tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33519042011-04-21T12:24:21.424-07:00STUPOR MUNDIThe much-neglected and pretentious journal of a pretentious and much-neglected songwriterMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.comBlogger671100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1129055350004309822005-10-11T11:27:00.000-07:002005-10-12T14:45:19.110-07:00leafloose (mobile)I'm enjoying doing a new mobile/photo blog by way of my Danger Sidekick. So, if you've ever kept up with me here, please head on over to Leafloose, 'cause it is definitely where the action is...Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1127150234860916112005-09-16T09:48:00.000-07:002005-09-19T14:51:27.270-07:00best thing on the web right now...Drum-off: Animal vs. Buddy Rich.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1127149974977708522005-09-06T10:10:00.000-07:002005-09-19T10:18:53.200-07:00oliverOur baby was born in August. I now have two beautiful children, and everybody's hanging in there. Life is good. Sleep, worth waiting for...Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1122483342236611472005-08-02T09:51:00.000-07:002005-08-02T10:08:13.586-07:00dear mattI thought if you upped your tempo (maybe that isn't your style), then you would get greater publicity. I would like to see you succeed more in this area. I think you're one of the best singers.Believe it or not, I've just announced a double album of extremely high tempo (200+ BPM) songs and, as expected, the pre-release buzz is TOTALLY KILLING me. It's been like drinking from a fire hose I tell Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1122483474411973462005-07-27T09:55:00.000-07:002005-07-27T10:00:44.923-07:00morning train eavesdropping"Why? Because my nutritional psychic told me to. She said to do it ten times a day, and she's been right about everything. Yes. She's been right about everything so I'm hesitant to go against her advice on this one."Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1120862552666360712005-07-08T15:42:00.000-07:002005-07-11T10:27:19.020-07:00"In the days that follow look at our airports, look at our sea ports and look at our railway stations and, even after your cowardly attack, you will see that people from the rest of Britain, people from around the world will arrive in London to become Londoners and to fulfil their dreams and achieve their potential. They choose to come to London, as so many have come before because they come to Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1120691197425009012005-07-06T16:05:00.000-07:002005-07-11T10:40:39.750-07:00precious, yet scatological"Wanna play unicorns?""Let's play poo-poo heads!""Um, how about princesses?""No... diarrhea unicorns!"Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1119039758300225422005-06-17T13:21:00.000-07:002005-06-17T13:22:38.306-07:00"Turn up the music, Mommy!""You have to ask nicely. What's the magic word?""Turn up the music... Daddy?"Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1116440965217162912005-05-18T11:26:00.000-07:002005-05-18T11:35:57.513-07:00shovelgloveThis is the coolest thing I've seen in a while. I've actually tried it twice. I did it with what was available, in my case a toilet plunger. Definitely underweighted... but I'm still sore in new places! Cool. I may just spring for a 12 lb. sledge. While I can't imagine doing this as my sole exercise, alternating days shovelgloving/running for a few weeks or even months would be a nice Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1112725085224034482005-04-03T18:10:00.001-07:002005-04-05T11:34:12.350-07:00Ticket to see U2 at the Anaheim Pond last night, $100.Roundtrip ticket to Long Beach on Jetblue, $200.11-hour jaunt to hang with my close friends Shyam, Saji, Nina, Bono, Larry, Adam, and The Edge... priceless.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1112320802001804452005-03-31T17:47:00.000-08:002005-10-11T11:00:21.676-07:00another day at the officeI'm not a big fan of business travel. And I don't like hotels for the sake of hotels, but man, I stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay for work last night and I suppose business travel has its charms after all. This I could get used to.The Ritz is a sprawling, six-story mansion placed across turf-topped bluffs and cliffs that drop right off into the ocean. Walking the halls and manning the Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1111435631037822222005-03-21T12:06:00.000-08:002005-03-21T12:07:11.040-08:00anti-pesto S.W.A.T. teamWallace and Gromit go to the movies!Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1111087396649598342005-03-17T11:20:00.000-08:002005-03-21T12:07:53.300-08:00hey. wait. kurt wrote the new stairway...When I was a boy, we walked seventeen miles in the snow wearing flipflops a size too small to the only guitar shop in the hemisphere. Actually, it wasn't a guitar shop, it was a large cardboard box and a soggy one at that. Inside was a crazy old man with a broken tennis racket. And when we asked him if we could air "Stairway to Heaven" on the racket, he would scream at us and chase us out of Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1110926441656835202005-03-15T14:35:00.001-08:002005-03-15T14:42:36.586-08:00OK, Episodes I and II had me afraid I'd never be able say so, but I just watched the trailer for Episode III, and I'm actually excited to see it. Perhaps George has finally done it. Or redone it. Again. For the first time. And maybe this'll get everyone to mellow out about the special editions. Hell hath no fury like a nerd scorned...Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1110843693076722032005-03-14T15:31:00.000-08:002005-03-14T15:46:42.526-08:00recipe for an awesome cough• Let your lawn go for about three months.• Now get a little cough.• Rest intermittently during the following week, creating a long gestation period for the virus. Remember to cease resting immediately if you start to feel better.• Now that the cough has a good foothold in the old lungs, go spray herbicide on weeds for about an hour. For best results, use a nice fine mist and no mask.• That Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1110843064878548292005-03-10T14:18:00.000-08:002005-03-14T15:44:02.733-08:00Really enjoyed playing last Saturday. Thanks to all who made it...Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1109272798419516292005-02-24T11:05:00.000-08:002005-02-24T17:18:20.506-08:00Finished my 10K in 53:30, between my Captain Insano and Let's Push It goals of 50:00 and 55:00, respectively. This left me a minute faster per mile than the You Can Do It! goal of 60:00. Cool. I may skip directly to the full marathon if my friend George has his way.I've been a little flaky on reading, but 50 books for the year is still within reach. Hmm.Clearly I am becoming that which my Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1106779416230442662005-01-26T14:28:00.000-08:002005-02-04T09:52:38.290-08:00books 2 and 3Oresteia is a classic collection of three tragedies written by Aeschylus. It is heavy, disturbing, and resonant 2500 years later. Backstory is a family feud in which one brother happens to be fed his own children by the other brother. Nice. In the opening tragedy, one of this family's descendants returns from Troy victorious only to be murdered by his wife. In part two, his daughter and sonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1105554568069533372005-01-12T10:07:00.000-08:002005-01-26T14:44:39.056-08:00book 1First book of the year is Candyfreak by Steve Almond. Great little book. At 266 pages it's deceptively long; it reads Ferrari-fast owing to Almond's chatty, neurotic style and the small-format hardback. The story of his childhood in candy is a treat to read, if you'll pardon the pun, and though the topic is nichey and limited, the candy-revering/self-effacing tone doesn't get old. The twist Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1104885874809261262005-01-04T16:24:00.000-08:002005-01-05T14:26:46.130-08:00sky pie resolutionsResolutions so crazy that there's simply no way I'll do them all. Or at all. Well, perhaps I'll try for a couple. Or not. You can feel the resolve already, can't you? In 2005:
1. Run a 10K.
2. Run a half-Marathon.
3. Oh, what the hell: Run a Marathon.
4. Travel overseas with 2.5 year old daughter.
5. Record a little album. Weirder, simpler, homemade and just for me.
6. Set a world Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1102628131434912392004-12-09T13:28:00.000-08:002004-12-09T13:37:36.326-08:00It's finally here. This weekend is Burning Loaf, the first charity edition. Philanthropy for misanthropists. 10 pounds of loaf slapped on the barbecue, hopefully far more dollars than that given away.
Check this out: Visited the DMV this morning. In and out in 15 minutes. Online appointment system actually works...
Am reading Stephen King's "On Writing." I'm not much of a Stephen King guyMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1101944105239597602004-12-01T15:19:00.000-08:002004-12-01T16:27:38.223-08:00media reportAwesome Books: Steinbeck's Winter of Our Discontent, Ha Jin's Waiting. Both incredible, incredible enough to inspire and paralyze at once.
Awesome DVD: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind... see it right away.
Awesome Album: Trash Can Sinatras' Weightlifting. Albums I Wish Were Awesome: Medulla by Björk, A Grand Don't Come For Free from The Streets.
Meanwhile, I've got five U2 songs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1101775616055605322004-11-29T16:41:00.000-08:002004-12-01T16:04:44.806-08:00it came from the garageChristmas has come to our tiny house in the form of a tree, a wreath, and the cobwebbed contents of boxes disinterred from the garage. Even more it has come by way of our little girl's wonder at each ornament. And in the lumpy, plush form of an awful little battery-powered dancing snowman and his incessant singing.
However I may scoff at this arch enemy of Christmas dignity, I simply cannot Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1101775865579149012004-11-22T11:25:00.000-08:002004-11-29T17:27:53.606-08:00go bears, to a pointWhat a pleasure to watch Cal trounce 'Furd 41-6. Still, I have this gnawing fear that with all this good football playing, Cal fans might forget what Cal football is really all about: losing. Y'know, when I was a boy, the fans came out, Cal sucked, we lost badly and we went home mad. And we liked it... we LOVED it...Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1099509791537687342004-11-03T11:21:00.000-08:002004-11-05T15:42:42.140-08:00November 3, 2004. The sort of day one might spend with one's iPod repeating, repeating and repeating:
And if the night runs over
And if the day won't last
And if your way should falter
Along this stony pass
It's just a moment
This time will pass...Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1099424208634436052004-11-02T11:25:00.000-08:002004-11-03T11:26:19.513-08:00chapter oneAre you there God? It's me, George. We're moving soon. I'm so scared God. I've lived here in the White House for four years. Suppose I hate my new job clearing brush all day? Suppose everybody there hates me? Please help me God. Don't let Crawford all year long be too horrible. Thank you.
We'll move on the Tuesday after that "Martin Luther King" day. I knew today was going to be hard Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1099090902051279802004-10-29T16:00:00.000-07:002004-10-29T16:03:22.216-07:00happy halloweeenA few can't miss costume ideas.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1097690259962290002004-10-13T10:55:00.000-07:002004-10-13T11:02:21.853-07:00So we're all in this together and I can appreciate that. But let me for a brief moment poke my pointy head out the left side of the car to ask you -- views on attorneys, liberals, swift boats, and hot button issues notwithstanding -- to please consider joining me in removing a couple of career oil men from the White House. That is all. Good night. And God bless.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1079653770023328842004-03-18T15:32:00.000-08:002004-03-19T12:30:37.856-08:00Hello, there. What is this, some sort of update? Yeah, sort of.
Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide... media references. I have been reading of late: The Da Vinci Code, Twyla Tharp's Creative Habit, and a page a day of Systematic Theology. Still can't seem to get going on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as it's too heavy. That is, too heavy to carry around. (Dude, how much can you Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1075329867357630022004-01-28T14:43:00.000-08:002004-01-28T14:46:36.046-08:00Oops. Bought the OutKast album...Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1074629555359661222004-01-20T12:03:00.000-08:002004-01-20T12:30:29.200-08:00leave it behindMan, it's been a while, hasn't it? Little E is huge, a walking talking dancing cute-as-a-bug absurdist child. K is good. Georgia was fun, music is promising. Slowed down slightly for the holidays, got out for New Year's Eve with friends old and new. Saw all of the TJT four by way of 1/2 and 3/4 mini-reunions; a full reunion ignoring the fourth dimension. Taking stock, I can't complain. ButMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1063046165885783762003-09-08T11:36:00.000-07:002003-09-08T11:36:13.293-07:00In praise of sunshine in the morning at the bus stop:
This is a real John Denver move, I know, but sun on your skin, a little breeze off the bay to your back -- it's practically transformative.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1062611823774468902003-09-03T10:57:00.000-07:002003-09-03T14:49:06.516-07:00Do you feel old? As I get my head out of my ass, I realize aging has little to do with progress or decay or with life passing me by. It's not me in a vacuum with stuff happening to me, it's not me on my timeline or me in my little movie starring me. When I live my life, I make my way through a story much bigger than my own. And so aging must also have something to do with what - and who - is Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1060710370304356862003-08-12T10:46:00.000-07:002004-01-20T12:22:50.873-08:00said the old man to the germans on holiday"So you gonna give me some money or what? Am I selling something? No, I ain't selling nothing! See, you give me money so I can by myself a cup of coffee -- one dollar, two dollars, so I can buy a cup of coffee. I'm homeless! I got no home, no place to live. What? No, I don't take credit cards! Well, OK, what you got?"Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1059766648286957942003-08-01T12:37:00.000-07:002003-08-01T12:42:14.043-07:00This is one of those weeks where I get to do a whole lot of music. A lot. Like as much as might have been bitten off and chewed back in the heyday of TJT, all the carving out of material, the preparation, the tossing aside, the guessing games, the breakthroughs. It brings back old feelings, breeds lots of new ones, makes you want to turn navelward and just gaze into the distance. Writing, Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-1058379262991127332003-07-16T11:14:00.000-07:002004-01-20T12:23:28.200-08:00quizno's: wait, let us burn your sandwich for you before you eat itQuizno's. The appeal is unclear. They burn their sandwiches like a very single dude with a high-watt, crumb-filled toaster oven would. And, inkeeping with this demographically specific cooking technique, you will find Quizno's overrun with dudes and only dudes. OK, once in a while you'll see a poor woman dragged in by her dude and his carbon-loving tastebuds. But I defy you to find an Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-940597272003-05-09T09:30:00.000-07:002003-07-16T11:24:49.820-07:00Some days you wake up and that old Fender jazz bass with the flatwound strings is like the most beautiful thing. Slip-slidey smooth and fast, difficult and easy at the same time. Now why am I playing bass at 6:30 in the morning? 'Cause I'm in a new band called Tumbledown...Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-936779712003-05-02T16:19:00.000-07:002004-01-20T12:23:55.890-08:00steve o: the life & times of a superfanKnown to many as "that crazy-dancing tie-dye guy at every single Jenny Thing show," Steve O. was injured while enjoying a particularly rowdy TJT gig in the Bear's Lair at UC Berkeley circa 1993, breaking his leg on a monitor in the chaos of the crowd. Once off crutches, Steve O. continued to follow TJT very closely for several years and he was even spotted at the most recent Jenny Thing Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-910857792003-03-20T14:41:00.000-08:002003-05-07T10:46:53.000-07:00Last night I did something called Nachos Grande at the Oakland Coliseum. They set me back $6.50 and so much more. Now, I could say that I felt regretful afterward, but that wouldn't paint an entirely accurate picture because in reality I felt regret instantaneously. Or, perhaps I felt it sooner than instantaneously - I'm wondering if regret was not already there as early as the moment of Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-907205182003-03-14T09:56:00.000-08:002003-09-08T14:25:42.053-07:00Downtown is clogged. Protesters who are blocking entry to the offices of San Francisco have unrolled the prettiest pictures of Iraqi children down their chests to tell their story. Big white scrolls with color photos on them, beautiful eyes and skin and teeth. The Market Street streetcars are parked together in threes and fours and their drivers have abandoned them. The people out in traffic Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-872361752003-01-10T13:44:00.000-08:002003-05-02T16:37:29.000-07:00So, like, I'm wearing this maroon turtleneck today. It's become clear that, on the whole, men hate it quite a bit and women like it well enough. Sample quotes, all unsolicited:
MEN
"So you borrowed one of your wife's tops today, eh?"
"Dude, you know you don't even want to take off your jacket wearing that."
"Well, it's just not very manly."
WOMEN
"You look really good in a turtleneck, Matt!"
Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-870858362003-01-07T16:50:00.000-08:002003-01-20T11:02:36.000-08:00Happy New Year from Blogger's 2002 Worst Blogger of the Year!
More later... maybe.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-815993552002-09-14T10:18:00.000-07:002002-09-14T10:18:01.440-07:00This just in, and sorry for the late notice: Tyler (piano) and I (guitar and yodeling) will be performing at Union Square in San Francisco tomorrow September 15th at 1pm as the musical component of the otherwise visual art-oriented Artists' Guild show. If you're out and about in the city that day, come by and say hi!Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-811139532002-09-03T17:00:00.000-07:002002-09-06T14:26:10.000-07:00Spent the last two days holed up in the home studio with Mike, making rhythm tracks for the upcoming CD. Got going with some cool combinations of electronic drums, live drums and looped hand percussion. Inventory of toys from the rhythm sessions:
-Snare drum, hi-hats, cymbals
-Goat toes shaker
-Cylinder shaker
-Tambourine that you shake
-Tambourine that you hit
-808 kit from the sampler
-Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-804965902002-08-20T16:22:00.000-07:002002-08-20T16:24:31.000-07:00Turned thirty and K took me to a wonderful dinner at Citron. I am recording in earnest for a Fall release on KIA records. The baby is awesome. Any advice you have for me on the intangibles of turning thirty is welcome; the practical aspects, however, already have me quite well in hand...Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-793652672002-07-24T15:17:00.000-07:002002-07-24T15:17:29.860-07:00The Dumpling Update: K and I had a beautiful baby girl named Elisabeth. Love love love and that is all for now.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-776759812002-06-12T17:35:00.000-07:002002-06-12T17:35:01.190-07:00Burning Loaf Festival is when people get together to barbecue a two foot long, ten-pound meatloaf. And on Monday night, that is what we did.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-774259892002-06-06T10:53:00.000-07:002004-01-20T12:27:40.810-08:00from the mailbagHi Matt,
My request is an odd one, but I hope you will at least read on. My friend recently moved from the Bay Area, and I am from the Philly area. He remains a 49ers fan, and I remain an Eagles fan. We bet on the 49ers/Eagles game last year and I lost. So, I owe him a 2 liter bottle of Safeway Orange soda.
I have been trying for months to get one and have been unsuccessful. If I send Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-773943562002-06-05T16:09:00.000-07:002002-06-05T16:11:45.000-07:00Dumpling souvenir: Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-771700492002-05-30T21:07:00.000-07:002002-05-30T21:12:51.000-07:00This week is a Bay Area thing of beauty. Standing, squinting at the bus stop in the morning light, no jacket. Fish and chips and a pint of Harp in a sunny alley in the city. And in the 'burbs at sunset, In-N-Out Burger...
I'm off to SoCal for my brother's bachelor party this weekend. Should be fun. As a tiny bonus side-trip, and between my arrival at the cute little airport at Burbank and aMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-767766132002-05-20T17:02:00.000-07:002004-01-20T12:28:20.200-08:00from the mailbagDear Matt,
The other night my girlfriend, J.P., asked if I'd noticed any recent irregularity in the attributes of my stool. I hadn't, and not for lack of scrutiny. She went on to say that our recent outing for Indian food had resulted in unusually colorful excrement.
Like any creative person, I noted and was moved by the subtext of this incongruency; how two people can share an experience (Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-766707732002-05-17T13:21:00.000-07:002002-05-17T14:00:36.000-07:00Yessss! I got to see Attack of the Clones on opening day. It was awesome. I hope to see it at least a couple more times. I tried to diagram the political forces on a Post-It:
Like I said, I hope to see it a couple more times. ;)
Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-765836012002-05-15T11:08:00.000-07:002002-05-16T09:51:30.000-07:00This will be a music update...
Trash Can Sinatras Project: Completed, then shelved... but I'm told it will see the light of day yet! From what I've heard from Pop Renaissance Ray, I think a reasonable estimate is Fall 2002.
Love Ambition Demo: Almost out of print, so buy it if you want it.
Gigs: None on the calendar for the first time in a couple years. It's not retirement, it's called Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-762370422002-05-06T15:41:00.000-07:002002-05-06T15:42:45.000-07:00(Re)discovery: I actually prefer standing up when I perform, even when I'm playing acoustic guitar. I had begun to think differently, but now I'm back on track. Who knew?Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-758188922002-04-25T12:29:00.000-07:002002-04-25T12:40:24.000-07:00Saw Paul Westerberg at Virgin MegaMega yesterday. He sang his heart out throughout, winging it beautifully most of the time, mugging heartily now and then, forgetting the lyrics frequently, ending some songs abruptly. As we love him to be, he was contradictory: in his element but twitchy-punchy, self-deprecating and not-so-thick-skinned, masterful and losing it at the same time, shudderingly Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-755893222002-04-19T09:37:00.000-07:002002-04-19T10:10:53.000-07:00Din Tai Fung. This is the name of the restaurants where you get the shao lung bao. The original is in Taipei, and they have one in Tokyo and one in Hong Kong. And one in Arcadia, who knew?! (That's like ten minutes from my brother's place. Yeah, baby!)
SoCal people, please go eat there for me. Go!Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-751766742002-04-08T13:59:00.000-07:002002-04-08T14:06:45.000-07:00Musical Highlights of the Far East:
• Catching a great band playing on the street in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. They are called Art Mind's Impression and made up of four guys playing danceable guitar rock on the sidewalk with practice amps about one foot tall and a little drum set. Guitar Spender be damned, they are pouring on the passion and drama, folksy and epic at the same time. And Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-114723522002-04-04T17:15:00.000-08:002002-04-04T17:15:16.126-08:00Fresh wasabi. Trust me, it's the taste you're after.Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-113356982002-03-31T23:16:00.000-08:002002-03-31T23:18:39.000-08:00Food Report: The shao lung bao of Taipei are absolutely killer. I had a variety today, and it was the crab egg and pork ones that were my favorite. The restaurant itself was a bit of a celebrity -- it's so popular with locals and Japanese visitors for these gingery, steamed dumplings that it gets its picture taken several times a minute!
Sad to sacrifice Easter to the International Dateline. Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-112252522002-03-28T14:08:00.000-08:002002-03-28T14:19:16.000-08:00Yes, we're off to rock Davis tonight. Bliss and folly, I'm gonna gig with my new compressor first and decide if I like it later. Like jumping in the swimming pool or something.
Then I'm gone on a trip to far away this weekend and next week. But who knows, I might write in anyways. It's a wired, wired world...
Thai Food Mystery: Cha-Am in Berkeley is good. Cha-Am South of Market in the cityMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-109775032002-03-21T10:59:00.000-08:002002-03-21T13:24:51.000-08:00The burger problem is now behind us, solved handily with a MacArthur Park Niman Ranch, medium rare. Yeah, baby.
(Now, of course I went and tried to order the Fish and Chips first. And then the bartender steered me right.)Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-108109692002-03-16T17:52:00.000-08:002002-03-16T18:05:50.000-08:00I had a hot dog at Barney's Burgers last night. And today, a ham and cheese at Nation's. My friend JK can tell you why guys like me tend to find ourselves burgerless in the land of burgers -- we simply insist on ordering from the bottom of the menu. The bottom of the menu is where the Other Stuff lives, the stuff that almost didn't make the cut. You're supposed to order from the top, silly. Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-106971722002-03-13T09:09:00.000-08:002002-03-13T09:52:42.000-08:00OK. Coming clean under duress from gentle reader R.W.:
I solemnly testify that "Silly Girl" (this little ditty I wrote when I was like nine years old) was indeed performed by the Poser crew on Saturday night. It has been performed live only twice: once in the Stanford Campus Coffee House (Gear: gnarly "public" spinet piano); and now it has seen the light again at Alvarado Square in San PabloMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-106257252002-03-11T10:57:00.000-08:002002-03-13T09:33:48.000-08:00Monday morning, hi there. Fun show in the city at Canvas Cafe on Friday. Twist my arm, I had fun! (What IS that foreign feeling...?!) Did it remind me of the good old days? A little. Maybe. But what do you with the good old days, anyway?
Whatever. It felt relaxed and I was happy with the setlist and new songs, and I frequently had the sensation of rolling and floating musically. It is Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-104263322002-03-05T15:42:00.000-08:002002-03-05T16:02:12.000-08:00Rehearsed with Poser (Mike and Ed plus Tyler too) last night. (Cooking with Tones Tip: If you're playing with sequenced tracks -- which I don't do much of these days -- I'm learning that compression on the clean tones helps to much better marry the parts to the tracks. It's a good thing.) After doing the final run-throughs of everything, I think I'm going to stick with the low-powered POD/ChampMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-103726762002-03-04T10:42:00.000-08:002002-03-05T16:02:36.000-08:00A beautiful weekend. Dinner with K at Lo Coco's on Friday and got not one but two Solano walks in...
Saturday rehearsal went well. I feel like the group is continuing to go deeper musically. (Gear Report: Pepperidge Farm Spicy Cheddar Goldfish; Starbucks Frappucino in a Bottle; Peet's XL Coffee; Acme Challah; Acme Ham and Cheese Turnovers; Safeway Orange Juice; Breedlove acoustic into Fender Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3351904.post-102728912002-03-01T11:19:00.000-08:002002-03-05T16:01:57.000-08:00Welcome to Stupor Mundi. Stupor Mundi thinks it means Wonder of the World, but it also sounds kind of stupid.
And that about sums it up.
If you are reading this, you are one of my first and only readers. And I likely will never earn more, because I am a Web Presence Loser and particularly terrible about providing changing content to my website. Will this be any different?
Um, well you tryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03140079991630619072noreply@blogger.com0