Where pop culture meets geek culture and they make out a little.
Archive for September, 2009
Looking Up In The Sky With My Mind’s Eye
Sep 20th
A panel from All-Star Superman, with pencils by Frank Quitely and colors by Jamie Grant.
I feel as if I forgot about Superman until I came across Grant Morrison’s interpretation in his All-Star series that debuted in 2005. It crystalized what I loved about this character the first time I saw him racing against a train in Richard Donner’s “Superman: The Movie.” What made the character resonate for me in both was that Morrison and Donner didn’t necessarily reinvent the character. Rather they identified elements that were important about him and explored them. I’m not referring to his powers, which are magnificent of course, but they’re not enough to sustain an emotional journey of a character through a story. It was the character’s humanity. Donner focuses on how Clark Kent grew up and became Superman, while Grant Morrison tells the story of what the Man of Tomorrow does with the last days of his life.
Superman: The Movie (Extended Edition) and Superman II: The Donner Cut
When you watch Superman I and Superman II (The Donner Cut), you may find a superhero comic book movie on the surface, but underneath is the engine of a coming of age story. There’s a moment in the first Superman movie when young Clark Kent is talking with his father after he’s just finished beating a rival schoolmate back to his farm by outrunning a train. He expresses to his father that he’s frustrated because he can do things like kick a football seemingly into orbit. Yet he has to hide his abilities, and stand the ridicule and humiliation of his rival as he drives away with a girl he liked. He’s still that same kid who wants to show off all of the wonderful things he can do when he’s standing before his other father, Jor-El, telling him about the feats he did in his first night as Superman. Jor-El tells him he understands how good it felt to do this, and acknowledges his son’s vanity. He doesn’t judge him for it. Clark doesn’t yet understand consequences, though. When faced with the possibility of a life without Lois Lane after trying to stop two rockets, he turns back time. He can fix anything, that Superman can.
Yet again Clark is still that same kid from Smallville when he’s standing before Jor-El in the Donner Cut of Superman II, complaining about the unfairness of not being able to have what he wants. He doesn’t wish to be alone, another essential human quality Donner focuses on that drives Clark’s choices. A life with the companionship of Lois Lane is possible now, if only he weren’t Superman. Yet he’s warned that there will be consequences if he gives up being Superman.
(SPOILER ALERT, in case you’ve never seen Donner’s Cut)
He discovers those consequences when he returns, powerless, to his fortress to beg his father to restore his powers, which his father does. At a price. If you’ve never seen the Superman movies, you must know that crystals are a key component of his Fortress of Solitude. All of the knowledge of his civilization is stored in these crystals, including the artificial duplicate of Jor-el he speaks with. Jor-el tells his son that restoring his powers will wipe out the remaining energy in the main crystal, rendering it inert. They will never speak again, and Clark will have essentially lost his connection to a second father. There is a poignant scene towards the end, the one in which I feel demonstrates the complete arc of Clark’s growth. He stands looking at the Fortress of Solitude from a distance, with Lois Lane behind him. Without saying a single word he destroys the Fortress of Solitude. It’s a lifeless structure, and he lets go of it. Is it an act of acceptance and letting go, therefore a sign of maturity? I think so.
There is one warning I have to give you about the Donner cut, though. For those who aren’t familiar with the film and its history, a lot of key scenes were never filmed. This included an ending to the movie. When faced with the option of using the ending filmed by Donner’s replacement Richard Lester or simply recycling the ending from the first movie where Superman turns back time again, the latter was chosen. Yes, it does betray the thematic arc of the story. Therefore, I prefer to leave the movie at an earlier scene. It’s one where Superman has brought Lois back to her apartment, and she stands crying because she knows they can’t be together. And she also knows who he is and it will break her heart to see him every day at work but never be able to reach out to him. She asks if she got the man she wanted, and he affirms it. Then they part ways. I say I prefer to leave the movie at this point rather than continue on to the next sequence because what are our heroes and the lessons they learn if they can simply wipe away the lesson as if it never happened?
(End SPOILER)
All-Star Superman
Superman saves the day one more time only to discover that doing so has killed him. What you find in the stories that follow this discovery is an introspective Superman, taking the measure of his life and focusing on what is important to him. There are so many things to settle, decides The Man of Steel. There is his affection for Lois Lane. There is the question that haunts him: what will happen to the human race without a Superman? How can he save the day from beyond the grave? He asks himself what a world without a Superman would be like? (And I might add that it’s an inpspired approach he takes to find out the answer to this in the latter half of the series, made possible by the realms of speculative fiction.)
In trying to find the next Superman he turns to Lex Luthor, telling him in the guise of Clark Kent that Superman and him could have done great things together. In trying to reach out to his greatest enemy, a man who can cure cancer with a cell phone and a safety pin, he finds it’s not Luthor that is his greatest foe. It is Luthor’s ego.
Yet there has to be a way. “There’s always a way,” as he reminds himself numerous times throughout the series. Even when he finds himself powerless and trapped on a planet, slowly being crushed by the heightened gravity around him and trying to find a way to communicate with a race that doesn’t quite speak his language, he still tells himself there’s a way. Even when his final hours are approaching and he reflects on how much he’s accomplished and yet how much more he has to do, there’s still away.
All-Star Superman is essentially Everyman meets Superman. Grant Morrison’s choice to have Superman face his mortality and decide what he values in his life also allows us to have a set of stories that incapsulate why the character has been around for so many decades. I found some of these stories moving, such as the one that explores an episode with his father, Jonathan Kent, from Superman’s days in Smallville when he was Superboy.
After looking up
I think about all of this and come to wonder if perhaps it’s not Superman that is my first love? Perhaps it’s the hero’s quest and coming of age, as I look at other stories I’ve come to love over the years. I think about Huckleberry Finn torn between what he feels is right and what he’s been told is right when it comes to the matter of rescuing the slave Jim and learning to make up his own mind. Or Gilgamesh, seeking out the secrets of immortality after the death of his friend, Ekindu. Perhaps it’s myth? Maybe it’s all of it. Superman was first, though.
This Week in Normality — First Loves
Sep 11th
This is a topic that we’ve touched on, in some way, with other themes but we (read: I) was hard up for a theme and so, in the proverbial late stages of the game, Mustardseed did throw out an idea which read thusly:
Theme Idea for this week: First Loves
I’m thinking something like that first comic or piece of music or whatever that just made you feel something you never forgot. Make sense?
To which I responded…
Hey that sounds good…
Everyone, read Mustardseed’s suggestion below and write like the wind!
I actually did think of one, but I’ll add it in for a later date.
And here we are…isn’t it exciting to look behind the “curtain” and see how the magic works…don’t answer that.
It also occurred to me that I used my best “first love” story last week for Back to School but that’s alright, I will recover.
And, actually, since I have already used that (damn moving, if I do say so myself) story about my wife and I in high school, I realize that this theme does, actually, afford me the opportunity to write about something I’ve been trying to shoe horn in here for several weeks now.
All faithful Normalinauts know that Gilgrim and I are fans of the beautiful sport, also known as football. Not the American version here in the states (well, Gilgrim is a fan of that kind of football, but no one is perfect), but proper football. As it happens, I grew up in a house (and extended family) whose sole sports passion resided in baseball generally, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, specifically. I doubt there ever has, or ever will, be a bigger Dodger fan than my grandmother who, literally less than two days before she died, in intensive care and unable speak, communicated to me that the Dodgers had lost a game and she was upset about how weak the bullpen looked late in the season (that is one of the great memories of my grandmother, in fact). I’m fairly certain, in fact, that in any detailed study of my DNA one would find a “Dodger gene.” We recently took our newest round of family pictures and all four us, wife, three year old daughter, 8 month old son and myself were all wearing Dodger shirts.
But much like you can’t choose your family, my passion for the Dodgers is ingrained. My love of football, however, was something that I fell into.
Jezmon can attest to the fact that, in the early years of grade school, I spent nearly every possible moment playing football (Jezmon and I, by the way, went to kindergarten together…Mrs. Steven’s afternoon class represent!). I’m not exactly sure what it was about playing soccer that was so addicting but it probably had something to do with the constant running the sport affords and the fact that until I got to the first grade I had never even heard the term “soccer.” It had an almost mystical feel to it…you mean, there’s a sport where you don’t use your hands?! To a six year old who could rattle off the Dodgers entire 25 man roster and the batting averages of every starting position player, an introduction into a different sport, one that tons of kids at school were playing all the time (thanks to AYSO), was the first time I was exposed to a bigger world outside my own house. And it was a world that called to me and I desperately wanted to be a part of.
Remember how I said I’ve wanted to bring this topic up for a while? You will, no doubt, notice I forgo no opportunity to disparage American football and so, in this particular instance, I will bow to the greater wisdom of John Cleese in helping to explain my one reason for my inordinate love of football…and, as and added bonus, my dislike of American football.
That clip comes from a documentary that Cleese did called The Art of Football (or, stupidly, the Art of Soccer in this country) which I highly recommend if you’re a football fan, or even remotely interested in the game at all.
Now you can find, in any sport, moments or games that defy explanation. For my money, however, there is no other sport that can match football in the possibility to demonstrate the unexpected. In part, I think, it’s the nature of continued play that Cleese mentions in the above clip. When you stop play as little as possible (unlike all three major sports in this country) the ability of the players to change a game at a moments notice is really hindered.
Also, and this is true hands down, no sport can match football for pure passion from both players and fans. If you’ve never experienced a true soccer match in person (and I’m not talking MLS here) then you’ve never experienced sport at its most emotional.
As a demonstration of both these properties, I’m going to show you a five minute clip from the 2005 European Champions League final. The Champions League is a competition in which all the top clubs of Europe compete for a chance to be crowned best club in Europe. The 2005 final pitted my (underdog) Liverpool squad against (heavily favored) AC Milan and has come to be considered the greatest comeback in Champions League history (and one of the greatest in the history of football).
But, of course, football isn’t the only thing we care about around here, and so in this installment of Normality Restored…
Oedipa movingly considers her first loves, musically and emotionally, and the interplay of both.
Stoker reveals the first comic he ever truly “geeked out” over.
And, eventually, Mustardseed will be posting some article about something or other…I guess, we’ll have to see. But, you know, Cubans….
Spawning Passion
Sep 11th
While it was not the first comic book that I ever purchased or read, “Spawn” was the first book that I ever felt the need to purchase every month. Let’s all face facts; the comic book is a form designed in large part to keep outsiders out. Most books are are absolutely mired in continuity so dense that sometimes even true devotees forget storylines. In 1992 the world of comics was turned on its head with the launch of Image, a comic company founded by some of the day’s hottest artists. I was nine at the time and remember the release well, but did not really have much interest. It wasn’t until three years later, at the age of 12, that I became interested in “Spawn.” I remember walking down the new comics wall of my local shop, seeing the cover to an issue of “Spawn,” and thinking “gee this looks pretty cool maybe I should give it a try.”
At the time that I picked up my first issue, Todd McFarlane was no longer on art duties. Pencils were being done by Greg Capullo and the dark art was all I needed to suck me in. There was something about the world of “Spawn” that was both darkly intimidating and greatly exiting. I read through that first issue several times then went on a quest to collect up all of the back issues. I knew I had stumbled on to something special. Granted, the story was not particularly original or complex. The writing was merely serviceable but, when combined with the art of McFarlane and the creators to follow, it was as though some sort of magic had aligned to create something perfect.
Everything about Spawn speaks to the mind of a twelve year old boy. The violence is extreme. The Monsters are horrific. Many a night Malebolgia would haunt my mind, my dark room full of his sharp teeth and pot belly, waiting to gobble me up and swallow my soul. The women were everything sexual. Wanda was a perfect wife with a drop dead perfect body, a woman worthy of trading your soul for. The Angels were even hotter women who could kick anyone’s ass. Angela alone could take down every nerd hating bully in the world, not break a sweat, and look beautiful doing it.
I collected everything Spawn: action figures, comics, shirts, movies, soundtracks, pins. I have every issue of “Curse of the Spawn,” “Hellspawn,” “Angela,” and “Sam and Twitch.” Over the years, the comic has lost some of its luster. Angela and Malebolgia died in issue 100. Al Simmons is no longer the Spawn of continuity; ex comma patient Jim Downing is the new character readers are following. Somehow, even though I know that it isn’t what it once was, (and, honestly, wasn’t much more than a flash to begin with) I still purchase an issue of Spawn every month and, somehow, I am transported, if only for a matter of minutes, to 1995 and the mind of a twelve year old boy who was looking for some danger.
How I learned to Fall in Love and Inevitably Lose that Love in about 3 minutes: Or Iron & Wine
Sep 11th
Call me a pessimist but when I think of first love I think entirely of a love that was lost. This may, in fact, be because I lost my first love relatively recently. Directly after the break up absolutely everything would devastate me. And I mean everything….I seem to recall a particularly proud moment of mine while at work when checking out someone buying an Animal Collective CD. The mere sight of the record (Feels) had me running teary eyed from the registers, leaving behind a thoroughly confused and abandoned customer. The days of such easy sense memory triggers are over now though. Nowadays it takes just the right cue to get me going; and more times than not that trigger is musical. Furthermore to really hit that especially exquisite feeling of overwhelming love mixed with overwhelming loss I have to listen to Iron and Wine.
Sam Beam’s music is not just deeply immersed in my relationship with my first love (i.e. a first kiss tracked against “Each Coming Night”). For me, it is first love itself. I fall deeply in love with Beam’s voice every time I hear it. Disregarding his poetic lyrics for a moment, his voice alone washes over the listener like warm milk nd honey (to borrow Kerouac’s description of being high atop a mountain in Dharma Bums). Yet, inevitably, one cannot disentangle the beauty of Beam’s voice from his profoundly moving lyrics. “Naked as We Came,” for instance, is able to evoke, in the mind’s eye, a breath taking scene of a couple lying in bed (after making love, of course) covertly discussing how they will be together forever. Beam softly sings, “She says if I leave before you darling don’t you waste me in the ground/ I lay smiling like sleeping children/ One of us will die inside these arms/ Eyes wide open/ Naked as we came/ One will spread our ashes round the yard”. Beam is able to do what countless other musicians and filmmakers fail to do (and continue to fail to do when they attempt to combine Beam’s music with sappy love scenes…I’m looking in your direction Twilight Franchise). He is able to reproduce a moment where true love lies- in the seemingly unimportant moments, in love infused tête-à-têtes.
My ex-boyfriend once said that Beam could write such romantically awe-inspiring music because he must be living in some type of familial bliss. For all my failed relationships, I’d like to believe that Beam lives what he preaches. It would be more appropriate, though, for Beam to be suffering with the rest of us who have loved and lost. The eventuality of loosing love appears to be a reoccurring theme in Beam’s songs. For, as “Naked as we Came” plainly states “one of us will die…” The end of love is inevitable. That appears to be the true and honest beauty of his music. Even in Beam’s ability to evoke the breathtaking and heart swelling beauty of love, he simultaneously presents the inevitable end of that love. Whether the death of that love is of natural causes or of irregular (and devastating) complications, it will, in fact, end. And thus, there lies the essence of the concept of first love- it’s overpoweringly wonderful but unfortunately it must end; for it is merely the first and not the only.
Oedipa Wheeler
This Week in Normality — Back to School
Sep 6th
If my life pans out in the way that I hope, September will forever mean “back to school.”
Brief aside…I’m available for any tenure track, English faculty positions anyone has available and I am willing to move…anywhere.
But, of course, I’m not the only one around the ol’ NR that has to deal with the beginning of the school year as a specific time to dread and/or anticipate, so why not dedicate an entire week to this wondrous time of year?
I couldn’t come up with an answer to that question so, here we are.
And even for those who have left school, never to have another run in with that fine institution known as education, early September no doubt always reminds one of those formative years. Who doesn’t remember that first day back after a long summer? Seeing those kids for the first time in months, meeting your new teacher, hoping your new school clothes (which your mother picked out) wouldn’t earn the collective scorn of the schoolyard.
If I can be allowed to reminisce for a moment, I will share with you the most important of my back to school memories. During my junior year in high school I had taken Algebra 2 Honors; sixth period, Mrs. Yates. I spent a majority of the class annoying poor Mrs. Yates. When the year began I was sitting in the back of the class. About five weeks into the course Mrs. Yates moved me to the desk nearest hers in an attempt to keep me from talking during class. She moved me back a week later. I would start conversations with everyone who sat near me, basically, because I was bored out of mind every second I sat in that class.
Actually, there was one person with whom I wouldn’t engage in conversation.
Have you ever met someone who, literally, took your breath away?
Or, more specifically, have you ever been sitting in the first day of of Algebra 2 Honors and, as the teacher is making everyone in the class “introduce” themselves, a certain female says her name and you stop breathing for several seconds?
See, that’s what happened to me.
Early in the year this particular female spoke to me once or twice, and each time I nearly dropped unconscious. As the year went on, it slowly became easier to actually have her attention focused on me, due in no small part to the fact that a friend of mine would often act as a sort of intermediary. I wasn’t really calm in such situations, but I could at least manage to utter words that were more than unintelligible grunting. There were a few times, in fact, where she gave me a ride home from school. At the end of each 12 minute car ride I was doing my best to hide the massive amount of sweat that had formed on my body.
During the summer between my Junior and Senior years I unexpectedly ran into this female while at the mall. My friend and I had a conversation with her that lasted all of two minutes. As we were walking away my friend commented that my hands had been shaking.
As my senior year approached my life was at a low point. I had moved into a friend’s house where I was renting a room. I worked, six nights a week, a really shit job that routinely had me getting off around 1 in the morning. I couldn’t afford a car and I was so excited to find out that the bus would be picking me up at 6 in the morning, meaning that once school started I would be lucky to get 4 hours of sleep. My pay was $4.15 an hour and since I was no longer living under my parent’s roof, I was often short of money for little things like food.
I was still planning on going to college, so I had two AP classes (Government and Physics) along with senior English, Spanish 3, Advanced Photography and a period where I was, essentially, the TA for Photo 1. Given my need to work, and the fact that I didn’t have the means to find another job (no car, remember) I wasn’t sure when I would be able to actually do, you know, homework. Needless to say, I wasn’t exactly excited about the first day of my senior year.
But I got my ass out of bed at 5:30 am nonetheless, sat on the bus for an hour, and groggily made my way to first period (English). Second period was Spanish 3 and as I made it to Mr. Hathaway’s class I duly sat in the back (best place to sleep, of course). Just before the bell rang, that particular female stepped into the class room and sat down at the front of the class.
Given my love of sleep, I had been seriously considering dropping Spanish 3 and signing up for late arrival. I could always switch to a later period for English and I figured that if I didn’t have to be at school until 9 I could always wake up in enough time to walk. Of course, as soon as she walked into that class I threw out any thought of changing my schedule.
Long story short…she’s sitting next to me as I type this in bed.
For the rest of this edition…
Mustardseed considers a novel approach to keep the stress of academia from overwhelming the enterprising student.
Tengu reviews the MSI Wind U120 netbook for all you students looking for something with which to write papers.
Jezmon presents a list of documentaries for your consideration.
D. Composition helps us all in our attempts to find internet music.
Stoker considers what the future will hold now that Disney has purchased Marvel…not exactly “on topic” but important nonetheless.
The House of Ideas sold to a Mouse
Sep 6th
I know that this week was supposed to be dedicated to all things back to school and so I am going to make a loose connection between going back to school and what I have to discuss here. Going back to school is very depressing for youngsters, it is the demise of things that are fun and awesome. Well that is how I feel about the purchase of Marvel by Disney there goes my fun down the drain. I know that Disney might not ruin Marvel and I know that it is unlikely there will be a change in the comics after all a simple look at the relationship DC has with Warner Brothers shows that the comic world has essentially been left alone, but oh how I dislike Disney.
Ever since I was a small child and I found out the way that Disney treated Peggy Lee, for those of you who don’t know, they attempted to short her for royalties from the video release of “Lady and the Tramp”, I have thought that Disney epitomized the evil corporate empire. It is not just Peggy Lee who found Disney was treating them poorly. Many celebrities have claimed ill treatment by the company over the years. Whoopie Goldberg for once sent a tape to a roast of Richard Pryor in which she said, “Working for Disney again, I do feel like a nigger… So I just wanted to say I’m sorry I can’t be there… I’m picking cotton for Disney these days.” (her word not mine). My dislike however goes further since I grew up in Orange County everywhere I turn Disney is jammed down my throat.
My major concern is what will happen to the Marvel films. Will all of the characters I love be Disneyfied? Due in large part to Marvels previous $500 million contract with Paramount for production of films, Disney will not fully get its hooks into Marvel studios until 2013 after the release of “Iron Man 2”, “Thor”, “Captain America” and an “Avengers” film (Disney will however receive the money from these films) but it is only a matter of time ladies and gents when will we start seeing cartoons in which Spiderman and Aladdin team up to take down Jafar and the Kingpin. And What is going to happen to the darker marvel characters like the Punisher and Ghost Rider (granted neither of them have had particularly great films although the one with Thomas Jane was getting close) will they be relegated to firing bean bags and fighting fairies. I can’t even imagine.
The purchase of marvel has actually already had ramifications for the film world of the “Fantastic Four”. While the first two films were marginal at best saved only by the work of Michael Chiklis and Chris Evans (I maintain that the Human Torch should actually be played by Mark Paul Gosselaar) it seems that Fox intends to get everything they can out of their properties before the rights are turned over to Disney forcing through a new Four movie by prepare yourselves Akiva “Batman and Robin” Goldsman. The Horror… The Horror. Next thing we know we are going to see Thing nipples Gah.
All I have to left to say is, thank you powers that be for suck fest 2009.
Internet Music 101 – 4 Effective Ways of Finding New Music on the Internets
Sep 6th
I guess I can’t really claim that all of my favorite bands were found after getting a computer with internet. Well, I could, but I don’t think it would be 100% due to that. But it probably is.
Anyway, back in 1999 I was a senior In high school. While swirling brilliant galaxies of amazing music were sitting on store shelves (there used to be stores that actually sold cds, kids!), I was living in the cardboard box of KROQ. I loved Foo Fighters, Static X, Sublime, Blink 182, System of a Down, P.O.D., and a bunch of other bands that I would rarely give a chance today. While these are not all terrible bands per se, I feel that they made a crappy musical boundary for a person my age.
It wasn’t until I graduated that I finally had the opportunity to get my grubby hands on a crappy little Compaq pc that I bought from Best Buy. Oh, if I could have a conversation with my former self. I was forever changed. Now I could easily check out all kinds of new (and old) stuff, without any hassle. (incidentally, I’m typing this on my compaq laptop that has held up for quite a while).
In the time that has passed, I’ve found a few ways to locate new music that have worked well for me. Here they are in no order:
This is the kind of thing people probably talked about long before it ever existed.
Pandora is a website where you can input a band or song name and get a streamed radio station of similar songs by different artists. It’s free and is likely to yield results of which you’ve never heard. In fact, I’ve heard a few people who get frustrated with it because they like some of the artists, but can’t find the music anywhere else. If you get a song or artist that you don’t like, or don’t agree is similar, simply give it the thumbs down, and it’ll never show up again.
As an example, I’ve put in an artist I know Kilian enjoys: White Rabbits. The first song Pandora plays is always from the band you first type in. In this case, it’s “Kid on My Shoulders” from the album “Fort Nightly”. The text that pops up illustrates “electric rock instrumentation, a subtle use of vocal harmony, mild rhythmic syncopation, acoustic rhythm piano, and minor key tonality”. These are the aspects for which it will find matches in future song plays.
The second song to come up is “Conquest” by Tapes ‘n Tapes. There are some matching aspects listed in the popup, but not all of them are exactly the same, though, the similarities are even more apparent in the music.
- Last.fm
Last.fm is like Pandora with a community built in. But it’s so much more than that.
The whole idea of Last.fm is built around a plugin for your media player. Whether you prefer iTunes, Windows Media Player, Winamp, or anything else, chances are there is a compatible last.fm plugin for it. The plugin monitors your listening habits and sends the data to the last.fm website, where stats on your profile show your top songs and artists. The website also recommends all kinds of things based on your info, such as “neighbors” (people who have a similar musical taste), events by your favorite artists in your area, and artists and songs that play through a streaming radio station.
Last.fm is a rather vast entity for it’s age. There is a webpage devoted to every artist (even every song!) with links to similar artist pages and streaming radio stations that play similar music. There are comment boxes on every artist and song page, with “top listener” information and band information.
Of course you’ll always get the dingleberry that went on Kazaa and downloaded “Love Gun” by Iron Butterfly, listened to it a bunch of times, and got the song into the last.fm databanks… except that Love Gun is by Kiss, not Iron Butterfly. Last.fm recently integrated something that catches these mistagged or incorrectly named tracks and automatically corrects them. This is a simple, yet potent joy for anyone who has seen any horribly mis-labeled tracks that border on being offensive.
This would be the undisputed holy grail of music sites (it probably still is), but has one drawback. The music to which you listen has to be from a device or from your computer. This may not be much of a drawback for most, but personally, I listen to a lot of the music from cds in the car. But if you’re using an ipod, zune, or what have you, there is a plugin that allows you to “scrobble” (send music data to last.fm) the tracks to which you’ve listened. I’m always seeing new ways to scrobble cropping up, so who knows where they’ll take it.
This one is the one about which I’m most excited. I am a mixtape/mixcd fanatic. If I know you and haven’t ever made you a mix, it’s out of the ordinary for me. I have to make a new personal mix about once every one or two weeks, because I’ve gotten pretty picky about what I’m hearing in a given week. I get sick of music pretty quickly.
Being the mixfreak that I am, I’ve searched for a website where I can upload songs and arrange them to a mix, so I could access it if my media player decided to magically clear all my playlists (itunes is the major perpetrator for this). It’s also convenient if you want to share a mix with a friend easily. I’ve found a couple sites in the past that do this, but they have since been shut down (“Muxtape” was one of them). I think this happens because the site creators don’t structure the functionality of the site in accordance with certain copyright laws.
8tracks allows you to upload your songs and create a playlist, but it must be at least 8 tracks long. Other site users can find your mixes via keyword search (you can apply 3 searchable tags to any 1 mix). You can view how many times your mix has been played, as well as comments that other users might leave you on that mix.
You have the option to “follow” any other user, which adds every new mix they make to your “mix feed”. I haven’t done this too much, but I know it’s a good way to get people listening to my mixes. You give a little, you get a little.
- Blogs
Now, if you told me a few years ago that blogs were a surefire way to find great new music, I would have said something akin to “Really? I’ll have to check that out.” Then never give it a second thought. Half of the reason I wouldn’t have given it a chance is that I didn’t think it would work, and the other half is that I wouldn’t know how to search something like that anyway. It turns out it’s as easy as going to google and typing in the band’s name and blogspot.com.
I would recommend searching a band you like first, find a blog containing feature or information on said band, then seeing what else the blog has to feature. Blogs usually stick to some kind of theme or genre, but they often network with other blogs, so there’s more to peruse.
There’s not much else to say about blogs, other than that many of them contain links to free full album downloads.
So there you have it. All of these items have helped me find new music in one way or another. So if you’re looking, check em out and you’re likely to find something you like.
Documentaries that are neither boring nor suck
Sep 6th
In an effort to get you, the readers, some learning, I offer to you a list of documentaries. Now traditionally documentaries are something they force you to watch in school but I offer a different take, a more entertaining take on the documentary form. Without any further ado, here is a list of documentaries that don’t suck:
5. Expelled-No Intelligence Required: This is Ben Stein’s quest to open a dialog between hard line Darwinists and Intelligent Designists. One thing to note, the film makes it very clear that they are discussing intelligent design not creationism. They don’t really bring a specific designer into the discussion. It could be advanced space aliens for all they care. The climax of the movie involves Ben talking to staunch atheist, Richard Dawkins.
4. Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden: Morgan Spurlock goes on a quest to find Osama Bin Laden. You may remember Morgan as the guy who ate Mcdonalds for whole month while filming it. Super Size Me may be a more powerful documentary, but this one is well worth a look. He actually travels to the middle east and basically goes door to door looking for Osama. All the while his partner is pregnant with their first child. Of note is when he goes to Israel and tries to talk with the hard line Jews and is literally chased out of the neighborhood.
3. CSA: Confederate States of America: What if the South had won the Civil War? That’s the question posed by Kevin Willmott in this documentary. While not a true documentary, I’m still including it on this list due to its unique perspective. The documentary is a mix of “historical” information and fake commercials. There are some very uncomfortable moments. One being a “Cops”-like show involving the tracking down of runaway slaves.
2. Darkon: A LARP-ing documentary. Most everyone I know who reads this site should know what this means. For the uninitiated, it stands for Live Action Role Play. Basically a group of guys and gals strap on their armor and beat each other with foam weapons. This documentary follows the adventures of one such group. The interesting thing is how seriously they take it. From the opening scenes you may think you’re watching a low budget fantasy film, but then you see cars in the background and the field of battle still has the markings of a soccer field. If you don’t want to be seen renting or buying this movie, the whole thing is available on Hulu.
And finally the best of the best:
1. The Aristocrats: This is a documentary about a joke that comedians tell each other at parties. So in essence you have some of the greatest comedic minds of our time all telling the same joke. The kicker is that no 2 tellings of the joke are the same. A word of warning, this is probably the foulest, dirtiest, most disgusting documentary you will ever see. Perhaps I forgot to mention that the point of the joke is to out gross anyone else’s telling of the joke. Be prepared for jokes about incest, bestiality, vomiting, fountains of bodily fluid, etc., etc.
Finally what list would be complete without an honorable mention:
Best in Show: Like CSA not a true documentary but I’m putting it in anyway. Christopher Guest examines the world of dog shows with his standard cast of improv actors. That is something to note about his films. There is no script. All the actors are given is broad strokes of what needs to happen and outlines of their characters. The rest is up to them. If you haven’t seen a Christopher Guest movie, get out to a video store and rent one.
So there you have it. You may not learn a single thing from any of these films but you’ll have a good time.
Review of the MSI Wind U120
Sep 6th
The month of September typically hails the return of students back to school campuses. With this return, comes a bevy of new computers to “help” students with their academic endeavors. I use the term “help” loosely, since my PC in college was mostly used to teach me how to fly X-wings and write the occasional last minute term paper. The back to school season is a geeks dream come true with tech being priced to move off the shelves. This back to school season has seen a newer family of computer hit consumers, known as the “netbook“. For today’s mobile student, a netbook is a great option that won’t break the bank. That is if you’re willing to have some limitations versus the traditional desktop or laptop. Such as forgoing a CD/DVD drive built into the computer.
Right now I’m writing this review on my netbook, the MSI Wind U120. During my research, I looked at the Dell Mini 10/10v, Acer Aspire One and the HP Mini 1137NR. Each of the three “big name” companies were lacking in one area or another versus the MSI netbook. Some of them only had a 3-cell Li-ion battery. Others had smaller hard drives or lacked a couple of USB ports. All three of the large company netbooks also came in at a higher retail price.
So, what comes in the MSI Wind U120? Like most netbooks, it’s powered by Intel’s Atom N270 1.6 GHz processor. (Newer netbooks are now using the N280, but with a higher price.) A 10″ LCD screen capable of 1024×600 resolution. 1 GB of RAM (not upgradeable as the RAM is mounted to the motherboard). 160 GB hard drive, 3x USB 2.0 ports, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, built-in 802.11 b/g wireless card and ethernet port and a 4-in-1 card reader. All for the lightweight of 2.6 lbs and initial retail of $329. Other than the price I really enjoy the portability aspect versus a traditional laptop. It doesn’t take up as much space on a coffee table at Starbucks and has a decent sized screen that won’t institute eye fatigue. The keyboard is of an adequate size and I don’t run into many instances of key mashing. Video streaming from Hulu on my home wireless network is great. In fact, it plays video better than my Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop.
Now, this wouldn’t be a review, if I didn’t go over some of the cons. My first one is that this bad boy gets hot. Kinda like a Macbook. I typically use my netbook when I’m sitting on the couch and want to surf the web during commercials or when I’m half invested in an episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8. But the amount of heat this thing generates is definitely uncomfortable. I highly suggest you invest in a lap desk.
My wifes gripe with the Wind is the built in touchpad. She thinks it’s too sensitive and the buttons aren’t as responsive as they could be. I feel that you just have to have some finesse and/or practice to get used to the touchpad sensitivity.
Sound is another small problem with any netbook. The speakers for the Wind seemed to be a tertiary consideration in the design. There is a distinct lack of bass and it can be hard to hear some Hulu shows unless it’s cranked up to 75% volume. I would just recommend a set of headphones as an acceptable workaround.
Battery power is pretty much middle of the road. I’m able to squeeze about 4.5 hours before I need to get it charged up.
Overall, I would recommend any of the MSI series netbooks since they provide a large amount of options for a reasonable price compared to most of the major manufacturers.
4/5 - Nearly classic!
On Grease Paint and the Negatives of Chronic Stress
Sep 6th
Ian McKellen as King Lear.
It is essential to find past-times to help one relax during a semester, as the negative effects of chronic stress may not only affect school work, they may also have long lasting effects on emotional and physical health. Studies have shown that chronic stress may be linked to anxiety, deppression, weight loss, insomnia, and may affect concentration and memory. One needs diversions. Relaxing evenings with friends, or sitting down to enjoy a book, a good story. I enjoy live theater. I saw Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren and David Strathairn in Dance of Death on Broadway in 2002. It was an amazing experience, as these were highly skilled performers. There is a theater a few minutes from my house. The dilemma, though, is that we live in an age of instant gratification. CDs, DVDs, the Internet. Anything we want and when we want it. Except none of it is live. What do we do then if we want our theater to be live and instant? Compromise. We kidnap a thespian. Depending on taste, we might need to make room for two.
We must first identify our preferences. Musical theater? Classics, from Lope De Vega and Shakespeare, to Brecht? Ballet? Farse and tragedy and tragicomedy and operettas? Also, while your thespian can play multiple parts, and in some cases perform an entire show for you, this can wear your thespian out faster than if you had two. This is especially true if you’re a Shakespeare aficionado, as I am. I once went through seven thespians in a four month period, as Hamlet can kill almost anyone. For musical theater, Sondheim and Fosse might only cripple or cause them initial discomfort.
There is also thespian maintenance. You will want to keep them in a room on a second floor, preferably with a balcony, which will allow them to have contact with visiting friends and family members. The thespian is an emotional creature, as you’ll become fully aware of during their first weeks of captivity while they sob in lamentation. Therefore these balcony visits will be essential. Sliding recent write-ups of their work may also help, whether fictitious or not. See your local community college journalism department for assistance.
Also consider diet. Don’t feed your thespian too much within two hours of any planned use, as they will be weighed down. A few more things to consider for maintaining your thespian include decorating their rooms (a little stage in one corner can go a long way to making your thespian feel cozy) or cages if you’re under budget constraints; their voices are delicate, therefore much like cigars, you want to keep them in a temperature controlled enviroment; keep little statues covered in gold foil as “awards” you can give them as treats; if you have a method actor and you ask them to take on the part of an animal, you may want to lay down newspaper; and exercise. The little stage in the corner works great for step aerobics.
Remember that when we talk about kidnapping your own thespian, we’re really talking about a guarantee of your future, and of your health. While the costs might appear steep, remember to weigh them against the cost, as well as discomfort, which you might have to face in the long run from chronic stress. To health and happiness.