Freddie Mac CFO commits suicide.
Well, I shouldn't be so damned cynical. The man had a family.
But at the same time I'm sure they're getting compensated well for their loss.
I'll be back at some point to expound on the conference, grad school, and other sundry topics. Some things have changed for the better, others...not so much.
And on top of all this, I'm sick with a chest cold. Damn weather - it's 75 this weekend, but drops down to the 40's and rains Monday and Tuesday? Go on, Indiana. Keep taking away any sense of nostalgia or loss I might have when I leave you in late August/early September.
Oh, yes, not just sick with a chest cold, but sick with a chest cold and a rough draft due in three hours, a rough cut of a video documentary due tomorrow, with the final versions of both due next week.
Didn't I just leave this party of projects and deadlines? Jesus.
Alex
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Quick Update
I got into the University of Massachusetts Boston for American Studies!
Same day as I traverse down to New Orleans for the PCA conference - and the same day I found out that I didn't get into Bowling Green State University.
This is what we call cinematic timing.
Now that the wait is over, let's go make this conference a great one.
Alex
Same day as I traverse down to New Orleans for the PCA conference - and the same day I found out that I didn't get into Bowling Green State University.
This is what we call cinematic timing.
Now that the wait is over, let's go make this conference a great one.
Alex
Friday, April 3, 2009
My Story So Far...Or, DONE!
Hi kids. Good to see Forrest is back and commenting. I guess word spreads fast that I'm actually using this thing again, and regularly.
Gill and I had lunch today. He was free, so I got him to come to Z202 with me. Our discussion veered towards Zappa, but didn't quite get there.
Still, I told him over lunch that we would most likely get to Frank - Gill's been getting into music in a big way lately - which he thought was awesome. Lord knows he's heard me ranting and raving about him like I was his son or something. [Deliberate reference to my father's passing resemblance to FZ.]
So we got sidetracked, as can sometimes happen in the class. Regardless, Glenn showed this neat little clip. Even though we didn't directly discuss Zappa, I put myself in Gill's shoes and could see the "so THIS is where he gets it from!" in his eyes.
It's Frank Zappa on The Monkees, fooling around with my favorite Monkee, Mr. Michael Nesmith. Zappa once said they were "the most honest band in LA."
(One more thing, and then the clip, I promise!) All I can personally say about this is that you really wouldn't see something like this on television.
The song playing while they play the car is "Mother People" from We're Only In It For The Money. You will read this again sooner than you think, but it's my favorite Zappa album.
So, the essays have been revised. Andy has signed the sponsor approval form. We filled out forms giving our availability for the big committee review...it almost feels like the night before Christmas. Or like a store the night before a big inventory shipment is to be put out for Halloween. Everything is all wrapped up and ready.
To commemorate this occasion, I present to you my retrospective statement, the final piece I worked on before completing my project.
It's all done. I can't lie that I'm nervous facing the committee. I don't know why. I don't have to know why. But it's all right, as you know I've been spending the last 22 years looking for something to senselessly lose sleep over.
[Ok, two things:
1. Thank you, Mom, for this seemingly chronic self-doubt and habitual second-guessing. You raised me well.
And 2. Sarcasm deluxe with cheese.]
Still - STILL - nothing! With a rough skeleton of a fallback plan ready, at this point I'm just wanting to know, whatever their decision is. Yes, of course I want to get in to grad school, dammit! I wouldn't have applied if I didn't. But this is almost unnecessary anguish.
I've noticed it's affecting me just a tad, here and there.
[Again - sarcasm, this time with a raspberry vinaigrette atop a bed of sprouts, Romaine lettuce, and topped with feta cheese.]
Read it.
"My primary objective in studying Rock and Roll History through the Individualized Major Program (IMP) was to refocus my academic interests. My first major is Communication and Culture (CMCL), concentrating on film studies. I’m well aware that a student can enter a master’s program completely unrelated to their bachelor’s degree, but I also know that graduate programs have become increasingly competitive. As time passed, I became less enamored with film studies, seeing it as something I could enjoy in my own time and on my own terms.
This didn’t keep me from applying to the CMCL graduate program for the fall of 2008. My newly reignited interest in rock music (due to Professor Andy Hollinden’s class on Frank Zappa and Professor Glenn Gass’ course on The Beatles) resulted in me proposing a study on rock cinema in my statement of purpose. I did not get into the program, which I do not at all regret. I had arranged a Plan B of sorts with Professor Hollinden regarding my pursuit of Rock History through the IMP. I wanted to study the origins and emergence of rock music, its social impact, and to engage in the analysis of specific artists and their works. Thanks to the classes Andy and I chose for my major, each of these goals have been met, and in no small capacity.
Music has been a part of my life for as far back as I can remember and beyond. There is home movie footage of me on my third birthday singing “Yellow Submarine” into my new tape player. As I grew up, so did my appreciation of the music; I constantly had my nose in a book about John Lennon, The Who, or The Rolling Stones, among others. In spite of my firm knowledge on the subject, I still had a lot to learn, especially with regard to the early history of rock. Aside from discovering new favorites in Z385 (History of the Blues) and Z201 (Roots of Rock), I heard the music that inspired the musicians I grew up hearing, tracing the musical lineage to the 1920’s and earlier. A shock (though hardly a surprise) was learning about the treatment of African-Americans by the recording industry. There were countless bluesmen we learned about who made fantastic and important recordings in the 1920’s, only to be found thirty years later living in squalor and working as sharecroppers.
My final project is a series of analytical essays on my favorite band, The Kinks and their (almost) sole songwriter, Ray Davies. As part of the British Invasion of the mid-1960’s, their first breakthrough was with “You Really Got Me,” with its distinctive guitar riff and heavily distorted tone, played by Ray’s younger brother Dave. Their career is marred by a combination of poor management in the 1960’s and Ray’s desire (for better or for worse) to pursue his own artistic goals and desires. A series of disputes, which no one in the band’s inner circle seem to agree upon, led to the American Federation of Musicians banning them from touring the United States from 1965 to 1969. In a twist of irony, this period, in which their records were largely unavailable in this country, yielded what both critics and fans now consider their greatest period. Ray’s role as the band’s leader went to its greatest extreme in the mid 1970’s after returning to America with the smash hit single “Lola” in 1970, as the band released a string of concept albums on such themes as urban development, life as a musician, and school. It may sound silly, but it’s the era of The Kinks that I treasure the most.
My initial pitch for the project was an album-by-album review of their career. This posed a few problems, as they have nearly thirty albums to their name; additionally, in their early years (like any band in the pre-Sgt. Pepper world) they were primarily a singles band, with some of their most important early work not appearing on LP. As with any other artist with a lengthy discography, there are bound to be a few duds as well, meaning I’d have to write about their lesser releases in combination with their classic albums. Around September of 2008, I decided to pare it down, reshaping it into essays covering select themes in Ray Davies’ songwriting as well as essays on two different albums.
The course of my research can best be described as a labor of love. There are so many themes to be extracted and discussed from The Kinks’ work that I had a difficult time narrowing it down to the two I chose (the role of class in the 1966 single “Dead End Street” and three songs focusing on America rather than their homeland), but at the same time I was immersing myself even deeper into the words of my favorite lyricist and the music of my favorite band. I found myself learning lots of fascinating little details from the first day I began assembling notes for the essays right on up to my final essay. Many of these little facts were too minute for inclusion in my writings, though one in particular stands out. As a Frank Zappa fan, I was pleased to read in Dave Davies’ autobiography Kink that he always admired Zappa, specifically We’re Only In It For The Money, which by sheer coincidence is also my own favorite.
Of all my primary resources, I found Tom Kitts’ biography on Ray Davies, Not Like Everybody Else, to be the most thorough and best-written. Kitts is a professor of English at St. John’s University in New York, making his approach a more academic one. The great problem I found with Neville Marten and Jeff Hudson’s The Kinks was that their writing style was journalistic, lacking any citation of resources and avoiding any in-depth criticism or analysis. Doug Hinman’s exhaustively researched All Day And All Of The Night traced the day-by-day activities of the band, helping me peg down release dates and significant events in the band’s history. Ray and Dave have both written autobiographies, X-Ray and Kink, respectively. In true fashion, Ray’s is unconventional in that he tells the story of a young journalist interviewing a significantly older version of himself, recounting the band’s history. Dave’s is straightforward, though many of his stories need to be taken with a grain of salt. In spite of that, his book is very honest and revealing.
On a whim last spring, I emailed Professor Kitts to tell him about my project. He took a very keen interest in my work, and along with Hollinden and Gass he has read each of my essays, offering very in-depth comments and suggestions, the kind one could only get from someone who has written on the same subject. It was after reading my initial essay (on their 1970 album Lola Versus Powerman And The Money-Go-Round) that he invited me to speak at the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association joint conference in New Orleans from April 8th through the 12th, falling right between the submission of my project and my review before the committee. My topic is “Ray Davies’ Vision of America,” one of four presentations in the popular music category. I can’t think of a better way for my project to come to a close, though I have every intention of returning to this subject at some point in the future.
Since one of my minors is in Slavic Languages and Literatures, my IMP committee suggested (if I had the time) to do an independent study on rock music’s relationship with the underground counterculture in Soviet-controlled Czechoslovakia. It may sound a bit esoteric, but the idea interested me. I found myself short on time last fall to pursue it, unfortunately. However, I am currently in a course on Hungarian culture through Central Eurasian Studies. My professor, Lynn Hooker, encouraged me to do a similar paper on this topic, though centered around Hungary rather than Czechoslovakia. She has recommended two books detailing the history of the suppression of popular music behind the Iron Curtain: Rock Around the Bloc: A History of Rock Music in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, 1954-1988 by Timothy Ryback and Up from the Underground: The Culture of Rock Music in Postsocialist Hungary by Anna Szmere. Additionally, in Z120 (Music in Multimedia), my final project is a brief video documentary on The Kinks, using both found footage and interviews to be filmed by me. Both of these projects are due at the semester’s end and are still in their formative stages at the time of this writing; I can gladly provide more information at the time of my committee review.
I can easily say Z402 (the Music of Frank Zappa) was my favorite class. This was the class that prompted me to rethink my academic interests. Having been a Zappa fan since the age of thirteen, it was both a joy and a revelation to be able to discuss and dissect Zappa’s music in an academic setting. In spite of my preexisting knowledge of the music, I still found myself learning lots of facts about the man and his music. My favorite nonmajor courses (it’s a tie) were both in the Slavic Studies Department. The first was Central European Cinema, which I had with Georgian Professor Dodona Kiziria. It opened my eyes to world cinema, while my second choice, Professor Bronislava Volkova’s course on Czechoslovakian Film and Literature in the Postwar Period took it one step further. The movies are beautifully made, and in the case of Czech cinema they are often laced with black humor. The readings required for both of these classes have become among my favorite books, as well.
When asked why I’m choosing to study Rock History, I tell them it’s all a matter of cultural significance. Though at first glance it may seem frivolous, I explain to whoever asks that I analyze the lyrics in the same way as poetry. Not all artists are subject to as thorough of an analysis as The Kinks or Dylan or Neil Young would be, for example. The lyrics are reflective of both the songwriter and the times; analyzing any artifact of popular culture is a method of studying the way of life in a particular era. In Professor Michael McGerr’s class From Ragtime To Rap, the history of (mostly) American popular music was used as a way of looking at American society from the Victorian era to the present day. The music was then connected with such topics as gender roles, race relations, and the politics of the times. Since I am not a “properly” trained musician, I limit my discussion of the music to how it frames the lyrics and enhances the mood of the song. I also do my best to describe and comment on the music in a way non-musicians can understand. I have read musicological pieces on Zappa and The Beatles, and frankly I found them to be a little dull and not at all captivating.
My decision to study The Kinks solely hinged on my belief that Ray Davies deserves praise for his talent as a lyricist, on a par with John Lennon and Bob Dylan. He could step back and criticize the conservative elements of British society in one song, only to turn around and point a derisive finger towards the hip counterculture of Swinging London. Many of his songs tell stories, putting the listener into another person’s mind and observing their world. His sense of almost cinematic detail is stunning, with his penchant for storytelling giving him a truly unique style.
In regards to my plans post-graduation, I am currently waiting to hear back from the University of Massachusetts Boston, Brooklyn College, Bowling Green State University, and Case Western Reserve. For each respective school, I have applied to American Studies, Musicology, Popular Culture Studies, and Music History programs. With the present situation in the American economy, I’ve become well-aware that many graduate programs are feeling the squeeze, prompting me (in a situation not unfamiliar to me) to form a fallback plan in the event I am not admitted to any of the above institutions. If graduate school is not in the cards this time around, I will reapply to the same programs. In the meantime, I’m making plans to relocate to Austin, Texas, a city that boasts a thriving economy, music scene, and arts culture. I’ll resume work on my Kinks essays and seek to get them published upon completion. Wherever life takes me, I know I’ll be happy."
I'm proud of that ending. Not conventional, but sort of my way of flipping the bird to this tanking economy. It won't get me down. So long as I'm happy with what I'm doing, whatever and wherever that may be (though the latter is certainly key in shaping my happiness), life will be good.
There's other stuff going on. Madness with the future in-laws. Doesn't quite have me rethinking the whole thing, but it's certainly like having a really deep splinter stuck in your skin. Don't quite know what to do with it.
In some ways, I hate the fact that I won't have a father-in-law who can sit down and talk with me about Neil Young or someone like that. Her mother won't tell me about how she grew up with the biggest crush on Keith Partridge or Ricky Nelson. Nope.
If I travel for her brother's wedding - yes, a date has been set - we're going to Dallas first, then we get to ride in a car with her parents for five hours between Dallas and San Antonio.
Oh, and they don't listen to music in the car.
Ok, so maybe I'm rethinking some things. Especially since the debate of "Where's the money going to come from?" rages on. I don't quite have the courage to tell my parents that I'd like for them to fund this excursion. Her parents won't. In spite of their, um, well-to-do-ness, they aren't one for charity. And if Shelley pays my way, they apparently can't know this?
She doesn't want to be there alone. And I don't blame her. Her brother met his future wife in October, had the engagement plans ready by December, proposed in March, and will be marrying her in June. They've also seen each other less than ten times. This is all somehow fine with Shelley's parents and family, and yet there will be aneurysms aplenty with her own betrothal. Even though we've dated for nearly all of our college career, the engagement came after three years...oh, yeah, and we fucking postponed our original planned date to, um, please certain parties.
This is too depressing to discuss. I can't even remedy these feelings with my usual sarcasm and cynicism.
Later.
Alex
Gill and I had lunch today. He was free, so I got him to come to Z202 with me. Our discussion veered towards Zappa, but didn't quite get there.
Still, I told him over lunch that we would most likely get to Frank - Gill's been getting into music in a big way lately - which he thought was awesome. Lord knows he's heard me ranting and raving about him like I was his son or something. [Deliberate reference to my father's passing resemblance to FZ.]
So we got sidetracked, as can sometimes happen in the class. Regardless, Glenn showed this neat little clip. Even though we didn't directly discuss Zappa, I put myself in Gill's shoes and could see the "so THIS is where he gets it from!" in his eyes.
It's Frank Zappa on The Monkees, fooling around with my favorite Monkee, Mr. Michael Nesmith. Zappa once said they were "the most honest band in LA."
(One more thing, and then the clip, I promise!) All I can personally say about this is that you really wouldn't see something like this on television.
The song playing while they play the car is "Mother People" from We're Only In It For The Money. You will read this again sooner than you think, but it's my favorite Zappa album.
So, the essays have been revised. Andy has signed the sponsor approval form. We filled out forms giving our availability for the big committee review...it almost feels like the night before Christmas. Or like a store the night before a big inventory shipment is to be put out for Halloween. Everything is all wrapped up and ready.
To commemorate this occasion, I present to you my retrospective statement, the final piece I worked on before completing my project.
It's all done. I can't lie that I'm nervous facing the committee. I don't know why. I don't have to know why. But it's all right, as you know I've been spending the last 22 years looking for something to senselessly lose sleep over.
[Ok, two things:
1. Thank you, Mom, for this seemingly chronic self-doubt and habitual second-guessing. You raised me well.
And 2. Sarcasm deluxe with cheese.]
Still - STILL - nothing! With a rough skeleton of a fallback plan ready, at this point I'm just wanting to know, whatever their decision is. Yes, of course I want to get in to grad school, dammit! I wouldn't have applied if I didn't. But this is almost unnecessary anguish.
I've noticed it's affecting me just a tad, here and there.
[Again - sarcasm, this time with a raspberry vinaigrette atop a bed of sprouts, Romaine lettuce, and topped with feta cheese.]
Read it.
"My primary objective in studying Rock and Roll History through the Individualized Major Program (IMP) was to refocus my academic interests. My first major is Communication and Culture (CMCL), concentrating on film studies. I’m well aware that a student can enter a master’s program completely unrelated to their bachelor’s degree, but I also know that graduate programs have become increasingly competitive. As time passed, I became less enamored with film studies, seeing it as something I could enjoy in my own time and on my own terms.
This didn’t keep me from applying to the CMCL graduate program for the fall of 2008. My newly reignited interest in rock music (due to Professor Andy Hollinden’s class on Frank Zappa and Professor Glenn Gass’ course on The Beatles) resulted in me proposing a study on rock cinema in my statement of purpose. I did not get into the program, which I do not at all regret. I had arranged a Plan B of sorts with Professor Hollinden regarding my pursuit of Rock History through the IMP. I wanted to study the origins and emergence of rock music, its social impact, and to engage in the analysis of specific artists and their works. Thanks to the classes Andy and I chose for my major, each of these goals have been met, and in no small capacity.
Music has been a part of my life for as far back as I can remember and beyond. There is home movie footage of me on my third birthday singing “Yellow Submarine” into my new tape player. As I grew up, so did my appreciation of the music; I constantly had my nose in a book about John Lennon, The Who, or The Rolling Stones, among others. In spite of my firm knowledge on the subject, I still had a lot to learn, especially with regard to the early history of rock. Aside from discovering new favorites in Z385 (History of the Blues) and Z201 (Roots of Rock), I heard the music that inspired the musicians I grew up hearing, tracing the musical lineage to the 1920’s and earlier. A shock (though hardly a surprise) was learning about the treatment of African-Americans by the recording industry. There were countless bluesmen we learned about who made fantastic and important recordings in the 1920’s, only to be found thirty years later living in squalor and working as sharecroppers.
My final project is a series of analytical essays on my favorite band, The Kinks and their (almost) sole songwriter, Ray Davies. As part of the British Invasion of the mid-1960’s, their first breakthrough was with “You Really Got Me,” with its distinctive guitar riff and heavily distorted tone, played by Ray’s younger brother Dave. Their career is marred by a combination of poor management in the 1960’s and Ray’s desire (for better or for worse) to pursue his own artistic goals and desires. A series of disputes, which no one in the band’s inner circle seem to agree upon, led to the American Federation of Musicians banning them from touring the United States from 1965 to 1969. In a twist of irony, this period, in which their records were largely unavailable in this country, yielded what both critics and fans now consider their greatest period. Ray’s role as the band’s leader went to its greatest extreme in the mid 1970’s after returning to America with the smash hit single “Lola” in 1970, as the band released a string of concept albums on such themes as urban development, life as a musician, and school. It may sound silly, but it’s the era of The Kinks that I treasure the most.
My initial pitch for the project was an album-by-album review of their career. This posed a few problems, as they have nearly thirty albums to their name; additionally, in their early years (like any band in the pre-Sgt. Pepper world) they were primarily a singles band, with some of their most important early work not appearing on LP. As with any other artist with a lengthy discography, there are bound to be a few duds as well, meaning I’d have to write about their lesser releases in combination with their classic albums. Around September of 2008, I decided to pare it down, reshaping it into essays covering select themes in Ray Davies’ songwriting as well as essays on two different albums.
The course of my research can best be described as a labor of love. There are so many themes to be extracted and discussed from The Kinks’ work that I had a difficult time narrowing it down to the two I chose (the role of class in the 1966 single “Dead End Street” and three songs focusing on America rather than their homeland), but at the same time I was immersing myself even deeper into the words of my favorite lyricist and the music of my favorite band. I found myself learning lots of fascinating little details from the first day I began assembling notes for the essays right on up to my final essay. Many of these little facts were too minute for inclusion in my writings, though one in particular stands out. As a Frank Zappa fan, I was pleased to read in Dave Davies’ autobiography Kink that he always admired Zappa, specifically We’re Only In It For The Money, which by sheer coincidence is also my own favorite.
Of all my primary resources, I found Tom Kitts’ biography on Ray Davies, Not Like Everybody Else, to be the most thorough and best-written. Kitts is a professor of English at St. John’s University in New York, making his approach a more academic one. The great problem I found with Neville Marten and Jeff Hudson’s The Kinks was that their writing style was journalistic, lacking any citation of resources and avoiding any in-depth criticism or analysis. Doug Hinman’s exhaustively researched All Day And All Of The Night traced the day-by-day activities of the band, helping me peg down release dates and significant events in the band’s history. Ray and Dave have both written autobiographies, X-Ray and Kink, respectively. In true fashion, Ray’s is unconventional in that he tells the story of a young journalist interviewing a significantly older version of himself, recounting the band’s history. Dave’s is straightforward, though many of his stories need to be taken with a grain of salt. In spite of that, his book is very honest and revealing.
On a whim last spring, I emailed Professor Kitts to tell him about my project. He took a very keen interest in my work, and along with Hollinden and Gass he has read each of my essays, offering very in-depth comments and suggestions, the kind one could only get from someone who has written on the same subject. It was after reading my initial essay (on their 1970 album Lola Versus Powerman And The Money-Go-Round) that he invited me to speak at the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association joint conference in New Orleans from April 8th through the 12th, falling right between the submission of my project and my review before the committee. My topic is “Ray Davies’ Vision of America,” one of four presentations in the popular music category. I can’t think of a better way for my project to come to a close, though I have every intention of returning to this subject at some point in the future.
Since one of my minors is in Slavic Languages and Literatures, my IMP committee suggested (if I had the time) to do an independent study on rock music’s relationship with the underground counterculture in Soviet-controlled Czechoslovakia. It may sound a bit esoteric, but the idea interested me. I found myself short on time last fall to pursue it, unfortunately. However, I am currently in a course on Hungarian culture through Central Eurasian Studies. My professor, Lynn Hooker, encouraged me to do a similar paper on this topic, though centered around Hungary rather than Czechoslovakia. She has recommended two books detailing the history of the suppression of popular music behind the Iron Curtain: Rock Around the Bloc: A History of Rock Music in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, 1954-1988 by Timothy Ryback and Up from the Underground: The Culture of Rock Music in Postsocialist Hungary by Anna Szmere. Additionally, in Z120 (Music in Multimedia), my final project is a brief video documentary on The Kinks, using both found footage and interviews to be filmed by me. Both of these projects are due at the semester’s end and are still in their formative stages at the time of this writing; I can gladly provide more information at the time of my committee review.
I can easily say Z402 (the Music of Frank Zappa) was my favorite class. This was the class that prompted me to rethink my academic interests. Having been a Zappa fan since the age of thirteen, it was both a joy and a revelation to be able to discuss and dissect Zappa’s music in an academic setting. In spite of my preexisting knowledge of the music, I still found myself learning lots of facts about the man and his music. My favorite nonmajor courses (it’s a tie) were both in the Slavic Studies Department. The first was Central European Cinema, which I had with Georgian Professor Dodona Kiziria. It opened my eyes to world cinema, while my second choice, Professor Bronislava Volkova’s course on Czechoslovakian Film and Literature in the Postwar Period took it one step further. The movies are beautifully made, and in the case of Czech cinema they are often laced with black humor. The readings required for both of these classes have become among my favorite books, as well.
When asked why I’m choosing to study Rock History, I tell them it’s all a matter of cultural significance. Though at first glance it may seem frivolous, I explain to whoever asks that I analyze the lyrics in the same way as poetry. Not all artists are subject to as thorough of an analysis as The Kinks or Dylan or Neil Young would be, for example. The lyrics are reflective of both the songwriter and the times; analyzing any artifact of popular culture is a method of studying the way of life in a particular era. In Professor Michael McGerr’s class From Ragtime To Rap, the history of (mostly) American popular music was used as a way of looking at American society from the Victorian era to the present day. The music was then connected with such topics as gender roles, race relations, and the politics of the times. Since I am not a “properly” trained musician, I limit my discussion of the music to how it frames the lyrics and enhances the mood of the song. I also do my best to describe and comment on the music in a way non-musicians can understand. I have read musicological pieces on Zappa and The Beatles, and frankly I found them to be a little dull and not at all captivating.
My decision to study The Kinks solely hinged on my belief that Ray Davies deserves praise for his talent as a lyricist, on a par with John Lennon and Bob Dylan. He could step back and criticize the conservative elements of British society in one song, only to turn around and point a derisive finger towards the hip counterculture of Swinging London. Many of his songs tell stories, putting the listener into another person’s mind and observing their world. His sense of almost cinematic detail is stunning, with his penchant for storytelling giving him a truly unique style.
In regards to my plans post-graduation, I am currently waiting to hear back from the University of Massachusetts Boston, Brooklyn College, Bowling Green State University, and Case Western Reserve. For each respective school, I have applied to American Studies, Musicology, Popular Culture Studies, and Music History programs. With the present situation in the American economy, I’ve become well-aware that many graduate programs are feeling the squeeze, prompting me (in a situation not unfamiliar to me) to form a fallback plan in the event I am not admitted to any of the above institutions. If graduate school is not in the cards this time around, I will reapply to the same programs. In the meantime, I’m making plans to relocate to Austin, Texas, a city that boasts a thriving economy, music scene, and arts culture. I’ll resume work on my Kinks essays and seek to get them published upon completion. Wherever life takes me, I know I’ll be happy."
I'm proud of that ending. Not conventional, but sort of my way of flipping the bird to this tanking economy. It won't get me down. So long as I'm happy with what I'm doing, whatever and wherever that may be (though the latter is certainly key in shaping my happiness), life will be good.
There's other stuff going on. Madness with the future in-laws. Doesn't quite have me rethinking the whole thing, but it's certainly like having a really deep splinter stuck in your skin. Don't quite know what to do with it.
In some ways, I hate the fact that I won't have a father-in-law who can sit down and talk with me about Neil Young or someone like that. Her mother won't tell me about how she grew up with the biggest crush on Keith Partridge or Ricky Nelson. Nope.
If I travel for her brother's wedding - yes, a date has been set - we're going to Dallas first, then we get to ride in a car with her parents for five hours between Dallas and San Antonio.
Oh, and they don't listen to music in the car.
Ok, so maybe I'm rethinking some things. Especially since the debate of "Where's the money going to come from?" rages on. I don't quite have the courage to tell my parents that I'd like for them to fund this excursion. Her parents won't. In spite of their, um, well-to-do-ness, they aren't one for charity. And if Shelley pays my way, they apparently can't know this?
She doesn't want to be there alone. And I don't blame her. Her brother met his future wife in October, had the engagement plans ready by December, proposed in March, and will be marrying her in June. They've also seen each other less than ten times. This is all somehow fine with Shelley's parents and family, and yet there will be aneurysms aplenty with her own betrothal. Even though we've dated for nearly all of our college career, the engagement came after three years...oh, yeah, and we fucking postponed our original planned date to, um, please certain parties.
This is too depressing to discuss. I can't even remedy these feelings with my usual sarcasm and cynicism.
Later.
Alex
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Midnight Snack Recipes
If you're ever feeling a bit hungry in the middle of the night and need a quick fix, try these on for size. In spite of the similarities of ingredients, the tastes were remarkably different.
Sweet And Spicy Garlic Toast
Spread sweet and spicy mustard over a slice of bread (rye, wheat, white, pumpernickel - your choice)
Sprinkle as much garlic powder as you like - I recommend the California blend
Cover the mustard/garlic with shredded cheese (I used cheddar, but again - your call. If you want to use Monterey Jack, go right ahead.)
Put in toaster over until cheese is melted, or the underside of the toast appears browned.
I made it on a complete whim. One food that has always eluded me - as much as I'd like to try it - has been Welsh Rarebit (or Rabbit - both spellings work), which is apparently a cheese/beer/mustard/paprika concoction drizzled over toast. It sounds really good. I can only envision what it tastes like. Another one I'm interested in is Scotch Woodcock (again with the deceptive name), which is lightly scrambled egg & cheese with anchovy (or anchovy paste) on toast.
My only issue with the first recipe here is that a little bit of sweet and spicy mustard goes a long way. Spread just enough that you can still see the bread's pores. Trust me.
This next one I made with a bit more of a purpose.
Brown Mustard Garlic Toast
Spread spicy brown mustard over a piece of bread.
Sprinkle garlic powder and black pepper to your desire.
Top with shredded cheese (in my case, cheddar) and a dash of Parmesan.
Put in toaster oven, melting cheese and making the toast golden brown.
Try it out. Let me know what you think. I'm sort of experimenting with maximizing flavor while minimizing costs. Bread is cheap. Mustard is cheap. Shredded cheese is cheap.
Other items I find myself buying due to their price:
+ Potatoes
+ Sweet potatoes
+ Baked beans
+ Low-end cereal, usually store brand
+ (Rarely) Hot dogs
+ Wheat bread
+ Soy milk
+ Granny Smith apples
+ Pickles
+ Ramen noodles (Beef, Chicken, and Oriental)
M@, Forrest, you've been to college. Any cheap-ass recipes you recommend? I've heard baked bean sandwiches are popular at colleges in the UK, much like Ramen noodles here.
Sweet And Spicy Garlic Toast
Spread sweet and spicy mustard over a slice of bread (rye, wheat, white, pumpernickel - your choice)
Sprinkle as much garlic powder as you like - I recommend the California blend
Cover the mustard/garlic with shredded cheese (I used cheddar, but again - your call. If you want to use Monterey Jack, go right ahead.)
Put in toaster over until cheese is melted, or the underside of the toast appears browned.
I made it on a complete whim. One food that has always eluded me - as much as I'd like to try it - has been Welsh Rarebit (or Rabbit - both spellings work), which is apparently a cheese/beer/mustard/paprika concoction drizzled over toast. It sounds really good. I can only envision what it tastes like. Another one I'm interested in is Scotch Woodcock (again with the deceptive name), which is lightly scrambled egg & cheese with anchovy (or anchovy paste) on toast.
My only issue with the first recipe here is that a little bit of sweet and spicy mustard goes a long way. Spread just enough that you can still see the bread's pores. Trust me.
This next one I made with a bit more of a purpose.
Brown Mustard Garlic Toast
Spread spicy brown mustard over a piece of bread.
Sprinkle garlic powder and black pepper to your desire.
Top with shredded cheese (in my case, cheddar) and a dash of Parmesan.
Put in toaster oven, melting cheese and making the toast golden brown.
Try it out. Let me know what you think. I'm sort of experimenting with maximizing flavor while minimizing costs. Bread is cheap. Mustard is cheap. Shredded cheese is cheap.
Other items I find myself buying due to their price:
+ Potatoes
+ Sweet potatoes
+ Baked beans
+ Low-end cereal, usually store brand
+ (Rarely) Hot dogs
+ Wheat bread
+ Soy milk
+ Granny Smith apples
+ Pickles
+ Ramen noodles (Beef, Chicken, and Oriental)
M@, Forrest, you've been to college. Any cheap-ass recipes you recommend? I've heard baked bean sandwiches are popular at colleges in the UK, much like Ramen noodles here.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
From The Horse's Mouth
Just read a very enlightening interview with Simpsons creator Matt Groening over at The A.V. Club, whose weekly review of Fox's "animation domination" block of Simpsons, King Of The Hill, Family Guy, and American Dad frequently consists of anti-Simpsons dreck, stuff like "it's not been good since season ten!" or "this plot element was recycled from this, this, and this episode!" or "the episode was too much plot and character development, why can't it just be jokes?"
One of the great pieces of wisdom I've heard from an unnamed professor is that there are bands out there we just loved when we were, say, 16. But now, at, say, age 22 we hear it again and wonder aloud what the big deal was; it's our own personal nostalgia that we associate with it. One major act that has endured this re-evaluation was the Finnish group HIM. It's good...but nothing Earth-shattering. Same with all that 80's music I was digging when I spent my nights playing GTA: Vice City in 10th grade. It happens. You evolve, your tastes and expectations change - and whatever connection you have to it is more along the lines of where you are taken mentally when you re-visit it.
With that in mind, read this passage of the interview:
"MG: Let’s see, how do I want to put this… The criticism of the show, that it’s not as good as the show you remember when you were 9 years old, is probably true, but then no show is as good as the one you thought was probably the greatest when you were 9 years old. It’s the nature of comparing something to the thing you loved the most at the time. If the show had been cancelled after five seasons, it would be forgotten.
AVC: Really? The “cut down in its prime” legacy always builds things up—look at Futurama.
MG: Well, let me approach it from a different direction. Getting back to the idea about humor, I was generalizing about humor and anxiety and hostility, but the fact is, styles in humor do change. Humor does depend on surprise, and the things that people remember as the funniest things in the world, you look at later and you go, “What? What was that all about?” I mean, I love Laurel and Hardy, but I show Laurel and Hardy movies to people, to friends, and they think they’re too slow. The pacing is something they’re just not used to. They’ve had it drilled into their minds that everything has to be very cutty and quick and gross. So the relatively elegant and subtle Laurel and Hardy movies—which I can’t believe I’m even saying “elegant” in relation to them, but compared to crass comedy these days, they are—I think they’re great. The style has changed, and I certainly don’t think that people who can’t appreciate the brilliance of Laurel and Hardy are wrong. It’s just different style.
If The Simpsons came on now, having never been seen before, with those original episodes, I don’t think anyone would give them a second look, because they’re so crude and primitive in their execution. But like I said, styles change, and all I ask of critics—of online critics of the show that say “Oh, it hasn’t been good since season X”—is that, in the opinion of people who work on the show, that’s simply not true. I’m not saying that every episode is better than the previous, but I’m saying that to completely out-of-hand condemn a decade of the show is a very easy position to take, and the fact is, the show has done absolutely brilliant stuff consistently throughout its history. Like I said, I’m not defending every single joke in every single episode, but if we didn’t like what we were doing, we wouldn’t keep doing it."
[Italics mine]
So, to all the too-cool for new Simpsons episodes who can quote every episode that came out when they were in middle school, I give you this:
The creator of the show has said what I've been thinking since I first heard people bitching about the show's lack of relevance. I mainly heard this from Family Guy viewers. They're all about 16 years of age, or at least mentally.
To you, I say consider yourself righteously owned.
Those of you who still dig The Simpsons like Shelley and myself: you have every right to be smug about this one. Plus, Mr. Groening is a Beefheart fan. And you all know I love having any excuse to post Beefheart on here.
The frequency of these postings should indicate that my free time has, well, been freed up significantly since my project is 97% done and the grad school apps are all finito.
It's good to be back. Hope you agree. If not, it's a big Internet. You can leave. I'll be here.
Alex
One of the great pieces of wisdom I've heard from an unnamed professor is that there are bands out there we just loved when we were, say, 16. But now, at, say, age 22 we hear it again and wonder aloud what the big deal was; it's our own personal nostalgia that we associate with it. One major act that has endured this re-evaluation was the Finnish group HIM. It's good...but nothing Earth-shattering. Same with all that 80's music I was digging when I spent my nights playing GTA: Vice City in 10th grade. It happens. You evolve, your tastes and expectations change - and whatever connection you have to it is more along the lines of where you are taken mentally when you re-visit it.
With that in mind, read this passage of the interview:
"MG: Let’s see, how do I want to put this… The criticism of the show, that it’s not as good as the show you remember when you were 9 years old, is probably true, but then no show is as good as the one you thought was probably the greatest when you were 9 years old. It’s the nature of comparing something to the thing you loved the most at the time. If the show had been cancelled after five seasons, it would be forgotten.
AVC: Really? The “cut down in its prime” legacy always builds things up—look at Futurama.
MG: Well, let me approach it from a different direction. Getting back to the idea about humor, I was generalizing about humor and anxiety and hostility, but the fact is, styles in humor do change. Humor does depend on surprise, and the things that people remember as the funniest things in the world, you look at later and you go, “What? What was that all about?” I mean, I love Laurel and Hardy, but I show Laurel and Hardy movies to people, to friends, and they think they’re too slow. The pacing is something they’re just not used to. They’ve had it drilled into their minds that everything has to be very cutty and quick and gross. So the relatively elegant and subtle Laurel and Hardy movies—which I can’t believe I’m even saying “elegant” in relation to them, but compared to crass comedy these days, they are—I think they’re great. The style has changed, and I certainly don’t think that people who can’t appreciate the brilliance of Laurel and Hardy are wrong. It’s just different style.
If The Simpsons came on now, having never been seen before, with those original episodes, I don’t think anyone would give them a second look, because they’re so crude and primitive in their execution. But like I said, styles change, and all I ask of critics—of online critics of the show that say “Oh, it hasn’t been good since season X”—is that, in the opinion of people who work on the show, that’s simply not true. I’m not saying that every episode is better than the previous, but I’m saying that to completely out-of-hand condemn a decade of the show is a very easy position to take, and the fact is, the show has done absolutely brilliant stuff consistently throughout its history. Like I said, I’m not defending every single joke in every single episode, but if we didn’t like what we were doing, we wouldn’t keep doing it."
[Italics mine]
So, to all the too-cool for new Simpsons episodes who can quote every episode that came out when they were in middle school, I give you this:
The creator of the show has said what I've been thinking since I first heard people bitching about the show's lack of relevance. I mainly heard this from Family Guy viewers. They're all about 16 years of age, or at least mentally.
To you, I say consider yourself righteously owned.
Those of you who still dig The Simpsons like Shelley and myself: you have every right to be smug about this one. Plus, Mr. Groening is a Beefheart fan. And you all know I love having any excuse to post Beefheart on here.
The frequency of these postings should indicate that my free time has, well, been freed up significantly since my project is 97% done and the grad school apps are all finito.
It's good to be back. Hope you agree. If not, it's a big Internet. You can leave. I'll be here.
Alex
The Neocons Want Another Terrorist Attack
I can't understand it. Obama has been in office for 65 days, and with the taste of sour grapes strong on their tongues - freshly removed from McCain's boots - the Neoconservatives, led by comedian Rush Limbaugh, are openly saying they hope Obama fails.
Our previous leader gets in due to one of the most egregious examples of nepotism in the history of American politics this side of the Kennedys, with the legitimacy of his first election still a hotly contested item among political scientists. Even his re-election is a topic of debate. But here it is, nine weeks into the Obama presidency, and people are hoping he falls flat on his face.
Before 9/11 and the subsequent revelation that we had a W.A.S.P. version of Fredo Corleone in the White House, the family idiot whose first decent gig was no less than the Presidency of the United States, Bush II sought policies that reeked of theocracy - the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, spearheaded by private focus groups; faith-based initiatives; and a strict policy on stem cell research, preventing any major breakthroughs from occurring since the line of stem cells scientists were permitted to work with were tainted.
Yes, Bush's agenda of compassionate conservatism made him seem like a sawed-off Reagan, as if this country hadn't had enough of his ideologies. Furthermore, Bush withdrew us from participating in the Kyoto Protocol, and more sinisterly the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Dubya wanted to protect this nation on a hill with an umbrella of weapons of mass death. As we have learned from history, brinksmanship is not the best way to manage foreign policy.
Then came 9/11. Everyone but the few who refused to sign the Patriot Act became ardent supporters of Bush. The only immediate reaction against our foreign policy came from the naysayer radicals, whose job is to constantly deride the actions of the US government, whoever is in charge. We rallied behind our President in the pursuit of evil, and so what if he gaffed and called it a "holy war?" Dammit, these colors don't run! There could be another attack - we have to stop them before they struck again. Our foreign policy became more like an action movie, where the bad guys with the nerve gas canisters had to be stopped - enter our charming lead actor - at all costs.
Wait, nerve gas? Who has nerve gas? Osama, right? No, no...but you know who does? That guy we gave nerve gas to in the 1980's when he was our puppet. What was his name, Saddam? Yeah, let's get him!
Summer of 2002 it started getting kicked around that the Iraqi government harbored terrorists, had something to do with 9/11, and was in possession of or seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction. Even then, I knew something smelled about this. Not to evoke imagery of a crackpot holding a "THE END IS NEAR SIGN," but dammit I was right! What followed was either the prime example of Reaganist foreign policy gone horribly, horribly wrong as we committed a colossal blunder, or one of the largest ruses committed in the free world this side of the electoral college.
The oppression would be televised, as we saw live images of Baghdad getting blasted to smithereens. It was called Operation Shock & Awe. Shocked? Somehow, in spite of my predictions coming true before my very eyes, the answer remained a resounding yes. Awe? No. Not in the least.
The man got away with murder until the midterm elections of 2006. Before that, the only sharp critics of the Bush Administration were members of what the media could dub "the liberal elite," the "leftist fringe." People like Cindy Sheehan, a sandal-wearing hippie who didn't stop her son from joining the Army but sure made a stink about it when he came back as freight draped in Old Glory. People like Michael Moore, a leading snake oil merchant of the bumper stickered station wagon set; he sharply criticized the war but owned stock in Halliburton, he couldn't stand to see his beloved hometown of Flint, Michigan fall into the trappings of the Rust Belt but lived in a mansion far away from the epicenter, oh yes - and he's fat. Even if you didn't see the exploitative speculative trash that was Fahrenheit 9/11, you could at least make a joke about Mr. Moore's girth.
Once the Republican majority in Congress disbanded after 12 long years of gridlock for Clinton and back-slapping approval for Bush Jr., it became fashionable to criticize the President. There were some folks who called for his impeachment - funny enough, none of them signed the Patriot Act. Perhaps it's no coincidence that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was quick to say impeachment was NOT on the Democratic agenda. I guess if Congressman Kucinich had had his way and held everyone accountable, the halls of Congress would have gotten mighty quiet.
But now Obama has ascended to office - in the single greatest decision my generation has made that didn't involve signing an online petition or joining a Facebook group - the younger people of America who got him elected have turned off. We got him in, now let's allow him to fix everything. Bolstering David Letterman's query on whether Bush is the greatest political strategist in history or the buffoon's buffoon, the situation in Iraq is a volatile one, seemingly impossible to make a step in any direction. Obama could have opted to escalate the war - should we pursue "victory" (as defined by standards steeped in Cold War paranoia, wherein the spread of a contrary viewpoint is shut down and a McDonald's is built in their town square), the right step would be to send more troops and get the job done.
Not in a million years.
But with the pullout will come criticism from Republicans that we've gone soft - the fear that we'll look vulnerable in the international community (if there's one thing that will make the United States look stupid, it will be ending a war founded on what George Galloway called "a pack of lies" - yeah, we'll be the laughingstock at the United Nations...), thus prompting another terrorist attack. Hell, Obama's pullout was blasted by Reid and Pelosi - Devil's advocates, never to be satisfied so long as someone with a last name other than Clinton sits in the White House.
You would think the Republicans wouldn't want a terrorist attack, as it would theoretically mean the nation will rally behind Obama as being the kind of leader who looks good behind a podium in front of a pile of rubble and dead Americans. But the media is ready - and so are the politicians - to call a domestic attack an extension of Obama's lack of experience. This would be their chance, and they wouldn't dare pass on it. They'll call for another election - not unlike the California elections for governor with the recall of votes and such - and token Governor Bobby Jindal, a trained seal of a politician, selling his soul in exchange for ascending the ranks of a white man's political organization, would become our next President.
After all, it is the Faustian governor who is quick to defend Limbaugh's open prayer that Obama bites the curb: "Make no mistake: Anything other than an immediate and compliant, 'Why no sir, I don't want the president to fail,' is treated as some sort of act of treason, civil disobedience or political obstructionism." Great. I had predicted this sort of thing would happen - the crooks who put this nation where it is today, the faded decadence of yore now a cracked facade as America's many wounds ooze out blood the color of money, these bastards are now playing the cornered minority card.
And who better to voice such sentiments than a man of Punjabi Indian descent? If Gov. Jindal retains any fragment of the spiritual self which he sold to the Republican National Committee once Sarah Palin became passe to become the GOP's darling, he needs to wise up to the fact that he is a pawn in an almighty game of race-baiting.
Another Jindal quote: "This is political correctness run amok." Oh, yes? And what was people yelling "KILL OBAMA!" at McCain's rallies late in the election? Or the cracks made on Fox News about lynching Michelle Obama? Or Hillary's attempt to win the primaries by assassination? I suppose that rationalizations exist for all of these instances - such is the nature of situational ethics.
Other than tendering his resignation, the only thing that will prove Obama's worth as a leader to the Republicans is the baptism of fire (pun fully intended) that would come with a terrorist attack. I'm not encouraging it to happen. God, no. What I saw that warm Tuesday morning was horrifying. This is one of those things my grandkids will ask me about - and I will not forget what I saw, because whether I was politically aloof, conservative, liberal, socialist, whatever. We were presented with images of our fellow man, dead, dying, or suffering.
Anyone who wants to play the blame game of whose fault it was can shove it up their ass. It is a senseless debate, one that will not be answered until documents become declassified. And even then, what satisfaction will that bring? It won't resurrect the 2,700 who died that day. The dead in our military won't rise from their graves in time for Wheel Of Fortune. All the murdered Iraqi citizens, who died simply because they were Iraqis (to crib once again from MP George Galloway), won't come back to see another morning.
We've grown so cynical since the Contra scandal, "read my lips: no new taxes," the Lewinsky affair, Columbine, 9/11, and Iraqi "Freedom" (right!) that we can't help but see Obama as a potentially corrupt politician; others wish to judge him simply because of what his name rhymes with - or his middle name. Should another terrorist attack occur, we must convince ourselves that Obama would not sell himself to the military-industrial complex that has been running this country since 1945.
At least we'll finally be able to prove to even the most bigoted of Americans that Obama truly has no terrorist connections.
Our previous leader gets in due to one of the most egregious examples of nepotism in the history of American politics this side of the Kennedys, with the legitimacy of his first election still a hotly contested item among political scientists. Even his re-election is a topic of debate. But here it is, nine weeks into the Obama presidency, and people are hoping he falls flat on his face.
Before 9/11 and the subsequent revelation that we had a W.A.S.P. version of Fredo Corleone in the White House, the family idiot whose first decent gig was no less than the Presidency of the United States, Bush II sought policies that reeked of theocracy - the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, spearheaded by private focus groups; faith-based initiatives; and a strict policy on stem cell research, preventing any major breakthroughs from occurring since the line of stem cells scientists were permitted to work with were tainted.
Yes, Bush's agenda of compassionate conservatism made him seem like a sawed-off Reagan, as if this country hadn't had enough of his ideologies. Furthermore, Bush withdrew us from participating in the Kyoto Protocol, and more sinisterly the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Dubya wanted to protect this nation on a hill with an umbrella of weapons of mass death. As we have learned from history, brinksmanship is not the best way to manage foreign policy.
Then came 9/11. Everyone but the few who refused to sign the Patriot Act became ardent supporters of Bush. The only immediate reaction against our foreign policy came from the naysayer radicals, whose job is to constantly deride the actions of the US government, whoever is in charge. We rallied behind our President in the pursuit of evil, and so what if he gaffed and called it a "holy war?" Dammit, these colors don't run! There could be another attack - we have to stop them before they struck again. Our foreign policy became more like an action movie, where the bad guys with the nerve gas canisters had to be stopped - enter our charming lead actor - at all costs.
Wait, nerve gas? Who has nerve gas? Osama, right? No, no...but you know who does? That guy we gave nerve gas to in the 1980's when he was our puppet. What was his name, Saddam? Yeah, let's get him!
Summer of 2002 it started getting kicked around that the Iraqi government harbored terrorists, had something to do with 9/11, and was in possession of or seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction. Even then, I knew something smelled about this. Not to evoke imagery of a crackpot holding a "THE END IS NEAR SIGN," but dammit I was right! What followed was either the prime example of Reaganist foreign policy gone horribly, horribly wrong as we committed a colossal blunder, or one of the largest ruses committed in the free world this side of the electoral college.
The oppression would be televised, as we saw live images of Baghdad getting blasted to smithereens. It was called Operation Shock & Awe. Shocked? Somehow, in spite of my predictions coming true before my very eyes, the answer remained a resounding yes. Awe? No. Not in the least.
The man got away with murder until the midterm elections of 2006. Before that, the only sharp critics of the Bush Administration were members of what the media could dub "the liberal elite," the "leftist fringe." People like Cindy Sheehan, a sandal-wearing hippie who didn't stop her son from joining the Army but sure made a stink about it when he came back as freight draped in Old Glory. People like Michael Moore, a leading snake oil merchant of the bumper stickered station wagon set; he sharply criticized the war but owned stock in Halliburton, he couldn't stand to see his beloved hometown of Flint, Michigan fall into the trappings of the Rust Belt but lived in a mansion far away from the epicenter, oh yes - and he's fat. Even if you didn't see the exploitative speculative trash that was Fahrenheit 9/11, you could at least make a joke about Mr. Moore's girth.
Once the Republican majority in Congress disbanded after 12 long years of gridlock for Clinton and back-slapping approval for Bush Jr., it became fashionable to criticize the President. There were some folks who called for his impeachment - funny enough, none of them signed the Patriot Act. Perhaps it's no coincidence that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was quick to say impeachment was NOT on the Democratic agenda. I guess if Congressman Kucinich had had his way and held everyone accountable, the halls of Congress would have gotten mighty quiet.
But now Obama has ascended to office - in the single greatest decision my generation has made that didn't involve signing an online petition or joining a Facebook group - the younger people of America who got him elected have turned off. We got him in, now let's allow him to fix everything. Bolstering David Letterman's query on whether Bush is the greatest political strategist in history or the buffoon's buffoon, the situation in Iraq is a volatile one, seemingly impossible to make a step in any direction. Obama could have opted to escalate the war - should we pursue "victory" (as defined by standards steeped in Cold War paranoia, wherein the spread of a contrary viewpoint is shut down and a McDonald's is built in their town square), the right step would be to send more troops and get the job done.
Not in a million years.
But with the pullout will come criticism from Republicans that we've gone soft - the fear that we'll look vulnerable in the international community (if there's one thing that will make the United States look stupid, it will be ending a war founded on what George Galloway called "a pack of lies" - yeah, we'll be the laughingstock at the United Nations...), thus prompting another terrorist attack. Hell, Obama's pullout was blasted by Reid and Pelosi - Devil's advocates, never to be satisfied so long as someone with a last name other than Clinton sits in the White House.
You would think the Republicans wouldn't want a terrorist attack, as it would theoretically mean the nation will rally behind Obama as being the kind of leader who looks good behind a podium in front of a pile of rubble and dead Americans. But the media is ready - and so are the politicians - to call a domestic attack an extension of Obama's lack of experience. This would be their chance, and they wouldn't dare pass on it. They'll call for another election - not unlike the California elections for governor with the recall of votes and such - and token Governor Bobby Jindal, a trained seal of a politician, selling his soul in exchange for ascending the ranks of a white man's political organization, would become our next President.
After all, it is the Faustian governor who is quick to defend Limbaugh's open prayer that Obama bites the curb: "Make no mistake: Anything other than an immediate and compliant, 'Why no sir, I don't want the president to fail,' is treated as some sort of act of treason, civil disobedience or political obstructionism." Great. I had predicted this sort of thing would happen - the crooks who put this nation where it is today, the faded decadence of yore now a cracked facade as America's many wounds ooze out blood the color of money, these bastards are now playing the cornered minority card.
And who better to voice such sentiments than a man of Punjabi Indian descent? If Gov. Jindal retains any fragment of the spiritual self which he sold to the Republican National Committee once Sarah Palin became passe to become the GOP's darling, he needs to wise up to the fact that he is a pawn in an almighty game of race-baiting.
Another Jindal quote: "This is political correctness run amok." Oh, yes? And what was people yelling "KILL OBAMA!" at McCain's rallies late in the election? Or the cracks made on Fox News about lynching Michelle Obama? Or Hillary's attempt to win the primaries by assassination? I suppose that rationalizations exist for all of these instances - such is the nature of situational ethics.
Other than tendering his resignation, the only thing that will prove Obama's worth as a leader to the Republicans is the baptism of fire (pun fully intended) that would come with a terrorist attack. I'm not encouraging it to happen. God, no. What I saw that warm Tuesday morning was horrifying. This is one of those things my grandkids will ask me about - and I will not forget what I saw, because whether I was politically aloof, conservative, liberal, socialist, whatever. We were presented with images of our fellow man, dead, dying, or suffering.
Anyone who wants to play the blame game of whose fault it was can shove it up their ass. It is a senseless debate, one that will not be answered until documents become declassified. And even then, what satisfaction will that bring? It won't resurrect the 2,700 who died that day. The dead in our military won't rise from their graves in time for Wheel Of Fortune. All the murdered Iraqi citizens, who died simply because they were Iraqis (to crib once again from MP George Galloway), won't come back to see another morning.
We've grown so cynical since the Contra scandal, "read my lips: no new taxes," the Lewinsky affair, Columbine, 9/11, and Iraqi "Freedom" (right!) that we can't help but see Obama as a potentially corrupt politician; others wish to judge him simply because of what his name rhymes with - or his middle name. Should another terrorist attack occur, we must convince ourselves that Obama would not sell himself to the military-industrial complex that has been running this country since 1945.
At least we'll finally be able to prove to even the most bigoted of Americans that Obama truly has no terrorist connections.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Been A While, Blah, Blah, Blah...
I had a great Spring Break. Wrote my final essay for my Kinks project. Had a bicycle accident that involved me not seeing a barricade. I flew - as did the bike. I'm pretty sure I'm ok.
On Wednesday, I got a call from Gill. He's grown up a lot and getting his priorities in order. It was great. Thank God.
Visited Nick in Muncie. We had a really fun time. I'm worried he's a bit lonely up there, but if he says he is happy then I believe him.
I spent most of the past day watching a shit-ton of Monty Python's Flying Circus, specifically season three and season four. I have officially decided that seasons one and two are the best.
This week I've had a lot of time to myself. Shelley won't be back until tomorrow, and even then I won't see her until after class. Anyway, between marathon writing sessions at the library and indulging in British surrealist comedy, I've done lots of pondering regarding my future. It didn't hurt that on the 13th (the day Shelley left; my first day of Break) I watched 'The Graduate' and wrote a paper on it.
William & Mary emailed me - they're not letting anyone in this time around, citing "financial restructuring." My registration fee will be refunded to me. I wonder if they'd be so kind as to pay back what I shilled out for postage. Anyway, it's now down to four schools. I've learned acceptance letters are mailed out before rejections - too much time has passed for me to remain hopeful about Case Western.
We'll see about the final three, which are the ones I've been rooting for all along: Bowling Green State University, Brooklyn College, and University of Massachusetts Boston.
Anyway, I've decided whatever comes my way will be for the best. If I don't get in - then I don't get in. It won't be the end of the world, I can always reapply again and again to the above mentioned schools and others.
I can't remember, did I mention our fallback plan? It involves relocating to a sunnier clime down in Austin, Texas and my pursuit of my stupid little pipe dreams of music/movies.
Though I've not been listening to music in the car lately - in fact, that car hasn't been doing much all around - I still decided to assemble a Spring Break 2009 mix.
SPRING BREAK 2009
01. "Mr. Soul" - Buffalo Springfield (Neil Young on vocals, pre-Crazy Horse.)
The band on some silly live variety program. Awful visual quality. Neil admits he cribbed that riff from The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."
02. "Green Onions" - Booker T. & The MG's (Such a hot groove...and yet so simple.)
The house band from Memphis' Stax Records kicking ass on this number live, doing it faster than the original studio version. On a note of IU pride, Booker T. Jones attended Indiana University. Drummer Al Jackson is a perfect example of a feel-oriented. The guy's pocket reaches down to the floor.
03. "The Girl I Knew From Somewhere" - The Monkees (Been on a real Monkees kick lately; beautiful harpsichord solo)
Mind your ears - the volume on this one is a bit high.
04. "Subterranean Homesick Blues" - Bob Dylan (I'm still trying to memorize all 4,000 lines of lyrics to this one. Fantastic.)
That would be none other than Allen Ginsburg on the left side of the screen, looking like a priest. Shot by D.A. Pennebaker for the Don't Look Back documentary. Pennebaker would go on to direct the Monterey Pop doc on the legendary 1967 festival as well as David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust concert film.
05. "Dead End Street" - The Kinks (The topic of my final entry on The Kinks for the IMP. Beautiful song, hilarious promo film - see below.)
For some reason this was banned by the BBC...
06. "Don't Let It Go To Your Head" - Black Harmony (I thought this was a Blondie song when I first heard it. Great love song, to be played at our wedding.)
07. "Clowns & Jugglers" - Syd Barrett (I've discussed him before. Genius turned madman, and a testament to the dangers of drugs. This song was later reworked and titled "Octopus." It appeared on his debut solo record, The Madcap Laughs - the title being a lyric from both versions of this song.)
08. "Fool's Gold" - The Stone Roses (Another song that's cool and driven by a groove, though it's a rock band. They were touted to be the next big thing, but it didn't pan out. I'm really interested in hearing their first album. British critics still fawn over it - which I always take to be a good sign.)
This video screams early 90's, with all the saturated colors and such.
09. "World On A String" - Neil Young (From his super-depressing Tonight's The Night record. Something beautiful and macabre about this tune.)
Since Warner Music Group decided to clamp down on YouTube, preventing the exposure of potential customers to music they could enjoy online and then purchase at their friendly neighborhood record shop - but could download - I have had no luck finding Neil's version of this tune. Lots of covers, most of them awful.
Forrest - find this song. I think you'd like it.
10. "Circle Sky" - The Monkees (Written, along with track 3, by Michael Nesmith, whose talents as a musician/songwriter and role in the development of MTV is woefully overlooked. As for the song, two words: bad. ass.)
Compare this clip to that for "The Girl I Knew From Somewhere," which was taken from their TV show. This is from their 1968 film Head, written by a young Jack Nicholson. The band was obviously sick of being this sugar-coated hula hoop for twelve year old boys and girls, so they did this. As you'll see in this clip (especially at 1:37), the end result was a little off-putting to their original demographic. I think it's a great movie. On an unrelated note, Frank Zappa called them the most honest band in LA.
On another note, observe: THEY ARE PLAYING THEIR OWN INSTRUMENTS. I can't believe in this day and age of Pro Tools and pop singers this is still kicked around - no one complained about The Beach Boys not playing their instruments on Pet Sounds, they just sang.
I digress. Rock on.
11. "(I Got) So Much Trouble In My Mind" - Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul (1970's funk before it morphed into disco. Fuckin' Philly soul...anyway, yet another bumpin' groove. Lots of brass, some great guitar work - the solo at 3:27, GREAT production, more in line with hip hop than disco.)
12. "I Need Love" - Cheap Trick (One of their rarities, featured on their Sex, America boxed set. Rick Nielsen said he'd like to do this song one day with an orchestra. I see exactly what he means.)
The drone of this song predicted the rise of grunge in the 1990's. And check out that guitar solo for an example of how minimalist aesthetics can say so much more than virtuosic playing.
13. "Tired Of Being Alone" - Al Green (Beautiful soul, it sums up how sick I am of being alone in this cold, cold house.)
14. "Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles" - Captain Beefheart (Easily his most accessible song off of Clear Spot, which is easily his most accessible album.)
15. "Gangsters" - The Specials (Part of the English ska revival, late 1970's and early 1980's. This sounds like a Clash outtake. If I ever make another movie, I want to set a car chase to this song.)
16. "Knock On Wood" - Eddie Floyd (Another cool Memphis soul tune. Later reworked into a disco song...ugh...but this version is great, with those beefy horns and a great vocal performance.)
17. "Positively 4th Street" - Bob Dylan (The number of people I could dedicate this to is too long of a list. I'm already wasting enough of your time.)
18. "Success Story" - The Who (Nick was asking me about this song, which he knew best for its accompanying clip from The Kids Are Alright. Written by John Entwistle, whose songs are always fantastic. Great cynical lyrics about the music industry on this one. My favorite lines: "I gotta give up my day job / To become a heartthrob / I may go far / If I / Smash my guitar" - a reference to the band's past, sung perfectly by Entwistle - and "Take 276 / You know this used to be fun...")
The full song:
The Kids Are Alright clip:
19. "Jack The Ripper" [Live] - Link Wray (Bow down before your conquering guitar king. One of the nastiest sounding guitar features I've ever heard - that bastard axe hums and feeds back like no other. And how about those pictures - he even looks like a badass.)
20. "Leaving My Old Life Behind" / "I Am A Hermit" - Jonathan Halper (These are the only known recordings made by this folk singer; I can't find anything else about him. He sounds like a young Mick Jagger on a good day, but with an experimental edge - listen to that intro on the guitar. It sounds injured. Backwards guitar noise, double-tracked vocals...beautiful and haunting melody. And yes, I see how the lyrics of both tunes relate to me and my present situation. I really am leaving my old life behind, with or without graduate school.)
These two songs comprised the soundtrack for a six minute short film by American avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger called Puce Moment. The film itself is an extract from an uncompleted feature called Puce Women. Beautiful use of colors in this one.
Let me know what you think.
In other news, another beach trip was planned for August 15th - 22nd. We're supposed to move out of our apartments by 8/15, so even if I wanted to go it would be difficult to sidestep the chaos of moving. I wouldn't go without Shelley, but since Eric's wonderful and charming girlfriend Sarah gave me her honest, heartfelt, and well-informed advice about my better half it's probably in everyone's better interests that I have moving as my [legitimate] excuse.
Refer to the latter half of this previous entry for more as to why. Apparently Eric read it - meaning Sarah probably did, too. So...chalk up one more excuse to duck out of the trip. Eric seems cool, though; any bad blood that created he seems to have let go. I don't really see Sarah as that type of person, though.
This feels like the Spanish Inquisition sketch: my one reason for not going is that I'm moving and that Shelley's not welcome - TWO reasons! Moving, Shelley's not welcome, and the inevitable cesspool of negativity - THREE reasons are moving, Shelley isn't welcome, too much negativity, and that they read my honest opinion on the matter - oh, damn!
Alex
On Wednesday, I got a call from Gill. He's grown up a lot and getting his priorities in order. It was great. Thank God.
Visited Nick in Muncie. We had a really fun time. I'm worried he's a bit lonely up there, but if he says he is happy then I believe him.
I spent most of the past day watching a shit-ton of Monty Python's Flying Circus, specifically season three and season four. I have officially decided that seasons one and two are the best.
This week I've had a lot of time to myself. Shelley won't be back until tomorrow, and even then I won't see her until after class. Anyway, between marathon writing sessions at the library and indulging in British surrealist comedy, I've done lots of pondering regarding my future. It didn't hurt that on the 13th (the day Shelley left; my first day of Break) I watched 'The Graduate' and wrote a paper on it.
William & Mary emailed me - they're not letting anyone in this time around, citing "financial restructuring." My registration fee will be refunded to me. I wonder if they'd be so kind as to pay back what I shilled out for postage. Anyway, it's now down to four schools. I've learned acceptance letters are mailed out before rejections - too much time has passed for me to remain hopeful about Case Western.
We'll see about the final three, which are the ones I've been rooting for all along: Bowling Green State University, Brooklyn College, and University of Massachusetts Boston.
Anyway, I've decided whatever comes my way will be for the best. If I don't get in - then I don't get in. It won't be the end of the world, I can always reapply again and again to the above mentioned schools and others.
I can't remember, did I mention our fallback plan? It involves relocating to a sunnier clime down in Austin, Texas and my pursuit of my stupid little pipe dreams of music/movies.
Though I've not been listening to music in the car lately - in fact, that car hasn't been doing much all around - I still decided to assemble a Spring Break 2009 mix.
SPRING BREAK 2009
01. "Mr. Soul" - Buffalo Springfield (Neil Young on vocals, pre-Crazy Horse.)
The band on some silly live variety program. Awful visual quality. Neil admits he cribbed that riff from The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."
02. "Green Onions" - Booker T. & The MG's (Such a hot groove...and yet so simple.)
The house band from Memphis' Stax Records kicking ass on this number live, doing it faster than the original studio version. On a note of IU pride, Booker T. Jones attended Indiana University. Drummer Al Jackson is a perfect example of a feel-oriented. The guy's pocket reaches down to the floor.
03. "The Girl I Knew From Somewhere" - The Monkees (Been on a real Monkees kick lately; beautiful harpsichord solo)
Mind your ears - the volume on this one is a bit high.
04. "Subterranean Homesick Blues" - Bob Dylan (I'm still trying to memorize all 4,000 lines of lyrics to this one. Fantastic.)
That would be none other than Allen Ginsburg on the left side of the screen, looking like a priest. Shot by D.A. Pennebaker for the Don't Look Back documentary. Pennebaker would go on to direct the Monterey Pop doc on the legendary 1967 festival as well as David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust concert film.
05. "Dead End Street" - The Kinks (The topic of my final entry on The Kinks for the IMP. Beautiful song, hilarious promo film - see below.)
For some reason this was banned by the BBC...
06. "Don't Let It Go To Your Head" - Black Harmony (I thought this was a Blondie song when I first heard it. Great love song, to be played at our wedding.)
07. "Clowns & Jugglers" - Syd Barrett (I've discussed him before. Genius turned madman, and a testament to the dangers of drugs. This song was later reworked and titled "Octopus." It appeared on his debut solo record, The Madcap Laughs - the title being a lyric from both versions of this song.)
08. "Fool's Gold" - The Stone Roses (Another song that's cool and driven by a groove, though it's a rock band. They were touted to be the next big thing, but it didn't pan out. I'm really interested in hearing their first album. British critics still fawn over it - which I always take to be a good sign.)
This video screams early 90's, with all the saturated colors and such.
09. "World On A String" - Neil Young (From his super-depressing Tonight's The Night record. Something beautiful and macabre about this tune.)
Since Warner Music Group decided to clamp down on YouTube, preventing the exposure of potential customers to music they could enjoy online and then purchase at their friendly neighborhood record shop - but could download - I have had no luck finding Neil's version of this tune. Lots of covers, most of them awful.
Forrest - find this song. I think you'd like it.
10. "Circle Sky" - The Monkees (Written, along with track 3, by Michael Nesmith, whose talents as a musician/songwriter and role in the development of MTV is woefully overlooked. As for the song, two words: bad. ass.)
Compare this clip to that for "The Girl I Knew From Somewhere," which was taken from their TV show. This is from their 1968 film Head, written by a young Jack Nicholson. The band was obviously sick of being this sugar-coated hula hoop for twelve year old boys and girls, so they did this. As you'll see in this clip (especially at 1:37), the end result was a little off-putting to their original demographic. I think it's a great movie. On an unrelated note, Frank Zappa called them the most honest band in LA.
On another note, observe: THEY ARE PLAYING THEIR OWN INSTRUMENTS. I can't believe in this day and age of Pro Tools and pop singers this is still kicked around - no one complained about The Beach Boys not playing their instruments on Pet Sounds, they just sang.
I digress. Rock on.
11. "(I Got) So Much Trouble In My Mind" - Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul (1970's funk before it morphed into disco. Fuckin' Philly soul...anyway, yet another bumpin' groove. Lots of brass, some great guitar work - the solo at 3:27, GREAT production, more in line with hip hop than disco.)
12. "I Need Love" - Cheap Trick (One of their rarities, featured on their Sex, America boxed set. Rick Nielsen said he'd like to do this song one day with an orchestra. I see exactly what he means.)
The drone of this song predicted the rise of grunge in the 1990's. And check out that guitar solo for an example of how minimalist aesthetics can say so much more than virtuosic playing.
13. "Tired Of Being Alone" - Al Green (Beautiful soul, it sums up how sick I am of being alone in this cold, cold house.)
14. "Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles" - Captain Beefheart (Easily his most accessible song off of Clear Spot, which is easily his most accessible album.)
15. "Gangsters" - The Specials (Part of the English ska revival, late 1970's and early 1980's. This sounds like a Clash outtake. If I ever make another movie, I want to set a car chase to this song.)
16. "Knock On Wood" - Eddie Floyd (Another cool Memphis soul tune. Later reworked into a disco song...ugh...but this version is great, with those beefy horns and a great vocal performance.)
17. "Positively 4th Street" - Bob Dylan (The number of people I could dedicate this to is too long of a list. I'm already wasting enough of your time.)
18. "Success Story" - The Who (Nick was asking me about this song, which he knew best for its accompanying clip from The Kids Are Alright. Written by John Entwistle, whose songs are always fantastic. Great cynical lyrics about the music industry on this one. My favorite lines: "I gotta give up my day job / To become a heartthrob / I may go far / If I / Smash my guitar" - a reference to the band's past, sung perfectly by Entwistle - and "Take 276 / You know this used to be fun...")
The full song:
The Kids Are Alright clip:
19. "Jack The Ripper" [Live] - Link Wray (Bow down before your conquering guitar king. One of the nastiest sounding guitar features I've ever heard - that bastard axe hums and feeds back like no other. And how about those pictures - he even looks like a badass.)
20. "Leaving My Old Life Behind" / "I Am A Hermit" - Jonathan Halper (These are the only known recordings made by this folk singer; I can't find anything else about him. He sounds like a young Mick Jagger on a good day, but with an experimental edge - listen to that intro on the guitar. It sounds injured. Backwards guitar noise, double-tracked vocals...beautiful and haunting melody. And yes, I see how the lyrics of both tunes relate to me and my present situation. I really am leaving my old life behind, with or without graduate school.)
These two songs comprised the soundtrack for a six minute short film by American avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger called Puce Moment. The film itself is an extract from an uncompleted feature called Puce Women. Beautiful use of colors in this one.
Let me know what you think.
In other news, another beach trip was planned for August 15th - 22nd. We're supposed to move out of our apartments by 8/15, so even if I wanted to go it would be difficult to sidestep the chaos of moving. I wouldn't go without Shelley, but since Eric's wonderful and charming girlfriend Sarah gave me her honest, heartfelt, and well-informed advice about my better half it's probably in everyone's better interests that I have moving as my [legitimate] excuse.
Refer to the latter half of this previous entry for more as to why. Apparently Eric read it - meaning Sarah probably did, too. So...chalk up one more excuse to duck out of the trip. Eric seems cool, though; any bad blood that created he seems to have let go. I don't really see Sarah as that type of person, though.
This feels like the Spanish Inquisition sketch: my one reason for not going is that I'm moving and that Shelley's not welcome - TWO reasons! Moving, Shelley's not welcome, and the inevitable cesspool of negativity - THREE reasons are moving, Shelley isn't welcome, too much negativity, and that they read my honest opinion on the matter - oh, damn!
Alex
Friday, February 20, 2009
Another Survey
Have you ever made out in a bathroom?
Yes
Do you think the last person you kissed is nice?
Um, YES!
Who was the last person to call you?
Mom
What is the last non-alcoholic beverage you had?
Diet Ginger Ale
When is the last time you cried?
This morning, Dad left a voicemail wishing us the best with Shelley's father being in town and got choked up. It's now only happened 3 times, but when Dad gets choked up, so do I.
Are you scared of spiders?
No, but my GOD Shelley is!
Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?
It is the fourth thing I think about each morning and the third to last thing I think about before I go to bed. The first is "How can I keep sharp objects away from my junk?", the second is "Will I get pizza today, if so will it be free?", and the third involves whether or not I'll round second base.
What are your plans for this weekend?
Playing the waiting game, being diplomatic if necessary (Shelley's father is up - yeah...), then to Seymour for Mom's play. Tonight my friend Jordan and I are going to see Ben Kweller at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. I have no idea how good/bad it will be, but it was free.
Ever been swimming in a lake or river?
Yes.
What’s irritating you right now?
Grad school apps, undergrad work, parents (mine and hers)
What radio station(s) do you listen to?
KAIT - Alex's iTunes. It's better than the radio. Sometimes I'll listen to the streaming radio at Zappa.com, twice an hour they'll play stuff from the same album, but still. Zappa is Zappa.
Are you afraid of the dark?
Only when there's a murderer in the apartment.
Are you listening to music right now?
Graham and I were listening to Gregorian chants, but now he's watching Invader Zim.
Do you like Chinese food?
Oh, my sweet Lord YES.
What is the last movie you saw in theaters?
Zack and Miri Make A Porno - really stupid, I gave it a C-.
Is there anyone you wish was still in your life?
Eric Condon, Rick Chandler, Ian Hoopes, Adam Gratz, Matt Pariso, and Adam Duckworth.
Do you get distracted easily?
No, not at all - Oh, hey! A wikipedia entry on...
Um, YES. A LOT.
First time you kissed the last person you kissed?
November 2005. We were watching TV, and it just kind of happened. It was really sweet.
Who is your best friend?
Shelley. Honorable mention to Forrest, Eric (DiBlasi), Boxman, and Graham. Special honorable mentions to Eric Condon and Rick.
What was going through your mind during your last kiss?
"Is that a test tube in my pocket?" What a dumb question, this one.
Is it easier to forgive or forget?
Forget.
Are you jealous of someone?
I wouldn't be studying other people's lives if I wasn't.
Would you live with someone without marrying them?
Um...no, of course not...
Have you ever had a dream about people you love dying?
Yes, very scary.
Who was the last person you cried in front of?
Shelley.
Have you ever changed clothes in a vehicle?
I one time changed trousers while driving. Beat THAT.
Have you ever liked someone so much that it hurts?
Still do. :~)
Have you ever broken someone’s heart?
A few.
Do you believe that you are a good boyfriend or girlfriend?
I'm a better fiance.
What did you do yesterday?
Class, took a shit, played with the cat, HAD PIZZA!, and stuff.
Have you ever dated Someone Older Than You?
Yes.
What time did you go to bed at and when did you awake?
2:30 AM / 9:30 AM
Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?
Yes, but not much more.
12 TRUE & FALSE
1. I have a tattoo: False
2. I like skittles: True
3. I have plans for tomorrow: True
4. I play more than 2 sports: True (soccer and ping pong)
5. I love country music : True in some respects, false in a lot.
6. I am content with my life: Stepping back and looking at the painting instead of the brushstrokes, so, so True.
7. I drink water: True
8. I own an iPod: False
9. I have been to a school dance: True
10. I like winter: Mother Mary 'n Joseph FALSE!
11. I know someone who has passed away from a disease: True
12. I own more than 5 pairs of Shoes: False
11 HAVE YOU EVERS
1. Gone to the mall with a whole bunch of people: Yes
2. Taken pictures of yourself naked: No
3. Jumped off somewhere that was high: Yes
4. Eaten sushi: Yes
5. Cursed around an adult?: Yes
6. Killed something?: Yes, several frogs/toads...disgusting creatures, I can't abide them.
7. Cried your heart out: Yes
8. Kissed in the Rain: Yes
9. Pet a pig: Yes
10. Failed a class: Almost
11. Crapped standing up: Yes, three times. (I wrote this one.)
m@ - Don't worry about not keeping up with this, I'm worse than you at it.
Forrest - we'll be in town Saturday/Sunday, want to hang out and catch up?
Yes
Do you think the last person you kissed is nice?
Um, YES!
Who was the last person to call you?
Mom
What is the last non-alcoholic beverage you had?
Diet Ginger Ale
When is the last time you cried?
This morning, Dad left a voicemail wishing us the best with Shelley's father being in town and got choked up. It's now only happened 3 times, but when Dad gets choked up, so do I.
Are you scared of spiders?
No, but my GOD Shelley is!
Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?
It is the fourth thing I think about each morning and the third to last thing I think about before I go to bed. The first is "How can I keep sharp objects away from my junk?", the second is "Will I get pizza today, if so will it be free?", and the third involves whether or not I'll round second base.
What are your plans for this weekend?
Playing the waiting game, being diplomatic if necessary (Shelley's father is up - yeah...), then to Seymour for Mom's play. Tonight my friend Jordan and I are going to see Ben Kweller at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. I have no idea how good/bad it will be, but it was free.
Ever been swimming in a lake or river?
Yes.
What’s irritating you right now?
Grad school apps, undergrad work, parents (mine and hers)
What radio station(s) do you listen to?
KAIT - Alex's iTunes. It's better than the radio. Sometimes I'll listen to the streaming radio at Zappa.com, twice an hour they'll play stuff from the same album, but still. Zappa is Zappa.
Are you afraid of the dark?
Only when there's a murderer in the apartment.
Are you listening to music right now?
Graham and I were listening to Gregorian chants, but now he's watching Invader Zim.
Do you like Chinese food?
Oh, my sweet Lord YES.
What is the last movie you saw in theaters?
Zack and Miri Make A Porno - really stupid, I gave it a C-.
Is there anyone you wish was still in your life?
Eric Condon, Rick Chandler, Ian Hoopes, Adam Gratz, Matt Pariso, and Adam Duckworth.
Do you get distracted easily?
No, not at all - Oh, hey! A wikipedia entry on...
Um, YES. A LOT.
First time you kissed the last person you kissed?
November 2005. We were watching TV, and it just kind of happened. It was really sweet.
Who is your best friend?
Shelley. Honorable mention to Forrest, Eric (DiBlasi), Boxman, and Graham. Special honorable mentions to Eric Condon and Rick.
What was going through your mind during your last kiss?
"Is that a test tube in my pocket?" What a dumb question, this one.
Is it easier to forgive or forget?
Forget.
Are you jealous of someone?
I wouldn't be studying other people's lives if I wasn't.
Would you live with someone without marrying them?
Um...no, of course not...
Have you ever had a dream about people you love dying?
Yes, very scary.
Who was the last person you cried in front of?
Shelley.
Have you ever changed clothes in a vehicle?
I one time changed trousers while driving. Beat THAT.
Have you ever liked someone so much that it hurts?
Still do. :~)
Have you ever broken someone’s heart?
A few.
Do you believe that you are a good boyfriend or girlfriend?
I'm a better fiance.
What did you do yesterday?
Class, took a shit, played with the cat, HAD PIZZA!, and stuff.
Have you ever dated Someone Older Than You?
Yes.
What time did you go to bed at and when did you awake?
2:30 AM / 9:30 AM
Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?
Yes, but not much more.
12 TRUE & FALSE
1. I have a tattoo: False
2. I like skittles: True
3. I have plans for tomorrow: True
4. I play more than 2 sports: True (soccer and ping pong)
5. I love country music : True in some respects, false in a lot.
6. I am content with my life: Stepping back and looking at the painting instead of the brushstrokes, so, so True.
7. I drink water: True
8. I own an iPod: False
9. I have been to a school dance: True
10. I like winter: Mother Mary 'n Joseph FALSE!
11. I know someone who has passed away from a disease: True
12. I own more than 5 pairs of Shoes: False
11 HAVE YOU EVERS
1. Gone to the mall with a whole bunch of people: Yes
2. Taken pictures of yourself naked: No
3. Jumped off somewhere that was high: Yes
4. Eaten sushi: Yes
5. Cursed around an adult?: Yes
6. Killed something?: Yes, several frogs/toads...disgusting creatures, I can't abide them.
7. Cried your heart out: Yes
8. Kissed in the Rain: Yes
9. Pet a pig: Yes
10. Failed a class: Almost
11. Crapped standing up: Yes, three times. (I wrote this one.)
m@ - Don't worry about not keeping up with this, I'm worse than you at it.
Forrest - we'll be in town Saturday/Sunday, want to hang out and catch up?
Monday, February 9, 2009
Lessons Learned, Realities Faced
I left my job at Spencer Gifts on Saturday. Lots of behind-the-scenes drama, but I had taken some shifts off to meet with the guy who did DJ'ed Eric's wedding back in October. My original plan was to work three jobs this summer, with the gig at Spencer's being something to keep me occupied during the week. Pete and I had a 20 minute talk at the beginning of my shift - he had circulated a memo directed at me and another employee - and everything seemed fine. Then my other supervisor said Pete decided if I didn't come in on Valentine's Day I was fired.
So I wrote my two weeks notice.
It's fine. Don't worry about it, the reason on paper and in all reality is that I was sick of dealing with all these local schmucks. You guys all know I'm not one to play up my intelligence, but as someone 7/8ths of the way done with college and bound for graduate school I deserve better treatment than what I get at that job simply because I'm a dumbass on the other side of a counter. On moral grounds, I saw people bitch about the economy only to spend $80 on hats, a purse, and some other stupid item.
The combined total of mine and Shelley's groceries was just under that at $79. Ridiculous.
With today and yesterday being the warmest days so far this year - and to actually be in the threshold of comfort as opposed to this Arctic bullshit we had a month ago - my spirit has been lifted. When Shelley gets back from class I'm probably going to insist we go for a walk.
Never mind - I just called her. She doesn't want to. She has a paper due. Can't put something off...no. And it's not like her writing a paper just means we can't go for a walk. It means I can't talk to her, I can't listen to music, I can't play video games...
Sometimes I wonder if solitude, in spite of its overall depressing, has some curative properties in moderation.
Anyway, the cabin fever that comes with the cold months has faded. Yesterday I went for a long drive in the car. I went all around the region west of Bloomington and Monroe County. I wasn't going anywhere, I didn't have any music to listen to...but it was great. I did a little bit of brainstorming for my Kinks project, which I in turn made into an outline this afternoon. Once I wrapped up my chapter, I talked to myself about some recent events.
Don't be fooled - talking to yourself is probably one of the best things you can do. Like masturbation, it's just one of those things the public scorns. Get caught in public doing it, even once, and you're branded a weirdo. (Satire)
I learned some things about myself.
A long time ago, when things had gone sour with my parents regarding religion, Kelley Lindstrom told me I needed to pick my own battles. It pissed me off at the time that someone would do something other than just let me vent, bloviate, and victimize myself to no end. (The nerve of that woman, I know!) This advice has constantly been on my mind these past few months. I could have fought with Andy over my dismissal - but I would have lost.
I could have made a big deal about quitting on Saturday and reported some regularly broken rules to corporate as an act of spite...but I didn't. Moreover, I couldn't. Just because someone has wronged me - intentionally or not, for real or in my own mind - doesn't mean I need to get back at them. I learned back in April when I pranked David one step too far that working for the Karma Police is not something you do on your own. Sometimes people have a hard enough time waking up in the morning and realizing they're still them. That's punishment enough.
However, if the opportunity lands in your lap to administer some justice to someone who has it coming, as I did with Laura, DON'T PASS IT UP.
That all said, I have reconnected with Joel and Nicole over Facebook. With all the loss I've had, I learned what the real definition of a terrible friend is. It's not Joel - he might have been an odd duck, but at least he gave a shit and always wanted to hang out. Don't get me wrong, I approach Nicole with a bit of distance and a lot of caution. But I learned I should never be anti-anybody. Or anti-anything other than racism, pedophilia, animal abuse, and intolerance. I learned this dealing with Andy. Yes, I was furious, but at no point could I ever come out and say, "He's not even that good at his job!" Because he's terrific at it.
I don't know if this weekend would work out, but I wouldn't mind getting in touch with him to hang out. I apologized to him for being so quick to blow him off, and that life was too short for grudges.
Believe me, I see the parallels here. I'm doing what I was hoping others would do: apologize and extend the proverbial olive branch.
Anyway, his response didn't smack of "I told you so" arrogance or "well, I don't know...", no. He responded, "No worries." Water under the bridge. He's a better man than I.
I know, this doesn't translate well into words. My own personal experiences, like feeling the presence of a higher power - the presence of God - none of this crap makes for interesting reading. At least not to me. The point is I'm continuing to grow and learn. If I may actually say something positive about myself, but this is something I will never stop doing.
Here are two songs from Neil Young's yet-to-be-released-on-CD album Time Fades Away, released in 1973.
Time Fades Away
Don't Be Denied
I also finally sat down and listened to all 17 minutes of Miles Davis' "Spanish Key" off Bitches Brew. It felt like it went on forever, but in a good way. My mind doesn't get blown as much as it used to, but it did last night.
Going out for a walk, alone, and not at all bothered by that idea,
Alex
So I wrote my two weeks notice.
It's fine. Don't worry about it, the reason on paper and in all reality is that I was sick of dealing with all these local schmucks. You guys all know I'm not one to play up my intelligence, but as someone 7/8ths of the way done with college and bound for graduate school I deserve better treatment than what I get at that job simply because I'm a dumbass on the other side of a counter. On moral grounds, I saw people bitch about the economy only to spend $80 on hats, a purse, and some other stupid item.
The combined total of mine and Shelley's groceries was just under that at $79. Ridiculous.
With today and yesterday being the warmest days so far this year - and to actually be in the threshold of comfort as opposed to this Arctic bullshit we had a month ago - my spirit has been lifted. When Shelley gets back from class I'm probably going to insist we go for a walk.
Never mind - I just called her. She doesn't want to. She has a paper due. Can't put something off...no. And it's not like her writing a paper just means we can't go for a walk. It means I can't talk to her, I can't listen to music, I can't play video games...
Sometimes I wonder if solitude, in spite of its overall depressing, has some curative properties in moderation.
Anyway, the cabin fever that comes with the cold months has faded. Yesterday I went for a long drive in the car. I went all around the region west of Bloomington and Monroe County. I wasn't going anywhere, I didn't have any music to listen to...but it was great. I did a little bit of brainstorming for my Kinks project, which I in turn made into an outline this afternoon. Once I wrapped up my chapter, I talked to myself about some recent events.
Don't be fooled - talking to yourself is probably one of the best things you can do. Like masturbation, it's just one of those things the public scorns. Get caught in public doing it, even once, and you're branded a weirdo. (Satire)
I learned some things about myself.
A long time ago, when things had gone sour with my parents regarding religion, Kelley Lindstrom told me I needed to pick my own battles. It pissed me off at the time that someone would do something other than just let me vent, bloviate, and victimize myself to no end. (The nerve of that woman, I know!) This advice has constantly been on my mind these past few months. I could have fought with Andy over my dismissal - but I would have lost.
I could have made a big deal about quitting on Saturday and reported some regularly broken rules to corporate as an act of spite...but I didn't. Moreover, I couldn't. Just because someone has wronged me - intentionally or not, for real or in my own mind - doesn't mean I need to get back at them. I learned back in April when I pranked David one step too far that working for the Karma Police is not something you do on your own. Sometimes people have a hard enough time waking up in the morning and realizing they're still them. That's punishment enough.
However, if the opportunity lands in your lap to administer some justice to someone who has it coming, as I did with Laura, DON'T PASS IT UP.
That all said, I have reconnected with Joel and Nicole over Facebook. With all the loss I've had, I learned what the real definition of a terrible friend is. It's not Joel - he might have been an odd duck, but at least he gave a shit and always wanted to hang out. Don't get me wrong, I approach Nicole with a bit of distance and a lot of caution. But I learned I should never be anti-anybody. Or anti-anything other than racism, pedophilia, animal abuse, and intolerance. I learned this dealing with Andy. Yes, I was furious, but at no point could I ever come out and say, "He's not even that good at his job!" Because he's terrific at it.
I don't know if this weekend would work out, but I wouldn't mind getting in touch with him to hang out. I apologized to him for being so quick to blow him off, and that life was too short for grudges.
Believe me, I see the parallels here. I'm doing what I was hoping others would do: apologize and extend the proverbial olive branch.
Anyway, his response didn't smack of "I told you so" arrogance or "well, I don't know...", no. He responded, "No worries." Water under the bridge. He's a better man than I.
I know, this doesn't translate well into words. My own personal experiences, like feeling the presence of a higher power - the presence of God - none of this crap makes for interesting reading. At least not to me. The point is I'm continuing to grow and learn. If I may actually say something positive about myself, but this is something I will never stop doing.
Here are two songs from Neil Young's yet-to-be-released-on-CD album Time Fades Away, released in 1973.
Time Fades Away
Don't Be Denied
I also finally sat down and listened to all 17 minutes of Miles Davis' "Spanish Key" off Bitches Brew. It felt like it went on forever, but in a good way. My mind doesn't get blown as much as it used to, but it did last night.
Going out for a walk, alone, and not at all bothered by that idea,
Alex
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