Hard to Get

Farflung Correspondent Seeks Your Help

2006-01-10T23:55:00.001-08:00

Yesterday's email included the contract for my volunteer position as Euro-editor for this year's BlogHer. I have a few questions on the details, but esentially, I'll be trying to publish the best blogging from and about Europe to the BlogHer site during the lead up to the conference in San Jose, California, in June. BlogHer focuses on women, of course, but hello, guys, I did ask about what the editorial policy is around including Y chromosomes in my selections. Stand by on that.

In exchange for my hard work (like I couldn't use some of my squandered web hours contributing?) I'll get the mighty muscle of BlogHer promoting my own site, Nerd's Eye View. I've been having something of an identity crisis around the site. Note the remodel! Note the advertising! Note the participation in Performancing discussions on how to monitize your blog. (Bleh. There's that word again. Monitize. Bleh.) I'm not going to sell a billion copies of my book, Baked Insanity, without some marketing, right? If I want to write less "To BLAH, click the BLAH and then, click BLAH" and more stories about noisy elk, I'm gonna have to get my writing in front of more eyeballs. Welcome to the era of shameless self-promotion.

But wait there's more. It's not just about I Me Me My. There's some pretty fine writing out there about European issues that warrants sharing. You may be shocked to learn that I am anti-Americentric thinking. It's true! I engage in my share of Eurobashing, but not more than I engage in my share of Ameribashing. Indulge me while I get up on a soapbox for just a minute and rattle on about how exposure and understanding of other cultures and ideas makes us not just better neighbors, but better people. Eh, you don't need to hear this. You know. I'll step down now.

Anyhow, I could use your help. I'm looking for first rate Euro-bloggers. I have plenty of good ex-pat sites bookmarked. There's no shortage of stories about language lessons or the crazy local phone company or the significance of pork. You get the picture. There's also plenty of primo travel stuff out there, plus, that's a whole 'nother category for BlogHer. That's what I'm NOT looking for.

I'm looking for sites about European issues. I want the Ameriblog and The Daily Kos of Europe. I've got some feeds already, but I'd rather get dupes than miss something, so I'm not going to list them. I'm way a lefty but know thy enemy, yes? I'm also looking for photostreams, podcasts, and any other bloggy stuff that offers quality insight on European issues. I'm primarily looking for work by women - hey, it's BlogHER, not BlogHIM - but I'll certainly look at other stuff. English language only. Of course there's great stuff in all European languages, but I lack the skill to evaluate it. Unless it's visual, then, okay, bring it.

That's more than enough about me and my needs. You and your recommnedations, please? In the comments (or here on Nerd's Eye View. Thanks loads for helping me out in this upcoming bloggy adventure.

Note: Cross posted a few places. Sorry for dupes in your RSS readers.

Doing it and doing it and doing it

2005-08-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

A question posted in THE NEW YORK TIMES by the proprietors of an Ad Agency:

I'm a subscriber to your (Newspaper) in Devonport, a seaside suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. With your wide readership in the U.S. ad industry, I thought you'd be better placed than anyone to help us with a phenomenon we have noticed that involves your compatriots.

We appreciate that the name of our agency, the Department of Doing, is a little quirky and helps us get noticed in an industry where everyone craves attention. But here's the rub. Our premises are on the top floor of a 19th-century shop in Devonport and we have a "Department of Doing" sign outside. We always expected the odd inquiry out of curiosity but fully 60 percent of the people who climb our steep stairs to ask, "So, what does the Department of Doing do, exactly?" are American.

We now have a visitors' book and this comment would be typical: "Fascinated by name - had to come up!" Visitors sign themselves from Chesapeake Bay, San Diego and many other U.S. destinations.

We spend a lot of time talking to our American friends and they are all very charming. But could you throw some light on their overrepresentation as investigative stair-climbers? Is your nation more curious than others? Are Americans bolder, "not backward about coming forward," as my mum would put it? Rest assured that tea, cake and a convivial chat will always be on order for our American guests.

Ghost Cycle in Seattle

2005-08-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

Pam's post on famous and nonfamous reminded me to check out the site that is listed on eerie white bikes with red printed signs that are dotted around Seattle. See picture & mission statement here.

I've seen three bikes so far, in areas where there are many bicyclists & bad traffic patterns converge and have wondered what the story was behind the bikes. There's something that hits home for me about memorials for stricken bicyclists, as I used to make my living riding a bike in Washington, D.C. (memorialized here by an old friend of a friend). The main reason I quit was because the idea of getting hit by a car...taxi...etc. "any day now" was too oppressive. So, after two years, I gave up riding.

Ghost cycle, cool project.

Wiki this

2005-07-13T22:20:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

Too long an absence makes for a rusty start. However, I'm still surfing & have rounded out my collection of my latest, favorite technology.

Here's a description from the source:

"Wiki is in Ward's original description: The simplest online database that could possibly work.

Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly."

The beauty of a combined websource is in it's diversity. My current favorites are the Wikinews site, Wikipedia & Wikiquote, but there's heaps more.

My favorite cartoon has a wiki of it's own, as well as the site with the php code I use to build my photo galleries. There are folks using wiki's for journals and folks building wiki's for their communities, for productivity sites and, of course, for niche interests. You can even make your own.

I watched a monster, time-lapsed movie about folks entering news on the London blasts, made by a guy who is pointing out the intersection of culture & media on the web. I remember being up that morning & marveling over the news announcing that a "power-surge" had stopped several trains in London. Shortly after, the bus in Tavistock blew and it was more obvious that it was a coordinated attack. The video isn't the coolest thing, but it is refreshing to have an option, media-wise, when all hell breaks loose.

Check out wiki's folks & do tell if you've made one.

Happy Software Story

2005-06-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

Have you tried Total Recorder? Really, you should.

The standard version is an $11.95 download which went quickly, even on my elderly dial-up. Total Recorder will record whatever audio passes through the sound card of your computer.

I'm using it right now to record an old THIS AMERICAN LIFE from 1997. There's all sorts of great audio on the web, of course. The BBC, NPR. And music of course. Forget ordinary old file swapping, how about recording a chunk of YFM's streaming broadcast "Playing the best mix of original, Urban South African music and international artists." Amazing commercials and The Morning Zoo format from very far away.

Hate It Or Love It

2005-05-31T07:32:00.000-07:00

I'm slowly returning to the wider world at the end of a school term and reviewing all the chunks of information I've emailed myself to look at later.

An interesting set of tips in the NYT regarding a set of guidelines for conducting an honest argument between two entrenched sides:

1. Hate something for its failings, not its successes.
Simple idea, tough for me to execute. What I take away from this is that it's okay to find fault with, say, Paris Hilton for being a vacuous twerp but not because she has a successful television show.

2. No condemning something until you've tried it.
I hate the city of Phoenix which is peculiar considering that I've never been, never come close to going, don't personally know of anything bad that happened in Phoenix to any of my loved ones, etc.

3. Execution Matters
See John Kerry. Bless his heart but there were so many apologists insisting that he was NOT chilly, distant, aloof, etc. etc. It's a losing battle to convince someone that her experience using a product or a service (I suppose a presidential candidate is both) is not frustrating but actually delightful.

skipping number four for a moment...

5. Consider that they may have a point
from the original: Neither side's members should be allowed to cover their ears and sing "Blah blah blah!" at the top of their lungs when they hear an argument that could rock their worldview. As long as the points are factual, fair and substantive, you should consider them.

I thought this was such a nice list of guidelines that I removed them from their original context which was a David Pogue essay that laid out the ground rules for Windows vs. Mac conversations (number four is "Don't make grandiose purchasing plans by guessing on technology's future"-sound advice, perhaps, but not quite as readily adaptable to other arguments.)

Consider Yourself

2005-05-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I'm talking to a person about doing some work for them. This person is well-off, white, has an expensive home with an expensive view in an expensive neighborhood. This person made their money in corporate America and then left to make a living in a more new age (do we still use that term?) focused pursuit. And, in conversation about this person's ideas, they said this: "I'm like Rosa Parks."

If you ever watched Sports Night, Aaron Sorkin's brilliantly written TV show that died way too soon, you might remember the scene where Issac says to Dan that "no well-to-do young white man will ever get anywhere with him by comparing himself to Rosa Parks."

To deal with my feelings about my interaction with this person, when I got home I decided to find out who else had compared themselves to the woman who refused to go to the back of the bus. Here's what I came up with:

Ted Nugent: Nugent wanted to legalize dove hunting in Michigan and called himself "Rosa Parks with a 12 gauge."

Terrell Owens: A football player who made a brouhaha because he wanted to work as a free agent.

Lars Larson: A conservative talk show host who thought the request by Southern Oregon University to leave his handgun at home while particpating in an on campus forum violated his civil rights.

Jack Kevorkian: The infamous Dr. Death who portrays himelf as fighting for a cause - legalized euthanasia.

Ahmed Omar Abul Ali: The Virginia Muslim charged with conspiring to assassinate President Bush.

Edward Forchian: A guy who's says that US marijuana laws are unconstitutional.

I thought it was interesting that all the people I found comparing themselves to Rosa Parks were men. The women I found had been compared to Rosa Parks by their peers or by an outside group; they hadn't drawn the comparison themselves.

I find the whole thing very presumptuous. I thought that history decided who was a leader and who was a prophet. But I have been wrong before. At this point, I want to issue a broad disclaimer about what a flawed human I am. I also want to veer off in to a tirade about humility and the lack thereof in our current society and government. Because I'm just like Al Franken. But also, I'm like a Trappist nun, so I'll shut up now.

Weddings, Afternoons, and Paul Rucker

2005-04-28T17:04:00.000-07:00

Currently playing: III-Paul Rucker (released album, but nfs, for whatever reason).
Smells like sunshine, don't it? I spent this afternoon (Thursday) speaking with an old friend from my days in Pittsburgh, Kavita. She's getting married about a year from now, to a Providence speechwriter/pizza tosser turned med student. They're having a hybrid Catholic/South Indian wedding. I already asked the brazenly gauche question: is the Indian version like in Monsoon Wedding? Answer: no, that is North Indian, and the ceremonies are quite different. She was the only person that I look back and feel was missing from our ceremony 4 years ago (don't even get me into a conversation about who should have been left off the invitation list).

Now playing: Spanish Root - D'angelo
In my ideal world, weddings would be like amped up dinner parties - ritual, food, friends, toasts, a raising of the spirits. Having witnessed and heard about others' weddings since our date, I am coming to realize that this is not a common phenomenon. It's hard to tread the thin line of serious ritual and uplifting celebration, particularly when so much cultural baggage is built into the details of the Western wedding ceremony.

Now playing: She's My Baby - Fats Domino
I'm bringing all of this up as Stephen's wedding is right around the corner, but also as this is the season for these things, this kind of attitude is one I'd like to foster for the next few months. Having Drew and Alex in town kicked off this feeling. It's close to the solstice and so our energy level is at its height. We try to create stories in the summer that sustain us through winter. It's weddings, beach trips, frisbee in the park, playing music together in fields. NOT watching cable - not cocooning. :)

Now playing: Beautifully Absurd - Prince Paul featuring Ellington Felton and K'Alyn
Leaving one of the other Blind Shoemakers' houses last night, I talked with the uke player about having an artichoke party - dipping the leaves in butter, scraping off the meat with our teeth. Feel free to invite yourself. I hope to see all of you many times in the next few months with as many serious celebrations as we can muster.

Sleepless in Seattle

2005-04-22T00:17:00.000-07:00

Up last night until 4am after feeling a combo of irkedness and exhilaration - the former from dipshits at work, the latter from the Blind Shoemakers, or whatever we're calling our ragtag band of oddball musicians that show up Wednesday nights to drink wine, eat rice, and sing Beefheartian spirituals. For some reason, I thought that catching up on blogs would calm me down. I find that reading blogs tends to set back my ability to process information or feel at ease. Information now has a lower overload threshold, and in our apocalyptic? just another day? times, I feel needy for it in the same way Stephen does for cable.

Currently reading:
Brad DeLong (former undersecretary of the Treasury during Clinton administration)
Get Religion (what it sounds like: coherent analysis of religion in the press)
Scobleizer (Microsoft kool-aid drinker with a mind to improve the technology, or at least the marketing)
Mark A. R. Kleiman (public policy professor at UCLA)
Free Republic (a behind the scenes look at who the press thinks steers our elections, the self-satisfied red-staters)
along with liberal helpings of Kos and Yglesias.

Then there's the MP3 blogs. I have over 24 hours of music downloaded at this point. It's a nervous habit at this point, like picking my nose. These things are better than anything Napster could have come up with. I could care less about podcasting - these blogs are great because they act as a filter for the matrix of music hiding in the wires. Quality rather than quantity. There's a review of everything posted, and they graciously pull down tracks 7-10 days later. Much of it is unreleased, like the Diplo "Favela on Blast" mix of Brazilian mash-up MCs, and 95% of my acquisitions I love, unlike the catalogs of Napster addicts I've observed. I won't give you a list, as I tend to wander aimlessly via sidebar nav links, but a good start is Greensboro-based Honey, Where You Been So Long or Dakar-based Benn loxo du taccu.

Here it is 1am, and I'm listening to a download of Bigga Bush's (Rockers Hifi) recent online radio mix. Samba, dub/dancehall, string-laden old skool, and nu-jazz beats (currently sounding like a remix of Mia Doi Todd's Manzanita). I'm never going to sleep again.

PS - I almost forgot - on the subject of MP3 blogs, M.Matos of the Village Voice/Seattle Weekly recently gave a paper at the EMP pop conference on the evolution of the Apache break/sample in hip-hop. Oliver Wang responds with a somewhat extensive posting of Apache-based tunes.

Visitors and Guests

2005-04-18T18:57:00.000-07:00

In response to my complaints of guilt paralysis and the dread of energy draining apologies about blogging and email replies, a friend said, "don't apologize." So I won't.

now playing: Karmacoma - Massive Attack (no joke!)

I worked off a lack of response to an email from Drew about my planned MP3 player purchase by hosting he and his partner Alex for the weekend, and whipping up a comfort dinner of beef stew, mashed potatoes, and pineapple upside-down cake from a new recipe. This after a long walkabout (7 or 8 miles) in Ballard, taking in Sunset Hill, Golden Gardens, Market Street, and 17th Ave. My doggies were whupped. I've really missed hosting folks for short/long weekends, mooch tours, etc., so consider yourself invited.

now playing: unknown Nigerian Rap - unknown artist

Andrew brought along a promo cdcast that Jeff Chang (Quannum) handed out in Chicago at a reading for his latest book, "Can't Stop, Won't Stop." An excerpt:

It didn't start so well. Clive played some dancehall tunes, ones guaranteed to rock any yard dance. Like any proud DJ, he wanted to stamp his personality onto his playlist. But this was the Bronx. They wanted the breaks. So, like any good DJ, he gave the people what they wanted, and dropped some soul and funk bombs. Now they were packing the room. There was a new energy. DJ Kool Herc took the mic and carried the crowd higher.

"All people would hear is his voice coming out from the speakers," Cindy says. "And we didn't have no money for a strobe light. So what we had was this guy named Mike. When Herc would say, 'Okay, Mike! Mike with the lights!', Mike flicked the light switch. He got paid for that."

The cdcast (I don't know what else to call it, a combo of music mix and documentary voiceover) showcased some classic dub and dancehall along with early 80s hiphop I didn't recognize (at least on first listen). Lots of great music and opening our home to guests. Always greater dividends than effort expended.

now playing: Coppers - Dr. Israel with Rancid

In completely unrelated news, I just finished reading Alice Walkers' Temple of My Familiar. Best book I've read since Pamuk's Black Book in 2002. Please check it out when you're done with your current reading selection. Magical realism without being psychedelic.

Literary Fortunes

2005-04-09T13:35:00.000-07:00

Here: Click it!

and here is my favorite:
Diplomacy is saying 'Nice doggy'
until you can find a rock.
Lucky # 1,9,20,29,40,43
Will Rogers

Management Training, Anyone?

2005-04-07T08:36:00.000-07:00

(Following Lillian's format)

I've been looking around for work for the past few weeks. Now that I'm done (I found a nice meaty project where I can walk to the main office, only have to cross the bridge for meetings, and will work primarily at home) I wanted to share five unbelievable things that people said to me as I sat in their guest chairs while they scribbled notes on my resume.

5. Oh, I never meet my deadlines. I'm always totally scrambling at the last minute. (Way to set an example, team lead!)

4. Our team never completes anything on time. Seems like they always move the target right at the end and we're tied up until Thanksgiving. (Your upper management rules!)

3. This is the worst building I've ever worked in. We all say that the feng shui here is totally messed up. Look at it, it's all pointy and slanty and bad. (I can hardly wait to spend 8 hours a day here!)

2. I like to do spot checks on my employee's work so I can see what they're up to. Also, I like to keep them close where I can see them. (It's nice that we're all grown-up professionals that trust each other to do their jobs, isn't it?)

And the #1 interview busting remark:

1. I can't promise I won't micromanage you. (Wow. I'm speechless!)

As an aside, I understand that you might not have a lot of time to read my resume, and also, that many resumes do not tell you what that person has done. Mine, however, is quite specific on what I've done and what I know how to do. If you point to my resume and ask "Tell me about what you did at XYZ Co.", that is an excellent indicator that you have not read my resume. In which case, why are you interviewing me?

Also, can anyone please elaborate on the thinking behind those "Tell me about a time..." and "How do you respond to..." and "Give me three words that describe..." questions. Because during my entire working life, I have never, ever, ever been asked to do any of those things.

I didn't used to hate looking for work.

AFA tells me this...

2005-04-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

Just got this from the virulant American Family Association. It's a list of liberal agenda items - I've added some context to their list:

Here is the agenda the liberals want to achieve. They want Senators to filibuster any judicial nominee who will not support this agenda.

Approval of homosexual marriage (or just not killing or wounding or discriminating against homosexuals)
Legalizing euthanasia (or just letting folks determine whether or not they want to be kept alive with medical intervention)
Banning prayer in school (or being non-demoninational about it, recognize other religions, etc.)
Banning the public display of the Ten Commandments (or adding displays for other religions in the U.S.)
Banning the Pledge of Allegiancen (I didn't sign up for this...)
Basing our laws on the laws of other nations (didn't sign up for this)
Maintaining abortion on demand (yup, got me there)
Forcing the Boy Scouts and similar organizations (including churches) to place homosexuals in positions of leadership (dear lord)
Complete protection for all kinds of pornography (um...)
Creating hate crimes laws to punish those who believe homosexuality is wrong (if they kill people)
Denigrating Christianity to a secondary status (that there is a perspective issue)
Making secularism the only legitimate religion (that's an ox, you moron)

Anybody got anything to add?

I only want to see you praying in the papal reign/Papal reign, papal reign

2005-04-02T18:56:00.000-08:00

I don't mean to sneer at catholicism or the pontiff but rather at the media coverage.

"Is the mood any different in St. Peter's Square?" Yeah, everybody was sad but now they're doing The Wave.

"We're going to continue looking at the pope, particularly his relationship to the Catholic church." As opposed to what, his relationship to General Motors?

I realize that these folks are having to make-do on an ad-lib basis...they are going live and they have to fill that air with something, anything. But they babble on and on and people get annoyed and then journalists wonder, yet again "why aren't we appreciated???"

In more important news, go Illinois!

Wedding Ring Enscription

2005-03-31T11:14:00.000-08:00

Many of you know that I'm going to be getting married in the next two months. Amy and I are on our way to marital bliss beginning May 15th. Despite my best efforts to shower her with compliments - she still expects me to come up with an enscription for our wedding rings. She is, of course, expecting the declaration to be heartfelt immediately sending warm fuzzies to even the biggest and baddest alpha males. My problem is that I would prefer to keep it light - make it a joke.

Last night, I told her that if she kept harrassing me about the enscription then I am going to put, "Together Forever, Like Run DMC." That's when I decided - I need a list of great enscriptions and she can choose the one she wants... There are plenty of inside jokes that we share - the next one isn't going to need much explanation, except to say that we discuss bowel movements already, "It's Not Easy Being Your Green Dookie Ball." And of course, there are the enscriptions that have a little story... Whenever my father used to see adults acting like complete asses, he used to say, "See that, they weren't beaten enough as a child." This should give you a good idea to my father's parenting techniques. My enscription would read, "You Weren't Beaten Enough As A Child, But I'm Going to Correct The Oversight." Fake sentimentality is always humorous - start off strong and then deliver the punchline, "You Complete Me, But I Am Perfectly Satisfied With My Incompletion."

Geez, the pressure on me to be the perfect fiancee and husband might be too much. How can I live up to this Gone With The Wind standard of romantic. Flowers and hallmark cards for every occasion, an unlimited source of unique compliments for each new day, ughhhhh... Who wants perfection when you can be happy with less? Wow, that sounds like another enscription...

Television - The Downfall To My Existance

2005-03-30T10:16:00.000-08:00

I hate those cursed bastards at Time Warner Cable - they coerced me into giving my life over to the bright glow of my 32" television. I still remember receiving my first bill from those devils, $29.95 and suddenly my soul was gone. The programming isn't that great, but all it takes is one good show out of a hundred to flush thirty minutes of your life down the tube.

I originally got cable to see basketball games (NBA and NCAA) - basketball is an obsession I can live with... but of course, cable sucked me into much more. Most mornings begin with an unhealthy dose of SportsCenter. Hey, I'm eating my cereal - the entertainment value in most cereals is low, except maybe Rice Krispies. Snap, Crackle, Pop, Rice Krispies. Who doesn't love that theme song? Usually I watch between 10-15 minutes of SportsCenter and catch the worst 15 minutes of the show (all the best stuff occurs at the beginning). Special K and banana with a little steroid talk and basketball highlights on the side.

After a grueling day at the office (haha), I need a little "zone out" time. Time for my mind to turn into mush and listen to some sports "experts" discuss the day in sports. Mike Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser battle it out on ESPN in a show called PTI, Pardon The Interuption. The show is like a timed sports version of Crossfire. A one-minute discussion occurs between the hosts on subjects like Kobe's selfishness, steroid usage, the Virginia coaching job, and the NBA's MVP race (Nash better win...). 30 minutes of time daily - flushed.

Next up at 6PM, on Court TV they show NYPD Blue reruns. What can I say - I'm a fan. The show ran for 12 years so there are a few episodes I've missed. For me, it doesn't matter whether Detective Sipowicz's partner is David Caruso, Jimmy Smits, Ricky Schroder, or Zach Morris (oops, I mean Mark Paul Gosselaar). I watch them all - enjoying every minute the cops brow beat some unsuspecting rapist. One hour of time daily - flushed.

Most normal people turn the television off at this point... It's time to do something worthwhile with their time like reading a book, working out at the gym, eating, something else, anything... Not me, The Daily Show is on next. Yes it's reruns from the previous day, but I can't stay up until 11PM on a work night. Sarcasm and irony run amok as Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert, and the rest of the gang run through the daily news. Highlights include the God machine, Bush's sack size (that's right, nut sack), and anytime Bush says something stupid (usually daily). 30 minutes of time daily - flushed.

7:30 is terrible unless basketball starts early. During this time I flip through my fifty-four stations searching for satisfaction and all I can find is Hollywood Tonight or Cosby Show reruns. Oh, damnit - it's 7:30 I'd better fix dinner fast. 8:00 is rolling up fast - full of television potential. AMC movies, TNT broadcasting the NBA, ESPN has the NIT basketball championship, or movie selections from Comedy Central, FX, or USA. If not, I've got my three netflix movies to watch. Two hours - flushed.

Ten o'clock to eleven o'clock is a tricky time. I'm left pondering bed time or watching the end of some horrifically poor basketball game. Basketball it is... 30 minutes - flushed.

My biggest problem, and I have a few to choose from, is not my weakness of character, boredom with life, or those bastards at basic cable. None of those things make me push the Power button on the remote control. Habit... I am a creature of habit and obsession. If I see a show once and like it - I have to see them all just to prove that I like it. Casual viewing is not in my vocabulary. Most of my life is cornered by obsessions... Basketball began my obsessiveness - playing morning, day, and night. Then, hip-hop music followed in my highschool years and the film fixation came in college when my favorite video store ran a special deal (one movie a day for a month at $25).

I'm going to beat this obsession however, because it leaves me with no satisfaction. There is nothing redeeming about knowing the plot for every NYPD Blue episode, remembering every ironic line Jon Stewart says, or seeing every game winning basket in the NCAA tournament. This is my AA meeting, people - I'm admitting I have a problem. Now, I'm going to fight to beat this damn thing. BE STRONG. Tell those jackasses to stick that $29.95 up their ass. Three obsessions is enough for any man. I'm reminded of an Aesop Rock song called Basic Cable:

"plug it in, turn it on, prop me up against the couch
lights out, I ain't ever gonna have to leave my house
satellite dish, get up on my wish list, turn me to a tyrant
let my clean spirit dissolve through the appliance
plug it in, turn it on, be my mother when she's gone, great
wipe the spittle off my chinny-chin during the breaks
if I gotta go blind I'mma do it for the love of all television kind
and that's fine, and that's fine..."

It's no longer fine with me. Cancel my cable - PLEASE...

The Road To The Final Four Is A Bumpy One...

2005-03-29T12:18:00.000-08:00

Now that the final four is here, it's time to re-evaluate my time spent on the couch wholly committed to the one goal of watching so much damn basketball that I make myself physically ill. And while that goal has not been entirely achieved other secondary goals have emerged. The timing of bathroom breaks has to completely coincide with television timeouts, sandwiches must be created during halftime and/or between games, and the completion of chores is off limits during game time. Priorities - trash can be taken out any time, but a West Virginia game winner happens in the moment - I like to call it Steve's Moment Of Basketball Zen. Loud yells occur during and a moment of silent contemplation after. Let the games begin - mmm...

The opening day of March Madness went fairly close to how the "experts" thought it might - close games, few upsets, and the first and second seeds rolling. Then, zang - day 2 began and my bracket was promptly scrapped and I was left in a furious fit of rage at my own stupidity. When Syracuse lost, I was confident that my bracket was ruined... However, Kansas felt the need to supply a confirmation by losing in the first round to Bucknell in the biggest upset ever. Wayne Simien's "I wish my name was Christian Laettner" turnaround jumper barely caught the front iron single-handedly ruining all hopes of a bracket victory. I had those evil bastards in the finals... and, like that, it was over. However, that wasn't enough - Oklahoma folded to a mediocre Utah team, Connecticut played its worst game of the year against NC State, Louisville smashed an overrated Georgia Tech team, and Michigan State rolled on despite looking pedestrian all year long.

Forget all of those teams for a moment and lets get to the second best game of the tournament - Wake vs. West Virginia fighting to get to the Sweet 16. Wake led the entire game by about 10 points, but at the 5 minute mark West Virginia came alive. Both teams shot a ridiculously high percentage, but every field goal by Wake was answered with a three by WVU. Suddenly, this February bubble team became the spoiler of the tournament and ran through double overtime to defeat the otherwise final four bound Wake Forest. Mike Gansey came up big for the Mountaineers. He scored 10 points during regulation and then 19 points during the two overtime periods. There were so many clutch shots in this game - it really seemed like a crime to have somebody lose. Downey hit some ridiculous game tying shots for Wake and everytime Gansey touched the ball it was automatic points. Six starters fouled out and the other four all had four fouls. One more overtime and we would have seen the two team's walk-ons battle it out for the win.

Just when I thought that game couldn't be topped the regional finals became the only quality television CBS has shown this year. Three out of the four games went into overtime and two of the games featured the biggest comebacks ever in the NCAA tournament. First off, the West Virginia vs. Lousiville game featured a 20-point comeback for Pitino's boys. WVU came out and hit a ridiculous 10 three-pointers in the first half. Luckily, Pitino grew a brain at halftime and took Louisville out of its ridiculous 2-3 zone and pulled a miracle comeback with future NBA star Francisco Garcia fouled out on the bench. The game went into overtime, but the conclusion had already been decided in the last five minutes of regulation with Louisville's remarkable turnaround.

How can that be topped you ask? Illinois had the damn answer. The Arizona and Illinois matchup promised to be one of the tournament highlights. Arizona played its best basketball of the year in the first half and 15 minutes of the second half - running up a lead of 15 points by shooting an absurd 57% for the game. Illinois looked like they were going to be run out of the gym and then, Arizona stopped scoring. In the final three minutes, Illinois cut a 14-point lead to 3. Arizona has the ball with 25 seconds inbounding and the play goes all wrong. Illinois steals the ball, passes to the amazing Deron Williams who hits a beautiful wide open three. The overtime featured some more great plays from both teams, but again the momentum swing in the final minutes was too much for Arizona to overcome. Many are calling this the greatest game they have ever seen - I'm in no position to argue.

After UNC slid past a fiesty Wisconsin team - Michigan State and Kentucky went to war. Michigan State led the whole game, but after a few slow down possessions in the closing minutes by MSU (why do smart coaches do this?) - Kentucky got back in this one. With Kentucky down by 3 points and 12 seconds to go - Kentucky squeezed off two missed three point attempts, but the third was truly magical. Sparks pumped a three-pointer that hit off the rim, then backboard, then rim again before falling through the hoop. The play was in-time, but the referees spent ten minutes reviewing the play to see if Spark's big toe was on the line. The television blew up the camera shot and played it back 15 to 20 times and the evidence was inconclusive. Overtime, bitchez... Kentucky had this one won in the first overtime as MSU was completely demoralized, but Kentucky's point guard didn't get off a shot in the final seconds forcing the second overtime. Kentucky's players looked spent and MSU stole this game to get into the final four as a five seed.
The argument on ESPN's Pardon The Interuption was whether this is the greatest weekend ever for college basketball. Mike Wilbon, ESPN analyst and sportswriter, had to go all the way back to 1981 to even have a comparison (three number one seeds lost in one weekend that year). The road to the final four was wonderfully unpredictable as always, even with the two top teams advancing (Illinois and North Carolina). There are so many great stories to follow this weekend - Illinois' quest for a one loss season culminating in a national championship, Roy Williams' quest for his first national championship, Mike Izzo's best ever win percentage in the NCAA tournament and fourth final four in ten years, and Pitino's return to the final four with his third different team (which has never been done before). One thing is for certain, you don't want me picking the winners. Just for the record - I had Illinois to win at the beginning of this tournament. Those poor bastards don't have a chance. Sandwich creation, timed bathroom breaks, and the glowing light from the television awaits. Steve's Moment Of Zen is almost here...

Who thought a month could be such a short amount of time?

2005-03-22T14:15:00.000-08:00

As a kid, 1 afternoon alone used to be endless. Now it's three weeks before I realize any time has passed. Someone please wake me tomorrow when I'm dead. I dumped my entire being into work for a couple of months to try to prove that career even means anything in the new millennium. I'm ready to start posting again, in the midst of my heaviest work week ever - if only because sleep dep limits logical thinking. I'll try to break it into smaller tales rather than make an Iliad of it. Expect more this afternoon and tomorrow.

Shout outs: Bro! Fiancee! Wifings! Drew! Pam! GB! Constance! Wes!

Obligatory current music selection: "Agony of Lafitte" - Spoon

Surrender to the Pod

2005-03-11T06:49:00.000-08:00

So I found out this morning that one of my favorite public radio stations (KCRW) is podcasting a show by one of my favorite people (Harry Shearer). I've got a MP3 player because, duh, I'm a walking cliche of my demographic - I don't eat red meat, I work in technology, I'm blue state, blah blah blah. Anyway, here's what I'm wondering and here's what I think you at Hard to Get know:

What software should I download to start carrying Harry Shearer around with me on my neighborhood walk?

Also, if This American Life starts podcasting, I will just die of joy.

Finding your totem animal

2005-03-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

context: totem animals are a fanciful concept, chosen to reflect some part of ourselves we must project to see. One of my favorite, personal totems is the octopus. Intelligent, covert, capable of fading at will to virtual invisibility, this insanely vulnerable invertibrate pulses through the sea. The paradox of the apparant power of the larger of these beasts & the obvious vulnerability are often the focus of meditations I do.

So, here's a story: Jason comes home the other night & excitedly tells me about a date he wants to set up with me. He's been talking to a co-worker, who recommended scuba diving, in the Puget Sound. I'm a bit shocked, having a fear of water, however temporary & certainly a fear of sealife. He's dying to tell me more & starts talking about the octopi in the Puget Sound & how we can see giant octopi, but should probably go at night, there will be sharks, the water is murky, etc...

He's always very excited to go to the very limits to get me to what my heart's desire. Which scares the hell out of me. Generally, I figure out a way to join him, his ideas are typically spot on. He also takes offense if I reject his cool ideas for reasons of safety, assuming I have some kind of trust issue.

It's likely that I'll go scuba diving, but I'll prep first. The moral of the story is contained in the joke below (My husband is from North Carolina):

What are a redneck's last words?
"Hey Y'all, watch this"

En Espanol, Por Favor

2005-02-24T23:51:00.000-08:00

Hot on the heels of Sinical's Hip-Hop list comes my addition to the Pam's Europop Picks: Miguel Bose's Velvetina. There are a few video clips but I can't seem to find any MP3 downloads. This could be for one of two reasons:

1. I can't locate the link.
2. The lable is Time Warner and the tracks are locked down.

Still, I love the heavy beats and sweet sound of this stuff. I find it, well, sexy is the word that comes to mind.

Hip-Hop Recommendations...

2005-02-24T09:47:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure this is exactly blog material or not... However, for the one or two people on here who actually listen to hip-hop this might actually be interesting. Let me preface this by saying - my brother called last night and asked for music recommendations and I was completely unprepared. Unprepared? My life centers around the dream that somebody asks me for music recommendations, and it never happens. Finally, the dream becomes a reality and I'm unprepared - what kind of shit is that?

1) Murs - 3:16 The Ninth Edition

An absolute favorite from last year, Murs finally comes through with an album that doesn't just show his potential. 9th Wonder of Little Brother fame, representing NC, comes through with his best beats and Murs absolutely kills it with an EP that touches on love & sex, lost friends & revenge, race issues in hip-hop, and a funny story of a local stick-up gone bad. That's a lot to cover in 10 tracks. For those that are unfamiliar with 9th - he looks, acts, and makes beats just like Pete Rock. Upcoming projects for 9th include: his first solo album featuring everybody and their mama, Big Pooh (just released), another Murs, new Little Brother, a Buckshot (of Black Moon) album, and a Jean Grae album (which has already been leaked - supposed to be stellar). There is a reason this producer has become the busiest in the business...

2) Madvillain (MF Doom and Madlib) - Madvillainy

It took me six months to warm up to this album, but I'm on fire now. The best (yes, best) Madlib production ever, and Doom comes with the crazy, hip vocal stylings. If those marbles are ever surgically removed from Doom's mouth, he might have to look for a new career. Many music magazines have picked this as album of the year and while I would like to agree with that assessment, Murs and Masta Ace would disagree. For those that are a fan of Doom, he has a lot of projects coming up including an album with Danger Mouse called Danger Doom, a new KMD album, Lil Sci and MF Doom project, and a rumored Ghostface Killah/Doom project. Madlib has a busy year planned as well - two new mix cds just dropped (one hip-hop and one funk) called Mind Fusion Volumes 1 & 2, the highly anticipated Medaphor (highly anticipated by me anyway) project, and the most talked about project of the year - Percee P's triumphant return on Stones Throw.

3)Masta Ace - A Long Hot Summer

I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't listened to or bought this album yet... One of the oldest rappers in the game is also one of the most creative - the album is one continuous story. He begins this story as a prequel to his Disposable Arts album from last year, which was also one continuous story. Really nice to see the former Juice Crew emcee dropping quality material. Practically every hip-hop fan I know has this album in the top 3 from last year. Masta Ace is re-releasing Disposable Arts in a couple of months, but after that - he's done. He might do some guest appearances here and there, but this is his curtain call. And unlike Jay-Z, I actually believe this might be the end of a great career.

4)De La Soul - Grind Date

The veterans make a triumphant return, finally. There are still a few cuts that need to be cut and some R&B vocals that are straight wack, but this is still top 10 material for those kids from Long Island (oops, I mean adults). Plus, it's hard to bitch and complain when they put out the song of the year with Rock.Co.Kane Flow (w/Doom). Now, when are we going to get that promised Art Official Intelligence V.3?

5)Lyrics Born - Later That Day

This isn't making anybody's list, but it's making mine... Besides a three or four track lapse in the middle, this album buries everything I've listened to this year. He sings, he raps, he gets funky, and he puts out an album that redefines funk in hip-hop. Quannum continues to release quality and people continue to ignore them... I don't get it. Now can we get another Poets Of Rhythm album from you, because Amy Sue needs something new to dance to...

6)Oh No - Disrupt

Stones Throw misses sometimes (like that unlistenable trash, Jaylib), but it's not often. Madlib's younger brother drops one of the best albums this year... I'm not going to argue that Oh No is the next Nas on the mic, but he has a good flow, better than average lyrics, and the best beats of the year (excluding his brother's Madvillainy project). If you like his production on here - also check the Kazi album and his mix cd The Disrupt Chronicles, which has most (if not all) the songs he has produced for other groups during the last couple of years.

7)Haiku D'Tat - Coup De Theatre

Nobody would argue that this is Acey, Abby, or Mikah's best material, but it's solid and completely different than everything else that is being dropped. To me, this is a more accessible Freestyle Fellowship project - think Temptations, only much better.

8)Roots - The Tipping Point

This is another album that took a couple of months to grow on me. As long as you aren't expecting another Illadelph, Do You Want More, or Things Fall Apart - this will be a welcomed edition to your headphones.

Other stuff that I have been listening to and would recommend:
Danger Mouse & Jemini - Ghetto Pop Life (stellar beats/mediocre raps)
DJ Shadow - In Tune And On Time (live album from a date in the UK - fabulous)
Nas - Stillmatic (best album since his return to dominance)
MF Doom - MM...Food (absolutely hypnotic...)
Little Brother - The Listening (if you liked Tribe back in '92, it's hard for me to imagine you disliking this...)
Edan - Primitive Plus (I slept on this for so long - late 80's beats coupled with an updated style of rhyme)

New stuff to keep an eye out for:
Perceptionist - Black Dialogue (Akrobatik is mediocre, but hey, the other emcee is Mr. Lif - automatically dope)
Aesop Rock - Fast Cars, Danger, Fire, And Knives EP (complete 5 album lyric book for the obsessive fan)
Sir Menelik - Cyclops 4000: The Einstein Rosen Bridge (all the old material from his Rawkus days - I've been waiting for this album since '96 when he dropped So Intelligent w/Kool Keith)
Edan - Beauty And The Beat

Pseudo-fascism

2005-02-23T23:06:00.000-08:00

As I write this, I feel the self-conscious and the cliche "liberal" creeping around. I think that there's a lot more to the current political situation than conspiratorial "big-money"manipulating the puppet strings of our political process to advance corporatist agendas. However, the link I read tonite via Brad DeLong's blog was a nice reappraisal of fascism in the 21st century and the miniscule elements lacking to call the right wing "brown shirts." An excerpt:

... [E]ach national variant of fascism draws its legitimacy, as we shall see, not from some universal scripture but from what it considers the most authentic elements of its own community identity. Religion, for example, would certainly play a much larger role in an authentic fascism in the United States than in the first European fascisms, which were pagan for contingent historical reasons.

Anyone able to talk about how the right wing has assembled the disparate elements of Libertarian militiamen and Evangelical Christians into a voting critical mass? The political ideologies seem contradictory.

So what?

2005-02-22T07:23:00.000-08:00

You know what's getting on my nerves lately? I'm gonna tell you. It's this: The flap about the "Bush Tapes." You know what I have to say about the Bush Tapes? Big fucking deal.

So W. might have smoked a little weed. Is this at ALL surprising from a Skull and Bones mediocre frat boy who was already known for doing blow and getting hammered and going for a drive?

So W. made some vaguely disparaging remarks about homosexuals. Once again, like this is a surprise from a guy who wanted to amend the Constitution to outlaw gay marriage?

There's just not enough here to grab on to. Is this because I'm already so outraged about the things that have come out of the "President's" mouth in the present that I don't give one good goddam about what he might have said in the past? I've heard excerpts from the Johnson tapes and the Nixon tapes, now there was some nasty stuff. But anything I've come across from the W. tapes just leaves me apathetic.

The media I'm seeing is really hyping this release of information like it's full of shocking surprises. But as far as I've seen, there's no there there. My inner paranoid freak makes me wonder if this administration isn't a player in this. "We gotta give them something so it looks like there's still a shred of independent reporting out there."

The Death of The Duke and the End of an Era

2005-02-21T04:59:00.000-08:00

As you will all no doubt quickly learn, Hunter S. Thompson committed suicide last night. All I can do is express my sorrow. Thompson was a fount of creativity and restless energy as well as a champion of the far left. He was very outspoken and proactive about politics and injustice. Even in you disagreed with his stance on a subject, you had to admit that his methods were extremely effective and his voice was always heard. He was a unique man, but I think he could describe himself better than anyone: "There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die." - Raoul Duke watching Dr. Gonzo leave in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

He will be missed.