POWERING UP

I've decided to resume semi-regular posting to the blog with this, my 600th post. Now that summer's here I have some more to to devote to it and I've found I do miss it. I am not coming back with promises as to frequency of posts or as to what the subject matter will be, though I do have some ideas as to features. I do want to get away from my posts just being a series of lists, to bring some actual content. A quick perusal of my 2009 posts shows I haven't talked about any music or books or anything of substance, so there is quite a bit I could talk about. So please stop by occasionally or add me to your feed reader; I hope to entertain.

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #137

It's not been a good week - my back seized up on me Tuesday morning and I spent a good portion of time on the floor unable to move without excruciating pain. It's gotten better as the week has gone along but I missed the last few days of school and couldn't even play cornhole at a birthday party yesterday. At least we had a great time in Baltimore and Washington D.C. for my cousin's wedding last weekend. So, I'm using the Sunday Shuffle as some comfort food this morning and I'm okay with that.

1. She's A Rejecter/Of Montreal (7)
2. Take A Rake/Centro-Matic (9)
3. Quito/The Mountain Goats (17)
4. Sex On Fire/Kings of Leon (8)
5. An Apology/Canasta (12)
6. The Next Messiah/Jenny Lewis (12)
7. Jezebel/Two Hours Traffic (15)
8. Dark Leaves Form a Thread/Destroyer (7)
9. Oh, Take Me Back/M. Ward (6)
10. And Your Bird Can Sing/Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs (2)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #136

Woke up this morning and felt like doing a Sunday Shuffle. It's not indicative of anything necessarily, though I have been giving thought to coming back to blogging on a more regular basis. For now, ten random songs from my iTunes is enough...

1. My Goodbyes/South San Gabriel (6)
2. This Ain't a Scene/The Henry Clay People (9)
3. Snakes of Hawaii/Army Navy (9)
4. Furr/Blitzen Trapper (7)
5. A Side Wins/Sloan (18)
6. Stuck Between Stations/The Hold Steady (27)
7. Great Expectations/Elbow (14)
8. Silence Kid/Pavement (12)
9. Lady On The Water/Blitzen Trapper (6)
10. Look, Honey, Peaches/Portastatic (5)

POWERING DOWN

I am setting the blog aside for an indeterminate amount of time. The reality is that I spend time on Twitter and Facebook and that probably won't be changing anytime soon. I do like the idea of the blog but there is a big disconnect between coming up with ideas for posts and writing the actual posts themselves. I also still have dreams to be published as a creative writer and I want to take some time to work towards that goal (though it will have to wait another 6 weeks until college is over for me). Today is my 38th birthday and I'm feeling some of that "Year of 35" spirit; I am soon going to record an EP and I feel it is time to keep pushing myself forward.

I'm not sure how long I will be away from this blog...it could be a couple months and I could never come back to it. I have no plan and that's just fine with me. Close to a quarter of my almost 600 posts over the past 3+ years here have been Sunday Shuffles and while I will miss that ritual every Sunday morning, I'll probably still do it for myself.

Thanks to all of you who have come by over the years. Please check me out on Twitter and you can look me up on Facebook if you so desire. Take care.

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #135

Today's shuffle is going to be a double issue for two reasons - today is my 38th birthday and this will be the last Sunday Shuffle for an indeterminate amount of time (more on that later). So, let's celebrate with a bunch of music...

1. Too Much to Hide/Joseph Arthur (12)
2. Weary Arms/Crooked Fingers (3)
3. Capturing Moods/Rilo Kiley (3)
4. Long As I Can See the Light/Creedence Clearwater Revival (5)
5. Slow Down Chicago/Canasta (9)
6. Jaipur/The Mountain Goats (14)
7. Time Left For Love/Shout Out Louds (8)
8. Sleep Sunshine/The Whigs (15)
9. Whatever (Folk Song In C)/Elliott Smith (12)
10. Flying High Again/Sloan (17)
11. Old Time Lovin'/Al Green (3)
12. Blood Bank/Bon Iver (5)
13. Nevermind The Phonecalls/Earlimart (12)
14. Forget Myself/Elbow (11)
15. Jigsaw/Mates Of State (6)
16. Idylls Of The King/The Mountain Goats (19)
17. Claws Tracking/Spoon (4)
18. Angela/Oakley Hall (4)
19. [Untitled Track]/The Black Keys (11)
20. Souls Like the Wheels/The Avett Brothers (5)
21. Act Of The Apostle/Belle and Sebastian (12)
22. A Sunday Smile/Beirut (4)
23. Pick Me Up/Dinosaur Jr. (10)
24. Flume/Bon Iver (9)
25. Manitoba/Tapes 'n Tapes (9)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #134

I'm on my second spring break of the year, so this week will either bring a handful of blog posts or I'll just accept the fact that I'm just a Sunday shuffler...

1. Where's That Hit?/Hoodoo Gurus (3)
2. Before I Do/Sloan (12)
3. These Days Nothing But Sunshine/The Clientele (8)
4. Challengers/The New Pornographers (22)
5. Working Girls (Sunlight Shines)/Pernice Brothers (15)
6. How To Fight Loneliness/Wilco (1)
7. Little Round Mirrors/Harvey Danger (46)
8. Green River/Creedence Clearwater Revival (9)
9. Open Eyes/Apples In Stereo (13)
10. Where I'm Anymore/Grandaddy (13)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #133

The Sunday Shuffle is determined by turning the shuffle mode on and then taking the first 10 songs that I have loaded onto iTunes. I share the computer with my wife and son, so there is plenty of music I don't care for and don't claim. Here's my music...

1. Andalucia/Crooked Fingers (3)
2. Black Out/Pavement (7)
3. Souverian/Andrew Bird (5)
4. Shaped Like a Gun/Verbena (3)
5. Jet Stream/Brendan Benson (19)
6. Town Where You Belong/Earlimart (9)
7. Campershell Dreams/Grandaddy (13)
8. Giving It Up/Josh Rouse (11)
9. Charly/Higgins (5)
10. It's Natural To Be Afraid/Explosions In The Sky (12)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #132

I'm on my college spring break this week, so maybe I'll get to other posts. Maybe. This past week was one where I was in more of a reading mode than a watching mode...I really don't have time to be in both at once. I'm always in a listening mode, though, so let's get to the songs...

1. Red Dust/Iron And Wine/Calexico (11)
2. Apple/Saturday Looks Good To Me (9)
3. Jornada Del Muerto #20/South San Gabriel (5)
4. A Cunning Latch/Portastatic (4)
5. No Backbone/The Lemonheads (14)
6. Fisher of Men/M. Ward (6)
7. Marie Provost/Nick Lowe (5)
8. Elijah/The Mountain Goats (9)
9. Jimmy the Exploder/The White Stripes (10)
10. If It Works/Tokyo Police Club (12)

FEBRUARY 2009 ROUNDUP

I started doing one tonight but I ended up boring myself and erased it. I may just discontinue this feature. What I'd rather do is write more meaningful posts about what I've consumed rather than the laundry lists, so this is either the first step in that direction or just more waffling. Time will tell...

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #131 (MONDAY EDITION)

We've been having some internet issues over the past few days and I wasn't able to get the suffle done yesterday. It's after 9:30 on Monday night but my week just doesn't feel right unless it starts off with the shuffle, so here we go...

1. Tractor Rape Chain/Guided By Voices (6)

2. 1995/Luna (6)

3. Pink Clouds/Superchunk (9)

4. pleasure is mine/Matthew Sweet (7)

5. The Death Of Big Ed Delahanty/The Baseball Project (3)

6. Pinball Song/Slobberbone (16)

7. Grounded/Pavement (5)

8. What Do You Go Home To?/Explosions In The Sky (9)

9. Imitosis/Andrew Bird (8)

10. Summerteeth (live)/Jeff Tweedy (9)

eMUSIC ROUND THIRTY-SEVEN

This month marks the start of my fourth year with eMusic and I continue to be very happy with the service. My biggest problem is trying to get my downloads to work out every month but I've managed to do it 36 times, so I guess it's not that big of a problem. Anyway, here's what I downloaded in February...

Ben Kweller/Changing Horses
The Henry Clay People/For Cheap Or For Free
M. Ward/Hold Time
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit/Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
Le Switch/And Now...Le Switch
J. Tillman/Minor Works

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #130

Lots of college work this week wiped out any chance of posting. I may get one or two up today but I've got a pretty bad cold, so my head isn't that sharp. We'll see. It doesn't take any brainpower to bring you today's ten, however, so without further rambling...

1. Half Dead/The Mountain Goats (9)
2. Nineteen Seventy Nine/Lucero (4)
3. California Stopover/The Ladybug Transistor (7)
4. Shooting Rockets (From the Desk of Night's Ape)/Destroyer (8)
5. The Next Messiah/Jenny Lewis (8)
6. Don't Buy the Realistic/Spoon (3)
7. Black Hole/The Rosebuds (8)
8. Little Brother/Elk City (10)
9. Black Rain, Black Rain/A.A. Bondy (13)
10. Suzy Lee/The White Stripes (11)

ASIMOV'S JAN. 2009

I finished this issue a few weeks ago but never got around to writing about it. It got recycled back then but I think I can remember well enough to say a few things about the stories; I'd like to not miss writing about a month of either Asimov's or F&SF this year.

The issue started off with Mary Rosenblum's "Lion Walk," where a mystery arises about girls getting killed on a nature preserve in the near future. Rosenblum is not concerned only with the mystery but where society has gotten to. It's good solid SF.

"Passing Perry Crater Base, Time Uncertain" is a short piece by Larry Niven that was okay but not memorable enough that I can remember anything about it other than my general impression.

Will McIntosh's "Bridesicle," on the other hand, is completely memorable. It's set in (perhaps) the same future as a previous Asimov's story (was it "Midnight Blue?") where people who die can stick around in the consciousness of their offspring. This story goes even further, into a future where the cryogenically-frozen dead can be brought back to life (and maybe to a real body) if they become brides. It's told from the perspective of a prospective "bridesicle" who also happens to be a lesbian. Good stuff.

"Five Thousand Light Years from Birdland" by Robert R. Chase is a solid first contact story in which a member of the translation team is sacrificed by being sent to the alien world, except for the fact that he understands more than the rest. Solid SF.

E. Salih makes his debut with "Messiah Excelsa" but unfortunately doesn't do much for me with a story about time travel and Stradivarius. It wasn't the subject as much as the execution.

Nancy Kress looks at divorce through the lens of a dog who can "talk" in "Unintended Behavior," a sharp little tale that I liked.

Finally, "Uncle Bones" by Damien Broderick focuses on the conspiracy behind a treatment that allows the dead to live, albeit in a way that makes them outcasts from society (as well they would be). It's a fun story (and yes, I know that sounds incongruous but it is).

In all, it's another solid issue of Asimov's...

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #129

I still have two days left of my weekend (minus a couple hours teaching at the Y tomorrow), which makes me happy. I've got things to do, of course, but it's nice not to have to try and get it all done immediately. What I will do immediately is hit you with 10 songs from my iTunes...

1. Frightening Lives/Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew (6)
2. Written Invitation/The Whigs (19)
3. Slope Song/The Essex Green (22)
4. Buffalo Boots/Luna (3)
5. Nursery, Academy/Tokyo Police Club (4)
6. Shiftee/The Broken West (20)
7. a second reply to st anselm of canterbury (ps 17:15)/The Prayers & Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers (17)
8. Submarines Of Stockholm/A.C. Newman (9)
9. Heatseeker/Two Hours Traffic (12)
10. New Year's Day/The Broken West (21)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #128

I started a couple different posts this week but I ended up deleting them. Maybe this week I'll actually write something and post it! But right now I'm going to get to the music since we're going out to breakfast in the near future...

1. You Can Always Count On Me (In The Worst Way)/Superchunk (8)
2. Queen of Cans and Jars/Guided By Voices (6)
3. Before I Do/Sloan (11)
4. This Is Something I Might Miss/I Love Math (3)
5. San Francisco/Lucero (4)
6. There's A Reason/A.A. Bondy (14)
7. Neon Bible/Arcade Fire (16)
8. Mistaken For Strangers/The National (16)
9. About This Love/Alejandro Escovedo (1)
10. Labyrinthian Pomp/Of Montreal (7)

JANUARY 2009 ROUNDUP

I wasn't going to do these this year but then I realized I hadn't talked a lot about my pop culture intake lately and this is a (easy) way to do it. I also decided that this year I will count books and comics in the month I read most of them; for example, I started reading a trade yesterday but only read 2 out of the 6 issues collected, so that trade will go on February's log. Okay, blah blah...

I read 2 books in January (Prince of Stories and The Physiognomy). The latter is by Jeffrey Ford, who is one of my favorite writers. It is the first of a trilogy, which was reissued by Golden Gryphon late last year. I liked it, of course, and just a short while ago I started on the next book in the series. Anyway, I'm on a pace for 24 books read this year and it may end up being close to that...we'll see. Last January I read 4 books; my overall average books read in January for the last three years is 2.67.

I read 19 stories in January. Those stories came from the Dec. 2008 and Jan. 2009 issues of Asimov's and the Dec. 2008 issue of F&SF. I also read 19 stories last January; my overall average stories read in January for the last three years is 22.3.

I read 4 comics in January, 3 of which trades (Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes; Fables Vol. 11: War and Pieces; and Scalped Vol. 1: Indian Country). The other was the first issue of Incognito. Last January I read 7 comics, 4 of which were trades; my overall average comics read in January for the last three years is 9 (3.3 trades).

I bought 3 CDs and downloaded 6 more for a total of 9 new CDs in January (the downloads were covered in yesterday's eMusic post; the others were Bruce Springsteen's Working On A Dream; Mark Olson & Gary Louris' Ready For the Flood, and the reissue of The Replacements' All Shook Down). Last January I got 7 new CDs (5 downloads); my overall average of CDs bought in January for the last three years is 8.3 (6 downloads).

I didn't see any movies in the theater in January. I also didn't see any movies in the theater last January; my overall average of movies seen in January for the last three years is .3.

Once again, I've started keeping track of what I'm watching on DVD. I watched all 12 episodes on Flight of the Conchords Season One, all 10 episodes of Battlestar Galactica Seson 4.0, and 6 episodes of Superman: The Animated Series Vol. 3 for a total of 28 episodes. In addition, I watched one commentary (S:TAS Vol. 3), two features (BSG Vol. 4.0 and S:TAS Vol. 3), and the whole of the DVD that came with my deluxe edition of Working On A Dream. That gives me 33 separate DVD viewings in January, more than 1 a day.

I have not kept track of all the TV I've watched In January and won't do so this year. That said, I'll plan on doing a "What I'm Watching" post in the near future.

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #127

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! I am rooting for the Cardinals today but I won't be upset if the Steelers win; I've got a lot of respect for them. Plus, we get Bruce and the E Street Band at halftime and an hour-long episode of The Office afterwards. I will be feasting on a #9 from Jimmy John's, chips, and a Super Bowl sundae for dessert. Yum!

1. Codes, Runes, Dunes/Portastatic (5)
2. The Stand Ins, One/Okkervil River (7)
3. Border Guards/The Rosebuds (6)
4. This Old Chase/The Ladybug Transistor (4)
5. Aging Faces/Losing Places/Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew (6)
6. Angeles/Elliott Smith (20)
7. Fishing Boat Song/M. Ward (8)
8. Outta My Head/M. Ward (12)
9. Seashell Tale/M. Ward (12)
10. Shooting Rockets (From the Desk of Night's Ape)/Destroyer (7)

Guess it's M. Ward's day - just over 2 weeks until his new album, Hold Time!

eMUSIC ROUND THIRTY-SIX

Hard to believe I'm talking about the end of my third year using eMusic. Here's what I got in January...

A.C. Newman/Get Guilty
Andrew Bird/Noble Beast
Bon Iver/Blood Bank
Tokyo Police Club/Elephant Shell
Rilo Kiley/The Execution of All Things
David Byrne & Brian Eno/Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

Looking forward to year 4!

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #126

I know I talked about suspending the blog last week but I get to Sunday and I have to do the shuffle. It's been a ritual for over 2 years now and I don't want to stop. As for the rest of the blog, I don't necessarily want to stop that either. I think I just have to accept that I won't post on everything I want to and just be happy posting when I have the time and inclination. Anyway, here's today's ten...

1. Natural Disaster/Andrew Bird (2)
2. Lit Up (Remix)/The National (10)
3. Winter '68/The Black Angels (11)
4. Untitled Instrumental/My Morning Jacket (9)
5. Smokin from Shootin/My Morning Jacket (6)
6. Rivers/Destroyer (6)
7. One True Vine/Wilco (12)
8. Blood Bank/Bon Iver (2)
9. Late-Century Dream/Superchunk (13)
10. On the Way Back Home/Lucero (4)

A couple songs I haven't heard in over a year-and-half; a couple songs I just downloaded the other day; that same MMJ instrumental that played last week, and Wilco. Interesting batch today, no?

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #125

I had great plans to post this week and nothing came of it. I did actually write some songs yesterday, which I'm very happy about. College started back up this week too, so my life is busier once again. It's also possible I'll take a break from the blog but we'll see. For now, here are today's ten...

1. Don't Make Me a Target/Spoon (20)

2. The Penalty/Beirut (3)

3. War On War (live)/Jeff Tweedy (7)

4. Flying High Again/Sloan (16)

5. Untitled Instrumental/My Morning Jacket (8)

6. Will I Belong?/Sloan (19)

7. Andiamo/The Twilight Singers (10)

8. Nothing Left To Make Me Want To Stay/Sloan (14)

9. Que Lindo Sueno/King Khan and The Shrines (10)

10. The Good In Everyone/Sloan (12)

I guess it was Sloan's day today!