Sunday Scribblings–10/10/10

Essential

Tell us what is essential for you today - but only tell us the essential bits.

Time.  Friends.  Music.  Finishing.  Enjoying.  Seeing.  Doing.  Being.

Trying Ubuntu

I’ve always heard a lot about Linux and the Ubuntu flavor of Linux.  I love that it’s a completely free operating system.  I love that you can run it off a CD or a USB drive.  After reading Makeuseof’s article about why every Windows user should have an Ubuntu Live CD, I was convinced to download the ISO and burn one for myself.  Of course, I had to try the OS out myself from that CD. 

That led me to finding out about the program Wubi last week.  Wubi is a neat way to install Ubuntu on your computer without partitioning your hard drive.  It creates a virtual disk on your main drive and run the OS off of that.  Give it enough drive space and it will run as smoothly as a regular installation.  I tried that out this weekend and was very impressed.  However, I’ve decided that Ubuntu, while cool, is really not for me after all.

Why is that?  One word: Winamp.  You can’t generally install Windows-only programs on Linux unless they have a Linux version.  You can also try using Wine, a program which can convert some Windows programs to Linux format.  I tried it with Winamp, but the Winamp Media Library doesn’t work.  I tried finding another music program for Linux that could do most of what Winamp can do, but the program that came closest stopped working for me.  Therefore, I’m back to Windows 7 again.

Oh, there are definitely things I like about Ubuntu.  Finding and installing (most) software is a breeze.  I really wish Windows had a similar capability.  Linux makes it easy to try out different pieces of software.  I also like the way the desktop is organized with multiple information bars.  I like the split  between menus, especially the ‘places’ menu.  I like the fact they’re available with one click instead of several.  I really like the idea of having several desktops, although I’ve discovered that Windows has similar programs available (I’m now using Dexpot for this purpose). 

If I wasn’t so picky about programs I’ve used for a long time, I could definitely make the switch to Ubuntu if I so chose.  It’s just a little harder to use than Windows, but not so hard that a good Google search or question in the Ubuntu Forums can’t set things right.  For average, everyday computer use, I think it would be perfectly great.  It would be especially great for someone who doesn’t want to pay over $100for an operating system.  Just take a little time to learn it, and you’ll be rewarded.

Birthday

Today is my blog's eighth birthday.  Just thought you should know that.

I love rock and roll (and rock and roll concerts)

The title of this post should clue you in that I saw Joan Jett and the Blackhearts perform today.  They were playing at the Lane County Fair.  For the price of  admission, I got to see a very famous performer sing and play her heart out. 

The stage was set up in a corner by the food booths, and it was standing room only.  No seating at all.  I arrived about a half hour before the start of the show to claim a spot.  Of course, I’m so short that there’s really no good spot to be in to see everything.  The half hour went by fairly quickly and Joan and her band came on promptly at 4.

What was the show like?  Well, it rocked!  Joan played all the hits, even Runaways stuff.  She’s not afraid to give the crowd what they want to hear.  I was feeling the music, singing along, shouting, everything.  I had an awesome time, and Joan puts on a great show.  I could only see the top of her head, though.  I couldn’t see most of the other musicians at all.  But, oh, I could hear them!  I snapped some shots with my cell phone camera, the only camera I had available and working.  They didn’t turn out the best, but you can kind of see Joan.

Other than that, I walked around, took more photos with my camera, and ate stuff.  I haven’t been to the fair for a very long time.  I might go back if they get someone like Joan Jett to play again.

Here are some photos:

More on my Flickr photostream.

Tuesday Tunes – 8/3/10

As always, brought to you by Music Memoirs:

This week's topic is introductions: Tell us about your musical self, what you love about music, your favorite bands, if you play any instruments etc.

My name is Russ.  I’m 30 years old, born and raised in the state of Oregon, and I love music.  I don’t know what my first musical memory is, but I think it had something to do with a Disney album.  I also have vague memories of hearing Jimmy Buffett and Anne Murray, although these early experiences didn’t shape my later musical tastes. 

As an older child and teen, I was very much interested in radio.  I owned quite a few cassettes too, but I listened to a lot of radio too.  I always tuned in to the popular Top 40 station and listened to whatever was playing big on radio or MTV.  I was a big MTV watcher as a youth.  Around the age of 9 or 10, I got interested in rap and hip hop music.  It was quite different back then.  I think I just wanted to listen to something different from my parents.  I claimed to HATE rock and roll, although I think I secretly liked it. 

The less said about my hip hop days, the better.  I listened to a lot of good stuff in the genre, but also a lot of crap.  I also continued listening to whatever was popular on radio.  My favorite CDs were the Jock Jamz collections.  Embarrassing, really.  Of course, I HATED country.

Around my senior year of high school, I started getting into other styles of music.  Jazz, for instance.  It was a short-lived fascination (although I’m getting back into it now).  I was particularly drawn to tunes by the Gershwins after seeing a musical that included many Gershwin compositions.  Later that year, I bought a sampler of modern Scandinavian folk music.  I instantly fell in love with that, and during my first year of college I was listening to and buying many of the albums on that compilation.  To make a long story short, that led to explorations in other types of “world” music including Celtic, Cajun and others.  One thing kind of lead to the next.

A few years later, I started getting interested in rock music for the first time.  A buddy of mine was learning guitar and showed me some songs he really liked.  For some reason, at that point in my life I was more receptive to it and I’ve never looked back.

I do like to explore new genres and bands, yet I’m also kind of set in my ways musically.  I don’t get into the whole indie rock scene where you worship bands that aren’t even signed to a label yet.  I think I’m a generation too old for that sort of thing.  Some of my favorite artists today include:

Afro Celt Sound System, Jeff Buckley, BeauSoleil, Smashing Pumpkins, Elvis Costello, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, Altan, The Who, Nickel Creek, Neil Finn, and Los Lobos.  Those are just some of the artists I have in my collection. 

I own somewhere between 200 and 300 CDs.  I prefer to buy my music.  I like having a physical copy with pretty liner notes.  I also like the ritual of buying music.  It’s not always fun to get exactly what you want when you want it.  The hunt, the anticipation, is where the thrill is for me. 

Genre-wise, I’m pretty open, but I tend to prefer Classic Rock, Celtic, Nordic, and Singer-songwriter.  Celtic would have to be my favorite genre.  It’s just so much fun to listen to. 

I don’t play any instruments, unfortunately.  I’ve tried playing guitar, and I own a tin whistle, but I seem to have no musical talent whatsoever.  I guess some people are put here to appreciate music instead of making it.

What do I love about music?  How long do you have?  That could be an entirely new post.  Most of all, I like melody.  A song must have a strong melody if I’m going to really enjoy it.  I like hearing all the little details, the way each instrument plays a part in the whole.  I like music made with passion, and without any desire to become commercially successful.  I appreciate musicians who play because they love it.  Lastly, I love music because of how it makes me feel.  I can’t explain that, but that’s why they’re called feelings. 

That was a long, rambling explanation of my history and present with music.  What does my future hold?  More music, of course.  Stay tuned as I tell you what I’m listening to along my journey, as I always do on my blog. 

Sunday Scribblings – 7/25/10

Letter

Although most people use email or text messaging these days (as do I), I still enjoy receiving actual letters in the mail from friends and family.  I like the element of surprise, that thrill you get when you see something with your name on it.  I also enjoy the physical part, holding it in your hands and looking at the other person’s handwriting (if they did hand-write the letter).  I don’t really send or receive letters too often, except from or to a few people.  We may live in an era of technology, but nothing can replace a good old-fashioned letter.  They look a lot nicer than a text, and you can keep them forever. 

I took a Bite of Eugene

Today, I decided to check out a new event here in Eugene called the Bite of Eugene.  A good number of restaurants and other food providers set up in the city park and people walk around, buy and nibble.  Admission is free!  I think it’s a really cool thing, and I had a good time (even with the heat of the day).  Of course, I took pictures:






A big duck, for no reason.





I started with the Cuban sandwich at the Nosh Pit. I've wanted to try this for a while now, and it was more than worth the wait! Pork, ham, cheese, pickles, mustard, on pressed, grilled bread. It was slammin'!





This is a peanut butter fudge mini-cupcake. It, too, was delicious. So rich, you only want a small one.



There was entertainment in addition to the food.



This was a yummy Strawberry Agua Fresca. Creamy, thick, refreshing. It was just what I needed to beat the heat.





Off The Waffle was there too. I really enjoyed my sugar-coated Belgian waffle.



Last, but not least, I had a Maple Bacon cupcake. I've decided that I don't really like maple bacon. Crazy, I know.



A nice view of the park before heading home

Tuesday Tunes - 7/6/10

Tunes:

Tell us about your favorite music player: stereo, ipod etc and why you love it so much

Well, I have more than one.  The first is my computer itself.  I have all my CDs ripped to the hard drive, so I can listen to whatever I want whenever I want.  I just search and listen.  I can also listen to internet radio or streaming sites.  The speakers on my system are completely awesome -- they even have a subwoofer!  Winamp is an excellent music player for Windows that I use all the time.  When I'm at home, my computer is my music center.

My other favorite music player hasn't arrived yet.  I just purchased a brand new iPod classic.  I've had a Nano for three years now, and I'm ready for something with a larger capacity.  I love my little Nano, but it can only handle a portion of all the music I own.  I'm tired of having to choose what I put on there.  I want it all on there!  So I bought a new black Classic iPod with 160 gigabytes of storage.  I probably won't ever fill that up!  It's going to be awesome, although I'll have to get used to the bigger size of the player itself.

Sunday Scribblings - 6/6/10

Mess

Some people can't stand a mess, and others can't seem to clean them up.  Me?  I'm in the middle.  I like things a little untidy, enough to make a room feel lived-in, but not completely messy.  Sometimes I do struggle with messes.  My computer desk is full of junk laying about -- Old cell phones, pieces of paper, knick-knacks and such.  Some of it is useful, though, like a cup full of pens and USB drives or my iPod.

The main problem I have with messes is piles.  I have piles of things, mostly paperwork, magazines, letters and such things, and when those piles get out of hand I start a new pile.  Pretty soon, I have way too many piles.  Sometimes I need to clean the piles, consolidate piles, or just get rid of them altogether.  I suppose piles are my way of organizing the things around me, but it doesn't always work.

Hey, this post has done some good!  It has inspired me to clean my messy piles. 

Festivals are fun

Last weekend, I went to the Eugene Scottish Festival.  It's just a one-day thing, not very big, quite simple.  But it's fun to attend.  I saw a few musical acts, including two bagpipe bands.  I ate a banger sausage.  I bought a book of Robert Burns poetry (which I've been wanting to do for some time).  And I took many photos, even a few videos.  Here are some of the best:

Half pound heaven

I was out and about today, so I decided to go out for lunch.  I ended up going to a place called Cornucopia, which is known for their awesome burgers.  After trying one, I definitely agree!  The thing was huge and I couldn't even finish it all.  Of course, mine had bacon.  I thought it could have used a lot more bacon, though.  Here are some photos:



I like what my server did with the straw wrapper.  That made lunch much more fun.



Here's the inside of the place.  It's a cool little hangout spot.



As I was eating, a train went by the windows!  The building is right next to the tracks. 



Here's the burger.  It was a half pound, and filled me right up.

Stew success

I'm not that experience with cooking, but the more I do it, the better at it I get.  This past weekend, I decided to aim high and cook a beef stew.  It seemed easy enough - cut everything up, do a few things to the meat and veggies, and throw it all in a pot. 

Stew is by far the most complicated thing I've tried to make so far, and I actually succeeded!  I did almost everything right and it all came together very nicely.  I'd even go so far as to call it easy to make.  I spent the entire afternoon making it, watching videos and reading while it simmered away in the oven. 

Here's what it looked like after it was done.  It only got thicker after cooling:

30

Well, I was going to post yesterday, but I forgot, so I'll just do one big post today.

• First off -- today is my 30th birthday!  It feels strange to hit another decade.  I'm now officially 'old,' or at least not young.  I'm spending today listening to music and going out for BBQ later on tonight.  I gotta have my birthday ribs.  

• I bought two excellent CDs for my birthday, and they couldn't be more different in sound:  Loveless by My Bloody Valentine and American Recordings by Johnny Cash.  One is full of dense, lush, loud, distorted electric guitars, and the other is a man, a voice and a single acoustic guitar.  They are both very great albums and I'm happy to finally own them.  

• I also got myself a couple books.  I had some time to kill the other day, so I went to a local used bookstore.  I was looking for some specific things, and I found the one book I was intending to buy for my birthday all along -- Writing New York: A Literary Anthology.  I found it for $12, only a couple more than I would have spent online.  It's in great condition, and it even has the cover I want.  I also lucked out because it's the expanded edition, which I wasn't aware existed.  More is better!  I also bought Piecework by NYC journalist Pete Hamill.  It's a collection of some of his columns and pieces over the years.

• I've been taking more photos lately now that I have a phone with a decent camera and email access to send the pics to Flickr.  Yesterday I checked out a new vegan donut place in town, and here's what their chocolate frosted looks like:

Friday Five - 3/26/10

Friday Five:

1.  How many hours’ sleep do you need in order to be at your best, and what’s the minimum you can get on a regular basis and still be functional?

To be at my best, I need eight hours.  To be functional?  I'm not sure, but it seems like six and a half is the right number.

2.  What’s your favorite sleeping position?

Curled up tight in the blanket, on my side, with my arms wrapped around me.  Actually, I change my position a few times during the night.  Sometimes flat on my back is just the right thing.

3.  What was the cause of your most recent difficulty sleeping?

The usual suspect is not wanting to go to bed because I'm distracted by whatever I'm doing.

4.  When you can’t seem to drift off to sleep right away, what are some things you do to bring about sleep?

I usually don't have a problem with that, but if I do, I try to clear my thoughts and get as comfortable as I can.

5.  When did you last doze off at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate place?

I don't think this qualifies as 'inappropriate,' but I've dozed off while watching movies once in a while.  I also seem to do it while reading more and more.  Maybe I just need more sleep.

The Grapes Of Wrath, a good film

There's not much going on for me this week.  A lot of reading, a lot of movies, a lot of music.  Just the usual, really. 

I borrowed the movie The Grapes Of Wrath from the library, and I've been watching it.  I read the book last month, so I figured I'd watch the movie.  It's one of the greatest movies of all time, and for good reasons.  I especially enjoy the cinematography.  While watching it, you just want to freeze some of the images and put them on your wall.  There's good use of dark and light, shadows, and unique compositions.  I think my favorite shot is Tom in the government camp tent, just before he's ready to leave for good.  He has his bundle under his arm and his cigarette in his mouth, and all you see is his silhouette against the tent.  That one image tells you everything you need to know about Tom Joad.  

The acting is really great, too, of course.  I especially like John Carradine as Jim Casey.  He's a real character, and has such an expressive face. 

If you own or rent the DVD of The Grapes Of Wrath, I highly recommend turning on the commentary track.  Two scholarly types talk about a number of subjects related to the movie, the book, and the Great Depression.  They have a ton of trivia and interesting observations.  You won't want to miss it.

Now I'm off to do some reading before bedtime.  I'll try to post a bit more often if I can.

Pond Prompts - 3/8/10

My Favorite Season

My favorite season would have to be summer.  Spring is nice too, as is fall.  Winter?  Too cold, too dark, too damp.  I like summer because the sun is constantly there to comfort with its warmth and brilliance.  I definitely like warmth, mostly because I live in a place that never really gets too hot.  I like not having to worry about weather conditions or whether I need to carry an umbrella or jacket.  It's a great time to get out and take photographs.  And, last but not least, we get a beautiful blue sky instead of gloomy clouds.

Name any life changing books you've read.

I'm not sure there are any books that have literally changed my life.  I've enjoyed them, but they have no effect beyond that.  I did recently read The Grapes Of Wrath, though, and that one taught me a lot about the Dust Bowl, which I was fairly ignorant of until recently.  It led me to research the topic in greater detail, always a welcome response to a novel.  

What type of person are you: a night owl or early bird?

I am most definitely a night owl.  It's easier for me to go to bed than to wake up.  The interruption of sweet sleep is never very welcome to me.  Sometimes I get a weird burst of energy late at night.  Often it will make me want to listen to music.  Perhaps the end of the day urges me to pack as much into the remaining time I have as I can.  Of course, that often prolongs the time I spend awake, but that's how it is.

Sunday Scribblings - 2/7/10

Message

I'm not really one for leaving messages, especially phone messages.  I prefer to say what I have to say directly to the person who needs to know it so that I know they received the information.  When leaving a message, you have no idea if or when the person will get the message, nor do you know if or when they will call you back.  I guess I don't like the uncertain nature of message-leaving.  Oddly enough, email doesn't bother me, but perhaps that's because email only works one way.  You're leaving a message for the person, but they're doing the same.  However, I'm still bothered by the uncertain nature of it.  You never know if the person received the email until they reply.  Thankfully, replying to emails is easy and almost always expected.

Simply amazing

Yesterday I saw the movie Avatar in 3-D.  The movie is basically this generation's Star Wars, so I didn't want to miss out.

I was really impressed!  My ticket cost much more than a normal movie ticket, but the experience was worth it.  Even without 3-D, I would have been amazed by James Cameron's beautiful film.  It was magical and incredibly entertaining.  I don't go to movies that often, but I chose a good one yesterday.  It was an escape, and that's what you want from movies.

I thought the 3-D was done very well.  Sometimes things would have depth (foreground and background separate).  Other times, things would pop out at you.  Once in a while you'd see something walk in front of you or float around you, which is a very disorienting experience.  I got used to the 3-D vision after a while, but I suppose that makes sense.

If you have any interest in seeing Avatar, do it now while the film is still in theaters and still in 3-D.  You'll be glad you did.

Sunday Scribblings - 1/31/10

Milestone

I'm the kind of person that always needs a milestone to reach for, something coming up on the horizon.  Whether it's a holiday, my birthday, a vacation, an appointment, or just the weekend, I like to know what's coming up next.  I suppose I'm like this because I want time to have some context.  How can one appreciate time if one has no reminder that time is passing?  Don't get me wrong, I love to live in the moment, but I stay grounded by thinking about what's coming up. 

I'm not really sure how to explain it any better than that.  Is anyone else like that, or just me? 

Sunday Scribblings - 1/17/10

"The Good Old Days"

I often think back on my childhood with nostalgia, reflecting on how much easier things seemed back then.  No responsibilities, nothing to worry about.  No competition for anything.  Needs were taken care of by someone else.  Now, of course not all of these statements are completely valid, but when you're a kid you often don't notice the day-to-day struggle.  You're just busy being a kid.

One thing I wish I had again is the sense of timelessness.  What I mean by that is, as a child, you really don't see the quick passage of time.  A year seems like a very long time.  Even an hour seems like an eternity.  Time seems to stand still when you're a child.  You truly live in the moment.  I find it hard to do that as an adult when I see the days, weeks and months just fly by. 

There's something funny about time.  It makes you forget.  When I was in college, I'd think back to middle school and how much easier everything was back then, except I couldn't remember what it was like.  Was the work easy, or hard?  How much time did I have to spend on it?  How did it seem to me at the time?  These are the things you forget, because all you know is how you feel now.  It almost makes me wish I had written a journal, even a mundane one.  I could see what life was like for me back in that time and compare it to today.  But yesterday is mostly a memory.  I don't know how accurate the memory is, but it just is.