It was a year or so ago that I picked up a Barcalounger chair for the living room. The chair, upholstered in dark leather (unlike the illustration to the left), fits the Modern decor of the room. What’s more, it’s seriously comfortable.
This morning I was cleaning up some when I ran across my notes from when I was researching chairs. Inside was a pointer to an informative – and very entertaining – article about the company and its products.
As I re-read the entry, nestled in the Barcalounger sipping morning coffee with the laptop on my knees, I got thoroughly sucked in, and wandered the ‘net for much longer than I should have. Maybe you will, too. For the writing and structure of everything2.com are indeed very compelling and quite addictive.
My key takeaway from the trip: it’s a pain in the ass to get from central Jersey to Flushing Meadows Park.
I’ve been a Frank Zappa fan since I encountered the Freak Out album back in the late sixties, and I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him live many, many times. Last Thursday night I saw the Zappa Plays Zappa show at the Blender Theater in New York. [ed. In 2009 the Blender Theater was renamed the Gramercy Theater.] You can read more about the ZPZ tours here.
YCFOSA card front
This was my first visit to the Blender. It’s small and intimate, capacity of maybe a few hundred, tops. The stage was tiny, too; Dweezil and the band really had to squeeze themselves in and there wasn’t a whole lot of space to move around. This tour was all about smaller venues, and that’s where the tour name came from: You Can’t Fit On Stage Anymore.
YCFOSA card back
Dweezil’s playing has really matured in recent years. His blistering guitar work was spot on. It’s reported that he’s put an incredible amount of effort into these concerts and it certainly shows. I was very pleased to see Ray White (of You Are What You Is, among other favorites) in the lineup. And Sheila Gonzalez, who I first saw on the earlier ZPZ DVDs, was nothing short of excellent. One song after another, they pumped out hit after hit nearly non-stop for almost three hours. The set list was a fantastic mix of stuff both ranging from Frank’s early work to the more recent. I was blown away by their rendition of Billy The Mountain – something that I’d never heard live before. The time just flew by!
Dweezil Zappa after the show, hangin’ on stage talking with fans
After a generous three-song encore Dweezil hung by the stage talking with fans and signing stuff, smiling all the while. I joined the group and thanked him for his work, for bringing Frank’s music to us, and collected his autograph on the back of the card.
This show came with a couple of extras, too. About two-thirds through the show they drew a number and gave away a Hagstrom Super Swede guitar! The winner was pulled onto the stage to collect his prize. Dweezil asked, “do you play the guitar?” “No, but I’m gonna learn!” “Well here, let me help you get started with your first lesson.” They plugged him in, cranked it up, showed him where to put his fingers and he banged around with the band for a minute or so. Oh, man, do I ever wish that I won that! I play a little, so it would have been a real treat – um, for me, definitely, but probably not for the audience. The other ‘extra’, which I haven’t downloaded yet, is a fully-mixed mp3 of the show. Can’t wait!
All in all, an excellent night of fantastic music. If you get the chance to attend one of the concerts of this tour I absolutely, positively recommend it.
Every so often you run across a site that simply makes you go “whuh”. Crying, While Eating is one of those. The design is simple – a long list of images linked to Quicktime videos, each accompanied by a three informational items (name, what they’re eating, why they’re crying).
I had no idea that so many people cried while they ate, much less had video of themselves doing it. Personally, I don’t cry a lot. And the last time I cried – which wasn’t all that long ago, BTW – I certainly wasn’t eating, and nobody was capturing video.
As I sampled a few of the videos I found them… puzzling. I tried to imagine what it would be like to know the subject, to talk to them, to understand them a little better. I actually felt a little creeped out, kif of like like I was watching something I really shouldn’t be seeing. A David Byrne tune called Social Studies sprung into my head, it seemed to be an appropriate soundtrack for some reason.
The other day I read the WIRED piece [ed. Bummer, the link died.] by Paul Boutin where he tells us that blogs have passed into obsolescence. I’ve got no disagreement with many of Paul’s points – the rampant commercialism, the decline of text as a medium of expression, and so on. Who can compete with legions of professionals? But is that really what it’s all about?
I don’t see much difference between the basic evolution of blogs and the basic evolution of other forms of expression. Blogging started small, just ordinary folks with something to say, and the development of tools to make it easy for the non-technical (or less-technical) to reach the world. Some producers became popular and the money started to flow. Traditional media, their livelihoods threatened (yet again), jumped into the fray. Followed by legions hoping that they could finally get rich quick. Blogging exploded.
Today there are countless blogs, far too many for anyone to keep track of. Every one can’t be at the top of a Google search. Not every one can generate scads of revenue. Not every one can be the most popular. Is your blog on the top 100 list? [ed. Alas, the Technorati Top 100 list of blogs is long gone, so you can’t look.] Nope, mine isn’t either. But honestly, that list is the last place I go for stuff to read. How about you? One thing I’ve noticed that the usefulness, the interestingness, of a blog is inversely proportional to its sponsorship and associated advertising. See those sidebars, bulging with beckoning animations and such designed to siphon your wallet? But that’s just me.
No, the blog is not dead. It may smell a little funny, but that’s okay. Keep reading. But, more importantly, keep writing.
A friend and I were talking writing scenarios of doom ‘n gloom, and he pointed me to this. Interesting indeed. One can say so much with a photo! Go check it out, you’ll be glad you did no matter which side of the fence you’re on.
We spent some time in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey this summer. It was soon apparent that the sheer number of rules and signs and warnings would make for some fun images.
The effort began in our suite and widened from there. The final image presents an opportunity to learn something about conservation, erosion, and the New Jersey shoreline.
The story about the Florida girl beaten by her peers has brought the so-called experts out of the woodwork again. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s girls, heck, cheerleaders involved that makes this incident particularly newsworthy.
The Orlando Sentinel reported it this way. (Oops  – the link died.)
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying for a moment that the behavior is correct. It’s not. You shouldn’t post defamatory material. You shouldn’t gang-beat others. But sometimes stuff just happens.
Making it a little bit more personal… over my lifetime I’ve done some ass-kicking. And I’ve had my ass kicked a few times, too. Each role – kicker or kickee – teaches you something, and you come away from each lesson a little stronger for the experience. You can wring your hands all you want; sometimes it just happens.
But it’s the stuff that followed the Florida incident that riles me, beginning with the requisite blaming of others. What’s become of taking responsibility for your actions, or taking responsibility for those in your charge? Of teaching? Of setting a better example? No, it’s easier to blame someone else. I wonder, who will be the first one to bring suit this time? Or write a book?
And then there are the experts who have all the answers. Well, actually, it always boils down to the same answer, doesn’t it?
Here’s an article: Videotaped Florida Teen Beating Prompts Calls To Block Violent Content. [Oops- the link died.]
So let’s block it. Yeah, that’s it. Regulate! Censor! Protect! Then it’ll go away, and we can get back to the really important stuff, like who’s winning on American Idol or something.
Y’know, when the stuff that passes for entertainment today is evidently (according to media coverage, ratings, paychecks, and so on) more important than anything else, is it any wonder that some of today’s kids are all-consumed with obtaining a piece of that attention?
Well, I kept my Monday appointment at the Apple store, where I hoped that a Genius would be able to resurrect Pam’s ailing iPod. It wasn’t to be.
They called my name right on time, seconds after I walked in. The girl smiled pleasantly as I handed over the device and began the tale. As she deftly worked the buttons and cabled it to a Mac laptop we spoke in elevating levels of geek-speak. Finally, she frowned. “It’s not even taking a charge,” she pronounced. We continued, speaking of ports and diagnostics. Continue reading iPod Trouble (follow-up)→
Over the past few days I’ve learned more about Apple‘s iPod than I ever wanted to know. Pam’s 60 GB Classic, while in the throes of a low battery condition, suddenly became unrecognizable to her Windows laptop. Not limited to her laptop, every PC in the house reacted to the USB attachment of the slick, black box identically: New hardware found! Your new hardware is ready to use! Unrecognized device! The reaction of the Windows XP Device Manager is quite predictable. It reports no driver for the unrecognized device. Other than the fact that it can’t communicate with the rest of the world, the iPod does everything else quite normally.
You might guess that each manufacturer finger-points at the other, and you would be quite correct. Apple suggests doing everything – including re-installing the OS – to the Windows box. And Microsoft suggests replacing the defective device.
Did you ever stop to think about the air contained within the little plastic orbs of the bubble wrap you’re popping? Where was the stuff made? Do you suppose that if you pop a few under your nose and inhale, that you might be able to determine the origin?
