gregorydowell.com- Beavers and Ducks


Take a Hike 06.28.2008 10:34AM For those of you that don't already know, my sister and brother-in-law embark on a round the world trip in October. You can check out everything related to the trip at Lives of Wander. I mention this because I'm going to meet them on the South American leg of the journey during my winter break. I plan on hiking the Inca Trail to the Machu Picchu ruins with them. Planning is in the early stages, but something more pressing exists. At its highest point, the Inca Trail, rises some 13,000 feet above sea level. That's over two miles people. So that means I'm going to need to start an exercise regime pretty soon in order to be in proper condition to conquer the trail. I hate exercising. To make it worse, Theresa and Jeff have a significant leg up on me already, as they're hiking 80 trails in the Washington D.C. area so Theresa can complete her hiking guide book (They'll be finished at the end of July). In particular I hate running. But I think that's where I need to start. And it needs to be cross country running with hills and all that bullshit. Its going to suck getting motivated to do this, but theres no doubt its not only necessary but also will pay off greatly come December. I have roughly six months to be ready. I plan on hopping a flight to Peru right after Christmas. I guess nows the time to start but the heat and humidity. This is going to suck. Wish me luck. Justice for Life 06.21.2008 12:48AM And apparently in death also. According to CNN.com former Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who died in 2005, rendered a decision against a stay of execution for convicted killer James Earl Reed late Friday night: "However, Chief Justice Willian Rehnquist refused to the stay application and his decision was faxed to South Carolina's attorney general in time for the electrocution to be carried out before the midnight deadline, the prison spokesman said." This glaring mistake is from this article. It will probably be corrected by the time you see it, but don't worry, I've got a screen capture from 12:51AM early Saturday morning that has it front and center. Check it out right here. It's nice to see that fax is available in either heaven or hell. Coldplay Evolving 06.18.2008 6:33PM Yesterday I picked up the CD/vinyl LP combo of Coldplay's latest album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. I've listened to it a few times, and now my thoughts on the latest effort. - I've seen many reviews describe this as Coldplay "experimenting". I'm not going to go that far and rather call it Coldplay "evolving". You're not going to mistake any of these songs for anybody but Coldplay. And that's not a bad thing. Bands have a "sound" for a reason. - Like the rest of Coldplay's library (Parachutes, A Rush of Blood to the Head, and X&Y) I find myself drawn more to the music, melodies, and beats of the songs rather than the lyrics (unlike R.E.M. which I'm more about the lyrics). The new album sounds awesome. - With that said, I do think these are the least accessible lyrics yet. Their lyrics have always been "cryptic" (or lacking as the critics would say) but to me these songs don't make the listener want to burst out singing. I'm not looking for any great meaning in music, I pull what I want from the lyrics. - I'm surprised that Lost! was not chosen as the first single off the album. It's an addictive pop jangle. It'll be interesting to see if they choose it as the next single from the album. - The cream of the crop for me are Lost!, Viva La Vida, and Strawberry Swing (...and Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love). As seems normal with the latest batch of albums I've picked up (R.E.M. and Counting Crows) there's just one song on this album I'm not too big on. It's far from bad but Cemeteries of London just doesn't do it for me. This is still the Coldplay I know and love. Still not the second coming of U2, but with Brian Eno as producer on the album, Coldplay continues their gradual ascent to the top of mainstream music. With a new mix of instruments and familiar favorites, and the always low key Chris Martin, Coldplay has put together a solid album that will be played across the world on radio and in arenas alike. In the Summertime 06.14.2008 9:19PM - If you haven't headed over to my new blog, the building bloc(k)- dedicated solely to architecture and the allied fields, head over there right now to check it out. There are plenty of posts and currently I have my thoughts on James Howard Kunstler's The Geography of Nowhere for you to peruse. It'll be updated all the time as there's always architecture news. Use gregorydowell.comas your portal to all my blog posts! - During my morning commute I pass a Kentucky Lottery billboard that displays the previous day's Pick 3 results. Just for kicks I try to pick the numbers displayed on the billboard. I've decided if and when I correctly pick the previous day's winning Pick 3 numbers, I'll buy a ticket for the Powerball, because obviously that means I'm going to win. On a few occasions I've had the correct numbers, but not in the correct order. - With vacation and the R.E.M. concert things of the past, its time for me to look at my calendar and plan some other things to do this summer. The calendar will include Churchill Downs (again!), Bats baseball, Red River Gorge, Cincinnati Reds, and who knows what else. That's why I have to check into these things. I haven't been in Louisville for summer in 2 years, I forgot what I did. - I keep seeing the previews for The Dark Knight and every time it looks sweeter and sweeter. I can't wait for that to come out. Check back next week for my thoughts on the new Coldplay album and a look at must-have Wii games. R.E.M. Chicago 06.08.2008 8:19PM It was a long time coming, but I finally saw R.E.M. in concert and they did not disappoint. My brother and I took a weekend road trip to Chicago, to catch R.E.M. at the United Center and the band rocked the hell out of the arena. Mixing timeless classics (Losing My Religion, Fall on Me) and eight songs off the new album, Accelerate, the band put together a perfect and well paced set. Check out the entire setlist here. Michael Stipe, always active on stage, missed the start of Bad Day and forgot some lyrics to Man-Sized Wreath, but that was all part of what made the concert great. After super-polished and overproduced albums, Accelerate brought R.E.M back to form and it showed throughout the show. After an acoustic rendition of Let Me In, R.E.M rocked to the conclusion of the opening 22 songs, with nary a stop between Walk Unafraid, Orange Crush, Horse to Water, Bad Day, and I'm Gonna DJ. And for as hokey I'm Gonna DJ feels on the album, its a perfect arena rock song. The goofs continued to the encore as a roadie failed to bring Peter Buck his mandolin for Losing My Religion, and the band huddled for a change of plans and played Pretty Persuasion. But no worries as the mandolin made its appearance following the audible. The concert was tastefully political at times with the performances of Ignoreland, Final Straw, Fall on Me as well as a jubilant endorsement of Barack Obama to deafening cheers. Sure they could have played Imitation of Life, Drive, Daysleeper, or many other songs from their collection of albums, but in the end, it was perfect. I couldn't have hoped for a better show. Check out the best of my photos in the Photoblog. Vacation Blurbs 06.01.2008 8:22PM I'm back from a relaxing week at the beach and have a few stories to share. Also, be sure to check out a few snapshots from vacation in the Photoblog. - Dodging Wildlife: The vacation almost got off to a smashing start as night turned to dawn and I narrowly (we're talking six inches here!) missed an American black bear that decided to mosey out on to the expressway. Traveling 65+ mph I spotted the bear roadside from the top of a small hill and moved from the right lane to the left lane in hopes of not disturbing the bear. I thought it had worked until the bear moved onto the highway just as I approached and a quick swerve to the right allowed me to narrowly miss the bear in the middle of the road. We both continued on unscathed. On a few occasions there were big sting rays rolling with the surf just a few yards out from the beach. There were also a handful of jelly fish but neither animals presented any harm. On our kayaking excursion in the Black River we happened upon quite a few alligators. The first sighting was of a large 12 foot male and smaller female swimming in the water. On a smaller tributary we spotted a lot of baby alligators that ranged from a little over a foot to three feet in length. Like the other wildlife (minus the bear, I guess) they never caused us any trouble and it was pretty cool seeing the alligators in their natural habitat. - Walkable City: We made a day trip to Charleston, SC and as an architecture student I was impressed with this historic town. As we struggle with an oil crisis and global warming, Charleston represents the perfect case study as a solution to suburban sprawl- the walkable city. Obviously built before the automobile age, the city has adapted its original buildings to meet the needs of contemporary society without destroying the city's character or creating sprawl. Meeting St. and King St. are bustling commercial avenues that house your Gaps and Old Navys along with local Mom and Pop shops in historic buildings. Charleston successfully creates hospitable streetscapes scaled to the human. Building heights rarely, if ever, tower more than 5 stories. The streets are narrow with plenty of buffers between the pedestrian and moving cars- parked cars and trees. The buildings present storefronts that allow for plenty of window shopping. Its no wonder property values in Charleston are always on the rise. - Free Stuff: Apparently the only way to have persistently good crowds at glorified high school/college baseball, also known as Class A minor league baseball, is to have gimmick after gimmick. The Myrtle Beach Pelicans excel on this front and we left the game with the mother lode. The Arby's RBI guy successfully managed an RBI and therefore we got a coupon for a free Arby's roast beef sandwich. Later in the game the Pelicans successfully held the opponents scoreless during the Dunkin Donuts inning and we got coupons for a free donut. Then on inning the pitcher had to record a single strikeout and we would receive a coupon for a free bottle of windshield washer fluid. He did it. Besides the fact that it was our last day in South Carolina, the roast beef and donut weren't exactly free, only free with a purchase. That's not really free. However the windshield washer fluid has no stipulations, not even a restriction to South Carolina Advanced Auto Parts locations. Jeff also successfully nabbed a Pelicans t-shirt during the Wendy's t-shirt toss. - Sunscreen, My Ass*: I still don't believe sunscreen works. I obeyed all the rules of sunscreen (maybe not verbatim, but close enough) and surprise, surprise the sunscreen really didn't work. I'll spare you the details but from the waist up, I've peeled one time over already. Quite the sunscreen there. Check out Last Month 06.01.2008 8:15PM Check out last month at Beavers and Ducks, while you wait for a new post for June. May 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 July 11-13- Champaign, IL July 18- The Dark Knight Important Wii Release Dates - It's been a lot of Tiger Woods lately. Now Out- Mario Kart Wii Now Out- Wii Fit July 15 NCAA Football 09 October 22 Guitar Hero: World Tour Other Wii Games To Watch For June 29 Guitar Hero III: Aerosmith June 22 Rock Band TBA 2008 Wii Music Sept 22 de Blob TBA 2008 James Bond 007 The Latest Podcast Last Month at Beavers and Ducks May 2008 Links the building bloc(k) CadaverBlender Bloomington or Bust Smelkem Spargel Lives of Wander Theresa's Freelance Site