ioyza's New Writeups

White Van Speaker Scam (thing)

2009-07-24T09:59:28Z

I spent most of today as I've spent most of the rest of my days this summer - waking up mid-morning, making some coffee and breakfast, and sitting at the computer idly looking for entry-level engineering jobs (and mundane jobs more recently, as I really could use some $$$), while trying not to get too distracted by bigfoot sightings and e2 writeups. It was while I was perusing these mundane jobs on Craigslist that I found the following ad:

audio company need 5-7 driver/sales people over 21 (for our insurance). we need good drivers for our company vehicles. paid training, no weekends fun job! people skills a plus. $250 + bonuses starting pay. call Dave for interview 303-946-9141 or 303-940-3676
10600 west 50th ave. Wheatridge Co. 80033

I immediately began to imagine a smallish audio store stocked with speakers, amps, turntables, high-quality cable, and all the rest. I thought about hanging out in such a store, being…

The Chariot, Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom 7/14/09 (event)

2009-07-17T23:07:33Z

Disclaimer: I wrote this to serve as a memento to a great concert primarily for my own purposes, so that I might read it in the future and remember it in more vivid detail than I otherwise would be able to (a 45-minute metal show as brutal as The Chariot's tends to turn to a blur in your mind rather quickly). There's a great deal of detail that, if you're unfamiliar with the band's music, may be totally lost on you.

Setlist:

Back to Back
They Faced Each Other
They Drew Their Swords
Die Interviewer (I'm only speaking in German)
Yanni Depp
Before There Was Atlanta, There Was Douglasville
And Shot Each Other
Abandon
Teach
Daggers
The Deaf Policemen

I hardly know where to begin. I was filled with such excitement and anticipation leading up to my second experience with The Chariot that I was like a kid on Christmas when the…

Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 (thing)

2009-07-01T20:51:19Z

This is an interesting symphony indeed and lies at the heart of the debate about Shostakovich's political intent with his music. I even wrote my "Extended Essay" for the International Baccalaureate Program in high school about the "Muddle Instead of Music"/Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk incident and the effect it had on his Fifth, though I couldn't find it before writing this.

There's no question that the symphony was meant to appease Stalin and the Soviet Party. Compared with the Fourth (which was not premiered until 1961 - well after Stalin's death), it is a clear return to classicism and the party's preferred (required) aesthetic of Soviet Realism. However, the mood is dark and the symbolism runs rampant. Militaristic marches are set to ominous backdrops and light folk melodies are juxtaposed in immediate proximity with bombastic blasts from low brass (perhaps a playing child wandering too close to the stomping boots of a Soviet soldier). The third…