d u d e r n e t

365 | 30 April 2008

Given the last year, not sure how much more I can take.

365 | 29 April 2008

Palm trees, lit by yellowish street lights.

365 | 28 April 2008

The desk, a few Cokes into the evening of Pat Riley's resignation.

Airborne, take two

After many hours of efforting, finally got this from my DVR to my laptop to the Youtube. So, enjoy the aforementioned Airborne Toxic Event performance from last week's appearance on Last Call.

A new home, soon

I'm thrilled that I've signed a lease on a new place in Fort Lauderdale. I'll move in on June 1.

It's a beautiful (and beautifully furnished!) bungalow in Victoria Park. About five minutes from work; just a couple minutes to the beach. Best of all, it has a nice, private outdoor area, with a deck, a grill and my very own hot tub.

I'm growing a little sick of the 15-20 minute drive to and from work; to and from bars and restaurants and to and from friends' houses. So this is a welcome change... and as soon as I walked in to see it a couple weeks ago, it felt like home. Come visit!

365 | 27 April 2008

Starting today, I'm taking a picture a day. Some will be terribly insignificant; some will have deep meaning. Some will be obvious; some will make you wonder what you're looking at. Some will be fun; some, inevitably, will be boring.

But most importantly, it's going to help keep my eye sharp. Too often, I leave the camera at home, and more often than not, I wish it was with me. And I can't think of a better way to keep a record of my life than to choose a photo to represent every day.

You'll find them here, under the 365 tag; you can also check them on Flickr here, but you'll see the same things in both places. I'll try to post one here every day, too. But in the event it becomes impossible to post, I'll backdate new posts to represent the day the photo was taken. And this isn't turning into a photoblog; I'll keep posting the usual rambling, too.

A broken record (but a really good one)

I know I've posted a lot about The Airborne Toxic Event, but I suppose it helps with my disappointment that I can't just go around the corner (or down to the south end of a particular state) and see them live these days.

This, though, certainly merits mention. On Tuesday, the band taped its network television debut, on Last Call with Carson Daly. It was, no exaggeration, one of the very best performances of a song I've ever witnessed. Actually gave me chills, a la Arcade Fire. Helps that the song is pretty killer, too.

And they did one hell of a job filling the crowd with fans, because the audience went nuts. Hopefully, I'll be able to replace the above video (from their SXSW showcase) with one of the Last Call performance soon enough.

For now, though, I'll share Carson Daly's introduction... which went above and beyond the here-is-this-band's-CD mention you usually get with such appearances:

Let me go ahead and just try to break this down. Many years before I became America's favorite mediocre talk-show host, I worked at the world-famous KROQ; great alternative radio station. Recently, I've had the chance to fill in as a DJ, and a few weeks ago, I was there, as a DJ, and we were playing on the radio this unsigned band from L.A. And they were fantastic, and Kat Corbett, who's a DJ (who is here), had been championing this local L.A. band and doing everything that she could do. And I said, 'Man, they're great,' they went to Austin, Texas, and they got signed. The next big thing. And we're thrilled to have them on the show tonight. They're making their network television debut, The Airborne Toxic Event. This is one of those groups you bet the farm on, you know?"

Couldn't agree more.

Here and there

A few tidbits of interest (to me, at least):

- My second-favorite L.A. band, The Airborne Toxic Event, signed a deal with Majordomo Records this week, a Shout! Factory imprint that's also home to Earlimart. Big news, to be celebrated (in part, at least) by their first television appearance, Thursday night (well, technically early Friday morning) on Last Call with Carson Daly. Tune in; check out.

- The preview dates for Billy Elliot the Musical on Broadway have been pushed back slightly, to October. But today, Elton John and Stephen Daldry introduced the new Billies (one of whom, Trent Kowalik, has been performing in the London show) to rapturous applause (Newsday video above) . And read a really nice story on the cover of the NYT's Arts section.

- The schedule for Central Park Summerstage has been announced, including a free show with Vampire Weekend on June 14. Seems like a good time to visit . . .

- . . . my great friend Mary, who is leaving Indianapolis and the Star for New York City! Or close. Staten Island. I couldn't be more excited for her . . . It sounds like a great job, and living in Brooklyn also sounds more than kickass, topped only by the prospect of my crashing on her Brooklyn floor for such things as the aforementioned concert weekend.

- Also, I need a haircut. And I bought a new shirt tonight. And I'm addicted to Twitter. And Norm Macdonald (yay) was hilarious on Leno (ick) last night. OKbye.

One week down, many more to go

Hours away from starting my second week of work, thought it was time for a brief update here.

I don't know that I've ever felt so comfortable and at home in a new job this quickly. It helps, of course, that I knew a handful of folks here before I started, but the chemistry and energy and creativity at this place can only be likened to the Merc back in its hey-day.

That's not to say there aren't -- and won't be -- challenges. But what workplace is without those? Especially in this industry. There were little hiccups my first week at the plant, sure, but they were not related to my actual job. I'm surrounded by good, smart people and that's what's truly important in a situation like this one.

Anyway, after almost six months of unemployment, this whole "weekend" concept of only having two days off each week rather than, well... seven... will still take some getting used to. But I have high hopes for those other five days and what they hold for the future.

A list for life

Stealing ideas isn't on the list below, but if it was, I could cross it off already.

Playing off Amy's adaptation of MightyGirl's posts, I've started compiling a Life List, or whatever. Essentially, things I'd like to have accomplished before I die. Some are trivial, some are life-changing. Some are much easier to accomplish than others, but none are, to me, unrealistic. (That was sort of my guiding principal: If it's next to impossible, it doesn't make the list.)

Anyway, my goal is to reach a hundred items. Below, you'll find the first 50. I'm already at work on the next 50, but think if I kept going at this point, the items would get a little less substantial, and I don't want that. So, without further ado, and in no particular order other than that which they popped into my head:

1. Be a great dad.
2. Coach my kid's sports team.
3. Visit South Africa.
4. Attend a World Cup.
5. Attend a Winter Olympics.
6. Have a beer in a beachside bar on at least six of the seven continents.
7. Smoke a Cuban cigar.
8. Meet Amy Sedaris.
9. Fall madly in love, even if it doesn't last.
10. Make it last.

11. Learn to expertly cook Chinese food.
12. Spend a week's vacation completely off the grid, sans phone, web, outside contact.
13. Stay in a hotel built into a cave or mountain.
14. Renovate a house so perfectly, that I'll never want to move ever again.
15. Design a magazine cover for something actually sold on newsstands.
16. Tag along for at least a few days with a band on tour.
17. Have a photograph published in a magazine.
18. Camp in the mud at the Glastonbury festival.
19. Swim in the Black Sea.
20. Visit Russia.

21. Visit Antarctica and take pictures of penguins.
22. Live in England for at least a year.
23. Take my mom on a trip to Alaska.
24. Have a well-trained dog.
25. Find a reason to smile, every day.
26. Make a portrait of a random person in every one of the 50 states.
27. Run a half-marathon.
28. Own a house with hardwood floors.
29. Be somebody's hero.
30. Sing Christmas carols with my family.

31. Drink Absinthe in France.
32. Write a book.
33. Come on down, on The Price is Right.
34. Watch Letterman from the studio audience.
35. Strike up a conversation with someone who completely intimidates me.
36. Ice skate under the stars, holding someone's hand, while wearing a scarf.
37. Trace my family's roots to the point of standing exactly where a relative lived more than 100 years ago.
38. Make a New Year's resolution and actually keep it.
39. Bid on something -- and win -- at a real auction (like with paddles and such).
40. Stay up all night talking on the beach.

41. Find a family camping destination that becomes a summer tradition.
42. Stomp grapes.
43. Buy a bespoke suit on Savile Row.
44. Catch a fish and eat it for dinner.
45. Plant a garden.
46. Learn how to change a tire.
47. Visit a foreign country with no plans, no reservations and just a backpack.
48. See the Northern Lights.
49. Spend a week on a houseboat.
50. Lose 75 pounds.

The next batch will come before too long. In the meantime, share yours!