Dabysan in Hammersmith Palais

Dazed But Not Confused

nobody@vox.com(Dabysan) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:34:36 -0500

Well that wedding business was a heck of a lot of fun. I think if you had asked either CarrieNation or me for wedding advice in the week leading up to the event, the word "elopement" would have been liberally interspersed throughout our respective comments. All the planning and worrying and last-minute-crisis averting is quite stressful, but in the end it is all totally worth it. It's like going to the best party ever, with all the people you care about, your favorite music and delicious food, accompanied by the person you love the most in the world.

The weekend passed by in a lovely blur, and before we knew it, CarrieNation and I were off to our honeymoon in beautiful Mex....oh wait, that's not what happened. What happened is that we both went back to our jobs to do our Very Important Work for a couple days. And if it was mildly surreal going back into the office after such a momentous weekend, I guess we handled it okay.

Tomorrow morning, earlier than I'd care to think about, we'll strike off to the so-called Mayan Riviera for some much needed rest and relaxation.

I'll have some more thoughts (and pictures!) when I get back, but in the meantime here's some things I though I'd mention:

- Hotrod's toast: In a word: Awesome. Some wedding guests called it the best ever. I can't wait to get my grubby paws on the video so I can check out again.

- Wearing a wedding ring: Awesome, but weird. I'm constantly aware of it.

- The 104p52w challenge: I'll admit it, it's going to be touch and go. I'm all set for this week, but where I'm going is awfully disconnected. Wish me luck.

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Smooth Wedding Jams

nobody@vox.com(Dabysan) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:00:51 -0500

Greetings Voxosphere! So I got hitched this weekend and it went great. There's a whole lot to discuss, including, but not limited to, Hotrod's awesome toast, our tremendous friends and the delicious food that was as much of a surprise to us as it was to our guests.

But all of that will have to wait. I'm still in recovery mode from a wild weekend, and for now all I really have energy to do is post the playlist(s), per M-----l's request.

This is going to be longish, so I apologize in advance if you're trying to scroll down into my deep archives.

Ceremony

Light and Day/ Reach for Sun 3:23 The Polyphonic Spree (CarrieNation's entrance)
We Just Won't Be Defeated 2:47 The Go Team (our triumphant exit)

Reception

You Are Invited 4:52 The Dismemberment Plan

Pressure Drop 2:59 Toots & the Maytals

Fight Test 4:14 The Flaming Lips

Beautiful Child 4:17 Rufus Wainright

Here Comes Your Man 3:22 Pixies

Don't Let's Start 2:36 They Might Be Giants Might Be Giants

You Spin Me 'Round (Like a Record) 3:19 Dead or Alive

Word Up 4:17 Cameo

Rock With You 3:41 Michael Jackson

Let's Stay Together 3:18 Al Green

That Teenage Feeling 2:45 Neko Case

Bizarre Love Triangle 6:42 New Order

Our Lips Are Sealed 2:50 The Go-Gos

Hand in Glove 3:14 The Smiths

Lean on Me 4:21 Bill Withers

Paper Planes 3:27 M.I.A.

Little Red Corvette 4:57 Prince 1999

I Want You Back 2:58 The Jackson 5

The Way You Look Tonight 3:22 Frank Sinatra

Tenderness 3:38 General Public

Our House 3:22 Madness

Golden Lady 5:00 Stevie Wonder

Let's Get It On (Single Version) 4:01 Marvin Gaye

Atomic 4:42 Blondie

Oh L'Amour 3:07 Erasure

Let's Dance 4:12 David Bowie

Sir Duke 3:54 Stevie Wonder

Punk Rock Girl 2:38 The Dead Milkmen

Ladyflash 4:18 The Go Team

Poker Face 3:57 Lady GaGa

The Rubberband Man 3:37 The Spinners

O-o-h Child 3:15 The Five Stairsteps

Pass the Dutchie 3:20 Musical Youth

White Lines 4:29 Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five

Beyond the Sea 2:54 Bobby Darin

It's A Shame 3:11 The Spinners

Ballad Of A Comeback Kid 3:51 The New Pornographers

Hoover Dam 5:28 Sugar

Blue Monday 7:26 New Order

Lay All Your Love On Me 4:36 Abba

September 3:35 Earth, Wind & Fire

Can't Get Enough of Your Love Babe 3:50 Barry White

Think 2:19 Aretha Franklin

Come on Eileen 4:13 Dexy's Midnight Runners

Girlfriend 3:40 Matthew Sweet

Take Your Mama 4:32 Scissor Sisters

Oh Girl 3:36 The Chi-Lites

If You Don't Know Me By Now 3:26 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes

Bang a Gong (Get It On) 4:28 T. Rex Electric Warrior

Surrender 4:12 Cheap Trick

Under Pressure 3:58 David Bowie & Queen

My Girls 5:45 Animal Collective

Peek-a-Boo 3:11 Siouxsie and the Banshees

(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais 4:01 The Clash (Big Finish)

These were on the list, but didn't make it on in time.

Soldier Girl [UK Single Version] 2:23 The Polyphonic Spree

Blister in the Sun 2:26 Violent Femmes Vilolent Femmes

Letter From An Occupant 3:46 The New Pornographers

She Bangs The Drum 3:45 The Stone Roses

Sheila Take a Bow 2:42 The Smiths Louder Than Bombs Rock/Pop

Genius of Love 5:34 Tom Tom Club

Grandma's Hands 2:02 Bill Withers

Tired of Being Alone 2:43 Al Green

Hold It Now, Hit It 3:26 The Beastie Boys

Me Myself and I 3:44 De La Soul Three Feet High and Rising She Moves In Her Own Way 2:50 The Kooks

Lovefool 3:16 The Cardigans

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Bells, Wedding

nobody@vox.com(Dabysan) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:18:10 -0500

The title of this post is the subject line of an e-mail that delinquent Voxer and all around good egg Jason P set me and CarrieNation to congratulate us on our impending nuptials (I'm glad I can stop struggling to spell that word after this weekend).

Because my blog has mostly been a vehicle for hurling insults, bickering over music and perpetuating my decade-long (and counting!) War Over Nothing with Hotrod, I sometimes struggle to find the appropriate tone to discuss serious matters...such as, say, the most important -- and best -- decision I've ever made. Or, for example, one of the biggest days of my life.

But that day is fast upon us, and it seems appropriate that I say something about it from my small public platform in the hinterlands of the blogosphere.

Over the past few days I've been a ~~bit of a~~ nervous wreck. Although CarrieNation has done the lion's share of the planning and work for the big event, I've done enough to know how many balls we have in the air (catering, music, venue, clothes, etc.) and every day I'm worried about a new variable. The phalanx of relatives and friends descending on our fair city for the event also has me rattled, as does the prospect of being responsible for all of them having a good time.

What doesn't worry me -- even a little -- is the prospect of being married to CarrieNation. In fact, I'll let my dear readers in on a little secret: because our officiant isn't a member of a church recognized by our great commonwealth (fake Internet ministers rule) we went ahead and made it official with an officer of the court on Monday. To me, the notion that I will spend the rest of my life with CarrieNation is as natural as the notion that I'll continue to breathe air, eat breakfast and listen to the Clash for the rest of my life. To imagine any other scenario is what would scare me.

So that's it. Wish us luck on this wedding business. Cross your fingers that all of our assorted vendors show up, my Grandmother doesn't cuff my ears when she hears some of the more profane tracks on the wedding mix, and Hotrod stays sober long enough to make a coherent toast. The marriage is the easy part.

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Rock-vember? Nov-androll? Whatever, here's the Toy Dolls

nobody@vox.com(Dabysan) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:18:01 -0500

There are a few bands that always put me in a good mood. The Toy Dolls is (are?) one of them. Happy Punk-vember!

Toy Dolls - Dig that groove baby

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Korea is Weird - A Photo Diary

nobody@vox.com(Dabysan) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:40:32 -0500

I'm a little salty at Korea right now, as I can think of nobody better to blame for the three hours of sleep I got last night, but all things considered, it was an interesting trip, and I'm glad I got to see it. Onto the pictures!

They have the technology

My hotel, the Lotte Hotel Seoul, is apparently a joint Japanese-Korean concern that caters to Japanese visitors. Hence the spiffy toilets.

It comes wiht instructions

Looks like I misspelled "with". I blame jet lag.

Don't press the smiley button

I realize I took a lot of photos of toilets, but honestly, the "palaces" were kind of boring.

Korean Mac store

It's like a Mac store, but it's called "Frisbee"... I guess if you're going to use a random English word in Korea, there's no reason for it to make sense.

If you can tell me what's happening here - you win a prize

I realize this is sideways. It's my first foray into iPhone video. It's still worth watching for five seconds. I promise.

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Chickpeas and Lentils...Try it With Rice!

nobody@vox.com(Dabysan) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:20:42 -0400

Koreans have a dish called Bi Bim Bap that is roughly as common as hamburgers are in the United States. Bi Bim Bap is basically a big mound of rice with a bunch of stuff piled on top of it. The good news for me is that in addition to being ubiquitous, Bi Bim Bap is also delicious and -- in many cases -- vegetarian, unlike virtually everything else in this country.

I had eaten Bi Bim Bap before I visited Korea, but I've really taken my appreciation of the dish to new levels here. I've eaten it no fewer than four times, and I suspect I'll be up to six or seven by the time I depart these shores.

Korean hamburger

Now it's true that I might be getting just the tiniest bit weary of mushed up veggies and rice, but it's either that or pork, braised in beef, smothered with shrimp paste, so I'm just going to be grateful to Mr. Bap, or whoever it was who came up with Korea's finest gift to vegetarians.

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The good news is that I can't watch football

nobody@vox.com(Dabysan) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:55:20 -0400

I'm about to head out to dinner, and while I realize I have a little bit of time before Sunday is over, I figured I'd just post now and keep the quest for pie alive.

Korea is still here and I haven't starved to death yet. I'm pretty pleased that I'm going to be asleep while my real and fantasy football teams are busy losing their games this week.

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Run-DMZ

nobody@vox.com(Dabysan) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:11:29 -0400

The interesting thing about international work trips is that you often end up in places that you would never think to visit on vacation. Sometimes this is awesome -- visiting Cairo was a landmark experience and one I probably wouldn't have thought to create on my own. And sometimes it just means you're in kind of a boring place far from home.

I'm not quite sure which category Seoul falls into yet, but I'm leaning toward the latter. For as big and cosmopolitan as it is, Seoul feels really homogeneous. I've been to a bunch of different neighborhoods, and they've all felt identical to one another. There are some national historic sites to visit (old palaces and the like) but even these feel sterile and undifferentiated.

By far the highlight of the trip so far has been my trip to a Korean spa. If you want something to scratch your culture shock itch, this is just the thing. It was just me and my friend and a whole gaggle of naked Korean dudes taking the waters. Turned out to be quite relaxing once I got into the swing (hey-ooooooo!) of things.

I can't say the same for the half-day tour of the DMZ from which I just returned. The DMZ is South Korea's single biggest tourist attraction and it shows. The first stop outside the DMZ features a parking lot amusement park and a towering food court, and the hard sell continues throughout the tour. The infiltration tunnel dug by the North Koreans was pretty cool, but the requisite stop at the "amethyst museum" at the end of the trip was not.

My conference begins in earnest tomorrow, so maybe it's just as well that there's not much left I need to see.

Onto the pictures!

DMZland

The helmet is pretty choice.

Breakfast

Korea = not a vegetarian paradise. I made a pretty good breakfast of spicy pickles and potatoes though.

Iowa in the house

Here's me in my Iowa sweatshirt (Go Hawkeyes!) at a palace that someone important used to occupy. I didn't read the signs too closely.

Mmm dmz chocolate

Excelsior!

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Seoul Brother #1

nobody@vox.com(Dabysan) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:53:46 -0400

My tour of the world's finest windowless conference facilities continues next week with a trip to Seoul, South Korea. These trips can be somewhat stressful -- especially for an aviophobic like yours truly -- I am quite grateful that my job provides me the opportunity to see a lot of places I might not otherwise go on somebody else's dime.

That said, this week's trip could have been timed a little bit better. I get back from Korea eight days before CarrieNation and I get hitched, leaving a pretty narrow window for me to resolve any residual jet lag/stomach ailments I may pick up in the Far East.

Seoul

Because things have been so busy, I haven't had as much time to plan out what I want to do on my free day-and-a-half or so in Seoul. I'm pretty sure my friend and I are going to take a day trip to the DMZ. I might want to visit Kukkiwon, the world Tae Kwon Do headquarters (I'm a card carrying member...I think).

One thing I won't be doing a lot of is eating out. According to this article Seoul is not only a bad city for vegetarians, it's one of the worst in the world. That is to say, not only is there nothing for vegetarians to eat, restaurant owners and employees are actively hostile to the very notion of vegetarianism. So that oughta be entertaining. I'm packing a lot of trail mix and protein bars.

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Obligatory Rock-Tober Post

nobody@vox.com(Dabysan) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:40:48 -0400

You know who were pretty good for like five minutes? The Charlatans UK.

Charlatans U.K - The Only One I Know (edited freaky video) HQ!

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