Just because I had a day off from work doesn’t mean I get to take a day off from the blog. For starters, the blog pays better…
Topic # 1: A travel story I forgot to mention yesterday. Leaving your car in a parking lot for two days while an ice storm passes by is not exactly the smartest thing in the world. Especially when you’ve been parking your car in a garage for the past three years. It’s not that I’m not used to scraping car windows, I’ve been doing that longer than I’ve been able to drive. It’s just that I haven’t done it for a while and man am I out of shape. It’s always fun when you start thinking things like, “Do I really need to see what is going on behind me?” However, I am proud that my Chicago upbringing had taught me to keep an ice scraper in my car at all times, even though it is disconcerting to people who ride in my car in July.
Topic # 2: As I was stressed out this weekend it really didn’t surprise me that I had my stress dream. Whenever my anxiety level is really high I have the same dream: I’m back in school and I have a test looming that I haven’t studied for and a paper (always on some bizarre science topic) that I haven’t even started due in like two days. Except that this time in addition to those two standbys I also had to write my novel. Wow, that might mark the most stress that I have ever encountered in my life.
Topic # 3: For those who don’t believe how word choice can influence opinion, pay attention to how 60 Minutes was promoted this week. They had a segment on the parents of the “boys” that were accused in the Duke lacrosse case. The word “boys” was specifically used and the connotations of that cannot be ignored. Boys imply ignorance and naivety or even a “boys will be boys” attitude. There is a definite implied innocence to that term. Now, the case against them should never have been made but that still doesn’t mean that a group of 20 year old guys should be called boys. Maybe it’s because we can’t use guys as an official description. Juniors in college aren’t really men but they definitely aren’t boys. Still, it’s fascinating how important one word can be in a report.
Topic # 4: Because of football, the weather and the long weekend I have spent way too much time in front of a television set recently. As a result, I feel personally responsible to make the following announcement. If they don’t stop airing those damn McDonald’s Dollar Menuaires commercials someone is going to get hurt. First of all, they are not hip. Second, I don’t want to hear about how some chick has gained a mantourage because she ordered French fries, unless it is my beloved and that is just because it would be a good sign that she is eating again. Finally, anything that puts Ben Seaver back on my television screen is a bad idea. If I am forced to watch forming Growing Pains actors can’t we at least bring back Tracey Gold?
Topic # 5: How I Met Your Mother was a rerun once again but I did bother to stay tuned to The Class and I have to say, the show has gotten a lot funnier than it was at the start of the season. I had given it a shot and gave up on it out of boredom but it had some great laugh out loud moments. Or at least I can relate to the looking at the phone and waiting for it to ring. Hell, I’m pretty sure that everyone can relate to that, they just were funnier about it than usual.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Travel stories...
I’ve often described my life as an excellent adventure and I’m never sure if people a) agree with the terminology or b) believe any of the stories that I tell. Well, this is another one of my patented true stories wherein my life once again resembles an episode of the Amazing Race.
It started when I woke up Friday morning to discover myself lying in bed and wearing my glasses. This happens about once a year and it is disconcerting as hell. I spend the next five minutes trying to figure out if I had never taken them off, hazily put them on before my alarm went off or put them on while sleepwalking the night before in a journey that probably involved me gassing up my car and stopping by Kelly’s while still in my pajamas. It’s just the sort of thing that makes the entire day feel a little oft-kilter.
The good news is that I was taking Friday off because I was flying to Chicago and getting a haircut, though not in that order. I knew that the weather report was for sleet and freezing rain but it wasn’t until I went out to fill up the car (which sadly I did not do while sleeping though that would be a great way to multitask) that I noticed just how bad it was. Really slick roads and it made me wonder about my flight. But I was able to get my haircut and drove to the airport early and checked into my flight as part of the A boarding group on Southwest so I was feeling good about myself.
I went into my usual airport routine of grabbing dinner and checking out the magazines when I glanced at the flight board to discover that my flight was cancelled. And that the last flight to Chicago was leaving in fifteen minutes. After a great deal of swearing I dashed through security where I…ok, how to explain this. I’m a creature of habit. More accurately, I’m obsessive to the nth degree (a topic I’ll write about eventually). When I go through security I follow a very strict procedure of placing my keys and cel phone in my backpack and having my ticket in a certain pocket and being really zen while going through security. Well, this time it was more like screw that. I cut in line, through my stuff on the conveyer belt and hustled through the metal detector completely forgetting that I had my keys and cel phone still in my pocket causing the guard to even go “What the hell?” I profess my stupidity and somehow make it through.
Get to the last Chicago flight and along with a half dozen other people who noticed that the flight was cancelled was able to get a seat on the flight though I had no guarantee if my checked bag was also going to be on the flight. I am the last person on the plane and grab a seat and I realize that everything is wrong. I’m sitting up front, on the right side of the plane, and in a middle seat and I always sit in the back left next to the window. Again, this just freaks me out more.
But I do get to Chicago as does my luggage so I meet up with my family, as the reason for this entire trip was to celebrate my dad’s birthday. It was tough for me to relax because I was so out of sorts from my flight as well as the fact that I kept on checking the weather and the airport and I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to be able to make it out of Chicago on Sunday. I moved up my flight but still wasn’t sure it was good enough. I was literally trying to time a flight between two weather systems while still hopefully catching most of the Bears game.
That leads to my trip back today, where I get to the airport early to see if I could weasel my way onto an earlier flight. I was prepared this time, leaving my shaving kit at my parents though this means that I currently do not have any toothpaste or deodorant. Got placed on standby but was told that the flight was oversold and that my chances weren’t good. But, I got lucky once again and picked off one of the last seats on this flight, which turned out to be the last Chicago to KC flight that got in today. And I was back home in time to watch the second half of the Bears game.
Of course, everything that I just wrote is really pretty meaningless. Just a bit of a humorous and harrowing travel story. It’s not at all what I’ll remember from this weekend. I’ll remember having all of my family back in one place again and having a great time. I’ll remember being ordered around by my four year old niece. But most of all I’ll remember playing with my nephew and making him laugh and giggle and smile more than I’ve ever seen. The little guy has had a tougher life than anyone his age should and just those moments of happiness might be my proudest moment in years. And no snow storm in the world could make me miss it.
The five random CD’s for the week:
1) Continental Drifters “Continental Drifters”
2) Paul Burch “Last of My Kind”
3) Liz Phair “Juvenalia”
4) Nora O’Connor “Til the Dawn”
5) Various Artists “New Orleans Party Classics”
It started when I woke up Friday morning to discover myself lying in bed and wearing my glasses. This happens about once a year and it is disconcerting as hell. I spend the next five minutes trying to figure out if I had never taken them off, hazily put them on before my alarm went off or put them on while sleepwalking the night before in a journey that probably involved me gassing up my car and stopping by Kelly’s while still in my pajamas. It’s just the sort of thing that makes the entire day feel a little oft-kilter.
The good news is that I was taking Friday off because I was flying to Chicago and getting a haircut, though not in that order. I knew that the weather report was for sleet and freezing rain but it wasn’t until I went out to fill up the car (which sadly I did not do while sleeping though that would be a great way to multitask) that I noticed just how bad it was. Really slick roads and it made me wonder about my flight. But I was able to get my haircut and drove to the airport early and checked into my flight as part of the A boarding group on Southwest so I was feeling good about myself.
I went into my usual airport routine of grabbing dinner and checking out the magazines when I glanced at the flight board to discover that my flight was cancelled. And that the last flight to Chicago was leaving in fifteen minutes. After a great deal of swearing I dashed through security where I…ok, how to explain this. I’m a creature of habit. More accurately, I’m obsessive to the nth degree (a topic I’ll write about eventually). When I go through security I follow a very strict procedure of placing my keys and cel phone in my backpack and having my ticket in a certain pocket and being really zen while going through security. Well, this time it was more like screw that. I cut in line, through my stuff on the conveyer belt and hustled through the metal detector completely forgetting that I had my keys and cel phone still in my pocket causing the guard to even go “What the hell?” I profess my stupidity and somehow make it through.
Get to the last Chicago flight and along with a half dozen other people who noticed that the flight was cancelled was able to get a seat on the flight though I had no guarantee if my checked bag was also going to be on the flight. I am the last person on the plane and grab a seat and I realize that everything is wrong. I’m sitting up front, on the right side of the plane, and in a middle seat and I always sit in the back left next to the window. Again, this just freaks me out more.
But I do get to Chicago as does my luggage so I meet up with my family, as the reason for this entire trip was to celebrate my dad’s birthday. It was tough for me to relax because I was so out of sorts from my flight as well as the fact that I kept on checking the weather and the airport and I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to be able to make it out of Chicago on Sunday. I moved up my flight but still wasn’t sure it was good enough. I was literally trying to time a flight between two weather systems while still hopefully catching most of the Bears game.
That leads to my trip back today, where I get to the airport early to see if I could weasel my way onto an earlier flight. I was prepared this time, leaving my shaving kit at my parents though this means that I currently do not have any toothpaste or deodorant. Got placed on standby but was told that the flight was oversold and that my chances weren’t good. But, I got lucky once again and picked off one of the last seats on this flight, which turned out to be the last Chicago to KC flight that got in today. And I was back home in time to watch the second half of the Bears game.
Of course, everything that I just wrote is really pretty meaningless. Just a bit of a humorous and harrowing travel story. It’s not at all what I’ll remember from this weekend. I’ll remember having all of my family back in one place again and having a great time. I’ll remember being ordered around by my four year old niece. But most of all I’ll remember playing with my nephew and making him laugh and giggle and smile more than I’ve ever seen. The little guy has had a tougher life than anyone his age should and just those moments of happiness might be my proudest moment in years. And no snow storm in the world could make me miss it.
The five random CD’s for the week:
1) Continental Drifters “Continental Drifters”
2) Paul Burch “Last of My Kind”
3) Liz Phair “Juvenalia”
4) Nora O’Connor “Til the Dawn”
5) Various Artists “New Orleans Party Classics”
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Topical Depression
Got a few end of the week topics to cover…
Topic # 1: I’ve recently read about something that might be the most brilliant and twisted marketing campaign ever. If you go to mymms.com you’ll see that M&M’s has set up a website where you can create messages that they will place on M&M’s. The idea is that you’ll come up with some sweet saying, probably for Valentine’s Day, and it will make a great gift. Personally, I view this as the possibility for some of the cruelest jokes ever.
Want to encourage someone to lose weight? Give them the M&M’s labeled “Have a Carrot” or “Lard Ass”. For that special someone on the 14th how about “It’s not you, it’s me” or “I’m married to the sea” or even “I’m dating your sister”. I don’t even want to think what middle school kids would do with these. Somehow this feels like it was thought up by someone wearing bad idea jeans.
Topic # 2: Saw a personalized license plate the other day that read “Linux”. It’s always nice to know that I’m not the biggest geek in the metro area. I’ve been inspired to do a lot of bizarre things in my life, getting a personalized license plate that declares my preference for an operating system is not one of them. Now, “Jedi”, that is one I could go for.
Topic # 3: Another driving story. KC has these big overhead electronic signs on the highway that are never used except for Amber alerts and telling you that the reason that you are stuck in traffic is because of an accident right ahead of you. Vaguely useful information but nothing that changes your world. Well now they’ve started to show travel times on the board, which would be really useful except for a couple of factors. 1) Traffic is pretty constant in KC so everything is basically ten minutes away, 2) People slow down in order to read the signs and 3) Hence, traffic is actually moving slower because people are trying to do math and drive at the same time. Seriously, I wonder how many accidents there were the first day they tried this as motorists looked up and went, “Oh wow, words.”
Topic # 4: The Yale glee club was assaulted in San Francisco for their singing of the Star Spangled Banner. Now I don’t know any more about the story than that sentence but I have to say, if there is anyone in the world who probably deserves a beating it’s likely the members of the Yale glee club. Not exactly a challenging target, though. I mean, I could probably take them all on by myself and win. I’m not sure you could hold your head high afterwards and go, “Man, did you see how I kicked that baritone’s ass? That’s what you get for trying to sing four part harmony in our house!”
Topic # 5: There was a news story this week about the possibility that in the course of its experiments the Viking lander on Mars may have actually killed life instead of finding it. The idea is that the radiation used in a test would have killed a theoretical lifeform that the lander was not able to recognize. I think that pretty much sums up the human race in a nutshell. Not only are we rapidly trying to eliminate every form of life on Earth, we’re now deciding to get rid of it on other planets as well. As I said before, sometimes I wonder if the creationists are right only because there is no way in the world that monkeys would be this stupid.
Topic # 1: I’ve recently read about something that might be the most brilliant and twisted marketing campaign ever. If you go to mymms.com you’ll see that M&M’s has set up a website where you can create messages that they will place on M&M’s. The idea is that you’ll come up with some sweet saying, probably for Valentine’s Day, and it will make a great gift. Personally, I view this as the possibility for some of the cruelest jokes ever.
Want to encourage someone to lose weight? Give them the M&M’s labeled “Have a Carrot” or “Lard Ass”. For that special someone on the 14th how about “It’s not you, it’s me” or “I’m married to the sea” or even “I’m dating your sister”. I don’t even want to think what middle school kids would do with these. Somehow this feels like it was thought up by someone wearing bad idea jeans.
Topic # 2: Saw a personalized license plate the other day that read “Linux”. It’s always nice to know that I’m not the biggest geek in the metro area. I’ve been inspired to do a lot of bizarre things in my life, getting a personalized license plate that declares my preference for an operating system is not one of them. Now, “Jedi”, that is one I could go for.
Topic # 3: Another driving story. KC has these big overhead electronic signs on the highway that are never used except for Amber alerts and telling you that the reason that you are stuck in traffic is because of an accident right ahead of you. Vaguely useful information but nothing that changes your world. Well now they’ve started to show travel times on the board, which would be really useful except for a couple of factors. 1) Traffic is pretty constant in KC so everything is basically ten minutes away, 2) People slow down in order to read the signs and 3) Hence, traffic is actually moving slower because people are trying to do math and drive at the same time. Seriously, I wonder how many accidents there were the first day they tried this as motorists looked up and went, “Oh wow, words.”
Topic # 4: The Yale glee club was assaulted in San Francisco for their singing of the Star Spangled Banner. Now I don’t know any more about the story than that sentence but I have to say, if there is anyone in the world who probably deserves a beating it’s likely the members of the Yale glee club. Not exactly a challenging target, though. I mean, I could probably take them all on by myself and win. I’m not sure you could hold your head high afterwards and go, “Man, did you see how I kicked that baritone’s ass? That’s what you get for trying to sing four part harmony in our house!”
Topic # 5: There was a news story this week about the possibility that in the course of its experiments the Viking lander on Mars may have actually killed life instead of finding it. The idea is that the radiation used in a test would have killed a theoretical lifeform that the lander was not able to recognize. I think that pretty much sums up the human race in a nutshell. Not only are we rapidly trying to eliminate every form of life on Earth, we’re now deciding to get rid of it on other planets as well. As I said before, sometimes I wonder if the creationists are right only because there is no way in the world that monkeys would be this stupid.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
2006 Year in Books
Time to finish off the Year in Review, focusing on the books I read in 2006 this time around. This isn’t a definitive list but it gives a good sense of what I read as the year went by…
“Bodyslams” by Gary Michael Capetta: Some people read histories of professional wrestling. Some people read autobiographies by pro wrestlers. Me? I read the autobiography of pro wrestling ring announcers. Yeah, a book by the guy who went, “Coming to the ring and hailing from Parts Unknown…” And it was like a three hundred page book. And I probably shouldn’t be admitting any of this on a website.
“Turning Thirty”, “Brand New Friend” and “His n Hers” by Mike Gayle: My favorite writer that no one outside of England has ever heard of. He is one of the best at writing a guy’s confessional novel. Basically a guy’s Bridget Jones or what my novel will be like when it is finally written. These three books focused on turning thirty and realizing that you missed all of your old friends from school, how difficult it is for a guy to make new friends as his adult and the age old question of whether a guy and a girl can be friends, and about breaking up a long relationship and wondering if it wasn’t the biggest mistake you ever made. Please pick up one of his books. (On a side note: my life no longer goes to hell when I read one of his books. Or, that has just become my steady state.)
“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee: I was very disappointed by this book. I don’t remember a single hunting scene in the entire book. By the title it was clear that someone was going to go bird hunting. In all honesty, I don’t know how I went so long without reading this book. It just was never on a required reading list and it got to the point where I embarrassed that I hadn’t read it. Great book, a classic, and another book to cross off on the back of my copy of Cliff Notes.
“Angels and Demons” by Dan Brown: I spend a lot of time on planes and it is required that I read a Dan Brown novel at least part of the time. A fun book if you ignore things like “characters with absolutely no motivation” and “a plot that would be implausible in an episode of Scooby Doo”. Just goes to show how easy it is to make a multi-million dollar publishing empire.
“Fight Club” by Chuck Palahnick: You want to have a good time watching other people? Read Fight Club while in a crowded plane. Be sure to wield a highlighter and utilize broad sweeping strokes. And say things like “That’s awesome” and “Yeah, I should punch the next person who talks to me.”
“Jpod” by Douglas Coupland: It’s a book about being a computer programmer in Vancouver. Lots of parallels with my life in this book along with certain plot lines that make the book border on farce at times. Oh, and entire pages are filled with the numerical sequence of pi. It’s a book after my own heart.
“The Google Story” by Donald Vise, “The Search” by John Batelle, “The Long Tail” by Chris Anderson: All of which I read for work, which might give a little indication on just what I do for a living. Let’s just say that I’ve learned more about the human condition than any one being ever should. My vocabulary has increased, sadly it’s filled with a lot of words I can’t use in proper conversation.
“Sox and the City” by Richard Roeper: A book detailing the White Sox’s championship season as well as a reflection of what life was life growing up a Sox fan. A great book if you want to remember what old Commiskey was like in its beautiful, decrepit, smelly glory. However, I can not believe that Roeper could write a book about being a Sox fan and not once mention Andy the Clown. He was a legend at the old park or more accurately he was a guy who dressed up in a clown costume and went to the games. I was raised to believe that this was perfectly normal behavior.
“New Orleans, Mon Amour” by Andrei Codrescu: A collection of essays on New Orleans by one of her favorite sons, albeit a son who was originally born in Transylvania. If you want to understand why I love this city so much and why I have hope that it will one day return you really should read this book. Andrei explains things much better than I ever could.
“V for Vendetta” by Alan Moore: Look, graphic novels count as books. It’s my list and I make the rules. If you want to get into the graphic novel scene there are three books to read: V for Vendetta, Watchmen, and The Sandman. And you can’t complain about anything that is filmed with Natalie Portman in the lead role.
“Sight Hound” by Pam Houston: Read this book over the holidays and I’m on record as saying that Pam has one of the best voices of any author I have ever read. She is a very lyrical writer. However, this is her first novel and well, it’s a novel about a dog and it reads like something that will be featured in book clubs from now until the end of time. Which means that the dog is certainly not going to make it to the last page. And I’m sorry but after reading Sounder and Old Yeller growing up I don’t want to ever have to read another book about a dog dying.
“Fragile Things” by Neil Gaiman: Probably my favorite author on the planet. He’s the writer behind the aforementioned Sandman as well as some great fantasy novels. This is a collection of short stories and poems and other little bits that he has written along the way. The greatest compliment that I can give him is that he has the ability to create an entire mythology out of whole cloth. Even in a short story he can create his own little world and you believe every single part of it. You can’t go wrong with anything he has written. (Well, except for that quickie biography he wrote about Duran Duran in the 80’s but he was a struggling writer who needed the money.)
“Bodyslams” by Gary Michael Capetta: Some people read histories of professional wrestling. Some people read autobiographies by pro wrestlers. Me? I read the autobiography of pro wrestling ring announcers. Yeah, a book by the guy who went, “Coming to the ring and hailing from Parts Unknown…” And it was like a three hundred page book. And I probably shouldn’t be admitting any of this on a website.
“Turning Thirty”, “Brand New Friend” and “His n Hers” by Mike Gayle: My favorite writer that no one outside of England has ever heard of. He is one of the best at writing a guy’s confessional novel. Basically a guy’s Bridget Jones or what my novel will be like when it is finally written. These three books focused on turning thirty and realizing that you missed all of your old friends from school, how difficult it is for a guy to make new friends as his adult and the age old question of whether a guy and a girl can be friends, and about breaking up a long relationship and wondering if it wasn’t the biggest mistake you ever made. Please pick up one of his books. (On a side note: my life no longer goes to hell when I read one of his books. Or, that has just become my steady state.)
“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee: I was very disappointed by this book. I don’t remember a single hunting scene in the entire book. By the title it was clear that someone was going to go bird hunting. In all honesty, I don’t know how I went so long without reading this book. It just was never on a required reading list and it got to the point where I embarrassed that I hadn’t read it. Great book, a classic, and another book to cross off on the back of my copy of Cliff Notes.
“Angels and Demons” by Dan Brown: I spend a lot of time on planes and it is required that I read a Dan Brown novel at least part of the time. A fun book if you ignore things like “characters with absolutely no motivation” and “a plot that would be implausible in an episode of Scooby Doo”. Just goes to show how easy it is to make a multi-million dollar publishing empire.
“Fight Club” by Chuck Palahnick: You want to have a good time watching other people? Read Fight Club while in a crowded plane. Be sure to wield a highlighter and utilize broad sweeping strokes. And say things like “That’s awesome” and “Yeah, I should punch the next person who talks to me.”
“Jpod” by Douglas Coupland: It’s a book about being a computer programmer in Vancouver. Lots of parallels with my life in this book along with certain plot lines that make the book border on farce at times. Oh, and entire pages are filled with the numerical sequence of pi. It’s a book after my own heart.
“The Google Story” by Donald Vise, “The Search” by John Batelle, “The Long Tail” by Chris Anderson: All of which I read for work, which might give a little indication on just what I do for a living. Let’s just say that I’ve learned more about the human condition than any one being ever should. My vocabulary has increased, sadly it’s filled with a lot of words I can’t use in proper conversation.
“Sox and the City” by Richard Roeper: A book detailing the White Sox’s championship season as well as a reflection of what life was life growing up a Sox fan. A great book if you want to remember what old Commiskey was like in its beautiful, decrepit, smelly glory. However, I can not believe that Roeper could write a book about being a Sox fan and not once mention Andy the Clown. He was a legend at the old park or more accurately he was a guy who dressed up in a clown costume and went to the games. I was raised to believe that this was perfectly normal behavior.
“New Orleans, Mon Amour” by Andrei Codrescu: A collection of essays on New Orleans by one of her favorite sons, albeit a son who was originally born in Transylvania. If you want to understand why I love this city so much and why I have hope that it will one day return you really should read this book. Andrei explains things much better than I ever could.
“V for Vendetta” by Alan Moore: Look, graphic novels count as books. It’s my list and I make the rules. If you want to get into the graphic novel scene there are three books to read: V for Vendetta, Watchmen, and The Sandman. And you can’t complain about anything that is filmed with Natalie Portman in the lead role.
“Sight Hound” by Pam Houston: Read this book over the holidays and I’m on record as saying that Pam has one of the best voices of any author I have ever read. She is a very lyrical writer. However, this is her first novel and well, it’s a novel about a dog and it reads like something that will be featured in book clubs from now until the end of time. Which means that the dog is certainly not going to make it to the last page. And I’m sorry but after reading Sounder and Old Yeller growing up I don’t want to ever have to read another book about a dog dying.
“Fragile Things” by Neil Gaiman: Probably my favorite author on the planet. He’s the writer behind the aforementioned Sandman as well as some great fantasy novels. This is a collection of short stories and poems and other little bits that he has written along the way. The greatest compliment that I can give him is that he has the ability to create an entire mythology out of whole cloth. Even in a short story he can create his own little world and you believe every single part of it. You can’t go wrong with anything he has written. (Well, except for that quickie biography he wrote about Duran Duran in the 80’s but he was a struggling writer who needed the money.)
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Decreasing entropy
I’ve been on this strange organizational trip as of late. I could probably blame it on the start of a new year. That always makes me focus on trying to get my life together for the first time in my entire existence. On the plus side, it does mean that my apartment is organized and clean for the first time in ages. However, it also means that I put together a full page of To Do’s for tonight that began with, and I’m not kidding here, “have dinner”. Yep, while sitting at work and compiling this list I actually went, “Better remind myself to eat.” I probably should also have included items like “drive home”, “get mail” and “watch CSI reruns for two hours because it’s that cool one where they bury Nick alive.” Still, I’m at least going to accomplish most of what I listed out this morning.
(Yes, I spent part of today at work creating to do lists. Along with a few other really detail oriented reporting tasks without the benefit of headphones. Anything to keep my mind off the press releases of the past few days.)
In lighter news, I started reading Crime and Punishment today. Yep, since it is January that means I have to once again tackle a challenging/important piece of literature. In the past this has had me reading Faust, Ulysses, the Pilgrim’s Progress and To Kill a Mockingbird. Ok, maybe the last one shouldn’t count as a challenge but it was a book that I was embarrassed to say that I had never read. I think the blame goes to Ivy for recommending this one in an email thread and as I have never read the Russians to the degree that I feel I should have I challenge Dostoevsky and his novel where every character is seemingly named Ivan. Or that’s how I assume it will be, I’m just fifteen pages into it right now. Who knows, maybe it turns out to be like a Harry Potter book and I’m suddenly reading about the Russian version of Quidditch.
In truly lighter news, it appears that the candlelight vigil for Lindsay was very successful as she was seen out and about last weekend. Most people have their appendix removed and they spend the next week in bed. Not our Lindsay, who was out dancing on tables at a club the next day. She’s like the cheerleader from Heroes; you just can’t keep her down. Except instead of trying to save the planet from annihilation she’s trying to…she’s trying to…you know, I’m her biggest fan and I don’t have a friggin clue was Lindsay’s motivation is any more. Maybe she wants to be an singer, maybe she wants to be a movie star, she’s like that girl you knew in college who had like three majors and each one was less useful than the previous one until she ended up with a degree in communications and the only reason you talked to her is because she always seemed to be at the bar and falling into guys’ arms. Lindsay Lohan, that girl in college who when you saw her you went, “Oh no, not her again…”
(Yes, I spent part of today at work creating to do lists. Along with a few other really detail oriented reporting tasks without the benefit of headphones. Anything to keep my mind off the press releases of the past few days.)
In lighter news, I started reading Crime and Punishment today. Yep, since it is January that means I have to once again tackle a challenging/important piece of literature. In the past this has had me reading Faust, Ulysses, the Pilgrim’s Progress and To Kill a Mockingbird. Ok, maybe the last one shouldn’t count as a challenge but it was a book that I was embarrassed to say that I had never read. I think the blame goes to Ivy for recommending this one in an email thread and as I have never read the Russians to the degree that I feel I should have I challenge Dostoevsky and his novel where every character is seemingly named Ivan. Or that’s how I assume it will be, I’m just fifteen pages into it right now. Who knows, maybe it turns out to be like a Harry Potter book and I’m suddenly reading about the Russian version of Quidditch.
In truly lighter news, it appears that the candlelight vigil for Lindsay was very successful as she was seen out and about last weekend. Most people have their appendix removed and they spend the next week in bed. Not our Lindsay, who was out dancing on tables at a club the next day. She’s like the cheerleader from Heroes; you just can’t keep her down. Except instead of trying to save the planet from annihilation she’s trying to…she’s trying to…you know, I’m her biggest fan and I don’t have a friggin clue was Lindsay’s motivation is any more. Maybe she wants to be an singer, maybe she wants to be a movie star, she’s like that girl you knew in college who had like three majors and each one was less useful than the previous one until she ended up with a degree in communications and the only reason you talked to her is because she always seemed to be at the bar and falling into guys’ arms. Lindsay Lohan, that girl in college who when you saw her you went, “Oh no, not her again…”
Monday, January 08, 2007
The future's so bright...
Back to our usual writing schedule. I still have one more “Look Back at 2006” piece to go, this time focusing on the books that I read over the year. I didn’t initially mean for this to turn into a major retrospective, I always planned on writing about books and concerts but somehow I have a feeling that if I don’t put an end to it now in March I’ll be writing something about “The five best vending machine snacks I purchased in 2006”.
(Have to go with the Hershey Bar with Almonds on that one. Tasty and you get to tell yourself “It’s got almonds in it. Almonds are healthy. I mean just disregard the pound of chocolate that surrounds them.”)
As many of you may know, my apartment looks out over a parking lot. Obviously I did not splurge for the scenic view but then again, this is Kansas City, I’m not quite sure what the scenic view would be of. I think I live as far away from a body of water or a change of elevation or hell, a tree, as is humanly possible. So, while the view could be better it’s never really bothered me all that much. Until recently that is.
See, this parking lot contains a couple of street lights that historically have been kind of flaky. Sometimes they are on, sometimes they are off and occasionally they’ll just start flickering and I get this strobe light effect in my bedroom. (Actually, that is pretty freaking sweet.) Again, just one of those things like upstairs neighbors who apparently decide to celebrate one in the morning by jumping up and down in combat boots that just comes with apartment living. Well, sometime over the holiday they went ahead and finally fixed the streetlights and installed new bulbs. Really bright new bulbs. Insanely bright bulbs. Like someone decided to focus a spotlight on my building.
I’m not kidding here, I don’t have to turn on the lights when I walk into my apartment because it is being lit by the street. While I don’t mind the fact that my electric bill is lower because of this it does make sleeping a bit more of a challenge. Or just relaxing as whenever I turn there is this pulsating light beaming into every room of my apartment. I swear I’m this close to breaking out the old slingshot. Or purchasing some 60 watt bulbs and replacing them myself.
Not much else to note. Florida is winning and by my math that should make Boise State the national champions. And on How I Met Your Mother putting Barney in Dirty Dancing was both inspired and disturbing at the same time. I’m still not sure if I’m happy that they’ve med Ted four years younger than I am. That said, no one can ever correctly guess my age anyway so whatever works to get the story sold works for me.
(Have to go with the Hershey Bar with Almonds on that one. Tasty and you get to tell yourself “It’s got almonds in it. Almonds are healthy. I mean just disregard the pound of chocolate that surrounds them.”)
As many of you may know, my apartment looks out over a parking lot. Obviously I did not splurge for the scenic view but then again, this is Kansas City, I’m not quite sure what the scenic view would be of. I think I live as far away from a body of water or a change of elevation or hell, a tree, as is humanly possible. So, while the view could be better it’s never really bothered me all that much. Until recently that is.
See, this parking lot contains a couple of street lights that historically have been kind of flaky. Sometimes they are on, sometimes they are off and occasionally they’ll just start flickering and I get this strobe light effect in my bedroom. (Actually, that is pretty freaking sweet.) Again, just one of those things like upstairs neighbors who apparently decide to celebrate one in the morning by jumping up and down in combat boots that just comes with apartment living. Well, sometime over the holiday they went ahead and finally fixed the streetlights and installed new bulbs. Really bright new bulbs. Insanely bright bulbs. Like someone decided to focus a spotlight on my building.
I’m not kidding here, I don’t have to turn on the lights when I walk into my apartment because it is being lit by the street. While I don’t mind the fact that my electric bill is lower because of this it does make sleeping a bit more of a challenge. Or just relaxing as whenever I turn there is this pulsating light beaming into every room of my apartment. I swear I’m this close to breaking out the old slingshot. Or purchasing some 60 watt bulbs and replacing them myself.
Not much else to note. Florida is winning and by my math that should make Boise State the national champions. And on How I Met Your Mother putting Barney in Dirty Dancing was both inspired and disturbing at the same time. I’m still not sure if I’m happy that they’ve med Ted four years younger than I am. That said, no one can ever correctly guess my age anyway so whatever works to get the story sold works for me.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
2006 Concerts: Part Three
Ok, time to finish off the 2006 concert reviews. Before I do that, I thought it would be cool to share my concert going stats over the past three years. I have no idea if this is of interest to anyone other than me but it’s my blog and I’ll write what I want to (cry if I want to, die if I want to). (Actually, that sentiment is wrong. It should be more like “whine if I want to, suffer from a nasty hangover if I want to.” I mean seriously, just because you’re having a party doesn’t mean you have to die.)
Over the past three years I have gone to a total of 122 concerts featuring 169 different acts. 29 of those shows took place at Davey’s Uptown while another 18 involved my driving to Lawrence to see someone at Liberty Hall. Obviously, I saw a number of acts more than once and here are the most frequently seen acts..
5 times: Jon Dee Graham, Richard Buckner
4 times: Carbon Leaf, The Gaslights, Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys
3 times: Alejandro Escovedo, Ani DiFranco, Cowboy Mouth, Hank Williams III, Howie Day, Jack Ingram, Old Crow Medicine Show, Robert Earl Keen, The Get Up Kids
2 times: Way too many to list
Let’s finish the reviews, shall we?
Beaumont Club (Kansas City, MO)
1) Robert Earl Keen (Opening Acts: Full Throttle, Cross Canadian Ragweed): This was a big homecoming show for Cross Canadian Ragweed as I think they are from Oklahoma or something. This just meant that the crowd was a lot more into the band than I was as I just recall standing there hoping that their set would eventually end. Robert Earl Keen is typically a great person to see live but this show just was not doing it for me. Maybe it was because it was actually sponsored by one of the local country radio stations and while my musical tastes might indicate otherwise, I really try to stay away from anything associated with country radio. This show was really high on my list of disappointments of the year and boy, is that a list worth writing about.
2) Guster (Opening Acts: Nada Surf): You’ve actually heard of Nada Surf. They had a hit in the late 90’s/early naughts with “Popular” where the lead singer spends half the song in a spoken rant. The thing is, while that looks really cool in a video, it doesn’t translate very well to a stage. Guster put on their usual fun set though you could tell that they were pissed about the venue. See, this show was originally supposed to be at City Market, which meant that they were going to be playing in this big parking lot. Apparently they didn’t sell enough tickets so they moved it to the Beaumont, which is essentially a country bar up to and including a mechanical bull sitting in the back of the bar. It’s always fun to see a band realize that it has entered a scene from the Blues Brothers and start quickly trying to remember all of the words to Rawhide.
Grand Emporium (Kansas City, MO)
1) Jack Ingram (Opening Act: Ryan Boles Band): I am as stunned as anyone that Jack Ingram has actually earned a top country song and a spot singing the national anthem at the NBA Finals. When I first saw him he was pleased as hell to be playing in a half empty bar because he never thought that he would ever headline a show in Chicago. The guy is talented as hell and while his electric shows don’t match the awesomeness of his acoustic shows they can be fun as hell. This show does win for the worst sound mix of the year as Jack spent the first thirty minutes arguing with the sound board to the point that the opening lyric to one song was “Guitar down, damnit!”
2) Gomez (Opening Act: David Ford): I am on public record as to hating the new, clean Grand Emporium. It’s very prim and proper and I feel like I should be sipping on a martini while smoking a cigar as opposed to seeing a band. However, the place is intimate as hell and there is no way in the world that a band as good as Gomez should be playing in a place of that size. Just a killer British band that is part blues, part rock, part country and part Harry Potter. Or at least that’s who their keyboardist always reminds me of. David Ford was the best opening act this year with a very Damien Rice-esq vibe to him. Lots of loops, lots of emotion and I’m pretty sure that on his last song he blew out half his amps and broke two guitars and enjoyed every moment of it.
3) The Ditty Bops: There is one word I almost never use in describing music and that word is unique. It’s almost impossible for me to stumble upon something and go, “Wow, I’ve never heard anything like that before.” But damnit, Abby and Amanda are unique as hell. Part bluegrass, part vaudeville, part performance art, The Ditty Bops put on one of the most enjoyable shows you’ll ever see. You’ll laugh, you’ll dance, you’ll sing along, you will have your jaw drop when Amanda does an onstage costume change from the good witch to the bad witch. Without a doubt, this is a band to check out for the novelty alone.
Kansas City Irish Fest (Kansas City, MO)
1) Black 47: I don’t think I wrote about this show because I was on a flight to London the next day (and it was my birthday, so things were hazy to begin with). I’ve been a fan of Black 47 for years and while they are a great Irish band I was surprised to see them on the Irish Fest circuit. In kind of the same way that it would amaze me to see Shane McGowan show up at one of those things. Still, that was me next to the stage when they played the song “James Connolly”. As someone who has stood where James Connolly was executed let’s just say that this was a very moving experience. Even if it was part of a toursity Irish fest.
VooDoo Lounge at Harrah’s Casino (North Kansas City, MO)
1) Cowboy Mouth (Opening Act: Pomeroy): This was a fourth and ten play for one game in my relationship season and I have to say that Cowboy Mouth completely failed in the clutch. It was like having Terrell Owens out there at wide receiver, not only does he drop the ball but then he yells about not throwing the ball enough. Anyway, I saw this exact same show two weeks ago so I’ll talk about this more at number five.
2) Lucinda Williams (Opening Act: Tim Easton): Most bizarre moment at a concert this year. Get in right as the show started and all the seats on the floor are taken so I head to the balcony and grab a seat in the last row. After the opening set I look up and see Kristen and Bill, two people who I only see at concerts walking straight towards me. It was as random as life could get. This was pretty much an acoustic show (or at least one without a drummer) for Lucinda and she is such an incredible songwriter that it just makes for a great night. She might not have the best voice or stage presence in the world and she needs a music stand with lyrics in front of her but man, can she write.
3) The Neville Brothers: Ran into former Chiefs great Neil Smith at this show. Or more like he ran through me getting to his seat and yeah, I’m not a very good left tackle. One gripe about this show, everyone in the crowd was a) older than me and b) sitting down. This does not make for a good show by the Nevilles. These guys feed off of the crowd’s energy and it was as subdued a group of people that you could ever find. Still, there are times in your life when the prescription is to listen to the Nevilles do their thing because when they are at their best, they’re the best in the world.
4) Soul Asylum (Opening Act: The New Amsterdams): It’s nice to reminisce about my college years even if half of those memories involve circuit diagrams. That’s what going to Soul Asylum was all about, reliving songs from a decade ago because they happen to be really good songs. This show was better than it had any right being and I’ll probably end up getting “Stand Up and be Strong” because of how good some of their new songs were. Dave and Dan are aging like the rest of us but for a little bit we can all remember being younger and dating Winona Ryder.
5) Cowboy Mouth (Opening Act: Pomeroy): I have a problem with Cowboy Mouth and it sucks because they were one of my favorite bands ever. When I got into one of my down moods their CDs were one of my quick cures to get me off the couch and tackling life again. That said, I’ve been pissed at their shows because of Fred the Drummer’s consistent requests that we make more noise and throw our hands in the air and jump up and down on every single song. There is a difference between passion and pandering and I think over the past five years or so the band has crossed the line. It’s like it’s gone from fun to work. I just think the best moments come naturally. Like watching Jay Farrar play “Still Be Around” and having the crowd, with no prodding” sing along. I’ll take one of those over two dozen “Jump around and scream.”
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Cathy Richardson Band “All Excess: Live at Park West”
2) The Juliana Hatfield Three “Become What You Are”
3) Jon Dee Graham “Hooray for the Moon”
4) Keb’ Mo’ “Keb’ Mo’”
5) C.J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band “Hot Rod”
Over the past three years I have gone to a total of 122 concerts featuring 169 different acts. 29 of those shows took place at Davey’s Uptown while another 18 involved my driving to Lawrence to see someone at Liberty Hall. Obviously, I saw a number of acts more than once and here are the most frequently seen acts..
5 times: Jon Dee Graham, Richard Buckner
4 times: Carbon Leaf, The Gaslights, Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys
3 times: Alejandro Escovedo, Ani DiFranco, Cowboy Mouth, Hank Williams III, Howie Day, Jack Ingram, Old Crow Medicine Show, Robert Earl Keen, The Get Up Kids
2 times: Way too many to list
Let’s finish the reviews, shall we?
Beaumont Club (Kansas City, MO)
1) Robert Earl Keen (Opening Acts: Full Throttle, Cross Canadian Ragweed): This was a big homecoming show for Cross Canadian Ragweed as I think they are from Oklahoma or something. This just meant that the crowd was a lot more into the band than I was as I just recall standing there hoping that their set would eventually end. Robert Earl Keen is typically a great person to see live but this show just was not doing it for me. Maybe it was because it was actually sponsored by one of the local country radio stations and while my musical tastes might indicate otherwise, I really try to stay away from anything associated with country radio. This show was really high on my list of disappointments of the year and boy, is that a list worth writing about.
2) Guster (Opening Acts: Nada Surf): You’ve actually heard of Nada Surf. They had a hit in the late 90’s/early naughts with “Popular” where the lead singer spends half the song in a spoken rant. The thing is, while that looks really cool in a video, it doesn’t translate very well to a stage. Guster put on their usual fun set though you could tell that they were pissed about the venue. See, this show was originally supposed to be at City Market, which meant that they were going to be playing in this big parking lot. Apparently they didn’t sell enough tickets so they moved it to the Beaumont, which is essentially a country bar up to and including a mechanical bull sitting in the back of the bar. It’s always fun to see a band realize that it has entered a scene from the Blues Brothers and start quickly trying to remember all of the words to Rawhide.
Grand Emporium (Kansas City, MO)
1) Jack Ingram (Opening Act: Ryan Boles Band): I am as stunned as anyone that Jack Ingram has actually earned a top country song and a spot singing the national anthem at the NBA Finals. When I first saw him he was pleased as hell to be playing in a half empty bar because he never thought that he would ever headline a show in Chicago. The guy is talented as hell and while his electric shows don’t match the awesomeness of his acoustic shows they can be fun as hell. This show does win for the worst sound mix of the year as Jack spent the first thirty minutes arguing with the sound board to the point that the opening lyric to one song was “Guitar down, damnit!”
2) Gomez (Opening Act: David Ford): I am on public record as to hating the new, clean Grand Emporium. It’s very prim and proper and I feel like I should be sipping on a martini while smoking a cigar as opposed to seeing a band. However, the place is intimate as hell and there is no way in the world that a band as good as Gomez should be playing in a place of that size. Just a killer British band that is part blues, part rock, part country and part Harry Potter. Or at least that’s who their keyboardist always reminds me of. David Ford was the best opening act this year with a very Damien Rice-esq vibe to him. Lots of loops, lots of emotion and I’m pretty sure that on his last song he blew out half his amps and broke two guitars and enjoyed every moment of it.
3) The Ditty Bops: There is one word I almost never use in describing music and that word is unique. It’s almost impossible for me to stumble upon something and go, “Wow, I’ve never heard anything like that before.” But damnit, Abby and Amanda are unique as hell. Part bluegrass, part vaudeville, part performance art, The Ditty Bops put on one of the most enjoyable shows you’ll ever see. You’ll laugh, you’ll dance, you’ll sing along, you will have your jaw drop when Amanda does an onstage costume change from the good witch to the bad witch. Without a doubt, this is a band to check out for the novelty alone.
Kansas City Irish Fest (Kansas City, MO)
1) Black 47: I don’t think I wrote about this show because I was on a flight to London the next day (and it was my birthday, so things were hazy to begin with). I’ve been a fan of Black 47 for years and while they are a great Irish band I was surprised to see them on the Irish Fest circuit. In kind of the same way that it would amaze me to see Shane McGowan show up at one of those things. Still, that was me next to the stage when they played the song “James Connolly”. As someone who has stood where James Connolly was executed let’s just say that this was a very moving experience. Even if it was part of a toursity Irish fest.
VooDoo Lounge at Harrah’s Casino (North Kansas City, MO)
1) Cowboy Mouth (Opening Act: Pomeroy): This was a fourth and ten play for one game in my relationship season and I have to say that Cowboy Mouth completely failed in the clutch. It was like having Terrell Owens out there at wide receiver, not only does he drop the ball but then he yells about not throwing the ball enough. Anyway, I saw this exact same show two weeks ago so I’ll talk about this more at number five.
2) Lucinda Williams (Opening Act: Tim Easton): Most bizarre moment at a concert this year. Get in right as the show started and all the seats on the floor are taken so I head to the balcony and grab a seat in the last row. After the opening set I look up and see Kristen and Bill, two people who I only see at concerts walking straight towards me. It was as random as life could get. This was pretty much an acoustic show (or at least one without a drummer) for Lucinda and she is such an incredible songwriter that it just makes for a great night. She might not have the best voice or stage presence in the world and she needs a music stand with lyrics in front of her but man, can she write.
3) The Neville Brothers: Ran into former Chiefs great Neil Smith at this show. Or more like he ran through me getting to his seat and yeah, I’m not a very good left tackle. One gripe about this show, everyone in the crowd was a) older than me and b) sitting down. This does not make for a good show by the Nevilles. These guys feed off of the crowd’s energy and it was as subdued a group of people that you could ever find. Still, there are times in your life when the prescription is to listen to the Nevilles do their thing because when they are at their best, they’re the best in the world.
4) Soul Asylum (Opening Act: The New Amsterdams): It’s nice to reminisce about my college years even if half of those memories involve circuit diagrams. That’s what going to Soul Asylum was all about, reliving songs from a decade ago because they happen to be really good songs. This show was better than it had any right being and I’ll probably end up getting “Stand Up and be Strong” because of how good some of their new songs were. Dave and Dan are aging like the rest of us but for a little bit we can all remember being younger and dating Winona Ryder.
5) Cowboy Mouth (Opening Act: Pomeroy): I have a problem with Cowboy Mouth and it sucks because they were one of my favorite bands ever. When I got into one of my down moods their CDs were one of my quick cures to get me off the couch and tackling life again. That said, I’ve been pissed at their shows because of Fred the Drummer’s consistent requests that we make more noise and throw our hands in the air and jump up and down on every single song. There is a difference between passion and pandering and I think over the past five years or so the band has crossed the line. It’s like it’s gone from fun to work. I just think the best moments come naturally. Like watching Jay Farrar play “Still Be Around” and having the crowd, with no prodding” sing along. I’ll take one of those over two dozen “Jump around and scream.”
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Cathy Richardson Band “All Excess: Live at Park West”
2) The Juliana Hatfield Three “Become What You Are”
3) Jon Dee Graham “Hooray for the Moon”
4) Keb’ Mo’ “Keb’ Mo’”
5) C.J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band “Hot Rod”
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Lindsay's rather daring weight loss strategy...
I’m taking one more day off before I finish off the concert list. The good news is that there are some interesting shows to write about so it should be a more enjoyable experience for all of us. Also, as I have done the past two years I will also be putting together a couple of CDs featuring every band that I saw this year whom I have at least one track from. Which means that I will be forced to include an Ani song this year (damn you, Paste CD sampler). If you want a copy of this or any of my other past CD collections just drop me a line.
Instead, time to do some topical discussions…
Topic # 1: We here at Batlling the Current would like to send get well wishes out to Lindsay Lohan, who had her appendix removed today. We wish her a speedy recover from this surgery and hope that the installation of the auxiliary liver was also successful and that in a few weeks she’ll be back to her fun-loving self. In lieu of flowers, the Lohan camp is requesting that bottles of Gray Goose be sent to the hospital room. I know I speak for everyone when I say that life would be much less interesting without my beloved.
(And no, this post isn’t being written from a candelight vigil held outside the hospital. Why do you ask?)
Topic # 2: I found out that today is National Trivia Day, which raises the question “Why the hell was I at work today?” Seriously, if there is anything close to a national holiday for me this would be it. Ok, maybe Pi Day would also suffice but this is more of a day meant to honor me. Yep, probably should have made a New Year’s resolution to cut down on the arrogance as well.
Topic # 3: I have to take issue with my friend Maygun’s grossly inaccurate article in the Pitch on the upcoming WWE show in Kansas City this weekend. First of all, Kurt Angle isn’t retired. He’s simply wrestling in TNA because the WWE fired him for health reasons. Also, if you were watching Rey Mysterio and the Undertaker then you were watching Smackdown, not Raw. It is a nuance to be sure but until you watch wrestling with that level of detail all you are doing is looking at large men hit each other. Still don’t know what is more interesting, the fact that I know someone who writes for the Pitch or that I didn’t even have to look up any of the wrestling facts that I mentioned.
Topic # 4: To whoever texted me at three in the morning on New Year’s Eve I would like to pass along the following notes. 1) Thanks for the message. 2) I have no clue who you are because you’re not in my phone book and 3) Technically, at three in the morning I’m past welcoming in the new year and am at the point where I’m actively complaining about how much this year sucks. But it’s the thought that counts.
Topic # 5: I’m trying to work the following into a short story and I need help from the audience. The idea is that a group of guys are discussing the fact that all strippers are named after either a) minerals or b) drinks. Hence all of the Sapphires and Diamonds and Tanquerays that you meet. Or theoretically meet. Anyway, I was trying to figure out what the funniest names would be using that convention. Here are my choices “Sierra Mist”, “Dr. Pepper”, “Quartz” and “Zinc”. Personally, I can see a great deal of humor in the line “Now appearing on the main stage, Dr. Pepper.”
Yeah, it’s been a long week… Have a great weekend everyone.
Instead, time to do some topical discussions…
Topic # 1: We here at Batlling the Current would like to send get well wishes out to Lindsay Lohan, who had her appendix removed today. We wish her a speedy recover from this surgery and hope that the installation of the auxiliary liver was also successful and that in a few weeks she’ll be back to her fun-loving self. In lieu of flowers, the Lohan camp is requesting that bottles of Gray Goose be sent to the hospital room. I know I speak for everyone when I say that life would be much less interesting without my beloved.
(And no, this post isn’t being written from a candelight vigil held outside the hospital. Why do you ask?)
Topic # 2: I found out that today is National Trivia Day, which raises the question “Why the hell was I at work today?” Seriously, if there is anything close to a national holiday for me this would be it. Ok, maybe Pi Day would also suffice but this is more of a day meant to honor me. Yep, probably should have made a New Year’s resolution to cut down on the arrogance as well.
Topic # 3: I have to take issue with my friend Maygun’s grossly inaccurate article in the Pitch on the upcoming WWE show in Kansas City this weekend. First of all, Kurt Angle isn’t retired. He’s simply wrestling in TNA because the WWE fired him for health reasons. Also, if you were watching Rey Mysterio and the Undertaker then you were watching Smackdown, not Raw. It is a nuance to be sure but until you watch wrestling with that level of detail all you are doing is looking at large men hit each other. Still don’t know what is more interesting, the fact that I know someone who writes for the Pitch or that I didn’t even have to look up any of the wrestling facts that I mentioned.
Topic # 4: To whoever texted me at three in the morning on New Year’s Eve I would like to pass along the following notes. 1) Thanks for the message. 2) I have no clue who you are because you’re not in my phone book and 3) Technically, at three in the morning I’m past welcoming in the new year and am at the point where I’m actively complaining about how much this year sucks. But it’s the thought that counts.
Topic # 5: I’m trying to work the following into a short story and I need help from the audience. The idea is that a group of guys are discussing the fact that all strippers are named after either a) minerals or b) drinks. Hence all of the Sapphires and Diamonds and Tanquerays that you meet. Or theoretically meet. Anyway, I was trying to figure out what the funniest names would be using that convention. Here are my choices “Sierra Mist”, “Dr. Pepper”, “Quartz” and “Zinc”. Personally, I can see a great deal of humor in the line “Now appearing on the main stage, Dr. Pepper.”
Yeah, it’s been a long week… Have a great weekend everyone.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Musical Musings...
Just to give a bit of an indication of the current status of my life, I was all set to spend this evening sitting on my couch and watching the Notre Dame game. Then I was paged to ensure that I would attend my weekly trivia game with the promise that the game would be on right next to our table. That, and a mistimed fake punt (do you really need to do that three minutes into the game?) sent me across the street to play trivia. We should have won but came up just short. On the plus side, I ended up winning enough money that I drank for free, which is all one can hope for in life.
I’m going to take a little break from writing about the concerts in particular and spend a little time talking about something that has been bothering me while writing about the shows. This is the third straight year where I’ve done a detailed year-end analysis of the shows and it has historically been one of my most enjoyable things to write. I don’t know if it is fun to read but I always looked forward to it. This year though it has been more of a struggle and I think it shows. And I’ve been trying to figure out why.
I think the main reason is that when I listed my top shows for the year the only person who I had never seen before this year was Aimee Mann. All of the other shows were from artists I have seen before, often a number of times. And to be honest, Aimee was the only person I saw who made me drop everything and start picking up their entire catalog. So that is part of it, I just didn’t come across mainstream acts that caught my fancy.
But the bigger one is that I didn’t come across an act I had never heard of who then became my favorite band. That is really unusual because in the past couple of years it has been a constant that I would see an unknown opening act who would become one of my favorite bands before the end of their set. You had The Ditty Bops with their vaudeville shtick meshing with some wonderful music. When The Brunettes opened for The Shins I thought they were just a silly little band but by the end I was having their discs shipped to me from New Zealand. Even Immaculate Machine was just an opening act that caught my attention. And the biggest one is The Frames, a band whose show I almost skipped and has since become the soundtrack to my life.
It’s tough to describe just how incredible and inspiring finding these gems of a band is. There is something about watching a set where you have no preset feelings at all about the group. You don’t know a single song or what they might sound like but you give them a song or two to convince you they are worth your time. And when they prove that they are worthwhile it’s just this massive thrill that you know something that no one else knows. I’m not sure why that didn’t happen this year other than it just was an odd year for shows. Maybe it was just a cyclical thing. I hope that this year will have some better pickings.
Anyway, I promised in my monthly report that I would list my historic albums of the year. This year’s winner goes to Beth Orton’s “Comfort of Strangers”, a disc that always seems to find its way back into my CD player. It barely beat out Neko Case’s “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood”, which I love but it still feels to me that there are too many tracks on the disc that are ideas of songs rather than songs themselves. There were a few other good but uneven discs (Damien Rice’s “9”, Alejandro Escovedo “The Boxing Mirror”) and one favorite that I would have no qualms listing as the best but just doesn’t feel right (Jon Dee Graham’s “Full”). Anyway, here is the historic list, going back to 1991, which is when I bought my first CD player.
2006: Beth Orton “Comfort of Strangers”
2005: Josh Rouse “Nashville”
2004: Tift Merritt “Tambourine”
2003: Jack Johnson “On and On”
2002: Wilco “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”
2001: Gillian Welch “Time (The Revelator)”
2000: Neko Case and Her Boyfriends “Furnace Room Lullaby”
1999: Kelly Willis “What I Deserve”
1998: Liz Phair “Whitechocolatespaceegg”
1997: Beth Orton “Trailer Park”
1996: Lyle Lovett “The Road to Ensenada”
1995: Son Volt “Trace”
1994: Jeff Buckley “Grace”
1993: Smashing Pumpkins “Siamese Dream”
1992: R.E.M. “Automatic for the People”
1991: U2 “Achtung Baby”
I’m going to take a little break from writing about the concerts in particular and spend a little time talking about something that has been bothering me while writing about the shows. This is the third straight year where I’ve done a detailed year-end analysis of the shows and it has historically been one of my most enjoyable things to write. I don’t know if it is fun to read but I always looked forward to it. This year though it has been more of a struggle and I think it shows. And I’ve been trying to figure out why.
I think the main reason is that when I listed my top shows for the year the only person who I had never seen before this year was Aimee Mann. All of the other shows were from artists I have seen before, often a number of times. And to be honest, Aimee was the only person I saw who made me drop everything and start picking up their entire catalog. So that is part of it, I just didn’t come across mainstream acts that caught my fancy.
But the bigger one is that I didn’t come across an act I had never heard of who then became my favorite band. That is really unusual because in the past couple of years it has been a constant that I would see an unknown opening act who would become one of my favorite bands before the end of their set. You had The Ditty Bops with their vaudeville shtick meshing with some wonderful music. When The Brunettes opened for The Shins I thought they were just a silly little band but by the end I was having their discs shipped to me from New Zealand. Even Immaculate Machine was just an opening act that caught my attention. And the biggest one is The Frames, a band whose show I almost skipped and has since become the soundtrack to my life.
It’s tough to describe just how incredible and inspiring finding these gems of a band is. There is something about watching a set where you have no preset feelings at all about the group. You don’t know a single song or what they might sound like but you give them a song or two to convince you they are worth your time. And when they prove that they are worthwhile it’s just this massive thrill that you know something that no one else knows. I’m not sure why that didn’t happen this year other than it just was an odd year for shows. Maybe it was just a cyclical thing. I hope that this year will have some better pickings.
Anyway, I promised in my monthly report that I would list my historic albums of the year. This year’s winner goes to Beth Orton’s “Comfort of Strangers”, a disc that always seems to find its way back into my CD player. It barely beat out Neko Case’s “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood”, which I love but it still feels to me that there are too many tracks on the disc that are ideas of songs rather than songs themselves. There were a few other good but uneven discs (Damien Rice’s “9”, Alejandro Escovedo “The Boxing Mirror”) and one favorite that I would have no qualms listing as the best but just doesn’t feel right (Jon Dee Graham’s “Full”). Anyway, here is the historic list, going back to 1991, which is when I bought my first CD player.
2006: Beth Orton “Comfort of Strangers”
2005: Josh Rouse “Nashville”
2004: Tift Merritt “Tambourine”
2003: Jack Johnson “On and On”
2002: Wilco “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”
2001: Gillian Welch “Time (The Revelator)”
2000: Neko Case and Her Boyfriends “Furnace Room Lullaby”
1999: Kelly Willis “What I Deserve”
1998: Liz Phair “Whitechocolatespaceegg”
1997: Beth Orton “Trailer Park”
1996: Lyle Lovett “The Road to Ensenada”
1995: Son Volt “Trace”
1994: Jeff Buckley “Grace”
1993: Smashing Pumpkins “Siamese Dream”
1992: R.E.M. “Automatic for the People”
1991: U2 “Achtung Baby”
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
2006 Concerts: Part Two
Time to continue with the concert review, this time with some shows from the great state of Missouri. I’ll try to show a little more enthusiasm in this post. As many people know, I had to write my Year-End Review email this weekend which I think clocked in at ten pages and pretty much has left me running on empty from a creative standpoint. That and the fact that I actually have to start working again and facing a slog to a cubicle is never something one finds inspiring. Anyway, more concerts that I vaguely remember
Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club (Kansas City, MO)
1) Richard Buckner (Opening Act: Some guy whose name I didn’t catch): Richard was accompanied on this set by one of the guys from Guided by Voices. I would not want to try to play guitar with Richard as his shows are lacking in a few aspects. Like breaks between songs. Or stage banter. Hell, Richard hasn’t written a song with a chorus in eight years. The guy (whose name I am just too lazy to look up right now) played the set with just pages of notes in front of him so he could keep up. Still, a fun show and different than his usual set (which I’ll be talking about in a minute).
2) Garrison Starr: A while ago my mom asked me what type of music I’ve been listening to recently. Thinking better of having to define the entire “No Depression” genre I went, “I’ve been listening to a lot of girls play guitar.” It’s kind of a shorthand for the incredible number of female singer-songwriters that I have in my CD collection. For some reason I seem to be drawn to this music, maybe it’s because of the emotional content, maybe it’s because any woman playing guitar on stage immediately becomes attractive to me. Take your pick. Garrison falls into this category with her southern drawl and attitude and interesting songs. (Side note: I recall being yelled at by someone in the crowd at this show because I was standing. I apologize for actually being, you know, interested in the band.)
3) Patrice Pike (Opening Act: Ginger Leigh): Patrice is one of my favorite voices in the Austin music scene and much to my dismay, finished middle of the pack on Rock Star: Supernova. I’m not quite sure how she would have performed in a band with Tommy Lee. Or exactly why she would want to be in a band with Tommy Lee. Great music from her solo work as well as her days in Sister Seven.
4) Jon Dee Graham: I’ll talk about this more at number seven…
5) Richard Buckner: I’ve described his shows before but I’ll repeat it again. The stage is bare except for a chair and two guitars. While the crowd is mulling about he stumbles to the stage and seemingly starts tuning. Except that he isn’t, he’s started the show and they haven’t turned off the house music yet. He starts the first song and when he finishes he starts looping a guitar part. With the loop playing in the background he puts down the guitar and picks up the other one and starts playing the next song. This goes on for an entire set. After the last song he just has a loop playing in the background as he walks off stage. After we cheer him back he plugs back in, plays an encore and says the only words he’s spoken to the crowd the entire time “Thanks, you’ve guys have been great. Good night.” I have all of his music and even I can’t tell where songs start or end. It’s as bizarre a show that you ever could see.
6) Alejando Escovedo: It’s always great to see Alejandro on stage. As sick as he has been in recent years, the fact that he is back on tour and putting on killer live sets makes life worthwhile. This show didn’t match last years two night bill mainly because those were probably in the top five shows I’ve ever seen in my life. Still, there are very few shows you can ever see where the band will break into The Stooges “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and feature a cello solo in the middle of it.
7) Jon Dee Graham: One of the reasons why Alejandro’s show wasn’t at its peak is that Jon Dee (his usual guitarist) was touring in support of his solo disc. And man, what a great disc and show it is. With a gravely growl of a voice he’ll sing a song about abandoning your car and disappearing without a trace and then follow it up with a song about how it’s a big, sweet life. In between he tells the funniest stories imaginable and you spend more time laughing than anything. Hell, at one point in the show he fired his backup band in order to invite strangers in the crowd to play with him. (The strangers being the local legends, The Gaslights). He is a talent that is woefully underappreciated.
8) Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys (Opening Act: Switch Hitter): If I remember correctly, Switch Hitter’s lead singer was a guy in drag. Actually, I really hope that I am remembering that correctly. If I imagined it then I probably should up my medication. Rex Hobart is a KC act, though I first saw him back when I was spending all of my time at Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn. I think every song he has written is about drinking and heartbreak and drinking because of heartbreak. Basically whenever you ask yourself “Why isn’t she returning my calls?” it’s time to break out Rex’s CDs.
9) The Gaslights (Opening Act: The Expassionates): My New Year’s Eve show, marking the third straight year that I rang in the new year at Davey’s. Just a good rockabilly band featuring one of my former bartenders. They’re a talented bunch, my bartending brethren. Mainly, I just like spending New Year’s Eve listening to good music in a fun atmosphere where the fact that I don’t have a date isn’t the end of the world.
Uptown Theater (Kansas City, MO)
1) Robert Randolph and the Family Band (Opening Act: “Something” Soul): Yeah, I was rather lazy in getting the names of opening acts this year. Mainly because they were rather forgettable. Now I like Robert Randolph as he is one of the best pedal steel players out there and he does things with it that I didn’t think were possible. But this show fell into my dreaded jam band category where even someone like Bela Fleck (who might be the most talented musician alive) becomes incredibly boring to me after an hour. I care less about musical technicianship than I do about emotions and lyrics. So while this was a good show I’ve realized I just can’t stand solo after solo.
2) Wilco (Opening Act: Mess Hall): Wilco is on my short list of best bands on the planet and much like I’ve said about Jay Farrar, over the past decade I’ve probably not gone more than two weeks without listening to a Jeff Tweedy song. On the plus side, I’m happy to see that Wilco is now at the point where they can sell out the Uptown. However, this means that there are a lot of people at the show who don’t appreciate the music and for some reason think that Wilco is a great band to get drunk to. Doesn’t make sense to me at all. Great set and really the only way to appreciate the album “A Ghost is Born” is to see the band live. The songs make a lot more sense in that content.
3) Lyle Lovett and his Large Band: One of the reasons I go to concerts is that occasionally they send a chill up my spine. This show did early on with a song I had never heard before. It started with four people on stage and every once in a while another person would step on stage and start playing until it ended with seventeen people joining in. You didn’t really notice it until it was complete and it was damn impressive. I like Lyle, who has always been his own man and can write a song better than almost anyone else on the planet. People get on him for his look but he ended up with Julia Roberts. Can’t argue with success.
Knuckleheads Saloon (Kansas City, MO)
1) The Iguanas: One of my favorite bands from New Orleans who I have seen numerous times over the years. Caught this show during one of those down times in my life and as they usually do, they helped bring me out of my funk. It was also great to talk to the guys in the band between sets and they encouraged me to get back down to Nola and help out. I still don’t think I’ve done enough for that town (given all that it has done for me) but this show helped me realize that what I loved about the place was still there.
That’s it for tonight. One more to go though that might take a few days. Tomorrow night is Notre Dame-LSU and well, that is going to be my focus for the night. And I probably won’t be able to focus by the end of it…
Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club (Kansas City, MO)
1) Richard Buckner (Opening Act: Some guy whose name I didn’t catch): Richard was accompanied on this set by one of the guys from Guided by Voices. I would not want to try to play guitar with Richard as his shows are lacking in a few aspects. Like breaks between songs. Or stage banter. Hell, Richard hasn’t written a song with a chorus in eight years. The guy (whose name I am just too lazy to look up right now) played the set with just pages of notes in front of him so he could keep up. Still, a fun show and different than his usual set (which I’ll be talking about in a minute).
2) Garrison Starr: A while ago my mom asked me what type of music I’ve been listening to recently. Thinking better of having to define the entire “No Depression” genre I went, “I’ve been listening to a lot of girls play guitar.” It’s kind of a shorthand for the incredible number of female singer-songwriters that I have in my CD collection. For some reason I seem to be drawn to this music, maybe it’s because of the emotional content, maybe it’s because any woman playing guitar on stage immediately becomes attractive to me. Take your pick. Garrison falls into this category with her southern drawl and attitude and interesting songs. (Side note: I recall being yelled at by someone in the crowd at this show because I was standing. I apologize for actually being, you know, interested in the band.)
3) Patrice Pike (Opening Act: Ginger Leigh): Patrice is one of my favorite voices in the Austin music scene and much to my dismay, finished middle of the pack on Rock Star: Supernova. I’m not quite sure how she would have performed in a band with Tommy Lee. Or exactly why she would want to be in a band with Tommy Lee. Great music from her solo work as well as her days in Sister Seven.
4) Jon Dee Graham: I’ll talk about this more at number seven…
5) Richard Buckner: I’ve described his shows before but I’ll repeat it again. The stage is bare except for a chair and two guitars. While the crowd is mulling about he stumbles to the stage and seemingly starts tuning. Except that he isn’t, he’s started the show and they haven’t turned off the house music yet. He starts the first song and when he finishes he starts looping a guitar part. With the loop playing in the background he puts down the guitar and picks up the other one and starts playing the next song. This goes on for an entire set. After the last song he just has a loop playing in the background as he walks off stage. After we cheer him back he plugs back in, plays an encore and says the only words he’s spoken to the crowd the entire time “Thanks, you’ve guys have been great. Good night.” I have all of his music and even I can’t tell where songs start or end. It’s as bizarre a show that you ever could see.
6) Alejando Escovedo: It’s always great to see Alejandro on stage. As sick as he has been in recent years, the fact that he is back on tour and putting on killer live sets makes life worthwhile. This show didn’t match last years two night bill mainly because those were probably in the top five shows I’ve ever seen in my life. Still, there are very few shows you can ever see where the band will break into The Stooges “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and feature a cello solo in the middle of it.
7) Jon Dee Graham: One of the reasons why Alejandro’s show wasn’t at its peak is that Jon Dee (his usual guitarist) was touring in support of his solo disc. And man, what a great disc and show it is. With a gravely growl of a voice he’ll sing a song about abandoning your car and disappearing without a trace and then follow it up with a song about how it’s a big, sweet life. In between he tells the funniest stories imaginable and you spend more time laughing than anything. Hell, at one point in the show he fired his backup band in order to invite strangers in the crowd to play with him. (The strangers being the local legends, The Gaslights). He is a talent that is woefully underappreciated.
8) Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys (Opening Act: Switch Hitter): If I remember correctly, Switch Hitter’s lead singer was a guy in drag. Actually, I really hope that I am remembering that correctly. If I imagined it then I probably should up my medication. Rex Hobart is a KC act, though I first saw him back when I was spending all of my time at Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn. I think every song he has written is about drinking and heartbreak and drinking because of heartbreak. Basically whenever you ask yourself “Why isn’t she returning my calls?” it’s time to break out Rex’s CDs.
9) The Gaslights (Opening Act: The Expassionates): My New Year’s Eve show, marking the third straight year that I rang in the new year at Davey’s. Just a good rockabilly band featuring one of my former bartenders. They’re a talented bunch, my bartending brethren. Mainly, I just like spending New Year’s Eve listening to good music in a fun atmosphere where the fact that I don’t have a date isn’t the end of the world.
Uptown Theater (Kansas City, MO)
1) Robert Randolph and the Family Band (Opening Act: “Something” Soul): Yeah, I was rather lazy in getting the names of opening acts this year. Mainly because they were rather forgettable. Now I like Robert Randolph as he is one of the best pedal steel players out there and he does things with it that I didn’t think were possible. But this show fell into my dreaded jam band category where even someone like Bela Fleck (who might be the most talented musician alive) becomes incredibly boring to me after an hour. I care less about musical technicianship than I do about emotions and lyrics. So while this was a good show I’ve realized I just can’t stand solo after solo.
2) Wilco (Opening Act: Mess Hall): Wilco is on my short list of best bands on the planet and much like I’ve said about Jay Farrar, over the past decade I’ve probably not gone more than two weeks without listening to a Jeff Tweedy song. On the plus side, I’m happy to see that Wilco is now at the point where they can sell out the Uptown. However, this means that there are a lot of people at the show who don’t appreciate the music and for some reason think that Wilco is a great band to get drunk to. Doesn’t make sense to me at all. Great set and really the only way to appreciate the album “A Ghost is Born” is to see the band live. The songs make a lot more sense in that content.
3) Lyle Lovett and his Large Band: One of the reasons I go to concerts is that occasionally they send a chill up my spine. This show did early on with a song I had never heard before. It started with four people on stage and every once in a while another person would step on stage and start playing until it ended with seventeen people joining in. You didn’t really notice it until it was complete and it was damn impressive. I like Lyle, who has always been his own man and can write a song better than almost anyone else on the planet. People get on him for his look but he ended up with Julia Roberts. Can’t argue with success.
Knuckleheads Saloon (Kansas City, MO)
1) The Iguanas: One of my favorite bands from New Orleans who I have seen numerous times over the years. Caught this show during one of those down times in my life and as they usually do, they helped bring me out of my funk. It was also great to talk to the guys in the band between sets and they encouraged me to get back down to Nola and help out. I still don’t think I’ve done enough for that town (given all that it has done for me) but this show helped me realize that what I loved about the place was still there.
That’s it for tonight. One more to go though that might take a few days. Tomorrow night is Notre Dame-LSU and well, that is going to be my focus for the night. And I probably won’t be able to focus by the end of it…
Monday, January 01, 2007
2006 Concert Review: Part One
As always, I start off the new year by looking back at the old one. Tonight I’ll start by reviewing all of the concerts that I went to last year. The count is lighter than in the previous two with my only hitting 33 shows and seeing a total of 53 different acts. It wasn’t my intention to see that few. I had a number of shows (most notably Josh Ritter) cancel on me, I had conflicts arise for others (including Toad the Wet Sprocket and Nickel Creek) and I missed a John Hiatt show because, well, I thought that night was going to be a lot more interesting than it turned out to be.
But mainly there just weren’t that many acts that came through town that I wanted to see. It’s the same with the record releases this year, it just seemed to be an off year in the cycle. But, here are my thoughts for the year for shows from the Kansas side of the border.
(Also, by way of clarification, I only count shows where I paid to see the band. If I included sets of bands where I didn’t pay a cover it would be a lot longer list but I tend not to track those. It’s an arguable decision but it’s a distinction that I find important. Also, concerts that fall into my Top 8 for the year are in bold.)
Liberty Hall (Lawrence, Kansas)
1) Aimee Mann (Opening Act: Adam Levy): This was, without a doubt, the best show that I saw all of last year. I was not a big fan of Aimee going into the show (I knew some of her music but not much) but she just blew me away with her set. It was just her and one backup musician in a really intimate setting and she just sang beautiful songs about dysfunction. There is just something about her manner and her stage presence that draws you in. The show was inspiring and touching and funny at the same time. I really recommend picking up her discs (along with the Live at St. Ann’s DVD to explain why I feel this way.)
2) Ani DiFranco (Opening Act: Jesse Harris): My main takeaway from this show is that a pregnant Ani DiFranco is strangely attractive. I’m not quite sure how I came to that conclusion but I felt pretty adamant about it at the time. Ani is Ani, incredibly talented, brilliant writer, and apparently needing a different guitar for every single song. And yes, I do stand out in the crowd at this show, if only because I’m literally a foot taller than much of the crowd.
3) Old Crow Medicine Show: I am a huge fan of Old Crow. They are a group of young guys who play bluegrass music the way it was meant to be played if it was being played by the Ramones. Just full throttle at all times with some of the most talented musicians you could ever see. Sadly, this show misses my top 8 because Liberty Hall couldn’t figure out how to mike them so the sound was really muddy and there were too many hippies at the show. I know that is a pretty harsh reason to downgrade a show but man, it’s really tough to enjoy the music when the guys in front of you are talking about how awesome Jim Morrison is.
The Bottleneck (Lawrence, Kansas)
1) Pat McGee Band (Opening Acts: Amy Cooper, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers (sans Stephen Kellogg)): This show gets the “Strangest Opening Act” award though it didn’t mean to. See, Stephen Kellogg was sick and couldn’t play but his band went “The show must go on” and took the stage anyway. Think of it as forty five minutes of karaoke with a live band who are laughing at just how horrible they sound. Ten out of ten for effort though. Pat McGee is a good college band, lots of nice songs and a good look, but lacking that gear to take them to the next level.
2) Hank Williams III (Opening Act: Bob Wayne and the Outlaw Carnies): Ah, Hank III. Part country legend, part punk rocker, part thrash metal act. All of which come to play during the same set. The Bottleneck is the right place to see him play as he really is a bar act. The type of guy whose show improves if you have a can of PBR in your hand at the time. I always like telling people that I’m going to his show because they recognize the name but have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about. They expect it to be this classic country show as opposed to a well-organized riot.
3) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (Opening Act: The Brunettes): Clap Your Hands is an indie darling band, gaining an immense amount of press before having any type of record deal. Which meant that I bought into the hype before I even heard any of their songs. To be honest, I wasn’t that impressed by them. A nice band, but nothing earth-shattering. The Brunettes, on the other hand, are high on my guilty pleasure list. A bunch of kids from New Zealand who play upbeat pop music using the most instruments imaginable. In one song the same guy will be called upon to play a banjo, trumpet and xylophone. Or three people will start playing xylophones for no apparent reason. And they finish their set by wearing Olsen Twins masks. Just a lot of fun to watch.
4) Built to Spill (Opening Acts: Helvetia, The Prids): To be honest, I don’t remember a single thing about the opening acts. Built to Spill was cool, avant garde and somewhat forgettable. I really wish I had more to say here because there is one Built to Spill song I love, but mainly I remember that they were projecting all these weird images on the back wall and that was awesome. Still, just not a memorable show.
5) Matt Nathanson and Carbon Leaf: Much to my dismay, Carbon Leaf continues to not suck. There still is something about them that makes me assume that they’ll just turn awful. Instead, they keep on crafting great songs, put on an entertaining show, and never start pandering to the audience. They are slowly becoming a favorite band of mine, which is just another reason why I probably won’t be accepted into the music critic union. Matt Nathanson is a, uh, Howie Day without the loops but with better songwriting ability? A slightly less successful John Mayer? The type of music a sophomore would put on a mix CD? Something like that.
Replay Lounge (Lawrence, Kansas)
1) Immaculate Machine: I go to shows for a lot of reasons, including some that I probably shouldn’t admit. Like driving two hours to see a forty-five minute set from a band mainly because I think that their keyboard player is cute. Well, Kathryn Calder is incredibly cute and it was worth the drive to see the band playing next to a bunch of pinball machines (including people playing pinball while the band is going). The band is made up of a bunch of art students from Canada and I dig their songs. Don’t know if you’ll hear much from these guys in the future (mainly because Kathryn has joined one of the best bands on the planet, The New Pornographers) but this is one of the shows that I really enjoy. Just a spur of the moment trip to see some good music.
But mainly there just weren’t that many acts that came through town that I wanted to see. It’s the same with the record releases this year, it just seemed to be an off year in the cycle. But, here are my thoughts for the year for shows from the Kansas side of the border.
(Also, by way of clarification, I only count shows where I paid to see the band. If I included sets of bands where I didn’t pay a cover it would be a lot longer list but I tend not to track those. It’s an arguable decision but it’s a distinction that I find important. Also, concerts that fall into my Top 8 for the year are in bold.)
Liberty Hall (Lawrence, Kansas)
1) Aimee Mann (Opening Act: Adam Levy): This was, without a doubt, the best show that I saw all of last year. I was not a big fan of Aimee going into the show (I knew some of her music but not much) but she just blew me away with her set. It was just her and one backup musician in a really intimate setting and she just sang beautiful songs about dysfunction. There is just something about her manner and her stage presence that draws you in. The show was inspiring and touching and funny at the same time. I really recommend picking up her discs (along with the Live at St. Ann’s DVD to explain why I feel this way.)
2) Ani DiFranco (Opening Act: Jesse Harris): My main takeaway from this show is that a pregnant Ani DiFranco is strangely attractive. I’m not quite sure how I came to that conclusion but I felt pretty adamant about it at the time. Ani is Ani, incredibly talented, brilliant writer, and apparently needing a different guitar for every single song. And yes, I do stand out in the crowd at this show, if only because I’m literally a foot taller than much of the crowd.
3) Old Crow Medicine Show: I am a huge fan of Old Crow. They are a group of young guys who play bluegrass music the way it was meant to be played if it was being played by the Ramones. Just full throttle at all times with some of the most talented musicians you could ever see. Sadly, this show misses my top 8 because Liberty Hall couldn’t figure out how to mike them so the sound was really muddy and there were too many hippies at the show. I know that is a pretty harsh reason to downgrade a show but man, it’s really tough to enjoy the music when the guys in front of you are talking about how awesome Jim Morrison is.
The Bottleneck (Lawrence, Kansas)
1) Pat McGee Band (Opening Acts: Amy Cooper, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers (sans Stephen Kellogg)): This show gets the “Strangest Opening Act” award though it didn’t mean to. See, Stephen Kellogg was sick and couldn’t play but his band went “The show must go on” and took the stage anyway. Think of it as forty five minutes of karaoke with a live band who are laughing at just how horrible they sound. Ten out of ten for effort though. Pat McGee is a good college band, lots of nice songs and a good look, but lacking that gear to take them to the next level.
2) Hank Williams III (Opening Act: Bob Wayne and the Outlaw Carnies): Ah, Hank III. Part country legend, part punk rocker, part thrash metal act. All of which come to play during the same set. The Bottleneck is the right place to see him play as he really is a bar act. The type of guy whose show improves if you have a can of PBR in your hand at the time. I always like telling people that I’m going to his show because they recognize the name but have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about. They expect it to be this classic country show as opposed to a well-organized riot.
3) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (Opening Act: The Brunettes): Clap Your Hands is an indie darling band, gaining an immense amount of press before having any type of record deal. Which meant that I bought into the hype before I even heard any of their songs. To be honest, I wasn’t that impressed by them. A nice band, but nothing earth-shattering. The Brunettes, on the other hand, are high on my guilty pleasure list. A bunch of kids from New Zealand who play upbeat pop music using the most instruments imaginable. In one song the same guy will be called upon to play a banjo, trumpet and xylophone. Or three people will start playing xylophones for no apparent reason. And they finish their set by wearing Olsen Twins masks. Just a lot of fun to watch.
4) Built to Spill (Opening Acts: Helvetia, The Prids): To be honest, I don’t remember a single thing about the opening acts. Built to Spill was cool, avant garde and somewhat forgettable. I really wish I had more to say here because there is one Built to Spill song I love, but mainly I remember that they were projecting all these weird images on the back wall and that was awesome. Still, just not a memorable show.
5) Matt Nathanson and Carbon Leaf: Much to my dismay, Carbon Leaf continues to not suck. There still is something about them that makes me assume that they’ll just turn awful. Instead, they keep on crafting great songs, put on an entertaining show, and never start pandering to the audience. They are slowly becoming a favorite band of mine, which is just another reason why I probably won’t be accepted into the music critic union. Matt Nathanson is a, uh, Howie Day without the loops but with better songwriting ability? A slightly less successful John Mayer? The type of music a sophomore would put on a mix CD? Something like that.
Replay Lounge (Lawrence, Kansas)
1) Immaculate Machine: I go to shows for a lot of reasons, including some that I probably shouldn’t admit. Like driving two hours to see a forty-five minute set from a band mainly because I think that their keyboard player is cute. Well, Kathryn Calder is incredibly cute and it was worth the drive to see the band playing next to a bunch of pinball machines (including people playing pinball while the band is going). The band is made up of a bunch of art students from Canada and I dig their songs. Don’t know if you’ll hear much from these guys in the future (mainly because Kathryn has joined one of the best bands on the planet, The New Pornographers) but this is one of the shows that I really enjoy. Just a spur of the moment trip to see some good music.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
New Year's Resolutions
So we’ve reached the end of another year and that means that I need to take some time to think through some New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve been a little lax with these in the past, mainly because I tend to think of tying yourself to an arbitrary date on a calendar is kind of silly. I am more of a continual improvement kind of guy. But, I have a lot of things that I feel like I need to improve in my life and by writing them down I think I’ll have a better chance at being successful. Here they are…
Resolution #1: Learn how to juggle: Still haven’t done this and I would like to have one skill that would be useful only in impressing my nieces and nephews.
Resolution #2: Learn how to ride a unicycleResolution #3: Learn how to juggle while riding a unicycle: I’m pretty sure that my next career will involve the circus.
Resolution #4: Visit at least three cities that I have never been to before: This one has been on my mind a lot recently as I’m this strange combination of being very well traveled and not having traveled at all. I’ve been to London three times but I’ve never been to New York and I’ve never been to California. So one of the things that I want to do this year is expand my horizons and travel to places I’ve never been.
Resolution #5: Tour with The Frames for a portion of their U.S. tour: I assume they’ll be doing a full tour once The Cost is released in the states and I want to spend a week on the road following the band. I can’t say enough about how incredible these guys are live and I think it will be a way to see the country, enjoy some good music, and have a number of excellent adventures.
Resolution #6: Have breakfast every day: Yeah, a pretty boring but important one. I’m sick of my breakfast consisting of coffee and an energy bar eaten at ten in the morning. It’s probably one of the reasons why I’m still fighting to lose weight, I’ve just never been a breakfast person. A little structure should go a long way here.
Resolution #7: Make a legitimate effort at writing my book/novel: Whatever I end up writing (fiction, memoir, essays, a combination of the three) I just want to try to put together one major piece of my writing and have it be the best that it can be. I love the blog but this is just meant to be what is on my mind at the moment with no editing or sanity checks. I have a book in me and I better write it quickly.
Resolution #8: Be less of a cynical bastard: This is more in relation to my view of myself than my view of the world. I’ve been getting down on myself a lot recently and while this has been something that I have been battling my entire life it has gotten steadily worse over the past few years. I keep on thinking back to Warren Zevon’s advice on life: “Enjoy every sandwich.” I haven’t been and that is an absolute shame. It’s time to fix that one.
Resolution #9: Bench press my weight: This is really a goal to move my workouts from cardio to actually building muscle. I’m proud of myself for reaching a huge goal today on the treadmill (my fastest three miles since a severe leg injury a few years ago) so I finally feel that I have my cardio to a level that I can work from. So now I have to start lifting weights and gain muscle, which at my age might be a bit of a challenge but I’m up to the task. Also, I should add in my pledge to never take the elevator at the office, which is probably the best easy workout option that I have.
Resolution #10: Have one perfect moment in the year: You can’t plan for perfect moments. In fact, planning guarantees that they will never happen. It’s like trying to manage a relationship with a flow chart, as great an idea it is in theory it just falls apart in practice. But you can make yourself open to these moments and I haven’t for a while. Well, time to open myself up to the universe and see what happens. I know that means I might fail (which I hate so much) but it’s the only way to learn. And I want another perfect moment.
That’s it for 2006, a year of ups and downs for me but probably more ups than downs. Next year will be a lot of big ups. I’ve just got a feeling…
The five random CDs for the week:
1) The Iguanas “Super Ball”
2) Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys “Your Favorite Fool”
3) Sally Timms and Jon Langford “Songs of False Hope and High Values”
4) Midnight Oil “Blue Sky Mining”
5) R.E.M. “Green”
Resolution #1: Learn how to juggle: Still haven’t done this and I would like to have one skill that would be useful only in impressing my nieces and nephews.
Resolution #2: Learn how to ride a unicycleResolution #3: Learn how to juggle while riding a unicycle: I’m pretty sure that my next career will involve the circus.
Resolution #4: Visit at least three cities that I have never been to before: This one has been on my mind a lot recently as I’m this strange combination of being very well traveled and not having traveled at all. I’ve been to London three times but I’ve never been to New York and I’ve never been to California. So one of the things that I want to do this year is expand my horizons and travel to places I’ve never been.
Resolution #5: Tour with The Frames for a portion of their U.S. tour: I assume they’ll be doing a full tour once The Cost is released in the states and I want to spend a week on the road following the band. I can’t say enough about how incredible these guys are live and I think it will be a way to see the country, enjoy some good music, and have a number of excellent adventures.
Resolution #6: Have breakfast every day: Yeah, a pretty boring but important one. I’m sick of my breakfast consisting of coffee and an energy bar eaten at ten in the morning. It’s probably one of the reasons why I’m still fighting to lose weight, I’ve just never been a breakfast person. A little structure should go a long way here.
Resolution #7: Make a legitimate effort at writing my book/novel: Whatever I end up writing (fiction, memoir, essays, a combination of the three) I just want to try to put together one major piece of my writing and have it be the best that it can be. I love the blog but this is just meant to be what is on my mind at the moment with no editing or sanity checks. I have a book in me and I better write it quickly.
Resolution #8: Be less of a cynical bastard: This is more in relation to my view of myself than my view of the world. I’ve been getting down on myself a lot recently and while this has been something that I have been battling my entire life it has gotten steadily worse over the past few years. I keep on thinking back to Warren Zevon’s advice on life: “Enjoy every sandwich.” I haven’t been and that is an absolute shame. It’s time to fix that one.
Resolution #9: Bench press my weight: This is really a goal to move my workouts from cardio to actually building muscle. I’m proud of myself for reaching a huge goal today on the treadmill (my fastest three miles since a severe leg injury a few years ago) so I finally feel that I have my cardio to a level that I can work from. So now I have to start lifting weights and gain muscle, which at my age might be a bit of a challenge but I’m up to the task. Also, I should add in my pledge to never take the elevator at the office, which is probably the best easy workout option that I have.
Resolution #10: Have one perfect moment in the year: You can’t plan for perfect moments. In fact, planning guarantees that they will never happen. It’s like trying to manage a relationship with a flow chart, as great an idea it is in theory it just falls apart in practice. But you can make yourself open to these moments and I haven’t for a while. Well, time to open myself up to the universe and see what happens. I know that means I might fail (which I hate so much) but it’s the only way to learn. And I want another perfect moment.
That’s it for 2006, a year of ups and downs for me but probably more ups than downs. Next year will be a lot of big ups. I’ve just got a feeling…
The five random CDs for the week:
1) The Iguanas “Super Ball”
2) Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys “Your Favorite Fool”
3) Sally Timms and Jon Langford “Songs of False Hope and High Values”
4) Midnight Oil “Blue Sky Mining”
5) R.E.M. “Green”
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Sunday night fever...
If it’s the year-end it means that I find myself in the same position I am in every year. First off, I have a head cold that makes it feel like the walls are caving in and secondly, I have to figure out what the hell to do on New Year’s Eve.
(Yeah, inevitably I get sick this time of year. I always place the blame on a lack of sleep, way too much time in airports and planes and the fact that hanging out with my nieces and nephews is not always the best for my health. Basically, once I finish this post I am going to retire to my couch and watch movies for the rest of the night.)
New Year’s Eve is a really challenging time of the year for me. It’s meant to be a couples night but unlike Valentine’s Day I just can’t stay at home and turn off the lights and listen to Leonard Cohen songs all night long. Because everyone should be out and about on New Year’s Eve and just because I am not currently part of a couple (which is not due to a lack of effort on my part, more like a lack of skill) doesn’t mean that I can’t find a way to head out and have a good time.
But it is also amateur night and that has issues of its own to deal with. Clearly, I am not an amateur in this regard. A few years ago I was a star player, then I became that guy hoping for one last great run to earn his championship and now I’m probably the guy just fulfilling his contract and hoping to get a coaching job (or at least a scouting gig) somewhere out there. This means that my usual haunts won’t work because they’ll be crowded and charging a cover, neither of which encourage me to have a good time. Instead of sitting at the bar I’m standing and I’m having drinks poured on me by strangers, which isn’t nearly as much fun as people make it out to be.
My guess is that I’ll probably do what I usually do and that’s head to a concert. There are a couple of shows Sunday night that interest me, though the concert schedule for the past few months have just been brutally boring. I’m thinking of seeing Lindsay Buckingham in a few weeks just to break the monotony. There is something nice about catching a band. You have a few but never too many, there isn’t any pressure of “everyone here has to have the best time of their life”, and things just never get too couple-y. It’s not a perfect solution but it beats watching Dick Clark.
As always, I’m more than open to suggestions. If you ever wanted to manage someone’s social life, here’s your chance.
(Yeah, inevitably I get sick this time of year. I always place the blame on a lack of sleep, way too much time in airports and planes and the fact that hanging out with my nieces and nephews is not always the best for my health. Basically, once I finish this post I am going to retire to my couch and watch movies for the rest of the night.)
New Year’s Eve is a really challenging time of the year for me. It’s meant to be a couples night but unlike Valentine’s Day I just can’t stay at home and turn off the lights and listen to Leonard Cohen songs all night long. Because everyone should be out and about on New Year’s Eve and just because I am not currently part of a couple (which is not due to a lack of effort on my part, more like a lack of skill) doesn’t mean that I can’t find a way to head out and have a good time.
But it is also amateur night and that has issues of its own to deal with. Clearly, I am not an amateur in this regard. A few years ago I was a star player, then I became that guy hoping for one last great run to earn his championship and now I’m probably the guy just fulfilling his contract and hoping to get a coaching job (or at least a scouting gig) somewhere out there. This means that my usual haunts won’t work because they’ll be crowded and charging a cover, neither of which encourage me to have a good time. Instead of sitting at the bar I’m standing and I’m having drinks poured on me by strangers, which isn’t nearly as much fun as people make it out to be.
My guess is that I’ll probably do what I usually do and that’s head to a concert. There are a couple of shows Sunday night that interest me, though the concert schedule for the past few months have just been brutally boring. I’m thinking of seeing Lindsay Buckingham in a few weeks just to break the monotony. There is something nice about catching a band. You have a few but never too many, there isn’t any pressure of “everyone here has to have the best time of their life”, and things just never get too couple-y. It’s not a perfect solution but it beats watching Dick Clark.
As always, I’m more than open to suggestions. If you ever wanted to manage someone’s social life, here’s your chance.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
History repeats...
I came across something while flipping through the channels yesterday that has stuck in my mind. It was a movie that I remember watching as a kid and one that I haven’t thought about for ages but when I saw it now I viewed it in a totally different light and it really made me wonder what I might be watching ten or fifteen years from now. Seemingly at random, I started watching The Killing Fields.
(Yes, I watched this film when I was, I don’t know, ten or twelve years old. My parents didn’t shield me from reality and for that I thank them greatly.)
The Killing Fields is a film about journalists in Cambodia during Vietnam and what happened after the fall as well as how translator Dirth Pran was taken prisoner and spent four years being tortured before he escaped. While it is beautiful and breathtaking, it is not an easy film to watch. You know that the events are real and even when you know the ending the brutality of the situation still leaves you stunned.
As a kid when I watched it I thought about the brutality and randomness of war. I first became aware of news and history in the early eighties so for me Vietnam was something that I had no conscious memory of but was still pretty vibrant in the American psyche. It was a subject that a lot of people didn’t want to breach but it was there. Maybe it was brought up in The Deer Hunter or subtly in episodes of MASH but it was there. So when I first saw this film it was a clearer representation of an event that I knew happened but that I didn’t experience and didn’t truly understand.
And now I’m expecting in ten years time we will have similar films about Iraq. It’s been a three year war with most people anticipating it will take at least five before we are able to withdraw. It has been a brutal and nasty conflict with attacks that are seemingly random. But it’s also a conflict that I don’t know if anyone quite understands. I’ve seen news clips and have read stories but I still don’t have a grasp on the true story. That is where the next group of important films are going to arise. It might be sad to think that we need to look to Hollywood to not only understand our history but to interpret our current events but we are a storytelling people. You need a medium to express the emotion of the events.
I do wonder what history is going to say about these past couple of years. Some people are calling it a time when we lost our innocence. I disagree, mainly because I can’t believe that anyone who grew up in the Cold War would ever think the world was going to suddenly become filled with rainbows. But I do feel that we’ve entered a time when there is a sense of unease over what the future may hold. Of regress as opposed to progress. We can sense that the climate isn’t right and while we may trust our politicians there is doubt as to whether they can fix the problems. I read earlier this week that at even the darkest times in history there is at least one group of people who are joyously happy. Right now you can’t seem to find anyone with that release. And that’s what worries me.
(Yes, I watched this film when I was, I don’t know, ten or twelve years old. My parents didn’t shield me from reality and for that I thank them greatly.)
The Killing Fields is a film about journalists in Cambodia during Vietnam and what happened after the fall as well as how translator Dirth Pran was taken prisoner and spent four years being tortured before he escaped. While it is beautiful and breathtaking, it is not an easy film to watch. You know that the events are real and even when you know the ending the brutality of the situation still leaves you stunned.
As a kid when I watched it I thought about the brutality and randomness of war. I first became aware of news and history in the early eighties so for me Vietnam was something that I had no conscious memory of but was still pretty vibrant in the American psyche. It was a subject that a lot of people didn’t want to breach but it was there. Maybe it was brought up in The Deer Hunter or subtly in episodes of MASH but it was there. So when I first saw this film it was a clearer representation of an event that I knew happened but that I didn’t experience and didn’t truly understand.
And now I’m expecting in ten years time we will have similar films about Iraq. It’s been a three year war with most people anticipating it will take at least five before we are able to withdraw. It has been a brutal and nasty conflict with attacks that are seemingly random. But it’s also a conflict that I don’t know if anyone quite understands. I’ve seen news clips and have read stories but I still don’t have a grasp on the true story. That is where the next group of important films are going to arise. It might be sad to think that we need to look to Hollywood to not only understand our history but to interpret our current events but we are a storytelling people. You need a medium to express the emotion of the events.
I do wonder what history is going to say about these past couple of years. Some people are calling it a time when we lost our innocence. I disagree, mainly because I can’t believe that anyone who grew up in the Cold War would ever think the world was going to suddenly become filled with rainbows. But I do feel that we’ve entered a time when there is a sense of unease over what the future may hold. Of regress as opposed to progress. We can sense that the climate isn’t right and while we may trust our politicians there is doubt as to whether they can fix the problems. I read earlier this week that at even the darkest times in history there is at least one group of people who are joyously happy. Right now you can’t seem to find anyone with that release. And that’s what worries me.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Back home...
Hope that everyone had a great Boxing Day today. Personally, I scored a seventh round TKO and am now ranked seventh in the world in the light heavyweight division. Just a matter of time before I make it to pay per view.
Well, I’m back home after spending the holidays with my family. It was a fun weekend and it was also the first time in a year that I’ve actually been with all of my family at the same time. Sadly, as we’ve gotten older we’ve begun to scatter and build our own families so coordinating a mass gathering is kind of a challenge. But I did get a chance to play the favorite uncle to seven nieces and nephews, which is always a blast. I’ve always said that my family is close-knit. We might not call each other every day but when one of us needs help the others come at a moment’s notice. So that makes gatherings like this very special.
I received my usual assortment of gifts. Picked up a couple of books to add to the collection. I now have a picture of Notre Dame Stadium, which is really cool though from the looks of the picture I’m guessing that the picture was taken during the 2003 ND-USC game. On the plus side, that means I’m actually in the picture in the upper deck behind the flag. On the other hand, that is a game that I would like to forget for so many reasons, the score being one of them, so I’m not sure I want to be reminded of it on a daily basis.
And my best gift of all was an MP3 player so that I can finally move into the digital music revolution. My parents gave me the Sansa e250, which looks cool and should work for my first machine. I’d give you a full review of it but let’s just say that it isn’t getting along very well with my five year old laptop. Yeah, Julie the Laptop is kind of protective of her turf and music falls within that range so she is not reacting well to a newcomer. I know I’ll need to get a new laptop sooner than later (though I promise Julie, I’ll use you for the novel) and this might just expedite the decision.
(And yes, I have a very close and personal relationship with this laptop. It got me through business school and has powered the blog since the beginning. Which means that it has done everything from regression analysis to being a word processor par excellence. I’m at the point now where the letters are beginning to rub off but the old girl is still running with gusto. I really don’t want to let her go. I’ve had a longer (and sadly, more fruitful) relationship with this machine than I’ve had with most people.)
Otherwise today was just another quiet travel day. The airport was pretty calm and my bag was the second one off the plane, though I still had to wait ten minutes for the bus. I’ll spend the next couple of days writing about my New Year’s resolutions (there are several), my plans for New Year’s Eve (currently non-existent) and next week will be my big year in review (for music and books). So hopefully everyone will have something to look forward to. Me, I have to finish Richard II this week so I better start cracking.
Well, I’m back home after spending the holidays with my family. It was a fun weekend and it was also the first time in a year that I’ve actually been with all of my family at the same time. Sadly, as we’ve gotten older we’ve begun to scatter and build our own families so coordinating a mass gathering is kind of a challenge. But I did get a chance to play the favorite uncle to seven nieces and nephews, which is always a blast. I’ve always said that my family is close-knit. We might not call each other every day but when one of us needs help the others come at a moment’s notice. So that makes gatherings like this very special.
I received my usual assortment of gifts. Picked up a couple of books to add to the collection. I now have a picture of Notre Dame Stadium, which is really cool though from the looks of the picture I’m guessing that the picture was taken during the 2003 ND-USC game. On the plus side, that means I’m actually in the picture in the upper deck behind the flag. On the other hand, that is a game that I would like to forget for so many reasons, the score being one of them, so I’m not sure I want to be reminded of it on a daily basis.
And my best gift of all was an MP3 player so that I can finally move into the digital music revolution. My parents gave me the Sansa e250, which looks cool and should work for my first machine. I’d give you a full review of it but let’s just say that it isn’t getting along very well with my five year old laptop. Yeah, Julie the Laptop is kind of protective of her turf and music falls within that range so she is not reacting well to a newcomer. I know I’ll need to get a new laptop sooner than later (though I promise Julie, I’ll use you for the novel) and this might just expedite the decision.
(And yes, I have a very close and personal relationship with this laptop. It got me through business school and has powered the blog since the beginning. Which means that it has done everything from regression analysis to being a word processor par excellence. I’m at the point now where the letters are beginning to rub off but the old girl is still running with gusto. I really don’t want to let her go. I’ve had a longer (and sadly, more fruitful) relationship with this machine than I’ve had with most people.)
Otherwise today was just another quiet travel day. The airport was pretty calm and my bag was the second one off the plane, though I still had to wait ten minutes for the bus. I’ll spend the next couple of days writing about my New Year’s resolutions (there are several), my plans for New Year’s Eve (currently non-existent) and next week will be my big year in review (for music and books). So hopefully everyone will have something to look forward to. Me, I have to finish Richard II this week so I better start cracking.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Santa in the Air...
No fire truck yet again this year. Apparently I wasn’t “good enough“. Who the hell is Santa to judge? I mean, here’s a guy who only works one day a year, holds captive a team of magical animals for his own bidding, forces his wife to live in an inhospitable climate and uses conscripted labor while striking down any thoughts of a union. And don’t even get me started on how he works in the U.S. without any proper documentation. I swear, I have half a mind to go up to the North Pole and settle things mano a mano. With all that I’ve done for this world, the fat man owes me a fire truck.
On the other hand, I did get three episodes of How I Met Your Mother tonight so maybe the old man isn’t that bad after all. Sure they were all reruns but all three of them were Victoria episodes and I miss Victoria. She was a much better match for me, I mean Ted, than Robin is. Hopefully she will make a return from Germany before they yank the show off the air.
One story from the casino last week that I need to mention. Mainly because while I joked about this exact same thing last year for the sheer inanity of the concept it has a) returned and b) might be bigger than ever. I’m talking about Harrah’s Casino. Valentine’s Day. Air Supply.
Excuse me while I question why I live in this town…
See, I still fail to see the logic in this. It indicates that there are enough people who feel that not only is the most romantic getaway they can think of is the blackjack tables but also that seeing Air Supply would be the extreme in eroticism. That nothing will save their marriage more than hearing “I’m All Out of Love” sung by a majority of the original artists. I try not to judge other people’s tastes (especially given that I’m a guy who tends to attend Ani DiFranco shows because I find them funny) but come on, how the hell was this so successful that they’ve booked a repeat engagement.
Still, this does mean that I’ll be able to use the following pick up line for the next six weeks. “Hey how about you. Me. Valentine’s Day. Air Supply. Hell, I’ll even throw in dinner at the Sizzler because that’s how I roll.” To be honest I’ll probably be more successful with that approach than if I asked someone if they wanted to check out Shakespeare in the park.
On the other hand, I did get three episodes of How I Met Your Mother tonight so maybe the old man isn’t that bad after all. Sure they were all reruns but all three of them were Victoria episodes and I miss Victoria. She was a much better match for me, I mean Ted, than Robin is. Hopefully she will make a return from Germany before they yank the show off the air.
One story from the casino last week that I need to mention. Mainly because while I joked about this exact same thing last year for the sheer inanity of the concept it has a) returned and b) might be bigger than ever. I’m talking about Harrah’s Casino. Valentine’s Day. Air Supply.
Excuse me while I question why I live in this town…
See, I still fail to see the logic in this. It indicates that there are enough people who feel that not only is the most romantic getaway they can think of is the blackjack tables but also that seeing Air Supply would be the extreme in eroticism. That nothing will save their marriage more than hearing “I’m All Out of Love” sung by a majority of the original artists. I try not to judge other people’s tastes (especially given that I’m a guy who tends to attend Ani DiFranco shows because I find them funny) but come on, how the hell was this so successful that they’ve booked a repeat engagement.
Still, this does mean that I’ll be able to use the following pick up line for the next six weeks. “Hey how about you. Me. Valentine’s Day. Air Supply. Hell, I’ll even throw in dinner at the Sizzler because that’s how I roll.” To be honest I’ll probably be more successful with that approach than if I asked someone if they wanted to check out Shakespeare in the park.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
This holiday memory brought to you by Hostess Twinkies...
You know, it just doesn’t feel like the holiday season for me until I get a chance to sit back and watch the Hilton Family Holiday Skating and Gymnastics Spectacular. I’m not making this one up, it was in the television listings today and I really felt like it was an early Christmas present. I mean, what could possibly be included in a Hilton Family Gymnastics Routine? Somehow I have a feeling that I’ll never look at a pommel horse the same way again.
I’m a little weird when it comes to holiday television. Growing up I think I watched every single special imaginable. The Peanuts gang was easily my favorite, especially given the tendency of everyone comparing me to Linus growing up. Couldn’t go wrong with the Rudolf specials, which had killer stop motion animation and a plot line that still infects my everyday life. (One of the best lines in my novel is when the female lead turns to Brian and goes (in response to his drinking buddies) “Those aren’t friends! They’re rejects from the island of misfit toys!”)
I even remember the California Raisin special, which wasn’t as bizarre as the Star Wars Life Day spectacular but man was it freaky for a ten year old. First off, I was never quite sure how the Raisins qualified as being the lead for a holiday special. Spuds McKenzie never got the chance and his would have been a lot cooler. But this was another stop motion extravaganza that included hosts (one of whom I remember was a dinosaur) who in the modern era would probably have its own show on Bravo. Yeah, it was an alternative Christmas featuring raisins. And people think the seventies were weird.
Probably my favorite of the lesser known shows was “Twas the Night Before Christmas” (man I hope I have this title right). It’s the one that featured the family of mice where the smart mouse with glasses ended up inadvertently ruining Christmas and the dad (who was the guy from the Adams Family) had to do everything to save the day. It was simple and sweet and fun and always seemed to air during that last week when the anticipation was at its height.
(Incredibly, I’ve never seen It’s a Wonderful Life. Just was never something we watched in my family and as an adult I never have seen a need to catch it.)
I’m not sure why these memories of television specials stay with us for so long. It’s not as if they are the epitome of drama or even children’s entertainment. They probably just serve two simple purposes and they serve them very well. (Three, if you want to get cynical and include advertisements for toys). For kids, they help to build up the anticipation for the big day while teaching them that caring about other people is a good thing. But for adults they are that momentary respite from our real life. For thirty minutes we can return to being the kid lying on the living room floor watching the Grinch sneak around and laughing at the little dog. It’s a return to a time when there really were no worries other than hoping that the calendar would move quickly to the big day. After a certain age you can’t get back to that feeling of being carefree. There is always job or school or a relationship to worry about. But all you need to do is see Charlie Brown and his sad looking tree and for one moment, all you have to do is watch and smile.
Merry Christmas everyone. And there better be a fire truck with my name on it under the tree…
The five random CD’s for the week
1) The Shins “Chutes Too Narrow”
2) The Tragically Hip “Live Between Us”
3) The Be Good Tanyas “Chinatown”
4) The Subdudes “Live at Last”
5) Laura Minor “Salesman’s Girl”
I’m a little weird when it comes to holiday television. Growing up I think I watched every single special imaginable. The Peanuts gang was easily my favorite, especially given the tendency of everyone comparing me to Linus growing up. Couldn’t go wrong with the Rudolf specials, which had killer stop motion animation and a plot line that still infects my everyday life. (One of the best lines in my novel is when the female lead turns to Brian and goes (in response to his drinking buddies) “Those aren’t friends! They’re rejects from the island of misfit toys!”)
I even remember the California Raisin special, which wasn’t as bizarre as the Star Wars Life Day spectacular but man was it freaky for a ten year old. First off, I was never quite sure how the Raisins qualified as being the lead for a holiday special. Spuds McKenzie never got the chance and his would have been a lot cooler. But this was another stop motion extravaganza that included hosts (one of whom I remember was a dinosaur) who in the modern era would probably have its own show on Bravo. Yeah, it was an alternative Christmas featuring raisins. And people think the seventies were weird.
Probably my favorite of the lesser known shows was “Twas the Night Before Christmas” (man I hope I have this title right). It’s the one that featured the family of mice where the smart mouse with glasses ended up inadvertently ruining Christmas and the dad (who was the guy from the Adams Family) had to do everything to save the day. It was simple and sweet and fun and always seemed to air during that last week when the anticipation was at its height.
(Incredibly, I’ve never seen It’s a Wonderful Life. Just was never something we watched in my family and as an adult I never have seen a need to catch it.)
I’m not sure why these memories of television specials stay with us for so long. It’s not as if they are the epitome of drama or even children’s entertainment. They probably just serve two simple purposes and they serve them very well. (Three, if you want to get cynical and include advertisements for toys). For kids, they help to build up the anticipation for the big day while teaching them that caring about other people is a good thing. But for adults they are that momentary respite from our real life. For thirty minutes we can return to being the kid lying on the living room floor watching the Grinch sneak around and laughing at the little dog. It’s a return to a time when there really were no worries other than hoping that the calendar would move quickly to the big day. After a certain age you can’t get back to that feeling of being carefree. There is always job or school or a relationship to worry about. But all you need to do is see Charlie Brown and his sad looking tree and for one moment, all you have to do is watch and smile.
Merry Christmas everyone. And there better be a fire truck with my name on it under the tree…
The five random CD’s for the week
1) The Shins “Chutes Too Narrow”
2) The Tragically Hip “Live Between Us”
3) The Be Good Tanyas “Chinatown”
4) The Subdudes “Live at Last”
5) Laura Minor “Salesman’s Girl”
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Jenny says...
In order to combat the mood that I’ve been in over the past few weeks I decided to take in a concert tonight. When you are beginning to question life pretty much the best thing that you can do is see Cowboy Mouth. They are a hard rocking party band from New Orleans whose entire purpose is making you feel glad to be alive. That’s something that I really need right about now so I braved my way to the Voodoo Lounge at Harrah’s Casino to see the show.
I’ve talked about the Voodoo Lounge before but it bears repeating. In many ways this is an awesome venue. Great sound, perfect sightlines, and bathrooms that are both plentiful and clean enough that you don’t down penicillin upon leaving. On the other hand, I am forced to pay five bucks for a bottle of Miller Lite, the bartenders are slow as hell in that they can’t even open a bottle of beer without doing a Cocktail trick and the crowd always seems to be filled with refugees from the slot machines who will throw things at the band during a ballad about Hurricane Katrina. So keep that in mind.
This is the third incarnation of Cowboy Mouth that I’ve seen. Sonya is still on at bass and she is a good edition to the band and she might be the longest tenured bass player they’ve ever had. Seriously, it’s like every year they get a new one. Paul Sanchez left and was replaced with Vance Degeneres, which is good in that he’s famous from television and bad in that you can’t really call yourself the baddest band on the planet when your guitarist is named Vance. Fred and Paul are still leading the band and a lot of the songs are still the same.
It’s really tough to say this, but these shows are simultaneously great for me and horrible. I mean, I love the music and I play their CDs all the time when I’m depressed and just need to be reminded that this is an amazing place if you just open yourself to it. You can’t listen to their music and not brighten up. On the other hand, I could probably do without the drummer yelling at me to make some noise on every friggin song using the same spiel that he’s used in every show I’ve seen. Maybe it’s just that I’m not a jump up and down and throw your hands in the air type of guy. Or at least not while I’m sober and standing in the middle of a casino. I don’t want to fault the band for it but maybe I’ve reached the point where listening to Aimee Mann is more meaningful than Cowboy Mouth. Might as well officially designate me as being old.
Side note # 1: While walking through the casino I noticed that they had a special Christmas buffet on Monday. I’m not kidding, they were advertising a holiday themed extravaganza. Ok, I’ll admit that a lot of the time I get down on my life but I’ll have to admit that I have yet to reach the point where the casino buffet is my best Christmas dinner option. I don’t know what is sadder: that there will be people lined up to gorge themselves or that there are some poor souls who will have to work on Christmas to cook and clean and work the cash registers.
Side note # 2 (particularly written to Erik): At the show I saw what has to be SBEM’s evil twin. Looked exactly like her except with pitch black hair. I didn’t do a double take, more like a twelve-times take. I was simultaneously extremely attracted and scared for my life. Like if I talked to her I would be transported to Bizarro world or something.
Side note # 3: I think everyone has one song that whenever they hear it a sly smile comes across their face. No one else knows why, it’s just a song that connected to a moment of your life and you’ve never let anyone else know the real reason. For me, it’s Moby’s “Natural Blues”. And trust me, hearing that song while watching a New Orleans band set up had me grinning from ear to ear. You want to know the story? You’ll just have to wait for the novel. No one would believe that it’s true anyway…
I’ve talked about the Voodoo Lounge before but it bears repeating. In many ways this is an awesome venue. Great sound, perfect sightlines, and bathrooms that are both plentiful and clean enough that you don’t down penicillin upon leaving. On the other hand, I am forced to pay five bucks for a bottle of Miller Lite, the bartenders are slow as hell in that they can’t even open a bottle of beer without doing a Cocktail trick and the crowd always seems to be filled with refugees from the slot machines who will throw things at the band during a ballad about Hurricane Katrina. So keep that in mind.
This is the third incarnation of Cowboy Mouth that I’ve seen. Sonya is still on at bass and she is a good edition to the band and she might be the longest tenured bass player they’ve ever had. Seriously, it’s like every year they get a new one. Paul Sanchez left and was replaced with Vance Degeneres, which is good in that he’s famous from television and bad in that you can’t really call yourself the baddest band on the planet when your guitarist is named Vance. Fred and Paul are still leading the band and a lot of the songs are still the same.
It’s really tough to say this, but these shows are simultaneously great for me and horrible. I mean, I love the music and I play their CDs all the time when I’m depressed and just need to be reminded that this is an amazing place if you just open yourself to it. You can’t listen to their music and not brighten up. On the other hand, I could probably do without the drummer yelling at me to make some noise on every friggin song using the same spiel that he’s used in every show I’ve seen. Maybe it’s just that I’m not a jump up and down and throw your hands in the air type of guy. Or at least not while I’m sober and standing in the middle of a casino. I don’t want to fault the band for it but maybe I’ve reached the point where listening to Aimee Mann is more meaningful than Cowboy Mouth. Might as well officially designate me as being old.
Side note # 1: While walking through the casino I noticed that they had a special Christmas buffet on Monday. I’m not kidding, they were advertising a holiday themed extravaganza. Ok, I’ll admit that a lot of the time I get down on my life but I’ll have to admit that I have yet to reach the point where the casino buffet is my best Christmas dinner option. I don’t know what is sadder: that there will be people lined up to gorge themselves or that there are some poor souls who will have to work on Christmas to cook and clean and work the cash registers.
Side note # 2 (particularly written to Erik): At the show I saw what has to be SBEM’s evil twin. Looked exactly like her except with pitch black hair. I didn’t do a double take, more like a twelve-times take. I was simultaneously extremely attracted and scared for my life. Like if I talked to her I would be transported to Bizarro world or something.
Side note # 3: I think everyone has one song that whenever they hear it a sly smile comes across their face. No one else knows why, it’s just a song that connected to a moment of your life and you’ve never let anyone else know the real reason. For me, it’s Moby’s “Natural Blues”. And trust me, hearing that song while watching a New Orleans band set up had me grinning from ear to ear. You want to know the story? You’ll just have to wait for the novel. No one would believe that it’s true anyway…
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The Nature Boy would be proud...
New Year’s Resolution #1 (of many): Learn how to write in paragraph form again…
1) This is what I love about the blog. One night I write a, uh, pensive piece about the state of my life. The next day I’m talking about Lindsay Lohan stripping. Day after that I get comments discussing the trailer to the Transformers movie. I’m expecting to get sued for whiplash by people who just read this site.
2) Tonight was a very proud moment in my life. After over twenty five years of tireless effort and research, my in depth knowledge of professional wrestling has finally come in handy. Yes, in tonight’s trivia game the next to last category was pro wrestling and I just rocked the house. Who won the first Royal Rumble? Hacksaw Jim Duggan (broadcast on USA). Who almost died in a parasailing accident? Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake (real name: Ed Leslie). What team ended up winning tonight? Ours. Seriously, this may have just justified my very existence, or at least helped to explain the stack of wrestling DVDs that I’ve hidden in my apartment on the basis that they are probably not the sort of thing that you want the prospective girlfriend to come across.
3) Speaking of wrestling, there is going to be a big pop culture story on Jan. 1 as John Cena will defend his world title against Kevin Federline. I shit you not. Also, based on his interview on Raw (and I quote here) “K-Fed is dead, it’s Keven Federline bitches.” The amazing thing? I really want to see this. Federline actually put together one of the best heel (bad guy) promos that I’ve seen in ages. Just completely sold himself as an arrogant, good for nothing, piece of white trash who still thinks that the world belongs to him. Ok, so maybe that isn’t any different than if I watched him order a latte at Starbucks but still, it’s pretty damn entertaining. Part of me wants to see him get his ass kicked, part of me wants to see him win so he can start a reign of terror and bad pop songs.
4) I’ve changed the route that I use when I drive home so now I go past the new Chick-Fil-A. Now, I’m a supporter of Chick-Fil-A, especially given that they sponsor the bowl game that I feel is a metaphor for my life. But still, I’m not sure that it justifies the fact that when I drive home the Drive-Thru lane is packed about ten cars deep night after night. Either they really have to rethink their process flow diagrams or the greater KC metro area is just desperate for a chicken sandwich. Seriously, I know that it is a new fast food place and people are curious but would you ever wait in that long of a line for a sandwich? It just shows that people don’t care about quality nearly as much as they care about novelty.
5) This is going to amaze my classmates but I’ve actually been invited to attend a Marketing symposium at ND. I can see the conversations now. “So, what classes are most beneficial for a career in marketing?” “Don’t know, never took one other than Intro to Marketing.” “What’s the best way to get a job?” “No idea, someone read my blog and gave me a position.” “Why are the finance professors pointing at you and shouting, ‘Traitor!’ Oh, and why does your nametag read “Darth EC”?” “There is much power in the dark side.”
1) This is what I love about the blog. One night I write a, uh, pensive piece about the state of my life. The next day I’m talking about Lindsay Lohan stripping. Day after that I get comments discussing the trailer to the Transformers movie. I’m expecting to get sued for whiplash by people who just read this site.
2) Tonight was a very proud moment in my life. After over twenty five years of tireless effort and research, my in depth knowledge of professional wrestling has finally come in handy. Yes, in tonight’s trivia game the next to last category was pro wrestling and I just rocked the house. Who won the first Royal Rumble? Hacksaw Jim Duggan (broadcast on USA). Who almost died in a parasailing accident? Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake (real name: Ed Leslie). What team ended up winning tonight? Ours. Seriously, this may have just justified my very existence, or at least helped to explain the stack of wrestling DVDs that I’ve hidden in my apartment on the basis that they are probably not the sort of thing that you want the prospective girlfriend to come across.
3) Speaking of wrestling, there is going to be a big pop culture story on Jan. 1 as John Cena will defend his world title against Kevin Federline. I shit you not. Also, based on his interview on Raw (and I quote here) “K-Fed is dead, it’s Keven Federline bitches.” The amazing thing? I really want to see this. Federline actually put together one of the best heel (bad guy) promos that I’ve seen in ages. Just completely sold himself as an arrogant, good for nothing, piece of white trash who still thinks that the world belongs to him. Ok, so maybe that isn’t any different than if I watched him order a latte at Starbucks but still, it’s pretty damn entertaining. Part of me wants to see him get his ass kicked, part of me wants to see him win so he can start a reign of terror and bad pop songs.
4) I’ve changed the route that I use when I drive home so now I go past the new Chick-Fil-A. Now, I’m a supporter of Chick-Fil-A, especially given that they sponsor the bowl game that I feel is a metaphor for my life. But still, I’m not sure that it justifies the fact that when I drive home the Drive-Thru lane is packed about ten cars deep night after night. Either they really have to rethink their process flow diagrams or the greater KC metro area is just desperate for a chicken sandwich. Seriously, I know that it is a new fast food place and people are curious but would you ever wait in that long of a line for a sandwich? It just shows that people don’t care about quality nearly as much as they care about novelty.
5) This is going to amaze my classmates but I’ve actually been invited to attend a Marketing symposium at ND. I can see the conversations now. “So, what classes are most beneficial for a career in marketing?” “Don’t know, never took one other than Intro to Marketing.” “What’s the best way to get a job?” “No idea, someone read my blog and gave me a position.” “Why are the finance professors pointing at you and shouting, ‘Traitor!’ Oh, and why does your nametag read “Darth EC”?” “There is much power in the dark side.”
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Just a matter of time...
Back to more trivial matters…
1) I am very upset by the media coverage of my beloved Lindsay’s latest Blackberry missive in which she, well, discusses the bruises she received while practicing pole dancing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, what happens between Lindsay and me in a seedy motel room off of the interstate is a personal matter and does not need to be discussed in the gossip pages. Sigh. Incredibly, I did not make up this story at all (well, besides the whole motel room bit). She really does write about her upper and lower thigh bruises. I’m hoping that this is due to her method acting technique for an upcoming role as opposed to job training.
Another Lindsay story
2) I know that most people think that I’ve beaten this Lindsay Lohan joke into the ground but I see a great deal of potential here. Three years ago I was probably the last guy on earth that Lindsay would have gone out with. Now after all of these stories I’m probably one of two dozen guys who would be willing to date her and I like those odds. Hell, I’m probably the front runner. One more lead story on Entertainment Tonight and I’ll be dating her by default.
3) I would like to congratulate myself for winning Time’s Man of the Year. It’s been a life long dream of mine to follow in the footsteps of the computer and planet earth as a marketing ploy disguised as a year end award. For those who haven’t checked out a newsstand “You” has won Time’s Man/Woman/Thing of the Year. The idea behind it is that bloggers and YouTube are changing the way that media operates. Now, while some blogs do have an impact I have a hard time believing that I’ve changed the world just yet here. And while YouTube has greatly contributed to my ability to spend time at work searching for old Asia videos I can’t say it has done much to society other than turning copyright into a joke. It just seems that in a year where we’re still at war, gas prices are going mad, and both houses of congress switched hands that the person of the year could have gone to, you know, a person. Or at least Barbaro.
4) The Chia advertising empire continues to astound me. I understand the Chia pet and the Chia Garfield and even the Chia Scooby Doo. It’s the Chia Tree that bothers me. So, buy a pot in the shape of a tree and spread some seeds on it and watch it grow. As opposed to, I don’t know, buying a plant. You end up with exactly the same thing except in the Chia universe you spend more and end up looking tacky as a result. It bothers me that right now someone is at a Walgreen’s and going, “You know what, that would make a great present.” And they’re probably sober as well.
5) I have a winner for strange lyric of the year. Courtesy of one of my favorite bands, Carbon Leaf. “Some things are best left between a girl and her horse.” There are a few ways to interpret that line and none of them are good. Hell, most of them end with a Catherine the Great reference.
1) I am very upset by the media coverage of my beloved Lindsay’s latest Blackberry missive in which she, well, discusses the bruises she received while practicing pole dancing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, what happens between Lindsay and me in a seedy motel room off of the interstate is a personal matter and does not need to be discussed in the gossip pages. Sigh. Incredibly, I did not make up this story at all (well, besides the whole motel room bit). She really does write about her upper and lower thigh bruises. I’m hoping that this is due to her method acting technique for an upcoming role as opposed to job training.
2) I know that most people think that I’ve beaten this Lindsay Lohan joke into the ground but I see a great deal of potential here. Three years ago I was probably the last guy on earth that Lindsay would have gone out with. Now after all of these stories I’m probably one of two dozen guys who would be willing to date her and I like those odds. Hell, I’m probably the front runner. One more lead story on Entertainment Tonight and I’ll be dating her by default.
3) I would like to congratulate myself for winning Time’s Man of the Year. It’s been a life long dream of mine to follow in the footsteps of the computer and planet earth as a marketing ploy disguised as a year end award. For those who haven’t checked out a newsstand “You” has won Time’s Man/Woman/Thing of the Year. The idea behind it is that bloggers and YouTube are changing the way that media operates. Now, while some blogs do have an impact I have a hard time believing that I’ve changed the world just yet here. And while YouTube has greatly contributed to my ability to spend time at work searching for old Asia videos I can’t say it has done much to society other than turning copyright into a joke. It just seems that in a year where we’re still at war, gas prices are going mad, and both houses of congress switched hands that the person of the year could have gone to, you know, a person. Or at least Barbaro.
4) The Chia advertising empire continues to astound me. I understand the Chia pet and the Chia Garfield and even the Chia Scooby Doo. It’s the Chia Tree that bothers me. So, buy a pot in the shape of a tree and spread some seeds on it and watch it grow. As opposed to, I don’t know, buying a plant. You end up with exactly the same thing except in the Chia universe you spend more and end up looking tacky as a result. It bothers me that right now someone is at a Walgreen’s and going, “You know what, that would make a great present.” And they’re probably sober as well.
5) I have a winner for strange lyric of the year. Courtesy of one of my favorite bands, Carbon Leaf. “Some things are best left between a girl and her horse.” There are a few ways to interpret that line and none of them are good. Hell, most of them end with a Catherine the Great reference.
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