So, yeah, I've been gone for about two weeks on a combination of business and personal travel, and now that I've finished reading through about a zillion OT threads that proliferated in my absence...
Where I Was
I've been in a leadership development program for the last two years, and I went back East for the final class session and graduation ceremony. The final exercise was a computer business strategy simulation in which teams would serve as the co-CEOs of a company in the automobile industry over a ten-year span. The good news was that my team achieved all of its strategic goals. The bad news was that we lost $1B+ over ten years. Umm...oops? Of course, now I'm obsessed with buying a new car. If someone can talk me out of that bad idea, I'd be much obliged...
The second week deserves its own topic...
Where I Was, Part II
So, after graduation, I drove from Boston to Albany, NY to meet up with my girlfriend and drive back to California in her car. (More on that later.) Her car, as it turns out, is a semi-recent Saturn that was so jam-packed with stuff that I couldn't push my seat back far enough to extend my legs. Needless to say, it was not the most comfortable cross-country drive that you could imagine.
Aside from driving around various cities where I've traveled on business or vacation, I hadn't seen much of the country before. Now that I have, let me offer this small bit of wisdom: America is FULL of nothing, but what the nothing is full of depends on where you go. In between the large urban centers, this country is incredibly empty. I'd love to assign some kind of coordinate system and calculate the center of "mass" for wealth and population for the continental US and see if they coincide. </GEEK> It's debatable which background is more suicidally depressing when seen for hours at a time: endless trees in the Northeast? cornfields in Indiana and southern Illinois? open range in the Texas Panhandle? desert in any of its flavors (New Mexico, Arizona, California)? For my money, the cornfield stretch of the trip was the worst, coupled with the California desert on I-40...probably because I KNEW I was almost home at that point, but had to sit through three hours of 100+ degree temperatures and sheer nothingness to get there.
Some parts were really cool, though. Downtown Cleveland is beautiful -- the weather was perfect, and I got some great pictures of the painted guitar statues scattered around the city. We took a detour through the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest National Monument in Arizona, which was stunning. There are some terrific restaurants in the USA...mmm hmmm. And, all things considered, we lucked out with weather -- aside from some short bouts of rain, we avoided the really nasty storms which can rip across the East/Midwest this time of year.
Anyone else have any good (or bad) cross-country driving stories?
My First Live-In Girlfriend
So, yeah, my long-distance girlfriend has finally moved to California...and is living with me temporarily while looking for a job. Although I'm happy that she's here -- this is frickin' WEIRD. Although she's going to get her own place as soon as she gets a job, the interim few weeks/months are going to be interesting, to say the least. I've never lived with a girlfriend before, and I'm not sure how any of the protocols work. She insists that I should just "do what I always do," but that doesn't seem right. Is it really OK to wave hello as I come in the door from playing hoops and go straight to the computer for a couple of hours of gaming/email/whatever? Do I have to invite to poetry-related stuff that I feel like attending? How many of the chores should I expect her to do?
Also, on a scale of 1 to 10, how crazy AM I for getting into this situation?
Music
First, a shout-out to the DJ Shadow live DVD/CD, In Tune And On Time. I've only listened to the CD so far, but it's superb. There are some AMAZING reconstructions of his better-known songs -- "Lonely Soul" and "Blood On The Motorway" are incredible. I'm hoping to watch the DVD soon (has more songs and some supposedly great visuals), but it's been a busy weekend so far.
After multiple listens of the new Wilco CD, I have mixed feelings. Unlike Pitchfork, I enjoy the Neil Young-style guitar solos. "At Least That's What You Said" is one of the top songs of the year, and "Wishful Thinking" isn't far behind. I really like "Theologians" and "Muzzle Of Bees" too. Parts of "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" are terrific, but the song is overly long and unfocused. The beginning few minutes of "Less Than You Think" are great, but what the FUCK is with the noise collage that goes on for an indulgent 10+ minutes? As much as it pains me to say it, A Ghost Is Born is a big step back from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. But then again...it would be a miracle if ANYTHING Wilco released now wasn't a step back from a career-best album. So, all things considered, I think the album deserves a B.
Although I know this forum is in love with the indie rock stuff, I'll contribute some quickie reviews for some OTHER genres of music:
The new DJ mix album from Thievery Corporation, The Outernational Sound is really good! I've been waiting for a proper mix from them forever (since the good old days of their DJ Kicks release), and the wait was rewarded nicely. Very smooth mix...grab some martinis and a sportcoat and enjoy! B+
Sasha's new album, Involver, is a continuous mix of songs that he "involved" himself with by reconstructing the originals (with permission of the artists) into a different form. How well does it work? Well, through the first eight songs, it's one of the best mixes that I've heard in a long time. However, the last two songs are annoyingly crappy, as far as I'm concerned...and a mix that fizzles out at the end is disappointing as hell. I'm still going to give the album a B since a) it's easy enough to skip the last two songs, b) you may actually like them, and c) the FIRST song ("Talk Amongst Yourselves" by Grand National) is hotter than SHIT.
If you want a mix that earns an A...check out Buzzin' Fly Volume I, mixed by Ben Watt (one-half of Everything But The Girl). Buzzin' Fly is Watt's new label after disbanding Lazy Dog, and it's clear that he has his finger on the pulse of deep house. This album is every bit as good as the classic Lazy Dog mixes, and arguably the best song in the mix is a new Ben Watt joint ("A Stronger Man"). Can't wait for his solo artist album...and what the hell as EBTG been up to, anyway?
Since We Last Spoke by Rjd2 is either getting ignored or hated on by most reviewers, seemingly because it is different from Deadringer. Yeah, his debut album was an A+, and his new one is an A- (after you get rid of the one and only atrocious song on the record, "Making Days Longer" -- memo to Rjd2, stop singing songs to try to get laid). It doesn't mean that it isn't still engagingly brilliant...and to be honest, the new rock edge in his compositions kind of works for me. So, delete track 5 from your playlist, and enjoy!
DJ Nu-Mark (of Jurassic 5 fame) has an awesome new DJ mix out titled Hands On which is equal parts funk and hip-hop. (I totally thought of Tre` when I was listening to it, in fact.) It's not really a party-rocker, but more of a backyard barbeque-style joint. Solid A.
If you haven't bought five copies of You Are The Quarry by Morrissey yet, shame on you -- it's arguably the best album of the year so far, and his best album since Your Arsenal. Get out there and support the Moz!
Last but not least, some recommendations for some freely downloadable music from the ol' intarweb: I've been in love with the music from some of the UT2k4 CBP2 levels, and I tracked down the source of the music. You can get a bunch of MP3s from www.unclebobworld.co.uk. The ones that I'd recommend to any fan of trance: "Serenity (Not So Serene)," "Soeren," "The Freek," and (my favorite) "Sunkissed." Finally, there is a site which has sets available for some top-notch progressive house and trance DJs, including Deepsky, Hybrid, and Way Out West: www.hybridized.org.
Movies
Haven't seen Spiderman 2 yet...need to go see it ASAP. I did have time to see Fahrenheit 9/11, though, and I have a few thoughts. (Especially after reading some of the OTHER threads about that movie...sheesh.) It seems to me that you can review it in two ways: as a movie, and as a political statement, so I'll tackle each seperately. (I'm not going to spoiler tag any of this -- it's not like a documentary about recent events has a plot twist that needs to be hidden.)
As a movie, I thought it was extremely effective for the most part. Moore has a talent for evoking both humor and pathos, and the ratio of archival footage to interview footage involving Moore felt about right. Needless to say, all of the "little" elements of the film were well-considered as well -- the music was especially appropriate. The crowd LOVED the movie the night I saw it, although there is clearly some selection bias at work. (Well, duh.) Unfortunately, I thought that the ending section (focusing on the soliders in Iraq and their families) was unfocused. If Moore was trying to take the position that our soliders are over there and dying for no good reason, then why include the parts about the soliders listening to music while fighting and showing some of the prison torture footage from Iraq? Yes, the footage was compelling, but it seemed to muddy his main point. You can also have a discussion about whether or not the "poor people from Flint, MI fighting the war" angle was effective or not. It does dovetail nicely with the concluding reference to George Orwell's 1984 and its economically-tiered society, but what does Moore really think the answer is supposed to be?
As a political statement, I thought it was also very effective. For the most part, Moore presents evidence and asks questions...so I really don't understand all the arguments about "Moore is lying/exaggerating" in some of the other threads. He seems to be doing EXACTLY what America in general ought to be doing: asking the tough questions which haven't been asked in a big enough forum. The strongest political points from the movie:
1) There is NO VALID REASON that the war in Iraq has anything to do with the "war on terror." The movie made this point extremely well, and I don't understand why this point isn't being hammered home on a daily basis by anyone with a conscience. Has the whole country simply become resigned to the prospect of being mired in Iraq for years to come?
2) The "war on terror" is ineffective and being used to further other agendas. The evidence produced in the movie (and elsewhere) linking Bush's administration with the oil/defense industries is damning. As for civil liberties -- if people were supposedly trading some freedom for security, and they are not any more secure, then when and how are they supposed to get their freedom back? I'm personally surprised that Moore didn't discuss the civil rights violations at Guantanamo and in the US "justified" by the Patriot Act. Yes, infiltration of that "peace group" made for good film. But how about interviews with the families of some of those "disappeared" under the Patriot Act?
3) The Democrats are NOT going to be helpful. Possibly the most disturbing scenes of the movie are those in which you realize exactly how alike the various political parties really are. When the disenfranchised voters of Florida petitioned the Senate about the 2000 elections...not ONE Democrat stepped up to back them. When Bush was clearly pushing for a war in Iraq which was fraudulently linked to Al Qaeda, the Democrats didn't get in his way. And the admission by the Democratic Congressman in the movie that "no one really reads the bills" (said with respect to the Patriot Act) was frightening. Spineless? Incompetent? You make the call.
4) The media is not going to be helpful either. Moore's footage in the movie indicating how much the media is led by the Bush administration was enlightening. If I hear one more person complaining about "liberal media bias" after viewing this movie, I'm going to throw up. Did anyone else notice how many times "Fox News Channel" showed up on some of the most mind-boggling footage?
5) Bush's handling of the actual 9/11 attacks was incompetent at best, scandalous at worst. Yes, the footage of Bush sitting with a children's book for seven-plus minutes was absolutely shocking. If the man was a student of history, he would have at LEAST asked for a violin. But even more shocking (at least if you hadn't heard it before) was the close connection with the Saudis, leading to the "secret flights" of Saudi diplomats/students out of the country.
A quick rant: I am incredibly disappointed with the utterly toothless "independent" 9/11 commission that couldn't even force Bush and Cheney to testify under oath. See, here's the difference between Republicans and Democrats. Clinton was somehow forced to testify under oath about his personal life -- questions which have NOTHING to do with his performance as President, by the way -- and the Republicans prosecuted him for perjury. Meanwhile, Bush and Cheney OUGHT to be testifying under oath -- in front of the ENTIRE country, not just some "secret panel" -- about their actions in response to 9/11, and the best that can be managed is that they "talk" with a subset of the panel in a non-binding way. What the fuck? (See #3 again.)
As I mentioned before, this movie is going to be strongly affected by selection bias. There will be very few people in the audience who are truly open-minded about current political affairs going into the movie, or who can suspend their own opinions long enough to experience the movie on neutral ground. The thing that upsets me the most about the "responses" to the movie I've seen in other threads is the amount of ad hominem attacks on Moore. Shooting the messenger doesn't take away the questions. "Moore is a fat liberal" is not a valid answer to "What is the relationship between the Bush administration and Saudi Arabia?" (Ripclawe -- that means you.)
Poetry
Yeah, no one cares, but just in case: Matthew Rohrer's new book (A Green Light) is out now, and it's INCREDIBLE. It is fighting with Bob Hicok's Insomnia Diary for the top spot on my "best of 2004" list...we'll see how I feel about it after another few reads. If you want any other poetry recommendations, let me know.
Games
Might as well include some game discussion, since this IS a gaming board, after all. I really enjoyed Metroid: Zero Mission and WarioWare, Inc. on the GBA (thanks for the recommendation!), and now that I'm back to my computer, I'm finding that my UT2k4 skills have hit rock bottom. <SIGH> Hopefully a day or two of practice will restore my aim...see some of you on Xfire?
Desktop
So...now that all of THAT is off my chest, it's time to do some laundry. Anybody miss me? Anything else new going on?
Where I Was
I've been in a leadership development program for the last two years, and I went back East for the final class session and graduation ceremony. The final exercise was a computer business strategy simulation in which teams would serve as the co-CEOs of a company in the automobile industry over a ten-year span. The good news was that my team achieved all of its strategic goals. The bad news was that we lost $1B+ over ten years. Umm...oops? Of course, now I'm obsessed with buying a new car. If someone can talk me out of that bad idea, I'd be much obliged...
The second week deserves its own topic...
Where I Was, Part II
So, after graduation, I drove from Boston to Albany, NY to meet up with my girlfriend and drive back to California in her car. (More on that later.) Her car, as it turns out, is a semi-recent Saturn that was so jam-packed with stuff that I couldn't push my seat back far enough to extend my legs. Needless to say, it was not the most comfortable cross-country drive that you could imagine.
Aside from driving around various cities where I've traveled on business or vacation, I hadn't seen much of the country before. Now that I have, let me offer this small bit of wisdom: America is FULL of nothing, but what the nothing is full of depends on where you go. In between the large urban centers, this country is incredibly empty. I'd love to assign some kind of coordinate system and calculate the center of "mass" for wealth and population for the continental US and see if they coincide. </GEEK> It's debatable which background is more suicidally depressing when seen for hours at a time: endless trees in the Northeast? cornfields in Indiana and southern Illinois? open range in the Texas Panhandle? desert in any of its flavors (New Mexico, Arizona, California)? For my money, the cornfield stretch of the trip was the worst, coupled with the California desert on I-40...probably because I KNEW I was almost home at that point, but had to sit through three hours of 100+ degree temperatures and sheer nothingness to get there.
Some parts were really cool, though. Downtown Cleveland is beautiful -- the weather was perfect, and I got some great pictures of the painted guitar statues scattered around the city. We took a detour through the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest National Monument in Arizona, which was stunning. There are some terrific restaurants in the USA...mmm hmmm. And, all things considered, we lucked out with weather -- aside from some short bouts of rain, we avoided the really nasty storms which can rip across the East/Midwest this time of year.
Anyone else have any good (or bad) cross-country driving stories?
My First Live-In Girlfriend
So, yeah, my long-distance girlfriend has finally moved to California...and is living with me temporarily while looking for a job. Although I'm happy that she's here -- this is frickin' WEIRD. Although she's going to get her own place as soon as she gets a job, the interim few weeks/months are going to be interesting, to say the least. I've never lived with a girlfriend before, and I'm not sure how any of the protocols work. She insists that I should just "do what I always do," but that doesn't seem right. Is it really OK to wave hello as I come in the door from playing hoops and go straight to the computer for a couple of hours of gaming/email/whatever? Do I have to invite to poetry-related stuff that I feel like attending? How many of the chores should I expect her to do?
Also, on a scale of 1 to 10, how crazy AM I for getting into this situation?
Music
First, a shout-out to the DJ Shadow live DVD/CD, In Tune And On Time. I've only listened to the CD so far, but it's superb. There are some AMAZING reconstructions of his better-known songs -- "Lonely Soul" and "Blood On The Motorway" are incredible. I'm hoping to watch the DVD soon (has more songs and some supposedly great visuals), but it's been a busy weekend so far.
After multiple listens of the new Wilco CD, I have mixed feelings. Unlike Pitchfork, I enjoy the Neil Young-style guitar solos. "At Least That's What You Said" is one of the top songs of the year, and "Wishful Thinking" isn't far behind. I really like "Theologians" and "Muzzle Of Bees" too. Parts of "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" are terrific, but the song is overly long and unfocused. The beginning few minutes of "Less Than You Think" are great, but what the FUCK is with the noise collage that goes on for an indulgent 10+ minutes? As much as it pains me to say it, A Ghost Is Born is a big step back from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. But then again...it would be a miracle if ANYTHING Wilco released now wasn't a step back from a career-best album. So, all things considered, I think the album deserves a B.
Although I know this forum is in love with the indie rock stuff, I'll contribute some quickie reviews for some OTHER genres of music:
The new DJ mix album from Thievery Corporation, The Outernational Sound is really good! I've been waiting for a proper mix from them forever (since the good old days of their DJ Kicks release), and the wait was rewarded nicely. Very smooth mix...grab some martinis and a sportcoat and enjoy! B+
Sasha's new album, Involver, is a continuous mix of songs that he "involved" himself with by reconstructing the originals (with permission of the artists) into a different form. How well does it work? Well, through the first eight songs, it's one of the best mixes that I've heard in a long time. However, the last two songs are annoyingly crappy, as far as I'm concerned...and a mix that fizzles out at the end is disappointing as hell. I'm still going to give the album a B since a) it's easy enough to skip the last two songs, b) you may actually like them, and c) the FIRST song ("Talk Amongst Yourselves" by Grand National) is hotter than SHIT.
If you want a mix that earns an A...check out Buzzin' Fly Volume I, mixed by Ben Watt (one-half of Everything But The Girl). Buzzin' Fly is Watt's new label after disbanding Lazy Dog, and it's clear that he has his finger on the pulse of deep house. This album is every bit as good as the classic Lazy Dog mixes, and arguably the best song in the mix is a new Ben Watt joint ("A Stronger Man"). Can't wait for his solo artist album...and what the hell as EBTG been up to, anyway?
Since We Last Spoke by Rjd2 is either getting ignored or hated on by most reviewers, seemingly because it is different from Deadringer. Yeah, his debut album was an A+, and his new one is an A- (after you get rid of the one and only atrocious song on the record, "Making Days Longer" -- memo to Rjd2, stop singing songs to try to get laid). It doesn't mean that it isn't still engagingly brilliant...and to be honest, the new rock edge in his compositions kind of works for me. So, delete track 5 from your playlist, and enjoy!
DJ Nu-Mark (of Jurassic 5 fame) has an awesome new DJ mix out titled Hands On which is equal parts funk and hip-hop. (I totally thought of Tre` when I was listening to it, in fact.) It's not really a party-rocker, but more of a backyard barbeque-style joint. Solid A.
If you haven't bought five copies of You Are The Quarry by Morrissey yet, shame on you -- it's arguably the best album of the year so far, and his best album since Your Arsenal. Get out there and support the Moz!
Last but not least, some recommendations for some freely downloadable music from the ol' intarweb: I've been in love with the music from some of the UT2k4 CBP2 levels, and I tracked down the source of the music. You can get a bunch of MP3s from www.unclebobworld.co.uk. The ones that I'd recommend to any fan of trance: "Serenity (Not So Serene)," "Soeren," "The Freek," and (my favorite) "Sunkissed." Finally, there is a site which has sets available for some top-notch progressive house and trance DJs, including Deepsky, Hybrid, and Way Out West: www.hybridized.org.
Movies
Haven't seen Spiderman 2 yet...need to go see it ASAP. I did have time to see Fahrenheit 9/11, though, and I have a few thoughts. (Especially after reading some of the OTHER threads about that movie...sheesh.) It seems to me that you can review it in two ways: as a movie, and as a political statement, so I'll tackle each seperately. (I'm not going to spoiler tag any of this -- it's not like a documentary about recent events has a plot twist that needs to be hidden.)
As a movie, I thought it was extremely effective for the most part. Moore has a talent for evoking both humor and pathos, and the ratio of archival footage to interview footage involving Moore felt about right. Needless to say, all of the "little" elements of the film were well-considered as well -- the music was especially appropriate. The crowd LOVED the movie the night I saw it, although there is clearly some selection bias at work. (Well, duh.) Unfortunately, I thought that the ending section (focusing on the soliders in Iraq and their families) was unfocused. If Moore was trying to take the position that our soliders are over there and dying for no good reason, then why include the parts about the soliders listening to music while fighting and showing some of the prison torture footage from Iraq? Yes, the footage was compelling, but it seemed to muddy his main point. You can also have a discussion about whether or not the "poor people from Flint, MI fighting the war" angle was effective or not. It does dovetail nicely with the concluding reference to George Orwell's 1984 and its economically-tiered society, but what does Moore really think the answer is supposed to be?
As a political statement, I thought it was also very effective. For the most part, Moore presents evidence and asks questions...so I really don't understand all the arguments about "Moore is lying/exaggerating" in some of the other threads. He seems to be doing EXACTLY what America in general ought to be doing: asking the tough questions which haven't been asked in a big enough forum. The strongest political points from the movie:
1) There is NO VALID REASON that the war in Iraq has anything to do with the "war on terror." The movie made this point extremely well, and I don't understand why this point isn't being hammered home on a daily basis by anyone with a conscience. Has the whole country simply become resigned to the prospect of being mired in Iraq for years to come?
2) The "war on terror" is ineffective and being used to further other agendas. The evidence produced in the movie (and elsewhere) linking Bush's administration with the oil/defense industries is damning. As for civil liberties -- if people were supposedly trading some freedom for security, and they are not any more secure, then when and how are they supposed to get their freedom back? I'm personally surprised that Moore didn't discuss the civil rights violations at Guantanamo and in the US "justified" by the Patriot Act. Yes, infiltration of that "peace group" made for good film. But how about interviews with the families of some of those "disappeared" under the Patriot Act?
3) The Democrats are NOT going to be helpful. Possibly the most disturbing scenes of the movie are those in which you realize exactly how alike the various political parties really are. When the disenfranchised voters of Florida petitioned the Senate about the 2000 elections...not ONE Democrat stepped up to back them. When Bush was clearly pushing for a war in Iraq which was fraudulently linked to Al Qaeda, the Democrats didn't get in his way. And the admission by the Democratic Congressman in the movie that "no one really reads the bills" (said with respect to the Patriot Act) was frightening. Spineless? Incompetent? You make the call.
4) The media is not going to be helpful either. Moore's footage in the movie indicating how much the media is led by the Bush administration was enlightening. If I hear one more person complaining about "liberal media bias" after viewing this movie, I'm going to throw up. Did anyone else notice how many times "Fox News Channel" showed up on some of the most mind-boggling footage?
5) Bush's handling of the actual 9/11 attacks was incompetent at best, scandalous at worst. Yes, the footage of Bush sitting with a children's book for seven-plus minutes was absolutely shocking. If the man was a student of history, he would have at LEAST asked for a violin. But even more shocking (at least if you hadn't heard it before) was the close connection with the Saudis, leading to the "secret flights" of Saudi diplomats/students out of the country.
A quick rant: I am incredibly disappointed with the utterly toothless "independent" 9/11 commission that couldn't even force Bush and Cheney to testify under oath. See, here's the difference between Republicans and Democrats. Clinton was somehow forced to testify under oath about his personal life -- questions which have NOTHING to do with his performance as President, by the way -- and the Republicans prosecuted him for perjury. Meanwhile, Bush and Cheney OUGHT to be testifying under oath -- in front of the ENTIRE country, not just some "secret panel" -- about their actions in response to 9/11, and the best that can be managed is that they "talk" with a subset of the panel in a non-binding way. What the fuck? (See #3 again.)
As I mentioned before, this movie is going to be strongly affected by selection bias. There will be very few people in the audience who are truly open-minded about current political affairs going into the movie, or who can suspend their own opinions long enough to experience the movie on neutral ground. The thing that upsets me the most about the "responses" to the movie I've seen in other threads is the amount of ad hominem attacks on Moore. Shooting the messenger doesn't take away the questions. "Moore is a fat liberal" is not a valid answer to "What is the relationship between the Bush administration and Saudi Arabia?" (Ripclawe -- that means you.)
Poetry
Yeah, no one cares, but just in case: Matthew Rohrer's new book (A Green Light) is out now, and it's INCREDIBLE. It is fighting with Bob Hicok's Insomnia Diary for the top spot on my "best of 2004" list...we'll see how I feel about it after another few reads. If you want any other poetry recommendations, let me know.
Games
Might as well include some game discussion, since this IS a gaming board, after all. I really enjoyed Metroid: Zero Mission and WarioWare, Inc. on the GBA (thanks for the recommendation!), and now that I'm back to my computer, I'm finding that my UT2k4 skills have hit rock bottom. <SIGH> Hopefully a day or two of practice will restore my aim...see some of you on Xfire?
Desktop
So...now that all of THAT is off my chest, it's time to do some laundry. Anybody miss me? Anything else new going on?
