Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Tchsoo

It was late in the day today and I was working in my office when Frances came running up the stairs. She seemed very excited. I assumed that Arial had sent her up to tell me that supper was ready as she does occasionally now.

I turned in my chair and waited for her to say "ready" but instead Frances said, "tchsoo" and she ran past me to my desk. She held her arms up reaching for something and said, "tchsoo" again. Usually when she does this, she wants to tap on the keyboard or move the mouse around but this time she wasn't pointed at either of those.

I looked to where she was pointed and saw the tissue box. She has never asked me for a tissue specifically but sometimes she likes to play with them if they are within reach.

So I asked, "tissue?" and she said "Yes".

So I gave her one expecting her to wipe her face or pretend to clean my desk but instead she ran back down stairs. I was still unsure about the status of supper so I followed her. To my surprise, Frances ran over to Johann who was happily laying on the floor and started wiping under his face.

Apparently, he had quietly spit up and Arial hadn't noticed. Frances apparently did see it and decided to clean it up herself. She did a pretty good job of it too.

I guess my little girl has grown up to the point where she can be actually helpful.

mwz

Thursday, June 08, 2006

eMusic 1

I have taken the plunge into the world of online music purchasing. I didn't go to iTunes because their files have digital rights management (DRM) associated with them, meaning that they are crippled so you can't copy them anywhere you want (admittedly, Apple lets you copy the songs a bunch of times before they quite working but when a computer only lasts ~4 years, I will run out of copies in my lifetime and I don't want to buy the same songs over and over and over).

Anyway, I decided to go with eMusic (www.emusic.com). They have non-DRM'd mp3s that I can keep forever. They also have an interesting business model. You buy a subscription and each month you get a certain number of songs. For $10 I am getting 40 songs a month. Of course if I forget to use my downloads, I lose them but that is how they make money. (BTW, if anyone is interested in eMusic (and you know me), let me know and I can "refer" you meaning that not only do you get a free trial, but I get some free music too. Be aware that the 4 major label's don't like eMusic, so it only has indie records.)

So, I've decided that each month I would write about what I downloaded and why (and maybe a quick review if I've listened to it enough). They have a bunch of free tracks that I might occasionally download but I'm not going to write about them because generally they aren't that interesting.

I know that reading about music is pretty lame but I'll stick in links to eMusic where you can sample the songs at least.

50 Foot Wave - Golden Ocean

The first time I heard 50 Foot Wave (fronted by Kristin Hersh of Throwing Muses) I was a little bit skeptical. Ms Hersh's voice has grown pretty rough but soon I discovered the music was really good. 50 Foot Wave is like Throwing Muses turned into a punk band. Now I kinda like her gravely voice, it seems like it fits the music. Golden Ocean is darn good.

Kristin Hersh - The Grotto

Kristin Hersh is a musical genius. She is a the female Bob Mould (but without the embarrassing electronica mid-life crisis). Between her work with Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave, she has put together some really pretty, solo, acoustic albums. This is the third that I've heard ("Hips and Makers" and "Strange Angels" are the other two) and all three are beautiful. She has such an interesting sense for music.

Tanya Donelly - Whiskey Tango Ghosts

Every band that Tanya Donelly has been in has had at least one great album. Throwing Muses' (Real Ramona), the Breeders' Pod and Safari and Belly's Star are all incredible. I also quite liked her first solo album "Love Songs for Underdogs". I've listened through this album a couple times and nothing has really grabbed me yet. It seems very... adult, like maybe I'll like it when I'm older. I'm sure that in three years, I will re-discover it and absolutely love it. But for now, it is pretty but just kinda blah.

Juliana Hatfield - Made in China

Juliana Hatfield is very prolific and yet all of her albums are solid. She is a pretty safe bet for an album full of songs that I'll like and that is pretty much what I got with Made in China. If you are interested in her, check out her album, Beautiful Creatures, it's my favorite of her solo albums.

Dr. Frank - Eight Little Songs

Dr. Frank is from the punk band Mr. T Experience. I really like their later stuff as well as the other solo album of his that I have. His lyrics are usually pretty clever and the music is usually fun. This album is no exception. It is pretty much eight interesting and catchy little songs.

Well, that's all I got for my trial period. I'll do more when I get them.

mwz

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

At a Wedding

About a month or so ago we went to a friend's wedding. Frances had a great time at the reception.

There was another little boy there who was a couple months younger than Frances. Of course people were trying to pair the two. Some of them even tried to get them to kiss before I put a stop to it. Fortunately, he was very shy (other wise I would have had to beat him up for hitting on my daughter). But Frances danced with him for as long as he had the courage.

Repeatedly, the boy's grandmother (I'm assuming) suggested that they dance on the dance floor together. I thought that was a little bit odd since the first dance hadn't even happened. I thought that would be a bit rude to try to take the spotlight from the wedding couple, so I ignored her.

When the boy was taken away (back to their table I assume), Frances grabbed my hand and started leading me. She took me right to the dance floor, which I thought was amazing since we hadn't been near it all night and no one was dancing (as I said it was to early). But she led me right to it.

She danced with another older girl for a bit and then we respectfully stood off to the side during the special dances.

But when those dances were done, she wanted right back on the floor. She danced and danced and loved every minute. It was amazing to see how much energy she could exert for such a long time. Song after song she danced and not just a slow rocking kind of dance. This was a full out jump around kind of dance.

We made her take breaks but after an hour or two she was beat. She still wanted to dance but it mostly amounted to staggering around in a large circle. We decided that it was a little dangerous with her walking between people who didn't necessarily see her. So we called it a night.

She had a blast at the wedding reception and was asleep by the end of the mile drive back to where we were staying. She slept very well that night.

mwz