Pumpkins!

Would you pay?

Last week Mike told me about the fact that Radiohead was going to be pre-releasing their new album "In Rainbows" from their website. The new angle is that you can choose how much to pay for the album download. The guys on Sound Opinions were super excited, saying this is the end of the record industry and a revolution in the making. Of course, the artists are hoping people pay for the record.

Standard economic theory would predict that there's not much of an incentive for anyone to pay. But my friends Ralph and Ruppert showed me research that showed that people often do pay for things in similar settings and supporting theories for such behavior.

So here's the quiz:

1. How much would you pay for a new album by your favorite band?

2. How much do you think I paid for the new album?

I'll confess the answer to the second question in a week or two.

Once I would have worked my butt off

This morning I woke up and walked to my neighbor hood plant store and rented a tiller and walked it home; the walking it home was a silly idea I'll admit, but that isn't what this is about. I tilled the space between the sidewalk and the street (does this space have a name, I just don't know). It was heavy work and I didn't realize how I could and had to bend that tiller to my will until my neighbor wanted a turn on the machine (very Tom Sawyer of me) and was over come by it. It was 5 hours, I helped my neighbors with a little tilling; turns out renting one of these is like a virus. Then I glazed a mixed of pecans & walnuts for pear & spinach salad I'm taking to a dinner party tonight.

Now I sit on my porch enjoying the breeze and the wafting sounds of Lone Palm (yes well one day I'll write a blog about things I'm embarrassed about but that isn't today). This is a big deal for me. Now I sit. I sit down and soak in the being of the day and stopped the doing. I am gazing on my accomplishment and not placing plants into or scheme the next task or hang curtains or knit a hat for my friends' friend I know who is going thru chemo. Yeah, no I'm just sitting. My counselor brought it up that it might be good for me to have a little be-ing in my life. So like a good do-er I called all my good "be-er" people and asked how exactly to accomplish it and got nowhere. My dear cousin said it was just natural to him. One said, "is there some other way to be?" The be-ers are trying to keep this from the do-ers. Force of will didn't really work. Slowly, slowly I killed the monkey. Or at least was able was just was able, once in a great while to take a deep breath, smile in my liver and be a little bit. I hope you all can add a little BE or DO to you too.


Mon

PS I realize the irony that I wrote this post--it is a doer thing to do, but in my defense I did embrace the thought and that is a be-er thing to do...or so I hear

Haiku How Are You?

This edition of Haiku's Aussie Style is dedicated to the econ staff at Adelaide.


Coffee?

Cibo or Illy?
Doesn't matter. I'll just have
a hot chocolate.


Ian's Rule (aka Friday Wine)

Spouses were allowed,
but, to drink, economists
must attend the talk.


An Englishman in Adelaide

Have spelling question?
The English trust the Scottish;
John's Dictionary

Is it Ping-Pong or Table Tennis?

After 4 months, 3 parts orders, and a few minor curse words, the ping-pong table is up in the basement! And almost completely functional. Turns out that one of the first pieces we attached we put on backwards, so the table doesn't fold up like it's supposed to. But at this point I'll take it!

If you're in the Triangle area, you're invited for ping-pong.

Andrew (a strange) Bird

We went and saw Andrew Bird at the Carolina Theatre this week. Aside from having probably my favorite album cover of the year (see picture), I really like Andrew's music and lyrics, both of which I would describe primarily as "intelligent." His lyrics tend to darker subject matter and include lots of literary illusions that are beyond me. He told one story at the show about eating alone at a restaraunt in France and hearing a loop of the same 4 crappy pop songs over and over. "And that made me think of the plasticities of the human mind." Of course.

Musically he uses a lot of violin, even plucked like a guitar, and whistling. At the show he had a xylophone and could play each note while hitting it exactly with a whistle at the same time! The concert was basically a one-man show; he would play and record a melody line, loop that while recording the base, then add that to the loop and continue with different layers. It was a little tiresome to have to do this for every song, but it was interesting to see the songs constructed in layers like that.

I was tired when I arrived at the show and was honestly more in the mood for some grooves. But he brought me in over the course of the first three songs. Like so often happens when I would watch my friend Tyson play, I felt like I was in the presence of someone who saw and heard things in the world in a completely different way than I usually do, and I was glad to see and hear a glimpse of their worlds.

Top 5 Track 3's

On the latest Sound Opinions, a great rock talk show, they gave their favorite lead-off tracks of all time. I've had a theory for a few years, probably from listening to a bunch of U2, that the third track on an album is often the strongest. While the lead-off track often makes a statement and sets the stage, I think that by the third song, the band is settling into the album. So here are my top five #3 tracks:

1. U2 "One" Achtung Baby--Probably one of my favorite songs of all time and one of the songs that motivated the theory. U2 is the master of the Track 3 Theory: see "With or Without You" on Joshua Tree and "New Year's Day" on War.

2. Pearl Jam "Alive" Ten--In high school everyone seemed to like Evenflow better, but "Alive" is the song that got me into Pearl Jam (and into rock).

3. Radiohead "High and Dry" The Bends--While I like all the twists and turns that Radiohead have given us in their later career, this album and song got me through many study sessions my freshman year in college.

4. The Postal Service "Such Great Heights" Give Up--At the risk of being overplayed, this is still my favorite song on an album that is showing staying power in my playlist.

5. Spoon "I Turn My Camera On" Gimme Fiction--Since I'm on a Spoon kick right now, thought I'd point out that they also subscribe to the Track 3 Theory. Also see "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.

Alternate for Laura: Beatles "Dear Prudence" White Album