Archive for September, 2005

bob stepped with caution through the quiet kitchen. the room hummed as he reached into the fridge. "everything is loud — nothing is quiet these days" he thought as the door clapped shut. the floor squeaked as he stepped toward the garden window. he stared at pat, who sat still among the hedgerow. pat understood the traffic, which raced past this hour…

Secret Search Codes

Posted on September 17, 2005 in Perishable by Jeff Starr

Secret Search Codes:

notes — notes posts (via search)
notes — notes posts (via tag)
service — web services (via tag)
links — online resources (via tag)
private — offline resources (via link)
summon — key posts (via tag)
update — update material (via tag)
upgrade — wp upgrade material (via tag)
theme — wp themes (via tag)
plugins — wp plugins (via tag)
rrr — error posts (via tag)

Online Service Essentials

Posted on September 17, 2005 in Websites by Jeff Starr

Essential Online Services for Website Developers:

Speed Tests

Network Tools

Optimization Tools

Blog Related

Proxy Surfing

Online Validators

Summon Notes Plus

Posted on September 16, 2005 in Perishable by Jeff Starr

Summon some notes via Summon Notes Plus:

Let’s go

Posted on September 13, 2005 in Textual by Jeff Starr

And the purpose is,
swimming through,
muscles into pain,
through which to see,
sailing oceans of life.

Surreal it Hurts

Posted on September 7, 2005 in Nonsense by Jeff Starr

For a good laugh (or reason to be even more depressed), check out the so-called “triple-aught-dot-com” domain sale, www.000.com, which makes no apologies for its blatant capitalistic piggishness. Seriously, it’s no joke when somebody is asking “…$500,000 U.S. (firm) on a first come basis” for a domain name. But then again, “the name itself has an extraordinary advantage in alphabetized site listings,” and after all, “the three zeros makes it an excellent choice to be used as a PDA or WAP portal for the wireless web” — so it’s all good, right?

Tom and Jerry Chillz

Posted on September 7, 2005 in Nonsense by Jeff Starr

Yep, we have officially lost my mind:

Tom & Jerry

Creative Writing Exercise, Part 1

Posted on September 7, 2005 in Business, Textual by Jeff Starr

A Hemingway scene¹ written in the style of Borges:

I noticed the labyrinth of trees on my left, it appeared as a mysterious maze. I watched as the infinite trees erased the endless fields, and marveled at the ancient, unearthed bonsai tree. I imagined the raging storm that had ripped it from the ground, forcing it back into the bamboo grove. I thought about how its roots were now swirling with dirt, each tiny rock a microcosm of solar systems, as conceived by Hung Pham Lu, the great astronomer. I stared blankly as my mind wandered, transforming the multitude of solar systems into kingdoms of timeless universes, while the sinuous grasses transcended and unified each galaxy among the shifting river platform of elemental earth. I meditated on the river and how it exposed the tangled branches of the disintegrating bonsai tree. Lost in myself, I pondered the flowing currents, like time, slowly enveloping the transient riverbed. Fully absorbed in the moment, I left my physical body and flew down into the provinces of sand and stones below. At one with the illustrious stream, I embraced the chaotic mass of bonsai roots and evaporated as silent leaves drifted past.

¹ Scene adapted from Earnest Hemingway’s In Our Time / Big Two-Hearted River, first published in 1925.

Creative Writing Exercise, Part 2

Posted on September 7, 2005 in Textual by Jeff Starr

A Borges¹ scene written in the style of Hemingway:

Nick looked for his explanation. He reached into his pack and easily remembered. It felt good. Nick knew the answer. It is not complete. It is not untrue. The answer looked like a big picture of everything, just like Jenkins had said. Nick remembered Jenkins. It had been a long time since he had seen him. Jenkins was not like Bill and John. They said the answer was plain and ordinary. They said the answer was ordinary time. Nick didn’t believe them. He believed Jenkins. Jenkins believed in plenty of different times. Nick thought of the time he first met Jenkins. That was a long time ago on the Columbia River. Nick thought of what Jenkins had told him about the answer. The answer was full of different times. Some times were slow, some times were fast. Other times existed too, but Nick could not think of them. There were many times. They could curve or change into each other, or stop suddenly, never appearing again. Nick tried to think of all times, because that was the answer that Jenkins had told him. Jenkins had told Nick that he couldn’t be in all the times. He could be in one, and not the others. He could be in another one, without Jenkins. He could be in no times, without anybody. Nick was confused. Nick was tired. The answer was there.

¹ Scene adapted from Jorge Luis Borges’ The Garden of Forking Paths, first published in 1941.

Pink Floyd Discography

Posted on September 7, 2005 in Audio by Jeff Starr

Pink Floyd 2005 Reunion

In celebration of the 2005 Reunion, please look back your note:

Pink Floyd:
Roger Waters
David Gilmour
Nick Mason
Richard Wright

Pink Floyd Discography

05/1967 - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn: Psychedelic soundscapes and lyrical insanity.
06/1968 - A Saucerful of Secrets: Experimental psychedelica and more lyrical insanity.
07/1969 - More (Film Score): Intense and contemplative film score.
10/1969 - Ummagumma (2-Disc Set): Electric, flowing live disc and experimental, explorative studio disc.
01/1970 - Zabriskie Point (Film Score): Diverse collection of absolute Floyd treasures.
10/1970 - Atom Heart Mother: Orchestrated psychedelica and thematic experimental trauma, plus hits.
05/1971 - Relics (Hits & Unreleased): Some classic hits and other unreleased goodness.
11/1971 - Meddle: Coalescing Floyd momentum expressively and emotionally revealed.
06/1972 - Obscured by Clouds (Film Score for La Vallee): Loosely integrated collection of inspirationally defined Floyd essence.
03/1973 - The Dark Side of the Moon: Pure artistic expression via experimental exploration and psychedelic enlightenment.
04/1973 - A Nice Pair (Hits & Unreleased): A nice collection of excellent tracks and unreleased hits.
09/1975 - Wish You Were Here: Timeless, mysterious, inspiring — Pink Floyd demonstrate their true mastery of the craft.
01/1977 - Animals: Powerfully complex, heaviness manifests in deep, moving sets — Floyd’s finest hour.
11/1979 - The Wall: Emotionally orchestrated, intensely dynamic, and flawlessly executed.
11/1981 - Great Dance Songs (Hits): Dance your pants off with several of the most popular Floyd gems.
12/1981 - Is There Anybody Out There?: Live version of The Wall, featuring two previously unreleased tracks.
03/1983 - The Final Cut: An intensely meditative and subjective emotional revelation.
11/1983 - Works (Hits & Unreleased): Even more greatest hits along with a few unreleased tracks to sweeten the deal.
06/2001 - Echoes (Hits): Scraping the barrel — perhaps useful for the uninitiated folks.

Pink Floyd (without Roger Waters)

1987 - A Momentary Lapse Of Reason: Melancholy soundscapes perfect for distant mental excursions.
1988 - Delicate Sound Of Thunder (Live): Live version of Momentary Lapse of Reason.
1994 - The Division Bell: Strained adventures into yesterday via intimately performed collaborations.
1995 - Pulse (Live): Live version of the The Division Bell.

Roger Waters Discography

1970 - The Body: Experimental soundscapes expressing various bodily functions. Features the classic song, Give Birth to a Smile.
1984 - The Pros & Cons Of Hitch Hiking: Melodically challenged if not relatively interesting.
1987 - Radio K.A.O.S: Historically significant insight into earthly existence during the 1980’s.
1990 - The Wall: Live In Berlin: A Theoretically significant, if not philosophically relevant, live concert event.
1992 - Amused To Death: Roger Waters at his best — an astounding masterpiece — absolute brilliance.
2001 - In The Flesh?: Sincere, authentic Floyd emulations featuring plenty of tantalizing favorites.
2002 - Flickering Flame: Roger Waters greatest hits, featuring demos, live tracks, and remixes.
2005 - Ca Ira: Roger Waters explores the world of opera. Great, if you like opera..

David Gilmour Discography

1978 - David Gilmour: Relaxing and inspiring, no-frills blues-rock with a spaced-out, timeless quality.
1984 - About Face: Halfway decent assortment of relentless 80’s radio rock: "A couple of good songs, but again, swamped in 80’s production, horn stabs, and other embarassments."
2006 - On An Island: Down-to-earth subjective exploration.