I haven't been going to many music shows in the last year, but this past week has been pretty busy. On Saturday, I caught ?uestlove's (The Roots) dj set at a small club near my house. He is a resident dj there, but appears infrequently due to a rather full-blown career. Last night, I checked out a Toyota-sponsored set from Gang Starr's DJ Premier. The two could not have been more different.

?uestlove was spinning tunes to dance to, period. He had several subsets consisting of classic and recent hip-hop, 80's top 40 dance and soul, and the continuity was pretty good. There was minimal technical showboating, with jarring transitions wherever he felt like it, but there was good flow and there was only one point where he started to lose the audience. Otherwise, the crowd was loving it and the dj was having fun.

DJ Premier seemed to phone it in. He has a pretty polished set, but you definitely got the feeling that everything was scripted, especially the frequent call-and-response with the audience. After opening with some good tunes and a long but well-chosen Gang Starr medley, "Primo" dropped into an extended technical noodling session that killed the dancefloor and thinned the crowd. I had hoped that we'd be treated to more original work, but that was not the case. Thank god for the top shelf open bar in the VIP lounge. So here are two examples of famous producer/performers spinning other peoples music, with very different results. They both had attentive, enthusiastic audiences, great sound systems, and plenty of good mp3s (no vinyl was harmed in the making of these shows).

What went wrong with Premier's set? Maybe it was because it was really a corporate gig (tickets were free). Maybe it was the fact that cutting up old Run-DMC tracks is just not entertaining anymore. He is truly a master dj, but there was a whole lotta chatter between tracks and too many lapses in danceability.

If you have the chance to catch a ?uestlove show and aren't afraid to dance to whatever the hell is making his afro bounce that day, do make the effort. If you have a chance to see Premier on the Scion tour, do make the effort to get a VIP pass.

Tonight I'm going to the Phillies game, and then Josh Wink is spinning at the same place ?uestlove played for like $5 or something. Not sure I'll make it, but having access to world-class DJ's for peanuts is not something to be taken for granted so I'll do my best to get there.

The other night, my wife and I were cleaning up the debris left over from tearing down the plaster ceiling in our living room. We had already spent quite a bit of time in the car, searching out Philly's city dumps, to get rid of what must have been close to a ton of debris, and a lot of that time was spent trying to circumnavigate the Mummers parade. Normally held on New Year's day, it had been rained out and pushed to the following weekend. We drove down to Oregon Ave and tried to cross Broad St, but ran into a police barricade. There were string bands tuning up and pushing their set pieces around. Oh man, I thought, we are at cheez ground zero. Deep in South Philly, surrounded by macho men wearing feathered costumes, pumping mini-parasols in the air to banjo-N-sax big band riffs. I was a little bummed that we were in the car on what must be one of the very very very few 70 degree January days in Philly history, instead of riding our bikes through Mummerland, but we had work to do. So, after two dump runs with our bags of ancient, horrible drywall and plaster, we decided to stroll the three blocks up to Broad to see why there was still a ruckus at 6pm.

And what timing. We caught one string band just as they were beginning a performance, and they were pretty great. The costumes, the zany set pieces, very French powdered whigs meets Corpse Bride...hard to describe but easy to appreciate. A little piece of Burning Man, but so far to the opposite of the spectrum that you almost reach the other pole. The Mummers need to discover Black Rock, but that's unlikely. Anyway, I realized immediately what the Mummers are all about...I guess it was seeing a really good band right off the bat...the last time I went to the parade was probably in the early 80's.

Next up was the Fralinger string band, and I didn't need anyone to tell me that they've won the past 4 consecutive years. Their 'Native American' theme was over the top but not offensive, and was just a theatrical wonder in the middle of an intersection. The costumes were nuts, the choreography right on, and the set pieces inventive and well-executed. They did go on to claim their 5th title, and deservedly so. Just in case we were going to go home thinking that the Mummers are above tackiness (under those feathers), the next band pulled out some forehead-slapping Mexican stereotypes (drunken, gap-toothed, cactus costumes???) and cliche musical numbers. Oh well, my faith in the mummers is 66.6% restored.

They said the internet is for porn, but I didn't believe it until tonight.

Just got to Philly yesterday. Me and brother loaded up the groovy box truck and struck out for the promised land. 3600 miles later, here I am in my new yet old home. Highlights included the Badlands national park, seen above, and the coincidental timing of Sturgis Bike Week in lovely SW South Dakota. Harleys and their doting owners as far as the eye could see.

We stopped in Wall (drug), SD to wait out a storm, ran into an old girlfriend of mine in Wisconsin, sat in traffic in Chicago, found the home of the Jackalope in Douglas, Wyoming and always always always found more Harleys. I lost a quarter playing slots at some Nevada truck stop, and picked up 2 cases of Sprecher Special Amber Ale in Madison. The penultimate stop was a family reunion outside Frederick, MD with hay rides and camping under clear, breezy skies.

All in all, it was a great way to spend 7 days, see a few new sides to the country and spend time with my brother.

Many people visit Angel Island in the SF Bay, but not so many camp there. They've got campsites for just a few dozen people, so when the day-use tourists take the last ferry home, you're pretty much running the place. I camped there last night, for the second time, and I can't speak highly enough of it. It certainly didn't hurt that the sea breeze kept a record-setting heatwave at arm's length and the night was cloud and fog-free. Regardless of whether you have cold beer, 160 proof Austrian rum and fresh fish tacos at the campsite, the most amazing thing about it is the view of the SF skyline. Absolutely sublime to sit in one place in total isolation and have a panoramic view from Berkeley to the Marin Headlands with the Bay bridge, GG bridge and SF in between.

I just got back from Dolores park, where about 15k people watched the World Cup final on a jumbotron. The event was sponsored by this crazy German dude (and donations during the event). My wife got to the park at 8am to grab some amazing real estate right up front, so we were able to hear all the audio and see the ball clearly on the screen. There was a French section behind us and some Italians scattered about, but the crowd just wanted a good game. The weather was flawless, the soundsystem was excellent (from where we were sitting) and everyone was really well-behaved. It was amazing.

[6/30 update to 'smell you later': Well, today is it. I'm basically waiting for security to come by my desk, cut my badge in two and peel the STAFF icon out of my profile. It's been a great ride and I don't regret a moment of it. I've made some great friends, learned a ton of stuff from some incredibly dynamic people and (fingers crossed) I leave with 65% confidence that people on the 3rd floor know what the hell it is that I did for CNE/GNE/G&E/CPK/ETC. There are too many people to thank, so I'll choose someone at random. Collin Oguro, you represent all the people I'll miss. I don't think we've said more than 15 words to each other in almost 3 years, but you get me those 70x70 icons so damn fast and they're so beneath you. I hope we have the opportunity to work together again in the future.]

me and the ladybird watched The Muppet Movie the other night. I don't think I've seened it for 15 years at least. The puns were as corny as you can imagine, and the cavalcade of stars was......pretty jaw-dropping. Carol Kane, Orson Welles, Steve Martin in short shorts, Richard Pryor and Mel Brooks as an almost Nazi, even if you hate muppets this film is like a late 70's ('79 to be exact) pop-culture parade.

A friend of mine is in a band called the Dead Hensons, which covers Henson songs quite ably and with no small amount of enthusiasm. So it was extra special to reconnect with the songs I've seen his band perform, in their natural muppet-driven state. Of particular merit is the Dr. Teeth's Electric Mayhem ditty, "Can you picture that?" Anyway, this movie is pretty amazing, and in hindsight seems like one of the best developments of a franchise that I've ever seen. The most jarring moments come during scenes where regulars like Fozzie Bear or Rowlf are shown from head to toe. After being conditioned to visualize them from the waist up over years of Muppet Shows, it was shocking to see them dancing and riding bikes and crap. So, you might want to mentally prepare yourself for that if you endeavor to watch this film. I'm just sayin, that's all. 2 thumbs up.

I caught X-Men 3 the other night. It was pretty much exactly what metacritic said it would be...milquetoast. Horrible dialogue, dearth of snappy one-liners and comebacks, and worst of all, nothing changes at the end of the movie. That's about as much of a spoiler as I'm willing to throw out there, but it felt so unsatisfying....not far afield from watching Jason Vorhees get killed and killed again, only to see him pop up the following year to milk the franchise some more. Bryan Singer's absence in the director's chair was quite noticeable, to the grand detriment of the film. If you have a large TV and a home theater audio set-up, I would recommend this as a renter if you absolutely must see it.

On a related note, Superman and Ghost Rider were trailer'd before X3, and while I understand demand for the former, the latter not so much. I think this was summed up by the fact that two of the people I went with, who debated how X3 conformed (and did not conform) to the comic books in excrutiating detail, were totally unfamiliar with Ghost Rider. I was an X-Men fan growing up as well, and never found GR very compelling. Maybe I was too young to grasp his tormented appeal, but that translates to me really not caring about paying to see the movie. I'm sure I'll see it eventually, and who knows, maybe it will be the homage that, from what I hear, Fantastic 4 couldn't muster.

Courtesy of Browster. Horrible name. Great Idea. Freeware. Get it.

CAVEAT: The Terms of Use do contain a red flag, but I haven't had any issues so far:

As much of a pop-culture addict as I am, I somehow never managed to see any of the Godfather films until this past weekend. Over the course of 4 nights, we cruised through all III of them. The first had the biggest pop-culture payout: catch-phrases like "I made him an offer he couldn't refuse," the introduction of perennial weak-link Fredo, and recognizing Alex Rocco's (Moe Green) voice as that of Roger Meyers Jr (Itchy & Scratchy's studio owner) made this installment fun to take in.

The DVD sleeves from our mail-order rental company of choice listed some crazy running times, so we were never really sure what we were in for. I believe it said that Disc 1 of Godfather II was 200 minutes, and disc 2 was 545 minutes. Da's a lotta minutes, and totally untrue. What poor soul would sit in movie theater for 745 minutes (not counting the die-hards who bought into the back-to-back-to-back LOTR showings)? The whole thing is 200 minutes, but I'll admit being a bit concerned by the sleeve details.

The second film left me with the feeeling that Coppola operated with the mindset that editing was perfectly acceptable as long as every scene he shot made it into the film. I would say that it's gratuitous rather than bloated.

The third film sucked hard in comparison to the others. Sophia Coppola is dreadful, though I appreciated her big nose...something that you probably would not find if that role were cast today. By the time she is put out of her misery, I just wanted the movie to end. There was some crap about the Pope in there as well, but its cavalcade of stars had nothing on the first two films and it just didn't live up to the legacy.

If you are like me, and live under a rock, see the first two and skip the third. Then watch Lost In Translation to maintain your respect for Ms. Coppola.

I caught a second-run showing of Chappelle's Block Party last night, and it was just an all-around great film. It is what it is, a concert film, but it really works and is quite entertaining if you are down with the rap music.

At the root of it, the block party is just a rich guy booking his favorite bands to play a semi-private show (which is then filmed for commercial release), with some eccentric 'golden ticket' distribution thrown in, but the film plays up the good vibes and doesn't really address the opulence of the event. And that's fine...if you dig the artists involved, and I do, then it's worth the price of admission to see how it turned out.

At one point, Chappelle remarks that the block party is the single greatest day of his career, but I'm not sure why. He never thought he could throw such a righteous party? He didn't think that enough money could reunite the Fugees? This was a benefit concert for him, and no matter how cool it may be to see Kanye West watching a marching band play 'Jesus Walks' in the rain in Brooklyn, anyone who wasn't being paid to be there got used in his moment of glory.

I had the opportunity to see a benefit comedy show the other night at a local middle school. That means ancient, hard wooden auditorium seating, and the feeling that all the swearing coming from the comics was somehow either liberating or defiling such a hall of learning and discovery and tedious assemblies. Anyway, it was a great bill: Patton Oswalt, Tom Rhodes, some guy who mumbled, Al Madrigal, Sarah Silverman and her boooyfriend Jimmy Kimmel. There was a little much canoodling in the wings between those two, but they were funny, and Kimmel looked bedraggled at best, hung over at worst. Oh, and props to the turnout by the GS crew, I think we had 8 people there.

I went to last year's benefit, which was also had Oswalt and Madrigal, so I crossed my fingers for new material. And they did come through for the most part. There were a couple repeats, but they were good repeats, and the new material was very good. Oswalt and Silverman got the headliner spots, so they had a bit more time on stage, and used it pretty well. Sarah Silverman was funny, but her routine felt a bit canned, though well-delivered. Lots of bathroom/bedroom/racial humor....the only comic to elicit an audible, collective groan from the audience.

Tom Rhodes, the opener, was funniest when he ran out of jokes and had to wrack his brain to remember his B-material. Madrigal shined for his stories, including a ficticious trip with his family to Dollywood.

I came away feeling like I'd laughed a lot, but that I've reached a point of declining return with a few of the benefit's regulars. Or maybe I need to have a couple cocktails before next year's show. As I've said so many, many times in the past, whether I'm stone cold sober or three sheets to the wind, I do it all for the childrens.

I curse like a sailor but love the foibles of 'proper' English. I just stumbled across this Errors site, and it looks like a downright cromulent geek-out. I certainly don't wish to be regarded as unedumacated and stuff.

Where It's At:

This slang expression gained widespread currency in the sixties as a hip way of stating that the speaker understood the essential truth of a situation: “I know where it’s at.” Or more commonly: “You don’t know where it’s at.” It is still heard from time to time with that meaning, but the user risks being labeled as a quaint old Boomer. However, standard usage never accepted the literal sense of the phrase. Don’t say, “I put my purse down and now I don’t know where it’s at” unless you want to be regarded as uneducated. “Where it is” will do fine; the “at” is redundant.

1. Make it dull

2. Make it polysyllabic

3. Is it dull? Is there any wiggle room to make it duller?

Case in point: Playstation Network Platform. Clearly this is the warm, inviting place where all the kids will want to meet their friends when they're not duking it out on their Playstation Portables. Observe:

Little Johnny's mother: "Little Johnny, please wash your hands and come to dinner!"

Little Johnny: "Not now, Mom, I've just configured the Sony Network Adaptor and am fully immersed in the online community features of the Playstation Network Platform."

Little Johnny's mother: "You are scaring me with those big words. Isn't there some catchy codename or acronym you could use to describe it?"

Little Johnny: "I wish I could, but all of the radical marketing people who come up with this stuff work for Microsoft. Sony will hunt me with Product ninjas if I call it something else."

Anyway...you can see where this is going. No need for me to connect the dots. HUB was dumb but it was better than Playstation Network Platform.

[Aside: When I was 'doin' time at 989' there was a special place in my heart for the dreaded TRD, or technical requirements document. There were so many things that had to be just so in each game. I understand the need for consistency, but sometimes(always) it felt like overkill. So if you tested a game and there was an instruction screen that mentioned the memory card, it had to say "...the memory card (8MB) (for Playstation®2)..." EVERY time. Not 'PlayStation2®' or Memory Card, and always with the damn parentheticals. Ack. I miss it so.]

After the e-commerce thingy broke and took me with it several years ago, I found a couple odd jobs to help make ends meet. One of them was as a focus group participant, taking part in paid studies (non-medical unfortunately...that's where the big bucks is at, but you usually need to be a leper with narcolepsy to qualify) for varying amounts of cash. The lamest was tasting frozen buffalo meat products...they actually had mini-meatballs called buffalo balls. Sigh. Anyway, I still get calls from the research companies now and again, and if I pass the screen and have the time, it's still an easy way to make $75-150 for a couple hours of my time.

So this weekend I was enrolled in a radio study, listening to uptempo music played on local stations. Simple enough. But it was cold and raining cats and dogs the day of the session, and I didn't leave enough time to get there other than on a bike or a scooter. So I rode the scooter downtown and got soaked from the waist down. I gave myself a headache clenching my jaw fighting the needles of cold clammy denim...it was not so fun, but on the upside, parking was a breeze.

The focus group was in a conference room with a tv and dvd player. After a minute or three of instruction, the group leader popped in a dvd and started up the first of 6 discs, each with 100 6-second sound clips. We were supposed to rate each song's catchiness, whether it's played out, and which local station would be caught dead playing it. I should add that there was about a one second pause between clips, so you had to fill in the bubble sheet continuously or risk falling behind. That said, so much of the music was crap and interchangeable that you could easily catch up filling in random bubbles. I actually put some effort into this one, mostly because it was easy to pass the time if you actually stopped to consider whether "I Can't Wait" by Nu Shooz was a 'Like it a lot' or a 'Like it somewhat' type of song. (It's one of the best songs ever btw). That, and I don't see any reason to jeopardize these folks calling me back for more easy money groups by drawing scan-tron pictures.

By the end of the 2.5 hours and 600 song clips, my pants were still clammy and my ability to hold a pencil was taxed. I also had about 47 horribly catchy but horrible nonetheless pop ditties running through my head. But I'll sleep better knowing I've helped a large media conglomerate figure out that 2Unlimited's "Y'all Ready for This" is ready for retirement. It's just sad that they haven't figured it out on their own.