Days Go By

"Sacred War"

2009-05-16T10:13:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting and rather ominous-sounding march that was composed during "The Great Patriotic War" to inspire the men and women of the Red Army. The title is translated sometimes as "Holy War".

A Splendid Weekend

2009-05-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

Mila and I hit the road with the girls for the first time in ages for a very pleasant weekend in Plano with Dr. Bezant (aka the good Doctor Pheasant) and his wife Winnifred.

We were more than glad to escape Austin's 95-degree daytime highs. At one point I checked Weather.com and saw that it was 90 degrees in Austin and only 66 in Plano. What a difference 200 miles can make!

Saturday we went to the King Tut exhibit-- a wonderful treat from our ever-thoughtful hosts. Words cannot do justice to the experience, but I will record two of my impressions here. 1) Remarkably, our youngsters were able to hang with an hour and a half of the exhibit. 2) The craftsmanship evident on some of the artifacts is surprisingly primitive while many of the artifacts show a breath-taking degree of perfection. One must wonder how they were able to create with such precision all those centuries ago.

We also visited the Nasher Museum and another museum that houses a permanent collection of Asian art. Perhaps more on those in a later post.

Sunday Dr. Bezant and Winifred treated us dinner and a show at Medieval Times. I had taken this to be clearly something for the girls and had prepared myself to tolerate it, but I must confess that I found the experience very enjoyable. Perhaps the most memorable part was our green knight (each color-coded section of the audience is assigned a knight) chose Onni to be his "Queen of Love and Beauty" by presenting her a green scarf on the end of his lance. She was thrilled, as was Davis who got a pink carnation from the knight.

This video, shot at the Toronto Medieval Times, will give you a slight feel for what it is like.

song evolution

2009-05-03T00:04:00.001-07:00

Here is my song-writing process exposed.

The seed:
Several months ago, I came up with the idea to do a song that was primarily just an Em chord played very loosely and ponderously with a vocal melody sung above it using a somewhat bluesy scale.

The inspiration:
Back in high school one of my good friends had a friend named Mary whom he really liked. I don't think that the relationship ever reached the point, in terms of romance, that my friend wanted it to and, very sadly, a few years after graduation, Mary was killed in an automobile accident.

So, after several months of this song idea going nowhere, I awoke this morning (May 2) and decided to play it on guitar and ad lib some lyrics. This had worked wonderfully once before. "Riding the Wave" was done completely in one hour-- from zero concept to finished piece. I don't think this one will be so tidy, but here it is (first draft/rough draft) no edits, just the rough flow that I scrawled out in barely legible handwriting (whether satisfied or not) as I strummed from verse to verse in a 10 minute free-flow.
-----------------------------------

understanding
the color of the rain
says you could be here once again
oceans narrowing, the beating of a wing-
undaunted, fearless, unafraid

(verse)
come back, Mary
come back, Mary
come back, Mary

just to picture the way it used to be-
two people standing in the reeds
breathing like the hour- it may not come again
listing the things you mean to me

(verse)
come back, Mary
come back, Mary
come back, Mary

(bridge)
oh, hail Mary
full of grace
say, what's up with you today
you've got your horn of plenty
poised above ? ? ? ? ? (no words here)
say, what's up with you today

(verse)
come back, Mary
come back, Mary
come back, Mary
------------------------------------

So, there it is. Naked and raw. I have already started making changes from this morning. We'll see where it goes from here.

wordcraft songcraft

2009-04-24T23:37:00.000-07:00

Teaching: Good for the Body as Well as the Mind?

2009-04-21T21:50:00.000-07:00

Out of curiosity, I stuck Mila's pedometer on my belt this morning before heading out the door. 8,450 steps later (over 4 miles) I was back home again.

April 17 Dentones gig

2009-04-20T22:04:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I was looking at the Carousel Lounge website and noticed that local 90s alternative rock heroes The Wannabes were playing at the club but apparently had no opening band. A quick call to Nikki, the club's manager, put an end to that vacancy. The Dentones would open for the Wannabes starting at 7:00.

It was a strategic move. I was resigned to the fact that there was not enough time to muster much of a turnout from our fan-base, but I figured that Wannabes fans would start showing up toward the end of our second set. If nothing else, it would be a chance to reconnect with Wannabes guitarist Kevin Carney.

I was 33% right. Very few Dentones fans showed up. No other fans showed up until way after we were done. Kevin didn't arrive until almost an hour after we had stopped.

There was a band in the middle. A very good one, actually. The Ron Titter Band was chutzpah incarnate. Imagine a mixture of Elvis and the Stooges and the New York Dolls (what other component am I missing here?) performed by a set of fellows who mostly look like Dell tech support lads. My, but looks can be deceiving!

The evening was far from a waste. The band played quite well. Alexei, a newish friend and the sound engineer who is recording the Dentones in his studio, got the PA very nicely balanced. The bartender liked us a lot, offered the consoling words that early shows are notoriously hard to populate, and gave me free beer for the rest of the evening. Also, Garrett Williams, the drummer for Right or Happy (with whom we are doing a May 29th gig) caught the last few of our tunes. He was probably there on a fact-finding mission to make sure our PA is acceptable and that the Dentones are, too. He talked to Big A for a bit (they have a mutual friend who was the genesis of this upcoming gig), introduced himself to the rest of us, and said we sounded good.

That was music to my ears.

Ha Ha Tonka

2009-04-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

watch and be amazed

Ticket to Ride

2009-04-02T21:51:00.000-07:00

We had our friends Tap and Maggie over for dinner on Saturday and, as it turns out, they love games just like we do. I was glad to hear that they have hosted "game nights" at their house in the past-- even though it was mainly trifling things such as Yahtzee, Scrabble, and the like.

Anything's a start. Right?

To ease these newbies in to the world of respectable gaming we chose "Ticket to Ride- Europe". Tap and Maggie learned the rules very quickly, and we launched into the thick of things right off. Oddly, unlike previous games that have been played like four-way solitaire, this game was much more interactive, with people blocking each other off early on and 80% of the first third of the game taking place in France and Italy alone.

Base scores:

Maggie 86
Mila 96
Tap 116
Po 122

But, there is a bonus for longest rail. Toward the end of the game, Mila brought up the topic of longest rail and we paused to count out the length of everyone's rails. We all assumed Tap's rail was longest. It just LOOKED like it was. However, looks can be deceiving and when we counted it out, my rail was a bit longer. I sort of wished the issue had not come up when it did.

The game proceeded a few turns longer, and the issue of longest rail seemed to be forgotten as everyone concentrated on meeting the obligation of their Destination cards.

When the game was over we counted the base scores and came up with the numbers above.
My rail was 29 cars long. Tap's rail was 31 cars long.

Final score:

Maggie 86
Mila 96
Po 122
Tap 126

2 train cars made all the difference! It was, all in all, a very enjoyable game.

King Burger

2009-03-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

In 1988 when I was traveling through France, I stayed in a hotel/restaurant in Amiens, France that was called (and I kid you not) "King Burger". That, however, is a different story that will have to wait for a later post as it is nearing bedtime for me and I am leaving long before dawn for a week in the mountains of North Carolina.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this King Burger.

Paradigm Shift

2009-03-13T22:18:00.000-07:00

New Song

2009-03-06T20:51:00.000-08:00

'Haven't shown this to the other Dentones yet, but here are the lyrics to a new song I'd like to break out of the box once we get this recording thing wrapped up.
===================================================

Pride of Barbados

Cut your loss, old Antaeus, half-buried in the sand-
there's a dearth of inspiration in the land.
No herculean effort can alleviate the curse
when the stream of consciousness flows in reverse.

When this conversation ends, it will all be over.
When this conversation's done, it will all be through.

Ranger Rick said-- Sunday morning's really not my style,
Why sit inside when all the world's a hymn-
Every leaf on every tree is scribed in holy verse
dedicated to the one, the great "I Am".

You know the pride of Barbados will still be blooming--
the poor man's bird of paradise-- there in the yard.

But over on the West side-
not a thing for everybody-
Join your little boys' club--- Alpha Beta Chi.
Is this a sin?
Not everybody can get in-
They like to ball.
They like to ball.
They like to ball.

Hey, ho, here we go!
Skip the Light Fantastic!
Journey down to Mexico and buy a saint that's made of plastic.
Oh, no! Johnny on the run--
live your live completely-
Iron all the wrinkles out and fold the corners very neatly.

Over on the East side-
gonna pop another baby--
maybe make the biggest family in 11th grade.
Is this a sin?
The baby just don't look like him.
She likes to ball.
She likes to ball.
She likes to ball.

Leonard Cohen is my hero!

2009-02-28T23:29:00.000-08:00

Such a powerful medium is song. No need to fuss with characters, narration, or story arc. Music drives simply inward toward the heart.
God save Mr. Cohen, never the best vehicle for the expression of his own formidable muse. Here is one, my dear friends, that you can sing at my funeral--- those of you who might still be carrying on once I am tapped to begin whatever comes next.

Biorhythms?

2009-02-19T21:36:00.000-08:00

All times below are measured in days and are compared to my brothers Deeb and Rev. Bunny.

Age when married:
Deeb------------11,697
Rev. Bunny----11,172
Po---------------11,803

Age at birth of first child:
Rev. Bunny------13,025
Po-----------------12,995

30 days apart.

Age at birth of second child:
Rev. Bunny------13,918
Po-----------------13,906

12 days apart.

Words of Comfort and Joy

2009-02-10T21:37:00.000-08:00

Last Friday evening at the local HEB express lane----

Po approaches the counter and sets a sixer of IPA's thereupon.

Po- "Hey, how's it going?"
Clerk- "Good. Can I see some ID?"
Po- "Certainly!"
Clerk- "Wow! Okay. Thanks, man."
Po- (laughing) "You can check my ID any time you want!"
Clerk- "You're younger than I am!"
Po- "It must be my low-stress job."
==============================

This may be the last time I ever get carded, so I wanted to record it somehow. I got carded almost every time I bought beer the first five years or so after we moved into our new house. Then it started tapering off. I was carded last May when a bunch of us Social Studies teachers went out for happy hour. I was carded about twice in the Fall. Now this. And that might be it for ever and ever.

But I hope not!

Something from memory's farthest edge...

2009-02-09T22:23:00.001-08:00

Tax-and-Spend Democrats

2009-02-05T18:17:00.000-08:00

Click here for proof positive of a very disturbing trend.

Are We Fading Away?

2009-01-22T17:24:00.000-08:00

I remember reading several years ago that the replacement fertility rate is 2.1 births per couple. The 2 part is easy, but obviously to get the .1 you have to use an average of the fertility rate of a number of couples. I also noticed that of all my many friends and associates, only two couples have had more than two babies. After pondering this every now and then and lacking anything else very compelling to blog about, I decided to generate the following list of pseudonyms using my own nuclear family, our siblings, and the names in my email address book.

Round Rock Thomassens 2
Austin Thomassens 1
Brevard Thomassens 2
Sherbans 2
Wokkers 3
Chapkin 1
Mookie & mate 2
Mookie's sister 1
Schwinns 2
McMormans 0
Petersons 2
Bostons 0
Cheeres 0
Bakkers 0
Cranfields 2
Bratleys 0
Marxs 1
McMarthy 2
F. Roddys 1
Bailey 0
Blewett 2
Hewes 2
Humppers 2
Blaiges 0
Humpties 2
Nickels 2
Smacks 0
Brewflott 1
Pubigs 0
Minkelmanns 3
J-Carnes 1
Tutz's 2

So, all these happily "coupled" folks, all 64 of my closest friends and relatives, would have to have produced 67.2 babies just to meet the replacement rate. In the event, we have only had a total of 41 children. That's 1.3 kids per couple. If this trend continues, my peer group will produce only 27 grandchildren and only 18 great grandchildren.

In the long run, if everyone on the planet were following this trend, it might not be such a bad thing. But as it stands, it seems that our cohort group (which I would describe as consisting mainly of members of the "creative class") seems to be virtually alone among the various social classes that is not growing.

Another Disappointment from the Spoetzl Brewery

2009-01-20T18:59:00.000-08:00

I want to like Shiner beer. I really do. It's regional. It has a long history. It used to be really good. Shiner Bock was the beer of choice for my first 8 years in Austin--- years that admittedly came before the Beer Revolution that swept our country starting in about 1994. I'll save my longer lament about Shiner Bock for a later post, but suffice it to say that I think my growing disappointment in what we once termed "the creamy creamy" had less to do with the rising standards for beer that accompanied the Beer Revolution than with the falling quality of the once-vaunted products coming from the the little brewery in Shiner.

The latest disappointment is "Shiner Commemorator", brewed to celebrate Spoetzl's 100th birthday. Like many Shiner beers, it is not all bad--- it's only half bad, as if each bottle consisted of 6 ounces of a mildly decent craft brew and 6 ounces of downstream American wank. Add two drops of vanilla extract and, Voila!, there you have it-- Shiner Commemorator. Even at the bargain price of $5.99 for a sixer, it proved a bitter disappointment... though without the bitterness, which would have been a step in the right direction.

inspiration

2009-01-13T21:31:00.001-08:00

Seeds in a dry pod,
tick, tick, tick...

---

Can you name the poet? The "poem"?
Can you do this without internet assistance?

An Oral History of the Bush White House

2009-01-09T18:31:00.001-08:00

Read and be disturbed.

Books 101

2009-01-07T22:29:00.001-08:00

The 101 best novels of all time, as voted for by Exclusive Books customers.

What do you think?

1. The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
3. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
4. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
5. The Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
6. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
7. The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
8. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
9. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
10. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
11. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
12. Spud - John van de Ruit
13. The Power of One - Bryce Courtenay
14. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
15. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres
16. Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
17. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
18. Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
19. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
20. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
21. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
22. Disgrace - J. M. Coetzee
23. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
24. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
25. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
26. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
27. Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
28. Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
29. Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton
30. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
31. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
32. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - Mark Haddon
33. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
34. Atonement - Ian McEwan
35. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
36. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
37. The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje
38. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
39. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
40. Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
41. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
42. I Know This Much is True - Wally Lamb
43. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
44. Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell
45. War And Peace - Leo Tolstoy
46. Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel
47. The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
48. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
49. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
50. Possession - A. S. Byatt
51. Perfume - Patrick Suskind
52. The House of the Spirits - Isabel Allende
53. Chocolat - Joanne Harris
54. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
55. Q & A - Vikas Swarup
56. Dune - Frank Herbert
57. Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
58. Fugitive Pieces - Anne Michaels
59. River God - Wilbur Smith
60. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
61. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
62. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
63. Mort - Terry Pratchett
64. Crime and Punishment - Feodor Dostoyevsky
65. The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood
66. East of Eden - John Steinbeck
67. The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco
68. The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
69. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne
70. The Prince of Tides - Pat Conroy
71. Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
72. Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding
73. The Shipping News - E. Annie Proulx
74. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
75. Animal Farm - George Orwell
76. The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
77. Watership Down - Richard Adams
78. Magician - Raymond E Feist
79. Middlemarch - George Eliot
80. The Day of the Jackal - Frederick Forsyth
81. We Need to Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver
82. The Magus - John Fowles
83. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
84. Agaat - Marlene van Niekerk
85. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
86. The Shell Seekers - Rosamunde Pilcher
87. The Colour Purple - Alice Walker
88. The Beach House - James Patterson
89. Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak
90. Kringe in 'n Bos - Dalene Matthee
91. The World according to Garp - John Irving
92. Northen Lights - Phillip Pullman
93. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
94. Shades - Marguerite Poland
95. Kane and Abel - Jeffrey Archer
96. Fiela se kind - Dalene Matthee
97. Story of an African Farm - Olive Schreiner
98. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
99. The Magic Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton
100. Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
101. Winnie-the-Pooh - A.A. Milne

Deafening Silence

2008-12-29T11:50:00.000-08:00

If the sudden cessation of the usual stream of comments from my friends here is any indication, my last post must have been a bit over the top. Please know that my criticism is of the culture at large. There were no hidden jabs at my own family or any other family or individual. Really.

Also, I hope that there is a positive subtext there. It is possible to reject the way that we've been led to believe that Christmas must be. We can always choose to do it differently.

Christmas Day 3

2008-12-27T22:57:00.000-08:00

Traditionally, Christmas was a twelve-day feast that started at sundown in Christmas Eve and went on through the Epiphany-- January 6th. People would hang out, eat food, sing to their neighbors, attend services, give a few simple gifts day by day, and generally have fun and take it easy.

Our consumer/capitalist culture has transfigured this very human affair into something with a very different time table. The first harbingers of the assault make their appearance in late August, just after the "Back to School" festival has ended. The first wave is subtle, after all-- the market days of Halloween and Thanksgiving are not to be eclipsed. Still the net is cast early, for every dollar is dear.

By careful orchestration, the festivities really take off the day after Thanksgiving, which now has its very own name, "Black Thursday". With this day of communal gathering at the local mall, the whole thing begins to ramp up to a fevered pitch that ends at precisely 11:00 AM on December 25th when all the purchases have at last been shorn of their concealing wrappings and an air of quiet disaffection begins to settle in.

Sometimes we extend the self-inflicted misery by volunteering to cook many complicated dishes for the Christmas meal. The stress causes us to become snappish and worried, the meal (however well executed) cannot make up for the deficiency of good karma. And then there is a mountain of dirty dishes to contend with. Fun!

The message here is mainly a negative rant. Fear no "Jesus is the reason for the season" agenda here. That particular blandishment really makes me wince. In a mere ten syllables it cheapens the whole thing just as badly as that awful image of a hatless Santa kneeling at the side of the manger.

My point here is simply this--- something that was supposed to be for us and for our benefit has been twisted into something that benefits a monstrous system--- and usually at our personal expense. It is hard to remain immune to its depredations.

Roots of the Dentones-- 1983

2008-12-16T20:01:00.000-08:00

Satsy learns first guitar chord during senior year of high school.
Satsy moves to Austin and enrolls at University of Texas. Most time spent listening to Who records and trying to learn to play mother's Yamaha classical guitar. Learns some more chords and about 30 Beatles songs from songbooks.

Po, Mooky and Papoose are, by this time, the core of a budding band. Various people they play with include Pod, John Christy, and Chris Walker. Days Go By: Roots Rock Eventually they form "The Paisley Ascot" with James Moore.

Pod buys first electric guitar, an Aria SG copy and Peavey Bandit amp, from Glen’s Pawn shop on the square.

Pod buys Black and white telecaster from Snackplate. Snackplate tries to teach Pod his first chord and shakes his head in dismay and says, “Man, I don’t know” because Pod’s hands are too weak to make a barre chord for the first E chord of “Can’t Explain”.

Pod sells Aria SG and buys yellow 1972 Fender Stratocaster after chance encounter with person at Prodigal Sound Music. As of 2008, this is still his primary electric guitar.

Pod begins to hang out and jam often with Snackplate, Lonnie Gann, Joe Bleese, Jeff LaForte, Scott Marder, Craig Enos, (and a couple of times with Micheal Fabrizio, later Vegetarian Bluejay of Austin) mostly playing two hour versions of “Down by the River”.

Pod attends NTSU in the Fall and meets Kipp Schwalm in English class, they begin playing regularly and recording with a Fostex four track recorder.

Roots of the Dentones-- 1982

2008-12-12T20:35:00.000-08:00

Spring- Po sees the Mudflaps (with Mike Austin, Les Black, and Donal Hinley) play "Suffragette City" in the DHS auditorium and is impressed by the sound of the bass guitar, which he had never before heard in a live, loud setting. Po (tuba) tells Mooky (trumpet) that if Mooky ever buys a guitar, Po will buy a bass.

DHS talent show also includes Matt Johnson’s band that plays “Freewill” by Rush.

Fall-- Po's brother Deeb buys a beginner's electric guitar and amp. Po is surprised at how cheap rock n' roll gear can be.

Late Fall, Po begins to buy a Kay bass guitar from Trey Darby on a payment plan. Mooky buys a guitar and an amp. In December they begin playing with BM and The Toy in an unheated shed in BM's backyard. The inside walls are covered with old, hippy-ish paintings from kids of the previous owners of the house. The Toy uses pots, pans, a Sprite bottle, and his motorcycle helmet as a drum kit.

Mudflaps play New Years Eve party at Pod’s house, put on by his brother D'Erik; hardwood floor is permanently damaged.

You're Joking!

2008-12-07T18:28:00.001-08:00

At about noon today, as the family Thomassen was driving through the wilds and arid scrubland between San Angelo and Austin, Onni wanted Mila and me to entertain her with tales of our childhoods. "What theme?" I asked.

"Being lost." she entreated.

"Okay," I began, "Years and years ago, before I married Mommy, my family was in Germany. Daddy and Bump Bump and Granny Dolla and Uncle Deeb and Uncle Bunny were all driving through Germany..."

And here she interrupted with a tone of incredulity, "How many steering wheels did your car have?"

Roots of the Dentones-- 1981

2008-12-04T19:46:00.000-08:00

1981
Satsy sees live band play at Michael's Arcade. Band consists of David Hineman, Robert Van Cleve, Eric Moorehead, and Scott Marder; plays "Summertime Blues" and "Breakin' the Law."
Po meets Pod in August when both are members of the Denton High School marching band. That same month, MTV debuts on cable television. Pod and Po remain only acquaintances for years. MTV slowly devolves into something that has little to do with music.

Roots of the Dentones- the 60s and 70s

2008-12-03T18:16:00.000-08:00

Note: Most entries are in the words of the person they are about.

1964
Satsy and Pod born in Denton, Texas

1965
Po born in Atlanta, Georgia. Interesting note: Po is younger than Sandy Marshall.

1968
Big A born in Stillwater, Oklahoma

1969
Satsy given first guitar by father. Between now and 1983 would learn to tune.

1971
Po moves to Denton, Tx.

1974-75
Po takes piano lessons and writes his first song: "Cristobalito".

1975
Pod begins trumpet lessons with member of NTSU 1 o’clock lab band on his old high school cornet.

1976
Satsy attempts to write songs. At this point knows how to play recorder and some musical notation. Nothing ever completed. Nothing survives to present.
Pod plays trumpet in Woodrow Wilson Elementary School band, continues playing trumpet and taking lessons.

1977
Po begins learning trombone in the Frank Borman Elementary School band.

1978
Following his interest in lower tones, Po switches from trombone to tuba.

Feelin' Pink!

2008-12-01T19:37:00.000-08:00

Last Monday at about 8:00 I got sick. It was like some invisible hand had hit a switch. Fine one moment, sore throat and a bit woozy the next.
I went to school Tuesday. It takes SO long to prep for a sub, that and Pops always taught us to play hurt. No wimps in the Thomassen household, by gum! We Norskies didn't....uh.... (what did the Norwegians do?)...uh... invent the paperclip by lying around sick in bed like a bunch of people who couldn't do something like that. Oh!

Mila, who had gotten sick a few days earlier with similar symptoms, went to the goctor on Wednesday (I think) and ere long was reaping the benefits of modern anti-biotics. I put off going. My goctor is far away and it was the holidays and, besides, how long can something like this last, anyhow?

Day 8 started today, and I woke up with pink eye and feeling quite low on energy. Headache, mild chills, sore throat. The last three I could deal with, but pink eye is supposed to be wildly contagious.

Okay. I complained.

Surprising Finds

2008-11-28T09:01:00.000-08:00

The Protestant reformer Martin Luther was an often controversial figure. His support of the suppression of the rebelling German peasantry and his various anti-Semitic remarks are hard to reconcile with the many good things that he did that set the Western world on the path toward freedom of religion. I was aware of his fondness for good beer and his admonition that we "sin boldly", but apart from this first little aphorism I was not aware of the many words of wisdom that Luther had to offer.
============================================

Martin Luther:

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.

War is the greatest plague that can afflict humanity, it destroys religion, it destroys states, it destroys families. Any scourge is preferable to it.

In the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.

If you are not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don't want to go there.

When schools flourish, all flourishes.

Nothing good ever comes of violence.

Every man must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying.

God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees, and flowers, and clouds, and stars.

I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope, Self.

Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave.

Music is the art of the prophets and the gift of God.

Peace if possible, truth at all costs.

Peace is more important than all justice; and peace was not made for the sake of justice, but justice for the sake of peace.

There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage.

Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God.

You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say.

Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.

Pray, and let God worry.

A Wrinkle In Time

2008-11-26T08:36:00.000-08:00

In 1994, this young man began writing and recording music for a new album with his band.

But he proved to be so difficult to work with that, one by one, his bandmates jumped ship. Abandoned but undeterred, this youthful rockster found new musicians and resumed recording "Chinese Democracy" in 1998. The record company offered a bonus of $1 million dollars if the album could be completed by March 1999.

Fourteen years after its inception and having racked up over $13,000,000 in studio fees, "Chinese Democracy" was released on Nov. 23, 2008, by this man...

Show this to your children so they don't do drugs.

Just Like the Old Days

2008-11-23T12:21:00.000-08:00

Many years ago, before marriage and children had blessed our lives and the lives of our many friends, we created a rather large ersatz family. A dozen or more of us twenty-somethings would gather together frequently to share meals, celebrate birthdays, and, usually with the accompaniment of copious amounts of beer, mark the passage of time while enjoying each others' company.

Three quotes that stand out in my mind that define those days--

"It's only 12:30?!?! It's still EARLY!"
-Sean catching his second wind after midnight

"So, where's the party tonight?"
-Misty upon arriving at Haus Hopper after work on a weekday

"The Austin weekend starts on Thursday and ends on Sunday, and we practice for it on Wednesday."
-yours truly summarizing the general way of things at the time

We eventually grew up. We got married and created real families, and life got much, much better. Still, a part of me has missed the frequent gatherings. Others from our group have felt the same way. A couple months ago several people lamented our seeming lameness and complacency-- how easy it has been to give up trying to organize gatherings and to measure the time between social events in months rather than in weeks or days. Of course it cannot ever be like it was all those years ago, and indeed it really shouldn't be.

Happily, and counter to the trend of the last several years, this past month has been especially active: Party last month at Bookhart's. Party at Jeffry's watching Smash Riley. Party here eight days ago. Party at Pidge's two days ago. Party here again yesterday (okay, a Thanksgiving feast), and even more on the horizon!

In short, it has been rather like the old days.

Worst Song Ever!

2008-11-17T18:35:00.000-08:00

I was shopping Kohl's tonight with Davis while Mila took Onni to her first Girl Scouts meeting. Department store music is generally pretty vapid, but this song struck me as especially awful.
Seeing the photograph on Youtube somewhat lessens the blow, so to feel full brunt of the tune's sheer mediocrity I suggest that you avert your eyes from the picture and instead imagine yourself strolling through aisles of clothing looking for something that even vaguely resembles the clothes in the newspaper insert that brought you to a big box department store in the first place.

This song is the soundtrack to disappointment.

Be patient, and don't be fooled by the somewhat cool (if ubiquitous) drums at the beginning. You must wait until 1:10 for this crap to reach its full crescendo of stank.

Time to Pretend

2008-11-13T18:55:00.000-08:00

MGMT -- a recent find. May have to go out and buy their cd. Perfect example of synergy-- cool song + cool video = complete awesomeness

Do You Remember This Show?

2008-11-12T20:58:00.001-08:00

Who's Your Little "Who's-It"?

2008-11-08T22:54:00.000-08:00

Hurdy Gurdy Man

2008-11-07T21:45:00.000-08:00

In July 2002, Mila and I traveled to Prague, with our guide the kindly Dr. Pheasant. The first night in the city we made our way through the winding Medieval streets to the famous bridge built in the 1300s by King Karel IV. It is a surprisingly wide bridge, flanked at intervals by towering statues of bishops and saints, and it was packed with people-- sight-seers mainly, but locals, too, and a few vendors and street performers- most memorably some fire jugglers who were, frankly, not very good. Dropped torches aside, the orange glow of their flames made the Medieval bridge and Medieval city, with its spectacular castle looming on the opposite bank, seem all the more... well... Medieval. But the piece de resistance of all this Medievalism was the eerie and haunting music that emanated from somewhere farther down the bridge. It sounded like an old woman singing through some sort of amplification. When we had finally snaked our way through the crowd to the source of the music, we were somewhat surprised to find that it was not a miked old woman but a middle-aged man singing just with his own voice-- no amplification.

Now, only six years later, Jiri Wehle looks quite a bit older, but as you listen to this recording, don't watch the video. Instead, imagine the scene I have described here-- the moving firelight, the ancient stone bridge, the illuminated castle on the hill and its reflected image, as if pixelated, scintillating on the surface of the Vltava River, the stone bishops, the cranking of the hurdy gurdy wheel.

Magical Prague.

Happy Days Are Here Again!

2008-11-04T19:41:00.000-08:00

So long sad times
Go long bad times
We are rid of you at last
Howdy gay times
Cloudy gray times
You are now a thing of the past

Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
So let’s sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again

Altogether shout it now
There’s no one
Who can doubt it now
So let’s tell the world about it now
Happy days are here again

Your cares and troubles are gone
There’ll be no more from now on
From now on...

Happy days are here again
The skies above are here again
So, let’s sing a song of cheer again
Happy times
Happy nights
Happy days
Are here again!

Name That Tune

2008-11-01T22:52:00.000-07:00

Leatherbag's "On Down the Line"

1. This song sounds an awful lot like--

A) "Roadrunner" by the Modern Lovers
B) "Sister Ray" by the Velvet Underground
C) "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd
D) Both A and B

(Is this a good thing or a bad thing?)

Go Ask Alice

2008-10-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

My dear,dear friend Lisa sent me this video today. She said it reminded her of the apartment that Marko and I shared off Enfield back in the 80s. I take that as a compliment!

Norton's Anthology

2008-10-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

I guess it's a bit of a nerdish confession, but my favorite book for many years was my 1984 edition of the Norton Anthology of Poetry. I got it for a poetry class at TCU my freshman year in 1985 and glanced at it often enough to wear off its outer cover by the end of the decade.

One of my favorite poems in the anthology was "Suzanne Takes You Down" by Leonard Cohen. I liked it so much that in the early 90s I decided to write a song and use the poem for the lyrics. I did not know at the time that Cohen had already set it to music way back in the 60s.

When I found out, I wrote my own words and gave the original music a Bo Diddly beat. The name of the song comes from Mike, who gave a number of my songs non-sensical names that somehow stuck.

Lady Breaks Bread

I walked in the wake of the sad and the lonely.
I recall how my boots clicked against the paving stones
and echoed out loudly, and sharply, and clearly,
then faded away in the cold Polish dawn.

At the edge of the town where the trains were all waiting,
the brazen, exceptional strumpet appeared.
She said, "Well, well done, my good and faithful servant."
and the whistles screamed out in the grey morning air.

Well, I remember wine and roses
and I can still recall the cool, electric thrill
of the first time I ever saw you--
you were so seductive and invitational.

We rode through the night in the pine woods of Georgia,
so ghostly, so pale, immaculately clean.
The new moon hung low like a white shard of dresden,
and the earth thundered out beneath our horses' feet.

We hid in the dark at the edge of the clearing,
all eyes on the house, make sure everyone's asleep,
and Bobby Lee went up with our notice of eviction--
a homemade wooden cross and a jar of gasoline.

Well, I remember wine and roses
and I can still recall the cool, electric thrill
of the first time I ever saw you--
you were so seductive and invitational.

Elliot Smith-- Five Years Gone

2008-10-21T21:28:00.000-07:00

Very hard to believe its been five years.

Blaze Foley Tribute & Fundraiser for the Homeless

2008-10-17T22:04:00.000-07:00

Last week my friend and colleague Mickey White asked if I'd back him up on bass at a fundraiser at Ruta Maya. We had a twenty-minute practice on Tuesday after work-- more than enough time to work up "Larimer Street", "The Cuckoo", "Rex's Blues", "Going Down the Road Feelin' Bad", "Sweet Home Chicago", and a demi-medley of "I've Been Everywhere" and "When the Saints Go Marching In." Right?

Actually, I've played with Mickey twice before, and we'd done two of those tunes already, but more importantly, he's such a great musician that it's just easy to play with him. Ditto for his son, who plays drums.

In short, this evening was an absolute blast. We had a second guitarist and a saxophonist. The latter played with Townes Van Zandt back when Mickey played with him, and despite the fact that this gig WAS our rehearsal, it all came off very strong.

It was a little funny to be treated like a minor VIP. When I first got there one of the event coordinators sought me out and gave me a special bracelet that let me get free beer. It was also very cool to play for a large crowd that cheered enthusiastically between songs (for the wizardry of the guitarists and the saxophonist!). When we stepped off stage, one of the event organizers came up and asked me if I would sign some fliers that were going to be auctioned off. I declined, telling her that I was just a friend backing up the guy who had actually known Blaze Foley (we were listed as "Mickey White" after all) but she insisted. They wanted all the musicians to sign them.

Oddness, all of this. But I liked it!

The Evils of Drink

2008-10-16T20:45:00.000-07:00

This cautionary tale chock full of charming little metaphors. One I cannot figure out is the odd little figure who likes to tap glasses of varying sizes and then quickly jump into them. Don't know what it means, but I love the image!

Poi Dog Pondering

2008-10-15T22:20:00.000-07:00

Early spring semester, 1988.
West Mall of UT, very close to Guadalupe.

A few musicians are playing some rather unusual but upbeat music. A young man standing between the musicians and the crowd is singing loudly. He has dark, unkempt hair, a heavy afternoon shadow, and one of those Palestinian scarves that were so popular back then. He keeps his eyes closed and his feet together, and he lets his arms just hang down at his sides as he sings with great gusto. I admire his lack of self-consciousness. His natural talent is only middling, but his enthusiasm is endearing.

The song over, he squeaks away in his black army boots and disappears through the smallish crowd.

A young woman appears and sets down a violin case, from which she very quickly produces a violin. She snaps the case closed and takes her place among the remaining musicians. Another song is already in the offing. Seamless and seemingly spontaneous, too. The crowd grows by a few individuals, and everyone seems to enjoy the music and to be aware that this is something different.

The song over, I turn to the girl next to me in the crowd and ask who the band is.
"It's not a band, really," she explains, "It's just a group of friends who kind of come and go. They're called 'Poi Dog Ponder'[sic]."

Fast forward seven or eight months. I have graduated. I have spent most of a summer in Europe. I have returned to work briefly with the Job Corps before my move to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The hot months of summer have come and gone. It is a cool October day, and I am at the corner of Columbia St. and Franklin listening to my car radio when a really cool song comes on. I speed on to the apartment on Jones Ferry Road, look up the phone number of the local radio station, and ask about the song. "Oh," the friendly college radio DJ replies, "It's called 'Pulling Touch' and it's by an Austin, Texas band called Poi Dog Pondering."

Wow! From the West Mall to college radio in a matter of months! Pretty cool! Plus it was a connection to Texas and to Austin that I was happy to make.

At some point I remember Big A telling me he had seen them on the steps of the West Mall playing the Velvets' "Pale Blue Eyes". Here is a video of them doing 'Living With the Dreaming Body' on Guadalupe.

Not sure what ever happened to the tussle-haired chappie who sang like a soulful borracho. I never saw him with the band again.

Here is singer Frank Orrall playing 'Pulling Touch' at a recent dinner party(?)... if you watch, give it a minute to rev up, then imagine that it has the energy and and vitality that twenty years have mellowed.

Fox Scat

2008-10-10T23:55:00.000-07:00

On Friday a state investigator's report concluded that Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin abused her power as governor and violated state ethics law by trying to get her ex-brother-in-law fired from the state police.

So, what was FOX news' story of the night? All night? Repeated over and over ad infinitum?

ACORN!

Hydrogen vs. Boost

2008-10-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

Cute!

Youtube hit for "Dentones"

2008-09-24T20:32:00.000-07:00

Be careful what you fish for on Youtube. Instead of the expected video short of those mild-mannered chappies from North Texas, I reeled in this whopper.

At least it made me laugh!

Portland biking. Not a rant. Really.

2008-09-22T21:29:00.000-07:00

Should you wish to experience the bike ride that Bil and I took from Buckman across the river to the Brewers' Dinner, well, here it is.

At about 1:00 or so, the route diverges slightly. The video here skirts along the left side of the park where the festival was held, whereas we skirted its right-hand side along the Willamette River.

Snowing

2008-09-17T22:05:00.001-07:00

(A song from 1992. Oddly enough, the impetus for writing this song was my recollection of an old, hand-written songlist from Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd that included a song called "Snowing"--of which I think there is no recording and of which, sadly, I have been unable to learn anything more. In the Spring of 1992 I decided to write a song called "Snowing" just to fill that gap for myself.)

"Snowing"

Greta do you want me? Tell me this
and I will be your faithful lover-
a face like yours could launch a thousand ships in me

I was in the wings when the world began-
never thought to darken heaven's door,
when the angels took their sides, I smiled and I walked away

it's snowing
it's snowing

I remember days in Eden's bliss,
and I knew Eve like no other
but I never felt like this till my eyes fell on you

so grace me with your smile, grace me with your touch,
grace me with your body if its not too much-
I'd spend an age chained to a rock
for just one night with you

it's snowing
it's snowing

bridge
Blessed, chill December afternoon-
surprised by joy, by joy again,
one word and my soul would be renewed
and let the world come flooding in

Greta do you want me? Tell me this
and I will be your faithful lover-
a face like yours could launch a thousand ships in me

I was in the wings when the world began-
never thought to darken heaven's door,
when the angels took their sides, I smiled and I walked away

it's snowing
it's snowing

Strange Day Today

2008-09-13T08:33:00.000-07:00

(a song from about 1992)

out in back
cracked white columns stand
like sad old men in the Georgia sun

cat-quick
an open door
unseen I'm easing, stealing over the garden wall

and through an open window
an old victrola's strains
come drifing down in to the yard
through the noontime summer haze

and in an upstairs bedroom
unmindful of my gaze
she takes a long, hard drag on a cigarette
and a across the bed she lays

and I heard her say
"what a strange day today"
then I thought I might have heard her say
"what a strange day today,
all the pieces-- they're all here
but it's just not quite the same"
then I heard her say
"what a strange day today"

clamp down
snicker snack
like a vorpal blade like a big bear trap
on my mortal soul

how now
these second thoughts
these deepest fears
these darkest doubts crowd around my soul
all around my soul

the first time that I saw you
I was knocked right off my feet
you gave me five good reasons to believe
and six to turn and flee

now all around the border
the twisted wire gleams
like the long, cold blade of a bayonet
in a gun-freak magazine

and I heard her say
"what a strange day today"
then I thought I might have heard her say
"what a strange day today,
all the pieces-- they're all here
but it's just not quite the same"
then I heard her say
"what a strange day today"

The Tribe

2008-09-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

I happened upon this smart little film quite by accident this evening. It is very well done and a pleasure to watch for its brilliant craftsmanship alone, though the topic (identity in the modern world-- specifically Jewish identity) is also very interesting and is rendered all the more so by the film maker's use of dry humor and clever visual puns juxtaposed with rather more serious material. It is long but well worth the time.

One final rant before a concerted effort at dormancy

2008-08-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

A month out from our Oregon trip, Mila and I are still quite haunted by the experience. Perhaps even more so than when we first returned to Texas about three weeks ago.
We have visited many lovely places together-- the Czech Republic, Colorado, North Carolina, and New England to name a few, but we have never once been gripped by the desire to uproot and actually MOVE.

Until now.

Bil's and Carla's neighborhood (Buckman) is like Austin's Hyde Park--- lots of very cool old houses occupied by creative, community-conscious, left-leaning Gen X-ers--- but Buckman is bigger than Hyde Park and, quite unbelievably, slightly less expensive. The Lamar Blvd. equivalent is Hawthorne Street, but Hawthorne has Lamar beat 10:1 if you are scoring for cool bohemian shops in cool old bohemian buildings. There's just more of them. Plus you can walk to the grocery store AND to 20 pubs, according to Bil's neighbor Dave, though only two of them brew their own beer.
Categories for consideration:
Climate-- NW Oregon posts 222 overcast days per year. The general populace deals with this by consuming prodigious amounts of coffee and super hoppy beer. Carla maintains that the wet, cool climate jibes with her Celtic genes. We didn't fully realize the truth of what she said until we returned to the stifling humidity and blast-furnace temperatures of Central Texas, but Mila and I both felt that our Euro bodies were somehow more attuned to that place than to this one. I offer no explanation.

People-- I was raised to value friendliness, openness, and good manners and to identify these as Southern norms, and unfortunately I also have harbored the misconception that the opposite of these values were "Yankee" norms. Travel has done much to unravel most of this prejudice, especially in the cases of Wisconsin and Massachusetts (but not New York or Michigan, sorry to say). Having eschewed one prejudice I shall, perhaps, rush toward forming another, for we found the people in Portland to be, in the balance, much friendlier, open and helpful than what you might expect to find in Texas. I was (pleasantly) surprised, but it is true.
Portland seemed to be a city filled with educated people with a middle class (though NOT bourgeois) sensibility. From the bus drivers to the rental car lackeys to the librarians to the convenience store clerks, they all came off as more helpful, informative, and industrious than their counterparts in any other American city I have visited.

Crime-- Here's the rub. Crime seems to be a major problem in Portland. We had no sense of this while we were there as we felt perfectly safe the whole time. Safer, indeed, than we feel in Austin. We saw nairy a gaggle of loitering thugs and only heard gangsta rap blaring from a passing car once in 12 days. It seemed, as I have intimated, like a city comprised of bright, educated people.

Some of whom have major drug problems, it would seem.

One demographics website I found gave Portland a crime index rating of almost 450, when the national average is only 100 and our beloved little Round Rock is a paltry 39. Property crime is the main thing, I guess. Murders are rare. Heroine and meth addiction are persistent problems, and the addicts engage in a lot of thievery.

Jobs-- Mila and I have good jobs here that we have excelled at and can almost do in our sleep. Who wants to start afresh and lose time with family as you scramble to learn the ins and outs of a new career? Plus, due to higher cost of living, we would have to pull in $60,000 more than we do now to maintain our current lifestyle.

Other considerations-- Friends, family, housing costs, the Dentones...

We are in a sort of limbo.

Oregon Brewers' Festival

2008-08-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this post is about 26 days after the fact, but so it goes. The Oregon trip left a huge impression-- as did the size and scope of the Brewers' Festival.Mila took this picture of me picking the brain of master brewer Corey, who is in the employ of the McMenamins operation--- more specifically brewing for Cornelius Pass Roadhouse. He was explaining to me how it is that a bock does not necessarily have to be dark and malty. He and I are sitting in the circle of chairs we adults (all friends of Bil and Carla) set up like a buffalo ring to protect our young, some of whom you can see sitting on the blankets at the bottom of the picture.

I took notes in the 70-page program that I got that day, and these I shall presently share with you below. But first I must add reference to this oddity of fortune. The official program includes of list of reputable beer blogs not only in the Pacific Northwest but in the whole nation. See if you can spot yours truly in the picture on this blog's entry for the Brewers Guild Dinner.

And now for our notes from that lovely day:

Mila--

1. Trumer Pils by Trumer Brauerei
"Good" "has Czech qualities"

2. Bayern Pilsener by Bayern Brewing
"clean, nice bite" (but later) "might taste like Coors Lite"

3. no notes

4. taste of Alaskan Summer Ale by the Alaskan Brewing Company
"fresh and clean like glacier water!"

Po--

1. Stone Levitation Ale by Stone Brewing Co.
"Fine!"
score 800 (out of 1000)

2. Bridgeport Hop Czar by Bridgeport Brewing Co.
"Great! Fresh and hoppy!)
score 800
(Note: the lines for this one grew long! prohibitively so!)

3. Pliny the Elder by Russian River Brewing Co.
"Excellent! Hoppy indeed, but not too bright! Carla dumped her habanero beer
when she had a sip of this!" Actually, she was about to dump it when I wrote that,
but Bil rescued it and actually liked it enough to order it at the Green Dragon a couple of nights later.
score 900

4. taster of Solar Flare Ale by Lucky Labrador Brewing Co.
"Got bcs. line was short. Not bad, but pales in the company of this fest"
score 500

5. taster of MacTarnahan's Slingshot Extra Pale Ale
"Does not seem like an extra pale ale"
score 450

Happy 28th, Miss LaToya!!!

2008-08-13T10:31:00.000-07:00

LaToya had her 28th birthday last month, and we celebrated here with an old style mahaloo--- BYOB and BYOM (the latter stands for "Bring Your Own Meap"). You should definitely click on this top one to see what Fast Eddy has on his ears!
There was also a kegschen of Bitburger. (One never wants to run out of beverage at a mahaloo.) Red Steve and Miss Willow's beau, newly moved down from New England, hit it off at the bar.

It was really nice seeing Fast Eddy again. He was back on his feet after many long months of dealing with a herniated disc that was crushing a nerve.

The conversation was lively and entertaining. One would not wish for party chat to be otherwise!

Here you can see LaToya enjoying a plate of meap while Lady Willow brandishes her silverware at the photographer, obviously agitated about something. Perhaps it is because all that remains of her plate of meap is a barely perceptable yellowish stain--- enough to upset any woman of good standing and a reasonable degree of self respect.

Everyone had a great time, and it was nice seeing Curt and his wife Joannie. It was their first visit to our home, and Joannie announced that she was expecting their second baby. She had a strong feeling that it will be a boy, and two weeks later this was confirmed by her doctor.

Notes from the 2008 Oregon Brewers' Guild Dinner

2008-08-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

Menu:
Smoked Salmon or Pork Tenderloin
Roasted potato & veggie medley
Roll and butter
Shakespeare Stout brownie

My beer-tasting notes- as written:

"Saw Full Sail brewer John Harris! He looks like David Marks!" now that David has grown a full beard

Alameda Brewhouse- Lucky Devil Belgian Golden Strong Ale
"slight metal with abrupt finish"

Full Sail Brewing Co.- Lizama Summer Dunkel Weizen
"taste obscured by food" (had a sip while eating dinner)

Double Mountain Brewery- Pils
"A bright, hoppy IPA!"

Deschutes Brewery- The Dissident Belgian Sour Brown Ale
"Yuck! Joke beer!"

Ninkasi Brewing Co.- Tricerahops Double IPA
"fresh, greenish-gold flavor"

Pelican Pub and Brewery-- India Pelican Ale
"hoppier and less complex than Tricerahops"

Ram Restaurant and Brewery- Barefoot Wit
"Ooops! Forgot what 'wit' was! Got used to it, though. Good!"

Ram Restaurant and Brewery- Palm Island Toasted Coconut Porter
"coconut? poor choice"

Rogue Ales--Rogue Imperial YSB
"Had 2!!! Great balance. Met brother of namesake"

Lompoc Brewing Co. - Heaven's Helles Lager
"ended with this--- a perfect ending!"

Welcome to Beervana!

2008-08-05T10:21:00.001-07:00

The family flew up to Portland on July 23rd to visit some dear friends and take in the local scenery...and ales. What a place! In the next few posts I'll extol some of the many virtues of Oregon, but for now suffice it to say that Mila and I both feel like our return to Texas is like crawling up on some strange and inhospitable shore.

That first evening, Bil and I biked down to Tom McCall Park (passing a monument to the Bill of Rights!) for the Brewers' Guild Dinner. Only 600 tickets were sold, and Bil had managed to get us a pair-- tickets number 4 and 5, actually! The man is no slacker.

Bil shot the picture at the top with his cell phone fairly early in the evening, just after we had finished our dinner which featured smoked Columbia River salmon. Yum!

Each of us got 6 eight-ounce pourings-- mainly from the Pacific Northwest but there were a few from other regions as well. We also did a lot of sampling of each other's choices. Somewhere in our yet-to-be-unpacked luggage (maybe if we don't unpack the trip won't be over?) I have my notes from the evening, which will appear in a forthcoming post.

The weather was chilly even before sunset. In fact, our kiddoes Onni and Davis had put on sweaters back at the airport. With the sun going down and the temperature dipping into the 50s, Bil and I mounted up and returned to the eastside via the Steel Bridge. Gliding along the river in that heavenly cool air and watching the sun set behind the city was an experience I'll not soon forget.

This parade was held the next day, and even though we missed it, the spirit of the 4-day event is quite evident. Plus you can see the nifty festival mugs we each were issued.

So, how much does a pint cost in...

2008-07-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

When we traveled in the Czech Republic in 2002, we thought we were in paradise. I mean, it is a very lovely country, and they make fantastic beer, and a pint of it cost a mere 80 cents. Sadly, that figure has doubled now, but it's still a heck of a bargain.

The average price for a pint here in Austin is $3-4. Still reasonable, but I do so long for dollar pint nights at Waterloo.

Meanwhile, our friend Karla is languishing in Norway, where the average price of a public pint will set you back almost $12.00!

For the average Norwegian, the price of beer is comparable to how it was for us when we were poor, starving college students. To wit--- the average salary in Norway is 320,000 Kroner, and a bargain pint might cost 50 Kroner. Thus, before facing the formidable Norwegian tax system, a Norsky could buy 6,400 pints of beer with his/her annual earnings. That's EXACTLY how many 75-cent Shiners I could have bought back in college with the money my folks sent me each year! Coincidence? I think not!

By comparison, the average American can afford to do a lot more bellying up here in the land of the free. Our average annual salary is $26,000* which can pull in 8,666 local pints before taxes.
Now, that's what I call an investment!

Check out more global pint prices here.

Grim footnote: With the current dismal exchange rate, the 320,000 Kroners the average Norwegian earns translates into $63,000 here.

*True average is more like $43,000 in the US, but this is thrown off by all the super fat cats. Take five blokes who make $15K and one who makes $200K, and the average of the group is over $45K. A bit misleading.

Hazard a Guess?

2008-07-18T12:26:00.001-07:00

Can you complete the list below?

Fastest Growing Cities in the United States

1. New Orleans
2. Victorville, California
3. McKinney, Texas
4. North Las Vegas
5. Cary, North Carolina
6. Killeen, Texas
7. Port St. Lucie, Florida
8. Gilbert, Arizona
9. Clarksville, Tennessee
10. ??????????????

These Feet Were Made for Walking...

2008-07-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

I don't know what I think about this recent offering.

It seems to be based on a program that ignores a lot of factors that are really important for the would-be walker, like a major highway or perhaps an impassable river. Case in point-- our local HEB is exactly two miles away by car, but Walkscore places it at only half that distance-- obviously taking the measurement "as the crow flies".

Still, it's worth a look, and it certainly seems to aimed at promoting a worthy cause.

And, by the way, our neighborhood scores an abysmal 14 points. It also sports at least 3 Hummers (amid an ocean of other SUV's), one of which has a custom-made Barbee wrap. Lord save us all!

How do we cope? Why, by reciting this mantra, of course! "Good schools, no crime, close to work. Good schools, no crime, close to work. Good schools, no crime, close to work. Good schools, no crime..."

Southern Town, Belgian Beer, Norwegian Price

2008-07-13T22:30:00.001-07:00

Just got back last night from a fantastic family trip to North Carolina. More postings on that in the near future.

We found ourselves in Memphis Saturday evening at about supper time with two hours until boarding time, so we sauntered into a Memphis Blues-themed restaurant right there in the airport and had a real, sit-down meal right amidst all the hustle and bustle of a cross country sojourn with kids in tow.

The menu was promising, and the prices seemed reasonable---- for the locale. Just down the concourse they were selling single BBQ sandwiches for $7.50, so an entree on a real plate with real side dishes for $9.99 seemed like a steal. Consequently, I ordered a .5 litre (normal pints are about .4) glass of Stella Artois, which they had on tap. There was no price listed, which should have raised my suspicion. Should have.

Oh well, it was the end of our vacation, and the beer tasted like the very nectar of the gods... so golden, so crisp, so mellow and round. Mila happily helped me make it disappear, and then we decided to order another one.

The punchline: each beer cost $9.49. Do the math.

Ha ha!

Beware Hester's Crossing

2008-07-03T14:35:00.000-07:00

May 30th was the last day of school. Because Mila was heading to a scrap-booking "crop" that evening, I picked up both girls and was looking forward to a quiet evening at home--- a nice way to inaugurate the summer.

When I got in, I saw that there was a message on the answering machine. It was Mila who, in a rather calm voice said, "Hi, Honey. I'm at the corner of Hester's Crossing and Rawhide, behind La Frontera... I think I pretty much totalled the van." And a bit more. Borrowed cell phone. Hope you get this message so you can come pick me up.

So, off I went, expecting to turn at Hester's Crossing and have to scan for Mila walking down a grassy slope from a parking lot where she and the other driver had maybe parked to share information and wait for the police. She would be waving her arms so that I would see her. I mean, she was so calm about everything. Certainly it wasn't too bad.

In the event, when I turned on the Hester's Crossing I saw a huge fire engine blocking the traffic and two police cars with their lights flashing. In the center of the intersection there was a white ambulance, also with blue lights ablaze. Presently our van hove into sight, merged front-to-front with a new white Dodge Calibre. The asphalt was wet with all sorts of liquid that was leaking from both vehcles.

As I got closer I saw that the airbags had deployed--- a most surreal vision. There had obviously been a pretty serious impact.

Mila was fine (thank goodness!) as so was the other driver (double thanks!)

Once all the formalities had been attended to, the wrecker hauled our fatally wounded van up on a flatbed and lugged it over to a loading area behind La Frontera for us to go over it like a pack of jawas picking out valuables and transferring them to our Nissan.

I took this picture when it was up on the wrecker, and I was later disappointed because the angle de-emphasizes the extent of the damage (windshield was cracked by the hood, Mila could barely open driver's side door, the exhaust system had dropped down and been shoved toward the rear) but, really, getting the perfect shot was quite far from my mind. In the end, there was only one thing that mattered as far as this whole incident was concerned.

Strong Voice Silenced Bright Light Dimmed

2008-07-02T14:48:00.001-07:00

Austin native Shannon Leigh, 20, who began to rock the local slam poetry scene when she was only 14, has been in critical condition in a Florida hospital since a diving accident about three weeks ago. Today's paper says there are no longer any signs of brain activity and they are only keeping her on life support until her boyfriend can get there to say good-bye.

I am posting this video not for its content so much as for its sheer brilliance, most especially in light of her youth. When I was twenty I was incapable of anything of the sort.

Still am.

Show at the Carousel Lounge

2008-06-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

The Dentones will be pairing up with the Love Vandals again this Friday at the Carousel Lounge. Our slot is from about 9:30 until midnight.

Come enjoy a cold beer and some cool tunes!

Aha!

2008-06-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

Movie Reviews

If this is even true, it might help explain the woefully low number of visits and comments this blog tends to attract. It's probably just too much work to wade through all this "ho-hummery". Meanwhile, one of my favorite blogs out there was rated as "Junior High" which, though shocking, is much less so than the "Elementary School" rating given to a blog that I consider to be especially thoughtful and well-written.

Go figure.

BTW-- I have no idea what this "movie reviews" business is all about.

33 Days

2008-06-19T20:20:00.001-07:00

Spring is over, though it did a pretty good job of preparing us for a nice, scorching Central Texas summer. The Heat Wave of 2008 will start its 33rd day tomorrow, and we have already had 15 days of triple-digit temperatures. The average for normal summer is just 11 for the WHOLE summer.

This doesn't bode well.

A first time for everything...

2008-06-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

This is my first go at a meme. It's called the "Flikr Meme" and I got it from Bookhart.

Here's how to play:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's Mosaic Maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Where are you from?

I'm Voting Republican

2008-06-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Ann E. Willow, for this one!

Time to Come

2008-06-09T21:56:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since a post, but not a long time since the idea for a post has come my way from the ether. Sadly (and lamely), since these ideas have involved such things as downloading pictures from our camera, and I have done that fairly recently and have not cleared the memory chip and don't want duplicate files filling up our hard drive, I loop and loop again into a state of non-action.

So, here is my place-holder. A cheap and easy post.

In the early 90s our band had a back up singer who shall here be known as La Quekki. Among her many noteworthy attributes was a sort of bludgeon-like sexual aggressiveness that inspired the first (prosaic) line of this song. There really was a dream. There really was someone trying to push the envelope. However, there was never really any chance of any sort of "time to come" that involved La Quekki and Yours Truly.

Time to Come (1992)

I had a dream last night
and you were in it--
you held yourself right up to me and said
'come on and get it'
you said 'hey, boy'
'hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, boy'
and I said, 'yeah'

well now I must admit it was a temptation,
but let it come as no surprise or great revelation
that you really make my heart break
the way you underestimate
the time it takes just to sit and wait for the right time
time to come

bridge:
I cast my mind back through the years
and i racked my brain, trying to refind the essence of time that was gone.
And I stumbled as blind, with contempt for the day
looking over my shoulder with rose-colored glasses and frowns

even Solomon in all his glory
would never dare to shake a stick
at a morning glory--
the kind that we would just walk by
and even trample down,
the kind that we would just walk by
dreaming dreams of kings

I had a dream last night
and you were in it--
you held yourself right up to me and said
'come on and get it'
you said 'hey, boy'
'hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, boy'
and I said, 'yeah'
I said, 'yeah'
I said, 'yeah'
I said, 'yeah'

Sermon 1989

2008-05-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

The following is the text of a sermon I heard in Hillsborough, North
Carolina in the Spring of 1989.

No kidding.
-----

People, you are not concerned in what you're doing in now! You are not
concerned in what you're doing in right now! When the world is going to
take care of itself, boy, is it going to take care of itself. And it's
going to take a year from now.

I'm the one who's going to pay the price for what I don't have, and I'm
going to get my life straightened out. Something is great, something can be
great, and I want it. That's what the world can have.

This is the kind of business I'm trying to be a friend in. This is the kind
of business I'm trying to be a friend in, and I am wanted!

There is one thing I really wanted to say in this world, and I couldn't get
a start.

This is how it spreads out, this is how it's going to spread out, and this
is how it really should spread out. When something is feeling in danger
and you don't know it, you've got to give this world a chance.

I want something to happen. I want nice things to happen. I show it that
way. I want more things to happen. I want nice things to happen because
it shows that. And you want things to happen for you and things to happen
for the world.

That's how you appreciate something-- you want it to happen. Now you know
it, that more things can happen. I know a change can happen. A change in
my life.

Behind the Scenes

2008-05-21T21:35:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have braved your way to a Dentones show, I hope that the experience you have come away with is a jolly and blurry combination of fun, friends, and good conversation---- with some at-least-acceptable music from the band providing a soundtrack to all that.

So, in case you have ever wondered what a Dentones rehearsal is like, here is a snippet from Satsy's new invisible camera. This rehearsal was unusual, however, in that we invited veteran musician and all around nice guy Fred Rodriguez to sit in and provide feedback. He's a real guru.

Pink Bullets

2008-05-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

A few years back, a fellow who happens to be a soldier in the Israeli army approached the Shins asking for permission to make a video for their song "Pink Bullets". They gave him a nod but didn't expect much. This little gem is the result.

Economic Stimulus Check

2008-05-18T20:23:00.000-07:00

In recent weeks Mila and I have been wondering what we should do with our upcoming economic stimulus rebate. About the only thing we could decide on was that we should actually buy something rather than just squirrel the money away. We agreed that it would be nice to buy something that was made here in America, but then we realized that we really didn't need $600 worth of hamburgers.

Mistress Fortuna rescued us from our indecision last weekend when we discovered that our water heater was kaput. The tank had corroded through and a puddle of water was forming on the garage floor.

To make a long story short:
Price of a new water heater at Home Depot: $259
Charge for the RotoRooter man to hook it up: $459

This is all somehow rather unsatisfying.

Ah, Denton....

2008-05-06T21:41:00.000-07:00

Not long into a YouTube search of topica Dentonica I came across this dubious tidbit and almost stopped watching right off---- that was, until it dawned on me that although this video was presumably shot only two years ago it betrays a sensibility that is at least 30 years behind the times. How typically "Denton"!

Usually, this special form of cultural retardation manifests itself simply as a rather poor and out-dated selection of jukebox offerings that are weighted toward the Heavy Metal end of things. But in this case, something else is afoot. Something decidedly more innocent and more intentionally silly. Something more middle class and also less self-conscious. These kids are capering about like we used to do for our parents' silent 8mm cameras. Even the unsuspecting peers they draw into their little project seem somewhat innocent and unjaded.

I don't know. It must be the water.

A Denton High School video
This is terribly corny and adolescent, and yet it's also somehow refreshing.

Plus it has a Beck song for a soundtrack.
Plus the kid who made it is a Norwegian American (Frisby).
Plus Beck is a Norwegian American.
Okay. Enough of that.

Eeyore's Birthday 2008

2008-04-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

Turn on your speakers!

Matilda Mother

2008-04-18T23:25:00.001-07:00

Ah, sweet serendipity! A Barrett cover with clowns! My planets must be all lined up!

Pearl Harbor Day

2008-04-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

(lyrics written on Dec. 7, 1995 after a huge disappointment)

it's five a.m. on a sunday morning-
haven't slept a wink but the day is dawning
and i feel the sunlight growing strong
and put another pot of coffee on

i see your name in the morning paper
and think it's strange how this feeling lingers
i run my hands across the page
and the newsprint comes off dark on my fingers

(chorus)
and it says "who? who's the joke on now?"

i don't mean to complain, i'm usually happy
i know where i stand, respecting the boundaries
but i feel like i just dropped the ball
and don't know where to go from here at all

when i turn on my tv
there's nothing on, just the usual pabulum
but i see how grand life could be
with money, good looks, and a team of well-paid writers

(chorus)
and they'd say "who? who's the joke on now?

(bridge)
i've often said dreams are like giants-
the bigger they are the harder they fall
and when your dreams come crashing down around your head like thunder
you can turn to me and i'll say nothing-- nothing at all

'found a new muse in the absence of tragedy
i put a fresh face on the background pain
took her up town on the morning train
by noon i was broke and on my own again

(chorus)
and she said
"who? who's the joke on now?"
"who? who's the joke on now?"
"who? who's the joke on now?"

The Name o' the Blog

2008-04-11T21:02:00.000-07:00

The Intention: Taken from a line, wistfully delivered, by one of my favorite entertainers of long ago--- post-modern performance artist Laurie Anderson. This is a nod to her.

Anniversary Getaway

2008-04-01T21:20:00.001-07:00

On the way out of town, we decided to really take advantage of the freedom to be totally spontaneous. So, after popping into Waterloo to pick up a Devotchka cd, we strolled up 6th Street, soaking in a few outdoor acts for SXSW and settling into the scene at Opal's for some good food, good pivo, and good Austin vibes.

We eventually peeled ourselves away from all that wholesome Bohemianism and pointed the car toward LaGrange and our waiting "cabin in the woods"- Waldhutte.

That evening, we wandered into LaGrange and were surprised and delighted to find a fairly upscale and competent little restaurant "Bistro 108" just off the picturesque town square. That's the old town jail in the background behind Mila.

Daylight

2008-03-30T18:42:00.000-07:00

(song from 2007)

Can you feel it creep--
The star-studded beast
that's covered half the West in chains
and now it turns to the East?

Can you hear its call--
fire spikes, brass horns, and all?
It bids you drop down to the ground-
you're going down, down, down...

(chorus)
Some still see the star of Bethlehem shining.
Sometimes it's overhead, and sometimes so far away.
And all of those who think they know will be writing
the daylight keeps breaking down.

They're turning up the heat.
They're targeting the teens.
You gotta have the right look, right phone,
you gotta own the right pair of jeans.

The writing's on the wall.
The signs are in the sky.
And signs are all we see these days,
they say "Buy!" and "Buy!" and "Buy!".

(chorus)
But some still see the star of Bethlehem shining.
Sometimes it's overhead, and sometimes so far away.
And all of those who think they know will be writing
the daylight keeps breaking down.

(bridge)
What are you waiting for, gun-shy baby?
You're never far away from what you can truly love.
They'll kill the fatted calf
and pour the best carafe
the day that you decide to come home,
to come home,
to come home.

Can you feel it creep?
Can you feel it creep?
Can you feel it creep?

Ten Years

2008-03-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

How difficult it is to believe that ten years have passed since Mila and I were married. We count ourselves as being so, so very fortunate in our lives and in our marriage, though there is no doubt that a happy marriage (and indeed a happy life) is more than luck. I credit much of what we have to Mila's even-temper and non-judgmental nature, and I like to think that I add to the equation, too.

I first saw Mila at Congress Junior High School in Denton back in the very early 80s. She was in 7th grade and I was in 9th. It wasn't until we started dating and were looking at each other's yearbooks (among other things) and I saw her 7th grade picture that the memory of her then hit me. She is a lovely woman now, who takes after her mother's German side quite a bit. The addition of her father's Czech heritage makes for a striking combination indeed-- and one that is quite memorable. Even as a 7th grader she had a certain look.

Later, we were in highschool band together and I remember enjoying watching her dance to "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats" out on the football field. She was a flag and I was a tuba-- and the band just stood there in formation playing the song while the flags did their routine. Lucky for me her dance area was right in front of me (thank you, God!). I thought she was sexy and liked watching her dance like a cat.

After I graduated I saw her every now and then-- maybe 2 or 3 times per year-- after football games or at bandling parties, such as they were. We had mutual friends, and her bigtime highschool beau was a good friend of some of my good friends.

When she graduated and moved to UT, we saw each other even more, though I would not remember many of these occasions that well if not for my journal. We were, after all, just friends at this point. A few occasions I do remember were these-- Oct. 4, 1986 at a party at my apartment on Enfield. Also in attendance, as fate would have it, were all four future-members of the Dentones. I remember going to a restaurant called Beans (?) with Mila and another friend. Another night included drunken cigarette-smoking and bowling on the UT campus. And finally, and this one is really whacky, in late winter 1987 Mila came over to hang out for the evening. We shared a bottle of white wine and sat on my sofa and talked and talked. I still vaguely remember looking at the bottle's tan label when it was empty or almost empty. The phone rang. It was my new love-interest Alison. She was also, as happenstance would have it, the girlfriend of a rather slacker-like fellow from Colorado named Brian. And she also lived with Brian. But, for some reason, I thought all of this was just bad luck and it didn't reflect on her at all (or me, for that matter) and that we were meant to be together... and all that.

For the record, I am not sure this was the first time Alison's boyfriends overlapped. But I am quite sure it was not the last.

So, back to that night with the white wine and Mila. Alison had FINALLY broken up with her boyfriend and had taken her things to stay at a girl friend's house (that lasted all of 1 hour) and was full of tears and remorse and the need to be comforted. Mila split, and Alison came over and stayed in my life for years. And years.

I slept on the floor that night. Hmmm...right now I cannot think of a way to comment about that particular move.

So, back to the one that matters. Mila and I continued to see each other every few months-- just as friends-- throughout the early 90s. When she bought a new red Tercel in about 1992 she came over to my place to show me.

I always thought she was kind of on the wild side (that's really not true, by the way, either that or she calmed down a lot!) and it made me feel a bit daring-do to hang out with her. There was one particular trip to Wurstfest that really ended up being a bit daring-do! Woo-hoo!

In May of 1996 I was over at Big A's, sitting at his vintage 50s kitchen table, and I asked him if he had talked to Mila lately. He hadn't. I gave her a call a few days later, and we talked for a long time. Not sure how many telephone conversations we had. Maybe just one. Probably more. But we did talk about getting together to do something. She was soon to leave the country, though, to bury her grandfather's ashes back in Bohemia, and just before she was due back in the States I would fly out to NC for a weeks-long visit with my family there.

-=-=-=-=-=-==

Taking a bit of a breath here. Lots of writing, and not quite in the direction I had originally intended. Deleting it would be a shame, and my Newkie-B tells me not to try editing it at the moment. So I'll just let it stand. The four people who actually read this blog are not likely to chase me down and chastise me for the efforts you see here.

Gute Nacht!

Visit of the Parental Units

2008-03-25T19:15:00.001-07:00

The apple falls not far from the tree.

But entertainment is cheap in our family.

And no one can ever say that this crew doesn't know how to have a good time.

Insidious

2008-03-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

I live in a bubble, quite sheltered from most popular entertainment and "info-tainment". I jokingly tell my movie-buff buddies that the answer to any question that begins with "Have you seen..." is probably 'no'.

My knowledge of the goings on of the larger world trickles in to me during about 10 minutes of paging through the Austin-American Statesman while I wait for my morning jo to kick in, and then, as I drive to work, about 20 minutes of NPR.

Recently, however, I broke pattern and turned on the TV, which, by the way, poet Carl Sandburg very aptly called "the great thief of time"-- 40 years and 69 channels ago! I happened to turn to FOX news.

I don't know why. Just landed there, I guess, and was so appalled that I just stayed. Kinda like rubber-necking as you crawl past a car wreck on I-35.

Now, sheltered though I am, I knew enough to scoff at FOX's claim to be "fair and unbiased" and knew it to be less of a source of news than a mouthpiece for the Republican Party. I knew that it was bad journalism. I knew that it was bad karma. I knew that it was bad politics. What I didn't know it that it's not merely bad. It is insidious.

Case in point:

1) Hours and hours (it was on in the background while I was surfing the web) of the most offensive clips of Reb. Wright's near minstrel-show antics while in the lower right-hand corner an image of Barack Obama's face slowly faded into and out of view. Thinly-veiled semi-subliminal association. Enough to make me want to puke.

2) A half-hour long "Crossfire" style discussion between two political pundits. Topic: Obama's candidacy in light of the Wright clips. One pundit was against Obama, and the other one was REALLLLLY against Obama. That is the fair and unbiased way to present an issue. Right?

3) Four days after my initial lengthy peek into the very nasty world of Fox News, I have it on again (right now) and see, once again, an endless loop of Rev. Wright's unfortunate ravings.

4) Now what's on Fox News? An author talking about his book "The Liberal Mind". The segment was introduced just before a break with the line "Is liberalism a mental disease?" What a farce! This is no book review or chat with the author! It is propaganda. To paraphrase:

Author: There are two kinds of liberals. Some are harmless, but others are radical and cause a lot of damage. They are really dangerous.

Host: I know some liberals really mean well. They want to see a world that is more fair and where everybody gets a fair share, but they expect a sort of Big Brother government to take care of everybody regardless of how hard they work.

Author: That's right.

Host: What percentage of liberals are the first kind, the good-hearted but misguided kind, and what percentage are the other kind?

Author: I don't know the percentages, but the radical liberals do by far the most damage. They are the ones who are most dangerous.

End of interview.

The one brief shining moment out of hours of dreadfulness and dreck-- an interview with Princeton professor Dr. Eddie Glaude. After the host surprised the hell out of me by saying that he was a Christian and then asked why can't Rev. Wright just forgive and forget, Dr. Glaude, who is an African American and also a Christian, attempted to explain that there is a multiplicity of Christian viewpoints and that Rev. Wright and many African-American churches embrace a prophetic view of Christianity. And, as Dr. Glaude was beginning to explain just what that prophetic view is (and by the way it has to do with social justice and not fortune-telling), the host cut him off, saying that time was short. But time was not short. The host talked and talked. During the course of the interview he talked more than the guest.

+++++
When does the Revolution begin? Let me know.
In the mean time, vote for Obama and let's all do our best to turn this mess around.

Summer 1984-- When Clowns Go Bad

2008-03-03T18:52:00.000-08:00

I didn't remember this at all until I found it in my journal, but soon after Big A joined the band we started calling ourselves "The Hotel Puppets". What the?!? This unfortunate moniker appears in the May 30th entry. Fourteen days later we had our first gig, under the name "When Clowns Go Bad" (taken from the caption of a Gary Larson cartoon). This circus-theme-as-band-name thing would stick around for another eight years.

Summer '84 songlist:

"We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together" Velvet Underground
"Sixteen Tons" traditional
"Sweet Jane" Velvet Underground
"Do You Love Me" Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers
"Submission" Sex Pistols
"Substitute" The Who, via the Pistols
"Wipe Out" Ventures?
"You Broke My Heart in Little Tiny Pieces" ?
"Chinese Rocks" Heartbreakers
"I Wanna Be Your Dog" The Stooges
"I'll Be Your Mirror" Velvets
"London's Burning" The Clash
"1969" The Stooges
"My Face is on Your Lunchbox" The Vomit Pigs
"Louie Louie/Wild Thing" Kingsmen/Animals
"Captain Soul" a 60s instrumental by the Byrds
"No Fun" The Stooges
"Purple Haze" Hendrix

Carrie Said

2008-02-29T22:10:00.000-08:00

a song from 2005
--------------------

Carrie said,
I'll come at midnight,
re-emerging from the blue.
It doesn't matter-
the kind of clothes you wear-
I'm taking everything from you.

Out of the blue into the pouring sun,
out of the myth into the true,
I'll carry you back--- back to where we'd first begun.
Oh, I'll do anything,
I'll do anything I can for you.

And she said,
These quaint things that you have,
do they make you feel much better?

And she said,
I'll take this hit on the chin
if it makes you feel like you fit in again.

Carrie said,
What does it matter
if I do the things they say I do?
'Cause in the end- the gold or bitter end-
it only matters what I mean to you.

Out of the blue into the pouring sun,
out of the myth into the true,
I'll carry you back--- back to where we'd first begun.
Oh, I'll do anything
I'll do anything I can for you.

And she said,
These quaint things that you have,
do they make you feel much better?

And she said,
I'll take this hit on the chin
if it makes you feel like you are whole again,
like you, you pure again,
like you, you are loved again.

Carrie said,
I'll come at midnight,
re-emerging from the blue.
It doesn't matter now-
the kind of car you drive.
I'm taking everything from you.

Toot! Toot!

2008-02-28T22:34:00.001-08:00

Double birthday party last month. Meant to blog about it earlier. Can you tell who this is? (The one on the right)

Last Night on Earth

2008-02-27T19:50:00.001-08:00

This past Friday night, with admirably little notice, a bunch of us gathered for games at Casa de Popo y Mila to celebrate the end of the working week by playing some boardgames. The night was cold enough to warrant a fire in the fireplace, and we lit a few candles to add to the general gemuetlicheit.

The evening's main feature was to be "Last Night on Earth"-- a 2007 release from Flying Frog Productions that has been so well received by the gaming public that it is already almost out of stock. I knew Fast Eddy was a zombie-movie officiando, and since I had read several rave reviews of LNoE the choice was obvious.

Big A, Eddy, LaToya, and Paulette showed up at the appointed time (give or take two hours) and we sat down to try out this new comedy-horror starlet for ourselves. Let me say, quite simply, that the game delivered big time. For over five hours, two non-gamers, one semi-serious gamer, and three neophyte gamers were totally captivated. I don't think I've ever heard so much laughing at any gaming session. No hyperbole! And only three of us had anything to drink!

Big A and Fast Eddy volunteered to take the zombie side while the rest of us randomly chose heroes to play: Nurse Becky, Father Josef, and a couple of high school kids. All we had to do was kill 15 zombies within a certain time limit. Team Zombie had to kill any two heroes or keep the heroes from achieving their victory conditions.

Brief synopsis: For the first ten turns (out of 15), the heroes totally sucked. We ran from point A to point B like the Keystone Cops and hardly killed any zombies. The one exception was Nurse Becky (Mila) who had scrounged up a shotgun and had blasted quite a few zombies off to their second demise. The rest of us, however, could only claim one single zombie between us. The situation changed quite suddenly, though, when we finally gathered our wits and began searching the buildings for weapons. Another shotgun and some ammuntion turned up. In the final few turns zombie parts went a flyin', and the hero team racked up 15 kills even before the time had run out. Hooray, Keystone Cops! More competent than a bunch of zombies!

The evening's first game had been a success.

I was just starting to get the next game "Shadow Over Camelot" set up when the group voted to play LNoE again instead. Eddy and 'A' opted for a reprise of their role as the zombies.

New scenario. This time the heroes had to find explosives and destroy three of the four zombie spawning pits that were scattered throughout the town. This scenario was quite fun and filled with dramatic moments--- but I'll spare the Gentle Reader unnecessary detail by skipping to the final turns. The heroes, having destroyed two of the three pits, find themselves holed up in the high school gymnasium. They need to heal up, find and/or redistribute equipment and, most importantly, hatch a plan to reach and obliterate the one remaining zombie spawning pit. outside, a veritable wall of zombies is shambling menacingly in their direction, but alas the heroes have a card they can throw at the latest possible extremity-- when the zombies finally reach the doors of the highschool, the party plans to use a "Squeeze out through the Windows" card to bypass the zombies and make a blitz to the third spawning pit.

Unfortunately, unwise table-talk amongst the hero players lets the zombie players know our plans. They now ring the building instead of concentrating near the doors.

And, unfortunately, the Sheriff's flare gun fails to blow a hole though the zombie besiegers. It misses altogether. Or maybe it hits an oak tree in the next county over.

And, unfortunately, Jack the Drifter, who has the all-important explosives, rolls a 1for his movement roll, so he cannot do an end run around the zombie siege lines.

And, unfortunately, once an opening is created, Jack once again rolls a 1.

And, unfortunately, as if Fate were rubbing our noses in the stink of our own defeat, Jack's last roll is a 6, which means he is just one space short of reaching the final pit. Just one space short!

No matter. We all had a blast and are eager to play this one again soon.

The Horseleech

2008-02-20T17:59:00.000-08:00

The music and original words to this song date back to the autumn of 1986, but the lyrics underwent a major overhaul about five years later. The inspiration for the rewrite was a reading of James Joyce's The Dead-- a short story about a man's withdrawal into his own egotism. The plot of The Dead centers around a Dublin schoolteacher who buys a computer and starts a blog.

Okay, seriously now...

The first verse contains some of the Joyce's own imagery--- the gas lamps, the big party, the sound of the dresses of the dancers sweeping against the door.

The second verse is a remnant from the original version of the song. Much of it is a "Southernized" recitation of a passage from the book of Proverbs, though the ending is decidedly un-Biblical. Thematically, this verse falls out of synch with The Dead (though the theme is resumed in verse three) but I kept it out of laziness, I guess.

The third verse presents a scene of self-absorption to the point of self-destruction. The "you" of the song has spurned the human company of the party and is now partying alone with just "jim beam and the radio" as companions. Just as Gabriel Conroy in Joyce's story experiences some sort of ambiguous revelation, the ego in the song smiles at the realization of a vague prospect for joy that this solipsistic evening might hold- one involving even further isolation, as indicated by the locking of the door.

Joyce is probably rolling over in his grave.

Note: "Horseleech" is an archaic term for doctor.
++++++++++++++++++++++

The Horseleech

the gaslights burn so brightly
in the corners of the room-
all's still in the crowded parlour
and then the band begins to play an old familiar tune
in a most peculiar way-
the people start to move and the room begins to sway-
you step out in the hall
and there you hear the sound of the ladies' dresses brushing up against the door

the horseleech has two daughters
they both cry 'give me more'
three things are never sated
four things can never have enough-
one's the open grave
and one's the barren womb
one's the dried out earth just crying for some rain
and one's the fire that burns- it never stops
and, girl, you know i burn for you and i can never have enough

late night in a lonely bedroom
jim beam and the radio-
water drips through your rented ceiling
drip, drip, drip onto the floor-
they play your favorite tune and you drink a little more
and fumble with your keys as you move to lock the door-
you've only left to smile cause now you know
tonight's the night you're gonna feel just like you've never felt before

Three Funerals and a Wedding

2008-02-18T19:19:00.000-08:00

Two days after the band meeting in which we decided to find a new drummer, my brother Rev. Bunny graduated from TCU. I rode down to Ft. Worth with my parents and grandparents but ended up riding back home with my brother's friend Randy. As my journal records: "We had a nice chat. He suggested {Big A} as a drummer. He dated {Big A's} sister." That was May 12, 1984.

Rev. Bunny arrived home the next day, and I remember asking him about Big A. "Yeah, he's a good little drummer. I've heard him playing down in their basement." Now Rev. Bunny had been a high school friend of Big A's sister, so the "little" part was more of a memory than a current description, but still it was a positive endorsement.

Now for the complication. As if things weren't going to be complicated enough because of the Toy. I had also been talking to Matus, a new friend of mine and a longtime friend of Big A's, about trying out for the band.

We arranged to hold auditions at the First Presbyterian Church in the very room, as chance would have it, that had been Big A's Kindergarten room. As I remember it, Big A was going to play first, then I would call Matus, who lived close by, and he would come play. I'm pretty sure they were meant to be on the same day- May 19, 1984.

The first song we tried with A was the Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog", and to this day I remember Mookie playing the three-chord guitar intro and A's drums coming in with a shubba-dup shubba-dup bubba-dubba-dubba-dubba on his tri-toms. We only played one other song (lost to history?) when Jimmy Fred invited him to be in the band. I recorded "{Big A} is very, very good" and added with no further comment "{Matus} was going to perform for us, but I guess we've got {Big A}."
Jimmy Fred, seven or eight years our elder, had a lot of influence in the band. He was in a hurry to go somewhere, he liked Big A's drumming, and didn't want to wait around to try out anyone else.

Matus was, understandably, upset and remained so for years. And years.

Still Jimmy Fred's decision was a good one-- not only because Matus left that summer and the next few consecutive summers for music camp in Illinois, but also, as many of you know, Big A is STILL playing drums with what is very arguably just an evolved version of that same band almost 24 years later, and he quickly became a very near and dear friend. We are working on our third decade of shared memories, but the friendship is still fresh.

Alas, the story of the day is not over. From my journal:

At home, as our dog Rommel was causing much confusion by killing a squirrel in the back yard, the Toy came by wearing a tophat and asked to borrow my black shoes for the prom tonight.

Upstairs he asked, "So how long have ya'll been planning to kick me out?"

"About two weeks."

"Who is my replacement?"

"Big A."

"I'll have you know that the one who wants to kick me out the most knows fewer lyrics than I do and isn't there 40% of the time."

"Well." silence "How did you find out?"

"Oh, the rumor is running rampant out at EOC." (where both Toy and J.Fred worked)

"I'm sorry you had to find out like this." silence "We'd like to keep you on singing back ups."

"F--k that!"

"Well."

long, long silence

(Toy, talking about the shoes) "I'll get these back to you Monday."

"Sorry."

Then I went outside and saw my grandfather using a baseball bat to adminster the coup de grace to the mangled squirrel. Afterwards, I took a shovel and buried it.

That night was the prom, which started out well but the ending of which might well qualify as the fourth disaster of the day.

The one bright spot-- getting Big A into the band--- outshone all the other events of the day, the title of this entry notwithstanding, for it was chosen more for its seeming wittiness than for its accuracy.

Look At Us Now

2008-02-14T21:37:00.002-08:00

Old romances are dust. Not as a fact, because vivid memories will stir at times despite what we intend. Rather, the idea that "old romances are dust" is a mental discipline.

The dual one-two punch of American consumer culture and second-rate religion steers us mightily toward the mindset that morality and ethics are twin downers whose agency is fear and shame. What poison! It is helpful sometimes to remember that the ancient sages advocated moral and ethical behavior because it produces happiness and a sense of well-being here and now, not just because it gives us a Get Out of Hades Free card in some imagined future realm.

So, why all this? Like many people, I have dealt with the end of relationships by expressing myself in poetry or song. Oddly, though, some of these songs were judged decent enough to still be part of the Dentones' set list. Go figure. Luckily, Mila is quite cool about it and has raised nairy a word of objection- otherwise I'd feel really odd about our performing them.

Having said all this, here is an old "break up" song that I am posting because the time seems right for someone I know.

Look at Us Now

look at us now, my irish child,
completely undone like the tower of babel
i thought it would last a thousand years,
i thought it would take me to the gates of heaven

i can feel the tumbling dice,
lord, i can feel the turning of the wheel of fortune

love is a ship on stormy sea
and 'down with all hands' is an old, old story-
who stands with a tether while the wind blows free
will stand by the pails when the deck starts leaning

i can feel the tumbling dice,
lord, i can feel the turning of the wheel of fortune

the travel's done, it's the journey's end,
you're home again, it's like there's been no leaving-
the morning comes and you will rise again-
find your staff and your cockle by the doorjamb leaning

i can feel the tumbling dice,
lord, i can feel the turning of the wheel of fortune

we lay together in invited heat
you slung your soul around me so soft and slowly-
i asked you how you might want it to be,
you said, "thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory"

tonight, oh, tonight,
heaven...heaven's open wide

-c. 1990

The Paisley Ascot

2008-02-14T18:36:00.000-08:00

The members of the Paisley Ascot could barely play their instruments. We did manage to book a couple of gigs at the EOC, but the lustre of these first forays into public performance is diminished, perhaps, by the fact that the EOC was a large residential facility for the mentally handicapped down in Lewisville. Somewhere there is a cassette tape of one of these gigs. On it you can hear one of the "clients" start to wail like a banshee halfway through our version of "Purple Haze". The screams gradually become fainter as the client runs from the auditorium.

In another incident, one of the clients began glowering at Mookie and moving ever so slowly toward him, like she was about to pounce. His courage seriously withering under that awful gaze, Mookie took refuge behind his large Yamaha guitar amp until the danger had passed.

By the Spring of 1984, hours of practice were paying off and we were actually becoming proficient at our instruments. Well, this is mostly true.

I choose my words very carefully here, for hurtful mistakes were made all those years ago and I wish to avoid adding insult to injury. The Toy was, and is, a naturally gifted musician. He currently lives in California and plays in the Atomic Love Bombs. But, as he freely states now, back in highschool he simply didn't practice like he should have. It was becoming increasingly obvious that the rest of the band was progressing and he was not.

This was openly discussed, and it seems like there was something like the equivalent of a growth plan or something, but by early May nothing had changed. Girlfriend problems were not helping, especially since the girlfriend in question started coming to the practices. After a string of particulary awful rehearsals, the other three members of the band decided that a change was necessary. This was on May 10, 1984.

Lovesongs Through the Radio

2008-02-11T19:03:00.000-08:00

When you were a kid, did you ever go see a movie that you enjoyed so much that it stuck with you for days? All your daydreams and make-believe centered around it. You almost ached to be in that movie.

If you are like me, this hasn't happened to you in years. Or if it has, it has been very infrequent. The film "Once" came awfully close last year.

Well, this weekend there was a show that hit that ancient, long-untouched bullseye. Not a movie, but music-- the long-awaited Reivers reunion at the Parish on 6th Street. These past two days I have been awash in the memories and emotions of that experience. Unshakeable, it fills my every idle moment.

The evening started in Roux, the restaurant on the ground floor of the Parish building, at a pre-show dinner put on by Rob Caldwell, the host of http://www.thereivers.net/ . Raf had gotten us in on this, and we were very surprised to find that, apart from Raf and us, everyone else was from out of town-- and mostly from out of state. It was very odd to be in the position of having people asking about the details of what life in Austin was like in the 80s and early 90s. We met lots of really nice folks and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

In short, the Reivers show was awesome, and I will leave off trying to describe it in much detail other than to say that it was immensely fulfilling on so many levels. The defining moment for me was when the band played "Dragonflies"-- a song that Mila and I consider "our" song for no other reason than that we loved it and listened to it during our courtship. So there we were, good friends all around us, many familiar faces in the audience from so long ago, that incredible band back together in a move that no one expected, and playing our song. We put our arms around each other and swayed gently.

Some cultures have envisioned Heaven as a wedding feast--- your best friends and dearest family members gathered around one table, beyond the scope of time, the act of completion, celebration, contentedness. I understand perfectly why that image was chosen. And as we swayed together in time to the music I thought of how much I love Mila, how much my friends mean to me, how lucky I was to be there that night, how lucky I am to be in this time and in this place, and I thought of something Fast Eddy once said: "The Universe sings lovesongs to me through the radio." I was surprised to feel a welling of tears, and then when two escaped I was surprised to find that I didn't mind.

Fast Eddy is right. The Universe does sing lovesongs to us through the radio.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Roots Rock

2008-02-08T20:33:00.000-08:00

In the Fall of 1982 my oldest brother Deeb bought an electric guitar and a small amp. When he told me how much he had paid for the set I couldn't believe it. I had always figured that such things, being the accoutrement of demi-gods such as Hendrix and Clapton, were prohibitively expensive. Not so.

An invisible barrier had been breeched.

I was 16 and played tuba in the marching band, and my best friend Mookie played trumpet. We had both been into rock music for years, so it was natural that in our shared pipe dream of musical stardom he would play guitar and I would play bass.

That Christmas break I got ahold of a cheap Kay bass (that had black nylon strings!) and used Deeb's old 1977 Pioneer stereo to amplify it. Mookie got a guitar. The Toy, a good friend and drummer in the marching band, was a natural choice for drums, even though he didn't own any. A buddy from California rounded out the combo. We called him "BM" because those were his initials and they described his personality and we were rude and thoughtless teenagers.

At the time we were all totally into the 60's, and we were very thrilled when we had our first, uh, rehearsal at BM's house in Southridge. The house dated from that hallowed decade, which intrigued us to no end, and had a small detached building out under the trees in the backyard that had once served both as a storage shed and, as evidenced by the many psychedelic paintings and chalk drawings on the walls, as a sort of hang out for teenagers who had long-since grown up and moved away.

I vividly remember us all plugging in and noodling around individually and getting up the nerve to try something and, as noted, The Toy had no drums so he made do with what was available: a pot, a Sprite bottle, and his motorcycle helmet. The only legit part of his set up were his drumsticks! Still, he was musician enough to make that odd assortment of things work for him, and it was a real thrill to play with percussion. Mookie and I had fiddled around- just bass and guitar--- but the addition of the makeshift drumset added a whole new dimension. It started to sound "real".

Over the next several months the configuration of the band was this:
(Mookie = guitar) + (Po = bass) + (Toy = drums) + y
where y = any one of over a dozen people including, oddly enough, Pod!

At one point we played at a pretty big party in our neighborhood, at the home of a schoolmate who was sort of in the band. He had a Jim Morrison fixation and we would jolly him by letting him moan away incoherently as we struggled through "The End". He is now a plastic surgeon living in Dallas.

The house where the party was held was infamous for having to be kept up like a museum-- don't sit on the sofas lest you mess up the pillows, don't walk on the carpets lest they become worn, and don't even look at the paintings too hard. They might fade. The under 20 crowd understood perfectly well that they were fundamentally unwelcome in that home and were under constant suspicion of being potential sources of disarray. Just imagine our horror, that parentless evening, when we discovered that the bass drum pedal had left a big greasy stain right smack dab in the middle of an expensive Scandinavian carpet. To make matters worse, when our teenage host was kneeling down to assess the damage to Exhibit A, another friend grabbed a tall columnar candle that had been burning for hours and had accumulated a goodly quanitity of molten wax and poured it down the host's back.

We were rude and thoughtless teenagers.

At some point we finally found a permanent 'y' in the person of Jimmy Fred, who was much older than the rest of us (25 or 26, which now seems so very young) and had stage presence and a more-than-passable singing voice.

With a real singer, a growing songlist, and, by this time, real amps and drums, we counted this as our first real band. We called ourselved The Paisley Ascot.

The Genius that is Satsy

2008-02-06T22:21:00.000-08:00

Last month the Dentones made a "forget music for once, let's do the friend thing" outing at the soon-to-meet-the-fate-of-all-cool-things-in-Austin pub the Gingerman. A camera phone documented the event, and within a day Satsy had surprised and delighted us all by producing a mock album cover.

Satsy knocked that out in 4 or 5 minutes. Here, by contrast, is my own feeble effort.

Now, which one would you buy? Honestly.

I'll just shut up and play bass.

Chemical Dave

2008-02-03T18:42:00.000-08:00

Chemical Dave

Chemical Dave can't abstain, he craves chimerical scenes--
"Moksha, let me off this crazy machine!"

When you were down did you wait for me to take you away?
Deus ex machina cabriolet

It burns and freezes all at the same time.
Its sting will never go away.
We say we'll meet again in some springtime.
I don't know. I don't even remember your name.

Cigarette burns, coffee stains and paint splatter array--
this constellation points to some other day.

Linger alone-- midnight-- woozy-- cringe-- alarm at the dawn,
the world is paper thin ever since you've been gone.

It burns and freezes all at the same time.
Its sting will never go away.
We say we'll meet again in some springtime.
I don't know. I don't even remember your name.

Chemical Dave...Chemical Dave... Chemical Dave.........

There Was a Time

2008-02-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

If anyone has any information about this photo (When was it taken? Who are the people in it? What song was the guy in the middle dancing to when he injured his knee?) any information would be greatly appreciated. I mean, the world deserves to know.

(click image to enlarge)

Mystery Photo

2008-02-02T13:46:00.001-08:00

Bohemia and Moravia

2008-02-02T12:44:00.000-08:00

Friends, turn on your speakers and enjoy a short tour of the lovely gem that is the Czech Republic. I had the good fortune to travel there again last summer with my sweet Mila and her daddy the good Doktor Pheasant-- the greatest father-in-law one could ever wish for. This vacation marked the second with the three of us buzzing about a small European country in a small European car for days on end. What a testament that a cross word was never uttered between us. Very cool.
It is a beautiful country and we could learn a lot from the Czechs about land usage and the concept of public space which, by the way, does not exist in order to provide a medium for commercial advertisement.
And did I mention that the pivo there is excellent and outrageously cheap?

St. Genevieve the Brave

2008-01-29T19:12:00.000-08:00

This one was written in 2005 and marked the end of a 10-year dry spell. St. Genevieve is the name of the Catholic patron saint of Paris who saved the city from famine by delivering a shipload of bread. My fellow Texans might also recognize that St. Genevieve is a local Hill Country winery. And there is a third possibility.

I hope the song is open to all three.

St. Genevieve the Brave

the end of december cuts like a dagger
let's stagger on home-- this party is blown.
come on, now, stephen, the streetlights aren't even aglow anymore,
what should we care for?

come again, st. genevieve the brave,
lend an ear to the ones that you would save

she's straight as an arrow, has ice in her marrow
and always alone-- no need for a phone.
each blessed evening curled up with her reading- the same as before
no knock on the door

come again, st. genevieve the brave,
lend an ear to the ones that you would save.

you're falling through the atmosphere-
the shake, the break, the shattering sound--
and now there's nothing left to fear,
you're merging with the fire and the light surrounds

jump in the van, man, we're home by eleven
and no one will know-- I've done this before.
you'll never believe her, you've just got to see her,
slip her a ten and you're twenty again.

come to me, st. genevieve relieve
all the fears of one who can't believe

Sally Went Down

2008-01-27T20:19:00.000-08:00

Keeping with the double theme of Snackplate and songs that flew through the production line...

In August 1989, about a year after graduation from UT, a number of my buds converged on ye olde heimatstadt Denton for a couple of weeks of hanging out and catching up. I was back from the Carolinas, Mookie came in from Chicago, and Snackplate was back from a year at the University of Freiburg in West Germany. "So," I asked him at one of many backyard cookouts held in that short period, "Is there any chance that Germany will be reunited?"

Man," he answered, "They're not even dreaming about it."

Note: I saw recently that in January 1989 East Germany's President Hohnecker stated that the Berlin Wall would still be standing "a hundred years from now.)

Imagine our surprise when, on November 9, the wall came down. It was a world-shaking event, and I decided to commemorate it with a song and decided that the whole thing had to be completed that day. Thus was "Sally Went Down" born, for better or for worse.

It's a simple song and fairly rocking, so the Dentones ALWAYS begin their gigs with it.

Another component: Someone I had known in high school had actually gone to Berlin to live for a while. I think she had lived a bit fast there and had been left a little empty by the experience.

Sally Went Down

sally went down where the east meets west
with an open heart and a party dress
and sheened around* forever and a day
she never really meant to sin
but you don't have to mean in west berlin
it seems it's always turning out that way
chorus 1

oh, oh, let the ocean come
oh, oh, let the ocean come
oh, oh, let the ocean come
oh, oh, let the ocean come

she met a man named peter stein
he was kind of dumb but looked real fine
and made her feel like she was something else
and there by the gate of brandenburg
he said he would do anything for her
you know-- some things you just can't do yourself

chorus 1
by and by the days went by
like one long blur for mrs. stein
and every night the neighbors heard her say--
she said, "move it out, move it in
a pink carnation and a drop of gin,
I wish my life could always be this way"
sally went down where the east meets west
with an open heart and a party dress
and sheened* around forever and a day

she never really meant to sin
but you don't have to mean in west berlin
it seems it's always turning out that way

could someone take this bitter cup away
could someone take this bitter cup away
could someone take this bitter cup away
could someone take this bitter cup away

note:::: * To "sheen" is to promote oneself in a way that has to do with personal status or pleasure, especially when one thinks one is doing so surreptitiously but there is at least one other person who is aware and is possibly slightly disapproving or embarrassed. I think Snackplate coined the term, though he would never define it for me. I hope I got it right!