Nonogirl Radio v.3

'90s Nostalgia

nobody@vox.com(nonogirl) — Wed, 21 May 2008 23:23:56 -0700

I've had time to listen to music again and the songs that make my spirit move when I put headphones on and listen in stereo are pop punk tunes from the '90s. Screw 32, the Rudiments, and Link 80.

I remember when lead singer, Nick Traina knocked down the movie screen at Berkeley Square while crowd surfing during a Screw 32 show.

I remember when Link 80 surprised the volunteer-run Gilman crew as a camera crew took over the venue to shoot a music video with mama Danielle Steele's money.

And I remember learning about Nick's death.

I think this time in my life is when I was most connected to music. It was in my blood. It's what got me through the day. It's what I looked forward to doing after work.

It just might be time to tap into this inspiration again.

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Drunk Girl

nobody@vox.com(nonogirl) — Wed, 21 May 2008 22:40:33 -0700

On the Lower Frequencies

Erick Lyle

I was so excited to learn about Erick Lyle's new book, I ended up with two of them!

Tonight at his reading at Modern Times, I felt nostalgic for the days that I knew of punk shows in noisy Mission District alleys, secret shows by my favorite now-famous bands, community spaces run d.i.y.-style.

Of course, I bought the book. It's a record of what may have been my prime time in SF.

But then I returned home and my roommate handed me something I left in his room one drunken night: Lyle's book sent from the publisher.

Looks like drunk girl has a gift for someone special.

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In Check

nobody@vox.com(nonogirl) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 10:23:38 -0800

Upon return from travel (Sri Lanka and Guatemala in particular), I've come to see how trivial my middle class problems are. I compare my daily problems like my broken heater, difficult parking, frustrations in my career with daily life in the developing world where there may not even be running water.

This morning as I fight off a return of my sickness, I was inspired to put my life in check without even hopping on a plane. Thank you Dr. Randy Pausch.

Dr. Randy Pausch - from Oprah

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An Audio Postcard from Zero Gravity

nobody@vox.com(nonogirl) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 09:13:12 -0800

I believe I've written a criticism before of Pat Duggins. I usually hear his spots on NASA for NPR news and his delivery is so fast that it sounds like commercial radio with little personality or compassion.

But this audio postcard lets the real Pat Duggins shine.

The segment includes great ambi, onsite reporting, and it breathes with pauses usually absent from the spot reports.

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The Bullfighter Checks her Makeup

nobody@vox.com(nonogirl) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 09:05:52 -0800

The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People

Susan Orlean

Now that I'm reading more, i decided to alternate my reading selections between content and style.

My content are to help me learn something about a topic. The last content read was The Politics of Immigration: Questions and Answers. My current content read is Under the Banner of Heaven.

In between the two was my read for style. These selections are of notably good writers either in nonfiction or fiction or even books on how to write better. (Of course, the content selections may be by great writers as well).

My first style selection was a book by Susan Orlean suggested by my friend and expert advice giver. The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup is a collection of profiles Orlean wrote mostly for the New Yorker.

Technically, she always has a paragraph where she describes the way her protagonist looks, usually listing details. She has a gift for listing, sometimes listing activities the protagonist participates in to further paint a picture of their life.

She also uses mystery as a hook in the opening paragraph. She'll make a pronouncement that seems to make no sense like the intro to her profile of Colin Duffy, a ten-year-old boy. "If Colin Duffy and I were to get married, we would have matching superhero notebooks. We would wear shorts, big sneakers, and long, baggy T-shirts depicting famous athletes every single day, even in the winter." Throughout the essay, these mysteries are explained.

She explains in her introduction to the book that she often spends days or weeks with a person to do her reporting. My one wish for this book is that she put this kind of detail and reflection on writing the piece at the front of each essay so that I, a person reading her for style, could understand the challenges or techniques she used to write the essay.

Overall, a great read that I finished in a week!

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Si Se Puede Cambiar

nobody@vox.com(nonogirl) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 22:37:33 -0800

For Obama: "Si Se Puede Cambiar" by Andres Useche

When Oprah signed up to back Obama, I rolled my eyes. But since then, I've seen how cultural workers have contributed to the Obama campaign with great songs/videos like this one by Colombian writer, director, actor, composer, editor, and designer, Andres Useche.

The video was directed Eric Byler and there's a cameo of Kal Penn!

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Greencine

nobody@vox.com(nonogirl) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 12:27:03 -0800

Having been sick for almost three weeks, mostly bed-ridden, I decided it's time for me to sign up for a DVD service. I'm hoping that this will help me get caught up with films, both narrative and documentary. So I've been transferring my wish list from my smartphone to my Greencine list and it's been fun. I'm hoping that once i start renting and reviewing the films, the service will be able to turn me on to other films I might like. I'll keep you posted.

BTW, I went for Greencine over Netflix because it's a local service.

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La Bamba Obama

nobody@vox.com(nonogirl) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 11:10:43 -0800

La Bamba Obama

Bill Hing is a noted immigration scholar and was part of our successful Crossing East team. Here, I learned of another talent.

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Gay Rights Now!

nobody@vox.com(nonogirl) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:43:04 -0800

IMG_5151
Originally uploaded by sfjim123

I went down to the Castro last night to see how the filming of Milk has transformed the Castro back to the 1970s.

The gas prices are under a dollar, the housing for Victorian's is under $50k, and several stores (while still operating) have new storefronts.

Although I missed the shooting of this scene to the right with Sean Penn, I did catch a sight of him in a car before it drove away from the shoot.

Then I waited around about a half an hour to catch one more scene, a protest scene where the crowd leaves a rally to take over City Hall.

I love the documentary but there is very little in terms of capturing Milk's character. I can't wait to see what Sean Penn does with it.

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Sold

nobody@vox.com(nonogirl) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:47:29 -0800

I've been trying really hard to be engaged this electoral season, but I've been relying on everyone else to do the hard work so that I can just follow my trusted sources. I'd finally made up my mind to go with Edwards and then he dropped out.

I know that a lot of my friends are excited about Obama, but I didn't hear any concrete reasons why. So I decided to explore. I figured I should find out what the people in Chicago and Illinois say about him.

And in my search, I was reminded that I first heard of him when he gave the speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. After watching that speech, I was sold.

Barack Obama 2004 Democratic National Convention Part 1 of 2

Barack Obama 2004 Democratic National Convention Part 2

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