Project: Introduction to Multimedia Design

I launched my first website today. Well, the first one I built by myself. I’ve launched plenty of websites through work, but none that I designed, coded, and wrote all the content for.

The project was to design an instructional or informational site using CSS. I had lots of help from my co-workers in navigating CSS, and I feel pretty comfortable now looking at code and knowing what’s going on. I chose “climbing” as my topic, as I knew I had quite a few photos I could use for my site design.

You can view the site at http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~briggsa/climbingsafety/index.htm.

Note that the site isn’t actually AT ClimbingSafety.com. I might eventually buy a domain and launch the site off of the school servers, but money doesn’t grow on trees.

My Most Anticipated Albums of 2010

2007 was one of the best years in music in my recollection — career-defining albums from Spoon, The National, LCD Soundsystem, Andrew Bird, Arcade Fire, Dr. Dog, Dungen, Okkervil River, Menomena, Iron and Wine, and several others. (My list from that year is on the Grimey’s website.)

Stereogum has a great post right now listing their 69 most anticipated records of 2010, and the follow-up records to most of the highlights of 2007 are on schedule for next year. Based on this list, 2010 is going to be heavy with music from artists I already love and maybe beat 2007 in the race for the most great releases. Since I’m still in the spirit of making inane lists (see my “Favorites Albums and Songs of 2009″ post), I thought I’d whittle the list down to the ones I’m looking forward to:

Favorite Records (and Songs): 2009 Edition

OK, I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m disappointed with how I performed as a music nerd this year. Really, really let down; I mean it’s sort of crushing to look back at the year and think about how many records I just never got around to. But, to my credit, 2009 was a hell of a year. I worked hard, I made a baby, I traveled, I lost my grandfather, I started school again, and ultimately I found myself in a new career opportunity.

I’m starting 2010 off right — buying a new turntable and trying to keep up the music habit as much as possible. Until then, though, here are the records this year I loved the most:

1. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
   I’m an unapologetic Neko Case fanboy, so most of my friends probably aren’t surprised by this. Another very solid, very cohesive, very evocative group of songs from my favorite singer. Maybe not as staggering as Fox Confessor was to me a few years ago, but this was in heavy rotation almost all year and only got better every time I saw her live. Plus, best album cover ever.
   
2. Cortney Tidwell – Boys
   When I was in high school I claimed I didn’t really like female vocalists. Guess things have changed as I’ve gotten older, as evidenced by my two favorite records of the year. Cortney is Nashville’s finest in my book, and Boys is the kind of eclectic homespun genius where country noir meets dusty electronica meets psych freakouts and doesn’t really apologize anywhere in between. I can’t recommend this one enough, and if you live in Nashville you have to go see Cortney play live.
   
3. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
   A sleepy pop masterpiece and easily one of the best collection of songs of the year. Regret that I never managed to see them live this year. Also, they had Michael “Voice of ‘Peg’ BGVs” McDonald sing a version of “While You Wait for the Others” as a B-Side, and that just has to be recognized as the weirdest collaboration of the year.

For Rev. William Childress

I’m sad to say my Grandfather, Reverend William Childress, passed away today. It’s hard to say exactly how much of an influence my Paw was on my life: when I was younger, there was no one in the world more important in my eyes, and even into adulthood he’s been a watermark for me. I’ve learned everything I know about being a good man from his example, and I miss him deeply already. This afternoon has been a flood of remembering our time together.

I recalled this rushed short story I had scribbled out a few years ago. It’s still very unfinished and breathless, but it feels like tonight is the night to post it here, warts and all.

Andrew Bird – Live at Grimey’s

Had a great instore performance at Grimey’s yesterday from Andrew Bird, who was on his way to Bonnaroo. His performance was really great, and the Grimey’s crowd was very appreciative.

I’ve put up videos of the entire performance at YouTube. Embedded a few of my favorites below, including a cover of Smog’s excellent “Cold Blooded Old Times.”

There Is No Love Where There is No Bramble.

I spent Saturday evening with the guys at Black 13 — a highly recommended shop in Nashville — getting my second (and most likely, last) tattoo.

The text comes from the song “Say Valley Maker” from one of my favorite records — A River Ain’t Too Much To Love by Smog (who’s just going by Bill Callahan now).

As for the significance, this is a reminder of what life has been teaching me in the last 6 months: that nothing worth having comes without effort, that life is often more rewarding when you take risks, and that — as my mother told me just a few weeks ago — we are given obstacles so that we can grow enough to move forward.

Next: a Tony Danza tattoo, obviously. Or maybe something more direct.

3 Songs From the Avenues Video Archive

It’s been hanging over my head for about five years now to edit down the archives of live Avenues video and place them on a digital format so I can share them with, well, the other 4 guys from the band. Slowly but surely I’m getting to it — I have the raw files imported and separated, and now I’m just sorting through them.

The majority of video comes from our EP Release / Farewell Show from February of 2005 — a show memorable for many reasons (it was our likely our best, drums were caught on fire, Hulk Hands, Crocodile Rock, secret t-shirts…).  Here are the first two songs from that show.

Neko Case — “The Pharoahs”

We saw Neko Case at Workplay in Birmingham last night. Amazing show. Her voice is absolutely outstanding, she comes across as very humble and grateful, and her band is excellent — the songs from Middle Cyclone sound even better live. Which is saying a lot.

So tonight with the light on the back porch fading I sat down and figured out how to play “The Pharoahs.” Since I use Delicious.com to bookmark the tabs/chords for all the songs I know how to play, I need some sort of source for publishing the chords to the song, so I’m using the old blog. And bookmarking myself. Special. So this is really for me, and not so much for you. But play along if you’re interested — this is a really great song.

“I Think We Need More Rope:” The Recap of Joshua Tree, February 2009

Nashville was nice today, but my head is admittedly still wandering the desert of Joshua Tree, CA. Here’s the recap:

Rick and I flew out of Nashville on Friday to the bright (and overwhelmingly unhinged) streets of Las Vegas. Flight was commemorative if only because Rick asked the guy between us, “Are you Rod Stewart?” (He wasn’t, but he was Dolly Parton’s drummer, and old-school prog rocker, and a part-time stem cell enthusiast.)

Vegas felt like a brief stop on the way to something bigger. We wandered the streets for a while before settling into O’Shea’s — easily the most white-trash casino on the strip, but cheap and ace for people watching. I mostly laughed at sorority girls dancing enthusiastically to the worst cover band I’ve ever heard and dealt with the bad choice of a falafel burger from earlier.

Saturday began early — rental car pick up, Whole Foods for luxuries, Panera for breakfast, REI for fuel (and a hat — thanks to the money I managed to not flush away gambling), the grocery store for $100 in snacks, and then the long drive through the Mojave. By the time we reached Joshua Tree (NOT at the foot of Mount Shasta, although we’ve seen the signs), the sun was getting low. We found our campsite, discovered that we had perfect cell reception, and made contact with Brad and Jamie — who were climbing a mountain nearby. In an awesome experiment, we discovered how well sound travels through the desert AND I had bromance proclaimed for me from a mountaintop. Beat that. Whole Foods Box Wine and steak and veggies closed out the day, and the weather was perfect. I waxed about the beauty of life on my phone, and slept like a rock in my tent.

Story of Stuff

I was profoundly moved by The Story of Stuff this week, which a client introduced on Monday. Please take the time to watch.

Since watching this on Tuesday, I’ve had a strong realization: I don’t want to raise kids super-saturated by marketing messages. Think about it: Saturday morning cartoons are one long commercial designed to teach kids that you’re supposed to want STUFF for happiness. Toucan Sam and Tony the Tiger are teaching kids that the only way breakfast can be satisfying is if you use a chintzy plastic spoon shaped like a rocketship (free with 3 UPC codes!) and ONLY if you’re eating the newest version with the marshmallow shaped donut clusters that turn your milk purple.