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Thursday, September 29, 2005

If I can't see you, then you can't see me

It's been a while since I last posted a photo of Simone, and you do realize that I have a quota to reach. Apparently this time around she wanted nothing to do with it though.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Don't bee a dumbell

If ewe haf trubble speling werds, then maybee this sight will asisst u.

But then again, how often do you find yourself needing to spell bellweather bellwether?

Monday, September 26, 2005

Tracks of the Week: Fall

In honor of autumn, it's The Fall.

Rather than the typical two, you get an extra special boost of tracks this week. Conveniently each one is lifted from each of the discs in The Complete Peel Sessions box set. Let's hope you enjoy British post-punk otherwise I'm wasting your time. Luckily The Fall went through many musical styles during their 28 years (and counting), so there should be something here for you to enjoy. Buy It.

Disc 1: The Fall "Mother-Sister!" 06.15.1978

Disc 2: The Fall "Look, Know" 09.15.1981

Disc 3: The Fall "Gut of the Quantifier" 06.03.1985

Disc 4: The Fall "Kurious Oranj" 10.31.1988

Disc 5: The Fall "D.I.Y. Meat" 08.18.1996

Disc 6: The Fall "Blindness" 08.12.2004

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Tierra Del Fuego!

Why oh why hasn't Fletch been re-released on DVD yet? (You can sign the petition and hope it gets released.) I'm watching it on AMC right now, and it's pure genius. I could watch this movie 50 times in a row and it wouldn't get any less funny. Man alive.

Awww, come on guys, it's so simple maybe you need a refresher course. HEY! It's all ball bearings nowadays.

Saturday, September 24, 2005

It's the (lunch) money!

A hearty thank you to Eric for stumbling upon this gem: School band play 'Endtroducing' with real instruments, otherwise known as the silliest (and maybe the coolest) thing you've ever heard. I mean, I love the original album and all. But this sorta thing just takes it to a new level and makes me laugh my pants off. Thank you Eric.

Friday, September 23, 2005

What the heck is a mass air flow sensor?

This is the question I was forced to ask myself yesterday afternoon when I was on the phone with my mechanic. You see, I was driving home on the Mass Pike Wednesday night, and as I slowed to yield for traffic, my car suddenly jolted hard and died. Someone somewhere was testing me because I found myself cruising at 40 mph in the middle lane with no gas and only my brake. My wheel froze and it felt like the engine had seized up.

Fortunately I was able to coast my way into the breakdown lane, and eventually to the Framingham rest area while I waited over an hour for a tow truck to arrive. Inhaling Doritos and a Gatorade was not my idea for a nice dinner after a long day of work, but I had little choice. Actually this week in general has killed me and that's why you haven't heard from me lately.

So, back to the mass air flow sensor: If you're curious you can get your answer by reading this PDF. I have no interest in learning about the sensor, but I did have to learn it would cost me quite a bit to replace.

But the story has a happy ending. A new sensor has been installed, and I had no trouble driving to work this morning. It's Friday which is also good news, and I'm looking forward to sleeping away the entire weekend.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Tracks of the Week: Chicken

Louis Jordan "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" - Stretching back many, many decades, I plucked these two tracks from the "pure fun" section of my collection. OK, I don't actually have a pure fun section, but if I did you can be sure that Louis Jordan and Slim would have VIP seats there. If you don't already own The Best of Louis Jordan, do yourself a favor and go buy it. I imagine that it's pretty easy to find because we heard this particular song twice while on our mini-honeymoon in Maine: Once during breakfast at the inn, and again in the lobby of the Stonewall Kitchen factory that we visited on our drive home. Buy It. (20 songs - 10 bucks!)

Slim Gaillard "Chicken Rhythm" - I only recently learned about Slim. And here are a few fun facts I found when I looked up more about him: 1) His father worked as a steward on a cruise liner, and sometimes brought young Slim along, once accidentally leaving him behind on the island of Crete. 2) He appeared in episodes of the (original) Charlie's Angels and Mission Impossible. 3) Most of his lyrics are nonsense that admittedly he didn't even understand, including "the flat-foot floogie with the floy-floy" and "cee-ment mixers putty putty." Buy It.

Friday, September 16, 2005

Vermont, not vanished

It's been a very busy, long week and I haven't been able to post anything new here. I spent the last four days in Woodstock, Vermont with colleagues gearing up for our new fiscal year. I brought my camera and hoped to snap some photos of the town, including Quechee Gorge, but there was simply no time. I'm home now and ready to crash for the night.

I'm very excited for a friend's wedding tomorrow! And then I plan to catch up on a little sleep Sunday. Probably nothing new here until Monday's Tracks of the Week. But soon I'll get back on the good foot and open my mouth here regularly again.

Monday, September 12, 2005

Tracks of the Week: Beef

Captain Beefheart "Tropical Hot Dog Night" - I enjoy listening to WZBC (90.3 fm) on my Friday night home commutes. From 6-7pm is Test Pattern, a weekly show with a rotating guest DJ who spotlights an artist, a label, or a music scene. There have been some great ones lately. Bill Laswell, Carl Stalling, and Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band. No doubt this track had to be played during the hour. Buy It.

Captain Beefheart "Love Lies" - Here's another song from the Captain's 1978 release Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller). A tad more straight-forward than the track above, but arguably equally as silly. What do you expect from a man who has a 4½ octave vocal range and enjoyed the company of Frank Zappa? Buy It.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

New[and used]bury Comics

If you live near a Newbury Comics, I suggest you visit it this week. They're in the middle of their annual sale which means that you can take 20% off any CD or DVD in the store with no minimum purchase. This includes new, used, and sale items. (Actually, the sale items are "as marked" unless the 20% discount is a better deal than the sale price.)

I had a small pile of neglected CDs burning a hole in our storage room. So I was able to sell those off and use the credit (avec excellent discount) to buy $99 worth of music for a mere $38:

Cocteau Twins: BBC Sessions
Wire: Wire On The Box 1979
The Fall: The Complete Peel Sessions 1978-2004

All three are British bands and all three feature live sets (mostly at BBC with Peel). What's up with that?

Friday, September 09, 2005

Nano Nano

Apple Computer Inc. has dropped the iPod Mini from its lineup. The Mini has gone the way of the Apple II series and the Newton. In its place arrives the iPod nano. It's cute. Reminds me of Coronitas. It's like a Big Kid iPod for little kids.

Seeing as massive hard disk space is my thang, I probably won't be investing in a nano. Plus my iPod shuffle already does a fine job of fitting up my nose while I jog.

To welcome the nano into the fray, here's something off Theorem's stellar 1996 release Nano. This is *perfect* music for when you're playing Metroid. And I suppose perfect music for your new nano.

Bonus Track of the Week: Theorem "Nebulus"

[UPDATE: If you'd like to see where the iPod's been, check out the iPod family cemetery.]

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Hello, Mr. 600

Mr. 600: Hey Sean, I'm your 600th post!

Sean: Hey, wow! That's pretty neat. What's that feel like?

Mr. 600: Hm. It feels a little like Pat Robertson.

Sean: Really? That's not so good. And wouldn't it make more sense if you were Mr. 700 in that case?

Mr. 600: I guess you're right. So it feels a little more like Pat Robertson Jr.

Sean: Did Pat Robertson have a Jr.?

Mr. 600: Who knows. Who cares.

Sean: Amen brother.

Monday, September 05, 2005

Tracks of the Week: Box

This Mortal Coil "Song to the Siren" - Continuing last time's theme of box sets, here's a little something from the '80s. British producer and 4AD label co-founder Ivo Watts-Russell collected lush, swirling performances by a rotating cast of characters from the same label. For the most part, the instrumental tracks are originals and the vocal tracks are covers. This track is simply haunting and is a beautiful rendition of Tim Buckley's already-amazing original. Buy It.

Wynton Marsalis "Pedro's Getaway" - I've seen a lot of Wynton Marsalis this week. He's been featured quite a bit in relief effort shows trying to raise funds for his hometown of New Orleans. I've always enjoyed his interviews, whether it's talking about New Orleans or his many appearances in Ken Burns's sprawling Jazz documentaries. This track is lifted from Disc 4 of a seven-CD box set Wynton Marsalis Septet: Live at the Village Vanguard recorded in the early '90s. Buy It. (It's a steal at $39.99!)

Friday, September 02, 2005

It was the best day of my life

Really, it was. It was just incredible. I had a blast and it was so great to celebrate with family and friends. But now it's back to reality, as much as I don't want that. I hope to grace this site with many photos as they become available. In the meantime, I snapped a photo of the top layer of our cake. Not a very professional shot, but not to worry, better photos of last Friday will be arriving to us in the next couple weeks.