...With A Sidecar

In case anyone was wondering....



this will be me someday.

A New & Improved Miami

Back from Miami. Actually got back Monday. Today's Thursday. Told you it takes me a long time to recover from going there. This time be no exception.

The weekend was somewhat different from my usual hum-drum visits to the sunshine state. This time there was a new director, a new convention, a new bed in a new house every night, and a new baby. Alot to cram into 3 days.

Let's start with Chayce.



Aprils baby boy Chayce. Probably one of the most well behaved babies I know, but I don't know too many so.... but he is damn cute. Seems like everyone I know is having a baby nowadays. It's one of those "getting older" quotas everyone seems to fill. April & Marcos are so happy & they're great with him; shocker. Happy family of three.

I was happy as always to see Daniel. Here we are hugging hello at the airport.



Daniel has taken over Braddock so that's exciting. I been helping him out with his show this season. We decided on using Radiohead music. I think it could be very cool. Let's see how it turns out. The team was their normal rowdy selves. They learned a nice chunk o' work to 'Where Bluebirds Fly' Friday & Saturday out in the blistering heat, and Marc is down staging it this weekend. Coming together.



Sunday morning came. We were at Aprils so she made us a delicious breakfast, as is tradition there.



Michael had asked me to participate in his Project Spin convention, and that went off really well. Lots of kids, lots of spinning and dancing, and a little surprise performance by Amanda Taes Focal Point dancers. Pretty awesome. Makes me wish I kept my jazz shoes.



Project Spin 2008

The Amen Break

I'm A Special Guest

Project Spin

They Call Her Snake

Anse Source d’Argent

We saw a show about this island in the Indian Ocean, La Digue in Seychelles, now we wanna go. I'm not much for beaches or island paradises but this place looks awesome.

We're letting you know with plenty of shopping days left before Christmas.

Kitty Parallels

it is what it sounds like




*No animals were harmed in the making of this video

Mixtape> 10.23 thru 11.5

1. Eef Barzelay - I Love The Unknown
2. Woven Hand - Kicking Bird
3. Cold War Kids - Relief
4. TV On The Radio - Stork And Owl
5. The Most Serene Republic - Multiplication Desks
6. Matt Baldwin - Eulogy & Dark
7. Squarepusher - Planet Gear
8. Marnie Stern - Ruler
9. Doveman - Let's Her It For The Boy {Deniece Williams cover}
10. Eluvium - Hymn #1
11. The Felice Brothers - Lady Day
12. Gang Gang Dance - Princes
13. A.A. Bondy - American Hearts
14. Dr. Dog - The Old Days
15. Pit Er Pat - The Cairo Shuffle
16. Antony & The Johnsons - Shake That Devil
17. Southpaw - Addiction
18. Blitzen Trapper - God & Suicide
19. Hauschka - Rode Null
20. Eluvium - Radio Ballet
21. Savoir Adore - Seven Stars Surrounded The Moon
22. Inspector Owl - Sharks That Feed On Dreams
23. Inara George & Van Dyke Parks - Accidental
24. The Streets - On The Edge Of A Cliff
25. Do Make Say Think - Horns Of A Rabbit
26. Lateduster - Keno
27. The Workhouse - Chancers
28. Kaki King - Pull Me Out Alive
29. Dan Friel - Ghost Town, Pt. 2
30. Ten kens - The Alternate Biker
31. Grace Cathedral Park - Settling For The Broken In The Things Never Forgotten
32. James Blackshaw - The Mirror Speaks
33. Ray LaMontagne - I Still Care For You
34. Eleanoora Rosenholm - Japanilainen Puutarha

This is a terrific mix (if I do say so myself (and I do)). I been listening to it all day; 34 great tracks, equally brutal & beautiful with a killer flow. Again, I can send these to you if you like....

Product 19

Since we're talking about cereal: Can someone please tell me where all the frigin 19 went? I love this stuff. Granted I can't eat it every day, I'm not a garbage disposal, but something about its bitter flakey goodness... Check it...

• milled corn & defatted wheat germ, who doesn't want that?
• folic acid, delicious
• traces of soybean, traces of Heaven
• alpha tocopherol acetate, what breakfast is complete without some of that?!

I really do love the stuff tho. And I haven't been able to find it in any of the grocery stores within like a 100 mile radius of where we live. Seriously. If you happen to be in your local grocers cereal aisle and see a lowly box of Product 19 sitting there gathering dust, pick it up for me. I'll pay for shipping and everything. This world's going down the tubes, man.


Damn you Lucky!

Incumbent; Indeed

First off let me say that I am SO getting one of those fancy-schmancy touch screen computer polling systems installed in my house; STAT! I can see it now: "I've always wondered what percentage of Post Graduate Hispanic Born Again Evangelicals prefer Coke over Pepsi" or "Hey guys wanna find out what percentage of Gay Right Wing Muslims in Arkansas watch Letterman instead of Leno?". The possibilites are limitless.

That said, new president.Barack Obama. Gave quite the speech in Grant Park. Wonder if my sister was there. Lots to do. Lots to see. Lots to fix. I wonder what you do right after you're elected president. Think he's at home on his couch in boxers and a wife beater watching ESPN or Air Force One and taking notes? Think he's running around a hotel in his bathrobe singing "Florida loves me baby!". Think he's prank calling Joe Lieberman? I think some things are better left to the imagination.

Cereal Elect

I'm interested to see which cereal this fine country will be eating for the next 4 years. I love me the wholesome goodness of Obama O's, but sometimes I do have an urge for some sugary sweet Cap'n McCain's. But let's face it, neither of them are perfect. You'll always feel the need to add something to Obama O's like a spoonful of sugar or bananas or something, and Cap'n McCain's cut the roof of your mouth.

It's a lose/lose.

click on them there links to hear a frisky little jingle for each candidate

Mano A Mano, Hermano

Today be the day

A Giant Versus A Cowboy

Fran & I engaged in a bona fide conversation last night over who would really win a fight between the actual mascots these teams represent during the Giants/Cowboys game.

I said Cowboy would win. Reasoning: Cowboy would be riding a horse, naturally, and be using a gun or lasso of some sort. He'd be equipped. Maybe not specifically for batling with Giant but definitely ready for a tussle of some sort. From what I understand about Giants he'd (or she'd) most likely be fairly clumsy and generally confused by Cowboys instinctive sense of violence. And not to mention how slow he'd be moving in comparison to Cowboy. Cowboy would be galloping rings around this dude. I'm envisioning Cowboy having Giants arms and legs roping and tied down in a matter of minutes. Then he'd build an amusement park around Giant, encorporating a rollercoaster that wrapped around the head of the fallen beast and maybe some swing hanging from his arms and a pool at his feet that carnival-goers could leap off the tips of the boot into some grande dive or cannonball.

Fran defiantly stated that Giant would win because he'd just smash the Cowboy, & his horse, and be done with it, but I didn't see the profit in that.

Either way, Giants crushed the Cowboys last night in a laughable 35-14 pillaging of both sides of Dallas' effort. Owens got the ball, like he always complains about, and subsequently blew easy catches and fumbled. Jerry Jones had to put in two quarterbacks, one worst than the other. I had to laugh out loud. A dream for Giants fans. A nightmare for fans of "Team America". 'Bout time.

Next week we philosophize over who would win between a Seahawk & Dolphin and a more interesing matchup of a Saint versus a Falcon. Sounds messy.

Welcome

Leanne Renee Rogers
born November 2nd @ 2:09 am
7 lbs 12 oz

Congratulations Theresa & Bubba

They Were Me

For Halloween, I guess the Roxbury guard thought I was scary enough to warrant dressing up as.... that sentence may be grammatically incorrect but you get the idea.

Some even came complete with KR∃W hoodie and "creeper van" shorts. Ya gotta love 'em.

____-O-Lantern

Snowed in and called out, what a perfect night for carvin' some pun'kins! Plus Halloween is like day after tomorrow... so...

WARNING: Graphic & horrifyingly realistic depictions of pumpkin innards. Not for the squeamish or pumpkin-huggers.




Fran-O-Lantern


Trav-O-Lantern


Photo Shoot-O-Lantern





Now we just have to get some punk kids to come eat this bucket of candy.

October Snow

Look what we woke to!


This is how we felt!


And then we did this!


And this!!


And then we saw these!!!


And we filled this.


Yeah Snow!
In October

Lucky Ducks

I was worried. Regardless that the Phillies have dominated this World Series, I'd at least like to see a full game played, especially if it's the deciding game of the season. So, luckily, thru all the rain and wind and fly ball error the Rays managed to tie the game just as the umps decided to make the only good call of the night and postpone the game, which then became suspended. If Upton had not stolen that base, despite Hamels 5 throws over to hold him at first, and scored on the single by Pena tying the game the World Series would have ended in the 6 th inning. I think a lot of people would have been upset over that.

But not the case. So let's hope the sun shines enough today for a few innings.

Hairy Helmets

Relieved the Giants pulled it out last night. I can't stand the Steelers and that Roethlisberger ever since they phonied their way into a Super Bowl ring. And there was plenty of acting last night too, and the refs were eating it up. I cannot stand this new "defenseless receiver" penalty. Does that mean I can run down the field backwards, or with my eyes shut, and no one can hit me? This is football. Wimps. They were just giving the Steelers 15 yard all game. Maybe it was those nances with the long hair. Haha the NFL should make a rule about that. Cut it off Ms. Polamalu and before this turns into a pillowfight.

Either way, the Giants won.

Eat it Pittsburgh.

Sidenote: ya ever notice that all of Pittsburghs professional sports teams are black & gold? Even their CBA team The Pittsburgh Xplosion. Black & Gold. How can this be?

A Slight Job Perk

I whine about my job. I find the people I'm asked to interact with have little to no ability to carry any sort of cerebral conversation, the travel sucks (last night I drove 5 hours for a 11 minute performance and got rained on: hard), and then there's this competitive nature that I just can't seemed be interested in entertaining for some reason or another. (I'm guessing this is the way most people feel about their jobs).

But then you have a night like last night that despite the quite literally torrential downpour & the bloodied children, was a very nice night. Being involved in this activity for so many years, I have made the handful of what I could classify, albeit loosely, as good (dare I say best) friends. These people usually end up living across the country or in places that I'm just not willing to venture, and such is the case with last night and meeting up with Rick.

History Lesson
Rick Subel & I met on a fateful day back in the winter of 1998. I don't remember much about the evening, other than quickly receiving the nickname of "Cowboy" (I truly don't recall the reasoning) and sleeping on the floor of an apartment that to this day I don't know the tenant of. From there the relationship flourished to becoming fellow performers, roommates, composers, co-workers, lunch dates, and brothers. And as is the nature of this activity & its inhabitants, when opportunity knocks we usually don't hesitate to answer, even if the knocking is coming from like, Texas. So, long long story short, Rick moved to Georgia, I happened to land a gig there the following season and thought "Hey, what a coincidence!" and then after a year in the dirty south Rick landed another, better paying gig in Texas, only to return to Georgia after a year or so of the yee-hawing lifestyle. We gave it another go, but it was evident Ricks newly chosen involvement was more than the relationship could withstand. So we broke up.

Now I see him here and there, when stars align and bring our groups into the same hemisphere. Last night was one of those nights.

Rick & I at my wedding

It was merely a brief 20 minutes in a brightly lit auditorium, and the conversation was all too often interrupted by the annoyingly self-proclaimed "loudest giggler in the world" (who was also a 45 year old man who was supposed to be working) but it was nice to sorta catch up and hear what he's been up to and what he's planning to be up to. As usual, he's got things in the works. We talked guard & music & living arrangements & waxed poetic of days of yore. It was nice and put me in a better mood, considering the rest of the night was a complete wash. A nice, quick reunion. Maybe that is enough. A brief encounter every 9 months or so. He's invited us out to the city tonight for dinner & some drinks before he and his girl Andria have to fly back south. I don't think we'll go.

Now A Rainbow?

I took this on my way into the Roxbury parking lot on Tuesday, same place I had my encounter with an 8 point buck. This must be a magical field.

Curious Horse/Curious Fran

Cagle's Horse Farm

Hickory Flat, GA

October 24th, 2006 @ 12:29 PM

[exactly 2 years ago]

Pancake-Heads

I have a new favorite website. It's called "Painter of Pancakes" and features the oil paintings of Dan Lacey, whose approach is really quite simple. Dan takes an image of interest, be it political, humorous, a figure in the entertainment industry, what-have-you, and draws them... with a pancake on their head. Brilliant!

Here are some of my favorites.

Barack Obama in a moment of pancake reflection

David Letterman never looked more normal than when he is wearing a pancake on his head

After seeing this painting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad replied with “In Iran, we don’t have pancakes like in your country. We don’t have that in our country. In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon. I don’t know who’s told you that we have it.”

Oprah Winfrey doing her now infamous "Has anyone seen my pancake?" bit

Lacey makes an effort for realism with his depiction of Icelandic prime minister Geir Haarde with a frozen pancake on his head

Sarah Palin gets the triple-stack treatment

Vladimir Putin eats a pancake off a tranquilized tiger

Lacey also does some non-human subjects:

here is an angry bunny with a pancake on its head

how about an IBM server with a pancake on its head?

if you keep up with the blog you know my affinity towards this hadron collider, maker of dark matter and potential destroyer of all humanity... with a pancake on its head

and what pancake wouldn't wanna sit atop a mathematical constant such as Pi

Pass the syrup!