Category Archives: Video

2007 Bridge School Benefit

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Saturday night we attended the 21st annual Bridge School Benefit Concert at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View. It was our first trip to this show since 2003 and it was wonderful to get reacquainted with such a special music experience. It is an annual gathering of Neil Young and invited guests (usually 5-7 other artists) playing mostly acoustic versions of their music.

Regina Spektor at The Bridge School benefit concert , October 27, 2007The Bridge School was started by Peggy Young, wife of Neil Young, and is “dedicated to ensuring that children with severe speech and physical impairments achieve full participation in their communities.” The annual benefit concert provides the school with funding. It is without a doubt my favorite music event of the year and Saturday was my 9th trip to see Neil Young and friends rock out for The Bridge School.

Overall, this was a rather subdued show compared to past years. The last show I saw, in 2003, featured Billy Idol, so it was unlikely to be more energetic than that. Still, it was more calm and the music was more relaxed, even the headline appearance by Metallica.

Regina Spektor

She was awesome. An amazing vocal talent, her first song was just her and a microphone singing to The Bridge School students; who, as always, were seated behind the artist’s area of the stage. A good vocal presence is always rewarded at Shoreline, where the sound seems to fill the entire venue beautifully. [Video of Regina performing Fidelity]

John Mayer

I used to hate John Mayer. I admit that. But that dude can play guitar. And he can play well. He was stellar. Backed by two other guitarists, he played mostly stuff from his latest album, which I have to admit to enjoying quite a bit. His set felt too short, and I found myself wishing he could have played a few more tunes. He ended with a easy-does-it version of Tom Petty’s Free Fallin that I got on video. [Waiting on the World] [Free Fallin]

Tom Waits & Kronos Quartet

Tom Waits at The Bridge School benefit concert, October 27, 2007Holy shit. I haven’t seen Tom Waits live since he performed at The Bridge School show in 1999. To say his performances are unique would be a gross understatement. He was illuminated by red light and growled an amazing set, invoking dark moods and scary places. Watching Tom Waits perform really makes you feel like you are living in a Tim Burton film. I’m not sure how else to describe it.

Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee started off slow with some of his more mellow tunes, then got everyone on their feet with Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On. It was the first time all night we were on our feet, which gives you an idea of how mellow the show had been up to that point. He finished with Great Balls of Fire, which totally rocked the house.

I’m almost ashamed to say that my entire impression of Jerry Lee Lewis was formed by my dad’s jokes about Jerry Lee’s marriage to a 13 year-old. After skimming Jerry Lee’s entry on Wikipedia this morning, I realized that he is a rock legend and brilliant musician. Mental image revised, I’m real glad I got to see Jerry Lee perform. He was awesome.

Metallica

I have to respect Metallica for “playing to the venue.” They showed up with a polished acoustic set. They opened with several covers, including a pretty nice cover of Only Happy When It Rains by Garbage. Notice I said nice. The early set lacked the kind of energy you expect from Metallica. On an otherwise mild evening of music, I think the crowd (especially the dudes with beers wearing Metallica/Guns N’ Roses tour shirts from 1992), wanted some dive bar thrashing on acoustic guitars. They didn’t get it until the very last song, when Metallica played Nothing Else Matters. After that, they were gone, and everyone was screaming for more. As much as the set might have been a bit too mild, watching Lars rock out on the drums was worth it. And James Hetfield’s voice sounded crisp and rested. I can’t wait to hear the next album.

Summarized

At a Bridge School show, you’re always reminded of the power of music and the power of the art form. The Bridge School students benefit from this show and the artists play these shows with that in mind. While this show lacked the rare music moments that sometimes come when you gather so much talent in one show, it was still a treat and an experience I will hold dear for the next 12 months until the next show.

The Roman Break

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There are many ways to relax at work and take a few minutes for a brain break. Some people go out for a smoke, or you can head to your car for a quick nap. You can take a pee break or answer a cell phone call from a family member in need of tech support.

In my office, we have a new type of break: The Roman Break.

Roman breaks start without you even considering that it was time for a break. You were just working peacefully when all of the sudden you heard an adorable giggle or squeal. Without knowing it, you’ve just started a Roman break. You are compelled to go see what all of the fun is about. Work life comes to a complete halt as you walk over to see what is going on in Roman’s little world. This may be construed as unproductive; those “construers”? would be mistaken. Once you pop your head into the bassinet and Roman pops you one of his trademark squinty smiles, the rest of the day is a happy, productive time for all.

In all seriousness, having a 5 month old in the office has been so much fun. I haven’t been around newborns very much in my life, so at first I was a bit afraid. Babies seem so fragile it can be scary to hold them because you feel like they might break (I don’t know how, just indulge me here). That all faded away the first time I picked him up after a diaper change and he smiled at me. Now, it doesn’t feel right when he isn’t in the office. He has been instrumental in keeping our office light–hearted during some stressful days (and nights) over the past couple of months with his loud giggles and gas. We’ve all been “sploogedâ€? on (spit up) and enjoy Roman’s post-feeding burps.

Best of all, though, is that we get to watch a new life flourish right before our eyes. In just 5 months, we’ve witnessed so many milestones: smiles, laughs, assisted rollovers (and just today, an unassisted one), adult sounding farts…the list goes on and on. For me–planning to enter into fatherhood at some point in the future–this is the best kind of training one could hope for. I am privileged to work with Roman in the office. It also says a lot about the evolving workplace. This is Office 2.0. Collective productivity is enhanced when you have an unlimited source of cuteness to draw upon.

Above is a short video of Tracy on a Roman break. Enjoy.

Mashing Things Together

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One thing I love about the internet is how much we, the users, own it. We own the internet. Case in point:

Last Friday I was thinking about how I haven’t been out surfing in quite awhile. I went to my go-to site for local surf conditions and found it in a state of disarray. Frankly, it feels stale now. It used to be a wealth of great info and it felt fresh. It was well taken care of at one point. Now it just sits there…getting old and looking older.

What is a web developer to do when a formerly informative site is no longer fun to visit? I realized that a lot of their information was coming from outside sources. Their tide chart was coming from the Scripps Institute. And several other informative parts of the site were publicly available elsewhere on the web. So I took the URLs of that info and made my own surf conditions page:

http://robknight.net/tides

It has everything I want to know about local surf conditions and I don’t have to go elsewhere and see an old, stale site. I don’t own this information, but now I’ve taken ownership of how I get it and I present it in a way that suits my needs. Nice!

Second case in point: would you like to watch me work today? Sound like fun? No, I know it doesn’t. But you can. ustream.tv lets you set up and stream a live video feed on the internet. Before ustream, delivering streaming video was the kind of difficult voodoo that you needed a PhD in quantum mechanics to pull off. And my PhD is in collecting tech gadgets, so I was out of luck. Now I can just do it. And…I can put my streaming video feed wherever the hell I want:

http://robknight.net/live (Watch 10am – 2pm, 04 May 2007)

The webcam world, formerly only for women of questionable judgement and cat’s litterboxes, is now available for anyone with a camera. And you know what? It’s as free as a slice of turkey sausage in a Dixie cup at Trader Joe’s.

We own the internet. Go forth and create!