The 10 Album Challenge - Anchor Post

10 Album Challenge - Foreword 

[To be read in a noir style, because that's how I'm hearing it in my head.]

March, 2020. Covid-19 Spring. I'm checking facebook even more often than usual.  On March 27, Shawn tags me on Day 1 of a new social "challenge."

"Day 1 of 10

I was given the task of choosing 10 albums that have strongly influenced my musical taste. One album per day for 10 days. No particular order, or reviewing. Only the album covers. Every day I will ask somebody else to do the same.

I nominate Steve Will to accept this 10 album challenge."

I decide to take him up on it, and so I start thinking about what the challenge means -- at least what it means to me -- and then I start selecting my ten.

As I start posting them -- no, that's not accurate -- as I start selecting them, I realiz I have to say something about my selections when I post them.  Not a "review" per se, but an exposition on why each was chosen.

As I wrote (way back in 2008) my musical taste is eclectic.  As I start the process of choosing 10 albums, it's clear I am going to have to find a way to express that eclectic nature through my selections.  In fact, I realize that this gives me a perfect opportunity to do some self-investigation. I can delve into my memory and into the thoughts and feelings which music conjures in me.  I can attempt to solve the mystery of why I like what I like. 

I am not selecting my 10 favorite albums (and thank goodness for that; I'm not up to the task!). I am selecting 10 which "strongly influenced my musical taste."

So, today, 16 months after my most recent post on this blog (and 58 months after My Last Entry [and by "Last" I had thought I meant "Final"] to this blog was posted), I'm writing again.  

If I survive the journey, this post will be updated as I post my 10 albums.  I intend to do a separate entry about each album I selected, with this post having links to each of them.

Let's see where this leads.  I don't know where it ends.  But I know it begins with "A Night at the Opera."

10 Albums that Strongly Influenced my Musical Taste

1. Queen - A Night at the Opera
2. ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) - Out of the Blue
3. The Music Man - Film Soundtrack
4. Mannheim Steamroller - Christmas
5. Star Wars - Movie Soundtrack
6. Amy Grant - My Father's Eyes
7. Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
8. Michael Jackson - Thiller
9. Pachelbel - Canon in 'D'
10. Monty Python - Matching Tie and Handkerchief

Afterword 

As I wrap up this 10 Album Challenge, I'll thank Shawn for inviting me to play.

I'll also mention that there are some worthy albums which did not make the list, in part because they sort of overlapped with others that did.


Some people who know me would be surprised, for example, that I did not include these two on the list.  I, too, was surprised.

In the end, selecting only ten was difficult, but it was a fun exercise in self-examination and reminiscing.  I'm glad I did it!

Social Media and the Solitary Traveler

So, lately I've been doing something I don't get to do very much: taking a bit of time "off" when I am traveling for work.  Now, I don't blog about work (here) but every once in a while, I have to stretch that rule a little bit so I can talk about my life.  This is one of those times.

When I travel for work, I almost never get a "weekend" away.  I am using the term "weekend" loosely here.

You see, when I travel for work, I often have to leave on a Sunday, and sometimes a Saturday, in order to be able to participate in whatever event I'm attending.  For example, if I have to give a presentation on Monday morning in Europe, I have to leave on a Saturday, which puts me in Europe on Sunday.  This current trip, I needed to attend the start of the conference on Sunday, which meant I had to leave on Friday.  And, I had been at a conference in the US all week before I went to Sweden, so I had flown to that conference on the previous Sunday.

If you don't follow all that, the point is this: a standard "weekend" where the Saturday and Sunday make up two continuous non-work days -- this just doesn't happen much when I am traveling.

If you saw a few Stockholm photos from me, they were taken during a few hours when I did not have to attend the conference, but I was definitely working most of those days.  And mostly, I was taking the photos while walking around with a colleague.  (Hi, Tim!)

Anyway, as it happens, I left the conference in Sweden in order to fly to London for another work event in the middle of the week.  And, as schedules would have it, while I was due in Budapest the following Sunday, I didn't have to rush immediately from the hotel in London to the airport.  I had a couple of days in which I was not required to be working.

So, I could have made other choices:

1. Spend the time in my hotel room, doing work.  There's plenty to do.  But there is always plenty to do.  I could work through pretty much every weekend at home, too -- you know, those Saturday/Sunday combinations.  But generally speaking, I don't.  It's part of how I balance my work and my life.
2. Fly back to the US for however much time I'd have, and then fly back to Budapest.  I think, had I done this, I might have had something like 16 hours at home.  But I would have spent another 48 hours in aiports and airplanes.  And it would have cost more than staying in a hotel.  Sure, someone else is picking up the monetary cost, but I'm the one on the plane.  And I can tell you, after all that time in the air and airports, those 16 hours would have seen me one brain-dead individual.
   
   So, I chose option 3.

3. Spend a "weekend" in London.  Put away my computer (except to write personal blogs in the evening [and answer critical work e-mails; and try to make reservations for my next trip {See?  There is always work to do.}]) and push myself to enjoy the time here.

Now, while option 3 seems reasonable, there is a problem.

I don't go out alone.

It's not a phobia or anything.  It's just a personality trait.  When I am alone, I just tend to prefer to stay alone.  I huddle up with books, games, music, a comfortable place to sit, movies, TV shows, snacks -- and I just sit relax, and enjoy myself.

This works out fine in Rochester.  In fact, let's be honest, it works most anywhere I normally travel in the US, given that I typically only have a couple of "free" hours anywhere.

But here I was in London!  I mean, wow, there are a lot of things to see within an hour of the Hilton Metropole in London.

If I had been here with Sherry, we'd have been out all day, every day, every hour I was not required to be working.  Because she's like that.  And when I'm with her, it rubs off on me.  So, when I took the work trip to Australia and New Zealand, and she joined me, we saw things!

But here I was, alone in London.  What would I do?

First of all, I got a great start because on the first uncommitted day, I didn't have to be alone.  A work colleague who lives near Winchester offered to show me around, and specifically to take me to Stonehenge, which is within an hour of the Winchester train station.  So I rode a train to Winchester, she picked me up, and we saw Stonehenge!  We also saw Winchester cathedral, walked around the lovely old town, had a drink in a pub, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  Now, we did end up talking about work for a while, and it was a good conversation to have.  But really, the day was basically a "weekend day."  (Thanks, Therese!)

However, I still had some time on my own.  I had part of one day without work, and one more full day of non-work, if I wanted it -- and I wanted it.

So, how to push myself to see as much as I could, when my normal state of mind would draw me back to a quiet room in the hotel?

I decided I needed to get social.

Despite the fact that it would use data from the cell phone plan, I figured if I posted photos and comments as I went along, it wouldn't feel so much like I was alone.  See, one of the best things about traveling around (for me, anyway) is often the experience of sharing what you see, hear and learn with others.  Most often, for me, that's Sherry.  But I've also had a good time sightseeing with people I know from work.  It's a great way to form friendships, and it's how I saw most of what I saw the other two times I was in London.  (I saw "Wicked" in London, taking the chance to introduce two of my co-workers to what is probably my favorite musical theater experience.)

But this time, I didn't have any traveling companions.  So I used facebook (and blogger, but I only did the latter in the evening, so it was not the same.)

When I'd see something, I would post a good photo, or a status message (usually both) to facebook.  And I could hope some of my friends would see it and react, so I could feel like I was sharing the experience with someone.

Did it work?

Did it ever!

When I started looking at fb, after posting the photo Therese took of me at Stonehenge, I saw that lots of people were paying attention, and sharing things with me.  Mostly, it was "likes" -- and that's what I was hoping for - a few people noticing and being glad for me.  But there wer more than a few, and then there were several people who left comments!

It was all beyond my expectations.

And it made me feel like my travels would not be so much "alone" as I had thought.  So, after my day with Therese, it was much easier to go out into London with a plan to share other stops along the way.



The Tower of London, with the Poppies exhibit.  The Tower Bridge (which is so striking in sunlight,) the walk along the Thames to the Parliament building and Big Ben, the visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum (you can take pictures in there!  Almost everywhere!) and then the performance of "Billy Elliott."  I made all of these "social" events by putting them on facebook and interacting with family and friends back home. 

It was a full day, and it was made more full by sharing it.

I want to thank every single one of you who participated by responding in some way to the facebook posts, or to this blog.  It means something to me -- something real.

So, as a reward for sticking around for this long post, here are a few more photos, and some information about Stonehenge.

Royal Albert Hall

Kensington Garden - and another Panoramic photo. 

St. Paul's Cathedral

And I walked as high as they would let me - the views!

Oh, and Stonehenge?

It was not built by druids.  That theory was proposed by one of the famous people who studied it -- John Aubrey -- who had no true concept of how long the structures had been around, so his attribution of a druidic origin, while widespread in "common knowledge," has been shown to be false.  Stonehenge predates druids by thousands of years, as far as science knows.

That doesn't make the references from "This is Spinal Tap" any less funny.  More, perhaps.

And while some of the stones were, in fact, transported for miles overground (the sarcens, which are taller stones -- the vertical ones we typically see -- came from about 19 miles away from the site) the bluestones are the ones from Wales, and they almost certainly were taken to the site primarily over water.  Again, this does not make Eddie Izzard's bit any less funny; just not quite as accurate.

I think it's important not to get our science from non-scientists.  It's kinda a thing with me.

So, there it is.  I have spent a few more hours, now, making this "weekend" a "social" event by composing this blog entry.  Again, thanks to everyone who has participated in my travels.

Because tomorrow is Sunday, and while it might be a weekend for you, I am traveling to Budapest, and working.

Weekend Over.  G'Night!

Talk Nerdy to Me - Video

Yeah, so this was going around facebook earlier this week, and it's just the sort of thing I like.  Why?  Let's not analyze, shall we?  Let's just talk nerdy.

Facebook is empty now

Generally speaking, I don't complain about changes to facebook.  But this latest?  Look at this screen capture.  Less than 1/3 of the screen is devoted to the stuff I actually follow on facebook.  And, yes, it's made worse by the fact that they increased the font size, but that's not a complaint. The problem is, well, why should I even use this tool any more if I can't see the silly stuff I use it to see?

Etiquette for Hoax-Awareness

It has happened again.

Every couple of weeks or so, facebook brings me a warning -- sent by a friend or family member -- and I am told to share this with everyone I know, as soon as I can.

Inevitably, the message is a hoax.  Whether it's a dire warning about some facebook privacy setting, or the decades-old rumor that flashing your headlights might get you killed by gang members, it's always passed along by well-intentioned people who truly are worried (maybe even scared) that someone out there is going to do bad things to them.  And, because they have seen the warning, they feel more worried and more scared and they want to help others by spreading the warning.

The thing is, these scare stories are false.  So, what to do?  What's the etiquette when you see one of these things and you are pretty darn sure they are false? Here's what I've taken to doing.

First, confirm that the story is a hoax.  The best way to start on this task is to go to snopes.com, urbanlegends.about.com, hoax-slayer.com or any one of a set of well-researched sites and use their search engine with some key words.  In fact, it's typically a faster task if you use a key phrase in the warning.  For example, the most recent "flashing headlights" warning was an image, with a letterhead from Chubb Security.  This hoax almost always involves a story about a gang initiation, so including "Chubb" and "gang initiation" along with "flashing headlights" quickly finds the refuting articles.

http://www.snopes.com/crime/gangs/lightsout.asp
http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/crime/a/headlights.htm
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/flash-lights-hoax.shtml

urbanlegends and hoax-slayer even have the exact image being forwarded around facebook.

Second, search a couple of legitimate news sites with key words, to be sure something new has not popped up in the news that you might have missed.  I checked with msnbc.com, foxnews.com and standard.co.uk and found only one article related to the search "flash headlights gang" and that was about a scheme where people are trying to get insurance money.  In any case, three news sources have nothing on the topic, so it's not likely happening.

Third, break the news nicely.  I honestly believe that the people who are sending these items via facebook or e-mail are genuinely trying to do the right thing.  They are trying to help.  So, I try to let them know that, happily, they don't have anything to worry about.  I typically respond with something like "I'm glad to report that, while I have heard this, too, it is false.  It's a hoax.  This is not something to worry about."

Finally, provide supporting evidence.  I post or send one or two links to articles which clearly refute the hoax, and in particular I like to send links which have a large number of references.

It is my hope that people who react so quickly with fear will condition themselves to check before they post.  Instead of immediately reacting with fear, they would be well served to go to the debunking sites themselves.  This will ease their concerns, help them avoid perpetuating the hoax, and hopefully give them tools for making their world a less scary place.

Anyway, that's what I try to do.  Thoughts?  Opinions?  Other ideas?  Let me know.

Bohemian Gravity - Video

Yet another video I encountered through facebook which deserves to be saved.

Tim Blaise creates music and music videos, and he's a graduate student in physics.  Put that mix together with some serious creativity and musical ability and you get this (and others.)



And, to be complete, here is the link from io9.com which was initially shared.

More Internet Things

I think I did this sort of post once before, but whether I did or not here it is:

Some things I've shared on Facebook which were worth my time and which I might want to see again in the future.


Serious and Cool

AIDS-Related Problem solved by gamers
 
Funny and Cool

Laser Grid game

Quote Quiz - Shakespeare or Batman?

To be a Kid again


Musical and Cool

Billy Joel sings with student accompaniment

Unscripted - Famous Improvisations in Film

This one is definitely worth saving for posterity.  I have not seen all 25 films in this list, but I have seen most of them.  I love the fact that an improvising actor can have such a positive and memorable addition to the work.

Inspiring, Touching

Maybe you've seen this on Facebook or YouTube by now.  If you haven't, take a look.





Honest love and respect; appreciating the value of family - the value of people - the value of relationship.

Connor and Cayden Long:  These brothers represent what being human is all about -- or should be all about.




Thanks, Aaron, for sharing it.

Forging Civilization Wiped Out Zombie Lane

A while back, I talked about a Silly "game" I was playing on Facebook.  Its name: Zombie Lane.

It was what I classify a "time waster."  There is very, very little strategy to it, but it draws a player in by having many tiny little goals and allowing the player to "level up" pretty regularly.  It's the kind of game, like Farmville, that encourages people to go back, often, and just click, click, click.  It was silly.  I acknowledged it as such.  But I "played" it to kill time.

Thankfully, Zombie Lane has been wiped from my list of desired activities.

How?

It's Mike's fault, of course.

OK, that's not quite fair.  But sorta fair.

Mike told me about this on-line game called "Forge of Empires."  It has a few things in common with the Civilization games, which I love, but it also has an attractive component of player interaction.  And, yes, it too has mechanics which encourage a player to come back every so often.  But at least there is some planning to do, and some trading, and some minor social aspects.  And, very importantly, it is not a Facebook game, so it does not try to get me to make "friends" with people simply to improve my position in the game.

Anyway, Forge of Empires is intriguing, but it cannot be played for hours at a time.  Like so many of these internet games, after a few minutes, you run out of things you can do before you have to wait for your resources to regenerate.

So, on its own, it wasn't going to stop me from thinking about Silly Zombie Lane.

The key here is that Forge of Empires is similar to Civilization.  Which meant, as it turns out, it whet my appetite for Civ again.  I had gone almost nine months without playing Civ IV.  This is a pattern in my game-playing life.  I obsess on Civ for a while, then I have to go cold turkey.

I am now in the 1800s (the game starts at 4000 BC) and my American civilization is twice as big as my closest rival.  I'm king of the world!  (Or I will be, once I get to that elusive Diplomatic victory.)

Have I mentioned I really, really like Civilization?

Anyway, Silly Zombie Lane didn't stand a chance.  It's gone. 

Now how will I stop playing Civilization?

Oh well, that's a worry for another day.  Because now, it's time for Just One More Turn.

GoldieBlox - Engineering Toys For Girls - Video

And now, maybe the last of this batch of things I shared on Facebook, but don't want to lose track of.

Watch this video.  Have your faith in the future of humanity raised.

When I get to buy gifts for a granddaughter, I will remember this.

How NASA might build its very first warp drive

Yet another item I don't want to lose which I posted to Facebook.  And which I think is actually quite cool.

Here's the lead -- see if it doesn't intrigue you.

"A few months ago, physicist Harold White stunned the aeronautics world when he announced that he and his team at NASA had begun work on the development of a faster-than-light warp drive. His proposed design, an ingenious re-imagining of an Alcubierre Drive, may eventually result in an engine that can transport a spacecraft to the nearest star in a matter of weeks — and all without violating Einstein's law of relativity."

http://io9.com/5963263/how-nasa-will-build-its-very-first-warp-drive?utm_source=io9.com&utm_medium=recirculation&utm_campaign=recirculation

Now we just need the "Immortal Jellyfish" to lead to something useful so I can still be around by the time the Warp Drive is commercially available....

Oh, you missed the "Immortal Jellyfish?"  Here it is, discussed at the National Geographic website.  After that, use Google, you can read more.

Encumberance Rules

This is a Dungeons and Dragons post.  Very short.  If you don't play Role-Playing Games in general, and DnD in particular, it might not mean much to you.  It's another item I posted to Facebook which I do not want to forget.

Math Humor

This particular bit of humor was shared by George Takei, but certainly not originated by him.  Nevertheless, I saw it because I follow him on Facebook.  And I laughed.  Sure, it was probably more appropriate right after Thanksgiving, but I didn't want to use this on a Favorite Foto Friday.  But it fits well into the string of Facebook-related posts.

Favorite Foto Friday - Caesar's Palace Forum

In the spirit of the current thread of blog posts which I shared on Facebook, here is a photo I took recently.  Inside Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, they have a "Forum" area, which is a long, winding walkway lined with shops -- mostly very high-end shops.  In various places the walkway opens up into larger areas, and in keeping with the Roman theme of Caesar's and the Forum, the setting is very Roman.

The sky is painted and lit to simulate dusk in Rome.  The clouds are cleverly painted and placed so that they often appear to move as you walk along.  It's pretty cool.

Written By A Kid - Web Series

This year, Felicia Day, Kim Evey, Wil Wheaton (and probably more cool web people) started a channel on YouTube with a slate of web series.  One of them is "Written By A Kid."  Anyone who has had young children knows how amazingly creative they can be.  Kids think up stories almost without trying, and the stories are imaginative and full of interesting plots, characters and items which come from imaginary places as often as from real life.

"Written By A Kid" allows kids to tell their stories, and then creative TV-Movie people put them on screen.  It's a great concept.  The way they can afford to do these is for people to "Like" them on YouTube, and even better to "Subscribe" to the channel.  Their financiers pay based on the number of people who do those things.

The very first one got me hooked, and I have enjoyed every one of them since.  Here's the first:

Scary Smash



Yes, this is another in my series of things I put on Facebook. Ssdly, I can't find it on Facebook anymore. See? Facebook does not Always have Everything you posted in the past. That may be a good thing for people who posted embarrassing photos, but really, what are the chances that THOSE will be the things Facebook leaves off your timeline?

Dinosaur Attack WIN - from Cheezburger

Continuing with cooll things I shared via Facebook, but want to keep around....

Here's something I initially saw through icanhas.cheezburger.com.  Here's the link.  Cheezburger (which I follow on Facebook) has a lot of funny stuff, a lot of cat stuff (lolcats), a lot of offensive stuff, and sometimes, some really awesome stuff.  I'll imbed the video, too, but I do encourage people to check out cheezburger. 

Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer

Facebook is, among other things, a place where I share funny and/or interesting things I come across.  Despite the fact that, theoretically, Facebook keeps all of this in my timeline, in reality what happens is that I post, then I lose track, of some stuff I really like.

So, this week, I am going to put some of my favorite stuff in my blog, which will reach a slightly different audience, while also being a little more "permanent."

Today, we have a video which is not truly ironic, but because the popular definition of "ironic" has changed, I think people might call it that.  In fact, it's satirical.

And very, very funny.  So let me introduce it with this:

"Effusive praise" - A critic you recognize