I just completed my order for my Coachella tickets. Nine Inch Nails, Weezer, New Order and more. This will probably be the second best show I see this year, outside of Slint.

Speaking of which, the Slint show was great. I took Christina to the show, not really knowing if she would enjoy it or not. Slint can be one of those hit or miss bands for people. Pinback opened, whom I love and Christina enjoyed too. Soon after Slint came on, playing one of the tracks from their posthumous EP before playing “Breadcrumb Trail.” They ended up playing all of Spiderland and most of Tweez. After we left, Christina told me it was the worst concert she had ever been to in her life. Apparently the music was so tense that she was having back pain for most of their set. Although I felt sorry for her I was secretly kind of excited. I mean, what other band can upset someone so much that it causes them physical pain.

It’s pretty bad ass that I saw one of their few California dates ever. We shall never see their kind again.

Aside from all of that, I’ve been chugging along. A couple weeks ago I purchased a bass guitar from Ryan. It’s Deluxe Jazzmaster in perfect condition. I’ve been spending much of my free time teaching myself Pixies and Cure songs. Yes, they’re simple, but I’ve always loved Kim Deal’s bass sound.

I’m gearing up for my big trip next week. Tuesday I head to Sacramento and then Wednesday morning I’m on my way to Chile for ten days. It’s hard to believe after all the traveling I’ve done that I’ve never officially been in the Southern Hemisphere. I can’t wait for some Chilean wine and sea bass. Sometimes life just ain’t that bad.

Here’s to continued good, random days. Cheers.

I nearly forgot about the great art exhibit I saw over the weekend. It’s called the Beautiful Losers and it featured many of my favorite artists, including Spike Jonze, Mike Mills, Shepard Fairley, and many others. Apparently it’s the first touring art show of it’s kind featuring street art and design. It was well worth the hour and a half trip out to see it.

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i loved roxy’s post. perhaps because i know the girl so well and can imagine her getting upset reading the article as she settled at the computer, opening a browser. and then, just as she gets worked up, realizing she doesnt have the time or energy to be mad. because she has to finish her thesis.

(as an aside, i watched about 1 minute of the coverage on headline news as i ate breakfast this morning. then i said outloud (to myself): ‘why am i watching this crap?’ and i changed the channel. first stop – good day la. except they were covering it too. next stop – e! news. ah. my brain melted watching michael jackson coverage.)

i wonder if this amusement on my end is due to simply having that context. theres something to be said for the past informing the future.

which is a lame seque into my nerdiness. (comic alert.)

countdown came out yesterday. last year, about this time, identity crisis from dc rolled around. a 7-issue mini, it created a stir. some characters died, the dc universe got a little more grounded. cohesive. the story tied the silver age stories into the modern age perfectly. some people were pissed because they felt cheated by the ended. i did a little, but the other things going on in there made it worth my time.

it is a really nice ‘event’ mini. (these disappeared in the early 90s for the most part (think: crisis, invasion, legends, secret wars), replaced with crossover annuals (think: atlantis rising, bloodlines, eclipso, year one). then annuals stopped happening. then events came back, but on a rushed, lame schedule (think: war of the gods, day of judgment, zero hour). the last decent one i can think of is dc 1,000,000,000. which i enjoyed. and was well done. (the saddest part of all of this is that im actually typing all this from memory. the very fact i can recall the stories from crappy marvel and dc annuals 15 years ago almost hurts me.)

id crisis stood on its own, with very few crossover books. it was well done. and now dc has kept it up.

countdown is 80 pages, 1 dollar. its been a big secret, all kinds of hush hush. and when i saw it today, i was suprised to find the name wasnt ‘dc countdown’. it is ‘countdown to infinite crisis.’ wtf? the rumors about there being a new crisis have been running around (coninciding with the original crisis’ 20th anniversary). but still, it surprised me.

anyway, im sounding like a big nerd and you dont care. but im all excited and giddy. and comics dont always do this to me. so i had to share. ill stop talking now. (i wont, for instance, go into my memories of actually buying crisis in about 87 as a complete run from my comic store. when i was too little to know the history. i bought it because i was told what a good story it was. and damn straight it is. my issues and then my trade of it have been read so many times.)

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i am sickened by the culture war going on in this country. pres bush, according to cnn.com, offered the following words of condolence following terri shiavo’s death, “Today millions of Americans are saddened by the death of Terri Schiavo. … I urge all those who honor Terri Schiavo to continue to work to build a culture of life where all Americans are welcomed and valued and protected. ”

protected? protected like those soldiers we’ve sent away who don’t have proper body armor? welcomed like those from so many countries who try to come here to escape the various terrors of poverty and political disempowerment, only to be turned away? if pres bush values life why does he support the death penalty? why is adequate health care for all americans not a priority? disgusting. disgusting disgusting disgusting. why has the media decided to villify a man who was trying to comply with his wife’s wishes? if people honored terri shiavo so much why the hell hasn’t she been able to die with dignity.

back to working on my thesis (insert panic)

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the first few times i came to nyc, st mark’s place was one of the first places on my agenda. i haven’t been in a few years (no more accompanying boyfriend and friends -hi trippy, chrispy, andru!- on vinyl shopping sprees) and meandered around that way today for old times’ sake. i am contemplating some new ink and st mark’s is so tat-friendly… anyway. it was much to my surprise -and chagrin- to realize that this grungy little avenue is now home to a chipotle, a quizno’s, and a supercuts! i was really sad. and the borderline seedy basement crazy ass clothing store i used to love has vanished, along with the sign at the shoe place boasting they would platform any pair of kicks. it was disheartening to the point where i didn’t even feel like going into the good mondo kim’s or even trash and vaudeville. my whole foray into the area lasted less than 10 minutes, whereas several years ago i would have built an afternoon around it. times change, and i guess so do i . . .

my melancholy was brief as it usually seems to be in this city, as for every place that i have either grown out of or has disappeared, 10 new places of interest seem to crop up in their place.

after reading a blurb about virtual nails in this month’s inStyle, i got an appointment at the salon in NY that does them and had a lovely manicure. on my way down the block, i spotted a sign at a drugstore for free burt’s bees makeover. i happened onto a cancelled appointment slot and walked out 20 minutes later with lots of freebies and a compliment on my lack of need for concealer. score!

i am leaving the first part of my day out of these stories, not really intentionally but because venturing downtown in b’lyn to the new york schools HR office was not terribly exciting. shelling out $115 to get fingerprinted was not the highlight of my trip, but i’m content to let less pleasant things roll of my back right now for the greater good. as i waded through the hour-long process, i shook my head comparing the experience to my fingerprinting when i started teaching in NK five years ago. let’s just say never in my life have i been happier to be a leetle fish in a huge m-f’ing pond.

oh! in my continuing proof of dumb-ass-ness, i think i left my cell charger plugged into my bedroom wall in fairfax, and as of an hour ago i was down to my last battery bar. if you’re texting, we’re pretty much SOL, and if you’re
calling, i’m probably not ignoring you.

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the poll is out of control. im not sure if goose has been hijacking it or what, but: he has 51% of the vote currently. this means half of the votes (203 right now) say that he can kick ass on darth vader, rick james, the duke brothers, voltron, the borg and assorted other badasses.

if you havent voted, weigh in. gooses facist reign of terror must come to an end.

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So, I’m working on a couple of design projects currently. One is a website, another is for some cycling jerseys. I must be getting surly in my advancing age, though. When I was designing for a living, I knew I’d have to “appreciate” and “consider” every atrocious idea that fell out of a client’s mouth and plopped on the table like so much poo.

Now? I find myself thinking, “Nah. I’m not even going to do that, it’s such a bad idea.” Ah, patience. Where has all my patience gone in the intervening years?

Oh. Yeah. I’m a dad now.

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i had some really weird dreams last night. one where i was walking down stairs to the subway and meg appeared. she was wearing a red wool jacket with hood and big sunglasses. like a combination of the unabomber and little red riding hood. i think i am going somewhere to meet meg, but she suddenly appears incognito and just starts walking beside me. she leans in and whispers something to me, i can’t remember what. we keep walking, and our destination becomes apparent. there is a man who lives at the top of an elevator shaft and we are to go see him. the elevator shaft continues through the roof of the building one floor and this is where he lives. either we reach the elevator shaft, or i am imagining it in my dream. he has a hammock hanging from the top for a bed and enough room around the top to make it cozy. the dream ends.

this other dream i woke up in the middle of. i walk out the back door of my house and i have the dog with me. there is a toolshed and the door is open and noises are coming out of it, like someone scrounging around inside. i am really terrified in the dream, and the dog is growling, so i know whatever is in the shed is probably up to no good. the dog and i go closer to the shed and the dog growls more and more. i reach the door to the shed and I feel the presence of pure evil in the shed. I am awoken by my own noises at this point and my wife has woken up as well and is asking me what is wrong. I have gotten myself so worked up on this dream that i have woken myself up by making growling noises and flailing about. and they’re not just little noises that i am making, they’re loud, like i’m yelling. it is very disturbing. this is the second time this has happened while sleeping that i know of. such a weird feeling to wake up like that.

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