New Cake Recipe for Rachel

This is absolutely disgusting... it must go along with the Animal Grossology exhibit at the Knoxville Zoo (since they sponsored the recipe).

Click Here to Be Grossed-Out!!!

Would have made an interesting first birthday cake for my niece last week, eh?

Happy Anniversary of the Day of Your Birth...

...to my niece, Elana! The party is tomorrow, but I sent her an e-card today anyway!

Here she is eating sand during her first trip to the beach (Sampsel family beach vacation, July 2005).

Does your job meet any of these criteria?

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... and please let me know!

Coming to a Gas Station Near You...

Father of the Synthesizer Dies at Age 71

Yes, that's right. I'm talking about Robert Moog. It was not too long ago I was teaching a General Music class about Moog and his creation.


Excerpts from the CNN.com article:

The arrival of the synthesizer came as just as the Beatles and other musicians started seeking ways to fuse psychedelic-drug experiences with their art. The Beatles used a Moog synthesizer on their 1969 album, "Abbey Road"; a Moog was used to create an eerie sound on the soundtrack to the 1971 film "A Clockwork Orange".

Keyboardist Walter (later Wendy) Carlos demonstrated the range of Moog's synthesizer by recording the hit album "Switched-On Bach" in 1968 using only the new instrument instead of an orchestra.

The popularity of the synthesizer and the success of the company named for Moog took off in rock as extended keyboard solos in songs by Manfred Mann, Yes and Pink Floyd became part of the progressive sound of the 1970s.
He went on to attach his name to a long list of synthesizers developed over the years -- among them Micromoog, Minitmoog, Multimoog and Memorymoog.

He spent the early 1990s as a research professor of music at the University of North Carolina at Asheville before turning full-time to running his new instrument business, which was renamed Moog Music in 2002. The roster of customers includes Nine Inch Nails, Pearl Jam, Beck, Phish, Sonic Youth and Widespread Panic.

This is for Paige!

I am still alive, but I have nothing to offer. Hence the lack of posts lately. No inspiration, I guess.

Finished working bandcamp with Danny. Have been working feverishly on another project (I'll tell you later) that has a deadline I just can't miss. Putting off OAT study for this, in fact. School will start for me on Wed (Aug 24). I will have two classes plus a lab, and I will only have those from 11-ish to 3:30-ish on Tuesdays-Thursdays.

Plans have been set to have my first family vacation (to DC the week following Christmas). Have rented a nice row house (lower level) on E Street.

Did anyone else catch the wonderful story about David (Patrick) Winter on the news (Channel 10 - NBC) a few weeks ago? Anyway, he is officially on the sex offenders registry in the state of TN. Interview was with the girl that brought about his end as a teacher (she was 14 when it began --- he was teaching her "privately"). Sad, but I could have (and did) picked out the creeps who were most likely to behave in such a manner. I think I'm out of picks (for those I knew).

Friday Night TV --- And you say there is nothing good to watch!

TV has come a long way since the days of "T.G.I.F."

Tonight on NBC --- Do people drink a particular brand of vodka for the taste, or the status? Taste test of 5 premium vodkas and one budget vodka revealed their favorites weren't neccessarily so (and differences undetectable in a Cosmo).

Tonight on ABC --- Does Gaydar actually work? The answer... Yes, usually with about 70% accuracy. We are cautioned against this practice of using our gaydar because of the 30% failure rate. (By the way, Danny and I were 100% --- our reception must be great!)

Oh, What A Feeling...

When we registered for our wedding gifts, we picked out the most wonderful towels. Okay, so we didn't get a single one. What we did get was a great variety of ivory/ecru/beige/off-white towels (that is, they were all pretty much the same color, but many different makers). Since we have had them over a year and hadn't bothered to take any back to the store from whence they came, I decided to wash them and put them to use. The matching pair that is first put to use gave me a feeling which can only be described as this:

"It feels like I dried off with my favorite stuffed animal!"

Now, this is a good thing (in my mind anyway) and it is exactly the way I described it to Danny. After he used his, he concurred.

Study and Vacation

Late this morning I began my pursuit to seriously study through my MCAT review book (1000+ pages). So far I have spent about 3 hours taking notes over only about 20 pages of material. You must understand, this is a condensed version of EVERYTHING there is to know (everything that matters to me right now, anyway). It is actually kind of fun to review these things that I should have committed to memory long ago (long-term memory, that is). At least there is familiarity at this point and not the "What is this crap, really?" kind of "studying" going on.

Have been looking for some rental places in DC for a family vacation immediately after Christmas. Found one that seems very promising both in price and ameneties. I have emailed the owner of the row house on E Street regarding questions unanswered by the web listing. If all is answered to our liking, we will be there for the last days of 2005. Believe-it-or-not, Ripley, this is our first actual family vacation EVER. Perhaps we won't kill each other.

Now I've Done It, Too!

I'm from Ravenclaw!

Hogwart's Sorting Hat Quiz