Sunday, February 29, 2004
Slanted and Enchanted
Damn, I've been on a posting frenzy lately...Got a lot to say, I guess. Must be springtime, wiping out the winter Seasonal Affective Disorder. 'Bout damn time, I say.
Any ol' way, I wanted to write about this new band I've been listening to. Well, new to me, anyway. I mentioned a couple of days ago that I've found a new band to listen to.
They're Pavement, an indie band from the '90s. I found them by looking through the All Music Guide (it's a link-fest, in addition to being a post-fest!) for bands that I liked, and trying out the bands that the AMG said sounded similar. Behold the power of HTML! What did we do before the IntarWeb?
I guess we just talked to people to find out who the cool bands were. Or something. At least for me, I just listened to the radio, but I'm learning that there's lots of cool music around that isn't on the radio. Weird idea, huh? Don't tell Clear Channel, though.
Anyway, I've listened to Pavement's first two albums, "Slanted and Enchanted" and "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain". Of the two, I actually like the second album better. "S&E" (I bought it used, from my favorite used record store, Everyday Music (they don't have a website, just a placeholder; no linkie) because I'm cheap; didn't spend twice the money to get the re-issued two-disk version with the bonus tracks (where was I? Oh, right)(almost lost track of my asides, there))... "S&E" is more muted sounding, and I think by the second album the band was having more fun with their sound. According to the AMG, Pavement was started as a studio project for Stephen Malkmus and his friends, and gradually became an actual band.
Of course, it turns out that Pavement's only radio hit, "Cut Your Hair", is from the album I like. I just can't get away from my radio-friendliness, I guess. But my favorite two tracks from the album are "Heaven is a Truck" and "Stop Breathin'".
"Stop Breathin'", on my first couple of listens, seemed to be a spooky moody sci-fi war song. Only partly true, if the lyrics I've been able to find online are any indication. I like my interpretation better, though. The narrator starts out singing about being wounded in the first falling of "The Core", which to my mind sounded very much like a Matrix- or Terminator-type war against artificial intelligence. The narrator continues, pleading for someone to stop breathing for him -- perhaps he's being kept alive by the machines? His complaint about no one waking up fit in with my mental images.
Sure, there's a more mundane explanation for the lyrics: Instead of "The Core" he could be saying "The Corps" -- as in Marine Corps. And instead of being kept alive by intelligent machines, he could just be in a coma and hooked up to a respirator. Boring, not to mention it's been done before: Metallica's "One".
The song ends with a long outro that goes on for minutes, and completes the haunting feeling of Malkmus' pained lyrics.
"Heaven Is A Truck" tells the story of an aging beauty queen, hitching a ride and seeking acceptance and, possibly, love, from strangers. Another great, self-contained story.
Check them out if you like sombre, mellow, near-punk sounds. Pavement's lyrics have some of the irony and humor of Cake's music, but only a little, and a much darker edge.
Saturday, February 28, 2004
Irony
Went out tonight with friends. Played some darts, had dinner at Hoda's (it was very good. One friend had been to Turkey before, and she proclaimed the food at Hoda's to be top-notch).Afterward, we went to shoot some pool, and while I was waiting for my shot, I noticed a guy in his early twenties, and dressed in a t-shirt and baggy jeans.
His t-shirt read:
"Bros before hos."The bestbestbest part was -- He was playing all alone. No bros, no hos.
Another diet/exercise update
Did I mention before that I've switched to counting calories? 'Cause I have, as of last Monday. And it's gotten my weight moving downward again. Plus I get to eat bread and noodles and pasta again, which is probably a good thing. At least my friends will stop making fun of my diet... OK, they won't, but that's what friends are for, right? I just keep pointing to the results -- At the end of January, I was 193.5 lbs, and today I weighed in at 186.0, meaning in four weeks I dropped almost 2 lbs per week. Not bad for a "fad" diet.Of course, the proof is in keeping the weight off. That's one of the reasons I switched to another diet. It's how I keep interested; finding new ways to tweak and obsess over numbers and figures. I have a spreadsheet now that I use to track daily calories, and I'm banking the extra calories every day to give myself a reward at the end of the week.
I figure, with all the working out I do, and the walking, and taking the stairs at work (my office is on the 8th floor, and I also provide support at a 7 story building plus four other locations downtown), etc. etc., I burn around 2200 calories per day. I'm allowing myself 1700 calories per day, a deficit that should lead to a pound of weight lost every week (500 calories * 7 days = 3500 calories).
But for this first week (which isn't over), I'm averaging 1598 calories per day. Is that too little? Am I hurting myself? Don't know. Some nights I've gone to bed hungry, it's true -- the days I only ate about 1450 calories per day (those are the days that have dragged my average down, I'll admit). So it's likely that I could be less strict and eat a bit more.
The problem is that I tend to have a huge lunch, which doesn't leave many calories for dinner. It's hard to find something filling that's only 200-300 calories. I'll have to work on a) reducing the size of my lunches, and b) finding lower-calorie dinners.
Exercise:
Ran two miles this morning! Whoo-hoo! Felt pretty good. I did less walking this time. I ran the entire first mile (after warming up for 5 minutes) then walked two blocks, then started running back. I couldn't quite keep running back, though, and had to walk a couple of times. Finally (but before the halfway point back) I decided that I would run the block, then when crossing the street I would slow to a walk. And that did it; I could maintain that pace all the way back home.
Oh, and I did some calisthenics (pushups, stomach crunches, stretches) before running, too.
I'm kinda worried about the Shamrock Run. It's in two weeks, and I can't yet run continuously for more than a mile. But I'm going to keep working it.
Runners, it seems, eat a high-carb diet. Maybe my Atkins diet hurt my performance? Oh, well, I'm back on bread again, so hopefully that will help.
I've got 500 calories "extra" so far, and it's sooooooo tempting to go eat a huge chocolate chip cookie. Mmmm... chocolate chip...
Labels: exercise
Friday, February 27, 2004
Lethem
I've been on a "new things" kick lately. Picked up some books by a new author, and found a new band I like.New author is Jonathan Lethem. I've read his first two books (he's got five so far), and I like what I've read. At some point I'll post actual reviews of them, but for right now I just wanted to post my favorite quote.
In "As She Climbed Across The Table", Alice is a research physicist on a project to create a wormhole, or something. The project actually creates a void, an area where things disappear. Well, some things do; other things don't. Alice begins to rationalize that the void is making choices... and infers a personality from those choices... and then falls in love with this vacant area of space. She calls it "Lack".
The story is told from Phillip's (the heartburning boyfriend) perspective, as he watches this all happen. At one point, when he goes to confront Alice about loving Lack, he says:
"I can't possibly compete. I could never offer you as little as Lack does. He's playing hard to perceive."
(I guess this turned into a mini-review anyway).
The book is very good, and I recommend it. Very creative, dryly humorous, and focused more on character (or lack thereof (sorry, couldn't resist)) than on the science.
Update: Added links to author and book. 4 May 2009 - BAM
My First Shamrock
Well, I did it today. I signed up for the Shamrock Run1. I'm doing the 5K race. It'll be Sunday March 14, 2004It's funny -- they ask what size t-shirt you wear, and because I'm still losing weight (I saw 186 on the scale this morning! Go, me!) I'm not sure if a Large will be too big by the middle of next month when the race is.
I probably should have chosen a Medium. Oh, well, it will be baggy. Or maybe, since it's my first-ever event, I'll have it framed!
Update: I have fixed this link as of 4 May 2009. - BAM
Thursday, February 26, 2004
Reverse?
Damn. Still have to figure out how to get the archives to list in reverse order. Probably something simple I'm just missing.Labels: meta
Site update
Made a couple of small changes to the site. Archives are now linked and saved by month. I figure I've been doing this enough to warrant that change.Also, moved my favorite links to the top of the left column.
Whee. I'm giddy with excitement.
Labels: meta
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Terwilliger the First
Let's get the diet-y and exercise-y stuff out of the way: Weight is holding steady at 188 for the past two days. Whoo-HOO! It means that my weight has dropped below 190 for the first time since, oh, I don't know, High School? It feels great.I've switched to counting calories, although the calories I eat are still mostly Atkins-y. F'rinstance, I had BBQ Beef Brisket for lunch. I'm aiming for 1700 calories per day, which is approximately 500 fewer per day than my body burns, working out to a one-pound loss per week.
I happen to think that the Atkins diet is just a sneaky way to restrict your calorie intake, as counter-intuitive as that seems to people unfamiliar with the low-carb diet. "What?" they shriek, "you're eating nothing but fat and bacon! How can you possibly be eating fewer calories?! That's just not right!" Truth is, though, I do eat vegetables; Salads, green beans, broccoli, all good for me and included in my diet. Atkins is more about restricting white flour and sugar (and other starches, like potatos or corn or rice) than it is about stuffing your face full of bacon and pork rinds.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Hey, a tangent. Where was I..? Oh, right.
Exercise-wise, I'm doing great. Went running with some friends on Monday (to celebrate my last Monday off; schedule change, it mostly sucks), and managed to not hold them back too much. I went about 2 miles, which doesn't sound like much until you realize it was uphill. We were running from Duniway Park up Terwilliger Blvd, and then back down. My faster friend, Jake, ran ahead and covered the first mile in seven minutes, give or take. He stopped around where there's some stairs leading up from the road to some building. (Sorry these descriptions are so vague; I'm not that familiar with the area). Jake missed the stairs and ran past, then stopped and came back to me. I had been running and mostly keeping up with Caleb, but Caleb had pulled ahead of me by then. Jake reached me, then we continued up to the stairs, which Jake promptly ran up.
I tried to run, but ended up plodding up the stairs one by one. At the top, Jake asked me if I was tired.
Dumb question. But, actually, I didn't feel that bad. No pain, just short of breath.
On the way down, I met and talked to a girl who works at the hospital on the hill. She was dressed all in black and had on some seriously clogg-y looking shoes, but had some trail shoes sticking out of her backpack, which prompted my conversation. She seems nice. I ended up walking the rest of the way back to Duniway Park, where Jake was waiting for me.
Yesterday I ran 6 miles on the elliptical trainer, and today I rested. Tomorrow, back to the elliptical trainer, unless the rain lets up in the morning; then I'll go running again.
Labels: exercise
Different but the same
I think it's funny how some people are intimidated by computers.But it's probably the same way I feel around horses.
Saturday, February 21, 2004
All but one
A friend and I had lunch last week. We hadn't talked in a while, and were catching up on how our lives had changed. He'd moved to another state, bounced around at his job, had a baby (along with his wife, no immaculate conception), bought a new car...I'd gotten out from under an ineffective boss, gotten a cushy job downtown, lost a lot of weight, gone to Mexico, started a side business... and broke up with my girlfriend over a protracted period of time; a very painful experience.
His comment was "Well, except for that one area of your life, things are going pretty good for you."
To which I can only think: Yeah, the one area of my life that's most important to me is in the shitter, while everything that I don't really care about is smooth sailing.
Yay.
Exercise/Diet update
Diet: Still not so good. I've got to do something different, I think. I'm cheating almost every day. I'm giving myself a 3.5 out of 10 for the past couple of days.Exercise: Good to great. Ran 6 miles on the elliptical yesterday morning, then walked over 3 miles (from my apartment to SE 12th and Division) after work. And that doesn't include the .4 miles from my house to the bus stop that I walk at least twice a day. I'm a walking fiend.
Weight-wise, I've been stuck at 190 lbs for the past couple of weeks. I managed to get the scale to read 189.5 this morning, but that was after my "official" weighing (I always weigh myself immediately after waking up and going to the bathroom. And I'm naked) so it doesn't count, really.
Labels: exercise
Money back
Can't wait to get my CD Price-fixing check. Whoo-hoo. A grand total of $13.86. It guess it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, and since I didn't purchase that many CDs during the time covered by the class-action suit, I suppose I'm ahead. Still seems almost pointless. Lawyers get richer, the folks accused of wrong-doing admit no wrong, and consumers get a check for less than the cost of one new retail CD.Um, nifty.
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Exercise / Diet update:Diet-wise, not bad, but not good. I'm keeping with the Atkins plan... except for the candy I sneak in (I had at least three small pieces of chocolate today, and a cookie. Mmm... cookie.) Not to mention the soy latte I had (although, honestly, that's only 10 grams of carbs.)
Also, I had carbs, evil, empty carbs, with each meal: breakfast included an English muffin, lunch and dinner both included tortillas, although dinner was a spinach tortilla (green veggies, good; flour, bad.) So, out of a ten possible points, ten being a perfect, less-than-20-grams-of-carbs Atkins-y day, I give myself a 4.5. OK, maybe a 5.
Exercise-wise, though, I did very good today. I started the day with my usual .5 mile walk to the bus stop, and went in early and ran on the elliptical trainer for a full 34 minutes (last four minutes were a cool-down.) I mostly took the stairs in the Mead building today, and then tonight, when I had to go to the union hall and vote, I took the bus from home to about 17th and Powell, then walked up to 26th and Powell, voted, and then walked all the way home -- a total of about 3.4 miles, in about an hour, which Prevent Disease tells me burned an extra 366 calories, hopefully making up for the soy latte and the candy and cookies I ate today.
I know I feel better having walked all that way. Kinda nice to be alone in my head, too. Relaxing.
Friday, February 13, 2004
Non-update of the previous update on the preceding update
Note: the weight figure is accurate, though!Labels: exercise
Update on the previous update
Oops.I just checked both Yahoo Maps and Mapquest, and it was only a 2-mile run. My bad.
I remember checking a couple of weeks ago, and the 2-mile number stuck in my head. Guess it was the round-trip number, but I misremembered it as the one-way mileage. Then, this morning (my first run not on a machine in weeks), I doubled what I thought was the one-way mileage.
Labels: exercise
Diet update
Went for a 4-mile run this morning before work. I weighed in at a slim 190 lbs. for two days in a row. I've now lost 35 lbs. since starting the diet in November, and am down 50 lbs. from my all-time high of 240 lbs. 4 years ago.I'm in the best shape I've ever been in my life, and it's only going to get better.
Ironic that I still worry about my health, then, isn't it?
No, I'm not ready to talk about it yet.
Labels: exercise
Thursday, February 12, 2004
I'm capable and strong
The following is a helpful discussion of how to identify and deal withan introvert.
article by J. Rauch in the Atlantic Monthly
It's something I've been thinking about for a while, at least since Jake tried multiple times to get a hold me me the weekend I disappeared to the coast, and why I reacted so strongly. I told Jake that he'd "freaked out" (he'd called me several times over the course of the weekend, left at least five messages, and drove over to my apartment to see if I was around but not answering my phone). His response was that he was just being a friend and checking on me.
It came up again last night in a conversation with my friends. Caleb was talking about how to cheer up his girlfriend, who was going through a bad time. Both Jake and Caleb seemed mildly shocked when I asserted that, if someone I knew was depressed, I do not think it possible to "try to cheer them up". In fact, I think it's nearly impossible to do, and I wouldn't even make the attempt.
I really think that, for myself, if I'm feeling low or sad or depressed, that the best thing for my friends to do is to ignore it, allow me some space, assume that if I appear grumpy or irritable that it's not directed at them personally, maybe make ONE gentle offer to be available IF I ASK FOR HELP, and then to stop asking me if I'm OK.
I'm now putting in a smiley face to soften what I just said; it reads grumpier than I meant it -->
:)
The problem with the assumption that you (the generic "you" of whoever is reading this) can cheer me up is that, from my point of view, it's also the assumption that I am not able to deal with it myself... which translates to me thinking that you think I'm not capable or strong, that I am, in fact, weak. Which is why I bristle at the suggestion.
I understand that others don't think that way. In fact, it appears that the majority of people don't feel that way (depending on what research you dig up).
It's just been something on my mind lately.
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Getting it
I love reading the "Chance Meetings" page in the Willy Week. All those people who want a second chance, after they realized that they should have done something different the first frickin' time.I think this one is my favorite this week:
"Let planets align.It's not surreal, it hovers the edge of insane- yet.. I am broken almost beyond hope,still must try. Damned surrounding walls. Hear it too. It begins."
So much emotional turmoil. Out of context, it's difficult to find any clues as to who posted it, or who it's intended for. The author must think that the person who is supposed to respond will recognize themselves, or the author, or something. Maybe it's an inside joke? Or, not "joke", really, but something else...
Or maybe it's deliberately cryptic. No one is supposed to get it. I can see that angle, too.
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
I'm too busy to see you, you're too busy to wait.
Went to Everyday Music (
I bought it, just because I already know I like Radiohead, and I thought I had all their music. It's kind of cool finding brand-new music like that; I thought I'd memorized their entire catalog.
After I bought it, plunking down eight dollars and fifty cents, I went to Starbucks and ripped it to my iPod (I love that!) and listened to it on the bus home. While ripping it, I checked Amazon and found that it went, used, for fifty bucks or more! Guess I got a good deal, then...
Anyway, these songs are great... and seem to represent a transition from their earlier stuff, like "Creep", to their newer, more electronica stuff. Nifty.
I don't know if it's jut the novelty of stuff I hadn't heard before, or just the fact that I used to think "The Bends" was their greatest album and these remind me a little of that CD, but a couple of the songs on here have really stuck with me.
Like this one:
Palo Alto
In a city of the future
It is difficult to concentrate
Meet the boss, meet the wife
Everybody's happy
Everyone is made for life
In a city of the future
It is difficult to find a space
I'm too busy to see you
You're too busy to wait
But I'm okay, how are you?
Thanks for asking, thanks for asking
But I'm okay, how are you?
I hope you're okay too
Everyone one of those days
When the sky's California blue
With a beautiful bombshell
I throw myself into my work
I'm too lazy, I've been kidding myself for so long
I'm okay, how are you?
Thanks for asking, thanks for asking
But I'm okay, how are you?
I hope you're okay too
1 Update: Since then, they've managed to scrape together a website. 4 May 2009 - BAM
