Richard Eriksson's blog

QotD: I'm A Completist

Do you own all the albums of any particular musical artist or group? Who?
Submitted by dutterman.

DJ Shadow, for a while.  I'd buy albums where he produced one song or scratched on another, but he lost me with Public Works, an expensive box set with one of the t-shirts depicting someone throwing a molotov cocktail.  Also, I wasn't a real completionist, since there were a lot of early rarities I couldn't even come across in MP3 format.  At the time, now we live in an age of abundance.  I will still buy his albums—The Outsider was an uneven effort but still showed Shadow to be doing stuff nobody else can—but I no longer want to buy records where he was within 15 feet of the recording studio at which it was produced.

QotD: On Clowns

Clowns: delightful or terrifying?

I have no childhood memories of clowns, good or bad, so my brain is clogged with the clown references that come from The Simpsons. My favourites are "can't sleep, clown'll eat me" and the blow-up clown that Principal Skinner punched that returned back to him.  Do they make those?  And for how much?

QotD: Can't-Miss Podcasts

Are there any podcasts that you never miss an episode of?
Submitted by Kadeeae.

I just posted a list of podcasts I'm currently listening to, and plan to periodically write about whatever the list happens to be at the time.  I never miss an episode of KEXP Music That Matters, CBC Radio 3 Podcast, and the Planetizen Podcast.  I listen to the non-music podcasts—Best of the Web, Planetizen, and other "talk shows"—usually while doing something that's not reading or working.  I can't concentrate on talking when working or reading, so I usually listen to those while riding on the bus or walking to work.  Music podcasts I can do something while listening to them: in fact while I write this I'm finishing off a three-hour episode of CITR's The Jazz Show.

The great thing about podcasts in iTunes is you can stop them, play something different, then come back to the point you were listening to in the podcast.  The point you last listened to even transfers to my iPod when I sync.  This doesn't work for the DJ mixes I download, which are in non-podcast form, just straight MP3s downloaded from some website.

QotD: Modern Classic

What modern book do you think will be read in high school by the next generation of kids?
Submitted by Tom.

I'm very much out of touch with youth culture, so I actually don't have any idea what book kids will be reading.  I imagine a lot of English teachers might be tempted to assign White Teeth by Zadie Smith, since it deals with a lot of issues facing English-speaking nations: the clash between politics and science, not just race but mixed race, and Muslim terrorism.  I quoted from the book on my blog a couple of times, once about smoking and another time about the 20th century.  See also my brief review and other writing at the 'Zadie Smith' tag on my blog.

I saw someone reading On Beauty while on SkyTrain the other day.  For some reason, unknown even to myself, I thought people had given up on Smith after her debut.

Either that or Generation S.L.U.T. by Marty Beckerman.  Since if they're not thinking about larger issues like Smith, then they're thinking about that fucked up party they went to last week.

QotD: Tune In, Turn On

How many TVs do you have in your house?

Just one real TV in my apartment, the 26-inch TV I bought more than a decade ago with proceeds from my brother's and my paper route money.  It still works like a charm, but I only really use it to watch TV broadcast on the 3 over-the-air channels (haven't had cable for a few years now, happily) and movies on VHS.  I watch DVDs and recorded TV—either in DVD form or "acquired" from the Internet—on my laptop, sometimes using my LCD screen as a dual monitor while I work on the laptop's main screen.

So 3 screens, but one actual TV.

QotD: I Was Wrong

How often are you wrong?  Do you find it difficult to admit it when you are? 
Submitted by emily ann.

I'm wrong very often.  I'm fine with admitting it, but most people don't know how to correct me in such a way that make me not feel like an idiot.  They often say "No, it's [opposite of what I said]" instead of "hmm, I heard it was actually [opposite of what I said]".  That is, I don't take correction very well, and would rather people correct me privately so I can correct my mistake in public.  If I'm wrong when I thought for sure I was right, I quickly say that I misspoke [example] and correct it.  People are more forgiving if you tell the truth, admit being wrong, and find the right answer than if you try to hide the fact that you don't know what you're talking about.  It's better to say "I don't know" than make something up.

QotD: Signed, Sealed, Delivered

How do you sign your emails?
Submitted by rosemarypepper.

I usually don't sign my emails with anything other than my name and/or a URL.  For instance, if it's from my personal email address, it's my full name plus one of my blogs, usually Just a Gwai Lo.  And just a URL, no 'www' but including the http://  Here's an example:

Hey loved the post on SkyTrain parties.

--
Richard Eriksson
http://justagwailo.com/

I sometimes sign with the URL http://r13n.com/ which redirects to my blog anyway. 

Note the use of "exactly two hyphens, followed by a space, followed by the end of line".  I know people who omit the space at the end.  Heathens. 

If it's a more personal email, I just sign it with simply "Richard", as I did in my signature-free days.  I'm considering adding more information to the signature, but for now it conveys all the information—i.e. my name and a place to find more information about me—that I need to convey.  If I want to give someone my phone #, I'd do it in the text.

I don't add any words like "Cheers" or "Yours" or any other sign-off, though I sometimes wonder if people expect that of me.

QotD: I Turn My Camera On

What kind of camera(s) do you own?

Depends on what you consider a camera.  My MacBook Pro has an iSight built in, my N70 has a two cameras (front and back), and I have two other devices that look typically like a camera: a Canon EOS 400D / Digital Rebel XTi and an Olympus D-560.

QotD: Weekend Plans

What are your plans for the weekend?

Funny that I see this halfway through the weekend.  Today I participated, as planned, in the 1st annual BC Floorball Federation Challenge.  During the week I will write about it more on Urban Vancouver, but let's just say it was a major success.  And that I can't feel my legs!

Tomorrow I planned on attending dragon boat practice, but I'm making that a game-time decision.  Probably going since this is an upper-body workout where floorball is significantly running with a stick in your hand.  After that, no plans, but I'd like to spend some of Sunday with my girl.

Tonight, though, rest, recovery, and maybe a pinch of reflection.

QotD: My Ol' Mates

Have you ever tracked down any of your old high school friends and fellow students? 
Submitted by campsite2007.  

Only the one with the impossible-to-Google name, and unsuccessfully.  Facebook should make short work of that, as it's making short work of tracking down even the people I forgot about.  My ex tracked me down one day, so she has my email address, but I didn't see her at the reunion.

But that was a previous life.  At least it feels like one.