one egg, any style

Reap the Wild Wind, 2009 Edition

2008-11-11T16:28:00.000-08:00

Yessss! Ultravox is making a comeback in 2009 with their first live shows since Live Aid in 185 (though nothing here in the U.S.)

Oh heck, here's one more. Gotta love those low-budget early 80s videos.

Sofian at the park in Raleigh

2008-11-09T10:37:00.001-08:00

Sofian at the park in Raleigh
Originally uploaded by bornflippy

Love that expression.

Climate Crisis Priorities for President Obama

2008-11-09T10:17:00.000-08:00

As listed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore in the NYTimes:

First, the new president and the new Congress should offer large-scale investment in incentives for the construction of concentrated solar thermal plants in the Southwestern deserts, wind farms in the corridor stretching from Texas to the Dakotas and advanced plants in geothermal hot spots that could produce large amounts of electricity.

Second, we should begin the planning and construction of a unified national smart grid for the transport of renewable electricity from the rural places where it is mostly generated to the cities where it is mostly used. New high-voltage, low-loss underground lines can be designed with “smart” features that provide consumers with sophisticated information and easy-to-use tools for conserving electricity, eliminating inefficiency and reducing their energy bills. The cost of this modern grid — $400 billion over 10 years — pales in comparison with the annual loss to American business of $120 billion due to the cascading failures that are endemic to our current balkanized and antiquated electricity lines.

Third, we should help America’s automobile industry (not only the Big Three but the innovative new startup companies as well) to convert quickly to plug-in hybrids that can run on the renewable electricity that will be available as the rest of this plan matures. In combination with the unified grid, a nationwide fleet of plug-in hybrids would also help to solve the problem of electricity storage. Think about it: with this sort of grid, cars could be charged during off-peak energy-use hours; during peak hours, when fewer cars are on the road, they could contribute their electricity back into the national grid.

Fourth, we should embark on a nationwide effort to retrofit buildings with better insulation and energy-efficient windows and lighting. Approximately 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States come from buildings — and stopping that pollution saves money for homeowners and businesses. This initiative should be coupled with the proposal in Congress to help Americans who are burdened by mortgages that exceed the value of their homes.

Fifth, the United States should lead the way by putting a price on carbon here at home, and by leading the world’s efforts to replace the Kyoto treaty next year in Copenhagen with a more effective treaty that caps global carbon dioxide emissions and encourages nations to invest together in efficient ways to reduce global warming pollution quickly, including by sharply reducing deforestation.

Sounds daunting right? Maybe not that much:

In an earlier transformative era in American history, President John F. Kennedy challenged our nation to land a man on the moon within 10 years. Eight years and two months later, Neil Armstrong set foot on the lunar surface. The average age of the systems engineers cheering on Apollo 11 from the Houston control room that day was 26, which means that their average age when President Kennedy announced the challenge was 18.

Sodden Chelsea...

2008-11-09T10:13:00.000-08:00

...prevail against Blackburn despite the conditions. Looking forward to seeing the highlights on Match of the Day later.

Getting Back to Blogginess

2008-06-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

Things have been crazy busy and I've just not had the energy or desire to face the blogs. But I'm getting my feet back under me, and am aiming to be a bit more proactive (I'm also going to be reviewing my blogging direction during the next few weeks, so there may be some changes afoot). To get things started, here's an energetic track from Kraak & Smaak found via Swissmiss:

My New (Sort Of) Blog Playground

2008-04-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

I've been blogging for the Amazon Electronics store for a good long while now (since late 2006), and this week it got a new name (End User), snazzy, refreshed design where it's broken out of the Amazon site (it's now powered by TypePad), and given some Web 2.0 love. One post that I submitted a little while back never made it up because of the transition work going on (I can now publish directly, which makes me gleeful and probably makes my editors at Amazon a little nervous), so I offer it to you here:

================

A couple of months back, I stood rather aghast in the checkout line of my local grocery store as a woman continued chattering on her phone rather loudly during her entire transaction, acknowledging the mere existence of the check-out person just enough to grab her receipt and whirl away to finish the conversation. But rather than being witness to a mannerless boob, it turns out I was watching a sociological revue play itself out, at least according to one of the collection of articles in this week's Economist magazine (happily available to nonsubscribers) about the way that wireless communication is changing the way that people interact with one another.

Richard Ling, a sociologist at Telenor, the largest Norwegian telephone company, and author of New Tech, New Ties: How Mobile Communication Is Reshaping Social Cohesion, was standing on his porch in Oslo one day, saying farewell to a few guests, when a plumber walked around the corner, talking on his mobile phone to what appeared to be his wife. Mr Ling, who had a leak in the kitchen, was expecting him. But the plumber took Mr Ling and his guests aback by walking right past them and into the house, where he took off his shoes and headed for the kitchen, chattering into his handset all the while.

It was the sort of thing that perhaps excites only sociologists. Here was an example of two big tensions in nomadic society. First, mobile technology pitted the plumber's interaction with a stranger (Mr Ling) against that with his own wife on the phone. The plumber, to use the technical term, had a "weak tie" to Mr Ling but a "strong tie" to his wife which easily prevailed over the weak one, leaving a few Norwegians feeling temporarily awkward and pondering the fate of their society.

Second, the plumber gave precedence to what Mr Ling calls the "mediated" interaction with the person at the other end of the phone, at the expense of his "co-present" communication with Mr Ling who was standing right next to him. In other words, the person who was physically more distant was nonetheless psychologically closer. So out went social norms and rituals (handshakes, greetings) that Norway and other societies accumulated during a past of exclusively co-present interactions. The plumber's only nod to ritual was to take off his shoes.

As a once budding sociologist (for a few semesters back in college, before one of my many major changes), the collection of special report articles at The Economist about the "new nomadism" of our wireless ways is a great read, and reminds me that the way I work today is so much different than I did even 5 years ago. I now conduct business via email and Twitter on my iPhone as I push my toddler son's jogging stroller. There's still a lot of work to do on my laptop, but assignments, review of documents, and conversation of direction can be made completely untethered from my PC.

Sociologically related, the New York Times Magazine from last Sunday (NYTimes membership required) featured an article that focused on Jan Chipchase, a man whose job I'm envious of. He works for Nokia as a "human-behavior researcher," also sometimes referred to as a "user anthropologist," he travels the globe "to peer into the lives of other people, accumulating as much knowledge as possible about human behavior so that he can feed helpful bits of information back to the company -- to the squads of designers and technologists and marketing people who may never have set foot in a Vietnamese barbershop but who would appreciate it greatly if that barber someday were to buy a Nokia."

The article is a great reminder that the cell phone isn't just a communication convenience and knowledge worker accoutrement in the industrial world, but is also a technological key to how the cell phone will shape micro- and macroeconomics in the developing world over the next decade.

During a 2006 field study in Uganda, Chipchase and his colleagues stumbled upon an innovative use of the shared village phone, a practice called sente. Ugandans are using prepaid airtime as a way of transferring money from place to place, something that’s especially important to those who do not use banks. Someone working in Kampala, for instance, who wishes to send the equivalent of $5 back to his mother in a village will buy a $5 prepaid airtime card, but rather than entering the code into his own phone, he will call the village phone operator ("phone ladies" often run their businesses from small kiosks) and read the code to her. She then uses the airtime for her phone and completes the transaction by giving the man’s mother the money, minus a small commission. "It’s a rather ingenious practice," Chipchase says, "an example of grass-roots innovation, in which people create new uses for technology based on need."

Maybe in a century or so, someone will write a Kurlansky-esque book on how the cell phone changed the world. Of course, the way Moore's Law seems to accelerate the pace of technological change, we might get that book within my lifetime.

Modfather May: Stanley Road Revisisted

2008-04-25T08:56:00.000-07:00

Paul Weller is coming out with a new disc the first week of June (it seems my Well-ey senses have been tingling of late - just take a look at the previous posts), so I'm going to dedicate the next month to mining video and audio from his very lengthy career. First off is a collection of videos of him and his band playing selections from his Stanley Road album, which was his biggest seller in the UK during his current solo career.

When Stanley came out, I was frankly disappointed by it, as it seemed to trade the acid jazz-tinged, Traffic-inspired tunes of his first solo record and subsequent Wild Wood for a more straight-forward Dad Rock album. I was also rather aghast at its reworking of the previously released "Out of the Sinking," one of my very most favorite tunes and one that meant a lot to me around that time period. For the album, Weller and producer Brendan Lynch pasted in some R&B background singing that just didn't seem to fit.

But as the years have worn on, the album has grown on me (and I'm now a rocking Dad), and these performances on Jools Holland's Later program from the BBC, done some years after the release as a bit of a retrospective (not sure when it was filmed, but it looks from Weller's hair style that it was probably around 2004 to 2005), feature some kick ass grooves.

The lineup of videos is in the playlist wrapper below (with individual links):

"Whirlpool's End" (complete with orchestration and horn section)
"Stanley Road"
"Woodcutter's Son"
"Out of the Sinking" (the backup singers are much more integrated now)

And since this is a playlist capsule from YouTube, you can just let the whole thing play consecutively.

Disappointing

2008-04-25T08:51:00.001-07:00

The new Chelsea strip for 08/10 was unveiled today, and it's underwhelming:

Compare that to the previous strip:

I'm not a fan of the lighter blue hue.

You Don't Have to Take This Crap

2008-04-20T12:29:00.001-07:00

With all the mud being flung in Pennsylvania and the travesty that was that horrid ABC debate, I've been humming this song a lot this past week -- one of my fave Style Council songs from Our Favorite Shop (which I just repurchased from Amazon's MP3 store, complete with all the b-sides that I've got lingering on my shelf). This one's a pretty good live rendition from the Old Grey Whistle Test.

You don't have to take this crap
You don't have to sit back and relax
You can actually try changing it
I know we've always been taught to rely
Upon those in authority -
But you never know until you try
How things just might be -
If we came together so strongly

Are you gonna try to make this work
Or spend your days down in the dirt
You see things can change -
YES an' walls can come tumbling down!

Cable Guy

2008-04-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

Next time I have need of a cable, I'm going to Blue Jeans Cable, as they seem to have some good prices, are quirkily geeky about cables... and can give a hilariously legalistic F.U. to Monster Cable, the most bloodsuckerish company in consumer electronics.

The Bitterest Pill

2008-04-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

That seems to be Hillary Clinton's claim to fame these days. And thusly, here's the soundtrack:

In your white lace and your wedding bells
You look the picture of contented new wealth
But from the on-looking fool who believed your lies
I wish this grave would open up and swallow me alive
For the bitterest pill is hard to swallow
The love I gave hangs in sad coloured, mocking shadows

Real Bummer

2008-02-25T13:38:00.000-08:00

Or, should I say, Real Madrid bummer. Here's the story behind the video below:

Real Madrid's players were furious with themselves after making a foolish mistake that gifted Getafe a 1-0 win at the Bernabeu to further erode their advantage at the top of the Primera Liga on Sunday.

When winger Arjen Robben thought he had scored for Real midway through the second half, a large number of players ran to the corner to celebrate with him despite the fact that the linesman's flag was up and the referee had not awarded a goal. Raul had been in an offside position in the build up to the goal and Getafe saw their chance.

Visiting defender David Belenguer took a quick free kick to launch a four-against-two counter-attack that ended with Nigeria striker Ikechukwu Uche beating Iker Casillas. It was Real's first home defeat in the league this season.

One would expect more from Galacticos...

Final Season of The Wire

2008-01-05T10:06:00.000-08:00

Man, I am jazzed about the start of the fifth and final season of The Wire on HBO this Sunday, but I'm also sad. Mrs. F and I have become huge fans of the series, which is far more than just a cops-and-drug-runners show. It's also a sociological look at the death of an American city, race relations, the impact of gentrification on middle-class labor, the efficacy of our school system. And, yes, it's about cops and drug runners, but with a far more nuanced view of character than any other similar show you've ever seen. It's also got some of the best dialogue, hands down, in any contemporary series (and I'm not forgetting The Sopranos in that comparison).

For the fifth season, it looks like the role of media is also being brought to the game -- here's the official HBO trailer for the season:

Amazon's Screening Room blog also ran this exclusive set of vignettes showing some of The Wire's characters in their formative years.

"Young Prop Joe": 1962, Baltimore, Maryland. Crossed by a classmate, a young student shows off the brazen business acumen that will soon earn him the moniker "Proposition Joe" on the Baltimore streets.

"Young Omar": 1985, Baltimore, Maryland. An adolescent Omar upstages two older boys, and exhibits a sense of priority beyond his years, during the robbery of a working man waiting for a bus ride home.

"Bunk and McNulty": 2000, Baltimore, Maryland. Bunk's initial coolness towards his new partner, a "six-year wonder" named Jimmy McNulty, is thawed after the two find common ground during the midnight shift.

Click the Playlist button to toggle between the three.

Playdoh Bunnies, The Rolling Stones and Sony HDTV

2008-01-05T09:57:00.000-08:00

Three great tastes that taste great together.

Sony Bravia - Play Doh Ad

Now This Looks Like a Fun Flick

2008-01-04T13:57:00.000-08:00

The teaser trailer to Planet B-Boy:

With a little more to whet your appetite:

Welcome Home, Neil

2008-01-02T12:05:00.000-08:00

Way back when in the 1990s, I worked in various forms of editorial positions at Thunder Lizard Productions , a computer training conference company that focused on Adobe products as well as specialty design conferences. It was where I really began my career here in Seattle as a writer/editor in the technical sphere, and was where I forged friendships and partnerships with a number of freelance colleagues. One of the designers that TLP worked with was Neil Robertson, and eventually I went on to guest-star with him on two editions of the Real World GoLive book series that was mainly authored by Glenn Fleishman and Jeff Carlson.

Shortly after that, I got cold feet and jumped from the freelance world to the cozy corporate home of Amazon (returning to the freelance world with much more vigor in 2003). And I wasn't alone -- Neil turned in his Wacom graphic tablet for a pastry chef's tocque (definitely a change of pace), which brought him to the Bellagio in Las Vegas (where I got to sample his wares) amongst other stops. And now Mr. Carlson pointed me to this Seattle P-I story of Neil's return to Seattle:

Robertson just returned to town after an intense course of study at the French Pastry School in Chicago, followed by stints at some of the fanciest kitchens in Las Vegas (and that's saying a lot) -- Bellagio, Joel Robuchon at the Mansion and Restaurant Guy Savoy. Robertson recently won the job of first pastry chef at Canlis (2576 Aurora Ave. N.).

"We scoured the country, and interviewed folks from all over, and it's a pretty intense process," said Mark Canlis.

"And we really liked what we saw." Look for Robertson's original creations on the Canlis menu in months to come.

There Will Be Blood

2007-12-27T11:03:00.000-08:00

I'm really looking forward to Paul Thomas Anderson's new film, There Will Be Blood, with Daniel Day-Lewis. Check out this interview he did with NPR and some video below embedded from Spike/iFilm (happily, you won't have to sit through the 30-second ads for Fuji cameras that you do on the Spike site). The first video is the international trailer, which expands on what we've seen from the US trailer, and the second is about 10 minutes worth of clips from the movie.

There Will Be Blood - International Trailer

There Will Be Blood Clips

Happy Festivus Eve

2007-12-22T09:05:00.000-08:00

Manager at Fulham Sacked, Not for Lacking in Style

2007-12-21T11:35:00.000-08:00

Fulham has sucked it up this season in the English Premier League, and the team's owners have shown manager Lawrie Sanchez the boot. And frankly, I'm not too fussed. I mean... it's Fulham. But man, I love his glasses!!!!

More Croc Memories: Beulah

2007-12-20T07:43:00.000-08:00

Fell in love with Beulah, which is sadly now disbanded, after seeing them perform at the now defunct Crocodile. I guess everything dies away. Anyhoo, here are a couple of tunes from the delightful The Coast Is Never Clear.

Happy Holidays and a Merry Christocentric New Year

2007-12-18T10:35:00.000-08:00

I love the Uptight Seattleite, a column in one of Seattle's two big local free weeklies (the lesser of the two, though it does have Uptight going for it). If you're not familiar, Mr. Uptight takes the piss out of the holier-than-everyone green/liberal attitude that some of us here in the Emerald City wear on our sleeves (and yes, I can be counted in that group from time to time). Here's a selection from this week's expanded Uptight holiday special -- delicious!

When my friend from D.C. visited in the summer, I was telling him about my participation in the "100-mile diet." That's where, for the good of the environment, you eat only things grown within a hundred miles of Seattle. Not only did he decline to join me, he thought the whole thing was laughable. In fact, he thought our city was full of hilarity. How we march earnestly around Green Lake clutching bottles of water. The way we always dress like we're going camping. The way we get so comically worked up about transportation issues. Now he's coming to visit for Christmas, and I'm worried that he'll think we're laughable in a whole new way: the way we suck all the fun out of the holidays with our superserious "sensitivity." What can I do to show him that we know how to have a good time?Take this Stick From My Ass

Dear Stick From My Ass,

Is it really so restrictive and dreary to live here? If you really think so, you should take a holiday of an entirely different kind. You know how Amish young people are allowed, for a set period of time, to drink, smoke, and otherwise break the rules of their community? Well, you, too, should take your own little rumspringa from Seattle ways. Show your friend you can "loosen up" with the best of them. Stop recycling. Drink macrobrews and watch NASCAR. Drive everywhere. Don't wave when someone lets you change lanes. Kill spiders in your house rather than trapping and freeing them in a silently improvised ceremony of karmic self-blessing. Do all your holiday shopping at Wal-Mart and have them double-bag everything. Go to Sea-Tac and innocently ask where the Christmas tree is. Say, "There is no Christmas tree? Why ever not?" Walk around with a cell phone pressed to your ear at all times, even if no one's on the line, and say things like, "Yeah, that's one sales forecast I'd like to see, let me tell you what, you crazy bastard! You still in for tonight, you miserable cocksucker? Shooters at Hooters, my friend, shooters at Hooters!" Do this at every farmers market in town. Put down your phone only long enough to tell the Vietnamese farmer that his organic tomatoes are lumpy and not as red as the ones at Safeway. Ask Grease Monkey for all their used oil and pour it into the gutter in front of your house while glaring defiantly at your neighbors. Rent a Hummer and tailgate Vespas. Lean on the horn as you call out, "Get a car, Fancy Man!" Finally, go downtown and, in your loudest, heartiest voice, wish every stranger you see a merry Christmas. If you find that that kind of thing makes you feel good, I suggest you take yourself to Houston for a permanent rumspringa.

A Very Perry Christmas

2007-12-17T12:31:00.000-08:00

Hat tip to Kat.

The Day The Music Died

2007-12-17T09:20:00.000-08:00

It looks like it's official -- the Crocodile Cafe here in Seattle seems to be shuttering its doors for good. For those of you not fluent in Seattle-ese, the Croc was at the center of the grunge music explosion of the early 1990s, hosting the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Gas Huffer, etc. I've had some memorable music moments at this very, very small venue... meeting Michael Stipe with my pal Ward, who told us REM's next album was "going to be a monster" (and that's what it was titled, a year later)... having the Magic Numbers ask the audience to name a song (which indeed made it onto their second album -- "You've Never Had It")... seeing Gomez for the first time.

I'm not going out to shows much anymore (and really haven't been for the last couple of years), but I will miss this institution. Here's a sampling of commentary over at the Stranger's Line Out blog post that help sum up the feelings about this sudden, sad news:

Yeah, weird that the indie rock scene is disintegrating huh. Might be because most of the dirty looking young dudes and girls who provide that indie rock are getting priced out of the damn town.
[...]
Wow, I can't wait to go to the new Quiznos/dry cleaners/nail salon that will take its place.
[...]
RIP Rockcandy, Weathered Wall, Lake Union Pub, Storeroom, Uncle Rockys, Gibson, Kincora, Sit n Spin, Area 51 yadda yadda gabba gabba etc.
[...]
We've got a streetcar to nowhere, aborted mass transit, and now one less club, the best one at that. Fewer and fewer bands are moving here to play music, and many are even moving AWAY to portland and elsewhere....

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

2007-12-14T10:05:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the festive season, Super Furry Animals have released a new single from their most recent album, Hey Venus, as a free download. After initial disappointment with the album (it's not their most consistent effort), I've grown to love about 70 percent of it and listen to it quite a bit. And it looks like they'll be in Seattle on the 2nd of February, if any of my Emerald City homies are interested in joining me for an outing.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

La Wally from Diva

2007-12-08T10:39:00.000-08:00

The movie Diva has been in my thoughts a bit lately, and I ran across my blog pal Juan's Blogger profile, where he mentioned the movie as being one of his faves as well, so I dedicate this YouTube snippet of the opening of the movie to him.

The aria is from La Wally and is performed by Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez, who is the object of obsession and affection of the film's center, Jules. Later in the film, he and the Diva take a walk around Paris accompanied by the spare, Satie-like tune "Sentimental Walk" by the soundtrack's composer, Vladimir Cosma.

Absolutely gorgeous throughout and wonderfully spare in dialogue, letting the camera and music tell much of the story and emotion.

The Dark Lord of General Contracting

2007-12-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

Via Crooks & Liars comes this quote of the day from Paul Krugman at his NYTimes blog (in regards to a story about contracting shenanigans in Iraq via McClatchy):

Back when Hillary Clinton described Dick Cheney as Darth Vader, a number of people pointed out that this was an unfair comparison. For example, Darth Vader once served in the military.

Here’s another reason the comparison is invalid: the contractors Darth Vader hired to build the Death Star actually got the job done.

Which reminded me about the best scene from the movie Clerks:

Smoke, It's No Joke

2007-12-06T21:12:00.001-08:00

Barack Goes Bollywood

2007-12-06T18:28:00.000-08:00

In an effort to appease my blogging pal Juan, I've been on the lookout for something interesting to post, but have been stymied by a sick baby and then a bit of an outpatient procedure of my own. But things have quited down a titch and I think I've got a good one, via (of all places) Salon's How the World Works econ/globalization blog. It mixes two of my favorite things: Barack Obama (who I will be seeing in Seattle next week) and Bolly-pop. (The music of this mash-up seems to come from the movie The Guru.)

The Hoosiers

2007-10-29T20:07:00.000-07:00

Looking at the most recent Billboard news, I saw that The Hoosiers debut album went to #1 in the UK. Having never heard of 'em, I turned to YouTube for research. Pretty good pop (though on further inspection of the album, they seem to be the best tracks).

Our Pal Ward in The New Yorker

2007-10-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

My good friend Ward Sutton just got his first cartoon into The New Yorker and I was able to track it down on the site from the October 22 issue:

Goodbye, All Blacks

2007-10-08T14:55:00.001-07:00

Here's the intro from the France v New Zealand (aka, the All Blacks, who interestingly aren't wearing all black) World Cup quarterfinal match, with the Kiwis doing their signature battle dance. Check out the bearded Beowulf in the France lineup -- he doesn't look too sussed by the display (and France did go onto a surprising win to get them to the semifinals).

Juno

2007-09-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

OK, even my doctor has noted to me that I need to actually post if I want to maintain a blog. I've been absolutely swamped with work the last few weeks, on top of figuring out how to schedule my work time while also taking care of my now 6-month-old son 2+ days a week. It's been challenging and a little overwhelming, but we're slowly getting the hang of it. So, with that out of the way, here's a delightful trailer I just discovered on Friday via Jeff Carlson.

Hollywood's Take on the War on Terror

2007-08-06T12:59:00.000-07:00

From two upcoming releases: Rendition and Lions for Lambs

Pretty good casts in both.

New Sensations

2007-08-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

Our pal, the Velvet Bulldog, came by this weekend to show off her new scooter and give Mrs. F and I a chance to try out a ride. Wow. I think our household needs a scooter. I loved it, and it would be a great alternative to my bike for doing short errands (which I almost never do because we live at the bottom of the huge hill that is West Seattle, the top of which includes the grocery stores, pet food store, pharmacy, etc. that we visit).

Here I am geared out on the scooter. (Actually, it looks like I could benefit from those hill climb bike outings.) And in honor of my first scooter ride, here's a tune from Lou Reed in which he sings about the joys of getting lost on his motorcycle:

Lou Reed: New Sensations

Early in the Morning

2007-07-23T05:12:00.000-07:00

It was a bit of a struggle getting the boy down last night, but we finally got him to sleep a little before 10pm. Usually that means a wake-up call between 4:30am and 5am. But not today... 3:45am! And, based on my getting up for yesterday's early riser session, it would normally fall on Mrs. F to get up with Lil' F, but I had a feeling she wasn't sleeping too well with her cough, so I've muddled on through with a double shot of espresso. It's just a shade before 5am and it looks like Lil' F is starting to get tired again (he's rubbing his eyes with gusto), and I've turned on the swing to promote some sleep.

To while away the time, I've done my morning stretches (as my back is a bit tweaky today) and I'm listening to some international news radio on KXOT, a local companion station to Seattle's KUOW NPR station. It was suggested by Charlie, Wammer's Dad, who has become a middle-of-the-night fan of the station due to the Sammy's sleep schedule. (You can listen online at the KXOT site, or go to the WRN site, which has a fuller schedule.) One of the things that I do a lot less of since I started living with Mrs. F is listen to public radio, as she gets easily annoyed by the talk aspect of it. So now I've got something to look forward to on my early mornings.

Speaking of Early in the Morning, here's the Gap Band from 1982 with a tune to get ya going.

Goodbye Harry Potter, the Economy Will Miss You

2007-07-22T16:50:00.000-07:00

From the NYTimes:

In its first 24 hours on sale, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh and final installment in the wildly popular series by J.K. Rowling that officially went on sale at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, sold a record 8.3 million copies in the United States...

The estimate of first-day sales indicates that at an average selling price of about $20, Americans spent nearly $170 million for the book in one day. Many booksellers will make only slim profits on the book’s sales.

Mrs. F and I will be getting our "adult edition" from the UK hopefully by the end of the week. (No, there's no steamy scenes between Ron and Hermione -- just a different cover; plus, it's got all the British colloquialisms that might have been edited down for the US version.)

Pure Pop Bliss

2007-07-22T16:00:00.000-07:00

Just noticed that Cake by Trash Can Sinatras is highlighted on All Music Guide's front page as the album of the day. This came out when I was working in my hazy post-college graduation year at a record store in Minneapolis (Great American Music, which I don't think exists anymore), and I played this album a lot in the store. Got to see the band when I was living in Washington D.C., and unfortunately their lead singer was on a bit of a bender that night and was more focused on pissing off the crowd rather than getting into the music. The band took a break for awhile in the late 90s/early Oughts, but they returned to the scene in 2004 with a very tuneful comeback in Weightlifting (via iTunes and Amazon). Here are two rather horrendous videos from Cake -- "Obscurity Knocks" and "Only Tongue Can Tell". Best to just concentrate on the audio.

Lemon Fest

2007-07-21T18:15:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know that Mrs. F and I have dubbed our home, the LemonDrop (and now, those of you didn't have been told), due to its small size and distinctly bright yellow coloring. A couple months back my Aunt alerted me to a crazy Lemon Festival (Fete du Citron) that takes place in the French town of Menton, which is on the coast near the Italian border. But they don't just display a couple of fruits here and there -- they create some seriously citrified architecture. Check out some pics from this year's Indian-themed fest:

The Silos

2007-07-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

Perhaps because of the country-tinged pop I've been listening to this morning (from Josh Rouse, noted in the previous post), my thoughts turned to The Silos -- an early No Depression-esque group from Florida. Here's "I'm Over You" from their self-titled major label debut (which was also their last major label record, I believe, after it didn't have boffo sales -- perhaps because they toned down their sound a bit). After the album, The Silos became more of a solo project for Walter Salas-Humara as his partner Bob Rupe left the group. Be sure to also check out their more muscular sounding album previous to this one, Cuba (sound samples available through iTunes and Amazon)

The Silos - I'm Over You

New Releases for 17 July

2007-07-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

I've been a Magic Numbers fan since their first single Forever Lost, and they had a lot of buzz going with their debut (which I enthusiastically supported, even getting off my duff to see them perform at the Crocodile here in Seattle). Their second album (Those the Brokes) was released in the UK late last year, but it's only getting around to a release here in the States this week. I haven't been listening to our local alterna station KEXP lately, so I don't know if the Numbers are getting played as much as they were with their first album, but I want to make sure that this doesn't get lost in the shuffle. Much like the debut, Brokes is full of Mamas & Papas melodies and Lovin' Spoonful pop grooves that are perfect for summer (which, now that I think of it, might be why it's being released now). Here's the vid to "This Is a Song":

The animation in this video for Josh Rouse's new song "Hollywood Bass Player" is, frankly, awful. But the tune is peppy with a very West Coast, late 70s vibe and it's best just used for background audio. I bought his new album Country Mouse, City House this morn from iTunes, and have been thoroughly enjoying it -- sunny country-tinged folk pop embellished by strings and horn sections.

G-G-G-G-Get Out of London

2007-07-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

Well, here's something just a little different than my previous upload (which Mrs. F thought was indeed very shaggy) -- "Get Out of London" by Intaferon (you can learn a bit more about the tune over at Dust on the Stylus). This song was a favorite on KBEM's Radio 1 show on Sunday nights during the latter part of my high school days in Minneapolis, but unfortunately the group (actually a duo) never amounted to a full album, with just this and two other singles (which I also quite enjoyed). Still, I'll always have my 12-inch.

Intaferon: Get Out of London

Here's a Shaggy Dog of a Tune

2007-07-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I wanted to figure out a way to digitize my albums was this song -- "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" -- a non-listed song on the B-side of Chris Stamey's Instant Excitement EP from back in 1985. I love the loose, slapdash nature of it, and it's got more energy than any of the other tunes on the EP, which suffer from too much production. And the song isn't even sung by Stamey (formerly of The dBs) -- I think the vocals are done by producer Don Dixon (if anyone can say for sure, I'd appreciate it). It's also got one of the best/worst banjo solos you'll hear (you make the call).

I could never find it in digital form, so I knew it would be one of the first things that I'd digitize once I got the tools. Same caveats as the last one: haven't processed it with any software -- it's just straight off the turntable with a bass-boosted EQ.

Chris Stamey: It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels

40

2007-07-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Yes, today is the day that I officially become a grumpy old man (though I've been working up to it of late). I'm not having a big celebration for this occasion, as I did on my 30th birthday (when the police came to shut down the karaoke party after some loud, after-hours singing of Bread songs). I'm not depressed about this turning into a new decade, but I'm frankly just more focused on this little side project that Mrs. F and I have been managing these past (almost) 4 months:

Plus, I had a great surprise party out on Sinclair Island with some of my closest friends just last week (complete with gnome candles, whole wheat shortbread cookies full of buttery deliciousness, and some of my favorite Belgian beer), so I feel satisfied on the party front.

At the suggestion of our pal The Velvet Bulldog, I've been trying to put together a list of 40 songs that have been either influential during my life or just constant favorites. I've got a fairly late stage draft, but it's not ready (that's what happens when you've got the aforementioned little project to deal with). I'll be working on wrapping that up and figuring out the best way to publish that here. But until then, here's a tune that's become one of my theme songs in life -- "I've Got a Plan" from the Aussie band My Friend the Chocolate Cake:

I also want to note some special people in my life to whom I'm very thankful for:

Mrs. F, the love of my life. I would be lost in a dreary, dreary haze without her. I truly am the luckiest man I know (and she would agree).
Lil' F, the new light to my life; here's to another 40 years learning how he ticks.
Harry & Doris (aka, Babe), my paternal grandparents, who rescued me at a low point in my life and helped me to blossom by sending me to St. Olaf College. I also want to especially acknowledge Harry, the sole surviving grandparent, who turns 85 tomorrow. As I move forward through life, I find that I'm applying more and more of the lessons he doled out over the years. My grandmother would always say, "My Harry can do anything." I aspire to that for my own family.
Charles & Ruth, my maternal grandparents, who were equally helpful in getting me grounded in high school and sending me off to college. My grandmother always worried that I'd never marry anyone because I was a rather picky eater as a youngin'. I just wish shee could see all the food I eat today, and be amazed by my lovely wife.
Mom, the Reverend Dr. Ann E.P. McElligott -- a phoenix who rose to heights I'm sure she never thought she'd attain along with her husband Tom, one of the wittiest gentlemen I know. She's also one of my best friends.
Dad, Jhanos of Arabia -- the wanderer who laid the groundwork for my roots; I'll take the best that I learned from him and impart it to Lil' F.
Old Fogey (aka, my step-mother, Mrs. F's Mom) -- a good friend with a tireless energy to try to make the world a better place for all.
Jeff and Judy -- my uncle and aunt, who truly are my siblings; they keep the Schmitz family glued together and I'm very thankful for that.
The Canon Valley Guys, my roommates from later in college and great friends ever since:

Wardo -- a traveling companion, fellow music lover, and a man who reminds me to be passionate about the important things in life (politics, art, The Police)
DGA -- despite his Brussels address, it's like we still live down the hall from each other
DC -- I think I still owe Pastor Dave some money from backgammon; I'll always be thankful for his introduction of Bruce Cockburn to my life
Lapp (aka, Mean Old Uncle Louvis) -- everyone needs an arch-nemesis in life, and Kevin does a great job at it; the only man who could convince me to willingly fold myself into a sofa bed

Sue -- with the smash of an alarm clock, she taught me that I'm not bound by time (thought I still have to occasionally re-learn that).
Scratch & EO -- constant companions through my many ups and downs during my 15 years in Seattle; happily, they're very understanding when I get too hot and have to strip down to my boxers.
Tina & Ryan -- the two of them have been a welcoming presence in my life for a good long while; DJing their wedding was a high point of my life.
Our community of friends in Seattle: Keri (The Velvet Bulldog); Babu & Jeannette; Hammen & Forse; Jon & Becca; Megan & Lindsay; Tobin & Becca; Kat; Eric & Scott & Isaac; Mike & Richard
Our community of Seattleite friends who are no longer in Seattle: Adam & Korey; Adam & Jessica (RovCo); Kari; Brad & Sarah; Jolene & Peter
Linda Strohmier -- a colleague of my Mom, she became a friend of mine while here in Seattle at St. Mark's Cathedral. Linda was instrumental in starting me down the road toward recovery from depression. She's now passed on, and both my Mom and I miss her much.
Toby Malina -- she took a chance on me for a job (Thunder Lizard Productions), and it changed my life and fortunes in many ways.
Jeff Carlson and Glenn Fleishman -- my freelance officemates (previously in the physical sense; now virtually through chat software), who have invited me along for work projects and helped me to become a better writer/editor/freelancer.
The Thunder Lizard Gang, where it all started -- Steve Broback, Steve Roth, Brett Baker, Michelle Dionne, David Blatner, Ole Kvern, Dom & Suzanne, Marcy... heck, even Artis and Pearcy (wonder how long he had my old car)
The Amazon Gang (some of whom were coworkers, and now they employ me) -- Cara (with whom I worked on many CTSU projects; aka, Clean This Shit Up), Hammen, O'Neil(!), Alexis, AraJane, Shane, Mikesell, Porter, Stoesz, Patricia, Mr. Brown, Jill, Molly, Riani, Creighton, McFadden, Trinen, Groebner, Brucia, Aric
Burl Gilyard and Tony Dodge -- my musical mentors from high school; I'd love to find you guys again and talk tunes
And finally, Craig D. Rice -- my freshman college roommate, without whom I would not have my name today

Rediscovering My LPs

2007-07-09T13:46:00.001-07:00

I can't let my pal Juan have all the fun. Awhile back, he started digitizing songs from some of his old LPs, and I've been a little jealous. Recently, I purchased the Griffin iMic, which allows me to plug my vintage late '80s Onkyo turntable directly into my Mac and record to a digital file. Juan exhorted me to use the ION USB turntable that he uses, and hopefully I can do some compare and contrast with that at some point down the road, but for now I'm finding the quality of the iMic to be alright. Here's one of my first attempts -- a rare B-side double from pre-electronica Everything But The Girl's "Angel" 12-inch (released from the Love Not Money LP). It's two very short songs, the first part entitled "Pigeons in the Attic Room" followed by "Charmless Callous Ways" (one of my favorite titles), that are stripped down to their basics and are a wonderful showcase for Tracey Thorn's vocals.

Pigeons in the Attic Room / Charmless Callous Ways

Again, this is a pretty early attempt -- i.e., I haven't run it through software to tone down the crackling, I haven't found just the right EQ settings, etc. I'm hoping to do more of this as a little lunchtime project as I work away in my little coalmine of an office, so check back for more in the future.

Coen Comeback

2007-07-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

Finally found a trailer to the new Coen Brothers crime opus, No Country for Old Men, which looks like a good return to their darker roots (i.e., Blood Simple)

Fireworks in West Seattle

2007-07-06T11:10:00.000-07:00

Man, I used to really enjoy the Fourth of July... until I moved to my house in the Delridge neighborhood of West Seattle back in 2003. Every year, we get explosions that go on for hours into the night and turn our usually quiet neighborhood into a war zone akin to the Mogadishu portrayed in Black Hawk Down. I guess this year was no worse than others... save for the fact that we have a baby. Luckily, Lil' F only woke up once. But still, do we have to celebrate our independence and the greatness of our nation by blowing shit up? And aren't fireworks illegal in the city of Seattle? (Yes, they are.)

The West Seattle Blog had a post yesterday about some of the fires that seem to have been caused by fireworks, and I was lucky enough to be the first commenter on the string. Here's what I said:

Down in Delridge, the constant fusillade of explosions lasted for well over an hour, and woke our newborn (which was very frustrating, as it’s a trick to get him drowsy on a quiet night these days). Both my wife and I agreed this will be the last July 4th we stay at home in West Seattle unless something seriously changes in the attitude toward personal fireworks (i.e., a city-sponsored education campaign about the dangers, illegality, and noise pollution that these things cause). I never thought it would come to this, but it looks like I’ve become a grumpy old man. Kids’ll do that to you.

Many folks agreed with me (and Mrs. F had a meeting this morning with several folks who live in West Seattle who also shared this sentiment), but here's the best counterpoint to my grumpy whining:

Agen, you sound like your own baby that woke up. Quit your crying. Is this not America? Land of the free and home of the brave? 1 day a year where people can let loose with fireworks. I’ll light off fireworks for the rest of my existence. I have an idea, maybe you whiners should all move to Canada. How does that sound?

Well, maybe I won't move to Canada, but I'm seriously thinking about vacationing in Victoria next July 4.

Returning to Civilization

2007-07-04T05:26:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a vacation to a private island in the San Juan Islands (Sinclair Island to be exact). I'm still trying to wrap my head around getting back to our life in the city, so for the time being, here's 30 seconds of relaxation on a swing bench looking out to Orcas Island.

Relaxation Time on Sinclair Island

The Future is a Big-Ass Table

2007-06-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

A damn funny parody of the recently announced Microsoft Surface table PC:

Comments

2007-06-22T10:17:00.001-07:00

It's come to my attention that I've been neglecting some comments that have been left here recently -- that'd be you JG. I'd forgotten to turn on the email notification, but now it's engaged. I've also made sure that anyone, not just Blogger members, can comment (another oversight).

Hooray, Jose's Back

2007-06-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

As many of you have come to know (from the many postings over at my other blog), I'm a big Jose Gonzalez fan. And today I'm happier than a Bush administration official lighting fire to a subpoena with news from Billboard that Mr. Gonzalez is finally coming back with new material:

After ascending to indie rock stardom with his 2005 album, "Veneer," Swedish singer/songwriter Jose Gonzalez will return Sept. 25 with his next Mute effort, "In Our Nature." The 10-song album is the product of three weeks of recording in the artist's hometown of Gothenburg.

Here's his cover of Kylie Minogue's "Hand on Your Heart" (which is included on this summer's CD mix -- more on that soon):

Are You Superbad?

2007-06-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

Not for the faint of heart, here's the R-rated trailer to Superbad (the second potential comedy sleeper of the summer to star Seth Rogen). Mrs. F and I originally watched the all-ages trailer, and didn't find it that amusing. But it seems to have been drained of all that is funny about it (i.e., loads of bad language and teen sexual banter).

My First Father's Day

2007-06-17T16:30:00.000-07:00

I just added a gig recently where I'll be providing blog posts to the newly created Baby Babble blog at Amazon. It's been a little rough sailing during its first week (I still wish they'd fix the images in this post, or just get rid of the image tags completely -- I look like a dunderhead), and unfortunately one of my first posts never got published. Here 'tis on this Father's Day, my first of many to come:

One of the benefits of my recent entry into the Parents Club is you get to celebrate a new holiday--either Mother's Day or Father's Day. Since I'm still a little new at this, I had to be reminded that my holiday is just a few days away. Whoops.

I don't think I can expect that Lil' F, our three-month old, will have shopped for a tie for his old man (though a gift of a day free of spit-up would be great). But I am hoping that he has some good napping time on Sunday, which would allow me to reread some of Crawling, by Elisha Cooper. I ran into this book almost by accident last year during my wife's pregnancy, when I was fretting about my future. I had many friends with kids, who all seemed to like my clowning antics, but I couldn't imagine dealing with a little critter day in and day out. As I paged through the first pages of Crawling, I came across this passage, and knew that this book might just speak to my jitters:
For starters, I had never liked children. Like most men in their twenties, I would sooner have been handed a bomb than a baby. If someone asked me to spend time with their children (no one was asking), I would have felt the same way if they had asked me to spend time with their ferrets. That I wrote books for children was something I chalked up to irony, and chance.
Cooper has a very dry (occasionally profane) wit and unsentimental view of parenthood (for the most part, though that certainly evolves), which might not be everyone's cup of tea. But I really appreciated the honesty, both in emotion and in retelling some potentially embarrassing tales from his daughter's first year, and it helped to put myself into a frame of mind to accept the responsibilities that were coming on quickly.

By the way, Cooper's children's books also quite delightful--I love his minimalist illustration style--and I'm hoping that Lil' F becomes as big a fan of them as I am. And on second thought, sharing Magic Thinks Big and A Good Night Walk with my son would be a marvelous way to spend Father's Day, even with a bit of spit-up.
~Agen G.N. Schmitz, Amazon Baby Babble

Sadly Unremarkable

2007-06-17T15:19:00.000-07:00

I got an advance copy of the forthcoming reunion album by Crowded House (which has just two of the three original members after drummer Paul Hester's suicide a few years back), and I put it on this morning. After it had been playing awhile, I noted to Mrs. F that this was the new CH, to which she replied, "Oh, I didn't even realize there was music on. Maybe they should call it Vacuous House."

Unfortunately, I kinda agree with her assessment. I've been a huge Neil Finn fan for ages (including him in my Four Pillars of Pop Perfection, which I'll cover another time soon). After I my first listen to Time on Earth, I complained to my pal Jeff Carlson (another Finn fanatic) that the album just wasn't hitting me, to which he reminded me that it usually takes a couple of listening sessions before the subtlety really hit you. Well, I've listened to the thing about five times now, and the creativity and spark of songcraft just isn't there. Here's an example, with the lead single -- the somewhat ironically titled, "Don't Stop Now."

I guess it's a fine ditty for adult contemporary radio, but I just expect much more from Mr. Finn. Sigh.

So, How Many of You Have Ever Had to Kill a Zombie

2007-06-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

Here's an alternative flick to the big summer bombasts that hasn't gotten a lot of press--Fido:

It gets a pretty good review from the NYTimes as well as TV Guide (which has a surprisingly good movie review section):

Director and cowriter Andrew Currie's satirical Technicolor fantasy plays out in a small-town 1950s America that never was. One in which the living and the living dead reside side by side in economically segregated harmony, which is a nice way of saying that zombies are the household slaves of the upwardly mobile living, picking up trash, delivering newspapers and milk, and laboring in factories.

Idiocracy

2007-06-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

Just got done chatting with my pal DGA over in Brussels, who was amazed at a new TV show from the US that's now being shown in Belgium: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?. The few minutes that he saw, he witnessed an adult have to ask a third-grader for help on naming the country that's directly north of the United States. I mourn for our nation.

That's when I thought of Mike Judge's movie from last year -- Idiocracy -- which didn't get much of a release but is now on DVD. Here's the basic gist of the flick:

Joe Bauers, an Army librarian, is judged to be absolutely average in every regard, has no relatives, has no future, so he's chosen to be one of the two test subjects in a top-secret hibernation program. He and hooker Rita were to awaken in one year, but things go wrong and they wake up instead in 2505. By this time, stupid people have outbred intelligent people; the world is (barely) run by morons--and Joe and Rita are the smartest people in America.

I hear it's not completely successful, but that it does have its moments. The set-up for the first two minutes is priceless.

Paris Is One Step Closer Now

2007-06-13T06:18:00.001-07:00

No, this has nothing to do with Paris Hilton, but the just inaugurated non-stop flight between Seattle and Paris (covered by Seattlest):

Mrs. F and I had dreams of bringing Lil' F to Paris this fall, but it looks like we might be waiting until next spring. In the meantime, the lil' guy and I are starting some French instruction via iTunes podcasts.

This Won't Win Me Back Any Indie Cred

2007-06-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

Maybe I'm finally getting old and ready to join the gray ponytails (40 is just about a month away), but I've gotta admit I'm kinda psyched to see that Jack Johnson is getting back to the studio for a new album slated for early 2008. Via Billboard:

Johnson is working with his usual rhythm section -- bassist Merlo Podlewski and drummer Adam Topol -- plus recent addition Zach Gill on piano and accordion. He's also returned to producer JP Plunier, who helmed Johnson's 2001 debut "Brushfire Fairytales."
[...]
The new songs, he says, deal with "a little bit of peace, a little bit of that feeling of the whole climate change and being overwhelmed by that [and] little sappy love songs, like usual. A little bit of everything."

Mr. Johnson has been in heavy rotation around our homestead, Cracks Centraal, especially his truly wonderful soundtrack to the Curious George animated movie from a year or so ago.

Here's a tune from that album that gets a lot of play these days with Lil' F:

My Own Two Hands

You can also listen to another from the soundtrack -- Mrs. F's fave -- a duet between Johnson and Ben Harper. Click the link to the right to go to Rhapsody, where you can select to play the song without having to log in (you're given 25 free plays, though I'm not sure if that's 25 and done, or 25 per month)

Promising New Stab at Invasion of the Body Snatchers

2007-06-12T14:23:00.001-07:00

This one, just reduced to the title The Invasion -- it's got a pretty good cast, with Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, and Jeffery Wright, though it has been on the shelves for awhile and did some pretty extensive reshoots earlier in the year.

Cats are Funny

2007-05-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

I need to admit to a guilty pleasure. When I need a pick-me-up during the work day, I check out the I Can Has Cheezeburger site, which offers up pics using the computer geek humor of LOLcat. I blame Jeff Carlson for this, as he created the LOLcat-ed pic below of Lil' F and Wompus:

Here's one of my fave photos from the Cheezeburger site:

New Fave Band: Acid House Kings

2007-04-02T17:41:00.000-07:00

My musical leanings have definitely been mellowing the last couple of months, most likely as a response to the swirl of Mrs. F's pregnancy and now to having a little guy hanging out with me (lying on my chest as I type this). Anyhoo, I discovered the Swedish band Acid House Kings earlier this winter, and their sound is nothing like what the band name suggests -- sweetly poppy blended with quiet-is-the-new-loud acoustic settings (a la Norway's Kings of Convenience -- Scandinavia sure is producing some great music these days). Check out some of their songs with this handy Flash player from Last FM:

On With the New...

2006-08-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

I previously used this blog address to capture a snapshot of my 2002 tour of the World Cup in Korea (with pals Babu and Jeannette), and you'll be able to see those posts below. But going forward, I'll be using this venue as my own personal repository of found pop cultural items, tidbits about parenting, and really whatever catches my eye. I'll also occasionally be updating my more politically oriented Cracks in the Facade blog.

Korea Team Fighting!!!!!!

2002-06-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you about frustration. It hits a peak when you need to taxi yourself to the airport in the midst of an extra-time World Cup game and the game is being broadcast over the taxi's radio - but it's all in Korean! Are the fans screaming in delight or in shock? Why are the broadcasters chattering so much? Is someone being sent off?

Babu, Jeannette, and myself were in Ulsan this weekend for the USA v Germany game. Ulsan is on the southeast coast of Korea, and it's been described (aptly, I might add) as the Pittsburgh of Korea thanks to all its heavy industrial plants (it's pretty much a Hyundai town). Lemme tell ya, if you're not there on business, there's no need to go to Ulsan. (Nearby Geongju, however, with lots of historical temples from the founding Shilla dynasty, is quite nice; we trained up there on Saturday morning and wandered through various parks full of temples - essentially burial mounds that seem to have no temple-like item associated with it.)

The USA v Germany game was great, despite the fact that there were a goodly number of empty seats (many of which were filled by school kids by the opening kickoff) and that the US lost a game that they should have at least tied and sent to extra time. They put of a very respectable fight, and they should have had a penalty, but alas the Germans went through and are on course to meet Brazil in the final.

But wait... Korea still has something to say about all this. They played this afternoon against Spain, and we returned to the hotel in time from Geongju to catch the match - a very tense affair that definitely had it's moments of controversy and went to extra time. After the first 15-minute extra period, we determined we needed to head to the airport, so we grabbed our bags and dashed out to the nearly empty road to hail a cab. Our drive to the airport was almost completely clear of any traffic - and yet, our driver was adament about obeying the 60 km speed limit. We had his radio tuned to the game, and although we couldn't understand the play-by-play, we could hear the occasional "go-kick" and "co-na kick" as well as the ominous "shoooooooooot!" (for who????).

We got to the airport just in time to see the teams preparing for the penalty kick shoot-out, and we joined a large throng of travellers in front of one of the ubiquitous Samsung giant flat screen TVs. The first Korean kick, by oldster Hwang, just barely made it under the Spanish keeper Casillas, and from then on the shooters from each side made their kicks with ease until Spain's Joaquin missed a stutter-step kick that was saved by the Korean keeper. Korean captain Hong Myung-bo then cooly finished off the shootout - sending Korea to the semi-final and sending the crowd into an absolute tizzy. We made it upstairs to our flight's gate and planted ourselves in front of a TV and watched the replays over and over and over (I have all the Korean goals from all their games completely memorized thanks to their endless repitition on the news shows, on commercials, on video billboards, etc.). Of course, no replays of the controversial goals by Spain that were disallowed - Korea got off very lucky - but, history goes to the winner.

Watching the game in Seoul was over 500,000 spectators watching giant screens in a large square near the city hall - just two blocks from our hotel, the New Kukje. We got off the subway from Gimpo airport and found that the revellers were still glued to the streets, even two hours after the game ended. The crowd had dispersed for the most part, but there were still thousands of teenagers gathered and chanting "Dae-Ha-Min-Ku!" (Republic of Korea) and singing "Oh, Pil-sun Korea" (Victory Korea) like a broken record. It was very interesting to see that there really was no police presence at all, and it was nothing like the "victory celebrations" we have in the States where mobs set fires to cars and break store windows. It was actually very innocent, and very joyous. My hands were slapped numerous times and I yelled "Korea Fighting" more times than I can remember.

Babu, Jeannette, and I ate at an outdoor cart (many of which are set up every night to attract the liquored up salary men) and watched the flag-waving cars and throngs of singing teens pass us by. This is what this World Cup meant for me. Korea has been pretty interesting culturally and we've met some very friendly and helpful people. I can't say that this is a destination I'll want to come back to any time soon, but it's definitely left me with a lot of great memories - and a fondness for the spirit of this nation.

Korea Team Fighting!!!!!

2002-06-19T05:48:00.000-07:00

You've never been to a football match (soccer, as some call it in America) until you've been in a stadium with 40,000 others dressed in the color of the home team and chanting their throats out to a propulsive, never-ending drum beat. This was the scene last night (Tuesday) for the Korea v Italy round of 16 match, and it was an unbelievable experience.

The day started out nice and easy with a trip to the Georyongsan (meaning: chicken dragon) mountain national park, where we hiked to one of the Buddhist temples. While looking into one of the buildings, we were joined by several men wearing rather official FIFA athletic wear who were being guided by a Korean interpreter. We asked if they were involved with the game, and it turned out they were the referrees for the match that night - an international collective including one from Ecuador (the main ref), a Hungarian, and an African. So we got a picture with them. And as they strolled ahead of us, we could see the interpreter telling other hikers who he was guiding. One group of older Korean women hikers started imploring them to give Korea a fighting chance during the game.

It seems hiking is taken rather seriously in Korea. You don't just put on some hiking boots and head out. You need a nice matching shirt/pants combo in some kind of plaid pattern and thigh-high socks (preferrably brightly colored and patterned) into which you can roll your pants. You'll also need a walking stick and, if you're facing any kind of incline, you might consider a small hiking axe. If you don't have one at home, you can probably purchase one from one of the many of the little shops along the way to the opening of the park. We ran into one group of women hikers who all dressed in the same plaid outfit and big floppy hats, and they motored past us like we were a sputtering Yugo.

After hanging out in the mineral water hot spring baths in our hotel for the afternoon, we were ready for the big game. We bought ourselves the ubiquitous red shirts with "Be the Reds" emblazoned on the front (the "Reds" being the Korean team) as well as head scarves. And we headed out to the stadium early so we could stand in line and get our faces painted. Babu and I have been wanting to do this at previous games, but the lines have just been too long (and I've received a bit of ribbing from some quarters, suggesting I was too squeamish to do so). I'm happy to report all three of us (even Jeannette!) got our faces painted by students from a local make-up academy - I had a soccer ball with the word "Fighting" emblazoned on my left cheek. (The big rallying cry for the Korean soccer team here is "Korea Team Fighting!")

The noise eminating from the stadium was already near ear-splitting, and we walked in and found a throbbing sea of red, alternately chanting "Dae-ha-min-kue" (or "Republic of Korea") or singing "Oh, pul-sin Korea" (or "victory Korea") over and over and over. The singing and chanting lasted virtually the entire game, with short pauses to catch a breath. Our favorite was using Dae-ha-min-kue in sung to the tune of Beethoven's 9th.

The match was fantastic, breathtaking, nerve-wracking, pulse-pounding, confounding, and physically draining - everything a soccer match should be. The Italian team was definitely favored and thought of as a real contender as World Cup champion. The two teams played aggressively and several yellow cards were given out. The Koreans had their first chance in only the 8th minute when they were awarded a penalty, which their popular striker (with the male model looks), Ahn, missed. The Italians then scored about ten minutes later with a powerful header from their striker star, Christian Vieri.

The game was played extremely tight from then on, and as the game approached the 80th minute, the Korean coach, Dutchman Guus Hiddink, gambled and used a two-man defensive back and threw five men into the forward position. Flooding the box worked, as the Koreans scrambled to an equalizing goal in the 88th minute, which brought us to extra time.

In the first fifteen-minute period of extra time, something that the group of women hikers said to the referrees must of stuck - perhaps some Buddhist incantation or a piece of zen meditation that the refs had been digesting through the day. It was at this point Italian midfielder Francesco Totti came crashing down in the Korean box. This would typically elicit a yellow card to the offending Korean defender who pulled Totti down and a penalty kick to the Italians, which would give them a win in this golden goal situation (i.e., sudden death). But no. Totti was given his second yellow card of the match - the Ecuadorian official judged him to dive in the box - and Totti was sent off. Simply amazing.

In the second and final fifteen-minute period, the minutes were ticking down and there was only about three minutes left to play. Babu and I were resigned to seeing the match get decided by penalty kicks, but out of nowhere, Ahn scored an amazing header, giving the game to Korea. And the crowd went ape shit. We stood there for another ten minutes without any diminishment in sound from the crowd as the team circled the field.

Outside the stadium was pandamonium, with people coming up to us and yelling "Korea fighting" in our faces and shaking our hands. I even got interviewed by a TV camera crew - I didn't know what to say, so I yelled "Korea fighting" and told them this was the greatest football team I'd ever seen. Which, at the moment, was pure truth. Yes, with my tall, red-goateed features, my superhero nickname of Public Spectacle was in full force, as kids chased me around and I slapped hands with many happy fans.

We ended the night watching some of the street celebration from a corner 7-11 with a beer in our hand. The next Korea match is on Saturday, and we'll be flying back into Seoul from Ulsan (where we'll be watching the USA v Germany match) in the middle of the game. I hope there's even more pandamonium to come.

2002-06-17T07:13:00.000-07:00

Late Monday night, and Babu and Jeannette and I have just finished our day of trains, trains, and more trains. We started out in Seoul, stopped off in Daejeon to drop off our luggage in our second home, the lovely Hotel Adria (where we were greeted with glee by our favorite doorman), then headed further south to Jeonju to see the USA v Mejico match. Perhaps not the greatest soccer ever played, but the US played smart enough to overcome a rather lackluster Mejico team (I'm trying to spell the country correctly, but there is a certain key - perhaps you can guess - that isn't working on this keyboard). The stadium, however, was full of empty seats, our first time seeing this problem - all our other games have been very close to sold out. And, as we thought, the Koreans were loudly cheering for the Aztecs and booing the US team vociferously. Still, it was a very friendly atmosphere all around.

Everywhere we've gone here in Korea, we've been met with great and curious smiles and loads of kindness. For instance, the doorman at the Adria has escorted us several times to neighborhood restaurants and made sure we were to be served well before running back to his post. Tonight in Jeonju, we ended up in a sushi restaurant where we entertained the sushi chef and wait staff... by just enjoying the meal and trying to bridge the language barrier with our clunky phrase books. (Here's a tip - definitely go for the Lonely Planet book; I think the Berlitz phrase book that we have is meant as a joke book to Koreans, who enjoy listening to the gibberish and wrong phrasings that it suggests travellers to utter - everything that we attempt from that book just results in blank stares.) Jeonju is a smaller city than Daejeon (which has a populace of close to 1.5 million) and is definitely still on the upswing of development (lots of unfinished buildings and the promise of more construction, where Daejoeon is the industrial/scientific/technology center of South Korea). And I don't think they get many Western travellers, hence the special greetings and several bonus welcoming dishes and sashimi that were presented to us.

We did see the "Spitalican" in the stands. This is an older guy who accosted us in our hotel lobby back in Seoul over the weekend with grumpy tales of woe from his bad esperiences in Korea ("no one can understand me", "it cost me 9,000 won to get to the train station", "no one can tell me how to get to the ticket office", "frankly, I'm pissed off"). We couldn't tell if he was here for the Italian, Spanish, or Mejican team, so we dubbed him the Spitalican. But there he was in the stands with an Aztec hat and t-shirt on - he shoud be happy to be heading home so soon.

Tomorrow is the game of the tournament for the three of us - Korea v Italy. The atmosphere here in Daejeon will be amazing, and it's already swarming with red shirts.

2002-06-16T00:02:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday afternoon, and Jeannette has joined Babu and I in Seoul. She's definitely brought a bit of culture to the proceedings, though Babs and I have been doing our fair share. One of the highlights of Daejeon was hiking up the Bopumonson trail, a steep hill at the south of the downtown area. It was rather crowded for a Thursday morning, but this could be attributed to it being voting day for the local elections, which is a holiday for Koreans. (How smart.) Our guide book pointed out that Koreans are definitely the most fashionable of hikers, and we definitely agree, especially with the men and their brightly colored/patterned knee-high socks.

On the way down, we met a Canadian looking for a bit of companionship. He's an English teacher (mainly teaching kindergarten aged kids it sounded like), and he was a great resource for learning a bit of culture and getting a bit of good food at a local Buddhist vegetarian restaurant. We also accompanied the meal with a few maekju (beers) and soju, a sake-like beverage that is indeed strong. We had a nice nap that afternoon.

We ended our stay in Daejeon with the USA v Poland game, and it was all that I expected a World Cup match to be like. The atmosphere was definitely charged up and loud... thanks to the Poles! The US fans definitely made their presence known, but it was the Polish fans who were realy whooping it up. It helped that they also got off to a 2-0 start. Also, the Korean fans were definitely pulling for the Poles, as a US loss would help the Korean team's cause.

But they did alright nevertheless with their amazing 1-0 win against Portugal. When that goal was scored, hundreds of miles away, we knew about it in our stadium as all the Korean fans were alerted via their cell phones and started chanting Day-a-meng-u (which is one wayof saying Korea, and is the preferred chant for the soccer team). Afterwards, the streets were filled with honking and hooting of fans as they celebrated the amazing victory, and it lasted through the night.

As it turns out, we'll be seeing Korea play Italy in Daejeon on Tuesday. I can't wait.

Babu and I got to Seoul yesterday, and did some basic touristing around, but we kicked it into high gear this morning with Jeannette (who arrived at midnight last night). We hit one of the main Buddhist temples today as well as the main street market of Namdaemun, where we stopped and had lunch at one of the street vendors--noodles, panjeon (an egg pancake with kimchee and octopus) and funny sausage-shaped rice dumplings in a semi-spicy red sauce. Of course, we washed it down with a few OB Lagers (it's quite hot and sunny today, perfect beer drinking weather).

Tomorrow, we head out on a number of trains to Jeonju for the US v Mexico round of 16 game.

2002-06-11T22:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (Tuesday) was our first game--France v Denmark--at the Incheon Stadium. Incheon is to the west of Seoul and is famous for the major sea landing and battle led by Gen. MacArthur in the Korean war. We took the train up from Daejeon (an hour and 40 minutes), on which we met even more Seattleites (who were Amerikanski knuckleheads, and we kept trying to avoid them the rest of the day), and then took another subway ride which was almost as long to the stadium.

We expected to see lots of food and souvineir stands leading up to the stadium (much like the walkway leading to Safeco field in Seattle). Instead, we got lines of Korean security forces decked out in their best dress and yellow vests as well as gangs of roving born-again Korean Christians, handing out all manner of pins and trinkets and inviting us to take a picture with them in their traditional Korean dress. So, with not much happening on the periphery (save for some friendly taunting between the French and Danish fans; sample chant: "I'd rather be a Viking than a Franc"), we headed into the stadium... where there was equally as much going on. I'd hoped that the food stands would have something vaguely Korean, but they mainly had Pringles and the Korean version of Bugles. Which turned out to be our lunch.

We also had a few beers supplied by World Cup sponsor Budweiser (another letdown). The process for pouring beer was a bit cumbersome, with each beer coming from an individual can that had to be poured directly by the server. But we had a few pre-match beers and met a pretty friendly American (who actually had a trial with a third division Dutch team; he's also good buddies with Pablo Matriani on the US National team). We invited him to join us for the US v Poland game here in Daejeon on Friday.

But the game itself was awesome. We had fantastic seats, on the right side of one of the goals and about 12 rows up in the first level. The French played their hearts out and had some chances, but it turned out to be a game of centimeters as they kept just hitting the crossbar or flinging it just wide. Also, Thomas Sorenson, the Danish keeper (who plays for Sunderland in England) had a fantastic game. We sat near the French contingent (probably around 3,000) and they kept singing through the match up until the final moments when it was very obvious what the outcome would be. The French had to win by two goals; however, the Danes won the game 2-0. This was historic in that the French were the first defending champions to depart from the following World Cup without scoring a single goal.

We headed back to Daejeon last night and wandered through the neighborhood around our hotel. We found a large screen in the nearby park showing the second set of matches for the day (Germany v Cameroon) and were chatted up by a woman who's a special World Cup citizen representative. After asking us to take some pictures with her children, she started telling us about a special dinner happening at the nearby national park (which is supposed to be rather beautiful). And she was quite adament about making sure that we knew how to get there and even gave us her phone number. Babu and I were a little gunshy after being accosted by the born-again troupe at the stadium, but I think Koreans are genuinely out-and-out friendly and the World Cup is bringing that out in spades.

We had a similar experience after our viewing of the Korea v USA game when a gentleman started buying us a few beers and then tried to invite us home to have his wife cook us Korean barbecue and have his daughters get more exposure to English. We politely declined (over and over). We did learn, however, how to handle ourselves in a "special" karoke bar (the kind where you have a woman at your side for a special fee--seems 300,000 yen for a bottle of whiskey is just the price, as long as you don't tell your wife).

We ended the evening with soup at a "Korean restaurant" (that's what the sign said), which was some of the spiciest stuff I've ever had. And I didn't even add any of the hot pepper paste or sliced Korean Insanity peppers to the mix. Ooooof. Luckily, we added copious amounts of OB Lager, which is a nice, light brew.

Right now Babu and I are in an "Internet ranch"--definitely not a cafe, just a large room with about 50computers. It's about half full with mostly teenagers, and they all seem to either be playing blow-em-up video games or watching illegal copies of the Scorpion King. They also all have their volumes turned way up.

Now it's off to our hotel to watch the afternoon games--either Argentina v Sweden or England v Nigeria--then we'll walk to the Daejeon stadium to see our game tonight between South Africa and Spain.

2002-06-10T17:21:00.000-07:00

It's quite amazing to be in a country that is so passionate about their soccer (football) team. Yesterday, the Korean team played the US, and preparations were beginning in the streets of Seoul early in the morning. Outside the hotel where Babu and I stayed for the night, there was a giant TV screen that was being augmented with enough speakers to replicate a Who concert, circa 1972. And they began testing them around 7am. But that was as good a signal as any to get ourselves moving.

We arrived late Sunday night, and after a wandering around the rather empty airport trying to find a cash machine, we hopped into a "deluxe" taxi. Here in Korea, there are two grades, with the deluxe version being a bit more foreigner friendly. Also a bit more expensive. Here's a bit of taxi tactics from the Lonely Planet phrasebook:

"As Korean taxis are very cheap, taxi drivers try to find ways to boost their earnings. Driving as fast as possible seems to be the preferred method...."

And that's certainly the tactic our driver preferred, as we sped along the rather empty highways (it was about 11pm) at speeds up to 180 km per hour. I think that's about 100-110 mph. We paid 77,000 won (roughly $70), but the speed was worth it. Babu and I were dead tired.

Monday morning, we negotiated the traffic signs well and got ourselves to the Seoul train station for our journey south to Daejeon. It was interesting to note a goodly number of steeples within the many towns we flashed by. Interestingly, Korea is one of the most Christianized countries in Asia, with over 20% of the population considering themselves Protestant or Catholic (with the former being the dominant of the two).

Once settled into the high-faluttingly named Hotel Expo (though it really doesn't live up to that), we headed out to find a place to set ourselves for the big game. At the FIFA ticket bureau, where we picked up our tickies for our three games in Daejeon, we were invited to watch along with the office on the small 14-inch TV that was currently showing pre-game hoopla. But we told them we hoped to find a place with beer and food. The woman helping us mentioned her friends were going to the Santa Claus bar in the university area, and was about to call them and arrange a meeting, but we declined. But we did get directions, and with a "ho ho ho" took off on our merry way to see St. Nick.

It was the perfect place to watch the game. The Santa Claus was a basement bar that caters to the university clientele with inexpensive rice and pasta (lasanga, of all things)dishes. The place was crowded and full of excitement, which burst forth with the kick off--lots of clapping and singing, and oohing and ahhing at every positive move the Korean team made on the field. The US scored first, but the fans weren't deflated--they were hopeful (something that couldn't necessarily be said for US fans). When the Korean team equalized in the second half, the room nearly exploded with joy.

It would be interesting to see how the draw was characterized in the US. Was it a disappointment? Because here in Korea, it's out and out jubiliation. The Korean goal (an amazing header) has been replayed almost constantly, as has scenes of thousands watching the game and celebrating in the center of Seoul. I think the entire country pretty much stopped for two hours yesterday. Simply amazing.

Babu and I are now in the Daejeon train station, heading back to Seoul for today's match between France and Denmark. Should be fantastic.

2002-06-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

T-minus two days, and things are getting tight. I just recently switched jobs at work - I'm now the lead editor for the Camera and Photo store - and I'm going out of my gourd trying to make sure that everything is taken care of. (So the head of the Neighborhood Watch Committee doesn't find any hidden potholes in my lawn.)

At home, it's down to getting the little things down: ripping MP3s off some new CDs to load onto my iPod, writing notes about Spoon and setting up Andrew's XBox for Jon to play while I'm gone, etc. I'm really trying to minimize the stuff I'm packing, so my plan to bring my Canon A1 with the fisheye lens may fall to the wayside (which opens up the possibility of a digital camera from my new lending library). But I've got to get a move on, as I'm heading over to Anne and Eric's to spend the night in their basement - and wake up at 4:30 to watch England v Argentina.
cheers.ags