Author Archives: Mike

Soundcheck Sunday: Shawn Colvin, “These Four Walls”

Posted on 25 September, 2011 by Mike

The title track from the latest studio album (2006). One of the things I love dearly about Colvin is that she’s only inclined to record when she actually feels like she has something to say. This can be frustrating sometimes … Continue reading →

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Currently reading

Posted on 18 September, 2011 by Mike

Or, my tabdump for 18 September 2011, potentially of interest to some people I know read this blog: Don’t Come to the Dark Side: Acquisition Lessons from a Galaxy Far Far Away Fighting a Nuclear Armed Regional Opponent: Is Victory … Continue reading →

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Soundcheck Sunday: Shawn Colvin, “Wichita Skyline”

Posted on 18 September, 2011 by Mike

So it turns out we’re going to do a pair of tracks from “A Few Small Repairs.” This one’s been in my mind since last week, when we went out to Alberta (my first time back in two years) for … Continue reading →

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Soundcheck Sunday: Shawn Colvin, “84,000 Different Delusions”

Posted on 11 September, 2011 by Mike

It turns out there’s no video for this song. You don’t need one. I recently stumbled upon a (very small) poem by the Jodo Shinshu poet Asahara Saichi: 84,000 delusions 84,000 lights 84,000 joys abounding I have no idea if … Continue reading →

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Obligatory post

Posted on 9 September, 2011 by Mike

Herewith, a collection of links to articles that either helped shape or closely mirror the way I think about what happened a decade ago: David Foster Wallace, “Just Asking“: “What if we chose to regard the 2,973 innocents killed in … Continue reading →

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And thus my fall is much like my spring

Posted on 9 September, 2011 by Mike

This is what 11,921 miles and six weeks looks like: Once again, I have a staggering number of PNRs floating around in my iPhone and one hell of a lot of ground to cover over the next month and a … Continue reading →

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PIREP: Telex Stratus 30XT headset

Posted on 7 September, 2011 by Mike

Back in the spring, I bought a Telex Stratus 30XT aviation headset from these guys. Not because they’d been offering the world’s greatest price or anything, but because they had the best shipping plan I could find (to Hawaii). Owing … Continue reading →

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The view from up here

Posted on 7 September, 2011 by Mike

I saw an interesting thing last night. “Combat Hospital” — a Shaw Media-produced show about life at KAF in the middle part of the decade, with a multinational health care team at its centre — featured the death of a … Continue reading →

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Soundcheck Sunday: Shawn Colvin, “Polaroids”

Posted on 4 September, 2011 by Mike

If late August was the time of The Northern Pikes, September seems to be the month of Shawn Colvin (and Paula Cole, but that’s a Soundcheck for another week). We’re fast approaching what is easily my favorite time of year … Continue reading →

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Sked changes

Posted on 2 September, 2011 by Mike

United Airlines has killed my favorite flight. This was the flight formerly known as UAL055, the afternoon flight from San Francisco to Kailua-Kona. It worked on so many different levels: it allowed for connections from their afternoon departure from Victoria, … Continue reading →

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