Moosic
Music and such
Now relegated to Blogblivion...Thursday, November 17, 2005
Scary
Today, November 17, I heard the first Christmas tune of the season on the radio.
Worse, WODS, Oldies 103 in Boston, was actually playing a long block of such songs.
Guys, isn’t it a bit… early? I mean, you could at least wait for the retailers to decorate and start the shopping season.
Oh wait…
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
PR Nightmare for Sony Begins
Start with Kevin’s post, which explains rootkits and what is going on in reasonably simple terms for non-geeks.
From there, go to the originating SysInternals post about the discovery that Sony is messing too deeply with systems in the name of DRM. Remove it and your CD drive gets disabled. Nice.
Monday, October 10, 2005
My Earworm Daughter
My second daughter happens to have a particularly catchy example of the “girl’s name song” music genre, one I have always liked, though it was not the inspiration for the name we chose. This connection has made the Monkees a chronic earworm for me, abated only temporarily by playing them the other day. Sheesh.
Oh well. At least it’s not the Spiderman song, with lyrics like: “Sadie Rose, Sadie Rose, she’s so cute from her head to toes.” And it’s not a Christmas song, like “Oh Sadie Rose, Oh Sadie Rose, you have the cutest little nose.” On the other hand, at least there’s one that lets me sing “oh Sadie, you’re so frightful...”
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Antique Music
Click the pictures for larger (800 pixels wide) versions. Not shown are a couple of blanks that apparently had some songs recorded onto them. There was also an Aerosmith 8-track my brother borrowed when he had an old car with a player in it.
Weird, huh? I came across the box of 8-tracks while going through stuff in preparation for the move. They were all given to me by a friend who graduated high school a year ahead of me. He was switching media. Strangely enough, I had bought a stereo that happened to have an already rare 8-track player, in addition to tuner, cassette, and turntable. Some of these are not to my taste, and most of them never got played by me, but I’m not one to ditch something like this lightly.
Ironically, I still have that stereo, in storage, and the only part of it that still works is the 8-track player. Sound only comes out of one speaker. The radio comes in poorly at best. The turntable and cassette no longer worked right. But it would still play 8-track tapes! The stereo should have been thrown away years ago, but that was part of the reason I kept it. Same reason for wanting to have a 5 1/4” floppy drive around in case I want to look at what’s on the hundreds of 5 1/4” floppies I have around.
I should probably just toss them or find a collector who’d want them… but hey, they don’t take up that much space.
Friday, August 05, 2005
Carnival of the Recipes Is Up
Sarah at Mountaineer Musings has created a Carnival of the Recipes with an eighties music theme. Very cool! And filled with tons of recipe links, too.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Goofy Quiz for a Sunday Afternoon
| You Are a Freedom Rocker! |
 You’re stuck in the 70s - for better or worse Crazy hair, pot soaked clothes, and tons of groupies Your kind showed the world how to rock Is that freedom rock?... Well turn it up man! |
Via Tammi
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
I still hate Matchbox 20.
But I suddenly like Rob Thomas a whole lot better. Heh.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Rest In Peace Paul Winchell
Paul Winchell, best known as the voice of Tigger, has died. It’s kind of cool that he won a Grammy for “The Most Wonderful Things About Tiggers,” which we sometimes sing to Sadie in part, though not as much as other songs.
Monday, June 20, 2005
Google Force Reduction Antidote
It appears my pictures, nude, naked and without clothes search hits for Erica Durance, Kristin or Kristen Kreuk, Allison or Alison Mack, Janel Moloney, Mary McCormack, Melissa Fitzgerald, Lisa Edelstein, Elisabeth or Elizabeth Moss, Jorja Fox, Emily Procter or Proctor, Jennifer Finnigan, Jennifer Morrison, and whoever else have diminished markedly. Did I mention Danica McKellar? I may have.
Anyway, this is likely because we’re in the off season for TV, eh? I guess I could increase the volume by mentioning others, like Carrie Underwood, naked, nude, or without clothes, even if there are no pictures. If I were being fair to the other sex, I could also mention Bo Bice, but hey. I guess the trick is to increase the range. Add more to the collection, like Katie Holmes, Anna Paquin, Halle Berry, Lindsay Lohan, Amber Tamblyn, Becky Wahlstrom, Megeina Tovah, Constance Zimmer, Sprague Grayden, Paula Abdul, Hilary or Hillary Duff, Sara Paxton, Emma Taylor-Isherwood, Jessica Alba, Renee Zellweger, Meg Ryan, Nicole Kidman, Caroline Dhavernas, Katie Finneran, Jewel Staite, Tracie Thoms, Kathryn Morris, or more that I am too sleepy to think of now.
Or I could stop baiting Google.
Naw. That’s no fun.
Friday, June 17, 2005
Argh!
I just realized that Hit Me Baby 1 More Time was on last night! I missed Irene Cara. Doh!
So… how was it? Did the worst win again?
Thursday, June 09, 2005
The Vanilla Icing On The Cake
Anyone watch Hit Me Baby 1 More Time tonight? We happened to catch it. Normally it’s the night we’d watch Cooking Under Fire, but it was a rerun, apparently because PBS was fundraising. Which they do an awful lot these days. Didn’t that used to be like a twice annual thing?
Anyway, we saw it all and figured anyone was a possible winner except Vanilla Ice. Which the MC dude pronounced Vaniller Ice or Vanilla Rice, cracking Deb up. But at least some of Boston’s dropped R’s were being consumed elsewhere. There was just no way Vanilla Ice could win, with the rest of them as good as they surprisingly were. You could tell The Knack has been playing lately.
Lo and behold, he won! What the...? Are those audience members insane? Perhaps it’s just an age thing. The crowd looked awfully young.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Well I Never Been To England, But I Kind Of Like The Beatles…
Via Steven Taylor, who got it from Althouse, here’s a fun meme, citing ten “nevers” from your life. Now to see if I can come up with ten of my own.
I’ve never…
1. Been outside of North America
2. Seen The Lion King
3. Been to Disney World or Land
4. Been hunting
5. Attended a football game
6. Owned a gun
7. Eaten caviar
8. Read all of The Hobbit
9. Taken chemistry
10. Been to a Star Trek convention
As they say, feel free to join in via comments and/or link up to this post on your own blogs.
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Dennis Yost Was Not Involved
Deb tossed one of Sadie’s plastic rings at a tower of blocks to knock it down, which is something Sadie doesn’t have the concept of doing yet. She loves to knock down towers as fast as we build them, but has no concept of throwing something at it to make it happen.
So I said “that’s non-spooky action at a distance” to Sadie, as if that explained it. Deb didn’t get the reference, which was floating around the top of my brain as I’d seen the phrase a couple times recently.
I told her it was a reference to “spooky action at a distance,” and I thought it was a quantum physics reference, probably to do with entanglement. Then I said “wait, I have Google!”
Sure enough, the phrase, by Einstein, refers to a major prediction of quantum theory. Two photons can be light years apart and entangled such that a polarity flip in one instantly happens in the other. Or something like that. It apparently violates nothing, because there is no spoon space. I love it when I pick these things up by osmosis and remember them enough to be almost useful.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Fake, But Lyrical
I was trying to be “song title clever” with the title of this post yesterday, but was going entirely from memory of a song I have heard approximately once in the last fifteen years and remember mainly from when I was a kid.
I was sure that this song contain the words “in cycles of circular motion.” It apparently doesn’t. Oops. Because I was being circular in my extrapolations, I adapted that lyric that never was as the title.
But hey, it’s still a good title.
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Google My World
We are number two for “chocolate is better in color”, after an official M&M’s page. Without the quotes, we’re number three.
At one point we were getting a lot of hits associated with our favorite of the M&M’s commercials, discussed in this post, featuring Renee Cologne.
Mmmm… M&M’s!
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Remembering Del Shannon
I remember how sad I was to hear about Del Shannon’s suicide, which Dustbury reminds us was fifteen years ago.
The memorial post is rich with details I never knew. Mostly I just loved Little Runaway, and yet based on the one song, the manner of his passing didn’t surprise me.
My brother, his ex-wife’s brother, who was also one of my best friends, and my sister’s husband had a band for a while. One reason Del Shannon’s big hit is etched so firmly in my mind is that they covered it fairly well.
Not as well as they covered the song by studio group Steam, (Na Na, Hey Hey) Kiss Him Good-bye. Their cover was arguably as good or better than the original, and if recorded could have gone somewhere, as covers sometimes do. Oh well.
I never had any idea that Bryan Hyland’s Gypsy Woman was a cover, or that Del had anything to do with it. But I always thought it was well emoted, which can really make a song.
Dustbury does the topic far better justice than I can.
Friday, February 04, 2005
Oooh, Recognition
Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever been someone’s quote of the day before!
I was surprised not to get more comments about my Donovan joke, or my choice of music (which was followed later by Peter, Paul and Mary; one of Sadie’s favorites along with the Beach Boys).
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Can You Say “Addiction”?
That last post was the result of my walking into the computer room to get the scissors for something I am doing in the kitchen, which I am cleaning while Deb is at the Registry of Motor Vehicles finally making her truck an official Massachusetts resident and I am hanging out with Sadie. Naturally I stopped to see if there were any client e-mails. Being at the computer reminded me I wanted to mention what happened a year ago.
When I was done posting, I wandered back to the kitchen, where Sadie is swinging, sleeping, and listening to Donovan’s greatest hits so she learns early what drugs can do.
Wandered back into the kitchen… without the scissors! I never made it all the way to Deb’s desk to get them. Doh. I have them now, but I just had to make fun of myself.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
She Loves The Music
Sadie has a favorite web site now. Which would be better if the music would actually play under the classics. It only plays on the main page, until it runs out, under interactive, and in the really cute music video.
Saturday, December 18, 2004
Earworm
I keep bursting out in the Marine Corps Hymn today. Very strange.
But then, I can make Sadie smile almost on demand by making popping sounds with my mouth, and I tend to do that to the same song. Yesterday Deb sang (she knows all the words!) while I popped and Sadie looked worried, or something.
Of course, I tend to pervert it by saying “to the shores of Triple A.” It’s pretty sad.
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Checking It Twice
Ha! Here’s an amusing, comment-provoking artifact. I was searching on my computer at the office to see if I had a handy mailing list for holiday Christmas cards for clients and vendors. I came across my Christmas list for the year 2000.
My family demands one of these most years, else they have no clue what to get me. However, nobody mentioned it this year because I am no longer single and childless. The emphasis is always on the kids in the families that have them. I do now, so Sadie will get the presents.
Some years even I had no idea what to list, but apparently in 2000 I went all out to come up with a variety of items. That people could afford. Sometimes as a joke I would put something expensive nobody could possibly buy for me. But hey, they asked what I wanted…
So let your mind go back four years, long before Deb, less than two years after I left my full time job to be self-employed, a year after I became the only one of several partners working full time for the business, a year after I got my previous apartment, in Quincy, after sharing a house with my stepsister for several years, two years after my peak “watching movies in theaters as they were released” year, and less than a year after I got my first ever VCR. Here, verbatim, is the list, in approximately the same format as in Word, with everything I have since gotten or that Deb has, as best I can remember, in italics:
Jay’s Famous Annual Christmas List
For the year 2000
For the Apartment· Grater, one of those big metal ones that does something different on each of the 4 sides is what I am picturing
· Can never have too many paring knives
· Or anyway, something specifically designed for slicing cheese might be cool
· A couple more spatulas wouldn’t hurt, for non-stick pans specifically
· Tightly sealable containers made for storing cereal
· And other such storage containers for things like pancake mix, flour, etc.
· Only kind of pans I could possibly use would be a couple small to medium sized saucepans
· A container appropriate for maple syrup
· Wouldn’t mind some kind of blender/food processor thingie, the easier designed for cleanup the better
· I wouldn’t mind a couple wooden spoons
· Decent wooden cutting board (scientifically proven more sanitary than plastic)
· Spoon holder thingie for top of stove
· I am most in need of large plates and cereal bowls when it comes to dishes, but not direly so
· Set of measuring cups
· Some new mid-sized towels, by which I mean ones that many would call “bath size” but to me are just comfortably oversized hand sized. About the size some of you have seen me put under dishes on the counter.
· I wouldn’t object to a dish strainer thingie in a color that goes with the kitchen (unfortunately that means shades of beige, white, yellow, peach, orange rather than colors I personally prefer like blue, purple or maybe green… though green would kind of fit and blue wouldn’t clash)More General
· Any Beatles CD, though especially interested in White Album
· Videos of
Star Wars 4: A New Hope
Star Wars 5: The Empire Strikes Back
ET
The two Toy Story films
Beauty and the Beast!
The Wizard of Oz
Dogma
Princess Mononoke
The Die Hard films
The Truman Show
Fantasia
Fantasia 2000
High Fidelity
The Sure Thing
Life of Brian
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
The Lion King
Aladdin
Sleeping Beauty
Lady and the Tramp
Jungle Book
Bambi
The Little Mermaid
Cinderella
Pocahontas
Clueless
The Breakfast Club
Top Gun
When Harry Met Sally
The Love Letter (big screen version with Tom Selleck, Ellen Degeneres, etc., not the Hallmark one with Jennifer Jason Leigh)
The Green Mile
Titan A.E.
The Batman films
The Superman films
Simply Irresistible
Every James Bond film
Armageddon
Deep Impact
· Gift certificates for any major book store or cinema chain in the general area, Filenes, South Shore Plaza in general, any place videos are sold at a reasonable price, Best Buy, Comp USA, Bed and Bath or similar stores, etc.
· Snow broom (Dad knows what I mean)
· Shirts of the long sleeved button down Oxford variety, size 18, 34/35 sleeves, basically any color but white and any pattern that doesn’t accentuate my need to lose 50 pounds. I tend to prefer ones that have a certain… weight and texture to them, which I know doesn’t convey what I mean, but most shirts labeled Oxford seem to have it to some degree. I have had good luck with Stafford brand Oxfords, and just bought the same thing in Van Heusen which seem to be thinner material and are a higher percentage cotton, but have traditionally been a brand I’ve had luck with. I’ve had mixed results with L.L. Bean shirts.
· Pants of the “Dockers” genre, which can be Dockers, The Original Khaki Company, Hagar and others. Not the waistbands that have stretchy sections in them. Waist 40, Leg 30.
· Socks, as long as they aren’t short ones, and have a reasonable degree of thickness to the material. I prefer colors other than white, but do like multiple socks of the same color/pattern making them fairly generic to match up.
There you have it, a blast from the past. Some things not in italics need comment.
I did get more knives, but not the good paring knives I wanted, and I have lost my favorite one since then.
My grandmother has a hand me down blender waiting for us at her house, which we didn’t take last time because the car was too full or something. But that’s not what I really wanted for a “food processor.”
Now we’d like some pans that aren’t non-stick, of various sizes. And need a medium saucepan or two, non-stick or otherwise, since I boiled my good non-stick one dry and ruined the coating with excess heat. I’m very fussy about treating them just so, and overheating with nothing in them is one of the best ways to harm them. Now things stick instead of not. I like non-stick cookware but would like some of the other kind too. Deb prefers the other kind.
I forgot how much I like the word thingie. I haven’t used it nearly enough lately.
Deb has a number of Beatles CDs, including the White Album and the red and blue compilations. I subsequently bought One after it came out.
I may have some of the movies wrong, since Deb has an extensive collection of mostly non-overlapping movies, and I can’t even remember everything I bought. The most amusing thing is between us we have three copies of The Cutting Edge.
I think it’s funny I had to start making my family a list as an adult. I never did that when I was a kid. Not as far as I can remember anyway.
Update, as I review the post:
I have the first and best Die Hard film, but didn’t mark that because I stated it there as plural. It’s about the time of year to watch it again, being one of the best Christmas movies.
I think Deb may have at least the first Toy Story, but again, plural and wasn’t certain.
I eventually got the first two Batman films. I think it’s two, not three.
This reminds me I need to watch While You Were Sleeping, another great Christmas movie, with Deb, who has never seen it.
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Random Musical Chaos or Something
Not so long ago, I noticed a meme in which bloggers were listing the first ten songs that came up playing a random shuffle of their iTunes playlists. Here I am, at the office, needing music to work on tax preparation by, so I fired up iTunes on the other computer.
Here, for your entertainment, is the list of ten plus the one I double-clicked by choice as my first one to start the beast playing. I will number that one the 0th song. Option Base 0, if you will. Here goes, then back to work with me…
0 Temptation Eyes, The Grass Roots
1 The Ballad of John and Yoko, The Beatles
2 Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is, Chicago
3 Stairway To Heaven, Led Zeppelin
4 Space Age Love Song, A Flock of Seagulls
5 Foxey Lady, Jimi Hendrix
6 Isn’t Life Strange, The Moody Blues
7 Summer of ‘69, Bryan Adams
8 Bella Linda, The Grass Roots
9 Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles
10 Hey You, Pink Floyd