Posted on April 4, 2002 at 8:53 am | No Comments
I hesitate to say this… only because I know that colder temperatures and snow are bound to follow… but am I ever glad Spring is here. It’s April, the sun is shining more, the band’s practice space is warmer, good rock bands are hitting boston, baseball has arrived… all good things. February and March are the roughest months, and I feel like I cross some kind of personal finish line when I flip the calendar to April. So long ‘seasonal affectiveness disorder’. You’re not welcome here.
I’m trying to come to terms with something that I’m entirely unfamiliar with… something I’m so very not used to. I’m think that I’m actually happy, and I’m unsure how to handle it. I mean, sure, it’s not like I’ve never been happy… but this particular feeling of sustained contentment is something new to me. A lot of the blame falls squarely on Amie’s shoulders. My life has been so much improved since I met her, but the first year of our togetherness was the build-up, the newness, then the all-out madness of wedding preparation. There was no time last Spring to just let it all sink in. But this year, I can just enjoy life and being with her. And that’s exactly what I’m doing.
So there it is. Throw in a few good friends, a loving family, a band that I feel proud to be playing in, a nice apartment, a challenging job, and my cool-as-all-hell cats…I have absolutely no complaints. Which makes for a really boring blog, and an annoying read if you happen to be in a bad place.
And much like snow will probably follow the admittance that Spring has arrived… acknowledging my happiness is bound to be followed by a serious emotional smack-down. Wonder what the world has in store for me this time?
Shifting gears…
Don’t forget… the Also-Rans (that would be my band) are playing this Sat. at the Oni Gallery in Boston’s Chinatown. Go here.
Full Disclosure…
Fugazi at MassArt!
At last, Fugazi returns to Boston after a 10 year absence. Two shows, Friday and Saturday, April 19 and 20. I’ve got my Saturday tickets, and if you’re smart, you’ll grab yours soon, too, ‘cuz they’re flying fast. Go to Smash City Records on Newbury St. or check the link for more info.
Spam, Spam, and more Spam…
News: Yahoo’s New Spam Settings
What are you thinking, you Yahoos? The cash-flow-hungry folks at our favorite portal site have decided to institute a new marketing technique… subscribe every one of their members to a bunch of junk-email lists without telling them, and make it their responsibility to change their settings. If you have a Yahoogroups account, head there and change your settings. You’ll see a ‘marketing preferences’ link about halfway down the account info screen. Click it and change everything to ‘No’. Your inbox will thank you.
On the Scary Security Side…
Warning: Any User Can ‘Root’ Win NT, 2000
Yikes. Check out this eWeek article that exposes yet another Microsoft OS vulnerability. Lemme guess… another one of their weekly patches is on the way? Oy.
Where’s Annie? Oh, here she is…
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me: Deleted Scenes
I had no idea these even existed. Apparantly David Lynch filmed a logging truck-load of extra footage for the Twin Peaks film that chronicled Laura Palmer’s last days. However, since Lynch’s storytelling techniques are never constrained by the rules of time, physics, or, well, logic… he supposedly filmed a scene that takes place after the finale of Twin Peaks! This is gold, folks. An actual scene between Coop and Annie may exist, and this site is keeping tabs on the effort to bring these scenes to DVD. Uh, please?
Blame it on Den…
Archos Jukebox MP3 Player
Ok, so now I really want one of these. I nearly bought one a few months ago… went to Micro Center, held the box in my hand… but backed off. I think my reluctance might have had something to do with the whole ‘no job’ phase I was in at the time. Thinking about it, that hasn’t stopped Matt and Den from buying new toys, so why should it have stopped me? Anyway, Denny got one last week, and it’s all that. It is officially Denny-Approved�. Smaller than I thought, louder than I thought, records better than I thought… and my whole cd collection is almost done being converted to mp3. Watch out, wallet, I’m coming for you.
Washington (DC) Wizard…
The New Yorker: George Pelecanos Review
A nice review of his new book “Hell To Pay”, which is still sitting on my nightstand, unread. Soon, I swear. If it’s half as good as his other books, I’ll have it finished quickly.
An Artist and a Gentleman…
MalJonesDotCom Redesign
Have a look at Mr. Mal ‘OverTime’ Jone’s freshly revamped online home. Some excellent work in there, both digital and physical.
No Pity, No Mercy…
Television Without Pity
Biting, brief, and sometimes seriously harsh summaries and reviews of your favorite, and not-so-favorite, TV shows. This crew of contributors seems to have a serious love/hate relationship with the shows they watch, and we reap the benefits of their conflict. Check out the ’24’ summaries. Heh.
‘The Future of What’ is all in the Past…
KRS: Unwound, R.I.P.
The wonderful Kill Rock Stars label site has dedicated their entire front page to the passing and memory of the vastly-underrated band Unwound. They’ll be missed. Go, read, and if you haven’t yet, listen.
Pop-Culture Pixelization…
Digiboy’s Pixel Characters
An ever-growing collection of random pixelized characters, including the cast of the Breakfast Club, Pounded, and Dexter’s Labs.
Posted on March 28, 2002 at 11:44 am | No Comments
And so the ‘week of rock’ has passed, my body and brain are just about back to normal, and a bit of blogging is in order. The Pipeline radio appearance, Vermont rock trip, and our show at the Middle East were all semi-smashing successes, thanks to our friends, family, and also-fans. Seriously, I’m riding a little bit of a post-show buzz that promises to last awhile. There’s almost always something negative that I dwell on about these things, but I can’t seem to find one this time around.
From the CT to the City…
Joe & Andi were up for the first time since their engagement, and much fun was had by all. It was a cool little moment when Matt and Mary showed up, and the four of them got to exchange a round of mutual-engagement-congratulation action. Speaking of Matt n’ Mary… ain’t this sweet? I took that photo, and I’m damn proud I did. The ever-nearing nuptuals are in June, and I can’t wait…
Starlight, Star Bright…
Hey, check this out… I finally got around to encoding and posting every song by my old band, Starlight Conspiracy. This is the band that Denny and I were in up in Vermont for years, just before we moved to Boston and started up the Also-Rans. There’s lots of seldom-heard gems in there (alongside the sketchy stuff), so grab them if you’re at all curious. Some of them even sound better than the cds they were released on. Just click the song titles to download. (While you’re at it, don’t forget that the complete discography from My Own Sweet, Chris’ old band, is available for download as well.)
Speaking of Mr. Kelly…
Secretpants.com: the Chris Kelly Interview
Drop by John Cahill’s Secretpants site for a little conversation with the Also-Ran’s illustrious singer. Rock star.
Reviewed, for His and Her Pleasure…
Grovel’s Graphic Novel Reviews
A new UK-based site that covers the booming Graphic Novel medium. A nice companion to the ever-valuable Artbomb.
Choke on This…
Propaganda: A Killer By Any Other Name
A biting little animated movie at the “Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids” website about Philip-Morris’ latest shady move… changing their name to try and shake their ‘bad guy’ image. It’s not gonna work, death merchants.
Speaking of Starlight…
NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day
I’d forgotten about this. Start your day off by feeling small and insignificant. It works wonders.
Father Time, Pencil Pusher…
Writing the Time
A brilliant little flash site. Days, hours, minutes, & seconds disappear with a little help from a quick hand and an eraser.
You Want Fries With That?
National Communications Fast Food Frequencies
How odd… listed here are all the frequencies that most national fast food chains use for their intercoms and drive-thru communication. If you have a radio scanner, you can take a peek into the seedy underbelly of your local BK. Do you really want to know what goes on in there?
Not Until April 23rd?! Grrrr. Argh.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Air Dates Guide
A handy little site to check every air-date for new and old Buffy episodes. Beware of clicking the show titles for unaired eps, though… major spoiler action.
Straight from the (Open) Source…
Geek(Wisdom).Com
The self-proclaimed “place for open source wisdom”. Could I be more overhwhelmed by the amount of things I’d like to learn about on there? Doubtful.
Pyra-Mania…
Article: Pyra and Blogging
A Boston Globe / DigitalMass article on the forefather of weblogging, Evan Williams.