Stayin' alive, 2007

New disco with a cool screensaver-like light sequence. But it's the beat, by Karri O., a Finland artist I hadn't heard of before that cooks. Find it here... http://www.vimeo.com/clip:174357

Or watch it here...






Magnetic Sphere (audio by Karri O.) on Vimeo

Fantasyland is a nice place to visit

Which Disney Princess am I? Why, Ariel. For today. That's hot.

Take the test at http://www.brainfall.com/test6_1.php

So it goes.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

1922 — 2007

New absorbing book...

It's been a week since I wrote anything here because I've been spending time bumming around Lawrence with Brad and reading a fantastic new book, The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. Written several years ago, it's been out in paperback long enough to land in used booked stores, which is a favorite haunt of ours.

That's what we were doing in Lawrence, plus stopping in to the Free State Brewery which is at least not smokey, but it was too crowded to be much fun. And a rather serendipitous thing happened after we were seated, ordered and were partway through our lunch. A designer I had just met two days before, working on a project together for a new client, sat down in the table next to us. Well, I didn't recognize him with his railroad hat on. But within about 10 minutes he introduced himself. I responded that I didn't recognize him with his hat to which his girl friend said, "I told him the hat was sketchy." Just another odd thing on an odd planet that is vast and small at the same time.

After a delicious lunch of pastrami on French bread and a nice porty-beer, we headed back to the bookstore where I picked up this book, along with several others. I also talked to the shop-cat, Kasper (...no, that's not his name, hmmm.) I've flown through this book. It's not a literary work of art, but it's a real page turner. Boy, those are a Godsend. That night, I read 100 pages. And then on Sunday, after the morning paper, I sat on the purple couch for hours and read 100 more pages. So much for working on stuff around the house or in the office.

Here, Brad's caught enjoying a Stone Cold Creamery cup of Chocolate Decadence (?).

Give me a break Time Warner 2.0

The ongoing Time Warner Cable TV saga continues. I called today to find out why my rates just went up over 30% in the last 2 months. Given my delight with their funkedelic services and product, I guess it's not surprising that when I called and finally reached someone, had to go downstairs to read them the last four digits of my driver's license (in order to be able to confirm who I am -- it's just my invoice for chrissakes!) to finally be able to ask her why my rates increased. She went into a laundry list of expense line items, so I told her how dissatisfied I was with the huge rate increase and then she tried to upsell me on bundled services.

I told her it was unimaginable that they would inact a rate increase in the midst of such poor service due to their adoption of the new Navigator to which she responded that she was sorry I was having trouble. And I replied that no, they were having trouble, in keeping me as a customer. That their decrease in product quality and customer service certainly didn't warrant the annual amount spent and that I needed a solution that resulted in lower prices or that I would act on what I've been considering since they adopted the ridiculous Navigator ... to cancel TWC.

So she asked me to hold on and put me on hold for, I dunno, maybe 45 minutes ... and here's why I'm bothering to write this boring drivel .... the on-hold music was Simply Red's "I'll Keep Holding On." I think someone in programming has a good sense of humor, which you'd certainly need to work for TWC! So, now I'm on hold again and they note it will be a one hour hold time. How can they get away with that I really wonder? I know they're the only cable game in town, but you'd think they couldn't sleep at night over this level of bad service.

And the song has cycled back on again ... amazing.

Finally got through, and to my further amazement, I actually reached a human with feelings and a brain. Tim #8022. This was one good guy, who not only shared my frustration, he shared that others shared my frustration, explained what was in the works at TWC (though no time-lines), and gave me a $180 credit which represented a 6-month credit on the cable boxes I have. Not that this is a huge amount compared to the rest of my annual cable bill, but he was a blessed relief. So I called the "compliment line" at Time Warner, which I assumed would have NO wait time, and told them how nice he was.

Oh yea, Tim said knowing the guys in the voice/music area, they do have a sense of humor.

Been reading and things...

So I got swept up in a semi-delicious little book that I completely devoured in about a week. Lost In Translation by Nicole Mones. Her first novel, I believe. It was a fast read and it did seem to draw me in. It was so easy. And full of interesting cultural references and translations -- the heroine being a translator living in China. This book is not the source for the movie by the same name, though they are both about a young American woman who are translators in an Asian country. This book is more of a mild mystery about China, daily mannerism, finding Peking Man and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

Here's a sample, starting on page one...

So it was nice to disappear in this easy novel. But alas it's done. Maybe Brad will enjoy it now.

There's a promising blog entry on an MSNBC link that just popped up -- which reflects on the enormity of the country plus more. Just into starting to read about that. Here's the name/link to it: Lost ... then found in China's multitudes -- Blogger has time to reflect while
traveling by rail to Beijing

And all this makes me recall this fascinating website I bookmarked called 100 x 100, with 100 photographs by Michael Wolf of residents in their flats in Hong Kong's oldest public housing estate. Each room is 100 square feet in size. I poured over this site when I found it last year; each room is so cramped, but how each one was furnished, the colors, the neatness, the messiness -- all mirrored the individual.

What is with this minor China obsession I seem to be exhibiting? Or is that simply Asia Minor? Apologies, it's late.

Totally unrelated, I just read an amazingly refreshing interview with Elizabeth Edwards. She is definitely showing grace against enormous odds. My hat is more than off to her. She said, "I come from a family of women who live into their 90s, so it's taken something real from me. There was a time during the day when we were getting test results when I felt more despair than I ever felt in any of the time I had the breast cancer. I have a lot that I intend to do in this life. We're here at the house. I'm going to build paths through these woods so we can take long walks that I intended to take when I was 80. And I have a 6-year-old son. I was going to hold his children someday. Now I'm thinking I have only a slim chance of seeing him graduate high school ... I have an obligation to try to live as long as I can for my family." You know, some things just resonate.