I bet you've all been wondering what my favorite MJ song is. Truth is, most of my favorites are from the Jackson 5 era, or later, when they were known just as The Jacksons.
It's a little bit surreal driving around, hearing Michael Jackson on every radio station. I guess everyone is deciding to dance and celebrate his music, rather than focus on the scandals and tragedy that dominated most of his life. So here is a true song that makes your heart sing. I can't listen to this song without grinning.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Stuff You Should Know: I might die edition
It's been ages since I've put out a good edition of Stuff You Should Know. My records indicate that the last installment was way back in March, when I informed you about some treasures on the Internet. And you know, March is too long ago because I have it on good authority that at least half of my readership (1.5 persons!!!) relies solely on Catherine the Greatest for 100 percent of their news content. You can see why I start to feel really bad when I waste your time writing about hippy festivals, majestic Nabisco products, and borderline sexual assault.
So, here I am, lighting up a cigarette, furrowing my brow, and taking up my role as a modern-day Edward R. Murrow. Seriously, where would you guys be without me?
1) Um, have y'all been keeping up with this Mexican drug cartel business? Shit's whack. NPR is obsessed with it, and it's also all over newsprint (what's that!) and TV news. 60 Minutes just ran a chilling report on the situation tonight. It's a complicated issue with a lot of gritty details, but I did want to draw your attention to one point. Crackdown efforts must be having some impact because reports surfaced this week that the Mexican navy seized more than a ton of cocaine that was hidden in.... wait for it... wait... 20 SHARK CARCASSES.
WHAT?!?!? Slabs of cocaine hidden in sharks. Man, if only this resource had been available to me during childhood games of "Hide the Thimble."
In many ways, I guess, this shark news is a good thing. Traffickers can no longer just ship boxes of cocaine in and around North America willy nilly, and surveillance efforts are keen enough to smell something fishy during checks in a cargo ship. But holy smokes. Can the Discovery channel include this bit of news in their next Shark Week? I need more details.
2) Onto lighter fare... It's summer time and that means TV networks are busy rolling out a bunch of new shows we probably don't want to watch. Um, hello, I have Netflix? But one show I have become obsessed with is Expedition Africa on the History Channel. It's kind of like Survivor, but if Survivor was actually about surviving, and no one gets voted off. (The shows share a creator, Mark Burnett.) The show follows four modern-day explorers who retrace the steps of Dr. David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley, the American journalist who went to look for him after his disappearance. Expedition's team members make the trek across Tanzania with virtually no modern comforts, and face many of the same perilous danger, exquisite beauty, and unpredictable adventure Livingstone and Stanley did more than 140 years ago. The true treat is seeing how the cast (who, with the exception of a journalist, are all expedition experts) clash and communicate with each other in the face of real survival situations. They actually know what they're talking about, and along with learning some history, the audience also gets to learn some wilderness first aid, navigation know-how, and tips about how not to get eaten by giant hippos. Don't miss this show, it stands along side Intervention and The Amazing Race as one of the three "reality" shows I can stomach.
3) So have you guys been paying attention to this moon landing business that's under way? I know, I know, it doesn't hold that same do-or-die appeal when Prez. J.Ken isn't yammering on about space races and the Russians breathing down our necks. It also lacks glamour because NASA is sending robots to do our dirty work, although I guess that's a good idea since these space crafts will be crashing into the lunar surface at 6,000 mph. That's pretty fast. Definitely more speed than my colander space helmet could withstand.
Anyway. As you probably know I'm so un-scientifically minded that I barely can wrap my pea brain around the very idea of space, but I do take special interest in NASA's efforts partly because they're pretty cool sometimes but mostly because I think they're a huge waste of money. But what strikes me about this mission is the sheer simplicity of it. I mean, heck, I could have thought this one up. They're sending up two crafts, one which will orbit the moon and generally check things out. Look for hot babes, good real estate, you know, the usual. The other one, called the LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Spacecraft, duh) is going to intentionally CRASH INTO THE SURFACE OF THE MOON with the intent of kicking up a lot of shit to see if any of it is water. Still hoping for water on the moon, guys? Hope springs eternal, I guess. Ugh. I feel like there should be more progress in this department by now. And I mean, I'm probably right because I slept through a whole course in astronomy and NASA calls me sometimes to ask me what I think about things. Yeah, they do.
Have you come across any new stories you feel the need to share? Unleash the burden of your knowledge in the comments section.
So, here I am, lighting up a cigarette, furrowing my brow, and taking up my role as a modern-day Edward R. Murrow. Seriously, where would you guys be without me?
1) Um, have y'all been keeping up with this Mexican drug cartel business? Shit's whack. NPR is obsessed with it, and it's also all over newsprint (what's that!) and TV news. 60 Minutes just ran a chilling report on the situation tonight. It's a complicated issue with a lot of gritty details, but I did want to draw your attention to one point. Crackdown efforts must be having some impact because reports surfaced this week that the Mexican navy seized more than a ton of cocaine that was hidden in.... wait for it... wait... 20 SHARK CARCASSES.
WHAT?!?!? Slabs of cocaine hidden in sharks. Man, if only this resource had been available to me during childhood games of "Hide the Thimble."
In many ways, I guess, this shark news is a good thing. Traffickers can no longer just ship boxes of cocaine in and around North America willy nilly, and surveillance efforts are keen enough to smell something fishy during checks in a cargo ship. But holy smokes. Can the Discovery channel include this bit of news in their next Shark Week? I need more details.
2) Onto lighter fare... It's summer time and that means TV networks are busy rolling out a bunch of new shows we probably don't want to watch. Um, hello, I have Netflix? But one show I have become obsessed with is Expedition Africa on the History Channel. It's kind of like Survivor, but if Survivor was actually about surviving, and no one gets voted off. (The shows share a creator, Mark Burnett.) The show follows four modern-day explorers who retrace the steps of Dr. David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley, the American journalist who went to look for him after his disappearance. Expedition's team members make the trek across Tanzania with virtually no modern comforts, and face many of the same perilous danger, exquisite beauty, and unpredictable adventure Livingstone and Stanley did more than 140 years ago. The true treat is seeing how the cast (who, with the exception of a journalist, are all expedition experts) clash and communicate with each other in the face of real survival situations. They actually know what they're talking about, and along with learning some history, the audience also gets to learn some wilderness first aid, navigation know-how, and tips about how not to get eaten by giant hippos. Don't miss this show, it stands along side Intervention and The Amazing Race as one of the three "reality" shows I can stomach.
3) So have you guys been paying attention to this moon landing business that's under way? I know, I know, it doesn't hold that same do-or-die appeal when Prez. J.Ken isn't yammering on about space races and the Russians breathing down our necks. It also lacks glamour because NASA is sending robots to do our dirty work, although I guess that's a good idea since these space crafts will be crashing into the lunar surface at 6,000 mph. That's pretty fast. Definitely more speed than my colander space helmet could withstand.
Anyway. As you probably know I'm so un-scientifically minded that I barely can wrap my pea brain around the very idea of space, but I do take special interest in NASA's efforts partly because they're pretty cool sometimes but mostly because I think they're a huge waste of money. But what strikes me about this mission is the sheer simplicity of it. I mean, heck, I could have thought this one up. They're sending up two crafts, one which will orbit the moon and generally check things out. Look for hot babes, good real estate, you know, the usual. The other one, called the LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Spacecraft, duh) is going to intentionally CRASH INTO THE SURFACE OF THE MOON with the intent of kicking up a lot of shit to see if any of it is water. Still hoping for water on the moon, guys? Hope springs eternal, I guess. Ugh. I feel like there should be more progress in this department by now. And I mean, I'm probably right because I slept through a whole course in astronomy and NASA calls me sometimes to ask me what I think about things. Yeah, they do.
Have you come across any new stories you feel the need to share? Unleash the burden of your knowledge in the comments section.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
If the wind changes, your face will stay like that.
When I was young, and magic still hung heavily in the air on Christmas Eve, I sat in our candlelit living room and asked my father if he'd ever seen Santa Claus.
What he said kept me awake all night.
He told me that as a boy, he heard a mischievous rustling coming from the living room on the night before Christmas. Curious, he toddled down the hall just in time to see a tiny sliver of a man shoot him a nasty look, with the lights from the Christmas tree glinting in the man's unforgiving yellowish-gray eyes. My father stood dumbfounded as the skinny bearded man leapt from the window.
They were on the second story.
Have you had things like this happen to you? Parents, teachers, or other grown-ups weaving tales so terrifying, disturbing, or unexpected that when you look back on them as an adult, you can't imagine what they were thinking? That Christmas, I was absolutely petrified. My long-held notion of rolly-poly, jolly Santas had been, quite literally, thrown out the window. In its places was the menacing image of a malnourished man who was ticked off that he got caught intruding in a living room that wasn't his own. Did he plummet to his death? I wanted to know. My dad said maybe he did, but if so, he'd been replaced because I'd be getting presents from Santa just as I had before. I think he was trying to reassure me, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that my world was crumbling around me. Santa was suddenly skinny, irritable, unfriendly, and possibly self-harming.
Another story that comes to mind goes back to my days as an eye-patched kindergartener in Mrs. Gay's class. We'd recently read the Gingerbread Man Poem, where a gingerbread cookie dude escapes from many different people and animals who try to eat him. Mrs. Gay told us there would be cookies for us to eat at the end of the week once we'd finished whatever else was involved in the Gingerbread unit (oh, kindergarten, how I miss your simplicity). She reported mid-week that the gingerbread man which had so lovingly been baked for us had disappeared, just like in the poem, and it was up to us to find him. We spent at least two interminable afternoons searching for him, high and low, under balance beams, inside slides, under shady trees and behind fences. Granted, I was five so maybe I remember this taking longer than it really did, but oh how we walked. Our little legs carried us hopefully from one destination to the other, imagining how wonderful it would be to finally find that puckish cookie once and for all.
Are you thinking this story ends in milk and cookies? Or maybe a group field trip to the kitchen to bake our own gingerbread men? Or even an arts and crafts project wherein we made our own cookie-like confections out of paper bags and glitter?
You would be wrong on all accounts. After all of our diligent searching, hard work, and unflappable ambition, the story ends in an anticlimactic epic tragedy. On Friday, Mrs. Gay told us she'd seen the Gingerbread Man walking the halls after school the day before, and tried to catch him for us, but he escaped. He was savagely eaten by the lunch ladies without regard for our tireless efforts or the feelings of the Gingerbread man himself. She said they expressed little regret, and there was nothing more to be done. The Gingerbread Man was gone for good.
Why did she make us walk all that way? Why did she lead us to believe we could find him? She took advantage of our good hearts and angelic gullibility. Sure, in the grand scheme of things, this isn't such a big deal. But at the time, I was deeply disappointed, and frankly fearful of the merciless lunch ladies. What kind of world is this, I thought. At five, I wasn't sure I could live a life in a place where cookies were cruelly captured and eaten by women who pretended to be so friendly. Had this been a lie all along? Could I be sure of anything? Why didn't anyone ever give us any cookies?
Do you have any childhood memories that make you wonder what the adults were thinking? Please share them.
What he said kept me awake all night.
He told me that as a boy, he heard a mischievous rustling coming from the living room on the night before Christmas. Curious, he toddled down the hall just in time to see a tiny sliver of a man shoot him a nasty look, with the lights from the Christmas tree glinting in the man's unforgiving yellowish-gray eyes. My father stood dumbfounded as the skinny bearded man leapt from the window.
They were on the second story.
Have you had things like this happen to you? Parents, teachers, or other grown-ups weaving tales so terrifying, disturbing, or unexpected that when you look back on them as an adult, you can't imagine what they were thinking? That Christmas, I was absolutely petrified. My long-held notion of rolly-poly, jolly Santas had been, quite literally, thrown out the window. In its places was the menacing image of a malnourished man who was ticked off that he got caught intruding in a living room that wasn't his own. Did he plummet to his death? I wanted to know. My dad said maybe he did, but if so, he'd been replaced because I'd be getting presents from Santa just as I had before. I think he was trying to reassure me, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that my world was crumbling around me. Santa was suddenly skinny, irritable, unfriendly, and possibly self-harming.
Another story that comes to mind goes back to my days as an eye-patched kindergartener in Mrs. Gay's class. We'd recently read the Gingerbread Man Poem, where a gingerbread cookie dude escapes from many different people and animals who try to eat him. Mrs. Gay told us there would be cookies for us to eat at the end of the week once we'd finished whatever else was involved in the Gingerbread unit (oh, kindergarten, how I miss your simplicity). She reported mid-week that the gingerbread man which had so lovingly been baked for us had disappeared, just like in the poem, and it was up to us to find him. We spent at least two interminable afternoons searching for him, high and low, under balance beams, inside slides, under shady trees and behind fences. Granted, I was five so maybe I remember this taking longer than it really did, but oh how we walked. Our little legs carried us hopefully from one destination to the other, imagining how wonderful it would be to finally find that puckish cookie once and for all.
Are you thinking this story ends in milk and cookies? Or maybe a group field trip to the kitchen to bake our own gingerbread men? Or even an arts and crafts project wherein we made our own cookie-like confections out of paper bags and glitter?
You would be wrong on all accounts. After all of our diligent searching, hard work, and unflappable ambition, the story ends in an anticlimactic epic tragedy. On Friday, Mrs. Gay told us she'd seen the Gingerbread Man walking the halls after school the day before, and tried to catch him for us, but he escaped. He was savagely eaten by the lunch ladies without regard for our tireless efforts or the feelings of the Gingerbread man himself. She said they expressed little regret, and there was nothing more to be done. The Gingerbread Man was gone for good.
Why did she make us walk all that way? Why did she lead us to believe we could find him? She took advantage of our good hearts and angelic gullibility. Sure, in the grand scheme of things, this isn't such a big deal. But at the time, I was deeply disappointed, and frankly fearful of the merciless lunch ladies. What kind of world is this, I thought. At five, I wasn't sure I could live a life in a place where cookies were cruelly captured and eaten by women who pretended to be so friendly. Had this been a lie all along? Could I be sure of anything? Why didn't anyone ever give us any cookies?
Do you have any childhood memories that make you wonder what the adults were thinking? Please share them.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Bonnaroo Review
For those who don't know, Bonnaroo is a four-day music festival held every June on 700 acres of Tennessee farmland. The multi-stage concert extravaganza started in 2002 and has grown bigger and better each year. Last week, nearly 80,000 people attended, breaking previous records.
Tickets costs $240, which is a great price considering all of the acts and activities there are to see and do throughout the four days. Most attendees camp in various pods surrounding Centeroo, where all the stages are. Being a poor college student, and at the suggestion of Paige, who attended last year, Tuan, my little bro Michael B. and I, all applied to be volunteers. We'd get free tickets and early admission in exchange for working three five-hour shifts.
I had the time of my life and saw some of the best live performances I'll ever see. All in all, I went to about 20 partial or full sets, many of which were some of my favorite bands. In the interest of brevity, I'm going to break this down into sections to save myself from getting too tangential and cloying. But here's the Bonnaroo '09 lowdown through the eyes of a first-timer.
Favorite Sets: Phoenix, Okkervil River, Grizzly Bear, The Decemberists, Rodrigo y Gabriela
Most fun: MGMT went on at 2:15 a.m. We'd volunteered from 12-5 in the heat of the day, seen 4-5 other shows in the afternoon, and were pretty beat. The energy at the show was insane, and the 90-minute dance party was something I'll never forget. I left drenched in sweat, most of which wasn't even mine. Trust me, it was awesome.
Honorable Mention: Al Green. Seeing this legend perform at Bonnaroo's main stage with thousands of adoring fans singing along to his biggest hits (Let's Stay Together, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart) is one of my fondest memories. During "Let's Stay Together" a guy about 10 yards away got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend. She said yes, and the crowd erupted in cheers with strangers taking pictures left and right. Al Green's soulful crooning felt just right in the hot June air. No one could wipe the smiles off their faces.
Best Surprises: We caught the end of the Grace Potter and the Nocturnals set. They put on a great show with the entire band playing different parts of the drum kit at once at one point. I'd heard them on the radio a few times, but their soul-infused classic rock sound was so much more impressive live. Here's a band who loves to perform, has a great stage presence, and made me appreciate how great it is to come across bands for the first time in concert.
Phoenix- I'd heard only a little of this band, and had to really make myself show up to their 11:30 set after an exhausting day. Thank heavens I did because it was one of my favorite shows of the whole weekend. They sounded incredible, and with everyone dancing and singing along, I kept thinking of how much I'd have missed if i was asleep in our tent.
What to know about volunteering: I'd think very carefully before you do. Overall the experience wasn't an entirely negative one. I was fortunate enough to get good shifts, and didn't miss a single show I really wanted to see.However, standing on my feet in the broiling sun, with little opportunity for breaks or shelter really affected the rest of my days. For a lot of the time, I was exhausted. It didn't stop me from seeing any shows; I came 1200 miles to see these bands, and I wouldn't miss them just because I was sunburned, my feet were swollen, and I felt like I might fall down.
But do be warned that if you plan to volunteer, bring plenty of water, get plenty of rest at night, and come knowing that your schedule is non-negotiable, and you could miss plenty of acts you really want to see. Also be prepared that the volunteer management is pretty poorly run. When you have 1600 volunteers, double the usual number, delays are to be expected, but we did have to wait a few hours to check in (some unlucky ones got sent to Wal-Mart to camp for the night), and orientation took a couple hours longer than it should have. I wouldn't volunteer again unless I HAD TO GET TO BONNAROO and didn't have the funds to do it without a free ticket.
What to expect if you go: Expect to be hot and uncomfortable sometimes, but not all the time. Prepare for the heat. Make sure to pack several different pairs of comfortable shoes. You will be walking or on your feet 18 hours a day. Bring enough food to feed yourself at camp for four days. Baby wipes are also helpful accessories. You will be dirty.
Expect to meet the kindest, most friendly group of people you'll ever see in one place. Strangers will high-five, hug, and smile at you. We were thanked a few different times by strangers for our efforts in volunteering to help promote sustainability. Expect to have the time of your life. Bring people you love because it makes the experience perfect. Expect to feel euphoric at every great show. Relax and let the rhythm of the music pulse through you like a heartbeat.
In the comments: have you been to Bonnaroo or anything like it? Tell me about it!
Tickets costs $240, which is a great price considering all of the acts and activities there are to see and do throughout the four days. Most attendees camp in various pods surrounding Centeroo, where all the stages are. Being a poor college student, and at the suggestion of Paige, who attended last year, Tuan, my little bro Michael B. and I, all applied to be volunteers. We'd get free tickets and early admission in exchange for working three five-hour shifts.
I had the time of my life and saw some of the best live performances I'll ever see. All in all, I went to about 20 partial or full sets, many of which were some of my favorite bands. In the interest of brevity, I'm going to break this down into sections to save myself from getting too tangential and cloying. But here's the Bonnaroo '09 lowdown through the eyes of a first-timer.
Favorite Sets: Phoenix, Okkervil River, Grizzly Bear, The Decemberists, Rodrigo y Gabriela
Most fun: MGMT went on at 2:15 a.m. We'd volunteered from 12-5 in the heat of the day, seen 4-5 other shows in the afternoon, and were pretty beat. The energy at the show was insane, and the 90-minute dance party was something I'll never forget. I left drenched in sweat, most of which wasn't even mine. Trust me, it was awesome.
Honorable Mention: Al Green. Seeing this legend perform at Bonnaroo's main stage with thousands of adoring fans singing along to his biggest hits (Let's Stay Together, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart) is one of my fondest memories. During "Let's Stay Together" a guy about 10 yards away got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend. She said yes, and the crowd erupted in cheers with strangers taking pictures left and right. Al Green's soulful crooning felt just right in the hot June air. No one could wipe the smiles off their faces.
Best Surprises: We caught the end of the Grace Potter and the Nocturnals set. They put on a great show with the entire band playing different parts of the drum kit at once at one point. I'd heard them on the radio a few times, but their soul-infused classic rock sound was so much more impressive live. Here's a band who loves to perform, has a great stage presence, and made me appreciate how great it is to come across bands for the first time in concert.
Phoenix- I'd heard only a little of this band, and had to really make myself show up to their 11:30 set after an exhausting day. Thank heavens I did because it was one of my favorite shows of the whole weekend. They sounded incredible, and with everyone dancing and singing along, I kept thinking of how much I'd have missed if i was asleep in our tent.
What to know about volunteering: I'd think very carefully before you do. Overall the experience wasn't an entirely negative one. I was fortunate enough to get good shifts, and didn't miss a single show I really wanted to see.However, standing on my feet in the broiling sun, with little opportunity for breaks or shelter really affected the rest of my days. For a lot of the time, I was exhausted. It didn't stop me from seeing any shows; I came 1200 miles to see these bands, and I wouldn't miss them just because I was sunburned, my feet were swollen, and I felt like I might fall down.
But do be warned that if you plan to volunteer, bring plenty of water, get plenty of rest at night, and come knowing that your schedule is non-negotiable, and you could miss plenty of acts you really want to see. Also be prepared that the volunteer management is pretty poorly run. When you have 1600 volunteers, double the usual number, delays are to be expected, but we did have to wait a few hours to check in (some unlucky ones got sent to Wal-Mart to camp for the night), and orientation took a couple hours longer than it should have. I wouldn't volunteer again unless I HAD TO GET TO BONNAROO and didn't have the funds to do it without a free ticket.
What to expect if you go: Expect to be hot and uncomfortable sometimes, but not all the time. Prepare for the heat. Make sure to pack several different pairs of comfortable shoes. You will be walking or on your feet 18 hours a day. Bring enough food to feed yourself at camp for four days. Baby wipes are also helpful accessories. You will be dirty.
Expect to meet the kindest, most friendly group of people you'll ever see in one place. Strangers will high-five, hug, and smile at you. We were thanked a few different times by strangers for our efforts in volunteering to help promote sustainability. Expect to have the time of your life. Bring people you love because it makes the experience perfect. Expect to feel euphoric at every great show. Relax and let the rhythm of the music pulse through you like a heartbeat.
In the comments: have you been to Bonnaroo or anything like it? Tell me about it!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Songs that make your heart sing: Bonnaroo edition
Hey everyone, I'll have a Bonnaroo rundown coming up later today or tomorrow, but for now I want to tide you over with an edition of Songs that Make Your Heart Sing, featuring a bunch of my favorite songs I saw at the festival. Usually the STMYHS feature is reserved for songs that are exclusively lyrically happy and upbeat but I'll make an exception because seeing these performed live over the weekend was incredible. Live versions are embedded when available in good quality!
"Lisztomania" by Phoenix:
The Charging Sky by the universally admired Jenny Lewis!:
"Impossible Germany" by Wilco:
"Southern Point" by Grizzly Bear:
"Our Life Is Not a Movie but Maybe" by Okkervil River:
"Crane Wife 3" by The Decemberists:
"Lisztomania" by Phoenix:
The Charging Sky by the universally admired Jenny Lewis!:
"Impossible Germany" by Wilco:
"Southern Point" by Grizzly Bear:
"Our Life Is Not a Movie but Maybe" by Okkervil River:
"Crane Wife 3" by The Decemberists:
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