November 2004 Archives

I saw this story in the New York Times over the break, and I wanted to talk a little bit about it. It seems that the major record labels are finally starting to rework some of their strategies to recognize the potential that digital downloads have. They've been blaming file sharing programs for causing CD sales to slip for years now, but instead of viewing digital music as the enemy, they've slowly started to see things closer to consumers' eyes. The popularity of services like iTunes has probably helped them see the potential big business that's there, as well.

The new setup being explored by Universal and Warner Music Group will offer unsigned bands with a decent grassroots following a chance to have themselves signed for a digital-release contract only, with the hopes that the new music will turn a profit based on digital sales alone. The only thing I don't like about this setup is that the bands still have to pay for the recording themselves, and it seems as though the labels still have lots of freedom to drop underperforming bands at will, leaving the groups with lots of studio bills.

Even with this potential, though, I think the bands that will get signed to this new branch will be decent enough to survive under the new model. Heck, small indie bands have been self-producing their own stuff for decades, and more than a few have risen to the top because of their own efforts. Here's hoping that the big record labels won't give up too soon on this kind of thing, because overall, I think it's a step in the right direction.

Eventually, I hope to see universal acceptance of the kind of model a lot of bands are following with their live concert releases: an album is released and is made immediately available for download in multiple formats (so people can choose their favorite format, including some lossless ones like FLAC), OR you can also choose to order a complete CD with liner notes. It's still not a perfect system, though, because I'd definitely miss the experience of going into a record store and picking up something I had no idea existed before I walked in. It just goes to show that there are a lot of issues to work out as we move into the next phase of the music industry.

On another note, though, I still don't really understand this linkage between digital downloading and a drop in CD sales. My downloading has always had the exact opposite effect on my music spending habits, and it's increased even more when you factor in my iTunes surfing. I guess not every user is as big a music freak as me, though, willing to shell out the bucks for the latest Shins album or whatever. Ah well... time will tell, as it has since the whole Napster fiasco started.

What are your thoughts on the whole situation?

In other, completely unrelated news, some guy named Ken Jennings lost on Jeopardy tonight. The streak is over, and a new chapter in history can be written! I would post a link to the audio or video of him losing, but there's none up yet that I can find. That'll change soon, I'm sure.

On the flip side of the coin, at the Holiday Inn in Blacksburg, VA tonight ... my team won The Game by $180. Another new chapter in history? Not quite, but still. Boo. Yah.

I hope the Thanksgiving weekend was as enjoyable for you as it was for me. I apologize for not posting much, but I took the opportunity to relax and spend time with my family and friends while I had it. These next couple of weeks should prove just as busy as the rest of the semester has been, but since we're in the holiday season, I can't help but feel rejuvenated!

I wanted to kick off this week with a couple of interesting stories and links from the world around us.

... One of the albums on my new "want" list is U2's latest effort, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. I only really became a U2 fan after All That You Can't Leave Behind, so I'm sort've a newcomer to the scene, but dang if I'm not looking forward to picking up this album. In that same vein, here's an article from ESPN comparing the songs from this album to the current situation in the NHL. Now, I'm no hockey fan, and I was skeptical about the relevance of the article's comparisons even after I read it, but it's definitely a fun read. John Buccigross' new-CD traditions of ripping the packaging open and deep-sniffing the liner notes certainly ring true with this humble blogger! Any article that mentions "MacGyver" also gets bonus points from me.

... After a fantastic victory over UVA this weekend, the Hokies' potential destiny as champions of the ACC is entirely in their hands. All we've got to do is beat Miami, at which point all signs will point to a trip to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl in January. Failing that, we might end up in the Peach Bowl. Heck, I'll take either one, but I'm not going to talk out of school until this last game on Saturday happens. I just feel a heck of a lot more confident about this team than I did at the beginning of the season, and so do a lot of other people who know a lot more about sports than I do. I think they're much more united and willing to play. (Hey, Hokies United? Sounds like a great name for a fan-to-player promotion involving some rubber band bracelets!) I'll always be proud to be a Hokie, but this season, I'm becoming ecstatic, not to mention very respectful of Bryan Randall and the other players for uniting as a team. My hat is off, gentlemen.

Tom's view of the win and the season so far is here, and Josh also has a very eloquent take here.

Hey guys. I just wanted to keep things in the spirit of the holiday here and thank you all for everything that you do. From family members to friends I haven't seen in a while - thanks! Heck, even if I don't know you and you're just checking out the blog from somewhere, thanks for doing that much! This is a time in my life when I'm struggling with a few things, namely trying to find a job, figure out what kind of job I'd like, and where I want to go next, considering location and proximity to friends, Gina, and everythign else. Having a good support network of friends and family is the best possible thing to have for a guy like me, and I'm very thankful for all of you. Double tap on the heart and all that.

And, because I don't want to let this get too mushy, as a special holiday presentation, here's a video of a DUI (WMV only). Nothing warms the cockles of your heart like watching a drunk guy being pulled over and dancing. I'm not sure if it's real or not, but if it is, it's pretty darn funny.

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! I sure am stuffed and thankful.

From the Maryland Correspondence Desk of Project BS comes an update on a weird incident from last week. I mentioned here that Gina and I dined next to a bunch of ladies in red hats (though they weren't all straw hats, like I reported then, as Gina corrected me - I guess I'm not a good observer of hats). Well, it turns out that we weren't far from the truth as far as guessing their intentions: they were undoubtedly part of the Red Hat Society! Thanks to Gina's non-stop research, we have gotten to the bottom of the mystery.

The ladies of the Red Hat Society have embraced their aging and are, in fact, part of a movement whose goal is to change the image of middle-aged women. It also creates a network of fellowship for the members, who are usually over 50 years old. It seems that Gina and I just saw the tip of the iceberg - there are chapters all over the country!

Well, I would say something vaguely sarcastic or silly about this, but I think it's worthwhile for these women, who have been through a lot. Though I'm as far away from a 50-year old woman as a person can be, I salute you, o Ladies of the Red Hat.

Today has been glorious. I've done nothing but watch movies and football and work on computer stuff that's been piling up in recent months. The football's been interesting, especially with all the upsets today. My pick'em is shot to crap this week, but so many upsets in the higher ranks is probably good news for the Hokies.

And what about the Clemson and South Carolina slugfest? That was nuts, and disrespectful. A disgrace, even. Right on the heels of the Pacers / Pistons fiasco, it's looking bad for sports. These players have to know that they're role models for a lot of people. It was heartbreaking almost to see the clip of the little boy crying in his mothers arms as he was forced to watch his team get in a fistfight with some fans and other players. Holy crap, you four teams (and the NBA), get a grip on yourselves.

In other news, however, I'm thoroughly enjoying doing next to nothing at home for the next few days. It's been good catching up with the family and camping out in my room like the old days. Everythng is always a little bit different when you come back home after being absent for a few months, but it's good that this does indeed still feel like home. I'll be updating while I'm here, as I think of things to write about.

Well, I just got through taking the hardest test of the semester. I really don't feel good about this one, this SQC Test 3. Phooey on it. About all I'm good for right now, after studying all day and scurrying to turn in projects all freaking week, is to kinda sit here and stare at nothing. Or maybe this.

The good news is that as long as I'm passing SQC by the last day of class, I shouldn't have to take the final. This is very good news, in fact, because I think I'll still come out on top even if I totally blew it on this one. And I'm pretty sure I did. Guess we'll find out in a couple of days! Sorry if none of this post makes any sense.

In the meantime, while I'm trying to protect my brain, I'm going to refuse to do any more work for this week. I'm showing up to class and that's it. (It's a good thing that's all I have left to do, anyway.)

...I wanted to link to a little video Tom and I cooked up Saturday. It's over at TSPN. Funny how one take of filming and a little editing work can turn into a nice press-conference video, don'tcha think?

...This week's edition of ESPN's Power 16 has a nifty note about the Hokies and our "Enter Sandman" intro. Here's hoping the Thursday night telecast shows it, indeed! Except I'll already be there, bouncing up and down in the stands like a frozen football foo'. At least, I'm expecting to be pretty darn cold; maybe I should start packing those layers on right now.

...I'm not sure how long this link will be active (it's to a PDF, so be careful if that gives your browser issues), but in the NCAA Pick'em Contest we've been playing here at Tech, I've still got a solid position on the first page, which is about all I can hope for at this point. I've learned that the more I try to research and use good judgment about the match-ups we must pick, the worse I do. Thus, for these last few weeks, I've gone back to my old pick-a-bunch-of-teams-I-like-better approach. Sadly, I haven't fared any better, but maybe this is my week.

...And while I'm linking good stuff, I'm just counting down for a few more days, and then there'll be some good times and a much-needed Thanksgiving break. I just need to make it through Wednesday first, though.

The theme this weekend was lots of food, and it's not even Thanksgiving yet! However, in preparation for the holiday, we here at Wesley like to "pre-game" for the family feasts that come next week. First, on Friday night, we partake in the glory of the wonderful and semi-mysterious Homeplace Restaurant in Catawba, VA. You have to go to this place once in your lifetime in order for your time on this Earth to be complete! Dinner at Homeplace was fantastic as always, and it was great to dine with 35 or so of my good friends here.

But wait, there's more! On top of that, the officers and I, along with some generous and gracious helpers who cooked various dishes, prepared a Thanksgiving feast of epic proportions tonight. The guest list topped out at 43 at my last count, and though we had a couple of tight spots where we thought we wouldn't have enough food, we pulled through with a few minimal leftovers. This is bad news for the Residents here, in a way, because we won't have as much to "take care of" this week. Having everyone enjoy a good meal is enough reward, though - especially when I think I ate too much tonight!

On that note, it's time to sleep off the aftereffects of the dinner. What about my project work and studying, you say? Eh, that can wait until I have a full night of sleep in me.

Gina and I were having dinner tonight, at O'Charley's, where we were seated next to a round table of middle-aged or older women. There were probably six or seven of them, but they all were wearing purple robes and red straw sun hats. They also shared the common characteristic of having extremely loud laughs and probably a more than decent tolerance for alcohol.

This begs two questions: where can I get a red hat like they had? And also, how does one become a member of their Rojo Sisterhood?

The other top quote of the evening came from a little boy two aisles over from us at Wal-Mart, where first he laughed like my high school math teacher, Mr. Kilgore, and then he shouted "Hey! Give me back my coconut!" Hmm... mysterious!

To all of those men and women who have served our country in the recent conflicts and those in years past: thank you. We all may not always agree on why the wars are happening, but the fact remains that all of you have put your life on the line for us, for our country, and for our freedom. That is a heroic effort to me.

... I forgot to mention in the catch-up post from yesterday that a group of us went to see The Incredibles Saturday night. Holy crap, it's a great movie! I loved the animation, the voice acting, the realistic hair and water effects -- I loved it all. I think this could definitely top out the other recent Pixar megahits. It certainly struck a cord with me, bringing back all those memories of playing superhero all over my house. I also enjoyed the various nods to superhero, adventure, and spy movies of the past: everything from James Bond to Spiderman. Kudos to you, Pixar!

... I spent part of this evening cheering on the Wesley Women's flag football team. The ladies are in the playoffs and are Wesley's last remaining intramural team still in competition for this semester. Six guys painted some white t-shirts to spell out Wesley, and I joined some other fans on the sidelines for tonight's game. It was a lot of fun to root on our Wesley women, and though some lost their voices and some got cold fingers, we all had a blast. The ladies of Wesley didn't pull out a victory tonight, but they still played very well against last year's championship team. I snapped a few good shots and put them on Webshots tonight, also, so check those out.

Where to begin? Since the last time I posted, I've been to two onsite job interviews, both of which were adventures in themselves. I'm home from the most recent one, which was only in Lynchburg (a veritable stone's throw from Blacksburg compared to the flying and cavorting in Pennsylvania). The verdict on both of these interviews is that I wish I had had more rest the night before, but I think they both went reasonably well given the circumstances. All that remains is hearing back from them, and then it will be time to make some decisions.

... I have some travel notes from the trip to Pennsylvania. First, the flight to Philly on Thursday night was delayed, so U.S. Airways booked me on an NWA flight to Detroit, which then took me to Harrisburg (where I needed to be). I was only maybe an hour and a half behind schedule at that point, so I grabbed my rental car (a spiffy white Chevy Classic - I didn't even know they made those) and sped off to Lancaster at around 12:30 AM. I arrived at my destination hotel at approximately 1:00, called home and Gina to let them know I arrived safely, and crashed by 1:30. Only to get up at 6:30 and begin a grueling day-long set of interviews. I think that if I could survive that and still give intelligent answers to questions and land a job offer, I can handle any interview situation. I was also happy to have Sarah and Gina send me off on Thursday night from Roanoke.

The return trip on Friday was comparatively uneventful, though I was back on my original itinerary with U.S. Airways. This meant a ride on some Dash-9 puddle jumpers instead of the DC-9's NWA was using, and it also meant less pretzels and less drink in my soda cup. Oh well, I was asleep most of the way back, anyway. There four or five other Tech students on the final flight back to Roanoke from Philly, which was cool, because we were all in the same interviewing situation, just looking for a job. We chatted until we all drifted off to sleep toward the middle of the flight.

When I landed in Roanoke and headed toward the exit, much to my delight, I saw Gina, Katie, Sarah, and Gina's roomie Jania standing there with some "Welcome Home Bret!" signs. What a welcome, to be surrounded by ladies right after stepping off a plane! Gina ran into my arms, and it would have been straight out of a movie if I hadn't accidentally stepped on her foot and hurt her toenail in the process. Drat my clumsiness! It was still the thought that counted, and it meant a lot to me. Thanks, gals!

... Sunday, the Wesley Band played two gigs. The first was at BUMC's contemporary service, and the second was at Wesley's Sunday night program. I think we're really coming together as a band, which should speak well for the Singers songs that we'll eventually do. For now, we're rehearsing a lot of praise stuff to use in the occasional service and program, and at the same time, we're getting used to playing with each other. I think it'll work out just fine.

... The interview today was with Frito-Lay in Lynchburg. I like the idea of being close to the 'burg for the time being, so maybe this will be the job for me. Who knows? I do count it a bonus that I received a couple of free bags of chips, fresh off the line from today. Anybody want some?

... Thanksgiving break is fast approaching, and I can't wait! These interviews were my last big hurdles for this week, so now I can focus on schoolwork. Sounds good to me.

I'll be out for the next couple of days as I travel to Pennsylvania for my first on-site job interview. Am I nervous? You bet. I'm not totally sure I know enough about the job to even be sure if I want it or not, but I need to do things like this so I'll eventually get to the point where I'm not nervous about it. Still yet, the idea of studying for two tests today like crazy and interviewing all day tomorrow is not my idea of a nice way to cap off the week.

I wanted to react a little bit more on the election, but I don't have the time. Suffice it to say that I hope we can all move on and start to unite the country again. I'm not too optimistic about that right now, but stranger things have happened.

See you in a few days.

I don't have a lot to say about the election, because I basically hate politics. Coming into this election, right down to the wire, I found myself not really liking either candidate. I did vote, though. Now it seems like President Bush is going to be re-elected. That's fine with me, as long as Kerry concedes and we can just get on with our lives. The end result of this is that 48% of the country is not going to be happy for a long while, which is how I figured it would turn out no matter who won.

I don't know. It's far too easy to get disenchanted with it all. I think I'm going to remain self-absorbed for a little while and focus on all the other stuff I've got to do this week. I'll let the powers that be sort out who's going to be President.

I've been blessed with a bunch of good weekends this semester, but this one was definitely incredible.

...First, the Fall Retreat at beautiful Smith Mountain Lake was even more awesome than I was expecting it to be. All of our planned events and ideas went off without a hitch, including our new "Wesley United" bracelets and individual Polaroids. I really felt that, even though we were only there for a little over a day (including the overnight stay), everyone seemed to come out of their shell a little and be included in the larger group. I know I certainly got a sense of the Wesley family pulling together a little tighter, and that ... is a very good thing. Thanks again to everyone who came and made the Retreat what it was.

...When we all got back from the Retreat, and after I took a solid two-hour nap, it was soon time for the Hour That Doesn't Count. Things weren't looking good for much randomness since I was so tired and most of the usual players were out of town or graduated. However, I pulled out of the slump in time, and we assembled quite the posse, anyway. With Halloween so close to the Hour, Gina, Katie, Brittlea, and I just decided the best thing would be to put on our Halloween costumes and take a stroll downtown amongst all the other costumed crazies. And that, my friends, was truly an eye-openingly fun experience. Katie was wearing her substitute costume, a pregnant cowgirl, which drew a lot of attention. She also had a good time taking pictures with random costumed people - everything from a human-sized milkshake to a cow with pockets.

Brittlea put on a random dress from the Wesley basement, along with Gerritt's donated hat. Gina had an authentic-looking doctor costume, and I finally debuted my Indiana Jones costume that I'd been piecing together this fall. It was a great time, and it was an Hour That Didn't Count that I'd probably do all over again anyway.

...The great Halloween fun extended into Sunday, when Gina, Susan, Rachel, and Casey threw our Halloween party at Wesley. There was all the usual Halloween fare and hoopla, which was a great way to wind down the weekend. My Indy costume even won Best Overall, which was really amazing! It must've been all that hard work Mom and Gina put into helping me piece it together. Thanks to all the family members for donating whips and leather jackets and things, too!

There were many more details that I just can't fit in right now, but wow! What a weekend.