Event-O-Dex XIII
Tonight at the Lucy Parsons Center in the South End, Eric Drooker will "read" from Flood!: A Novel in Pictures and give a sneak preview of his new book, already on shelves, Blood Song: A Silent Ballad. That's at 549 Columbus Ave. at Mass. Ave. If we don't have band practice, I might have to check it out. I'm thinking: slide show!
Monday, the Anchormen will seethe with jealousy while bouncing on their heels with glee. Three quality area pop bands, Shumai, our friends Spoilsport, and Jef's scaled-down side project, the Tardy will rock the upstairs at Charlie's Kitchen on Harvard Square. I'll be there, munching on a grilled cheese and sipping on a Harpoon IPA.
Thursday, November 21, 2002
Wednesday, November 20, 2002
Mention Me! XIX
A couple of new links to Media Diet from the referral logs might be worth mentioning.
Da Sophomore, a local hip-hop artist (don't you dare call him a rapper!), was scheduled to perform at Mama Gaia's before it closed down. He was also slated to play at the Phoenix, which also used to have a home on Central Square, just before it closed down. Lesson: If you run a cafe, don't book Da Sophomore. He's the kiss of doom. I just downloaded some MP3's, so we'll soon see if the kiss is sweet, at least.
Meanwhile Circa1977, a site that's part of the Bostonites blog ring, has sent some people my way. He doesn't mention me or Media Diet anywhere, although he does refer to Fast Company, so perhaps he found his way here via the ring. Recent entries address a business trip, buying a house, and car troubles.
A couple of new links to Media Diet from the referral logs might be worth mentioning.
Da Sophomore, a local hip-hop artist (don't you dare call him a rapper!), was scheduled to perform at Mama Gaia's before it closed down. He was also slated to play at the Phoenix, which also used to have a home on Central Square, just before it closed down. Lesson: If you run a cafe, don't book Da Sophomore. He's the kiss of doom. I just downloaded some MP3's, so we'll soon see if the kiss is sweet, at least.
Meanwhile Circa1977, a site that's part of the Bostonites blog ring, has sent some people my way. He doesn't mention me or Media Diet anywhere, although he does refer to Fast Company, so perhaps he found his way here via the ring. Recent entries address a business trip, buying a house, and car troubles.
Tuesday, November 19, 2002
Anchormen, Aweigh! X
More, later, about the mixing sessions this past weekend at Q Division, but for now, here are the rough mixes we've done for "Idlewild" and "Another Gentrification Song." Rumor is that the CD-EP will be titled "A Nation of Interns," and -- as always -- the Anchormen are open for feedback. And business. But whatever.
More, later, about the mixing sessions this past weekend at Q Division, but for now, here are the rough mixes we've done for "Idlewild" and "Another Gentrification Song." Rumor is that the CD-EP will be titled "A Nation of Interns," and -- as always -- the Anchormen are open for feedback. And business. But whatever.
It's an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World XVI
This video clip makes me sad.
And this one makes me even sadder.
This one, on the other hand, made me smile a little bit.
This video clip makes me sad.
And this one makes me even sadder.
This one, on the other hand, made me smile a little bit.
Rock Shows of Note XLV
Despite concern about the approaching Nor'easter on Sunday -- which brought next to no snow in Boston proper even though parts outside got blanketed with snow -- I ventured to Sanders Theatre for a performance by the Boston Chamber Music Society. A subscriber to the society's series this year, I had to miss the first performance because of the CoF Roadshow.
Sunday night, however, I was quite pleased that I'd subscribed. Since college, I haven't taken in much classical music, much less smaller setting chamber music, and the program was delightful. As might be expected, the society balanced better-known works with more adventurous pieces that push the envelope -- at least in terms of "popular" classical music acceptance. And the first piece, opus 15d of Gyorgy Kurtag's "Hommage a Robert Schumann," while clearly the evening's outlier, was -- to me, at least -- the most interesting.
A Romanian-born Hungarian, Kurtag studied in the shadow of Stalinism, and his brief, concentrated compositions have an air of imminent oppression, as well as rebellious playfulness, about them. The movements of this piece were all quite short, and the interplay between Thomas Hill on clarinet and Nokuthula Ngwenyama on viola was extremely lively and clever, especially with the undercurrent of Mihae Lee's piano work. Hill impressed with some breathy noise-making -- not straight-forward classical clarinet fare -- and ended the piece with a dramatic, humorous percussion solo. Awesome. I'll have to explore more of Kurtag's work.
The second piece, Maurice Ravel's 1914 "Piano Trio" was less impressive and interesting. If you know Ravel's music -- and, admittedly, I know little outside of "Bolero," and even not much about that -- it might be rooted in an occasionally sing-song melodic style with occasional dramatic swells. Parts of this almost led me to nod off, but the animated finale caught my attention and held it. Despite my impressions of the piece -- the pop side of classical music -- Lee, Ronald Thomas (on cello, and the society's artistic director), and Ida Levin (on violin) performed well. It's just not my cup of tea, especially when following Kurtag's angular, disjointed, and intriguing work!
Following a brief intermission, the society returned to more popular fare, performing Johannes Brahms' "Piano Quartet in G minor (opus 25)". (Memo to Media Dieticians: I have no idea whatsoever how to title classical compositions!) Featuring Levin, Ngwenyama, Thomas, and Lee, the piece had four movements, of which I was excited by two: the Allegro, and the Rondo alla Zingarese (presto). This might have been the crowd favorite. Before the performance began, a fellow seated behind me told a friend that he was "in for a real treat."
Reading Steven Ledbetter's commentary in the program, I am ashamed of the facile nature of most of my musical reviews, much less my limited knowledge of classical music, but I know what I like. And of this performance's program, Kurtag is the clear winner. I'll have to seek out more of his work.
Despite concern about the approaching Nor'easter on Sunday -- which brought next to no snow in Boston proper even though parts outside got blanketed with snow -- I ventured to Sanders Theatre for a performance by the Boston Chamber Music Society. A subscriber to the society's series this year, I had to miss the first performance because of the CoF Roadshow.
Sunday night, however, I was quite pleased that I'd subscribed. Since college, I haven't taken in much classical music, much less smaller setting chamber music, and the program was delightful. As might be expected, the society balanced better-known works with more adventurous pieces that push the envelope -- at least in terms of "popular" classical music acceptance. And the first piece, opus 15d of Gyorgy Kurtag's "Hommage a Robert Schumann," while clearly the evening's outlier, was -- to me, at least -- the most interesting.
A Romanian-born Hungarian, Kurtag studied in the shadow of Stalinism, and his brief, concentrated compositions have an air of imminent oppression, as well as rebellious playfulness, about them. The movements of this piece were all quite short, and the interplay between Thomas Hill on clarinet and Nokuthula Ngwenyama on viola was extremely lively and clever, especially with the undercurrent of Mihae Lee's piano work. Hill impressed with some breathy noise-making -- not straight-forward classical clarinet fare -- and ended the piece with a dramatic, humorous percussion solo. Awesome. I'll have to explore more of Kurtag's work.
The second piece, Maurice Ravel's 1914 "Piano Trio" was less impressive and interesting. If you know Ravel's music -- and, admittedly, I know little outside of "Bolero," and even not much about that -- it might be rooted in an occasionally sing-song melodic style with occasional dramatic swells. Parts of this almost led me to nod off, but the animated finale caught my attention and held it. Despite my impressions of the piece -- the pop side of classical music -- Lee, Ronald Thomas (on cello, and the society's artistic director), and Ida Levin (on violin) performed well. It's just not my cup of tea, especially when following Kurtag's angular, disjointed, and intriguing work!
Following a brief intermission, the society returned to more popular fare, performing Johannes Brahms' "Piano Quartet in G minor (opus 25)". (Memo to Media Dieticians: I have no idea whatsoever how to title classical compositions!) Featuring Levin, Ngwenyama, Thomas, and Lee, the piece had four movements, of which I was excited by two: the Allegro, and the Rondo alla Zingarese (presto). This might have been the crowd favorite. Before the performance began, a fellow seated behind me told a friend that he was "in for a real treat."
Reading Steven Ledbetter's commentary in the program, I am ashamed of the facile nature of most of my musical reviews, much less my limited knowledge of classical music, but I know what I like. And of this performance's program, Kurtag is the clear winner. I'll have to seek out more of his work.
The Movie I Watched Last Night XLI
Three Kings
Even if you've already seen this movie, it's worth revisiting given the current state of world affairs and the possibility that we'll go to war with Iraq again. What starts out as a treasure hunt adventure story in the wake of the Gulf War -- in which a quartet of soldiers still stationed in Iraq set out to "liberate" some Kuwaiti gold -- turns into quite another movie altogether. For the most part, Three Kings is a political commentary on the responsibilities of warring nations. After the Gulf War ended and the United States encouraged Iraqis to rise up against Saddam Hussein, should US forces have pulled out without offering any assistance to the civilians they'd set up for persecution? Do the strained race and other relations within the American armed forces limit our sensitivity to ethnic differences in other countries? That's the real meat of the movie. Spike Jonze portrays an undereducated private to complement the able performances offered by George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube -- not always to good effect -- and Nora Dunn offers a cartoony representation of an aging war correspondent. The media commentary -- the role of the media during wartime -- gets clouded by the shallow political analysis, but the questions are there, despite the movie's cloaking as an adventure story.
Three Kings
Even if you've already seen this movie, it's worth revisiting given the current state of world affairs and the possibility that we'll go to war with Iraq again. What starts out as a treasure hunt adventure story in the wake of the Gulf War -- in which a quartet of soldiers still stationed in Iraq set out to "liberate" some Kuwaiti gold -- turns into quite another movie altogether. For the most part, Three Kings is a political commentary on the responsibilities of warring nations. After the Gulf War ended and the United States encouraged Iraqis to rise up against Saddam Hussein, should US forces have pulled out without offering any assistance to the civilians they'd set up for persecution? Do the strained race and other relations within the American armed forces limit our sensitivity to ethnic differences in other countries? That's the real meat of the movie. Spike Jonze portrays an undereducated private to complement the able performances offered by George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube -- not always to good effect -- and Nora Dunn offers a cartoony representation of an aging war correspondent. The media commentary -- the role of the media during wartime -- gets clouded by the shallow political analysis, but the questions are there, despite the movie's cloaking as an adventure story.
From the In Box: Technofetishism XVIII
I got your Web site through access analyze scripts on my Web site. I am very happy to hear that you use my desktop picture on your PC and you like it. I am a Japanese, not Thai. My Web site introduce some ordinary lifestyle of Thailand to Japanese due to I have a chance to stay in Thailand now. I will try to post more new desktops and icons as sooner. Thank you for your visiting my Web site. -- E. Mizokami
I got your Web site through access analyze scripts on my Web site. I am very happy to hear that you use my desktop picture on your PC and you like it. I am a Japanese, not Thai. My Web site introduce some ordinary lifestyle of Thailand to Japanese due to I have a chance to stay in Thailand now. I will try to post more new desktops and icons as sooner. Thank you for your visiting my Web site. -- E. Mizokami
Blogging About Blogging XXXIII
There's a Web movement making some noise in Philadelphia. In response to a local columnist's recent efforts to get locals to market the city for themselves, a group of small business owners have pulled together a site called PhillyBlog.
The response, which is being orchestrated by a relatively new transplant to the city, lauds and lambastes many of the city's characteristics, positioning it as a valid alternative to cities such as Boston. The multi-author nature of the project makes for some disjointed reading, but recent posts have been quite active, and the comment count is high.
An interesting parallel to some of the regional blog directories, local blog rings, and other similar projects.
There's a Web movement making some noise in Philadelphia. In response to a local columnist's recent efforts to get locals to market the city for themselves, a group of small business owners have pulled together a site called PhillyBlog.
The response, which is being orchestrated by a relatively new transplant to the city, lauds and lambastes many of the city's characteristics, positioning it as a valid alternative to cities such as Boston. The multi-author nature of the project makes for some disjointed reading, but recent posts have been quite active, and the comment count is high.
An interesting parallel to some of the regional blog directories, local blog rings, and other similar projects.
Friday, November 15, 2002
Technofetishism XVIII
I've been spending some time this afternoon messing around with my desktop, icons, and dock skin. That's been fun, although I don't quite have the hang of replacing icons yet. I'm worried I won't be able to go back to what I had before. Yikes! But there are several sites you check out if you use a Mac and want to play around with how your computer looks.
Pixelgirl Presents offers several interesting sets of icon replacements. P'girl's tastes tend toward the Asian, so we're gifted with headshots of Japanese actresses, Thai logos, sushi, and several cute-animal icon sets, including one from Sanrio. She also offers a bunch of well-done desktop pictures. My desktop is now sporting some Thai noodles courtesy of Tao Hua Ng Design. Beautiful!
I Heart NY also offers icons, as well as dock skins. I'm tempted by the Adium Domo-Kun icon set, but, still, I have to be more comfortable before I change all my icons. The dock skins also appeal, but I need to tinker around with that for awhile, too. Still, a tutorial includes a downloadable set of restoration icons in case you need to switch back. Phew!
Lastly, a disappointing piece of shareware. Unsanity's WindowShadeX promises to replace the double-click shade-closing action that was so useful in OS 9. Thing is, if you're using WindowShadeX as an application enhancer, it doesn't just reintroduce the double-click shade-closing action that effectively closes the window but keeps a slim bar on the desktop -- it removes the yellow-ball window-diminishing dock tuck. Or whatever it's called. So even though I've installed it, I'd rather tuck apps and windows into my dock than window-shade them. So I've deactivated it. Harrumph.
Oh! I also just downloaded Andreas Lindkvist's wonderfully retro miPong screensaver from MacMotiva. Now we're getting somewhere!
Am I being too uptight about my icons? Let me know if I should just jump in with both feet.
I've been spending some time this afternoon messing around with my desktop, icons, and dock skin. That's been fun, although I don't quite have the hang of replacing icons yet. I'm worried I won't be able to go back to what I had before. Yikes! But there are several sites you check out if you use a Mac and want to play around with how your computer looks.
Pixelgirl Presents offers several interesting sets of icon replacements. P'girl's tastes tend toward the Asian, so we're gifted with headshots of Japanese actresses, Thai logos, sushi, and several cute-animal icon sets, including one from Sanrio. She also offers a bunch of well-done desktop pictures. My desktop is now sporting some Thai noodles courtesy of Tao Hua Ng Design. Beautiful!
I Heart NY also offers icons, as well as dock skins. I'm tempted by the Adium Domo-Kun icon set, but, still, I have to be more comfortable before I change all my icons. The dock skins also appeal, but I need to tinker around with that for awhile, too. Still, a tutorial includes a downloadable set of restoration icons in case you need to switch back. Phew!
Lastly, a disappointing piece of shareware. Unsanity's WindowShadeX promises to replace the double-click shade-closing action that was so useful in OS 9. Thing is, if you're using WindowShadeX as an application enhancer, it doesn't just reintroduce the double-click shade-closing action that effectively closes the window but keeps a slim bar on the desktop -- it removes the yellow-ball window-diminishing dock tuck. Or whatever it's called. So even though I've installed it, I'd rather tuck apps and windows into my dock than window-shade them. So I've deactivated it. Harrumph.
Oh! I also just downloaded Andreas Lindkvist's wonderfully retro miPong screensaver from MacMotiva. Now we're getting somewhere!
Am I being too uptight about my icons? Let me know if I should just jump in with both feet.
Seat Sickness
While Googling for information on how to best acquire the 2003 Slingshot planner, I came across this Quicktime video of the amusement park ride in action. Not my cup of tea!
While Googling for information on how to best acquire the 2003 Slingshot planner, I came across this Quicktime video of the amusement park ride in action. Not my cup of tea!
Rock Shows of Note XLIV
Last night, after hanging out at the Sail Loft with some friends from work, a bunch of us went to the Middle East to see Luna. After paying $15 and sticking out one of the opening bands -- the Skating Club? Jr. Corduroy? -- it didn't take much of Luna's set to remind me that I don't really like Luna that much. Despite the $15 cover -- the most expensive show I've gone to in a long time; why not Jonathan Richman? -- I decided to leave after several songs. Better suited for listening to at work, I think.
Last night, after hanging out at the Sail Loft with some friends from work, a bunch of us went to the Middle East to see Luna. After paying $15 and sticking out one of the opening bands -- the Skating Club? Jr. Corduroy? -- it didn't take much of Luna's set to remind me that I don't really like Luna that much. Despite the $15 cover -- the most expensive show I've gone to in a long time; why not Jonathan Richman? -- I decided to leave after several songs. Better suited for listening to at work, I think.
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