Filed under: books, cold blooded old times, concerts, music, rest & relaxation, the act of blogging, things at home, work
1. Miike Snow’s “Animal” is sooooooooooo good. This is my new summer anthem. I wonder if the rest of his stuff is as good?
2. I’ve been listening to a lot of Blip.fm at work. I like queuing up songs the night before and then letting it rip during the workday. Check out my blip for the above song.
3. I’m getting a new roof put on the house today … FINALLY. It only took the ‘lords a couple years to get around to doing it. Soon my records room will no longer leak and I will hopefully spend a lot more time in there. It’s been a kind of depressing place to be over the last few months as my stereo and records have been perpetually covered in towels to keep the rainwater away. And it’s been raining a LOT.
4. I went to Night 1 of the Pitchfork fest this year: Yo La Tengo, Tortoise, and Built to Spill all sounded fine but were BORING to watch. Ten years ago I believe I would have had a much different reaction. I used to LOVE watching Tortoise live, and Yo La blew me away when I saw them on the Electr-o-Pura tour. The Jesus Lizard also blew me away when I saw them in 1995, and they were the lone band on the bill that did it for me this time around, too. I’m not sure what I’m looking for anymore when I see a band perform live. I guess, in large part, it’s the newness that increases the WOW factor. So maybe the fact that this music (Yo La et al.) is so ingrained in my DNA lessens its impact? That doesn’t explain the Lizard, though. David Yow was still every bit your creepy uncle. He crowdsurfed and made snarky comments and just looked like he was having FUN. I’m seriously considering seeing them perform when they reunite again in November.
5. DJ’ing my niece’s wedding was a blast. As someone who typically spins r’n'r in bars for hipsters, it’s relatively rare to see people dance during my sets (unless very drunk). The bars I spin at — people don’t go there to dance. They go there to converse. That doesn’t mean they aren’t appreciative of the music or that they fail to acknowledge the DJ. But they just do it with subtler nods and fist pumps. But at this wedding reception I had the dance floor filled the entire time. Kids, adults, everyone. Playing some stupid dance music (Lady Gaga + Beyonce + Gnarls) was fun, but the crowd really went bonkers for the Michael Jackson/Jackson 5 block in addition to the medley I created for the bride/groom. The latter was an 8-minute block of stuff I mixed together, from the Chiffon’s “He’s So Fine” (from the woman’s perspective) to The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” (from the man’s perspective) to a climatic UB40 cover of “I Got You, Babe” (requested by the bridal party), with Chrissie Hynde playing the part of Cher. Oh, and some old dude requested Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London.” Out of left field? Sure, but I gladly played it.
6. The new job sucks. I’m trying to just accept this.
7. Bike riding. I’m improving a lot. I’ve done 325 miles in a little more than a month, including my first back-to-back 30-mile rides.
8. In late spring I made a commitment to R&B, reading and biking. The biking is working out nicely, but the reading (of books) is lagging behind, unfortunately. Attention span, lengthen please. I think I’m going to tackle Let the Right One In, which everyone says is spectacular. (I enjoyed the movie.)
9. I’ve been riding the bus to work on days that I don’t ride the bike. It’s a 30-minute commute, which I enjoy as it allows me time to knock out a long magazine article. I’ve made it through the previous four issues of Wired, but I need to find something new to read. Speaking of …
10. Does anyone have any reccomendations for site’s they check out on a daily/regular basis that have interesting long-form journalism? The subject matter doesn’t matter all that much. I’m not looking for “newsy” articles, per say. Rather, engaging subjects handled in relative depth. I need some ideas for content to pour over during lunch breaks — things I can simply print off and take with me to the cafe.
Filed under: things at home
… in your own backyard.
Filed under: rest & relaxation, things at home, travel | Tags: Washington D.C.
My flight last night was delayed to the point where I had to stay in D.C. for another night, which meant a 30-minute metro ride and 20-minute walk back to Chris’ apartment from the airport. Meanwhile, my suitcase carried on without me. Luckily, it was here at the Savoy airport when I arrived this afternoon.
Today I will not walk three miles, I will play with my cat and sleep in my bed, and I will return to the boredom that is unemployment in Champaign. But more importantly, I will get to hang with M.
Still, I will miss D.C. Seven days is the longest I’ve spent in any one city that I didn’t live in in a really long time, and I had a blast. Much thanks to Chris (especially), Mason, and their friends, plus Zac, for making my time in the nation’s capital a lot of fun.
“You can screw with a man’s patio furniture, but don’t fuck with his Obama sign!”
We’ve had this sucker since March of last year. Unbelievable. I feel like stitching it back together, or something.
I doubt we can get another one at this late date.
Update: Check out this breathtaking photo. Over 100K in St. Louis for Obama, a new campaign record.
Filed under: stupid stuff, things at home | Tags: sophie the cat, squirrels
The past two mornings I’ve been awoken about 9:30 a.m. — isn’t unemployment awesome? — by a squirrel chomping on a nut right outside my open bedroom window. Of course, I have to wonder where Sophie the cat is in these instances, missing a front row seat on the action. We only have about 2,300 squirrels in the back yard at any given time, so it’s odd that these are the first two instances (that I can recall) that I’ve been awoken by a squirrel. At the old apartment, the problem was pigeons. At least squirrels are cuter.
Filed under: music, stupid stuff, things at home, work | Tags: Homies, TV on the Radio
First, my new desk in the loft. Hopefully it will inspire me to, uh, get a job. Or at least look more professional while attempting to do so.
My homies have a new home. Strength in numbers.
Second, the new TV on the Radio album, Dear Science, which I listened to while putting together my new desk. This is the most pop oriented of their records to date, but the group does not sacrifice the David Byrne and Brian Eno influences that have made their music strange in the past. This is the first album I purchased on a Pitchfork recommendation in some time. They got it right.
Filed under: books, things at home, work | Tags: books, sophie the cat, work
For those of you who don’t know, I was laid off in late July (along with pretty much all of my co-workers) as my company is in the process of going bankrupt, while at the same time being “sold” to a new owner. Well, I was out of work for two weeks, which actually turned out to be a blessing as I mostly relaxed while sending out a few résumés. Luckily, my bankrupt company has, over the past month, paid me the three weeks of vacation pay I was due. And more relevant to my current situation, I was rehired after the two-week layoff by the new ownership/management group. That’s made for an awkward situation as I head to the old office to work. First of all, there are only three of us employed, and the other two are technically still working for the old company, even though they are being paid by the new company. I’m contractually working for the new company (and of course being paid by them), doing my old job, and attempting to avoid my old boss. (The Prez is being let go as soon as the transition to the new company is complete, once the old company has its day in court.)
Upon being laid off, I moved five-and-a-half year’s worth of crap out of my office. I haven’t moved it back yet, and likely won’t because in all likelihood the new company will be relocating to Chicago soon and I’ll be working for them — from home — until at least the end of the calendar year. This means I’ve had to find a somewhat permanent place for that crap I moved out of my office, which is largely a whole bunch of sports non-fiction books. So, voilá, my new bookshelf packed with books.
This doesn’t include the books I’ve worked on for the old company; those are still boxed up, where they will likely stay. The “records room” is quickly becoming a multi-media room, so to speak. Sophie doesn’t seem to mind, as long as the bookshelf isn’t blocking her view of the backyard. This cat has some serious “I gots to get myself outta this house” blues going on right now. The squirrels that play tag on the deck probably aren’t helping matters.
