I finished my last paper of the semester last night, it kind of marks the end of the term so I am feeling very relaxed and relieved. More so than I have in a long time. I do have an anatomy exam on Tuesday morning, I'm ready for it though, and it isn't nearly as stressful or pressing as a paper. So I'm feeling pretty much like I'm in the clear for the semester.
Aside from that, the year is ending very soon. That seems weirder this year than it has before, at least as far as I remember. This year went by so fast and for some reason the thought of us getting closer to 2010 is bizarre. It doesn't really make sense I know, I'm just saying.
Moto Photo is closing at the end of the year too. Now, in all honesty I really hate this job so why would I be at all sad or sentimental about it? I think I'm going to miss the people I work with, though most of the people from this store that I was closest to have all left anyway. And there is also something to be said for comfort, for better or worse I suppose. You can't work somewhere for 4 1/2 years and suddenly stop without feeling some kind of jolt in your schedule, I have needed to leave here for a while for the very same reason though, too comfortable. I know that as long as the store was open I would be working here so I should look at this as a good thing, a new beginning.
With that in mind I have an interview at the Apple Store on Tuesday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed about that. I think it would be a cool place to work plus my friend Luke works there and I would get to hang out with him more. That would be good. I'd love to work there if they can work with my school schedule. There is also the fear of leaving for Christmas (we're leaving next Saturday for Tennessee) and coming back without a job. It would be nice to hear something from Apple before we leave. I think that would make our trip a lot better.
Thinking about the end of the year, I need to start considering contenders for the best albums of 2007. A list will follow shortly.
Good day.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
Exams. Grants. Dinosaurs. Christmas.
So I know that some people are already aware of this, but I found out about 2 weeks ago that I did get the grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
So what this means is that I will be releasing a 7" in the early part of the summer.
And what that means is that My Brother, The Welder is, hopefully, going to be having a super productive 2008.
There is still talk of Hawks of War (aka Mike Paolone) and My Brother, The Welder doing a split 7" next year too, so potentially I could have two 7"s coming out next year. I think that would most likely warrant a small Mid-Atlantic/Southeast tour, something in the ballpark of one and a half to two weeks in the early fall. Possibly Mike would join me. I suppose I should talk to him about that before I announce it? We'll see how that goes.
I will keep everyone up to date on the progress of the 7".
Aside from that, I have pretty much been in hiding for the past two weeks trying to get this semester over with. I suppose I can't complain about not having enough time to do everything, considering that I blew off finishing my Film and Literature paper yesterday so that I could go ice skating with Chandi. I did finish the paper this morning; all 17 pages of that bastard. So now I just have a few more exams and one smaller paper to write and I'm done. So there.
So school has been pretty much occupying most of my free time, which kind of sucks because I need to be getting ready for the recording for the 7".
Oh, and I need to find a job.
I haven’t had to look for a job in over four years, but Moto Photo is closing at the end of the year so I need to find something else, preferably before then. I did apply for a job with the Smithsonian, at the Natural History Museum, doing scans of old books. It may have been a bit overambitious but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that I will hear from them. I think I could probably get a job at another Moto Photo, but that seems like a last resort at the moment. I'm pretty tired of that place and I think I want to take the opportunity to do something new.
Everything will work out, it always does. The semester will be over soon, I will have a new, hopefully fun, job, and then it will be Christmas, which usually means a lot of fun time off. So there's that.
Good day.
So what this means is that I will be releasing a 7" in the early part of the summer.
And what that means is that My Brother, The Welder is, hopefully, going to be having a super productive 2008.
There is still talk of Hawks of War (aka Mike Paolone) and My Brother, The Welder doing a split 7" next year too, so potentially I could have two 7"s coming out next year. I think that would most likely warrant a small Mid-Atlantic/Southeast tour, something in the ballpark of one and a half to two weeks in the early fall. Possibly Mike would join me. I suppose I should talk to him about that before I announce it? We'll see how that goes.
I will keep everyone up to date on the progress of the 7".
Aside from that, I have pretty much been in hiding for the past two weeks trying to get this semester over with. I suppose I can't complain about not having enough time to do everything, considering that I blew off finishing my Film and Literature paper yesterday so that I could go ice skating with Chandi. I did finish the paper this morning; all 17 pages of that bastard. So now I just have a few more exams and one smaller paper to write and I'm done. So there.
So school has been pretty much occupying most of my free time, which kind of sucks because I need to be getting ready for the recording for the 7".
Oh, and I need to find a job.
I haven’t had to look for a job in over four years, but Moto Photo is closing at the end of the year so I need to find something else, preferably before then. I did apply for a job with the Smithsonian, at the Natural History Museum, doing scans of old books. It may have been a bit overambitious but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that I will hear from them. I think I could probably get a job at another Moto Photo, but that seems like a last resort at the moment. I'm pretty tired of that place and I think I want to take the opportunity to do something new.
Everything will work out, it always does. The semester will be over soon, I will have a new, hopefully fun, job, and then it will be Christmas, which usually means a lot of fun time off. So there's that.
Good day.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Rainy Record Romp
So it's been a while… I'll try to do better posting here more regularly.
I had today off and I think I have made a pretty good run at wasting it. Yes, yes I have school stuff to do but I'm not so overwhelmed at the moment that I can't enjoy a rainy day off. I got up this morning and made a pot of coffee then realized that we didn’t have any creamer, so I set about getting some. When I walked outside I found that it was very cold and very rainy, I decided at that moment that no schoolwork was going to get done and I rearranged my plans for the day while I walked to the grocery store. I had been toying with the idea of heading out to Virginia for the sole purpose of visiting my favorite record store so I made that my primary goal for the day. It's about a 45-minute train ride each way but it's definitely worth it. This place is incredible, most used record shops I find usually just have a bunch of mediocre stuff in awful condition, but not Orpheus. These guys really know their stuff, they have a ton of really great older stuff, all in superb condition, and they have a very notable selection of newer vinyl, some of it fairly hard to find. It's always good to go out there, this time I ended up picking up two things that I had been meaning to grab for a while, Okkervil River's "Black Sheep Boy Appendix" and Beirut's "Gulag Orkestar". I didn't get home until about 4 and I've been straightening up the apartment a bit since then. All in all a pretty good day so far.
This past weekend Chandi and I were back in Charleston for John and Masie's wedding, awesome time. The only down side to weekends like that is that you (and it may just be me?) are either drunk or hung over constantly for three days. Getting back into the swing of things this week has been slow going. It was definitely worth it though. There was a bachelor party on Friday night when we got there out on Shem Creek, it was a real bro-down. The rehearsal was Saturday with the rehearsal party out on Gold Bug Island, which was good because it's big (that's what she said) and really everyone was invited. I got to catch up with a bunch of people. And drink about a gallon of Maker's Mark. The wedding was Sunday. It was gorgeous. There was a lot more Maker's Mark to be had.
I wish that I had more eloquent things to say about the wedding other than, "I got drunk, it was cool". It really was incredible and I'm so happy for John and Masie that I could just freak out. They are amazing for each other and amazing to the people around them. *sniff *sniff*.
I was talking to Masie after the wedding and asked her if she was going to change her name and she said that she was hyphenating it to Barefoot-Judson. Then she pointed out that from now on that would make her name Mrs. BJ. Filthy. I miss that girl.
I also got to spend an exceptional amount of time with Mike Paolone as we were staying with him all weekend. We took the train from DC into Columbia on Thursday and crashed at his place, then went down to Charleston with him on Friday in time for the bachelor party. Monday we went back to Columbia and kicked it with him until it was time to catch the train back to DC. That train ride is one that I would not recommend to anyone. I'm just saying. I would recommend, however, spending more time with Mike Paolone. That dude rules. He swears that he is going to have a page up for his solo project, Hawks of War, sometime this week. Please look out for that, he played me some stuff and it is fucking incredible.
It was great to see everyone though I really felt shitty leaving Charleston, I think because I really don’t know when I will be able to get back down there. Leaving this time had a more definite sense of separation from the people there that I really care about. I don’t know, I feel like I'm getting back there less and less and really falling away from the happenings of my friends. Maybe I just need to do better with keeping in touch with people, I often think that that's the problem. I am terrible with writing/calling people back and then I complain that I never talk to anyone and feel detached from my friends. What's that about? I need to work on that.
That's about it for me at the moment.
Oh, I think that the wedding festivities can be fairly appropriately summed up with a single picture:
I had today off and I think I have made a pretty good run at wasting it. Yes, yes I have school stuff to do but I'm not so overwhelmed at the moment that I can't enjoy a rainy day off. I got up this morning and made a pot of coffee then realized that we didn’t have any creamer, so I set about getting some. When I walked outside I found that it was very cold and very rainy, I decided at that moment that no schoolwork was going to get done and I rearranged my plans for the day while I walked to the grocery store. I had been toying with the idea of heading out to Virginia for the sole purpose of visiting my favorite record store so I made that my primary goal for the day. It's about a 45-minute train ride each way but it's definitely worth it. This place is incredible, most used record shops I find usually just have a bunch of mediocre stuff in awful condition, but not Orpheus. These guys really know their stuff, they have a ton of really great older stuff, all in superb condition, and they have a very notable selection of newer vinyl, some of it fairly hard to find. It's always good to go out there, this time I ended up picking up two things that I had been meaning to grab for a while, Okkervil River's "Black Sheep Boy Appendix" and Beirut's "Gulag Orkestar". I didn't get home until about 4 and I've been straightening up the apartment a bit since then. All in all a pretty good day so far.
This past weekend Chandi and I were back in Charleston for John and Masie's wedding, awesome time. The only down side to weekends like that is that you (and it may just be me?) are either drunk or hung over constantly for three days. Getting back into the swing of things this week has been slow going. It was definitely worth it though. There was a bachelor party on Friday night when we got there out on Shem Creek, it was a real bro-down. The rehearsal was Saturday with the rehearsal party out on Gold Bug Island, which was good because it's big (that's what she said) and really everyone was invited. I got to catch up with a bunch of people. And drink about a gallon of Maker's Mark. The wedding was Sunday. It was gorgeous. There was a lot more Maker's Mark to be had.
I wish that I had more eloquent things to say about the wedding other than, "I got drunk, it was cool". It really was incredible and I'm so happy for John and Masie that I could just freak out. They are amazing for each other and amazing to the people around them. *sniff *sniff*.
I was talking to Masie after the wedding and asked her if she was going to change her name and she said that she was hyphenating it to Barefoot-Judson. Then she pointed out that from now on that would make her name Mrs. BJ. Filthy. I miss that girl.
I also got to spend an exceptional amount of time with Mike Paolone as we were staying with him all weekend. We took the train from DC into Columbia on Thursday and crashed at his place, then went down to Charleston with him on Friday in time for the bachelor party. Monday we went back to Columbia and kicked it with him until it was time to catch the train back to DC. That train ride is one that I would not recommend to anyone. I'm just saying. I would recommend, however, spending more time with Mike Paolone. That dude rules. He swears that he is going to have a page up for his solo project, Hawks of War, sometime this week. Please look out for that, he played me some stuff and it is fucking incredible.
It was great to see everyone though I really felt shitty leaving Charleston, I think because I really don’t know when I will be able to get back down there. Leaving this time had a more definite sense of separation from the people there that I really care about. I don’t know, I feel like I'm getting back there less and less and really falling away from the happenings of my friends. Maybe I just need to do better with keeping in touch with people, I often think that that's the problem. I am terrible with writing/calling people back and then I complain that I never talk to anyone and feel detached from my friends. What's that about? I need to work on that.
That's about it for me at the moment.
Oh, I think that the wedding festivities can be fairly appropriately summed up with a single picture:
A few words
I have lots of things to say and little time to say it, I'll try to get a lengthier post up later this weekend. I just wanted to throw something up to prove that I exist. Who knew that's all it took? Last weekend in Charleston was awesome, there is a lot to say about that.
I'll leave you with the one of the funniest things I have heard one of my friends say in a long time. "It's not rape... it's just surprise sex." Thanks Jessica.
I'll leave you with the one of the funniest things I have heard one of my friends say in a long time. "It's not rape... it's just surprise sex." Thanks Jessica.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Tired
I'm feeling a little weary at the moment; I've been frantically writing papers, trying to get ahead on school stuff before I head down to Charleston this weekend for John's wedding. I got a ton of stuff done today so I feel relatively good about making the trip.
Speaking of tons of stuff, Polyvinyl Records is having some ridiculous sale right now, selling of a bunch of overstock I suppose. Cheap. I kind of went crazy buying stuff; they have some good vinyl all for about 5 bucks each. Check that out.
So, last week I had to do my audition for the DC Arts people to show them that I am worthy (or unworthy?) of receiving a grant from them for the 7" that I keep talking about. It went really well, I think, well enough that I'm not worried about it hurting my chances of getting this thing. My friend Matt wrote to me after it was over and asked how the "grant hearing" went. I thought that was really funny. It felt something like a hearing now that I think about it. It was basically an empty dance studio with a long table with about ten people behind it in a row facing me. They all had nameplates and clipboards. It was kind of intimidating.
I'm tired.
I'm listening to Joan of Arc's Live in Chicago, 1999. This is not helping me stay awake.
That is all for today. More when I am a little less sleepy.
Oh, this is on Myspace too but thought I'd share it here, as it is the only official piece of My Brother, The Welder merch at the moment. You still have to go to Myspace to buy one though. They're only a buck. I'm just saying.
Speaking of tons of stuff, Polyvinyl Records is having some ridiculous sale right now, selling of a bunch of overstock I suppose. Cheap. I kind of went crazy buying stuff; they have some good vinyl all for about 5 bucks each. Check that out.
So, last week I had to do my audition for the DC Arts people to show them that I am worthy (or unworthy?) of receiving a grant from them for the 7" that I keep talking about. It went really well, I think, well enough that I'm not worried about it hurting my chances of getting this thing. My friend Matt wrote to me after it was over and asked how the "grant hearing" went. I thought that was really funny. It felt something like a hearing now that I think about it. It was basically an empty dance studio with a long table with about ten people behind it in a row facing me. They all had nameplates and clipboards. It was kind of intimidating.
I'm tired.
I'm listening to Joan of Arc's Live in Chicago, 1999. This is not helping me stay awake.
That is all for today. More when I am a little less sleepy.
Oh, this is on Myspace too but thought I'd share it here, as it is the only official piece of My Brother, The Welder merch at the moment. You still have to go to Myspace to buy one though. They're only a buck. I'm just saying.
Monday, October 29, 2007
...So it Begins
So this blog is new. It will potentially replace all blogging activities delegated to Myspace prior to today. I am excited about it for a number of reasons. I am glad to give My Brother, The Welder a home away from Myspace, it feels more unique I suppose. Plus, I really do like the idea of a site that is devoted simply to writing instead of the jumble that Myspace can sometimes be. We'll see how this goes.
I am working out the details of getting a tape together for sale, something like a dollar or two for about 8 songs. The details being that I will have to get some kind of cover work together and sit here making a bunch of tapes. I think it will be fun to put this together and I hope that some of you share my enthusiasm with this potential, extremely unprofessional release. This in no way is meant to replace or draw attention away from the 7" that will be out early next year, it's just a small project to hold me over until work can begin for that record. Really I can't do much with the 7" until I get the verdict from the DC Commission for the Arts, of course I will let everyone know the outcome of that super stressful process as soon as I know. The audition was last week, more about that later.
This ends here. I have to get to school.
I am working out the details of getting a tape together for sale, something like a dollar or two for about 8 songs. The details being that I will have to get some kind of cover work together and sit here making a bunch of tapes. I think it will be fun to put this together and I hope that some of you share my enthusiasm with this potential, extremely unprofessional release. This in no way is meant to replace or draw attention away from the 7" that will be out early next year, it's just a small project to hold me over until work can begin for that record. Really I can't do much with the 7" until I get the verdict from the DC Commission for the Arts, of course I will let everyone know the outcome of that super stressful process as soon as I know. The audition was last week, more about that later.
This ends here. I have to get to school.
Jessica Gets a Lesson in Fashion.
From Oct 9th, 2007
So, I've been sick all day, some kind of cold/flu type of onslaught and I thought that I would take a moment from my Theraflu delirium to tell everyone a few things. Somehow a list seems to be in order. No pun intended. Here goes.
1. Some people are aware of this and others are not. I quit Fimfarum this week. Read about it over here.
2. There are a few albums I have been enjoying a great deal lately. One of them is Beirut's "Flying Club Cup". The other is Chuck Ragan's "Feast or Famine". I recommend the both of them whole-heartedly.
3. Lemon Theraflu tastes like shit.
4. "eeeee eee eeee" is the title of one of the best new books I've read in a while. You should read it too and tell me what you think.
5. I have an audition with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities in two weeks. I am very nervous about this. I'll take a step back. I applied for a grant to record and release a My Brother, The Welder 7" early next year. As a performing artist they want to be sure that I can, well, perform. I have to go play a song in what I expect to be a very intimidating, sterile environment occupied by ten people who decide, partly based on this audition, if I get the money for this project. Not to contradict myself here, I did quit Fimfarum because of time issues, though My Brother, The Welder takes up much less time. Plus, if I decide that I just can't take the time to work on a new song tonight, I don't have to cancel on three dudes who have scheduled their nights around practicing. So there.
6. if you know who Jan Svankmajer is then you can understand why I have been obsessed with him lately. If you don't then you should watch some of his short films and maybe you will also see why. His "Fall of the House of Usher" is utterly brilliant. I think I'm going to base my midterm presentation for my Film and Literature class around that piece.
7. I need a new bookcase.
8. I am going to be in Charleston for John Judson's wedding in about a month. If you are attending then I can't wait to see you there. If you are not going to attend, well, maybe you should come see me. Ever think of that?
9. This could go on forever.
10. This has to stop.
So, I've been sick all day, some kind of cold/flu type of onslaught and I thought that I would take a moment from my Theraflu delirium to tell everyone a few things. Somehow a list seems to be in order. No pun intended. Here goes.
1. Some people are aware of this and others are not. I quit Fimfarum this week. Read about it over here.
2. There are a few albums I have been enjoying a great deal lately. One of them is Beirut's "Flying Club Cup". The other is Chuck Ragan's "Feast or Famine". I recommend the both of them whole-heartedly.
3. Lemon Theraflu tastes like shit.
4. "eeeee eee eeee" is the title of one of the best new books I've read in a while. You should read it too and tell me what you think.
5. I have an audition with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities in two weeks. I am very nervous about this. I'll take a step back. I applied for a grant to record and release a My Brother, The Welder 7" early next year. As a performing artist they want to be sure that I can, well, perform. I have to go play a song in what I expect to be a very intimidating, sterile environment occupied by ten people who decide, partly based on this audition, if I get the money for this project. Not to contradict myself here, I did quit Fimfarum because of time issues, though My Brother, The Welder takes up much less time. Plus, if I decide that I just can't take the time to work on a new song tonight, I don't have to cancel on three dudes who have scheduled their nights around practicing. So there.
6. if you know who Jan Svankmajer is then you can understand why I have been obsessed with him lately. If you don't then you should watch some of his short films and maybe you will also see why. His "Fall of the House of Usher" is utterly brilliant. I think I'm going to base my midterm presentation for my Film and Literature class around that piece.
7. I need a new bookcase.
8. I am going to be in Charleston for John Judson's wedding in about a month. If you are attending then I can't wait to see you there. If you are not going to attend, well, maybe you should come see me. Ever think of that?
9. This could go on forever.
10. This has to stop.
Space Vikings. Serial Killers, Millions of Dollars in Special Effects.
From Sep. 10, 2007
So I just popped over to the Belle and Sebastian site and saw that Stuart is holding auditions for a musical film that he is making? Awesome. Look out for that. Just about everything he/they do is worth paying attention to.
On a totally antithetical note: The new Between the Buried and Me is the best metal album I have ever heard. OK, well, the best in a long time at least. Every time I have found myself daydreaming about being in the perfect metal band and imagining what that would sound like, which is often (you do it too, shut up), it sounds like this. A fucking masterpiece. For those of you who have not heard it you may be interested to know that it is essentially one hour-long piece of music. Not unlike a symphony. It's certainly as intricate as one. There's a banjo involved. I'm just saying. It's broken into eight tracks but you would never realize where the track breaks are unless you're looking at your ipod/stereo/discman/gramophone/eight track player that doesn't work anyway because there's a Thin Lizzy tape stuck in there.
So that has been occupying a great deal of my time. What's taking up the remainder of my time? Final Fantasy XII. Still. Awesome game. It's the video game equivalent of the new Between the Buried and Me. See how this is coming together? Basically I've been immersed in pure awesome lately. I realize of course that I should be immersed in schoolwork at the present moment. There's a whole semester for that though.
Seriously though, I'm doing my schoolwork. Don't worry.
I had a lot more to say when I decided to write this.
Whatever.
Oh, despite my obsession with the new BTB&M, I did find time to crap my pants over the new Pinback record. That shit rules.
Also, I just heard a Man Man song on a Nike commercial. I don't feel good at all about that.
But Robot Chicken is coming on now. What a roller coaster ride this night is turning out to be.
So I just popped over to the Belle and Sebastian site and saw that Stuart is holding auditions for a musical film that he is making? Awesome. Look out for that. Just about everything he/they do is worth paying attention to.
On a totally antithetical note: The new Between the Buried and Me is the best metal album I have ever heard. OK, well, the best in a long time at least. Every time I have found myself daydreaming about being in the perfect metal band and imagining what that would sound like, which is often (you do it too, shut up), it sounds like this. A fucking masterpiece. For those of you who have not heard it you may be interested to know that it is essentially one hour-long piece of music. Not unlike a symphony. It's certainly as intricate as one. There's a banjo involved. I'm just saying. It's broken into eight tracks but you would never realize where the track breaks are unless you're looking at your ipod/stereo/discman/gramophone/eight track player that doesn't work anyway because there's a Thin Lizzy tape stuck in there.
So that has been occupying a great deal of my time. What's taking up the remainder of my time? Final Fantasy XII. Still. Awesome game. It's the video game equivalent of the new Between the Buried and Me. See how this is coming together? Basically I've been immersed in pure awesome lately. I realize of course that I should be immersed in schoolwork at the present moment. There's a whole semester for that though.
Seriously though, I'm doing my schoolwork. Don't worry.
I had a lot more to say when I decided to write this.
Whatever.
Oh, despite my obsession with the new BTB&M, I did find time to crap my pants over the new Pinback record. That shit rules.
Also, I just heard a Man Man song on a Nike commercial. I don't feel good at all about that.
But Robot Chicken is coming on now. What a roller coaster ride this night is turning out to be.
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