I posted a few "small" changes to the old weblog today. I had really planned on rolling this out back on May 1 for the "reboot", but didn't have time to complete it. Color scheme is generally the same, and the layout is similar. Most of the changes happened "behind the scenes". Rather than letting MT output everything, I dug through the source code, and am accessing some of the functionality directly via PHP. For instance, under the static publishing model of MT, an entry I wrote 3 months ago wouldn't receive any updates to "related links" unless I were to go back and output the page again. By letting PHP hit the database directly for certain features, everything (should) ...
Chuck, Les, and I went to see Keane last week at the Rave, as was detailed here and here. So, before the show started, we came across this kid on the sidewalk, selling those Lance Armstrong bracelets. $10 a pop seemed a little bit high - but hey, it's for a good cause, right? Anyways, mine is a little worse for wear, but it's hanging in there. I might have to track down that kid and get a refund. Come to think of it, I didn't get a receipt.
The Milwaukee Bucks hit the jackpot last night. In a related story, the Milwaukee Buchs will try to hit the jackpot tonight. I had actually hoped the Bucks would pull the 3rd pick out of the bucket. In a draft without a superstar, the Bucks will probably go the safe route and draft center Andrew Bogut - hey, the scouts are comparing him to Vlade Divac and Brad Miller!!! Yeah, I just can't get excited about this guy. The exciting pick would be Marvin Williams, who would play one of the forward spots. Unfortunately, he's one of those tweener guys, and they don't have a terrific track record in the NBA. In college, they're too ...
At the tail end of my morning reading this morning, I hopped over to the JS Online website. And there I found some very, very happy news. Weezer, Pixies to bring the rock to Big Gig Summerfest 2005's main stage line-up gets a much-needed injection of "the rawk" with the addition of a July 7 co-headlining bill featuring the Pixies and Weezer. Tickets go on sale Saturday morning. You can bet I'll be there. I just need to decide if I should bother with actually going to the box office after the last debacle, or just try online.
Les, Chuck and I went to see Keane last night at The Rave. In short, wow. Great show. We talked a bit after the show, and I think each of us are drawn to the band for different reasons. Les has some sort of man-crush on the lead singer, Chuck has called them "Coldplay Lite", and I'm just amazed at the depth of sound that they're able to produce with a singer, piano player, and drums. They've also got a very weird stage presence. As Les put it, "they're a bunch of dorks" - but they make it work. Big time. If you're not familiar with their music, you can use the music player below to get acquainted. The quality isn't the best, but you'll get the picture. I highly recommend picking up their first and current CD, "Hopes and Fears".
I was sitting in my office about a half hour ago, and caught a flash of red out the corner of my eye. A big fat ass cardinal swooped by, then ducked out in the tree across the parking lot. I haven't "shot" anything in a while, so I pulled out my "piece" and took a few cracks at it. This was the best I could do. My camera does an optical zoom to 10x, which is OK. It also has the ability to do a digital zoom on top of that. The digital zoom is the equivalent of Michelle on "24" ordering Chloe to "zoom in and enhance that". Except that in real life, ...
Power Pop, with an emphasis on the Pop. I positively loved their debut album ("The Blue Album") - it's strong from top to bottom, no weak points at all. Their next, Pinkerton, wasn't that well received, but was also a great disc. Come to think of it, it was so maligned that it drove the lead singer/songwriter into depression, and the band took a several-year hiatus. They came back *strong* with "The Green Album", also a near-perfectly produced piece of power-pop. Maladroit was released a few years ago, and again wasn't very well-received (although I thought it was a great disc). So, now you're up to speed. "Make Believe" ...
So, there's this wedding coming up later this year. Apparently, it would be a good thing if I were able to dance at this event. As has been well documented, I am a super-genius. I'm also extremely dexterous, coordinated, and athletic. My achille's heel, if you will, would be the dancing. I'm not so good. Neither is Judy. So we've enrolled in a 7-week series of dancing lessons, every Friday night. It's really cutting into my poker-playing time, but I guess I'll get by. The lessons are in my old neighborhood, Bay View, at the Beulah Briton Community Centre. There are about 15-20 couples in the class, and 1 instructor, Elaine. She's in her late 70's, ...
From an ESPN interview with Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat: ESPN: Your alma mater, Marquette, changed their nickname to the Gold. . . . What do you think of that? Wade: To the what? ESPN: To the Gold. The Marquette Gold. That's what they're going with now. Wade: Awh . . . I got to call. I got to call in on that one. ESPN: We are breaking some news. Wade: I heard they were trying to change it back to Warriors. ESPN: No, I guess they are going with Gold. I'm surprised they didn't call you to check to see if it was OK with you. Wade: The Gold? ESPN: Yeah. Wade: No, I got to make a phone call to Marquette ...
At about 12:30 this afternoon, I was sitting at the computer (shocker!), and heard what sounded like drums beating and a crowd chanting outside. I took a peek off the balcony and was treated to a front row seat for the 2005 Milwuakee May Day Parade, brought to you by the Milwaukee Chapter of the United Anarchist Association. Judy asked what the MayDay thing was about, and I thought that it had to do with the old Russian Communist party. You can read a little bit about what the Communist Manifesto has to say about it, or you can probably just ask Les to tell you all about it -- not that he's a communist (and not that there's anything wrong with that), he's just a very knowledgeable guy on these sorts of things.. I did a bit of quick research on the anarchist's connection to May Day, and found this page that explains the 1887 case of 8 Chicago demonstrators. They were arrested, in part, for striking in favor of the 8-hour work day. Four of the accused where executed, a fifth hung himself in prison, and the other three were eventually pardoned by the governor. Google occassionaly "dresses up" their site logo in honor of various holidays. No such luck today. So, in honor of May Day and those wacky anarchists, I've posted my own version. Enjoy. As long as I'm at it, here's a nice little poem about the incident, brought to you by the Illinois Labor History Society: