That time of the week again.
- Limited time only::Probably not as limited as it should be
- Voluptuous::Curvy
- Nutritionist::preservationist
- Belt::Asteroid
- Star crossed::StarKist; Sorry Charlie!
- Snakeskin::Snakeoil
- Athlete's foot::wear some sandals, please!
- Boom::The most bizarre movie ever. Starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Noel Coward.
- Freezer::Deep Freezer. Where you stockpile Sara Lee Coffee Cakes.
- Store hours::24/7/365
Farewell to Arts
I just saw a startling as I was catching up on some local news at Gapers Block. Chicago artist
Ed Paschke just passed away. I remember first seeing his work at the Art Institute around 1989. My German class had a field trip there for an Albrecht Duhrer show that was travelling at the time. I remember sneaking out of the Duhrer exhibit, and checking out the other exhibit on the floor, which was a collection of Paschke's work. As a high school freshman or sophomore, Paschke's work blew my mind. I think up until then, I'd only been exposed to
legitimate Art as staid and stodgy portraits and impressionist works.
Paschke's exhibit, with it's bright colors, outragous images, and pop references introduced me to a different way of looking at Art; I think it made me realize that the key component of Art is to solicit a response from the viewer; not necessarilly to appeal to their expectations. I think most anyone that is interested in Art must have that moment, and I'm just very glad that when I cut out of the Duhrer exhibit, Ed Paschke gave it to me.
Things are goood
(editors note: I started writing this last week, but just got 'round to finalizing - so here they are better late, than never)
I don't have lots of explanation, but here's somethings that I've partaken in lately that stand out to me and are pretty damned good.
William
Shatner's
Has Been - After his debut
album, no one thought he'd have the cojones to make another. Better yet, no one
would book him more studio time to make another. Enter Ben Folds. Somehow, Folds
was able to arrange music that took advantage of Shatner's chez-factor, and dialed
it all up a notch. He bests Pulp's
Common People,
suffers a rage attack in
I can't get behind
that, apologizes for not really being Cap'n Kirk in
Real,
finds mortality in You'll have time (because you're gonna die!), and in the title
song
Has Been he dishes out his rebuke
for all the fanboys who say he's washed up "Yeah? What have you done Beavis?".
I'm kind of surprised I'm not hearing any of the tunes anywhere, but then i remember
that radio has turned into a vast wasteland of morning zoos, fake pop stars, and
music thats been so recycled that it's lost all meaning. Thanks William Shatner
and Ben Folds, you make me glad i have an iPod.
This Monkey just visited heaven
So, I got the following email from dear friend Elaine:
> I cannot believe you went to see the Pixies. Please
> tell me how it was.
>
> Then proceed to kill me.
And I figure, I've been forshadowing this concert a while on the blog, I suppose I owe both of the readers here a little closure.
It was good. It wasn't freakin' spectacular. It wasn't awful by any means. It was just good.
There were a couple forces at play here, I suspect.
- (draw) In essence; it was a reunion tour. They haven't worked on new material together; chances are few people in the audience were even interested in such things. Personally, if I ruled the universe; we would have heard a couple Breeder's songs, and a couple Frank Black songs... Perhaps they would also do some of the songs from Wig in a Box.
- (-) This was the 4th of 5 shows. On a Tuesday no less. So I can understand that they might be lacking a little mojo in the performance department.
- (-) The opening band was the Coctails. Eh. We walked in during one of their noodley songs that gave rise to Chicago's noodle-rock scene in the late 90s. And where I say that I really don't get Archer Prewitt's comic book scene, I can also say, i just don't get him musically either.
- (draw) It was at the Aragon. Yes, it's a beautiful place to see a show, and I daresay, in it's original purpose to dance. But, acoustically, it's a bit rough. Thank goodness I didn't attempt going to the bathroom.
- (-) The audience was a sea of homogeny. This kinda surprised me, but not. I summed up that probably 70% of the audience were guys; that could probably be broken down into 10 archetypes. Myself included. A bunch of people probably between 25 and 40. Somewhat scruffy. Probably a little overweight. Still rocking out to Debaser. I thought I was so different back then. I probably still do.
- (double -)The Dumbasses standing next to me. So yeah. Let me give full disclosure. So much of the time when I go to a concert, half of the experience is based on the actual performance, and i'd say about half of it is based on my surroundings. I try to tune the extraneous stuff out; but sometimes it's not possible. In this instance, it was a group of 3 guys; probably my age, but they were acting like they were 15 and going to their first concert. Short of screaming Freebird, they yelled constantly at the stage (we were probably 2/3 of the way back from the stage on the main floor) and clapping oddly out of beat. Now, I'm sure i've been guilty of some of these things. I've reveled in them at times. But I think the straw that broke my camel's proverbial back was when they started lighting up their uhm, herbs, and passing it around; ignoring the show going on. Then the touching started. Now, I realize that people are in kind of close quarters in this situation, and I don't really enjoy having people all rubbing up against me. And that's where Beavis and his buds really got on my nerves, for whatever reason, they needed to steady themselves on my back. WTF? I rarely get violent impulses, but I really just wanted to deck someone; luckily I just seethed.
- (+) The music was solid. Yeah, I do have to say they rocked out. The play list stretched the length of the Pixie's catalog, which was nice. But they did kinda skimp on the Trompe Le Monde stuff. Though the cover of Head On was so incredibly welcome.
- (-) It was kind of short. The Trib's review said they played a 90 minute show on Saturday, and I believe we were treated to a 75 minute show, with just one encore (Ms. Deal's Gigantic - which in fact rocked the house). So, I left a little unsatisfied (would have loved to hear their surf-rock anthem Cecilia Ann and Jim would liked to have heard Alec Eiffel).
- (+) They really looked like they were having fun. There's nothing that I hate more than going to a concert, and it just looks like the band is just playing for our benefit, or to support some sort of habit, or to fulfill some narcissistic need. Throughout the show, pretty much everyone in the band, seemed to be sporting a bona fide smile. I heard that typically on previous tours no one ever made eye contact, and then Black Francis would just swear at Kim Deal if she flubbed something. This so wasn't the case.
- (+) Kim Deal's voice is so sweet. I don't know why, but really, she makes the Pixies for me. Her subtle backing vocals, are some sort of siren song that binds the songs together from Black Francis' cacophonous shrieking of lyrics. I almost feel like I'd want to have her along when I talk, and just have her repeat a refrain of whatever I'm talking about. Just to get the message across. "So long... So long..."
So, all in all. Good show. Did I want more? Yeah. Could Beavis have been a little less annoying? Yes please. Could we please have had a better encore? You betcha. Would I do it again? On a different night. I'm just hoping that they realized that they had fun doing this tour, and feel like they should make another album and come back with some more stuff.
Thanks Elaine, for prompting me to write this review of the show. I don't think I'd have gotten around to it otherwise!
Unconcious until Wednesday
Oooh... I'm late on these. Never the less, here's my
unconcious mutterings.
- Childhood:: Second
- Ransom:: kidnap
- Melissa:: Strange... Flash back 10 years, and I'm reminded of a coworker from Ben & Jerry's - nicknamed Melika
- Trust me:: reading between the lines: you really shouldn't trust me
- Report:: verb/noun
- Give up:: defeat
- Nightgown:: boudoir
- Smokes:: verb/noun
- Cookies & cream:: Ben & Jerry's
- Gameshow:: One of my alternate universe selves is a gameshow host. I'm afraid it's for Street Smarts or something though.
Today is grammar day
There seems to be a grammar meme today:
Gapers Block has a
poll on typos and grammar slips today.
The
Tribune ran this article on the
townsfolk of Antioch getting their victorian knickers in a twist about a coffee shop opening up called
Bad Ass Coffee (in which the ass is represented by a buro like animal). Some of the quotes in the article a precious.
Also, there is a story on
Reuters today, about a grammarian who dissects the speeches of Messrs Bush and Blair and their MBA brethren, and analyzes how they
suck any real meaning out of what they say. This is typically done by speaking in vaguaries and omiting verbs that would actually commit them.
"I got some!"
So, that's one of my favorite quotes from the movie
Drop Dead Gorgeous by actress
Allison Janney. I've always been a fan of her, even before I really realized all the movies and TV she's done. Currently and regularly she played Press Secretary C.J. Cregg on NBC's
The West Wing in which she regularly gave members of the press, or the POTUS's staff what fore. In any case, I don't watch a lot of TV, even though I absolutely got sucked into the second or third season of The West Wing courtesy of the Fabulous Erin O's imaculate collection of tapes. So tonight, I was at my mom's house when it came on, and right on, it jumped into C.J. Cregg being made Chief of Staff. I was sucked in the minute it started. I totally forgot how cleverly written the show is - in terms of dialog and character development. I also remembered that when current events get too much to bear, I can just pretend that Martin Sheen/Jeb Bartlett is the president, and that the world is okay (if only it really was). Anyhow, back to Allison Janney/C.J. Cregg. She rocked. I totally had a moment of "I should really watch this more regularly". So I've got some DVDs on Netflix, and I might try staying home on Wednesdays to see what's up with the gang at 1600 Pennsylvania.
Don't give up the ship
Well, I think that reference isn't quite right, but I hope it has the same gist. I got this in an email from the Fabulous Erin O. and think it's about the only thing that can help comfort George W.'s Second Presidentiary.
"A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. It is true that, in the meantime, we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt...If the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have patience till luck turns; and then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at stake."
Thomas Jefferson, 1798 (after passage of the Sedition Act)
Buried Lede | The KFS Sweater Project
So, this is a topic that hits a little close to home. I love sweaters. I have lots. Jim makes fun of me for devoting a lot of shelf space for my (close) knit friends. har har.
Joking aside, while I do have lots of sweaters; I think I got rid of my 80s "Cliff Huxtable" sweaters about 6 years ago. In any case, check out this site - there's some sweaters that are truly an offront to the occularly enabled; and hey - share the love.
This week's
unconcious mutterings.
- Small Talk:: I am never good at.
- Evidence:: Tangibility
- Drifting:: Babylon Drifter; My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult song.
- Hostage:: kidnap
- Beauty:: Buxom; a word that really doesn't get used enough anymore.
- Automatic:: Cheesey 80's song.
- Asking for it:: Not really asking for it, but doing something to get it
- Visene:: Good name for a drag queen: Miss Reddy Visene
- No strings attached:: Strings are really attached
- Frizz:: Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of Nimh
Thanks Uncle Ted!
So, some that know me know that I refer to my employer lovingly as
Uncle Ted, as Ted was in fact the founder of the company.
The last couple weeks have been kind of nice at work; my work is taking a different direction, it seems (i'm being encouraged to focus outside the technical support box, as it were), I've got a great new boss, and i've been getting some nice swag.
There've been a couple recognition awards that came in from projects that I was involved with in the last year. They usually end up as AMEX gift checques in a card from the project manager. They're always a nice surprise, because they tend to come months after the project has been completed, and people curse the project managers because they got no
recognition. Honestly, in the last few years, I kind of gave up expecting it; so it turned out to be a very nice and sweet surprise waiting for me in my mailbox. Besides the added bank, it's just nice to get that confirmation that you're doing something right.
Even nicer is when swag just falls into your lap. Enter this afternoon; our client entertainment coordinator asks me if I want tickets to see the Beastie Boys? Well, sure; oh but I planned to have dinner with my mom tonight... What? There's 4 tickets? There's a parking pass too? Mom will understand. This is a rockstar deal. Now, I don't necessarilly understand how the business world works sometimes, but for whatever it's worth, Uncle Ted (our company) will take clients to games or concerts at the United Center, where we apparently have a portion of a suite, and schmooze the customer to buy into our services while Cher, Sting, Fleetwood Mac, or whoever is giving it up on the stage. Apparently no clients wanted to be schmoozed while seeing the Beasties, and the tickets at the last minute became available to us working folk. Cha-ching. This is a nice treat. I've been working for Uncle Ted as it were for the last 9 years, and I think I got tix to an event like once (for the record it was like a scrimmage for a Depaul game, and we had just nosebleed seats). Sure I'm no salesperson or consultant, I'm a tech guy, I keep the systems running, and what not, but it's nice to get an opportunity like this to fall in your lap.
So, I got tickets to see the show from the suite, and rockstar parking right next to the door. The only way it can get any better than that is if Mike D and Ad Rock were to drop by the suite between numbers.
In any case, the Beasties were fun. They played a wide range of their catalog (though not as much from
Paul's Boutique as I would have liked), and looked like they had a great time performing. Most of the show had them performing in front of a DJ booth that had great LCD Screens acting as the walls of the booth. After the stage briefly went dark, the DJ Booth disappeared, and a Lounge set rolled out with the Beasties, their bongo drummer, and keyboardist in powder blue tuxes, and they performed some of their more prog-rocky stuff.
All in all it was an entertaining show - lots of good tunes, they were really high energy, and... well... we were in a suite. it really makes it
that much better. The comfy chairs, the leg room, the desert cart, not getting beer dumped all over you. I don't think I can go back to the prole section again.
Oh, and sorry about dinner, mom. Next week?
Presidential Cockfight -- In These Times
Way funny stuff. Sure, it's over the top, but that's the point, right? My personal favorite pearls of Ms Cho's hystericallity:
"The Pope recently castigated the media for making gays look normal. Yeah, he's a real good judge of normal. With the gold dress, and the matching gold hat, living up in the Vatican with 500 men, surrounded by the finest antiques in the world. You go, girl!"
"I used to feel so weirdly paranoid talking and saying anything negative about the war or George Bush. But I got over it. I was doing a benefit for MoveOn.org in New York, and this was the week that the crazy right-wing conservatives were all angry because MoveOn had been running an ad that compared Bush with Hitler. And I said, "You know, George Bush is not Hitler. He would be if he applied himself, but he's just lazy!"
This week's installment of
Unconcious Mutterings.
- Right now:: Right Here, Right Now (Jesus Jones)
- Halloween:: Jamie Lee Curtis
- Provider:: Stainless Steel Provider
- Rescue me:: 60's Girl Band: Fontella Bass
- Confidence:: Trickster
- Fungus:: Things that grow on you, not unlike a fungus.
- Candy corn:: Sickeningly sweet
- Reunion:: My high school 10 year reunion that was cancelled for lack of interest.
- Winner:: The World: When Bush & Co. are (hopefully) thrown out on their collective keesters.
- Tradition:: an excuse to not try new things.
