august 24th, 2009; 0010

So random people have taken a glance at this and have probably immediately become disappointed. I have used a tremendous amount of quotes from the hbo television series the wire. In doing so, I guess search results have this blog come up.
i can only imagine what they think.
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i had a partial vacation. i didnt leave the city, but it was pretty awesome. it made me wish that my work schedule was just me working two days with doubles and one day with a single shift. still working the same number of hours but being able to just constantly have four days off. that would rule. easy to play shows. easy to focus on rva magazine and wrir stuff. at the same time, i think im just wishing i could have more nights off. i think maybe if was still in my early twenties, i could manage justifying working five nights a week. at the age of twenty-five, almost twenty-six in two months, it feels more like a huge weight and stress to constantly be at a workplace for so many nights in a row. i guess i shouldnt complain too much. the job i have is probably one of the best i could ask for given the amount of creative control they allow me to have with the food i put out and also the relaxed nature of the establishment.
if i was still at galaxy, id probably be a tad bit more upset.
enough of that.
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i saw inglourious basterds. i loved it. i want to see it again immediately. i also want to watch more films starring christoph waltz.
im watching jcvd right now.
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i always wonder at how people with such ease can open up on a document service like this. discuss the inner turmoil they feel regarding loneliness, heartbreak, happiness, complete and utter joy and so on. by no means do i intend on criticizing those expressions of emotion through the internet. i think its great. i just have a difficult time saying those things in a forum like this.
i guess if you want to know what i think, you can always ask.

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this is probably the closest to a “real” blog i have ever written. we’ll see if that keeps up. probably not.

they are here

this is an acquaintance of mine, but i like the style.

www.katiemcbride.com

if anyone reads this, after work i am going to go see spirit fingers. my friends tell me they are the shit and i should be down with it.

8:42

movies: wrath of khang and drugstore cowboy

books: a night of serious drinking

music: brand new “at the bottom” and owen “good friends, bad habits”

king david

183

a life jimmy. its the shit that happens while you wait for moments that never come.”

there was this saying that developed around 2004-2005. i was living at 2348 w. grace street.

this saying was “i guess im going to be eating canned tuna and rice for a while.”

the idea behind this is that you are either saving money or you are broke. im saving, but i guess in some ways im gonna be eating canned tuna and rice for a little while.

reading: zeitoun by dave eggers…at page 139

….there you go, always giving a fuck when it ain’t your turn…”

things have been busy. productive, but busy.

i recently was given the position of assistant local music director at wrir. it requires me to scout out music in the area and acquire their cds for the station. also, a portion of my responsibilities are listening to the records in question and making sure they are cool as far as FCC standards are concerned. i enjoy it. it seems like something of a real job within a volunteer-based establishment.

things at rvamagazine are productive as well. i just keep writing and writing and writing and they end up on the website. so if you want to see what i pay attention to, you should really visit www.rvamag.com

something i talk about constantly seems to be bearing a closer semblence to reality. i have started talking seriously with my peers about recording an album of songs. most of these songs span the past four years of my life. i have dropped a few tunes and left them to the side. maybe they will see the light someday, but for now they just arent for me. im also writing again for the first time in a while.

i hope to keep playing shows. with the exception of a cheap beer night at cous cous, i have had a blast playing out and have been receiving great comments about the performances each time. i think it’s finally working out.

i wish i read more. im gonna work on that. im about a third of the way through dave eggers’ zeitoun. its pretty great. really smooth read. a perspective on a story i think we may all think we understand more than we really do. if that makes sense.

movie-wise….500 days of summer was a fairly satisfying film. moon was cool. funny people was long but felt like it could be better appreciated on a second viewing. the trailers for halloween 2 bother me more and more as i watch them.

television…heroes is strange. mad men is great. as everyone told me, the wire is probably the best show on television…ever.

personal life..that stuff never makes sense on blogs to me.

ill try to remember this exists more.

no one wins. one side just loses more slowly.

i have been struggling with a few ideas. i think the addition of a few things in my life are definitely helping.
i recently acquired a cork board for my bedroom. i have been taking bar napkins, index cards, and what have you and collecting them on this board. push pins. words. thoughts. longing. they are all there, right in front of me. so that i can take those and incorporate them towards the songs i have.

writing is getting tough too. i probably just need to slow down and take it easy.

the magazine i write for recently put together an issue that celebrates photography. this is something that will always mean a great deal to me. my mother raised me and she has been able to make a living off of this artform. when approached with the concept for this issue, i was happy to seek out talented individuals in this city. whenever i write any piece, it helps to be friends with some of these individuals. at the same time, i try to consider people that may be overlooked at the publication. that is why i chose michael otley and rebecca ward.
i decided on otley because i have several favorite memories attached to his work. the argument could be presented that there are so many pictures taken of these things that he chronicles, what makes his work special. in my eyes, he has a knack for not only capturing the moment and memory but allowing for a story to exist within the context of his images. that is what i see when i look at his work. something that i wouldnt mind hearing about over a beer or two.
with ward, i think if you meet her, there is this passion for the art that is undeniable.

if part of the world realizes these two exist now and as a result, it makes people appreciate something they love to participate with, then i did my job.

i have my reservations in stating my opinions about the photography issue. if you want to hear about it, i’ll be as polite as possible and tell you intelligently what i like and dislike about it. overall, i am glad this idea came to life and that it is something that we can do on a yearly basis.

im playing a show this friday. it is in the basement of an old house i used to live in. it’ll be nice to celebrate the times we had there with this event and all of the fond memories we have all shared there.

go to www.rvamag.com if you want to see the issue in question

someone looks at this every once in a while

im busy constantly, so updating this isnt a priority.

but im content, happy, and feel like this summer promises to be one of the best i’ve ever had. i cant remember the last time i said that.

but for starters, this is easily the worst thing i’ve come across in ages and i mean i have tried covering shitty songs, but man this band probably sucks really hard.

http://www.myspace.com/skyeatsairplane

covering nookie? i just dont see how that’s cool. but then again, who said i knew anything about being cool, right.

in other news, if you want to see some stuff i did last month, go to www.rvamag.com and click the link to see their current issue, i have two features and a dvd review in there. hopefully that keeps going.

…..ill try to remember this exists a bit more

welcome back

i wish i could get better at updating these things. i just tend to forget about their existence altogether. so i will try to find some way to make an appropriate update regarding what i’ve been up to.

-i’m not through with music, but i’m taking a break. the valentine’s day show was fun and great and fantastic. i did receive some nice feedback which was a different thing for me considering i’m fortunate to hear even a bad thing. i just dont feel like i’m in a place right now where i can write songs i’d ever be satisfied with. i hope that changes with the change of the weather, but for now i’m just playing guitar because i like how it sounds.

-now with the show at wrir, i like focusing a decent amount of my energies towards that. i’ve always felt proud of the music scene down here and not to have ability to express that profound feeling is great.

-i wrote my first article in a while last night and it felt great. i have no excuse for not doing that as often as possible.

-i’m moving out of randolph in may. i had my experience being out of the fan and i didnt dig it that much. so from here on out, as long as i live in richmond, i guess i’ll be in the fan, but never near campus. i’m getting too old at 25 for that.

-the new m. ward record wrecks me. it’s absolutely fantastic. with records like that and animal collective, this year has been great. i am eagerly anticipating getting my copy of this record by a band called the pains of being pure at heart. my friend ryan thompson thinks i’ll enjoy it.

-lastly if anyone reads this and knows the answer, please talk to me about the new brainworms cover artwork. i dont know what that’s all about. i think it looks like photoshopped magic eyes revealed, but i was later told it was made out of clay. if that’s the case, that rules. i want to hear it though. i imagine it is as great as their last release. so by no means am i judging a book by it’s cover. you dig.

peace i’m out

it is 4:26am on friday morning. i’ll call this hour 32.

today has been a long day.
i worked for a while and now i sit in the WRIR studios. if you have never been a guest of the studio, it’s very richmond and very convenient. it is convenient in that coffee is easily available and there is a stable internet connection.
i am waiting for another ninety minutes to work on my thirty minute set on the air. from there, hopefully this is the last time i have to work until 1am and then stay awake until 6am in order to train.
i know i know. for most, they would think taking a nap would be a smart idea.
for me, i tried that. instead it seemed better to just stay awake and either watch tv or enjoy coffee and catch up on the world. tonight i enjoy coffee and catch up on the world.

the handsoap at the studio smells reminiscent. beyond that, it feels incredibly early and i have 90 minutes to go.

here is a quick list of things that i have found interesting lately.

-brotherhood on showtime tv (season 1)
-animal collective “merriweather post pavilion”
-matt and kim “grand”
-the wrestler
-33 1/3’s installment regarding The Replacements “Let It Be” as chronicled by Colin Meloy (famous of Decemberists fame)
-the idea of staying awake for three hours longer.
-all of you

take care and sleep well, i wish the same of myself