the downside of fall

in all my excitement for cooler temperatures, changing leaves, apple orchards, and pumpkins i forgot about the downside of fall. that would be the waning daylight. the last couple days its been real tough to get up because its still dark out. im really against being up before the sun, but we are entering that time of year when the sun rises after i do. it hasnt helped that the weather has been gloomy and rainy the last couple days, either. i still think all the other good stuff will make up for it. especially if i can find a girl who will go on fall type dates with me. c'mon, who doesnt like an apple orchard with the leaves changing and a pretty girl by your side? personally, i love it.

any asshole can put bacon on a burger...

whether youre a fan of somehow infusing meat into everything or not, this is at least entertaining and kind of interesting.

to me, the bacon craze is getting out of control. dont get me wrong, i think bacon is fucking awesome, but lets be reasonable. Wendy's Baconator is a bit much. BLT's are awesome. a breakfast of bacon with side of eggs and potatoes, brilliant. but be wary of too much bacon. not only will it most likely damage your cardiovascular health, but your intestines may protest as well. just ask my brother.(ill spare him internet fame for now. until he pisses me off or says i can post that story.)

the point is, bacon is awesome, but do we really need it in everything. i dont think so. still, like many meat fans, i cant help but be tempted to infuse some booze...

too soon

im probably jinxing it, but fall is coming! i was talking to my mother on the phone yesterday, and as is the case at this time of year in northern michigan, the leaves are beginning to change. then this morning its all cloudy and cool and reminds me of the beginning of fall up north. im guess any southerners reading this (do any...?) think im nuts. but i dont care what southerners think. i love fall! its all cool outside and you get to wear sweatshirts and pants and not be a sweaty mofo all the damn time! i cant wait. granted, its still August and last year i had my AC running into October. but its out there i cant freakin wait!

weekend recap

this weekend has been another flurry of activity. quite a good time.

it started about noon on Friday when the bosses took us peons out to their country club for a 'team building' outing. it struck me as a bit a of a ploy. it also struck me as kind of awkward ahead of time. it wasnt, other than the degree to which the staff wanted to do everything for you, just shy of toweling you off after you get out of the shower. im a big boy, i can take care of myself.

but it wasnt awkward other than the over the top service, which is what you pay for at a country club i suppose. to have that kind of money... thats a whole other world. anyway, the golf was fun. i had a number a of good shots, and a number of bad shots. ive determined that shooting like Tiger Woods isnt that hard. doing it consistently is. and then recovering without losing strokes when you fuck up is what separates he from me. but a gorgeous day outside and free flowing beers made it an enjoyable afternoon. the fillet and drinks at dinner certainly didnt hurt either.

i got home around 9:30 and called the local family. theyre all out celebrating. so what to do but join in? i change into something more comfortable and hop on my bike to meet them downtown. we go to a half dead bar and leave shortly there after to a crazy 'irish' bar that liked to play bon jovi and journey. the only item of note there was walking up to the bar, and while trying to get the barman's attention, these two girls keep staring at me. so im all touching my face to make sure that i dont have some crap on my face or my hair is all crazy. then im thinking that i have a sunburn from all the sun during the day. finally i order my drink and turn toward them as the barman walks away and look there way as if to say 'if youve got something to say, say it.' seeing this they do. they introduce themselves and the one closer to me says 'we think youre really cute.' im taken aback thinking that i look like a tomato with hair, but attempt some small talk. moments later they look at each other, nod, and one says 'okay, bye, were leaving.' it was all very random. but then drunk people are sometimes. and at any rate, i was happy to have some pretty good looking girls tell me such things.

somewhere during the second bar, Anne(the other youngest sibling) and i end up staying out past the other kids. were trying to figure out how to get back to my place since she doesnt have keys to her sister's and the metro is closed. and to make it more complicated, i rode my bike. so i ask a couple of cabbies if i can put my bike in the trunk, but they dont like that idea. its not like cabs ever have nice paint anyway... so we decide to see if Anne can sit on my rack and balance. this may have been an alcohol fueled decision, but it works for a few blocks til we hit a red light. then when i start pedaling again, were wobbling all over the place and suddenly the load gets lighter. Anne is on the ground laughing. 'well, it cant be that bad if shes laughing... and has all her teeth.' i think. we walked the rest of the way home. about two miles. so its 3am, ive been up since 6am and out playing golf, drinking, eating, more drinking, and walking 2 miles home. im surprised i got my shoes off before i crashed i was so spent.

9am comes along on saturday and its beach day as proclaimed by my brother. at least the walk home burned off a good measure of the booze and didnt have much of a hang over. Anne and i are off to meet up with Tim and Sarah, with the obligatory coffee shop stop on the way. we arrive at the beach, which is uneventful aside from a jellyfish sting(minor, no pee necessary). after sitting in the sun all day we pack up head back, deciding that we need to make a Chik-Fil-A stop. turns out the one on the way home is at a mall outside Annapolis. there are sailors all over the place. weird. i feel like if i was a sailor on leave, i wouldnt go to the mall. but, i generally wouldnt go to the mall. but i had to have my first chik-fil-a. on the way home Sarah asks how my chik-fil-a experience was. 'it was awesome. i got my chik-fil-a cherry popped and there was seamen everywhere.' i couldnt resist making one more seamen joke. who could? i could have made much worse jokes like 'did you see that girl holding some seaman in her hand?' but i didnt, because i a class act, ok? we were pooped when we got home and watched some youtube randomness and a movie and went to bed.

yesterday i did chores. but my place looks real nice. i might even let girls that arent somehow family in there. if they dont leave after hitting on me. fucking weird.

how alive? too alive.

last night was pretty kick ass. i went to see Aesop Rock. i went knowing that Aesop is great, that i like Rob Sonic and the rest, generally from DefJux, are at least decent.

i was very impressed by the first act, Greyskul. they were way too good to be an opening act. in my opinion. but evidently my opinion doesnt translate into mainstream popularity, except in a few isolated instances. but i digress, if you dig DefJux and underground hip hop stuff, even Talib Kweli and Mos Def, youd probably enjoy. they were real good.

up next was Yak Ballz. not my favorite, but consistent and good. he put on a good set. like i said, im kind of indifferent, but dont interpret this as a bad review, because i would rather listen to Yak Ballz than Kanye any time. but then, that goes for just about anything except for techno-polka, which i just made up.

finally Aesop and Rob came out. first, i must comment on Rob. hes a big fucking dude. think like a 6-4 white guy with a sloppy white guy fro who weighs at least 300lbs. but also think of a guy who is called Rob Sonic who can rap as fast as just about anyone. he seems to be little recognized, and ill concede that compared to others at DefJux like Cage and Aesop his subject matter is a bit trite. but thats the only way i can knock him.

Aesop is consistently awesome. i really enjoy his style and his shows, but his style is hard for me. its weird for me. i was thinking about this last night. his style is more like a cycle. the rhythm in his raps comes around like a hissing flat. its rhythmic as it spins, and theres no real stopping point. i feel like a lot of people, singers included, use more of a common ending point to their phrasing, rather than the cyclical style. think waves, rather than a cycle. as the waves roll up on the beach, on ends, then the next comes in and ends at more or less the same spot. i dont know if any of this makes any sense to anyone but me, but it does to me. its kind of like the different rhythms of different languages.

anyway, it was a great use of 20 bucks. i would highly recommend the whole group, with Greyskul getting the best review for coming out of nowhere and rocking my socks off.

close friends

i miss the friends of childhood. not the specific people, really, the the ease and convenience of it. when i was a kid i had like five friends within a couple blocks and a dozen without crossing a 'main road.' those were the days. now it seems like i am lucky as hell to know a few people on my block and have a friend within a 20 minute drive.

my current neighbor hood has made steps in that direction. a friend i had kind of lost track of over the last year lives a few blocks away. so thats nice. i have someone nearby to sit on porches with. also, the neighbors are cool. i end up hanging out with Lawrence across the street for a few minutes at least twice a week. its nice to have cool neighbors. and the roommates a pretty cool to. we sat around BSing last night. the point is its nice to be able to hang out with cool people and not have to drive across town.

helping out

i found out on friday that a bunch of folks i work with were going to be doing this 'buff and scrub' program with DC schools. the idea is that companies and individuals donate time and materials to make DC's schools all nice and clean and all that jazz so when the kids come back its nice for them.

im really glad that i was free, because for some reason i tend to get left off of lists that people send around the office, and i could make it. i ended up sort of helping to lead the effort. early on i was weeding the playground with some others and sort of telling them where to do it and then later i was paint foreman, trying to make unmotivated adults and unfocussed kids paint a few benches and stuff outside. in between there was a little landscaping and after lunch i was spotter as we added a couple of missing letters to the sign. i am happy that i helped and that i could help. i want to do more of these type things.

it was nice for two reasons. it felt good to help out the school and ultimately the kids, and it been a long time since ive been outside working and stuff, and it was a nice change from talking about work on the phone and through email. i like getting dirty once in a while.

afterward i went to a bar with a couple of other folks who stayed late and had a few beers, which turned out to be a lot of fun. then i went to ikea and bought a couch to take the place of my roommate who left last week. now i just need to get a tv, but thats going to cost more than the couch, tables, dining table and chairs i bought this weekend. i feel like such a consumer, but so nice to have that stuff, rather than having to improvise.

yup

thanks, indexed.

its been a while

my apologies. its been busy at work and not only have i not had time at work to goof around on the internet and espouse my various and sundry view points on the clock, but ive been spent and lacking in motivation to do anything aside from sleep.

that being said, i have continued to have opinions and find things interesting. as my world rounds out from its pear shape i will pick up where i left off.

Bright Eyes
so, over the last couple of weeks i have to give mad props to Conor Oburst for, in large part, preserving my sanity. ive been listening to Cassadaga a lot over the last few weeks and i love it more every time. and as time goes on, different songs stick out as the best. the Breakman immediately stuck me. its a great song and i feel like weve all been there at some point. more recently Classic Cars has been speaking to me. ive heard conflicting tales on who the song is about, but whoever it is has one beautiful song as a trubute. plus, Conor is ever the wordsmith with things like 'never trust a heart so bent it cant break' and 'the sky is torn up denim, and the clouds spattered paint.' that whole song is brilliant.

Benjamin Black/John Banville
one in the same. the first writes crime mysteries and the later writes crime literature. line in the sand. theyre both good. i just finished Christine Falls by Black and ealier in the summer read The Book of Evidence by Banville. i have to say Evidence was better. it was hard to put down. maybe im reacting differently that the rest, youd think the crime mystery would be more of a page turner, but Christine Falls seemed to get lost a bit from time to time. i think it may delve into too much detail and get distracted from the story. dont mistake, i would recomend both books pretty highly, but the Evidence is up there at the top of my list of favorites. it very much reminded me of Camu's The Stranger(thanks HeiDi). Christine Falls is a fine nove and all the while when i was reading it kept thinking it could pretty easily become a movie. now that im on that, so could Evidence, i remember having that thought during that book too.

now im on to The Fools Progress by Edward Abbey who i read a lot in college. im about 50 pages in and loving it. his writing style and view of the world just get me. i may have picked up some of both from his books.

Kwame
seriously? why did they let him out of jail? Detroit, i love you, but what the fuck are you doing? why does this many have any power left, much less respect? hes a lia-fucking-bility. dump his ass and move on.