I’ve added some more art to my gallery under illustrations. These are a series of digital paintings I created for a self-promotional presentation for Ajenda Interactive Media. Here are some shortcuts to each of the images: Start, Approach, Profile, Strength, Experience and Next Steps.
Pictured to the right is the spectacular meal that I ate the other day. When I took the picture, I was going to have something hilarious to say about how different it looked from the image on the box. But, now that I look at it, it really isn’t that far off.
As quickie lunches go, it wasn’t all that bad. I found it a rather enjoyable forty seconds of eating. Now I know this will send the tongues of my foodie friends into a death spin (with their organic-fair-trade-free-range tomatoes, decimal place free menus and their fancy square plates), but when considering Italian food, I think the difference in quality between a five star dinner and a can of Chef Boyardee isn’t all that huge. You can take that as either a slap in the face of Italian cooking or praise for the awesomeness of all things Italiano. I’ll go with the latter.
I’m pretty sure I am only only person who has subscribed to my RSS feed, but, in any event, there’s trouble brewing with the feed. I want to reorganize the home page a little and that means I need to change the RSS script at Feed43. The problem is that I lost my password when I moved to the new computer and they don’t have a password recovery service. SO, if you are a subscriber and don’t hear from me for a while, please check this page occasionally to see if I have updated my RSS service.
I’ve kicked up the geekery a few notches this week by building a desktop computer from parts rather than by ordering from Dell or Compaq. It has gone rather smoothly considering all the articles I read on the Internet that warned of of the potential headaches that accompany such an endeavor.
As you can see from the photo, the new rig (that’s what us über nerds call our computers these days) uses a Rosewill Conquerer case with a fancy transparent side panel and moody blue interior lights. I bought the case and all the parts from Newegg.com for around $750. No sales tax and about $18 to ship it. I felt even better about the price when I was perusing the Apple Store down on Michigan avenue this afternoon and saw comparable systems going to two or three times that price (and that price doesn’t include the heart break one feels when they realize you can’t really run Team Fortress 2 very well on a Mac).
Anyhow here the complete stats in case you are interested:
The only thing missing is a decent audio card. The on-board sound of the motherboard can’t really handle ASIO and live music recording very well. My old Audigy 2 ZS can handle it, but the pins don’t match the connector ont case’s from audio ports.
This is becoming the Robert’s CD collection blog these days. Oh well, gives me something to do. I’m considering going a little more typical-bloggy with this site. We shall see.
The Hi-Fives – Get Down!
One or two great songs, but the majority of this is by-the-numbers pop punk.
Sol Hoopii – Master of the Hawaiian Guitar Vol. 1
If you only buy one Hawaiian slide guitar album ever, buy this one. If you buy two, consider volume 2.
Sol Hoopii – Master of the Hawaiian Guitar Vol. 2
Along with volume 1, some of the best Hawaiian music ever.
Hotshot Satellite – Canvas
Fellow MoonRocker, John Burgess’s band from a few years ago. Catchy rock songs with Ukulele!
Husker Du – Zen Arcade
A great record, albeit a tad too long and, at times, you can’t tell one song from the next. Some of Husker Du’s best songs are on this disc, although in hindsight, I think New Day Rising is a better album.
Husker Du – New Day Rising
This is Husker Du’s best, in my opinion. Some of the spazztic energy has been toned down, which allows the songiness to come through, but no so much so that you would accuse this of not being a punk rock record.
Husker Du –Eight Mile High
Excellent single from the best period in Husker Du’s career.
Husker Du – Flip Your Wig
Almost as good as New Day Rising. If you prefer the more jangly/poppy Husker Du, this will probably be your favorite record in their catalog.
Husker Du – Candy Apple Grey
Except for the opening track, this is a very toned-down Husker Du record. Shockingly clean production compared to their indy releases (although they still crank the drowning reverb on the drums). There are several good songs here, but, as a whole, doesn’t stand up to their previous efforts.
I, Crime – Get the Knife
A very nice little EP from these Detroit-ers. I prefer the more rocking songs over the almost folksy milder numbers.
Impala – El Rancho Reverbo
This is one of my favorite records of the 90s surf revival. Soulful and sultry.
Impala – Play R & B Favorites
A collection of some of the more raunchy, saxophone-based songs from Impala.
Impala – Kings of the Strip
Another sax-heavy dose of instrumentals.
Impala – Square Jungle
More Impala. For some reason, this one is not a good to me as some of their ealier releases.
The Ink Spots – Greatest Hits
A great compilation of Ink Spots songs.
Interpol – Turn on the Bright Lights
I am surprised by how much I like this. The songs are hard, catchy and have a nice driving groove to them. And you gotta love the baritone vocals. One thing though: I’m not too much of an audiophile, but this has got to be one of most horribly mastered discs I have heard. The drums are squashed beyond recognition and have no punch whatsoever. Another casualty of the “volume wars” I suppose.
