Musicality and Money

I find it interesting the amount of time I expend on avoiding housework, and it seems like there’s an equal number of tasks I have to do as those that distract me from doing what needs to be done. Primarily, I find seeking out new music to be my biggest distraction, closely followed by watching movies, and playing Words With Friends games to be a close third distracting activity.

I have built and maintain a strong connection with various people on bluesky all of whom share an equal interest in sharing music with others and discussing various artists/songs and their importance to them.

I find it incredibly sad, disappointing and infuriating how many artists musical and otherwise increasingly struggle with earning a livable wage from their creativity. Barrett Strong recorded the well-known song, Money (That’s What I Want) in 1959- listen here: https://youtu.be/oU_ixZv9N-E?si=X7dkFsya5tFhgtzj which was covered by groups ranging from The Doors to The Beatles and The Flying Lizards whose version i’m particularly fond of which can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-P2qL3qkzk.

I’ve long enjoyed attending concerts, and I understand the economics of scale of why ticket prices have increased. Like many other hopeful concert attendees, I am finding myself priced out of shows by bands/performers I’ve long wanted to see. I like to further my support of them through buying merchandise at their shows. My most recently attended concert was Lords Of Acid at Washington DC’s 9:30. I was quite surprised to see that a hoodie was priced at $60 only $7 dollars more than a 2-sided tour shirt. Did I buy something at the show? Yes. Did I spend more than I expected to? Also, yes.

All people, regardless of their work deserve a living wage, and the costs attributed to attending concerts shows the degree to which performers are struggling to make a living.

Pinbaltimore: 2025

I first attended “Pinbaltimore” in 2019 which is a pinball party held semi-regularly at Holy Frijoles, in Baltimore, MD attracting people from across the country. This year it was held the weekend of April 20th and is a highly enjoyable event.

The organizers/staff were highly adamant that ALL people were welcome and should any problems arise they’d be dealt with swiftly and as harshly as necessary. Although much of my time was spent focusing on tournaments, I didn’t witness any problems aside from machine issues.

One of the tournaments I entered had 190 competitors (the events I attend rarely have more than 50). A lot of effort was spent trying to make oneself as small as possible without interfering with another player.

me while competing at Pinbaltimore. photo credit: https://bsky.app/profile/genex.bsky.social

One of the highlights of my time there, was playing a homebrewed Pokémon pinball machine. Yes, some people made it themselves. It played as well as one made by Stern, Pinball Brothers, or any other pinball company.

homemade Pokémon pinball machine photo credit: @nickmorgan2.bsky.social

When I wasn’t playing pinball, I went on a self-directed food tour of Baltimore. I discovered a few places I’ll definitely revisit ASAP.

First up, Catalog Coffee. 914 W 36th st

One thing that mystified me about this city is that most coffee joints close in the early afternoon. I guess unless obtained at home or 7-11 nobody in Baltimore drinks coffee after 3pm? I ate breakfast here twice. I heartily recommend the “smoked duck joint” sandwich. Comprised of Smoked Duck Sausage, Paprika Fried Egg, Cheddar, Spinach, Lemon Aioli on ciabatta for $13.00, was a pretty good deal. Their iced mocha was decent, but I felt more chocolate could improve it.

King’s Pizza and Subs 907 w 36th st.

I ate here twice too. First time, was a couple slices of pepperoni pizza, which had great crust w/ a good ratio of sauce/cheese. The sauce wasn’t overly sweet like other Maryland pizza (looking at you Ledo). It had a nice balance of acidity with a hint of oregano. 8/10

Mona’s Super Noodle 850 W 36th st

Very friendly staff, quick service exceptional portions. Had a roasted eggplant bahn mi (not listed on their website for some reason). perfect amount of mayo, and they more than delivered on my request for extra pickled veggies, cilantro and jalapenos. Would I return to try their curries? in a heartbeat, my friend. Definitely one of the best bahn mi sandwiches i’ve eaten. 10/10

Baltimore In A Box Ice Cream 1004 W 36th st

It was a hot day and what better than a snack of ice cream? I thought they had some interesting flavors and settled on an eclair flavor milkshake. for those who enjoy Old Bay, they have two ice creams featuring Old Bay. Was the ice cream good? hell yes, and I think it’s much better than Charmery and less expensive too. 10/10

Blue Pit Bbq & Whiskey Bar. 1601 Union Ave

i like BBQ, and I like whiskey. Didn’t have any whiskey here, however I did have a couple pints of Neapolitan Stout. I don’t recall who made it. It went perfectly with a pulled pork sandwich, four cheese mac, and baked beans with brisket. I added their house made hot sauce and smoky bbq sauce to my sandwich (they also have mustard based bbq sauce, and a sweet hot bbq sauce), and it was perfect. The baked beans were delicious, with thick hearty sauce, nice hint of molasses. Would I return? Yes. 10/10

Wax and Wane

As I’ve matured, I’ve noticed a lot of things changing in myself. Many of my interests have waxed/waned over the years. In late elementary school through eighth grade, I was captivated by pro wrestling and regularly watched the televised events. Upon becoming an avid skateboarder by the age of 13, pro wrestling no longer held more than a passing interest. Back then, as now watching the Detroit Red Wings and NHL games is still enjoyable.

I’ve spent the last fifteen years living either near or within the District of Columbia. During this time, I’ve noticed hockey isn’t nearly as popular as it was in Michigan. Maybe it’s because of the many sports teams competing for interest. Or it’s attributable to the population that’s a mix of native Washingtonians, and transplants like me. Regardless of reason, I still think hockey is fun to watch. Having been a soccer /futbol player as sweeper, it’s easily seen how despite differences in equipment/conditions both games share parallels.

Parallels are a constant in life-using a keen eye, a person can see how cities are designed similarly. Some are laid out in a grid, others in a hub and spoke fashion, or a hybrid. The District of Columbia, where I reside, has a wide array of architectural styles. Neoclassical classic Greek/Roman as exemplified by governmental buildings and various monuments suck as the Lincoln memorial. More info on DC architecture here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Washington,_D.C.#Architectural_styles_in_Washington,_D.C.

Aesthetically speaking, one of greatest facets is the vibrant colors people use in painting their homes and various buildings here. Where I come from, barring few exceptions, one most see flat earth tones. Here, you’ll find sharp reds, ochres, or even peacock blue. In the case of rowhouses they’re often painted in complimentary to their neighbors. Sometimes, there’s funky houses like one that resembles a watermelon.

I enjoy many things about living here. One of which, is all the public art-from street art unleashed under cover of darkness, to fully commissioned pieces.

From Skateboarding to Pinball: Finding Your Community

What is community?

Is it the place you live or is it both where you live and with whom you spend your time?

I think it’s often both. People can and do find community in any number of ways. For example, if someone is agoraphobic, they probably turn to online communities. They are an avid user of Reddit. There, they discuss their interests with people. Some of whom even live in the same town.

When I was younger, I found my community in the punk/alternative music scenes which carried over to the skateboarding scene. Individualism was cherished. We’d support each other. Even if our interests outside of skateboarding or alternative/punk music didn’t overlap, we still valued our friendships. We allowed our friends to do whatever made them happy.

Which brings me to pinball. The first time I played pinball, I was maybe 11 or 12. I was on a vacation with family members. The place we stayed had a Mata Hari themed pinball machine. I fell in love with it. The noisy bells and other sound effects were new. Yet, they were familiar because I’d heard bells in other settings. It wasn’t until I was in eighth grade that I found my all-time favorite pinball machine. I struck gold with the F-14 TOMCAT, made by Williams in 1987. https://pinside.com/pinball/machine/f-14-tomcat/gallery. I’m not sure how many quarters I pumped into the machine. I am fortunate to have a venue here in the District Of Columbia. It boasts the F-14 TOMCAT among their stunning collection of forty machines https://pinballmap.com/map?by_location_id=24489&by_location_name=V%C3%9CK%20Pinball. If you’ve never played pinball, you should visit Vuk as it’s among the best places to play in the area. The machines are well maintained, none of which cost more than fifty cents to play.

After a time, the convenience store near my school got rid of their arcade section. The arcade near my grandma’s place shut its doors. I never saw another pinball machine until the late 90’s. The arcade in my town didn’t have my beloved f-14 tomcat, but they did have a healthy selection of machines, including Star Trek The Next Generation https://pinside.com/pinball/machine/star-trek-the-next-generation/details which is an excellent machine to play.

Soon after relocating to the District of Columbia in 2009, I found a place to play pinball at https://www.blackcatdc.com/information.html which once boasted a healthy selection of pinball machines, and even hosted a league. I had been completely unaware that competitive pinball was a thing. So, yeah, you bet your ass I joined up. It was there I met many people with whom I still play with that are among the most interesting people I know. Some of whom have honed their skills and have held state titles and competed at nationally and internationally. From my experience, pinball players are largely supportive, and freely exchange any tips/tricks they know with anyone regardless of level.

I can honestly say, like many others, in joining competitive pinball I found my community, which closely parallels my experiences in skateboarding, and alternative/punk music. The pinball community is pretty tight knit. I live in the District Of Columbia, and it’s not uncommon to see people play here that come from as far away as Florida, California, Texas, and other far-flung places.

More pinball resources below if you’re interested:

find somewhere to play: http://pinballmap.com

want to learn how to play various machines? http://pintips.net

all the ins and outs of competitive pinball are here: https://www.ifpapinball.com/

caught a few live music performances this year.

here are some highlights in photos- the first time I saw KMFDM perform live was in Detroit, MI at a small club called Latin Quarter where they opened for Ministry who were promoting their then new album-The Mind Is… hell of a show to see at in my early teens. left w/ a bloody nose, & lots of bruises from being in the pit the entire time.

the the blew me away, & were absolutely fantastic this night. first time i saw them was a long time ago, when they were promoting their album dusk. Not sure why it is, but a huge swath of musicians/groups whose music i like the most all hail from the British Isles.

Buzzcocks were/are a bucket list group i have long wanted to see live. jumped when the opportunity came, & hella happy I went.

KMFDM
shadows of THE THE on the wall at Anthem in DC

Buzzcocks

thoughts on Nosferatu by Eggers

My thoughts regarding the newly released Nosferatu-

The lighting was perfect. every scene was blocked so well, it was like watching a stage production. As a whole, Nosferatu was both modern & a homage to horror flicks of long ago before they became gorefests littered w/ gratuitous t&a (note, i’m of course, not averse to t&a). i have no clue what the process(es) were to achieve such a rich yet subdued color palette, but holy shit, it was awesome. Audiences will benefit seeing it in a theater to fully appreciate the filmmaking aspect.

Nicholas Hoult was Stunning in his role, captivating my interest from the very first instant he appeared on screen- I was ambivalent about his being cast (love him in “the great” not sure if I’ve seen him in anything else).

Overall, I give it a B+.