I doubt I couldn't possible fail to be less unlike Nordlinger (and lileks)
They have this slogan down in Austin: “Texas for people who hate Texas.” Must be the snottiest slogan on the planet. Well, I love Austin — and I also love Texas for people who love Texas. -jay
I used to cling to reasons to not like Austin, then I used to mock myself for it, and lately I have grown to hate the sentiment of that bumper sticker.
Going to see Imogen Heap tonight. Her album Speak For Yourself is very gettable. I am late to the game praising the song 'Hide and Seek', but it's definitely worth a listen. Whoah to have discovered in it high-school so that I could sneak it on to mix tapes for girlfriends.... (I know, I didn't have girlfriends in High-school (or college! my inner heckler heckles). I would have put the whole 'nothing compares to you' crowd to shame! (I have this memory of all the girls on the bus freshman year listening to that song in hushed reverence.. that moment made an impression on me , what can I say?)
I did have Brenda and Melissa who I would drive to school every morning, and to Mrs winners for breakfast. I remember listening to Gish, mostly, but Mel tells me I used to play Dwight Yoakum to to annoy Brenda. Ahh, good times.
I don't know it this rates, given all the ancillary weirdness in my life, but on mother's day I went to see Joann, she wasn't there so I went to see Melissa at the restaurant she works at, and I ran into Joann and My dad, who were eating there. I caught up with Melissa again this Tuesday and she told me she works after-school at the Ron Clark Academy. I told her he used to live in my building. Yesterday he was waiting in the lobby for the elevator I was in.
Also, Melissa beat me in pool. (that, I know, will stretch your credulity)
why is he such a prick, please tell me so I know what makes guys like him tick. he's such a dick.
I have to type fast....
This morning I thought I would treat myself to a nice diner breakfast before work. Unfortunately the server was the jocular type. He had a flower in his ear, zany sunglasses, called everyone 'young sir' or 'young lady', was obviously up on multiple cups of coffee, and was bantering with the rest of the staff in the kitchen.
Fine fine fine and fine. He was fine. And if it was lunchtime, he wouldn't have ruined my meal. I am a morning person, but they are a time of quiet introspection, and short communication. I repeat, I love the mornings, but if I had to give my waitron a swing-thought for dealing with me, it would be 'Silent Commiseration". If I am in such a good mood that a smile sneaks out, the swing-thought should then be "ironic commiseration". You know, make some comment when refilling my coffee like , "things are turning around, here is some joe that was actually made today." If you can't do irony, treat me like a pitcher 7 innings into a no-hitter.
Also, The Flying Biscuits' biscuits are lousy. They always have been. (This reminds me of a running joke corrie and I had. When I expressed surprise to our server that my pancakes came with a biscuit, he said, "all or meals do, hence the name flying biscuit". Oh.)
Anyhow, so my morning didn't go as well as I hoped. A moment ago I checked in on Lileks, and he improved it:
Before the meal came we amused ourselves with the games on the kid’s menu. One
had mixed-up overlapping line-drawings of sharks, and you had to count the
number of sharks. Shark jumble! The answer was ten, but there was also a
fully-realized picture of a shark in the tank. So technically, the answer was
eleven. Daughter was vaguely amused. I said I would point this out to the
waitress. Daughter was slightly alarmed. “I’ll get a free meal out of this,” I
said. Daughter was now seriously alarmed. Dad don’t.
Well, that’s all the inducement I need. “Waitress?” She came over. I pointed
out that the answer said ten sharks, but if you include this one, the answer was
eleven.
“It could be a dolphin,” she said.
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
She left. Daughter: “Dad why did you DO that?”
“Waitresses love funny customers! It brightens up their day. The ones that
tell jokes, make puns, think they’re the life of the party – waitresses can’t
wait for those.”
I got a skeptical expression.
“No, really, they fight over ‘em, even thought they usually are bad tippers
because they think they’ve tipped enough just by being so entertaining.”
She wasn’t buying it. I told her no, that wasn’t true, but the waitress
seemed the type who’d enjoy a little banter, and since her section wasn’t full
at all there wasn’t any harm.
Actually, waiters don’t like ha-ha funny customers, the ones with routines,
accents, stock phrases, and three other people who find them hilarious. (Or
not.) These are performers. Waiters don’t like people whose humor has an
aggressive undertone – I’ll have the horsemeat. Don’t tell me you don’t serve
it, I’ve eaten here before. Banter is fine. Banter is a social lubricant. But
it’s my experience lately that half of the waiters do not listen to most of what
you say, and my strongest evidence is my stock request for Coffee, Black, as if
I’m tugging down the front of my uniform and commanding the Enterprise
replicator. Half the time it’s met with “Cream or sugar?” To which you want to
say well, I think I’ll just have my black coffee black, thanks. Then the coffee
arrives, and the waiter sets down cream and sugar. When I ask them to take it
away, there’s confusion – no cream? No sugar? Seriously? The last time we went
out the waitress seemed peeved I didn’t want the cream, as if I’d just sprung
this on her at the last moment. You could have told me. ,mmmm
I couldn't turn my back on a world for And I couldn't turn my back on sweet smelling Blackberry stone
Wow. Readers. Plural even.
Out of respect for Andy, I won't counter his Lost points. I agree with most of what he says, I just am not as inclined to give them the "prime time" pass. I didn't give BattleStar galactica a pass either, but maybe my citing of the superb Firefly, which was canceled after one season, supports Andy's argument more than it supports my own.
I reread my excerpt for the Corner, and am remind edof Buckley, who said it better (of course) and more succicntly (not so common for Buckley) when he said, "dont' immanitize the eschaton". All my political thoughts these days start with that sentiment. I think to myself, "well of course that isn't going to work". For example, Drudge reports that Canada's health care is falling apart. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but what, in the realm of human existence, makes people think that it would work?
Moreover, if, lets say, that for the first 10 years of someone's life the state provides them 'free' medical care. Doesn't that mean that person is indebted to the state before he's had any choices?
So either that model fails because people don't repay their debt, or they are forced to repay their debt , vis a vis slavery. (Is that an extremist thought? I don't know, but I had it this morning)
I just had drinks with Melissa, she is my oldest friend, and a school teacher, and she of course bemoans lack of funding for teaching. But I can't help but think that the whole Idea of putting your kids in the hands of the state is COMPLETELY FUCKING RETARDED. Who actually thought that would work!? I'll tell you who: people who knew all the other student's parents, and personally knew the teacher, and knew that the prayers would be the same ones they said at home, and the teaching would be confined to math ,English, and how to respect your elders. The minute that curriculum wasn't acceptable to the 'public' the model was broke. Is that extremist? Dunno, maybe it's idealistic, but I have felt that way for a long time.
I should note that the difference now, between me, and a pessimist like dolorous ed, is that he is pissed, and I am just confused. I really am.
All teachers complain about not getting paid enough, but no teachers suggest upending the entire system. This bespeaks a lack imagination. And She's an Art Teacher.
I just spent 30 minutes looking for the quote from Copland where Figgs dresses down Freddy for being idealistic, saying something like, "that's a child's plan, Freddy, written in crayon on the back of fairytale". Or something remotely similar to that.. (I couldn't find the quote), but basically I feel that way about every progressive policy.
Don't Immanatize the Eschaton.
Amen Bill. RIP.
Anyhow, let me say something slowdownish...
Was in Kansas all weekend. Watched golf and ate with grandma in the mornings and for Dinner (lunch to y'all), then hung out with Aunt and Uncle and Cousins for drinks , supper, ping-pong, shuffleboard and four wheeling in the evenings. Can't beat that. Love Kansas.
Great Bend strikes me as the kind of town that is only so nice because once a year the town elders sacrifice a child to some demon. Each year he asks for a little more (at first it was the tip of a pinky), and since it's incremental, they go along with it (The demon is the Government!?). Only something like that could explain who the town remains idyllic. Its got a big zoo, a waterpark, a skate park, a river, three coffee shops...
Or maybe I am only there on vacation and don't see the meth addiction and poverty. I know it isn't idyllic.... but you don't have to have a huge imagination to see it that way.If it shows up on a 'best place to live' list, let me know.
Hmmm..... I haven't listened to Andy's suggestions, but I have been listening to Pandora radio based on Andy's suggestions. Hey, it could be more frustrating, instead of saying "Hey, I value your suggestions, but instead of listening to what you said, I am listening to music that will only make my refusal to listen to them more frustrating", I could be recommending stuff I am hearing on this station back at you. And I could be smug about it.... "I know you are still listening to old Fleet Foxes stuff, but you should really check out something new, like Elliot Smith".
Or whatever. I just pulled 'Elliot Smith' out of a hat. Comments about him aren't welcome.
Lost is done. Good riddance. I'm not a Hater, but that show and I weren't made for each other. I liked this season best. All my complaints circle around how the writers had to yank the characters around both physically and emotionally in order to work the story. I honestly think the writers should have expressly made it a characteristic of the Island: In the first few episodes anyone survivor who answers a question directly should be immediately devoured by the smoke monster. Then, for the rest of the show, the characters' miserable communications could have been explained away as an intentional defense against the smoke.
In the first season, any time two groups of people met and didn't exchange people or otherwise split up needlessly, the lot of them would be flung by some mysterious force into the ocean, forcing them to swim back. The writers then would have had a tidy explanation for the logistical hoops they made their characters jump through.
Finally, early in the season they should have discovered that the Dharma Rations were laced with some drug that makes people irrational and bi-polar.
Anyhow.. not to dis the show. It was remarkable, and successfully ambitious. Bravo.
I don't post politics much no more, partly because I can't find anyone worth rooting for. The Republicans (for many years now) have behaved like unprincipled opportunists. This corner post shows was good though, for many reasons.
We who live in the 21st century West have the least messy, least dangerous,
least uncertain lives of any human beings in history. We should be very grateful
for that, but we should not let our good fortune utterly distort our
expectations of life, and we should not react with unrestrained indignant shock
anytime the limitations of our power make themselves seen or the cold and harsh
capriciousness of nature overcomes our defenses. We should expect a firm
response from the institutions we have built to protect ourselves—science,
technology, and modern government—but we cannot expect a perfect response. Not
from Bush, and not from Obama.
Let’s hope the administration does a better job in response to this spill
than it has so far, just as the Bush administration could certainly have done a
better job in its response to Katrina. It’s clear they have made mistakes. But
let’s not pretend that what we’re witnessing here is fundamentally a
colossal failure of the federal government. There are plenty of those going on,
but this isn’t one of them.
I've felt like this for ages, just didn't know how to say it
I am so fucking confused.
I was looking for some new rock to listen to and was very impressed with this mini-review of a "Male Bonding"
Male Bonding's songs are fast, noisy, and full of hooks, a combination that
might remind you of any number of things: Nirvana-era fuzz-pedal stompers, 1990s
American indie rockers, Hüsker Dü and Dinosaur Jr. followers,
not-quite-shoegazer English bands. Like a lot of those acts-- and like their
contemporaries in No Age and Abe Vigoda-- Male Bonding started out making more
abrasive music. But with Male Bonding, part of the treat is hearing them jump
out of ultra-lo-fi scene and find room in the wide-open field where amped-up,
rangy punk stuff collides with tuneful slacker pop. The hustle, the energy, and
the sheer number of hooks make this an easy album to love-- especially if you're
in the mood for some feedback and punk-rock energy along with your melodies.
Sound Great Right!? So I bought the first song on the CD and thought, "I could probably get into this, but I don't know if I have the patience to deal with lo-fi at the moment". A couple days later I pulled the trigger, and have been generally impressed.
Over the last couple of weekend I got familiar with the album, and though I can clearly say it is very good, I am frustrated by its tweeny-ness. I mean, these guys an aural equivalent of that rabit/duck optical illusion. . One listen I think they are Dinosaur Jr except with 2k indy pop vocals, and then the next listen they are an Pitchfork darling indy-pop band (a la Pains of Being Pure of heart), hiding behind extra guitars and low production values. Of course it doesn't matter one bit, the distinction is only in my head,but I could help but fiddle with it.
Today I saw that they had a video posted on pitchfork, and while it was playing, I started writing this post, with the theme 'it's alright to be confused', but as I glanced back at the video, halfway through the song, I became less sure of myself. Watch and Find out why.
Anyhow, for a good song without all the mixed messages, try this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77yeQlJmPXk (Anti Warning: This is just audio. ) (Anti Warning #2: Starts Noisy, gets cowbelly )
in 1994, or so, Billy Joe shaver, a musician who I had never heard of released a country rocker called "Georgia on a Fast train". The Song was fun, the video got airplay, and I had everyone in the dorm listening to it. We all liked it, though neither I, or most of the dorm previously listened to country music. I was just a damn fine song.
Later that year, or maybe the next, McNalley and I drove to Atlanta to see him perform at smiths old bar. First we had a bite at Ansley shopping mall, across the street, during which we were slow to pick up on that neighborhood's peculiar demographic. It wasn't until Brian got up to throw away some trash, and I watched the other guys watch him that we realized that, demographically at least, we were 90% gay. Later we walked upstairs to see the show, but were not allowed entry because we were not 21. We pleaded that we already bought the tickets, and that we had drove all the way from Athens, but made no headway.
One of us remembered that when we had first driven in we had seen a van unloading equipment, and one of us had the idea to canvas the area for that van. We figured that the driver would be Billy and his son, and that we could plead our case with them. Ridiculous? Yes. But we did it anyway, and without too much difficulty found the van parked at a motel on Cheshire Bridge. We walked into the lobby, and through some subterfuge confirmed that the Shaver's were in fact at the hotel. Though spying, we derived their room number. And so we walked over and knocked on the door.
Billy answered it, and we could see Eddie relaxing on one of the beds inside. We explained our plight, telling him we were big fans. Billy said "well hell, tell them you're kin". On further conversation he wrote on the back of a card, "these boys are kin" or something to that effect. We carried the card back to Smiths, and were still not granted admittance. We lurked around the back of the building, perhaps hoping to intercept Billy again, but for reasons I don't recall, gave up early and drove back to Athens.
The Concert was recorded and released as "unshaven. Shaver live at smiths".
A year or two later I went to Eddies attic to see a few musicians who were said to be Outlaw Country, along the lines of Billy. Sometime before or after the show I fell into talking with one of them, David Olney I believe, who started telling me Shaver Stories. Or rather, he was telling me other people's stories and when I mentioned Shaver, he laughed, and said a few things that made me think that all these guys had some combination of respect , awe, and fear of the man. If Texas singers were hockey players, Billy was the enforcer. That, at least, was the impression I walked away with.
Sometime Later, or maybe around that time, Billy's son Eddie past away, and Billy showed remarkable strength released new albums that were brutally honest about the loss, and, well, hard life in general.
Many years later I found out that the Owner of the company I worked for was not only friend with Billy, but also the late Townes Van Zandt. Though he has sold the company, he still owes me many stories about both....
Last night I was reading Stomp And Stammer, which, under the issue number had the tag "Pussy Loves Us", a reference I completely didn't get but found funny (yes, I am out of touch). Later inside the concert hall at smiths, I saw another sticker that said "I collect records because pussy hates me". Apparently there is a whole meme I have missed. Anyhow, the magazine featured the band Smoke Fairies who opened for the band I was going to see (Laura Marling. Links posted a couple posts back), and an editorial that skewered Obama's divisive rhetoric. Anyhow, none of this is important except I love Stomp and Stammer, and their News Leak page had this blurb, which was news to me.
A Waco, Tex. jury found Billy Joe Shaver not guilty of
aggravated assault charges stemming from a 2007 altercation in which he
popped a cap in a guy's face outside a bar in 2007.Willie
Nelson and Robert Duvall showed up to testify
on Shaver's behalf, and as the defendant advised prosecutors during the
trial, "I'm from Texas. If I were chickenshit, I would have left, but
I'm not." To wit: Don't even think about fucking with Billy Joe
Shaver under any circumstances whatsoever.
I laughed at that. Here is a full article.
http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/28575479.html
Some of the good stuff
In a packed, sweltering courtroom, Shaver, 70, admitted to shooting
Billy Bryant Coker on the back porch of Papa Joe’s Saloon, a beer joint
outside Shaver’s Waco hometown. The singer pleaded self-defense,
claiming Coker stirred his drink with a pocket blade, wiped it on
Shaver’s shirt and asked him to come outside. “I felt he was gonna kill
me,” Shaver testified. “He was a big bully, the worst I ever seen — a
big bad one. And I been all around the world.”
State prosecutors argued Shaver could have left in his truck before
shooting Coker. “I’m from Texas,” Shaver responded in his honky-tonk
Texas drawl. “If I was a chicken shit I would have left.”
The shooting occurred March 31, 2007, after Shaver stopped into the
smoky bar for a beer with his former wife, Wanda. Shaver testified Coker
was rude to Wanda and told Shaver to “Shut the fuck up.” After the two
went outside, witnesses testified Shaver asked Coker, “Where do you want
it?” then pointed a .22 pistol at Coker’s cheek, pulled the trigger and
fled in his truck. When Shaver was asked on the stand if he shot Coker
because Shaver was jealous the victim was talking Shaver’s wife, Shaver
laughed. “I get more woman than a passenger train can haul,” he said.
This is all so very much like the new Olyphant TV Show Justified, which I incorrectly fretted might be a bit unrealistic. I mean, people don't go around shooting people like we're all living in deadwood. Well, yep, they do actually.
To recap. Things I love: Stomp and Stammer, Timothy Olyphant, Billy Joe Shaver, Laura Marling, Smoke Fairies, and of course, Deadwood, Townes Van Zandt, and Robert Duval.
