In the Studio

These days, I often find that the kids absolutely love live music. A music fan should always appreciate, say, an accoustic or live version of a great song, especially when a good ban improvises or changes it. For example, a lot of live recordings of Jimi Hendrix are staggeringly good. Aside from their clarity, they often consist of some crowd noise, an intro from Hendrix, and then a string of rock without interruption. You can hear the man play, and any doubt of his talent goes away. The Who's Live at Leeds is another great disc, as the band goes apeshit on some songs, and are practically their own unique versions.

But sometimes live music has its own problems. Not when you are there usually, but if you are listening to it on CD. When you are at the show and the whole crowd is singing along with the lyrics, it is a damn good feeling, as everyone gets lost in the music. But go ahead and record that, taken completely out of the moment. Usually that doesn't sound too good to me, especially with a lot of the jam bands that college folks fawn over, where the singer sounds terribly lazy and/or stoned and the audience seems to do more singing than they do (John Mayer can also be placed here). I came to hear the performers show off their talents, not to hear how much of a fan you are. I'm not blaming fans for that, as I would be doing the same if I were with them at the show. But that's one reason why we go to the show, rather than listen to an album at your desk. There is a certain magic that comes from live performance, and trying to capture that on disc is impossible. Some would disagree, and so they continue to listen to really poor recordings and bask in the placebo affect.

What got me thinking about this were some musings on the opposite of the stage: the studio. When it comes to recording music, the studio can be a blessing and a curse. Some bands have used the technology and the variety of instruments one can fit into a studio and used them to great extent. Sgt. Pepper was recorded with a variety of experimental recording techniques, and the amazing drum sounds in When the Levee Breaks were made by placing John Bonham in the bottom of a stairwell. Also, while I'm not a huge fan of Radiohead, I appreciate some of the comments made about recording Kid A, where the band felt that the recording process involves so many different steps to get from mic to your speaker, that it is silly to say that the sounds of a recorded guitar are any more real than something generated electronically. In the end, it is all music, and we should not fear the studio if it means the sounds you hear were not naturally produced by a human plucking a string or hitting a key.

The dark side to this is that the studio can also destroy and deceive. Technology allows a smart studio to create an image around a person, and alter their voice into a perfect sound. It also allows engineers to participate in the so called "loudness war", where dynamic range is sacrificed in order to make songs louder. It can be difficult to determine what a performer can really do, or whehter certain affects were even their decision. What is genuine, what was cobbled together? Maybe we are missing out on some rich sounds? Because of these issues, more and more people seem to be afraid of studio music. I feel torn about the issue; as a lover of technology, I recognize the benefits and dangers of it, but I do not feel like innovation should be held back by an insistence on analog, vinyl, and everything in between. When it comes to music, the importance is how it sounds, more than how the sound got there.

Post holiday slag

It was a lot of moving, but we have a new roomate in the house. Having three bachelors in the house should either be fun or miserable. I'll let you know in six months.

I have been tuned into the concept of the "Bro" subculture. Apparently this terminology has been in use among the kids for a while. For some reason, folks my age used the term douchebag for the popped collar, hemp neckalce wannabe frat boys of the world. Bro is a better indication of their lifestyle however, leaving douchebag free as a general insult once again.

I find these morons fascinating, and could write a whole blog post about them, but who wants that? Instead I will just remark that Bros, unlike some of the frat members of old, aren't particularly good at anything, and seem to live their life because rich parents of today don't push their children to follow in dad's success. Also, the Bros would rather not admit they are in high society, which causes them to take working-class culture and bastardize it in an attempt to be "just one of the guys". Meanwhile they are still free to practice the racism and apathy that comes with their true position in the world.

The Mets are particularly despicable as of late. I stopped talking about them because they became unexciting early. That is not to say I stopped watching (the boxscore) each night, but you don't need to hear how they lost or barely won every day.

What frustrates about this team is how there is no accountability. Players perform awfully, the manager makes boneheaded decisions, and all we here about is how they need to win games, get a good streak going. It never happens, and no one seems to be looking for ways to make it happen. They all seem to think it will drop out of the sky. Few of them get angry, few of them take true responsibility. Half the team should be benched right now, just to show them what happens when they play to collect their paycheck and nothing more.

We don't desrve this play, or the cookie cutter excuses that come with it. How long can we last like this?

Cruminess

I finally saw V for Vendetta in its entirety this week. Every bit and piece I saw before bugged me, but as a whole I'm almost afraid of how popular this film is. For one, I now know that the excuse that it is at the very least a good action film is a poor one. There are few fight scenes, and they all end very quickly. So all we are left with is the political angle, and that is what bothers me.

I'll use the quote from Alan Moore himself, as it sums it all up quicker than I could in this blog:

[The movie] has been "turned into a Bush-era parable by people too timid to set a political satire in their own country… It's a thwarted and frustrated and largely impotent American liberal fantasy of someone with American liberal values standing up against a state run by neoconservatives—which is not what the comic V for Vendetta was about. It was about fascism, it was about anarchy, it was about England

And yet I know so many young people who think their eyes are opened from this film, as if they are not one of the sheep. They don't look at the destruction of Parliament in horror, and I think they should. The building is a symbol of Republic, and their is no indication that the government of the film is using it for its own twisted means. Rather than the people using it as a symbol of hope, they watch it explode. If another nation's film blew up the Capitol building in the same context, would we be so happy? Chalk one up to all the world conscious Gen Y'ers.

This film is too easy. Its themes are too obvious, and no one should be pointing to it as a way to awaken others minds. If people don't know the problems in the nation today, the better thing would be for you to explain it to them. And I cannot emphasize how sad the ending is. That the only time us modern day pukes will protest is under the mask of anonymity, when we know that we can't be singled out and pinned down. Because we are too spineless to admit we stood behind a cause. I'd like to see hipster 20 somethings (or anyone else) protest against armed guards. It wasn't long ago when many blacks still alive today did just that.

More Music Ramblings

More music talk to bother you all with.

Much was said about the great experiment that was In Rainbows by Radiohead, how it made a ton of money with its "pay as you want" online price scheme. I find myself confused at the business side of the album - I haven't listened to it, and thus won't judge its quality.

What I mean by the business side is twofold. First, if I recall correctly, the band has stated that they likely won't release another album in this style; it was merely an experiment. I suppose this is part of their style - do something amazing and new and crazy, and then move on to the next thing. But it still bothers me, as it suggests they really don't care about changing the industry as much as they wish to outdo everyone else in order to keep their crown as Band the Hipsters Can't Ever Hate.

This was reinforced in me when I saw the album in a store. All it consisted of was a cardboard sleeve, the kind that looks like something your PC Gamer demo disc comes in. No real jewel case, and it isn't the nice foldout cardboard cases that Millencolin has been apt to using. Just a cheap sleeve. Oh, but the tracklisting on the back uses crazy letter spacing. Quirky +2. I suppose the retail version was never the focus, and so it didn't warrant any attnetion to how it was presented. But, as I find myself collecting more and more physical music, I like being able to keep it in something a little less flimsy. This shows just how little we regard physical media compared to digital downloads, which really doesn't have to be. CD prices and quality have affected the industry, but that is not the fault of the albums themselves.

Meanwhile, as Radiohead goes with stunts, Nine Inch Nails continues to explore various release formats for their music, both digital and non. Ghosts I-IV can be downloaded, but it was also released in a nice CD format, and even on vinyl. Their belief in giving fans options, and putting effort and craft into everything they produce speaks volumes more to me, even if I don't really listen to their music.

I keep going back to this list of the greatest rock artists, and every time I learn a little more. I love the idea behind it, but what I am learning is just how out of touch Rolling Stone and others in the modern music industry are. Everyone is going to have bands they would like to see on the list - Queen and Pink Floyd come up most in the article comments, and I would at least agree to Floyd being a neccessity. What bugs me more is their insistence on putting talents from other genres on the list. Dr. Dre is not rock. Neither is Eminem. The fact that Britney Spears wrote the excerpt about Madonna is enough proof to say she isn't rock. By putting them on this list, as opposed to a list of great rappers, allows glaring ommisions like Floyd to exist.

Also, the list has some clear biases, some of which I agree with, though I don't credit it to RS being smart. There is little in the way of prog. rock on the list, and pretty much none of the stadium rock of the 70's. The former is why Floyd fans are up in arms, and I agree with the latter. I cannot deny an enjoyment of bands like Boston, Journey and Foreigner, but they have never inspired or moved me, and a lot of output from that era is unlistenable to me (see Kansas), or can only stand so many repeated listenings before I need a break.

Ninja?

No, this isn't a thread about cliche ninja jokes. Yesterday I stopped at my favorite Gamestop in Maryland, which may seem like an oxymoron, but I promise is true. The reason for this is that it has had the same manager since I was in college, and he seems to run a damn tight ship. Back in school, I could get new games without preorder. I got the Tekken arcade stick with game for $30. I could have gotten Symphony of the Night for $25, but that no longer matters. They never bug you for reserves at checkout, the rarest games are often there, and they're always in good condition. Well, except for that copy of Tony Hawk's Underground, but they let my return it and pick which replacement disc I actually wanted to go home with.

Anyway, while I was there I felt compelled to buy something. True enough, I got Shinobi and Nightshade for $12 total, each disc in good shape, and each with instruction manuals. A bit rare for sub $10 games, but all the more worth it.

Anyway, back to Shinobi. Among the 3d action genre post-Devil May Cry, it is one of the most forgotten. This puts the game in fine company, along with titles like Gungrave Overdose and God Hand. However, with most games in the "action graveyard", I can think of a few good reasons for their lack of success. Gungrave was an unknown entity, and probably scared off some players with its anime stylings. Overdose was also $15, which is the kind of budget price that can give the wrong impression. As for God Hand, there were too many people slobbering over Okami to give a look at Clover's final game, and God Hand requires an actual understanding of beat 'em ups to enjoy its simple yet elegant system.


But what happened to Shinobi? The game is the resurrection of a classic series that many a gamer has fond memories of. Just like Ninja Gaiden. It features a new character taking the place of the old hero, wearing a sleek modern outfit. Just like Ninja Gaiden. It combines ninja acrobatics with very difficult combat.

Just like Ninja Gaiden!

When I saw NG's use of multicolored orbs to replenish health, magic and money, I knew Tecmo was taking a clear cue from Onimusha and Devil May Cry, but I never realized just how much of their re imagining of Ninja Gaiden mirrors Shinobi, which came out two years prior. If wikipedia's history of development is accurate, the many shifts in NG's creation would make it feasible for Shinobi to be a source of inspiration. Or should I say blatant copying.

Do not take this as me being bitter. Even if I end up enjoying Shinobi, I don't see it being better than Ninja Gaiden. I tr and recognize originals, but I am not about to laud them as superior in an attempt to seem hardcore and edgy. The point of all this is that Shinobi had many of the same pieces that its more successful rival did, right down to the finicky wall running mechanics. The reason that one soared and the other stalled probably has to do with what they did not have in common. Shinobi was considered graphically competent at its time of release, but certainly not a powerhouse. The game is focused on delivering the same linear progression from level to boss as its predecessors. It is a modern look at an old school game.

Ninja Gaiden on the other hand is still a showcase for the power of the Xbox. It was a technical marvel, offering slick graphic and smooth animations. It looks stylish and gory, giving players a reason to improve beyond getting to the end of the stage. It offered multiple weapons to master, rather than relying on the same sword/shuriken/magic combo of old. NG also opted for open environments and rudimentary lock/key puzzles, which gave players an added sense of depth, even if it is somewhat unnecessary. All of these qualities can also be found in Devil May Cry and God of War, the other two powerhouse action franchises. The lesson here is that no matter how challenging or deep your game is, it has to look and feel just as sharp in order to get people's attention. Ninja Gaiden was able to do that, thus it has some mainstream recognition.

Which just goes to show you that most people who say they don't care about such silly things like polish and graphics are probably lying.

Update: Played some more Shinobi. I think I also know why the game couldn't aspire to much. It is a good challenge, at least when aiming for speed and accuracy, but Devil May Cry looked better and had deeper combat a year before. It is a little too stuck to its old school roots, whereas NG tried to reinvent itself based on the formula laid down by DMC. Shinobi has its own drum to beat to, one that not every gamer is going to care for.

Millencolin - Machine 15

Machine 15, the new album by my favorite band Millencolin is out, and I have shocked myself by not buying it immediately. As the band that help me break out of musical limbo, I have had an unwavering devotion to their new releases - it was never a matter of 'if' or 'when'. This time however, I got to listen to it in its entirety on their Myspace, and that was all I needed to know the album wasn't up to snuff.

It isn't easy for me to say that, but on the other hand, it makes sense. As the album name implies, the band is 15 years old now, which is ancient by just about any standard. Sure there are old bands from the 60's that are still touring to this day, but how many of them have put out new and relevant material? How many of the most famous bands from the 90's to today have lasted that long while producing quality music? It is rare, and so it seems only natural if MC is on the decline.

While every band has problems for different reasons, MC's seems to be directly related to their age. That is, they'er older, and this is affecting their work. Nikola's lyrics have gotten more and more serious post-Pennybridge, which led to some fantastic, edgier stuff on Home From Home. But it seems he is brought the mentality he uses with his solo work to Machine 15. His solo albums are filled with sappy love songs that tread the same tropes and themes we have heard a million times. It made me realize that he can be a lot weaker as a lyricist than I previously thought, at least when he isn't focusing on the wacky, more youthful topics of classic MC tunes. When bringing this sappy flavor into Machine 15, we are left with lyrics that sound awkward and obvious. They take you out of the song and almost make you cringe.

Worst yet is that there are a few fantastic tracks. Brand New Game is a clever retrospective on the band that name drops a lot of their past songs and will test your MC knowledge. Detox is their required catchy single, though this time there doesn't seem to be much else with a similar tone on the album.

I'll get around to Machine 15 some day, but it doesn't make me hopeful for the future. Nikola must find his inner teenager; if the band can take its wild and carefree lyrics of the past and combine them with their musical prowess as adults, we could be in for a treat. On the other hand, you could say that the Kingwood album was exactly that. Maybe it really is time for MC to wind down.

Green Schmeen

Here is an example of the kinds of things my alma mater does already, that make me trust their future plans even less. The newest issue of the alumni magazine talks about efforts to be more environmentally friendly on campus. Part of this comes from the new, "green" dorm building, which they are proud to trot out. But on seeing the cover of the mag, a friend remarked "if they are so worried about being green, why are they replacing the Campus Police's Rav 4's with Ford F150's?"

I've got my federal rebate check, and I'm not sure what to do. Ps3? Or pay off a chunk of student loan? If I go with the PS3, should I roll the dice with a used 60 gig from an Amazon Marketplace vendor, or just wait for the mostly compatible 80 gig MGS4 bundle? I like the latter simply because it'll give me the one game I want to play immediately, and as long as a few important games play on it, I will live with what compatability I get.

But again, financial responsibility. Shit, I could also spend it all on furniture (which I have none of a year after moving in). I like feeding my passion, but should it trump the essentials?

When you're a bachelor, the rules are a little skewed.

Here's a pic of my roomate and I's game bounty for the month.


One is a game that will be under printed, under appreciated, and will likely double or triple in value on ebay three years from now. The other will be the best selling game of 2008 and is said to be capable of destroying Hollywood.

The best thing is, I like 'em both! Still, this is about as polar opposite as you can get in the gaming spectrum (barring those icky "casual games").

To elaborate, both games surprise me. I am still shocked that P3 FES is out in the States. An expansion pack/director's cut from Japan for an Atlus game that could only sell moderately well? Perhaps the support of the Atlus faithful succeeded. I am also amazed to see that while Best Buy put the game on shelves a week late, they seem to have it in healthy quantities. The PS2 rack in any store is getting shabbier by the month, and yet BB has been amazingly on the ball with rare games on all platforms.

As for GTA, I haven't played it yet, but I am watching my roomie go through some of it. I am impressed with how reserved Rockstar is with the game, at least "reserved in a certain sense". The back of the box, the interface, the mission titles are all presented in simple, clena fonts with no fanfare. I like this approach with lots of things, and it seems appropriate for this reboot of the series.

Also, while the game comes with the usual fold out map of the city, the actual manual is amazingly thin. While I understand that the big publishers want to keep costs low (and thus cut manuals to the minimum), it is a sad state of affairs when we are surprised to see GTA's instructions in color. Contrast this with the game right next to it. True, the FES manual seems to be slightly cheaper paper and somewhat blurrier than P3's, but it is still in color and contains all the major information, despite its budget price. Not to mention that P3 itself came with a chunky manual, a soundtrack CD, a hardcover art book and a large cardboard sleeve to put it all in, all for $50. Take Two, your cheapness is unnecessary. GTA deserves better.

Stringy

I had a whole long post thought out about this one, because I knew that some people reading may snicker and make comments to themselves. Also, stupid things about "feeling the music". Then I stopped caring and all was good.

Here is how I scratched a long standing itch.


Have fun snickering

Ch-changes

My alma mater is attempting to change its name, and you wouldn't believe how much controversy it is causing.

Some explanation is in order. Loyola College has, technically, been a university for a long time in terms of what it offers students. It has several different schools, as well as a graduate program. Despite this, the "college" moniker has stuck, and previous efforts to change the name to "university" have been shot down. As a result, the school has been in a unique position. It is the only Loyola College in the US - all other schools with the name are "Universities". We have the loyola.edu domain name. Compared to the others, we stand out quite well. With a good reputation and some improvements, the school could easily develop the same Cult of Personality that surrounds Boston College.

So what caused this vote to pan out differently? There are a few reasons, and it just goes to show how depressing our academic systems are becoming.

For one, the college is playing the same games that many other institutions are in order to improve their reputation. They strive to increase the numbers and stats that are important to attracting attention from other schools and prospective students, and they wish to grow in size at an "accepted" rate, regardless of how fast they can actually grow based on geography. It is a constant game of one-upsmanship, and it has not gone unnoticed. When Newsweek or others print their yearly handbooks for getting into college, there are often articles discussing this issue and others. Quite frankly, it is not hard to make the comparison here. This kind of competition is what you see from corporations.

This analogy to corporate culture goes further. This time around, Loyola is making its changes under the guidance of a marketing firm. This does not sit well with me. For one, I hate marketing folks because so many of them seem bad at their jobs, completely missing what their target audience wants and making a laughingstock out of their client. Two, the ones that are good have no room in their minds for truth and morality. The College insists they will not forget its history and goals in this push forward, but that is exactly what will happen. The marketers will tell them to push all the issues that Loyola makes half hearted attempts at fixing, such as their sad approach to diversity issues. I also doubt that the sciences and other smaller fields of study will be given much thought.

Sadly, since I saved this post as a draft, the vote has passed and the name change will carry on through. The only ones I know who agree with it are current students, and the reasons I have heard from them are so shallow as to be rendered moot. All we alum know is that we are going to have a diploma for a school that no longer exists, and in the future we will have to explain where we attended rather than it being (somewhat) plain as day.

I look forward to seeing how much further away from its white - upper middle class values it will go.

Forgotten items

A good article here on ESPN about how Barry Bonds has left the minds of pretty much everyone in the sporting world. Aside from a few quick "will barry be back?" roundtables on TV analyst shows, he really has been gone. I think the coverage of him got to critical mass, to the point where even the people cramming it down our throats got tired of it.

Or maybe it is something else. Maybe everyone is so ashamed of how they let Bonds and others run rampant and tarnish the baseball world, that they wish to pretend it did not happen. If that is the case, then it seems rather dangerous to me. We cannot simply forget history simply because we do not like it, and the fact that no one wants to admit the media circus that they created around Bonds means that they will do it again. It also shows just how little care the media has for the stories they cover. I still find myself horrified of the coal mining incident where every news outlet reported that there were survivors, only to find out they ran with an early and innaccurate report, and that they were all dead. No apologies, no egg on their face. I was disgusted and I didnt' even lose a loved one. All because they're so bored not covering real news that they had to fill in all their airtime with every juicy morsel.

In lighter news, I finally pushed far enough into Persona 3 (meaning I just got through the game's first month - five hours in!) that I "get it" and its system. All of my fears of failure are washed away, and now I'm pretty sure I can kick some ass. I can't wait to see how I fare on the final boss. My brother has been having constant trouble with it, and I would laugh at least a little if I could beat it in one sitting.

I need to write a new article on something. This is difficult when you haven't beaten a game in some time. Give me ideas people!

I should probably talk Mets somewhere in this post, as seems to be new tradition. All I can say is that I wish I had the power to evenly distribute their runs scored. If they keep up this pattern of "score pitifully and lose 3-1, or light up the bats and win 8-2", we're going to have last season's slide through all of this season. We can't have streaky hitters, and we can't dish Johan a loss when he gave up one run. They need to fucking wake up and fight harder at each at bat.

oy

Reason number 302 why digg blows my mind
As of now the digg difference between these two 778-231.

Here's a link to the comic, which is essentially some stoner who can't draw blaming everything on the president, as if he controls everything right down to designing the Ad Council's anti drug ads.

Remember kids - the shit floats to the top

Slate.com has an article about how Countrywide is still up to its tricks after helping melt the housing market. I don't understand it all, and there is lots of debate in the comments section, so I won't pretend to know what I'm talking about.

So I will look at something a whole lot simpler. Take a look at this picture from the Slate article. Look at that Countrywide sign. Am I the only person who finds that a little disturbing?

Hear me out. Look at its primary colors, its simple shapes. It reminds me of building blocks and preschool. It is simple and welcoming, like a pat on the head to a six year old. These are the messages associated with a massive company that deals with insane amounts of money. I don't know about you, but when I am dealing with a bank I appreciate some semblance of seriousness about them. Instead, Countrywide wants to paint itself in childish simpicity; seriously, the portrait place in Walmart has a more professional sign. It creeps the hell out of me. I feel like this is how little they regard its customers. Hey there stupid, you want a home right? The American Dream? We'll get you there. Just trust us. Meanwhile behind the scenes they screw everything up and get off scott free. It is incredibly insulting that this is how they try to disarm and distract us, and that it actually worked on so many folks. I hate the blanket statement of "I wish everyone else wasn't dumb", as it really is disingenuous, especially with the housing market. A lot of what happened was due to lender's duping people, as much as we claim it was due to families trying to live beyond their means. I just wish people weren't so obsessed with being coddled and praised and leisured, otherwise this kind of marketing would fail miserably.

The Orioles have a better record than the Mets. I hope this isn't a trend.

Rain

The highway I take to work is generally quiet. Not that there isn't anyone on the road at all, but there is not enough traffic to cause slowdown. Every one goes into Baltimore, and we the few go out. As such accidents are rare.

This morning I saw two, one which caused all but one lane to close, the other blocking off the on ramp to a major exit. Now it could be sheer coincidence, but maybe not. You see, yesterday it rained in Maryland. And if you drive here for even a few months, you will know that somehow, locals treat driving in rain like they would an ice storm. In most normal areas of traffic, steady (not heavy) rain means people go 65 if they're confident, 60 to be sure, maybe 55 if your'e really afraid of hydroplaning. In Maryland 55 is the top speed, and no one drives without braking constantly and for no reason. It took me twice as long to get home yesterday, which is exactly how long it took me to get home during the "worst" snow of the winter.

All of this for rain.

So if these two major accidents were caused by some strange post-rain conditions, where the drivers forgot that it the ground was still moist, it would not surprise me.

It seems the spell checker in the beta version of Firefox 5 does not like contractions. Now I know geeks like to be grammar Nazis, but this is getting ridiculous.

A Daily Post

Last night's win is the way it should be - tons of runs against weak pitching. I'm doubly pissed now at the game 2 loss. Pedro had the worst outing so far even before he left the game hurt, which makes me worry about him when he returns, and the fact that the team scored nothing against the Florida bullpen is absurd after they put up another five or so runs late last night.

If we can sweep Atlanta and give them an 0-5 start all will be forgiven.

Played Brawl online last night for the first time. The lag is inexcusable. Fuck you Nintendo, because somehow I doubt you will try to improve it in any way. I'm getting a bit tired of their current philosophy that as long as the Wii and DS keep selling, they don't have to worry so much about customer satisfaction and product improvement. Guess I'll have to drag people to my house the old fashioned way :)

I just learned that California is at least one state that does not want public schooling to be a legal option for children. Here is an excerpt as to why:

A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare

I still can't get over how scary that sounds.

Baseball failure

If the Mets' first game was what we were all hoping for, the second game was what we dreaded. Pedro is out and likely on the DL in his first start, and the team lost in extra innings against an inexperienced Marlins' bullpen because all of our bats decided to go cold at once. We need consistent run production and healthy pitchers. I'm going to be biting the nails I no longer have over game 3 tonight. Let's see some offense people!

I just read an article over at slate.com about cutting sugar out of one's diet. Its an interesting idea that I have been wanting to try; I love sweets more than anything, but diabetes is a big deal in my family. Eliminating might be impossible, but cutting down sure isn't.

It won't happen though; I told myself that I felt better when not drinking coffee during the day, and that habit ended after two weeks. I can't go long without soda, and while I can go months without tobacco, it doesn't go away for good. I want to live a good and healthy life, but at the same time I can't see it being a life worth living if one doesn't give into some of their vices. I always use this as an excuse for why I hate being single; when I have someone around that consistently cares about me, giving up other things is a snap. Until then, down the hole I go.

The other reason a no-sugar experiment would fail is that I am afraid of becoming like the author of the article. A quote for you:

For snacks, I had raw cashews and tamari almonds and guacamole and bricks of Gruyere in various combinations.

Is it possible for authors of these kinds of articles to be normal human beings? Who the fuck eats tamari almonds? I didn't even know what Gruyere was until now, and now that I do know, I have another question; is it really true that cutting out processed foods makes the grocery bill go down? With all this gourmet shit plus expensive/organic produce, they still must be spending a fortune on food. The first person to write about how they ate Planters nuts and Polly-O string cheese in their diet/food experiment will be the one to get me interested.

A Slate commenter described food talk as "porn for white women". They couldn't be more right, and damn does it take the steam out of many a good idea.

Taxes and stuff

My taxes are done. So far one federal and one state have approved of my returns. I now wait on Maryland. Of course, this figures; Maryland has given me shit with one thing or another ever since I moved. Troubles getting a license, trouble using my current PA license. If they come back saying something is wrong with their wonderfully simple tax return form I might take it as a hint. But where else do I have to go?

I decided on a few things to spend my tax return money on. Paying off a huge chunk of my smallest student loan will help. I'm also going to look into buying a new instrument to play. What that is is a surprise.

Any cash I have left over is going to, believe it or not, some new threads. I have a tendency to keep clothing forever, beating the hell out of it until it is embarrassing to wear, and even then I often let it go for too long. I have stuff I wore in high school still, and I think my coat is circa 8th grade.

My wardrobe is ridiculous. I hardly have any pairs of shorts because it has been many years since I have been able to wear shorts more than two days a week. But when I need them I often have nothing. I have shirts with a small tear in them that I keep because hey, its fairly new. It sits right next to a tearless, stainless shirt that has colors beyond faded.

Its just time for a reboot. The old stuff doesn't really look childish, but I've gotten more than my money's worth from all of it. I need to ditch the pants that I wore when I thought I was a 32x32 and now the cuffs are frayed.

I'm not going to go over the deep end. The fact is that most of my coworkers wear jeans a checkered shirt every day, so I feel like I can keep some of the old junk around for daily wear. But summer is coming, and that means going out more. Dressing sharp isn't a guarantee of anything, but hey, it can't hurt.

As an addendum, its interesting to see our priorities as consumers. Even with a job I try to keep my purchases of new games to a minimum, but if there is something I really like, I have no qualms laying down $50 or $60 for it. Yet paying that much for one article of clothing seems like blasphemy, even though you could pay much much more for something swanky. Most women on the other hand will scoff at that much for something they really like, but they can't understand my gaming habit. To me, buying a game that won't break and delivers consistent entertainment is worth the price, while my clothing is going to deteriorate no matter what I do. But the ladies out there teach a valuable lesson; no matter how many people will tell you "I don't care how I look and you shouldn't judge me based on that", appearances always matter to some extent, and wearing something crisp and up to date can be damn nice.

Baseball Post

Back to the blog. Anyone still reading or reading for the first time, spread the word. I could use some input of all shapes and sizes.

Baseball season is done with all its official starts both away and on these shores. Now the season can start for real; here are a couple of the games I was interested in most so far.

Mets - Marlins: I sat around watching the box score for this one all day after work ended. I started getting some flashbacks to last season. The Mets started off with great pitching, lit up the scoreboard with 6 runs in the 4th inning, and then allowed the Marlins 2. This was the pattern of many a game in the Mets 2007 slide, only back then Florida wouldn't have stopped at 2 runs. Instead they'd have left the inning with an 8-6 lead. All in all I'm glad to see a good first outing from Santana, but I expected that. Seeing both the offense perform and the bullpen hold it down was the greater relief. I still want to see runs distributed a bit more evenly over the game; if our bats decide they can only get hot together, it will spell great trouble when they all decide to get cold. 5, 6 run innings became peanuts at the end of last season, when an oppontent could go into the 7th knowing they could score 8 or 9 on the Mets bullpen. Strong outing today, but we still need to see the rest of the rotation at work.

Yankees - Blue Jays: This one didn't happen thanks to rain, and WFAN was lit up with callers screaming he said/she said about when the game was officially called off and why the Yankees didn't make an earlier decision. Francessa and Russo did decent damage control, emphasizing that neither team wants to lose a start from their ace, and that tomorrow's night game will give everyone in the Tri State area a chance to come back after work. Still sucks from the one guy who called in claiming to have come from Baltimore, but fuck him. I know the guy wanted to see the last opener at Yankee Stadium, but for that money he could see every Yanks-Orioles game this season. Anyway, if Halladay doesn't win tomorrow I'll be pissed. The Yanks have to learn that Wang as their ace is a bad idea.

Orioles - Rays: Hilarious. First the old school O's fans on the radio remakred how all the openers back in Memorial Stadium were bright and sunny, while today was an appropriately cold and miserable start for a team that is going nowhere. The Orioles are always a tease; they started off with a two run lead, but the Rays scored six later on. 2 outs in the 9th, the O's get a man on base after an error, only to have the game end with the next batter. Every glimmer of hope is squashed down with this team, and I really want to feel for the fans. Their protests of Peter Angelos last season were enough to make a New York fan proud, but if they want my full support, some fans need to do better. I'm talking about the folks who call this a "rebuilding year", even though they don't know most of the names on the team. In NY a rebiulding year means you know every player on the field so you can either call for their heads or throw their name into one of your 50 homebrew trade scenarios. Rebuilding means making moves when they're at their peak. Both the fans and Angelos seem uncapable of these things, and until they are I will give this team the death sentence, and suggest that O's fans not take cues from Ravens fans.

Nationals Vs Braves and Phillies: Unless I did my math wrong, the Nationals are the best team in the league. And they got there by beating my two most hated NL East teams. Not too bad to see them and the Mets on top. The jury is still out on whether these guys have the stuff to stay out of the basement, but here's hoping. The new stadium will bring the DC elite to the games, and that revenue can be put to good use.