From Somewhere, Volume Two

Election

Posted on September 22nd, 2008 by mike.
Categories: rants.

All the candidates are bobbleheads. Discuss….

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Methodologies…..

Posted on September 19th, 2008 by mike.
Categories: rants, werks.

While I’ve been off having a life (which is going very well, actually-thanks for asking)- I have been attempting to re-think how I do what I do.

In short: I make public observations. That’s the sum of it in a nutshell.  Which its sometimes rather difficult to do at times when:

A) I don’t feel like sharing….at least not with you.

I’ve previously viewed all of this (both in the print and electronic eras) as having a conversation.  Having conversations with the random internet viewer is much easier when you aren’t having that same conversation with the people around you.

And admittedly, my social circle has changed rather dramatically- going from only having a few people in my circle who even knew what I was talking about half of the time to having a rather large pool of folk who not only know excatly what I’m saying, but will be intensely interested in furthering that conversation.

Therefore, the need to have the same conversation with you-random internet viewer- feels like a re-run. Because I’ve already done this, have already said it, and moved on. The urge to type it up has not- in the recent past- felt satisfying enough or worthy enough to do, because I feel like many of you have already had that same conversation, too.  And I have to feel like maintaining that conversation is worth the time not doing something else.

B) I have no opinion.

Sometimes I simply don’t have an opinion on anything.  Observations somewhat require these.

So…it’s nothing against you, really.   It’s me.  And the matrix has us all.  Go figure.

Also, I’ve noticed the content memes have gravitated from actual compositions of length and weight to an endless stream of podcasts, lists,  and posted videos from somewhere else. I mean, they do loosely fulfill the content part of the equation- but it’s really not what I do.

The Internet effect cascades into reality which then cascades back to the internet.

I observe. I compose that observation. It requires thought. It requires time. Spitting back press releases, pointing at a goofy you tube clips, or dropping a list of my favorite canceled Fox shows….really doesn’t.

Other people do that. Lots and lots of other people do that. So I’m not about to join the endless dogpile.

It’s taken me time to balance everything out personally and figure out what my place in the scheme of things are. I’m still working it out. And perhaps it has taken more time to do so than I -or any of the folk who openly commented about it-wanted or expected.

But at the end of the day, if you want better- you have to create it yourself. And I fucking hate lists….

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The Matter of Pitchfork’s Black Kids Review

Posted on July 31st, 2008 by mike.
Categories: rants.

Pitchfork is a curiously annoying website. Their news section has become increasingly narrow in scope. And their jokey editorial stance of late makes Wizard look like Pulitzer Prize material.

As Indie Rock in general is having a bit of an identity crisis, so too is Pitchfork. And nowhere is this more evident that its album review section. 

(more…)

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Radio Song

Posted on January 26th, 2008 by mike.
Categories: rants.

Before I went into illness, I posted about Atlanta’s 99x skipping off the FM dial to the internet. Since that switch went down Friday, I thought I’d update.

At 5:30 on Friday morning, modern rock / ‘alternative’ minded 99x vacated its 99.7 frequency to top 40 sister station Q100.

The last song played by 99x was inexplicably Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”, while far better final song choices (Elvis Costello’s “Radio, Radio”, REM’s “Radio Song”, and The Smiths’ “Panic”) were aired by the remaining DJs to end their shifts.

Following the Green Day song, however, a technical gaffe caused both 99.7 and 100.5 frequencies to air a looped recording advising people looking for Q100 to tune the new 99.7 frequency-which, in what would seemed like 99x’s final misguided dose of irony, knocked Q100 off the air altogether for about eight minutes. But, it was simply not to be- as 99x’s new Windows Media-based ‘visual radio’ internet existence bowed in just after 11 AM, over an hour later than its advertised debut.

Welcome to the internet, 99x. You won’t survive the experience, of course, and no one really expects that. But it’s been a fascinating train wreck to watch.

Good riddance, indeed.

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99X returns to the dust: 1992-2008

Posted on January 13th, 2008 by mike.
Categories: from somewhere notebook, rants.

Interesting news for readers in the Atlanta area. 99x, the big Alternative station in town-is being quietly taken out back and shot, possibly for playing far too much Fall Out Boy and still trying call itself “alternative”.

99x is set to leave the airwaves over the next two weeks in a slow phase out as its Top 40 sister station Q100 settles into the 99.7 frequency. Meanwhile, the influential alternative format station will remain on life support via internet streaming and for the estimated three people in the market who have HD radio.
The planned phase out of 99x into the eventual Q99 (?) is eerily reminiscent of 99x’s original October 1992 roll out, replacing then Top 40 Station “Power 99″.

Before I moved here, picking up 99x was always a sign that I was close to Atlanta- but not close enough to pick up the infinitely superior Album 88. But for what it was- 99x showcased the ‘mainstream alternative’ acts and had a pretty good relationship with many of the local scenes.

Certain members of 99x’s talent are currently rumored to be moving over to Q100’s soon-to-be-vacant 100.5 frequency in a new “rock leaning” format said to be headed up by the return of the Regular Guys Morning Show.

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Hello World (or WTF- you changed the title, you bastard!)

Posted on November 29th, 2007 by mike.
Categories: rants, werks.

This is the story of a newspaper column / blog / column/ blog that just wouldn’t die. This despite the fact that I actually killed it two years ago.

Back then, the idea was to seperate things- my personal ramblings from my creative works from my journalistic stuff.

And then, lo these two years later, I realized it didn’t work. Because you don’t partition your head that way. The original FS was always stream of conciousness. And in doing seperate blogs / columns- I’ve found that waiting to say what you want to say in it’s right place means there’s less to say when you get around to finally saying it.

I have a lot of ideas, stray thoughts that don’t yet fit anything. Expanded versions of some these thoughts tend to wind up in the columns/ articles/ podcasts that I do. 

But, as I’ve come to realize, not having some sort of central idea bank makes it much harder to compose the columns/ articles/ blogs/ podcasts that I do.

Because when you have to hold a thought, one of two things happens-you either hang onto it until its fermented enough, or you forget it (or you can misremember it, which as you get older does become a seperate thing).

So, in (a)Rw experiment #5678, we shall try not to forget.

And maybe post more.

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Need Coffee @ Dragon Con 2007

Posted on August 18th, 2007 by mike.
Categories: rants, werks.

Hey, remember WAYYY back when I said I was about unleash the details on the Dragon Con doings?  And kept saying it? Funny how issues get in the way…. (more…)

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Doctor Who vs. Stargate

Posted on October 1st, 2006 by mike.
Categories: from somewhere notebook, rants.

The two Sci Fi franchises have thrown down in a dispute with the Guiness Book of World Records over which of their respective series has had the longest consecutive run.

The trouble started with the publication of the latest edition of the Book of World Records, which had proclaimed recently-canceled Sci Fi Channel series Stargate: SG-1 as the “Longest Running Sci Fi Series”.

Then the BBC weighed in, crying foul math. Posting to the official Doctor Who series website- the Beeb mentioned Stargate’s record and then openly noted that Guiness had failed to take into account Who’s 1963-1989 run (which itself was incorrect- as the Beeb had put the series on ‘hiatus’ after its 1985 season).

Guiness performed a recount and Stargate kept a slightly altered record : Longest Running (Consecutive) Sci Fi series. Doctor Who got the “Longest Running” honors. And it seems everyone is happy….But let’s go back to that “Consecutive” thing for a minute.

To come up with the “Longest Running Sci Fi Series” record, Guiness went by episode count. And counted all five incarnations of Star Trek as one show.

With that in mind, let’s go over this again….

Doctor Who ran consecutive series every year from 1963 to 1985. That’s 22 years.

IF we going to go by Guiness’ standard, you’d count all incarnations of Star Trek as one show. That makes the run which began with the premiere of Next Gen in 1987 to Enterprise’s 2005 cancellation proper fodder. And that’s an 18 year run.

By its 215 episode count- SG-1 comes in third. 10 years.

The X-Files is fourth by virtue of being a mid-season replacement. 10 years, 203 episodes.

But the Doctor, Starfleet, and members of Stargate Command are nowhere close to being in longest running scripted TV series of all time- that honor goes to CBS’ Guiding Light, The televised version of the daytime soap (which had a long run on radio prior to its TV Debut) has been on the air since 1952, and is still in production.

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