Tear It Up

FREE, incident, FIXED UP, stolen, impounded, ReCoVeReD

That's the story of my 1986 Honda Civic Wagovan's's life with me... and it's only been about a month. I've been house and giant dog sitting since last Friday. Tedium mixed with movies mixed with grabbing human sized pieces of dog poop through the NY Times plastic. I performed my duties admirably. The dog felt loved, plus it was fed, didn't maul or get run over. The house didn't break, nothing burnt, but, of course, during my last night of duty my car had to get stolen. Man, I guess I'm rounding up 50things so far this year that I just wish wouldn't've happened. They tore the ignition switch to hell, breaking metal and removing the key cylinder so a simple screwdriver can enable starting. They stole the face plate of my 2week old cd/mp3(on CD) player... I brilliantly removed the face and put it in my glove box. Oddly they also stole a gallon of both radiator & windshield washer fluids. On top of it all, they yanked an industrial quality ohm/voltmeter that belonged to the person I was house sitting for... yes, I had permission to use it. OK, that all said, there's been at least 60 really good things to happen so far this year. I'm pretty sure I'm still on the plus side. I am an incredible fixer and will fix the ignition switch... until then I'll use a screwdriver to keep from getting the 72hr ticket.
*If you've ever stolen a car, you suck.
**I am not a fan of the cops and these shit teenagers made me need the authorities. for this they doubly suck.
***I had to pay $100 to get my car out of the tow yard, the shit teenagers now tripley suck
****They did leave a skateboard, Honda/house/and? keys, and chapstick in the car. They still triplely suck
*****One of the kids had a really unusual last name (good ol' diligent cop let me see the names, think that's illegal)... maybe I should pay them a visit, try the keys out and rob them... ok, I won't do that. Negativity merely begets negativity.
******Shorting stocks is wonderful, although the whole uptick rule is bogus if you ask me. Regardless, must get used to it if I'm gonna make any money the next few years in the market.
*******I mean, this is a 1986 Honda we're talking about here. You can get one offa Craig's List for like a nickel. Bastard, shit teenagers.
********Steal from corporations or rich people or not at all, not from everyday schmoes.

Bocce Glory

This is where we walk after work to play bocce. Occidental Square, in the heart of historic Pioneer Square... more commonly known as where there are statues of firemen next to large numbers of rowdy hobos. It's a beautiful park, cobblestones, ivey, big trees, totem poles, and brick building. A few blocks from Yesler St, the true original Skid Row. Much of our time there has been during dark hours, dimmly lit by lamposts planted all over.
There's 3 of us on the bocce team, RoundRobin, I'm convinced it's better than 1on1 or 2on2. That is Lee there rolling red. Matt's in the background serving as the measurer. I am not in the picture and playing green. Games are to 16 and generally last around 2hours. We play once or twice a week (although a couple times there we played 3 nights, that's a lot of bocce...not sustainable, thankfully). We gamble labor. The loser has to put all the balls(together they weigh 30,40, or 50pOUNdS!, jeez, who knows?), measuring tape, and a coupla towels into the bag and set up the handtruck. The person in second place then carries the bagOballs on the 2WheelCart about 3 blocks, across 2nd Ave... pretty flat traveling. At this point the loser takes over. Up 3 progressively steeper hills to summit on 5th Ave where, on flat ground, we walk 1.5blocks to our work building place. In addition to carrying the junk up the grueling 4th Ave Hill, when walking down for the next game during another day, the loser of the previous game must carry the balls on the handtruck. Utterly hummilating, isn't it? Trust me, you really just don't want to lose. Second place is alright. Light labor, you can live with it. But to win, you get to relax and shine with Bocce Glory.

Bob Dylan on Easytree

EasyTree
Have you used BitTorrent before? Well, 2 of Bob Dylan's shows here in Seattle have been recorded and made available in .flac format.
1. Just make sure you have a BitTorrent program, available free here
2. Then go to EasyTree
3. Sign up if you haven't already used it. The sign up is painless, doesn't cause junk mail, and is worth every ounce of effort about 739times over
4. Search "dylan seattle"
5. Choose what you want. For kicks, if you download the March 9th show, you'll hear what I saw. I mean, try to wrap your imagination around the novelty of that one
*6. Convert the .flac files to a format you can use, .wav or *gasp* mp3. Flac Frontend is both free and does a good job converting flac to wav, and then to mp3... I haven't found a direct to mp3 converter.
** Please just Look@ easytree. I don't think it is as illegal as you may initially think... I think, maybe, hopefully...

Some of the best music that Bob Dylan has ever made is being made now, give it a shot.

Multi-reMediaL

Wierd Music Video
The end is even a bit more exciting than the body

Slint

ok, I've given up trying to somehow manage to tell you that I was blown over with joy by the Bob Dylan concerts last week. Alright? No matter what I said, how I said it, or even when I did... The fact remains *BLOWN OVER WITH JOY* ... man, i feel bad 'cause I like to recommend people to give The Bob Dylan Show a viewing but I feel like a doofus with zero credibilty. It actually gives me a stomach ache thinking about it. But I can be a bit high strung, so it's all to be expected.

Now to Slint at another great place in Seattle to see live music, The Showbox. The Bocce Crew + Bones. We missed most of the opening act the all of us wanted to see... as it turns out, from what I saw, I don't care that I missed them... but if any of Slint woulda been skipped, I'da been upset. The short lived Slint recorded 2 albums and disbanded in 1992. I guess we're living in the time of reunions, perhaps spurred by the wildly successful Pixes tour of last year (saw that, too... 'hotdamn' worthy). If you don't know Slint here is a description that will make any SLint fan cringe. Math Rock: Imagine Nirvana with much more abrupt transitions between loud and soft with vocals that just aren't that prevelant but certainly contribute to the aesthetic (not asthma, which I've had for my entire all I can remember whole life, thank you all very much). They played for nearly 2 hours, which I thought was unusual and very generous.
*One outside note on SLint: I listened to Slint well before I obsessed over Hank Williams, Sr music. For years I had no Idea that my Favorite Slint song overlapped with one of my Hank Williams songs. "I can settle down and be doin' just fine, till I hear that ol' freight rollin' down the line" Ramblin' Man is buried in "Nosferatu Man" by Slint

Please Buy This, nevermind

Selling Kathy's old car.
If you buy it, you can have it:
Whata Hotrod!

Sold this horse... even inadvertantly slighted someone in the process! ok, I'm not exactly happy about that, but first come first serve, baby.

Please Wipe Your Feet Upon Entering

ooo, It's About Time To Happen

Few feelings of mine rival those I get anticipating the entrance of Bob Dylan to the stage. Before the show I found my seat and went roaming around the balcony, up some stairs to a gated peekway, drank water from 2 different water fountains, and didn't say one word that I can remember. The lights flashed and I went downstairs and patiently sat down. Time to let it happen.

Right Where I'd Like To Be

Delayed Reaction!
The 2 shows I saw were absolutely great. During the first show I was perhaps a bit too enamored by Dylan to fully take in much of what was going on around him, but on Wednesday I almost immediately realized that the violin woman did a lot more than simply slidding her bow back and forth. In the middle of the stage, back somewhat from the front, she starred in this twisted, flirtatous game centered right on Dylan's fragile boned person. Staring near exclusively at the Baggins like character sitting at the keyboard piano replicator, she mouthed bites in the air, scratched and popped her strings as a cat trying to inspire the advances of an old tom in a dark, stinky alley. Now I must admit that I was drawn into this one sided affair. Sounds stupid, but it really was both entertaining and mindbogglingly sexy.
March 9th Setlist
1. To Be Alone With You
2. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
3. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
4. Just Like A Woman
5. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
6. Floater (Too Much To Ask)
7. Highway 61 Revisited
8. Make You Feel My Love
9. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)
10. Honest With Me
11. Ballad Of Hollis Brown (acoustic) (Donnie on banjo)
12. Summer Days
(encore)

13. Sing Me Back Home (song by Merle Haggard)
14. All Along The Watchtower

Dylan Train, Packing Up

Whoa, I Like Baby Blue

Baby Blue still stunk last night (and again, strangely it was the only song that wasn't stunning), but I'm listening to it now on KEXP and realize that I actually dislike "Tangled Up In Blue" not "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue". I think Tangledupinblue is the dead, overplayed song. Babyblue is a pretty good song. Sorry for any misunderstanding.
Leaving for The Bob Dylan Show within 15minutes
**** I didn't like 1ONE1 Single song in 2TWO2 Nights!, ok? Understand you are listening to me, I communicate very poorly... it is like my brain bounces on these stuttered, stacoto like, hiccupped lines. So you should pretty much ignore me unless I validate what you want to be true****

RE: a fare deal

ok ok ok
i keep going back and forth on my visiting... i'm probably coming soon but don't wager any future children on that prospect
but that ticket price is just goofy, don't know if i believe it... will look into it.
i kinda fucked up on something
gonna be an expensive endeavor once the bill arrives
working on a 1986 honda civic wagon... a friend was preparing to moving, i was taking over responsibility for the car in his garage/parking area thing place
presidents day weekend, 3 days
on the third day it rolled and hit another car's bumper as it was pulling out in the alley
big paint scratch
dear god am i an idiot. without details, rest assured it was my fault. so insanely thickheadedly stupidly my fault.
likely $1000, give or take... 'cause they havta paint the whole damn bumper.
didn't have insurance as... i was just working on the fucking car, for chirssake.
sometimes i just want to bang my head over and over and over and over and over on a very solid brick wall.
i shouldn't really be bogged down by it
things have been working in my favor since about last friday... solidly in my favor
plus bob dylan last night
and again tonight
holy crap, man...
amazing... minus One song that sucked like a hungarian whore [please understand, sometimes i may vocalize something and make it sound bigger than it was... my god, one song in 2 nights didn't light my fuse... THE SHOWS WERE UNBELIEVABLY GREAT... MORE ON A NEWER POST, ACTUALLY CONCERT REVIEW, hopefully :o) ]
weird 'cause every other song was stunning [ok, i already this... read italics]'baby blue'... don't particularly like it anyway, overplayed and dead, but this time it was almost laughable... stinky dylan impersonatoresque, flat, boring, and annoying
just really weird considering how good each and every other song was. the songs started as small skeletons but grew into giant blossomed trees of greatness. 4th time seeing him. 1st time without the lingering 'won't see him for a long time, damnit' feeling afterwards... that's because in less than 12hrs i get another show
I'm told the sound quality at The Paramount Theater rivals that at the opera/orchestra hall we have here in Seattle. never have seen a live rock show where the sound wasn't muddied to some degree... last night it was loud, but crystal clear. oh, there was this super straight laced guy sitting next to me. he wasn't very friendly so i called him a fucking wuss.
it really was a show, a performance. not just songs being played, subtley vaudvillian even... only subtly know what vaudviliian means, so there you go
merle haggard, too... i'll be damned,
$66 tickets before ticketmaster and taxes, all free to ME
take care
let's email more often
*sorry, just decided to put this on the blog because my email to you took up all i wanna give*

The Bob Dylan Show x 2

I guess when it rains it pours; when it's sunny it warms my soul

After a series of crappy to shitty events, Fate's pendulum has swung back into my favor. The stock market is friendly. The car I was given is finally road worthy (note my amazing ability to mess things up and fix them back to prime). Got lotzo sleep. The shoes I left are back on my feet. The most noteworthy, though, is The Bob Dylan Show that rolled into town last night. 3 nights and I'm going to 2 uv'm for free. Tonight and Tomorrow. The last time I saw him it was intense, October 2001... you know September 11th and all, but you may not know that the following November 5th I left on a slow moving, yearlong solo journey around the perimeter of the contingous US in a 1975 Toyota Chinook mini-motorhome.
Merle Haggard is opening... "We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogi(sp?)"... Well, we do in Seattle. Hotdamn, can't wait. Double dose O-Dylan, priced to my ideal level.