unblinking obeisance to every single one of your fanzine heroes

ok MOVE.

2006-07-18T19:42:00.000-05:00

Despite the qualms of other Andy and the challenging criticism of Brian ("Do you even have enough posts to bother categorizing?" he asks), I'm movin' on over, to Wordpress.com, because of the things I've outlined already, and because I'm slightly paranoid about Google running my entire life, and I'd like to not have all my internet eggs in one internet basket.

So, I reveal to you: nah pop, no style. All the same nonsense you find here, just a little different looking, and with a tiny smile up in the upper righthand corner. Update your links/RSS feed readers/general tendencies, dear readers! Thanks kindly!

sayonara to blogger?

2006-07-17T19:34:00.000-05:00

I'm considering migrating.

I started a Wordpress.com blog to get a feel for how the interface works as opposed to on blogger, and in a lot of ways (especially front-endwise) Wordpress wins out. Most importantly, I'm interested in categorizing, which in the past I didn't feel too strongly about. So far as I've ever been able to tell, that's not an option here. Also, with Wordpress, you can create separate pages (like an "about me" page, for example) that aren't posts but are static pages you can link to in your sidebar.

A couple big drawbacks to Wordpress (at least the free Wordpress.com blogs -- obviously if you used Wordpress code to blog on your own server you could circumvent the issue): lack of template control (you can't access and change the html code behind your template) and, as a result, the inability to install a Statcounter tracker. I like to be able to tweak things in html -- maybe it's just me nerding out, or, more likely, it's just me being a control freak. I like that I took a black Blogger template and made it dark blue, and tooled with fonts and such to personalize my template some. I don't really see any reason why people can't be trusted to do that if they so desire. I understand wanting to make it easy to do as much as possible with your blog without much coding knowledge, but I'm at a loss as to what the issue with allowing people to toy with the code when they want is.

Statcounter doesn't work with Wordpress because you need to embed the java code into your template, and since you can't edit the html code, or even use html tags in most of the fields you can alter, in Wordpress, you're out of luck. But, the resourceful folks at Sitemeter came up with a way to install their tracker on a Wordpress.com blog without having to insert html code. Rack one up for them. But they're still way in the hole based on the fact that their interface is awful and I'd much rather be using Statcounter.

I'm leaning right now toward switching over, but give me a day or two. Consider this fair warning to get your fingers warmed up; you may have to adjust your RSS feeds and LIVE BOOKMARKS soon.

sugary drink of the summer

2006-07-16T12:36:00.000-05:00

You know it's gross, but you know you love it anyway. Its ingredients list looks like it could just as easily be that of Lemon Fresh Pine Sol. But you drink it, and guess what? It's tasty. And you think about being young and running around in your backyard in Wilkinsburg, and you generally feel okay.

someone must have slandered judy and mary . . .

2006-07-12T17:00:00.000-05:00

It just so happens that right now I'm working on re-reading The Trial, and enjoying it more than I did when my Kafka professor was breathing down my neck, demanding that I work the German word "verkehr" somewhere into my commentary on each piece I read. And it just so happens that this story is hitting the news outlets here right now: Two workers at federal cafeterias suspended for reasons unclear. Imagine losing your job suddenly because the feds say you're "unsuitable," based on a record check from somewhere far off, and not getting an answer as to what exactly makes you "unsuitable." It's not quite Steve Kurtz caliber stuff, but it's unsettling nonetheless.

my name is not susan

2006-07-08T20:44:00.000-05:00

As promised: I just finished Susan Sontag's Regarding the Pain of Others, an exploration of the role of photography and images in war and the way war is percieved. It was published in 2003, her last book before she died in 2004.

There's a lot of history and rehashing that wasn't horribly exciting to me but that might make it a good book for someone just starting to become interested in media criticism and the like. There are a few point that I thought were more important and more useful, though. A notable passage:

People don't become inured to what they are shown -- if that's the right way to describe what happens -- because of the quantity of images dumped on them. It is passivity that dulls feeling. The states described as apathy, moral or emotional anesthesia, are full of feelings; the feelings are rage and frustration. But if we consider what emotions would be desirable, it seems too simple to elect sympathy. [ . . .] So far as we feel sympathy, we feel we are not accomplices to what caused the suffering. Our sympathy proclaims our innocence as well as our impotence.¹

An especially interesting aspect of the book, though, is that despite its content, there are only two images contained: an etching from the Goya series that she mentions throughout and a photo of Sontag herself, posing next to a wall, in the "About the Author" corner of the jacket. I'm always curious about how people discussing writing and media texts handle knowing that as they write, their text is interacting with the texts they explore. Sontag, in this case, seemingly takes a somewhat removed approach to discussing photography, choosing to describe in detail the photos she is looking at rather than to publish the photos in the book for the reader to see.

I doubt that Sontag and FSG didn't have enough money to pay for the rights to the images; it's much more likely it was an editorial decision on her part. Perhaps to cut down on distraction from the text? It's possible that Sontag thought that a reader would be too busy with the photos to join her in thinking critically about what the photos are doing. But if they were present, they might also act as concrete examples of what she discusses, and in fact give the reader a better grasp on the ideas she's putting forward.

She discusses briefly in part 9 of the book the importance of context for photographs -- how the format (and location) of the images profoundly effect the way in which they're interpreted. She posits that perhaps images of gravity are better suited to be published "ina book, where one can lok privately, linger over the pictures, without talking." Then she quickly recognizes the main flaw of the medium: "[s]till, at some moment the book will be closed." She ends up postulating that perhaps, even though it's somewhat outmoded, the best medium for commemorating horrors such as war and keeping the lessons learned clear in our minds is actually a written or filmed narrative, and that a single image in almost every case can't be expected to do the job. Perhaps true, but at the same time she doesn't take into account the fact that in order to experience a narrative, one has to either be literate, buy and stick with a book, or, in the case of a film, have the time and interest to watch a film about the subject.

She doesn't offer a lot in the way of solutions, but she does tweak and question her own earlier positions from "On Photography." She brings interesting questions to the table, though she doesn't necessarily offer (satisfactory) solutions to most. Reccommended to get you thinking, especially if you're not particularly engrained in this sort of theory already.

1. Something that bothers me a bit about her writing here is her use of "they," as if she herself isn't part of the human race that deals with this problem. That's the kind of nonsense that turns so many people off from hearing what academics have to say. Maybe it's a matter of trying to remove herself from the writing (to "not say 'I'")? Regardless, I'd rather she use "I."

comic strip relief

2006-07-07T21:25:00.000-05:00

I'm gonna get to an actual serious post about what I'm reading and about media criticism and stuff, but before I do that I feel the need for a quick newspaper comic rundown, because it's been a while, and if you don't pay as close attention as I do you might miss the amazing things that have been happening, especially today.

Things of import:

1. The Family Circus: Today's strip finds Jeffy on his tricycle in the back yard, Daddy gently admonishing him to "Remember! No faster than 55 miles an hour on that vehicle." Jeffy's witty rejoinder: "But in the house there's no speed limit. Right, Daddy?"

This is one of the particular breed of "Family Circus" strip that I like best: the type with no clear pun, no clear punchline, just a complete non-sequitur. If every "Family Circus" was like this, I'd no longer feel such a longing for Zippy every day.

On the other hand, I also enjoy those strips like this one, with a clear social commentary:

I bet the people who bellyache consistently about "Doonesbury" and "The Boondocks" belonging on the editorial page and not the comics page didn't even THINK to write a letter suggesting that we banish "The Family Circus" to page B-9 despite this cartoon's obvious references to the insidiousness of guerilla marketing and its critique of the loss of innocence in modern capitalist society.

Neither did I, or I would have. It's over a week gone by now, so at this point I should probably not even bother.

2. Mary Worth: Mary has of late been apparently stalked by a creepy man with a mustache, who today introduced himself as "Aldo Kelrastat," clearly a name that was conceived of by a huge fan of willing suspension of disbelief. To be fair, Jeff Cory is out of town "on business," the legitimacy of which is currently in doubt if you follow the completely obvious cues that the authors use to clue you into dramatic irony, so I say, go for it, Mary; just make Aldo do something about that molestache first.

3. Most importanly, a strip not usually on my list of comics to look at daily, but one that made my day today: The Born Loser:

The "listen to a seashell/your echo/whatever and hear something that you didn't expect" archetype is one that's quite washed up in the context of the Born Loser, who has all of three or four gags total that he recycles each week, but this one made me laugh out loud for several minutes. Good job, Art and Chip. Now I guess you'll go back to stupid "precocious Hurricane Hattie" jokes.

stream of consciousness stuff for real:

2006-07-05T13:45:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went with the parents to my sister's house for dinner. I played "baseball" with my dad and three-year-old nephew. What that entails is me pitching, my dad hitting, and the little one yelling "STRIKE TWO!" after every pitch, no matter what the outcome was. Also, in this version of the game, the umpire stands behind the pitcher. I made the mistake of protesting that in fact the umpire stands behind the batter, and was told "but not in baseball!"

Speaking of baseball, apparently poor Bob Uecker has a stalker. The article does a good job of pointing out the sheer absurdity of the matter, with lines like:

Who the heck would stalk Bob Uecker?

and

In late 2005, Ladd sent Uecker a letter asking him to meet with her to discuss "projects." A later letter said the project was "in fact you."

I now have a backup pickup line ("Hey, would you like to help me work on this project? The project is in fact you!") to use in case my current selection ("How would you feel if I posted a Missed Connection about you on Craigslist tomorrow?") doesn't pan out well.

And speaking of the internet, check out this thing that was brought to my attention the other day: www.fitday.com. It allows you to keep track of all your nutrition throughout the day, and calculates different aspects of your intake, kind of like Statcounter but for your body instead of your blog. I'm all about manipulating data lately. And also all about eating better than I have been. And I'm all about getting more/better exercise, and it keeps track of that too. So it's a good deal.

AND, speaking of Statcounter and blogs, happy birthday to my blog today! It is one year old. You can send your presents for it c/o me.

some days are diamonds, some days are rocks

2006-07-02T23:23:00.000-05:00

While we're on the subject of things I liked ten years ago that I like still/again: I really like Tom Petty. In a nostalgic way to an extent, but also in a "that dude writes some great songs" way. My sister and I were o b s e s s e d with "Full Moon Fever" circa the mid 1990's, and I still like those tunes a bunch, but my current Big Thing is the song "Walls," from the She's the One soundtrack. Track it down and listen to it. Email me and I'll Yousendit to you. It's mind-blowing in its complexity of production and its simplicity of songwriting -- it's brought me close to tears a couple times when my friend Joel has covered it with just an acoustic guitar for his solo act -- it's actually pretty chilling.

In special news that's really quite mundane, my band is playing a show tomorrow night (I guess technically TONIGHT? Monday, the 3rd) at Roboto. It's with Conversions (Chris Strunk of Crucial Unit's band from Boston, not to be mistaken for cnvrsns), a band called Capsule, and Brainhandle. Good times will be done.

Guapo were really good tonight at Garfield Artworks, as were Zombi. It was pretty steamy inside, and I left to go out for air a little bit before Guapo finished, but it was a tough decision because they were intensely exciting and hey, they're from England, who knows when they'll be back (that's not to be confused with "these guys are from England and who gives a shit").

Also, since the last time I updated (a friggin' WEEK ago) (a long, intense friggin' WEEK ago), I talked about dreams, I leave you with this: last night's nearly 12-hour sleeping pill sleep involved one dream in which I ate a Wendy's chicken sandwich and wasn't sure how I felt about it, and ended on a dream in which it was late on a Sunday night and I was frantic about getting to bed soon so I would be able to get up in the morning, and E* and I were eating peanuts and cupcakes and A* was talking about people at length. Then I woke up and felt exhausted.

i am just a dreamer, and you are just a dream

2006-06-26T22:45:00.000-05:00

While it is bedtime, the current plan is to get down to business, at least a little, on a mixtape for a long-distance pal. My main challenge right now is to resist the urge to weigh it down completely with cheesy '70s rock, the like of which I've been rocking almost exclusively lately (with the notable exception of the Old Time Relijun albums I got a month ago).

I'll give you a couple dreams I had this weekend, as relayed to a friend via email earlier. The preponderance of crash-and-burn dreams recently has been alarming but more exciting than anything; I'll take most any dream I can remember, and it sure beats the spider hallucination.

1. J* and I go to a roadside amusement type place where you ride a ride that's a cross between the Old Mill and the Log Jammer at Kennywood. Basically, you ride in a big canoe and it takes you up big hills then you go down the hills really fast into the water.

There's one part where it sends you catapulting across a break in the track and you JUMP THE SHARK (it was actually a killer whale) that's in a tank between the two parts of the track. Except our canoe missed and crashed right next to the tank, and crush Damon Che's drum kit, which was sitting there. No one got hurt, and I couldn't stop laughing about how we had just crashed into Damon Che's drum kit, then we sorta hung out and some dudes from bands that we have played with recently showed up and that was that.

2. I'm in Oakland on a Saturday, and these two news choppers fly overhead, then at some point become airplanes, and crash -- one into a field, one into the fourth floor of Hillman. I somehow know that no one is hurt, even though two airliners just crashed and people were actually jumping out of the second one. Everyone on the ground freaks and we're crouching on the ground and people are telling us what to do, and I start crying -- not because I'm worried about people being hurt or killed, but because I'm worried about the damage to our collection and the fact that I can't get the job I applied for if there's no fourth floor anymore.

I go to walk home and I think to call my mom and tell her I'm ok, and I have a bunch of messages from her on my Tracfone but it's freaking out and I can't get them all and I can't call her. G* and G* take me to go eat somewhere in Oakland.

i want a name when i lose

2006-06-24T17:56:00.000-05:00

Total recall today brought to mind the day I was in the Builder's Square in the Braddock Hills Shopping Center with my dad, probably about 9 or 10 years old, and "Deacon Blues" was on the radio in the store, and it was the first time I paid attention to the song -- like, REALLY paid attention. I had heard this song plenty of times, on the oldies and easy listening stations. All of a sudden I realized there were lyrics here about drinking and driving and dying as a result. I was at once both scandalized and enamored; I referred to it for a time after that with my sister as "the drunk driving song."

At that point I got to the crux of what still appeals to me (and a lot of people) about Steely Dan. Beyond the obvious amazing hooks (see: "Reelin' in the Years," "My Old School"), there's a weird creepiness, a subversive vibe within the songs that doesn't usually make itself immediately apparent. Think about "Show Biz Kids," the tour de force on "Countdown to Ecstacy" that made it to 61 on the Billboard charts (higher than "My Old School, actually): it's a smooth partyish jam, but it criticizes the very coke party culture that made the Dan so big at the time. They go so far as to describe the spoiled rich party culture types they're skewing as having "the shapely bodies" and "the Steely Dan t-shirt" (and briefly lampoon themselves, hitting the "Reelin' in the Years" lick) (reminiscent of what The Beatles do with "She Loves You Yeah Yeah Yeah" in "All You Need is Love").

A lot of people can level the complaint that the Dan represent everything that was bad about rock in the '70s, everything that punk rebelled against. The recordings were overproduced, to be sure. The idea of being a "studio band" and not touring isn't very rock'n'roll -- but then, Steely Dan isn't/wasn't that rock'n'roll (they're more jazz-rock than anything). Whatever you want to call what they are, they're good at it, and they've never been completely complacent in the industry. ("Show Biz Kids" was the first single off of "Countdown," their second album and the follow-up to the album with "Dirty Work" and "Do it Again," and it had the line "Show biz kids makin movies of themselves/You know they don't give a fuck about anybody else" in it!)

I was still in when "Two Against Nature" came out in 1999 and won all those Grammies, then shortly after I became too damn punk to dig the Dan, then in 2001 I picked up a Punk Planet in which Lady Hopper discussed at length her love for the Dan and the Geto Boys, and she made enough good points that I again began to enjoy them.

Which brings me to today: they're playing at the ridiculous Post-Gazette Pavilion at the end of August, and even with the Skunk attending to important matters of national security, I'll probably go, and I'll probably like it, and I won't be embarrassed or think that I'm selling out my punk/rock'n'roll cred. It's not a guilty pleasure, it's an amazing band. Get into it.

cultural consumption update

2006-06-24T15:00:00.000-05:00

Cultural artifacts consumed/given up on, ca. 6/24/06:

- Truman Capote's Music for Chameleons, finished in its entirety. This was the first thing in quite a while that I really enjoyed reading, to the point where I didn't want to put it down. Highlights included "Handcarved Coffins," the veracity of which is apparently still totally in question, and the final dialogue of the last section, between Capote and Capote. The way he characterizes himself in his stories makes me portray him in my mind as Dennis Roddy.

- Gertrude Stein's Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, begun, given up on after a few pages. Not exciting me right now. Sorry, Gert.

- Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering Kofman's film Derrida watched. It has some good moments, but for the most part comes across as Derrida fanboys/girls trying to be "cool like Jacques" while at the same time making a film about him. It's nice that he goes out of his way many times to point out the artificial nature of the film, and that they include it, but beyond that they don't seem to have a whole lot of focus on what they want to say or show about him. Best moment: after a lecture, a sort of dorky grad-student-looking woman approaches Derrida and says "Hearing you speak just elucidates your texts SO MUCH!" Derrida says "Thank you, thank you" and the woman comes up blank for a moment or two, then says, "I just wanted to meet you . . . I'm really excited right now . . ." and he turns to talk to someone else and she looks at the woman next to her and does the "OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST DID THAT!" thing.

- Philip Roth's Operation Shylock, begun. I'm only a few pages in, but I intend to stay with this one.

- Brown Angel last night hit the spot; I think it for better or worse that it takes a week of going in and out of distressing sullenness and panic attacks to fully appreciate Adam's art. I snatched the last demo tape, just in case I need it sometime.

mountains come out of the sky and they stand there

2006-06-23T08:04:00.000-05:00

Of late, I have deemed both Yes albums I have acquired (Fragile and The Yes Album) to be truly righteous jams. I liked Yes a lot when I was about 10, then it sort of fell off and I began to think they were just ridiculous. They are ridiculous to an extent, to be sure, but not just ridiculous, methinks. Ridiculous and a whole lot more, perhaps.

Last night I saw Harangue play a really good set (with a sweet new tune) at the Brillobox with The Paper Chase, whom I hadn't seen before. In my underinformed musical mind, they reminded me of The Apes, only not as exciting. But I also was tired and went home before the set was over. So much for my commitment to music scene supportiveness excellence.

Tonight, perhaps I may go see Z's at Mofo with a bunch of hardcore bands? That seems like a fulfilling show. And tomorrow night, if you don't do anything else I tell you to do, ever, do me this favor: come to the Mofo 5th anniversary party, which we are playing with Vale & Year, Benchwarmer, and Ludus Lovestyle, and then maybe go see YMD and Centipede at Gooski's. Sounds like a summer weekendtastic night to me.

dirty lowdown

2006-06-18T22:44:00.000-05:00

This weekend, I:

- Went to a Pirates game for the first time in five years. They were ahead for a while, then it was tied, then, of course, they lost. But I saw a two-run homer off Jack Wilson's bat, and some fireworks, and the people around us (with the exception of the young professionals behind us who liked to use profanity and talk on the phone during the game) were cool. And it was my Father's Day deal. And my father is still alive, approximately two years after he all but died, and I'm determined to do stuff like this with him while that's the case. Not going back on the promises I made to myself driving to the ICU that day in June 2004.

- Attempted to even out my farmer's tan, succeeding only in sunburning my pasty torso.

- Watched a show at Roboto that ended up being kind of fun, with some out of town bands that really appreciate the space, and the band with the "I Love Porno" song was pretty . . . amusing?

- &c. &c.

In other notes, I'm working on reconfiguring my internet habits, hopefully including more (and more meaningful) writing here, and I've cut down a great deal on visiting The Message Board. More Wikipedia, less bickering. Now if I could only get my diet under control again too.

it takes balls of leather, har har

2006-06-16T13:39:00.000-05:00

Tonight, I'm taking my dad to the Pirates game. They're playing the Twins. I haven't known anything about the Twins since Kirby Puckett's day. Who the hell is even on the Twins? Maybe that means we have a chance to win? I remember when I used to know about baseball. That was about fifteen years ago.

One thing I do know about baseball is that the two guys who were playing catch at the park outside the library today were definitely in it to win with the ladies, not to hone their fielding skills. The park has fast become a hot spot for tanning bikini-clad co-eds and their fitting counterparts, available dudes and leering old pervs. Today's pitch-and-catch team were deliberately dropping catches in order to have to run close to the basking babes, and offering passing ladies a chance to catch the ball as if they were children. Then one chopper bounced off a sunbather's back, and she had a few choice words with one of the men, and soon they were sitting in their lawn chairs (which they brought from home), gazing.

PS my band is playing a show on Tuesday (the 20th) at Garfield Artworks and Saturday (the 24th) at MoFo for their FIFTH ANNIVERSARY PARTY! Hit it.

statcounter information of the day:

2006-06-15T22:36:00.000-05:00

Someone at the Tennessee Valley Authority (which is still in operation, much to my surprise) came to my blog by searching blogger for "Tennessee Valley Authority." For whatever reason, this makes me feel a little better about sometimes vainly googling my own name -- see? Even the TVA does it!

(What I secretly hope is that every government agency and authority employs one person to sit and keep tabs on what people are saying on the internet about it.)

TITLE OF BLOG POST.

2006-06-13T21:20:00.000-05:00

Hello, dear reader. Apologies for the dearth of updates lately. I've perhaps been too busy with the mundane to regale you with tales of the fantastic. Class, while not difficult, takes a good six hours (okay, six hours soaking wet and after a big meal) out of my week, then there's band practice, and going to shows now and then, and getting distraught, and sometimes feeling satisfied and kind of "happy." And, I'll be totally honest, my crossword obsession has been gobbling up a great deal of the remainder of my free time. I'm hoping to get serious about actually creating puzzles, which I tried once before but was intimidated by.

Luckily for you, Brian, with whom I correspond all day every day via the wondrous Gmail, has been updating a bit lately. Read what he's up to, give him feedback, tell him he's slightly more interesting than I am. That'll kick me into gear.

By way of a "currently reading" -- I finished all of the sections of Agee's "Selected Journalism" that I wanted to read (the parts about the Tennessee Valley Authority, and about RV parks, and about orchids). Clear influences on John McPhee, what with lots of listing of beautiful-sounding names of flowers and geologic features and the like. Now I'm on to Music for Chameleons.

The connection here at the coffeeshop is abominably slow, and I certainly don't come here for the atmosphere, so I suppose I'll leave you with that and bolt toward home, where the internet is faster and there are more, or at least more pressing, distractions.

havin a high time, livin the good life

2006-06-10T13:04:00.000-05:00

As we speak, I dispatch from the home of my parents, where I am spending the day chilling and mowing the lawn. Seriously, it's a big lawn, it takes most of the day. And this isn't one of those wuss tool-man riding mowers, this baby's gotta be pushed. And I'm hopefully making things, and catching up on my reading. And tonight we're playing a birthday party on Ward street. Four huge amps and a drum kit, second floor living room, middle of the city. This will be interesting.

Tomorrow at 9 am is the men's French open final. I'm stoked on catching it on TV (hopefully) because I think Nadal-Federer was the only match I caught of the Open last year. My TV watching is limited. Also, saw some of the women's final today. The Belgian woman whose name I can't spell fooled me at first; she looked exhausted when I first turned it on (toward the beginning of the second set) but she got back in the game and absolutely cleaned up. Good work, Belgian woman!

as far from the weekend as one gets

2006-06-06T21:27:00.000-05:00

The days act like weeks lately, it seems, and also I lose track of when I last wrote and when I last saw, heard, or did something worth writing about. I see something that I misplaced and forgot about at work and feel like it's been ages, and I'll be in huge trouble, and find that it was only yesterday that I was supposed to take care of it, and it's no big deal. The weather oscillates and crams as many features of the climate into each day as possible.

My day yesterday was made when Sara began instant messaging me furiously (I'm never on the instant messenger anymore, but this time I was and made it count) with a bird identification question. It was a chimney swift, and I don't know what it was doing with its belly on the ground. Rabies, perhaps? I wouldn't mess with it, just in case.

Also, I have this class, which is 3 hours (or so) every Tuesday and Thursday evening, for six weeks, and it's taking a bunch of time even though it's not that challenging. I have a short paper to write for it into which I think I'm going to funnel my prior research on American Apparel advertising.

Also, I've been checking lots of emails for Roboto while Mike is away on tour with Brainhandle, and honestly I'm not sure how that guy hasn't maimed anyone yet, because opening an inbox and being faced with 20 emails from lame bands and artists who want to play your venue, and having to tell them all you'll forward your email to the promoters even though you know they have no chance in Hell of getting a show is really annoying.

How have you been?

here's a link to keep us pleasant:

2006-06-02T15:43:00.000-05:00

If you like crosswords like I do, join Ben Tausig's Google Group and get his puzzles emailed to you each week. He's a good puzzlemaker, and these will please you.

Also, obtain a copy of Workingman's Dead if you don't already have it, and listen to it a bunch. Call me hippie, but it's killer, I promise. Also, check out the Unicorn Mountain release tomorrow night at Mofo. And enjoy the ceaseless rain if you're in Pittsburgh, and stay safe and warm and happy.

also --

2006-05-30T10:55:00.000-05:00

On a marquee in front of something like an auto body shop on Banksville Road yesterday I saw the following:

Skilling got Layed
Expecting in 20 yrs

It doesn't really make sense, yet I always think things like this are funny because they're usually not actually funny at all, and not that clever, but there's a certain novelty in the concept of using the space where your business is expected to advertise to instead make some sort of political or ethical statement. Even if it's kind of silly and pointless. The guy who runs the self storage place in West Mifflin on Homestead-Duquesne Road has also historically been notable for such things. Here's to more politically-motivated fun on our roadside signs.

turn your free time back into birdwatching

2006-05-30T09:35:00.000-05:00

Old Time Relijun, turning fossil fuels back into dinosaurs, bringing the best show I've seen this year. (We're at the halfway mark, is it time to start quantifying our cultural experiences yet?) Arrington does beautiful things with his voice, and I wanted more music (I don't know how long they played, but it mustn't have been too long, as I rarely think bands' sets are too short) but his mouth harp performance at the end capped the set nicely. What was awesome was that he was doing things vocally while he was harping, which I didn't realize a person could do (not that I'm the expert).

I didn't know who most of the people at the show were, which was weird but pretty awesome. Where did they come from, and how did they hear about the show? I should've taken a survey. There was one kid who had to be about 15 who was incredibly stoked on seeing OTR, and stroked Arrington's beard like he was on E or something, and Aaron said that kid is the reason he goes on tour, and I say he's the reason I try to do as many shows as possible all ages.

Right now I just want to go to the woods, or the river or something, and watch birds, and maybe read and write. I've done far too little of this lately. Just as I've done far too little gardening. Our poor little seedling are totally scorched, which I blame on me. Fortunately there are decent places to buy seedlings at this point in the season.

it is what it is

2006-05-26T15:45:00.000-05:00

Apologies for my reticence of late. No time for writing when you're doing. I was at Roboto three times this week, once for a show I set up, once for a show I played, and once for a show Emma's band played. I am Robotoed to death. There are a great many things going on this weekend, not the least of which being Old Time Relijun tomorrow at AIR. Vale and Year are releasing another damn album tonight, Gunspiking is having another damn reunion tonight, friends are visiting from other towns. I am getting better at Boggle, with any luck. I hope to see you this weekend.

PS -- I still owe you a play review. It's in the pipes, swear.

old time relijun pittsburgh saturday AND getting to AIR by bus!

2006-05-23T15:51:00.000-05:00

So, first of all, a reminder that the Old Time Relijun show is this Saturday, May 27, at AIR. It's at like 7:30 and the lineup is: Natura Nasa - Midnite Snake - Old Time Relijun. It will be an amazing show.

Second of all, I've never seen an account of how to get to AIR by bus, so here goes, courtesy Maya's Buskarma site:

A very close bus stop is East Ohio St. opposite James St. Then you just have to cross East Ohio and walk up James to Foreland (it's the second street up after East Ohio) and go right and AIR is right there, 518 Foreland.

The 54C stops there. Coming from downtown, the 1A, 1D, 1F, and 6A all stop there as well.

Buses are a little bit crazy and go around in circles on the North Side, what with the commons and park and stuff up there, so you have to figure out for yourself when you're actually at the intersection and should get off. Ask your nice bus driver.

This link ought to work; otherwise, go to http://bus.maya.com and search for East Ohio St. OPP James. You'll find what you need to know.

hey columbus

2006-05-20T14:21:00.000-05:00

My band is making love to your town tonight. 9:00pm, 369 E 15th Ave, Columbus, OH with Witch Hat and another band I'm blanking on right now but it'll happen and it'll be fun. Come out if you can.

I saw "The Pillowman" last night. It was pretty intense. I'll have more to say about it later, but it didn't disappoint in the sense of McDonagh's dialogue and actual writing being really witty and great. The overarching plot was a little iffy, but I'm not disappointed for having seen it.

panorama obscura

2006-05-18T21:00:00.000-05:00

The weather the past few days has been more than vaguely reminiscent of last October/November when I trolled around doing nothing for a long time and listened to Broken Hearts Are Blue a lot and then got a job and was still kinda in a funk. It's weird and kind of frustrating when you realize that intense cloudcover the likes of which we see fairly often here can actually act as a barrier not only between you and the sky but between you and any sort of vision of the future. I honestly can't see past the next day or two when the sun is obscured thusly. Which is sometimes alright, but more often pretty worrisome.

But worry not, I am not depressed in the least. I have amazing friendships right now, and lots of good things on my plate (even if there are so many of these things it's a bit stressful), and I'm taking a personal day Monday to hang out with my mom. That's right. I won't deny it. And my eyelid seems to be flaking and peeling less, which is nice, and the muscles at the crux of my left elbow have been freaking out and spasming for a day or so now but that'll go away eventually.

loose ends

2006-05-17T10:50:00.000-05:00

A few things:

- If you have a computer with sound and a few minutes, watch the video for the song "Fingerbangin'," by a band from Philly called Sweatheart. The vid was made by Charlie's roommate Ted, and the song features references to passenger side road head and the phrase "WOOF god damn!"

- There is a flavor of Vitamin Water called "Rescue," which is green tea and chamomile flavored and has B vitamins, which I found in Boston and which was very good and which I've never seen anywhere else. I would like it to appear here soon.

- I had my first communication class last night. I think it'll be nice 'n easy; I just need to not slack. It'll be a funny group, I think -- kids taking summer classes that are really basic low-level courses usually have some amusing reason for being there ("I'm a communication major and I got a C- in this class last time I took it"). We discussed our media choices and half of the class are amusingly devoted Philly and/or Lehigh valley partisans: "I don't read Pittsburgh papers, I like the Morning Call!" "I don't listen to the radio in PITTSBURGH, I like (station X) in Philly!"

- Hopper is in Israel right now. It's interesting. Get over the Merritt stuff and read about her trip.

tour wrapup

2006-05-15T07:42:00.000-05:00

Hey all. Sorry for the delay -- the last couple days were mighty busy and I didn't get time to document them. Drat.

The Philly show was fun, even though 80 percent of the people left when we played. What counted was seeing friends and eating veggie crisps and playing with the dog. And those were all accomplished. Also, not having our van jacked.

Arlington was wonderful; Matt's moving out of the house where we played, but the house will remain there, which is nice, because there are big expensive condos going up all around it (see earlier remarks about preservation and development) and the woman who owns that house is a holdout, along with the folks who run the Japanese Auto Shop across the street, which is nested practically inside a brand new condo a la the little house that sits in Bouqet Gardens on Pitt's campus.

The Arlington show was awesome, anyway. A band called Danke, featuring members of Mass Movement of the Moth, headlined and were really good -- my favorite band we played with on tour, with the exception of Belegost. Silly Katie from Del Cielo was there, as were some ex-'burgh friends, and crazy Jesse who is Jo's friend from college and is totally nuts and looks like he's into creatine powder and protein shakes maybe (and is awesome, I might note).

I am tired and now I readjust to working all day instead of sitting in a car, and I try to get rid of this sickness that I haven't shaken for three weeks, and I get back into the groove of knowing what's going on in the world, even though I didn't really miss much, seemingly, in the time I was gone.

tour dates #6/7

2006-05-12T09:56:00.000-05:00

So, yesterday in Brooklyn at Northsix with a local band called Hoover Flags, a band called Know Your Enemy, and the Chinese Stars. It was a weird mix of bands, a weird mix of people, and awkward in that there was a really high stage that freaked me out a little. I grew tired of "hanging out" and "talking" and spent some time in the van (finishing my Old Time Relijun flyer and vegging) after we played. Then I got annoyed with a lot of the people at the show, felt like they were worthless, felt in turn like perhaps I myself was worthless, had to drive to the place where we stayed with Jo navigating and we got quite lost and crossed bridges and all sort of nonsense then found the place, pulled into an easy parking spot that we apparently should have been ticketed in, and chilled in an apartment with a projector TV screen (there was a first-person shooter game being played when we arrived).

Today: hopefully maybe meet up with Carly from Slingshot, then off to Philly and maybe the Art Museum? Maybe?

tour date #4/5

2006-05-10T00:40:00.000-05:00

Last night was the Boston show, but I was dead tired and feeling under the weather when we got in after the show, and in the morning we didn't have enough time before we shoved off for nine and a half hours of sitting in traffic between Boston and Delaware. The show at Great Scott was fun but tiring and this on and off cold I have was on bigtime. We stayed with Bob and Gina, who were most gracious, and had delicious vegan food close to the venue, and stopped at the co-op down the street before leaving in the morning.

Then we spent the entire day in the car, most of it not really moving, found free wireless for a couple blocks in the Bronx, kept moving and got to the show two and a half hours late, which sucks especially because it was one of the few shows, if not the only, on this tour that had a pretty strict schedule to be followed. The whole show was late, and rushed, but the kids there were really nice and now I dispatch to you from Electric Human Project World Headquarters, Newark, DE. Actually, in an undisclosed location somewhere outside Newark, closer to Wilmington, in the shadow of an Acme grocery store. Seriously. There's a huge glass sliding door next to me and an Acme smiling down on me and I'm about to fall asleep. If you can find me by those directions alone, feel free to come and gaze upon my sleeping body from outside.

Tomorrow we head to Philly to hang out, not play any shows, and see Mono and Pelican at the church. Cool. Seeya!

tour date #3

2006-05-07T23:07:00.000-05:00

Dateline: Lewiston, ME. The town looks at bit like Lowell or some other such New England industrial town, with a huge dam and waterfalls that are loud and beautiful at night. We went exploring with our awesome host here and crossed a huge scary railroad trestle bridge right over the dam. We talked a lot about development and historic preservation and taxes and healthcare.

Maine strikes me as being more Canada than USA, which is a-okay by me. The road signs go by miles and kilometers, and there are funny polite signs that say things like "Dim lights when meeting traffic" and "Reduce speed in inclement weather," and there's mandatory healthcare.

Oh yeah, and the show tonight was awesome, just like last night. I had some more equipment issues, but we played well, I thought, to those people who stuck around for us. And some people bought things and took lyric booklets, which rocked.

Tomorrow: Boston. We might chill and check out the falls here again then head toward Massachussetts. Seeya.

tour date #2

2006-05-07T09:59:00.000-05:00

Dateline: New Haven, Connecticut.

We're actually in the woods somewhere in Ansonia right now, with our only copy of the van key locked in the van. We'll get that taken care of soon. Last night's show ruled in that we played much better than we did in Bethlehem, and we apparently angered the owner of the bar a great deal. Hopefully the fellow who booked the show didn't get in a lot of trouble over that. I'm still sick and don't really have a voice.

Lewiston, Maine, next. Vegan potluck! Good times!

tour date #1

2006-05-06T10:19:00.000-05:00

I dispatch to you from Allentown(?) (somewhere in the Lehigh Valley) where we're staying in a nice house with a dog named for a serial killer. We were offered the room of an absentee 13 year old girl, and are glad we chose to sleep in the computer room instead, as said girl arrived at the house prior to our waking this morning. Also, cat hair is forcing me to take allergy meds that may make me very sleepy very shortly.

Last night's show was fun, if a bit sloppy on our part. Belegost was inspiring. I'll have to do some equipment tune-ups prior to tonight's show in New Haven.

seeya!

2006-05-05T07:23:00.000-05:00

Today is the day we leave to go to other places and play the rock music. I am in no way put together right this morning, but it'll all work out, and I have lots of good feelings to bring with me. I'll try to update y'all when the world allows my laptop to make love to the internet via its wireless hole. A quick update on that tour schedule: May 8 will indeed be in Boston, at Great Scott (in Allston), 18+, 9:00pm, $7.

dream lover

2006-05-01T21:27:00.000-05:00

The dreams of late have been stressful, sometimes terrifying. They've ranged from mundane but anxious -- we're in DC on tour and all the gas stations are closing because there's no more gasoline and we pay $150 for a tank of gas to get back to Pennsylvania and $50 for a Sunday paper, just because -- to jarringly frigtening: an elevator dream, which I think I've had for years but never really committed to memory, in which we're going up, somewhere, a few of us people, and all of a sudden we begin to plummet, and we fall and fall and then somehow there's a cushioned landing but now we're trapped in an elevator. And the most disturbing? I'm holding my baby nephew and I up and drop him down the steps on his head, and he ends up being okay but it's too much for me and I run to the corner and start bawling and I'm embarrassed because my family is all around but life's become much too much for me and I can't pretend anymore.

Do you think they mean anything?

here's something to keep you busy

2006-05-01T10:19:00.000-05:00

Dusted came out with a new crossword that's actually pretty good. (I'm always suspicious of people trying to write crosswords. This one is impressive, if computer-aided.) I got pretty far, then was having a helluva time with the bottom left corner, then accidentally clicked on a bookmark in my browser and cleared the whole thing and don't feel like retrying right now. But you should.

coming to your town, we'll help you party down

2006-04-28T23:36:00.000-05:00

Also, while I'm here at this computer, as promised, tour dates. Not everything is ABSOLUTELY shored up, but most of it is:

the sea, like lead spring tour 2006

Friday, May 5 - Kiva Center, Northampton Community College, Bethlehem PA, with Belegost, October Skyline, Get to the Chopper. 7:30, $8.

Saturday, May 6 - Rudy's New Haven, New Haven CT, with They and the Children. 10:00ish, $3, 21+.

Sunday, May 7 - Bang-a-Rang Collective House (I don't ask questions), Lewiston ME, with The List Exists, Orange Lazarus, Hallowed Butchery of the Son, one more. 6:00, donation.

Monday, May 8 - Boston. This is yet unconfirmed.

Tuesday, May 9 - University of Delaware, Newark DE, with Wether, more. $5.

Wednesday, May 10 - Somewhere in College Park MD, hopefully.

Thursday, May 11 - Northsix (DOWNSTAIRS! Don't go to the upstairs because you'll see the Chinese Stars), Brooklyn, with Know Your Enemy, Hoover Flags, more. $7, 8pm?

Friday, May 12 - Be Happy House, Philadelphia PA, with Wether, more. $5.

Saturday, May 13 - Kansas House, Arlington VA, with My War.

That's that. Please come see us if you're in or around one of those places. If I don't know you, introduce yourself. My goals for tour are: make new friends, don't lose money, get some reading done, see some new things, rock out without breaking my fingers. Not necessarily in that order.

hiding in my room/safe within my womb

2006-04-28T23:16:00.000-05:00

It's an awful shame what happens when I get lazy and don't keep my room straightened up (read: 80 percent of my life) -- I start to dislike spending time there, because it's just uncomfortable to have to step on/over so much stuff to get around, and because there's a sense of shame at having such a disgusting hovel. I start to wonder when my sister will be by to feed me rotting food, and when my dad will start hurling apples at my back to see if they stick.

So, it's an unusual and pleasant feeling of victory that greets me when I actually buckle down and clean up, as I spent a great deal of tonight doing, and will hopefully finish up tomorrow. Of all the cool stuff that I get involved with, cleaning my room may be the thing that gives me the most satisfaction. Hanging the stuff that I've been meaning to hang for months, and the stuff that I hung last year that fell sometime between then and now. Putting the shelves mentioned here a few days ago to work finally so that I have less stuff just sitting around on the floor in the corner. Vaccuuming, for Christs' sake. If I wanted, I could probably actually show other people my most personal space again. I have some cool stuff, if I might say so myself. A Jim Lingo painting, some sweet Budai prints, small things that various people including Emma's dad and I myself have made through the years. It's not particularly fair to keep it all squirreled away where no one will ever find it.

sometimes you have to boycott the things you love.

2006-04-27T08:32:00.000-05:00

I am still kinda snotty and sick but getting better. Everyone around me is falling to this cold now -- roommate, student worker, coworkers, etc. Suckers.

Anyway, the reason I come to you now is to pass along this sad piece of information, brought to my attention via the always-interesting her jazz:

Boycott Yuengling Beer Products
From Daniel Grace, Secretary-Treasurer, Teamsters Local 830

http://phillyunions.com/teamsters830/

The Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters has announced that it supports Teamsters Local 830 in its efforts to protect its members’ jobs and officially endorses Local 830’s boycott of Yuengling products.

SITUATION:

On March 9, 2006, D.G. Yuengling & Son withdrew union recognition, declaring it would no longer continue negotiating with Teamsters Local 830 Mgmt. Yet, the contract between Teamsters Local No. 830 and D.G. Yuengling & Son did not expire until March 31, 2006. By these actions D.G. Yuengling & Son is jeopardizing the working standards, conditions and livelihoods of many hard-working Local 830 workers whose efforts and dedication have helped this local company achieve the national acclaim and success they now enjoy.

Several attempts by Local 830 management to resume good faith negotiations in hopes of coming to a fair and amicable agreement have been spurned by the beverage manufacturer.

Local 830 has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board, which are pending.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

1) In support of those local 830 workers whose livelihoods are now in jeopardy because of this very serious situation, the Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters is urging Philadelphia area union members, their families and supporters, as well as local tavern owners and liquor licensed establishments and all those who patronize these establishments, NOT TO PURCHASE the following Yuengling brands until further notice: Yuengling Premium Beer, Yuengling Light, Lord Chesterfield Ale, Dark
Brewed Porter, Traditional Lager, Light Lager, and Original Black & Tan.

2) Local 830 urges you to contact D.G. Yuengling & Son at the address and/or phone number below and express your support for the workers of Teamsters Local 830. Let them know you will not purchase or consume their products until they resume good faith negotiations with the Local, recognize the union, and demonstrate their willingness to maintain fair working conditions, wages and standards.

Yuengling Brewery
5th & Mahantongo Streets
Pottsville, PA 17901
(570) 622-4141

Additional information is available on the company web site at
http://www.yuengling.com/contact.htm.

3) FORWARD THIS MESSAGE to your fellow union members, family, friends, local taverns and liquor establishments, etc. and ask them to boycott Yuengling products and support Local 830 as well.

We thank you very much for your support!

home, sick

2006-04-25T14:57:00.000-05:00

My body has decided to remind me that just because cold season is over doesn't mean I can't still get a cold. Today spent home sick meant watching the noon news (a rarity), getting some chores done, mixtaping for buds, finally building the shelves that my mom gave me for my birthday (I was a little busy for seven months, chill) and milkshakes and smoothies.

Tomorrow maybe will be when I post all of our tour dates -- a couple still need to be shored up for certain. What we have so far is up on the EHP page.

neu friends

2006-04-22T21:29:00.000-05:00

Some new friends made: in addition to the Columbus kids who are and who came here with Tin Armour, the three folks behind the Gadabout Traveling Film Festival. Three awesome sweet people showing some pretty great shorts; they stopped at the Art Institute Saturday night, it was a weird crowd but the films and songs were sweet. Also, Eric has a more extensive knowledge of Pearl Jam lyrics than anyone else I know, even including Joel.

Today I finished my piece on the Consumer Health Coalition for Rustbelt Radio. It'll air tomorrow evening, 6-7, on WRCT. Listen to my stupid voice.

On a related note, I need to chill on doing stuff a little. I guess it's mostly the seasonal ebb and flow of shows that need someone to book them, but I've been mad busy lately, without time to really concentrate on reading and/or making stuff. My project right now is not taking on more than I can handle. Wish me luck.

tonight come see!

2006-04-21T13:12:00.000-05:00

Allies, Slingshot Dakota, .isha&zetta., Tin Armour. 7pm, Roboto. You should be there, these are sweet good bands.

Also, Joel turns 29 this coming week, my sister turns 28 the same day, and my nephew turns ONE! tomorrow. Good times. And pretty soon I can for real announce all our tour dates and stuff. Most of it is shored up -- around the northeast, May 4-13. Philly, DC, NYC, Boston, et al., I'm coming your way.

would you like to take a survey?

2006-04-19T10:29:00.000-05:00

No, not one of those stupid meme survey things where you tell everyone your middle name and how many times you've copulated. This is about blogging and zine culture and compatibility.

So I write this blog. You know that because you read it. What I don't do, and have been meaning to, is publish a personal zine. Most of what I would put in a zine, though, is the same stuff I write about here.

I'm interested nonetheless in making a zine with a lot of the same content because there's a different feel to reading this kind of stuff off of a page rather than off of a screen, and there's a different accessibility level and a different overall approach to both creating and reading a zine as opposed to a blog. When I read a zine, I sit down, intent on some good reading, whereas when I'm reading blogs, I'm usually multitasking at the computer and I refresh my RSS reader and have little context for what I'm reading.

So, my question to you, dear reader: Is it a good idea to compile a zine of mostly/all stuff I've written here? Would it be worthwhile? Would people who don't read this blog read it, do you think? Would people who DO read this blog want a copy?

These are my questions. Please give me opinions. I appreciate.

here's something more exciting!

2006-04-18T21:03:00.000-05:00

Remember how I told you a few days ago about the show I'm doing next month for Old Time Relijun?

Well.

Pete is booking a show for Boris, also at AIR, the following Monday (Memorial Day). That show will be $10 in advance, $12 at the door. This will henceforth be known as Pittsburgh Rocknroll Weekend, and/or Memorial Day AIR Craziness Party. There will be a package deal for tickets if you want to go to both and save a couple dollars.

How about that?

liberty and/or death

2006-04-18T16:30:00.000-05:00

I thank my lucky stars I don't work downtown and have to bicycle commute every day, both because the Liberty Avenue hill is stupendously humongous and because at rush hour, no one gives you an inch to spare riding up the two-lane portion of the road. You'd think that the part of the road where people have two whole lanes for their cars would be better, since you can be in one and then the car people can take the other, or even just go halfsies, for those ten seconds when they're passing you. In reality, the existence of two lanes, each one of which is narrower than the single lane up the hill a little further, causes people to try to cram by two at a time and doesn't allow much room for little old me or you on our bicycle. This is why the best choice is, annoyingly enough (if that's a word), taking more of the lane than we normally would and forcing the people in the right lane to go into the left, and making them honk at us. Much as they say (I wouldn't know, I'm from Pittsburgh) that bike lanes often end up causing problems for cyclists because they end up acting as the only safe zones for bikes, and make things like left turns more dangerous (if you're already in the lane, drivers are aware of you and more ready if you signal to get over to make a left) and generally reduce cyclists' visibility.

On a more pleasant note, I've seen several new "Share the Road" (or whatever) signs in and around Point Breeze just recently, and they make me feel nice at the very least.

what's new with me?

2006-04-17T09:37:00.000-05:00

- Allies, Slingshot Dakota, Flotilla Way, .isha&zetta. on Friday (this Friday, April 21) at Roboto. You should come. Allies' last show with the current lineup. Slingshot is fun and good. FW's third show? And .i&z.'s second. Beginnings, endings, re-beginnings, some middles, all in one show. It's like Easter a week late. Be there.

- I'm registered for classes for the summer. One perk that doesn't quite offset my discontent with my poverty salary at this job is the education benefit -- I'll barely be paying anything to take: Mass Communication Process, a low-level comm class (my secret is that I've taken barely any actual classes in communication, but I'm planning on maybe doing grad work in communication), and Intelligent Life in the Universe, a geology class. The comm class is Ms. Ghilani's section, hopefully enough people will register and it won't be cancelled. The geology class is with Charlie Jones, possibly my favorite professor from the undergrad days. He puts pictures of chickens in the middle of his slide shows!

- I have now seen both Lucas Sloppy's Flying Organ (super good, kind of bordering on funny but not in the dumb sort of way) and October, the band (maybe not quite as good as October, the month, in general but a great deal better than my last October).

- I'm working on a piece for Rustbelt Radio on the Consumer Health Coalition and Cover the Uninsured Week (cf. my Rex Morgan, M.D. obsession). It should air next monday night, the 24th.

- Despite my lack of funds, going to see The Dirty Projectors at Garfield Artworks tonight because it should be really good.

end of the week exciting announcement

2006-04-14T16:57:00.000-05:00

I'm gonna be off the internet for the Cadbury holiday weekend. Come see us play at Roboto tomorrow night. Satisfy your hungry mind with this exciting show announcement from me:

Old Time Relijun
Free jazz punk throat singing stuff on K Recs (http://www.krecs.com/oldtimerelijun/)

Midnite Snake
You know these dudes -- mind-melting riffage, minimal pounding drums
(http://www.birdmanrecords.com/midnitesnake.html)

Natura Nasa
Beatiful soundscaping stuff, ex-Arco Flute, What Secrets? etc.

possibly one more.

Saturday, May 27 at AIR (518 Foreland St., North Side)

$7

7:30pm

turkey tales

2006-04-12T07:52:00.000-05:00

The radio show yesterday was fun, as any time cooped up in a room with Potter and Abie would tend to be. The other guest was David from 2politicaljunkies, a much more established and more "traditional" (I guess) blogger than I. I would've preferred a little more talk about the nature of internet communication as opposed to other media I guess, rather than talking about practical political applications of blogging specifically, which I just don't know that much about. Regardless, I tried to not sound too too stupid, and hopefully succeeded.

Also, yesterday, riding into work, I witnessed a turkey trying to cross the intersection of Craig and Fifth. He started out on the side where Duranti's and whatnot are and crossed with traffic for a bit (Fifth Avenue traffic had the green light), but then the light changed and he was basically in the middle of the intersection and looked mighty perplexed. I rode past him and sort of winced as everyone in their cars kind of tooted their horns lightly and kindheartedly, because no one hates a turkey, and wished that he would get back on the sidewalk and wait for the walk signal.

I did not stick around to see how this story would end.

sometimes i talk.

2006-04-10T20:47:00.000-05:00

I guess tomorrow (Tuesday) evening, I'm going to be on Chris Potter and Abie's show on WRCT, between 6 and 7, talking about digital media, blogs and message boards and Indymedia and stuff. If you're near your computer, maybe stream that shit? I bet I'll sound stupid. That'll make it worthwhile.

something conspicuously close to a post about things i've consumed but not quite:

2006-04-09T09:40:00.000-05:00

Hi!

Here are things that are currently making me happy:

- The weather is beautiful here in the PGH. A little chill on, but the sun is out, and it's not too cold to ride your bike, so there are no complaints to be registered.

- I watched a couple good movies this weekend: The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb, a beautifully creepy stop-action Bolex Brothers joint that comes highly reccommended, and Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst, which, despite a little overkill now and then, was really interesting, and which I enjoyed.

- Emperor X and Franklin Delano -- the show, and the folks, and the records. I didn't properly debrief in this forum after the show, but basically all there is to say is that the people who turned out and stayed for the whole show (thank goodness it was more people than either band's last time here) were blown away by both. Chad is probably my favorite performer to see play right now, period. Probably. He writes beautiful songs and they're a part of him and he's a part of them and his voice and his energy are beautiful. His new 7" is fantastic and you should get it if you don't have it already.

- Chilling with good buds all weekend. Sometimes I do the thing where I just presume that everyone else is busy and I shouldn't try to hang out with anyone, but I managed to not really do that this weekend (so far) and while I haven't gotten my room cleaned yet this weekend, I also haven't spent too much time sitting around feeling shitty.

- CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood. For whatever reason, this show really appeals to me - the reporters, a lot of the things they cover, the animals they show for a couple minutes at the end of each show. It's pleaseing when I manage to catch it, as I have two weeks in a row.

Seeya!

lookee.

2006-04-07T23:48:00.000-05:00

I have a letter to the editor (second one down) in the Post-Gazette today (Saturday) about the godforsaken intersection of Baum and Millvale. I find it nearly impossible to keep letters to the editor to 250 words, so they ended up cutting my Bob O'Connor rant ("It, uh, just seems like you're going off on a tangent," explains Alice Rowley). But whatever. At least the thing ran. For a while there I was starting to think I had gotten on their bad side and that they wouldn't run anything from me ever again.

if you are reading this right now

2006-04-06T15:56:00.000-05:00

Meaning at 5:00 pm on April 6, tune in to WPTS to hear Emperor X live on Keith's show. Thanks.

tonight!

2006-04-06T08:49:00.000-05:00

I've said it several times now, but it's worth hammering home. If you're in Pittsburgh, there's only one place to be:

Franklin Delano
Emperor X
Aydin
.isha&zetta.

ModernFormations, doors at 7, music PROMPTLY at 7:30. $7 (I have two touring bands to pay here, and one is from Italy. You can handle it.)

right on.

2006-04-05T21:40:00.000-05:00

So, tiny lady wrote the other day about her growing admiration for Anti-Flag, in the grand scheme of things. In Pittsburgh, you have to have an opinion about Anti-Flag, and most people have the same one, but mine is maybe a little different, so here goes:

Yes, their music is pretty boring, stock, and completely filled with recycling and rehashing. Yes, "Die for the Government" was a Varukers song first. Yes, "Their system doesn't work for you" was predated by Aus-Rotten's "The system works for them." Etc. etc., we could go on ad nauseum. I don't find them to be appealing artistically in the least.

HOWEVER, those dudes are pretty damn stand-up. They've given money to lots of organizations doing really good things in Pittsburgh and outside of the area. They're not making off with all the profits and moving to upscale neighborhoods and forgetting about their ideals. And honestly, I'm pretty much certain that they have the absolute best of intentions. We all have different ways of attacking the same problems, and I often think that the tactics you use to approach the problems of the world are as important to you yourself as they are to the rest of the world. A lot of different approaches to "social justice" or whatever have a certain amount of effectiveness; finding the one that does the best job of affecting the world around you AND you yourself in a positive way is the real task, I think. So, respect to them, even though I can't sit through one of their songs anymore.

Which reminds me -- like Jessica said, this is the kind of political think that appeals to kids who are 14, 15 years old. It did when I was that age, and by the time I was 18 I was diving into activism pretty hard. While that's the exception to the rule with most fans of bands like Anti-Flag -- fans who, I can say from experience, having tabled at their shows, have a tendency to be comeplete dickhead high schoolers -- it's a really awesome exception to have, and I figure, if it worked to an extent for me, who am I to criticize?

(You can argue, based on other aspects of my life history, that I was ripe for becoming a lefty yawhoo activist type anyway, Anti-Flag or none, and that may or may not be the case, but I'll give credit where it's due, just like I do for Punk Planet and the like, and say that listening to stuff like Anti-Flag was definitely an important part of my development, ideologically. Take from that what you will.)

now then.

2006-04-04T22:00:00.000-05:00

I have things that I've been pondering and/or started to write, but I'm just too busy and disorganized and overwhelmed right now to make that a priority. More later. In the meantime, read the people who are linked to in the sidebar.

today was the day.

2006-04-02T19:44:00.000-05:00

Today was the day, or at least this weekend was the weekend. I think between Friday night and tonight I saw everyone I know in Pittsburgh at least once. Our show Friday night was wonderful -- Lovely Ladies were very good; I love seeing Dan and Joseph both doing good things, and even more so seeing them doing them together. Natura Nasa (minus Pete) were beautiful. I missed The Drift because Keith and I scattered to get to MoFo to see Lovers. Cubby did not disappoint, and while I was sad to have missed The Drift, I was glad to have seen nearly all of her set. She sang "Winter Takes a Lover" as an encore, which I noted once before in these pages as having made me cry whilst walking to work.

In other news, today, sitting outside 61C Cafe, I observed an old, old, decrepit man place a brand new-looking child's toy of some sort -- sort of a plastic chain with some funny characters hanging on it -- on top of a fire hydrant and shuffle away. Then, less than five minutes later, an old woman, straddling the border between Grandma and Bag Lady, stopped, looked it up and down, glanced around, picked it up and kept going. I presume it was something completely random, but part of me felt like maybe, just maybe, this was some Amelie type shit, and there was a romantic note of some sort on one of those character heads.

PS -- I think I'm gonna go see Slim Cessna's Auto Club at Quiet Storm tomorrow night. I've not seen them before, but I've heard good things. And I guess Slim lives here and works at the Mattress Factory now? Maybe?

shows n stuff

2006-03-30T16:04:00.000-05:00

To get back on top of the self-promotional thing:

We're playing tomorrow night at Roboto with The Drift. Come see. Maybe go see Lovers too if you want.

Then, next Thursday, April 6: Emperor X - Franklin Delano - Aydin - .isha&zetta. at Modernformations.

Here are some MP3s for you to listen to and get psyched for the show:

emperor x -
right to the rails
shut shut up
island long dirt dealership

franklin delano:
please remember me
sounds like rain

proposed reading list amendment

2006-03-30T15:38:00.000-05:00

Whereas, this is the kind of weather in which I can sit outside and read a book and feel okay about myself and not like a waster of time, and,

Whereas, I'm not getting too far with the OED book because there are too many stodgy old white dudes with attitudes, and,

Whereas, I've heard that as a person interested in the writing of nonfiction I must read this book, therefore be it

Resolved that henceforth I will commence trying to read Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, by James Agee and Walker Evans.

When I started it at lunch today I was sitting on a bench by the fountain and there was a man sitting on the next bench playing WDVE and occasionally bursting out yelling a chorus ("IIIIII DON'T WANNA WORK!!!!") or yelling at an unsuspecting passerby ("YOU'RE LATE!!!").

kickin' balls. err . . .

2006-03-28T11:31:00.000-05:00

I was alerted recently that some folks from the workplace might be getting together a kickball team to compete in the Pittsburgh league of the World Adult Kickball Association. You pay $65 per person and get the added bonus of a t-shirt.

A better idea is to lay down $8 (plus shipping I guess) and get "Huckleberry Eater," an album by a band/dude called Kickball. I've been jammin it hard lately, after being a jackass and missing the show here. What can I say? I don't remember what I did that night, but I was up to something, and I didn't really think I'd like them. They were touring with some permutation of Mt. Gigantic, who I generally find to be tolerable, and I thought they'd be some Plan-It-X style band that I'd not really care for. I was wrong. Q got the CD and it's really good and as my penance for missing the show, I'm telling you all to get your hands on it.

get out of myspace, get into my car

2006-03-27T20:34:00.000-05:00

A long post that hopefully comes off more as an analysis and commentary than as a rant.

As promised, a response to the discourse on MySpace, currently being thrown down by danah boyd and Abe and William from abstractdynamics, and surely many others. I know you’re on MySpace, and so is your dog and your cat and your favorite band. I’m not saying I don’t like people who are on MySpace, I’m not saying everyone on MySpace is a bunch of suckers, even. Just offering my criticism of the site, as I think a number of things about it that are worth thinking seriously about are often overlooked. Bear with me while I sound like my mom for a couple thousand words.

I think the foremost question regarding MySpace ought not to be whether it's a bottom-up, malleable internet community controlled by the youth who use it or a method by which “they” can perpetrate their power- and profit-driven schemes (because surely it's a mix of both); the question ought to be, how does MySpace and its architecture affect the way in which its users (and even to an extent its non-users) communicate, and is its effect positive or negative?

Much of boyd's essay explores critically the amount of control networking communities like MySpace and Friendster wield over the way their participants make use of the site – postulating that perhaps when a site tries to place strictures on the purposes for which it can be utilized, it flounders, whereas when a site adapts to fit the ways in which the users want to use it, it succeds.

She's probably right. I'm not so much concerned about the desires of the MySpace crowd and how to cater to them, though. My concern is more this: there are elements in the interface of MySpace (and other networking sites like LiveJournal, but perhaps they're most apparent in MySpace) that force users into a shallow discourse in which they reflect upon themselves as a conglomerate of consumer choices and empty descriptors and in which they market themselves as a commodity. To hold it up as a project of and by youth culture reduces youth culture, I think, to something completely superficial, based on social networking and devoid of serious thought and discourse. We already have parents, teachers, television and advertising of all sorts to make young people feel like they've got nothing real to say, that they're simply a bunch of preferences plastered onto a body.

To compare MySpace and LiveJournal to youth-based expressions of mass communication that I find to be more palatable: zine culture and blogging in the blogspot-typepad-etc. sense, which I (and others) would look at as a contemporary twist on zine culture in ways, while they can contain superficial personal-information wankery and reductive self-description, are much more conducive to permitting the user to express herself/himself in more complicated and self-directed ways, as their templates (literal and figurative) are more skeletal in nature. If the blog is related closely to the zine, we could perhaps say that the MySpace page is in the same way comparable to a business card. LiveJournal would fall somewhere in between on this scale in that, in its design, it privileges the complete written thoughts of the user (a user's main LiveJournal page is the blog section, which often includes a small photo) but also includes more traditional "networking" features -- communities based on shared interests, etc. -- and encourages users to augment their blog posts with superficial information that may or may not be pertinent to the post, such as what music they're currently listening to and what their "mood" is. ("Mood" can be made up by the user or chosen from a bunch of "presets" as it were. The presets come with funny faces.)

Look at someone's MySpace page. Preferably someone you don't know. Where do your eyes go first on the page? If you're like me, they go to the picture, then to the “General Info” section, then to the “Friend Space,” then to the “Comments.” Such is the design of the page – our eyes are drawn to things that stand out graphically, and thus on MySpace we follow a zig-zag down the page, skipping at first the user's contact information, “blurbs” and blog, then getting back to them on our second sweep.

These are the building blocks of our understanding of other people and of ourselves on MySpace, based on the interface we're given. Our appearance (first and foremost), the books we read, the records we listen to, the movies we watch, the people we think of as heroes. While they're things that surely inform the people we are, they're also dangerously one-dimensional. In life we often meet people who listen to music that isn't what we ourselves listen to, or read the same books as us, whom we still get along with wonderfully; using MySpace as a networking tool, we might easily discount such people as uninteresting to us based on those very aspects of them. Beyond that even, there aren't opportunities to posit opinions on things like politics and current events; entertainment is privileged as the definitive aspect of the MySpace user's life. (This seems to not take into account the fact that naming favorite books – or movies or music for that matter – can in some cases give a very clear view of one's politics, but I'm acutely aware of that; I think that it's more complicated than that, though, since we tend to pick and choose our tenets from others' works and few of us can seriously say that we agree 100% with our favorite writer or band or director.)

Where danah boyd says that MySpace allows personalization, which other similar sites don’t, I disagree to a great extent. It does allow for a certain amount of personalization, but only on the most shallow aesthetic level; changing the background of one’s main page to be polka-dotted doesn’t count as liberating as far as I’m concerned. I don’t think she fails to recognize this, but I think she doesn’t put the proper stress on it.

Moving on, we're directed to the user's “Top 8” friends, a fairly recent development in the design of the site that has/had some users in an uproar; as a MySpace user, you're essentially forced to rate who, among your online friends, are your favorites. This is another major aspect of your existence as interpreted by MySpace. Clearly in day to day life we're seen with our friends and judged to an extent on that basis, but I think few of us would, first of all, willingly rate our friends in that manner or, additionally, want people we're interacting with to base their opinions of us on who our friends are. Rating friends will of course end up causing some trouble in people's friendships, on or off the internet, and I question whether the decision to make the “Top 8” a standard feature was actually the result of user feedback or simply a misguided effort to allow for the very sort of user control/influence that boyd claims is the feature that distinguishes MySpace from other similar sites in a positive way.

Perhaps the most disturbing part of MySpace to me is the “comments” feature – a way of communicating with your MySpace “friends” that is public but at the same time ostensibly a communication between two people. There's a feature of MySpace that allows you to communicate privately with other members, analagous to emails or private messages on a message board. But then there are comments – messages you leave for your MySpace friends that show up on the front page of their profile as part of their online package – a way to say hi, to drop a line, and to get some attention from anyone who looks at your friend's MySpace page. It's kind of like approaching a friend while she/he is talking to a bunch of friends whom you don't know and just saying hello, so that those friends will notice you – then leaving them all a business card so they can “check you out.” It's not a simple facet of youth culture as far as I'm concerned – it's like a job fair, or a speed dating session, or something similarly uncomfortable and intrinsically self-promotional.

Another important aspect of MySpace, and one that hits close to home for me, is its use as a promotional tool for bands. In the interest of full disclosure, my band does have a MySpace page. We didn't for a long time, mostly because I was uncomfortable with it, but I'm okay with it because, from what I understand, it helps as a communication tool when you’re working on booking a tour for yourself. To be honest, the fact that everyone uses it and that’s what makes it such a useful tool turns me off to it even more, but that’s just my difficult personality showing through. Since I’m not the one doing most of the booking, I leave it to the bandmate who is doing that to make the decision on MySpace.

Despite the fact that it eases communication both between fans and bands and between promoters and bands, I don’t necessarily buy MySpace as a positive development for DIY music communities. I look at it as comparable to the rise of the CD-R and low-priced computer-based recording equipment and software: these are things that make it easier for bands to promote themselves, which is nice but as a result they’ve also clouded the field so far as bands are concerned. When every band with a month of practicing and no shows under their belt has a MySpace page (since it’s free) and a CD-R of poorly-recorded music (since Dad bought them a couple mics and they have Garage Band on their Ibook), people (labels, local music writers, promoters, potential fans) have that much more to wade through in order to get to the bands that actually care, have put considerable work into what they’re doing, and will be around in another month. (Note that I don’t mean to be an elitist asshole and discount those bands’ efforts – just to say that, while month-long high school bands are excellent formative experiences, so many won’t last enough to be worth a second look for most people.)

As far as an exploration that isn't a full-fledged essay goes, I think I've covered the bases I hoped to. I think, as noted, boyd is correct technically in her assessment of why MySpace does better for itself than Friendster did and why MySpace will likely soldier on where other sites have failed. But I also think that she skims over the more important questions (which she brings up quickly then discounts as not mattering, because what matters in the context of her argument is what “kids” care about, and having a more complete palette of ways in which to express their existence isn't something “kids” care about.) I think the abstractdynamics guys bring a good point to the table in exploring what's done with all the data that's gathered on MySpace. But I also think they neglect to explore (in that post at least) what we as MySpace users do with that data ourselves, which is the biggest threat in my eyes.

I'm sure I've left things out of this, so ask questions/make points in the comments section if there's something important that you think I neglect or have wrong, of course. Also, I fully admit to being overly naive and idealistic and theoretical in ways.

required reading

2006-03-26T20:02:00.000-05:00

I'm working on/reworking something I wrote -- gosh, almost a year ago, about MySpace, and the qualms that I have with it. What I put together previously wasn't as well thought-out as I'd like for it to be, but now I have some prompts: witness posts by the abstractdynamics dudes and by hardcore blogger Danah Boyd about the phenomenon. I'll be responding shortly -- in brief, I think both arguments give the site more credit than is due, and ignore some inherent flaws and/or problems in the design and interface that make MySpace (and some other online networking communities) problematic. I'll try to point out those flaws.

After you've read those, and only after you've read them, your reward is this: "He Kicked Him . . ."

someone's having a bad day!

2006-03-24T22:00:00.000-05:00

I could barely move myself to get out of bed this morning, fighting a sick bug of some sort and dead from not enough sleep. I managed to get out and get to work only a little late, and was glad for my boss's sake that I hadn't called off sick because one of my co-workers did, and another was on a vacation day, and she was all by her lonesome until I showed up, and the phone wouldn't stop all morning. I slogged through the day, heavy on my feet, and as I walked home, fantasized about how I'd collapse on the floor upon re-entry to my house.

Then, as I headed down Bayard toward Craig and passed the gas station at the corner, I looked into the parking lot and saw, heading for his Cadillac, none other than Pittsburgh Celebrity Defense Attorney Jim Ecker, mentioned in these very pages before as an amusing bizarro celebrity sighting.

Jim Ecker (you may know him from such hits as, "Jeff Habay, Crazy Legislator;" "Ronald Taylor, Racially Motivated McDonald's Massacre Shooter;" and "Robert B. Winston, Jr., Funeral Director Who Kept Stillborn Infants In Boxes") is currently defending the horrible creepy psycho who kept a girl locked up in his room for ten years. Needless to say, he's had a lot of explaining to do to the press in the last two days.

I felt a great deal lighter and more energetic with this visual confirmation that there was someone around who surely had a much tougher day at work than I.

book report

2006-03-23T12:11:00.000-05:00

So, I actually finished a book for once, that being the one I alerted you earlier, The Bride and the Bachelors. I guess the last chapter, the one on Merce Cunningham, was added for the later edition that I had, and wasn't in the original run, and it sort of shows, like in the time between writing the first edition and writing the Cunningham piece, Tomkins lost his ability to write with any sense of tension whatsoever. The entire book was "eh-ok," methinks, and I wasn't blown away by the writing style the way I expected to be, but by the end it was really feeling like something a high schooler had written: lots of "this happened, and then that happened, and then . . . that was it!" No killer scenes that told me anything about Cunningham (the one person profiled whom I knew the least about), no rewarding endings.

Next on the docket: Lost for Words: The Hidden History of the Oxford English Dictionary. It was written by Lynda Mugglestone, who has a wonderful name.

woah, awesome thing:

2006-03-23T10:09:00.000-05:00

Re: abortion in South Dakota, by way of herjazz:

Establishing Planned Parenthood on a reservation

time is tight.

2006-03-23T09:24:00.000-05:00

I had planned, and even begun work on, a post about trees near work and their removal and the ensuing internet quarreling, but I've had zero time for writing lately, being busy at work and at home, so I'll finish it up later if it doesn't become ridiculously dated by the time I get to it.

Aloha tonight at Garfield Artworks, HTML is playing as an added bonus (freak out the hip indie kids!). Gribenas is in town for a few days starting tonight, so drop by and give him noogies. Pittsburgh expats will be representin' hard over the next few days. Also, check out this preview Manny wrote: Maryanne Amacher lecturing at CMU next week. Sounds eminently interesting. I hope to make it.

equinoxin' at the door

2006-03-20T11:31:00.000-05:00

Ways to make it actually feel like spring:

- Listen to Dino Jr.
- Drink Lipton Original Green Tea with Honey.
- Observe the sun being out (okay it's gone now, but it was out earlier, I promise).
- Play a show tomorrow night at Roboto with A Day in Black and White. I'm cheating now, I totally could've done this in the winter. But they're really good. And they remind me of Navies (the Petillo connection being in effect), and Navies are a spring/summer thing for me, so it works. Regardless, tomorrow (Tuesday) at 7 at Roboto. Be there. Massif is also playing. That's Deadly Nate's new band that I haven't seen yet.

did i tell you?

2006-03-16T22:28:00.000-05:00

We're playing a show May 31 at Roboto with The Drift, who are on Temporary Residence and are related to Tarentel and are very good. But also, if you're more into the acoustic side of things, the most amazing songwriter is playing that night at ModernFormations. Her name is Cubby, she's in a band called Lovers. She's touring with one other person. I might be that uncouth dunderhead who leaves the show early to go see the other show, just because she writes the most beautiful songs imaginable and I've been unable to catch her the last THREE TIMES she's played here. I forget what the issue was the first time, then the second time I didn't find out about the show till the day after it happened and the most recent time we were playing a set on WPTS. I think it's reasonable. Although I'd prefer to pull off catching The Drift as well if possible.

Also, that show will be the closing night of Beth Steidle's show at ModernFormations, which is absolutely precious and wonderful and probably my favorite show there. Even if you don't go that night, check it out while it's up. It's something to take your time and inspect.

shootin' blanks, 1877

2006-03-15T21:42:00.000-05:00

Someone yesterday brought up on the message board the long-defunct Project 1877, the physical embodiment of Revolution Summer 2003 in Pittsburgh. I've come to regard that space and that summer as the time when a lot of my idealism withered and gave way to somewhat bitter realism. I actually became overly cranky about all things related to activism and organizing around the time it all ended, and only recently have I begun to recover and feel a little more positive about things (though there'll never be another winter of 2002/03 for me).

The ultimate undoing of 1877 was of course a huge plan (community center, show space, resource center, host to organizations, messy-ass free store) without the resources to sustain it. There was a lot of theoretical planning but not enough human power and momentum to keep the place afloat. On a more abstract plane, it felt like all the energy we gathered during the year or so leading up to it losing its direction and careening all about the scene like a drunk driver. There was plenty of downright bad stuff happening that summer, like the resistance gods were smiting our spirit for having gotten so far so fast the previous fall and winter. The winter was our 1968, but 1877 was our Altamont.

It bugs me the way so many people remember 1877 as "a pretty great venue." It's a misconception that keeps coming back and kicking my ass. There were LOTS of good things about 1877, yes. But it was meant to be, and was, a lot more than a venue, and its development into something that was primarily being used as a venue and not nurtured as a community space was a very big part of what eventually was its undoing. I wished at the time people would've taken more stake in it than just going to shows there (though admittedly the structure really wasn't well established for doing so), and in retrospect I wish people would understand what happened.

Another part of its undoing, in my opinion, was its very opennness -- obviously an important facet of its existence, but also the reason the energy being put into it wasn't able to be harnessed. Keeping the doors open all day so that kids from the neighborhood can come in is fine; letting said kids run roughshod over the place and make other people feel uncomfortable or annoyed to be there is not. Hosting events of all sorts wherein the people in charge care about the space and are interested in the community (geographical and ideological) is good; letting shady rave promoters come in and take over for a night, exploit the place and the people there, potentially attract police attention, make some money and leave is not.

(As an aside, one of my most surreal memories of the place, and possibly ever, is of watching the Anti-Flag IMC benefit show there while the rave promoter and his shady crew of kids came in to set up for the late night's activities. The space wasn't double booked per se, but kind of one-and-a-half booked. The result was Anti-Flag playing whatever their songs are, plus weird big pink stuffed things and shit hanging from the walls, and ravers trying to teach punk girls how to do the invisible globe thing.)

In retrospect, there are simple things to take away from the experience: dream big but start small, don't rely too heavily on already-taxed individuals for a great deal of volunteer work, have someone clean out the food piles regularly when you're constantly getting food that's coming from dumpsters anyway or else things will start to smell pretty rank. There are plenty of other ways to chalk it up in the end -- bad timing, bad vibes -- but more than anything it was a big learning experience for a lot of people. A lot of the same issues that came up there have come up in other collective organizations I've been a part of or have been close to. I've been planning for a while to put together a zine of people's collective organizing experiences in Pittsburgh -- Toni B and I came perilously close to actually doing it last fall but then things got crazy. Perhaps I'll get back to work on that.

reading right now

2006-03-13T20:55:00.000-05:00

I'm currently starting:

The Bride and the Bachelors, published in 1976, profiling Marcel Duchamp, Jean Tinguely, Robert Rauschenberg, John Cage and Merce Cunningham. Obviously interesting subject matter, and reputedly very well-written from a reader's standpoint. I'm about to find out.

Rauschenberg is a favorite of mine, and I didn't know too much about him when they last had some of his stuff up at the Warhol (a couple years ago) but I enjoyed it immensely then and want another chance now. It's a little bit like when I was four and my family went to see Bo Diddley at the Rib Fest and I was a whiner because I was cold and tired and I didn't end up enjoying Bo that much (despite liking his name a lot). Now I'd be all over seeing Bo live, especially for free. Please, world. Give Andy a second chance or two.

droney tony and rhys's pieces

2006-03-12T00:28:00.000-05:00

I found myself looking forward to last night's Table of the Elements show at the Warhol with a giddy nervousness the likes of which I had only felt once in the past couple years (that being the Mountain Goats show).

Tony Conrad opened the show, and put me in a special place. He really ought to have been last -- while he was the least loud of the three acts, his intensity level was through the roof. How can you have been doing this stuff for 40 years and still have that in you? How has it not gotten old? That only makes it that much better. It's hard to describe in writing what some of those moments in the middle of that repetitive violin screaming did to me. I found myself thinking a lot about dreams, and feeling inspired to do much more important and interesting things than I have been.

Jonathan Kane is an astounding drummer, while his current band ("Jonathan Kane's February") doesn't really seem to feature it that much. They had some good moments for sure, but on the whole I mostly just felt like their set could've been a bit shorter.

Seeing Rhys Chatham in person, a couple feet from me, was fairly religious in nature even before he picked up a cheap Ibanez and closed out the set with "Guitar Trio," arranged for SEVEN GUITARS. Here was me, second row, with a bunch of awesome people I know, watching Rhys Chatham and 8 other guys total performing "Guitar Trio," in Pittsburgh. When will this happen again? Possibly never. Totally worth my money. I was sorry to have missed the other shows (I just presumed I wouldn't be able to get into the Brillobox at midnight, though I hear in retrospect that it wasn't sold out), but I definitely don't regret having made the decision I did.

an interesting pointer

2006-03-09T23:01:00.000-05:00

There's a special election next week for the city council seat for District 3, which Gene "More Bike Traffic In the City Is Dangerous To Cyclists" Ricciardi vacated in order to become a judge (*gulp*). THe district covers the South Side and those hilltop neighborhoods to the south as well as much of the student ghettos of Oakland. There are a couple interesting/amusing things about this race:

1. The P-G endorsed candidate, who opposes the Mon-Fayette coming into the city and seems pretty okay as local politicians are concerned, is named Bruce Kraus. There is another candidate named Bruce Krane. Is this going to confuse voters? You can count on it.

2. The guitarist late of Jumbo, more recently of the on-hiatus grind band Commit Suicide, is running as a Republican. He's a pretty libertarian dude, I disagree with him on a lot of issues and I think a lot of his views aren't well thought-out or are based on faulty logic, but the point is -- there's a Republican running for office who's in a grind band called Commit Suicide. Woah.

this is happenin!

2006-03-08T15:42:00.000-05:00

What am I amped on this week?

1. Spring break. Okay, for me all that really means is Friday off. But it's better than Friday at work. I'll appreciate what little they give me. (I hope it's nice enough outside for tennis, but I'm starting to think maybe that won't be the case.)

2. Tony Conrad and Rhys Chatham and Jonathan Kane at the Warhol Friday night. Woah.

3. Assuming I make it and don't fall asleep or fail to make it on time, Oxford Collapse, Part Chimp and Centipede E'est at the Brillobox Friday night.

4. Secret things upcoming.

What am I not amped on?

1. Missing the Phil Boyd solo release featuring Mikey C Friday night at Modernformations.

2. Spending so much on shows coming up Friday that I probably won't go see Mi & Lau tonight at Garfield Artworks.

okay chorale

2006-03-06T22:43:00.000-05:00

I wrote this email to a friend this morning and it sums up most of the thoughts I've really had time to think today, so I thought I'd share it with y'all. Otherwise, today has been all work (no student workers as it's spring break, but lots of requesting done by faculty) and business (getting practice space stuff ironed out) and rice pudding.

Dear XXXXXX,

Do you know the Elton John song "All the Nasties"? It's the
next-to-last song on "Madman Across the Water." The one that sounds a
little like a church song or something -- like it was the first step
on the road toward "The Lion King." There's the first part, the main
body of the song, then it gets real quiet and this choral part with a
full choir builds, and they're all going "Do-do-do-do-do doooo doo do
. . ." and he comes in and keeps saying "Ohhhh my sooouuuul . . .
Ohhhh my sooouuul . . ."

And then, the drums kick in . . . the bass drum drops like fucking
cannonfire, HUGE . . . there's so much reverb on that track it should
probably be illegal.

That's how drums should sound. Next time we record, that's how my
drums are going to sound.

If you have that record, or if you get that record, or if you're in
someone's house and they have it, and you listen to that song, listen
close and think about that.

That's my thought for the morning.

How was your weekend?

xo
andy

rock and snacktivism

2006-03-05T17:46:00.000-05:00

Two-show weekends are exhausting, and while we've theoretically sworn them off, we did it this weekend and it was smoov, with the exception of the fact that I left my cymbals at Gooski's last night and Doug has them so I need to do something about that. Elsewise, two wonderful shows with awesome friends -- Flotilla Way were cute and great (Jai is an excellent drummer!) Friday night. Last night at Gooski's we had by far our best bar performance ever -- when the quiet parts came, you could hear a pin drop over the guitar parts. No one was talking, no one was laughing, no one was yelling. Everyone was listening. Amazing.

A few quick shout-outs to things that I'm thinking about lately: Jude mentioned the Steve Kurtz case the other day because she's done organizing surrounding that situation, and I hadn't heard much about it lately. Motions for dismissal were denied in January and the case is headed for a full trial. Read up on it at that link if you're not familiar -- Steve is a professor and a member of the Critical Art Ensemble who was swept up in a truly Kafkaesque nightmare in the name of homeland security. I'll keep tabs and update you in the future hopefully.

Ben Folds is playing Bigelow Bash at Pitt this year, which is sweet. I will never go back on my contention that this dude rules, even if I think he crossed the line from bittersweet and awesome to plain depressing when he started playing solo. I will be there.

I've been offered a show in May that will be stoketacular if it pans out -- I'll announce it as soon as I'm sure of the situation. Get ready for something really good though.

Last but not least, after receiving a coupon for them through campus mail from the generous Law Library staff, I purchased new Cheez-it Crisps (so new they don't even have a web page!) the other night. The verdict: not as good as the original, because original Cheez-its can do no wrong in my eyes. But, if looked at as something that's not trying to be a Cheez-it, not bad. The cheezy powder stuff on them is a little bit addictive, and gets all up on your hands like Dorito powder. The texture is the real sweet point of these -- reminiscent of those flaky, delectable Munch 'Ems. On the snack scale of 1-10, I'll give them a 7.

quick-like!

2006-03-03T13:29:00.000-05:00

Two shows this weekend that I am playing: tonight (Friday) at Roboto, a benefit for the Big Idea, with Fuckedupmess and Flotilla Way, and tomorrow night at Gooski's, with Young Men's Dept. and Warzone Womyn. Come watch us get crunk yet remain solemn and brooding.

Remora ruled the other night, and if he's coming to your town, with or without The Czars, you should check him. His music is like a weird mix of Joy Division, maybe the Microphones, maybe a little Beat Happening, and some heavy sedation. He covered the Journey song "Faithfully" for us, which was wondrous.

It's cold out but sunny. Bundle up but keep your eyes on the skies. Good things are on the horizon.

show announcement, 2 of 2

2006-03-01T10:43:00.000-05:00

April 21 at Roboto, 7pm, $5

Slingshot Dakota
Sweet pop like Rainer Maria but less pretentious
Allies
Loved local rock
Flotilla Way
Local lady-flavored pop
.isha&zetta.
Outerspace guitar + hockey drums

Do it!

show announcement (1 of 2)

2006-03-01T09:54:00.000-05:00

I'm doing this show next month:

April 6 at Modernformations - 7pm, $7

The return of
Emperor X
(Brilliant quirky lo-fi pop with electronic synthy parts)
with
Franklin Delano
Beautiful weird pop and rock from Italy
Aydin
Squeezy local shoegaze
.isha&zetta.
Debut show - featuring Emma (my roommate!) and Charissa (a darling awesome friend!)

big news!

2006-02-28T23:54:00.000-05:00

Instead of falling asleep like I should be doing, I'm currently playing around with Scribus. As you may have read in these very pages months ago, Scribus is an open-source desktop design program along the lines of Quark or Pagemaker. It's just now finally available in a beta for Windows! It's still a little buggy, as is to be expected, but I'm more stoked that I probably should be at the fact that I can sit here and make a flyer in my bed. And it's not an MS Word flyer. And it's for one of the couple of shows I have coming up that I'll be telling you about . . . tomorrow.

The suspense builds.

i got a new computer!

2006-02-28T21:57:00.000-05:00

It's a Toshiba Satellite. It's not EXTRA SPECIAL or anything, but it's brand new, and therefore does not shock me when I touch it in the wrong place and I'm not in constant fear of it breaking in half (I've been unable to close my old laptop for weeks because it would just snap if I did so).

On the agenda: downloading music, posting more pictures on here, burning more CD's because I don't have to borrow the roommates' computer to do so.

High five!

it's just a flower, people.

2006-02-27T22:57:00.000-05:00

It's the time of year when the amaryllis starts looking like something you're a little bit embarrassed to be viewing in polite company. For your viewing pleasure:

lists/almost-springtime resolutions

2006-02-27T12:04:00.000-05:00

I suspect it's the noncommital weather, really, that's getting to me. There are plenty of other little things (not the least of which being my very nature) that could be doing it, but I think the weather is the deciding factor. The temperature goes up a bit, it gets sunny, maybe rains a little, then it plummets again, snows a tiny bit (not enough to be exciting) and starts over, like if you put late January through mid-March through a looping pedal then sped up the loop a bunch, so that rather than transitioning once over all that time, it just kept going back and forth, over and over, with no hoping of breaking past the "spring" mark but equally dour prospects of getting a good fun winter storm.

I have plans to be healthier again, to quit with the lethargy and pessimism:

Exercise, of course. Vitamins, supplements. Force the sun to come out once in a while. Vegetables and fruit juices. Become an Olympic athlete. Write things and publish them. Come up with new ideas and follow through with them, but don't come up with too many ideas or I won't be able to. Listen to the Muppet Movie soundtrack more often. Relax. Know my limits. Quit eating sugar for the most part (I did it once, I can do it again). Find a better paying job. Drink more water.

I've always felt like this, rather than the first of the year, is the real time to set goals and stick with them.

Other suggestions welcome, although I've got my hand full already with these big plans.

walking it off, walking it on.

2006-02-23T12:06:00.000-05:00

The last couple mornings have been perfect Pittsburgh mornings -- chilly but not frigid, sunrise coming just a little bit before I leave for work, a slight mist over Bloomfield as I walk up Friendship Ave. I've walked to work the last two mornings, yesterday because I was so bugged out about the previous night's poor sleep that I needed a walk to clear my head and today because I just wanted to listen to some damn music, and I don't really listen to my headphones much at work because I'm always afraid of people sneaking up behind me, since my computer faces the wall.

Walking to and from work, while potentially slightly fatiguing (it's about a half-hour walk at my brisk pace), is also a good time to reacquaint yourself with your town if you've strayed some. You're going slowly enough to frame shots of the streets and houses even in your own neighborhood that you don't generally notice enough to think of as beautiful. It's a good time to look out across the busway valley from pretty high up and think about how from here, if you were in one of those flying dreams, you could glide across from hilltop to hilltop and take an inventory of all the things you can spot in the chasms between.

Yesterday, I saw Liberty Ave in front of the hospital like it was in 1996, when my sister was a junior volunteer at West Penn and my mom and I would drop her off and take a walk around and maybe sit in Friendship Park. I said then that someday I wanted to live in that neighborhood, and it's ten years later, and I do. There was something refreshing about thinking about it as it was then, though -- devoid of people I know, a new, exciting place that was almost like hiding. Say what you will about home, it's usually not hiding, unless you're the Unabomber.

The restless part of the year, wherein I usually shave my beard, and often think about going somewhere else, is looming.

Tonight, French Toast and Allies at Garfield Artworks, then running home to see Sasha Cohen win the gold (right?)

i am re-enabling comments.

2006-02-22T11:51:00.000-05:00

At the behest of Matt, you can now comment once again, but you'll have to type the squiggly word thing. Keep it civil and intelligent, tools. Don't make me ban you again.

you and i in a little toy shop

2006-02-21T09:09:00.000-05:00

Currently reading McPhee's The Curve of Binding Energy, a dated mid-'70s look at the first 30 or so years of nuclear energy and nuclear weaponry, during my lunch breaks. While if I were really THAT intent on learning about atomics, perhaps something more recent would be a better place to start, I choose this book because it's John McPhee, and as I've probably noted before in these pages, I'm in awe of this guy's writing. It pains me a little that he was a visiting professor in my department at Pitt (the department I was in as an undergrad, not the interlibrary loan department) only a couple years before I came here.

Regardless, what's thrilled me thus far in the book is mostly one particular passage, a quick mention of an incident during the Manhattan Project of which I had never heard any mention.

During World War II, the Japanese sent fire balloons over the Pacific and into the U.S. (and occasionally they hit Canada instead). The balloons would float over, drop to the ground and ostensibly explode on contact (though many apparently didn't explode, or exploded later). This happened quite a number of times, but the press her kept mum on it because the government didn't want the Japanese know that the balloons were working (fair enough -- it sounds like a plot out of the A-Team or something, I wouldn't think it was actually working if I was the one trying it).

One of the balloons, though, came down on the power lines at the Hanford Site of the Manhattan Project, where they were fissioning Uranium and creating Plutonium-239, and shorted out the power. It only lasted for a short time, since there were of course backup power systems in place, but for a moment, a balloon from Japan shut down a main, important component of the U.S. nuclear program.

Sort of makes you think that maybe the generals were right, and Nena was wrong, eh?

chicory dickory dock

2006-02-20T20:59:00.000-05:00

A quick product review/plug, with special attention to Keith:

Celestial Seasonings Roastaroma Herb Tea. I know, Celestial Seasonings is stupid faux-hippie balderdash, but they tend to make good tea blends, I think. This one is made of chicory root and barley and is blended to resemble coffee, which it honestly kind of does. It's a little bit sweet (though I added a little honey and Silk Creamer.) But the point is, it's rich and hearty and naturally 100 percent caffeine-free. A good thing if you have sleep problems and/or blood sugar issues, like I have both of. Hopefully this will help me down the road toward good diet again. Maybe.

statcounter junk

2006-02-20T15:32:00.000-05:00

First off, Statcounter doesn't log all the visits I'm getting. I know this for a fact. How does that work? Does anyone else have this issue? Am I a control freak for caring? If I were in charge, would I have authorized domestic spying too?

Does anyone use another free counter that works better than this one?

Second, I'm proud to announce that I am currently number one in the Yahoo results list when you search Garfield's Chocobites. Thanks for your support.

incoming/upcoming

2006-02-19T17:39:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't spoken up recently. Not that much to say, I guess? Or things to say that don't translate right on here, maybe. Regardless, I'll come up with something soon. Meanwhile, some shows I am playing, for your entertainment:

March 1 - at Garfield Artworks with Czars, Remora, Natura Nasa (Mike Tamburo and Pete Spynda and Ian Bonnet and someone else I think?) -- 8pm, probably $6 or $7 or whatever.

March 3 - at Roboto, a benefit for The Big Idea, with Fuckedupmess and Flotilla Way (first show for these foxy ladies!) -- 7pm, $5.

March 4 - at Gooski's, with Young Men's Dept, Warzone Womyn (finally!) -- Gooski's time, Gooski's price. You know. Late and cheap.

Yes, three in a week. We swore we'd never do it again. Sometimes everything comes at you at once, though.

a few random, disconnected things you might like to know:

2006-02-15T20:46:00.000-05:00

1. Today at work I witnessed a man working on one of the elevators, on a step ladder, replacing the light bulbs inside the car. He was doing this without having the car stopped. So, the elevator continued to go up and down, and I witnessed him stopping on several floors -- the doors open, there's the ladder, with the dude on it. It was like the X-GAMES version of changing a light bulb. And when a guy on the ground floor hit the button to go up, and that car opened up, X-TREME light bulb changer told him he could get on, and asked what floor he was going to.

2. In 1863, John Wilkes Booth moved to Venango County and founded the Dramatic Oil Company. The company failed within a year, and then he went and assasinated the president a few years later. Interesting.

3. I have a few exciting show announcements that I'm sitting on, waiting for confirmation and/or details. But get ready, I'm stoked.

4. I'm watching moguls skiing right now. After the 1994 games in Lillehammer, I was convinced that I was fated to be a moguls skier, and I jumped in that bouncy back-and-forth manner on my trampoline for that entire spring.

recent flagrant abuses of the word "literally"

2006-02-15T09:35:00.000-05:00

From the P-G article about the recycling truck that hit a bunch of cars yesterday:

The half-full truck -- which weighs 32,000 pounds empty -- struck the station wagon and forced it into five other vehicles parked along the 300 block of East Carson Street.

"That [vehicle] became literally a snowplow pushing the others around," Public Works Director Guy Costa said.

Now, I don't so much mind that the guy misused the word "literally" -- that's really not a grave offense, just one that brings an amusing image to one's mind, and besides, completely unrelated to his job. The real concern, to me, comes when I think about the fact that when he sees a recycling truck smashing into cars, our public works director's first thought is, "Oh! Just like a snow plow does!"

i believe in outer space

2006-02-14T11:26:00.000-05:00

Sunday night I grew quite weary at about 10:30, and around 11:00 gave up on the Olympics and headed for bed. I flipped on the TV in my room right before bed to see if the Flying Tomato had held out for the Gold, and as I was switching around the dial, I came across, for the first time in years, Jack Horkheimer, Star Gazer. (Apparently the show used to be called "Star Hustler," but had to be changed when they went online and search engines would turn up lots of porn results for that phrase?)

Jack was always something of an enigma to us growing up because, beyond the mere fact that he was a dude with funny sweaters who walked around in outer space and talked about astronomy, he didn't seem to have a regular air schedule. Every once in a while, you would turn on the TV and there he was. Often you missed the first 2 minutes of the 5-minute broadcast and had to figure out for yourself what end of the sky Alpha Centauri was inhabiting.

Actually, he may have been -- and may still be -- on a completely regular schedule on WQED, and I just never figured it out, mostly because he's not advertised and not listed in the TV listings.

Regardless, you can stream his bizarre little starwatching lessons or get the PODCASTED (whatever that's about) through that site, but unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any further merch to purchase (no t-shirts, or chain wallets, or back patches or anything).

And as always, keep looking up!

Toward an Increased Library Nerdery

2006-02-13T09:37:00.000-05:00

Last night, watching the Olympics, my ears perked up and I became temporarily perplexed when one of the commentators made reference to how one of the skiers had the same bib number for this race as the last Olympics when he won gold. It only makes sense in my mind that once a bib number is established, it shouldn't change.

on being asked for an autograph.

2006-02-12T17:58:00.000-05:00

This is a question for you. An assignment. If you read this and have anything to say on the subject -- anything at all -- do email me.

Have you ever been asked for an autograph? If so, how did you handle it? If not, how do you think you would, or what would be the best way?

I ask because I of course am pretty dead set against autograph culture and wouldn't really ever ask for an autograph at this point, and am generally completely uncomfortable with the notion of someone asking for mine, but it definitely happened this weekend (well, not just mine, the whole band's) and I didn't really have an approach worked out (because this is, believe it or not, not something I really expect to happen very often, and not something I had anticipated). It's all well and good to say that you wouldn't participate, but when someone is genuinely interested in you and respects you, and that's how they manifest it, it's hard to say no. One thing I've since thought of is asking that person to autograph something for me -- although that could just end up making them feel extra weird. And of course, some people will sign and then cross it out or whatever. I'm curious as to whether there's a best way of dealing with this without making an autograph-seeker feel stupid.

Please provide feedback.

Also, big ups to Carlisle and the Arts House at Dickinson. If you have a band, you should play there. Those kids rule. And big ups to the driver of the 18-wheeler I drafted behind through a good stretch of the ride home in the snow last night on the turnpike, and also to Rage Against the Machine for providing the necessary jamz for said ride, and for being true renegades of funk.

newspaper comics lessons

2006-02-08T22:50:00.000-05:00

Have you been READING Rex Morgan lately?

For those of you who haven't: we've been following Jack, an Iraq war vet with some issues, not the least of which being his gambling addiction. There was some major tension build as we watched him play his hand of poker and at the same time saw his wife and his doctor (Rex Morgan, M.D.) scrambling to find him before it's too late (he's gambled away nearly all of the family's money)!

(There was also, I'd add quickly, a racially-charged subtext involving a Rastafarian cab driver, but that's outside of thee current point.)

So this week, it all came together as the good doctor and wife, with the help of a good barmaid, rolled up on the game, only to find Jack in shock, just having won SIX GRAND!

Of course he's going to quit NOW, because he made off with some mad loot! That's the point of this particular storyline, I think. Gambling is bad, except that if you do it anyway, it might bring you lots of money.

In other comic news, I note that this past Sunday, the narrator of The Amazing Spider-Man referred to the suicidal man who turned into West Coast Spidey as a "loser." Because people who consider suicide are losers.

It's a long way down from high-minded "Curtis" Kwanzaa fables to this stuff.

gifts given and recieved, edition 2/7/06

2006-02-07T22:00:00.000-05:00

Today: received wonderful mixtape from Only Person Thus Far to Take Me Up On My New Year's Mixtape Trade Demand. Highlights include "American Girl," by Tom Petty, which has the distinction of having been on the first tape I ever gave my now-BFF/roommate, Ted Leo covering Lungfish's "To Whom You Were Born" (woah.) and Stevie Wonder. Also features Lifter Puller but no Hold Steady, which I was anticipating, but that's okay because I finally got a burned copy of "Separation Sunday" the other day and I'm not really as into it as I expected to be, given all the hype. I'll give it another spin though.

Gave a package of Garfield's Chocobites (see below), received in return two packets of Cranberry Emergen-C. Healthwise, at least, I made off in that deal.

Also, Carlisle, PA, we're coming your way this weekend. Not that anyone in Carlisle is reading this. Not that much of anyone is reading this lately (except that person from Japan who got here searching for the words "Modey Lemon Steelers" the other day). But yeah. Arts Haus Basement, Saturday evening, with A Day in Black and White (Mike from Navies' band, they're on Level Plane) and Harrison Bergeron and Running from Dharma (make a stupid Must-See TV and/or Karma-running-over-Dogma joke here) (or, for super Pittsburgh points, make a Dharma Sons reference) (or, if you're TOTALLY BEAT, say something about Dharma Bums) (you get the picture). It will be wonderful. Do show up.

in which i review m&m imitation products

2006-02-07T09:09:00.000-05:00

I have this major sugar problem -- never diagnosed, but between me, my mom and my nurse sister, we've decided it's reactive hypoglycemia or something along those lines. For this reason, I shouldn't eat sweet things, like candy.

But I do, oh, I do.

I've been nursing this ugly vending machine habit at work lately, and ever since they replaced the granola bars with Snickers, I've been forced to eat something TOTALLY bad for me, instead of something that I can pretend is good because it has oats in it.

So the past two days, I've ended up eating some bad M&M imitation candies, made by other companies. I guess it's cool to eat non-M&M things because of Mars, Inc. shady dealings. But our competitors will have to try a little harder if they want to take the big guys' business. A quick overview:

- Hershey's Kissables. These are basically like M&M's only in the shape of little Hershey's Kisses instead of tiny flying saucers. Not that awesome. Sort of an awkward fit between your teeth. Also, the chocolate in the middle is sort of that super milky stuff that they make Hershey products out of, where I think the darker stuff they but in M&M's meshes better with the candy shell.

- Garfield's Chocobites. Apparently a newish product without its own website; you have to call if you want to make an order. This is by far the more intriguing of the two products -- not tasty either, mind you, but bizarre. It's a peanut M&M, essentially. They're made by an Argentinian company called Arcor. There's a "Garfield Approved - Limited edition" stamp on the package, which makes me wonder if the whole thing is planned to be short-lived, or if Garfield is pulling his endorsement soon because of the inferior quality of the candy. Other highlights include special instructions on storing the little guys (68° and 60% relative humidity, I kid you not), and a list of "Colors" in the ingredients, including "Titanium dioxide." That's one that did not make it onto the rainbow, unfortunately.

super bowl commercial review

2006-02-06T12:43:00.000-05:00

First of a couple posts (if I get around to both) expanding upon and/or organizing thoughts already expressed on The Message Board. Please forgive me for treating ads here as something to be taken for granted and not looked at with a harshly critical eye. To be honest, I hate the fact that we look to advertising as one of our main sources of "art" or whatever you might call it in mainstream pop culture, but it's a fact right now, and I'm dealing with it as such. I'll save the paradigm-shift shit for another day.

Without further ado:

- I was pretty disappointed that there was only one King appearance. For the first two-thirds or so of the BK commercial I wasn't into it, but then when all the chorus girls were stacked up as a sandwich, and the King appeared, I will admit, I chortled.

- My impression is that Godaddy drained their advertising budget on two Super Bowl spots and couldn't afford to go out of house for the actual ad, and consequently their spot didn't really make sense at all. I get the reference, but there seemed to be no actual plot?

- The Budweiser Spots were "cute" but not that impressive. I thought the one with the zebra doing the call review a couple weeks ago (perhaps originally aired last Super Bowl?) was a lot better than the ones they showed during this game.

- The fedex spot at the beginning probably wasn't worth the amount it cost to make, but the dude getting crushed by a mammoth (or whatever) after he was fired and kicked a lizard was pretty funny.

- The Ameriquest ads in which the doctor kills a fly and says "that killed him" while the patient's family walks into the room, and the one with the man and woman on the plane were pretty good -- I liked the first one better, I guess for shock value?

- The new razor with a total of five blades is intimidating and scary, and the ad was so long and built so much suspense, we had time to guess what it was for before we were introduced to the product. I said Icy Hot, or maybe the Miami Hurricanes, others guessed Quizno's. We were all sadly mistaken.

- "Brown and Bubbly"?!?!?! Clearly an attempt at self-deprecation and in-joke style anti-advertising (like the Uncola), but one that I can't see lasting long. The first Diddy spot came around to be pretty funny, though.

- The monster/robot breeding spot for the Hummer was disgusting and incensing but, as Joe Deefer points out, completely apropos.

this weekend:

2006-02-06T00:01:00.000-05:00

- Awesome show in Philly with amazing friends? Check.
- Totally stunning show in Pittsburgh with an even greater number of amazing friends? Check.
- Steelers Super Bowl win? Check.
- Peaceful crazy Bloomfield celebration? Check and check.

Good job, folks! Thanks!

I just wish that I had a two-hour delay from work tomorrow like the schools have.

go 'head, go steagles

2006-02-05T11:54:00.000-05:00

Thanks, people who came out to the shows this weekend in Philly and in Pittsburgh! You all make my heart melt. I was running around like a madman trying to help make sure things went right, and I guess it paid off, since things went pretty right. Belegost killed it twice, even more so in Pittsburgh than in Philly, I think. The space in Philly was awesome, but I think the effect of Roboto being a little bit smaller, and people having to really pack in, made it feel a little more intense and vital last night. But that could be my Pittsburgh bias showing through.

We got shut down by Philly, foodwise, missing out on Govinda's AND Kingdom, because both were seemingly closed when they should've been open. We ended up eating at the other veg Chinese place a couple blocks from Kingdom, and it was okay, but a bit disappointing in that the food was eh-okay, and we were the only ones there and one of the two women working stood guard over us the whole time -- presumably just watching the door, as the other was on the phone, but it was a little disconcerting.

Also, "Go Steelers" on the electronic road work alert signs all along the turnpike, beautiful fog that was more fun when I wasn't the one driving, and Eric and Q waving terrible towels all about the place at both shows:

andys in the news, edition 2/2/06

2006-02-02T08:29:00.000-05:00

Check out the LOCAL MEDIA HYPE!!!! for the new record:

City Paper preview

Post-Gazette local band feature thing

Both Manny and Scott did really good jobs. These two pieces probably have fewer factual errors than anything that I've read that has been written about anything I've been involved with.

Also, I'm experiencing mad deja vu right now reading the P-G piece, and it's freaking me out a little. I sometimes suspect I've already been through this entire band experience, as every time we go somewhere I feel like I've been there before even if I haven't, or I remember having a dream about the place long before I ever went there.

Creepy.

gotta get a message to mavis

2006-01-31T18:33:00.000-05:00

This ain't no mp3 blog, but if you have a moment, you should download and listen to this phone message we got on our machine a few months ago (October 26, to be exact). Q ripped it into mp3 and it's quite possibly the funniest phone message I've ever recieved, far improving upon the calls I used to get to my dorm room for the Montefiore Hospital ICU (someone ACTUALLY LEFT A MESSAGE on my voice mail there once with PATIENT INFORMATION). It also barely beats out the message that we still have on our machine from a few months ago alleging that we sold a faulty UFO to the woman who runs the Monaca Hotel. She sounded rather displeased, and I'm pretty glad we made it out of that one without legal action against us.

(For those of you who aren't from Pittsburgh, the Duquesne Club is a highfalutin' social club for the very rich. That should provide some context that might make the message even more amusing.)

also, quickly:

2006-01-30T16:28:00.000-05:00

If you're part of the S27 DC class (cf. this post), you should've gotten an e-mail this past weekend confirming that you're part of the class and that your contact information is right. If you didn't, e-mail the PCJ quick! Thanks.