Episode IV: A New Host

I’m changing hosts yet again. Hopefully, you won’t notice. Then again, I just pointed it out, so…

Anyway, I don’t recommend my soon-to-be former host, Brius, to anyone who enjoys prompt customer service and consistent up-time.

Here’s hoping the database makes it over ok.

February 4, 2008 | Filed Under Personal | Leave a Comment

Back to Blogging

I stopped posting to this blog some time ago and started shooting my thoughts in other directions. Since then, I created a Vox blog (I didn’t do much with it. I like how easy it easy to embed media but it’s a closed platform, and I just wasn’t very inspired to post much there), a tumblelog on Tumblr (awesome. everyone I know should have one), and started Twittering.

So I’ve been doing quite a bit of lots of things. My “web presence” has essentially splintered into smaller streams. Which is great, since it has encouraged me to post more. But I’ve started to miss writing a more traditional blog. Every once in a while I feel like writing a longer form post about something, and this seems like the best way to do it.

I’ve moved to a new host and gone from Blogger to Wordpress and MarsEdit. A quick redesign is also in place, as you can see. It’s nothing drastic. I’m still working from a template here, but it’s an improvement. I’ve moved most of the posts I felt were worth keeping (about half) from Blogger and Vox manually, one-by-one. I should have it fully up to date soon. The comments were unfortunately lost.

I’ll be posting here about music, movies, tv shows, books, art, the internet, and other things I’m interested in with some frequency I hope. And then I’ve got feeds from Twitter and from my tumblelog in the sidebar, along with photos from my Flickr stream and recently listened records via Last.fm. If I was really lame, I’d probably call this blog “Everything Jeff” or “Jeff World.”

That’s what this all is, for better or worse: different levels of me. See, in my tumblelog, I’ll post links and embedded videos and stuff–very short and to the point. With that mini blog, you’ll typically see multiple posts a day and without much commentary. And then there’s Twitter, which is basically all commentary (albeit of the random, on-the-spot variety). And then there’s this blog, for the longer and theoretically more thought-out stuff. [Notice I said “theoretically”.]

How much do I care? What do I want to know about this creep? These are questions you should be asking yourself when deciding which feeds to subscribe to.

November 23, 2007 | Filed Under Personal | Leave a Comment

Dark Green of My Soul

1. Never be disappointed: expect nothing.

I’ve been cleaning my room. It’s all dust and pennies and unmarked CD-Rs. It feels good to do something productive on an otherwise lazy weekend. I didn’t get out on Friday, due to the bad weather and my usual end-of-the-week collapse. Saturday’s highlight was a good Thai meal with Jonathan and his friend Brent. I’ve decided that Pad Pik King is a simple yet delicious dish. I wish I had leftovers.

I worked a little on these button designs I’ve been thinking about for a while. Allison has a button maker thing and will hopefully hook me up after I’ve printed them. I’ll post those when I feel like it. In other semi-creative news, I did some precursory recording of this song I’ve been fucking around with lately. It’s not really a song yet, just a couple different bass parts and basic drums. I really like the bassline I came up with, so hopefully I can take it somewhere.

2. Movies are photographs, twenty-four times a second.

I watched the Criterion Collection edition of Slacker today, a most fitting title for my weekend. Despite being nearly fifteen years-old, I think it’s aged pretty well. Speaking of Linklater, I’m really looking forward to A Scanner Darkly this summer. [Trailer here.] I’ve been reading the novel recently, on loan from Tim.

3. Music is for chumps.

Last night I discovered this little section of reviews on Tiny Mix Tapes where they recommend older records and review them. I love that. You’re bound to find out about something cool that you missed the first time or rediscover something you already have but haven’t listened to in a while. Give ‘er a try.

I found the latest Four Tet album, Everything Ecstatic, on SoulSeek last night (also thanks to TMT). I haven’t listened enough to get a good impression, but it sounds at least decent so far. Looks like legal copies will be out May 23rd on Domino.

Coming this week on my little ol’ site: recently acquired records I’ve been enjoying, site updates to the oft-neglected photos and music sections, and The End of Days.

PS: Fuck daylight savings.

April 3, 2005 | Filed Under Film, Music, Personal | Leave a Comment

If It Keeps on Rainin’

A week from now I will be en route to Chicago. Yes—the Windy City, the Pride of the Rust Belt, the City of the Big Shoulders(?). I’m going to visit Leigh, who moved there from DC about a year and half ago. I’ll be there for about three full days. I’ve never been and don’t get to travel nearly as much as I’d like to, so I’m pretty excited about it.

I’ve been asking around here and there about things I should check out. Of course Leigh will be there to show me around, but I’ll have at least one free day to myself. I have a few ideas so far (see below), and we’re seeing Slint play at the Metro on the 25th, but everything else is wide open. So I’m wondering if anyone reading could suggest some things a first time visitor should check out. Main interests include record stores, book stores, museums, sites of photographic interest, and good restaurants.

The List so far:

Quimby’s
Sweet Thang
Museum of Science and Industry [esp. this!]
The Field Museum
The Art Institute
Shedd Aquarium