Spoilers ahoy!

The first series of the new Doctor Who had an arc to it which, in my opinion, has not really been duplicated in the series since. That is not to say that every individual was great -- I would say three single-episode stories and two two-parters are quite noteworthy, with the rest being either somewhat forgettable or seriously flawed -- but the overall sweep of the season, combined with the fact that this was a fresh approach to the series, made it add up to greater than the sum of its parts.
( Cut for spoilers and for length )

Pentametron is a script that creates sonnets using recently-posted iambic tweets. Usually the sonnets don't make a whole lot of sense, but this one is pretty good, partly because of the 'I have a very short attention span' excuse.

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Poll #1811269
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 10

Past tense of plead?

Does it matter if the word is used in a legal setting vs. a non-legal setting?

I'm using radio buttons instead of checkboxes because I want people to take a stand.

Starting one week from today, me and my friend Chris Monti will be on tour. Full details (and music examples, etc.) can be found at http://killdevils.com/2011tour/.

Here's the rundown:

Date Time Location Thu 17 Mar 7-9:30 pm Jitters Cafe 1273 Queen Street (Route 10), Southington, CT 06489 Jake & Chris's East Coast Tour kicks off at Jitters! Tips accepted. Fri 18 Mar 6-8 pm Black Cat Cafe 45 Main Street, Irvington, NY 10533 No cover, tips welcomed. Sat 19 Mar 6-8 pm The Sycamore Bar & Flowershop 1118 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn, NY We will be sharing the bill with other acts TBA. $10 cover. Sun 20 Mar 5-8 pm House Concert Washington, DC Email for details. Mon 21 Mar 9 pm The Triple 3306 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA Scott Billings and friends will also perform. $5 cover Tue 22 Mar 9 pm The Fire 412 W Girard Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19123 Other acts TBA. $7 cover Wed 23 Mar 10-11 pm Banjo Jim's 9th Street and Avenue C, Manhattan, NY There will be musicians performing starting at 7 pm. We will go on around 10 pm and do a 45 minute set. No cover, 1 drink/set minimum, tips welcomed.

Two things are going on that resulted in this post. One is that MaximumFun.org (home of The Sound of Young America and other podcasts) is having its annual fund drive, and the other is that I'm about to go on a tour (aka road trip) with my friend Chris Monti and I need to burn stuff to CDs that we'll want to listen to on the trip.

So I've been re-downloading some old TSoYA episodes that I think Chris will find enjoyable and I thought I would list them here too.

Swamp Dogg. Soul writer and singer Swamp Dogg's general philosophy towards musical projects seems to be that if someone asks him to do something he'll give it a try, a philosophy that I identify with. (This might explain Swamp Dogg's country album, for instance.) It's great hearing an interview with an interesting person when both he and the interviewer are clearly just having a great time, and I bought one of Swamp Dogg's greatest hits collections on the strength of this interview, a move I have not regretted.

Nellie McKay. I gather that this interview with singer/songwriter Nellie McKay is a bit controversial, with some TSoYA regular listeners finding her wry attitude incredibly annoying, but I found the interview and the live performances (she sings and plays the ukulele) both really enjoyable. Hearing her talk about playing on Garrison Keillor's show was particularly interesting to me.

Bill Withers. Bill Withers was a great soul writer and singer who got sick of the music industry and has been mostly retired and reclusive since the 80s, but Jesse Thorn (host of TSoYA) managed to catch him while he was promoting the documentary 'Soul Power', and it's a really interesting interview. (Jesse reports that this interview was extremely terrifying for him, particularly as Withers didn't hesitate to let him know if Jesse said something Withers disagreed with.)

The vocoder. Dave Tompkins talks about his book 'How To Wreck A Nice Beach' [the title is a mangled version of the phrase 'How To Recognize Speech'] which describes the history of the vocoder, which had its roots in technology designed to protect phone conversations from codebreakers during WWII.

Mavis Staples. Mavis Staples is a really friendly and engaging speaker, and this might be the best interview I've heard with her. The bit about Randy Newman at the end of the podcast is a particular highlight for me.

I should note that Jesse doesn't just interview musicians -- I was just thinking along those lines because of the tours. He also interviews authors, actors, comedians, and other interesting people. I could keep listing episodes but maybe it's simpler to link to one of Jesse's posts where he lists some audience favorites.

might be the best yet. I think that's probably mostly because I've let it mellow a few days. (It is important to occasionally let out some of the CO₂ to prevent explosions!) But anyway here are the main changes from the recipe that I tried this time:

(1) 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup honey.
(2) 3-4 tablespoons of ginger.
(3) 1 dried chili pepper.
(4) 1/4 tsp cinnamon.
(5) 1 tsp vanilla.

Very gingery. A little bite but not too much. Not too sweet. I may stick with this variant the next time I make ginger ale.

This morning the bottle of root beer was hard so I put it in the fridge for a few hours and then, after a lengthy period of bleeding off excess carbon dioxide, gave it a try. I think it turned out quite well!

No video this time but ( some photos are behind the cut )

I was at the grocery store today and noticed they sold root beer extract, so ... here's the recipe.

Changes made from that recipe:

I used 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar, and 1/4 cup honey. In retrospect I should have added the honey after step 9 ("Half fill the bottle with fresh cool tap water") because it appears to have trapped some of the yeast against the bottom of the bottle. I'm hoping it will dissolve as the mixture warms up. Edit: Actually just jostling the bottle around for 10-15 minutes seem to have done the trick -- though there is still a chunk of undissolved brown sugar at the moment.

In addition to the ingredients listed, I added 1/8 tsp cinnamon, 1/16 tsp nutmeg, a splash of vanilla, and a little lemon zest. Any or all of these might be mistakes but I gotta be me.

I tried using a little less water than I did with the ginger beer but I'm not sure if I succeeded or not -- if so it is probably not enough of a difference to matter. Oh well.

The claim is that this will take 3-4 days to be done, which I am a bit doubtful about after the ginger ale was done about three times as fast as it was supposed to be. We'll see how it goes.

Since last time I tried making soda I have invested in a funnel and a sieve, which should help to facilitate further experiments along these lines.

secritcrush posted a link to this ginger ale recipe by an Ohio biology professor (which includes links to the chemical reactions involved in making ginger ale) recently and yesterday I decided to give it a whirl. I made some modifications based on secritcrush's experiences and also based on personal whims, etc.

She said when she made it it was a bit sweeter than she'd like so I decided to use 3/4 cup sugar instead of half a cup. I also probably used more ginger than the recipe called for, though I didn't really measure it. Finally, I added 1/8 tsp cinnamon, with the idea that it would make it spicier, although as I dumped it in I found myself thinking, "this is probably a mistake." (But at least I didn't throw any pepper flakes in, which I was also considering doing. I probably shouldn't improvise on recipes when it's midnight and I'm low on sleep.)

The recipe says that it should take a day or two for things to ferment sufficiently, but after eight hours the bottle was hard as a rock. This freaked me out a little and I started worrying about explosions (which the recipe also warns about). I put the bottle in a garbage bag (because garbage bags are proof against explosions) and stuck it in the fridge. Around midday today, assuming no mishaps, I'll open the bottle and report back.

I'm not sure why it fermented so quickly. Maybe the yeast I used was particularly active? I used less sugar than called for so I would have expected it to ferment more slowly if anything. But I think secritcrush's batch also fermented more quickly than expected so perhaps yeast technology has changed since 2006.

Some premature thinking about future soda making:

Owning a funnel would have made some things easier and I may invest in one.

I was given a 5-pound jug of honey recently so I may try using some of that next time. Brown sugar also seems like it would be worth trying. Maybe add some vanilla?

Speaking of vanilla, the same gentleman who wrote the ginger ale recipe has a recipe for root beer with modifications for making cream soda, so I might try that as well sometime.

Edit: The ginger ale has been opened. Here, have a video:

Occasionally when you're knitting you'll run into a situation where you have to graft two ends of, say, a cabled or ribbed band together to make a loop.

Unfortunately most of the tutorials on the web only discuss the situation where you're grafting stockinette to stockinette, so if you have to graft two ribbed edges together and you need the ridges to match up you may be in a bit of a fix.

Fortunately, making the leap from grafting stockinette to grafting ribs isn't that difficult. (The hard part is wrapping your head around kitchener stitch at all.) ( Here's how to do it. )

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( The quick reference version. )

Some of you may remember that I came up with a knitted stegosaurus pattern a couple of years ago and published it in my livejournal.

People generally have reported that it's a quick project and not difficult to knit (which is to say, not as complicated as it looks), but in case there are folks out there who want to own a stegosaurus without having to knit one themselves I thought I'd note that someone recently wrote to me asking if she could make some to sell and I told her she could, so she may be willing to make one for you! More information can be found at http://rizny.livejournal.com/105661.html .

Poll #1502258 to use xmas or not to use X-Mas
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 34

Do you use XMas? What do you think the 'X' means?

nidrian brought this to my attention:



That video makes me feel good. I am a sucker for earnestness, I guess.

(The 0.2" figure comes from this article by the bye.)

Speaking of self-promotion:

This coming Saturday, November 21, I'm having a CD release party at Pioneer Brewing Company in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, about 15 minutes west of Worcester. It's a free show. If you live there and feel like checking it out then I hope you can make it! And if not, but you know some friends who you think would enjoy it and live around there then please pass the word along.

I put together a page with information about the show, videos of the performers, etc., but the quick information is:

• Where: The Pioneer Brewing Company at Hyland Orchard, 199 Arnold Road, Sturbridge, MA 01518, about a 15-minute drive from Worcester.
• When: Saturday, November 21 from 6-10 pm.
• Cost: It's a free show, no cover charge!
• Who's playing: I've persuaded some talented musical friends to join me, namely Kate Katzberg, Anne's Cordial, and the Superchief Trio! See below for more information about the performers.
• Food: The Brewery doesn't serve food, but there will be a potluck dinner for those who wish to participate.

Thanks!

Hi all,

I'll post reminders when the dates are closer, but for now I wanted to let you know:

Last week I received copies of my new CD, 'Mistaken Identity', which is now available for purchase in a variety of ways; see http://music.jwgh.org/cd.html for details.

To celebrate this, I decided I wanted to have two separate CD release parties, one in my current home, Providence, RI, and one in central Massachusetts where I grew up and where my family still lives. Last night, I finally put the finishing touches on the plans for the two shows, so here are the details:

Tuesday November 17 -- **PROVIDENCE CD RELEASE PARTY WITH JON CAMPBELL, HANNAH DEVINE, AND THE KILLDEVILS!**
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WHERE: Everyman Bistro, 555 Valley Street, Providence, RI 02908
WHEN: 8 pm-11 pm
FACEBOOK EVENT: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=159262645755

Come celebrate the release of my first professionally-done CD, 'Mistaken Identity'! There will be half-priced appetizers and a beer special and perhaps some other surprises. Helping me to celebrate, excellent local acts Jon Campbell, Hannah Devine, and the electric Killdevils have agreed to join me (I will also play solo). I'm planning to have a blast; come on out and have one too!

Saturday November 21 -- **MASSACHUSETTS CD RELEASE PARTY WITH KATE KATZBERG, ANNE'S CORDIAL, AND THE SUPERCHIEF TRIO!**
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WHERE: Pioneer Brewing Company at Hyland Orchard, 199 Arnold Road, Sturbridge, MA 01518
WHEN: 6-10 pm
FACEBOOK EVENT: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=184674118081

An early evening show with excellent (so I'm told) locally-produced beer. There'll be a potluck, so if you haven't had dinner bring something to share and there should be some tasty food to eat ... (I plan to bring some bread, a pizza or two, and perhaps a homemade pie if there's time.)

I asked some talented friends to help me celebrate and they agreed to help out, so Kate Katzberg, Anne's Cordial, and the Superchief Trio will also be performing. There'll be lots of great music, so I hope you can make it!

See you around,
Jacob Haller
http://music.jwgh.org/
Join my mailing list: http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/jakeshows

A reminder that Sarah S. has generously offered to have a barbecue at her house tomorrow, on Wednesday August 5.

Who: Providence SnBers
What: Summer BBQ
When: Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Time: 6:00 pm to whenever
Where: Sarah S's house in Warwick
Why: Just for fun!!
How: Please email or call Sarah S for address and directions. sarah_sturtevant@hotmail.com or (508) 685-1946
Sarah will provide the Pizzas and toppings for grilling. (Really, its good.) Please feel free to bring sidedishes, beverages, and desserts.

If you'll be driving there and are willing to give people with cars a ride, or if you're carless and need a ride, please comment (or get in touch with me if you can't comment) and we'll try to set you up!

My alma mater, Brown University, has a campus which has grown a fair amount over the years, and it has a variety of buildings in a variety of styles. The result could be described as a bit of a hodge-podge, but I kind of like the mixture, even though it means that not all of the buildings are very pleasant to look at.

Last weekend I decided to wander around campus and take pictures of the ugliest buildings, and the results can be found below. Historical facts about the buildings were generally taken from the Encyclopedia Brunoniana.

( 1964: The John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library )
( 1965: Barus & Holley )
( 1968: The Graduate Center )
( 1971: The Sciences Library )

Poll #1426870 A post like this would not be complete without a poll.
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 21

What is the ugliest building on Brown's campus?

So. This past weekend Rhode Island was visited by the Westboro Baptist Church. Needless to say, they were not welcome and got some press coverage before, during, and after the fact.

Every so often I drive down Point Street past the Planned Parenthood there and invariably there are protesters out front with their signs. It's such an everyday thing that it wouldn't surprise me if people give directions by them -- go down Point Street and turn right at the giant fetus posters. Doing a little google news search turns up no recent mention of this -- I imagine this stopped being news years ago.

Regarding the latter bunch, silk_noir has put together a list of organizations that support abortion and birth control rights. Check them out, and, if you have the money and inclination, give them some support.

"I am a member of this community. Our DNA has been here since 1880. I belong here. The folks that come in from out of town, they are the intruders. Forty percent of all the people who were arrested here during the Operation Rescue in 1991 came from out of state. I intend to stay here. I am part of the fabric of Kansas and Kansas is part of the fabric of me." - Dr. George Tiller

( and the winners are ... )

the winners of the 2008 awards
the winners of the 2007 awards

Thanks to everyone who voted for us.