There's something really frustrating about begging for the opportunity to spend money. I listen to a podcast called Buzz Out Loud, and one of the hosts is always talking about how this is working with electronic media and internet services.
Examples - I needed a piece of software, but it's published elsewhere in the world and not sold on our shores. It's a really common program, but the only way to buy it is either to pay some random person on eBay for a most assuredly pirated copy, pirate a copy myself, or - oh holy of holies - the company's website has a pay for download service. But, it only works if you use a bank card from the country of origin. No international cards are allowed. I wonder if they ever considered that if I their customers had such a card, They might probably be living there and wouldn't need to buy online. Here, I want to give you my money. I want you to have my money. Please please pretty please let me give you my money. I want to make sure you are compensated for the good work you have done, and you are making it very difficult.
I really liked that Chelsea Dagger song and one or two of the others on that album. Pretty fun, but I don't buy DRMed music anymore. I'm not sure I want the whole CD though. Picky picky, I know. (Insert old codger here saying, "In my day, you couldn't even listen to the music beforehand. You bought your stack of victrolla records, and you listened to them all, and you liked it! Uphill! Both ways!) Anyway, I've been checking Amazon every month or so since it was popular (on an iTunes commercial? Maybe I should reinstall iTunes and check there. They do DRM-free now, too, right?) to see when it'll be available for download. Nope. Still not there. It would be really easy to get a pirated copy, but I really do want them to have my money. Really. Please let me pay you!
So, the point of all this is that I've been worried all weekend about whether or not I would be so graced by the credit score gods and the whims of the management company that I might be selected for the great honor and privilidge of paying an metric dumpster-load of cash every month to live in their apartment. There's a little more reason behind this, I know. Buying a CD ain't exactly the same as signing a contract to pay all that money every month for a year.
Still, I got the apartment. I sign the lease tomorrow. I'll get some pictures for you guys.
Anyone want to help me move? :)
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Monday, June 16, 2008
Sunday, October 28, 2007
10K II: The Blisters Strike Back!
Ok, no 10 page post about this morning's 10k, but it was a lot of fun. It was much less hard-core than last weeks. A lot of people had costumes - if fact one of the folks lining up in the fastest ranks for the 5k was Spiderman. Isn't that kinda cheating? I imagine that if they had a urine test, he'd turn up a wee bit hot. There was also a fund-raising walk, and that's where most of the costumes were. I saw a very impressing Opimus Prime, and several assorted cats and such. No bunnies, oddly enough. I guess I should have worn the ears...
The goodie bag was much better though:
quality running shirt - cool
ketchup-sized packet of 'udderly smooth' udder cream - a bit scary. I don't have, erm, udders.
8 cups worth of ground coffee - odd
hideously ugly yellow sweatband - maybe I can give it to someone?
2 strange 'Cashew cookies' - I vote yuck.
Mango Coconut Soy Joy Bar - why did it have to be coconut?
Powdered energy drink stuff - meh.
Powdered 'flavored fizzy drink' - hmmm...
Various ads and coupons - nice, but nothing really useful
A toothbrush - Wha?
2 elastic hair bands - I only wish I had long hair, they're pretty nice...
Minutia of the run:
Best tracks that I added to the playlist (didn't get to them all, but I'm working through them):
The goodie bag was much better though:
quality running shirt - cool
ketchup-sized packet of 'udderly smooth' udder cream - a bit scary. I don't have, erm, udders.
8 cups worth of ground coffee - odd
hideously ugly yellow sweatband - maybe I can give it to someone?
2 strange 'Cashew cookies' - I vote yuck.
Mango Coconut Soy Joy Bar - why did it have to be coconut?
Powdered energy drink stuff - meh.
Powdered 'flavored fizzy drink' - hmmm...
Various ads and coupons - nice, but nothing really useful
A toothbrush - Wha?
2 elastic hair bands - I only wish I had long hair, they're pretty nice...
Minutia of the run:
Best tracks that I added to the playlist (didn't get to them all, but I'm working through them):
- Billy Joel
- Movin' out
- Big Shot
- Pressure
- Tell Her About It
- You're Only Human
- Starship - Don't Stop Believin'
- Sting/Police
- Message in a Bottle
- Can't Stand Losing You
- Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
- Heart
- Magic Man
- What About Love
- Smashmouth - All Star
- Steely Dan - Reelin' in the Years
- Steppenwolf - Magic Carpet Ride
- Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Monday, July 09, 2007
If You Want Something Visual, That’s Not Too Abysmal
Just about every guide book you see about Japan seems to fall over itself to tell you that Japan is a country of contradictions. It’s become a cliché to be sure, and I think that it’s also become overstated. Yeah, there are a lot of different kinds of people in Japan, but to point Japan out as special in that way is to ignore that humans everywhere are different. Oooo Japan struggles with modernity while keeping traditions alive, give me a break. Nobody else anywhere does that?
Ok, I’ll concede that some of the contrasts are maybe more visable here, given the fundamental changes of the Meiji period and the post-war period. I’ll also admit that the contrasts are sometimes more apparent because space is so constrained – Japan ain’t that big, after all.
This was pretty much the theme of my trip to Harajuku last Sunday. See, Harajuku has a park where all the wanabe rock bands hang out and play. Well, that’s also where the beatboxers and breakdancers and drum groups play too. Oh, and the runners and the skaters – they hang out there too. And the guys who dress up like extras from Grease. They look like they’ve been there since Rock Around the Clock was topping the charts. But there are two other main draws to the area.
The one that’s definitely going to be in your guide book is only about a two or three minute walk from the doo-wop dudes. It’s the old Meiji Shrine. Like most pre-war buildings, everything was destroyed in the bombings, but it was rebuilt in the 50s. It’s grand and beautiful, set in the middle of a forested area that looks like it was basically let run wild. The Shinto penchant for purity and serenity is very much to be appreciated after the chaos of the Tokyo streets and subway.
I was there on a Sunday, too, which meant I got a chance to see part of a Shinto wedding ceremony. It was a wonderful procession, with the bride and groom and a few others in traditional dress, trailing members in tailed tuxes and alas, women mostly in pantsuits – only a few kimono. Photos over at flickr, you’ll forgive me for not capturing the pantsuits.
Nearby, there was a railing set up around a huge tree where you could post a board on which you had written your wishes. These were really interesting. In all sorts of languages, but mostly Japanese, Chinese, Korean and English, people wished for health, happiness, love, and even a ‘mo chill time in Japan.’ The one that struck me the most though, was the one that wished that the soldiers and sailors of both sides in the Great Pacific War may rest in peace. It struck me because not so very far away is another more famous Shinto shrine, Yasikuni, that houses the spirits to the Japanese war dead, including most notoriously, several war criminals. I’ve also already seen the right-wing propaganda trucks that tool around town with people giving speeches on top. I wish my Japanese were good enough to understand more of what they said. All I can hear is a lot of ‘fathers,’ ‘mothers,’ and ‘children.’ Perhaps it’s my overactive imagination, but that sounds like it would fit well with good old down-home xenophobic populism to me. The rise of nationalism in Asia is very disturbing to me, and I was very disappointed to have the reflection break into my bucolic reverie. I may write more on this later.
Leaving the shrine, I ran into the other most famous sight of Harujuku, the Cosplayers – ‘Cos’ for ’costume.’ They are also called Loli-goths – the ‘Loli’ is short for ‘Lolita.’ Wouldn’t Nabokov be proud? (I should say that I’m pretty sure they aren’t encouraging pedophilia. I’m fairly sure that Lolita has the same readership rate among the pre-college folk here that it does in the US - that is - next to nil.) I’m sure you can kind a wealth of information all over the web about these folk, and the couple of photos I’ve got might help, but briefly, imagine that the Rocky Horror Picture Show folks didn’t have a movie. Mix liberally with the Emo kids. Put them all in costumes made from the reimaginings of Gothic horror and Manga. Give them one day of celebration per week on Sunday where they can gather and seek the affirmation that they don’t get from their peers in school by allowing a horde of photographers to ask them politely if they might take their picture. I hope that doesn’t sound too harsh. As a former Rocky Horror Picture Show and drama geek, I imagine that, were I to grow up in Japan nowadays, I might be out there too. They generally seemed really happy, too, so maybe the Emo thing doesn’t fit. Perhaps a wondering Googler can enlighten me.
In any case, the costumes of the cosplayers and the do-wop guys along with the costumes of the wedding ceremony (both kimono and tuxedo) seemed to encourage a confirmation of the ‘Japan is a country of contradictions’ blather. I still don’t buy it. At least if you are going to claim that Japan is a country of more contradictions than other countries. Yeah, sure they’ve got east and west and past and present, but who doesn’t? Ever been to a renaissance festival in the US? Ever seen a clutch (gaggle?) of non-Asian folk at a Japanese anime screening at a US university? Ever seen photos of a Star Wars wedding? To me, it’s just another way of saying that Japanese folks are fundamentally different from others, and I really don’t think that serves anyone very well. To cover my ass, I don’t mean to say that there aren’t cultural differences and social issues unique to Japan, of course there are, and I’ll happily write about them, too. I guess I just got a bit miffed after looking at all the exotic–ized Japan in the guide books I’ve been looking at.
Ok, I’ll concede that some of the contrasts are maybe more visable here, given the fundamental changes of the Meiji period and the post-war period. I’ll also admit that the contrasts are sometimes more apparent because space is so constrained – Japan ain’t that big, after all.
This was pretty much the theme of my trip to Harajuku last Sunday. See, Harajuku has a park where all the wanabe rock bands hang out and play. Well, that’s also where the beatboxers and breakdancers and drum groups play too. Oh, and the runners and the skaters – they hang out there too. And the guys who dress up like extras from Grease. They look like they’ve been there since Rock Around the Clock was topping the charts. But there are two other main draws to the area.
The one that’s definitely going to be in your guide book is only about a two or three minute walk from the doo-wop dudes. It’s the old Meiji Shrine. Like most pre-war buildings, everything was destroyed in the bombings, but it was rebuilt in the 50s. It’s grand and beautiful, set in the middle of a forested area that looks like it was basically let run wild. The Shinto penchant for purity and serenity is very much to be appreciated after the chaos of the Tokyo streets and subway.
I was there on a Sunday, too, which meant I got a chance to see part of a Shinto wedding ceremony. It was a wonderful procession, with the bride and groom and a few others in traditional dress, trailing members in tailed tuxes and alas, women mostly in pantsuits – only a few kimono. Photos over at flickr, you’ll forgive me for not capturing the pantsuits.
Nearby, there was a railing set up around a huge tree where you could post a board on which you had written your wishes. These were really interesting. In all sorts of languages, but mostly Japanese, Chinese, Korean and English, people wished for health, happiness, love, and even a ‘mo chill time in Japan.’ The one that struck me the most though, was the one that wished that the soldiers and sailors of both sides in the Great Pacific War may rest in peace. It struck me because not so very far away is another more famous Shinto shrine, Yasikuni, that houses the spirits to the Japanese war dead, including most notoriously, several war criminals. I’ve also already seen the right-wing propaganda trucks that tool around town with people giving speeches on top. I wish my Japanese were good enough to understand more of what they said. All I can hear is a lot of ‘fathers,’ ‘mothers,’ and ‘children.’ Perhaps it’s my overactive imagination, but that sounds like it would fit well with good old down-home xenophobic populism to me. The rise of nationalism in Asia is very disturbing to me, and I was very disappointed to have the reflection break into my bucolic reverie. I may write more on this later.
Leaving the shrine, I ran into the other most famous sight of Harujuku, the Cosplayers – ‘Cos’ for ’costume.’ They are also called Loli-goths – the ‘Loli’ is short for ‘Lolita.’ Wouldn’t Nabokov be proud? (I should say that I’m pretty sure they aren’t encouraging pedophilia. I’m fairly sure that Lolita has the same readership rate among the pre-college folk here that it does in the US - that is - next to nil.) I’m sure you can kind a wealth of information all over the web about these folk, and the couple of photos I’ve got might help, but briefly, imagine that the Rocky Horror Picture Show folks didn’t have a movie. Mix liberally with the Emo kids. Put them all in costumes made from the reimaginings of Gothic horror and Manga. Give them one day of celebration per week on Sunday where they can gather and seek the affirmation that they don’t get from their peers in school by allowing a horde of photographers to ask them politely if they might take their picture. I hope that doesn’t sound too harsh. As a former Rocky Horror Picture Show and drama geek, I imagine that, were I to grow up in Japan nowadays, I might be out there too. They generally seemed really happy, too, so maybe the Emo thing doesn’t fit. Perhaps a wondering Googler can enlighten me.
In any case, the costumes of the cosplayers and the do-wop guys along with the costumes of the wedding ceremony (both kimono and tuxedo) seemed to encourage a confirmation of the ‘Japan is a country of contradictions’ blather. I still don’t buy it. At least if you are going to claim that Japan is a country of more contradictions than other countries. Yeah, sure they’ve got east and west and past and present, but who doesn’t? Ever been to a renaissance festival in the US? Ever seen a clutch (gaggle?) of non-Asian folk at a Japanese anime screening at a US university? Ever seen photos of a Star Wars wedding? To me, it’s just another way of saying that Japanese folks are fundamentally different from others, and I really don’t think that serves anyone very well. To cover my ass, I don’t mean to say that there aren’t cultural differences and social issues unique to Japan, of course there are, and I’ll happily write about them, too. I guess I just got a bit miffed after looking at all the exotic–ized Japan in the guide books I’ve been looking at.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Crosstown Traffic
Part of getting myself out of the funk I'm in is going to be a new push to start blogging more. So, here we go.
This may take a bit before I remember how to do all this, but I'll try.
First a note to the bus driver who tried to run me off the road and then opened his passenger door in the middle of the road (and a stop light) to tell me off:
Sir, while I respectfully admit that it is recommended that a bicycle not be ridden in the middle of the road when there is a lane open to the left, the lane to my left was a right turn only lane, and I didn't want to get in the way of people turning right. While you might have had a solid argument, when I said that I believed bicycles had the same right to the road as cars (and perhaps buses as well), I think that there was probably a better answer than to shout out, "well not in front of me they don't!" and keep as tight to the right side of the lane while passing me.
Feh. I actually feel a bit chastised because I went to check the law when I got back home only to find out that I wasn't entirely in the right. As near as I can tell, I was legally in the clear (and riding safely, I might add), but the law recommends that bikes only stray from the curb when making left turns and when avoiding unsafe road conditions. So I guess keeping out of the way of right turn only traffic isn't on their list.
Still. He could have been more polite.
Wow, that was a longish post on nearly nothing at all. fun.
Also, apropos of nothing, it will be very clear to those that survived my lyrics quizzes of many moons ago that my music taste changes only glacially, and I am loathe to admit the value of any music that is new to me. That being said, I have started listening to some Decemberists on the recommendation of the good Dr. Scrivner. For some reason I have also stumbled on the wacky joy of the Ditty Bops (Wishful thinking and Sister Kate are particularly fun). The Fratellis' Chelsea Dagger and Flathead were quite fun until I realized that one of them turned up on an Apple ad. They have been since downgraded to merely fun (but I still listen to them heaps).
Wow. Long post. Maybe I can still do this.
This may take a bit before I remember how to do all this, but I'll try.
First a note to the bus driver who tried to run me off the road and then opened his passenger door in the middle of the road (and a stop light) to tell me off:
Sir, while I respectfully admit that it is recommended that a bicycle not be ridden in the middle of the road when there is a lane open to the left, the lane to my left was a right turn only lane, and I didn't want to get in the way of people turning right. While you might have had a solid argument, when I said that I believed bicycles had the same right to the road as cars (and perhaps buses as well), I think that there was probably a better answer than to shout out, "well not in front of me they don't!" and keep as tight to the right side of the lane while passing me.
Feh. I actually feel a bit chastised because I went to check the law when I got back home only to find out that I wasn't entirely in the right. As near as I can tell, I was legally in the clear (and riding safely, I might add), but the law recommends that bikes only stray from the curb when making left turns and when avoiding unsafe road conditions. So I guess keeping out of the way of right turn only traffic isn't on their list.
Still. He could have been more polite.
Wow, that was a longish post on nearly nothing at all. fun.
Also, apropos of nothing, it will be very clear to those that survived my lyrics quizzes of many moons ago that my music taste changes only glacially, and I am loathe to admit the value of any music that is new to me. That being said, I have started listening to some Decemberists on the recommendation of the good Dr. Scrivner. For some reason I have also stumbled on the wacky joy of the Ditty Bops (Wishful thinking and Sister Kate are particularly fun). The Fratellis' Chelsea Dagger and Flathead were quite fun until I realized that one of them turned up on an Apple ad. They have been since downgraded to merely fun (but I still listen to them heaps).
Wow. Long post. Maybe I can still do this.
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