Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Machinedrum, Bobbie Sue's Mac & The Moth

Weekly Update 2016-39: While fighting a cold this week, I felt a bit uplifted by the synthy sounds of Machinedrum. I treated myself to dinner and a show at Bobbie Sue's Mac and Cheese, and am also finally getting into podcasts, starting with the live art of storytelling in The Moth. 

Music: Machinedrum
It will be time to lace up my shoes and start running again soon, and with running comes good electronic music to exercise to. Machinedrum is that and so much more. A mix of dancey rhythms, breakbeat, voice clips, loops, and lots of other weird stuff come together to create a sound that makes me feel like I'm running through some sort of futuristic video game. Check it out below:


Machinedrum is playing Velvet Underground on October 14.

Accomplishment:
This may sound silly, but I feel a sense of accomplishment from having thoroughly cleaned the bathroom this past weekend. I went out and bought intense cleaning supplies, and now our tub is sparkling clean. Maybe I'll treat myself to a bath!

I also completed my goal of the summer (three days into autumn) by playing a show with my drumming band in Kensington Market! I was so pleased that my family came to see me play, and since I don't think I have any more gigs this year, it was a great way to end the summer of drumming. It's really nice to see improvement and reach a milestone, especially for something I only started doing in February.

Much to my unhappiness, I forced myself to do another driving lesson yesterday, in preparation for my driving test in October. I'm going to book at least one more before the test as well.

Goal:
I'm pretty sick this week, so other than the usual Hebrew class, I'm going to try to finish uploading pictures for the fifth China trip post (finally), and go apple picking on Sunday! Tis the season.

Random Thought: Restaurant Atmosphere
So rarely do I get to indulge in my truest favourite food - the oven-baked homemade macaroni and cheese. Last week, I decided it was due time to visit one of the best mac places in Toronto, which happens to be Bobbie Sue's just off of Ossington and between Dundas and Queen. The restaurant is really more of a wooden stall/window, with a couple of deck chairs for the few individuals who choose to stay and eat there. I happened to be one of those individuals.

Because I am always behind the times and don't use Ritual to order my food ahead of time so I can pick it up and be on my way, I was privvied to a showing of the delightful banter that exists between the workers at this mac and cheesery. First of all, at least two of the four employees working at the time of my consumption were Australian. How charming. I had a great time eating my macaroni as I watched the four of them discuss all sorts of things and make jokes. The order window even felt like a television screen.

I suppose I am behind the times in some ways, but I wonder if Ritual users ever realize that they're missing out on the atmosphere of a restaurant (or, yes, in this case a stall window).

Anyway, I got the most delicious tuna and peas macaroni (exactly how I'd make it at home, but better!)


Inspiration: The Moth
I attended my second-ever live storytelling event last week with a friend who was telling me about the most popular organization in the storytelling event bracket – The Moth.

From Wikipedia:
The Moth was founded in 1997 by poet and novelist George Dawes Green, who wanted to recreate the feeling of sultry summer evenings in his native Georgia, when moths were attracted to the light on the porch where he and his friends would gather to spin spellbinding tales. Green and his original group of storytellers called themselves "The Moths", and Green took the name with him to New York. The organization now runs a number of different storytelling programs in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, and other American cities (26, as of April 2016), often featuring prominent literary and cultural personalities.
The Moth has a podcast (of course), and while being pretty sick this week (thanks, changing seasons), I decided to give podcasts another try. If any podcast could change my opinion, it would be a satiation for my need to listen to stories. And I was not disappointed. I have listened to exactly three and a half Moth podcasts since Monday, and I really love them.

Some of the stories are extremely sad, and I even shed a tear or two for one particularly moving tale. This was while I was on a very well-lit subway, and there were some stares from other riders, which makes me think that commuting may not be the best time for podcast listening. Either that, or I'll have to reign in the emotion a little.

Check out the podcast here.

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