Google Developer Day goodies

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I almost forgot to mention that last week’s Cruzio outing to Google Developer Day was quite fun. There were free food, free t-shirts, free socks, free workshops, and of course the API’s and the API wizards at code.google.com. I know it’s all a bunch of bribes so we will happily assist Google in consolidating its domination of the Internet (and tomorrow the world) but I find myself easily corrupted, at least for the moment.

I’d been despairing that I wouldn’t be able to put news headlines on micruzio.com for a few years yet, and now they’re there! Or will be in a few hours.

Really, you didn’t need to be a programmer to enjoy the workshops and to get excited about the Google APIs. If you can copy and paste, you can spice up your blog with cool stuff.

For example, I added a video search bar to my posts about the Moscow Cats Theater and about Men Without Hats. Check it out!

I’m going to keep checking my fellow GDDers’ blogs for signs of googlification – eh, SuperG?

Iris DeMent video and small town thoughts

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I rejoice in small town connections.

Just in the past week, I’ve seen or spoken with so many old friends, co-workers and acquaintances: a woman I did childcare with ten years ago, now a mother of three; an old friend who has been through tumultuous times, and from whom I was estranged for some time, but is now doing well; a fellow folk dancer from back in the days I was a contra dance junkie (Hi Tina!); someone who treated me with tender loving acupuncture some years ago; the list goes on.

All of these were chance encounters much more likely to happen in a small town.

So here’s to small towns, and on that note, I introduce you to a song celebrating a (presumably very small) hometown and mourning its demise: Our Town, by Iris DeMent.

I’ve seen Iris in concert a few times and was always too far away to see her very well. I could have sworn, a couple of times, that she was crying as she sang (did anyone else have this impression?). Whether she was or not, that’s how teary and plaintive her voice can sound. It’s great to see her expressive face up close in this video, and while I don’t detect any tears, there’s certainly plenty of emotion.

At any rate, I can hardly listen to the song without tearing up myself. I think that even if I’d never lived in a small town, I would still be affected. I grew up in Southern California in the small town of Laguna Beach; I still get sentimental remembering the sage-scented sandstone canyons inhabited by lizards, bats and hawks, and the eucalyptus-shaded neighborhoods with cooing doves. The song is about the loss of something familiar and dear, which must be a universal experience.

I hope you enjoy this touching ballad with sweet harmonies from Emmylou, who as usual is exquisitely attentive to her duet partner and exercises perfect timing.

Please watch below the fold. If you’d care to leave a comment, I’d love to know your impressions.

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Just singing on my bike, I’m happy again

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I like to sing on my bike. It’s often surprisingly private.

Of course I looove to sing in echoey stairwells. The acoustics don’t get much more fun than that.

Singing to dogs is a kick, too. It’s funny when the dog howls along.

Singing under the bedcovers is cozy, when I feel too insecure to sing out in the open. Especially if I want to sing a really cheesy kids’ song that I’m embarrassed to sing in public. Though if you know me, you know I’m not easily embarrassed that way.

Anyone else sing on your bike, or other interesting places? What do you like about different settings – the acoustics, the privacy, or just being in a favorite place? Please tell me in the comments!

I might just start a Sing Everywhere movement.

Quirkiest radio ever: WFMU

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New York’s WFMU wakes me up. Literally. I’ve programmed my computer so that, among other things, it functions as a clock radio. At 6:45 a.m. on weekdays, it powers up and tunes in, considerately fading in gradually.

The WFMU DJs follow their own muses. I would apply the following adjectives from the thesaurus, if not to each song played, then certainly to the station as a whole:

aberrant, abnormal, anomalous, beat, bent, bizarre, capricious, case, character, cockeyed, crazy, curious, droll, erratic, far out, flaky, fly ball, freak, freakish, freaky, funky, funny, geeky, goony, idiosyncratic, irregular, kooky, nutty, odd, oddball, off-center, offbeat, outlandish, peculiar, quaint, queer, quirky, quizzical, screwy, singular, strange, uncommon, unconventional, unnatural, unusual, way out, weird, weirdo, whacko, whacky, whimsical, wild, yo-yo

but I’d also say:

ace, attractive, best ever, cat’s pajamas, choice, commendable, cool, copacetic, crack, crackerjack, daisy, deadly, deserving, dilly, doozie, dream, estimable, excellent, exquisite, fine, gnarly, good, great, greatest, groovy, heavy, hunky dory, keen, laudable, mean, meritable, meritorious, neat, peachy, praiseworthy, rare, smashing, solid, spiffy, super, super-duper, superior, unreal, valuable, wicked, wonderful, worthy

WFMU is just the kind of station that makes Internet radio worth saving.