Random Thoughts on the Transformers Movie, or, I'm Still a Nerd at Heart...

So, after a couple of years of anticipation, some disbelief (over the character aesthetics/designs), tension of waiting, and general geeking out, I finally saw the new Transformers movie on July 4th. What better way to celebrate the nation's independence than by watching giant frickin' robots blow up or destroy large parts of it? Okay; here's my skinny on it.

It's a Michael Bay film, which means that you shouldn't go in expecting the same depth and cinema that you'd get from Pulp Fiction or A Touch of Evil or Lone Star--but considering it's from the guy that gave us Armageddon and the two Bad Boys films, it's actually one of his better endeavours. Shia LeBeouf is actually pretty good as Sam Witwicky, the main human character, and doesn't let himself get buried by the special effects, or try to out-act them (which bodes well for his upcoming turn in the fourth Indiana Jones film). The dialogue is surprisingly snappy for the most part, but still appropriately cheesy enough, given the subject material. Bernie Mac has a great bit as the used car salesman who sells Sam his first car--the Autobot Bumblebee, in his '74 Camaro mode. John Turturro doesn't just chew the scenery as the head of a secret government agency--he positively consumes it. Hell, you can practically see the look of hunger in his eye when they're at Hoover Dam.

But who cares about the humans, right? I was there for the robots, and I'm pretty sure that most people were too. Here's the REAL stars of the show.

1) Optimus Prime--leader of the Autobots, and turns into a Peterbilt longnose truck cab. In a way, he's the real treat of the movie--the producers brought in the original voice of the character from the cartoon, all those years ago, to do him. Yes, I nerded out appropriately when I heard him say "Autobots, transform...and roll out!"
2) Bumblebee--turns into a 1974 (and then a 2009) Camaro. Another iconic character in TF lore, although he's best known as his first incarnation as a VW Bug.
3) Jazz--turns into a Pontiac Solstice. Has a VERY bad day by the end of the film.
4) Ratchet--turns into a modified Hummer H2 rescue vehicle. The Autobots' medic, and sounded pretty close to the voice from the original cartoon as well.
5) Ironhide--turns into a GMC TopKick truck. Carries big honkin' launchers on his arms. Nuff said.

And then there's...

1) Megatron--leader of the Decepticons, turns into a Cybertronian jet. Badass all around, as he should be. Voiced by Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith from The Matrix), who pulled it off pretty well, I thought. Spoiler alert--Megs tears Jazz in half when Jazz gets a bit too cheeky with him.
2) Starscream--turns into an F-22 Raptor jet. Hugely iconic character, although his trademark treachery was pretty lacking here. Maybe in the sequel...
3) Bonecrusher--turns into a Buffalo Minesweeper Vehicle. Lots of potential, but takes a sword through the brainpan, courtesy of Prime, before he could cause TOO much destruction.
4) Barricade--turns into a Saleen modified 2007 Ford Mustang police car. All kinds of cool...and fitting for a cop car to have the motto "To Punish and Enslave" on it.
5) Frenzy--turns into a CD player. Can't say much about that...but he's actually pretty entertaining on screen.
6) Blackout--turns into a Pave Low helicopter. Throws tanks around. Wicked bad. Comes with... 7) Scorponok--he's a scorpion...loses his tail, and is pretty much Blackout's drone/robo-tool.
8) Brawl--turns into what I believe is a modified, tri-barrel Abrams tank. Doesn't do much in the film, except cause mayhem.

I really only had two gripes with the movie. First--some of the Decepticons didn't do enough in the film. Bonecrusher and Brawl are probably the best examples of this, in that they're done in in relatively short order. Granted, Bonecrusher takes out a bus and gets in a hellacious open-field tackle on Prime before getting his radical lobotomy, and Brawl gets to show off some of his decent firepower...but I didn't get enough sensation of the Autobots in peril as I'd have liked. Second--I'm not fond of the thought that human weaponry, albeit some pretty powerful stuff, is able to damage the robots. I mean, c'mon--these are gigantic, alien robots who MIGHT feel something if they stepped on a car. Josh Duhamel's heroic motorcycle slide under Blackout to get a shot at his chest was a cool sequence...but I'd have liked to see Blackout brush it off and put some REAL hurtin' on the uppity human, like when he levels a military base in Qatar at the beginning of the film.

And Megatron's battle with Prime was as arse-kickingly intense as it should have been. I was on the edge of my seat in anticipation of that one.

Big up to my lovely girlfriend Becky, who went to see the movie with me, knowing full well that my nerd quotient would be through the roof. She and Mom had a good time commiserating--but I think they enjoyed themselves for the most part too.

Random Shiznit About Me

Actually, I wasn’t tagged, but I stole this from Becky’s blog. And since it’s another boring morning at work, I figured I’d do it for the hell of it…

…so here’s seven interesting things about me, for those of you who never asked.

1) I can’t read music. I’m self-taught as a musician, and despite playing guitar for 16 years now, and professionally for 13, I can’t read a note of music. I know the difference between a bass and treble clef, but that’s about it. I primarily play by ear (and I’m blessed with excellent relative pitch), or by reading tablature, which is a numeric correspondence transcription for guitars and basses.

2) I’m adopted. Mom and Dad, for whatever reason (as I recall, Dad’s vasectomy reversal didn’t), couldn’t have children naturally, and applied for adoption in 1974. I was born in February of ’75, and arrived at their home on April 15 of that year—as they put it, I was their “little tax deduction.” I’ve actually known I was adopted ever since I was old enough to understand the concept, and when the question of whether or not I knew (or want to know) my birth parents invariably comes up, I always respond with a polite “No”. I’ve got no reason to know them or want to know them, and I’ve never even considered trying to find them. What little we do know of them was that they were Mexican or Mexican-American, in their late teens when they had me, and one worked in a factory while the other only had a 7th grade education. Honestly, my biggest pet peeve about someone asking me about my adoption is when someone asks if I knew my “real parents”. Pisses me off—Mom and Dad are my real parents, and nothing will ever change that.

3) Wallyball—this is a sport, invented in the late 1970’s, that I got hooked on in 1993, and have been playing ever since, primarily with a group of close friends through BGSU. Wallyball, for those not familiar with it, is a surprisingly intense, fast-paced game that’s essentially volleyball played on a racquetball court. Bumps, sets, spikes, and other basics of volleyball are intact, with the exception that players can drive the ball off of one side wall. I won’t get into all of the rules, but the use of that wall means that balls can travel with a lot of precision and velocity, and it takes a while to get the precision down to handle both driving and fielding them. Modesty aside, I’m pretty damned good at the game, despite some injuries which have slowed me down. Matt, Andy, and I mostly play with BGSU undergrads during the year, some of whom are new, and some aren’t. We enjoy having good, fun, competitive games both there and in the tournaments we do from time to time, and it’s great exercise. Becky, after seeing how sweaty I was the first time I came home from playing, has a standing rule that I have to shower before going to bed on those nights…

4) Work—currently, I work as an editor for a mystery shopping/market research company called Corporate Research International. I sit and edit mystery shopping reports all day, and that’s about it. It’s not mentally challenging or rewarding, pays next to nothing with no benefits, a little over 35 miles from home, and offers no future to speak of. I took it as a stopgap measure back in December, until I could find something better. Almost seven months later, unfortunately, I’m still looking, with no concrete leads in sight, and fighting a daily feeling that a part of me is being whittled away, somehow.

5) I was an uncle at the age of nine. Because my dad was married and had kids before he met my mother, I’m the youngest of four kids, all of whom are significantly older than I am (Mathew is 50, Kim is 47, Maria is 46, and I’m 32). I’d always wondered about the age discrepancy between us, to the point when I asked Dad—when I was about eight or so—why Mom had Mathew when she was only 12 (Mom’s 63). Dad and I were driving to Napoleon, and he laughed so hard that we almost went into a ditch. Kim and her first husband, about a year later, had my niece Nicole; I remember going to school the next Monday, and when the teacher asked each of us in turn what we did over the weekend, no one quite believed me when I said that I became an uncle. Nicole’s since had a child, my great-nephew Killian, which REALLY makes me feel a little old, but in a good way…

6) Scuba diving—I’m an avid scuba diver, and have had my certification for about 12 years now. Honestly, it was something that never interested me until I was about 16 or 17, and even then, I think it was because I thought it looked cool in the James Bond flick Never Say Never Again. I was working in the marine biology lab at BGSU; one day, a woman named Kim Marshall walked in and asked if I knew anyone who wanted to learn scuba, and I damn near fell over. We got certified late that fall, and I’ve loved it ever since. I’ve mostly gone diving around the NW Ohio quarries, but I’ve also gone diving off of the Florida Keys, something that I’d love to do again. And, of course, scuba was the second date that Becky and I had, and when she fell in love with it too, I was thrilled. It’s a good physical workout, but relaxing at the same time, and hellaciously addictive.

7) I love cheese. Seriously—it’s beyond an addiction at this point. Anything from a good sharp cheddar, to Blue Stilton, to Provolone, to Battenburg, to Muenster, to Colby, to Brie, to Leiceister, to Wensleydale, is fair game. With the exception of a blueberry-infused goat cheese I tried once, I haven’t come across a cheese, or form of cheese, that I haven’t enjoyed. I’m not really sure where I get it from, either…Dad’s a blue cheese fan, but not ragingly so, and Mom’s indifferent towards cheese, and that’s about it. Becky’s helped me get at least a little better about not overdoing how much I take in at one time…but man, cheese ALWAYS tastes good. I know I’m not feeling well when it doesn’t entice me.

Random Thoughts on the Canadian Crippler

From the time I was a kid, up until I was 23 or so, I swore up and down that I’d never watch professional wrestling. I knew, even then, what it fundamentally is—a bad soap opera with sweaty, muscular guys in tights rolling all over each other (in my younger years, I hadn’t even HEARD of the word “homoerotic”). Or, as one guy I knew once put it, “white trash dinner theater”.

I found myself eventually starting to watch it, and even enjoying it, however, largely due to the influence of my best friend and his two brothers. Sure, we marked out huge for the really big athletic spots, cringed when someone came within inches of compressing their spine, and admired the admittedly grand spectacle of it. That, and we also had fun ridiculing a lot of things—especially the silliness of the beast, and the fact that we were watching it to begin with.

One wrestler that always stood out to me, though, was a guy named Chris Benoit. Not the tallest wrestler, or even perhaps the most muscular, but man, he was intense. He was stockily built without being thick or bulky, but could move quickly. He was known as one of the best technical wrestlers out there, in terms of his training and athleticism, and even now, I’m inclined to believe it. He wasn’t the best talker when it came to doing interviews (“promos”), but the fans always loved him—every time he came out, the crowds went nuts.

Unfortunately, it was announced yesterday that Benoit, his wife, and seven-year old son were all found dead in their Atlanta home; although I’m not sure if it’s been officially announced yet, the leading theory seems to be that Benoit killed his wife and son over the weekend, and then killed himself sometime on Monday. WWE’s Monday night program, Raw, was a three-hour tribute to Benoit and his career, and had some pretty heartfelt commentary from his fellow wrestlers.

What’s going to be disappointing for me, and for a lot of his fans, is that his amazing career and body of work is going to be soiled, for lack of a better term, if the suspicions about him are correct—which, as I just peeked at the internet for the press conference transcript, seems to be confirmed now. It sounds like they believe he strangled his wife on Friday, did something similar to his son on Saturday, and then hung himself on Sunday. Also sounds like they’re looking into the potential that at least part of this was brought on by steroid rage…and WWE, whose website was plastered with Benoit pix and testimonials yesterday, has not only removed almost all of them, but has also removed all of Benoit’s merchandise from their online shop.

It’s a damn shame…all the more so because his wife and child are gone too.


iPod Shuffle—Finest Work Songs again…

Cream: “Sitting On Top of the World”
Rising Lion: “Lion Band Dub”
Gorillaz: “Every Planet We Reach is Dead”
Booker T and the MG’s: “Green Onions”
Michael Burns: “The Ambience”
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones: “Don’t Know How to Party”
The Allman Brothers Band: “Stormy Monday”
Stevie Ray Vaughan: “I’m Leaving You (Commit a Crime)”
B.B. King: “When Love Comes to Town”
Live: “All Over You”
Glenmore Brown: “Leggo the Herb Man”
Orange 9mm: “Gun to Your Head”
Public Enemy: “Terminator X to the Edge of Panic”
Gladys Knight and the Pips: “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination”
The Phantom of the Opera: “Angel of Music”
Rancid: “Gave It Away”
Guns n’ Roses: “It’s So Easy”
Queen: “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Smashing Pumpkins: “Snail”
Van Halen: “Running With the Devil”
Leftfield: “Phat Planet”
Dean Fraser: “Johnny Was a Good Man”
311: “Tribute”
Eric Johnson: “Cliffs of Dover”
Rage Against the Machine: “People of the Sun”
Jimmy Page: “Custard Pie/Black Dog”
Keb Mo’: “Remain Silent”
Marvin Gaye: “Sexual Healing”
The Doobie Brothers: “Listen to the Music”
Skankin’ Pickle: “Rotten Banana Legs”
Matisyahu: “Beat Box”
Bruce Springsteen: “Old Dan Tucker”
Juno Reactor: “High Energy Protons”
Bobby “Blue” Bland: “Let the Good Times Roll”
Oceanlab: “Satellite”
Creedence Clearwater Revival: “Fortunate Son”
Space Ghost and Brak: “I Love You, Baby”
Blues Traveler: “Hook”
Jimmy Page/Robert Plant: “The Battle of Evermore”
Everclear: “Santa Monica”
Red Hot Chili Peppers: “Behind the Sun”
Pink Floyd: “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. II”

A Low Queue...

…means that I decide to write another entry. Since this gulag—pardon me, company—that I work at is web-based, all of the jobs that we edit gets dumped into an electronic queue. Depending on the time of the month, there can be upwards of 3000-4000 reports in there that need to be done, but as of writing this paragraph, there’s a grand total of 320. Honestly, I’m kind of expecting—and hoping—that we’ll get sent home early. My stomach’s been feeling a little weird today anyway (but not as bad as Becky’s was last night), and I didn’t sleep that well last night…so an early trip home would be fine with me.

I’ll probably try to continue going through my old dissertation work tonight, to see what’s still usable. I’m guessing that, if I’m lucky, at least half of my old proposal, as well as my Master’s thesis, can be recycled and built upon.

The gratifying thing about it so far is that I still remember almost all of the information that I researched for both my thesis and my old dissertation proposal. I’ve fallen out of touch a bit with the union that I’ll be documenting, due to the fact that I don’t live in BG anymore (the union’s in Toledo), but the mental rust that I was worried about hasn’t reared its ugly head yet. That said, though, when it comes to researching and explaining my qualitative methodology again, it’ll probably be another story.

(later, after lunch)

…and it appears that we’re getting our coffee machine back up here again, along with our hotpot. Back when we had the big reorientation on the second floor, we were told that we couldn’t have a coffee machine or hotpot up here. People were understandably cheesed, in that the only coffee machine available for use is a Flavia pay machine downstairs. Apparently, they got yanked due to cleanliness concerns, but someone convinced TPTB that we could get them back again. Just got back from carrying an extra filing cabinet down from the third floor that we’ll use as a platform.

It’ll be kind of nice, in that, while I’m not much of a coffee drinker, I do enjoy cocoa and tea…



iPod Shuffle—finest work songs?

Rage Against the Machine: “Down Rodeo”
311: “Flowing”
Curtis Knight: “Drivin’ South”
Taj Mahal: “Coconut Man”
Cygnus X: “Superstring (Rank 1 Remix)”
Bob Dylan: “Tangled Up in Blue”
Gorillaz: “Stop the Dams”
Peter Broggs: “Jah Voice is Calling”
The Kitchen Band: “Christian’s Train”
Pink Floyd: “Not Now John”
Smashing Pumpkins: “Siva”
Ratty: “Sunrise (Here I Am)”
Red Hot Chili Peppers: “Warped”
311: “Cali Soca”
Tekken 3 Soundtrack: “The King of Iron Fist 3”
NWA: “A Bitch Iz a Bitch”
Dread Zeppelin: “Living Loving Maid”
Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers: “Clodhopper”
Jimmy Page/Robert Plant: “Wearing and Tearing”
Traveling Wilburys: “Tweeter and the Monkey Man”
George Thorogood: “I Drink Alone”
Nirvana: “Love Buzz”
Charlie Chaplin: “Cool the Violence”
Aerosmith: “Sweet Emotion”
Afro-Rican Ensemble: “A Love Supreme”
Bob Marley and the Wailers: “Zimbabwe”
Eric Clapton: “I’m Tore Down”
Jimi Hendrix: “Rock Me Baby”
Rage Against the Machine: “Guerilla Radio”
Gorillaz: “El Mañana”
Dr. Dre: “Deez Nuts”
Led Zeppelin: “White Summer/Black Mountain Side”
The Beach Boys: “I Get Around”
Foo Fighters: “February Stars”
Domino: “This Business of Love”
Joe Satriani: “Ice Nine”
Togo Project: “Sana Morette Ne Ente”
Led Zeppelin: “We’re Gonna Groove”
Kool and the Gang: “Jungle Boogie”
Juno Reactor: “Masters of the Universe”
Evita Soundtrack: “I’d Be Surprisingly Good for You”
Creedence Clearwater Revival: “Hello, Mary Lou”
Jaco Pastorius: “Freedom Jazz Dance”
Matthew Sweet: “Scooby Doo, Where Are You?
Ben Harper: “Ground On Down”
Digital Underground: “The Humpty Dance”

Dragging Tuesdays...

YAWN

Good lord, Tuesday mornings here at work always suck. For some reason, Mondays have been flying right by, but Tuesdays drag—I haven’t fought this hard to stay awake since my Old Testament class in high school. Seriously—if you suffer from insomnia, come work as an editor for Corporate Research International. You’ll be cured in two hours, guaranteed.

Or at least since last Tuesday, I suppose.

Nerd that I am, one of my methods of combating the eventual crushing boredom at work is to bring in a couple of Transformers. Ostensibly, they’re desk decorations…but when I need to fidget or take my eyes off the screen, I’ll start converting them. Today’s entertainment consists of Barricade, an evil Decepticon from the upcoming movie who turns into a cop car; and Mach Alert, from the Robots In Disguise line, who turns into…well…a cop car. They’re cool vehicles, though…Barricade’s a Saleen-modded 2006 Ford Mustang, and Mach Alert’s a Lamborghini Diablo. So there.

I seriously don’t know how Becky can be a morning person. I got about 6.5 hours of shuteye last night, and feel like hell. Her stomach was bothering her a bit this morning, but was otherwise her usual alert self.

Speaking of whom, she’s driving back and forth between home and Columbus for the first three days of this week. Some ODOT seminar/training/thingy…we’d talked about her staying out there, but she opted for the driving in the end. It makes her a bit more tired, and she has to get up a bit earlier in the morning, but she’s okay with it. Part of the reason she didn’t want to stay out there was because of the costs of a hotel and food (and the fact that she wouldn’t have much to do out there at night)—but I suspect the real reason is that she didn’t want to go into puppy withdrawal. Think she might have missed me too? J

(later in the day)

Dear lord, it’s boring as SHIT here. Can’t seem to wake up, either. Boring to the point that my co-worker Beth and I were discussing and briefly comparing Prince’s “Under the Cherry Moon” with “Copacabana”…


Work Song Shuffle (again):

Jimi Hendrix: “All Along the Watchtower”
Nate Dogg: “Why”
Rage Against the Machine: “How I Could Just Kill a Man”
George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic: “Agony of Defeet”
Pete Moss: “Strive to Live”
Rage Against the Machine: “Bulls on Parade”
The Atomic Fireballs: “Man With the Hex”
Cream: “I’m So Glad”
Gorillaz: “November Has Come”
Rancid: “Ruby Soho”
Led Zeppelin: “Black Dog”
The Meditations: “Choice of Color”
Ted Nugent: “Stranglehold”
Michael Jackson: “Billie Jean”
Al Green: “Let’s Stay Together”
The Ark Band: “Please Wait”
Phil Collins: “In the Air Tonight”
Robert Miles: “One and One”
John Lennon: “Woman is the Nigger of the World”
Israel Vibration: “Dub In the Middle East”
Ben Folds Five: “The Luckiest”
Nirvana: “Blew”
Led Zeppelin: “Dazed and Confused”
Blind Faith: “Can’t Find My Way Home”
Neil Young: “The Needle and the Damage Done”
The Verve: “Bittersweet Symphony”
311: “Freak Out”
Pearl Jam: “I Got Id”
The Honeydrippers: “Sea of Love”
Squirrel Nut Zippers: “Lover’s Lane”
Audioslave: “Shadow of the Sun”
King Chango: “Revolution/Cumbia Reggae”
Jane’s Addiction: “Summertime Rolls”
The Doobie Brothers: “Long Train Runnin’”
Ziggy Marley: “Melancholy Mood”
Nine Inch Nails: “Something I Can Never Have”
Jaco Pastorius: “Soul Intro/The Chicken”
Pink Floyd: “Us and Them”
Ben Harper: “Heart of Gold”
Olivia Newton-John: “You’re the One That I Want”
EMF: “Unbelievable”
Nirvana: “Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip”
The Congos: “Don’t Blame It On I”
The Beatles: “With a Little Help From My Friends”
Shaggy: “Luv Me, Luv Me”
The Cure: “Love Song”
Bob Marley and The Wailers: “Natty Dread”
Dub Is a Weapon: “Insurrection”
Rage Against the Machine: “Fistful of Steel”
Rob Zombie: “Meet the Creeper”

Zachary and the Mighty Perrin

I’d have probably posted this last night, but our Internet was down, probably due to some relatively decent high wind we had going. Besides, this is a good way to procrastinate again, so—here we go.

Last night, as mentioned in my earlier post, was the last obedience class for myself, Becky, Marley, and Perrin. The power was off, so it was a LITTLE bit warm in there (and I overheat easily, and sweat gallons—sexy, no?), and when everyone had arrived, we were told that we were going to have some skill-based contests among the dogs. Nothing major—just sitting, staying, coming on command, etc. All of the mutts were going to get a goodie bag, but the winner would get a bag with even more stuff in it.

First up was heeled walking without my hands on the leash. Perrin did awesome at it, and it came down to a three way tie between him, Marley, and another pooch. Next was the sit/stay test—which Perrin took with flying colors, followed by the down/stay test, which he aced as well. (Side note: Marley was kind of antsy for these, which surprised me…he’s normally pretty good about it. I also suspect that the heat was making Perrin a little more docile.) And the final event was the recall/relay race…Perrin’s team took it the first time, but lost it the second.

The funniest bit occurred during the relay. The training area was split into half, with makeshift barriers up to help keep the dogs focused. Becky’s team was on the half facing the seating area at first, and by the time it got down to her and Marley, my team was on its last dog too, although we were behind a bit because Perrin—the wimp—was kind of sheepish about coming to me. Becky was calling Marley and her team was poised to win it (Marley was galumphing down to her in grand fashion)…until he noticed the water bowl. His water instinct kicked in, and he decided to make a pit stop…which gave my team the time we needed to get our last dog in. Good Marley. J

So anyhoo, Perrin won the contest, and aside from some people being pleasantly surprised a bit (including myself), I felt pretty proud of both me and him.

The other good news came this morning, literally as I was getting ready to get on the elevator in the parking garage at work. Andy and his wife Becky had their first child, Zachary, at 6:11 AM this morning. Everyone’s doing well, although Becky’s pretty tired from the sounds of it. Zack weighed in at 7 pounds, 5 ounces, and Andy’s already getting all bubbly over him. Big up to all of them!


Song Shuffle, continued… (or, What I Listened to at Work)

Bad Brains: “I Luv I Jah”
Juno Reactor: “Conga Fury”
Ray Charles: “Georgia on My Mind”
Cream: “NSU”
Ben Harper and Toots Hibbert: “Love Gonna Walk Out On Me”
Rage Against the Machine: “The Ghost of Tom Joad”
The Jackson Five: “Enjoy Yourself”
Robert Randolph and the Family Band: “Calypso”
King Chango: “Brujeria”
Tappa Zukie: “Dub MPLA”
Sarah MacLachlan: “Building a Mystery”
Mazzy Star: “Five String Serenade”
George Clinton and P-Funk: “Dr. Funkenstein”
Led Zeppelin: “In My Time of Dying”
Eric Clapton: “Tears in Heaven”
The Matches: “Audio Blood”
Dr. Dre: “Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat”
John Brown’s Body: “Garden Tree”
The Blues Brothers: “Guilty”
The Kitchen Band: “Blues From the Kitchen’
Beck: “Pay No Mind”
Led Zeppelin: “Achilles’ Last Stand’
311: “Strong All Along”
Rancid: “Let’s Go”
Jimi Hendrix: “Killing Floor”
311: “Who’s Got the Herb?”
John Brown’s Body: “Love is a Fire”
John Brown’s Body: “Dreadnaught”
Nirvana: “School”
Eric Clapton: “Blues Leave Me Alone”
Bob Marley and the Wailers: “I Shot the Sheriff”
Gustav Holst: “Venus, the Bringer of Peace”
Israel Vibration: “Dub in the Middle East”
Jimmy Page: “Custard Pie/Black Dog”
Groovemaster: “Prophecy”
Keith Hudson: “I’m Alright (Orbiting in Dub)”
Charlie Chaplin: “Cool the Violence”
John Lennon: “Oh Yoko!”
The Squeeze: “Black Coffee in Bed”
Yoko Kanno: “Borderline”
The Black Crowes: “She Talks to Angels”
Matisyahu: “Aish Tamid”
Everton Blender: “Lift Up Your Head”
Jimi Hendrix: “The Wind Cries Mary”
Armin Van Buuren: “Burned With Desire”
James Brown: “The Boss”
New Edition: “Candy Girl”
Cream: “Born Under a Bad Sign”
Pink Floyd: “Money”
Rising Lion: “Lion Band Dub”
Bombay Dub Orchestra: “Compassion”

‘Tis the Season…

…for diving. Sadly, however, I don’t know when I’ll have the extra money to actually get in the damned water.

Aside from actually traveling to the quarries, most of the cost would probably be incurred through wetsuit rental fees, not to mention actually paying to get in. I’ve got the weights, BC, reg and octo, fins, mask, and snorkel all set to go (thanks to Becky for these), but let’s face it—I’m a sissy about cold water. Granted, the quarries are warmer in the summer, but once I get past that thermocline, it can get kind of cold for me. Hence, the wetsuit woes.

Becky mentioned, a few weeks ago, that I should check with Aqua Hut in Toledo to see if they have any extra, former-rental wetsuits that they’re selling for cheap so they can make room for newer stock. I’m half-tempted to swing by there after the gig in Toledo next Wednesday afternoon to see if they might have one in the $25-50 range. The initial outlay would be more than offset shelling out money each dive for a different wetsuit.

On a different note, our gig last Saturday, aside from being a mess in terms of scheduling due to Gaylord being WAY behind in getting the equipment set, went pretty well. Since Groovemaster’s been getting less gigs, Lewie, our bass player, has started doing a lot of other side projects, so his schedule’s pretty full. With gas costs the way they are, we can’t really ask Bruce to come up all the way from near Columbus to play, so I got the nod again to play the bass.

I actually enjoy playing bass…it’s a challenge, in that I have to listen to the music differently and it tears my fingers up pretty well (and I cheat, and play with a pick), but it’s also a lot of fun to be able to lock in with the drums to give good, solid riddim. I was more worried that Ron, our newest member (guitarist), wouldn’t be up to handling the style of guitar playing by himself. Thankfully, though, I was proven wrong. He’s definitely more of a rock-style guitar player, but he locked in a lot better with what Gaylord and I were playing…we ended up doing some good grooves.

Tonight’s the last obedience class night for Perrin and I; Becky’s taking Marley to Canine Good Citizen classes starting next Wednesday. Truth be told, if the class didn’t start at six, I’d have probably done it with her, by taking Perrin. I’m not as invested in whole concept as she is, but I’ve enjoyed taking the current class with Perrin, and I like to think that, although he’s still a spoiled mommy’s boy, he and I bonded pretty well through it. If nothing else, he’s more inclined to listen to me now.

LATER….

One thing I forgot to mention about the weekend, if you’ll pardon my turn for the geekier, was that the toys for the upcoming Transformers movie toys finally came out. Now, much as part of me would love to grab all of them, just like in the old days, I manifestly can’t afford it, so I’m cherry-picking the ones that I think are the coolest. I’d allotted myself two on Saturday, and—as the releases keep coming out—I’ll probably get two more. It’s easier to resist the grab-‘em-all collecting urge, thankfully…but I will admit that the two I got are pretty damn cool-looking.

For the record, since you never asked, I picked up two Decepticons. Barricade, who turns into a Saleen-modded Ford Mustang police car, and Blackout, who turns into a Pave Low military helicopter. I’ll probably get Optimus and Megatron at some point…but not till their $50 + price tags come down.

School's In for Summer...

Over the past couple of days, I’ve been in contact again with the head of the American Culture Studies Department up at BGSU, with the intent of getting the wheels turning again so I can finish my doctorate. The department head, Don McQuarie (who’s smart as hell, almost comically laid-back, my former softball teammate, and a great guy to have your back) has essentially said that things can get underway easily enough again, despite having been away for two years. We’re going over the information and items that we need, the people I need to contact, and looking at an approximate timeline of 1.5 years, maybe a little more. I’m not deluding myself in the slightest…it’s going to be a lot of hard work again, complicated maybe only slightly by the fact that I no longer live in Bowling Green. No—right now the biggest challenge is to form a new committee, and determine the new direction the document will eventually take.

My original dissertation was going to deal with a migrant farmworker/labor rights organization out of Toledo called The Farm Labor Organizing Committee, or FLOC. Specifically, I was going to take a pedagogical approach to it and analyze how they build networks among supporting members and organizations—you know, looking at the methods and conveyance of information. Fun, right?

It was an approach that I was strong-armed into by my former dissertation chair. Her academic specialties lie in the area of critical pedagogy, and while it’s a good and fascinating field of study, I had envisioned doing more of a layman’s historiography of FLOC. Something readable and detailed—really trying to enmesh the reader into what the organization DOES. Kind of like gonzo journalism, at least to some extent, to really let people get the pulse of the agency and the people it serves. To my knowledge, something like this has only been done once before (by Barger and Reza—an awesome book), but their approach was sociologically-based. It’s not a dry read by any stretch—but different enough in tone from what I want to try to do now. That, and it was published 13 years ago, so there’s a lot of new stuff that has yet to be officially chronicled.

The other blessing I can enjoy with this (I hope) is the fact that I’ve been an active associate of FLOC for years now. Not as much over the past year, due to my former unemployment and subsequent relocation, but I’ve maintained my contacts up there, and my track record of service and help—modesty aside—speaks for itself. I want to try and give a from-the-trenches style of conveyance to the stories and events I’ll write about, and having been present for a decent amount of events, mostly minor, a few relatively big, is something that I want to use prominently. Clearly, it won’t be an objective piece of writing, but I’ve never claimed that it would be, even two years ago.

I’m a little nervous about going back to this—truth be told, I’ve thought, more than a few times, of just letting it be. Ultimately, the two things that made me finally get back on the horse were: (1) It’ll be good tool to have as I keep trying to re-establish my professional career (although with my luck, it probably won’t make a difference anyway J), and (2) It’ll be nice to stop having it hang over my head.

So wish me luck, I suppose…

Doggy Drool and Obedience School

Tonight’s our second-to-last outing to the basic obedience course that Becky and I have been taking Marley and Perrin to. I have to admit that it’s been more enjoyable than I thought it’d be at first, and it’s definitely helped Perrin and I become closer, at least in terms of him being only an 80% mommy’s boy now, instead of the full 100. It’s helped make walking him more enjoyable, in that he looks at me now as the authority figure, heels and sits awesomely, and has turned into an overall pleasure to stroll with. I’m not attached, though…

Marley’s come through the class being a lot better now about listening to the silly humans too. Don’t get me wrong—he’s the living definition of dopey, still walks and runs in a perpetual shamble, broke his second collar off his lead when taking off after a bird, and drools like you wouldn’t believe (especially after he takes a drink). But he’s a lot better about listening to us, and although he’s still a dopey young dog, he’s a lot more mellow than when we first got him.

And no, contrary to popular rumors, the obedience classes were not for me…

Shuffle and the Weekend

Recapping the Weekend

First off, a belated happy Memorial Day weekend to all of you, if you’re reading this. It’s always one of those extended weekends that seems like it’s going to last forever…and then it ends up being busy enough that you wonder where the hell it’s gone the night before you have to go to work. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, though…it’s a chance to relax, have fun, and—if you’re so inclined—to reflect. In the past, Memorial Day was a chance to be utterly lazy, with the exception of usually going to my parents’ place at some point for some steaks done on the grill (and my dad’s steaks are the best, bar none. In a Pavlovian response that I can’t help, every time I think about them, I start salivating…)

This past weekend, Becky and I spent the first two days away from home, by and large. Saturday was Becky’s (my best friend Andy’s wife, and yes, it does get a bit confusing at times, especially when referring to them in the third person) baby shower in Gibsonburg, so while Becky (mine) was there, Andy and I finally got to do our oft-delayed viewing of Spider Man 3. I’ve been having a slightly weird time wrapping my head around the fact that Andy and Becky are having their first child in a little over three weeks, so he and I enjoyed one of our old-time sojourns out and about. We even made two stops for Transformers, and reveled in our geekiness as we discussed the upcoming Fantastic Four and Simpsons movies.

Sunday, we went to Tiffin for a small get-together with some of Becky’s family. It was a good, laid-back time, and her stepfather, brother-in-law, and I all got to wow everyone else with our mad Aerobie-throwing skills, yo. Poor Becky got pretty tired, though; with two long days in a row, I don’t blame her. Yesterday was housework day, so we did nothing more prosaic than hedgework, mowing the lawn, sweeping, cleaning litter boxes, organizing, cleaning cars, and grocery shopping.

And today, it’s back to the brain press again...


Shuffle

Gorillaz: “Stop the Dams”
Culture: “Rastaman a Come”
Freddie MacGregor: “Push Comes to Shove”
The Kitchen Band: “Sea Lion Blues”
Israel Vibration: “The Same Song”
Macy Gray: “I Try”
Tupac Shakur: “Never Had a Friend Like Me”
The Doobie Brothers: “China Grove”
311: “Beyond the Gray Sky”
John Brown’s Body: “Eyes of the Maker”
The Ark Band: “Boom Shot”
Paul Simon: “The Boy in the Bubble”
Tekken Tag Soundtrack: “Last Boss”
Justin Hinds: “Natty Take Over”
Groovemaster: “Come Home to Stay”
John Brown’s Body: “Garden Tree”
Roland Burrell: “Johnny Dollar”
Yes: “Siberian Khatru”
John Brown’s Body: “Guvna”
Gustav Holst: “Mercury, the Winged Messenger”
Joe Satriani: “Ice Nine”
Neil Young: “Heart of Gold”
John Brown’s Body: “33 RPM”
Aerosmith: “Train Kept a Rollin’”
The Beatles: “With a Little Help From My Friends”
Bob Marley and The Wailers: “Positive Vibration”
Led Zeppelin: “Dazed and Confused”
The Castaways:”Liar, Liar”
K7: “Hi De Ho”
Rage Against the Machine: “The Narrows”
Don McLean: “American Pie”
Led Zeppelin: “You Shook Me”
Bob Marley and The Wailers: “I Shot the Sheriff”
Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers: “Clodhopper”
Bob Marley and The Wailers: “Johnny Was a Good Man”
Midnight Star: ”Freakazoid”
Led Zeppelin: “Kashmir”
Ben Harper: “Another Lonely Day”
Rage Against the Machine: “Hadda Be Playin’ On the Jukebox”
John Lennon: “Jealous Guy”
Sonny Boy Williamson: “Peach Tree”
Eric Clapton: “Layla”
Rising Lion: “New Day”
Pink Floyd: “On the Turning Away”
Gorillaz: “Left Hand Suzuki Method”
The Honeydrippers: “Sea of Love”
Bob Dylan: “Shelter From the Storm”
Stevie Ray Vaughan: “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”
Garbage: “Stupid Girl”
Van Halen: “Running With the Devil”
Bruce Springsteen: “Old Man Tucker”

Waxing Musically, or, Missing My Old Mix Tapes

Yawn...

Just for the sheer hell of it, I’m going to keep a running track of the songs that I listen to this morning, since my iPod’s set to shuffle. And yes, it’s been that quiet of a morning if I’m doing this to keep myself awake. Besides—you’re reading this already, right? J

Part of the reason I’m doing this is because I’ve finally started reading a book I got last Christmas: Love Is a Mix Tape, by Rob Sheffield. It’s a simple but sincere story and memoir of sorts, as he recalls his relationship with his deceased wife through the mix tapes they made each other. I’m not too far into it yet, but it’s an addictive read so far, mainly for two reasons (aside from him being a good writer—I’ve read some of his stuff for Rolling Stone, and he strikes me as a laid-back, music-nerd version of Hunter Thompson without all of the heavy drugs).

The first reason is because it’s been a trip to waltz down amnesia lane by reading the bands (lots of 90’s stuff, but a good dose of classic rock and others) on the tapes that they made for each other. Beth (one of my coworkers) and I were talking about how Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine turns 20 years old next year, and started waxing nostalgically about how the music we grew up with in high school is approaching or at classic rock status (and let’s face it, the first indication was when I heard tracks from Appetite for Destruction on a classic rock station out of Toledo). So hearing Sheffield reminisce about Belly, The Cure, L7, Pavement, Nirvana, The Pooh Sticks, The Church, The Smiths, and so forth—well, it makes me realize, and not in a bad way, that musical time has moved on. Wait until I remind my mom that this summer is the 40th anniversary of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band…

The other reason is that I’m still a fan of making mix discs (not tapes anymore, but still the same fundamental idea), either for myself or for others. Whether or not I do it well is something that’s up to others to decide, but for whatever reason, it’s fun to compile them. A lot of the albums that I’ve loved over the years or that I enjoy today (the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street, Gorillaz’ Demon Days, Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, and John Brown’s Body’s Spirits All Around Us come to mind) have a cyclical, ebbing and flowing nature…like you’re being taken on a journey of sorts. That, combined with feeling like you’re reinventing the song—or the meaning of the song—by placing it in a new context, lets me feel creative in a certain way…like I’m creating a new, listenable breed of monster, of sorts. The producer Danger Mouse probably did the ultimate bit of this when he mixed The Beatles’ White Album together with DMX’s The Black Album to make—you guessed it—The Gray Album, so I at least like to think that what I’m compiling has at least some good listening gusto to it.



John Lennon: “Watching the Wheels”
311: “All Mixed Up”
Billy Joel: “Piano Man”
Maharishi: “Sonic Breeze”
Pink Floyd: “Money”
Jimmie Vaughan: “Dengue Woman Blues”
Nirvana: “Love Buzz”
Led Zeppelin: “What Is and What Should Never Be”
Traveling Wilburys: “Last Night”
Ohio Players “Love Rollercoaster”
Michael Jackson: “Beat It”
Led Zeppelin: “Bring It On Home/Black Dog”
Everton Blender: “Lift Up Your Head”
Beethoven: “Symphony #9 (fourth movement)”
Jane’s Addiction: “Three Days”
Yoko Kanno: “After, In the Dark”
Gorillaz: “Latin Simone (Que Pasa Contigo?)”
Rage Against the Machine: ”Bombtrack”
The Ark Band: “Pain and Misery”
Live: “All Over You”
Bob Marley and The Wailers: “No Woman No Cry”
Groovemaster: “1865 (96 Degrees In the Shade)”
Ohio Players: “Who’d She Coo?”
REM: “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?”
George Clinton and P-Funk: “One Nation Under a Groove”
Mono: “Rise”
Stevie Wonder: “Living For the City”
Sir-Mix-a-Lot: “Baby Got Back”
The Wailers: “Cobra Style”
Skankin’ Pickle: “Hussein Skank”
Gorillaz: “Demon Days”
Nirvana: “You Know You’re Right”
Dr. Dre: “Deez Nuts”
James Taylor: “Mexico”
Seefari: “I and I”
John Brown’s Body: “Original Man”
Delbert McClinton: “A Mess of Blues”
Bob Dylan: “Lay Lady Lay”
Taiko: “Die Blechtrommel”
Booker T. and the MG’s: “Green Onions”