Accept no substitutes

Category: Alumni and other friends (Page 23 of 38)

How Should Parents Behave at a Green Day Concert

Green Day
My 12 year old son saved enough money and was quick enough on the draw to get good seats for the upcoming Green Day concert. I’m going with him and a couple of his friends and their parents. As I look back, I could not begin to imagine going to a rock concert with my father (fine person that he is and was). I saw most of my early rock as an usher at the Charlotte Coliseum which is no longer called the Charlotte Coliseum any more, but Independence Arena instead. It’s been a while since I’ve been to a big venue concert and when I was there (maybe the Elvis Costello/Nick Lowe tour), I paid no attention to how a parent should behave at a rock concert.

So tell me what would you suggest is appropriate parent behavior? I’ll post my observations after the concert (Wednesday night unless Billie Joe’s voice is still on vacation).

Rich News at least in Features

This morning’s News and Observer is full of stories, features and articles on or by some folks I know and some I love.

Artist Jane Filer (we own one of her paintings) whose show will open next Sunday at Jane Tyndall’s Gallery at University Mall is the subject of a longish feature in which both Janes are quoted.

Bob Moog and theremins are part of a feature story on the Ether Music 2005 (in Asheville) and are subject of another feature as well as a photo and audio slide show. Steve Burnett, who has commented here, is the Rasputin lookalike in the fifth picture.

Susan Gladen’s short story which won the Doris Betts Award is featured in the Sunday Journal section. Susan and Peter Kramer let me write in their chicken house occassionally.

Sam Ruby and Michael Teiman talk about corporate blogs in the Business Section. (I was deep background on part of this. So deep that Jonathan Cox may have forgotten he even spoke with me ;->).

My favorite real life pirate, Captain Horatio Sinbad, is Tar Heel of the Week. Besides leading raids on local to Beaufort and Morehead City waterfront restaurants and tourist cruises, the relatively good captain won a sailboat race and as part of his prizes, he will be bringing sailing ships to Beaufort. Great profile of a man who never grew up — in th every best way.

Remember that Bob Moog is undergoing cancer treatment at Duke. You can sign his guest book and leave him a message.

Pirate alert from 1974

“Next time you’re out shopping for records or tapes — watch out for pirates. Not the kind with skull and crossbones and crusty cutlasses–watch out for music pirates. There are plenty of them around and, like their 18th Century colleagues, they’re breaking the law, to the tune of $200 million a year.” So begins the alert, the “Buyers Bulletin,” on the record sleeve of the Vassar Clements LP from 1974 that I was revisiting. Besides describing how to tell an official versus a pirated 8-track cartridge, we are treated to a tale of extra-legal and sociopathic behavior by the Killer Jerry Lee Lewis as he finds himself at a gas station in the south with rack of illegal 8 tracks as told by John Polk an RIAA investigator. It’s not clear what behavior is being celebrated as legal what which as morally wrong. Obviously the target is the right one. Massive amounts, allegedly, of 8 track tapes suddenly showing up for sale is definitely a negative market force, but then we have the Killer who smashes what he deems to be a rack of illegal tapes and drives off saying “Tell him ‘Killer’ was here.”
The confusion persists to this day. Bands and rappers are presented as outlaws up until there’s product involved. Then when the distribution systems fails and that structural hole is filled by entrepreneurs as indifferent to norms as the bands the name calling starts. And even then “Killer” is held up as an example of “taking the bull by the horns” — without irony.
The confused message does not serve the industry well and worse for all of us, we have become numb to it after 30 years of handwaving.
I too oppose massive illegal file trading and the more harmful cousin counterfeit recordings, but clarity here is a persistant problem.

Vassar Clements (1928 – 2005)

I first heard Vassar Clements back in the 60s when I was in high school. Always the odd boy, I was not digging the sweet soul music called “beach music” and the rock and roll available was mostly from the UK. But I was happy to be one of the few long haired or gypsy dressed kids at a serious bluegrass concert. I recall fondly how Vassar Clements was early to play with John Hartford and then with the Earl Scruggs Review and then soon after on the Nitty Gritty Dirtband’s Circle LPs.
Over time I heard Vassar, recorded, in various surprising and excellent combos playing with various rockers and jazz players.
Even the play list on the one LP of his I own, Vassar Clements (on Mercury in 1975), shows his diverse friends and interests — Charlie Daniels, Marty Stewart, John McEuen, John Hartford and others. Sadly this, one of the best instrumental LPs I own, has never been released on CD and is out of print.

Rex Libris Public Librarian

I, Librarian
Jeff Pomerantz points out (over lunch but not on his blog) a new comix from Slave Labor, Rex Libris, Public Librarian. The peek at the book online is worth your time. Should be out this month.

Just spoke to our School of Information and Library Science Librarian, Rebecca Varga, and she tells me that she ordered Rex Libris a few weeks back. If you are in Manning Hall, there is a good chance you can get the book right here!

Note:
After posting this I went to the book store to try to buy or order the book and they couldn’t find it in their inventory (okay) nor could they find it in the suppliers list (not so good). May have to be ordered on the net.
After Jeff, Rebecca and I are done with it of course.

Dome at SigGraph (elumenati)

David in the Dome with Friends
elumenati founder and ibiblio alum David McConville sends pics of the elumenati custom inflatable dome as it appeared at this year’s SigGraph conference.

David also sends an alert for his show at The Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center (56 Broadway in downtown Asheville) called “Immersive Media Environments.” The show is part of the “Buskmaster” oops R. Buckminster Fuller celebration there.
When (too soon): Thursday, August 18, 8:00 pm

ibiblio-mania various

Besides the SlashDot article posted below, ibiblio has received some other very good and varied attention in the past few hours.

Power of the Peep and Dr Fun

Dr Fun creator Dave Farley writes to say that he’ll be interviewed for a documentary on the Eastertime favorite Peeps called “The Power of the Peep.” Dr Fun has had a load of fun with peeps over the years.

Dave was also interviewed about webcomics by Le Figaro (in French of course).

A few links to some Dr Fun peep featuring cartoons below.
http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200004/df20000424.jpg
http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200104/df20010410.jpg
http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200104/df20010411.jpg
http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200104/df20010412.jpg
http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200203/df20020325.jpg
http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200203/df20020326.jpg
http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200203/df20020327.jpg
http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200203/df20020328.jpg
http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200203/df20020329.jpg
http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200304/df20030414.jpg
http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200304/df20030415.jpg
http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200304/df20030416.jpg
http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200304/df20030417.jpg
http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200304/df20030418.jpg

Kerouac Scroll to Roll into Town

The original scroll of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road will be exhibited at the UNC-Chapel Hill Wilson Library from September 29-December 17 this fall. The opening reception will be free to the public on September 29, from 5-7 p.m. at the Saltarelli Exhibit Room, third floor of the Wilson Library. The NC Writers’ Network is a cosponsor of this significant event

“MLK Boulevard: The Concrete Dream

Marco Williams (who also made “Two Towns of Jasper”) was in Durham for a showing of his “MLK Boulevard: The Concrete Dream” at the Center for Documentary Studies last night. Tucker and I went over to see him.
The MLK Blvd story is a familiar one to us as Sally had worked hard on the renaming one of Chapel Hill’s main roads to MLK Blvd. As Yogi would say, it was deja vu all over again as we watched the drama of road renaming play out in Eugene Oregon. The same arguments, the same substitutions offered, the same talk about process. Only Council person Bettman in Eugene stepped up and was strong enough to read King’s words on the subject to her fellows on Council as they claimed that the cost of stationary was too great to allow for renaming or claimed that they had a more “creative and unique idea” like naming the library or a park.
The vote in Eugene was 6 against the naming and 2 for.
Marco visited MLK Blvds, Sts, Rds, and more around the country to see what was happening there. Great visits with interesting people including one dirt road that ends at a trailer house where a delightful and cranky admirer of MLK lives.
Back in Eugene, Marco visits the various business people who talk about the hardship of change in carefully coded language.
One more direct merchant, Ed of Ed’s Warehouse, says he will shutdown his appliance business if the road in front is renamed. During part of the discussion, Ed tells Marco that Marco is “thinking like a black person.” Ahem. . Camera pans to Marco. Marco has long long dreadlocks and is, well, a black person. Camera pans to Marco. Ed tries to say well I want you to see it my way, but he can’t quite express himself clearly on that.
After a period of aggitation and of editorial writing, the Council decided to revisit the renaming vote. This time the vote was 5 – 3 for the renaming.
Many other stories in this 54 minute film that was made for limitied cable release on the NYTimes/Discovery channel.

[links etc later]

Running 200 miles in 4 days!

Scott Adams ran and Les Chaffin biked 50 miles a day for 4 days on the Blue Ridge Parkway from Milepost 0 to Milepost 200! The pictures are in (you are chastised for not running IE before you see the pics tho).

Scott and Les weren’t just running/biking for the challenge, but doing it to honor the memory of Jay Clark who recently passed away in May. You too can help celebrate the challenge and honor the Memory of Jay Clark:

Donate to American Cancer Society Or
Donate to National Hospice and Palliative Care Organizations
If donating by check please make checks payable to “American Cancer Society or National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization”
Label them for “In Memory of Jay Clark”
Mail them to Scott Adams / 29 North Circle Drive / Chapel Hill, NC 27516

Podcasting and iTunes delight

We tuned up Roger McGuinn’s Folk Den and registered the podcast with iTunes lately. We’d been podcasting it for a while, but the iTunes subscription service makes it really easy to get new audio into your player — if that player is iTunes.
I have the about 100 songs from the Folk Den in my player when I saw a new song just show up! This is exactly what is supposed to happen, but it was still amazing. Roger had just added the song to the Folk Den about 5 minutes or so earlier. Without any effort other than subscribing to our RSS feed, I had the song there and ready to play and/or transfer to my iPod.

We have some work to do on the metadata, but we’ll be working on that and on a WordPress version of the Folk Den next.

Other podcasts I enjoy are Harry Shearer’s Le Show from KCRW (also easy to subcribe to on iTunes) and Brian Russell’s AudioActivism.org.

Bonus: Catch up with Roger and Camilla at Roger’s blog.

Jones-mania in USA Today

Watch for it on the stands tomorrow! Or on the net now! In an article titled “RSS feeds college students’ diet for research” I give what appears to be a complex, yet concise explanation of RSS:

It’s like a subscription or clipping service,” says Paul Jones, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the director of ibiblio.org, an online public library of Web information (www.ibiblio.org). “You can drag any Web site you want to watch, from BBC to personal blogs, and it will let you know if you have new stuff.

Mark and Rathi McCarthy in Sudan

Mark and Rathi are in Sudan working for the UN’s Humanitarian Information Centre and for the UN Food Aid respectively. Mark is an ibiblio alum who was here on leave briefly this spring to talk about his work in Darfur. Mark’s mom writes (in a comment on this blog) to let us know that despite the riots in Khartoum, Mark and Rathi are okay. But that Rathi and other UN folks are in their compound in Khartoum and Mark is out of town in Darfur.

Hope to hear more later and hope that it will be good news.

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