I got Groovesharked

Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Grooveshark, which recently beat out the roast beef sandwich with colby-jack cheese, a smattering of delicious greens, and yellow mustard on sourdough bread I'm currently eating to become my new best friend.  Grooveshark is pretty much an online music streaming/search engine/sharing site.  Unlike my ex-best friend (which hey, no need to make anyone who may or may not have been replaced feel bad with name-calling, cough cough *Pandora* cough cough), Grooveshark lets you search for songs and then actually play that song.  What a concept!

It too can create playlists based on a recommendation system, or you can create your own, replay songs if you want, fast-forward, add, delete...pretty much like your normal personal media player, a la itunes et al. except you have a huge cache of music at your playlisting disposal.  Also, it operates sort of like youtube in the sense that users can upload music files from their own hard drives and add to the Grooveshark library, ie constant growth, more music everyday.  (Careful though, also like Youtube, Grooveshark doesn't idemnify, you're on your own if your upload is unlicensed...but hey, according to Wikipedia no Grooveshark user has faced any legal issues yet!  Damn the man, free the music, screw bit caps! No seriously though, if I were a musician I'd want to make money too, make those little miscreants pay for my music, etc.  But hey, I'm not sooo...long live Grooveshark).

Anyway, best part and the real reason for my initial Pandora infidelity, Grooveshark doesn't interrupt the cohesion of your playlist, the zone, the movement of songs with ads for dish network, male enhancement, or low-calorie vitamin fortified PepsiMax, same great flavor, none of the calories, zero to max.  It's just the worst after hearing some awesome song to then have Flo tell you how you can save on car insurance in an ad that's twice as loud as your music was.  Seriously Flo?  Man, you killed it.  It's dead. Great. And now instead of enjoying the next song, I'm thinking about how my car insurance bill is due in a week and how much I hate paying that.  Thanks for ruining everything Flo.

So Pandora, we've had a good run.  We used to be inseparable; you made me so happy, playing anything I asked.  We went everywhere together, work, class, the library, Starbucks.  But you've changed.  I don't know why, maybe they got to you.  It doesn't matter.  I can't see you anymore, I've moved on.  You should do the same.  Know that we'll always have the summer of 2006 together though.


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Cool Things

Two things I think are super cool: rooftops and graffiti.  And 5,000 pictures to prove it...

Annnnnnd graffiti

Also, for the first time in my five years as a legal adult I have jury duty...or at least maybe I'll have jury duty if I make it pass the selection process.  I'm sort of excited.

Just This

Okay it's been awhillle since I last blogged.  We got back from Spain toward the end of June, and then spent an amazing week and half in New England, before road-tripping back through Canada, then to Salt Lake and finally ending in Los Angeles.  It's been a pretty awesome summer, meandering through the country.  But now I'm back in Claremont, setting up shop in at my parents until I can get a decent, affordable place in LA.  I'm finishing my degree at UCLA, which I'm super excited about...east coast living and those private schools are pretty pretty expensive, here's to state school!

Okay, we spent a month and a week, and saw a bit of Portugal, Morocco, and Spain...the last few posts are from the road at some of the spots we stayed.  Anyway, here's the itinerary:

Lisbon, Sintra (Portugal), Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Gibraltar, Fez (via airport in Seville), Seville,  Basque Country (San Sebastian), and finally Barcelona.

I feel like we got a nice taste of Spain.  We opted to stay longer at the places we went, versus cutting days here and there to add more places.  It was really cool...plus I'll just have to go back some day to do those things we missed, I'm talking about you Camino de Santiago.  I have pictures to put up for probably the next few posts, plus I'll put some up on this traveling, city photoblog I started.

Okay, these are a few of my favorites and why I pretty much loved everywhere we went:

Granada, Andalusia.  Home of the famous Alhambra and also a super cool
underground street art scene in the old Arabic quarter.

Madrid. I loved Madrid sooo much.

The working Museum-bed-and-breakfast in Subugo, Portugal.  I can't believe how beautiful everything about it was.  Called the House of the She Pine Tree, stay there!

The Baixa in Lisbon

"Lady, lady, lady. Picture?"  Fez, Morocco

Tapas!  Iberian ham!  Madrid

Rooftops in Lisbon

Street performed on his way home.  Madrid

Courtyard in the Moorish palace, the Alhambra.

Musician in Morocco

There was amazing graffiti pretty much all over Spain.  Madrid

Flamenco in Andalusian capital Seville.  Home of all those Spanish stereotypes: fiery women, amazing guitar, Carmen, bullfighting, and the West Indies trading ports circa Columbus era.