How Shall I Spend Thee?
Posted on | May 3, 2008 at 11:35 am | 21 Comments
I’m trying to decide how I’m going to spend my “economic stimulus” tax rebate check. (Remember, according to our Prez, you can’t save it – you must spend it!) Here’s some ideas I’ve been kicking around:
- Buy 480 more headphone adapters for my iPhone. Those little buggers wear out fast.
- Buy every merchandising tie-in for the new Iron Man movie, including all the action figures, but especially the Mask and Repulsor Gauntlet. That would be great to wear to the office.
- Stock up on Kellogg’s Special K cereal. I can never get enough of that stuff. With food prices the way they are these days, I should be able get four boxes or so.
- Buy a Wii and some good third party games for it. Oh wait, the console is still hard to get and there aren’t any good third party games for it.
- Take my sweetie out for an expensive night on the town – I’m thinking Hooters for starters. And maybe end the evening with a tattoo?
- Buy 12 Dualshock 3 controllers. You never know when you’re going to want to have 11 friends over for a total frag-fest.
- Two gallons of milk.
- Buy some home LED light bulbs to replace the CFLs.
- Does filling up your car with gas count as “spending”? If so, then I should be able to fill the Prius tank a couple of times on that check.
- Donate it to the Democratic Party.
What will you do with your rebate check?
Latre.
Keeping Tabs On The Tabloids
Posted on | May 2, 2008 at 8:13 pm | 4 Comments
Our local alternative weekly (alternative to what? aren’t all weekly tabloids about the same? maybe they should be called “liberal weeklies”?) Westword underwent a dramatic size reduction starting with this week’s issue. Instead of the standard tabloid size of 10.5″ wide by 13.25″ tall, it’s now only 12″ tall:
Now it’s practically swimming in the large newspaper boxes and bins where they are distributed. The strange thing is that there is no mention or explanation of it in the issue itself or on the website. There may’ve been some advance warning in the previous issue, but I don’t remember seeing it. This is the same newspaper that is always making a big deal about the downsizing (less page count, more ads, staff reductions) at the city’s daily periodicals, so I find it strange they let their own reduction go unexplained. But again, maybe I just missed it somewhere.
That said, I kind of like the new size. It definitely makes reading it easier at my desk or at a restaurant table. Still I wonder what’s behind it. Did all the Village Voice Media/New Times weeklies go to this new format or was it just Westword? You folks in other cities will have to let me know. How about it, SF Weekly? Seattle Weekly? Nashville Scene?
Latre.
P.S. The Rocky Mountain News, one of the few tabloid-sized dailies left in the country, remains the standard tabloid size (except for the Saturday combined Denver Post JOA edition, which is the full sheet size). I love that, which is one reason I stick to the RMN instead of switching to the Denver Post. It’s much easier to read on my breakfast bar.
Note: I haven’t been jogging lately, since I’ve had some weird feverish ailment all week. That seems to be slacking off though, so hopefully I can start running again soon.
Poignant Search Term Of The Day That Led To This Blog: “unattached hair phobia”.
Brainwashing Through Confections
Posted on | May 1, 2008 at 6:47 am | 2 Comments
You can sure tell that the Beijing Olympics are almost here. This is what I found in my Pad Thai fortune cookie the other night:
You Can Depend On The Trust Of The Collective. Wow, they’re really trying to get at the hearts and minds of Americans. No better way to do it then through our food. Yep, I’m sure that if a Tibetan protester got one of these, he/she would change his mind.
And since you know the Olympics are going to be broadcast In High Definition!… well, that just makes the whole plan all the more obvious.
Latre.
P.S. My blogging rival Steve has posted an exhaustive statistical analysis of my CD collection. I am very happy to help at least a little bit in Steve maintaining his blogging-every-day schedule. He also says yesterday was the 6th month anniversary of our “competition”. That’s a lot of consecutive posts! I still think Steve’s going to win though.
Poignant Search Term Of The Day That Led To This Blog: “phobia of reading books indoors”.
The Unbearable Lightness Of Coke
Posted on | April 30, 2008 at 6:34 am | 3 Comments
One additional bit of infamation about the Mexico trip. I noticed that they don’t have Diet Coke down there. Instead, it’s called “Coca-Cola Light”. Similarly, there’s “Pepsi Light” instead of “Diet Pepsi”.
I’m not sure how the formulation is difference, except perhaps that there are more Cyclamates, but the Coke Light tasted way different to me than Diet Coke. (I didn’t get a chance to sample Pepsi Light, as that was not as readily available. Evidently, Cancún is like Atlanta.) I didn’t like the taste of it at all, either the canned or fountain versions. (Not sure if I’ve ever expressed this preference here before, but I prefer Diet Coke from the fountain and Diet Pepsi from the can.) N was like “I’ve never seen you not drink so much pop.” But, y’know, why drink pop anyway when free alcohol is so prevalent?
Plus, I don’t understand the whole “Light” naming thing. Shouldn’t it be “Coke Luz”? Or “Coke Lite”? Or something like “Coke Menos” (less)? Apparently it’s Coke Light in other (non-Spanish speaking) countries as well, so I guess they wanted something universal. And what’s wrong with the word “diet”? I was too bored to research it properly on the Internet. But my main question remains: Why does it taste so freakin’ different from Diet Coke?
Pet Peeve of the Day: On a related topic, I tried a can of Diet Coke Plus recently. This is Diet Coke plus “vitamins and minerals”. It was wretched. I’m not sure if it was the added minerals or the acesulfame potassium used as a sweetener (in addition to aspartame), but something about it made my taste buds and stomach rebel. Maybe it’s the green tea.
Latre.
P.S. I did buy GTA4 on release day yesterday. Haven’t put it in the machine yet though…
Poignant Search Term Of The Day That Led To This Blog: “phobias of 2008″.
An Incomplete Guide To Kayaking: Part 4
Posted on | April 29, 2008 at 7:41 am | 1 Comment
This is a continuation of my series of blog entries on the albums of the Dutch progressive rock band Kayak. To see the previous entries, do a blog search (that little box on the top right) for the word “kayaking”.
Phase 2: Prog Pop (1975-1977)
Starlight Dancer
This is the last album in what I call Kayak’s “Prog Pop” trilogy. In many ways, it’s a transitional album. It’s the last one (until 2000) with Max Werner’s lead vocals. It’s the first one without Pim Koopman’s drums. The rhythm section (Charles Schouten on drums, Theo de Jong on bass) on this album only played on this one album. Ton Scherepenzeel does almost solo songwriting duties for the first time. Johan Slager remains as guitarist extraordinare.
Yet, it many ways, it’s my favorite Kayak album. It really refines and establishes what I consider to be the “Kayak Formula”, though I have a hard time expressing exactly what that is.
It’s hard to know which version of this album to review, since there’s been a few. The original one I had was the American version, which is actually a compilation of songs from the previous album The Last Encore and the European version of Starlight Dancer (and even has the cover art from The Last Encore). It also adds one song I haven’t seen anywhere else: “Ballad For A Lost Friend”. It’s no wonder I fell hard for that version, since it had the best songs from two albums on one album. But the version I have on CD, which I think is the only one that was released on CD, is a “two-albums on one CD” disc that also contains the next album Phantom Of The Night. These are arguably the two most popular Kayak albums, and they’re not available separately. To further confuse matters, the song order on the CD is nothing like the song order on the original LP, at least according to this, and the CD is also missing two songs from the LP (”Dead Bird Flies Forever” and “Sweet Revenge”). However, I do have a tape of the original import LP (which I think was owned by DJ Smallberries) which does have the same song order as the CD, with those two additional songs stuck near the end. So I’m just going to go by the CD song order, especially since that’s what I’m used to. Whew. Confused yet? I know I am.
The first song “Daughter Or Son” is a strange choice for an opener (and, indeed, it’s apparently the closing song on the original LP). It’s not all that catchy, and has that annoying “duck-quack” guitar sound in the chorus (I forget the word for that), like Steely Dan used to use. However, the lyrical subject matter is probably even more relevant today than it was back in the 70s:
But time will come that doctors want to know
What you would like
Or what you would prefer
A boy or a girl
Then you’ll look at her
And not find the words
Now what do you want?
Daughter or son
Picking the one
Daughter or son
Science taking giant steps
It’s bringing back the fun
What do you want?
Daughter or son?
The next song is the title track “Starlight Dancer” and it may be my favorite Kayak song. It’s another one that starts off slow and that has a big, fast-tempo instrumental break with tasty keyboard/guitar riffs, followed by a tasty vocal section, then back to the instrumental break, then back to the slow stuff for the end. That’s the Kayak Formula I love. Especially since the instrumental part is so catchy. The lyrics are science fiction-y, and remind me a bit of Blue Öyster Cult’s “The Great Sun Jester”:
I’ve had my residences all over space
Bridging lightyears each day
Only one dream away
From the cosmic stage
Starlight dancer…
A live performance so the whole world could see
I’m aligning the stars
Universal in art
See the god in me
Starlight dancer – that’s my destiny
Starlight dancer…
And now we’re up to track three, “Want You To Be Mine”. This song was the group’s biggest chart hit in the US (#55). It is unrepresentative of the band. I can’t think of what else to call it except “Disco Prog”. It’s an extremely danceable little number that’s run through with some rocky/proggy flourishes. I’m trying to figure out how I can post some of these songs in streaming mode (or maybe temporarily in downloadable mode) so you can hear them. If you’ve never heard this song, you need to. I’ll work on that.
However, the version I have on the CD and the tape is not the version that was on the American LP, and so was not the one that charted. I hear that the American version was actually the demo version of the song, which the guy who was the head of the American record label (Janus) liked better than the finished version. I do have the American LP, but I don’t have it on tape and I don’t have my record player hooked up, so I can’t listen to it and refresh my memory about how it sounded different. Is it even more disco?
Note that the cover of the album (above) fits in well with the disco-era flavoring. Although those band member faces looking down from above almost remind me of numerous old Marvel Comics covers.
The next song is “Letdown”, which is a short fast-tempo number that I couldn’t even remember what it sounded like before re-listening to it for this review. Not very memorable (obviously), but pleasant. Next is the instrumental “Irene”, which is pretty and has a yummy central keyboard riff. It builds nicely.
Then there’s “Golddust”, the only song on the album not written or co-written by Ton. It was written by vocalist Werner. I like this one because it has some interesting rhythmic things going on, and the usual catchy riffs. Interesting background vocals too. The instrumental section goes into some harpsichord stuff followed by a guitar solo doing the vocal melody line.
Track seven is the ballad “May”. Doesn’t do much for me, even though it undergoes some rhythmic and tempo shifts. Goes on a bit long and has a keyboard solo.
“Turn The Tide” brings back the Formula somewhat, and is my second favorite song on the album. It starts off with another excellent keyboard riff. And the refrain leading to the “In a state like this it’s time to turn the tide” chorus gives me chills. And there’s a double-tracked acoustic guitar solo – guitarist Slager has a lot of nice fretwork on this song. If all you do is count and expect, then real life must be hard to accept.
It’s here that the two additional tracks on the album but not on the CD appear. I pulled out my old tape of the import LP to listen to them. “Dead Bird Flies Forever” is a piano/vocal ballad with some incongruous spacey synthesizer effects. It was a good choice to leave off the CD. “Sweet Revenge” is a weird little rocker and I wish it was on the CD. It has some nice touches but is not essential listening.
The closing track is “Where Do We Go From Here?” (not the song from the Buffy Musical). It’s another ballad I have trouble remembering if I’m not actually listening to it. It also goes on too long and the outro is repetitive.
Favorite songs: Starlight Dancer, Turn The Tide, Want You To Be Mine, Golddust.
Hmm, looking back, maybe it’s not my favorite album after all. I think it’s tops in my memory because the good songs are really good.
Next: A really dramatic shift in lineup and tone! Phase 3!
Latre.
Suckling At The Green Teat
Posted on | April 28, 2008 at 6:44 am | 1 Comment
Pet Peeve of the Day: The shortage of 5-oz bottles of Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce in our local food stores. For some reason, most of the grocery stores around here (both Safeway and King Soopers) only carry the 2-oz bottles lately. I’m addicted to this (relatively) mild jalapeno pepper sauce and put it on most main dishes and some side dishes. In fact, it’s a bit of a bone of contention between myself and my girlfriend (who is not into spicy). Typical dinnertime conversation will go like this:
Her: “Must you dump that stuff on everything?”
Me: “Yes.”
Her: “Can’t you at least try (the dish) first to see if it needs hot sauce?”
Me: “No. Everything needs it.”
Her: “Doesn’t that mean that all you’re tasting is hot sauce?”
Me: “No. The pepper sauce enhances and brings out the natural flavor of the dish. It does not overwhelm it.”
Her: “I give up.” (Until the next meal.)
I can see her point – it’s like people who put ketchup on everything. And I can especially see how she would get perturbed when she cooked the meal. It’s rather rude and presumptuous of me to blindly add the sauce. In those cases, I do try to taste the dish before adding the pepper sauce. But it’s hard.
So, anyway, my point is that the little 2-oz bottles just don’t cut it. Heck, I can go through one of those in a week. It’s not like the regular Tabasco Sauce where a little goes a long way – the green stuff is much milder and can be splashed on in quantity. I’m thinking maybe I just need to get a gallon jug of the stuff (which they do sell), but it seems like that would make it hard to pour the sauce. Using it to refill the 2-oz or 5-oz bottles would be a bit messy, since the openings on them are small. I’m just screwed. Guess I gotta look around more for the 5-oz ones and buy ‘em in bulk, maybe order ‘em on the Internet, or just keep suffering with the 2-oz ones. Life is rough.
Latre.
Jogged Today: Yes (@ °F)
Songs That Came Up On The iPod While Jogging:
- “Seeds For Sale” (Great Lakes Myth Society)
- “Green Light (In Stereo)” (Firewater)
- “Prelude” (Kate Bush)
- “Section 8″ (Wanker)
- “Sugar Coated Iceberg” (The Lightning Seeds)
- “Song With A Mission” (The Sounds)
- “Long Live The Sting” (The Celebrity Pilots)
Poignant Search Term Of The Day That Led To This Blog: “simplicity and clarity should be your theme in dress”. Yep, those fortune cookie sayings are rolling me in!