Sunday, December 25, 2005

Lots of Parents in the same room.

The parents met. egad. It went better than I expected. I'm not sure what I expected but armed with a hollywood education parents meeting is supposed to be described as "wacky" and "off the wall" or involving embarrassing "highjinx" and high-larity. It was pretty ok. It was a bomb that never went off. It was pretty normal. I didn't even embarrass myself. a non event is kind of news in my life. everything seems to be an event. it's nice that it wasn't for a change.


Today's Song of the Day is "Best Sunday Dress" by Hole released in 1999 as the B-Side off the "Celebrity Skin" single.

Crazy Fact: Cortney Love was in the movie Sid & Nancy.

njoy

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Burn out.

Schools out and I've done nothing bought some presents and played video games. That's it. But holy cow did I need it. I thought I wasn't ever going back to school again after that last hit. jeesus, it almost killed me. This whole caring about marks thing sucks it's surplants liking school with a big fat hairy ball of stress. Fuck that. Good marks are for suckers.

John Carmack dropped out after one year of a Com Sci degree and then wrote Doom. That's not so bad.


Today's Song of the Day is "Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71 'Waltz of the Flowers'" Composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1892 from his Ballet "The Nutcracker."

Crazy Fact: The composer died of cholera, or -- as some now contend -- from drinking poison in accordance with a death sentence conferred on him by his classmates from the School of Jurisprudence, who were fearful of shame on the institution owing to an alleged homosexual episode involving Tchaikovsky. Jesus.

njoy

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Studying, not studying.

Dude. I once again return to an OLD subject. I hate people.

The Computer Science building is a mother fucking crap shoot. For the following reasons:

1. It's open 24-hours a day. Therefore attracting any student on campus who can't study at home because they are too easily distracted... therefore full of distracted and distractable people.

2. It's across the street from the Law Building therefore attracting law students looking for an 'edge' and sleeping on the books... therefore latte cups on in every nook and no place to sit.

3. PEOPLE TALKING! I hate them. These fuckers have been talking about the Hudson Bay Company for the last 3.5 hours. It is clear to me that they are first-year bonehead Com. students who are now 'grossed-out' about fur. Let's listen in...

Dink: ewww... that's GROSS!
Dope: yeah! ew ew EW, close that page NOW!

(Click. pause)

Dink: It makes you think doesn't it?
Dope: Yeah I wear fur...
Dink: What!? really? YOU wear FUR?
Dope: yah but mine er all, like, fox and rabbits.
Dink: Well I guess...
Dope: not BEAVER... so... it's not like THAT!
Dink: I GUESS it's ok?
Dope: yeah...
Dink: Anyway I have fur on two of my jackets too... so I guess it's ok.

Pif: ( K I L L M E )

They must've heard my thoughts because they look around and see me, then my black leather jacket.

Dink: Why don't they ever talk about leather?
Dope: Yeah. THAT's the same thing.
Dink: -but without the fur.
Dope: what fur?
Dink: You know.. not fur... but...
Dope: What do you mean?
Dink: You know the outside the hair or whatever.
Dope: oh yeah yeah without the outside stuff...

(Pause)

Pif: ( K I L L M E P L E A S E )

3. Computer Geeks want friends. This is awesome. They tell you how to do things. They discuss your assignment with you, show you how they did it. My saviour!

4. Computer geeks want friends. This is aweful. They tell you how to do things the help you discuss your assignment with you, show you how they did it. My Hell!

5. Computer Geeks speak a code I understand. This is invaluable. I've overheard entire soultions to assignments and hints to the secrets of Computerdom.

6. Computer Geeks speak a code I understand. This is a nightmare. I overhear All kinds of unnecessarily difficult ways to confuse myself and make my code completely uncompilable. When I listen and believe, it shatters my self-confidence, when I listen and know better, My ego swells unmanagabley and arrogance is ultimately my undoing.

Hey it worked. They all left. sweet. Now I guess I'll go home and play video-games.


Today's Song of the Day is "Human Behavior" by Bjork off her 1993 album "Debut."

Crazy Fact: Sarah (MY Sarah) touched her pregnant belly AND in the spring of 2000, she was named Best Actress by jurors at the Cannes Film Festival for her work in Lars von Trier's Palme d'Or-winning Dancer in the Dark.

njoy

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Talking about Americans.

Isn't the US of A tired of looking bad yet?

So they put in this Patriot Act crapola and then one of the guys they use it on they fail to prosicute. The Conan and Jesse Ventura are Governors. They're president is one of the less intellegent people in there entire country and clearly demonstrates this stupidity ona regular basis. Their hippocrasy over human rights abuses is in the news day after day. The kidnap innocent Germans and Torture them 'accidently' in a supposed case of mistaken identity. They've stopped believing in Evolution. Everywhere else in the world gay marriage is legalized. They are the fattest country on the planet. This war on iraq thing is obviously blowing up in there face.

You think at some point the intellegent Americans would step up and say "this sucks! we are the laughing stock of the world. Let's change some shit." CONAN WILL BE YOUR PRESIDENT! I would move. I would just fucking move. CONAN! have you seen Conan? It's one of my favorite movies but I DON'T want him to lead me.

Only the Flying Spaghetti Monster can save them now.


Today's Song of the Day is "No More Heroes" by The Stranglers off their 1977 album "No More Heroes."

Crazy Fact: In 1976, the Stranglers were the opening act at the Ramones' first London show.

njoy

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

This is probably my favourite song ever written.

I had a tape of this and a few others (preludes, fanatias n' such) and it was the only thing I'd listen to in my walkman. It was the reason I started playing the piano. I just wanted to learn to play this song (and I thought if I could play the theme to St. Elmo's fire I would get chicks) So I went out and found keyboard with the best Pipe Organ sound I could find. Then got a job at Swiss Chalet to pay for it (in the dish pit). I paid them 150 bucks a month (for a very very long-time) until it was paid off.

Everday after school and during lunch I'd sit at home and figure out what I could by ear. Then walk to Swiss Chalet three days a week and listen to this in my walkman. I did ok, I made it a couple minutes in, like up to 1:45 then I couldn't figure out about 30 secs then I got another minute or so later.

I was happy with that much so I would just play it over and over again and improv over it a little.

I tried piano lessons. The guy was doing all this 'silent night' crap. I struggled, I couldn't read music, the keys on the keyboard were weighted and they weren't on my keyboard. It was hard and I was sucking-ass.

After a few months I worked up the nerve to ask him if I could bring in a song to learn. "Sure! that would be great."

So the next week I exictedly bring in my well-worn tape, put it in the tape player and look at him expectantly. While the tape hiss crawls by he sips his coffee, then with a roar it starts up. he nearly chokes. After a second he looks at me with a half-smile and says,"You've GOT to be kidding."

I was pissed and sick to death of this "my little pony" shit.

"Why not?"

When he realized I was serious... I'll never forget the look on his face this shock and surprise was dead on his face.

"NO I'm not! I figured out this much." I play what I figured out so far.

He looked at me with a very strange look and obviously had no idea what to say... he stumbled and said "Well...uh... if you bring in the... umm music I guess we could give it a try. I guess." Then he continued to look at me so very oddly.

"Sure, sure. I can do that." I left.

"What a tool. This sucks." I never went back.

Anyway, this isn't the best version of this song I ever heard but it's the one I got. It long as hell and a huge file so I've put off sending it, but's my birthday so I can break all the rules I want. It gets very very cool at about 2:40. Dig it.


Today's Song of the Day "Toccata and Fugue, for organ in D minor, BWV 565" composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in roughly 1707 , performed by some lucky guy who had piano teacher who's claim to fame wasn't being in a band named "Gorilla" that frequently played 'The Misty Moon' and 'The Crazy Horse' so therefore taught him music that he liked and so stuck with it.

Crazy Fact: Three hundred years ago, J.S. Bach learned that the great Danish organist and composer Dietrich Buxtehude would be performing in the city of Lübeck, about 250 miles from Arnstadt, where Bach lived. Having no other means to get to the concert, Bach walked the 250 miles in about 10 days. cRazY! rock ON Bach!

njoy

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Tomarrow

is

my

birthday.

I'm almost done with 32.


Today's Song of the Day is "Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky" by Lou Donaldson off his 1970 album "Everything I Play is Funky."

Crazy Fact: In 1963, Toussaint recorded "Whipped Cream." This was then covered by Herb Alpert in 1965 for an instrumental hit, which was in turn later adopted as the theme for TV's The Dating Game.

njoy

Friday, December 02, 2005

Raw Deal

I know this is old news but Conservative Republicans are out raged that Govenor Schwarzenegger named Susan Kennedy a democrat and a openly gay one a his chief of staff.

What

The

Fuck.

Govenor Schwarzenegger should be hunting down Sarah Connor, shooting aliens or praying to Crom to watch over his victory against Thulsa Doom. ALL of that make more sense to me. All of it. I STILL can't get over it. nope just can't. Govenor?!


Today's Song of the Day is "An der schönen, blauen Donau (On the Beautiful, Blue Danube), waltz for orchestra, Op. 314" conducted by Herbert Von Karajan, composed by Johann Strauss II in 1867.

Crazy Fact: He's Austrian too... Ok 'splain this one to me. His dad is a conductor, composer and whatnot and has the balls to forbid his son from the same path. He has to take Violin lessons in secret from a player in his father's orchestra. His dad wanted him to be a banker. lame lame crazy lame.

njoy

Thursday, December 01, 2005

In France they have a better EVERYTHING!

It's legal to copy music in france. That's NUTS!

"In France, as in some other European countries including Germany and Italy, it is legal to copy music for private use — but in return the law imposes copyright levies on blank media, including cassettes, CDs, DVDs, hard disk drives and flash memory devices. The copyright levy is intended to compensate composers, performers and producers for revenue opportunities lost due to private copying of music."

It costs you an extra 50 Euro for an iPod though.

nuts...I think I'm jealous, but I'm not sure, I have to think about it.


Today's Song of the Day is "Over the Hills and Far Away by Led Zeppelin off their 1973 album "Houses of the Holy."

Crazy Fact: In May 1973 Led Zeppelin broke the Beatles' concert attendance record in Tampa.

njoy