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On law school, gold investing
June 13, '10 by bbirney (0 comments)
A friend recently forwarded me a New York Times article on the uptick...
Dubai is a very silly place
October 12, '09 by bbirney (0 comments)
My seatmate on the plane to Dubai claimed that Dubai is "just like Las Vegas, but in the Middle East." To set the record straight: Dubai is like...
Music on iPhone, Motets on Hildegard
November 28, '08 by bbirney (0 comments)
I have a brief little score out on a lovely Chinese Chess game for the iPhone! Also, five motets on texts by Hildegard.
SophiasFall.com
April 5, '08 by bbirney (0 comments)
Sophia's Fall, formerly Paradise Lost, gets a new name, a new web presence, and lots of improvements!
Hop's Fine Clothing! Go See!
September 18, '07 by bbirney (0 comments)
My lovely wife's fine clothing website is now live. Go check it out! http://www.hopsfineclothing.com/
Tilson Technology
July 4, '07 by bbirney (0 comments)
Well, it's officially official, since it's in my badly neglected blog: I'm no longer a freelancer.
Episode IV: A Better Blog
April 4, '07 by bbirney (1 comment)
You're looking at my brand new PostNuke blog module - now fortified against spambots of all kinds.
New Music: World to Conquer
March 23, '07 by bbirney (0 comments)
Like most "new music" I post here, this is actually some older work that I'm turning loose on the web. (All of my composition since 2005 has been...
My first open source release
February 22, '07 by bbirney (1 comment)
Well, I've been in the freelance web programming world full time for about a year now. It's been fun so far, though a heck of a lot of work. Oh...
Brilliant
January 17, '07 by bbirney (0 comments)
This, sir, is How Satire is Done. http://www.theonion.com/content/news/nations_gays_demand_right_to
Feggin' robots
December 7, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
There is a very special place in Hell for spammers. I just had to do a global comment purge and deactivate the Comments module... of 1007...
Paradise Lost V5 - Reading Report
November 28, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
Rob Seitelman and I read the latest draft of our Paradise Lost musical in New York this past November 19th. Here follow several thoughts on the...
Revenge of the Idiots: "I don't need to know XHTML"
November 9, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
Some web programmers apparently think they don't need to know XHTML. These people are (and you will hear this word frequently in the following...
Never host with 1and1.com
September 14, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
There are lots of bad web hosts out there - godaddy.com, any registrar - not to mention the legend that is featureprice.com. (I had a half dozen...
New music online
August 31, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
I've posted several new downloads in my music -> downloads section - recordings of some of my better compositions from my college days. Download...
Photos from Ars Nova
June 26, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
My lovely wife managed to snap up five excellent photos of the Ars Nova concert that Rob and I gave (at their very gracious invitation). Click...
Invitation to discuss
May 14, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
This is an invitation to a discussion on a topic I've just posted in my forum. I make the (perhaps preposterous) claim that roleplaying games are a...
Ars Nova event on sale
May 8, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
Rob and my June 6th Uncharted concert at Ars Nova in Manhattan is now on sale! Here be a link. Love to have some friendly faces in the audience......
Ars Nova
April 15, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
Rob Seitelman and I have been invited to give an evening performance of our work at Ars Nova in New York City on June 6th. We'll be performing...
My own personal post-mortem
March 21, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
The Paradise Lost showcase is now closed, and the post-mortem with the cast is tonight. But in the meantime, some general thoughts on what I have...
Review in Back Stage Online
March 10, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
http://www.backstage.com/bso/news_reviews/nyc/review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002156970
Review in the New York Times
March 7, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
http://theater2.nytimes.com/2006/03/08/theater/reviews/08lost.html
Review on OffOffOnline.com
February 28, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
http://www.offoffonline.com/reviews.php?id=651
Opening weekend of Paradise Lost
February 26, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
Two preview performances and two shows later: Paradise Lost is on its feet in Manhattan. We made some substantial improvements to the show...
Paradise Lost is ON SALE at SmartTix.com
February 16, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
Tickets for Paradise Lost are ON SALE at SmartTix.com. Go get 'em! (Search for "Paradise Lost" if the link above doesn't work for some reason.)...
Paradise Lost marketing survey
February 6, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
My co-producers and I are working to understand how to market our showcase of Paradise Lost. If you have 6-8 minutes of free time, I'd be very...
Costumes!
February 6, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
I spent about four hours trailing after Sarah Levine (our costume designer) today in midtown Manhattan, buying Paradise Lost costumes. Sarah does...
"Instead of dance, it's choreography."
February 3, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
Jason Summers, our choreographer for Paradise Lost, came in last night and taught most of two dance numbers to the cast. Wow. Jason...
Update from New York
January 31, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
We've now been rehearsing with the showcase cast in New York for a week. For most of that time we worked on helping the actors to learn the music...
Flame bait
January 9, '06 by bbirney (0 comments)
Scott Kurtz had this on his website today. His traffic is mine times infinity, but I still want this on my front page too. Fire away... 10...
On Intelligent Design - a liberal Christian's perspective
October 20, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
[Written in response to a sermon on October 2nd, 2005 by Susan B. Curtis of St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church] Dear Sukie, Thank...
Bureaucratic rubbish
October 7, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Time for a rant. So Hop, quite reasonably, would like to get a driver's license in the State of Maine, so she can, y'know, get a job more...
Mantra 1 Music now available in AAC format
September 23, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
I have made the original Mantra music tracks available in my Download section for your enjoyment. Click here!
About Paradise Lost in New York
August 7, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
I have three things to say about it: 1) The cast kicked ass. They were incredibly talented and worked super hard, and on the 8th and 9th...
Change of location
June 30, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Rob Seitelman found us an opportunity to get into a larger venue on the 8th and 9th, and I have decided to take it. Paradise Lost will be at the...
How to get tickets
June 28, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Should anyone want to join us at Westside Dance Theater on July 8th or 9th, you can reserve tickets by emailling me at this address:...
Whoa.
June 12, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
More than 110 very talented people came to audition for Paradise Lost yesterday, and we called back 35 men and 55 women. (On the off chance that...
Arrival
June 1, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Hop and I arrived in Los Angeles yesterday, and she cleared Immigration and Customs without a hitch. I hope everyone in my community will join me...
Now this is some fine poetry.
May 16, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
The Gunner's Dream (Waters) Floating down through the clouds Memories come rushing up to meet me now. In the space between the...
Paradise Lost goes up off-off Broadway
May 2, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
We will be producing two concert-style readings of Paradise Lost in Manhattan on July 8th and 9th. The venue is the Westside Dance Theater, 357 W....
Arrival
March 31, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
My fiance will be arriving in LA on or about June 1st. We are planning to spend a few days out there introducing her to my mother's family before...
Home run
March 17, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Yesterday, Hop received notification that she would be issued a K1 visa to enter the United States. She will be issued the visa on Monday....
Take 2
February 21, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Hop is currently in Ho Chi Minh City. This afternoon (very early in the morning for those of us in the USA) she will submit the documents required...
Pretty much all bad news
January 24, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Hop was not granted a visa at the interview today. They require an Affidavit of Support from me instead of from any sponsor, which was not stated...
Good news, bad news
January 20, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
I am here safely in HCMC at the Metropole Hotel. The number (from the US) is 011.84.8.9201940 room 615 - please keep in mind there is a 12 hour...
The anthropologist story
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
A nice story - for a Tuesday morning The story behind the letter below is that there is this nutball who digs things out of his back yard...
A stupid, stupid, stupid song about AOL
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
[To the tune of "American Pie"] A long, long, time ago I can still remember when I dialed up their help desk lines. And I knew if I...
Top 10 reasons Microsoft invested $150 million in Apple
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Microsoft just invested $150 million in Apple stock. Why? The reasons are obvious:
Arsehole
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
What constitutes an Asshole? I keep my eyes open, though it isn't really difficult to tell the assholes from the good guys. How can you tell...
Bart Simpson Chalkboard Sayings
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
I will not waste chalk I will not skateboard the halls I will not burp in class
Political ideologies and cows
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
FEUDALISM You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk. PURE SOCIALISM You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in...
Fun Bumperstickers
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
No radio - Already stolen. Reality is a crutch for people who can't handle drugs. Real women don't have hot flashes, they have power...
Philosophers and chickens
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Plato: For the Form of the Good. Karl Marx: It was historically inevitable. Machiavelli: So that its subjects will view it with...
The 10 Commandments of AOL
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
I am STEVE CASE, your LORD, THY AOL GOD, which have BROUGHT THEE OUT OF THE LAND OF INTERNET RELAY CHAT, OUT OF THE BONDAGE OF COMPUSERVE...
CS Humor
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
1. Ever notice how fast Windows runs? Neither did I. 2. Double your drive space. Delete Windows. 3. "Very funny, Scotty. Now beam...
National Condom Month slogans
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
1) Cover your stump before you hump 2) Before you attack her, wrap your whacker 3) Don't be silly, protect your Willie
A CyberPunk's Anti-Ode to the Net (crappy)
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
The weather was weary one warm winter day Inside at my 'puter I started to play I logged on to see my mailbox was crammed In horror I...
Darwin Awards 1996
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
You may recall last year's Darwin Award winner: The man who found out moments before making a 300 MPH dent in an Arizona cliff that the JATO (jet...
Darwin Awards #2
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Here is another stupid news story from the Darwin Awards: Only reality could be this funny... Pillsbury Dough Boy Wanted for Attempted Murder.
Darwin Awards #3
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Michigan, USA. Guy buys brand new Grand Cherokee for 30 some thousand dollars and has 400+ dollar monthly payments. He immediately...
The 1997 Darwin Award competition
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
These awards are given each year to bestow upon, (the remains of), that individual, who through single-minded self-sacrifice, has done the most to...
Dirty Seuss
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
(To be spoken in an exaggerated British accent) Theodore Guesel, also known as Dr. Seuss, is best known for his work as a children's author....
Human DNA in C
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
For many years molecular biologists have been mystified by the fact that very little of an organism's DNA seems to serve any useful function....
Signs that you are too drunk
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
You lose arguments with inanimate objects. You have to hold onto the lawn to keep from falling off the earth. Job interfering with...
Too much email
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
This comes off the Silicon Investors Intel Bulletin Board. Thanks to Ibexx (though I doubt it was originally his). 1. You wake up at 3 am...
More weird facts
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.In the 1940s, the FCC assigned television's Channel 1 to mobileservices (two-way radios in...
How to write a flame
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
A flame that appeared on Bungie's message board on AOL: Dear:...
What is a fnord?
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Fnord is evaporated herbal tea without the herbs. Fnord is that funny feeling you get when you reach for the Snickers bar and come back...
The GAT
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
GAT (Gangsta Aptitude Tess) The following exam was administered as an Ebonics version of the SAT 1) You just robbed som jack mo fo...
Here's a theosophical approach to physics...
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
A thermodynamics professor had written a take home exam for his graduate students. It had one question: "Is hell exothermic or endothermic?...
A Historian Speaks
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
The 'Car Talk' show (on NPR) with Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers have a feature called the 'Puzzler', and their most recent 'Puzzler' was...
Microsoft News
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
In direct response to accusations made by the Department of Justice, the Microsoft Corp. announced today that it will be acquiring the federal...
If Microsoft Built Cars
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
1. Every time they repainted the lines on the road, you'd have to buy a new car. 2. Occasionally your car would just die on the motorway for...
Perspectives on a glass of milk
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Somebody left a glass of milk next to the keyboard. Reaction? Optimist: The glass is half full. Pessimist: The glass is half empty....
Computer terms in Montana
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Log On: Making the wood stove hotter. Log Off: Don't add wood. Monitor: Keep an eye on the wood stove.
Bad stand-up lines
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Tell a man that there are 400 billion stars, and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint, and he has to touch it. How come...
Things we all learn from watching too many movies
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
During all police investigations it will be necessary to visit a strip club at least once. All telephone numbers in America begin with the...
Nursery rhymes
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, her clothes all tattered and torn. It wasn't the spider that crept beside her, But Little Boy Blue and...
OJ according to Seuss
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
I did not kill my lovely wife I did not slash her with a knife I did not bonk her on the head I did not know that she was dead
The Truth about the Orchestra.
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
The members of the orchestra are divided into four sections: woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion. There's also someone standing in front of...
Laws of Physics Winners (Creative)
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
GRAND PRIZE WINNER When a cat is dropped, it always lands on its feet, and when toast is dropped, it always lands with the buttered side...
And Now, a modern (crappy) version of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven"...
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Abort, Retry, Ignore? Once upon a midnight dreary, fingers cramped and vision bleary, System manuals piled high and wasted paper on the...
You Might Be A Redneck Jedi If...
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Your Jedi robe is a Camouflage color. You have ever used your Light Saber to open a bottle of Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill You think...
Rejected Dr. Seuss Books
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
1. The Cat in the Blender 2. Herbert the Pervert Likes Sherbert 3. Fox in Detox
101 Spells NOT Worth Memorizing
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
101 Spells NOT Worth Memorizing! ((Actually, there are 396)
The surgeons joke
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Five surgeons taking a coffee break: 1st surgeon says: "Accounting students are the best to operate on because when you open them up,...
Windows source code
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Microsoft marketing strategy (MARKET.EXE): #include <nonsense.h> #include <lies.h> #include <spyware.h> /* Microsoft...
A really horrible crappy piece of Star Trek fanfic
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
Picard: Mr. LaForge, have you had any success with your attempts atfinding a weakness in the Borg? And Mr. Data, have you been able to accesstheir...
Female Translations
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
What a woman says, what she really means... - I need = I want - We need = I want - It's your decision = The correct decision should be...
Genies and Women
January 13, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
A man was walking along the beach and found a bottle. When he opened it a genie appeared. The genie said, "For your kindness I will grant you one...
A fine lesson in physics
January 11, '05 by bbirney (0 comments)
This absolutely made my day when Jordan sent it to me. So I'm sharing it with the world... hope it's not copyrighted by anyone.
No, seriously.
December 28, '04 by bbirney (0 comments)
40,000. 40,000 dead. The US government has pledged $15 million. That amounts to $0.05 USD per citizen. If every citizen gave $50, we could put our...
Have you heard?
December 27, '04 by bbirney (0 comments)
22,000 people just died across southern Asia, and several hundred thousand have nowhere to live. (For the Americans in our audience, that's in...
Visa interview date set for Jan. 24th
December 26, '04 by bbirney (0 comments)
Hop's visa interview date has been set for January 24th. I'll be going out there for it, of course!
