Well, it's that time of year -- specifically when one year is about to give way to another -- and strewn across Facebook and elsewhere you can easily find people regretting 2011...wishing 2011 would suffer eternal damnation...requesting 2011 would self-gratify, etc.  As a general rule (at least thus far) you won't find me playing along with that, as another year of life -- no matter how bad -- almost certainly beats the alternative, tho I can imagine from where those folks are coming.  Other places -- blogs and other journal-y entities -- see their authors recapping the entire year through a chronological lens.  There's nothing inherently wrong with this either, as it's a neat little way to summarize the previous twelve months and bring back some memories.

Speaking of memories...it took me awhile to remember what it was I actually did last NYE.  Ahh, right: I very nearly rang in the new year in the midst of the composition of a blog post.  That post in particular was the culmination of a year's-worth of My Life in Music, and appropriately enough was a jaunty ramble about my #1 most favorite-est song...at least as of 12/31/2010.  In a neat little bit of symmetry, you might even say that this past year -- you know, 2011, the one that lots of people hated -- was my #1 year of life.  But ahh, would *I* say the same?  Y'know...maybe?  Let's say it's tied for first with some other years and leave it there for now.

I don't know that a lot exactly, you know, *happened* for 2011 to earn such lofty praise.  The spring semester was essentially pretty disappointing; I had three classes at the university, one of which could barely conceal its contempt for my methods/discipline/existence, and another of which did a commendable job of caging that contempt and unleashing it on the teacher evaluations.  I was uncertain about my future in such a career (and, *cough*, may still be) and even applied back at the local National Labs.  I didn't get the job...nor an interview...nor even a call back.  No big; the school actually had two instructor positions that opened up in the summer for which I applied.  I didn't get the job...nor an interview...nor even a call back.  Tho the woman in charge did have the decency to write a 30-second email in response to my groveling phone message.

My personal satisfaction improved in the fall, even if the professional results were somewhere between limp and comatose.  This time I had 5.5 classes, and the rate of success of the students actually seemed to vary inversely with how much our personalities meshed.  I do indeed still get angry when people who have no business failing their final exam do so anyhow, tho I'm proud of myself for not feeling similarly when those whom I expect to fail the final end up passing.  Who knew that my quiet class would see an 80% pass rate while the loquacious lovable "zoo" would only get 50% through?

To say that the social side of life provides the impetus towards such lofty 2011 rating doesn't feel particularly accurate either.  In 2010 I frequently played trivia and volleyball.  In 2011 I...frequently played trivia and volleyball.  Oh, and there was also the Ultimate Frisbee league from the summer, a wonderful time of exercise and socializing and, err, playoff lament.  I think last year I was putting up a front on how satisfied I was with sitting at home by myself when the calendar rolled over, and I'm partaking in the same activity with the same "company" today.

But I truly don't think I'm carrying the same mindset.  You may notice up there that I skipped over summer almost entirely, and that was by design.  This summer harkened back to summers past, and the one I kept visualizing was 1992.  I wasn't old enough to drive, nor work, and had essentially no responsibility except to live it up -- which, at that point, involved a lot of working out at the weightroom, late-night sports (basketball at Acoma Park I believe), and hanging out with friends.  And this summer saw an absurd amount of the same -- well, ok, it was volleyball here in town and I actually had a couple of classes -- with the same amount of carefree glee from what felt like a lifetime ago.  In fact, one night at the local volleyball bar I decided to get the two worlds to collide -- singing God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You II, this time into a karaoke microphone, the previous time(s) almost two decades prior at the SMHS sand courts on a quintessential steamy Phoenix summer evening.

Three months of grand fun -- three or four nights of trivia a week, 1:30am summertime volleyball curfews, mostly empty weightroom -- doth not make for a year's-worth of beautiful memories.  But with age comes maturity, or perspective, or maybe (hopefully not!) lowered-expectations, and it all came together nicely at Ultimate playoffs -- possibly due to a sprinting-induced hallucination, who knows?  I looked out at the beautiful sky that had graced our August day and just felt totally at ease.  It seems like I say the same thing at least once a year, but anyhow, here it comes (again?): life is good, and specifically this life is good.  It's not the one I ever expected to have, and certain aspects (like, say, the uncertainty and moderate remuneration that comes with being essentially an itinerant university algebra instructor) could stand to see some improvement.  Those same certain aspects could be significantly worse too.  But either way, they're mine, and foreseen or otherwise -- there's really a lot about which to be happy here.  That kid spending hours playing Castle Wolfenstein and (occasionally!) draining the J into the metal nets at the park wouldn't have traded those nights and memories for anything; why can't the (occasional!) adult feel the same way about the same fun in the here-and-now?

A wage not significantly more than my mortgage...multiple drinks on multiple work nights lasting past 10pm...leisurely workouts on and off the court 4x a week -- it can't last forever.  The part of me that loves it now may someday get swallowed whole by the would-be husband/father/full-time-employee/actually-useful-around-the-house-for-once human that may or may not actually exist.  A smooth transition would be wonderful, and hitting the snooze button and living this past summer (or the one 19.5 years ago) again may not be so bad either.  Sounds like a good situation, no?

I hereby salute you, 2011; you were good to me.  And here's to a great 2012.

(P.S. Hey, you in Hawaii!  I didn't forget about you -- see that part about 2012?  See you then!)

The fact that I'm able to recollect things nearly a month after they happened indicates, to me at least, that this must've been a pretty awesome week.  Read on and decide for yourself.

( WSC Finals + Sightseeing )

Somehow the bunch of us staggered safely back to the hotel, and a healthy night of sleep was in order.  Which, of course, doesn't mean it happened.  I seem to recall another night of puzzle-racing, theoretically intended to set the stage for a surprisingly decent finish in the next morning's pending WPC.  Did it work?  Stay tuned.

After one of the more idyllic Thanksgivings in recent memory -- boneless Buffalo wings, hard cider, NFL game, NCAA football game, UNM basketball game, NTN trivia, NYT crossword, cute waitress -- it's time to talk more Hungary.

( WSC Round 8-13 )

With it getting near 2am by that time, I think we wrapped things up.  Which is fair since, with it getting near 4am right now, I should do the same.  If you made it this far, thanks for reading, congratulations, and have another Red Bull.

After a week of decompressing back in the US, it's time to finally put to text some tales from one of the funnest weeks of my life.

( WSC Round 1-7, Pop Music Quiz )

I'm going to post the pictures from each day of adventures after I write them up.  Those of you on Fb can peruse each album as it goes up (as one will be doing so pretty soon here).

The longest overseas excursion of my life began this past Friday (sort of) with a ludicrously quick visit to the NY/NJ area.  Here's some mildly entertaining details...

( Whoa, cool, I'm in Hungary! )

Next time I'll get around to the actual Eger experience, including some long-winded lowbrow narrative on what's gone right and what more has gone wrong during the various championships.  Thanks for reading.

The USWNT soccer game vs. Brazil at the Women's World Cup had some absolutely breathtaking and fantastic moments.  Not surprisingly, the post mortem commentary about the game has been some combination of hyperbolic, patronizing, and ridiculously blind to the big picture.

As best I can tell it's also gone unchecked.  Let's change that.

( If that's your best, your best won't do )
Annnnnd...I think that's everything.  Let's go USA!  Two to go!

At some point within the last few months I decided to go Hockey Nuts and get heavily invested in the season.  Watching some old Buffalo footage -- with all its attendant nostalgia, sure, but even thinking about how it must've been for my family when news came that their hometown was getting a hockey team -- turned me into more than just the April-June (or April-May...or April-(Late-April)) fan I'd been of the last decade.  And with all the news about Phoenix losing the Coyotes...or not...yes...no...it was now or never to get serious.

But hockey's always been funny, as back in those big hockey days of my undergraduate years, I'd convinced myself I was also a partial fan of a few more teams, and could easily get temporarily behind other teams.  Geographic location could factor in, as could the presence of my preferred players...criminy, maybe uniform colors, who knows?

Anyhow, as we head into the final regulation period of the final contest of the year, I present the scorecard -- for whom I was pulling in each playoff series, a probably specious reason why, and how they did in the series.  The results?  Not good.

( The Cooler is IN! )

See ya next year, hockey!

Happy New Year!

I was provided with a healthy dose of nostalgia last night.  I wouldn't say I was expecting it, despite my general nostalgic bent, and it left me kind of emotional, for reasons I couldn't entirely explain away at the time.  Let's see how I do now.

For starters, I now possess one fewer giftcard than I did 30 hours ago.  It wasn't stolen or anything -- I just used it up, as is the typical way these things go.  I had grown somewhat attached to it, as it had sat on my nightdresser (like a nightstand but bigger!) for almost the last 14 months, with precisely $27.02 remaining on it.

Where did the other original $72.98 go?  Well, that's the thing.  I returned last night, for a get-to-know gathering (for me at least -- they all knew each other, but I'd only previously met 28.6% of them) , to the place of my second-most-recent first-date.  Near the start of last year I'd met somebody and thought I'd try to impress her with a visit to an overhyped and overpriced national chain joint, at which we spent nearly $73 on not a lot of food and 3-4 drinks total.  Did it work?  I guess so; the relationship that ensued was probably the most fruitful of my life, and lasted well into the summer.  It goes without saying that it lasts no longer, tho based on the interactions between the two of us over the last nine months, that was almost certainly a foregone conclusion.

The thing is, tho, the last time I was at that place it was anything but a dead-end.  It was a totally lively and exciting new opportunity, and the sky was the limit.  Which, ironically (?), sounds almost exactly the same as "This guy's the limit", which might explain why it went from unbounded opportunity to its (un?)timely conclusion at a relatively brisk pace; I'm to blame as I never know what I want.  Or something like that.

So why all the nostalgia?

I recall one time back around 2002 -- around the time I was set to leave Arizona for New Mexico -- I visited the dorm from the first semester of my freshman year.  I don't recall why, and am frankly at a loss as to how I got past the front desk sentinel, to whom residents would regularly have to flash some sort of decal on their student ID.  I must've just been in the neighborhood and wanted to pay some last respects to the place of my earliest memories of ASU -- as limited and truly forgetful as they now are and almost certainly were then.

Anyhow -- and with a full understanding that this was extremely unlikely to happen -- when I visited the stairwell that led up to my room on the fifth-floor, I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the younger me, generic portable tape-player in hand, trudging on up or down those stairs as I had hundreds of times years before.  I was also woefully under-equipped for this task -- no hallucinogens or even alcohol was in my system at the time -- and the visuals didn't include the recent high school graduate me, no matter how hard I tried.  But recollecting the spirit of that time -- the mindset of a carefree new college student unburdened by anything resembling responsibility -- took me back.  The younger me, had he come barging in on his way to the computer lab or cafeteria or something, would never have recognized the NM-bound me -- except maybe for the same lacking fashion sense and the countless cowlicks.  And even at his best he never would've guessed how my life would have gone in those following years.  He might not have even cared to find out.

Snap back to last night.  This time I actually had partaken in plenty of liquid courage, and even though I could see the booth where she and I had sat 14 months prior, the visuals again stubbornly stayed hidden in the recesses of my mind.  I remember what we ordered (at least the drinks), what she was wearing, and where we went afterward (even if the two of us lost at trivia by six or so to the juggernaut team).  But furthermore, I remember the nervous energy, followed by fits and spurts of comfort and confidence, and the general positive vibe each of us was offering the other.  And I remember the sheer exhilaration at finally (!!) having found that particular someone.

Which brings us to the giftcard, one of the last tangible reminders of that night.  It was indistinguishable from the first time I used it, aside from perhaps imperceptible marks from the one time it had been swiped fourteen months prior.  But nearly everything else about that night had changed.  She and I had fizzled something fierce, she found someone new, I found someone new, I unfound someone new, and am back to the drawing board like so many times before.  I've seen her four times in the last nine months, thrice by accident/coincidence.  I anticipate an equal (or lesser) amount of interaction over the next nine months.

Of course this all takes for granted what else I didn't know at the time.  We were about to totally hit it off!  My flimsy game actually held up for once!  We went to Vegas, Disneyland, and even a bloody MC Hammer concert!  I met her father!  None of this qualifies as a life-changing experience (except the concert, of course), but had a commensurate amount of compatibility accompanied our mutual attraction, it all would matter (now) a great deal.  And it all would've essentially began at that restaurant.  With that giftcard.

Well it's gone now, even the artistically rendered piece of plastic from my nightdresser.  When I paid with the giftcard (plus another $10 -- that double margarita wasn't cheap!) I was taken aback for a bit.  The memories are mostly positive, but to go from a triumphant first-date to somewhere between lonely and loner isn't the trajectory any of us has in mind.  And while last night's get-together was the highlight of an otherwise pretty decent day anyhow, it, like many other aspects of my present life, would not have been foreseen by the giddy dude in the booth making silly wisecracking smalltalk to the accommodating attractive brunette.

I can safely admit to myself that I want to go back.  No, not in time (although, now that I think about it...).  And not necessarily to that restaurant, even for my faithful (former!) giftcard.  And not even to that particular female; we did the best we could.

But to that feeling.  I miss that feeling of unfettered expectation that accompanied that night and, for a time there, that relationship.  Here's hoping it finds its way back to me, once more.

And may the next time I have one of these attempted nostalgic vision episodes, it involve looking back at this message and wondering how maxing out a giftcard could stir up all this emotion.

Well, what began on January 2nd of this past year will be ending essentially when the year ends.  It's been a rather, umm, verbose journey.  A few thoughts before the curtain comes down...

Special thanks go out to those willing to comment -- you know who you are.  I will readily admit that I often post things with an eye towards reading those same thoughts weeks or months later, with nary (or at least not many) a thought towards what anyone reading might think.  But still, the point here wasn't to actually be entirely avoided.  This was more unread(able?) than I would have liked, but it was nice to know at least somebody out there was following along...or at least playing my silly wordplay game.

The good people at SongMeanings.net deserve some mention too.  Aside from a Wikipedia entry, most songs don't have any real authoritative source on their origins and meanings, and thanks to SM...well, they still don't.  But reading the impressions of meaning from a bunch of other amateurs often helped me clarify mine, or sometimes even find it in the first place.  It seems like a good site, I hope you'll give it a look.

Lastly, in addition to whomever I'm forgetting, I'd like to thank the artists whose music has been a part of my life for as long as i can recall.  I really don't watch television or movies or read books or visit art museums or take part in any number of other forms of expression out there.  But I listen to music, and for the last twenty years it's been a big part of me.  And not just because of all the trash trivia questions I occasionally got on the subject either.

And now, with only a few more lines of further ado...

( #1 )

Thanks for reading and playing youse guy(s).  I hope you enjoyed it.  Here's to a great 2011.

Almost thurr...

( #3 - #2 )

Happy New Year's Eve eve!

( #6 - #4 )

Greetings, single digits.

( #10 - #7 )

Next stop, Albuquerque!

( #15 - #11 )

And down the stretch we come...

( #20 - #16 )

I write these stupid words...and I love *every* one.

( #30 - #21 )

Greetings from rainy Phoenix!

( #40 - #31 )

Lazy Monday (and Tuesday)!

( #50 - #41 )

Brrrrrrr.

( #60 - #51 )

Superhyperintensive blogging week continues...

( #70 - #61 )

We're back, we're back...for...more...

( #80 - #71 )

Rollin' rollin' rollin...

( #90 - #81 )

Into double-digits we go...

( #100 - #91 )Refreshments, The -- Interstate

2001: 8 of 100
2003: 61 of 200
2006: 70 of 200
2009: 97 of 250

Ahh, that rarest of rare birds; the pensive Refreshments' tune.  Amongst all their smirk rock about boob jobs and rock'n'roll outlaws you can occasionally find these sorts of thoughtful gems, which have a respectable batting average for a style that's a surprising strong suit for Roger Clyne.

To me, in spite of the best efforts of Nada, Don't Wanna Know, and Una Soda -- plus a slew of Peacemakers' tunes -- this is his best slowish song...and most thoughtful too.  Two of his most premium lines find a home here -- "Over there at the trailer park they got a million souls in the lost and found" and "No I don't need a miracle but I could use a push in the right direction" -- the former of which looks deeper but the latter of which has always done more to/for me.

Ok, so it's so thoughtful that it's got some deep meaning, no?  Umm...perhaps.  As has been well established via this chart thing, I don't really get a whole lot of depth, certainly if it's not from GBV.  So my noob impression here is...the narrator is just "out to sea" (metaphorically) while aimlessly traveling the formerly wild west by beat-up Ford.  Did he do something that's got him on the run from John Q. Law and Juan Federale?  Maybe, maybe not.  Judging from the guy's general ambivalence towards all things life, he feels excessively guilty about something, be it legal trouble or that he's wasting his life.  I think it's more meaningful if the guy's just one of those souls in the lost and found (as opposed to this being a slowed-down Take the Money and Run), so let's go with it.

But maybe that's just my eagerness to write myself into songs (combined with my lack of a criminal record) that's talking.  This song entered my life during grad school in the early 2000's, right around the time...well, a significant number of people (or so it felt) were heading away from my life.  And I'm pleased to report I rarely used that time to sit around and mope; hopping in the car to drive around and mope was a lot more (relatively) pleasant.  I never got to the point where I was entirely despondent or clinically depressed, so I never felt like I needed a miracle...just,, you know, a push in the right direction.  But hey, at some point don't we all?

I've not sung this at karaoke, but I've probably screamed it along with Rog and the boys at around a dozen concerts over the last ten years.  That's gotta count for something.

Beatles, The -- Here Comes the Sun

2001: H
2003: H
2006: 56 of 200
2009: 96 of 250 -- top song by this artist on the chart

I believe you would be hard-pressed to find a song whose title is more adequately expressed by its lyrics and music than Here Comes the Sun.  If guitar could ever be described as sunny, this is it.  The warmth is furthered along by the simple turns of phrases...the long and lonely winter is gone, people are smiling again, the ice is slowly melting...everything's going to be ok.  Even the vocal fill -- "It's alright", "Sun sun sun here it comes", and "Doo doo do doo" -- evoke simple pleasure of Harry Caray's favorite planet, the sun.  It should be the favorite planet of all of us as well.

The deep meaning behind the song is...well, George hated the long English winter, and it had finally come to an end.  Whether intended or not, this is ripe territory for other interpretations.  Suffice to say, should this song pop into my head the moment I meet The One, I'll come back and addend this entry.

Pantera -- Mouth for War

2001: 48 of 100
2003: O(wned but not ranked)
2006: O
2009: 95 of 250 -- top song by this artist on the chart

I haven't said this too much lately, but here's another track one, side one, this time not from a CD but from my dilapidated cassette copy of Vulgar Display of Power.  As far as it goes, this has to be one of the best first few moments of any album I own, as the boys don't waste any time getting loud and heavy.  And the first words of the song just scream revenge.  No, really, Phil just screams "REVENGE!!".  In a more vengeful time of my life, this had a lot more meaning -- and it still does now, but more simply because it's a great song.  Indeed, it's my favorite song by one of the greatest thrash metal bands of all time.  "The releasing of anger can better any medicine under the sun" is true down to its core, fits perfectly with the music, and references the almost therapeutic nature of listening to Pantera.  Good run guys.

Nirvana -- Breed

2001: O
2003: 59 of 200
2006: 185 of 200
2009: 94 of 250

The real strength to Nevermind isn't necessarily or solely, in my opinion, the singles, all of which were hits.  And there were lots of them; I recall videos for Smells Like Teen Spirit, In Bloom, Come as You Are, and Lithium -- tracks 1, 2, 3, and 5 on the album.  And yet in the midst of them all is my favorite of the bunch, Breed.  Despite the best efforts of some folks, I don't think the song is a screed directed at suburban life.  I don't think the song has any meaning, in fact.  "We can plant a house, we can build a tree, I don't even care, we can have all three" -- you tell me.  "She said" beats "I don't care" for the most repeated words, but just barely.

But, per usual, it's not about the lyrics.  The music is really, really sludgy, with the bass sounding like it's coming from a busted speaker...or at least a speaker about to break due to the bass sound.  I don't know that a Nirvana song actually has such a prominently-mixed bass track, in fact.  The guitar intro is great, as is the guitar over the bridge.  Come to think of it, maybe the lyrics aren't intended to provide meaning as much as to add another "instrument" to the song; it almost explains why everything is so guttural and monosyllabic.  Discuss.
( #100 - #91 )

Ohhhh, we're 56.67% of the way there...

( #110 - #101 )

Ohhhh, we're halfway there...

( #120 - #111 )

Whoever had late July in the pool...congratulations.

( #130 - #121 )

I've been spending a decent amount of time at the casino over the last few months, and while I'm happy to report I'm winning, I know it could be better.  And I know it could be a lot worse.  Playing 4/8 Half-Kill Limit Omaha H/L isn't likely to become a full-time job anytime in the future, without question.

Anyhow, I feel pretty confident in saying that quite a few of the hands are decided on the final community card (known as 5th Street, The River, $#@%@$, whatever), and one will often going into the river either needing to hit or to avoid a bunch of cards.  When you've got a straight and are afraid of a flush you may find yourself asking for either of the two suits (say) that aren't found on the board.  Should there be two hearts and two diamonds on the board, then, you are looking to avoid a "Red card" or want to see a "Black card".  I'm not breaking any new ground here.

But here's the thing: there are six different pairs of suits, and as best I can tell only two of them have well-defined names that collectively describe them (based on obvious physical characteristics of the emblems/names of the suits themselves that clearly do not apply to the other two suits).  As such, I'm requesting that anybody feeling the urge chime in here and maybe we can coin some new lingo.  Unless, you know, this has already been done and this entire exercise is a waste of time.

Here's what is certain:

Diamonds/Hearts -- Red cards
Spades/Clubs -- Black cards

Here's where we need to pool our thoughts (with my thoughts listed):

Diamonds/Clubs -- Baseball cards?  Sports cards?
Diamonds/Spades -- Mining cards?  Sharp/Pointy cards?
Hearts/Clubs -- AMA (American Medical Association) cards?  Round cards?  Sadly a Heart appears to be a Spade turned over, colored red, and without a "handle" but oh well.
Hearts/Spades -- Artichoke cards?  Five-letter cards?  Wow that sucks.

I checked anagrams and there's not a lot of interesting stuff there, except maybe "Death Spear".  I don't think that's gonna work.

Please help.

Based on this link it appears nobody (else?) has before quantified things this way, so I thought I should put this on the web and make it all official-like before someone beats me to it.  Because the world of neo-phraseisms is such a competitive field.

When it comes to the ones that require forks (as opposed to acini de pepe or orzo), there are two types of pasta: "stab pasta" and "twirl pasta".  For the record, I much prefer the former, do significantly better with the former, and even have something of a nickname based on a type of the former...and regularly make a mess of the latter, as it were.

Carry on.

I will readily admit that (one of) the main reason(s) I write these journal posts is that I like to go back and read them years later for any number of reasons.  I've been lax in writing lately, and so to get myself motivated I went back to read up on trip recaps from past years' events, particularly the three previous World Sudoku Championships at which I've been fortunate enough to participate.  This introduction is intended to serve less as a way of promoting said posts (which, ahem, can be accessed here, here, here...) and more to drive home just how truly great this year's WSC was, and how important and necessary (in this little niche world of ours) that greatness was.
( Read more... )( Read more... )

The WSC this year is in Philadelphia, and will probably be the best-written one ever.  Plus some friends (and parents of friends) are going to be there, and this is the last stand-alone WSC, and the one with the least hypothetical jet-lag...I WANT THIS.

As such, I actually prepped last night, got up plenty early, fortuitously was onto the next piece of lead in one of my numerous mechanical pencils (so no hyper-clicking would be necessary during the test itself), and felt pretty good.  How'd it go?

It started out rather shaky.  The Killer took longer than I would've liked/expected, and I was all sorts of jittery.  Part of this was due to the tri-color portion of the printer ink being nearly dry; I bought a new cartridge but decided to roll with the old one as long as I could.  The printouts came out great, except...there were no regions on the Killer grid.  I just drew 'em in and I think that was the only printing issue, which was a relief.

Oh yeah: Killer eventually went but took too long.  Standard took too long.  Diagonal was quicker than I'd been expecting.  Odd went respectably.  Odd+Diagonal went respectably.  Even was started...then stopped.  Even+Diagonal was...screwed up.  Irregular was a struggle but eventually went.  Even+Diagonal was reprinted and really wasn't so bad (as I recall).  Even was finished via X-Wing on the 9's, IIRC.  So I had a possible 150 puzzle points (assuming no screw-ups), and with the bonus added in, 150 total points.  Yeah, I submitted in the final minute of the first-hour.

The first minute of the second-hour was worrisome, as the password wasn't working.  And it further wasn't working...wasn't working...oh good, it's changed on the page!  This one works.  On with the MADNESS...

And...things finally started clicking in a more normal fashion.  I got Double Dribble, skipped Fast Break to go for Triple-Double, then Point Spread actually was churned through (despite being a tough nut to crack), then Elite Eight saw me make...a completely wrong deduction, run into a problem with the 4's, and print out another sheet there.  Possession Arrow was great, per usual, and One on One had a great solving flow to it despite (because of?) having so few actual clues.  I felt like I really clicked on Key Violation, and skipped On the Bubble to give Wrap Around a whirl.  It wasn't so bad, I don't think, and with a bunch of time left I decided to go for Fast Break.  And it was pretty easy, which befit its relatively low point-value.  So back to On the Bubble, which I ground down and got about halfway through when I...totally made a wrong move.  Thankfully I caught it quickly enough, took the next steps *extremely* carefully, and finished it up.  Elite Eight was then finished (but not without a struggle!), and in some sense it was nice to know that the earlier "deduction" was wrong -- it left very few other ways to arrange the shapes, and it was eventually solved.  The submission was done with slightly over 19min left on the clock, for a possible 210 + 47.5 = 257.5 on the round.  Again, assuming no screw-ups.

I spent nearly all of my extra time on "checking" my work.  On the Bubble was pretty readable although I checked with the actual PDF to see for sure which were pluses and which were minuses, etc.  I also had the brilliant idea to cross off clues from One on One after they were used, which meant I didn't know if the math ended up right without yet another check with the PDF.

I won't bet my life that everything was right even after the checking and occasional rechecking; I don't think I have any duplicate digits anywhere, but it's highly possible that I, say, put two numbers in boxes on the Kropki that should have a dot between them but don't.  I dunno, and I am not nearly confident enough to avow that these answers are airtight.

But *if* they were -- 407.5, in theory, is probably good enough to advance.  And if one of the MADNESS ones is wrong, then I drop into the 330's or 340's, which still might be ok.  Here's hoping there were no screw-ups tho...

Good luck to all competitors, and thanks to the folks who put it all together.  I have no doubt that the upcoming championship is going to be stellar, and a chance to see so many great folks -- here's hoping I did what it takes.

Here comes the metric system!  I mean the next chart post thing...
( #140 - #131 )
Weezer -- Photograph

2001: N
2003: 155 of 200
2006: 105 of 200
2009:  132 of 250

Ahhh...my precious Green Album.  People tend to hate on it -- or at least they used to when Rivers and the boys were more relevant -- but I've always liked it, top to bottom.  The lesser songs are over so quickly that you tend not to notice them, and the better stuff...well, ok, it's also over rather quickly as well, but it'll be back a half-hour later so you don't seem to mind.

There was a time when I was into all-things-Weezer; a particular incident precipitated this (another of my top-ten most important music moments) that will be detailed later on.  But in the here-and-now -- everyone knew the Blue Album and Pinkerton were awesome, and most everyone agrees that Maladroit is...decidedly less so.  The difference between me and the Weezer haterz probably manifests itself best when it comes to the Green Album, which epitomizes what there is to like about the whole idea of power-pop in a way that, say, the Click Five can't.

Photograph hustles to the forefront to represent the genre, and I think it does a perfectly admirable job.  Clocking in at just over two minutes, there's lots of cotton candy to go around: the background oohing and oh-babying, the clapping, the simplistic nature of the lyrics.  Even the video is fluff, although mildly entertaining fluff that shows the four boys to be a fun bunch.  And who knew Rivers had such soccer skillz?

I've always considered Weezer albums to be like members of the Clash.  The first two, in some order, represent Mick Jones and Joe Strummer, and the fourth (which was all there was at the time this theory was hatched -- #'s 5-7 fit here as well I guess) are the drummer(s).  This makes the Green Album the analog of Paul Simonon, who doesn't get nearly the love of the two main singer dudes, but...well, he's the only guy who lasted during the entire run of the band, which should mean something.  Similarly, maybe this is the one type of music that's been in the Weezer arsenal the whole way?  Simonon also got some memorable headlining gigs...which I guess makes Photograph into Weezer's Red Angel Dragnet?  Wow we're rather far afield here...

It's worth mentioning that, all things considered, I'd probably prefer it if the Blue Album -> Pinkerton trajectory had continued, as the first two albums are almost entirely unimpeachable, and more is always better.  But given the difficulty in spewing your heart on multiple albums (without, say, killing yourself or going bat-poo crazy), I guess it's ok that Rivers toned it down a little.  And while some might view Green as a disappointment because of that...I happen to think it's just as good an album in a different style...and one of the better power-pop collections I've ever heard.  Which might mean Rivers is just a diverse musical genius instead of a guy who lost his edge.  YMMV.

Can you believe I made it all this way without ever mentioning that this was the *other* song the Infield (myself included) could competently play?

Cure, The -- Just Like Heaven

2001: 59 of 100
2003: 47 of 200
2006: 53 of 200
2009: 131 of 250 -- top song by this artist on the chart

Beautiful guitars, beautiful feel, beautiful meaning...and downright sadness, no?  How do they do it?  The song picks you up and makes you feel all good and...no, I don't think that's the idea.  Anyhow, this song's been on the chart from the beginning, and if I have to tinker with things to keep it that way into perpetuity, I'm ok with that.  The memories of hearing this even when I was in elementary school have stuck with me since then, and it will always be great, even if not my favorite.  Incidentally, I'm linking to the VMA performance of this one, which (I believe) they even used to show in video form on MTV.  It used to strike me as the prettiest recording I've ever heard, and...ok, that's not the case anymore, tho it's still a treat.

Five previous impostors (which doesn't mean these aren't perfectly fine songs):

Stars -- Ageless Beauty
Doors, The -- Love Me Two Times
Guided by Voices -- Smothered in Hugs
Weezer -- Island in the Sun
Billy Joes -- Tell Her About It

The next batch of clues:

Interstate renamed after "grand single" 3Bman (1972)
Antithesis of John Osborne play (1995)
Kindly tee off more quickly (1998)
"The Steelers win!  The Steelers win!  The Steelers win!" (1994)
Retro dance version of the Tates vs. the Campbells (1997)
A blade I took from Will retails for hundreds of dollars (1995)
Hairy Addams' member goes apocalyptic? (1987)
Kendry Morales is down...and he can't get up! (1988)
Appropriate synopsis of putting in the same chips as the original bettor (1995)
"There she is...the winner of the Annie Wilkes pageant..." (1997)


Soooo...anyone else's life take a dramatic turn for the better over the last week?
( #150 - #141 )

40% of the way through the chart seems like as good a time as any to run the numbers and see if anything interesting comes up...
( Read more... )

It's your humble, uninteresting music/life commentator, back 10 days later (and one shirt richer!)...
( #160 - #151 )

Another year, another Geek Bowl, another ridiculous musical ensemble.

( Read all about it )

You know the drill.

( #170 - #161 )( #170 - #161 )

(Note: I think the first link is the right one)

K-ZITI's sound of the 70's keeps on truckin'...

( #180 - #171 )( #180 - #171 )

As the Village People would point out, you can't stop the music...

( #190 - #181 )

After coming so close in the past, it's nice to take one of these over the top.  On with the show...

( #200 - #191 )

So I was cajoled into opening a savings account by the friendly banker guy at Wells Fargo.  It really is kind of stupid, having a checking account earning very little interest when I don't necessarily need all that money in there and could be earning some "real" interest in a savings account.  Anyhow, it's stereotypical to say that bankers are "rich", but when I do so here I don't mean it in the monetary sense.  Observe:

1. The savings account I put half-a-Grant into makes 4% interest.  Wait...no, it makes 0.04% interest.  Which, by my count, isn't terribly different from the checking "interest", despite it's purported "real"-ness.

2. The banker assuaged my concerns at the piddling interest figure by pointing out that...this way I've got overdraft protection; if I write a check for more than what's in my checking account, they will take the "missing" money out of my savings account without any penalty.  I didn't bother explaining to him that the only reason it would be in my savings account is because it was already taken from my checking account because, frankly, I was kind of enjoying watching him try to think he was getting away with one here.

3. My favorite of them all was the desire to connect my debit card to some "points system".  It costs only $12 a year, and for every $4 I spend on my debit card, I get one point back.  As he explained to me, if I were to fill up my car with gas, I'd get around 6 points -- I've already made half of the cost back!  So each point is redeemed for a $1?  Umm, no.  The list of goodies started at a Starbucks $5 giftcard that could be purchased by trading in...650 points!  So if I fill my car up about 109 times I'll make 42% of my yearly fee back (in coffee)!  Seems a bit steep, no?

Wells was kind enough to waive any fees for setting up my savings account, else...I assure you, I would not have one.  I soberly told them I'd "think about" the "points system".

Meanwhile, anybody got a better bank?

Hey, awesome, "we" (my role was nearly imperceptible) won the Mystery Hunt!  And I got 4th at the Sudokucup.  Anyhow, on with the show...

( #210 - #201 )

Let's try and give the LJ-cut thing a whirl...

( #230 - #221 )

I hosted a Naughties' Nostalgia Party last night.  We reminisced about that decade of pop culture and music and stuff, and people dressed like they did in the 00's.  Or, as some aptly pointed out, two weeks ago.

Anyhow, the Napoleon Dynamite danceoff didn't really happen (no big), and my Li'l Jon look needed some work; it could have used a grill and a Crunk Isn't Dead giant necklace and maybe a giant diamond-encrusted Crunk Juice chalice...but then so could all other costumes.  I think people had a good enough time, all in all.

One activity that was actually undertaken was a quiz I quickly threw together that required participants to figure out which of the ridiculous strings of words were actual Emo song-titles and which were made up by me.  Now it's your turn!

1. We Had to Make This Song Title Long Like All the Emo Kids
2. We'll Survive But We Won't Live
3. Matrimony is Paving the Way for Preplanned Alchemy
4. I Constantly Thank God for Esteban
5. Things Always Sound Smarter When You Say Winston Churchill Said Them First
6. You and I Make for Mutually Assured Dysfunction
7. Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off
8. Who Needs Beer When We've Got Each Other...and Ecstasy
9. We Used to Kiss Just on the Lips But Now It's All Over
10. You're Crashing But You're No Wave
11. God Must Have Put You Here to Stop That Bullet...With Your Face
12. Let's Cut the [B.S. -- ed.]  and Head Straight to the Bedroom
13. I'm Like a Lawyer With the Way I'm Always Trying to Get You Off
14. My Songs Still Know What You Did Last Summer
15. The Pros and Cons of Breathing
16. You Make Me Wanna Turn Gay
17. Champagne for My Real Friends, Real Pain for My Sham Friends
18. You Put the B in Subtle
19. If There's a Better Use for Astroglide Then I'd Like to See It
20. 21st Century Romeo and Juliet
21. From Now on We Are Enemies
22. The Weather is Beautiful, Wish You Were Her

Note: Some of those are Emo songs.  The ones that aren't often are familiar sayings from people I know.  At least one of those was inspired (possibly plagiarized) by someone who actually reads this blog (and, for the record, was counted as non-Emo).  And one that I made up actually *is* the title of a real song (surprise!) but the unfamiliar band Map doesn't count as Emo.  At least today.

Answers and comments to come in the comments section in a few days.  Can anyone beat the top score of 13(!)?

Sorry Friends, I'm finding the LJ cut thing to be a pain in the rump.  Maybe next time.

Bratmobile -- Gimme Brains

2001: R(ecorded but not owned)
2003: R
2006: O(wned but not ranked)
2009: 240 of 250 -- only song by this artist on the chart

These gals reach unparalleled levels of snarl, and I couldn't be happier.  The chorus is fantastic, and I always chuckle (and project, project I tell you!) when I hear the line "Now that little boy genius thinks he's a star".  This is another SotD2003 graduate, although not the actual song upload but another of theirs.  Shop for America is great too -- with equal-opportunity snarling aimed at both sides of the political aisle.

New Pornographers, The -- Jackie

2001: R
2003: R
2006: R
2009: 239 of 250

The ongoing Dan vs. Carl battle for NP's songwriting supremacy is tied at 1-all after this one.  Dan appears to have some pretty oddball ideas, with people thinking this one was about Jackie Kennedy; ok, that's fine, but then what about Jackie, Dressed in Cobras?  Anyhow, I can't pinpoint what I like about this so much -- maybe the big climactic "Jackie!" series at the end of the song -- but it's always been my favorite Dan song from Mass Romantic, which collectively has my favorite set of Dan songs.

 

Minutemen, The -- The Politics of Time
2001: R
2003: R
2006: O
2009: 238 of 250

Let's hear it for the Minutemen!  No no no, not those guys...the band I mean.  Three extremely likable guys playing music just to play, not being terribly commercially successful...and yet responsible for one of the greatest albums of the 1980's.  Ok, so it's got 40-some songs on it, but still...

This isn't the last you'll be seeing of them on here, so get used to it.  The Politics of Time, an entry from Side George off of the fantastic Double Nickels on the Dime, clocks in at a gargantuan 72 seconds, but there's no fooling around.  The bass intro is all fancy-like, and yet bassist Mike Watt actually sings the first-half; ok, granted, that means he only sang 34 words, but aside from maybe one of my favorites of theirs, it's not about the lyrics with these guys.

Well, almost.  Near the end of the song D. Boon (may he rest in peace) throws in the line "We jam econo", the ethos they embodied and the title of the documentary about the band (linked to above -- the song is nowhere to be found, which seems about right).  The slogan reappears in the documentary in a natural, bittersweet moment.  These weren't classically-trained aficionados (although each guy became very good at what he played), they didn't get rich, and hell, you can't even find most of their stuff on YouTube.  So they did it their way, writing songs with themes maybe a wee bit too, you know, Marxist, but screwing around and having a good time and not doing it for the money.  They were from Southern California -- fittingly not Beverly Hills or even LA proper but San Pedro.

Truth be told, if in some other life I could ever be in a band good enough to go on tour, I'd expect that it would resemble something like the Minutemen.  Instead I'm reduced to playing bass guitar badly and attempting to cover a Minutemen song or two...

Happily, I got a walk-off winner (to stave off what would've been a stanky upset) at TRASHionals a few years back with an answer of "The Minutemen".  And I've got the We Jam Econo DVD if anybody wants to borrow it, btw.

Franz Ferdinand -- Take Me Out

2001: N(ot recorded)
2003: N
2006: 104 of 200
2009: 237 of 250 -- only song by this artist on the chart

Not sure if I like the first song or the second song that was mashed together to make this one; I think the transition between the two is my favorite part, as it were.  Apparently the critics actually hate these guys, but seeing as I could never make it as a critic, it's appropriate that I've got no beef with them.  I did a halfway decent Alex Kapranos imitation last week, singing on all three of the FF songs freshly downloaded onto my friend's Rock Band.  The one I'd never heard before I may never want to hear again...but, hey, at least we passed.


Guided by Voices -- Hardcore UFOs

2001: R
2003: R
2006: R
2009: 236 of 250

I've felt like I've kind of been going through the motions on a few of these write-ups, but thankfully here comes Guided by Voices to the rescue.  And what better way to kick off GBV's inclusion on the chart than by charting the first track off of their landmark album Bee Thousand?

Bee Thousand is a lo-fi masterpiece, and Hardcore UFOs epitomizes everything about the movement.  As best I can tell, the "harmony" throughout the song is just two different tracks of Robert Pollard.  No big whup, sure, but how about...the guitar mistakenly dropping out of the mix at the 1:22 mark??  Should I ever get my act together and actually learn how to play bass competently enough to fake these pretty easy songs, and should we ever actually play a show, I assure you, the request will be made for one of the guitarists to flub that part.

Obviously, there's more to the song than the whole lo-fi thing.  GBV just knew how to rock, and on the 85% or so of their stuff where they just played straight-ahead rock...they may not have "saved rock 'n' roll" (Bob's words) but they sure kept it real.  And I appreciate the minimal wanking on their part, for what that's worth.

I highly doubt there's a deep meaning to the song; the one commenter on songmeanings.net (GBV has over 500 songs listed on there, btw) thinks it's about a long-lost relationship; works for me.  My favorite songs of theirs actually do hit a little closer to home, but for this one I'm just happy to listen to that ringing guitar for a little under two minutes.

And should I ever get to teach an algebra class again, I'm seriously considering teaching the multiplication of binomials via the "LOFI" method.

Pixies, The -- Levitate Me

2001: R
2003: R
2006: H(eard but not owned)
2009: 235 of 250

"Elevator lady elevator lady elevator lady elevator lady..."

What more is there to say?

Shins, The -- Girl Inform Me

2001: R
2003: O
2006: 146 of 200
2009: 234 of 250

Love the beginning.  Love the ending.  Love the "I can't concern myself with ordinary tripe" line.  Would rather not comment on the song's straightforward meaning of a guy being infatuated with a female who may or may not be leading him on.  Moving on now.

Death Cab for Cutie -- Tiny Vessels

(sorry, couldn't help myself with that video selection)

2001: N
2003: R
2006: O
2009: 233 of 250 (only song by this artist on the chart)

And now we see things from the side of the disinterested party with all the power in the relationship.  I think we've all been there, and I've little to add on that front.  Musically the (surprisingly early) crescendo has a jarring power to it, which dissipates too early for my liking (but might fit in some larger theory of music sense that I don't comprehend).  The "playful misspellings" line...wow that's so true.  And sad.

Guided by Voices -- Buzzards and Dreadful Crows

2001: R
2003: R
2006: R
2009: 232 of 250

Well, what better way to include a second song from GBV than the second track off of their landmark Bee Thousand album?  This one has more of an arena-rock feel to it, so I think my GBV tribute band will hold off on this one until we play larger venues.  Also, I tend to throw my voice out on "the wheels to come RRRRRRRRRRRollin' in", so I should take some lessons or something.

Hole -- Violet

2001: H
2003: O
2006: O
2009: 231 of 250 (only song by this artist on the chart)

Speaking of straight-ahead rock...well, here ya go.  There's not a preponderance of females on this chart, I'll admit, and not too many of them rock much harder than this one.  Hmm...I guess most of the guys don't, either.  Incidentally, as formerly one of the internet's top players of Suicide Chess (where the goal is to lose your pieces), I believe "Go on take everything take everything I want you to" can be found somewhere in my finger notes as MrPink on FICS.

Five previous impostors (which doesn't mean these aren't perfectly fine songs):

Blondie -- The Tide is High
Iggy Pop -- Lust for Life
Rush -- Fly By Night
Musical Youth -- Pass the Dutchie
Sneaker Pimps -- Six Underground

The next batch of clues:

How to adjust TurboTax when you start making more money (2002)
"Jeremy is holding on line one.  Or maybe it's Jason.  I can't tell them apart." (1979)
Motivational teens take a European vacation (1999)
Future-tense proclamation to Marc Summers when you don't know the answer (1984)
Rude response to "What does the Church of the Subgenius believe in?" (1990)
"That window delivery is meant for our downstairs neighbors."? (2002)
Theme song to minor-league all-star game (2004)
Can't get enough of Drops of Jupiter and Meet Virginia (1973)
The dissolution of Brad Laner's band (2003)
Where Geoffrey Holder might use a bucket to get water (1998)

I think the general format here will be: eight short recaps, two longer recaps, an unveiling of the five impostors, and ten new hints.  And maybe at some point I'll get the LJ cut working.

Joe Jackson -- Steppin' Out
2001: H(eard but not owned)
2003: 133 of 200
2006: O(wned but unranked)
2009: 250 of 250 -- only song by this artist on the chart

This one ranks pretty high on the nostalgia-meter; I can recall it way-back-when.  The piano is a nice touch and the video is memorable enough -- even if only to showcase what passed for fashion 28 years ago.  If you predicted JJ would be playing SXSW 20-some years later, you're a better man than I.

Blink 182 -- Stay Together for the Kids
2001: R(ecorded by not heard)
2003: R
2006: R
2009: 249 of 250 -- only song by this artist on the chart (i.e. no Adam's Song -- surprised me too)

A surprisingly mature performance by some pretty unlikely characters on that front; their show I attended (with them closing for Jimmy Eat World and Green Day) featured the least intelligible and most unfunny on-stage band interplay I've ever witnessed.  As has been put more entertainingly, the quiet/loud dynamic is more striking than normal, but I'm usually more lyrically-inclined (here, at least), and take the lines about "My stupid poem" and "We get along so why can't they?" to heart.  I wouldn't by any means say my happy childhood home was "destroyed" by divorce, but it certainly was affected.  FYI: this is one of only a few songs on my list to make National Review's Top 50 Most Conservative Songs.


Desaparecidos -- Greater Omaha
2001: N(ot recorded)
2003: 100 of 200
2006: 160 of 200
2009: 248 of 250 -- only song by this artist on the chart

I watched the Star Wars franchise from Episode 1 through Episode 6, due to a serendipitous lack of having seen any of the movies through 1999 and a desire to be different once I realized three more were on their way.  I made it through them all, so it couldn't have been too bad of an idea.  And furthermore, I was well aware that Episodes 4 and 5 were some of the greatest movies ever made, while Episodes 1 and 2 were two of the worst, so I knew there would be a change in quality.  Why bring this up?  Because sometimes the changes in quality/tone are unexpected.  Example: I heard Desaparecidos before I ever knew a thing about Bright Eyes or Conor Oberst.

Over the course of 2003 a friend of mine paid for a Yahoo! Briefcase thing (technology was so cute back then, no?) and made an effort to upload a song (which we would then download) he liked by a different band for every day of the year.  This wasn't to include Radiohead or Pearl Jam...ideally each upload something most/all of the 3-5 people partaking in the system had never heard before.  Some were duds, some were respectable, and some (including this one) made the list.  I'll go ahead and throw SongoftheDay2003 as one of the ten most important events in my musical "development" and stop counting after I mention nine more.

Anyhow, Greater Omaha describes Oberst's disgust at his hometown's willingness to sell its character in the relentless and remorseless march towards commercialization.  And it does so loudly.  So loud, in fact, that I would never have imagined the guy is something of a folk icon (and former wunderkind).  I've heard some of the softer Bright Eyes stuff and can take or leave it; put quantitatively, I've procured a copy of Read Music/Speak Spanish as well as every other Desaparecidos' track I can find and have little or no interest in augmenting my Bright Eyes' collection.  $$$$ and Manana are two other of my favorites of theirs, for what it's worth.

So that's the "analysis"?  The song is loud?  Well, basically, yeah.  The anti-commercial message of the song (which is further driven home by the conclusion of the previous song on the album (the aforementioned Manana), where two dudes (presumably one of whom is Oberst) express their disgust at how the Mom 'n' Pop joints are getting run out of town) comes off as trite -- and I speak this as someone who hopes to someday own a non-chain small business; ahh the perils of being capitalist red in tooth and claw.

But while I won't be joining any Fair Trade rallies or boycotting the next Wal-Mart, I can at least admire the lads' desire to rawk out while using their brains to make their case, however antipathetic I am towards it.  It's still more fun than another metal cut about the devil or something.

Plus, hell, I used to be good at Omaha 8 or Better.

Nirvana -- Serve the Servants
2001: 70 of 100
2003: 156 of 200
2006: 200 of 200
2009: 247 of 250

First tracks of albums (especially tapes) typically seem to get more than their fair share of love from me.  And when the first line of the first track of the album is my favorite of the song, well now we're onto something.  "Teenage angst has paid off well, now I'm bored and old" -- that's golden, even if the rest of it strikes me as opaque.  The song is certainly more accessible (yeah, I said it) than most of the stuff (especially Side 2) on In Utero, and is frankly significantly better than Heart-Shaped Box.  Good enough for me.

James Gang, The -- Walk Away
2001: H
2003: H
2006: O
2009: 246 of 250 (only song by this artist on the chart)

Good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll here, I must say.  The chorus (#1 and 3 at least) makes the whole thing for me, having known more than enough ladyfolk who eschew talking about it and would rather turn their pretty heads and walk away.  Also, this is the first song on the chart that I've sung at karaoke.  Which won't be happening again anytime soon, fwiw.


Pixies, The -- Bam Thwok
2001: N
2003: N
2006: R
2009: 245 of 250

For my money, far FAR too many people thought this effort -- the Pixies' first new song in 13-ish years -- was a colossal disappointment.  And the vitriol was almost uniformly directed at the organ solo (starting at 1:23 of that clip).  Would someone mind explaining what's so wrong with it?  Its provenance is kinda neat -- I guess it's something Joey Santiago's father-in-law recorded in the Philippines long before the song was conceived -- and...for pete's sake, it's a song with a theme taken from a discarded kids' book, a meaningless title, and a Fozzie Bear chorus.  How could you not put the organ solo in there??

But I digress.  She may be the coolest woman in rock, and she may have helped Guided By Voices get heard, but I rarely got too into any of the songs Kim Deal sang for the Pixies.  Gigantic (sorry for that still photo) is acceptable but doesn't do as much for me as it does for others.  Silver is atrocious.  But here I'm loving the warmth she adds to the song.  Bam Thwok doesn't tackle any topics as adult as, say, the interracial lovemaking of Gigantic.  Hell, it doesn't tackle anything.  It's a playful romp through the world of a carefree adolescent, spreading nothing but love and cheer, and is the closest thing to Eep Opp Ork Ah-Ah we'll ever see #1 in sales at the ITunes store.  And if that's not chartworthy, what is?

Incidentally, I had the tremendous honor of seeing the Pixies play in L.A. in 2005.  And they, umm, didn't play this one.  But they didn't play Silver either.

Hum -- The Pod
2001: 71 of 100
2003: 135 of 200
2006: 184 of 200
2009: 244 of 250

Ahh Hum...the third band I ever saw in concert.  Sadly, I don't recall if they even played this one, but the mp3 is sufficient enough to take me back to the halcyon days of undergraduate "study" at Arizona State.  In those days "before the internet", I somehow stumbled upon these guys, and their second and third albums will always be special to me.  As for The Pod -- dense space-y lyrics, nice fuzzy guitars all over, a melodic little drawing-down over the last minute of the song, and memories of late nights listening to this on my generic Walkman at 2am while racking up top scores at Ms. Pac-Man at the arcade inexplicably located in the heart of Mill Ave.'s club section.

MC5 -- Kick Out the Jams
2001: R
2003: 128 of 200
2006: 165 of 200
2009: 243 of 250 (only song by this artist on the chart)

I guess it's only appropriate the only videos of this I can find are live, eh?  KOtJ is a force of nature, due in no insignificant part to this Wayne Kramer fellow, whose inclusion on my Punk-O-Rama (#1!!!) cassette was sure mystifying back in the day; now I know better.  Anyhow, this is a family-friendly blog, so if you don't know which three seconds on the "original" recording do a number on me more than just about any three seconds of any other song ever recorded, I'm not gonna tell you.  Nothing can match the power of that part, tho the rest of the song comes close.  The jumbled mess around the 2:00 mark is endearing as well.

Lucinda Williams -- Passionate Kisses
2001: R
2003: R
2006: O
2009: 242 of 250 (only song by this artist on the chart)

Not sure what took me three years of ownership to finally catch the beauty of this one.  I'd heard the Mary-Chapin Carpenter cover -- memorably sung along to in the early 90's by a co-worker of mine at the supermarket that regularly played it over the loudspeaker -- but this one's so much more vulnerable.  And I like how Lucinda just gets right into it; no piano intro, let's cut straight to the desperation...or a desire for more.  Awesome.

New Pornographers, The -- The Laws Have Changed
2001: N
2003: N
2006: R
2009: 241 of 250

I'm pretty dense, but I've been told this is a thinly-veiled uppercut directed at the previous head-of-state.  I'll save the lukewarm pro forma rebuttal for another day.  Still, if you're gonna be cliche with the politics, at least have the poppy-yet-varied sound of the NP's and the beautiful voice (among other things) of Neko Case.  (There will be some meta on the chart, but back-to-back C&W-esque gals I believe is coincidental.)

Five previous impostors (which doesn't mean these aren't perfectly fine songs):
Boston -- More than a Feeling
Death Cab for Cutie -- Soul Meets Body
Shins, The -- A Comet Appears
t.A.T.u. -- Not Gonna Get Us
? and the Mysterians -- 96 Tears

The next batch of clues:

Alabama team on weed (1980)
Filthy desire for Mikey's cereal (1977)
Request for the 411 from Susanna Kaysen (2001)
Emo Capillaries (2003)
Take a plane two squares up and one over? (1975)
Throw Luxembourg deep? (1982)
Straight-edge alien transporters (1994)
An ode to a golden-ticket-holding chewing gum champ (1994)
Blossom's buddy, buried (1996)
Somewhat Progressive under the guidance of Richard Stengal (1984 -- pretty deep album cut here)

Hey, it's a new decade!  Kind of.  Anyhow, now is just about the perfect time to embark upon putting the finishing touches on a labor of love over the last few years...or maybe all my years, depending on perspective.  I'm planning on spending some time over the next couple of months listing and briefly discussing, in order, my 250 (or so) favorite songs of all-time.  Why?

1. I love lists.  The end of the 00's featured so many fantastic Best of the 00's lists.  My two favorite are here (where one of my teams lost in the #2 entry but another of my teams won in the #1 entry) and here (I don't know how he does it so well).  So hey, why not take part in the fun?  Furthermore, as evidenced by my desire to host a Naughties' Nostalgia party a whole nine days after the Naughties ended, I'm trying to bring about a new paradigm of activity at the start of the year/decade instead of the end.  Or maybe I was just too lazy to undertake this sometime before last year ended.

2. I'm going to have some time on my hands anyhow.  The good people at UNM have, well, too many good people, so I won't be teaching algebra to 140-some students in the spring.  I'll still have some teaching gigs, but not nearly as many as before, so I may as well put the time to, uhh, "good use".

3. Hey, it's a resolution, baby.  The LJ has been pretty dormant since I started slumming Facebook, so to put a string of stuff together over the next few months would take significantly more discipline than...well, than frankly I might have.  But this is the frickin' Twenty-Teens -- with 2010 being defined internally over here as the Year of Self-Improvement -- and it's time for changes.

4. Believe it or not, I have a smidgen to bring to the table.  For anybody not too into music -- maybe you'll hear of an act that you never knew existed, and might get into them.  For those of you with significantly more knowledge of music than I'll ever have -- reading about the deeper-album stuff I dig might save you some time sifting through the unreleased material to find the unknown musical nuggets.  At least, that's the idea.

5. It's not really just about the music, now is it?  This is more than just a music countdown, but more a celebration (*cough*) of the impact these songs have had on me, and what they've meant to me over the years.  I plan on making a point of, well, making a point of why I'm so into this stuff -- usually having something to do with individual moments, memories, people, and/or places.  So for better or for worse, I'm laying (most of) it on the line, or at least the LJ page.  Who knows, you might even get a chuckle or two?  Ideally *with* me instead of *at* me, but I'll take what I can get.

6. It might actually be kind of fun.  Even if the leaden prose portion of the program is a snoozer, there's a trivia / lyrical / (despicably bad) wordplay aspect I'm going to try and incorporate.  Each post (up until the final ten) will conclude with a list of ten clues about ten songs, five of which are actually in the next batch of ten on the countdown, and five of which...well, made for good (?) cluing but didn't make the charts.  Take your best shot at figuring out what song I'm cluing, and maybe if you think it's one of the real ten or if it's an impostor.  Wow, we're really living the dream here, eh?

FYI -- The rule for inclusion on the list is that it has to be a song of which I possess an electronic copy.  A 6861-song playlist was eventually whittled down to 254 (occasionally two songs went together, and frankly I couldn't cut the list down any further) which was then ordered over a series of (many) months.  This is actually the fourth iteration of this process, and I plan to list the rank of each song on prior lists (2001, 2003, 2006, 2009) when recapping the list..

Also, when it comes to the cluing -- a (?) indicates that I'm probably describing a homonym/homophone of the actual song title, not that I'm attempting an acutely clever wordplay, of which I'm likely not capable anyhow.  Years listed below are when the album on which the song appears came out, even if the song was released in an ensuing year.

Let's give this thing a whirl.  Enjoy (?)!

What Kirk van Houten has to repay...with interest (1976)
Barefoot guy can't stay in the batter's box (1982)
Improved 4-card Hi/Lo poker (2002)
Cynthia Cooper or Kim Perrot emerges (2007)
Hutch gets to know Clue victim? (2005)
Evict Smucker's and Polaner products (1969)
Repay Lurch, Jeeves, and Higgins (1993)
Jude, Ty, and Acie IV recently put on new outfits (2003)
No interest in purchasing sixth Peter Gabriel album (2002)
The result of rending a twelve-page pamphlet 8 times? (1966)

Double 1get!  Tonight's puzzles were the perfect combination (Shikaku + Kakuro) and very nearly the perfect sizes (Medium Shikaku, Big (but not Huge) Kakuro).  A smaller Shikaku and the time-lag might've cost me; a larger one and...well, I guess that wouldn't have mattered too much, as I beat the Kakuro 2get by about six minutes.  This Hard 19x11 had a little more bite to it than normal, but I lucked-out as my style of moving all over the grid (in case I get stuck somewhere) worked well here.

It doesn't hurt that a bunch of contenders are probably still jet-lagged to a certain degree, while I'm all jacked up on Diet Coke and Kung Pao chicken from Pei Wei.  Anyhow -- yeah, I guess I'll take it.

I've decided to share the WWTBAM love here and post something.  First, a general life update.

Teaching is pretty ok!  It's a shame that the two classes which could use an extra day of lecture are, actually, the ones that lost a day due to Labor Day.  It might just mean I'm going to really zip through tomorrow's lecture, although the frightening thing is that said lecture took about 75min today, and I even skipped ahead a little bit.  Oh the perils of algebra teaching!  I may send them off with the textbook as a babysitter, we'll see.

I noticed in an email today that my last name had been replaced with "Sufferance" during a reply from a student.  I took this as a sign of sneaky disrespect -- it wouldn't be the first time my screwy name had been used in this fashion -- but I've a hunch that's actually not what happened.  I wrote him asking what that was all about, he wrote back and apologized for any disrespect without acknowledging what had "happened".  So it probably was just a voracious spellchecker.  It only makes sense, seeing as I've been likable in class thus far -- perhaps because I've not been terribly rigorous or demanding.

Two nights from now I'll be in front of my first class at ITT-Tech, for a 204-minute lecture.  The same can be said for three nights from now, and just about every Thursday and Friday through Thanksgiving.  I've got a little bit of trepidation here; that's more than 4x as long as my traditional 50-minute lecture!  I've a feeling there's going to be quite a bit of groupwork and discussions and, umm, breaks.

I'm also waiting for a phone call or an email that I've a sneaking suspicion isn't actually going to come.  I can only imagine how any hypothetical conversation would go during an accidental crossing-of-paths after the promise to reconnect electronically or telephonically is broken...

Me: "I thought you were going to write or call -- what happened?"
Her: "Well, our conversation during that awful orientation thing was just too much fun, I didn't think any future interactions could compete so I decided to pretend you didn't exist anymore."

I won't ever pretend to understand the (*cough*) fair sex, but maybe I'm so bad at it because I'm the most obvious guy on earth?  That might also explain why I've lost the last few times at the casino.  Well, ok, that and the absolutely atrocious luck I've gotten.  Which incidentally also kind of applies to the situation with the ladies...

Anyhow, as mentioned previously, my good friend Trevor was on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? during the recent prime-time 10th anniversary revival thing.  He requested some questions from his friends who happen to be subject-matter experts on things he doesn't know particularly well.  I used to be good at sports trivia, so I put together ten sports-y questions, WWTBAM-style, for him and the rest of the Phoenix posse to enjoy.  And now I share them with you.  Answers to follow when/if I post again; in the meantime, dig in.

1. Regardless of their actual attire, baseball and softball umpires in sporting events are traditionally referred to by which color?

 

A. Black

B. Blue

C. White

D. Gray

 

2. Which of the following NBA players was listed as 6'1”, easily the tallest among this group?

 

A. Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues

B. Anthony “Spud” Webb

C. Earl “The Squirrel” Boykins

D. Nate “Tiny” Archibald

 

3. A baseball pitcher is incapable of being credited with a loss for any of the following except...

 

A. Facing the minumum number of batters over nine innings.

B. Throwing a nine-inning perfect game.

C. Throwing a nine-inning no-hitter.

D. Throwing a complete-game shutout.

 

4. Which of the following tennis stars won all four tennis majors at least once each?

 

A. Pete Sampras

B. Andre Agassi

C. Ivan Lendl

D. Bjorn Borg

 

5. In the closing minutes and overtime of the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, Boise State successfully executed all but which one of these unconventional football plays?

 

A. Flea-Flicker

B. Hook-and-Ladder

C. Statue-of-Liberty

D. Halfback option pass

 

6. Who is the only athlete of these four to win Olympic gold medals in two different sports?

 

A. Eric Heiden

B. Karch Kiraly

C. Jackie Joyner-Kersey

D. Florence Griffith-Joyner

 

7. What driver has won the most top-level NASCAR races without winning a series title?

 

A. Rusty Wallace

B. Mark Martin

C. Junior Johnson

D. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

 

8. 1975 Playboy Playmate of the Year Marilyn Lange was selected in the sixth round of a 1976 draft by a team from which men's professional league?

 

A. American Basketball Association

B. World Hockey Association

C. Northern League (baseball)

D. North American Soccer League

 

9. The Denver Dynamite defeated the Pittsburgh Gladiators in the first championship of which sport?

 

A. Roller hockey

B. Slamball

C. Extreme sports

D. Arena football

 

10. Baseball's Rip Sewell is credited with inventing which of the following?

 

A. Batting helmet

B. Eephus pitch

C. Split-fingered fastball

D. Batting glove

 

Seeing as I haven't posted anything in about two months, it's possible that I've just been super busy and haven't been able to find the time.  You'd be, errr, half right.

I finished up working at the Labs early last month, and have embarked on a new path.  There's no guarantee it'll work out, but I felt even more confident that, if I stuck with working a desk job, I'd be unhappy.  So instead I've decided to take up the previous "career" idea and get into math instructing.  That was the future I envisioned from 2000-2002, when I was a TA, which took a decided turn for the worst sometime around March of that year; my College Math class hated me, which made me resent them, and made me look for internships.  The one based in Albuquerque for which I applied responded about a week later, and that "three month stint" lasted about seven years.  Anyhow, the less the lousy MAT 114 experience is pondered, the better.

I think I've significantly mellowed since that class (scary, huh?), but...well, I guess we'll find out pretty soon here.  I've secured part-time employment at several places in town, with a staggered schedule of classes coming down the pike.  Starting next Monday I will be at UNM teaching three different sections of Intermediate Algebra, which, from the sound of it, is in-between ASU's College Math (see above) and College Algebra (went acceptably both times); I'll be getting the book later this week and will have a better idea of things then.  The following week sees CNM start their classes, of which I anticipate I'll be teaching one or two sections of what I've referred to as Algebra 0.5 (that is to say the first half of the first semester of Algebra, which I anticipate will look a lot like the UNM class).  The week after that I'll be starting at ITT-Tech teaching Introduction to Statistics on Thursday and Friday nights for 12 weeks.  Most people would be loath to surrender their Fridays from 6-9:30, but hey, it's not like I'm usually doing anything then anyhow.

One of the things I actually have been doing lately is puzzles, per usual.  I cannot speak highly enough of the Fed-Sudoku site, not only because of the puzzles themselves but because of their leaderboards and the like.  Once the interface is grokked, it's pretty smooth to use.  One of these weeks I'll finish top-three (read: third-place) , which will probably require a better "record against" the two powerhouses than 1-19; the one "victory" this week actually came on easily my worst of the ten variants.  Anyhow, sign up today!

Speaking of powerhouses: forget mullets, Nikoli folks, and FEAR THE MELON.  Good thing he didn't do the USPC this year, else I'd have gotten my rump handed to me all the more.

I went on over to Arizona for about a week over the past seven days, and it was one of the more entertaining trips in awhile.  It helps that my brother and his lovely family have moved back from Indianapolis, and that a good friend of mine is also "between jobs", and that the temperature didn't surpass 105 or so the entire time I was there.  Casino Arizona has to be the absolute worst, poker-wise, of any casino I've ever played -- and yes, that includes the Orleans.  But I dunno, maybe all the heat helps the locals build up a tolerance to dealers who can't read Omaha hands and show glimpses of the burn cards during dealing?

I had a pretty humorous Sunday night, visiting the church I attended for 8 years while at ASU and seeing some old friends.  And some new ones!  Who?  Oh, so many I can't mention them all...or maybe that's just because *I forgot nearly all their names that very night*.  I've never been much for first impressions, but this was especially embarrassing.

One particularly special event over the past week was the airing of Wednesday's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.  As it were, a very good friend of mine (and trivia teammate of eight years) was a competitor, and happened to smoke everyone on the first Fastest Finger and make the Hot Seat!  It's also highly possible that our two other regular teammates (plus an occasional fill-in) make an on-screen appearance during his impressive run.  I was initially considered as a Phone-a-Friend but had to decline when their stupid rule about using land-line phones came into play.  Pretty much my contribution to the entire endeavor was to clue Trevor in on the phone auditions...and to pull a somewhat finely-tuned ruse on another one-time teammate of ours when asked about how well he did.

We had a neat get-together in Chandler with a viewing party in the back room of the trivia pub they frequent.  Pictures to come on Facebook when I actually get them off of my camera...

(Links to the show are here, here, here, and here.  And if I had some more money, I'd personally cut checks to the charities of the celebrities and convince the good WWTBAM people to run the "real" part of the show for 60 minutes instead of the abbreviated mess it's become.  Good lord, the first six minutes of Wynonna Judd's cluelessness tonight was enough for me.  4 times 3!!!  It's not that hard!!!)

Especially given the teamwork angle -- with one team member on the show and the other three teammates standing-by to offer assistance (give or take a land-line phone) -- this feels like the culmination of eight good years of playing together; and yes, it feels even better than blowing a huge lead in the finals.  Furthermore, it would be tough to top the great showing from last week, especially given the less-than-stellar big-game performance of the one teammate yet to get on a show...

Speaking of big games, softball is now wrapped up.  The coed team finished tied for 3rd -- although we put the wood to our nemeses in the first playoff game and held a nice lead against the first-place team in the second.  The men's team...won!  I wasn't actually there for the finals (possibly a good thing) but from what I heard it took a remarkable play to finish the game.  Homer?  Diving catch?  Play at the plate?  No on all counts.  Try a double-play aided by a runner-interference call!  That's how we decide championships in work-league softball in the Burque!

In sports news -- that comeback win the Diamondbacks had against the Dodgers last week either means good things for the good guys or bad things for the boys in blue.  If anyone's good with baseball archives, find me a time before this month when a guy gave up 10 ER in 3.1 IP and, in his next start, set down 23 straight batters -- against the same team (!!) no less.  Also, I'm loving the Aussie/Valley baseball connection, with this guy being responsible for a current fantasy teamname of mine (Oeltjen Marvels -- formerly Viva Zavada) and this guy returning to Tempe for a second season.  As much as I wanted to see him make the Bigs quickly, I certainly don't mind him anchoring the rotation for another season.  Lastly, any Sun Devil should feel warm inside after reading this from our newest millionaire.

Part 2 to come when I think of all the things I've forgotten in this sitting.  I hope all is swell.