Everything Old - Just Keeps Getting Older
The death embrace, er merger, of Sears and Kmart has inspired me once again to indulge my predilection for all things fleeting and nostaligic by wallowing in sentimental remembrance of things gone by. I don't why it's so, but the mere idea that the mighty Sears Roebuck and Co. could someday fade into the history books...well, I never imagined it could ever be so.
Yes, with Sears on the ropes I can't help but reflect on how many of the big names from my childhood have gone the way of the Dodo. I really can't count them all. Montgomery Wards, The Emporium, Woolworths, White Front, and Gemco, or lesser names like W.F. Grant & Co, Newberry's, Payless Drugs and Rexall Drugs (not officially dead but a mere shadow of its former self). Hell, I'm even old enough to remember my mother redeeming her books of blue chip stamps down at the blue chip stamp store. It was all such a long time ago.
Of course, many of the old stores didn't expire but merely changed their names or merged and morphed into the big mega institutions we have today. Gas stations, in particular, seemed to follow this pattern. When I was in high school we had 3 gas stations on the main intersection down the street and all of them have disappeared. Let's see, there was a Mobile station, and across the street a Standard station, and on the opposite corner sat a Humble station. They were all what we called service stations back then which meant that they fixed cars as well as pumped gas, and by pumped gas I mean some guy in a greasy blue shirt with a little oval name tag sewed on the fron would pump your gas while you sat in the car. Folks in Oregon or Quebec will know what I'm talking about.
Anyways, Humble Oil became Esso which merged with Mobile and became Exxon Mobile which calls itself Valero, and Standard changed their name to Chevron just like Richfield changed it's name to Arco. Gas stations like to confuse things, don't they. Route 66 stations merge with Phillips and become Phillips 66 which merges with Conoco and becomes Conocophillips, or Mohawk is swallowed by Getty which in turned gets swallowed and is now a part of Texaco, and Gulf Oil...hmmm...whatever happened to Gulf Oil?
Well, everything changes and I'm sure that when I finally shuffle off this mortal coil the world will be nothing like it is today. That's just one of those things that ages a person and makes him wonder "geez, how old am I, anyways?" I know the number but the number doesn't seem right. In fact I read a survey once where they asked people how old would they say they were if they didn't know how old they were. The top answer was around 19 years old, and that sounds about right to me even though I'm sure I can look over my youth and recall daily events from the past that would seem ancient indeed to today's 19 year olds.
I mean, how many contemporary 19 year olds can still remember milk trucks and milkmen? Not many, I bet, but I can still remember the Carnation trucks and Edelweiss Dairy trucks that used to cruise the streets of my neighborhood. Wasn't that a long time ago. A lot of our neighbors used to have their milk delivered, but we always went straight to the dairy to pick ours up. Saved money that way, I guess, and I can still remember going down to Bab's Dairy with my father to buy those big half-gallon bottles (as in glass) of milk. That used to be one of my favorite trips because my Dad would always buy us all Eskimo Pies whenever we were lucky enough to tag along.
Whoa, I'll tell you how old I am. I can even remember when the bakery truck used to come around to our house in Covina to deliver fresh bread and donuts. Man, that goes way back. Big yellow bakery trucks (vans, really) with great big brown donuts painted on the side. Can you imagine that happening today? Or can you imagine buying your fruits and vegetables fresh from the little stalls and open-air markets along the road. Well, they still do that today, I guess, with farmer's markets and such, but when I was a kid no one bought produce at the supermarket when there was so much abundance for sale in the roadside stands. Corn, cherries, watermelon, you name it, and best of all were the strawberries. I remember we always got our strawberries from a bent-backed old japanese woman who ran a little stand down on Berryessa Road. She was about 200 years old, I guess, and not much for conversation, and she used to sell these fresh, juicy strawberries for a quarter a basket. I know, I know, I'm wallowing, but those were the days.
And nowadays, well you get in your car and drive to the local megastore or local megacenter and fill your basket with pre-wrapped, pre-measured, pre-processed, corporate food products that have all been carefully inventoried and barcoded for your convenience. The youngun's take it all for granted of course, but us old crotchety types know that new isn't always better and even if it is, well, it just isn't the same. Heed my words, you new generation, for someday it will be your turn to remember for your children and grandchildren when there used to be a Sears.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
What Have I Wrought This Ill-Gotten Day
I didn't buy Half-Life 2 just to look at the box, and yet there it sits. I'm going to install it, I know, but right now I'm not sure if that's such a good idea. I haven't eaten supper yet, nor finished the laundry, and I still have this book I just started and would like to finish before this new game consumes me. Oh the wasted days and wasted nights, the early morning's I'll forget to sleep as I push further and further into the story, unable to leave my computer until I find what lies beyond the next door or down the next passageway. I've been through this all before.
For those of you who don't have any idea what I'm talking about, Half-Life 2 is the sequel to Half-Life, a computer game considered by many to be the best ever made. Psshaw, I hear y0u say, a computer game, what's wrong with you man, to which I say psshaw back at you, not all computer games are alike. You know you can't judge the entire movie industry because of something like "From Justin to Kelly", and you can't judge the entire computer game industry because of something like "Pokemon" either.
Anyways, back in the day Half-Life and it's various add-ons consumed many, many hours (far too many, I'd say) of my life, and now the sequel is here and I get this sinking feeling that it's going to start all over again. That book I was reading, forget about it. Those things I needed to do around the house, huh, give me a break. But I went and bought the thing so I'm already half-committed, you might say. Went right down to Fry's and stood in line in front of a couple of other old farts like myself who just so happened to be holding copies themselves, and there we were at the counter, three of us all in a row plunking down our $60 bucks on the same stupid game. I've never been one who likes to swim with the other fish and I can't say I much cared for it, but it was kind of strange to see 3 middle-aged guys all standing at the counter with copies of Half-Life 2 in our hands.
Maybe you had to be there.
Needless to say I probably won't be blogging for a while. Hard as that may be for all who may be reading this, I fear I'm about to become cut-off like an astronaut orbiting the dark side of the moon, out of radio contact and venturing into the unknown recesses of space. Yes, I can hear the outcry "you must keep blogging", but destiny calls and I must answer. How strange that I should have journeyed for so long and so far only to end up here again in front of my computer. Fact is stranger than fiction isn't it, but then again
I've got a game to play.
(See you on the other side)
I didn't buy Half-Life 2 just to look at the box, and yet there it sits. I'm going to install it, I know, but right now I'm not sure if that's such a good idea. I haven't eaten supper yet, nor finished the laundry, and I still have this book I just started and would like to finish before this new game consumes me. Oh the wasted days and wasted nights, the early morning's I'll forget to sleep as I push further and further into the story, unable to leave my computer until I find what lies beyond the next door or down the next passageway. I've been through this all before.
For those of you who don't have any idea what I'm talking about, Half-Life 2 is the sequel to Half-Life, a computer game considered by many to be the best ever made. Psshaw, I hear y0u say, a computer game, what's wrong with you man, to which I say psshaw back at you, not all computer games are alike. You know you can't judge the entire movie industry because of something like "From Justin to Kelly", and you can't judge the entire computer game industry because of something like "Pokemon" either.
Anyways, back in the day Half-Life and it's various add-ons consumed many, many hours (far too many, I'd say) of my life, and now the sequel is here and I get this sinking feeling that it's going to start all over again. That book I was reading, forget about it. Those things I needed to do around the house, huh, give me a break. But I went and bought the thing so I'm already half-committed, you might say. Went right down to Fry's and stood in line in front of a couple of other old farts like myself who just so happened to be holding copies themselves, and there we were at the counter, three of us all in a row plunking down our $60 bucks on the same stupid game. I've never been one who likes to swim with the other fish and I can't say I much cared for it, but it was kind of strange to see 3 middle-aged guys all standing at the counter with copies of Half-Life 2 in our hands.
Maybe you had to be there.
Needless to say I probably won't be blogging for a while. Hard as that may be for all who may be reading this, I fear I'm about to become cut-off like an astronaut orbiting the dark side of the moon, out of radio contact and venturing into the unknown recesses of space. Yes, I can hear the outcry "you must keep blogging", but destiny calls and I must answer. How strange that I should have journeyed for so long and so far only to end up here again in front of my computer. Fact is stranger than fiction isn't it, but then again
I've got a game to play.
(See you on the other side)
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Laura Takes A Gentleman Caller (or Two)
Phew! Thank God that John Ashcroft guy is finally gone. Guess we can all breathe a little easier now. No need to worry about secret arrests, secret courts, or secret trials. Nope, it's morning again in America, and we are free to speak our minds without fear of being labeled a traitor or a terrorist. Well I'd personally like to take this time to say once and for all that as far as I'm concerned John Ashcroft was a great big weenie-head and the country can now count its blessings that he's finally...
Ooops, sorry. Excuse me for a minute, I think there's someone at the door.
"Good evening sir, is Mr. Anthony Myers at home."
"I'm Mr. Myers, can I help you?"
"Good evening Mr. Myers, we're from the Justice Dept. My name is Officer Frank and this is my partner Officer Jack. Mind if we come in and ask you a few questions?"
"Uh, no, come on in. No, wait, could I see some identification first? Ok, that looks right. Come on in."
"Thank you. Mr. Myers, Agent Jack and I are special agents assigned to the special anti-terrorist unit of the U.S. Department of Justice and we're currently canvassing homes in the area looking for possible signs of terrorist activities in your neighborhood. "
"Terrorists, in this neighborhood? Do you have any particular suspects in mind?"
"No, no, just routine. We've been talking to people throughout the country and"
"Excuse me, can I take your coats?"
"No, we're fine. Like I said, we've been talking to various people around the country about"
"You think I might be a terrorist?"
"No, we didn't say that. But if you wouldn't mind answering a few questions...I promise we'll be as brief as possible."
"No, I don't mind. I've got nothing to hide. Ask away."
"Fine, Mr. Myers. Perhaps before we get started you wouldn't mind removing your shoes and socks."
"My what? My shoes and socks?"
"Yes sir, that's correct. As you may know we at the justice department have developed certain, uh, shall we say...terrorist profiles over the years, and one of the things we've noticed is that terrorism seems to be linked with unusually long toes. If you don't mind, we'd like you to remove your shoes so that Agent Jack here can take some measurements. It's strictly routine."
"I don't know, that's seems a little kinky to me."
"Please sir, if you don't mind."
"Ok, sure. Measure away. Like I said, I've got nothing to hide."
"Fine sir. Agent Jack, would you please?"
"Now, Mr. Myers. It has come to our attention that you have made some threatening remarks about the Attorney General lately. Is this true?"
"Threatening remarks? You mean like calling him a 'great big weenie-head'?"
"Exactly. Now Mr. Myers, did you in fact say that about the Attorney General? Did you in fact make a post on your blog calling him a 'great big weenie-head'?"
"Mmmmaaaybeeee...."
"Is that a yes or a no, sir?"
"Sure, I might of said that. But it was a joke. Honest."
"A joke" (long pause) "Sir, would I would be correct in calling you a liberal?"
"No, I'm an American, and just what are you trying to imply?"
"I'm not implying anything, sir, I'm just asking questions. So when you say you are an American does that mean your not a traitorous piece of liberal scum?"
"Huh?"
"Let me ask you another question Mr. Myers. Who did you vote for in the last election?"
"That's none of your damn business!"
"I see. Tell me, Mr. Myers, would I be mistaken in believing that those who don't cast a proper vote to save America from the terrorist threat are, in actuality, our enemies? And if I am not mistaken, then wouldn't it certainly be 'my business' to know how you voted in the last election?"
"I voted for Arnold, ok. There, see, I'm no traiterous liberal scum."
"Ok, Mr. Myers, we'll leave it at that. Tell me, is that an empty yogurt container I see sitting in the waste basket over there."
"Where, over there. Yeah, Yoplait yogurt. I eat it everyday. So what?"
"You eat french food everyday. Like french food do you? Maybe you like french people too, huh? Maybe you'd rather be living in France and cavorting with all those yellow-bellied french socialist scumbag arteestes and intellectuals than living here in the good Ol' USA with us plain old Americans? Isn't that right?"
"What are you talking about? I've never been to France in my life."
"Then explain the yogurt."
"The yogurt?"
"The Yo-Plait, s'il vous plait. Comprendez-vous?"
"It's yogurt, for crying out loud. I bought it at the supermarket."
"It's french yogurt."
"Actually, I think it's American yogurt. And anyways, if I'm not mistaken yogurt is turkish, not french, right? Turkey is our ally, aren't they. Hell, they're part of NATO, aren't they?"
"Hmmm, sounds french to me, but whatever you say. Still, I really hate the french. All a bunch of queers if you ask me. By the way, you're not..."
"Not what?"
"You know, Gay Paree and all that. You're not that kind of frenchie are you?"
"What kind of frenchie, is that?"
"Nevermind, although it would fit the profile. But, like you say, you're not... Like girls, do you?"
"Yes I do, especially the fleshy parts. What has that got to do with..."
"Ok, ok, just asking. No reason to get defensive. Still, it does fit the profile."
"How 'bout you, Agent Frank. You and Agent Jack seemed awful chummy when you walked in the door. You like girls?"
"I'm married."
"Yeah, I'll bet."
(tense silence)
"Ok, let's have a look at that computer. Where is it?"
"Computer? What computer?"
"Let's not play games here Mr. Myers, you know which computer I'm talking about. The one you use to post threatening and highly treasonous, I might add, statements about the Attorney General of the United States of America. May I see it please?"
"Why do you want to see it? It's just a computer."
"I'm afraid we'll have to take it in for evidence."
"Take it in? My computer? When will I get it back?"
(silence)
"You can't just come barging in here and take my computer. I have important files on that computer."
"I see, and what kind of files might that be?"
"Important ones, you know. Financial data, and things like that. Say, you aren't going to look through my files are you?"
"That would be the general purpose, yes. We'll need to do a thorough forensic examination of the contents of your hard drive."
"But wait..."
"Mr. Myers, will you please show us the computer. I'm afraid we won't be leaving here without it."
"Ok, ok, but first I should tell you something. Uh, you might some files, you know pictures."
"What kind of pictures are we talking about, sir."
"Pictures, just pictures, that's all. You know, naked barbie pictures, but I can explain. You see I'm doing some research"
"Uh-huh, just as I thought. You about done there Jack?"
"Toes look a little long, Frank."
"Ok, that does it. The toes, the yogurt, the naked barbie picture, it all adds up. Sir would you mind getting your coat. You'll be coming with us."
"Coming with you, where?"
"We'd like to ask you some further questions."
"No, I'm not going anywhere. Not until I talk to a lawyer."
"There's no need to talk to a lawyer, sir. It'll just be a few questions."
"I'm not answering anything until I talk to a lawyer."
"Sir, if you've got nothing to hide then there's no need for a lawyer, is there?"
"Sure there is. What if this thing goes to trial, then what? I'll need a lawyer then, won't I?"
"There's not going to be a trial, sir."
"No trial? What are we gonna do? Just sit around the courtroom and watch you and Agent Jack make goo-goo eyes at eachother?"
"There won't be any court, sir."
"No lawyer? No court? No trial? Say, what is this?"
"Sir, we live in dangerous times. The terrorists can strike anytime and the Attorney General feels that we don't have time to waste on all the lawyer tricks and legal mumbo jumbo. I think the American people, the true patriots anyways, feel secure in knowing that our government is wasting no time in sending terrorist scum like you straight into the penitentiary where you belong."
"But I'm not a terrorist."
"The toes, Mr. Myers, how do you explain that?"
"But I'm not a terrorist."
"The yogurt, the big weenie-head remark. How do you explain those Mr. Myers?"
"But I'm not a terrorist."
"The barbie pictures"
"Ok, I said I could explain that. Look, I'm not a terrori"
THIS BLOG HAS BEEN TERMINATED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE BY ORDER OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ALL PERSONS HAVING BUSINESS WITH THIS BLOG OR WITH THE AUTHOR HEREOF SHOULD CONTACT AGENT FRANK AT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, WASHINGTON, D.C., OR JUST BOOKMARK THIS PAGE AND AGENT FRANK WILL BE SURE TO CONTACT YOU.
Phew! Thank God that John Ashcroft guy is finally gone. Guess we can all breathe a little easier now. No need to worry about secret arrests, secret courts, or secret trials. Nope, it's morning again in America, and we are free to speak our minds without fear of being labeled a traitor or a terrorist. Well I'd personally like to take this time to say once and for all that as far as I'm concerned John Ashcroft was a great big weenie-head and the country can now count its blessings that he's finally...
Ooops, sorry. Excuse me for a minute, I think there's someone at the door.
"Good evening sir, is Mr. Anthony Myers at home."
"I'm Mr. Myers, can I help you?"
"Good evening Mr. Myers, we're from the Justice Dept. My name is Officer Frank and this is my partner Officer Jack. Mind if we come in and ask you a few questions?"
"Uh, no, come on in. No, wait, could I see some identification first? Ok, that looks right. Come on in."
"Thank you. Mr. Myers, Agent Jack and I are special agents assigned to the special anti-terrorist unit of the U.S. Department of Justice and we're currently canvassing homes in the area looking for possible signs of terrorist activities in your neighborhood. "
"Terrorists, in this neighborhood? Do you have any particular suspects in mind?"
"No, no, just routine. We've been talking to people throughout the country and"
"Excuse me, can I take your coats?"
"No, we're fine. Like I said, we've been talking to various people around the country about"
"You think I might be a terrorist?"
"No, we didn't say that. But if you wouldn't mind answering a few questions...I promise we'll be as brief as possible."
"No, I don't mind. I've got nothing to hide. Ask away."
"Fine, Mr. Myers. Perhaps before we get started you wouldn't mind removing your shoes and socks."
"My what? My shoes and socks?"
"Yes sir, that's correct. As you may know we at the justice department have developed certain, uh, shall we say...terrorist profiles over the years, and one of the things we've noticed is that terrorism seems to be linked with unusually long toes. If you don't mind, we'd like you to remove your shoes so that Agent Jack here can take some measurements. It's strictly routine."
"I don't know, that's seems a little kinky to me."
"Please sir, if you don't mind."
"Ok, sure. Measure away. Like I said, I've got nothing to hide."
"Fine sir. Agent Jack, would you please?"
"Now, Mr. Myers. It has come to our attention that you have made some threatening remarks about the Attorney General lately. Is this true?"
"Threatening remarks? You mean like calling him a 'great big weenie-head'?"
"Exactly. Now Mr. Myers, did you in fact say that about the Attorney General? Did you in fact make a post on your blog calling him a 'great big weenie-head'?"
"Mmmmaaaybeeee...."
"Is that a yes or a no, sir?"
"Sure, I might of said that. But it was a joke. Honest."
"A joke" (long pause) "Sir, would I would be correct in calling you a liberal?"
"No, I'm an American, and just what are you trying to imply?"
"I'm not implying anything, sir, I'm just asking questions. So when you say you are an American does that mean your not a traitorous piece of liberal scum?"
"Huh?"
"Let me ask you another question Mr. Myers. Who did you vote for in the last election?"
"That's none of your damn business!"
"I see. Tell me, Mr. Myers, would I be mistaken in believing that those who don't cast a proper vote to save America from the terrorist threat are, in actuality, our enemies? And if I am not mistaken, then wouldn't it certainly be 'my business' to know how you voted in the last election?"
"I voted for Arnold, ok. There, see, I'm no traiterous liberal scum."
"Ok, Mr. Myers, we'll leave it at that. Tell me, is that an empty yogurt container I see sitting in the waste basket over there."
"Where, over there. Yeah, Yoplait yogurt. I eat it everyday. So what?"
"You eat french food everyday. Like french food do you? Maybe you like french people too, huh? Maybe you'd rather be living in France and cavorting with all those yellow-bellied french socialist scumbag arteestes and intellectuals than living here in the good Ol' USA with us plain old Americans? Isn't that right?"
"What are you talking about? I've never been to France in my life."
"Then explain the yogurt."
"The yogurt?"
"The Yo-Plait, s'il vous plait. Comprendez-vous?"
"It's yogurt, for crying out loud. I bought it at the supermarket."
"It's french yogurt."
"Actually, I think it's American yogurt. And anyways, if I'm not mistaken yogurt is turkish, not french, right? Turkey is our ally, aren't they. Hell, they're part of NATO, aren't they?"
"Hmmm, sounds french to me, but whatever you say. Still, I really hate the french. All a bunch of queers if you ask me. By the way, you're not..."
"Not what?"
"You know, Gay Paree and all that. You're not that kind of frenchie are you?"
"What kind of frenchie, is that?"
"Nevermind, although it would fit the profile. But, like you say, you're not... Like girls, do you?"
"Yes I do, especially the fleshy parts. What has that got to do with..."
"Ok, ok, just asking. No reason to get defensive. Still, it does fit the profile."
"How 'bout you, Agent Frank. You and Agent Jack seemed awful chummy when you walked in the door. You like girls?"
"I'm married."
"Yeah, I'll bet."
(tense silence)
"Ok, let's have a look at that computer. Where is it?"
"Computer? What computer?"
"Let's not play games here Mr. Myers, you know which computer I'm talking about. The one you use to post threatening and highly treasonous, I might add, statements about the Attorney General of the United States of America. May I see it please?"
"Why do you want to see it? It's just a computer."
"I'm afraid we'll have to take it in for evidence."
"Take it in? My computer? When will I get it back?"
(silence)
"You can't just come barging in here and take my computer. I have important files on that computer."
"I see, and what kind of files might that be?"
"Important ones, you know. Financial data, and things like that. Say, you aren't going to look through my files are you?"
"That would be the general purpose, yes. We'll need to do a thorough forensic examination of the contents of your hard drive."
"But wait..."
"Mr. Myers, will you please show us the computer. I'm afraid we won't be leaving here without it."
"Ok, ok, but first I should tell you something. Uh, you might some files, you know pictures."
"What kind of pictures are we talking about, sir."
"Pictures, just pictures, that's all. You know, naked barbie pictures, but I can explain. You see I'm doing some research"
"Uh-huh, just as I thought. You about done there Jack?"
"Toes look a little long, Frank."
"Ok, that does it. The toes, the yogurt, the naked barbie picture, it all adds up. Sir would you mind getting your coat. You'll be coming with us."
"Coming with you, where?"
"We'd like to ask you some further questions."
"No, I'm not going anywhere. Not until I talk to a lawyer."
"There's no need to talk to a lawyer, sir. It'll just be a few questions."
"I'm not answering anything until I talk to a lawyer."
"Sir, if you've got nothing to hide then there's no need for a lawyer, is there?"
"Sure there is. What if this thing goes to trial, then what? I'll need a lawyer then, won't I?"
"There's not going to be a trial, sir."
"No trial? What are we gonna do? Just sit around the courtroom and watch you and Agent Jack make goo-goo eyes at eachother?"
"There won't be any court, sir."
"No lawyer? No court? No trial? Say, what is this?"
"Sir, we live in dangerous times. The terrorists can strike anytime and the Attorney General feels that we don't have time to waste on all the lawyer tricks and legal mumbo jumbo. I think the American people, the true patriots anyways, feel secure in knowing that our government is wasting no time in sending terrorist scum like you straight into the penitentiary where you belong."
"But I'm not a terrorist."
"The toes, Mr. Myers, how do you explain that?"
"But I'm not a terrorist."
"The yogurt, the big weenie-head remark. How do you explain those Mr. Myers?"
"But I'm not a terrorist."
"The barbie pictures"
"Ok, I said I could explain that. Look, I'm not a terrori"
THIS BLOG HAS BEEN TERMINATED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE BY ORDER OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ALL PERSONS HAVING BUSINESS WITH THIS BLOG OR WITH THE AUTHOR HEREOF SHOULD CONTACT AGENT FRANK AT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, WASHINGTON, D.C., OR JUST BOOKMARK THIS PAGE AND AGENT FRANK WILL BE SURE TO CONTACT YOU.
Monday, November 08, 2004
Music in the Digital Age
That was my dream, you see. After spending all these years building up my collection of LP's, cassettes and CD's, I dreamed of someday gathering all that music together and storing it on my computer. How simple it would be. No more fishing around looking for albums, trying to remember where I put that tape - all I would have to do is punch up the album or song on my computer and hit the play button and I'd be set to go.
Then, about 5 years ago, the digital music revolution happened, and my dream was within sight. All of a sudden it was possible to rip that CD or capture an analog stream, digitize it and store it on my hard drive and jukebox software soon followed making it possible to sort and organize all those digital music files and track them through one central database. This was exactly the thing I'd always wanted to do.
So I started.
Now, it's 5 years later, and I've managed to get around 700 albums spread over about 5800 different tracks all stored on my hard drive. Better yet, not only can I access them on my PC but also on a little portable device I carry with me everywhere I go as well. That's something I never could have imagined 5 years ago, even though now I can't see how I ever got along without it. It would be tempting to invoke the old warning "be careful what you wish for...", but frankly, I think the whole digital revolution, at least when it comes to music, has been a godsend for all the music lovers out there.
There are 2 reasons I'm bringing this up. The first is that I've just finished doing an extensive overhaul of my music library. It took me at least 20-25 hours to do, but it needed to be done. The whole thing had just become such a mishmash of methods and tagging styles that I needed to bring everything together under one unified system. That's the german in me, I guess - you know, above all there must be ORDER, but there was a practical side as well. The way I tagged my tracks 5 years ago was radically different from the way I tag them now, and it was just getting too hard to search through my library and find what I was looking for. With experience comes knowledge, they say, and I've learned a lot over the years about the best way to organize music.
So that's what I want to talk a little about tonight. Sort of a short primer on tagging music files for the classical music lover who is looking to get started on digitizing his or her collection(and I say classical music lover because tagging all other forms of music, be it pop, rock, jazz, whatever, is pretty self-evident - classical music is another story). So here are a few nuggets I can pass along.
1. Be consistent. Whatever method or system of tagging you choose, be absolutely rigid and consistent in applying it to your tracks. I can't overemphasize this enough. That's how I got into trouble and that's why I've spent all these days and hours cleaning things up. Unfortunately, it's hard to know what system is best when you're first starting out, and that's why it's best to start small and be picky about how you do things. Believe me, those little inconveniences you suffer when your collection is only a couple of hundred tracks will become major pains in the ass when your collection starts to grow into the thousands. And once you find the system you like, never deviate from it. That way, even if it's not the most perfect system, you'll always know how to find your music.
2. My system. Here's an interesting little tape I found in one of my dresser drawers. "Andras Schiff playing the Mendelssohn Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with Charles Dutoit conducting Symphonieorchester des Bayersichen Rundfunks". Now, that's a mouthful. So what's the problem, you're saying, just tag it. Well, here's the problem.
There are lots of music players and jukeboxes out there for the computer, and while they are more alike than similar, they are not all exactly alike. When you add in portable MP3 players things get a little more complicated, and the fact is that there are only 4 fields that you can truly count on to work across all software and all players, those fields being Track Name, Artist, Album and Genre. There's not much you can do with Genre, so in reality there are only 3 fields you can work with when tagging a song or album. So let's try the Mendelssohn.
First is the track name. It would seem obvious to most anyone that the track names are the ones you find listed on the album cover, right? In this case that would be (1) Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, opus 40 Molto Allegro con fuoco (2) Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, opus 40 Andante and (3) Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, opus 40 Presto: Molto Allegro e vivace. Well there's your tracks 1, 2 and 3, right? No, no, no, my friend, not so fast.
What you might not know is that most music players and hardware players play tracks in alphabetical order, not track order. What does that mean? Well in this case it means if you tagged your tracks as they're shown on the album cover then the alphabetical order would be the second movement first, the first movement second, and the third movement third. Somehow, I don't think that's what you had in mind, is it?
So for track name I always use the system (Album Name)-(track no.)-(track name). This insures that no matter what player or device you use, the tracks will always sort first by Album Name, then track number, and lastly by track name. In other words, for any given album the tracks will playback in track order.
Have I lost you yet?
The next tag is for Artist Name, and here's another problem that they don't face in pop world. Who is the artist? Is it the composer Mendelssohn, the pianist Schiff, the conductor Dutoit, or the orchestra? Hmmm, didn't think about that did you? Well, here's where you have to make a decision. My decision, reached after much trial and error, is always to list the composer under the Artist Name field. I find this makes it much easier to find things on my portable player. When looking for the Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1, it's just simpler to look under "Mendelssohn" than trying to remember the soloist or the of the conductor.
The next tag is Album Name and again, this would seem to be self-evident. Just enter the name of the album. Unfortunately, if you remember my method for tagging Track Names (album-track no.-track name) then you see that it can become pretty unwieldy to use long album names like "Andras Schiff playing the Mendelssohn Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with Charles Dutoit conducting Symphonieorchester des Bayersichen Rundfunks" in every track name. My solution is to only include as much inf0rmation as is absolutely necessary to identify the track. In this case I called the Album "Schiff-Mendelssohn Piano C 1 & 2", which tells me everything I need to know when searching through a long listing.
Of course, that's just my system and it doesn't really matter what system you use as long as you're consistent.
3. Never, ever accept the information you get from the CDDB. As you may know, when you rip a CD most ripping software looks up the CD information for you from services that go under the general description of CDDB (CD DataBase). These work fine for pop music, but they are horrendously, stupendously, unbelievably inaccurate for most of the classical CD's I've ripped, and the reason is simple - everyone's got their own system. Use the CDDB to get what information you can, but always be sure to go back through the fields and edit them according to the rules you have set out.
4. Opera. Tagging Operas used to be a major pain for me until I finally arrived at my foolproof system. I won't go into details but it is as follows: Track name - (conductor)(track name), Artist-(composer), Album name-(Opera name),(principal singers). Beautiful, isn't it? In just 3 fields I've managed to list the name of the opera, the composer, the conductor, and the principal singers. Really, all the info you need to know at a glance. So, for example if I see Track name-Bonynge Preludio, Artist-Verdi, Album Name-Rigoletto, Sutherland, Pavarotti, Milnes, I know exactly which Opera I've got, which conductor, and which singers. Not a bad system if I do say so myself.
Well, that's all I can think of right now. Not much of a primer, I know, but maybe I'll add to it as I think of new things.
Oh, wait a minute, I said are 2 reasons I'm talking about digital music tonight, didn't I. I almost forgot. The second reason is this.
This is a screenshot I took from Windows Media Player 10, and just shows you what is possible in the digital age. I know it's not a very good picture, but what it shows is a Barbara Bonney CD of Schumann Lieder playing on my computer. If you look closely you'll see that not only does it play the music but it also shows the Album Name, the track name, the artist, the album cover and the english translation of the lyrics at the very bottom of the screen. Trying getting all that from your CD player.
I always dreamed of something like this, and here it is.
That was my dream, you see. After spending all these years building up my collection of LP's, cassettes and CD's, I dreamed of someday gathering all that music together and storing it on my computer. How simple it would be. No more fishing around looking for albums, trying to remember where I put that tape - all I would have to do is punch up the album or song on my computer and hit the play button and I'd be set to go.
Then, about 5 years ago, the digital music revolution happened, and my dream was within sight. All of a sudden it was possible to rip that CD or capture an analog stream, digitize it and store it on my hard drive and jukebox software soon followed making it possible to sort and organize all those digital music files and track them through one central database. This was exactly the thing I'd always wanted to do.
So I started.
Now, it's 5 years later, and I've managed to get around 700 albums spread over about 5800 different tracks all stored on my hard drive. Better yet, not only can I access them on my PC but also on a little portable device I carry with me everywhere I go as well. That's something I never could have imagined 5 years ago, even though now I can't see how I ever got along without it. It would be tempting to invoke the old warning "be careful what you wish for...", but frankly, I think the whole digital revolution, at least when it comes to music, has been a godsend for all the music lovers out there.
There are 2 reasons I'm bringing this up. The first is that I've just finished doing an extensive overhaul of my music library. It took me at least 20-25 hours to do, but it needed to be done. The whole thing had just become such a mishmash of methods and tagging styles that I needed to bring everything together under one unified system. That's the german in me, I guess - you know, above all there must be ORDER, but there was a practical side as well. The way I tagged my tracks 5 years ago was radically different from the way I tag them now, and it was just getting too hard to search through my library and find what I was looking for. With experience comes knowledge, they say, and I've learned a lot over the years about the best way to organize music.
So that's what I want to talk a little about tonight. Sort of a short primer on tagging music files for the classical music lover who is looking to get started on digitizing his or her collection(and I say classical music lover because tagging all other forms of music, be it pop, rock, jazz, whatever, is pretty self-evident - classical music is another story). So here are a few nuggets I can pass along.
1. Be consistent. Whatever method or system of tagging you choose, be absolutely rigid and consistent in applying it to your tracks. I can't overemphasize this enough. That's how I got into trouble and that's why I've spent all these days and hours cleaning things up. Unfortunately, it's hard to know what system is best when you're first starting out, and that's why it's best to start small and be picky about how you do things. Believe me, those little inconveniences you suffer when your collection is only a couple of hundred tracks will become major pains in the ass when your collection starts to grow into the thousands. And once you find the system you like, never deviate from it. That way, even if it's not the most perfect system, you'll always know how to find your music.
2. My system. Here's an interesting little tape I found in one of my dresser drawers. "Andras Schiff playing the Mendelssohn Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with Charles Dutoit conducting Symphonieorchester des Bayersichen Rundfunks". Now, that's a mouthful. So what's the problem, you're saying, just tag it. Well, here's the problem.
There are lots of music players and jukeboxes out there for the computer, and while they are more alike than similar, they are not all exactly alike. When you add in portable MP3 players things get a little more complicated, and the fact is that there are only 4 fields that you can truly count on to work across all software and all players, those fields being Track Name, Artist, Album and Genre. There's not much you can do with Genre, so in reality there are only 3 fields you can work with when tagging a song or album. So let's try the Mendelssohn.
First is the track name. It would seem obvious to most anyone that the track names are the ones you find listed on the album cover, right? In this case that would be (1) Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, opus 40 Molto Allegro con fuoco (2) Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, opus 40 Andante and (3) Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, opus 40 Presto: Molto Allegro e vivace. Well there's your tracks 1, 2 and 3, right? No, no, no, my friend, not so fast.
What you might not know is that most music players and hardware players play tracks in alphabetical order, not track order. What does that mean? Well in this case it means if you tagged your tracks as they're shown on the album cover then the alphabetical order would be the second movement first, the first movement second, and the third movement third. Somehow, I don't think that's what you had in mind, is it?
So for track name I always use the system (Album Name)-(track no.)-(track name). This insures that no matter what player or device you use, the tracks will always sort first by Album Name, then track number, and lastly by track name. In other words, for any given album the tracks will playback in track order.
Have I lost you yet?
The next tag is for Artist Name, and here's another problem that they don't face in pop world. Who is the artist? Is it the composer Mendelssohn, the pianist Schiff, the conductor Dutoit, or the orchestra? Hmmm, didn't think about that did you? Well, here's where you have to make a decision. My decision, reached after much trial and error, is always to list the composer under the Artist Name field. I find this makes it much easier to find things on my portable player. When looking for the Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1, it's just simpler to look under "Mendelssohn" than trying to remember the soloist or the of the conductor.
The next tag is Album Name and again, this would seem to be self-evident. Just enter the name of the album. Unfortunately, if you remember my method for tagging Track Names (album-track no.-track name) then you see that it can become pretty unwieldy to use long album names like "Andras Schiff playing the Mendelssohn Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with Charles Dutoit conducting Symphonieorchester des Bayersichen Rundfunks" in every track name. My solution is to only include as much inf0rmation as is absolutely necessary to identify the track. In this case I called the Album "Schiff-Mendelssohn Piano C 1 & 2", which tells me everything I need to know when searching through a long listing.
Of course, that's just my system and it doesn't really matter what system you use as long as you're consistent.
3. Never, ever accept the information you get from the CDDB. As you may know, when you rip a CD most ripping software looks up the CD information for you from services that go under the general description of CDDB (CD DataBase). These work fine for pop music, but they are horrendously, stupendously, unbelievably inaccurate for most of the classical CD's I've ripped, and the reason is simple - everyone's got their own system. Use the CDDB to get what information you can, but always be sure to go back through the fields and edit them according to the rules you have set out.
4. Opera. Tagging Operas used to be a major pain for me until I finally arrived at my foolproof system. I won't go into details but it is as follows: Track name - (conductor)(track name), Artist-(composer), Album name-(Opera name),(principal singers). Beautiful, isn't it? In just 3 fields I've managed to list the name of the opera, the composer, the conductor, and the principal singers. Really, all the info you need to know at a glance. So, for example if I see Track name-Bonynge Preludio, Artist-Verdi, Album Name-Rigoletto, Sutherland, Pavarotti, Milnes, I know exactly which Opera I've got, which conductor, and which singers. Not a bad system if I do say so myself.
Well, that's all I can think of right now. Not much of a primer, I know, but maybe I'll add to it as I think of new things.
Oh, wait a minute, I said are 2 reasons I'm talking about digital music tonight, didn't I. I almost forgot. The second reason is this.
This is a screenshot I took from Windows Media Player 10, and just shows you what is possible in the digital age. I know it's not a very good picture, but what it shows is a Barbara Bonney CD of Schumann Lieder playing on my computer. If you look closely you'll see that not only does it play the music but it also shows the Album Name, the track name, the artist, the album cover and the english translation of the lyrics at the very bottom of the screen. Trying getting all that from your CD player.
I always dreamed of something like this, and here it is.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Sentimental Goop
It must have been in the sixth grade, maybe junior high, ... no the sixth grade. I remember now because it was at Noble Elementary. The Art Room was next to the Utility Room where they used to sell the treats on Treat Days, when our mothers would give us a dime to take to school and where we'd line up during the afternoon recess for popcorn balls or fudgesicles or whatever the snack was that day. Yes, it was the sixth grade, and the Art Room was down at the end of the building next to the Utility Room.
I was a horrible artist. Forget watercolors or colored pencils, I couldn't even fingerpaint anything beyond the basic rectangles and circles, but in the sixth grade everyone had to take Art Class and luckily the teacher wasn't too hard on us and would give even the most ham-handed of artists a B if they showed up for class everyday. I showed up and was perfectly content to get my B.
I remember one of her assignments particularly well. We were each to select an animal and return the following week with a drawing. I don't know why I chose a bird, perhaps because I couldn't draw an elephant, although truthfully I couldn't draw a bird either beyond the basic "m" shapes that some people use to draw birds in the distance. Either way, my assignment was to draw a pencil sketch of a bird and I determined to go home and come up with something with a beak and feathers, even if it didn't exactly resemble the real thing.
When I got home I saw my mother sewing in the family room, as was her usual custom in those days, and she saw the sheets of white construction paper the art teacher had given me to use for my drawing. She asked about the construction paper and I told her about the assignment. She smiled at me and asked "Do you know how to draw a bird?", knowing full well I couldn't draw a brick, let alone a bird.
"No" I said, "I'll just copy one from the encyclopedia."
"Well, it's easy to draw a bird" she explained, "get me some paper and I'll show you how."
I was a little suprised at that. In all the years I'd known my mother (and I'd known her all my life) I had never seen her draw anything before. Well, except for kanji. I can still remember her sitting hunched over the kitchen table with her reading glasses on and writing these letters to her family back in Japan that would take days, even weeks to finish. Each character had to carefully stroked, each column worked slowly from right to left. Her kanji skills were superb, no doubt honed by her years working as a government copyest during the war, and each character it's own little work of art.
But drawing, that was something different. She had a friend named Ruth who was a painter and she used to go over to her house and admire the unframed paintings that she had laying around her garage, but whenever Ruth offered her lessons she declined telling her that she was much too busy looking after the house and family to ever take up painting. Which was true, I suppose, although outside of Ruth's garage she never seemed to show much interest.
Then I remember a story my mother used to tell. When she was a little girl, about 12 or 13, she told me, she had won an art competition at her school. It wasn't anything major, hers was a little town and well outside the orbit of Tokyo or the other major cities to the south, but she took took first place and was even a little overcome when one of the local VIP's saw her painting and decided that it should be hung in the hallway of the local government building. I remember how proudly she used to tell that story and how happily she remembered going down to the government building and seeing her painting upon the wall. In her town that government building was second only to the Emporer's Palace as a place of respect and importance, and the entire family felt honored to have her painting seen there.
I don't know what dreams my mother dreamed in those days, but she must have dreamed of going to a great art school I suppose, or university, or maybe even getting an imperial commission, who knows, but things didn't turn out that way. As my mother always used to finish the story, it was only months later that all the children at the school were called out of class to listen to an announcement from Tokyo that Japan had just won a great victory over the United States. It was December 8, 1941, and although she didn't know it at the time, all her dreams were gone.
As I gave my mother some blank sheets of paper I remembered her story. That's right, I thought, she can draw, at least she used to draw even though she doesn't draw anymore. My mother laid the sheet of paper flat over the hard cover of my school binder and began drawing a long slender outline on the paper. "This is the breast" she told me, "and the wings will go here." As she continued drawing her conversation began to fade. Slowly the bird began to appear on the paper, the breast, the wings, the head, the feet, the beak and the eyes. She drew in feathers and the bird acquired a texture - a texture so soft you could almost reach out an touch it. As I watched her continue on it became clear to me that this was not the work of an amateur or hobbyist. Ruth was a hobbyist and though I thought her paintings were just fine, my mother could draw much better than Ruth. Even with just a pencil and paper she created something more alive and real than any of Ruth's fruit bowls or flower vases.
When she finished my mother smiled at me and gave me a look like "See, that's how you draw a bird", though if I lived to be a hundred and ten years old I knew I'd never be able to draw anything like that. I took the drawing and asked her "Mom, how come I've never seen you draw before. I didn't know you could draw like this." My mother never answered me, and in all the remaining years of her life I never remember her once picking up a pencil and drawing anything ever again.
So why am I writing this? Well, you asked me what I wanted for Christmas, didn't you. I know I didn't give much of an answer, but there's a reason. It would just sound too corny, too sentimental to say it out loud. I grow older and find that I don't care so much about having things I've never had before. Sure, when you're a kid you always want the newest thing, the newest toy or whatever, but lately I find myself wanting things I used to have and lost. People I used to know, names I used to remember, and little things I gathered along the way and misplaced.
Like a picture of a bird that my mother drew for me one day after school. If I could have one Christmas wish it would be to have back that afternoon, and to take that picture and safely pack it away knowing how much it would mean to me someday. Then if someone should ever see her photograph and ask "who was that?" I could take out the drawing and show them. "She was my mother", I'd say, "and she had hidden talents."
It must have been in the sixth grade, maybe junior high, ... no the sixth grade. I remember now because it was at Noble Elementary. The Art Room was next to the Utility Room where they used to sell the treats on Treat Days, when our mothers would give us a dime to take to school and where we'd line up during the afternoon recess for popcorn balls or fudgesicles or whatever the snack was that day. Yes, it was the sixth grade, and the Art Room was down at the end of the building next to the Utility Room.
I was a horrible artist. Forget watercolors or colored pencils, I couldn't even fingerpaint anything beyond the basic rectangles and circles, but in the sixth grade everyone had to take Art Class and luckily the teacher wasn't too hard on us and would give even the most ham-handed of artists a B if they showed up for class everyday. I showed up and was perfectly content to get my B.
I remember one of her assignments particularly well. We were each to select an animal and return the following week with a drawing. I don't know why I chose a bird, perhaps because I couldn't draw an elephant, although truthfully I couldn't draw a bird either beyond the basic "m" shapes that some people use to draw birds in the distance. Either way, my assignment was to draw a pencil sketch of a bird and I determined to go home and come up with something with a beak and feathers, even if it didn't exactly resemble the real thing.
When I got home I saw my mother sewing in the family room, as was her usual custom in those days, and she saw the sheets of white construction paper the art teacher had given me to use for my drawing. She asked about the construction paper and I told her about the assignment. She smiled at me and asked "Do you know how to draw a bird?", knowing full well I couldn't draw a brick, let alone a bird.
"No" I said, "I'll just copy one from the encyclopedia."
"Well, it's easy to draw a bird" she explained, "get me some paper and I'll show you how."
I was a little suprised at that. In all the years I'd known my mother (and I'd known her all my life) I had never seen her draw anything before. Well, except for kanji. I can still remember her sitting hunched over the kitchen table with her reading glasses on and writing these letters to her family back in Japan that would take days, even weeks to finish. Each character had to carefully stroked, each column worked slowly from right to left. Her kanji skills were superb, no doubt honed by her years working as a government copyest during the war, and each character it's own little work of art.
But drawing, that was something different. She had a friend named Ruth who was a painter and she used to go over to her house and admire the unframed paintings that she had laying around her garage, but whenever Ruth offered her lessons she declined telling her that she was much too busy looking after the house and family to ever take up painting. Which was true, I suppose, although outside of Ruth's garage she never seemed to show much interest.
Then I remember a story my mother used to tell. When she was a little girl, about 12 or 13, she told me, she had won an art competition at her school. It wasn't anything major, hers was a little town and well outside the orbit of Tokyo or the other major cities to the south, but she took took first place and was even a little overcome when one of the local VIP's saw her painting and decided that it should be hung in the hallway of the local government building. I remember how proudly she used to tell that story and how happily she remembered going down to the government building and seeing her painting upon the wall. In her town that government building was second only to the Emporer's Palace as a place of respect and importance, and the entire family felt honored to have her painting seen there.
I don't know what dreams my mother dreamed in those days, but she must have dreamed of going to a great art school I suppose, or university, or maybe even getting an imperial commission, who knows, but things didn't turn out that way. As my mother always used to finish the story, it was only months later that all the children at the school were called out of class to listen to an announcement from Tokyo that Japan had just won a great victory over the United States. It was December 8, 1941, and although she didn't know it at the time, all her dreams were gone.
As I gave my mother some blank sheets of paper I remembered her story. That's right, I thought, she can draw, at least she used to draw even though she doesn't draw anymore. My mother laid the sheet of paper flat over the hard cover of my school binder and began drawing a long slender outline on the paper. "This is the breast" she told me, "and the wings will go here." As she continued drawing her conversation began to fade. Slowly the bird began to appear on the paper, the breast, the wings, the head, the feet, the beak and the eyes. She drew in feathers and the bird acquired a texture - a texture so soft you could almost reach out an touch it. As I watched her continue on it became clear to me that this was not the work of an amateur or hobbyist. Ruth was a hobbyist and though I thought her paintings were just fine, my mother could draw much better than Ruth. Even with just a pencil and paper she created something more alive and real than any of Ruth's fruit bowls or flower vases.
When she finished my mother smiled at me and gave me a look like "See, that's how you draw a bird", though if I lived to be a hundred and ten years old I knew I'd never be able to draw anything like that. I took the drawing and asked her "Mom, how come I've never seen you draw before. I didn't know you could draw like this." My mother never answered me, and in all the remaining years of her life I never remember her once picking up a pencil and drawing anything ever again.
So why am I writing this? Well, you asked me what I wanted for Christmas, didn't you. I know I didn't give much of an answer, but there's a reason. It would just sound too corny, too sentimental to say it out loud. I grow older and find that I don't care so much about having things I've never had before. Sure, when you're a kid you always want the newest thing, the newest toy or whatever, but lately I find myself wanting things I used to have and lost. People I used to know, names I used to remember, and little things I gathered along the way and misplaced.
Like a picture of a bird that my mother drew for me one day after school. If I could have one Christmas wish it would be to have back that afternoon, and to take that picture and safely pack it away knowing how much it would mean to me someday. Then if someone should ever see her photograph and ask "who was that?" I could take out the drawing and show them. "She was my mother", I'd say, "and she had hidden talents."
Thursday, October 21, 2004
The Soapbox of the World
I know that there are still some people out there who are new to the world of blogs, and if you're one of them and trying to figure this whole blog thing out then all I have to say is "You're too late". Sorry, man, the party's over.
Blogs are officially Old-School now. The new thing in town is the Podcast, and if that leaves you feeling a little behind the curve, don't worry - podcasts are simply audio blogs that are being sydicated around the web via RSS feeds. And for those who don't know what an RSS feed is... well, perhaps it's time for you retire to a quiet corner somewhere and try to recall exactly when it was that the world passed you by.
No, I don't mean that. Go ask your kids or grandkids and maybe they can get you up to speed.
Anyways, podcasts are in, man. Not that they're anything new, mind you, because all of the podcasts I've seen are just the same old mp3 files that have been floating around the net for years. I guess what's new is the delivery mechanism and the fact that you sync these files with your Ipod (hence "podcast" - clever folks, this new generation). I don't have an Ipod but it's easy enough to download the files and play them on any mp3 player you happen to have, and though I've only listened to a couple of these things so far, I still think it's safe to say that with the arrival of the podcast we stand upon the cusp of the total collapse and disintegration of civilization and rational thought as we know it.
Why, you ask? Well, first of all let me say that not every podcast is a total waste of time. There are a few professionally produced ones out there that are simply using the podcasting apparatus as a way to extend their reach into new areas of the internet. Certainly nothing wrong with that, but these are far from common and I'd say the vast majority of podcasts that I've heard so far are amateur affairs, the internet equivalent of giving a 6 year old a microphone and tape recorder and telling him to just start talking. "Say something, Mikey. Anything. Anything that comes to mind."
Ha, you say, so what? Look at this blog. Who are you to be pointing fingers and accusing others of filling the internet with mindless blather? Well, that's true, but as I see it blogging has two distinct advantages over podcasting. The first is that you only have to read a line or two of most blogs to know whether you should bother reading any further, but you may have to listen to some obnoxious jerk for one, maybe two full minutes before you realize that he's not going to get any less obnoxious or be any less of a jerk and stop the podcast. Blogs are simply easier to browse than podcasts. The second advantage that blogs have is that most are quiet and thoughtful while podcasts are more like some guy sitting next to you in a restaurant talking on his cellphone.
Advantages, disadvantages, it doesn't really matter, though, because as you've probably heard there are new Ipod's coming out that are going to have LCD screens and be able to play video as well as audio. This means that it's only a matter of time before we start seeing video podcasts, and when that happens I believe we will have finally reached the point at which civilization reaches it's zenith and starts it's long fall to the bottom. And my reason is simple.
Blogs are for readers, but most members of the Ipod generation are not readers, they are TV watchers. I predict that when they finally acquire a portable video device (Ipod) that allows them to be both consumers and producers of their own video content then there is going to be an explosion of media across the internet that will make this whole blogging thing seem no more than a flea on the back of an elephant. The world is going to be saturated with media, and the only question will be "how do we consume it all?"
I say we'll consume it by devolving into something resembling a sea anemone. We'll just anchor ourselves to some rock and use our tentacles to filter through the vast ocean of media around us, probing for some tasty little morsel that might happen to come our way.
Whatever happens I think that one of the lessons we've learned from all this blogging and chatting and message boarding is that as the quantity of discourse increases, the quality of discourse declines. There may be exceptions, but time and time again I've seen quality message boards and quality groups overwhelmed by vast invasions of the trolls and sociopaths, and therefore my prediction is that in the not too distant future the world discussion will be dominated by 14 year old boys with serious personality problems, and we'll all be watching it on our Ipods.
Of course, I could be wrong and my predictions usually are, but as Jeanne Dixon proved you can be wrong 10,000 times and no one will care, but be right once and the world will call you a prophet.
An Enigmatic Variation (ButWe Still Love Ya, Hilary)
I lack the expertise and experience to be a real music critic and I won't try to pass myself off as one, but I do have a quick comment about Hilary Hahn's latest CD of the Elgar Violin Concerto, and that comment would be
I don't get it.
I guess I've listened to the piece a dozen, maybe two dozen times since I bought it and can't figure out for the life of me why Hilary chose this piece for the new CD. Sure there are plenty of virtuoso moments, and some interesting and expressive passages, but speaking purely as a layman, a member of the ignorant public that is, the piece as a whole just doesn't seem to hang together. Everytime it starts down an interesting path it just seems to fizzle out and wander, and at times even Hilary herself seems to wander from the piece and sort of disengage.
It doesn't help that she didn't write any liner notes for this CD and has been her usual practice in the past. A few insights from her as to why she feels so passionate about Elgar would have been welcome and certainly gone a long way towards explaining why she recorded it.
Most of the reviews I've read have been generally positive although a few have pretty much panned the whole CD and questioned Hilary's ability to pull off this concerto off. I have to admit that I wondered about that myself, but as luck would have it I found one of the performances cited by some of the critics as worthy of the piece on Rhapsody and was able to give it a listen. It's an old Albert Sammons recording that is supposed to be one of the greatest ever made of this concerto, and as far as I'm concerned it doesn't fare any better.
I don't know, I just get the feeling I'm missing something here. When Hilary Hahn recorded the Stravinsky Violin Concerto that was a revelation to me (the ignorant public) and quickly became one of my favorite pieces. When she recorded the Bach Violin Concertos (which some critics complained "were played too fast", a comment which has always reminded me of the "too many notes" line from Amadeus) it seemed she brought some freshness into roads well travelled. But with the Elgar...I can't find it. Whatever she found in the piece is still a mystery to me. I don't feel let down, though, and who knowsl, maybe after a couple of dozen more listens it'll come to me.
So let me put on my music critic's hat here and make a recommendation. The Lark Ascending is beautifully played, full of expression and light as a feather. If you don't have The Lark in your collection it is almost worth the price of the CD just for this piece alone. On the other hand, if you're not a confirmed Hilary Hahn fan or just a new Hilary Hahn fan, then this is probably not the CD for you, and certainly not the CD to start your new Hilary Hahn collection. Go back a year and get the Bach Concertos with Jeffrey Kahane and the LA Chamber Orchestra. And don't worry if she plays too fast, it'll grow on you.
I know that there are still some people out there who are new to the world of blogs, and if you're one of them and trying to figure this whole blog thing out then all I have to say is "You're too late". Sorry, man, the party's over.
Blogs are officially Old-School now. The new thing in town is the Podcast, and if that leaves you feeling a little behind the curve, don't worry - podcasts are simply audio blogs that are being sydicated around the web via RSS feeds. And for those who don't know what an RSS feed is... well, perhaps it's time for you retire to a quiet corner somewhere and try to recall exactly when it was that the world passed you by.
No, I don't mean that. Go ask your kids or grandkids and maybe they can get you up to speed.
Anyways, podcasts are in, man. Not that they're anything new, mind you, because all of the podcasts I've seen are just the same old mp3 files that have been floating around the net for years. I guess what's new is the delivery mechanism and the fact that you sync these files with your Ipod (hence "podcast" - clever folks, this new generation). I don't have an Ipod but it's easy enough to download the files and play them on any mp3 player you happen to have, and though I've only listened to a couple of these things so far, I still think it's safe to say that with the arrival of the podcast we stand upon the cusp of the total collapse and disintegration of civilization and rational thought as we know it.
Why, you ask? Well, first of all let me say that not every podcast is a total waste of time. There are a few professionally produced ones out there that are simply using the podcasting apparatus as a way to extend their reach into new areas of the internet. Certainly nothing wrong with that, but these are far from common and I'd say the vast majority of podcasts that I've heard so far are amateur affairs, the internet equivalent of giving a 6 year old a microphone and tape recorder and telling him to just start talking. "Say something, Mikey. Anything. Anything that comes to mind."
Ha, you say, so what? Look at this blog. Who are you to be pointing fingers and accusing others of filling the internet with mindless blather? Well, that's true, but as I see it blogging has two distinct advantages over podcasting. The first is that you only have to read a line or two of most blogs to know whether you should bother reading any further, but you may have to listen to some obnoxious jerk for one, maybe two full minutes before you realize that he's not going to get any less obnoxious or be any less of a jerk and stop the podcast. Blogs are simply easier to browse than podcasts. The second advantage that blogs have is that most are quiet and thoughtful while podcasts are more like some guy sitting next to you in a restaurant talking on his cellphone.
Advantages, disadvantages, it doesn't really matter, though, because as you've probably heard there are new Ipod's coming out that are going to have LCD screens and be able to play video as well as audio. This means that it's only a matter of time before we start seeing video podcasts, and when that happens I believe we will have finally reached the point at which civilization reaches it's zenith and starts it's long fall to the bottom. And my reason is simple.
Blogs are for readers, but most members of the Ipod generation are not readers, they are TV watchers. I predict that when they finally acquire a portable video device (Ipod) that allows them to be both consumers and producers of their own video content then there is going to be an explosion of media across the internet that will make this whole blogging thing seem no more than a flea on the back of an elephant. The world is going to be saturated with media, and the only question will be "how do we consume it all?"
I say we'll consume it by devolving into something resembling a sea anemone. We'll just anchor ourselves to some rock and use our tentacles to filter through the vast ocean of media around us, probing for some tasty little morsel that might happen to come our way.
Whatever happens I think that one of the lessons we've learned from all this blogging and chatting and message boarding is that as the quantity of discourse increases, the quality of discourse declines. There may be exceptions, but time and time again I've seen quality message boards and quality groups overwhelmed by vast invasions of the trolls and sociopaths, and therefore my prediction is that in the not too distant future the world discussion will be dominated by 14 year old boys with serious personality problems, and we'll all be watching it on our Ipods.
Of course, I could be wrong and my predictions usually are, but as Jeanne Dixon proved you can be wrong 10,000 times and no one will care, but be right once and the world will call you a prophet.
An Enigmatic Variation (ButWe Still Love Ya, Hilary)
I lack the expertise and experience to be a real music critic and I won't try to pass myself off as one, but I do have a quick comment about Hilary Hahn's latest CD of the Elgar Violin Concerto, and that comment would be
I don't get it.
I guess I've listened to the piece a dozen, maybe two dozen times since I bought it and can't figure out for the life of me why Hilary chose this piece for the new CD. Sure there are plenty of virtuoso moments, and some interesting and expressive passages, but speaking purely as a layman, a member of the ignorant public that is, the piece as a whole just doesn't seem to hang together. Everytime it starts down an interesting path it just seems to fizzle out and wander, and at times even Hilary herself seems to wander from the piece and sort of disengage.
It doesn't help that she didn't write any liner notes for this CD and has been her usual practice in the past. A few insights from her as to why she feels so passionate about Elgar would have been welcome and certainly gone a long way towards explaining why she recorded it.
Most of the reviews I've read have been generally positive although a few have pretty much panned the whole CD and questioned Hilary's ability to pull off this concerto off. I have to admit that I wondered about that myself, but as luck would have it I found one of the performances cited by some of the critics as worthy of the piece on Rhapsody and was able to give it a listen. It's an old Albert Sammons recording that is supposed to be one of the greatest ever made of this concerto, and as far as I'm concerned it doesn't fare any better.
I don't know, I just get the feeling I'm missing something here. When Hilary Hahn recorded the Stravinsky Violin Concerto that was a revelation to me (the ignorant public) and quickly became one of my favorite pieces. When she recorded the Bach Violin Concertos (which some critics complained "were played too fast", a comment which has always reminded me of the "too many notes" line from Amadeus) it seemed she brought some freshness into roads well travelled. But with the Elgar...I can't find it. Whatever she found in the piece is still a mystery to me. I don't feel let down, though, and who knowsl, maybe after a couple of dozen more listens it'll come to me.
So let me put on my music critic's hat here and make a recommendation. The Lark Ascending is beautifully played, full of expression and light as a feather. If you don't have The Lark in your collection it is almost worth the price of the CD just for this piece alone. On the other hand, if you're not a confirmed Hilary Hahn fan or just a new Hilary Hahn fan, then this is probably not the CD for you, and certainly not the CD to start your new Hilary Hahn collection. Go back a year and get the Bach Concertos with Jeffrey Kahane and the LA Chamber Orchestra. And don't worry if she plays too fast, it'll grow on you.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Fish Gotta Swim, Birds Gotta Fly
When it comes to the weather we Californians are a bunch of wusses. Yeah, I'm a Californian and proud of it, but the truth is that we just can't handle real weather. Earthquakes, sure, fires, no problem, but let a little rain fall and ... Today for example, a storm blew into Northern California and dumped around an inch or two of water. Now in Houston Texas or Kansas City Mo. that might not be that big of a deal, but here in California it was page one news, and it's almost embarrasing the way all the local news stations nearly soiled themselves trying to get us through our "weather crisis." I mean, from the way they covered it you would have thought that it was time to get FEMA on the case or request some disaster relief from Florida or Alabama.
Weather wusses, that's what we are.
What I like the best is the news coverage leading up to the storm. As the storm approaches every station and newspaper starts running these stories on how to prepare for the coming storm and what to do when the rain starts falling. I mean, how exactly do you prepare for an inch of rain? Do you stock the cellar with canned foods and bottled water? Do you gather blankets and flashlights and bring all the animals inside? Would it be overreacting to pick up some plywood and start boarding up the windows? No, let's face it, we Californians are just...
Weather wusses.
To give you a little illustration of what I mean I've included this transcript from the local news. This isn't the weatherman part but the part where the reporter goes out to one of the local streams and gives us a live report on the rain coming down. I'm sure they do it where you come from too, cause why look out the window when you can see the rain on TV. Anyways, here goes:
"And now let's go out to Sandy Creek where our Bob Blitzer is standing by live to update us on the weather conditions. Bob, what have you got for us?"
"Hi, Frank, I'm out here at Sandy Creek where, as you can see, it's raining."
"Can you describe the rain for us, Bob?"
"Well, it's watery and seems to be dropping from the sky. Maybe if we can get the camera turned around and look over there by the trees the viewers can see what we mean. There. I don't know if the viewers at home can see this, but it seems to be coming down in droplike fashion and forming little puddles on the ground."
"How about the creek, Bob. Is the rain having any effect on the water levels there?"
"Yes, Frank, that's an excellent question. According to experts I've talked to, as the rain continues to fall much of it will end up in the creek you see behind me. This will cause the volume of water flowing in the creek to increase and as we head further into this storm we could actually see water levels rise."
"Is there any possiblity of flooding at this point?"
"Well, the creek is currently about 27 feet below flood stage, so I doubt it. But it is possible that as this crisis continues to unfold we could see the number to drop to 26 feet, 11 inches, or less. Of course, we'll be here all night to monitor the situation and report back to you if anything new should develop."
"Thank you Bob. You stay dry out there and get back safe to your wife and family, ok."
"My wife left me Frank."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know..."
"How could you?"
"Well thank you Bob. That's Bob Blitzer reporting live from Sandy Creek."
"She said she didn't love me anymore, Frank. She said she found someone else. All this time I'm out bustin' my butt trying to..."
"Yes, thanks for the live report Bob. Coming up next on Big News 10 at eleven we'll bring you exclusive coverage of..."
"I feel terrible Frank. I wish you wouldn't leave me like this... She won't get the kids, you know. I'll never let her take my children. Do you understand? I'll, never let them live in the same house with that whore. 'Cause that's what she is Frank. She had me fooled for a while, but now I know. She's just a lying, cheating, ungrateful, two-timing sl..."
"Whoops, seems we've lost our live feed. We'll try to get back to Bob a later in the newscast."
Well, anyways, that's the headlines from out here in California.
When it comes to the weather we Californians are a bunch of wusses. Yeah, I'm a Californian and proud of it, but the truth is that we just can't handle real weather. Earthquakes, sure, fires, no problem, but let a little rain fall and ... Today for example, a storm blew into Northern California and dumped around an inch or two of water. Now in Houston Texas or Kansas City Mo. that might not be that big of a deal, but here in California it was page one news, and it's almost embarrasing the way all the local news stations nearly soiled themselves trying to get us through our "weather crisis." I mean, from the way they covered it you would have thought that it was time to get FEMA on the case or request some disaster relief from Florida or Alabama.
Weather wusses, that's what we are.
What I like the best is the news coverage leading up to the storm. As the storm approaches every station and newspaper starts running these stories on how to prepare for the coming storm and what to do when the rain starts falling. I mean, how exactly do you prepare for an inch of rain? Do you stock the cellar with canned foods and bottled water? Do you gather blankets and flashlights and bring all the animals inside? Would it be overreacting to pick up some plywood and start boarding up the windows? No, let's face it, we Californians are just...
Weather wusses.
To give you a little illustration of what I mean I've included this transcript from the local news. This isn't the weatherman part but the part where the reporter goes out to one of the local streams and gives us a live report on the rain coming down. I'm sure they do it where you come from too, cause why look out the window when you can see the rain on TV. Anyways, here goes:
"And now let's go out to Sandy Creek where our Bob Blitzer is standing by live to update us on the weather conditions. Bob, what have you got for us?"
"Hi, Frank, I'm out here at Sandy Creek where, as you can see, it's raining."
"Can you describe the rain for us, Bob?"
"Well, it's watery and seems to be dropping from the sky. Maybe if we can get the camera turned around and look over there by the trees the viewers can see what we mean. There. I don't know if the viewers at home can see this, but it seems to be coming down in droplike fashion and forming little puddles on the ground."
"How about the creek, Bob. Is the rain having any effect on the water levels there?"
"Yes, Frank, that's an excellent question. According to experts I've talked to, as the rain continues to fall much of it will end up in the creek you see behind me. This will cause the volume of water flowing in the creek to increase and as we head further into this storm we could actually see water levels rise."
"Is there any possiblity of flooding at this point?"
"Well, the creek is currently about 27 feet below flood stage, so I doubt it. But it is possible that as this crisis continues to unfold we could see the number to drop to 26 feet, 11 inches, or less. Of course, we'll be here all night to monitor the situation and report back to you if anything new should develop."
"Thank you Bob. You stay dry out there and get back safe to your wife and family, ok."
"My wife left me Frank."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know..."
"How could you?"
"Well thank you Bob. That's Bob Blitzer reporting live from Sandy Creek."
"She said she didn't love me anymore, Frank. She said she found someone else. All this time I'm out bustin' my butt trying to..."
"Yes, thanks for the live report Bob. Coming up next on Big News 10 at eleven we'll bring you exclusive coverage of..."
"I feel terrible Frank. I wish you wouldn't leave me like this... She won't get the kids, you know. I'll never let her take my children. Do you understand? I'll, never let them live in the same house with that whore. 'Cause that's what she is Frank. She had me fooled for a while, but now I know. She's just a lying, cheating, ungrateful, two-timing sl..."
"Whoops, seems we've lost our live feed. We'll try to get back to Bob a later in the newscast."
Well, anyways, that's the headlines from out here in California.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
I Love You California
For as long as I can remember the government of the state of California has only had two items on it's legislative agenda. The first being gerrymandering, and the second pork-barreling. I kid you not and I don't think a single Californian will be suprised if after the upcoming election the first order of business in Sacramento is redrawing the district lines, followed closely by the annual obstruct the budget process. Yes, as sure as summer follows spring the accusations will fly back and forth across the aisle, and in the end every Senator and Assemblyman will be careful to get their piece of the pie, and all the other business of the state will go unattended.
The reason I bring this up is because I just got back from vacation and what should I find awaiting me in my unopened pile of mail but my 2004 Voter Information Guide (and supplement). In other states that might not be much of a deal and certainly not worth mentioning in this blog or anywhere else, but you see in California, because of our disfunctional state governement, each election presents us with these things called propositions where the voters are asked to enact the legislation that our legislators are too distracted to consider.
What this means is that every election year a Voter Information Guide (VIG) arrives in the mail with page upon page of legislative mumbo jumbo that we are asked to study and vote on. This years VIG, I'm happy to report, runs a mere 125 pages (or 146 pages total with the 21 page supplement) and presents us with no less than sixteen different propositions to consider before we head out to the voting booth on November 2nd. And of course Californians, being the conscientious and responsible citizens we are, read each page carefully and completely, highlighting significant points and engaging our fellow citizens in careful and thoughtful deliberation before making our choices on these important issues.
Or maybe not.
Actually, most of us probably just watch the commercials - they're great. They always feature a spokesperson from some group calling itself Taxpayers for a Better California or Citizens for Responsible Government telling us how voting Yes on this proposition is going make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. These people are sometimes countered by spokesman from some other group calling itself Fairness for All California or The Jarvis Taxpayers Alliance telling us if we vote Yes on this proposition then the governement is going to start throwing babies from planes, and so the debate is started with each side telling us not to let ourselves be decieved by the other. Of course most of us don't completely understand the issues to begin with so we become confused and say "Gosh, I love that warm and fuzzy feeling but I don't think it's right that they should throw babies from planes. What should I do?"
And so we turn to the VIG. Here we get the actual text of the proposed legislation and a legislative analysis that tries to explain to us what it is we just read. Then, of course, we get the arguments pro and con which mimic more or less what we've been hearing on the commercials, and then, being fully informed by our 3 minutes of study, we head to the polling place and cast our ballot, fully secure in the knowledge that if the proposition is defeated it'll probably show up again in the next election, and if passed, it will be overturned by the courts.
Democracy in action!
Of course along with the VIG (and supplement) we also get our sample ballots which are my favorite part of the whole electoral process. First we get five more pieces of legislation to vote on (called County or City Measures) plus we also get page after page of candidate's statements for all the local elective offices like School Board Member or Water District Superintendent. Used to be in the old days when political machines ran things you didn't really need to pay much attention to these sorts of local offices - you just voted for Boss Tweed's man or Boss Pendergast's man and that was that. But now that we've removed all the corruption from our politics things have gotten much harder. Thank goodness we have the candidate's statements to sort these things out.
Hmm, I see Candidate A is for good schools and lower crime. Whew, can't say he's afraid to take a controversial stand on the issues. He describes himself as a tough, no-nonsense businessman who knows how to get things done and is endorsed by the blah-blah-blah, the blah-blah-blah, the blah-blah-blah, etc... Sounds like the candidate for me. Let's see what his opponent has to say.
Hmm, seems she's also for good schools and lower crime. This is going to be harder than I thought. She has twenty years experience as an educator and administrator, understands the problems facing our schools and is endorsed by the blah-blah-blah, the blah-blah-blah, the blah-blah-blah and the blah-blah-blah too. All fine organizations. I guess I'll have to decide between her and Candidate A, but let's see what the third candidate has to say.
Hmm, Candidate C describes himself has a indolent ne'er-do-well who supports graft, bribery and dumb kids. He promises that if elected he'll fade into obscurity and never be heard from again till next election and do everything he can in the meantime to make sure that every squeaking wheel that can pay the freight gets its axle greased.
Finally, an honest politician. You know who I'm voting for.
For as long as I can remember the government of the state of California has only had two items on it's legislative agenda. The first being gerrymandering, and the second pork-barreling. I kid you not and I don't think a single Californian will be suprised if after the upcoming election the first order of business in Sacramento is redrawing the district lines, followed closely by the annual obstruct the budget process. Yes, as sure as summer follows spring the accusations will fly back and forth across the aisle, and in the end every Senator and Assemblyman will be careful to get their piece of the pie, and all the other business of the state will go unattended.
The reason I bring this up is because I just got back from vacation and what should I find awaiting me in my unopened pile of mail but my 2004 Voter Information Guide (and supplement). In other states that might not be much of a deal and certainly not worth mentioning in this blog or anywhere else, but you see in California, because of our disfunctional state governement, each election presents us with these things called propositions where the voters are asked to enact the legislation that our legislators are too distracted to consider.
What this means is that every election year a Voter Information Guide (VIG) arrives in the mail with page upon page of legislative mumbo jumbo that we are asked to study and vote on. This years VIG, I'm happy to report, runs a mere 125 pages (or 146 pages total with the 21 page supplement) and presents us with no less than sixteen different propositions to consider before we head out to the voting booth on November 2nd. And of course Californians, being the conscientious and responsible citizens we are, read each page carefully and completely, highlighting significant points and engaging our fellow citizens in careful and thoughtful deliberation before making our choices on these important issues.
Or maybe not.
Actually, most of us probably just watch the commercials - they're great. They always feature a spokesperson from some group calling itself Taxpayers for a Better California or Citizens for Responsible Government telling us how voting Yes on this proposition is going make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. These people are sometimes countered by spokesman from some other group calling itself Fairness for All California or The Jarvis Taxpayers Alliance telling us if we vote Yes on this proposition then the governement is going to start throwing babies from planes, and so the debate is started with each side telling us not to let ourselves be decieved by the other. Of course most of us don't completely understand the issues to begin with so we become confused and say "Gosh, I love that warm and fuzzy feeling but I don't think it's right that they should throw babies from planes. What should I do?"
And so we turn to the VIG. Here we get the actual text of the proposed legislation and a legislative analysis that tries to explain to us what it is we just read. Then, of course, we get the arguments pro and con which mimic more or less what we've been hearing on the commercials, and then, being fully informed by our 3 minutes of study, we head to the polling place and cast our ballot, fully secure in the knowledge that if the proposition is defeated it'll probably show up again in the next election, and if passed, it will be overturned by the courts.
Democracy in action!
Of course along with the VIG (and supplement) we also get our sample ballots which are my favorite part of the whole electoral process. First we get five more pieces of legislation to vote on (called County or City Measures) plus we also get page after page of candidate's statements for all the local elective offices like School Board Member or Water District Superintendent. Used to be in the old days when political machines ran things you didn't really need to pay much attention to these sorts of local offices - you just voted for Boss Tweed's man or Boss Pendergast's man and that was that. But now that we've removed all the corruption from our politics things have gotten much harder. Thank goodness we have the candidate's statements to sort these things out.
Hmm, I see Candidate A is for good schools and lower crime. Whew, can't say he's afraid to take a controversial stand on the issues. He describes himself as a tough, no-nonsense businessman who knows how to get things done and is endorsed by the blah-blah-blah, the blah-blah-blah, the blah-blah-blah, etc... Sounds like the candidate for me. Let's see what his opponent has to say.
Hmm, seems she's also for good schools and lower crime. This is going to be harder than I thought. She has twenty years experience as an educator and administrator, understands the problems facing our schools and is endorsed by the blah-blah-blah, the blah-blah-blah, the blah-blah-blah and the blah-blah-blah too. All fine organizations. I guess I'll have to decide between her and Candidate A, but let's see what the third candidate has to say.
Hmm, Candidate C describes himself has a indolent ne'er-do-well who supports graft, bribery and dumb kids. He promises that if elected he'll fade into obscurity and never be heard from again till next election and do everything he can in the meantime to make sure that every squeaking wheel that can pay the freight gets its axle greased.
Finally, an honest politician. You know who I'm voting for.
Thursday, October 07, 2004
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
I thought I'd try a picture blog (plog?) today. Just a couple of shots of Mt. St. Helens and a shot from my hike today up around Multnomah Falls. And you thought you had some good vacation pictures.
A Sleeping Giant. Mt. St. Helens rests
after a tumultuous and eventful week.
It's lonely here way up on the mountain. Whoops!
Looks like I've got some company.
Lower Multnomah Falls. The bridge in
the distance is part of the journey ahead.
I thought I'd try a picture blog (plog?) today. Just a couple of shots of Mt. St. Helens and a shot from my hike today up around Multnomah Falls. And you thought you had some good vacation pictures.
A Sleeping Giant. Mt. St. Helens rests
after a tumultuous and eventful week.
It's lonely here way up on the mountain. Whoops!
Looks like I've got some company.
Lower Multnomah Falls. The bridge in
the distance is part of the journey ahead.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
On Top of Old Smokey
Well, I drove all the way to Portland only to find out they cancelled the volcano. Doesn't that just figure. No rock, no ash, no steam clouds rising ominously into the sky, no James Mason and Pat Boone - just hundreds of rangers and policemen to keep all the damn fools like me off of the mountain. That's the way it goes, I guess.
But then again it's not a total waste. After all, I'm in Portland Oregon, the vacation capital of the world with plenty of other sights and attractions to keep the out-of-town visitor occupied. Like, um...let me see. I'll think of something.
Actually they're expecting a beautiful day tomorrow so I'm going to be headed off to the great outdoors to get in a little hiking. Multnomah Falls sounds interesting or maybe Mt. Hood. I did some hiking around there when I was a kid so it might be fun to see if I can still find some of the old trails. Of course, after tomorrow the sunshine ends and they're expecting a rainstorm to blow in. Huh, what else is new. Guess I'll just head back to California when that happens.
Damn volcano! If I had gotten here yesterday I would have made it in time to see Mt. St. Helen's last little ash eruption, but I was a day late and a dollar short on that one. Still it was a nice drive, sunny in California and cloudy once I crossed the Oregon border, but easy going for the most part. Too bad so many people take to the roads in the summer when the weather is hot and the highways are crowded. It's much better to go in the early fall when the traffic is light and you can just cruise down the road and listen to the Mike and Dana show on the radio, or was that the Bob and Larry show, or the Wayne and Miki show, or the... I don't know. There are so many of these buddy-buddy shows on the radio these days it's getting impossible to tell them apart.
Speaking of the radio, I'm sorry to say that one thing hasn't changed over the years. I mean it was true thirty years ago and even truer now. When you're out of range of the big cities and/or markets the only people on the radio are preachers and cowboys. Well, that and an occasional golden oldies station. I hit one stretch of road where there was one country station and about five or six different preacher shows. Sheesh, I don't know what these people who live out in the middle of nowhere do for entertainment, but I guarantee you it's not listening to the radio. Come to think of it, maybe they live out there to get away from all that, and, you know, after listening to the Bob and Larry show (or whatever it's called) I'd have to say they're not missing much.
And that's all I have for tonight. Like to stay and chat a while but I've got to go see what's in the mini-bar.
Well, I drove all the way to Portland only to find out they cancelled the volcano. Doesn't that just figure. No rock, no ash, no steam clouds rising ominously into the sky, no James Mason and Pat Boone - just hundreds of rangers and policemen to keep all the damn fools like me off of the mountain. That's the way it goes, I guess.
But then again it's not a total waste. After all, I'm in Portland Oregon, the vacation capital of the world with plenty of other sights and attractions to keep the out-of-town visitor occupied. Like, um...let me see. I'll think of something.
Actually they're expecting a beautiful day tomorrow so I'm going to be headed off to the great outdoors to get in a little hiking. Multnomah Falls sounds interesting or maybe Mt. Hood. I did some hiking around there when I was a kid so it might be fun to see if I can still find some of the old trails. Of course, after tomorrow the sunshine ends and they're expecting a rainstorm to blow in. Huh, what else is new. Guess I'll just head back to California when that happens.
Damn volcano! If I had gotten here yesterday I would have made it in time to see Mt. St. Helen's last little ash eruption, but I was a day late and a dollar short on that one. Still it was a nice drive, sunny in California and cloudy once I crossed the Oregon border, but easy going for the most part. Too bad so many people take to the roads in the summer when the weather is hot and the highways are crowded. It's much better to go in the early fall when the traffic is light and you can just cruise down the road and listen to the Mike and Dana show on the radio, or was that the Bob and Larry show, or the Wayne and Miki show, or the... I don't know. There are so many of these buddy-buddy shows on the radio these days it's getting impossible to tell them apart.
Speaking of the radio, I'm sorry to say that one thing hasn't changed over the years. I mean it was true thirty years ago and even truer now. When you're out of range of the big cities and/or markets the only people on the radio are preachers and cowboys. Well, that and an occasional golden oldies station. I hit one stretch of road where there was one country station and about five or six different preacher shows. Sheesh, I don't know what these people who live out in the middle of nowhere do for entertainment, but I guarantee you it's not listening to the radio. Come to think of it, maybe they live out there to get away from all that, and, you know, after listening to the Bob and Larry show (or whatever it's called) I'd have to say they're not missing much.
And that's all I have for tonight. Like to stay and chat a while but I've got to go see what's in the mini-bar.
Monday, October 04, 2004
"You're Going Where?
Yes, that's right. I'm going to Mt. St. Helens. Why does everyone keep thinking I've lost my mind? How many opportunities do you get in life to actually witness a mountain explode in a great volcanic eruption? I figure this chance may not come around again in my lifetime, so I'm leaving tomorrow for the great northwest to see if I can catch a glimpse of one of the great cataclysms of nature. I don't know what to expect but it would be really cool to see the thing erupt and have James Mason and Pat Boone come shooting out (and that extremely obscure movie reference is strictly for any film buffs out there).
I'm driving, so if the mountain can just hold on a couple of more days, I should be there in time. That is if I can ever get all this gear packed, which, believe me, is no easy task. Used to be when I went on a trip I'd pack some clothes, a camera, and a book of crossword puzzles and I'd be all set. But now it seems when I travel I need to be connected so I bring my computer. I also need my ebooks so I bring my pda. I also get tired of listening to the same old radio stations so I bring my cd's (believe it or not there used to be a time when all the radio stations around the country didn't sound alike). I might want to watch a movie so I have to copy a few DVD's to my hard drive. I also like to workout when I'm on the road so I usually bring my MP3 player with me, although this time I'm going to leave it at home. Of course I need my digital camera so I have to pack that along too. And finally, I need all the various cables and chargers and assorted doohickeys to make it all work. Geez, how did travel ever get so complicated?
Well, that's neither here nor there. It's the digital age and some of us can't survive the day without all of our equipment.
A Big Hand for the Little Lady
Speaking of CD's I picked up the new Hilary Hahn CD for my trip. Yeah, I know there are some people out there who aren't impressed, who don't think she's fiery enough for their tastes, and no doubt there are some very talented violinists recording these days who are much more popular, but I'll gladly trade some of the flamboyance and dramatics of the current stars for the confidence and straightforwardness of her approach. I guess it's her honesty that I like so much, or, for lack of a better term, a certain anti-overthetopedness that seems to come directly from her own truth about the music she performs, without the artifice or dramatics of some I've heard. Whatever you call it the recordings are compelling, especially the 2 Bach CD's she done, and all of her music has a place in my library.
The new CD is the Elgar Violin Concerto and Vaughn Williams' The Lark Ascending. I haven't heard the Elgar Concerto very much so I don't have a real opinion about it yet, but the Lark has been recorded many times by many different violinsts and is one of the most popular and beautiful pieces ever written for the instrument. Hahn's interpretation is, as you would expect, somewhat understated (which is as it should be) and posseses all the calm and beauty for which The Lark is known. I don't know if this is my favorite recording yet, but over time it could be.
And if you ever get a chance go to Hilaryhahn.com to read her journal. In addition to being a very talented musician she also happens to be a very good writer, and her postings make this poor blog seem pretty amateurish indeed.
Yes, that's right. I'm going to Mt. St. Helens. Why does everyone keep thinking I've lost my mind? How many opportunities do you get in life to actually witness a mountain explode in a great volcanic eruption? I figure this chance may not come around again in my lifetime, so I'm leaving tomorrow for the great northwest to see if I can catch a glimpse of one of the great cataclysms of nature. I don't know what to expect but it would be really cool to see the thing erupt and have James Mason and Pat Boone come shooting out (and that extremely obscure movie reference is strictly for any film buffs out there).
I'm driving, so if the mountain can just hold on a couple of more days, I should be there in time. That is if I can ever get all this gear packed, which, believe me, is no easy task. Used to be when I went on a trip I'd pack some clothes, a camera, and a book of crossword puzzles and I'd be all set. But now it seems when I travel I need to be connected so I bring my computer. I also need my ebooks so I bring my pda. I also get tired of listening to the same old radio stations so I bring my cd's (believe it or not there used to be a time when all the radio stations around the country didn't sound alike). I might want to watch a movie so I have to copy a few DVD's to my hard drive. I also like to workout when I'm on the road so I usually bring my MP3 player with me, although this time I'm going to leave it at home. Of course I need my digital camera so I have to pack that along too. And finally, I need all the various cables and chargers and assorted doohickeys to make it all work. Geez, how did travel ever get so complicated?
Well, that's neither here nor there. It's the digital age and some of us can't survive the day without all of our equipment.
A Big Hand for the Little Lady
Speaking of CD's I picked up the new Hilary Hahn CD for my trip. Yeah, I know there are some people out there who aren't impressed, who don't think she's fiery enough for their tastes, and no doubt there are some very talented violinists recording these days who are much more popular, but I'll gladly trade some of the flamboyance and dramatics of the current stars for the confidence and straightforwardness of her approach. I guess it's her honesty that I like so much, or, for lack of a better term, a certain anti-overthetopedness that seems to come directly from her own truth about the music she performs, without the artifice or dramatics of some I've heard. Whatever you call it the recordings are compelling, especially the 2 Bach CD's she done, and all of her music has a place in my library.
The new CD is the Elgar Violin Concerto and Vaughn Williams' The Lark Ascending. I haven't heard the Elgar Concerto very much so I don't have a real opinion about it yet, but the Lark has been recorded many times by many different violinsts and is one of the most popular and beautiful pieces ever written for the instrument. Hahn's interpretation is, as you would expect, somewhat understated (which is as it should be) and posseses all the calm and beauty for which The Lark is known. I don't know if this is my favorite recording yet, but over time it could be.
And if you ever get a chance go to Hilaryhahn.com to read her journal. In addition to being a very talented musician she also happens to be a very good writer, and her postings make this poor blog seem pretty amateurish indeed.
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Testing, 1, 2, 3, 4...
No real post tonight. I just want to see if the picture I added to my profile shows up like it's supposed to. If you're seeing my picture somewhere on this page then that means everything's working like it should. If not, then it looks like I've got some more work to do.
And if you are seeing my picture then I apologize for the poor quality. I'm afraid that other than my drivers license photo and my passport photo it's the only picture I have of myself. Still, though it doesn't even begin to capture the magnificence of my chiseled features, it must be obvious why women are constantly throwing themselves at me.
Actually, I've been checking out a lot of blogs lately and feeling a little ashamed at the plainness of my own little effort. The least I can do, I'm thinking, is add a picture to give it some kind of graphical presence.
And in one last little bit of housekeeping let me also add that I was going over some old posts of mine and noticed that a couple of comments were posted some months back that I never responded to. For this I must apologize.
The truth is that I don't read my blog. Once I write something there's no looking back - I just push the handle and flush it away, and the reason is simple. I don't pretend that this is a real blog with anything real to say, and I'm more than a little suprised that anyone would take the time to read it. But appararently a few people have and for that I am grateful and do appreciate the comments I've received. In the future I promise I'll check for such things and try not to act like such a heel.
No real post tonight. I just want to see if the picture I added to my profile shows up like it's supposed to. If you're seeing my picture somewhere on this page then that means everything's working like it should. If not, then it looks like I've got some more work to do.
And if you are seeing my picture then I apologize for the poor quality. I'm afraid that other than my drivers license photo and my passport photo it's the only picture I have of myself. Still, though it doesn't even begin to capture the magnificence of my chiseled features, it must be obvious why women are constantly throwing themselves at me.
Actually, I've been checking out a lot of blogs lately and feeling a little ashamed at the plainness of my own little effort. The least I can do, I'm thinking, is add a picture to give it some kind of graphical presence.
And in one last little bit of housekeeping let me also add that I was going over some old posts of mine and noticed that a couple of comments were posted some months back that I never responded to. For this I must apologize.
The truth is that I don't read my blog. Once I write something there's no looking back - I just push the handle and flush it away, and the reason is simple. I don't pretend that this is a real blog with anything real to say, and I'm more than a little suprised that anyone would take the time to read it. But appararently a few people have and for that I am grateful and do appreciate the comments I've received. In the future I promise I'll check for such things and try not to act like such a heel.
Monday, September 27, 2004
As I Lay Dying
I am stricken. I noticed it last night, there on my right ankle, a little bump and an itching sensation that I knew could only mean one thing - a bug bite. A fatal, insidious, West Nile virus infecting bite that surely will mean the end of my days. And it just seems so unfair. Why now? Why, when I had so much yet to do, so much yet to accomplish. Oh, to be stricken down so young, this cruel poison coursing through my veins, so many questions still unanswered.
I should have known it was coming. Just today I heard an ad on the radio for the local grocery store chain which I knew was some kind of signal that the end was near. "Come in" the ad entreated, "and try our authentic restaurant-style soup." Immediately I was confused. Wasn't it just yesterday that they were trying to sell us their homestyle soup? Why, all of a sudden, did everything change? Is "restaurant -style" better than "homestyle"? How am I to know which to choose? How am I to know what is the right "style" of soup for me?
Oh, the futility of it all. Here I am at the end of my days, the West Nile already robbing me of my vitality and vigor, and I realize that I don't even know what style of soup I am- the old fashioned home cooked goodness of homestyle, or the chic and elegant sophistication of restaurant-style. I know I should have figured this out before, but you see I always thought there would be plenty of time. But now the time is running out.
Oh, woe to him who lives the procrastinated life. So many things left unresolved. I always wondered what the final days would be like and what thoughts would consume me at my final sunset. Would I think of the things I'd done and the women I'd had, or would I think of the things I'd never done and the women I'd never had? Does the old man lying on his deathbed think about the woman he married and shared his life with, or does he think about women who spurned him or perhaps only glanced from afar (like that girl he saw 50 years ago in the school library who never knew he existed and whom he later found out married a uroligist from San Diego).
These would be the things that I'd think of as I lay dying, or so I thought, but instead I find I'm just as confused about life as I ever was. Homestyle or restaurant-style, I don't know, I just don't know.
And just to to make things worse, I come home tonight (pale and sickly, of course) and there is a letter waiting for me in my mailbox. "Dear preferred customer", it starts out, "you have been specially chosen to receive this unique offer..." , and I immediately I put the letter down. With everything else that was happening it more than I could bear. Imagine me, a preferred customer, and specially chosen to boot. To receive such praise from a stranger, and me being such a cad, such an imposter, and so unworthy of such kindness and trust... well, the guilt was too much. I wanted to write these people and tell them "No, it's not right, I cannot deceive you this way", but the virus left has me weak and unable to respond.
So here I sit typing at my computer, my final hour approaching, feeling adrift and burdened by all my past transgressions. I've tried to live a good life, you see, but until that final judgement is passed how can you really know? And how can you know if there'll even be a judgement? How can you know that there won't just be darkeness? And worst of all, what if there is a heaven and your turn comes to answer to the almighty and they can't find your file? What if they can't find your file because you've never really given a good accounting of yourself? What if you find yourself standing in front of St. Peter and he demands "Well, what is it? Homestyle or restaurant-style?" with the difference between salvation and the infernal reaches resting on the answer.
It's too much...too much.
I am stricken. I noticed it last night, there on my right ankle, a little bump and an itching sensation that I knew could only mean one thing - a bug bite. A fatal, insidious, West Nile virus infecting bite that surely will mean the end of my days. And it just seems so unfair. Why now? Why, when I had so much yet to do, so much yet to accomplish. Oh, to be stricken down so young, this cruel poison coursing through my veins, so many questions still unanswered.
I should have known it was coming. Just today I heard an ad on the radio for the local grocery store chain which I knew was some kind of signal that the end was near. "Come in" the ad entreated, "and try our authentic restaurant-style soup." Immediately I was confused. Wasn't it just yesterday that they were trying to sell us their homestyle soup? Why, all of a sudden, did everything change? Is "restaurant -style" better than "homestyle"? How am I to know which to choose? How am I to know what is the right "style" of soup for me?
Oh, the futility of it all. Here I am at the end of my days, the West Nile already robbing me of my vitality and vigor, and I realize that I don't even know what style of soup I am- the old fashioned home cooked goodness of homestyle, or the chic and elegant sophistication of restaurant-style. I know I should have figured this out before, but you see I always thought there would be plenty of time. But now the time is running out.
Oh, woe to him who lives the procrastinated life. So many things left unresolved. I always wondered what the final days would be like and what thoughts would consume me at my final sunset. Would I think of the things I'd done and the women I'd had, or would I think of the things I'd never done and the women I'd never had? Does the old man lying on his deathbed think about the woman he married and shared his life with, or does he think about women who spurned him or perhaps only glanced from afar (like that girl he saw 50 years ago in the school library who never knew he existed and whom he later found out married a uroligist from San Diego).
These would be the things that I'd think of as I lay dying, or so I thought, but instead I find I'm just as confused about life as I ever was. Homestyle or restaurant-style, I don't know, I just don't know.
And just to to make things worse, I come home tonight (pale and sickly, of course) and there is a letter waiting for me in my mailbox. "Dear preferred customer", it starts out, "you have been specially chosen to receive this unique offer..." , and I immediately I put the letter down. With everything else that was happening it more than I could bear. Imagine me, a preferred customer, and specially chosen to boot. To receive such praise from a stranger, and me being such a cad, such an imposter, and so unworthy of such kindness and trust... well, the guilt was too much. I wanted to write these people and tell them "No, it's not right, I cannot deceive you this way", but the virus left has me weak and unable to respond.
So here I sit typing at my computer, my final hour approaching, feeling adrift and burdened by all my past transgressions. I've tried to live a good life, you see, but until that final judgement is passed how can you really know? And how can you know if there'll even be a judgement? How can you know that there won't just be darkeness? And worst of all, what if there is a heaven and your turn comes to answer to the almighty and they can't find your file? What if they can't find your file because you've never really given a good accounting of yourself? What if you find yourself standing in front of St. Peter and he demands "Well, what is it? Homestyle or restaurant-style?" with the difference between salvation and the infernal reaches resting on the answer.
It's too much...too much.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Keeping Up with the Joneses
I guess I do a lot of braggin' in this blog, but that's ok. Blogs just seem to bring out the braggart in people, and better that I do my braggin' here than in public. What would you rather have - a blog talking a bunch of bull or some windbag sitting next to you on an airplane talking your ear off. Yeah, you know what I mean.
Anyways, I want to talk about the lady up the street with the perfect yard. I don't know if I've ever mentioned her before and I'm embarrassed to say I've never really met her, but even if you don't know her I'm sure you know who she is. She's the fifty-ish one who's always doddering about her yard with her gardening gloves and floppy hat, snipping and digging at all hours of the day, and keeping everything so perfectly neat and trim that the place looks damn near antiseptic.
And if it sounds as if I hate her, I really don't. Fact is, I kind of admire her in a way. She puts her heart and soul into that yard of hers and all things being equal it's probably the best looking yard in the neighborhood (except for the yard next door to mine, but that doesn't count. See, the people next door had their yard professionally landscaped and they have a gardener who comes out once a week and keeps it up for them. To me that's the nothing more than a "store-bought" yard and not the same as a yard that someone has put their sweat and blood into. There's a fundamental difference between a yard that's the fruit of your own labor and a yard that you bought at Sears, and if you don't understand that then it's time to fire your gardener and get a little dirt on your hands.)
But I digress.
Where was I? Oh yeah, I was talking about my roses. I know I've talked about my roses before and how, despite my best efforts, my rose bushes are the sorriest looking ones on the block. Or should I say, used to be the sorriest ones on the block, but that's all changed now. Let me try to explain.
For the longest time I couldn't figure out why my rose bushes always looked so scraggly and barren until one morning I was walking across my yard and noticed a pile of deer scat (or poop, as it's more commonly known) on the lawn. Aha, I thought, could this be the solution to the mystery of the roses? I set out to investigate and sure enough, about a week later I walked out in the front yard one night and saw two deer, a doe and a fawn, sniffing around my rose bushes.
So off I went to the local hardware store to look for a deer repellant and I found this wonderful stuff called Liquid Fence. And when I say wonderful I'm talking about the results, not the smell. To tell the truth this stuff smells awful - kind of like a dead body or an outhouse that's gone to seed, but it works great. The deer get one sniff of Liquid Fence and they pretty much lose their apetite for roses.
And now the results, I'm happy to say, after much watering and feeding and spraying and pruning are (here comes the braggin' part) the best looking rose bushes you ever did lay your eyes on. Ever! I'm talking whites and pinks and deep ruby reds on bushes so healthy and full of blooms that it almost make a fella' wish he was dead just so he could be buried under 'em. I tell you it's a wonder to me why Sunset Magazine hasn't given me a call to ask me how I did it.
Which brings me to the lady up the street. Tonight I was out doing some late evening pruning when she drove past the house and glanced at my yard the way she sometimes does in that sort of neighborly but slightly condescending manner of hers. I was expecting the usual friendly wave before she turned away and drove on down the street, but instead I saw something different when she turned and looked at my roses tonight. I can't exactly describe it as shock, and it certainly wasn't awe, but it was something and I couldn't quite figure it. Then it struck me and a big grin just broke out inside because I finally realized...
She was jell-ous.
Yeah, I know you think I'm just braggin', but I'm telling you that for at least one brief moment the perfect yard lady was jealous of my roses. And I mean isn't that what it's all about, really. All the laboring and the fussing over our yards. Isn't it there somewhere in the back of your mind when your sitting there sweating in the hot summer sun, that if you just keep at it and keep on going that someday you'll be the envy of your neighbors. C'mon, you mean to tell me that's never crossed your mind. That little thought that says "Neener, neener, neener...my yards better than your yard." It isn't? Well then maybe next time don't buy your yard at Sears.
But just to show you that I'm really not the braggart you think I am, that I am, in fact, really quite humble at heart, let me add as a final thought that as proud as I am of my roses, the perfect yard lady still has the best yard in the neighborhood.
And yeah, I'm a little jell-ous too.
I guess I do a lot of braggin' in this blog, but that's ok. Blogs just seem to bring out the braggart in people, and better that I do my braggin' here than in public. What would you rather have - a blog talking a bunch of bull or some windbag sitting next to you on an airplane talking your ear off. Yeah, you know what I mean.
Anyways, I want to talk about the lady up the street with the perfect yard. I don't know if I've ever mentioned her before and I'm embarrassed to say I've never really met her, but even if you don't know her I'm sure you know who she is. She's the fifty-ish one who's always doddering about her yard with her gardening gloves and floppy hat, snipping and digging at all hours of the day, and keeping everything so perfectly neat and trim that the place looks damn near antiseptic.
And if it sounds as if I hate her, I really don't. Fact is, I kind of admire her in a way. She puts her heart and soul into that yard of hers and all things being equal it's probably the best looking yard in the neighborhood (except for the yard next door to mine, but that doesn't count. See, the people next door had their yard professionally landscaped and they have a gardener who comes out once a week and keeps it up for them. To me that's the nothing more than a "store-bought" yard and not the same as a yard that someone has put their sweat and blood into. There's a fundamental difference between a yard that's the fruit of your own labor and a yard that you bought at Sears, and if you don't understand that then it's time to fire your gardener and get a little dirt on your hands.)
But I digress.
Where was I? Oh yeah, I was talking about my roses. I know I've talked about my roses before and how, despite my best efforts, my rose bushes are the sorriest looking ones on the block. Or should I say, used to be the sorriest ones on the block, but that's all changed now. Let me try to explain.
For the longest time I couldn't figure out why my rose bushes always looked so scraggly and barren until one morning I was walking across my yard and noticed a pile of deer scat (or poop, as it's more commonly known) on the lawn. Aha, I thought, could this be the solution to the mystery of the roses? I set out to investigate and sure enough, about a week later I walked out in the front yard one night and saw two deer, a doe and a fawn, sniffing around my rose bushes.
So off I went to the local hardware store to look for a deer repellant and I found this wonderful stuff called Liquid Fence. And when I say wonderful I'm talking about the results, not the smell. To tell the truth this stuff smells awful - kind of like a dead body or an outhouse that's gone to seed, but it works great. The deer get one sniff of Liquid Fence and they pretty much lose their apetite for roses.
And now the results, I'm happy to say, after much watering and feeding and spraying and pruning are (here comes the braggin' part) the best looking rose bushes you ever did lay your eyes on. Ever! I'm talking whites and pinks and deep ruby reds on bushes so healthy and full of blooms that it almost make a fella' wish he was dead just so he could be buried under 'em. I tell you it's a wonder to me why Sunset Magazine hasn't given me a call to ask me how I did it.
Which brings me to the lady up the street. Tonight I was out doing some late evening pruning when she drove past the house and glanced at my yard the way she sometimes does in that sort of neighborly but slightly condescending manner of hers. I was expecting the usual friendly wave before she turned away and drove on down the street, but instead I saw something different when she turned and looked at my roses tonight. I can't exactly describe it as shock, and it certainly wasn't awe, but it was something and I couldn't quite figure it. Then it struck me and a big grin just broke out inside because I finally realized...
She was jell-ous.
Yeah, I know you think I'm just braggin', but I'm telling you that for at least one brief moment the perfect yard lady was jealous of my roses. And I mean isn't that what it's all about, really. All the laboring and the fussing over our yards. Isn't it there somewhere in the back of your mind when your sitting there sweating in the hot summer sun, that if you just keep at it and keep on going that someday you'll be the envy of your neighbors. C'mon, you mean to tell me that's never crossed your mind. That little thought that says "Neener, neener, neener...my yards better than your yard." It isn't? Well then maybe next time don't buy your yard at Sears.
But just to show you that I'm really not the braggart you think I am, that I am, in fact, really quite humble at heart, let me add as a final thought that as proud as I am of my roses, the perfect yard lady still has the best yard in the neighborhood.
And yeah, I'm a little jell-ous too.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
When I'm Sixty-Four
Let's think about Social Security. I know, I know, just like dirty diapers or flesh eating bacteria, Social Security is one of those things that people don't like to think about. But, as you also may know, the system is going broke and it's worth at least one blog entry every now and then. In fact on the news they were saying it will be insolvent by the year 2042.
So let's think about it, ok?
First, before I begin, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the twenty-somethings out there who think they are so smart and know it all and who will be supporting me when it's time for me to drop out of the race and go out to pasture. According to the news report, when that happens there will be two of you for every one of me, which says to me that maybe if you were a little smarter you would have been born 20 years earlier.
But that's you're problem not mine.
Before you despair, however, you should know that there is a plan out there called "privatization" that is going to save Social Security. As I understand it this is a Republican plan which means absolutely nothing nowdays since I can't hardly figure what's a Republican or what's a Democrat anymore. I mean the Republicans say they're for a leaner and meaner government but then as soon as they get elected they act like a teenager with a credit card. Buy this, buy that, ooh buy this and that - I read a prediction somewhere that by the time Bush finishes his second term he will have increased the size of government more than was done by the three previous presidents combined. That's a strange kind of downsizing, if you ask me. I mean, isn't it supposed to work the other way? Aren't you supposed to downsize to improve the balance sheet and work your way out of the hole, not load up with debt and sink even deeper.
On the other side you have Kerry who they are calling a Democrat. Now, if I remember right the Democrats were always the ones that said you should use government to improve people's lives, and yet here's Kerry talking about how America has to save and conserve and be more fiscally responsible. That's a democrat?
It doesn't really matter because Kerry will never be elected president anyways. That's my not so bold prediction at least and really it's kind of a no-brainer. America is never going to elect some miser who's always telling them to save and be responsible - that's what parents are for. America wants a president who gives them money and tells them to spend and have a good time and party like drunken sailors. Every time I see old grim-faced John on the tube I can't help but think his whole candidacy is hopeless.
Which brings me to Social Security and privatization - which is going to at least be discussed at some point in the second term. The idea, as you probably know, is to allow us working folk to withhold 25% of our FICA contribution (tax) and invest it independently for our own retirement in Private Investment Accounts. That will save the Social Security system because the higher returns we will be earning in the stock and bond markets will allow the government to reduce the size of the benefit payments and keep the whole thing solvent. That's the theory, anyways.
The reality, as I see it, will be something different. How is it, I ask, that millions and millions of people who can't even balance their own checkbooks are suddenly going to become financial wizards after this privatization thing becomes law? The answer, of course, is that they will not become financial wizards at all. Instead, they will turn over the management of their PIA's (as they're called) to private Financial Services companies who will gladly handle their money for them. For a price.
Well, suprise, suprise, suprise.
Guess that means privatization isn't just about savings the system but it's also about transfering millions or maybe billions of dollars from Social Security to the brokers and managers and all the other commission loving wheeler-dealers on Wall Street who are always willing to lend a helping hand to trusting souls with wads of dough in their pockets. Those politicians, I tell you, they sure know how to look after their special interests, er consituencies.
This will be, I think, the next big gold rush, and if this law passes it would probably be a good idea to have a brokerage stock or two in your portfolio. Personally, I can't wait till the spams start showing up in my mailbox offering me 100% returns -GUARANTEED!- on my PIA. I tell you, I can see it coming, and it's going wind up being one of the great scandals of the 20's or 30's or whenever it is that the whole thing busts wide open.
That's why it would probably be a good idea to have some kind of watchdog agency to oversee and approve the investments that people can make with the money. ETF's and other index funds would certainly be appropriate, as well as no-load low-expense type mutual funds. I mean a lot of investements would be appropriate, but there should be some way to keep out the "double your money in just seven days" schemes, that is if Social Security is going to continue to be thought of as a safety net and not as a roll of the dice.
The Golden Age of Radio
I said I was going to take Classical Voices off the air and I will, but after putting so much effort into it I just can't shut it down without letting it run at least a little longer. Come Sunday it will have been up a week and I think that will be a good time for the station to take it's final bow. Like I said I've been suprised at how successful it's been. I checked the logs and it looks like there have been quite a few people who've stopped in for a visit. Of course, some just stay for a few seconds (the internet equivalent of Auto Seek I suppose), others for a song or two, but most tune in for around 1 to 2 hours at a time and and some for 6,7, and even 8 hours or more. Wow, I wasn't expecting that. I get a lot of one time visitors but also 5 or 6 who seem to come back from time to time. Last night I even found a message in the log saying someone tried to connect but couldn't because the server was full. How about that! Classical Voices was so popular that you couldn't get in if you wanted to.
Oh well, come Sunday it will be history. It was fun being the Rupert Murdoch of my own little media empire for a while, but all good things must come to an end.
Let's think about Social Security. I know, I know, just like dirty diapers or flesh eating bacteria, Social Security is one of those things that people don't like to think about. But, as you also may know, the system is going broke and it's worth at least one blog entry every now and then. In fact on the news they were saying it will be insolvent by the year 2042.
So let's think about it, ok?
First, before I begin, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the twenty-somethings out there who think they are so smart and know it all and who will be supporting me when it's time for me to drop out of the race and go out to pasture. According to the news report, when that happens there will be two of you for every one of me, which says to me that maybe if you were a little smarter you would have been born 20 years earlier.
But that's you're problem not mine.
Before you despair, however, you should know that there is a plan out there called "privatization" that is going to save Social Security. As I understand it this is a Republican plan which means absolutely nothing nowdays since I can't hardly figure what's a Republican or what's a Democrat anymore. I mean the Republicans say they're for a leaner and meaner government but then as soon as they get elected they act like a teenager with a credit card. Buy this, buy that, ooh buy this and that - I read a prediction somewhere that by the time Bush finishes his second term he will have increased the size of government more than was done by the three previous presidents combined. That's a strange kind of downsizing, if you ask me. I mean, isn't it supposed to work the other way? Aren't you supposed to downsize to improve the balance sheet and work your way out of the hole, not load up with debt and sink even deeper.
On the other side you have Kerry who they are calling a Democrat. Now, if I remember right the Democrats were always the ones that said you should use government to improve people's lives, and yet here's Kerry talking about how America has to save and conserve and be more fiscally responsible. That's a democrat?
It doesn't really matter because Kerry will never be elected president anyways. That's my not so bold prediction at least and really it's kind of a no-brainer. America is never going to elect some miser who's always telling them to save and be responsible - that's what parents are for. America wants a president who gives them money and tells them to spend and have a good time and party like drunken sailors. Every time I see old grim-faced John on the tube I can't help but think his whole candidacy is hopeless.
Which brings me to Social Security and privatization - which is going to at least be discussed at some point in the second term. The idea, as you probably know, is to allow us working folk to withhold 25% of our FICA contribution (tax) and invest it independently for our own retirement in Private Investment Accounts. That will save the Social Security system because the higher returns we will be earning in the stock and bond markets will allow the government to reduce the size of the benefit payments and keep the whole thing solvent. That's the theory, anyways.
The reality, as I see it, will be something different. How is it, I ask, that millions and millions of people who can't even balance their own checkbooks are suddenly going to become financial wizards after this privatization thing becomes law? The answer, of course, is that they will not become financial wizards at all. Instead, they will turn over the management of their PIA's (as they're called) to private Financial Services companies who will gladly handle their money for them. For a price.
Well, suprise, suprise, suprise.
Guess that means privatization isn't just about savings the system but it's also about transfering millions or maybe billions of dollars from Social Security to the brokers and managers and all the other commission loving wheeler-dealers on Wall Street who are always willing to lend a helping hand to trusting souls with wads of dough in their pockets. Those politicians, I tell you, they sure know how to look after their special interests, er consituencies.
This will be, I think, the next big gold rush, and if this law passes it would probably be a good idea to have a brokerage stock or two in your portfolio. Personally, I can't wait till the spams start showing up in my mailbox offering me 100% returns -GUARANTEED!- on my PIA. I tell you, I can see it coming, and it's going wind up being one of the great scandals of the 20's or 30's or whenever it is that the whole thing busts wide open.
That's why it would probably be a good idea to have some kind of watchdog agency to oversee and approve the investments that people can make with the money. ETF's and other index funds would certainly be appropriate, as well as no-load low-expense type mutual funds. I mean a lot of investements would be appropriate, but there should be some way to keep out the "double your money in just seven days" schemes, that is if Social Security is going to continue to be thought of as a safety net and not as a roll of the dice.
The Golden Age of Radio
I said I was going to take Classical Voices off the air and I will, but after putting so much effort into it I just can't shut it down without letting it run at least a little longer. Come Sunday it will have been up a week and I think that will be a good time for the station to take it's final bow. Like I said I've been suprised at how successful it's been. I checked the logs and it looks like there have been quite a few people who've stopped in for a visit. Of course, some just stay for a few seconds (the internet equivalent of Auto Seek I suppose), others for a song or two, but most tune in for around 1 to 2 hours at a time and and some for 6,7, and even 8 hours or more. Wow, I wasn't expecting that. I get a lot of one time visitors but also 5 or 6 who seem to come back from time to time. Last night I even found a message in the log saying someone tried to connect but couldn't because the server was full. How about that! Classical Voices was so popular that you couldn't get in if you wanted to.
Oh well, come Sunday it will be history. It was fun being the Rupert Murdoch of my own little media empire for a while, but all good things must come to an end.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Classical Voices
Let' talk about the Radio business, shall we? Notice I said radio "business", not hobby, not experiment, not dalliance or fling, but radio "business". I retired Radio 7 last week and began my tentatively titled Classical Voices station. I'll discuss the tentatively part later, but so far Classical Voices has been received much better than anticipated and I'd like to take this time to blog a few of my thoughts about the experience so far.
Shoutcast vs. Jetcast
In my previous post I talked about moving from the Jetcast platform to the Shoutcast platform, and that's exactly what I did. As I said before I think Jetcast is simple to use and a much better platform for the newbie broadcaster. There is only one piece of software to configure and all you really need to do is fill in the blanks and punch hole in your firewall to get up and running. Jetcast also supports multiple file types which is something I took for granted before I moved to Shoutcast. It's a very nice package and I just wish it had more support in the internet world, but, unfortunately, Jetcast listeners are few and far between.
Shoutcast, on the other hand, is practically the de facto standard for small independent broadcasters like myself. It's been around a long time and pioneered the whole concept of bringing streaming to the masses. It also integrates into the very popular Winamp player which puts your station in reach of millions of potential listeners around the world, and also puts your station into the Shoutcast directory which gives you a very visible presence on the net. If you want to reach an audience there are very few choices that give you the advantages that Shoutcast does.
The software, however, is a bit finicky at times and not as intuitive as Jetcast. There are two packages to be installed - the DNAS or server software, and the DSP plug-in which provides the connection between your Winamp player and the DNAS server. The DSP is much like Jetcast's software and is mainly just fill-in-the-blanks. The DNAS is a little more complicated and configuration involves using a text editor to edit the sometimes arcane and obscure settings contained in an "ini" file. Luckily, there are lots of FAQ's and how-to's on the net to help you along and the process is not difficult, especially if you have set up a Jetcast station before, but the process could definitely use some simplification.
Once you get the DNAS and the DSP set up and have the ports on your firewall configured, the first problem you'll probably have with your first broadcast is getting the the Shoutcast directory to see your station. I say you'll probably have this problem because I had that problem and after scanning the message boards I saw that a lot of other people had that problem too. The key is to make sure you have port forwarding properly set up on your router and to play with the Yport setting for the DNAS. After many starts and stops I finally got it working, and I can't really tell you why it worked one time and not another. It's just one of those things that you'll have to play around with.
The second problem you might have with your first broadcast is silence, as in dead-silence, as in a radio station that plays nothing but dead air. This is only a problem for those, like me, who made a choice at some point to go to a file format other than MP3, because, you see, Shoutcast only plays MP3's. Is that a problem you ask? Well, yes, if you have around 30 gigabytes of music on your drive and now need to take a significant portion of that music and convert it. I haven't done the math but I figure that an average of about 12 minutes per album to do the conversion, I should be done in, oh, about 80 years. Ok, maybe it won't take that long but I tell ya I really don't need this kind of misery right now. All I want to do was stream a little music.
So that's where things stand at the moment. I've got quite a bit of music streaming already but I've got a long ways to go, and any kind of organized playlist is out of the question until I get some more time to see what I've got and how I want to organize it. That's the big difference between us small independent program directors and those big radio station program managers - they get paid to figure this stuff out and we just get misery. But that may not be for much longer because of the last thing I want to talk about today.
Stream a song - Go to jail
"Gee", I can hear you saying, "this running your own radio station sounds kind of fun. Is it legal?" Well, I'm glad you asked because yes, it's perfectly legal under the terms of something the government calls a Simplified Licensing Agreement. What is that, you ask? Well it's actually a lot like the Simplified Tax Code which, as you know, streamlined thousands of pages of overly complex Tax Law into one simple rule that the IRA likes to call "hire an accountant!" Similarly, the Simplified Licensing Agreement is a a framework under which small, non-profit broadcasters can legally broadcast copyrighted works and boils the whole licensing process down to a few, easily followed procedures that the recording industry calls "hire a lawyer!" If you don't believe me just visit BMI's site or ASCAP's site or the RIAA's site and see for yourself. Paragraph after paragraph, subparagraph after subparagraph, tables and calculators, geez, it just goes on and on and at the end they all say the same thing:
"If you are unsure what to do contact an attorney." Well, no kidding!
All I want to do is stream some of the music I love and share it in a non-threatening and non-infringing manner with like-minded people on the internet. Instead I find is a byzantine set of rules and regulations in an equation so bizarre and complex that even Einstein couldn't make heads or tails of it. Clearly the intent of the Simplified Licensing Agreement, at least for individuals like me, is not to simplify but rather to discourage from even trying.
Which I think is a crying shame. I could understand this if I was file sharing or passing out free copies over a peer-to-peer network like Kazaa or Edonkey. That's clearly illegal and I have no argument with those trying to enforce their copyrights on illegal sharers. But I'm not doing that. It's crazy to think that anyone would seriously consider capturing the low-quality 48kbps streams that I'm sending out and burning it to a CD or transfer it to their IPod's. I mean, let's get real. Compared to an actual CD it sounds terrible.
But that's not the point. The point is that people get paid when they're works are performed and no distinction is made between high-quality and low-quality or between for-profit radio stations and for-fun individuals like me, so although I personally don't see how I'm harming anyone with my measly little 4 slots of 48kbs music, the fact is that others probably wouldn't see it that way, and that means I'll probably have to stop doing this and Classical Voices will have go silent. It's fun, but it's not worth a lawsuit.
Of course there are alternatives and in fact a whole little cottage industry has grown around this issue. For a fee there are services like Live365 and swcast.com that will handle the legal paperwork for you and let you concentrate on your stream. But like I said they're not free, and they all have serious restrictions on what you can and can't do with your stream. I might consider one of these if I was doing this as a business and wanted to pay the money for the hosting and/or the servers and the licensing and the legal services and the accounting and the advertising and the marketing, etc..., but aw shucks fellers, I just wanted to do this for the fun.
So, Classical Voices will be gone pretty soon. It was fun setting it up and getting it running, but I have to be real about this. I may still put out a stream every now and then, but for now it's time to move on to something else. Oh, and it won't be called Classical Voices, either. I just found out that there's already a Satellite Radio service that runs a station called Classical Voices, so I'll have to come up with something else.
Huh, between my trademark suit and my copyright suit I should have just about have all the bases covered.
Let' talk about the Radio business, shall we? Notice I said radio "business", not hobby, not experiment, not dalliance or fling, but radio "business". I retired Radio 7 last week and began my tentatively titled Classical Voices station. I'll discuss the tentatively part later, but so far Classical Voices has been received much better than anticipated and I'd like to take this time to blog a few of my thoughts about the experience so far.
Shoutcast vs. Jetcast
In my previous post I talked about moving from the Jetcast platform to the Shoutcast platform, and that's exactly what I did. As I said before I think Jetcast is simple to use and a much better platform for the newbie broadcaster. There is only one piece of software to configure and all you really need to do is fill in the blanks and punch hole in your firewall to get up and running. Jetcast also supports multiple file types which is something I took for granted before I moved to Shoutcast. It's a very nice package and I just wish it had more support in the internet world, but, unfortunately, Jetcast listeners are few and far between.
Shoutcast, on the other hand, is practically the de facto standard for small independent broadcasters like myself. It's been around a long time and pioneered the whole concept of bringing streaming to the masses. It also integrates into the very popular Winamp player which puts your station in reach of millions of potential listeners around the world, and also puts your station into the Shoutcast directory which gives you a very visible presence on the net. If you want to reach an audience there are very few choices that give you the advantages that Shoutcast does.
The software, however, is a bit finicky at times and not as intuitive as Jetcast. There are two packages to be installed - the DNAS or server software, and the DSP plug-in which provides the connection between your Winamp player and the DNAS server. The DSP is much like Jetcast's software and is mainly just fill-in-the-blanks. The DNAS is a little more complicated and configuration involves using a text editor to edit the sometimes arcane and obscure settings contained in an "ini" file. Luckily, there are lots of FAQ's and how-to's on the net to help you along and the process is not difficult, especially if you have set up a Jetcast station before, but the process could definitely use some simplification.
Once you get the DNAS and the DSP set up and have the ports on your firewall configured, the first problem you'll probably have with your first broadcast is getting the the Shoutcast directory to see your station. I say you'll probably have this problem because I had that problem and after scanning the message boards I saw that a lot of other people had that problem too. The key is to make sure you have port forwarding properly set up on your router and to play with the Yport setting for the DNAS. After many starts and stops I finally got it working, and I can't really tell you why it worked one time and not another. It's just one of those things that you'll have to play around with.
The second problem you might have with your first broadcast is silence, as in dead-silence, as in a radio station that plays nothing but dead air. This is only a problem for those, like me, who made a choice at some point to go to a file format other than MP3, because, you see, Shoutcast only plays MP3's. Is that a problem you ask? Well, yes, if you have around 30 gigabytes of music on your drive and now need to take a significant portion of that music and convert it. I haven't done the math but I figure that an average of about 12 minutes per album to do the conversion, I should be done in, oh, about 80 years. Ok, maybe it won't take that long but I tell ya I really don't need this kind of misery right now. All I want to do was stream a little music.
So that's where things stand at the moment. I've got quite a bit of music streaming already but I've got a long ways to go, and any kind of organized playlist is out of the question until I get some more time to see what I've got and how I want to organize it. That's the big difference between us small independent program directors and those big radio station program managers - they get paid to figure this stuff out and we just get misery. But that may not be for much longer because of the last thing I want to talk about today.
Stream a song - Go to jail
"Gee", I can hear you saying, "this running your own radio station sounds kind of fun. Is it legal?" Well, I'm glad you asked because yes, it's perfectly legal under the terms of something the government calls a Simplified Licensing Agreement. What is that, you ask? Well it's actually a lot like the Simplified Tax Code which, as you know, streamlined thousands of pages of overly complex Tax Law into one simple rule that the IRA likes to call "hire an accountant!" Similarly, the Simplified Licensing Agreement is a a framework under which small, non-profit broadcasters can legally broadcast copyrighted works and boils the whole licensing process down to a few, easily followed procedures that the recording industry calls "hire a lawyer!" If you don't believe me just visit BMI's site or ASCAP's site or the RIAA's site and see for yourself. Paragraph after paragraph, subparagraph after subparagraph, tables and calculators, geez, it just goes on and on and at the end they all say the same thing:
"If you are unsure what to do contact an attorney." Well, no kidding!
All I want to do is stream some of the music I love and share it in a non-threatening and non-infringing manner with like-minded people on the internet. Instead I find is a byzantine set of rules and regulations in an equation so bizarre and complex that even Einstein couldn't make heads or tails of it. Clearly the intent of the Simplified Licensing Agreement, at least for individuals like me, is not to simplify but rather to discourage from even trying.
Which I think is a crying shame. I could understand this if I was file sharing or passing out free copies over a peer-to-peer network like Kazaa or Edonkey. That's clearly illegal and I have no argument with those trying to enforce their copyrights on illegal sharers. But I'm not doing that. It's crazy to think that anyone would seriously consider capturing the low-quality 48kbps streams that I'm sending out and burning it to a CD or transfer it to their IPod's. I mean, let's get real. Compared to an actual CD it sounds terrible.
But that's not the point. The point is that people get paid when they're works are performed and no distinction is made between high-quality and low-quality or between for-profit radio stations and for-fun individuals like me, so although I personally don't see how I'm harming anyone with my measly little 4 slots of 48kbs music, the fact is that others probably wouldn't see it that way, and that means I'll probably have to stop doing this and Classical Voices will have go silent. It's fun, but it's not worth a lawsuit.
Of course there are alternatives and in fact a whole little cottage industry has grown around this issue. For a fee there are services like Live365 and swcast.com that will handle the legal paperwork for you and let you concentrate on your stream. But like I said they're not free, and they all have serious restrictions on what you can and can't do with your stream. I might consider one of these if I was doing this as a business and wanted to pay the money for the hosting and/or the servers and the licensing and the legal services and the accounting and the advertising and the marketing, etc..., but aw shucks fellers, I just wanted to do this for the fun.
So, Classical Voices will be gone pretty soon. It was fun setting it up and getting it running, but I have to be real about this. I may still put out a stream every now and then, but for now it's time to move on to something else. Oh, and it won't be called Classical Voices, either. I just found out that there's already a Satellite Radio service that runs a station called Classical Voices, so I'll have to come up with something else.
Huh, between my trademark suit and my copyright suit I should have just about have all the bases covered.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Radio 7
Radio 7 is officially on the air. Well, sort of. It's on the air whenever I remember to leave my computer running, which is not very often, but the fact that it's on the air at all is an achievment. The official launch date was last Saturday, and I'm happy to report that Radio 7 is now proudly streaming music off my hard drive to thousands of listeners all over the world.
Well, ok, maybe not thousands, hundreds would be more like it...oh ok, not hundreds either...yeah, I know, not even tens for that matter, but I did have 3 listeners on Saturday (that's 75% capacity!), and then not a single soul since. It's all my fault too. Everything was running perfectly until, for some reason, I started monkeying around with the playlist. I must have hit a button or changed a setting because all of a sudden my computer became possessed and began playing the same song over and over and over again. Nothing I did could stop it so I decided to stop the broadcast, close down the program, and reboot the computer. And, of course, anyone in the broadcasting business can tell you what happened next...
Dead Air.
Oh my God, I've got Dead Air (or as we broadcasters like to say "technical difficulties"). I rebooted, launched the JetCast softare, and waited for my 3 listeners to come back to me.
And they never came back.
Oh geez, I lost my listeners and now my audience has been stuck at a big, fat ZERO for 3 straight days. Man, I tell you, this broadcasting business is tough. One little glitch and bam, there goes your audience. Problem is, once you lose them how do you get them back? I know a lot of radio stations do the Howard Stern thing to get listeners. You know, that's where you wag your tongue and tell lots of loud, dirty jokes, and if I had to I could do that. I know some dirty jokes, good ones too. Jokes that would make a sailor blush, but the whole thing seems pretty desperate to me.
I'll have to try a different approach. I think the major problem I'm having is using the JetCast platform. Not that there's anything wrong with the software. In fact JetCast is ridiculously simple and makes it almost effortless to get an MP3 stream out there on the internet. The problem with JetCast is that nobody else seems to be using it. I was looking through the JetCast directory the other day and there were only about 20 people total tuned into the 97 streams they had listed. That's not good. That's like having 97 hamburger stands out in the middle of the Mojave desert. Who cares how good the burgers are if there's no one around to buy 'em.
So, I'll be moving to the Shoutcast platform pretty soon. The Shoutcast directory always has hundreds, if not thousands of people tuned in to their streams. Of course, they have a lot more streams and it's easy for a little guy to get lost among all these professional businesses sending out thousands of high-bitrate streams. Who wants to tune into some guy broadcasting four 48kbs streams when there are these monster outfits putting out hundreds of 128kbs or 192kbs streams. It's like a little 10 watt pirate station going up against Clear Channel.
Still, I think Shoutcast is the way to go. You have to go where the listeners are, and just hope they like the choice that you offer. Right now I'm just broadcasting old 70's FM type Rock. Not because I want to but just because that was the easiest for me. It was enough of a chore just getting the thing running without trying to put together a playlist, so I just took some old 70's rock I had lying around on my hard drive, shuffled it up and sent it out as is. My real goal is to put together a 24/7 all opera and vocal music station, but I'll have to put some thought and effort into that. First I'll get the Shoutcast thing figured out, then I'll work on the playlist.
Which brings up this whole question of royalties. Damn. I don't think anyone will mind if I send out 4 puny little streams of 48kbs MP3 audio, but if decide to actually go with one of these shoutcast hosting services things could get a little sticky, couldn't they. Not that any of these other people seem to mind broadcasting pirated music over high-quality streams, but I couldn't do that ( I know, I'm just too good). I think I'll have to stay small and just beg for my listeners.
So I'm begging. Please, give Radio 7 a try. Please, Pretty Please, Pretty Please with Sugar on Top. I'll pay you. I'll do your dishes. I'll clean your house. Anything. Please, please, please, please, please....
(Okay, this is embarrasing. No more begging. Someone will listen. Someone's got to listen. Someday, somewhere. I can't stay at ZERO for ever - sigh)
(Did you notice all the hyperlinks - hint, hint)
Radio 7 is officially on the air. Well, sort of. It's on the air whenever I remember to leave my computer running, which is not very often, but the fact that it's on the air at all is an achievment. The official launch date was last Saturday, and I'm happy to report that Radio 7 is now proudly streaming music off my hard drive to thousands of listeners all over the world.
Well, ok, maybe not thousands, hundreds would be more like it...oh ok, not hundreds either...yeah, I know, not even tens for that matter, but I did have 3 listeners on Saturday (that's 75% capacity!), and then not a single soul since. It's all my fault too. Everything was running perfectly until, for some reason, I started monkeying around with the playlist. I must have hit a button or changed a setting because all of a sudden my computer became possessed and began playing the same song over and over and over again. Nothing I did could stop it so I decided to stop the broadcast, close down the program, and reboot the computer. And, of course, anyone in the broadcasting business can tell you what happened next...
Dead Air.
Oh my God, I've got Dead Air (or as we broadcasters like to say "technical difficulties"). I rebooted, launched the JetCast softare, and waited for my 3 listeners to come back to me.
And they never came back.
Oh geez, I lost my listeners and now my audience has been stuck at a big, fat ZERO for 3 straight days. Man, I tell you, this broadcasting business is tough. One little glitch and bam, there goes your audience. Problem is, once you lose them how do you get them back? I know a lot of radio stations do the Howard Stern thing to get listeners. You know, that's where you wag your tongue and tell lots of loud, dirty jokes, and if I had to I could do that. I know some dirty jokes, good ones too. Jokes that would make a sailor blush, but the whole thing seems pretty desperate to me.
I'll have to try a different approach. I think the major problem I'm having is using the JetCast platform. Not that there's anything wrong with the software. In fact JetCast is ridiculously simple and makes it almost effortless to get an MP3 stream out there on the internet. The problem with JetCast is that nobody else seems to be using it. I was looking through the JetCast directory the other day and there were only about 20 people total tuned into the 97 streams they had listed. That's not good. That's like having 97 hamburger stands out in the middle of the Mojave desert. Who cares how good the burgers are if there's no one around to buy 'em.
So, I'll be moving to the Shoutcast platform pretty soon. The Shoutcast directory always has hundreds, if not thousands of people tuned in to their streams. Of course, they have a lot more streams and it's easy for a little guy to get lost among all these professional businesses sending out thousands of high-bitrate streams. Who wants to tune into some guy broadcasting four 48kbs streams when there are these monster outfits putting out hundreds of 128kbs or 192kbs streams. It's like a little 10 watt pirate station going up against Clear Channel.
Still, I think Shoutcast is the way to go. You have to go where the listeners are, and just hope they like the choice that you offer. Right now I'm just broadcasting old 70's FM type Rock. Not because I want to but just because that was the easiest for me. It was enough of a chore just getting the thing running without trying to put together a playlist, so I just took some old 70's rock I had lying around on my hard drive, shuffled it up and sent it out as is. My real goal is to put together a 24/7 all opera and vocal music station, but I'll have to put some thought and effort into that. First I'll get the Shoutcast thing figured out, then I'll work on the playlist.
Which brings up this whole question of royalties. Damn. I don't think anyone will mind if I send out 4 puny little streams of 48kbs MP3 audio, but if decide to actually go with one of these shoutcast hosting services things could get a little sticky, couldn't they. Not that any of these other people seem to mind broadcasting pirated music over high-quality streams, but I couldn't do that ( I know, I'm just too good). I think I'll have to stay small and just beg for my listeners.
So I'm begging. Please, give Radio 7 a try. Please, Pretty Please, Pretty Please with Sugar on Top. I'll pay you. I'll do your dishes. I'll clean your house. Anything. Please, please, please, please, please....
(Okay, this is embarrasing. No more begging. Someone will listen. Someone's got to listen. Someday, somewhere. I can't stay at ZERO for ever - sigh)
(Did you notice all the hyperlinks - hint, hint)
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
If God had meant for men to live in heat like this then he would bring us into this world naked and wet, wouldn't he. But I'm not going to worry about that. Instead I'm just going to think of Christmas trees, and sleigh bells ringing, and chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Unfortunately, with heat like this you don't need an open fire to get your chestnuts roasted. Just get into your car after it's been sitting in the sun all day and believe me they'll get good and roasted. But enough, enough I say. There's nothing you can do about the weather so why dwell on things you cannot change.
Instead, why not forget the cares of the day and just enjoy the cool of a summer evening. That's my plan and that's why right now you can find me sitting comfortably in the backyard listening to a live broadcast of the SF Symphony's Opening Night Gala. The heat has passed and I can't imagine anything more delightful than a little Debussy streaming out of my computer under a twinkling canopy of stars. I'm pretty old fashioned for the most part and like the old, familiar ways, but I have to admit this modern world does have it's conveniences.
And with that I hope you'll excuse me. I hear the orchestra tuning up and so I better get back to my seat. Not much of a blog tonight, but why blog on a night like this.
Instead, why not forget the cares of the day and just enjoy the cool of a summer evening. That's my plan and that's why right now you can find me sitting comfortably in the backyard listening to a live broadcast of the SF Symphony's Opening Night Gala. The heat has passed and I can't imagine anything more delightful than a little Debussy streaming out of my computer under a twinkling canopy of stars. I'm pretty old fashioned for the most part and like the old, familiar ways, but I have to admit this modern world does have it's conveniences.
And with that I hope you'll excuse me. I hear the orchestra tuning up and so I better get back to my seat. Not much of a blog tonight, but why blog on a night like this.
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