Last night Megan and I went to downtown and saw the Nortec Collective in concert. This was a free show that was part of the 10th annual Festival Cultural de Mayo.
The Nortec Collective is a art and music group based in Tijuana and are best known for an album they released 2000 called "The Tijuana Sessions". The artists in the collective sample instrumental parts from old norteño recordings and combine them with electronic and dance music. This makes for great music and an entertaining album, but I was worried that it wouldn't make for a very good live show.
Happily, the band blew my expectations out of the water. It really helped that they invited Banda Agua Caliente, an excellent typical norteño band, to play along with them. This meant that instead of using noreño samples, they had a live band to play these parts. The band knew the songs well and enhanced the electronic music perfectly. I particularly liked the version of "Dandy del Sur" and "Don Loope" that were played.
Since Nortec is an art and music collective they had some really great graphic design showing behind the band during the songs. The art perfectly complimented the songs and enhanced the entire concert.
After a very large set with both the banda and the electronic musicians, there was a shorter set featuring just the Nortec Collective and some of their more club music songs. After this the banda did their own set. We left just before midnight, but not before hearing a truly amazing cover of Depeche Mode's "Never Let Me Down Again". It was really great to hear a new wave song covered by a banda group with it's big brass band sound and supported by the electronic musicians of Nortec.
If you would like to hear some of the Nortec Collectives songs, download some o f the following mp3s:
Colorado - Fussible
Dandy del Sur - Hiperboreal
Last weekend Megan and I went to what is billed as the largest festival in Mexico, the Feria de San Marcos in Aguascalientes. Aguascalientes is the capital of the state of the same name and is northeast of Jalisco (where Guadalajara is located). The fair runs for a month in April and May every year. The fair features many concerts, exhibits, carnival rides, lots of partying and two of the more cruel animal related sports around.
Cockfighting, while normally illegal in Mexico, is allowed at the Feria de San Marcos because of a tradition of cockfighting at past festivals. We didn't get to go to a cockfight while we were in Aguascalientes since they had finished a few days earlier.
We did however go to our first ever bullfight on Saturday evening. Megan and I both had mixed feelings about going to a bullfight. It is an inherently violent and cruel death for the bull, but it is also supposed to be one of the most beautiful and interesting cultural activities in Latin America.
[More after the jump and more photos to come later in the week]
We went to the arena about 6pm and took our seats in the top of the shady side of the arena. We were just in time for the first of 6 bulls. There were 3 matadors, so each were to fight 2 bulls each. Here is how each fight goes (more or less).
As the bull enters the arena there is the main matador and three assistants (banderilleros) test the bull to make sure it is up for a fight. They provoke the bull into charging them and then deftly dodge out of the way. After they are satisfied that the bull means to trample them and the crowd is satisfied they will get a good show, they move on to the next phase. If they or the crowd aren't happy with the bull, then the bull gets sent out of the arena to await another fight. This happened once during the fight we watched and subsequently a "reserve" bull was brought out to fight.
The next phase begins with the entry two horse-mounted picadores. The picadores each have a long spear and their horses are very well padded and protected. The banderilleros draw the bull towards one of the picadores at the outside of the ring. The picador then stabs the bull in the back with the spear. It seems like the picadores are not looked upon very favorably by the crowd. The crowd views them as a necessary evil, but if the picador is to enthusiastic about doing his job the crowd starts to boo and yell at him. This was nearly my least favorite part of the fight. It seems very cruel and weakens the bull to a very large degree. In a few of the fights we saw the bull was so hurt by the picador that it could barely fight or standup.
In the next phase the banderilleros or the matador try to stab the bull with 3 sets of 2 barbed sticks. This further weakens the bull and prepares it for the ultimate phase.
In the last phase, the matador faces the bull by himself. The matador again dodges the bull over and over. The bull is generally bleed very badly by this point and seems to understand that this is a fight for its life. After a lot of dodging and taunting the matador will get a sword from ring side. He faces off against the bull and while the bull charges he will try to stab the bull behind the head in spine. If successful, the bull will drop to the ground and die, but this is very rare, in the 8 fights we saw (there were two extra fights that night) only one of the matadors managed to do this. If they are unsuccessful, then the bull will walk around with a sword stuck in its back and the matador will try once or twice more. If the bull collapses, but does not die, then the fight is over and a assistant will stab the bull in the back with a long knife to insure it is dead. The bulls body is then dragged out of the arena by a team of bulls.
I left the arena after 8 bullfights with similarly mixed feeling about the sport. It is a beautiful event to watch, with the matadors and banderilleros more like very talented dancers than anything. The crowd participation is very interesting and important aspect of the entire event. At the same time, the killing of the bull was unnecessarily cruel and violent. Most of the fight seems to involve taunting the bull into charging the fighters, but I don't believe this is really the natural inclination of the bull. In the end, both Megan and I decided we would like to go to another bullfight here in Guadalajara, but I still think it will be difficult to watch.
Megan has started writing for the local English language newspaper and her first story came out in last Friday's edition. You can read Day of Dead market is a traditional family affair at the Guadalajara Reporter website for the next week, but when the new edition goes online this Friday the story will disappear in a subscribers only section, so here is an alternate version.
Megan and I went and saw Manu Chao in concert last night at Plaza los Torres Nuevo Passado here in Guadalajara. The music was great and the crowd was super energetic. Definitely one of my best concerts ever.
The opening band (who I didn't recognize and wasn't on the tickets) was OK, but received a really bad reception from the audience, who was pretty eager for Manu Chao. The lead singer of the opening band was the only low point. She wasn't a great singer and also danced like Elaine from Seinfeld. Absolutely zero stage presence.
When the house lights went down before Manu Chao came on a bunch of people jumped the barriers seperating the lower level seating and the floor. The security tried to stop them and once the lights came on pretty much everyone stayed where they were.
The first set was really awesome. Manu is touring with Radio Bemba Sound System, who backed him up on his last live album. From Manu's two studio albums you might not realize how Ska and Reggae influenced he is, but last night it was obvious. Songs regularly switched between slower Reggae beats to hard driving Ska/Punk rhythms.
The second set was even better than the first, with more songs from Manu's first solo album "Clandestino". This included a really great ballad version of "Welcome to Tijuana" and a good version of "Bongo Bong". During the last few songs of the second set, most of the security left the floor and people flooded from the lower level seating to the floor. This was only after about 10 unsuccessful tries by security to keep individuals from jumping the barrier and running into the floor crowd. By the end of the concert the floor was filled to capacity and the crowd was very energized and there were a lot of mosh-pits. Megan and I were happy to be in the cheap seats in the second level.
Below is a picture taken at sunset of the arena:
I've been thinking a lot lately about the changing nature of electronic communications. The main reason I've been thinking about this is my little sister. She is 8 years old and recently got a cellphone. Almost immediately she started texting her friends. I get the occasional text from her as well.
Then yesterday there was a study linked on Slashdot from the Pew Internet & American Life Project about the use of the Internet by teenagers. One of the most interesting conclusions of this study is that teenagers view e-mail as a way to communicate with adults, institutions and as a formal communication tool. When they want to talk with their peers or in an informal basis they use instant messaging. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise, but it is another reality that adults and institutions will have to adjust for. Companies who want to communicate with teenagers should start to offer instant messaging.
Finally, I just got done reading a story at NY Times about a woman's experience with an accelerated dating life cycle that she feels was caused by phone texting.
So is this the future of communications with the increasingly tech savvy and instantly connected young adult population? What are the consequences of this way of communicating? Should the the older (and by older I mean anyone over 25-years-old) communicators adapt to this way of communicating? This may be a false choice. "Should" may be irrelevant, if we don't adapt then we may just be left behind. The better question might be how fast can we adapt or what happens to those who fail to adapt quickly enough.
Some of you may know that when I play video games I use the moniker migraineboy. I get a lot of comments about this name when I play Halo on Xbox Live. Most stuff like "Hey, do you get migraines?" and "migrainboy, huh, cool name." Most people don't seem to be aware of how the name came about.
Back in college I used to watch more MTV cartoons than is really considered healthy. Shows like Beavis and Buthead, Aeon Flux and The Maxx (one of my favorites). Around this time a few shorts were on MTV for a cartoon called "Migraine Boy".
Migraine Boy is the anti-hero of the cartoon and he is a little kid with a constantly splitting headache. He also has a little friend (who I think is named Aspirin Boy) who is in love with Migraine Boy and also his nemesis. The MTV shorts are based on simple 6 panel comics that run in independent weekly newspapers and were featured on REM's album Monster.
Yesterday during a somewhat random google search for Migraine Boy I found the official site of Migraine Boy's author/artist Greg Fiering. I'm not sure how long it has been up, but it can't have been for more than a few months, since I think I looked for this a while ago. Anyway, the good news is that he is updating the site somewhat regularly with new Migraine Boy strips. He also has an archive of posted strips and the MTV shorts available.
I guess I'll just have to add it two my list of regular web comic reads. I've listed most of the webcomics I read after the jump (I left out a couple that I don't read regularly).
A couple days ago my co-worker Chris called me at home and asked if I wanted to go see Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith at 7pm on Wednesday night with him for free! His wife had won tickets from a radio contest, but they couldn't find a sitter for their kiddlet (plus [REDACTED]).
As you may know, I'm a big Star Wars fan. I even camped out overnight for Episode I, but after the disappointment of the first two prequels, I was planning to wait a few weeks to catch the final installment. I'm not one to pass up a free movie ticket and I definitely wasn't going to miss this one.
I'm going to try and keep this mostly spoiler free, but if you want to be totally safe, don't follow the link. Updated below . . .
Pretty much every critic has said that Episode III was better than the first two prequels and I totally agree. One critic agreed, saying "True, but only in the same way that dying from natural causes is preferable to crucifixion." I don't agree with the tone of this, but I think the point that this still isn't the movie it could be is true. The overall plot was great and the overarching story of the six movies really came together in this movie. The special effects and action scenes were really great and totally enjoyable. However, the dialog was painful. George Lucas has always had great vision, but I have never thought he was a very good writer. None of the dialog conveyed any feeling. Certain parts of the dialog almost seemed like a parody of Star Wars.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie, but I probably won't see it in the theaters. In fact, if you aren't a big Star Wars fan, do yourself a favor, wait for this movie on DVD. It is an important film that wraps up one of the most important film franchises in history, but you don't need to pay $8 a person to see it.
Updated: Of course, you could always just download it off the interweb. (Note: I am not condoning downloading this movie)
Powell's is trying to give away 50,000 school books to local schools in Portland and Beaverton. Want to make a difference? Give one book for $5.95 and Powell's will donate 10 more books!
Webcomics are getting larger and larger and now they are starting to crossover into traditional media. Mac Hall and many other comics are offering their comics in a printed collection. Penny Arcade has held a fan convention. Many comic creators now make a living off of their webcomic.
Now Player vs. Player (PVP) is offering it's comic to any newspaper who wants to publish it for free. The idea is to drive more people to the website to generate more ad revenue. This is pretty smart idea that really turns the print comic publishing world's strategies on their head. My guess is that a comic like Dilbert publishes in print for hefty syndication fees and has a website mainly to drive people to the print version and to gain some online ad revenue.
Predictably, PVPs syndication idea and the general rise in prominence of web comics has some of the traditional comic artists a bit defensive. Take this Non Sequitur. Now I like this comic, but I think it is pretty clear that the artist (Wiley) just doesn't get it.
First, some of these webcomics are doing very well for themselves (as pointed out by Penny Arcade's Gabe). Second, there is no real reason that the next "Great American Novel" won't be posted to a personal website in PDF format so that people can print it out. It wouldn't even surprise me if the next "Great American Novel" was released on the web under the Creative Commons license. The web is changing people's views of publishing and there is nothing about printed content that makes it inherently better than web content. The sooner traditional content creators understand this, the sooner they will prosper in a digital environment.
Also, just because I believe that the current copyright laws aren't working doesn't mean I'm a communist, regardless of what Bill Gates says.
Because Moira doesn't allow comments on her weblog, I will have to respond to her post "Psychoanalysis on 34th Street" right here. Last weekend I saw Miracle on 34th street for the first time ever (not just the first time in my adult life) and it was a pretty good movie, but had some weird one liner's in it. Moira's favorite "Maybe he's only a little crazy. Like painters, or composers, or . . . some of those men in Washington" is pretty good, but I had my own favorite.
Yeah, there's a lot of bad 'isms' floatin' around this world, but one of the worst is commercialism. Make a buck, make a buck. [found at imdb]
Speaking of the "Uncanny Valley", I came across this review of "The Polar Express" in which the reviewer gives the movie a pretty bad rating based on a poorly written story and the creepiness of the characters.
"This season's biggest holiday extravaganza, 'The Polar Express,' should be subtitled "The Night of the Living Dead." The characters are that frightening."
When I went to see "The Incredibles" this weekend I saw the trailer for "The Polar Express" and I had a similar feeling about the characters. There skin looked plasticy and their eyes and mouthes looked lifeless.
On the other hand, the characters in "The Incredibles" were very unrealistic, but totally convincing as humans. You didn't care that they weren't photo realistic, you just accept them as humans and enjoy the movie.
Update: Here is a similiar post on another weblog. [via kottke]
Last presidential election one small part in one song really expressed my attitude about the election:
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord
None of the above f*ck it cut the cord"
-"Guerrilla Radio", Rage Against the Machine
I think I heard the song (and saw the video) that expresses my attitude about this election:
"They tell us 'No,' we say 'Yeah;' they tell us 'Stop,' we say 'Go.' Rebel with a rebel yell, raise hell – we gon’ let ‘em know. Stomp, push, shove, mush – f*ck Bush. Until they bring our troops home!"
-"Mosh", Eminem
So, looking back to 2000, I was wrong about Gore and Bush being the same. I still voted for Gore, but it was really a vote of fear. This year I am voting for Kerry, not just because he isn't Bush, but also because he will do a better job with this country. He will make this country safe and prosperous in a way Bush could never do. It is not just that Bush tried his best and failed, he as actively worked to make this country a worse place.
That is is enough of my anti-Bush rant. To really get to the point of "Mosh" and it's video, get the hell out there and vote.
Do you live in Oregon? Then send in your ballot NOW. It will save you the hassle of being called and visited by the campaigns. Haven't recieved your ballot in the mail. Then call the state elections office and find out what happened. Go to the office and fill out a replacement ballot if you need to.
Don't live in Oregon? Then make sure you know where you polling place is. Then get yourself there on election day. Take some time off of work, in most states you have the right to take time off work and get paid while you vote. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't vote. If you aren't on the voter roles, fill out a provisional ballot(PDF).
All in all, do what the banner to the right says: VOTE F*CKER!
Discovery Channel is running a new ad campaign. Watch these commercials.
(just click on the "Watch the TV Spots" box)
{credit: Metafilter}
Thank's to MetaFilter I have found a new toy. On the same lines as the Bush campaigns custom sign maker, you can now create your own custom McDonald's sign. Here is mine:
That comes from a comment on Metafilter that struck me as funny.
