Currently reading: Neuromancer by William Gibson 📚Time to confirm my nerd card.
Finished reading: Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky 📚What a ride. Avoided so many sci-fi cliches, and was genuinely compelling.
Stopped reading: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. I was enjoying it, but since I’m traveling light I decided to not take any physical books with me. 📚
📚 Started reading Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovksy.
Wrapping up at #DrupalCon and I’ve had a blast. Great to meet new friends and reconnect with old ones. Also—Pittsburgh is a great town. See everyone online!
Divorced nomad
After eight years of marriage and thirteen years together, my wife and I are getting divorced. I am, for now, without a home. Our marriage ending came as a shock. While I knew we were going through a … Read more
Got back from my first trip to Atlanta, and got to share it with many friends. In NYC for a few days, then off to Pittsburgh for DrupalCon! I’ll be at the Lullabot booth, so stop by if you’re attending.
Started reading: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, by Dave Eggers. This one wasn’t on my radar at all, but a friend had an extra copy, and I’m intrigued! 📚
Finished reading: Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke. What a beautiful, riveting, and emotional journey, all told through journals! 📚
Yes, who watches the watcher, but more importantly—who washes the watcher? Dude is gross.
Started reading: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. I read Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrell years ago and enjoyed it, so am really excited for this one. 📚
Finished reading: Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. Nihilistic, weird, brutal, and well observed. I really liked it. 📚
Started reading: Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. One of those books I never read. This is one of those books I probably wouldn’t have appreciated when they were required reading, but am loving now. 📚
Finished reading: Sourcery: A Discworld Novel. As with any Discworld novel, its total escapist fun, with the problems of the real world layered in. Some of the probably-progressive-seeming-at-the-time characterizations of Conina could be left back in 1988, but overall really enjoyable. 📚
Started reading: Sourcery: A Discworld Novel by Terry Pratchett.
Finished reading: Bea Wolf, by Zach Weinersmith and illustrated by Boulet. An adaptation of Beowulf for children, and absolutely delightful.
Sometimes, all I really want is to flip everyone off and disappear to rock music.
I have a problem with perfectionism. One effect of that is I don’t post here as much as I’d like. To address, I’m changing my posting strategy. I’m going from, “Is this good enough?” to “Is this not harmful?”
“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’” —Issac Asimov
Lita Ford, Question Mark?
In my notes, I found some fairly sparse thoughts on listening to Lita Ford’s solo career for the first time. I don’t know why I was listening to it, or what I had in mind when I was taking down notes. Perhaps we can all figure it out together.
I went track for track, jotted down a tiny observation, and gave up after less than two albums. Here’s my essential thoughts in full.
Out for Blood (1983)
- Out for blood Rocker. Pretty standard hair metal fair.
- Stay with me baby A little slower, but still upbeat. Has a fun intro bass line if I remember right.
- Just a feeling Down the middle power ballad.
- Ready, willing, and able Mean, heavy riff. Stomper.
- Die for me only Screeching metal riff. Galloping.
- Rock n roll made me what I am today Hard rocker, more in line with later Runaways runes. Shout-along-style chorus.
- If you can’t live with it Another dark, similar to “Ready, willing, and able”, but more melodic and less mean.
- On the run Rolling fast number. Production seems worse than the rest of the record, hard to hear her voice. Maybe it’s the copy?
Dancin’ on the Edge (1984)
Bigger more pop production than the first album.
- Gotta Let Go Mid-tempo Motley Crue-type rocker, but with more melody.
- Dancin’ on the Edge A little more expansive, more like a driving metal song.
- Dressed to Kill Slower, but not quite a ballad. That 80s heavy metal slow-ish attempt at epic.
- Hit ’n Run Hornier riff, more swing.
- Lady Killer Talk opening. Another big riff. Not much to distinguish. Gang vocal chorus.
- Still Waitin’ Driving riff, more pop-oriented. Like a pale version of I Hate Myself for Loving You.
- Fire in My Heart No comment.
- Don’t Let Me Down Tonight No comment.
- Run with the $ Heartbreakingly, no comment.
The trick is, how do I bring how I’m naturally funny and myself to an unusual situation, aka on stage. —Heavily paraphrased from Conan O’Brian
I have a note from years ago reminding me that a stylized illustrated collage I saw in an art gallery was very cool. The piece was called Kabuki fox and the night mice…, it seems to have won the Harriet Tannin Award, and I can’t find it anywhere online.
Finished reading: But now am found, by Patricia Horvath. Beautiful short story collection, each a compact gut punch.
I got to perform the rare Cat’s Cradle improvisation form in front of a sold-out audience Friday night. It was a thrill to play with such an extremely talented ensemble, and the crowed loved it. Can’t wait to do it again.
I limited all my blog’s RSS/JSON feeds to 50 items, after realizing Hugo defaults to no limit. Hopefully that will be kinder to parsers.