Me and Work

I have two main worries in life...one, that if I were to find myself hanging from a cliff or window ledge, dependent on my arm strength, I would be a goner. The other is that come the post-Apocalyptic world, I would be as useful as, well, tits on a bull.

I've had the second concern for awhile...since my 20s actually. Listening to the Indigo Girls...



...where the chorus "I've got to get out of bed and get a hammer and nail, learn how to use my hands" would make me feel so...uselessly intellectual.

To this day, I have that feeling. Oh, I can use a hammer...I just never do. If the world fell into chaos tomorrow, I would be useful in helping to organize people, or preparing curriculum for others to teach survival skills...but of no practical use myself. I'd probably be the first one eaten.

All of these thoughts are coming up now because I picked up a copy of the Spring 2011 Lampham's Quarterly, the topic of this month is Lines of Work.

Here's a quote from Robert Burton (Britain, late 1500s):

"A young man is like a fair new house: the carpenter leaves it well-built, in good repair, of solid stuff, but a bad tenant lets it rain in, and for want of reparation, fall into decay, etc. Our parents, tutors, friends, spare no cost to bring us up in our youth in all manner of virtuous education, but when we are left to ourselves, idleness as a tempest drives all virtuous motions out of our minds, on a sudden, by sloth and such bad ways, we come to nought."

[I blogged the last LQ, on Celebrity, which was a very timely edition., if you're interested.]

So, do you have any thoughts on work? And the apocalypse, if you want to go there....

Lori

Here's why I love the Blues:

Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino on stage at the same time...3 pianos, and a crew of backup musicians probably wetting themselves in excitement:

Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis
Uploaded by Hanvak

I'd use up a magic wish to have been at this club with a beer in my hand....would anyone join me?

Lori

The Piano

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at aniBoom

A lovely way to start the day...

Lori

How the Music Turns

Well, my Zune arrived. Cute little thing. And they sent along some extras -- the adaptor (to be able to charge it up when not near a computer) and ultra-snazzy headphones. I will play it with the headphones that com mit, to be able to comment on them.

Disclaimer: If you're just stopping by for the first time, you may want to read this post. It's some background of why I have this cute little Zune to play with.)

I am not having the problems that Raincoaster is having. She's trapped by technological issues, poor thing. The Zune needs at least Windows XP, with a minimum of Service Pack 2 installed. That second point took me a while to get myself.

So, besides it being cute, what are my first impressions?

I like the interface. Big, clear, intuitive. (Take a look at Cnet.com's review with video showing the interface.)

It annoyed me that I had to get all the updates for my Windows XP. Okay, yes, maybe I should have been on top of that, but still...

I was worried about the implications of the file sharing capabilities this thing supposedly has. You and your friend could be hanging out in a coffee shop, and using the wireless connection, you could throw a song at your friend: "Here, try this one!" Neat...and no, not stealing files. You can listen to a song received that way 3 times before it deletes itself (or something), but it will remind you to look that song up later (when hooked up to the Internet where you can buy it, of course.).

I also like that when you're playing one song, you can navigate all over the thing, browsing your songs, videos, podcasts...but it won't interrupt the song, until you hit play on something else.

More later.

Lori

Goodbye Oliver...I barely knew you!

I just got an email today from Metro's sister...linking me to an article in the Toronto Star about the sudden death of Oliver Schroer -- Canadian composer and violinist.

I first experienced his music on an Easter Sunday CBC special called "Churchgoing" (no where near as religious as it sounded...included readings and a Monty Python sketch!). Metro and I were driving and suddenly this song came on:




Schroer had actually done the Camino de Santiago through France and Spain:

He had just released his CD, Camino, to critical and audience raves. Camino was recorded over two months in 2004 as he and two friends walked the Camino de Santiago, an ancient trail that wanders across France and Spain. Schroer stopped in churches along the way to play his violin.

(Hmm...the Camino is a pilgrimage, not merely a trail. Silly newspaper!)

The music recorded along the way, with rudimentary equipment that he and his friends carried for 1,000 kilometers, was soaring -- violin pieces played in old cathedrals along the way. It appealed to me also as an architecture buff, as you can almost hear the expanse of vaulted ceilings in this music. I immediately went out and bought the CD, and it is now one of my favourites, that I force friends to listen to all the time.

But in the end, succumbing to leukemia at 52, it will be his attitude that stands out:

His acceptance of his imminent death comes from how he has lived.

"As an artist, I found my own unique voice and have been able to publicly express that voice. I've gotten to collaborate with different wonderful musicians. What more does an artist want?

"I'm one of the burning-bright guys who fire it all up and then go down in flames."

May we all have this acceptance when our time comes.

Lori

The Saga Continues...

The Search for the Perfect Digital Music Player takes a new step today...

Last week, Raincoaster posted "The Swag Report", and sent me an email pointing out how I should give this a shot: fill out a brief online survey at Matchstick.ca then wait to see if you fit their profile. If so, they'll send you a Zune mp3 player to try out. I guess I fit their profile...

Since I got the call today, so soon after Canada Day, I feel I should mention that this is a promotion for the Canadian launch, so only Canadians need apply (not USians).

"What's the catch?" I can hear my loyal readers saying...Ah yes, there's always a catch. The idea is that when I receive this thing, try it out, and (hopefully, on their part) like it, I will chat it up with friends and acquaintances. And, as I clarified with the man I spoke to today, if I have problems with it, that I give them honest feedback.

It's always a danger giving stuff to bloggers -- you've got to be mighty confident of your product, and ready to stand back and let them review or not review as they see fit, as the audience will always know a sell-out. But I have absolutely no problem being honest in my praise or criticism.

I've had quite a time in my quest for the perfect digital audio player...

• I started off with a something-or-other provided by Audible.com when I signed up (about 3 years ago now?)
• I bought Metro a Samsung Yepp, which at the time was pretty high-end. He still has it and uses it happily, even though it's got the memory for 1 album's worth of music. Long lasting thing. I don't know what their new products are like, but I'll link to the site -- his has lasted since the spring of '03!)
  
• I then bought the ill-fated piece of junk, the Rio Forge (Here's Metro's blog post about our trials and tribulations with that one!)
• Then we received a video iPod (no link, too much press for that damned company already!), which had awful battery life, so I returned it for store credit. I then did my research and came up with the Archos Gmini -- a thing of beauty, albeit a little bulky. That full story is on my blog, here and here.

So now, the quest continues. I'll keep you all posted as to what I find. And in the meantime, check out the survey, maybe you'll qualify as well. Then we can try out the wi-fi file sharing between units.

Lori

Rule #78 in Life:

(Source)

One of my favourite silly movies is Airheads...a 1994 rock'n'roll comedy. (Brendan Fraser's appearance in this film is merely a coincidence!)

And here for your viewing pleasure is the immortal Lemmy in a video with clips from the movie:



Turn up the volume and rock out!

Lori

Musicians...the same the world over

None can resist a great tune (by Deep Purple). Here's a Japanese orchestra doing "Smoke on the Water" (found at To Be Asian):



Besides the utter fabulousness of the music, the audience reaction is classic.

This made my day. I hope it makes yours.

Lori

I've always wanted to try this...

How many times has it come up in conversation?

"Have you ever listened to Dark Side of the Moon with The Wizard of Oz?"

Here's a site with all of the synchronicities detailed.

I've always wanted to know -- what would prompt someone to think "I'm going to match up a Pink Floyd album with that movie, see what happens"? What came first, the idea or the drugs??

Well, one day I'll find me a copy of The Wizard of Oz...see what happens.

Lori

A Musical Interlude

Here's a French woman doing a brilliant Nina Simone:

#16 My brightest Diamond - Be my husband
Uploaded by lecargo

How's that for energy?

Enjoy.

Lori

"Homophobia Sux"

No kidding. A guy I know was involved in a very nifty little video production in Vancouver -- using Sonny Bono's "Laugh at Me":



It was posted to YouTube a year ago, but hasn't had much viewage -- Unfortunate, that. It's got 22 actors, who wander around 2 blocks on Davie Street,...and one long, glorious take.

I am a huge fan of a well-choreographed long take. (Cf. Notting Hill, The Player, Touch of Evil, etc.)

Lori

We need more protest songs...

Here is a powerful offering from Pink:



Lori