I read through McSweeney's Recommends yesterday and found it pretty entertaining (and sometimes informative). As a tribute to McSweeney's Recommends, here's a little list of my own, starting with I suppose:
- McSweeney's Recommends. A sometimes funny, sometimes informative list of pop/cultural/random things to try and/or see.
- The books in the Ender's Game series. I'm on a sci-fi kick right now, 2.5 books into Ender's story, and I recently found out that there are 4 more books to read in this [award winning] series by Orson Scott Card. Reading serialized books in general can be pretty awesome, because when you finish one book, and you wish that the story hadn't ended, you get to just pick up the next one, and BAM! you're right back in it.
Great light reading.
- Pickled Hearing. Traditional Scandinavian fish snack.
- Having 2 cats. I had my doubts too, but you were right Anna, you were right.
- Chino Latino. Huge portions, great food. Mexican/Asian cuisine seems like a weird combination, and I don't think I could order from both sides of the menu at once, but once that decision is made you can't go wrong. Go for happy hour.
- Lupe Fiasco. His new album Food and Liquor sounds like Big Rap (I'm trying to make a pun, like Big Tobacco, but it's a little weak), but Lupe's music is refreshingly devoid of songs about cars and bitches.
- Cherry Coke. The best soda pop that is found regularly at movie theaters and seldom anywhere else. Undecided as to whether or not the stuff they make with grenadine at restaurants is better, worse, or just completely different.
- Facebook. Ok, most of the people my age don't think that Facebook is very cool. It really hit a year or two after we graduated, it's social function is questionable (am I stalking?), although effective/addictive.... and there's no better way to find out what all of those people you kind of knew in high school are doing.
- The Original Cheezits. Far and away the best cheese flavored cracker. Don't give me any of that White Cheddar crap either.
- The Riverview Theater. I sing their praises all the time. Any budget theaters are good, really, but this one is the best I've been too in terms of atmosphere, concessions, movies, and establishment.
- 89.3 - The Current. I reflect often upon how spoiled I've become never listening to commercials on the radio. MPR's news station 91.1 is my second most listened to station. Yea, Public Radio!
- Netflix. Everybody knows about Netflix already, but for those of you who have it, think about how accustomed to this service you are. The best part is the nearly universal collection - I haven't found a movie yet that they don't have.
- Thom Yorke. I've only listened to his new CD once, and liked it, and the CD artwork is really cool, but mostly I just like his name. Thom Yorke.
- Blogging. It's so self-indulgent, I know. Just a bunch of friends linking to each other's blogsites and posting clever rebuts. But gosh it's fun. And honestly, it's really cool to keep up with what friends are doing around the city, state, country and world! Blogger makes it super easy to start, Wordpress allows for serious customization and website integration.
- Humidifiers. Here's to never waking up in the middle of the night with your mouth and nose all gross and dried up, your tongue feeling like leather and tasting ever worse, and having to go downstairs and drink a gallon of water just so you can breath again.
- Game nights. We need to start one of these this winter. Games to play: Blokus, Scoring Anagrams, Sequence,... Who's in?
- Fictional books about chess. Because you feel real smart when you read them. I've read The Emperor of Ocean Park and The Flanders Panel. Both were good page turners. I want to read The Defense and The Queen's Gambit. Any other suggestions?
- Ambigrams. A graphic that can be read as a word is more than one direction. The link shows some cool examples, and I've been working on some at whatmoves.com as well.
- Wikipedia. What the web was really meant for.
- Jeff Probst. Spent the holidays serving food at a soup kitchen with his girl friend who, incidentally, was a Survivor contestant in 2004. Go Jeff!
- Inkscape.org. Provides an Open Source (free) Vector Graphics Editor.
- Used Book Stores. Every time I go into one I think, "Why don't I do this more often?"
- The Craftsman. Gourmet dining on East Lake Street in Minneapolis. They have 'foragers' that literally hunt out the freshest in-season ingredients so their menu is in constant rotation. A little pricy, but they serve pizzas and burgers that are more affordable.
- The Internet Movie Database. '6 Degrees' has never been easier.
- Business Casual PLUS. I don't have a work situation where there are multiple levels of dress code, but I heard of this and thought it was pretty funny. Mostly I enjoy imagining the language that these employers use to distinguish the levels of dress.
- Calling ahead your order. Because lunch can take too long, sometimes.
-Deep Discount DVD. Similar pricing to Amazon (usually +/- a couple bucks), but no minimum order for free shipping. Really good monthly sales.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
Whatmoves.
Wow. I spent nearly the whole weekend updating my Freelance/Portfolio website, www.whatmoves.com. I think this new "blog inspired" site will lead to a lot more creative energy, which I had recently deciced I was lacking a bit. Hopefully the site is better to navigate, and it should certainly be easier to update, with the added bonus of being able to do so anywhere, anytime (as long as I can find an internet connection).
My only fear now is that this site (my first blog!) gets ignored. My art/design channel will be at Whatmoves and my new film channel is Film Club... I guess I'm just feeling a little dispursed.
My intention with these sites is to help clarify and direct my thoughts, so we'll see what happens.
Thanks for the comments.
My only fear now is that this site (my first blog!) gets ignored. My art/design channel will be at Whatmoves and my new film channel is Film Club... I guess I'm just feeling a little dispursed.
My intention with these sites is to help clarify and direct my thoughts, so we'll see what happens.
Thanks for the comments.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Just another reason...
As some of you may already know, my wife Anna and I host a Thursday Night Dinner party that has it's roots in our formerly separate celebrations of the popular reality TV show Survivor. I must say that there have been a number of changes since those first dorm room Survivor parties hosted by yours truly, and most of them for the better. What should be understood first, however, is that the gatherings have never been about the show(s). Instead the shows have been about gathering.
One of the major changes (improvements) of the Survivor Parties has been the inclusion of the pre-viewing dinner (hence the current title of these events). What better way is there to watch starving people compete in the wilderness than stuffed on our couch? The meals have varied widely, and we generally try to rotate who's turn it is to supply dinner. We've gathered around everything from frozen pizzas and burgers to steak and even pan seared scallops.
Another major change to our Thursday night line-up was the addition of the quasi/anti-reality TV show, The OC. I'm not sure exactly how this program was added to the mix, but I can tell you why (and why not). Primarily, we needed to extend the evening. An hour for dinner and an hour for social viewing afterwards was not enough. And of all of the shows from Thursday nights that we chose to embrace, we chose The OC. Clearly now, by not choosing say, The Office or Grey's, this should tell you what our Thursday nights are all about. We wouldn't want to all be so captured by the programs that we were watching to not notice each other's company! We want tasteless, trash talkin', totally 'terrible' TV. That's the kind of people we are, and that's the kind of spirit we like to evoke in one another. Call it a release; call it an escape; we call it Thursday Nights. And we love it.
And maybe it's a weakness of our generation that we need an excuse like a televsion show to congregate. But then I liken it to a poker game, a sewing club, or any other routinely occuring rituals of previous generations. Furthermore, it's not that we can't stimulate our own discussions (look at me go!); it's not that we don't have anything better to do (Could it be that we have too much to do?). I think it's that there's a huge difference between seeing your friends when you see them and having a weekly social ritual with them. It becomes important of it's own worth. A TV show, a game night (which we will probably have on Thursdays in our Survivor/OC off season), whatever - having a regularly scheduled evening with friends can be priceless.
So, the real reason behind this post? I didn't intend to make any kind of social statement when I started writing "Just another reason...", but more of an anouncement...
Last night, my friends, we found out that Kevin Sorbo will be playing a character on The OC! The official fansite www.kevinsorbo.net confirms that the legandary TV star will be making his enormous presence felt on 5 of the next episodes this season! HOW LUCKY ARE WE?!
Very.
The OC airs on FOX at 8pm (CN). Let us bask in the gloriousness of Sobro's light.
One of the major changes (improvements) of the Survivor Parties has been the inclusion of the pre-viewing dinner (hence the current title of these events). What better way is there to watch starving people compete in the wilderness than stuffed on our couch? The meals have varied widely, and we generally try to rotate who's turn it is to supply dinner. We've gathered around everything from frozen pizzas and burgers to steak and even pan seared scallops.
Another major change to our Thursday night line-up was the addition of the quasi/anti-reality TV show, The OC. I'm not sure exactly how this program was added to the mix, but I can tell you why (and why not). Primarily, we needed to extend the evening. An hour for dinner and an hour for social viewing afterwards was not enough. And of all of the shows from Thursday nights that we chose to embrace, we chose The OC. Clearly now, by not choosing say, The Office or Grey's, this should tell you what our Thursday nights are all about. We wouldn't want to all be so captured by the programs that we were watching to not notice each other's company! We want tasteless, trash talkin', totally 'terrible' TV. That's the kind of people we are, and that's the kind of spirit we like to evoke in one another. Call it a release; call it an escape; we call it Thursday Nights. And we love it.
And maybe it's a weakness of our generation that we need an excuse like a televsion show to congregate. But then I liken it to a poker game, a sewing club, or any other routinely occuring rituals of previous generations. Furthermore, it's not that we can't stimulate our own discussions (look at me go!); it's not that we don't have anything better to do (Could it be that we have too much to do?). I think it's that there's a huge difference between seeing your friends when you see them and having a weekly social ritual with them. It becomes important of it's own worth. A TV show, a game night (which we will probably have on Thursdays in our Survivor/OC off season), whatever - having a regularly scheduled evening with friends can be priceless.
So, the real reason behind this post? I didn't intend to make any kind of social statement when I started writing "Just another reason...", but more of an anouncement...
Last night, my friends, we found out that Kevin Sorbo will be playing a character on The OC! The official fansite www.kevinsorbo.net confirms that the legandary TV star will be making his enormous presence felt on 5 of the next episodes this season! HOW LUCKY ARE WE?!
Very.
The OC airs on FOX at 8pm (CN). Let us bask in the gloriousness of Sobro's light.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Film Club
I've started a Film Club, headquartered at filmclubmn.blogspot.com. Each month one of the Club's members will select a film for us all to watch, discuss, and post our thoughts on. We might have a screening as early as the week of the 17th-23rd, this month! So keep checking Film Club's site!
Thanks.
Thanks.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
I have to see a movie this weekend. (Oh, and you should also try to.)
It looks like the holiday movie season has climaxed. I can't see movie-goers having more or better options in the next month or so.
What I have to see: these are movies that I know I will like before seeing them. It's just a matter of finding the time to go out and enjoy myself.
For Your Consideration - Christopher Guest's latest, with the regular cast (from Spinal Tap, Waiting For Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind), this time playing the hopeful (if naive) cast of a film awaiting the possible?, probable?, and then likely!? Oscar nominations.
Stranger Than Fiction - I heard Farrell pulls off the transition to drama as well as Jim Carrey did with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Good peer reviews have kept my interest alive in this one (I had my doubts from the previews, but have been reminded how skewed they can be).
What I want to see, eventually:
Bobby - Written and Directed by Emilio Estavez. Enough said. Just kidding. Sort of.
Deja Vu - If nothing else, a good excuse to eat popcorn.
Fast Food Nation - I was surprised, and then impressed that Linklater was hired to fictionalize this book instead of letting it going the shock-you-mentary route.
Sweetland - My mom said it was good.
Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny - Eh, maybe not as good of an excuse to eat popcorn, but Black promises laughs. Good afternoon with the dudes movie.
The Queen - I've heard only good things about this film that humanizes the Royal Family and gives a less tabloid-inclined picture of these usually ordinary people. Plus director Steven Frears has impressed me in the past (Dirty Pretty Things, My Beautiful Laundrette).
And, Flags of our Fathers and Little Miss Sunshine are still playing at Riverview...
There's a lot out there people.
What I have seen recently:
Babel - Would-be-great-movie. Definitely still worth seeing. I just need this question answered: Is the failure to communicate everything at the end of the film completely intentional? Or are they letting you make the final point/connections because they couldn't (skillfully, easily) bring it all togther in the end?
Casino Royale - Did they modernize this story solely for better product placement? That bugged me. Otherwise the film went along with my Bond movie expectations.
*BONUS - Mini Review*
The Fountain - I was nervous before seeing this one, for Aronofsky (the film's director, see also Pi and Requiem for a Dream). That sounds funny, but I really didn't want this director to blow his first 'big budget' on a big budget kind of movie, if you know what I mean.
Selling out, or crowd pleasing, might be what I mean...
But he didn't. When I walked out of the theatre it was obvious to me that Aronofsky made exactly the film he wanted to make. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.
From the sounds of it, however, I might be taking a defensive stance when I say how good this film is. The reviews I've seen of The Fountain have gone as low as half a star out of four! Some reviews are better, and some are great, and some critics merely defend the film, as I am, but seriously, half a star!? I generally hesitate to make judgements of people that I don't know, but I think that this film either went completely over the heads of some of these critics, or maybe (I'll be gracious) they just missed the point.
Ok, the plot is a little hard to follow, and even though I don't mind working a little bit when I watch a movie, maybe it all could have been made clearer - but I feel like I still only say that to satiate the remarks of some of these critics. They try to excuse the film, calling it ambitious (at best), but at no point did I feel like Aronofsky was trying to accomplish too much, or that he just had too many ideas for one film... It felt more to me like he really launched himself at this project with all of his energy - the result being that the audience gets sucked in to the whirlwind of fantastic imagery and storytelling that is Aronofsky's mind. If you just allow yourself to go along for the ride, amidst whatever confusion you my have early on, you are rewarded by the end with the kind of euphoric energy that the film's main character also experiences at the film's conclusion.
So go see The Fountain. You might like it.
What I have to see: these are movies that I know I will like before seeing them. It's just a matter of finding the time to go out and enjoy myself.
For Your Consideration - Christopher Guest's latest, with the regular cast (from Spinal Tap, Waiting For Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind), this time playing the hopeful (if naive) cast of a film awaiting the possible?, probable?, and then likely!? Oscar nominations.
Stranger Than Fiction - I heard Farrell pulls off the transition to drama as well as Jim Carrey did with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Good peer reviews have kept my interest alive in this one (I had my doubts from the previews, but have been reminded how skewed they can be).
What I want to see, eventually:
Bobby - Written and Directed by Emilio Estavez. Enough said. Just kidding. Sort of.
Deja Vu - If nothing else, a good excuse to eat popcorn.
Fast Food Nation - I was surprised, and then impressed that Linklater was hired to fictionalize this book instead of letting it going the shock-you-mentary route.
Sweetland - My mom said it was good.
Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny - Eh, maybe not as good of an excuse to eat popcorn, but Black promises laughs. Good afternoon with the dudes movie.
The Queen - I've heard only good things about this film that humanizes the Royal Family and gives a less tabloid-inclined picture of these usually ordinary people. Plus director Steven Frears has impressed me in the past (Dirty Pretty Things, My Beautiful Laundrette).
And, Flags of our Fathers and Little Miss Sunshine are still playing at Riverview...
There's a lot out there people.
What I have seen recently:
Babel - Would-be-great-movie. Definitely still worth seeing. I just need this question answered: Is the failure to communicate everything at the end of the film completely intentional? Or are they letting you make the final point/connections because they couldn't (skillfully, easily) bring it all togther in the end?
Casino Royale - Did they modernize this story solely for better product placement? That bugged me. Otherwise the film went along with my Bond movie expectations.
*BONUS - Mini Review*
The Fountain - I was nervous before seeing this one, for Aronofsky (the film's director, see also Pi and Requiem for a Dream). That sounds funny, but I really didn't want this director to blow his first 'big budget' on a big budget kind of movie, if you know what I mean.
Selling out, or crowd pleasing, might be what I mean...
But he didn't. When I walked out of the theatre it was obvious to me that Aronofsky made exactly the film he wanted to make. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.
From the sounds of it, however, I might be taking a defensive stance when I say how good this film is. The reviews I've seen of The Fountain have gone as low as half a star out of four! Some reviews are better, and some are great, and some critics merely defend the film, as I am, but seriously, half a star!? I generally hesitate to make judgements of people that I don't know, but I think that this film either went completely over the heads of some of these critics, or maybe (I'll be gracious) they just missed the point.
Ok, the plot is a little hard to follow, and even though I don't mind working a little bit when I watch a movie, maybe it all could have been made clearer - but I feel like I still only say that to satiate the remarks of some of these critics. They try to excuse the film, calling it ambitious (at best), but at no point did I feel like Aronofsky was trying to accomplish too much, or that he just had too many ideas for one film... It felt more to me like he really launched himself at this project with all of his energy - the result being that the audience gets sucked in to the whirlwind of fantastic imagery and storytelling that is Aronofsky's mind. If you just allow yourself to go along for the ride, amidst whatever confusion you my have early on, you are rewarded by the end with the kind of euphoric energy that the film's main character also experiences at the film's conclusion.
So go see The Fountain. You might like it.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
8 Concerts That Will Help You Identify With Me Musically.
Thus far I have posted about Ultimate, film, politics, games, cereal, and a bit about my personal life in an effort to internally and externally promote and extend thoughts and opinions. You can expect to read a lot more of my thoughts concerning both Ultimate and film, and some more political debates will surely arise... But there are some areas that I haven't gone into, or haven't gone into as much as I'd like, including my personal life, fine art & design, and music.
So in the hopes of giving a more well-rounded impression of myself... MUSIC!
The music that people listen to can sometimes be a strong attractive/repellent force as well as a foundational element in forming or formed relationships. Here are some concerts that stand out in my mind as either having some personal/relationship type significance and/or musical/taste type significance in my short and limited history of concert-going.
*I should stress here that I DO NOT go to a lot of shows, although that being said, I go to as many as I really want to... The concert experience, which for some people is an almost necessary element to their appreciation of a band, has both its ups and down for me. As you will read below, the concerts that I've enjoyed the most have elevated my and expanded my musical consciousness, but for me, blasting a new CD alone in my van can be just as profound. (I really have a thing for highly produced and edited sound that my stereo can, and most shows can't deliver; CDs are cheaper than most shows; and I don't become the jaded-stoic-guy-in-the-back-of-the-club-who-is-glaring-at-all-of-the-kids-that are-ruining-his-experience-guy when I'm in my van. Then again, it is the memories of these shows that are driving this post... i.e.- the following isn't a list of top Alone in my Van CD Sessions... but that could be a good list too...
Anyways...
Chronologically,
1. Frank Black - Cedarfest (Minneapolis, MN) - August 20, 1996
I was a music snob in junior high. I would not listen to the hits stations, I scoffed at the general public's tastes. This was all largely due to my friendship with next door neighbor Andy Clayton, and his seemingly tireless interest, strong opinions and endless knowledge of everything to do with music. (About Andy: Andy has an older brother (knowledge/interest source?). Currently Andy is one of the founders of the band The Dad In Common.) At that age I was very receptive to the counter-culture attitude, and as it turns out, the music. It was with Andy that I went to Cedarfest to see Frank Black, and because of my considerable lack of knowledge in Music History I became probably one of the only Black fans to not know anything about a little band called The Pixies. But I have always been good at knowing pretty quickly when I like music that I hear, and I really liked what I heard that day. Other memorable moments: making protest signs and booing the Honeydogs as they played on the stage that Black was to perform on next; skanking (ska dancing) at one of the smaller side stages.
2. The Aquabats - The Quest (Minneapolis, MN) - Highschool.
Quirky/comedic, high-tempo, funky combat Ska. The show was theatrical, the music was all about energy, and that's what I wanted. I was pretty much straight edge at this point (what I did know of the movement, I agreed with, although I never identified myself as such), but this music and these concerts would give off a contact energy high. Ska was a gateway to Punk, which was a gateway to some of the bands I listen to today. (Bad Religion, Fugazi, even System of a Down, and occasionally *groups like* Mudvayne. Don't see a connection? Well, too bad. I do.)
3. Atmosphere, with Heiruspecs, Mr. Dibbs, and Borhter Ali - UW-Stout (Menomonie, WI) - Early college. Were all of these acts really there that night? How lucky were were to have driven there, without tickets, to wait around hoping either to find a scalper or that they would open up another block to sell at the door (which they did end up doing)?! I owe a lot to Atmosphere. I can't remember what got me listening to rap and hip-hop (Who turned me on to Digable Planets?), but it was Atmosphere and groups like them that kept me listening. In high school and into college I worked with a guy named Mike Gordon who went to Stout and we often talked about who we were listening to in the underground hip-hop scene. We met up at this show with some of my other friends from Eau Claire for what was many of our first live tastes of Rhymesayers Entertainment (a Minneapolis based label). This show was also my introduction to Heiruspecs, who ended up coming to Eau Claire a number of times afterwards (which was always a refreshing show to attend in a smallish Wisconsin city).
4. Wilco, The Bad Plus and Fog - ROCK THE GARDEN (Minneapolis) - June 13, 2003 Wilco was great, the venue was awesome, they had a corn dog vendor, and Tim and I saw a strange mingling of people from our past at this show. Also, this was the first time, and the only time since, that I got to see The Bad Plus. Also also, Dave King, The Bad Plus' percussionist, is one of my favorite musicians of all time. (You can also, as I have, see Dave King play in any of the following bands: Happy Apple, Halloween Alaska, Love Cars...) Also also also, see #8.
5. A Tribe Called Quest - Carleton College (Northfield, MN) - During college. Getting to see a hip-hop icon at an outdoor, festival-type show on a beautiful summer day in southern Minnesota - and for FREE! - unbelievable. The crowd was loud and excited, and ATCQ only got us going more. Thank you students of Carleton for paying your hefty tuition so this concert could happen, but not paying enough that there could be adequate security to check everyone's student IDs.
6. Sage Francis - House of Rock (Eau Claire, WI) - September 8, 2004 Again, pretty incredible that this concert happened in the Midwest outside of the Twin Cities, Madison or Chicago... A slam poet/rapper from New York shows up in Eau Claire, fills a club to over-capacity and nearly blows the roof off the place. My senior year college roommate Mario opened my eyes (at least wider) to Slam Poetry (he competed locally), and although I had heard some recordings of artists like Sage Francis and Saul Williams previous to that year, I'd never been to a 'Slam', or really listened with any frequency to these urban poets working so wizardly their wordly wars. My exposure to this art form couldn't have come at a better time. I was primed to see this Slam hero.
7. Beck - Roy Wilkens Auditorium (St. Paul, MN) - September 19, 2005 A dream come true, really. Beck was on my list of bands that I actually did feel the NEED to see at some point in my life. Beck did not disappoint, but I'd love to see him in a slightly more intimate setting. (Not really possible? Although outdoors may seem more intimate with the same number of people... see Special Topics below *sour grapes*.) In fact, I think that this was my first stadium-sized show, and I'm not very excited to attend another one (it would have to be a band of Beck-epic proportions).
8. Happy Apple - My Wedding - August 25, 2006. Months and months before my wedding I was doing the band booking thing. Änna and I wanted a small jazz group to play and I didn't really know where to start looking. I looked into the guys that play at The Artists' Quarter (we were familiar with them from the Tuesday Night Jazz that they put on) and ended up finding a contact of a contact of a contact to play at our wedding. During that time I had also sent out an "It never hurts to ask" sort of email to Happy Apple. This is a group I've seen a number of times around the Twin Cities and Eau Claire - a group that has national recognition - a group whose members have been described as saviors of jazz... and a couple weeks before the wedding I get an email from Dave King apologizing for not getting to us sooner, etc, and that they would do the job if still available. I was floored! First if all to just be getting an email from Dave King (I'm a dork) and second of all that Happy Apple might play at our wedding! I did have the moral dilemma of canceling on the other group without much notice... but I got over that pretty quick, canceled, and shore up things with Mr. King the next day. And Happy Apple played at our wedding. The End.
Special Topics:
1. The only concert to-date that I wish I could have/would have been at...
Neil Young and Beck (and others) at Horde Fest. But alas, I was destined to be aboard a sailboat in the middle of Lake Superior on that day... And it's not that I wanted to back out of the 2 week sailing excursion when I heard of this festival, but damn, it doesn't get much better (and I was way more crazy about those two back then, before my mind was polluted by all of this hip hop jibber jab...
2. Bands that I would go to see with you right now if you invited me:
Blackalicious, Aesop Rock, Snow Patrol, The Streets, The Gorillas, Bad Religion...
So in the hopes of giving a more well-rounded impression of myself... MUSIC!
The music that people listen to can sometimes be a strong attractive/repellent force as well as a foundational element in forming or formed relationships. Here are some concerts that stand out in my mind as either having some personal/relationship type significance and/or musical/taste type significance in my short and limited history of concert-going.
*I should stress here that I DO NOT go to a lot of shows, although that being said, I go to as many as I really want to... The concert experience, which for some people is an almost necessary element to their appreciation of a band, has both its ups and down for me. As you will read below, the concerts that I've enjoyed the most have elevated my and expanded my musical consciousness, but for me, blasting a new CD alone in my van can be just as profound. (I really have a thing for highly produced and edited sound that my stereo can, and most shows can't deliver; CDs are cheaper than most shows; and I don't become the jaded-stoic-guy-in-the-back-of-the-club-who-is-glaring-at-all-of-the-kids-that are-ruining-his-experience-guy when I'm in my van. Then again, it is the memories of these shows that are driving this post... i.e.- the following isn't a list of top Alone in my Van CD Sessions... but that could be a good list too...
Anyways...
Chronologically,
1. Frank Black - Cedarfest (Minneapolis, MN) - August 20, 1996
I was a music snob in junior high. I would not listen to the hits stations, I scoffed at the general public's tastes. This was all largely due to my friendship with next door neighbor Andy Clayton, and his seemingly tireless interest, strong opinions and endless knowledge of everything to do with music. (About Andy: Andy has an older brother (knowledge/interest source?). Currently Andy is one of the founders of the band The Dad In Common.) At that age I was very receptive to the counter-culture attitude, and as it turns out, the music. It was with Andy that I went to Cedarfest to see Frank Black, and because of my considerable lack of knowledge in Music History I became probably one of the only Black fans to not know anything about a little band called The Pixies. But I have always been good at knowing pretty quickly when I like music that I hear, and I really liked what I heard that day. Other memorable moments: making protest signs and booing the Honeydogs as they played on the stage that Black was to perform on next; skanking (ska dancing) at one of the smaller side stages.
2. The Aquabats - The Quest (Minneapolis, MN) - Highschool.
Quirky/comedic, high-tempo, funky combat Ska. The show was theatrical, the music was all about energy, and that's what I wanted. I was pretty much straight edge at this point (what I did know of the movement, I agreed with, although I never identified myself as such), but this music and these concerts would give off a contact energy high. Ska was a gateway to Punk, which was a gateway to some of the bands I listen to today. (Bad Religion, Fugazi, even System of a Down, and occasionally *groups like* Mudvayne. Don't see a connection? Well, too bad. I do.)
3. Atmosphere, with Heiruspecs, Mr. Dibbs, and Borhter Ali - UW-Stout (Menomonie, WI) - Early college. Were all of these acts really there that night? How lucky were were to have driven there, without tickets, to wait around hoping either to find a scalper or that they would open up another block to sell at the door (which they did end up doing)?! I owe a lot to Atmosphere. I can't remember what got me listening to rap and hip-hop (Who turned me on to Digable Planets?), but it was Atmosphere and groups like them that kept me listening. In high school and into college I worked with a guy named Mike Gordon who went to Stout and we often talked about who we were listening to in the underground hip-hop scene. We met up at this show with some of my other friends from Eau Claire for what was many of our first live tastes of Rhymesayers Entertainment (a Minneapolis based label). This show was also my introduction to Heiruspecs, who ended up coming to Eau Claire a number of times afterwards (which was always a refreshing show to attend in a smallish Wisconsin city).
4. Wilco, The Bad Plus and Fog - ROCK THE GARDEN (Minneapolis) - June 13, 2003 Wilco was great, the venue was awesome, they had a corn dog vendor, and Tim and I saw a strange mingling of people from our past at this show. Also, this was the first time, and the only time since, that I got to see The Bad Plus. Also also, Dave King, The Bad Plus' percussionist, is one of my favorite musicians of all time. (You can also, as I have, see Dave King play in any of the following bands: Happy Apple, Halloween Alaska, Love Cars...) Also also also, see #8.
5. A Tribe Called Quest - Carleton College (Northfield, MN) - During college. Getting to see a hip-hop icon at an outdoor, festival-type show on a beautiful summer day in southern Minnesota - and for FREE! - unbelievable. The crowd was loud and excited, and ATCQ only got us going more. Thank you students of Carleton for paying your hefty tuition so this concert could happen, but not paying enough that there could be adequate security to check everyone's student IDs.
6. Sage Francis - House of Rock (Eau Claire, WI) - September 8, 2004 Again, pretty incredible that this concert happened in the Midwest outside of the Twin Cities, Madison or Chicago... A slam poet/rapper from New York shows up in Eau Claire, fills a club to over-capacity and nearly blows the roof off the place. My senior year college roommate Mario opened my eyes (at least wider) to Slam Poetry (he competed locally), and although I had heard some recordings of artists like Sage Francis and Saul Williams previous to that year, I'd never been to a 'Slam', or really listened with any frequency to these urban poets working so wizardly their wordly wars. My exposure to this art form couldn't have come at a better time. I was primed to see this Slam hero.
7. Beck - Roy Wilkens Auditorium (St. Paul, MN) - September 19, 2005 A dream come true, really. Beck was on my list of bands that I actually did feel the NEED to see at some point in my life. Beck did not disappoint, but I'd love to see him in a slightly more intimate setting. (Not really possible? Although outdoors may seem more intimate with the same number of people... see Special Topics below *sour grapes*.) In fact, I think that this was my first stadium-sized show, and I'm not very excited to attend another one (it would have to be a band of Beck-epic proportions).
8. Happy Apple - My Wedding - August 25, 2006. Months and months before my wedding I was doing the band booking thing. Änna and I wanted a small jazz group to play and I didn't really know where to start looking. I looked into the guys that play at The Artists' Quarter (we were familiar with them from the Tuesday Night Jazz that they put on) and ended up finding a contact of a contact of a contact to play at our wedding. During that time I had also sent out an "It never hurts to ask" sort of email to Happy Apple. This is a group I've seen a number of times around the Twin Cities and Eau Claire - a group that has national recognition - a group whose members have been described as saviors of jazz... and a couple weeks before the wedding I get an email from Dave King apologizing for not getting to us sooner, etc, and that they would do the job if still available. I was floored! First if all to just be getting an email from Dave King (I'm a dork) and second of all that Happy Apple might play at our wedding! I did have the moral dilemma of canceling on the other group without much notice... but I got over that pretty quick, canceled, and shore up things with Mr. King the next day. And Happy Apple played at our wedding. The End.
Special Topics:
1. The only concert to-date that I wish I could have/would have been at...
Neil Young and Beck (and others) at Horde Fest. But alas, I was destined to be aboard a sailboat in the middle of Lake Superior on that day... And it's not that I wanted to back out of the 2 week sailing excursion when I heard of this festival, but damn, it doesn't get much better (and I was way more crazy about those two back then, before my mind was polluted by all of this hip hop jibber jab...
2. Bands that I would go to see with you right now if you invited me:
Blackalicious, Aesop Rock, Snow Patrol, The Streets, The Gorillas, Bad Religion...
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Q: Has this man made the funniest movie ever?
A: No.
It was pretty good though.
And considering that this film was even more hyped than the last ginormously anticipated comedy, 2004's Napoleon Dynamite, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is still able to deliver some original, unexpected, laugh-out-loud moments. But lots of movies do that... so what makes this one so hugely successful (even if not 'the funniest')?
*Note* Other movies have gone here before. In fact, any of the jokes or stunts could be found in: a film by Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut [1999], Team America: World Police [2004]), or either one of the Jackass movies. I might also add that you could find the uber-revealing, common-conservative-dissecting interviews found in Borat in any of Michael Moore's films, but having already referenced him in one of my previous entries I will abstain to keep you from thinking I'm partial to left wing loonies...
What Borat has over others like it is a classic Hollywood foundation in a character, a goal-oriented hero character even, who we get to follow on mission that's chronological, with cause and effect events that change said hero along the way. The Jackass pranksters don't have the central, developed character, or the story that leads from one scene to the next. The South Park/Team America movies do have this, but I think I realized this weekend how much their medium is affecting them. It's not a medium that the general public respects.
A friend asked me how Borat was after I had seen it Saturday night. I told them it was much like a South Park episode. She asked me next, "Well, but is it better because it's not animated?" I had no response. For me, there was no judgement to make between two films if the qualifying difference is animated vs. non-animated. But then I thought about it and I started to understand the question more (and more, I'm sure than the asker intended).
The creators of South Park do have a lot of my respect. They address more issues with that show than they are given credit for. Because their shows are animated, they do a lot more than would be possible, both physically and economically in a live action show/movie, and they can get away with a lot more socially and politically as well. Even after shows like The Simpsons, The Family Guy, Futurama, Beavis and Butthead, Drawn Together, etc., the cartoon medium still carries with it some sort of child-like innocence, and isn't judged seriously as a result (...and is allowed to be aired by major networks... Can you imagine seeing the spousal and child abuse (just one example) found in these shows to be allowed on camera [live action show], let alone in prime time?). This loose judgement can, of course, be a double edged sword. A risk of using a cartoon to make cultural statements is that your messages will be passed off as trivial (as is your medium). An animated feature can go further over the line than its live action equivalent, but there are still things that are being said by these 'adult cartoons' that could be appreciated by a larger audience. It might even be that the cartoon medium is a crutch for these popular film and TV writers. They can always fall back on their medium/genre and say, "We're only joking!" if they purportedly go too far.
I have supposed that the comedy genre suffers generally (not just with animations) from its apparently inherent triviality, but there has to be a compromise somewhere (between content and entertainment) to get people into the theatres.
Get people into the theaters, Borat did. As Borat, Sacha Cohen brought together the documentary/mockumentary interview aspects, the crazy stunts/pranks, as well as the social/political demi-objectives of films in the same vein, along with a central character (with goals) and a story/plot (in which he challenged/reevaluated those goals) that the audience could relate to. As for the messages carried by this film, it's up to the masses of people that saw Borat to decide how much of this comedy is just a joke.
I'm definitely out of gas on this one, but I thought it would be terribly appropriate to end the post with a cartoon. Enjoy.
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan gets 3/5 stars.
Friday, November 10, 2006
IRV - Instant Runoff Voting!
I just wanted to re-post a website that I think deserves more prominence...
http://www.betterballotcampaign.org/
Check it out.
Thanks Dave for the comment(s), and thanks Tom for bringing more to light.
Bjorn
http://www.betterballotcampaign.org/
Check it out.
Thanks Dave for the comment(s), and thanks Tom for bringing more to light.
Bjorn
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Voting, Independently.
The results are in. The Democrats have control of the House, the Senate is in the balance. All in all, an exciting Election Day.
I don't consider myself very political. I don't keep up with many of the issues and decisions that are made by my local and/or national representatives. I made my choices yesterday based on some light research and an MPR survey. Where I didn't know who the candidates were, I voted Democrat. In only one race did I make a vote that I had mixed feelings about, and that was the Governor's race. And this morning I find out that with much of the nation swinging to the left, Tim Pawlenty(R) remains in office in Minnesota.
The Results ........................................... Votes ..... Percent
(DFL) Mike Hatch and Judi Dutcher --------- 1,007,100_45.7%
(R) -- Tim Pawlenty and Carol Molnau ------- 1,029,186_46.7%
(IP) - Peter Hutchinson and Maureen Reed -- 141,656___6.4%
(GP)- Ken Pentel and Danene Provencher ---- 10,853____0.5%
I'm not surprised. And I don't think that I'm really that disappointed. But Pawlenty's election does seem to remind me of our last Presidential election a bit (and maybe the one before as well), although this time things are less severe (smaller race, less contrast between candidates, no popular vote vs. electoral debate...). Regardless, and just as in the '04 election, this Governor's race put me into the (now) familiar situation of having to choose between the candidate that would ideally serve me best and the candidate that would realistically serve the public.
After voting yesterday I take an emotional/moral/personal inventory, in regards to voting.
-Part of me just feels good for voting. I did a good thing.
-Part of me is panicked over me not eating enough for breakfast because I had to get up early to vote.
-Part of me was happy to see the voting line so long.
-Part of me is happy that I'm missing 5 minutes of work because the voting line was so long.
- Then, part of me thinks: "I should have voted for Peter Hutchinson, but I pussed out and voted for the candidate best equipped to take out the Republican incumbent!"
Why did I?
And why have I done this in the past?
I find myself pressured, by myself and by others, to vote for the candidates, and not the parties. I do believe that two parties is often too few to effectively represent the opinions of everyone. But like any issue, it's important that breaking up the two party system doesn't become an overwhelming factor in a person's voting record. And guess by now it's obvious that I think this might be happening a bit with voters on the left.
We liberals are disadvantaged at the moment seeing as how the 3rd and 4th party candidates usually (or in MN?) have platforms that more closely align with the Democrats. (And I can see how the elected Republicans would benefit from more '3rd Party' voters in the same vein they're in now.) Or put it this way, if this actually were a strict two party system the last couple major elections would have gone differently, to say the least.
So are liberals really benefiting, in this day and age, from this idealistic kind of voting (voting for candidates who don't really have a shot)?
I'm not sure.
My doubts about all of this started when I started thinking about voting and politics in terms of what it was achieving for 'the greater good'. So, what does aligning oneself with a '3rd Party' achieve for the greater good? It can increase awareness on issues at an increasing rate, as long as that party stays out of obscurity. The Green Party definitely has brought a lot to the table, and has challenged the major candidates to address issues that they would have otherwise ignored. But couldn't a lot of that be done by environmental and social groups if we first had a group in office that was receptive to those kinds of issues?
My opinion is that more of what the Independent or Green Party wants to accomplish could be done more quickly if Democrats were kept in office. On the one hand, it could seem like these '3rd Parties' were settling for something that they don't want less instead of getting exactly what they want. But I think it could also be seen as a step forward. In the eyes of Green/Independent Party members couldn't they be supporting their issues and their people, if not their parties, by supporting the more-liberal candidates?
I know that: 1. I must be under-educated on the contributions of the Green and Independent Parties in their current forms, and that's why I cant see the value of their perennial involvement as opposed to their possible supporting role. But hey! If I'm still under-educated about their roles and causes, maybe that's another indication that they're not doing enough. 2. Ok, yeah, I like to play the Devil's Advocate, and not only in public, but with myself to see how I really feel about things. I know that I have more to learn here, but I think that's saying more than some people on both sides of this issue. The case isn't that we absolutely need more or less parties, it's that if we liberal minded folk want to see more go our way in the future, we have to know how to win races. In a close race, nearing the finish line, and when that race is clearly between a strong number 1 and 2, that might mean shifting priorities and having numbers 3 and 4 pass off their water bottles to number 1 so he/she can win the race, remembering all along that 3 and 4 helped him/her get there.
What do you think?
I don't consider myself very political. I don't keep up with many of the issues and decisions that are made by my local and/or national representatives. I made my choices yesterday based on some light research and an MPR survey. Where I didn't know who the candidates were, I voted Democrat. In only one race did I make a vote that I had mixed feelings about, and that was the Governor's race. And this morning I find out that with much of the nation swinging to the left, Tim Pawlenty(R) remains in office in Minnesota.
The Results ........................................... Votes ..... Percent
(DFL) Mike Hatch and Judi Dutcher --------- 1,007,100_45.7%
(R) -- Tim Pawlenty and Carol Molnau ------- 1,029,186_46.7%
(IP) - Peter Hutchinson and Maureen Reed -- 141,656___6.4%
(GP)- Ken Pentel and Danene Provencher ---- 10,853____0.5%
I'm not surprised. And I don't think that I'm really that disappointed. But Pawlenty's election does seem to remind me of our last Presidential election a bit (and maybe the one before as well), although this time things are less severe (smaller race, less contrast between candidates, no popular vote vs. electoral debate...). Regardless, and just as in the '04 election, this Governor's race put me into the (now) familiar situation of having to choose between the candidate that would ideally serve me best and the candidate that would realistically serve the public.
After voting yesterday I take an emotional/moral/personal inventory, in regards to voting.
-Part of me just feels good for voting. I did a good thing.
-Part of me is panicked over me not eating enough for breakfast because I had to get up early to vote.
-Part of me was happy to see the voting line so long.
-Part of me is happy that I'm missing 5 minutes of work because the voting line was so long.
- Then, part of me thinks: "I should have voted for Peter Hutchinson, but I pussed out and voted for the candidate best equipped to take out the Republican incumbent!"
Why did I?
And why have I done this in the past?
I find myself pressured, by myself and by others, to vote for the candidates, and not the parties. I do believe that two parties is often too few to effectively represent the opinions of everyone. But like any issue, it's important that breaking up the two party system doesn't become an overwhelming factor in a person's voting record. And guess by now it's obvious that I think this might be happening a bit with voters on the left.
We liberals are disadvantaged at the moment seeing as how the 3rd and 4th party candidates usually (or in MN?) have platforms that more closely align with the Democrats. (And I can see how the elected Republicans would benefit from more '3rd Party' voters in the same vein they're in now.) Or put it this way, if this actually were a strict two party system the last couple major elections would have gone differently, to say the least.
So are liberals really benefiting, in this day and age, from this idealistic kind of voting (voting for candidates who don't really have a shot)?
I'm not sure.
My doubts about all of this started when I started thinking about voting and politics in terms of what it was achieving for 'the greater good'. So, what does aligning oneself with a '3rd Party' achieve for the greater good? It can increase awareness on issues at an increasing rate, as long as that party stays out of obscurity. The Green Party definitely has brought a lot to the table, and has challenged the major candidates to address issues that they would have otherwise ignored. But couldn't a lot of that be done by environmental and social groups if we first had a group in office that was receptive to those kinds of issues?
My opinion is that more of what the Independent or Green Party wants to accomplish could be done more quickly if Democrats were kept in office. On the one hand, it could seem like these '3rd Parties' were settling for something that they don't want less instead of getting exactly what they want. But I think it could also be seen as a step forward. In the eyes of Green/Independent Party members couldn't they be supporting their issues and their people, if not their parties, by supporting the more-liberal candidates?
I know that: 1. I must be under-educated on the contributions of the Green and Independent Parties in their current forms, and that's why I cant see the value of their perennial involvement as opposed to their possible supporting role. But hey! If I'm still under-educated about their roles and causes, maybe that's another indication that they're not doing enough. 2. Ok, yeah, I like to play the Devil's Advocate, and not only in public, but with myself to see how I really feel about things. I know that I have more to learn here, but I think that's saying more than some people on both sides of this issue. The case isn't that we absolutely need more or less parties, it's that if we liberal minded folk want to see more go our way in the future, we have to know how to win races. In a close race, nearing the finish line, and when that race is clearly between a strong number 1 and 2, that might mean shifting priorities and having numbers 3 and 4 pass off their water bottles to number 1 so he/she can win the race, remembering all along that 3 and 4 helped him/her get there.
What do you think?
Monday, November 06, 2006
Volcanos, asteroids, drug trafficing, talking fish, Truman Capote, magicians...
See a pattern? No?
Does this help?
...
Dante's Peak(1997) vs. Volcano(1997)
Deep Impact(1998) vs. Armageddon(1998)
Traffic(2000) vs. Blow(2001)
Finding Nemo(2003) vs. Shark Tale(2004)
Capote(2005) vs. Infamous(2006)
The Illusionist(2006) vs. The Prestige(2006)
...
(Can you think of any more? Add to the list by commenting!)
With The Prestige, Hollywood doubles up again! Two movies, one theme. It's become standard practice in the film industry, right up there with sequels, prequels, trilogies, and adapted screenplays... Anything, I guess, to avoid original creativity in the fight for the top box office draws. And while I do really believe that this trend is less about filmmaker one-ups-man-ships, "I can make a better magician film than you!", and more about going with what's HOT, or what promises surefire success, Hollywood's dualities do allow for (beg for!? - you have to see both to know!) interesting comparisons when we consider things like era and casting choices, to the overall moods and messages of the films made.
Enough about that for now, because this entry was intended to be mostly about The Prestige/Illusionist combo of 2006, as I was just able to see The Prestige over the weekend.
First off, and to get it out of the way, I prefered The Illusionist between the two, although really thinking about it, a better or worse verdict isn't what I'm going for. Both of these movies are worth seeing. Hmm...
-Maybe it's just my man crush on Edward Norton that made The Illusionist stand out for me, but probably not, because both casts were chock-full of actors and actresses that I enjoy, and some of the supporting roles in The Prestige were actually played a bit better.
-Another possible bias: I tend to appreciate slower, more methodical movies more when compared to intense, time-shifting, jump-cutting films like Nolan's. Don't get me wrong! I loved Memento, and I liked Batman Begins and The Prestige as well, and OK, The Illusionist wasn't exactly slow, but I think when you look at all of these films, the most successful ones have a pace that is a direct and intentional part of the plot, and The Illusionist's pace just did more for the telling of it's story.
An admittance. I did think that The Illusionist could have ended about 10 minutes earlier than it did. A weakness in this film is that it doesn't trust it's audience. The film fades to black and I assume most would be content with that being THE END (albiet a mysterious and unresolved ending. But wait, that's perfect for this movie, right?), only to come back in (at least twice) to further explain away the mystery.
But if I can be so bold as to mostly ignore those last ten minutes, I'll say that the build up, and build back down from the film's climax was perfectly in tune with the era, and the not-angry, but worldy-mysterious, and somber Eisenheim (Norton). The absolutely angry tone of Jackman and Bale's characters definitely called for something more severe, which they found in director Nolan, whose pacing served the decidedly darker of these two films.
A reason to like The Prestige: the dark and complex but still well played out metaphors. The sacrifices made by the magicians in The Prestige only get more and more pronounced as their tricks get more amazing (birds, fingers, family and then?!). Before long Jackman's character is sacrificing more than he can comprehend -- he becomes the bird in the cage -- or at least he is just 1/100th of the person he used to be, whereas Bale's character retains half of who he was in his partner/twin. (You'll have to see the movie for that one to make sense.)
A likeness between these two films is how they ask us to consider the difference between illusion and magic. I loved the inclusion of Tesla in The Prestige. Better yet, they got David Bowie to play him! Incredible. That alone is worth going to see.
Bowie as Tesla
Maybe the reason I ended up enjoying The Illusionist a little more was in this last point (Illusion vs. Magic)... and how Norton's character transcended from being an Illusionist to a Wizard(?) or a 'Real' Magician... It was nice how director Neil Burger just lets us believe this (or not) after Norton sells it so well with his performance. It's a fantastic proposition, and we're apt to be critical of how exactly Norton and Biel's characters get away with it all, but just like the Ghost Trick is never truly explained, we are asked to decide whether or not we believe in the extra-ordinary possibilities.
Both movies get a 4 out of 5.
(On the Netflix rating scale: 1 = Hated it, 2 = Didn't Like It, 3 = Liked It, 4 = Really Liked It, 5 = Loved It)
Does this help?
...
Dante's Peak(1997) vs. Volcano(1997)
Deep Impact(1998) vs. Armageddon(1998)
Traffic(2000) vs. Blow(2001)
Finding Nemo(2003) vs. Shark Tale(2004)
Capote(2005) vs. Infamous(2006)
The Illusionist(2006) vs. The Prestige(2006)
...
(Can you think of any more? Add to the list by commenting!)
With The Prestige, Hollywood doubles up again! Two movies, one theme. It's become standard practice in the film industry, right up there with sequels, prequels, trilogies, and adapted screenplays... Anything, I guess, to avoid original creativity in the fight for the top box office draws. And while I do really believe that this trend is less about filmmaker one-ups-man-ships, "I can make a better magician film than you!", and more about going with what's HOT, or what promises surefire success, Hollywood's dualities do allow for (beg for!? - you have to see both to know!) interesting comparisons when we consider things like era and casting choices, to the overall moods and messages of the films made.
Enough about that for now, because this entry was intended to be mostly about The Prestige/Illusionist combo of 2006, as I was just able to see The Prestige over the weekend.
First off, and to get it out of the way, I prefered The Illusionist between the two, although really thinking about it, a better or worse verdict isn't what I'm going for. Both of these movies are worth seeing. Hmm...
-Maybe it's just my man crush on Edward Norton that made The Illusionist stand out for me, but probably not, because both casts were chock-full of actors and actresses that I enjoy, and some of the supporting roles in The Prestige were actually played a bit better.
-Another possible bias: I tend to appreciate slower, more methodical movies more when compared to intense, time-shifting, jump-cutting films like Nolan's. Don't get me wrong! I loved Memento, and I liked Batman Begins and The Prestige as well, and OK, The Illusionist wasn't exactly slow, but I think when you look at all of these films, the most successful ones have a pace that is a direct and intentional part of the plot, and The Illusionist's pace just did more for the telling of it's story.
An admittance. I did think that The Illusionist could have ended about 10 minutes earlier than it did. A weakness in this film is that it doesn't trust it's audience. The film fades to black and I assume most would be content with that being THE END (albiet a mysterious and unresolved ending. But wait, that's perfect for this movie, right?), only to come back in (at least twice) to further explain away the mystery.
But if I can be so bold as to mostly ignore those last ten minutes, I'll say that the build up, and build back down from the film's climax was perfectly in tune with the era, and the not-angry, but worldy-mysterious, and somber Eisenheim (Norton). The absolutely angry tone of Jackman and Bale's characters definitely called for something more severe, which they found in director Nolan, whose pacing served the decidedly darker of these two films.
A reason to like The Prestige: the dark and complex but still well played out metaphors. The sacrifices made by the magicians in The Prestige only get more and more pronounced as their tricks get more amazing (birds, fingers, family and then?!). Before long Jackman's character is sacrificing more than he can comprehend -- he becomes the bird in the cage -- or at least he is just 1/100th of the person he used to be, whereas Bale's character retains half of who he was in his partner/twin. (You'll have to see the movie for that one to make sense.)
A likeness between these two films is how they ask us to consider the difference between illusion and magic. I loved the inclusion of Tesla in The Prestige. Better yet, they got David Bowie to play him! Incredible. That alone is worth going to see.
Bowie as TeslaMaybe the reason I ended up enjoying The Illusionist a little more was in this last point (Illusion vs. Magic)... and how Norton's character transcended from being an Illusionist to a Wizard(?) or a 'Real' Magician... It was nice how director Neil Burger just lets us believe this (or not) after Norton sells it so well with his performance. It's a fantastic proposition, and we're apt to be critical of how exactly Norton and Biel's characters get away with it all, but just like the Ghost Trick is never truly explained, we are asked to decide whether or not we believe in the extra-ordinary possibilities.
Both movies get a 4 out of 5.
(On the Netflix rating scale: 1 = Hated it, 2 = Didn't Like It, 3 = Liked It, 4 = Really Liked It, 5 = Loved It)
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Happy Halloween
Well, the Trick-Or-Treat-ers were out in full force in our neighborhood last night. We surpassed the 4 kids we had come to our door last year with maybe 8 this year. I barely had time to sit down between door bell rings. The kids loved us though. Not only did we have the best variety of candy this year, but we were handing out the new "Fun Size" being marketed by the major brands.
And they're right. That is more fun.
And they're right. That is more fun.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
I play with girls.
I never fully realized the amount of "hatin' on Co-Ed" that was going on in the Ultimate world until I travelled down to Florida this last weekend for Nationals. I know that both the Open and Women's Divisions consider themselves more competitive, and on the broader scale, I would have to agree. But then I also assumed that the Mixed teams that actually practice and compete all season to qualify for Nationals were excluded from this no-better-than-league-team bias... From what I've heard, however, this seems unfortunately true.
What I do know:
In the Twin Cities at least (Ok, I know that there's a Central Region bias that I working against here too...), if I were to invite the best 30 players in Ultimate to a "Best Players in Twin Cities Ultimate Party" I would start looking 1. For men on SubZero (open), get a lot of my guest list, but I would then go to Flaming Moe (Co-Ed) to fill out the spots, and 2. For women I would take a couple from Bait (Women's), but not have to go very deep at all before once again filling the ladies spots with Flaming Moe players again.
My point here is that the men and women on the elite Co-Ed teams in the nation aren't the rejects of other divisions. Most of the players on Moe could plug in to a top Open/Women's team, and some could be stand out players.
Personally, I don't think I could make SubZero, but I do think I could make an Open team or two at Nationals, and I could certainly be a key player on any second tier Open team. This just wasn't at all appealing when I was starting my Club career 3 years ago. And It still isn't. If I'd liked the people on that are now on Dingwop (Open) or Liquid Assets (Open), I might be there instead now, but that's not the case, and besides, those teams deliver so much less in terms of training, practicing and competition. I'm seeing much better Ultimate and improving my game more by playing for Moe.
How about this? I would play Open with the men on Flaming Moe... So it's not just an Open Division thing that I don't like. It must be a social thing...
From rec.sport.disc:
"You point out how Coed is more of a social sport which is all well and
good, there is no question it's fun, but it's not at the same level of
competitiveness because they are outweighed by the social gathering
aspects."
Part's of this thread were what got me thinking and writing about the Mixed Division, and not all of these points are bad, but seem mostly misguided. So yeah, I do play on a Co-Ed team for social reasons... but I would be playing on any team for social reasons! Lord knows that nobody is gaining anything financially from Ultimate.... there are no endorsements, nobody is getting any notoriety in larger society, and I'm sure as Hell I didn't get drafted by Flaming Moe. (Nor am I about to give my agent a bonus for extending my contract with the team.) "Social Reasons" have to be a ways up there for anyone competing in this sport right now.
The balance between the team I can play for as a person and the team I can play for as an athlete is Flaming Moe. And I would also argue, Mixed is on it's way up from it's past as a 'retirement division.' Now Mixed is able to attract many elite players despite the historical bias against it... Young players like myself will be drawn in to this division more and more every season when they compare the options in their home towns and find the same balance I have, on competitive, spirited, and hard working Mixed teams.
A final thought:
•Should we have Mixed, Women's and Open Nationals (and finals) at the same venue? (Another rec.sport.disc topic.)
Why not? If anything the Mixed Finals were the most consistently entertaining to watch. Women's was a blowout (again), although of course it had it's moments, and the Open final shifted so rapidly between intense/exciting competition and stagnant call arguing that it was easy to stop paying attention. And if we're worried about our spectators in this sport, why not supply another opportunity to watch on Sunday?
Ok, that's all I got for now. See you on the field.
Moe #22
What I do know:
In the Twin Cities at least (Ok, I know that there's a Central Region bias that I working against here too...), if I were to invite the best 30 players in Ultimate to a "Best Players in Twin Cities Ultimate Party" I would start looking 1. For men on SubZero (open), get a lot of my guest list, but I would then go to Flaming Moe (Co-Ed) to fill out the spots, and 2. For women I would take a couple from Bait (Women's), but not have to go very deep at all before once again filling the ladies spots with Flaming Moe players again.
My point here is that the men and women on the elite Co-Ed teams in the nation aren't the rejects of other divisions. Most of the players on Moe could plug in to a top Open/Women's team, and some could be stand out players.
Personally, I don't think I could make SubZero, but I do think I could make an Open team or two at Nationals, and I could certainly be a key player on any second tier Open team. This just wasn't at all appealing when I was starting my Club career 3 years ago. And It still isn't. If I'd liked the people on that are now on Dingwop (Open) or Liquid Assets (Open), I might be there instead now, but that's not the case, and besides, those teams deliver so much less in terms of training, practicing and competition. I'm seeing much better Ultimate and improving my game more by playing for Moe.
How about this? I would play Open with the men on Flaming Moe... So it's not just an Open Division thing that I don't like. It must be a social thing...
From rec.sport.disc:
"You point out how Coed is more of a social sport which is all well and
good, there is no question it's fun, but it's not at the same level of
competitiveness because they are outweighed by the social gathering
aspects."
Part's of this thread were what got me thinking and writing about the Mixed Division, and not all of these points are bad, but seem mostly misguided. So yeah, I do play on a Co-Ed team for social reasons... but I would be playing on any team for social reasons! Lord knows that nobody is gaining anything financially from Ultimate.... there are no endorsements, nobody is getting any notoriety in larger society, and I'm sure as Hell I didn't get drafted by Flaming Moe. (Nor am I about to give my agent a bonus for extending my contract with the team.) "Social Reasons" have to be a ways up there for anyone competing in this sport right now.
The balance between the team I can play for as a person and the team I can play for as an athlete is Flaming Moe. And I would also argue, Mixed is on it's way up from it's past as a 'retirement division.' Now Mixed is able to attract many elite players despite the historical bias against it... Young players like myself will be drawn in to this division more and more every season when they compare the options in their home towns and find the same balance I have, on competitive, spirited, and hard working Mixed teams.
A final thought:
•Should we have Mixed, Women's and Open Nationals (and finals) at the same venue? (Another rec.sport.disc topic.)
Why not? If anything the Mixed Finals were the most consistently entertaining to watch. Women's was a blowout (again), although of course it had it's moments, and the Open final shifted so rapidly between intense/exciting competition and stagnant call arguing that it was easy to stop paying attention. And if we're worried about our spectators in this sport, why not supply another opportunity to watch on Sunday?
Ok, that's all I got for now. See you on the field.
Moe #22
Monday, October 30, 2006
In this post 9/11 world.
Oops, I did it again.
I often forget to check my pockets before going to the airport, so I will sometimes find myself in a moment of panic, waiting in line for the X-ray machine, wondering what I might have to turn over to the airport security people... Or, in this case, what I might NOT have to turn over...
You see, I carry a little Swiss Army pocket knife on my key chain and for the second time now, it's found its way onto a plane with me at the Minneapolis International Airport (MSP). Both times the keys were sitting in the bottom of my carry-on, and both times they have passed through the X-ray without bringing any attention to themselves.
I have to wonder: do the machines really not see knives when they pass through, or do the people running the machines not see them? Or do these people not really consider this 1.5" blade a significant weapon and let it slide? (Too much of a hassle?) I really doubt the latter, which would mean that airport security, like most effective security, is mostly about show. In other words, these people aren't set up to catch criminals, but to deter petty ones... and (mostly?) to offer some degree of comfort to airline passengers.
I wouldn't have any real criticism of this kind of security if it weren't purported as a means of defense against terroism. It's obvious to me that if sufficiently motivated, someone could sneak a harmful device or substance onto a plane without much trouble.
I guess I really just think that it's a bummer that all of what everbody hates about going through security at the airport is also what keeps people faithful in flying. As long as the nation's fear out-weighs it's annoyance and frustration things won't change much. And I'll try to remember to check my pockets next time. I realy don't want to lose that knife.
I often forget to check my pockets before going to the airport, so I will sometimes find myself in a moment of panic, waiting in line for the X-ray machine, wondering what I might have to turn over to the airport security people... Or, in this case, what I might NOT have to turn over...
You see, I carry a little Swiss Army pocket knife on my key chain and for the second time now, it's found its way onto a plane with me at the Minneapolis International Airport (MSP). Both times the keys were sitting in the bottom of my carry-on, and both times they have passed through the X-ray without bringing any attention to themselves.
I have to wonder: do the machines really not see knives when they pass through, or do the people running the machines not see them? Or do these people not really consider this 1.5" blade a significant weapon and let it slide? (Too much of a hassle?) I really doubt the latter, which would mean that airport security, like most effective security, is mostly about show. In other words, these people aren't set up to catch criminals, but to deter petty ones... and (mostly?) to offer some degree of comfort to airline passengers.
I wouldn't have any real criticism of this kind of security if it weren't purported as a means of defense against terroism. It's obvious to me that if sufficiently motivated, someone could sneak a harmful device or substance onto a plane without much trouble.
I guess I really just think that it's a bummer that all of what everbody hates about going through security at the airport is also what keeps people faithful in flying. As long as the nation's fear out-weighs it's annoyance and frustration things won't change much. And I'll try to remember to check my pockets next time. I realy don't want to lose that knife.
Monday, October 23, 2006
My Moe-tivation
I wrote this (to the team, kind of) back before Regionals, but I thought I'd add it here now anyway...
-For me, playing for Moe means doing what I can to make sure that my friends on this team get what they've had coming to them in terms of competition, respect, and reward in the Ultimate world. I want to do everything that I can to let these people know that when they put on their jersey, they are amongst the best of the best in their sport. Individual/one-on-one comparisons are meaningless, histories stay in the past, the now belongs to Moe.
-Something I wrote after listening to a business strategest/ self-help guru on MPR (and I thought it pertained to any group... like a sports team):
Weakness is irrelivant. We, as individuals do have to realize our weaknesses and know each other's weaknesses as a team, but only to see that in the face of our combined strengths those weaknesses are truly irrelivant!
-People are good at owning their personal weaknesses, and most try to carry them alone. Every team is even better at owning/knowing it's weaknesses - the better teams try to compensate for, or adjust to them. What I want everyone of you to do: start owning the strengths of this team. They are yours. You earned them. Make them your own!
WE throw every huck, WE get every D, WE win every game.
In the Face of Our Strengths,
#22
-For me, playing for Moe means doing what I can to make sure that my friends on this team get what they've had coming to them in terms of competition, respect, and reward in the Ultimate world. I want to do everything that I can to let these people know that when they put on their jersey, they are amongst the best of the best in their sport. Individual/one-on-one comparisons are meaningless, histories stay in the past, the now belongs to Moe.
-Something I wrote after listening to a business strategest/ self-help guru on MPR (and I thought it pertained to any group... like a sports team):
Weakness is irrelivant. We, as individuals do have to realize our weaknesses and know each other's weaknesses as a team, but only to see that in the face of our combined strengths those weaknesses are truly irrelivant!
-People are good at owning their personal weaknesses, and most try to carry them alone. Every team is even better at owning/knowing it's weaknesses - the better teams try to compensate for, or adjust to them. What I want everyone of you to do: start owning the strengths of this team. They are yours. You earned them. Make them your own!
WE throw every huck, WE get every D, WE win every game.
In the Face of Our Strengths,
#22
Predictions
Making Regionals/Nationals predictions is a tempting, but usually unhelpful process. For a member of a team participating in Nationals, predictions can be a meassure of confidence and a measure of hope, but if the predicted standings become the source of confindence for a player or a team, those people are bound to be frustrated if and when he/she/they start to fall short of their goals.
I get worried when I hear my teammates making these kinds of 'outcome-based' goals. "I just want to beat TEAM-X," or "We're going to make it to Yth place." Some of this is good, I know... to live in that moment, or visualize success. But otherwise these types of goals are shallow and unnecessary to have as serious, top priorities. The way I see it, a team's or an individual's outcomes in sports should be a result of having and accomplishing specific skill, strategy, performance-type goals. Knowing you can beat another team is not enough. (This is an outcome based goal.) Because when the opponent scores a couple points, the person who just knows they can win gets frustrated and will often "lose it" (mentally, then physically, then for real). "God! I know we can beat them!!!"
Knowing HOW you can beat another team will proove a better strategy going into a game, and you know how to beat a team when you look at your team's strengths and assign performance based goals. Concentrating on optimizing your team's performance and capitalizing on your team's strengths will lead to the outcomes that you desire, and you won't waste time thinking about who you should/could beat in such an ambiguous way. This time when the other team scores a couple of points, instead on concentrating on what should be happening, you'll be thinking "This is how that happened and this is how we'll fix it."
Ok. With that being said, I know, and I know how Moe can beat at least 2 teams on Thursday. I don't know enough about Brass Monkey (besides that they're the 1 seed) to say if our know-how will be good enough. Hopefully we'll have the advantage against a team that probably just "knows" they can beat us. Beyond Thursday, I think we'll know how to play and win a couple more games at Nationals. And that's as far as I'll get with my predictions.
One game at a time, one throw at a time. Let's go Moe!
I get worried when I hear my teammates making these kinds of 'outcome-based' goals. "I just want to beat TEAM-X," or "We're going to make it to Yth place." Some of this is good, I know... to live in that moment, or visualize success. But otherwise these types of goals are shallow and unnecessary to have as serious, top priorities. The way I see it, a team's or an individual's outcomes in sports should be a result of having and accomplishing specific skill, strategy, performance-type goals. Knowing you can beat another team is not enough. (This is an outcome based goal.) Because when the opponent scores a couple points, the person who just knows they can win gets frustrated and will often "lose it" (mentally, then physically, then for real). "God! I know we can beat them!!!"
Knowing HOW you can beat another team will proove a better strategy going into a game, and you know how to beat a team when you look at your team's strengths and assign performance based goals. Concentrating on optimizing your team's performance and capitalizing on your team's strengths will lead to the outcomes that you desire, and you won't waste time thinking about who you should/could beat in such an ambiguous way. This time when the other team scores a couple of points, instead on concentrating on what should be happening, you'll be thinking "This is how that happened and this is how we'll fix it."
Ok. With that being said, I know, and I know how Moe can beat at least 2 teams on Thursday. I don't know enough about Brass Monkey (besides that they're the 1 seed) to say if our know-how will be good enough. Hopefully we'll have the advantage against a team that probably just "knows" they can beat us. Beyond Thursday, I think we'll know how to play and win a couple more games at Nationals. And that's as far as I'll get with my predictions.
One game at a time, one throw at a time. Let's go Moe!
The peaks we reach.
I'm flying down to Florida for Nationals tomorrow night and everything seems to be coming together for me and for Moe. At practice last night I felt the best I have since May. I think I'm finally getting over the humps, both physical (being out of commission for a month in middle of the season) and mental (my priorities were definitley not on the field leading up to my wedding) that have been holding me back in some degree for much of the season. Regionals was possibly the best tournament for me this season, even in my limited role, and I've only gotten better, in every personal/physical/mental way, since then. My teammates around me have only helped this post-season progression. We all seem to be building in strength and enegry for this week. I'm confident, however, that I will prove my way into more PT in Florida, amidst the growth of others around me.
Last season, my best tournament was Bozofest (boo, in May). And while I like to have a good tournament no matter where, or what, I'd prefer to shine when it really counts. In fact that was a major goal of mine this season. For all I know, my early injury might have saved me and helped me achieve it. Moe plays so hard for so long that it's difficult (for me) to hold up and be at the top of my game when I really want and need to be. But how ever it happened, I'm glad that I may have already achieved my goal of being strong when I want to be, and more importantly, when it counts for the team. I'll be doing all I can to really drive this home in Sarasota.
Last season, my best tournament was Bozofest (boo, in May). And while I like to have a good tournament no matter where, or what, I'd prefer to shine when it really counts. In fact that was a major goal of mine this season. For all I know, my early injury might have saved me and helped me achieve it. Moe plays so hard for so long that it's difficult (for me) to hold up and be at the top of my game when I really want and need to be. But how ever it happened, I'm glad that I may have already achieved my goal of being strong when I want to be, and more importantly, when it counts for the team. I'll be doing all I can to really drive this home in Sarasota.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
An Inconvenient Truth
So tonight I saw the film An Inconvenient Truth at the Riverview Theater in Minneapolis. I expected it to be pretty good. I expected myself to mostly agree with the points of Gore and his film. I expected to feel exactly how I do right now. Selfish, no wait--> Frustrated, umm--> Moved, yeah. And then--> Hopeful?
Hopeful... After seeing a film like An Inconvenient Truth (or even more obscurely, a film like any of Michael Moore's) there's always that glimmer of hope... that feeling that can sometimes last all the way until the lights come up... which is about when I realize that I'm about to enter back into the cruel, indifferent, REAL world where nobody cares about anything enough to do anything, including myself.
Soon enough I cycle back to my natural state of broader/global/moral reflection: selfish and frustrated.
But not this time. Not yet!
Maybe it's just good timing, but I'm still hopeful a full hour after seeing this film! By good timing I mean that I can feel the real possibility of this film's effect on society. Good timing because on the way home from the movie the analysts on NPR were talking about the likely tilt to the left American politics. I feel more faith in the world to do right after seeing this movie.
Maybe that's because it's just a good movie. Gore does a good job of restoring our faith in each other with this film by reminding us what we've done already, what we are doing now. So many bearers of these messages are so eager to throw their truth and their facts and their consequences at you that you end up flying by HOPE on your way from cluelessness to wary frustration. Gore mentions this himself and combats it by reminding us of our previous battles. Like CFCs. Remember them? And the unstoppable, life threatening hole in the Ozone. According to Gore, the measures taken globally, and especially in the US to cut down on CFCs alleviated the problem, which was far beyond the scientists' goal to merely slow it. A battle we won, and never heard much about after the fact, besides it not killing anyone... Weird how we don't publicly celebrate that fact after fearing the possibilities of CFC pollution for years.
Lastly, I liked how Gore took on the opposition to his theories, or lack thereof. Everyone of us, I'm sure, can rattle off some theory on how Global Warming isn't happening; that it's just a natural cycle; whatever. In Gore's research he found that 100% of scientist will say that Global Warming is at least partially attributed to human activity. AND that it is a problem! Personally, I would have taken 75%. That number doesn't really matter. The point though, that OVERWHELMINGLY, the science community agrees on this matter. There's enough evidence to say that it's worth doing something about, and that it doesn't really matter if they ever find the exact contribution of humanity. Any account of Global Warming not being caused by humans is brought to our attention by the media, and is really an excuse for inaction brought on by some energy conglomerate.
Ok, that's getting a little Oliver Stone, but seriously! It seems like a ploy that all of the focus on Global Warming in the media is about 'the cause', because it seems like whatever the cause, if we don't do something we're screwed.
And a cherry on top. This was a good movie. Well paced. Gore was a little corny, but you could tell it was only because he's so damned serious about this. You should see this movie. Go to its website. Tell your friends.
Hopeful... After seeing a film like An Inconvenient Truth (or even more obscurely, a film like any of Michael Moore's) there's always that glimmer of hope... that feeling that can sometimes last all the way until the lights come up... which is about when I realize that I'm about to enter back into the cruel, indifferent, REAL world where nobody cares about anything enough to do anything, including myself
Soon enough I cycle back to my natural state of broader/global/moral reflection: selfish and frustrated.
But not this time. Not yet!
Maybe it's just good timing, but I'm still hopeful a full hour after seeing this film! By good timing I mean that I can feel the real possibility of this film's effect on society. Good timing because on the way home from the movie the analysts on NPR were talking about the likely tilt to the left American politics. I feel more faith in the world to do right after seeing this movie.
Maybe that's because it's just a good movie. Gore does a good job of restoring our faith in each other with this film by reminding us what we've done already, what we are doing now. So many bearers of these messages are so eager to throw their truth and their facts and their consequences at you that you end up flying by HOPE on your way from cluelessness to wary frustration. Gore mentions this himself and combats it by reminding us of our previous battles. Like CFCs. Remember them? And the unstoppable, life threatening hole in the Ozone. According to Gore, the measures taken globally, and especially in the US to cut down on CFCs alleviated the problem, which was far beyond the scientists' goal to merely slow it. A battle we won, and never heard much about after the fact, besides it not killing anyone... Weird how we don't publicly celebrate that fact after fearing the possibilities of CFC pollution for years.
Lastly, I liked how Gore took on the opposition to his theories, or lack thereof. Everyone of us, I'm sure, can rattle off some theory on how Global Warming isn't happening; that it's just a natural cycle; whatever. In Gore's research he found that 100% of scientist will say that Global Warming is at least partially attributed to human activity. AND that it is a problem! Personally, I would have taken 75%. That number doesn't really matter. The point though, that OVERWHELMINGLY, the science community agrees on this matter. There's enough evidence to say that it's worth doing something about, and that it doesn't really matter if they ever find the exact contribution of humanity. Any account of Global Warming not being caused by humans is brought to our attention by the media, and is really an excuse for inaction brought on by some energy conglomerate. Ok, that's getting a little Oliver Stone, but seriously! It seems like a ploy that all of the focus on Global Warming in the media is about 'the cause', because it seems like whatever the cause, if we don't do something we're screwed.
And a cherry on top. This was a good movie. Well paced. Gore was a little corny, but you could tell it was only because he's so damned serious about this. You should see this movie. Go to its website. Tell your friends.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Rice Krispies Treats Cereal, you are not forgotten!
ATTN: Rice Krispies Treats Cereal Lovers.
At least in the Far North (meaning Minnesota, but not as far north as Chicago...), this popular, tasty, and good-for-you (err... Nutritiously or otherwise) cereal has been stripped from the shelves of all of the major grocery stores for no good reason. Fortunately, and despite the obvious cruel intentions of the Kellogg Corporation to isolate us from our precious purple-boxed Snap, Crackle, and Pops, Amazon.com Groceries has come to the rescue, once again, offering the cereal at a comparable rate, and sometimes in bulk.
Thank you Amazon.com, for making the world smaller in all the good ways!
Scrabble® Scoring Anagrams
Possibly the best game ever, and definitly much better than the Scrabble® that everyone knows today, Scoring Anagrams made its way into my possession as a wedding gift from my Aunt Juli and Uncle Tom. The game has a history in the Hagstrom family, and I know that Tom and Juli had to search high and far to come across this copy, so I'm really excited to have this original edition set. Information on the game and instructions on how to play are here. Now I just need some opponents!
Dear Mr. Briefcase, pt. 2
So it looks like Briefcase and Moe will be set up in the same pool Day 1 at Nationals. Seedings thus far are:
1) Brass Monkey
2) Mischief
3) Bad Larry
4) Gendors
5) Slow White
6) Whoreshack
7) AMP
8) Mr. Briefcase
9) Flaming Moe
10) Puppet Regime
11) Hooray
12) Rival
13) Flycoons
14) Tandem
15) The Salsa Police
16) Deliverence
Resulting in the following pools:
A: Brass Monkey, Mr. Briefcase, Flaming Moe, Deliverence
B: Mischief, AMP, Puppet Regime, Salsa Police
C: Bad Larry, Rorshack, Hooray, Tandem
D: Gendors, Slow White, Rival, Flycoons
Our seeds are unlikely to change, and while I still want you (Briefcase) to do well for yourselves and the Central Region, I'm sorry to say that your day will have to be Friday because Moe is going to stomp the ^#@$ out of you on Thursday.
Sincerely,
Moe #22
1) Brass Monkey
2) Mischief
3) Bad Larry
4) Gendors
5) Slow White
6) Whoreshack
7) AMP
8) Mr. Briefcase
9) Flaming Moe
10) Puppet Regime
11) Hooray
12) Rival
13) Flycoons
14) Tandem
15) The Salsa Police
16) Deliverence
Resulting in the following pools:
A: Brass Monkey, Mr. Briefcase, Flaming Moe, Deliverence
B: Mischief, AMP, Puppet Regime, Salsa Police
C: Bad Larry, Rorshack, Hooray, Tandem
D: Gendors, Slow White, Rival, Flycoons
Our seeds are unlikely to change, and while I still want you (Briefcase) to do well for yourselves and the Central Region, I'm sorry to say that your day will have to be Friday because Moe is going to stomp the ^#@$ out of you on Thursday.
Sincerely,
Moe #22
The Story of Flaming Moe
I found this in a dusty, torn up old book, on an otherwise empty shelf in the abandoned city library...
"In the beginning... there was Tom Walker, and he was good. Then, in the dawn of the third millennia A.C.E., Tom created Fire, and he named that fire Moe. In due time this Flaming Moe became cognizant, and it scoured the land, calling out the great men and women of Middle West to band together in a quest for the most ultimate reward.
For six years Flaming Moe has been traveling from coast to coast, and even to Canada, to break the forces of darkness and evil. Losses have been suffered, but nothing has been able to conquer the spirit that is alive in that now legendary flame.
Battle proven, Flaming Moe has emerged to compete in the Final Fight. The time is nigh for Flaming Moe to leave the world of mortals and enter into the halls of gods and champions.”
"In the beginning... there was Tom Walker, and he was good. Then, in the dawn of the third millennia A.C.E., Tom created Fire, and he named that fire Moe. In due time this Flaming Moe became cognizant, and it scoured the land, calling out the great men and women of Middle West to band together in a quest for the most ultimate reward.
For six years Flaming Moe has been traveling from coast to coast, and even to Canada, to break the forces of darkness and evil. Losses have been suffered, but nothing has been able to conquer the spirit that is alive in that now legendary flame.
Battle proven, Flaming Moe has emerged to compete in the Final Fight. The time is nigh for Flaming Moe to leave the world of mortals and enter into the halls of gods and champions.”
Monday, October 09, 2006
Dear Mr. Briefcase
Mr. Briefcase,
This is crap.
From rec.sport.disc.
"the central has not placed two teams
in quarters in recent history. every year
there is some talk about how they are
especially strong, but other than the CLX
exception, a team that won their regionals
handily, and WHO WON'T EVEN BE AT
NATIONALS, the central has not historically,
and despite each team's own claims, shown much
strength at nationals. So putting TWO
teams in quarters, neither of which is
CLX, seems something of a mystery
to me."
There's no mystery.
Let's show 'em.
#22
MOE
This is crap.
From rec.sport.disc.
"the central has not placed two teams
in quarters in recent history. every year
there is some talk about how they are
especially strong, but other than the CLX
exception, a team that won their regionals
handily, and WHO WON'T EVEN BE AT
NATIONALS, the central has not historically,
and despite each team's own claims, shown much
strength at nationals. So putting TWO
teams in quarters, neither of which is
CLX, seems something of a mystery
to me."
There's no mystery.
Let's show 'em.
#22
MOE
Nationals, here we come!
Saturday afternoon, October 8th, Flaming Moe secured it's spot at the 2006 Club Championships in Sarasota, FL. This team, that I am so proud to be a part of, and that has been waiting a long, long time to get this far, dominated with a performance that would have taken any opponent to their knees. It was inspiring. It was assuring. It was a lot of fun!
Sunday afternoon we lost the finals to CLX, and taken off of our high horse, lost the 2/3 game to Mr. Briefcase (who was coming off of their 'game-to-go' against ICE).
Saturday Moe wanted to win that game more than any game they'd ever played, and it was awesome. Sunday we played well, but couldn't match CLX powerhouse nor the energy of Briefcase after their succesant wins. We ended up disapointed when all was said and done.
Before leaving on Sunday, Jeff (Moe #20) commented on this disapointment and how, even after attaining our #1, most important, longest standing goal, we were left wanting more and knowing that we could, and will do better. What a great sign for this first-time, Nationals-bound team!
Congratulations Moe!
Sunday afternoon we lost the finals to CLX, and taken off of our high horse, lost the 2/3 game to Mr. Briefcase (who was coming off of their 'game-to-go' against ICE).
Saturday Moe wanted to win that game more than any game they'd ever played, and it was awesome. Sunday we played well, but couldn't match CLX powerhouse nor the energy of Briefcase after their succesant wins. We ended up disapointed when all was said and done.
Before leaving on Sunday, Jeff (Moe #20) commented on this disapointment and how, even after attaining our #1, most important, longest standing goal, we were left wanting more and knowing that we could, and will do better. What a great sign for this first-time, Nationals-bound team!
Congratulations Moe!
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
NetBooks
It would be cool if there was a service like Netflix, but for books. I know that with conventional books this might be impossible... the books would wear to easily to keep sending out, the postage would be too expensive, but maybe it would be possible with Audio Books, on CD or DVD? Or Netflix could extend its service to include them.
Or maybe public libraries could charge for this as a monthly service that some members could opt for. I'd pay $15 a month to have an interface like Netflix with my library. Maybe I'll let them know...
Or maybe public libraries could charge for this as a monthly service that some members could opt for. I'd pay $15 a month to have an interface like Netflix with my library. Maybe I'll let them know...
Married Life
Things are finally starting to settle down since our Big Day back in August. Maybe I'll have time to write in this 'journal' some more. Pictures from the wedding are hosting on my website.
Finding freelance work has been a blessing and a curse... the money will be great, and hopefully the recognition of Whatmoves will spread, but I'm just not ready to dive headlong into my business yet. Always nice to produce good work on the side though... gratifying.
Finding freelance work has been a blessing and a curse... the money will be great, and hopefully the recognition of Whatmoves will spread, but I'm just not ready to dive headlong into my business yet. Always nice to produce good work on the side though... gratifying.
Regionals
Going to Naperville this weekend to play in the 2006 UPA Mixed Regional Tournament. Some very good teams will be there. Flaming Moe is ranked third, which is sensible, but I think we can win this one. It's going to be a big Saturday, and I'm already nervous. But I'm also excited. I can feel the energy in this team. It's a feeling that can take us all the way.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
What's on my mind, until 8/25/06.
I'm getting married! I'm getting married! I'm getting married!
I don't know why this means I'm starting a blog...
I don't know why this means I'm starting a blog...
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