walled city

July 27, 1979 - February 14th, 2010

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:11:41 -0500

Andrew (Andy) Morris Zebrowitz, born July 27, 1979, passed away Sunday evening, February 14, 2010 at Emory University Hospital. He is survived by his mother Cyndy Newcomer, father Michael Zebrowitz, sister Robin Zebrowitz Harpak and her husband Dotan Zebrowitz Harpak, stepfather Robert E. Newcomer, stepmother Kathy Aldan, grandmother Rosalyn Felheimer, and aunts, uncles, and cousins, all of whom loved him deeply.

Andy lived in East Cobb County for 29 of his 30 years and graduated from Pope High School. All his life, Andy marched to the beat of his own drummer, amusing (and sometimes irritating) his family and his many friends with his wry humor and mischievous pranks. Andy was known for his deep, melodious voice and his unique way of expressing himself, both verbally and in writing.

Known to his friends as "Kitten," Andy was a very talented writer who entertained people from all over the world with his website, www.mirrorshades.org, filled with his unique observations and his rants against conformity as well as his specially chosen musical selections.

As a last generous gesture, Andy chose to be an organ donor, so that others may experience the joy of life that was his for nearly 31 years. The family wishes to express its gratitude to the amazing medical personnel at Emory University Hospital's Neuro ICU.

A funeral service will be conducted by Rabbi Steven Lebow on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 4 p.m. at Sandy Springs Chapel, 136 Mount Vernon Hwy, Sandy Springs, GA, followed by a graveside service at Arlington Memorial Park, 201 Mount Vernon Hwy. Following the funeral, the family will receive guests at the Newcomer residence.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Humane Society of the United States, www.humanesociety.org. "The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long."

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:10:36 -0500

A few more hours' worth of tracks in rotation now. This week we're featuring tons of songs from The Synthetic Dream Foundation, Ashbury Heights, Blutengel, and.. Blank and Jones. The trance duo. No, I haven't lost my mind. Trust me on this one. There's also a selection from Imatem, which is the side project of Peter Spilles of Project Pitchfork, but I'm convinced the vocals on "Haven" are Ronan Harris. See what you think. We're also featuring Miss FD's debut track, Together Forever. More electropop than her previous projects, and this is excellent stuff. Enjoy!

Take me away.

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:54:16 -0500

Without exception, each one of them exudes confidence as they slide up to the bar. Some of them occasionally cast eyes towards the front door as though waiting for someone, or furtively glance at their cellphones, like they're expecting an important call or message. A few stare idly at laptops, giving the illusion of work or importance. They give themselves away with that, though: all that theatre for the benefit of an audience they wish they had. It's clear that they are all, every one, just another sad soul with elbows on the pine, far more engrossed in the shotglass in front of them than the reruns of Knight Rider they're pretending to watch on the TV above the bar. Some of them have that confidence trick down better than others, but in the end it's all a show, and you can see in their eyes that something has given way deep inside, probably longer ago than any of them can remember. "How 'bout another?" asks the waitress, and I point at my glass to say yes. She drifts off to get more, for me, and for the countless others. The countless others. This girl, with the long blonde hair and who is constantly fidgeting with her stainless bracelet -- she's probably a hairdresser, but a director she knows has her number, only he hasn't called. Yet. And that guy, with the carefully combed hair and knockoff Rolex, he's in sales, only he's really a guitarist, but his band needs a drummer and a bassist, and his keyboardist quit last month to move in with his girlfriend. "Here you go, hon." The waitress appears out of the shadows, puts another glass of golden effervescence in front of me. "You good?" "Yeah," I tell her. "I'm good." That girl's a secretary but only until someone publishes her poetry. That guy's in marketing, but it's just a gig while he works on his novel. The man in the suit is worried about his bills but it won't matter when someone discovers he can sing. Everyone has someone's number, but everyone's number is up. Take me away. Take me a million miles from here.

Perfection.

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:24:53 -0500

A student of kitten's monastary approached. "Master," said the student, "I wish to attain enlightenment. How should I proceed?" kitten replied, "You have no servers." The student shook his head. "You have no network," said kitten. The student shook his head again. "And," said kitten, "you have no users." The student looked down, saying, "This is all true, Master. Have I no hope of acheiving enlightenment?" "You have already achieved it," pronounced kitten.

What you need.

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:39:38 -0500

It is said that during the Asterisk era, a student sought Master kitten's wisdom. The student said, "There is a log file with an error I must review, but I cannot access that file. Can you change the file access permissions so I can read it?" kitten asked, "You have not actually seen the error?" "No," said the student. "Then you don't need it," replied kitten.

Priorities.

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:23:47 -0500

A pupil of kitten was attempting to solve a user's problem, but found the user's constant whining distracting. The pupil went to kitten to complain. "The user whines because he is irritated," said kitten. "Why?" asked the pupil. "Because you are concentrating on him, rather than the problem," said kitten. In that moment the pupil attained enlightenment.

Overflow.

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:52:09 -0500

It is recorded that Master kitten received a Windows priest who came to inquire about Unix. Presently, kitten served tea. He poured until his visitor's cup was full, then continued pouring. The Windows priest watched the overflow until he could no longer restrain himself: "It is full! No more will go in!" he exclaimed. "Like this cup," said kitten, "you are full of your own opinions and methods. How can I show you Unix unless you first empty your cup?"

Knowledge.

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:05:55 -0500

The Unix nature teaches us not to rely on the likelihood of errors not occuring, but on our own readiness to receive those errors. Not on the chance of the rootkits not being used, but rather on the fact that we have made our machines unassailable.

Truth.

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:56:06 -0500

A monk said to kitten, "Are the command line tools of Unix not obsolete? Modern systems use graphical interfaces." kitten said nothing, but pointed at the moon, then at a statue of Torvalds. "I don't understand," said the monk. kitten pointed to the monk, then to a rock. "What are you trying to tell me?" asked the monk. kitten tapped the monk twice on the nose, then dropped him in a river. In this way did the monk acheive enlightenment.

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:29:41 -0500

Gather ye round, all listeners, gather round. Today is a special day indeed. Up first, a couple of tracks from Imperative Reaction, whose concert I just caught in Atlanta; they put on a fantastic show as usual. Check that link, ladies and gentlemen, and find a show near you. We're rolling out more from VNV Nation's latest release Of Faith, Power, and Glory. My contacts in Germany say the Munich show was out of sight, including Ronan wearing proper lederhosen, but the tour rolls on and if you don't catch it while you can, I promise you'll regret it. This week, mirrorshades radio is also proud to include Frightdoll's latest single, Cackling Round the Cauldron, a special song for All Hallows' Eve. It's available via amazon and iTunes so catch it online and don't let it get away.

Error.

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:01:14 -0500

There is a legend that kitten found two of his disciples arguing over the cause of a SIP failure. "It is a format error," declared one, while the other said, "It is a sequence problem." Master kitten answered them thusly: "/dev/null" whereupon both were enlightened.

Hell and paradise.

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:32:43 -0500

An admin, hearing of kitten's Unix-nature, sought kitten at his temple and said, "Is there a paradise and a hell?" "Who are you?" inquired kitten. "I am an admin," came the reply. "You, an admin!" laughed kitten, "What kind of company would have you as an admin?" Enraged, the admin logged into his root account. "So you have root! You are probably so incompetent you could not use it!" continued kitten. The admin began to delete kitten's account. kitten remarked, "Here open the gates of Hell!" The admin, perceiving kitten's discipline, logged out of the root account and bowed. "Here open the gates of paradise," said kitten.

The chimes of midnight.

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:32:38 -0500

If you know Unix and know yourself, you need not fear results of a hundred battles. If you know yourself, but not Unix, for every victory gained, you will also suffer defeat. If you know neither Unix nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:34:46 -0500

Though the track rotation updates frequently, I have been completely negligent in my update posts to tell you all what's new and fresh. Well, if you don't like it, you can ask for your money back. Winging its way to the station in the sky right now are a few more hours' worth of updates. This one features mostly singles ranging from the likes of Haujobb to Evil's Toy, along with a few select tracks from VNV Nation's latest release Of Faith, Power, and Glory, and let me opine that this is some truly magnificent work. I caught their concert here in Atlanta and had a glorious time; you Europeans should see it while you can because the next leg of the North American tour is starting again soon. This week we're also featuring a track from Psyche Corporation called "Universe", and I understand it is their first foray into the darkwave genre. It's a beautiful blend of treated feminine vocals over smooth gothic beats and well worth listening to; let us hope they keep moving towards the dark side. And as always, if you're an artist in the general darkwave or gothic scene and would like your music featured on mirrorshades radio, please feel free to contact me.

Falling faster.

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 04:21:46 -0500

Endless coats of enameled paint have blurred the details of this ironwork. Some blacksmith, long forgotten, forged these guardrails, following exact instructions from a man also long forgotten, a man with too much money and no vision of tomorrow. The guardrails wend along a staircase in a fibonacci spiral for three stories, each sweeping pass wider than the next, until culminating at the top; a vast expanse of the city. "No roof access," declare the signs along the way. Don't believe it for a moment. Three flights above the streets isn't much, in the end. The asphalt below seems distant; the pinnacles of steel and glass, monuments of industry, tower much higher. Falling would be preferable to climbing. And for a moment, falling seems an option. No, three flights above the streets isn't much. But from here, a swatch of the city is laid bare, from 10th to Childers, along North and 16th, and all the sidestreets between. The skyline rises above it all, backlit, stormclouds coalescing. Windows picked out in light, here, there. Like phosphorescent survivors. This is the city. Where street level is noise and confusion, culture and wisdom, all wrapped in decaying possibility. Where sky is stormy and thunderous. This is the city, girded in concrete and brakelights and five million people's thoughts. This is home, or so it is said. But without you it seems hollow sometimes. This is the city.