On Earth, no one can hear me scream

It's a total coincidence that I got a bug to get me some Sci-Fi books last week and then to find out that Arthur C. Clarke had passed away. This sort of thing happens to me all the time. Who do you think passed away the first time I got a telescope?

Now, if it was not a coincidence and I went to get some Sci-Fi books, you'd think at least one of them would be a Clarke novel. Not so, but I'm very sad to hear of his passing. He had visions of the future which was yet to be realized. He should have copyrighted his ideas.

Anyway, these are the titles I walked away with:

Frank Herbert's "Dune"



This was not really on my list, but I substituted this for a book I didn't find. I've always wanted to know what the fuss was about. I don't know anyone that's read this book but it is one of the most popular science fiction book ever written. Never seen the movie either so no spoilers.

Robert A Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange land"



I've read a couple of Heinlein's books and that was because an old timer stood next to me while I was checking them out and told me I should read his books. So I picked out a couple then and totally enjoyed them. So I can't wait to read this one of Heinlein's best work.


Philip K Dick's "Valis"



"God, as it turns out, is a virus perpetrated upon us by an orbiting satellite." Well, that's all the convincing I needed to get this in my hands. Can't wait to read it. Philip as most know was also the author of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" which was later turned into a movie called "Blade Runner."

There were a couple more on my list which I didn't find but will have to look elsewhere. Maybe a trip to Strand bookstore.

I know at least a couple of you like to read, so I'd like your opinions on my choices.

I wanted to get back into Sci-Fi / Fantasy reading because they have always brought me joy and I just love imagining and creating in my mind the worlds that these great authors draft for me. I'm also a sucker to some of the more light hearted fantasy series like that of Piers Anthony's "Xanth" series and David Asprin's "Myth" series. I got a couple of those too.

Obtaining concert tickets in the space age

OK, so things have changed. How many are you old enough to remember what it took to buy concert tickets? Did you have to take a day off from work? Did you have to ditch school? Did you have to wake up way early in the morning and drag yourself to the venue box office, get on line with people who have already been there hours earlier and hope for a good seat?

Used to be how it went. And maybe in some parts, it's still like that. Is it like that everywhere still? I don't know. All I know is that now, in order to get a ticket for a show, you got to the box office or get them on-line. And now they have this thing where you are alerted pre-sale tickets. You know, where YOU get a chance to buy a ticket before it goes on sale to the public. Meanwhile, everyone is getting that e-mail. It's nonsense really because I've never gotten a good seat during the pre-sales.

So I really want to see Goldfrapp at Beacon Theatre. It's a special place for me. It's the first venue I went to for my first concert experience. That being Depeche Mode on March 16, 1985.

In the past few years, I would try to get these tickets online and if I didn't quite like the seat, I would "search again" and it would pick a different seat each time until I could find one that's satisfactory and purchase it. This time around though it wasn't doing it. I kept getting the same nasty seat. So I came back the next day and still I was getting the real bad seats, like the ones in the "Obstructed View" area. Who wants that??

I let it go for a week or so. My only risk was that the show would be sold out. But I had a hunch that the *GOOD SEATS* were going to be open for the later sales. Turns out I was right. And it's been like that all along. And you possibly know this. I've always gotten better seats when I came in later in the game then when the sales first started.

So the lesson is: Pre-sale doesn't exactly mean you're getting the front center row. If anyone has gotten these seats on the pre-sales, then let me know. You want a good seat, wait around a little and then go for it. But then you risk the "sell out" thing.

You don't represent me!

This is a "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" moment.

It's just scary that there are still people making these kinds of speeches and getting away with it.

Want to know? Read here.

Thank you.

P.I.D. No. 15

Been a sicky for the past week. But getting better. Here are some quick post its. OK, people go on about the Pilot G2 pens but I hate the darn things. As you can see, they don't dry quickly and smudge thus ruining your "masterpiece."

Wilder on the sate of music

Read this interesting article Alan Wilder wrote for Side-Line about the state of music these days. Some interesting insights on sound quality (the decline of sound quality through mp3) and music distribution, etc. Click image for link.

I was too young to understand all this but late at night the TV would be on and my older brothers would be watching SNL. I laughed I guess because they were, not fully knowing exactly what they were laughing at. But some things I didn't even have to try to understand. Like when Chevy would take a fall in the beginning of each show. I'd have to say that the time when I really began watching SNL was about the time when Charles Rocket was in the show. It was also a time when there used to be a show called Fridays. That's when we first got a taste of Michael Richard's comedy. And if that wasn't enough late night comedy, there was also SCTV with Eugene Levy, John Candy, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara, Andrea Martin, etc. Lots of funny stuff going on during that time. Smart, goofy comedy. Add to that Midnight Special and the British Kenny Everett Show, Monty Python and you'd wonder when TV went so bad? So I got the first season of SNL in order to watch all this stuff that have not had their re-runs recently. But don't be too surprised if you didn't find it as funny as it was back then. Just they way some things go. Chevy Chase saying "I'm Chevy Chase and you're not" seemed a lot funnier back then. But not to worry as there are still plenty of timeless funnies here. I've only been through two of the eight discs in this set. I'm waiting for the one season to come out when Blondie made their appearance. The whole thing reminds me of Junior High and subway cars covered in that wonderful graffiti. I thought they were great works of art.

So I had this transistor radio that I would place by the window and I think it was during Saturdays that Kasey Kassem had that top 10 radio show. I just wanted to find out which number in the top 10 Blondie's Rapture or The Tide is High made it to. Somewhere between Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 and John Lennon's Imagine. This was 1980 and rap music was mostly an underground movement at the time. But a band from the CBGB's punk scene brought it to the top 10. I certainly had never heard anything like it. When I first heard Rapture (it made it's debut on Solid Gold when Debbie was hosting it), I was wondering why she was talking throughout the song.


Here's a movie I can't live without Life of Brian, I think is one of Monty's best made film. Poke fun at religion, and you can't go wrong. I bought this for $20 at Borders the other day. It's a great value for a 2 disc set (The Immaculate Edition). It's tempting to watch it now, but would like to save it for a more appropriate time. It's almost here.

View & P.I.D. No. 14

View from an office, somewhere in Manhattan. A chilly, snowy and grey day. The view wasn't always like this. Whenever I came in the room, I would look out at this area and just be amazed with wonder and awe. The sky wasn't as visible as you see here. That empty area in the middle, where now there is so much sky is where the World Trade Center used to live.

Post-It-Doodle No. 14

These three tracks came up on my pod's shuffle this morning. And it made the commute this morning bearable.

Nitzer Ebb - Shame

Nitzer Ebb - Warsaw Ghetto

Frontline Assembly - The Blade

Post-It Doodlers!

Yep! There some others out there doing this!

First check out The Post It Project in which I'm a contributor now. And lots of links to others who are now doing Post-It Doodles. Some fantastic stuff out there.

Check 'em out!

P.I.D. No. 13

It's Post-It No. 13! and it falls on Valentines day. V-Day! So in honor of V-Day, I give you my "black hearts" post-it.

Deb's IF I HAD YOU video

Click image to see.

The Debster has a new video for "If I Had You." What I like about this video is that one, I think she looks great. And two, I love those old Debbie clips. It's a celebration of her career as a woman in rock.

Phone picture tags

Me and my brother are playing phone picture tag. He sends me pictures of the desert where it's 75 degrees, I send him pictures of the city where it's snowing and below 30 degrees. He tells me he's wearing shorts while I send him a picture of me all bundled up.

But I did like the recent picture. It reminds of the first time I moved to Phoenix and upon waking up in my brother's apartment, this was pretty much the image that I saw out the window. Clear, blue skies and hot air baloons hovering up the sky. Landscapes of cacti and other desert-y things. Anyway, it's quickly owtgrown as it would be to any New Yorker or anyone from a big city (I'm so over it...)

What is funny about this is that they (meaning my brother and anyone living out there in Phoenix). Think because we have a winter season here, that we must be miserable and want to be out there on the sunny side. That may be true to some people, but it sure isn't true of me. Anyway, in contrast, below is the picture I sent to him outside the Native American museum.

No doodles, just words.

I deserted The Monster Island sometime ago. The island and its occupants (The Monsters) have been calling my name saying things like "You are needed here." and "You can do much better here."

I don't know. Sometimes I feel like going there and visiting with the monsters. But then I tell myself that towards the end, really nobody cares. The whole "I'm doing it for myself" thing is such bull. Off course you're doing it to get someone to notice, react, interact and give you feedback. Otherwise, it would be done with pen and paper, and "only for myself." I do know for a fact that writing comes a lot easier when I'm all about the feelings and emotions. A particular event that I'm fond of or not so fond of.

Sigh... I will try and get back to the swing of things soon enough.

I may begin a new blog featuring just the knit projects. Who knows.

Currently reading:

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

You know, I became a skeptic once I began to take science a serious look and started reading up on it. From the bits and pieces that I took from these books, I started wondering how people get so delusional about such things? I will get into it later, but not today. I'm still in the middle of the book.

Right, cheers, thanks a lot.

P.I.D. No. 12

I had this idea of bringing in my moleskine to do my doodling in during the day. But I keep forgeting. Perhaps I feel like I didn't want to make the post it doodles obsolete. You know, because they are SO popular.

Marc Almond has found it difficult to put up a couple of tracks for sale up on iTunes. These were left out of "Stardom Road." So because of said difficulties, he's kindly put them up in his MySpace page for free downloads.

Yazoo - Their remasters should be coming out soon (packaged with a DVD). They have already announced tour dates in the UK. Lucky bastards. Hope they come to the U.S. soon! I just think when you reunite and start touring and all, how about a couple of new songs? There doesn't seem to be anything like that in the works.

So here's the thing. Picture this. 1986. Young boys and girls on their way to the show.....

I mean, the show didn't even start UNTIL 11:30 and that was the opening act! By 12:30, Book of Love would come on to the stage and we were as awake and jumpy as anything. By 2 AM, the show would end - but that's when the disco began (well, he starts off with Yaz's "Don't Go") How do you not want to dance after all that jumping around for Love? We would leave by 4 AM and find ourselves one of those 24 hour diners to have a meal and talk and about it. None of us really had any nerve to even think about whether we were ever going to find love or not.

Comfort Zone

Lately, this has been sort of a comfort zone.

It all started back in the beginning of 98. I had the flu and I was out of work for about a week. I was looking for something to do. So passing by the fabric store I saw all this yarn in the window and thought, well, why not? So I came back with a couple of skeins of yarn, a pattern booklet and a pair of aluminum needles and began teaching myself to knit. Along the way I've made several sweaters, a lot of hats and socks, scarves and shawls. Today, a lot more men have taken up the craft and are making themselves, families and friends more comfortable with their hand made woollies for the winter. Check out the website Men Who Knit where I've gotten a lot of nice comments on this project.

I made this hat with nobody in mind. Just wanted to knit the thing. It's not the kind of hat that suits me. I just wear a basic black hat that I've made for myself.

I sent the picture to a friend who lives out in GA and he's expressed interest, so I will send it out to him. And I'm happy that he's requested more hats.

Submitted for Inspire Me Thursday's prompt: Comfort Zone

Details:

Pattern: Norwegian Banded Hat obtained from Countrywool
Yarn: Brown Sheep's Naturespun Sport
Needles: Size 3 & 5

P.I.D. No. 11

If I can pull off wearing a kilt, I'd totally do it. I was in San Francisco some years back and saw lots of men wearing kilts and I thought "that totally looks cool!" Not that you'd have to be hanging around Castro street to be wearing them, but it just should be a an option, you know? Well, it is an option for a lot of people, but is it for me? But I think we're a long way from men wearing kilts to work as part of the business-casual wear.

I went to Borders today looking for a calendar to put up at my desk at work. It's all about puppies, kittens and off course chickens and half naked fire fighters with that stuff. The one astronomy calendar I found was all opened up and nearly destroyed and there wasn't another one unopened. I settled on tigers. It came with magnets which will go on my fridge.

I also bought the book "In Search of Schrodinger's Cat - Quantum Physics and Reality." I'm hoping this will be the book that will for once help me get a grip on the subject.

Sprinkled with Almonds

Marc Almond has put up a couple of new tracks on his MySpace website. One in particular which I like is Smoke and Mirrors. An electro-disco track which will be released by the band Starcluster on January 14th. It might be available on iTunes. Doesn't state. The two other tracks will be released by Punx Soundcheck (Saint Now) which he's previously done work with and a track for a tribute album for the film maker Kenneth Anger (The Devil in Disguise). More to come as Marc will start work on his new album to be released in 2009. More info on his official website.

2007 in doodles

Back in June, I started posting some doodles that I'd been making with those yellow post-it pads. I found myself from time to time just doodling around at my desk and I decided to just put them up. I got some nice responses, so I figured I'd make it a regular thing. So for Inspire Me Thursday's prompt, I'm putting up a collection of them. Thanks for checking it out and Happy New Year!

You'll shoot your eye out, kid.

I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays. Enjoy the yule log!

I wanted to share a gift with you that a dear friend of mine got for me. It's called "COSMOS - A FIELD GUIDE." by Giles Sparrow. I love it! It's a giant book of the most fascinating pictures and descriptions of every object in our universe. So far as we have been able to photograph. Stars, galaxies, planets, etc. Perfect for coffee table, so I should get a coffee table. In fact, the book is so big, if it had legs, it would BE a coffee table. Where's Kramer when you need him?







Addendum:



I cast on today to work on yet another hat from the book 101 Designer One Skein Wonders. This time I chose the "Lattice Basket Cap." Worked in the same fashion as "In Between Seasons Cap" where you knit up the band for 20", seam it and then pick up stitches to work the crown. I'm just about to decrease for the crown. It's working up nicely with Brown Sheep's Lamb's Pride Worsted in color Prairie Fire. The hat will go to the Shining Star who gave me the book mentioned above for Christmas along with the previous cap I finished.

Between Seasons Cap - Done.

I just finished the cap. I'm pleased with it. But, I don't know if it's me or the instructions were wrong, left and right twist stitches seem to all lean to the right. Eh.. I won't mention it to the recipient, maybe she won't notice. :)

My yoga

I'm currently working on making a hat for a friend from a book I recently purchased while at Border's the other day. 101 Designer One Skein Wonders. They are mostly accessories which usually take just one skein to make anyway so it's basically a book of patterns for socks, mittens, hats and baby items and the like. So I decided on the "Between Seasons Hat" pattern which wants you to knit the cable band first, seam it and then pick up stitches for the rest of the hat. So far, I've finished the band. I'm making mine out of Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece on size 6 needles.

I've also finished up a pair of toasty socks to wear around the apartment. They are knitted tightly on size 3 needles to make it wear longer. They're great in Paton's Classic Worsted Weight wool.

Our favorite 80s duo return!

The fantastic 80s music will never die. And one of the best 80s duos of all time are returning with their re-issues of their only two albums, Upstairs at Eric's and You and Me Both. Under their original name of Yazoo. Not sure if Sideline is 100% on their report of them actually touring, but it will be a total kick in the rubber parts if they do tour!

There's not much on their site right now, but you can check out their MySpace page. The link can be found at their site. I'm sure that anyone in their 30s and 40s that hit the clubs back in the 80s danced their asses off to such great dance tracks as Don't Go and Situation. I think we were all pretty lucky that we were just the right age to enjoy all this music when it was new. Not only the synth only bands, but also some really great guitar and mixed bands like New Order.

Siouxsie Live on Jools.

Siouxsie is making her rounds with the release of her new album Mantaray. I really love this album and here's a little taste of some YouTube finds of her recent appearance on Later With Jools Holland, which is pretty cool Brit. show (if your favorite artist is on). She looks flawless!

Here she's performing the classic Banshees, Spellbound.



Interview with Jools.



Into A Swan from the same show.

Dragon Scales ATC

It looks like dragon scales to me. So that's what I'll call this piece.

Recently I went to the art store and saw watercolor postcards so I figured this would be great to make Artist Trading Cards. So I took out my watercolor set today and brushed away on the background colors and took out my sharpie and made the scales. This will be going out to Steve over at Go Flying Turtle. I had stated previously that I was going to send him an ATC for trade based on the doodles that I was doing. Sorry it took so long!

This was the inspiration from a previous post it.

I thought about blacking in like above. But the way the background colors were showing through looked pretty cool so I didn't.

Post-It Doodles No. 9 and wintery goodness

Doodles! And in color. I usually go with a black Sharpie, but I wanted to use red & blue today.



I'm enjoying the wintery coolness already. I don't know what it is about the cold that makes me feel more alive than in the heat. The heat just exhausts me and I'm always irritated and annoyed by it. But in winter, there's something about having to keep yourself warm. It's comforting to me. Warm beverages, woolly socks and the hissing of the radiator. Waking up to the sounds of snow shoveling (my delight but not the shoveler). Also, the silence that the snow brings during the evening hours. Did you too hear angel choirs while reading this? Speaking of which, I shall be at a church tonight listening to a friend who is in one of those GLBT choirs.




Another old winter friend is usually hovering over us in the clear evening sky. It's name is Orion and is very prominent in the winter sky. A favorite among sky watchers. It is named Orion The Hunter but has also many other names by many other cultures. It looks kind of like an hourglass with a belt in the middle (the three stars). It is said, the three pyramids of ancient Egypt were modeled after Orion's belt. A good binocular can reveal many things within. I no longer have a telescope and NYC has too many lights to observe. But there are many deep sky objects to be found in Orion's constellation. Namely the Horsehead Nebula (pictured).


Anyway, I've linked to the wiki page so you can read up all about it.



Wintery melodies (80s off course). They are not winter themed songs but they always remind me of winter.

Ultravox - White China
The Armoury Show - Castles in Spain
Echo & The Bunnymen - Seven Seas
Visage - Mind of a Toy
Duran Duran - Planet Earth
Eurythmics - 1984
Depeche Mode - Master & Servant
The Cure - Let's Go To Bed
Depeche Mode - the "Black Celebration" album
Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas
Howard Jones (HoJo) - What Is Love
Erasure - Crackers International (Ok this is winter themed!)


Not so 80s...

Erasure - Breath of Life
Pet Shop Boys - The "Very" Album
Several clubsy songs and all that techno craziness during the early 90s.

V on Ice

This picture was from about two years ago. But it's where I ended up last night with a couple of friends. Yesterday was one of those days where you leave the apartment during the early hours and not come back till after midnight. I started by going to the theater to see a friend perform on stage at a kid's show which was OK. I mean it was for kids but fun to watch all the same. My friend did quite well. We sat through it twice! Two hour show each.

Between shows, we went for a quick bite. After the second showing, we headed uptown to a friend's apartment and then headed for some Italian food. Nice place, can't remember the name but will come back to whenever in the area.

After dinner, we took a cab over to central park and headed for the ice skating rink. At first, I thought about how much a fool I was going to make of myself cause I've never ice skated before. And I didn't want to embarrass my friends either. But I went anyway and guess what? I only fell once! I started off pretty slow and kept near the wall of the rink but I was able to glide along most of the time. It was when my friend held my hand and we headed off near the center of the rink that I took that fall. The other thing is that the skates do not come in 1/2 sizes and even going up a size, the skates seem to be pretty tight. I have wide feet. So if I'm ever to skate again and feel comfortable, I'd have to buy my own skates. Well, I tried something new and after taking pictures of people skating, I can say that I have actually done it. So after the skating, we went over to a coffee shop to meet a couple of friends and hung out there for a while then headed home.


And I finished the scarf! Since the fabric came out pretty thick and it's kind of wide, I didn't feel it necessary to make it so long. Just long enough to wrap around the neck once.

The Bourgeoisie and The Rebel

While at Dan's blog, I came across this meme and thought about doing it, since it's about music I think it would be fun to do. No tagging here. So I hope you like.

1. What is the first music album you remember owning?

I think it was The Sound of Music. As a child, I really liked the songs and I remember my father giving me a tape of the album which I remember listening to a lot.

2. If not the same, what is the first music album you purchased for yourself?


Definitely Blondie's Parallel Lines. I think I was 12 years old at the time and it was right around the time their Eat To The Beat album was coming out. This was the beginning of my obsession with all things Deborah. Ever since the first time I saw her on Solid Gold 79. And it wasn't a live appearance or anything. It was the video to Heart of Glass. I was transfixed on her beauty and voice. I think Blondie was at No. 10 with HOG and Rod Stewart winning the No. 1 song with Do Ya Think I'm Sexy.

3. What artist currently occupies the most space either in terms of shelf space or megabytes on your hard drive?

I think maybe there are three artists fighting for the top one in this category. It's either Depeche Mode, The Smiths/Morrissey or Soft Cell/Marc Almond. I can't say which but all three take quite a bit of space.

4. How many different types of music media (vinyl, cassette, CD, etc) have you owned in your lifetime?

I had quite a collection of vinyl during my time. During the time of the walkman, I even would purchase tapes of vinyls I already had so that I would have a perfect copy for my walkman instead of a second generation recording of the vinyl. Even when CDs were beginning to dominate, I still purchased vinyls. Way into the mid 90s - until I had no choice but to switch all to CDs. But now, not a lot of the precious vinyl recordings have made it into CD land so thanks to the interweb and those wonderful bloggers who take the time to convert some of their vinyls to mp3s so that we can enjoy them again. If I had all my vinyl with me, I'd be doing the same.

5. Who or what has had the biggest effect on your music taste?

What I heard growing up at home is exactly the opposite of what my taste in music was/is. I mean, I grew up with the sounds of Pink Floyd, The Doors, heavy metal music, southern and classic rock. AC DC, Led Zeppelin, The Who and the like. Sometimes there would be a little something like The Clash or The Ramones and David Bowie but not much to completely effect my taste in music. I had no influence from anyone over the music I chose to listen to. It was completely mine. And I didn't have any friends either so there weren't any to effect me. I started out with Blondie and then went into New Wave, New Romantic, mostly Brit Pop. I think I became more open minded this way and to this day my music taste varies so widely. To the point that some people are rather surprised that I would listen to some type of artist and another so completely different from the other.


6. How do you currently prefer to listen to music?

I am most comfortable listening to my music by headphones alone. When I lived at home, I couldn't listen to my music through loudspeakers because of the prejudice over the music I listened to. It was almost shameful in a way! Like I was listening to forbidden music. So I had to keep it to myself and wear my headphones throughout. I usually had to make tapes of the vinyls and listen to my music through the walkman or tape player through headphones. I really wasn't allowed to use the stereo system for a long time! So these days, it's just my headphones either connected to my iPod or computer.

7. In terms of music memorabilia, what is your most prized possession?

I have quite a few vinyls that I think are collectible. Some special 7" releases like Marc Almond's Tears Run Rings single which came in a box with two post cards and a badge.

Once after an Erasure concert I ran to meet Vince Clarke who autographed my Circus record. And I have an autographed Siouxsie & The Banshees album. And just recently, my friend over at Middle Eight sent my a 7" vinyl promotional single of Siouxsie's Into A Swan which I will consider a collectible! Thanks, XO!

8. Have you ever “swapped headsets” with a complete stranger (meaning have you ever unplugged the earphones from your listening device and plugged them into someone else’s player and had them do the same)? If yes, what did they play for you?

No.

9. Have you ever been completely obsessed with a particular artist? Who and to what level did your fandom go?

As I wrote before I was completely obsessed with all things Debbie Harry. So I would get my hands on any magazine or any article that had Debbie in it. By the time I got around to writing a letter and joining a fan club, the letter was sent back because the club was no longer in operation. Oh well. But during my second wave, I was obsessed with anything Depeche Mode. I always impatiently waited for the next single or album to come out by them. And I think at 18, spending $40 on a bootleg of one of their concerts on vinyl is something only an obsessed fan would do.

10. What is the farthest you’ve ever traveled for a concert?

During the 90s a friend of mine who had moved to Georgia once called to tell me that Depeche Mode was coming to play there and that if he bought a ticket, would I come to see it with him? Hell yes! I went and saw them there in Atlanta during the Violator tour. They were playing in a new venue, I forget what it was called but it was a great show. And I remember it was a double whammy cause Nitzer Ebb was opening the show. I had a pretty good time in Atlanta that time and seeing DM there with my friend topped it big time.

11. Who have you seen in concert the most?

Hands down, it would have to be Depeche Mode. I have seen all their shows since they began touring the States. Since 1985 and still going!

If you happen to do this meme, please let me know. I'd love to check it out.

My So Called Scarf

So I'm making a scarf.
More like Your So Called Scarf.
It's *not* for me. So I'm hoping the recipient will like it. It's very soft and fluffy. Will definitely keep you warm and has a generous width. The yarn is from Paton's called SWS. Which stands for Soy Wool Stripes. Very cushy, fuzzy and soft. Knit on size 11 needles.

the title is actually the name of a free pattern which can be found on this blog.

The Wonder of You

Just thought I'd share this with you.

Take care.

Post-it Doodles No. 8

Randomy thingies

You know, I really had such high hopes in Dave's new album "Hourglass." After hearing Kingdom, I was all hyped-up for a nice pseudo Depeche Mode album. But I think I'm in the majority when I say that the album has only 3 good tracks that deserve mention. Saw Something, Kingdom and maybe for some Deeper & Deeper.


I can't believe it's already November. May the gods of the universe stop the time so I can just catch up. I'm just a country mile behind the rest of the world.


Can things get any more dramatic? I'm keeping quiet so as not to disturb the flow of Positive Thinking that so many are fond of (but in reality doesn't really work). Oh what a horrible thing to say on such a day as Friday. And it's only noon.


It's kind of insane at the moment. But no complaints or anything. The holidays are fast approaching and there's much to complain then.


I've been wanting to do some art work and some music, but no muse whatsoever. And I had bought so many supplies during summer convinced that I was going make it flow. But I just can't force it. As for the music, well my keyboard isn't working properly. I have to find a place that can repair Roland synths. Some of the keys are not making sounds and the button for changing patches is not working. Like I have to press it many times to get to the next patch. So I'm getting pretty discouraged. I like the Roland sounds, but I may just get one of those 25 key controllers by M-Audio or something. They've got some nice ones

Like this one:


The good thing with this one as with many keyboard controllers is that you can assign drum samples to the pads (or any sample actually). This sells for under $200. What do you think? It's perfect if you don't want to use a lot of space. You can have your laptop (containing your favorite DAW, like Live or Logic) on your desk and sit the controller either in front or next to it and voila! a Studio.
Well, that's all I got for now. Time for lunch.

Live from the Frankenstein Ballroom - Morrissey 10/23/07

Actually, more like Hammerstein Ballroom. But you know Morrissey. And why am I using the famous "Salford Lads" picture instead of something more current from Moz? Because if you had bought the "Queen is Dead" album which had a gatefold sleeve, and opened it up, you would see this same picture. The same album containing the picture which contained the single "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side" which he performed last night to the delight of many an old Smiths fans. One song in particular "Stretch Out And Wait" had transformed me back to those days in the mid 80s. A young V not going to school, but dreaming on the streets of New York City, walking in the rain listening to said songs.

As one commenter (Macker) stated taken from the Brooklyn Vegan Site:

"Being at a Morrissey concert is like playing 'this is your life' - each song brings me back to a specific time in my life and last night it was fun to go back to being 16... "

Other Smiths songs included:

Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
Death Of A Disco Dancer
How Soon Is Now?


Early Moz solo fans would have enjoyed:

The Loop
Sister, I'm a Poet
Disappointed
Billy Budd
Jack The Ripper
Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself?
Tomorrow

And most recent ones:

Iris Blood, English Heart
The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
First Of The Gang To Die

And the only song he sang from Ringleader: Dear God, Please Help Me

New York Dolls Cover: Human Being

New Songs: All You Need Is Me, I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris, That's How People Grow Up, One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell.

It would have been ideal for me to just give you the one setlist, but this isn't an ideal world.

And would you believe I was not about to go to this show? I got up yesterday morning and felt the beginning of headaches and figured it was going to last me the whole day. The mood shifted to me not wanting to take part in this show. I reasoned that I had seen Morrissey in Atlantic City only a few months ago. But an exchange of E-mails from one Celibate to another convinced me that I should indeed go. I'm so glad I did. The setlist was entirely different from the one in Atlantic City so it felt like a completely new show. The audience was better and so was the venue. As always, Moz shows get so much more exciting towards the end of the show as die-hard fans try to outmanoeuvre the security guards and try to make it on stage. I always want to cheer them on. You can't beat all this entertainment for just under $25.

Here are pictures of the show from some Flckr site.

Devenir gris

Midge Ure singing his version of Fade to Grey live in 2002.
Interesting to note that this tune was written by Billie Curie at a time when he was with the Gary Numan band. I wonder how it would have sounded like if Gary sang it. But it ended up on the debut Visage album sung by Steve Strange. I think it's one of those timeless classics that screams London of the early 80s.



I don't know whatever happened to the new Visage that was supposed to starting making some new music. But there is a page at MySpace of Visage MarkII (badly put together). There you can hear the new version of Fade to Grey which is nicely done.

Original video:

Before nightfall

"we should be drenched in wonders, but still we should have wonder left for the thing my companion, with his scientific training, would no doubt be the first to see. He would glance up, with that proprietary eye of the man who knows his constellations down to the little Greek letters. I imagine his exclamation. He would at first doubt his eyes. I should inquire the cause of his consternation, and it would be hard to explain. He would ask me with a certain singularity of manner for "Orion," and I should not find him; for the Great Bear, and it would have vanished. "Where?" I should ask, and "where?" seeking among that scattered starriness, and slowly I should acquire the wonder that possessed him.

Then, for the first time, perhaps, we should realise from this unfamiliar heaven that not the world had changed, but ourselves - that we had come into the uttermost deeps of space."

HG Wells - "A Modern Utopia"