Seitz. Writes.

“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. … Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
- John Dunne “Meditation XVII”

“Between the velvet lies
There’s a truth that’s hard as steel
The vision never dies
Life’s a never ending wheel”
- Ronnie James Dio “Holy Diver”

If you haven’t heard yet, Ronnie James Dio died this morning at age 67. The cause of death hasn’t been announced, but he’s been battling stomach cancer since last year. Until that’s confirmed though, I’m just going to assume that the real cause was dragons. Those bastards.

There’s always a tendency to inflate a celebrity’s death into something more than it is, or to turn it into a personal thing. I’m certainly guilty; when Hunter S. Thompson’s died it put me into a real funk for a few weeks. It’s always terrible when anyone dies, and when it’s someone who’s made a major impact in a lot of lives, it’s easy to treat it as a big thing. But I don’t think that’s fair.

We, by which I mean pretty much all heavy metal fans, will remember Dio for the music we love. He’s in that rarefied echelon of artists whose influence can be seen in almost everyone who came after him. He’s absolutely one of the best vocalists of all time, and he helped define the style and substance of the entire genre. When we say things are “metal,” we’re saying it’s something Dio would have done.

He also popularized the devil horns, which is almost on par with inventing the high five.

In a world where most frontmen are histrionic man-children, from Ozzy Osbourne to David Lee Roth to Axl Rose and anyone else you can name, Dio stands out for never trying to be bigger than the music. Sure, he had the outrageous costumes and over-the-top videos (see below), but that always felt fun.

I guess my point with all this is that Dio never needed to be anything more than what he was in life, so let’s not make him something more in death. I’m just gonna crank up Holy Diver and rock out the way he would have wanted.

Tags: death, dio, Hunter S. Thompson, Metal, You're the star of the masquerade
Filed under: Music
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Sub-recommendations: Bison B.C., Shure SHR840s, cheap furniture

I made some misguided decision that I wasn’t going to use this space to review things. But clearly I’ve enjoyed writing about the things I love (or the case of Peter Travers, hate) so I might as well get around to doing a post about my single favorite gadget. I bought this sweet little drop of awesome way back in September and the intervening months have been enough to convince me that Imade the right decision. Enough so to enforce my opinions in blog form at least.

What you need to know about the Zune HD as far as statistics and specifications are concerned can be found on the Zune website. I’ve got the 32GB model, because the 64GB wasn’t out at the time and they don’t make 128GB. Thoughts follow:

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Tags: Bison B.C., hardware nudity, I'm a huge nerd, look at that bokeh, Microsoft, Music, Napalm Death, Zune HD
Filed under: Music
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This photo has nothing to do with anything, but I took it earlier today, and I like it. So back off.

So yeah, I’m back. Let’s not make too big a deal out of it. I’m still working for Nieman Reports. I’m still bumming around Boston, though I now live in Somerville. I’ve officially owned this domain for more than a year, and I figured that it’s worth doing something with it again as long as I’m paying for it. My goal is to write some kind of essay at least every two weeks. Will I miss that? Most likely, but I think it’s important to have goals all the same.

In other news, the following things exist: seitzwrites.tumblr.com and twitter.com/seitzwrites. The former is going to be used for pictures and other random thoughts, while the latter will not be used, but is registered so that no one else can have it. I’m territorial like that.

Tags: pictures, returns, the soundtrack for the post is "Keelhaul's Triumphant Return to Obscurity", the white chair is there to symbolize pretension
Filed under: Random
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Image via Metalsucks.net

So I took  a couple days off there, but I’m back with the cover art for the upcoming Skeletonwitch Album “Breathing the Fire,” which showed up on MetalSucks the other day. I’d lay more praise upon the band, but I think I already did that plenty a few months back. Besides, I think those guys already summed it up well enough for me.

Which brings me to my next point. I’ve been making that whole Google migration over the last couple of weeks, and I’m pretty damn impressed with all of it so far. In fact, I was completely blown away when I discovered Google Apps. It completely changed my whole concept of what Google has been doing, and frankly, I  think they’re on the right path.

The main idea is to use things like GMail and Google Docs for the Apps concept (basically it’s a way to load these online applications as if they were programs on the hard drive, not online), but Chrome lets you make an App out of anything. For instance, I’ve got the WordPress Dashboard saved to my desktop as an App, so I can launch right into that and post updates any time I want (not that I use it that often, but still).

The other App that I’m big on now is the music player from Lala.com, which is pretty much the greatest site ever with the worst name ever. Basically, my music is almost all on the internet now, so I can listen wherever I want  (without needing the external hard drive to carry all 103 gigabytes). I highly recommend checking it out. I’m basically off of iTunes now, thanks to this. You can even buy web only songs for 10 cents each (I swear I don’t work for them).

Obviously, this isn’t actually that huge. I mean, essentially, it’s just a shortcut. But for some reason, looking at things this way makes so much more sense to me. Like I said, it’s about changing the way I use the internet.

Alright, this has been a pretty scatterbrained post so far. Thanks for bearing with me, but I think I’m just going to close it off here.

Tags: Apps, Chrome, google, I'm a huge nerd, lala.com, Skeletonwitch
Filed under: Meta, Music, Random
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During that long dark span on time spent not on my blog, I switched browsers from Mozilla Firefox to Google Chrome. There wasn’t much thought that went into it, aside from ‘hey, I should probably try out that new google browser,’ but I wound up really enjoying it. I think the layout works a lot better (less clutter at the top of the screen) and the all-in-one address bar is much easier to use than I expected. If you haven’t given it a shot, I recommend that you at least try it out for a bit.

Aside from GMail, this is really my first foray into Google’s non-search features. I’ve alway been a little leery of their online based apps, though I honestly couldn’t tell you why. Things I save online are probably safer than on my 4-year-old laptop.

But I’m right in the process of downloading and setting up a lot more google-based software. I’m starting to realize that I might as well get onboard with what everyone else has already started doing.

There are two big reasons for this:

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Tags: google, I'm a huge nerd, technology
Filed under: Random
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Hi folks, remember me? My three month hiatus is officially over, and I’m back to writing pointless posts that entertain no one but me.

At the risk of disparaging my previous employers, but wanting to explain my absense, let me just say that the newspaper gig crushed any desire I had to do extra writing. The fact that I’m not hunched over my keyboard writing up a meeting on deadline tonight is still freaking me out a little bit. But honestly, it was a fun job and I’m glad I did it. I honestly wouldn’t have quit if it weren’t for the new opportunity that showed up.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

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Tags: Apartment hunting isn't nearly as bad as job hunting, Harvard, If Brett Favre does come back I hope he breaks a hip, Norwood, workworkwork
Filed under: Journalism
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My microwave is broken. Actually, it’s been broken for a while. For reasons that no one in my apartment can fully fathom, the six button will randomly go off until the display inevitably reads “666.” Normally this would be awesome, but it gets old fast.

Does anyone who a priest who’s certified to do electrical work? I’ll also settle for an electrician who can recite The Exorcist by heart, seeing as that’d probably be easier to come by.

(Sorry folks, I just haven’t had the time or energy to finish a full update in a while.)

Tags: Demon Microwave, Random, the beeping totally does not sound like Iron Maiden, workworkwork
Filed under: Random
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Wow. Who’d have that time could fly like that. Consider my apologies officially offered to all those who feel entitled to them.

So what have I been doing in the two weeks since I last wrote here? Well, if you read my last post, you probably have a pretty good idea of where I was and what I was doing, but I suppose some sort of follow up is order. So I’ll address my latest activities in a wholly arbitrary manner selected only to assert my editorial dominance.

First of all, I’m working full time (plus some) and, surprisingly, it takes more effort to write up a blog post after a day spent writing than it does after a day of doing nothing. I’m going to stick by my decision to not write about my job, suffice to say that it’s going well and I’m slowly getting back into the groove of writing news stories on a regular basis.

As a result of this, my long-gestating Phase II of the “I Hate Peter Travers” project will have to wait until I find the time/motivation to finish designing the website. Sorry to all those waiting on the IPO.

In fact, the only other writing I’ve been doing lately has been some PR stuff I did for my good friend and technological consultant, Paul Rausch, owner of Greenwire IT. Since I get a lot of hits from Florida, I figure it’s worth giving him an extra plug here as well. If you’re anywhere in the Southwest Florida Area, I cannot recommend this man enough. He helped me set up this site, and I’m willing to bet that he’s one of the only IT guys in the world who can set up your computer, cook you a delicious meal and educate you on the undertones of racism that fueled the Franco-Prussian war at the same time. And do it in your choice of four languages.

But since I’m now working full time in a town 30 minutes away, I also had to make my epic 1500+ mile road trip from Fort Myers to Boston, by way of Washington, DC. The first 1000 or so was done in one straight shot, by the end of which I was no longer able to hold a clear thought in my head. I was basically focusing everything on driving, especially during hour 14 when I was cruising through Richmond alongside every trucker on 95. Good Times.

By the way, Washington, DC is an awful driving city. I already hated rotaries, and I did not need to deal with DuPont circle after 16 hours on the highway.

I also got a chance to head up to Baltimore to see the Rays take on the Orioles. I was, of course, dissapointed to see the Rays lose, but Evan Longoria hit two home runs, so it was kind of worth it. Camden Yards is also the nicest stadium I’ve ever been to, especially with $6 admission on college night. To hell with all the tradition, they really need to rebuild Fenway so I can watch my out-of-town team in better comfort.

In other news, today was the Boston Marathon, which, in years past, would have meant drinking enough to make watching people run for hours interesting. Instead, I worked.

And finally, BU won the national championship. It was quite possibly the greatest single sporting event I’ve ever seen, much less attended. For those who don’t pay attention to such things, you missed out. Trailing 3-1 to Miami (Ohio) with a minute to go, the Terriers proceeded to rip of two goals, go into overtime, and win on as flukey a shot as I’ve ever seen. As is the custom around these parts I went out drinking in the same bar as the team after the game. Go me.

Fun fact: This was the fifth national championship won between UF and BU in the last four years. UF and BU also have two of the oldest registered .edu domain names on the internet (ufl.edu and bu.edu, respectively), and both were registered on the exact same day.

But as cool as it was to see BU win another National Championship, I feel like that weekend was the official end of my time at BU. Sure, I technically graduated back in May, but I was one of the only people I knew graduating. As far as I’m concerned, that was as much for my family than it was for me. But being in DC and seeing that game with all my friends gave as good a sense of closure as I could ever expect to get from college. I’m ready to move on now.

In the words of Roger Murtaugh, I’m getting too old for this shit.

Tags: 2009 National Champion Boston University Terriers, driving, If a gator and terrier mated it would look like one of the aliens from the movie of the same name, working
Filed under: Movies, Music, Uncategorized
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Well, I finally did it. Against all odds, and in desperate need of a better excuse for not writing on my blog, I got a job. Starting Monday April 13, I’m going to be a reporter for the Norwood Record, located in the town of Norwood, just south of Boston. This has clearly been a long time coming, and, depending on my workload, it may mean that I’ll be spending less time on the blog, and more time getting paid. It’s an okay deal, in my mind.

Aside from the workload, I’m not sure what this actually means for the future of the site. I don’t want to consciously change my content to any extent, but I really don’t want to lose my job because of anything I write on this site. In all likelihood, this will probably be one of, if not the, only times I’m actually going to write about my work, unless something epic happens that absolutely must be related.

But I’m not starting the job until next Monday, so why is it going to be quiet this week? Well, two reasons. I’m flying home tomorrow (Tuesday) morning to get my car, and I’m going to spend all of Wednesday bombing up the east coast to Washington, DC, because this weekend is the NCAA Frozen Four at the Verizon Center. I’ve got my ticket, got a couch to crash on, and I’m hungry for a national championship.

On a related note, the Hobey Baker (College Hockey’s Heisman) finalists were named on Friday. The three finalists include BU’s own Matt Gilroy and Colin Wilson, as well as former-Northeastern (he just jumped ship for the Penguins) goalie Brad Thiessen. I’m a little worried that vote splitting between the two terriers might work in Thiessen’s favor, but Gilroy absolutely deserves this award. Dude’s been the heart and soul of the team, and the fact that we’re in D.C. while Northeastern is back in Roxbury can only help us.

Some form of post-game recap will surely be forthcoming, most likely to be written in an unintelligle string of vowels.

Tags: BU, Fear and Loathing in Norwood, Hockey, I got a Job, NCAA Frozen Four, Terriers
Filed under: Journalism, Sports
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Somebody once said something about either being born great or having greatness thrust upon you. They left out Michael Kinahan, a man who burst out of greatness’ chest and terrorized its crewmates. What job could possibly be held by a man who pisses excellence with as much style as Kinahan? What position in the world could such a man–a man who could have melted the iceberg that destroyed the titanic with his mind–hold?

He is, or was, a girl’s soccer coach in Scituate, Massachusetts. He, like so many other champions of greatness in the history of this fine country, lost his job for speaking the truth in a letter to parents before the season. He also renamed their team “Green Death” and compared the play he expected to Michael Vick’s pit bulls. I first heard about his story on Deadspin, who got their details from the Patriot-Ledger (where you can get the full text of his email to parents). I then saw it on PTI this afternoon, and, if my knowledge of how these things work is correct, he will soon be quoted by internet commenters and SportsCenter anchors in equal measure (See: “Boom goes the dynamite”).

And if he gets enough publicity, he’s just about guaranteed to be coaching another youth sports team, or writing a column, for someone who has a sense of humor. I’d expect him to replace Calipari in Memphis, personally.

If I were one of those parents, I’d just be happy that the only Law & Order: SVU character he resembles is Chris Meloni.

Tags: Deadspin, Green Death, Michael Kinahan, Patriot Ledger
Filed under: Random
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