Well, guess I can check that one off.
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Happy Birthday To Murfins!
5 Aug
That’s right, folks – today, August 5th, marks Murfins and Burglars’ one-year anniversary. That’s 365 days in the highly lucrative world of full-contact professional blogging – from my very first post (the eerily appropriate discussion of “Modern Jackass”) to today, I’ve written about pretty much anything I could think to write about, and have had a flippin’ blast doing it. I thought I’d assemble a list of my favorite posts from the past year, because hey, it’s my special day, and that’s what I want to do.
–The Album That Was, Is, Will Always Be– Without a doubt, the thing I’m happiest with is the 7-part series I did on the creation of my first solo album, “The Exited Door.” I’m pretty damn happy with the album, too, for that matter. I think that at the time I wrote it, it was a great way to reflect on the work and the process, and gave me a great sense of closure on the record’s production. Read it! Buy one! You’ll like it!
–Shows, Shows, Shows– I wrote a lot about shows, and my favorite posts concerned bands that I personally know and admire. Blue Rabbit, Adam Theis’ incredible Hip-Hop Symphony, Pollux and The Gun and Doll Show…
–I Don’t Mean To Be Creepy– …but there were so many people I wanted to be this past year. Some of my favorites included Daniel Fabricant, Mindy Kaling, Jeff Richmond, Russ Kleiner, and badass behind the scenes Julian Coryell.
–A One-Man Band– I also had a great time illustrating my one-man band setup in two parts – part one, the general layout of my looping rig, and part two, a dissection of the “Armelodica,” my arm-mounted keyboard friend. Talking about the shows in which I’ve used this stuff was also a good way to process and reflect.
–Bad, Bad (truly bad) Poetry– Probably the most self-indulgent thing I do on this site, and that’s saying something. The goodbye ode to my Xbox was, I thought, almost bordering on “Good Poetry,” though, well… it was about an Xbox.
–Teacher, Teacher– I haven’t written as much about teaching as I’d like to, but a couple of posts – one on writing and arranging for student ensembles, and one on substitute teaching, stick in my memory as having been really fun to write.
–Things I Am Still Loving– It’s always fun to share a bit about things I am loving (though occasionally the double-entendric tone of the posts can get a little weird…) I think my favorite of these, though, was written from the perspective of my sister’s cat, Hamlet. Box, Box, Box.
–To The Movie Show– I wrote about a lot of movies, but I think one of my favorite posts was my Elfman-centric ode to Jack Skellington and the Contrabassoon. Also, thoughts on Jason Segel’s character’s soulless pro-musician life in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” still ring true.
–The Cheapest of Laughs– I do love me some good TV, and I made no bones about it. I wrote about a lot of shows, but without a doubt, my favorite post was this frame-by-frame reenactment of the greatest scene in Lost history.
–The Games People Play– I used to write about games more than I do now (I used to play games more than I do now), but I just don’t have the chops to really write substantive stuff about games, anyway. The best writing I did on the subject concerned music in games, specifically a wildly optimistic discussion of the future of music gaming, and a really cool follow-up about the recent launch of the amazing-looking Rock Band Network.
–I’ve Got A Fang– I wrote quite a bit about various albums, but one of my favorite posts to put together was a list of my favorite They Might Be Giants Lyrics, if only because I got to re-read those lyrics a lot as I wrote the post. There are, like, twenty more that I left off, but maybe I’ll do a part 2 sometime.
So, there you have it. It’s been a hell of a year, and I’ve had a really good time. Though most of the following folks have no idea who the hell I even am, I’d like to take a minute and thank all the awesome writers and bloggers out there whose amazing sites inspired me to give this thing a go in the first place: Bear McCreary, Andrew Bird and everyone else at Measure for Measure, Joe at LowRes, Mitch Krpata, JA at MNPP, Alan Sepinwall, Vance at Tapeworthy, Sonia at TheSoniaShow, Andrew Sullivan, Wing, Sars, Jacob and the rest of the folks at TWoP that was (and occasionally still is), Leigh Alexander, Beth Spotswood… and the list goes on.
Lastly, thank you all, so much, for taking the time to read my rambling randomness. I love you guys.
Okay, okay. Moving right along…
Midwestern Summer Night’s Dream
28 JulDon’t worry, this post isn’t devoted to the content of my dreams last night or anything (though they were pretty crazy – copy-editing was involved), just a reflection on the absolute gorgeousness of summer in the midwest. Today I’m returning home from my second summer trip through/over America – from the hustle and bustle of Brooklyn to the quiet breeze of west St. Paul (sheesh, sounds like a Jeffry Eugenides novel or something) and I thought I’d reflect for a sec. For all the words spilled on the grandeur and beauty of the Pacific Northwest, there really is no more beautiful place than the midwest in the summertime.
Long, rolling landscapes stretch as far as the eye cares to see, the sky full of huge, puffy clouds, windows thrown open to allow the air in… aah! Long evenings spent outside in short sleeves are something we experience with a depressing infrequency in San Francisco, and they make me profoundly nostalgic.
I wonder if there’s a place in the world where the climate combines the temperateness of San Francisco with the summer evenings of the midwest? And then, after wondering that, I roll my eyes and kick myself, because jeez, dude, way to just never be satisfied.
Anyway, today marks the return to San Francisco; back to regular blogging, preparing for the big Rickshaw show on September 3rd, starting work on a music video, writing charts for the kids for next year, and probably a whole slew of other things as yet unanticipated. Heeeeere comes August!
Things I Learned in New York
22 JulI just got back from a whirlwind tour of the Grande Pomme – six nights, six different futons/couches, two shows, four massive hangs, one wedding, two amazing bands, and not as much falafel as you’d think. Along the way, I learned a few things that I thought I’d share.
1. Virgin Air is, Indeed, Pretty Great
Speaking of Big Apples, I’ve heard various descriptions of Virgin America Planes, all of them somewhat apple-centric. My friend Karen mentioned that it’s like “traveling inside of an iPod,” and Mindy Kaling tweeted that the plane reminded her of a “Douchey iMac.” Well, the apple comparisons are right on – everything is white and shiny and slick, with cool LEDs lighting up the ceiling like it’s a nightclub and TVs in the seats. Sure, anything you want will cost money (even snacks!), and the WiFi is ridiculously expensive, but hey, the ticket was cheap! So, yeah – Virgin Air.
2. The iPhone Compass Rules
From the moment I arrived at JFK, my iPhone was saving my ass right and left – the MTA map I downloaded was incredibly helpful, as was the GPS and google maps. The most useful feature, however, was the compass, which I did not anticipate. I suppose that in retrospect, it should have been obvious, because how often do you come out of the train in Manhattan thinking “okay, which effing way am I facing now?” A lot, that’s how many. It saved my ass more times than I could count. Also, looking over my recent searches in Google Maps is pretty hilarious. It’s, like, “CoffeeCoffeeCoffeeDinerCoffeeDinerCoffee.”
3. Jess Fine Puts On A Hell of a Show
The night I arrived, I went straight from the Airport to Sullivan Music Hall (rolling suitcase at my side), where I got to see the lovely and talented Jess Fine perform a set – Jess and I went to Miami together, and she plays with a ton of the rest of the UM Gang. She did tunes off of her new EP (which is totally great), and sounded just killer – great hooks, nice piano playing, and the wisdom to allow her killer band stretch out. That band consisted of fellow UM alums Woody Quinn and Tommy Harron on guitar and bass, respectively, and Chris Smith on drums, who I just met this weekend, and who sounds great. Woody was getting some killer, juicy-ass guitar tone from what turned out to be a little Fender Blues Junior Deluxe amp, and Tommy, well… wow. I haven’t heard him play in a few years, and he sounded totally ridiculous. Kenji and I were having fun trying to picture him playing something that wasn’t ridiculously grooving. Great show, Jess – come to SF on tour!
4. Trader Joe’s Labels Two-Buck Chuck Differently in NY
Interestingly enough, the TJ’s at Union Square labels it’s two-buck chuck quite differently than in SF – no “Charles Shaw” label, and a ton more words – “Trader Joe’s Presents: A Charles Shaw Production: Red Grapes in: WINE.” Or some such.
Oh, and also, a bottle costs $2.99. Transport costs are a bitch.
5. Oh, Yeah, and New York is AMAZING
Jeez, it is really the center of everywhere. Maybe it was the iPhone assist, or the fact that I’ve visited before, but this time around, the city felt both smaller and grander at the same time. It was never too hard to get anywhere (well, discounting a two-train ride to Brooklyn at 3:30 in the morning), and there’s just so much awesome stuff to do, so many fantastic musicians to see and play with, and so much delicious food to eat… and so many old friends to see. And, thanks to Virgin and Southwest, so many affordable ways to get out there! I’ll be back soon, and I already can’t wait.
I shall return to you soon.
The Bronx is up, and the Battery’s down
15 Jul
I’m heading to New York for the week – it’s been far too long, and I’m way excited. I’m also really looking forward to flying Virgin Air, since I heard they have WiFi on the plane and you can order drinks directly from the screen in front of your chair.
Since I’ll be on the go, posting will be limited through next Tuesday, though knowing me, I’ll find a way to get some stuff up. It is currently far too early in the morning for me to generate the appropriate enthusiasm, so suffice to say: hooray New York!
Also, hooray… coffee!
Reason #924 Why I Love Phoenix Wright
13 JulEach of the many, many (many) cases Phoenix tries in court is adjudicated by the kindly, spacey, reliably clueless Judge. Throughout all of the games, this nameless man is the solitary face of justice:
Except! A single time, in the third game, in order to stop the proceedings in the courtroom next door, Phoenix barges across the hall at the last minute and interrupts the trial, coming face-to-face with a second Judge, who appears to be…
…Canadian.
The Evil Version of Me
9 Apr
I’ve spent a good amount of my life fairly certain that somewhere out there exists an evil version of me. It goes back to when I was in school – while at UM, just about every guy in my group of friends was assigned an “anti” version of himself. Anti-Kenji was this fratty Asian dude we always saw at the cafeteria, Anti-Russ was pretty similar to real Russ, and Anti-Kirk was this big tall guy who always wore basketball shorts and a visor, with his school ID card stuck into the brim. The theory was that if any of us ever actually came into contact with one of these dudes, we would cancel one another out and cease to exist, as well as possibly rip a hole in the space/time continuum. Needless to say, we kept our distance.
So here it is all these years later, and again I find myself confronted with an evil twin. It started yesterday, when Dan A. sent along this picture of a CD he found in his friend’s car:
AWESOME. Is it possible for this guy to be any more of an evil version of me? He’s like a checklist of evil-version characteristics. Facial hair? Check. Black leather jacket? Check. Unkempt appearance? Check. Vaguely threatening jewelry? Check. And then there’s the issue of his name. I mean, seriously. I can’t think of a more perfectly evil variation on my name.
Dan also pointed me to his myspace page – which I feel I should note contains a bunch of great music – and I decided to friend request him. I sent the request along with a note explaining that we were clearly evil versions of one another, and that we should probably never meet, lest we cause all of existence to cancel itself out.
A couple of hours later, I got word that he’d accepted my request, and also that he’d left a comment on my page. I’m not sure I can find the words to explain what makes it so unbelievably effing awesome (in particular, the fact that it was obviously written by an auto-commenting bot) so I took a screen grab so that y’all could see for yourselves:
You’re welcome, Dirk Hamilton. I will visit your page often. Mainly to keep tabs on where you are so that we never accidentally run into one another.
After all, I’d hate to be responsible for the negation of existence as we know it.
Do you ever wonder…
29 Mar…where my favorite place to get a sandwich is in San Francisco? Or the name of the studio where I most enjoy recording music?
Well, thanks to Karen Palmer at the SF Examiner, now you know.
The answer to that first one is a resounding "Kezar Bar & Grill."
The Many Bowls of 1778 9th Avenue
7 MarIt’s a common problem: large groups of people cohabit, roommates come and go, and after a few years, dish accumulation reaches mind-boggling levels. It can be confusing for everyone – which bowl goes where? How should they be washed? And which one is best used for pasta? For cereal? How about ice cream?
Here at Richie’s Field Guides, we feel your pain! That’s why we’ve written this, our 2009 Field Guide to the seventeen distinct species of bowl indigenous to the kitchen at 1778 9th Avenue.
1. Small Red Bowl, Asian Design.
- # in Cupboard: 4
- Primary Uses: Small fruit salad, Crackers or nuts for party.
- Identifying Characteristics: Small, Plastic, Ethnic, Part of larger set
2. Inverted Pyramid Bowl
- # in Cupboard: 2
- Primary Uses: Medium fruit salad, Asian noodle dishes
- Identifying Characteristics: Odd shape, Not good for cereal
3. Standard White Bowl
- # in Cupboard: 2
- Primary Uses: Large Cereal Bowl, Soup Bowl
- Identifying Characteristics: Good shape, weird yellow ring in basin
4. White Saucer
- # in Cupboard: UNIQUE ITEM
- Primary Uses: Veggies, Non-liquid materials
- Identifying Characteristics: Not exactly a bowl
5. Large Brown Bowl
- # in Cupboard: 3
- Primary Uses: All-purpose, Cereal, Popcorn, Soup
- Identifying Characteristics: Sturdy, Gets really hot in microwave
6. Standard Bowl (Purple)
- # in Cupboard: UNIQUE ITEM
- Primary Uses: All-purpose, size between #3 and #5,
- Identifying Characteristics: Origins unknown, Sort of tulip-shaped
7. Wide White Bowl
- # in Cupboard: 3
- Primary Uses: Cereal
- Identifying Characteristics: Wide base, sturdy construction
8. Scalloped Glass Bowl
- # in Cupboard: UNIQUE ITEM
- Primary Uses: Small cereal bowl, small soup bowl, Ice cream
- Identifying Characteristics: Fits with #11 and #16, Unique design
9. Wide Brown Bowl
- # in Cupboard: UNIQUE ITEM
- Primary Uses: Salad, Stews, Meat Loaf (never used for this)
- Identifying Characteristics: Recent immigrant; Shows real promise
10. Large Scalloped Glass Bowl
- # in Cupboard: UNIQUE ITEM
- Primary Uses: Dinner Salads, Popcorn
- Identifying Characteristics: Origins unknown, Possibly came in with #8
11. Small Blue Bowl
- # in Cupboard: UNIQUE ITEM
- Primary Uses: Small cereal bowl, Small soup bowl, Small yogurt bowl
- Identifying Characteristics: Fits with #8 and #16, Has strong moral fiber
12. Small Bowl, Plastic
- # in Cupboard: UNIQUE ITEM
- Primary Uses: Small bowl ideal for fruit, seasonings, or chopped veggies
- Identifying Characteristics: A plastic doppelganger of #15
13. Wide Glass Baking Bowl
- # in Cupboard: UNIQUE ITEM
- Primary Uses: Medium-large salad, pasta, pot pies (never used for this)
- Identifying Characteristics: Origins unknown, has lid somewhere
14. Large Green Salad Bowl
- # in Cupboard: UNIQUE ITEM
- Primary Uses: Mixing Dry Cookie Ingredients, Large Salads
- Identifying Characteristics: Strangely sad, rarely used because of #10
15. Small White Ceramic Bowl
- # in Cupboard: 5
- Primary Uses: Small bowl ideal for fruit, seasonings, or chopped veggies
- Identifying Characteristics: A ceramic doppelganger of #12
16. Small Glass Bowl
- # in Cupboard: 5
- Primary Uses: Small cereal bowl, small soup bowl, small yogurt bowl
- Identifying Characteristics: Fits with #8 and #11, shifty personality
17. Large Wooden Bowl
- # in Cupboard: UNIQUE ITEM, not in cupboard
- Primary Uses: Sits on table, holds fruit and garlic until it becomes rotten
- Identifying Characteristics: Wooden, needs washing
At Richie’s Field Guides, we’re dedicated to giving you a quality field guide experience. We hope that this guide has been helpful! Just keep it on your person whenever you venture into the kitchen and you’ll be spot-identifying “Small blue bowl” and “Large green salad bowl” in no time!
Unlikely Words That I Like
3 Mar“Crampons”
Crampons are outdoor footwear that include pointed metal parts and are worn on boots to provide traction on snow and ice. General-purpose crampons designed for most mountaineering and glacierice climbing. For ice climbing, specialized crampons that provide better support for front pointingwelted boots to ensure proper fitting. travel are not well suited for vertical are advised. Most crampons require
“Ebb”
Ebb is the flowing back of the tide as the water returns to the sea (opposed to flood, flow ).
“Thwart”
Thwart (transitive) to prevent; to halt; to cause to fail; to foil; to frustrate.
“Gubernatorial”
Gubernatorial : of or relating to a governor.
“Phalanx”
The phalanx (Ancient Greek: φάλαγξ, Modern Greek: φάλαγγα, phālanga) (plural phalanxes or phalanges (Ancient and Modern Greek: φάλαγγες, phālanges)) is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, or similar weapons.
“Chyron”
In the television industry (especially in North America), a lower third is a graphic placed in the lower area of the screen, though not necessarily the entire lower third of it as the name suggests. (…)
Lower thirds are also often known as captions, or occasionally chyrons in North America,[1] and astons in the United Kingdom, after the major suppliers of broadcast caption/graphic generators. Other common terms include superbars (or simply supers) (US) and name straps (UK).
“Tchotchke”
Tchotchke—originally from a Slavic word for “toys” (Polish cacka, tsatsca; Russian цацки, tsatsci)—adapted to Yiddish טשאַטשקע tshatshke, tshàtshq·qh|tshawtshq·qh, “trinket”, are small toys, gewgaws, knickknacks, baubles, trinkets, or kitsch.
My Kotaku Posts
- Ousted Community Showrunner Heads Off to Play More 'F***ing Great' Prototype 2
- Here's How To Make The Professor Layton Soundtrack Much Better
- It Takes A Lot Of Focus To Play Pong... WITH YOUR MIND
- The Weird Art of the Video Game Massacre
- The Cop Who Can't Be Stopped
- Blizzard Is Giving You One Final Chance To Change Your Ironic My Little Pony BattleTag
- The Missing Mario Link for Game of Thrones' Littlest Lannister
- A First Look at the Kingdoms of Amalur Studio's New MMO
- 38 Studios Begins Paying Back the State of Rhode Island
- Game of Thrones: The Kotaku Review
- What Gaming Moments Would You Want to Live Out In Real Life?
- BioWare... Still Wants You To Tell Them What You Want in Dragon Age III
- Jesper Kyd's Darksiders II Soundtrack Mixes Assassin's Creed With Danny Elfman
- Mark Zuckerberg: The Musical
- It's a Beautiful Bluegrass Zelda Jamboree
