Confession: It’s been so long since I posted here that I almost forgot my login information. I was feeling the blogging itch again, however, and it really needed to be satisfied. So, here I am! I suppose it would help if I actually had something to blog about, but I don’t — not at the moment, anyway. I’ve got to start somewhere, though, so hopefully, this will get me blogging again.
It’s Blog Time!
January 25th, 2010Music, A Book and Twitter, Oh My!
March 2nd, 2009Ok, I promised an entry, so I’d better deliver! Here are some of the things that have been entertaining me over the past few months:
Music
Book
On a related note, I just finished reading an absolutely fascinating book, “Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain,” by Oliver Sacks. It’s full of interesting and unusual stories of how the brain processes (or does not process) music and the connection between the two. As a music lover, it was somewhat scary to learn of certain individuals who suddenly lost their ability to enjoy music due to a stroke or other brain injury. but also wonderful to learn that music can be used to relieve the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in some individuals. The power music holds over our brains is truly amazing.
Web Site
Twitter. Yes, Twitter. I’ve known about the site for at least two years, but really only took the plunge to use the site about a month ago. I’m now wondering what took me so long. I don’t have much of interest to say myself, but there are some others who provide lots of entertainment, including Neil Gaiman, John Hodgman, Johnathan Coulton, Tina Fey, Zoe Keating, Rob Corddry, and a host of others.
Update Coming Soon
February 18th, 2009I shall be posting an actual update soon. Thanks for reading!
Feeling Kooky
September 23rd, 2008Dodged the Bullet…Once Again
September 14th, 2008as I’m sure many of you know, Hurricane Ike blasted the Texas coast Friday night through Saturday morning, causing billions of dollars of damage to the Houston and Galveston areas.
Like so many hurricanes in the past, the storm’s path wasn’t easy to predict and at one time was expected to make landfall near Corpus Christi. That prediction sent everyone here into a flurry of frenzied activity to prepare for the hurricane’s imminent arrival. As usual, plywood sold out quickly, along with water and portable generators.
Some people decided to evacuate on Wednesday and Thursday, especially those living in low-lying areas on Padre and Mustang Islands, but the majority of Corpus Christi residents and those in surrounding areas decided to keep a close watch on the storm and only get off the coast if absolutely necessary. Personally, I didn’t want to evacuate, as the evacuation for Hurricane Rita in 2005 was a nightmare. That said, I’m not stupid and certainly was packed and ready to leave by Friday morning. By that time, however, it was clear that Corpus Christi had dodged the bullet once again. I, along with everyone else, breathed a huge sigh of relief; although our relief was tempered by the knowledge of what was happening to our neighbors to the northeast.
I know we’re overdue for a storm to strike here, which is really scary. Corpus Christi was set to get a direct hit from Hurricane Brett in 1999, but the storm veered at the last moment, making landfall south of the city in Kennedy county , which just happens to be the least populated county in Texas. Even though the storm went inland at least 50 miles south of the city, we experienced wind gusts up to 100 MPH that ripped up trees, knocked down power lines and caused some minor structural damage. If the storm had hit Corpus Christi, it would have been much, much worse, of course.
Hurricane season doesn’t end until November 30, but Ike should be the last storm we have to deal with this year — in Texas, anyway. I am so ready for autumn! No more ungodly heat and worry about hurricanes, thank goodness.
Music for Summer ‘08
August 10th, 2008I’ve been horrible these past months when it comes to updating the blog. Sorry about that. If anyone is still checking for updates, thanks!
Here’s what I’ve been listening to lately:
“A Larum” - Johnny Flynn. This is my newest find and I absolutely love the album. Johnny Flynn’s voice reminds me of a mix between the voices of Scott Hutchinson (from Frightened Rabbit) and Jose Gonzalez. The music is quite nice, too, and has that same folky sort of bluegrass and country sound that I find so appealing in Joe Purdy’s music. The first song I heard from the album was “Leftovers,” a fine example of what the album has to offer. I’m also quite fond of “The Rote and the Writ” and “Sally.”
“Last Days at the Lodge” - Amos Lee. The third release from Amos Lee shows more of his influences from soul music, I think, which makes for a bit of a change from his previous albums. I tend to enjoy his more folk-influenced music the most (Yeah, it seems I’m on a folk kick) . The album is actually quite eclectic, so if I’m not feeling one song, I can just skip to the next one and be happy. Some of my favorite songs from the album are “Listen,” “Truth” and “Better Days.”
“Unclear Sky” EP - Joshua Radin. This four-song EP is absolutely lovely! There’s something about Joshua’s voice that I find…just exquisite. All of the songs are delightful, but I’m especially pleased by “Sky,” which features Ingrid Michaelson, one of my favorite female musical artists right now.
“The Best of the Gipsy Kings” - The Gipsy Kings. I must have been living under a rock, as I only heard of The Gipsy Kings relatively recently. Oh, well, better late than never, I suppose. It makes for very pleasant background ambiance when I don’t feel like listening to English lyrics.
Paris in the Morning - Joe Purdy. I’ve written about this album before, but it’s still captivating me. It’s just a happy album, which is infectious, of course. He’s in love and it’s oh, so obvious. My favorite tracks are “Paris in the Morning,” “Waiting on Something Good,” “Brand New Set of Wings,” “Make it Up” and “I’ve Been to Holland.”
In music-related news, I’ll be attending two concerts over the next few weeks. I’m very happy to say I’ll get to hear James Blunt live on August 14 in Houston and then the Gipsy Kings in Corpus Christi on August 29. It seems it’s feast or famine for me when it comes to live music. The last really good show I attended was Paolo Nutini’s Austin City Limits After Show concert in Austin last September. Since then, I’ve had quite a dry spell when it comes to great live music, so it’s about time there are some shows I’m actually excited about!
I’ve more to write about, particularly about the books I’ve been reading in the past few months, but I think I’ll save that for a later post.
Nooooo!
July 14th, 2008NPR has cancelled The Bryant Park Project. Over the past few months, it has become one of my favorite NPR programs; and I am sorely disappointed to hear of it’s imminent demise. The last BPP show is scheduled to air on Friday, July 25.
The Bryant Park Project was, in my opinion, highly engaging. With intelligent and funny hosts, content that ranged from hard news to pop culture, it simultaneously enlightened and entertained its listeners. By producing a podcast, a blog and incorporating Web 2.0 social networking methods such as Facebook and Twitter, it kept in touch with its audience and reached new listeners every day. According to this NY Times article, although it was only aired on 5 terrestrial radio stations, the program had 1 million listeners in May and June. Not surprisingly, the program attracted a younger audience than most other NPR programs.
The cancellation apparently wasn’t due to poor content quality, but to budgetary constraints, which is extremely unfortunate. I’m afraid the decision makers at NPR haven’t thought about all the ramifications of cancelling the program. They will lose a considerable audience and the large number of page views that that audience generates at npr.org.
I wish NPR would take the same route that the CBC took with Search Engine, a program that reminds me of The Bryant Park Project in many ways. Search Engine was aired on the radio, but it was produced by online collaboration with its listeners, which made for a very dynamic program. Unlike NPR, the CBC recognized the popularity of the program, especially with the online audience. However, the radio version of Search Engine was cancelled recently, though not for the same reason that The Bryant Park Project was cancelled. Jesse Brown, the host of Search Engine, was pulled from his spot on the radio program to appear on other radio and television programs instead, where I assume the CBC thinks there is an even larger audience. Although Search Engine, the radio program, was cancelled, a podcast-only version of the show will begin airing again in September.
I think such an arrangement would be the perfect solution for The Bryant Park Project, especially as the largest segment of its audience is online. NPR could then boast of being at the cutting edge of broadcasting while continuing to attract younger listeners. That said, it appears NPR doesn’t have the vision to imagine any kind of broadcasting other than the standard terrestrial sort, unfortunately.
What?!
May 30th, 2008I was just startled to hear Pearl Jam’s “Even Flow” played on my local classic rock radio station. What the hell?! was my first reaction. Not because I thought the song undeserving,; to the contrary, it is a great song, but the thought that it is old enough to be considered classic was somewhat perturbing. After a quick search, however, I discovered that the album it came from, “Ten,” was released in 1991. Seventeen years ago. OMG, I feel old.
I was 10 in 1991 and only had the slightest impression of what the grunge scene was all about, mostly gleaned from the nightly news. I remember one of the anchors — it might have been either Dan Rather, Peter Jennings or Tom Brokaw — trying to explain “slam dancing,” which I watched with interest. The grunge scene was extremely intriguing, but as I said, I didn’t really comprehend it. By the time Kurt Cobain ended his life in 1994, I was 13, but was not much closer to knowing anything about grunge. It wasn’t until I was older and had expanded my music listening habits that I began to appreciate the grunge sound.
I may be mellowing in my old age*, though, as I now tend toward listening to the music of the likes of Joshua Radin, Joe Purdy and Josh Groban, none of whose music can be considered anywhere near the grunge genre and which I can’t find on my local terrestrial radio stations.
Speaking of which, I rarely listen to the radio anymore as I’m much happier with the variety that podcasts and online radio offer me. I absolutely adore NPR, but almost never listen live. I don’t need to when all the shows I love are available as podcasts.
*I’m joking about being old, of course. Age is relative, after all.