more Vai, alive

Steve Vai, Alive in an  Ultra World

Recorded on his band's tour for The Ultra Zone, this album is quite cool because Vai wrote each song "for" a particular country & often incorporated imagery, sounds, & musicality from each.

Yep, 2 days of Vai, & we're going all week.

Dude is that awesome, he deserves it.

Absolute highlight here, as mentioned yesterday, is "Whispering a Prayer" (song for Ireland, by the way--how cool is that).

Having seen Vai live several times w/ various projects, I will maintain the absolute apex of my Vai experience has been sitting at The Greek w/ my lovely wife for the performance of "Whispering a Prayer."

My wife rules.

If you ain't checked this song out yet, well, geeeeez . . . .

From his dvd Live at the Astoria:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KUSkGeaUPU

Dude got crazy guitar-face & the fan gets a tad cheesy, but that's as far as I will go in negative criticism, cuz he's the absolute master.

2 more of my favorites: "The Black Forest" (song for Germany) & "Brandos Costumes (Gentle Ways)" (song for Portugal).

Check 'em out.

Juniors:
Jonathan Franzen, the man who fears no Oprah.

By the way, read his books--he's great.

Also, the idea of interpretation, the reader's responsibility.

& yes, you have a great responsibility when reading a text . . . which makes many of you quite happy.

& of, course . . . disturbs some of you.

Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction, by Jonathan Culler.

Mulholland Dr, Donnie Darko, The Corrections, Family Guy, The Simpsons . . . just a few of today's allusions

ID tomorrow, to pick up copies of A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature.


Sophomores:
Finished the final.

Began a glance at grammar, a diagnostic look at your ability to note parts of speech in action.

Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, get your adverbs here

Rufus Xavier Sarsparilla can really wear you down

Unpack your adjectives

Conjunction Junction, what;s your function?

Grammar Rock

be cool