for some reason, i’ve always been drawn towards live music. even before my days in the band (c’mon, it’s been a while since i mentioned that), i’ve loved the raw sound of a live performance, vs. the perfection that can be generated by studio recordings. it actually might have been this double-disc set that turned me on to live performances– from jim morrison’s extended scream in “backdoor man” to the extended organ solo in “moonlight drive,” i was suddenly aware of how cool a live take on a known song could be.

Read the rest of this entry »

aaaah, downtown. how i’ve missed you. the reasons are numerous, but here’s one of my favorites: watching people nearly get schmucked crossing the streets that intersect nicollet ave. well, okay, that’s just a side benefit.

Read the rest of this entry »

you know, we really could use an “austin in the news” category. get on that, al. it can be a graphic of a can of spam or something.

anyway. from the 5/21/08 edition of the austin daily herald:

Read the rest of this entry »

as reported here previously, i learn a lot of interesting things in the mornings when i’m on the treadmill and have the close caption turned on my tv.

today, for instance, ESPN told me that baseball commentator rick sutcliffe is about to return to the broadcast booth after a recent bout with “cologne cancer.” yikers.

author’s note: the primary audience for this post is myself; the kind of thing that i want to actually write down in the hopes that it helps with self-accountability. if you’re bored, hey, by all means come along.

we watched juno last week. overall, an excellent flick; i highly recommend it. i really enjoyed the dialogue. it wasn’t sorkin-like, mind you, but it was better than one usually sees in entertainment. anyway, at one point, juno’s dad (played excellently by j.k. rowling, by the way) looks up at his pregnant daughter and says: “Hey there, big puffy version of Junebug!” funny stuff.

the next morning, as i was shaving, i looked at myself in the mirror and echoed: “Hey there, big puffy version of Wade!” less funny, but no less true.

Read the rest of this entry »