I am holding down the fort tonight as Joe's sick. He has a nasty cold that literally has had him down for the past 24 hours. He's been holed away in our guest room b/c he's scared to get Sylvia sick. Poor thing. I leave him food, tea, water and meds at the door and he takes it into the room. He won't let me get exposed either. Sylvia has been very good today and that helps me alot.
Here's a photo of us that I took just before her bedtime:
9/10/2005
9/07/2005
What I did over Labor Day weekend
1. Went to WV to see grandma and grandpa
2. Drooled on grandpa
3. Slept on grandma
4. Daddy showed me everything green (trees, river, etc.)
5. Mommy drank Boone's Farm
6. Wore fabulous shades (see my photo above)
7. Met my cousins Emily and Lindsey
8. Drank lots and lots of milk and formula
9. Saw my doggie
10. Pooped.
--by Sylvia
9/02/2005
Happy birthday to me
Well, it's my 35th birthday today. All in all, I'd say it's been 35 pretty damn good years.
Over the course of my lifetime, I've managed--through luck, good fortune, and the benelovence of countless friends and my amazing family--to do many things that I can look back on with fondness, from moving to Spain to work and live to meeting the love of my life on a beach in San Francisco.
Of course, the best thing to happen so far is currently hanging out with her mommy and patiently waiting for me to get home....
Still, it's the people you meet in your life's journey that make it all special and worthwhile. It's been said to the point of becoming cliché, but by god, it's true.
So here's to all of you, friends, family, my beautiful, wonderful wife and baby. You've made the last 35 years fantastic. I love you all. Every man should be so lucky.
Now if the U.S. could beat Mexico tomorrow, my birthday would be REALLY special.... :-)
Over the course of my lifetime, I've managed--through luck, good fortune, and the benelovence of countless friends and my amazing family--to do many things that I can look back on with fondness, from moving to Spain to work and live to meeting the love of my life on a beach in San Francisco.
Of course, the best thing to happen so far is currently hanging out with her mommy and patiently waiting for me to get home....
Still, it's the people you meet in your life's journey that make it all special and worthwhile. It's been said to the point of becoming cliché, but by god, it's true.
So here's to all of you, friends, family, my beautiful, wonderful wife and baby. You've made the last 35 years fantastic. I love you all. Every man should be so lucky.
Now if the U.S. could beat Mexico tomorrow, my birthday would be REALLY special.... :-)
8/31/2005
Mr. Fastfinger's Zen Guitar Teachings
Okay, this simply rules.
This Flash animation takes you to a faraway tropical island to study rock guitar with none other than the Zen guitar master himself, Mr. Fastfinger. The animations are hilarious, and the guitar lessons are right on! I can't wait to get home to practice some of this heavy metal madness! Whoever played this stuff is fricking amazing, and whoever coded it is brilliant.
In the "Jam" section, you use the A-Z keys (each riff is assigned to a key) to do battle, Crossroads guitar-dual style, with an evil, accordian-weilding demon who is entrancing the native pygmy population (this is hilarious, folks!). The riffs blend seamlessly with the background track and really gives you the feeling of "jamming" along. Try it!
If I can learn even a couple of these riffs, my bandmates are going to crap their pants at Thursday's practice! Rock ON!
Summer's counting down
Jenny and I were talking last night about how the summer is almost over but it doesn't really feel like it's even begun. This is due in no large part to the fact that Sylvie is too young for pool time, sun exposure, parties with other kids, etc. (Not that hanging with the baby isn't totally cool, 'cause it is!)
Plus Jenny is dying to go to the beach, but we haven't been able to find one we like yet (Rehoboth is too cheese-mo-dee for us nowadays). We're planning a post-Labor Day beach jaunt this September, so the next step is finding a beach we want to go to!
Help me, Obi-Net, you're my only hope!
Plus Jenny is dying to go to the beach, but we haven't been able to find one we like yet (Rehoboth is too cheese-mo-dee for us nowadays). We're planning a post-Labor Day beach jaunt this September, so the next step is finding a beach we want to go to!
Help me, Obi-Net, you're my only hope!
8/29/2005
Redskins/Steelers; Man Room stage 1
Wow does it ever feel like Monday today. It's muggy and kind of gray out there, and I can't seem to get motivated (or woken up). Still, this was a fun-filled weekend. On Friday, I went to the Redskins vs. Steelers preseason game at FedEx field. The tickets were fantastic -- right on the 35 yard line and only seven rows back from the field! Plus, they were free! One of the owners of a printer I work with for a lot hooked me up with four tix, a parking pass, and a free program coupon! Very nice, and much appreciated by yours truly, my boss, and my neighbors Kim and Bill who all attended the game with me. Jenny babysat...thanks honey!
As many of you may know, the Steelers are my AFC team and the Redskins my NFC team, so I was in a no-lose or no-win situation, depending on how you look at it. For what it's worth, the Skins won.
Saturday was pretty lazy. Jenny, Sylvie, and I took a walk and mostly hung out. I did make it up to Sears to pick up my early birthday gifts from my folks: a Craftsman 10" table saw and Craftsman compound miter saw! Woo hoo! My shop is almost ready for world domination!
On Sunday I decided to use the inspiration of my new tool acquisitions to get my butt in gear and finally put up the partition in the basement to create our fourth bedroom. I did some math (no mean feat) and trudged up to Home Depot to get the 2 X 4s I would need to frame up the wall. I'll get started sawing and nailing tonight. I promise to post step-by-step photos to keep everyone updated on my progress.
8/26/2005
A Real Meal
We actually sat down this week to a real meal. I was so excited by this concept that I took a picture of it. Here is what the meal is made up of:
- pork chops (boneless) w. a curry rub
- steamed asparagus
- a yukon gold potato and turnip mash (w. sauteed onions)
8/23/2005
17 years is not long enough
Sorry to be a bummer with this post, but a news story just came out that makes me, as the father of a new baby, incredibly enraged.
Those of you who don't live in the D.C. area are probably not familiar with the terrible news story last year of a tiny baby tortured and, ultimately, killed by her mother's crack dealer.
Well, the crack dealer got 17 years in prison today. Her sentence is a joke. Caroline Deforest, the killer, is 34 years old. That means she'll be out of prison when she's merely 51 years old. And that's assuming that she serves her full sentence. Not likely, as we all know.
Caroline Deforest tortured and killed a defenseless infant. According to the washingtonpost.com article, the timeline went roughly like this:
"Soon, neighbors and friends began seeing bruises and scratches on Selena's face and arms, according to prosecutors. Deforest started isolating the infant, minimizing her contact with other people. One person saw a bite mark on Selena's arm, an apparent lighter burn on her hand and bruises on her face.
Trying to conceal the injuries from others, Deforest stopped allowing others to feed, change or dress the baby. Eventually, she draped Selena's playpen with blankets to keep others from seeing her at all.
In the early days of January, the sounds from behind the blankets started to fade.
By Jan. 12, 2004, they had stopped altogether."
Seventeen years? Wow.
Those of you who don't live in the D.C. area are probably not familiar with the terrible news story last year of a tiny baby tortured and, ultimately, killed by her mother's crack dealer.
Well, the crack dealer got 17 years in prison today. Her sentence is a joke. Caroline Deforest, the killer, is 34 years old. That means she'll be out of prison when she's merely 51 years old. And that's assuming that she serves her full sentence. Not likely, as we all know.
Caroline Deforest tortured and killed a defenseless infant. According to the washingtonpost.com article, the timeline went roughly like this:
"Soon, neighbors and friends began seeing bruises and scratches on Selena's face and arms, according to prosecutors. Deforest started isolating the infant, minimizing her contact with other people. One person saw a bite mark on Selena's arm, an apparent lighter burn on her hand and bruises on her face.
Trying to conceal the injuries from others, Deforest stopped allowing others to feed, change or dress the baby. Eventually, she draped Selena's playpen with blankets to keep others from seeing her at all.
In the early days of January, the sounds from behind the blankets started to fade.
By Jan. 12, 2004, they had stopped altogether."
Seventeen years? Wow.
8/21/2005
Say it isn't so!
8/15/2005
8 Tricks and facts about the girl
- She makes very funny sounds when she sleeps. What could she be dreaming about? Perhaps she has nightmares about the mosquito net that we make her use on her carseat...does it make her claustrophobic?
- She was 10 lbs, 4 ozs at her one-month check up. WOW. I bet she's ~11lbs now. It feels like it.
- She likes to flip me the bird when eating at restaurant jenny. Or maybe she's just showing me that she knows what the state of West Virginia is shaped like.
- She can hold her own bottle. SCARY.
- When doing "tummy time" she can scoot across the mat if she has something to push off from. She's also easily distracted by said mat and tries to eat the lobsters, fish and crab that are part of the design. MMM...microfleece lobster tastes GOOOOOD.
- She can smile and it's not just gas.
- She has two boyfriends who are fighting for her attention, Beck and James. Beck is 2 mos. old and James is 3 mos. old. This fact stresses Joe out.
- She likes the song, "Tiny Bubbles."
It's like sleepwalking, but with your mouth
So, I turned 34 on Saturday. Don't feel any change vs. being 33. By the time my birthday party ended (1130p!), Joe and I were zonked.
Around 130a (still up on baby monitoring 2005), I hear "Sylvia's on a search." I say, "huh?" He says, "She's on a search for 500 actuaries!" I say, "What the heck are you talking about," not realizing that he's fallen asleep on the couch behind me; I was on the computer.
He then wakes up and I tell him what had happened and I say to him, "It's like sleepwalking, but with your mouth."
Around 130a (still up on baby monitoring 2005), I hear "Sylvia's on a search." I say, "huh?" He says, "She's on a search for 500 actuaries!" I say, "What the heck are you talking about," not realizing that he's fallen asleep on the couch behind me; I was on the computer.
He then wakes up and I tell him what had happened and I say to him, "It's like sleepwalking, but with your mouth."
8/11/2005
Pity the poor WV coal barons....boo hoo.
Don Blankenship, the CEO of Massey Coal, the largest corporate rapist...er...coal company in West Virginia, is suing the governor, Joe Manchin (who, ironically, is a major coal whore in his own right), in retailiation for a measely 56-cent severance tax on mined coal in the state. What gall.
To quote Blankenship, “[Legislators should] show some frugality, so that when times are tough, 10 or 15 years down the road, they don’t have to encumber coal and the coal industry so much as they have in the past.”
Boo hoo. I feel really, really sorry for the poor coal industry. They've been so mistreated and "encumbered" as they have received permit after blood-drenched permit to chop the tops off the WV mountains, break unions, and endanger thousands of communities with unstable earthen dams that contain millions of gallons of coal sludge, sometimes within yards of elementary schools (see photo above).
And let's not forget how hard things have been on Mr. Blankenship personally.... After all, as recently as 2002, he only made a $1 million base salary and a $350,000 bonus, plus stock options. Poor fellow.
So please take a moment out of your busy day to pray for the poor, poor coal industry. They are so mistreated, it makes you want to vomit. Well, something does, at least.
8/10/2005
Stop Drive-through Mastectomies
This issue is really important to me as my aunt passed away this year from metastasized breast cancer. For more info and to sign the petition please click on this link:
http://www.lifetimetv.com/reallife/bc/pledges/bc_mast_pledge.html
http://www.lifetimetv.com/reallife/bc/pledges/bc_mast_pledge.html
Tired.
That, in a word describes my brain right now. Stress at work combined with baby crankiness and midnight feedings have taken their toll and I'm feeling a little burned. I know Jenny must be too. Don't let anyone kid you (no pun intended); having a wee one who needs attention pretty much 24/7 can be tough. Not that it isn't worth it a billion trillion times over, of course. Combine that with about oh, six trillion things at work that all need to be done right now, and you've got synapse destruction waiting to happen.
I could really use about a 16-hour nap right now.
I could really use about a 16-hour nap right now.
8/07/2005
8/05/2005
8/03/2005
Happy 1 month b-day Sylvie!
It's hard to believe that it's already been a month since Sylvia was born. We thought we couldn't love you any more back then, baby, but we were wrong!
:-)
:-)
This war is turning us into the animals we despise
According to an article on this morning's Washingtonpost.com, U.S. soldiers are currently under investigation for more torture in Iraq, specifically torture that resulted in the death of an Iraqi general. In addition, the article reports on CIA-sponsored Iraqi torture squads who, in the words of one former CIA agent "do the dirty work."
From the article: "On the morning of Nov. 26, 2003, a U.S. Army interrogator and a military guard grabbed a green sleeping bag, stuffed Mowhoush inside, wrapped him in an electrical cord, laid him on the floor and began to go to work. Again.
"It was inside the sleeping bag that the 56-year-old detainee took his last breath through broken ribs, lying on the floor beneath a U.S. soldier in Interrogation Room 6 in the western Iraqi desert. Two days before, a secret CIA-sponsored group of Iraqi paramilitaries, working with Army interrogators, had beaten Mowhoush nearly senseless, using fists, a club and a rubber hose, according to classified documents."
This is a disgrace to our country, our flag, and everything we stand for. If this is how we bring "freedom" to a country, it's high time to reevaluate our methods.
From the article: "On the morning of Nov. 26, 2003, a U.S. Army interrogator and a military guard grabbed a green sleeping bag, stuffed Mowhoush inside, wrapped him in an electrical cord, laid him on the floor and began to go to work. Again.
"It was inside the sleeping bag that the 56-year-old detainee took his last breath through broken ribs, lying on the floor beneath a U.S. soldier in Interrogation Room 6 in the western Iraqi desert. Two days before, a secret CIA-sponsored group of Iraqi paramilitaries, working with Army interrogators, had beaten Mowhoush nearly senseless, using fists, a club and a rubber hose, according to classified documents."
This is a disgrace to our country, our flag, and everything we stand for. If this is how we bring "freedom" to a country, it's high time to reevaluate our methods.
8/02/2005
8/01/2005
Working away from home sucks
I want to be holding my daughter right now, not proofing a magazine supplement. :0(
7/29/2005
Holy Crap! Did you see Six Feet Under?
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
So due to the collusion of baby duty, Bob Mould's party, and the two-day power outage, we just got around to watching this week's episode of Six Feet Under last night. Can I just say I did not see that one coming! I love it when a long-running show that I've watched since the first episode ties in ancient plot lines with little or no regard to more recent viewers. It makes me feel special. Part of the cool "been here with you since episode 1" club. Buffy and Angel were other shows that did that. Christ I sound like a geek. Oh well....
So is he dead???? Jenny and I say yes. Poor Character-Who-will-not-be-named-to-spare-the-videotapers-out-there, we hardly knew ye.
7/27/2005
Baby baby, you wanna make us stay up all night
Whhhaaaaaaa! Whhaaaaa! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA [choke] AAAAAAAAAAA [silent tongue vibrating] AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!! [Repeat for six hours]
That was Jenny's life last night. I had to go to bed at 1am in order to actually make it to work today, and Jenny took a big one for the team. Thank you honey.
FYI, Jenny is the best mom in the world.
That was Jenny's life last night. I had to go to bed at 1am in order to actually make it to work today, and Jenny took a big one for the team. Thank you honey.
FYI, Jenny is the best mom in the world.
7/26/2005
7/25/2005
Apparently, I look gay.
Due to my music magazine press contacts, I received an "exclusive" invite to attend the listening party for Bob Mould's new album, "Body of Song," at a bar in D.C. last night.
Bob, for anyone who doesn't know, was in the seminal band Hüsker Dü and later produced some of the coolest, heaviest albums made during the First Wave of Cool Alternative Music Before Alternative Music Was Popular (FWOCAMBAMWP)® back in the early '90s. Then he came out of the closet, moved to D.C., and became a DJ. Go figure.
Anywho....
I arrived at the bar, a lower Adam's Morgan joint called Duplex Grill, and immediately noticed that the only women in the room were Bob's PR agent and two bartenders. So it turns out that the Duplex Grill is a gay bar. No big deal, I have nothing against gay folks, obviously.
I sidled up to the bar and ordered an $8 Jack and Coke (HOLY SHIT!!!! $8!?!?!?! Now I know why Jenny and I stay home on Fridays...that and the baby, I guess. But I digress.) to kill time while Bob and his homeys set up the private party area.
As I'm sitting there, a couple of other guys there for the press event sit next to me, and when I strike up a conversation, one of them (who was also gay) pipes up with, "Oh, you're here for the Bob thing? I had you pegged as a regular here." When I ask why, he says, "You have the look."
"What's the look?," I ask.
"Oh, you know, the hat, the shaved head, the square, rimless glasses, the cargo shorts." At which point he grabs one of the other patrons to bolster his point. "Doesn't he look gay?"
"You're straight?," the other patron asks me.
"Yep," I reply, showing my wedding ring.
"Well, you look gay."
Okay.
So there you have it, I look gay. I don't know whether to be flattered or what, but it is pretty funny.
To top off the evening, when I asked for directions to the men's room, my new friend gave me some sage advice: "Don't linger in there. You're a new daddy."
Bob, for anyone who doesn't know, was in the seminal band Hüsker Dü and later produced some of the coolest, heaviest albums made during the First Wave of Cool Alternative Music Before Alternative Music Was Popular (FWOCAMBAMWP)® back in the early '90s. Then he came out of the closet, moved to D.C., and became a DJ. Go figure.
Anywho....
I arrived at the bar, a lower Adam's Morgan joint called Duplex Grill, and immediately noticed that the only women in the room were Bob's PR agent and two bartenders. So it turns out that the Duplex Grill is a gay bar. No big deal, I have nothing against gay folks, obviously.
I sidled up to the bar and ordered an $8 Jack and Coke (HOLY SHIT!!!! $8!?!?!?! Now I know why Jenny and I stay home on Fridays...that and the baby, I guess. But I digress.) to kill time while Bob and his homeys set up the private party area.
As I'm sitting there, a couple of other guys there for the press event sit next to me, and when I strike up a conversation, one of them (who was also gay) pipes up with, "Oh, you're here for the Bob thing? I had you pegged as a regular here." When I ask why, he says, "You have the look."
"What's the look?," I ask.
"Oh, you know, the hat, the shaved head, the square, rimless glasses, the cargo shorts." At which point he grabs one of the other patrons to bolster his point. "Doesn't he look gay?"
"You're straight?," the other patron asks me.
"Yep," I reply, showing my wedding ring.
"Well, you look gay."
Okay.
So there you have it, I look gay. I don't know whether to be flattered or what, but it is pretty funny.
To top off the evening, when I asked for directions to the men's room, my new friend gave me some sage advice: "Don't linger in there. You're a new daddy."
7/22/2005
7/21/2005
Umby has left the body
Well, Sylvia lost her umby (aka umbilical cord stump) today.
I bet life will be more comfy now.
I bet life will be more comfy now.
7/19/2005
Greedy bastards
It's a tough world for HP. I mean the company is basically floundering with its measly $3.5 BILLION profit, and CEO Mark Hurd is barely getting by with his $1.4 million salary and tiny $2 million signing bonus (oops, I almost forgot his inconsequential $2.75 million "relocation allowance").
In fact, the company is in such dire straits that they are laying off 14,500 workers. Jesus. That's 14,500 families who are now without a job in an area where the median housing prices hover around $760,000. What is wrong with this picture, America?
But that's not all! HP also announced that they are getting rid of those pesky pension plans, too. According to the SF Chronicle, "The company announced that, beginning in January 2006, it will freeze pension and retiree medical-program benefits of HP employees 'who do not meet defined criteria based on age and years of company service.'"
I mean, why not, right? After all, the guys cutting the retirement plans will never need a pension when they're old and grey...they'll probably have some of their $2 million signing bonus left over, I'd guess. Wrong. If Hurd gets layed off, his employment contract guarantees that he would "receive a one-time cash payment equal to 2.5 times Hurd's then-current base salary plus his target bonus amount. Hurd would also benefit from continued health benefits, the vesting of all stock options and partial vesting of restricted stock." That's fair, right?
So why, you might ask, does a company that's well in the black lay off a substantial part of its domestic work force? Why, Joe, why? Well, you see, in addition to Hurd's salary and bonuses, he also receives more than 1,550,000 stock options in the company. When companies lay off workers, the stock price rises temporarily. If the stock goes up just $1 per share, that's another $1,550,000 windfall to Hurd and his buds. Sweet! (If you are Hurd or one of his buds, that is.)
What adds yet another stick into my already crowded craw is the glib way that these family-crushing, greedy, dare I say anti-American corporate clowns celebrate this kind of behavior:
"This was Mark’s coming out party, and he came out with great strength,” said analyst Roger Kay of Endpoint Technologies Associates.“
Well, at least Mark's party went well. Good for you Mark. You prick.
7/18/2005
World, meet giant coffee mug. Giant coffee mug, meet world.
This is my giant coffee mug. The Alcatrazilla, as I call it. I don't have time normally during the week to partake of its sweet, voluminous nectar, but during this wonderful time off, we've become closer than ever. I love coffee, and now that I've become accustomed to the six-gallon serving size, I just can't go back to those piddly "normal" mugs.
Do you have a favorite coffee mug? Please let us know about it. And Save the Rock.
7/16/2005
7/13/2005
Indict Karl Rove!
Not only is Karl Rove a slimy, no-good poopoohead, but now it's pretty certain that he's a fricking traitor as well.
It's a federal crime to expose the identity of an active CIA agent. Rove should rot behind bars for doing this.
Of course, the Republican leadership, in their typically disgusting, hypocritical way, are backing Rove by attacking the honest, decent citizens demanding that this traitor be prosecuted. In the words of the worthless Representative Peter T. King from New York, "Republicans should stop holding back and go on the offense: fire enough bullets the other way until the Supreme Court overtakes events."
It shows just how cow-towed the American Public has become when these jerks can be so open about their underhanded tactics: attack, attack, attack, and wait for something else to take over the headlines.
It's a federal crime to expose the identity of an active CIA agent. Rove should rot behind bars for doing this.
Of course, the Republican leadership, in their typically disgusting, hypocritical way, are backing Rove by attacking the honest, decent citizens demanding that this traitor be prosecuted. In the words of the worthless Representative Peter T. King from New York, "Republicans should stop holding back and go on the offense: fire enough bullets the other way until the Supreme Court overtakes events."
It shows just how cow-towed the American Public has become when these jerks can be so open about their underhanded tactics: attack, attack, attack, and wait for something else to take over the headlines.
7/12/2005
Vacation, all I ever wanted
Taking a little time off to be with mother and baby, which is nice. Sylvie has her first pediatrician appointment today, so we're hoping for a clean bill of health. They are going to put her on a feeding schedule, too, which would be very helpful. Last night she gorged mightily and it all came back up...on me...after a horrible burping accident. Of course, she was unfazed, and hungry again 15 minutes later. Fatherhood at its finest. :-)
7/11/2005
More photos!
Well, I've put together a little photo album at Flickr.com to show Sylvia in all her glory.... Thanks a million for all the well wishes we've received from all our fantastic friends and family!Check out more Sylvia photos here.
7/07/2005
IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!
Sylvia Ida was born on July 3, 2005 at 3:55 a.m. She weighed 8 lbs, 13 oz. and is 19.5" long! No wonder she was running out of room inside mommy! She and Jenny are both happy and healthy and everyone is happy to be back home now. What an amazing thing! We couldn't be happier...or prouder!
6/29/2005
And now for your [easy] listening pleasure....
Thank god! I've finally found an easy, free, way to host some of my music in a streaming format. Now, if you're so inclined, you can go to this site and listen to four of my songs without having to suffer through a forty-hour download. I will be reverting to the 1960s-era idea of releasing singles one at a time (I've got several in the can now waiting to be posted). As I can only have four songs at a time up on myspace.com, I will cycle through them on a regular basis. I'll announce new releases here on the blog.
BTW, a hearty, and humble, thanks to all those who have given me feedback on Humbucker. It's really fun to be able to create music others can enjoy.
6/27/2005
The Power and the Fury
So I went to see Sleater-Kinney at the 9:30 Club on Saturday night. I didn't have a ticket to the sold-out show, so I had to pull a "I need a miracle" style canvassing of the people in line to get into the hall in order to find one (which I eventually did after 25 minutes).
I went to see the guitarists, Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein, really, but lo and behold, instead saw the best drumming spectacle I've ever witnessed firsthand.
The band's drummer, Janet Weiss (no, not the Rocky Horror Picture Show heroine), pounds the drums with such visciousness and sheer power that it's hard to believe that she can keep it up for a full 90-minute show. Yet, somehow she does, and then some. We're talking Keith Moon, Dave Grohl, and John Bonham-style bashing here--a crushing wall of sound that propells the music and defies anyone in the audience to ignore her. I was blown away.
And the rhythms were dead-on. Weiss played tight, crisp passages that gave way to wanton destruction and returned back to the groove again and again. I'm telling you, it was amazing. If you get the chance to see this woman play live, do it.
Plus, they covered Danzig's "Mother," which was very cool.
I went to see the guitarists, Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein, really, but lo and behold, instead saw the best drumming spectacle I've ever witnessed firsthand.
The band's drummer, Janet Weiss (no, not the Rocky Horror Picture Show heroine), pounds the drums with such visciousness and sheer power that it's hard to believe that she can keep it up for a full 90-minute show. Yet, somehow she does, and then some. We're talking Keith Moon, Dave Grohl, and John Bonham-style bashing here--a crushing wall of sound that propells the music and defies anyone in the audience to ignore her. I was blown away.
And the rhythms were dead-on. Weiss played tight, crisp passages that gave way to wanton destruction and returned back to the groove again and again. I'm telling you, it was amazing. If you get the chance to see this woman play live, do it.
Plus, they covered Danzig's "Mother," which was very cool.
6/24/2005
Photorama/Death From Above 1979
Blogger has finally gotten around to letting you upload images directly into your post, thank god. That said, Flickr's system was pretty easy too. But I'm lazy, so I'd rather only go to one site to do one task (blog). Did you ever notice how most bands suck? Well they do. (Many would say mine does and I do, too, which is their right even though they can kiss my lilly white culu.) Well, here's one band that Does Not Suck: Death From Above 1979. One distorted bass and one drumset, and they really groove. Try it, you'll like it. Hey mikey.
6/23/2005
Crimeny, what a hassle!
So sorry to everyone who tried to download the Humbucker files and couldn't yesterday. I've got a ZIP file that I can send anyone who wants it. Or you can use this link to download it (It should work, although it's a big download.)
http://s38.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0IX3V3H1A42IC0B49ZBQ62J7PG
Just email me a the_lurking_one AT hotmail DOT com, and I'll shoot off a CD to you. Also includes a cool PDF of the album's liner notes.
http://s38.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0IX3V3H1A42IC0B49ZBQ62J7PG
Just email me a the_lurking_one AT hotmail DOT com, and I'll shoot off a CD to you. Also includes a cool PDF of the album's liner notes.
6/22/2005
My new solo album...FINALLY!
Well, I'm finally ready to release some new music. It's been a long, long while since I've put out an album of my stuff, but I hope this will be the first of a flurry of work from me.
The album is called "Humbucker" and includes 7 of my newest recordings. Here's the track rundown:
Another Bass: Sort of a techno feel, in keeping with the experimental aspects of the album. I wanted something you could dance around the house to.Download
Ballentine: This is the first single off the album. This song originated as a riff I'd been working on for a while but couldn't get any lyrics to fit with. Then one night in our D.C. apartment I was sitting there looking at Hoops and Yoyo and got inspired. Download
Blarney Take 2: This is a cover song about someone slowly turning into a social vampire, originally written by my brilliant friends in the now-defunct Portland band, Lucky. I knew the songwriters, Sean Richardson and Keith Walters, from back in my college days when they were in StrawFyssh, a Charleston, WV band that played with Feast of Stephen on more than one occasion. These guys are amazing songwriters. Download
Gap Soundtrack: I wanted to try my hand at an instrumental that would be good background music for a movie. Download
Jellyfish Eater: The tragic story of a girl, a beach, and a washed-up jelly. The other single off the album, and my favorite song on here. Download
On the Dance Floor: I originally wasn't sold on this song, but Jenny couldn't quit singing it around the house, so I thought I might be on to something. Download
Red Wine and Good News: I love this song. It's sung in an imaginary language. :-) Download
To get to the files and download them, right click on the "Download" link and "Save as" to your HD. I hope you enjoy the record. I had fun making it.
The album is called "Humbucker" and includes 7 of my newest recordings. Here's the track rundown:
Another Bass: Sort of a techno feel, in keeping with the experimental aspects of the album. I wanted something you could dance around the house to.Download
Ballentine: This is the first single off the album. This song originated as a riff I'd been working on for a while but couldn't get any lyrics to fit with. Then one night in our D.C. apartment I was sitting there looking at Hoops and Yoyo and got inspired. Download
Blarney Take 2: This is a cover song about someone slowly turning into a social vampire, originally written by my brilliant friends in the now-defunct Portland band, Lucky. I knew the songwriters, Sean Richardson and Keith Walters, from back in my college days when they were in StrawFyssh, a Charleston, WV band that played with Feast of Stephen on more than one occasion. These guys are amazing songwriters. Download
Gap Soundtrack: I wanted to try my hand at an instrumental that would be good background music for a movie. Download
Jellyfish Eater: The tragic story of a girl, a beach, and a washed-up jelly. The other single off the album, and my favorite song on here. Download
On the Dance Floor: I originally wasn't sold on this song, but Jenny couldn't quit singing it around the house, so I thought I might be on to something. Download
Red Wine and Good News: I love this song. It's sung in an imaginary language. :-) Download
To get to the files and download them, right click on the "Download" link and "Save as" to your HD. I hope you enjoy the record. I had fun making it.
6/20/2005
Claws
My big toenails are as sharp as razor blades. Seriously they are deadly weapons. I remarked about them to Jenny tonight:
"My toenails are really sharp."
"I know, you slice my legs to ribbons every night."
"Sorry."
"You should use my file to make them dull."
"But then how would I kill my prey?"
"My toenails are really sharp."
"I know, you slice my legs to ribbons every night."
"Sorry."
"You should use my file to make them dull."
"But then how would I kill my prey?"
6/17/2005
Mom and Dad visit!
We're psyched to have my Mom and Dad in for the Father's Day weekend. Last night we had a cook out of chicken apple sausage and grilled asparagus...yum city!
I'm currently staring down the barrel of three untranscribed interviews for FRETS and Guitar Player that I must get done soon. The band I interviewed last night, Kinski, from Seattle, play some bitchin' instrumental rock and both guitarists were very friendly. Check them out if you get a chance and watch out for the article in an upcoming issue of GP.
I'm currently staring down the barrel of three untranscribed interviews for FRETS and Guitar Player that I must get done soon. The band I interviewed last night, Kinski, from Seattle, play some bitchin' instrumental rock and both guitarists were very friendly. Check them out if you get a chance and watch out for the article in an upcoming issue of GP.
6/12/2005
Just like old times!
This last weekend our dear friends Jane and Sarah came out to visit from Oakland. We were the last stop on their whirlwind East Coast tour, and we're so happy they made it.
Jane used to live in D.C., which meant that we could skip the super tourist stuff and concentrate on the good stuff: Ethiopian food on U St., Yueng Ling Porter and exotic cheese plates, Eastern Market and a quick tour of Jane's and my old houses on Capitol Hill (turns out we lived one block from each other and didn't even realize it back in the '90s) and killer cookouts with our D.C. friends.
We had a blast having them stay with us, and look forward to introducing them to A.P. sometime soon.
We miss you already!!!!!
Jane used to live in D.C., which meant that we could skip the super tourist stuff and concentrate on the good stuff: Ethiopian food on U St., Yueng Ling Porter and exotic cheese plates, Eastern Market and a quick tour of Jane's and my old houses on Capitol Hill (turns out we lived one block from each other and didn't even realize it back in the '90s) and killer cookouts with our D.C. friends.
We had a blast having them stay with us, and look forward to introducing them to A.P. sometime soon.
We miss you already!!!!!
6/02/2005
And now the crap part of owning your own home
Please notice the soccer cleats. They are necessary to keep me from sliding fully under the whirring blades of my mower and becoming Joe mulch.
That's okay, Jane and Sarah can earn their keep when they get here by doing the impossible side yard.... :0)
That's okay, Jane and Sarah can earn their keep when they get here by doing the impossible side yard.... :0)
Yabba Dabba DO!
I would like to officially announce that I have Flintstone feet.
Bummer.
Or, maybe not!
An excuse for extra foot massages and pedicures!
Bummer.
Or, maybe not!
An excuse for extra foot massages and pedicures!
Memories...light the corners of my mind
I miss:
My sister, my friends, A Cote, Rockridge/College Ave. for shopping, eating and flower buying, the place in N. Berkeley that's run by lesbians and has basic super-yum breakfast treats, Lands End cliff walk in San Francisco (where Joe proposed and has the best view of the Golden Gate bridge), Chouinard Winery in Castro Valley, Picture + Pizza + Pub movie house,Woodwards Garden restaurant in SF, bonfire parties at Ocean Beach (esp. happy memory as that's where I met Joe).
Don't miss: Summer that's chilly and damp. Not being able to park just to see a movie or go to the grocery store. That working like a dog still doesn't allow you to buy a house that's not teensy.
My sister, my friends, A Cote, Rockridge/College Ave. for shopping, eating and flower buying, the place in N. Berkeley that's run by lesbians and has basic super-yum breakfast treats, Lands End cliff walk in San Francisco (where Joe proposed and has the best view of the Golden Gate bridge), Chouinard Winery in Castro Valley, Picture + Pizza + Pub movie house,Woodwards Garden restaurant in SF, bonfire parties at Ocean Beach (esp. happy memory as that's where I met Joe).
Don't miss: Summer that's chilly and damp. Not being able to park just to see a movie or go to the grocery store. That working like a dog still doesn't allow you to buy a house that's not teensy.
6/01/2005
One year in DC...whoa that was fast!
Well, it's been a little over a year since Jenny and I left San Francisco/Oakland for the Washington DC metro area. Amazing. Time really, really flies now. The Bay Area is really much better to visit than to live in, if you ask me. (Nobody did, but what the hell, it's our blog, so....) Still, it's got me into a little reflection mode about what I miss and don't miss about living in the Bay Area.
What I don't miss: lots of things that really begin and end with the $700,000+ housing prices....
Now, what I miss:
EBOT soccer. It's been a serious pain in the ass finding non-competitive soccer out here. I miss my EBOT family and the weekly chance to score goles.
The wine country. Man, do I miss this one. Livermore Valley, I barely knew ye!
Friends. Obviously. Although almost all of them have moved out of the Bay Area already due to the factors listed above.
We are much happier in DC. It was a nervewracking decision to pull up stakes after a decade of S.F. area living (an average of Jenny's and my time in the area), but we're convinced we made the right one. I just don't see how people get ahead of the game out there.... Here in DC we've got a house, upcoming baby, jobs, family...all is good. It's been a hell of a year. For us, it was the right choice.
What I don't miss: lots of things that really begin and end with the $700,000+ housing prices....
Now, what I miss:
EBOT soccer. It's been a serious pain in the ass finding non-competitive soccer out here. I miss my EBOT family and the weekly chance to score goles.
The wine country. Man, do I miss this one. Livermore Valley, I barely knew ye!
Friends. Obviously. Although almost all of them have moved out of the Bay Area already due to the factors listed above.
We are much happier in DC. It was a nervewracking decision to pull up stakes after a decade of S.F. area living (an average of Jenny's and my time in the area), but we're convinced we made the right one. I just don't see how people get ahead of the game out there.... Here in DC we've got a house, upcoming baby, jobs, family...all is good. It's been a hell of a year. For us, it was the right choice.
5/27/2005
Last "date day"
Last Saturday, Joe and I took our last patented Jen-Joe roadtrip and had a "date day" in St. Michael's. It's on the Eastern side of Chesapeake Bay.
It's a very cute town with a main street, a ton of mid-to-late 1800's era buildings and yummy seafood. We ate at a restaurant right on the harbor that a local recommended -- it was SO good. Crab cakes for me. YUM. Plus a virgin piña colada. I am crazy that way!
Basically we walked up and down the main street, looked in shops, looked at cool houses, had an ice cream cone and sat on a porch and watched people go by. Also, I signed up to try to win a 1966 Mustang convertible (cherry red with a beige top, aka my dream car). The St. Michael's Rotary Club was selling raffle tix...so I signed up...
It's a very cute town with a main street, a ton of mid-to-late 1800's era buildings and yummy seafood. We ate at a restaurant right on the harbor that a local recommended -- it was SO good. Crab cakes for me. YUM. Plus a virgin piña colada. I am crazy that way!
Basically we walked up and down the main street, looked in shops, looked at cool houses, had an ice cream cone and sat on a porch and watched people go by. Also, I signed up to try to win a 1966 Mustang convertible (cherry red with a beige top, aka my dream car). The St. Michael's Rotary Club was selling raffle tix...so I signed up...
5/26/2005
Totally Rad
My evil twin is pictured at right, doing what he does best: playing the hell out of a guitar.
Johnny Rad was the other guitarist in my college-era band, The Feast of Stephen. Nowadays he's living in Parkersburg, WV and plays mostly at singer/songwriter events. His songs are fantastic, with "Free the Frogs" being my personal favorite.
The cool thing about playing in a band with Rad was that our styles are completely different, so they compliment each other well.
Where he is technically adept at the instrument, I am a sloppy mess of a player; where his phrasing is modal and uses complex chord voicings to weave texture into the song, I bash on my strings as hard as I can in the hopes of an unexpected, feedback-aided sonic discovery; while he can play YYZ, I can play Tom Sawyer. You get the picture.
Anyway, in the photo at right he is using his super powers for good at a songwriters' cancer benefit. Go Rad!
Johnny Rad was the other guitarist in my college-era band, The Feast of Stephen. Nowadays he's living in Parkersburg, WV and plays mostly at singer/songwriter events. His songs are fantastic, with "Free the Frogs" being my personal favorite.
The cool thing about playing in a band with Rad was that our styles are completely different, so they compliment each other well.
Where he is technically adept at the instrument, I am a sloppy mess of a player; where his phrasing is modal and uses complex chord voicings to weave texture into the song, I bash on my strings as hard as I can in the hopes of an unexpected, feedback-aided sonic discovery; while he can play YYZ, I can play Tom Sawyer. You get the picture.
Anyway, in the photo at right he is using his super powers for good at a songwriters' cancer benefit. Go Rad!
5/25/2005
Working for the weekend
Life here in the D.C. Metro area is all wet right now....yuk! Last year at this time it was 90 degrees. Where is summer? I'm sure it will arrive soon enough and press its heavy, humid foot down on the back of our necks and make us beg for fall again.
Actually, I don't mind the heat too much. Some folks find it oppressive, but after almost 10 years of Bay Area 55 degree backyard BBQs all "summer" long, I'm ready for some bakin'!
I can't believe the baby is almost here!!!! Jenny and I went to her doctor's office today for a scheduled appointment, and the doc told us that the baby could come at any time now (although we're still scheduled for an Independence Day arrival). It's so weird to think of being a dad. I hope I can live up to a tenth of how good a dad mine is. It's scary as hell, mind you, but exhilerating nonetheless.
This weekend promises to be a busy—and fun—one. Jason and Liz are both coming in to visit and we have a BBQ scheduled with our cool neighbors, Bill and Kim, for Memorial Day. Fun!
Actually, I don't mind the heat too much. Some folks find it oppressive, but after almost 10 years of Bay Area 55 degree backyard BBQs all "summer" long, I'm ready for some bakin'!
I can't believe the baby is almost here!!!! Jenny and I went to her doctor's office today for a scheduled appointment, and the doc told us that the baby could come at any time now (although we're still scheduled for an Independence Day arrival). It's so weird to think of being a dad. I hope I can live up to a tenth of how good a dad mine is. It's scary as hell, mind you, but exhilerating nonetheless.
This weekend promises to be a busy—and fun—one. Jason and Liz are both coming in to visit and we have a BBQ scheduled with our cool neighbors, Bill and Kim, for Memorial Day. Fun!
5/23/2005
34 weeks and '80s movies
How do these two relate? Well, I am 34 weeks along being prego and the AP (aka alien peanut) is playing out scenes from "Footloose" and "Flashdance," while inside.
It's insane the amount of movement that's happening. Arms/legs are flying around and rise up from the belly. Day...night...afternoon...sitting here at work... doesn't matter...it dances around so much! Sometimes I think it's doing jumping jacks, as it feels like all limbs are going at the same time. Watch out Denise Austin, we may have a fitness prince/princess that will be challenging you in the near future.
It's insane the amount of movement that's happening. Arms/legs are flying around and rise up from the belly. Day...night...afternoon...sitting here at work... doesn't matter...it dances around so much! Sometimes I think it's doing jumping jacks, as it feels like all limbs are going at the same time. Watch out Denise Austin, we may have a fitness prince/princess that will be challenging you in the near future.
5/20/2005
None more blech.
Yuck city! Today's weather is fantastically horrible! Rain rain and more rain! Stop me before I bang* again! Bang! Bang!
(Okay, I think I need some coffee.)
*"Bang" is printer's slang for a typeset exclamation point, btw.
(Okay, I think I need some coffee.)
*"Bang" is printer's slang for a typeset exclamation point, btw.
5/19/2005
"I congratulate you on the marriage of you."
There is apparently a market for carved melons in Asia. While not exactly my cup of green tea, I've got to admit that this is pretty good knifework. Still, it's pretty effed up to give someone a melon calling him a "muron." (See work #21.)
Somewhere in Japan, a kid is looking at a Halloween pumkin carving web site and going, "what the hell is up with these Americans and the goard carving?"
Somewhere in Japan, a kid is looking at a Halloween pumkin carving web site and going, "what the hell is up with these Americans and the goard carving?"
5/16/2005
Hobby of the month
One of my best and worst traits as a human is having flights of fancy in regard to life interests and hobbies. Usually it goes like this: I find a neat topic, dive in head first, read anything and everything I can find on the subject, work out a business plan for it, find out that it's too riddled with liabilities and/or costs to take a risk on, get disinterested, move on to next topic.
Luckily, I've got the common sense to get a steady job and stick to it while persuing all the other things, so I don't feel too guilty about it.
Still, I sometimes wonder what it must be like for those lucky folks who knew, just knew, exactly what they wanted to do with their life, and did it. That has to be a cool feeling.
No regrets, though. I'm pretty happy with myself and the fact that I can usually become pretty decent at whatever it is I want to teach myself about until I get bored with it. For now it's guitar amps, and this one's lasted for quite some time now. Maybe it'll stick!
I get this honest, btw. My mom taught herself the following things from library books alone:
Furniture refinishing: Her pieces are amazingly good. If you ever come visit, check out the bedset in the office/spare bedroom. People can't believe it wasn't professionally redone.
Upholstery: She taught herself how to upholster a couch, and then taught me. Hence, the red velvet love seat in our living room.
Painting (oil, watercolor): Again, it's amazing that she taught herself to do this. She can paint from a photo no problem. That's something I could never do.
Spanish: She got tapes and books and taught herself so well that when we went to Spain, she would sit for hours in the lobby of our hotel just talking to the old men who gathered there to watch soccer. That's pretty freaking cool. And my mom isn't even from the Spanish side of the family!!! :-)
In case you haven't guessed, I'm really proud of my mom. She's sweet and smart, and the most creative person I know. Go mom!
Luckily, I've got the common sense to get a steady job and stick to it while persuing all the other things, so I don't feel too guilty about it.
Still, I sometimes wonder what it must be like for those lucky folks who knew, just knew, exactly what they wanted to do with their life, and did it. That has to be a cool feeling.
No regrets, though. I'm pretty happy with myself and the fact that I can usually become pretty decent at whatever it is I want to teach myself about until I get bored with it. For now it's guitar amps, and this one's lasted for quite some time now. Maybe it'll stick!
I get this honest, btw. My mom taught herself the following things from library books alone:
Furniture refinishing: Her pieces are amazingly good. If you ever come visit, check out the bedset in the office/spare bedroom. People can't believe it wasn't professionally redone.
Upholstery: She taught herself how to upholster a couch, and then taught me. Hence, the red velvet love seat in our living room.
Painting (oil, watercolor): Again, it's amazing that she taught herself to do this. She can paint from a photo no problem. That's something I could never do.
Spanish: She got tapes and books and taught herself so well that when we went to Spain, she would sit for hours in the lobby of our hotel just talking to the old men who gathered there to watch soccer. That's pretty freaking cool. And my mom isn't even from the Spanish side of the family!!! :-)
In case you haven't guessed, I'm really proud of my mom. She's sweet and smart, and the most creative person I know. Go mom!
5/12/2005
Your browser sucks.
My Webmaster at the office recently turned me on to Firefox. Firefox is pretty much the anti-Explorer, in that it's easy-to-use, popup-unfriendly, and not as vulernable to attack as that browser from Microshite. It's also open source, which is way cool, and so indie. (Like me, right?)
Anyway, I recommend that you download it and give it a trial run. I'm pretty sure you'll like it.
BTW, there is a little extention that goes with Firefox called Stumble Upon that will ROCK YOUR WORLD. And no, all-caps italic bold is not overkill in this case.
Basically, Stumble Upon is preferences-targeted Web browsing that suggests sites you might be interested in, based on your search history and interests. I've found some killer sites through this thing (Questionable Content being one), and I have a very hard time keeping my cursor away from it, so be warned!
Anyway, I recommend that you download it and give it a trial run. I'm pretty sure you'll like it.
BTW, there is a little extention that goes with Firefox called Stumble Upon that will ROCK YOUR WORLD. And no, all-caps italic bold is not overkill in this case.
Basically, Stumble Upon is preferences-targeted Web browsing that suggests sites you might be interested in, based on your search history and interests. I've found some killer sites through this thing (Questionable Content being one), and I have a very hard time keeping my cursor away from it, so be warned!
All Hands on the Bad One
Just finished interviewing Carrie and Corin from one of my favorite bands, Sleater-Kinney. Both very cool people. Look for the whole article in a Guitar Player magazine near you!
5/10/2005
None more black.
Well, it looks like I'm in a band again.
Jenny was taking food to a new mother in my neighborhood (something all the new moms do in my neighborhood) Saturday before last, and when she mentioned to the woman's husband, Glen, that I couldn't come along because I was playing at a blues jam, he told her that his band was looking for a guitarist and gave her his number for me.
I called and we chatted for a while about music and musical goals, and found that we both wanted to do original music locally, with no touring (we met through the new parents' network, after all). We saw eye to eye on most things, so he suggested that I come over to audition that Sunday.
On Friday the bass player, Aaron, brought by a CD with three tunes from their old band for me to learn for the audition. I hadn't learned entire songs note-for-note in about 10 years, so I dropped my plans of going to see a show at the Velvet Lounge in DC and started working out the guitar parts.
The first song was pretty fast with a difficult rhythm, and it took me until the next morning to get it down. The other two were pretty much cake to play, technique-wise, which was good. Still, the tough part of learning three songs in a day and a half is remembering how the songs go: i.e., what part comes after what. This can only be done by listening to the song again and again and again and again and then shooting yourself and then listening some more. So that's what I did.
On Sunday I arrived at the drummer's house and we gathered in the toy-strewn basement to go through the songs I'd learned. (By the way, can I just say that day-glo Fisher-Price toys in the rehearsal studio is so rawk? Yeowww!)
I used my newest build, the Lo-Fi 5881 and my Les Paul Standard, and immediately got a good sound that fit in the harmonic space between the bass and vocals really well. To the non-musicians out there, let me say that this is one of the most important parts of playing with other people: getting a good sound. Nothing builds confidence in your playing faster than a good sound, and nothing destroys confidence as quickly as a bad one.
Now that I had dialed in my sound, it was time to impress or die trying (which would be quickly be following by my slinking out of the guy's house with my guitar cord dragging between my legs....).
We went through the fast song with the difficult rhythm first. To my amazement, I played it pretty much flawlessly the first time through. In fact, I had to show the bass player (who wrote the song in the first place) how a break in it went. At that point when I started to feel really good about my chances of getting into the band (and really good about my massive cram session in the preceeding days).
We played through the other two songs in like fashion, and the band sounded really tight, especially for three guys who had never seen their guitarist before that morning. We even wrote an original song on the spot, which is a really good sign.
I am too experienced with flaky musicians and the whole garage band thing to expect too much from this, but one thing's for sure: this experience has reminded me of how much fun it is to play music with other people, and I want to do more of it. I enjoy writing and recording music on my iBook, but nothing really compares to the thrill you get when you connect to another living, breathing person on a musical level. It sounds trite, but it can be pretty trancendental. And if not that, it's at least pretty damn cool. You can't ask for much more than that.
Jenny was taking food to a new mother in my neighborhood (something all the new moms do in my neighborhood) Saturday before last, and when she mentioned to the woman's husband, Glen, that I couldn't come along because I was playing at a blues jam, he told her that his band was looking for a guitarist and gave her his number for me.
I called and we chatted for a while about music and musical goals, and found that we both wanted to do original music locally, with no touring (we met through the new parents' network, after all). We saw eye to eye on most things, so he suggested that I come over to audition that Sunday.
On Friday the bass player, Aaron, brought by a CD with three tunes from their old band for me to learn for the audition. I hadn't learned entire songs note-for-note in about 10 years, so I dropped my plans of going to see a show at the Velvet Lounge in DC and started working out the guitar parts.
The first song was pretty fast with a difficult rhythm, and it took me until the next morning to get it down. The other two were pretty much cake to play, technique-wise, which was good. Still, the tough part of learning three songs in a day and a half is remembering how the songs go: i.e., what part comes after what. This can only be done by listening to the song again and again and again and again and then shooting yourself and then listening some more. So that's what I did.
On Sunday I arrived at the drummer's house and we gathered in the toy-strewn basement to go through the songs I'd learned. (By the way, can I just say that day-glo Fisher-Price toys in the rehearsal studio is so rawk? Yeowww!)
I used my newest build, the Lo-Fi 5881 and my Les Paul Standard, and immediately got a good sound that fit in the harmonic space between the bass and vocals really well. To the non-musicians out there, let me say that this is one of the most important parts of playing with other people: getting a good sound. Nothing builds confidence in your playing faster than a good sound, and nothing destroys confidence as quickly as a bad one.
Now that I had dialed in my sound, it was time to impress or die trying (which would be quickly be following by my slinking out of the guy's house with my guitar cord dragging between my legs....).
We went through the fast song with the difficult rhythm first. To my amazement, I played it pretty much flawlessly the first time through. In fact, I had to show the bass player (who wrote the song in the first place) how a break in it went. At that point when I started to feel really good about my chances of getting into the band (and really good about my massive cram session in the preceeding days).
We played through the other two songs in like fashion, and the band sounded really tight, especially for three guys who had never seen their guitarist before that morning. We even wrote an original song on the spot, which is a really good sign.
I am too experienced with flaky musicians and the whole garage band thing to expect too much from this, but one thing's for sure: this experience has reminded me of how much fun it is to play music with other people, and I want to do more of it. I enjoy writing and recording music on my iBook, but nothing really compares to the thrill you get when you connect to another living, breathing person on a musical level. It sounds trite, but it can be pretty trancendental. And if not that, it's at least pretty damn cool. You can't ask for much more than that.
5/09/2005
Flora and Fauna
Spring is definitely here...and it's been amazing to see the change from winter to spring.
The birds are going crazy and our flowers are blooming!
The peony bush from the previous homeowner JUST started to flower and I am waiting to see if the new bushes I planted have blooms. The azaleas are insane...it looks Hawaii-like around the border of our house! Will post a photo soon!
The birds are going crazy and our flowers are blooming!
The peony bush from the previous homeowner JUST started to flower and I am waiting to see if the new bushes I planted have blooms. The azaleas are insane...it looks Hawaii-like around the border of our house! Will post a photo soon!
5/04/2005
Questionable Content: Too indie for my own good.
Meet Faye. Faye is a character on one of the cooler and better executed Web-based comics I've run across: Questionable Content.
Faye lives with Marten (the "show's" central character), and they enjoy a roommate relationship based on the stereotypical, yet strangely unannoying Scully/Mulder, Dave/Maddy, etc. sexual tension employed by countless sitcoms. Will they or won't they? Oooo, they almost opened up that episode.... Are they gonna kiss????? You know the drill.
The storyline revolves around these two indie rock hipsters living in an anonymous northern city: rest assured that with this entire cast of characters (robot computer sex-addict pet, best friends with 17 year-old jailbait girlfriends, recovering goth rocker boss, annoying, yet lovable ex-goth co-worker, et al) wacky indie hijinks are sure to ensue.
The artwork is superb, and the scripts, while clichéd, are strangely addictive. You can't read just one.
Start at episode one and keep going. Pretty cool stuff.
BTW, I'm not really the comic book geek in the extended family. That would be Suzi.
Faye lives with Marten (the "show's" central character), and they enjoy a roommate relationship based on the stereotypical, yet strangely unannoying Scully/Mulder, Dave/Maddy, etc. sexual tension employed by countless sitcoms. Will they or won't they? Oooo, they almost opened up that episode.... Are they gonna kiss????? You know the drill.
The storyline revolves around these two indie rock hipsters living in an anonymous northern city: rest assured that with this entire cast of characters (robot computer sex-addict pet, best friends with 17 year-old jailbait girlfriends, recovering goth rocker boss, annoying, yet lovable ex-goth co-worker, et al) wacky indie hijinks are sure to ensue.
The artwork is superb, and the scripts, while clichéd, are strangely addictive. You can't read just one.
Start at episode one and keep going. Pretty cool stuff.
BTW, I'm not really the comic book geek in the extended family. That would be Suzi.
On the home front
Well, I haven't been blogging too much lately due to work stuff, mostly, so here's an update to get you up to speed:
Jenny is so cute with her big ol' belly. Skinny girl, big belly! I love to put my hand on there and feel the little thing kicking and rolling around....so weird, yet so cool.
I played in a blues jam on Sunday in Takoma Park. The DC Blues Society puts on this open-mic type jam on the first Sunday of every month, and I finally got around to heading down there. Didn't rock, but I didn't stink up the place either, which is fine since that was the first time I've played on stage with other human beings since the "Creek" debacle two years ago. I had to sing for my three-song set, and I can never remember the words to songs, so I just mumbled in true blues fashion. As long as you throw in a few "you make me so sad, baby"'s and "I woke up this morning"'s, all is cool.
I've got an "audition" for a band coming up this Sunday, if all goes well. (Musicians are notoriously flakey, so you can't really count on anything happening until it does.) Dudes live right in our neighborhood, so the commute to practice would be cake.
Jenny and I are in the midst of a "how-to-have-a-baby" class at the hospital where we expect to give birth. Did you ever see the Bill Cosby bit about those classes? It's totally like that. We've learned a lot, though. Stuff like: Epidurals are good. Very good.
Jenny is so cute with her big ol' belly. Skinny girl, big belly! I love to put my hand on there and feel the little thing kicking and rolling around....so weird, yet so cool.
I played in a blues jam on Sunday in Takoma Park. The DC Blues Society puts on this open-mic type jam on the first Sunday of every month, and I finally got around to heading down there. Didn't rock, but I didn't stink up the place either, which is fine since that was the first time I've played on stage with other human beings since the "Creek" debacle two years ago. I had to sing for my three-song set, and I can never remember the words to songs, so I just mumbled in true blues fashion. As long as you throw in a few "you make me so sad, baby"'s and "I woke up this morning"'s, all is cool.
I've got an "audition" for a band coming up this Sunday, if all goes well. (Musicians are notoriously flakey, so you can't really count on anything happening until it does.) Dudes live right in our neighborhood, so the commute to practice would be cake.
Jenny and I are in the midst of a "how-to-have-a-baby" class at the hospital where we expect to give birth. Did you ever see the Bill Cosby bit about those classes? It's totally like that. We've learned a lot, though. Stuff like: Epidurals are good. Very good.
4/27/2005
4/26/2005
Cool crap
I love good design (Jenny and I both do, actually), and this student entry--and Gold medal winner--in the BusinessWeek Design 2004 contest is pure brilliance. This kid is going places. Get it? going places?
4/25/2005
Patio housewarming a great success!
This past Saturday we hosted our housewarming/first patio party of the season. In spite of all dire weather predictions, the clouds broke and graced us with some great sunshine, and we were able to get outside and enjoy it, brew in hand!
About 20 of our friends and local family came by to party with us, and a good time seemed to be had by all. Jenny and I count ourselves so lucky to have met such wonderful folks wherever we go. Thanks for coming everyone!
About 20 of our friends and local family came by to party with us, and a good time seemed to be had by all. Jenny and I count ourselves so lucky to have met such wonderful folks wherever we go. Thanks for coming everyone!
4/24/2005
4/22/2005
Where'd they go?
My tulips that is. So I came out of the house this morning to find my tulips had been neatly lopped of. Just the tops! I was freaking out as I thought someone had come by and cut them off.
What a weird vandal. A bouquet vandal. Then my neighbors told me it's DEER. Deer...eating my tulips -- what a bummer...
What a weird vandal. A bouquet vandal. Then my neighbors told me it's DEER. Deer...eating my tulips -- what a bummer...
4/21/2005
Weekend party blues
So we're having a housewarming/cookout party this Saturday. Around 20 locals, brew, patio fun. Or not. T-storms are currently in the forecast. Crap. One good thing about California weather that I miss: never having to worry that rain will spoil your outdoor plans, since it never rains after March.
4/19/2005
This is the best description of an electric guitar ever written.
"There is something raw, incredibly dumb and utterly irresistible about the electric guitar. You can wank an electric guitar. It's a cock. It's a gun. It's a cockgun. You can peel back its shiny metal foreskin and stab its screaming purple head directly into a crowd's brain and fuck it to death - blasting chunks of utterly satiated punterflesh in every direction with every nerve shredding ejaculation. You just can't do that with a synthesiser."
I fancy myself a bit of a writer, but I bow to the wordsmith who penned that hilarious, yet amazingly accurate portrayal of why electric guitar is the coolest instrument on Earth.
Here's the full article.
I fancy myself a bit of a writer, but I bow to the wordsmith who penned that hilarious, yet amazingly accurate portrayal of why electric guitar is the coolest instrument on Earth.
Here's the full article.
How many little kids have to die before we'll install seat belts in buses?
Yesterday in Arlington a school bus crashed head-on into a garbage truck, tragically kiling one grade schooler. It's ironic because just last weekend my dad and I were talking about how reprehensible it is that we, as a society, have an unlimited amount of funds to bomb the living shit out of anyone, anywhere, anytime, yet we deem it "too expensive" to mandate and install seat belts on school buses. I remarked to him that, like seemingly every major regulatory change, it will take a major accident before this issue is properly addressed. Well, here it is. :-(
4/14/2005
Baby stuff and in-laws galore! DCOT lives!
Well, this has been a really babycentric weekend/week. My mom, dad, and aunt Agnes came in from WV and Jenny's mom came in from CA for the baby shower on Sunday. The baby received lots of great presents from the 20+ attendees, and Real Madrid beat Barcelona 4-1 at the Dad/Jody house. So all is well.
Jenny's mom is still staying with us, and she an Jenny have been exploring the cherry-blossom encrusted mall, shopping, and doing other fun mother/daughter stuff.
In other news, had the first DCOT (DC Over-Thirty) soccer yesterday. Only four of us showed, but we got a couple of passers-by and played 3-vs-3 between the Capitol and the Washington Monument. Quite majestic, if you can somehow forget who's running the government right now....Anyway, I was glad to get back to playing non-competive (read: fun) soccer again.
Jenny's mom is still staying with us, and she an Jenny have been exploring the cherry-blossom encrusted mall, shopping, and doing other fun mother/daughter stuff.
In other news, had the first DCOT (DC Over-Thirty) soccer yesterday. Only four of us showed, but we got a couple of passers-by and played 3-vs-3 between the Capitol and the Washington Monument. Quite majestic, if you can somehow forget who's running the government right now....Anyway, I was glad to get back to playing non-competive (read: fun) soccer again.
4/13/2005
The human race is trying as hard as it can to kill itself
It's a miracle that we made it this far.
Deadly Flu Strain Shipped Worldwide, Officials Race to Destroy Samples
Deadly Flu Strain Shipped Worldwide, Officials Race to Destroy Samples
4/06/2005
Cherry Blossom Time!
One of the coolest things to do in D.C. is to go down to the Tidal Basin (which overlooks the Jefferson Memorial) and take in the amazing cherry blossoms. The Cherry trees that ring the basin explode with color and a wonderful scent as spring makes its triumphant, and LONG overdue return.
We've got lots of inlaws coming into town for Jenny's baby shower this weekend, so the timing worked out fantastically for flower viewing. ¡Viva la primavera! Long live spring!
We've got lots of inlaws coming into town for Jenny's baby shower this weekend, so the timing worked out fantastically for flower viewing. ¡Viva la primavera! Long live spring!
4/05/2005
3/31/2005
I guess "STOOPID" and "DMBASS" were already taken.
Guy with the license that read TIPSY arrested for drunk driving.
Belly madness
Jenny's belly is getting out of control. And you should feel the little baby kicking inside there, it's too freaky!
If you put your hand on her belly, the baby will push it and kick it, I guess to say, "stop crowding me in here!!!!"
I'm in love and it's still three months away!
If you put your hand on her belly, the baby will push it and kick it, I guess to say, "stop crowding me in here!!!!"
I'm in love and it's still three months away!
3/28/2005
Grey day
Feeling very blah today, due to the Londonesque weather outside. Guess I'll trudge to lunch now.
3/24/2005
You want fries with that?
Okay, this is one of the more disgusting things I've heard of in a while. I guess a woman in San Jose, CA, was chowing down on some mmm-mmm-good chili at Wendy's when she chomped into a bigger than normal bit. Upon further inspection, IT WAS A FRICKING HUMAN FINGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DNA testing and, yes, fingerprinting to follow.
People, if you need any more reasons not to ever eat fast food, I don't know what's wrong with you....yuk!
DNA testing and, yes, fingerprinting to follow.
People, if you need any more reasons not to ever eat fast food, I don't know what's wrong with you....yuk!
3/21/2005
Crack! Ow!
While drying my head after showering this morning, I heard a large "crack" in my neck bones and, immediately after, sharp pains shot down my back to my beltline and my arm. Severe pain when looking down has continued all day. This sucks. I need a massage BAAAAAD.
3/16/2005
Geek Niche
I've got to hand it to these guys.
You've got to love the Internet when it fosters the entreprenurial dreams of a couple of D&D geeks who just want to sell dice, dammit.
Check this description of one of their dice sets, which is a perfect example of geek humor: "These stylish dice feature swirls of white against black, like wisps of smoke rising into darkest night. Or--you know--whatever. "
If you don't know what a d12 is, I don't really have space to explain it to you here. But suffice it to say that if you never found yourself and some buddies locked down in your parents' basement with a half-dozen 2-liters of Jolt and an insane amount of Rush cassettes and Cheetos on any given Saturday night in middle school, you probably wouldn't understand anyway.
Live the dream, dudes! And if any of you need dice, dicepool.com is where it's at.
You've got to love the Internet when it fosters the entreprenurial dreams of a couple of D&D geeks who just want to sell dice, dammit.
Check this description of one of their dice sets, which is a perfect example of geek humor: "These stylish dice feature swirls of white against black, like wisps of smoke rising into darkest night. Or--you know--whatever. "
If you don't know what a d12 is, I don't really have space to explain it to you here. But suffice it to say that if you never found yourself and some buddies locked down in your parents' basement with a half-dozen 2-liters of Jolt and an insane amount of Rush cassettes and Cheetos on any given Saturday night in middle school, you probably wouldn't understand anyway.
Live the dream, dudes! And if any of you need dice, dicepool.com is where it's at.
3/15/2005
Holy crap! Bomb scare on my corner!
So, my entire block was just shut down due to a suspicious backpack on the corner of L and 17th, NW, A FRICKING 1/2 BLOCK FROM THE FRONT ENTRANCE TO MY BUILDING!!!!!
We were able to watch out my coworker's office window as a Kevlar clad bomb squad cop positioned a small, remote-controlled gun next to the abandoned backpack, and then shot it with the remote-controlled gun! Blam! A bunch of papers flew out, but no explosion followed thank goodness. Whoever left that backpack on the streetcorner is in some deep doo-doo, methinks.
We were able to watch out my coworker's office window as a Kevlar clad bomb squad cop positioned a small, remote-controlled gun next to the abandoned backpack, and then shot it with the remote-controlled gun! Blam! A bunch of papers flew out, but no explosion followed thank goodness. Whoever left that backpack on the streetcorner is in some deep doo-doo, methinks.
Thanks for your support!
First off, let me thank those of you who have, on this blog and elsewhere, passed along kind words of encouragement to me since the death of my grandmother. I really appreciate the support. As Jenny and I have both said many times, we love you all!
Now, on to happier subjects.
It's not snowing in D.C., and we're all healthy and happy! Life is good!
Now, on to happier subjects.
It's not snowing in D.C., and we're all healthy and happy! Life is good!
3/09/2005
Goodbye Granny....
Well, tonight I got some very sad news. My grandmother, Charlotte, passed away tonight.
My granny was a heck of a lady. She's in most of my best childhood memories: the trips in the back of the car going to Myrtle Beach, cutting out construction-paper bats and pumpkins to tape to the windows at Halloween, roasting marshmallows over the gas burner at her house, even showing me how to build a little house out of rocks and moss for my army men when I was seven or so.
A couple of years ago I interviewed her and made a little documentary video of her memories. It was a big hit in my family and she was so proud of it. She said she was now a "movie star." The story was a compelling one: She grew up pretty poor in the coal mining region of West Virginia, but she made it through even the toughest of times after my grandpa, a miner, died when my mom was a baby. She re-married a Hungarian man, and she told me great stories about having to slaughter 10 chickens in a night to feed all her company on weekends because "my cooking was so good!" :-)
I'm so happy that she got to meet Jenny (and loved her a lot), and that she knew that we are going to have a baby.
I'll miss you granny. I love you very much.
My granny was a heck of a lady. She's in most of my best childhood memories: the trips in the back of the car going to Myrtle Beach, cutting out construction-paper bats and pumpkins to tape to the windows at Halloween, roasting marshmallows over the gas burner at her house, even showing me how to build a little house out of rocks and moss for my army men when I was seven or so.
A couple of years ago I interviewed her and made a little documentary video of her memories. It was a big hit in my family and she was so proud of it. She said she was now a "movie star." The story was a compelling one: She grew up pretty poor in the coal mining region of West Virginia, but she made it through even the toughest of times after my grandpa, a miner, died when my mom was a baby. She re-married a Hungarian man, and she told me great stories about having to slaughter 10 chickens in a night to feed all her company on weekends because "my cooking was so good!" :-)
I'm so happy that she got to meet Jenny (and loved her a lot), and that she knew that we are going to have a baby.
I'll miss you granny. I love you very much.
3/08/2005
It's Snaining!
Yesterday it was almost 70 degrees.
Today it's 33 degrees and snaining: snowing + raining simultaneously.
Lovely.
Today it's 33 degrees and snaining: snowing + raining simultaneously.
Lovely.
3/07/2005
Time travel
A few thoughts on time today.
First, is is me or do you also feel like 1993 could've been yesterday? Despite all evidence to the contrary (see hilarious photos at right, provided by the fantastic Mariangela), I really don't feel any different now than I did then.
I have changed...obviously. But on an everyday level, I still feel the same. I have this theory that everyone has a life-changing year or so, that once you've hit it, your personality and tastes are forever locked in that era. For a lot of us, including me, that year or so happens around your junior year of college.
I studied abroad that year and it completely upended my worldview and turned me into a vagabond for years, unable to settle down in one place or attach myself emotionally to one person (until I met Jenny, that is). In 1993 I found The Person Who Would Be Joe. Even now, my style, politics (see photo) and tastes (ignore photo) now are essentially "locked" in that era, which explains why every band out now both sucks AND blows.
What was your life-changing year?
On another time related front, check out the waffle theory. About fricking right.
First, is is me or do you also feel like 1993 could've been yesterday? Despite all evidence to the contrary (see hilarious photos at right, provided by the fantastic Mariangela), I really don't feel any different now than I did then.
I have changed...obviously. But on an everyday level, I still feel the same. I have this theory that everyone has a life-changing year or so, that once you've hit it, your personality and tastes are forever locked in that era. For a lot of us, including me, that year or so happens around your junior year of college.
I studied abroad that year and it completely upended my worldview and turned me into a vagabond for years, unable to settle down in one place or attach myself emotionally to one person (until I met Jenny, that is). In 1993 I found The Person Who Would Be Joe. Even now, my style, politics (see photo) and tastes (ignore photo) now are essentially "locked" in that era, which explains why every band out now both sucks AND blows.
What was your life-changing year?
On another time related front, check out the waffle theory. About fricking right.
3/06/2005
Amp summit a success!
Yesterday I met up with a couple other homebrew guitar amp builders yesterday in Ellicott City, MD to compare amp builds and try out each other's speakers.
One of the other guys, also named Joe, donated his basement and provided some chips and Guinness. A good time was had by all, and it was fantastic to be in a room with not one, but two people who knew what the hell I was talking about.
That said, it was a complete nerd fest:
Joe V: Is that a Mullard 12ax7?
Joe Z: Yeah, I got it out of an amp I was fixing for a guy, the phase inverter was shot and the cathode bias was all wrong.
Alan: That's a nice tube.
Joe V: Yeah, really nice.
All in unison [in Homer Simpson donut voice]: Mmmmm.....Mullard.
One of the other guys, also named Joe, donated his basement and provided some chips and Guinness. A good time was had by all, and it was fantastic to be in a room with not one, but two people who knew what the hell I was talking about.
That said, it was a complete nerd fest:
Joe V: Is that a Mullard 12ax7?
Joe Z: Yeah, I got it out of an amp I was fixing for a guy, the phase inverter was shot and the cathode bias was all wrong.
Alan: That's a nice tube.
Joe V: Yeah, really nice.
All in unison [in Homer Simpson donut voice]: Mmmmm.....Mullard.
3/03/2005
2/25/2005
This dumbass goes to 11
Holy mother of the everlasting metal moshing hair bands....this dude will CRACK you up!
METALLLLLLL!!!!!!
METALLLLLLL!!!!!!
Here's a shocker...teens want to have sex!
That the study was conducted in Texas makes it even funnier. Imagine that, teens ignoring old people and having sex anyway. Looks like mother nature kicks moral hypocracy's ass yet again....
Read the story here.
Read the story here.
2/24/2005
Random Preg-o Musings
- The alien peanut kicks when I am listening to NPR. How cool is that? My mini-intellectual.
- Joe'd better watch out -- as I am teaching the kid jazz hands as soon as possible. The world is not such a heavy place to live in when you slide across the wood floor in your socks and you simultaneously do and say "jazz hands!"
- I really have no waist now. Pants are a problem. They won't stay up. Who needs a Swiffer when I have my draggy pants?
- I still want to know: what's up with "glow?" I have not seen the glow. I don't glow. No radiance. Perhaps some bronzer will help?
- Did you know your lips spontaneously peel? Who needs exfoliator?
- I sing with the radio...ALOT. Hoping the vibrations will relax the AP and maybe even AP will end up with good pitch.
- I do "baby aerobics" - which means I don't jostle -- I am sure Black Eyed Peas never thought their song, "Let's get it started" would be danced to, by a 6-months pregnant chick. But oh yes...I can do it.
- Also, I am teaching AP the cha-cha-cha and waltz. It's good for my hip-flexors.
- When you are preg-o you spontaneously pass-out from fatigue. Many a night, Joe and I will be watching TV or a movie and one minute I am up and alert and the next... OUT COLD. It's freaky.
2/23/2005
Novel problem: no furniture
Well, we're at the move-in phase where all of the major home fix-ups are coming to a close (hallway paint is the last one, and I'm doing that tonight), and we're running into a new problem: lack of funiture.
Jenny and I consolidated our separate one-bedroom apartments into my one-bedroom apartment when we got married, and since our place in the District was also one-bedroom, we only have one-bedroom's worth of funiture. That leaves us with two empty bedrooms and an extra living room to furnish. A good problem to have, no doubt, but no less daunting.
My mom and dad are giving us an antique bedroom set from my granny's room at home, but I have to go get it from WV. We kind of want to lean towards the modern for the rest of the house, so Ikea will probably be our friend and our wallets' enemy.
Stay tuned....
Jenny and I consolidated our separate one-bedroom apartments into my one-bedroom apartment when we got married, and since our place in the District was also one-bedroom, we only have one-bedroom's worth of funiture. That leaves us with two empty bedrooms and an extra living room to furnish. A good problem to have, no doubt, but no less daunting.
My mom and dad are giving us an antique bedroom set from my granny's room at home, but I have to go get it from WV. We kind of want to lean towards the modern for the rest of the house, so Ikea will probably be our friend and our wallets' enemy.
Stay tuned....
2/21/2005
The joys of home ownership
I know you're expecting some home improvement horror story in a blog entry with that kind of title, but I'm actually being totally sincere this time. Tonight we had our friend Julia over for dinner (pizza, as it turns out), and as I sat on our love seat watching her and Jenny converse, I thought to myself, "this is why we bought our house." There is really something awesome about being able to have friends over to your own place. Not some apartment, but your own abode. And on top of that, I got the tub completely unclogged without calling Roto Rooter. SCHWEET!!!!!!
P.S. We had our new carpet installed in the sun room on Saturday...double SCHWEET! (See photo here.)
P.S. We had our new carpet installed in the sun room on Saturday...double SCHWEET! (See photo here.)
2/17/2005
Bankruptcy, part II
This is a follow-up to this post, about the new bankruptcy law currently under debate (if you can call it that) in the Congress.
Just in case you hear some rich Republican a-hole (or poor Republican a-hole, we won't discriminate) saying how "people have to quit charging up their cards and take some personal responsibility," show them this article in today's San Francisco Chronicle. Here's a snippet:
"The study looked at 1,771 bankruptcies filed in 2001 in five states, including California. Almost half of those filers -- 46.2 percent -- cited illness and medical bills as a major cause of bankruptcy. More than three- quarters had insurance at the onset of illness."
Well, serves them right for getting sick, right George W.?
And if you're tempted to think that this only happens to the working poor, think again:
"Jeannie Brewer is a physician married to a surgical resident. She and her family have health insurance. She's not the kind of person you'd expect to be pushed to the verge of financial collapse by medical expenses.
Yet Brewer is considering filing for bankruptcy, and part of the reason is the $16,500 in health care costs her family incurs each year that are not paid for by insurance."
Ask yourself this question: Could you afford $16 grand extra a year? Then don't get sick y'all, 'cause under this administration, you're on your own.
Just in case you hear some rich Republican a-hole (or poor Republican a-hole, we won't discriminate) saying how "people have to quit charging up their cards and take some personal responsibility," show them this article in today's San Francisco Chronicle. Here's a snippet:
"The study looked at 1,771 bankruptcies filed in 2001 in five states, including California. Almost half of those filers -- 46.2 percent -- cited illness and medical bills as a major cause of bankruptcy. More than three- quarters had insurance at the onset of illness."
Well, serves them right for getting sick, right George W.?
And if you're tempted to think that this only happens to the working poor, think again:
"Jeannie Brewer is a physician married to a surgical resident. She and her family have health insurance. She's not the kind of person you'd expect to be pushed to the verge of financial collapse by medical expenses.
Yet Brewer is considering filing for bankruptcy, and part of the reason is the $16,500 in health care costs her family incurs each year that are not paid for by insurance."
Ask yourself this question: Could you afford $16 grand extra a year? Then don't get sick y'all, 'cause under this administration, you're on your own.
The Waist hath officially disappeared
I am finally showing. But I am at the frusterating stage of, "is Jenny eating too much lately" or "is she pregnant" phase.
I took a long time to show due to the fact that I was underweight and now I am trying to get back on track... more later and will try to attach photo for proof.
I took a long time to show due to the fact that I was underweight and now I am trying to get back on track... more later and will try to attach photo for proof.
2/15/2005
New Guitar Player article now online
Unfortunately, the Frets articles aren't available online yet, but you can check out an interview I did with metal band Shadows Fall on the GP site here.
Fun stuff....
Fun stuff....
2/14/2005
Arroz con pollo ¡Qué rico!
We had our friends Kristin and Jordan over for Sunday dinner (which in our family is at 2:00 p.m.) this weekend for Spanish chicken and rice, or arroz con pollo as you may know it. I've been eating this dish on Sundays since I can't even remember, as it was one of the traditions brought over from the old country. Thought you might enjoy the recipe (my great-grandmother's, with my lower-fat changes in brackets...believe it or not, it's just as good low fat):
Ingredients:
1 pack of [skinless, boneless] chicken [breasts]
1 jar of sliced pimentos (drained)
1 jar of green Spanish olives (stuffed with pimentos, drained)
2 pinches of Spanish saffron*
Uncle Ben's CONVERTED rice**
1/2 onion, coarsely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
salt/pepper to taste (I don't use a lot, and then add to the finished dish on the plate, but it's up to you)
Virgin or extra virgin Spanish olive oil (the Italian stuff will make you impotent) ;-)
Grab a large, [non-stick] frying pan, and pour in a dollop of oil about 3 inches round. Heat on medium-high until a haze forms above it.
Add garlic and onion and sauté until onion begins to brown slightly (Keep moving it around the pan! You don't want to burn it or the garlic!)
Add chicken, pimentos, salt and pepper (you want a decent amount of both salt and pepper on the chicken), and fry until chicken is starting to brown. Turn off heat and cover skillet.
Boil enough water for the serving size of rice you want (for four people, I make the six-serving amount as outlined on the Uncle Ben's box).
If your saffron is a powder, add two pinches (small ones) to the water. If your saffron is in whole strands, crush one pinch with a morter and pestle or between two spoons and then add to water. Water should turn bright yellow. Add rice (as per directions on Uncle Ben's box). Reduce heat, cover, simmer until water cooks off and rice is done.
In a cassarole dish, combine rice, chicken et al, and olives, and bake at 350 until you taste an olive and it's hot.
Serve with a salad of lettuce, chopped onion, and lots of salt with an olive oil/white vinegar dressing. Yum!
Recommended wine: Marqués de Cáceres Rioja
*(Note: Do not buy the cheap stuff in the Mexican food area at the grocery store labeled "Saffron." I don't know what it is, but it's not 100% saffron, and it tastes totally different. If the saffron costs less than $12/packet, don't buy it. Don't freak about how much it costs, as a little saffron will last you a long time.)
**(Don't laugh, my Spanish great-grandmother used Uncle Ben's. And it MUST be converted rice for ease-of-use issues....)
Ingredients:
1 pack of [skinless, boneless] chicken [breasts]
1 jar of sliced pimentos (drained)
1 jar of green Spanish olives (stuffed with pimentos, drained)
2 pinches of Spanish saffron*
Uncle Ben's CONVERTED rice**
1/2 onion, coarsely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
salt/pepper to taste (I don't use a lot, and then add to the finished dish on the plate, but it's up to you)
Virgin or extra virgin Spanish olive oil (the Italian stuff will make you impotent) ;-)
Grab a large, [non-stick] frying pan, and pour in a dollop of oil about 3 inches round. Heat on medium-high until a haze forms above it.
Add garlic and onion and sauté until onion begins to brown slightly (Keep moving it around the pan! You don't want to burn it or the garlic!)
Add chicken, pimentos, salt and pepper (you want a decent amount of both salt and pepper on the chicken), and fry until chicken is starting to brown. Turn off heat and cover skillet.
Boil enough water for the serving size of rice you want (for four people, I make the six-serving amount as outlined on the Uncle Ben's box).
If your saffron is a powder, add two pinches (small ones) to the water. If your saffron is in whole strands, crush one pinch with a morter and pestle or between two spoons and then add to water. Water should turn bright yellow. Add rice (as per directions on Uncle Ben's box). Reduce heat, cover, simmer until water cooks off and rice is done.
In a cassarole dish, combine rice, chicken et al, and olives, and bake at 350 until you taste an olive and it's hot.
Serve with a salad of lettuce, chopped onion, and lots of salt with an olive oil/white vinegar dressing. Yum!
Recommended wine: Marqués de Cáceres Rioja
*(Note: Do not buy the cheap stuff in the Mexican food area at the grocery store labeled "Saffron." I don't know what it is, but it's not 100% saffron, and it tastes totally different. If the saffron costs less than $12/packet, don't buy it. Don't freak about how much it costs, as a little saffron will last you a long time.)
**(Don't laugh, my Spanish great-grandmother used Uncle Ben's. And it MUST be converted rice for ease-of-use issues....)
2/11/2005
Proposed bankruptcy law is disgusting
Got a multibillion dollar company that's too far in the red to save? No problem. Declare bankruptcy, fire everyone, and move on to your next business.
Got a few thousand dollars in credit card debt? Unlucky enough to get laid off and sick at the same time? Just declare bankruptcy, right? Nope. Screw you, buddy, you've STILL got to pay back Citibank.
That's basically the jist of a proposed law that would exempt credit-card debt from personal bankruptcy filings (an earlier version of which, by the way, Bill Clinton let die on his desk rather than sign into law).
How evil is this bill? Let me count the ways. First, deregulation of the lending industry effectively eliminates states' usury laws, allowing credit card companies to charge any interest rate that they deem fit. Then the companies change their business practices to lure college kids and working families into massive debt, while allowing minuscule minimum payments that contribute to the massive compounding of interest debt. "Oops, you were late on your mortgage payment. There goes your unrelated credit card's interest up to 28%!" They then have the audacity to blame cash-strapped consumers who can't get out of the hole created by a never-ending stream of pre-approved credit-card applications, and use lackey politicians to change the law to eliminate the only way out for these poor consumers.
Big banks and their lobbyists are happy, of course, as are the Republican lawmakers ramming this through committee to the President's desk. And this evil sonofabitch is going to sign it into law before you can say "thanks for all those campaign contributions, MBNA."
Pay off your credit cards people. Do it. Now.
Got a few thousand dollars in credit card debt? Unlucky enough to get laid off and sick at the same time? Just declare bankruptcy, right? Nope. Screw you, buddy, you've STILL got to pay back Citibank.
That's basically the jist of a proposed law that would exempt credit-card debt from personal bankruptcy filings (an earlier version of which, by the way, Bill Clinton let die on his desk rather than sign into law).
How evil is this bill? Let me count the ways. First, deregulation of the lending industry effectively eliminates states' usury laws, allowing credit card companies to charge any interest rate that they deem fit. Then the companies change their business practices to lure college kids and working families into massive debt, while allowing minuscule minimum payments that contribute to the massive compounding of interest debt. "Oops, you were late on your mortgage payment. There goes your unrelated credit card's interest up to 28%!" They then have the audacity to blame cash-strapped consumers who can't get out of the hole created by a never-ending stream of pre-approved credit-card applications, and use lackey politicians to change the law to eliminate the only way out for these poor consumers.
Big banks and their lobbyists are happy, of course, as are the Republican lawmakers ramming this through committee to the President's desk. And this evil sonofabitch is going to sign it into law before you can say "thanks for all those campaign contributions, MBNA."
Pay off your credit cards people. Do it. Now.
God I'm old
There's nothing like an all-ages show to bring father time rudly crashing down upon your distorted sense of personal youth.
Last night I went to see a punk rock show at the Black Cat. The Loved Ones, The Unseen, and some other band were playing, but I just went on a lark, so I didn't know any of the bands beforehand. Turns out they were "old skool" punk rock bands, complete with mohawks, pinned Agnostic Front tee-shirts, and the like. The kids in the audience, who seemed to be about, oh, I don't know....TWELVE OR SO, all had on tee-shirts and patches from bands who were broken up before they were even born. I haven't seen the Ramones seal so many times since 1988. Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, and the Misfits were other favorites of the kiddie set (I guess Jason's and my suspicions were correct, and new bands DO suck). Seeing all the retro outfits and little girls sporting mohawks made me crack up...literally. It was like a halloween party where everyone dressed up as what punk rockers are supposed to look like. Weird.
Anyway, the Unseen were the band most of the kids were there to see, and I've got to admit that while the music was bland, derivitive, and basically a bad Minor Threat ripoff, the energy of the kids all shouting along made it an enjoyable experience.
I really went to the show to see what amplifiers the guitar players were using. The verdict: Marshalls. In fact, of the five amp heads on stage, four were Marshalls (two JCM 800s, and two I couldn't make out the model numbers on), and one was a Mesa Dual Recto. The Mesa, by the way, blew all of the Marshalls out of the water for the distorted punk stuff the bands were playing.
Still, it was a wake-up call that if I really want to try to sell some amps, I had better quit monkeying around with this low-wattage stuff and focus on 50 and 100 watters to take advantage of all the bullshit market-driven brainwashing that the major manufacturers put out.
Last night I went to see a punk rock show at the Black Cat. The Loved Ones, The Unseen, and some other band were playing, but I just went on a lark, so I didn't know any of the bands beforehand. Turns out they were "old skool" punk rock bands, complete with mohawks, pinned Agnostic Front tee-shirts, and the like. The kids in the audience, who seemed to be about, oh, I don't know....TWELVE OR SO, all had on tee-shirts and patches from bands who were broken up before they were even born. I haven't seen the Ramones seal so many times since 1988. Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, and the Misfits were other favorites of the kiddie set (I guess Jason's and my suspicions were correct, and new bands DO suck). Seeing all the retro outfits and little girls sporting mohawks made me crack up...literally. It was like a halloween party where everyone dressed up as what punk rockers are supposed to look like. Weird.
Anyway, the Unseen were the band most of the kids were there to see, and I've got to admit that while the music was bland, derivitive, and basically a bad Minor Threat ripoff, the energy of the kids all shouting along made it an enjoyable experience.
I really went to the show to see what amplifiers the guitar players were using. The verdict: Marshalls. In fact, of the five amp heads on stage, four were Marshalls (two JCM 800s, and two I couldn't make out the model numbers on), and one was a Mesa Dual Recto. The Mesa, by the way, blew all of the Marshalls out of the water for the distorted punk stuff the bands were playing.
Still, it was a wake-up call that if I really want to try to sell some amps, I had better quit monkeying around with this low-wattage stuff and focus on 50 and 100 watters to take advantage of all the bullshit market-driven brainwashing that the major manufacturers put out.
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