Tue - February 19, 2008
A Year in 6 months?
There's a light at the end of the tunnel. It is a
grey, misty, slightly obscured light. But I believe it is
there...
I am leaving Cork Friday morning. I get to go home and see J&J get married in Marlin, TX. After a week in San Francisco, I have one more (short) visit to Cork the first week of March. And then... No. More. Travel. (Booked, at least)
I accepted a job offer that will, in the short term, at least, cut down on my travel significantly. And, in the new role, I really don't see any more of the crazy schedules like I have been on since August. Any trips I make, I foresee being in the one week range, instead of the six-week range.
Since I only have three more days until I check out of my apartment, I have an enormous sense of anticipation and gratitude. I had a moment on Nov 29, when one of my main projects went live in the last stage for that quarter, when I looked back on what the project team had accomplished in the time that I was here. It was significant. And I am having one of these moments now, too, because in December and January, I led another project through kickoff to go live, and it went REALLY well. Last week and this week, I am walking another team through the initial detail workshop sessions for a 6-month project cycle, and the workshops are really productive. I am thinking about how much I love project management, and how much I am going to miss this work. And I can't help but wonder if I will be as good in a new operational role as I am in project management. It will be a learning curve.
I am leaving Cork Friday morning. I get to go home and see J&J get married in Marlin, TX. After a week in San Francisco, I have one more (short) visit to Cork the first week of March. And then... No. More. Travel. (Booked, at least)
I accepted a job offer that will, in the short term, at least, cut down on my travel significantly. And, in the new role, I really don't see any more of the crazy schedules like I have been on since August. Any trips I make, I foresee being in the one week range, instead of the six-week range.
Since I only have three more days until I check out of my apartment, I have an enormous sense of anticipation and gratitude. I had a moment on Nov 29, when one of my main projects went live in the last stage for that quarter, when I looked back on what the project team had accomplished in the time that I was here. It was significant. And I am having one of these moments now, too, because in December and January, I led another project through kickoff to go live, and it went REALLY well. Last week and this week, I am walking another team through the initial detail workshop sessions for a 6-month project cycle, and the workshops are really productive. I am thinking about how much I love project management, and how much I am going to miss this work. And I can't help but wonder if I will be as good in a new operational role as I am in project management. It will be a learning curve.
Posted at 08:18 AM Read More
Sun - November 25, 2007
Grazie
I ran home to Austin for a few days, and came
back to Ireland with Ms Pope and Sören to celebrate Thanksgiving here. It
was disconcerting to take them around County Cork after spending so many months
here by myself (not to mention the multitude of trips I have had here in the
past eight years).
I'm not sure what Ms Pope's favorite part was, but Sören discovered a fairy glade in Blarney:
One of Sören's classmates, when he heard Tuesday that she would be going to Ireland and was planning on seeing the Blarney Castle, intentionally misunderstood her and was laughing hysterically that she would visit the "Barney Castle." She just put on a patented Pope look of disdain and turned her shoulder...
I'm not sure what Ms Pope's favorite part was, but Sören discovered a fairy glade in Blarney:
One of Sören's classmates, when he heard Tuesday that she would be going to Ireland and was planning on seeing the Blarney Castle, intentionally misunderstood her and was laughing hysterically that she would visit the "Barney Castle." She just put on a patented Pope look of disdain and turned her shoulder...
Posted at 11:36 AM Read More
Sun - November 4, 2007
"Hey, what's your problem?" "The milk of human kindness."
My name is popemark, and I am addicted to buying
books. I can't walk past a bookstore without walking in, and I can't walk out of
a bookstore without buying 2 or more books. On this trip to Ireland, I have been
reading a ton, but I can not keep up with all the books I have already bought
and that are sitting on my bedside table.
On the last week-long visit I had to Austin, I made what could have been a mistake and stopped in an airport Hudson Booksellers (I think it was in O'Hare, and I was at risk for completing the one book I took with me in my carry-on; God forbid I might be out of reading material! As it happened, I didn't actually complete that book I already had with me until I was back in Austin). Interestingly enough (to me), I think it is possible Ms Pope worked for some branch of Hudson when we were in Puerto Rico. Not sure. I have to follow up on that.
Anyway, the two books I bought in that desperate foray were The Historian and Whatever, by Michel Houellebecq. Both books turned out to be surprisingly good buys. I wrote about The Historian last week; today, I finished reading Whatever. I was under the misconception that this was a more recent novel of his, but was surprised to discover it had been written in 1998 and he has followed up on his early promise with several more books, all as compellingly interesting (based on published abstracts!) as his debut.
Serpent's Tail (the publisher) did not explicitly compare this novel to Camus, but the implicit connection leavened my interpretation of the novel as I was consuming it. His humor is spot-on, and the dread with which his characters face their unfathomably bleak conditions is, dare I say it, deliciously enjoyable. Click on Read More to see an example passage (and yes, the Title of this blog entry is from the book, as well...).
On the last week-long visit I had to Austin, I made what could have been a mistake and stopped in an airport Hudson Booksellers (I think it was in O'Hare, and I was at risk for completing the one book I took with me in my carry-on; God forbid I might be out of reading material! As it happened, I didn't actually complete that book I already had with me until I was back in Austin). Interestingly enough (to me), I think it is possible Ms Pope worked for some branch of Hudson when we were in Puerto Rico. Not sure. I have to follow up on that.
Anyway, the two books I bought in that desperate foray were The Historian and Whatever, by Michel Houellebecq. Both books turned out to be surprisingly good buys. I wrote about The Historian last week; today, I finished reading Whatever. I was under the misconception that this was a more recent novel of his, but was surprised to discover it had been written in 1998 and he has followed up on his early promise with several more books, all as compellingly interesting (based on published abstracts!) as his debut.
Serpent's Tail (the publisher) did not explicitly compare this novel to Camus, but the implicit connection leavened my interpretation of the novel as I was consuming it. His humor is spot-on, and the dread with which his characters face their unfathomably bleak conditions is, dare I say it, deliciously enjoyable. Click on Read More to see an example passage (and yes, the Title of this blog entry is from the book, as well...).
Posted at 08:20 PM Read More
Worst in my life
The last haircut I got was at Chez Eye-reek,
outside, on a sidewalk outside a cabin at Lake Brownwood. And it was great,
really great. But that was September 29. I had gotten to the point where I
needed another. I had an appointment with Eye-reek at Bô (informal
appointment, be it what it may) for this past week, the week I was intending to
be back in Austin. Now I am not going back until maybe Nov 14 and there are a
ton of executives from California coming in to Ireland this week for product
launches Friday. I needed a haircut!
I went downtown yesterday, intending to stop in a bookstore (Don't! Let! Me! Buy! Another! Book!), go to the Quay Co-op, and find a salon where a suitably skilled stylist will see the hidden magic behind my shaggy appearance, give me a knowing and appreciative nod, and set to work with the insouciant confidence of Edward Scissorhands. Immediately after dropping off my car, I was surprised to see one of the trainers from work and a couple of her German students. She had just completed training the Germans on the product we're launching in Germany Friday, and all three of them were in that happy state of exhausted and excited. Gillian heard what I needed and immediately suggested a salon for me (and OMG now that I am writing this, I can not even remember the name -- I even looked through my receipts from yesterday but I didn't keep the receipt since I am not expensing the haircut... Damn!). So, I went to the salon to take an initial walk-by assessment, and it looked acceptably professional. I made an appointment for a little later in the afternoon.
What a mistake. I awoke this morning looking like I had been kidnapped and had my hair abused by a drunken half-blind sadistic leprechaun.
I went downtown yesterday, intending to stop in a bookstore (Don't! Let! Me! Buy! Another! Book!), go to the Quay Co-op, and find a salon where a suitably skilled stylist will see the hidden magic behind my shaggy appearance, give me a knowing and appreciative nod, and set to work with the insouciant confidence of Edward Scissorhands. Immediately after dropping off my car, I was surprised to see one of the trainers from work and a couple of her German students. She had just completed training the Germans on the product we're launching in Germany Friday, and all three of them were in that happy state of exhausted and excited. Gillian heard what I needed and immediately suggested a salon for me (and OMG now that I am writing this, I can not even remember the name -- I even looked through my receipts from yesterday but I didn't keep the receipt since I am not expensing the haircut... Damn!). So, I went to the salon to take an initial walk-by assessment, and it looked acceptably professional. I made an appointment for a little later in the afternoon.
What a mistake. I awoke this morning looking like I had been kidnapped and had my hair abused by a drunken half-blind sadistic leprechaun.
Posted at 07:29 PM Read More
I haven't even sent a picture of a rabbit to her...
Last autumn (2006), I went through an awkward
phase of intense longing, and I sought partial fulfillment in a return to my
collegiate appreciation of poetry. I searched for new (to me) poets whose work
reminded me of a younger self, one who had encountered and survived similar
phases in the past. One evening, in particular, after Sören and I had
wandered through the aisles of BookPeople picking up anything that interested
us, we found ourselves eating a convivial dinner at Habana on South
Congress, eating tostones and reading our own individual books of poetry. I
believe Sören's choice was Shel Silverstein, and one of mine was Anne
Sexton.
I have been selectively rereading her poems while I am in Cork (don't ask me why I'm not reading any of the great Irish poets -- I promise I will work my way around to them, plus finally get through Ulysses, before I leave this island for good next summer...). One poem ("The Double Image") has piqued my interest and has been hard for me to stop thinking about. Click Read More for the stanzas that are calling out to me...
I have been selectively rereading her poems while I am in Cork (don't ask me why I'm not reading any of the great Irish poets -- I promise I will work my way around to them, plus finally get through Ulysses, before I leave this island for good next summer...). One poem ("The Double Image") has piqued my interest and has been hard for me to stop thinking about. Click Read More for the stanzas that are calling out to me...
Posted at 12:26 PM Read More
Wed - October 31, 2007
Fighting evil in the library stacks
When I was reading Elizabeth Kostova's The
Historian, I was struck by the thought of the books that feature librarians as
brave heroes.
I have to admit that I have a very soft place in my heart for libraries and the clerks and professionals who work in them. I worked in the Business Library at University of Iowa as an undergraduate student, and was very interested in pursuing a career in library science when I received an offer in 1996 from my current employer. In fact, the Papal Consort and I went together to the University of Texas MLS department to review the offerings and course structure. (I like that it is a non-thesis graduate program! :)
So, I came up with a short list of my favorite books where librarians put themselves at risk and save the world with their information retrieval skills!
1) The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova
2) Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
3) The Time Traveller's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
I have to admit that I have a very soft place in my heart for libraries and the clerks and professionals who work in them. I worked in the Business Library at University of Iowa as an undergraduate student, and was very interested in pursuing a career in library science when I received an offer in 1996 from my current employer. In fact, the Papal Consort and I went together to the University of Texas MLS department to review the offerings and course structure. (I like that it is a non-thesis graduate program! :)
So, I came up with a short list of my favorite books where librarians put themselves at risk and save the world with their information retrieval skills!
1) The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova
2) Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
3) The Time Traveller's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
Posted at 09:10 AM Read More
Happy Spooky Hallowe'en reading
I love Hallowe'en. It may be my favorite holiday
of the year... I think it might be a combination of the fascination with getting
scared and an unhealthy obsession with mortality. Being in Ireland for the day
this year, I do not miss the costumes and candies that are hallmarks of how
America observes the day. But I do miss my tradition with Sören,
originating with an afternoon spent with Sugar Booger, of going to a graveyard
in Austin and having a picnic on the gravesite of a family named
"Hello."
In honor of the holiday, I started to read Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian while I was in Prague. I finished it Monday night, in a fevered rush to complete the book. It tells the story of a teenaged girl in Amsterdam whose father has a mysterious book that appears to be blank except for a woodcut image of a dragon with a curling tail. That book is the commencement of a perilous compulsive hunt for the truth behind the historical figure of Vlad the Impaler -- Dracula.
In honor of the holiday, I started to read Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian while I was in Prague. I finished it Monday night, in a fevered rush to complete the book. It tells the story of a teenaged girl in Amsterdam whose father has a mysterious book that appears to be blank except for a woodcut image of a dragon with a curling tail. That book is the commencement of a perilous compulsive hunt for the truth behind the historical figure of Vlad the Impaler -- Dracula.
Posted at 08:53 AM Read More
Tue - October 30, 2007
PragueBlague
A lot of people have asked me what Prague was
like, how I liked it. This was my first trip there, and I have to admit, my
expectations were high. I had wanted to go there for years, and books like The Corrections just helped pique my curiosity.
But Prague suffered from comparison because I had been in Barcelona the week before, and let's face it,
Barcelona when it's warm and sunny can outshine Prague when it's cold and
rainy...
I had stayed at the Hotel Elite, which was certainly nice enough for my purposes. I would give it two stars, and probably wouldn't stay there again on my next trip, but it was not a bad experience. I went down for the included breakfast on Sunday morning, but there wasn't a table to be had. I went back up to my room thinking I would grab my book and go get a leisurely breakfast elsewhere, but on a whim, checked the guest room policies. It was already 10:10 and I was supposed to check out by 10! Oops.
I threw all my stuff back in the suitcase and ran downstairs. They checked me out and had no problem with me leaving my suitcase and computer bag in a locked room while I went to explore the town. I can't remember the name of the café where I ate breakfast, but I had a delicious French breakfast with pastries, butter, jellies, and a café au lait.
I had a map that seemed to serve its purpose, and set off for the Národní Muzeum:
This museum was one of my favorites of its type, heavy on geology and fossils and taxidermy. That's not because its collections were so stupendously comprehensive, but because almost all of the commentary and information was in Czech, not English. Ordinarily when I am in a Field Museum of Natural History, I feel this compulsion to stop and read EVERY placard so I can be as well-educated as possible on the topic of Plains Indians' footwear, or whatever. Here, I was free of that compulsion. I could just run through an exhibit, and slow down only when I saw something really amazing. When you have a flight home at 8:30 pm and an entire city to see, that kind of freedom is exhilarating!
I have always been fascinated by Malachite, and I found this interesting: "It is also an excellent protection stone during flying and other travel. Using this stone, one can counteract self-destructive romantic tendencies and help encourage true, pure love." Wow. Who can't use that, eh?
This is just a perfect example of why it's fun to be in a museum like this with no English explanations for what you're seeing. You can make up any description you want. "The ancient Slavs used toothpicks like this after eating flaky strudel."
This just spooked me out...
More after the jump...
I had stayed at the Hotel Elite, which was certainly nice enough for my purposes. I would give it two stars, and probably wouldn't stay there again on my next trip, but it was not a bad experience. I went down for the included breakfast on Sunday morning, but there wasn't a table to be had. I went back up to my room thinking I would grab my book and go get a leisurely breakfast elsewhere, but on a whim, checked the guest room policies. It was already 10:10 and I was supposed to check out by 10! Oops.
I threw all my stuff back in the suitcase and ran downstairs. They checked me out and had no problem with me leaving my suitcase and computer bag in a locked room while I went to explore the town. I can't remember the name of the café where I ate breakfast, but I had a delicious French breakfast with pastries, butter, jellies, and a café au lait.
I had a map that seemed to serve its purpose, and set off for the Národní Muzeum:
This museum was one of my favorites of its type, heavy on geology and fossils and taxidermy. That's not because its collections were so stupendously comprehensive, but because almost all of the commentary and information was in Czech, not English. Ordinarily when I am in a Field Museum of Natural History, I feel this compulsion to stop and read EVERY placard so I can be as well-educated as possible on the topic of Plains Indians' footwear, or whatever. Here, I was free of that compulsion. I could just run through an exhibit, and slow down only when I saw something really amazing. When you have a flight home at 8:30 pm and an entire city to see, that kind of freedom is exhilarating!
I have always been fascinated by Malachite, and I found this interesting: "It is also an excellent protection stone during flying and other travel. Using this stone, one can counteract self-destructive romantic tendencies and help encourage true, pure love." Wow. Who can't use that, eh?
This is just a perfect example of why it's fun to be in a museum like this with no English explanations for what you're seeing. You can make up any description you want. "The ancient Slavs used toothpicks like this after eating flaky strudel."
This just spooked me out...
More after the jump...
Posted at 08:22 AM Read More
Mon - October 29, 2007
Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova in Prague
In an earlier post, I had talked about how much I wanted to
see Glen Hansard perform while I was in Europe...
But the Prague performance with Marketa Irglova appeared to be sold
out.
I talked with a colleague about my dilemma, and she advised me she had been seeing the Frames play since she was 15 years old and if I had a chance to see him perform in an intimate environment, I had to do it. He was incredible.
On Noëlle's advice, I found an email address on the Frames' website and sent a begging email:
"Hello!
My name is popemark. I usually live in Austin, TX. There is a radio station in Austin, KGSR, that played a song from Once and I fell in love with it!! I bought The Swell Season off of iTunes Store and can not stop listening to it!
So, here's my dilemma. I am working in Ireland this fall. I am scheduled to fly home to Texas 27 October, so will miss the Frames playing in Dublin. But I will be back in Ireland in November when Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova will play Stubb's.
I really really really want to see Glen and Marketa play! I can make it to Prague this weekend, but the concert is sold out. Is there any any any way I can get tickets to this event? (I have also talked to colleagues here at [company name] who have seen Glen and Marketa play and attest to the beauty of the event.)
Please let me know if there's any hope!
Thank you,
popemark"
Response after the jump...
I talked with a colleague about my dilemma, and she advised me she had been seeing the Frames play since she was 15 years old and if I had a chance to see him perform in an intimate environment, I had to do it. He was incredible.
On Noëlle's advice, I found an email address on the Frames' website and sent a begging email:
"Hello!
My name is popemark. I usually live in Austin, TX. There is a radio station in Austin, KGSR, that played a song from Once and I fell in love with it!! I bought The Swell Season off of iTunes Store and can not stop listening to it!
So, here's my dilemma. I am working in Ireland this fall. I am scheduled to fly home to Texas 27 October, so will miss the Frames playing in Dublin. But I will be back in Ireland in November when Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova will play Stubb's.
I really really really want to see Glen and Marketa play! I can make it to Prague this weekend, but the concert is sold out. Is there any any any way I can get tickets to this event? (I have also talked to colleagues here at [company name] who have seen Glen and Marketa play and attest to the beauty of the event.)
Please let me know if there's any hope!
Thank you,
popemark"
Response after the jump...
Posted at 08:23 AM Read More
Sat - October 20, 2007
Unlucky
I would love to go to South Africa, especially
Cape Town, but this is another piece of scary
news...
JOHANNESBURG: A team of gunmen shot and killed Lucky Dube, an international reggae star and one of South Africa's best-known musicians, in an apparent carjacking attempt late Thursday that underscored the continuing peril of violent crime here.
Dube, 43, what shot by three hijackers in Rosettenville, just south of downtown Johannesburg, as he dropped off his teenage son at his brother's house. Another child, a 16-year-old daughter, was in the car at the time, the police said.
The hijackers fled after Dube crashed his car into a tree. He died at the scene.
JOHANNESBURG: A team of gunmen shot and killed Lucky Dube, an international reggae star and one of South Africa's best-known musicians, in an apparent carjacking attempt late Thursday that underscored the continuing peril of violent crime here.
Dube, 43, what shot by three hijackers in Rosettenville, just south of downtown Johannesburg, as he dropped off his teenage son at his brother's house. Another child, a 16-year-old daughter, was in the car at the time, the police said.
The hijackers fled after Dube crashed his car into a tree. He died at the scene.
Posted at 02:14 PM Read More
Mon - October 15, 2007
City of tile
I spent the last four days in Barcelona, soaking
in the sun and food and general Mediterranean atmosphere. Sure, I was working,
too (Thursday and Friday, at least), but it didn't feel like it. This town is
gorgeous, and I can't wait for an opportunity to
return...
I can't count the number of times that Ms Pope and I have been in a gorgeous, exotic or cosmopolitan city and have fantasized about living there for a period of time. The first occurrence of this was on our very first holiday/date, to Mexico City for Day of the Dead 1994. For us, any time we are vacationing in a beautiful locale, part of the trip (at least) is spent dreaming about what it might be like to live there... I did this again in Barcelona. The Gothic Quarter, especially, is so beautiful and enchanting, that I saw myself sitting on a balcony, with Snickers on my lap (the dogs didn't join me in my fantasy), drinking a cafe crema...
I can't count the number of times that Ms Pope and I have been in a gorgeous, exotic or cosmopolitan city and have fantasized about living there for a period of time. The first occurrence of this was on our very first holiday/date, to Mexico City for Day of the Dead 1994. For us, any time we are vacationing in a beautiful locale, part of the trip (at least) is spent dreaming about what it might be like to live there... I did this again in Barcelona. The Gothic Quarter, especially, is so beautiful and enchanting, that I saw myself sitting on a balcony, with Snickers on my lap (the dogs didn't join me in my fantasy), drinking a cafe crema...
Posted at 08:41 AM Read More
Mon - October 8, 2007
Mizen Head
I left town (Cork City) yesterday to go on a
scenic drive before the real fall or winter weather hits. I headed out to see
the signal house at Mizen Head, which is described as the most
southwesterly point on Ireland.
The coast was absolutely beautiful! And I enjoyed playing Dashboard Confessional and Glen Hansard on the drive...
Several weeks ago, I had purchased an Ordnance Survey of Ireland Road Atlas that is just plain awesome. As I drove past Toormore, it got a little harder to tell where I was going, but I never really got lost. I would get "turned around," but could stop and trace the road I was on. The roads got extremely narrow once I was past Goleen, but they were still posted to follow the path to get to Mizen Head itself.
The old lighthouse keepers' quarters are open to ticket holders, so you can see how they lived. I purchased a ticket, but I got there so close to 5:00 that I will have to use it on a future trip. Ms Pope and Sören are planning on coming to visit over Thanksgiving, so I can hopefully bring them out when they are here and we can actually go through the "museum" together.
The coast was absolutely beautiful! And I enjoyed playing Dashboard Confessional and Glen Hansard on the drive...
Several weeks ago, I had purchased an Ordnance Survey of Ireland Road Atlas that is just plain awesome. As I drove past Toormore, it got a little harder to tell where I was going, but I never really got lost. I would get "turned around," but could stop and trace the road I was on. The roads got extremely narrow once I was past Goleen, but they were still posted to follow the path to get to Mizen Head itself.
The old lighthouse keepers' quarters are open to ticket holders, so you can see how they lived. I purchased a ticket, but I got there so close to 5:00 that I will have to use it on a future trip. Ms Pope and Sören are planning on coming to visit over Thanksgiving, so I can hopefully bring them out when they are here and we can actually go through the "museum" together.
Posted at 08:19 AM Read More
Sun - October 7, 2007
He will burn in hell
I bought tickets to see Mozart's Don
Giovanni on a whim yesterday, at the Cork Opera House. I didn't
realize that Soren Kierkegaard considered it the most perfect
opera ever produced (the things you find out from wikipedia when
you just want to get a link for a blog entry), but was interested in doing
something besides finding local music in a Cork pub or reading in the
apartment.
I had attended a performance at Cork Opera House before - Van Morrison, probably around 2001 or 2002... But I did not remember the details of the design inside. I have to admit, I was not expecting something like the Opera House in Tokyo Opera City or Walt Disney Concert Hall... But I was surprised by how much it resembled a high school auditorium. The stage design did not help matters much, relying heavily on spare low-budget pieces.
But Sandra Oman as Donna Elvira and Majella Cullagh as Donna Anna were both very impressive. And in my morose state of mind, dwelling on the nature of sin and transgression was actually somewhat pleasant! Especially since Leporello does such an able job of presenting an inspiration that this foible-laden spectator could possibly live up to...
I had attended a performance at Cork Opera House before - Van Morrison, probably around 2001 or 2002... But I did not remember the details of the design inside. I have to admit, I was not expecting something like the Opera House in Tokyo Opera City or Walt Disney Concert Hall... But I was surprised by how much it resembled a high school auditorium. The stage design did not help matters much, relying heavily on spare low-budget pieces.
But Sandra Oman as Donna Elvira and Majella Cullagh as Donna Anna were both very impressive. And in my morose state of mind, dwelling on the nature of sin and transgression was actually somewhat pleasant! Especially since Leporello does such an able job of presenting an inspiration that this foible-laden spectator could possibly live up to...
Posted at 10:21 PM Read More
Wed - October 3, 2007
Here With Me
This item was actually published this summer,
but it's more than a little spooky... Lt Walter Haut was a PR officer at the
Roswell Army Air Field at the time of the reputed UFO crash. He died in 2006,
but left behind a signed affidavit concerning what happened that
summer...
Haut died last year but left a sworn affidavit to be opened only after his death.
Last week, the text was released and asserts that the weather balloon claim was a cover story and that the real object had been recovered by the military and stored in a hangar. He described seeing not just the craft, but alien bodies. He wasn't the first Roswell witness to talk about alien bodies.
Local undertaker Glenn Dennis had long claimed that he was contacted by authorities at Roswell shortly after the crash and asked to provide a number of child-sized coffins.
When he arrived at the base, he was apparently told by a nurse (who later disappeared) that a UFO had crashed and that small humanoid extraterrestrials had been recovered. But Haut is the only one of the original participants to claim to have seen alien bodies.
Haut died last year but left a sworn affidavit to be opened only after his death.
Last week, the text was released and asserts that the weather balloon claim was a cover story and that the real object had been recovered by the military and stored in a hangar. He described seeing not just the craft, but alien bodies. He wasn't the first Roswell witness to talk about alien bodies.
Local undertaker Glenn Dennis had long claimed that he was contacted by authorities at Roswell shortly after the crash and asked to provide a number of child-sized coffins.
When he arrived at the base, he was apparently told by a nurse (who later disappeared) that a UFO had crashed and that small humanoid extraterrestrials had been recovered. But Haut is the only one of the original participants to claim to have seen alien bodies.
Posted at 10:35 PM Read More
Tue - October 2, 2007
Now how much would you pay? But wait...
Bob Mould writes about Radiohead's announcement this week that they
will release their next album online, allowing fans to state their own price for
the music. Whatever they're willing to pay. Even
free.
The Big Bob is basically saying he can't quite ditch the "traditional" model of music distribution yet, but if he could, he throws several variations of a new paradigm out there to ask his fans which they would choose...
Here's three that I have long thought are reasonable. Please be mindful of the following expenditures: studio cost, musician fees, equipment upgrades, rent and utilities, web site maintenance, management, publicist, other professional services. My parts and labor.
Individual songs, $1 - 2
When I finish a song, you are notified by e-mail. You are directed to a secure site, some sort of unique password is generated, and you download the DRM-free file.
Album length release, $10 - 20
When I finish a group of 10 songs, you are notified by e-mail. You are directed to a secure site, some sort of unique password is generated, and you download the DRM-free files.
Annual fee, $20 - 40
Artist subsidy. In return for underwriting my work, you receive all music as it is completed, as well as exclusive content (video, artwork, stuff from my storage space). When tours are scheduled, additional consideration at each venue (VIP seating, etc.).
The Big Bob is basically saying he can't quite ditch the "traditional" model of music distribution yet, but if he could, he throws several variations of a new paradigm out there to ask his fans which they would choose...
Here's three that I have long thought are reasonable. Please be mindful of the following expenditures: studio cost, musician fees, equipment upgrades, rent and utilities, web site maintenance, management, publicist, other professional services. My parts and labor.
Individual songs, $1 - 2
When I finish a song, you are notified by e-mail. You are directed to a secure site, some sort of unique password is generated, and you download the DRM-free file.
Album length release, $10 - 20
When I finish a group of 10 songs, you are notified by e-mail. You are directed to a secure site, some sort of unique password is generated, and you download the DRM-free files.
Annual fee, $20 - 40
Artist subsidy. In return for underwriting my work, you receive all music as it is completed, as well as exclusive content (video, artwork, stuff from my storage space). When tours are scheduled, additional consideration at each venue (VIP seating, etc.).
Posted at 11:32 PM Read More
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Published On: Feb 19, 2008 08:18 AM
Published On: Feb 19, 2008 08:18 AM