danajohnhill.org | Hard Times Come Again No More

My favorite chain pizza restaurant is Hungry Howie’s (spare me your mockery).  I’ve liked it since I was a kid and they had a franchise right outside the gates of our apartment complex.  By the time I was in high school their carry-out special–a large one-topping pie–was $3.99.  By this Spring the price had risen to $6.99.

Sunday afternoon I was amazed to see the price has been reduced–though perhaps only temporarily–to $5.88.

Filed under: Cost of Living, Food on May 12th, 2008 | No Comments »

First, let me say that right now it is very, very cold outside. It’s not yet eight o’clock at night and it’s literally freezing outside, and will get to 20° before dawn. This is the first real freeze we’ve had so far this winter, which has been surprisingly mild so far. Whereas in previous years our heater has seen considerable action by the first week of January, I think we’ve used it only once before the present cold snap. And I don’t regret that it has been thus. My cold tolerance has decreased since we’ve lived in this ice box we call home. I especially dislike how painfully frigid the water from the tap is. And, oh, how we need new windows!

I am one of the few people, as far as I can tell, who prefers Hungry Howie’s for my pizza needs. This evening I ordered pizza, as I have done several times recently. It costs more, of course, than making it at home, but, obviously, it tastes better, and for less than $7 I get two meals. On my last two visits, however, my local Howie’s has found a way to botch my order. Last week I called and specifically requested my pizza be made with garlic crust, NOT garlic-herb, a new flavor I saw listed in the shop. Naturally, when I opened the box I saw herbs with my garlic. So I had to wait while they made me a new pie. No big deal, mistakes happen. But tonight I went in to pick up my order–same as last time–and a calamity: they had given my pizza to the person who had just walked out, and, again, I’d have to wait while they made me a new pizza. So I take the opportunity to run up the street to Publix and when I arrived back at Hungry Howie’s they had again sold the re-made pizza to the person who had just left. They seemed genuinely embarrassed about it, though, and a few of the staff were congregated at the counter discussing what had gone so wrong. But, in the end I walked out with two large pizzas for the price of none. Regretfully, they let me know that regular garlic crust is being discontinued in favor of garlic-herb. So, another victory for Big Vegetable.

Finally, I uploaded a gallery of photos from last weekend’s visit by Jeff and Sandi, and our dinner out with Steve and Kathleen for trivia night at Kazbor’s. I don’t think anyone really enjoyed it as much as I did, but what are you going to do? It was good fun, still, to go watch episodes of Flight of the Conchords at Steve’s house. Huzzah, fun.

Filed under: Cost of Living, Food, Friends, General, Meteorology on January 2nd, 2008 | No Comments »

What are you trying to pull, Deutsche Grammophon?

I see that DG, one of the most prestigious classical music record labels, has begun offering MP3 downloads at their website, including recordings long out of print on CD.  I also see that they charge a variable rate per track on some recordings, depending on the length of the track.  This becomes a terrible deal, however, on shorter tracks, where you can pay $1.29 for one minute, four seconds of music.

This is the case with the newly released Mahler Symphony No. 8 conducted by Pierre Boulez.  This new Symphony of a Thousand marks the completion of Boulez’s Gustav Mahler cycle, which I have been collecting for years. As you can see, however, downloading the complete symphony would cost $22.99.  Or, you can buy a physical disc, in superior sound, which you can play on any CD player on earth for $5 less.  Which do you think I will do?

Filed under: Cost of Living, Music, Technology on December 10th, 2007 | No Comments »

Literally!  And by “it”, I mean my arm…with a needle full of vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella.  I probably would have preferred not to have to undergo this procedure which actually was quite painful, but they made me do it by blocking me from registration until I could prove I’d had it.  So, to the Infirmary I went, where the nurse admitted it would be painful.  She was right.  It wasn’t the sharp needle that hurt, but the injection itself: I could feel the cold vaccine going into my arm.

Say what you want about Santa Fe Community College–and I say they suck all the time–but they don’t require injections.  Then again, maybe they just don’t care.  Then again, again, maybe UF just wants the $75 fee I paid.

Filed under: Cost of Living, Health, School on December 3rd, 2007 | No Comments »

At long last I hold in my hands Bruce Springsteen’s highly anticipated new album, Magic, and it’s practically a masterpiece. I had been so excited by all the buzz generated by a leaked MP3 edition of the record, though I intentionally avoided any contact with those elicit files, wanting to hear the whole thing straight through on release-day. Aside from a bit of “Radio Nowhere” played on NPR and the Today Show, I made it.

So, yesterday after work I rode my bike by the store and pulled the disc from the new release rack, priced $13.88. I raced home–mostly to beat an imminent thunderstorm–and once Mrs. Hill left for the gym I slipped it into the player and awaited rock.

I got it; Magic is loud, the signal boosted such that you must be aware of your stereo’s volume before you press play. “Radio Nowhere” was what I had heard before, a catchy, straight-up rock number. I really enjoyed the next three songs: “Livin’ in the Future” is an R&B number à la “10th Avenue Freeze Out”; and “Your Own Worst Enemy” is sung in a style more reminiscent of Bruce’s old “heroic” voice than almost anything he’s recorded in over a decade. I was less immediately impressed with “Gypsy Biker”, though after a few listens it has grown on me – ditto “Devil’s Arcade”, those two being my least favorite on the album, though both imminently listenable. “Magic” starts so atmospherically, and it has grown on me, too. “Girls In Their Summer Clothes” is lyrically the strongest on the album, and the music is great, too.

But, far-and-away my favorite song on the new album–and now must count as one of my favorite Bruce Springsteen songs ever–is “I’ll Work For Your Love”. The instant it began, with a bright piano tune, bursting into jangly pop-rock, I immediately began to smile, and didn’t stop until it ended. I love the melody, I love the words. In fact, I couldn’t like it more even it were sung by a chorus of cardinals playing harpsichords. Listen to the beginning:

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Magic is a fantastic album, well worth the wait, and I easily his best album since Born in the USA, if not The River. If you aren’t automatically averse to Bruce Springsteen, I’d encourage you to buy it, and give it three listens. By the third spin, you’ll be you’ll agree with everything I have said.

Filed under: Cost of Living, Meteorology, Popular Music, WAYLTL on October 3rd, 2007 | 1 Comment »