September 29, 2003
Groan!
So the Cubs make the playoffs and the White Sox head for the golf course.
Still, the Sox had a great year, but when you lose seven games to a team that only won 43 games all season, you don't deserve to make the playoffs.
The low point came Saturday night. The Cubs-Pirates game was live on cable, so I switched it off and went upstairs to watch the Sox game on mlb.tv. But WGN had decided to stay with the celebrations at Wrigley Field, reducing the Sox game to a tiny corner of the screen.
September 24, 2003
Speaking of Johnny Cash ...
I saw a TV programme about him last week that ended with an amazing video for his song Hurt. Haunting is the only word for it. If you've never seen it, here it is in QuickTime format, courtesy of the video's director, Mark Romanek. Or here in RealAudio format, courtesy of the NME.
Radio Thrift Shop
I listen to more Internet radio than conventional radio these days. Harry Shearer, Kevin Matthews, and, of course, APHC are favourites. Now I've added a new show to that list: Radio Thrift Shop with Laura Cantrell. Three hours a week of good music you don't often hear elsewhere. The recent tribute to Johnny Cash being a prime example. Laura Cantrell, in addition to having a radio show on WFMU in Jersey City, NJ, is herself a pretty amazing singer. More amazing still, until recently, she had a pretty good day job.
Sharp focus
Even if you don't live in California, can't stand for governor of California or just plain can't stand California, David Hume Kennerly's Candidate Camera Project is well worth a look. Thanks to Tom Watson, the blogging MP, for the pointer.
Oh, well ...
As we say every year at around this time (or often a month earlier): Wait until next year!" And this year, we'll add: "Come on you Astros!"
September 22, 2003
We're back
We've been offline for a day or so. Technical problems (misbehaving router) have had us somewhat baffled. This being your own Internet service provider thing is harder than it looks. Certainly harder than Chris makes it look.
September 17, 2003
Do bears bounce?
Researchers have discovered the answer to this age-old question. The answer is yes.
September 16, 2003
It's gut-check time
The White Sox play three games in Minnesota starting this evening. I fear they need to sweep the Twinkies if they are to win the division. After these games, the Sox finish the season against Kansas City (77-72) and the Yankees (93-57), while the Twins play two games with lowly Cleveland (65-86) and an incredible eight games with Detroit (38-111), currently on course to become the worst team in the history of baseball. Who drew up this schedule?!
September 12, 2003
A bad week for music
First we lost Warren Zevon to to cancer on Sunday, today we lost Johnny Cash. Zevon's Excitable Boy LP was one of the soundtracks to my ASU days, and likewise, one of the highlights of that same period was when, working as a student stagehand at Grady Gammage Auditorium, I got to do the lighting for The Man in Black's show.
This makes me nervous, but ...
The White Sox put playoff tickets on sale today. Meanwhile, a (justifiably) less confident baseball team is waiting a few days.
September 11, 2003
Remember
I've been struggling to think of something to write here today, something that's not already been said a thousand times, and probably much more eloquently than I ever could. So instead, I will point just point to the New York Times Portraits of Grief. Read them and weep ...
September 10, 2003
Speaking of photography ...
Meg Hourihan points to some incredibly beautiful photos of the American Southwest by John Isaac, particularly those taken in Antelope Valley, a slot canyon located in the Navajo nation near Page, Arizona. We've definitely got to get up that way on our next trip to AZ.
I've got the cover photo ...
. . . on the New Statesman's just-published Trade Union Guide 2004. OK, so it's not exactly a Magnum shot, but it's nice to hae a photo published again. The last one was of Charlie in the Express Saturday Magazine nearly four years ago.
Something ain't right
That's probably what you've been thinking if you've been looking at this weblog's alternating good/bad design features. I've been having trouble getting Movable Type configured and at times the stylesheets that are meant to make it all look real purdy don't seem to be showing up. Other times they do. Go figure. Because I obviously can't. I will sooner or later though. I think ...
September 06, 2003
Turn on ... tune in ...
Ben Hammersley on trying to tune in the BBC World Service in Afghanistan. It only makes sense to someone who's listened to John Peel.
September 04, 2003
On this day 10 years ago ...
... I married the most wonderful, kind, caring, lovely, beautiful, thoughtful and extremely patient woman in the whole wide world. Not to mention the world's greatest mum! I love you Alice.
xxx
For the time being ...
You can still find the old weblog here. I'm hoping to be able to import those entries into this new blog, but I have my doubts as to being able to do so.
Hurrah!
After a long struggle with Perl modules, MySQL databases and Movable Type, the new weblog has at last arrived!