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| Sunday, April 1st, 2007 | | 8:29 pm |
My new blog I don't like the word blog, but I do have one. http://beingmused.blogspot.com/I haven't logged into LJ for a year, so sorry if I've dropped out of touch with anyone. If anyone wants to follow my (actually frequently updated) writing, you can go there. Hope life's been good and so forth. -Brian | | Tuesday, June 6th, 2006 | | 1:26 am |
addendum
(this only makes sense when compared to my last post)
does it disturb anyone else that, even marshalling the full forces of the internet, I can't tell if the a2 track from Jamie Lidell's Freaking the Frame EP is called "C-note" or "Coyote"?!? The version I had was called C-note, but I couldn't find a version of that EP online that called that track anything but Coyote...so I changed it. But then I found one mention of a C-Note song in that EP. I thought that this was a different version of the EP that I had, maybe a reissue or UK one...but I can't confirm this anywhere!!! This is what the internet is made for, and inconsistencies like this drive me nuts.
The internet's weakness is usually also its greatest strength - everyone can chime in. That's why half the time you fine songs and albums botched to hell, either because people ripped them wrong, or they're just dumb or something. But if you look around hard enough, you can find the right info on anything. That is the sheer genius of Wikipedia...if given the opportunity, people will go out of their way to try and make something truer and better more often than not. It is far and away the best collective group of encyclopedic information ever produced, and no one who wrote it did it for one cent. Neither capitalism nor socialism as doctrines can begin to make heads nor tails of this kind of behaviour; truth is fundamentally just a form of art, and only this realization can fuel a new and better economy of human action. also - when are they going to create more art like this? music? can the ego be removed from the creative process? the beastie boys, washed the fuck up as they are, actually are taking a step in this direction with their video documentary project, where a whole bunch of people in the audience of their concert filmed everything.
one last thought since I was getting too philosophical there (I'm not allowed to be un-frivolous in my blog!): why the hell is everyone's birthday on june8th? Me, laura, will, girl from my german class, 3 other people i'm forgetting right now...and elizabeth and katie are on june 9. maybe this is just because it is my own, but I hear a lot of people saying "wow, I know x or y who shares that date too". I'm so unspecial! | | 1:25 am |
OCD about ODB
What is the grand project that I have been working on all day? Catching up on my German studying? Working on my humor project? Writing my Kierkegaard paper? Building good robot us-s to defeat the evil robot us-s that killed us? (5 demerits if you don't get that one)
No, I'm working on the huge and time consuming project I've been meaning to do for a few years now - complete reorganization of my mp3s. This is no small task for two reasons:
1. I have somewhere in the vicinity of 30,000 tracks (a good many of which are full albums)
B. I am ridiclously anal when it comes to how my music is organized.
How anal? I've got a "completed" folder that will eventually be my only music folder, along with "incoming" for things I have downloaded/ripped but not yet sorted. This completed folder is alphabetical, with each album in its own subfolder. What are the requisites for music that gets put in here?
1. The album/ep has to be complete - if I'm missing a song from an album, I have to hunt it down to fill it out
2. The album must be formatted like so: Name (year) (example: St. Elsewhere (2006)
3. Each song must have its file name in the following structure: Artist - Track No. - Title (Gnarles Barkley - 01 - Go Go Gadget Gospel). If it is a compilation by a DJ, it depends on the situation, but I usually do something like Jazzanova - 02 - Slope - Mousse.mp3.
4. The id3 tags must be correct and properly formatted(the info contained in an mp3 file that winamp/whatever reads and displays). I make sure to include the following fields: artist, title, track no, album name, year, genre.
5. I have the box art for every cd in the folder. This gets saved in the id3 tag, for display by various plug-ins
This wouldn't even be concievably feasible without the wonderful program "Tag&Rename" which does a lot of these things nearly-automatically (highly recommended!). It has lots of tools for smart restructuring of files names, or id3 tag popluation, etc. etc. Of course this will still take hundreds of hours to complete given my current music selection (assuming I don't add on anymore...but with new releases like Herbert's Scale coming out, how can I resist?).
Then I have another challenge in front of me...my music is currently orgranized by one haphazard principle: time. Stuff I got back in college is in one folder. I have a few subdivisions for genre (rock, hip hop). Then most things I got while in eugene is in one location, and things since being here in yet another. And since my tastes change, there is kind of a de facto genre organization to the whole thing....for good indie rock I go to the newish folder..for deep house I mostly go to the previous one...etc. So after I put everything in the new order, I will have to make tons of winamp playlists just to make my life easier, so I'm not just adding album by album (or tens of thousands of songs all at once!).
Is it strange how a collection can be a labour of love that is essentially free? I know some poeple who refuse to download music, they think that owning the cds is more valuable to them....and yet, a cd is just digital music on a disk..just like an mp3. It is strange how arbitrary what we decide is worth making an attachment to can be. Ah well, to each their own.
Well, I should go...these Kruder & Dorfmeister albums aren't going to sort themselves. | | Friday, May 5th, 2006 | | 1:33 am |
| | Thursday, May 4th, 2006 | | 11:50 pm |
So, I haven't so much as touched livejournal since August - immediately upon moving to Boston, I turned towards other activities, like getting into ill-advised relationships, philosophy, and spending way too much time on myspace. But myspace blogs never have the same "my writing is so deep, and if you disagree I'll cut myself" sense of style as good old livejournal. I have only signed back in so as to, aside from checking in on some LJ folk I haven't talked to in forever, mainly to look at the friends only entries in Robin's journal. To better judge her, and whatnot.
But hey, those of you I haven't talked to - leave me comment! Let's e-hug it out, bitches.
I am currently in the midst of finals. Just one left from this semester - my Kierkegaard paper. And....one left from last semester: Kearney's imagination course. I've been bad with my finals - mainly because of how fabulous the NBA playoffs have been this year. HDTV + Lakers/Suns or Cavs/Wizards = must watch. I am compelled.
Things I hate in advertising:
Those PC/Mac ads, where an old nerdy represents the PC and a young, scruffy hipster kid represents the Mac. This has to be the most blatant case of just lying to try and create a link between a particular brand and a youth group since the "Macdonalds = hiphop!" ad campaign a few years back. What exactly about this product merits the claim you are making? They also make the "Macs avoid viruses argument", which is somewhat true - it ignores the downside that Macs, well, don't do anything. If you're really that worried about viruses (which aren't a huge problem for anyone who has an iota of sense), then get Linux - which has vastly more versatility in terms of running programs. It is kind of sad that for anyone except people who depend on 3d image editing software, Macs are worse than a PC + a free operating system.
Things I like in advertising:
That Macdonalds commercial they run only during basketball games, where the black guy thinks that quarter pounders are hors d'ourves. The way he says "hors doouuurvez" is just brilliant.
Also - apparently Larry David is a Phoenix fan?!? This pleases me.
Back to non-TV themes (it is hard to write while I am watching the game). For those of you who don't know what I've been up to with my academic career (aside from the fact that I'm at BC)
Last semester courses: Phenomenology of the Imagination/Image by Richard Kearney, Heidegger & language by Willian Richardson, Intersubjectivity by Axel Honnth
This semester: Kierkegaard by Vanessa Rumble, and German Idealism by John Sallis
next semester: contributions to philosophy (heidegger) by Sallis, Truth and understanding by some French vising guy, hermeneutics of religion by Kearney, and sitting in on Sallis's physis course.
This summer - Free german course, and writing my project on humor.
Yeah, my first real independent project...I am convined that almost all philosophers who have attempted to tackle humor have gone about it in a neglectful way (Simon Critchley). I intend to use a combination of analysis of theories by Kant, Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein, Socrates - and modern examples to attempt to set a horizon of the development humor has taken (this was inspired by Baudrilliard, ironically - someone I normally distaste). We'll see how it works. | | Monday, August 22nd, 2005 | | 2:08 pm |
| | Friday, August 19th, 2005 | | 12:52 pm |
You know that normally I don't do these intra-net randomness whatnots, but Naima tagged me, and I had never been tagged before, so I felt obliged. Here is my result from the below instructions: "because for someone to be truly beauty-full, they have to be capable of creating their own beauty, so much that it is more than they themselves can handle and they must spread beauty throughout the world." Tagged by ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) boho_croissant1. Go into your LJ archive 2. Find your 23rd post 3. Find your 5th sentence (or closest to it) 4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions 5. Tag 5 people on your friend list I will disobey step number 5. If you want to do it, then do so! I don't believe in peer pressure. Except when it comes to drinking - hit that keg stand, motherfucker!!!! | | Tuesday, August 16th, 2005 | | 11:40 pm |
Someone complained that I wasn't updating - and I apologize for that. I have been busy marketing my new combined mp3 player/menstral aid - the TamPod | | Saturday, July 30th, 2005 | | 12:42 am |
| | Sunday, July 17th, 2005 | | 10:14 pm |
four little diamonds angst (in the non-heideggerian sense) probably only 3% of all angst is the kind that has to do with the birth-pangs associated with primordial awe. accordingly, 97% of angst is very, very boring. In other news, 'twas Josh's housewarming party last night. First was a band performance, was well recieved. Also the audience later proposed and voted on band names - the final winner by a margin of 8 or 9 drunken hoots was "Ionic Injection", which I will admit beats my "Broken Into" suggestion. Of course I proposed that the modal theme be extended and they choose "Dorian Dejection" (ah, for the confluence of both music theory and Greek architecture!). Makers shots:  ( more, more, more ) | | Tuesday, July 12th, 2005 | | 8:03 pm |
since I don't write anything here anymore of importance, i thought I might as well try and make up for that by copying something here that I wrote on a philosophy community - http://www.livejournal.com/community/philosophy/1168999.htmlSo someone wrote the following: "I've realised my suspicion of philosophy and theory: Most of it cannot be applied, and that which can, fails in the moment when it is given the opportunity to be applied to the waking world. So I ask you all a simple question: Where does philosophy go, and what is its' purpose, when there is a gun to your head?" My response: "The question arises, what is a gun to the head's purpose when you are trying to understand yourself? And what is really ironic is that some people actually do seem to think that there is an answer there. In other words the proper response to your question is: blah blah blah, wank wank wank. What is "bad" about theory is when people are doing nothing but blowing hot air out of their asses. Thought must spring forth from a real connection to life's context. Thinking up fantastical scenarios - gun to the head, etc. - aka how the imagination-handicapped "thinkers" pursue their very limited version of philosophy - is exactly that kind of situation where theory folds inward and finds no lifeblood. Everything and nothing is applicable. What do you think is applicable to your life in the moment? Why have you decided upon that definition of applicability? Pursuing these questions down the rabbit holes they come out of enables you to encounter yourself in such a way that puts you in a position to make a choice vis-a-vis yourself: you can accept this world and life you have been unceremoniously tossed into, or you can not. So it turns out that philosophy has a real purpose in the moment of having a gun stuck to your head after all. If you have pursued philosophy in a vigorous fashion, then in that moment, you know what it means to die. Because only those who are alive can know that. " | | Friday, July 8th, 2005 | | 10:03 pm |
This morning I broke my cell phone.
This afternoon I broke my car (well, I drained the battery and had to get a jumpstart, at least).
Then I broke through the final boundary that seperates sanity from the infinite abyss of the outer reaches of the mind.
In other words, after a couple weird things, the day ended up pretty much the same as every other one.
(seriously though, I might have lost all of my phone numbers - so if I should have yours, email it to me at brianward (at ) gmail.com. Or just send me an email anyways!) | | Wednesday, July 6th, 2005 | | 12:02 am |
Weird self-observation of the day - I have some strange fascination with poppets mouths moving slightly out of sync. Why dost it affect me so?!? Some have noted that I don't talk much about philosophy here anymore...for some reason I only get into such discourse in real conversation, as of late. I'm sure that will change once I am back at school. Or maybe not, I might be too busy with my crazy house of dizoooom (TM). That's right, 8 of us are going to be living in a par-taaaay house. Feel envy!!! Pictures of our house:   Damn internet has failed me again! I spent half an hour looking for a picture of Cool Cat and that gang....sigh. Anyone who finds one gets negative 50 demerits! | | Tuesday, July 5th, 2005 | | 1:25 am |
| | Saturday, June 25th, 2005 | | 9:50 pm |
yesterday Yahoo came to work to reward us for winning some quarterly contest. they bought us all lunch, and raffled off a portable DVD player ( http://www1.shopping.com/xPO-Samsung_DVD_L300_Portable_DVD_Player~CLT-HSNLF). I won the DVD player. And when my name was called I shouted out "Mother-FUCKER!" which management folks thought wasn't that brilliant. Oh well. Here comes Arrested Development episodes on the airplane to Boston!!! Have you ever wondered if there are types of dogs that are totally different from any you have ever seen? Like, types that don't get much TV play, but look like totally weird dogs??? Wouldn't THAT be SOMETHING! | | Monday, June 13th, 2005 | | 11:50 pm |
takeaways from the past 3 days:
- kings is fun
- appearances are decieving. I was cocky after a string of successes against a lot of old scotch drinking coworkers, but a group of freaky pot heads just embarassingly dismantled me in texas hold 'em.
- michael jackson is out searching for the real molester
- girls named jessica are too hot for me | | Wednesday, June 8th, 2005 | | 9:08 pm |
crapboobscrap
Four Tet's touring schedule:
06-11 Toronto, Ontario - Opera House (with Caribou, Sunburned Hand of the Man)
06-22 Athens, Greece - G-Fest (with Aphex Twin, Le Tigre)
06-25 Glastonbury, England - Glastonbury Festival
06-28 Paris, France - Point Ephemere (w/ Icarus)
07-01 Roskilde, Denmark - Roskilde Festival
07-06 Boston, MA - Museum of Fine Arts
07-07 Northampton, MA - Iron Horse
07-08 Montreal, Quebec - Club Soda (Montreal Jazz Festival)
07-10 Ottawa, Ontario - Ottawa Blues Festival
07-16 Chicago, IL - Intonation Music Festival
08-05 Benicassim, Spain - Benicassim International Festival
08-12 Leicester, England - Summer Sundae
08-18 Hasselt, Belgium - Pukkelpop Festival
09-15 Orlando, FL - The Social Pavilion #
09-16 Atlanta, GA - The Earl #
09-17 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 #
09-24 Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop #
09-30 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richards on Richards (w/ T. Raumschmiere)
10-01 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge #
10-08 Austin, TX - The Parish #
10-10 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
I'll miss the July show in Boston, and when I move to Boston...then he comes to portland! Screw me. | | Sunday, June 5th, 2005 | | 10:21 pm |
| | Wednesday, June 1st, 2005 | | 12:01 am |
It might be easier if my qualities were my fault, and I was just given my failings. Nothing to be proud of, nothing to complain about.
blah blah blah, something about redemption, blah blah blah.
that postsecret thing is ASS. Sure it doesn't even try to be a tool of revealing, its just a collective art project....but that excuse only works so long as art doesn't OBSFUCATE revealing. If you need attention so badly, then create temporary panic attacks like the rest of us. | | Tuesday, May 24th, 2005 | | 9:04 pm |
I'm watching the season finale of House, which is a wonderful show. In fact it is the only show set in a hospital that doesn't star Zach Braff that doesn't make me want to vomit. That's right, Grey's Anatomy fans, your show sucks.
OTHER THOUGHTS
I am rechristening myself White Mystery, after a brand of Airheads that I saw while in line at the grocery store today
Uh, I shouldn't put things in plural prematurely |
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