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:

Considering a change

I'm wondering if perhaps it's time to re-organize my Firefox bookmarks, delete the ones I really don't read too much, and keep only the ones I want.  Oh, I'd still keep the bookmarks, but I'd store them online instead of on Firefox.  Things like this can easily be done online these days. 

If I do this, I'll probably just keep using Yahoo! Bookmarks.  I think most of my bookmarks are there anyhow.  There's a risk that any online service could be shut down (although I think it's not as likely with something as big as Yahoo!), but it's easy to export your bookmarks from Yahoo!'s service. 

The one downside I can see is that I'd lose the awesome search capabilities built into Firefox.  You can easily search bookmarks right from the URL bar, and you can also easily use the Places manager. 

I'll definitely consider doing this, because my bookmarks are long past getting out of control.  Any thoughts from my readers?  Is this the way to go, or should I stick with using Firefox's bookmarks?

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.

Street View just got more elegant

I was exploring Paris on Google Maps today, and thought to check out the Palace of Versailles to see if it has Street View.  Versailles is the old palace of the French kings, and it features a gorgeous palace surrounded by a giant park full of gardens, statues and landscaping.  It looks incredible from the air.  I discovered that it DOES have Street View!  You can't see everything, but you can see a lot.  I think the Palace of Versailles is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and now I can explore the grounds from my computer.

Here's the map of the place:


View Larger Map

Why go in the studio?

NPR has been posting some great articles about the past decade in music.  I talked about one here, and I'm reading another good one here.  The model of how to make money as a musician, and even be a musician, has changed so much over the past ten years.  I've been thinking about it and I have a brave idea.

Why do artists need to make studio albums at all?

I think the way of the future is in streaming and playing live shows.  Sales of full albums are declining, and even I can't deny that methods of buying music will change greatly in the years to come.  I think musicians will make most of their money from touring, endorsements, and merchandise while their recorded music will be increasingly seen as a giveaway.

If recorded music is a giveaway and a band isn't making any money from the hours they spent in the studio, why spend it in the studio at all?  Think of how much money would be saved if only a few artists used expensive studio equipment and complex computer programs to spend endless amounts of time perfecting a song that isn't going to have as much soul as a live version to begin with.  This would free up time to go out on the road and tour, which is where bands really make their money.

With no studio album to promote, bands could choose their own schedule.  They could take breaks when necessary, and work on new songs in rehearsals or even live on stage.  Once those songs are ready, a live album can be made.  Think of bands like Dave Matthews Band and Phish.  They have two or three times as many live albums as studio albums.  If the jam bands can do it, other bands can too.  

A live recording has more energy, soul and passion than a studio recording.  Listeners and buyers are more likely to respond to a great live performance than a bland studio version of something.  Audience reaction can play a part too.  If a song just isn't working, it can be discarded and replaced with the newest composition.  Instead of full albums, let's go back to E.P.s.  That's a product to sell, and it's usually stronger than a full-length album.  If the band wants to use the studio, they can record pristine versions of singles.  Maybe the most well-liked new song can be recorded, put out in the media and sold on iTunes.

I know this can be done.  I have many live albums, and most of them sound great.  This would also serve as a method of separating the good from the bad.  The pop tarts could still make records and singles, but other artists can go in this new, live direction if it suits them better.

I'm mostly brainstorming here, but I think I'm on to something.  

Tahina Ready For Travel

Frank Taylor, webmaster of Google Earth Blog, and his wife are about to begin an incredible adventure.  They're going to spend the next five years sailing around the world in their boat the Tahina.  That's not all -- they're going to share their adventures with the world through their website The Tahina Expedition.  If everything goes right, they will be sharing GPS tracks, photos, videos and more.  Of course, there will be a regular blog as well.  They have some cool toys to play with including a kite for aerial photography and an underwater video camera.

They hope to leave as soon as possible once the weather in the Atlantic clears up for their initial passage to Bermuda.  They had a lot to do to prepare, and now their trip is about to begin.  Follow their journey on the Tahina Expedition website..    

Uh, no

This is the trailer for upcoming John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy:



John looks nothing like John (except for a few brief moments).  Paul looks nothing at all like Paul.

Couldn't they have done better casting?  Maybe no one in the world looks like either Lennon or McCartney.

Briefs thoughts on Google Wave

People are getting excited about Wave, Google's new all-in-one communication tool.  I'm not going for an invite, because I really have little use for it right now.  I do think it's an interesting product, though.

I'm not sure if Google Wave itself will be as widely used as Google wants it to be.  Not everyone has a Google account, and people won't use it if people they know don't use it too.  I do, however, think that Google Wave will succeed as a model for communication software.  It's open-source, so I can see the Wave format replacing the typical email inbox.  Of course, Waves will have to work between different systems (web, desktop, etc.) but I'm sure that can be accomplished.  In any case, I would expect Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail to become more like Google Wave sometime in the next few years. 

Sidewalk Sales and Streets of New York

• My favorite store, CD World, is having a sidewalk sale this weekend.  Thousands of CDs and LPs are on sale for just $1 each.  Of course, there is a reason they're $1 - most are artists no one has ever heard of.  I would be very surprised if more than a handful of what I saw there has ever sold more than a thousand copies total.  Of course, I had to go there anyway just in case they had a hidden gem or two.  The only thing I found that I'd consider buying is a Pete Townshend CD, but I wasn't that interested.  I saw a couple things in the store that I want, but I didn't want those bad enough today, either.  What I'm going to do is see if I can get the new BeauSoleil live album for a cheaper price than its current $18.99.  They're coming to town next week (and of course I'm going), so CD World will probably have their music on sale.

• Yesterday I found a very cool website:  NYC Grid.  The author photographs New York City one block at a time and then posts what he finds on this site.  I really like the focus of it.  One city block doesn't seem like much, but the photos on this site show that you can find quite a lot if you just look.  The photos themselves are great, with a wealth of signs, graffiti, details and architecture.  It's a great way to view a city, and I'm very impressed.

Photos, bus passes and reggae

Today, I went to the campuses of the University of Oregon and its neighbor Northwest Christian University for some last-minute summer photography.  I took nearly 200 shots and saved around 65 of them.  Sometimes I love photography, other times it frustrates me.  What frustrates me?  The technical limitations of my camera (it's hard to get a good exposure in the sun without blowing out the sky) and my own limitations (sometimes I just can't translate what I'm seeing into a photograph.  I also wish I was more creative in my photography).  I don't think I took anything spectacular, but I did get some great architecture shots.  I'll post a few when I get them up on Flickr, which may take the whole weekend.

To get to the schools, I took the super-fast EmX bus.  The transit district has recently required fares for the service; before now it was free.  I was skeptical about how they could institute a fare system for that, and I am still wondering how this all works.  There are simply too many people to make it useful to check each person's pass.  No one looked at my pass when I got on the bus both times, so I'm wondering what the purpose is if there's no consequence for not having a pass.  It just makes no sense.  Even with random checks, people can still scam the system.

Ok, big topic jump.  Here's my new favorite song, "Baby Come Back" by UB40 and Pato Banton:

Pond Prompts - 6/18/09

Water, electricity, gas – old-fashioned and boring. What's the next thing that should be piped into your home?

There is only one correct answer to this question.

Bacon.

If you had to report for jury duty today, which book would you take with you?

I did have to report for jury duty (but didn't have to serve), and I took along a book by Chris Rock. If I had to go again, I don't think I'd take the book I'm currently reading (Sometimes A Great Notion). I might take along Bob Spitz's The Beatles. That would give me enough to read for an entire trial. I may be tempted to skip ahead to the part where the band actually forms, though.

What summer food are you most looking forward to?

Strawberries, always. Enjoying them is bittersweet, though, because you know they won't be around forever. Scientists, please come up with a year-round strawberry.

Humiliated

Bad = Not being able to get a bottle of soda open, no matter what you try.

Worse = Taking it back to the store and watching the person at the counter open it in two seconds.

New Technology Helping The Old

Tonight, I finished the book I've been reading for a while - Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon. It's an incredible adventure filled with amazing, memorable salt-of-the-earth Americans. You can read my review of it on Goodreads, because I'm not posting here to review it.

No, I'm here to talk about another cool thing related to the book. I was browsing on Google Earth, trying to find some of the places Least Heat-Moon visited. It's neat to see them as they are now. It gives the book more meaning when you can see what these places look like (from above, at least). I decided to search for placemarks related to the book, and I found all of them!

Someone went to the trouble of making a Google Map of (nearly) all the places William Least Heat-Moon went during his "Blue Highways" trip. Of course, you can also view the map in Google Earth. You can save it and load it up whenever you want (when you're reading the book, for example). I've done exactly that.

The Blue Highways map can be found at this link. Click the "View In Google Earth" link at the top to load it in that application. Want to save it to your computer? Right click the folder once it shows up in your Temporary Places and select "Save Place As..."

If you haven't read Blue Highways, I highly recommend it. It's an amazing read. You can find it on Amazon.com here.

*update* The Google Earth file won't save to my USB drive! I hope it will save to my external drive. If neither option works, at least I emailed it to myself.

Pond Prompts - 3/12/09

Let's see what I can do with the horribly-named Plinky:

Paul Simon was going to Graceland, Toto blessed the rains down in Africa – what place would you write a song about?

I'm sure I'd write a song about my great state of Oregon. I don't know too many Oregon songs. Loretta Lynn did have a hit with "Portland, Oregon" a few years ago, but that's the only one I can think of.

'Frankly, Rosebud, you can't handle the truth!' Have a favorite line from a movie?

I do love "I'm talkin' about - takin' it out and choppin' it up" from The Royal Tenenbaums, just because it's nonsense. Ghostbusters has a lot of great lines - "When someone asks you if you're a god, you say yes!" "I collect spores, molds and fungus." Heath Ledger's Joker has some great lines in The Dark Knight too - "You have all these rules and you think they'll save you!" or "I'm just a dog chasing cars - I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one." I won't even get into This Is Spinal Tap because the entire movie is quotable.

Animal face-off! Who would win in a fight between a bear and a shark?

Stephen Colbert tells us that bears are the greatest threat America has ever faced. I think a bear would probably win in a fight with a shark. For one thing, a bear can just get back up onto land if need be. A bear wouldn't be swimming out in the open ocean in the first place. A shark has sharp teeth, indeed, but a bear has sharp teeth and claws. Finally, if the bear is having problems in his fight, he can just call in his secret weapon, Yogi Bear. He's smarter than the average bear, and he knows how to get your pic-a-nic basket. I'd like to see a shark try that.

Careless Talk

While looking at this page of WWII propaganda posters, I notice one phrase come up again and again:

"Careless talk."

That happens to also be the title of a Billy Joel song.

I will never hear it the same way again.

Think with yer dipstick, Jimmy!

This commercial is completely hilarious.

Why?

Not that I care why. It's funny every time I watch it. Watch it with me:



Jimmy!

What a name!

Rhode Island has a representative in the U.S. Senate named Sheldon Whitehouse.

I'm not kidding.

Sheldon Whitehouse.

You think this guy will ever run for president?

The Perfect Heathcliff

I'm currently re-reading Wuthering Heights, one of my absolute favorites. I've always thought about who would make the perfect Heathcliff in a new movie adaptation of the novel. I've had an image in my mind of just who Heathcliff is, what he looks like, how he sounds, etc. I think I've finally found the perfect candidate.

He has the rugged good looks.

He has the intensity.

He has the vaguely ethnic look, dark hair and all.

He has proven himself capable of playing sadistic so-and-so's, which Heathcliff definitely is.

The one drawback would be his age, but he still looks young enough to pull it off.

May I present for your consideration . . . .

Daniel Day-Lewis

What do you think? Could he do Heathcliff justice? Would you watch Wuthering Heights with this man in the lead role? I know I would.

Thanks

I just wanted to post and wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving (and an especially happy Thursday if you're outside of the U.S.). I'm thankful for each and every person who comes here to read my blog posts.

I'm also happy that I'm not living in a cardboard box. Hurry up and fix that economy, congress!

Blogs + books = Blooks?

Remember that time I ranted about blogs that turn into published books? Well, today the A.V. Club has a list of 27 blogs that became books. Some of these I've never heard of, but most are familiar. It's terrifying to realize just how many popular blogs are now in print.

Could Cake Wrecks be next?