things are positively joygantic

Johnny Mercer & Margaret Whiting . . . the classic version and the benchmark for all the others

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong(?) . . . superb of course, with Ella inflecting the song with whatever it is she brought to every song she sang

Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald(?) . . . a live version that is an absolute hoot, with Louis making up lyrics (I believe artists call that "improvising") and making it clear he intends to get freaky with Ella

Frank Loesser . . . he wrote the song but I can't remember his version

Pearl Bailey & ??? . . . a spirited version that didn't move me

Jimmy Smith . . . a fine and funky instrumental version with a smoky organ and bright guitar

Wes Montgomery . . . another excellent instrumental take on a song I've spent this week falling deeply in love with

Tom Jones & Cerys Matthews . . . well, it's Tom Jones

Robert Palmer & ??? . . . a surprisingly solid version by this recently departed rock star

Steve Lawrence & Edyie Gorme . . . a sweet version, but no real oomph added to make it worht a repeat listen

Henry Mancini . . . absolutely horrible, shrunken to a single verse and all sexual innuendo destroyed by the use of a chorus of singers

Vanessa Williams & ??? . . . just awful even before she changed the lyrics in an attemtp to be PC (substituting "Well maybe half a drink more" for "Well maybe just a cigarette more")

Holly Cole & ??? . . . this is a really bad version, but also the only version I could find available on the Internet, just in case you've never heard any version of BICO (is that possible?).

Internal question, wont be shared

Can you come home after work? I don't feel good :~(

Are we meeting 2 day?

Had pho for lunch can we have japanese?

Figured out what i want to do for birthday--orson wells consolidated works

Lockedout who has spare keys?

cool it's on your cal.

we are happy arent we

sitting at the bar talking about burning man hi sexy

i have the bs agreement w/ everything we need.

OK, we're pretty close.

I should be in around 7.

Just landed. did you get the info?

Ill meet you at your gate if flights are on time.

Cats are fed - Alex was locked out in rain & happy to see me. Camille was

lovely. Lots of meows. I gave them all remaing food + some chewy treats. XOXOXO

Only 3 on the call i will conf u in. Do i call your cell?

Fred's room checking mail and sched and stuff

Couldnt hear msg re cats

Do you send more than one txt message a week? Send PWRV Yes or PWRV No to 4200. Fee: 50cents.

Pet and I are at Barca

Now that made my day

p.s. stuck on tarmac again!

You have a point do I get a general scope?

Any thoughts on my budget question?

Good rule. Good luck with implementation.

My shoe size *LOL* 7 and a half

I'll pick you up at the bar

We played White River Amp on Aug 31. For more txt '831' or 'MM' for the main menue. Check out http://capitolrecords.com/radiohead/2250 for tour pix!

Thanks, but certainly not all me!

Fr:DeanWireless Dean on TV! NBC Jay Leno Late Night Show. Tues Night! Also we are at $12.9M and 445,107 people signed up. Now's the tiem to do more!
Laundry done. Will pick up cleaning for your trip

Look like must have been a network issue

Welcome home! Looking fwd to seeing you.

See how great europe is. Sms rules!

On way home after warmtub. Needanything?

All is grand feel better. Pinned corsage on mr and mrs s !

The mrs is displeased with the notorione.

Getting punched in the face? Did you like the image i sent?

No could b any number of companies

Too funny thx 4 the laugh

At the game with Owen and Henry

Wanna hear something funny? Flt cancelled, next one already delayed by 2 hrs! See u tomorrow


			November 2003
			"Your Code is Ugly" Seattle Sunday November 30, 2003 Rob told me this last week. I really didn't need him to point this out. Joygantic sucks, at least from a tech perspective. I know what I need to do and it's contingent on the success of the enema-thing I outlined below. Project #1 is Joygantic 2.0: Better colors! Content management! Automated archives! CSS! Comments! Photo galleries! Just hang in there! A Needed Enema Seattle Sunday November 30, 2003 I've been staying at home and it feels like I just stepped off a heaving ship and now I'm getting my land legs back. I have been doing a decent job at enjoying the down time and plugging through my list of things-designed-to-make-my-life-better. At the top of this list is turning my home office into, well, a home office. For the last three years or so my "office" has been more like a blocked intestine, filled with ever increasing amounts of mail, paper scraps, books, magazines, knick knacks, CDs, and other items that form piles of crap. This makes my room an uninviting, scary place. And it makes it impossible for me to stay on top of things (like mail) or easily do projects (the list is long). The room has needed an enema for a while and now it's getting it. More Evidence of Evil Seattle Saturday November 29, 2003 Last week I was sitting on a comfy couch at a bar, having a fine time time celebrating Dia's birthday, when Steve--who had been talking to some guy--taps me on the shoulder and says "Mark, you should join this conversation, we're talking about paid content on the Internet and this guy has it figured out." Clearly I was being baited. The guy was from Microsoft and puffed his chest with pride at Steve's introduction. Me: So what's your theory? Guy: Well, it's really quite simple. The way you get people to pay for content online is to increase the cost of free content and decrease the cost of paid content. Me: Right, so how do you do that? Guy: Well, you increase the cost of free content by proliferating viruses that look like free content but make it a total hassle and then you sue people who use free content so it get's really costly to go after free content. Me: And how do you decrease the cost of paid content? Guy: Well if you're successful in increasing the cost of free content then relatively speaking, the paid content will seem much less expensive. Me: So let me see if I get this: you think the way to succeed is to terrorize people and fuck with their computer and then sue them and treat these potential customers like criminals. That sounds fucking great. Here's another idea: how about if you given people content they want in a way that's easy, fairly priced, and improves their lives, you know, deliver some value. Guy: [Couldn't hear his response as I'd turned away to sip my beer and talk to someone who wasn't part of the problem.] Five in a Row Seattle Tuesday November 24, 2003 I've just kicked off five days of at-home-down-time. I cannot remember the last time I didn't work for five days in a row and spent that time at home. I'm a bit giddy at the prospect and have a list of things I want to do, the sorts of things that I suspect people with more conventional schedules take care of on a more regular basis, like: financial planning, yard cleanup, home improvements, cooking meals, sex with my wife, and so on. I'm trying not to bite off more than I can chew and, OK, I'll stop there with my metaphors. The Jimis Seattle Sunday November 23, 2003 On Friday I was asked if I'd be interested in attending the Jimi Awards, an annual celebration of Jimi Hendrix's birthday wherein awards are given to various notables in recognition of "Inspiring Youth." I asked Dia if that's how she wanted to spend her birthday and she said, "Sure!" It was a thoroughly enjoyable, albeit odd, event. Jimi grew up a few blocks from where we live now. He was--indisputibly--a genius. And that flame burned brightly for about five years during which I was learning not to pee my pants, to walk, and to speak. Jimi would have been 60 this year. The James Marshall Hendrix Foundation sits squarely in the middle of one of the ugliest family disputes one could conjure up. Jimi's father Al died last year. The Hendrix estate, valued at between $150-220 million is controlled by his adopted daughter Janie. Jimi's brother Leon, "the Keeper of the (aforementioned) Flame" runs the JMH Foundation and is suing for a share of the estate. On Friday a Federal judge denied Janie's lawsuit aimed at stopping the Jimi Awards dinner, but apparently she still showed up to picket an A-list lunch held on Saturday featuring Jimi award recipient Russell Simmons. The judge required that a statement be read at the dinner making it clear to everyone that the estate was not involved with the foundation (which was read by the foundation lawyer and married to a toast to JFK) and the program included not one but two copies of Al Hendrix's official statement that it was AOK for Leon to use Jimi's name for non-profit charitable work. Without a doubt this was the most complicated backdrop to any event I've attended, save, perhaps the 1999 WTO protests. But all that aside, it was an enjoyable evening with some really good musical performances. Though not generally my deal, Point Defiance played an energetic set of crunchy and melodic hard rock that should show up on MTV any day now. Those Tacoma boys have charisma. Young Have Not (formerly--and I'm sure you knew this "Young Pimpin") rapped his ass off: live rap with a band of real musicians is a treat. The electrifying highlight, though, was Buddy Miles. Buddy started hanging out with Jimi beginning in '67, both played the Monterey Pop Festival that year and Buddy did some studio session work with Hendrix. After Jimi disbanded the Jimi Hendrix Experience he released his final LP Band of Gypsys with Billy Cox on bass & Buddy on drums. The album was culled from a series of fairly epic performances at the Fillmore East (packaged in the boxed set Live at Fillmore East), including a New Years performance where a version of Auld Lang Ayne that you've never heard before was performed. We were treated to Buddy Miles, playing a guitar given to him by Jimi with Krist Novoselic on bass. He delivered a powerful version of "Hey Joe" and a couple other songs and did a stint on drums. It was really pretty damned electrifying. Dia! The Birthday Month Seattle Sunday November 23, 2003 Dia's birthday was yesterday--doesn't she look just lovely?? Her Birthday Month (overlapping with Mikelle's, Paula's, and my own, btw) kicked off on Friday with drinks and late night Mexican food. Mark & Mikelle were able to leave Fergus for a couple of hours and it was most excellent to see Sara and Trevor, newly returned from separate trips to California. The big news is Trevor's impending move into the private sector and down to San Diego. This is great news, but I know I'll miss having Trevor nearby . . . which is why I must finally convince this handsome Scandinavian to get a mobile phone. Dia's official birthday morning began with Oeffs en Meurette--her hands down favorite plate of food in the World--and a home improvement shopping expedition to realize her birthday dream: an improved dining room experience. We've fallen short on our planned dining room improvements but fortunately are staring a long weekend in the face. 1/3 of the Way There Seattle Saturday November 22, 2003 The BBC has published a list of 50 places to see before you die. I've seen 18 of these places. Therefore my quick math suggests that I will not die until I'm 102 years old (rounding down owing to my Rock Star Lifestyletm). Hopefully this news will comfort my mother who has (understandably) been riding me to get a physical and the requisite battery of tests. Clearly I'm doing just fine and if need be I can avoid seeing the Grand Canyon for years to come. Page 28 Seattle Friday November 21, 2003 What with all the bombs going, the tens of thousands of protesters giving George W a welcome in London, and that whole Michael Jackson probe-thing, it seems the best press the Miami protests against the FTAA could get was an article focusing on the property violence of a small minority of the activists, prominently displayed on page 28 of today's New York Times. But nothing beats the CNN article which contained the following paragraph with a fabulous circular logic: "Security concerns prompted authorities to shut down Miami's Metromover trains, and Schwartz said police were watching out for a small percentage "of anarchists who cause anarchy for the sake of anarchy." Baby, It's Cold Outside Seattle Thursday November 20, 2003 Last night I entertained Dia with my own version of "Baby, It's Cold Outside," (And no, that's not code for something dirty, I serenaded her.) This after we had deeply explored BICO thanks to the wonder that is Rhapsody. We listened to multiple artists sing: I really can't stay But, baby, it's cold outside I got to go way But. baby, it's cold outside This evening's has been Been hoping that you'd drop in So very nice . . . We conducted very serious and refined BICO testing. Unfortunately the Ricardo Moltalban duet with Ester Williams from the film Neptune's Daughter--which apparently put this song on the map--was unavailable for listening and the unrecorded but legendary William Shatner/Lenard Nimoy duet was also outside our purview. Here, though, is the run down of our BICO tasting: Johnny Mercer & Margaret Whiting . . . the classic version and the benchmark for all the others Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong(?) . . . superb of course, with Ella inflecting the song with whatever it is she brought to every song she sang Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald(?) . . . a live version that is an absolute hoot, with Louis making up lyrics (I believe artists call that "improvising") and making it clear he intends to get freaky with Ella Frank Loesser . . . he wrote the song but I can't remember his version Pearl Bailey & ??? . . . a spirited version that didn't move me Jimmy Smith . . . a fine and funky instrumental version with a smoky organ and bright guitar Wes Montgomery . . . another excellent instrumental take on a song I've spent this week falling deeply in love with Tom Jones & Cerys Matthews . . . well, it's Tom Jones Robert Palmer & ??? . . . a surprisingly solid version by this recently departed rock star Steve Lawrence & Edyie Gorme . . . a sweet version, but no real oomph added to make it worht a repeat listen Henry Mancini . . . absolutely horrible, shrunken to a single verse and all sexual innuendo destroyed by the use of a chorus of singers Vanessa Williams & ??? . . . just awful even before she changed the lyrics in an attemtp to be PC (substituting "Well maybe half a drink more" for "Well maybe just a cigarette more") Holly Cole & ??? . . . this is a really bad version, but also the only version I could find available on the Internet, just in case you've never heard any version of BICO (is that possible?). Fergus Seattle Sunday November 16, 2003 Mikelle's birthday month undoubtably reached it's apex this weekend when she and Mark brought home Fergus, an absolutely incredibly gorgeous eight week-old pug. Fergus kicks ass. Dia loves Fergus. Fergus is a movie star. Dia is still holding out for a greyhound, but I don't know . . . Fergus is so pugmendous that I'm thinking otherwise. In the end, though, Dia's the dog person in the household (as further evidenced by her cozying up to the French Mastiff that was out bar hopping on Friday, so I will defer to her in dog matters. I can always go visit Fergus. Mom Finds Out About Blog Seattle Sunday November 16, 2003 This from the endless fount of humor that is The Onion. [Via Dooce] Crouching Tiger, Hidden Alex Seattle Saturday November 15, 2003 Last night I dreamed that Dia had bought a tiger suit for Alex, our terribly skittish black cat. He was encased in a Doctro Denten-style full-bodied orange tiger suit, running around, looking hilarious, which even in the absence of a tiger suit is par for the course. When I woke up I found an actual tiger-cat costume, butit wasn't nearly as cool. Patriots and Porn, Together at Last Seattle Thursday November 13, 2003 Jessamyn, who runs the most excellent Librarian.net, and who has shed her bicoastal lifestyle to live year round in the Northeast, gave a presentation last week that is worth a look for anyone who cares about civil liberties or enjoys seeing increasingly scatalogical pictures of John Ashcroft. Recycled Seattle Wednesday November 12, 2003 Every Wednesday is Trash Day; every other Wednesday is Recycling Day. We take our recycling seriously in here in Seattle, afterall, we've been "a leader in recycling and waste reduction since 1988." But as I was hauling out the crate of drippy glass bottles, and empty condiment jars I was also questioning this part of my bi-weekly ritual. My doubt was fostered by yet another great episode of This American Life, one focused on garbage which reasonably notes that we're not running out of sand, have plenty of landfill space available, and there is no energy savings in recycling glass, so why not throw it away? Now if we refilled our bottles like they do in Europe this would be a different story. And the cans, plastics, and papers are still worth the effort to haul to the curb every other Wednesday. . . Freshly Showered Seattle Monday November 10, 2003 Hot water fixed. Me less grouchy. Saturday PDA Seattle Monday November 10, 2003 Bob Villa I am Not Seattle Sunday November 9, 2003 Before we moved into our house, I had a fairly high opinion of my home repair abilities. I realize now that this self-deception had it's basis in my ability to do things like paint walls and hang pictures. This morning I was greeted by the sound of rushing water, coming from the dishwasher, which was of course odd since the dishwasher was not running. It took me a good half an hour of head scratching and a call to my very handy father to figure out how to turn off all of hot water in the house. My failed efforts to remove the dishwasher to find the source of the leak may have resulted in breaking said dishwasher. I have not found the leak but now realize that maybe my whole approach was wrong and I should have shimmied under the house to inspect the plumbing under the sub-floor (maybe the water was shootring upward and not downward). But on second thought it was good I didn't take this angle on the problem as I would have been covered in dirt--likely mud--and would have crawled back into the basement in dire need of a hot shower, which is a service currently unavailable at Chez Mark and Dia. We will be calling a plumber tomorrow. ". . . the largest outdoor event of its kind . . ." Seattle Saturday November 8, 2003 MIT's Leonardo Journal has just published a issue devoted to the art of Burning Man as well as an online version. You've gotta love the title of the introductory essay: "Desert Weirdness Incubates a New Era of Art & Technology." The online galleries include twenty profiles of Burning Man, including one of my favorite from 2002, The Lily Pond by Jeremy Lutes. Reading really makes me want to get a house with a giant garage and yard, learn how to weld/sculpt/wire, and take three months off of work to build something amazing. txt msgs Seattle Friday November 7, 2003 And now, exclusively your reading pleasure: my text message inbox. Enjoy. where ru at? Internal question, wont be shared 115 is grt im Can we talk? Hi! What do you mean? Can you come home after work? I don't feel good :~( Are we meeting 2 day? Had pho for lunch can we have japanese? Hes ok Are you awake Figured out what i want to do for birthday--orson wells consolidated works Lockedout who has spare keys? cool it's on your cal. we are happy arent we sitting at the bar talking about burning man hi sexy i have the bs agreement w/ everything we need. OK, we're pretty close. I should be in around 7. Where are you now? Just landed. did you get the info? Ill meet you at your gate if flights are on time. MFNYSP.3pg theysknn.3gp Cats are fed - Alex was locked out in rain & happy to see me. Camille was lovely. Lots of meows. I gave them all remaing food + some chewy treats. XOXOXO Only 3 on the call i will conf u in. Do i call your cell? Fred's room checking mail and sched and stuff Couldnt hear msg re cats Do you send more than one txt message a week? Send PWRV Yes or PWRV No to 4200. Fee: 50cents. Pet and I are at Barca Smooch Now that made my day Um hell yeah Cubs up by 5! Cheers for Sammy! p.s. stuck on tarmac again! You have a point do I get a general scope? Yes please Any thoughts on my budget question? Good rule. Good luck with implementation. Latest subs? My shoe size LOL 7 and a half I'll pick you up at the bar What's the plan? Come 2 btown pizza! We played White River Amp on Aug 31. For more txt '831' or 'MM' for the main menue. Check out http://capitolrecords.com/radiohead/2250 for tour pix! Call me ASAP Thanks, but certainly not all me! That's fine OK thanks Fr:DeanWireless Dean on TV! NBC Jay Leno Late Night Show. Tues Night! Also we are at $12.9M and 445,107 people signed up. Now's the tiem to do more! Laundry done. Will pick up cleaning for your trip Look like must have been a network issue DiaPixMay03(27).jpg Welcome home! Looking fwd to seeing you. See how great europe is. Sms rules! On way home after warmtub. Needanything? All is grand feel better. Pinned corsage on mr and mrs s ! Motorhome The mrs is displeased with the notorione. Getting punched in the face? Did you like the image i sent? White wind Be there in ten No could b any number of companies Too funny thx 4 the laugh At the game with Owen and Henry Aww u rock Thanks Hi mark i love you Wanna hear something funny? Flt cancelled, next one already delayed by 2 hrs! See u tomorrow Bern says wazup Pugtastic! Seattle Thursday November 6, 2003 Over the last several years, Dia has pioneered and promoted a most excellent concept: The Birthday Month. The basic notion is that one's birthday is far too grand an moment to celebrate in a meager 24 hour period. Thus we are all best served by dedicating an entire month every year reflecting and celebrating the fact that we're still alive, older, wiser, and hopefully funnier. So there is no shame at in kicking off MIKELLE'S BIRTHDAY MONTH a mere 24 hours after her "official" birthday since we can all agree (right?) that a Birthmonth is much more exciting than a mere birthday. Mikelle loves pugs. I'm with her. Pugs are cute in an ugly sort of way that just makes them cuter (think Steve Buscemi). And what's not to like about pugs? I think I may love pugs for the same reasons I love people. They have a "smutty coat," (ostensibly "because it has a mixing of fawn and black hairs in it" but I think that's just the cover story) and pugs are "natural clowns and show offs" which fits the description of many people I love. Pugs snore, I snore, I like pugs all the more. People, let's give it up for Mikelle and the pugalious month she has ahead of her! Hard to Argue . . . Seattle Tuesday November 4, 2003 . . . that these are the worst album covers ever [via MeFi] Ursine Madness Seattle Tuesday November 4, 2003 The most unexpected/off the hook/wonderfully-strung-together sequence of amazing events which has possibly ever happened to me and which unquestionably produced this year's best uninterrupted period of time at Burning Man culminated in an encounter with bears. The complete story is long, involved and generally hillarious if I succeed in delivering it with passion, urgency, and finely honed comic timing. I am not going to tell this story right now. But I must share this email from Karen reporting on the Bear Posse's participation in the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade: "That was the best time ever! We had such a blast! We danced merrily down 6th Ave. Paula (yes, dear sweet Paula) - she had this idea that we should hump policemen. So, she saunters up to them in her very awesome bear costume - and then a whole group of us would "attack" - surrounding the cop and making "grrrrr" sounds... they thought it was the funniest thing. of course, the cop's buddies were always laughing, too. and some of them took pictures even of us doing it. There were like 35 bears. It was insane. Every color under the rainbow. Oh, and a couple of them had on tutus and roller blades, so they looked really like they were ballerinas. It was surreal. If we have so many bears on the playa next year, we will cause mayhem... ha, ha, ha... I love my bear costume." I am sitting here in Seattle trying to figure out what color my bear costume needs to be. iMom Seattle Monday November 3, 2003 Sheryl, my mother-in-law is great, but she'd be the first to admit she is not a computer genius. Which is important background for understanding why the email she just sent us demonstrates (a) how far she's come with technology and (b) how we really are at a tipping point with digital music: "I took a class at the Mac store this AM and bought us an iPod. I've already started downloading my cds to my iTunes and have even bought two songs already from the iTunes store. It is all too easy. I will make myself a special program list of exercise music that I can play on my walks. What an improvement that will be over the old cassette player that I have to stop and turn over the tape! I bought a splitter and an extra set of earphones so Dad and I can listen at the same time when we are on the plane to Europe. Also, I bought a gadget called an iTrip to attach to the iPod that will let us play off the iPod through our stereo in the car. So, no more cds are necessary. He said we can play it through the stereo in the house, too. Wow!! and, Wheeee!" Though maybe I'm being overly optimistic, I mean this whole "music" thing could just be a fad once people discover most bands only use three chords anyway, right? Evening Our Keel Seattle Monday November 3, 2003 This weekend was spent cleaning our nest. No ferociously exciting moments, just steady work on a variety of domestic fronts: laundry, mopping, kitchen scrubbing, vacuuming, and lots and lots of data entry as we rebuilt Dia's business records from boxes of carefully sorted receipts. (The moral of this story: Don't let Mark replace your computer and accidentally delete all your data! Ouch!) Given our only somewhat overlapping schedules, we both found it a treat to hang out with each other at home and do chores. This was made all the more pleasant thanks to RHAPSODY, which provided hours and hours of non-stop listening pleasure. I was not a complete and total homebody, though, sneaking out for a couple of hours of Halloween frolic after the trick or treating at abated at the homestead. On Friday, Dia was still dealing with her never-ending cold (it's since ended) so she stayed put, helped attach blinking wire to my skirt, and I joined our peeps for a couple of hours at Mike & Jaz's Halloween Bash, just missing DJ Trevor's set (which I'm told was most excellent and clearly demonstrated the continuing evolution of his own brand of musical genius).	. . . . INFO. . . . FAQ Email Mark Email Dia . . . . WHEREABOUTS . . . . Mark Las Vegas L ondon/Cannes, 2.18-3.1 Atlanta, 3.21-25 Dia So Cal 11.8-21 . . . . STUFF . . . . Vista Happy 2003 Tickets . . . . ARCHIVE . . . . 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