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monkeys and soggy cigarettes

What a goofy mug.
To start my first blog while in India, a brief roundup of my impressions of the place thus far. India is: A symphony of honking horns. Free-range cattle, heads-bent to gutters looking for trash to eat. Dirty barefoot people walking dirty dirt streets. Riiich rich and pooor poor. More tropical than I’d imagined. Still very much British. Where I first heard the Strokes’ leaked 3rd full-length. Friendly. Yummy food that doesn’t fulfill many ne’er-do-well-wishers’ predictions of 24/7 toilet-guarding. Broken, dusty, randomly-laid out roads that seem to have been paved as a need to arrive at a new place arose. Families living in tarp-tents erected alongside the road wherever a spare piece of land can be found, outside cooking breakfast in the morning over a smoking fire.

Bought some cigarettes while I was here, y’know, to “sample” the local Indian offerings. They pretty much have the same ass-flavor as American, Taiwanese, and Chinese cigarettes. However, I found myself drawn to them a little too much – kind of blowing the “sampling” thing out the window and trading it for a different verb, “smoking.” So tonight I doused them with water and threw them away – thus rendering them unsalvageable and certainly un-smokeable. Good for me, bad for the Indian tobacco industry and millions of barefoot workers that sweat to bring cancer to the lit-up masses. I was planning to insert a picture of the sodden, broken cigarettes strewn about a table below this paragraph, but the dang five-star hotel housekeeping staff is too efficient and liberated me of my trash before I could do it – sorry, I had planned it to be quite the artsy offering.

And, from above, you likely guesses that the Strokes’ 3rd LP has leaked in its entirety – and I’ve been filling my hotel room with the horribly treble-heavy laptop speaker rendition of it for the past couple days. As for a review, I’m going to reserve an opinion for when I can actually hear it through once with some bottom-end to it – but from a catchy melody perspective I think it’s gonna be a winner. They’re a band I’d like to see live again, as I really enjoyed the Halloween-eve show we caught in the city a couple years back before Room On Fire dropped. Our concert attendance has really dropped off since we decided the frequent trips to the city just weren’t paying off, and reserved them for big or important shows. I am, however, looking forward to seeing the Wolf Parade in January – that one was sufficiently important to motivate both Ben and I to buy the gas, fight the traffic, and find the parking.

Sometimes I love traveling; I think partly because I know my dad did so much traveling when he was younger, and I feel like I somehow following in his footsteps. I would love to be able to have been some of the places he’s talked about, and I feel like my job has at least helped me experience a bit of the “world traveler” bag. Sometimes, waking up in a hotel room with no one to report to and absolutely nothing on an agenda can be a really liberating feeling – miles away from any “real” commitments and real people, for that matter. Especially here, where I can wake up and throw open my balcony door to the sounds of running water and some kinda tropical birds – really makes a guy feel disconnected and content.

Now that I’ve been assured you read my entire boring post, I’ll drop a link for you: here are some pictures from my first few days in India.

Until tomorrow, goodnight.

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cream of ’05

Thirty-three and a third.
Hey music fans. Huh? You’re not a music fan? Better just leave this one alone then and wait till tomorrow’s post, because it’s about as musicy as it gets.

To begin with, this is post #472, yesterday’s post was #565 – meaning I first drafted this nearly 100 entries ago. It’s been through some work since then; some shuffling and a couple drop/add sessions. But, I’ve been working on it so long, tweaking this and fine-tuning that, and I’m finally happy with how it turned out.

Y’know, I would’ve thought that last year would’ve been a tougher year to pick a “top 10” albums, because for some reason I look back on it as a really good year for music. But, when I really think about it – the reason I see it as a particularly amazing year for tunes is just because it’s the year the Funeral came out. In reality though, 2005 was an amazing year for music. The year brought so many great albums, it was extremely hard to pick only ten… so, I picked 25 instead. And, this time, I decided to give a little blurb on why each of the top-15 LPs landed where it did (please don’t underestimate the stylesheet-wizardry that made this all possible). Enjoy:

15. Aqueduct – I Sold Gold

So people say it’s cheesy and thin; so it’s been on car commercials; so I “discovered” it on the OC – big deal, I still like it. Maybe it’s my affinity for the one-man-band, part of that little hidden dream in me – a closet Elliot Smith or Emitt Rhodes just holding out on his first stellar album. So, I don’t care what you say about Aqueduct, how low you rate it, because I like it – and that’s what counts.


14. The Cloud Room – The Cloud Room

I guess this is what you could call a latecomer for the two-not-not-nickel, but I still had plenty of time to digest it and decide that is definitely deserved a place in my list. For some reason, I lump this album with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! (not because of musical content, just for some I got ’em at the same time and they were in competition in my player reason) – but the Clouds just beat CYSHY all around for me. Sure, every song sounds a like some other band – but that’s not always a bad thing.


13. The Ladies and Gentlemen – Small Sins

So the guy likes to whisper, who cares. The craftsmanship here is undeniable. Short little pieces of one-man-band poptronica with the catchiest tunes. I liked this album as soon as it hit my ears, which is something of a rarity for me. With a sound that’s just “good,” not overly-complex or dense, I bet you’ll like it at first blush too.


12. M83 – The Dawn Will Heal Us

I love albums with no words, partially because most people don’t. Sharaun hates music with no words, says she can’t get into it. To me, some of the best music is that which can stand on it’s own without lyrics. And hey, bad lyrics can ruin great music – so wordlessness may be your best bet if you’re no Jim Morrison. Anyway, with each moody atmospheric track, this disc does not disappoint.


11. Clor – Clor

Squeaky, blippy, synth-pop-punk, vocals that, at times, recall Malkmus, and bouncy little tunes freshly thawed from the 1980s freezer. Oh, what, that’s all you have on this one D? You’d think 11th on the list would warrant a little more color, but I suppose if you can say it in a sentence then perhaps a sentence is all ya need.


10. The Decemberists – Picaresque

While not as strikingly brilliant as their first two full-lengths, Colin and crew’s 3rd strike at the iron is a slow burn. Although the mood set with Infanta doesn’t exactly permeate the entire album, there are more than enough rollicking sea-chanteis to keep the Ship In A Bottle set smelling pitch and salt. Actually, the more I go back and listen to this album, the better it sounds. Guess I just have a thing for mariner songs peppered with words from long-forgotten thesauruses.


9. Broken Social Scene – Broken Social Scene

You Forgot It In People was outstanding. So when Beehives turned out to be crap, I was really bummed. I think that’s what made me ignore this album for so long after actually getting it. I had it, just sitting there, waiting. I even started listening to it a couple times, but never paid it a proper amount of attention. However, when I finally did get around to listening to it with a critical ear – I found myself grinning ear-to-ear. Awash in buzzy guitars and singalong harmonies, turns out it’s just as good as You Forgot It In People, if not better.


8. Bloc Party – Silent Alarm

Hey, FM programming managers, check it out! Another one of those 2005-sounding bands sounding like that hot 2005-sound. Pick a catchy single and get it in heavy rotation stat. These guys have undeniable commercial potential, and as heads-in-our-arses indie elitists, we sometimes need to recognize that’s not always the kiss of death. This is good, folks, and even if you hate your kid sister singing hooks from your latest records – you gotta admit that this is one fresh effort. So get it, or listen for the 4:4 remix coming to a skating rink near you.


7. The Bravery – The Bravery

What can I say? 2005 saw the revival of 1980s synth-rock, and, to me, the Bravery did it best. This is rock music for everyone from the shrieking TRL set to the thick-rimmed-glasses, refuse-to- dance crowd; the kind of synth-heavy rock that’s dancey enough to make everyone happy. And, although there was no shortage of it this year – I like this go at it the most.


6. Ratatat – Ratatat

I downloaded this album because I like the name, honestly – it wasn’t one of those read-a-review-first games of catch-up. Luckily, inside were some tunes just as awesome as the name. Another collection for the lyric-phobic, but decidedly more hip-hop bent at times. Set in my memory as a February trip to Taiwan – this album will always recall 2005 to me.


5. Little Brazil – You and Me

OK, so, commence finger-pointing and mocking. I know, I know, but I can’t help it. I really liked this album. It was kind of a “heat of the moment” thing, as, listening to it now, I can somewhat see through whatever it was that blinded me at first. Anyway, it still deserves a spot on my list, because, after all, I wore the grooves off this short album for a memorable little slice of 2005.


4. The New Pornographers – Twin Cinema

Know what? I didn’t even like this album. Nope; not at all. But, so many people online kept ranting and raving about it, I thought I’d go back and give it another chance to impress me. Call it peer-pressure or whatever, but that re-listen did the trick – and I was hooked. I love Newman’s song style, it’s an original thing today – unlike much else of what’s out there, and this album doesn’t disappoint on that. Who knew though, that an album you don’t even like at first can end up as your 4th best on the year – go figure.


3. The Most Serene Republic – Underwater Cinematographer

I have no idea why this album didn’t get more recognition, it’s absolutely brilliant, and, in reality, could just as easily change places with #2 and I’d be just as happy with the list. Reminding me a little bit of the Broken Social Scene’s best moments (which makes sense, seeing as they share BSS’s label), the record is wall-to-wall good without exception. For some reason tho, it went over without much fanfare. Don’t let that fool ya, it’s outstanding.


2. Architecture in Helsinki – If We Die

I left this blurb for last, because, for whatever reason, I couldn’t think of much to say about this album. I mean, it’s been nearly a year since I was taken in by it – so even my young mind has grown superlative-foggy. However, I only need a fresh listen to remember what it is I love about this album. I love the fact that people ask me if I’m listening to an album by Sesame Street’s Elmo, love the “gayness” of the songs (not the gaynesss-meaning-happy gayness, but the two-dudes-holding-hands gayness). Whimsical, fantastic, and even retarded at times – it never fails to make me smile. Now, how’s that for a review? “Retarded?”


1. Wolf Parade – Apologies to the Queen Mary

When I first heard this album, I never thought it’d end up at #1 on my list. But, deeper listening brought on nothing but undying love. Near the beginning of the year, I can remember saying, “It’s really gonna take something amazing to knock that Architecture in Helsinki album out of my #1 spot.” It did.


And now, the shortlist of albums that were at one time either in the top-15 and slowly bubbled off the top, or hovering near the bottom waiting to receive their number – which never came. All these efforts come highly recommended, and in reality could’ve been on the list had I compiled it on a different night or published it a week or two later. So, if you happen to be Mr. Banhart or Mr. Stevens, please don’t be disappointed you only made the Honorable Mention list – you’re still alright in my book:

Now, for a twist, and because I’m on a roll, the top 3 albums that weren’t released in 2005 (and therefore wouldn’t be eligible for the above list) but were discovered by me in 2005:

And, even though I didn’t do “blurbs” about the “honorable mentions” and “discovereds,” I felt I had to comment on the Friday Night in San Francisco album. You may think, being the self-proclaimed music aficionado that I am, I would’ve heard this album long ago when I was in the frenzied-exploratory phase that every burgeoning music nut goes through. You know, right about the time you finally “discover” Bob Marley, acknowledge Dylan’s genius despite his whine, and realize that Miles Davis is a God. But, I didn’t discover this album until this year (The Kooper & Bloomfield is really just more Super Session, so you could consider me familiar with that already). Suffice it to say that I should’ve known about it earlier, ’cause it truly rocks tits.

OK folks, I’m completely typed-out. Happy listening, take care. (First “true” entry from India tomorrow.)

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something new

Rambling fancy around the globe.
I’m going to try something new today, something I think may be fun and help alleviate “bloggers block” in times of trouble (which, thankfully, has not been a problem lately). I’ll call it “one liners,” and entries of this kind will get their own little category in the sidebar. Hopefully, this’ll be something quick and dirty I can do when time is tight and/or I don’t care to write. Today, however, is neither of those – but I had to kick it off somehow.

I’ve decided to grow a beard, at least until I get tired of it or get enough criticism about it.

Right now I feel anxious, nervous, and restless. Not for me, for my brother.

I can’t help smiling every time I see my wife’s big fat belly.

7pm and I haven’t yet begun to pack; it’s because I don’t want to go.

I feel guilty leaving Sharaun alone for another week of travel.

Our refrigerator broke this week, and we’re currently storing all our perishables in a cooler full of ice on the back porch.

I’ve not yet bought anything for my wife for Christmas, and am afraid I won’t have time enough to get her something meaningful.

9pm and I’m completely packed and ready to go; it’s because I have to.

Well, that’s it; the new thang. I can’t really claim it’s 100% original, as I stole the general idea from largehearted boy’s “shorties.”

Goodnight and, until India, goodbye.

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bathrooms the size of coffins

Applies to the tech tag, or something.
You’ll have to excuse the terse entries this week – daily writing is competing with travel arrangements and the probably-getting-too-much-love “best of 2005” entry. On the bright side, I think I’m still on track to publish that next week, so it won’t be sucking all my resources. Be ready, it’s bound to include luminary passages of prose unparalleled by any other “best of 2005” list; oh, and it has little pictures of album covers, too. Seriously, wait for it.

In preparation for my trip this weekend, and ultimately to my dismay, I sat down today to review my flight plans. I knew the trip to India wasn’t just a hop, skip, and jump – but I guess I wasn’t really aware of just how abysmal it really was. I began adding up the time: four hours to Chicago, wait an hour and a half for eight more to Frankfurt, wait two and a half more in the terminal for another eight and a half in the air before landing in Bangalore. All told it’s twenty-five hours of travel, not counting the time getting to the airport and awaiting the initial flight. The way back is worse, courtesy of mean headwinds and a tacked on trip to visit my folks in Oregon: twenty-eight hours. That’s a lot of flying and sitting and pooping in bathrooms the size of coffins.

Ever since I decided to kill our landline phone, my DirecTV TiVo has been nagging me daily with a warning that it’s not made its daily call in X days. Back when I was researching adding an extra hard drive to my TiVo, I remember reading about a way to hack the thing to work wirelessly – and in the process enable all sorts of cool features like extracting recorded programs to your PC for archive purposes. Back then, I was paranoid enough about just adding another drive to increase my recording capacity – I didn’t want to brick my beloved TiVo – so I stuck to just the drive upgrade. However, the daily call nagging got me interested again and I began hunting down information on hacking my box to enable all the cool features that standalone TiVos have: networking, USB, recording extraction, and thankfully – no daily call nag.

So, I proceeded to scour forums and pages on hacking my particular box and software version. Turns out it’s dead-simple, or at least it seems to be from the various guides out there. I was super impressed with the ease of the hard drive upgrade – the hackers are extremely industrious and have spent their own time making their labor-of-love tools really user-friendly and pretty idiot-proof for someone with a modicum of PC skillz. So, I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised when I found a detailed website showing exactly how to do exactly what I wanted to do to my TiVo in a few relatively simple steps. I downloaded the utilities I need, bookmarked the step-by-step instructions, and plan to call my TiVo-hacking alumni buddy Erik over when I get back from India to actually take apart the beast.

I am curious about what happens when DirecTV rolls out it’s next software upgrade to the box, but considering that it took them years to rollout 6.2 I guess it’s not a huge concern. I also briefly considered upgrading to the new R15 model of DirecTV DVR – which no longer requires a “daily call” – but was somewhat dissuaded when I found out it’s not based on TiVo software but the same guts that run the Dish DVR. Dish’s DVR may be good, but since I’m so accustomed to TiVo, and I already have a working box I enjoy – I figured I may as well try my hand at hacking what I’ve got. Either way, the R15 is a $100 upgrade even if I do somehow manage to brick my current box – and I have an old vanilla receiver I can hookup in the meantime should the worst happen. So, like you care, I’ll keep you updated on the progress.

That’s it then folks, I think that’ll cap off the week; not sure I’ll be writing anything for Friday as I’ll likely be busy Thursday night packing and readying for the big trip. So, if no Friday, I’ll catch ya all in India. Peace out.

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i guess it’s better than malaria

Taking my chances.
Evening folks. Not that much tonight, just a single topic, but I make up for it with pictures.

Today I went to the doctor to get my anti-malaria pills for the looming India trip. Apparently there are several varieties of pills that can be prescribed to ward off the disease – and the doctor began by explaining that the one she’d chosen to dispense to me was one with “the least amount of adverse side effects.” “What kind of ‘adverse side effects?'” I asked. Well, this one can cause diarrhea and some patients experience “strange” dreams (can’t wait for that, based on some of the things I’ve been dreaming of late). “Hmmm…” I wondered aloud, “How much worse are the other drugs?” “Well,” she began, “Some can cause hallucinations.” Wow; hallucinations. How much good am I going to be to my customers if I’m up there, completely malaria-untouchable, but tripping balls and out of my head? For reals y’all, check this out:

A sampling of the various omens of doom stuck to the side of this “medicine”:

Take this medication at least 2 hours before or 2 hours after magnesium or aluminum containing antacids, iron, or vitamins/minerals.

Do not lie down for at least 30 minutes after taking this medication.

Prolonged or excessive exposure to direct and or artificial sunlight should be avoided when taking this medication.

Warning, do not use if you are pregnant, suspect that you are pregnant, or while breastfeeding.

This medication should be taken with plenty of water.

Do not play basketball or ride horses/donkeys, or play basketball while riding horses/donkeys, for at least 3 hours after taking this medication.

OK, so I made that last one up for comedic purposes – but, honestly. So lets get this straight – I can’t lie down, can’t go outside, can’t breastfeed (dang). I’ve never seen a pill bottle with so much instructional text and warning labels. When I picked up the prescription, I paid and began to walk away – but before I got to far, the cash register guy told me, “Wait a second sir, the pharmacist wanted to talk to you about this one.” “Great,” I thought, “this is some serious stuff.” The pharmacist basically just wanted to go over the various warnings, and give me the dosage directions: Take one pill a day beginning two days before arriving in malaria risk area, one each day while in risk area, and one each day for four weeks upon return. Extreme to me, but I guess it’s better than malaria.

Speaking of India, I broke down and went into work today. I had been on the fence about going into the office or “working from home” today, with both my brother and my brother-in-law both still in town – and my boss out. I know, however, that should I not come in, I’d get next to nothing, if not nothing, done with my time. So, I begrudgingly set the alarm for the standard 6:40am-snooze-snooze 7am wakeup and took up my week-forgotten pre-work routine. And, although I didn’t finish my India material, I did go from about 0-to-30%. More importantly though, I took care of a bunch of “housecleaning” activities that had been monkeys on my back this past week. So, while I’m still not 100% ready for this trip, I gave myself a heck of a lot more confidence that I can be ready before I have to get up in front of others and prove it. Not only that, but I’m otherwise “prep’d” for the trip and have taken care of the little things that you always need to take care of before international travel. Go me.

Done early; no late-night obsessing over an entry tonight. Until tomorry.

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a snowy day

Novice.
Before I say anything else (which likely won’t be much tonight), I just wanted to make sure I thank all of my commenters for doing just that, commenting. Nearly every time I read a comment, I have to restrain myself from commenting back – which, to me, is a close to a cardinal sin for a blogger (self-commenting, that is). So, don’t take my lack of response as a lack of caring… you’re a big part of what keeps me writing and I loves you all. Now to the same-old-same-old.

Today, we rolled up to Tahoe so Sharaun’s mom could get her first glimpse of falling snow. We were successful, to say the least – as we had to turn around shortly past the summit because the snow was so heavy. The roads were white and I was having flashbacks to our last stranded-in-a-blizzard experience coming home from Oregon last year. So, I pulled a dicey u-turn on a windy mountain road and headed back down – stopping shortly near a nice snowy field for the 1st-time standards of snowball fights and snowangels. And, since you’re reading this, we made it back down the mountain alive and with only one loss-of-control slip-sliding event. Her folks leave tomorrow, seems like it went by so fast. Her brother, and mine, are sticking around until the end of the week. In fact, my brother and I head to the airport at the same time Friday – him returning to duty and me taking wing to Bangalore.

And, speaking of India, thanks for the all encouragement regarding my trip. I’m still not looking forward to the work bit at all, not at all. I will indeed take lots of pictures, and try to enjoy things as much as possible. But man, packing… I have to pack for both India and Oregon, since I fly in from India on the 9th, pick up my bags, check them on another airline, and then get on a plane bound for Portland. I know, I complain to much – I should think of it in terms of getting a “freeish” vacation to an exotic country and getting to spend my birthday with my folks, wife, and unborn daughter. But, if I did that, I wouldn’t have any paragraphs to fill this page with… would I?

And, before I go – Tyler (Sharaun’s brother) and I have been playing the Pac Man machine like it’s going out of style this week. In fact, I think I’ve played it more this week than the entire time since I built it. Tyler was the first to do some internet research and memorize the four main level patterns that enable you to play forever if your reflexes are fast enough. Watching him destroy me every game made me also want to learn the patterns, and now we’re both completely addicted to running up the high score. Tyler shattered the long-standing ~39000 score with an amazing ~100000+ effort tonight – and I just thought I’d mention that.

I really have nothing to say. Nothing. Goodnight.

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thanksgiving day

Turkey is good.
Thanksgiving. One of the best sanctioned-lazy days of the year.

I woke up around 8:30am, hopped in the shower and, after drying, pulled on my most comfortable t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Making my way to the living room, everyone was awake and the kitchen was already bustling. The parents-in-law were both busy putting the finishing touches on dishes that were prepped last night, making them ready to slide into the oven come time. Pouring myself a cup of coffee, I sat down to watch the parade and see what that latest internet goings-on had to offer. The weather is gorgeous, 70s and sunny with the mornings still crisp and cool, and the atmosphere at the house is all family and chatter. I love it; absolutely love it. It feels unlike any Thanksgiving I’ve yet had. Sharaun and I six months into our new daughter and family all around, it really feels grown-up; established, familiar.

Moving on to the weekend’s writing.

I wrote a lot this weekend, but most of it on the to-be-posted “best of 2005” entry. I plan to finish it up in spurts over the next week and drop it sometime while I’m in India. Excited? I thought so. Now on with the now.

Speaking of India, I leave in four days, that’s way too soon. I have nothing prepared – nothing ready; I have almost no idea what I’ll be doing there. I really, really, don’t want to go. I’ve been feeling so slack about work lately, maybe it’s because there’s so much more family stuff to focus on… I have no idea. I am excited about going to India, if just for the travel opportunity and bragging rights – but the “working” part of it has me worried. Ah, whatever, I do this every time I go somewhere. I have one week to pull something, anything, together – I suppose if I knuckle-down I can get something workable together – but will I do it, that’s what I want to know. In reality, I’ll likely do like I’ve done so many times before – I’ll wing it. Just fly across the world with nothing but my limp cock in-hand, relying on my smile and handshake to make the trip worthwhile. Man, this writing-cycle does tend to get old, I can only imagine the reading-cycle… sorry y’allz, let’s move on.

Crazy dreams last night, one in particular that I can remember was super-crazy. I was standing in line for confessional, two people waiting in front of me. I can remember feeling nervous because I wasn’t sure of the proper protocol once I actually got in the confessional. As a kid, I was hardly Catholic long enough to get baptizes, let alone be confirmed – so everything I know comes from movies. Soon I was the lone petitioner in line, and I knew something was wrong when person before me finally came out. I entered and sat down, “Father forgive me, it’s been blah blah since my last confession.” To my horror, I could see that the priest was laying on the ground, blood around his mouth. Despite this, he heard my confession and, instead of assigning penance, told me in a raspy dying breath to find that man who just left, at any cost. I left the church, walking across a green field, scared. Somehow, as things do in dreams, I looked back to find that the priest turned into a small dog, also with blood around its mouth, which was now chasing me as I ran towards my car. That’s it, crazy eh?

Before I go, I wanted to share this with y’all. A long time ago, someone left a message on our answering machine, a wrong number. It was funny. You can listen to it below:

[audio:holdinitdeeown2.mp3]

See ya.