At this moment...
01.30.07:
Song(s)
I Have the Moon - Magnetic Fields via Lush
(I'm always screwing things up, or maybe I'm not... I was walking back from the Jewel earlier and I looked up at the moon, hanging there in the cold late afternoon twilight and I thought, "Maybe that's where I belong?" Space is cold distant... And then Stephen Daedalus pops into my head and I hear him say, "History is the nightmare from which I am trying to awaken" or something similar. There's a message there.)
American Trilogy - The Delgados
01.29.07:
I love when I find old songs that I wrote, but this one just provides even more evidence as to why I don't write songs for Zerostars. Speaking of Zerostars, jm wrote a great new song. Hopefully we'll get in the studio soon and get it recorded.
01.28.07:
Technology... Still without my Powerbook. When I called to check the status I was told it was on a bench and being worked on. Hopefully it'll be fixed by tomorrow. My iMac has been an endless headache. Ever since I installed OS 10.4 it's been giving me problems. Email has been messed-up, Dreamweaver has been crashing, Safari and Firefox crash and everything else runs pathetically slow. I'd try to write something and the letters would lag behind my fingers hitting the keys and I'm probably the slowest typist on the planet. I decided to uninstall all my programs, then reinstall OS 10.4, and then reinstall all my programs. Lots and lots of endless fun.
Either way, things seem to be working a bit better, not a lot, but... I've concluded that I can only have one application running at a time. It's not like this computer is super old. I'm pretty certain that I bought in 2002, which would make it close to five years old.
One plus is I got around to adding the 2005 archives. I still have 2003 and 2004 to add. I forgot about a couple of funny things that occured in 2005, so it was fun to go back and see what went on two years ago. I feel sorry for those mice.
Yesterday I made cranberry scones for breakfast. For dinner I made penne with a tomato vodka cream sauce. Probably the best sauce that I've ever made from scratch. Amazing.
Anything else? Probably lots. Like my DVD player stopped working and my CD player is getting ready to die as well, and a really funny incident that involved the sky falling as I was out for a run, but you'll have to email me for the story.
Listening to:
Oh, Inverted World - The Shins (I haven't picked up their new album yet. Is it any good?)
Being There - Wilco
Summer Teeth - Wilco
Painful - Yo La Tengo
Songs For A Blue Guitar - Red House Painters
Black Sea - XTC
01.23.07:
It's the little unexpected moments that can make a crappy day a million times better. Tonight I got to see my nephews and sister-in-law. First time I think I've smiled in days.
01.21.07:
When I was in Maine for Christmas my brother cooked two outstanding meals (I cooked a fantastic Christmas Eve feast as well). One was a vegetable lasagna and the other was veggie chili. I asked him where he got the recipes from and he told me to pick up Vegetarian Classics by Jeanne Lemlin.
When I returned to Illinois I ordered ithe cookbook via Amazon and it arrived this past week. So, feeling a bit down for a number of reasons, I decided to cook since that always seems to cheer me up. First up, a zucchini, tomato and gouda cheese tart. It looked beautiful, almost too good to eat. I'd post a photo but I can't find the USB cable to plug from the camera to my iMac. Taste? Delicious. I paired it with a 2004 Mark West Pinot Noir. Finished it all off with some Valrhona chocolate.
Listening to:
The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings - John Coltrane (What I love most about this box set is how you can hear Coltrane starting to define his sound.)
01.20.07:
Greatest bassline ever: Tea in the Sahara (The Police)
Why does that damn Nick Cave coloring book always manage to show up? One of these days I'll throw it away.
Listening to:
Live at The Village Vanguard - John Coltrane
London Calling - The Clash
The Trials of Van Occupanther - Midlake
01.19.07:
I wrote something else earlier in the day about not updating the site for a week since my Powerbook was going into the shop (new 120 Gig hard drive is being installed. Thankfully they'll be able to clone the old hard drive.) I forgot that I have Dreamweaver on my iMac. I've been tearing my apartment apart trying to find my Photoshop and Illustrator CS discs so that I can install those programs on the iMac. Currently I have to go into OS 9 to launch Photoshop. While trying to find the discs I finally found my Police box set. I also found a bunch of old letters and birthday cards. Here's an example:
I also discovered an old handwritten story that I wrote called The Agony of the Indoor Driving Range. It's a sad tale about a woman who wants to learn how to golf but is constantly thwarted by an unruly group of indoor driving range attendants. There's also a subplot that involves calculators and swimming in Jello.
And in another box I found a photo of me at the Great Wall of China, taken in 2001.
Listening to:
The Police box set
01.18.07:
Winter is weird. Earlier I was listening to Teenage Fanclub's Man-Made. Now Suede plays...
There's a song playing on the radio
Sky high in the airwaves on the morning show
And there's a lifeline slipping as the record plays...
I thought I heard tornado sirens earlier. Maybe it was wishful thinking.
The hard drive in my Powerbook is dying. I suppose I need to get that fixed, which means getting a new hard drive installed (and my Applecare expired last month). Luckily I've managed to get everything backed-up on my external drive.
Walking into work this morning a coworker asked if I moved to a new location. I told her that I did and she asked, "Are you in an office now?" I laughed. My laughter caught her by surprise. It's nice that she thought I deserved an office, or that she thought I was at a point in my career where I would be granted an office. I occupy a cube with a window that overlooks a loading dock and what appears to be some gigantic electricity generating machine (if only it was a time machine).
This pretty much sums up how I'm feeling today...
I must be careful now in my steps
Years of calculations and the stress
My science is waiting, nearly complete
One glass will last for nearly a week
Let me not get down from walking with no-one
and if I stumble from exhaustion
These buckets are heavy, I fill them with water
I could ask these people, but I shouldn't bother
Oh no, I've stumbled, was I going too fast?
Some get angry, some of them laugh
They told me I wouldn't, but I found an answer
I'm Van Occupanther, I'm Van occupanther!
Let me not be too consumed with this world
Sometimes I want to go home
and stay out of sight for a long time
Let me not be too consumed with this world
Sometimes I want to go home
and stay out of sight for a long time
Song:
Van Occupanther - Midlake (From The Trials of Van Occupanther, which is an amazing album and highly recommended.)
01.17.07:
Words mean a great deal to me. Last night as I was driving to the city I was listening to an interview on NPR with Peter O'Toole. Along with discussing his upcoming film, O'Toole was talking about words. I can't remember exactly what he said, but his comments made me laugh and smile. At one point, near the end of the interview, O'Toole started reciting, from memory (according to him he has all of Shakespeare's sonnets memorized) sonnet #130:
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
Words such as those cannot be topped. These sounds we make, or these marks we make on paper, or in this case as a stream of digital ones and zeros, are sacred...
01.15.07:
Tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker died today at 57. In high school I wanted to be Brecker. I used to listen to his self titled debut album and his second album Don't Try This at Home religiously. He was probably the only contemporary sax player that I ever listened to in those days.
I knew it was okay to run even when I was injured, this proves it. Well, not really, but at least it's encouraging.
First, the chocolate chip cookies that I baked yesterday. Tonight, the pork au poivre with parmesan mashed potatoes. I must be feeling slightly domestic.
Listening to:
Dear Old Stockholm - John Coltrane Quartet
Songs From a Room - Leonard Cohen
The Unforgettable Fire - U2
Everyone Alive Wants Answers - Colleen
Song(s):
Symmetry - Mew
Your Heart on Your Sleeve - Colleen
Sometimes, Somewhere, Someone Should Say Something - The Poems
01.14.07:
I saw guitar guy, and he wasn't across the street at the railroad station! I was driving to the Container Store when I saw him walking down the road with an electric guitar and an acoustic guitar slung across his back. Too bad he wasn't jamming. I'm fairly certain it was him.
Went for an eight and a half mile run. Yesterday I ran seven miles. The wind out of the northeast was cold today. Then I baked chocolate chip cookies. It's been an exciting weekend.
Listening to:
Pink Moon - Nick Drake
Ask Me Tomorrow - Mojave 3
Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today Is Ok - Múm
Finally We Are No One - Múm
Summer Make Good - Múm
Disintegration - The Cure
Late - Donna Regina
01.13.07:
It would be nice if the sun would make an appearance.
01.10.07:
Happy 30th birthday Dr. Shin. Thank you kk for the Christmas presents. If I don't answer my phone it's because I'm practicing Pac Man.
Listening to Takk by Sigur Ros on my way home from attending the Niles North HS student improv comedy hour (which was quite funny, some very talented kids) and I was thinking that it really is a glorious album. Not sure how they do it, but they create some of the most stunning pieces of music.
Trying to find an old song I wrote I came across a CD with a bunch of stuff that I wrote years ago. I labeled the disc The Footprints Outside the Moon. Life was simpler then... If anybody wants a copy of those songs send me a note.
And something else I came across, an old story (horribly old, and terribly written, especially how I slip in and out of tenses -- there's a story behind the story, and a story behind that story, and then another story, which always seems to be the case. Some of the story is true):
A Phone Call, Bill, and a Trout
The phone rang. "Hello," I answered.
An unfamiliar voice on the other line asked, "Is Scott there?"
I answered back with a slight delay, "No, can I take a message?"
"Yeah," he said, "Tell him Bill called." I took down the number and that was it. I found it strange taking a message for myself. After I hung up I tried to recall who this Bill character was as I was sure I didn't know anybody named Bill.
Eventually I figured out who Bill was, but I couldn't figure out why he was calling me. Bill was this guy I attended high school with. Earlier in the week I ran into him walking around the campus for the college that I attend. He asked for my phone number, so out of pure kindness I gave it to him. I'm not trying to sound stuck up, but after I gave him my number I told him not to call me a lot. I'm not sure why I told him not to call me a lot, I just did.
Bill's a strange kid, more along the lines of crazy. I can't really describe him well because I'm not too sure what he looks like. All I remember about this kid is that he lifted weights. Once he lifted something like 3000 pounds. He always wore a Led Zeppelin t-shirt under a dress shirt, something that as Billy Bragg might say in in his thick British accent, "Drips with irony."
However, from what I recall Bill was quite lame, but he was really into fishing. He liked all types of fish, but he couldn't stand trout. Bill loathed trout.
It all related back to when Bill was a child, and he and his father, who has since passed due in large part to a freak bowling accident, were fishing on a small pond in the backwoods of Nebraska. Bill and his father went fishing for trout, but only caught bass. Small mouth bass to be exact. They caught a lot of bass, so much bass they nearly emptied the pond out of its stock of bass, except for one fish. This may sound cliche, but the only fish that remained was a jumbo trout.
Every year, for the past twelve years Bill's father aspired to catch that jumbo trout. And this wasn't your average jumbo trout. This trout was the smartest trout in the Milky Way. An old legend went that this fish had undefinable powers beyond belief. It could do math equations, foretell the future, read books, converse in thirty-two dialects, smoke cigarets, fly, drive a car, breathe oxygen like a human, and many other unbelievable things. Nobody had ever seen the fish, but everybody knew it existed. The old myth stated that he who catches the fish will be bequeathed with all of the fishes magical powers, but must also become a fish. The part about becoming a trout was the hardest part for people to comprehend. What good would these powers hold without being a human.
Bill and his father, who has since passed, caught every fish except that trout. They had boatloads of small mouth bass. They had so much bass they didn't know what they were going to do with it all. Bill's father suggested eating the fish, or even selling it to some fish company that could process it into fish sticks. Bill felt both of his father's ideas were poorly thought out so Bill suggested they sell the fish to testing places, the kind of places that do cruel and hideous things to animals. Bill's father agreed, but only if they caught the trout.
Bill and his father sat on their boat for two days without even the slightest of a bite until Bill felt something tugging at the line. It was the trout! The smartest trout in the entire galaxy was biting away at Bills thirty pound test fishing line. Bill kept thinking to himself, "How can this trout be so smart? If it is so smart why is it biting my line? Maybe it has chosen me to be its friend. I'd gladly become a trout any day of the week. Trout are the best fishes ever!" With that Bill gave a jerk on the line and the fish came sailing through the Nebraska sky. It was gorgeous, possibly the most exotic trout to ever grace the Earth. It barely even looked like a trout. Bill could feel the power of the trout in the atmosphere around him. The air was filled with an almost sexual energy. But since Bill had yet to copulate with anything besides his right hand he mistook this sexual energy for electricity. So there the trout was, flying through the air with the greatest of ease, it's the flying old trout, so calm, so pleased.
The fish landed with a roaring thud. It shook the pond and the land surrounding the pond for miles around. With that the trout stood up on two legs that spouted from its back fin and started to walk over to Bill.
"Bill," the trout said, "You finally caught me, so now what?" Bill knowing that the trout was being sarcastic replied in an arrogant tone, "Now what? That's all you have to say? Nothing like hey Bill, how you doing, or nice fishing, Bill, good catch? I don't need some fish, which I just caught, speaking to me in a sarcastic tone."
The fish looked perplexed and replied back, "I'm sorry Bill, I didn't realize all the trouble I've put you through. How about us being friends?"
Bill, mildly irritated, replied, "Friends, all you want to be is friends? No, I don't think so. That's not the way of the legend. The legend states that he who catches you will inherit your magical powers as long as they accept their fate of becoming a trout."
The fish seemed even more perplexed by what it perceived as a grave falsity, and said back to Bill, "What is this legend, what are these so called powers? I have no special powers, and I never did." With that the fish jumped back into the pond. "Fucking trout," Bill thought to himself.
Bill's father was flabbergasted. "What was that all about?" he asked his son. Bill didn't reply.
So that's it. That's the reason Bill hates trout. Just mention trout to Bill and he goes mad. Some people say the story never happened, and this could very well be. Maybe I'll call Bill back, and somehow disguise my voice. Maybe I'll ask him to tell me the story of the trout.
fin
01.09.07:
In the latest issue of Magnet there's a great, but all too brief interview with Mick Jones. When asked about punk ideals Jones responds:
...When he (Joe Strummer) was asked to define punk he said, " To me, a punk is a person of exemplary manners." I Kinda agree with that. It boils down to trying to be a good person in the end, believe it or not. It's not spitting in someone's eye."
Later Jones goes on to say:
So we were always decent people; we always treated our fans nicely. They were very important. It wasn't like the bands before us. We were much closer to our audience, I think. We didn't leave them as we found them. We left them hopefully inspired. Inspired to do something themselves, maybe.
And I suppose that's why The Clash are the only band that mattered, and still matters.
Another quick run. I thought of getting up early, but slept in so I went after work. The wind out of the northwest was quite cold. That was the one nice thing about having a beard, it kept my face a bit warmer.
Zerostars were invited back to play at the 2007 International Pop Overthrow Festival in April. No set date (April 21st - 28th) or drummer, but I believe we've said yes.
Watching:
Before Sunrise
- (There's that scene, very early on in the film, after they've just arrived in Vienna, and they're getting off the train and Celine (Julie Delpy) pauses only slightly before getting off the train...)
Listening to:
London Calling - The Clash
Friend Opportunity - Deerhoof
Song(s):
Aus heiterem Himmel (Ellen Allien Remix) - Barbara Morgenstern
Just To See You Smile (Orchestral mix) - Spaceman 3
You Killed It - Lily Allen
Old Flame - Harlem Shakes
I know - Sally Shapiro
Are You Alright - Lucinda Williams
Living Life - Daniel Johnston via the Eels
01.08.07:
Today is Bowie's 60th birthday, so, Happy Birthday to David Bowie. I'd celebrate by watching Labyrinth, but I don't have a copy. It also happens to be the birthday of Elvis, but I have never really cared for Elvis. I just don't get what people saw and still see in him, espcially Las Vegas Elvis. In 100 years will people still collect Elvis memorabilia? Will people still attend Elvis conventions? I hope not. Therefore I won't be watching any of his movies.
Anybody else think Wondering Boy Poet by Guided by Voices to be the shortest sad song ever written?
Maybe I should learn how to play cello this year. I'm feeling very non sequitur today, don't know why.
I've decided to make a Best of 2006 mix CD. If anybody wants one, drop me a note, and I'll make one for you.
Ever since getting home after work I've been listening to Whiskeytown. Strangers Almanac kills me, especially Houses on the Hill. Ryan Adams used to write recklessly honest songs until he started listening to everybody telling him that he's a genius.
The Rude66 808 Rmx of Sally Shapiro's I'll Be By Your Side is worth checking out. I almost prefer it to the original.
I'm really liking Kingdom of Doom, the second single from The Good, The Bad & The Queen. Can't wait for the album to be released. Great to hear Paul Simonon playing bass again. Now if only Damon Alburn could get Graham Coxen to play guitar for Blur like in the old days.
01.07.07:
Au revoir to my beard. It took me longer to shave my beard off than it did to run four miles this morning. But it was well worth the time. I prefer the beardless me. Kind of like I prefer the me with short hair. There was a point in time, a relatively short, very brief moment in college, when I grew my hair out. Why? I'll never know. Luckily only one person has photos of the grunge me, and that person isn't me, and that person has seemingly disappeared. I remember the day I cut it all off. It was a really cold February day. I recall that I was having a bad week, and I decided that I needed a change. I went to the first barber shop I could find in Champaign and instructed the barber to shave it all off. Then, I went to class. I arrived early and there was another class in the room. I decided to sit out front in the hallway. At one point my professor walked past me, glanced, kept walking about 20 more feet, turned around and asked, "Are you okay?" I told him I was fine. Then we talked about Yo La Tengo until class began.
Went for another four mile run. The weather has been perfect for running. I ran to Barbara Morgenstern's The Grass is Always Greener. Great album for a tempo run. As I ran I kept thinking it's ashame that this album will never receive the wider audience it deserves. When was the last time a German artist had a hit in the US? Nena, with 99 Loftballons ? And even then she had to sing it in English for it to be a hit. Either way, The Grass is Always Greener is one of the best albums in 2006. It manages to blend acoustic instruments with electronic elements in a fashion that is rare in pop music. At times it even feels like a jazz album, especially on the title track, but even more so on Das Schoene Einheitsbild. Highly recommended.
01.06.07:
Does anybody else ever wake up in their own bed not knowing where they are? Every so often I wake up for no apparent reason and I can't seem to figure out where I am. I'm not talking about some philosophical abstract moving through time and space thing. Last night I woke up and my bedroom was totally foreign to me. Sure, it's been a few weeks since I last slept here, but that has nothing to do with it since I periodically wake up wondering where I am. Maybe this is normal.
It's quite gorgeous out this morning. I woke a bit early so I went for a four mile run. First run of the new year (I'm slacking). Felt great, especially since I didn't have to battle any hill at the end of the run. But, I miss the hills of Camden. Anybody want to run the Chicago Marathon with me? It's in October. Let me know. I could really use a training partner this year. Plus, the Chicago Marathon is celebrating 30 years.
Song(s):
Famous Blue Raincoat - Leonard Cohen
I Have the Moon - Magnetic Fields via Lush
01.05.06:
Nothing like a one day work week. 98% of coworkers think I should keep my beard, 1% think it needs to be shaved off immediately, and 1% are indifferent. I thought of posting a photo of me with the beard and without the beard and letting whoever reads this website decide the fate of my beard. However, I don't like being a beard-o (and I don't feel like posing for a self portrait), so it's going to disappear at some point in the next 24 hours.
I had zero phone messages at work (kind of depressing considering I was gone for nearly three weeks -- I suppose I'm really not too important), and all the phone messages I had on my home phone were for some woman named Roberta (even more depressing). People always leave messages for Roberta. I'd like to meet Roberta, she sounds like she leads a very busy and fascinating life. From what I gather she owns a hair salon on Plum Grove Road, and it's always being burglarized. Why do I know this? Because some security company used to leave me messages on my machine telling me that the alarm at her beauty parlor had been activated. I know she's Catholic because the Arch Diocese of Chicago always calls looking for money. Based on the number of doctors calling to confirm appointments she seems to have quite a few health related issues. Oh, and she's not good at returning calls either... Maybe these people leave messages because I don't know how to switch the answering machine off of the robot voice message. I don't know how to record a message on my own answering me. Nor do I know how to program my VCR, and don't even ask why the clock in my kitchen always has the wrong date and time. I'm really not a technical person. My knowledge of web design is a rouse, I really have no idea what I'm doing... Or I just like to pretend that I don't know what I'm doing. No, I really don't know what I'm doing.
Song:
Remember Me, Remember You - The Radio
01.04.07:
Song(s):
Cats Eyes - Guillemots
River to Sea - Jeremy Enigk
Hear a Song - Ian Love
Bisbee Blue - Calexico
01.03.07:
Tomorrow it's back to Illinois, which means back to work on Friday. Probably would have made sense to take Friday off, but no point in using a vacation day.
Song(s):
Aus heiterem Himmel (Dntel Remix) - Barbara Morgenstern
Play the Hits - Hal
Pretty in a Panic - My Latest Novel (I read somewhere that they sound like The Arcade Fire -- and I've yet to buy into all the hype associated with The Arcade Fire -- but really it's Belle and Sebastian + Mogwai + Reindeer Section = need I say more.)
01.01.07:
Happy New Year!
No Top 10 albums for 2006, but if I was asked to make a decision, I'd pick The Life Pursuit by Belle and Sebastian as my favorite 2006 release. Instead, here's a list of songs that followed me through 2006:
Honey - Doveman
Only Love Can Break Your Heart - Neil Young
I Can't Seem to Make You Mine - The Clientele
Young Folks - Peter, Bjorn and John
In the Morning - Junior Boys
Music in a Foreign Language - Lloyd Cole
Breaking the Ice - Mojave 3
Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken - Camera Obscura
The Funeral - Band of Horses
Margaret vs. Pauline - Neko Case
Did I Say - Teenage Fanclub
Wiled-Eyed Soul - Mayonnaise
What If We Do? - Mia Doi Todd
Hope is a Thing With Feathers - Solveig Slettahjell
Bandits - Midlake
Last year (2006) I ran 873.42 miles, nearly 90 of those miles were in the last month. One of these years I'll hit 1,000 miles.
Today I finished reading Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman. I know, I'm late to the game on reading this fine piece of cultural criticism. I avoided reading him because he writes for Spin, and I find Spin pretty vapid. However, I gave him a chance, and I was surprised. Still, I'm left wondering if his critique of pop culture will have any lasting impact. I thought his comparing The Empire Strikes Back and Reality Bites to be quite astute, and amazingly on-the-mark. Highly recommended.
Listening to:
Disco Romance - Sally Shapiro