Monday, April 7, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
The Black Keys
Its rare that the iPod frame of my blog is two of the same band.
Sold Out show at the Slowdown - Thursday April 10th
The Black Keys
quotes from the "Your Touch" video above:
"so, how do you feel? ya know, about being dead?"
"I dunno. ...My neck hurts. How about you? You didn't look to great up there"
"Yeah.... well, at least I died doing what I love. Ya know? Lip-synching."
Sold Out show at the Slowdown - Thursday April 10th
The Black Keys
quotes from the "Your Touch" video above:
"so, how do you feel? ya know, about being dead?"
"I dunno. ...My neck hurts. How about you? You didn't look to great up there"
"Yeah.... well, at least I died doing what I love. Ya know? Lip-synching."
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Artificial Harmonics
"The physics of vibrating strings is a complex subject in which I have no expertise, other than twanging music out of them, so I won't pretend to know the details. I do know that when you strike a guitar string, the note that you hear is called the 'fundamental'. It's by far the loudest note created, but along with it you are also hearing 'harmonics'. These are subsidiary tones that accompany the fundamental, and are responsible for making each instrument sound the way it does.
Guitar 'harmonics' are created when you lightly touch the string with your finger at specific positions and then pluck the string. This causes both sections of the string, to the right and left of the spot you're touching, to vibrate simultaneously, giving a bell like quality to the note. It's best to quickly remove your finger as you pluck. What you are doing is removing the fundamental and only hearing the harmonics.
There are three points along the string points this: the fifth, seventh and twelfth frets ... directly above the fret-wire. At these points, the string is divided exactly into fourths, thirds and halves respectively. The purity of sound comes from these perfect fractions of string ringing together. If you try it anywhere else on the string, you hear a dead sound without any ring. "
Guitar 'harmonics' are created when you lightly touch the string with your finger at specific positions and then pluck the string. This causes both sections of the string, to the right and left of the spot you're touching, to vibrate simultaneously, giving a bell like quality to the note. It's best to quickly remove your finger as you pluck. What you are doing is removing the fundamental and only hearing the harmonics.
There are three points along the string points this: the fifth, seventh and twelfth frets ... directly above the fret-wire. At these points, the string is divided exactly into fourths, thirds and halves respectively. The purity of sound comes from these perfect fractions of string ringing together. If you try it anywhere else on the string, you hear a dead sound without any ring. "
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Work Humor
I seem to find things funnier at work. The below account for example. I had such a solid laugh about this idea that I had to blog it.
So I was sitting at work the other day, playing with a gigantic ball of silly putty. I thought outloud to myself, "Why is it that people think that silly putty is just for kids? I still like silly putty." To which someone who overheard said sarcastically,
"Maybe because it sounds ridiculous saying that a grown man was playing with silly putty."
I thought about that. And I have my response:
Serious Putty.
It's a lot like silly putty. In fact it is silly putty, with a few minor differences.
-Silly putty comes in a a small plastic toy egg. Serious putty comes in a generic square cardboard container.
-Silly putty causes people to smile and giggle when playing with it. Serious putty incites a furrowed brow and a drop in the user's sense of humor.
-Silly putty comes in a rainbow of fun colors. Serious putty comes in non-descript grey only. If you ask for different colors, Serious Putty Customer Service recommends 'getting serious.'
Apparently I'm not the first person to find hilarity in the idea of Serious Putty as a less-fun alternative to Silly Putty. A simple google search came up with some pretty funny hits:
"Silly Putty comes in a plastic egg. Serious Putty comes in a small vinyl Brooks Brothers suit."
"When you drop it, Silly Putty bounces. Serious Putty stops, assesses the situation, and issues a report."
"When you subject it to sudden stress, Silly Putty breaks. Serious Putty drinks more coffee and works extra hours."
Also, I found that Serious Putty is an unoffical nickname for C4 explosives. I guess that's accurate. That shit is pretty serious.
So I was sitting at work the other day, playing with a gigantic ball of silly putty. I thought outloud to myself, "Why is it that people think that silly putty is just for kids? I still like silly putty." To which someone who overheard said sarcastically,
"Maybe because it sounds ridiculous saying that a grown man was playing with silly putty."
I thought about that. And I have my response:
Serious Putty.
It's a lot like silly putty. In fact it is silly putty, with a few minor differences.
-Silly putty comes in a a small plastic toy egg. Serious putty comes in a generic square cardboard container.
-Silly putty causes people to smile and giggle when playing with it. Serious putty incites a furrowed brow and a drop in the user's sense of humor.
-Silly putty comes in a rainbow of fun colors. Serious putty comes in non-descript grey only. If you ask for different colors, Serious Putty Customer Service recommends 'getting serious.'
Apparently I'm not the first person to find hilarity in the idea of Serious Putty as a less-fun alternative to Silly Putty. A simple google search came up with some pretty funny hits:
"Silly Putty comes in a plastic egg. Serious Putty comes in a small vinyl Brooks Brothers suit."
"When you drop it, Silly Putty bounces. Serious Putty stops, assesses the situation, and issues a report."
"When you subject it to sudden stress, Silly Putty breaks. Serious Putty drinks more coffee and works extra hours."
Also, I found that Serious Putty is an unoffical nickname for C4 explosives. I guess that's accurate. That shit is pretty serious.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Hyperlink Hijinx
Mission Craigslist:
-One used piano. Preferably upright.
-One used Foosball table. Preferably from Tornado.
*(no Blogger, not Football... FOOSBALL.)
And for the record, most people don't play like this.
-One used piano. Preferably upright.
-One used Foosball table. Preferably from Tornado.
*(no Blogger, not Football... FOOSBALL.)
And for the record, most people don't play like this.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Narrow Stairs
Deathcab for Cutie:
"The new album, titled Narrow Stairs, will be released on May 13th, 2008"
this May has kewl stuff coming!!
(see also: Indiana Jones 4)
"The new album, titled Narrow Stairs, will be released on May 13th, 2008"
this May has kewl stuff coming!!
(see also: Indiana Jones 4)
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Rants
I read an article today that I had to sum up here because I agree with it, and I feel its an interesting point of view.
On the topic of Michigan and Florida do-over primaries:
This article (or editorial, really) starts with a jab at the 'feel good age' where there cannot be any losers, where "every kid gets a trophy, even the losers." This kind of thinking, where 'good god, don't ever let the children feel like they weren't good enough' takes the place of honest feedback (sorry, Johnny, but your team chased rabbits when the other team was running drills) or (sorry, Bobby, but the guy you were guarding was a foot taller than you. You'll have to work on boxing out, or you'll never be able to compete with people his size). This may FEEL like you're helping the kids, but I honestly think that it goes WAY to far in many cases. No, you shouldn't berate kids or adults, but I also don't think you should reward failure/disobedience.
The way I see the FL/MI scenario is this:
-Florida and Michigan said they wanted to move up their primaries for any certain number of reasons.
-The Democratic Party said no. You can't. And if you do, we WILL NOT seat your delegates this year. They will not be counted.
-The presidential campaigns all received this information and acted as each candidate's personality dictated. (Barack completely backs out as the Dems leadership suggested. Hillary left her name on the ballot. The ONLY major candidate on the ballot. She won, unsurprisingly.)
-Now pro-Clinton groups and uninformed individuals are spinning this story to fit the new "feel good era." People aren't getting their votes counted! People's voices aren't being heard!! OF COURSE THEY AREN'T. They were told they wouldn't. Its like when your mother says, if you eat that cookie, you WILL NOT get play time after dinner. Now the MI/FL children want their play time, too. NO! You were told what the consequences would be, and now (Oh My God!) you must live with them. Grow up and act your age and stop pouting like a spoiled, petulant child.
-Furthermore, no re-do contest in MI/FL can be 'fair' in any sense of the word. Obviously, Clinton NEEDS those delegates to have any chances of wining the nomination. Of course she's going to get on her soapbox 'fighting for all those american voters on MI/FL who aren't getting their voices heard.' She needs them to be seated. Of course Obama is going to stump to keep them from being seated, he's in the lead and wants to stay there. They all agreed to sidestep MI & FL, and if he's been trying to keep them from being seated, they're going to hate him and he's going to do badly. Duh. This seems so obviously unfair and ridiculous to me that I'm amazed at how much debate is going into it. The answer is simple. MI/FL made their choice to move up their primaries. Now they have to live with their decision. I realize that the left-wing do-gooders and hippies (of which I am a part) are going to have a hard time giving some tough love. If this were the Republican party, this wouldn't even be an issue. We said no, you did it anyway, you live with the consequences.
If MI/FL's delegates get seated, and it lends to/results in Clinton winning the nomination, I'm voting for McCain in November. I'm dead serious. People are finally excited about politics and process for the first time in awhile, and the Clinton's win-at-any-cost (or at least until you have articles of impeachment filed against you) strategy is disenfranchising people from the Democratic party. She's getting support from GOP voters who WANT to hurt the Dems chances in November.
My pledge to the DNC: if you seat MI/FL delegates in ANY way, I'm not voting Democrat for 10 years. I'm guessing that I'm not the only one. Choose wisely, even though you may be willing to let MI/FL have their cake and eat it too, the Democratic Party may not be so lucky.
On the topic of Michigan and Florida do-over primaries:
This article (or editorial, really) starts with a jab at the 'feel good age' where there cannot be any losers, where "every kid gets a trophy, even the losers." This kind of thinking, where 'good god, don't ever let the children feel like they weren't good enough' takes the place of honest feedback (sorry, Johnny, but your team chased rabbits when the other team was running drills) or (sorry, Bobby, but the guy you were guarding was a foot taller than you. You'll have to work on boxing out, or you'll never be able to compete with people his size). This may FEEL like you're helping the kids, but I honestly think that it goes WAY to far in many cases. No, you shouldn't berate kids or adults, but I also don't think you should reward failure/disobedience.
The way I see the FL/MI scenario is this:
-Florida and Michigan said they wanted to move up their primaries for any certain number of reasons.
-The Democratic Party said no. You can't. And if you do, we WILL NOT seat your delegates this year. They will not be counted.
-The presidential campaigns all received this information and acted as each candidate's personality dictated. (Barack completely backs out as the Dems leadership suggested. Hillary left her name on the ballot. The ONLY major candidate on the ballot. She won, unsurprisingly.)
-Now pro-Clinton groups and uninformed individuals are spinning this story to fit the new "feel good era." People aren't getting their votes counted! People's voices aren't being heard!! OF COURSE THEY AREN'T. They were told they wouldn't. Its like when your mother says, if you eat that cookie, you WILL NOT get play time after dinner. Now the MI/FL children want their play time, too. NO! You were told what the consequences would be, and now (Oh My God!) you must live with them. Grow up and act your age and stop pouting like a spoiled, petulant child.
-Furthermore, no re-do contest in MI/FL can be 'fair' in any sense of the word. Obviously, Clinton NEEDS those delegates to have any chances of wining the nomination. Of course she's going to get on her soapbox 'fighting for all those american voters on MI/FL who aren't getting their voices heard.' She needs them to be seated. Of course Obama is going to stump to keep them from being seated, he's in the lead and wants to stay there. They all agreed to sidestep MI & FL, and if he's been trying to keep them from being seated, they're going to hate him and he's going to do badly. Duh. This seems so obviously unfair and ridiculous to me that I'm amazed at how much debate is going into it. The answer is simple. MI/FL made their choice to move up their primaries. Now they have to live with their decision. I realize that the left-wing do-gooders and hippies (of which I am a part) are going to have a hard time giving some tough love. If this were the Republican party, this wouldn't even be an issue. We said no, you did it anyway, you live with the consequences.
If MI/FL's delegates get seated, and it lends to/results in Clinton winning the nomination, I'm voting for McCain in November. I'm dead serious. People are finally excited about politics and process for the first time in awhile, and the Clinton's win-at-any-cost (or at least until you have articles of impeachment filed against you) strategy is disenfranchising people from the Democratic party. She's getting support from GOP voters who WANT to hurt the Dems chances in November.
My pledge to the DNC: if you seat MI/FL delegates in ANY way, I'm not voting Democrat for 10 years. I'm guessing that I'm not the only one. Choose wisely, even though you may be willing to let MI/FL have their cake and eat it too, the Democratic Party may not be so lucky.
a cold day in August...
New post!!
I like to wait until my readership is just about to ask for refund of their subscription fees, then hit 'em with some new content. Since I still work my same boring job, and my projects have stalled as of late, I've had little if any source material. My posts would have looked like this:
"March 1st.
Snowed again. Stayed inside. I picked up my room, since I'm in here most of the time.
March 2nd.
Snow turned to ice. I fell today. I don't think anyone saw it. Maybe I'll cook something tonight.
March 10th.
I cooked something. Pasta. It wasn't very good. Jake's making Spicy Pork Curry with basmati rice and butternut squash tomorrow. Maybe I'll just stick to doing the dishes.
March 11th.
I have just started copying and pasting old posts, since nothing new is going on."
In the last few weeks, I did sell two of my guitars that I didn't really need. The first was an acoustic guitar that I've had for several years and didn't like. I had turned it into a lap slide guitar, then got tired of that and it sat in its case for 2-3 years. I managed to sell it for only $15 less than I bought it for, which is AWESOME. I thought I was going to have to burn it for heat to get anything worthwhile out of it. The other sale was the hand-painted Monterey Pop strat. I invested only $79 + $15 worth of paint and several hours of work into this guitar. It sold for much more than that. I was pretty stoked. Now I have the decision to either be frugal and just pocket that $, or save half and re-invest the other half into either new projects or a quality instrument. (I can already hear mom saying 'save it!!')
I also had the chance to play outside for a while yesterday with two other guys, one on acoustic guitar, and anther playing saxophone. That was a pretty good time, we've got plans to play in the skywalk (something I've wanted to do for a while) on Friday.
Cheers! Its St. Patricks Day!
I like to wait until my readership is just about to ask for refund of their subscription fees, then hit 'em with some new content. Since I still work my same boring job, and my projects have stalled as of late, I've had little if any source material. My posts would have looked like this:
"March 1st.
Snowed again. Stayed inside. I picked up my room, since I'm in here most of the time.
March 2nd.
Snow turned to ice. I fell today. I don't think anyone saw it. Maybe I'll cook something tonight.
March 10th.
I cooked something. Pasta. It wasn't very good. Jake's making Spicy Pork Curry with basmati rice and butternut squash tomorrow. Maybe I'll just stick to doing the dishes.
March 11th.
I have just started copying and pasting old posts, since nothing new is going on."
In the last few weeks, I did sell two of my guitars that I didn't really need. The first was an acoustic guitar that I've had for several years and didn't like. I had turned it into a lap slide guitar, then got tired of that and it sat in its case for 2-3 years. I managed to sell it for only $15 less than I bought it for, which is AWESOME. I thought I was going to have to burn it for heat to get anything worthwhile out of it. The other sale was the hand-painted Monterey Pop strat. I invested only $79 + $15 worth of paint and several hours of work into this guitar. It sold for much more than that. I was pretty stoked. Now I have the decision to either be frugal and just pocket that $, or save half and re-invest the other half into either new projects or a quality instrument. (I can already hear mom saying 'save it!!')
I also had the chance to play outside for a while yesterday with two other guys, one on acoustic guitar, and anther playing saxophone. That was a pretty good time, we've got plans to play in the skywalk (something I've wanted to do for a while) on Friday.
Cheers! Its St. Patricks Day!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Indy 4
Dust off your Fedoras and whips! Its time to punch a Nazi! The newest installment of Indiana Jones is set to release on May 22nd. The first trailer was just released. 
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