i always wonder why such a fuss is made over several hundred people dieing in a flood or even an unjust war when 100,000+ people die in car accidents per year (according to the World Almanac). roughly 50% are due to alchol and in the u.s. 94% are on the highway. we live in fear of so many things that we can't control, yet something we could possibly change rarely gets much media attention or dialogue. and for every death in a car there are over 80 injuries.. some who might live in torturous pain for years. here are a few interesting links i found 1 2 3   ¶ 10:34 AM

  i've debated back and forth about releasing my own music on IA, but now that i have some tracks ready and a clearer aesthetic direction.. i'm going to try other labels. i guess in the end i need that validation that someone else is willing to spend time and money to promote it.

i've listened to a lot of music lately... mostly electronic stuff and for the most part it doesn't live up to its hype. i do enjoy a few tracks off of the o9 disc and i want to hear more Greg Davis (i only caught one track on a radio stream). oh, and the $0.50 copy of Moulin Rouge found at Goodwill is amazing!.. and i like that Modest Mouse song "Float," and still fall for that Morrissey guy. nothing really new with his last single and the political lyrics are a little awkward, but it fills my need for a pop fix. i can never shake the stuff i grew up on. did i say i was listening to mostly electronic music?  ¶ 9:07 AM

  Girl Talk is #15 on the CMJ RPM chart (up from #21 last week and #19 the week before that). five weeks on the chart and all the other labels above us are much bigger commerical labels. also somewhat thoughtful reviews keep popping up.   ¶ 1:37 PM

  according the May issue of Arthur "mobile phones are responsible for the biggest war in African history, destroying World Heritage site rainforests and driving rare gorillas to extinction." recent technology is using tantalum (derived from an ore called coltan) to make chips smaller, but 80% of the world's supply is in protected African lands. what can be done? it's becoming more and more difficult to exist in contemporary society without harming other people.  ¶ 11:13 AM

  the other night S. Ganser had a graduation party. he showed his autobiographical documentary video Things Own You which i've seen at various stages the last few months. the final version is amazing and it was good to see it with fresh eyes along with a crowd of people. i really think he should send it out to festivals etc. his obsessive collections range from bottle caps, to his girlfriend's hair, to his current "stacks of wax".. he is both insane and perhaps an artistic genius. if he can ever get over his need for "perfection" he could release some great music and video work. this is one of the best self-exploratory videos i've seen. very accessible, a nice flow, and disturbing all at the same time. his mother was probably horrified by some of it.   ¶ 9:30 AM

  i heard an interview on NPR with the author of The End of Oil. he made some interesting points about possible scenarios for our transition away from oil. it looks like the best case is that prices stay high and give the proper market motivators for change. the worse case is that the supply is quickly cut off (e.g. civil war in Saudi Arabia and/or Venezula) and we're not prepared yet and move to something worse such as coal. also, he made good points about the current administrations attraction to oil in Iraq. according to the author it was a factor for war (although no war is about just one thing) but not so much to get the oil, but to bring more stability to the region (!) so that we can still buy the oil. i love these 30 minute interviews since i just don't have the time right now to go buy this book and read it.   ¶ 2:07 PM

  i've had more students beg for a decent grade this semester than ever. sometimes it's more subtle but one student embedded into her final project multiple descriptions of how her life will dramatically shift depending on passing my class. the good scenario is that she passes, graduates etc. the bad scenario involves her being disowned by family, homeless, drug abuse, prostitution and eventually death. i should fail her just for that. how pathetic can students get?  ¶ 11:09 AM

  the semester is pretty much over. now i can really focus, finish my dissertation, and then take a vacation. i've really had some good moments of clarity just in the last day or so. it seems like it will all come together for something brilliant.   ¶ 11:38 AM

  house party on friday. i decided not to play, but Stefen (ia intern) was playing for a couple of hours w/ the others and this girl came up and purposely poured a can of beer onto his laptop. it's going to cost over 1k to replace sticky parts etc. oh the insanity! if anyone reads this thing, you can give sympathy to Stefen by buying his cd from the webshop. he'll hopefully get the girl to pay..   ¶ 9:55 AM