Haystacks

"Yeah, man!"

I am constantly searching Songza, Pandora, iTunes and other various music sites to find THAT song. You know the one. The one that makes you think of someone, the one by that guy from that band you used to love, the one you danced to in 8th grade, that one that would be perfect for the wedding,  your vanity song. You know the one.

Check out  Grooveshark and for your convenience, TinySong.  I ran through a list of various obscure and hit songs and found most of them available. You can search by song, band or genre. I see this taking up disproportionate amount of my time.

50 Third Day shows!

David Carr, Me, Mark Lee, Mac Powell, Jamie, Tai Anderson
(as usual, Jason was behind the camera)

Jamie and I celebrated our 50th THIRD DAY show this weekend in Charlotte, NC. My first THIRD DAY show was in the spring of 2001. My second and third shows were the following years as the band came back to our area on their annual tours. We didn't get hooked on traveling until the LIVE WIRE DVD filming in Louisville, KY in July of 2004. That's when we went hard core.

Jason (who is at a respectable 44 shows, himself) and I have logged thousands of miles and seen the band in 15 states. We have had adventures and misadventures. We have made wonderful friends and found family. Because these 4 guys make great music and create an atmosphere that welcomes fans, we have enjoyed a great run. I can't think of anyone I would rather share the honor with than Jamie.

At the show Saturday night, Mac was gracious to recognize us from the stage. He thanked us for being such loyal fans. It isn't difficult to love a band that inspires such loyalty.

"Yeah, man!"

Cool new image search site! Tag Galaxy has a seemingly endless supply of options. Cool graphics, too.

A better mousetrap

I have a cool "Yeah, Man!" for you. If you're anything like us, you have CD's stacked up by the dozens. (We actually have hundreds, but I'm not sure that's normal.) Storing them has become a challenge. Jason is a fan of liner notes, he would just as soon throw away the CD as to throw away the covers. Until now, we haven't found a way to store the disc AND the covers.

Jason recently discovered these cool jewel sleeves.  The design allows storage of the front and back CD covers and cradles the CD in a felt lined pocket. We have received our starter kit and will soon be ordering more. Check out www.jewelsleeve.com for more storage options.

I've been tagged.

Mark  tagged me with this meme.

1. Pick up the nearest book ( of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

This amazing passage is from Neil Gaiman's poem "Instructions" from his book Fragile Things.

If an eagle gives you a feather, keep it safe. Remember: that giants sleep too, soundly; that witches are often betrayed by their appetites; dragons have one soft spot, somewhere, always; hearts can be well-hidden, and you betray them with your tongue. Do not be jealous of your sister: know that diamonds and roses are as uncomfortable when they tumble from one's lips as toads and frogs:  colder, too, and sharper, and they cut.

 

And since I'm reading 2 books, you get a bonus.

Athens is essentially a city formed on the village pattern of clustering around a central plateia, or square. In and around the plateia are the neighborhood cafes, shops, and newsstands:  The plateia is the backdrop for children's soccer games, newspaper-reading, pastry-eating and people-watching. The central inner courtyard of an Athenian apartment building is a kind of feminine version of the plateia - if the men sitting at the cafes outdoors keep an eye on the community's public life, the women on the courtyard scrutinize its private life.

From Patricia Storace's "The Secret Lives of Athens"; Book of Unforgettable Journeys: Great Writers on Great Places

And now to keep the fun moving along, I tag...

My wonderful husband, who is always reading something interesting
Barbara, my blog friend and fellow book freak
Stephanie! Whatcha reading?
And finally, my Ali's. 

Did you find anything at the record store?

Yeah, Man!

We set out this morning, (okay, it was afternoon b/c I like to sleep late) for the local vinyl dealer. We went through the bins one album at a time, pulling anything of interest and setting it aside.  After the initial search, we sat down in the floor, (It's a very casual kind of place.) and began making the hard choices.

I found five, count them, 5! Paul Simon records. And to add to the dilemma, there was an abundance of Kris Kristofferson albums. I finally settled for Paul live in concert Live Rhymin' and Kristofferson's Jesus Was A Capricorn. (The bonus track with Larry Gatlin tipped the scales.) I also bought Stevie Nicks/Bella Donna. (I would have paid the $5 for the Tom Petty duet Stop Draggin' My Heart Around.) Nanci Griffith and Art Garfunkel rounded out my musical treasure hunt.

Jason found records by John Cougar Melloncamp, The Romantics, Queen and Billy Joel. His most interesting find was a Matthew Sweet record circa 1986. There were a few that we agreed  were must haves: Men at Work/Business As Usual, Bryan Adams/Reckless, Frank Sinatra/Rarities from the Columbia Years.

When all was sorted and agreed upon, we paid $71 for 16 records. We made a stop at Jason's parents and picked up a few forgotten attic treasures. The best of which is the original soundtrack to STAR WARS. We are thrilled with our new obsessions. We are about 3 hours into our listening party and have yet to find a skip or scratch.

The beginning of our collection:

Is it April, yet?

"Traci, are you going to see anybody other than Third Day in concert next year?"

"Yeah, Man! I just scored tickets to see Bruce Springsteen in Charlotte, NC in April 2008!"

"Yeah, Man!"

It has been a while since I posted a "Yeah, Man!" If you're new here, you may not know what that is, exactly. A "Yeah, Man!" is a cool new find. I might tell you about a gizmo, a website, or a new band. It might not do anything for you, but if  it does it for me, you might find it here.

This is certainly worthy of the attention. From the Gadget Lab (WIRED magazine 3/07), writer: Steven Leckart:

myvu Personal Media Veiewar for iPod ($300 www.myvu.com)

Why hold a 2.5 inch iPod screen at half-arms length, when these light weight immersive specs simulate the experience of peeping at abdecent 20 inch TV from a couple of feet away? Plugging my iPod into the plastic sheath took 5 seconds and the combination of privacy, comfort, adequate sound and surprisingly reasonable resolution (even in direct sunlight!) was satisfying. Yes, looking like a cyborg did elicit stares, but it also discouraged freeloaders.