for more than a year, i`ve been playing with one of the coolest electronic toys, it`s called iscrobbler. it’s is a plug-in that keeps track of the songs played by your favourite music player and posts them to a server. it works on a variety of players on a number of platforms and is still free.
but you`re probably wondering what is the point of having another bit of info about you online; as side from the cool shit like that RSS menu on the right side of this page [near the top] that shows the music i`m listening to pretty much as it happens without any diddling by me; is hosted by a site called last.fm
last.fm is a personal radio station. i have close 30Gb of mp3s, i don`t feel like taking the drive with all this music to work everyday and i`d rather not put my entire music collection on my work computer either, last.fm is like having my mp3 collection with me, without the stress and a few surprises.
over the last 13 months i`ve submitted close to 9000 tracks to last.fm, so they have a pretty good idea of my musical tastes and even if you don`t have the time or the inclination to go through all that trouble you chose three artist you`d like to hear and they`ll find you a station.
unlike other radio streams you can skip tracks you don`t particularly like, you can click the love button if you`d like to hear more of the same and there is a ban button for songs like the ketchup song that you wish to never hear in life again.
AS and last.fm have gotten a lot of press in the last couple of weeks in wired but their servers are up and running strong and sign ups are open. JS-development implemented my rss feed and had mentioned making it accessible for the rest of JS users but at the time, AS wasn`t accepting new sign ups. i don`t know if this feature will be accessible to all JS users in the near future now that everyone can sign up for an account.
[edit based on a comment i received]
i should clarify, last.fm doesn`t host or share music, they facilitate the sharing of music streams with people similar musical tastes as you self or based on your selections. the only file you ever receive from them is the initial file that allows your mp3 player to connect to their servers.
we got our official notification notice on saturday in the mail, two of them actually. what`s interesting about this approval, upon reading it, i get the distinct impression that they are unaware that i`m currently resident in the US.
this frightens me a great deal, this is the department of homeland security, the people responsible for keeping borders safe. we have filled out multiple copies of the same forms, i`ve been photographed and fingerprinted at least four times at their behest and our expense in the last six months. we provided them with copies of our lease agreement, insurance policy and letters from friends not more than three months ago and they are talking about sending a copy of this notice to the consular office responsible for the beneficiary [me] to process. i`ve done everything legal and above board and they`re clueless, what does this say for the people that don`t want to be seen?
super freak, rick james is dead
the stark realism of dealing with the USCIS is clearer after a day of digging through the website, trying to find out what we need to do next.
the bureaucratic behemoth that is the USCIS thrives on the magic words `one more thing,` so now that this particular hurdle has been leaped there is another set to get over.
apparently the approval only means that i am now clear to apply for a change of status. so having gone through all of this, this change of status should be straightforward right?
guess again, i have a 35 page application form, which includes copies of forms that we`ve submitted on two different occasions thus far. i also have to do another medical, i wouldn`t be so irritated by that except i had to find money to do a medical less than six months ago to get the visa i`m currently on. oh and i missed one of the important factors, we have to shell out another $385 and that doesn`t include the cost of pictures and the medical.
i think the thing that irritates me about this is that there are at least two different sets of paperwork floating around with all the information that they require and now i`m about to start another batch. i thought the whole reason for throwing billions of dollars, revamping and renaming the INS was to make them more efficient.
and it gets better, i just checked the website for the processing dates for this particular application at the Memphis office; they are now up to applications with a receipt date of March 2002. and people wonder why there are so many illegal immigrants.
edited with the revised cost after a conversation with NCS help line and the hope that the medical i did will still be valid.
i`m fascinated by many of the dialogues i see occurring here on journalspace, if this keeps up, i think the posts are going to get more interesting as the elections draw near.
i can`t say i`m an entirely impartial observer but i would like to believe i have less of a bias; this may or may not be true, but i do have is the benefit of a completely different historical frame of reference. i grew up in the Caribbean and had some of the best history teachers in the region. the scope of our studies encompassed from the native American peoples; Caribs, Arawaks, Azteks, Incas, Mayans to Caribbean independence.
one of the interesting developments in the course of Caribbean history has been US intervention. during the Wilson administration the US intervention in Latin America was at an all time high and set the stage for the Batista, Trujillo, Duvalier and Samosa regimes. none of this seems widely know in the US outside a few scholarly texts.
all history is revisionist, the winners get to write it, but as the adage goes, those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.
call me a cynic but it seems that graphic novels, seem to be the new cash cow in Hollywood and as a fan i`m loathe to see them ruined, so far the bad outweigh the good.
here is a short list:
Constantine from WB, with Keanu in the lead role. i`m leaving this one alone, i just recognise the character from a couple of Gaiman books.
Alan Moore`s Watchmen; the only thing that`s confirmed about this is that it`s supposed to be directed by Darren Aronofsky, who did Pi and Requiem for a dream, this might not turn into a fiasco.
Sin City; with a cast of thousands and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, in a sea of possibilities this looks like a damn good pick.
and wrapping up the rest of possibles are a couple from Neil Gaiman, including; Death: the high cost of living, Books of Magic and Mirrormask which now in post production.
beautiful, intelligent children, an apartment, bills, a car; but no car payment, debt, jobs, food in our refrigerator, good friends, a life together.
a year ago today, vic left Trinidad for the first time and we were unsure what vagaries the USCIS held for us. one year later, we`re together at last, savouring the simple things, curling up next to each other in bed for that extra five minutes in the morning, laying in bed reading before we fall asleep, sharing the kitchen, that kiss before we separate for the day.
i am eternally grateful for everything we have. it`s been almost 5 months since i arrived here and it`s not been all rosy and sunshine everyday since i`ve arrived, but i can deal with that too.
we have each other.
i was having a conversation with a friend this morning about similar aspects of our personalities; specifically the inability to say `No` and by extension our ability to think it`s our duty to fix everyone`s problems but our own.
this is ground i`ve covered before but listening, well reading; her perspective on it, reopened some old wounds for me. i haven`t been able to articulate my feelings in any coherent manner since then. i have typed this paragraph about five times and deleted each one because i still can`t quite put into words.
i think part of this is a feeling of guilt. my ex-mother-in-law died yesterday, i get along fabulously with my ex, she`s the mother of my younger daughter and i count her as one of my best friends in the world and i can`t do anything for her and that bothers me. she`s one of the few people that has been here for me no matter what and now she needs someone and i can`t reciprocate.
there was a time when i could be up late for at least a week and when i say up late, i mean night after night on two and three hours sleep before i would begin to feel the toll.
that doesn`t apply any more, my weekend began on Thursday when we went to see John Wesley Harding, by the time we got home and in bed it was 1am, then on Friday night we went to see They Might be Giants, which was great except for the crystal meth guy jumping up on stage and grabbing the mike and getting body checked off said stage by the bassist.
while i`m on the topic of the surreal moments of Friday night, i have to say that while the concept of the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players is a good one, self deprecation and kitsch will only take you so far, i`m truly grateful their set was a short one. and aside from what we discovered the following day to be a mild case of carbon monoxide poisoning from sitting on the ground near the generators and the supply truck and the general aches and pains associated with standing on asphalt for too long, a good time was had by all. we`re heading back this Friday, better prepared to see Issac Hayes.
on saturday we slept in, but the two consecutive late nights were already taking their toll and i had to drive an hour and a half each way to pick up the boy chick, having to a house party later that evening didn`t help either. i spent most of the night sprawled on the couch with a book, i really wasn`t up to dealing with people and by 10 i`d convinced vic that it was time to go home.
and that in a nutshell was my weekend, i`m still trying to recover. vic is home a few days this week with the boychick and i wish i could join them but it`s not in the budget.
my workload has picked up, considerably, i have job jackets; yes more than one on my desk, i have stuff on my desk that doesn`t come under the generic job related function, i feel good.
and vic and i took our lunch hour to open a savings account and start checking on insurance. we`re adults, we`re being responsible. we need to make some time this weekend to finalise the household budget, but i`m starting to feel accomplished in some sense.
tonight we`re going to see They Might be Giants. one of the great things about living in Nashvegas, as i`ve said before is the multitude of live events that are available. because of the plethora of shows and venues, the prices are really good, last night we saw John Wesley Harding at the [in]famous, Bluebird Cafe for $10. Bluebird is the sort of venue i truly love, small, informal and intimate; where, when you think the performer is looking right at you, they just might be.
TMBG tonight is an open lot downtown and that`s $5 in advance and i think it`s competition of a sort for Dancin` in the District, but aside from Cake, there hasn`t been anyone on the Dancin` line up that i think i missed out on. coming next month are a couple of acts that i think $5 is a steal to see, including Cypress Hill, George Clinton & P Funk and the Wailers.
George Clinton & P Funk and the Wailers are playing on the same night and i`m in the process of designing a t-shirt specifically for that event that reads:
“I HAVE NO WEED or associated paraphernalia.”
