I haven’t updated this in quite a long while as I’ve been busy moving and what-not. That said, I am finally all settled in with internet and all the essentials, the ship is back afloat.

I’ve been working on recording some jams. A couple of things on my list of ‘Things to do Before I Die’ include recording a record and playing a show of my own tunes. Slowly but surely this is coming together. I’m going to be helped out by a couple of Bremerton friends with additional tracks, it shall be quite the project. I hope to play a show next time I’m in the NW with the same people as well, I’m sure it’ll be a one-time thing, but that’s all it takes to cross that item off.

Back to coding I go.

Seeing as how I’ve been super busy lately, I have not yet gotten around to writing the promised post about the full Wordpress / Joomla! Integration, but there are definitely things on the horizon.

I am moving into a new place this weekend, which I am very excited about. Should be a long a busy weekend adding Halloween into the mix.

This past week was filled with all sorts of musical adventures starting with Portugal. The Man last Saturday and Sunday. As always, my fellow northwesterners never dissappoint. Monday evening I found myself headed to Boondocks with Melissa & Denae to watch Houston’s The TonTons put on a free performance, which was also quite excellent. We also ran into Monica, Fayza and Maggie. Thursday I went with Melissa & Mei Lani to see Ray Lamontagne & Leona Naess, which was very pleasing to the ears, however the venue and audience were quite subpar. This finally brings us to Friday which saw Melissa & myself attending Ben Folds, which was definitely spectacular. I’d definitely reccommend any of the mentioned bands to anyone and everyone.

I have moved onto the new site at work, it is a legal job site, similar to Monster and HotJobs but geared specifically towards attorneys and legal staff. We are aiming to improve on areas that are not quite ideal on similar websites. With this new project comes a plethora of challenges. I’m basing the jobs system off of the open source job board engine, OSJobber. While OSJobber is a great bit open source code, it is far from having all of the functionality that the new site is going to require. My first mission is to modualize the platform for use outside of the actual interface.

Anyway, that’s about all I’ve got for now. Halloween this weekend, moving this weekend, and killer steak dinner next weekend.

Cheers.

It has been brought to my attention, repeatedly, by Melissa, that I have not posted in here in quite some time. There are many reasons for this, mainly, Hurricane Ike tore through Houston and turned my world upside-down. I ended up leaving for Austin, coming back, then leaving for Seattle a couple days later, and am now just overall busy with playing catchup at work and the like.

Don’t fear! A new post is in the works. I’m currently deploying some new code at work and this code will be the topic of my next post. I have developed a  method for integrating WordPress with Joomla! in a completely organic way. Yes, that’s right, no more limited versions of WP like MojoBlog, no more using alternatives, but a full install of Wordpress working alongside & within Joomla! Be excited. When I get more free time I’ll also start working on an install script to do all the hard work for you automatically.

To be continued…

I was asked this morning what my five favorite songs of all-time would be. I thought it would be fun to share them here. I know it’s a very tough question, but I narrowed it down the best I could… In no particular order.

• Elliott Smith - Junk Bond Trader [ link ]
  Appears on: Figure 8

  the imitation picks you up like a habit
  writing in the glow of the tv’s static
  taking out the trash to the man
  give the people something they understand

  I’m a huge Elliott Smith fan, hell, I’ve even got a illustration of him hanging on my wall. His way with words and incredible writing skills as far as instrumentation goes never cease to amaze me. Picking a song of his was a tough one due to the fact that there are so many that I absolutely love. His songs are so personal, yet always something that nearly everything can relate to.

• Aesop Rock feat. John Darnielle - Coffee [ link ]
  Appears on: None Shall Pass

  Meet and greet and they all slap fives
  Cheek to cheek when they colonize
  And a grown ass man shall abide as he wish
  Walk that path with a dime and a stick
  Walk that path with a diamond and wine
  Walk that path to the firing line
  Just walk, pay no mind to the new recruit with the play-doh spine
  Let’s be friends from opposite ends
  Wave to the kid, don’t hop on the fence

  Aesop Rock is another lyrical genius. It seems as though he goes beyond what most hip-hoppers do, he goes beyond simply searching for a rhyme. Aesop speaks the truth through beatiful metaphors and careful associations. Adding John Darnielle from the Mountain Goats in the last verse makes this song absolutely haunting and beautiful. Needless to say I’m a huge Mountain Goats fan too.

• Wilco - Jesus, Etc. [ link ]
  Appears on: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

  I’ll be around
  You were right about the stars
  Each one is a setting sun
  Tall buildings shake
  Voices escape singing sad sad songs
  Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks
  Bitter melodies turning your orbit around

  As with everyone on this list, I’m a huge Wilco fan. Jeff Tweedy has a way with words that is simply genius. Lay those on top of beautiful music arrangements and you’ve got Wilco. This songs pulls somewhere between depression and lonliness and an oddly presented sense of hope. Everyone tries to turn their life around and some point, some have people who stand by them, others don’t, and some will not succeed no matter what. I’m not sure exactly where I fit into that list, but everyone fits in somewhere.

• Damien Jurado - Yuma, AZ [ link ]
  Appears on: Water Ave S.

  Once met a girl in Yuma, Arizona
  Whose mother was dyslexic like mine
  Grandpa owned a ranch, that’s where she learned to dance
  I hear she goes out dancing all the time
  When it rains it pours in Yuma, Arizona
  And when the sun goes down
  You know where she’ll be found
  Dancing out in the street

  Damien Jurado is the first of two Seattle-based artists on the list. This song is off of his first release and is pure gold. It seems to me that it is about finding happiness in the bad times in life. His voice and the instrumentation in this song go together perfectly. They complement each other perfectly.

• Rocky Votolato - Prison Is Private Property [ link ]
  Appears on: Suicide Medicine

  You’re working hard on a life of your own
  Three square meals and a place to call home
  The American dream can be found here if you keep your mouth closed
  But the teeth you keep clenched is what’s killing the chance
  Your mouth is watering as you imagine
  Swallowing each new possession
  It’s building a prison

  Rocky is, in my opinion, one of the greatest singer/songwriters of our time, and definitely one of the hardest working. Even though he has the record for bumming the most smokes off of me, and once drank a good portion of my bottle of Hennessy, he is still one of my favorite musicians to date. The beautiful mix of folk, country, and punk that he conjures is unparalelled by any other musician. This song captures corporate America and materialism to a “t”.

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round heads in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify them, or vilify them. But the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do…”

- Kerouac