And share alike
Just a thought from 28 May 2003 about .

This is what I love about the web. Like begets like. What have you got to share?

Doh!
Just a thought from 28 May 2003 about .

Thanks to observant reader/listener Devorah Firestone (and how cool is that name? Devorah Firestone. Sounds like someone in a novel), you can now hear all of the song I uploaded yesterday. Turns out, I only mostly uploaded it, so it stopped in the second verse. Oh me of too much faith in technology. So if you were one of the 48 people who gave it a listen yesterday, try it again! You wouldn't want to miss the introspective third verse.

MP3: 5.8mb: Powazek-WakeUpTheSame.mp3

Thanks again, Devorah!

The Two Bit Recordings
Just a thought from 27 May 2003 about Songs.

Back in college, my friends Jed and Roz and I would break into a UCSC classroom in the middle of the night and set up a makeshift recording studio. Jed had the keys to the sound room, and no one really used the classrooms at night, so we could make a racket undetected. At the end of 1994, we banded together and called it Two Bit Studios. As in, we didn't have two bits to rub together.

We recorded on my Tascam 4-Track. I'd bought it from a friend in high school. I kept the two hundred dollars I spent on it a secret from my parents. That small fortune was supposed to be saved for college. But some expenses are worth it, especially when you're a high school senior with songs burning in your heart.

Looking back, man, I wish I'd taken the recording more seriously. But I guess everything looks more important in hindsight.

I recently pulled out that old Tascam and the smattering of Two Bit tapes I have left from that era. To my horror, the ol' 4-track is dead. The power light just flashes pathetically, and all the output has an immense electrical hum.

But the tapes still work, and after jury rigging a tape deck to my old mac, I was able to lift some of the audio off one of those old tapes. First impression: Boy were we goofy. Second impression: Boy do I miss being goofy.

On a dark night in 1994 (November 19, actually. I know thanks to Jed's note-taking), I recoded this song with two friends in an abandoned classroom in Santa Cruz. The sound quality isn't all that hot, but the passion's there. And that's what Two Bit was all about it.

The song is called "Wake Up The Same." It's about several real people I met earlier that year. The first was a homeless man that got a job in my local laundromat. The second was a pregnant blackjack dealer I lost money to in Reno. And the third is someone I'm still trying to get to know.

Thanks for listening.

MP3: 5.8mb: Powazek-WakeUpTheSame.mp3

Memorial Day in the park
Just a thought from 26 May 2003 about Photos.

A girl and her dog. Golden Gate Park.

Continue reading “Memorial Day in the park” »

Rumble
Just a thought from 25 May 2003 about .

I felt it! As long as I've lived in California, earthquakes still get my heart beating.

UPDATE: Monday @ 2:30pm: And again! Is it time to panic?

Fray event photos
Just a thought from 24 May 2003 about .

Over at {fray}, I've finally gotten around to adding a new photo section where you can see photos from the last few years of fray events. It's got everything from the recent Fray Cafe Austin 3 all the way back to the first Fray Day in 1998. So many memories....

Special thanks and mad props go out to Noel Jackson for creating and making available his swanky PhotoStack image organizer, which is powering the new galleries.

Today
Just a thought from 22 May 2003 about Cole Valley, Photos.

Streetcorner wisdom, corner of Carl and Cole.

Talking Buffy
Just a thought from 21 May 2003 about Joss Whedon, TV.

I was on Showtalkers web radio show last night, talking about the much-discussed Buffy finale and storytelling in the Jossverse. You can download the audio - I'm about 54 minutes in. Three word sum-up: Glad it's over. (Three more: Bring on Angel!)

Vote AlterNet!
Just a thought from 19 May 2003 about .

I don't usually mix the dayjob and the personal site, but I'm gonna make an exception today.

I'm the Online Director of the alternative news magazine AlterNet. And AlterNet has been nominated for a Webby Award in the Print + Zines category this year.

As you may know, there are two Webby Awards handed out in each category. One chosen by judges, and one chosen by the people! The latter is called the People's Voice Awards, and voting for it ends this Friday!

AlterNet is currently in 2nd place for the People's Voice Award, behind The Onion. Now, I think The Onion is funny and all, but it wins every year. Personally, in these trying times, I think it'd be nice to have a real news source win for a change. So I'm asking for your help.

Please come vote for AlterNet! To vote, all you have to do is register with your email address.

The Webbies will then email you a password. Just return to the site, log in, and head on over to the Print + Zines category. There you'll see AlterNet, right at the top! Just click the button by our name and vote. If you like, you can also take a moment to post some comments about your vote.

Also, please help us by forwarding this call to all your friends! Let's see some real news win for a change.

Thanks!

In with a bang
Just a thought from 18 May 2003 about .

If only every day of my thirties could be spent with so many awesome people.

Thirty
Just a thought from 16 May 2003 about .

It's funny. When I turned 26, I was in Amsterdam, far away from everything I knew, too busy to think much beyond tomorrow. Two years ago, when I turned 28, I was unbelievably freaked out. Because 28 was one year closer to 30. When I hit 29, I was so busy, I barely noticed it. And now, today, 30.

The big three-oh. Finally.

And the funny part is, I'm not freaked out. Not much, anyway. Because I think I've figured something out. None of this time matters. Not to who I am.

I used to say that I never grew up, people just started letting me do more stuff. It sounds like a joke, but it's true. The way I feel now, on the inside, is the way I've felt for about twenty years.

The years have added experience. Dulled some senses, expanded others. I've done some things I never thought I would, most of which I don't regret. I've accomplished things. Achieved. And mostly I'm happy.

But who I am hasn't fundamentally changed. I'm still that daydreaming kid I've always been. Still fighting to find my place. Still craving acceptance. Still looking round the corner for what's next.

I have always been that kid, and I think now I always will be. It's a revelation that, like all of them, sounds completely obvious when you write it down. But that kid in me knows what I mean.

Happy birthday, kid.

Fray is
Just a thought from 15 May 2003 about .

Maybe now people will finally stop asking me what it is and how to do it.

New in {fray}
Just a thought from 13 May 2003 about .

We've got a new story in the {fray} today from one of our original contributors. Please enjoy My Superpower by Caterina Fake. Caterina is one of our original contributors from back in '96, so it's wonderful to have her back with a new story. I'm also thrilled to welcome Chris Bishop into the {fray}. Chris is an amazingly talented illustrator who designed and illustrated the new story. If you like what you see, you can find more on his site.

Urban
Just a thought from 9 May 2003 about .

I suggested the theme for this week's Photo Friday challenge. Here's the photo that inspired the idea.

Cause it bounced
Just a thought from 3 May 2003 about .

Shannon --

Thank you for making your music and putting it on the net for sleepless insomniacs like myself to discover and enjoy at 3am on rainy nights like tonight.

-- Derek

Sure you're out there
Just a thought from 3 May 2003 about Songs.

Another song for those of you who liked the last one. I can't be sure of the date on this one - it's one of the few I didn't date when I scrawled it down - but I'm sure it's from the same era: early college, ten years ago, pissed off as hell. And it's one of my favorites. Thanks for listening.

MP3: 1.9mb: Powazek-SomewhereInBetween.mp3

I'd also like to stop and thank Scott Andrew for, perhaps unknowingly, giving me the confidence to post these songs here. I told an old friend recently that putting these songs online was like reconciling with a part of myself I'd divorced a long time ago. I needed the space back then, but maybe now we can be friends again.