And one more... a laughing gull doing its best imitation of the dove of peace (although it's carrying seagrass rather than an olive branch):

Pair of snowy egrets (Egretta thula) parading in the shallows:

The green heron (Butorides virescens) playing hide & seek on a bridge piling.

A common dunlin (Calidris alpina) scouring an oyster shell bed during the aforementioned 'Teague trip.

A first attempt at bird blogging...

Here's a pair of laughing gulls (Larus atricilla) in the back channel off Chincoteague, VA (7/4/2004):

"Gary Shandling... Gary Shandling... Gary Shandling... Gary Shandling... Gary Shandling..."

Yeah, that's what started through my head when I heard about this nascent revolution. Leave it to me to get a piss-poor Butthole Surfers earworm in my cynical haze.

I know people are pretty pissed about this whole George W. Bush debacle. I sure am. And I've gotten some good righteous anger up about it, and what have I done?

I've read a few books. I've had talks at parties. I've made snarky comments on blogs. I pulled the lever for "the nominee" during the primary. I've gone to a screening of Fahrenheit 9/11. And I've given up a goodly amount of free time with my wife so she can go work on the Kerry campaign.

In other words, not much (aside from the time with my wife, which I miss quite a bit).

First, by way of an overview, my take on the furor over F9/11:

It occurs to me that while conservatives don't want this movie to be seen, most people I've talked with much about this flick on this side of the fence have deep reservations about this movie because of reservations they have about Michael Moore, and have said (in very broad terms) that if this movie is going to be made, it needs to be made differently. At least that's my take on it.

And while some criticism is surely warranted from both sides of the coin, it bugs me that some people hold higher standards for their entertainers in this country than they hold for their elected officials.

As a lifelong INFP, my perceptive side does battle with my ideals a good bit of the time. It's difficult for me to pass judgment on people's considered opinions when I know their hearts are in the right place. But I think maybe, just maybe -- Moore's really onto something and it bears considerable discussion regardless of the warts of his most recent movie. He's talking about the extent to which privilege has become so fully enmeshed with power in our day and age. He's outlining the modern-day conundrum of class here in bravery's home (which isn't supposed to exist, after all). He's talking not so much about the resurgence of imperialism so much as he is talking about how it's coming more out in the open. Conspiracy theories aside, there are points made that the punditocracy greeted with mordant chuckles of "grasping at straws" and "wild conjecture." But still, you gaze upon the [edited for effect] vacant stare [of [the president]] and it does take you to a place where you're staring at the hole in the NYC skyline and you gotta ask, "What in the blue fuck went wrong to let this happen?" I'll be the first to go on record as saying when a Bush -- or anyone, for that matter -- is asking not to hold inquiries into the failures that led up to 9/11/01 that they don't really have "national" security in mind. It's as simple a game as CYA, the same petty micropolitical bullshit that keeps so many of my co-workers in positions of gainful employment. "Ulterior motives?" Uh huh. What a damnable understatement.

Anyway, I heard John Kerry today talking about the scramble of people to reach the middle class, and how much he felt for those people. (I leave assessment of his veracity to the fertile imagination of whosoever decides to read this wriggling bit of mental effluvium.) But it struck me that this statement belies a huge truth: upward mobility is The Struggle which defines so much in American life for the underprivileged 98%. And hell, there's no mention of the middle class either trying to work its way forward, nor is there any mention of how many in the so-called middle class is scrabbling and scrapping in order to keep even the bare modicum of what that status accords today. Much of that is borne as high-interest unsecured loans, revolving at the hands of MegaCorpBank (conveniently located at the corner of Usury and Shylock in a town near you).

So I look to this November with significant trepidation. I really don't believe Bush has my best interests at heart, so I will dutifully pull the lever for Kerry (add /Edwards after this morning). But do I believe that things will change significantly? I struggle with that. When confronted with that question... say I'm discussing the effects of jobs moving overseas, and major employers running their HQ from bank boxes in Grand Cayman... do I believe that John Forbes Kerry will lift the first finger to put an end to that practice? My Majick Mental 8-Ball says "No."

And when confronted with the idea that Bush might win, with some apparent hijinks afoot -- will there be an ensuing revolution? Again, the 8-Ball says little to reassure me. But I'm supposed to ask again later.

But then again, the 8-Ball is about as reliable as a NY Post VP cover story. So I suppose that's about as good as it gets.

And that's gotta be good enough for now.

OK, so -- without much more ado...

August 24 is going to be one heck of a day for music.

Mike Watt & the Secondmen will release The Secondman's Middle Stand. 'Bout time, y'all.

Guided by Voices will release Half Smiles of the Decomposed, the final album of their storied career. (I tend to believe that Bob's had it with the GbV vehicle, but god knows what else will come of Circus Devils, Lifeguards, Acid Ranch, Airport 5, Go Back Snowball, The Soft Rock Renegades, Howling Wolf Orchestra, Hazzard Hotrods, Nightwalker, Lexo & The Leapers, or bands yet to be named. Tour shortly to follow, reportedly. Bet your ass I'll be there, wherever they get somewhat close. Watch out for me in Carrboro, Athens, Louisville, Birmingham, Memphis...)

And Steve Earle releases The Revolution Starts... Now. (Sheeya. If only.) But with song titles like, "F the CC," I can imagine that this one's going to be a barnburner. Hopefully this CD will take up where Jerusalem fell short.

And speaking of the revolution...

Consistency was never one of my strongest suits.

That said, I have few excuses for not updating this blog on a regular basis. I will, however, outline what the few of them are.

1) This was hardly meant to be a profession. I have a profession, and unfortunately, my unfettered internet access went fettered a while back. The web nanny even caught on to my blog once I tried doing my own FTPs and not relying on Blogspot to host ORO.

2) Inspiration is difficult to come by when (a) you grapple with long-term self-doubt issues like someone like me does, (b) you grapple with emotional troughs that embolden those old self-invalidating voices, and (c) when you just don't wanna. Somewhere along those lines lies the truth of the matter.

3) I figure that if I'm blogging more than The High Hat comes out with new material, I'm doing fairly well.

Yet I have figured out a few things to say, and then I'll figure out where I wanna go from here.

Technobabble Turns the Table

Is this Andy?

Yep. What's going on?

Yeah, this here's Terrell from World Motors. Wanted to talk to you about your car.

Is there something wrong? I just brought it in for an oil change and filter.

Well, yeah, but while we had 'er up on the lift, we noticed a problem. Looks like you goin' a need a Johnson bar retrofit.

Johnson bar?

Yeah. Helluva thing.

I've never heard of that. I hadn't noticed that there was a problem.

Well, naw. You wouldn't. These Johnson bars are part of the vertical torsion expanders on these newer vehicles. And you don't quite notice a problem in the VTE until it's too late. It'll look right 'n all, but when it comes down to it, and you throw that dang Johnson bar, car'll never run right again.

How does that happen?

Well, usually you start getting slippage in the centrifugal limiter bearing. That's the piece in the VTE where the Johnson bar connects to the pinometric unit.

Uh... huh. So what's the problem?

Johnson bar's bent.

Can't you just straighten it?

Well, you could, but s'posin' I did, I just wouldn't feel right about it. And you shouldn't be all that comfortable either. These just ain't any good once you've bent 'em once. You'll start just wearin' the tires out on your right side.

I see. I thought we went through this the last time -- something in the electrical system?

No, that was the Jackson harness. (keyboard tapping) Yep. And there's no indication you need to do anything thataways this time.

Can I get these used? After-market?

Uh, y'see, well, y'could. Technically. But you don't want none-a them Korean Johnson bars. Lotsa those come pre-vexed, and once you go 'n try 'n bias 'em, thing just don't wanna go in. Same goes for the used ones.

Is this something I can do myself? I can get a Chilton manual and...

Oh, man. Be sure you know what you're doin'. And just be careful when you do, cause when you back off that Johnson nut, the CLB is loaded up in a spring-mount. That'll just come a-flyin' outta there like a wild Slinky, and then you'd have a real goddamn mess on your hands, 'scuse my language. That's somethin' they don't tell ya in that manual. You'll also need a #5 sprocket wrangle, and it's gonna have to be reverse-threaded, cuz you got one of these imports, now...

OK, OK, OK. Sounds like too much work. Guess I'll go with the retrofit.

Yeah. Good call. I'm thinkin'... (typing keyboard) three hours labor, Johnson bar, vexed, biased... comes to about an even grand. I think you'll also want to go with the chromalated limiter bearing too, but I'll throw that in for you. Have it to you in... lessee... three days.

Uh... OK.

Thank you for your business! We sure appreciate ya.

Moved to a new location... bookmark this path...

Sue Gets a Hold of Hatch's Snake!

That was the adult content for Week 13? One weensie little pixellated teabagging?



So long, Hatch. Look forward to seeing what you have in store for final TC.

"Food! Food, food, food..." I love it. Even in defeat, I salute you.

Sinus infection redux. Does someone have a home remedy to recommend? Flonase only offers temporary relief, and most any OTC medication containing decongestants knocks me out. (This is the second go-round of the bug I've had since mid-January. Blugh.)

Much drama from the office today. Maybe someday I can fully disclose what's going on, but as it stands, I don't have many options. I'll just leave it at that, and say, whew. Stressful day.

Perhaps I can consider this recent tenure as résumé-gussy-up material. It is incredibly frustrating, especially being surrounded by people with decades of tenure. My recent go-round at WCOM was the longest stint I've had anywhere. I'm beginning to believe that the wave of the future (other than outsourcing, anyway) is working a series of jobs for relatively short (~5 year) periods. It's basically long-term temp work. Hey, low-wage earners can't escape it, so exempt employees may as well be next.

Next task: Figure out how to distill Concord Network E-Health reports in other ways, using only Microsoft Excel, because there's no way someone's going to drop $10K in my lap to get a decent statistical analysis package. (You'd think someone would learn how to use the custom options inherent in Concord, but nooooooooooooo.)

OK, whine mode disengaged.

On to Bosco's for a few semi-cold ones. I hope they have the Altbier in the cask.

Why does no movie theater carry these anymore?



Thankfully, Target does, although I'd happily pay $2 for a box of Jujyfruits at the local Regal. Gummi Bears are but a pale substitute.

Y'know, I really need to drag out my old cassettes.

When I started amassing anything remotely resembling my own music collection, I was a cassette tape fanatic. That coincides with my favored mode of listening to music at the time, which was jacked into a Walkman.

I probably have something on the order of 300 - 400 factory cassettes, and heaven only knows how many dubs.

I've been considering a number of ideas for submissions to the next HH issue, and one of them is how the music of my youth stands up for me today. After recently acquiring a copy of Bad Brains I Against I, and having listened the bits off the disc, I gotta say that it holds up for me like a comfy pair of Doc Martens. Going even further back, I have found that even Adam Ant still has this thing for me which transcends nostalgia. That is, I can listen to this stuff today, and it appeals to me in ways that I would not have even expected at the age of 17. At least, I don't think so. 17-year-old me hardly conceived of making it to 21, much less 35.

Which, by the way, I surpassed that mark on Feb. 6 -- sharing my day of birth with Babe Ruth, Bob Marley, Tom Brokaw, and ... Ronald Reagan.

New (to me) acquisitions on compact disc:

Tommy Womack, Positively Na Na (Checkered Past, 1998). For those of you who've read my screed in The High Hat's #3 issue, you'll already know that I like Tommy's work. This CD is no exception. Of particular note is his paean to The Dead Boys et. al, "Whatever Happened to Cheetah Chrome?" His tale of childhood revenge fantasies, "Skinny & Small," is also a lot of fun. That's what you get with Tommy. Fun. (I'm serious, find yourself a copy of Cheese Chronicles if you like music, and you like a good laugh. This book is a fast read, and it's indispensible if you've ever longed to live the rock 'n roll life.)

Superchunk, Tossing Seeds (Singles 88 - 91) (Merge, 1991). What I know about Superchunk could fill a thimble. Common wisdom says that if you're going to check them out, look to their early stuff. Based on at least 4 listens, I would say that's worthwhile advice. Crunching guitars, intelligent pop lyrics, uptempo bruisers. I can see what the fuss was about.

Joe Ely, Streets of Sin (Rounder, 2003). Venerable rocker in cowboy boots sneaks a release in under the radar, just as The Flatlanders issue their 3rd album (Wheels of Fortune, (New West, 2004)) in 3 decades and change. It's encouraged me to dig out copies of Musta Notta Gotta Lotta and Honky Tonk Masquerade. Joe's style might not be as juke-joint-shakin' as his "Fingernails" era output, but this is worth having if you're a fan. And I'm a fan.

Guided By Voices, Jellyfish Reflector (live recording, 1996). From the Under the Bushes, Under the Stars tour. Gotta say, this one doesn't grab my attention until they run through what they call their "new stuff." Maybe that's because that's about the time Bob would have gotten a decent buzz on. This is so-so quality bootage. It sounds OK, but Bob loses pitch a few too many times for my taste. I do like 'em live, but as the saying goes, "You really had to be there." RIYL GbV, otherwise, it's an easy pass.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Beasts of No Nation/O.D.O.O. (FAK via MCA Recordings, 2001). Two half-hour cuts, zero bullshit.

Awright, awright, awright.



I get it. But I didn't know you people actually checked these things.

I need a two-piece & a biscuit...

1) If you were making a soundtrack for your life so far – this song would have to be on it.
"The Good Earth" -- The Feelies. It'd be easy enough to list a bunch of songs about women who've managed to break my heart, but this one is from a particularly rough patch in my life. It was a few days after my dad died; I'd put this cassette into my Walkman and jacked it into the stereo so I wouldn't have to listen through headphones. My baby sister, Emma, started dancing along when this song came on. There's something of a relief from watching a 3-year-old bouncing around the house, rather than the other recent events.

2) A song from one of the CDs currently in your 1) car stereo 2) portable CD player 3) stereo (No MP3 or iPod players, just cause)
"Chains of Love" -- Dirtbombs Disc 1, Track 1 in the car six-loader. This is from an album of soul covers entitled Ultraglide in Black. Furious fuzz and percussion. Word has it they give great live show.

3) A song from the first album, cassette, or CD (whichever was first or the oldest that you still have access to) that you purchased for yourself.
"Dog Eat Dog" -- Adam & The Ants. I actually bought two that day; my first couple of purchases of cassettes with my own money were Men At Work Business as Usual and Adam & the Ants Kings of the Wild Frontier. So it was a toss-up between these, and A&tA won because I recently copped an Adam Ant comp. The music is actually better than I remember, which is often not the case with my nostalgia kicks. The stuff from Dirk Wears White Sox is especially worthy of a re-listen, especially in this age of garage redux.

4) A song without a word in its title. (i.e. numbers or acronyms)
"6V6 LA" -- The Meters. This is from a cutout bin snag at a Camelot Records in Boulder, CO. Camelot always did have the best bargain bin stuff of the chains (at least until Media Play came around), but this is by far one of the coolest things I've ever bought for super-cheap. I think it stayed in my disc magazine for 3 months.

5) A song from the year you were born (we’ll take written, recorded, or released)
"Here Comes the Sun" -- The Beatles. Significant for any number of reasons, but I'll take this one: When I was growing up, I was often given the option of what I wanted to listen to before naptime. I had my choice between Rod Stewart's Every Picture Tells A Story, The Beatles Sgt. Pepper, or "Apple Beatles," which was how I referred to Abbey Road. This song also begins what is probably one of the most perfect LP B-sides ever pressed.

6) A song with the name of someone in this music swap in it (doesn’t have to be in the title)
"William, It Was Really Nothing" -- The Smiths. My tribute to William Ham.

7) A song in a language other than English.
"Cerebro Electronico" -- Gilberto Gil. As far as so-called world music is concerned, I don't know how easily one can top the sheer force of Gil. From the LP 1969, coincidentally the year of my birth...

8) A song with a city or state/province name (countries don’t count).
"Ft. Worth Blues" -- Steve Earle. Earle's tribute to the late, great Townes Van Zandt. If you ever get the chance to see this performed on the Austin City Limits tribute to Townes, check it out.

9) Say you're planning a multi-day road trip, this song could go on every mix you make for the trip.
"Kit Kat Clock" -- Bottle Rockets. Catchy, head-bopping country pop from their 24 Hours a Day LP.

10) A song by a local artist.
"Message from the Birds" -- The Bees. Not to be confused with the Nuggets act. These guys kinda fall into the low-blood-sugar category, but their album is positively infectious. It's sorta emo music, minus 72.6% self-indulgent navel-gazing. Features the ample talents of Daniel Tashian.

11) A song with a color in the title (bonus points for pink, negative points for raspberry beret)
"Betty Was Black (And Willie Was White)" -- Bis-Quits. And a two-fer for this category. Written by Tommy Womack, a straight-up delta-fried blues rawka about the realities of interracial relationships. I dig the rhymes in this song, especially the couplet, "Fell in a bottle of Tanqueray/Fell in love that very day."

12) It’s 5am, your alarm is going off, this song would still make you smile.
"Cruel to be Kind" -- Nick Lowe. It's unfair that Lowe gets pigeonholed as a one-hit wonder as the result of having just this one hit, but despite its overexposure on MTV, this song still holds up as a pop masterwork. I suppose if you're going to have one hit, this ain't a bad one to have.

13) Either a cover you thought was an original or an original you thought was a cover (identify in case we may not know which & if a cover, identify the original artist)
"Freddie's Dead" -- Fishbone (Curtis Mayfield). The first time I heard the original was on some moldy-oldies AM station out of Chicago driving down the Eisenhower Expressway on the way back from work one night. I had to ask someone who was performing this tune, as up until then, I'd thought Fishbone had written this song. I was unfamiliar with Curtis Mayfield at the time, but in fairness, I gotta say that the 'Bone made this song their own.

14) A song that is about a specific movie or book or at least mentions a specific movie or book. (identify which one if it is not mentioned by name)
"Solar Sister" -- The Posies. The first line points out Theodore Dreiser's first work, Sister Carrie.

15) WILDCARD
"Self-Referenced/West Germany"-- Nels Cline Trio. This is one of the few covers of a Minutemen song which captures the fury of D. Boon at his best, and even improves upon it.

16) A song that has reached number one on a Billboard chart (state which chart and when).
"Rapture" -- Blondie (Hot 100, 1981). I had to dip into the wife's CD collection to come up with this one.

17) It’s a little bit country/it’s a little bit rock and roll – this song doesn’t fit a category as far as you’re concerned.
"Back Screen Door" -- Pat McLaughlin. Pat's been referred to as "the Van Morrison of Nashville." He can rock with the best of them, but he's also got a folksy feel to a lot of his music when he's not bluesy or just a shade left of country. The lyrics are intelligent, and you will seldom see an artist work harder on the stage.

18) I hate the artist, but I love the song.
"To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)" -- Ryan Adams. This is a bit of a cheat, as I really like a lot of Adams' work. It's just that he's such a colossal asshole that it's hard to be too worked up about his stuff. I really don't care much for him, but his work is impressive. Not only impressive, but almost instantly classic.

19) Wha? If anyone can tell me what this song is about, give me a call. (no fair using Mansfield Park)
"Lady Sniff" -- Butthole Surfers. "Pass me some of that dumbass over there, yeah boy." Near as I can tell, this is a send-up of a homeless blues artist who speaks in expressionist phrase.

20) Guilty Pleasure or I am embarrassed that I like it song.
"Two Tickets To Paradise" -- Eddie Money. Actually, I'm almost proud to admit that I like this song -- the studio work is impeccable, particularly the rhythm section work. It's just too bad that most of his other stuff is such twee crap.

*Bonus tracks – if you have the room and the inclination you can include any or all of these rare and never before mentioned bonus tracks.

21) TV theme song
"In The Street" -- Big Star (redone by Cheap Trick). From That 70's Show.

22) An unrequited love song.
Would have been "Untouchable Face" -- Ani Difranco had I had the room. Scrubbed, as was optional.

23) A song you love just for the title.
"I Married Her Just Because She Looks Like You" -- Lyle Lovett. Another artist which I find difficult to categorize instantly, even though he's most often lumped in the country category.

24) stumper?
"15 Kinds of Fool" -- Persian Rugs. Australian quartet comprised of ex-Hoodoo Gurus.

Welcome to 2004. High time for a blog update. First of all, there's a new face. The template needs some work, but I'll wait until I have a little more time to play with Dreamweaver to make that happen. As it is, lo-fi suits my needs.

Since last update: Married. Went to Australia. (The thumbnails are temporarily screwed up, and I'll get on that as well, but as it is, feel free to browse a few pictures from New Year's Eve. If you click on the pictures, you'll get the correct underlying photo, so don't be surprised.) Wedding photos are available by request; get with me via normal channels if you wanna make that happen.

I'm currently playing with my new favorite toy: The TiVo, with Home Media Option installed. Here's what makes that really cool: I can stream my entire iTunes catalog through the stereo over the home area network, by way of the TiVo. I can also view iPhoto libraries as slideshows. And you thought Powerpoint was boring!

Upcoming events:

Tennessee Primary, 2/10/04. John Kerry is in it to win it. Watch this space for other insights as the season develops.

Recent CD purchases:

Wayne "The Train" Hancock, Swing Time. Live set from the Continental Club, Austin, TX. Fun set.

The Kentucky Colonels, Livin' in the Past. If you like bluegrass and have not heard the White Brothers (Clarence & Roland), you owe it to yourself to check this out.

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros, Streetcore. Initial listenings are way way way positive. I feel incredibly guilty for having taken Joe for granted. I doubt he knew this would be his final release, but it's a fitting memorial nonetheless.

Dos, Justamente Tres. Mike Watt & Kira exchange bass licks. The version of "Do You Want New Wave..." is worth the price alone.

Also -- find a copy of anything put out by the Detroit combo, The Dirtbombs. Ultraglide In Black is especially compelling. Funk & soul covers with a heavy layer of fuzz. The sweat is implied. They're appearing at the Exit/In this March, and I will be getting my ass there.

I'll do my best to do better at this in the near future. No promises, though.

I get married in less than a month.

The date is 9/7/2003.

Good news -- 1) Going forward, my anniversary will more than likely fall on Labor Day weekend. Whoo-hoo! 2) Bonus points: I will be out of the country for Republi-Con 2003, which I'm led to understand shall fall on 9/11 in NYC. No pager, no cellphone, no Blackberry. I. Can't. Wait.

So I'll be in Australia. The itinerary currently includes Sydney, Cairns, & Melbourne; points in-between will also be visited.

I look forward to drinking Victoria Bitters in a genuine pair of stubbies.

New music:

I've recently discovered Corndogs.Org, a wealth of bootlegged Wattage, and some priceless Minutemen errata. Check it out, if you are to check out nothing else. I especially like the Bottleneck boots with Tom Watson & Jerry Trebotic. These are must-haves. Decent sound quality, and lots of rare stuff. My hat is off.

Nothing much else to report. The new job has left me with precious little breathing room.

Perhaps with a few more posts, Blogspot will no longer be co-advertising Jayhawks stuff on my weblog.

When one wears a suit, does one become a suit?

Perhaps.