RIP
Monday, September 15, 2008
Farewell, Richard Wright...Sad to lose you...
Currently in Boston, Massachusetts
Labels: All Posts, Culture, Entertainment
posted by Dustin @ 1:32 PM,
Cats, Cars, and All Things Curry
Friday, June 20, 2008
Tonight, we're going to Cats. As familiar with the music as I am, I've never seen the show live, so I'm entirely excited. And up until meeting me, Tim had never been to a show in his life. He's like a Broadway sponge. It's entertaining.
Next week I'm headed to Detroit. While the real purpose of the trip is to spend three days in Ann Arbor (lovingly referred to by locals and UMich fans as A2) for one client, I'm flying in a few hours early for a lunch meeting with my GM client. Being a fan of hybrid cars, new technology, and not-so-much of gas-guzzling Suburbans, Tahoes, and *barf* Hummers, it feels a bit like walking into the lair of the beast. I suppose I can soothe my conscience by the fact that we work with GM to help them hire the best employees, hopefully some of whom are scientists and engineers that will be tasked with making cars that run on water, compressed air, sunlight, and other such fantastical ideas. We shall see.
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Speaking of GM, as many times as I've suggested over the last few months that another trip to India was likely, I will be boarding a plane for Delhi on July 7th. I love India and value every moment spent working with a diverse group of international professionals, but this will be the first trip that crosses the one month mark. About a week and a half too long for my taste. Certainly, my last trip was about three and a half weeks, so this is hardly longer. It's just the mental jump from counting a trip in weeks to counting it in months. All the same, it should be a great trip. I'll be in Gurgaon, a place where I've got friends and colleagues from previous projects, so it will be good to catch up with them. The only bummer is that I'll be missing our annual company meeting in Monterey, something I didn't want to do. Timing is everything. That's as close to bitching about that as I'll get here :-). I'm actually quite excited for the trip and ready to get this project a-moving. Besides, the food there is ridiculous. I plan on eating far too much next month.
So, Cats tonight, then off to the lake at the crack of dawn tomorrow, followed by Detroit, Mom in town for the 4th, and India. Looks like I may end up with actual reasons to blog!
Currently in Memphis, Tennessee
Currently listening to Katy Perry - I Kissed a Girl
Labels: All Posts, Culture, Travel
posted by Dustin @ 10:07 AM,
The Pink Carpet
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Last night, we had the pleasure of accompanying our friends Wade and Warren to a live performance of "My Trip Down the Pink Carpet", a memoir/monologue by Mr. Leslie Jordan. For those of you unfamiliar with him (although I can't imagine any of my friends or family NOT knowing who he is), he's a 4'11" actor best known as Beverly Leslie (Will & Grace) or Brother Boy (Sordid Lives). And he's funny as shit. I quite nearly lost it several dozen times over the two hour show. Now I'm going to have to buy the book it's based on. And so should you.
Before the show we went to a newish wine bar and bistro in Midtown Memphis to partake of a few adult libations and gab. It was a wonderful evening - many thanks to W&W for thinking of us. We don't see you nearly often enough.
Currently in Memphis, Tennessee
Currently listening to Gavin Rossdale - Wanderlust
Labels: All Posts, Culture, Friends and Family
posted by Dustin @ 11:06 AM,
Jealousy and Fear of the Dark.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
The Reverend Humpy just scored tickets to Iron Maiden. I'm jealous. Indescribably so.
On a side note, read his list of 25 of his favorite artists of all time. With the possible exception of Fear Factory, I agree on all accounts. Not that Fear Factory is "heinoo" or anything. Just not to be grouped with the others, IMHO. I would quickly and succinctly replace them with Jellyfish.
Rock'n'Roll.
Labels: All Posts, Culture, Music
posted by Dustin @ 4:14 PM,
Sirius deal wins Justice backing
Monday, March 24, 2008
Woot! I should've bought more stock.
Labels: All Posts, Culture, General Bullshit
posted by Dustin @ 2:36 PM,
Speaking of Queen...
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
The new Queen+Paul Rodgers single/video, "Say It's Not True". Personally, I've struggled with new Queen material. Nothing against Paul Rodgers, but it just feels weird. Anyway, no doubt it's a good song, and Brian May and Roger Taylor sound as badass as ever. The first part is pretty low key, but hang in for the big-effing guitar and drums about two and a half minutes in.
Just thought I'd share it and open the floor for your thoughts. Enjoy?
Labels: All Posts, Culture, Music
posted by Dustin @ 6:27 PM,
It's Difficult.....
Thursday, March 6, 2008
In case you didn't know, it's difficult to take a picture of your own shoulder. That's my new tattoo, at a bit of an angle. It's actually circular, if you couldn't tell by the picture. I dig the heck out of it. If any of you Memphians are in the market for some ink, I highly recommend going to see Nico Roussin at Underground Art in the next week and a half. He's a visiting artist from Paris, he kicks ass, and you should take advantage of his mad skill while you can. Sweet.
To me, the lotus flower represents detachment from the dumber distractions in life. Here's one more official explanation:
"In the Bhagavad Gita, man is adjured to be like the lotus--he should work without attachment, dedicating his actions to God--untouched by sin like water on a lotus leaf and the beautiful flower standing high above the mud and water."
In the center of the flower is the Sanskrit symbol for "Om". Om, in Hindu culture, is the divine tone. It is the most basic, unified representation of Brahman, which is the Divine Ground of "all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe." To me it's a reminder that everything is connected at the most basic level.
Together, the lotus and Om will hopefully remind me of the better and most innocent parts of life, remind me not to expect more from people than I should, and remind me of the all-too-cliche "golden rule".
Plus it looks freakin' cool. Snootchies.
Labels: All Posts, Culture, General Bullshit
posted by Dustin @ 7:48 AM,
R.I.P. Jeff Healey
Monday, March 3, 2008
A great talent has passed. Jeff Healey, an incredible blues guitarist (who happened to have been blind since age 1), died yesterday due to complications from a very rare type of cancer.
Some of you may remember his 1988 hit "Angel Eyes", but likely missed out on everything that happened after. His radio tunes were a little cheesy, but his guitar skills were unquestionable. I had the privilege of seeing him perform live about two years ago at his club in Toronto, and let me tell you, it was one of the most entertaining and intriguing performances I've seen in a long time.
His first record in eight years is due out later this month, and he's survived by his wife and two young children. I'm a little bummed.
Anywho, I thought he deserved a mention. Cheers, Jeff.
Labels: All Posts, Culture, Music
posted by Dustin @ 8:48 AM,
Eight Mile, Baby. Represent.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Okay, so I'm in the Detroit (rock city) metro area. And I'm a pop culture whore. So naturally, I had to go to Eight Mile. Unlike, Mr. Marshall Mathers, however, I am a wuss. So I went to the side of Eight Mile that runs through South Lyon, Michigan. Not so much the hood. Its the same street, just more than a couple miles down the road. But I went to eight mile, bitches, can you say the same?
Let us rewind a bit.
Yesterday I flew to Detroit. But even before that, I braved some extraordinarily crappy Memphis thunderstorm action on the way to the airport with such virility that the average speed on the interstate was a blazing 35mph (about 56kph for all you hosers , Europeans, Asians, and other citizens of the world out there). Not cool. Even still, joy of all joys, my flight wasn't delayed by much. The flight was fine, aside from uber thick fog until about three seconds before the wheels hit the ground, something I can always live without.
I stepped outside the airport in Detroit, and in spite of finding it grey and ugly, thought the weather to be entirely bareable. That lasted for approximately 45 minutes, at which point the Big D decided it would rather hang out around 18F. Yes, it is frigid. Today's high was 20F, and tomorrow's is 8F. I hate the north. 'Nuff said there.
Then I went to dinner with a very good friend of mine. I haven't seen Kelly in a few years, for reasons that require a few glasses of wine and a couple of hours to properly cover. But I will say that it was refreshing to hang out with her, and that we're closer now than we've ever been.
Insert poor-quality cellphone picture here. Its blurry because we were outside, and it was cold as balls out there. Brrrrr. Anywho, Kell and I did some Mongolian BBQ, picked up some gourmet chocolate at Schakolad, and hit a local pub to meet up with Kelly's bestfriend and one of my favorite people, Booty. I also love that her nickname is Booty. She rocks.
Today was effing cold. Had a good day at the office, and to my knowledge, the client knows we're worth the investment, which is generally a good thing. Had a nice dinner of perch and hashbrowns (seriously), and now I'm hanging at the bar/lobby thing of my hotel, sipping on a rum and diet and paying marginal attention to Deal or No Deal. Tommorow will be stupid cold, but at least I'll be heading home sweet Memphis. Until Sunday, that is. Then its off to San Fran. Ah, the life of a road warrior.
Currently in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Currently listening to Howie Mandel and Deal or No Deal
Labels: All Posts, Culture, Friends and Family, Travel
posted by Dustin @ 7:07 PM,
The Best BBQ ALWAYS Comes From...
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Those in the know are well aware that the prettier the BBQ restaurant, the more mediocre (or shitty) the BBQ. If you want great BBQ, whether you're in Memphis, Austin, or Kansas City, you have to find the crummiest looking, filthiest, and potentially most dangerously patroned joint on the side of some backroad off the main drag.
Today, we went to Lumpy's on Historic Route 66. And them was some FINE ribs.
And I'm starting something new with today's blog. Now in addition to what I'm listening to, I'll be listing where I am. In case you care.
That's all for now.
Currently in Joplin, Missouri
Currently listening to Keith Urban - Somebody Like You
Labels: All Posts, Culture, Travel
posted by Dustin @ 5:37 PM,
Rocking Joplin....in the highest degree to which it can be rocked...
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Well, I'm in Joplin. And as the poorly-shot cell phone pic above shows, the only thing I know about the place is that historic Route 66 runs through it. Woot.
I was trying to decide if Joplin is Midwest, Breadbasket, or The South. Then I saw the building above, which is apparently home to a company called FAG. Nice. Has to be The South.
On a side note, MSNBC is reporting that Heath Ledger was just found dead. Of all the celebs I thought would kick it in '08, he'd never have made the list. Bummer.
Labels: All Posts, Culture, Travel
posted by Dustin @ 3:38 PM,
I love it...
Monday, January 21, 2008
Labels: All Posts, Culture, General Bullshit
posted by Dustin @ 4:04 PM,
Its not every day....
Friday, January 18, 2008
Its not every day that you almost get run over by a Lotus (see above). A Lotus that's driven by a 30 year old blonde bombshell who no doubt has a 60 year old boyfriend or husband. But yesterday was not everyday. Yesterday was in Santa Monica. And it was gorgeous. And I loved it.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I flew into LAX on Tuesday and had the privilege of hanging out with two of my favorite friends (see below). There was a quick trip to Laguna for a gorgeous sunset and overpriced, watered-down cocktails. So watered-down, in fact, that the picture shown below is just a bad picture of me, not a drunken picture of me. Shane and Nicole managed to look good, but for some reason I look about half baked. C'est la vie.
Anywho, after the overpriced cocktails and the cranky waitress, we went back to Shane & Nicole's place, where she made a badass gourmet pizza to accompany better cocktails, a bottle of wine, and the first night of American Idol auditions. That train wreck is still entertaining. Period.
On Wednesday I traveled all across the Los Angeles Basin with my client and did what I was ACTUALLY out there to do :-). Followed by dinner with Shane & Nicole, more wine, and the second night of American Idol auditions. Yes, we are apparently pop-culture-whores/lemmings who wouldn't dream of missing Idol. And we're apparently good with that. Woot. A fantabulous time was had by all and it was really good to hang out.
Yesterday I met up with Tim, a high school buddy that I haven't seen for seven or eight years. He lives in Hollywood, has a SAG card and an IMDB profile, and is going to be my first famous friend. How badass is that? We met up at the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, which is where the hot chick in the Lotus thought it was more important to gab into her cell phone (probably about the previous evening's American Idol episode) than it was to notice I was crossing the street. Fortunately, I'm a quick little shit and saved myself from certain destruction. Then Tim and I walked around for an hour or so chatting and drinking coffee before I headed back to LAX, and ultimately home.
Tomorrow we're going to High School Musical at The Orpheum. I'm only marginally interested, but Tim is psyched, and I never pass up the opportunity to dress cute in public.
Currently listening to NIN - Capitol G
Labels: All Posts, Culture, Friends and Family, Travel
posted by Dustin @ 3:06 PM,
Sordid Lives : The Series! I can't wait...
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The gay-themed Logo cable channel said Tuesday it has started production on "Sordid Lives: The Series," a scripted satire about a dysfunctional Texan family.
The project, slated for a fall premiere on the MTV Networks outlet, is based on Del Shores' 1996 play and 2000 film. Shores ("Queer as Folk," "Dharma & Greg") wrote and will direct all 12 half-hour episodes.
Most of the film and stage cast are reprising their roles in the series, including Olivia Newton-John, who will perform five new songs, and Beth Grant, who plays the drug-addled matriarch who struggles to cope with the problems of assorted family members
In addition, Leslie Jordan is set to guest star in several episodes, reprising his role as an institutionalized brother who channels Tammy Wynette (played by Wynette's daughter Georgette Jones).
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Labels: All Posts, Culture, General Bullshit
posted by Dustin @ 10:51 AM,
Weekend in Review...
Monday, January 7, 2008
Saturday was a day of relaxation, for the most part. The only thing of interest (aside from an hour or so at Banana Republic) was the ABC/Facebook Presidential Debate. I'll be short and say that it was pretty interesting and solidified my preferred candidate(s) even further. 'Nuff said on that.
Saturday evening, the dog started coughing again. And she coughed. And coughed. She gets in the spells where she'll cough indefinitely if she's not calmed down, so all through the night we were up every 45 minutes to an hour to comfort her. Oy veh. For anyone who says caring for a pug isn't as tough as child rearing............
Yesterday was cool. A friend of mine from India is in town on a project, and we got to hang out for a few hours. Madhu and I were introduced by Lasitha, about whom I've written in earlier blogs. I showed him around town a bit and we ate at a local cajun place here called The Bayou. Indians generally like cajun cuisine, since its spicier and less bland than other American food.
Last night it was nice to have some new television to watch for the first time since The Writer's Strike began. Extreme Makeover:Home Edition had a psychic come in and make sure the ghosts in a house were okay with them demolishing it. That was a first. Desperate Housewives picked up where it left off and was its typical fabulous self. After that I watched about three minutes of the series preview for Cashmere Mafia before dismissing it as a cheap attempt to fill the hole Sex in the City left in our hearts. As much as I love Lucy Liu, it just didn't grab me.
Yeah...that's about it. Not the most "rockstaresque" weekend in the history of the world, but that's fine by me. I may be spending this coming weekend in LA, so perhaps a laid back couple of days is a good thing. More on that to come....
Currently listening to The Howard Stern Show
Labels: All Posts, Culture, Friends and Family, Politics, Relaxation
posted by Dustin @ 8:23 AM,
Sicko
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Currently listening to Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb
Labels: All Posts, Culture, General Bullshit, Politics
posted by Dustin @ 3:13 PM,
Oregonian Sushi, Musical Incontinence, and Drunken Puggies...
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Since my last post I did indeed make a brief journey into the Great Northwestern city of Portland, Oregon. I think it had been eight years or so since I'd last visited, and under much different circumstances. The previous trip had been in a caravan of shitty vehicles that were constantly overheating, a trailer without working shocks and packed to the gills with guitars, drums, keyboards, lights, and a really crappy Canadian-made sound system (no offense to Canadian products in general, just to Yorkville, the Peavey of the North), and a handful of fellow wanna-be-rockstars and would-be-roadies that with few exceptions, smelled of cabbage, curry, and pickles and snored at night. Yes, I am referring to the adventure that is a ghetto-style tour with a mediocre rock band. But I digress...
Last week's trip was for work. Things went very smoothly and the client is seeing the value in having us onsite, which is always good. Aside from a very cool little dive of a sushi bar near the office, there's not much to tell for people who aren't officially dubbed "Talent Acquisition Geeks". If you're one of us, well, plenty of stories to drink to in the event that we meet up.
Just prior to leaving for Portland, I was bitten quite hard by a bug that has more or less been comatose, or at least in hibernation for the last several months. 'Twas the songwriting bug. And the bite is visible. Within a few days I had written ten new songs, a feat by my standards. And alas, for the first time in many years, the songs all seemed to be within the same genre. For those of you who know the levels of my creative attention deficit disorder, you'll note that previous writing sprees have generally ended with an industrial metal song, a couple of country tunes, three exceedingly queer dance tracks, a song that is impossible to categorize, and a couple of pop rock tracks thrown in for good measure. Here we have songs that could actually, conceivably end up on a project together. *Insert GASP here*.
Anyway, I got back from Portland and found a nice, big box under (or rather next to) the Christmas tree with my name on it. Since I'll be going to Washington for Christmas and my guy will be going to see his family, we had our Christmas early. For the record, I've got the best guy ever. For what did I unwrap? I extend to the court, Exhibit A:
Oh but yes, I got a new Vox AC15 for Christmas. I was/am giddy. I sold my old one not too long after quitting my last band. I wasn't playing it much and I really wanted an acoustic guitar but didn't want to spend any cash to get one if I could manage. So I sold my baby and bought a killer little Larrivee. Anyway, long story marginally less short, I immediately wanted my Vox back and just haven't found the opportunity to get one. Again, love my guy.
So, a plethora of new material, a gorgeous new amp, and a recently purchased sequencing software for the studio have led me into a stage of musical incontinence like never before. And I'm quite okay with it. For anyone who cares, one of the scratch tracks I've been working on can be heard below. For anyone who doesn't know what a scratch track is, its an unmixed version of a song that has certain components (primarily the vocals, in my case) roughed in, but final (and hopefully better versions) are to come.
Finally, as the title of this post suggests, we are dealing with a sickly pug (yet again). Miss Honey has another cough, and this time the doctor said it wasn't in her lungs, but merely a swollen larynx or pharynx or uvula or some other medically ambiguous term. Anyway, so in addition to a round of antibiotics, he's prescribed a tranquilizer to help her rest, hoping that will stop her from incessant coughing that only serves to make the swelling in her throat worse. One of the both amusing and heartbreaking side effects of said tranquilizer is a seriously drunken Pug. I'd mortify her if I posted video of her in this state, but I'll leave you today with a picture of her stoned little ass sleeping next to my desk. Cheers.
Currently listening to The History of Howard Stern
Labels: All Posts, Culture, General Bullshit, Music, Travel
posted by Dustin @ 9:35 AM,
क्लोच्क अ तिच्किंग
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Well, I'm just about wrapped up in India. Leaving tomorrow at about 10:45pm India Time (12:15pm CDT) and will land in Newark, NJ early Saturday morning; Memphis by 8:30am. It's been a great trip, but I'm more than ready to come home. Anyway, I've been quiet on the blog for the last few days, so here's a catching up:
On Sunday we were in Chennai. Vik has family there so while he was visiting them and dying a slow death by Indian hospitality (namely, being fed by the various women in the family until bursting), I took the opportunity to head to Spencer Plaza and see my friend Lasitha. Lasi and I worked on a project at Marriott headquarters for about 7 or 8 months, and haven't seen each other since February or March. It was really good to see her and laugh about the crazy memories (like when she tried to eat spaghetti for the first time, but I'll keep the details between her, Kyle, and I :-). Anyway, it was really nice. And rainy. Really, really rainy. And the driving was without a doubt the most terrifying I've experienced yet. But I digress...
Monday was a day of training, the office was nice but there's not much interesting to share. Tuesday morning at 4:30am, Vik and I headed to the airport for Bangalore. The picture above is me just outside the Bangalore airport waiting for our car. (For those of you whom I haven't met in person yet, I swear my forehead doesn't look that huge in person).
Bangalore was cool. Also rainy, but cool. Training wrapped up by about 1:00, and after a ridiculously good lunch at a local Indian restaurant (of course), Vik and I took a trip to MG Road for a little midday shopping. Followed by something even more my style:
Yeah, we found a random Cubano restaurant that served cigars by the boxful, and yet preferred playing Will Smith records instead of the more appropriate salsa, merengue, or otherwise Latino-inspired fare. But the point was beer. The story of my life.
Anywho, reminding you that we left Chennai at 4:30am and spent a good chunk of time in Bangalore, we flew from Bangalore back to Delhi, getting back to the hotel at about 1:30am. Of course, not before leaving for the airport in Bangalore a little later than we'd expected (I still want some scotch....but I won't explain that), getting stuck in the rainiest and craziest traffic ever, and just barely making it to the airport only to be cut in front of by a guy who "just wanted to slip in and drop off one bag", but really wanted to bitch to the lady at the counter about the seat she assigned him, whether his frequent flyer number was right, and how he deserved to be treated better because he flies so often, then almost falling out of the bus between the terminal and the plane, being misdirected twice by attendants who couldn't decide if we should board in the back or front of the plane, and finally dealing with the 94 year old guy with bad lungs who spent the whole flight on an oxygen tank that THANKFULLY didn't explode and shoot a hole in the side of the plane causing us to crash (thanks for putting THAT image in my head, Vik).
Yeah, so we're back. And I'm leaving for the States tomorrow. It's been a great trip, and I hope I get the chance to come back again. Just not for a few months :-).
I'll blog again when I get home and marginally recovered from the jetlag. Then its off to Atlanta (more on that later).
Dhanyavad.
Labels: All Posts, Culture, Friends and Family, Travel
posted by Dustin @ 11:24 AM,
And There You Have It...
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Long story short, my "new" room wasn't ready till 4:30am....I spent a few hours from 9:30 on in the lounge eating a slow dinner and having two or three beers. Sadly, last call in India is usually around 11:30, which is far too early by North American standards like mine :-). On the brightside, there was the live entertainment. Meaning, a chick with a cheap keyboard and some bad midi recordings singing various 80's and 90's American pop tunes. I actually love cheese, so it was great. Here's a quick clip of her rendition of Sixpence None The Richer's "Kiss Me":
As you can imagine, I was beginning to get irritable by 4:00 or so, but fortunately for all involved, I was comforted by the fact that I didn't have any training sessions today, so I'd be able to sleep in well into the late morning. Happy, happy, joy, joy.
Anywho, spending another hour or so in my room before heading down to checkout and grab a late lunch. Then its off to Mumbai!
Labels: All Posts, Culture, General Bullshit, Travel
posted by Dustin @ 2:44 AM,
Excuse me, Miss, there seems to have been a mistake. I believe I asked for the LARGE cappuccino...
Monday, October 22, 2007
Yes, that would be "Obscure Mike Meyers Quote #295". And yes, that would be a cup of coffee the size of my damned head. Good times.
Vik and I went for a quick "cup" of coffee after lunch today, and little did I know that ordering a large cappuccino would result in the bucket of java you see there. Oy veh. Not like I had to lead a training session for three hours right after or anything. At least the washroom was only around the corner!
Anywho today was good enough. Not a great turnout in our training sessions, but we're getting there. The first run through is always the roughest, even when its good. And today was no different. Nine hiring managers down, only 161 to go!!!
Labels: All Posts, Culture, General Bullshit, Travel
posted by Dustin @ 10:41 AM,
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