as we may blog

So you’ll notice it’s a Saturday evening and I’m home, writing a blog post…which is only an indicator of how much I’ve been doing for the last several weeks.  I’m just plain exhausted.  Plus, it’s cold and windy and after an odyssey home from Brooklyn last Saturday, mid-nor’easter, it just felt like the right time to stay in, take it easy and look back on the last 5 weeks.  It’s been a blur.  I’ll try and remember as much as I can, but my pace has gone from crazy to hectic and this business of long-distance relationships can just take a flying leap…

Where to begin?  I know, to most of you, it must seem like I’ve dropped off the face of the earth.  But really there’s so much going on and I just haven’t taken the time to keep you all up to speed, dear demanding readers who were expecting more activity…now that there are TWO people responsible for making this blog current.

Life in NYC goes, and it goes swiftly.  In the 5 weeks I’ve been here, I’m feeling very at home, with the exception of missing a certain ‘bot who’s still toughing it out in Michigan. 

I’m not sure how to sum it all up.  And I’m sure I’ve already forgotten the majority of what I’ve done, but lists keep popping into my head, so maybe I’ll just try a sorta stream-of-consciousness thing, a la a recent Oculon post I really enjoyed. 

Here goes:
My week: get up, go to work, come home, eat dinner, get up, go to work, repeat until Friday at 6 PM or so.

My mind: now crammed with ultra-specific knowledge about Morocco. 

My weekends: Until literally this weekend, I have spent more time with my very favorite Sheila E than I have since high school, plus with the illustrious Mr. Burd and Ms. Albrecht.  (Funny how it all comes full circle, eh?)  And old friends keep popping out of the woodwork to visit or have parties or just plain move here. (kgraw are you soon to follow???)  Am I truly living in the center of the universe?

Last night after work, Jenny and I headed to CRG Gallery for the opening of a show of work by the boyfriend of an old family friend – check out their website and look at Tomory Dodge’s paintings – it’s amazing work (and if I weren’t such a techno-neophyte I’d post a link).  I had forgotten how much I missed constantly having lots of art in front of me.  Jenny and I spent a good 20 minutes just standing and staring at one painting – it was that mesmerizing.  Speaking of great art, check out the work by Michael Barnes on Campbell Steele’s website – it’s amazing.

Anyone needing book recommendations, check out:
-Caucasia by Danzy Senna (amazing fiction, identity issues, beautiful story, sweet and incredibly well-developed characters)
-Collapse by Jared Diamond (I’ve just started this, but it’s looking like it’s already living up to Guns, Germs and Steel…another personal favorite)

And now’s the point in the post where I remember that there will be other times, other opportunities to post – I don’t have to cram all of my life update in one single entry, right?!?

Listening to:
A mix CD my dad made me for Valentines Day…Wailin’ Jennys, Phil Collins, David Bowie, Janelle, Joan Armatrading, Smiths, Wallflowers, David Byrne…

…and busy missing all of you who aren’t here…

My e-Communities reading for this week says that being open and asking questions is the best way to grow an online community. Let’s keep it simple: what are you up to this weekend?

siverson is visiting courtesy of the good people at Amtrak for a weekend retreat and content caucus with 60% of The Content Webring. We will be discussing high-level strategic initiatives regarding TCW’s newest content venture, nohelpdesk.org. We’ll be brewing beer Saturday: the first (and last? Shit.) INFOBREW: Information as Beer. It’ll be fun.

So what are you up to?

96 hours in and NYC is stellar.  Not to make snap judgments, but when your days and nights are punctuated with Sheila E. and great museums, amazing food, and unexpected calls from friends I haven’t heard from in years, it’s hard to complain.

More to come very soon about the goings on…but, for the meantime, full speed ahead!

Which is to say, the party’s over for the old As We May Blog, which died a peaceful death last month. It’s been nearly three years since I started this thing, and it’s time for new voices and new interactions. I’m excited for Mags to contribute and—for the first time in quite awhile—excited to see what develops here.

“Got something to say, some dumb bit
Something that I usually leave unsaid
It doesn’t come so easily, I guess that’s no surprise
I wanna see my heart’s reflection in your eyes”
–Ira Kaplan, in response to As We May Blog’s job posting

The rest of the pictures from last weekend’s egg nog party are here.

We sat down with Sam Jones’s I Am Trying to Break Your Heart tonight, a decent little documentary about the complications leading up to the release of Wilco’s much fawned over Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

The rock was solid enough—various outtakes, quasi-studio recordings, and live performances peppered the film but weren’t constant enough to detract from the various storylines. The music wasn’t exclusively limited to YHF era stuff either, which, though it wasn’t explicitly made clear to the viewers, made it possible to trace a timeline of Wilco’s sound to present. A storyline I find a lot more interesting than the drama of kicking the minutiae-obsessed Jay Bennett out of the band.

These guys’ naïveté in dealing with Reprise management was the most distinguishing story in the documentary for me. Yeah, they got jerked around when Reprise decided they wanted them to re-tool Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, presumably to mine a more radio friendly single from the album. But being jerked around is part of the reality of being signed to a major label like Reprise, and I found it strange that Tweedy seemed so unfamiliar with being treated in terms of the bottom line. Of course he should feel hurt and rejected, but his genuine surprise was truly baffling to me. Dude’s been around for awhile, he should know better. Jay Bennett gloats at the beginning of the documentary that Reprise gave them $80,000 without hearing a note of the new material, even allowing them the rather unheard of opportunity to work in Tweedy’s loft. I guess they forgot that whole other shoe falling part when Reprise sent their album back.

All told, the film moved rather slowly. But I think it’s true appeal is with the Wilco fans who prefer to think of the story surrounding Yankee Hotel Foxtrot‘s release as something more than it is; for that audience this is probably a very rewarding little film. For the rest of us, it’s a nice–if somewhat vanilla–glimpse into the life of a very earnest musician.