I wake to sleep

Grr, grr, grr.

I've been writing blog stuff on my computer at home that doesn't have internet access, but I keep forgetting to bring the files to a machine that does.

I've skipped on blogging (and exercise, sadly) because I've been sleeping horribly. But it's horrible in a cycle. I'm alternating between 11 hrs one day and 0-3 the next. Back and forth, back and forth. It's better than only 5 hrs every night, because I'm in good form at least every other day, but it's still f'ed up. The biggest thing I've noticed when I'm running on little sleep is I have trouble following along when someone's talking. The day after one 0-hr night, I think Joe (you don't know him — he's new around these parts) must have thought I was drugged. Which is always even more ironic with me because I never, ever am. Every time I saw Joe I thought he was trying to suppress a grin, like I was a joke to him. Then again, I was also just very paranoid that day.

But I figure I could at least share with you the toaster poster made from toast.

The post title is from a villanelle I always liked.

I am trying to break your art

A Wikipaedia article from last month (last modified 21:15, 18 May 2004) seems almost precient by mentioning The Conet Project and Wilco in one sentance after the other.

The Conet Project disc consists of recordings of numbers stations, which I used to listen to on Dad's shortwave radio. His radio is a bit bigger than an ATX mid-tower PC, IIRC, and is the only thing I've ever seen that uses a single-A battery. The recording in question is the album's titular sample, a woman repeating for a minute or two the words "yankee...hotel...foxtrot". The label that produced The Conet Project recordings says she's from Israeli intelligence. She may be, but it's not an Israeli accent — sabras have distinctive "long o" sounds, and the o's in "foxtrot" sound more British to me than anything else.

Anyway, the point is that the label Irdial sued Wilco's label for sampling of stuff recorded off a broadcast in the clear over shortwave. Though I don't have all the facts, my impression is that based on an crappy law, the suing, smaller label would have won the case. Joe Gratz, who comes up first in Google for this issue, thinks the case would be to close to call without a lot of fact-finding. The label ended up settling, paying Irdial's lawyers fees and some unrelease value in royalties.

All this prompted by the article in Wired, btw. Also, see pre-settlement post on Boing Boing yesterday.

Om mani padme hum

Thanks, Spiney, for this article about the Dalai Lama. I really want to meet the Dalai Lama in this lifetime (mine and his). But Spiney sent it because of this:

That rooted quality, I presume, reflected years of mental training and meditation. It also made for a brilliant demonstration of the Buddhist contention that the key to happiness lies in the ability to control what is sometimes called the “monkey mind,” the undisciplined consciousness that scrambles from thought to thought, impelled by negative emotions and impulsive desires.

The battle between Monkey and Monk. Here I am at Monkey Monasticism, the worst of both worlds.

BTW, posts about vacation forthcoming. As soon as I keep the monkey minds at bay for a day, you'll see them. I'll say this Sunday at worst, now that I have a working floppy drive.

"Look, I think I know the difference between a hideous biomechanically-animated corpse and a big-boned woman"

Haven't you always wanted to listen in to a superhero's phone conversations? From the City of Heroes forums. Very funny. Go, read.

At last

It's all over with; case dismissed. I want to borrow Tony's copy of The Who's Tommy. I want to play "I'm Free" several times. Then I'd like to take a nap.

Note: will actually do neither - I have a few other things to do today.

You think you know movies?

But do you know the typography? Quizzes like this movie poster game take me back to the good old days when I had a subscription to GAMES Magazine. Of course, I couldn't do better than 30% back then, either. Don't forget the 80's. (via ntk)