of the water in the shower...
Bruce Springsteen never springs for dinner...
Kurt Cobain is a bitch of a ghost to have in your attic...
Yeah, it was going well till I found out Whoopi Goldburg is a dude...
It turns out Jason Alexander has a huge collection of anime porn...
That guy who plays Kramer gets really pissed when you tell him he was your least favorite character on Seinfeld, but hey, the lawsuit's gnna be a cool payday...
I don't know how it happened, but I know with certainty either Jessica Alba or Wynona Ryder has syphillis...
Wilford Brimley turns into a pussy once he sees spicy food...
Scarlett Johanson hogs all of the water in the shower...
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Concerns about Hold Steady Shower turn out to be unfounded...
So the Hold Steady shower turned out swimmingly, and my concerns were pretty much unfounded. I started out with "Stevie Nix" which was actually a kick ass showering song, especially for the soap portion. "Multitude of Casualties" kicked in and turned out to be a perfect shampooing song. It ended just as my shower
ended, and I was able to turn it back to "Charlemagne in Sweatpants" for a decent time drying period. I'm totally taking more Hold Steady Showers, maybe I'll start figuring out how to incorporate other songs. Especially now that I remember that you can reprogram the track order on CDs, which will make this infinately easier.
Anyway, if you haven't checked them out yet, you should check out The Hold Steady. The pictures will all link to various things about them. Cheers!
Hold Steady Shower Presents Unforseen Complications
So I got back from playing some frisbee and I was a little sweaty (not that sweaty, I didn't work too hard), and I needed to take a shower. I usually listen to the radio when I take a shower, but I decided to listen to a CD instead, because I saw my Hold Steady CD (the sublime Separation Sunday) and got all excited to take a Hold Steady shower. Anyway, as I'm walking to the bathroom with my CD I start thinking about the fact that I really want to listen to the song "Multitude of Casualties" since it's my favorite song on the CD. Now, it's the seventh track on the disc, and I didn't really want to listen to the songs after it as much as I did the two previous songs, "Charlemagne in Sweatpants" and "Stevie Nix". Now, normally, I take a quick shower of about two songs. So I could start at "Charlemagne in Sweatpants" and hopefully make it to "Multitude of Casualties" by the end of the shower, but then there's always the possiblitlity that I'd be sitting in the bathroom waiting for the end of the song to come, feeling akward, and in addition somewhat ruining the song that I really, really wanted to listen to. In addition, I kind of wanted to listen to "Multitude of Casualties" in the shower as opposed to while I was drying off and brushing teeth and whatnot.
One other solution I thought of was to have my roomate Blake change the song from "Multitude of Casualties" after it was done to "Charlemagne in Sweatpants"; however, he correctly pointed out "That's too familiar" (direct quote). Finally, I settled on just starting with "Stevie Nix" which would lead into "Multitude of Casualties", and if I had time, turning it back to "Charlemagne in Sweatpants".
One other solution I thought of was to have my roomate Blake change the song from "Multitude of Casualties" after it was done to "Charlemagne in Sweatpants"; however, he correctly pointed out "That's too familiar" (direct quote). Finally, I settled on just starting with "Stevie Nix" which would lead into "Multitude of Casualties", and if I had time, turning it back to "Charlemagne in Sweatpants".
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Bob Dylan is my new hero...
So I've been reading about those infamous days when Dylan decided to expand his musical exploration and plug in the guitars, get a drummer, blah blah blah. Anyway, if you don't know the story, it probably means you aren't old or a hopeless music geek, but Bob Dylan was folk music's chosen one. He was going to take up where Woody Guthrie left off as the acoustic guitar strumming, folk slinging voice of the common man. So when he decided to expand into rock music to satisfy his own musical curiosity and desires as an artist, some people were pretty damn upset. He got booed, some people called him "Judas"...the conflict between Bob Dylan the artist and Bob Dylan the idol was coming to a head. Dylan had to either give in, let the people have their chosen one back, or just do what was right for his artistic growth. In that fateful moment, he turned to his backing band (which was, incidently The Band), and said, "Play fucking loud".
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Vinyl to Cassette
I'm in the process of transferring a bunch of my parent's vinyl to cassette so that I can listen to them at school. So I'm going from one archaic form of music storage to another. Right now I'm doing Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. While it may seem time consuming, here's a couple advantages to doing it this way.
1) I already have a bunch of unused 90 minute blank cassettes, which is perfect because an album will almost always fit on to one side of the cassette. So this one is going to have Blood on the Tracks and Highway 61 Revisited on it.
2) I have to listen to all the albums while I'm copying them, so it gives me an excuse to listen to some classic albums.
3) This is completely free for me, and I doubt the RIAA will sue me. I haven't heard about them trying to stamp out the massive vinyl to cassette racket. There is also zero chance of any spyware or viruses finding their way onto my computer with this process.
This brings up some great memories for me of when I used to make mix tapes for when I had a paper route and a walkman. It sort of coincides with a musical renaissance of sorts for me. I went through this period of about two years where I didn't really care about music as much after it had been my number one hobby for years. Now, for about the past year and a half, I've been back in the game and it just seems appropriate to be making tapes again.
Well, have to go flip the record.
1) I already have a bunch of unused 90 minute blank cassettes, which is perfect because an album will almost always fit on to one side of the cassette. So this one is going to have Blood on the Tracks and Highway 61 Revisited on it.
2) I have to listen to all the albums while I'm copying them, so it gives me an excuse to listen to some classic albums.
3) This is completely free for me, and I doubt the RIAA will sue me. I haven't heard about them trying to stamp out the massive vinyl to cassette racket. There is also zero chance of any spyware or viruses finding their way onto my computer with this process.
This brings up some great memories for me of when I used to make mix tapes for when I had a paper route and a walkman. It sort of coincides with a musical renaissance of sorts for me. I went through this period of about two years where I didn't really care about music as much after it had been my number one hobby for years. Now, for about the past year and a half, I've been back in the game and it just seems appropriate to be making tapes again.
Well, have to go flip the record.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Back in Winona
I just got to Winona today, which is pretty sweet. I went to the grocery store and then I'm going to the hypnotist. I realize that these details are a little pointless, so I'll just give you TWO pictures! They'll also link to some random page, so if you feel lucky, go ahead and click on them.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Third post today...I'm not bored am I?
Here's a list of things I'd like to say in real life without joking:
"We made a deal, the child is MINE!"
"I won a knife throwing contest last week."
"You'd think otherwise, but Angelina Jolie gives terrible head."
"Meryl Streep doesn't know a damn thing about biology!"
"I found a place where you can bet a million bucks a hand on blackjack, I kept losing but it was so much fun I played all night."
"I need to take my jet pack into the shop, the brakes are just shot."
"When my kid got an NBA contract, I had no idea he'd become and arrogant, self absorbed asshole."
"Yeah, the Rolex is new, but the clasp keeps coming loose, I think I have to take it in."
"How am I going to tell the owners they have a lion stuck in their house?"
"I'm not sure who gave me herpes, there's just so many possibilities..."
"That's the most realistic looking blow up doll I've ever seen!"
"I was thinking of quitting my job after I won the lottery before I remembered that I'm a bikini inspector."
"I always thought those parties in beer commercials never happened in real life!"
"We made a deal, the child is MINE!"
"I won a knife throwing contest last week."
"You'd think otherwise, but Angelina Jolie gives terrible head."
"Meryl Streep doesn't know a damn thing about biology!"
"I found a place where you can bet a million bucks a hand on blackjack, I kept losing but it was so much fun I played all night."
"I need to take my jet pack into the shop, the brakes are just shot."
"When my kid got an NBA contract, I had no idea he'd become and arrogant, self absorbed asshole."
"Yeah, the Rolex is new, but the clasp keeps coming loose, I think I have to take it in."
"How am I going to tell the owners they have a lion stuck in their house?"
"I'm not sure who gave me herpes, there's just so many possibilities..."
"That's the most realistic looking blow up doll I've ever seen!"
"I was thinking of quitting my job after I won the lottery before I remembered that I'm a bikini inspector."
"I always thought those parties in beer commercials never happened in real life!"
Current Favorites (August 26, 2005)
It's been a little while since I've written one of these things, but here are a few of my favorite things.
Music:
The Hold Steady Separation Sunday- This album kicks ass. Classic rock riffs, great lyrics from the Springsteen school, and one of the most unique vocal deliveries from Craig Finn. Best songs are "Multitude of Casualties" and "Charlemagne in Sweatpants", but really the rest are almost as good. 8/10
I'm also spinning a lot of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and I'm in a Radiohead phase again. I listened to Hail to the Theif one day and now I'm listening to all their albums (sans The Bends and Pablo Honey) on pretty steady basis. The one album that I'd sort of forgotten about was Amnesiac. While it's weaker than most of their other albums, it's still damn good. I also rediscovered the I Might Be Wrong EP, which is hit and miss, but has some very strong versions of "Idiotech", "Like Spinning Plates" and "Everything in its Right Place".
Books:
Sarah Vowell: I'm really getting into what she's writing. One of the most interesting writers out there. But while her words are great, her pieces are heard from her one of a kind voice. She often contributes to This American Life on NPR. I just listened to a great piece by her about Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. You can find it here. The program overall is good, but if you just want to listen to Sarah Vowell's piece, it's at about the 48 minute mark. Her works are all over the internet, and collected in the wonderful book Partly Cloudy Patriot. She has a couple other books, but I haven't read them yet.
Movies:
I watched so many movies this past summer because there was a dollar theatre in Sarasota. My favorite movies I saw there were Million Dollar Baby, Cinderella Man, and Sahara. All solid movies, 9/10, 7/10, 7/10 respectively. I also really liked Wedding Crashers, even though it lagged a little towards the end. I just didn't see it at the dollar theatre, so I'm a little bitter about paying full price. I don't know what it ranks though, probably 7/10...I'd have to think about that.
Music:
The Hold Steady Separation Sunday- This album kicks ass. Classic rock riffs, great lyrics from the Springsteen school, and one of the most unique vocal deliveries from Craig Finn. Best songs are "Multitude of Casualties" and "Charlemagne in Sweatpants", but really the rest are almost as good. 8/10
I'm also spinning a lot of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and I'm in a Radiohead phase again. I listened to Hail to the Theif one day and now I'm listening to all their albums (sans The Bends and Pablo Honey) on pretty steady basis. The one album that I'd sort of forgotten about was Amnesiac. While it's weaker than most of their other albums, it's still damn good. I also rediscovered the I Might Be Wrong EP, which is hit and miss, but has some very strong versions of "Idiotech", "Like Spinning Plates" and "Everything in its Right Place".
Books:
Sarah Vowell: I'm really getting into what she's writing. One of the most interesting writers out there. But while her words are great, her pieces are heard from her one of a kind voice. She often contributes to This American Life on NPR. I just listened to a great piece by her about Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. You can find it here. The program overall is good, but if you just want to listen to Sarah Vowell's piece, it's at about the 48 minute mark. Her works are all over the internet, and collected in the wonderful book Partly Cloudy Patriot. She has a couple other books, but I haven't read them yet.
Movies:
I watched so many movies this past summer because there was a dollar theatre in Sarasota. My favorite movies I saw there were Million Dollar Baby, Cinderella Man, and Sahara. All solid movies, 9/10, 7/10, 7/10 respectively. I also really liked Wedding Crashers, even though it lagged a little towards the end. I just didn't see it at the dollar theatre, so I'm a little bitter about paying full price. I don't know what it ranks though, probably 7/10...I'd have to think about that.
New Music...
I spent this morning listening to new music. The internet is a great tool for this, obviously, but the only problem is that I'm on a computer that doesn't have any illegal music stealing programs. So I have to scrape around for the scraps that the man hands me. Anyway, it turned out a little more fruitful than imagined. Some highlights:
I found that you can actually listen to the entire Broken Social Scene album You Forgot it in People here. I'd been itching to listen to "Cause=Time" and hey, I found it. No way to listen to the new album yet (to be released October 4), but there's details here. While Broken Social Scene isn't terribly new, I missed that bus when it happened, so like the old NBC summer regurgitation motto, "If you haven't seen it, it's new to you!".
Checked out an album from a guy called John Vanderslice that got the lead review in Pitchfork today. It was okay, but seemed a little souless. You can check it out here.
Apparently while I was gone all summer, cut off from knowing what's cool, I missed the band Dungen. While I usually don't trust Swedes, their song that's available free online, "Panda" is cool. Makes me want to listen to a little more at least. You can listen to it here.
That's all that was really notable, most of the other stuff sucked...anyway, we'll end with a picture, musically themed:
I found that you can actually listen to the entire Broken Social Scene album You Forgot it in People here. I'd been itching to listen to "Cause=Time" and hey, I found it. No way to listen to the new album yet (to be released October 4), but there's details here. While Broken Social Scene isn't terribly new, I missed that bus when it happened, so like the old NBC summer regurgitation motto, "If you haven't seen it, it's new to you!".
Checked out an album from a guy called John Vanderslice that got the lead review in Pitchfork today. It was okay, but seemed a little souless. You can check it out here.
Apparently while I was gone all summer, cut off from knowing what's cool, I missed the band Dungen. While I usually don't trust Swedes, their song that's available free online, "Panda" is cool. Makes me want to listen to a little more at least. You can listen to it here.
That's all that was really notable, most of the other stuff sucked...anyway, we'll end with a picture, musically themed:
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Revamp Blues
Alright, I made a new post to Unencumbered Enthusiasm, but other than that it looks like there will be no more attepts to revamp the blog at all. At least today, since there appear to be a couple of good baseball games coming on real soon, Yankees-Blue Jays and Brewers-Marlins. Other than that, I'm just gonna go try to get some food and watch some baseball, and just be content with my blog the way it is...and maybe do something with Unencumbered Enthusiasm.
Anyway, here's a picture to enjoy...
Anyway, here's a picture to enjoy...
Some roadblocks in revamping the blog...
Okay, I just keep running into problems with revamping my blog and getting Unencumbered Enthusiasm off the ground. One, is there are some good shows on television that I wanted to watch. Two, is that I really don't know how to do anything at all except create links and upload pictures. So I'm going to combine the two into one big super picture link right here. HA!
I made that myself also. That was when I thought I might be able to make it the header for my Unencumbered Enthusiasm blog when it was going to be super cool. But not that I've been beaten down by the internets, it looks like a cool logo that I can stare at occasionally and wish was at the top of that blog.
I made that myself also. That was when I thought I might be able to make it the header for my Unencumbered Enthusiasm blog when it was going to be super cool. But not that I've been beaten down by the internets, it looks like a cool logo that I can stare at occasionally and wish was at the top of that blog.
Books I read this summer...
Well shoot, I suppose I should also get people caught up on how the old summer reading went. These are the books I read:
The Partly Cloudy Patriot Sarah Vowell: Book of short non-fiction pieces by Sarah Vowell. I recommend it highly. Typical topics include American history and current politics, which interests me, but there's a lot more.
As I Lay Dying William Faulkner: I liked it, but I didn't love it. It is hard to understand, but there are rewards for being patient. Like Kafka, it probably deserves another read to give it its due.
The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoevsky: I did it! After almost of year of distractions leading to a slow as molasses reading pace, I picked it up and finished the damn thing. After finally finishing the book, well I can say that I loved it. Dostoevsky has a way of touching your soul like no other author I've read. And because of that I'm willing to forgive the long boring spells that would last up to one hundred pages. Why, because just around the corner would come something exhilerating. The final book made me forget the sections that nearly lulled me to sleep. I still like Crime and Punishment better, but The Brothers Karamazov is high on my list.
Bluebeard Kurt Vonnegut: Fake memoirs of an interesting character named Rabo Karabekian. Ranks as one of my favorite Vonnegut books, probably number 3. So the list I think looks like this:
1) Cat's Cradle
2) Slaughterhouse 5
3) Bluebeard
4) Breakfast of Champions
5) Slapstick
6) Mother Night
7) Player Piano
8) Galapagos
I'm probably forgetting one that I've read...but whatever.
Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72 Hunter S. Thompson: Probably the most entertaining book I read the whole summer. It made me realize a couple things:
1) The argument durning primaries that people should try to find the most "electable" canidate is stupid. People should vote for who they believe in, who's the best person. Why are we obsessed with finding someone who can win? I made the argument for Kerry in the 2004 election because I thought he had the best chance of beating Bush. That was stupid. I should have been looking for the canidate I really believed in.
2) Nixon was a dirty no good scumbag who despite any positive policies and actions, eroded trust in the government. We should never forget this as our tolerance for secretive goverment increases. Our democracy is never safe when we cannot trust that what our president is saying is true.
3) Hunter S. Thompson was a great American.
If I had to rank these books by how much I enjoyed them, it would go:
1) Fear and Loathing: On the Campaing Trail '72
2) The Brothers Karamazov
3) Partly Cloudy Patriot
4) Bluebeard
5) As I Lay Dying
Of the bunch, The Brothers Karamazov and Fear and Loathing both get 10/10, Partly Cloudy Patriot and Bluebeard get 8/10 and As I Lay Dying gets a 6/10.
Happy reading...
The Partly Cloudy Patriot Sarah Vowell: Book of short non-fiction pieces by Sarah Vowell. I recommend it highly. Typical topics include American history and current politics, which interests me, but there's a lot more.
As I Lay Dying William Faulkner: I liked it, but I didn't love it. It is hard to understand, but there are rewards for being patient. Like Kafka, it probably deserves another read to give it its due.
The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoevsky: I did it! After almost of year of distractions leading to a slow as molasses reading pace, I picked it up and finished the damn thing. After finally finishing the book, well I can say that I loved it. Dostoevsky has a way of touching your soul like no other author I've read. And because of that I'm willing to forgive the long boring spells that would last up to one hundred pages. Why, because just around the corner would come something exhilerating. The final book made me forget the sections that nearly lulled me to sleep. I still like Crime and Punishment better, but The Brothers Karamazov is high on my list.
Bluebeard Kurt Vonnegut: Fake memoirs of an interesting character named Rabo Karabekian. Ranks as one of my favorite Vonnegut books, probably number 3. So the list I think looks like this:
1) Cat's Cradle
2) Slaughterhouse 5
3) Bluebeard
4) Breakfast of Champions
5) Slapstick
6) Mother Night
7) Player Piano
8) Galapagos
I'm probably forgetting one that I've read...but whatever.
Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72 Hunter S. Thompson: Probably the most entertaining book I read the whole summer. It made me realize a couple things:
1) The argument durning primaries that people should try to find the most "electable" canidate is stupid. People should vote for who they believe in, who's the best person. Why are we obsessed with finding someone who can win? I made the argument for Kerry in the 2004 election because I thought he had the best chance of beating Bush. That was stupid. I should have been looking for the canidate I really believed in.
2) Nixon was a dirty no good scumbag who despite any positive policies and actions, eroded trust in the government. We should never forget this as our tolerance for secretive goverment increases. Our democracy is never safe when we cannot trust that what our president is saying is true.
3) Hunter S. Thompson was a great American.
If I had to rank these books by how much I enjoyed them, it would go:
1) Fear and Loathing: On the Campaing Trail '72
2) The Brothers Karamazov
3) Partly Cloudy Patriot
4) Bluebeard
5) As I Lay Dying
Of the bunch, The Brothers Karamazov and Fear and Loathing both get 10/10, Partly Cloudy Patriot and Bluebeard get 8/10 and As I Lay Dying gets a 6/10.
Happy reading...
More updates on updates...
Okay, so I've decided to create a whole different blog because I don't really like this one as much. Anyway it's called Unencumbered Enthusiasm and it can be found here.
Seriously, I don't think I'll ever figure out how to make my blog look cool and easy to navigate. But at least I figured out how to put pictures on my blog...like this:
Seriously, I don't think I'll ever figure out how to make my blog look cool and easy to navigate. But at least I figured out how to put pictures on my blog...like this:
Revamping the blog...
So in the true blog style, I'll be crapping out useless information and opinions, mostly in a biased, unfair manner. But just to go over the top, I'm going to be documenting the process of trying to make my blog look way cooler. So here's the first post on that:
Yeah, I'm having a tough time figuring this out. I think I have to learn HTML or something. I see all these other blogs that have a cool look and are easy to navigate, but really, how are you, the reader, to know where all the good shit is. Well I'm working on rectifying that, but it might take awhile, since I mostly just like to type words and not look at all those things of code. I have bad memories from a computer programming class in high school.
Yeah, I'm having a tough time figuring this out. I think I have to learn HTML or something. I see all these other blogs that have a cool look and are easy to navigate, but really, how are you, the reader, to know where all the good shit is. Well I'm working on rectifying that, but it might take awhile, since I mostly just like to type words and not look at all those things of code. I have bad memories from a computer programming class in high school.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Don't Call it a Comeback...
Since I have a loyal readership of about 0, I feel it's important to keep everyone informed of what's going on around here. Anywho, I've been gone for awhile, doing fun things in Florida with limited internet access, but now I'm back in Wisconsin for a little bit and soon off to Winona, MN where the internet is more steady. I'm going to work on making this thing a little better organized, getting rid of lame posts, and in general, making the place more accessible for my non-existent readers. Stay tuned!
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Heckling From the Upper Deck (May 5, 2005)
A couple of observations from the past week of baseball...
The Brewers closer Turnbow is looking real good, strikes a lot of people out. Just today he gave up his first run in nine innings, and in those added two more strikeouts to make it 13 Ks in 10 innings. Not too shabby. Here's hoping he finds his place.
Speaking of the Brewers, they just swept the Cubs and won their 7th in a row. This makes me smile, because I attend many Brewers games, but I hate going to Brewers-Cubs games. Cubs fans are some of the most obnoxious guests I have ever seen. I remember the days when the Brewers were in the American league, and White Sox fans would make the trip up to Milwaukee. They, by and large, knew how to act. Cubs fans, in comparison, are drunken yuppie assholes (at least at Miller Park).
I may have been wrong about the Yankees, they just look really bad. Their pitching is pretty suspect and while they can hit, you can only win so many games where you give up 11 runs.
The White Sox are hot right now, and I have no idea why...but hey, good for them, it pisses off Cubs fans...
Is the Orioles pitching really this good? I mean, can they hold it together for the entire season. If they can, I hope they at least knock the Yankees out of playoff spot while at least having the decency to let the Sox try to repeat.
It's already May, and it's getting harder and harder as each day passes to laugh off losses and whatnot. It doesn't sting so much when the Red Sox lose, but last night, when the Sox were trying to close out against the Tigers with a 4-3 lead and the recently shaky Foulke on the mound, I got into it for the first time this season. I was sitting at the edge of my couch, clapping for each strike, groaning at each ball. Yessir, the season has officially begun.
The Brewers closer Turnbow is looking real good, strikes a lot of people out. Just today he gave up his first run in nine innings, and in those added two more strikeouts to make it 13 Ks in 10 innings. Not too shabby. Here's hoping he finds his place.
Speaking of the Brewers, they just swept the Cubs and won their 7th in a row. This makes me smile, because I attend many Brewers games, but I hate going to Brewers-Cubs games. Cubs fans are some of the most obnoxious guests I have ever seen. I remember the days when the Brewers were in the American league, and White Sox fans would make the trip up to Milwaukee. They, by and large, knew how to act. Cubs fans, in comparison, are drunken yuppie assholes (at least at Miller Park).
I may have been wrong about the Yankees, they just look really bad. Their pitching is pretty suspect and while they can hit, you can only win so many games where you give up 11 runs.
The White Sox are hot right now, and I have no idea why...but hey, good for them, it pisses off Cubs fans...
Is the Orioles pitching really this good? I mean, can they hold it together for the entire season. If they can, I hope they at least knock the Yankees out of playoff spot while at least having the decency to let the Sox try to repeat.
It's already May, and it's getting harder and harder as each day passes to laugh off losses and whatnot. It doesn't sting so much when the Red Sox lose, but last night, when the Sox were trying to close out against the Tigers with a 4-3 lead and the recently shaky Foulke on the mound, I got into it for the first time this season. I was sitting at the edge of my couch, clapping for each strike, groaning at each ball. Yessir, the season has officially begun.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Top 5 Lists
Top 5 Painful Deaths:
1) The Braveheart
2) Dragged from an elephant with digestive problems driven by your all time worst enemy...
3) Stuffed in a sack, beaten by reeds until you wet yourself
4) Porn related incident
5) Trapled to death at a Dave Matthews Band concert you were forced to go to...
1) The Braveheart
2) Dragged from an elephant with digestive problems driven by your all time worst enemy...
3) Stuffed in a sack, beaten by reeds until you wet yourself
4) Porn related incident
5) Trapled to death at a Dave Matthews Band concert you were forced to go to...
Current Favorites (May 3, 2005)
Music:
Bloc Party Silent Alarm-I like this album a lot, especially the quieter moments. Highlights include "This Modern Love" and "So Here We Are". The livelier moments don't disappoint either, especially "Banquet" and "Like Eating Glass". There are two disappointing tracks, "Price of Gas" and "She's Hearing Voices". All in all, worth checking out. ***1/2
Songs I'm listening to:
Bruce Springsteen "Highway Patrolman"
Bloc Party "So Here We Are"
Bright Eyes "Poison Oak"
The Decemberists "From My Own True Love (Lost at Sea)"
Iron and Wine "Cinder and Smoke"
Movies:
After not watching many movies for awhile, I've seen three in the past week.
Diggstown: James Woods, Oliver Platt, and Lou Gosset Jr. try to con a boxing crazy town by betting Lou Gosset Jr. can box any ten guys in town and beat them in 24 hours. There's an evil mayor who tries his hardest to fix the fight, just as James Woods and Oliver Platt try to do the same (except they're not evil, just sleazy). Has some really funny lines and ends up being pretty damn satisfying. 7/10
Airplane! If you don't find this movie funny, I don't like you... 8/10
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: This is a good movie. Dry humor combined with a commendable performance by one of the coolest men alive (Mos Def). It's not uproariously funny, but I liked it. 7/10
Bloc Party Silent Alarm-I like this album a lot, especially the quieter moments. Highlights include "This Modern Love" and "So Here We Are". The livelier moments don't disappoint either, especially "Banquet" and "Like Eating Glass". There are two disappointing tracks, "Price of Gas" and "She's Hearing Voices". All in all, worth checking out. ***1/2
Songs I'm listening to:
Bruce Springsteen "Highway Patrolman"
Bloc Party "So Here We Are"
Bright Eyes "Poison Oak"
The Decemberists "From My Own True Love (Lost at Sea)"
Iron and Wine "Cinder and Smoke"
Movies:
After not watching many movies for awhile, I've seen three in the past week.
Diggstown: James Woods, Oliver Platt, and Lou Gosset Jr. try to con a boxing crazy town by betting Lou Gosset Jr. can box any ten guys in town and beat them in 24 hours. There's an evil mayor who tries his hardest to fix the fight, just as James Woods and Oliver Platt try to do the same (except they're not evil, just sleazy). Has some really funny lines and ends up being pretty damn satisfying. 7/10
Airplane! If you don't find this movie funny, I don't like you... 8/10
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: This is a good movie. Dry humor combined with a commendable performance by one of the coolest men alive (Mos Def). It's not uproariously funny, but I liked it. 7/10
God is in the Gobi
Here's a non-fiction essay I wrote for my creative writing class. So yeah, this really happened to me.
God is in the
So this is what thirst is.
I looked at my watch. I forgot what time we got stuck, but I guessed we had been in the sand dune for four hours. The day began with a hangover, mixed with the constant diarrhea that had plagued me since I got into
“Hmm,” she said, the way she always did when searching for the right words in English, “do you know who skipped breakfast?”
Alex Yard, our trip leader, diffused the situation, saying, “American students often skip breakfast, it’s not really a big deal.”
She still seemed concerned, and said, “Is somebody sick?”
“No, no, no, sometimes American students just don’t eat breakfast; they just don’t feel like it.” Alex tried to explain. Zhia chose to remain confused and walked off. I asked Alex when we were leaving.
“About a half an hour.”
I went to the bathroom. It had hot water heaters fueled by coal, a smell I had never encountered. It smelled like dirt if dirt burned. I wretched as I entered the facility, which seemed oddly sanitary aside from the smell, an island of cleanliness in the
I found the group waiting around a tour bus. It was a relic of the Soviet era, much like any sort of large machinery
I sat in my seat, not wanting to move, wanting to lie down. As soon as the bus started moving, however, lying down became impractical. I needed to brace myself for the bumps in the road, and lying down would only have me end up on the floor of the bus. The brim of my hat pulled down and my sunglasses shielding my eyes, I attempted to fall asleep and rid myself of the sickness, but whenever I neared sleep, the bus would bottom out and I would fly into the air, crashing down onto the seat. I began searching my backpack for ibuprofen. One of these bumps in the road sent me flying into the air, and then through my seat. This incident left me with not only a headache, but a pain in the ass and a cut on my hand. As I attempted seat repair, I questioned the wisdom of going on a trip to
I had decided to go on a trip to
The two sisters on the trip, Mary and Sue Ann, were asking Zhia about Mongolian children’s songs. Zhia was confused, until Mary and Sue Ann began singing “Wheels on the Bus”. The song finally engaged the rest of our group and in Zhia there flickered a light of recognition. She sang something in Mongolian and attempted to give a rough translation. Eventually, Mary had moved on to “She’ll Be Comin’ Around the Mountain” when I again lost interest and stared out the window.
The sky, devoid of clouds, intersected the yellowed vegetation in straight line.
If I were to give someone a guide to my home state of
“So someone owns these animals?” Mary asked.
“Oh yes.”
“How much longer do we have to go until the sand dunes?” Alex asked
“The driver says about twenty kilometers.” Zhia responded and herded us back to the bus. I attempted to convert kilometers to miles, and finally remembered that a kilometer is smaller than a mile, and breathed easier. Almost an hour later, we stopped for a bathroom break in a spot that had a place to hide behind and take a piss. There was also a well nearby which was used to water the animals. First came the goats, then the cows. Jason, my roommate on the trip took a turn giving water to the straggling goats as the cows moved in. A couple of herders moved in on horseback to get a look at the Americans. We used this convenient time to get some lunch, a disappointing sandwich. The meat was incredibly salty, and I finished off my water bottle during it. We set off to the sand dunes with the promise of only twenty kilometers remaining.
The landscape dragged along, and confusion as to the length of twenty kilometers set in among the group. Anxiety began to creep into Zhia’s expressions. She informed us that we needed to stop to refuel the bus, and then argued with the driver. We stopped to refuel. The landscaped had turned from yellowed vegetation to a plain of sand and black rock. As the driver grabbed a canister of fuel, I searched the ground for a rock I had promised my mother as a souvenir. Unacceptable rocks I used in an attempt to regain my baseball throwing abilities. I picked up a reddish rock as a potential candidate and tucked it into my pocket.
Twenty kilometers still remained in our journey according to the driver. The
“Go you son of a bitch!” I screamed to myself through gritted teeth. I wanted to rip down the faux silk curtains. I wanted to smash in the teeth of the driver who desperately tried to make the bus move forward, making the wheels sink in further. Someone suggested getting out of the bus to lighten the load. The driver used this advantage to slide the bus further down the dune. My lips screamed for water. The driver dug himself deeper in sand and desperation.
I had been in taxing situations before, and all of them had resolved themselves by either cleverness or a bit of providence. Cars with flat tires or empty gas tanks were no challenge to me anymore.
“I’m from
At one point, a couple of our group went with Zhia to a hill to search for signs of life nearby, perhaps even our camp. They returned with a camel which they attempted to turn into a tow truck via a makeshift rope constructed of the faux silk curtains. A rational person would know this would not work, but we tried nonetheless, and I had faith in the camel. The camel repaid my faith with stubborn noncompliance before pissing on us and running away, along with our faux silk rope. After the camel had abandoned us to find its owner with new ornamentation, the buzzards began circling.
“We’re not dead yet!” Alex yelled at them, and for awhile, they disappeared. I cracked a smile. Throughout the ordeal, Alex was able to keep the mood light. Later, he proclaimed, as group leader that the best course of action was to, “split up and hope for the best.” His levity managed to move Alex down on my mental list of who to eat first.
The failure of my
Our savior appeared with a proclamation by a sharp-eyed member of our group, which spread like wildfire throughout the group. There was a jeep driving on a road down below our sand dune. Matt Bosworth ripped off his white shirt and began running at the jeep, waving the t-shirt over his head. With the vigor that had once been used to push the bus, we pushed our voices across the vast landscape and waved till our arms hurt. Hope crept up amongst the group when the jeep stopped. We yells become hopeful, the waves became lighter. The jeep drove off. I sat down in the sand and used my windbreaker to block the flying sand from flying into my eyes.
I look at the sun, which has grown, along with the sky, the sand, and the surrounding land. The sand shifts like waves, and then whips itself towards my face. The other Americans make conversation as Zhia and Alex talk over the plan. I stare at my growing surroundings. I go into the bus and retrieve my other coat as my skin begins to chill. I wait for a hand to come down from the sky to pull me up, to extricate me from the swirling sands and hand me a cool glass of clean, clear water. What comes is a jeep; the same jeep that we thought had abandoned us. My heart jumps. Relief washes over me. We are not alone.
Zhia informs the group that they can haul 1000 kilograms. There are twelve in our group, plus the three men in the jeep and Zhia. Alex goes around asking our weight and with somehow converts pounds into kilograms. Alex tells Zhia we come to 1300. She tells him to be quiet. The jeep, like every other vehicle in the
We strap our belongings onto the back of the jeep and situate our twelve bodies into the back of the van as Zhia climbs in front with the three men. One passes back a bottle of vodka. My stomach winces. My seat is a metal toolbox. A bar digs into my back. Mary sits on my lap while an unknown heel burrows into my ankle. Each breath I take seems lacking in oxygen. Panic rises from my lungs. I needed to get out of this jeep. Before I was able to raise objections however, the jeep finally moved and my oxygen began to return to my lungs.
The jeep crawled along for about ten minutes before we came across a residence. The question was posed whether we wanted to stay with these people and set out for the camp in the morning, or just head for the camp right away. I preferred to head the camp, under the impression that we were near. The rest of the group concurred with my sentiments. We thank the people for their offer and decide to head towards the camp. With periodic stops to stretch, we moved along the barely visible roads. My largest concern was avoiding my legs tendency to begin crossing one another which led to teeth-clenching pain. After our fourth stop, I realized the key was keeping my knees separated by putting a hand between them. The pain of my hand being squeezed by my knees was more tolerable than that of my legs being crossed.
Fortune smiled upon me again when we came to a well. I drank from it, but not as much as I hoped. The water iced my throat, but it brought some relief to my cracking lips. The sun was falling gently, and soon we were washed in darkness. On some flat of desert, another tire went flat. As the jeep’s owners fixed the tire in pitch darkness I stretched out on the mysterious ground and stared at the stars. The moon hid from our view, leaving only starlight and flashlights to interrupt the darkness. The night stretched forever, and no horizon presented itself. I drifted off into sleep until someone shook me and told me to pile back into the jeep.
I continued my rest in the jeep with my chest as my pillow. I woke up occasionally when we climbed out of the jeep for a stretch, and would resume sleeping immediately upon return to the jeep. Unlike the rest of the group, I did not witness the aggravating hours slip by. When I was wakened the last time, I was informed we had arrived at the camp. I checked my watch. It was four in the morning. Tears formed in my eyes as I stumbled to my ger. Someone handed me a bottle of water and a bottle of Vitamin Juice. I downed the water in once gulp. I opened the Vitamin Juice, which I had grown to enjoy during my time in the Mongolian capital,
“Thank you God, thank you, thank you, thank you,” I repeated over and over as I washed the pillow in tears until I fell asleep.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Heckling From the Upper Deck (April 24, 2005)
This will be a running feature with thoughts on happenings in the Major Leagues...
I'm currently watching the Athletics take on the Angels on Sunday Night Baseball. Right now they're locked into a pitching duel with Escobar throwing some nasty stuff. He's up to seven strikeouts through six. These teams are going to be going at it all year long for the AL West title. I sure hope ESPN decides to air A's-Angels games often this year. I can see these teams starting to hate each other real soon.
While I am Red Sox fan, and perhaps a bit biased, the fight between the Sox and D-Rays this afternoon can be blamed on the D-Rays exclusively. Seriously, you do NOT throw at David Ortiz's head because Bronson Arroyo hit one of your guys on the leg. Carter should have had his face smashed in by Nixon for that bush league bullshit. He's lucky Nixon was held back, otherwise he'd be looking for a good plastic surgeon. I don't care if you want to prove yourself to the World Champs or whatever, but you don't throw at a guys head. Carter and Piniella better get a suspension, and Arroyo better not get suspended at all.
Just to prove that I can judge these things a bit more objectively, I think it was the right call to leave Gary Sheffield unpunished.
The Cubs are really not that good. Their lineup is too weak to keep up with that of the Cardinals, and Carpeter is emerging as a great pitcher, making the Cubs pitching advantage less impressive. It's hard to see them doing better than the Marlins or the Braves this season, especially with injury issues. They'll be competative, but there is absolutely no chance they'll make the World Series, and will probably miss the playoffs.
Speaking of the Cubs, they're best pitcher isn't Wood or Prior, it's Carlos Zambrano. This kid throws (and breathes) fire.
Bunting is stupid.
I'm currently watching the Athletics take on the Angels on Sunday Night Baseball. Right now they're locked into a pitching duel with Escobar throwing some nasty stuff. He's up to seven strikeouts through six. These teams are going to be going at it all year long for the AL West title. I sure hope ESPN decides to air A's-Angels games often this year. I can see these teams starting to hate each other real soon.
While I am Red Sox fan, and perhaps a bit biased, the fight between the Sox and D-Rays this afternoon can be blamed on the D-Rays exclusively. Seriously, you do NOT throw at David Ortiz's head because Bronson Arroyo hit one of your guys on the leg. Carter should have had his face smashed in by Nixon for that bush league bullshit. He's lucky Nixon was held back, otherwise he'd be looking for a good plastic surgeon. I don't care if you want to prove yourself to the World Champs or whatever, but you don't throw at a guys head. Carter and Piniella better get a suspension, and Arroyo better not get suspended at all.
Just to prove that I can judge these things a bit more objectively, I think it was the right call to leave Gary Sheffield unpunished.
The Cubs are really not that good. Their lineup is too weak to keep up with that of the Cardinals, and Carpeter is emerging as a great pitcher, making the Cubs pitching advantage less impressive. It's hard to see them doing better than the Marlins or the Braves this season, especially with injury issues. They'll be competative, but there is absolutely no chance they'll make the World Series, and will probably miss the playoffs.
Speaking of the Cubs, they're best pitcher isn't Wood or Prior, it's Carlos Zambrano. This kid throws (and breathes) fire.
Bunting is stupid.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Why are the Yankees in last place?
Nothing makes me smile more than seeing the Yankees share the AL East cellar with the D-Rays, but it has nothing to do with an inherent problem with the Yankees. It has everything to do with the fact that they played a very good Red Sox team and a much improved Orioles team (worth watching out for this season). The Sox haven't had to play the Orioles, and the Yankees haven't gotten to play the D-Rays. Expect things to right themselves in a little while, with the Sox and the Yankees slugging it out for AL East supremacy, with some spirited challenge from the O's and, at least until the All Star Break, the Blue Jays.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Current Favorites (April 13, 2005)
Music
Louis XIV-Pitchfork trashed these guys, but I think it's harmless, fun, music. "The Grand Apartment" is the best song I've heard from them. Nothing special, but who cares...
Movies
I saw a lot of good movies recently, including:
Sideways: I almost pissed myself it was so funny. Most criticism focuses on how unlikeable the main characters are (true), but I don't think that matters. If you absolutely need likeable characters, watch a Disney movie. This movie could be compared Swingers (fairly), but it has a different feel, more neurotic and sad. Imagine if Woody Allen made Swingers. 9/10
Martin & Orloff: See this movie if you have the chance. Seriously, if you are about to get laid, and it would interfere with a chance to see this movie, tell the chick or dick you'll see them later, you have to go see Martin & Orloff. The movie never lets up. It's dumb and smart at the same time. Check out the links to go to the website. 10/10
Amelie: The cover said "The feel good movie of the year", and well, it's right. I wanted something depressing, so I got something French. I ended up with a smile on my face and a warm fuzzy feeling. Original and interesting, highly recommended. 8/10
Trainspotting: The least satisfying of the bunch, but as I said, I've seen a lot of great movies lately. 7/10
Books
Plato The Rupublic: Since I didn't have to read the entire book, I didn't. But what I did read was interesting. If it's assigned in class, don't be afraid, it's not too bad.
JM Coetzee Youth: I read this last summer and enjoyed it. This is Coetzee's memoirs, though he "fictionalizes" them. In other words, he takes events from his life and puts it in the third person, where the protagonist is him. It is an interesting approach, and it pays off. Now I'm reading it for my creative writing class for our author memoir assignment. So I'm rereading it much more carefully. I highly recommend this book for people who enjoy writing. Youth gives an inside look at one of modern literature's best authors, and, as a bonus, it is much less depressing than Desire.
Things I'm Looking Forward To:
Brewers game on Saturday, April 16
Guster concert in Winona on Saturday, April 23
Yankees-Red Sox game on ESPN2 at 6 pm (central)
Mark Prior-Kerry Wood pitch a doubleheader today, which starts in about ten minutes.
Cheers!
Louis XIV-Pitchfork trashed these guys, but I think it's harmless, fun, music. "The Grand Apartment" is the best song I've heard from them. Nothing special, but who cares...
Movies
I saw a lot of good movies recently, including:
Sideways: I almost pissed myself it was so funny. Most criticism focuses on how unlikeable the main characters are (true), but I don't think that matters. If you absolutely need likeable characters, watch a Disney movie. This movie could be compared Swingers (fairly), but it has a different feel, more neurotic and sad. Imagine if Woody Allen made Swingers. 9/10
Martin & Orloff: See this movie if you have the chance. Seriously, if you are about to get laid, and it would interfere with a chance to see this movie, tell the chick or dick you'll see them later, you have to go see Martin & Orloff. The movie never lets up. It's dumb and smart at the same time. Check out the links to go to the website. 10/10
Amelie: The cover said "The feel good movie of the year", and well, it's right. I wanted something depressing, so I got something French. I ended up with a smile on my face and a warm fuzzy feeling. Original and interesting, highly recommended. 8/10
Trainspotting: The least satisfying of the bunch, but as I said, I've seen a lot of great movies lately. 7/10
Books
Plato The Rupublic: Since I didn't have to read the entire book, I didn't. But what I did read was interesting. If it's assigned in class, don't be afraid, it's not too bad.
JM Coetzee Youth: I read this last summer and enjoyed it. This is Coetzee's memoirs, though he "fictionalizes" them. In other words, he takes events from his life and puts it in the third person, where the protagonist is him. It is an interesting approach, and it pays off. Now I'm reading it for my creative writing class for our author memoir assignment. So I'm rereading it much more carefully. I highly recommend this book for people who enjoy writing. Youth gives an inside look at one of modern literature's best authors, and, as a bonus, it is much less depressing than Desire.
Things I'm Looking Forward To:
Brewers game on Saturday, April 16
Guster concert in Winona on Saturday, April 23
Yankees-Red Sox game on ESPN2 at 6 pm (central)
Mark Prior-Kerry Wood pitch a doubleheader today, which starts in about ten minutes.
Cheers!
Monday, April 11, 2005
A Quick One, While He's Away (April 11, 2005)
A few quick thoughts and news bits...
-One week until my birthday. Weehoo!
-Brian Urlacher is underrated because everyone says he's so overrated. He is, however, overpaid.
-Pedro Martinez will eventually remember he plays for the Mets, and his season will spiral out of control.
-Somehow, the word "Octopussy" is hilarious at 2 am.
-When I was in China and Mongolia, I never saw low fat items, and in Mongolia, most meals featured meat with a side of meat. However, when I returned to America, the first thing that struck me was how fat Americans are. When I'm cashiering at the grocery store, most people are purchasing low fat, reduced fat and fat free items, which tend to taste like crap (I saw a thing of vegetable oil that promised to burn as energy rather than be stored as fat, yeah, that's not scary). I was informed that in France, most people care little about the fat content of the food they are eating, and still manage to manage without an obesity problem. What this leads me to conclude, is that Americans tend to binge and purge their way to gastronomical depression. We will eat deap fried cheese dipped in ranch, then try to make up for it by eating flavorless low fat items, become depressed by these disgusting choices, and console ourselves with ranch dipping sauce. And gain weight like walruses. So perhaps we should just eat well in the first place, and get rid of the damn low fat crap. Happiness will ensue.
-Why shouldn't Eminem make fun of Moby?
-The Red Sox presenting the World Series rings right under the noses of the Yankees will probably backfire, but I wouldn't want it any other way. By the way, this whole Red Sox-Yankees thing strikes me as a model of Toaist principles. The Yankees have been top dog since 1918, but it only took one October for all the mystique and greatness to be forgotten by anyone outside of New York. I mean, it's over. Soon people will be less afraid to point out the obvious: Jeter is mediocre defensive shortstop, Torre has forgotten how to handle his pitching, and Randy Johnson is one injury away from dooming the Yanks shot at number 27. No one stays on top forever, and it only takes one event to end the reign, no matter how long it lasted.
-Speaking of the Red Sox, I never believed in curses. I remember a line from Moneyball, in which Billy Beane says, "It's luck, it's all fucking luck". He's right. Good management, good personel decisions, good players make all the difference in the regular season, but the postseason is more or less a crapshoot, especially the Division Series. Hell, the Devil Rays could win a Division Series. The reason the Yankees have won so many World Series is because they have been the best run team for most of the previous century and they have a ridiculous amount of money. This gives them a lot of opportunities to win. The Red Sox, on the other hand, have not always been the best run team (though they had plenty of money). Their team history is marred by racism and anti-semetism (which is what the Curse of the Bambino is really about), and a insistence on focusing on sluggers rather than great pitching. The Yankees always had more opportunities to win, and therefore got lucky more often. The Yankees have also lost a large number of World Series and playoff games. If 2001 World Series had involved the Red Sox, dumbasses would be talking about the curse. But it happened to the Yankees, so they just lost. Now this has been exorcised from most peoples minds, though some people still cling to it, like a 10 year old boy with his blanket.
That's all folks...
-One week until my birthday. Weehoo!
-Brian Urlacher is underrated because everyone says he's so overrated. He is, however, overpaid.
-Pedro Martinez will eventually remember he plays for the Mets, and his season will spiral out of control.
-Somehow, the word "Octopussy" is hilarious at 2 am.
-When I was in China and Mongolia, I never saw low fat items, and in Mongolia, most meals featured meat with a side of meat. However, when I returned to America, the first thing that struck me was how fat Americans are. When I'm cashiering at the grocery store, most people are purchasing low fat, reduced fat and fat free items, which tend to taste like crap (I saw a thing of vegetable oil that promised to burn as energy rather than be stored as fat, yeah, that's not scary). I was informed that in France, most people care little about the fat content of the food they are eating, and still manage to manage without an obesity problem. What this leads me to conclude, is that Americans tend to binge and purge their way to gastronomical depression. We will eat deap fried cheese dipped in ranch, then try to make up for it by eating flavorless low fat items, become depressed by these disgusting choices, and console ourselves with ranch dipping sauce. And gain weight like walruses. So perhaps we should just eat well in the first place, and get rid of the damn low fat crap. Happiness will ensue.
-Why shouldn't Eminem make fun of Moby?
-The Red Sox presenting the World Series rings right under the noses of the Yankees will probably backfire, but I wouldn't want it any other way. By the way, this whole Red Sox-Yankees thing strikes me as a model of Toaist principles. The Yankees have been top dog since 1918, but it only took one October for all the mystique and greatness to be forgotten by anyone outside of New York. I mean, it's over. Soon people will be less afraid to point out the obvious: Jeter is mediocre defensive shortstop, Torre has forgotten how to handle his pitching, and Randy Johnson is one injury away from dooming the Yanks shot at number 27. No one stays on top forever, and it only takes one event to end the reign, no matter how long it lasted.
-Speaking of the Red Sox, I never believed in curses. I remember a line from Moneyball, in which Billy Beane says, "It's luck, it's all fucking luck". He's right. Good management, good personel decisions, good players make all the difference in the regular season, but the postseason is more or less a crapshoot, especially the Division Series. Hell, the Devil Rays could win a Division Series. The reason the Yankees have won so many World Series is because they have been the best run team for most of the previous century and they have a ridiculous amount of money. This gives them a lot of opportunities to win. The Red Sox, on the other hand, have not always been the best run team (though they had plenty of money). Their team history is marred by racism and anti-semetism (which is what the Curse of the Bambino is really about), and a insistence on focusing on sluggers rather than great pitching. The Yankees always had more opportunities to win, and therefore got lucky more often. The Yankees have also lost a large number of World Series and playoff games. If 2001 World Series had involved the Red Sox, dumbasses would be talking about the curse. But it happened to the Yankees, so they just lost. Now this has been exorcised from most peoples minds, though some people still cling to it, like a 10 year old boy with his blanket.
That's all folks...
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Reviews: Beck Guero
One would think that Beck had rereleased Odelay, it gets mentioned more often the album that actually just came out, Guero. Which is actually, um, absolutely ridiculous. It sounds like Beck, but it doesn't sound a whole lot like Odelay. Maybe this is where the idiots got confused.
First, Guero is a fun album, it's an interesting album, Beck does tap Odelay producers The Dust Brothers. But to make an analogy, if Odelay and Guero are both impressionist paintings, one is Monet and the other is Renoir. Besides, Guero has clearly been made after Midnight Vultures (which no one felt compelled to label "knockoff Odelay"). In fact, it has more in common with that album, minus the libido. But most of all, like all of his other albums, Guero blazes it's own trail.
True, he takes the road more travelled, but succeeds for the most part without getting boring. The opener, "E-Pro" is fun but unimpressive, but from that point on, my interest was held. "Que Onda Guero" had me ready to dance like a white boy. Beck is at his most interesting on "Black Tambourine", which still has me wondering what it's all about. No, it's not a classic like Odelay, but who cares...since when did your music collection become a goddamn museum (cough, Spice Girls, cough cough...)!
Best Song: "Que Onda Guero"
Rating: ***1/2
First, Guero is a fun album, it's an interesting album, Beck does tap Odelay producers The Dust Brothers. But to make an analogy, if Odelay and Guero are both impressionist paintings, one is Monet and the other is Renoir. Besides, Guero has clearly been made after Midnight Vultures (which no one felt compelled to label "knockoff Odelay"). In fact, it has more in common with that album, minus the libido. But most of all, like all of his other albums, Guero blazes it's own trail.
True, he takes the road more travelled, but succeeds for the most part without getting boring. The opener, "E-Pro" is fun but unimpressive, but from that point on, my interest was held. "Que Onda Guero" had me ready to dance like a white boy. Beck is at his most interesting on "Black Tambourine", which still has me wondering what it's all about. No, it's not a classic like Odelay, but who cares...since when did your music collection become a goddamn museum (cough, Spice Girls, cough cough...)!
Best Song: "Que Onda Guero"
Rating: ***1/2
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