White Elephants

Year of the Ox

nathanklaus@gmail.com — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:07:00 +0000

I haven't written in many months. I've been keeping a little moleskine instead, filled with odd little thoughts and drawings and whatnot. Regardless, there is a skunk in my house. I am watching her for a friend, and she is adorable. Add that to the already adorable neighborhood cat I am now practically claiming and you get quite a lot of adorable. It's getting a little chilly outside lately (56˚ now) which is partly unfortunate and partly "ahh, fall." I'm spending most of my time at home lately, attempting to teach myself advanced web coding and not simply sit around all day playing Spore. Anyone need a website? Maybe a logo? Or a... gif?

White Elephants 3

nathanklaus@gmail.com — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 04:04:00 +0000

1. 15 Step - Radiohead - In Rainbows
2. Yellow Datsun - Neva Dinova - The Hate Yourself Change
3. Bricks - Tunng - Good Arrows
4. Two Sides/Monsieur Valentine - Spoon - Gimme Fiction
5. Rough Gem - Islands - Return to the Sea
6. Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then) - The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
7. Pink Bullets - The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
8. The Bleeding Heart Show - The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
9. Landed - Ben Folds - Songs For Silverman
10. Such Great Heights - Iron & Wine - Such Great Heights
11. Mockingbird Hill - Leo Kottke - Try and Stop Me

A-changin'

nathanklaus@gmail.com — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 19:28:00 +0000

I'm beginning to get a bit fed up with the way my radio station operates. I've been unable to post my last two shows (and unsure whether or not they were even broadcast) because of technical issues at the station. What kind of campus radio doesn't even reach the campus? For that reason, I'm considering producing my podcast myself. I still need to work out some of the kinks, but it may result in a better product than before; I'd be able to broadcast whenever I wanted, play whatever I wanted, and have access to my own library and programs. If all goes according to plan, keep an eye out for a new and improved show.

I say new and improved because the show is about to become just that. I've recently come into possession of a mind-boggling amount of new music that I cannot wait to burn through and broadcast. I get the feeling that I've finally begun building my music collection proper; although I've always considered myself to have decent taste, not until recently have I really sought new and unique sounds (and given them sufficient exposure). Here's hoping this only blossoms.

I miss blossoms. Once again, winter demonstrates its potential as nature's disappointer. Despite all I love about the season, this whole "50 to 5 degree switcheroo" has got to stop. It's made me realize, however, how much I value the breeze. In winter, wind is the enemy. All the talk about wind chills and blizzards makes it nothing but a harbinger of desolation. But soon, the breeze is what defines Spring. The first day you can open your windows and let the outside in- its smells and sounds, particularly- is a wonderful day. Always makes me want to clean.

Ben Folds is coming to the area in a little over a month, and at the moment, things look promising. I'm one of the few unfortunate fans of his who must begrudgingly admit that I've never been to a performance, so now is the time to remedy that. Discussing this has brought to my attention a disappointment that I've not been to many concerts. I've a number of friends whose high school days seemed to revolve around the long road trips and crappy seats, but I suppose we supplemented that with long nights playing Halo. It was worth it.

Anyway, I thought I'd apologize to anyone who came here expecting to grab a new show. The studio website claims it records each show every week, but if you try to grab my mp3, you'll hear some strange combination of cheese rock and the Dewey Cox soundtrack. I don't know what station they were recording while I was on, but it certainly wasn't the right one. I'll be looking into producing the podcast personally, and I'll put any updates here. Thanks for tuning in.

The system is down

nathanklaus@gmail.com — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 02:10:00 +0000

Well isn't this a crap. I hate to say it, but it looks like there's no White Elephants this week. I just got back from the studio, and most of the equipment there was all sorts of messed up- cords dangling here and there, monitors flashing, all the music gone. It was like a zombie holocaust had taken place or something. I did my show hoping it would still broadcast (with a 1st-Gen iPod Shuffle, no less), but it looks like nothing went through. Sorry; here's hoping they have their act together next week. I promise I'll make it up to you with an even better show next time.

I'm finally back from winter break and I've already had my fill of the work here. Somehow, I got all sorts of behind over break (thanks to certain documents claiming they were academic research studies when they obviously were not) so Sunday and Monday were very long and procrastinatey nights. I brought back a handful of neat and tacky house stuff that should provide an enjoyable rest of the week, though.

Again, sorry to you all who were expecting a show. Blame the cold.

Goin' home, Jerry

nathanklaus@gmail.com — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 19:06:00 +0000

Winter break begins today, so I'm allotted a handful of days to visit home and lay about. This means posts here are likely going to get scarce until the beginning of January, as Internet is a rarity back home. When I'm able, maybe I'll poke my head back on and fill you in on all the nothing I've been up to. Happy holidays!

White Elephants 2

nathanklaus@gmail.com — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 02:32:00 +0000

1. Futures - Zero 7 featuring Jose Gonzales - The Garden
2. Rhythm & Soul - Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
3. Fine Line - Paul McCartney - Chaos And Creation In The Backyard
4. These 3 Sins - Gomez - Split The Difference
5. Jigsaw Falling Into Place - Radiohead - In Rainbows
6. Brother - Murder By Death - In Bocca al Lupo
7. One Of These Things First - Nick Drake - Way To Blue
8. 3 Times And You Lose - Travis - The Boy With No Name
9. Jenny Wren - Paul McCartney - Chaos And Creation In The Backyard
10. From Here You Can Almost See The Sea - David Gray - Life In Slow Motion
11. Turn On Me - The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
12. Parasite - Fields - Everything Last Winter
13. Foxglove - Bruce Cockburn - Speechless: The Instrumental

Subscribe on the right, or get the file here.

Ice storm

nathanklaus@gmail.com — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 23:56:00 +0000

Ice3.jpg, originally uploaded by nathanklaus.

There was quite an ice storm here last Tuesday, so I found the time to take some rudimentary shots the following day. I can't let this sort of thing fall through the cracks; if I'm not mistaken, this hasn't happened here for at least ten years. The good news is that the winter scenery has never been better. I'll try to edit and upload more soon.

I'm still trying to get the hang of this new blogging system, so bear with me if things seem a little rough around the edges. I usually like to have a good bearing on these kinds of things before I jump into them. This is your disclaimer that if posts seem stupid for the next while, it's because they're the jump start. I do encourage you to check out the radio show, now available on podcast, which will likely travel hand-in-hand with this blog down a short road of awkward.

White Elephants 1

nathanklaus@gmail.com — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 02:42:00 +0000

1. All My Days - Alexi Murdoch - Time Without Consequence
2. White Daisy Passing - Rocky Votolato - Makers
3. Carousel - Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
4. Faust Arp - Radiohead - In Rainbows
5. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III
6. Rocky Raccoon - The Beatles - The White Album
7. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue - Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home
8. You Can Bring Me Flowers - Ray LaMontagne - Til The Sun Turns Black
9. Stolen - Leo Kottke - Try And Stop Me
10. Paradise - John Prine - John Prine
11. Girl Sailor - The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
12. American Tune - Eva Cassidy - American Tune
13. Sunwheel Dance - Bruce Cockburn - Speechless: The Instrumental

Following my first radio show, I thought I'd give this thing a shot and "pod-cast." It'll likely be a while before I take the plunge and actually buy myself some webspace for it, though. Maybe I'll look back at this years from now and giggle at my naive schoolgirllery. Tee!

Check out my first show here, or use the subscribe link on the right to grab the podcast.