Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Happenings
So, last year, on the fifth anniversary of the attack I wrote a sort of tribute to 9/11 -- today, half a world away, it's not on the forefront of my consciousness (I only had one conversation about it), so if you want something along those lines you can click here and read some of my thoughts on the subject. Interesting that I.S. 218 chose to hold Open House on September 11 again this year...
Also that Kanye (as in "Kanyeezee Fo'Sheezee") chose to release his "Graduation" today, which I've been bumping since, well, literally the break of dawn. I didn't do anything as far as homework yesterday -- directly after I gave an hour-long presentation on the sociology of religion for which I'd been preparing for two weeks, I went to my favorite local bar, had a couple of beers, came home, had something to eat, and went to bed. So what that I had a Japanese oral exam today? It's my only class & I figured that we wouldn't have much homework due on the day of the test, right? Wrong. I ended up having to spend an hour this morning doing the homework out of the workbook, so I didn't have time to take the bus (where I was planning on studying), let alone a shower. I had to hop on the bike, showing up for class in the nick of time, sweaty and stinky, the only available seat next to a cute female undergrad. To add to the fetid aroma, the used textbook I bought smells strongly of garbage even after I've left it outside for a couple of nights airing out. I'm fairly sure I didn't impress her.
But it's all good, cuz I had Kanye's new beats (far superior to those he produced for Common's new album) in my head, and I got to listen to the album in its entirety a couple of times during my office hours. Say what you will about his public persona, and I have a few things to say about his message on tracks like the Diamonds remix, I'm still a huge fan of his music, and I'm praying that "Graduation" outsells 50 Cent's album this week (in which case, 50 said he'd hang up the mic for good)...
I also posted some pics from my housewarming BBQ and a hike I took on Labor Day -- it wasn't the West Indian Day Carnival by any means, but it was nice to get out of the house, and it was pretty cool that the starting and ending trailheads were about a mile from campus and my house, respectively.
And, though I know everybody's sick of hearing about how much tropical fruit I've been eating (don't worry, this fruiting cycle is almost complete & you'll have a two or three month reprieve), it was real windy today, which made up for the fact that I brought a half-dozen of my largest, juiciest mangoes to the office to share with my department. Just look at my babies! I think I'm going to have to dice them up and freeze them for the long months between cycles... [Author's note: I did this and made better mango sorbet than those punks Haagen-Dazs.]
Oh, and may the spirit of Josef Zawinul rest in peace. His contributions to Weather Report, the electric Miles Davis albums, and his own projects (Zawinul Syndicate, Orient Express) are, in my opinion, probably the most sophisticated use of a synthesizer in jazz and fusion history. For those of you unfamiliar with this master musician, you'd probably recognize his compositions Birdland and "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" made famous by Cannonball Adderley (as well as The Buckinghams, but I'm not sure Joe liked their version), and I think everyone would enjoy this clip with Trilok Gurtu (an amazing Indian drummer), Joe with Weather Report ('78), and you fusion peoples would also like this clip of Zawinul Syndicate, apparently from Korean TV (Joe's the Austrian guy with the 'stache and the little hat). Anyway, today the world said goodbye to a master. We'll miss you, Joe.
Also that Kanye (as in "Kanyeezee Fo'Sheezee") chose to release his "Graduation" today, which I've been bumping since, well, literally the break of dawn. I didn't do anything as far as homework yesterday -- directly after I gave an hour-long presentation on the sociology of religion for which I'd been preparing for two weeks, I went to my favorite local bar, had a couple of beers, came home, had something to eat, and went to bed. So what that I had a Japanese oral exam today? It's my only class & I figured that we wouldn't have much homework due on the day of the test, right? Wrong. I ended up having to spend an hour this morning doing the homework out of the workbook, so I didn't have time to take the bus (where I was planning on studying), let alone a shower. I had to hop on the bike, showing up for class in the nick of time, sweaty and stinky, the only available seat next to a cute female undergrad. To add to the fetid aroma, the used textbook I bought smells strongly of garbage even after I've left it outside for a couple of nights airing out. I'm fairly sure I didn't impress her.
But it's all good, cuz I had Kanye's new beats (far superior to those he produced for Common's new album) in my head, and I got to listen to the album in its entirety a couple of times during my office hours. Say what you will about his public persona, and I have a few things to say about his message on tracks like the Diamonds remix, I'm still a huge fan of his music, and I'm praying that "Graduation" outsells 50 Cent's album this week (in which case, 50 said he'd hang up the mic for good)...I also posted some pics from my housewarming BBQ and a hike I took on Labor Day -- it wasn't the West Indian Day Carnival by any means, but it was nice to get out of the house, and it was pretty cool that the starting and ending trailheads were about a mile from campus and my house, respectively.
And, though I know everybody's sick of hearing about how much tropical fruit I've been eating (don't worry, this fruiting cycle is almost complete & you'll have a two or three month reprieve), it was real windy today, which made up for the fact that I brought a half-dozen of my largest, juiciest mangoes to the office to share with my department. Just look at my babies! I think I'm going to have to dice them up and freeze them for the long months between cycles... [Author's note: I did this and made better mango sorbet than those punks Haagen-Dazs.]
Oh, and may the spirit of Josef Zawinul rest in peace. His contributions to Weather Report, the electric Miles Davis albums, and his own projects (Zawinul Syndicate, Orient Express) are, in my opinion, probably the most sophisticated use of a synthesizer in jazz and fusion history. For those of you unfamiliar with this master musician, you'd probably recognize his compositions Birdland and "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" made famous by Cannonball Adderley (as well as The Buckinghams, but I'm not sure Joe liked their version), and I think everyone would enjoy this clip with Trilok Gurtu (an amazing Indian drummer), Joe with Weather Report ('78), and you fusion peoples would also like this clip of Zawinul Syndicate, apparently from Korean TV (Joe's the Austrian guy with the 'stache and the little hat). Anyway, today the world said goodbye to a master. We'll miss you, Joe.
