Excellent News

What began as a challenging day turned out to be beautiful. I've been feeling hesitant about Thrill as a name for the magazine and even though changing it at this point would be absolutely illogical and stupid, I can't help but think that now is better than after the magazine has launched. I'd prefer a name that automatically embodies who I am but I suppose any company becomes a part of you soon enough. What do you all think? Honestly. Does Thrill do anything for you as the name of a music magazine? Can you think of anything else that might be better? I'll pay you, seriously.

Rather than dwell on it too much I've continued to trudge along. I've been contacting new designers and while the deal isn't final I've got a great prospect with Francesco G. Di Bene, an Italian designer whose web design is incredible. Check out his company, Zen 777. This could change everything.

Before I leave you let's talk about music. I've been inundated with "year in review" press releases from public relations companies as well as previews of album releases in 2008. Big Hassle Media just sent me a 2008 preview release and they introduced me to The Republic Tigers. I predict their somber multidimensional layered sounds will make waves in 2008.

"Doing Alcohol, Drugs, and Racing Vehicles..."

In a recent blog I revealed my addiction to magazines. To share the reading experience I might start posting pieces I find interesting. The New York Times recently had a nice snippet about Cambodia's prime minister. The piece is below:

"CAMBODIA: LEADER SEVERS TIES WITH GAY DAUGHTER
Prime Minister Hun Sen said he planned to legally disown his adopted daughter, who is a lesbian, so she cannot claim any inheritance. Mr. Hun Sen made the disclosure about his closely guarded family life in a speech at a graduation. "My adopted daughter now has a wife,” he said. “I’m quite disappointed." At the same time, he appealed to people not to discriminate against homosexuals, adding, "Most of them are good people and are not doing alcohol, drugs or racing vehicles.""


1) Phew. I'm glad to know that most gays are good people who don't do alcohol, drugs, or race vehicles. I was especially worried about the racing vehicles part. We wouldn't want gay people peeling out of Diva's on Saturday nights, their knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel and putting the petal to the metal.
2) Don't worry, adopted daughter of Prime Minister Hun Sen. You've got real family now. You and your wife are formally invited to holidays at my place.


Since Sasha Frere-Jones' sidebar in one of the most recent New Yorkers I pulled out some of my old grime music. Grime launched in London in the early 2000 and is known for a combination of 2-step beats and double time rapping. Grime has quicker, heavier beats than America's rap, and many claim it parallels the feeling you get when boxing. One of the most recognized grime artists on this side of the pond is Dizzee Rascal, but he comes from an extensive pool of talent in the UK.

Although some consider grime hardcore rap, it's actually embraced by a large number of nerdy music enthusiasts who embrace the genre for the way it plays with language. Some of my friends have literally labored over grime songs to understand every word. Before jumping into grime here's a quick guide to some of the British slang you'll need to master before truly appreciating this rap:

1. Nekkle - Great, uberkewl
2. Bare - Lots
3. Trainers - Sneakers
4. Jumpsuit - Sweatshirt

Below you can watch a little grime if you care to...

Please note, the opinions expressed by the rappers above may not express my own personal views.

Religion and Science

I just found this old post from Oxford. I'm not sure exactly where the posting process broke down but I'm sure it was a user error. So in the spirit of nostalgia, I present you a blog I wrote nearly four months ago. Enjoy!

A post titled "Religion and Science" sounds like it would delve into deep questions of life but for now I won't go there. Instead, I'd like to show you two different parts of Oxford. The first is the Trinity College Chapel and the second is the Oxford Museum of Natural History. We'll save the science and religion debate for later.

Here are a few pictures of the interior of the Trinity College Chapel.

The ceiling.

Detailed carvings.

A view from the entrance.

***

The other day I took a trip to the Oxford Museum of Natural History and the Pitts River Museum. The Pitts River Museum is extremely controversial because it is full of human remains and other weird knick knacks. The museum reminds me of what Grandpa George dreams about for his museum.

In the Pitts River Museum I saw the tip of a human tongue meant to cure disease, a biscuit from 1901 meant to cure the common cold, an old voodoo doll, a dried toad with needles in it meant to fend off evil spirits, and much more. They had guns, tools, clothes, mummies complete with x-rays, old coffins, ship models, and more. I spend the entire day just reading about random history. It was just one of those places where you would be looking at an 18th century sewing kit and then turn around to find that you're staring at skulls and shrunken heads.

Below is a picture of one of the many shrunken heads that can be found in the museum. When the Europeans came to the United States they were so fascinated with the practice that they would pay big money for shrunken heads. Originally meant to portray heroism over an enemy, shrunken heads suddenly became a huge moneymaking prospect. People started shrinking the heads of monkeys in imitation, or even shrinking the heads of people who had died from natural causes. The museum made me a little uncomfortable at times, but it was certainly worth seeing.


Oxford also has a Museum of Natural History which is awesome. I've added some nice pictures of that for your viewing pleasure.

The museum is lined with famous scientists. This one just happens to be Darwin.

This is the exterior of the museum.

A line of skeletons.

Galileo watches over the deinotherium skull.

The museum's beautiful interior, which has arches that reflect the industrial revolution.

With that, I'll leave you with some music to listen to.

I am currently rocking out with Everybody Else's "Born To Do." I predict that this type of music (or pop with a slight electronic infusion) is the future of American music. They say cinema creates more musicals during times of national trouble. In the past years the number of musicals released have increased significantly. With this change I believe we ought to follow suit with music. Here comes bands like Everybody Else, Matt and Kim, The Blow, and more...

The Accumulation of Notebooks

Office supplies, they do it to me every time. Give me a whiff of plastic sheet protectors and I'm delighted, show me the ink flow on a new pen and I'll covet it until the ink runs out, or bring me a notebook and I'll feel compelled to buy it. Regardless of how hard I try to resist, office supplies are the weakness in me (as well as technology and a number of other things but that will come up later).

My affinity for office supplies has resulted in two things. The first is rationed trips to office supply stores. The other is the horrible accumulation of notebooks. "Oh, this one is the perfect size," I'll say about one as soon as I see it. Or "Wow, look at the way the pages fold as a result of the smooth three ring spiral redesign," I'll say about another. Then the justification comes in. I think of every reason why I absolutely need this notebook, and usually if it's only a couple bucks I splurge.

When I first acquire a notebook it becomes my best friend. I carry it along with me everywhere (in addition to a couple magazines) and write various notes, story ideas, or compelling metaphors inside. After awhile I gradually withdraw from the notebook. Maybe I feel like my writing kick is too off topic to go in the notebook I've been carrying around so I switch, other times I just get tired of lugging the same thing around all the time and I let my notebook stay in one place. As a result, I have a collection of half filled (optimism intended) notebooks.

Sometimes I look back at notebooks, and when I needed something for my overnight interview with The Donut Man I sifted through the pages of a few to find something suitable for interview notes (as well as splatters of donut fixings). One notebook was a small black covered book, and in it I found a quote from Theodore Roosevelt that I love. It reads:

"It's not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again...who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly."

With jewels like that, small reminders of what impacts me greatly at any given time in my life, I suppose my obsession with notebooks isn't all that bad. Maybe I'll head to the office supply store. After all I do need more printer ink. And what better reason to purchase another notebook than quotes like Roosevelt's?


Current music infatuation: Girlyman