Maybeshewill: Not for Want of Trying Year: 2007 Click here for the artist's site Maybeshewill is a band that I was introduced to only a few weeks ago, through a recommendation of my last.fm software. The thirty-second clip it gave me was very reminiscent of the impeccable post-industrial band 65daysofstatic (even the name - words run together - seemed to suggest serious ties). So after a bit of sear...
Made Out of Babies, The Ruiner Year: 2008 Click here for the artist's site When I first got my hands on Made Out of Babies' sophomore effort, Coward , I couldn't say enough good about it. I loved (and continue to love) that album. I still think it's one of the most frightening records I've ever heard. It's brutal, it's ugly, it's engaging, and it's scary. I can remember thinking to myself, There's...
It's been heartening to see the response on my last Spain post, ' Does anyone even care '. It's made me smile. Really it has. Thanks to sister Cedarbird, brother BlueDev, ForeverSerenity, DynaMaso, CharlesCS, little-whip, RoyLevosh, uDigItTheMost, InBloom, momijiki, mikeb1954, skybright, Ockham'sRazor, asaxygirl, and everyone else who's trudged through those wordy, fat, ugly posts. I enjoyed posting them, and it was always a pleasure to read the comments. But I'm tire...
Is anyone even reading my Spain stories anymore? I know there are a few (a very few) stalwarts, but I'm beginning to wonder if it's even worth the effort. -- 29 May 2008. 7:54pm. We sat there, the two of us, for the better part of the afternoon. I should have been studying, but what can I say? Sometimes you just have to neglect stuff like that in lieu of more pressing concerns. The sand was warm on my toes, the sun beating down on me, reddening my straw...
So, fine JoeUsers and/or WinCustomize users, how does the day find you? It finds me quite well. I'm done with my tests, just relaxing today before embarking on weeks of adventure-filled travels, and I've gotten pretty okay grades so far (hey, no fails like Pervy, so I'm good). But when I'm just relaxing that means I inevitably play around on teh intarwebz a bit. So I'm poking around and stumble onto the Impulse website . Now, I'm sure most of you, my fine JU/WC frie...
For those who care: NBC anchorman Tim Russert died this afternoon. He was 58. He was one of the most pugnacious and tenacious news anchors in recent memory. People knew that Russert didn't mess around. And he was one of my favorite news anchors. I used to watch "Meet the Press" every Sunday morning when I lived in the states. And I'm sad I won't get to see his crusty face on Sunday morning ever again. (For those who want to read more, go ahead and cli...
NASCAR is a Yankee invention to keep the South placated; they will never rise again. -- Here's an idea - if you're going to sing along in an ugly voice to a crappy song, why don't you at least make sure you know the words, stupid? Your mom called, Pervy. She hates you as much as I do and hopes you get robbed when you're in Morocco. -- Sometimes I wish I could make people understand The Mars Volta, because no one seems to. Yes, they're overwhelming, and they m...
So I was just playing around on the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster website earlier today, and I found the 'Hate Mail (and concerned criticism)' section. It's a treasure trove of very godlike behavior from concerned citizens who feel compelled to call the Pastafarians on the errors of their ways. Here's some of my favorites, edited for the kiddies (and when I mean edited, I mean edited. Each change I've made for decency's sake will be italicized). -- This is just p...
For those who wanted to know. -- 20 May 2008. 10:47pm. About ten-thirty in the morning, my phone rings. Now, this is not a normal occurrence; while I text quite often, I can count on one hand the amount of calls I've received. I pick it up, reading that Carolina is calling. Bemused, I answer with the expected greeting. She's in a tizzy; it's hard to make out what she's saying. Finally she calms down enough to tell me that last night her grandmother...
When in the world am I going to get caught up to now in this blasted journal? Madrid really threw off my groove - I'm 2 1/2 weeks behind. -- 18 May 2008. 6:06pm. I come home from church to find Pervy still sacked out, whining in his sleep (as, I suppose, perverts are wont to do). It had been one of the longest church blocks I'd ever been to. During the first hour, I had to translate Sacrament Meeting for a group of German tourists on holiday. Now, I'v...
17 May 2008. 11:28pm. My hair is sticky and crinkled from the sea water, leaving a thin crust to dry on my body as I lay out on my towel, soaking in the sun, letting it burrow into my skin and latch onto my bones. She stirs on her towel next to mine. "How is the water?" she asks, peeking (as ever) over her large sunglasses. I snicker. "Oh, you know how it is. Invigorating, frenetic, tumultuous, exciting. All of the above." She...
DATELINE: This last weekend. Once again, I don't know when. MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) -- A car plowed into a weekend bike race along a highway near the U.S.-Mexico border, killing one and injuring 10 others, police said. The 28-year-old driver was apparently drunk and fell asleep when he crashed into the race, said police investigator Jose Alfredo Rodriguez. Holy. Caca. Doodie. Yes, you're looking at that picture exactly right - the car ...
Hey! More Spain stories, this time of rich, thick and delicious retribution. Yummy. -- 16 May 2008. 1:01pm. Even though I get bloody sick and tired of Pervy McPervington, I've had a very successful week smashing some of the fanciful lies he has told me into shining little pieces. Maybe it's cruel of me, but I just enjoy that reddening in his face when I call his bluff. Now, granted, usually these are little things. Like early last week when he pro...
Hey! More Spain stories, this time of rich, thick and delicious retribution. Yummy. -- 16 May 2008. 1:01pm. Even though I get bloody sick and tired of Pervy McPervington, I've had a very successful week smashing some of the fanciful lies he has told me into shining little pieces. Maybe it's cruel of me, but I just enjoy that reddening in his face when I call his bluff. Now, granted, usually these are little things. Like early last week when he pro...
DATELINE: This weekend. What time? Darned if I know. It actually happened like early Sunday for those of us who live on the right side of the world. The Rules Committee of the DNC finally figured out what to do about the whole Michigan/Florida mess (every election, I swear . . . Florida, you're out of the family. We don't want you or your Disney World anymore), and the Hillary supporters are rabid . Like, Old Yeller but worse. Ridiculous. Laughable. But I ...