Before my iPad 2 arrives (or at the very least, before iOS 5 comes out in September), I want to get my iTunes library sorted out.

At some point in the past, I deleted chunks of my library somehow, and I either ended up with "MIA" files that iTunes didn't know how to locate, or songs that were just plain missing. Occasionally I would look at a massive copy of my iTunes library that I'd put on one of my external drives and try to find different songs, but it was a lot of work and I didn't get very far.

Enter Dupin. It's a piece of software for weeding out duplicates, even more specifically than iTunes does from its own File > Display Duplicates menu option. I decided to dump everything from my external hard drive and sort it out using Dupin.

And for the most part, it's been okay--I try to match songs using Name, Artist, and Time, because kind (mp3, m4a, m4p, etc.) can be different, and Album might be different if I've imported the song from multiple albums (which happens when I have singles and full albums, or Best Of/Greatest Hits albums in addition to either of the other two).

It was still a pain in the ass. Before I officially deleted anything, I still had to compare that what I had deleted was what I actually WANTED to delete--anything with a lower bit-rate, a protected file, or that was confirmed to be EXACTLY the same as something I already had in my library. Sometimes artists will release a song a second time, not change anything about the title, but extend the song out, remix it, etc. You have to listen to it very carefully to know the difference(s), and that takes time.

I opted to start using beaTunes 3, which allows you to clean up your music library using a LOT of other factors, including sorting issues. And this begs the underlying question: just what fields are important to have for your music?

See, I have lots of albums by multiple artists, e.g. Singer, but also Singer feat. Singer 2. Normally I'd tag these as Compilations, but apparently they're not--if Singer is in the beginning of the Artist field, then Singer feat. Singer 2 is regarded as the same. I don't want to put the "feat. Singer 2" in the Track Title, because in my mind, that's not accurate. The artist is asking about who is behind the song: the vocals, the instrumentals, what-have-you. That doesn't belong in the song title.

But iTunes has all these other metadata fields you can sort by, including Sort Artist and Album Artist. The question is, do I type the artists like I have normally (First Last), or do I type (Last, First feat. First Last 2), kind of like I would be if I were compiling a Works Cited list for a paper? Do I list Singer feat. Singer 2 as (Singer, Singer 2) instead? What exactly is the hierarchy for these sorts?

I get the impression that a track has Artist, but Sort Artist can dominate that, and Album Artist dominates both of those. Does that sound about right?

And if Compilation only matters when you have different Artists (not Sort Artists? Not Album Artists?), and it automatically organizes the tracks by Album instead, then I should be using Grouping instead for my fanmixes, right? Or just make regular playlists, instead of Smart Playlists?

Help!

Stolen shamelessly from frannyan. I don't know if there's more to this meme, but I'll do it if there is! :P

→ Take a screenshot of your desktop. (This is actually just one of FOUR desktops I have. But the other ones just have different wallpaper, not anything else...)

→ Take a screenshot your media player (if you have one up). (I finished my taxes and promptly looked up the "Victory Fanfare" from Final Fantasy V. Because my search wasn't specific, it brought up everything else with "Vict" in the title, which is why the Currently Playing is something from another video game. There's TuneUp to the right, with a bizarre cover art suggestion for a Fushigi Yuugi album that's missing art. I don't think Tasuki would like penguins...)

→ Take a screenshot of another program you have up. (This is Cyndicate, my new feed reader. Do I have too many feeds? I'm not even sure if it's working for LJ yet, picking up protected entries/saving cookies. I wish my custom RSS feed--made with an S2 style--would display authors properly, but I wouldn't know how to modify it to get it. Anyone have any ideas?)

→ Pick a tab you have up and take a screenshot of it. (This is a tab where I'm previewing a file I made in RapidWeaver. I liked the theme for "The Rose Chronicles," so I started trying to put it together as a fic site. Problem is, I don't much understand the plugins, so I'm not sure which one is best for a fanfic. Stacks? Blocks? Accordion? Also, the Carousel page I'm using for the Fanart is a little difficult to setup. For some reason some of the art displays to the right of the "page" content area, and some displays to the right. But isn't the thumbnail slider pretty?)

→ YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO CHANGE ANYTHING BEFORE TAKING A SCREENSHOT OF IT

I didn't! They're all just straight screenshots taken with SnapzProX. Does anyone know a screen capture tool which takes screencaps of the whole screen, even what's past the scrollbar? I thought Little Snapper did that, but I'm not sure how....

So rather than wail about all the Post-Its I have lying around with things to do, my near-empty Listography book, and the things I wish were working out, instead, a list of things I've accomplished today, big and small:

* Read a lot of emails and deleted the ones I don't need (have several thousand to go, but boo hoo)

* Heard back from both Adobe and JourneyEd regarding CS5: I have to spend $449 if I want it, because I don't qualify for the post-announce free upgrade, and there's no discount for an "upgrade" version of Design Premium from CS4 to CS5. So that, plus a camera are now on my Wish List.

* Got approved for the "In Plain Sight" - Mary x Marshall fanlisting - now I just need a name for it! YAY!?

* May be on the waiting list for a focus group and put my name out there for another one; they pay well and don't take long, so why not?

* Put the dishes away

* Registered for the NSCS Region 5 Summit in Seattle, WA on July 6th and 7th. It's my last conference as an NLC member (well, a "retiring" NLC member)!

* Am researching travel options for getting up to Seattle, esp. so soon after cousin Erin's wedding in Los Angeles on the 4th. Virgin America and Southwest are looking the cheapest, since the Amtrak Coast Starlight just doesn't mesh with my needed arrival and departure times. (Also: Anime Expo from July 1-4! So 1-3 = Anime Expo, 4 = Wedding + Fireworks, 5 = ? 6-7 = Seattle! Talk about a packed schedule for one week!)

* Also researching potential post-graduation travel options. Should I go down to San Diego after my orthodontist's appointment, and then head back up with Aunt Joyce in time for the bridal shower, or hang out in North Hills with cousin Jill and fam for a few days and meet up with Joyce on the day of the shower? Train ticket to S.D. would cost me $30-32, but it's more like "What the heck would I do down there?" and "Would I be intruding?" I suppose I should ask at least, so I have the option open, right?

* Got a huge scene done in the revision of Only 16, Chapter 2: A Look Back, which starts the flashbacks that reveal more about Serenity and Endymion's past. I'm contemplating deleting those from Endymion's point of view altogether, since Only 16 really is Serena's story, and even if Darien DOES remember his past completely and is just hiding it from Serena, why give him THAT much screen time? Isn't it more suspenseful having you wonder how things are really going from his end? I've only gone into his POV a few times in the revision so far, and never very deeply. But re-reading Lilac Summers' "First Truths" has made it a lot easier to 'ship them again (*shock!*).

* Updated WikiFic to 1.15.3, and added the much-debated lyrics of "Ahead of the Game." Mass consensus agrees that the garbled lyrics in the second verse are "My liquidity, giant balance sheet. All my secrets, Hey! I'll even cheat." Though how "I'll even cheat" makes sense when Kaiba (whose image song this is) is bragging about how much smarter, more creative, etc. he is than his opponent, isn't cheating making him look worse, not better? I personally think he should have said "I won't even cheat," as if he's restraining himself from cheating just to get a horrible duel over with. What do you think?

* Got started on my graduation announcements--the paper ones. A few family members left to get addresses for and send out, and then...have to figure out the rest. *bats eyelashes* Can YOU come?

MOAR LEFT:
* Dabble in revisions and/or additions to the following fics: Aftermath of Angels (FF8 x YGO), You and Me (body-swap YGO Azureship fic; thanks a lot for reminding me, mischiefmagnet!)
* Story-So-Far comparison of the book Paprika to the movie
* Revisions to previous chapters of WDKY + uploading to all the usual suspect sites -- someone on AnimeXX.de asked me if they could do a German translation of the fic! I can't read German to save my life, so should I say yes and just pray they do a decent job, or say no because I'd never be able to understand it?

A meme ganked from obabscribbler

How it works: Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 15 people you like and include me (presuming I'm someone you like). You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think!

Tag:
1. obabscribbler
2. schmollieollie
3. cutieme4u
4. lilddrpinay2003
5. guardian_kysra
6. atlantian_magic
7. ohsupervinchan
8. psyjoe_dilandau
9. staplerx
10. bewareofdogz
11. katiat325
12. winterwing3000
13. mklutz
14. aelibia
15. azhp

Pick your Artist: 
P!nk



Are you a male or female? 
Lonely Girl



Describe yourself:
 Nobody Knows



How do you feel?
 Feel Good Time



Describe where you currently live:
 Gone to California



If you could go anywhere, where would you go?
 Funhouse



Your favorite form of transportation:
 One Foot Wrong



The first thing you think of when you wake up:
 Numb



Your favorite color is:
 Lady Marmalade



Your best friend:
Respect



You and your best friends:
 Bad Influence



What's the weather like? 
I Have Seen the Rain



If your life were a TV show, what would it be called? 
Long Way to Happy



What is the best advice you have to give?
 Get the Party Started



If you could change your name, what would it be?
 Fingers

Favorite time of day:
 Sweet Dreams



What is life to you:
 My Vietnam

Your relationship: 
18 Wheeler



How I would like to die:
 I'm Not Dead

So, I'm chilling here at SFO (San Francisco International Airport, for those that don't speak airport code). I shelled out $7.99 for a T-Mobile Hotspot Day Pass, because even though I don't visit airports (or Starbucks, or even Borders) quite often enough to get a Hotspot account/shell out $40 a month, sitting here for 3 hours nursing a Coca-Cola and reading the August issue of Wired just doesn't cut it for me. I need to be connected, which is kind of sad. I sort of miss my childhood. :P

( Tech jargon )

( More win and OSM )

I'm actually somewhat looking forward to going home, if just to sleep on my own bed (though the AeroBed Mom got was pretty damn comfortable, no matter what Eva said about it being too soft) and have steady Wi-Fi in all my usual haunts. Also, MAIL! And money. And work for a week, until I have to get my butt to DC. And in-between all that, family visits and the Orange County Fair. Should be fun.

Meanwhile, Michael Jackson's "Beat It" is stuck in my head, along with a plotbunny for a multichapter Sailor Moon fic I meant to write for sm_monthly and never got around to. I mean really, ANOTHER multichapter? I wish I could churn stuff out as fast as moodwriter, with her "Hate, Prejudice and Secret Intentions" (I think I got that title right) Dramione fic that I've been reading lately. Good stuff! I've also got to catch up on Stargirl's "Tsuki no Namida," an AR of the Silver Millennium, since the latest chapter is up for critiquing on one of the_circlet communities. I'm not a big fan of walking into a long-ish multi-chapter fic blind, so I'll start with the beginning and go from there. So far, it's got an interesting premise but some grammar issues that irk me. But hey, SAILOR MOON FIC. I ought to get writing!

Well, spring break has at last come to a close. It went fast, but at least it was fun and relaxing. It certainly was nice sleeping in till around 10:30 a.m. every day; tomorrow my "waking up at 6:30 a.m." routine begins anew. Oh, and also my habit of going to the Arbor Grill for occasional morning breakfasts; I'm looking forward to enjoying a breakfast burrito again after a week of waffles, cereal, and toast.

I didn't post during spring break even though I had the time; it was more like my thoughts were pretty scattered and I tried to be out as much as possible-- or at least doing stuff.

I went to Opening Night for the Giants at AT&T Park with Steph, Kathryn, Nora, and a guy named Melvin who was only there for a blip of time, it seemed. I shouted myself hoarse and then ended up sick as a result-- I've got awful congestion, a dry nose (ow) and an occasional cough, but I hope to be better by my birthday. I'm being smart about what I'm eating and drinking, and that, of course, includes medicines to help me get over this.

I also got to see Evie, Eva, Crystal, and (surprise surprise!) Louie (from high school) again at our Chevy's night. As is my luck, I got a certificate from Chevy's THE DAY AFTER for a free entree. Isn't that always how it works? Whatever "it" is? Well, maybe I'll go this weekend in San Diego: the closest Tex-Mex to the border when the border is more or less off-limits!

Oh, oh, oh! I also got the real "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" (a.k.a. Furyo, which translates to "Prisoner of War") soundtrack, which I think is beautiful, so even though I don't like Utada's sophomore U.S. album (not counting her days as Cubic U, of course), I applaud her for indirectly introducing me to another composer and his music (Ryuichi Sakamoto). I actually like the title track of the movie (which is what Utada sampled from) a lot more than this song... sorry Utada! Although I am curious if the vocal version, "Forbidden Colours" is the same "Forbidden Colours" that is a special bonus on one of Sarah Brightman's Canadian albums. If it is, it'll be interesting to see how she redid it; I didn't like the vocal version too much, but maybe that has to do with the kind of "spacey" quality it had as a song.

( Read more... )

I'm really craving a red velvet cupcake for my birthday. I wonder if any bakeries around here have them?


 This One (Crying Like a Child) by Utada from This Is the One (Rating: 0)

I first got into Hikaru Utada (a.k.a. Cubic U a.k.a Hikki, a.k.a Utada) after I heard the Johnny Vicious remix of "Automatic;" since then, it's been my favorite song of hers. I've made a habit of buying as many of her albums and singles as I could get my hands on, including her "new" English debuts (she originally debuted in English as Cubic U before she was in Japan; she was in a different genre then, though), "Exodus" and "This Is The One."

I bought her new single "Come Back To Me" and the album it's on, "This Is The One" as soon as they came out on iTunes.

"Come Back To Me" eventually grew on me, and the video is fairly nice (I love her haircut, but she has more costume changes in it than Cher does in a half-hour of her concert!), though in most of Utada's videos, she doesn't look like she's really singing so much as mouthing the lyrics half-heartedly (the one exception: when she's wearing her bright-red lipstick. Must be something empowering about wearing it). That's probably been one of the big reasons I don't seek out her music videos as much as I used to ("Traveling" from back in the day was awesome, though) or DVDs.

Even though she's classed as a J-Pop artist, I'm confused why her new album is considered Pop. It's got more of an R&B or possibly Hip-Hop vibe to it, which got me thinking Utada's trying to go back to her roots for her second English album (since her re-debut).

As for the songs... "Automatic Pt. II" has nothing to do with the original awesome song, and if it shares more than a few chords with the original, I couldn't tell. I frankly think the "song" is a poor assembly of self-plugging lyrics, in even poorer taste than the "She's got a new microphone" line in one of her "Exodus" songs. It's not really a "song" in my book, and it disappoints me that it shares a title (if only because the phrase "It's automatic..." is repeated so incessantly in it) with the song I love so much.

"Apple and Cinnamon" is a nice song, with a cute melody and a sad story. It doesn't scream "Utada" to me though, which is a double-edged sword: one the one hand, the song will likely appeal to a wider audience than her "Exodus" songs, but on the other, ANYONE could have sung it just as well. Without something to make it distinctly "Utada," there's no reason anyone would associate the title with her, which I would think is a hope of artists. For example, if I say "Funhouse," I imagine people immediately think of P!nk, and if I say "Circus" or "Womanizer," people immediately think of Britney Spears. But saying "Apple and Cinnamon" doesn't recall Utada, no matter how cute the lyrics or melody.

What bothers me most is that a huge chunk of the songs on the album are like siblings of "Exodus"'s "The Workout" and "Let Me Give You My Love"--songs about sex. Sex sells, and when you're not using vague metaphors or symbolism, it sells even better. Apparently someone crammed this message into Utada's brain, because she's got "Taking My Money Back," "Dirty Desire" (the most blatantly sexual of them all, and my least favorite song of hers on the album... quite possibly EVER), and "Poppin'" (at least the sexual references are mostly innuendo and not explicit).

"Mu Muero" is interesting, but it seems a little strange that of all "exotic" languages Utada would opt to use for her second English album, she'd go for the tried-and-true Spanish, instead of something Japanese, because... uh, DUH!? Why Spanish? It doesn't seem "her" at all, but seems a "generic English label" thing to do (by "English" I mean the language, not "of England"). The song itself is nice-- maybe the only songs of hers on this album I like are the sad, almost break-up/I want you back-type songs, as opposed to the "empowerment" themes.

If there's an exception to that, it might be "On and On," though when I first heard the lyrics, "Honeys, if you're gay / burn it up / like a gay parade / Honeys, if you're straight / bump it up / take it all away" I was like "WHAT did she just say?" I was on the border of getting offended before I listened to the song again and got the lyrics.

"Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence - FYI" is another innuendo-laced song, but like "Come Back To Me," I think it grows on you. Or it did on me, anyway. There's nothing "Christmasy" about it, but the title probably has more to do with the sexual nature of the lyrics than a holiday in December (for an album in March, I did think it was weird she had something with "Christmas" in the title, until I heard the song).

"This One (Crying Like a Child)" was another one I liked, but like "Apple and Cinnamon," it could have been sung just as well by someone like Vanessa Hudgens and sounded more or less the same. (BTW, I like Vanessa, but I think Utada and Vanessa's singing styles --even if they're both classed as "Pop"-- are very different). I do like the melody a lot more, though; the instruments used are much more unique and blended well than some of the other songs.

All in all, I'd probably give the album a 3/5. I liked "Exodus" a lot more, with songs like "Kremlin Dusk," (my favorite) "Exodus '04," and "Hotel Lobby" (my second favorite). I didn't like "Tippy Toe," "The Workout," "Easy Breezy" very much, and "Let Me Give You My Love" is one of those 50/50 songs with me, but the songs I do like I think are so catchy and wonderful that it makes up for those I don't enjoy as much. Nonetheless, I don't think Utada should have tried to change her style when debuting in English again. Her Japanese songs were great, and if her English ones had the same feeling in them, I'd probably like them a lot more.

My favorite album to date: Heart Station ("Beautiful World" is another favorite song of mine, after the Johnny Vicious "Automatic" remix). Thank goodness I can keep importing her Japanese albums, and iTunes will have some of her Japanese singles, too. I wish Utada nothing but the best, but she's not going to get the super-stardom she did in Japan here in the States with generic lyrics like her last two albums have had. There needs to be something unique --something "Utada" to make me want to buy them again.

 Beautiful World by Hikaru Utada from HEART STATION (Rating: 0)

Ganked this from David H. over on Facebook.

INSTRUCTIONS:
1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random... Read More”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

--Note from Mer: Flickr has image protection on its photos, so you can't just Copy > Paste photos from there. You can use Print Screen or a screen capture program, but I recommend still giving credit to the original artist or photographer, where applicable.

4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together. (It's album art, so make the picture square)

Chidambaram
Accepted as Being Self-Evident
"Book Bum" by Pink Sherbet Photography

Aaaand, Presto!


We're totally a new age band.

Tonight I went to my very first concert, Sarah Brightman's "Symphony World Tour" at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. It was my mom's Christmas present to me, and it was AWESOME! At first, we were worried that we wouldn't make it on time to get in for our seats, as we took a later train than we planned, but the train made good time, and when we got to San Jose, we walked a bit aways from the Pavilion and to this delish place on West Santa Clara off Almaden called "La Victoria Taqueria." We got some HUGE burritos for really cheap (I still haven't finished mine; it'll either be a late-night snack or breakfast) and a huge soda.

When we made it to the Pavilion, the lines were long as heck, but they started moving fairly fast, and once inside, we had to walk around almost half the Pavilion to find our seating area-- SMACK on the floor, just to the left of the stage! I was probably 100 feet away from the Diva herself! SUPER AWESOME SEATS! I was so thrilled.

The show started about 15 minutes late, but luckily I didn't miss a minute-- I was worried I would, what with that large soda I'd had with my burrito. I couldn't shell out $30 for the program, and it was likely mass printed, rather than specific for San Jose, but I did find one online from her tour's premiere in Mexico....

( Symphony World Tour Set List )

Mom kindly got me a keychain and postcards for my scrapbook, and she got herself a mega-sized mug. They did have all kinds of other souvenirs-- shirts, jackets, signed lithographs, posters, the really HQ program, the Symphony CD, the Symphony Pre-Music Show 2-Disc Set, the Symphony Live in Vienna DVD, Winter Symphony, the Winter Symphony CD + DVD set, a Sarah Brightman teddy bear (yes, a teddy bear. It was wearing a "Sarah Brightman Symphony" t-shirt) and probably a few other things I didn't spot.

The visuals were AMAZING. She had eight dancers --girls who were probably my age or so, maybe younger-- who all did some amazing things while Sarah went through her many, many costume changes (I lost count, and according to the articles, she went through another costume change after the encore, which I missed. ;_;). They usually performed to the intros of her songs (like with the "Gothica" portion of "Fleur du Mal") or to instrumental versions of her songs, and I think they may have also served as her backup singers or chorus-- not that she needed it. There was at least one part when I thought one of them --or perhaps the backup track playing? I don't know, there was a live band there, and I assume the majority of the necessary instruments were live, rather than pre-recorded-- oversang her, and it made me kinda mad.

But overall? An AWESOMETASTIC first concert experience, and it definitely lived up to the Sarah Brightman standard. Amazing visuals, amazing costumes, AMAZING MUSIC!

Well, back in L.A. from San Diego. Thanksgiving was nice-- delicious food, got to meet (and hold!) baby Eva, play some games with the cousins (needed David's help to beat Lemmy's castle #3 in Super Mario World...), and went shopping with Dad. No big huge drama that I was a part of or witness to, so I'd say it was a fairly successful adventure. Yesterday Dad DID get a little teed off that I wasn't back at the hotel when I said I would be, but that was because the bus from Scott's place was super-late! Not my fault-- we looked at the bus schedule and everything!

It was WONDERFUL having my own room. When I stayed one night at Dad's in Alameda before we left to L.A. on the way here, I had to suffer through his snoring. He woke me up and then KEPT me up with his snoring. To make matters worse, the next morning when he woke up, he said something to me that I barely remember-- I was so exhausted. So of course as soon as he left and it was all silent again, I fell back asleep! Dad came back and was furious that I hadn't done anything he had told me to do, and he didn't believe me when I said he snored and I fell asleep because I was so exhausted from not sleeping all night because of it! I think now he does (Baba and Grandpa said he did too, because he fell asleep at Fred's yesterday), but that doesn't mean he's going to do anything about it. -_- So yeah, it's always nice to have my own space. I don't like snorers. Sorry.

There were little annoyances here and there, but nothing HUUUGE. I'll get into it in another post. Right now, I'm actually kind of eager to get back to S.F., even if I have a workload ahead of me:
* Study for the next Biology quiz due Tuesday
* Study for the big exam tomorrow for my Women's Studies class
* Start writing my papers for my Outdoor Recreation class
* Hope that my Geology teacher gets back to me re: the 3rd assignment, because the CD that said assignment is on has mixed-up maps, and we can't complete the assignment without knowing which maps we're supposed to look at.

Some cool stuff I picked up in SD (most of it gifts):
* Yu-Gi-Oh Vocal Duel
* Yu-Gi-Oh Sound Duel I
* Sarah McLachlan's "Wintersong"
* Mannheim Steamroller's "Christmas Celebration"
* Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "The Lost Christmas Eve" (it was a tough choice; there were 2 other CDs by them I wanted at Target that I didn't get, so I limited myself to one album from each artist I liked)
* "The Tipping Point" (book)
* "How To Read Literature Like A Professor" (book)
* A new sweater + turtleneck (one $20, one free!)
* Clinique's "Black Honey" almost-lipstick
* Some more Clinique Moisturizing Gel
* "The Greatest-Ever Jewish Cooking" (book) --anyone in S.F., wanna come over and be my guinea pig as I attempt to discover my Jewish heritage through food?

Right now I'm just waiting for Dad to come back from breakfast with his buddy Steve (and hopefully remember to bring me the Raisin French Toast I requested). I think I'm going to play me some Super Mario World now, though... I love the Forest of Illusion!