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  2005.02.10  11.50



Hey, Salon.com turned a profit! That's awesome. I am a proud subscriber and am glad to have helped.

Went to the Paradise last night for the Information CD release party, it was a good time. I was pretty pooped when I got home from work, but some Redbones for dinner and a couple beers at the club perked me right up. Went with [info]basha, met up with Dallas and David, said hello to [info]suzybuzz and Alex, and talked to Sarah and her roommates for a while.

I'd seen Emergency Music once before at TTs but enjoyed them more this time, the sound was much better (no surprise there). They're good and jangly without sounding dated, and they've got good harmonies too. Missed the first part of their set, which was a shame.

Asobi Seksu were up next and they did nothing for me. There are a lot of bands that follow the Sonic Youth/My Bloody Valentine school of rock, and so few of them are any good. Asobi Seksu was no exception.

The Good North played a rockin', tight set. Their singer's got a good voice and their guitar tone was tasty. I like them more each time I see them. David thought their guitarist looked like Booger from Revenge of the Nerds.


The Information... we left after about 6 songs. I like them okay, but their songs are all pretty similar; they have their sound and they stick to it. I wonder how successful they'd be if they didn't have two attractive women in the band. I was glad I saw them again, but also glad that I went home and got some sleep.

Oh yeah, one general rock gripe - if you're going to have two guitarists in your band, they should play different guitar parts. I've seen so many bands lately where they just play the same thing, just the same chugging chords, and it's so boring! Maybe it's just my own personal taste, but if you're gonna have more melodic instruments in your band, use them wisely.

We're taking some guys out to lunch at work today, and then tonight I'm gonna veg out and take it easy before my hectic weekend begins.



Mood: busy
Music: "Thick Stew", Wagon Christ
 
 


 
  2005.02.09  13.12



C and I had dinner at Zon's again last night; we'd been craving a return trip. She opted for the mac and cheese and I had the cod. Both were delicious. We talked a lot about science and computer modeling of things like cell biology and traffic and weather, interesting stuff. Sometimes I'm jealous of everyone that's in school right now, and other times - in fact, most of the time - I'm very thankful that I'm not. I would really like less stress in my life, not more!

The Milky Way was almost empty when we walked in. I was glad to see the friendly faces of [info]doctor_toc, [info]ddraig_glas and [info]ultrahip already there. I talked with Darren and Jay for a while too, Jay about football and Darren about the trip he's taking to Mexico with his family soon. They'll both be working this Friday when we go to see the So-and-So's there. I like my friendly bartenders! They're good guys.

Left early and so didn't get to sing. Oh well. Next time.

I got home late last night but wasn't quite sleepy yet. I started watching Carson Daly's late night show, and Stephen Colbert was on, so I stayed up for that, and then Iron & Wine was the musical guest, but I fell asleep on the couch before that, hence my listening choice this a.m.

Tonight I'm going to the Information CD release at the Paradise. It'll be a scene, that's fer sure.



Mood: sleepy
Music: "Teeth in the Grass", Iron & Wine
 
 


 
  2005.02.08  10.53



Had dinner at Miracle of Science with C last night. I love that place. The food there's super-tasty. Mmmmmm, burger! Mmmmmm, chicken quesadilla! Good tunes too, the bartender was playing Belle and Sebastian and then Broken Social Scene on his iPod. Through sheer coincidence Courtney and some other friends showed up, though sadly we had to leave and couldn't mingle for too long.

Guitar lesson was good. Charles asked if I'd practiced, I said no, and that I'd rather just waste his time and my money. He laughed. We played more Beatles stuff.

Charles is doing a show with John Powhida (the dude from the Rudds) tonight at the Paradise Lounge, it's a Cheap Trick cover band thing as part of the Boston Pop Underground. I'm tempted to go, though 1) I'm not the biggest Cheap Trick fan, 2) Charles is only playing one song with them, and 3) I've sort of already committed to hitting the Milky Way tonight. We'll see.

Dallas transferred the two demos we recorded on Sunday to MP3, so I've been listening to those this morning. They're really long, because we were jamming through some ideas (one of them is 9 minutes!), but there's some stuff I really think is promising. We'll definitely get both of them turned into actual songs.

I've been writing a lot lately. It's so weird how it comes in phases. I didn't really come up with much of anything in the fall, but this winter has been really productive. Strange.



Mood: creative
Music: demos
 
 


 
  2005.02.07  12.15



Wow. Awesome weekend. )

Today is Dallas' birthday. Hopefully I can squeeze in buying her a drink somewhere in-between the other stuff I need to get done tonight, guitar lessons and some shopping and hopefully a haircut. I'm getting awful shaggy.



Mood: happy
Music: "The City", Dismemberment Plan
 
 


 
  2005.02.04  10.29
fooood


Had dinner at Zon's last night with C . It was awesome - who knew that macaroni and cheese with potato chips could be such an incredible meal? It helps when the chips are homemade and served with a tasty garlic dip, and the mac and cheese is made with three different cheeses and baked to absolute perfection. My eyes were rolling back in my head after each bite. Thanks to [info]gabrieceleste and [info]chuckm for the recommendations! I'll definitely be going there again.

Stopped into the Milky Way for a drink afterward. Sadly none of our favorite bartenders were working, but the guy who served us recognized us and asked what we were doing there on a non-Tuesday night. It was pretty chill, there was a DJ spinning really good '80s/'90s hip-hop - A Tribe Called Quest, some Eric B & Rakim, some other good stuff - with the occasional pop song thrown in; we left when Madonna got a little too loud for comfort.

I am so ready for this weekend!

Oh yeah, a couple other random thoughts I wanted to jot down -

  • There are some great records coming out in the next few months - Spoon, Stephen Malkmus, Silver Jews. The New Pornographers are supposed to have a new one out this year too.
  • Oh, and in other music news, Jeff and I are gonna go see Graham Coxon at the Paradise and be total fanboys. Hooray!
  • Some people are so completely retarded when it comes to money.
  • I can't decide if I'm calmer and more level-headed without the continuous caffeine intake. I hope so.
  • Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything is a really enjoyable read.
  • My Wilco obsession is flaring up again. Something must be done... perhaps... kidnapping....




Mood: sleepy
Music: "Heavy Metal Drummer", Wilco
 
 


 
  2005.02.03  10.28



Watched Garden State last night. It's obviously got that Graduate thing going, what with the 20-something angst about what to do with my life, and hell, it even has Simon & Garfunkel on the soundtrack. The pacing felt a little off and it wrapped up very quickly. I liked it, though, it was cute.

Flipped on the State of the Union last night for about five minutes and then had to turn it off. I just can't stand that man.

Started writing a new song last night, probably unsuitable for the band, but I like it.

Got to bed before midnight, for the firsr time this week. It's so nice to get 8 hours of sleep!



Mood: blank
Music: "Down on the River By the Sugar Plant", Mike Doughty
 
 


 
  2005.02.02  11.03



The post in the b0st0n community about the Cars tribute CD made me smile; I interviewed that band Spiraling back in '94 when they were still called You Were Spiraling and played coffeehouses at Rutgers. Funny they're still around.

Live band karaoke was pretty awesome last night. There was some neighborhood social event at the Milky Way, so the place was packed, which meant the dance floor was full as soon as the band started. They had a new lead guitarist, someone that [info]gabrieceleste knows through friends of friends, or something. I was skeptical at first, but damn, he was good. I liked his tone so much more, too - he was playiing a Strat with two humbuckers and used more distortion, and so the band just sounded that much more gritty and rockin'. Good times.

Tonight will likely be a chill night of shooting pool or watching a movie, and possibly going to a show after that. Hopefully I can squeeze in a nap somewhere.

Oh, and do yourself a favor and watch this if you haven't already.



Mood: sleepy
Music: "Make Believe", Pixies
 
 


 
  2005.02.01  11.45



Oh, how I love Indie Rock Pete. And on a similar indie rock tip, it's amazing just how much song that Spoon can cram into less than two minutes.

Guitar lesson was fun last night - Charles was quizzing me on Hawaii 'cause he's always wanted to go there. We played some stuff in "The Lemon Song" by Zeppelin and then worked on the intro to "Strawberry Fields Forever", the little keyboard part that Paul added to the beginning. It's tricky on guitar, requires very independent fingers. It's kind of funny learning all this classic rock stuff, considering how rarely I listen to any of it.

Good weekend to look forward to - shooting some pool, dancing, Low at the Somerville Theater, then the Superbowl, some other things here and there. Right on!



Mood: loopy
Music: "No You're Not", Spoon
 
 


 
  2005.01.31  10.57



[info]basha and I tried to see Darren's band at the Lizard Lounge on Friday, no idea if they played or not - no one was setting up by 9:30 so we split. Went to the Field and met up with Linda and her birthday crew, had a few beers with them, and then to TTs for the Dear Leader/Mittens show with Dallas and David and Jane and Torin.

I like Mittens, they're so simple and unadorned; they just write and play good pop songs. I prefer one of their singers more than the other. Dear Leader was good but less interesting than the Sheila Divine; they could use some more guitar interplay instead of just the constant chord-slashing they do now; the texture is good but it's not varied enough for me. That dude's got amazing pipes, though. I spent much of the show sending text messages.

Met up with Linda and crew again at Phoenix Landing, but only long enough for Linda to announce that she'd vomit if she danced anymore, so we left and I drove a carful of people home.

Saturday I slept late, went to Guitar Center with Dallas, and then jammed with her and David at the space. Worked on a couple new tunes, one of them sounds pretty promising - minor chords, moody, but fast and concise and energetic. I'm digging it.

I split practice and arrived late to Evie and Aaron's Last Supper. It wasn't as Biblical as it sounds, especially since it was at Charlie's Kitchen. I will miss those two, regardless. Time to start planning some visits to NYC, for them and [info]quigs and [info]ravinald and Pete and Liz, and the list grows longer....

Party at [info]basha's Saturday night was a lot of fun. Good people and delicious birthday cheesecake. It was nice to catch up with some people I hadn't seen in a while, though I think I said a bit too much about Chuck's vacuum for comfort.

Dallas and David took me out for birthday brunch on Sunday at the Thirsty Scholar (me : "I'll have the vegetarian Eggs Benedict, please." David : "I'll have the regular Eggs Benedict.... like a man"), and then I spent the rest of the day cleaning my place and attempting to get my wireless router set up (success, but I don't have my AirPort Express working yet). Watched Some Kind of Monster and was amused at just how overblown and ridiculous rock bands can get.

I'm working on getting my Hawaii pictures online. Here's one!

clicky! )



Mood: thoughtful
Music: "Failure", Kings of Convenience
 
 


 
  2005.01.28  13.53



So glad I got a good night's sleep last night. Since I'm severly limiting my caffeine intake at work, it's really important that I actually get sleep.

And it looks to be a busy and fun night tonight - gonna try to see Darren's band at the Lizard Lounge, then make it to the Field to meet up with [info]chuckm and Linda for some birthday shenanigans, then it's off to TTs for the Mittens/Dear Leader show, then maybe hit the Phoenix Landing after that for some late night dancing.

The rest of the weekend should prominently feature cleaning my apartment, doing some shopping, a farewell dinner for Evie and Aaron, another birthday party, and some other related madness. Right on.



Mood: impatient
Music: "Gotta Get a Problem", Mates of State
 
 


 
  2005.01.27  14.47
some pictures


Almost all of my vacation photos are still on my digital camera, but I snapped a few with my phone here and there.

a little bit random )



Mood: amused
Music: "Weird Divide", the Shins
 
 


 
  2005.01.27  10.17



I'm going to be all squinty today because I forgot my glasses.



Mood: oops
Music: "Only a Northern Song", Beatles
 
 


 
  2005.01.26  14.54



Went to the Lizard Lounge last night to see [info]chuckm and others supporting Johnny Pape. The band sounded really good, especially considering they'd only played together, like, twice. I was definitely impressed. I was reminded a little bit of Rex, although the songs weren't nearly as slow; maybe it's just the cello.

There's always room for cello.

It was cool for me to watch Chuck play; it was the first time I ever got to just watch him play without worrying about what I was supposed to be doing at the same time. He and the cellist complimented Jonny's songs really nicely - the guitar is pretty sparse and not very flashy (a good thing), so that extra melody layered on top really fleshed things out and made a big difference.

It was also really nice to catch up with some folks I'd not seen or talked to recently - [info]necrophore, [info]doctor_toc and [info]ddraig_glas, Dallas, Jane, Linda. Such lovely people.

Then I sloshed my way through the snow over to the Milky Way. Sparsely attended overall, but it was Evie's last night and she had a nice crew of folks there, many of whom I'd also not seen in a while. Good to catch up with them. James and [info]ultrahip cracked me up. It was Elissa's birthday too, so I bought her and her mom a drink. Strange!



Mood: good
Music: "Almost Crimes", Broken Social Scene
 
 


 
  2005.01.23  23.02
whoa, we're halfway there...


Greetings from Chicago! What the fuck am I doing in Chicago? Let me explain.

We left beautiful Kauai last night, flew to Honolulu and then L.A. with minimal incident, and then all progress stopped. No flights to Boston. Stupid snow!

[info]cspariah, the fucking rock star hero that he is, met up with us at LAX at the ungodly hour of 6-something a.m. (despite his Maker's Mark-induced hangover), helped us with our bags, and drove us away from the airport and to a kitschy '50s-style diner for breakfast. We hung out at his and Shelby's lair, though sadly Shelby wasn't there. I left him a note.

After a way too short visit in L.A., we flew to Chicago, and a couple of C's friends met us at O'Hare. We went to Mac's in Wicker Park for food, beer, and the Patriots game. My friend Laura came and hung out with us for a while, and it was a grand old time. Go Pats! Go beer! Go not-sitting-in-airports! Then it was off to Jeanie's apartment for more silliness.

Tonight we're at a hotel in Chicago. This is the first time I've touched a computer in 10 glorious days. Also, I have not drank any Diet Coke in that time, if you can believe that. Beer, yes, I've had a fair bit of that. Hic.

Tomorrow we head back to O'Hare and try to catch an earlier flight then the one we have scheduled for 7 p.m.

The vacation was completely amazing. Just a beautiful experience all around. Will post pictures and tell silly stories when I get back, but for now, I hope you are all doing well and you're not completely submerged in snowdrifts.

Where are we watching the Superbowl?

Love,
me.



Mood: a bit drunk
 
 


 
  2005.01.12  22.34
ahhhhhh


I can stop working now. After 16 straight days of hard work, I can finally stop.

Thanks to everyone who was patient with me during that time, and to everyone who called to check up on me or asked if I needed anything. It's very much appreciated. You guys are the best!



Mood: peaceful
Music: "The Way You Say Goodnight", The Magnetic Fields
 
 


 
  2005.01.12  12.03
amazon.com, you are nothing if not astute


Dear Amazon.com Customer,
We've noticed that customers who have purchased
Microserfs by Douglas Coupland also purchased books by Douglas Coupland.

Jesus Christ! Does the President know this???

Karaoke last night was a lot of fun. Great singers, great song choices (I will never get tired of "Suffragette City", and [info]chuckm's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" was pretty kickass), great people, some crazy news, some shenanigans. Right on.

Just a few things left to do today at work, a few errands to run tonight, and then pack, fall asleep, get up at an even ungod-lier hour than this morning, and catch a cab to the airport. Right-er on!



Mood: happy
Music: "Say Yes", Elliott Smith
 
 


 
  2005.01.11  11.00



Went to Harvard Square last night to finish the shopping that I'd failed to even start on Sunday. Bought a raincoat and some hiking-type shoes. I can't even remember the last time I owned an actual raincoat; I've been umbrella-ing (or simply going without) for so long.

Post-shopping I grabbed a quick sandwich with [info]basha at Charlie's and then went home to get some work done. Sadly my network connection was hosed, looked like DNS issues at my ISP, so instead I read for a while and then started packing. Thurston had that look on her face, like, "You're going somewhere, aren't you?" Maybe I'm just anthropomorphizing too much.

I'll be at karaoke tonight, busy with last-minute details tomorrow night, and then I'll be out of town from the 13th through the 23rd. Should you need to reach me, the best method will be to leave dirty voice-mails on my cell. Oh, and if you want a postcard, hook me up with your snail addy.

Word!



Mood: okay
Music: "The Bug", Soul Coughing
 
 


 
  2005.01.10  10.42



After Friday's fabulous debauchery, I spent the rest of my weekend holed up in my house working and occasionally watching some football. I got a lot done but it's not healthy to coccoon like that for too long. I definitely started to feel a little stir-crazy toward the end.

I finally ventured out of the house again Sunday evening to do some shopping in Harvard Square. Stopped by Pandemonium to say hullo to [info]doctor_toc, who I'd not seen in ages. Chatted with him for a while, and it was good to catch up - no one pokes fun at me the way that fellow Brit does. And then wouldn't you know it, [info]necrophore came by, and there were plans to meet [info]chuckm at Grendels for a drink. Hmmm.... finish my shopping, or go have a drink with the boys?

So two hours later I was home again with nothing accomplished on the shopping front, but the time spent at the bar with my friends was well worth it. I read, talked on the phone for a while, learned to play some Elliott Smith songs, and then went to bed.



Mood: sleepy
Music: "A Day at the Races", Jurassic 5
 
 


 
  2005.01.08  15.27



Good times last night!

Small cocktail party at Linda's to start. We drank chocolate martinis and ate salty snacks. First time I've had a chocolate martini since the Valentine's Day Incident in [info]theamazingjb's car, which was a couple years ago, but still, the sweet smell was more than enough to remind me of the unpleasantness. I had just one.

I was talking to [info]necrophore's friend Jeff, who I've met once or twice before, but I'd never really had a long conversation with him. Turns out he grew up in Portsmouth, so we compared notes on the Island and the places we would frequent ("I used to work at Starcase!"). He used the expression "you frickin' Maher!", which is something I haven't heard in, oh, I dunno, 15 years or so. I laughed so hard. If you're from the Island, you know what it means and why.

Then it was off to the Phoenix for dancing and craziness. [info]phatmike greeted me with, "You want me to play the Pixies?" Well, of course! Also requested some Duran Duran for good measure. Linda kept telling me which songs she used to have a choreographed dance routine for in 4th grade. "I Want Your Sex", as it turns out, was thankfully not one of them.

We stayed almost till close, grabbed some HiFi (ohhh, how I've missed the HiFi!), and then I drove everyone home.

Slept till noon, but I've been working since then and will likely continue until later this evening. Hooray weekends!



Mood: working
Music: "Where's Your Head At", Basement Jaxx
 
 


 
  2005.01.07  11.25



Woke up to "New Slang" on the radio this morning. It still surprises me to hear the Shins on the radio. I only really listen in the mornings, so there's very little opportunity to get sick of overplayed songs. Though I don't know how I could ever get sick of that song, it's so good.

I worked a crazy long day yesterday - around 11 hours, I think. Hopefully I won't be here that long today. In fact, no, I'm sure I won't be. Too much fun to be had tonight.

A friend called yesterday with some unexpected news - exciting, totally joyous news. It is a funny world, and I love the people that make it that way for me.



Mood: working
Music: "Cowboy Dan", Modest Mouse
 
 


 
  2005.01.06  18.32
start here


http://www.infinitecat.com/infinite/cat-html/1.html

and then hit Next Cat.

Wow.

 
 


 
  2005.01.05  18.01



http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=12&langId;=-1&catalogId;=10101&productId;=25613

 
 


 
  2005.01.05  10.15



Man, look at that snow. Hope that doesn't keep up all day.

I'm so glad I fought the urge to fall asleep on my couch last night, as there were good times to be had at the Milky Way. I hadn't been in almost a month, and I didn't realize just how much I missed it. It was great to see so many people that I really like - some that are there all the time, and some only infrequently (like me, these days). One conversation in particular greatly amused me. Danced, sang, drove some people home. Good times.

A lot to do today! Eeeeep.



Mood: happy
Music: "Fuck Hollywood", Quasi
 
 


 
  2005.01.04  10.54
i know that green means go


Been working like crazy lately and I think it's starting to take its toll. Feeling a little loopy today. Hopefully caffeine and a trip to the gym will wake me up enough to continue making progress today.

New Year's was a good night out - dinner, party (with Liz!), dancing, booze, and brunch the following morning. I was not nearly as drunk as the pictures would lead you to believe. Drunk, yes. Accidentally-smashing-a-couple-glasses-at-the-Landing drunk, yes. But not that drunk. Thanks to [info]phatmike for dropping some Pixies for me, and then following it up with Def Leppard. You are my DJ hero!

New Year's was definitely the highlight of my weekend, I spent the rest of it working, more or less, with the occasional break here and there. Last night was one of those much-needed breaks. I went with [info]chuckm and newly-returned [info]necrophore to get some grub and drinks at the B-Side. It was good to catch up with those two, plus there was all that melted gouda we consumed. Lordy!

Came home, gabbed on the phone a bit, curled up with the cat and finished reading Palahniuk's Choke, tried to fall asleep, couldn't, and so stayed up far too late recording some new instrumental stuff (in 7, no less!). I am sleepy today as a result.

I am of the belief that I will be at karaoke tonight, though this could change, as all things do.



Mood: sleepy
Music: "Chinese Baby", Clem Snide
 
 


 
  2004.12.31  11.51
this pretty much sums it up


It's safe to say that 2004 was probably the best year I've had since I moved to Boston in late '98.

See y'all in the New Year!



Mood: content
Music: "Ghost Town", the Specials
 
 


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