two nights, two shows

October 05, 2003 by Eric Richardson

For once I had plans for two nights of music and actually made good on getting to both of them. I love it when that happens. Anyway... Thursday night Jessica, a friend from school, and I went to Genghis Cohen and saw Lee Beth Kilgore. Genghis's music room is cool, though not really like anything I've seen before. It's a longer than wide rectangular room with rows of benches (more like pews). There's a probably 18-inch table top running along the back of each. Anyway... A cool setup. Lee Beth was playing her first show with new electric guitarist Jeremy Shockley (hopefully I spelled that at least close to right). The richened sound does a lot for her. Though I'm very much a non-musician, I think it must be really freeing to not have to worry about both leading and carrying with the acoustic. The full sound really lets her vocal range come out and shine.

Friday night Magilla and I went and caught Saucy Monky and Paper Sun, two bands that really need to count as one and a half. They shared a drummer and bassist, just swapping out each band's front two. Room 5 is one of those places with no cover, but a required drink. Prices weren't that bad, though, so no big deal there. The room itself is nice, though small. Lots of wood and plaster gives it a nice sound. Both bands put on a good show. I've written about Saucy before, and really all the same things apply to this show, so I won't bore you repeating myself. Definitely worth the trip.

mmmm.... music....

October 02, 2003 by Eric Richardson

Tonight I'm heading out to Genghis Cohen to see Lee Beth Kilgore. I haven't ever been there, but Lee Beth talks it up, so I'm sure it'll be cool. I really haven't made it out to see much music lately. School's starting to cut down on my ability to get out, and it seems like everything cool's scheduled for a Tuesday, when I've got class until 10pm. Then tomorrow night I'm hoiping to make it to the Room 5 Lounge in Hollywood to see Saucy Monky. That looks to be another cool place, and one without a cover, which makes my night even better.

One thing that really annoys me in LA is how hard it is to figure out whether or not a place is 21+. The website never says, so you end up googling for things like the venue and 21+, and seeing what different bands have listed it as. Those listings are never really consistent, though, so in the end you either end up sort of convinced, or you have to call.

the future is digital?

September 29, 2003 by Eric Richardson

On Saturday Kathy and I went to The Grove (official site) for dinner and a movie. We ended up seeing Once Upon a Time in Mexico, a movie which I enjoyed, though I thought it was a bit disjointed. That's not what ended up being most interesting to me, however. Unintentionally, this ended up being the first end to end digital film I've seen.

I first suspected something was up during the previews. Sharp edges looked a little off. I thought they must now be running previews off a cheap digital to save some movie. Instead, this was the digital projection for the film. Even the DLP Cinema trailer had pixelation issues, showing that the technology is the culprit here, not misuse of it. During the movie itself there were probably 8 - 10 times where pixelation stood out to me, mostly when all or part of the screen made heavy use of white.

Afterward, while walking back to the car, I asked Kathy if she noticed anything different about the image quality. She's not at all a technical person, and to her the DLP trailer might as well have been the THX trailer, but even as someone completely unaware what was going on she imediately mentioned the issue with whites. To me it seems pretty simple that the problem is a simple one of resolution. HD resolution is simply not enough for a cinema screen. Sure, new DLP projectors double your horizontal res, but they're simply masking the symptoms. The problem is still there.

Practically, for now I think that if I'm aware a movie is digitally projected I'll make an effort to sit significantly farther back from the screen. Digital projection's day might come, but I really hope it's not soon.

new work in verbal

September 25, 2003 by Eric Richardson

I finally got around to putting some papers new and old up in verbal intercourse. Of note, Franklin, Poe, and the American Dream and Gender and the Internet. Neither of them are my best work ever, but both have their charms.

expanding my culinary horizons

September 24, 2003 by Eric Richardson

Well, not too far... A couple days ago I was at Ralphs in the frozen vegetable aisle, and happened to notice that they had breaded okra. Growing up in the south, I'm quite fond of okra when it's fried, so I bought a bag to try it out. Yesterday for lunch I made it, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Lacking a deep-fryer, I fried them in oil in a stir-fry pan. That worked out fine, though I'd cook them a little less next time. The breading was a bit on the crunchy side, but the okra inside was perfect. I was quite pleased. Between okra and butter beans I can put together a reasonably southern meal, though you won't ever find me buying collard greens.