Who am I rooting for on Sunday? No, not a football team, but Fauja Singh, a 100 old dude who is running the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Sunday. Here is the story on the CBC (link).
 - Cool Olds of the week – Fauja Singh (image from the CBC)
I mention him becasue his story is in sharp contrast so much out there in the news. See, I went in for my annual checkup at the doctor’s yesterday. To my annoyance, they had stupid-ass CNN blaring in the waiting room just making all this noise and reminding me why I never watch television news. What were the stories being shouted about by the announcers and their guests? An awesome dude who lost his wife and child 20 years ago and took up running? No, long horrible stories about John Wayne Gacey, who appears to be back in the news, and some horrible case about a home invasion where the killer tries to blame the people he murdered. GAH!
Seriously, I don’t get that shit. Not to minimize the tragedy of the victims in those cases but the fact that people follow these cases in the news as a kind of entertainment – that I don’t get. Balls to that! I don’t want to invade on someone’s tragedy nor do I want to hear graphic details of brutal people’s actions. Which is why when I read Fauja Singh’s story, it felt like a relief – there is good stuff and good people out there.
Go, 100 year old dude! The world needs olds like you.
The first Apple product I ever owned was an iPod Touch 4th Generation. It’s also the only Apple product I’ve ever owned. And it is a pretty good one. I don’t use it very much though. The screen is too dinky for browsing the web. Music technology has changed for the better to where it’s not necessary to tote your personal music library if you don’t want to. And when I walk away from a digital device (the ones upon which I can actually be productive), I’m usually also taking a step away from the constant feed of emails, twits and status updates.
I used to keep an iPad2 around the house. My company bought it so I could develop iPad apps. I stopped keeping it at home though because I noticed that, while I would indeed use it for its convenience, I was actually less productive when it was around. I wouldn’t bother attempting to do coding on it; the Google docs stuff didn’t work very well at all; and many of the online programs I like don’t work on the iPad2. The only thing I genuinely miss about keeping it around is the battery life.
So I’m not sentimental at all about Apple. And in fact I’ve always been a critic because of the locked down nature of these products – getting more so everyday. With Apple you pay for form over function – the Prada of technology.
I am however truly saddened by the death of Steve Jobs. And not because he changed the world with the iPhone. Because he didn’t do that. There is no one individual to be given such praise, it’s some engineer group over at Research In Motion (since it truly was the Crackberry that heralded in a new age and not the iPhone). What truly makes me sad is the statistic: Steve Jobs, a great and powerful man on the forefront of human inventiveness, was powerless in the face of pancreatic cancer.
The other day a junior developer I work with sent me an op-ed piece; one of those “technology is taking our jobs” numbers that make the alarm bells ring in my head. This article pointed to the toll booth operators losing their jobs to technology as one example. That sort of “point” is what rings the alarm bells because it seems clearly written to prompt a debate over the worth of the job. Of course “toll booth operator” is not a job worth fighting technology to keep. Especially given the bigger point: Steve Jobs died at the very young age of 56 due to a disease we have no power over. There is still plenty, plenty of work to do. And then, we will look back at these Apple toys and laugh at their uselessness.
Curious that today, as Houston joins in with its own Occupy Wall Street protest, one of the big captains of industry, Steve Jobs typed “/sbin/shutdown” yesterday.
I think we all have a relationship with Apple products. I personally remember my old Apple IIc. That was the first computer I owned and to this day I wish I hadn’t given it away to Brian Carusella. It was a great little machine and I made a few mods here and there (made it smoke once even when I connected a few wires wrong). Bongtooth, used it as a drum machine. We didn’t have a drummer so I sat down and did some primitive sampling using a SAM card and my turntable. As I recall, Live Skull’s Don’t Get Any On You and 10,000 Maniacs’ Blind Man’s Zoo had some pretty good drums that were clean of other instruments and was where the vast majority of my samples came from. The primitive nature of the sampling and poorly cobbled loop software made for some curiously weird rhythms that wouldn’t quite stay in sync and that kind of lent a flavor to what Jim Otterson, John Cramer, and I wrote. It’s funny because from working with the Apple to Kurt Mackey’s histrionic drumming style was quite a leap but to this day I still recall with fondness trying to make this 64K machine work beyond its means.
Our studio by the way is built around Macs. We learned after blowing our first record company advance at a studio that it was better to invest in our own gear and so the band put money together for a PowerMac and some software that Steve eventually expanded on to create his own Studio.
Even though my ex-wife has my old G4, I still kind of miss that computer. I’d souped it up as fast as a 1999 G4 could go but damn if it still didn’t work nicely. I moved up to a G5 after the divorce and while I’m a generation behind on the processor (mine was the last of the PowerPCs) it still does what it does efficiently and nicely and that is that I am running on the bare minimum of RAM because I’m too lazy to buy new sticks. And I think that’s the thing about Macs you do get attached to them. I’ve had PC’s that you can diddle around with and have no fear of setting it afire which is fun in the same way my old AppleIIc was but for some reason there is something disposable and impersonal about the PC. PCs are the beater computer that when they break or become obsolete, you can run down and plunk another $400 at Best Buy to replace but a Mac is something you buy and expect to last for at least a decade. Maybe that’s because when you plunk down that much money for a computer, you are a little more committed.
Anyhow, the point is many of us here are Apple folks. We suffered through the beach ball of doom and the clunkiness of OS9, learned Apple Basic and Fortran on an AppleII, and recorded music on their machines as well. To be fair, many of us also winced as Apple grew from being the underdog to becoming a variant on the overlord it mocked when it ran its 1984 super bowl commercial. Good or bad, Steve Jobs gots the lion’s share of credit for what the company and its products became. Of course, Jobs never acted alone, he was smart enough to surround himself with a solid team of developers but you can’t argue with the fact that without him, there would be no Apple Computer in 2012. If you don’t believe me then you likely don’t recall John Sculley’s reign at Apple. So because his company has had such an effect on the technology that affects our lives, his passing is kind of a big deal and tributes are flowing from everywhere.
Hell, even KPFT was getting in on it. This afternoon, I was listening to a speech on that station while driving. I was completely oblivious as to who was speaking until the end of the speech but the speaker was Jobs and he closed with a very lovely and fitting line, “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.” I can’t think of a better epitaph.
So, anyhow thanks Steve
Well, it seems the Wall Street Protests are finally getting some traction and there is going to be a march and “occupation” here in Houston (http://occupyhouston.org/). It’s an interesting amorphous grass roots movement that’s inspired by the Arab Spring demonstrations with a worthwhile target.
For some reason the movement does get portrayed as liberal - that may have to do with the youth culture of the right vs the left and how they see themselves and how they are seen in the media – but I think corporate corruption isn’t a liberal agenda. Remember McCain-Feingold? John McCain back in 2000 (before he became a weirdo robot) was very aggressive with campaign finance reform. Look no further than the bail outs and the stimulus. The partisan left bitched about Bush’s bail-outs and the partisan Right bitched about Obama’s stimulus, and the rest of us just wanted some accountability. And the whole thing just comes across as crony capitalism when you read sentences like, “One of Obama’s top economic advisers confided in a 2009 e-mail that the government did a “crappy” job as a venture capitalist, picking which companies should receive financial support.”(1) But regardless of the broad message and the local organizers writing that their “political and social beliefs will remain neutral for this cause” and that “the only thing [they] will promote openly is peaceful demonstrations,” I suspect it will be mostly folks on the left or left leaning who will show up to the Houston protest.
But outside what’s behind the protest and who will be attending, I think one of the more interesting aspects is how broad and leaderless it is. That can be a double edged sword. One the one hand the lack of a cohesive message and specific proposed solutions can just come off as an aimless bitch session. On the other hand, as a message to lawmakers to address the issue, it’s quite open and democratic in its approach.
Another double edged sword is the lack of an proper and cohesive organization that can make for a clouded and muddled message. A reporter can go to one person and get a statement then go to another and get something else. But that also has an advantage in that it addresses the largest problem I saw in the local peace movement – egotistical self-righteous assholes.
I will tell you right now, I’m no fan of some of the local big wigs in the political left who seem to be more about self-aggrandizement than what is best for their cause so it’s nice to see them passed over simply becasue of the manner in which this was organized. No doubt those guys will try to get their paws into this so they can speak loudly and pound their chest but, for the moment, the movement it’s pretty safe from their bullshit. As far as I can tell, it’s basically a big ass picnic down a city hall and that’s cool because nobody wants to hear the Communist Party guys yammer on for an hour at a rally or cringe while someone starts-in with “those Jews.” I’ve seen both and trust me, that kind of shit will suck the life out of any rally which is why I loved it when, at a march I once attended, the Anarchist kids responded with their own chant “Workers of the world…RELAX!” Brilliant!
How will it go? Who knows. It looks to be a peaceful sit-in and march with good intentions. Sure it has its flaws but those flaws also help in avoiding some of the pitfalls that other local movements have been burdened by. So, while I can’t make the rally, I’m gonna give it a proper shake and give it up to the kids organizing this. Good luck.
(1) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/03/BU9V1LCRSL.DTL#ixzz1ZoxRirvj
Satan clearly has been working overtime at Gibson. If you need further proof, look at this abomination – The Gibson Firebird X. Patches, third party apps, robo tuners, on-board effects, a fucking battery pack???!!!! What the fuck!!!! What assbag at Gibson greenlighted the development on this piece of shit?!!!!
I mean, it takes nearly fucking 40 minutes for this guy to ramble through all these crappy things that nobody asked for and a lot of it sounds like ass. I’d almost rather have someone read me the tax code for 40 minutes than suffer though this demo.
The biggest issue I have with this is that the whole idea of making an IGuitar really misses the entire point of the instrument. I have a Jaguar and it has its quirks and its sound that’s totally different than my Samick or my Strat (RIP) or my Roy Smeck or my La Boz. Why would I want something that tries to emulate a million OTHER things but doesn’t have its OWN sound and pay over five grand for it. No, I want each guitar I have to have its own little niche in what I do and most people I think approach it the same way. Each guitar is singular and has its own qualities – just like your friends. You plug them in and they just act like themselves. No muss no fuss. You like them for who they are or they wouldn’t be your friends.
So, all I can say is if you have over five grand to blow on this, get yourself a real guitar. Hell, you could buy a couple at that price and the bonus is you wouldn’t look like a rich douchebag pussy poseur half-wit playing it. But if you don’t heed my advice please….please let me know next time you play so I can “accidentally” spill a beer on your guitar while you play on stage.
Fuck you, Gibson.
Peace!
un d Dancin u nd Ies Kreeem
2 ways to enjoy your Sunday that are more enjoyable than researching detached garage construction.
…I got done with my work here at Black Hole early (I come in on Wednesdays to do my weekend preview for the Free Press) and I still have half a beer so I’m gonna ramble on REM…
First off let me say that, for me, REM really ended when Bill Berry left the drum kit still, that doesn’t lessen the impact. There is something sad about one of the most defining bands of my growing up calling it quits. When I was recently going over my university posters, I found no less than three REM posters (the highest poster to band ratio). So that right there should tell you something.
The funny thing is I remember when I first heard their music. Now as many of you know, there was a time back before the internet when you actually had to seek stuff. That meant reading zines and people sharing cassettes and usually looking in the import section of Sound Warehouse because, somehow, all the indie music ended up there. To my chagrin, REM was a band I’d been hearing about for a while but I’d never heard a note because their albums weren’t stocked down in the suburbs so my first exposure to them was, of all places, Nickelodeon. Yes, Nickelodeon had some show called Livewire and seeing REM on there made a huge impression on me. Thankfully someone uploaded it to Youtube.
A few months later I finally got a copy of Reckoning and after that I was pretty much an REM junkie. As you can imagine, the IRS years are the best likely because that’s what I grew up with. Murmur and Reckoning were records I learned backwards and forwards. I loved the messy charm of Fables of the Reconstruction and Life’s Rich Pageant and the fun feel of Document and (their first album for Warner Brothers) Green.
It all kind of started to go south for me with Out of Time. To begin with, the album contained “Shiny Happy People” which I found to be insufferable and their biggest hit ever, “Losing My Religion” came from that same record and I can’t stand it either – it always struck me as corny and overwrought. [What's funny about my hatred of that song is that "Everybody Hurts," from the next record, is likely just as corny and emo but I love that one. Go figure.] Something about Out of Time really seemed to lose what made the band great up until that point. The previous albums sounded like A BAND but, with that album, the production started to take over – the simplicity of those IRS albums was lost and while I’d seen them live a half dozen times (each time they put on a great show), after Out of Time, I never caught them live again. That’s not to say I totally dropped off; there were a few tracks off of Automatic for the People that I liked and, for all its flaws, Monster did recapture some of the sloppy charm the band used to have but, by and large, I kind of tuned out and Berry’s departure kind of sealed the deal.
A little side note, I actually got to briefly meet Peter Buck in Seattle at Terrastock years ago and, for me it was just this huge deal to shake his hand, exchange a few words, and thank him for being such a huge influence as a guitar player and he had this total “gee thanks” shrug that was very humble and human and that I think that is really the reason the band survived as long as it did – they pretty much never lost sight of just being people.
Anyhow, now with the band’s demise, I’m kind of curious about those post Berry records. I really didn’t give them much of a chance and maybe they are worth listening to. Maybe I’ll use my E-music credits this month to look into those but I doubt they will have the same impact though as being some kid watching them on Nickelodeon.
Thanks guys, for some great music.
‘preciate cha.
a digital piano recently,
and in fairly short order a MIM Silver Burst Telecaster (here’s a GearPage thread about this guitar that ruminates well on such purchase).
a Squire Bullet that you can fit a shot glass between the neck and the strings.
My preferred computer operating system these days is Ubuntu (***TRIVIA*** the same name as the font used for this post; this is also the default font in Ubuntu).
Ardour and impulsively Best Buy where they stock M-Audio MobilePre Audio USB interfaces.
Let’s get a few things out of the way. First, I am for legalization of drugs: regulate it, tax the shit out of it, and impose stiff penalties for dangerous use. I also have a message for pot heads – think local, buy quality USA grown pot! As for the meth-heads and the heroin addicts, you guys are fucked anyways.
That leaves the one drug that inspired a shitty JJ Cale song of which 90% (according to a state department estimate) transits through Mexico. It’s the one that came up in conversation while I was having coffee with a friend of mine who was visiting Houston for the first time in ages. She asked, “When did cocaine get so popular?” and I really had no clue. I mean, years ago, coke was this total douchebag drug reserved for the worst of the worst of the people who would now be cruising the Washington Avenue bar scene here in Houston. You know who I’m talking about – some Gucchi wearing assbag yuppie in a convertible with a horrible license plate that says something like “RU 18 YET.”
Yet, it’s so prevalent now in the Houston music scene that you can walk into just about any show to someone doing blow in the bathroom at some point in the evening. But here is the thing, these aren’t the douchebags of some years ago. No, these are actually just regular Rock and Roll dudes. They don’t drive a fancy car or swagger in wearing Raybans behind their head. Nope, just regular people which is what sparked my friend’s comment.
Some of these are friends and acquaintances who I like very much. In fact, once I walked into a bar and this one guy I know offered me some coke and I jokingly declined saying, “No way man! You know how annoying you guys are?” and he laughed and went into a perfect, note for note, impression of a coke head talking at a million miles an hour which was pretty hilarious. So yeah they even have a sense of humor about themselves and aren’t out to look cool or impress anyone. It’s very much this social drug akin to sharing beers and I’m very libertarian on that kind of thing – if it’s not hurting anyone else, go for it. But here is the problem – over 40,000 bodies.
You want to know what your cocaine really cost?
OK here you go… here are two pictures of some guy doing a mound of coke. Click on them when you’re not at work if you want.
 Coke is fun! Coke is fun! Man, doesn’t that make you high all the better? Woo! Yeah, you know, what’s a couple browns. They are just fucking Mexicans anyhow. Not like us here in the States. I mean it’s not your fault. You didn’t start the drug war, that’s Calderon’s fault for trying to interfere with Free Commerce and Bush and Obama’s fault for helping him escalate the response. Your nose is morally clean.
Except that’s bullshit. Regardless of your stance of on the drug war, the fact of the matter is right now, in the reality that is North America 2011, there are thousands of people murdered, lives displaced, economies ruined, and a region of Mexico that has basically become a narco state and it’s all fueled by the demand in the United States – your little bump. While you are at a club or at a party doing a bump someone is dying because of it.
So, to you in the Houston Music scene and elsewhere, may I humbly suggest you stop being selfish narcissistic sacks of shit: put the fucking coke away. Thank you.
Shameless plug – Dry Nod album out now on bandcamp. 10 tracks, stream, download (pay what you want). 15 years in the making. Nice write up by Peter Voskamp (Peglegasus).
http://drynod.bandcamp.com/
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