Back to Work
Sunday, February 10, 2008
With the strike hopefully almost settled, I’m looking forward to getting my writing staff back. I’m clearly lost without them.
Putting the New in New Year
Friday, January 11, 2008
The following things will be completely (or at least mostly) new for us at some point during 2008:
1. City
2. Apartment
3. Job
4. Church
5. Friends
Nothing’s official yet, and none of this is likely to happen until the summer.
But this is shaping up to be a doozy of a year.
More news later as conditions warrant....
The Day Everything* Changed
Friday, December 14, 2007
I don’t really have time to say more than this:
I just wrote some code for a web site that I’m working on and uploaded it to my client’s webserver. From a coffee shop.
And now I’m posting this. From a coffee shop.
Yes, I realize that other people have been able to do this for like a decade or more. But I haven’t. Until now.
This makes me very, very happy.
* For very, very small definitions of the word “everything.”
Bumper Stickers I Saw in Berkeley (Part Eleven)
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Let it not be said that Berkeley is stuck in the 60s....
You can, if you wish, point and snicker at it for being too cheap for CafePress.
The Golden Rule
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Books & Culture, the highbrowish offering from the folks at Christianity Today, just sent me an e-mail extolling the virtues of investing in gold. The email closes with what I’m guessing is one of Jesus’ lesser-known pearls of wisdom: “Don’t delay! Markets correct and gold protects!”
I’m not really sure what the big deal is. If my sources are correct, in the next life they use that stuff like asphalt.
Is it too late to sell short on cognitive dissonance?
Bring out the Gimp (or Learning from My Mistakes: Part 3,871)
Sunday, November 4, 2007
There are many things in heaven and on earth that can be safely dropped on one’s little toe.
Apparently, a shopping cart is not one of them.
Who knew?
Dollars and Cents
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
It’s well past midnight in England, which means that any moment now, I could get an email with a download link to Radiohead’s new album, In Rainbows.
I’ve been anxiously awaiting this album for more than a year, ever since we were treated to live versions of most of the new songs over two nights at Berkeley’s beautiful Greek Theatre. And I’ve been really anxiously awaiting this album for the last ten days, ever since the band quietly announced that they were releasing the new album for download.
It’s unusual enough that a band of Radiohead’s stature would release an album on their own and with so little fanfare or distribution. Even more unusual, when excited would-be purchasers opened their online shopping carts after deciding to pre-order the album, they were presented with a form field where the price should have been.
Clicking on the question mark next to the price field offered a bit of cryptic guidance.
And clicking on the next question mark drove the point home a bit more.
Could it be? Apparently, the band was leaving it up to the purchaser to choose their price ... even free!
It’s a fascinating move, to be sure, and one that has to be at least a little unsettling to the larger music labels.
How much would you pay for an album that you’d been excitedly anticipating for months? Even when given the option to get it for free?
More to the point, how much did I pay?
A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Sorry I missed Talk Like a Pirate Day, kids. I’ve been a bit busy. And sick.
Speaking of busy, we drove by a large poster tonight:
End the War Now!
Protest 10/27
11am
SF Civic Center
Not to quibble, but that’s not exactly “Now!” is it? I mean, I can see how “End the War a Few Weeks from Now!” lacks a certain urgency, but still… It must have been awkward to raise your hand in the meeting and say that you’d love to end the war, but with Columbus Indigenous People’s Day and Sweetest Day coming up, you really couldn’t fit it in until the end of the month.
Priorities, people.
:: :: :: ::
Seven words that haven’t stopped being fun to say: Boston Red Sox, American League East Champions.
:: :: :: ::
It’s not surprising that The Shepherd’s Dog is a fantastic record. What is surprising is that it’s my least favorite Iron & Wine LP to date. How did this happen? I think Josh Hurst nails it:
There’s a reason that all the reviews are talking about the production rather than the songs themselves. It’s partly because the production is so lavish, but it’s partly because it frequently overshadows the songs themselves. Listen to the album once, twice, even several times and you’ll be sure to remember little textural moments or production choices, but melodies are harder to recall. Each song comes forward with a different production gimmick, and so much stuff clutters the surface of these songs that the depth of the songs themselves is crowded out of the picture.
The album is an intricate joy to listen to, but I can’t understand why anyone would choose to obscure or filter Sam Beam’s voice. I’d sooner shave his beard.
:: :: :: ::
Looking at the calendar this month, I see that National Character Counts Week is coming up.
I can hardly wait to see what the President is going to do to top last year.
:: :: :: ::
Um, did someone just spam my post turning comment spam into poetry… with poetry?
:: :: :: ::
The last two books I’ve read have been Working for Yourself and Getting Things Done. Tonight, I start making my way through Tax Savvy for Small Business. And sometime in the next week, I buy my first copy of Quickbooks. Wheeeee!
I really hope this will all be worth it in the end.
:: :: :: ::
In other news, I like fire. And cameras with slow shutter speeds.
:: :: :: ::
Seven more words that should be fun to say for another week and a half: Radiohead’s In Rainbows, Downloadable on October 10.
:: :: :: ::
But wait a minute… to get “Down Is the New Up” and “4 Minute Warning” and some of the other new songs, you’re telling me that I have to buy the special “discbox” for 40 dollars? Well, that seems like a lot, but I guess I’d probably spring for it —
Sorry, what’s that you say? It’s not dollars, it’s Pounds?!?
Wow. You sure know how to take the fun out of those seven words.
*sigh*
Sad Songs Tuned to Chords Strung Down Your Cheeks
Friday, August 10, 2007
It’s been a rough rollercoaster of a week. I don’t have a whole lot to report, but thanks for the thoughts, emails and prayers.
I’m getting the hell out of Dodge for the weekend, but I’ll leave you with my current favoritest thing:
This was already one of my favorite songs of all time. But wow. I’ve clearly been lied to by the Muppets.
And it’s a welcome change of pace to have something good bring tears to my eyes.
Down with G-O-D
Monday, August 6, 2007
Today was a shitty day.
Terrible? Check. Horrible? Yep, that too. No good? No question. Very bad? Very true.
Thank goodness there was help waiting for me when I got home.
One of the fringe benefits of being a Christian is that I’ve somehow been chosen to receive “The Crossings Chronicle,” a periodic update from “The Book Club for Today’s Christian Family.” And this issue was just chock full of hope and joy.
Right on the cover, next to the smiling faces of Left Behind authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, was the promise that by joining the book club, I could “Get closer to God” and “save big!” Honestly, I’m not sure which of those promises was supposed to excite me more.
But seeing as how part of today’s shittiness involved me finding out that my job was more or less disappearing, it’s probably time to cut back on my “getting closer to God” budget. So, suddenly finding myself in the market for a little discount holiness, I turned the page....
As I did so, I was greeted by the smiling face of Max Lucado. (Christians sure are a smiley bunch, aren’t they?) And it was like Max had chosen to speak directly to me, for the description of his latest book, Every Day Deserves a Chance, began thusly:
No more bad days — ever!
Wow! I sure would’ve saved myself a lot of pain with the ow! and the hurting if I’d picked this book up earlier. Like, anytime before today.
If you’ve ever had “one of those days” — and let’s face it, everybody has — then you need to read Max Lucado’s uplifting look at how any day, no matter how bad, can be turned into a good day.
Looks like this is going to be one of those “turn my frown upside down” kind of programs. So… what’s the magic ingredient, Max? Positive thinking? Rainbows? Puppies and ice cream?
The key is to connect with God.
And save big!
And if you think you’ve heard that phrase before, just take a new look at “G-O-D”: Grace, Oversight and Direction — three specific things that believers are blessed with through their relationship with Jesus Christ.
Okay, hold on a minute, Max. This God of which you speak… this is the same God whose name was so holy that the ancient Jews would not dare utter it, eschewing the tetragrammaton for the safer Adonai, right? Um, does Patrem omnipotentem ring any bells?
Because that’s the God whose name you just turned into a self-help pneumonic device to sell books and make me feel bad for feeling bad.
You know what? I think I’ll pass on the 99¢ spirituality.
I like to think that my God is quite a bit bigger than your effable PowerPoint potentate. Even if it means that getting closer sometimes comes at a great cost.
And even if it means that shitty days hurt as much as this one did.
Two Thousand Words
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Clearly, the whole “I’m going to write again” thing didn’t exactly take off quite as easily as I’d hoped. So it’s probably best to start with some low-hanging fruit. And if there’s one universal truth about the blogosphere, it’s this: you just can’t go wrong with pictures of cats.
Fortunately for us, we recently got a new camera. As for our cats, well, they aren’t nearly as thrilled about this development as we are.
I think it’s safe to say that this is the first in a series.
Free as in Music
Sunday, July 15, 2007
The other day, I opened my feed reader for the first time in months and discovered that I had 24,000 unread posts. It almost made me crawl right back into my metaphorical hole.
So if I’m a little behind the curve, please forgive me. I’m slowly catching up. Right now, I’m about to discover when the iPhone gets released and I think Scooter Libby is about to go to jail. I can’t wait to see how the past turns out, so please, nobody spoil the ending for me.
Anyhow, during my hiatus from RSSland, it turns out that I missed a whole bunch of free music. Here are a few recent links worth checking out, particularly the first one, which ostensibly expires July 16.
The Format - Dog Problems
This delightful album came out a year ago, but I only discovered it after Scott recommended it back in January. It’s been a mainstay in my playlists ever since. Dog Problems is eminently likeable, and in celebration of the one-year anniversary of the album, it’s free! Well, at least for another day. The being free part, that is. It’s likeable for many, many days beyond that, I promise you. So go to The Format’s site, sign up for their mailing list, and download away....
Various Artists - OK X
One-year anniversaries are nice and all, but ten-year anniversaries have got to be like ten times better. Particularly when we’re talking about the decennial of one of my favorite albums of all time: Radiohead’s OK Computer. In celebration, the fine folks at Stereogum have put together a pretty fantastic tribute album, with stellar efforts from Dave Bazan’s Black Cloud, My Brightest Diamond, Doveman and others. The highlight for me is Bazan’s “Let Down,” which is a much fuller and more interesting arrangement than the previous Pedro the Lion b-side. Did I mention that it was free? Well it is.
The National - Daytrotter Session
Boxer, the latest from The National, is one of the best albums in what has already been an incredible year of music. The band recently stopped by the Daytrotter studios to record four songs, including “Lucky You,” one of my favorite songs from 2003’s Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers. Download all four luscious tracks for the low, low price of free. While you’re there, click around. There’s plenty more free goodness where that came from.
Spoon - “The Underdog”
Okay, so this isn’t a free download. But I can’t stop listening to this song. The newest Spoon album dropped on Tuesday, and iTunes tells me that I’ve already listened to this track some 28 times! Seriously, it’s like crack you can clap along to.
Here’s the video:
Oh, and you can dress them up like the Three Amigos if you want, but Van Morrison still wants his horn section back.
Update: I lied, “The Underdog” is available as a free download. Who loves you?
Who Left This Thing On?
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
I haven’t written since April, and yet I’m still paying the hosting bills. I know, I can’t explain it either.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had two people observe that I haven’t written anything since Vonnegut left us. Which is true, but not in a McLeanesque “The Day the Writing Died” black armband way. I’m not that clever.
Far from it, in fact. Truth be told, I’ve been in a creative slump for that long and then some. I haven’t been terribly good at my job, and I’ve been even worse as a writer. Not that I was ever particularly brilliant at either, but I’ve realized over the past few months just how much I rely on creative output to feel good about myself.
So… I think it’s time to sweep away some cobwebs and see if I can get even a dim reflection of my groove back.
I make no promises, save that I won’t go dark for another three months again.
Blade Runner
The Road
Lafayette
Gordon Biersch Winter Bock
