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So I’m flipping through channels this morning, doing my best to just maintain a null state for a while, and what comes up? Why, only the best concert movie in the history of ever, Prince’s Sign ‘o the Times!!!!1!1

Not only is SotT my #1 personally most influential album of all time, but I watched the movie on VHS so many times that I wore through the tape.

The music of SotT is the ultimate expression of Prince’s most fecund songwriting period (‘84-86, mainly, though up to the epiphany in ‘88). The songs of this era were, in my opinion, his most adventurous (yet still accessible); at no other time period would he write something like Ballad of Dorothy Parker, Starfish & Coffee, and team them up with Housequake, Adore, and U Got the Look. This period of his career is essentially a taste explosion, and who doesn’t love a taste explosion? A taste explosion… in your earhole, baby!

The movie captures both his energy and his knockdown awesome live show, with a great band, interesting stage activities, and kickass music. And the 9 minute “Gonna be a beautiful night” is live R&B at it’s finest.

This movie, in addition to the album, shaped much of my conception of the ideal in music performance and composition. Watching it today, after many years and as a much better musician, I was just as impressed as the first time, though I was struck by different things. Some were as striking, like Sheila E. in her see-through two-piece one-legged FloJo suit. That was definitely still striking (she can also play a hell of a drum). Where was I? Striking, oh yes. Tightness of the band, the interesting changes to he makes for live music as opposed to the studio, the turns, the stage acting, the kick drum…

Unfortunately the movie is no-…. holy shit it’s finally out on DVD! Have to get it through importers, though, but yes! Finally!
… had to go order it, back now. Anyway, if you want the DVD, order through Amazon.ca, the only version available from amazon.com is the Brazillian import, which is missing the Dolby 5.0 treatment.

Um, where was I? I don’t know. All I know is that Sign o’ the Times was playing on TV, I was enraptured and giddy like a child. There was probably some mouthbreathing and drool as well.

Good times.

There are a lot of cliches of which I am aware but have never viscerally got. I can understand them intellectually and picture what I think they would look like, but I don’t feel them so much (this is one of the main reasons I am so horrible at acting, and partially to blame for my lack of affect).

One of these phrases that I knew but never knew relates to someone with a “haunted look” in their eyes. I can picture the famous 10,000 yard stare of the soldiers with shellshock in WW1, but I never really understood on a molecular level quite what that phrase meant or what that looked like on a real person.

Until I saw myself in the mirror this morning.

Which was weird, since I don’t particularly think of myself as haunted. Just stressed. Anyway, I was looking at myself and I thought, now there is the definition of someone who looks haunted. Wait, that’s you! WTF?

We’re now entering the “batshit crazy” portion of my program, please fasten your seatbelts.

For the first time in about 18 months, I’m back to averaging over 6mph over 32 minutes in my cardio workouts. I know that may not sound like much to you, but it was one of my goals. And re-reaching it made me happy.

Now the only problem is the defining of a new goal. The next “real” mph goal is 9mph, and I’m not really sure my body is the kind designed for 9mph-type activities. The other option is more time… but that’s just boring.

Update: dammit, slideback on D6+1. 5.95mph average on same course. Boo.

Except for that talent and storytelling things, I’m right there.

The second one’s more on point, but you need the intro to his story that starts partway through the first one above to really understand.

This is getting eerie. Even the zipper thing happened to me once!

And then he does cool stuff like making a short parody of one of YouTube’s most famous vids and a special intro for the YouTube peepsalong with a behind the scenes thing and a trailer release straight to YouTube. So, yeah, he gets the whole social network thing, I’m thinking. Also, he blogs.

For triple extra bonus points of synchonicity weirdness, the Hey song he’s parodying/using? Is also on point, lyrically speaking.

I wonder why I have to live my life when so many other people are apparently living it for me. Heh.

I met this woman today who named her dog ‘bootsy’.

… As in Bootsy Collins! Bootzilla! The playa of the year! The grandmaster of funk! Stretchin’ out in a rubber band! (FSM, I love bootsy).

I told her it was the coolest name ever. Then I proposed to her. Because that’s what you do to strangers with cool dog names. Propose. Apparently, the proper response to such proposals is to scream, clutch Bootsy, and run away.

I think the wedding’s scheduled for next week. Gimme your address and I’ll get you an invite. Actually, if you can gimme her address as well, this will be a lot easier.

This morning, trying to get to work … the bridge was up.

This evening, trying to get home from work … SWAT has closed down multiple blocks of the street upon which my bus travels.

Sweeeeeet.

Update: it was actually a crazy anti-Israel sniper attacking a jewish club. At least one fatality known.

Interesting hearing the spread and inaccuracy of rumor.

I am less than 9 miles as-the-car-drives from my house to the airport parking garage. Getting to the airport is faster than getting groceries. Go figure.

I spent almost an hour today talking to and charming the nice southern belle Amurka lover who rides my bus today. She really does like to talk and, as she’d finished her book and had nothing else to do she was raring to go.

I was being personable and so we chatted, from pickup to dropoff + 15 minutes after being dropped off about all sorts of things. The books she likes (safe mysteries, no scifi, no fantasy, nothing bloody. She doesn’t like Sherlock Holmes because of the drug use. She really likes Nicholas Sparks, but not Raymond Chandler, Tom Robbins, or Christopher Moore). The changes in our area (she loves the gentrification and is really happy to have a Barnes & Noble nearby. Barnes & Noble is a Good Thing). The design, interior colors, and price of my house and some similar McTownhomes just completed up the street. Her house and her additions thereto (she added a second level to the back with about 500ft2 and has four ceiling fans but no central air). Her relatives in Alabama and how she paints her walls white because when her nieces and nephews come to stay they write on them (I couldn’t tell if it was to encourage the writing upon or if it was that white was easier to just paint over with).

She was alarmed to learn I am an attorney (like self-conscious alarmed, as if she didn’t want to speak any more. She got over it in a few seconds and said I was only the second attorney she’d ever met), and didn’t know what the educational requirements were to become one. She also seemed disapproving that I left the area to go to law school (why would I leave here, when it’s got everything?). We talked about her friend who’s having trouble with Medicare and the problem with the doughnut in the current setup. And the anxiety she feels about the elderly being taken advantage of, and I for my part stated my desire to ensure that the powerless be given the same chances as the powerful. I also assured her that Social Security is solvent through at least 2070 after she threw out the canard about SS going bankrupt. I think I worried her about Medicare, though. Oops.

It was pretty awesome, really. I almost felt like I was carrying a parasol and sipping a mint julep or two. And, miracle of miracles, I don’t think I pissed her off at any point nor did I make her feel as if I wanted to leave (which was easy, since I was perfectly fine chatting. And some people say I’m a cold, inhuman fish. Can you imagine? Heh).

So here’s to you, Wanda. Keep on truckin.

Temperature update: the heatwave broke last night sometime after 2am. All is temperate now. Thank goodness.

but the air temperature in my house is now greater than my skin temperature. Seriously. Ugh.

Got lots of other posts stored up, but I’m both mulling over my own thoughts, formulating how I can express this turmoil… and waiting until my keyboard isn’t melting. And my neighbors aren’t having a big polka fest at 120dB. I’m only kidding about that last part being a reason I’m not posting, they’re totally pumping the oompa oompa. And it’s norteno, not polka … but who can tell the difference really.

You know, after a few hours you really start to appreciate the sublime joys of the oompah oompah.

OK, I’ve retreated to the basement now… where it’s only 90 instead of 100. If only I had a hammock…

There’s this girl who has a popular vlog on YouTube. I’m not quite sure why she’s popular other than that she’s pretty in that young way and has a calm, nonidiotic demeanor. I don’t find her content compelling, but then again, I’m not 17. She Daniel does do a good job with the editing/production values. Gotta love the Mac, eh?

Anyway, she’s very young. And she put up a vlog called “Boy Problems…”, which is about her friend, a boy, who likes her in that way, but she hadn’t considered that possibility:

Anyway, uber mundane. And an act, I’m sure. Happens every day, possibly multiple times per person (particularly for women who put themselves in such positions). Here’s the genius part, though: another guy does vlogs reviewing other vlogs, and he did a review of the Boy Problems one:

The 1:25 – 2:45 segment is the key bit. Good ending too. The Renetto guy, now him I find compelling.

Update: been watching more Renetto. I think I’m going to write his name in the next election. One more original + response after the jump. (more…)

YouTube fails me for the first time, no video for Prince’s Beautiful Ones… which is what’s playing in my head, particularly the crescendo. It’s not dead on point, but it’s what my subconscious radio station KCSM chose to play. Bad night, trouble processing, can’t sleep… and it’s annoying. Shit, man, at least let me get some fuckin shuteye.

This’ll have to do as an almost equivalent proxy.

Registered yet another new domain name today. I could tell you about it, but I’ll need a NDA first. Heh. I’m poised to make tens of dollars here. TENS, I tell you!

It’s like 1999 all over again.

Here’s a sneak peek:

that no one except me will remember, but Anita Ekberg was in La Dolce Vita, not 8 1/2. My bad.

In my favor, at the time of my speculation I had not yet seen either LDV or 8 1/2. Now I’ve rectified my LDV ignorance (it’s a great film). Ekberg’s character in LDV, Sylvia, is also remarkably close to someone I know.

Weird, huh.

OK, imagine a story (or a series of stories) where the protagonist does good (or tries to do good), and their entire motivation is increasing their amount of positive karma. I guess it’s like Earl except that it’s proactive good karma rather than karmic atonement. Unintended consequences. Hilarity ensues.

Oh well, it was a thought.

Remember how I moved CMo hosting out of my house and onto dedicated hosts because my power kept going out and the infrastructure here is poor?

Message from my host:

This evening (July 14th) from about 5:25pm-6:55pm many of our servers were offline causing significant downtime for many of our users. The outage was due to a severe power outage in the north end of Orem, Utah where our servers are located. We do have UPS backup as well as diesel generators, but at about 5:30 they finally gave out. The power outage was for much longer than that period of time, but the reserve power was eventually consumed in its entirety.

Hah!