Before I became an avid knitter, I was an avid reader. My utterly ridiculous commute lends itself to between two and three hours of downtime a day and I’m not the “sit around twiddling his thumbs” kinda fella. I would spend that time reading (or playing my Nintendo DS) and was able to bang out a book or two every week. Now, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t exactly reading the Idiot or Gone with the Wind, I was mostly reading fluffy fiction that didn’t weigh too heavily on my brain (or my bag); ‘escape reading’ I call it. It was a great way to kill the time between work and home, though it still left me antsy and frustrated when the trip took too long. It wasn’t like knitting, where I often hope for a subway delay or traffic so I can work a few more rows; it also taught me the valuable lesson of having a 2nd book in my bag (or, later, queued upon my Kindle) which now has become having a back-up project with me in case I finish what I’m working on. Anyway, I’ve always loved to read and, as much as I love knitting more, I miss it. There are more than a few authors who’ve put out new titles since I stopped reading and I’m sort of anxious to find out what they’re up to. So, how can I get back into reading without sacrificing my coveted knitting time? Audio books.
Showing posts with label iBlog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iBlog. Show all posts
Friday, January 06, 2012
Thursday, August 04, 2011
Wishful Thinking
I'm a simple and reasonable guy, i think. I really don't want alot in life. If Aladdin's genie gave me three wishes, I'd probably be at a loss for what to do with the third one. In fact, with my birthday having just passed, I found myself wishing for only two things when it came time to blow out my candles: time and money.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Might I Have a Word?
So, as I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve become sort-of addicted to Words With Friends. I say sort-of, because despite the fact that I have eleven games going, with people from almost every facet of my life*, I think it’s a pretty healthy addiction.
When I was a kid, we had Family Game night, once every few weeks (and after dinner on major holidays). Often it was either Trivial Pursuit or Uno, but every once in a while it’d be Scrabble. Looking back, our games probably weren’t high scoring ones; I think we all wanted to put down a “good” word more than we wanted to maximize our points. I know that, for me, it was all about showing off my vocabulary. Winning was a happy accident and fifteen point words were the norm. It’s only now, almost twenty years later, that I realize that other people (read: everyone else who plays the game) are actually playing to win and the best way to do that is to get the most points for each word they put down. Yeah, I know, this seems elementary, but I never put the two things together until CawfeeMate, Breen Lantern and Magenta Sequins started laying down forty and fifty point words; doubling or tripling my score and beating me by one hundred and fifty points or more. CawfeeMate was nice enough to explain to me that while DJIN is a fun word, unless it’s on a double or triple word multiplier, it’s not worth putting on the board.
So, I learned strategy:
I also learned how frustrating electronic scrabble is:
All in all, though, I’m loving this game. I like being able to chat with people I don’t get to interact with, otherwise; it’s also makes a nice diversion from knitting straight through my daily commute to and from work and from work itself (where i can't knit). It’s also nice to know that even though certain players continue to kick my ass with 75 point words I’ve never seen, I can occasionally beat them (even if it is only one game out of every ten we play).
send me an invite, but be warned: now that i've got a strategy i'm a little harder to beat...until i get stuck with three I's a Q, Z, J & X again...
*High School classmates, former co-workers from my 1st Mall Job, current co-workers, Blog buddies, Facebook Friends, actual friends, and even friends & co-workers of CawfeeMate
When I was a kid, we had Family Game night, once every few weeks (and after dinner on major holidays). Often it was either Trivial Pursuit or Uno, but every once in a while it’d be Scrabble. Looking back, our games probably weren’t high scoring ones; I think we all wanted to put down a “good” word more than we wanted to maximize our points. I know that, for me, it was all about showing off my vocabulary. Winning was a happy accident and fifteen point words were the norm. It’s only now, almost twenty years later, that I realize that other people (read: everyone else who plays the game) are actually playing to win and the best way to do that is to get the most points for each word they put down. Yeah, I know, this seems elementary, but I never put the two things together until CawfeeMate, Breen Lantern and Magenta Sequins started laying down forty and fifty point words; doubling or tripling my score and beating me by one hundred and fifty points or more. CawfeeMate was nice enough to explain to me that while DJIN is a fun word, unless it’s on a double or triple word multiplier, it’s not worth putting on the board.
So, I learned strategy:
- always save your S’s
- build off the beginning or end of another word to get double the points
- sometimes it’s better to put down a 3 point word on this turn and let your opponent open up the path to the double word or triple letter multiplier
- if you have to swap out letters, it’s not worth swapping less than 5 (see #1)
- get rid of Qs, Js, Xs and Zs as soon as you can
I also learned how frustrating electronic scrabble is:
- QI, JO and XI have to be the most frustrating two letter words on the planet; almost nobody knows what they mean, but everyone uses them to unload those pesky letters that are otherwise impossible to use later in the game.
- The “random distribution” of letters is frequently debatable; I just went through a two week drought where, in almost every game I was playing, I never had fewer that either five vowels or five consonants and at least two sets of duped letters
- there are no two letter words that start with either the C or V
- I have no idea what dictionary the game uses, but I’d love to know how it defines words like JANE, TURFY, and RIAL.
- Some people cheat using other iPhone apps; those people never get a rematch.
All in all, though, I’m loving this game. I like being able to chat with people I don’t get to interact with, otherwise; it’s also makes a nice diversion from knitting straight through my daily commute to and from work and from work itself (where i can't knit). It’s also nice to know that even though certain players continue to kick my ass with 75 point words I’ve never seen, I can occasionally beat them (even if it is only one game out of every ten we play).
send me an invite, but be warned: now that i've got a strategy i'm a little harder to beat...until i get stuck with three I's a Q, Z, J & X again...
*High School classmates, former co-workers from my 1st Mall Job, current co-workers, Blog buddies, Facebook Friends, actual friends, and even friends & co-workers of CawfeeMate
Monday, July 11, 2011
My Semi-Annual Post
Wow. Another six months have gone by since I last blogged. Ain’t that some shit?
So what, you may ask, has happened in those last six months? Quite alot, actually, but here are some of thee highlights…
So what, you may ask, has happened in those last six months? Quite alot, actually, but here are some of thee highlights…
- CawfeeMate finally finished his doctorate in Physical Therapy, making him Dr. CawfeeMate DPT and me a ridiculously proud doctor’s wife. His graduation was marked by a trip to Phoenix, Arizona where I promptly fell in love with another city that is anywhere but New York.
- I finally finished my goddamn Wallaby, after about nine months and love how it came out! Somewhere around the six month mark I hit a proverbial snag and was left incredibly discouraged and frustrated. I put it down for about two months and then went back with fresh eyes and fingers (working on quite a few other projects in the interim). Its completion was a catalyst to broaden my repertoire and challenge my abilities within those categories. I now crank out socks, gloves, hats, coffee cup cozies and (my current piece) a laptop cover, in all sorts of stitch and cable patterns. I’ve learned a tremendous amount from The Yarn Girl, Magenta Sequins and YouTube. I’ve also begun to take requests from friends and family and have started making gifts for people other than CawfeeMate.
- My other great obsession, which rivals knitting, is Words With Friends on the iPhone. I’ve got eleven games going, at the moment, and usually spend half my commute (and part of the day), trying my best not to have my ass handed to me by the likes of Breen Lantern and Magenta Sequins. Luckily, Bri-the-Pie-Guy doesn't play.
- Very recently, I left the department which caused me nothing but heartache and misery for more than two years; choosing staying within the same company. this follows a huge bout of layoffs which pared down my old department to bare bones and had me working 60+ hours a week. So far, it’s been a better move for me, at least inasmuch as I finally get to spend time with CawfeeMate and Rufus. Plus, it’s great knowing that the job which I did now takes three people. I’m really looking forward to all the challenges that have come with the move.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Yup, Just Like Madonna
That’s right, bitches: We* are back.
We’re back and, like a certain gap-toothed-aging popstar, we’ve re-invented ourselves; like the tattoos which CawfeeGuy has adorning his legs, we have risen from the ashes and been rebirthed.
We’re back with a whole new look to the blog** and a whole new attitude about blogging.
We’re back and, like a certain gap-toothed-aging popstar, we’ve re-invented ourselves; like the tattoos which CawfeeGuy has adorning his legs, we have risen from the ashes and been rebirthed.
We’re back with a whole new look to the blog** and a whole new attitude about blogging.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Soup Dumplings, Pink Unicorns and That Guy from Buffy
what an amazing weekend it was! the brief re-cap:- a couple of days after last weekend's visit, MS asked me to pick up a lovely pink unicorn she had seen in the toy aisle of our local Stop N Shop. it seems she'd found a good home for her. On Saturday, we braved the icy rain/sleet/snow, the SI Ferry and the NYC subway system to bring Frenchie (for that was the unicorn's name) to MS and Dug; but only after we had had some fun with her 1st.
- the drop off happened at our favorite NY Chinese restaurant, which is home to the world's best* soup dumplings. this was a double bonus: MS & Dug and soup dumplings.
- while waiting for our table, who happened to wander in with a mini-entourage, but Danny Strong (aka Jonathan Levinson from Buffy)! much debating ensued over whether or not to acknowledge the fact that we were in the company of a b-list celeb (with a-list geek-star street cred), 'til our table was ready. on the way to the table, CawfeeMate stopped and told Danny that we "loved his work". To his credit, Danny seemed genuinely happy to be noticed and thanked us.
dinner was great, as always, but we promised Dug that the next time we met up in the city we'd try a different restaurant (since this is the only one we meet at when we're together). luckily there's an app for that...
*in truth their's are the only soup dumplings i've ever had.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Some People Have Real Problems*
iTunes hates me.
1st the backstory:
last week our 3 year old laptop decided we didn't need to use our USB ports anymore (thereby making us unable to hook up our iPods or the removable hard drive which housed our libraries and stephen's school work) and then decided to just up and die. on sunday we bought a new laptop (with twice the hard drive space, which eliminates the need for an external hard drive), which arrived yesterday.
(end backstory)
after almost a week and a half without access to iTunes**, i signed on last night and attempted to get the laptop and my iPod on the same page. i hooked up the external hard drive and got my library on the computer; everything seemed hunky dory.
THEN I hooked up my iPod and hit Sync. iTunes said it was syncing but my iPod just sat there saying “connected”. i stopped iTunes and hit Sync again, thinking something different would happen. it didn't. after about 15 minutes of this, I wound up manually moving my library onto the iPod. i waited a while and realized it was gonna take a few hours and went to bed, leaving it to run overnight.
8 hours later only 5200 of my 7100 songs were done (i stopped it in the middle of the P's because i had to get to work). i've lost all the volume adjustments i'd made, all my "smart" playlists, and all my star ratings (which fuel the playlists). a year after i bought the damn thing, i'm back to square one. the rumors of the capricious nature of iTunes was what made me balk at getting an iPod; no i know the rumors were true.
today is a Britney/Beyonce/Natasha Bedingfield kinda day.
*but not me.
**i'm one of those people who is constantly making and changing his iPod playlists, adding and removing music, adjusting sound levels, etc. conncurrently, last weekend, DJ John Michael gave me six CD's with new (for me, at least) music, including a sampler of the new PSB CD, which i've yet to be able to listen to.
1st the backstory:
last week our 3 year old laptop decided we didn't need to use our USB ports anymore (thereby making us unable to hook up our iPods or the removable hard drive which housed our libraries and stephen's school work) and then decided to just up and die. on sunday we bought a new laptop (with twice the hard drive space, which eliminates the need for an external hard drive), which arrived yesterday.
(end backstory)
after almost a week and a half without access to iTunes**, i signed on last night and attempted to get the laptop and my iPod on the same page. i hooked up the external hard drive and got my library on the computer; everything seemed hunky dory.
THEN I hooked up my iPod and hit Sync. iTunes said it was syncing but my iPod just sat there saying “connected”. i stopped iTunes and hit Sync again, thinking something different would happen. it didn't. after about 15 minutes of this, I wound up manually moving my library onto the iPod. i waited a while and realized it was gonna take a few hours and went to bed, leaving it to run overnight.
8 hours later only 5200 of my 7100 songs were done (i stopped it in the middle of the P's because i had to get to work). i've lost all the volume adjustments i'd made, all my "smart" playlists, and all my star ratings (which fuel the playlists). a year after i bought the damn thing, i'm back to square one. the rumors of the capricious nature of iTunes was what made me balk at getting an iPod; no i know the rumors were true.
today is a Britney/Beyonce/Natasha Bedingfield kinda day.
*but not me.
**i'm one of those people who is constantly making and changing his iPod playlists, adding and removing music, adjusting sound levels, etc. conncurrently, last weekend, DJ John Michael gave me six CD's with new (for me, at least) music, including a sampler of the new PSB CD, which i've yet to be able to listen to.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Musical Mondays: the Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves
my official favorites albums of January. thanks iTunes!
"Wow. I used to like this song...and this one...and that one..."~ Stephen
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Notes on a Playlist (updated throughout the day)
here's what i came up with, last night. they're the songs that i distinctly remember from my childhood; music i either chose to listen to ("Dear Santa, for Christmas, please bring me Samantha Fox's I Wanna Have Some Fun on cassette") or just remember enjoying from the radio which was never off in our house...
1. Rio (Duran Duran): it was all about the video; Duran Duran always had such great videos.
2. Gloria (Laura Branigan): c'mon, who didn't love this song?
3. All Through the Night (Cyndi Lauper): when She's So Unusual 1st came out, Cyndi was everywhere. she had like 5 singles from that one album but this one was my absolute favorite; the video made me so sad when i was a kid...
4. Iko Iko (Cyndi Lauper): i had such a vivid imagination when i was a kid and this song was so visual to me; i saw the flagboys and the kings and the fire and i'll admit it...i was fascinated by this song because of the line "he ain't a man/he's a lovin machine", when i was a kid...i didn't know what it meant but i liked how it sounded.
5. Miss Me Blind (Culture Club): my brother got Colour By Numbers, on vinyl, for Christmas one year. that was an album that never really got old, 'cuz every song on it was so fun.
6. Little Red Corvette (Prince):
7. Sugar Walls (Sheena Easton): one of the 1st albums i ever asked for, Sheena Easton's Private Heaven, this song was my second favorite. i knew it was about something i didn't understand but i loved the music and Sheena's sultry, smoky vocals.
8. Naughty Girls Need Love Too (Samantha Fox):
9. Rock This Town (the Stray Cats):
10. Your House or My House (Samantha Fox):
11. Time (Culture Club)
12. Jump (the Pointer Sisters): the Pointer Sisters were the ultimate 80's "girl group"; they had such a great sound for the time.
13. Thriller (Michael Jackson): this song hit me hard; the video scared the living shit out of me for years (it was the zombie/cat-people thing coupled with Vincent FUCKING Price at the end), but i always loved the song. it's only the last couple of years that i can listen to and enjoy it without having flashbacks to the video.
14: the Stray Cat Strut (the Stray Cats)
15. Let's Go Crazy (Prince): perhaps my absolute favorite Prince song
16: Mr. Telephone Man (New Edition): i played this cassette till it snapped. their music and lyrics were so simple and accessible to a kid, plus i was able to hit those obscenely high notes...
17: It's a Miracle (Culture Club):
18: Goody Two Shoes (Adam Ant): this song has such a great hook and incredibly repetitive lyrics which are sure to stick with you for the rest of your life...
19. Manic Monday (the Bangles): i just adored the Bangles when i was a kid; talk about catchy lyrics...
20. When You Were Mine (Cyndi Lauper): another song which fascinated me, as a kid, because it sounded like she was singing to a guy...who wore her clothes...it wasn't until much later on that i learned it was written by Prince and that Cyndi never bothered to change the words.
21. Venus (Bananarama): again...all about the video...hot men writhing around half naked, being treated like meat. oh yeah...the song is terribly catchy too.
22. 1999 (Prince)
23. Magic (the Cars): loved the video...loved the song.
24. She Blinded Me With Science (Thomas Dolby): so campy and fabulous. plus the old guy barking out "science" was a hoot!
25. Oposites Attract (Paula Abdul): so...um..yeah...i really thought the cat could sing.
26. She Bop (Cyndi Lauper): can you think of anything cuter than a kid singing a song with veiled references to masturbation? me neither.
27. the Reflex (Duran Duran): they really epitomized the 80's power-pop sound.
28: Take On Me (A-Ha!): i have no idea why, but the 1st time i heard this song was when i saw the video and it made bawl. i thought it was so poignant that the two lovers were trying to get back together even though they were from different worlds; he looked so sad and so hot...
29. the Way That You Love Me (Paula Abdul)
30: Karma Chameleon (Culture Club)
31. Toy Soldiers (Martika)
32. Wake Me Up Before You Go Go (Wham!)
33. You Got It (the New Kids on the Block)
there are about 75 more, but i'm too busy to keep updating....you get the idea, though.
now if only i could find Matthew Wilder's Break My Stride.
1. Rio (Duran Duran): it was all about the video; Duran Duran always had such great videos.
2. Gloria (Laura Branigan): c'mon, who didn't love this song?
3. All Through the Night (Cyndi Lauper): when She's So Unusual 1st came out, Cyndi was everywhere. she had like 5 singles from that one album but this one was my absolute favorite; the video made me so sad when i was a kid...
4. Iko Iko (Cyndi Lauper): i had such a vivid imagination when i was a kid and this song was so visual to me; i saw the flagboys and the kings and the fire and i'll admit it...i was fascinated by this song because of the line "he ain't a man/he's a lovin machine", when i was a kid...i didn't know what it meant but i liked how it sounded.
5. Miss Me Blind (Culture Club): my brother got Colour By Numbers, on vinyl, for Christmas one year. that was an album that never really got old, 'cuz every song on it was so fun.
6. Little Red Corvette (Prince):
7. Sugar Walls (Sheena Easton): one of the 1st albums i ever asked for, Sheena Easton's Private Heaven, this song was my second favorite. i knew it was about something i didn't understand but i loved the music and Sheena's sultry, smoky vocals.
8. Naughty Girls Need Love Too (Samantha Fox):
9. Rock This Town (the Stray Cats):
10. Your House or My House (Samantha Fox):
11. Time (Culture Club)
12. Jump (the Pointer Sisters): the Pointer Sisters were the ultimate 80's "girl group"; they had such a great sound for the time.
13. Thriller (Michael Jackson): this song hit me hard; the video scared the living shit out of me for years (it was the zombie/cat-people thing coupled with Vincent FUCKING Price at the end), but i always loved the song. it's only the last couple of years that i can listen to and enjoy it without having flashbacks to the video.
14: the Stray Cat Strut (the Stray Cats)
15. Let's Go Crazy (Prince): perhaps my absolute favorite Prince song
16: Mr. Telephone Man (New Edition): i played this cassette till it snapped. their music and lyrics were so simple and accessible to a kid, plus i was able to hit those obscenely high notes...
17: It's a Miracle (Culture Club):
18: Goody Two Shoes (Adam Ant): this song has such a great hook and incredibly repetitive lyrics which are sure to stick with you for the rest of your life...
19. Manic Monday (the Bangles): i just adored the Bangles when i was a kid; talk about catchy lyrics...
20. When You Were Mine (Cyndi Lauper): another song which fascinated me, as a kid, because it sounded like she was singing to a guy...who wore her clothes...it wasn't until much later on that i learned it was written by Prince and that Cyndi never bothered to change the words.
21. Venus (Bananarama): again...all about the video...hot men writhing around half naked, being treated like meat. oh yeah...the song is terribly catchy too.
22. 1999 (Prince)
23. Magic (the Cars): loved the video...loved the song.
24. She Blinded Me With Science (Thomas Dolby): so campy and fabulous. plus the old guy barking out "science" was a hoot!
25. Oposites Attract (Paula Abdul): so...um..yeah...i really thought the cat could sing.
26. She Bop (Cyndi Lauper): can you think of anything cuter than a kid singing a song with veiled references to masturbation? me neither.
27. the Reflex (Duran Duran): they really epitomized the 80's power-pop sound.
28: Take On Me (A-Ha!): i have no idea why, but the 1st time i heard this song was when i saw the video and it made bawl. i thought it was so poignant that the two lovers were trying to get back together even though they were from different worlds; he looked so sad and so hot...
29. the Way That You Love Me (Paula Abdul)
30: Karma Chameleon (Culture Club)
31. Toy Soldiers (Martika)
32. Wake Me Up Before You Go Go (Wham!)
33. You Got It (the New Kids on the Block)
there are about 75 more, but i'm too busy to keep updating....you get the idea, though.
now if only i could find Matthew Wilder's Break My Stride.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Today's Flashback Brought to You By...
thank you iTunes for helping me find such integral pieces of my 80's pop past; my most recent acquisitions: Cool it Now and Mr. Telephone Man by New Edition. g'head....laugh, scoff, poke fun, i don't care. both these gems are cornerstones in the mighty tower that is my life. i'm devoting a whole playlist to the music which i found and downloaded without even the smallest amount of hesitation:
Toy Soldiers~ Martika
Batdance~ Prince
One Night in Bangkok~ Murray Head
Girls~ the Beastie Boys
Don't Go~ Yaz
ok...it's a small list for now, but i'm also adding songs from the CD's i've accumulated over the years, some which friends have found at yard sales and in bargain bins all over the country: Stacey Q's Better then Heaven, Sheena Easton's Private Heaven, the Flashdance soundtrack, Cyndi Lauper's She's So Unusual, etc. albums with songs i played over and over and over and over, much to my mother's annoyance.
This is gonna be big, people, and when i'm done, i'll put my headband on and rock out at my desk...
Toy Soldiers~ Martika
Batdance~ Prince
One Night in Bangkok~ Murray Head
Girls~ the Beastie Boys
Don't Go~ Yaz
ok...it's a small list for now, but i'm also adding songs from the CD's i've accumulated over the years, some which friends have found at yard sales and in bargain bins all over the country: Stacey Q's Better then Heaven, Sheena Easton's Private Heaven, the Flashdance soundtrack, Cyndi Lauper's She's So Unusual, etc. albums with songs i played over and over and over and over, much to my mother's annoyance.
This is gonna be big, people, and when i'm done, i'll put my headband on and rock out at my desk...
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
the iTunes Store: It's Like Crack (Only Legal)
my three latest acquisitions.
my three newest favorites.
stop me before i download again.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Yesterday's News
i have a unique talent, it seems, for catching wind of and embracing a trend, months (sometimes years) after it's out of style. Fashion, music, books, tv shows, and movies; if it was popular say, 6 months or a year ago, chances are i'm just finding out about it.
many are the time i'll see someone wearing a cool shirt or nice sneakers, ask where they got them, and then find out the store hasn't sold them in months. recently i went to Best Buy to try and find a couple of CD's and DVDs, only to be told that that they had been out of print for years.
take, for instance, my recent brush with the wonderful world of the iTunes Store; after finally uploading my rather extensive library of music to BTZ, most of which is stuff i've been listening to, in one form or another (read: cassette or homemade CD), for years, i decided to embrace the idea of finding new music on iTunes. i typed in "Rufus Wainwright" 'cuz i know he has more b-sides and odd tracks than anyone else in my library, and was not disappointed. amongst the CD's i already owned were some tracks he'd recorded for both Brokeback Mountian soundtrack and a Hedwig and the Angry Inch tribute CD (which has awesome covers by Cyndi Lauper and Fred Schneider, both of which i downloaded last night). All three Rufus tracks are amazing, and i highly recommend you download them; chances are, though, you already have and you've been sitting there shaking your head thinking "jeez CB, i've been listening to La Wainwright's cover of Origin of Love for years! where y'been" but that is precisely the problem...somehow i missed it.
my friends (namely Jenn and John) have been laughing about this odd phenomenon, independently of each other, for years. Jenn still laughs about the time i dressed as Harry Potter to go to the Village Halloween parade, six months before the HP explosion hit the US; it was the one and only time i was ahead of the curve. John, in particular will give me music or a movie and tell me, with 100% certainty, to take it home and listen to it because in 6 months i'll love it. i used to fight him on it, thinking that my musical tastes were slightly different than his, that i was an independent listener; but 99.9% of the time he's right. it happened with Kristine W and Natasha Bedingfield; when i he 1st told me about the latter, i was all "whatever another Anastacia white-girl-with-soul-diva-wanna-be"; 6 months later i was begging him to find me more of her remixes.
i'm lucky enough to have friends on the cutting edge; people who always know where to go, what to listen to and how to dress. it must be so terribly tiring, keeping up with the latest and newest in music, clothes and movies; personally, i prefer to let them do all the work and call myself "retro"; people have been doing that for years.
many are the time i'll see someone wearing a cool shirt or nice sneakers, ask where they got them, and then find out the store hasn't sold them in months. recently i went to Best Buy to try and find a couple of CD's and DVDs, only to be told that that they had been out of print for years.
take, for instance, my recent brush with the wonderful world of the iTunes Store; after finally uploading my rather extensive library of music to BTZ, most of which is stuff i've been listening to, in one form or another (read: cassette or homemade CD), for years, i decided to embrace the idea of finding new music on iTunes. i typed in "Rufus Wainwright" 'cuz i know he has more b-sides and odd tracks than anyone else in my library, and was not disappointed. amongst the CD's i already owned were some tracks he'd recorded for both Brokeback Mountian soundtrack and a Hedwig and the Angry Inch tribute CD (which has awesome covers by Cyndi Lauper and Fred Schneider, both of which i downloaded last night). All three Rufus tracks are amazing, and i highly recommend you download them; chances are, though, you already have and you've been sitting there shaking your head thinking "jeez CB, i've been listening to La Wainwright's cover of Origin of Love for years! where y'been" but that is precisely the problem...somehow i missed it.
my friends (namely Jenn and John) have been laughing about this odd phenomenon, independently of each other, for years. Jenn still laughs about the time i dressed as Harry Potter to go to the Village Halloween parade, six months before the HP explosion hit the US; it was the one and only time i was ahead of the curve. John, in particular will give me music or a movie and tell me, with 100% certainty, to take it home and listen to it because in 6 months i'll love it. i used to fight him on it, thinking that my musical tastes were slightly different than his, that i was an independent listener; but 99.9% of the time he's right. it happened with Kristine W and Natasha Bedingfield; when i he 1st told me about the latter, i was all "whatever another Anastacia white-girl-with-soul-diva-wanna-be"; 6 months later i was begging him to find me more of her remixes.
i'm lucky enough to have friends on the cutting edge; people who always know where to go, what to listen to and how to dress. it must be so terribly tiring, keeping up with the latest and newest in music, clothes and movies; personally, i prefer to let them do all the work and call myself "retro"; people have been doing that for years.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
30 Second Update
Mom's doing well; she's been home since sunday and has, over the last few days, become more like herself again. she, dad, stephen and i are going out for dinner tomorrow night, so things are definitely back to normal.
as i mentioned in the iPod post, i found out last week that i am still employed; and have not been subject to a pay cut. my department will survive the "transition" (no snickering) and i plan on coming here till they tell me not to. the latest rumor is that we're being moved from brooklyn into manhattan. that's a move i'd gladly make.
i fixed a major iPod problem last night: all my music playing at different volume levels; somehting which was quite maddening. thanks apple for posting the instruction book on your website (but not including it in the box). i also bought season 1 of Futurama and a song or two from iTunes...just to check them out. truth to be told, i wasn't overly impressed with iTunes selection of movies or tv shows; granted i only took a quick tour. we'll see what the future brings...maybe Maude.
as i mentioned in the iPod post, i found out last week that i am still employed; and have not been subject to a pay cut. my department will survive the "transition" (no snickering) and i plan on coming here till they tell me not to. the latest rumor is that we're being moved from brooklyn into manhattan. that's a move i'd gladly make.
i fixed a major iPod problem last night: all my music playing at different volume levels; somehting which was quite maddening. thanks apple for posting the instruction book on your website (but not including it in the box). i also bought season 1 of Futurama and a song or two from iTunes...just to check them out. truth to be told, i wasn't overly impressed with iTunes selection of movies or tv shows; granted i only took a quick tour. we'll see what the future brings...maybe Maude.
Monday, May 19, 2008
iAssimilated
yup, i sold out...resistance was futile.
after finding out that i'm still employed, i went out on Saturday and bought an 80g iPod Classic (black, shiny, named "Better Than Zen" since...well...it is) from Best Buy (on sale, $249!); extravagant, i know, but i'm worth it.
now the fun begins: wrestling with iTunes to make it do what i want it to do, while making it think it's doing what it wants to do, which is not what i want it to do. already, i've invested almost 2 days, straight, converting the WMA's of my Creative Zen into whatever Apple's version is (AAC's? ACC's? TTFN's?). of the 4500 songs i had on my Creative Zen, less than half have have been converted/transferred onto my iPod. after that's done, i have to invest more time to fix all the ID tags (song title/artist/album title/genre) that didn't convert correctly; i'm anal about my music and i want it to look the way i like it to look. i'm told by a reasonably reliable source that when it's done, it will be "like the glory of childbirth"; that explains the pain i'm suffering now...
after finding out that i'm still employed, i went out on Saturday and bought an 80g iPod Classic (black, shiny, named "Better Than Zen" since...well...it is) from Best Buy (on sale, $249!); extravagant, i know, but i'm worth it.
now the fun begins: wrestling with iTunes to make it do what i want it to do, while making it think it's doing what it wants to do, which is not what i want it to do. already, i've invested almost 2 days, straight, converting the WMA's of my Creative Zen into whatever Apple's version is (AAC's? ACC's? TTFN's?). of the 4500 songs i had on my Creative Zen, less than half have have been converted/transferred onto my iPod. after that's done, i have to invest more time to fix all the ID tags (song title/artist/album title/genre) that didn't convert correctly; i'm anal about my music and i want it to look the way i like it to look. i'm told by a reasonably reliable source that when it's done, it will be "like the glory of childbirth"; that explains the pain i'm suffering now...
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