Irish Violet

Harvest Home

2010-07-22T15:35:37Z

Who saw the fences falling/Who broke the ploughman's bread

Peas are seen. Seems I had been going out and interviewing my vegetable patch every day, but didn't see the start of any snow peas. And then, there seemed to be a handful of varying lengths. Not sure how I missed the longer ones on previous strolls.

How many sheaves were counted/How did the carriage shine

The roll call on the rest of the plantings is pretty much as it was a month ago. The radishes are doing well. Sampled one the same night I took the photo of the snow pea. Flavorful with a nice bite at the finish. They probably could still double in size. The summer and fall squash have at least sprouted some leaves. Right now, it would be impossible to tell the difference between the two were it not for an artistic rendering on my kitchen counter of what was planted where. No sign of blossoms yet.

Where were the gifts of promise/Where were the gifts divine

The tomatoes have broken through the ground and the tallest of the plants may be 6" high, but a long long way to go if they are to bear any fruit this year. I'm thinking unlikely. Definitely will use starters for them next year. Ditto on the hot peppers that never broke soil. Lastly, the cucumbers seemingly started well, though stalled. I'm not giving up hope on them completely, but it doesn't look like I'll have enough variety to make a salad from my own yard this year.

Anyhow, the soundtrack in my mind's ear has been spinning Big Country's "Harvest Home" nearly non-stop since I saw the snow pea pod. Just as you sow, you shall reap

From Vuvuzelas to Favelas

2010-07-12T18:52:29Z

I'm not to going to be the one to declare the just-completed World Cup a success or failure. Nor whether the imminent "hangover" in South Africa will be worth it. Nor perpetrate the early fear-mongering about security in Brazil and their (in)ability to get the stadiums and transit sorted in the next four years. Nor offer some polemic as to whether this year's installment will/will not be the turning point in Americans' interest in the global game. Nor if an American team can ever win a World Cup. One theory why we won't: we're too "democratic" in our approach to youth soccer. But I might blame FIFA a little for way too many empty seats.

What's left? Some thoughts and observations on the month-long soccer jamboree that just concluded.

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Any match with Bafana Bafana, pity the home side didn't make it out of group play.

Bradly, Donovan and Dempsey as US stand-outs.

The, purportedly, Chinese actors hired to pose as fans of North Korea cheering madly when DPR Korea scored against Brazil.

New Zealand's wholly improbable draw with defending champion Italy.

Watching Germany. A great squad of youth and experience. Who will step up to fill Klose's role as cold-blooded striker?

The crazy Dutch fans.

Ghana-Uruguay. The match of the tournament.

The vuvuzelas. Annoying? Sure. But fun to say and no more annoying than listening to the USC band.

And, of course, watching Spain pass and pass and pass the ball. And then control the ball some more.

As has happened more often than not with the final match of that "other football" (aka, the Super Bowl), the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final was something of an anticlimax to this year's edition of the tournament. Yay! Spain won (my personal "other team" after cheering on the Yanks) but the match itself was quite dull and included little of the excitement or flair that the Spaniards and the Dutch, their opponent in the Final, had shown in previous matches. Understandable to a point: fatigue and nerves certainly played a part.

But, like the Germans before them in the semis, the Dutch were sufficiently concerned about Spain's skill and altered their own tactics that had proven so successful to that point. Leading up to the Final, the Netherlands were undefeated in qualifying and a perfect 6-0 in South Africa. Thinking they could rattle Spain's cold-blooded composure - La Furia Roja had won all of their knock-out round matches by the same 1-0 score, waiting until deep into the second half to notch their markers - the Dutch fouled, fouled and fouled some more throughout the match. Yellow cards and whistles abounded, and eventually, that caught up to them. John Heitinga was sent off for earning a second yellow in extra time and Andres Iniesta scored for Spain in the Final's 116th minute adding to their penchant for the dramatic and, fortunately, saving the second consecutive Final from being decided by penalty kicks.

There seems to be little disagreement that the better team won yesterday's match and was the best team in the tournament. And, I believe the tournament's two best teams met in the final match, not a regular occurrence in the round-robin plus knock-out format of the tournament. Germany certainly was the most eye-opening squad, scoring four goals in three of their matches. If the 2014 tournament wasn't being contested in Brazil, they would have to be considered a very early favorite. Their knock-out round wins over a clearly-flawed English side and Maradona's defense-last Argentines were pretty to watch, but the Germans may arguably have had the easiest route to the semis where they were overmatched by Spain.

Uruguay played in some of the most entertaining matches of the tournament, especially the nail-biting quarterfinal against Ghana and their semi against the Netherlands. Rightfully so, their dynamic striker Diego Forlán earned the Golden Ball as tournament MVP. Seemingly everywhere on the pitch for La Celeste, taking every free and corner kick, Forlán was never shut down by opposing defenders and was always in the middle of action. And he ended the tournament in a four-way tie for first with five goals scored. The only other serious consideration for that award should go to Spain's magical midfielder Xavi, but Forlán wasn't playing alongside a galaxy of superstars.

So it's done for four years. Attending a World Cup has been on my personal sports "bucket list" for quite a while. Yes, I went to a match when it was in the US in '94, but I'm holding out for somewhere more exotic. Perhaps a samba to South America...

Checking in on the urban farmer

2010-06-22T02:55:39Z

Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. We Seattleites are famed weather snobs. Yes, it rains here, we know that. The summers are also so bloody spectacular that only fools leave town. This year has been different. A drier-than-usual winter was followed by a wetter- and colder-than-usual spring. For instance, yesterday tied a record for the lowest high temperature for the date. And this is latest in a calendar year in recorded temperature history that the city has gone without a 75-degree day.

Needless to say, the conditions haven't been ideal for my first summer of growing in my yard. The cherry tree seems to be doing quite well. I don't think it's any appreciably taller, but certainly full of leaves.

No fruit likely this year. In fact, I'm not sure at what year it should start bearing yummy Rainier cherries. I also plan to move the tree next year to a more open spot in the yard. Its current locale is crowded out by a plum tree and an older tree in my neighbor's yard whose branches block out some sun.

In two dug-out vegetable patches, I planted seeds for eight different vegetables: two tomato varieties, summer and fall squash, lemon cucumbers, hot peppers, sugar snap peas, and radishes. Yes, seeds. I went all D-I-Y I guess, starting from "scratch," horticulturally speaking. Vegetable starts would have been a better option. All the lack of sun this "Junuary" has it looking like the tomatoes and peppers are non-starters. The next weakest link are the lemon cucumbers. The fall and summer squash look like they're going to be OK. Best of the bunch are the radishes for which my father gave me no marks saying they're incredibly easy to grow (Mr. Born-and-Raised-in-Brooklyn would know) and the snap peas. My lovely stake and netting creation pictured below. Stay tuned.

From the Living Room to Knebworth....

2010-05-21T21:49:34Z

In one of the email digests I subscribe to, there was link to the trailer of the to-be-released documentary about Creation Records, "Upside Down." Watching the trailer and the cavalcade of music demi-legends on screen along with the transit map graphics name-checking a roll call of vital bands with a Mary Chain song as soundtrack brought back acres of memories.

That's twice in as many days this has happened, as just yesterday I read that New York City's Limelight nightclub is now an indoor shopping mall.

Below is the "Upside Down" trailer, and more of my thoughts on Creation Records from 10 years ago.

Things to learn/do/see/experience in Tennessee. Not when you're dead.

2010-05-21T04:48:26Z

8 hours at Dollywood is, arguably, not necessarily enough.
Speaking of Miss Parton, more than 3000 songs recorded, and 75 albums released.
People go to Tennessee on vacation. License plates seen from 39 states (what's up with you: Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, North Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, Alaska, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada?) and three Canadian provinces.
Speaking of license plates, Tennessee has more plate designs than you can shake a Toyota FlapJack at.
Speaking of flapjacks, if you open a restaurant in Sevier County, it better serve pancakes. The Smoky Mountain Pancake House in Pigeon Forge is the spot to beat.
Not news, but that the Jack Daniel's distillery is located in a dry county, is pretty damn funny.
It's whiskey, not bourbon.
Gatlinburg is the unknown sister city to Seattle. It has its own Space Needle.
Even for only 20 minutes, walking on the Appalachian Trail is pretty damn cool.
Thankfully, it seemed the majority of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Hatch Show Print survived the floods with limited damage. The same can't seemingly be said for the Grand Old Opry.
Nashville is open for business.
It's probably impossible to hear "Rocky Top" too many times.

Five is the new black

2010-04-09T00:20:56Z

I can't seem to avoid 5...

Haagen-Dazs

Wrigley's

Subway

Arby's

...even, my employer.

Did I miss some important cultural shift? Not unlikely. The J-Lo/Large Sunglasses memo must have been swept directly into my junk folder. So, would some one please inform me next time a little ahead of the curve?

k, thx

Sign o' the times

2010-03-01T22:31:00Z

The good news is, this looks worse than it really is. But, what is true is that after 36 years as a beacon in Pioneer Square, Elliott Bay Book won't be calling it home anymore.

The silver lining is that the store isn't closing, merely moving to 10th Avenue on Capitol Hill: dripping ice cream cone distance from Molly Moon's, close enough to Neumo's to hear the PA, next to Cal Anderson Park and Oddfellow's. In short, you could spend a heckuva great day without moving more than one block in any direction.

Pioneer Square seemingly will never outgrow its Skid Row roots and the loss of Elliott Bay won't help the 'hood at all, but for the most literate city in the US, not losing Elliott Bay is the best news of all.

A tree grows (in the yard of a boy who used to live) in Brooklyn

2010-02-23T23:31:43Z

Now let's hope it bears fruit. Rainier cherries to be precise. It is indeed still February here in the Pacific Northwest, but we've had a winter of global climate change: no snow, less-than-average rain, and temperatures recently that kissed 60° F.

So, I'm trying my hand at growing something taller than an 6" indoor houseplant. We'll see how it goes.

Americans are financial scofflaws

2010-02-15T06:30:03Z

The sample size is small (two) but I haven't even lived in my house for two months yet and already I've received collections notices for two people who never -- at least not in the last four years -- lived at my address.

First is one Jessica Panhallegon who seemingly went on a Gulf states bender. Emergency services were procured in both Houston and Baton Rouge that have yet to be reimbursed. Anticipating hearing from hospitals in Mississippi and Alabama next .

But Ms. Panhallegon was merely an appetizer. Andrew Jackson, your student loans are past due. No mention of what school of higher learning Mr. Jackson attended, but he's nearly $70K in the hole, and the friendly collections letter -- yes, I opened it -- already has told him that his credit score will be ruined. Poor soul.

At least, there is some positive financial news. I received direct deposit and General Electric shareholder dividend notices as well -- the addressee's name escapes me at the moment though. Perhaps I could funnel the incoming receipts to cover the outstanding debts.

Aught to have written this already

2010-02-10T20:41:23Z

Long delayed in posting this; I'm sure the lads are already on to compiling their best-of lists for the 20-tens. And, I'm not done anyway so this entry will be updated in stages. Herewith, my favorite ten albums released from 2000 - 2009.

In looking back through what I bought, heard about, and maybe even listened to over the past ten years, two themes seem to stand out: albums released in the second half of the decade are unfairly marginalized -- in fact, I suggest compiling best-of-the-decade lists every five years to compensate -- one of my top 10 albums was released from 2005-2009. And, the first decade of the 21st century seemed to have inspired more song cycles/pop operas than I can recall. Off the top of my head, Drive-by Truckers, Decemberists, Green Day, Rev. Hammer, My Chemical Romance, Sufjan Stevens, the Hold Steady. Remarkable, and I'm sure there are many more.

So here's my list...annotated commentary on the jump. Not all completed yet, so check back often. Or even occasionally.

10. Tabla Beat Science -- Live in San Francisco at Stern Grove
9. Spoon -- Kill the Moonlight
8. Death Cab for Cutie -- We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes
7. P.J. Harvey -- Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
6. Jay-Z -- the Black Album
5. Sun Kil Moon -- Ghosts of the Great Highway
4. Radiohead -- Amnesiac
3. Arctic Monkeys -- Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
2. Sleater-Kinney --- All Hands on the Bad One
1. Green Day -- American Idiot

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9. Spoon -- Kill the Moonlight
8. Death Cab for Cutie -- We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes
7. P.J. Harvey -- Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea

6. Jay-Z -- the Black Album
At one point, the thought was this was his "final" album, but seemingly it has turned into the end of the beginning or the beginning of the middle, or something like that. Colossal tracks like "Justify My Thug" (with that killer Madonna sample) and "99 Problems" will likely endure musically, but "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" arguably led to the celebratory action by many athletes of "dusting off" their jerseys after a score. Does influence reach much further than that?

Along with Radiohead, an argument can be made that Jay-Z was the artist of the decade considering the caliber of releases, his being first hip-hop artist to headline Glastonbury, his role as CEO of Def Jam, his general nice-guy mantle. In a genre not exactly known for magnanimousness, his late-notice fill-in for the Beastie Boys at All Points West following the announcement of Adam Yauch's (MCA) cancer was kicked off with "No Sleep til Brooklyn," class all the way. Oh, and the Black Album was half the inspiration of Danger Mouse's Grey Album, a sensation that introduced most of us to Danger Mouse, the visibility of which begat Gnarls Barkley and "Crazy." All roads lead to Jay-Z?

5. Sun Kil Moon -- Ghosts of the Great Highway
4. Radiohead -- Amnesiac

3. Arctic Monkeys -- Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
As those who knew me from circa 2006 until the release of Humbug last summer know, I thought Alex Turner could do little wrong. (Humbug was a lot wrong and the less said about it, the better.) I didn't think too hard about my favorite Aughties album, but I couldn't decide what should be 2 and what should be 3. Sleater-Kinney wins for "lifetime achievement," but the record I probably played the most was the Monkeys' ridiculously fantastic debut. Brash, loud, danceable, with overstuffed verses and choruses full of put-downs, slang, and - what the heck -- name-dropping the Montagues and Capulets, some Shakespeare yeah, as all proper British lads should. And delivered in a thick Sheffield brogue. Ah, bliss.

Ground-breaking? Not necessarily musically, though Arctic Monkeys - arguably - were the first band made by harnessing MySpace, or at least marshalling the power of the internets. By the time Whatever They Say... was officially released, they had already had a #1 single and the album is the fastest-selling debut in UK-chart history. Take that, Oasis. In the meantime, I'm spinning "Fake Tales of San Francisco" for the millionth time. "...all the weekend rock stars are in the toilet practicing their lines...."

2. Sleater-Kinney --- All Hands on the Bad One

1. Green Day -- American Idiot
A massive effort and worth all the attendant praise, awards, etc. The punk rock blazers are there ("She's a Rebel"), the Billie Joe ballads are there ("When September Ends"), the ridiculous hooks are there (every song), but there was more: mid-song tempo changes ("Jesus of Suburbia/..."), verbal gymnastics aplenty, and the visceral need to get the frustration off their chests comes out of every, um, digital byte.

The two towering singles - "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and "Holiday" are back-to-back in the sequencing which seemingly shouldn't work on face value given their wildly different tones butit does and sets the stage for the denouement of St. Jimmy. The band toured behind the album relentlessly and performed at the Berlin stage of Live 8 blowing everyone else away, regardless of continent. (In the live gig, cause concert subcategory, only the (briefly) reunited Midnight Oil's crushing the cricket pitch in Melbourne for Sound Relief betters it.)

Rumors of an American Idiot movie version have seemingly petered out, but a staged musical was produced at the Berkeley Rep theatre on the lads' stomping ground - just a handful of miles from 924 Gilman - and the show is now confirmed to have a Broadway debut. Perhaps the country has moved on, speaking of the political circus (perhaps not), but the music still deserves a big stage.

And so it begins...

2010-01-26T16:39:36Z

One down, 29 years 11 months to go. Ah, the American dream -- indentured servitude to your mortgage. I mean, home ownership! Hooray! Totally worth it, I mean it. Really, I'm psyched.

Bonked, 25:40

2010-01-19T00:56:09Z

OK, I'm sure I'm supposed to see the bright side. I mean, I did actually strap on running shoes, raise the heart rate and sweat a bit. But, the seemingly magical time of +/- 25 minutes again was my current running barrier. According to Map My Run, I hadn't saved a running workout since October 5 (you do the math), and while I have ridden my bike since, I very well may not have run since then. So, 25 minutes should be a cause for minor self-congratulations, no? No, not so much. Route below, no I didn't finish it without walking.

The Year of Spending Dangerously

2010-01-13T23:28:10Z

OK, I know 2009 is over, but I'm not quite ready to put it to bed, blogolistically speaking. And still to type are my thoughts on the last decade, musically speaking.

But if there was some theme to the last year, spending my hard-earned Benjamins seems to have been it. Off the top of my head, sort of chronologically:

New dining chairs
New car
New sofa, though I can't recommend shopping at Dania
New laptop (here's a hint, back up your hard drive every so often)
And the kicker, new house

Also in the "low three figures" were a new MP3 player and a new suit, but those are going linkless.

So, 2010, the year of frugality? You'd think I'd slow down with the turning of a calendar page and a 6-figure mortgage, but the new started like the old with a new (well, new to me but really vintage) coffee table and dining table. Eh, it's only money. It grows on trees, right?

One part amusing, fifteen parts frightening

2010-01-07T16:35:40Z

I suppose I should be flattered at the promotion; didn't know the dreaded middle management qualified as being an "executive." As was suggested to me, I should share this with my father, I'm sure he'd be proud.

But, more to the point, it was shocking and not a little bit frightening to see a "news story," or at least a short brief with a byline, about me and my recent home purchase published on BlockShopper. I've tried to formulate a reasoned opinion around the two-faced beast that the internet is and here's some more empirical evidence.

No, I'd never heard of BlockShopper either, but on their About Us page, they claim to provide "original news and data" as they are run by "experienced journalists." And the kicker: "For us, this is a journalistic exercise; we aspire to be part of the 'next generation' of local media companies, taking local news gathering to an entirely new level."

What makes this whole bit amusing is the lack of journalism involved. Shania Sampson took public record information -- my purchase of a house -- and coupled it with my LinkedIn profile. She turned bullet points into sentences, but that was extent of the journalistic exercise. She/they even copied the shitty little jpeg profile picture of me. So, do I and the photographer get a share on any ad revenue?

A quick look back at 2009

2010-01-06T00:24:02Z

Five days into the new decade. Anyone still remember 2009? Herewith, a quick look at some of my favorite spins. For a while ~~this~~ last year, a long while, I thought I was going to make good on my oft-threatened promise at having a top 10 list with three #3s and no #1, but some good music and a sense of not wanting to upset the DAA applecart won out.

Annual award winner for most overhyped album that I just don't get at all:

Small Band category: Grizzly Collective Animal Bear
Yes, I know these are two different groups, but their records seemed to be released simultaneously, the foaming-at-the-mouth was nearly unanimous, and while there are interesting moments on each, I can't even put together a good 5-song EP from both combined.
Medium Band category: Wilco -- Wilco (the album)
I have to admit I've never "gotten" Wilco. My favorite of theirs is Mermaid Avenue, songs they didn't write played with Billy Bragg.
International Conglomerate category: U2 -- No More Eno/Lanois Behind the Boards

Almost but not quite:
Florence & the Machine -- Lungs
Silversun Pickups -- Swoon

Lily Allen -- It's Not Me, It's You

Sloan -- Hit & Run ep

And, here we go...

10. Green Day -- 21st Century Breakdown

Went to the well once too often. A second overly ambitious song cycle is something of a misfire, but I applaud the attempt and there's enough solid material here worth listening to again and again. Was going to be extraordinarily hard to top American Idiot and the safe route might have been to re-issue Dookie, but they went big and tripped. But just some minor scrapes, the kids will be alright.

9. Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
The Glaswegians' third outshone Arctic Monkeys' disappointment this year. The dapper lads could have continued to remake their successful formula; instead they offered some new twists (an eight-minute track that borders on house music, for instance) while not totally abandoning the darkly clever and seductive sounds that got them this far. A top-notch live act, to boot.

8. Anouar Brahem - The Astounding Eyes of Rita
Released on ECM, need I say any more? The astounding sounds of North African jazz is probably the only way to describe it.

7. Gossip - Music for Men
With the dissolution of Sleater-Kinney, Gossip may be the best live band going right now. The downside of that reputation is that studio efforts don't nearly measure up. Music for Men comes close. No doubt Rick Rubin is to credit for that. And, well, Beth is worth every drop of ink spilled about her.

6. Manic Street Preachers - Journal for Plague Lovers
The back story only adds color; stick with the solid rock sound and fascinating lyrics.

5. BLK JKS - After Robots
After Metric, I think I listened to this record most often this year. If the compilation Indestructible Beat of Soweto was the gateway to African sounds for many 20 years ago but you haven't listened since Graceland, let BLK JKS introduce you to 21st century South African rock.

4. Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
Recent releases had a bit too much filler for a band so talented. Yes, the two songs that fill over 25 minutes to close the album probably wouldn't be noticeably different if they were cut in half, but they feel right in this collection. The groove also feels organic and natural not the forced sounds on recent-ish releases like And Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out.

3. Sonic Youth - the Eternal
Gerard Cosloy, the Youth finally paid you back. After leaving Homestead for SST in the mid-80s, and then releasing the titanic Daydream Nation on Blast First!, the
Youth de-camped for the majors for more than 15 years. On their first record songs to be released on an indie, albeit the well-funded Matador, (an yes, I'm discounting the purely experimental SYR releases), Sonic Youth drop one of their career's finest.

My theory on the Youth posits that when Kim is engaged and less hippy-dippy, the album holds. Thurston's and Lee's contributions are givens; Kim is the wild card. Like Daydream Nation, she and Thurston are sharing vocals on songs more so maybe she just needs to write more songs with her husband. No more dissecting, just listen.

2. Metric - Fantasies
I really thought this was going to be #1 for me as it was played early and often and loudly by me all spring and summer and fall. Infectious, rollicking, danceable, hooky, fun, solid from start to finish. If not for a ridiculously ambitious success, it would have stayed #1 for me on December 31st too.

1. The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
I've had my moments (in a bad way) with the Decemberists in the past. I believe
they won or shared my "Record That Everyone Seems to Love and I Don't Get in
the Least" award one year. Colin Meloy has already looked at song cycles
or a sole source of inspiration (The Crane Wife) and come up lacking, but the Hazards of Love absolutely nails it.

"The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid" wouldn't feel out of place on a P.J. Harvey record. (Pete(r), ahem.) "The Rake's Song" is a delicious musing on murder. Why folk rock lends itself to storytelling so well is beyond my simpleton ways. But I can say this collection is the best folk rock song cycle since the Rev Hammer's Freeborn John about the life of John Lilburne. (Look it and him up; well worth it.) In the interim, I'm going to have another listen to Margaret's fate.