A belated much-thanks to TDavid for having me on his radio show last night! Though i was invited to talk about Blogathon, the conversation ranged from the difficulty in promoted internet events to the spectacle of American Idol to the etymology of Blog to the permanent nature of porn on the internet. I had a terrific time (did you know that i used to want to be a radio personality when i grew up?), and i always love the opportunity to get the word out about the ‘thon. However, trying to explain the history behind the title “Crushing Krisis” live on the air left me a little flustered.
Make sure to tune into David during the thon — he’ll be doing a live radio show a 7am EST / 4am PST that I will be calling into, possibly with a song!
Archives for July 2003
It was a weird dream; all i really remember was something about trying to play Peter Mulvey songs on a corn muffin, getting in the middle of a prison brawl, and Ashton Kutcher giving Clay Aiken a very sloppy blowjob.
I’m not sure if there was a causal relationship connecting one to the next, but i was as confused when i woke up as i was to see where Clay had chosen to get pierced.
I am an overachiever.
In 2001 I found myself debating whether or not I should join the Blogathon. Sure, staying up all day (and all night) to raise money for charity sounded fun, but it seemed almost pedestrian. I blogged all the time already; what would keep me occupied? What would i talk about?
My solution was overkill; i would step into the Drexel Recording Studio, record twenty-five new songs, and post one every hour for the length of the ‘thon. I dutifully made it in once, recording a fifth of the songs i had due, but i was shocked to find that the studio was CLOSED for renovations the following week. I wound up recording at home, and to compensate for the low quality i increased the output — i released a virtual record every hour on the hour, complete with an A-side and a B-side. Fun was had, money was raised, sleep was averted.
Last year I dutifully signed up and started recording, but I found myself simply retreading the same ground as the year before, only with new songs. I certainly wasn’t interested in standing in front of my computer, belting out twenty-five songs into my tiny built in microphone. How could i make things more interesting? My solution was blowing an entire stipend check on recording equipment. I came home with two microphones, a cornucopia of quarter inch wires, and an eight-track mixing board. I’ve been listening to the results for an entire year; songs whose nuances had never been captured before suddenly leapt to life as crisp digital files. And, for the first time, i recorded with other people – not just Gina, who had grown accustomed to my low quality recording technique, but Lindsay, Kate, Elise, Jack, & Dante – a veritable band!
The challenge this year? It’s twofold, actually. First, I’m on-staff with the ‘Thon itself, helping to develop a rudimentary PR identity which i plan to flesh out as a part of my Communications Senior Thesis. Second is, of course, the songs. However, at this point it’s not just me challenging myself, it’s the songs challenging me.
My challenge this year is to make the songs i’ve chosen, both originals and covers, more than they are on paper. My challenge is to hone my voice, solidify my guitar playing, fine-tune my mixing. I am too often content to settle for an unexpected ad-lib, a slightly out-of-tune string, or barely audible vocals. My challenge this year is to be happy with my product before i’ve heard it played back a dozen time. My challenge this year is to compel listeners to come back for more after they’ve checked out a familiar tune.
My challenge is to challenge you. Request. Inspire. Listen. Comment. And, maybe Donate – i put a lot of thought into choosing World Education as my charity, but you’ll have to wait until the ‘Thon itself to hear my full rationale. In short – literacy is what has allowed you and i to have this wonderful relationship of author and reader; I think we can all afford $6 towards giving that gift to someone else.
July 26th, 9AM to 9AM. Tune In, Stay Up, Make A Difference.
There are eight elevators in our elevator bay, each dutifully shuttling us corporate lemmings up and down between floors twenty-three and forty-four all the day long. I learned quickly to orient myself to their ding as they reach my floor, one for up and two for down. Four months of this, and it was only this morning that i realized that the dings are out of tune to each other; some ever so slightly but some a sour quarter step. I stood for a minute, humming one ding while waiting for the next, only to be greeted by two simultaneous elevators arriving to prove my point.
Afterwards, i found myself in the empty elevator wondering, Does anyone else realize that they’re out of tune? Is there someone we could call to have that fixed? Could they tune them to a chromatic chord? Is there someone out there whose knows all about this thing, this tiny detail that i have suddenly become so transfixed by as an escape from my dreary morning?
It’s either this, or sniffing markers.
Some things about my office.
I cannot bring myself to trust fat, bearded woman. I don’t know what it is; they’re shifty. They’re always changing their answers, backtracking, being contrary just to avoid a solution. I’ve very carefully studied my reactions to these potential carnies, and I can safely say that their weight or facial hair alone does not change my evaluation of their behavior. All of those chubby, hairy parts combine to create a greater, harder to like, whole. Every one I have ever met has been the same: belligerent, defensive, and stubbly.
When I arrived at the muffin basket today, there were blue-dotted pastries as for as the eye could see. All blueberry. I have eaten two blueberry muffins so far, and I may go back for a third before they put out the lunch spread.
My fellow intern and I have been chosen to present about our internship experience in front of the president of our rather large organization, who seems to be a figure of nearly mythic proportions if my co-workers are to be trusted. The two of us beat out over twenty other interns for this distinction; I thought my boss was going to cry when I told her we were selected.
The funny thing is, ever since my introduction to the “Season of Achievement” program I have been consciously eschewing all contact with it. It’s an intern ghetto, coddling where it should be inspiring, with HR people pulling us away from our actual work in shockingly long four hour blocks in order to act as a motley crew of corporate orientation leaders to our group of exceedingly inquisitive, capable (and increasingly jaded) college students.
Either the force of my personality shone through so brightly at the only workshop I ever attended that they have been craving more ever since, or my fellow intern has been impressing the hell out of them every week while I’ve been deliberately scheduling meetings with Medical Directors to make sure I never have to show up.
In other news, two weeks ago i drank a really large latte and became convinced that if I deferred senior year in favor of taking a bus up to Buffalo to camp out on Righteous Babe Record’s front step that they would eventually be forced to give me a job, but then i realized that OH MY GOD, I really want to get college over and done with.