Updated June 5, 2007 - Be on time - 8pm!
I'm flying Ron out and we've got a lot of material to cover :-)
3920 Geary Blvd at 3rd Ave in SF's Richmond District.
For directions, call (415)386-6173
Updated April 27th - hey if you haven't heard my music a lot of it is here:
lisarein.com
and more is here:
http://www.onlisareinsradar.com/archives/my_music/
Hey I'm opening for Emy Tseng on Sunday night, June 10th, at Ireland's 32 in San Francisco. The address is: 3920 Geary Blvd at 3rd Ave in SF's Richmond District. (415)386-6173.
I get from 8-9pm to do my thing. (I'll probably start right on time, since it's a Sunday night.)
I've been practicing guitar pretty intensely for the last few years waiting for both this latest set of new songs, and some older songs I've been playing for 10 years, to feel "good enough" to play for you.
Finally, I think I'm there :-)
I wasn't sure if I'd have to do the open mic circuit again or what, which I of course, was not looking forward to doing...
Then, of all the crazy things, I went to a Kareoke party that Emy threw last Friday night. Maybe I was all mentally warmed up for it already, since I had just seen the Cowboy Junkies live at the Great American Music Hall about an hour earlier, but before I knew it, I was singing Sneaker Pimps and Linda Ronstandt covers, and Emy was asking me to open for her in June.
Since I actually have a full hour to play, I might just keep going (after I'm done with my regular set)...and meander a little and play some experimental stuff and other new stuff that's neat, but maybe not finished yet...
And there could be some other surprises, but that would only be if a couple things fall into place just perfectly between now and then...
But things have kind of been falling into place lately. So anything's possible :-)
Anyway, it should be a good show. Hope to see you there.
washington post on kurt vonnegut's death...
Vonnegut died on Wednesday after suffering brain injuries following a
fall weeks ago, said Donald Farber, Vonnegut's friend, lawyer, agent
and manager.
Here's a transcript of one of his last interviews, with David Brancaccio on PBS, NOW.
Lately, he considered himself a man without a country, as I think many of us have felt lately.
Consistenly now, for many decades, without meaning to, Kurt has spoken for a lot of Americans. (As he rattles on, weaving his way through his fantasy-driven storytelling journals...)
I miss him already.
Kurt Vonnegut dead at 84
By Matthew Robinson
Reuters
Thursday, April 12, 2007; 1:05 PM
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kurt Vonnegut, whose dark, satirical vision in
works including "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Cat's Cradle" was shaped
by the horrors he witnessed during World War II, has died at age 84.
Vonnegut died on Wednesday after suffering brain injuries following a
fall weeks ago, said Donald Farber, Vonnegut's friend, lawyer, agent
and manager.
Vonnegut wrote plays, essays and short fiction, but his 14 novels
were classics of the American counterculture, resonating with the
U.S. antiwar sentiment during the Vietnam War era.
The author's Web site, updated after his death, displayed a simple
black-and-white image of a bird cage -- a symbolic element in his
writing -- empty with an open door. "Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. 1922-2007,"
the page read.
"He was a beautiful man," Farber said. "I never hung up the phone
without having laughed, he always left me laughing, no matter what
the circumstances of the world."
"I last spoke to him the day he fell," Farber said. "He was in good
spirits. Every time he spoke with me no matter what the
circumstances in the world, he had a funny angle on it even if it
wasn't a funny thing."
Despite battles with severe depression, Vonnegut was known for his
witticisms.
"I've had a hell of a good time," Vonnegut once wrote. "I tell you,
we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you
any different."
Irwyn Applebaum, president of the Bantam Dell publishing division of
Random House, said, "By all counts he was one of the great writers of
the 20th Century and continued to be one of the great writers in the
21st Century."
Bantam Dell publishes some of the author's seminal works, including
"Breakfast of Champions," "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Cat's Cradle,"
which made him a literary idol in the 1960s and 1970s, especially to
students.
A defining event in Vonnegut's life was the firebombing of Dresden,
Germany by Allied Forces in 1945, which he witnessed as a young
prisoner of war. The bombing killed tens of thousands of people,
mostly civilians.
Dresden was the basis for "Slaughterhouse-Five," published in 1969
against the backdrop of war in Vietnam, racial unrest and cultural
and social upheaval.
"There is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre," Vonnegut wrote.
Vonnegut became a cult hero when the novel reached No. 1 on
bestseller lists and even more popular among many young Americans
when some schools and libraries banned the book for its sexual
content, rough language and depictions of violence.
The novel featured a signature Vonnegut phrase, "so it goes," which
became a catch phrase for Vietnam war opponents.
After the book was published, Vonnegut went into severe depression
and vowed never to write another novel. In 1984, he tried to take
his life with sleeping pills and alcohol. His mother had herself
committed suicide.
Vonnegut mixed fiction and autobiography in his work, which also
blended elements of science fiction and touched on authoritarianism
and the dehumanization of man by technology.
Fans said he invented a new literary type but some critics accused
him of recycling themes and characters.
"Cat's Cradle" was published in 1963 and initially sold only about
500 copies but it remains widely read today in high school English
classes.
Vonnegut's last book, published in 2005, was a collection of
biographical essays, "A Man Without a Country."
A fourth-generation German-American who was born in Indianapolis,
Vonnegut is survived by his second wife photographer Jill Krementz,
their daughter and his six other children. Two of his children are
published authors.
Mark Vonnegut, named after Mark Twain whom his father admired and
bore a striking resemblance to, wrote "The Eden Express: A Memoir of
Insanity" about his own descent and eventual recovery from mental
illness. He speculated the illness was partly hereditary.
Daughter Edith Vonnegut, an artist, wrote "Domestic Goddesses," which
takes issue with traditional art imagery in which women are shown as
weak and helpless.
I'm looking forward to this Saturday night's Writers with Drinks.
At The Make-Out Room 3225 22nd. St., San Francisco CA, from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM, doors open at 7 PM.
The last two events have been awesome!
Here's a little clip of Charlie Anders' opener from last month.
(Available as a Quicktime movie - or an MP3.)
The event combines comedy with great new progressive literature...perfect to accompany a few glasses of vino.
See you there!
Kent Bye just recently relocated to San Francisco from Maine, and the Bay Area will never be the same :-)
Just found this cool vid of Kent Bye and Jay Dedman walking through San Francisco discussing the role of citizen journalism's influence on big media and their continued state of denial regarding its obvious impact.
Translation: Turns out that people's opinions do matter after all!
Update 4/13/07 - Kent explained to me that "That vid is actually from NYC way back in October of 2005. :)
Jay shot it and was cleaning up his archives during VBW07"
This is such a dream come true, I'm still not convinced it wasn't a hallucination, but when I was riding BART home today from San Francisco's Civic Center Station, I opened up my laptop and ...it connected to BART's new WiFi network!
I watched in utter disbelief, as I clicked through to register an account for FREE access while the wireless network is in beta.
When the train went under the bridge, it went away. And it didn't come back up in Oakland, so when I got home I looked up this article in the SF Chronicle, which confirmed that it's only from Embarcadero through to Civic Center currently. But there is a time table for more stations to have access in the future.
San Francisco is the first in the nation to do this. How cool is that?
(article credits: Underground, but not unconnected -- BART offers wireless service to riders
by Michael Cabanatuan, Chronicle Staff Writer)
BART has become the first transit system in the nation to offer wireless communication to all passengers on its trains underground, putting an end to miles of technological isolation for multitasking commuters with cell phones glued to their ears, Blackberry devices stuck in their palms and computers perched on their laps."The goal we have is to completely wire 100 percent of the underground so a passenger (on a wireless device) wouldn't know if they were above ground or underground,'' said Chuck Rae, BART's manager of telecommunications revenue. "It would be seamless.''
Some commuters riding under Market Street in San Francisco already are yakking on their phones, surfing the Web and sending e-mail. Within weeks, most passengers should be able to use wireless devices under San Francisco to phone in a pizza order on their way home.
"With the technology (making it possible), why should we go without it?'' teacher Bo Conley said Thursday on her way home to Hayward. "It's a bit of freedom to be able to call out. What if there was a disaster? It's a safety issue.''
Contractors recently wired the subways from the west end of the Transbay Tube to the Civic Center Station. Downtown Oakland is probably next, followed by Civic Center to Balboa Park, the Transbay Tube, the Berkeley hills tunnel and the Berkeley subway. The wireless companies will determine the timetable.
Five of the Bay Area's six wireless companies have signed up to use the system, Rae said, and the sixth is in negotiations. The arrangement will generate hundreds of thousands of dollars, and eventually millions, for BART.
When BART first broached the idea in mid-2001 of wiring its nether regions for wireless reception, many passengers squawked about having to listen to nonstop chatter from cellular phones.
In response, BART conducted a pair of polls -- one a random telephone survey, the other an online poll open to anyone with Internet access. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks occurred while the surveys were being taken, and BART officials believe the widely publicized use of cell phones during the attacks persuaded many passengers to support wiring the tunnels...
While not all commuters see the benefit of underground cell-phone service, it could help stave off fare increases. BART's deal with the phone companies for downtown San Francisco will bring in at least $408,000 a year. As additional stations, tubes and tunnels are wired, that amount could rise to more than $2 million a year.
It's a good deal, said Rae. BART pays nothing to install the antennas. Nextel serves as the coordinator, planning, paying for and overseeing the work. Other carriers have the right to buy in and to strike agreements to reimburse Nextel and pay annual fees to BART.
Here is the full text of the article in case the link goes bad:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/19/MNGF2FR6C11.DTL
Underground, but not unconnected -- BART offers wireless service to riders
Michael Cabanatuan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, November 19, 2005
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Dwayne Jones, on BART at the Civic Center Station, is now... Anne Sparks checks e-mail while waiting for a train at BA... Chronicle Graphic
BART has become the first transit system in the nation to offer wireless communication to all passengers on its trains underground, putting an end to miles of technological isolation for multitasking commuters with cell phones glued to their ears, Blackberry devices stuck in their palms and computers perched on their laps.
"The goal we have is to completely wire 100 percent of the underground so a passenger (on a wireless device) wouldn't know if they were above ground or underground,'' said Chuck Rae, BART's manager of telecommunications revenue. "It would be seamless.''
Some commuters riding under Market Street in San Francisco already are yakking on their phones, surfing the Web and sending e-mail. Within weeks, most passengers should be able to use wireless devices under San Francisco to phone in a pizza order on their way home.
"With the technology (making it possible), why should we go without it?'' teacher Bo Conley said Thursday on her way home to Hayward. "It's a bit of freedom to be able to call out. What if there was a disaster? It's a safety issue.''
Contractors recently wired the subways from the west end of the Transbay Tube to the Civic Center Station. Downtown Oakland is probably next, followed by Civic Center to Balboa Park, the Transbay Tube, the Berkeley hills tunnel and the Berkeley subway. The wireless companies will determine the timetable.
Five of the Bay Area's six wireless companies have signed up to use the system, Rae said, and the sixth is in negotiations. The arrangement will generate hundreds of thousands of dollars, and eventually millions, for BART.
When BART first broached the idea in mid-2001 of wiring its nether regions for wireless reception, many passengers squawked about having to listen to nonstop chatter from cellular phones.
In response, BART conducted a pair of polls -- one a random telephone survey, the other an online poll open to anyone with Internet access. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks occurred while the surveys were being taken, and BART officials believe the widely publicized use of cell phones during the attacks persuaded many passengers to support wiring the tunnels.
Commuters interviewed in downtown San Francisco BART stations Thursday and Friday were mostly receptive to the idea of subterranean cell phone service, although some fretted that loud, ill-mannered callers would degrade the quality of their commutes.
Edgar Sanchez, a nursing assistant also from Hayward, can't yet receive a signal below ground on his Verizon cell. (He should be able to, Rae said, within two or three weeks.) Sanchez said it's important to him to be able to make or receive calls whether he's underground or above-ground.
"I wish it could work everywhere I go,'' he said. "Even underwater, swimming. "
But some BART riders, like Stephanie Elliott, a psychotherapist from Pacifica, aren't so sure of the need for constant connectivity.
"I don't think it's absolutely necessary,'' she said. "I think it encourages people to have too hectic a lifestyle. People are always online or hooked up and don't actually talk with other people except online.''
Besides, she said, BART's signal-free subways offer a convenient excuse not to talk with the office or answer e-mail during the commute to work.
"It's nice to be able to say, 'I'm sorry, I can't talk, I'm on BART,' '' she said. "I like that transition time. I like the ability to be unreachable. I think it's healthier for people."
But many BART riders welcome below-ground cell-phone service, although they worry about loudmouthed louts shouting into their cell phones to be heard over the train noise.
"It's great as long as people are considerate about the people around them when they use their phones -- keeping their conversations to a minimum, not being too loud or boisterous,'' said Ryan Bezenek, a San Francisco network engineer.
"Sometimes you get people who talk so loud you can hear every word,'' said Lorraine Garcy, a consultant from Discovery Bay.
Still, she favors BART's plans to bring wireless reception to its tunnels for safety and convenience.
"I'd like to see cellular availability every place,'' she said. "Would I use it? I don't think I've used my cell phone on BART ever.''
Rae said BART and the wireless companies know some riders will try to make calls over the din as BART roars and screeches through tunnels. But most of the business, he said, will be from people using wireless devices to read and send e-mail or browse the Internet.
"You could use your Blackberry to take care of all your e-mail on your way to work,'' he said. "But the trains are really too noisy (underground) to have an intelligent conversation.''
While not all commuters see the benefit of underground cell-phone service, it could help stave off fare increases. BART's deal with the phone companies for downtown San Francisco will bring in at least $408,000 a year. As additional stations, tubes and tunnels are wired, that amount could rise to more than $2 million a year.
It's a good deal, said Rae. BART pays nothing to install the antennas. Nextel serves as the coordinator, planning, paying for and overseeing the work. Other carriers have the right to buy in and to strike agreements to reimburse Nextel and pay annual fees to BART.
While other transit agencies have deals with specific cell-phone services, BART is the first in the nation to make a deal allowing underground access to all wireless companies and their customers, Rae said.
"It's nice to know we've plowed ground on this, and it's working,'' he said. "It's going to provide revenue to BART and convenience to our customers.''
BART's underground is going wireless
San Francisco stations where wireless devices work:
-- Embarcadero
-- Montgomery
-- Powell Street
-- Civic Center
San Francisco stations where wireless service is planned:
-- 16th Street Mission
-- 24th Street Mission
-- Glen Park
-- Balboa Park
East Bay stations where wireless service is planned:
-- Oakland 12th Street
-- Oakland 19th Street
-- Lake Merritt
-- North Berkeley
-- Berkeley
-- Ashby
Source: BART
E-mail Michael Cabanatuan at mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
So I haven't posted any video here yet for videobloggingweek2007 because I've been focusing on the video blogging I've been doing in-world at Second Life. I'm touring a new location every day and providing direct links for teleporting directly to that location from your browser
So far I've visited Commonweath Island, an area for non-profits, and Info Island, a place for newbies to start out.
The mefeedia community has been adding a lot of Second Life video feeds from numerous hosting sites that are all located here in Mefeedia's Guide to Second Life Videos and Podcasts.
If you know of any cool places to visit in Second Life, please write and let me know at lisa@lisarein.com.
And give me your Second Life name so we can be friends! I'm "Haley Bailey."
Last Digression
(written around 1997)
Words and Music by Lisa Rein
Guitar and vocals by Lisa Rein
In my mind
In my head
I can't seem to find
an answer to my questions
I can see them
I can hear in their direction
through the darkness
and the madness
and the emptyness
getting closer to
a vacuum-filled unconsciousness
a false impression
of my very last digression
by my side
in your bed
you will never find
the secret to your laughter
and you don't seem to mind
that you cannot find an answer
to the darkness and the madness
ad the emptyness
getting closer to the memory
of your consciousness
a fool's procession towards your very last
digression
a confession in my mind
to your lighter side
that's hiding all the answers
second chances
heavy breathers breathing one last breath
surrounded
confounded by the sounding of a warning
a confession
vivisection of your memories
and they seduce me
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons License.