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Operating playback equipment isn’t hard. The challenge a DJ faces lies in picking the right music, of course. From what I understand, general familiarity is key - as is keeping the overall pace up and making content-appropriate selections.

This last weekend, in and among a list of mostly conventional wedding reception material, I had the freedom to play a few lesser-known songs (my sister, always open to new music, was the bride). For either the curious or the already acquainted, I present them here.

Lisa Hannigan - “Be My Husband”

Bobby Bare Jr. - “Sister Golden Hair”

Yma Sumac - “Gopher”

Regina Spektor - “Real Love”

Madeleine Peyroux - “Dance Me To The End Of Love”

Again, these were only the possibly unfamiliar songs used. Maybe the best song of the night, in retrospect, was the excellent request made by my brother - “Meet Me In Montana” by Dan Seals and Marie Osmond, which followed Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s “Islands In The Stream”. These worked so well, probably, because early/mid-80’s country was emotionally significant for us young adults (who were kids then), and our parents (who were young adults then).

Of course, that’s why I always feel like I’m “getting away with something” when I play music that’s not listed in the American Songbook’s table of contents. Since emotional significance is the goal, playing obscure (however great) songs will never work as well as the old favorites. You’ll notice that the above listed “obscure” songs are all covers of either popular songs or folk tunes. (There’s that word again.)

Side Note: I had the restraint to only play one song by Tom Waits that night - “Better Off Without A Wife”, after I had made a sweeping, unsuccessful dive across the dance floor for the garter toss. Maybe next time.

I’ve never known much about Mr. Jeff Bridges, but this morning I ran across a “JeffBridgesism", indexed on ffffound.com:

It says:

While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles. Now, while doing this, draw the number “6″ in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Well, Jeff Bridges. I’ll admit, you frustrated me for about forty-five seconds with your little game. For that, I’ll never forgive you.

Of course, YOU DON’T HAVE TO DRAW THE NUMBER SIX STARTING AT THE TOP RIGHT. You can go backwards, and complete this task just fine. Take that, Lebowski! It seems there is, in fact, something I “can do about it".

I may not have full control over my limbs, but I can still outsmart you.

In any craft, there are key skills you must develop to be considered proficient. One of those skills that has eluded me is finding the most effective compromise between promise and delivery.

With Commerce Unread, I wanted to release it unannounced - ie: no promotional blog posts, no preliminary screenshots, etc. …but after working on the game for several weeks, I wanted to show some folks that I hadn’t been spending my days fruitlessly. Then, August went by.

I’m still chewing on this damn project. Video game releases have the characteristic of being “pushed back” unpredictably, and now I understand why: It’s simply a symptom of code and concept blossoming in complexity.

There’s so much nuance to these things that, as a developer, you’re almost obligated to rely on convention to accomplish anything in a reasonable time frame. …and convention is deceptively alluring - it’s often something you have to resist in order to accomplish something substantial. As a result, once again, you have time vs quality.

Eventually, I’d like to grow into the kind of guy who exercises a great deal of restraint in the promise stage of creative work. For example - There’s a lot to admire about Chef Richard Blais of Trail-Blais in Kennesaw, Georgia, but perhaps it’s most relevant to examine his characteristic of under-promising and over-delivering.

Here’s what he does: He continually uses deceptive understatement in his work as a reliable device for creating mystery, and ultimately, scope.

In his menus, the descriptions of his dishes are completely simplified, his dishes are clean and strictly minimal. The mastery, you see, is extracted from view. You’re left to wonder, and the work (in combination with the mystery) evokes something greater than you could possibly have anticipated.

Boom bang. It’s foolproof, assuming you’re not the type of fool who caves to panic or insecurity in the face of glaring silence. …which I am.

See Also:
Example Blais Menu
- From the Amateur Gourmet. Review by Adam Roberts

Commerce Unread’s Empty Promotion Page
- Here, on this site.

“Creative Restraint and Responsibility”
- An Essay by Mark Tribe Christopher Reiger.

Eugene: “Commerce Unread”

Denver: Girlfriend’s parents, friends,
Baseball (Rockies:8 Nationals:2)

Las Vegas: 14 Minutes at the Luxor, -$100.00

Eugene: “Commerce Unread", Coffee,
The Jackyard = 50k DLs

Missoula: Bass Lake, Family

Eugene: “Commerce Unread", Coffee

Seattle: Friends, Rain, Breakfast
Baseball (Mariners:1 Athletics:5)

Eugene: “Commerce Unread", Coffee, Coffee,
Fiction, Margaritas, Brutus,
Football (Ducks:44 Huskies:10)

Sorry about this pointless, self-involved post, but August 2008 was the best month of my entire life, and I feel compelled to express it.