BOOK REVIEW: The Strain (0)

Posted 18 June, 2009 in Book Reviews

I have a soft spot for good vampire books. I love the original Dracula, particularly it’s fast-paced epistolary style. I also enjoyed the first few books in Anne Rice’s original series. And I’m sure that if I started Twilight or any of the other currently popular brooding-emo-vamp series, I’d guiltily enjoy those, too.

But Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan have written a larger, more intense book than the current crop of tween sensations. This is a vampire novel that strikes deep at the heart of our modern fears of terrorism and biological weaponry. The protagonists have all the technology of the modern-day disease fighter at their disposal, pitted against an ancient — but intelligently updated — foe.

For me, The Strain is just what vampire books are supposed to be. It is fast-paced. It’s villains are sometimes cunning, sometimes brutish. It’s heroes are flawed but basically good. And the odds are heavily stacked against them.

If I have one complaint, it is that volumes two and three in this trilogy are not to be released until 2010 and 2011. What a pain in the neck. (See what I did there?)

Real photos — NOT edited in any way (0)

Posted 15 June, 2009 in Random Musings

Yes, folks, these incredibly rare images depict me doing actual work on an actual vehicle. I am seen here hanging a tailpipe on the 1997 Ford Ranger my parents gave us. My assistant is clearly in violation of child labor laws.

Auto Repair 101 … or maybe just 1

BOOK REVIEW: Dock Ellis in the Country of Baseball (0)

Posted 13 June, 2009 in Baseball, Book Reviews, Poetry

Donald Hall, one of the country’s great poets, writes with passion about Dock Ellis, one of baseball’s most colorful figures. If all you know about Dock Ellis is that he once pitched a no-hitter on LSD, then you need to read this book and learn the other 90% of his story. And if you, like me, have never heard of Dock Ellis at all, Hall’s engrossing account will acquaint you with a man who deserves wider recognition, as much for his constant support of the black community and his commitment to fighting drug addiction as for his on-field stats. Highly recommended.

POEM: Bongocero (0)

Posted 4 June, 2009 in Music, Poetry

Bongocero

the meaty slap of flesh on flesh
the pop of skin on skin
fingertips, the side of the thumb
legs a vice to hold the shells

the heart of the matter is a mix
of rhythm and freedom
of accompaniment and improvisation
of ancient order and modernity

then from the back of the stage
the trumpets kick in
and the bongocero drops his drums,
which fall to the stage with a thud

now it’s skin grasping wood striking metal
as the bell cuts through
the urgent stabs of the horns
and gives a lift to the dancers

gi-gi-go
gi-gi-go
gi-gi-go
gi-go

gi-gi-go
gi-gi-go
gi-gi-go
gi-go

Big news for The Jazz Session! (0)

Posted 19 May, 2009 in Jazz, Music, The Jazz Session

I’m thrilled to announce the launch of a new partnership with All About Jazz, the world’s most visited jazz Web site. AAJ founder Michael Ricci and I have been working together for several years now, with AAJ hosting transcriptions of the interviews that appear on The Jazz Session.

Now we’ve decided to combine forces. That means The Jazz Session will be featured on the home page at allaboutjazz.com. We’ll also be working together to visit festivals on behalf the new TJS/AAJ partnership, starting this summer with the Tanglewood Jazz Festival and others. The idea is to conduct interviews right in front of the crowds who come to see the artists. Then we’ll bring these interviews to you after the festivals.

We’re also launching a widget for The Jazz Session that will allow you to display the latest episode right on your blog or Web site. I’ll be mentioning the blogs and sites that do this on episodes of the show, and also linking to them from this site. So if you decide to link to The Jazz Session, please let me know at jason@thejazzsession.com.

For more information on the new partnership, and for instructions on adding the widget to your site, please read the press release.

The Jazz Session hits 200,000 downloads

On the very same day that The Jazz Session announced its new partnership with All About Jazz, the show hit 200,000 downloads. I’m so proud of the show and grateful to all of you for supporting it. This is a true labor of love for me, and I hope it shows in the interviews.

PLUS:

Jason Crane interviews trumpeter Hugh Masekela about his 2009 album Phola (Times Square Records). The album finds Masekela in a quieter, more reflective mood — a decision he credits to producer Erik Paliani. Despite the more reserved surroundings, Masekela’s flugelhorn playing is as intense as ever. In the interview, Masekela discusses Miriam Makeba, music as a political force, and why he doesn’t play for fun.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

This week on The Jazz Session: David Sanborn! (0)

Posted 4 May, 2009 in Jazz, Music, The Jazz Session

Jason Crane interviews saxophonist David Sanborn. Sanborn is one of the few jazz players whose name is known even outside the jazz world. It’s fitting, then, that he’s using his new album Here & Gone (Decca, 2008) to bring a lesser-known jazz saxophonist into wider awareness. Here & Gone celebrates the music of Hank Crawford, a saxophone player and the principal arranger for the Ray Charles “little big band” of the 50s and 60s. Crawford’s playing had a huge impact on Sanborn, and Sanborn repays the favor with this thoughtful and soulful tribute.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

Review: The Satchel laptop bag by Skooba Design (0)

Posted 29 April, 2009 in Product Review

Shortly after I got my new laptop, I decided I needed a new laptop bag to go with it. I’ve had a couple bags over the years — the Targus that everybody starts with (I got mine in 1996) and another bag or two. This time, though, I wanted to trade up a bit and get something that would really protect my System76 Pangolin from all the harm that can be dished out in a house with two young boys.

I was amazed at how many laptop bag makers there are. I started with a Google search and was quickly overwhelmed. One company I kept coming back to was Skooba Design, whose bags looked durable, intelligently designed (not by God, though), and attractive. Next I looked into companies whose gear I knew from cycling. The most obvious choice in this category was Timbuk2, maker of strong and stylish messenger bags for messengers and wannabes. I spent a lot of time looking at Timbuk2 bags and came close to buying one. Before I did, though, I decided to try asking around.

I posted a quick note to my Facebook account asking for recommendations. A few people made good suggestions, but I kept coming back to the Satchel by Skooba Design:

Outside

I bought the orange and grey version of the Satchel, and it’s a wonderful bag. First of all, it’s great to look at. Well designed, nice colors, and some snazzy touches such as the patented strap design and the color accents on the side zipper.

The outside is “ballistic nylon,” which I assume means it’s bulletproof, right? Whatever it is, it’s strong and resistant to pulls and tears, a fact one of our cats proved when he leapt on it recently and went to town before I could get it away.

The bag is also light. Really light. Without anything in it, it weighs just 44 oz. That’s nice because my laptop is a bit weighty, and I tend to also carry books and other goodies in the bag.

Inside

The lining of the various compartments is the same color orange as the highlight on the outside. I imagine that the other color combinations have different colors inside. I like the orange a lot.

The bag is divided into several compartments. The section for the laptop is lined with Skooba’s Air Square cushions, which you can see at Skooba’s site. These offer an impressive amount of protection for the computer without adding a ton of weight to the bag. (These same Air Squares are also on the underside of the shoulder strap, which is a nice touch.) The laptop pocket has an adjustable strap for a secure fit.

The middle compartment is where I put my books and papers. It’s roomy and no-nonsense. A panel with mesh webbing has a Velcro strap that can be opened to access a third compartment. I keep a set of headphones and the laptop power cord in these mesh pockets.

The outer zipper pocket is full of handy bits, including a hook for your keys, pen holders, a cell phone pocket with a Velcro cover, and another closeable pocket that will fit a CD or PDA. There’s also a mesh pocket inside, which is where I keep my cell phone charger and work ID. And did I mention the hidden water bottle holder? It’s tucked away behind a zipper on the side of the bag, so it’s there when you need it and not flopping around when you don’t. Nice.

On the back, the Satchel has a zipper pocket that would be useful for plane tickets or a thin folder of papers for a meeting. It also has a strap that will allow the bag to fit over the handle of a rolling suitcase at the airport.

Summmary

This is a very solid bag with great looks and great features. And as an added bonus, it’s made right here in upstate New York — in Rochester, to be exact. Cool, huh?

Highly recommended. For more information, visit Skooba Design.

UPDATE: I received a very nice message from Michael Hess, the president and CEO of Skooba Design. He added one point of clarification to the story:

“[I]n the interest of fairness and accuracy, the bags are designed and developed 100% here in Rochester, but manufactured offshore (an unfortunate competition-driven reality for most of our industry). We did used to make bags here, but nowadays the market has made that effectively impossible for products like ours.”

Another perspective on ‘Song of Myself’ (0)

Posted 29 April, 2009 in Poetry

I thought this was lovely and powerful.

Installing Linux on … everything (0)

Posted 29 April, 2009 in Free & Open Source Software, Linux & Ubuntu, Ubuntu Linux

Genius.

Review: Pangolin Performance laptop from System76 (3)

Posted 28 April, 2009 in Free & Open Source Software, Linux & Ubuntu, Product Review, Ubuntu Linux

I’ve now had my Pangolin Performance laptop from System76 for a month or so, and it’s time for a review. This won’t be one of those brilliant technical reviews that smart people write. This is just one guy’s experience with the Pangolin.

First of all, let me say that I like the laptop and I’m very happy to support a company such as System76 that’s committed to Open Source software. My laptop came with Ubuntu (Linux) 8.10 installed. I upgraded to the beta of Ubuntu 9.04 shortly thereafter. The upgrade worked like a charm.

Right from the beginning, the Pangolin and Ubuntu found the wifi network at my house. It also found and controlled my HP all-in-one printer with no problem. I was able to start surfing the Web right away, although I had to install a few extra things to make videos work on the Web. This is fairly normal for Ubuntu, and not difficult even for a non-geek like me.

The Pangolin has a nice screen. Bright, clear and easy to read. I do a lot of word processing and blogging and enjoy being able to see things. I give the Pangolin high marks in that regard. The keyboard is also responsive and easy to use, although I’ve noticed some clacking in the arrow keys and a (rarely) non-responsive “c” key. Obviously the “c” key works most of the time, or I wouldn’t be typing this.

The Pangolin’s case is solid. I’m not an enormous fan of the black finish on the lid, which shows more fingerprints than an episode of CSI. And the keyboard and surrounding plastic are much more white than they appear in the photo above, where they look a bit silver to my eye. So maybe 7 out of 10 for looks.

I ordered my Pangolin with the Core Duo T3400 2.16 GHz 667 MHz FSB 1 MB L2 (35 Watt). If I had it to do over again, I would have spent the extra $55 and upgraded to the Core2 Duo. That said, the build I have is plenty fast, as I’ll detail later. I have 2GB of RAM, a 250GB SATA II hard drive, a CD-RW/DVD-RW optical drive, and the Intel Wi-Fi Link 5300. Of all those components, the only one that feels a little cheap is the optical drive. It works just fine, but feels like very light plastic that wobbles a little in its slot.

One issue I have with the Pangolin is temperature. I have nothing technical or smart to say about it, but it seems to get pretty hot. I think, though, that I have more to learn about the fan management system in Ubuntu, so there may be more I can do to help with the temperature control.

I produce a weekly jazz interview show called The Jazz Session. Even when I made the show on a Mac, I used Audacity, so there wasn’t much of a switch to move to Ubuntu. The Pangolin is plenty fast enough to do all the multi-tracked audio editing I need to do. So much so, in fact, that it’s replaced my Mac completely. I do have one issue — there’s a lot of noise in the audio system. When I add the Pangolin to my mixer setup, I can hear a distinct buzz, which never happened with the Mac. I know it’s coming from the laptop because I can cause an attack in the buzz by hitting any key. I’m going to try to address this issue with a USB audio hub.

All in all, it’s a solid machine with everything I need to be productive and happy. I’d recommend System76 to others.

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