The Geek Of All Work http://www.geek-of-all-work.com Geekery about so many things... Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:37:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Chris Bray for Lt. Governor http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=197 http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=197#comments Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:33:40 +0000 chas http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=197 I’m supporting Chris Bray for Lt. Governor in the Democratic primary on Tuesday. He’s my state representative and so it was with initial dismay that I heard he was running for statewide office, but in the end I understand his decision. He wants to be able to devote himself full time to representing the people of Vermont, and he will be excellent in his new role, serving the entire state. I won’t so much be losing a great representative (see Spence Putnam) as gaining a great Lt. Governor.

I have worked with Chris for several years, supporting him on his first campaign for Vermont House. Chris is all of those things you want in an elected official: he works hard both on campaign and in office; he’s smart; he keeps himself well informed. More than these things however, is Chris’s ability to connect to everyone he represents. I live in a town with the reputation (somewhat well-deserved) of being a Republican stronghold. Through hard work and dedication he has won my town over. I’ve often said of Chris Bray that after talking to him for 15 minutes, you will be convinced that you want him as your representative. In this primary campaign I think he’s convincing Vermonters all over the state that they want him as their Lt. Governor.

Chris has great ideas and plans for growing a sustainable Vermont economy, maintaining our state’s working landscape, and has long been a leader on issues of local, safe, wholesome food. Check out his website at http://www.brayforvermont.com/.

So please join me in supporting Chris Bray for Lt. Governor. He does have opposition in the Democratic primary, so every vote counts!

]]> http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?feed=rss2&p=197 0 Gaming! Fall-Ioha! http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=194 http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=194#comments Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:51:45 +0000 chas http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=194 A group I’m involved with, the Green Mountain Gamers is hosting a Fall game-day. I don’t think I can say it any better than one of our driving forces, Tyler Dion who writes: “It’s time to say goodbye to summer and Aloha to fall! And what better way to do that than by playing games! So, bust out your favorite games and colorful cabana wear for a day of gaming in Lyndonville, Vermont.”

Date: September 18, 2010.
Location: Grange Hall, York St, Lyndonville, VT.

I’ll be there with Tigris and Euphrates, Memoir ’44, and Dominion. There will be a Small World tournament in the early afternoon. Don’t miss it!

]]> http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?feed=rss2&p=194 0 Support Harold Giard http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=184 http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=184#comments Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:38:44 +0000 chas http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=184 This is a letter I wrote to the editor of the Addison Independent, the best local newspaper in Vermont. It was published on August 16, 2010.

To The Editor

Incumbent Vermont State Senator Harold Giard is running for re-election in the Democratic primary, and I ask Addison County and Brandon voters to write in his name. Senator Giard has been a staunch supporter of the issues near and dear to the hearts of Democratic voters, backing Marriage Equality, Health Care (he was a co-sponsor of S.88), and the closure of Vermont Yankee.

Further, he has become an influential senator working for Addison County in Montpelier, winning appointment to the important Senate Finance Committee early this year. Given the number of key Democratic state senators running for Governor at this time, the influence of the Addison County contingent will further increase as we return Senator Giard to the legislature. This is a contested primary, and if a freshman senator is elected from our county, that person will start at the bottom of the senate ladder.

I urge you to write in Harold Giard’s name for Vermont State Senate: not only is he a good Democrat, but he has the influence to help our county.

Sincerely,
Chuck Burkins
Bridport, VT

]]> http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?feed=rss2&p=184 0 Listen: Samantha Crain http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=171 http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=171#comments Sun, 13 Jun 2010 03:13:20 +0000 chas http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=171 Americana, alt-country, etc. It’s a kind of music I grew to know through the albums of people like James McMurtry and Steve Earle. For me, a defining characteristic of this genre is that it seems to wander between folk, country and rock: one track will be a fine example of upbeat country and the next would fit in fine from an indie rock band.

Today I’ve been playing a very fine album by Samantha Crain, of whom I’ve never heard before. It’s called You (understood) and I starts out with a top notch indie rock tune, “Lions”. The next couple of tunes are sharp tunes in the same vein, and then we drop into an alt-country feel for the next few tunes. “Religious Wind” would be a good fit on pop-folk album, and is a wonderful song; it’s the kind of tune that makes you play an album again and again to hear. The album finishes with a couple of real rockers and much of the guitar throughout convinces me that the guitarist has a stack of Neil Young albums at home. The variety of the music forms as well as the distinct Oklahoma twang Crain sings in makes this feel like Americana to me. Maybe I worry about things like genre too much, or maybe not, but in any case, this album is terrific.

]]> http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?feed=rss2&p=171 0 Spence Putnam http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=142 http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=142#comments Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:01:51 +0000 chas http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=142 This election cycle, I’ll be working to get Spence Putnam elected to the Vermont House of representatives. If elected, he will be replacing Chris Bray, who represented our district well, but is running for Lt. Governor. Spence, a familiar face to anyone who pays attention to Addison County politics, is a resident of Weybridge where he serves as both Town Moderator and School Moderator. He has a firm commitment to progressive change: not only has he served on numerous charitable boards, but he is an expert on sustainability and lives in a carbon neutral home.  This guy has serious credibility with me as a small businessman myself: he was a C level manager for both Danforth Pewter and Vermont Teddy Bear during it’s time of explosive growth. I thought it was going to be nearly impossible to get better representation than Chris Bray for Addison-5, but I think we may just do it.

]]> http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?feed=rss2&p=142 0 GMG Summer Game ‘n’ Grill http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=160 http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=160#comments Sat, 12 Jun 2010 23:26:42 +0000 chas http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=160 The Green Mountain Gamer’s, a group I helped found, is holding it’s first annual Game ‘n’ Grill on Jun 19th in Essex. It will be held at the Essex Memorial Hall, 5 Towers Rd, Essex, VT, to be exact from 10AM to 10PM. I will be teaching Tigris and Euphrates and hoping to get in on some good Dominion Action. A friend is bringing Italia, and I hope to have time for that as well. Fun!

]]> http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?feed=rss2&p=160 0 New Pro-Bono Website http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=153 http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=153#comments Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:59:50 +0000 chas http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=153 The Vergennes Lion’s Club is following up their successful Reflections On Vergennes fundraiser with one involving clocks.It’s About Time will count on artists from the Addison County community to decorate clock faces. The Lions will then supply the guts. I of course being the Vergennes Lions web-lackey provide the website. All in a good cause!

]]> http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?feed=rss2&p=153 0 Listening Now: Slow Club http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=126 http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=126#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:17:57 +0000 chas http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=126 yeahsoToday I’ve been listening to a new album by a duo called “Slow Club”. I got kind of hooked on them when I followed a link on a blog to this video of their “Trophy Room” track. Slow Club plays a kind of folk-rock. In fact, this album would have no trouble posing as a straight up folk album, were it to be released by an established American folk singer/songwriter. Certainly I saw musicians rocking harder last time I went to a folk festival (Falcon Ridge) (the Strangelings come to mind). This is not a criticism. I’m an old folk lover myself.

I consider it high praise that these guys manage to remind me sometimes of Simon and Garfunkel. Well, particularly if Art Garfunkle were female and they were writing music in the 2000′s (check out “When I Go”, and “It Doesn’t Have to be Beautiful Unless It’s Beautiful”). At other times they sound like a talented folk-rock group.  It’s all good music and quickly climbing on to my favorites of 2009 list.

If you’re interested, here are my usual suspects for purchasing. (I think these links are free of any affiliate crap, I know I mean them to be)

lala.com *   emusic.com *  amazon.com

]]> http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?feed=rss2&p=126 138 Listening Now: Los Campesinos! http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=120 http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=120#comments Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:04:42 +0000 chas http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=120 HoldOnNowYoungsterThis album is chock full of my favorite kind of rock: tuneful, fast, and noisy. There’s harmony and female vocalists, which makes it automatically “twee” to some peoples ears. I actually don’t mind twee, but this is a bit harder edged I think. I played my oldest son about 30 seconds of one song, and he compared it to the Sonic Youth. It was the beginning of “You! Me! Dancing!” which begins with some nice SY style hard noise.

Lyrics? Wow. Amusing and off-the-wall. I mean check this out:

You walk in from your mother’s balcony
Panda-eyed and freezing cold
You bury yourself in my chest to warm
I notice the goosebumps on your arms, millions
And whether it’s because of the numbers of hours spent laid facedown on my bed listening to white noise, or, well, obviously it’s not, I somehow manage to translate them from braille

They’re putting us on, right? But fun.
Anyway I’m rating it: “I love it!”. At least this week.
Amazon, Emusic, Lala.com.

]]> http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?feed=rss2&p=120 46 Listening Now: Tullycraft http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=117 http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=117#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:51:08 +0000 chas http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?p=117 Every Scene Needs a Center For today’s listen, I’m all over Tullycraft’s 2007 album Every Scene Needs a Center. Somebody save me from this one. Last FM and wikipedia will tell you this album is Twee Pop. I call it catchy as anything. Think influenza catchy. To me, this sounds like Phil Spector style girl band updated into the 2000′s, upbeat and full of hooks. The lyrics, generally referential to the pop/punk/indie music scene are mildly amusing, but its the hooks in the songs that get you.  I don’t think you could make a steady diet of this stuff, but it does make a nice change from the grungy noise. (I like grungy noise in Rock myself, but that’s different topic.)

If you care to listen to samples or purchase, you can get it from Amazon, Lala, eMusic, and probabably iTunes and your CD store.

]]> http://www.geek-of-all-work.com/?feed=rss2&p=117 24