| Quick Question |
[Jul. 21st, 2009|11:08 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | curious | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Ministry "All Day Remix" | ] |
For the electronic musicians out there:
When you sell gear, say, a very lightly used 61-key MIDI controller, what kind of percentage of the original price do you ask for? How do you ship it, and much does it cost to do so? I'm used to shipping books and things like that, which fit into regular-sized boxes easily.
I'm looking to get rid of my M-Audio Radium 61 and am wondering roughly how much I should ask for it, and how much to quote people for shipping. |
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| Sleep Well |
[May. 19th, 2009|10:11 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | bored | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Severe Illusion "Waiting Blind" | ] |
Yeah, so I pretty much don't post here anymore, if you hadn't noticed. I haven't got a lot to say. I'm just not really interested in posting about my workaday routine these days.
I am going to NYC this weekend, though, which ought to be a lot of fun.
So yeah, there you go. Later. |
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| Reminder |
[Apr. 15th, 2009|02:41 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | anxious | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | This Morn' Omina "Scorpio" | ] |
I'm DJing at the Attic in Gainesville on Friday, April 17th. |
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| My Sentiments Exactly |
[Mar. 17th, 2009|09:42 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | indifferent | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Hocico "The Shape of Things to Come (live)" | ] |
Coty and I took a trip up to Hopkinsville, Kentucky to visit her dad and stepmom last month. It was nice, actually - the weather was grey and chilly, like we like it, and it was good to see real trees and rocks and hills again. Coty's dad took us on a ride up in the hills - they'd had some severe ice storms and tornadoes recently, so the landscape was pretty ravaged. Lots of toppled dead trees, huge boulders, caves... it was kind of inspiring. We also checked out the local (tiny) museum. That area of Kentucky can boast of Night Riders, Hopkinsville Goblins, and Edgar Cayce. Weird shit galore.
We stopped in Atlanta on the way back and stayed with the Die Sektor kids, which was good fun. They're working on their new album (finally) and what little I heard sounded nicely chaotic and fucked up. I can't say much about it, because they asked me not to, but I think they will surprise a lot of people with the new material. Anyway, I had a good time exposing them to some obscure shit that I had on my iPod, as well as not-so-obscure stuff I couldn't believe they hadn't already heard (like This Morn' Omina's The Drake Equation EP - their jaws hit the floor).
It looks like I might be DJing in Gainesville next month. In a club, no less. We'll see how well that goes over, if it happens (it's not a 100% done deal yet). I am a bit out of touch with what people like to dance to these days - not that it ever affected my setlists much in the first place.
Other news in brief: I beat Fable II and am now sucking at Fallout 3... every song on the new(ish) Amduscia album sounds exactly the same... I think my new doctor is going to try to talk me into a lot of unnecessary surgery... Watchmen was mostly okay, but with a lot of heavy-handed direction and music selection... I've been going to The Castle again occasionally... and that's all I got.
Seeya later. |
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| Dungeonskull Mountain |
[Feb. 12th, 2009|08:31 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | pleased | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Dead Voices On Air "Durrow Book" | ] |
You notice how I pretty much never post anything of substance here anymore?
I'm blogging here. |
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| Really Petty Theft |
[Jan. 28th, 2009|08:27 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | amused | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Monolith "Strange Waves" | ] |
Somebody stole my front license plate. It was an Autoway dealer plate that had been flipped over (so it was blank) and had an Obama campaign sticker slapped on it. Total ghetto homemade plate, and somebody stole it.
And they put the screws back in! The car is completely unharmed, nothing else tampered with or taken. Either somebody hated the plate, or somebody really liked it.
Keep it ridiculous, Bradenton. |
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| The Pox |
[Jan. 12th, 2009|10:36 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | complacent | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Negativland "Christianity Is Stupid" | ] |
Poor, neglected Livejournal...
You know, I think I need to travel more. The Montreal trip was probably the highlight of the past several years, and that was a while ago. Last year we didn't really go anywhere. So far Coty is planning a trip to Kentucky by way of Atlanta to see her dad and her stepmom, and maybe a trip to Disneyworld too. If I have the money I'd like to do more.
In other news, my Xbox, which was a refurb unit, RRODed last week after having it for something like 20 days. I'm returning it for a refund and will be buying a new Elite with the revamped motherboard (and most likely a hefty warranty). I have learned my lesson. At least the withdrawals haven't been too bad so far. |
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| Unleash Hell |
[Dec. 19th, 2008|03:18 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | energetic | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Venetian Snares "Black Sabbath" | ] |
Starting at 4:45 today, I will be off work for SIXTEEN GODDAMN DAYS.
Merry Christmas, bitches! |
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| Oh My Goodness |
[Dec. 16th, 2008|11:30 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | excited | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Signal Aout 42 "Live Less" | ] |
I'm on Xbox Live now. My gamertag is Famagost (don't ask, it's some medieval dungeon shit). Most of you who responded to my earlier post have already gotten requests. |
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| Mechanically Separated |
[Dec. 11th, 2008|05:38 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | impatient | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Disharmony "Tuistos Herz" | ] |
Oh, hi.
I have an Xbox 360 Elite on its way to me in the mail. I'm planning on signing up for Xbox Live at some point shortly after it shows up, so if anybody wants me to look them up there, give me your username or handle or whatever the hell Microsoft calls it. (That is how you look people up on Xbox Live, right?)
LOL n00b. No idea what my username will be. Probably x_BToWN420SuBLiMe_x or something. Can't wait to get called a faggot by some dipshit fratboy via headset. |
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| Taking Things One Day at a Time |
[Nov. 7th, 2008|12:58 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | flabbergasted | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Haujobb "Cleaned Visions (Remixed by Forma Tadre)" | ] |
Variety reports that Oldboy is going to be remade.
Directed by Steven Spielberg.
Starring Will Smith.
Fuck. |
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| Same Thing |
[Oct. 15th, 2008|10:28 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | annoyed | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Joy Division "Leaders of Men" | ] |
I work as a receptionist at the University of South Florida/Sarasota-Manatee, which is a satellite campus of USF, a fairly large state university located in Tampa. Here in Sarasota, there are two other colleges (New College and Ringling School of Art & Design) on the same road. Up until a few years ago, New College was run by USF. To make matters worse, UF and FSU (the bigger state colleges) both own facilities in the area.
It's potentially confusing, but the stupidity of people who call here blows my friggin' mind sometimes. They will argue with me - the guy who actually works here - about this stuff:
THEM: I've been calling your Extension School for an hour, and I keep getting a machine. This is ridiculous. Will you tell me what's going on?!
ME: The Extension School is run by the University of Florida. I'm sorry you're having trouble getting through to them, but you've called the University of South Florida. We're not affiliated. I don't have any information about UF or their facilities.
THEM: But I'm talking to the University of Florida now. That's who I called.
ME: No, this is USF, the University of South Florida. UF is a separate state university. We're not affiliated with them or the Extension School.
THEM: USF, UF - it's the same thing!
I get stuff like this a lot, too:
ME: USF Sarasota-Manatee, how can I help you?
THEM: I'd like to speak to Mike Michalson.
ME: I'm sorry, don't have an employee by that name.
THEM: *scoffs* I think you need to do more research.
ME: Excuse me?
THEM: Dr. Michalson is the president of your school.
ME: The CEO of our campus is Dr. Arthur Guilford. I'm wondering if you've reached the right university.
THEM: I am calling USF in Sarasota.
ME: This is USF Sarasota-Manatee. Are you sure you weren't trying to contact New College?
THEM: Don't give me that. USF and New College are the same thing.
Another one:
ME: USF Sarasota-Manatee, how can I help you?
THEM: I'd like to speak to the person in charge of your fine arts department.
ME: I'm sorry, we don't have a fine arts program at this campus.
THEM: What?! You're an art school!
ME: No, we're not.
THEM: You're in Sarasota, right? Ringling? That's an art school!
ME: No, this is USF Sarasota-Manatee.
THEM: I thought USF ran Ringling!
ME: No, I'm sorry. Ringling is a private school.
THEM: No, no, no! You're wrong! I've been there, they've got a department that says USF on it!
ME: No, they have a program with FSU. That's a different school.
THEM: USF, FSU... they're the same thing.
It's like calling Target when you wanted to talk to somebody at Wal-Mart, and then insisting that they're the same place. Just admit your mistake and move on, people. God damn. |
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| Family Camps |
[Oct. 9th, 2008|09:04 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | excited | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Klangstabil "Math & Emotion" | ] |
One of my favorite bands returns:
Man, after a year of fair-to-middling music purchases, I can't fucking wait. |
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| They Shall Bow |
[Sep. 12th, 2008|09:47 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | cranky | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Jesu "Your Path To Divinity" | ] |
I'm starting to wonder why I keep this journal going. I don't find much enjoyment in posting about my day-to-day life (even though it's been pretty good lately) and while I still want to keep in touch with some people here, I find the "signal to noise" ratio harder and harder for me to deal with. The communities I once read have degenerated to little more than event fliers and promo bullshit, and reading political diatribes (even the ones I agree with) is getting tiresome.
In short: I'm getting old, and so is LiveJournal.
Maybe I'll just start a Blogger account and just post about RPGs, comics, and other crap that doesn't piss me off. |
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| Worms of the Earth |
[Aug. 20th, 2008|02:04 pm] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Suicide Commando "Slaves" | ] |
Okay, the move took days and was a big pain in the ass, but it's over. Our new place is very nice, except for one problem: it has German roaches. Yes, the same kind we had the nightmarish infestation of in our last place. No, they didn't come with us in our boxes - we saw them scuttling around before we even dropped off a single box. Yes, it's completely ridiculous. Needless to say, we were... displeased to be moving into a place with roaches when we had just moved out of one.
The good news is that it's nowhere near the magnitude of the problem we had before, and that we're getting it under control. It's not great, but it's getting better, and I expect it to be resolved in a couple more weeks. I'm more concerned with unpacking and getting decent furniture than I am with the cockroaches.
Other than that, I can say that the move has been a positive one. Not living in a rotting hellhole does wonders for one's attitude, and just puttering around with setting up the new place has been a welcome distraction from all the shitty things that have happened in the past year. Onward and upward, I suppose. |
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| Face the Wheel |
[Jul. 29th, 2008|03:37 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | pensive | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | IC 434 "Dysthymia" | ] |
I'm just beginning to get a little stressed out about the move we have coming up next weekend. Today I was trying to get electricity and internet and all that fun stuff set up at the new place... and managed to get absolutely nowhere. Basically, trying to set things up so that service overlaps at two properties, and doing that online, is a sure-fire way to get it all fucked up. I guess I should have just done it all over the phone and not bothered with trying to do it online, since that's what I'm going to end up doing anyway.
At least we have a few days to get it all done. We're planning on moving next weekend (the 9th) but we don't have to be completely out until the 15th. Plus, we're borrowing a truck rather than renting one. So, not too terrible, I hope. |
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| IMMORTAL |
[Jul. 17th, 2008|11:06 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | IMMORTAL | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | IMMORTAL | ] |
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| Winds Kill Child |
[Jul. 8th, 2008|09:14 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | indescribable | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Skinny Puppy "Last Call" | ] |
So... I'm back.
Things have been fairly uneventful recently, aside from the obvious. Coty and I are moving out of squalor and into an ewok village next month. I usually hate moving, and I'm sure this will be stressful, but somehow I'm not that tense about it yet. I imagine I'm still a bit numb.
I've been running the new edition of D&D for six players, and despite some initial frustrations that probably had more to do with things beyond my control than the actual game itself, I'm having fun with it. We're planning on having rotating DMs for a while, which ought to be interesting. I'm looking forward to trying out the game from the other side of the screen, for a change.
In other gaming-related news, I'm planning on submitting a pitch for my fantasy RPG setting to Chaosium, publishers of fine games like Call of Cthulhu. I'm very excited about giving professional writing a tentative shot, even if it doesn't work out. If that sounds like something you're interested in reading more about, check out my ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) freed_lands blog.
What else... I saw Hancock last week, and found it relatively okay. Looking forward to The Dark Knight and Hellboy II very much. Got the latest from Disharmony and Portion Control and thought they were both disappointing.
And that's about it for now. |
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| Off To Buffalo |
[May. 17th, 2008|10:23 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | dorky | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | iPod stuff | ] |
Shufflin' again:
1. Tactical Sekt "Devil's Work (Accuser Remix by Solitary Experiments)
Solitary Experiments is one of those bands whose output I find hit-or-miss, but their remixes are almost uniformly outstanding. They generally remix middling tracks and make them exceptional. This is no exception, adding massive epic melodies and hammering dance beats to what was originally, frankly, not that great of a song.
2. Mortal Constraint "Open Head"
The iPod is loving Mortal Constraint, it seems. Surprising since I only have the one album. This one's a bit less disturbing than the one I got last time, but still typical of their cold, methodical approach... almost like the early Klinik sound, in some ways, but a bit more IDM-influenced and with harsher vocals.
3. Severed Heads "Stupid Maurice Faction"
From Op3, one of the last Severed Heads releases. The Op series were supposedly another attempt at "pop music", but if that's the case, Tom Ellard's idea of "pop" is a mutant strain. Here's we've got the typical Ellard meandering bassline and off-kilter feel. No vocals on this one, other than some sampled and heavily manipulated yelping.
4. Scar Tissue "In This Place"
I liked Scar Tissue a lot in the late 90s/early 00s, where I saw them as sort of a cousin to the then-current Subconscious Studios sound. I got into them and Gridlock at the same time and tended to associate them with each other at the time. Unfortunately they seem to have sort of petered out just as they were getting really good, though I think they still play shows in California (?). This is a calmer piece, with nice, reverb-laden percussion and some vaguely hopeful-sounding strings and what sounds like sampled bagpipes. A bit like a more concise version of the Dead Voices On Air sound, this one. From TMOTD, an album whose cover was done by Jhonen Vasquez before anybody cared about him.
5. Front 242 "Beyond the Scale of Comprehension"
Remember Pulse? That's okay, nobody else does either. Actually, I think a lot of that album was quite interesting, but kind of like Haujobb's Ninetynine, it wasn't what anybody really wanted from the band at the time... and like Ninetynine, looking back on it now, it's actually pretty damn good. Jean-Luc De Meyer barely audible in a sea of warped electronics, piano, and organ. "If you can afford it, there is no limit."
6. Godflesh "Someone Somewhere Scorned"
This is one of the standout tracks from Slavestate, where the electronic aspect of Godflesh's music was at its peak. A bleepy synthesized bassline, thumpy drum machine, shouted vocals, and blaring, droning guitars. I haven't heard another band that incorporates electric guitar into industrial as well as this. Justin Broadrick yells "I'LL NEVER CHANGE" a lot on this, but in fact, he does change. A lot. Listen to Jesu, Ice, and Techno Animal to see what I mean. (On a side note, this is giving me massive Rifts gaming flashbacks.)
7. Foetus "Mighty Whity"
(That's his spelling, not mine.) Another high-school era flashback. This is one of the high points of the Gash album, which was released on the heels of some high-profile remix work J. G. Thirlwell had done for the likes of Prong and Nine Inch Nails. It's appropriately guitar-heavy and a blast to listen to. "Up against the wall and spread 'em/Your cracker ass is goin' to Armageddon." He really does have a way with words, Uncle Jimmy does. KILL WHITY!! UH.
8. lb "Angie (Miniature Numerique)"
Leave it to Uwe Schmidt to make a glitchy, heart-crushing work of genius out of something that gets played regularly on stations with names like ROCK 101.5. Someday Wes Anderson will make an overly precious movie set in outer space, probably with Owen Wilson, and he'll consider using the entire Pop Artificielle album as the soundtrack.
9. Klinik "Sense"
Awake was one of those weird albums Marc Verhaeghen made in the 90s, after Dirk Ivens left the band and all the projects he started up to take the place of the Klinik kinda flopped. It was actually one of the better ones, but seeing "KLINIK" on an album cover and then listening to some dude sing about how he wanted to "touch your lips" was kinda jarring. This particular track is one of the unremarkable ones, unfortunately.
10. Tyske Ludder "Schreie"
Old-school EBM bass, with plenty of vocoded backing vox and mid-tempo percussion that sounds like it's coming from my friend Felix's old Akai sampler. Actually, it's almost like a hip-hop track - the vocalist (who sounds like a Teutonic orc) has a lot to say here. Sadly, his message is lost on me, an Anglophonic dummkopf. |
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