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Career Connections called offering me a one day-gig with Hesser College, helping them deal with an unexpected number of financial aid aps. I turned it down because I'd procrastinated a couple things that I needed to do until today, and I would like to be able to pick Kate up in Lowell at 5, if she can arrive that early.

What perturbs me, is that I could have pocketed $40 or so. It isn't much, but I sit here thinking I'd like to see Neil Young, but I don't really want to pay $40 for questionable seats at a hockey rink with potentially questionable acoustics. Now, as an unemployed bum I would work 5 hours for tickets to this show - but I'm not motivated enough to try to iron out the loose ends allowing me to work this day to earn that money, and not inconvenience anyone else too badly. My dad could pick up Kate, buy corn, etc. I guess that I have too much money in my bank account.

At least I can use the day to make some progress on my research.

Music: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Walls(Circus), Grew Up Fast, Zero From Outer Space, Climb That Hill.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 11:24 AM

 
The summer of hope is fading, joblessness abounds, and I wonder what is left for me. Sitting at my computer, scouring the web for leads - even while listening to most enjoyable tunes - is becoming tedious. I will persevere, because I must, and because I believe that opportunities await. I see flurries of signs of hope. Perhaps after Labor day, and the unofficial close of the summer season, new prospects will arise.

I've been taking in some CNN, and it really seems that they are trying to manufacture some stories and controversy. They seem to be blowing the 10 Commandment's issue out of proportion, and are certainly making a huge deal out of situations in Iraq. Yes, it is disappointing that combat continues - but that's not entirely unexpected. I hope that our boys can be safe, but understand that there is some amount of risk in rebuilding this nation. We currently have no choice in the matter. Someone needs to rebuild Iraq. It's us, or Iran.

Apparently, Bush is talking about seeking an increased UN presence. While I think it would be nice to involve our international Allies, it is clear that these nations will want to trade troops and funding for bureaucratic influence. The last thing we need is additional bureaucrats arguing about the French position. The last thing we need is for Iraq to turn into the Balkans. Europe can't even handle it's own problems, let alone solve the rest of the world's.

It's also faulty logic to suggest that UN support will decrease the economic burden on the US. We contribute a substantially disproportionate amount of the UN's funding.

The answer is that we need to involve foreign business. Welcome foreign support, as a way for nations to contribute to the security of their citizen’s investments. We didn't invade Iraq for money, we can let some of it slip away. Certainly, it is in the best interest of the Iraqi economy to enter into business with a variety of nations.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 10:21 PM

 
It's done. I traded for Woot!
posted by Ben at (0) comments 11:08 PM

 
Blog for America! Howard Dean, you are too funny.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 5:13 PM

 
I met with the folks at the Career Connections temp agency today to go over their policies, takes some computer tests and join their gene pool of oppressed laborers. The limited computer tests for knowledge of Word and Excel were frustrating. I guess that I ended up doing ok. It just didn't have word's built in array of short-cuts and I had to figure out how to do things the proper way,. Of course, if I clicked around a little too much - it was all over. No more chasing Waterfalls. (Thankfully UM doesn't play that every Front Porch nowadays - although it seems that the same bars lead directly into Resolution almost every time...).

The bad news is that I came home to see my dad's car in the driveway. This was unusual, and it turns out indicative of a new state of affairs. He and I are now going into the Finding a Job business together, full-time.

Music: Umphrey’s McGee 8/16/03 – Front Porch -> Resolution ->
posted by Ben at (0) comments 1:54 PM

 
I have consumed the last remnants of the sixth leftover IT watermellon. I doubt that I'll want to eat one ever again.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 5:49 PM

 
Funky grooving weekends of cookies web casts and wind. Fall winds took the lake this weekend, shifting our activities and really shifting the focus from relaxing on the lake: canoeing, fishing or relaxing near the lake reading to relaxing with people. It was a good time with family, despite being chilly. Maybe, I'll even bring pants up next weekend.

I listened to Umphrey's 8/16/03 Nellie's Set 1. The fact that the 60 minute set can be summed up as Front Porch -> Resolution -> Front Porch* * w/ Catfish Blues Jam is really impressive on paper. There were some great musical moments, great peaks and interesting valleys in the improv. Unfortunately, I was too tired to appreciate an hour of "jimmy stewart" style compositional improv. I think I'm in the mindset for a more slowly rolling full band improv than the sparse style of Stewarts, as band members add lines to an ever creating composition. I really dig these jams, but I just wasn't into it today. I guess that I'll just have to listen to the set again.

Music: Umphrey’s McGee 8/16/03 – 40’s Theme
posted by Ben at (0) comments 2:47 PM

 
Wow, that was an intense little league game. I went though the full range of emotions watching the boys from Saugus earn an 8 run lead, then slowly lose every inch of it and find themselves 3 back in extra innings. I'm really glad they managed to pull together and get the job done. I can only imagine the torrents of emotions those kids went through. I hope that they continue to succeed. I know that I'll miss watching them play on Saturday, and hopefully on Sunday. I don't even like baseball, but there is something about watching kids who truly enjoy the game play. The enthusiasm mingles with inexperience to promote exciting mistakes, tide turns, and make every moment riveting.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 10:18 PM

 
Coldplay, Coldplay, coldplay. Why is Coldplay everywhere, being lauded as the second coming of music. As I was driving out of Steve Kings, where I took my mother’s car for an oil change and tire rotation, the river started playing yet another Coldplay tune. I wanted to shoot myself. The lifeless music is so uninspiring, and so omnipresent. The DJ even chimed in afterwards to mention that she thought that the CD should win the album of the year Grammy. Oh my. Dig around and find some Dodgy, especially their records with Nigel Clarke, its British music which is as complex, or more and yet is moving without sacrificing Beatlesque art-pop sensibilities.

I'm listening to Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit for the first time. There's an awful lot of talent in this band that's going in wild directions. It's obvious from this '92 show that they had a mutually influential relationship with Phish. I haven't heard a band that sounded more like Phish, and yet they sound nothing like them.

Music: Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit 10/17/92 -Space is the Place,Truckload of Blues, Fondonzal, Workin' on a Building.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 5:35 PM

 
This afternoon, I enjoyed watching Rocky lay in the grass and play with the grasshoppers. He'd lie in wait, amongst long blades, until he spotted one. He'd move towards it and make it jump. It got away, but that didn't phase the rock. He'd bound after it, in a single feline leap.

A jumping cat is a sight to see. Especially when it's a goofy cat like rocky.

I also went to the dentist today. No problems. I guess my cookie diet and far from model dental hygiene have staved off cavities for another year.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 10:35 PM

 
I'm getting rather frustrated with the job search. There's constant head aches, forms to fill out, web-resumes to add again and again for each position at a company. It's no fun.

Today's particular frustration was an E Compass application for PPG. The hassles updating my resume on e-compass, and the stupid sorter that seemed to think that a MS in Chemical engineering wasn't sufficient qualification to meet the criteria for a general entry level opening for BS ChemEs, weren't the real problem. I was applying for a position that cannot possibly be in New England. I'd shied away from it for a while. A week or two ago, I applied for a generic entry level in WA, but that didn’t seem like a cop out. It had the potential to annoy my brother, which was quite redeeming. This was a complete act of desperation. New England is my home, and I want nothing more to find a job here and live happily. What kind of sell out would I be, if I ended up giving up the good fight and packing things up for Ohio? Back to the really long distance relationship. Or would I end up in a strange city? Would I be sucked into that black hole of chemical engineering which is Deleware? Is Delaware near any airports? Would I rather be in Chicago, where I could take in a UM show or two every month?

I'd really like a job, and I hope that it doesn't come to relocating - but I'd rather find something good before I end up working less than desirable hours in retail.

Music: Umphrey’s Mcgee 10/5/02 – Sociable Jimmy -> Steel Drum Odyssey
posted by Ben at (0) comments 10:21 PM

 
The weekend scampered by on dreams of timelessness, and swept hopes for employment away with telephone silence. I'm going to tell myself that I was hilariously overqualified, and that they figured that I wouldn't stick it out in their call center. It's true, the question really is - did they realize it?


The big excitement at the lake was Harley Fogg's return to the camp, after an extended hiatus from carpentry and visitation with the Fulton clan. He was my grandparent's neighbor, and an accomplished carpenter who is largely responsible for the metamorphosis of the camp from a riding master's cabin at a girl's summer camp to a habitable abode that has managed to avoid collapse for over 30 years. My memories of Harley are few, and rather vague. He was the fellow across the fence during my boyhood visits to Lorraine street. Anyway, at 80 Harley is still in good shape and good spirits. Apparently, he got an acoustic electric guitar for his 80th birthday. He's my kind of guy. He's been playing since he was in his teens, and used to perform on Casco Bay cruise liners.

Anyway, Harley had some stories of misadventures with my grandfather - like the time he put a motor on a push lawnmower, the time the boat sank, etc. My mother took him and his chauffeur-step son fishing and around the lake to jog his memory of it. She was quite fond of him, and his first wife.

Constant ICQ interruptions have sapped my fluidity.

This weekend, I read Of Paradise and Power by Robert Kagan. The short book was more objective and balanced than I had expected. It made my both long to have the freedom of teh European view, which was printed to be very similar to the ideals of teh Federation- resonating with nostalgia for nerdier days - and proud of the stubborn American way. Truly, this work offered a foundation for many discussions of foreign policy. Kagan would agree with many of the conclusions I made in March, well he actually preceded them - but I'll take pride in their independent genesis.

Listened to PH 3/22/93. It's been a long while since I downloaded any free Phish. I missed it more than I realized. Forbins->Mockingbird is a much more interesting pairing than I remember. Maybe the sound quality helped me appreciate it. I'm downloading a 92 show now, in addition to some other BitTorrents.

Music: Pink Floyd: wot's ... uh the deal, mudmen, childhood's end, free four, stay
posted by Ben at (0) comments 11:13 PM

 


It finally happened. CWRU has become Case, a smaller, simpler name upon the shoulders of the giant behemoth that has been its calling since the federation. The Casies finally defeated the hippies. Rough Riders, Ho!

I'm very pleased that Hundert has taken this step. It shocks and persuades my soul to ignight.

Music: Phish 3/22/93: Bouncin' Around The Room, Rift
posted by Ben at (0) comments 2:43 PM

 
Finally, a new Strong Bad email. I laughed out loud. A potentially deep and moving entry is forthcoming. Until I feel like writing it, I will be avoiding lurking horrors and seeking consummate Vs. Don't get your hopes up. Chances are good that I'll just write about what I did on my weekend.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 1:38 PM

 
I'd like to sit down and talk religion with Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and John Adams. What is the core of American Christianity? What are the central beliefs that are so entwined within our government? What of the rest? Is it dogma, mysticism, or personal choice? How did the founding fathers rectify ideas of freedom of religion with their deistic sensibilities, and the eloquent inclusion of God's name within the documents that framed our nation.

The ten commandments are inscribed within the great halls of this nation, in some high schools, and amidst controversy. Some argue that they should be removed. I disagree, but would support ideas that they should not be readily included in new construction. A a document, the 10 commandments really defines the ethical meter for western society. Aside from the issue of false idols, there really isn't much that would be objectionable to a decent person of any culture. they certainly should be remembered as guides that our founders subscribed to, and respected for their historical significance. We cannot approach issues of separation and church and state by simple 1 dimensional binary logic. We must recognize that many of these issues are significant because religion is but one orthogonal component of some three dimensional idea. The commandments, the idea of marriage, even the use of the bible in inaugural ceremony need to be addressed by three-dimensional policy which understands the complete nature of these ideas.

I was prompted to write by a CNN article indicating that Americans are becoming more mystical and less intellectual in their religion and Christianity. In this age of science, more people believe in the virgin birth than in evolution. Here's the link. http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/08/15/nyt.kristof/index.html I was intrigued by the notion that in the recent past, it was normal to consider the tale of the immaculate conception to be a myth. I'm also intrigued by indications that it was inserted into the gospel well after they were initially drafted. I never trusted Rome not to fiddle with the book 1500 years of dark age could taint the text with a fair amount of corruption.

What did our founder's think of the immaculate conception. How ingrained in the American nature should this notion be? I take no issue with evangelical Christians who's belief in the virgin birth brings them joy, and strengthens their spiritual experience. Freedom of religion is fine. It just seems reasonable that the mythological component of the story should be recognized. One's actions regarding it are entirely free. Perhaps there is a message which transcends the limitations of fact, occurrence, and biblical paperwork. If Poet's have license, wouldn't God have similar leave to best illustrate his point.

Perhaps this leave, is the precise thing which provided genesis to the multitude of religions on Earth. God addressed his audience, tailoring his message to their own ideas just the same as I tailor my resume and cover letters to various companies. While the core truths are the same, they address local issues and ideas differently. Some religions are more militant, others more experiential? Its an interesting point to consider, while my thoughts organize on the declining intellectualism of American Christianity

Having read Richard Hoffstadter's Anti- Intellectualism in American Life as a high school summer reading assignment, I've been sensitized to the conflict between the intellectuals and Americans of different mental temperament. I've found that a snooty intellectual elite, who fails to value common experience and concrete reality in their reasoning, gives the remainder of intellectuals a bad name, and may even inspire some - most evidently author Orson Scott Card - to shy away from labeling their cerebral endeavors as intellectual. American society could be broken down into Id, Ego, and Super-ego. or some such similar categories, where the super ego is the snooty intellectual elite, the id is the folks who have gone wild on Spring Break, and the rest of us fall into the ego. At least, I expected the bulk of American's to fall into the ego. Valuing cerebral pursuits, science, poetry, the arts as well as the human experience. Perhaps, I was incorrect.

These statistics, and the growing evangelical Christian movement seem to indicate otherwise. There used to be a lot of scholarship in religion. Whole denominations sprang up around variations in the interpretation of the bible. At college, I met a deeply and emotionally religious lady who didn't know that Baptists were Christians too. She had no idea what her denomination was, but wanted to marry a minister. The sad thing was that she was only a slight exaggeration from the norm of the evangelical Christians that I encountered at CWRU. She's a very nice person, but so surprisingly uneducated about the philosophy of her religion. The source text has only been a basic building block for religion. It's something everyone can grab a hold of, but it isn't the limit of religious study. When I was confirmed, not only did I receive a bible for my class but also an extensive concordance connecting ideas and interpreting the bible. The Jewish Kabala functions in a similar way. I also believe that interpretive documents are considered part of the Hindu Vedas. Most Buddhist texts are also a concordance. the Buddha wasn't nearly as long winded as the eastern religions section of Barnes and Noble may indicate.

It's surprising to me that the evangelical Christian groups, even at a scientific and technical school, have not intellectualized their spirituality. How can it be a wholesome experience if it fails to nurture the three components of the self: the mind, body, and spirit? How is blind, emotional indulgence of the spirit more virtuous than a similarly exclusive pandering to the flesh?

It’s clear to me that I am not a man who’d follow the path of a monk – but I do see even the most cloistered of orders nurturing the three aspects.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 1:14 PM

 
CNN is saying that power will be back in Cleveland later this morning. This is good as I would like to check my email and rec.music phish. Also, it is good for CWRU in general, as I can only imagine move-in day would be terribly awkward without electricity. The TAC backlog, alone, would be unbearable. The dorms are dark and spooky without proper lighting. It would be interesting for the students. Maybe PKT could capitalize and start a couple parades, catalyzing some friendships.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 7:53 AM

 
Tonight, New York is dark. For some the engine of the world has stopped running. This is not some Randian fantasy, or signs of her revolution of the independent creative minds. Nowhere, in the dark corners of New York, Cleveland, Detroit, Syracuse, or Utica are people wondering "Who is John Galt?" That is not a question for today, or tomorrow.

The question is, where did the system go wrong? Early reports indicate a problem at Niagara-Mohawk, possibly a lightning induced fire. Trouble at what is easily the largest power generation station in the Northeast would have created an electricity vacuum that caused the grid structure to collapse in a cascade of black outs. Only time can tell.

My day has been rather electric. Ben and I took breakfast at Friendly's, and caught back up. It was good to see him, but somehow I think distance and separation are starting to plaque the dendrites of our relationship. It works, but in a bizarre mingling of nostalgia and Alzheimer’s. I gave him a copy of 7/27/02. I hope that he enjoys, and that it plays well. The cds were very skip-laden when played on my PC CD-rom, but not on the CD-RW, my Discman, or on Pat's ancient portable CD boom box thing.

I also took in two movies on the free premium channels. 100 Girls, which sounds like a cheap porno was sort of a sweet and silly comedy about a college student trying to identify the lady he got jiggy with in an elevator during a black out - how appropriate. Not only is tehre some good humor, but this guys ploys to gain access to his colleges virgin vault are hilarious, and include cross dressing which offers him exposure to some of the less comfortable circumstances of femininity. The movie might actually be good. I'm not sure. The Banger Sisters, with Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon was, however, quite good. I remember seeing previews last summer, and thinking that it might be fun but not exactly substantive. The film addressed lots of issues about personal growth, happiness, identity and the embarrassing, but ceaselessly fascinating, conflict of how to rectify a wild past with parenting. I really think that I might start seeking out Susan Sarrandon movies. I haven't seen one that I didn't like since Rocky Horror.

While I dig Sranadon's choice in films, our politics are likely deviate. Although, I think that we have similar ideas about ideal society. It's issues of economics, and power that would define our differences. That was an elaborate topical segue to announce that I finally picked up a copy of Of Paradise and Power from the library. It's smaller than I expected, and from the little I've read , I expect that it will present more detailed analysis of the American and European views of international politics with similar conclusions to those that I deduced by watching a lot of UN during the prologue to military action in Iraq. We'll see. Regardless, I'll be better informed if I need to spar with any Cambridge liberals, or heaven forbid Wisconsin Euro-trash.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 10:45 PM

 
Today was all positive vibes, until I started listening to this Umphrey's show 7/26/02, of which I accidentally burnt an extra copy, with headphones. Man, Joel does some spooky things. Coupled with Jake's high tension soloing, Mirro's understated drumming, and Pony's relative prominence in the mix - I'm almost flipping out of my gourd. This is deep dark '95 Phish spooky. If I were on some sort of paranoid enhancement, I'd be gone. This Jazz Odyssey is only complicating matters.

Before the clouds, rain, and spooky music, there was a guy scrambling to get to Beverly, MA in time for an interview. His suit and shirt were fresh from the dry-cleaners, but somehow retained wrinkles. It was not the time to return them and argue. It was time to move. The drive was reasonable, less than an hour at noon.

The interview was a round robin session with three separate people. Fortunately, it stopped feeling like an interview and became more of a conversation. I'm overqualified for the position, but that isn't a deterrent for either side. Thermo is a $2.2 billion company, and I'd like to get my feet in the door. Hopefully, I was what they were looking for. I hope so. I seem to connect with blunt New England recruiters a lot more than I did with Midwestern folk. It's good to be amongst my people, amongst folk who talk straight.

Another positive aspect of the day, is that my efforts to educate brother Hartman in the ways of acquiring high quality audience recordings by direct internet download seems to be quite fruitful. Since downloading Furthur, he's downloaded and burnt something like 3 Dead shows. I've also started him off on some Dylan BitTorrents. The internet is a great music trading tool.

I'm actively downloading the BT for 3/22/93. I think it's the one 90's Gamehenge show that I'm missing. Check out this second set. It's Ice as a Gamehenge tune?? Ice is a sneaky way to get to Gamehenge. The show's a SBD>Cass(0)>DAT. It doesn't get much better for a '93.

01: Golgi Apparatus - (04:40)
-- Begin Gamehenge --
02: It's Ice > - (05:06)
03: Narration > - (03:32)
04: Lizards > - (09:45)
05: Narration > - (02:01)
06: Tela > - (06:45)
07: Narration > - (01:43)
08: Wilson > - (03:58)
09: Narration > - (01:40)
10: AC/DC Bag > - (05:50)
11: Narration > - (00:55)
12: Colonel Forbin's Ascent > - (05:26)
13: Narration > - (01:09)
14: Fly Famous Mockingbird > - (06:08)
15: Narration > - (00:58)
16: The Sloth > - (03:42)
17: Narration > - (00:31)
18: McGrupp And The Watchful Hosemasters - (09:39)
-- End Gamehenge --
Total: - (73:28)

Disc 3:
(Set II cont'd)
01: Mike's Song > - (08:25)
02: I Am Hydrogen > - (02:43)
03: Weekapaug Groove - (07:55)

Music: Umphrey's McGee (7/26/02) - Blue Echo -> "Jazz Odyssey" -> Last Call, Senor Mouse



posted by Ben at (0) comments 10:51 PM

 
Forthright madness spews forth in jangling surf guitars. It feels like one of those precipitous moments, sublime, dangerous, and unpredictable. There is potential. There is joy. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Today brought many small treasures in with the tides. Among them was a $15 hair cut, which is rather flattering, a RSS reader, a deeper appreciation for Ani DiFranco's jazz influenced exploits - and her amazing bass player, as well as a phone call from the void. AT&T reached out to touch me from Chicago, as my friend Ben called up to announce his plans to visit the Northeast for a weekend wedding. We'll be getting together to party down, or something.

I haven't seen Ben in over a year, and I've been scrambling about my room looking for the copy of UM 7/26/02 performance at the Skyline Stage, which we attended, that I had intended to mail to him sometime not too long after the show. Have I already mailed it to him? Is it already in Hyde Park, wondering why it isn't being listened to? I'm not sure. I pulled the shn backups from the chaotic boxes, bags and bins tucked under my bed. As an interesting side effect, I pulled up a bunch of CD singles with exotic b-sides.

As a listener, I much prefer collections of B-sides to anthologies of greatest hits. There is no standard formula for the B-side, but much study, theory, and superstitious practice goes into selecting the singles that are given a chance to become hits. Regardless of the breadth of material covered in such an anthology, there tends to be a sameness. Not only do the songs tend to be limited in terms of time, but they tend to have similar verse/choral structures. Perhaps the ideal collections would be reserved for only the greatest of bands. The Beatles released their singles collection, A sides, B sides, double A sides, whatever wasn't already on an album in their Past Master's Cds. These are extraordinary collections, I favor the second volume which covers 1966 on. It has some of the Beatle's greatest tunes Hey Jude, Revolution, a longer, cleaner, version of Let It Be, mixed with some obscure but moving B-sides like Rain and The Inner Light.

Tomorrow's the big interview. I hope that it goes well. Karma Karma Karma.

Music: REM - Tricycle, Departure, Wall of Death; Sheryl Crow - If It Makes You Happy, Keep on Growing, I'm Going to be a Wheel Someday
posted by Ben at (0) comments 10:43 PM

 
Today, I learned that my father hung out with Stephen King at college. I didn't even know that they went to U Maine at the same time, let alone that they'd get coffee together a couple times a month. That's pretty cool. I wonder who from my college class will turn out to be famous. William J. Hackenbrack?? Annie?? Deepak?? It probably won't be anyone that I can sit hear and think of, unless Chris Roper wins the Nobel prize or something. I don't really think academic fame ought to count. I'm sure tons of CWRU folk go on to become big wheels in their fields.

On thing that I must say this revelation has pointed out, is my father's admirable desire not to try to name-drop to garner attention, accolades, or praise. In 22 years, I've heard nothing of Stephen King - college student. That's pretty sweet. I just new my dad as a person, not as someone who knew someone. That's the way it should be. I remember one of my friend’s parents went to college with Larry Bird. I doubt that they hung out much, but it impressed 5 year olds a lot. Now, I just sit back and ponder the six degrees of separation.

Sleep time. incoherence.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 10:16 PM

 
I'm strung out on chocolate chip cookies, filled with water and wondering. Why have I been so tired since IT? Last night, I had trouble staying awake through the Simpsons. When will I reach equilibrium? Maybe its just the heat. I'd much rather sleep than deal with the heat.

Autumn of my dreams, where do you rest? Rise up, and rest New England from this endless summer of sweltering heat. And if you could blow a cool wind, and move some stars around. Unmake the Atari's cover of "The Boys of Summer." Its' teen angst rubbish that completely lacks the subtleties of Don Henley’s original, and really ignores the whole added dimension of commentary on a generation loosing sight of its ideals. Black flag sticker on a Cadillac? Hypocrisy? Yes. Realistic? No. Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac? I've seen them. Also, anyone who seeks to remake a Henley tune should have a drummer that at least knows what dynamics are, even if they lack all but the slightest ability to accent their beats.

In other music related ranting. Two thumbs up to the people behind the video for "Stacy's Mom", by Fountains of Wayne. If I were in high school, it would easily eclipse Express Yourself as the greatest video ever. It's nice to know that Rachael Hunter's still got it. Since I'm older and wiser, Express Yourself still reigns because of its artful lighting and Metropolis themes. How long have Fountains of Wayne been around? It seems to me that they're like the Flaming Lips, one of those Alt/punk bands that I've been aware of but never paid attention to until recently. Unlike the Flaming Lips, fountains of Wayne have not inspired consumer spending on my part. That's most likely because they still sound like an Alt/Punk band that's trying to cash in on pop music's rediscovery of the electric guitar. Way to go. I must say I prefer Liz Phair's version of Complicated to Avril Lavigne's (note it's not a cover, but that it really is the same song). Yay 2003, the year everyone "sold-out".

Note, Phish sold out a long time ago - but nobody noticed. Well, maybe one guy did, but Trey embarrassed him for trying to learn about sex from MTV.

On another note, I wish the Fountains of Wayne had a different name. I'd be really interested in supporting a band of that name with my fraternity brother Wayne on 6 and 12 string guitars. I guess that he'll need another name. A Saranac would do just fine.

Music: moe. - Mexico -> Happy Hour Hero
posted by Ben at (0) comments 3:36 PM

 
Bigfoot/The Abominable Snowman also seems to live in Africa, where he seems much more credible but not less elusive. http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/08/08/coolsc.mysteryape/index.html Note that no one is saying big foot, but the journalists mention that it has larger feet than a gorilla. Now, I haven't bought Nikes for any gorillas, but I'd wager that their feet aren't exactly small.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 10:40 AM

 
Today, I kayaked a part of the Pemigewasset with my family, who were in canoes. We went from Plymouth south for 13 miles, or so. The first 3/4 was in rather swift water, but then it slowed to damn backwater and was much less interesting. There wasn’t too much whitewater, but at one point we did get a very nice view of a bald eagle. It was the first one that I've seen in the wild.

I also watched a terrible Trading Spaces on Campus episode. It gives me shivers, but it doesn't seem to dispel my strange visions of living in Boston with the Rope Diggity. Maybe we'd clone thumper.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 9:53 PM

 
WOOT!!! I have an interview with Thermo Orion in Beverly, MA. The position sounds like it will have good points and bad points, but I hope that it will all work out. WOOT!!!
posted by Ben at (0) comments 4:46 PM

 
I read an article the other day that mentioned that Dick Gephardt, if elected president, would go to the world trade organization and demand an international minimum wage. This struck me as interesting. While the proposal would certainly stagnate economic growth in developing countries it may better advance our human rights agenda, and would certainly help the US deal with labor wage competition.

I understand that from an economics point of view a legislated minimum wage is a nasty can of worms. It will encourage decreased hiring and unemployment in these developing nations. I'm also not entirely convinced that there is much employment in these nations to begin with, so how big of a deal could this plan be. I see it as a nice way to avoid setting up tariffs while still trying to maintain a level playing field.

I couldn't care less if the US economy moved a little further away from factories and more towards thinking, but at the same time some quantity of jobs for unskilled labor is essential to maintain economic stability. What troubles me about the direction of globalization is the shift of technical positions to other nations, particularly India. Engineers there work for $5K, opposed to $60k in the US. That's pretty steep. The only way we can prevent a brain drain is to take action to promote increased technical salaries in foreign nations. The best way to do that is raise the poverty line. If factory workers are required by international law to receive $4K annual salaries, the engineers will demand at least twice that amount to justify education expenses. A small international minimum wage would be a good start to help the global economy reach its steady state as a level playing field. Of course, it is in the best interests of US policy makes to make sure that the playing field continues to be more level in some areas than in others.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 3:54 PM

 


This NY Times article on the technology behind It is kind of interesting. I also like the C. Taylor Crothers photo they used. He and Danny Clinch can take some great shots of the band.

I didn't realize that the Bunny needed such high technology to broadcast out of Presque Isle. No wonder it went out every once in a while. RMP has gotten the B - U - B - U - B - U - N - N - Y theme stuck in my head. Grrrnesss.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 1:02 PM

 
In Sunday's issue of All About IT, there was an article that summed up the history of the phish festival with a brief series of fill in the blanks. Zzyzx was shown in a photograph to be encouraging folks to "Fill in the blanks". Here goes.

IT
Dates - 8/2-3/03
Location - Limestone, ME
Best Piece of Artwork - The Dress made out of Burs was pretty impressive
Best Musical Moment - Ghost and the ensuing jam. Ya Mar and Chalkdust were close runners up.
Controversial Encore - N/A, but there may be some grumbling that Sunday’s was a cover and not Fluffhead. I still felt that it was fitting. This is my fill in the blanks, so it's N/A.
Fireworks - Sunday's Encore, as part of the end of Good Times, Bad Times and shot while the band had an intriguing jam.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 10:22 PM

 
Reading the Kerouac quote Mr. Cohen asked for in the prior post I had a bit of an epiphany about the it setlists, and perhaps why Fluffhead wasn't played.

"everybody knows it's not the tune that counts but IT..."

That really sums up the weekend perfectly. Every song had IT, and many took IT places that couldn't be imagined.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 9:00 AM

 
LivePhish.com has It available for download. 8 cds of music for our enjoyment. The Tower jam is not included in the show downloads. I don't think it should be considered a 4th set, as the Lemonwheel's ambient 4th. Trey told everyone to stick around for that set. Admittedly, he did so after the encore. It was a surprise to all in attendance, but it was announced. The tower gag, while a solid hour of music (which I slept through) was not a surprise fourth set. It should be considered something similar to the flat bed truck jam and the disco tent shenanigans.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 4:51 PM

 
It was great. The joy that had built up inside of me halfway through that mammoth first set more than made up for the hassle of those 13 hours of traffic, lack of sleep, and the gate opening debacle. There was some sort of last minute decision not to sell posters on Saturday, but to sell them on Sunday. No one told us, so we made a nice excited mad dash for the cameras only to find that there were no posters. It was also much to early to try to stake out a spot, although I'm sure that some people did. Mmmm mud.

I really loved that first set. The Ya Mar -> Jim was superb. I've never heard of a Ya Mar being so hammed out. Meatstick was a great treat. the Ghost era tunes (Birds, Vultures, LimbX) were great. I'd wanted to see two of them for quite some time, and had wanted to see Vultures since I last saw it in Hartford. Disease>NICU was very good, and I'm not much of a DWD fan. The jam was rather sectional and not always typical. Brother was almost a good bust out. I was confused, as they'd played it less than a week earlier in Burgettstown. It got dark and psychedelic.
Really, I didn't want to sit here and go through song by song for high lights. But even skipping comments on the Waves jam, and going to the third set Its tough to whittle down to highlights of any brevity. I guess that is because "brief" isn't really a word that you can use to describe much about these shows (except Sunday's Wilson, which can also be described as Incomplete). When Phish plays a long jam, chances are that something good will happen. This is especially true of their current style, where they don't get nervous about certain sections not working as well as others, or not having much energy. They aren't forcing the improv to rise to one similar type of peak. These are explorations. Even if they don't find the most majestic mountains in all of Gamehenge, they take in a lot of territory that we haven't seen before. More than nine tenths of it is cool.


Rock and Roll -> Seven Bellow paired two very open jams. Pleasantly, the Seven Below jam sounded nothing like the Gorge -7 (which was transcendent) but also became extremely interesting. I had wanted Kate to see Scents and Subtle Sounds, and was pleased with this version which showcased a very different interpretation of the composed sections than the Gorge version. It was still good, but completely not what Kate expected. I dug it, and the jam that pushed its way into Spread It Around. This tune is probably my least favorite of the new batch, but after that jam I won't complain about it showing up again, and again.

The first nights encore was really a long time, internet geek, fans dream come true. It was silly. Dog Log is quite a bust out, and always brings a smile to my face when I hear it. Mango is also rather rare, and very quirky. I was very tired, but seemed more into it than I was the last time we saw it. Tranquil and serene indeed.

Day two was also quite nice. I don't think I felt the elation that i did durring first set night. That grew from a powerful combination of things, trey honoring a chanted crowd request (which I really think was a cheesecake call for Heavy Things) with Meatstick. While, there wasn't an overpowering happy joy, there was a much deeper, subtle transcendence at play on the second day. The highlight of the first set was without question the Chalkdust Torture jam. They took this song way further than it has ever gone before, 7/10/99 included. Weekapaug was also noteworthy, and much more experimental than any version I've heard post-97. It was much more out than the Mike's, which wasn't exactly played on auto-pilot. The highlight of the weekend, for me, was the Ghost jam in set two. It was my first time seeing a song exceed 30 minutes - the album version is less than 5. The jam was transcendent, and sparked a glowstick/ring ware of epic proportions. Koruda kept the lights rather low, and thousands of glowrings danced through the sky in arcs, spirals and waves. I can't wait to see how the DVD folks caputed it. The YEM > Chariots of Fire, 5K awards ceremony, was also pretty cool. The Vocal Jam also teased some of the Daniel opener before going into Chariots of Fire.

The length of the 46 Days jam is mind boggling. While 46 Days is likely my least favorite Phish tune, I must say that sections of this jam more than made up for the fact that 46 Days is now the longest Phish song I have ever seen, lasting nearly 40 minutes. That's almost a class period on exploring musical soundscapes. Secret Smile was a very nice, well placed ballad. I was tired. I wanted some beauty, structure, and poetry. This song may be my favorite of the Nantucket Batch. We'll have to go to the tapes to see how Scents, Smile, and Discern battle it out. The Anetlope jam was pretty good, although Trey's speech durring the Marco Esquandolas segment took away the momentum for Kate. I was disappointed that Mike stopped playing when Trey asked him to quiet down, but it wasn't a killer. Much to the band's surprise, trey started up with the gearshift chords instead of the Marco Esquandolas stuff. I think it helped regain momentum rather quickly.

I thought that the encore was fitting given the traffic/mud problems, and I really enjoyed the improv that the band played to describe the fireworks. It was very dramatic, yet spacey.

In the end, I was rather sad that It was over. Truly, It was more joyous, and special than I expected, despite certain aspects not living up to my anticipations, and despite sleeping through the much talked about Tower jam. At least we got to hear the sound check on the radio driving in. That was some twisted siket space.

I really enjoyed meeting people, more than I expected to. Most of the people we were next to during the shows were great people. The crew of Massholes the second nice, were very pleasant, funny and a great live of defense from encroaching wookies. Suzy Chapstick, I hope that you didn't get too much more intoxicated. You were much more pleasant than the Ecstasy Glowing girls. Crazy freak of self-loathing, who passed out, woke up and tried to make out with a complete stranger. You were a jerk. I enjoyed helping rip you off of her and pushing you back. UM Fan dude / Purdue grad, you were cool. It's too bad that you didn't make it back up to the spot for that third set. Dudes in Chairs second night, I thought you'd be jerks, because you brought chairs, but you were very pleasant and did your best not to get Kate all smoky. Awesome Camera Man, You are my hero. Thank you for throwing food and water to us all! People from Portsmouth who camped next to us. I was really glad to have you as neighbors, and hope that the Phish experience was everything that you'd hope for. Lady on the other side, I hope that your 100th show was as great for you as IT was for a guy who was seeing his tenth. Thank you to everyone who bought watermelon. I appreciated it. Oh yeah, and Phish. Never once while playing 8-10 Cds worth of music did you make me question why I funnel so much money to Burlington. It was a great time.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 1:48 PM

 
08/02/03 Loring Air Force Base, Limestone, ME: It
Soundcheck included "Skin It Back", not played since 7/25/88: First set was 1:50
Set I: AC/DC Bag, Ya Mar1> Runaway Jim, Reba2, Birds of a Feather, Meatstick3, Two Versions of Me, Vultures, Limb By Limb, Cavern
Set II: Down With Disease> NICU, Brother, Lawn Boy, Discern, Waves4, David Bowie
Set III: Rock and Roll> Seven Below, Scents and Subtle Sounds5> Spread It Round, Bug
Encore: Dog Log6, The Mango Song

1 Over 17 minutes long
2 With whistling
3 Played for fans chanting for it; with Japanese lyrics
4 With ambient jam
5 With Seven Below teases
6 Played for fans chanting "Dog Log", after Trey says band doesnt know what to play

08/03/03 2 AM On Top of the Control Tower - Loring Air Force Base, Limestone, ME: IT
1 Hour Ambient Jam, complete with lights, rappellers, weirdness. Note: Ben and Kate were a sleep in their tents.

08/03/03 Loring Air Force Base, Limestone, ME: It
Set I: Daniel, Saw it Again, Punch You in the Eye1, Army of One, Chalkdust Torture, Wilson2, Mike's Song3> I am Hydrogen> Weekapaug Groove
Set II: Mellow Mood, Ghost4, Mist, Pebbles and Marbles, You Enjoy Myself> Chariots of Fire5, Loving Cup
Set III: 46 Days6, Julius, The Lizards, Secret Smile, Run Like An Antelope
Encore: Good Times Bad Times7

1 Played for fans in front rows with "PYITE" sign
2 Trey said Wilson was the shortest version ever, and was "postable", after which he made a keyboard typing motion with both hands
3 Crowd chanted for Fluffhead, after which Trey asked Mike, but "Mike said No". Trey then begins Mike's Song
4 30 min; With "Huge" Glowstick war
5 After Vocal Jam, Trey brings up and introduces top three female and male finalists from the Runaway Jim 5K, with the band playing Chariots of Fire underneath
6 around 38 min long
7 at the song's completion, firworks are lit off from the left side of the stage for several minutes
posted by Ben at (0) comments 12:57 PM