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Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
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6:12 pm - The Moustache Marches On
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Originally published at The Refinery. Please leave any comments there. In recent years, the moustache has gone from cheesy to ironic to strangely hip. Phil McAndrew demonstrates some of its undiscovered properties in a new web comic.
Via Ectomo for Boose.
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| Monday, August 25th, 2008
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8:59 pm - Terrifying visions of creamy tropical vengeance
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| Thursday, August 21st, 2008
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6:44 pm - Beautiful Greenpeace Ads
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| Wednesday, August 20th, 2008
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9:24 pm - The Machine Stops
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Originally published at The Refinery. Please leave any comments there. The Machine Stops was written in 1909 by E.M. Forster, who you may recognize from A Room with a View, Howard’s End, and suchlike.
It’s a short story about a future society in which space has been abolished. People live in small, hive-like cells and have everything brought to them through the function of a world-spanning device called the machine. They spend their days communicating with friends, consuming culture, and rehashing ideas without ever leaving their rooms. There is no physical contact and no direct experience of the world.
It’s a bit terrifying to see how, a century later, much of the story’s predictions are increasingly true in spirit.
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| Friday, September 21st, 2007
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11:49 am - Worst. Promo. Ever.
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So I guess it ought to be mentioned that I'll be playing a show with Neuroverse tonight at Points East Pub. We'll be going on around 10 or so. I'm on keys this time.
Sorry for the late notice. Anybody want to go?
current mood:  whee!
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| Tuesday, August 14th, 2007
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9:11 pm - Peanuts, by Charles Bukowski
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| Wednesday, November 15th, 2006
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8:42 pm - A Discussion
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So, how do you guys feel about music reviews?
My thoughts: At their best, they point the way to new music or help people consider music in a new way. At their worst, and more commonly, they're jaded dissections or scenester whining.
I've been very resistant to writing them over the years. I feel like it's difficult to write music criticism in a way that is useful to the reader and respectful to the artist. I'm in a place where I could write more reviews if I wanted to, but giving an honest review to some bands would make me feel like a vampire. People seem to want to read them, though, and I'm certainly not short of opinions. It would also be good practice.
I'm conflicted.
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(20 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
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3:59 pm - Frayed
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The end of an era approaches.
Steelbuddha set up a space where I can have a real, fully customized blog. Eventually, there will be room for photos and audio clips. After I'm finished sculpting and twisting it, you can visit me over there.
The content should be of higher quality, but I expect I probably won't hear from a lot of you as much, simply because of the inconvenience. It would be neat if I could convince my Livejournal to automatically publish a link to new entries, but we'll see how that goes. Either way, it is hella neat.
I've been having weird dreams about projects I can't complete and documents I can't correctly proofread. I woke up at 4:30 this morning and had to convince myself that everything needful had been accomplished the day before. What happened to those exciting childhood nightmares about parental zombification and wild dog maulings?
My brain is playing a dirty trick, really. As my 26th birthday approaches, I'm making an attempt to seriously crack down and build necessary skills and habits into myself, and the brain doesn't like it. What my brain doesn't understand is that if we don't get this done together, we're going to feel like a waste in another ten years. We need to feel like we're good at what we do for a living, we need music, and we need to find time to squeeze a healthy lifestyle in there. To get any of that done, though, the brain must let me sleep.
Many, many other things are afoot, but I don't have the time or energy to discuss them now.
current music: the presets - girl and the sea
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| Thursday, October 26th, 2006
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4:56 pm - Lost Boys
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I called my dad last night to wish him a happy birthday, which would have been a thoughtful thing to do if his birthday hadn't been on Tuesday. He was glad to hear from me anyway, but it was an asshole move on my part. It would be nice if I could say that I only rarely do this to the people I love, but that's not true.
( Here be introspective ramblings )
I guess all I can do is keep trying to improve this part of myself, and hope people tolerate it long enough for me to get it right.
current mood:  frustrated
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(8 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, October 18th, 2006
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3:15 pm - Everything's Coming up Milhouse
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In the twenty minutes after I arrived at work, I found at that:
- Bossman loves the last-minute ad I produced last night
- My efforts to save a project from off-deadline oblivion were successful
- A music magazine that I like wants me to write for them. No pay yet, but it's needed experience and not much time investment. More on this as it develops.
- Co-worker brought in peach cobbler. Gooood co-worker.
SO much better than yesterday.
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(6 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, October 10th, 2006
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12:30 am - They Live (some of them)
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Wow. Josh Fabrik is moving to Hollywood. Good for him. Sucks for the rest of us. I feel like I missed a golden opportunity to hang out with him more while he was here.
This also means that Jon is looking for a drummer for Neuroverse, the band in which I play an electric bass guitar. Samples are available on MicePace.
current mood:  sadhappy
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(7 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, September 19th, 2006
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3:08 pm - Gordian Marketing Knot
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Svedka vodka is now using a likeness of Chris Cunningham's "All is Full of Love" android as a spokesbot under the tagline "The Future of Adult Entertainment."
The lines are not as elegant. They've stripped some of the white panels away from the abdomen and shoulders. From the front, the white pelvic plates are suggestive of a bikini, and the breasts are larger. Most disturbing, the feet are shaped into white high heels. Basically, they took his beautiful android and tarted her all up.
Svedka has also coupled with Nerve.com to produce some erotic stories in support of their brand theme, but I'd prefer not to access them at work and don't have internet access at home. One of them is written by Douglas Rushkoff, Mr. Viral Marketing himself, so there's something afoot here. The titles and descriptions of the stories overtly talk about a "fun and exciting" future world, but they also suggest seriously dystopic themes.
The whole thing is a conceptual mess. Certain elements refer to feminist themes while others (literally) objectify women. Parts of it overtly glorify but covertly criticize celebrity worship culture. Then there are the typical cocktail recipes and pictures from celebrity parties.
They might be trying to send different messages to different people, but I think their viewers will either be confused or disgusted, depending on their level of savvy. In any case, it's a lot of wanking to sell a vodka.
Also, why you gotta play Chris Cunningham like that?
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(8 comments | comment on this)
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| Friday, September 15th, 2006
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9:30 am - Tainted Spinach
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Andy posted this to his journal already, but I'm reposting this article about tainted bag spinach. Those fuckers. I LOVE spinach.
Popeye Gets E. Coli
current mood:  thoroughly creeped
current music: "I fights to the finish, cause... (dies)"
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, August 8th, 2006
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6:23 pm - I will not be denied Pennsic
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When I leave in 40 minutes, I'll have been working for 34.5 hours straight, minus 2.5 hours to take the train home, shower, and change clothes. I don't know whether to feel macho or ashamed.
But I will not be denied Pennsic.
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, August 3rd, 2006
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10:11 am - Those Thoughts You Have
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If you're a kid and someone asks if you were born in a barn, there is a good response. Muster up your earnestness, look them straight in the eye, and say "you mean, like Jesus was?"
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| Saturday, July 29th, 2006
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12:53 am - Fuck this Noise
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NEED. WHISKEY.
current mood: still at work
current music: Hank Williams, Sr. -- My Son Calls Another Man Daddy
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(5 comments | comment on this)
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| Friday, July 21st, 2006
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11:47 am - The Conduit
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| Monday, July 17th, 2006
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11:34 am - Stuff I'm Doing with Things and People
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I seem to either exist in total laziness or never-stop-moving intensity. Right now, I'm definitely in the latter mode, but here's an update.
( cut for length )
current mood: wired
current music: front 242 - masterhit, which will not leave my head
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, July 6th, 2006
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11:06 am - Limping onto the Pitch
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I made some pretty yummy stuff on Tuesday, but I'm a bum and didn't take proper pictures. Also, I am filled with curmudgeonly misanthropy today, so I'll keep this brief.
Clementines with Balsamic and Black Pepper
Friday night, I cut up a clementine and gave it a dash of balsamic vinegar and fresh ground pepper. Mario Batali made this for the Gyllenhaal family on an episode of Molto Mario, so I thought I'd give it a try. Jake almost creamed his jeans over the stuff on TV, but I'm not impressed. It was alright, but after a few bites, I realized that I'd rather just cut up a new clementine and eat it by itself. But I'm no Mario Batali.
Hail Caesar
Then I made the Caesar salad that Grant posted this week on Well Fed. The dressing was kind of a pain in the ass, but I think it would be much easier to make the second time around. I would imagine that those of you without a food processor could still make this. Just mince the garlic and anchovies and then whisk the shit out of the mixture while you pour the oil in very slowly.
I was particularly excited about this one, since it was my first run with making a stable emulsion. You know how store-bought Caesar dressing tends to separate into it's oil and vinegar components in the bottle? Not this stuff. I pulled it out of the fridge the next day and it was still completely emulsified. Hell, I'm eating it with dipping veggies for lunch today and it's still fine.
Yes, there is raw egg yolk in it. Don't be a pussy. Rocky would be ashamed of you.
I sliced the parmesan onto the salad instead of grating it, but I think I might grate it next time and use a little more. The lemon in the dressing tends to leave it feeling a little too light. A little more anchovy, garlic, or cheese funk could be just the thing. Also, do not skip the watercress. It adds a lot to the flavor of the whole salad.
Piece of Pisces
Following the theme of making dishes that require me to use my new reamer on citrus fruit, I made some lime-buttered salmon for lunch the next day.
An aside: Kitchen-shy gentlemen looking to impress a lady would do well to embrace the noble salmon. Rub it with salt and pepper, stick it on the grill or broiler for a few minutes on each side, and there you are. As long as you buy decent fish and don't overcook it, it's pretty much impossible to screw up. If you want to put something on it after that, a drizzle of melted butter and lemon juice is all it takes. Toss in a salad with decent dressing, pick up a bottle of wine, and you're in action.
Now, doesn't that look a lot classier than the Ragu smothered pasta you had planned?
I tried out an easy recipe for lime butter sauce from Epicurious that was delicious. The leftover sauce was great on some sweet corn that night, too.
In Conclusion
Alright, that's the lame start of this little food experiment. I swear I'll try to make it better as it goes along.
On next week's show, I'll talk about the Persian lamb kebab I'll be cooking this weekend in the woods. I had a pretty laughable experience trying to figure out how best to cut the leg of lamb up last night, so let's hope that someone will be able to chew this stuff when it comes off the skewer. Also, there will be pictures.
current music: The Black Keys - The Lengths
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| Monday, July 3rd, 2006
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4:25 pm - Horse Brutality!?
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Stop the Burning -- After a three-day weekend of non-stop cleaning, repair, and hauling, I once again have a civilized living arrangement. With a lot of work and some professional cleaning, pretty much everything made it out alright. Financially, it should be about break-even when the old management company gives me my money on Wednesday. Huzzah.
The new place is actually slightly bigger and MUCH better for having people over. I would like to have found something a little less expensive, but c'est la vie. Which brings us to...
Food -- Tonight, I am going to cook a delicious meal for my woman in my brand new kitchen. It's a couple of new recipes, so if they turn out well, I'll put some pictures and recipe links up on Wednesday.
Also, it looks like I'm going to be cooking Persian-style saffron lamb kebabs in the woods this weekend for nine people. They're supposed to be served with a crusty basmati rice/yogurt/saffron stuff that looks awesome, but I'm worried about managing the heat levels correctly over the fire. I might make up some different sides that are easier, though I really want to make the rice stuff. Maybe I'll just skewer some veggies and baste them in a little lemon butter instead. Throw in some tabbouleh, and there we go.
Since this is an SCA outing, I'd ideally try to keep the preparation as pre-1650 A.D. as possible. I'm not sure I have the time, skills, and knowledge to do that up correctly, though. Maybe next time.
Son, I'd like you to meat Henry. (SKIP THIS, VEGETARIANS) -- My father has an acquaintance, Brad, who runs a small pig farm in northeastern Wisconsin. Every year, my parents buy all or part of a pig, have it butchered locally, and use it for the majority of their meat over the year.
Perhaps as a result of listening to me talk about wanting to eat more local, organic food, my dad has taken to asking Brad what the name of the pig is. Thus, I know that the bacon, pizza sausage, pork roast, and pork chop in my fridge came from a large, healthy pig named Henry, who died a little over a year ago. He lived a happy life, rolling in mud and eating a lot.
I'm glad I know these things. First, I do care that Henry was treated humanely (porcinely?) and lived as close to a natural life as a domestic pig can these days. Second, I have a ghoulish sense of humor that I should probably be ashamed of. Still, I'll tell you this: Henry is fucking delicious.
current mood:  tired & bouncy
current music: none. bossman wants to see us in headphones less. :/
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