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Saturday, January 28, 2006 Happy Chinese New Year!  On our way back to the Deuce after a three-hour balboa/bal-swing workshop in Bloomfield Hills, Asian Bryan invited me to his house for Chinese New Year's Eve dinner--which of course I accepted. (My family usually celebrates on the eve as well, but this year our big dinner was moved to the day itself because my brother was out of town. It's one of the best meals of the year: roast duck, shark's fin soup, and many other wonderful goodies.) I didn't realize his parents speak so much Mandarin; I actually missed a fair chunk of what was going on around me. (I'm a bad Asian. I know.) But his mom is a fantastic cook--she made piles of dumplings and spring rolls from scratch, not to mention all the other stuff. Mmmm. This means I get two new year's dinners this year. The only thing that would make this better would be spending the next two weeks in Singapore. ^ Top | 11:37 PM | | | 
Thursday, January 26, 2006 Meat Google is a wonderful thing. For some reason, I was thinking about an email forward I got years ago (we're talking at least seven years here--what can I say, I remember the oddest things) with a dialogue between two aliens who were perturbed that humanity was made out of meat. "Meat. They're made out of meat." It's the only line I could remember, but I typed it into Google and it was enough. Turns out the writer of that piece is none other than Terry Bisson, who's well-known in SF circles. Voice Two: We're supposed to talk to meat. Voice One: That's the idea. That's the message they're sending out by radio. 'Hello. Anyone out there. Anybody home.' That sort of thing. Voice Two: They actually do talk, then. They use words, ideas, concepts? Voice One: Oh, yes. Except they do it with meat. Voice Two: I thought you just told me they used radio. Voice One: They do, but what do you think is on the radio? Meat sounds. You know how when you slap or flap meat, it makes a noise? They talk by flapping their meat at each other. They can even sing by squirting air through their meat. Voice Two: Omigod. Singing meat. This is altogether too much. So what do you advise? ^ Top | 10:14 PM | | |
Monday, January 23, 2006 Juxtapositions and Friendliness Students at the Eastern Michigan University are friendlier than their counterparts at the University of Michigan. As a U-M alum, it almost pains me to say that, but it's true. I worked a promotion for Court TV today at both schools (this primarily involved passing out scratch-off cards and wearing a slightly ridiculous smock advertising a new show--hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, this stuff pays well) and we started out in Ann Arbor. It was fun running into people I knew, especially since I tend to avoid campus these days, spending my time downtown instead, but U-Mers are so used to people promoting various products and events that we've perfected the art of walking by too quickly to grab a flyer and avoiding eye contact. Two other members of the promo team had studied at U-M, and we laughed about how cynical and jaded students can become (specific to this area, rather than in general). In contrast, the vast majority of students at EMU took the scratch-off cards and thanked us for them. A couple even came back and asked for more. I'm sure that Eastern has fewer marketing efforts aimed at its students, but the juxtaposition was quite stark. It reminds me of going to a band clinic day at EMU when I was a senior in high school and all the Eastern students looking somewhat horrified that I was planning to go to Michigan--"they're so competitive!" "they aren't very friendly," and "they don't help each other in classes!" Which isn't entirely true--some concentrations are more competitive than others, but I never experienced problems finding or providing help. I guess the "friendly" criticism is founded to some degree though, at least in regard to outsiders. But on an individual level, we're friendly, fun people. ^ Top | 9:01 PM | | |
Saturday, January 21, 2006 BoB Awards Who knew? I'm a finalist in the Best of Blogs Awards in the Music category. Now I feel like I need to write a more substantial post about the behind-the-scenes of touring musicianship. Or something. ^ Top | 12:01 PM | | |
Friday, January 20, 2006 Jesus, Mystery Science Theater Style Hilarious Jesus satire--thanks to Parke for the link. Jesus: And you guys. How do you expect to get into heaven by playing board games? ... And these guys, they think they can get into heaven just because they dress like the wise men. Roman Guard #1: They said he was pretty mad. Roman Guard #2: I'd be mad too if I had to trot around in the desert in those sandals. Roman Guard #1: They're so BC. Roman Guard #2: You know Rome's not only the most powerful nation in the world, we're also the most stylish. You know how cool you look? Jesus: Rule #2: You're not allowed to have any fun unless you're laughing at how dumb the devil is. ^ Top | 10:59 PM | | |
Thursday, January 19, 2006 The Week in Summary I spent the last week in (guess where?) Chicago, and for the first time since July I didn't play a show while I was there. It's funny, I didn't realize that it was such a routine until all these people from swing dancing in Chicago and friends that I talked to on the phone from Michigan were asking if I was in the city because of music. It's also noticeably easier to get around train stations and such without lugging instruments around. It was good week, full of salsa dancing, less swing dancing than intended (I missed the workshop I wanted to take because the promo I was working didn't finish in time), visiting friends (including Emily, who made the trip from North Carolina), ice skating in Millennium Park, many hours on the public transportation system reading books, interviews, and some work. Fantastic as it was, I didn't sleep much and ended up napping literally the entire train ride home. Without instruments to carry, I decided to walk home (it's 1.2 miles, which isn't too bad, and yesterday's weather felt like spring) and halfway back I heard a voice call my name: it was Scott R., on his way to watch videos made at a dance event in Ashville. So I ended up with a ride. ^ Top | 8:47 PM | | |
Wednesday, January 11, 2006 Ghost Chases Frightened Pac Man Or: Life at my Alma Mater (University of Michigan). I never saw anything that funny at Angell Hall as a student. Thanks to Rachel for the link. ^ Top | 1:50 AM | | |
Saturday, January 07, 2006 Highlights of 2005: Chocolate, Books, and Cafes Continuing our highlights of 2005, here's a list of the coolest spots that I've discovered in the last year to indulge these obsessions (again, in no particular order): I first read about this factory/store when Emily forwarded me a link to a New York Times feature. Back in October, I visited and found excellent candy, even if they didn't carry my beloved truffles. I did find a delicious source for chocolate truffles in August, and the store is a favorite of Yo-Yo Ma and Pavarotti for a reason. Hands down, this is the best bookstore I've ever been in. You think it's only a couple of rooms full, but when those rooms end you find yourself in another, and another, and another.... Another incredible bookstore (because it's the used bookstores that have all the character) is in Chicago itself--besides being a wonderful place to read for a couple of hours, there are books from floor to ceiling, on the balcony, really, everywhere you look. Rohs Street is unique for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it's run by a church but doesn't feel like it. It's a fantastic music venue as well. What's not to love about the wood floors? It's a great place to sit with a cup of coffee and journal about the people next to you (I need to write a song about the guy who couldn't stop farting, even though he tried to do it discreetly). Acadia makes the list not because of its cafe section, though it is comfy, but because the theatre section is now a contender for my favorite venue. And while it doesn't fall into the above categories, I wanted to mention a very cool spot to dance that just opened in August: The loft space has a great floor and brick walls, and it's host to a plethora of vernacular dances, including swing, hip hop, and salsa. It's practically on the campus of U-M, and Jamie, the owner, is a wonderful person that gives chocolate to her DJs. Guess who DJed the hip hop/swing dance tonight and had a blast? ^ Top | 12:00 AM | | |
Wednesday, January 04, 2006 Highlights of 2005: Music It's the time of year that begs for retrospectives, and this blog has also fallen prey to the tendency to contemplate the last 12 months--the next few posts will feature various highlights from 2005. I've discovered huge amount of wonderful music in the last year and thought I'd share 10 gems (in no particular order): 1. The Last Five Years Around three years ago, I was introduced to Jason Robert Brown's music by crewing a production of Parade, one of the few musicals that manages to both stay serious and resist the urge for unnecessary theatricality (in contrast, Miss Saigon, another of my favorites, is serious but includes such novelities as a beauty contest and a helicopter). The Last Five Years is a more untraditional show; it has only two characters. I haven't seen it live, but I've listened to the recording obsessively--it's a rather autobiographical story of two people whose marriage falls apart, and you see them through all the stages of their relationship: the initial giddiness of new love, marriage, struggles, and the end. 2. Beth Stalker Beth is a wonderful musician that I was privileged to share the stage with for a benefit. She's the winner of multiple Detroit Music Awards, runs the gamut of folk, gospel, and blues, and will be performing as part of the Splintered Light Concert Series at the Chapel Coffeehouse, a venue I am partially responsible for running. 3. Josh Allan Josh is my Myspace discovery. He's an amazing musician from Colorado--soon to be California--with similar sensibilities to me in the vein of acoustic pop. But more upbeat. He seriously needs to tour to Michigan. 4. Christian Matjias In the spring, I got a newsletter from U-M's alumni association mentioning Christian's work in dance and music (he's a professor at U-M). Intrigued, I wandered into his website and somewhere along the line we started an email correspondence that revealed he's as much a fan of my music as I am of his. Excellent compositions--check out "With Each Moment." 5. The Blind Boys of Alabama I caught the gospel/blues group at the Detroit Jazz Festival this summer--and they were phenomenal performers, having played together for 60 years. Their CD with Ben Harper is high on my To Buy list. 6. Mae Not only was their old website the coolest Flash site I'd ever seen, but their music is a great blend of synth and alt rock (not always easy things to combine). 7. Todd Martin Todd's another musician I came to appreciate after sharing a show with him--we played together at Magdalena's Tea House in Lansing and I listened to his CD for the next two weeks straight. Another fantastic acoustic pop singer-songwriter. 8. CJ Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band I don't normally listen to zydeco, but I caught CJ and band during Summerdance, a free concert series run by the city of Chicago. On my birthday, no less. And while the accordion is generally an instrument I don't appreciate, that night it worked--probably because there was a good amount of blues in the set too. 9. Etta James I'd heard her music before unknowingly, but over the last year I discovered the wonders of this incredible blues vocalist. Think melted chocolate. Mmm. 10. Sufjan Stevens It took two different friends--who, interestingly enough, don't quite get along--to get me hooked on Sufjan's music, but now I definitely am, in spite of the fact that his song titles are getting longer and longer, to the point of incredulity (one is literally a paragraph long). His style is hard to pin down, a mixture of minimalism, folk, and indie rock, and I've got to admit that I wish I'd thought of it first. Once I was reading his lyrics and commenting that a Christian would write such sentiments--"And in my best behavior / I am really just like him," and that about a murderer--when Patrick responded, "Don't you know? He is a Christian." Well then, mystery solved. ^ Top | 12:03 AM | | |
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