A compilation of random and interesting things, musings, musics, videos, and more. Brought to you by a UChicago student with a penchant for procrastination.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Chicago MP3 Experiment
Even though it was chilly, raining, and a Saturday afternoon -- a gaggle of brave UChicago students ventured north to Lincoln Park for a once in a lifetime ImprovEverywhere extravaganza.
All we knew was to arrive at exactly 2PM with a pre-loaded mp3, an umbrella, a balloon, and wearing one of four colors ... the instructions were specifically vague, but having pored over last year's experiments, I knew we were in for something amazing!
Upon getting to the park we experienced a 40 minute onslaught of insanity that culminated in what could only be bellowed as an EPIC BATTLE. With thumb wars, hundred-person games of twister, human Tetris, vast umbrella canopies, and an unyielding drizzle - these precursors to the grand finale would've been enough to weird out any passer bys.
Yet, we continued, led along by the soothing voice of Steve. Seriously, where else would you see something like this? And why wouldn't you join in?
Here's where the colors we were wearing came in handy. After a bit of battle training, all of the participants were split into two camps with their own respective drummers and flutists. With balloons in hand and a fantastically muddy battleground -- the epic battle commenced!
With many, many casualties the end of the battle saw everyone covered in mud, all colors intermingled, balloons discarded, and mp3s reaching their end -- but the pervasive feeling of good cheer was unmistakable. What a fantastic time! Thanks IE!
A new acquaintance (above) & the whole experience (below)!
Tonight I had the great opportunity to listen to a talk deliverer by Madeline Albright at the University of Chicago. The full title of the event was the Thomas Garrigue Masaryk Lecture on Democracy and it was premised on a deep connection between the University and the Czech Republic, stretching back to an original series of talks given by Masaryk, the founder and first president of an independent Czech Republic, in the early 20th century.
The introduction to the talk was presented by Dean Boyer as well as the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States, Petr Kolár. It served to establish Albright's Czech origins and her work in American politics. Though these introductions were longer than Albright's whole talk, there were some light moments. Such as when Kolar jokingly said he and many in the Czech community had tried but failed to persuade Albright to run for President in the Czech Republic, though he didn't hold the fact that she refused against her.
The lecture was held at Rockefeller Chapel, and filled the entire venue.
Albright finally took the podium and presented the lecture with an inspiring air of confidence and composure. One of the main points she pushed across with her talk was the notion of responsible leadership at the heart of a true democracy. She specifically called out China and Russia alongside Iran, as failing their duties to their citizens with regard to adhering to certain standards for human rights. Yet, while the US used to have a moral vantage point from which to make such criticisms, she conceded that the US is itself now no longer in a very positive position. There was especially a lot of applause after her condemnation of Guantanamo.
After her talk, Albright fielded an impressive array of question form the audience. She touched upon everything from the role of the AU to the question of US involvement in Pakistan to her reasons for endorsing Hillary. The most interesting question however, came at the very end, when someone asked her about the legitimacy of the Hamas as a democratically elected party in Palestine. Albright agreed that this was a very difficult question, and began to qualify the definition of democracy.
Her inability to accept the legitimacy of Hamas lay in the fact that the group uses violence to achieve it's aims. Though it has a strong stake in the well-being of the people and the community, the use of violence to achieve its aims ultimately discredited them on an international level.
So again, the this moral element is directly linked to the definition a truly democratic state. While Hamas can be seen as representing exactly what the people of Palestine want - efficacy in pursuing national aims, despite the violence, their immoral means discredit their democratic election to power. Albright's only means of resolving this was ultimately to claim that the opposition party, Fatah, could have offered just as much to the people, without the violence, but failed to do so, thereby failing the democratic process. If indeed there had been adequate choice, then Fatah, the right party, would have been chosen.
Ultimately, questions like this reflect the fact that it really is quite difficult to present an universal description of democracy. I applaud Albright's attempt to do so, yet the notion that democracy should be the ideal system to emerge under any circumstance is difficult to accept given the wide array of regional and historical contexts for all states and their citizens. While the link between economic prosperity and democracy is well established, the push for democratic processes under adverse conditions and in a context that would not support it, can only cause more harm.
Either way though, I'm going to lighten this post up and say that Albright definitely had the best comment of the night. When referring to the White House she quickly quipped that she hadn't seen any intelligence out of there in a long time. In more ways than one.
So, like I mentioned earlier, I'm going to profile a couple of the items from this year that I really enjoyed. There were nearly 300, but here are my favorites:
76. Spend a night in a major Chicago museum, a la From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. [24 points]
Sneaking into the Oriental Institute was easy ... getting the judges to count it as a major Chicago museum was not. Either way the experience of walking around centuries old artifacts with a flashlight & video camera was amazing.
3. PIE FIGHT!! Bring ten cream pies and prepare to prove your superiority old-timey comedy style [Scav Olympics]
This was a mess, an incredible mess. I think everyone got splattered!
89. Greetings, Aperture Science Test Subject #3252613. You need a friend, one that cannot speak, and thus will never threaten to stab you. Please construct a fully-functional weighted companion cube. For the best one, there will be cake. [9 points] The companion cubes had a birthday party! The cake was not a lie!
8. Life-size Battleship . We’ll need six human boat pieces from you, to be divvied up and placed as you wish. You’ll need a goodly supply of water balloons. [Scav Olympics]
I have to admit, the perfectly placed wall here made the event what it was. It was hilarious to watch and had so so many close misses & dramatic direct hits. My only wish is that I would've been warmer out, I definitely want to see this again in the future.
225. Make a dollhouse of your dorm. Please include as much detail as possible. Why should Queen Mary have all the cool stuff [81 points]
Pretty close, no? We even had mini textbooks on the desks in each room.
51. A De Lorean. We’ve got seventy-five bucks riding on this one.
So we didn't get this item. But several other teams did, the Judges' blog has a nice write up of this (and took the photo pictured above). We did manage to fake some fire tracks though ... y'know, you just missed it!
259. Scavbarnraising! By noon Friday, erect a barn around a CTA bus stop. [X28 points] Just plain awesome.
The University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt for 2008 just ended. It's my second year participating in it, but I still haven't been able to get over the insanity of the whole event. Even now it seems bizarre to me that just the other day I was watching people swing chickens covered in razor blades at one another ... or helping to hang a gigantic spider web across Hull Gate ... or covering a high-chair with aluminum foil and skulls at 3 in the morning. But that's the essence of Scav and it couldn't have been better!
MacPierce at Scav Olympics
Our team placed fourth, the same as last year, and while we were really hoping to get third I think we had a great run. We had a huge turn-out and people were really excited to participate. A lot of groups branched out and took the initiative on larger projects like the dollhouse dorm or the CTA bus stop barn-raising, and we had many first years get really involved.
While we had the enthusiasm, I think our downfall probably lay in organization and generally losing points on the large-showcase items. We had a new Scav server set up for list management, but it was somewhat difficult to navigate, and the lack of dedicated page captains (like Max and Snitchcock's) put a lot of pressure on the Small-med-large items captains. Also, while we were able to pull together last year's big items in the night prior to judgement: the clown bed and the strandbeest, this year's items were difficult to get together in such a manner. Building the monowheel and zeusaphone boiled down to expertise not will power, and while last year half a dozen individuals could really move things along, this year the smallest thing seemed to be able to bring down an item. What's more, a huge rainstorm the night before judgement disrupted a lot of construction that just couldn't happen inside - like a gigantic paper mache volcano ... though it did rain out FIST, so we're not complaining.
The road trip's car (decorated as the house from Wizard of Oz) caught fire ...
The points boiled down to just a 120 point difference between us, MacPierce and 3rd place - which went to Burton-Judson. The complete breakdown is as follows (you can also check out the video of the final results).
Snell-Hitchcock, aka Army Dillo
Max Palevsky, aka The Audacity of Pope
Burton-Judson, aka The War of Southern Aggression
MacPierce, aka The University of Chicago School of Engineering
Shoreland, aka The Untouchables
The Grad/Alum Scav Hunters, aka FOGIES
The Federation of Independent Scavhunt Teams, aka Heroic Furry Gut Monks
Broadview, aka Vandelay Industries
Hoover/Breckinridge, aka Scav Trek V: The Vinyl Frontier
Overall, I think the experience of Scav will be what I take away from the four days. Both this and last year's judgement left me with some conflicted feelings - sure we were getting validation for doing all of these insane things, but seeing 6 clown beds in a row and having to be evaluated on them, somewhat diminished the kind of unbridled, spontaneous element of Scav that I love. Though ... all right, I will add there were plenty of random outbursts during judgement (like our amazing flute drumline), and seeing the amount of variation possible on any one item was great ... but everyone was so sleep deprived and tired by that point that I have to admit, Sunday just flew by. Now the whole experience seems quite surreal and distant, but I'll try to do a quick write-up on the little items that I really liked.
Either way, I can't wait to do Scav again next year! Check out the 2008 list for all 269 glorious items (not counting the list the Vegas Scav Warriors got), as well as the Judges' blog. Finally, since Scav is all about the little things that celebrate our quirks, here's a video of everyone Rickrolling the judges:
So I finally got a chance to go to a taping of the NPR news quiz show, Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me. If you haven't listened to it before, it's a pretty amusing hour of current events commentary, with a Daily Show-esque flair for getting to the absurd heart of any story fused with an unmistakable public radio feel.
The panelist for the show were Mo Rocca(!), Paula Poundstone, and a third guy whose name I don't really recall ... but who managed to mess up a Dr. Strangelove reference and was given loads of flak by the audience.
The show itself was quite hilarious. There was a lot of talk about the Hillary/Obama divide, and tons of laughs over Obama fangirls, and if I'm not mistaken, at one point all of the candidates were compared to kittens.
Finally, and because this was the reason why I was so excited to go, Mo Rocca was simply amazing! He managed to slip in a lot of random references, like a mention of neti pots at one point ... for which I can't recall the context. And his real life "erms" and "umms" were insanely endearing. I've been reading his blog for a while, and I loved him on the Daily Show, so when I got to meet him after the taping I was positively ecstatic.
I asked him what his favorite president's tombs were, since he too has an interest in obscure historical locations, and he agreed that Lincoln has one of the best. It's true. So great.
Finally, since this has pretty much turned into a Mo Rocca blog-a-thon, I'll end this post with my favorite video of him on the Daily Show:
One of a set of great free summer concerts happening across the nation, the Decemberists playing at the Jay Pritzker band shell in Millennium Park with the Grant Park Orchestra provided an opportunity that couldn’t be missed. With a slew of web-publicity (thanks Facebook) and the support of Metro – celebrating 25 years of amazing music – the turn out promised to be grand!
Just look at that set list!
When I arrived at the park at around 4 in the afternoon, the place was already filling up fast. Without blanket or picnic basket and wary of the rain forecast for that evening I decided to take my chances in the line curving around the green which promised entry into a 2,000 person public seating.
From what I heard the seating can actually hold 4,000 but half of those spots were already reserved for performance season ticket holders. Fortunately though, the line didn’t seem too bad and once things got moving getting in was pretty well organized - though it didn't quite look it!
As our line moved closer towards the seating the opportunity was ripe for people watching. Everyone and anyone seemed to be excited about this event. Apart from web saavy teens, bored college students, and your garden variety Indie kids there were a lot of “young professionals” enjoying the day, as well as parents indoctrinating their young kids to the joys of the Decemberists. Then, of course there were the people who had season passes for the Orchestra. Although you wouldn’t expect it, smartly dressed retirees apparently make for pretty avid Decemberists fans.
Two really funny things soon stood out as a mainstay of pretty much half of the people in the crowd. First of all, the number of people wearing Threadless shirts was insane, it seemed that every other person you passed sported another shirt from their endless online shirt catalogue. (I was glad I had worn mine the previous night instead of that day) What’s more, with the Harry Potter book release coming up fast, you could be sure that at least half a dozen people around you were toting a 600+ page book! They seemed just about as commonplace as any iPod – though hardly as portable … at least my copy of The Order of the Phoenix was already battered enough to withstand a day out on the town.
Well, getting back to the show, the seating that we managed to get was actually really decent. For what they had opened to the public we were just a couple of rows in and had a great view of the stage. Better than the people who were out in the grasslands, anyhow ...
The wait for the show wasn’t too bad either, by the time we had gotten our seats there was about an hour left to wait and that time soared by pretty fast. Again people watching moved things along rather briskly, and listening to the P.A. system kick in to say things like: if the music moves you to dance.
The show kicked off promptly at 6:30 PM – and after the orchestra had taken their seats and the Metro introduced the concert, the Decemberists came out to a roaring crowd.
Unfortunately that was about the same time that the rain started to come down. First it was a light drizzle, then the sky began to spark, and finally a little ways into the concert the sky just opened up!
Then the umbrellas came out … which provided the catalyst for one of the most annoying moments in crowd history that I can think of!
As the crowd started getting into the music it was rather unsettling to see everyone just sitting in their places. The ticket-holders seemed to set the standard, acting politely throughout the entire show. Yet pretty soon a couple of errant fans in the public seating would get up and start dancing – no one really seemed to mind. But then – as the umbrellas went up – more scattered groups began to stand in order to get a better view of the stage. Obviously, as this proved problematic for the people trying to see the stage behind them, loud jeers and cries of “sit down” became commonplace. As the rain kept coming down and the set progressed further and further in, the annoyance of these people could not help but interrupt the show.
I'm assuming that woman is thinking "what in the world"
Thankfully, after a bit the Decemberists themselves prompted everyone to stand as a particularly rousing song came up. With everyone in the crowd standing and clapping all animosity seemed to melt away. And then, as Colin Meloy himself ran through the aisles hi-fiving people, awesomeness was restored!
Blurry awesomeness!
Afterwards people generally mellowed out and began to enjoy the show once more, though the rain would come in periodically and the grumbling of thunder would add its sound to those of the orchestra. Once both the band and the orchestra got into the effect of the combined sounds were really something magnificent. The last part of The Tain was especially amazing - I managed to snag a clip of Tain V below - and as The Decemberists came to the conclusion of I Was Meant For The Stage the lighters even came out!
The Tain, Part V
Then the Decemberists died --
-- but were instantly reanimated with the call to abandon all seating arrangements and rush towards the stage for the last two songs!
The result of this post Orchestral addendum was amazing. There are plenty of videos to document this change, but the crowd - which was previously seated and somewhat muted - erupted in the glee of a true Indie concert event. The last two songs: 16 Military Wives and the Mariner's Revenge song were completely animated and the Decemberists fed off of this energy, even getting the crowd to participate in a hearty back and forth of LaDeeDaa's and getting everyone to scream as if eaten by a giant whale - indicated by Chris Funk's running up and down the stage opening and closing his arms.
16 Military Wives
Oh, Colin Meloy ...
... the crowd loves you!
Introduction to The Mariner's Revenge Song (With Arm-chomping action below)
I don't know what's going on here ...
... no one did ...
... then it all made sense?
... and then The Decemberists died again.
At this point everyone in the crowd seemed amazingly satiated. Colin Meloy hopped a piggy-back ride off of the stage as the crowd cheered on. Then as the crowd gradually parted ways and in the momentary hubb-bubb everyone forgot that it was crazy and raining and dark outside. But even once the rain really started to pour the feeling of "it was totally worth it" remained - yay, fun story.
July is clearly the month that Potter mania reigns supreme. With everything from the fifth movie to the new book (COMING OUT TOMORROW) there is no better time to be a wizard-enamored muggle! Case in point, everything even remotely connected with the books is receiving a magical boost in hype.
The music scene is definitely one that seems to be the most interestingly affected. Taking a cursory glance at myspace reveals a plethora bands spouting lyrics about the boy wizard and the magical world at large. Draco and the Malfoys, The Whomping Willows, The Parselmouths, The Moaning Myrtles, The Remus Lupins, The Ministry of Magic - they're all real groups which have all sprung up in the wake of the series' popularity. With genres ranging from techno to rock and 'other' they all share a common comedic core that transforms the tribulations of life as a wizard into songs like "Voldemort can't stop the rock!"
Another factor which connects all of these niche groups is the fact that they're getting A LOT of attention. All of the groups listed above are currently on tour at venues all across the nation.
But who would have these Potter-obsessed groups? Well ... In a classic example of synergy bookstores and libraries are more than willing to grant these bands exposure in exchange for bringing in the rabid Potter crowd! The fans are happy, the bands sell merchandise, and the purveyors of books will hopefully have fans coming in long after the Potter hype has died away.
Harry and the Potters, one of the groups at the forefront of the musical mania, was just at the Harold Washington Library two nights ago with a free concert. Performing on the ninth floor atrium, home to events like Chicago Metro History Fair competition, the re -purposing of this space was not to be missed. The fans came out in full force, completely maxing out the 500 person capacity of the venue.
My friend and I arrived just a half an hour before the performance was about to start and were met with a long line of fans sitting along the wall of the ground floor marble hallway. Apparently tickets were needed for this event and some people had been waiting since the early hours of the morning to reserve a spot! Well ... not having realized this beforehand and sans-tickets we decided to investigate anyways ... lets just say that by a stroke of luck and probably a bit of magic we got our hands on two tickets!
Now able to get past the guards and get our hands stamped for admission (there were awesome Lightning bolt stamps) we rushed in just as the crowd was getting ready to welcome the Potter duo. With handmade wands at the ready, and even giant foam hands the crowd was REALLY into it. The librarians had put out activity packets on each of the chairs, consisting of crossword puzzles, potter tattoos, and even DIY Hogwarts ties that you could color in, but those were put aside as soon as the prompt to rock was put forth!
Who here tonight feels like a muggle? WHO HERE FEELS LIKE A WIZARD???
The Potter duo, consisting of Paul and Joe DeGeorge, Harry Potters Year 7 and Year 4 respectively, were clearly enjoying themselves on stage, and the crowd reception could not have been better. For all of the high school and college kids in the crowd no one was too self-conscious to participate. Indie kids and 7 year olds alike sang-along to songs like "Hagrid is full of love" and most everyone felt free to indulge their inner book nerd (who wouldn't with lyrics like "This book is so awesome!")
Here's an animated image of everyone getting into a particularly rousing song!
I have no idea who that guy with the glasses and the tattoos is (on the far right), but he was probably the most into-it of the lot. He was totally rocking out up front.
A better view of the stage and of the entire group.
That has got to be one of the coolest guitar straps!
The two would stop between songs and talk for a bit. The younger brother was definitely excited about all of their songs and would build up the crowd before each one.
See them jump and interact with the crowd for the SPEW song!
Joe right after the show, before the signing session.
Stef and the drummer. I really wish I had caught his name! He was super nice and even got my friend one of their drum covers for her birthday!
When he said that "it's been through a lot" he wasn't kidding. Is it me or is that blood on it?!
Getting my Harry and the Potters shirt signed.
This photo came out sort of weird. But it's all good!
All in all it was a night of fun music, Harry Potter, and supremely good luck! Afterwards we couldn't help but go see the fifth movie in theaters again. If you get a chance to see these guys live or any other tribute band I highly recommend it. While the books are really great of their own accord, the feeling of being involved with this magical community is really neat - especially when you can see the sorts of things that come from it.
If you want any more information on the group you can check out their webpage.
If you share my passion for random findings around the web or have something interesting to share feel free to contact me
As a disclaimer, all mp3 on this website are for sampling purposes. So, if you represent an artist whose work I have featured and would like me to take it down just say so ;)
All of the above are great for checking out the blogosphere and added stats, good stuff
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