I keep on talkin' trash but I never say anything
New winner in the ongoing All-Time Favorite Girl Singer contest!
Jenny Lewis, of Rilo Kiley.
Previous title holders include Isobel Campbell, Neko Case, Kirsty MacColl, Claudia from the Magnetic Fields, Amanda from the Go Betweens, Corrina Repp, Sheena Easton (just kidding).
I'm always late to the hipness party, but I'm really enjoying their entire back catalog (thanks, OiNK!). I was never a fan of Boy Meets World or Camp Beverly Hills, though.

This Charming, Crafty Man
Everyone here has been sick, except me, as usual. I don't mean to brag, but I just don't usually get real sick. Except last year I had pneumonia right about now. While I was training for the indoor "race." No wonder I got beat by four other guys in my heat alone! And then this last week, when I was sitting still in my car, I hadn't hit a bump or swerved or moved in any way and I got this sharp pain in my lower back, right side, that felt like I was either punched or stabbed. I swear, it took the wind right out of me. I was driving along, panting in pain. Then it went away. Another family curse? Besides the grey hair, kindneystones? We'll see. I would hate that, though.
So my spare time project this week was to redo my geek lair. Gone are the piles and shelves. In is the new clean organization, the big old desk area, with the glow in the dark stars on its surface.
This is much cooler. Lauran complained a little, especially when I was painting at 11 o'clock, but if she hadn't made me watch all those damn TLC shows, this never would have happened.

And some details. Old bike parts. (I like the handlebars--it reminds me of antlers a hunter might hang up.) Odd old goggles, etc.

Sabres At Dawn
Gabe took this picture on the way to school the other day. It's pretty cool.

Sputter
If you can think of something that won't make me mad(der), you win.



Edit: I win! I win! I was listening to Tom Heinl's hilarious piss-take of Tom Hall's old comboy tune, "I Love." That cheered me up! I went and got the chords and I'll think I'll sit here in my office and try to play it.
“I love kids on a leash, anything Siamese, underwear on a dog and Lincoln Logs.”

Ah, life is good.

A Low Moon Caught In Your Tangles
On we go drowning, down we go away.

Sometimes The Truth Will Set You Free
Other times it will leave you scratching your head.
This, dear readers, is true, not photoshop'ed in any way. It's the Devil's bike.
He's the guy that shows up at all the big races in Europe, dressed up with his pitchfork, ready to "cheer" the riders on.

The world's largest tandem hits the road, piloted by Didi 'the devil' Senft and assistant Patrick Foelske.
Photo ©: AFP Photo

My Therapist Says Not To See You No More, She Said You're Like A Disease Without Any Cure, She Said I'm So Obsessed That I'm Becoming A Bore--Oh, No!
I was gonna give up torrenting and filesharing for Lent...but then some rare Tarkio and Colin Meloy ephemera surfaced....so, no.
And I'm not in any kind of permanent trouble at Indietorrents, so belated Love to them all.

Also, have you ever been curious what it looks like when you unpack a high-performance road bike that you mail-ordered? It's all partially dismantled like this. It only takes a few minutes to fix, unless it's past midnight, then it might take an hour. The Supergo housebrand wheels are actually made by Neuvation, and I have those one my other bike, too. You may, as well, only they have a different sticker on them, if you know what I mean. I pledged I would never reveal their secret. The owner of the company told me. Honestly, there are more brands out there than factories making the stuff. Of course they're made in the same place, only sold under different names! It's the same with guitars. I corresponded with a Fender employee online who says their so-called Mexican-made guitars are only assembled there. All the parts are sent in from the US. So, pay half and get the same guitar that says "Made in the USA". Honest. It was on the internet. It must be true.

I'm gonna be the belle of the ball at the Thursday night race/ride this year, if they have them.
Oh, how I wish that the roads were clear and the sun was out. Instead, I get to sweat on the trainer. There are not enough DVDs in the world to keep that interesting.

Today, I Won't Think Of Any Sad Things; Will Not Think Of Torture Or The Rape Of Nature
Happy Love Day to all!
Except maybe the mods and members over at Indiet*rr*nts.
I especially like the Smiths heart I got. It's the yellow one. It says, "Ask Me." The others say "You Rule" and "You Rock."

What For? Tell Me, Tell Me, What For?
Things to look forward to:
One (or more, I can't say any more yet) Decemberists shows.
Their new album, due March 22. Should be STUPENDOUS.
A new Long Winters album, sometime this year, John Roderick says.
A new New Pornographers album, probably September, says Carl over at their site. Don't worry, it'll be with Neko.
Bike rides when the weather improves. Usually 50 degrees is my minimum riding temperature. I will, if I'm really itchin', go out in the high 40s. Don't forget, the wind makes it feel a bunch colder. Yes, I have cold weather kit, but I hate to get all bundled up on the outside to get all sweaty on the inside.

Lately my titles have been James lyrics. This old song, from like 1988 or so, is C F G, throughout the whole song. It is my new favorite strum-fest. There's a lead riff in places on top of the rhythm, with lots of variations, which was Larry Gott either improvising or screwing up. He builds furniture now.


I've given up on hairstyles.

If I Hadn't Seen Such Riches I Could Live With Being Poor
Brian wants a new PowerBook. Probably has it already. Who can blame him? Apples are just addictive.
Matthew, ever economical, is getting his old iBook fixed.
Me? I have my sights set on other things, as I have completed my master plan for guitar-getting (phase 1).

Those Who Find They're Touched By Madness, Sit Down Next To Me
Seems to be pretty much everyone.

Those Who Find Themselves Ridiculous, Sit Down Next To Me

"Bite me."

Down But Not Out
OK, so I deliberately watch very little TV. Which means that I am often not "down" with all the latest teen dramas and their associated starlets. I'm way behind the curve on the whole Lindsay Lohan boob scandal, and it was just recently that I saw Saved. I still haven't seen Napoleon Dynamite.

It's not snobbery. I just would rather paint, attempt to play music or hang out on teh internets [hehehe, Brian]. Why has it become our national liturgy to eat dinner, then settle in to watch several hours of TV each night? It's not like any of it matters. I used to like Alias. I used to like The West Wing. But now, everything leaves me cold. I didn't even watch every minute of the Tour de France last year. I have tried to watch Arrested Development, but it has the real Liza Minelli in it, so...no.

Multimedia Extravaganza!
I am not a good bootlegger. My hacked iPod recording of Colin's solo show at Fez is seriously clipped. I mean, I'll put up with it, cuz it's a memory of mine, but no one else will want to deal with that fuzz. There's no way to set the level until those Podzilla guys figure out a way.

On the subject of fuzz. Here is a sample of a recording, the guitar is that kit one I made. For some reason, whenever the low E string is hit it fuzzes out. Yes, it was in tune. No, no effects were on the recording. Yes, the guitar is a cheapy no-name parts affair. I'm not saying I hate it, it's kind of interesting, like fuzz bass built in. Fuzz bass is highly underrated, as Matthew Seligman (Soft Boys. Thompson Twins, etc) once said. Who knows?

For the 100th day of school, Gabe had a project--make something with 100 of the same item. He wanted to nail 100 nails into an old board. I suggested that we use screws and put them into a shape. We came up with the idea of a porcupine, and I made a little body. Gabe insists there are only 99, but there are also 3 holding it together.


We rearranged our living room and added an "adult bunker" in the midst of the toys and children, creating a blank space on the wall above the new location for our couch. I wanted to decorate with my new painted guitars, Lauran said no. How about a bike then? Some of the components are beautiful sculptures.


In an act of political defiance, I ate a HUGE bowl of SpongeBob Gaypants cereal. And Buster is allowed to visit whoever he wants, even if it's two chicks in love. I'm gonna get me some Arthur merch and wear it around. Ha!

Progress Report
Last year, acutally in 2003 to be exact, I set up a little challenge for myself. How did it turn out? Well... [you can forget about italics, ed.]

Piazza, New York Catcher, Belle & Sebastian--Well, I can play a version of it with the rhythm slightly off.
Garageland, The Clash--Not until I get better at barre chords. Playing them open makes it too folksy.
Nothing, Robyn Hitchcock--Yeah, pretty much.
All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, Bauhaus--Still having trouble with the repetitive pattern. It should be simple, but for my fat fingers it’s not.
Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band, The Beatles--Only in my dreams!
His Cheeseburger, VeggieTales--This is a great hair metal ballad, but I haven’t really looked at it.
A New England, Billy Bragg--Same with this one, except for the hair metal part.
This Land Is Your Land, Woody Guthrie--Yes, I can play this, as it has only three simple chords, two more than I can usually handle, but for Woody, I’ll manage.
That’s Entertainment, The Jam--Attempted a few times, not much progress.
Pretty Vacant, The Sex Pistols--Sloppy power chords should be easy, but, alas, they are not.
The Devil’s Eye, The Go Betweens--Never really tried. Sort of attempted Loves Goes On instead.
One, U2--I’ve seen some simplified versions, but Edge’s crazy chords and heavily processed guitars mean anyone who tries to cover them sounds stupid. Good career move on his part.
Dear God, XTC--Lots of bass-picking between strums, starting to get the hang of this.

In the meantime, I have been working mightily hard on a few Decemberist tunes: Grace Cathedral Hill, Red Right Ankle, I Was Meant For The Stage, As I Rise, and a couple more… I could probably fumble my way through an open mic deal if I had to/wanted to. It would be fun, I imagine. But whenever there’s someone else in the room my fingers freeze up, so maybe not, after all. Plus, there’s no venue in this town, so the world is safe from my “performance.” I have also worked on several “songs” of my own. Songs! That’s a stretch. Also, I have been known to play B-I-N-G-O and If You’re Happy And You Know It.

Other songs I’m interested in learning: Pretty much any Violent Femmes or James song. I still have this weird desire to check out the chords to almost every song I like. I’m driving down the road, And She Was comes on, my first thought is to go look it up as soon as I get home. Sometimes I remember to. Then I print it out, put it in one of my notebooks, maybe dig it out at some point, some tipsy late Friday night, botch it horribly, then give up. That’s about the story of my self-taught musical education. Sad but true.

Fun Food Facts!
Did you know that the "strawberries" in instant oatmeal are really apples?
I heard somewhere that if a guy eats too much soy he'll grow man-boobs, cuz it stimulates estrogen production. Weird.
Also, capers go very well with pork tenderloin, if you make a nice garlicy mustard sauce.


Me and Sarah, in the old tree at our grandma's house. She has this at her lovely house, where we spent some lovely days recently, snowed in.