The Great Pillow Fight of 2010
Originally uploaded by Monster Pete
Friday, February 19, 2010
The Great Pillow Fight of 2010
The Great Pillow Fight of 2010
Originally uploaded by Monster Pete
Thursday, January 28, 2010
long live howard zinn
he died today. i met him when he came to speak at northwestern. we had dinner, and he less than half-jokingly accepted my offer to buy him a drink, just before he was to speak. the crowd was packed into one of the school's bigger auditoriums. he talked about how war breeds terrorism and post-9/11 atmospheres; this was probably in 2002. as we were walking toward the auditorium, I asked if he was fairly busy these days. yes, he said with a laugh, war is good for business.
it's his cheeriness that i remember, as i never read too much of what he wrote. he also loved him some dunkin donuts coffee, like a true man of the people. rip
it's his cheeriness that i remember, as i never read too much of what he wrote. he also loved him some dunkin donuts coffee, like a true man of the people. rip
Monday, January 18, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
new york. the lights will inspire you.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Ghostbusters 3 on the Way
Alright so I'm psyched. Anyone want some thai food? (There's a line in the first movie about Thai food). Ivan Reitman Confirms 'Ghostbusters 3' Rumors - Inside Movies
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Saturday, December 05, 2009
peeking
my girlfriend checked my "history" to find the gift i ordered for her online.
is this the new "shaking the box"?
is this the new "shaking the box"?
Friday, December 04, 2009
band names
The Outward Swinging Doors
Jehovah's Attorneys
Butters in Bali
Waiter, There's Soup in My Hair
Jehovah's Attorneys
Butters in Bali
Waiter, There's Soup in My Hair
Thursday, December 03, 2009
word of the day
approximeeting: Getting together with one or more people by first arranging an approximate time or place and then firming up the details later on, usually via cell phone.
—approximeet v.
In a sentence: "I called my future self to approximeet sometime in the next 6 months to discuss my career plans."
—approximeet v.
In a sentence: "I called my future self to approximeet sometime in the next 6 months to discuss my career plans."
cutting flowers
i turned in a 29 page paper the other day. i thought it was longer but i had the margins wrong, and changed them at the last minute after cutting most of my inspired turns of phrase from the paper (because i thought it was too long). se la vie.
Monday, November 16, 2009
gigging!
i played a violin gig last night, my first for money. Previously I've only entertained grade-schoolers. The kids are more excited than the adults, I can say from experience. Here's what happened: This guy dropped into the music store where I take lessons looking for an "intermediate" violinist, evidently. I got the call and rang the guy up. He gave me this 30 minute spiel about how he's trying to smooth over a "rough patch" with his gf, whose parents hate him, evidently. Poor chap. So I learned "At Last," put on a suit, and played for him and her at a restaurant in San Mateo. The manager took my cards, and asked my rate. I said $50 per half hour. Not bad right? HIGHlarious. I gotta work on my Italian tunes...it's amore.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The Hurt Locker / Gunner Palace
Most Iraq war movies focus on how dishonest the push to war was, or how hopeless the fight is. The Hurt Locker assumes both, then dismisses them through a protagonist addicted to war and its adrenaline-inducing chaos. The movie is hard to watch if you actually consider the cost of supporting people like him, with its minimal ROI, and as displayed in embedded documentary Gunner Palace, about a squad living out of one of Uday Hussein's palaces just after the "victory" in the war in Iraq, around 2003. But Hurt Locker is easy to get pulled into, if you've ever enjoyed an episode of GI Joe.
The main character is a bomb, or IED, defuser. He's old school, doing such gallant acts as throwing off his communication devices and forgoing use of the bomb robot; if you can imagine an action hero star who prefers analog life (see Die Hard) you'll get my drift. So this flawed hero ignores his family, rides his men, and never gets hurt. Nearly everyone else does. How is he such a superman?
We never really find out. He's Daniel Craig style tormented, ripped--diesel, and not afraid to fight. I guess he's the ideal soldier. So he saves a few lives, places too much emphasis on his relationship with a young local boy, to compensate for failing with his family at home, I guess, and the rest of the characters falter and pray for home. He's not cruel, as one of the higher ranking officers in the film is, preferring to let an insurgent die than receive medical care. He's just addicted to war.
So it goes. Hurt Locker dares you to dream of a world where war is sport, and just as meaningless. Go team USA!
Gunner Palace, on the other hand, is more comfortable dwelling in the silent moments, after the enthusiasm wears off, and soldiers are left with only their weak explanations and vivid memories.
The only hint of Locker's addiction to war found in the doc Gunner Palace is when a young soldier exclaims his joy for being in Iraq. From a small town, natch, the young man says that at his age, about 19, he can say he's been in war, with combat experience. How many people can say that? he asks. The expression of enthusiasm on his face proves that the need still exists to prove your manhood or see the world through war. I wonder whether any alternatives can capture the imagination in such a romantic way. That said, there's nothing too romantic about all the raps--literally, mostly African-American soldiers spitting rhymes next to their Humvees, while beat-keepers smack their hands on the hood--that Gunner Palace prominently features. I liked those.
The main character is a bomb, or IED, defuser. He's old school, doing such gallant acts as throwing off his communication devices and forgoing use of the bomb robot; if you can imagine an action hero star who prefers analog life (see Die Hard) you'll get my drift. So this flawed hero ignores his family, rides his men, and never gets hurt. Nearly everyone else does. How is he such a superman?
We never really find out. He's Daniel Craig style tormented, ripped--diesel, and not afraid to fight. I guess he's the ideal soldier. So he saves a few lives, places too much emphasis on his relationship with a young local boy, to compensate for failing with his family at home, I guess, and the rest of the characters falter and pray for home. He's not cruel, as one of the higher ranking officers in the film is, preferring to let an insurgent die than receive medical care. He's just addicted to war.
So it goes. Hurt Locker dares you to dream of a world where war is sport, and just as meaningless. Go team USA!
Gunner Palace, on the other hand, is more comfortable dwelling in the silent moments, after the enthusiasm wears off, and soldiers are left with only their weak explanations and vivid memories.
The only hint of Locker's addiction to war found in the doc Gunner Palace is when a young soldier exclaims his joy for being in Iraq. From a small town, natch, the young man says that at his age, about 19, he can say he's been in war, with combat experience. How many people can say that? he asks. The expression of enthusiasm on his face proves that the need still exists to prove your manhood or see the world through war. I wonder whether any alternatives can capture the imagination in such a romantic way. That said, there's nothing too romantic about all the raps--literally, mostly African-American soldiers spitting rhymes next to their Humvees, while beat-keepers smack their hands on the hood--that Gunner Palace prominently features. I liked those.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
iran, i was tired
sorry for the lame joke in the headline.
I saw Peter Broukaert speak at the Ferry Building about Iran, and other atrocity-doing regimes in the world. Iranians from the Iranian American Bar Association showed up in numbers, so it was a nice, spirited crowd. Unfortunately lefties used most of the Q&A to ask about US politics, mainly. The speaker had a European accent, being born in Belgium. It made it all the more startling when he quoted political activists raped in Iranian prisons, who said their rapists told them something to the effect of "You can't even protect your own ass, so how can you save Iran?"
Broukaert warned of a "deal with the devil," whereby the US would turn a blind eye on internal Iranian human rights and political abuses in return for international regulation of their nuclear program.
Closer to home, he said certain Silicon Valley companies, without naming names, are very involved in the sophisticated Internet monitoring by governments in Asia, specifically Burma/Myanmar.
***
On a lighter note, I watched Pi. The soundtrack was a nostalgia-inducing step back into the late 90s, with Orbital, Massive Attack, Autechre and other broken beat artists. The grainy B+W was fun, different, but the story was fairly run of the mill. Independent computer programmer resists the offers of money and religious celebrity, as well as female companionship, preferring to remain true to his pursuit of knowledge.
***
Britt's still gone. Boo hoo. I should try to be nicer to people even though I'm heartbroken.
***
Yesterday, I ran all over town, from West Portal to the Ferry Building, to Menlo Park. We saw Stanford whoop up on the Huskies in football. Dort scolded me for only scalping my extra ticket for $10 instead of $15. Le sigh. It was my dad's birthday so I think he appreciated our coming down. It's crazy to see an actual running game at the Farm. Go Card!
I saw Peter Broukaert speak at the Ferry Building about Iran, and other atrocity-doing regimes in the world. Iranians from the Iranian American Bar Association showed up in numbers, so it was a nice, spirited crowd. Unfortunately lefties used most of the Q&A to ask about US politics, mainly. The speaker had a European accent, being born in Belgium. It made it all the more startling when he quoted political activists raped in Iranian prisons, who said their rapists told them something to the effect of "You can't even protect your own ass, so how can you save Iran?"
Broukaert warned of a "deal with the devil," whereby the US would turn a blind eye on internal Iranian human rights and political abuses in return for international regulation of their nuclear program.
Closer to home, he said certain Silicon Valley companies, without naming names, are very involved in the sophisticated Internet monitoring by governments in Asia, specifically Burma/Myanmar.
***
On a lighter note, I watched Pi. The soundtrack was a nostalgia-inducing step back into the late 90s, with Orbital, Massive Attack, Autechre and other broken beat artists. The grainy B+W was fun, different, but the story was fairly run of the mill. Independent computer programmer resists the offers of money and religious celebrity, as well as female companionship, preferring to remain true to his pursuit of knowledge.
***
Britt's still gone. Boo hoo. I should try to be nicer to people even though I'm heartbroken.
***
Yesterday, I ran all over town, from West Portal to the Ferry Building, to Menlo Park. We saw Stanford whoop up on the Huskies in football. Dort scolded me for only scalping my extra ticket for $10 instead of $15. Le sigh. It was my dad's birthday so I think he appreciated our coming down. It's crazy to see an actual running game at the Farm. Go Card!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
weekend update
- Hiked with Keith and Roz the Dog at Candlestick Point right after the 49ers game. Put out a fire some nitwit started by dumping his barbecue coals into the dry brush. Marveled at the ringing sound of a thousand empty bottles windswept across the littered parking lot.
- Went to 10-year high school reunion. The jocks predictably ruined the class photo with a boisterous "U-S-A!" chant. I thought "B-E-L-L-S Go Bells!" was good enough. On the upside, astronomer Shane Bussman clued me into UniverseToday.com as a possible improvement on Astronomy Picture of the Day.
- Sent my cousin off to college at Santa Barbara with fancy dinner at Los Altos Grill. For some reason there were several nats flying over our food the whole time.
- Talked to Britt, who's in Arkansas.
- Working on CV to send to the world
Friday, September 11, 2009
i awoke from a coma yesterday
Instead of lying on a bed, like most people, my coma activity consisted of playing live online Tetris and reading and studying the law.
last night, my non-coma activity climaxed with a visit to the SF Symphony's annual All Concert, a $10 show for people involved in civic groups in the city. The program was two waltzes, from Liszt and Ravel, then the popular theme from the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Carousel.
For the second act, guest pianist Ilya Yukushev pretty much ran the whole affair doing Prokofiev's second piano concerto.
We had awesome seats in the terrace above and to the side of the orchestra. I noticed new things, like the harpist covering his ears from the crashing cymbals behind him, the little plastic noise barriers to do the same, and MTT's little glances to the pianist before starting each movement, as if to ask permission.
OK, back to school.
last night, my non-coma activity climaxed with a visit to the SF Symphony's annual All Concert, a $10 show for people involved in civic groups in the city. The program was two waltzes, from Liszt and Ravel, then the popular theme from the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Carousel.
For the second act, guest pianist Ilya Yukushev pretty much ran the whole affair doing Prokofiev's second piano concerto.
We had awesome seats in the terrace above and to the side of the orchestra. I noticed new things, like the harpist covering his ears from the crashing cymbals behind him, the little plastic noise barriers to do the same, and MTT's little glances to the pianist before starting each movement, as if to ask permission.
OK, back to school.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
i made some music
Contraband by Peter Loyarpánz
Click the link. I made it on GarageBand using stock bass and drum loops. I recorded guitar and violin parts with the MBPro's onboard mic and line input. Whoopdeedoo. Tell me what you think!
Click the link. I made it on GarageBand using stock bass and drum loops. I recorded guitar and violin parts with the MBPro's onboard mic and line input. Whoopdeedoo. Tell me what you think!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
