Moby's New Album Sucks

And what's worse - it sucks that it sucks. After a string of good to great albums, Moby has released a real stinker with Hotel. And what really gets me is that this is probably one of his best-selling albums. Ergh.

I'll get around to writing a full review soon, but in summary:
- It's way too guitar-pop & mainstream-sounding. Gone are the dance anthems. Adios, samples of Spirituals/Gospels. Wait, there's a bit of electronic piano in there...nope, that doesn't save it.
- The lyrics are some of the most un-inspired I've heard in the past 3 years. Examples:

If I could kiss you now\ I'd kiss you now again and again\ I don't know where I begin\ And where you End

Gag!

Come back to us spiders\ Come uncrush my hands\ Let me send beauty rain\ And bring us love again, like you can

What?

Oh, and it's raining\ Raining again\ Oh, and it's raining\ Raining again

*snore*

- Hi post-pubescent angsty style of whiny singing makes for an unimpressive, if not downright irritating sound.
- Gone is the variation between songs that his albums used to have. He sticks with tried and true progressions and verse-chorus structures on most every song, and that gets really old, really fast after you listen to about three of them.

Hotel's 2nd CD is filled with ambient music. This CD is certainly passable. Too bad I have to listen to it right after scalding my ears with the bitter hot dung that is the 1st CD.

Sorry, Moby. I wish I would have liked Hotel. I just can't bring myself to listen to it anymore. It's really that bad.

Photo Retouch Magic

I'm consistently amazed by what people can do in the digital photo retouching world. Greg Apodaca has a great page of samples of his work. You can view the before and after shots of people, movie stills, outdoor shots, and close-ups.

Makes me want to grab a nice digital camera and experiment. Who knows? Maybe I can make a shot of Seattle today look sunny instead of overcast.

San Francisco: Day 3

Wednesday was a short day conference-wise, which let me do some more walking around San Francisco. This time I walked through North Beach up to the water, and then over to the park just southeast of the Golden Gate. The weather was nice and lots of people were out and about; it was interesting to see the city at a time other than in the evening.

The flight back was uneventful. Only regret is that I left sunny, 60-degree San Francisco for rainy Seattle. Next week should have us matching this weather, though.

San Francisco: Day 2

I spent some time yesterday evening at Caffe Greco, which is around the border between North Beach and Chinatown. Good coffee, laid back crowd. I had a chance to catch up on a bit more reading there as well.

Today was chock full of conference fun. I got a chance to meet a former MS-er, as well as several other customers trying to implement this thing called content management. Then, there was a post-conference reception at the Thirsty Bear; I can't say no to free food and beer.

After that, the weather was nice and the sun was still out, so I took a walk around downtown San Francisco before grabbing some dinner to go. SF certainly feels like a larger and more urban city than Seattle. That has its pros and cons; I like to visit but I couldn't say I'd want to live here.

Tomorrow, there's half a day of conferencing left, and then it's back to Seattle. I have an afternoon to spend before my flight leaves. I'm thinking either Mission District or Golden Gate. I've been to the latter, and have been advised by one person at work to not miss the opportunity to try a Mission Burrito before I leave.

San Francisco: Day 1

I'm in San Francisco for a few days for a conference, so I thought I'd do a little "remote posting". Details so far:
- Flight was uneventful. Alaska Air didn't provide much other than the obligatory bag of party mix and a soft drink. Still, 2 hours spent catching up on old Believers isn't that bad.
- Taxi driver from the airport to the hotel drove quickly. I mean, fast. Like, "I like to beat every one else from the starting line when the light turns green" fast. Wasn't too scared though, as he seemed quite aware of what cars were around him, etc. Drag-racer in a former career, maybe?
- My hotel room number? 666. Room's fine, though.
- Conference is going well. Too many details to share here. Ping me if you really care. :)

I should find a coffee shop with wireless post-dinner. Hmm - I'm in San Fran right? Shouldn't be a problem...

Spring Forward

This time-change thing always catches me off-guard. We were at dinner with Sarah and her sister at La Carta de Oaxaca in Ballard. Over a tasty dinner of fairly authentic Oaxacan cuisine, convesation turns to Daylight Saving Time. "Hey, remember, we 'spring forward' tonight."

Dammit! I HATE that. I mean, I know why we do it, but I still feel that putting an hour of weekend time in a lockbox for 6 months, only to remove it when we're in a slow descent towards winter, doesn't raise my spirits too much.

Oh well ... speaking of spirits, I tried Belhaven's Scottish Ale last night, courtesy of Bottleworks. It was quite tasty, and dulled the Daylight Saving pain.