The hunger ... getting caught up with RSS feeds and podcast subscriptions.

The hunger ... getting caught up with RSS feeds and podcast subscriptions.


Lately I've gotten really good at keeping up with all of my feeds and podcasts. Extra time at the gym and speed reading have helped sweep all of my subscriptions out of my in-box shortly after they arrive. Because of this I tend to find myself feeling a little anxious when I'm all caught up. I feel like maybe since I have the extra time maybe I should add another feed. Or another podcast. Or both!

And then I say: NO.

Why do I say no? Well, it took me a while to build up my subscriptions to the point where I felt I was covering all my bases without drowning in repeated or useless information. I should enjoy that I've found a good balance, one that allows me to actually consume this information at rate that actually affords me downtime as well. And so should you.

So if you're like me, and finally have your subscriptions under control, enjoy your free time instead of looking for new ways to fill it.

Narcissistic bad boys, I've known a few.

Narcissistic bad boys, I've known a few.

It was just about a year ago that Photogal and I decided it was time to split up. We hadn't been getting along for a long time and we seemed to have exhausted just about every avenue that might lead to reconciliation. It was a difficult decision, and I won't pretend everything went flawlessly immediately post-break-up, but once we agreed it was time to end things we knew we had made the right decision.

Immediately afterward I entered a bit of a "bad boy" phase, induced by the sudden freedom of no longer being with the person I had been with for most of the previous decade plus. In retrospect "bad boy" would be more aptly described as "blindly narcissistic" as I bounced from girl to girl. I honestly liked all of them, but was way too into myself at that point to ever be able to commit to any of them. Luckily for me the majority of the girls weren't exactly looking for a solid thing either.

I've long since emerged from that post-break-up Dionysian fog, but I think that time period may have permanently changed me. I never thought I would be "that guy," yet there I was, acting out the role of self-centered jerk. Because of that I can never really sneer down at some other "bad boy" like I used to because I no longer have the morally clean slate that allows me to do so. I miss that, but at the same time I don't regret anything I did. It was almost as if I'd been laying in a warm pool for years and years, was suddenly pulled out and thrust into an ocean of ice water, and the resultant thrashing helped wake me back up even as it jostled some of the folks around me. I'm thankful for the experience, because I think it helped set me -- shakily at first, I'll admit -- on the proper emotional, moral, and ethical path.

I know, that's not quite the sort of thing you expect from a Thanksgiving Day "what I'm thankful for" post, but there you have it.

O.K, on a slightly related note here is something else I'm thankful for today ... I'm thankful for the fact that the aforementioned catalyst for all off this, Photogal, is still one of my closest and best friends. I think that is absolutely awesome.

Quote of the day.

Quote of the day.

Via DeRo's otherwise off-point Killers review in the Las Vegas Weekly:

The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.”

- Hunter S. Thomspon

My actual friends are on Facebook...

My actual friends are on Facebook...

Because of Facebook I've reconnected with a LOT have friends I had lost touch with since high school and college. I've been trying to figure out why it's happening now and why it didn't happen when I opened my MySpace account years ago, and have come to two conclusions:

1. People are no longer freaked out about social networking.
2. People learned from the mistakes of oversaturation on MySpace.

I think the first point is a given. Heck, one of my friends got incredibly freaked when her dad Facebook friend-requested her, and if parent are entering the realm then it's safe to say it's largely gone mainstream. The second point is a little more interesting to me though. In my case, i have made a concerted effort to only Facebook-friend people I actually know or have actually interacted with. These are people I don't mind having my physical address, or personal email contact information. On MySpace I think there was more of an effort by folks to "brand" themselves. You had people accepting thousands of "friends" who they would then bombard with bulletins and the like. I was certainly not innocent of this, especially at the height of my concert promoting and multiple weekly DJ gigs. As time went on though I learned how to target people I hoped would be most interested in my events ... and once Facebook opened its doors to non-college students I bolted over there.

My MySpace page is still around, but I primarily use it for "Tankboy Brand" stuff, while Facebook is where I actually post stuff I would want to share with my friends. I tend not to accept apps, so despite the few security snafus in that area I feel relatively safe within my community. (Well, as "safe" and"private" as any online community is going to be ... which is to say not very. But I think you get my drift.) If I want to interact with a band or something not personally aligned with me, I really like the Groups Facebook has set up, and I'm curious to see how their Blog Network dealie works. It seems like there's a lot more choice in how you interact with people, and I think that's why I, and so many other right now, are flocking there. And rediscovering each other. And reconnecting. And finally communicating after some lulls of a decade plus.

It's pretty neat.

SOMEWHAT RELATED HILARITY IN REGARD TO THE ABOVE TOPIC: 12 Great Tales of De-Friending

BLUR!!!!!

BLUR!!!!

Damon better not be yankin' my chain, but he's now saying all four original members are getting back together in 2009.

Pickle the Kitten NEEDS this!

Pickle the Kitten NEEDS this!


And oh yes, there are more.

Wading through submissions.

Wading through submissions.

Finally found some time to sort through most of the Chicagoist applications for a new music writer or two last night. I was slightly embarrassed to come across GalPal's letter -- she's already been snatched up by Gapers Block's Transmission music site* -- so it's pretty obvious I'm a bit behind on responding to this batch.

I'm pleased with a lot of the applicants though, so while it means that fewer of the auditioners I try out will actually get in, it means that we'll hopefully be teaming up with some pretty top-notch talent. Also, with SuperBird in grad school, Marcus moved into the Editor-in-Chief position, and Ali tackling more general contributor stuff, I've been carrying the brunt of the musical coverage on the site** ... and it'll be nice to have couple other folks regularly posting on that sort of thing.

Yay!

*Funny story: GalPal applied to write for Chicagoist months before we ever met and I had actually contacted her about auditioning, but she didn't follow through and she admits she "just sort of disappeared on the whole thing." Part of her explanation was that I wasn't pushing her enough to turn in audition posts and my response was that was a specific tactic I use with new contributors. I'm more than happy to offer guidance but, due to the nature of the site, if you're not a self-starter I can't have someone on staff that needs to be prodded in order to provide content. She thought that was sneaky of me but I think it's a valid sorting mechanism. Of course now that I'm bringing on new writers I wish I'd seen her latest application before Transmission snagged her talent!

**Speaking of which, check out my review of Kanye West's latest album.

HAT!

HAT!

Melissa's hat threatened to eat my head Saturday night. And it snagged her a "missed connection." From a dude who can't even spell "fur." Heh.

Happy Monday everybody!

Happy Monday everybody!

It's Monday, and usually that would make me a little grumpy ... but I find it hard to be in a bad mood during a work week that only lasts 2 1/2 days! See? I'm already finding things to be thankful for this week!

How about you? Are you looking forward the the coming holiday mini-break too?

Clinton SoS? Hell yes.

Clinton SoS? Hell yes.

I might be the only one, but I think this news is kind of awesome.

Most anticipated movie of 2009? YES!

Most anticipated movie of 2009? YES!

Mooooziks.

Mooooziks.

This week:

• I reviewed the new Guns N' Roses, but nobody got the joke.
• I reviewed the new Killers, andd there were no jokes.
• Glenn Kotche and eighth blackbird was nothing to joke about because it was AWESOME.
• Seeing M83 and School of Seven Bells tonight, no joke.
  
• Sarah Palin is a joke that just won't go away. please make her stop.

Now listening to: Kanye West's Graduation. Still kind of all sorts of awesome.
Tonight: M83 and School Of Seven Bells at Bottome Lounge. Wear your leg warmers and neon.
To the upper right: Some picture some dude sent me of his girlfriend. Yeah, I have no idea either.

Surprise! I'm DJing tonight!

Surprise! I'm DJing tonight!

I am DJing at Liar's Club tonight with Lisa and JB, and it's our last appearance there in November ... so I really think you should come on out and have a drink with us while making that request for your favorite tune.

You will be at the bar or on the dance floor, right?

You don't want to hurt my feelings by not showing up, do you?

Check out last week's set-list for a taste of what might be played. It was a rock and/or rollin' night, but remember ... it's YOU who decides how the night will go. If folks wanna fill the dance floor we'll certainly accommodate those wishes too!

A really simple way to screw up RSS.

A really simple way to screw up RSS.

I was reading d's re-work of Tony Pierce's How To Blog post yesterday , and one addition he made to the original had to do with RSS feeds. Include the full feed, not just your post title. This isn't 2001 so you can stop freaking out about it detracting from your site's traffic numbers. Look, you're writing this for yourself and you're not beholden to some client or another stuck with the idea that pageviews are the number one way to measure success. You want people to read your stuff, right? Isn't that the whole point?

I've stopped reading a number of blogs because their authors only post blog title to their RSS feed. If you want to stick in the outmoded thinking where the site meter is king than think of my response this way; you just lost a customer.

Betty update.

Betty update.

The anti-bark collar -- knock on wood -- seems to be working. And when I get home she doesn't seem as distressed as before, so maybe everything'll be fine now? I have to admit though, I keep expecting her to figure out how to "cheat" the collar in some way because she's such a smart little beagle!

Chinese Democracy.

Chinese Democracy.

I reviewed Tommy Stinson's side project's new album today.

Haloween 2008 .... suuuuper late at night.

Halloween 2008 .... suuuuper late at night.

Lauren L. took this picture of me between DJ sets Halloween night. Note the toppled table underfoot. She tells a very amusing story about that table that I am not going to repeat here. Anyway, this is a totally hilarious shot.

Quandary.

Quandary.

I'm supposed to see Titus Andronicus tonight at 7:30 p.m. But now I also have an opportunity to see Glenn Kotche with eighth blackbird tonight ... at 7:30 p.m. And, complicating all of that, is the fact that I need to go home after work to let Betty out, so even if I could decide on one over the other the chances I would make either in time are virtually nil!

And later? Burlington or Sonotheque? Sonotheque is overpriced but it's the Pitchfork 500 release party, while Burlington features the nigh-irresistible draw of a drink slingin' SuperBird.

Advice please! Is their any solution to this mess? And why the hell are all these show so goldarned early?!

Spot the photographer: Tankboy at Girl Talk

Spot the photographer: Tankboy at Girl Talk!

I'm in every one of these photos, can you spot me?




Above photos by Will Deitz and Nadim Damluji

And then we have this one my friend Lauren L. shot from the crowd.


Pandemonium all around yet I manage to stand stock still. Now THAT'S talent!

For your consideration.

For your consideration.

The audacity of joke?