music | Countries Beginning with I

in Brisbane. Spent the weekend offline, which was very, very nice. #

^ during my Brisbane walkabout, saw, enjoyed, and bought the CD from a band called Jambezi

social media planning for the Kernel Conference http://bit.ly/2DwHJQ – hope to stream live video for the first view of ZFS De-Dupe! #
overhearing James trying to describe to someone what I do: “she works in community on the OpenSolaris side and does, um, video stuff” #
<sigh> more wrestling with our horrible, horrible expense reporting system. #
NOT a rhetorical question: when was the last time you had good support for software, and how was it provided? (phone, email, Twitter…?) #
@c0t0d0s0 we did something similar in Brazil, too. Were you thinking of a specific magazine in Germany? in reply to c0t0d0s0 #
added a few photos to President Lula of Brazil Meets OpenSolaris http://bit.ly/3iECbx #
join the Kernel Conference Australia on USTREAM: tomorrow at 9 am Brisbane time (GMT +10) http://bit.ly/a9GCb – first up will be ZFS Dedupe! #
figuring out what sessions to attend at OSCON – suggestions? (Keeping in mind that I’m more on the people side of the equation.) #
“Maybe you’re already doing too much.” My daughter at times is wiser than I am. #
recent read: Vikas Swarup’s “Six Suspects.” Plotline a little too Bollywood with coincidences, but overall a v good and satisfying read. #
folks gathering in Brisbane for the Kernel Conf. Waiting for Brendan and Gavin to get to the office so we can have lunch #
@ElaineEllis not doing any of those things! In the Sun office in Brisbane, waiting for lunch #FOTR in reply to ElaineEllis #
wearing my social media producer hat: getting set up to stream the Kernel Confernce from Brisbane. We should be live in 30 mins #

providing text backup to a very poor video feed for the kernel conference, over a http://bit.ly/LH3oo #
> 40 viewers on the stream, ~100 people in the room #
really NOT having a good day here. I need to be doing about six fewer jobs. #
@lordorica these days, it’s pretty safe to predict that consistently bad service will sooner or later result in bad PR in reply to lordorica #
damn, damn, damn. Trying to do too many things at once = doing some of them badly. I hate it when I screw up! #
lessons learned today: 1. arriving to set up 1.5 hours early is not necessarily enough. 2. I need one of each kind of FireWire cable #
3. I need a travel-sized laptop with FireWire. #
@ThinGuy no Best Buy close enough to this campus, I fear. Must remembr to gt a 9 v battery tonight in reply to ThinGuy #
@jonobacon Â» FemCamp: Sessions & Reflections http://bit.ly/PjBXS – I can try to find the name of the woman who spoke on opensource #
Italian bloggers on strike today against a proposed Internet gag law in Italy http://bit.ly/6c4Lo – would help if someone translated this! #
@jonobacon I could talk for hours. ; ) Start by asking why I left Italy… You should come to Grace Hopper in October, too. in reply to jonobacon #
another reason I left Italy: 1. that actually WAS my most recent salary in Italy and 2. rampant tax evasion (not by me) http://bit.ly/jBqQt #
just been advised that I should redo the expense report I have aready spent >6 hours on because it “may be corrupted.” There are no words… #
@AmberCadabra there is no canonical length for online text or video – use what you need to cover the topic – no more, no less in reply to AmberCadabra #
I am SO going to need a drink tonight. Or several. Let’s see whether my date makes it to Brisbane. #
there are many things I will miss about Sun. Our expense reporting system is emphatically NOT one of them. #
more lessons: slides full of text/busy diagrams work poorly in online streaming video, but also work poorly in the room #
ZFS panel with Bonwick & Moore now live at http://bit.ly/LH3oo #
this day just keeps getting better… #
gotta love the instant results with Twitter. It appears that 1% of my followers instantly jumped onto the Kernel Conference stream #
An unusually difficult conference: one speaker missed his flight, another quarantined for swine flu. #
@lbridenne76 problem with a small toolbox of A/V kit is it tends to add a lot to the 20 lbs of kit I’m already carrying in reply to lbridenne76 #
RT @seancarlos: Italy gag law: currently see small section in English + pdf: http://bit.ly/qUu1d + Google translate http://bit.ly/MJtRX #
I’e never seen slides using duplo blocks before – fun! #
re. Italian gag law, how will the law qualify “Italian blog”? hosted in Italy? written in Italian? by an Italian citizen? #
@plasticbagUK I used Twitter to work out how many days I spent where fr 2008 taxes in reply to plasticbagUK #
@divinacucina I suppose the Alfano gag law is designed to increase Berlusconi’s stranglehold on information in Italy. in reply to divinacucina #
@mschoenu There’s not a 2×4 big enough to hit them hard enough… You can also call them cretini provinciali di… #
trying to understand the proposed Italian law. seems it wd hold bloggers to same standards as big media to “rectify” mistakes w/in 48 hrs #
failure to rectify would lead to fines of >$5000. #
but who decides what actually needs rectifying? Berlusconi has already lost at least one defamation case (against the Economist) #
@mschoenu they haven’t figured out that you are not !00% Italian? in reply to mschoenu #
@mschoenu I know – that’s why I’m surprised that people would be surprised at your son’s “foreign” name. Boh. in reply to mschoenu #
@webmink see you soon, arriving from the opposite direction! in reply to webmink #
@zalez I’ve auditioned 3 new countries this trip: Brazil, NZ, Oz. All cool, but Internet in NZ & Oz sucks in reply to zalez #
reading on @BrazenCareerist about happiness. I’m actually pretty happy, tho tired and stressed and uncertain… #
@zalez re #internetausdrucker – we generally used Luddite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite in reply to zalez #
streaming has started again at http://bit.ly/LH3oo #
@dfugate OTOH, just saw a slide on Sun/Intel collab featuring multi-ethnic people who don’t work for either in an office I don’t recognize in reply to dfugate #

^ James, Brendan, Jake

I need to make a video of a bay of hard disks shouting back at Brendan Gregg. (who really is, BTW, a sexy cub) #
@NathanFillion OMG! Spoiler! in reply to NathanFillion #
note: the most useful thing in my A/V kit, after the camera, is the wireless mics. A million ways to use ’em… #
@lbridenne76 I think quiet is to be expected today. Kinda glad I’m at a conference in reply to lbridenne76 #
I don’t care what your corporate colors are, black text on a blue background for slides is just illegible. #
about to return to streaming with “x86 Fast Reboot”Sherry Moore at http://bit.ly/LH3oo #
@dfugate re. creativity, they could have got a photo of some of the actual people, tho maybe we’re not as pretty as the models in reply to dfugate #
had dinner last night with a lot of smart people. Learned interesting/scary things about the film industry. #
@davest you’ll be at Oscon? Cool! See you there. in reply to davest #
Flying out of Brisbane tomorrow. #
…and we’re back, with “Linux Kernel Security Overview”James Morris – http://au.sun.com/sunnews/events/2009/kernel/agenda.jsp #
I wish I wouldn’t keep losing bits and pieces. Where did that extra camera battery go? It’s been floating around my luggage, now can’t find #
one of the things I love about engineers is that they’re problem-solvers. Was fun watching them get their teeth into a problem last night. #
@nonstick no, for that I have the handheld in reply to nonstick #
coming up “Boomer: the new OpenSolaris audio system”Garrett D’Amore – http://bit.ly/LH3oo #
the comment spammers are running out of ideas “My mother’s name is Italian.” And that’s all it says. Blah #
@shamu – more whaley stuff for you: Countries Beginning with I Â» Opotiki http://bit.ly/2sZzWx #
had to unplug the Air, poor grounding in the plug it was sharing caused the videocamera to give me mild shocks thru every metal part #
@SaraD I’m really hoping there’s more Alan Rickman in this one. Maybe I’ll stay awake long enough to find out tomorrow night. in reply to SaraD #
via zoomata.com: Italian movie about social media called Feisbum! http://bit.ly/9Lxqq – song may be the most interesting thing about it… #
OMG, I’ve married into another species http://bit.ly/veWNA #

^ birds (including parrots) flock to their evening roosts at the Queensland University campus

one more hour of conf, then reception, dinner and… cricket? #

^ now I know why Terry Pratchett called his Australia-analog “Fourecks”

Panel – Secure Software Engineering / in-kernel SecurityCristina Cifuentes, James Morris, Fernando Gont – live on http://bit.ly/a9GCb #
lively discussion on computer security and education #
“Everything’s written in C eventually.” Gets a big laugh from this audience. #
glad the conference day is almost over. Very tired. #
Brendan talking about kernel engineering culture shock in the US: http://bit.ly/LH3oo #
awaiting my flight at Brisbane airport (to SFO via Sydney). Was up til 3 am watching cricket. I may have learned a thing or two. #
ending the overseas portion of this trip. My favorite part has been getting the right smart people together to make wonderful things happen #
what I learned about cricket last night did not include the definitions of “googley” and “hat trick”. #
Note: Aussies really do say “No worries” a lot. And you can taste wine in Brisbane airport at 9 am (no, not gonna). #
@ThinGuy I did, but about to board a plane to head back. Met lots of great people, hung out with some great “old” ones. Kernel Conf great. in reply to ThinGuy #
Waiting to board flight in Brisbane at 10:30 am Friday. I will arrive in San Francisco on Friday at 10:15 am. Let’s do the time warp again! #
Landed sfo. Confused. #
Waiting for airport shuttle to take me to san jose. Starving, but will need a shower before food. Who’s in town already? #
Appropriately? watched part of “Australia” on flight fm Sydney.Answers the burning question
“does Huge look better w or w/o beard?” #
NB: Huge definitely looks better w/o shirt #
seat partner on the flight from Sydney is doing her PhD in social media, with a thesis on fan vids. how did Qantas know to seat us together? #
wearing my geek cred: overheard someone in Brisbane airport say “OpenSolaris!” Then a guy chatted me up in the line thx to Wikipedia bag #
slept funny on the plane and seem to have pinched a nerve in my neck/shoulder. Need a massage! #
@jonobacon is the plan still on to meet at 7 to decide where to have dinner? #cls in reply to jonobacon #
@metadaddy with Ambien, I can sleep, even on planes. This stuff has changed my life! It’s a whole new order of jet lag management. in reply to metadaddy #
asked Ross about her impressions of Italy this trip. She’s alarmed by a rise in anorexia, including a couple of friends of hers. Scary. #
Milan first city in Italy to make alcohol illegal for under-16s (in Italian) | Reuters http://bit.ly/k4CEQ #
Lessee… everyone is meeting at 7 in the lobby. I have two hours to nap! #
Marriott fail: no makeup mirror. Even the Quality Inn in Porto Alegre had one! #
@lskrocki I’m so blind that I can’t see to put on makeup unless I’m about 3″ from the mirror. This is hard with a bathroom counter 3′ deep. in reply to lskrocki #
okay, that’s it, lack of sleep has officially caught up with me. Dinner at Mezcal was good, blood orange magarita aside (too sweet) #
@glynnfoster one margarita hardly counts as alcohol! in reply to glynnfoster #
@Silona be careful. A HS bully found me via internet years ago, motives were not entirely (if at all) to apologize for the past in reply to Silona #
RT @Silona: HS bullies friending on FB http://is.gd/1DjYb – fortunately, after bullying in earlier grades, I went to the right HS #
@mtuckerb hey, look me up! will be back in a few minutes #cls in reply to mtuckerb #
interesting org I’ve just learned about at #cls : http://www.freegeek.org/ #
@markwilliams I definitely want to attend your cmty metrics talk – I’m a stats geek #cls in reply to markwilliams #
@markwilliams we’ve learned from stats that traffic to a project can be v diff from *perception* of project’s health. Always measure! #cls in reply to markwilliams #
@deirdresm met Rick #cls today. Hope you can join us for dinner tomorrow! in reply to deirdresm #
@italylogue i think I’ll see @rosso first, tho! in reply to italylogue #

Now that I’m living in the US, I have a chance to do things I haven’t done much during my years in Italy, such as go to concerts (other than classical; living in Milan, we had good access to classical music).

My dad took me to concerts fairly frequently during my childhood years in Pittsburgh. We saw Arlo Guthrie and Kris Kristofferson just about every year, and Frank Zappa once, just when "watch out where the huskies go…" was big on the radio. Concerts were a lot longer in those days, and I was young – I managed to fall asleep right in front of the speakers at Frank Zappa. To my chagrin, Dad always refused to take me to see the Rolling Stones – after Altamont, he was afraid of violence.

There are concerts in Italy, of course, but they’re mostly by Italian musicians whom I don’t care much about. The big American groups only come around every few years, and my taste rarely coincides with that of the Italian concert-going public. In other words: the musicians I’d like to hear rarely come to Italy (though Enrico did see Paul Simon just before he came on his current US visit). Enrico and I saw Jethro Tull ages ago in Milan, and David Byrne a bit more recently, then Alex Britti and Randy Newman.

I’m not in the habit of following concert schedules, but the day I did my Colorado driving test, I ate lunch in a little Nepali restaurant next door to the DMV, and picked up a local paper to read while I was eating. I happened to notice that Dolly Parton would be playing in Denver while Enrico was visiting, so I called him up and asked if he’d like to go. He’s mostly familiar with her from the movies 9 to 5 and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, but that was enough to make him like the idea. And, for my first concert back in the US, you can’t get more all-American than Dolly!

The ticket gods love me: without particularly trying, I got seats in the center pit, four rows from the stage. For about $100 each, after taxes, fees, and parking. And Dolly gave us our money’s worth: two hours on stage, with a pretty damn big band.

I was interested to see that a good part of the audience was gay, both men and women. Upon reflection, this makes sense: Dolly was camp long before that term entered mainstream consciousness, and drag queens strive for precisely the Dolly look: spangly tight-fitting dresses, enormous wigs, enormous boobs, and enormous makeup – plus lots of jokes about it all. Her tag line is: "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap," and she was quick to repeat it onstage, as I knew she would be.

Sadly, Dolly herself is not looking so great these days; I think she’s had an overdose of "work" (cosmetic surgery). While she sang Here You Come Again, her big crossover hit of 1977, the screen behind showed pictures and video of her during that period, and I’ve got to say: she looked a lot healthier when she was rounder. Nowadays her cheeks are hollow and her legs like two sticks. Why is it that so many famous women seem to be anorexic these days? It’s not an attractive look.

It was also interesting that her encore number, Jesus & Gravity, went over like a lead balloon: previously-enthusiastic faces turn to stone (though there were a handful who clearly did love the song). Hmm. It appears there are more atheists in America than the politicians would have us believe.

Countries Beginning with I

Tag Archives: music

O Teatro Magico

Chelsea Bluegrass

Lounge Music

Hello, Dolly!

Deirdré Straughan on Italy, India, the Internet, the world, and now Australia

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Deirdré Straughan on Italy, India, the Internet, the world, and now Australia