*edit: I posted this picture on tumblr, and it's a picture I've never shown to anyone (I think), which is quite rare. But I was thinking to myself, "shouldn't my blogspot readers get priority since this is still my #1 blog?"
wow, I'm talking like showing my pictures to the world is a big deal or something. anyways, this was taken at the infamous Red Square, Moscow, with my SD450.
okay, I made tumblr, against wishes of Elizabeth. It's about the gazillionth (?) time I made it (more like third), but I think I finally figured out how to utilize it the way I want to. I will post one picture a day, and that will be it. My blogspot will consist of combination of photos + writing, while tumblr will be strictly photography only. The only thing I like about tumblr is that its interface is super clean and simple. Everything else, I think blogspot excels.
for those of you who noticed, I changed my profile name from "the professor" to "imnolongerprofessor," because it was brought up that my profile name reminded some people of their unwanted reading assignment. I will change it back soon though - this is supposed to be a one time stunt.
Today marked the 3 time I created a Tumblr. I originally made and deleted two other tumblrs couple months ago, but after watching Jason make one, I felt tempted again. Of course, after about 5 minutes, I realized why I deleted it twice already. I probably won't go back to tumblr but anyways, it's annoying how everyone seems to have a different blog - blogspot, tumblr, and wordpress to name a few. I suppose I could do all that "RSS" crap and look at it all at once, but it just does not give me the same blogging experience compared to visiting individual blogs. Things like background pictures and color are important because it says a lot about the person you know.
My Corinne Bailey Rae CD came in today. Yay. It wasn't nearly as good as her first album, but it's okay, I love her regardless.
On Jan. 25th (Corinne's album came out on the 26th), I couldn't help but to wonder if the album came out at 10pm Pacific time - since it was 1 am at East Coast and therefore, it was the 26th. I browsed Amazon, and to my dismay, the album was NOT on sale on Jan. 25th, Pacific/Jan. 26th Eastern Time.
BUT, the interesting part was, that the mp3 CD version was already out & downloadable while CDs were still taking pre-orders. I was actually quite tempted to buy the mp3 album instead since I did not feel like waiting two days for this highly anticipated album.
After much debates with myself, I just couldn't justify spending 8 dollars for an intangible "organization of sound and silence," aka music, especially when I could get the same thing for free, illegally. Therefore, I decided to pre order the CD - for two whole hours. And special thanks Elizabeth. I actually don't know why she deserves one - she probably doesn't - but she did inspire me a bit to write two whole entries about cds and stuff. man I'm weird. My unfiltered thoughts are being regurgitated on to the keyboard without much thinking. I must be typing 60 wpm. This sometimes happens. I'm weird again. And since I'm writing incoherent, random thoughts, I'd like to have the new Apple iPad, albeit I was quite disappointed by it. I hope more people, even strangers, read and comment on my blog. Okay I'll stop.
This was taken at Upland High School, fourth of July. I forget which year it was though.
It's true. I romanticize the days when I would skip lunch to buy a CD. It seems my getting older plus the overabundance of free mp3's has devalued music, at least on a personal level. It's difficult to appreciate something until you've been deprived of it.
I remember the first time touching and listening to a compact disc. I believe it was the summer of '87, when my parents had returned from their Europe trip. They brought back about dozen discs, of which 3 of them still remain in my memory: "Essential Mozart," "Single Man" by Elton John, and another disc with a promiscuous looking women wearing a wedding dress. I was six at the time, and I dared not listen to the CD with the sexy women while my parents were home. It wasn't until years later I realized I had secretly listened to Madonna's "Like a Virgin." This was long before I knew a word of English of course.
(Madonna's Like a Virgin Cover. Even at age six, I found her music to be disappointing. I much preferred Elton John at the time, but I found myself starring at this women over and over again. I don't think it was so much the sex appeal aspect since this was long before my puberty; rather, it's her attitude that always struck me interesting)
Though advantages of compact discs were clear, it wasn't until mid 90's when CD's completely drowned out the cassette tapes. I hated cassette tapes - they were one thing on earth I hated more than VHS. All that rewinding, fast forwarding, and figuring out which side is side A or B immensely annoyed me.
Why in the world, you may ask, would I listen to cassette tapes when CD were already invented? Two reasons. One, we only had one CD player in the house, which was in the living room. Two, I did not have money to buy CDs (or cassettes for that matter).
What I did do, was to buy blank cassette tapes and record songs that played on the radio. I guess this was an early version of illegal downloading sorta to speak.
(This is back in 91. Oh man I wanted to be just like him when I grew up.)
(Yes kids, Mark Wahlberg used to be a rapper. He was too cool to go by his real name, so he preferred to be called Marky Mark. Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch to be exact.)
During this time, CDs identified you. Obtaining the newest and the coolest CD by an artist was the fastest ticket of gaining admiration and jealousy from friends.
Two of my favorite CDs purchased during this time is probably The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and Third Eye Blind. I still remember the day I bought Lauryn Hill's wonderful CD. I ripped up the CD cover as soon as I came out of the store, and I listened to it in the car without driving because I wanted to devote 100% of my attention to her.
Towards the end of 90's, mp3s started to emerge, and friends borrowed CD's from friends and stored it on their computer. At the end of millennium, napster was invented, and the era of CDs began its demise.
Though mp3s have long overtaken CD's as the hegemonic form of music, there is still something sensible about purchasing and listening from a CD. From annoying wrappers to the sound of the CD's initial spin, and the featured art work on the cover, CDs feature a unique mixture of analogue product and digital music.
I wrote this piece because purchasing Corinne Bailey Rae's second album reminded me what purchasing CD used to be like. Buying this CD is more than just purchasing a product or supporting an artist. It's to reminisce and to re-experience the nostalgia once felt by a destitute teenager from Korea who had to starve a week to listen to precious music he loved.
I wanted to upload a cool picture that no one's ever seen, but I couldn't find any (actually I didn't really feel like looking). So here are some pictures some of you guys may have seen already:
I love the word intensity. I love the word Focused.
