II

Sure, there are plenty of things they can be criticized for. I've been a little obsessed with Led Zeppelin lately, which seems to happen occasionally, but I won't bother anyone for a while after this. To start out, check out this thing I saw on kottke.org to set the mood:



And that mood is awesomeness! It may just be that I'm a sucker for the use of stereophonic effects, but II is my favorite Led Zeppelin album. The opening song alone just blows my mind every time, starting out as a straight-forward rock riff song, and then drifting into a psychedelic episode just to remind you what year it was when the album came out. Those damn hippies. It's more than just a collection of great songs; the first album feels like that to me quite a bit. The succession of songs makes sense, and when you listen to it on vinyl, even the A and B side selections and their order seem to have been chosen deliberately. There are not a lot of albums that feature an excessive drum solo, wrap it in an alibi song, and don't disturb the flow of the whole thing by doing so. I just love the dynamics throughout, both within and across songs, and the diversity of sounds and influences. It's the kind of album you should listen to without distraction, and if you do, pay special attention to the bass.

The bass playing is amazing throughout, but on "The Lemon Song" and "Ramble On" it really stands out. In my opinion, too few albums feature the bass prominently enough in the mix, and you sometimes have to strain to hear it at all, let alone the nuances. Led Zeppelin is not exempt from this, but the second album is an exception, and the bass is mixed as an equal along the guitar and drums. (The first Black Sabbath is also mixed in a way that lets the bass parts shine, but not all of the later ones do.) I think that bassists are underrated anyway, partly because of the aforementioned mixing practices, partly because bands can get away with having mediocre bass players. But truly great bands will have great bass players, according to my theory. Listen to the first and second Foo Fighters albums as proof of this. Both are great, but on the second album, they didn't just play the guitar parts on a bass, but added a proper bassist. And The Color and The Shape is still my favorite Foo Fighters album. Easily. So indulge in the bass playing courtesy of John Paul Jones on II.

I have one bad thing to say, and that's the cover art, especially the stuff inside the gatefold. They did much better on the next two though, and an argument could be made that the cover art for Physical Graffiti is the best thing about it.

But wait, there's more!

Check this out, we found even more mushrooms right in our yard. There are 15 total, probably weighing almost a pound, but we didn't pick them all yet. These are the three we noticed yesterday, plus three from the pasture, one of them being the biggest we have on our property:

Sleeping Beauty

Yes, this thing is still on. The bad news first. I saw this on Boing Boing and though it was really lame. Sure, it gets a short giggle, but to me the comparison really does not work at all.

The good news is that even though I am not keeping up with the skateboarding world very much these days, this little video is freaking awesome.

Done couting cars...

Did I mention that we left the Garden State and now have a garden of our own? Only flowers so far, but after the inside of the house is done, we might be able to do some fall planting. We will also get two kittens tomorrow. More exciting news ahead.

Stating the obvious or: I don't even wanna know what prompted this

There was a paper sign on the dressing room at the gym today, reminding people that the showers are, in fact, not co-ed, but for men or women only. Very interesting.

Not the worst city in the world.

Last night we were walking home through the subway tunnel connecting Times Square and Port Authority, our bellies full of Chinese dumplings, when we saw a crowd at the end and heard the sounds of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" blaring from a radio. The crowd was watching something, but we couldn't see what over their heads. As we came closer, we still couldn't make out what was going on, but I was prepared for some people breakdancing on the floor or something. But what we were about to set our eyes on, nothing could have prepared me for. It was a guy, fully decked out in a Michael Jackson outfit: sparkly black shirt over a white t-shirt, black hat and sunglasses, the curly bit of hair in the face, black pants paired with white socks and black shoes. He was doing a whole choreography including the moonwalk, crotch-thrusting and everything. And he was maybe 3 feet tall and just blew my mind. You can see him on youtube, but to see it live and unexpectedly like that was what made it so special I think.

In an unrelated matter, I started reading "The Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin a few months ago, and finally worked my way through it during my morning and evening commutes. It was my way to celebrate Darwin year and I feel like it would be ok to call him Mr. Chuck from now on. As far as the book is concerned, it is a little dry, but interesting, and his detailed observations are admirable. Reading it was more of an accomplishment than an experience in being bound by the writing the whole time. But hey, who am I to argue with one of the most significant works of science ever created?

The scoop on licking

How did you celebrate National Ice Cream Day? I had a popsicle, a cone from an awesome ice cream parlor here in town, and finally some scoops of the ice cream we had in our freezer. A day well spent. It was also the day my sister and her three friends left after visiting for a week and a half. Now you might think it's crazy to have four young women stay with you, but it was a really great time. Fortunately, I did not have to go on any extended shopping sprees with them.

Before the girls came, we had Christina's brother Jeremiah stay with us after the three of us came back from Germany. He did not have a lot of luck with the weather while he was here, but we still managed to go to the beach one Sunday, get our butts handed to us on the basketball court and play Monopoly more times than I want to count. It was twice.

How to save the world in 1 easy step

Step 1: No more plastic bags from the supermarket.

Once you start paying attention to it, those plastic bags will be everywhere! When we moved out here, a month's worth of trips to the grocery store left us with what felt like a life's supply of plastic grocery bags. So our first step was to reuse those bags instead of adding to the collection with each new trip. But that wasn't really satisfying. We had already started using a linen bag when walking to the grocery store here in town, which has the added benefit of showing some hometown pride for the town I grew up in. In the car we had this black bag we got as a gift from a mattress store. When we went to Indiana the last time, they were selling linen bags at the store there as well, and we got two of them. They are about the size of the black bag, but not pictured here. Those three bags usually provide plenty of room for all of our groceries. But you probably noticed that handsome orange box in the picture as well. I added the apple for size reference.

These kinds of collapsible boxes are really nothing new. My family has been using one for as long as I can remember, and you can get them in a lot of supermarkets in Germany. The one we have now is from The Container Store. Unlike the bags, it wasn't free or really really cheap, but it wasn't overly expensive either. It's great for transporting items that don't bag well, like yogurts and bread. And with the box and the three big bags, there only is one problem left. Bagging the meat. We still use plastic bags for that, recycling the ones we already have, purely for hygienic reasons. Anyway, using our own bags is not at all inconvenient, I even find it easier to carry our stuff inside now. And when I think of all the people that use up so many bags every day, just from the store where we shop, and think about all the other stores in the state, and in the country. And then about how many bags that makes in a week. In a month. In a year. Well, you get the idea. It's a stupendous amount and to reduce that number to near zero is within everyone's power. Easily. Nonetheless, we have yet to see another person using their own bags at the grocery store. As a matter of fact, we see tons of people using two bags. Plastic AND paper. Why anyone would do that is completely beyond me.

So in observance of Earth Day, go and get yourself some reusable bags, preferably cloth ones, and not ones made from plastic, even if it's recycled. If you can't find one in a local store, there are tons of them online. It's too late right now for me post links. Or get a nice collapsible box. It will make you feel better every time you shop.

The truth and nothing but the truth.

The other day we heard an advertisement for a movie on the radio. And you know how some movies can't really fend for themselves, so the best way the advertisers can think of to promote the movie is to compare it to similar ones, in the hope that it appeals to the same target audience. As in "Star Trek fans will love this" or "Even funnier than Cheaper by the Dozen". Yeah, they try to make it sound good by association, which is already pretty lame.

However, the movie we heard advertised, and I don't have the slightest idea what it is called, what it is about, who made it or who is in it, is better than the last two Ocean's Eleven movies. Just the last two. Not the first one, oh no siree, only better than Ocean's 12 and 13, but not better than Ocean's 11. You got that? Cause we don't wanna get into any trouble here for false advertising or nothing when people realize our movie is actually not as good as Ocean's 11. It's a pretty good movie, don't get us wrong, but when you compare it to Ocean's 11, well it just falls short of the mark. And this is so obvious that we couldn't possibly have gotten away with claiming it anyway, so we opted for the truth. Love that integrity. People, we tried to make a good movie here, and you can check our website for a complete list of movies it's better than, but when it came to Ocean's 11 (just the first one though), we watched the two again and again, but in the end it was all too noticeable, that Ocean's 11 is better. But it's really awesome, right? So go ahead, watch our movie, it might be almost really awesome.

That also reminds me of that movie advertising strategy where they quote reviews, and with some you can tell they were having trouble finding anything good written about the movie anywhere, and so the quotes are kinda generic and unenthusiastic. I think the above movie was actually quoting a review, but I'm not sure anymore.

Also, have any of you seen the recent K-Mart commercials? The ones where the family opens Christmas presents, and the kids get this stuff they really love, and Dad freaks out because that must have been really expensive? Well, Dad can relax, cause this isn't the fancy Hannah Montana pajamas from the mall. Nope, this is that cheap stuff. From K-Mart. What was he thinking?

Above the clouds

You wanna know what I think one of the funniest things about airplane travel is? It's those Sky Mall catalogs. If you've ever seen one, you probably know what I'm talking out. My assumption is that they started out as duty-free shopping aides, where you could pick your bottle of booze and be on your way. What they have evolved into is an astounding accumulation of some of the most awesome useless crap ever known to mankind. So on one of my last flights, I took a copy of a Sky Mall catalog, to be able to document some of the stuff they offer. Hey, it's a free copy - take it, and they'll replace it. So they have customer service down to an art already. We're off to a great start.

First off, let me introduce you to Vuzix iWear, found on page 5. Basically, this is a movie walkman, that you wear like glasses for that "big screen movie experience while you fly". I don't know, I may very well be wrong, but I have a hunch that watching a movie with that is actually not a very enjoyable experience. Especially not in a plane. But hey, at least it's a gadget geared towards travelers, which kind of makes sense for this type of publication. I wish I could say the same about "The Animated Emotive Robotic Companion" and "The Indoor Dog Restroom" on page 17 (notice how the article is part of the product name? This seems to be specific to Hammacher Schlemmer products). The latter is basically a doormat with a plastic tray under it, so that after your dog pees on it, you get to balance the thing to the toilet and dump it. At roughly $150 it seems to be the very definition of a bargain. Thank you very much, but my money is on "The Superior Comfort Bed Lounger" (page 29). That thing looks so freaking comfortable, it makes me feel good just looking at it. If you ever find yourself wondering if this is for you, try to picture yourself using it. Putting it on the bed, sitting down in it, storing it and all that. Yeah, give your money to a homeless person instead.

I could go on and on about the awesome stuff in this thing, but let me just briefly list a few highlights: The Pop-Up Hot Dog Cooker (page 37), Airchamber's controlled, virtually moisture-free environment for your car (page 55, it's a clear plastic tent for inside your garage courtesy of Frontgate, who seem to specialize in offering their home furnishings to aviation consumers), TimeMug (page 139, a thermos mug with a clock on it), iwavecube 2.0 personal microwave (page 143, with a handy carrying handle), the portable tent for overnight layovers (page 228, can't you just see yourself setting that up in the airport) and last but not least, the portable desk, which is basically a plastic tray, with a neckstrap-like harness, on which you set your laptop computer (page 229). I know, this last one opens up a whole new world. Type while walking down the street, in line at the grocery store and while casually loitering at stripmalls and street corners. Finally, you can blog live from the mosh pit of your choice. You know what? I bet you can set your McDonald's on there as well, and eat that while walking. I wonder if they have a cupholder extension?

The examples I picked are some of the more hilarious ones, but I swear, 90% of that stuff is either useless or super-cheesy, like Harry Potter's wand, motivational posters and desk decorations, big foot garden statues, car logo Christmas tree lights and a million and one iPod accessories. And also, think about the folks in the Chinese factories making that stuff, probably laughing all day at the ridiculous stuff they have to make. Great dinner table stories for the kids too.

New York state of mind...

With all the amazing things happening in our enviable lives you're probably wondering why I find it necessary to even mention this, but I got a job in New York City. I've been applying all over, since we didn't really care that much where we'd end up, and got an offer for a job in Manhattan, which I accepted. Now I'm just waiting for the visa stuff to happen, and then we'll be moving up there. I will have to go back to Germany first to get the visa, but I knew that was coming. Now New York wasn't exactly our number one choice on the list of places to live, but I think it'll be pretty exciting and, if nothing else, a good experience. Anyway, I'm not really in a writing mood, vegetable soup is calling my name (even though it has a slight speech impediment which makes us laugh every time), and there is a football game on. Do I like football? Well, it's alright I guess, and beats the Andy Griffith show any day of the week.

Cookies are yum.

There were two regions of mainland New Zealand that we hadn't visited yet. Now there is only one, the Coromandel Peninsula, as we took a little trip around the East Cape last weekend. Well, we started on Thursday and were supposed to return on Monday, but the weather turned to a word I should not use in public, and so we headed back on Sunday already, skipping some excellent walks we had planned. Well, two walks, and maybe we'll get a chance to still do one of them, because it's on the way between Gisborne and Whakatane and definitely not completely out of reach from lovely Maketu. Now it doesn't surprise me anymore to find skateparks in every little pothole, even in the most remote areas of New Zealand, but last weekend, not only did we see the easternmost lighthouse in the world (I'm still not sure if such a thing can actually exist, what with our planet turning out to be round and all, in a surprising twist that I'm sure the president of the Committee for the Terrestrial rim Enlargement Project, C-TrEP, never saw coming), but I also skated, albeit very briefly on account of the structure needing to be swept in a bad way, the easternmost skatepark in the world. If they have a skatepark on the Chatham Islands, it's only the easternmost mainland skatepark. And to stick with superlatives, we saw a very long wharf at Tolaga Bay, which is the longest of it's kind in New Zealand, and maybe the southern hemisphere. The signs and guidebooks don't seem to be 100% sure about that one.

Christina collected heaps of shells for her evergrowing collection and we also saw White Island, and the smoke it emits, from the coast. There are not a lot of people in the East Cape area, but those that do live there all seem to own horses. There was one in the reserve we camped in on Friday night, and a sign telling people not to take horses into the playground in another little town. Actually, it was the town with the skatepark mentioned above. And horses horses everywhere we looked. And someone had recycled their microwave by using it as a mailbox. Also, the peaks of the mountain range on the peninsula had snow on them, while the sun was keeping us nice and warm along the coast.

But the most important thing is that we went and watched the Simpsons movie yesterday, as movies are only $8 on Tuesdays in Te Puke. It was pretty good I thought and everything looked real fancy compared to the TV episodes, eh.