record of m.

pluses and minuses

<![CDATA[ I check this site periodically to see if anyone left any comments, mostly because they tend to come from people I hadn't heard from in some time. However, a couple of weeks ago, I checked to find that someone (or someones, I suppose) had not left any comments, but had rated (plus or minus) each post on the main page. I can't say that I follow the logic, but I'm glad someone's reading.

Also, I completed a second remix for "run and hide" -- it's a little more conventional, but still fun.

run and hide (extended mix) ]]>

Still surreal

<![CDATA[ From today's Chicago Tribune:

Mark P. Weinberg, age 37, untimely, beloved son of Marshall (Eileen Howard) and the late Andrea, nee Paul; loving brother of Douglas, Josh and Scott Weinberg; dear grandson of the late Albert and Tybal Weinberg; beloved fiancee of Carrie Moaty. Service Tuesday, 10:30 a.m. at The Weinstein Funeral Home North Shore Chapel, 111 Skokie Boulevard, Wilmette. Interment Westlawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be amde to the American Cancer Society. Condolence calls will be received at Marshall and Eileen's home, 1320 N. State Parkway, Chicago, beginning Tuesday after the burial and on Wednesday from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. Funeral information, 847-256-5700.

Doug is my closest friend, and I've known Mark for 13 years. This is nothing short of devastating for Doug and his family; my family and I are doing what we can to help Doug through this.

The day after I found out, I happened to come across a song I wrote when Doug's mother passed away. A lot of things came back to me - how we used to argue extremist politics at barbecues, how we moved into the death trap apartment that he had first, how he was able to give Doug a job during and after college. In recent years, he found happiness that not everyone gets to have; I'm glad he had that chance.

Please, let me know where to be, 'cause I don't know
Don't leave me alone; I can't see where to go... ]]>

alinea

<![CDATA[ I was fortunate enough to experience (there's no other word) a meal at Gourmet Magazine's top restaurant, Alinea last month. Here's a fascinating article about the restaurant and its innovative chef, Grant Achatz.

• Part 1

• Part 2

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Here we go…

<![CDATA[ 2007. A new year, full of hope as we begin to see the 2008 presidential race develop. So of course, we need to get off to this start:

Hillary's team has questions about Obama's Muslim background

Apparently, Insight magazine, a sister organization to the Washington Times, got the scoop from someone in the Clinton camp. Today, they defend the article against the Washington Post by saying (among other things) that they're not in the office on Sunday. It may be time to play, "What's more likely?"

1. Hillary Clinton is going negative extremely early; or

2. The conservative media is shaking things up

For now, I'm going with door number 2. ]]>

Happy new year(s)

<![CDATA[ Normally for me, one year passes to the next without much fanfare. However, this year is a little different, because my brother decided to propose to his now-fianc

run and hide some more

<![CDATA[ So when I posted run and hide, I asked a friend of mine if the song should be remixed. His answer came back as a "YES!" He's actually working on a remix of his own -- I'm looking forward to hearing how it turns out.

In the meantime, I also took a crack at it, expecting a by-the-numbers dance track and instead getting something very different:

run and hide (deconstruct this! remix) ]]>

Andy Mckee

<![CDATA[ My friend Doug sent me an IM with a link to this amazing guitarist, Andy Mckee. I think I'll have to find out more about him...

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but what does it mean?

<![CDATA[ So this was an eventful election week, especially in this country. What I find even more interesting now is the response:

• (obviously) the Rumsfeld resignation

• Bush's pledge to work with Congress
• The Democrats' public intent to jump right in and deal with tax issues

I'm looking forward to next year already, if only to see how this plays out. The hopeful me says we'll have significant and meaningful results from the balance of Congress and the White House. The cynical me says, "Gridlock time!" ]]>

making time for new songs

<![CDATA[ It's way too easy to keep tweaking and (re-re-re-re-)mixing, especially when I can rationalize by saying that I barely have any time between work and school to do any tweaking or mixing. In any case, I'm calling these songs done:

• run and hide

• dying ground

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Life in the boondocks… er, suburbs

<![CDATA[ This is completely random, but...

I was reading about the not-so-good news that Aaron McGruder is no longer putting "The Boondocks" in the newspapers (or Web equivalents, presumably). I've been reading it for several years and want to share at least one reason why I like it so much...

(from GoComics) ]]>