A meme? In MY blog?

Whether via facebook, email, or instant message - I get a lot of memes. I usually just delete them, and I’m really proud of the fact that I haven’t posted any such things here for a long time… but tonight I filled one out. And I’m going to post it here. I know you’ll forgive me.

Because it was really, really, funny.

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2 weeks to graduation, motivation status: nil

I haunt a lot of forums, but there are very few forum threads themselves which I’ll bookmark: QC’s Sendspace Thread is one of these.

From there I get a lot of good music (and a lot of junk too) but every so often an album will get posted which just completely takes over my listening life. With that said… Gary Higgins’ Red Hash is probably the most gorgeous thing to come through my headphones in a long time. It’s literally been the only album I’ve listened to for the past three days. I’m loving the thing it’s got going on (intimate melancholy? ) - and the story behind the album is badass.

So - because a Sendspace link is about as enduring as your first crush, I’ve preserved the awesomeness here for your downloading pleasure.
Red Hash - m4a format; ~68mb tarball
Warning: the author takes no responsibility for any sudden urges to visit your local headshop that may result. Listen at your own risk.

Edit: Wow, I’m famous. Or maybe infamous. In either case, the link has been killed by order of the Powers That Be. That was quick.

Happy Holidays

I believe I missed Halloween this year, which is sad. Too many other things took precedence for a while (Sara missing Halloween is pretty much proof of real-life-overload, right?).

In any case, here’s my one seasonal offering. Technically I’ve been listening to them for a couple months, but it seems fitting to plug the group this week:

Diablo Swing Orchestra - Could be Nightwish’s bastard sibling, but they get groovy-ness points. Also, any band with a song titled “Balrog Boogie” is awesome by default.

Boo.

You thought you’d get away this year, with no Hallowe’en-y post-o’-goodness from Sara? Sorry.

So requisite wallpaper of the season: found here. Runner up: BRB?
Edit to add: As much as I hate to admit it, I actually find the newly-covered Nightmare tracks growing on me - so I suppose they merit a mention as well.

And random student-related rant story thing…
In case you haven’t caught on, apart from my individual students, I also have a group class once a week: this is actually in the building of a certain area church, and in return certain church-y conventions are occasionally imposed. Fair enough, and as a rule students and teachers alike are free to abide as they please.

During the intermission between class hours, there’s a combination food-and-announcement type thing, where classes mingle and talk and all that jazz. This week, there were handouts and a special presentation on…
TEH EVALS OF HALLOWEEN.
…along with requisite misinformed propoganda. I kid you not, the phrase “High Holiday of Satan” actually is printed, in black and white. What the crap, people.

So anyhow. Needless to say I had fun with all my individual lessons yesterday and today — and you know, how else are you going to learn the vital cultural details if your American Friend doesn’t tell you? Light on = ZOMG CANDAY RUSH. Light off = GO AWAY CRAZY PERSONS. Simple, yet important.

One final seasonal word: anyone in the Auburn area want to go to Rocky Horror with me Monday night? Seriously. You all are a bunch of lame freaks. Minus the freak bit.

Thursday. Thursday?

Holy headcold, Batman: it’s Thursday already.

Apparently I’ve been suckered into attending my Very First American Football Game this Saturday. I’m not sure how. It involved a professor (who may or may not have made a guest appearance in a previous comic; crap.) with two tickets to give, and an inability to take “yes, I’ve really never been to one” as truth. Stay tuned as this adventure unfolds.

Speaking of “Saturday”, last week was completely worth the effort. I spent the week beforehand bemoaning the fact that I’d bought the ticket, because I didn’t have time to take a night off, yada yada blah etc. “Irony’s funny like that,” she says as she coughs again. Regardless: awesome night, but the nameless-wonders who opened could have played a song or three fewer, and I wouldn’t have minded a bit…

Confidential to the woman who told me I shouldn’t make phone calls when I have a cold, on account of being difficult to understand: I appreciate your word of advice, and look forward to your substitute paycheck in the mail.

You can’t go back to Constantinople

Instead of either posting curious lyrics — which are stuck horribly in my head — or else sniping about various morons; I present: This week, the good and bad.

Good things
Mysterious backpacks
Really great wasabi
Enough syrup to make a killer glass of chocolate milk
Rachmaninoff
zomg crazy sweet site hosting deals for the next year.

Bad things
Faculty who think my nametag = MAID SERVICE. No, I will not clear your desk for you, I’m only here to install ____.
Too much sun.
A nationwide coup on cassette albums.
Idiots. In general.

I have no voice.

Well, actually, I do now. But if I were not such a damn dirty procrastinator, this would’ve been posted a day or two ago — and then it would also have been true. So NYAH.

So yeah. Went to a seriously excellent concert last Tuesday. Yes indeedy, That Day — but not, thank the gods, That Band. It was a curiously mixed double headline of NIN and Bauhaus — wrongly advertised as “NIN with special guest Bauhaus” (don’t EVEN get me started); I fully expected to be dissapointed and only get a scant few songs out of the venerable old Brits. Not so! Score for a great deal: two headlining acts, two full sets! /me is a happy camper.

Shanon is too. I think. Except his car suxx0rs.

Anyhow: I officially am a fan of the incredibly-horribly-named “Verizon Wireless Music Center” in Birmingham. Very cool outdoor venue. I imagine it would suck given the proper (improper) weather, but we were lucky, and likewise it was teh awesome. Also, moonrise + lyrical spontaneity = badass.

– make your own map (no fair counting anything you haven’t slept in)–

I am woefully Grey. Suck. Note to self: remedy post-haste. On the other hand, I know One who should be incredibly Red. In the spirit of complete and utter memery, I dub thee Tagged, Sir.

[home]

Hey, yo: Nifty things happen when you leave off checking the usual websites for a couple days. Like, um, new combo tour dates are announced by various rock gods, and so on. In B’ham and ATL, no less.
YE GODS OMGWTFBBQ (etc etc).

Item the first: I totally need my beloved CDs to pack up their decrepit belongings, sign over their keys to the shed, and move the hell back to my car. It’s very lonely in there without them. Blargh.

Item the second: “Spring Break”, such as it was, was nice. I slept way too much. Among other things. Also took a smattering of pseudoannoying photos to flickrize sometime…eventually. Also: Sushi was involved. I think. And horrifically awesome movies. And Best Buy (dur).

Item the third: Ah, so. Item the Third. Whad’ya know, Jack? Life is damn good.

Nerves like Steel

Sidenote: fucking awesome (well, poop: I’m kind of biased to the rock gods anyways, so that statement is fairly weightless anyhow - but I digress…) track by which to mess about in Photoshop:
Nerves - Bauhaus. Go. Read. Then go steal the song.

Oh yeah — Photoshop. The obviously-named following happened tonight, because I didn’t want to leave the previous post as my “latest entry” for too long… the cosmos felt misalligned, or something.

Nerves.png - 450×550; no reason behind any of it, other than I wanted to try some things out. So the smoking shuriken explanation? Um. Ninjas are hot?

If you Photoshop nerds from LJ-land happen through here (remember me, guys?) — I’d really like some advice on getting smoke to come out better. Right, so apparently I’m mentally deficient for trying it, or some such: even so. I’d like to know.

Nerves like nylon, like steel
Nerves like nylon, like steel
Nerves like nylon, like steel.
(Stop!)

Reasonable Doubt

So, for various reasons, I came home from work tonight with an idea to fudz around with via CS2. Didn’t put much effort into it, but it was an interesting experiment nonetheless.

…and I take no responsibility for the rehabilitation required afterwards.

Anyhow, You out there: you needed new wallpaper, right?

‘Perceptual Anomaly’ - 800×600: no, I couldn’t bring myself to work any larger.

Icing on the proverbial cake of questionable stability: done (somewhat unwittingly) to the following track, on repeat:
Automating Again - NwW