avablog

Pretend like she knows all the reindeer names. Also, at about 26 seconds in I flip the viewfinder over so Ava can see herself singing. You’ll note the change in her facial expression (and the bad framing on my part). I told Ava we could share this video with all her friends, and she was […]

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I was really looking forward to having this disc, too. Since the gift won’t be given now, the CD I wanted was Alice Coltrane’s Journey In Satchidananda. Mark, Hello and thank you for your email. I apologize for the incorrect item you received. Unfortunately we do not have another copy available to send out to […]

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I received a CD in the mail yesterday that was to be a gift for a family member. I ordered it used through a reseller at Amazon; I don’t see much point in buying new CDs anymore, since they’re just going to get ripped within 90 minutes of hitting my door. But I digress. I […]

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My friend and colleague Marcia is, among other nice things, an absolute fiend for Classical music. She goes through CDs like other people go through milk, or bread, or Manolo Blahniks. She has rack after rack after rack of CD storage lining her living room (she and her partner, Dennis, hold the current record amongst […]

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Went to the dentist this morning for a cleaning and checkup. Everything’s A-OK. Not to brag, but the hygienist positively gushed about the condition of my soft tissue. I’m so proud. She’d know about it, too, because she drove her f#*king little metal hook down into my gums far enough to pull my tonsils (yes, […]

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I’ve been looking forward to today for a while. My brother got tickets to Pat Metheny‘s show at Hancher this evening, and they’re good seats. Kevin is driving down from Madison this afternoon to go with us, and it’s always good to see him. As an added bonus, the new lens for my new camera […]

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It seems like I should make some note of the amazing changes lately in the online music world, since I enjoy music, and particularly music that I can research and buy without prying my big arse off the sofa. Amazon.com recently announced the beta of their online music download store, which offers a million or […]

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From today’s WSJ: If it seems like you are listening to music more but enjoying it less, some people in the recording industry say they know why. They blame that iPod that you can’t live without, along with all the compressed MP3 music files you’ve loaded on it. I’m having a difficult time wrapping my […]

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Ava and I were messing around today when I was doing some calibration (etc.) on the home stereo. Turns out Ava loves her air guitar, as evidenced by: I think Ava gets this from her Grandma Georgie. I’ll try to get some video of the two of them together in a hellacious guitar duel to […]

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It’s no wonder I’m not involved in any way with a single one of Ava’s clothing decisions. This is the kind of thing I suggest: In this instance, I blame Leah for my inspiration. On the drive back from our anniversary getaway on Sunday, she got hold of the iPod and started rolling all sorts […]

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I just finished reading this on the WSJ’s parenting blog: But between work and family, I’m finding little time to keep in touch with popular culture. My iPod is mostly a mix of 80s tunes and bands that were popular when I was in high school and college in the mid-90s; I can’t remember the […]

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I just got back from a show at our local theater that was absolutely awesome.  Area piano guru and Steinway artist Dan Knight performed a review of Bill Evans tunes.  Dan played only one original tune, but he’s a hell of an artist in his own right. And did I mention that Dan played our […]

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Leah and I have very different taste in music.  This Friday, my brother and I are meeting Kevin up in Decorah for a Kurt Elling show. I understand that Kurt is not to everyone’s liking.  So be it.  I don’t listen to much Top 40.  I’m looking forward to the show.  Leah recently got us […]

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This is a confounding time of year, weather-wise. I’m starting to get this nervous feeling that I need to take advantage of every minute of mild, sunny weather, before the cold rain and then snow of winter sets in. Take yesterday, for example. A couple friends and I biked over to the Amana Colonies to […]

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Miles Davis died on this day in 1991.  It’s not a fact I have in memory; I heard it on the local Jazz station today at noon as I was driving downtown for lunch. By 1991, I was aware of Miles only as an image on a stage blowing long (by that time, high, often […]

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I try not to post too much stuff like this here in deference to my sister in law, who prefers all Ava all the time.  Hopefully she’ll be able to cut me some slack just this once. Via BoingBoing.

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Whew! What a whirlwind. Where to begin? This alliterative moment brought to you by the letters W and H.

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This is what your Daddy was listening to when he was your age. That is one funky blind man. And those kids are loving it!

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on the list of the greatest things about an iPod is the fact that it can drop a song through your earholes completely out of the blue that courses through your body like a bad case of Dengue fever.  But in a good way.  I don’t claim any understanding of the algorithm that runs the […]

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