Chicago: Please don't park your Lamborghini on the highway

Topical.

And kind of tropical too.

We got spanked in trivia last night. Did pretty well in English, geography, science, and electives, but math and Greek mythology were pretty much bloodbaths. RIP Norsemen.

Actual headline on this morning's Sun Times:

Silence of the Lamborghini

WTF.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1162/832858175_1df8a84955.jpg?v=0
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1162/832858175_1df8a84955.jpg?v=0
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1162/832858175_1df8a84955.jpg?v=0

rock n'f'n roll

Solo 7" from the frontman of...

Woah, this is a pretty funky jam, especially when Herb Alpert is not playing.

Last night was cheap drinkin and eatin! We went to Vines (yes, it's in stupid Wrigleyville, but the bar itself was very tolerable) where they had $1 Miller Lite bottles and 1/2 price sandwiches. I had 6 beers and a delicious turkey panini with fries. My bill was $11.50. With tip that's $20 for all that!

Plus the bartender bought us a round of shots.

Someone linked this on ILM yesterday. I don't care about Bob Seger, but this clip is pretty awesome:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2aBOTNGWMY

Not trying to be condescending, but Jordan, you know that song was the basis for "Hypnotize" by the Notorious B.I.G., right?

HEY! Anyone want to go get all-you-can-stuff-in-your-gob crab legs with me tonight???? I think the time is right.

ohhhhhhhh

It's funna be a slooow Tuesday. L, the female partner is out on a case in Rock Isl. and J, the guy partner is taking the day off. And the associate is not yet in.

I NEED NEW MUSIC!! I'M SO FUCKING BORED WITH MY IPOD.

My private radio station

I understand the iPod boredom. In the last week I've swapped out about 10 gigs for new stuff.

That was entertaining, Nick.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1374/832858313_e4a19fc741.jpg

My ipod is dead. Long live my ipod. Oh wait. Too late for that...

My bill was $11.50. With tip that's $20 for all that!

awesome. I love it when shit is so dirt cheap you don't mind tipping a percentage that would otherwise seem exorbitant.

EXCUSE ME, I SAID SOMEONE EAT KING CRAB LEGS AVEC MOI, CE SOIR.

Not to get into a tipping discussion, but I think it's important to always tip on the amount your bill would have been PRE-discount.

I don't want to do that much math, but that seems reasonable. How much do I tip on this ridiculously cheap bill? A lot.

where are these crab legs?

Jordan, throw me some Greek mythology trivia! Love that shit -- but I didn't learn it in HIGH SCHOOL, that's for fucking sure.

All I know about Greek mythology I learned in a song in second grade:

Pan, Pan, Greek God Pan,
One half goat and one half man

I was way into King Arthur in middle school. Don't know much about the greeks, tbh.

http://knotwork.tripod.com/confirmation/Excalibur3.jpg

Mordred's armor is still super fuckin creepy awesome.

meh. tripod image. Oh well.

That's some futuristic armor.

I freaking adore the production design and costuming in that movie. And also the rest of it.

but math and Greek mythology were pretty much bloodbaths

Yeah, they would've been for me, too. Even when I was in high school Scholastic Bowl, I ceded all the mythology questions to one of the other guys on the team.

Okay, but no googling:

1) Name one of the Fates.

2) Cronus cut off who's testicles and threw them into the sea, leading to the birth of what god or goddess (two parts)?

3) What god of strife participated in the Trojan War?

Other questions may have been more obscure, but I can't remember them well enough.

nope. nothin'.

1. Okay I can't off the top of my head
2. First answer I wd guess Uranus, the second is def Aphrodite
3. Ares/Mars

My only guess would be Tiresias for #2.

Although I don't think s/he was a god/goddess as much as a prophet.

Laurel's 2 & 3 are right, I couldn't remember fucking Uranus (probably because I associate all the planet names w/the Roman versions).

hm. I googled, and some of that was still hard to tease out

1) Clotho, Lachesis, or Atropos
2) Uranus (his father), Aphrodite
3) Eris

For the Fates, I could only think of the muses. I knew the fates did stuff with thread, but they have hard names to remember (Lachesis, Atropos, and Clotho)(well, I guess Clotho makes sense).

xpost

(well, I guess Clotho makes sense).

??

Oh make the leap.

cognate with "cloth", and they're spinning, measuring, & cutting the cloth of life and all that bullshit

Yeah, Jordan, I was just looking up the Muses like two days ago and that's all I could think of!

Oh, I didn't see "did stuff with thread." I had no idea what a Fate was.

You're right, Laurel, that that's definitely not high-school material. I mean, I picked up a little from sophomore year English class, when we read Oedipus Rex and Antigone and The Odyssey, oh and then senior year we read Prometheus Bound, but I don't remember ever studying mythology on its own, unconnected to literature.

We went over some in Latin, but not intensively.

Yeah, not for me either! I was a mythology reader as a kid and a Classical Civ minor in college, but that is DEFFO not HS stuff not because it's particularly HARD but just because no one studies it anymore!

It would make me really happy as a trivia category, though. :D

Yeah, I had a great time, but unfort. the upcoming trivia themes are all bullshit geek stuff, like Star Wars or Joss Whedon shows.

Kenan--crab legs are at Glenn's on montrose. $29.99. Monster legs. yum.

I want to go to a science trivia night.

Jesse, maybe I'll go to Glenn's with you sometime after I move in across the street from it.

And around the corner.

that place looks awesome. But I don't know that I want to spend $30 on dinner just this evening.

Hi guys, I'm still in Michigan. Gonna hit the road and head back south in a few hours. Anyone want anything from the UP?

The wedding: v v fun, but v v draining. I haven't slept much. I have "brothers" now!

You should bring back some Bell's and bootleg it at high prices in Chicago. Actually, I should do that.

Pick up some Nueskes on the way back through Wisconsin.

I had some Bell's at my mom's house on Sunday. Apaprently she was in Michigan recently and picked some up. It's cute how much she likes Bell's. She had it for the first time at a friend of mine's graduation party (it was from a keg) and couldn't stop raving about it.

Yeah, Nueskes bacon is pretty good.

I've been hitting the Bell's hard for the last four days.

The Bell's-smuggling idea has been raised a couple of times. I have to fit a bike and a bunch of wedding leftovers in the back of my car, though. Perhaps I can find room somehow.

I would like spanish boots of spanish leather.

Too bad, the yoop's only got soft Corinthian leather. Ricardo Montalban is from Ontonagon.

Ricardo Montalban is from Mexico City, and there's no such thing as Corinthian leather.

YOU LIED TO ME!

ok, then, I would like a bear pelt.

And a taconite boulder.

And a fat canadian goose.

I want some maple candy from Cracker Barrel.

BOOOOOOOring.

I think they're called *Canada* geese.

Maybe he just meant a goose that happened to be from Canada.

yes, well.

So. Here I am. Alone in the office. Alllll alone.

I rather enjoy this song. Keane-Is It Any Wonder. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucODEFzaVpY

I just went to "Super Target" over lunch to get some household supplies. They have fucking produce there?!

That's super!

Jordan, I hope you realize that working on Joyce Carol Oates will be delayed until I find out what's going on with our laptop. Just don't want you to think I'm stalling.

Oh, I figured as much, no problem.

does anyone have advice on getting tickets for a cubs game? we've avoided buying them on the cubs website way in advance because the weather has been so unpredictable, and now there's several games this week and good weather forecast, but not 2 seats together. are scalpers a legit option? are we going to get totally ripped off? any experience with this?

Cubs/Brewers is going to be a pretty hot ticket, with the Brewers a game behind the Cubs for the division lead - is that what you're trying to get tickets to?

I don't know anything about getting tickets. I only go to sporting events when other people (Sarah's boss, Sarah's dad, Jeff) get tickets.

When I bought those tix for my dad, I just did it on the cubs site, but it was way in advance.

xpost Ditto.

I'm going next Thursday afternoon to see them play the Dodgers with some coworkers. I'd rather see them play the Brewers or even the Astros, but what are ya gonna do.

i think it is the brewers this week, we picked based on weather rather than who's playing, basically. so is that going to be hard to do? yes, i am baseball dumb (but i won't be loud annoying person at the game, i promise)

Yeah, my guess is these are going to be hard games to get into, based on the above-mentioned importance of the series, plus Milwaukee is close (so Milwaukeeites will probably travel to come to this game).

Nick OTM.

ok, that's good to know. maybe we'll just hope there's some good weather in september? (and maybe will still wander outside at game time just in case since it isn't exactly out of our way, and we could luck out and get tickets)

also, if you buy tickets and the game is rained out, are you just SOL or do you get a refund?

That I don't know.

Update: I guess I have not been broken up with, that was premature. Just lots and lots of complications.

I just switched to the Blueski stylesheet. Interesting.

glad to hear it wasn't a breakup, laurel, although complications don't sound good.

Yeah. The first one is "2500 miles", so certain things are just the nature of the beast.

LTR = :(

Someday, when I make myself a superstar around here I'm gonna order this thing:

http://www01.quillcorp.com/images/products/catalog/enlarged/69986_ENL.JPG

It's a letter folding machine.

I mean LDR.

Hahaha more OTM than you know, Jordan.

Jesse, I once temped at a company with one of those. I dream about it from time to time (ie: every single time I have to do a mass mailing).

i have an ldr with letter folding.

It only happens once a month really--when bills go out. And every now and then through the week. I love office machines. We have an electric 3-hole punch (which I <3), so why not a letter folder?

does anyone want me to bring them bells next week?

No, bring Surly.

http://figures.nohomers.net/Custom_Contest_Surly_Duff.jpg

Also, did you see thread on Minnesota State Fair? Labor Day, Minnesota

fuck you, giant fly

I had TWO giant flies in my living room last night. Big enough to make me a little edgy, despite the fact that they're just flies.

Well, it's late August, which means that my apartment is overrun with fruit flies. Sucks.

You should move.

So I've been in Edgwater the past few days and the cicadas are going strong here but not in Roscoe Village.

I'm hot.

I still haven't seen a single cicada. What a letdown.

right! surly! i'll try to bring some!

I'm hot .

it's hot outside. :(

the cicadas have been keeping leaf & i up at night! they are incredibly loud here!

Since I'm giving up air conditioning I bought one of these fans:

http://www.first-fan.com.tw/products/tower_fan/images/hs-161t-lge.gif

They're so small I want to put them all over the apartment.

All I know is that I'm hot.

I ain't, because I'm not.

Around 3 PM the fucking office starts to feel pret-ty warm.

hot
tired
brain-exhausted

still have to conjure something for class tomorrow, but i'm going to wait until i have dinner because i have been running on fumes all day. all kinds of work-problems. i want yummy leftovers, some cantaloupe and my air-conditioned bedroom. NOW.

http://www.hbo.com/larrydavid/img/castandcrew/506x315_cast_larry.jpg

pri-tty pri-tty pri-tty warm.

tomorrow: high of 82. The worst is well behind us, ppl.

Thursday
High: 74° Low: 58°

Friday
High: 75° Low: 58°

Saturday
High: 78° Low: 61°

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh

yeah, that's pretty nice. Pri-tty pri-tty pri-tty nice.

i've been enjoying cantaloupe, aka the "muskmelon", quite a bit lately. i like it quartered, then sliced into thin semi-circles, then sprinkled with high-quality cinnamon. YUM. also must be refrigerated.

i luv you muskmelon

"Muskmelon" sounds like you're insulting it. Poor sweet delicious melon.

it makes me think of the musk ox
this one is pretty cute, got a nice flip
http://www.wpclipart.com/animals/M/Musk_Ox.png

^^^ "you're gonna make it after alllllll"

lol

inuit musk ox sculpture, "petulant teenaged musk ox"
http://www.freespiritgallery.ca/Images/imu-15a.jpg

The worst is never behind us.

good attitude, sunshine.

I fear when the warm weather goes away I will just become an inactive slug again.

hooray slugs! I love winter. I read more.

Boo slugs. I'm want to look like this. Except hairier.

I'm want to talk better.

http://www.dlisted.com/files/gayhab.jpg
http://www.dlisted.com/files/gayhab.jpg
http://www.dlisted.com/files/gayhab.jpg

MMMMMM.

Who is that???

that's future jeff

Jonathan Rhys Meyers. I've been watching the Tudors a lot. Actually, I've finished watching all the episodes that have been released. It's complete trash, but addictive. And full of extremely attractive people.

and SAM MOTHER FUCKING NEILL

Sam Neill is right behind Bill Paxton in the pantheon of great actors.

jonathan rhys meyers was so cute in velvet goldmine! but he always seems like a bit of a dumb himbo...

i showed laura that picture (my ex-roommate--she's visiting), and she said that he has vulnerable eyes that make her want to bend him over and do horrible things to him. and she usually likes girls.

well, she likes the skinny and the emo. An she likes to violate them, apparently.

Jeezum he's hot.

haha I didn't want to be the one to say it

He's got that "second moustache" that I knew would eventually follow the shaving/waxing phenomenon.

I like JRM. We went and saw Vanity Fair a couple of years ago when Sarah's dad was visiting and everyone in the movie is all "serious" and dramatic, except for JRM, who is just totally over-the-top and ridiculous. He was the only good thing about the movie. Plus, I love Velvet Goldmine.

We had an automatic letter folder at the N@tional H3adache F0undation, but it did not look like that. It looked like a thresher or some other piece of farm machinery, and was really loud. When I turned it on it went WHRRRRRRRR and then when I ran the letters through it went CHUNKA-CHUNKA-CHUNKA-CHUNKA, and like one-third of the time it would get stuck and ruin a bunch of letters. It was the most noize piece of office equipment ever.

Sounds like a great piece of equipment to represent the N@tional H3adache F0undation.

Why, because it is useless and futile and terrible?

It was one of those nights at Wrigley Field when everything fell into place at just the right time for the Cubs. A line drive to the gap rolled all the way to the wall for Jacque Jones. A Ryan Theriot chopper to the mound bounced out of the pitcher's outstretched glove. And a raucous crowd of 40,884 sang its own version of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" after booing Brewers announcer Bob Uecker during his rendition.

Classy.

Why, because it is useless and futile and terrible?
...and loud and frustrating and (probably) impossible to fix too.

omg the new liars album is freaking great

like, top-ten great

Eh.

ok, but you didn't even like the new spoon, which is just syrup. I still wonder what you're missing about that one.

it's pop! jaymc likes pop, right?

I sent "The Underdog" to Julia over gmail, and later gave her the album, and she said, "I'm worried because when you send me a song it's usually the best song on the album and I don't like the rest of it that much." I assured her this is not the case with this album, and she later agreed. Really great, catchy, accessible record, that Spoon.

The new Liars is really really good, probably their best album. I don't think the new Spoon is one of their best. I still like it more than "Girls Can Tell," but I would say it's probably their second-worst album.

UPDATED SPOON ALBUM RANKINGS:

1. Gimme Fiction
2. Series of Sneaks
3. Kill the Moonlight
4. Telephono
5. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
6. Girls Can Tell

I only turned on the game in the 8th inning last night. Too bad I missed that.

It's freaking sad that I've only been to one game this year.

1. Kill the Moonlight
2. Brit singing in the shower.

Brit is a funny name.

I think it's Britt.

"Anything you Want" is a good song off of Girls Can Tell.

Before venturing into Lake Superior (note lack of spray skirt on kayak):

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1117/1266481975_275f49915b.jpg

After taking ~5ft wave in the face a few minutes later:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1393/1266482127_27354eb77b.jpg

Strangely, I wasn't all that cold!

UPDATED SPOON ALBUM RANKINGS:

1. Gimme Fiction
2. Series of Sneaks
3. Kill the Moonlight
4. Telephono
5. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
6. Girls Can Tell

I disagree with this enormously. Kill the Moonlight mostly meanders, and I don't care for it much. Your hate of Girls can Tell feels personal somehow. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is easily my favorite Spoon album.

Strangely, I wasn't all that cold!

ppl say that right before they freeze to death

to be fair, gimme fiction is my #2 with a bullet

The best Spoon songs are "Everything Hits At Once" and "The Way We Get By."

Nice photos, Dan.

All this time, I don't think I've heard Spoon, but I can rank their cover art:
1. A Series of Sneaks
2. Girls Can Tell
3. Gimme Fiction
4. Kill the Moonlight
5. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
6. Telephono

Your hate of Girls can Tell feels personal somehow.

I reminded myself of a Siskel and Ebert interview, where Siskel accused Ebert of being "personally offended" by Blue Velvet. Ebert said, "I was personally offended by it. It's a really bad movie."

Well, all musical opinions are personal. I'll admit that I think I dislike Girls Can Tell partially because it was a big shift from their earlier, pleasantly sloppy albums to suddenly being really slick and emo. But I also think the songs are much weaker, and I still maintain the production is pretty annoying on most of them. Plus "Fitted Shirt" sounds exactly like Everclear. With the last two albums, they've gotten a lot better at balancing being slick with experimenting with the sound of the songs. It's like "Girls Can Tell" was all about sounding fancy, then "Kill the Moonlight" was about them fucking around with weird sounds, and finally on "Gimme Fiction" they managed to do both successfully.

In all its Pixies-like glory, Telephono is by far my number 1 Spoon album, followed closely behind by Series of Sneaks.

somebody link me to 1 or 2 Spoon songs that I would like on Youtube.

I'm just now listening to this new Springsteen song.

While we're talking about music, I downloaded the new Jens Lekman a couple of weeks ago. At first, I was fairly disappointed. The arrangements, the songs, and the production are some of the best he's ever had. But the lyrics are really, really clunky, to the point of being distracting. However, I will say that as I've gotten used to the lyrics, the album has really grown on me, and now I want to listen to it on almost a daily basis. John, I think you might like some of this album, there's lots of orchestration. One or two of the songs sound like Pizzicato Five with a Finnish dude singing over them.

Jordan: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ro95Ns58qSE

ur a dumbass

I can provide some video links, but the thing about the newer Spoon songs is that they aren't very immediate for the most part, I think they need a few listens over a few days to start to grow on people. At least that's the case for me.

Also their videos mostly suck.

Dan: why am I a dumbass?

b/c I was the one who asked for it, not Jordan. So that makes you extremely stupid.

fuck

Did I mention I am operating on about 5 hours of sleep?

No. But *I* mentioned that ur dumb.

Sister Jack - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLOLM4fmhBs
I Turn My Camera On - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6stA_rVrvs
The Underdog - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LenPKPqvdJA

"Small Town Gay Bar" (the documentary about 2 gay bars in way rural MS) was great. I was careful not to watch it with a "oh,look at the salt of the earth!" or noble-savage-ish mentality, but these country fags were awesome. I feel a kinship with them way more than with city or suburban gays.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay,_Michigan

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/GayBar_GayMichigan.jpg

Oh, Wikipaws....

Gay bar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters exclusively or primarily to a gay and/or lesbian clientele. Other names include gay club or gay pub, queer bar, lesbian bar, dyke bar, or boy bar.

Gay bars range in size from the tiny, five-seat bars of Tokyo to large, multi-story "super-clubs" with several distinct areas and more than one dance floor. A large venue may be referred to as a nightclub, club, or bar, while smaller venues are typically called bars and sometimes pubs. The only defining characteristic of a gay bar is the nature of its clientele. While many gay bars target the gay and /or lesbian communities, some (usually older and firmly established) gay bars have become gay, as it were, through custom, over a long period of time.

The serving of alcohol is the primary business of gay bars and pubs. Like non-gay establishments they serve as a meeting place and community focal point, in which conversation and relaxation is the primary focus of the clientele. Like other clubs, gay clubs are often advertised by handing out eye-catching flyers on the street, in gay or gay-friendly shops and venues, and at other clubs and events. These flyers frequently feature provocative images.

I'm hot.

Kill the Moonlight 4 life

the tiny, five-seat bars of Tokyo

One seat for the wingman.

I want to fuck Spoon's drum sounds.

I listened to Keane - Is It Any Wonder at least 10 times yesterday and now I'm listening to it again.

I liked that one Spoon song--the Camera one.

The new Spoon is one of those records I was excited about until it came out, then I never bought it.

I am finally starting to really like Gimme Fiction though, like, two years later. I think it took hearing 4-5 of the songs outside the context of the album.

I want to fuck Spoon's drum sounds.

The tom in "The Beast and Dragon, Adored" amirite?

Yeah, that sounds very 808-y. I'm not that into toms, though. It's the snare sound that does it for me. He doesn't hit rimshots and yet it's so snappy, yet thick.

Well, Britt Daniels and the drummer, Jim Eno, basically coproduce everything, and they mostly record in the drummer's studio, so I'm guessing the drummer has a lot of say over how the songs sound.

I like that song on the new album where you can hear Daniels telling Eno to record him talking and loop it, and then his voice is looped through the introduction of the song.

oh my....i just saw my paycheck.... thank god i'm still able to work at the restaurant.

Jesse, don't scare me like that!

My new apartment is hot as a motherfucker. I've made a huge mistake.

(or I need a window A/C)

Why don't you want to get one? They aren't very expensive.

Sarah, it's cool...I'm just used to the lavish amounts of cash I got from waitering. Last weekend I made in 12 hours or work what it takes me almost a whole week to make here.

No, I totally do want to get one. I just posted on the work classifieds here to see if anyone has an extra. How much do they run anyway?

Plus on my W-4 I requested that they deduct extra $$ so that I will not have to pay so much on my restaurant taxes next year.

Jordan-- you can easily get one for under $100 at a pawn shop or on Craigslist. You can get a monster motherfucker at Home Depot for $200 I think. Maybe $250. Not bad at all.

I just got one for $70 from someone at work. :>

Good job. How many BTUs?

No idea!

that springsteen song kinda sucks.

How many is, um, good?

5000 will cool one room. 20000 will cool a large apartment.

oh man, this springsteen songs sucks donkeys. :(

I so WANT to like new springsteen.

http://www.fedders.com/BTUsizing.htm

I like it except for the sax solo.

The A/C unit I got for my bedroom ($129 at Sears) is 5300 BTU, which is totally fine.

Amazing fact: My work PC contains ZERO .xls files except those that came with the computer (sample documents).

I don't see how this requires special Spoon time to appreciate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1hZVDLkJDc

Your mom requires special spoon time to appreciate.

it has handclaps, ppl. HANDCLAPS.

Careful with the handclaps - first thing I think of is "I'll Be There For You".

I love that video! It's all one shot, right?

And "Take The Money And Run".

Amazing fact: My work PC contains ZERO .xls files except those that came with the computer (sample documents).

What's amazing about that?

The new Iron & Wine single uses handclaps as the foundation of the beat, which I love.

Jordan, will you plz stop projecting your insecurity about your mom on everyone else? You've been really pissy since I got a social disease from her.

Maybe the magazine on the snare drum is the secret to his sound.

Handclaps make everything better.

"I'll Be There For You".

This has handclaps?

But what magazine? Something thin and matte like Cook's Illustrated, or thick and glossy like Vogue?

SO NO ONE TOLD YOU LIFE WAS GOING TO BE THIS WAY
* CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP*

Good question!

My ten favorite albums this year are probably something like Air, Apparat, Battles, Chromeo, Field Music, Fujiya and Miyagi, LCD Soundsystem, The Sea and Cake, The Shins, and (believe it or not) Wilco.

OK, now I've watched the video and have heard a Spoon song. Neat video. That must've taken forever to plan.

:(

xpost to John

John, the thing I miss about your old blog is the artwork for your current top 10 of the year. Maybe put them in a post once in a while?

About the .xls--

There are things we should have on Excel. Instead my predecessor stored clients' contact info in Word Docs, except the phone numbers and email addresses, which he stored in his own Outlook mail--not even in the Contacts. Grr.

Air - good but really meh
Apparat - great except for the first few "pop" tracks
Battles - unimpeachable
Chromeo - meh
Field Music - pretty darn good
Fujiya and Miyagi - came out last year
LCD Soundsystem - great
The Sea and Cake - pretty dull
The Shins - what?
and (believe it or not) Wilco - not as hard to believe as The Shins

how can you hear the Shins and not have painful paroxysms of Braffity?

Did I already talk about how I think it's weird that the Shins are a pop band but they don't really have any hooks in any of their songs?

(John, I'd be curious to hear your opinion of this Jesca Hoop CD that's coming out in a few weeks.)

xpost you did not. I would like it if you did.

http://www.nialler9.com/blog/images/pocket_symphony.jpghttp://comidaparalospies.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/apparat_walls.jpg
http://www.harmoniummusic.com/images/battles-mirrored.jpg

Oh well. I tried to put cover art for 10 albums in that post, but that's probably too much for ILX to handle.

my top ten as of right now (I has a playlist)

1. Pantha du Prince - This Bliss
2. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
3. The National - Boxer
4. Grinderman
5. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
6. Battles - Mirrored
7. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
8. Nicole Willis and The Soul Investigators - Keep Reachin' Up
9. Dizzee Rascal - Maths and English
10. Gui Boratto - Chromophobia

This is subject to change at any moment.

Well I pretty much said what I had to say.

how can you hear the Shins and not have painful paroxysms of Braffity?

-- kenan, Wednesday, August 29, 2007 10:26 AM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Did I already talk about how I think it's weird that the Shins are a pop band but they don't really have any hooks in any of their songs?

-- n/a, Wednesday, August 29, 2007 10:30 AM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

Don't blame the Shins for Garden State. The new album is pretty great, and one of the things that I like about the Shins is that their hooks are never obvious, they're sort of twisty sometimes. Really nice, warm production, too. That song "Sea Legs" reminds me a lot of Beck's "Paper Tiger," all draggy and beautiful.

Also, Fujiya and Miyagi came out in the UK last year but not in the US until this year, which is when I first heard it, so I'm arbitrarily counting it as a 2007 release.

Well I pretty much said what I had to say.

heh.

sighs all around.

heir hooks are never obvious, they're sort of twisty sometimes

I wholeheartedly agree with this, and I'm not really a Shins fan.

THEIR hooks etc

Nicole Willis and The Soul Investigators came out in Finland in 2005, but not here until this year, so I'm equally arbitrarily counting it.

Can we talk about the weather now?

Sorry. I retract that petulant statement.

OH WE'RE SO SORRY WE'RE NOT ENTERTAINING YOU

J0hn M. Cunn1ngham: I sort of like the way the chorus trips along against those desperately darting guitars, but there's nothing too surprising here. I'm not sure I'd heard Keane before, but this is just about exactly what I thought they'd sound like.
[5]

thing is, September is coming up, and that's the big month for both books and music, so 2007 is far, far from over

Sept. 18 - new Les Savy Fav album

so jazzed

Bleh. I am on my....4th? listening of that Keane song, and I'm thinking it's pretty much worn out now.

Back to Cazwell for a while, I guess.

Yeah, I am anticipating Animal Collective, Kanye West, PJ Harvey, Joni Mitchell, and Jose Gonzalez. Also, I have a feeling Amerie would be in my top 10 IF I COULD EVER ACTUALLY HEAR THE WHOLE ALBUM.

I would love a top ten list that had both panda bear and animal collective in it. :)

I've switched to Peaches - Fuck the Pain Away.

When Courtney and I went to our last Brew and View they played this. Every song they played while we were waiting was truly crude. Things that I had never heard before, but all almost embarrassingly explicit, especially when it was like 20 minutes of these songs, back to back.

I haven't heard ten albums from this year. Out of what I have heard, I like:

Battles
Dizzee
Bumps
UGK (haven't heard the whole thing yet)
a few songs off the Prince album

And a bunch of brass band bootlegs and pre-release stuff that no one cares about.

Have I mentioned that I found a bar with Prince's Lovesexy on the digital jukebox? For a dollar it will seriously play the whole 40 min track.

Alphabet St., When 2 R In Love, Lovesexy, anything else on there?

The whole thing!

I've had the new Animal Collective for a little while, I'm not that impressed. It just sounds like more of the same. Maybe I'm just tired of their sound, I didn't really like Feels that much either. But I do like the Panda Bear album, so who knows.

My Top 7 of 2007 so far (sure I'm missing some stuff here - and some of these haven't officially been released!):
* The National - Boxer
* Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
* Figurines - When the Deer Wore Blue
* Future of the Left - Curses
* Blonde Redhead - 23
* Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortadala
* Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

I wanted to put Girl Talk in there, but apparently Night Ripper came out in '06.

Uh ok fine, 11 faves so far, no particular order:

The National - Boxer
Liars - Liars
Future of the Left - Curses
Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortadala
Blonde Redhead - 23
Bonde do Role - With Lasers
Pissed Jeans - Hope for Men
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Battles - Mirrored
Deerhunter - Cryptograms
Jesu - Conquerer

Bo-ring, I like indie rock.

Wow. I hate you all, with your lists.

I'm no better, I guess, with my boring blog-style posts.

Things I wouldn't mind hearing (that have already been released):

Kathy Diamond, Kelly Clarkson, Deerhunter, Amerie, Pantha du Prince, Miranda Lambert, Blitzen Trapper, Electrelane, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Tegan and Sara.

xpost Fuck off and go caulk in the shower.

Sorry, Jesse, I hate lists too, it was just peer pressure.

I held out for as long as I could, until my own wife betrayed me.

for the record, maybe I should list the rest of that massive playlist:

11. The Field - From Here We Go To Sublime
12. Field Music - Tones of Town
13. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
14. Justice
15. Matthew Dear - Asa Breed
16. Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta!
17. Apparat - Walls
18. Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline
19. Grouper - Cover the Windows and the Walls
20. Blonde Redhead - 23

Wow. I hate you all, with your lists.

only because our lists make you feel lame. Admit it.

My list makes me feel lame.

From now on, nothing but fugues for me.

lists r lame

I know. Listing things takes all the piss out of them.

Except for Pissed Jeans, because the piss is right in the name.

On vintage 78s, played through a dusty Victrola, with a dalmation listening to it.

Nothin' but fugues.

this morning i found caulk in my butt crack.

http://tesla.rcub.bg.ac.yu/~mrsasha/muzika/klasika_gif_tab/gitara/j_s_bach/Fugue-2-100.gif

You know what's great? Old scratchy records of Caruso. A+++

My friend Tomas' high school band put out a tape called Psychogenic Fugue.

Fascinating.

Not quite as rapturously compelling as your iTunes playlist, I agree.

Your lists make me feel bored, but I'm sure fashion critiques do the same for many others. So I abstain!

everything is boring except for boobs.

top 10 boobs:

This year I've liked the Innocence Mission record, half the Jesca Hoop record, "No Pussy Blues", the Shellac Peel Sessions more than the LP, um...more good live shows than new records, I guess.

ooh... i like the shellac lp. I will reconsider it before the year is out.

Deerhunter & Bonde Do Role! Add those to my list.

I guess I own CDs the way other people own DVDs -- doesn't really matter what's new and what's old. On the El a few times I've tried coming up with a list of my favorites from this decade. Chuck Prophet's The Hurting Business, Matthew Ryan's Concussion, the Lavender Diamond EP (not the LP), Pet Shop Boys Disco 3, um...

I haven't listened to any new music in 2007 except for bands I've seen live by accident. I only listen to music that was recorded in the basements of previously-unknown teenagers before I was 8 years old.

there are no cash prizes for listening to the best music

I have to remind myself of that sometimes.

That's a good motto. There is only free beer.

Honestly, I've spent about half my time this year, probably more, just listening to United States of America, Grateful Dead, 13th Floor Elevators, and the like.

I've been listening to a lot of R. Kelly.

I just read this, and find it amusing: "if you're looking for sympathy, you can find it between shit and syphilis in the dictionary."

Also between "sodomy" and "sysadmin."

"sister" and "syntax"

David Sedaris Ringtones
Get David Sedaris ringtones instantly! No credit card required.

??

there could be a whole line of NPR ringtones. Or better yet, alarm clocks. "Wake to the sound of pinched, nasally voices totally unsuited for radio or anything else." Come to think of it, I do that every morning.

I used to have a mad crush on the voice of the guy who did Marketplace. but now someone else does Marketplace.

A couple weeks ago, I awoke to the voice of Sarah Vowell. I remember this, because it made an indelible impression on my half-awake brain.

Horseshoe, was the guy you liked David Brancacchio?

David Sedaris says, "I've never seen the Internet. I don't have email."

There was some other writer...I forget who, who recently said that he had never been on the internet. It's surprising to me when people say that. A guy I work (restaurant) with told me that too, and I didn't believe him at first, but now I do. He's in his mid-30s.

I think so, John! I dig a nice speaking voice.

I've been listening to a LOT of new music this year, but that is different for me. It's probably the first year that I've keeping up with most new releases since I graduated from college, and is all thanks to finally having high-speed internet and figuring out how to find stuff to download. But this is an usual year for me, usually I just listen to what I listened to in college, ie more boring indie rock.

This is an UNUSUAL year for me

Random: There is a great pic of 0ffice (the Chi band) in Time Out this week. Their scratch1e album debuts 9/25.

David Sedaris says, "I've never seen the Internet. I don't have email."

David Sedaris says, "If it weren't for reruns of my old speaking gigs on This American Life, most people would have already forgotten about me."

According to the New York Times, Hillary Duff covered "Major Tom (Coming Home)" at her Radio City concert.

I dig a nice speaking voice.
OOOOOH so do I, lady, so do I. A memorable voice will go a loooong way.

I don't listen to any new indie rock at all. I just realized that.

According to the New York Times, Hillary Duff covered "Major Tom (Coming Home)" at her Radio City concert.

Awesome.

Although, if there really is a new PJ Harvey album coming out, I'm definitely anticipating it.

I don't listen to any new indie rock at all.

It's true. Why would we make that up?

WHEN. Details please.
I love that woman. LOVE.

September 25

I love her nose. :)

http://www.cluas.com/images/music/gigs/pj_harvey.jpg

whee! excited. that's soon!

I like when records come out of nowhere without advance advertising and profiles -- just bam, there it is, new record by your favorite.

what did you think of Uh Huh Her?

Kenan is a nose man.

Of course I only ask so I can tell you MY opinion. ;)

I didn't care for it much. But contrary to a lot of opinions, I think Stories From The City is really great, one of her best.

I liked it ok, but I don't listen to it much now. When it came out, I loved it. Since then, I have sort of forgotten about it. I guess I want her to be super weird again, but that might not happen. Because it's her, I'm willing to give it a try.

David Sedaris says, "If it weren't for reruns of my old speaking gigs on This American Life, most people would have already forgotten about me."

This is not only untrue, it is patently absurd. He packs the house at places like the Chicago Theatre and his books sell like crazy. Say what you want, his popularity is still on the rise.

yeah you're right, even my dad likes him nowadays, which is kinda weird. I just kinda feel like I got it, I don't need much more of him. But I guess I'm all alone. ;_;

Naturally.

I liked the NYer story Jesse sent me.

chicago people can you please keep kenan a little busier please?

heh.

Sorry. I am in a mood today, it's true.

This one.

Hey, Tom. Welcome to the dark side.

It's fine to be tired of him, but it's just silly to say no one cares about him.

I'm gonna keep saying the same thing different ways.

no, you're right.

On my lunch I printed off a bunch of Sedaris' things from the NYer. I have no book to read right now, and this will be a nice inter-book DS fix.

Kenan, David Sedaris is really popular.

I TAKE IT BACK OK

i should take this whole day back.

I'm just saying that people like him and you're wrong.

I just wish you understood that.

OK I am seriously getting sick of one of my bandmates' bullshit. Dude is the biggest immature baby of a 30+ year old I have ever met.

what is he doing?

Oh noes! Tell us.

lol bandmates

I'm funna order myself some bidness cards.

He's just being a bitch, complaining about how I can't practice at certain times even though I've given lots of notice about it, repeatedly. Then there's his inability to listen to other people's input (not just mine) on some musical things. It's just grating, something doesn't go the way he envisions and he acts like a spoiled brat only child who's been told they're the smartest and best their whole life.

The bitches! The bitches!

Speaking of... Sis said that when she was visiting my dad's this weekend and a ton of relatives and their kids all came over, my stepmom hid upstairs the entire time and refused to come down. AWESOME!

Amanda, me too on the PJ Harvey love. LOVE.

and I want her to be superweird again too. and to never, never date someone like Vincent Gallo again.

What period PJ are you guys defining as superweird?

I thought it was interesting to read recently that of all her albums her own favorite is Is This Desire?

I guess by superweird I meant not like Stories from the City or Uh Huh Her. My favorite PJ albums are Dry and Rid of Me. I love about half of Is this Desire?

he acts like a spoiled brat only child
;_; not all of us are bratty/spoiled

By superweird I meant Rid of Me/4 Track Demos era...I agree about 1/2 of Is This Desire. I like most of that album but there are tracks I always skip to get to the good ones, the more storytelly ones. I want her to do an album of noisy dirges about a lost colony or something. More wailing, less sailing. More concept, less verse-chorus-verse. I want her to think big ideas, not big audience. That's what I want.

For years 4 Track Demos was my favorite PJ Harvey album.

Have any of her early classix been remastered? They're really hard to hear. And I always want to turn them up really loud.

xpost But that may be because I never actually heard Rid of Me for a long time. She may still be my favorite artist by whom I have no actual CDs. (I had 4 Track Demos on a dubbed cassette in high school.)

you know, I don't know, Amanda. I lurve Dry, but I need to, like, put my ear up to the speakers to hear it properly. one of the nice things about seeing her live is hearing those songs loud!

Absolutely! I've only seen her once, but if she comes back, WE THERE, me and you.

I've only seen her once, as well, two days after 9/11. I took a bus to see her in Manchester in 1998, but when we got to the venue, they said she'd cancelled the gig because of a sore throat. :(

yay! I can't wait.

I would rather not know that she had anything to do with Vincent Gallo. Gross.

I say that as if I haven't dated any monstrous trolls.

Truth: I have.
http://www.thirdwayblog.com/images/400/troll.0.jpg

I have an mp3 of PJ Harvey, Vincent Gallo, and John Frusciante covering "Moon River."

yeah, when I found out about that, I had mixed feelings. I was like, ew, PJ Harvey, what? but on the other hand I was like, I guess she's just a mere mortal like the rest of us, making bad dating choices, etc.

Exactly. That picture actually resembles someone I once dated.

That sounds fascinatingly vile.

xpost to jaymc

2x

troll xbf: also vile

Hmmm, I like Gallo's music. He sounds like Chet Baker.

I mean, dude's still a giant sleazeball, don't get me wrong.

I didn't even know he had music! I just can't stand the idea that he gets amazing women like PJ Harvey.

Maybe she was going through a phase. That must have been it.

Well, if it makes you feel better, I don't think it was ever actually confirmed that they were dating, was it?

He's got his hypnotism act down pat.

anyone here know someone who works for playboy

Yes. Not me, but I know that there is someone here who knows someone who does. I'll wait for him to identify himself.

I can't say I've every knowingly heard PJ Harvey.

My podiatrist is in the same building as Playboy Enterprises.

Dear Valued Chicago Card Plus Customer:

Due to insufficient state funding, the Chicago Transit Authority Board recently approved a contingency plan which includes changes to CTA service and fares. Without additional funding, this contingency plan will take effect on September 16, 2007. Customers who pay with cash or Transit Cards and use the CTA weekdays will pay higher fares at rail stations and on buses (depending on the time of day they ride). Fares will also increase for customers who use Chicago Card® and Chicago Card Plus®. Visit www.transitchicago.com to learn more about CTA's 2007 fare changes.

Under this plan, beginning September 16, the fare for Chicago Card and Chicago Card Plus customers will increase from $1.75 to $2.00 per ride, and 25¢ for a transfer (which allows two additional rides within two hours of issuance), regardless of the time of day. However, the bonus structure currently in place will remain, providing a $2 bonus for every $20 of Pay-Per-Use value added to an account. The cost of a 30-day unlimited Chicago Card Plus card will also increase from $75.00 to $84.00.

If the fare change goes into effect on September 16, the new $2.00 fare will be deducted from your Pay-Per-Use Chicago Card Plus account. Those who use the Chicago Card Plus 30-day unlimited ride pass, and whose reload occurs on or after September 16, will be charged the new rate of $84.00 on their accounts.

Chicago Card and Chicago Card Plus offer the best value for traveling on CTA. Thank you for choosing Chicago Card Plus as your fare payment option.

motherfuck

http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2004/04/gallery/gpaltrowanniv/gpaltrow.jpg
http://www.beammeupjames.com/traficant_zoom.jpg

Oooh I forgot to mention that my sax-playin', jazz-lovin' coworker went to see Musician on Friday and said it was "GREAT".

One of my sax-playin', jazz-lovin' friends works at Playboy. U need a job, deej?

yay!

good night chicago.

I have no real interest in hearing Polyphonic Spree spin-off project St. Vincent, but I have more respect for her after reading that the name of her album, "Marry Me," is an Arrested Development reference.

My brother loves that album.

So sad about the Chicago Card rate increase. I suppose I should walk in to work more.

I don't mind it, anything to improve the transit infrastructure. Raising rates is inevitable.

I know you're right, but it's my PRECIOUS PRECIOUS MONIES.

Someone was telling me recently that fares will be going up to $3 soon.

I wonder if it's possible to stock up on the 30-day passes before the rate goes up.

Admittedly, it's no real tragedy for us, but I feel bad for the poor folks who ride it to work.

I'm going to start my own public transportation system.

The NTA.

If we weren't fighting in that war...

It's going to be based around a fleet of hovercars.

I'm guessing many poorer people don't use Chicago Card +. I'd rather see my rates increase rather than the regular transit cards.

Hmm... I have never noticed which cards they use. No, I take that back... I think they almost always pay in cash. THEY. THE PO' FOLKS.

Have you ever eaten at a Po' Folks? I remember they had good hush puppies.

http://www.pofolksbuenapark.com/pofolks2.jpg

Eazy, I'm sorry by lame-oh* daddykins** will be in town, and we won't be able to party down with you.

* Just said that to sound dramatic and cool
** Said that to sound more like a princess

Nick, When you found that image, did you notice if they are still in business?

Well I'll just have to bring my dad to town next Friday, nyah nyah.

I have more respect for her after reading that the name of her album, "Marry Me," is an Arrested Development reference.

Me and MCunning both love that record, apparently. I didn't realize she was a Polyphonic Spree spinoff when I got it. It's not about that at all.

Sorry Eazy, I'm hanging out with your dad next Friday.

Chicago Jazz Festival 2007 - who should I see from this list?

How can you go wrong with a name like Dan Trudell's B3 Bombers?

that all looks pretty good

I know most of the guys in that band (Clyde Stubblef1eld plays on their record, don't know if he's on the gig).

Now if they're B3 Bombers, I'm expecting Hammond-organ-on-Hammond-organ action.

I heard a great term the other day: "soundcheck rock", and I guess there could be "soundcheck jazz" too. This means bands that have sequences where different instruments play unaccompanied (during solos, whatever), as at a soundcheck.

That would be great to have a song called "Soundcheck" that would work for a soundguy but also be a real song.

the lyrics are "Check, 1, 2, 3, sybillance sybillance"

More quality-of-life changes:

The Governor's FY08 spending plan calls for a dramatic 35% cut (over $7 million) to the Illinois Arts Council (IAC) budget. This decrease in funding will undoubtedly have a devastating impact to the arts statewide and significantly reduce the funds available for IAC grant programs. Furthermore, the Governor completely eliminated the Arts and Foreign Language grant program through the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

This dangerous decision will have very negative implications for all the people of Illinois. Support from the Illinois Arts Council is crucial to the success of artists, arts organizations, and entities providing arts programming throughout the state. Strategic investments made by the Illinois Arts Council to community theaters, dance studios, schools, local festivals, libraries, museums, and park districts enhance our overall quality of life and have a significant impact on the economic health and vitality of the state - creating jobs, boosting tourism, and revitalizing downtowns.

The budget approved by the legislature on August 10, 2007 would have increased the Illinois Arts Council's budget by $3.6 million from last yea! r's budget level and brought us very close to our goal: a budget of $24 million for the Illinois Arts Council, or $2 per person, per year in Illinois. The budget also would have increased the Arts and Foreign Language grant program at ISBE to over $6 million in FY08 to assist school districts in providing valuable arts and foreign language programming.

starts with 2 minutes of kick drum, then 2 minutes of snare, one minute of floor tom, one minute of full kit, 2 minutes of solo bass, 2 minutes of solo guitar, and 3 minutes of acapella vocals before the song REALLY KICKS IN.

Additional lyrics: "Yeah, can I get more of me in my monitor?"

I'm more upset about the Illinois Arts Council cuts. That sucks.

http://M.assetbar.com/uuakv8q33.gif

Basically all I did yesterday was read Achewood, sorry.

That one rules.

I ordered the Achewood cookbook like a month ago, nothing yet. :(

I told Sarah I wanted this t-shirt:
http://achewood.com/shop/rsrc/img/app_detail_sci.gif
She said she didn't get it.

That reminds me of Ask Dr. Science.

I don't get it either. Am I out of the club?

What's to get? We need more science.

Right. I don't know that it's any less explicable than most Achewood strips.

I like that shirt.

I wear this one all the time:

http://www.achewood.com/shop/rsrc/img/appm_premt_qsmwy.jpg

Anyone here use the pre-tax income deduction to pay for the CTA? I am looking at doing that at my work here, but I need to be clearer on how it works. You authorize your employer to deduct a certain amount, I know that, but then do they use that money to buy you a CTA card? Does the employee have to do anything? I need to be able to explain this to my boss.

I do it. We go through a service called WageWorks. You sign up on a website and get monthly emails notifying you of the deduction and how to cancel it. Then you get a card in the mail a few days before the end of the month. I have no idea if this is only how it works at UofC or elsewhere or what.

It depends, on how it is set up. The way mine works is $75 gets deducted each month from my pay check, pre tax. It goes to a company called Conexis that deposits into my Chicago Card account. I had to link my Chicago Card with Conexis, at the Conexis website.

Too many words in Achewood comics.

argh the CTA is such bullshit.

long live the NTA!

Guess how much the NTA will cost?

One.
Shiny.
Nickel.

And a dream in your heart.

We get free FlatTop Grill lunch today, oh yeah.

I just signed up through my job (filled out a form from HR), and I received my Chicago Card Plus in the mail shortly thereafter. As I understand it, my job deducts $75 from my paycheck every month, and that's good for unlimited CTA rides. And since it's a Chicago Card Plus, I don't need a new one each month; I've been using the same card for the last three years. I really don't do anything.

(Hmmm, I don't think that there's any middleman for us, like WageWorks or Conexis. If I want to view my Chicago Card account, I just do so on the CTA's Chicago Card website.)

Are Wageworks and Conexis your payroll companies? Ours is Paychex, a company that has done payroll for a few places I've worked. Catch does their own, by the way.

I couldn't tell ya. I am inclined to say no, but I really don't have a clue.

I like the Flat Top.

I just don't want to go into this half-cocked. CTA website doesn't so much do much explaining. I left them a message to call me about this.

You know, just so you're up to date on how this matter is progressing...

No, our payroll is internal. Conexis is just the company we use for transportation benefits and medical savings accounts.

Chicago Jazz Festival 2007 - who should I see from this list?

Does anyone maybe want to check this out on Sunday? It's the only day I can go, I think.

While I'm asking work questions (probably best directed toward Sarah, but also for anyone else in a small office experience): I need an *affordable* file storage and management company. We have like 600 boxes of files currently in storage. A few months ago the firm placed an order to have 500 files destroyed. It cost $3500! That is in addition to the already expensive monthly storage fees. Even pulling a single file is likely to run around $100.

Anyway, I would put them in a self-storage place, but then I would have to lug them there and mess with digging through them and pulling a file. But also, we don't need quite the heavy duty security of Ir0n M0unt@in...

Annoying.

for $3500, i will personally destroy 500 files. using only my teeth.

dan, i think we're planning on going to some of the jazz fest thing, but haven't worked anything out other than that. but i think we have no real plans this weekend so could probably go anytime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlu-EioI34Q

Notice the guy at the end.

Hostages:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070830bank,0,51520.story

Wow, it feels weird that this sort of thing still happens outside of movies.

My new air conditioner is 6000 BTUs in case anyone was wondering.

6k? Niiiice.

Sadly, I don't have an answer for you, Jesse. It seems that we just keep everything in office for 5 years or so, depending on what it is.

We had "build your own taco lunch" as a going-away party for a couple of people leaving our department. It was good but kind of sad... people are jumping ship left and right.

:-(
Tacos shouldn't be associated with sadness.

I am feelin' good in the neighborhood today. I'm ready for my birthday season to start.

I think we have a basement where the "archives" are kept. Nobody I know has actually been in this basement, though.

Ours are kept in the mezzanine.

We're having a bday celebration for a coworker tomorrow and in the birthday season spirit, I will pretend it's for me, even though I'll have my own next week.

Paper files, how quaint a notion!

people are jumping ship left and right.

same here. My boss told me this morning that she's looking for another job. It's really bad and depressing around here.

but WOO HOO doctor's appointment tomorrow for ADHD meds and possibly stronger sleep meds than the stuff I have, so hopefully even if I do get laid off I'll be rested and focused enough to deal with it a little better.

Still, all in all... :(

There's a position open here for Managing Editor of Current Anthropology if anyone's into that sort of thing.

Someone should impose the Pitchfork style and rating system on the anthropology field.

Yeah, because it's so scientifically sound.

5.5

"I just don't find this aspect of the people's culture as personally gratifying as their earlier efforts at civilization."

"Really just a retread of their earlier settlement. The same elements are in place: pyramid architecture, early agriculture, and primitive animal husbandry. Yawn."

indian buffet zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Coming of age in Samoa proves to be a worthy addition to the adolescence genre."

My boss was at the screening of Musician last Friday, too. She was talking about it at lunch and many other people seemed quite interested!

i'm gonna pop in to say "yay!"
then i will disappear for a few hours

i think there is a wasp in my house and i am terrified of stepping on it.

Paper files, how quaint a notion!

Haha. Maybe outside of a legal office, but you would not believe the reams and reams and reams of paper we go through even in this very small office. Notes, transcripts, evidence, court documents--most replicated in triplicate or quadruplicate (copies for us, client, opposing attorney(s), court, etc.). Paper gives me nightmares.

Have you invested in some lotion for your desk?

And then there is the whole quaintness of Word Perfect being the field's standard word processing software. We're sort of mavericks at this office b/c we dare to use MS Word--it's sort of equivalent to an office that uses Macs.

omg is it the 80's there?

Sarah: http://static.eway.com/catalog/1/ce02_103487_pfd.jpg

The 80's? Where?

500 in 2 days! u guys are serious!

lol wordperfect

I wonder how it got to be that WP is the legal field's standard?

I had a professor in my sophmore yr of college who insisted that it was a superior program and *strongly* encouraged everyone to write their papers on it, at least for his class.

I wonder how it got to be that WP is the legal field's standard?

The same way that you still have acres of paper files.

My boss was formerly a lawyer, and he has me make a ton of copies of everything JUST IN CASE.

I think the last time I used WordPerfect was like 1995.

That said, I do prefer editing on paper rather than onscreen. There's something more satisfying about it.

i LOVE wordperfect

Guys remember when we were talking about going and partying in the woods? If people don't mind driving 8 hours, we can do it here any old time we want:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1356/1267342080_b65747946c.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1127/1266536363_4d5a93c574.jpg

(yes, I am cleaning out my camera from the past weekend)

How would you propose we eliminate paper files? I suppose everything could be scanned to PDF, but that would seem to make things much, much harder when you're trying to pull a piece of evidence that is in the form single hand-written page in the middle of 100 other hand-written pages...it's helpful to have your hands on the physical papers.

Dan, I think that looks like a perfect spot to drink BEER.

Fun! I would want to go.

I have done a lot of beer-drinking there.

Yes, please!
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/100/258278517_b786bc6d82_m.jpg

I suppose everything could be scanned to PDF

But if everything could be electronic in the first place...

Right. First you get a nerd to set up a redundant storage system, a couple of big HDs ought to do it (a tape drive would be ridic, but maybe given the situation it would be appropriate?). Once that is done you quit paper cold turkey. PDFs are searchable these days, anyway.

How do you search in a PDF?

You just need the system they had in teh Bourne Ultimatum, where they were smart-searching through photos/video of that dude's paper documents looking for clues to where he went.

xp Well, I'm sure it doesn't work if you're talking about scanned handwritten notes. But for anything that's not scanned, Acrobat Pro has a search function in the toolbar and in one of the drop-down menus as well. Works pretty much like every other search out there on the web or in software.

Shoot. Most of our PDFs are scans. :-(

YOU TURDS ARE NOT PAYING ATTENTION-- (xpost)

A lot of the documents I deal with are handwritten, and not produced here. Say a boss draws a picture of an employee with huge boobs, and writes a dirty note on it--now we could request that bosses only harrass their employees in electronic form, but I doubt they would comply. Same with court docs--all are filed electronically (in Federal court) but we are required to submit courtesy copies and to keep physical copies in the office. Also, copies of taxes, check stubs, photographs, etc.

The idea of a paperless office is absurd. As is the idea of a virtual workplace--face-to-face meetings will NEVER be replaced.

The idea of using handwritten notes to do business is what is absurd.

I get annoyed with the attitude that electronic/digital is inherently superior to analog. It can be superior, just as it can be impractical.

Or even detrimental. Handwritten notes are quick and paper is always available.

Fine, enjoy life in the 20th century.

You are seriously suggesting that paper will be significantly reduced? People were heralding the paperless office 30 years ago, and it hasn't even come close to happening. In fact, with the availability of cheap and easy printing and copying, we're drowning in paper now more than ever!

If it weren't you, Dan, I would think you were purposely trying to get a rise out of me, or be willfully obtuse.

If I want to make sure a co-worker gets a message, I write it on a post it and stick it on the computer screen, or leave papers on his chair. If it is less urgent, I can send an email or voicemail.

guys why are we no longer talking about drinking beer where Dan's picture is from?

WP is definitely not the standard at very large firms.

Well for starters, I wasn't (barely) alive 30 years ago, so I don't know what happened then.

I do know now, in my office and at my university, paper records (let's not lose focus) are being reduced constantly. The journals I work on? Less and less paper subscriptions every month. I think they only print low 4-figure quantities of the print editions. We charge authors out the ass if they submit physical copies (i.e. paper) of their manuscripts, just to try to keep them from doing so.

At school I had a class partially dedicated to using electronic resources instead of paper. The practice of registering for classes, getting your grades, checking out books from the library, paying the bill... everything is electronic.

I am certainly not saying that paper is going away any time soon (if I had my druthers, I'd be doing print design). I am saying for archival record-keeping and administrative tasks it is fast becoming an anachronism. Electronic storage is secure enough at this point that it makes sense. It's a better choice envinronmentally, too. Have you ever seen (or, actually, smelled) a paper plant?

xps: Let's go drink beer at my cottage! Talk about anachronisms, it's made out of logs!

I believe paperless will happen. The problem in this industry is that you still have people working here that were born in the 20s.

Jesse, I understand where you're coming from, but at my old job there was no accountability for things that were easily lost on handwritten notes (Oh! It was on a post it? It must have fallen off. I didn't see it!) or face-to-face conversations. Everything -- EVERYTHING -- needed to be recorded electronically in order to be able to withstand scrutiny from the top brass.

Boss: Oh, you already contacted that person?
Me: Yes, I have the email right here -- dated 2 weeks ago.

No questions asked. If I had just talked to the person, there would be no "reliable record" of that. No one was above making shit up so everyone was held accountable electronically.

xp EXACTLY

My office is pretty close to paperless.

xpost

Same here re: email timestamps (and "file last modified" timestamps).

Hahah Jeff I first read that as "The problem in this industry is that you still have people working here that were born in THEIR 20s." It was better that way.

Even our emails get printed out here. We print off all emails and file them in the paper file.

I'm with Jesse on this. I already said that I like editing on paper because it's more "satisfying," and yes, I do like being able to emphatically cross things out better than hitting backspace, but I also think that it's easier for me to catch errors on paper than it is in an electronic file. Maybe not for spacing issues (I sometimes have to go to the electronic version to see if there's one space or two), but for everything else.

Jenny made it sound like WP was pretty much what legal folks used. What do I know. All I know is that our old files are WP, and newer stuff is MS Word.

Even our emails get printed out here. We print off all emails and file them in the paper file.

Yeah, a lot of places do this in my industry, and it is some paranoid and redundant shit.

Given that I have limited office experience, I can't argue from extensive experience as far as paper.

My urban geography professor was a great pontificator on the inviability of the virtual workplace and the paperless office. He liked to point out how the US government has increased their paper output since the Paperwork Reduction Act in the early '80s.

Hahah Jordan OTM.

Seriously, the only paper I have in my office is stuff I have printed out to make sure that other offices can print stuff okay. Otherwise everything is online.

jeff otm about the age divide. The head of my department is 70-something, and I have to print out web design examples for him to look at. There is no convincing him otherwise, no way to email him a link to look at, etc. He's a nice man, it's not that... he just doesn't understand the difference between what happens on a screen and what happens on paper. *shrug* Nothing to be done. I've stopped getting frustrated with him.

Even considering my argument, I am kind of taken aback at the amount of paper we go through.

Right now I am abstracting a deposition. The depo is really short--only around 70 pages--but it has been printed 3X and bound. Now I will write a 15 or so page abstract, which we will copy for 2 attorneys and 1 for the record. There are 5 or 6 depos in this case so far, this being the shortest. So that's around 1100 pages right there for a small part of this one trial. Yeeks.

Actually, not *really* short, but short....The others are around 80-110 pages. With each printed page containing 4 pages of reduced original text.

I am also thinking about the files for a particular project that are basically just stacks of newspaper clips. Some of those articles are certainly online, but they don't stick around the Internet forever, and it seems silly to waste time scanning them when a good pair of scissors and a manila folder will do.

My dad, two days ago: "I hate email. It takes me an hour to sift through the junk that people send me."

What kind of junk? Notifications that this or that had been done. Status reports. Basically, stuff that was there to prove that Person X had told Person Y things a, b, and c so that when Person Z came along and asked "Why you fuck up"? Person X can say, "I notified Y of that possiblity two weeks ago" and s/he stays out of trouble.

Guess what -- it's here to stay, old dude.

Archiving newspapers and other stuff is another issue entirely - see that Nicholson Baker book:
http://www.randomhouse.com/images/dyn/cover/?source=9780375726217&height=300&maxwidth=170

I like paper. Tactile is good. I'll sometimes print off a paper I'm writing (or used to in school) so that I could get my hands on it. Or I would cut it up and tape sentences back in order. It changes the way you think.

iViva el papel!

My company is literally one of the biggest paper consumers in the city.

If you have good document management software, even scanned files aren't that bad. If you file them with the appropriate metadata and client/matter number, it's easy as pie to find what you need.

Ooooh good point about metadata, I forgot to mention that.

I wish i had handwritten all that stuff i typed in macword in the 1990s.

I am getting a lot of agreement from Jenny on IM-- on handwritten notes Jen: it's the fastest, cheapest, and easiset way to take notes in business

it would be totally gross to sit there typing away on a lap top while meeting with a client

Jen: i'm snowed in under a drift of paper as we speak.
i'm not kidding.
me: no shit! me too!
Jen: i should take a picture and flickrize it so you can post it

Jen: i'd love to take a pic of some of the attorney's offices with every vertical space covered in stacks of paper

i mean, christ, these attorneys PRINT OUT THEIR EMAILS
me: yes!

i said the same thing
we print out emails, and copy them in triplicate

Jen: you've got to keep everything in one place, and since so much of what we need to keep track of is paper, paper it is.

Jen: you can e-file court docs
but then?
we print them out.
in triplicante
that's spanish!
triplicante!

That sounds like a lot of agreement on how things are, but uh not exactly a positive endorsement.

But on the indispensability, we agree.

I'm getting tired of the sound of my arguing in my head. In my head.

why doesn't jenny jump into the fracas herself?

Jenny only argues with her friends on paper these days.

I don't see anything wrong with taking notes on a laptop btw, even if I don't do it myself.

Jesse: law 4-evah
yeh
paper
waste!
woooo

me: FUCK TREES
just like in Evil Dead 2

Jesse: i'm gonna go throw away unopened reams now.

me: i'm going to use one page off a legal pad and then go throw the rest of it in the river.

Taking notes on a laptop in class: classic
Taking notes on a laptop while meeting with a legal client: total dud

Typing up hand-written notes: c/d?

I guess it's different in the software industry.

me: FUCK TREES

OK.

http://kunstonline.dk/profil/pics/paul_mccarthy_2.jpg

xp to Jordan: Yes, I would imagine it would be.

we miss you, jenny

2x

OK, I just saw that cottage photo and we have to go up there. First weekend in October, maybe?

dan- did you get your car back?

y

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1320/1270849519_d85b4ddf39.jpg

THIS IS JESSE

Bally's has a summer-time seasonal location on North Avenue.

/JESSE

dudes no one asked about ro-pa bank robbery.

i would have had nothing to say, but hey. bank robbery = excitement in rogers park?

wow, that ADD thread was probably the highlight of my day.

haha

and apparently the lowlight of many others.

Oh dear. Jenny and I went out and somehow now I have a hangover. Bad.

I have athlete's foot on both feet.

It burns.

Hey guys guess what, on the merits of the "paperless office" vs. printing things out/writing things out: IT DEPENDS.

Read this interview about perpetual adolescence.

What I’m mostly trying to define is the change in attitudes toward growing up. Reading Lionel Trilling, I was struck by what he saw. He noted the complete eradication of the notion of making a life with a beginning, middle and end. That would be the sea change, that aspiration has disappeared. It used to be a reflexive action to reject your growing years. People were expected to grow out of adolescence and lose certain traits such as the self-absorption, lack of identity and striving of a young person to find himself. We as a society no longer expect to find ourselves, it’s become an open-ended process.

I read a review of that book on Wednesday, probably in the NYT. It sounded pretty annoying, actually.

Yeah, I'm not saying I agree with it or disagree...I haven't read it and don't intend to. I just thought it was mildly interesting.

My dad gave me a (totally different) book a week ago and asked if I had finished it yet. Uhhhh...I haven't even started it.

The review made it sound like her book was basically an extended, unfocused rant, that tried to connect the immaturity of U.S. adults to (of course) the rise of Osama bin Laden.

haha
oh dear. that's undignified.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/books/29grim.html?_r=1&ref=books&oref=slogin

Ok, Dan, so how big is this cottage inside? Are there any cots? How much would it cost? What what?

We as a society no longer expect to find ourselves, it’s become an open-ended process.

that's more than wrong. it's a comma splice.

Not that I'm defending this insane woman's point, but this was an interview. She was TALKING.

And where exactly is that cabin?

I'm pumped for Starved Rock too.

Soooo... my Dad is in town. I don't know if he sleeps. Last night he had me up talking until almost midnight when I said I really needed to get to bed, but he seemed wide awake. Then this morning when I got up at 5:45 he was ready for the day. So then we went to eat breakfast at Alliance, he walked with me to work, and then he headed off to explore. I tried to make him take a map, but he said he prefers to ask for directions. I tried to give him a bottled water and he said he'll find something along the way if he wants it.

Hey, Amanda. :-D

Self-sufficient man. I hope he has a fun day here.

We don't need to talk about the crazy lady anymore. I know you posted that link because it was topical, given the discussion we were having last week.

but he said he prefers to ask for directions

lacks the need to sleep + this = your dad is The Thing, possibly

She was TALKING.

Oh, I know. The comma splice was clearly the writer's fault.

http://www.otherlandtoys.co.uk/images/thing2.jpg

I want to revive your "people have too many opinions" thread.

I also want to pretend to be sick so I can go home and not face 20-some students.

I will not do either of these things nor will I keep track of them in a memo pad.

ok.

let's not turn this into the "do you have a real illness" thread though, plz.

and the editors of newsweek should know better than to make such an obvious grammatical error. :)

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/commitment.png

How big: I dunno, 20x20?
Cots: Actual beds!
Cost: Uh, what? You mean to get up there or to use it? The former: ~500mi of gas money. The latter: nothing, we own it.
Where: Agate Harbor, MI

xpost HA

That comic strip is basically the plot of every romantic comedy movie ever.

WEEKEND OF CHILX LEAF-PEEPING

How many beds? Because, I WANNA GO. We should carpool... in something other than my lil' C0r0lla if possible. I'll pitch in for gas of course. And I'm guessing we'd need to get groceries and what not. YES PLEASE.

more like leaf-peeing, amirite?

like, peeing on leaves?

in nature?

I don't know about a choir, but sometimes I wake up a little before Julia does and roll on my side and watch her sleep, and the thought in my head is literally, "She looks like an angel."

Finding a deal on a rental car and splitting it four or five ways wouldn't add up to much.

Nick, just away from the campfire, please.

yes, i know from experience, peeing on a fire smells like death on a cracker.

i know from experience, death on a cracker smells like peeing on a fire

Is there a working bathroom in this cottage? Because that would RULE.

There are working leaves.

Hot and cold running leaves.

Peeing on a fire sounds totally metal.

Dear IlX, How many minutes of music can you fit on each side of a 7" record?

avoid this plant:

http://www.hort.uconn.edu/IPM/homecourse/weeds/poisivy/poisivy2.jpg

Peeing on a fire sounds totally metal.

more like, totally drunk and totally stinky.

The difference between me and you is that I am not peeing on a fire.

I would pee on you people if you were on fire.

I think you can fit up to, maybe, 8 minutes or so on either side of a 7".

Cabin hijinks: I will try to light one of the guys on fire while he's sleeping so that Jordan will pee on him.

good times

I would pee on you people if you were on fire.

Nice. Thanks.

Now what would it take to get you to pee on me in a bathtub?

I would like to retract my last post.

The amount of music would depend on whether it was 33 RPM or 45 RPM.

Beds: 3 double, 1 single, 2 pull-out couches (one is basically a torture device, though)
Bathroom: Sort of... there is one of these
Campfire: Sorry, no go due to burn restrictions. Also: no leaves (see dry weather leading to burn restrictions).

Additionally, I am not sure when I could do this. I have a wedding to go to in the first week of Oct in Lesser Michigan.

Give me your hungry, your tired, your poor, I'll piss on 'em
That's what the Statue of Bigotry says

HAHA

eazy otm

Hungry, tired, poor, on fire

Haha. Brilliant.

also, thanks eric, I couldn't decide what to listen to this morning.

Is it just me, or is this week's Onion exceptionally good?

mornin' jesse!

You can't depend on your family
You can't depend on your friends
You can't depend on a beginning
You can't depend on an end

You can't depend on intelligence
Ooohhh, you can't depend on a god
You can only depend on one thing
You need a Busload of Faith to get by
watch it, baby

I watched the video for The Stroke by Billy Squire.

There's a downtown fairy singing out "Proud Mary"
as she cruises Christopher Street
And some Southern Queen is acting loud and mean
where the docks and the Badlands meet

This Halloween is something to be sure
Especially to be here without you

There's a Greta Garbo and an Alfred Hitchcock
and some black Jamaican stud
There's five Cinderellas and some leather drags
I almost fell into my mug