Thursday, March 22, 2012

Sarah Vowell

Sarah Vowell came to Dallas on Tuesday and spoke about her new book, Unfamiliar Fishes, at First Methodist Church. Unfamiliar Fishes is her take on Hawaiian history, and the interesting story of its annexation by the Union of these United States.

She was clever and funny, and maybe I'll be able to post some video I took of her interview with Krys Boyd of KERA. Wish now I had bought a copy of the book and stuck around to have it signed.

Sound on my little digital camera isn't the best, and unfortunately, I was asked to stop recording. Which I did. Which was stupid, because, frankly, what the hell are they going to do, call the Kodak police? I think I could have dealt with the young people they had working crowd control. Then again, maybe not.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Low Tech

I was watching the NCAA tournament the other day on a plasma television, and it occurred to me I miss the scan lines. I like the lower resolution of analog TV. I also like the resolution and look of old glossy photos, Kodak instamatic prints and 35mm and the like. Instagram has apparently enjoyed success with iPhone users because they allow you to make nostalgic looking photos, imitating the look of old Kodak snapshots. I like the static feedback of AM radio, particularly in a car late at night traveling on interstates. My radio has a cassette tape player I still use sometimes. I'm not a collector of vinyl records, but some people prefer their sound. I still have a VCR I pop movies in now and then.

I'll continue to use all this obsolete crap, probably as long as it's convenient to do so. Some media is still available in used, second-hand stores. I don't see a point in seeking out expensive solutions to using old media, such as purchasing an expensive 8-track tape player however. I've read that some people are seeking out these long dead technologies, primarily because of a particular aesthetic. I know a few local bands released their album on 8 track, as well as digital formats of course.

Does all of this represent a trend? A movement? Probably not. Nothing is as convenient as Mr. Computer, and this is all alot of rambling crap. I'm going to use whatever is convenient to play music or watch a movie, whether its popping a CD in, or ripping it to my computer to play. Off to Pandora and Youtube.

Friday, March 09, 2012

View

I have a view of the Trinity River greenbelt. I can see the blinking red radio towers of Dallas, and the floodlit spire of the University of Dallas. Across the street is one of those office strips, empty space with tinted black glass windows. An aluminum pole with a fluorescent bulb illuminates the parking lot. When I moved in, the roof above my balcony had a small wasp nest, probably evacuated since the fall. The weather has turned cold dropping into the 50s. I can watch flights make their slow approach to DFW airport to my northwest. Restaurants and bars fill my neighborhood. Tow trucks circle the parking lot looking for people without permits, club-goers who can't park in the full lot up the street. Their weekend will start to suck, sometime around closing.

Monday, March 05, 2012

McRibster

McDonald's in Austria have a new McRib sandwich. It takes the McRib sandwich, deep fries the pork, and adds bacon, pepper-jack cheese, and honey mustard sauce. They are calling it the "McRibster."

Klaus Untger, an Austrian banker, was pronounced dead in Vienna today after biting into a McRibster. Witnesses say his heart instantly clogged and blood shot out of both of his ears a distance of 12 feet in both directions.

Sunday, March 04, 2012

Margaret Hunt Hill Calatrava Bridge opens

The Margaret Hunt Hill bridge opened this past weekend. Jim Schutze wrote a good article in the Observer reviewing its past. He also pointed out driving over the bridge may cause spontaneous death. Well, you may drive off the side, maybe you won't die. So it's being referred to as being "open." Which is to say it's closed.

More bridges are planned.

You wouldn't think the Trinity River needed a bridge designed by a famous architect. But you'd be wrong.

Thursday, March 01, 2012

Pavane

I read a book review this evening about a book called Pavane, a story of an alternate history where the Catholic Church keeps mankind in the Dark Ages. It sounded interesting.

Then I read Rush Limbaugh's comments about a student at Georgetown who thinks insurance companies should pay for contraception.

Then I had one of those Philip K Dick moments where I felt like my reality might be bleeding into somebody else's reality.