This has been a super sucky month!
I lost my very expensive wallet with 100 dollars in it.
The hurricane came.
Cary died. This was the biggest suck!
My power was out for 14 days.
I got completely ripped off at Car Spa.
My car battery died.
And I lost my wallet again today!
There is more but these are the highlights.

Mad Men got it wrong.

So Messy and I are starting in on season one of Mad Men. Right off the bat the 1960's culture, the clothes, the sets, all look great. They have nailed the period in so many ways. But as I continue to watch the office scenes, it hits me. The desks are all wrong. My recent obsession with desks has allowed me a certain expertise on the issue and I can tell you, the desks are wrong. Sure, they are steel, wood grain formica tops, matching. But they are all from the wrong era. The desks they are using were not produced by any manufacturer until after 1970. Steelcase, All-Steel, ArtMetal, Anderson-Hicky...all produced a "tanker" style desk. The most notable quality is the top with the rounded corner, not square:


So, for a show that spends a large amount if time in and around the office, they sure missed the boat on this one very important detail.

Again?

Alright, I am starting to get a little pissed off at Silverlight.

Woo Hoo...sort of?

I love a great stomp box and the really good ones deliver more than just the sound listed on the box. They deliver freedom of expression. Well, that concept has just been taken up a notch. I have been watch the open source world for some time and even though I don't understand much of it, I understand this:

This is the Open Stomp Coyote 1 open source stomp box from Howler Audio. That's right, open source. What it means is that this stomp box can sound like anything you want it to. You create preset sound and load them onto the stomp box and then just use it like any stomp box. Custom stomp box = win!

The down side is... the controller software is only available for Windows. That leave the Mac and Unix community almost completely out. They are some of the biggest open source users. Sure, I could dual boot but I just don't want to.

Sickness

OK. I have that desk thing all under control now. I canceled the auction for the third desk despite my lust for the drawer pulls and I think I can put the desk thing behind me for a while. Of course all the while, I have been quietly replacing my desk lust with a new disease...chairs. It started simply enough with a cool mid-century looking wood job that caught my eye at city auction site. It was part of an auction of several chairs but I only wanted the one. My coworker, in his infinite wisdom, bought the auction and sold me the chair.

As it turns out, it was a big waste of money because the thing is kind of wobbly and the seat is not that good. Sombody else will have to love this chair. You would think that a bad first outing would deter me. No. I bought a second chair from the same auction site. This time a Techfab all steel job in green. Very much in the vein of what I wanted the office to be. 

Very quickly after finding this chair, I began to search for mid-century all metal chairs on Craigslist. I love Craigslist becasuse is imediatly kicked out this Shaw Walker wood and aluminum job for the low low price of only $25.

Shortly after that, Two Star played a gig at a local college and down in the basement was this awesome Ajustrite (that is the correct spelling believe it or not) all steel adjustable stool. This stool is so groovy because it is fully adjustable just like it was over 50 years ago. Very sturdy, very adjustable, very much my new favorite. 

And then, today, I find this awesome beauty.

That's right. The Steelcase black and gunmetal side chair. Price, $20. I want 3 more of these. 

What I have learned from all of this is that chairs only work in pairs. Every-time I find a cool chair I think "man, this would really work if I only had another one of them" I also discovered that having a pair of chairs greatly increases the value of the chairs. 1 chair can sell for about $15-35 but if you have a set, then the starting price seems to hover around $100. A set of 4 can go for 4 times that.  Finding a set on Craigslist has proven to be very difficult. Ebay has lots but with shipping and all that, I could easily spend a grand on what is essentially old chairs that nobody wants. I need to find some local office closing or estate auction or the like. Meanwhile, the rest of these are going back on Craigslist to try and recoup some of my expenses.  

Score!

My search for another desk is over! I just found this lovely black / woodgrain top desk on Craigslist for $50 to match my silver one. Together they look just great! 

So now I am on the search for a set of matching steelcase (or Royal Metal Corp / Emeco) chairs with wheels. Also, I need some side chairs that will sit behind Messy and I for guests to listen to their freshly recorded tracks. AND we got the floors done. Check out that black sparkle tile!

It's more like a condition...

I have developed an unhealthy obsession with Steelcase desks. Now many of you may say " Steelcase desks? What makes them so special?" and you'd be right to ask. Before I answer, look at this:

OK, so this is not my desk but it is very very close to what my desk looks like. And now that I have one, I have to find one like it for Messy so that her dreams of office continuity can come true. Along with this search come an unhealthy obsession with chairs and lamps and credenzas and everything steel and aluminum from this design era. The problem is, these desks are few and far between as they are desirable and durable. I found a whole office of them the other day while on-site at a customers location and all they had to say about them is "old" and "we hate them". If only I could find a way to talk them out of them.

Failure to communicate

I'm sorry, the browser you are using is not supported even though we say it is...

I may end up being the local spokesperson for my disease. National neuropathy awareness week is coming up. Who knows? You may see me on tv. Here is my bio.

Cathy Power is a preschool teacher and musician living in Houston, TX. She did not know that she had the CMT2A gene until she was in her thirties when she began having some numbness in her foot. Cathy suspected it was CMT right away. CMT goes way back in her family and stories from the 1800s have been passed down about "dead foot disease" and "the wilders". Cathy's great-grandmother's last name was Wilder and "the wilders"are what her family called it when they had tremors in their hands. The family did not really discover that the real name for this disease was Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease until Cathy's cousin was diagnosed at age seven. For Cathy, CMT means that tremors sometimes make it impossible to button tiny buttons for the children in her class, it means that she has to limit her time on her feet, it means that a routine trip to the grocery store can leave her exhausted and in pain and she worries that it means she will eventually no longer be able
to do the very physical job that she loves - being a Montessori toddler teacher. Cathy hopes that raising awareness about CMT will bring funding and research. She hopes that one day we will have a cure.

Compression

Too much compression is bad. Not the type of compression that makes your music tracks into MP3's, the type that evens out tracks in the recording process. Sure, everything is louder but what you loose is dynamics. This is the main battle in the loudness wars you hear about all the time. Super compressed files sound nice and even but have no quiet parts and loud parts. Without dynamics, you start to loose...something...emotion?...feeling?...I don’t know what it is but it is the reason old records sound so good. They have dynamics. They are not so loud so you have to turn up your volume to hear all of the stuff that is going on in them and the really loud parts rock and the really quiet parts are amazing. I’m not saying that compression is all bad. It is especially useful on individual tracks where the performance was less that even. The real problem as I see it is that it can become a crutch. Work more on your performance and less on your mix and you will get a better recording. So often it is the other way around these days. I could go on and on...

Turns out that I am not teaching Montessori Teacher Training this summer like I thought I was. Very disappointed. I now have no idea what to do with my 2.5 weeks of vacation. The hubby says he cannot go on a vacation with me. We had not planned to anyway. Heck, I was going to beautiful South Ogden, Utah in the mountains and getting paid to do so. Bummer. I must be insane because I am actually considering a raw foods retreat.

The coupon queen has a new hobby. Getting free stuff in my mailbox via the internet. Recent scores: KY, magazine subscriptions, a purse, aquarium supplies, cat food, granola bars, cereal, etc.
The hubby and I took advantage of my discount devotion yesterday by going to see Smart People for free (It sucked) and then going to McCormick and Schmicks, where we got 20 dollars off - which meant that my 16.95 meal was really only 6.95. Where can you get a fabulous seafood dinner for only 6.95? I rock the recession, baby.

Come see the hubby and I perform with Two Star at the Opening of Discovery Green. We are gonna be on the big stage like rock stars at 8 p.m.. Best of all - it is free.

New Bjork video meant to watched in 3D. Here it is in 2D. The creators went into nature and did mushrooms to come up with the concept.
watch it here

Had a little breast cancer scare yesterday. I was playing out the last moments of my life in my mind as I was whisked straight from my mammogram to an ultrasound. I figured I was going to be whisked away to a biopsy after that. Fortunately, they just told me to come back in six months.
Great movie:Romance and Cigarettes
Purse lust for the low low price of 405

Been listening to a lot of death metal lately. You will be happy to know that the creators of the hit song, bloody cunt, will be coming to town. Despite the fact that their drummer is dying of liver failure, Anal Blast is going on tour one last time. I know, you were worried that you might not ever get to see the band together again.

Canon RC-10A pendant speaker

Have you ever seen anything like it? It is a Canon RC-10A pendant speaker. I found it in a thrift store and have looked all over the web for any information about it and have come up with nothing. I challenge you to find any information about it all or provide any documentation. I would love to know a bit more about this odd little speaker and find another if I could.

I read Service Included by Phoebe Damrosch today. Highly recommended.

I just went to the store and saved 54 dollars of my $155 with coupons. My biggest score to date. Best deals? I had a 5 dollar off your 75 dollar order and 12 dollars off your 125 dollar order. They took them both. I was surprised. Didn't think they would.
Another score? 12 dollars in free cat food. Not only was it free. They paid ME to take it away.

We went to see Speeding Motorcycle last weekend in Austin. Great show. The band was amazing! I had such a great time. Here is a picture of me with the girl who is playing the same role as I did in the Houston production.

By the way, just finished reading Foreskin's Lament. Hysterical.

Movie Recommendation
Mysterious Skin

-Messy

My latest coupon scores:
1. Got a coupon in the mail for two 25 dollar gift cards with two new prescriptions at CVS. At my last doctor visit, I asked for two scripts: ibuprofen and cortisone ointment. These generic meds cost me 3.50 each. For my 7 dollar investment, I got 50 bucks!!! Now I will use more coupons to buy makeup when I use the gift cards.
2. Wyeth promotion. Bought 4 tiny bottles of Motrin at 2 bucks each and now am receiving a 100 dollar Visa gift card in the mail for my purchase.
Yes. I rock.

Others ways in which I rock. Don't read this, boys. I have not gotten a period since my surgery and it is possible I may never have one again. I have my fingers crossed.

The show has one more weekend. Go here for more info. In other news, I will be teaching the Montessori training in Utah this summer. Pretty cool, eh?

Miss Messy

The Good Woman of Setzuan

So we wrote some music for a Brecht play. We had lots of fun. Wish you were here.

Pick me up

So this afternoon I went to pick up my check for some work I had done and I saw that the cast was giving a talk-back to a packed house of 5-6 graders. I walked in to listen as they were ending the discussion and one of the cast saw me and said " hey, we had a sound question and the there is the sound designer right there" and points in my direction. Without prompting, they all begin to clap very loudly... for me. Now I know that it is just a bunch of kids but let me tell you, it felt pretty good. As a sound designer you are lucky to even get a mention so I will take the occasional room full of kids any time. It was a nice afternoon pick-me-up.

You would think that 2 people blogging would equal twice as much content but the true fact of the matter is that we are both so busy with The Good Woman of Setzuan right now that we hardly have time to say "Hi" to each other.  So here is a short update. I got a new firewire interface, prepped a computer for the run of Big Death Little Death, finished The Watsons go to Birmingham and now I am going to watch late night junk TV and drink. 

This month is crazy. Not much time to blog. I just got back from Puerto Vallarta on Monday and have been busily working on the show at U of H. I also have surgery scheduled on Friday. This is my only day "off" and I have been working on some conference proposals and consultation work. Gotta go.

Messycovers

I hate Bodum Double Wall Insulated Glasses

I am not often so displeased with a product but this one has got be all up in a rage. Take a look at the 5th glass of this type to break with only the slightest of knock. Now I know, it's glass. It's bound to break sooner or later, right? Well I have jelly jars with a better track record than these glasses. And at the price they are charging, they better last at least more than 1 year. I love the design but the product is terribly flawed. 

We went to see Ira Glass last night. We also had a last minute invite for dinner with friends - a welcome surprise. Mr. Glass was incredible. What was most amazing was the way the audience was completely riveted. There he was on the stage at his desk. Not much to look at. Heck, he does a radio show. There was really nothing to see. He did about an hour and 15 show and then Q and A. One would imagine that he might lose some of his audience for the Q and A. I think I saw two people in the mezzanine leave. Amazing. Loved the show! Now, I must get him to do Tony and Emily's turkey story for This American Life next November.

-Messy

This American Life

So messy and I went to see Ira Glass tonight and I have to say, it was completely engrossing. He walked his way through how the show was made and how it works and why. The most stunning realization of the night is that Ira admits that, even though he thought he had developed a whole new way of telling stories that, in fact, he is simply applying a technique used by preachers in their sermons. A bit of information, a humanizing factor, more information, more human observation, and through some music on it to make is sound more important. He also revealed that if you play music under someone talking and then, suddenly stop the music, the next thing the person says is the most important thing ever said. Underlined with silence. I love it. We did not stick around for the book signing because I cannot fully come to terms with my fandom. What would I say? Would he find it interesting...enough...enough to say, suggest we go grab some drinks and discuss my future on the show as sound engineer or designer? But only behind the scenes. I hate the spotlight.

The hubby and I are blogging together now. We just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary with a trip to Chicago to see the Dresden Dolls. The trip was perfect in every way. We were only there for the weekend. The weather was actually quite mild, the public transportation rocked, and our hotel was the best. The Dresden Dolls put on an amazing show! They are such incredible performers. You can see the pics here. Really. Check it out - especially the part where the crowd storms the stage. Hysterical.
The latest news - we may be playing with Two Star for the opening of Discovery Green. Thanks for suggesting us, Mr. Zilkha!