June 30th, 2009
A compendium of rock star moves performed by Will Sheff of Okkervil River at the Greek Theater, Berkeley, CA.
1) Hair flipping
2) Back to back guitar playing with main guitarist
3) Singing into the same mic with said guitarist
4) Jumping while rocking
5) Falling to knees while rocking
6) Sweating profusely
Posted in berkeley, music | No Comments »
June 29th, 2009
I didn’t really expect much to change today, but I think some things have. Decisions were made and things were said, and now things are a little different, in a way which I wouldn’t have necessarily imagined. Not out of the realm of possibilities, but some things clicked forward.
One important thing which is share-worthy. It appears like by the end of the year, the story of James and Chris will finally be splitting in two. It’s about time, really, in both our lives. Nevertheless, he’s been a constant presence in my life for a long time (since high-school, more or less). It will just be.. different in the future. How different, I guess we’ll see by the end of the year. We each have busy lives and have more or less lived independently - but we’ve always been there. He’s a great guy and I’m lucky to have had him as a room-mate - lives change, and it seems about right for this change to happen at this time.
In celebration, there was an epic alcohol-infused series of NHL Hitz games played (the best hockey game.. ever), which ended in a 2-1 game victory, the final game ended up as 14-13 Colorado/Detroit (the two best teams). The winner? James. Which I guess seems appropriate given our respective stages in life.
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June 28th, 2009
There are lots of places to get slightly poisoned (via alcohol) in the Bay Area, after multiple visits, I think I’m prepared to lay down that yes indeed, the Alembic in SF is my favorite bar in the Bay Area.
It has a near perfect mix of everything you want in a bar. Not too crowded, but never empty. Good level of ambient chatter and music, but never loud and annoying. Dark and moody without being seedy. Drinks which are both unique and delicious (and alcoholicious). Food which is never boring, always changes, and is not expensive. They will never rush you in any way, either, even if you’re just there for a drink. Great slogan too - “Good Friends and Great Enemies”. Badass.
Downsides are that they are in the SF Haight district, which has terrible parking, and you probably will get asked for money. But hey, that’s kind of the gritty-ish San Francisco charm at work. Alembic. Go there.
Posted in food, san francisco | 2 Comments »
June 26th, 2009
A lot of newer people in my life don’t know this, but I’ve been a technical writer for over a decade now. Looking back this evening, I found my original reviews dated back to 1998. Over the last decade, over 1,000 articles have been meticulously tapped out from these fingertips. This weekend, I’m finally closing out and letting go.
There’s no denying that I love working with computer hardware, figuring out how it all works and learning how to make it work better. I don’t know if that’s something I’ll ever lose, but over the past six months, cranking out articles has become painful to do. Something has just triggered off for me, and I really just kind of stopped caring. I suppose that’s burning out. I’ve let my editor know that I’m done, and after some back and forth arguing, I think he understands.
Writing has been good to me. It’s kept me always up to date with the bleeding edge of computer hardware, I’ve been able to make contacts with huge companies and get inside to see their internal operations, go to trade shows and mingle with important people, and of course, it’s provided a nice financial backdrop to my life as well. It’s a gig which lots of enthusiasts wish they had, and it’s been a difficult one to cut ties with, as it’s something I’ve grown up with. Alas, I’m 28 now and would like to have the mental energy to focus on other projects of my own, hopefully freeing me up to create something new and exciting for the next stage in life. Onwards.
Posted in writing | 4 Comments »
June 22nd, 2009
Grizzly Bear is an acquired taste. While it took a long time for me to “get” their previous album, “Yellow House”, their new record “Veckatimest” was something special, right off the bat. They rounded out their tour in San Francisco in the first of two shows at the Fillmore. Good choice. Thankfully, they put on a pretty solid set. The show started off on a much more up-tempo, harder-edged note compared to the soft, delicate Grizzly Bear sound which most are used to. In a live environment, this stood out as a good thing. Over time, the songs became softer, sleepier, and dreamier, and more in tune with what Grizzly Bear is known for. They even threw in some older tracks like Knife, Little Brother, and (my personal favorite) Colorado. All were slightly different compared to the album versions, which made them interesting. Plus, really well done lighting. As challenging as they can be as a band to get into, they are rewarding, and there is /something/ really special there. They were one of the few bands which I’d wanted to, but never got the chance to see live. I’m glad I’m seeing them now, on the verge of becoming huge, rather than later on in their career. Up next, Wilco/Okkervil River! Yes!
Posted in music, san francisco | 1 Comment »
June 21st, 2009
I descended a dusty gravel ridge beneath the Bixby Canyon Bridge.
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June 20th, 2009
I do more before 9 AM than most people do all day. Being a morning person often has its advantages. (Big Sur, CA)
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June 17th, 2009
Over the next two months, I’m going to be taking on a lot of projects. Learning how to cook pork belly. Learning how to shoot night shots overseas. Labeling my spoons. Growing a beard. The list goes on. The most immediate project which is taking priority is a re-do of the white room. Not only am I getting custom-fitted acrylic sheets made for the room, but I’m also going to break the white room off from the rest of my Flickr stream. It doesn’t fit in quite that well anymore. In place, it’s going to have its own Flickr stream and site, dedicated to nothing more than weird stuff which I find in life, photographed in deliciously pure floating white goodness. The queue for products which I want to shoot in the new white room is sizable indeed.
Posted in photography | 4 Comments »