Flamenco Electronica
Saw Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra again, this time at The Catalyst. I managed to shoot some video [info] before a bouncer asked me to stop. I was encouraged to take a few pictures of the scene.
We grooved on the virtuosic percussion and guitar work. This is music that anyone can enjoy, yet I think we were the youngest folks at the show.
Afterwards, Eric and I met Ottmar and exchanged company-swag for neuvomatic. We got to hang out a bit with Canton and learn a little more about his taplight setup.
They're zigzagging all over the country this Fall, tightly. Check out Ottmar's blog for the latest touring wisdom.
September 18, 2003
Impressions of a Burning Man
Went to see Confessions of a Burning Man at the most ironic of locations today: The Sony Metreon in San Francisco.
In a side theatre staffed by the actors and producers of the film, we sat in uncomfortable seats and enjoyed the perspective of several people who seemed vaguely familiar, filmed in 2001 - our last trip to Burning Man.
The entire experience - from the switched-on director who greeted me as I bought expensive tickets, to the informal seating, to the all-too-short film itself - reminded me of the Burning Man experience. The final touch was AFTER the screening.
After wandering through someone's BM-inspired art installation, writing in small books, and trying to find ourselves or familiar scenes in 360-degree panoramic photos, we encountered one of our protagonists, Rose, selling homemade baked goods. We got the good story of what's happened for them in the past two years (akin to our story), and talked again about Going this year.
Considering how difficult it is to boil down a weeklong experience of survival art community into less than 2 hours of cinema, participatory art, and personal connection, I found the whole thing quite satisfying and a little inspiring. If you can stomach the capitalism of the Metreon, I recommend bringing some folks who haven't been to the desert and writing me with their reaction!
September 14, 2003
Labor Dabor
Had a relaxing honeymoon cruise to Baha, through LA (thanks M&D!), and back up to Napa. Read a great book: The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown - highly recommended. Ran into a friend from high school on Catalina - they couldn't make it to the wedding at the last minute, but we saw them here by chance - excellent serendipity!
Now, right back into macromedia launch madness on Labor Day!
Well, at least I have Strong Bad Emails to console me. That, and my my lovely wife. :)
September 1, 2003
New Best Day of My Life
Totally open to the love around us
An impression of one long, large gift
Had a new best day of my life yesterday
Got married and smiled all day long
It was perfect
August 24, 2003
Bach Party
What some might find eccentric I found slightly reminiscent of other parties in the middle of nowhere.
We came, we danced, we played. We made merry. We made mince of some beer cans.
Yes, there were girls, but bikini tops were mandatory.
August 10, 2003
Butterfly's Pendulum
Benjamin Butterfly gave his PhD defense this morning. I watched it via live video stream from the Media Lab. This was his ending slide - a stylized butterfly.
Congratulations, Ben!
July 21, 2003
TheSquare.com Peg
Mer and I went to TheSquare.com Bay Area Happy Hour and somehow my picture landed on the front page - under Singles! Oh, the irony.
We actually tried to pretend that we had just met, but we couldn't pull it off without laughing. It was fun, though - we met some interesting people, commiserated about the jobless rate in the Bay Area, and generally schmoozed it up.
Feel free to post a comment if you were there!
March 5, 2003
A to the G
The greatest dot-com loser story ever told:
A refugee from the bubble seeks a job in Atlanta
and is humiliated. Repeatedly.
"The chicken show"
by Andrew Grant
My arrival in Atlanta lacked appropriate fanfare. No winsome blond belle greeted my plane, delicately boned hand upturned and cupping a gently ripened peach. I noticed the distinct absence of a military band playing a rousing rendition of "Dixie" in time with my heavy footfalls. Nowhere in sight was a swarthy limo driver in a fedora clutching a sign to his chest scrawled with my name. In fact, there was nothing at all to indicate that Atlanta was even remotely aware of my arrival. This was disappointing, as it's not every day that the City of a Hundred Hills welcomes a man of my stature. Twenty-five, overweight, unemployed and recently "relocated" to my parents' house in New Jersey, I am truly a man in full. Read more ...