I Survived the Wabash Valley Earthquake of 2008! 04.19.2008 3:31PM T-shirts sold separately. Living in the Midwest, I would wake up every morning and tell myself, "Today is probably going to suck, but at least there won't be an earthquake". But not anymore my friends. Yesterday at 5:36AM I was awaken to the sound of rumbling and a few seconds later everything began to shake. The shaking probably lasted between 45 seconds and 1 minute and oddly enough the first thing I thought was earthquake. I even changed my away message to "I think Muncie may have just experienced an earthquake at 5:38AM." Sure enough my first thoughts were confirmed and all over the news when I woke back up at 10AM. I don't know about the rest of you but for me the earthquake was pretty cool. Maybe that's because it registered only 5.2 on the Richter Scale and I was over 150 miles away from the epicenter in West Salem, Illinois. My belief that the earthquake was pretty cool was reaffirmed when an aftershock rattled my apartment at 11:10AM and the local news interrupted The Price is Right to inform me I had just felt an aftershock. Thanks. I'm sure Californians are just laughing at us Midwesterners right about now. The Wabash Valley Seismic Zone is part of the larger New Madrid Seismic Zone. The New Madrid Fault is the one we all learned about in school. The one that has been dormant for nearly 200 years and is due for another devastating earthquake, possibly in my lifetime. The current analysis predicts a 90% chance of 6.0 or great earthquake originating from the New Madrid Fault by 2040. The chance of a 8.0 or greater earthquake within the next 50 years is at a much less 7-10%. And while yesterday's earthquake caused little to no damage, an earthquake on the New Madrid Fault is bound to be much more devastating to the surrounding area. Unlike the tectonic plates in California that experience regular earthquakes and are significantly shattered, the plates of the New Madrid Fault are relatively intact and therefore the earthquake will impact a much larger area than earthquakes in California. So I hope you enjoyed the short thrill ride of yesterday's earthquake and aftershock, because next time an earthquake hits the Midwest, we may not be as lucky. In my lifetime, Louisville has already had a devastating tornado outbreak and a devastating flood, it looks like an earthquake may be next. Ramblings 04.17.2008 2:55PM - I can't believe its been 11 months since I graduated. Where the hell did all the time go? Maybe its the fact that I spent 7 months working before heading back to school that has made the time fly. Next week is the last week of classes and my studio project is due on Monday, April 28. I think I need a timeout. Who knows if I'll feel the same way next year when I have two semesters of classes? But its my last two semesters of school. Oh God! - I had a wrap up session for one class this week and it wasn't like the rest of the classes. Nope, instead we met at the bar and lunch and drinks were on the professor. I had my first Sam Adam's Summer Ale of the season and not only was it damn tasty but also it was free. The professor is one of the best and coolest I've ever had. He combines 35+ years of real world experience with some crazy and yet believable stories. He's met and worked with every architect one would want to meet: Frank Lloyd Wright, Alvar Alto, Max Abramovitz, and Thom Mayne to name but a handful. Oh yeah he has 13 patents. - Apparently if you build it, they will come. I came across the latest incarnation for a Los Angeles football stadium for the yet to be determined Los Angeles football team. You can check it out here. I don't care if there is a team in Los Angeles except for the fact that it can't be an expansion team. The NFL is perfect right now with 8 divisions of 4 teams. 33 teams just wouldn't work. The website says with approval this September the stadium could be ready for opening kickoff 2011. Again, Los Angeles still doesn't have a team. However at that time the Oakland Raider's lease at Network Associates Coliseum runs out, and if you've ever been there (I have) you know its a shit hole. Oh yeah, the Oakland Raiders used to be the Los Angeles Raiders. Hows that for coincidence? I Should Have Been An Egyptologist 04.08.2008 12:09AM There are few things that garner my interest more than Ancient Egypt. Architecture, football, and Egypt are probably battling for the top spot depending on the situation. My interest in Ancient Egypt stretches back to first grade when I won a Young Authors Award for my story about my dream vacation to Egypt. An entire edition of Discovery Kids magazine dedicated to Ancient Egypt was just the beginning. I fulfilled that dream vacation to Egypt in the summer of 2004. And yet I'm still enamored with Ancient Egypt. I mention this because last night at a time when I could have headed bed, "The Top 10 Discoveries of Ancient Egypt" came on, and I couldn't turn away. Like every program about Egypt that comes on the Discovery Channel, it revolved mainly around the work of world famous Egyptologist and Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass. Trust me, he knows everything about Egypt. I'm not exactly sure what it is about Egypt; maybe its the architectural achievements, maybe its the civilizations 3000+ years of thriving existence, maybe its because I think its the most successful civilization in the history of the world, but I can't get enough of mummies, pyramids, temples, pharaohs, and so on. I think I'm even more hooked on Egypt since visiting. I had experienced just about everything they mentioned in the countdown: Great Pyramids, Luxor Temple, Egyptian Museum- King Tut and preserved mummies. The point is, if in the future architecture becomes something I no longer want to pursue, I know where I'm focusing my attention. I'm heading back to school, getting my degree is history or archeology and becoming an Egyptologist. The fact that there is still so much left undiscovered is simply amazing. On a related note, screw embalming and casket burial, screw cremation. I want to be mummified (I'm not sure about the legality of this, but who cares.) and placed in a golden sarcophacus. Also Rameses (only the most successful of all the Egyptian pharaohs- he convinced the people he was a god on Earth) is a great name for a son. 2 Weeks, 2 Albums, 2 Bad Songs 04.01.2008 3:57PM I was going to attempt to review both Accelerate by R.E.M. and Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings by Counting Crows by ranking the songs and talking about each one as I got to it in the ranking. But when I think there are only 2 bad songs in a collection of 25 thats really hard to do. I most definitely have my favorites off both albums, but the difference between the best song and the worst song is so small that its hard to rank them. Both albums are quality, solid, and well worth looping. So here we go, my best attempt at reviewing these respective albums. Accelerate by R.E.M. is their first studio album in three and a half years. And if you recall how forced and unfulfilling Around the Sun was and, to some degree, continues to be, it seemed much longer than 3+ years. Accelerate is aptly named as the album of 11 songs clocks in at just over 34 minutes. That's considerably shorter than the nearly 60 minute 13 songs from Around the Sun. The songs are fast paced and the pace lives through the return of Peter Buck's electric guitar. Welcome back to the forefront Buck. The first single Supernatural Superserious is classic R.E.M. radio friendly pop song. It also takes the form of one Michael Stipe's favorite story. The story of teenage lament and the need for a pep talk. The lyrics shift from "humiliation of your teenage station" early in the song to "a celebration of your teenage station" at the end. Stipe's been there. We've all been there. In another song that takes on a familiar R.E.M. story, I'm Gonna DJ takes the premise of It's the End of the World and combines it with the silliness of Shiny Happy People and Superman. The song isn't meant to be taken seriously. Stipe harps, "cause if heaven does exist with a kickin' playlist I don't wanna miss it at the end of the world". R.E.M. has never been a band to shy away from political statements and four songs have at least a slight tinge of political styling. The most obvious is Houston which is a direct response to the lack of response by the current administration to Hurricane Katrina. It speaks of all the refugees that fled Louisiana for Texas and most who still remain there without any direction for their future. "If the storm doesn't kill me, the government will." The other politically bent song is Until the Day is Done starting out as frankly as possible, "The battle's been lost, the war is not won". It's a powerfully critical song about the failures of the Bush administration over the last 7+ years. When I first heard the song I thought one line in particular was "Providence blinked facing the sun." However, R.E.M. did it one better and its actually "Providence blinked facing the son." Very nice. But the song is not entirely dire as it points to the future asking, "Where are we left to carry on?" Stipe has made no secret that he is an adamant Obama supporter. My favorite of the album is Hollow Man which plays in direct contrast to most of the album by starting with a lovely piano melody before erupting into the fast paced electric guitar and drums. Stipe's gruff and aging voice shines through without any doctoring. The one bad song from the album, Sing for the Submarine, may not really be bad, but it sounds so much like a song that should have been on Around the Sun that I can't let myself listen to it without thinking it didn't make the cut last time and they were unwilling to throw it away. Maybe it will grow on me. The remainder of the songs, Living Well is the Best Revenge comes across as a big "hey fuck you" we can still make music, Man-Sized Wreath and Mr. Richards are the other political songs both seemingly a reaction to racism, and Accelerate and Horse to Water both musically and lyrically an integral part to the return of guitar driven fast paced rock that R.E.M. fans have come to know and love. Though not so fast and unintelligible as the earliest songs from their career. And as Stipe said during a performance I listened to a few weeks ago, "most of songs are under 3 minutes so if you don't like it, it will be over soon". Recorded over nine days the album displays a focused and invigorated R.E.M. that have many years ahead of them. Ok so this is a long post, but I love my music and its rare that such quality albums come out, especially back to back, by artist I very much enjoy. Coldplay has a new one in 6 weeks. So stay tuned for that one too. So now, Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings. The wait for a new Counting Crows album was even longer than an R.E.M. album, nearly 6 years. In this age of MP3s and downloadable music the art of the album has been somewhat lost. But it's not entirely lost on Counting Crows as Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings are separate albums, but need to be listened to from beginning to end as a single album. I'm partial to Saturday Nights (but aren't we all, I mean honestly Sunday mornings usually suck), but like Accelerate there is only one bad song on the album. I could attempt to explain the difference in Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings but would not do any better than Durtiz's own explanation, "Saturday night is when you sin and Sunday is when you regret. Sinning is often done very loudly, angrily, bitterly, violently." And that's exactly the difference. Saturday Nights is the hard rocking record, while Sunday Mornings is the acoustic-ish record. And they work well together. Oddly enough, most of the songs on Saturday Nights have a sound not too far removed from R.E.M. Unlike R.E.M., the Counting Crows albums are longer, but they are known for songs usually approaching and exceeding four minutes. The usual Counting Crows "self loathing" is evident throughout. One of my favorites is "Sundays" (actually from the Saturday Nights record) says, "Gotta stop breathing cuz the sky is falling, I might go out and watch the moon explode, give me directions to the highway crossing, I'll go lie down in the middle of the road". Duritz also talks about his "dizzy life of mine keeps hangin me up all the time" in Hanging Tree. And then in Insignificant Duritz wonders aloud, "I don't want feel so different, but I don't want to be insignificant". These are lyrics and songs you can connect with. The one bad songs appears on Sunday Mornings and its an occasion of Duritz trying too hard to recreate the powerful piano ballad of Raining in Baltimore or Holiday in Spain. And does it drag on. Nearly five minutes long its hard to listen to the entire song. Like R.E.M. did with Supernatural Superserious, the lead single from the Crows album You Can't Count on Me is classic Crows and the sound hardcore and casual fans are used to. While slower, more acoustic and more piano driven, Sunday Mornings is a great juxtaposition to the hard rocking and sinful Saturday Nights. Put on Your Walking Shoes 03.30.2008 3:01PM With gas prices inching ever so close to $4 a gallon, now seems to be a good time to check and see how walkable your neighborhood is. At Walk Score you can do just that. A score of 100 is a walker's paradise while a zero means you'll usually be driving. Its checks the distant of important services such as groceries, schools, restaurants, parks, etc. from your location in determining your score. Will you be able to make it when gas prices become out of reach? My location in Muncie rates a measly 48, while my various locations in Champaign rated in the 70s. Whats your part of town score? Leave your score in the comments. There are a lot of ways to describe to Wal-Mart but after watching this video you'll probably think of it in one of two ways. Either that Wal-Mart pops up like weeds or it spreads like a virus. The following video charts Wal-Mart's growth from its first store in Rogers, Arkansas to its 1000s of stores at the end of 2007. Its simply stunning. Do enjoy. Walmart Growth Video My sister and brother-in-law's travel blog, Lives of Wander was the Travel Blog of the Week at Write to Travel back on March 11. I think that deserves a shout out. If you've yet to check out Lives of Wander, go there right away. Even though they haven't begun their travels, the site offers insights into the thinking and planning of the trip. Its very interactive too! Check back on Tuesday for a double dose of music reviews as I let you know why the new Counting Crows and R.E.M. albums are worth your time. Check out Last Month 04.01.2008 2:25PM Check out last month at Beavers and Ducks, while you wait for a new post for March. March 2008	Gregory 'Jesus' Dowell Muncie, IN - I'm a 2007 graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies. Currently pursuing my graduate degree in Architecture at Ball State University. I just finished a 7 month internship with RRJ. The internship has taken me from coast (Bethany Beach, DE) to coast (San Diego, CA), while showing me the ropes. Resume Portfolio Greg's Calendar May 2- Spring Semester ends May 3- Kentucky Derby May 12- First day of summer work May 19- "TBA"- Coldplay May 22- Indiana Jones May 24-31 Pawley's Island, SC June 6- R.E.M. Concert July 18- The Dark Knight 14 Days Until: Important Wii Release Dates - Always playing Guitar Here III, Mario Galaxy and now Super Smash Brothers Brawl April 27 Mario Kart Wii May 19 Wii Fit July 2008 NCAA Football 09 Other Wii Games To Watch For June 29 Guitar Hero III: Aerosmith June 22 Rock Band TBA 2008 Wii Music TBA 2008 de Blob TBA 2008 James Bond 007 The Latest Podcast Last Month at Beavers and Ducks March 2008 Links CadaverBlender Bloomington or Bust Smelkem Spargel Lives of Wander Theresa's Freelance Site

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