PS I love the Shins but only the first record. They make me happy at work.

I feel like I've spent the last two months asleep. I knew this would happen. When I wasn't working I had made a decision to be very social - to go out as much as I could. I got very into it. If I didn't go out for the evening I felt like something was wrong. Good idea? Bad idea? I don't know yet but it was (mostly) fun.

These days, though, I am unable to go out every night as I have to be at work at 7:30 each morning. Sad story, I know. But I'm so beat that most friday nights are spent at home also just because I'm so tired from a week of early mornings. It seems like a work week just flies by while at the same time it takes an eternity. I think it's that while sitting through it, the time is so terribly slow and boring but afterward I don't really remember it because nothing happened that hasn't happened every day for the last 4 1/2 years.

Last night I attempted to go see Blonde Redhead at Emo's. I figured since it was an early show it would be a good idea. Wrong. While driving around to try and snag a parking spot I saw that there was a line at each entrance at least 30-40 people deep. I'm glad I was being a diligent parker last night or I'd have walked really far and then had to turn around and walk back because there is no way I'm waiting in line for a band that I've seen at least five times.

So I went home and tried to make some headway on Quicksilver. Maybe I'll got to half-price books during lunch today. That girl working there the other day was pretty cute.

Here's some time-wasting fun via the US Census. Find out how common your name is. My first is 6th most common and my last is 57th. We once drunkenly did this at a party. It's not really very much fun but it sure seemed like it was at the time.

Didn't do much this weekend. Went to see the Crack Pipes on friday but only caught half of the last song so I just went home. I mean, who wants to stay at the Hole in the Wall on purpose?

Woke up saturday and worked for a bit then went home, drank beer and watched the NFL draft to see what the cowboys would do. I kept having to tell myself to have faith in Parcels - he knows what he's doing. I can't really recall saturday night. Oh yeah, went to Casino el Camino w/Kevin for beer and burgers. I just stayed in the rest of the night.

Sunday was spent reading Quicksilver and playing Madden 2004.

Having reread what I've just written, it would seem like a pathetic weekend but, really, it was pretty damn relaxing.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the whole sentence in your journal along with these instructions

"She watched the shuttle moving back and forth, back and forth, between the green threads."
from The Fall of the Towers by Samuel R. Delany

This may sound like a dumb thing to excited over, but I was able to fit four Kinks albums as MP3's onto one cd that will playing my car discman. I know this is old hat to many, many people but it's new to me. I can listen to Face to Face, Something Else, Village Green and Arthur on infinite shuffle. I'm currently working on one for the Complete Stax Singles box set.

This morning, around 8:45am, I realized that it was tuesday and not wednesday.

"Norse Tyr (tür), ancient Germanic god. Originally a highly revered sky god, he was later worshiped as a god of war and of athletic events. He was identified with the Roman war god Mars, and among Germanic peoples Mars’ day became Tiw’s day (Tuesday)."

Damn you, germanic peoples!

Wednesday is the day of Odin!

My friend said, "I'm for the UN and international law, and I think you've become a traitor to the left. A neocon!"
I said, "I'm for overthrowing tyrants, and since when did overthrowing fascism become treason to the left?"
"But isn't George Bush himself a fascist, more or less? I mean-admit it!"

My own eyes widened. "You haven't the foggiest idea what fascism is," I said. "I always figured that a keen awareness of extreme oppression was the deepest trait of a left-wing heart. Mass graves, three hundred thousand missing Iraqis, a population crushed by thirty-five years of Baathist boots stomping on their faces-that is what fascism means! And you think that a few corrupt insider contracts with Bush's cronies at Halliburton and a bit of retrograde Bible-thumping and Bush's ridiculous tax cuts and his bonanzas for the super-rich are indistinguishable from that?-indistinguishable from fascism? From a politics of slaughter? Leftism is supposed to be a reality principle. Leftism is supposed to embody an ability to take in the big picture. The traitor to the left is you, my friend . . ."

A Friendly Drink in a Time of War by Paul Berman

Hurray! I bought a computer! Maybe I won't have to return this one! I spent a large chunk of last night burning cds so that I can go and sell the original ones so I can have some cash since I spent it all on... a new computer!

And, yes, yes, work on saturday morning. I got here at 7:45am. I've been on such a crazy buying spree lately that I have to be here. I don't think I mentioned it on here but I also bought some drums. Mind you, it's just the drums - no hardware or cymbals or pedals or anything but it's a start. I bought em off of Kevin B and they are mid-1960's gold sparkle Ludwigs.

The Soft Set played the other night to a large, close to empty and mostly indifferent room. What's so special about that? Nothing really. It's pretty much par for the course these days except that I thought we played exceptionally well. We're playing next thurday on the patio at the caucus club with the Chapters. Details to follow.

Best song title I've heard today: Little Miss Queen of Darkness by the Kinks off of Face to Face.

Hey kids! Wow, I am getting sick! I've got a fever and everything. What I don't have is much leave from work. So instead of staying home as I'm getting sick I'll just wait until I really am sick. I'm telling you this because I know everyone wants the day by day, blow by blow account of how I'm doing. I wonder if I'll have a voice for the show tomorrow (I only sing one song anyway).

I've always been a big fan of bands showing up on tv shows so I was rather anxious to see the Shins on last night's Gilmore Girls. They played almost a whole song like they were on a talk/variety show or something without any cuts to the characters digging the band (well, until the end). They were actually playing, too, no lip-syncing.

Dammit. I have a sore throat. I just got over a bout of bronchitis which all started with... a sore throat! Maybe I can head this one off at the pass with lots of juice, vitamins and allergy meds. This is what happens when it is 85 degrees one day and 45 the next. Thanks a lot, Texas.

In other news...

Thursday April 15 @ Trophy's - The Household Names, The Soft Set and some other people

We play 11-ish, I think.

Kim Jong Il, tyrannical dictator of North Korea, has written a book of film criticism called On the Art of Cinema. I just don't know what to say. It definitely goes in the "you can't make shit like this up" file.

Ug. What a useless weekend. Reading Soulsville USA about Stax Records. Borrowed some Holly Golighty and related cds. Thanks Jennifer!

good thing: I'm full of ideas!
bad thing: I hate people! (well, most of 'em)

Even a dance party couldn't get me outta my funk this weekend. The Buzzocks, Young MC and Outkast were played and I still left at the end of the night wondering why I had bothered going. Also, I'm feeling old.

This is old news but the UK's Observer has listed the greatest 100 novels of all time. By my count I've read 15 of them. I've started several more but I'm only counting finished books. I'm dubious of this list, though, since how can you trust any list of the greatest novels that leaves off All the King's Men but includes anything by Toni Morrison? Highly suspect.

Slow day at work. Doing busy work and listening to Mojo's Raw Soul CD. If I had a half-decent excuse I'd skip outta here.

Random fact - Amazon.com Sales Rank: 498,388

This is the amazon ranking for the ep by my former band. I'm amazed we're on there at all.

I got a new guitar! It's an Airline Rocket from the mid-1960's. I haven't been able to date it exactly. Here is a link to a picture (the third photo down, the one with two pickups, except mine is a deep cherry red color). The reason it says "Harmony" on this page is that harmony was the parent company that made guitars which sold under many different trade names - silvertone for sears, airline for montgomery wards and many others. This guitar is seriously cool. Great condition and plays/sounds perfect.

PS I'm a geek. Did you know that?

Good God Damn this Holly Golightly album is good. I'd forgotten how great it is. It's all full of catchy, sensual, hip-shakin swagger. Yeah! It makes work fly by.

After work on sat I made it to the movie event of the spring (that's not saying much, admittedly) and saw Hellboy. It was better than I thought it was going to be - I try to have low expectations for these kind of things. Sure it was cheesy, it's a comic book movie - not only that, it's a dark horse comic book movie. But it was fun and funny and exciting and full of Lovecraftian monsters/gods with the most tentacles you'll see this side of one of the really creepy Japanese cartoons. But really, how could you go wrong with a demon baby raised by humans into a wisecracking do-gooder who fights Nazis and Rasputin (who by the way looks a lot like Joey Pants in the Matrix except with a full beard). Good shit.

That night I went to a party at Courtney and Matt's and that would've been fine except that I took some xanax before I left the house and I was completely out of it by the time I got there. I think I stumbled around the party for about an hour before I decided that perhaps it would be best if I just went home. I fell into bed, put on The Golden Band by American Analog Set and was off to sweet dream land in moments.

An almost perfect Sunday - breakfast at Curra's (where Amanda had chorizo for the first time!), laid back band practice, new episode of The Sopranos and a late trip to Waterloo Records' 20% off sale to get Holly Golighty and KO & the Knockouts CDs. As a bonus, while driving to and from waterloo in the nice spring rain, I got to listen to Little Steven's Underground Garage radio show, the best nationally syndicated radio show. How often do you get to hear all sorts of Nuggets type rock on commercial radio with long rants about Joe Meek.

What I wanna know is, how come if I didn't feel that drunk last night, why, this morning, do I feel like I was that drunk last night? My head feels spinny. Yet I am a trooper. I'm not a prisoner. I'm a free man. Sorry a bit of hangover induced iron maiden free association.

But, yes, once again I am at work on a saturday morning. I'm trying my damnedest to take advantage of the generous overtime opportunities that won't last all that long. There's a particularly beautiful Gibson Les Paul custom hanging up at Austin Vintage Guitars that I have my eye (and heart) set on. I just hope it's still there in three weeks when I might have the $$ to give it a new and deserving home.

I've been such a musical schizophrenic lately. Meaning that I want to play in every band and play all different kinds of stuff. Soft Set is cool - I get to noodle on my guitar and now on the organ some - I'm not gonna stop that but I really want to do other stuff too except that I can't decide what. I've been talking to Aaron about starting a really rocking math/prog rock band. I could be into that. I'm also about to start getting together actual people to have a wisdom teeth band as I think the cd is finally gonna come out in early summer (more details at a later date). A big part of me just wants to play guitar in a real ROCK band - all Thin Lizzy and Led Zep style - since that's what I'm best at and what I learned guitar along to. I'm in the market for a nice les paul custom and a marshall but, you know, there's the whole money thing.

Hellboy opens today! I've been waiting on edge ever since I heard that this was in the works. Let's all hope it's the #1 movie this weekend so that Guillermo del Toro can always make any movie he wants. Above is a link to the movie homepage. Here's the one for the comic.