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Kurt Ponderings

Trying to understand Kurt Cobain in 2004 may be a little like talking Nietzsche during a Left Behind book reading, but who’s got time to keep track of this cultural war thingy anyway? Which reminds me — I’m still mad at the guy’s selfish decision to snuff out his own life 10 years ago. I mean, culturally speaking, things weren’t really gonna go downhill for a few more years anyway. And if Courtney’s on-again/off-again relationship with rock star irony doesn’t
pay off like she thinks, who can we point to as the heir of the revolution that started with a three member band from, of all places, Washington state?

Why it’s you, me, and the guy sitting next to you at work. You both remember where you were when you first heard the anthem. You both can recall the buzz that launched a nation of layered T-shirts marching lockstep to confront a chronic sense of apathy. And when it came time to put the theory to the ultimate test, when it came time to sit down and actually listen to Nevermind, it dawned on you—there’s
some kind of connection here.

Like a Matrix socket in the back of so many cerebral cortexes, the angst and agony that spat out in Beatle-esqe rapture could not be denied. That was the force of Kurt Cobain in his short amount of time here. That’s how
he will be remembered. And that’s how those who were witnesses will reflect on the dark and enlightened memories of our collective grungy pasts.

Let me make it clear. I don’t like martyrs and I despise suicide even more. I refuse to use words like “prophet” and I ain’t too keen on the glorification of self-suffering either. But the tidal wave of energy that poured over so many souls all those years ago still has had a greater effect than the way it suddenly all came to an abrupt end. And that, I think, is part of the true nature of art.

Related

• Love is Rock N Roll: Ryan Adams Reviewed
• 1991 interview offered look into mind of a rising rock star
• Cobain’s art shows flip side of his genius
• What did Kurt Cobain mean to you?

Proof of Concept

My wife and I had the privilege tonight of celebrating an anniversary dinner with my mother and her husband. The two have been married for ten years. I’m truly floored when I think about their relationship, and in turn, to the power of what love can do — how it can change people.

There was a time, a long time ago, when I was skeptical of this concept. Or maybe I chose to ignore it for one reason or another. But it’s true. Love can conquer all. And I know it sounds trite, but it’s something I’m happy to believe in personally.

All the evidence I need of love’s worth was sitting across the table from me tonight. My mom and her husband are a warm and happy couple that have triumphed over the odds. Liz and I should be so lucky to end up like them.

Solidarity

G4 MDD Superdrive Mod

Well, if there’s anything to be learned from adding a Pioneer 107 (Superdrive) DVD Burner to my mirror drive door G4, it’s that I should pay more attention to the advice of others. Numerous people on this site reported it necessary to remove the tray’s front lip (the part with the DVD logo on it) to clear the rounded openings in each of the case’s optical bays.

In some unexplainable state of denial, I thought for sure I wouldn’t need to do such senseless and ugly modifications. Three attempts at switching things around and a lost screw somewhere in the bowls of my computer later, I discovered I was wrong. There is no avoiding the removal of the tray’s front lip. Well, accept that I did put it back on, but modified
it slightly with a hack saw, giving it rounded corners for just enough open/close clearance.

Jonathan Ive, the Mac community loves you, but you gotta watch putting rounded corners where only square ones belong. That being said, this drive works and burns beautifully using Toast. I’m still a little hesitant to do yet another hack to get my iLife applications fully recognized, but the rumor mill has it that 10.3.3 will solve that problem. I think I might hold out until then and report on my findings a little later.

UPDATE: As luck would have it, 10.3.3 came out a day after I made this post. Not wasting any time, I completed the update, rebooted, and sure enough the System Profiler now shows my PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-107D as “Apple Supported/Shipped.” I don’t have any media on hand to really test it out, but I assume it will be smooth sailing from here on.

Quizos Commercials Explained

A quick look at my stats this month shows that an unexpected number of people happened upon this site looking for an explanation to the surreal Quizos commercials I spoke about some time ago. While I certainly can’t give a proper explanation, a friend of mine recently sent me this article, which at least puts a name on the creatures.

Apparently they’re called “spongemonkeys.” Other than that, I can offer no further rationale, nor can I recommend any pharmaceuticals which might enable one to view the ads with the proper levity, so to speak.

These characters come from a man named Joel Veitch, who makes television shows for Britain’s Channel 4* (according to his Web site, www.rathergood.com). On his site, you can see these creatures in a January 2003 video clip, in which they sing about loving the moon, marmots, cheese, dirigibles, and several other nouns. The clip, which calls the characters “spongmonkeys,” seems pretty clearly the basis for the Quiznos ad. (Quiznos says a guy from their ad firm received the clip in an e-mail from a friend and decided it was perfect for a new campaign.)