diff --git a/.obsidian/workspace.json b/.obsidian/workspace.json index 2d35d40..80d017d 100644 --- a/.obsidian/workspace.json +++ b/.obsidian/workspace.json @@ -11,10 +11,15 @@ "id": "7a41c65b466f0917", "type": "leaf", "state": { - "type": "empty", - "state": {}, + "type": "markdown", + "state": { + "file": "content/week-notes/030.md", + "mode": "source", + "source": false, + "backlinks": false + }, "icon": "lucide-file", - "title": "New tab" + "title": "030" } } ] diff --git a/content/week-notes/030.md b/content/week-notes/030.md index a2efdc6..a80bae5 100644 --- a/content/week-notes/030.md +++ b/content/week-notes/030.md @@ -10,7 +10,9 @@ I taught my first college class! It went far better than I anticipated; by about For context, the college I'm teaching (*adjunct lecturing*[^2]) at is my alma mater. I transferred there as a junior from community college, and this course is the first one I took there — with a professor who went on to become a mentor and a personal friend. She scared the shit out of me then (she still does) because she is *so good* at what she does, so experienced, and (seemingly) effortlessly incredible as a teacher. The idea that I have to, in some way, fill her shoes — teach her class, in the same room I took it, nine years later — is absolutely terrifying. Who am I to tell these kids how to teach?? I have very lovely friends who have talked me up and assured me that I'll do a great job, but I think I'll never be able to shake the feeling that I'm not doing what she would have (or not doing as good as her). Of course that's ridiculous and I need to be my own person, and it is within this contradiction that I must exist. -I'm continuing to backport content from an old blog. This week I've added... +I've been to my classroom a few times this week getting some of the bigger projects done. I'll have time to put on finishing touches on the teacher conference days next week, but I'd rather cut open 96 tennis balls at a relaxed pace than rush to do it the day before kids show up. + +Site-wise, I'm continuing to backport content from an old blog. This week I've added... * [Here's What I Was Listening to in 2015](https://cassie.ink/heres-what-i-was-listening-to-in-2015) (01-07-2016) * [Star Wars Has a Problem with Women and We’re Going to Fix It Together](http://cassie.ink/star-wars-has-a-problem-with-women-and-were-going-to-fix-it-together/) (12-14-2015) ## Reading @@ -20,7 +22,12 @@ I'm continuing to backport content from an old blog. This week I've added... ## Playing ## Listening +I did a *lot* of podcast listening this week! Cleaning and organizing my classroom has been a good opportunity for it because it's mostly mindless labor. I've been digging through Into the Aether's *Kingdom Hearts* episodes ([Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep | Bonus](https://pca.st/ryz2z5wd) and [I Norted Myself](https://pca.st/m4xgagit)) plus the [Song Exploder episode on "Miasma Sky."](https://pca.st/Kj2p) + +I've been listening to a lot of *Pure Particles* by The Bug Club. It has some of my favorite songs of theirs ("If My Mother Thinks I'm Happy," "Pure Particles," and "A Love Song," primarily). I haven't been quite as enthused with their more recent releases — *Very Human Features* was good, and I didn't really care about *On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System*[^3] — but *Pure Particles* through *Rare Birds* is such an incredible run of quality. [^1]: I've found myself referring to the students as "kids." They're juniors and seniors in college, so probably at most around ten years younger than me. I'm not sure if this is a speech pattern picked up from teaching middle schoolers, who I can safely call kids, or if I'm an old lady now. More on that later. [^2]: This gag entertains me and I will continue it all semester. + +[^3]: The exception is "Have U Ever Been 2 Wales," which is an all-timer. I wish they had gone more in that direction for their album releases. diff --git a/public/index.html b/public/index.html index b589325..f67b5d3 100644 --- a/public/index.html +++ b/public/index.html @@ -96,7 +96,7 @@
  • Canopies and Drapes: Emmy the Great’s Twist on the Classic Breakup Song (2014-11-09)
  • Princess Bubblegum & Marceline: Still Just Almost Girlfriends (2014-08-14)
    • -

    Sorry for unintentional pings on my rss feed; also, be aware that a lot of these are very old (like, ten years) and don’t necessarily reflect who I am as a person today! I’m trying to be better about preserving and sharing my writing, so I suppose that means I must submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known. Some of these pieces, while flawed, I am still fond of — particularly the Life is Strange one. I’m planning to do more and eventually close down the blog where they originally appeared (so I can stop maintaining a WordPress install).

    +

    Sorry for unintentional pings on my rss feed; also, be aware that a lot of these are very old (like, ten years) and don’t necessarily reflect who I am as a person today! I’m trying to be better about preserving and sharing my writing, so I suppose that means I must submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known. Some of these pieces, while flawed, I am still fond of — particularly the Life is Strange one. I’m planning to do more and eventually close down the blog where they originally appeared.

    diff --git a/public/index.xml b/public/index.xml index 00306bc..e2c7aee 100644 --- a/public/index.xml +++ b/public/index.xml @@ -13,14 +13,14 @@ http://localhost:1313/week-notes/030/ Mon, 25 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:1313/week-notes/030/ - <h2 id="doing">Doing</h2> <p>I taught my first college class! It went far better than I anticipated; by about half an hour in, I fell into my natural teacher mode and it was smooth sailing from there. I&rsquo;m excited to work with the kids<sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">1</a></sup> and see how I do throughout the semester. I still have deep-seated imposter syndrome about teaching (<em>adjunct lecturing</em>) the course on a macro-level, but the day-by-day is at least seeming more feasible.</p> <p>For context, the college I&rsquo;m teaching (<em>adjunct lecturing</em><sup id="fnref:2"><a href="#fn:2" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">2</a></sup>) at is my alma mater. I transferred there as a junior from community college, and this course is the first one I took there — with a professor who went on to become a mentor and a personal friend. She scared the shit out of me then (she still does) because she is <em>so good</em> at what she does, so experienced, and (seemingly) effortlessly incredible as a teacher. The idea that I have to, in some way, fill her shoes — teach her class, in the same room I took it, nine years later — is absolutely terrifying. Who am I to tell these kids how to teach?? I have very lovely friends who have talked me up and assured me that I&rsquo;ll do a great job, but I think I&rsquo;ll never be able to shake the feeling that I&rsquo;m not doing what she would have (or not doing as good as her). Of course that&rsquo;s ridiculous and I need to be my own person, and it is within this contradiction that I must exist.</p> <p>I&rsquo;m continuing to backport content from an old blog. This week I&rsquo;ve added&hellip;</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://cassie.ink/star-wars-has-a-problem-with-women-and-were-going-to-fix-it-together/">Star Wars Has a Problem with Women and We’re Going to Fix It Together</a> (12-14-2015)</li> </ul> <h2 id="reading">Reading</h2> <h2 id="watching">Watching</h2> <h2 id="playing">Playing</h2> <h2 id="listening">Listening</h2> <div class="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes"> <hr> <ol> <li id="fn:1"> <p>I&rsquo;ve found myself referring to the students as &ldquo;kids.&rdquo; They&rsquo;re juniors and seniors in college, so probably at most around ten years younger than me. I&rsquo;m not sure if this is a speech pattern picked up from teaching middle schoolers, who I can safely call kids, or if I&rsquo;m an old lady now. More on that later.&#160;<a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;</a></p> </li> <li id="fn:2"> <p>This gag entertains me and I will continue it all semester.&#160;<a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;</a></p> </li> </ol> </div> + <h2 id="doing">Doing</h2> <p>I taught my first college class! It went far better than I anticipated; by about half an hour in, I fell into my natural teacher mode and it was smooth sailing from there. I&rsquo;m excited to work with the kids<sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">1</a></sup> and see how I do throughout the semester. I still have deep-seated imposter syndrome about teaching (<em>adjunct lecturing</em>) the course on a macro-level, but the day-by-day is at least seeming more feasible.</p> <p>For context, the college I&rsquo;m teaching (<em>adjunct lecturing</em><sup id="fnref:2"><a href="#fn:2" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">2</a></sup>) at is my alma mater. I transferred there as a junior from community college, and this course is the first one I took there — with a professor who went on to become a mentor and a personal friend. She scared the shit out of me then (she still does) because she is <em>so good</em> at what she does, so experienced, and (seemingly) effortlessly incredible as a teacher. The idea that I have to, in some way, fill her shoes — teach her class, in the same room I took it, nine years later — is absolutely terrifying. Who am I to tell these kids how to teach?? I have very lovely friends who have talked me up and assured me that I&rsquo;ll do a great job, but I think I&rsquo;ll never be able to shake the feeling that I&rsquo;m not doing what she would have (or not doing as good as her). Of course that&rsquo;s ridiculous and I need to be my own person, and it is within this contradiction that I must exist.</p> <p>I&rsquo;ve been to my classroom a few times this week getting some of the bigger projects done. I&rsquo;ll have time to put on finishing touches on the teacher conference days next week, but I&rsquo;d rather cut open 96 tennis balls at a relaxed pace than rush to do it the day before kids show up.</p> <p>Site-wise, I&rsquo;m continuing to backport content from an old blog. This week I&rsquo;ve added&hellip;</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/heres-what-i-was-listening-to-in-2015">Here&rsquo;s What I Was Listening to in 2015</a> (01-07-2016)</li> <li><a href="http://cassie.ink/star-wars-has-a-problem-with-women-and-were-going-to-fix-it-together/">Star Wars Has a Problem with Women and We’re Going to Fix It Together</a> (12-14-2015)</li> </ul> <h2 id="reading">Reading</h2> <h2 id="watching">Watching</h2> <h2 id="playing">Playing</h2> <h2 id="listening">Listening</h2> <p>I did a <em>lot</em> of podcast listening this week! Cleaning and organizing my classroom has been a good opportunity for it because it&rsquo;s mostly mindless labor. I&rsquo;ve been digging through Into the Aether&rsquo;s <em>Kingdom Hearts</em> episodes (<a href="https://pca.st/ryz2z5wd">Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep | Bonus</a> and <a href="https://pca.st/m4xgagit">I Norted Myself</a>) plus the <a href="https://pca.st/Kj2p">Song Exploder episode on &ldquo;Miasma Sky.&rdquo;</a></p> <p>I&rsquo;ve been listening to a lot of <em>Pure Particles</em> by The Bug Club. It has some of my favorite songs of theirs (&ldquo;If My Mother Thinks I&rsquo;m Happy,&rdquo; &ldquo;Pure Particles,&rdquo; and &ldquo;A Love Song,&rdquo; primarily). I haven&rsquo;t been quite as enthused with their more recent releases — <em>Very Human Features</em> was good, and I didn&rsquo;t really care about <em>On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System</em><sup id="fnref:3"><a href="#fn:3" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">3</a></sup> — but <em>Pure Particles</em> through <em>Rare Birds</em> is such an incredible run of quality.</p> <div class="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes"> <hr> <ol> <li id="fn:1"> <p>I&rsquo;ve found myself referring to the students as &ldquo;kids.&rdquo; They&rsquo;re juniors and seniors in college, so probably at most around ten years younger than me. I&rsquo;m not sure if this is a speech pattern picked up from teaching middle schoolers, who I can safely call kids, or if I&rsquo;m an old lady now. More on that later.&#160;<a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;</a></p> </li> <li id="fn:2"> <p>This gag entertains me and I will continue it all semester.&#160;<a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;</a></p> </li> <li id="fn:3"> <p>The exception is &ldquo;Have U Ever Been 2 Wales,&rdquo; which is an all-timer. I wish they had gone more in that direction for their album releases.&#160;<a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;</a></p> </li> </ol> </div> You wouldn't let it eat you wholе (WN29) http://localhost:1313/week-notes/029/ Tue, 19 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:1313/week-notes/029/ - <h2 id="doing">Doing</h2> <p>I&rsquo;m backporting a bunch of content from my old blogs so I can finally stop maintaining WordPress blogs. Here are the posts that I&rsquo;ve moved over:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/revolutions">Revolutions</a> (2015-03-12)</li> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/life-is-strange-episode-1-chrysalis">Life is Strange Episode 1: Chrysalis</a> (2015-02-05)</li> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/house-of-leaves-appendix-ii-e-the-three-attic-whalestoe-institute-letters-may-8th-1987/">House of Leaves: Appendix II-E, The Three Attic Whalestoe Institute Letters (May 8th, 1987)</a> (2015-01-01)</li> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/canopies-and-drapes/">Canopies and Drapes: Emmy the Great’s Twist on the Classic Breakup Song</a> (2014-11-09)</li> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/princess-bubblegum-marceline-still-just-almost-girlfriends/">Princess Bubblegum &amp; Marceline: Still Just Almost Girlfriends</a> (2014-08-14)</li> </ul> <p>Sorry for unintentional pings on my rss feed; also, be aware that a lot of these are very old (like, ten years) and don&rsquo;t necessarily reflect who I am as a person today! I&rsquo;m trying to be better about preserving and sharing my writing, so I suppose that means I must submit to <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/i-know-what-you-think-of-me/">the mortifying ordeal of being known</a>. Some of these pieces, while flawed, I am still fond of — particularly the <em>Life is Strange</em> one. I&rsquo;m planning to do more and eventually close down the blog where they originally appeared (so I can stop maintaining a WordPress install).</p> <p>I&rsquo;ve continued my desk journey from last week, by which I mean I abandoned the Ergotron arm and ordered a Pixio PS1D instead. The Pixio arm feels cheaper in places, but the clamp is of reasonable size, and on the whole, it was <em>leagues</em> easier to set up than the Ergotron arm. The Ergotron comes pre-assembled, it&rsquo;s heavy, and you have to affix the monitors directly to the arms. The Pixio went together in pieces (with decent directions), which made it entirely feasible to do on one&rsquo;s own. You don&rsquo;t have to climb under your desk to clamp it down! There are detachable VESA plates so you can just slide your monitors right on! The clamp is a reasonable size! I&rsquo;m still figuring out final positioning for the monitors themselves, but I&rsquo;m really happy with how much it&rsquo;s cleaned up my desk setup.</p> <p><img src="https://cdn.cassie.ink/images/2025/08/desk.jpg" alt="Image showing a desk with monitors on an arm. It is very clean and cute."></p> <p>This whole process was stressful, but the Pixio enabled me to use the steel plates I&rsquo;d ordered, so I no longer have fears of my monitors crashing down on me one day. All&rsquo;s well that ends, I suppose.<sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">1</a></sup></p> <p><strong>This week, I was on a podcast!</strong> I talked on <a href="https://pca.st/002pdgai">The Worst Community Report</a> with TK &amp; co. about blogging and the indie web.<sup id="fnref:2"><a href="#fn:2" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">2</a></sup> Being on this makes me miss podcasting even more than I already had.</p> <p>Over the weekend, Joe and I went to a wedding (fine<sup id="fnref:3"><a href="#fn:3" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">3</a></sup>). On Sunday, a friend of mine and I started what we hope to be a weekly habit, which is an early morning long run. We did five miles today, and I think we want to work up to doing 10K distances (which I&rsquo;m somewhat comfortable with, but this was only her second time going further than a 5K). Our pace is fairly slow, but I want to work on endurance more than pace — and we talk pretty much the whole time. I&rsquo;m excited to have an accountability partner, as I haven&rsquo;t run much this summer, and to have scheduled time with her.<sup id="fnref:4"><a href="#fn:4" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">4</a></sup> I also went to a coworker&rsquo;s 40th birthday party (also fine). Mostly I&rsquo;m just stressed about my college class, which starts tomorrow!</p> <h2 id="reading">Reading</h2> <p>I haven&rsquo;t read much this week in terms of actual books, but I did feel challenged (in a good way) by <a href="https://talk.jackalope.city/talk/stop-valorizing-introversion/">&ldquo;Stop Valorizing Introversion&rdquo; on jackalope.city</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p>The response I hear, often, to this is: “Friendships shouldn’t be work!” Wrong. Anything worth having is work.</p> <p>I wonder at this resistance to considering relationships worth the work. All of the strongest typical relationship types in United States society are characterized by work: The parents who dedicate their lives to raising a child, the domestic partnership and give-and-take of a spousal or domestic partnership arrangement, the best friend who always drives you to the airport, and even the necessary relationship of care you have with your pets. The work you put into the relationship is not the cost of the relationship. The work <em><strong>is</strong></em> the relationship.</p></blockquote> <p>I consider myself an introvert and it is hard to make friends as an adult, but I have more friends — and friends who I see often and make an effort to spend time with — now as an adult than I ever have in my life. I think, like with other kinds of work, it gets easier as you do it more.</p> <h2 id="watching">Watching</h2> <p>Joe and I are almost done with <em>Survivor: Caramoan</em>, and we&rsquo;re keeping up with Austin Walker&rsquo;s <em>Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II</em> Let&rsquo;s Play.</p> <h2 id="playing">Playing</h2> <p>I&rsquo;m still playing <em>Fields of Mistria</em>, although I have had a few mid-day game crashes this week. The game is in early access, so I can&rsquo;t complain too much, but it&rsquo;s the first time it&rsquo;s happened to me. It&rsquo;s frustrating to lose progress, but I suppose I should get into the habit of saving a few times throughout the day.<sup id="fnref:5"><a href="#fn:5" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">5</a></sup> I looked around the game&rsquo;s subreddit and it seems to be an issue for a lot of folks after the latest update, so maybe I just need to wait until they roll out a patch.</p> <p>I also played a little bit more of <em>Baldur&rsquo;s Gate 3</em>. I&rsquo;m still very frustrated with it and kind of want to just be done. It&rsquo;s a bummer because I was really in love with the game in Act I and parts of Act II. I was excited for Act III because actually reaching Baldur&rsquo;s Gate the place seemed thrilling — there are many story threads intersecting there! But practically, this means I&rsquo;m walking ten feet into the city to trigger a scene for one companion&rsquo;s quest then switching in another companion for their scene. I&rsquo;m still save-scumming constantly, which means I&rsquo;m spending a hell of a lot of time staring at loading screens.</p> <p>I enjoyed the combat in the game at one point, but I did the fight with Lorroakan this week and tried to cast Silence on him to stop Elemental Retort. For no explicable reason, that doesn&rsquo;t work — despite it being a spell that he says <em>out loud</em>. Maybe it&rsquo;s a bug or an oversight, but I never feel like the abilities and spells that negate or create conditions every work for me. It seems like most fights can be won by just brute-forcing. I don&rsquo;t <em>want</em> to do that, but when I try to be tactical and clever, it so rarely works out.</p> <p>I know I should probably just take a break from the game and come back to it one day, but I know I&rsquo;ll forget what&rsquo;s happening in the story if I leave it for too long. I think I just need to finish it, but I&rsquo;m not having fun while playing it.</p> <h2 id="listening">Listening</h2> <p>I listened to <a href="hutchharris.bandcamp.com/album/suck-up-all-the-oxygen"><em>SUCK UP ALL THE OXYGEN</em> by Hutch Harris</a> because I saw the cover on Bandcamp and thought it was funny. The album was fine but not for me. There was a time in my life when I probably would have been really into this, but it&rsquo;s not now.</p> <p>I picked up my <em>All We Know is Falling</em> listen from last week, too.</p> <ol start="6"> <li>Never Let This Go - a nice build and pleasant to listen to, but it blends in with a lot of the rest of the album (yet fails to stand out).</li> <li>Whoa - I always loved this one; great energy that lets me overlook the silly lyrics.</li> <li>Conspiracy - forgettable</li> <li>Franklin - I was so surprised by how fond of this song I still am. It&rsquo;s sweet; the backing vocals are a bit distracting — I&rsquo;d rather they were just Hayley, but I understand that they were going for a duet.</li> <li>My Heart - I was listening to a decent rip of this album but this song still somehow sounds like a super compressed 96kbps MP3. The screaming in this song is also so atonal — it feels like a studio note given what was &ldquo;in&rdquo; at the time.</li> <li>Oh Star - another forgettable one for me; I don&rsquo;t really like slow songs in general I think and especially not when Paramore does them.</li> </ol> <p>I went back to <a href="https://underscores.bandcamp.com/album/fishmonger"><em>fishmonger</em> by underscores</a>. I really love this album (still). I love just about every song on it, but &ldquo;Del mar county fair (2008)&rdquo; is hitting for me in particular lately.</p> <p>Podcast-wise, I listened to the first episode of <a href="https://leavingtheparty.blog/2025/08/15/podcast-lovely-lady-rpg-2024/">Leaving the Party</a>, mostly while mowing my law. I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;d ever come across <em>Lovely Lady RPG</em> in my normal travels — visual novels have never held appeal for me — so it&rsquo;s cool to have a show introduce me to games and a perspective that are not ordinarily in my milieu. I also really enjoyed <a href="https://wavelengths.online/posts/aj-fillari-on-podcasting-media-crit-and-the-last-of-us-online">this week&rsquo;s episode of Wavelengths</a>, where Brendon Bigley and AJ Fillari talked about, well, talking. It was a great listen and, again, made me really want to go back to podcasting.</p> <div class="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes"> <hr> <ol> <li id="fn:1"> <p>I still have the Ergotron arm. I&rsquo;m hoping to sell it locally on Facebook Marketplace to get some of my money back, so things aren&rsquo;t over just yet.&#160;<a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;</a></p> </li> <li id="fn:2"> <p>It feels very cool and meta to now talk about this on my blog.&#160;<a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;</a></p> </li> <li id="fn:3"> <p>I don&rsquo;t drink and I don&rsquo;t (generally) dance (are the two related? discuss), so weddings are a dull affair for me.&#160;<a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;</a></p> </li> <li id="fn:4"> <p>I genuinely adore this friend and love talking to her.&#160;<a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;</a></p> </li> <li id="fn:5"> <p><em>Mistria</em> gives you this option; <em>Stardew</em> does not&hellip; but I&rsquo;ve never had a mid-day crash in <em>Stardew.</em>&#160;<a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;</a></p> </li> </ol> </div> + <h2 id="doing">Doing</h2> <p>I&rsquo;m backporting a bunch of content from my old blogs so I can finally stop maintaining WordPress blogs. Here are the posts that I&rsquo;ve moved over:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/revolutions">Revolutions</a> (2015-03-12)</li> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/life-is-strange-episode-1-chrysalis">Life is Strange Episode 1: Chrysalis</a> (2015-02-05)</li> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/house-of-leaves-appendix-ii-e-the-three-attic-whalestoe-institute-letters-may-8th-1987/">House of Leaves: Appendix II-E, The Three Attic Whalestoe Institute Letters (May 8th, 1987)</a> (2015-01-01)</li> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/canopies-and-drapes/">Canopies and Drapes: Emmy the Great’s Twist on the Classic Breakup Song</a> (2014-11-09)</li> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/princess-bubblegum-marceline-still-just-almost-girlfriends/">Princess Bubblegum &amp; Marceline: Still Just Almost Girlfriends</a> (2014-08-14)</li> </ul> <p>Sorry for unintentional pings on my rss feed; also, be aware that a lot of these are very old (like, ten years) and don&rsquo;t necessarily reflect who I am as a person today! I&rsquo;m trying to be better about preserving and sharing my writing, so I suppose that means I must submit to <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/i-know-what-you-think-of-me/">the mortifying ordeal of being known</a>. Some of these pieces, while flawed, I am still fond of — particularly the <em>Life is Strange</em> one. I&rsquo;m planning to do more and eventually close down the blog where they originally appeared.</p> <p>I&rsquo;ve continued my desk journey from last week, by which I mean I abandoned the Ergotron arm and ordered a Pixio PS1D instead. The Pixio arm feels cheaper in places, but the clamp is of reasonable size, and on the whole, it was <em>leagues</em> easier to set up than the Ergotron arm. The Ergotron comes pre-assembled, it&rsquo;s heavy, and you have to affix the monitors directly to the arms. The Pixio went together in pieces (with decent directions), which made it entirely feasible to do on one&rsquo;s own. You don&rsquo;t have to climb under your desk to clamp it down! There are detachable VESA plates so you can just slide your monitors right on! The clamp is a reasonable size! I&rsquo;m still figuring out final positioning for the monitors themselves, but I&rsquo;m really happy with how much it&rsquo;s cleaned up my desk setup.</p> <p><img src="https://cdn.cassie.ink/images/2025/08/desk.jpg" alt="Image showing a desk with monitors on an arm. It is very clean and cute."></p> <p>This whole process was stressful, but the Pixio enabled me to use the steel plates I&rsquo;d ordered, so I no longer have fears of my monitors crashing down on me one day. All&rsquo;s well that ends, I suppose.<sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">1</a></sup></p> <p><strong>This week, I was on a podcast!</strong> I talked on <a href="https://pca.st/002pdgai">The Worst Community Report</a> with TK &amp; co. about blogging and the indie web.<sup id="fnref:2"><a href="#fn:2" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">2</a></sup> Being on this makes me miss podcasting even more than I already had.</p> <p>Over the weekend, Joe and I went to a wedding (fine<sup id="fnref:3"><a href="#fn:3" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">3</a></sup>). On Sunday, a friend of mine and I started what we hope to be a weekly habit, which is an early morning long run. We did five miles today, and I think we want to work up to doing 10K distances (which I&rsquo;m somewhat comfortable with, but this was only her second time going further than a 5K). Our pace is fairly slow, but I want to work on endurance more than pace — and we talk pretty much the whole time. I&rsquo;m excited to have an accountability partner, as I haven&rsquo;t run much this summer, and to have scheduled time with her.<sup id="fnref:4"><a href="#fn:4" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">4</a></sup> I also went to a coworker&rsquo;s 40th birthday party (also fine). Mostly I&rsquo;m just stressed about my college class, which starts tomorrow!</p> <h2 id="reading">Reading</h2> <p>I haven&rsquo;t read much this week in terms of actual books, but I did feel challenged (in a good way) by <a href="https://talk.jackalope.city/talk/stop-valorizing-introversion/">&ldquo;Stop Valorizing Introversion&rdquo; on jackalope.city</a>.</p> <blockquote> <p>The response I hear, often, to this is: “Friendships shouldn’t be work!” Wrong. Anything worth having is work.</p> <p>I wonder at this resistance to considering relationships worth the work. All of the strongest typical relationship types in United States society are characterized by work: The parents who dedicate their lives to raising a child, the domestic partnership and give-and-take of a spousal or domestic partnership arrangement, the best friend who always drives you to the airport, and even the necessary relationship of care you have with your pets. The work you put into the relationship is not the cost of the relationship. The work <em><strong>is</strong></em> the relationship.</p></blockquote> <p>I consider myself an introvert and it is hard to make friends as an adult, but I have more friends — and friends who I see often and make an effort to spend time with — now as an adult than I ever have in my life. I think, like with other kinds of work, it gets easier as you do it more.</p> <h2 id="watching">Watching</h2> <p>Joe and I are almost done with <em>Survivor: Caramoan</em>, and we&rsquo;re keeping up with Austin Walker&rsquo;s <em>Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II</em> Let&rsquo;s Play.</p> <h2 id="playing">Playing</h2> <p>I&rsquo;m still playing <em>Fields of Mistria</em>, although I have had a few mid-day game crashes this week. The game is in early access, so I can&rsquo;t complain too much, but it&rsquo;s the first time it&rsquo;s happened to me. It&rsquo;s frustrating to lose progress, but I suppose I should get into the habit of saving a few times throughout the day.<sup id="fnref:5"><a href="#fn:5" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">5</a></sup> I looked around the game&rsquo;s subreddit and it seems to be an issue for a lot of folks after the latest update, so maybe I just need to wait until they roll out a patch.</p> <p>I also played a little bit more of <em>Baldur&rsquo;s Gate 3</em>. I&rsquo;m still very frustrated with it and kind of want to just be done. It&rsquo;s a bummer because I was really in love with the game in Act I and parts of Act II. I was excited for Act III because actually reaching Baldur&rsquo;s Gate the place seemed thrilling — there are many story threads intersecting there! But practically, this means I&rsquo;m walking ten feet into the city to trigger a scene for one companion&rsquo;s quest then switching in another companion for their scene. I&rsquo;m still save-scumming constantly, which means I&rsquo;m spending a hell of a lot of time staring at loading screens.</p> <p>I enjoyed the combat in the game at one point, but I did the fight with Lorroakan this week and tried to cast Silence on him to stop Elemental Retort. For no explicable reason, that doesn&rsquo;t work — despite it being a spell that he says <em>out loud</em>. Maybe it&rsquo;s a bug or an oversight, but I never feel like the abilities and spells that negate or create conditions ever work for me. It seems like most fights can be won by just brute-forcing. I don&rsquo;t <em>want</em> to do that, but when I try to be tactical and clever, it so rarely works out.</p> <p>I know I should probably just take a break from the game and come back to it one day, but I know I&rsquo;ll forget what&rsquo;s happening in the story if I leave it for too long. I think I just need to finish it, but I&rsquo;m not having fun while playing it.</p> <h2 id="listening">Listening</h2> <p>I listened to <a href="hutchharris.bandcamp.com/album/suck-up-all-the-oxygen"><em>SUCK UP ALL THE OXYGEN</em> by Hutch Harris</a> because I saw the cover on Bandcamp and thought it was funny. The album was fine but not for me. There was a time in my life when I probably would have been really into this, but it&rsquo;s not now.</p> <p>I picked up my <em>All We Know is Falling</em> listen from last week, too.</p> <ol start="6"> <li>Never Let This Go - a nice build and pleasant to listen to, but it blends in with a lot of the rest of the album (yet fails to stand out).</li> <li>Whoa - I always loved this one; great energy that lets me overlook the silly lyrics.</li> <li>Conspiracy - forgettable</li> <li>Franklin - I was so surprised by how fond of this song I still am. It&rsquo;s sweet; the backing vocals are a bit distracting — I&rsquo;d rather they were just Hayley, but I understand that they were going for a duet.</li> <li>My Heart - I was listening to a decent rip of this album but this song still somehow sounds like a super compressed 96kbps MP3. The screaming in this song is also so atonal — it feels like a studio note given what was &ldquo;in&rdquo; at the time.</li> <li>Oh Star - another forgettable one for me; I don&rsquo;t really like slow songs in general I think and especially not when Paramore does them.</li> </ol> <p>I went back to <a href="https://underscores.bandcamp.com/album/fishmonger"><em>fishmonger</em> by underscores</a>. I really love this album (still). I love just about every song on it, but &ldquo;Del mar county fair (2008)&rdquo; is hitting for me in particular lately.</p> <p>Podcast-wise, I listened to the first episode of <a href="https://leavingtheparty.blog/2025/08/15/podcast-lovely-lady-rpg-2024/">Leaving the Party</a>, mostly while mowing my lawn. I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;d ever come across <em>Lovely Lady RPG</em> in my normal travels — visual novels have never held appeal for me — so it&rsquo;s cool to have a show introduce me to games and a perspective that are not ordinarily in my milieu. I also really enjoyed <a href="https://wavelengths.online/posts/aj-fillari-on-podcasting-media-crit-and-the-last-of-us-online">this week&rsquo;s episode of Wavelengths</a>, where Brendon Bigley and AJ Fillari talked about, well, talking. It was a great listen and, again, made me really want to go back to podcasting.</p> <div class="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes"> <hr> <ol> <li id="fn:1"> <p>I still have the Ergotron arm. I&rsquo;m hoping to sell it locally on Facebook Marketplace to get some of my money back, so things aren&rsquo;t over just yet.&#160;<a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;</a></p> </li> <li id="fn:2"> <p>It feels very cool and meta to now talk about this on my blog.&#160;<a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;</a></p> </li> <li id="fn:3"> <p>I don&rsquo;t drink and I don&rsquo;t (generally) dance (are the two related? discuss), so weddings are a dull affair for me.&#160;<a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;</a></p> </li> <li id="fn:4"> <p>I genuinely adore this friend and love talking to her.&#160;<a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;</a></p> </li> <li id="fn:5"> <p><em>Mistria</em> gives you this option; <em>Stardew</em> does not&hellip; but I&rsquo;ve never had a mid-day crash in <em>Stardew.</em>&#160;<a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;</a></p> </li> </ol> </div> Reduced to tongue eardrum thumb pencil and price (WN28) @@ -447,7 +447,7 @@ http://localhost:1313/heres-what-i-was-listening-to-in-2015/ Thu, 07 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:1313/heres-what-i-was-listening-to-in-2015/ - <p>As the year closes, naturally I must compile experiences and interests from the period into data and statistics.</p> <p>Okay, maybe I’m not being quite that heartless, but last.fm sure makes it easy to indulge that desire. I scrobble (almost) all of my music to last.fm as I enjoy having a record of my listening habits for both reference and analysis. This year I finally found a solid app to do so from my phone, too, though my scrobbles lack what I listen to at work, which is a lot, as well as about half the year of listening on my phone. Therefore, as we head into 2016, I’d like to look back on what I listened to the most in 2015 (not necessarily my favorite releases from the year — my musical discovery process is best described as stumbling across things years after release).</p> <h2 id="cloud-nothings-904-plays">Cloud Nothings (904 plays)</h2> <p>In 2015 I returned to the embrace of pop-punk, infused with my newfound affection for noise pop and the authenticity that indie promises. Cloud Nothings’ first two album releases, <em>Turning On</em> (2009) and the self-titled <em>Cloud Nothings</em> (2011), chug along with effortlessly catchy hooks and explosions of distorted sound. <em>Attack on Memory</em> (2012) and <em>Here and Nowhere Else</em> (2014) perhaps lack the charm of earlier releases, opting instead for a more mature alt-rock sound, and I’m partial to the first two for their lightness; it’s indie pop-punk to chill with, that exude a loving and playful fun.</p> <p>I discovered them on accident in January of 2015, while browsing through Amazon for some CDs. <em>Here and Nowhere Else</em> showed up as a recommended release and I immediately fell for “Now Hear In,” an ode to commiseration and comfort as Dylan Baldi repeats, “now I can feel your pain, and I feel alright about it.”</p> <p>I found my favorite tracks in those early releases (both on <em>Turning On</em>, actually), in “Morgan” and “Whaddya Wanna Know,” which capture the exuberance I associate with Cloud Nothings. “Morgan” repeats the same structure for maximum listener imprint, as a self-aware, disembodied voice chimes in at 2:20, “again and again.” “Whaddya Wanna Know” slows things down a bit, featuring an almost hypnotic chill that climaxes in the chorus’ falsetto. I challenge anyone to walk away from <em>Turning On</em> and <em>Cloud Nothings</em> without at least one hook caught in their brain and a bit more spring in their step.</p> <p><strong>Top &amp; Notable Tracks:</strong> “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6llxYzI5XQ">Rock</a>” (61 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LIwUjz5Ywo">Whaddya Wanna Know</a>” (58 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oqd3P0Jy58w">Now Hear In</a>” (55 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6FtHfJOW-A">Giving Into Seeing</a>” (52 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PsyKNO8V84">Can’t Stay Awake</a>” (41 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cDQxh8CN6w">On the Radio</a>” (39 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeGm51cCO38">Morgan</a>” (27 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_zRt_EmqoU">Stay Useless</a>” (22 plays)</p> <h2 id="brand-new-728-plays">Brand New (728 plays)</h2> <p>I guess I remembered that Brand New is one of my favorite groups this past year. I nearly matched all my plays from 2010-2014 in the span of 2015. I went deeper into their discography than I had ever before, both official and unofficial releases. Most significantly, this year marked the first time I heard “Out of Range,” an unreleased track that’s been floating around the internet. It’s a sparse, almost hollow track about detachment and a desire for belonging that haunted me on-and-off for weeks: “Am I a torn up, tattered, worn-out piece of fabric, not suitable to stitch up a rip? / ‘Cause I’d like to be tightly braided, gold and silver bracelets, / The type you like to wear ’round your wrist.”</p> <p>Bonus points for listening to the song at 1.5x speed, which brings out its Modest Mouse vibes and influences.</p> <p>This year I also gave <em>Daisy</em> (2009) another chance, after writing it off on my first listen in 2013 as too heavy. It remains a difficult, dark album, but one that I began to digest and admire. <em>The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me</em> (2006) will always be my favorite Brand New release, but <em>Daisy</em> definitely isn’t the disappointment I first wrote it off as.</p> <p><strong>Top &amp; Notable Tracks:</strong> “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhF1Xfg-9wM">Out of Range</a>” (128 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwICLInIl8A">Mene</a>” (45 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FfF9fIDqFg">Limousine (MS Rebridge)</a>” (35 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjPyvoLXPs4">Jesus</a>” (29 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye09Th7KZn4">Sowing Season (Yeah)</a>” (22 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDVMFCgoS60">Noro</a>” (14 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FMeCcBfVwA">Untitled 02 (Morissey)</a>” (14 plays)</p> <h2 id="perfect-pussy-524-plays">Perfect Pussy (524 plays)</h2> <p>I fell in love this year in the backdrop of a Perfect Pussy concert, then another, and then another. I saw them <a href="http://www.last.fm/event/4010219+Deerhoof+at+Webster+Hall+on+28+March+2015">in March at Webster Hall</a>, <a href="http://www.last.fm/event/4161751+Perfect+Pussy+at+Riis+Park+Beach+Bazaar+on+26+September+2015">in September at Riis Park</a>, and then in October at a car wash in Brooklyn. They blew me away each time.</p> <p>Perfect Pussy combines riot grrrl frontwoman Meredith Graves with angry, emotive punk. The lyrics smack you with a frank rawness, Graves shouting over distorted instruments “since when do we say yes to love?” in “Interference Fits” off their 2014 release, <em>Say Yes to Love</em>. It would be a crime to frame the group as merely the supporting acts to Meredith Graves, however. Drummer Garrett Koloski put on an incredible show at every concert as he hammered away in fashionable socks (or no shoes at all), guitarist Ray McAndrew went through something like three guitars at Riis Park, and their keyboardist adds a persistent, droning noise to bind songs together. A Perfect Pussy set isn’t x amount of songs; it’s a single, heart-pumping experience.</p> <p><strong>Top &amp; Notable Tracks:</strong> “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyVrZfyfeZw">I</a>” (173 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R4YuekVuNY">Interference Fits</a>” (38 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HuEI2ExyMA">Work</a>” (35 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVmFrV0PQF0">Bells</a>” (33 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tW6CcuBNhw">II</a>” (31 plays)</p> <h2 id="pigthe-322-plays">Pigthe (322 plays)</h2> <p>I took a journey deep into the internet to find Pigthe. Back in 2009, I found a group called The Middle Ones on Myspace. They’re a sweet little folk-pop group that plays with vocal harmonies, and I listened to them on-and-off for years. These days you can check them out <a href="https://themiddleones.bandcamp.com/">on Bandcamp</a>.</p> <p>Anyway, I was browsing a small forum that’s filled with indie music, and a user posted about a Middle Ones cover album, <em>Chants</em>, done by friends of the group, aptly named <a href="https://theperipheralones.bandcamp.com/">The Peripheral Ones</a>. The songs offer a nice twist on songs I’ve had in the back of my head for years, particularly their covers of “Drops” and “Young Explorer.” But the crowning song for The Peripheral Ones comes in “Morningtime,” which includes, in their words, “a lyrical interpolation of Super Bass by Nicki Minaj.” Yeah, really.</p> <p>It’s a creative and fun album for fans of The Middle Ones, and I’m sure those who have never heard of them can enjoy it too… <a href="https://theperipheralones.bandcamp.com/album/chants">for free download, via Bandcamp</a>.</p> <p>Having loved these covers so much, I set out to find the individuals who contributed to <em>Chants</em>. The Bandcamp page lists a number of Twitter accounts, but the only one that led me to more music was <a href="https://twitter.com/pigthe">@pigthe</a>. Available on <a href="http://music.pigthe.com/">Pigthe’s Bandcamp page</a> are two albums, one free and one name your price, that share charms with The Peripheral Ones, with perhaps a more humored, indie-rock tinge. Check out, for example, the slow-build “Spider-Man” off <em>Welcome Back to Viridian</em> (2011), which opens with “there’s nothing I love more than Spider-Man, / there’s nothing I adore like being sad,” the source of that sadness being the singer’s beef with Marvel’s handling of the Spider-Man character. The song eventually closes with a chant, “it’s stupid what they did to Jackpot, / it was stupid wiping the memory of Mary Jane, / it’s stupid pretty much any time there’s magic involved, / it’s stupid if it’s anywhere near the words ‘Brand New Day’.”</p> <p>You can find <a href="http://pigthe.com/discography.html">even more via their website’s discography page</a>.</p> <p><strong>Top &amp; Notable Tracks:</strong> “<a href="http://music.pigthe.com/track/2-way-thing">2-way thing</a>” (28 plays), “<a href="http://music.pigthe.com/track/hmb">Hit Me, Baby</a>” (26 plays), “<a href="http://music.pigthe.com/track/fill-in-the-gaps">Fill In The Gaps</a>” (23 plays), “<a href="http://music.pigthe.com/track/spider-man">Spider-Man</a>” (21 plays), “<a href="http://music.pigthe.com/track/international-wallflowers-anthem">International Wallflowers Anthem</a>” (19 plays), “<a href="http://music.pigthe.com/track/orange-juice">‘orange juice’</a>” (17 plays), “<a href="http://music.pigthe.com/track/any-other-name">Any Other Name</a>” (14 plays), “<a href="http://music.pigthe.com/track/hell">hell.</a>” (9 plays)</p> <h2 id="miscellaneous-songs">Miscellaneous Songs</h2> <p>Those were some of my top, new (to me) artists for the year, but there a few songs I would be remiss not to mention for my 2015 compilation.</p> <h3 id="make-out-time-186-plays--everything-stays-from-adventure-time">&ldquo;Make Out Time&rdquo; (186 plays) &amp; &ldquo;Everything Stays&rdquo; from <em>Adventure Time</em></h3> <p>The Adventure Time soundtracks, curated by <a href="https://soundcloud.com/casey-james-basichis">Casey James Basichis</a> and <a href="https://soundcloud.com/staypuft">staypuft</a>, fantastically compliment the (children’s) show’s nuclear fallout, Feudalistic future. “Make Out Time” is a short and sweet track from Season 6’s “Breezy,” in which Finn battles against depression and apathy with random hookups after learning what a disappointing, deadbeat criminal his father is.</p> <p>“Everything Stays” hails from the Stakes mini-series; Stakes turns the focus to Marceline the Vampire Queen, who must make peace with her past and her vampirism as she battles against old foes. It’s a dreamy track that grapples with permanence and mortality, complimented by a gentle bass and ambient soundscapes.</p> <h3 id="cut-me-out-by-trust-fund-130-plays">&ldquo;Cut me out&rdquo; by Trust Fund (130 plays)</h3> <p>llis Jones released his début album, <em>“No one’s coming for us</em>,” under the Trust Fund moniker in 2014. Trust Fund mashes together indie-rock and pop influences to build a unique track in “Cut me out” that simultaneously feels like every song you’ve heard in the background of a car ride and an absolutely unique collision of cymbals and apologies. Of “Cut me out,” Jones says,</p> <blockquote> <p>I wanted this song to sound like Elliot Smith. Stefano’s guitar parts made this into a proper song. The ‘Fragile Alien’ bit I sort of pasted in from a different song so it has a different tune to the first verse. I felt smart when I did that. The lyrics do a lot of twisting around needlessly, but basically the message of the song is “sorry.”</p></blockquote> <p>The song may be contrite (“I’m sorry if I accidentally implied, / I’m sorry if I explicitly promised, / I’m sorry if I swore on lives other than mine, / My cat, my dog, my sister, / I hope they’ll be alright”), but nobody in the video goes without an enormous grin for more than four or five seconds total.</p> <h3 id="me--u-by-cassie-122-plays">&ldquo;Me &amp; U&rdquo; by Cassie (122 plays)</h3> <p>My tastes thus far seem rather unified in genre, spanning the broad range of alternative rock with a proclivity in indie. I’ll throw a wrench in the works and introduce my other passion: R&amp;B, pop, and hip-hop throwbacks from the late-90s and early 2000s. Off her self-titled 2006 début, “Me &amp; U” spells out frank desire and sexuality accompanied by a heavy beat. More than a few of my morning commutes to school were spent listening exclusively to this dark, sexy track.</p> <h3 id="fourth-of-july-by-sufjan-stevens-82-plays">&ldquo;Fourth of July&rdquo; by Sufjan Stevens (82 plays)</h3> <p>Somehow I’ve gone my entire life, up to this point, without ever listening to a Sufjan song. At the behest of a good friend, I dove into his massive discography and fell in love with the first track that turned up in a playlist she gave me. “Fourth of July” is a simple, heart-wrenching track about the death of Stevens’s mother (which inspired the entirety of his 2015 release, <em>Carrie &amp; Lowell</em>). It grabs and hypnotizes the listener with its sparse piano and looming ambiance as Sufjan repeatedly croons, “we’re all gonna die.”</p> <h3 id="angels-by-the-xx-71-plays">&ldquo;Angels&rdquo; by The xx (71 plays)</h3> <p>For whatever reason, it took me three years to check out The xx’s sophomore album, <em>Coexist</em>. It’s a fantastic album that expand the whisper-tunes of their début, but shines in the acclaimed “Angels,” which features their iconic restraint. It manages to mesmerize despite its minimal instrumentation and plain, though heartfelt lyrics: “The end is unknown, / But I think I’m ready, / As long as you’re with me.” It deserves the praise.</p> <h3 id="lazy-eye-by-silversun-pickups-60-plays">&ldquo;Lazy Eye&rdquo; by Silversun Pickups (60 plays)</h3> <p>In my early teens, I’d pass the time by plopping myself in front of MTV’s station that just plays music videos over and over. Watching it for hours a day, I grew familiar with their lineup, and waited with fervor for them to repeat favorites like Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” and Relient K’s “Be My Escape.” Among those tracks (though aired far less frequently than Fall Out Boy) was Silversun Pickups’s “Lazy Eye.” I paid it little attention, at the time, but something dragged it out of the recesses of my brain during this past summer.</p> <p>The song cloaks itself in a chill strumming and smooth vocals until it peaks at 2:45: “Still the same old decent lazy eye, straight through your gaze / That’s why I said I relate, / I said we relate, it’s so fun to relate.” It’s an ardent, tender track with instantaneous charm and surprise.</p> <h3 id="cookie-thumper-by-die-antwoord-31-plays">&ldquo;Cookie Thumper&rdquo; by Die Antwoord (31 plays)</h3> <p>I saw <em>Chappie</em> this year. It was fucking weird. I liked it.</p> + <p>As the year closes, naturally I must compile experiences and interests from the period into data and statistics.</p> <p>Okay, maybe I’m not being quite that heartless, but last.fm sure makes it easy to indulge that desire. I scrobble (almost) all of my music to last.fm as I enjoy having a record of my listening habits for both reference and analysis. This year I finally found a solid app to do so from my phone, too, though my scrobbles lack what I listen to at work, which is a lot, as well as about half the year of listening on my phone. Therefore, as we head into 2016, I’d like to look back on what I listened to the most in 2015 (not necessarily my favorite releases from the year — my musical discovery process is best described as stumbling across things years after release).</p> <h2 id="cloud-nothings-904-plays">Cloud Nothings (904 plays)</h2> <p>In 2015 I returned to the embrace of pop-punk, infused with my newfound affection for noise pop and the authenticity that indie promises. Cloud Nothings’ first two album releases, <em>Turning On</em> (2009) and the self-titled <em>Cloud Nothings</em> (2011), chug along with effortlessly catchy hooks and explosions of distorted sound. <em>Attack on Memory</em> (2012) and <em>Here and Nowhere Else</em> (2014) perhaps lack the charm of earlier releases, opting instead for a more mature alt-rock sound, and I’m partial to the first two for their lightness; it’s indie pop-punk to chill with, that exude a loving and playful fun.</p> <p>I discovered them on accident in January of 2015, while browsing through Amazon for some CDs. <em>Here and Nowhere Else</em> showed up as a recommended release and I immediately fell for “Now Hear In,” an ode to commiseration and comfort as Dylan Baldi repeats, “now I can feel your pain, and I feel alright about it.”</p> <p>I found my favorite tracks in those early releases (both on <em>Turning On</em>, actually), in “Morgan” and “Whaddya Wanna Know,” which capture the exuberance I associate with Cloud Nothings. “Morgan” repeats the same structure for maximum listener imprint, as a self-aware, disembodied voice chimes in at 2:20, “again and again.” “Whaddya Wanna Know” slows things down a bit, featuring an almost hypnotic chill that climaxes in the chorus’ falsetto. I challenge anyone to walk away from <em>Turning On</em> and <em>Cloud Nothings</em> without at least one hook caught in their brain and a bit more spring in their step.</p> <p><strong>Top &amp; Notable Tracks:</strong> “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6llxYzI5XQ">Rock</a>” (61 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LIwUjz5Ywo">Whaddya Wanna Know</a>” (58 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oqd3P0Jy58w">Now Hear In</a>” (55 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6FtHfJOW-A">Giving Into Seeing</a>” (52 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PsyKNO8V84">Can’t Stay Awake</a>” (41 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cDQxh8CN6w">On the Radio</a>” (39 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeGm51cCO38">Morgan</a>” (27 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_zRt_EmqoU">Stay Useless</a>” (22 plays)</p> <h2 id="brand-new-728-plays">Brand New (728 plays)<sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">1</a></sup></h2> <p>I guess I remembered that Brand New is one of my favorite groups this past year. I nearly matched all my plays from 2010-2014 in the span of 2015. I went deeper into their discography than I had ever before, both official and unofficial releases. Most significantly, this year marked the first time I heard “Out of Range,” an unreleased track that’s been floating around the internet. It’s a sparse, almost hollow track about detachment and a desire for belonging that haunted me on-and-off for weeks: “Am I a torn up, tattered, worn-out piece of fabric, not suitable to stitch up a rip? / ‘Cause I’d like to be tightly braided, gold and silver bracelets, / The type you like to wear ’round your wrist.” Bonus points for listening to the song at 1.5x speed, which brings out its Modest Mouse vibes and influences.</p> <p>This year I also gave <em>Daisy</em> (2009) another chance, after writing it off on my first listen in 2013 as too heavy. It remains a difficult, dark album, but one that I began to digest and admire. <em>The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me</em> (2006) will always be my favorite Brand New release, but <em>Daisy</em> definitely isn’t the disappointment I first wrote it off as.</p> <p><strong>Top &amp; Notable Tracks:</strong> “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhF1Xfg-9wM">Out of Range</a>” (128 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwICLInIl8A">Mene</a>” (45 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FfF9fIDqFg">Limousine (MS Rebridge)</a>” (35 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjPyvoLXPs4">Jesus</a>” (29 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye09Th7KZn4">Sowing Season (Yeah)</a>” (22 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDVMFCgoS60">Noro</a>” (14 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FMeCcBfVwA">Untitled 02 (Morissey)</a>” (14 plays)</p> <h2 id="perfect-pussy-524-plays">Perfect Pussy (524 plays)</h2> <p>I fell in love this year in the backdrop of a Perfect Pussy concert, then another, and then another. I saw them <a href="http://www.last.fm/event/4010219+Deerhoof+at+Webster+Hall+on+28+March+2015">in March at Webster Hall</a>, <a href="http://www.last.fm/event/4161751+Perfect+Pussy+at+Riis+Park+Beach+Bazaar+on+26+September+2015">in September at Riis Park</a>, and then in October at a car wash in Brooklyn. They blew me away each time.</p> <p>Perfect Pussy combines riot grrrl frontwoman Meredith Graves with angry, emotive punk. The lyrics smack you with a frank rawness, Graves shouting over distorted instruments “since when do we say yes to love?” in “Interference Fits” off their 2014 release, <em>Say Yes to Love</em>. It would be a crime to frame the group as merely the supporting acts to Meredith Graves, however. Drummer Garrett Koloski put on an incredible show at every concert as he hammered away in fashionable socks (or no shoes at all), guitarist Ray McAndrew went through something like three guitars at Riis Park, and their keyboardist adds a persistent, droning noise to bind songs together. A Perfect Pussy set isn’t x amount of songs; it’s a single, heart-pumping experience.</p> <p><strong>Top &amp; Notable Tracks:</strong> “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyVrZfyfeZw">I</a>” (173 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R4YuekVuNY">Interference Fits</a>” (38 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HuEI2ExyMA">Work</a>” (35 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVmFrV0PQF0">Bells</a>” (33 plays), “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tW6CcuBNhw">II</a>” (31 plays)</p> <h2 id="pigthe-322-plays">Pigthe (322 plays)</h2> <p>I took a journey deep into the internet to find Pigthe. Back in 2009, I found a group called The Middle Ones on Myspace. They’re a sweet little folk-pop group that plays with vocal harmonies, and I listened to them on-and-off for years. These days you can check them out <a href="https://themiddleones.bandcamp.com/">on Bandcamp</a>.</p> <p>Anyway, I was browsing a small forum that’s filled with indie music, and a user posted about a Middle Ones cover album, <em>Chants</em>, done by friends of the group, aptly named <a href="https://theperipheralones.bandcamp.com/">The Peripheral Ones</a>. The songs offer a nice twist on songs I’ve had in the back of my head for years, particularly their covers of “Drops” and “Young Explorer.” But the crowning song for The Peripheral Ones comes in “Morningtime,” which includes, in their words, “a lyrical interpolation of Super Bass by Nicki Minaj.” Yeah, really.</p> <p>It’s a creative and fun album for fans of The Middle Ones, and I’m sure those who have never heard of them can enjoy it too… <a href="https://theperipheralones.bandcamp.com/album/chants">for free download, via Bandcamp</a>.</p> <p>Having loved these covers so much, I set out to find the individuals who contributed to <em>Chants</em>. The Bandcamp page lists a number of Twitter accounts, but the only one that led me to more music was <a href="https://twitter.com/pigthe">@pigthe</a>. Available on <a href="http://music.pigthe.com/">Pigthe’s Bandcamp page</a> are two albums, one free and one name your price, that share charms with The Peripheral Ones, with perhaps a more humored, indie-rock tinge. Check out, for example, the slow-build “Spider-Man” off <em>Welcome Back to Viridian</em> (2011), which opens with “there’s nothing I love more than Spider-Man, / there’s nothing I adore like being sad,” the source of that sadness being the singer’s beef with Marvel’s handling of the Spider-Man character. The song eventually closes with a chant, “it’s stupid what they did to Jackpot, / it was stupid wiping the memory of Mary Jane, / it’s stupid pretty much any time there’s magic involved, / it’s stupid if it’s anywhere near the words ‘Brand New Day’.”</p> <p>You can find <a href="http://pigthe.com/discography.html">even more via their website’s discography page</a>.</p> <p><strong>Top &amp; Notable Tracks:</strong> “<a href="http://music.pigthe.com/track/2-way-thing">2-way thing</a>” (28 plays), “<a href="http://music.pigthe.com/track/hmb">Hit Me, Baby</a>” (26 plays), “<a href="http://music.pigthe.com/track/fill-in-the-gaps">Fill In The Gaps</a>” (23 plays), “<a href="http://music.pigthe.com/track/spider-man">Spider-Man</a>” (21 plays), “<a href="http://music.pigthe.com/track/international-wallflowers-anthem">International Wallflowers Anthem</a>” (19 plays), “<a href="http://music.pigthe.com/track/orange-juice">‘orange juice’</a>” (17 plays), “<a href="http://music.pigthe.com/track/any-other-name">Any Other Name</a>” (14 plays), “<a href="http://music.pigthe.com/track/hell">hell.</a>” (9 plays)</p> <h2 id="miscellaneous-songs">Miscellaneous Songs</h2> <p>Those were some of my top, new (to me) artists for the year, but there a few songs I would be remiss not to mention for my 2015 compilation.</p> <p><strong>&ldquo;Make Out Time&rdquo; (186 plays) &amp; &ldquo;Everything Stays&rdquo; from <em>Adventure Time</em></strong></p> <p>The Adventure Time soundtracks, curated by <a href="https://soundcloud.com/casey-james-basichis">Casey James Basichis</a> and <a href="https://soundcloud.com/staypuft">staypuft</a>, fantastically compliment the (children’s) show’s nuclear fallout, Feudalistic future. “Make Out Time” is a short and sweet track from Season 6’s “Breezy,” in which Finn battles against depression and apathy with random hookups after learning what a disappointing, deadbeat criminal his father is.</p> <p>“Everything Stays” hails from the Stakes mini-series; Stakes turns the focus to Marceline the Vampire Queen, who must make peace with her past and her vampirism as she battles against old foes. It’s a dreamy track that grapples with permanence and mortality, complimented by a gentle bass and ambient soundscapes.</p> <p><strong>&ldquo;Cut me out&rdquo; by Trust Fund (130 plays)</strong></p> <p>Ellis Jones released his début album, <em>“No one’s coming for us</em>,” under the Trust Fund moniker in 2014. Trust Fund mashes together indie-rock and pop influences to build a unique track in “Cut me out” that simultaneously feels like every song you’ve heard in the background of a car ride and an absolutely unique collision of cymbals and apologies. Of “Cut me out,” Jones says,</p> <blockquote> <p>I wanted this song to sound like Elliot Smith. Stefano’s guitar parts made this into a proper song. The ‘Fragile Alien’ bit I sort of pasted in from a different song so it has a different tune to the first verse. I felt smart when I did that. The lyrics do a lot of twisting around needlessly, but basically the message of the song is “sorry.”</p></blockquote> <p>The song may be contrite (“I’m sorry if I accidentally implied, / I’m sorry if I explicitly promised, / I’m sorry if I swore on lives other than mine, / My cat, my dog, my sister, / I hope they’ll be alright”), but nobody in the video goes without an enormous grin for more than four or five seconds total.</p> <p><strong>&ldquo;Me &amp; U&rdquo; by Cassie (122 plays)</strong></p> <p>My tastes thus far seem rather unified in genre, spanning the broad range of alternative rock with a proclivity in indie. I’ll throw a wrench in the works and introduce my other passion: R&amp;B, pop, and hip-hop throwbacks from the late-90s and early 2000s. Off her self-titled 2006 début, “Me &amp; U” spells out frank desire and sexuality accompanied by a heavy beat. More than a few of my morning commutes to school were spent listening exclusively to this dark, sexy track.</p> <p><strong>&ldquo;Fourth of July&rdquo; by Sufjan Stevens (82 plays)</strong></p> <p>Somehow I’ve gone my entire life, up to this point, without ever listening to a Sufjan song. At the behest of a good friend, I dove into his massive discography and fell in love with the first track that turned up in a playlist she gave me. “Fourth of July” is a simple, heart-wrenching track about the death of Stevens’s mother (which inspired the entirety of his 2015 release, <em>Carrie &amp; Lowell</em>). It grabs and hypnotizes the listener with its sparse piano and looming ambiance as Sufjan repeatedly croons, “we’re all gonna die.”</p> <p><strong>&ldquo;Angels&rdquo; by The xx (71 plays)</strong></p> <p>For whatever reason, it took me three years to check out The xx’s sophomore album, <em>Coexist</em>. It’s a fantastic album that expand the whisper-tunes of their début, but shines in the acclaimed “Angels,” which features their iconic restraint. It manages to mesmerize despite its minimal instrumentation and plain, though heartfelt lyrics: “The end is unknown, / But I think I’m ready, / As long as you’re with me.” It deserves the praise.</p> <p><strong>&ldquo;Lazy Eye&rdquo; by Silversun Pickups (60 plays)</strong></p> <p>In my early teens, I’d pass the time by plopping myself in front of MTV’s station that just plays music videos over and over. Watching it for hours a day, I grew familiar with their lineup, and waited with fervor for them to repeat favorites like Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” and Relient K’s “Be My Escape.” Among those tracks (though aired far less frequently than Fall Out Boy) was Silversun Pickups’s “Lazy Eye.” I paid it little attention, at the time, but something dragged it out of the recesses of my brain during this past summer.</p> <p>The song cloaks itself in a chill strumming and smooth vocals until it peaks at 2:45: “Still the same old decent lazy eye, straight through your gaze / That’s why I said I relate, / I said we relate, it’s so fun to relate.” It’s an ardent, tender track with instantaneous charm and surprise.</p> <p><strong>&ldquo;Cookie Thumper&rdquo; by Die Antwoord (31 plays)</strong></p> <p>I saw <em>Chappie</em> this year. It was fucking weird. I liked it.</p> <div class="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes"> <hr> <ol> <li id="fn:1"> <p>I wrote this post in 2016 before allegations about Jesse Lacey came out. He is a predator and has no business touring right now. (signed Cassie in 2025)&#160;<a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;</a></p> </li> </ol> </div> Star Wars Has a Problem with Women and We’re Going to Fix It Together diff --git a/public/tags/week-notes/index.xml b/public/tags/week-notes/index.xml index 4cc90fe..2e0c09d 100644 --- a/public/tags/week-notes/index.xml +++ b/public/tags/week-notes/index.xml @@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ http://localhost:1313/week-notes/029/ Tue, 19 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:1313/week-notes/029/ - <h2 id="doing">Doing</h2> <p>I&rsquo;m backporting a bunch of content from my old blogs so I can finally stop maintaining WordPress blogs. Here are the posts that I&rsquo;ve moved over:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/revolutions">Revolutions</a> (2015-03-12)</li> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/life-is-strange-episode-1-chrysalis">Life is Strange Episode 1: Chrysalis</a> (2015-02-05)</li> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/house-of-leaves-appendix-ii-e-the-three-attic-whalestoe-institute-letters-may-8th-1987/">House of Leaves: Appendix II-E, The Three Attic Whalestoe Institute Letters (May 8th, 1987)</a> (2015-01-01)</li> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/canopies-and-drapes/">Canopies and Drapes: Emmy the Great’s Twist on the Classic Breakup Song</a> (2014-11-09)</li> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/princess-bubblegum-marceline-still-just-almost-girlfriends/">Princess Bubblegum &amp; Marceline: Still Just Almost Girlfriends</a> (2014-08-14)</li> </ul> <p>Sorry for unintentional pings on my rss feed; also, be aware that a lot of these are very old (like, ten years) and don&rsquo;t necessarily reflect who I am as a person today! I&rsquo;m trying to be better about preserving and sharing my writing, so I suppose that means I must submit to <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/i-know-what-you-think-of-me/">the mortifying ordeal of being known</a>. Some of these pieces, while flawed, I am still fond of — particularly the <em>Life is Strange</em> one. I&rsquo;m planning to do more and eventually close down the blog where they originally appeared (so I can stop maintaining a WordPress install).</p> + <h2 id="doing">Doing</h2> <p>I&rsquo;m backporting a bunch of content from my old blogs so I can finally stop maintaining WordPress blogs. Here are the posts that I&rsquo;ve moved over:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/revolutions">Revolutions</a> (2015-03-12)</li> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/life-is-strange-episode-1-chrysalis">Life is Strange Episode 1: Chrysalis</a> (2015-02-05)</li> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/house-of-leaves-appendix-ii-e-the-three-attic-whalestoe-institute-letters-may-8th-1987/">House of Leaves: Appendix II-E, The Three Attic Whalestoe Institute Letters (May 8th, 1987)</a> (2015-01-01)</li> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/canopies-and-drapes/">Canopies and Drapes: Emmy the Great’s Twist on the Classic Breakup Song</a> (2014-11-09)</li> <li><a href="https://cassie.ink/princess-bubblegum-marceline-still-just-almost-girlfriends/">Princess Bubblegum &amp; Marceline: Still Just Almost Girlfriends</a> (2014-08-14)</li> </ul> <p>Sorry for unintentional pings on my rss feed; also, be aware that a lot of these are very old (like, ten years) and don&rsquo;t necessarily reflect who I am as a person today! I&rsquo;m trying to be better about preserving and sharing my writing, so I suppose that means I must submit to <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/i-know-what-you-think-of-me/">the mortifying ordeal of being known</a>. Some of these pieces, while flawed, I am still fond of — particularly the <em>Life is Strange</em> one. I&rsquo;m planning to do more and eventually close down the blog where they originally appeared.</p> Reduced to tongue eardrum thumb pencil and price (WN28) diff --git a/public/week-notes/030/index.html b/public/week-notes/030/index.html index 4ae0d7e..33fb8eb 100644 --- a/public/week-notes/030/index.html +++ b/public/week-notes/030/index.html @@ -62,7 +62,8 @@

    Doing

    I taught my first college class! It went far better than I anticipated; by about half an hour in, I fell into my natural teacher mode and it was smooth sailing from there. I’m excited to work with the kids1 and see how I do throughout the semester. I still have deep-seated imposter syndrome about teaching (adjunct lecturing) the course on a macro-level, but the day-by-day is at least seeming more feasible.

    For context, the college I’m teaching (adjunct lecturing2) at is my alma mater. I transferred there as a junior from community college, and this course is the first one I took there — with a professor who went on to become a mentor and a personal friend. She scared the shit out of me then (she still does) because she is so good at what she does, so experienced, and (seemingly) effortlessly incredible as a teacher. The idea that I have to, in some way, fill her shoes — teach her class, in the same room I took it, nine years later — is absolutely terrifying. Who am I to tell these kids how to teach?? I have very lovely friends who have talked me up and assured me that I’ll do a great job, but I think I’ll never be able to shake the feeling that I’m not doing what she would have (or not doing as good as her). Of course that’s ridiculous and I need to be my own person, and it is within this contradiction that I must exist.

    -

    I’m continuing to backport content from an old blog. This week I’ve added…

    +

    I’ve been to my classroom a few times this week getting some of the bigger projects done. I’ll have time to put on finishing touches on the teacher conference days next week, but I’d rather cut open 96 tennis balls at a relaxed pace than rush to do it the day before kids show up.

    +

    Site-wise, I’m continuing to backport content from an old blog. This week I’ve added…