Turns out I don’t get to graduate this semester. I haven’t filled the diversity requirement. I told the counselor lady I was a bartender for a long time; she invited me over to her house this weekend, but said it didn’t count toward my degree. I thought it should.
I am sorely disappointed.
My dad made this for me for a bike I’m building. My dad does amazingly good work.
The part is a spacer. It screws onto the hub of a rear wheel, and then a free-wheel screws onto the spacer. It makes the chain-line nice and straight for a single-speed without the need to re-dish the wheel. We designed it together, but my dad’s the guy who made it, and I’m not only indebted to him, but impressed by him.
Metallica
Kill ‘Em All
1983
James Hetfield • Lars Ulrich • Kirk Hammett • Cliff Burton
Metallica starts playing worthwhile songs. James’ vocals aren’t totally mature yet, but you can tell he’s wearing roomier underpants on this record. Production values are really decent. The lyrics have also improved. I don’t think there’s a single, “Let’s Rock!” song on the record. We’ve got songs about war, the death penelty and electric chair, one Bible story, and sort of ironically, one song about suicide and one song about living life to the fullest.
The song For Whom The Bell Tolls is sort of an archetype of this album: fast and slow parts, melody, thoughtful lyrics, solid musicianship, and five minutes long.
One weird thing: While I’ve got no problem with solos, there were quite a lot of spots on the album that sounded like little more than a band playing accompaniment for a guitar soloist. The sheer length of these got a little tiresome, and I imagine the rest of the band just sort of standing around, playing the same thing over and over while Kirk does his guitar solo thing.
I keep comparing Metallica to Dream Theater, which isn’t a totally fair comparison; Dream Theater came along some ten years after Metallica, which meant they had a lot of time to think about what they liked and what they didn’t from a mature metal scene. Metallica were breaking new ground in these early days, which means that I can forgive a lot. So while there’s a lot of drums beating out a beat, a guitar playing something, with the other guitar and bass following that first guitar, with some vocals also more or less following that guitar part, there’s a lot of quality music, writing, and playing on this album.
Having listened to it like five times for this essay, the problem is that it’s not really a lot of fun to listen to. Trapped Under Ice and Escape are fun, and the sing-along in Creeping Death is rad, but overall, it’s a very serious album. Not a lot of humor is going on. Even Slayer, in these early days, knew how full of crap they were and were having fun with it. Anthrax, too, has always tempered their metal with humor. Megadeth even has a song inspired by Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Ride the Lightning is a solid record. It’s not a masterpiece, and there’s a lot wrong with it, but there’s a lot right, too.
★★★☆☆ – 1 star for earning the, “most improved vocals and lyrics,” award, 1 star for good songwriting, 1 star for good playing. Zero stars for the solos and the jokes.
Even people listening on lower-quality ear buds and MP3s will hear a drastic jump in quality,” says Beatles historian Matt Hurwitz, who heard a sampling of the new tracks. “This is the way The Beatles heard it.”
I have been listening to the Beatles for less than a year. I wrote this piece in March of 2009 (only seven months ago) about Abby Road and how I became a fan. Since then, I’ve obtained most of their collection from the library. Their first four records are throwaway pop junk, but from then on, they really made art, where art is a product that is more than the sum of its parts.
I look forward to hearing the new mixes. I also wonder if I should be interested in the mono mixes. Probably not; I’m not that big a fan, after all.
This is terrible for me because my biology class had a field trip which lasted about two hours out in the scorching heat, and, like an idiot, I forgot my water. I’m now sitting in a cold air-conditioned room working on the second half of a liter of cold water, and haven’t recovered yet. I feel wilty.
Don’t buy it, though, since it’s just a pale imitation of windows 7.
My copy is sitting at home, waiting for me. Guess my idea of an excellent Friday night.
Metallica
Kill ‘Em All
1983
James Hetfield • Lars Ulrich • Kirk Hammett • Cliff Burton
This record has 10 songs on it. Of those 10, one song is an instrumental, two have lyrics concerning imaginary creatures, and seven songs are about rocking. This is not the thinking man’s album.
To be fair, I listen to a lot of music with stupid lyrics. Look no further than the Misfits, for instance. With them, though, it’s somehow forgivable since the songs are so good, and usually about monsters and blood and similar. But simple-minded lyrics about rocking. Dang.
No life ’till leather
Gonna kick some ass tonight
Right on par with that song by the Beatles about doing it in the road.
Anyway, stupid lyrics aside, this is a far better recording than the No Life ‘Till Leather demo. Not only was it recorded with higher quality equipment, but the band’s music teacher wasn’t needed to count the beat for most of the songs.
Which reminds me: I’ve figured out why I’m doing this project of listening to Metallica. I’m taking a guitar class as part of my courseload this semester, and it’s hard. I mentioned that to somebody, along with a comment about having newfound respect for Metallica. And so here I am.
On Kill ‘Em All, James is still singing like a SouthPark character, and that’s too bad. Also, while the record was made in ’83, they still had no idea what metal was really supposed to sound like yet, so it sounded like this. Which really makes no sense because Iron Maiden released The Number of the Beast in ’82, and that’s something of a masterpiece. I guess Metallica was still new.
After listening to this record, I put on Dream Theater to cleanse my ear’s palette, which means the project is doing its job. I just didn’t expect the cost to be so high.
★☆☆☆☆ – 1 star because I’d rather listen to this than the radio.
Metallica
No Life ‘Till Leather Demo
1982
James Hetfield • Lars Ulrich • Dave Mustaine • Ron McGovney
This demo is terrible. The quality is demo quality, so I’m not giving it a hard time on that account, but there’s a lot wrong with this band, and unless all the other metal bands back in 1982 were even worse and I just don’t know about them, I can’t understand how Metallica got anybody to believe in them enough to sign them or give them studio time or anything like that.
First, I haven’t listened to Metallica in years, with the occasional exception of radio or friends cars or similar. They were the third metal band I got into as a 14-year-old, after Alice Cooper and Megadeth. Nowdays I’m into so much different rock music, I simply don’t have time to listen to second-rate crap like Metallica.
For reasons I haven’t reflected upon yet, I assigned myself the, um… assignment of listening to a Metallica record a day until current with the goal of having heightened appreciation for other better music like Dream Theater and Slayer and Amorphis, among others.
The primary problem with this demo is that on most of the songs, you can hear the band counting: “one and two and three and four and one…” Especially true on Motorbreath and Seek & Destroy.
Next problem is James’ voice. He sounds like high-pitched, squeeky, 80′s butt-rock guy. Back in ’81 and ’82, James gave up guitar to focus on vocals, which makes no sense, because he sounded like 80′s butt-rock guy, and quitting guitar to focus on being butt-rock guy makes no sense.
Lastly, there’s this song called Mechanix on this little demo. The song is full of double meanings about a car mechanic working on a car and/or being intimate. It should be a fun, testosterone-soaked metal coolness, but other than Mustaine’s extremely solid and flamboyant guitar solo, the song lacks any kind of confidence. It sounds like the band is actually kind of embarassed by the song, as if they’re afraid their moms will hear it. They later recorded So What and Last Caress, two of the raunchiest songs of all time, so I don’t know what this wimpy sounding recording is all about.
So, on the one hand, a garbage record: drap demo quality, the band obviously has their music teacher standing up in front of them counting off the beats, the singer sucks like crazy, and they’re embarassed of their songs.
On the other hand, when I was fourteen, I loved this band, and it’s sort of fun to go back and listen to all this garbage again. It’s already given me a deeper appreciation for Opeth and Bad Religion and Nick Cave, and I’m only one day in to this project.
★★☆☆☆ – Two stars: One for nostalgia, one the rarity of the demo. Zero stars for excellence.
Dr. Conrad Murray, a Las Vegas cardiologist who became Jackson’s personal physician weeks before his death, is the target of a manslaughter investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.
The article notes that just because Jackson’s death was a homicide does not mean it was murder or that there was even a crime involved; just that he died at the hands of another person, so maybe no big deal.
Either way, I want to donate $10 to Dr. Murray’s defense fund. Murderer or not, if he was responsible for Jackson’s death, I feel the world owes him a debt of thanks for ending Wacko Jacko’s batshit insane shenanigans.
Saddleback’s goal is this: To make excessively high quality, tough and cool looking leather pieces for a few people that will last a really long time.
Check out the large pictures of these bags. They are amazing. One day, man, one day.
the ASCC is a student-run organization geared toward making Cuesta the college students want, and need it to be.
It sustained heavy editing, and is no longer the piece I actually wrote (check out that erroneous comma!), but that’s ok. It’s just for the college paper’s website, and if it were for a real paper, I’d be getting a paycheck, which is way more important than being edited.
UPDATE:
Here’s what I originally wrote:
ASCC
The Associated Students of Cuesta College, or ASCC, is not not the sham student government most of us experienced in high school.
Currently headed by President and Navy veteran Joshua Shepherd, the ASCC is a nimble orginization geared heavily toward making Cuesta more and more the school it’s students want and need it to be.
ASCC is responsible for all of Cuesta’s social clubs, the concerts in the Student Center, the textbook loans so many of us use, for subsidizing the lower-cost bus passes available to Cuesta students, and also put $10,000 into Tutorial Services this year.
The ASCC gets its funding primarily from Student ID cards, which means if more people get a card, more funds are available for events, tutoring, cheaper bus passes, and other such services. A nice thank-you is all the local, and not so local, discounts a student ID can get you. For a full list, click http://academic.cuesta.edu/lead/stuid.html
As a member of the Trustee and Foundation boards, ASCC President Shepherd represents Cuesta’s students during decisions that affect us all.
A student himself, Shepherd understands the problems and frustrations we all face every day. “I came to college with the expectation of the college experience, which is lacking at Cuesta. I’m working to change that,” said Shepherd. He ran unopposed for ASCC President in September 2008, and won.
Shepherd believes the ASCC is capable of much more than it’s done in the past few years, and wants to help the organization realize its potential. Among his plans for the future is a strictly student review board that will review the Trustee and Foundation boards’ agendas to help Shepherd more accurately help fix potential problems in those agendas. And his motivation couldn’t be more plain: “In the military there’s no way to fix problems you see. I went through six years of biting my tongue because ‘that’s how they did it,’ right or not.”
The ASCC puts its money where its mouth is, and will continue to do good under Shepherd’s leadership.
All the cameras have the expected point-and-shoot features, such as image stabilization, automatic focusing, and lighting adjustments. However, Canon goes a couple of steps further with the G11 and S90 by adding a 10-megapixel sensor designed to enhance image quality in low-light situations and to reduce noise. The G11, the flagship of the PowerShot line, has a bit more for the prosumer with a 28-mm wide-angle lens and more optional accessories. The G11 is priced at $500 and the S90 $430. Both cameras are scheduled to be available in October.
Jesus, seriously? 6 new cameras, one that costs as much as the Rebel? Look, I’m a big fan of Canon cameras, and really look forward to buying my first Rebel, but this is rediculous.
In February, Canon launched 10 PowerShot cameras that the company also hoped would appeal to beginners as well as more advanced users. The cameras ranged in price from $130 to $600.
They’ve got a dozen cameras in that $150 – $250 price bracket, and a dozen more that are $400+. Way to confuse the market, Canon. I would, on my very next paycheck, buy two sub $100 5-megapixel cameras from Canon, but can’t think of another camera company that could make me spend any amount of money at all.
This is a great example of why the people who make decisions shouldn’t be allowed to make decisions.
Kay Nutt, 30, of Atascadero died Saturday evening in a camping accident in San Simeon, when a bottle exploed during marshmallow roasting.
A lifelong trick roller skater, Nutt will be best remembered for her 2009 appearance on the Ellen Show, where she did a cartwheel on her skates in front of a live studio audience.
Mrs. Nutt is survived by her insurance policy recipient, Brian Nutt, and 7-year-old brat, Kaylee.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday during work hours so nobody will be able to show up.
Following the success of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Pocket Books will be releasing another in the Zombie Genre, Paul is Undead. The book, written by Alan Goldsher, uses The The Beatles musical journey as the story path, adding serious zombification to the tale. The music/horror mash-up is due to hit shelves in June 2010.
I own and started reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; it’s a bizarre book. The zombie parts don’t really match up prose-wise with the rest of the book, but it did get me reading this, um… timeless classic. I think a straight up work of historical fiction plus zombies will be way better. I look forward to Paul is Undead.
[Reacher] Fu says her lab is investigating whether it might be possible to mimic the effects of the gene with therapeutic compounds, but cautions the research is only at the very beginning. For now, the only real answer to true productivity is to sleep as much as your body needs, she says.
Bring on the genetic engineering, I say.
Dang. (Via my brother, Chris.)
There’s a saying about not having a second chance to make a good first impression. It’s true, and we judge people like mad.
We’ve all heard arguments about why we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but when judging people, I generally disagree. I think about the first day of school and how everybody dresses up but tries make it look like they’re not. We all give not so subtle signs about what kind of person we are by the way we dress and wear our hair and makeup, all that stuff. We are inviting people to judge us.
I rarely wear my old heavy metal t-shirts any more for exactly this reason. I am smarter and more experienced than most of my classmates, and have no intention of letting my teachers judge me to be a dumbass by walking in to class on the first (or any!) day wearing some stupid Slayer t-shirt with blood and a pentagram and swords and junk all over it. Instead, I tend to wear blue jeans or black Dickies, and a plain, solid colored t-shirt with Converse All Stars.
But you know, I’d like to wear a band shirt sometimes. The problem is that as we metal fans ¹ grow up a little, we want less gaudy and silly shirts to wear. Also, as we metal fans get older, we get better jobs, better taste, and have more money. This is a demographic bands need to be looking at and designing for.
See the shirt to the right? I wouldn’t be caught dead in this shirt, not today. Not as a husband and father. Not as a serious student. Not during an interview with a teacher for an upcoming article. No way. And it seems that all the shirts you can buy for bands look just like this one. Want a Motörhead shirt? It’s gonna look like that. Megadeth? Like that. Slayer? Like that, but worse.
I like these bands, and sometimes want to represent, but I want to do it my way. With a shirt I wouldn’t be embarrassed to be seen in on the front page of a newspaper.
Here’s some better ideas:
Amazing. Black shirts, gray graphics. Small symbol on the front, smallish ² logo on back. Low-contrast colors mean no juvenile attention-grabbing garbage. No blood, no explosions. A simple statement: I am a fan of this band and of good design.
We’re just getting older. ■
When I was about nine years old, I remember knowing I was a writer. I had words inside me. I remember envisioning myself with a notebook and a pen, writing down Very Important And Thoughtful Words. Then, five or so years later, when I was fourteen, my dad traded a car (an MGB GT; a red one, with the original, steel bumper) for a 386 computer running DOS 5 and with a copy of Word Perfect. And I became a writer.
That first computer showed up literally over half my life ago. And it’s only been since May of this year that I’ve found the perfect notebook. I still haven’t really written anything Important or Thoughtful, though.
I’ve been looking actively for the perfect notebook for nine years or so, now. That is, since I started working at Kinko’s, back in the day. While there, I began using a Padfolio, which was great in a lot of ways: it had storage for two pens, a spot for business cards, and a pocket for loose paper. Problem was it was too big (5½ x 8½, or the size of a folded piece of standard printer paper), and the paper it came with was lined. I hate lined paper. I don’t like to use it. It enforces rules. ¹ It prevents drawing diagrams. Or at least good diagrams. And the quality of the paper was garbage, too. So thin, you could see writing on pages under it; so low quality, any pen I used would smudge a little. In short, a standard legal pad. I eventually made my own notepads for it; while the paper was higher quality and unlined, the binding at the top had a tendency to fall apart.
Ok, so not perfect.
But what is perfect for me? What criteria did it have to meet?
Enter Moleskine’s Cahier Journal. From their website:
A journal for all occasions, to keep notes, to fire thoughts. Soft, light, fits in every pocket.
These journals have a heavy-duty cardboard cover with visible stitching on the spine. Available in sets of three, in Black, Kraft, Red and Navy Blue, these slim journals include 16 detachable sheets at the back, a wide pocket for loose notes, and the Moleskine history.
And later on:
The Moleskine Cahiers are journals with a flexible heavy-duty cardboard cover with visible stitching on the spine. The last 16 sheets are detachable and there is a pocket for loose notes. Each set of 3 pieces includes the Moleskine history. With acid free paper plain pages.
Set of 3.
Hooray!
At 3½ x 5½ inches, the pocket size ² is small enough to fit in a back pocket but large enough to be, you know, written on. The flexible heavy duty cardboard cover adjusts to the contour of my (terrific) butt, while protecting the pages within. The visible stitching on the spine means it’s crazy durable and wont fall apart. Or, at least, hasn’t yet. And shows no signs of falling apart, either. The paper is beautiful ivory. It’s smooth, and while you can see through it a bit, it’s not a huge distraction; if they made the paper any thicker, it would be less good, even as it got more opaque. Also, you get three notebooks for about $8, thus ridding me of the fear of using mine unwisely.
Lastly, and since this wasn’t a requirement, it’s sort of a cherry on top, there’s a pocket on the back cover of the notebook that’s the perfect size for things like receipts and business cards.
These books are a joy to write in. They’re a joy to hold in the hand. They’re inexpensive, but not cheap, and that means I can stock each of the four colors they come in, in anticipation of running out of room in the one I’m using now. And when I’m finished with my current book, it’s a simple thing to write the completed on date on the front cover, should I ever need to go back and reference a note inside.
As long as Moleskine makes notebooks, I will not be without one.
