Prosaic Paradise

It’s like a rollercoaster. As soon as I got home from NEARfest, I wanted to go back. Despite feeling a little out of place, thanks much to Twitter, I was able to follow NEARfest folks and meet people! I even had someone stop me in the hall and say, “Hey, I recognize you from your twitter icon!” So that salvaged what might have otherwise been a mostly anti-social weekend.

Which would have been a pity, because proggers are very nice and interesting folks. As it is, I’m sad I went back to my hotel room to study while the party raged on.

Social dynamics aside, I was so excited to be exposed to a whole bunch of bands I had never heard before. There were plenty of surprises and even the bands that were not my bag were worth watching, and barely a weak spot was to be found in the lineup.

Cabezas de Cera: I saw “avant” and thought surely I would be indifferent. That was not so! There was plenty of musicality and a really engaging performance presence by this band. I tend to need vocals so for me to say I loved an instrumental set is high praise.

Beardfish: You all already know that I am a monstrous Beardfish fan. They did not disappoint. Thanks so much to Mike for letting me steal his seat for that set!! They did “Spegeldans” from their first album and that’s one of my favorites. I love the particular quirks of Rikard’s songwriting and Magnus’ lyrical drum parts, and the live show of course takes the whole thing to another level. This band is having fun and they project that in their live performance.

Gong: I had never heard Gong. I was a Gong newbie. I was totally grooving on their show and highly entertained. Thanks for weirding out beautifully! I have doubts about whether their music would carry over in studio albums, so if anyone out there wants to correct me on that, please do!

I also really loved hearing the VdGG set and the Trettioariga Kireget set, it was just a great experience all the way around. Next year who knows if I can return, but if I can, there is no doubt that I will. I also really enjoyed that the venue and the organization are very free about photography, so I was able to do a bunch of practicing with the manual settings. (Not to mention, the professional lights were a big help, and in most cases accented the performances well. Kudos to the lighting team.)

Tags: music shows show

Another week, another episode of SYTYCD, another night of ear-ringing from Mary Murphy’s screaming. Is it getting more gratuitous, or am I just putting on my rose-colored glasses when I look to the past?

People seem to be knocking Toni Basil out there on the internets, and I don’t actually get why. She was full of pride at the beginning and I guess that turns people off, but I don’t give a crap about pride and she said at least two things about the actual dancing skills of the actual dancers, and since the bar for judging on this show seems to be lowering, that’s enough to make me happy. (I don’t need the judges to tell me about my emotional reaction to the dance, that I can figure out on my own – please tell me if they were technically proficient thanks! That is why they call you experts!)

I have but brief notes, after the cut… and when you are done with mine, you can peruse Megan’s or MightyGodKing’s, because they are funnier than me.

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Tags: TV

I just got back from NEARfest, and I am exhausted. I took a few (500) pictures so I won’t be posting them until I’ve sorted them, but in the meantime, here is Cabezas de Cera in action. They will be playing Art-0-matic on Thursday and the Kennedy Center on Wednesday, so if you are a DC local and free you really should check them out.

Tags: Music, shows

I have been taking my one light of new live television over the past … well it’s only been a week, but it’s So You Think You Can Dance season! I never, ever thought I would be a fan, I never was a dancer as a kid, never really wanted to be one (except there was the musical numbers in the Wiz that one year! Those ruled.) But Fred and Christie talked me into it last year, and it only took one or two really moving performances to hook me. So you might find yourselves punished with these wrap-ups from time to time!

Tonight because our pizza arrived just as I finished my homework, Jack was forced/coerced/decided to watch a few of the dances with me. Considering how vitriolic he’s been about the show, this is big. His take: “I ripped the band-aid off, and it still stings.” I’m working on him.

And Megan – don’t think this means I won’t comment on your wrap-up!! I had fun last time. (I just want to see if anyone watching this space also wants to talk about it!)

For the DVR-delayed, I will place the commentary behind this magical link.

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Tags: TV

I keep saying that my ticket budget is capped. I keep saying no more shows. And then another show is announced that I simply cannot miss.

Last year I reviewed Reckoning Night. I have to tell you that I have been listening to that album almost once a week since then, even though I have so much other new music to listen to. I should probably review Unia, their most recent work, but I just keep enjoying Reckoning Night…

But now I find out they will be coming across the pond! Well, the ticket budget cap is going to have to be raised again. And they are opening for Dragonforce! It has been a really good year for me and shows, totally by surprise. Anyone else interested?If you are not local to me, here’s the list of dates.

Friday I am heading up to Bethlehem, PA to take in Nearfest for the first time. I am really excited and nervously shy, because I only know one or two people who are going, and those people I only know from email lists. Oh well. My sleeve tends to make friends at these events for me. If I get to chat with Beardfish, I am trying to think of non-stupid questions to ask them or things to say. Things that are not like “How do you write songs?” or “Oh my god, you guys are like so good and like I listen to your songs a lot you totally changed my life!”. If you can think of any non-stupid ways to approach a musician you really really like, please share them with me. I will find a way to make them come off stupid.

Tags: Music, shows

This morning I generated what I am sure is a very funny trouble ticket. I got in early this morning and got started and was working a while when I started to smell … something? Burning plastic? Eventually it occurred to me to crawl under my desk and sure enough, the smell was coming from under there somewhere. Long story short, I opened a “computer on fire” ticket. Our tech came down. Found nothing wrong (I had jostled the fan back to life) and couldn’t smell the smell. I’m sure I have a rep now.

This is not my only smell problem at work. The person across from me eats canned tuna every day and it bothers me so much that I get up and take walks when she eats. Other coworkers have said I am “oversensitized” to the smell. That it’s one of those particular things, a matter of taste.

I am confident that they don’t understand that HER LUNCH SMELLS LIKE THE GRAVE AND MAKES ME WANT TO PUKE.

God forbid I ever get pregnant.

I missed Genie’s last Living Out Loud project (here are the results), but sometimes inspiration just doesn’t come. But I’ll post my late answer anyways, because it totally fits!

Every time I smell something that bothers me like this, I am reminded of my father, in a mocking tone, saying “Something smells funny down here!” This is said to needle my mother. Who is always asking what the funny smell is or saying things smell wrong, a trait I have clearly inherited. I open the washer. “Something smells funny in here, did you put in soap?” I open the milk. “Does this milk smell right?”

So the joke is, Dad says: Do you know what they’re going to put on your mother’s tombstone?

Tags: Family

In my proven interest of promoting the Swedish art rock music scene (see Beardfish) (no, really see them, they are touring the US right now!!!) I have found for you another gem of awesome Swedish retro-prog-classic rock: Black Bonzo. Please don’t let all those adjectives turn you off! I am talking about a band that has broad rock appeal.

I want to call them the best new classic rock band around, but I’m not sure how many other new classic rock bands there are? I keep reading that they are much like Uriah Heep, but I’ve never listened to any Heep. Hang on – yup, I’ve just checked out three videos and they sure do. Clearly I have been missing something.

The Hammond organ is prominent on both of their albums. A good thing, since heavy rock keyboards make me happy. The drumming is more than beat, it’s artistry, it’s lyrical, and in contributes to the story the music is telling. I also quite like the lead singer’s voice – a crowd pleasing tenor, clear and strong.

They have two albums out right now, neither of which I could say I prefer since I very much enjoy both. I’d say that Lady of the Light is more the “fun” album and Sound of the Apocalypse is more the “serious” album. The music is like opening a time capsule thanks to vintage instrumentation, but that doesn’t mean the songs don’t sound fresh.

They just wrapped recording on a third album and sadly are only doing live dates in Sweden. I leave you with their creepy video for “Lady of the Light”. This song really gets me going in the morning, thank you very much rock shuffle!

You can sample their music at last.fm or pandora immediately, or just go straight to amazon and purchase it, if you are sold. April, if you are reading this, buy these albums for your dad for father’s day.

Tags: Music

If there is anyone who needs to restart her Purge Thursday habits, it is me. I have been psychologically blocked lately in part due to this obsession with taking before pictures. But this weekend there was sun! So I took this picture of my office:

It is stitched together with the Canon Photostitch software and has a few problems, but you get the picture. If you click through I’ve noted what everything is. The reality of the situation is that 50% of this stuff can be purged! But for some reason I wanted to show it all to you first.

Can you imagine me trying to get any homework or studying done in this mess? There is no flat surface except a crappy TV table and a tall table you can only stand up to use! Thusly, this is going to remain my World of Warcraft, blogging, and bill paying office while I am going to carve out part of the spare bedroom (the part currently devoted to crafts) to be my study.

I had my friend Jenna over Sunday to plan. She is a professional designer people! Without her I’d be putting in some ugly junk in a haphazard manner. You know it because you can see the photographic evidence that this is what I did! I expect to finish this project sometime… next year. Getting the spare room ready for change will be a non-small job, and I am scared of it.

Tags: house, stuff

I finally just pledged some cash to WTMD, our local actually good radio station. For a long time I thought “why even try when I can get exactly what I want, when I want it, now? Why bother when the radio can play ten things I don’t like first? But this past week they have been making me regret my ambivalence by playing the top 897 artists voted in by listeners. People, it is chaos. Cats and dogs. Hues and cries. However! I am actually tuning in because it’s such an adventure! Where did my votes land? What crazy incompetent buffoons made the list? Did I realize that I don’t hate Morphine (number 426) nearly as much as I thought? It’s just rad. (I also installed the iPhone app! Yay!)

….

A “Missed Connection” moment might have happened for me today. Somewhere a dude might be writing:

You: Tattooed lady driving a Mazda. Me: Bald hottie also driving a Mazda. We were in traffic hell on rt 29 North, when our eyes met and you smiled at me and I smiled at you and it was a little slice of heaven…

What I was thinking as we shared that smile:

Dude, nice truck. A B3000? This guy clearly marches to a different drummer. Although, the B3000 is just a Ford Ranger. And Ford Rangers of that era had a sad tendency to spontaneously combust… But still, I like remembering a time when trucks could have a wheel base of under 110 inches. Hey, that guy just smiled at me!

….

Today google reader made me look like a giant nerd in class. See, I’d been searching on Microbiology terms, so Reader suggested I subscribe to Small Things Considered, which I promptly did. I then read about Blood Falls. So then in class when we were learning about the great benefits of ice floating, I totally raised my hand totally Horschach style and did I explain Blood Falls? Yes, I did. And now everyone is going to beat me up on the playground.

Tags: car, School, work

I was faced once again last week with trying to explain to someone what it is I do all day at my job. I mean, I can explain it in real terms with details and what-not. But usually people start looking for an excuse to escape within 3 seconds if I do that. Or I can just mention my title, and let people sort of puzzle about that. (It’s “Systems Analyst”.) I wish that made me seem like some kind of woman of mystery, but really it just makes me seem like another nameless cube drone.

Instead I was forming an analogy, a more fun way to visualize what it is I do, tell me if this makes any sense:

Imagine a large gymnasium. At the far end are 120 buckets. The are “their” buckets. Here at the near end are 95 buckets, full of various items. There are “our” buckets. Some have one item, some have a couple of items. In between stands a really smart engineer who has to build a robot that puts all the items from my buckets into their buckets.

Standing near their buckets is a “referee” who is holding a 300 page rule manual for how things should go in their buckets. My job is to read that manual and write directions for the engineer to build the robot that picks up the items and puts them in the proper destination bucket.

Naturally, these buckets aren’t alike. Sometimes the thing in bucket 5 on this end goes in bucket 5 on that end. Sometimes the 3 objects in bucket 85 on this end go in buckets 4, 67, and 113 on their end. Sometimes there are rules that say that if we put something in bucket 24, we also must put things in buckets 110, 111, and 117. We might not have things that go in those buckets and we have to make shit up. Sometimes the items have to be flipped over before going in the other bucket, because there is a precise way it must be oriented. Or the robot has a bucket of paint and it has to paint the things a different color on the way.

This doesn’t seem too bad, really, except that every once in a while, a messenger runs in and hands the referee an updated version of the manual. Or, and this has been particularly painful for me, the manual lies. We go through the long and expensive project to build the robot, and the engineer has moved on to build another robot in another gymnasium, and the referee comes over and says “You were supposed to fill bucket 74. Please fix that.” “But it says we only have to fill that bucket on Tuesdays” “I don’t care, fill it every time.”

And so I call the busy engineer to come back, remove the “Tuesday Only” arm of the robot, and replace it with an “every day” arm. We put all the things in our buckets and try it again and I hold my breath and hope the referee doesn’t call another penalty on me.

Oh, and by the way, the stuff that is in the buckets is essentially people’s money. So, no pressure.

For a long time my boss was trying to get me into a professional class called “Getting Requirements Right”. They kept canceling the class due to lack of signup. Many jokes were made about how until they could hold that class, we would just have to keep getting our requirements wrong. We began to wonder why no one else wanted to get requirements right.

We have now been to the class! But I suspect we will still get them wrong sometimes. Plus – I know plenty of software developers who have to make their own shit up as they go along, since their company is too cheap to get someone to write requirements. So it’s not so bad. (And I don’t have to write code, which I can’t do and perhaps loathe.) It’s just sort of mentally taxing in a way that’s hard to explain to people. Until now, perhaps.

Tags: work