BLOG: Design

Since the web design is basically a joke around here, I'm willing to take suggestions. Apparently you can export an XML file from Blogger with the blog template on it, but I have no idea how to edit it. If any aspiring web designers want to take a crack at it, be my guest and drop me an email.

BLOG: Listen Up

Okay, so I think I've figured out a file hosting situation for this thing. However, I do need to test it, so if anyone wants to please download the song below, that'd be great. It's a direct link, and if you're running Firefox with the QuickTime plugin it should play right in your browser. Leave a comment to let me know how it went.

Neko Case - Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis

BLOG: Birthday Time

Today is the esteemed Brent Barron's birthday. He's turning 103.

You may know Brent as the inventor of the wristwatch, the fire escape, the pager and time. Brent briefly masqueraded as Christ for a while, later discovered to be the original copy of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. Brent can be viewed here.

"Happy Birthday to Me."

Also, for a bit of geek trivia, today is the 30th birthday of the original Star Wars.

MUSIC: St. Robinson's Cadillac Dream

The current blog name was chosen hastily after only a slight bit of research, but I think it really fits with what I'd like to do here. It was chosen because a blog can't be started without a good (or at least a distinguishable (i.e.: not "the cake blog" or "the dogfood blog.")) name, and it's getting late in the evening as of this writing.

The song from which the lyrics were taken is called "St. Robinson and His Cadillac Dream," from an album by Counting Crows called "This Desert Life" (And no, it's not the one with "Mr. Jones" on it.). Here is what the writer, Adam Duritz, has to say about it:

"Thats the one song we had written before we started the album, its the only one, although it was drastically different before. It's of a different depth lyrically cause its really about someone, It's sort of me taking the piss out of myself in a way. It's about a guy with big dreams, which is you know, been what I've always been. But it's about a guy who is so obsessed with his big dreams and like everything he wants out of life, but he cant relate to life on simpler terms, all he can think of is in terms of his big dreams, and it makes it so he can't deal with day to day communication with people, specifically this one person. It's a song about how at some point this guy is looking back at him life and hes seeing a point where two peoples lives spun together and then for what ever reason they spun apart.." [Thanks to Anna for the quote.]

But no, I'm not St. Robinson, and I'm not trying to make some kind of grand statement. I do like the bit about relating to people on simple terms, and I think everyone has something in their lives or in their minds that keeps them from completely connecting to others while out there in the shadow of the modern machine. Isn't that what it's all about though, right? We're all trying to connect. That's why we have music.

Regardless of whether or not the Crows are hot shit among the college crowd has yet to be fully explored by me. But who the hell cares, right? It's my damn weblog, I'll do what I want. Since you can't hear music through someone else's ears, there are very few times when you can discuss music with someone and know exactly what they are talking about, and that I suppose it is these differences that form individual tastes.

I'm only here to make an argument for mine, using words and (hopefully soon) sounds. Hell, maybe even other people's words from time to time.