The Net is a Freaky Place
I may have mentioned that I'm deep into a 200-drawing assignment. Yes. 200. I had about 80 of them already in the files. I've done about 40. And am slogging to the end. I rely heavily on the Google image search to find reference photos of birds in poses I can use. To keep myself from dying of boredom, I think up zany things to draw. The last drawing I did was of a laughing gull trying to eat a least sandpiper, something we witnessed at a horseshoe crab beach in Delaware last spring. In my drawing, the sandpiper gets away, instead of being gulped down whole as the unfortunate Delaware bird was. It reminded us that gulls are predators, and they're always watching, always ready to take advantage of the small and unwary. Gulls and deadlines. The closer I get to the deadline, the more predator/prey drawings I seem to do.
I was searching for images of willets, and found my own willet photo in the Google lineup, from our March '06 trip to Sanibel. I'd posted it on the blog, and it made its way into Google's capacious memory bank, and into my image search. So I used that for reference. That was cool. I'd forgotten taking the photo, and the Net organized it for me without even being asked.
So I'm doing a search for images of kildeer, and on page 8 I run across someone who looks familiar.
Does he look familiar to you? What's he doing on Google's kildeer image result page? Well, it was last February, the 17th, the anniversary of the day we got Baker from Pennsylvania, and Laura, Somewhere in NJ, made a comment about having heard a kildeer call that day, and through the magic of the Google search that comment got linked to Chet Baker's impossibly cute photo, and there you have it. I'm looking at my own one-year-old puppy, up to his eyeballs in kildeer photos.I'm quite used at this point to seeing my own paintings and drawings show up in image searches for particular species, but it was cool to find one of my photos, and my lil' pup, popping up too. Hello, Bacon!
If you haven't been reading Bill of the Birds, you've missed a good belly laugh. In one of his "Song in My Head" posts, Bill riffed a bit on XM Satellite Radio's program The Loft, mostly lauding it, but complaining about periodically having to dive for the stereo power button when they play Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl." I came to this relationship 15 years ago hating Billy Joel, and I think that's probably why Bill decided I was OK. That, and the bird thing, the music thing, and the art thing. But hating BJ was a must. For the record, I also hate John Cougar Mellencamp, Lionel Ritchie, Jewel, Madonna, Natalie Merchant, Bill Morrisey and Rufus Wainwright, but this is a shiny, happy blog and sometimes these things just slip out. I am sorry. That was uncalled for.
So Bill gets this comment on his post from Mike Marrone, Program Director for The Loft at XM Satellite Radio, stating for the record that while he does play some Billy Joel, he has never played "Uptown Girl."
I think Bill and I laughed and high-fived for 15 minutes. I mean, you're typing away in this cybervacuum, pretty sure NOBODY except your most loyal comment cadre is reading this...stuff... you're cranking out, and you get a FYI c0mment from Mike Marrone, whose voice booms out of our quadraphonic speaker system for much of every day. Waaaah! He probably has a Google Alert that tells him when anybody mentions The Loft. And he jumps on that thing and gets all FYI on your a-s.
We were still laughing about it at mid-morning when the Lil' Bastard's immortal epic poem (like a vampire is immortal) "Jack and Diane" came schlubbing out of the speakers. We dove for the power button.
Oh, God. It just hit me... Do you think Mike Marrone's Google Alert is going off now? Is it OK that I said I hate the Lil' Bastard in the same post as I mentioned The Loft?
Yeah, the Net is a freaky place.
posted by Julie Zickefoose @ 8:23 PM
35 comments
35 Comments:
Hmmm so if you got Chet 2/17, assuming (yeah, I know) he was about 8 weeks old.... when is his birthday? I ask because Robin was born on December 21st, and we got him in February.
200 drawings - ouch! My wrist and thumb hurt just considering that.
I like it when blogs aren't 100 percent shiny and happy. You'd have the Stepford Blog if you did. :-D
You are too busy and too much fun. I have looked at BOTB's blog and I think he's nearly as talented as you! Very thoughtful posts and I like them.
I hate "Uptown Girl", too. There. I said it. Not in a tiny font, either.
Wow, what are you doing 200 drawings for?
You're not alone in your dislike for Billy Joel, John Cougar Mellencamp, etc. etc. Their singing and their songs just get on my nerves.
Is it ok if I just say the 200 drawings are for...a book? Like Grebe Apocalypse, I can't say what they're for, because the publisher probably wouldn't like it if I did. Darn! Rest assured that if they were for my book, though, I'd bore you to tears about it.
Thank you for hating the diminutive Hoosier and the platform-sole wearing Piano Man. I hate Rod Stewart's newer stuff, too. He peaked with "Maggie May," and oughta keep his raspy, clueless gloms off the standards, no matter how well they sell.
Little ditty, 'bout Julie and Bill,
Two birding bloggers thinkin' the Cougar is shrill,
Bill's the editor of a birding mag,
Julie likes music but Billy Joel makes her gag.
Lookin' at birds from the top of their tower,
Julie and Bill count forty five in just an hour,
As they're groovin', Maddona comes on,
Julie snaps the radio off, now the music is gone.
Bill says, yeah that song blows,
Why XM plays it, nobody knows,
Say uh, oh yeah that song blows,
Why XM plays it, nobody knows.
They bird on.
Can't stand billy joel or almost all of the "artists" you mentioned, but for some reason, I don't mind Natalie Merchant. Everyone else on your list makes me jump up and turn off which ever electronic source is blaring at me, but that's not always true of Natalie Merchant. Of course, I don't know her music well, and she appeared on the scene years and years after I had really gathered my fill of music. In fact, it was Roger's daughters who introduced us to her music, but she doesn't bother me in the way the others do. I am always ready to be enlightened. Yes, the net is definitely a freaky place.
BTW-- I just found your very generous offer to walk me through uploading photos to Flickr instead of blogger. I appreciated the offer immensely. We're thinking about migrating to wordpress.com, or blogging very, very lightly! We're finding that we have less and less to say, as time goes on. So it may not be necessary to learn anything new. Have you ever checked out Wordpress? I can hardly figure out how to navigate their site, and I used to advise students at a university about such things!
As a child of the 80's, I have to admit that quite a few of the artists you mentioned were played numerous times on my radio without me lunging for the Power button. But I'm not a child anymore and thanks to satellite radio, we don't have to listen to anything that makes our fingers curl.
But I still like John Mellencamp.
**A not-so-diminutive Hoosier**
BTW: I have Googled myself as "Susan Gets Native" and Google asks me if I meant "Susan GIVES Native". Is it my dirty mind, or is that hilarious??
Dear Robin Andrea,
I should explain my attack on poor defenseless Natalie Merchant. I like a lot of her songs. When I listen to a lot of an artist's work (and I have a couple of her CD's), and I suddenly realize that the artist has a vocal mannerism, and that the mannerism is driving me nuts, that artist goes on the Never Play Again list. Natalie's particular vocal tic is dropping the pitch at the end of each phrase, as if she's kind of disappointed, ohhhh. And, for whatever stupid reason, it drives me NUTS. I liked Susan Tedeschi a lot when I first heard her. Gutsy voice. Bought a CD. And then I realized that she was gonna hit the same damn note, AAHHHHHH, every time she started riffing. Banished. Can't T-Bone help her with that?
If I sound intolerant, I am. As a singer, I listen carefully for vocal crutches, and if I find them, I allow them to drive me mad. And then there's just plain BAD, Oh Mandy kind of bad. That's a whole 'nother thing.
And Birdchaser, you are BAD.
Jewel, ah Jewel. Jewel used to hitchhike all around the Kenai, singing in roadhouses. Then she hit it big, cancelled MANY gigs in Alaska. They have never forgiven her. I don't think she cares. I really don't care either, but being from up here, there are few others to gossip about. How sad.
And I, too, care very little for the drunk from Long Island (or where ever) and the dimunitive Hoosier. I used to room in Juneau with his high school art teacher. He thought JCM should stick to singing.
So which tic got Rufus banished? The nasal whininess or the marblemouth effect? I want so much to like him because I think his songwriting may be clever...but since I have to strain so hard to make out what he's singing I can't...quite..be sure....
Rufus' Zick-annoying particularity (along with the marblemouth stuff you mention) is the way he milks the ending of a song, wallowing around in the notes until you want to throw a knife at the speaker. Cigarettes and choc--ooooooo---laaate miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiillllllllllkkkkkk. One more time!
His posing doesn't help, either. I think his barely concealed mission in life is to completely embarrass Loudon III.
Maureen, Chetty's birthday is Dec. 12. He'll be two!
Oh, the hope you've given me! I too have always hated Billy Joel (I'm convinced only 40-something sporto white guys who drink Miller Lite like him), Jewel (oh the drama!), John Cougar Mellencamp ("American Fool" indeed), Lionel Ritchie (oh my god), and Madonna (give it a rest, lady!), but I must admit I dig Natalie Merchant. I hear what you're saying about the vocal crutch, but I guess I like it. Can we add Garth Brooks for his every-other-word high-pitched cry at beginnings of words (and does that "technique" have a name?)? And I won't even mention the (ahem) Chris Gaines period....
Waaah! I am loving this. Here's the thing. Natalie Merchant is really talented. Great stuff. So it's that much more annoying that I allow myself to be annoyed by the vocal crutch. Ditto on Rufus Wainwright. He's got the genes; in my opinion he's just misusing them, grinding them into dust.
Oh. Yes. The country, gonna -go -call- a -hog yelp. And what about Wynona Judd's throaty growl, imitated by so many clueless singers of all stripes and shades thereafter? A gutteral rolling oink that sounds like she's defending her morning slops, or about to bring up a hairball? Thank God that little tic is receding into vocal fad history. Sometimes when the Swinging Orangutangs are playing I oink like that just to watch Bill's hair stand on end.
I should have figured if you could tell us what the 200 drawings were for, you would - hopefully you will be able to *eventually* tell us because I love your artwork!
Oh yeah, Rod Stewart should have retired years ago. And I really can't stand Barry Manilow either. His voice sounds "tinny" (for lack of a better word to describe how it irritates me).
Hey, good luck with all those drawings and I so agree with your music chat. and, ok, so I'm not a fan of Nora Jones...and they play her everywhere around here. There's something about her voice that drives me nuts like the proverbial fingernails down the chalkboard.
And here's a question. I've noticed my own paintings, drawings, etc. showing up on image searches. Is there any way to protect them? Seems they're being lifted from my blog, where I note they are all copyright protected but out there in googleland? should I worry? Happy drawing today.
Fun blog and comments today.
I dislike singers who hit and hold or warble through a high note. Celine Deon, Whitney Houston and many others.
I’m of the belief that just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Now you have to understand I have a tin ear and generally can’t tell when someone goes flat, never mind if they are any good. But as they say, I knows what I likes and I like the Swinging Orangutangs.
JZ I think you and the Swinging O’s should do Barracuda by Heart. You all would ROCK it.
Ric's got a great idea with Barracuda! :-)
Perhaps from working as a dj I learned to tune-out stuff I didn't like, though if Air Supply or Minnie Ripperton rear their voices, I will dash for the source and scramble for the off button. I shudder just to think of them!
My iTunes "most listened" artists are the Monkees, T.Rex, Nine Inch Nails, Roxy Music, Smashing Pumpkins, and Warren Zevon, make of that what you will.
Hey Mary,
I'm on the fence about Norah. I was all ga-ga over her when her first album came out, and then I wanted her to stretch a little, and I'm still waiting. I know what you mean about the vocals. Sometimes I'm in the mood for it and sometimes not.Kind of mewy.
On piracy: I asked my wonderful Web witch, Katherine Koch, to slap a copyright watermark on every image on my site. That, and the fairly low resolution of the images, has really slowed the flow of pirated artwork. They fall apart at anything larger than thumbnail size, and the watermark reminds the honest. I haven't worried much about the artwork I put on my blog, even though it lacks a watermark. Again, I don't think you can do much meaningful with a 500 x 375 pixel image.
Wow Julie, you really struck a chord with this post it seems... :)
I'll admit to liking some Billy Joel stuff, but a lot of it is pure cheese. Being from the greater NY metropolitan area, I think I'm required to like him somewhat.
My friend told me a story of a GBB Gull eating a Red-necked Phalarope (very uncommon migrant in NJ) in one big gulp right before his eyes.
I remember a PBS show where a gull learned to eat pigeons that blanket a big plaza in front of a big, old, historic builing (In Italy, perhaps). He would simply walk up to one of the hundreds of cluless birds and grab it by the head.
Your writing and art brings great pleasure. I had the house to myself for an hour after the early sunset last night. Rather than turn on the tube as I so often do, rather than listen to more bad news from the worlds of war and politics, and rather than being bombarded by ads trying to remind me how old and pathetic I'm getting, I sat down with Letters from Eden. I was transported to the freshness and hopefullness of spring in the Ohio countryside and got lost in a drama of death and renewal in a flock of robins. Thank you.
You will excuse The Swami if he is somewhat foaming at the mouth [What can you catch from a yak anyway?]
Julie has obviously been concealing the existance of both The Swinging Orangutangs website:
http://www.swingingorangutangs.com/
and her secret life as a Las Vegas show girl (as revealed by a picture on the above website).
And, as if that alone is not enough to drive you to the therapist (while listening to Barry Manilow singing the hits of John Mellencamp) "Mood Swings" by The Swinging Orangutangs is not even available on Amazon or Ebay!
It must be time for a reissue, or at least a Best of... CD.
Here're my additions to the list of cringe-inducing singers: the breathily mannered Judith Owen (Harry Shearer's wife) and the mush-mouthed John Mayer. And Dave Matthews burns my bacon, too, especially when he slips into Dudley Dooright mode for the high notes . Oddly, Owen makes a remarkably effective backing vocalist (on RT's Old Kit Bag, and on the 1,000 Years of Popular Music tour); go figure.
And oh, yeah, that Garth Brooks yelp: Sounds like he's getting goosed at the end of every line. And what's with country artists doing the little finger folding bye-bye wave from the stage of the Opry, or, in the case of the worst offender (with the best voice of the lot), Trisha Yearwood -- at Carnegie Hall -- in mid song, EVEN DURING BALLADS?!? So much for suspension of disbelief.
That said, I actually like pre-Uptown Girls Billy Joel. And he's a scream in concert -- when he's not overdoing the "cold medicine."
I thought of you and Chet yesterday; I saw a long-legged Boston in Philly who was mostly white with black patches, like a Holstein Terrier. Could it mean Baker harbors a bovine recessive gene? It might explain his approach-avoidance conflict when it comes to cows.
Dearest Swami,
Thank you, I think, for outing the band web site. The design is terrific--Katherine Koch again. Content still under construction. Is there any band web site whose content is not under construction?
We had a choice when we pressed the Mood Swings CD, back when Phoebe was still a bald toddler. 500, or 1000? And we had a band vote, and all decided that we'd rather run the risk of selling out of the 500 than sit on a depressing stack of 1000. Now we wish we'd pressed 1000. Rest assured that Bill of the Birds is writing some terrific stuff lately, and is getting his GarageBand mojo working in his spare time. When we bring out #2 we'll plan to reissue #1. And, through the power of the Internet, we'll probably sell dozens! What did PT Barnum say?
"This way to the Egress"?
Put me at the top of the "buy" list for both.
Did the Save the Theatre group record the rockin perormance of the S.O. and do they have a cd for sale? I'd buy that too eh? (didn't want to dangle anything there ;-) )
ihavetoadmitotlikingbillyjoelandjohnmellencampdoesthisgetmebannedfromthecommentssectionofzickland?
getmebannedfromthecommengtssectionofzickland?
Dear Katdoc,
You're special and I love you just as you are.
Hey KatDoc:
Don't go changin'
to try to please Zick
She likes you just the way you are...
BOTB
Julie- sell those suckers after you publish 'em- I bet a couple of folks here would love to buy an original Zick drawing!
Another FYI...
I absolutely hate "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel too! For the record, there are a few Billy Joel songs I do still enjoy and I do like John Mellencamp's old stuff.
I only posted to let you know that eventually all this stuff does get back to me and I really do appreciate that you like The Loft.
If I took out every song/artist that people don't like I would be left with nothing to play.
Suffice to say there are songs/artists that even I don't like that I play because some segment of the audience does like them, but there are some that I will never play under any circumstance and "Uptown Girl" just happens to be one of them.
On the "Jack & Diane" front, I generally play the "acoustic version" because I like it more, and I do like his older stuff, especially "Between A Laugh And A Tear" with Rickie Lee Jones.
At any rate, I didn't mean to "scold" you and I'm sorry if it came off that way. I honestly appreciate all feedback and that there is anyone out there paying attention and listening.
All the Best,
Mike
Mike Marrone
Program Director
The Loft
Finding your own blog photos in a google search reminded me of something that my sister told me a couple of weeks ago....She is making me something for Christmas (won't tell me what, of course) and she did a google search on instructions/photos for making the item. My blog showed up at the top of the google list. I promised her that I wouldn't check my site meter for her search query, but if it brought up my blog I'm guessing that it has something to do with pets or wildlife.
Hey, just a thought - when you are searching for images of birds, plants, etc., have you tried searching for the scientific names? Looking for Charadrius vociferus instead of "killdeer" might weed out the extraneous stuff.
~Kathi, who thanks Zick and BT3 for not banning her, in spite of her taste in "music"
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