Hartford Sucks

I was in Hartford all last week.  It sucks.  I had already heard this from a few people, but in order to cast judgment myself, I really had to experience it.  Here is my complaint list with Hartford:

- CVS closes at 7:00pm

-There is construction on virtually every single street.  Driving downtown is like going through an obstacle course of pot holes and jersey barriers.  And if there isn’t any construction there is just arbitrarily placed orange cones everywhere, making it impossible to park legally.

-The only concert that is coming to Hartford is Miley Cyrus and it’s sold out.

-The Burger King does not have a dollar menu.

- Every 90 seconds you hear a chorus of 100 sirens coming from all directions.  I’m beginning to think that the firetruck and ambulance drivers get bored so they drive in circles around the city.  Kind of like an emergency roller derby.

-I  searched google maps to find a bookstore to buy Huck Finn(written in Hartford).  Three bookstores came up in the downtown area.  One was closed (closes at 430pm  during the week).  One was no longer a bookstore but a Money Order/ Off-Track Betting Station(which was also closed).  And the last one had been completely demolished(It was literally an empty lot with a sign attached to a wooden stick that said “For Rent- 203-384-3294”,).

- A glass of milk at the hotel bar was $4.

- I went to get my photo taken for a passport application. I tried CVS, a camera store, and the post office.  At all 3 locations(no joking), I was told the exact same thing, “Our camera is down.”  What the hell does that mean,’ down’?  Does that mean they have to wait for a technician to come in to bring it up? It’s a tiny single function digital camera, not a space shuttle.  Finally the post office clerk told me that a nearby P.O. had a working camera.  “It bout halfamile downda road.” I mapped it out afterwards. It was 2.6 miles away.  :-)

-But most irritating of all: Everyone in downtown Hartford walks around like they have nothing to do.  There is no immediacy in their stride.  When you go to New York or Boston, everyone has firm intentions on their face and are focused on getting from A to B.  Hartfordians  have no agenda.  They just mull around like mindless vegetables in a stew of stagnant capitalism.

Now I do realize that perhaps there are nicer facets to this old New England town.  After all, we did film at two beautiful locations: The Mark Twain House, and the Old Statehouse.  And the restaurants that we ate at were fairly good. (Trumbull Kitchen - Excellent Menu) However, I must say my position towards the city as a whole remains to be quite negative.

Here are some pics of the Old Statehouse:

House Chamber

 Original GW Photograph.

Stuffed two-headed cow that was in the statehouse for some reason.  I think it was applying for duel citizenship (thats all i got).

That’s all for now.

-Charlie

Haiku of the Day:

Don't hide in the fridge.

Surely you will freeze to death.

Don't call me Shirley.

Yo Mama Joke of the Day:

Yo Mama is so dumb, her IQ is lower than absolute zero.

Post-Rock

The only way to listen to music is on your own terms. Music can exist only where your life permits it to exist. To a certain extent, you can predict someone’s music library according to how they live. A person's genre preference(Rap, Rock, Hip-Hop) is a mixed bag that is complexly rooted in their music listening history. But music specificity and how far someone delves into a genre is usually consistent with their life structure. For example: If you are a person who has an extremely busy schedule and are always moving from task to task without taking a moment to breathe, you are most likely going to have a relatively shallow music taste. When you spare 20 minutes to jog on the treadmill, you want your ipod to play your favorite songs on repeat, no more no less. When you drive to work you want to hear only the top hits. That’s all you have time for. Most people are like this and this is the reason why radio stations play the same songs over and over again regardless as to whether they are any good. Take the opposite example: If you’re the kind of person that has gaps in the day to sit down, think, and analyze, you’re going to have a much more elaborate music palate.  It's those gaps in the day where you not only think creatively but you also individualize. This is why many people expand their musical boundaries when they get to college where they have time on their hands.

I’m not saying either example is the right way to go. I just think it is an interesting way to look at musical preference.

I do realize that is a rather pretentious way to introduce a genre of music, but I couldn’t think of any other way. Post-Rock started in the early 90’s. It has the instrumental melodies and rhythms of rock, but leaves behind the spirit and structure of the typical rock song. Today, the average post-rock band plays very heavy harmonious melodies that gradually rise and fall in energy/tempo. Also the typical post-rock song is without lyrics and is drawn out over ten or so minutes. To me, post-rock is music that is trying to be more involved in your life. It is for the person that only takes out their ear-buds for conversational purposes and sometimes not even then. Listening to it makes you feel like what you’re doing is so much more purposeful and dramatic. Now I’m not saying that it will turn your life into some sort of  artsy music video. I am saying that listening to it will bring new energy and thought to virtually any place in your life.

"First Breathe After Coma" by the American group Explosions in the Sky, was the post-rock song that quickly caught my interest. It is a very relaxing and uplifting 9 1/2 minutes and gives you an accurate sample of what the genre is all about. Other post-rock outfits that I highly recommend are Mogwai (Scotland), Godspeed You Black Emperor! (Montreal), and The Redneck Manifesto (Ireland).

That’s all for now.

-Charlie

Thought provoking question of the day:
Why is it such a priority to know who, and under what circumstances, can screw in a lightbulb?

Yo Mama Joke of the day:
Yo mama is so fat, when she died, she tried to cross over to the other side, but got caught in the doorway.