[looking at you reminds me of the sun, and how the blind are so damn lucky] :: We had another barbecue for lunch here at work today. I ate nothing but meat and fruit, and, as usual, too much of both. So for my actual lunch break, Miss Rodeo America and I hopped in the hot car, and, inspired by similar activities in suburban Atlanta, hit up a decent thrift store in the immediate suburbs.

I struck out on clothes, again, but we did pick up some great tapes for the car including the Xanadu soundtrack, Huey Lewis' Sports, an old Clash tape, and the Korean version of Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet. Of course, we popped the Bon Jovi into the tape deck immediately after exiting and shouted, and I mean *shouted* the one/two punch of "You Give Love A Bad Name" and "Livin' On A Prayer" as we sped back to work along the bay. Damn, that's the happiest I've been all week.

Other things that have made me happy this week:

1. Steve Earle's El Corazon.
2. When my friend came over last night and the kitties went to sleep...in the same room! Progress, folks.
3. Doug Martsch's "Window."
4. Carrying a large 4-track home to record some instrumental demos.
5. "Boobies, boobies, boobies!" My third time seeing Valley Of The Dolls.

Tonight it's resting, and dinner, and retrieving some birthday presents I left at the bar, and tomorrow is the first hockey game of the season. Woot woot!

[it's always the little things] :: It was raining in Boston when we got up. I must have woken up ten times listening to the trucks drive down Mass Ave. before I finally made it into the shower. Afterwards, we walked through the classy neighborhoods in the rain, dodging speeding taxis and some guys fumbling with a large crane. When we got to Boston Commons, we turned left and headed for Beacon Hill to get some breakfast.

We ordered our food, and then the lady behind the counter asked us if we wanted cream or milk in our coffee. "Cream I guess," I said back to her, confused as to what she meant. In California, and in New York, you get your coffee and then spruce it up on your own...adding whatever you want from a little counter in the cafe. In New England, they put the milk in for you. I don't know whether to think of this as an added service, or an annoying way for them to cut costs.

It's when you mess with the little things that the distance of geography takes effect.

These roadtrip comics from lostforlife.com are amazing. The scene from the French Quarter looking down the Mississippi river looks exactly as I remember it five years ago, standing in the rain watching French tourists videotape the riverboats going by. Sometimes I think illustrations are better than photographs.

[i don't read japanese] :: Last night after a couple hours of playing music, I grabbed a beer and put on the headphones, and decided to play the link game. See, sometimes it feels nice to just zone out in front of the humming computer screen, so I pick one of my friend's weblogs, click a link, find their link section, and keep going until I find no more links. Last night I ended up at a Japanese page about animation...at least I think it was about animation, I don't read Japanese.

[like cows packed in a barn] :: The drive today was dee-lightful. I took the long way around the bay one some roads I haven't been down in years, and sang Springsteen tunes at all the cows who were walking in muddy lines to get fed. It felt nice to get out of the office. Then again, it always feels nice to get out of the office, even though yesterday I got another raise (call me Captain Rich Pants!).

The other night Miss Rodeo America and I took a walk and saw 13 Conversations About One Thing at the cool old theater near our house. Neither of us had ever heard of the movie, but we had already missed the Wilco film, so we gave it a go. The funniest thing is, I can't really think of anything to say about it. It was a movie. Not super good, not very bad, a little dull, but compelling at some points. Actually, my biggest memory is the feeling in my stomach after I ate an entire package of gummy bears, and then washed it down with some nasty lemon liqueur we got at the bargain store mixed with Diet Pepsi. I never want to feel that way again, ever.

Here's a Pinback show I found somewhere. It's not a very good show, I especially don't like the butchering of "Loro," but I really don't know what else to do with it, so, here!

Pinback @ Good Records, Dallas, 2002

01: Versailles
02: Untitled #1
03: Talby
04: Loro
05: Rousseau
06: Untitled #2

The Daily Photo is back (again). The picture of Bunny my favorite.

[MP3 of the week] :: Yes, this has to be one of the cheesiest, most 80s keyboard laded songs that my favorite Beatle ever recorded, but I still like it. Those huge digital chords crack me up every time I hear them, but I really like the guitar work and the chorus, and I can never get the song out of my head. So take it with a couple grains of salt, and love that slidey gee-tar.