Yeah, I’m famous and all, no big deal.

So, the internet at my house is down, hopefully it will be fixed today.  I am forced to do this at work.  Shhhh… don’t tell anyone.

Not much new to report, except this:

http://geology.about.com/b/2008/01/22/notch-peak-utah.htm

I got MY pic (above) in the Geology About.com blog and mountain registry.  Thanks Andrew!

http://geology.utah.gov/esp/snake_valley_project/index.htm

I’m also all over the UGS Snake Valley Site.

http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/;_ylt=AnEQ3JUhSAF7NtFWZySbWvwE1vAI?link=list&sid=396545162

And, of course, I am still #1 on the Yahoo! Answers Earth Science and Geology section

My latest personal projects are reshaping my old Magic decks (yes, I am a nerd) and getting my playlist in order.  Now that I have an iPod Touch, I realized I needed a picture for every song on my iTunes.  After much work, it is now done.

They are not all the most, um, pertinent, but I like what I picked.

P.S. I changed up some of the things on the site… let me know what you think.

So, you all know lulu:



As you may know from Aly, we visited her brother last weekend. He has Milo:



They got along great. Things got really crazy when Aly’s brother’s wife’s brother came over with his dog, Nibbler:




It’s a healer/basset mix, and it looks like Lulu and Milo had a puppy.



I tried many times to get them together, but this is the best I could get. Cute!!!

I need to keep up with the features here on QFL247.com. I can only hold back the intense demand of the public for so long. This is the first (of many) of my feature “The Body Acoustic” in which I will review a recent album paired with an older, classic album.

First, Manu Chao – La Radiolina (2007)

Overview

La Radiolina is the third album from popular latin artist Manu Chao who is famous for his energy, political activism, flowing steady motifs throughout albums and across albums, mix of latin rhythmic dance and popular electronica/rock, and use of many languages, as many as 5 on an album. This album fulfills most of those tasks, with some significant, but not necessarily detrimental exceptions.

Strengths

Manu Chao’s music, this album included, is an eclectic and versatile sound that is good for relaxation or dancing. A lack of spanish and french by the listener is no problem, because even if the message is lost verbally, the feel is universal. The way in which songs melt from one to the other is hard to match, and the return of previous themes further in the album is once again effective and strong. In addition, the way in which language is melded, both intra- and inter-song is also unparalleled. This album, unlike past albums, has a more ‘rock’ feel, which makes it more diverse because the dance-like songs are still present intermixed with the rock songs. This mixing is done in multiple song blocks, with one or more songs along the same vein grouped.

The political messages, speaking out for the common man against oppression, especially oppression cause by US hands, is more blatant and just as powerful, if not more powerful than in past albums. However, the general upbeat silliness and experimentation with non-musical sounds is still vibrantly present.

Easily, the strongest song is track 7, “Me Llaman Calle,” (‘they call me the street’ or ‘my name is the street’). The classic Spanish-Calypso timbre gives a dramatic ‘gypsy’ feel to the song, and the hardships, sadness, and suffering of the women in the song is all around you as you hear it. There is a reason this one the Latin Grammy for song of the year.

Weaknesses

The strongest weakness to the album may also be a strength; the more rock/punk overtones that have been added by definition disrupt the dancing-ambient-hypnotic groove of the album. Certainly, this can be seen as addition by subtraction. The flow of the past two albums were possibly their greatest strength. The (relative) lack of flow is, therefore, noticeable. Now, just to make things clear, the flow is still strong in this album, and there are a large contingent of concept albums which would kill for the flow of this album, but the standards have been set quite high by previous work.

In addition, I would say that there is no ‘great’ song on this album. There is no “Me Gustas Tu,” “Denia,” or “Minha Galera.” “Me Llaman Calle” approaches this, but it is not the great song that you see in other albums. The punk is also new to Manu Chao, and it shows; the punk songs seem a little repetitive over the course of the album.

Grade
B-

I did not have as much problem with the slightly-lower flow than some may have, but the album is still not as good as the previous two. It is still a very good listen, but I can not say that it will be as inspirational and moving as the past albums have been.

Lastly, Moxy Früvous – Bargainville (1994)

Overview

I can say, without any qualms, that this is probably the best album that you have never heard-ever. To those of you that I have played this for, consider yourselves lucky, because not only is it hard to come by, but it is hard to buy. In fact, most stores will not have it. I bought my copy at Amoeba – Berkeley. I was introduced to them by a former floormate at Dykstra 4 at UCLA.

Moxy Fruvous is from Canada, and their music is best described as comedic politically-charged folkish a cappella. The only people I have met that know of them before I met them are Ian (the floormate, originally from Wisconsin) and an officemate at U Mt (who did his ugrad at Calgary). Despite this, there are a few songs that many will find familiar: King of Spain, My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors, and/or their cover of the Spiderman theme.

Strength

Where to start? First of all, the voices in this band are out of this country, I mean, world. The harmony that they produce can only be topped by the beach boys, in my mind. Queen, the beatles, boys II men can take a seat. It is that good and complex.

Unlike the beach boys (or many other vocally-orientated groups), whose instrumentation is lacking, these guys can put together a song. It is not going to floor you, but a group like this is not supposed to come up with the instrumentation and melodies that they do in this album. The songs are sophisticated, and yet, can be sung along to almost immediately-a very rare combination.

They are funny! The songs are silly, have funny lines, and yet it is not really a distraction.

Lyrically, they are clever and very intelligent. I only now get a majority of their references and meanings. A short list of some words and lines used:
-’Bout a time before pinstripe suits, dippers, grits, and tories
-Private investment efficiency, cool fiscal plannin’
-Lost his faith immaculate when cupid became a villian
-Banished her for life he did, right then and there, from the premises/Once Holy Virgin Queen, now on the scene, his nemesis
I’ll stop there.. after the first three songs.

There is real message in these songs that today, more than ever, are poignant. For a Canadian band, there is a lot of anti-Republican sentiment.

If I had to pick a favorite song, it would be “River Valley,” the first track, which is about pollution and environmentalism and arguably has the most pleasant harmony. “Stuck in the 90′s” is a scathing anti-conservative ballad. “My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors” is a song referencing a long list of contemporary authors. It would make more sense to me if I read, but it is still a catchy, lively song with very rich harmony. “The Drinking Song” is, like it says, a drinking song about loss and regret. The chanted mantra could be etched into your mind forever:’And the band played on/As the helicopters whirred/Drunk on the lawn in a nuclear dawn/My senses finally blurred.’ “Morphée” is a wonderful, gentle, peaceful song entirely in French. “King of Spain” is possibly their best and most famous song, about a person who pulls a prince-and-pauper switch in Spain. It is such a happy and enriching song, you can’t help but smile when you listen to it. “Darlington Darling” is a great working-man’s ballad about what could be. “Spiderman” is a refreshing look at a theme song that we all know, but with more phrases like ‘octoped ingenue’ like only these guys can do it. Last, and not even close to least, is “Gulf War Song,” and old-fashioned, completely a cappella, protest tune out of the sixties. As you may guess, it is just as applicable today as it was in the early 90s.

Weaknesses

Not much to say. Some of the songs (Video Bargainville) are a little too silly for my taste. If you are of the mindset that serious=good in music, this might not be for you. One of the biggest flaws of this album is it’s somewhat a one-hit-wonder. I have listened to other albums by them: much less creative and interesting in both harmony and song writing. Some of the tracks are not gems, but are not poor. These can make the album a little tiresome, but the absolutely fabulous songs that surround them make the entire album an easy listen. Some of the songs are certainly dated, with references to Clinton, Yeltsin, and VHS.

Grade
A

This is not the perfect album, but only a very stubborn or heartless music fan could turn this album away. If is fun, certainly constantly entertaining, and unlike anything else you will hear. Please, for your own sake, get this album if you see it, burn it off me when you see me, or order it from Amazon. You will not regret it.

I usually hate these kinds of things, but this one is actually useful for something.

I got my favorite canidate without cheating, Obama.

Like I mentioned, Aly and I took a trip back to my home town in Ridgecrest, CA. It was going to be good, but the biggest factor in our enjoyment was the weather.

This is what we left: snow, cold, and snow.

What we drove to was 60s, warm, sunny, and just chilly enough at night for a fire. Brilliant.

It was really great to see my dad. Ridgecrest is the only place to me in Cali that feels like home, and being there with him was great.

As you can see, my Dad’s house is basically a museum. I went through some of my old cards (including my old Magic cards… I forgot how fun that game is), toys, and coins. It was lots of relaxing fun.

But, as you can see, the most fun was had by our four-legged friends.

Some things suck, and others bliggity blow.

The worse weather of my new job waited for the last field stint. We got a foot of snow at the site.

If you couldn’t guess, a foot of snow while drilling bliggity blows.  I supposed I was the one that picked this job, but still.

The funny thing is, the conditions might have been worse the afternoon/evening before the snow. It was so cold that my wash bucket was freezing over in the ~10 minutes between samples, and the samples were freezing to my collector.

Here’s an overnight frozen bucket at 1 PM on a day BEFORE the big snow! Afterwards, the buckets just became solid ice overnight and did not melt at all in the day.

Since we are in the middle of nowhere, we were driving dangerously. Personally, I got stuck twice. Before the big snow, the water truck got stuck for over an hour. With the extra work of driving time (longer due to roads), breakdowns in the cold, dethawing, setting up heaters in a pathetic attempt to prevent freezing, we wound up quitting the drilling several days early.

Still, by far, the hardest part of the field is being away from my girls.

In other news:

Carl has a new top/camper shell/cap! I use all those terms because everyone calls those things something different. This will allow a much easier trip to Ridgecrest for Boxing Day.

We got a new dog. Well, not really, but it’s good to have the dog:human ratio back above one. Well, not really, but seriously, our friend will be out of town a lot for the winter, so we are watching her dog, Layla.

I am done with the field, for now, so I will try to be on more often. See ya then! Now, I’m off to shop!

For the first time in many, many years (perhaps a decade, I’m not really sure), I did not visit with my mom’s side of the family for Thanksgiving. Instead, I spent it with Aly’s family. The food was great, the highlight was the stuffing and gravy.

We went to Cottonwood and Jerome, AZ, which is about 2 hours north of Phoenix. Jerome is an old mining town (volcanigenic massive sulfide deposit-basically an 1.5 Ga old black smoker complex) that has since turned into a hippie sanctuary.

Here is the fam.

I was thankful that we did a lot of lazy things, which was quite needed and relaxing. There was guitar hero III, sports, and a very intense game of Monopoly.

We also went bar hopping on Friday and saw this band that was really cool. Anytime you bring a didjeridoo onstage and have an electric Banjo that has more timbres than a cheesy keyboard, your cool. They did a cover of “my wild love” by the Doors, a very obscure but very good song.

Well, that was fun, but unfortunately, I’m back to the field this morning. I should be done with the field, at the latest, by mid-December. I sure hope so, it’s getting cold.

P.S.

Curse you Apple and your o-so-effective advertising!

Well, it’s been a while.

I’m back from the field, for now. I’ll be back out there in about a week for about a week or two. This WILL be the last time until the spring. I may need to do check up trips of a day or two, but for the most part, I’ll be at home.

I was able to make it to GSA this year, which was great, and not as awkward as I would have thought. But before that, our connections (we know the color commentator for the Utes) allowed us to see the UU CSU game in Ft. Collins. Even better, I got to help with the broadcast!

That’s right, the guy that holds the parabolic mic could not make it, and Aly met the guy that ran the audio, and she let me take the honor of holding it!

It was awesome! I think I did a good job. It was so cool to be right on the field.

I even got to go up to the press box and basically walk wherever I wanted, which gives you such the power rush.

Aly’s seat wasn’t half-bad, either.

Needless to say, Utah killed CSU 27-3.

The guy that ran the audio told me an interesting story:

He did the mic for the famous Utah upset of $c in the Las Vegas bowl, in 2001. After the game, he ran out beside Carroll to get the “good game” handshake audio. As he ran out, he saw the Utah coach and then ran away, basically. He ran to the side, even with the Utah coach trying to establish a connection and get a handshake. The mic guy turned to Carroll and said, “classy move, coach.” To which Pete responded “Fuck You” and continued to run. I always knew he was an asshole, but now I just have proof.

Those days will return.

Of course, the main thing we all did at GSA was get swag. I was fairly proud of the haul, but I could never top 2005.

Aly got to go to the Broncos game, as she is a big fan. Even though Favre won it in overtime, and there were more cheeseheads than Donkeys, she still enjoyed it.

The highlight was, as always, GSA Trivia night. Out team was R-L: UU students Lee, Erika, Aly, myself, and About.com’s Geology guide Andrew Alden. I saw him, recognized him, and invited him on our team. We still lost to the prof/USGS team, but he helped a lot.

Overall, it was a fun trip. I increased my interest in Proterozoic sedimentology, and now know that IF I go back to do my PhD, it will be in that.

We actually drove back on Halloween, so we did do much in the way of costumes, but threw something on for a party last night.

P.S. I bought a new camera, so if the picks look better, that’s why.

P.P.S. Aly is the newest member of Xanga!

Well, I’ve been out of work for a week now.  No, I still have a job, but the hole 80-hour-week thing has earned me some more (comp) time off.
  I didn’t wind up going to Oregon to see family, but I did do some stuff around here, including a surprise visit to meet my finacé’s grandmother.  It was the first extended family member I had met.

I finally got my 3 degrees hung. It’s kinda nice.

Lately, I have spent a lot of quality time with our 5 dogs.  Yes, there are 5 people and 5 dogs that live in our 3 bedroom house.  (L-R): 1. Shila.  She’s a ~9 year old rescued Malamute.  She can be the meanest dog of the bunch (especially to unknown females) but usually she’s content to stick her nose on your hand so you can pet her or she’ll just roll over for a belly-rub.  2. Boris, a 2 year old pit bull.  He puts all those pit stereotypes to shame; he is very nice and submissive.  For lack of a better term, he is the bitch of the group, despite he ridiculous muscle mass and size advantage.  3. Dot, a 1 year old healer.  She is the dominate one, and belong’s to Aly’s brother, who recently moved in.  She is quite smart and can play fetch for days on end.  4. (down one row) Lulu, dot’s sister.  She is our deaf cutie.  This is the only dog that is actually owned by Aly and I.  She is kinda skittish, and does not lick.  When she is excited to see you, she’ll jump in your face, but not to lick it, just to smell it.  Her latest trick is attacking shadows and running full speed into screen doors.  5. Hogan, a 5 year old mutt.  He is kinda a sickly dog but very sweet.  He was originally a vet-tester dog before Steph adopted him.  He seems to always be sick, with a series of tears on his paw pads the latest ailment.  I’ve known Hogan the longest.  He certainly was more friendly before he had so many roommates (as are many of us).

In other news, Mallytown is back!  After Andrew moves in, he took the alcove that was intended for Mallytown as his room.  Over time, we (mainly Aly-thanks!) moved and repaired Mallytown into our room.  This also prevents the infiltration of the giant 4-legged monsters that are known for the chewing of pieces, which can be common.  The whole San Fran slant in the back is all Aly… she certainly is creative.

Speaking of Aly, she has decided to get a new car!  She has a year of school left, extra loan money, and we live far from campus, so why not?  This way she can get what she wants with a warranty.   She’s thinking of a Yaris.  By the way, her geology classes this term are sed/strat and optical mineralogy.  I might be able to help.

Now, my latest thing is making Mallytown more real.  This is accomplished via real Lego figure people.  This means finding a head, or shirt, or headdress that makes me think, “You know, that would work well to make a _____ LEGO guy.”  For example, the red goatee screams me.  So, without any more delay, here’s some folks you should know:

Here’s _____ at the burger stand.

Here’s _____ with his jersey and soccer ball.

Here’s ______ lecturing her class.

If I had a LEGO paintbrush, or an easel, or something artistic, ______ would be holding it.

Here’s ______ in his canoe with the perfect smug look.

And last, but certainly not least, here’s _______ at the bar with a Guiness and his soccer jersey.

Feel free to guess… I’ll reveal the answers later.  Let me just say, I am sorry if you were not included.  Like I said, it’s just a snap thing when I make someone.  If you would also like a LEGO you, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.  Also, if you do not like your LEGO you, feel free to complain.  I have a wide variety of extra items now that Mallytown is smaller.

Hi all.  The blog continues on!



Last week, I had my first ‘vacation’, which was really just an extra few days off between time in the field.  Aly and I went to Glacier NP!  It was great, though quite smokey.  I just looked at the pics, and they came out better than I thought they would.



First, we saw Craters of the Moon.



Next was the 1983 Borah Peak scarp.



We didn’t spend too much time in the park, but we did do the famous Hidden lake trail atop Logan pass,



and Avalanche lake (tarn).



This afternoon, I’ll be looking at Notch Peak again, because I am going out in the field.  Work schedule is still crazy.  I didn’t know I was (for sure) going to the field until 10 AM this morning, and I may return anytime between Tuesday and Friday.  I don’t even know anymore…

Drilling is going… in a word… poorly.  Everything is slower, more expensive, and deeper than thought.  The project is not in jeopardy, but it is being reconfigured almost hourly.  It can be a little frustrating, but I can’t complain, because I am not making decisions.  I’m actually really glad I am not, because I feel the decisions are good, there are just too many variables.

Now read this… I got a family get together the weekend of the 25th, which now, VERY tentatively, I have off.  Is the $600 for a plane ticket or 24 hours of driving worth <2 days with family?  I hate to do all that for so little return.  We’ll see.