I came across Vincent Orange's website today, and I have a question. Why is his letter on the about page welcoming people to his website all in capitals? Take the opening for example:
"HELLO I'M VINCENT ORANGE AND WELCOME TO THE ORANGE FOR MAYOR WEBSITE."Sure he seems excited about running for mayor, but it strikes me as similar to how excited this guy is put me in a new car TODAY.
From today's Washington Post chat:
Now I don't have children, and can't remember pre-school to save my life, but don't they pretty much only teach: sharing, don't throw blocks at girls, and use the bathroom? I guess the ABCs are in there also, but if you need a fancy expensive school to teach your kid the ABCs than you should really get use to the idea of having a kid who is a "Sandwich Artist.""Arlington, Va.: We have an 8-month old daughter. How soon should we start looking for pre-schools to ensure she has the best chance to get into a quality center?
Mimi Carter: I would start looking now. Really. Because there is a dearth of high quality preschools and child care centers and you will want to make sure you feel as comfortable as possible with your choice. It may be expensive, but think about this. Your child's brain will grow more now, between birth and five then anytime afterwards. You want him to have the BEST."
I love puzzles. I usually do two crossword puzzles, and three Sodukus in a given day. Recently, I have stumbled across Kakuro, and it has become my new obsession.
For those who don't know, Kakuro is essentially a crossword puzzle, but with numbers. In the puzzle, a given row or column must add up to a given number. The trick is that only the numbers 1-9 can be used, and a number may only be used once per row/column. For example, if two spaces add up to 8, 4+4 cannot be a solution. Here is a link to the best free website that I can find. The game is pretty self explanatory once you see it. The linked website is nice because you can solve puzzles online, and check your answers.
What I like about Kakuro is that it reveals the mechanics of a crossword puzzle. In Kakuro, there are some answers that have multiple possibilities, like 15 over three spaces could be 1+5+9, or 2+6+7, etc. There are also clues that have only one possible solution, like 23 over 3 spaces, which is 9+8+6. One solves the puzzle by using the unique combinations of certain clues to glean the specific combinations of others.
Crossword puzzles work in the same way. The crossword equivalent of 23, or 17 is aria or oreo. These are clues that arise frequently and supply the letters that allow one to find the unique solutions to other clues with multiple possibilities. I believe the secret to solving a crossword puzzle has nothing to do with knowledge, or trivia. It is knowing the common unique solutions, like aria, or epee, or olio. When you complete a Kakuro puzzle, this whole process is revealed in an obvious way.
Also, I have been answering the telephones at my office for 4:30 hours now and these puzzles, which were the saviors of my sanity about an hour ago, are now slowly driving me mad.
Warning, I am going to engage in a little cyber-stalking. Normally, people do this when they want to write a post but don't have anything to say. Something along the lines of, "Wow, someone got here searching for 'how does ocd differ from being fanatical.' Isn't that funny?" And I will admit to falling prey to the practice myself a few times.
This bit of cyber-stalking is different. Yesterday, someone came to this site by searching for "roosevelt roosevelt pieces song music" and "roosevelt roosevelt, charles, band." For those who don't know, Roosevelt Roosevelt was my old band from 3-4 years ago. Given the number of cds that we sold, I am guessing that anyone still searching for that band, and me, knows me personally. The person in question is coming from Lehigh University (creepy huh). I have been going nuts trying to figure out who this person could be and have come up empty.
So, I am hoping that the person in question comes back and identifies his/herself. Please? This is going to bother me for a while. If the comment section is too public you can email me at dc (dot) charles (at) gmail (dot) com.
Ladies and gentleman, that is what the flag would look like if DC was given statehood. Frankly, it doesn't look as bad as I expected. According to Wikipedia, this flag has been designed in case a 51st state is admitted. While it doesn't look as good as the current flag, I don't think it is so ugly that people can object to DC Statehood on aesthetic grounds. Most, if not all, of my readers know about the problems with the District's lack of representation, but here is more information for anyone who got to this site by searching for "punk version of my funny valentine."
As a side note, according to Wikipedia there have been a series of attempts by various citizens and politicians of New York City for the city to secede from the rest of the state and become the 51st state. Apparently, Norman Mailer was involved in one attempt and suggested that the city should keep the name "New York" and the rest of the state should be renamed "Buffalo." Seriously, what a bunch of dicks.
I had the pleasure of meeting Adrian Fenty last night.
Around 7:00, the Fenty campaign descended on my block. At first, I saw some people standing outside with green stickers on and clipboards. I was initially disturbed, thinking that I already have to politely ignore Greenpeace while getting lunch at work, God help them if the interrupt me in my neighborhood. Then I saw a Fenty placard being placed on one of my neighbors yards, and behold there was the man himself.
I put my shoes on and head down to meet the candidate. This was the first honest to goodness campaign stop that I have seen. Growing up in Arlington, my vote was pretty much taken for granted, but I guess in a hotly contested election people are going to have to listen to me, or at least pretend to.
One of Mr. Fenty's campaign people greeted me outside my front door and began to tell me how great the councilman was. He then calls out to Mr. Fenty and gestures for him to come over and meet me. Mr. Fenty came over, shook my hand, and asked me if I had decided who I was going to vote for in the upcoming election. I told him that I honestly didn't know, and that it was still early in the race. He said that he understood and asked me to read over the material that had been handed to me. Unfortunately he was called away to another house before I got a chance to ask him any questions.
So that is the whole of my encounter. My first impression was that I liked that he just showed up on my block to meet the neighbors. Also, we have some less than savory people who hang around, and Mr. Fenty made a point of introducing himself to them. In particular, while I was talking with him, a heavily intoxicated homeless man stumbled through, and Mr. Fenty made a point to introduce himself and shake his hand. While he is a politician, it would have been very easy to let this guy just pass through. I don't know why, it made an impression on me.
Our receptionist has been sick for the past two days, so I have had to answer the phones all day. This involves sitting at a desk for 7 hours with only the computer to keep me company. I know this wouldn't be a problem for some, but after about 3 hours the internet just isn't that interesting. The experience is also like a long car ride. Because I am the only receptionist I can't leave the desk without getting someone to fill in for me. This means that I stock up on water and soda and go to the bathroom before I sit down.
Today hasn't been that bad because I stumbled across New York Hack. This is a blog by a female New York City taxi driver, who brings along a camera and takes pictures while she works. It is an interesting read, along the lines of Waiterrant, which is where I found it.
I am pretty sure I have mentioned it before, but baseball is far and away my favorite sport. It was always my favorite to play and now to watch. While I am probably more fanatical about the Redskins, Tommy and Catherine can testify to the intensity with which I watch baseball games. I am pretty sure I scared Catherine while watching a game last year.
It is around this time that discussions inevitably begin on the merits of baseball as a sport. And while I think arguments about which sport is better are fairly useless, and I am certainly not a good enough writer to convince anyone, Yglesias wrote something that I feel compelled to respond to.
In this post, Matt wrote:
"In addition (and I'm not a baseball fan, so I'm open to being corrected on this point) but my sense is that this is exacerbated by the fact that baseball is the least team-ey of the major team sports in that the players don't really need to cooperate actively in the way basketball and football players do."I think this is wrong, and he does ask to be corrected. I submit that baseball is the most "team-ey" of the major team sports. While there is a lot of cooperation that I think Matt is ignoring, I will agree that baseball players don't appear to rely on each in the way that basketball players or football players do.
I have been sitting here trying to figure out how to relate what happened in my restaurant the other day, but it was so weird that I just can't condense it into a coherent narrative. The event in question was a, and I really wish I was making this up, Gypsy Baby Shower. In case you were wondering, Gypsies are not the nicest people in the world and they drink staggering amounts of Coke. I mention the Coke because they had pre-ordered a lot of wine and beer that didn't get drunk. I guess I find this interesting because they run the fortune-telling store across the street.
So The Replacements are getting back together to record a few new tracks for their upcoming greatest hits cd. While I love the Replacements, I have to wonder whether this is a good idea. I have no problem with Paul Westerberg and company wanting to get paid, but I think part of what made the Replacements great was their youth and drunken mayhem.
For example, part of the fun of the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac reunions is watching people who can't stand each other play nice to get a paycheck. I worry that The Replacements might actually like each other, when I want them to get drunk and fight each other for their paycheck.
I think most people who know me know that I am a very clean person. I could probably be OCD, but my particular compulsion is so useful that I don't think anyone has an interest in having me treated. I am constantly wiping down surfaces and straightening things. When my sister was visiting me at college she remarked that she could tell which bookshelf was mine because all the books were placed in descending order by height. Also, I could never have a kitchen with mostly stainless steel because I would constantly being wiping it down.
This cleanliness seems to follow the men in my family. My father, uncle and myself all have particular things that just need to be kept clean. Fortunately, I enjoy cleaning so I don't have a problem doing it. As a hyper-cleaner, I think that I notice mess more than most people, and I am constantly amazed by the way people act in public.
Take the bathroom in my office for example. There are constantly used paper towels on the ground right next to the garbage can. I assume, although I don't have visual proof, that after washing hands people just toss the paper towel near the garbage can. Great if it goes in, but who cares if it doesn't, there will be someone else to come along to clean it up anyway.
Similarly, I am blown away by the way people treat their tables in restaurants. I serve a lot of hamburgers at my restaurant, and they all come with lettuce, tomato, and onions on the bun. People will consistently take whatever offending item off their bun and just put it on the table. This behavior baffles me more than the ubiquitous salt/sugar/ketchup left all over the table with a used napkins residing underneath.
What I find amazing about both behaviors, leaving paper towels on the ground and tomatoes on the table, is that I know these people are not acting like this in their own homes. Sure, some people are just slobs, but not with the frequency that I witness these actions.
I have always assumed that people decide that because there is someone paid to clean up after them, be it a janitor or waiter, that they are not responsible for the simple act of cleaning up after themselves. Maybe it is because I am crazy about cleaning, or because I have to clean up after people as a waiter, but I find this attitude completely abhorrent. To be clear, I am speaking of people who are otherwise fairly clean at home, but don't perform these actions in public. This complaint doesn't apply to people who have paper towels strewn across their home bathrooms and tomatoes rotting on their kitchen tables. This also only applies to simple acts of cleanliness, not taking out the garbage or vacuuming and the like. The mere presence of a janitor does not absolve you from putting your garbage in the garbage can.
Alright internet, I thought we had reached an agreement. I have made my position on ringtones very clear. So imagine my surprise when I see this article this morning. For those too lazy to follow the link, the American Composers Orchestra are having an online auction to raise money and some of the items being auctioned are ringtones. But not any ringtones, original ringtones by such composers as Danny Elfman, Laurie Anderson, and Phillip Glass.
Here is a link to the auction site for Phillip Glass's ringtone. A couple of quick things to note, bidding doesn't begin until April 10, but the opening bid is $100.00. Also, the estimated value of this ringtone is Priceless. Mirriam-Webster has many definitions for the word priceless, I hope the American Composers Orchestra intended "delightfully amusing, odd, or absurd," but I doubt it.
Unfortunately you can't listen to this masterpiece, but one has to imagine that it is spectacular. A work so brilliant that one will never answer their phone again! Although, after all those unanswered calls, the winner is going have to call themselves and that is just sad.
Here is the problem. The only people who will be impressed, or care, that you have an original ringtone by Phillip Glass are all hanging out at the opera house, where they make you turn off your cellphone. I guess you can gloat by leaving your phone on and dramatically interrupt a performance of Dr. Atomic, but that is probably a little uncouth for this crowd. In fact, isn't the whole ringtone phenomenon a little uncouth for this crowd?
Anyway, I can't wait to see how much this monstrosity actually goes for. Someone is guaranteed to pay at least $100 for a ringtone, but I hope it goes considerably higher. I mean, this is a priceless work of art we are talking about.
Why does the British music press hate British music so much? I ask because after listening to the Arctic Monkeys debut album "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" that is the only conclusion I can reach.
Let me say that the "Whatever People Say..." is a good album. It is a strong debut from a young band, and under normal circumstances one could enjoy it and look forward to seeing how the band matures. Of course these aren't normal circumstances. I know a lot of people have seen this list, but the absurdity of it can't be overstated. According to NME, the Arctic Monkeys debut album is better than: every Beatles album, every Clash album, every Rolling Stone album, and every Radiohead album. In fact, "Whatever People Say..." is apparently better than every British album released before 1977. This is obviously false. So obvious in fact that I have to assume malice towards the Arctic Monkeys. If the writers for NME really believe that the Arctic Monkeys are this good, then they should be fired.
This kind of press evokes only one kind of reaction, put succintly by The Ghost in this post, "I preemptively dislike the Arctic Monkeys. Am I being unfair?". I don't blame The Ghost, I had the same reaction and I think it is rational. Even if one doesn't decided to pre-dislike the album, they are going to judge it with a harsher eye.
I just think this does a disservice to a young band like the Arctic Monkeys, particularly on a debut album. This album doesn't stand up to level of scrutiny that follows from the British music press's bold proclamaitions, and that can only result in backlash. We all know that the backlash is coming, and it will be bad. This is a shame, because I think that given time, the Arctic Monkeys could develop and make some great music. This is where I see malice by the British music press. They have set this band up to disappear in a year.
Maybe I am wrong, but I was thinking of the DCeiver's review the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah show in October, 2005. At the end, he writes:
"What I'm trying to say, is that if you live in New York City, and you love a band dearly, set them free. Get them on the road. Get their shit tested in front of crowds that don't have a stake in their music."I think the point is a good one. Musicians should go out and play and get some experience before they are carved on Mount Rockmore. I just think it is easier to learn sitting at your desk than standing at the blackboard.
Rock and Roll is clearly a music for young people. In that vein, let me present a list of songs/albums that were recorded or released before the artist turned 26. While this list is hardly exhaustive, I think it gets the point across.
Happy Birthday Antonio Vivaldi. Vivaldi is one of my favorite composers. I don't know if it is because I associate him with driving around the hills of Tuscany, or because of this cd by the Amsterdam Guitar Trio. I know that he isn't considered quite the heavyweight as Bach, but Bach transcribed some of Vivaldi's concertos for solo keyboard and was clearly influenced by him. I love Vivaldi because there is a lot of substance in his compositions, but his work is very listenable and likeable.
If you get a chance, pick up "The Four Seasons" by the Amsterdam Guitar Trio. You certainly know most of the music, and the guitar playing on this cd contains some of the most impressive guitar playing I have ever heard.
The first sporting event I remember going to was a Capitals game when I was 8 or 9. After that game, I was hooked and became a huge Capitals fan. They were my favorite sports team in Elementary School. When the Caps made the playoffs, I would watch the games with a little shrine of pennants and pucks, including one signed by Pete Peeters! My mother grew to hate the Capitals because they made me cry when they lost in the playoffs. Hey, I also cried when Optimus Prime died in the Transformers movie, I am sensitive, BACK OFF.
Over time, I started to pay less and less attention to the Capitals. I guess my heart just couldn't take the abuse. I still root for them, but I don't really pay attention anymore. I saw this post on DCist today, and was shocked to learn that the Caps are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs with 1/3 of the season left to play. Everyone makes the playoffs in Hockey, I would be surprised if Hamilton's hockey team had been eliminated from the NHL playoffs. Seriously, 16 teams, out of 30, make the playoffs. They shouldn't even call it a post-season given how easy it is to make it. The Capitals are eliminated with a third of the season left, and more than half of the total teams in the league continuing on to the playoffs. It is one of the saddest things I have read in a while. They are not a good hockey team, or even a mediocre hockey team.
So I guess it is good that I moved on. Yup, good thing the Nationals are here, no chance for heartbreak there.
I am sure most of you have seen "Zoolander." When Derek goes to Hansel's he is introduced to a midget band called the Little Kingz. It is a good joke and all, little people are funny etc., except that they were (are?) a real band. I know, because I played a concert with them are the Grog and Tankard.* I can't find much information about them now, but they played punk music on miniature instruments. The whole concert was a zoo, filled with people in weird costumes who came to laugh at the little people. One of the band members name is Scott F-Word. I must admit that I don't understand why he only hints a profanity, given that he told me that they normally play strip clubs.
While searching for information on the Little Kingz I found this article. In it, the Kingz reveal that they thought of themselves as "the Jackie Robinsons of rock and roll." I understand if you need some time to fully digest that, I'll wait.
So who, you may ask, have bravely followed the path that the Little Kingz blazed. Well how about these guys:
This is MINI-KISS! I am not sure that I need to explain them, but they are a midget kiss cover tribute band. I wish them luck, although I am not sure you parody a band known mostly for make-up and comic books.
*I think the truth in advertising award should go to the Grog and Tankard. Their website perfectly illustrates what the place is like, and what you can expect when you go/play there.
I am not sure how far around the internet this has made, but let me recommend Party Ben's "Independent Room" mashup. You can find it down on the linked page. It is a mashup between Destiny's Child's "Independent Women" and Fugazi's "Waiting Room." The combination works surprisingly well. If you didn't know the two original songs, you would probably just think this is the way the song was written in the first place.
I have been reading this website Tricks of the Trade a lot recently. The premise is that people send in secrets of their job, little tips that you can gain only through experience. A lot of the tips are questionable, a few have even featured some pretty bad physics, but I find a lot of them plausible, even insightful. Take this trick for example:
"Wear a kilt when playing bagpipes on the street. You will make twice as much money than if you wear regular clothes."There is no way I am giving any change to a plain clothes bagpipe player. I am paying for the whole Scottish experience damn it, and that is what I expect.
