Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Top 11 Albums of 2008

I can't help myself - I really, really wanted to whittle this list down to a top ten. But I just can't do it. I debated, I hemmed and hawed. I gnashed my teeth and dressed in sack cloth. No matter what I did, I just couldn't bring myself to leave any of these albums off of my top list, so I can sit comfortably with eleven. I'm also including the other like eighteen or so that all got honorable mention from me this year. All in all, I'd say this was a pretty good year for music. Nothing earth-shattering, but no major disappointments unless you count the fact that Axl finally released "Chinese Democracy". Too bad it was lame (from all I heard, at least). So, with no further ado, I present to you my top eleven albums for 2008:


1) Brain Thrust Mastery - We Are Scientists

I just don't get it. No one, and I mean literally no one to this point has put this list on even put this album on their "honorable mention" or "in contention" lists. Did the U.S. just go to sleep on this one? I know that WAS are much, much more popular in Europe than over here. But still, this album is a top-to-bottom collection of great music. The guys are silly, the songs are catchy but don't slack on quality musicianship, and there is plenty of hipster cred to go around. And let's not forget that if you toss in a little extra cash, you could get the two-disc set which includes an amazing live set from Union Chapel in London. If you haven't heard it, go out and listen to this song.

2) Alopecia - Why?
I just discovered this band in the past year. Apparently they've been cranking out music since about '99 or 2000, and everything that I've heard from them has been good, but this album stands head and shoulders above the rest of the stuff I've heard from them. There's indie rock, there are ridiculously catchy loops and beats, there are absurdly good and clever lyrics. Again, it's a great disc from top to bottom, and I'm really hard-pressed to find an artist that I could compare to this band. Take a listen to the opening track here and see for yourself.

3) Moonbeams - Throw Me the Statue
I love multi-instrumentation. When you can have horns, strings, accordion, and even a glockenspiel to round out the sound of a band, it always makes me smile. These guys are new on the scene; though they're based in the Pacific NW, they have roots in San Francisco, and they put on one hell of a live show. I am always torn when I talk about this band - I love them and would love to see them blow up, but then I wouldn't be able to see them in smaller clubs and interact with members of the band after they've played. Eh, I think they'll blow up -- with songs this good, it's hard not to.

4) Walk it Off - Tapes 'n Tapes
I don't know exactly what it is about this band, but I can't get enough of them. It could be that they have what I think is the most underrated song of the year in "Say Back Something". It's so under-appreciated, in fact, that I can't find any reference of it on YouTube. These guys (or at least their producer) mastered that "this was recorded on tape, so it doesn't sound too perfect sound on this album.
They also have an appropriately absurd and hilarious video for the first single off this album.

5) Volume 1 - She & Him
Super cutie Zooey Deschanel and indie rock utility musician M. Ward come together to make one of the most perfect discs I've heard in a while. It's old-timey, but not in a hokey way, and it doesn't include much of that country twang that kept Jenny Lewis' album off my list. It's just a straightforward album that might be the greatest makeout album since MBV's "Loveless".
Also, their version of the old Smokey Robinson song "You Really Got A Hold On Me" is such an accomplishment it would melt my heart even if it weren't sung by the hands-down cutest girl in all of indie.

6) You & Me - The Walkmen
These guys caught me off guard. I had heard their name thrown around a lot by a number of people, but it wasn't until I heard this album that I really got it. They kind of capture that vintage sound that The Cold War Kids pulled off last year and had so much trouble replicating this year. The songs and instrumentation are somewhat sparse, and the singer has one of those voices you either get or don't, but these kids from Billyburg really pulled it all together on this album. Their song "In the New Year" is hands-down the crowning achievement of the album despite its peculiar video.

7) Innocent Ghosts - Geographer
This is my nod to complete and total Bay Area pride. Why? is from Berkeley, but they're fairly well known nationally. Geographer is a local band whom I was hipped to by a friend, and they really blew me away the first time I saw them. I picked up the CD (the show was the band's CD release party) and was every bit as pleased. Expect to hear a lot from them in the coming year(s) and expect to see me at their show with The Botticellis on January 14th. So far the only thing I don't really get about this band is their first video. Hipster interpretive dance?

8) Devotion - Beach House
This album is just chock full of Dream Pop goodness. The addition of slide guitar to a number of the songs really, really floats my boat. It's sparse enough to be tranquil, but there's enough there that you don't forget you're listening to music as can happen with some lesser achievements. Some argue that their debut self-titled album was really their better, but I have a soft spot for this disc. Plus, someone was cool enough to make a video with their song Gila over a video of Jayne Mansfield. Either way, it was one that I kept thinking "oh, I guess it doesn't have to make the top ten" but just didn't have the heart to give the axe to.

9) Narrow Stairs - Death Cab for Cutie
Another disc that almost didn't make it. I was debating with a co-worker a few weeks back whether or not this had the merit to make it on top ten lists, and that prompted me to go back and give it a few more listens. I will come out and say it - this is a phenomenal album. It doesn't have the amazing singles that "Plans" had, nor can it really compete with "We Have the Facts", but dammit, this album is yet another accomplishments from probably the biggest indie rock hit machine outside of Spoon. I just don't like the choice of singles, they really needed to hype "Cath" more than "I Will Possess Your Heart" with its four minute redundant intro.

10) LP3 - Ratatat
These guys do what they do better than anyone else. I don't even know how to describe what it is that they do. Instro-indie-beats? Electro-awesomeness? Whatever it is, I hope they manage to keep cranking out records like they are now. It's wonderfully melodic, it's catchy, and it makes me bob my head in approvement anytime I hear it. Basically, whenever these guys put out an album, it's got a great chance of making it on to my "best of" list for that year. It's the type of music I'd love to make if I knew a hell of a lot more about programming beats and loops. Check out the first single off this disc.

11) Hold On Now, Youngster... - Los Campesinos
These kids just seems like a good time no matter what. The album is a hell of a lot of fun to listen to, and they don't let hipster preoccupations keep them from rocking out and making some up-tempo overdriven music. I do have to question their releasing of two albums this year, but still I refuse to lump the two together for a single review. Plus, I don't have the latest release, so I can't speak one way or another about it. All I can say is that I liked this album way too much to keep it off of my "best of" list for this year. Their single "You! Me! Dancing!" also has a hearty dose of glockenspiel, which, as you know, always wins my heart over.


I will say that I was most disappointed to leave off "Some Racing, Some Stopping" by Headlights. I feel that it was a fantastic album, but when you have to stack ANYTHING up against their previous album "Kill them with Kindness", there's just no way you can stack up.

HONORABLE MENTION (aka "Albums in the Running")
(in no particular order)

Fleet Foxes (self-titled)
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Pershing
DeVotchKa - A Mad & Faithful Telling
Deerhunter - Microcastle
Headlights - Some Racing, Some Stopping
The Rhumb Line - Ra Ra Riot
Minus the Bear - Acoustics
Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us
TV on the Radio - Dear Science
Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead
Does it Offend You, Yeah? - You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into
Crystal Castles (self-titled)
Because of Ghosts - The Culture of Background Noise
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Abe Vigoda - Skeleton
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
The Notwist - The Devil, You + Me
Murder By Death - Red of Tooth & Claw

And I close out this music posting by wishing my congratulations to Ben Gibbard and Zooey Deschanel on their engagement. Some day she will finally come to her senses and realize that she actually loves me, she just doesn't know it yet.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Happy Holidays?

Well wrap me in tinsel and call me crabby - I can't believe I have to go back to friggin' work tomorrow. I managed to accomplish basically nothing all weekend long. Band practices under achieved, my overall number of friends socialized with is on the low side, even for me, and I got neither blogging nor thesis work done. Granted, writing has been limited to the few moments here and there where I can escape the cacophony that is know as my mother trying to talk to my grandmother. I'll just say thank heavens for Bose headphones.

I do at least promise my "Best albums of 2008" posting in the next day or two, once I get a chance to sit down with my iTunes and really have a chance to sort through it all.

So what has been good news from the past year in case you haven't already read or known first hand from me? Well, there's the new band, my borderline obsessive love for web comics, my employment, and a new standing Saturday night at the bar ritual that is one of the two major reasons I look forward to the weekend. I could talk about downside stuff, but it's the garden variety stuff: still single, my liver's gradual erosion, and things hurting more and for longer periods than they did a few years ago.

So, looking forward to 2009 your guess is as good as mine. I don't do resolutions, because they only cause me to be more disappointed in myself than usual. Still, I'm cautiously optimistic. I appear to be in a good spot to get some significant things wrapped up this year (namely the thesis, but I'm sure there's more) and thanks to my relatively newfound full time employment, I am becoming more and more financially stable every day.

Anyhow, I've rambled on long enough. The next few postings should be a tad more exciting and compelling, but at the end of the year, I think every blogger gets to self-indulge ever so slightly in one of those "looking back, looking forward" postings. Unfortunately, I don't get that into them.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas, Everyone!



Greetings folks, sorry I've been a tad remiss in my blogging in the past week, but I have been understandably busy with holiday prep both at home and at work on top of my usual musical ventures and busy-ness. Expect the next few days to be chock full of various "top of 2008" lists and whatnot. In the meantime I'm going to watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" about four or five more times and empathize.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

For old time's sake.

Those of you who were at any time in the past my Myspace friends my recall that I really cut my comedic teeth on all of those inane surveys that used to float around Myspace bulletin land. So I thought just the sake of sweet memories, I'd treat all of you to one tonight. Enjoy!

BASICS
Name: Guillaume.
Age: Old enough. To party.
Location: 37° 37' N 122° 23' W
Girl or boy: testicled American. Then again, this is San Francisco.
Single or taken: if you're reading this, chances are you already know.
Like anyone?: no. no one. And I mean no one.

RANDOM QUESTIONS

Do you celebrate Christmas?: I celebrate "International Happy Birthday Jesus Day"
How much do you normally spend on Christmas gifts?: I tithe one tenth of my income.
How much do people spend on you?: Less and less every year.
Do you give gift cards?: I give gifts. I give cards.
Do you make stuff?: Yes, and sometimes I make in my pants.
Do you give gift baskets?: I am gift enough sans basket.
Do you give big presents?: Go big or go home.
Are you done with Christmas questions?: I was done before I started.
What kind of shoes do you like to wear?: Low tops?
Do you shop at J.C. Penny?: No. I have been known to shop at JCPenney though.
Do you go shopping on Black Friday?: In e-commerce, it's more of a religious holiday.
Who was the last person to talk to you that wasn't related to you?: C-Nutz

ABOUT YOUR BEST FRIEND

Are they single?: No one is single anymore. Except me.
Do they like anyone?: No. They don't even like me.
Do you think they are attractive?: As a rule, all my friends are more attractive than me.
Have you ever felt feelings for your best friend?: I feel many feelings for my best friend. Sometimes I even feel friendship.
Have you ever fought with them?: As I have stated, they don't like me. Hence fighting all the time.
Have you every fought over a girl/boy with them?: The proper term is "transvestite" and the answer is no.
Are you their best friend?: I'm everyone's best friend.

FAVORITES

Color: Black, like my soul.
Restaurant: P. Chow.
Singer: I play in surf bands. I don't believe in singers.
Band: Rubber.
Superhero: Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na....
Book: On the Road.
Movie: Let's just say I'm an achiever.
CD: CDeez nuts.
Song: Anything documenting the subtle intricacies of ghost riding the whip or going stupid, dumb, and hyphy.
Article of clothing: My sock garters.
Stereotype: The one about how white people can't drive, are lazy, and love eating watermelon & fried chicken.

SHUFFLE YOUR MP3 PLAYER AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS

What's your name?: Approaching Pavonis Mons By Balloon (Utopia Planitia)
How do you feel about your best friend?: It's Natural to be Afraid (The Paper Chase Mix)
What is your favorite Song?: No Sign of Life
Why?: Riot Van
What is your favorite Childhood toy?: Skate and Bait
Do you have any pets?: Necronomicon Ex Boardis
How do you feel about your siblings?: Don't Leave Me On My Own
How do you feel about your girlfriend/boyfriend?: Topless Beach

THIS AND THAT

Black or white?: Things are never that simple.
Pink or Black?: I never say no to the pink, but once you have black you never go back.
Christmas or Halloween?: Arbor Day
Christmas or Thanksgiving?: Columbus Day
Jonas Brothers or Miley Cyrus: I refuse to support any "musician" backed by a cartoon mouse.
Coke or Pepsi?: Always loyal to the Royal. Crown, that is.
Shoes or high heels?: High heels are only for "naughty time"
Sneakers or flats?: Does anyone out there call them sneakers anymore? Why not just call them "trainers".
Makeup or hair?: Au naturale, au alopecia.
Love or money?: I have essentially none of either. And no idea how to get some.

MORE BASICS ABOUT YOU

Do you have any pets?: I have a revolving door of goldfish. My plumbing stays busy. I blame the pH levels.
Siblings?: Only one. I still think I absorbed a twin, which explains my big bones.
Pick three cousins, and name them: I refuse to dignify these questions
Tell me why you chose them: with a response.
Are they related?: Umm... they're cousins.
Who are their parents?: My aunts and uncles.
How old are they?: Older than me.
Do they live close to you?: No. This was wildly time wasting, and I apologize on behalf of whatever friggin' moron wrote this inane section.

ENDING QUESTIONS

Did you like this survey?: Again, I don't like anything. Moreover, this survey has actually raised my ire a bit.
Do you like to do your hair elaborately?: If by "elaborately" you mean "run your fingers through your hair after falling out of bed", then yes.
What's your favorite website?: You're looking at it.
Are you preppy?: Only when Muffy and Pierce are willing to take a break from their polo lessons and join me at the Country Club.
Emo?: Just ask the blood on my laptop.
Skater?: The last time I tried to skateboard, I fell on my ass and the board almost got run over by a bus.
Goth?: Only when the dark queen Azmandara deems me worthy, which she only does when the demagogue Zul emits the evil word to her.
Girly?: Only on the inside.
Dorky?: 24-7. Just ask the glasses. Or the fact that I'm doing a myspace survey on my fucking blog.
Snobby?: Only when I have to be around poor people.
Jock?: Only on the days that I totally gun my lats.
None of the above?: Only when I'm not any of the above.
What would you label yourself?: "Do Not Touch"

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Carl's Jr. Can Kiss My Ass.


I have kept mum about this as I never thought I was all that terribly bad in the past. Yes, I took issue with their old slogan of "without us, some guys would starve." I still think it's dumb. If you can't figure the basics of cooking, and not only lack the ability to prepare food, let alone buy food, chances are you deserve to starve. Moreover, it should absolutely nothing to do with the presence of testicles. Just because I pack a Y chromosome doesn't mean that I am lost in a kitchen. Still, I said "okay, they're just playing off an ignorant stereotype.

However, now they have gone too far. The premise of this series of commercials is that some sweatpants-donning douchebag has promised his wildly hotter-than-he-is girlfriend that he would take her to a steak dinner. When she arrives all skanked out at his house, he is sitting like a moron, playing a handheld video game. When asked why he isn't ready to go, it is brought to light that he has planned to take her to a romantic dinner at a fucking fast food restaurant. The slogan "how men do fancy".

My issues:

1) It makes the wild claim that people still actually eat at Carl's Jr.
2) Hot skank girlfriend with loser boyfriend.
3) Loser boyfriend manages to theoretically keep his girlfriend without obviously buying her affection.
4) Videogame playing is used to further enforce a man's undateable status.
5) "Steak dinner" is supposed to be an acceptable stand-in for "fast food imitation steakmeat made of grade F dog"
6) Any man thinks it's okay to take a girl to Carl's Jr. for dinner
7) Now, not only can men not cook, they also cannot understand what "fancy" means.


As a testicle-bearing American, I take personal offense to Carl's Jr. and their marketing morons. Whomever came up with those pathetic excuses for commercials should be chemically sterilized for the good of the species. If not chemically, I'd be happy to do it manually.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Friendship.


Last night I was out with my friends in the Mission as always. It proved to be an... interesting experience.

As most of you know, I hold my friends in the highest esteem. They have always been for me. They have always looked out for me and supported me in damn near everything I've done (unless that something is damn foolish). I know that I can entrust them with any secrets and can always turn to them for advice and comfort. But there was something that I saw last night that proved exactly how good some friends are. Luckily it didn't involve me, nor do I hope that I ever put my friends in a situation like this.

It was last call. The guys and myself were leaving the bar and heading back to the car. As we paused, we saw it: two guys stumbling down the street. We giggled, exchanged the "oh man, they're going to hate themselves tomorrow" looks and stories, and kept on walking. So did the guys. We continued to be quietly amused in watching these guys weave their way along the sidewalk, clinging to each other for uprightness. As I looked a tad more closely and I was startled. "Holy crap -- that guy is missing a shoe!" I couldn't keep it to myself. The guy who was the far more visibly intoxicated of the two was walking down the street with one tennis shoe on and one sock-clad foot. Down 16th Street. Past the puddles of urine, past the gum and cigarette butts, past vomited-in alleys. Nothing between his foot and the concrete but a thin layer of used-to-be-white cotton.

Not even a third of a block had elapsed when I suddenly felt elbow jabs from my friend. We had walked by a storefront where the lighting was better than what we'd had at that point. I followed his pointing finger, and couldn't believe my eyes. My amazement was confirmed as my friend said to me in hushed tones: "He fucking pissed himself." He couldn't be more right. This poor fool was not only stumbling down the street being held up by his friend, he had lost a shoe and pissed his pants. There is no way to even begin to describe what kind of state that guy must have been in.

However, the whole time as we were trying to keep our laughter to a minimum so as to not draw attention to ourselves or to the fact that we realized dude was walking down the street in one shoe and pee pants, I had to stop and think for a moment "wow, that dude's friend has got his back far and beyond most anything anyone could expect." And while I honestly think that my friends would take care of me if I were to get into such a state, I rest happier knowing that my friends are quality enough that they would keep me from getting in that state in the first place.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Persistence.

So today I happened to do something I don't often do: I finished two books within about a two hour span of each other.

No, I don't read that fast, I just happened to be reading two books simultaneously and each happened to reach their end today.

But here's the kicker of the whole situation: I can't say that I exactly liked either of them. I won't go into details regarding which books they were or anything like that lest I invite backlash and criticism about my snobbish tastes in books, but it got me thinking. Why is it that I can devote hours of my life to something I'm just sort of ho-hum about? It's not like I had high expectations for either of them, or was especially looking forward to reading them - both were more of a matter of curiosity. But still, I can't help but wonder why -- I guess I was hoping that the books would get better. I was hoping the author would suddenly have a change of heart and write a chapter or two that might strike my fancy.

At this point, however, it is curious that books are one of the few things I will wait on like that. I will skip around albums mercilessly, passing judgment based on as little as about thirty seconds of actual listening. Even with people, I don't think I'd give folks as much time as I'd give a generally boring or uninteresting book. Eh, I guess at least for all my effort in reading the books not only can I now roll my eyes with meaning if and when I hear them mentioned, I have no worry of recourse as to the book defending itself or going on the offensive on me.

Does this make me justified in my gripes, or just a jerk? I can't really say anymore.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Musical Realization Plus Some Exciting News


So I was listening to a little John Vanderslice this afternoon, and while I have been enamored with his album "Death of an American Four Tracker" for some time now, I just had a chance to listen to a little bit of his latest album "Emerald City" and he does something that has become a bit of a trend: he is simulating overdriven tape distortion as a musical device. I don't know why this is such an emerging sound, but there are a number of indie bands moving in that direction. When it is successful it can be divine, as in Tapes 'n Tapes' latest album Walk it Off. However, it can also be blatantly over done. Vanderslice doesn't quite cross the line that extremely in his latest effort, but both Sleater Kinney's The Trees and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's sophomore album Some Loud Thunder both do this ad nauseum. I'm not critiquing the bands, just the technique. Hell, even all time favorites like Spoon and The Pixies have slipped in a couple instances of the technique that grates on my ears. I wish I could figure out why people do it, and moreover, I wish those folks would stop. Please - I love a little lo-fi edge to warm up a recording, but let's keep it under control.

Now on to the exciting (at least I sure as hell hope it is as exciting as it could be) news: they are making a sequel do Donnie Darko. Titled S. Darko, it is supposed to document Donnie's younger sister, Samantha, who is troubled with visions of her own. I'm curious because it's an almost real-time depiction of the time that has passed between the present day and when they made the original movie. Sounds fascinating but I hope with all my heart that they don't screw this one up.

Monday, December 8, 2008

City envy of sorts.

I don't know that "City Envy" quite captures what I am trying to describe, but it's about as close as I can get to it. I suppose I'm not really feeling envy, more just... confusion. So here's my gripe: New York gets way too much attention in entertainment.

Just stop and think about it....

Crazy, isn't it? I suppose this all was prompted by one of those silly quizzes from Facebook. It gives you a synopsis of a show and asks you to identify which show it was. Goofy? Yes. A waste of my time? Moderately. Still, as I was taking this otherwise mind-numbing quiz, I couldn't help but notice that an inordinately large percentage of the shows described were set in Manhattan. A majority of modern movies are set in New York. Even a higher percentage of books I've been reading lately have all been based around New Yorkers doing New Yorky things. I realize that New York is a bit of a cultural mecca here in the States. I don't deny it and its influence, but come on. What about shows in LA, in SF? I know there are some, but when you stack it up, I'm sure there are more shows about New York than the next top five cities combined.

I have been to New York, I've seen Manhattan, and I realize that there is a whole lot that the city has to offer. But as my good friend Pete put it, there is a veritable smorgasbord of cultural activity here in SF too. There is history, there is art, sports, everything one could want. Naturally, this isn't the first time that I've realized stuff like this, but it seems lately I've been noticing more and more: while most other stories based in cities use their cities as a backdrop, in most New York stories are all about being in New York. It's almost like the city itself is another character in the story.

Perhaps when all of this thesis mess is all wrapped up, I'll have a chance to do a little more writing for pleasure. If I do, I tell you this much, my stories will damn well be set in San Francisco.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Lame.


What happened to me?

When did this happen? When did I become a bassist?

I had practice with The Lava Rats (that's my band for you kids keeping score at home) tonight. It was the first time I'd played guitar instead of bass at a band practice for the first time in probably six weeks or so. Guess what?

My fingers are killing me.

No fooling. Two hours of playing guitar rather than bass for a change. Two hours and my fingers are a wreck. Yes, the weather is cold and dry. Yes, my strings are slightly old and ever so slightly crusty, but still. I used to be able to play rotten old acoustic guitars for longer than I played tonight and my fingers would feel roughly this bad.

I've lost it. I'm a wuss. I can still make the notes sound the way they're supposed to sound. My fingers are still nimble as ever, but those skinny little guitars strings are doing a number on my otherwise stout calluses.

I feel like an amateur. So I'm going do to the only thing I can do: I'm going to bed. Then I'm going to play more guitar in the next week or so, then I'm going to practice again and I'm going to show those scrawny guitar strings who is really the boss.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Over informed?


As I have discussed more times than I feel necessary, I don't watch a whole hell of a lot of TV. I prefer my life this way. More than anything else, I despise the news. It seems like any time I am cruising up or down the dial, there is some news broadcast telling me what is wrong with people around me, be it local, national, or international. Quite frankly, I find watching the news painfully depressing, so I try my best not to. Like so many people of my generation, I get the bulk of my news from the internet. It's pretty catch-as-catch-can, but it assures that I only really hear about the major events, which really are more or less the only things worth fretting over in the first place.

So tonight, I happened to be spending a little quality time in front of the toob, which is a rarity in itself, and I happened to see a commercial from a local network. This is not the network that decided to come up with the harebrained scheme to run a news broadcast at 9:00 p.m., for all those people who can't wait that ever important hour between the time that the hour long 7:00 p.m. newscast ends and the standard 10:00 p.m. newscast begins. No, this network actually keeps a generally standard news schedule in the day/evening time. However, it was their morning broadcast that struck me as a result of this commercial.

Now, before I get into the inanity that you'll hear about momentarily, I will mention yet again that I am not a morning person. On average, the time from when my feet hit the floor when I'm out of bed to the time that I step out my front door never exceeds fifteen minutes. This leaves no time for news broadcasts, no time for breakfast, no time for much of anything outside of the morning ritual of tooth brushing, deodorizing, getting dressed, and packing up. I don't understand morning news in general. I really don't understand people who wake up any time much before six or six thirty in the morning. But then again, I am sitting here at ten minutes to two, wide awake.

But I've kept you in suspense long enough -- on to this commercial. This commercial was for the morning news broadcast that started at 4:00 a.m. Yes, four in the morning. The time I tend to go to sleep on a Saturday night. Now, I understand that there are some people who have to wake up that early. It's understandable, especially if they face an epic commute or start work at some ungodly early hour. I'd like to believe if you have to wake up every day that early, you don't do so to watch news. Maye there are folks out there who like to use the morning news as background noise. I prefer good ol' music. Now, it's not bad enough that this news broadcast starts some two and a half hours before sunrise -- the broadcast lasts until ten in the morning. Yes, ten. Six fucking hours. That is literally one quarter of a broadcast day. Is television in such a sad state that a regular broadcast TV network thinks it's a smart move to dedicate a quarter of their day to one single newscast. Yes, I know, people wake up at all times in that range, and it's probably the same thing cycled throughout the morning with a lot of weather and traffic and all that rubbish. But come on now -- six hours. That's about two thirds of an average person's workday.

Is this what we've come to? Do that many people care? What the hell ever happened to weekday morning cartoons? Now that was something worth waking up for: I remember all through grade school, maybe even some of high school, I would get up early just so I could watch The Jetsons while I ate my breakfast. If that were to be an option these days, and I could do so uninterrupted, it would be the highlight of my day. Everyday. But no - we have six hours of newscast instead. Thank heavens; now I can stay up to date on coups, regicide, terrorism, and political scandal all before my Apple Jacks. Thank heavens for the information age.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Another recommendation post.


Don't worry too much, this won't get terribly specific. I just thought I'd share a little of the enjoyment I'm having at the moment. This definitely falls into the "finer things in life" category.

It's one of the first nights in a while where it really feels like Winter. True, in San Francisco, that doesn't mean a hell of a lot, since things don't get especially cold here. But it's been foggy much of the day, so the air is clear and crisp. It's cold, but it's a relatively still cold; the wind is mild and really quite refreshing. It's a dark and quiet night, and I am sitting here in my cozy little basement hovel. I've been listening to The One AM Radio as I've been working out finishing the outline for the latest chapter of my thesis. The whole evening I've just had the string of Christmas lights lighting my room. I'm full on homemade turkey-noodle soup.

For me, this is what evenings at home should be, and I haven't had one this peaceful in a while. I am not all hopped up on caffeine as I tend to be most nights when I'm chasing my academic pursuits, I haven't been drinking, which as of late has been a change of pace as well. We all made it through the Thanksgiving weekend, and it is finally starting to feel like Winter for a change. Hell, I think there's even a pretty good chance of rain this week.

So, if you get the chance in the next couple of days, sit back and enjoy the oncoming Winter. This is that beautiful time of the year when you can legitimately enjoy the cold weather, since we're hopefully not tired of it just yet.