Okay, so, I know its been forever and ever. Apparently even failing at internet dating isnt enough to make me blog. Life has been slow...as will soon become apparent. I don't know if people are still checking, but this is what I did with my night:
I just made the ultimate CD track list. Yes, I have that little to do. I just quit my job and I still have no friends in P-Town. Besides tivo and bittorrent (latest addictions: the Wire and x-files reruns). but i digress.
Heres how this works: I chose my favorite/the best tracks 1, 2, 3 etc and turned them into a cd. To be eligible, I had to own the cd (or a copy thereof), it was the track listing from its original release (no greatest hits) and only one song per track. So if there were two great track 4s from two different albums, i only get one, even if its better than the songs for track 5. Get it? Its actually a lot harder than it sounds...some songs that were arguably better songs got bumped for songs i just like more (i.e. Elvis Costello's "Oliver's Army", track 3 on Armed Forces, is mos def a better song than anything by the magnetic fields or okkervil river, its a classic, and i like it a lot but those are two of my fave bands, so, bumped) but some bands didnt get represented if their best songs were on the same track as powerhouses (david bowie is one of my favorite all time artists, but my favorite songs of his, "China Girl" and "Ashes to Ashes" arent better than the other track 2s and 4s) okay, i know this sounds like a lot of work and thought for nothing, but, well, it was. But it was also a nice diversion. and its not done...i need help. Heres how it stands:
Track 1: Love- Alone Again Or OR Nirvana- Smells Like Teen Spirit
Track 2: Smashing Pumpkins- Tonight, Tonight
Track 3: Magnetic Fields- Busby Berkeley Dreams OR Okkervil River- Lady Liberty
Track 4: Bob Dylan- Idiot Wind
Track 5: Mayday- Lullaby for the Sleeping Elephant OR Wilco- Jesus, Etc.
Track 6: The Shins- New Slang
Track 7: Beck- Jack Ass OR The Pixies- Monkey Gone to Heaven
Track 8: The Beach Boys- God Only Knows
Track 9: Elliott Smith- Twilight
Track 10: weezer- Only in Dreams
Track 11: Interpol- Leif Erikson
Track 12: The Get Up Kids- I'll Catch You
Track 13: Third Eye Blind- Motorcycle Drive-by
Track 14: Blink182- Lemmings OR the Eels- Dead of Winter
Track 15: Bear vs. Shark- Rich People Say Fuck Yeah, Hey Hey
Track 16: The Beatles- The End
Track 17: The Beatles- Julia
Track 18: Badly Drawn Boy- Epitaph
So...if theres anyone still reading, and i doubt it, and you have opinions on the "OR" tracks (or want to tell me what i should have picked for any of the others) let me know..i have copious notes and my original lists and would love to discuss at length.
On another note, seeing as how i am now unemployed, i will be home for xmas. and new years. Watch out MB
j
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Friday, October 13, 2006
We Are the Seven, Judgement of Heaven
jesus camp is the scariest movie ive seen in a while, maybe the scariest movie ive ever seen (and i couldnt sleep for a week after we watched the exorcist in eighth grade. thanks dave).
i urge people to see this movie, and take it seriously. people around me were laughing. i didnt think it was funny, i thought it was, well, scary, as i think i've said. these people, the ministers, people in positions of extreme power, are talking with utmost sincerety about recruiting and raising an army of children to do what they perceive as gods will. The want to end abortion. They want prayer in schools. They want to end the seperation of church and state. and they believe that they want this because it is what god wants, and therefore it is right and should be achieved by any means necessary.
i can't even explain how angry and helpless watching this stuff made me feel. if the movie had been called Allah camp, and or even just shown a dark man in a beard saying the exact things the overweight white woman was spewing, it would casue a riot. Part of whats beyond me is the fact that the rest of the people in this country and globally that call themselves Christians havent been rushing to condemn the Evangelicals as the extremeist zealots they are. That they continue, as far as I can tell, to ally with them, to enjoy the fruits of their political gains, as it were, and ignore the invective and propaganda and ignorance they preach. I dont belive that a majority of Christians are like this, but it makes me understand a little more why some people think all Muslims want to blow up buildings. Its hard not to look at the worst aspects of a religion and not make it the face of the whole thing. whats scary is taht even though theyre a minority, both in the country and in christianity, they seem to wield a disproportionate amount of sway, at least in this administation...and they believe they do not have enough, that they are just beginning, that their job will not be done until the whole country is governed by the laws that they believe to be right (or rather the laws they believe God has handed down to them, and, by extension, the rest of us)
I think ive rambled enough, but i just cant get it out of my head. there are people like this, a lot of them, and they believe they know better than i (and you) how to live in this world, what it means to be human and american. I dont have the chance to tell them they are living their lives incorrectly, and im not sure i would if i could. but they are doing their utmost to make my way of living, on some level, wrong. I dont want to pray in schools, i dont want my kids to, i dont want other peoples kids to. I want my gay friends to be able to get married if they so choose, and my female friends to be able to get aboritions if they so choose, and people can pray or not and be gay or not and abort babies or not on their own time. its up to them. not me. and not jesus campers.
j
ps on a lighter night, Christian rock is hilarious. the song in the first scene of the movie sounded exactly like Avantasia (which, for those of you ignorant of the european heavy metal scene, is an amazing, albeit non-christian, metal opera, check it out) and later there was a jesus rap. I think we should start a band. who's with me?
i urge people to see this movie, and take it seriously. people around me were laughing. i didnt think it was funny, i thought it was, well, scary, as i think i've said. these people, the ministers, people in positions of extreme power, are talking with utmost sincerety about recruiting and raising an army of children to do what they perceive as gods will. The want to end abortion. They want prayer in schools. They want to end the seperation of church and state. and they believe that they want this because it is what god wants, and therefore it is right and should be achieved by any means necessary.
i can't even explain how angry and helpless watching this stuff made me feel. if the movie had been called Allah camp, and or even just shown a dark man in a beard saying the exact things the overweight white woman was spewing, it would casue a riot. Part of whats beyond me is the fact that the rest of the people in this country and globally that call themselves Christians havent been rushing to condemn the Evangelicals as the extremeist zealots they are. That they continue, as far as I can tell, to ally with them, to enjoy the fruits of their political gains, as it were, and ignore the invective and propaganda and ignorance they preach. I dont belive that a majority of Christians are like this, but it makes me understand a little more why some people think all Muslims want to blow up buildings. Its hard not to look at the worst aspects of a religion and not make it the face of the whole thing. whats scary is taht even though theyre a minority, both in the country and in christianity, they seem to wield a disproportionate amount of sway, at least in this administation...and they believe they do not have enough, that they are just beginning, that their job will not be done until the whole country is governed by the laws that they believe to be right (or rather the laws they believe God has handed down to them, and, by extension, the rest of us)
I think ive rambled enough, but i just cant get it out of my head. there are people like this, a lot of them, and they believe they know better than i (and you) how to live in this world, what it means to be human and american. I dont have the chance to tell them they are living their lives incorrectly, and im not sure i would if i could. but they are doing their utmost to make my way of living, on some level, wrong. I dont want to pray in schools, i dont want my kids to, i dont want other peoples kids to. I want my gay friends to be able to get married if they so choose, and my female friends to be able to get aboritions if they so choose, and people can pray or not and be gay or not and abort babies or not on their own time. its up to them. not me. and not jesus campers.
j
ps on a lighter night, Christian rock is hilarious. the song in the first scene of the movie sounded exactly like Avantasia (which, for those of you ignorant of the european heavy metal scene, is an amazing, albeit non-christian, metal opera, check it out) and later there was a jesus rap. I think we should start a band. who's with me?
Monday, October 09, 2006
Alone Again, Naturally
i used to love that song. by Gilbert O'Sullivan. it was on a tape of the top billboard hits from 1972 i think i borrowed for like 6 months straight from the MB library. This was my favorite song on it, and my mom hated it. she said it was inane. what does it say about me that when i was in elementary school I loved a song about a guy who cheerfully describes jumping off a building because hes so lonely? exactly what you think it says.
So here I am, back in p-land after a brief visit to the MB. The wedding was fun, and i dont think ive ever seen my parents dance before, which was quite the experience (if youve never seen a room full of 30-70 year olds get down to a band playing usher and "its getting hot in herre" you havent lived. seriously. my mom danced to nelly) made me think about when all my friends start getting married...which doesnt seem to be anytime soon, but man will that be a party.
i also realized that i had grown fond of portland, but that i was pretty lonely here. I like the theatre and the people there, but besides the 2-4 hours i spend there a day, i dont see them. they come and go to and from their established lives, and i miss the college "get a drink after rehearsal" vibe. not their faul though. i just need to figure out how to meet people, so im not at home drinking tea and blogging at 1030 every night. its kind of a drag.
on the plus side, everyone should see Science of Sleep. cause its really good. and i liked the Departed, ending and all. and working my way through Haruki Murakami's back catalog has reaffirmed he is in fact my favorite author, although if i could tell you who are reading this to read one book, it would be David Mitchell's Black Swan Green. Trust me.
too bad about the dodgers. but theyll be good. and now im just gearing up for lakers basketball.
So here I am, back in p-land after a brief visit to the MB. The wedding was fun, and i dont think ive ever seen my parents dance before, which was quite the experience (if youve never seen a room full of 30-70 year olds get down to a band playing usher and "its getting hot in herre" you havent lived. seriously. my mom danced to nelly) made me think about when all my friends start getting married...which doesnt seem to be anytime soon, but man will that be a party.
i also realized that i had grown fond of portland, but that i was pretty lonely here. I like the theatre and the people there, but besides the 2-4 hours i spend there a day, i dont see them. they come and go to and from their established lives, and i miss the college "get a drink after rehearsal" vibe. not their faul though. i just need to figure out how to meet people, so im not at home drinking tea and blogging at 1030 every night. its kind of a drag.
on the plus side, everyone should see Science of Sleep. cause its really good. and i liked the Departed, ending and all. and working my way through Haruki Murakami's back catalog has reaffirmed he is in fact my favorite author, although if i could tell you who are reading this to read one book, it would be David Mitchell's Black Swan Green. Trust me.
too bad about the dodgers. but theyll be good. and now im just gearing up for lakers basketball.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Home is Where Beds are Made
and butter is added to toast
So, phase one in being a person who actually lives in Portland instead of merely existing in Portland is drawing to a close. I signed a lease yesterday for an apartment--a beautiful double studio in the neighborhood i wanted to live in. The layout is alittle funny, and i have to decide whether i want to buy a bed or sleep in the one that pulls out in a drawer, but its really nice, hardword floors, great kitchen, etc. Its a bit more expensive than i had planned, ut what can you do. I'm renting it from this nice old couple who seem pretty great but put the wrong address and zip code on my lease. so we'll see how that goes. so from now until further notice, correspondence, care packages, cookies, and birthday presents on or around Nov 9th can reach me at
2109 NW Irving St.
Portland, OR
97210
In other news, I have started rehearsals at Sojourn, put in a couple of job applications (Thats phase two) and kicked my AD addiction...and Matt,what maeby and i had was young love, not some crude adolescent thing like you described. I only whack it to House.
Finally, a few more albums i think you should listen to, but, for brevity's sake, no pictures and descriptions of equal word length as the headings.
1. Murder By Death- In Bocca Al Lupo:
rock+cello+Johnny Cash+grim stories=this
2. Bloc Party- Silent Alarm:
great album, good politics
3. Sun Kil Moon- Ghosts of the Great Highway:
"Duk Koo Kim"-Fourteen minutes of sonic beauty
4. Thom Yorke- The Eraser:
Better than Radiohead? Yes.
thats all for now. move in sunday. ill let you know if there are any huge crises. Also, I will officially be home friday the 6th-monday the 9th for wedding, hometown fair, and (huge fingers crossed) dodger playoff games on TV.
j
So, phase one in being a person who actually lives in Portland instead of merely existing in Portland is drawing to a close. I signed a lease yesterday for an apartment--a beautiful double studio in the neighborhood i wanted to live in. The layout is alittle funny, and i have to decide whether i want to buy a bed or sleep in the one that pulls out in a drawer, but its really nice, hardword floors, great kitchen, etc. Its a bit more expensive than i had planned, ut what can you do. I'm renting it from this nice old couple who seem pretty great but put the wrong address and zip code on my lease. so we'll see how that goes. so from now until further notice, correspondence, care packages, cookies, and birthday presents on or around Nov 9th can reach me at
2109 NW Irving St.
Portland, OR
97210
In other news, I have started rehearsals at Sojourn, put in a couple of job applications (Thats phase two) and kicked my AD addiction...and Matt,what maeby and i had was young love, not some crude adolescent thing like you described. I only whack it to House.
Finally, a few more albums i think you should listen to, but, for brevity's sake, no pictures and descriptions of equal word length as the headings.
1. Murder By Death- In Bocca Al Lupo:
rock+cello+Johnny Cash+grim stories=this
2. Bloc Party- Silent Alarm:
great album, good politics
3. Sun Kil Moon- Ghosts of the Great Highway:
"Duk Koo Kim"-Fourteen minutes of sonic beauty
4. Thom Yorke- The Eraser:
Better than Radiohead? Yes.
thats all for now. move in sunday. ill let you know if there are any huge crises. Also, I will officially be home friday the 6th-monday the 9th for wedding, hometown fair, and (huge fingers crossed) dodger playoff games on TV.
j
Monday, September 25, 2006
Or On a Silver Screen
so, Portland, day 6, still no apartment. and no job. i do get to start going to rehearsals tomorrow though, which is nice because it gives me something to do. up to this point, my days have gone something like:
wake up
look at craigslist
go to coffee shop
eat lunch
go to coffee shop #2
look at craigslist
(maybe see an apartment)
watch entourage or arrested development season 3
sleep
its getting kind of boring. On the plus side, both those seasons of both shows were amazing. It makes me sad to watch the end of Arrested though, it really was an incredible incredible show. Also, i have a probably unhealthy crush on Maeby. Alia Shawkat, if youre reading this, my intentions are totally honorable, i just want to take you to dinner sometime, I swear.
so yeah, hopefully ill find a place soon, hopefully ill be home in 10 days for a wedding and my first hometown fair in 5 years, hopefully Maeby is reading this.
j
PS Ive felt terrible since my last post not because it was super long but because I left off Bloc Party's Silent Alarm and Sun Kil Moon's Ghost of the Great Highway off the list. Theyre amazing albums that ive been listening to a ton and yeah i think about things like this
PPS Matt you were right, it was a typo, its been fixed, and ive been more than duly shamed. happy?
wake up
look at craigslist
go to coffee shop
eat lunch
go to coffee shop #2
look at craigslist
(maybe see an apartment)
watch entourage or arrested development season 3
sleep
its getting kind of boring. On the plus side, both those seasons of both shows were amazing. It makes me sad to watch the end of Arrested though, it really was an incredible incredible show. Also, i have a probably unhealthy crush on Maeby. Alia Shawkat, if youre reading this, my intentions are totally honorable, i just want to take you to dinner sometime, I swear.
so yeah, hopefully ill find a place soon, hopefully ill be home in 10 days for a wedding and my first hometown fair in 5 years, hopefully Maeby is reading this.
j
PS Ive felt terrible since my last post not because it was super long but because I left off Bloc Party's Silent Alarm and Sun Kil Moon's Ghost of the Great Highway off the list. Theyre amazing albums that ive been listening to a ton and yeah i think about things like this
PPS Matt you were right, it was a typo, its been fixed, and ive been more than duly shamed. happy?
Friday, September 22, 2006
Home Is Where I Want To Be
pick me up and turn me round
I dont necessarily want to be home in LA, although i do miss my friends and my parents, but Id like a home. The worst part of moving so far is that, lacking an apartment, and even any good leads, I dont feel like my life is starting here yet. I have no apartment, no job, I dont start at the theatre for another week or so, and I dont have any friends. that all sounds more depressing when its actually written out. I know it hasnt been very long, and things will get better, its just hard to look forward when all your worldy possessions are in the back of your car and dont seem to be getting out any time soon. So thats where things are right now...lots of craigslisting, lots of calling and being told the building is full or only has 900 dollar apts available.
Everytime I start something new, I have this fantasy that I will be a different person. that just because I am moving to Evanston, or London, or Portland that I will change all the things about myself that i want to change...that i will start anew, rise from my own ashes like the phoenix i plan to get tattooed on my back. Its not a particularly unique sentiment, I'm sure, and it doesnt usually work out that way. I have made a small step in that direction this time though, i feel. I went to see a family friend's band play (one I havent seen in maybe 15 years, which still put him in the top five people I knew before moving to Portland) and a group of people that looked reasonable my age sat next to me, and I was able to carry on a conversation throughout the evening with one of them, who was a reasonably cute girl to top it all off. For most people this isnt a step towards anything, its just a Thursday. But I don't really like talking to strangers, and when I asked for her number after the show it was probably the first time I had ever done that. I asked partly because it would, as i told her, be nice to have a friend who knew the city and mostly just to prove I could, but still. One small step for man. So there Portland.
I should probably tell people about this if i want them to read it. Oh well. Everything in due time.
j
I dont necessarily want to be home in LA, although i do miss my friends and my parents, but Id like a home. The worst part of moving so far is that, lacking an apartment, and even any good leads, I dont feel like my life is starting here yet. I have no apartment, no job, I dont start at the theatre for another week or so, and I dont have any friends. that all sounds more depressing when its actually written out. I know it hasnt been very long, and things will get better, its just hard to look forward when all your worldy possessions are in the back of your car and dont seem to be getting out any time soon. So thats where things are right now...lots of craigslisting, lots of calling and being told the building is full or only has 900 dollar apts available.
Everytime I start something new, I have this fantasy that I will be a different person. that just because I am moving to Evanston, or London, or Portland that I will change all the things about myself that i want to change...that i will start anew, rise from my own ashes like the phoenix i plan to get tattooed on my back. Its not a particularly unique sentiment, I'm sure, and it doesnt usually work out that way. I have made a small step in that direction this time though, i feel. I went to see a family friend's band play (one I havent seen in maybe 15 years, which still put him in the top five people I knew before moving to Portland) and a group of people that looked reasonable my age sat next to me, and I was able to carry on a conversation throughout the evening with one of them, who was a reasonably cute girl to top it all off. For most people this isnt a step towards anything, its just a Thursday. But I don't really like talking to strangers, and when I asked for her number after the show it was probably the first time I had ever done that. I asked partly because it would, as i told her, be nice to have a friend who knew the city and mostly just to prove I could, but still. One small step for man. So there Portland.
I should probably tell people about this if i want them to read it. Oh well. Everything in due time.
j
First Things First My Friend, A Change
Dear anyone who reads this,
So. I started a blog. I also moved to Portland. These things are pretty much directly related. I have to admit, the starting-a-blog-to-keep-all-the-friends-I-moved-foolishly-away-from-posted thing is not original, nor would I have done it had my friend Caitlin not done the same thing. And really, I feel like I wouldnt have started it at all had I not decided I wanted to write about music as well. So. I will keep you posted. And I will make top five lists, because I like High Fidelity that much. And hopefully you will read and respond. It will help pass the time for me, and its nice to know you're not alone online.
until next time, fearless reader
j
So. I started a blog. I also moved to Portland. These things are pretty much directly related. I have to admit, the starting-a-blog-to-keep-all-the-friends-I-moved-foolishly-away-from-posted thing is not original, nor would I have done it had my friend Caitlin not done the same thing. And really, I feel like I wouldnt have started it at all had I not decided I wanted to write about music as well. So. I will keep you posted. And I will make top five lists, because I like High Fidelity that much. And hopefully you will read and respond. It will help pass the time for me, and its nice to know you're not alone online.
until next time, fearless reader
j
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