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Shenandoah Jaunt

As I soon learned in the midst of the previous post, typing in HTML code, however rudimentary, on a Blackberry keyboard is a pain in the ass, hence the lack of linkage. (For fun, here’s approximately where I was when I posted it.) Particularly when you’re out there for other reasons. If you haven’t been already, take a look at Waldo’s AT Journal from many moons ago. He puts my so-far-only-Virginia AT experiences to shame. But, it looks like he’s found his footing yet again :)

The weather was wonderful. It was looking like it wanted to rain to the west, but I only caught one drop, and over all I would have called it partly cloudy. The humidity was pleasantly low and there was enough sunshine throughout the day to catch the aroma of sun-baked pine needles along the trail. I was concerned that I might have underdressed with only a base layer (aside from my rain shell), but it turned out to just right: just slightly cool, with the occasional breeze.

On the AT

Following in the footsteps (ha!) of Waldo, this is my first post from the Appalachian Trail. I don’t intend to make it a habit, but given the paucity of entries lately, I thought it might be fun to try out posting from my Blackberry.

The weather’s great, the mountain laurels are in bloom and I’ve seen a mamma turkey with her chicks. Photos will be forthcoming.

eMusical

I just finished up a trial subscription with eMusic. My Old Kentucky Blog and a number of other music blogs recommended it, so with a 100 free-song trial subscription, I bit. They had a decent, eclectic selection and I got some very cool tracks, but ultimately there wasn’t anything in their current catalog that I felt renewing was worth, so I closed my account. I certainly appreciated their straight DRM-free MP3 download file format and their diversity of artists. I think I’d benefit from a better background in “indie” music, to sort the chaff from the wheat next time.

For the interested, my finds:

• The Forgotten Arm - Aimee Mann
• The Mirror Conspiracy - Thievery Corporation (on the recommendation of .sara)
• Illinoise - Sufjan Stevens
• In The Reins - Iron and Wine / Calexico
• Deadringer - RJD2
• Either/Or - Elliott Smith (I swear I had this already, but I double-checked our CD collection and it was no where to be seen, so it made the list.)
• Lounge Records Sampler, Vol. 2 - Various Artists
• New West SXSW eMusic Sampler 2006 - Various Artists

And then a few choice tracks from these to round out the 100: The Mouse and the Mask - Danger Doom; and Timeless - Sergio Mendes (of the track snippets they had, the whole thing seemed like remade elevator music).

Good News, Everyone!

It looks like Adult Swim has worked its mojo again, resurrecting another excellent-show-cancelled-before-its-time: Futurama.

This, directly from Fry’s (rather, Billy West’s) mouth:

And the other good news is that they’re doing 26 new episodes of ”Futurama” for TV and we’re hammering out the deal now.The original plan was to have the DVD’s first but that’s no longer the case.I’m totaly jammed dude.

Greetings from the year 3000! It still sucks!

Billy

Update (3/20): Nevermind…:

Posted: 19 March 2006 at 3:35pm

Guys,

I’m sorry I gave inaccurate info on the cartoon.I was told on one end that the TV show was a go but DXC enlightened me (with a hammer) that this was not the case.I think there is a Futurama project as in DVD’s but I appearently had bad info.But I do live to give good Futurama news to people.So I must’ve died or something.

All eyes on the skies,

Billy

So much for that.

HRC, HRH

In reference to a recent New York Times article (available here) on former governor Mark Warner and his possible/feasible/likely presidential bid, and the shadow of Sen. Clinton’s possible/feasible/likely presidential bid, Waldo, once again, hits the nail on the head regarding Hillary ‘08 (run-on sentences are fun):

…name for me one state that Hillary Clinton would win that John Kerry didn’t

Aside from the aforementioned reason, no matter what the reasons she may provide if she does decide to run, I would consider it disingenuous — I know. Politicians? Disingenuous? Really? — to the citizens of New York state to run for (and at this point in time, be re-elected to) her senate seat then drop it in lieu of a grander, national stage. Warner’s looking better all the time, particularly if he can beef up his international resume.

Oh, and the other son of Virginia in contention for a presidential nomination, George Allen? Jackass. I met him back at Boys State in high school, and then and ever since he’s struck me as a greasy sycophant with more charm than sense.

And Now, Your Local Forecast

Currently, it’s:



Yowza. And yes, the windows are wide open.

Wearing His Lucky Bowtie

Today, my good friend Rob Doherty’s off to 1 First Street N.E. in D.C. for oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court.



He and the colleagues at his firm have been working on the highly contentious Texas redistricting case. For those who aren’t as familiar with the case, here’s the official breakdown:

Whether the 2003 Texas Congressional Redistricting Plan (Plan 1374C), adopted and developed using outdated, inaccurate 2000 Census data and resulting in malapportioned districts, in violation of one person, one vote when measured against 2003 Census data, and when “the single-minded purpose of the Texas Legislature in enacting Plan 1374C was to gain partisan advantage” and when such purpose is realized, is an unconstitutional political gerrymander.

Of course there are more issues being weighed, but that’s what most of the hubbub is about. Either way the case comes out, I’m damn proud of Rob.

28 on the 28th

Tomorrow, I turn 28 on the 28th. Aside from the numerological coincidence, it also happens to be Mardi Gras.

• 1 purple, green and gold bowler hat? Check.
• 3 carnival eye masks, purple, green and gold? Check.
• 1 feathered and sequined eye mask? Check.
• 1 gold-ball headset? Check.
• A gross of plastic beads? Check.
• Chocolate hazelnut cream cake? Check.
• Ready to party? Check.

NRN in RIC

In a wasteland of homogenous pop, country and “lite favorites” stations, there’s Charlottesville’s WNRN, a publicly-supported modern rock station with NPR-style commericals (and, of course, fund drives, but any station without loud obnoxious car dealer ads gets a big thumbs up in my book).

In Lynchburg, I always loved driving north past Lovington to bring me into their static-free broadcast radius. On the way back driving from Amy’s place in Manassas in the early morning, I’d catch their Acoustic Sunrise program as I drove down 29 through Charlottesville and the hollers of the western Piedmont. Then they set up a transmitter at Sweet Briar, bringing them within earshot for my morning drive to work. Then a month or two after that, I moved to Richmond (naturally). Since then, I’ve only been able to catch the station online with their lo-fi Windows Media stream, or in the car on the way to the Blue Ridge and points west.

Now, those days are over: Plan 9 Music: News: WNRN Arrives in Richmond! I always wondered why they never set up a transmitter in a larger population center, but now they’re here. 103.1, here I come (we’ll see how pronounced the interference is).

Citius, Altius, Fortius

Amy and I have been watching the Olympics here and there, watching what we can. After something like day 7 of the women’s qualifying matches for curling and still no final match, we started to question the distinction they make for including winter activities in the Olympics.

My opinion’s always been “If you can do it wearing khakis, it’s not a sport.” Curling, for all the skill and talent it takes to play, which I do admire, is to me a game, not a sport. There’s a reason there isn’t a (Summer) Olympic bocce ball or horseshoes competition. Just because you can only play it in a freezing room doesn’t mean it should qualify for the Winter Olympics.

Alan was also mentioned events like ice dancing, which is more physically intensive than ice bocce (nee curling), but the scoring, and ultimate winner, more subjective. They’re certainly competitions, and there is the Summer gymnastic events (which I consider more competition than strict “sport”), but there’s also a reason there’s no Summer Olympic Ballroom Dancing.

I guess I’ve developed a more narrow view of what world-level sports should be, with the Olympics on too high a pedestal. Time records and goal points should be the determining factor of who stands on the podium, not the subjective opinions of a panel of judges. To me, it’s game vs. competition vs. sport to determine who’s faster, higher, stronger.

(On a quirkier note, everytime we hear Finland’s name called during the Olympics, Monty Python’s song of the same name gets lodged in our heads. I suppose that’s better than Amy’s insistance that every nation’s anthem is actually “O Canada” with different lyrics. :) )