It's a little hard to keep on top of all the different music swirling around me. There's the stuff that I'm actively trying to listen to - a pile of albums based on recommendations and reviews and just gut instinct that I will like the sound. It's pretty much ever-growing, and sometimes a little thankless - some of the stuff just doesn't appeal to me, and it's not too often that anything will blow me away anymore. I've heard a lot of different styles and methods of playing metal (and some other genres, too) and it takes some superb execution to catch my ear these days. It's kind of unfortunate that I am perhaps jaded - but, on the other hand, I can find enjoyment in really small sections (10 seconds, 30 seconds, whatever) of good music, even within bad songs. Often, these are songs I listen to the most; sometimes it's the anticipation, the wading through the muck, that makes those 10 seconds so worthwhile and awesome.
There is also the music that I'm working on with Mark. I think there are maybe a dozen ideas that we're actively considering right now, and probably 30 or 40 just out there that we can use. I've been recording random parts and writing down snippets for as long as I've had a guitar, and it's built up into quite a mass.
And then there's Sarah's stuff! She's currently finishing up writing "And Nothing But The Truth," a musical based on her father's novel. With our simultaneous projects going on, it's been a lot of fun to compare notes on what has been working for us and what has not been, and to pass back and forth things that we've just created...and maybe tips on how to make them better. I have to say, she's been giving a lot more of the tips. I wish I had always had an Ivy-educated music composer to help me out with this! It's eye-opening, and actually talking with someone who has studied composition and theory in depth just adds so much more to the view you can take of what you're writing. It's important to have as many perspectives as possible (at least for me) because getting stuck is something I do a little too well.
Despite that fact, I've actually been getting a decent amount done and am liking what I am writing more and more.
It seems that the game plan is to basically conjure up about half a dozen complete songs and then demo them up; maybe sometime within the first three months of the new year. I'm starting to write out some lyrics for a few of them, since vocal lines are beginning to appear - and I may have to make use of Sarah's musical contacts for vocalists, as neither Mark nor I are wonderful singers (though I hope to do a little bit of it with him for one or two of the songs).
All in all, it sounds (ha!) like 2010 is going to be really fucking sweet.
Illness and Whatnot
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
So boy howdy, that was a fun couple of weeks.
Three weeks ago! I was running well and did mid 50's in mileage that week after taking Saturday off.
Two weeks ago! The flu ran me over like a Maglev train to a stationary bovine. I got in about 12, with a poor showing in the 3k, a workout, and like...3 other miles.
One week ago! I resumed normal-ish running styles and ran maybe 30 miles (starting Tuesday) and two workouts.
This week! I returned to Boston and my beloved but filthy apartment, as well as practicing at Reggie.
Today! I went running outside in what weather.com told me felt like -6 degrees, and my lengthy mustache-icepop-thing can attest to that. It was mostly composed of frozen snot rockets, and that was not so cool to have gradually thaw on your face.
Onward!
Three weeks ago! I was running well and did mid 50's in mileage that week after taking Saturday off.
Two weeks ago! The flu ran me over like a Maglev train to a stationary bovine. I got in about 12, with a poor showing in the 3k, a workout, and like...3 other miles.
One week ago! I resumed normal-ish running styles and ran maybe 30 miles (starting Tuesday) and two workouts.
This week! I returned to Boston and my beloved but filthy apartment, as well as practicing at Reggie.
Today! I went running outside in what weather.com told me felt like -6 degrees, and my lengthy mustache-icepop-thing can attest to that. It was mostly composed of frozen snot rockets, and that was not so cool to have gradually thaw on your face.
Onward!
MPW
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Wheehaw. With this update comes the first week of indoor track, which I have awaited eagerly...well, since outdoor track ended last June. I think I can already tell that I'm in better shape than last year - the cross country workouts and races indicated that but I always feel a little iffy until I actually can see some real, concrete numbers from workouts I've done previously.
Plus, track is my thing. For me, anyhow, I feel that it's a little more...(weird adjective choice ahead) intimate than cross country? You're all working out on the same 200 meter track, you can see everything that everyone is doing, and you can basically immediately spot the people that are having a good day and the people that are having a bad day. During cross country...well, you lose a little bit of ground somewhere on the mile and a half long loop around the Res - it's possible no one saw it or knew about it but you.
It's also a lot easier to encourage the people having a bad day in track, and it lets you get to know them a little better (especially since we break into separate groups for mid distance and distance).
From what I can tell of our current mid distance group, it looks like it's going to be an even better year. Mr. McCann, of course, returns in good shape and always is ready to blast a workout into the stratosphere. Jeff "Tri Guy" also seems like he's going to be able to push the pace on the workouts. Sadly, we are lacking Kevin and Old Man Otto, but much to my surprise I saw Paterno out and about yesterday. Steve (http://sasrunning.livejournal.com) is our other newcomer along with Jeff, and I for one am glad to have someone to share bad sexual innuendo with. Big Tim - dare I say, T-Unitzzz? - rounds out the bunch. It looks like he might be a little down and out with his groin right now but I'm hoping that comes around. We also lose Mr. Juiliano to the western half of the US but it sounds like Tony, our resident Canadian, may be making the switch to mid distance when he rejoins us post-finals.
Without further ado, our first week at it:
Sun: 8.5 mi, 63:00
Mon: 9 mi, 64:28
Tues: First workout. 6 mi wu and cd, then 16x200 1R. Soloing it - first two at 32, then 31's and 30's from there out. It felt a little sluggish, unsurprisingly.
Weds: 8.25 mi, 63:51
Thurs: 5.25 mi, 38:19 (feeling like trash, cut it short)
Fri: 6 mi wu / cd, then 8 x 600 1:45 R. 1:47, 1:47, 1:48, 1:47, 1:47, 1:46, 1:45, 1:42. The whole crew: Tim, Chris, Steve, Jeff - were present and it went pretty well. Felt pretty good overall even when it started to get a bit faster.
Sat: 8.5 mi / 61:59 (kind of wanted to do longer but I was freezing)
total: 57.5 mi
Plus, track is my thing. For me, anyhow, I feel that it's a little more...(weird adjective choice ahead) intimate than cross country? You're all working out on the same 200 meter track, you can see everything that everyone is doing, and you can basically immediately spot the people that are having a good day and the people that are having a bad day. During cross country...well, you lose a little bit of ground somewhere on the mile and a half long loop around the Res - it's possible no one saw it or knew about it but you.
It's also a lot easier to encourage the people having a bad day in track, and it lets you get to know them a little better (especially since we break into separate groups for mid distance and distance).
From what I can tell of our current mid distance group, it looks like it's going to be an even better year. Mr. McCann, of course, returns in good shape and always is ready to blast a workout into the stratosphere. Jeff "Tri Guy" also seems like he's going to be able to push the pace on the workouts. Sadly, we are lacking Kevin and Old Man Otto, but much to my surprise I saw Paterno out and about yesterday. Steve (http://sasrunning.livejournal.com) is our other newcomer along with Jeff, and I for one am glad to have someone to share bad sexual innuendo with. Big Tim - dare I say, T-Unitzzz? - rounds out the bunch. It looks like he might be a little down and out with his groin right now but I'm hoping that comes around. We also lose Mr. Juiliano to the western half of the US but it sounds like Tony, our resident Canadian, may be making the switch to mid distance when he rejoins us post-finals.
Without further ado, our first week at it:
Sun: 8.5 mi, 63:00
Mon: 9 mi, 64:28
Tues: First workout. 6 mi wu and cd, then 16x200 1R. Soloing it - first two at 32, then 31's and 30's from there out. It felt a little sluggish, unsurprisingly.
Weds: 8.25 mi, 63:51
Thurs: 5.25 mi, 38:19 (feeling like trash, cut it short)
Fri: 6 mi wu / cd, then 8 x 600 1:45 R. 1:47, 1:47, 1:48, 1:47, 1:47, 1:46, 1:45, 1:42. The whole crew: Tim, Chris, Steve, Jeff - were present and it went pretty well. Felt pretty good overall even when it started to get a bit faster.
Sat: 8.5 mi / 61:59 (kind of wanted to do longer but I was freezing)
total: 57.5 mi
Afghanistan
Thursday, December 3, 2009
I listened to the majority of President Obama's speech the other day and it seems that it was mostly well-received. A not insignificant portion seemed to have changed their minds about the acceptability of sending more troops there after he laid out his case.
And as a friend of mine pointed out, this is something he has said he was going to do ever since he started campaigning for pres - looking to get out of Iraq and more emphasis on Afghanistan.
It's a little worrisome, though. Afghanistan is known as "the graveyard of empires" - both Russia and Alexander the Great were defeated there. And I understand the troop deployment is timeboxed, but it's still expensive.
I look at tech news fairly frequently and it is a little perturbing how advanced the Chinese infrastructure for developing a lot of really important pieces of technology is (I am mainly talking about solar panels here). And I think about the Chinese currency manipulation to keep their import costs high and export costs low. And I think about how there are 1.2 billion people in China and something like 300 million in the United States, and I worry that the days of the US being the world's jolly but kind of dumb big brother are fading fast. Sure, there've been some really asinine moves by the US government in the past 8 years, but I have a lot more faith in ours than in the authoritarian one that governs China.
I guess I'd like to clarify that I have no problems with people from China - it's their government. It's scary and the exact opposite of benevolent. For example: their athletes are hand-picked early on for a particular sport without regard to what they actually want to do - and then taken from their families to high performance centers.
So, like Paul Krugman and Bob Herbert, I am a little worried about spending money on Afghanistan when it's clear we have an awful lot of work to do in the United States. It's obvious we've learned some lessons from the problems in Iraq but is it enough? And is it worth it?
I am not sure. I suppose all I can do is wait and see, and hope that the work President Obama is soon to do on our rather atrocious job market is not hampered by this war effort.
And as a friend of mine pointed out, this is something he has said he was going to do ever since he started campaigning for pres - looking to get out of Iraq and more emphasis on Afghanistan.
It's a little worrisome, though. Afghanistan is known as "the graveyard of empires" - both Russia and Alexander the Great were defeated there. And I understand the troop deployment is timeboxed, but it's still expensive.
I look at tech news fairly frequently and it is a little perturbing how advanced the Chinese infrastructure for developing a lot of really important pieces of technology is (I am mainly talking about solar panels here). And I think about the Chinese currency manipulation to keep their import costs high and export costs low. And I think about how there are 1.2 billion people in China and something like 300 million in the United States, and I worry that the days of the US being the world's jolly but kind of dumb big brother are fading fast. Sure, there've been some really asinine moves by the US government in the past 8 years, but I have a lot more faith in ours than in the authoritarian one that governs China.
I guess I'd like to clarify that I have no problems with people from China - it's their government. It's scary and the exact opposite of benevolent. For example: their athletes are hand-picked early on for a particular sport without regard to what they actually want to do - and then taken from their families to high performance centers.
So, like Paul Krugman and Bob Herbert, I am a little worried about spending money on Afghanistan when it's clear we have an awful lot of work to do in the United States. It's obvious we've learned some lessons from the problems in Iraq but is it enough? And is it worth it?
I am not sure. I suppose all I can do is wait and see, and hope that the work President Obama is soon to do on our rather atrocious job market is not hampered by this war effort.
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