A Life Rich with MacGuffins

Spearmint

2008-12-31T02:26:47Z

I'm a bit on the fence about the "improved flavor" of Wrigley's Spearmint.

I think it is a bit too pungent. Or I am getting crotchedy.

Fun with Music Theory

2007-11-09T06:27:59Z

It is what the cool kids are doing.

Stephen Colbert Op-Ed in NY Times

2007-10-15T20:10:11Z

I heart Stephen Colbert so much that I feel like I have to link his Op-Ed article in today's NYTimes (thank you, ocvictor). I think it may be a bit scattered, but then again I am also listening to Rachmaninov's 3rd Piano Concerto which I had meant to do 2 weeks ago. I work best when I am scattered.

His shameless plug:

Others point to my new bestseller, “I Am America (And So Can You!)” noting that many candidates test the waters with a book first. Just look at Barack Obama, John Edwards or O. J. Simpson.

Musical Language

2007-10-07T18:29:02Z

As some of you may know, I am a huge NPR fan. Perhaps it is a prerequisite to listen to NPR before becoming a grad-student, but whatever. I just heard of this show, Radio Lab through This American Life and it is awesome. It blends nerdiness with quirkiness similar to my beloved Alton Brown on Good Eats.

The latest episode is Musical Language. This is the stuff I am interested in. As it says in the synopsis:

What is music? How does it work? Why does it move us? Why are some people better at it than others? In this hour, we examine the line between language and music, how the brain processes sound, and we meet a composer who uses computers to capture the musical DNA of dead composers in order to create new work. We also re-imagine the disastrous 1913 debut of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring…through the lens of modern neurology.

Next year or the year after I plan to dive into this a bit more so I can incorporate it into my dissertation (scary thought).

I'm getting old

2007-10-02T21:27:51Z

Seriously.

And it sucks.

I keep forgetting things. I just now put my iPod in my oboe bag and locked it in my instrument locker knowing full well that I would need it to go to the library and then to the gym. I didn't realize I had left it until I signed up for a time to use the eliptical at the gym (that I was going to use my iPod for), signed out a book on reserve (that I was going to use the headphones for), and signed out a laptop (that I was going to use my headphones to use the CDROM that goes with the book I checked out that was on reserve). So instead of doing what I had planned to do, I am wasting time on LiveJournal before returning the laptop, book/CDROM and walking back up the hill to the music building to retrieve my fucking iPod and headphones before 4 pm because going to the gym without my iPod would be cruel and unusual punishment.

And ya, with age comes confusing LJ entries.

Get used to it.

olfactory sensors

2007-09-27T22:29:27Z

I've decided that I like the smell of my new house. I'm not exactly sure why. Perhaps the mix of the cats and my new Yankee Candle reminds me of New England.

This morning the roomie and I went grocery shopping

(I hadn't bought Lucky Charms in years) and all afternoon I have been figuring out the financial aid/health insurance conundrum. Fun, fun. I am so lucky that I have so few medical problems to worry about. My acid reflux can be a pain in the ass but as soon as I get a rhythm set with these classes, I should be able to get to the gym and watch my throat more closely. I still haven't made a dentist appointment or seen an optometrist, which is what I really need. And a dermatologist. But that will most certainly have to wait until at least January.

Writer's Block: Music: My First Favorite Band

2007-09-14T06:41:11Z

What was the first band you became a fan of?

Brought to you by HP | Contest | Vote for Winners!

View 500 Answers

Aha

post-trip

2007-09-07T00:17:01Z

Springfield/Eugene is very nice. The people are nice. The weather is nice. The land is nice. The campus is nice. I realize I am still in the honeymoon phase, but I don't see the non-honeymoon phase being bad at all (perhaps this will change after a few classes). I just finished off a small bag of salted sunflower kernels (so good!), practiced oboe (and English horn), and read about 180 pages of "A Practical Approach to 18th Century Counterpoint" (a page turner, lemme tell you). I'm feeling very relaxed and content. Good times.

Springfield, OR

2007-09-04T16:33:39Z

I'm here. I got here around 7 last night, local time. Pretty easy drive, just very long. And I didn't get bored until around Idaho, even the miles and miles of cornfields in Nebraska weren't boring. Rather redundant, but not boring. The sky is pretty overcast and I plan to explore the town, perhaps find a Walmart (I don't even know how anti-Walmart they are around here - like New England is anti-Walmart - dude, I just need some clothes hangers). I am supposed to drop by the Music building to say hello (maybe I'll wait until Thursday for that one). Yesterday it hit me how much shit I have to do in the next few weeks. Ugggh.

Boise, ID

2007-09-03T02:57:55Z

The most amusing thing about this trip is the crash course in geography of the midwest (more on that later - too tired now).

I am in Boise, ID, very tired, very annoyed about missing an exit earlier, and very happy to be in Boise. I plan to be in Eugene tomorrow evening, but I'll let y'all know when I am getting close.

Rawlins, WY

2007-09-02T01:56:55Z

I am spending the night in Rawlins, WY. I figure that tomorrow I will stop in Boise, ID; then I should get to Eugene late-day Monday. Plannin' on taking a long bath tonight....

Lincoln, NE

2007-09-01T03:11:11Z

I'm in Lincoln, NE. Today I went through Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa. I think I did pretty well today. I also just booked my hotel for tomorrow night. Ahhhh....

Clarksville, TN

2007-08-31T01:21:24Z

I'm in Clarksville, TN. So far the drive has been pretty uneventful. Traffic around Nashville was surprisingly bad, but other than that everything has been pretty smooth. Ate a HUGE loaded baked potato from Whitt's barbecue. Feel kinda gross because of it. I believe it may just tide my barbecue cravings over until Xmas.

pre-trip

2007-08-30T00:04:28Z

Can I just say what an awesome car-packer I am? Everything is fitting without being so jam packed that I can't 1) get stuff out if I need it mid-trip and 2) packed so tightly that the car is too heavy. I am heading off (very) early tomorrow morning and am debating on if I should stop at Delta State University
to pick up a t-shirt of the Fighting Okra! for my grandma (her alma-mater). It is just as easy to order some shirts online from the University. I'll probably do that. Even if I did pick up shirts in person I'd have to send them through the mail from Oregon anyway.

It looks like I will be going through St. Louis and Kansas City, MO. Anyone know of a good barbecue place (with kick-ass sweet tea preferably)?

It kinda sucks that it is right before Labor Day, but I don't want to wait another week just to avoid it. If anyone feels like calling over the next week it would be greatly appreciated. I may get a little bored during my drive.

blech

2007-08-27T16:14:11Z

I am now going through all my stuff, trying to get rid of everything I can. Yuck. I am never as productive as I initially set out to be.

Two Words

2007-08-24T13:35:49Z

Guitar. Hero.

Lovin' New Jersey (?)

2007-08-15T14:22:44Z

I am currently in New Jersey hanging out with coraljune. It is a wonderful 78 and I am inside on the computer. Duh. Gotta take advantage of the lack of HUMIDITY. (Fuck ya!)

Hanneke Cassel's Ron Burgundy Tribute

2007-08-11T22:50:52Z

I CANNOT stop listening to this song, Ron Burgundy Tribute. I've known about it for months and finally after hearing it a few times I understand how incredibly good it is.

It has an irregular form. Instead of the expected:

AABBAABB

It uses:

intro AABBAABBCCAABBDAABBAABB

Not only is there a CC thrown in, but the D is an extended B section (with an interpolation). Each phrase is the expected 8 bars in the 4/4 reel form each repeated and I bet anything that it is in G or D - the more I listen to it, the more I think it is in D. I don't think I have ever heard an extended tag (the last cadential figure - usually the last couple beats in a phrase) leading into an interpolation of the section then becoming it's own part - which then isn't repeated. (I have heard extended tags within the tune making the phrasing irregular [8 bar phrase repeated with an extra bar the last time - making 17 measures] before going onto the next section [AA 1BBAA 1BB] - I can't remember the tune I am thinking of right now.) The CC part is cool enough - it gives the impression of a descant - then the D part - I love that it doesn't come back. Hell, I haven't even talked about the hemiola (a specific type of syncopation) in the BB part that originally turned me onto the tune. And then there is that fucking awesome cello sawing away underneath....

The Industrial Revolution

2007-08-09T17:19:00Z

I'm at a coffee shop in Tallahassee watching a 50+ year-old business man very quickly two-finger hunt and peck on his keyboard. This cracks me up. I also find it amusing that in taking notes by hand for my upcoming Music History exam, the skin on the top of my thumb is peeling.

where is my watch?

2007-08-08T17:39:02Z

Well, I got my car back, I think my finances are going to be okay for the coming year, and I'm feeling better about my upcoming exams (really, they are the same for both the incoming Masters and Doctoral students; annoying, yes, unpassable, no). It is nice to know that the most inconvient thing going on right now is my missing watch.

my day

2007-08-07T20:49:11Z

Done: Harry Potter is now read. (Gimme a break. I didn't even get the thing until Saturday.) Feel free to discuss.

Now: Off to color my hair (just brown, don't get too excited).

Later: Music History

the car

2007-08-06T17:25:34Z

Well, my car is at Saturn. I estimated that getting everything done would cost about $2000 and I was under by $61.85. Yeah. I'm excited. I felt compelled to call my parents before okaying the job - not really sure why I felt like I should call them since they wouldn't pay for anything anyway. (Not because they can't, mind you. Because they won't.)

anxiety is setting in

2007-08-05T21:55:55Z

I've noticed that I am starting to get anxious about my impending move/starting school again. During the past month I have had trouble sleeping, sporadic hunger/loss of hunger (resulting in making my clothes tighter), eye twitching, and waves of feeling faint. Maybe from being a Virgo or just a control freak, I've found that making lists make me feel better, even if they include things that I will not accomplish soon (publishing a book) or stupid things (take a shower). So here goes:

To do before the 14th:

color hair
read/take notes on entire music history text from my undergrad
re-read 18th Century Counterpoint texts
finish 4-voice counterpoint homework and email it to Prof
decide which excerpts and concerto to prepare for audition
make oboe/English horn reed blanks
finish Harry 7
apply for Private loan
clean out bedroom/decide what to pack for the move
look into renting a UHaul trailer
get car fixed:
brakes
engine light
dome light
AC
horn
radio

To do after the 25th:

get hitch taken off of Sara's car and put on mine
plan trip to OR
send Luke other $300 for room
rent UHaul trailer
dump stuff at Goodwill
pack and leave AL

See, not too hard.

kitty42 @ 2007-07-29T15:14:00

2007-07-29T20:24:36Z

Wow. I knew things would hit the fan, but I wasn't counting on exactly how it was going to hit.

I am always amazed how someone with a normally rational mind puts information together in such a cockeyed way.

friendships

2007-07-29T14:11:00Z

Ever had one of those conversations that afterwards you are thinking, "Wow, am I that self-centered? I apparently need more friends so I don't always dump everything on the few that I have."

And yes, I stole your pic, pattersonphoto.