New Order Plays Palladium Ballroom in Dallas

Posted on 2012/10/122012/10/14 by Jason Hensel

New Order played in Dallas tonight, and it was amazing. They haven’t played here since 1993, when I saw them at Starplex with the Stereo MCs opening. A local band named Ishi opened the show tonight, and their first song was good. After the third song, though, all their drum beats were the same. Their set wasn’t long, which was good because you could tell the sold-out venue’s crowd was getting restless for New Order.

By the way, I found it interesting that Bernard Sumner was wearing a New Order t-shirt on stage. Was his laundry dirty? Doesn’t he know the rule that it’s not cool to wear a t-shirt from the same band you’re watching? Knowing the band’s career, I’m guessing he doesn’t give a crap.

The light show was fantastic, people were dancing everywhere (I had to make may way through a dance party outside the bathroom doors), and New Order even played an encore. Known for never playing encores, they surprised us by not only playing one, but playing one that featured nothing but Joy Division songs.

Below is a video from DaFunkyMex of New Order performing one of my all-time favorite songs of theirs, “Ceremony.”

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The Rewind Button: Live at the Apollo

Posted on 2012/10/112012/10/14 by Jason Hensel

The Rewind Button is a group blogging project that I’m participating in. We’re taking on Rolling Stone‘s Top 40 albums of all time and writing our own reviews of them.

I hesitated in reviewing this album. It’s not that I don’t enjoy James Brown or live recordings. But neither one of them woo me that much. I could carry on life just fine without having ever heard Brown or a live performance set on vinyl.

I feel this way because I prefer to see an artist live than hear a recording of any show. And for James Brown, nothing could capture the experience of seeing him perform in person. Or so I’ve been told. I listen to this album, and I can tell that, yes, he was the über showman. Still, it doesn’t get under my feet and make me want to dance. It doesn’t get in my shoulders and make them want to sway. It doesn’t get into my mind and make me want to check out more of Brown’s material.

“Night Train” is the closest I get to moving to any of the music. I do find myself tapping my right foot and enjoying the upbeat bluesy melody.

Live at the Apollo is an okay album. It’s one that I won’t purposely listen to again, but it’s fine background music for a party.

Please visit these other blogs participating in The Rewind Button project:

Betty Livin

Love As A Verb

Life Doesn’t Have to Suck

Renée Sylvestre-Williams

Sara Bynoe

Musicqwest
Be a River With Me

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Chatting with KiKi

Posted on 2012/10/102012/10/12 by Jason Hensel

During the conference I attended, I got offered a chance to talk with social media expert KiKi L’Italien. It was a casual chat about the event and a great bar in Vancouver. Check it out below.

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Being in Service to Others

Posted on 2012/10/092012/10/12 by Jason Hensel

Why? by Bart Everson

There’s been a lot of talk at this conference I’m attending about being in service to others. That helping others is the path to happiness and contentment.

I agree with that, and I do try to be of service as much as possible. Lately, though, I feel like I’m being in service just to make others look good. I have a problem with that, because it’s selfish.

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and gaining experience, but I’ve been noticing this selfish behavior a lot more. It’s especially prevalent in the workplace. I know a lot of folks are trying to get ahead, get that big promotion, cash that big paycheck. I don’t care about any of that, so when I’m asked to do things for someone so he or she can get all those things, I feel disgusted. At the person and with myself for helping.

In the future, I’m going to start asking why a lot more. That way, I can figure out the real reason something is asked of me. Will that be annoying? Yes, but maybe in the end, the person doing the asking may realize how selfish some requests are and stop the behavior.

(Image via Flickr: Bart Everson / Creative Commons)

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E.L. James Predicted to Win Nobel Prize in Literature

Posted on 2012/10/082012/10/09 by Jason Hensel

I don’t know why, but I always get excited during Nobel Prize in Literature season. Awards really shouldn’t mean anything in the long run, and many great writers have never been awarded a Nobel Prize. Still, I can’t help it. I like guessing who’s going to win, and once a winner is selected, finding all the author’s works and reading as much as I can by him or her.

Every year I hope that W.S. Merwin wins the award. His poetry is excellent, but it’s his translation work that should guarantee him the prize. He and Robert Bly have introduced me to so many writers through their translations that I would have never known. In fact, let’s give the prize to both Bly and Merwin.

As usual, the U.K. odds maker Ladbrokes has been regularly releasing the latest odds on who will win. As of this blog entry, it’s Haruki Murakami at 2/1 odds. Another favorite of mine, Cormac McCarthy, is at 16/1 odds. The writer who is last on its list, though, is the most perplexing. At 500/1 odds, E.L. James of Fifty Shades of Gray fame is predicted to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

I took a screenshot of that listing just to remind myself of how silly awards can be. But still, Merwin should totally win.

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The Business of Pleasure Reading on a Plane

Posted on 2012/10/072012/10/08 by Jason Hensel

I immediately take out something to read as soon as I’m in my seat on an airplane. Knowing I have a few hours of quiet reading time makes me very happy, and because of this, I rarely talk to the people sitting next to me. For the most part, when they see me pull out a book, they don’t bother chit-chatting with me.

Today, though, on a flight to Las Vegas, a gentleman started to talk to me as I was reading. He was pleasant, and asked an easy intro question: business or pleasure? If you’re going to Vegas, that’s a reasonable question. I told him business, he followed up with other questions about what kind of business I was in, where I was staying, etc. I didn’t want to be rude, so I asked him the same type of questions. The conversation came to its natural conclusion, and I went back to reading.

During the entire trip, however, I could see him out of the corner of my eye acting very antsy, looking around the airplane’s cabin, trying to catch anyone’s eye that would talk with him. I felt bad that I wanted to read instead of conversing with this man. Then I began to wonder why I don’t like to chit-chat like that. Why do I become shy or hesitant to meet new people? Or was it the situation? Would I had been more apt to speak at length with him if we were at a party? Probably so. I think it was the location.

Getting on a plane for a trip to me is like those times when you have the toilet to yourself. It’s your alone time. You have your assigned seat with your assigned overhead light and air nozzle. Sometimes you even get your own window. I know you’re not really alone and that there will be times you have to (or want to) talk to the other passengers. But for me, it’s a time to create an imaginary bubble where I’m all alone, enjoying a good book, and the lull of an engine roaring across the sky.

(Image via Flickr: Phillip Kalantzis-Cope / Creative Commons)

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A Visit to the State Fair of Texas

Posted on 2012/10/06 by Jason Hensel

I visited the State Fair of Texas today. I visit every year, primarily to taste the latest fried food creations. Out of the ones I tried, my favorites were the Deep-Fried Divine Chocolate Tres Leches Cake and the Picnic on a Stick. Both were good, though still not as good as fried butter or a fried peanut-butter and jelly sandwich.

There is also a Chinese Lantern Festival at the fair this year. It’s reasonably priced before sunset, but once it gets dark it gets expensive. Still, after dark offers opportunities for some good photos. I took the one below, and I like the Ferris wheel in the background, which everyone should ride once in their lives.

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Time is on Your Side

Posted on 2012/10/052012/10/05 by Jason Hensel

One of my pet peeves is people saying they don’t have time to do something. Whenever someone says that, I immediately want to reply that it’s not that they don’t have time, it’s that they’re choosing one thing over another. We all have the same amount of time. It’s what we choose to do with that time that determines our lives. That’s why I love the following quote so much. Remember it the next time you want to say you don’t have time for something.

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The Rewind Button: Innervisions

Posted on 2012/10/042012/10/05 by Jason Hensel

The Rewind Button is a group blogging project that I’m participating in. We’re taking on Rolling Stone‘s Top 40 albums of all time and writing our own reviews of them.

For this entry, I’m going to write down my initial thoughts about each song as I listen to the album, which I’ve never heard before tonight.

“Too High”: I like the funkiness. The breakdown solo in the middle is jammin’. The lyrics are kind of shallow. But this song is not about the lyrics. It’s about the groove, and it sure is groovy.

“Visions”: I like the guitar. This is definitely a smooth song, a close my eyes and sway my head back and forth tune. Yeah, I’m really digging the guitar playing in this one. Oh, that step down in the melody was cool. Stevie Wonder has a good voice. He holds a note and keeps it steady, not like most of those dramatic hacks on American Idol who think they have to throw as many notes and pitches in a vocal line just to try to prove they have talent. Nice pregnant pause there, Stevie.

“Living for the City”: Hey, I’ve heard this song before! Have you listened to this one with headphones on? If not, do it. That synthesizer can’t decide which ear it wants to get with and make sexy time. Oh yeah, Stevie, sing it. Handclaps! Backing singers! I’m nodding my head to this one, even making my douche-duck face. Wait a minute, this song isn’t over. It’s like Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Whoa, I just heard the “n” word. I think the song is about over. Wait for it. Wait for it. Ah, there it is.

“Golden Lady”: Good segue from the last song. I like when songs merge together. There are a lot of instruments in this song, making it sound busy. I’m not feeling it with this one. Those first three songs were killers, and this one is like the rest period in the corner for a boxer. I wonder if this where I take my pee break.

“Higher Ground”: I’m so glad Stevie put a cover song on his album. It really helps him connect with contemporary society. I kid. The Red Hot Chili Peppers haven’t been relevant in decades. See, the boxer had his rest with that last song, and now he’s back out there in the ring landing another body blow.

“Jesus Children of America”: I like the way the snare drum sounds on this one. And all those synthesizers overlapping, that’s nice. There’s a warm feeling I get from this song. It’s not as good as the last one, but it’s holding its on. It’s like the kid brother of the rest of the songs (well, except for “Golden Lady,” which is the runt of the litter), who trying really hard to prove it’s got the skills to hang with the older crowd. Yep, it’s definitely holding its on.

“All in Love is Fair”: Jarring transition from the last song. Good melody, but I immediately think of a soft-focused video of a lady dressed in all white looking forlornly while thinking of a past love. If I was to produce a soap opera, this song would play during the opening credits.

“Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing”: Great intro! This may be my favorite song so far on the album. It’s another track with a lot of instrumentation, but this time they all seem to fit perfectly. I’m not the only one who imagines this is Stevie’s go-to tropical island number, right? As the second-to-last song, I suspect he’s setting us up for a big finish. Don’t disappoint me, Stevie.

“He’s Misstra Know-It-All”: Another jarring transition from the last song. I sense a bit of the Charlie Brown theme song in the piano in this one. Okay, this tune isn’t really the closer I was hoping for, though I like Stevie’s growling halfway through the song. I feel like this is the tired encore to an already energetic concert. I should have left after the last song of the original set.

Overall, I liked this album. After listening to it once for this review, I’d definitely listen to it again. I knew Stevie Wonder was talented, but I never appreciated how great that talent was until I heard Innervisions. My hat off to you, Stevie.

Please visit these other blogs participating in The Rewind Button project:

Betty Livin

Love As A Verb

Life Doesn’t Have to Suck

Renée Sylvestre-Williams

Sara Bynoe

Musicqwest
Be a River With Me

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The Story Goes on Forever

Posted on 2012/10/032012/10/04 by Jason Hensel

My friend, Jay Frosting, is the host of an online improvisation podcast called Pre-Recorded Late Night. It’s a great show, and he recently asked me to participate. The following is the episode in which I performed. My character is a book publisher who works to keep people reading physical books.

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Why Misinformation Sticks

Posted on 2012/10/022012/10/02 by Jason Hensel

The reason people believe misinformation is because they’re lazy, according to new research from the University of Western Australia. In “Misinformation and its Correction: Continued Influence and Successful Debiasing,” psychological scientist and study co-author Stephan Lewandowsky says that misinformation can cause a lot of damage at a societal level and a global level. As reported by the Association for Psychological Science, though, shedding false beliefs takes work.

Weighing the plausibility and the source of a message is cognitively more difficult than simply accepting that the message is true – it requires additional motivational and cognitive resources. If the topic isn’t very important to you or you have other things on your mind, misinformation is more likely to take hold.

And when we do take the time to thoughtfully evaluate incoming information, there are only a few features that we are likely to pay attention to: Does the information fit with other things I believe in? Does it make a coherent story with what I already know? Does it come from a credible source? Do others believe it?

Misinformation is especially sticky when it conforms to our preexisting political, religious, or social point of view. Because of this, ideology and personal worldviews can be especially difficult obstacles to overcome.

As I mentioned, laziness is the culprit here, and that’s okay. Personally, I’d rather watch The Daily Show than The O’Reilly Factor, because I know I’ll agree with its narrative more than the other. I also know, too, that I should expose myself to other viewpoints more than I do so that I can become better well-rounded and educated. However, I’m lazy. Plus, I find Jon Stewart funnier than Bill O’Reilly. I’m a sucker for comedy.

(Image via Flickr: jimjarmo / Creative Commons)

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New Month, New Blog Layout

Posted on 2012/10/01 by Jason Hensel

It’s been awhile since I’ve written a blog entry, and the recent ones have been part of the Rewind Button project. In order for all my entries not to consist of them (because eventually they’ll run out once we hit review album number 40), I’ve decided to make myself start blogging every day. I figured after a month it will become a habit.

And since it’s the beginning of the month, I installed a new WordPress theme. New beginnings, new look, right?

For those wondering, this entry counts as part of my “at least one entry a day” plan. As most men, I’ve come to peace with not worrying about length.

(Image via Flickr: Takeshi / Creative Commons)

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