I’ve been trying to think of the quote about judging a government by how it treats its weakest members. I Googled and searched all over with no results, but Ask MetaFilter came through as always. The answer is a non-answer, but it’s an interesting thread to read nonetheless.
Songs of the Week:
You’d never know it from my time in Memphis, but I grew up at gigs. I’ve been holding on to my ticket stubs since the beginning. When my parents sold the house they’d been in for 25 years last summer, I had the task of going through everything of mine that was there. In the process, another slew of ticket stubs emerged, ones I’d forgotten about. I added those to the ones I already had gathered together, and I decided I was going to do something meaningful with them.
When I first moved to Memphis, I went to Michael’s craft store and about had a meltdown trying to find a "normal" scrap book. Seems scrapbooking has now become a verb, which I find most unfortunate. It was nearly impossible to find a plain book with black pages amidst all the themed stickers and glitter glue, but I did it. I got about 10 pages filled, and then internship really began, and the project was suspended.
Today, I was reading some of the new questions on Ask Metafilter, and this one popped up, which got me thinking again about my ticket stub project. That link lead to this one, and before I knew it, I was in the kitchen, moving around the directional lamp trying to get lighting right to begin photographing my collection. I didn’t get far, but it’s a start.
Here are a few of my favorite ticket stubs from way, WAY back when. (For a little context, know that I was 13 for most of 1983.):
I camped out overnight at the Fox Theatre Box Office for this ticket. At the concert, I swooned! I really think I passed out from sheer excitement! As a result, I went home right afterwards, while my friends actually met him!
There is another post that will occur in which I will explain how the song "Wolves, Lower" changed my life. This was the beginning of a love affair I had with this band. All ages at the Agora. My dreams had been answered!
Got a change to talk to Fred for a long while at the backstage door afterwards. He was very sweet to my friend Heather and I.
I got to meet all of the B-52s in person, and I got everyone’s autographs on the back of my ticket stub… even Ricky’s.
Will the ticket stug project ever come to fruition? Will it ever be complete? I think it will be, but it won’t be any time soon. In the meantime, at least I can share a little of it with you. It’s silly, but the collection brings me immense joy. So many memories crammed into such a small space.
‘Member how I was saying that there are certain food ingredients that, when included in a dish, mean I will be very likely to order it? As in "You had me at avocado." I was thinking that the same is true with music. If a song uses a Hammond organ, a slide guitar, or a great horn section, there’s a really good chance I will like it. There are certain types of voices and styles of guitar playing that fit the bill as well, although that’s harder to describe.
Note to self: Search out a list of great bands that use the Hammond organ. Why can I only think of the Doors, Medeski, Deep Purple,… My brain is tapped out right now. But the other day, I thought of loads. Maybe I should contact my uber-talented, much younger piano/organ prodigy cousin Patrick.
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Update: It’s been quiet here, but the people over at Ask MetaFilter have been chock full o’ suggestions.
Well, I was going to blog and ask if anyone else was having trouble with GMail and Google calendar, but I decided to IM "Bostonist Jon" first. He said it was happening all over the Comcast world. It always cracks me up when we’re IMing about something that seems not all that significant, and then there’s a story on Bostonist. I feel like I’m "in the know" or something.
Happened the other day with Lifehacker, too. Because of a conversation on Ask MeFi, I sent an email to Lifehacker asking about how much they test software they recommend. Very next day, there was a very detailed explanation of their software policy posted.
That’s what I love about the internet. It’s run by real people. You can "get at them", befriend them, and even be one of them. It’s not the anonymous and dangerous place some people make it out to be. You just have to know how to use it. In my experience, most webby people are like me: a little nerdy, a bit too enthusiastic about their interests, and really helpful.
OK, So back to the Google thing. The outage today makes me realize how Google-centric my life has become. I really need to export all my email addresses so that the next time I can’t access Google, I won’t be stuck without my most important contacts.
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Update: Bad Google + Comcast interaction was a very popular topic today in the blogosphere.
