Been here for a few days now. Staying and hanging out with a variety of different UPSers. Long story short, I always have a good time in Seattle. Seattle would have been on a very short list of cities to move to if I hadn't been set on San Francisco. The two cities are pretty similar, if you ask me. The one negative is that I seem to be coming down with something. That was bound to happen.
Anyway, I'm kind of on the home stretch of the trip now. Gonna hit Portland for a few days. Then see some family in Philomath, OR. Then make my way down to Sacremento before heading to San Fran. Gonna be a good time.
Colorado was pretty awesome. In Denver I stayed with my buddy Matt from study abroad. Good to hang out with him as it had been a while. Sprinkled in a few meals with a few other UPS kids while there as well. I'd never spent much time in Denver prior to this. Just the airport. Never really heard anyone say anything bad about it, and I have to agree. Just a very nice, very livable city. One thing I've noticed on this trip is that many of the people I've stayed with are living pretty well. Then I think about how I'm moving to expensive-as-all-hell San Francisco, and it's a bit depressing, since I'll be living with my Dad first, and then once I get my life figured out, I'll probably move to some small scummy appartment. But it will be fine. I'll get to go to hella Giants games.
After Denver I went to Steamboat Springs, CO. A nice small quiet mountain town. One day/night there was a BBQ/lawn games/lots of drinking. The next night we watched the LOST finale, which I have mixed feelings about. My biggest small beef: Sayid should be with Nadia (not Shannon). My biggest big beef: turns out the island wasn't all that hard to save after all. But they did end it, and they ended it a way that I didn't see coming, which on some levels is all you can ask for. My other big beef: I plan on watching the series again at some point, and let's say I'm watching it with someone who hasn't seen it before. There would be so many times where I could turn to that person and say "don't worry about that--it's not important". And that's kind of a shame.
Next I went to Boise for a night, where John and Ben showed me a pretty good time for a Tuesday night. And then I came to Seattle, where, as I said before, I always tend to have a good time. Haven't really taken any pictures lately that are worth posting. There was a pretty decent waterfall I hiked to in Steamboat, but I'm not writing this from my computer, and I don't want to deal with that.
Next post will likely be from San Francisco. Hooray.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
More on Eminem/Barry Zito
I wanted to expand a bit more on my Eminem/Barry Zito comparison the other day, but my post was already too long. I feel like continuing it here:
My idea was basically that Eminem's rise to superstardom, fall from grace, and now (apparent) comeback seems to parallel Barry Zito's rise, fall, and now (apparent) comback. Eminem's 3rd album, "The Eminem Show", solidified his place at the top of the music world (not just rap world). I liken this to Barry Zito's huge contract with the Giants. At their respective times, both probably thought they could sort of do whatever they wanted. And now, not until they both have gotten to the right place mentally, can they shine like they once did.
Now, the two cases are not identical of course. Barry Zito's drop-off in talent was monumental. He went from Cy Young candidate, to a pitcher that was literally hurting the team on the field while taking up enourmous monetary resources. It really seemed like he had lost his stuff for good. Eminem's albums following "The Eminem Show" ("Encore" and "Relapse") are still good albums. They are just not (in my opinion)on the same level. BUT, he also had the pill addiction, his friend's murder, divorce, and other legal trouble (?) to deal with. So it sort of seemed like he just wasn't going to be the same. So it seems like Eminem had a steeper hill to climb, but Zito had a higher hill to climb.
But from Eminem's stuff that I've heard recently, we could be headed for an album on the same plane as his older ones, and that would be awesome. And from what we've seen from Zito, he looks like he'll be consistently pretty great for the whole year, and that would be awesome.
As I'm writing this, I'm remembered of a friendly-but-at-times-heated debate I had over a game of beer pong a while back. The two people I was playing against were claiming that Eminem was not a revolutionary artist. My partner and I obviously had to put them in their place. This girl's main point was that since even before Eminem came around, the majority of hip hop music was being consumed by White America. So Eminem really did not open the hip hop world up to a whole new race. While this may be true (I don't know if it is or not), being white is not what makes Eminem great or revolutionary. To be sure, it is an important point. He showed us that yes, white guys can do this, and they can do it with the best of them. But it's Eminem's content itself that makes him a revolutionary artist:
Never before has a lyricist been so self-aware of his surroundings and how he is perceived [in his new single, he says flat out that "Relapse" was "eh" and that he may have overdone that stupid accent].
Never before has an artist let listeners so deep into his own head [thoughts towards his mother and ex-wife, for example].
Never before has someone shared insights into their personal life like he has [his experience as a father, for example].
Just through his music, we know all about his life, how he feels about his life, and how he feels about us knowing all about his life. On top of that, he's socially and politically concious ["Stomp, push, shove, mush, Fuck Bush, until they bring our troops home"], well-informed ["let's do the math, if I was black, I would have sold half"], and refuses to be censored by anyone ["Fuck you Tipper Gore"].
Now, there are plenty of well-informed underground rappers who also do a great job of talking about their feelings. But Eminem's gigantic celebrity adds to the complexity of his life, which was already interesting even before he blew up. And in that way, he's been able to build on himself his whole career. All this while rapping with a clear, smooth, and unique flow.
Case closed.
My idea was basically that Eminem's rise to superstardom, fall from grace, and now (apparent) comeback seems to parallel Barry Zito's rise, fall, and now (apparent) comback. Eminem's 3rd album, "The Eminem Show", solidified his place at the top of the music world (not just rap world). I liken this to Barry Zito's huge contract with the Giants. At their respective times, both probably thought they could sort of do whatever they wanted. And now, not until they both have gotten to the right place mentally, can they shine like they once did.
Now, the two cases are not identical of course. Barry Zito's drop-off in talent was monumental. He went from Cy Young candidate, to a pitcher that was literally hurting the team on the field while taking up enourmous monetary resources. It really seemed like he had lost his stuff for good. Eminem's albums following "The Eminem Show" ("Encore" and "Relapse") are still good albums. They are just not (in my opinion)on the same level. BUT, he also had the pill addiction, his friend's murder, divorce, and other legal trouble (?) to deal with. So it sort of seemed like he just wasn't going to be the same. So it seems like Eminem had a steeper hill to climb, but Zito had a higher hill to climb.
But from Eminem's stuff that I've heard recently, we could be headed for an album on the same plane as his older ones, and that would be awesome. And from what we've seen from Zito, he looks like he'll be consistently pretty great for the whole year, and that would be awesome.
As I'm writing this, I'm remembered of a friendly-but-at-times-heated debate I had over a game of beer pong a while back. The two people I was playing against were claiming that Eminem was not a revolutionary artist. My partner and I obviously had to put them in their place. This girl's main point was that since even before Eminem came around, the majority of hip hop music was being consumed by White America. So Eminem really did not open the hip hop world up to a whole new race. While this may be true (I don't know if it is or not), being white is not what makes Eminem great or revolutionary. To be sure, it is an important point. He showed us that yes, white guys can do this, and they can do it with the best of them. But it's Eminem's content itself that makes him a revolutionary artist:
Never before has a lyricist been so self-aware of his surroundings and how he is perceived [in his new single, he says flat out that "Relapse" was "eh" and that he may have overdone that stupid accent].
Never before has an artist let listeners so deep into his own head [thoughts towards his mother and ex-wife, for example].
Never before has someone shared insights into their personal life like he has [his experience as a father, for example].
Just through his music, we know all about his life, how he feels about his life, and how he feels about us knowing all about his life. On top of that, he's socially and politically concious ["Stomp, push, shove, mush, Fuck Bush, until they bring our troops home"], well-informed ["let's do the math, if I was black, I would have sold half"], and refuses to be censored by anyone ["Fuck you Tipper Gore"].
Now, there are plenty of well-informed underground rappers who also do a great job of talking about their feelings. But Eminem's gigantic celebrity adds to the complexity of his life, which was already interesting even before he blew up. And in that way, he's been able to build on himself his whole career. All this while rapping with a clear, smooth, and unique flow.
Case closed.
Hello from Denver, CO
I again will start by summarizing my previous stop: Chicago. Had an excellent time. Thanks to my hosts, Brett, Chelsea/Keely, and Jess. Pictures below.
On Friday, Brett, Chelsea, and I went to see the Cubs play the Pirates at Wrigley Field. Started with brunch and mimosas beforehand to cure any lingering hangovers. We lucked out with the weather; it was beautiful outside. Although sloppy at times, it was generally a good game to watch. For the crowd in the bleachers, though, it seemed more of a social event than a ballgame. After falling behind in the 8th inning, the crowd seemed to get over it pretty quickly, getting back to their beers and conversation. I was impressed with the amount of Cubs apparell there, though. Even more impressive, however, were the people themselves. A very young crowd in general, and literally 9 out 10 women in the bleachers were attractive. Quite remarkable, really. [Side note: What if you were a Pirates fan? I think its 13 losing seasons in a row now. That is no way to live]. Anway:
Brett and Chels at the Cubs game:
Wrigley:
After the game we had a beer on Brett's roof, and then continued the evening out on the town, meeting up with a bunch of Chelsea's school friends. Got silly enough to go dancing. The Jasons (UPSers), who were in town for the weekend, graced us with their presence, and I als coaxed my friend Shannon (from home) to come meet up with us. All in all an excellent day/night.
The view from Brett's roof:
The following day consisted of a movie in the morning, and me walking around Lincoln Park in the afternoon:
North Pond:
City by the Lake (Michagan):
This was just kind of funny:
Little duckies in the pond. I almost had to take one:
I then met up with Jess (who was on my study abroad program), and we had another night on the town out with her business school friends. An impromtu visit to a bar with a bad-ass blues band added a "+" to the "A" I had already given Chicago.
Me and Jess:
The aforementioned bad-ass blues band we saw:
I got into Denver last night after two days on the road and a night in a motel in Lincoln, NE. Driving really hasn't been too bad. I'm finding it relaxing for the most part. Passtimes: Listening to baseball, listening to people talk about baseball, podcasts, my awesome music collection, and about 5 minutes of working on my Christopher Walken impression. It's nice to have given myself enough time to really take my time and be comfortable on the road. Also shout-out to my iPhone and GPS for adding to the overall convenience of everything. Gonna see a number of people whilst in Colorado. I'll be in this state through the weekend before heading up to Boise and then Seattle.
Musical insight of the day, based on what I've been listening to on my drive: I like songs that tell a story. Most songs are just about someone's feelings, which is fine, but I think there should be bonus points if the songwriter can weave in a full story arc while still maintaining musical pleasantries. Taylor Swift is good at this. Eminem's "Stan" is perhaps my favorite. Someone should adapt that to a screenplay.
On Friday, Brett, Chelsea, and I went to see the Cubs play the Pirates at Wrigley Field. Started with brunch and mimosas beforehand to cure any lingering hangovers. We lucked out with the weather; it was beautiful outside. Although sloppy at times, it was generally a good game to watch. For the crowd in the bleachers, though, it seemed more of a social event than a ballgame. After falling behind in the 8th inning, the crowd seemed to get over it pretty quickly, getting back to their beers and conversation. I was impressed with the amount of Cubs apparell there, though. Even more impressive, however, were the people themselves. A very young crowd in general, and literally 9 out 10 women in the bleachers were attractive. Quite remarkable, really. [Side note: What if you were a Pirates fan? I think its 13 losing seasons in a row now. That is no way to live]. Anway:
Brett and Chels at the Cubs game:
Wrigley:
After the game we had a beer on Brett's roof, and then continued the evening out on the town, meeting up with a bunch of Chelsea's school friends. Got silly enough to go dancing. The Jasons (UPSers), who were in town for the weekend, graced us with their presence, and I als coaxed my friend Shannon (from home) to come meet up with us. All in all an excellent day/night.
The view from Brett's roof:
The following day consisted of a movie in the morning, and me walking around Lincoln Park in the afternoon:
North Pond:
City by the Lake (Michagan):
This was just kind of funny:
Little duckies in the pond. I almost had to take one:
I then met up with Jess (who was on my study abroad program), and we had another night on the town out with her business school friends. An impromtu visit to a bar with a bad-ass blues band added a "+" to the "A" I had already given Chicago.
Me and Jess:
The aforementioned bad-ass blues band we saw:
I got into Denver last night after two days on the road and a night in a motel in Lincoln, NE. Driving really hasn't been too bad. I'm finding it relaxing for the most part. Passtimes: Listening to baseball, listening to people talk about baseball, podcasts, my awesome music collection, and about 5 minutes of working on my Christopher Walken impression. It's nice to have given myself enough time to really take my time and be comfortable on the road. Also shout-out to my iPhone and GPS for adding to the overall convenience of everything. Gonna see a number of people whilst in Colorado. I'll be in this state through the weekend before heading up to Boise and then Seattle.
Musical insight of the day, based on what I've been listening to on my drive: I like songs that tell a story. Most songs are just about someone's feelings, which is fine, but I think there should be bonus points if the songwriter can weave in a full story arc while still maintaining musical pleasantries. Taylor Swift is good at this. Eminem's "Stan" is perhaps my favorite. Someone should adapt that to a screenplay.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Hello from Chicago, IL
Let me start by quickly wrapping up the first two legs of the trip. Pictures below. Had a fun night in Kent, OH, hitting up a number of bars with my cousin Colin and his friends. He is basically a celebrity in that town, a title I'm sure he doesn't appreciate me anointing him.
From there it was on to Indianapolis, where Colin's sister (an coincidentally, my cousin) Kaitlin lives. Actually, first we met up in Richmond, IN, and hung out with our other cousin, Carrie for a night at Earlham College. Earlham had just had its graduation, and kids were getting crazy. Oh, how that brings me back. But we soon decided we were a bit too old for the house party, and opted to go out. Spent the next two days/nights in Indy, which is a charmingly small major city. Kaitlin lives in a house with a yard and everything, and yet you could walk downtown if you wanted. She basically runs that city, so I got a private tour of Lucas Oil Stadium (Colts), where she used to work. That night we took in a minor league baseball game, and then took in some dollar beers at the Bourbon Street Distillery. A good time was had by all. I also took care of some minor car trouble while there. My one beef with Indy comes with the fact that people can still smoke in bars there. You don't notice it so much while you're there, but moreso the next morning when you get a whiff of the jeans you wore.
Got into Chicago on Tuesday, and have taken it pretty easy so far. Caught up on some reading and TV yesterday. [Side note: if I have one complaint about being on vacation, is that it's hard to stay up to date with current news and pop culture. I think it's mainly just the lack of routine rather than lack of time. But I often feel ill-informed on the latest news, and it's easy to fall behind on TV shows and internet reading, which I don't like doing.] Today I took in a little taste of Chicago, eating lunch at Hot Doug's (gourmet hot dogs) with my lovely friend Jess, who I know from my study abroad program. The weekend starts tonight, highlighted by a Cubs game tomorrow. Could get a little crazy. Shout out to fellow UPS Loggers Brett for hosting, Chelsea for cooking, and Keely for making (apparently rare) social appearances. Hope to see one or two Burlingamers this weekend as well. I'm also looking forward to the Cavs-Celtics game tonight. This whole LeBron story is just so damn fascinating. I'd provide further details but the rest of the internet is much more qualified for analysis.
Musical insight of the day, inspired by what I'm listening to on my drive:
I am thoroughly enjoying Eminem's recent stuff. He's got a new album coming out in June, and the first single, "Not Afraid", is excellent. On all his previous albums, the first singles have been silly, celeb-bashing songs. Usually the weakest song on the album. So that's good sign #1. Combine that with the recent verses he's recorded with other artists (BoB/Hayley Williams, Lil' Wayne, Drake, etc), and I've got my hopes up for a stunning comeback to the top of rap for Eminem. I think this is some of the best stuff he's done since The Eminem Show. I've been thinking about the parallels between him and Barry Zito lately. Before 2007, Zito signed a 7-year, $126 million contract with the Giants (at the time the richest contract ever for a pitcher). After two miserable seasons, it was looking like the worst contract ever given out. But last year he was decent, and this year he's an early Cy Young candidate (5-1, 1.90 ERA). Eminem made (in my opinion) the best rap record ever, then made two mediocre (by Em standards) records while battling addiction and other personal issues. But lets say Eminem's new record is on the same plane as The Eminem Show, and lets say Barry Zito does continue his awesome season. Both are big "ifs". But which would be more remarkable? Which would be more unlikely?
Sorry that was long. Pictures below.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland
Me and Colin out in Kent
Colts locker room
On the field
Me and Kaitlin at the Indianapolis Indians game
From there it was on to Indianapolis, where Colin's sister (an coincidentally, my cousin) Kaitlin lives. Actually, first we met up in Richmond, IN, and hung out with our other cousin, Carrie for a night at Earlham College. Earlham had just had its graduation, and kids were getting crazy. Oh, how that brings me back. But we soon decided we were a bit too old for the house party, and opted to go out. Spent the next two days/nights in Indy, which is a charmingly small major city. Kaitlin lives in a house with a yard and everything, and yet you could walk downtown if you wanted. She basically runs that city, so I got a private tour of Lucas Oil Stadium (Colts), where she used to work. That night we took in a minor league baseball game, and then took in some dollar beers at the Bourbon Street Distillery. A good time was had by all. I also took care of some minor car trouble while there. My one beef with Indy comes with the fact that people can still smoke in bars there. You don't notice it so much while you're there, but moreso the next morning when you get a whiff of the jeans you wore.
Got into Chicago on Tuesday, and have taken it pretty easy so far. Caught up on some reading and TV yesterday. [Side note: if I have one complaint about being on vacation, is that it's hard to stay up to date with current news and pop culture. I think it's mainly just the lack of routine rather than lack of time. But I often feel ill-informed on the latest news, and it's easy to fall behind on TV shows and internet reading, which I don't like doing.] Today I took in a little taste of Chicago, eating lunch at Hot Doug's (gourmet hot dogs) with my lovely friend Jess, who I know from my study abroad program. The weekend starts tonight, highlighted by a Cubs game tomorrow. Could get a little crazy. Shout out to fellow UPS Loggers Brett for hosting, Chelsea for cooking, and Keely for making (apparently rare) social appearances. Hope to see one or two Burlingamers this weekend as well. I'm also looking forward to the Cavs-Celtics game tonight. This whole LeBron story is just so damn fascinating. I'd provide further details but the rest of the internet is much more qualified for analysis.
Musical insight of the day, inspired by what I'm listening to on my drive:
I am thoroughly enjoying Eminem's recent stuff. He's got a new album coming out in June, and the first single, "Not Afraid", is excellent. On all his previous albums, the first singles have been silly, celeb-bashing songs. Usually the weakest song on the album. So that's good sign #1. Combine that with the recent verses he's recorded with other artists (BoB/Hayley Williams, Lil' Wayne, Drake, etc), and I've got my hopes up for a stunning comeback to the top of rap for Eminem. I think this is some of the best stuff he's done since The Eminem Show. I've been thinking about the parallels between him and Barry Zito lately. Before 2007, Zito signed a 7-year, $126 million contract with the Giants (at the time the richest contract ever for a pitcher). After two miserable seasons, it was looking like the worst contract ever given out. But last year he was decent, and this year he's an early Cy Young candidate (5-1, 1.90 ERA). Eminem made (in my opinion) the best rap record ever, then made two mediocre (by Em standards) records while battling addiction and other personal issues. But lets say Eminem's new record is on the same plane as The Eminem Show, and lets say Barry Zito does continue his awesome season. Both are big "ifs". But which would be more remarkable? Which would be more unlikely?
Sorry that was long. Pictures below.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland
Me and Colin out in Kent
Colts locker room
On the field
Me and Kaitlin at the Indianapolis Indians game
Friday, May 07, 2010
Hello from Kent, OH
Day 1 of road trip is complete. Took me about 9 hours to get here from CT, and that includes about an hour of gas/rest stops. Passed the time mainly by singing loudly to my rockin tunes. One thing I'll have to get used to is driving into the setting sun, and the fact that I'm chasing it doesn't help. Yesterday it was like I was on a treadmill, trying to keep the sun shining right into my windshield.
Stayed with cousin Colin last night and will tonight as well. Aside from a dog that wants to take my hand off, it's a pretty nice situation. Saw Aunt Erica and Mean Old Uncle Bill for dinner; then went to Colin's volleyball league game. Kudos to Kent for having this league. It's a bowling alley, with two sand volleyball courts (with lights) and a tiki bar outside. And they have keno, which is apparently fun. But yeah, seems like a pretty fun league to be a part of.
Today, I'm gonna get lunch with Colin and Bill, and then head up to Cleveland and check out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I expect to see quite a few artists who were aided by performance enhancing drugs. Maybe baseball should take notice.
Hopefully I'll be back tonight in time to watch the Cavs game. More importantly, hopefully the Cavs win, which will put everyone around here in a good mood, and then we can go out and have a good time.
Speaking of my rockin tunes, here's my music insight of the day, inspired by what I'm listening to on my drive: I really like Beyonce's "If I Were a Boy", but I do take some offense to how she generalizes all men. "Welcome to my world," says every female reading this.
Until next time, a road errodes if ridden with woes (I made that up myself).
Mike
Stayed with cousin Colin last night and will tonight as well. Aside from a dog that wants to take my hand off, it's a pretty nice situation. Saw Aunt Erica and Mean Old Uncle Bill for dinner; then went to Colin's volleyball league game. Kudos to Kent for having this league. It's a bowling alley, with two sand volleyball courts (with lights) and a tiki bar outside. And they have keno, which is apparently fun. But yeah, seems like a pretty fun league to be a part of.
Today, I'm gonna get lunch with Colin and Bill, and then head up to Cleveland and check out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I expect to see quite a few artists who were aided by performance enhancing drugs. Maybe baseball should take notice.
Hopefully I'll be back tonight in time to watch the Cavs game. More importantly, hopefully the Cavs win, which will put everyone around here in a good mood, and then we can go out and have a good time.
Speaking of my rockin tunes, here's my music insight of the day, inspired by what I'm listening to on my drive: I really like Beyonce's "If I Were a Boy", but I do take some offense to how she generalizes all men. "Welcome to my world," says every female reading this.
Until next time, a road errodes if ridden with woes (I made that up myself).
Mike
Monday, May 03, 2010
On Road Trippin
Dear America,
As a very small fraction of you know, I am moving from Connecticut back to San Francisco. Beginning on Thursday, May 6, I will be driving across the country. I've got many stops planned, with tons of people to see. My rout is pictured above. Currently, my stops are motivated by people rather than places; hence no Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, or Mt. Rushmore. Nothing is written in stone, so if you'd like to make any suggestions, I'd like to hear them.
I'm trying to think of something cool/fun/creative to do on the side while on the trip. Like, once, I read that this guy who was doing a similar cross country trip bought a ton of post cards, self-addressed and stamped them, and then gave them to strangers and told them to write life advice on them and send them. But I can't do that, because he already did that. So again, suggestions welcome. I was thinking of maybe doing a weekly Power Rankings of the cities Ive been through, but some of my friends would no doubt get offended. So I'll probably just write a few blogs like this one. Update with my whereabouts and the hijinks I've gotten into.
In an effort to not have the same conversation 3 million times over the next month: No, I do not have a job lined up yet in San Francisco. Yes, I am working on it. There's not a whole lot of aerospace out there, so I likely will be in a new industry. But that's good, because I think I want to try something new anyway. I still want to do mechanical engineering though.
I'm very excited to see all the friends and family along the way. And come June 5th or so, I'll be living in San Francisco, the best city ever. But as I begin packing up today, I find myself in a foul and depressed mood. It's just kind of sad leaving my friends here. Last Saturday we had a birthday/going away party, and it was maybe my favorite night out of all the time I've spent here. But it's not so bad. I'd be crying my eyes out if I thought it was the last time I'd see all these people. After all, we're having a cook-out on Wednesday for Cinco de Mayo. Bwwaaahahaaahahaahahaha. Just kidding. That won't be the last time I see everyone either.
Anyway, that's what's new with me these days.
Love,
Mike
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)