Well, I don't know how many of you watched Battlestar Galactica's second-to-last episode ever last night. In fact, I can't name a single friend that I know watches the show. In any event, last night's episode was a very good one - very intense and building up to next week's 2 hour finale.
I have a lot of work to do today, but I'm considering only spending a couple of hours on it and then running off to the movies. I woke up this morning thinking I had to stay at home today because there would be carpenters here. But due to the rain, they've decided to not work today and instead come tomorrow. So, now I have the day free (other than my work) and tomorrow I have to remain here. Hmm....what to do...
So my spring break is over and what did we learn? Well, we learned that the Weezer song "The Spider" is still too depressing to listen to all the way through. We learned that just because you say you're going to have a nice relaxing day to yourself doesn't mean you won't find yourself cleaning out basements, trailers, and unloading truck-bed's full of tools in torrential downpours. We learned that March is still a lousy excuse for a month. We learned that when you grow your hair out for 7 months and then go to get it trimmed (just a bit) you might not be happy with the results. We also learned that spring breaks spent at home go by just as quickly as those spent drinking and getting skin cancer in warmer locations.
The other day I finally turned on the Genius program on Itunes. I had been fearful of doing this as it scans your music library for information and then sends it to Apple. However, it claims that it does so anonymously. Well, I took the plunge and now Apple has all sorts of secret info on me. I had heard people rave about the supposedly "eerily perfect" playlists that Genius creates. Uh...I'm just not seeing it. I keep giving Genius shots at coming up with playlists and I'm not seeing at all how they are supposed to be so great. Basically it seems like it starts with a random song and then selects songs by similar artists to go with it. Maybe that's the point...and maybe that is a good idea...but I like a little more variety. I have almost 3,000 songs on my Itunes and a wide range of different artists. Yet when Genius fills a 25 song list I'll find maybe 12 different artists and often multiple songs from the same album. In a 25 song list I shouldn't find 2 songs from Thom Yorke's solo album - considering that there are about 10 songs on that album and those are the only 10 Thom Yorke songs out of the 3,000 on my computer.
But the real reason I wanted to try Genius was for the new music recommendations. It's supposed to offer up selections from the Itunes store that you would like based on your library. I've been a little more happy with this aspect of the program, but again feel like there should be more variety. In the Itunes store they'll offer a list of 15 recommended songs with a "more" tab that keeps generating more lists. There have been a lot of good ones on there that have caught my interest. However, I keep seeing the same bands and even same albums over and over again. I have an astounding number of Pearl Jam, Radiohead, and Muse songs on my computer - but I don't seem to be getting a lot of recommendations that are similar to them. Instead I get a lot of indie bands (which for the most part I'm not into) and seemingly random rock songs that I've never heard of. Also they're really pushing the Smashing Pumpkins Rarities album. Nearly every 15 song list has a track from that album on it.
So my jury is still out on Genius, but I'd like to hear what others have to say about it.
Another complaint about Itunes and its music catalogue: how come I can't find all the b-sides and rare tracks that I want? Why offer a seemingly random selection of such songs and not all of them? I guess this is on the artists/labels themselves. If you're going to sell your music on Itunes, why not make all of it available? Kudos to Radiohead for making a solid effort in this regard. But they still need to make those extra tracks from their last album available.
Okay, time to get some work done....and then maybe an attempt at fun today...
Showing posts with label spring break. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spring break. Show all posts
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Conspiracies Abound
Here's to the most boring spring break ever. I think I have managed to relax a little, though, which is a good thing...and "all part of the plan."
I have not seen "The Watchmen" yet, so I cannot comment on it. But I did buy the new U2 album. I was skeptical of the positive early reviews, especially a few accounts which proclaimed it some of their finest work ever. It only took the first track to impress me. On one hand the album reminds me of their Joshua Tree days - but with a modern style and production. On the other hand I feel like it is a very good summation of their body of work to this point. Like virtually all U2 albums, there are still arguably one or two "duds," but this time around each song reveals different layers upon further listening. I keep expecting the band to hit the wall as they age and become irrelevant. Thankfully they have managed to avoid that fate.
2009 has to be the windiest year I can recall! Seriously! Is this another one of those things where I'm the only person who sees it? For the last 2+ months we have had an inordinate amount of windy days. Probably enough to last an entire year. I want studies done on this. I want it politicized. I want vast amounts of tax-payer money spent on dubious and conflicting research projects. I want people guilted and frightened into taking action to stop the Wind Phenomenon. I want corporations punished for contributing to wind. I want ego-maniacs to run around grandstanding and giving speeches about it. I want nations to give up their sovereignty to pathetically inept (and corrupt) psuedo-world-governing-agencies. I want propaganda! I want book deals! I want supermodels to feed me grapes on tropical islands!...um...wait a minute....got my ideas crossed....
I stayed up very late last night. Normally I'm asleep by 11 or 11:30. But last night there was a two hour show on the History channel called Ancient Aliens. It was about "Alien Astronaut Theory." Basically it discussed the theory that aliens have been contacting and communicating with human civilizations throughout history. It pointed to written accounts as well as artifacts and more obvious structures such as pyramids and the massive lines drawn in the Nazca (spelling?) plateau. I don't really have any conclusions or arguments to make about that. Because...what's the point? I'd be just like the people on the show, or the people I used to sit in English Literature classes with -- repeating what has already been said, what is obvious, or otherwise can be easily discernerned all under the subconscious facade of making oneself look and sound intelligent. Anyway....it was an interesting little show. It seems that the discussion of UFOs and alien life has changed over the years. We used to wonder if they were invaders like in a 1960s sci-fi movie. Then we wondered if they were real or just secret government projects/hallucinations. Now we seem to be wondering when some global conspiracy will be revealed.
But enough about that....I need to get going and accomplish something today.
I have not seen "The Watchmen" yet, so I cannot comment on it. But I did buy the new U2 album. I was skeptical of the positive early reviews, especially a few accounts which proclaimed it some of their finest work ever. It only took the first track to impress me. On one hand the album reminds me of their Joshua Tree days - but with a modern style and production. On the other hand I feel like it is a very good summation of their body of work to this point. Like virtually all U2 albums, there are still arguably one or two "duds," but this time around each song reveals different layers upon further listening. I keep expecting the band to hit the wall as they age and become irrelevant. Thankfully they have managed to avoid that fate.
2009 has to be the windiest year I can recall! Seriously! Is this another one of those things where I'm the only person who sees it? For the last 2+ months we have had an inordinate amount of windy days. Probably enough to last an entire year. I want studies done on this. I want it politicized. I want vast amounts of tax-payer money spent on dubious and conflicting research projects. I want people guilted and frightened into taking action to stop the Wind Phenomenon. I want corporations punished for contributing to wind. I want ego-maniacs to run around grandstanding and giving speeches about it. I want nations to give up their sovereignty to pathetically inept (and corrupt) psuedo-world-governing-agencies. I want propaganda! I want book deals! I want supermodels to feed me grapes on tropical islands!...um...wait a minute....got my ideas crossed....
I stayed up very late last night. Normally I'm asleep by 11 or 11:30. But last night there was a two hour show on the History channel called Ancient Aliens. It was about "Alien Astronaut Theory." Basically it discussed the theory that aliens have been contacting and communicating with human civilizations throughout history. It pointed to written accounts as well as artifacts and more obvious structures such as pyramids and the massive lines drawn in the Nazca (spelling?) plateau. I don't really have any conclusions or arguments to make about that. Because...what's the point? I'd be just like the people on the show, or the people I used to sit in English Literature classes with -- repeating what has already been said, what is obvious, or otherwise can be easily discernerned all under the subconscious facade of making oneself look and sound intelligent. Anyway....it was an interesting little show. It seems that the discussion of UFOs and alien life has changed over the years. We used to wonder if they were invaders like in a 1960s sci-fi movie. Then we wondered if they were real or just secret government projects/hallucinations. Now we seem to be wondering when some global conspiracy will be revealed.
But enough about that....I need to get going and accomplish something today.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
A New Dawn For Random Blogging
Hello everybody. I have upgraded my blog. My old dear, sweet, gentle readers - fear not - you can still enjoy my random musings on my Myspace blog. This is intended to be more of a cleaned up and slightly less personal version of my normal blog. Because sometimes you just can't go ranting and raving about every little piece of daily minutia.
Hopefully we will have new readers joining us. And hopefully they'll give me money.
In order to facilitate the flow of ideas and musings (and occasional rantings), I will be holding to the old format. The old format being typing whatever pops into my head and seeing where things go. Like the Joker I must have "no rules." Batman couldn't stop the Joker because he (Batman) had rules. Thus, I cannot write if I am confined by rules. But since I am planning on linking this to my Facebook page I will be actually going over what I've written before hitting the post button this time.
So let's see....where do we begin tonight? Well, as of this afternoon my spring break has officially begun. (No, I am not going to go into reintroducing all you new readers to the world of my blog. Nor will I go through the tedium of explaining my life and why I feel the need to ponder out loud the things that I ponder out loud.) Seems I am getting too old for spring breaks. For a while there I didn't have them -- except for that un-official spring break I took from work 3 years ago. I made the solo trip to Florida for two weeks to reunite with the college crew. I awoke the morning of my intended departure with a severe head cold and cough. I waited for a Z pack to come in before ultimately setting off around 10AM. A miserable 13 hours later (and a nightmarish experience with Atlanta's rush hour traffic -- which I may never fully recover from) I completed the journey and vowed never to do it by myself again. Until two weeks later when I had to drive back.
Anyway...did I miss an episode of House this week?
Oh, perhaps you are wondering - "Why call it 'The Evil Grin?'" Well...I tend to get snagged when it comes to naming things, so when something just feels right and I like it - it's best just to go with it. An evil grin is only truly evil if you have evil in your heart. Otherwise, it can be playful, mischievous, even righteous. ..........Great. Now I'm doubting the name. Thanks a lot. I wonder if I can edit the very name of the blog....
The Arby's RoastBurger is still on my mind. This sandwich is almost a force of nature. I can't recall the last time I ate something that not only tasted better as I ate it, but that I began to crave more and more as time went by.
I had a very intense and vivid dream last night. Those who know me best understand (perhaps all too well) the level of strangeness and detail inherent of my dreams. Due to my efforts to make my blog more "suitable" for public consumption, I shall now mentally edit out all the personal aspects of the dream. However, I still want to share its essence. I was at the lake, checking on what was apparently my parents' house. The night had this stifling eeriness and isolation to it. Just like the night during the ice storm that my brother and I went out to the resort to check on things -- it was pitch black and completely silent. We only had one flashlight and it literally felt like being on another planet, lost in darkness. But in the dream there were at least still a couple of lights working. I could see a dense fog upon the lake. Someone who was with me oddly decided to take a canoe out into the blackness, searching for a cave. After they left I felt closed in by the dark, alone, agitated, like how I imagine a person stranded on an island might feel. Suddenly my dream took a sojourn. It was now daylight and I was still at the resort. I was walking through the trees and then found myself laying on a bed set up between a parenthesis of trees with power lines and branches dangling symmetrically overhead. Everything had this timeless, peaceful, contemplative feel. It was as if I were supposed to be pondering something...or deciding something... Then just as suddenly I was right back in the isolation of the dark. But my parents were there. And the person who had left in the canoe had returned safely. I had thought this person was gone for good (or at least gone from the dream). It was then that I had my moment of illumination. Normally when I dream, I seem to know that it is a dream, but I play along - 100% committed to the story/role. And in this moment I knew I was dreaming, but I stepped out of the role. I felt like I could finally see into my own subconscious mind (which I firmly believe to be significantly smarter than my cluttered, distractable conscious mind). And then right before my eyes I began to "see" untold amounts of knowledge and information that my subconscious contains. It was like for one moment being able to access at will every single piece of knowledge, every experience, every thought, every vision your eyes took in. I desperately wanted to hold onto this "bridge" between the two halves on my consciousness. Yet I knew that when I awoke it would be gone. So I think I also tried to just take in that feeling of wholeness. But there was more. I think due to having to return to my clouded conscious mind I cannot recall all the details. I had this sense that...everything was going to be okay. A clearing of all of life's worries. Like a peek at the answers in the back of life's book.
So, that was my dream. Or at least the watered down version. It seems that a common theme to the human experience is a search for answers. We wander through our days seeking answers to the problems we face, the meaning of our existence, the purpose of our lives. But sometimes there just are no answers...or the answers are not revealed for long periods of time. Sometimes things happen and we beg God, our friends, or the empty room around us to answer "why." But maybe we learn more and become better off figuring that out for ourselves rather than having it simply handed to us. We are also more likely to accept an answer that we discover on our own than one given by another. Maybe sometimes it's better not to know the answers and to just "be." If you're always waiting for the day that you have your answers before you can live again, you may just run out of days.
Hopefully we will have new readers joining us. And hopefully they'll give me money.
In order to facilitate the flow of ideas and musings (and occasional rantings), I will be holding to the old format. The old format being typing whatever pops into my head and seeing where things go. Like the Joker I must have "no rules." Batman couldn't stop the Joker because he (Batman) had rules. Thus, I cannot write if I am confined by rules. But since I am planning on linking this to my Facebook page I will be actually going over what I've written before hitting the post button this time.
So let's see....where do we begin tonight? Well, as of this afternoon my spring break has officially begun. (No, I am not going to go into reintroducing all you new readers to the world of my blog. Nor will I go through the tedium of explaining my life and why I feel the need to ponder out loud the things that I ponder out loud.) Seems I am getting too old for spring breaks. For a while there I didn't have them -- except for that un-official spring break I took from work 3 years ago. I made the solo trip to Florida for two weeks to reunite with the college crew. I awoke the morning of my intended departure with a severe head cold and cough. I waited for a Z pack to come in before ultimately setting off around 10AM. A miserable 13 hours later (and a nightmarish experience with Atlanta's rush hour traffic -- which I may never fully recover from) I completed the journey and vowed never to do it by myself again. Until two weeks later when I had to drive back.
Anyway...did I miss an episode of House this week?
Oh, perhaps you are wondering - "Why call it 'The Evil Grin?'" Well...I tend to get snagged when it comes to naming things, so when something just feels right and I like it - it's best just to go with it. An evil grin is only truly evil if you have evil in your heart. Otherwise, it can be playful, mischievous, even righteous. ..........Great. Now I'm doubting the name. Thanks a lot. I wonder if I can edit the very name of the blog....
The Arby's RoastBurger is still on my mind. This sandwich is almost a force of nature. I can't recall the last time I ate something that not only tasted better as I ate it, but that I began to crave more and more as time went by.
I had a very intense and vivid dream last night. Those who know me best understand (perhaps all too well) the level of strangeness and detail inherent of my dreams. Due to my efforts to make my blog more "suitable" for public consumption, I shall now mentally edit out all the personal aspects of the dream. However, I still want to share its essence. I was at the lake, checking on what was apparently my parents' house. The night had this stifling eeriness and isolation to it. Just like the night during the ice storm that my brother and I went out to the resort to check on things -- it was pitch black and completely silent. We only had one flashlight and it literally felt like being on another planet, lost in darkness. But in the dream there were at least still a couple of lights working. I could see a dense fog upon the lake. Someone who was with me oddly decided to take a canoe out into the blackness, searching for a cave. After they left I felt closed in by the dark, alone, agitated, like how I imagine a person stranded on an island might feel. Suddenly my dream took a sojourn. It was now daylight and I was still at the resort. I was walking through the trees and then found myself laying on a bed set up between a parenthesis of trees with power lines and branches dangling symmetrically overhead. Everything had this timeless, peaceful, contemplative feel. It was as if I were supposed to be pondering something...or deciding something... Then just as suddenly I was right back in the isolation of the dark. But my parents were there. And the person who had left in the canoe had returned safely. I had thought this person was gone for good (or at least gone from the dream). It was then that I had my moment of illumination. Normally when I dream, I seem to know that it is a dream, but I play along - 100% committed to the story/role. And in this moment I knew I was dreaming, but I stepped out of the role. I felt like I could finally see into my own subconscious mind (which I firmly believe to be significantly smarter than my cluttered, distractable conscious mind). And then right before my eyes I began to "see" untold amounts of knowledge and information that my subconscious contains. It was like for one moment being able to access at will every single piece of knowledge, every experience, every thought, every vision your eyes took in. I desperately wanted to hold onto this "bridge" between the two halves on my consciousness. Yet I knew that when I awoke it would be gone. So I think I also tried to just take in that feeling of wholeness. But there was more. I think due to having to return to my clouded conscious mind I cannot recall all the details. I had this sense that...everything was going to be okay. A clearing of all of life's worries. Like a peek at the answers in the back of life's book.
So, that was my dream. Or at least the watered down version. It seems that a common theme to the human experience is a search for answers. We wander through our days seeking answers to the problems we face, the meaning of our existence, the purpose of our lives. But sometimes there just are no answers...or the answers are not revealed for long periods of time. Sometimes things happen and we beg God, our friends, or the empty room around us to answer "why." But maybe we learn more and become better off figuring that out for ourselves rather than having it simply handed to us. We are also more likely to accept an answer that we discover on our own than one given by another. Maybe sometimes it's better not to know the answers and to just "be." If you're always waiting for the day that you have your answers before you can live again, you may just run out of days.
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