A New Sunrise?

I suppose after about 12 days it is time to take my previous post off the front page, but obviously updating my blog hasn't been a keen priority lately. In a brighter, south-southeastern light, I have, thanks to my precious friends, successfully moved from the "The Castle" (see October posts) to...well, not a castle, but a fine residence nonetheless. I loved my previous home so much that it has been difficult to find a new apartment without the thick haze of melancholy obscuring my perspective. (and for those of you that can't quite follow what is going on here, my previous residence in The Castle came to a premature end in favor of a new owner evicting everyone for "major renovations," possibly a legal guise for a condominium conversion).

After precariously balancing my belongings down The Castle's dilapidated fire escape, it was time to open my new front door. And as though I had never seen the place before, I realized that...it really is a nice apartment. It's no castle for $485 a month, but it has ample natural sunlight (something very valuable in Portland!), a sliver view of downtown and the West Hills, a Murphy Bed to pull out for guests (I don't even want to begin with the name jokes on that one, but mark my word: there is not, nor shall there ever be a Murphy sleeping on my Murphy Bed) ...ahem...there is ample storage space, numerous public balconies with barbecue potential, and for the first time in my rental career, there is space -- oh, glorious space to stretch my legs, space to run in circles and bark at my tail, and space to realize that I'm a dude that obviously doesn't spend his money on furniture.

I soon realized that one must look for a place that can become a home, not a place that already is a home. My new apartment -- now aptly dubbed "The Murphy," or just "The Murph" if you're into the whole brevity thing -- can indeed become my home. And because of that, I will sleep soundly among the unfamiliar new sounds and shadows.

I hope to post pictures soon. And an uber "Thank You" once again to my friends for their slave labor; a "Murph" warming party awaits you all!

How Do You Keep Love Alive?

Lord, I miss that girl
On the day we met the sun was shining down
Down on the valley
Riddled with horses running
Crushing them with flowers
I would have picked for her
On the day she was born
She runs through my veins like a long black river
And rattles my cage like a thunderstorm
Oh my soul

What does it mean?
What does it mean?
What does it mean to be so sad?
When someone you love
Someone you love is supposed to make you happy
What do you do
How do you keep love alive?

When it won't
What, what are the words
They use when they know it's over
"We need to talk," or
"I'm confused, maybe later you can come over"
I would've held your mother's hand
On the day you was born
She runs through my veins
Like a long black river and rattles my cage
Like a thunderstorm
Oh, my soul

What does it mean?
What does it mean?
What does it mean to be so sad?
When someone you love
Someone you love is supposed to make you happy
What do you do
How do you keep love alive?

When it won't
How do you keep love alive?

-- Ryan Adams

The Fire Within

Hi friends. I hope everyone's holidays have been as pleasant as mine, although I know that is not the case. Many of you were swallowed whole by Denver's voracious snow cloud; all the while, Sioux Falls idles in a bog-brown-like haze, picturesque of an Irish February more than a Midwest December. But alas, this may be the fate our warming planet has in store for us. Regardless of these "convenient metaphors" (Al Gore's impending poetry attempt), the year 2006 A.D. is about to close. Rather than wallow in reflection over the year's public curriculum vitae, I wish all of you a positive personal reflection on 2006 and the incipient 2007. Think not about what did or didn't happen, but what can happen. Hope is the soul's sunshine. And the "soul" in many ways is all we will ever have, including meaning. I couldn't think of something more valuable, yet more manageable. You may not have control over everything that happens to you, but you are completely in control of how you respond to everything that happens to you. And that is what keeps optimists like me looking forward: we. have. control. We can change our planet, our governments, our friends, our addictions, our fears, our futures...

All that is required is will -- the will that is available in abundance from friends, family, and even strangers. So as the sun sets on one diminutively small chapter in time, may I offer you all -- as friends and fellow human co-conspirators -- my will to make 2007 a chapter of enlightenment and happiness. To will is to have.

Excuse Me Grandma, Could You Please Pass Me Some More Of Your Delicious "Chidurcock"?

While I certainly have never eaten one, I bet the Chidurcock is good in all of its fleshy wholesomeness. I've never really appreciated Thanksgiving like so many other Americans, most likely because of my unique eating disorder, called "health-and-quality-edibles-only-exia" -- unique, yet a simple euphamism shared by all all eating disorders: control freak. I do, however, appreciate the clever amalgams that Americans dream up to ensure the holiday will be, pardon the pun, fresh. Example: the "Turducken," which I'm told is a turkey stuffed inside of a duck stuffed inside of a chicken. Now, I'm not going to ponder the size-limitations instrinsic to each bird that may quell such ostentatious feats of culinary artistry, but I will give them (us?) credit for creativity. I have had quite a laugh coming up with the seemingly endless possibilities of avian matryoshka food, such as the "Chidurkey," the "Durtuken," or my favorite, the "Chidurcock," which is obviously a chicken stuffed inside of a duck stuffed inside of a turkey stuffed inside of a peacock stuffed inside of your mouth. Mmmmmm. But since I don't eat meat (excluding small arctic seals), I assume carnivors eat any living creatures, including peacocks. Why not? The added bonus would be plenty of colorful Christmas decor ready to deck the walls on the following Friday.

Out of "Respek" for my fellow carnivores, I should confess the absurdity of my own Thanksgiving delight, the "Tofurkey". This rare species is a delicacy among us vegetarians, foraging the medium-sized, but not too big island of Veggistan (oh, those poor people that actually live in these "[Mad Lib noun]istan" countries that have to put up with incessant ignorance and ridicoule from the good 'ol US of A). Ahem, however, the Veggistanian tofurkey population is disappearing at an alarming rate, something I'm sure most liberal vegetarian wackos would be concerned about. The good news is that the tofurkey population is easily controlled because their slaughter is nowhere near the genocide endured by its Darwinian cousin, the Chidurcock -- which, mind you, amounts to four dead birds per meal! Furthermore, tofurkeys are benefiting from increased public awareness resulting from Al Gore's new slide show, "A Convenient Truth: if the torfurkey population increases, global warming will decrease". Think about it. It's the same logic linking the decline in the number of pirates with the increase in global warnming (see the Flying Spaghetti Monster for more details). Clearly, all we need to do is increase the tofurkey population (which I said is easy to do, remember?) and we will have plenty of tofurkeys and small acrtic seals for our kids to enjoy. I just love it when things work out!

Despite the endangered tofurkey population and increasing global warming, I was able to savor some soybean-flavored blood on Thanksgiving because, after all, Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrating gluttony; it is a holiday that anoints all guilt; it is purely American. And so on that note, I would like to end with a toast to the Puritans. It is the Puritans -- the founders of Thanksgiving, the planters of tofurkeys everywhere from the beaches of southern California of Redondo to Calabassos, to Khe San and Lan Doc and Hill 364, and the fashion icons of pirate garb that may someday save our warming planet -- that I am most thankful. Happy Mailman Day, everyone.

Create Your Wave

It is no secret that I am a progressive, liberal-minded individual. I am, however, no Democrat. Despite this, I would be lying to say that I am not pleased with last night's midterm election results. The United States government has been devouring itself and the greater good of mankind (environment, wealth distribution, war, ect.) for many, many years. I don't, however, think that the gluttony is a result of Republicans, Democrats, or Republicrats; rather, the gluttony is the result of a taciturn, satiated American public that is allowing the government to become a voracious monster. What happened in last night's elections was not, in my eyes, a victory for the Democratic Party -- it was a victory for change. We need change. And we need it now. Excuse that bumper-stickered expression, but in a technological age that has advanced the human race into a global society, the ramifications of bumptious nationalism and raw ignorance have much more potency than they did even 20 years ago. As the most powerful nation on the planet -- at least in terms of wealth, innovation, and technology -- it is our mandate to embrace our anemic planet. We have not been doing that. Instead, corruption has unwound the threads that bind our country's integrity, and as a result of our incredible power, has destabilize the entire planet. Corruption has even infected the meaning of Freedom: "the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint" (Oxford dictionary). After reading that and considering our current plight, it is clear that freedom is not necessarily granted if you are poor, gay, atheist, Native American...

I don't, however, think America or any other governed people have ever been truly "free". The human being is just too fallible. But that should not prevent us from trying. In recent years, freedom has been regressing, not progressing. Most of this effect is the result of the nicely packaged hysteria sold as "9/11". I fear that governments have learned from the Nazi regime, but not in a way to prevent such atrocities from happening again; rather, they have learned how to make the atrocities invisible. Why force away freedom if you can convince the public to vote it away? In our current president's own words, "You are either for us or against us". This is not too dissimilar from "You are a traitor if you don't support the president," which, of course, sounds a lot like the propaganda from a particular 20th Century nationalist government. But that type of rhetoric was precisely the chant following 9/11 and it continues to persist today...or at least until yesterday. I now see a crack, a glimmer of hope -- not a "wave" as many political pundits are dubbing -- but a change nonetheless. The salt in this sweet drink is that the "change" voted on yesterday is likely embodied by more homogeneous, robotic republocrats that will waste time hitting back on the playground while America continues its obscene feast on Planet Earth.

But I am an optimist, especially about the potential of the American people. I urge you to be active in upcoming political endeavors. It is important; it is your mandate. Apathy, while inert in primitive, local villages, is too dangerous in our technological, global village. So please step with care. Don't be duped by what you are sold by your church, your cable television, your gasoline automobile, your "conveniences". Someone, somewhere is collecting your debt in the form of war, hunger, disease, and death. In the cautionary words of Voltaire, "Those that can convince you of absurdities can make you commit atrocities". America is unfortunately being convinced of a plethora of absurdities and committing numerous atrocites. But you can help change that.

And so I leave you with the wisdom of Gandhi as a mantra for our future: "Be The Change You Want To See In The World". Godspeed America.

Portland, My Portland

My lovely city has been showing her best face lately and I wanted to share some of our recent photo shoots. Isn't she hot?! Click on the photos to enlarge them.

***Election reminder: don't forget to be an EDUCATED voter tomorrow. Know your candidates; know your issues. If you do not, leave that particular vote blank for the people that are educated (like John Kerry! ...that's a joke...really....). Contrary to popular belief, skipping a single vote does NOT nullify the rest of your ballot. And since this is my blog, I will take the liberty to encourage you to VOTE FOR CHANGE on the national level!

Hi, Atus!

If only that was my name, I'd have a good excuse. Yes, it's been all too long since I've embraced The AstroSite. Since I last updated, I've passed my qualifying exam to become an illustrious "Ph.D. Candidate," I've stomped through the leave-littered grounds of northern Vermont, I've moved into a castle, and...I'm still moving into a castle (but I'm almost done), I've shared wine and dine with one of Portland's most reputed maverick professors, and I've assaulted an empty stomach with too much alcohol at a Halloween party (but sub-regurgitating, thankfully). Somewhere in there I did a lot of reading and science, but obviously that too has been relegated to a less priority. And alas, I will soon have to hang out with Grant...again. This is indeed the same "Grant" as before (see previous posts), but now he must be prepared for "The Real World" (a.k.a the NIH) like every other adolescent. Therefore, Grant and I shall once again sojourn the NW coffee shops in search of the ephemeral mitochondria permeability transition pore. Sigh...

In other news, my good friend (well, not really) Jamie Lidell is back this Friday to charm P-town with his somehow believable British Motown. For those of you unaware, this man deserves all the accolades he can get. He is a computer programming god with a God-programmed voice, de parfait! Other upcoming procrastination bonanzas include an election night party (stay tuned for an upcoming AstroSite special soon!), a live musical performance/debacle by yours truly, an evening par excellence among the brick and mortar crenelations of my new home, a completely heterosexual Thanksgiving with Matt Inc. (I'm not going to explain), aaaaaannnnnddd....then a grant deadline on December 5th. Speaking of...I think I hear him. I've gotta run. More soon.

Oh yeah, and happy Identity Crisis Day...

HAPPY ROCK-TOBER 1st!

That smell is in the air, that twinkle is in the light, that simmer is in the night. Need I say more? Happy Rock-Tober 2006!

Analog Love For A Binary Universe

I'm just going to get it over with: This Binary Universe is the most important feat of musical accomplishment in recent memory. Yes, those are some heavy accolades that should be used with great care. But I’ve owned This Binary Universe for over a month now and I feel qualified to shower its music with glowing reviews. Before I review This Binary Universe, however, I should introduce you to Brian Transeau, or “BT”. BT is an accomplished pianist cum computer wunderkind that has been on the electronic music radar since the mid 1990’s. He has consistently breached the frontiers of music by effectively knitting rock, classical, hip-hop, and electronic genres, among others, into a distinct “BT” amalgam. This Binary Universe is an exception to his previous work in that he has truly outdone his own exceptional curriculum vitae.

This Binary Universe is primarily a classical work with each track characterizing various themes, and each theme characterizing various movements. Texture is added through an impossible ensemble of instruments from tympanis and xylophones, to acoustic guitars and sting basses, from rain sticks and pianos, to a 108-piece string orchestra. But what makes This Binary Universe such an avant-garde accomplishment is its thick, glossy polish of electronica. It is here, in the binary universe of micro-second edits, stutters, and digitized sonic sweeps, that this album departs from being simply “music;” This Binary Universe is indeed an experience. This can even be taken literally as the album comes packaged in two forms: a 2.0, 44.1kHz standard CD format and a sensory-assaulting 5.1 DTS surround format complete with animated short films complimenting each track. The result is indeed “the most important feat of musical accomplishment in recent memory;” I am nonplussed to provide an accurate description of the gorgeously novel soundscapes BT has created.

Using his electronic prowess as the binding thread, BT has managed to seamlessly weave together nearly every style of music in existence, from classical to hip-hop, to Indian, to rock in a single track. For example, in “Dynamic Symmetry,” what begins as a gentle bell melody over an alternating 4/4:5/4 time signature evolves into a crescendo of acoustic guitar patterns and 4/4 IDM-style drum loops. The song then drops a bomb by transitioning into a jazz swing complete with stand-up bass, piano, and ride cymbal. But then, like a creeping fog, the electronica slowly takes hold and puts the jazz into a spiral through three different time signatures, with the last one dropping us off where we started in 4/4 – ah, dynamic symmetry par excellence. “1.618” – which is named after the golden ratio – is an elegant, emotional track floating somewhere between air and consciousness. Yes, some fluffy prose, but accurate nonetheless. The short film accompanying “1.618” track is equally beautiful, transfixing your eyes like fire with computer-generated “machines” morphing into each other like a three dimensional M.C. Escher museum. Another notable feat is “The Antikythera Mechanism” – a track named after the ancient analog computer discovered off the coast of Greece. This track is BT’s opus. Clocking in at over 10 minutes, “The Antikythera Mechanism” is arguably the most accomplished production in This Binary Universe. This track opens with a rusted piano melody (which makes sense if you listen to it) that gradually cleans up into a gorgeous acoustic guitar duet. Electronic sweeps and bleeps pepper the atmosphere and eventually take hold of the rhythm, where the sounds then take on an increasingly sinister spiral toward a ferocious finale of, yes, a 108 piece orchestra, which later explodes into a million digital pieces. Nice.

Part of the brilliance of This Binary Universe is that BT never tolerates redundancy. There is no “wow, that was great; let’s go back to it again later in the song”. Each track differs wildly from the previous track, and each movement of a track differs wildly from the previous movement. But why keep reading about this album when you could hear it? The below website will allow you to sample songs, artwork, ect. from This Binary Universe, but for the just-mentioned reasons above, short samples will do this album little justice. But alas, I should compensate my inept descriptive writing with actual song samples.

To sample any of the songs from This Binary Universe, click on the below link and then click on "Downloads":

This Binary Universe"

One More Flaming Hoop

After approximately 2 hours of cross-examination, I have successfully earned my "Ph.C." -- which is none other than, my "Candidate of Philosophy" degree. It won't get me a faculty position outside of Bob Jones University, but it will get me a subtle, yet refreshing $40 / month raise and a nod of approval within the Vollum Fraternity...I'm sorry, I'm meant to say the Vollum Faculty (yes, that's just a joke). Anyway, now all I have to do are the laborious experiments that I so laboriously defended to my committee for the past 2 hours, after which I just may upgrade my alphabet soup to a "D".

SNAP INTO A SLIM JIM!!!!...oh, yeah....