So what's new in Tucson? It's getting up to 97 degrees today, which even for Tucson is unusually warm. 97 in mid-October; I'm not sure if this is better than Minnesota...
I guess the big news is that I'm graduating in December. My dissertation is written, and I defend on November 10th. It's a Friday, and I actually have a Crap From The Past show that night. (!) My guess is that it will be a thoroughly memorable show, since it will be hard to take anything all too seriously.
After November 10th, I dunno what happens. I'm interviewing with a few optical data storage companies, most of which seem to be in Colorado Springs. I hear that it's pretty nice out there, and I'll be flying out there on Oct 24th for an interview. Wish me luck.
My reasearch group has their bi-annual (twice a year; is that di-annual?) meeting with The Sponsors next week. It's the big dog-and-pony show, where we have to impress them enough for them to renew funding for another year. For us employable students, it's a major schmooze-fest, and I got a new suit just for the occasion. It's more than likely that my future employer (whoever that is) will be at the meeting, so I gots to look good.
I got a postcard in the mail yesterday from some guy at the Central Research Institute for Physics in Budapest, Hungary, requesting a reprint of one of my papers. Budapest!?!? I had to go find it on a map (it's in eastern Europe...right where I left it...) It makes me giggle that someone extraordinarily far away (100,000,000 miles, or 6 weeks by mail) is interested in my research, because nobody else in my building cares what I'm doing. Weird.
I'm taking a ballroom dancing class with Margaret, and it's going pretty well. We're learning pretty traditional dances - cha cha, waltz, rhumba, east coast swing, west coast swing, salsa, tango, foxtrot, and of course, the hustle. I was surprised to learn that the hustle is really a sanctioned dance; I always thought it was just an anomoly of the '70s, like bell-bottoms and Charlie's Angels. I think I'm going to ask our teacher to teach us the lambada.
My little Toyota car is still running, and just broke 71,000 miles. I replaced the hood ornament that was broken off a few years ago with the little guy from a swimming trophy. He's silver, and he's about to dive into the car in front of me. It makes me laugh every time I get into the car.
What would a giant e-note from Ron be without a musical update? Without further adieu (adieux? adoo? achoo? adios? au revior? a cappella?)...
Go out and buy Aimee Mann's album, "Whatever" from 1993. It's astoundingly good, and there's no other way to prepare for her new album, which is (still) due out shortly. She's supposed to have a huge number of special guests on the album, including Difford & Tilbrook (from Squeeze) who appear on the already-released single, "That's Just What You Are". Another song called "It's Not Safe" leaked out in June (when the album was initially supposed to be released), and it's excellent. We anxiously await...
The new Tears For Fears album should be out any minute. The first single, "God's Mistake" is out, and although I haven't heard it yet, I'm sure it's pretty good. TFF has a very good track record. (An aside: I read that the European cassette release of "Songs From The Big Chair" has a whole load of extra tracks. News to me.)
The Boston band Letters To Cleo has finally caught on. I dare say that I was WAY out in front on these guys (with all due respect to the Bostonians on my list who heard them before they were even recorded); for proof, check an e-letter I sent out in March '94. Their first album "Aurora Gory Alice" only sold 5,000 copies (of which I have one) and was pronounced dead before the Melrose Place soundtrack included one of their songs and brought them fame and fortune cookies. Their new album is good also, and is produced by the same guy who produced the new Aimee Mann, should it ever be released.
Has anybody heard of Suddenly, Tammy! ? They're a weird-sounding alterna-group that uses a piano instead of guitars, and they have a slightly whiny-sounding lady lead singer. Good songs, but too difficult to swallow all at once. The album is "We Get There When We Do", and I like it.
Of course the Dave Matthews Band is excellent (with all due respect to the Charlottesvillians on my list who hear them before they were even recorded).
For power-pop a la early Crowded House, go out and buy the Plimsouls' 1983 album "Everywhere At Once". It's terrific, and has the great single "A Million Miles Away".
I made the mistake of playing some James Brown albums in lab last Friday, and by the time happy hour rolled around I could no longer speak in complete sentences. HEY! Good gawd! Baby baby Baby! Get On The good Foot! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I feel GOOD!
Hope yous-all saw the ten-hour Rock and Roll thingy on PBS a few weeks ago. I got it on tape. God bless PBS.
I've been discovering the virtues of Dave Edmunds. "Girls Talk" is one of my all-time favorite pop tunes, and has escalated DE to the level of deity for me. He has a box set out, and it's pretty darn good. Footnote: DE did the original version of "Queen of Hearts", later covered by the immortal Juice Newton. For what it's worth.
Roachford just released a second album, with no fanfare at all. His first album was in '88, and I dunno what the delay was. Ditto for Ivan Neville.
I still have some small things to write in my dissertation, like the Acknowledgments section. A friend of mine wrote the following fake-acknowledgments section for his own dissertation, and I will reproduce it here in its entirety, cuz that's the kinda guy I am:
I'm still laughing.ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Typically this section is used to thank those individuals who were technically or personally helpful in completing this dissertation. However, in the case of this work, any such thanks would be neither heartfelt nor deserved.
In fact, it is with great humility that I choose only to acknowledge myself for enduring the past five years of trivial discussions, petty disputes, and in general meaningless relationships with fellow students, prefessors, and staff.
If one person is responsible for this work, it is I, Joshua L. Kann. It is solely through the use of my God-given intelligence, wit, and perseverance that I have managed to assemble this document, my "masterpiece" if you will.
In fact, I must be honest and attribute any shortcomings in this dissertation to several others, including my advisor, my fellow coworkers, my (so-called) friends, and my family who only served as a source of distraction during the course of this research. Again, as you enjoy the sheer brilliance of what follows, do not be afraid to pause in awe now and then, and acknowledge the genius required to compile such a testimony to the potential of what mankind can achieve.
And finally, something you can really use. Here's an honest-to-God recipe that I found in the August 2, 1995 Tucson Shopper (like the Pennysaver out east.) Enjoy:
"And tonight at Danforth, we will be serving Taco Soup..."TACO SOUPSOUPTOPPINGS
- 1 pound extra lean ground beef
- 1 medium (1/2 cup) onion, chopped
- 1 medium green pepper, chopped
- 1 (1-1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
- 1 (1 quart) bottle vegetable tomato juice
- 1 cup thick & chunky salsa or picante sauce
In a four-quart saucepan cook ground beef, onion and green pepper over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until beef is no longer pink (6 to 10 minutes); drain off fat. Stir in seasoning mix; continue cooking for one minute. Stir in vegetable tomato juice and salsa. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until heated through (3 to 5 minutes). To serve, spoon into serving bowls; garnish with desired toppings.
- Light or non-fat sour cream
- Shredded lettuce
- Chopped tomato
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Baked tortilla chips
Well, I have to go mail a paper to Budapest. That's the scoop from Tucson. Please write back, but only to me, not to everybody listed at the top of this e-letter (I've had complaints).
"If it ain't broke, don't break it." - unknown
Ron
