Sketches

I did some sketching on my Zaurus while I was crammed into U.S. Airways’s Boeing 767 to Orlando. I hadn’t done any drawing in years. While they aren’t works of art, I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed creating them.

I am dumb for having neglected my drawing. Coupled with my (alleged) wit and interest in current events, I could enjoy life as an editorial cartoonist.

You can take a peek at them in the gallery.

(Bonus link: Did you know the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists is right here in Raleigh?)
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Brewery Tapped Out

Found out in today’s paper that the Brewery has closed its doors.

I saw a lot of great artists there. I’ll miss the way you could be right in the face of the musicians there, or hang out in back with them after the show. The Brewery had an intimate feel to it, and the best sound in town.

I remember seeing Cracker, Urge Overkill, Whiskeytown, The Lincolns, and Mojo Nixon there, among others. Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Hootie, and other big acts played there, too. And the band was always so close that they could sweat on you. You won’t get that at some evil-empire-controlled venue.

The newest places, like Kings and the Lincoln Theatre, I’ve not even been to. Cat’s Cradle still has that intimate feel, but its way out in that East BF known as Carrboro.

Then again, I haven’t been as tuned into new acts lately, probably because of my lack of interest in what’s being played on the radio these days. That, and not wanting to drag my kid into a smoke-filled tornado of noise.

Lately, though, its not lived up to its past. The management got into a spat with local bands who accused it of skimming money from the door. Bands boycotted the club in favor of other venues. Perhaps the fans did, too. I don’t know.

It’s sad to see the Brewery go. It was my favorite local venue. But the memories will live on, as will the ringing in my ears.

DVD fun (or not)

I just burned my first DVD under Linux, finally figuring out what I was doing. This is after having bought a DVD writer back in October.

The problem was that DVD+R discs don’t do Track At Once, which is the way I had been writing CDs (and thus the way I was used to). When I tried that using dvdrecord, it failed every time. These failures prompted me to return my first DVD writer, thinking it was incompatible with Linux.

Now I’ve found growisofs, which arranges things so they work with dvdrecord and DVD+R discs. Just another reason why Linux drives me nuts sometimes.