everyone else has a blog, so i should too

the best new development in music since ipods

2007-01-28T10:58:00.000-08:00

A trend has been starting. It is still not in full effect, but I'm thinking that within the next year, it will be. The big companies that sell vinyl have jumped on the bandwagon, so hopefully it won't be long until they all follow suit. I'm talking about the little slips of paper that have been showing up inside albums.

Basically, the last few LP's we've bought from subpop, polyvinyl, and a few others labels, have included little slips of paper like this. The paper entitles you to between 1 and 3 downloads of the entire album that you just purchased on vinyl in mp3 format! This is very awesome, because it means you can purchase the LP for home listening enjoyment, but still get the album in crisp, mp3 sound for your ipod/home computer. I really think this is an excellent invention, and it means i'll never have to buy a cd again (and, note, LPs are typically 2-5 bucks cheaper than a cd anyway).

So, the times are changing, and i'm excited to see what other great inventions are on the way.

Owls are so hot right now; or, what is the deal with owls?

2006-12-12T19:45:00.000-08:00

Has anyone else noticed how "in" owls are right now? I've been attending a lot of local crafty art design fair things lately (tis the season) and seriously, every table is filled with "owl" items. Owl charms on necklaces. Owl cards. Owl scarves. Owls on shirts. It is very interesting. Like, remember when "guns" were "in" for a while there? And then maybe doves? Well now it is owls. Here are just a few random samples of owl items:

(sorry about my lack of html skills - you will have to cut and paste)

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5077871

http://store.shoporangebutton.com/b0036.html

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=526715

I could go on. But I won't. Anyway, seriously, keep your eyes peeled and you too can discover the omnipresence of owls!

My brush with superman

2006-12-03T23:52:00.000-08:00

I just watched "superman returns" tonight. Although I'm not really up on my superman lore, I actually enjoyed it. Anyway, as I was watching, I was thinking that the actor playing superman looked mighty familiar, though I couldn't remember having seen him in anything before. So, I got on IMDB and looked him up. Nothing looked too exciting, though I saw that it said he was on MTV's fabulous show from the late 1990s, "undressed." "Hmm," I thought, "...undressed, I was on an episode of that..." Then I remembered that the actor who played the fellow that got "undressed" on my episode had brown hair...and I remembered that he was from Iowa, as we had this long conversation about how he had just moved out, this was one of his first gigs, etc...So, I looked at the IMDB bio, and sure enough, superman was from Iowa! It had to be him! Some quick googling led me to this picture of his appearance on the show, and low and behold, there I am sitting right next to him!

Granted, you can only see my chacos and my hippie-tastic sweater, but it's me alright! Very exciting. I'm glad to know that someone who stuck it out out there in LA has "made it."

dogs and pigeons

2006-11-28T12:01:00.000-08:00

I just read this great article by the great JSF (brooklyn wunderkind, after whose character Oskar I modeled my halloween costume).

It's about his relationship with his dog, and animals generally. One of his paragraphs made me think about pigeons. It said this:

...the older we get, the less exposure we have to animals. And nothing facilitates indifference or forgetfulness so much as distance. In this sense, dogs and cats have been very lucky: they are the only animals we are intimately exposed to daily.

This made me think about my concept of pigeons and why I like them so much. It is true, as JSF states, that many of us interact daily with pets. However, as we know, most of our pets are domesticated. They no longer possess most of their wild traits. This brings me to the pigeon. At least for us city-dwellers, the only wild animal with which we interact on a daily basis is the pigeon. We see it scurrying about, eating crumbs, flying too close to our heads...it is living in its natural (at least with respect to the recent past) environment.

Most people who live in or have grown up in the City have nearly NO exposure to animals in their natural environments. The closest they get is the zoo, and that is hardly life as nature intended. The pigeon is a champion of survival, of being flexible and thriving in its surroundings. Similarly, people should be kinder toward pigeons - this attitude of "rodents with wings" really saddens me. Pigeons are one of our last connections to the wild, to nature, to real animals. And they are the targets of so much hatred. About a month ago, walking home from work, I saw a pigeon whose head had been cut off. It was just laying there on top of a newspaper dispenser with no head. I started crying because this is what people are doing to wild creatures; to animals; to nature itself. Sigh. Anyway, the point is, we should all respect the pigeon, and be glad that there are still some things in this world that haven't been caged, domesticated, or genetically altered.

">

lemony snicket and stephin merritt

2006-10-30T09:36:00.000-08:00

Andy, Neshemah, Iris and I went to a random little performance on saturday. it was billed as a book reading and musical performance by lemony snicket and stephin merritt (of magnetic fields fame). i got tickets because stephin merritt is my favorite songwriter and he seems to NEVER tour, so this was my chance to see him. anyway, it was actually a very entertaining performance. The author played himself (instead of lemony snicket) and was funny - they had sort of a skit thing going on, and also played about 3-4 songs (stephin on ukelele, 'lemony' on accordion).

afterwards, we got to meet stephin merritt (i think i freaked him out) but he signed my cd, which was exciting. iris also took a picture of him with my camera.
then we had to wait in a very long line, but neshemah and i got our books signed by the author, who was very nice, and seemed like he was ready to talk to us about normal things (music, etc) after all the many kids he'd been seeing. he told us that he played accordion on the new magnetic fields album, that it would be done soon, and that it would be "LOUD." hmmm. should be interesting.

lord listen lover

2006-10-09T23:27:00.000-07:00

Can someone please help me figure out how to play the metric song "the police and the private" on either the guitar or accordion? thanks!

a lu is a lu

2006-09-18T22:27:00.000-07:00

Tonight I saw a commercial for these cookie things called "LUs." It reminded me of an advertisement song from my childhood about lus. I started singing it and andy said that he had never heard it! I couldn't believe it, as I knew it by heart. So, I of course googled it, and to my chagrin - no results?! impossible!
Here is the song, as I remember it:
Well a cookie is a cookie and a lu is a lu
Both are great but one is tooooooo
Good to be a cookie so we call them lus
So please don't call them...
COOKIES!
it's a really catchy song.
I may have to cover it in my next band.
Does anyone else remember it!?

lonelygirl15 and my brother's music!

2006-08-23T23:10:00.000-07:00

So, I don't know if any of you have been following this "lonelygirl15" youtube thing. She's got a video blog, it may be a viral marketing thing, whatever. So i was trying to stay up on pop / internet culture and i was watching some of her videos, when - whoa! one of my brother's songs started playing! it was a "remixed" version but it is totally his. super exciting.
here is the link

it plays when they start chopping up fish or whatever. yay grant!
you can hear his original version here:
http://ccmixter.org/media/people/phlosoft

records and mp3s, all in one!

2006-08-14T00:13:00.000-07:00

So the best new thing is happening - recently, andy and i have bought some new records. Of these new purchases, I had two lovely surprises. In both the new calexico and the new hidden cameras LPs, the record makers have been nice enough to include a little piece of paper. the paper gives you a website and a code, and you log on and plug in the code, and...voila! you have downloaded the full album in mp3 format! isnt that amazing? i sure think so. I wrote to merge records (label that put out hidden cameras) to tell them how great i thought it was, and they told me that a few of their new releases (including lambchop and m ward) will also include this feature. my reasoning is this: i hate buying cds these days because, in all honesty, i just rip them to my itunes, put them on my ipod, and put the cd away in a closet. However, records, of course, have a special place on the shelf, and they just sound better. (and, more often than not, they are cheaper!) so, of course it's annoying to buy the record, then pay to download the songs as well. and it takes so much time (and sounds kind of crappy) to rip from record to computer (can you really even call that ripping?). anyway, that is why i love this new "thing" that some labels are doing, and i hope it continues and proliferates. yay.

awesome craigslist posting

2006-08-14T00:12:00.000-07:00

I just saw this on craigslist and i think it's my favorite ever. will one of my lovely single girlfriends write this guy an email so he will be our friend?

I am the best indie mix maker that has ever lived. (mission district)

Reply to: pers-193439355@craigslist.org
Date: 2006-08-12, 5:51PM PDT

That's right. Better than your friend in New York, better than your older brother, better than any character from a Nick Hornby novel and all your exboyfriends combined. I make the best mixes that have ever been or ever will be made. No contest. Hands down.

I also make the best vegan breakfast ever made. I've also elevated bicycle neglect to an art form so advanced even I would need an M.A. to explain it. No one has ever been annoyed by crowded bars with such moxie and panache. No episode of This American Life is complete until I've heard it. Whiskey intoxicates no one until I drink it, coffee with me is a creative act, my sleep is an interpretive dance, my high-five is tantamount to a pulitzer, and when I kiss you, your favorite song, your favorite dessert, the rapture, nirvana, orgasm, enlightenment and the apocalypse all at once unfold, implode, ensnare, dissolve and transform you into a being of pure light, eros, beauty and nothingness for as long as it lasts, and after it nothing will ever be the same again. I suck at pool, though. That much seems never to change.

Please be extremely cute and funny and arty and fit and intelligent. Please live in the mission, be in your late 20s, sexual, bike-dependent, conscientious, thoughtful. Please be laid back and not seeking a big deal. Please send a pic and the best response ever written.

fireworks and fires

2006-07-05T13:11:00.000-07:00

Last night andy and I moved the small tv into our bedroom, got in bed fairly early, and watched a movie. Then, around midnight, we heard a really loud vehicle going up our street, and saw some flashing lights. Then we heard loud voices being broadcast from some sort of speaker. We tried to make out what the speaker was saying, but couldn't. We looked outside but didn't see anything, so we went to sleep.
This morning I was walking the dog, and around the corner from our house, I see these people digging through a pile of crap. As I got closer, I realized that it was charred crap, and that their house had caught fire. Terrible. I talked to them. Fortunately, it didn't spread into the bulk of their house - it was concentrated in the garage. Their car (or a car) was on the street in front of their house and it too was totally charred. Anyway, they said it was caused by fireworks. Noone was hurt. So, the lesson is, don't set off fireworks in your garage. Scary!

it's just a start

2006-04-04T22:32:00.000-07:00

no judging, please

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5161863827837566184

just like the pacific northwest

2006-04-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

when i lived in portland one summer, my friends told me about something they called a "sun break," and that it was how they made it through the winters. Basically, in the wintertime there, it rains for days and weeks and months without end. However, every now and then, the sun peaks out. So, they'd be sitting in their offices, watching the rain run down their windows, when they see the sun, and so someone yells across the floor "SUN BREAK" (or, in the digital age, emails the same to their friends). Anyway, as you all know, it's been raining for like 2 months straight in SF. It's getting old. However, today at around 3:48, the sun came out. And not just kind of came out. It was shining into my eyes and blinding me as I sat here at my desk at work. So Marcelo and I took a jaunt around the block, making sure to stay in the sun. It was very exciting. I think i can deal with portland now.

king of carrot flowers (pt 1) and the accordion

2006-04-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

i feel so proud. i figured out how to play king of carrot flowers pt 1 on the accordion. this is my first real feat as an accordionist. i made a video of it which is seriously hilarious (because it is so terrible, and i'm trying to sing, but it's way too low for my voice, so i'm changing octives all over the place). however, to amuse you all, i may post it here. i'll have to do some serious soul-searching.

good movies

2006-04-03T00:08:00.000-07:00

I guess I just haven't been to the movies lately, so even though a lot of good movies came out in the past year, I just didn't go and see them. Anyway, the upside of this is that I've gotten some really great dvds lately. In the past week, I saw three great movies: the squid and the whale, a history of violence, and north country. north country was just good because it was well acted and had some women's rights elements and it was a good story and showed that the law can get good things done (I've been wondering about that lately). the squid and the whale also was really well acted, and was a great story. it had such a great mix of humor and sorrow and thoughtfulness and rawness and honesty. i know it's based on the writer/director's life, at least in part, and i always wonder whether that actually makes things seem more poignant. like remember a heartbreaking work of staggering genius? would that have been nearly as good if you knew it were fiction? this clearly relates to questions of the jt leroy / james frey "scandals" (are they really scandals?), and the question of, if it's good, why does it matter? finally, a history of violence was so unexpectedly good. i like cronenberg, but i don't like violence generally, so i didn't expect that this movie would be so well done and moving and interesting. anyway, these are all total generalizations, but i recommend all three movies. yay movies.

feist and i love the same guitar

2006-03-30T12:21:00.000-08:00

Check it out, Leslie Feist (whose concert was awesome) plays the same guitar as I do (though it's at my parents' house)

can you tell who is who?

Bangs and Curly Hair

2006-03-20T13:36:00.000-08:00

So, I have decided, at least for the time being, that I'm going to get bangs cut! I used to have bangs as a child, and they were very cute, but i also had straight hair as a child. However, my friend Nici recently sent pictures of her trip to Paris, and in these pictures she has bangs, and her hair is curly like mine, and they looked really great! So, please leave in the comments whether or not you think I should cut bangs.

Men Are Insane

2006-03-08T19:44:00.000-08:00

So I don't know any details about this lawsuit, and thus can't comment on it from a true legal standpoint right now, but COME ON. http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/03/08/fatherhood.suit.ap/index.html Basically this guy is bringing a lawsuit, which he is comparing to Roe v. Wade, saying that men should be able to opt-out of paying child support if the woman decides to have a child that the man "doesn't want." I mean, can you even compare the issue of abortion to the issue of paying child support in a totally non-legal, rational person context? I guess he's going to try to make it out as some sort of equal rights issue?! But seriously, a woman's decision to have an abortion is a lot more complex than "do I want this child," or so it would seem. And I'm guessing that it often has nothing to do with "can I afford to have this child," or "do I want to pay for this child." Anyway, I'm going to a NARAL luncheon tomorrow, it will be interesting to see if anyone brings this up.

Goodbye to Greg!

2006-03-03T14:33:00.000-08:00

Greg, my work friend and loyal blog reader, is leaving to go work in Tahoe, and today is his last day, so here is my tribute to him, by request:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2200592091715821408

2006-02-17T17:24:00.000-08:00

Want to see me at work? It's very, very exciting, and requires following some instructions:

1. Go here: http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=20

2. Click on the top link (Planning Commission, 02/16/06)

3. In the pull down menu at the bottom left, Jump To item number 14

4. Then you can either watch for about 15 minutes, or drag the little play thing to 5:54:50

Then, be excited. For real.

scary

2006-02-09T16:28:00.000-08:00

Wow, I made a video, put it on the web, and now it's really embarrassing. but amusing, at least to me. so here it is, for a few days only! http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1129071892751669418

I learned how to video cast

2006-02-09T01:02:00.000-08:00

so i learned how to make videocasts last night, it is super exciting! i was inspired by this:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6739710473912337648
to which i was directed by my brother. now i just need to learn how to get it 'hosted' and then i can post videos for your viewing enjoyment. exciting!

pretty in pink

2006-02-06T23:36:00.000-08:00

so i just saw that new commercial for the pink motorola razor phone, and the song playing is the pyschedelic furs' classic "pretty in pink." However, at least to my ear, it does not sound like their version. is it? does anyone know? a simple google search has revealed no discussion of this topic.

Donna Martin Graduate

2006-01-14T21:44:00.000-08:00

So i just watched last week's episode of the O.C., which centers around the gang trying to get Marissa Cooper back into Harbor School. Anyway, they made up posters that said "Marissa Cooper Graduates," obviously in tribute to the infamous episode of 90210 wherein the student body stood outside the principal's office (if memory serves) and chanted "Donna Martin Graduate" over and over. while this in and of itself was somewhat amusing, i especially liked the fact that a few episodes back, summer was wearing a "donna martin graduates" tshirt! obvious foreshadowing of things to come. how clever they are.
anyway, it was pretty awesome.

Giants

2005-12-20T09:26:00.000-08:00

For my firm's holiday party this weekend we got to go to the giants stadium. it was actually pretty fun though i'm no baseball fan. we got to take a tour and practice batting. here is a picture:

sale at lunares

2005-12-03T18:53:00.000-08:00

i got into an investigative mood today and googled a bunch of shops/stores/restaurants that i see in the area but about which i've known nothing. one of these is 'lunares' which is in that big purple building on folsom street. it seems that they sell homewares wholesale. anyway, they are having a sale next weekend if anyone wants to go:

HUGE END OF YEAR HOLIDAY SAMPLE SALE

December 9th, 10-5
December 10th, 9-4

Major discounts on seconds and end of season items. All goods are 50%-90% off retail.

· Salad Bowls and Platters
· Candleholders
· Beaded Ornaments
· Horn and leather gifts
· Lamps
· Quilts, throws, robes and pillows
· Hemstitch table linens
· Jewelry

Visa, Mastercard and cash accepted.

Street Parking

................................................

CNN is funny

2005-12-01T13:07:00.000-08:00

So this is from a CNN headline today: "Rocker Pete Doherty, best known as the on-off boyfriend of supermodel Kate Moss" - umm, maybe it's just because I lived in London (though I don't think so) but wouldn't Pete Doherty be best known as the cracked-out singer of the Libertines / Babyshambles? Whatever. In other news, there was a big NPR story about Clap Your Hands Say Yeah this morning.

HP4 - harry grows up

2005-11-21T15:46:00.000-08:00

So andy and i went to see harry potter 4 on friday night (11pm, metreon). first, the movie was amazing. it changed a few things from the book, but did so in a way that made the story flow so i didn't have a big problem with it. the best thing though, was the other people who were there to see the film. i'm not kidding that there were a number of people our age (ie mid 20s-early 30s) who were dressed up like the characters. also a few girls had "potter for president 2008" homemade tshirts. very cute. anyway, so we had to wait in this long line to get in to the movie, so then when they finally let us, a few people who had been further back in the line started running to get ahead and get a good seat. so this kid starts running past us, and one of the men-dressed-as-harry who was standing next to us aims his wand at the running kid and shouts "immobulus" - it was so classic and hilarious. (for those who don't know, immobulus is a harry potter 'charm' that freezes things in their place). anyway, ya, good time dorking out at HP4. andy and i both want to see the movie again though. it was that good.

here was my favorite scene from the movie. all the girls in the theatre audibly swooned:

Devin Davis

2005-11-07T17:26:00.000-08:00

I always forget to talk about Devin Davis and how great I think his music is. I only know about 6 of his songs (the ones that are available for download on his website, http://www.devindaviswebsite.com/home.html), and he is from Chicago and apparently never plays in California (or at least, he hasn't since I've known about him). Anyway, I think he is super. And his website makes me laugh.

Lindsey Lohan stole my halloween costume

2005-11-02T16:07:00.000-08:00

LLo totally stole my costume. I too was in a fire chief hat with red lipstick. I, however, was also trying to look like a cowgirl, so I've got her there:

halloween still flyin

2005-10-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

it's a party yo

San Francisco Show List

2005-10-16T01:54:00.000-07:00

I find it weird that in every other city I have lived in there are numerous bloggers who not only share my musical tastes, but who each month, week, etc post lists of all the worthwhile upcoming shows. I know there are a few here that I look at occasionally, but I feel that they are all over-inclusive, in that they include dumb bands in which I have no interest, and often leave off more obscure, or even bands that perhaps seem too obvious. So here is my list. maybe I'll try to keep it current:

October:
10/16 - dar williams (fillmore)
10/18 - still flyin (yes!) / architecture in helsinki (slims)
10/18 - the hold steady / constantines (GAMH)
10/19 - broken spindles (BoTH)
10/21 - Nada Surf (Bimbos)
10/20 and 10/21 - Tortoise (independnet)
10/22 - 4pm - Appleseed Cast / Minus Story / Summer as Shatter Creek (12 galaxies)
10/23 - Go! Team / Smoosh (fillmore)
10/23 - Okkervil River (Cafe du Nord)
10/25 - pretty girls make graves (BoTH)
10/28 - Broadcast (GAMH)
10/29 and 10/30 - american analog set (BoTH)
10/30 - devendra and the hairy... something (? i cant remember. sounds weird tho) (Bimbos)

November:
11/3 - Metric (Slims)
11/5 - John Vanderslice (independent)
11/11 and 11/12 - my morning jacket (fillmore)
11/11 - the oranges band / jim yoshi pile-up (hotel utah)
11/12 - radar bros / the clientele (BoTH)
11/13 and 11/14 - death cab for cutie (warfield)
11/16 - laura veirs (BoTH)
11/18 - bonnie raitt (warfield)
11/19 and 11/20 - old 97s (slims)

December:
12/18 - Rogue Wave (GAMH)

January:
1/28 - of montreal (BoTH)

pirate prom

2005-10-10T23:40:00.000-07:00

so in case you all haven't heard, there is a pirate prom the weekend after next, and we all must go. It seems to me that this will be a combination of the blue ribbon ball that they used to have in athens, and a pirate party, the likes of which i've never attended. neshemah found a great picture of female pirate garb online, but I deleted the email, so I'll post these other less cool images for costume ideas:

Here is the info:

On the night of October 22nd at 8:30 pm, Roshambo wants to lure you to our own version of a pirate party – The Inaugural Pirate Prom. The night promises pirates and wenches, patches, peg legs and all the works. Inside the DJ Fort will be Space Cowboys’ Mancub and DJ Brad Robinson.

Wine, beer, fog machines, what else do we need?

Here are the links:

http://roshambowinery.com/events/details.php?eventid=6

http://www.826valencia.org/events/004111

It's in healdsburg at a winery tasting room or something. roshambo winery. and it will have their wine. so, we could either drive ourselves, or we could ride in this "party bus" which is $22 but that includes a ticket to the prom, plus wine on the way down in the bus.

here's the bus info:

The San Francisco Pirate Party Bus
will be leaving 826 Valencia at 8:00 PM and returning at 2:00 AM.
Space is very limited so we highly recommend reserving your seat in advance.
The cost is $22.00 which includes admission, round trip transportation and wine for the ride.
To reserve your seat, please come into the Pirate Store, or call (415) 642-5905 ext. 201 between 12:00-6:00 PM any day.

12 hours of sf music?

2005-09-22T09:02:00.002-07:00

so apparently there is some all-day music thing happening here in SF today (I think?)

Here's the link:

http://www.therambler.org/locations.htm

Notice how nice they make warm water cove look in that picture...

google is amazing

2005-09-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

The mystery has (at least I think) been solved. Google apparently just released this beta version of google for blogs (http://google.com/blogsearch), which allows you to, you know, google search blogs. So I just used it and look what I found!! (CMOC is sooo going to have to cover this)

DINU LIPATTI'S BONES
The Mountain Goats
The Sunset Tree (4AD, 2005)
By John Darnielle

Tuning: E A D F# B E
(Tune G down 1/2 step)

CHORDS

B D#sus4 E C#sus4
e--------------------------
B--------------------------
F#--0-----0------0-----0---
D---4-----8------9-----11--
A---2-----6------7-----9---
E--------------------------

INTRO: B* D#sus4 E B

B D#sus4
We stank of hair dye and amonia

E B
We sealed ourselves away from view

B D#sus4
You were looking at the void and seldom blinking

E B
The best that I could do

E C#sus4
Was to train my eyes on you

E B
We scaled the hidden hills beneath the surface

E B
Scraped our fingers bloody on the stones

E B D#sus4
And built a little house that we could live in

E B
Out of Dinu Lipatti's bones

We kept our friends at bay all summer long
Treated the days as though they'd kill us if they could
Ringing out the hours like blood drenched bedsheets
To keep wintertime at bay
But december showed up anyway
There was no money, it was money that you wanted
I Went downtown, sold off most of what I owned
And we raised a tower to broadcast all our dark dreams
From Dinu Lipatti's bones

Help me out, internet

2005-09-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about the internet is how easy it is to find out who sings songs you hear in passing. My trick is I try to remember one catchy line, or a few words, that sound like they could be the chorus or the title. Then I get home, or if I already am home, I go over to my computer, put the fragment in quotes, and google it. I’m not kidding that this has ALWAYS worked. Always that is, except once. And that failure is the point of this post.

I was walking home from work one day and I passed this house a few houses down the street from my own. On nice days, they often leave open their window, and also it frequently sounds like a band is practicing inside. Or at least, a girl is singing and someone is playing electric guitar. So this one day, as I was walking by, I stopped to listen because this song she was singing was seriously AWESOME. So I assumed it must be a cover, so I memorized my key phrase, which in this case was “to keep wintertime at bay.” I scurried on up the block, googled the phrase, and . . . nothing. Nothing even close. Even when I spelled wintertime like winter time or winter-time or winter-thyme. I was so sad.

So then, a few months later, I was at a Mountain Goats concert, and the dude, as many of you know, has like, 478 songs or something. So I only know a very small portion of his song catalogue. But he’s playing, and suddenly, in the middle of this nice song, he sings “to keep wintertime at bay” and I was like, “holy shit! The puzzle is solved! It’s a Mountain Goats’ song!”

So that night when I got home, I did an exhaustive download of Mountain Goats’ songs, and did a massive search of his song lyrics. Because there are many people who are really into this guy, there are a number of websites which set forth every song he’s every written or played, along with all their lyrics. To my chagrin, not only was “to keep wintertime at bay” not among those lyrics, but it was also not among any of the songs I downloaded.

So, if anyone has any information about what this song is, please let me know. Yay internet.

Re-visiting majors

2005-09-10T09:39:00.000-07:00

if i could go back in time, or alternatively, if i were to win the lottery and no longer need to work, i think i would go back to school and major in linguistic and cultural studies. i used to think that if i did it over, i'd do a triple major in math, physics, and philosophy, because the intersection of those three subjects is where my non-fiction reading interests lie - impacts of quantum theory on everyday life, concepts of time / spacetime, etc. but now i think i should have stuck with linguistics. i used to be really into it. i took this one french linguistics class that was pretty amazing. i loved learning about the etymology of the words. especially words relating to time and fate and fatality. and also different cultures' concepts of future and past, and whether the past is "behind you" like we say, or whether it's actually "in front of you" because, after all, you can see what is in front of you, but you can't see what is behind you, and we can see the past, because it has already happened, but we have no idea what lies in the future, yet we say that the future is just ahead...but of course, some people also say the future is ahead but "just around the bend" and that makes more sense because you can't see what is around the bend.

animals and the hurricane

2005-09-09T17:04:00.000-07:00

In times of tragedy and sadness, it's very important to focus on people. people are important and we, who are reading this, are people. however, the often forgotten victims of such tragedies are the animals. the thousands of factory-farmed animals trapped and crushed by their enclosures, the pasture cows who have no grass to eat because it's all supersaturated or under water, the zoo and acquarium animals (most of whom died because of a 'power failure' - how upsetting is it that fish can't live in the water into which we put them without power-generation), and of course, the pets that many rescuers forced the victims to leave behind. organizations like peta, the humane society, and other, smaller animal welfare organizations are now down there, doing their best to rescue the remaining animals. I personally gave a donation to the humane society, because they are well organized, etc, but there are many smaller organizations that could certainly also benefit from donations. and key right now is to find temporary housing for the animals. so if you live nearby, and it freaks you out to take a stranger or two into your home, think about a new dog or cat or ferret, etc.

Why I Eat What I Eat and Wear What I Wear

2005-08-30T17:43:00.000-07:00

So it seems like, probably two or three times a week (seriously) people, upon finding out that I am vegan, say “why are you vegan?” So in case any of those people are reading “my blog” I thought I’d try to write up a little something here. For me, it seems like a natural realization that animals, like humans, feel pain, sadness, suffering, etc. Although these emotions and feelings might be stronger in some species than others, it is also most certain that they are stronger in some members within a species than other members of that same species. To me, the idea of separating ourselves from and placing ourselves above other species because {we’re smarter, we’re stronger, we’re better, god wanted it that way, survival of the fittest, man needs to eat meat, [insert any other reason people have for eating meat or using or abusing animals generally]} is fairly silly. Racists think that they are better than others of a different race, and sexists think that they are better than those of another sex, for no reason other than “just because.” In my view, those who see a distinct separation between humans and “animals” are speciesists, and are no better than the former two “ists.” Being prejudiced against another thinking, feeling, sentient being is, in my mind, not a healthy or happy way to live. The world is connected and intertwined in so many ways, and though some people may disagree, I believe that an increase in suffering (no matter what form that suffering takes) is an increase in suffering, and causes an increase in general unhappiness throughout the world. When people try to say things like, “but fish can’t feel it, and they don’t know what’s going on when I sink a hook into their mouths and pull them out and suffocate them” (or something similar), my retort is always, “ok, well then would you kill and eat a retarded baby?” And the answer is inevitably “no.” And then I say “why not?” And they say, “because, dude, it’s a baby. I’d be a cannibal. Gross. And that’s sad, because someone loves that baby.” And then I say, “well I love that cow.” Or something similar. So basically, my view is that, if I can live my life without causing any increase in general world suffering, I’m happy to do so. If I can live my life without contributing to the horrendous lives that most factory-farm animals lead, and horrendous early deaths that nearly all food-and-clothing animals suffer, there’s no reason I wouldn’t. Especially considering the fact that, today more than ever, it is REALLY easy to be vegan. Really easy. Never do I “miss” any specific food, because there is a vegan version for everything (some of which are actually better tasting than the originals. See Uncle Eddie’s Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies and the outstanding Blondie/Brownies at rainbow. Mmmm.). So, although I never push anyone else toward veganism, and find it to be an intensely personal choice, I’m always happy to meet a fellow vegan and exchange information about helping out the animals. Yay.

environmentalists and animal rights activists

2005-08-25T22:45:00.000-07:00

so being pro-environment and pro-animal rights, i have always found that the two beliefs go together well, support the same end goals, etc... but apparently not all enviro organizations have this same view. here's an interesting website that discusses some of the good and bad enviro organizations in terms of their animal testing behaviors:

http://www.meangreenies.com/reportcard.asp

interestingly, our friends over at the NRDC receive an F.

Bad Winemaker

2005-08-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

From my friend Nicky:

Don Sebastiani- the maker of many wines, including Smoking Loon, Pepperwood Grove and Aquinas Napa Valley has donated a large amount of money to fund Proposition 73.

Proposition 73 is on the ballot for this fall's special election and if passed, would require teens to obtain parental consent before obtaining an abortion.

There are lots of good wines from winemakers who won't use our money to restrict reproductive rights.

Mindy's benefit for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

2005-08-22T22:41:00.000-07:00

My very lovely, involved, and active friend Mindy is putting on this benefit Friday. Everyone should attend. It will be fantastic:

Friday, August 26th at the Hotel Utah
(4th and Bryant St. San Francisco, CA)

Comedian Mike Spiegelman
Calling All Monsters- www.callingallmonsters.com
The Stones- www.myspace.com/thestones
Sugar and Gold- www.myspace.com/sugarandgold

$5-15 sliding scale admission (depending on what you can afford/want to donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society)

9:00 pm

For more info...
www.hotelutah.com

www.active.com/donate/tntgsf/mindys

muni fare hike

2005-08-22T16:03:00.000-07:00

well, even though MUNI is raising its fares to $1.50, i'm glad to see that the price of the fast pass will remain the same.

Order # 1: MUNI - Muni Fast Pass
Unit Price: $45.00
Quantity: 1
Upcoming Benefit Month: Oct-05

moog

2005-08-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

and music will never be the same... http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/08/22/moog.obit.ap/index.html

planet organic

2005-08-21T22:41:00.000-07:00

oh ya, so also today i signed up for this 'planet organic' vegetable delivery box. i'm so excited. every other week we'll get a lovely 'tote' full of organic local vegetables delivered to our door. the contents of our first box are as follows:
Produce Items:

Qty Item
----- ----------------------------
1 Broccoli (1 bunch(es))
1 Cherry Tomato (1 basket(s))
1 Cucumber (1 each)
1 English Peas (1 lbs.)
3 Green Bell Pepper (1 each)
1 Green Kale (1 bunch(es))
1 Green Leaf Lettuce (1 head(s))
1 Nantes Carrots (1 bunch(es))
1 Radishes (1 bunch(es))
1 Red Chard (1 bunch(es))
1 Red Onion (1 each)
2 Yellow Beans (0.25 lbs.)
1 Yellow Onion (1 each)
1 Zucchini (1 lbs.)

if anyone has any good recipes that involve radishes, please let me know.

cookies

2005-08-21T20:28:00.000-07:00

Andy made me some awesome cookies tonite. They were chocolate peanutbutter fudge. Then we ate this really big, hard peach. it was pretty damn good. Also i'm going to post my favorite current picture. it's a baby panda. i'm obsessed with how cute it is.

look at its little legs! and arms! ahhhh!