Yeah, I forgot to mention that I checked out Le Tigre at the close of the Operation Ceasefire concert around midnight last Saturday in DC.
I'm afraid I didn't feel their music that much. I think their lyrics are what makes 'em special, but most of the time, I couldn't make out what they were singing.
The one time, they made it easy for unfamiliars, like me, was when they projected the lyrics for one song (that was a rallying cry for feminism) on the video screens that flanked the stage.
Their sound was a cross between the B-52s and DEVO. I'm not particularly nostalgic for stuff from the 80s. In fact, I felt that their music was quite primitive, at times -- a regression to crude, almost inept musicmaking. (I should amend that to a "regression to simplistic musicmaking"). And their videos accompanying their songs, only served to reinforce that impression.
Suffice to say, I wasn't dancing or hopping about. (Others did, but many did not.)
But, speaking of DEVO, I'll be heading over to the Talking Head, tonight, to see a Japanese band that draws inspiration from that sound. The group is Polysics. Hope it turns out better than Le Tigre. (maybe they'll "whip it good" or generate more spud-power)
2 weekends ago I was attacked by about 6 mosquitoes. It happened at a cookout at the Meadowbrook swim club in Mt. Washington.
I'd never been there, before. It was neat to see the competition-sized pool and swim lanes. (I'm afraid I'm not very active in the water, but I do appreciate aquatic activities.) It's the home of the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, which has produced a number of champion swimmers over the years. It was a little surprising to note that such the facilities seemed a little dreary or run-down. (Maybe they would've seemed less so, if the day had been sunny.)
In any event, I ate so much that I didn't feel up to jumping into the pool. (I had brought along a pair of swim trunks.) As I stuffed myself, I noticed that I was attracting attention from mosquitoes and wasps.
I managed to squish one mosquito that was gorging on a vein near my wrist. It had hit the motherlode, and wasn't about to do a hit and run. So I had a chance to crush it in flagrante delicto.
The wasps didn't bother me too much, until I tried a s'more that a friend had made. Wasps can smell that sweetness in the air, so the traces of marshmallow on my lips and fingertips were so alluring. For some reason, I didn't let their swarming on me freak me out. (I was probably too tired.)
Unfortunately, a friend of mine had a very painful encounter with the critters, last week. He was clearing some stuff (brush? trash?) in his backyard, and disturbed some wasps. They swarmed over his head and stung him repeatedly. They also stung his fingers and arms as he swatted at them.
He ran into his house to try to escape, and sprayed himself with bug-killing spray to get rid of the few wasps that were still clinging and stinging. Took a massive dose of antihistamine and some hydrazine (hydrazil?). Looked for some meat tenderizer, but couldn't find it. Took a shower, to wash off the poisonous chemical that he'd sprayed himself with. And began taking tablets of analgesics, alternating between aspirin, ibuprofen, acetamine, etc.
It took about 2 or 3 days for the pain to die down, he said.
(That reminds me that it took a couple days for the itchiness from my mosquito bites to go away.)
Lotta things going on this weekend in B'more and DC. Not sure which I'll go to, if any:
(hey, that last one I threw in for a lark... not open to the public)
Last weekend, I interacted with some "old" computer technology:
- used a DMV kiosk to renew my car registration
- tried to load German language tutorial software on an old laptop (8088 machine)
The kiosk was like a bank ATM, albeit slightly more sophisticated... I wonder how much more recent it might be than the latter (probably not by much).
The old laptop would more likely be labeled as a "portable". I figure it weighs about 10 lbs., which makes it a little heavy to place on your lap. (I'll have to weigh it with my fish scale and report back.)
What's challenging about the old computer was trying to remember a few rudimentary DOS commands and testing different F keys to operate the machine.
Why would I want to fire up this ancient device? Well, I'd rediscovered the German disks and wanted to use the tutorial.
BTW, not only were the disks of an earlier vintage (not high density), but there were also 5-1/4 floppies in the pack! The software was copyrighted '92 and '93. (Not sure when they were given to me, but probably 10 years ago or so.)
That reminds me... I think my dad still has his Apple II. I wonder if he still uses it? Very likely...