Blog

It has been a few weeks since I have last posted anything, and for good reason.  Over the last 3 weeks, between work (preparation for Orientation), wedding planning, the wedding itself, and the honeymoon, I haven’t had much time to myself to sit down and write.  Now, I can reflect on everything that happened over the last three weeks.

The wedding was fantastic.  I am fortunate to have a bunch of really good friends who drove hundreds of miles to get here, some of which I did not see for the better part of six years.  From Kansas, Wyoming, Downstate, Wisconsin, and Illinois, friends and family joined Stacy and I on our wedding day, and we were grateful to have such a wonderful to join us on this special day.

The weather was perfect, the church was air conditioned, and so was the reception hall. During the ceremony, both Stace and I were very nervous, but we managed to make it through the half hour ceremony without any problems.

We rented the Red Jacket Trolley for the wedding to booze cruise on between the ceremony and the reception.  We drove out to Mclain State Park, and shot a bunch of photos, and half the wedding party jumped into the water off the breaker.  I can’t see what Adam Johnson was able to capture with the shots of us out here, but I’m sure they were pretty amazing.

The reception was great as well.  There were a lot of people on the dance floor right on up to the last dance, which was very nice to see.  People seemed to have a lot of fun, and so did Stace and I.

Where the real fun started for Stace and I was during the honeymoon.  The following morning, we opened gifts real quick, and we were on our way to Marquette to fly into San Fransisco.  Our itinerary included 3 full days in San Fransisco, and 4 full days in Yosemite National Park.  We didn’t get into San Fransisco until late Sunday night, so we just went to bed that night, and Monday was the day we actually started our Honeymoon.

Monday morning we decided that we should probably do the cliche thing and head over to the Golden Gate Bridge.  So the first thing we did after breakfast was get in our Ruby Red convertible Ford Mustang and drove across the Golden Gate Bridge.  We felt like the Full House family, so we had to make sure that we went and found the Full House house as well.  We did a little bit of shopping to prepare for the woods, stopped at the Apple Headquarters (yes, I’m a fanboi), and got dressed up all fancy and went out to eat at Kincaids Bayhouse.

On Tuesday we found ourselves driving into Yosemite National Park.  About 3 hours away from San Fransisco, it felt as if we were never going to get there.  Very dry, desert like region, and all of a sudden, you drive over a big hill and we approached some of the greenest landscape I have ever been in to.  Absolutely gorgeous.  We checked into our cabin at the Evergreen Lodge, took a quick “tourist tour” of Yosemite Valley, went to dinner, and went to bed early to prepare for a busy day on Wednesday.

Wednesday was a day where we planned to Horseback ride, check out Hetch Hetchy, and go a day hike.  Hetch Hetchy to me, was the highlight of the trip.  Absolutely gorgeous, little to no people and some of the most unique rock faces I have encountered in my time on this earth.  After hiking around Hetch Hetchy, we went back to Camp Mather to do a bit of Horseback riding, as it was Stacy’s wish to go trail riding through the National Park and surrounding areas.  For me, I wasn’t all that exciting to go horseback riding, but after we were on our way, it actually was a lot of fun.  On Friday, we ended up going horseback riding again at the south entrance of the park for 5 hours, but I’ll touch base on that later.

Thursday was by far the most ambitious day.  We planned a day jam packed with activities that started at 7 in the morning and went until 10 at night.  We started with a big breakfast before going on a 10 mile bike ride to Granite Gorge trail head, where we ended up hiking 4 miles and going on a swim.  We came across a few creatures, a whip-tail and a snake, and some huge pine cones.  Fortunately we were done hiking before it hit the warm part of the day, and we were out of the Gorge by 1:30 in the afternoon.

In the afternoon, we each got a massage.  This was my first massage, and it was definitely something I was doing out of my comfort zone, but it was totally worth it. I am totally game for doing this sort of thing again.  After the massage, we went down to the Mariposa Grove to see our first batch of Redwoods on the trip.  We hustled down the trail knowing that we needed to to grab a quick bite to eat, before we went on our way out to a vista to watch the Sunset.  After we ate to hang out for the evening with a bottle of wine and some cheeses to watch the sunset.  There were some wildfires off to the North, so the haze of the Valley was great for the different colors we had on our sunset.

Friday, we went on our long horseback riding adventure.  We went for about 5 hours out to the Redwoods.  It was very dusty, but it was a lot of fun.  We started at Fish Camp, CA and rode into the National Park, tied up our horses, ate lunch, gawked at the Redwoods, and made our back to the Ranch.  That night, we  went back to San Fransisco to board our plane the next day after a quick visit to the zoo.  All in all, the Honeymoon was a perfect vacation and we had a lot of fun.  We both left Yosemite thinking of all the things we missed and all the things we would like to do in another visit.

One of the reasons I love the Keweenaw and will probably never leave is because of the awesome berry season we have in the area.  Strawberries come first, usually starting at the end of June and going through the beginning of July.  Shortly after strawberries are out of cycle, wild blueberries, thimbleberries and raspberries start to ripen. Stacy and I took a trip out to Big Traverse Bay on Saturday to see how the blueberries were doing, and the berries were not quite ready, but we said they would be ready in a few days.

Yesterday we decided it was time…a few of us went out to Hungarian Falls with the goal of picking thimbleberries for jam making, however, they were not quite ready in a lot of shady spots, and the patches that were ready were mostly picked by other people.  We gave up on the thimbleberries, and went out to one of the most beautiful beaches in Michigan, Big Traverse Bay, and picked enough blueberries to last us quite some time.   Below are some pictures courtesy of my good friend Michael Blanchard.

On the road to Big Traverse Bay...

I guess this is me being normal...

Me pickin' the berries

Stacy on the beach

My buddy Tom

Happy couple picking natures delicious wonders...

While an inmate breaking out of jail happens once in a blue moon, I hope people start to realize the immediate threat a jail has to the Houghton area. This proposed new Justice Center will hurt downtown businesses, with a jail towering over Shelden Avenue. It will be visible to all of Hancock and Ripley and Keweenaw waterway visitors, looking like a permanent bruise on a beautiful town. Homes in the neighborhood will depreciate in value with a huge jail on site. There are many other options that are way cheaper (Camp Kitwen, Keweenaw Academy, etc…) and can be considered and make a lot more sense. The state of Michigan closes justice centers and let them rot into ruins, and the county wants to build them and avoid monetary efficiency and common sense. Furiating.

Houghton County Justice Center
www.houghtoncountyjusticecenter.com

Over the past few weeks, I have been using a new app on my iPhone called “Foursquare.”  Foursquare is a form of communication in which you and your friends can explore your city or town.  There have been many attempts to this before, Brightkite, Loopt, and Yelp to name a few.  For some reason or another, Foursquare has been the one that has stuck.  At first, I thought this app was quite useless, but after some thinking, I think it could provide us a new way of thinking in terms of social media and the way we communicate.

At face value, the user checks in at a venue, and you can earn badges or become the Foursquare mayor, after the user checks in so many places so many times.  Seems pretty lame, right?  Well, I think there is a larger message behind this service.  Every time you stop at a cafe or a bar, you have the option to check in at your current location.  You can put your house on FourSquare, or the Laundromat, but the focus is primarily on going out.  You can find out if some of your friends are in the same area and meet up with them.

You are probably thinking, “Well, this is STILL pretty lame, Bryant. You live in Houghton, Michigan, and there is no need to mark where you are in a town of 10,000 people. ”  Maybe this all seems lame to you, but I think structured datasets such as those being collected by Foursquare are going to become highly effective resources for cost-per-action advertising.  Businesses could use Foursquare as an advertising platform for Foursquare to make money, and in return, businesses can learn what they are doing right, or what they are doing wrong, by how often people are returning, or a tip they provide.

The more popular Foursquare becomes, the more useful of a service it will be to each user.  Like Twitter, Foursquare provides us the ability to let our voice be heard.  If we hate a coffee shop, or love a restaurant, Foursquare provides one central location where our voice can be heard.  I’m sure, just like Twitter, once celebrities find a use in this new social media platform, this will be another technological phenomenon that will actually be good for American businesses, and stroke the egos of us everyday users, knowing that our favorite celebrity or our best friend has stepped foot in the same place at one point or another.  Watch out, because I do think this is the new social media phenomenon.

A lot of people have asked me recently why I haven’t been updating my blog.  Needless to say, I’ve kind of been on hiatus.  There are a couple questions that I have been trying to answer as I move forward with my web development and blogging.

1. What is my role in the world wide web?

2. Who reads my blog?  Who looks at my website?

3.  What is my goal/purpose?  Why is it important to reach that goal?

A lot of the blogs I read have a certain purpose, whether its news about music, social media, politics, graphic design, photography, silent sports, etc.  I feel as if my blog serves no purpose other than being a diary for myself to go back and reflect on.   Sure, I have a handful of readers, but nothing I write has an intended structure.  Within the next few weeks, I hope to answer these questions and be able to make a blog that serves a purpose for an intended audience.  Should I focus on personal endeavors, entertainment, or educational topics?

Until then, we’ll see how things go, and I’ll be sure to keep you posted…

-BW

Facebook, it has only been around for 5 years, and yet the interface has changed tremendously.  Take a look for yourself:

Facebook in 2004:

Facebook in 2006:  

Facebook in 2007: 

Facebook 2009:  

Facebook 2010:

In my Media and Communication Theory class, we ahve been talking about how our society has changed significantly due to technological world of communication. This stuff fascinates me so I figured I would share it with all of you.

People seem less concerned about good sources, and no one necessarily needs to be an expert in order to be considered a legitimate source. I’m guilty of this, as I have used sources in term papers that are from other college students that they used in their term papers.  I have no idea where they got these thoughts from, but they sounded legitimate enough to me.    As we live in this digital age, we are slowly introducing a new generation of experts, and yet we do not know who is editing these things.   Who are these experts?  What is considered scholarly?   For example, Wikipedia supposedly has 1000 editors that confirm everything that is upload on to their site, and yet you only have 3 days of training in order to become a Wikipedia editor.

YouTube is a prime example of what is going on in this digital age.  We, as the consumers are now becoming the producers.  We do not have to be talented or knowledgeable to be famous anymore, and we don’t need thousands of dollars of equipment to make an album or make a movie, and we can just upload these things on to the web hoping that it will exceed above and beyond the rest.  This is why FOX, CBS, NBC, ABC, etc…are hurting financially.  People who used to watch those experts make shows such as ER are now watch Red vs. Blue on YouTube instead.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to watch the video below. I cannot think of a better example of what is happening in our consumer driven society.  It is an hour long video, but it is well worth watching as it is very interesting.  Enjoy.

I have been listening to Phish’s new album Joy for a few weeks now, and I feel like I need to categorize my thoughts, and there is not a  better place to do it than my blog.  This album is much more re-playable than a lot of Phish  studio albums, and it also has a very upbeat mood throughout most of the tracks.  Phish, not known for their albums, this one might change the minds of many.  I would argue, and Trey Anastasio would agree, that you don’t get the full “Phish” experience until you see them live, but this album certainly has a great deal of satisfaction built into it.  I am going to breakdown the songs one by one by discussing them as a studio track, as well as a potential live jam vehicle of the future.   If you have yet to hear this album go to Phish’s MySpace page or purchase it for a measily 4 bucks at Amazon.com

I think the most significant part of “Joy” is the title of the album by itself.   “Joy” speaks volumes to Phans after 5 years of absence.  Jnan Blau, a former teacher of mine and a scholar on the band said it best, “Listening to this summer’s shows, feeling it all out, reading reports from phans;  it’s clear they’re here to do good in the world again.  I discern a clear sense of purpose and communication.  There’s risk-taking, playfulness.  And, most importantly, a sense of joy.  The upcoming album could not be more aptly titled, fo’ sho’. It’s good see/hear/feel that again, to be feeling the feeling the I forgot….”

I think the album title, “Joy” also holds a great deal of significance for each of the band members; Page, Trey, Mike, and Jon.   Page and Jon, through the course of 5 years, remained very quiet on music scene.   Mike was working with a few artists here and there, but was relatively quiet as well.  Trey was enjoying success as a solo artist with his band until getting into legal and financial trouble with heroin and pain killers.  Throughout the course of five years, I’m sure the band had financial issues, and were starting to run out of money.   This is not why Phish came back to the stage, I believe they came back together as a band for all the right reasons, friendship, memories, sobriety, and the love of the Phans, but I’m sure they had plenty of Joy coming back to the stage for multiple reasons.

The first track on the album, “Backwards Down the Number Line” was a song written by Tom Marshall, long time lyricist and a good friend of Trey.  Trey received the lyrics to this song as a poem for a birthday present, and ultimately, this song, brought the band back together.   BDtNL  sounds like something that might have come off of Trey’s solo self-titled album.  The song is pretty poppy, but I am optimistic that the  improv potential for this song will be something unbelievable in the future.  I heard a glimpse of greatness when I heard this jam played at Toyota Park and I can see this jam going multiple different ways as it evolves in the years ahead.  I plan BDtNL to stay as a Set II opener, as it would seem awkward for it to go anywhere else in a setlist.

“Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan” is the second track on the album, and I think it is place nicely after BDtNL.  The song starts with a nice guitar lick from Trey, and great support from Page and Mike.  I would say this is the best song lyrically on the album as a whole.   This song seems to be the song asthetic evidence that Steve Lillywhite was the producer of this album.   I definitely could have saw this song on “Billy Breathes,” my favorite Phish Album, if it was written 10 years earlier.   This song as well, has a lot of potential in the improv market, and I expect it to be in rotation relatively often during the Summer of 2010.

“Joy” is the next song on the album.   This song was written by Trey  to his sister, Kristy Manning, who died this past spring from cancer.   Kristy was one of Phish’s first phans, an environmental activist, and her impact on the band has been exponentially important during their earlier years as a band. Musically, this  ballad slows down the album, but still holds an upbeat feeling.   I heard Joy debuted at Alpine Valley this year, and it was a huge emotional swing in the show.  Everyone just stopped and listened in a melancholy mood.  “We want you to be happy, because this is your song too….”

“Sugar Shack” is probably my least favorite song on the album.  Not because its a bad song, but because it just doesn’t seem to fit correctly with the other tracks.  If there is a sore thumb, this track would be it.   “Sugar Shack” was written by Mr. Mike Gordon, and has a nice funky groove to it.  It almost seems if this song came off of Gordo’s solo album, “The Green Sparrow.”  I really don’t see this making it onto many setlists in the future, but then again, Phish is always full of surprises.

“Ocelot” brings the album back around to where I think it should be.  Trey’s ability to belt out these lyrics with passion help me argue that this band actually does have a lot of talent singing.   I still haven’t been able to wrap my head around the lyrics of this song yet, but musically, it is composed very well.   Nice flow, slow, but not too slow, with nice support bass licks by Gordon in the background that almost go unnoticed.   Trey belts out a few pretty notes at the end of the song, setting a springboard for improve.  If this jam sticks around on the live circuit, I think it will have to pick up some pace in order to hold the energy of a show.

Next on the album, “Kill Devil Falls” is the new “Chalkdust Torture” in my mind.   It won’t replace “Chalkdust” but it is by far the song that is most similar, at least in my eyes. It has a cheesy beginning with Trey playing a quick lick before the track actually starts.  There is a lot of dance to be had in this song, as I have danced my tail off both times I’ve heard this played live.   A very groovy tune, yet another song in which I can’t seem to comprehend the lyrics (imagine that, a Phish song where lyrics are ambiguous).   “…but I learned my lesson, I can still remember the last one” is a transitional part of the jam providing a very powerful and energetic aesthetic that would otherwise be lacking.   Both times I’ve heard this song it has reached a high level of energy, with soaring guitar solos by Trey and Page really hitting the keys on the grand piano.  This song will be around for quite some time on the setlists.

“Light” provides another break in the album, slowing everything right back down.   While beautiful on album, I don’t see this one going anywhere near the stage after it debuted earlier this summer in Boston.  Though it starts pretty psychedelic beginning, it really doesn’t belong on the stage except as maybe a Set II opener.  Lyrically, this song is another gem, with a great deal of ambiguity but respectively, a great deal of optimism.  This is another track that I think I would have found on Trey’s solo album “Bar 17″  or maybe even Phish’s last album, “Undermind”.

“I Have Been Around” was written by Page, and rightfully so.  Very Jazzy, just like Page likes it, provides a nice intro into “Time Turns Elastic”.  Here is where people will probably shoot me, but I truely enjoy “Time Turns Elastic”  on the setlist.   However, I think this song would be better as a set opener.  Ironically, TTE has grown on me significantly after it disappointed me at Alpine Valley.  I always enjoyed the studio version of TTE since it was released, even though the lyrics are pretty corny.  I thought it was a beautiful orchestra piece transitioned for a four member band, and I think it brought a lot of Phans back to the days of Goddard College.  If Phish work away from the original track by playing it exactly as it was written, I think this song has potential.  I can think of 3 or 4 places in which they could take this jam into left field and throw Phans for a loop, they just need to grow a pair and do it…and at the same time, I think Phans need to give this one a chance…it has potential.

The album is closed out with “Twenty Years Later” which is, in  my opinion, the BEST closer that Phish has ever assembled for closing a studio album.  “20 Years Later” is perhaps the most beautiful song ever written by Phish (along side with Wading in the Velvet Sea), and it brings the listener back to the title of the album and it’s significance, “Joy.” Lyrically, musically, this song has everything assembled perfectly, and I can’t think of one awkward note  in this song.  Very poppy, but very Phishy at the same time.  “Twenty Years Later” will never make its way onto the live circuit, and I’m pretty confident in that statement.  It’s placed at the end of this album for a reason, and it’s going to stay there.

So where does “Joy” list in my studio albums (Excluding White and Siket Disc)?  Well, it’s in the top tier.  I strongly suggest that they keep Steve Lillywhite around for a while, he’s a musical genius and the master at producing beautiful albums.  I predict Phish will be back in the studio this spring, working on a few more numbers to introduce to us this summer, and will probably again release an album next winter.

1. Billy Breathes
2. Story of the Ghost
3. Joy
4. Rift
5. Picture of Nectar
6. Junta
7. Farmhouse
8. Hoist
9. Undermind
10. Round Room
11. Lawn Boy

Been a while since I last blogged…no live shows or exciting developments.  Maybe Phish will get a fall tour going in November-December, and I’ll be able to get my groove on mid-semester.

Anyway….

On Monday I started my last year at Michigan Tech. Slated to graduate in December, I have since changed majors, went on Co-Op, keeping me in Houghton until May. Given the job market and the way things have played out in my life within the last year, I am glad that I have this opportunity to stay in school with as little responsibility as possible for the extra five months. I’ve now got the time to look at what I’ve accomplished, put together a professional portfolio, and to start looking for a job….in the Houghton area.

Stacy still has 2 years of Nursing school left. I will not be leaving Houghton anytime soon. As pessimistic as many are about finding a job in the Houghton area for at least two years after I graduate, I’m feeling alright. I can always work part time for a business doing something relatively similar to what I want to do, and then do freelance work on the side.   Anyway, there are plenty of things to ponder after I graduate, first I have to complete the following courses:

The American Experience – This class focuses on the history of the United States from the Revolution through WWI.   This is the first of my classes to get my minor in American Studies

American Foreign Policy – This class is exactly as it sounds.   It focuses on the domestic and international effects of decision making in regard to the United States’ foreign policy.

Environmental Policy and Politics – This class focuses on the issues we face in a free market society, and why it doesn’t necessarily coincide with being “Evironmentally Friendly”  This is more or less a problem-solving type of course.

Media and Communication – This class focuses on new types of media, and what is happening with the old types of media.   This type of class is the kind of class that really makes me want to apply for grad school.

Adv. Practicum in Scientific and Technical Communication – This class is also known as the “Senior Capstone” class for STC majors at Michigan Tech.  I’m not exactly sure what this class consists of, but I know it supposed to help push me to the next level with everything I have learned the past four years.

I am continuing to work at COMPASS, the Outdoor Adventure Program, and the Challenge Course this fall.   Between my three jobs, 15 credits, and other miscellaneous projects, I should keep myself pretty busy.

Tomorrow I am getting some engagement photos taken by Juskuz Photography.  I should have some images posted of my ugly face relatively soon.

A week ago on Tuesday Evening (August 11), Phish made their Midwest Pitstop to play at the new soccer stadium in Chicago, Toyota Park. Certainly, at this point, I was ready for my phix. Phish is my version of crack, and it was over a month since I last saw them at Alpine Valley. I was sick of listening to set lists without being there, seeing Phish make remarkable progress in their improvisation and musical style. Fortunately, I was in luck, and I found tickets for real cheap, found a few buddies to bring along to split expenses, and we were off!

Aah yes, the parking lot.  Once again, full of Phriendly people, grilling out, selling merchandise, meeting up with people they haven’t saw since The Gorge or Red Rocks.  Soon we reached the parking lot, I knew that there was no other place on the planet that I would rather be than where I was.  Rolling into the parking lot, the band was doing a sound check, and what were they playing?  Harry Potter, no lie.   They also played “Windy City” which none of us in the parking lot knew what they were sound checking (later we found out).  After a few hours of grilling up a tenderloin and some potatoes, we made our way in to get a good spot of the field.  I was rather impressed with the venue walking in, small, but very nice.  I was a bit worried about the acoustics with all the metal around the stadium, but it didn’t seem to be a problem once the band took the stage.

Overall, the concert had little to no flow between songs. The show was much more of a “Greatest Hits” show than it was Phish in their rare and unique form. Phish provided gracious amounts of energy, as they always do, but they lacked to play any their complex compositions, and lacked to develop any jams into segued tracks. The band was on, with Harry Hood being the only noticeable jam that was forgettable. Am I going to complain about the whole show? Absolutely not, a “Greatest Hits” was just what I needed for my third Phish show. Toyota Park served as an eliminator to many songs that were on my wish list…in fact, lets go through that right now before I highlight my favorite parts of the show….

• Llama
• Harry Hood
• Chalkdust Torture
• Reba
• Limb By Limb
• Cavern
• Possum
• Squirming Coil
• Loving Cup
• Guyute
• Theme From the Bottom

• Free
• Split Open and Melt
• Heavy Things
• Mikes Song
• David Bowie
• Weekapug Groove
• ACDC Bag
• Suzy Greenburg

• Twist
• Tweezer (Reprise)

The setlist for Set 1 was as follows: