Spotify

I downloaded Spotify for my computer a little while ago. And I've been playing with it ever since. It's interesting--you can stream most any song for free.

I thought I would have a problem with not having a copy of the song on my hard drive but that's not such a big deal. Where I feel the program falls short is in the selection avalable. I never thought I would complain about this, but there is just too damn much to listen to. It's cool because you can dive into bands that sound like your favorite music or bands that inspire your favorite musicians, but that's all manual.

I like Pandora because I can set up a station and it pulls songs for me. Sometimes I hate the song and it doesn't fit, but sometimes I hear something I've never listened to before. It's that discovery that I really miss in Spotify. There doesn't seem to be any way to automatically sift though all the selection and just play random. Instead I have to use my own music or find my own favorite songs and that's not really what I want.

Time in the Woods

View from the back porch.

I'm in Virgina for the next week. It's beautiful out here with a mountain on one side and a stream on the other. We spent a long time yesturday clearing part of the stream of logs and rocks.

Fun times.

At the County Fair

After Y2K, the Starship 2000 was no longer impressive. The fair ride had to be corrected.Reporting back from the Champaign County Fair. I saw some pigs that were pretty cute; I ate a two foot long corn dog; and I listened to some 12-year-olds sing with various degrees of quality. 

The county fair seems like a dying piece of Americana. Perhaps I'm falling victim to the follies of nostalgia, but they always seemed more crowded, more spectacular when I was a child. Now it just seems like a small trickle of people and 30-year-old fair rides.

But, I did have fun. 

Homemade Marshmallows

I made homemade marshmallows after eating some of my room mates store bought chocolate marshmallows. I didn't know such a thing existed. The chocolate marshmallows weren't very good and we decided we could do better. We did. They're great. So fluffy and light and we could cut them to any size. Nothing is more exciting than holding a huge three inch by three inch square of the sticky stuff. 

Summa Drink

Sweet Basil Limeade with Mango Slices

Sweet Basil simple syrup and Lime juice is a delicious way to hydrate on a hot day. And the frozen Mango slices add a bit of color, I think.