I don’t have a particular thesis for today. My mind is swimming with all kinds of random stuff, and none of it is coalescing into one coherent point. But, it still needs to get out, so I’m going to take the shotgun approach and try getting out some thoughts on a handful of things; and see what sticks.

♦ Of vague, non-specifically personal interest, I’m hitting a point in my career that I expect a lot of people hit; I’m fast approaching the point in my working life that I need to either accept that the current career path will be, more or less, what I’ll be doing for the next 25 or 30 years and be okay with that, or, if I want to try something else, I need to seriously get on to doing that. The thing is, despite the fact that I’m in one of those cyclical periods of general dissatisfaction with the work, most of the time, I like what I do – I just don’t find it as personally fulfilling as some people around me, and I’m not completely okay with that. But, at the same time, in defiance of the current national media narrative, I have a well-paying, secure position that’s not likely to go away any time soon. The fact that I’m in a position to mull over my vague dissatisfaction when one in ten of my fellow working stiffs aren’t working at all (I suspect the stress isn’t necessarily helping the other thing either) is causing me a little bit of guilt. Oh well; it’s an ongoing low-level concern that I just have to figure out how to deal with; it’s part of being a more-or-less grown-up adult…doesn’t mean I have to love the process.

♦ Related very tangentially to the previous item on a larger, national (and less personal) scale, I caught a story on the news this morning about the President’s latest proposals to address the federal deficit; specifically, the so-called “Buffett tax,” where tax rates would be raised on those with annual incomes greater than $1 million. It’s a mostly reasonable compromise on the original position of increasing rates on those bringing in more than $250k annually, and I’m okay with that. I would have also been okay with an increase on tax rates on brackets a lot closer to mine, assuming the increased revenue would be used wisely. I am a big fan of civilization, and I don’t mind paying for things like infrastructure or education, because those things benefit everyone. What I’m not okay with is the Republican response to said proposals – Rep. Paul Ryan, for example, called such a move “class warfare”, which is kind of par for the course for Republican candidates, who when chastizing the distinguished competition for doing something, are usually guilty of doing such themselves. In this case, the constant tax cuts for the rich and cuts to social programs they propose, which merely increase the actual financial burden on the lower and middle classes, pretty much fits my definition of setting the classes at odds with one another. The only difference is, that thanks to some clever social engineering* the right has managed to convince a large segment of (low information) voters to vote against their own self interest, and then ask for more. That’s probably a post in itself, but I can’t contain the idea in my brainspace right now.

♦ Amanda Marcotte had an interesting piece in Slate this week regarding the right-wing crowing about how The Girl Scouts of America has a “radical feminist lesbian agenda”. As someone with a little bit of experience with several corners of scouting, the GSA is certainly more liberal and secular (at least on a national level) than the Boy Scouts. Amanda makes the case that the GSA grew out of a more foreward looking philosophy (the idea of providing girls with new opportunities to succeed), than thhe BSA (which started as a way of looking back and re-kindling old fashioned masculinity). I think the theory works at the national level, though individual units vary widely (I’ve seen some exclusionarily Christian Girl Scout units as well as some very Gay and Atheist friendly Boy Scout Troops over the years). Of course, the hysteria the article describes is based on complete misinformation. Besides, anyone with experience with modern Girl Scouting can’t help but see it built on the model of entrepreneurial capitalism – it’s largley a cookie-delivery business with cheap labor in the form of middle school girls/MBA wannabes earning badges – exactly the kind of thing you’d think old-money conservatives would applaud.

♦ This Netflix thing that everybody’s talking about today with the spinning off of DVD mail service as a separate enterprise (unfortunately) named “Quikster.” It’s a pretty awful name, and the hassle of splitting it off, and thus creating the headaches of two billing entries for customers and all that, is probably going to cause a large subscriber drop-off for the disc service, especially when combined with the previously publicized price increases. I’m also pretty sure this is exactly what Netflix wants. To anyone who’s been watching for the last however many years, Netflix has never really wanted to get stuck with the DVD rental by mail model. It’s right there in the name – “Netflix” implies over-the-internet delivery of content, not a mail-based service; it’s always been their eventual goal, and reaching that goal has been a long game – get people with a convenient rental model (which, in the end, pretty much killed Blockbuster), ease them into using a streaming service and hook them, while getting the hardware and software for access into a wide variety of devices most people would have anyway. The idea has always been to ditch the mail-order model and go streaming. It’s working (I’m probably going to be dropping my disc plan soon – I don’t turn over discs fast enough anymore). They’ve got the infrastructure and subscriber base in place for delivery. Once the studios give up the dream of owning the means of delivery for their filmed entertainment (they’ve got to know that people aren’t going to subscribe to half-a-dozen different services to have access to everything they want), Netflix will be there with a turn-key solution for distribution. It’s really been interesting to watch this play out; someday, someone will right a kick-ass dissertation on it.

_________________________

* – This social engineering is largely handled by certain elements of conservative religious organizations with a combination of fearmongering based on homophobia and abortion legislation, as well as (at least in megachurch circles) by the growth of concepts like “proseperity theology,” which contends (via interestingly twisted interpretations of biblical scripture) that rich people are favored by God, better than the masses, and should get rewarded. And of course, if you revere exactly the right God in the right way, you’ll get rich, too! It’s a kind of “feel good” Calvinism, and of course doesn’t hang together logically (it doesn’t even work as Calvinism), but unfortunately it works in getting people to vote for their fantasy “if I win the lottery interests” instead of supporting policies that would help them and their families now.

♦ Bret Alexander – Gentleman East: In a lot of ways, this one is probably the best of the half-dozen or so Badlees side projects that came out during the great post-UTDH hiatus, even if it’s not my favorite (that would probably be Perfect Smile). The foundation of what makes(made?) the Badlees great was the songwriting, and this record is Alexander’s songwriting distilled to it’s purest form; the instrumentation is spare, keeping the focus on the lyrics and melody, especially on quieter tracks like “No One Hears Me Singing,” “I Want to Win In This World” and the excellent story-song “Memphis Restroom.” It’s a great, listenable disc that diplays the best of influences (Springsteen, Dylan, Robertson, Waits, Westerberg), in a wry, introspective fashion, even if it feels like it’s missing some of the humor and sense of fun you get with a Badlees record. But then, that’s what solo projects are for, trying out new avenues of expression. Sometimes those avenues go to really interesting places; which is the case for the best (hidden) track on the record: “These Are the People That Own the World” was kind of a forgettable track on the Badlees Renew record, but here, with a few change-ups in presentation and tone, it becomes an essential classic.

♦ Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians – Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars: This band was one of those good, workmanlike acts that played out in late 80s, hitting largely through videos, thanks to a charismatic lead vocalist, who was expressive, hippy-cute, looked great in a pair of high-waisted 80s jeans, and managed not to look too silly while squatting in the big video. I was a fan. “What I Am” is, of course, the classic track from this record, a slouchy, jam-band-esque track that everybody knows and likes, if not loves, and continues to live on as a minor nostalgia classic. That song, and the rest of the record, are really defined by the sound of simple, clean, Knopfler-esqe electric guitar lines interwoven with an equally meandering fretless bass. It’s a shame they only released two records before mostly disbanding. For my money, the best track on the disc is “Circle,” which was a follow-up single (I actually have the cassingle! of this one someplace), which has a great melody, a nice jazzy bassline, and some really interesting and understated guitar feedback effects. Halalalalalala plink plink.

♦ Johnny Lang – Lie To Me: In the mid-90s, there was kind of a run on scrawny white teenage boys with real guitar chops putting out SRV-style blues records. Mr. Lang was one of them (Kenny Wayne Sheppard was another), and he really, really tries to sound like a grizzled old bluesman, and almost manages it. But, just like Taylor Swift or Justin Beiber singing about heartbreak or love gone wrong, the lack of actual life experience with such things comes through in the end (he was 17 when this record was released). Lang had (and continues to have) amazing guitar chops, as evidenced on the title track and “Back for a Taste of Your Love,” but it all kind of feels like an incredible simulation of the blues rather the real thing. I haven’t heard as much of his later stuff, admittedly, though I expect as he’s aged, it’s gotten more authentic. As it was in ’96, having him cover Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Good Morning Little School Girl” just feels like a stunt that went terribly, terribly wrong.

♦ Lita Ford – The Best of Lita Ford: I suppose I bought this one as a symptom of my being an 80s hair metal/hard rock completist. That said, it’s really a better record than one would expect, if you’re looking for a decent driving rock song performed by a former member of the Runaways who didn’t get any lines in the movie and who popularized the pointy abomination that is the BC Rich Warlock electric guitar. The big hits are here, those being MTV and middle school dance staples “Kiss Me Deadly” and “Close My Eyes Forever,” the duet with Prince of Effing Darkness Ozzy Osborne. And funnily enough, those two tunes still really work. What you don’t necessarily expect are the big arena-sized rock anthems like “What Do Ya Know About Love?” and “Larger Than Life,” which are certainly not high art, but are exactly the kind of high-energy tunes you want when you’re driving home down the interstate after wrapping up the work week. Just watch out for the lead foot some of these tunes seem to inspire.

All the of the fall pollen and mold are all coming over to my sinus cavities to visit this week; They’re not exactly the callers I’d prefer. Maybe a few tunes off the hard drive will improve the mood. Maybe:

1. 100,000 Years – KISS
2. Down By The River (live) – Phish
3. Hell Hole – Spinal Tap
4. If I Can’t Have You (live) – The Clarks
5. Polly Come Home – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
6. She – Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians
7. Disco Heaven – Lady Gaga
8. So Long – Bad Lee White
9. All Fired Up – Pat Benetar
10. Sister Jack – Spoon

Last Friday morning while taking care of a few errands, I stopped at Target to check out the electronics clearance rack, where over the years I’ve found many great deals on video games and computer storage media. While poking around amongst the marked down ipad cases and wii shovelware, I found one of these:

This is the Pandora radio by Livio, an internet-enabled device that connects to your home network and streams the Pandora internet music service, as well as thousands of internet feeds of radio stations from around the world.

It was marked at about 95.5% off of regular retail price; roughly the value of the loose change rattling around in the average upper-middle class sofa. So of course I bought it.

I use Pandora quite a bit, both through my Android phone and via my Roku streaming media player. It’s a neat service, which generally delivers on its promise of generating a taste-pleasing listening experience based on your expressed preferences. It generally gets it right, too, even if its algorithms tend to think I really ought to listen to more Eminem. The most fun I have with Pandora, though, is trying to predict how the logic works – set up preferences for say Madonna, The Go-Gos, and the Hooters, and then see how long it takes for it to play a song by Cyndi Lauper. Trust me, it’s more fun than it probably sounds.

The real selling point of this little box, however, is the access to radio stations from around the world. I was listening to the news in Welsh within a few minutes, and have plans to start exploring the dial in eastern europe to see if metal is still as big there as everyone says. Also, I found I can listen to my beloved WXPN easily, as well as WFMU, so I can finally find out what this “The Best Show” business people keep mentioning is all about.

Mostly, though, this weekend we found ourselves listening to 98FM from Dublin, Ireland. It’s really just a top 40-pop station, but it’s playlist is just different enough from what you hear in the states that it’s noticeable, and the change is pleasant.

With this piece of equipment in hand (or, rather, plugged in in my kitchen), I’m now equipped to enable my latest obsession and hear all the various localized versions of Gaga’s “Yoü and I” in their various local habitats.

…a joke was lost:

I kind of wanted to just leave yesterday be, but in the end, I figured that it was probably best to counter all of the blindly patriotic tackiness and/or resurgences of anger from so many other people with my little piece of ten years after.

Where I was when things went down doesn’t really matter. I don’t even remember, really. I was at work. What I do remember, though, is feeling sadness at the loss, but mostly worry – not so much about another attack or fearing for my own safety, but more about how the country would respond, and the many, many ways such a response could be screwed up.

From this point a decade hence, I can say it probably could have been handled better. My kids have never known a time when their country wasn’t at war; a time when the number of troops deployed to war zones wasn’t larger than the population of some US states; a time when so much of the social and political structure of the country wasn’t based on the idea of fear.

I remember a time when Americans weren’t afraid. When we were mostly optimistic about things, and were focused on trying to make things better for the future. I hope that in the next ten years, we can get a little closer to that.

A couple of weeks back, I learned with some sadness that my regular Monday night RPG session was coming to an end, due to both GM work schedules and the encroaching profitability of Magic: The Gathering tournaments.

However, within the last 72 hours, I have managed to find myself invited two join TWO different intermittent floating weekend games.

This makes me happy, because I love rolling some dice with fun and interesting people, and that the two groups present two very different demographics. This afternoon, I spent a couple of hours playing a very Pratchett-esque Witchfinder cleric in a GURPS game with a very experienced group of convention friends – it’s a very silly, but educational and creative environment, and I think I’ll learn quite a bit.

If the other group gets off the ground, I’ll be almost certainly the most experienced player at the table, which is fun in it’s own way, because I get to share this hobby of mine with new folks, and watch them exercise their creative muscles and start to let go and really inhabit the characters they’ve built and revel in creating a shared story with a bunch of other people.

I can tell you, I am really looking forward to it.

for she is mighty.

To any reading in eastern PA, stay safe.

I don’t pay a lot of attention to celebrity gossip, but I do occasionally listen to top 40 radio in the car to get a sense of “what the kids are listening to” (and it amuses me somewhat to hear my oldest daughter choke and gag on songs that her trend-chasing friends are obsessed with…she generally has pretty good taste, her friends often don’t). A couple of weeks ago, I was rather delighted to hear that the new Lady Gaga single making the rounds is “Yoü and I,” as I really liked it on the record. It actually keeps growing on me, largely because it’s such an interesting alchemy of musical elements. It’s a country song, produced by rock legend “Mutt” Lange (the guy who made Def Leppard and Shania Twain sound like Def Leppard), written and performed by a dance diva/performance artist, built from a sample of Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and featuring Dr. Brian May (also of Queen) on guitar. Also, totally metal ümlaüts.

As I said when I did a little review of Born This Way, “Yoü and I” is probably one of the better country songs released in recent years. What I’d really love to see is for the cross-over road to stop being one-way for once and have GaGa get some play on country radio with it. Not that such things will ever happen, as country as a genre is very insular and traditional; if you don’t conform to a very specific public standard, you’re shunned (just ask the Dixie Chicks or Chely Wright). I don’t see country programmers giving Gaga a shot on their stage, even if top 40 and HotAC invite Lady Antebellum and Taylor Swift over to play all the damned time.

But that’s not really the topic I wanted to get into. This weekend, I heard “Yoü and I” spin up, and noticed something was off. When it invariably came up again in 30 or 40 minutes, I listened more closely. The lyrics had changed – all instances of the word “Nebraska” had been replaced with “Virginia.” Weird. Not that it didn’t scan, but it was just different and odd enough to throw me.

So, as you do in these situations, I ran to the internet. Yes, it seems that the other week, Gaga started trickling out regionalized versions of the song to various radio stations. Along with Virginia, other geographical locations immortalized (as immortal as one can get in the world of pop radio) include New York, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Cleveland (wonder how that scans?) and various others, with apparently more to come.

It’s simultaneously exactly the kind of thing Gaga, a pop star who’s pretty responsive to fans, would do, and a pandering marketing move that feels a little too “on the nose” for her enigmatic image, but it’s probably going to get her some (more, mostly positive) attention. I’m also sure this is far from the first time someone’s tried this successfully.

The internet’s kind of quiet on generalized chronicling of this (as opposed to other musical tropes like the trucker’s gear change), but I know I’ve heard localized versions of songs from mid-tier artists on top 40 radio before. Usually, it’s just a bit of ♫ Uh…Richmond…Yeah! ♫ sloppily wedged in an intro or a rap breakdown, but not always. The only other instance I can find specifically mentioned out there is LFMAO’s “I’m in Miami Your City, Bitch Trick” or whatever it’s called from a couple of years ago. I’ve probably heard this dozens of times, but it honestly made no impression beyond planting the idea of the local shout-out in my brain.

I can’t help but figure that this is a reasonably common enough occurrence that it has a name that cynical disc jockeys (do those still exist? Do DJs still exist?) refer to with disdain, but I can’t find any particular references, even on tv tropes, which is usually all over this sort of thing. They’ve got lyric swap and listing cities, but nothing describing this particular phenomenon.

This is becoming the new memorial car decals for me…can anybody point me to anything on this?

So, I think, in the end, a long weekend was most of what I needed. Mostly.

As you might have figured, the last few weeks have been pretty stressful. Too many reasons to list at this point, really, and honestly, I just want to get past them. I think I’m mostly done with them, now that I’ve caught up with the last of the meatspace friends who might care. I’m going to try to look forward a bit now.

At least I will after I comment a bit on the weekend.

We did some things. For example, on Friday, we spent an afternoon/evening at the county fair. Sure, we do it every year, but this year we spent a little more time because the other option was to sit at home in the dark. It wasn’t all bad. We pet chickens and pigeons and a baby bison. We watched the dog show, the alligator show, and the pig races. We ate carnival food. We all got airbrushed temporary tattoos. Mine washed off, but everyone else still has theirs (and I kind of like @fairiemom’s – I wouldn’t complain if she decided she wanted to go more permanent in a similar fashion – honestly? kinda sexy). It didn’t rain, but it looked like it.

Power came back a couple of hours after we got home. If the cheers inside the house didn’t wake me up, the whoops of triumph from the rest of the neighborhood would have.

Saturday, my lovely wife took me to a wine festival on the other side of town as a belated birthday gift. There, we tasted all sorts of excellent wines, petted (but did not bring home) some cute six week old puppies, and only bought four bottles (two from here, “Pow Wow” comes highly recommended). Rain threatened further.

Sunday: laundry day. Also, I started to get over my fear that the power would go out again, so I went shopping and put things back in the fridge.

On Monday, we attended a party at the home of some friends and spent time engaging in interesting conversation with people who are much cooler and much more creative than I am. It was fun, and I think I mostly held my own in the company of professional writers and performers. Then we walked to the river with a subset of that crowd, and I didn’t mangle my back quite as much as last time. Plus, all our stuff got wet due to a random downpour.

And finally, Tuesday, I stretched my weekend an extra day so as to see the kids off for the first day of school. My ability to prepare scrambled eggs was questioned. After the kids were installed on buses, the rest of us went for a little shopping trip, where we ate lunch at my favorite funky diner, bought a few things, and got rained on. Again. After that, I sat down with a book and/or pre-schooler while my wife played Dragon Age II.

I’m tired of being wet, but the idea of returning to the usual labors isn’t quite as scary. This may change once I actually get there.