Whoot!

Christmas. Rocked.
My parents -- god knows /why/ since I've spouted off that I hate them for at least a decade -- got me a cell phone. I now love it and am looking for ways to make it ring to the tune of Judy and The Dream of Horses.
I also got Lazy Line Painter Jane on 12" vinyl.

And then I bought myself a (VERY cheap and likely to explode) DVD player, though I only have a Jeff Buckley in performance disk and this odd DVD about the Kennedy Assination (a gift).

And New Years is this week.

Rock.

PS: For god's sake, somebody comment on something!
PPS: Take my newly revised Friend Test!

Attention:

The little circle things on the back of this DVD player are Pokey Thingies.
They are very important.

Carry on.

Do you just love these quizzes? If you had an online journal or diary, would you eschew actual content for more and more of these cute little graphics?


Are you damned?
Brought to you by Rum and Monkey

You can laugh at the silly superstitions of the religious, safe in the knowledge that we are only dust and lies. All that will be left of you after you die is a slow decay and some fading memories in the minds of your friends. Hope you're enjoying your life at the moment- there's nothing better to come.
Which Survivor of the Impending Nuclear Apocalypse Are You?
A Rum and Monkey joint.

My goddamn rock solid ghetto shiznit name is Harry Wack.
What's yours?
Powered by Rum and Monkey.

My Mormon name is Jae LeRoi Byard!
What's yours?

Reason I Love Chapel Hill #450781

A conversation without words, set to the tune of "You Are a Ghost" by the Sames played Real Loud.

Go! Attendent: *holds up sign that says "$7"
Me: *nods head 'no'
Go! Dude: *points to The List
Me: *shakes head yes
Go! Dude: *points to my name
Me: *shakes head yes
Go! Dude: *thumbs me in

Jett Rink was so, so good Friday night. I can't say more than that.

"This Picture Rules More Than Anything Else Ever Has"

Here

NOW it Works. I See How It Is!

Stupid Blogger not stupid working last night!
Anyway, Monday was Eric's birthday! Go send him belated greetings. I got to talk to him twice: once on AOL and once on the phone. It seems he had a good birthday.
He got Chinese Food and a Chocolate Peanutbutter Cake to eat.

(In comparison, I got... Oh. I got a dinner at 'The Texas Roadhouse' in Hickory where the waitress messed up every course of my dinner -- notably I got a House Green Salad with Ceasar dressing. "Why would I order a green salad with Ceasar dressing?" "You did!" "I didn't. I ordered a Ceasar salad." "Oh. Yeah. I got the Ceasar part right, though!")

Anyway, I'm coming up with a brilliant idea for his birthday/Christmas present since I was broke (and still am) for the day itself.

Today was my day off and I did /nothing/. Well, not nothing. Read. Talked in #sinister. Watched TV. But it was my first day off in over a week, so I guess I'm allowed.
I also found out last night that my Dr Who article (or the first part thereof) had been published in Friends of the Heroes -- link is to the left -- which I was pretty sure didn't accept it. So now I have to come up with the next 1,000 words. But this is always a pretty good impetus to spend time every day writing again, as is the fact that 15 pages or so of a play I had written have disappeared. :(
Hell, I also need to be doing more research for Waiting for Godot and filling out Financial Aid forms.

Hmmm. Me = slack.

A Dullish Day

Unlike Miss Laura Llew, I hardly ever have witty repartee or sexual hijinks in my work day to discuss. After going in on my day off yesterday and working an extra two hours today to cover a co-worker in the midst of a post-breakup pyschofunk, all I have to quote is this about seeing regular customer outside of work [and not being recognized]:

"If some coked-up Soccer Mommy doesn't know where her daily latte comes from, then scew her!"

Do I need to say it was me saying that?

Other than that, it was Trivia Night (Reptiles, Cult TV and Explorers were the categories and Opera was the Music ID). There weren't very many people there, and other than the delightful company -- Christina, Alicia, Keith, Kate --it wasn't very interesting.
From now on, I'm calling Alicia "Dink", as in the Bond Girl.
We came in second.
[Although, in his frock coat and ugly waistcoat, Jeremy the Skanky Bi Host looked like a... well, needlessly skanky version of Patrick Troughton as Dr Who.]

To make up for a dullish post, you can always go here and rent Lichtenstien. Yes, for real. And yes, the whole country.

Ahh!

Just in case it's not up when you read this, the Google Banner ad above read thus:

"Search: Beefcake | Additional Search: Belle and Sebastian"

Wow. A succinct and interesting comment on my life, no?

Work is Weird, Part II
Or, Actual Customer Conversation

A guy walks up to me today. Imagine him as a frat-boy hipster poseur: trucker cap a few months too late, Gap clothes attempting to look chairty shop cool, the irrevocable stains of Dave Matthews on his taste... Did I mention he was so stoned he could barely walk?

Frat Guy: I know you...
Me: I don't think so.
FG: Yeah... You go out with that hot chick.
Me: I'm pretty sure you're thinking of someone else.
FG: You were at... the show. Yeah, the one, you know. You were... like, both wearing hats.
Me: stares at him
FG: She's hot, man.. Like... (laughs) Hott.
exit Frat Guy

I *think* he means the Manitoba/Broadcast show and I *think* he means Alicia, as we both wore hats to that show. But by that same logic, I also go out with Bendte, Viva, Forrest and Casey Burns, who were all within three feet of me.
I now have images of the Chapel Hill's hippest orgy...

Also at work, someone in another department attempted to steal our "Order Specialty Drinks at Cashier" sign. Now, I love this sign with a deep passion, because when people bark orders at me, I smile sweetly, point to the sign in front of their face and say "I'm sorry. You need to WAIT YOUR TURN and ORDER AT THE CASHIER. Thanks!"
Without this sign, my little coffee shop would desend into Chaos not seen since the first milliseconds after the Big Bang.
And she just walks over and tries to take it away. No "Do you mind if..." or "Can I take this...". I tried to stop her but she wouldn't listen, so I called in the store manager.
Of course, then we all had to discuss the situation and reach a Whole Foods-y compromise. But I kept the sign up with the important bits on.
Damn straight, Bitch! You don't mess with my sign!

I mentioned earlier my Excellent Mixtape for my trip to Deleware. It went like this...

"Radio" by Pitty Sing, from the s/t EP
"The Boy With the Thorn in His Side" by Bis from The Smiths is Dead Comp
"Electric Version" by the New Pornographers from The Electric Version
"T-Shirt Weather" by the Lucksmiths (illegaly downloaded)
"Take Ecstasy with Me" by the Magnetic Fields, sung by Claudia and not
Stephin, also illegally downloaded
"NYC" from the Interpol album Turn On The Bright Lights
"The Late Great Cassiopiea"by the Essex Green from The Long Goodbye
"Happy Noodle Versus Sad Noodle" By Logan Whitehurst and the Jr Science
Club from the disc Goodbye, My 4-Track

Side II
"The Eccentric Dr Who" by Malcolm Lockyear ans His Orchestra, from the
album Who's Dr Who
"I'd Feel Better" by the Rosebuds from the Merge Comp Survive and Advance
Vol II
"If She Wants Me" by Belle and Sebastian from Dear Catastrophe Waitress
"Yes Sir, Yes Way" by Des Ark from Pox World Empires's Compulation Comp
A song from Pig Lib from Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
"Arigoto We Love You" from the Pizzicato 5
"Candy Pants" from the Jett-Rink album

S'up?

Today is my day off and as a) I am sick and b) I have no money you can expect a largish post. I took my car to the mechanic today for an estimate -- one $200 job and another $800 one -- and have slept most of the rest of the day.

"Are You Italian? 'Cause I Have an Uncle named Jay, and he's Italian!"

I have been taken to task by a small dog for not talking about Thanksgiving. I went to Laura's. Traffic was awful -- the four hour drive took six and a half -- but there was plenty of Christian talk to go around, even if the mix tape I specially made sucked.

Then we tripped back to her graciously appointed flat, where her dog was so overcome with lust for me she started to hump the air in a most unlady like fashion. It was freaky, and not in the She's-a-very-special-girl-the-kind-you-don't-take-home-to-Mother kind of freaky. (Later, she also attempted to give me a blowjob...)

Acts of Bestiality aside, we were busy little bees making all kinds of dessert: Pumpkin-Carrot Cake, Pecan Pie, Key Lime Pie, a pumpkin-cream cheese jelly roll and a mysterious but tasty thing called Frog-Eyed Salad. In the middle, we watched the film Willow, went to a store where a guy named Martini allegedly works and wherein a humpbacked fanatic with wild hair scared us, and went to a Bojangles with no food -- "We haven't got any fried chicken." "Okay, I'll have a ham biscuit." "No biscuits." "Fries*?" "No." "I think we'll go to a place with /food/ now..."

Then we went up to Laura's parents' house, where all manner of relations were watching the (football) fields by night. Now, Llew's parents and grandmother were terribly charming but other less attached relations were a bit odd -- smashing wine bottles and such, and sending us off to Bi-Lo** to exchange them. Her aunt uttered the above line when I told her the Frog Eyed Salad has acini de pepe pasta in it. I don't know what it is, either, but I can pronounce it.
I ate lots and lots of food -- Ham! They had Ham! Ham! Pig meat! Ham!! The first I'd had in years! -- and then played with two Labrador puppies named Bear and Meg. I like puppies. Espcecially Lab puppies that are oh-so-dopey and playful.

Then we watched Igby Goes Down, sort of a modern-day Catcher in the Rye but with sex, and Ryan Phillipe with all his clothes on (the point? The Point?). Then I drove home the next day, complete with a plate of left over that made it maybe 8 hours.

(That was also payday so I bought a Lucksmiths EP -- Midweek, Mid Morning -- and a Dr Who book called History 101, about the Spanish Civil War and perception of reality, oh so good).

I also went to the Park and I climbed a tree! We also went out with his cousin to an all-night diner that allowed smoking and we smoked and drank coffee for six hours. Very cool.
I bought two Dr Who books there (The Last Resort and Reckless Engineering) that they don't have here.**

Busy Day at Work

The other day at work (Wednesday), we had: a fire drill, a man fall down and hurt himself badly, a company Big-Wig come through AND a little Mexican midget come through.
I got complimented on my drink menu by said Big-Wig: We have my 9-spice apple cider (It has cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, cardamom, aniseed, gumbo file, juniper berries, white pepper and carraway seeds. And yes, I know that's 11 things but I refuse to tell them at work what's in it and that's part of the secret.), Cranberry Gluvine (cranberry juice steamed with mulling spices, ginger, and lemon), Pumpkin Juice (Pumpkin, milk and spices, blended togethered and steamed hot) and weekly specials. This week is a hot chocolate with gingerbread and frosted mint. Sounds vile, but the first sensation is of chocolate and gingerbread, but then the gingerbread fades away you get an aftertaste of Andes mint.

I imagine that's all the things I meant to write about. Tonight is Friday, so I get some Wendys food! Yay!

*Bojangles fries have crack in them, like MacDonald's Chicken McNuggets.

**If you're keeping count, I have 8 new Dr Who books, two at the bookstore I can't afford to get right now and another one on order. But remember, I haven't had any new ones for over a year and a half!

Work Is Weird...

Today at work, our conversation varied from penis tricks: "I used to make my boyfriend's cock sing by playing around with his foreskin," and "I used to turn it into a a little pig snout and make it sniff around!"* and personal tales of Female Ejaculation** to serious discussion about colour perception being influenced by language, with references to historical linguistics, Isaac Newton and evolution to the Normalization effects of marriage on the gay self-identity.

This is of course when we CAN talk. Unlike Sunday, when all four coffee machines died and the coffee shop had no actual coffee. I lost count after making 15 Americanos, 32 lattes and 16 mochas with an hour.

And yes, I did go to Delaware and to Asheville, but I'm not blogging about that from work...

*No, neither of these was me. They just seem like way silly things to do.
**Ew ew ew. Just /writing/ that is gross beyond belief.

[b]"Lord, Let Me Meet a Jew!"[/b]

So, my favourite part of long cat trips is Christian Talk radio.
On "Unshackled: True Stories of Christ's Impact on Sinner's Lives" there was a dull story about a college athlete who Gasp! smoked dope. When he inevitably found Jesus, he learned Jesus was a jew and prayed these words.
Needless to say, he met one in the next act. I laughed from DC to Baltimore on that one.

In other news, the Christian Right is attacking Abercrombie and Fitch -- Eric's computer won't let me make links here but you can go to http://www.americandecency.org/a&ffall03.htm and http://www.abercrombie.com/anf/lifestyles/html/photos.html#, respectively. A&F's site is regrettably lacking in nude beefcake, but apparently the new catalog isn't.
The Church seems to be uspet that teens are having sex. Hunh. Who knew?
Amusingly, they seem oblivious to the strong homoerotic content of the whole thing, which is funny because their ire over wanton sex seems to momentarily conquered their existenstial anathema to Gay Marriage*.

The upshot: I'm buying Eric's 17 year old brother a copy and telling him never, ever to miss the chance to go to an orgy.

Music: Whoo-hoo! They had the Franz Ferdinand EP here, so I've been listening to that.

*Gay Marriage: Allowing ugly lesbians and their cats to live exactly the same as they've always done.

"I'll have a Laura Llew, please. With soy."

I should have mentioned this earlier, but this week's drink special is called "The Laura Llew." It's hot chocolate with shots of gingerbread and cinnamon. All week long, people have walked up and said "I want Laura Llews to go" and I think, "Don't we all, buddy..."

I'm away to Delaware for the weekend, where I plan to do as little as possible. (Although I will miss the Azure Ray show and Trivia Night.) Speaking of which, we've won Trivia Night two weeks in a row, rocking such categories as "Birds", "Dog Breeds in Film" and "Cartoon ID."

I got my application pack from Hunter College, the only actual paper application I'll be doing. It's sitting very solidly and intimidatingly on my dresser.

Also, with my paycheck, I bought a virtual slew of Dr Who books that have, at last, gotten into the country: The Suns of Caresh, Colony of Lies, Emotional Chemistry, The Crooked World, Timeless and Camera Obscura.

I was up last night til 1.30 and was at work by 6 am. On the plus side I made an excellent mix tape for the trip, made even better by the fact I have little recollection of the second side.
Teaser: Side one -- "Radio" by Pitty Sing, "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side" by Bis, "Laws have Changed" by the New Pornographers.

Ack. I have go back to work now.

Doo doo da Doo

So, not much happened today. The most interesting thing was mooching around imdb.com and tvtome.com, looking up obscure shows -- Come Back, Mrs Noah, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, It's A Living, The Tripods, etc.

But tomorrow is payday, when I will buy 4 (Four!) new Dr Who books, eat Chinese food and see the new Matrix movie.

Other than that, life has been oddish of late. Lots of ups and downs.
Ups:
I have decided on the three/four graduate schools I'm applying for: Glasgow University (first choice), Brooklyn University, and Hunter College (both CUNY schools). If I feel ambitious, I may apply again to Yale, but I rather doubt I will. I did find out, though, that apparently no-one gets into the School of Drama their first time -- Thanks folks, for mentioning that before...
I have nigh-employment in my chosen field. I'll be working on productions with two local theater groups on productions of Waiting for Godot and Via Dolorosa. Not that I'll be paid. But still -- experience for the above apps. I also will be working with the Duke University New Works Festival, doing almost exactly what I did in school with my Studio II program.

Work is going well -- I can balance all this new stuff, I think, with a full time job. And we've finally started the weekly drink special (This week, the Belle and Sebastian, a mocha with Irish Creme and Frosted Mint: Oh so good and the Gentle Wave, the same without espresso) and all my new Fall Drinks (Cider, homemade Chai, Pumpkin Juice and Cranberry Gluvine).
I may get a job reviewing music for another online magazine called Dusted.

Thanksgiving in the Mountians with Laura!


Downs:
My car ran into a tree. This did little damage to my car (a small crack in the bumper) but I had to call AAA to tow it out of a ditch.

I got a ticket for running a stop sign and have to pay for it.

Also, growing paranoia about applying for school (Can I get in?! How will I pay?! Help me out, here people!).

Work sucks. Ony stupid people come in and I work with yutzes. Not strictly true, granted, but it can feel that way most of the time.

I am still poor, poor, poor. My parents are harrassing me about being a teacher -- Yes, more hours, lower pay and no insurance will of course turn my life around more than going back to school -- or a minister (they'll never, ever let that one die). But I won't see them again for a while. We quarrelled.

I saw Belle and Sebastian. I interviewed Richard Colburn -- you can check it out at friendsoftheheroes.co.uk -- it's keen.

So that, in a nutshell has been the last few weeks.
Go to #sinister!

Book of the Day: Dr Who -- The Colony of Lies; The Dream Cycle of H P Lovecraft; Mason and Dixon

Word of the day: morganatic marriage -- a marriage of a commoner to a noble, where the spouse nor any offspring recieve title or nobility

Dr Who of the Day: Paradise Towers, part 1. Woo-hoo for the Who of the late 80s! An apartment complex in space, people by lesbian gangs, cannibalistic senior citizens and Pythonesque caretakers. Richard Briers (Goode Neighbours) is the Hitler-esque leader in a HUGE army hat. The sets are a bit naff -- a completely in-studio piece -- and Slyvester in his second story is just getting the hang of his Doctor.

This post brought to you by: Al Jolson and Cab Calloway, I Love to Sing-a!; the theme song to Fraggle Rock and Small Wonder.

Yipes!

It's been a while. Stuff has happened. Unfortunately, I'm very sleepy right now(unusual for any time before 4 am).
I will leave you with three worthwhile links: Here*, Here** and Here***.

*Good, clean fun. Well okay, not clean. Sweaty boys aren't clean.

**These ones are clean. Very clean.

***And this is for those who want good, clean fun in another fashion.

Reason Laura Llew rocks: Who else could find Religious Porn?

Book(s) of the Day: Dr Who -- The Colony of Lies, The Dream Cycle of H P Lovecraft, Mason and Dixon

Word of the day: Balilwick -- one's area of authority or expertise, from the old term for a Bailiff's jurisdiction

The Post Brought to you by: TWATTYBUS, Pitty Sing (s/t debut)

Breathe. Slowly and Regularly.

Okay, so my car didn't start tonight when I went to go to the WYXC 80s Dance.
Okay, so I (apparently) knocked the car out of gear getting out.
Okay, so the little red car coasted across the street and into the neighbour's yard and got stuck on the wrong side of a little ditch after we went back inside.
Okay, so I look like the town drunk.

Okay, so I have no money to repair any damage done to anything, even of no damage appears to have been wreaked.

I will not freak out. I will not freak out. I will not...
Fuck it.

*Screams

Never a Good Idea

Vodka and Friendster.

I suppose as I don't have anyone whom I'd drink and dial, I turn to Friendster, looking up odd people and writing stupid messages.

Viz: I have messages from three people (one high school, one college, one post-collegiate) that I seemed to have written a message to.

Fortunately, either my computer or the Friendster site is acting up because while I got the Notification email, I can't actually access the messages. Which means I'm trapped between my curiousity and my vanity.

In other news, I subbed in for someone at the radio station for an 8 to 10 pm shift. Two people have said "I knew it was you when you messed up."
I'm not sure how to take that one.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig
or, The Long Road Home

I'm back. A day late.
My car died, you see, just outside Baltimore. I dunno the town named, but it was on Highway 175 East, off I-95. I stopped for gas, and my car (ailing now for some weeks) decided not to start again. And I had no money.
I futzed with it for over an hour and then gave up .

Well, he took me back to his house, fed me and put me to bed and then today took me back. The car works now (apparently), but I had no money for gas, so I literally drifted back into town on fumes. Getting to work tomorrow will be fun. Work itself will be fun, since I missed a whole day. I just hope they believe it since they knew I was going away with my boyfriend.

So, other than that I had a fine time! The majority of the time was spent sitting around doing not much else besides cuddling and watching TV or DVDs: Fawlty Towers (The Corpse and the Kipper, Pyschiatrist) Buffy (Witches, Teacher's Pet), Ghost Busters, Star Trek: First Contact and a lot of crappy TV.

The Highlights:

I saw Laura's radio persona on the highway with the vanity tags: MC Hokey.

Nature: We saw Horseshoe crabs. I'd never seen any before and we saw two! We also saw migrating Monarch Butterflies and geese*.

A walk on the Boardwalk. We went into an Arcade and I played for the first time on a slot machine. I won 2 tokens. We then played skee-ball, where we won more stuff. We got a little plastic dinosaur and a plastic ring.

Dinner: We cooked our own dinner (twice) and ate at the dinner table like real grown-ups. Go us.

Christian Radio: I listened to massive amounts of this through Northen Virginia right on up to Delaware. Gay Marriage will "directly cause the end of Western Civilization." Apparently. Not that Canada and Vermont have descended into Barbarous Chaos. Have they? It also makes me wonder if Jesus would have let them hammer in that last spike if he was actually aware of the truly hideous music (not to mention the sheer quantity of it) this act had inspired.

The Pope. Has. A. Scooter. Seriously! There's a Pope-Scooter he rides around in. I so need one of those now. Talk about your Holy Rollers! Hahahahaha!

And we did at least one other thing to pass the time.

It was pretty much the perfect weekend getaway, and it was capped off my dinner.

*does a little Grover-from-Sesame-Street, full body wiggle and says "Yaaaaay!"

Current reads: The Basic Eight (Oh. So. Good. ) which I am recommending for the work Book Club. I was supposed to read it this weekend and then give it to Amanda to read for Club selection. Of course, I read about 20 pages and remembered it's my favourite book ever and have to finish it before I hand it off.
Also, Doctor Who: Blood Heat. London as a jungle. Dinosaurs. Twenty years of alien invasion. This is so much better than when I read it 10 years ago.

Current Music: 69 Love Songs, Vol. 1

Reason Laura Llew Rocks: She gave me a copy of The Basic Eight.

My Confession
Or, Alicia, don't read this!

God, the playlist at WXDU rocks so much! My show last night was nigh completely stuff on playlist. I wish I had the cash to buy some of the stuff on the list: new Stars, Azure Ray, Stereolab, Mates of State, Dressy Bessy, Ladybug Transistor, Portastatic, Rosebuds!!
Oh my gosh! SO, SO good!

In other news, I'm off tomorrow for days with my boy! I'm so excited! And not just the sex! He's really great! I'm going to spend hours just curled up with him on the Jersey Shore.
There's so much I could say about him right now, but there's not much point. He rocks. I don't.

Smithsy

To completely avoiding discussing the past several days, here is this amusement, lifted from Laura:

Choose a band a answer only in song titles from that band: The Smiths

1) Are you male or female? This Charming Man
2) Describe yourself: Handsome Devil
3) How do some people describe you? The Boy with the Thorn in his Side
4) How do you feel about yourself? Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
5) Describe your ex-girlfriend: Girlfriend in a Coma
6) Describe your current girlfriend: Girl Afraid
7) Describe what you want to be: Vicar in a Tutu
8) Describe your current mood: What Difference Does It Make?
9) Describe your friends: Sweet and Tender Hooligans
10) Give Some Words of Wisdom: Some Girls are Bigger than Others

Alt. (boy) 5) William, It was Really Nothing
Alt. (boy) 6) Bigmouth Strikes Again

What today has been like:

*beats face on keyboard till he passes out.
Or:
The. Whole. World. Sucks.*

*One or two nice things actually happened today, like Damo and Christina both coming to visit me at work today.

Dear Catastrophe Waitress...

So today was the release of the new Belle and Sebastian album, Dear Catastrophe Waitress. In honor of this, I've decided to post some random Belle and Sebastian and me facts. This is to make up for the fact that, due to sleep deprivation (Ask me what happened at work today, from 6 am til noon. Go on.) and general crankiness (I may well be pissed at every single person I know*. And yes, it includes you. Yes, you.) I have little rememberance of the past two days.

1) First exposure to Belle and Sebastian -- January, 1998: My friend Alise not Alice returns full of affectation from her semester abroad in London. Among her affectation, a taste for Nick Drake-like British music. She pushes a copy of If You're Feeling Sinister in my hand saying "Darling, you will simply /adore/ it**." I listen to "Stars of Track and Field" and "Like Dylan in the Movies" and decide I'd rather listen to Another Band*** and/or commit suicide. I forget about them for quite some time.

2) Next exposure -- On a trip to Washington, DC, December 6th 2000 with Cristina Rentz. She plays "Jonathan David" and I ask her who did the bad Zombies cover. She then spends 10 minutes try to convince me Nick Kildea is really Staurt Murdoch. Two days later, on the way home she plays Tigermilk. I like "We Rule the School." I borrow the CD.

3) First Album -- 12 December 2000. I buy Tigermilk, having listened to "We Rule the School" approximately 100,000 times.

4) Second album -- IYFS two weeks later on payday. In a month, I have gotten everything they've put out.

5) First concert -- DAR Hall, May 2002. With Christina. My parents are so pleased I'm going to DC with a girl, they spring for a hotel room. With one bed. Christina and I get lost on the way back from the show and drive to Annapolis, Maryland only after Christina pulls over in Burger King in downtown DC ("We're sleeping HERE!") and thugs descend like a Biblical plague. We woke up at 5 am and went to bed at 3 am and woke up the next day at 6 am.

6) June 2002 -- Join Sinister. Immediately meet Laura Llew and Lindsey Baker. Write distraught third post after finding a human head in the parking lot at work. ToriSpelling released. I listen to Big John Shaft quite often.

7) August 2002 -- Take up Laura's invitation to An Unfortunate Event. I bring Parsley Soda and White Wine and arrive in a very dapper seersucker jacket and straw panama hat. Met Ward, Llew, Flannery, Kirkus and the Boy G. Rumor has it (and far be it from me to contradict it) I have illicit sex with one of the other celebrants while Laura is outside. Umm, I think we /talked/ about Belle and Sebastian here.

8) November 2002 -- I arrive at Laura's and recieve sweet lovin' down by the fire from Flannery. I fall down several times. Am yanked into #sinister by Laura and unceremoniously nicknamed "GayJay." Attempts at other nicknames fail.

9) Later in Nov. 2002 -- Ridiculously hooked on #sinister. Can often be found No 1 in the stats. Blame largely put on unemployment at the time.

10) December 2002 -- Bored to tears on a date, I decide it's High Time to collect B&S Vinyl. They Holy Quest Begins. #sinister is amused by tales of the recently-dumped-by-an-albino-midget boy who got scabies. I am just afraid.

Okay, that's 10 Quite Interesting things. And the end of a year. It is also bedtime.

*Unless you are Trixie Firecracker or Julie Not-Sauer. Or, presumably, a Bel Ami model. Or willing to give me lots of money. Or a weird combination of them all. A rich Australian gay porn star. Oh please, if you are one, I'm easy. And good.

**She always talked like she was in the middle of a P G Wodehouse novel after she got back. To this day, when I'm at her house, I look for a constable's helmet or a Cow Creamer.

***Okay, so yeah. My boy at the time had given me a new Duncan Sheik album.

Ah!

So, who knew that the wretched little show "Charmed" had a bad cover of "How Soon Is Now?" as its theme?
I mean, a /good/ cover would have been bad enough, but a worse-than-teenaged-Russian-lesbian version?

Pfft to that. Alyssa Milano can go vibe herself.

All Dancing. All Singing. All Naked.

*in a deep cheesey voice, as one selling beef products* Round these parts, that's how we celebrate this kind of day. Dancin'. Singin'. Cavortin' sans clothes.
Cause today is a special day. A joyous day.
That's right, it's a porn star's birthday. And not just any porn star, a Laura Llew star.
Fetch your garters, Grandma. They's partyin' to be done!

Anyway.
Reasons I thought about Laura Llew today:

1) For no easily discernible cause, there was a plastic bottle of Unpleasantly Flavoured Water in our cooler at work today. I have not seen any Unpleasantly Flavoured Water since the Unfortunate Event last year.

2) I saw Llew's new sweetums at work today, when he was in with Darren Jesse. Unfortunately, before I could get a fat man to sit on him til by interogation was over, they had left the store.

3) In a discussion of PBR, I told (again) the store of Mrs. Llew singing the PBR song in church to great mirth.

4) I was sorely disappointed that she wasn't at Elmo's the other day, cause she would have beat Alicia to the punch with the French Comment. Also, she would have laughed at least as much as me.

And none of this is particularly birthday-centric. This is a pretty typical "Thinking of Laura" day.
Sigh.

Oh well. Go have a threesome in her honor, yo. Take some chocolate with ye.

*14 Days till I see *my* boy.

Baggy t-shirt - check. Ill-fitting jeans, check. Air of supreme homosexual rowr-ness - um, check-ish.*

I certainly am not going to write an entire post about how Neil** actually spoke to me tonight at work. Oh no.
That would be silly.

*The title is from a most amusing post by Markelby. You can read it here.

**You have to scroll down a bit. But the pic's there.

Top Three Reasons to avoid my mother...

I just called my parents to see if they have a box of my winter coats (including my leather car coat, my perfect suede -- oh how I love suede -- jacket and ALL my scarves, hats and gloves).

Her first response: You've put on far too much weight to wear any of those.
Me: Since when?*
Her second response: Anyway, there'll all too expensive. You don't need such extravangances.
Me: There'll all paid for already. I might as well use them. And they're all cute.
Her third response: Well, we put them underneath the house where we put the last batch.
Me: *amost dumbstricken, after they let rot $600 of my clothes last time*
You mean the stuff that got covered in mildew and in rat crap?
My Mother: Yes. And don't use profanities.
Me: !!!!!

The conversation lasted about 15 more seconds.
Won't you all join me in the "Get Jay A Winter Coat Project"?

*Am I fat? I don't think I'm fat. Have I become a blimp and not been aware of it? Aaaa! My parents always turn me into a Neurotic mess.

Bleurgh

I've just spent a long time toying with the review site (new links! new reviews!) and updating the music listing here, so I'm not very compelled to write a lot right now.
It's been an oddish day and a half with some ups and downs. Feather Boa glimpsed two old Dames at lunch. A band I reviewed linked their review. Dr Who is coming back. So is Belle and Sebastian. I got a free Jeff Buckley CD. The House piano was tuned today. We won at trivia. I went (attempted) to go shopping with Alicia. In which this was overheard:

Me: *seeing very cute boy with an even cuter scarf* Why don't I have friends
who look like that?!
Alicia: *who has a better view of his upturned lapels and effetely double-tied
scarf* What, French?
Me: *laughs for three minutes*

Conversely, the whole shopping deal didn't really pan out.
I miss my Kitty. A lot. Much more than I ever expected. He was there during my bad spell last year with no job, money or friends.
I also miss my boy. (17 Days and counting til I go up to see him...)
I am very disheartened by applying to Grad School. I do not want to go to Ohio University or the University of Alabama. (But then again, I scorned my present job when I was applying and it turned out to be pretty cool.)
I've been snubbed by cute gay boys TWICE in three days. I don't know why this bugs me, but it does.
I went to a truly awful Lesbian party.

Ah well.
I train somebody tonight as an On-Air DJ.

This post brought to you by: Jeff Buckley, Live at Sin-E
Current read: Doctor Who -- Option Lock
Word of the Day: Puss. As in face.
Carl at Work: Man, you should bottle these things and sell them under
your own name.
Me: With my smiling puss on every damn bottle!

I mean it when I Say I'm Good...

You Are A Chocolate Flavored Condom!

Addictive and totally decadent.

People are passionate about you - driven wild by your every move.

You are often an object of desire, although you're usually too much to handle!



What Flavor Condom Are *You*?

More Great Quizzes from Quiz Diva

You Are a Perfect Lay!

All sorts of guys long to hook up with you, but your standards are set high.

You don't just give it up to anyone, but when you do...they can't get enough of you!

You have a knack for pleasing and receiving, and sex with you is never boring.

Only problem is ~ they all seem to be falling in love with you...



What Kind of Lay Are You?

More Great Quizzes from Quiz Diva

Oddly enough, I found both of these in a link from Laura's Blog, proving -- Once Again -- LAURA LLEW IS A PORN STAR.

That is all.

Oh God. Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod.

This.
Repeated, officially, here.

For anybody who knows me, or anyone who even thinks they do, this is Almost the Greatest Thing That Could Happen. And to think, Robin Stout, sexiest Milkman Evah was the first to let me know.

Wow. Belle and Sebastian play my town AND this, within a week. Excuse me, now i have to dance in the Street, Earnest Grainger style.

Reason Number 11, 276...

...That today I have descended into a Snarling, Vicious Zombie of Rage, a la 28 Days Later.

Rude Man at work: I want a latte.
Me: You have it order it at the cashier. (There is a line of three people ahead
of him and a big sign that says "Please Order With Cashier.")
Rude Man: I said I want a latte.
Me: *points at said sign* Please Order your drink with John, the Cashier.
Unfortunately, there are people ahead of you in line (They were an iced
chai and two mochas, incidentally).
Rude Man: *walks in front of Ms Iced Chai and Mr and Miss Mocha to the
register and yells at John* I want a goddam latte! And don't let that
faggot make it, either!

At this point, the entire cafe turns to look at Rude Man. Carl, the shift supervisor, makes the latte (to go) and walks the man to the door. Significantly, no one threw Holy Water on him, beat him soundly or forbad him to ever return.

Also significantly, I had no tip jar for people to express their monety condolences.

*Growls*

I'm still in a foul mood. Even worse than yesterday.
I demand someone /do/ something about this.

That is all.

Grumpy

I went to bed last night in a bad mood.
I woke up (at 5.30 am) in a worse mood and have spent the rest of the day finding reasons to be more foul-tempered. Blah blah, my book order at Borders hasn't come in, people at work are stupid (a latte with extra foam is a /cappachino/ so you have to pay MORE), and other equally trivial stuff.
I have several reasons not to be in a bad mood -- Belle and Sebastian play here next month (tho' this also is a cause for foul-moodedness in and of itself), I have a promo copy of their album, ceded to me by Viva le Fearsome and it's great (Lord Anthony! Roy Walker!) and Saturday night (the Pox World Empire Records show) was ever so much fun.

Still, I have reasons for not liking boys and girls (and who does that leave?) and am still just plain old petulant. Or is that Petullant?*

Where is Laura Llew these days anyway?

Pah!

Wow.

It's the end of the world. It's before noon on a Saturday and I'm up and about.
The power came back on a little while ago. I went to sleep about midnight last night, so I just sort of got up early. I checked my email and was amused by a Markelby post and Ian Hobart (note to self: must link him) post from Sinister. Ian made a butt plug joke at my expense.
*as Shatner* Must find way to seek Retribution!
Or even better: *as Shatner shouting "Kaaahhhnn!" in Star Trek II* "Iiiiiiiiaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnn!

I fled yesterday to Chapel Hill, where they had power. (I spent a good hunk of Thursday loading the contents of Whole Foods Market into the back of a refrigerator truck. Woo hoo.)

I bought the new New Pornographers album (Electric Version) on vinyl (less than $10!). It has a cute little Space Monkey on the cover. Shawn, the owner of CD Alley was working and we talked about the album. As always, he knows a disturbing/fascinating amount about me. Or bluffs really well. I always wind up changing the topic to music (No one actually listens to my show, so there is no way he a) knew I played NP or b) knew I moved from a Midnight show to a 10 pm one).

Then I went to The Book Shop and bought a copy of The Country Gentlemen for $2. This was a Restoration comedy by George Villiers and the Duke of Buckingham that was personally suspended by Charles II. The day it was slated to open. So it must be very mean indeed. Buying this made me feel very academic, which is good as I am Officially Applying to Graduate School. (There's a really amazing program done by the American Rep and Harvard that gives you a MFA from Harvard and the Moscow Art Theatre School. I will not get in. I may not even apply. I'm much more likely to get in at Brooklyn College or Ohio University. Sigh. I wish I was smarter and richer.)

Speaking of disappointment, I found a copy of Logan Whitehurst and the Jr Science Club's album. At Schoolkids (yuck). But I had already spent my music money. I hope it's there in two weeks.

Anyway. Tonight is the Pox Empire records show at the Cradle. They're giving away a compilation at the door with tickets. It's all local bands. I can't afford to go, so of course I'll be there. It starts at like 8, and I don't get out of work til at least 9.
*as the little zombie at the end of Buffy* Grr! Arrgh!

Ah!

I have no power and am dying of Boredom. Literally. I even have money for a change, as today was payday.
Stupid hurricane.

Speaking of which:

Actual Hurricane Isabel Discussions at My House

Me: *Comes home in the middle of the storm (winds at 50 mph), wind slams door as I come in*

Idiot Roommate who lacks Style: Did you have to slam the door?!

Me: I'll go out and ask the Hurricane to stop, shall I? She seems a nice girl, I'm sure she'll oblige.

I. R.: *can't think of suitable response. Walks away.

Whenever I get this way, I just don't know what to say.

I'm at work today and we're listening to the 80s Channel radio. To my (greater or less) surprise, New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle" came on.

Does anybody know what the hell that song is /about/? I mean, it's one of my favourite songs, but I never really thought about it before. The lyrics make no sense.

Also, WXDU apparently came under attack today in the Duke University newspaper. Apparently some columnist has no idea what the purpose of Independent Radio is and had decided WXDU should become a Top 40 station. The so-called destruction of File Sharing was somehow involved too, but she was fairly incoherent about that causal relationship.
And -- this is the great part -- she misquoted Kelly Q (the station manager) by suggesting we have 50 listeners a day.

Poor girl. She's going to be savaged by a dozen angry hipsters.

So...

Hmm. Eric's been here for the past little while and almost all my time was (rightfully) dedicated to hanging around with him. It was more fun than I can remember in a long time and I was so happy while he was here.
But now he's gone.
I updated my reviews and lots of great stuff happened (Essex Green! Condoms! Bojangles! A New Dr Who book!) but I'm not in the mood to write, I'm in the mood to pine.
I'll have plenty of time this week though.
*As John Nathan-Turner* Keep Watching!

This post brought to you by: The Smiths, Hatful of Hollow. "Reel Around the Fountain" is such a great song. It's woefully underappreciated.

I Didn't Song Him...

Laura did!


you are a pretentious indie asshole. you piss off
everybody but other pretentious indie assholes.
you suck extremely hard and only listen to
stuff on pitchfork media. fuck you.


what type of lame scenester are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I hate Conor Oberst indeed. Like anybody with taste doesn't.

So today is all cool and stormy and I have the day off. I plan to listen to some CDs and review them, go to Music Staff later today and play Dragon Warrior 2. Maybe I will eat some Wendy's food.

I certainly haven't spent the day nobbling around Friendster, checking out cute boys in my Local Network. Oh no. But I have noticed unlikey sorts of connections that make Friendster interesting. "She knows Laurel?" "How does he know Brian?" Things of this nature.

I realized the other day, there are thing certain things, important things about me you'd never know from here.

For instance, Chinese food. I love Chinese food. Cheap Chinese food. I was overjoyed to find a cheap Chinese take away restaurant just down the street the other week. Super China, by name. Rawk! It not only has Shrimp with Broccoli, but also General Tsao's chicken.

Also, Dr Who books are back. I just finished Warmonger (May 2002's book) and am now reading The Book of the Still. It rocks to be back.

First Things First

Go here. Right now. Don't ask. Just go. It may be the greatest thing on Earth.

Next

I realized the other day that during one of my little re-vamps, I forgot to put back two People links. On subsequent nosing around, i realized both of these people still had me linked on their sites.*

Eeep! Sorry Ulla and Feather Boa. I suck.

I put those links back up. As far as I'm aware, that means all the links are bak up. If I've snubbed you accidentally, let me know. If -- for some reason -- you want your own link up, tell me and I'll make it so.

*This is especially awful, as Feather Boa has commented since the Cut and the site features one of Ulla's drawings.

People Really Read This Thing

...and follow the links, too, it seems. I've had now three people admit to reading this at least intermittently. One was a random guy at the Cradle (Eeep.), one was Alicia (note to self: never mention plans to marry her here again), who followed a link from my Friendster profile, and the third was someone else who got disproportionately mad at something he saw here.
*laughs in a self-reflective, semi-ironic, ponderous chuckle.

And... held over from last time...

Cool Music Stuff

*Belle and Sebastian's new album, Dear Catastrophe Waitress, is out 7 October. It'll feature a studio version of Lord Anthony which they've been doing live since 1998. It's to be produced by Trevor Horne. -insert 12 minute musical saw solo here-

*Speaking of Belle and Sebastian, I just found out the 12 inch of Lazy Line Painter Jane is available on the (incredibly difficult to navigate) Jeepster site. If only I had a credit card...

*Speaking of Scottish Pop, Camera Obscura is going to be distributed in the US by MERGE. Whoot. No more three month wait to get their stuff on Elefant. One hopes they'll get their shit together and do a East Coast tour now. (They are committed to a Llew Bedroom show). Anyway, Go Christina! Go Gav!

*Upcoming shows: The Coldsides and the Nein, The Clientele, The Essex Green. Hopefully, the Essex Green will be interviewed by WXDU (this time).

*Speaking of WXDU, the new Fall schedule starts tomorrow. I have moved on up like the Jeffersons, out of the late night bracket. My show is now Tuesdays, 10pm to 12am. Listen in this week for a Laura Llew set.

*There's a Humming Bird perched outside my window!! It's tiny! And I've never seen a humming bird not in flight. Aw! It scratched itself with its foot! Oh well. It flew away.

This Post brought to you by David Bowie "Young Americans", The Clash, "Magnificent Seven", James "Laid".

Word of the Day: Avuncular, like an Uncle. As in, I wanted to snog him, but he went all Avuncular on me and just kissed my cheek.

Current Read: The Book of the Still. The Doctor hang-glides into the sun's corona in a hut made from pages of the eponymous book. Fitz thinks he's a 16th Century Prussian swashbuckler. The grossest aliens ever, with external lungs and stomachs. Yeah!

CD of the Week: Logan Whitehurst and the Junior Science Club. With songs like "Happy Noodle versus Sad Noodle" and "Welcome Back Mr Pants", that's all you have to day.

So I Went to a Show

You can read about it here and here. That has about all the good stuff in it, but chances are great you'd have read it before.
I also went to a show last night. It was Nekko Case and her New Pornographers. Turns out, it's pronounced like "Nico" as in the Velvet Underground German Smack Addict and not "Necko" as in the tasty, old fashioned candy wafers. File this under the "Gee, /Daniel Handler/ is in the Magentic Fields?" and "Joy Division and New Order are the Same Band?" category of Things Jay is Officially the Last to Twig Onto.
In case you have to ask, yeah, it was quite swell.

I think I was going to post more, but now I'm all mad and am forgetting stuff I wanted to write.

So briefly:

A Few Nice Music Things:

Um, no. Fuck it. Later.

Yo

So I'm making like a Muppet and Taking Manhattan this week to see Belle and Sebastian in concert at Prospect Park. Well okay, Prospect Park is in Brooklyn and not on the Isle of Manhattoes, but let's not ruin a perfectly good simile.

So no posts.

Wish me luck in finding old Dr Who novels and Lazy Line Painter Jane on vinyl and you might just get a bright shiny souvenir!

As a tribute to the novel I'm reading -- Mason and Dixon, by Thomas Pynchon -- I am now starting a new weekly delight. We'll call it:


GayJay's Alamanack:

Date: Eleventh Daye of AUGUST, in the year of Our LORD, Two Thousand and Three.

Sun RISETH: 6.27 am And SETTETH: 8.08 pm
The Moon RISETH: 8.19 pm And SETTETH: 5.31 am

Begin ye this Day a Diet for the Losement of Weight and the Castration of LiveStock.

Use this day for Acts Sodomitickal, that thy potatoes would grow in the Roots and not of the Vine.

"Ye who would paradise find, must sew seeds of patience in thy mind!"

And Now for Something Completely Different.

So last night, I dreamt I was on a two-lane on-ramp getting on the Interstate. Suddenly, a sedan with flashing lights and a huge bumpersticker reading "CLERGY" overtook us and passed us.
"Wow!" said Markelby who was in the passenger seat, "What was that?"
I explained to him it was a priest or some stripe of minister off on his way to some Clergy Emergency. "Don't worry," says I. "I can get you one of those so you can tool around London."

Interept at your leisure.

The Littlest Emo Kid

So, in walking the streets of Chapel Hill on Friday, I stopped in to get some Ice Cream. As we were eating it, He walked by.

"Oh!" I said, "Look!" But by then he was gone.

It was The Lil'est Emo Kid. Little Chuck Taylors! A Little Fringe! Little Badges on his Little Charity Shop Coat! He was even putting up Little Posters!

I of course stalked him for some time!

MORE TO COME...

She's Not Mama Cass, You Know

So, I don't know a lot about Buffy The Vampire Slayer. But I was told that there was an untransmitted pilot where Willow was played by a fat girl. How great is that? I'd love to see a whiny, wheezey girl waddling around after Buffy*, bitching: "Hey, slow down Blondie! I need a ham sandwich before you slay again!" The above title was someone else's response to that image.

Continuing with this theme, I asked why Xander got fat as the series progressed. "He's not fat. He's poofy," said a fan. "He's tubby," I said. This fan said it was a progressive thing, so now I think I missed many episodes with Xander going "Buffy, can I have some extra butter on my pop-tart?**" So I guess the series did get its resident fat chick in the end.

*Tom Baker always wanted a companion like this for Dr Who. Years later, in the Big Finish audio dramas, the Doctor (not Tom's) got one, a fat, old Art History Professor named Maggie.

**Obscure joke. The Basselopes all died out from this, which was reported by Milo Bloom for the Bloom Picayune as "Fast Living". Remember the Bloom County comic strip?

Oh my Sweet Auny Hokey

I haven't laughed this hard since their article on the YLT concert disaster:
College DJ Thinks He Has Cult Following.

What I do at Work

So after weeks and weeks of listening to 69 Love Songs, I have several songs not just stuck but entrenched in my head. One of these is "Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits." At work today, I thought to myself: "Let's pretend we're Stephin Merritt." Working all day on the premise, I came up with this little ditty:

If you knew who they longed
for you now that you're gone,
You'd be blue and you'd sing,
Sing a blue, blue, blue song,
And in the fading light...


Let's pretend we're Stephin Merritt,
Let's stay home all night long
Let Archies, Heroes and Sixth-notes
Say being sad ain't wrong.

And after a couple of beers,
We'll put on morning suits,
I want to dribble some tears
And do like Manics do...

I can keep it down all day
I can keep it sad all night...
Let's pretend we're Stephin Merrit
Until we come of age.

What I got for my Birthday:

One (1) card from people at work. It ruled. It had a lady drinking a martini on the front with the caption: "Happy brithday to Someone whose idea of getting close to nature is..." You open it up and on the inside it says...
"Wearing a Leopard print thong."
Oh yeah.

One (1) copy of Geek Love. Whoot. Wanted that for six months.

And nothing else.

However, I am going tonight to get my tattoo. Inside of my upper arm, a little Mondrian square similar to this: Here But a little smaller.

Also, I saw the Polyphonic Spree Thursday and had a very strane experience with a girl.
More later, I expect.

How Not to Spend a Holiday:

In a radio station Control Room, alone.

With the rest of your family willfully (and gleefully) on the other side of the country -- sending a zillion email pictures of their fabulous times at Sea World, the Grand Canyon, San Fransisco, Los Angeles and a million cute wayside tourist traps.

With Laura Llew also on the other side of the Country,

With no date.

With a bottle of rum, a decade-old Dr Who novel and a Belle and Sebastian album for company.

Believe it or not, this did not start out quite as depressing as it turned out.
Oh well.

Sniff this...

Some get a kick from cocaine...
But if I took even one sniff...


Cocaine.
You like to talk,
you like to run,
but most of all you like to have fun.


Which drug should you be hooked on? [now with pictures]
brought to you by Quizilla

Not for all North Carolina,
Not for all my little words...

In my thinking for new posts, I had thought about listing all the things I want for my birthday. Yes, it is upcoming, but it's got me quite upset. It's not like when I was younger, and they described new abilities like drinking and smoking and driving. Birthdays just now mark out getting older and things not accompished, like real relationships and success. Blech.
So yeah, I want stuff, but I won't get it, so I'm not listing anything.*

Tonight was quiz night at the Skylight Exchange. I always enjoy that -- we won a round tonight, "Cartoons", with the answers Madcatt and Brain, Tex Avery, Buttercup Blossom and Bubbles, Snagglepuss, Spike, and two others -- and won some beer. Yay. Other wise, we pretty much sucked, except for another round where we tied. Well, hmm. Two out of five rounds ain't too bad, really. Except maybe for me having to do a Tweety Bird impersonation. See beer, winning of as to why I did that tie breaker.

Last night was the music staff meeting for WXDU. Heh heh, we sit around listening to all the music we get sent from all the bands and labels and such. "They suck" or "They rule" or "Why are we even listening to RICHARD PALMERS** new album?!" are the rules of the day, along with liberal gossip about local bands and their sexual proclivities***. I walked away with these albums to review:

The Temporary Things -- S/T (Self released as far as we could tell) Beats me
The Tyde -- Twice (Rough Trade) Sort of 2nd-rate Indie Pop, as far as I could tell
Monsieur Mo Rio -- Bonne Chance (S.H.A.D.O.) Very silly lounge/ambient
Hint -- Portakabin Fever (Ninja Tune) Questionable lounge/ambient

I'm sure proper reviews will follow. Speaking of...

The Eaves (S/T) Acefu Records, NYC

According to their label's information, the Eaves have gpne through three drummers and two guitarists in the past year. I'd havbe thought that gives their debut album a very confused, unsettled sound. Don't get me wrong, it's an album with a great deal of variety but there is a consistent basic feel to it -- imagine Trembling Blue Stars and the Cure crawled into a blender.: sad, wistful lyrics that go out into extended thematic explorations of pop, rock and synth sounds. Nothing terribly new and explosive, but interesting and fun.
Favs: Tracks 1 (the most Cure-y), 5 (80s synths and drums versus 60s Surf guitar sound) and 7 (Very Yo La Tengo-esque rock)
4 out of 5 *s

The word, according to WXDU as spake by Jaylemurph

I'm now reading Dr Who: Sleepy. I want to explore the gross excesses of Virgin's mid-90s dark Doctor. I plan to read one more later one to get the truly gothic feel, like those written by Russel T Davies and Matthew Davies, Dr Who fans and writer and script editor, respectively, of Queer as Folk.
Kate Orman's stuff is quite delightful, complex and believable. She can work subtle use of plot and characterization, but at only 60 pages in, it's hard to decide where it's all going.

Word of the day: Justicorps -- elaborate mid 18th Century military uniforms with elaborately embroidered coats. As tonight's quiz theme was the mid-18th Century, this was an appopriate question. We duly got it wrong.

*Okay, so yeah, I'm quoting the wrong Love Song. I know it needs to be "I Don't Want to Get Over You" but I'm too caught up being 17 to care.

**You know, as in "Simply Irrestible" and "Addicted to Love"?

***Well, I DO love gossip. And music. And if I might as well mix the two, especially when the third element is sex, of which I get None.

No, Really. This time I'm Back

I've noticed I haven't really been keeping this up lately. Especially last night when I was out and something hysterical happened and I thought "I really must write about this" -- more of which, later -- and realized that I had written more than a sentence or two in weeks.
I hope I can manage to a bit better.
Part of the problem is my wonky computer that since I've gotten the Internet again is prone to crashing. Another part is me being in #sinister all the time. After being away so long, I'd forgotten how addictive that can be, and it's induced me to not practice my guitar or piano or write or do too much else when at home. And posting from work is weird. It's not quite as private and leads to work-related ing: "This soy latte tastes like /soy/" says some woman, or "This hot water I put over ice has gone all cold!"
Well, yes, it would really, wouldn't.

Hopefully, I'll get some changes going on within this site soon. I've got somone offering to fix up this computer and the promise of a new one within a few weeks, so hopefully I can include some more local links to places like Go! Studios and the Cat's Cradle and some local bands so you can have a better idea of what I'm going on about.

I haven't been going out quite as much -- paying off bills and saving money for coming guests and trips to Scotland do suck up the available funds, as radio work does time.
I have two shows a week for the summer Wednesdays from Midnight to three am and the old Friday 3 to 5 am slot. I'm also on the music staff now, so I go to their weekly meetings and spend time listening to stuff to review it. This week it's The Eaves (imagine Trembling Blue Stars with Cure-y overtones).
But I do go out a bit -- again, see below. A show or two a week and trivia night at the Skylight Exchange, for example. No dates, sadly, but this is largely my fault I suppose.

Now... Last night.
It was Go! Room 4, a show of local bands, Pleasant, Gerty and North Elementary. The latter two had played a benefit show at the Cradle last Friday, of which I cought NE. They (NE) are rapidly becoming one of my favourite local acts. Rock Music, I says, and alive and kicking. If there's a continuum of pop into power pop and into rock, Elementary goes through the cusp of power pop and resides mostly in the rock section and it shows in their performance. Loud! Guitars into the speakers! Excess of Animal Spirits, as they would have said in the Long Ago. Their saving grace -- and what prevents them from becoming a tedious bog-standard mainsteam act is their twin-born since of play and musicality. The music might be loud, but it's well thought out, comprehensible and fun. Both to listen to and to watch performed. Their album -- Out of Phase -- is great, but -- of course -- they're better live, and what comes of as more poppy and less interesting recorded shows it rocky spine in performance.
Pleasant started things off. I know next to nothing about them -- I'd not heard of them before. They were a sort of off-kilter rocky, a hard-edge sound delivered with a sort of catchy, punk-tinged squeaky vocalist in a Star Wars Storm Trooper tee. Not having heard them before, it was hard for me to make any real judgements about them. It was a good opening act for the show; hopefully they can get a bit more together in their act and polish up some before too much longer.
In between came Gerty. I must have missed them last week at the Cradle, cause I'd remember these guys. I really liked them. Good, good music with an ace performance. Their music was the poppiest of the night, with an explicit and delicious 80s edge to it. They had some glitches with their imaginary drummer but carried on anyway. Vocals were split between the guy and the girl, both of which had strong sound. Fun stuff! They've got a new album out and gave away a copy in a dance contest during their 80s-iest songs. My friend Lisa was there and for their set we sat on the stairs deriding our own ability to dance -- "I need a short for when I'm dancing: 'I'm not epileptic!' " -- and feebly, ironically twitching to the beat. She stood up on the balcony to do her Molly Ringwald/Breakfast Club Dance (dead on, it was) and won. I thought "That is the stereotypical night out with Jay. Sitting in a corner mocking something and then WINNING it by accident." Typical. I people can cofirm this.
The boy singer seemed really to like Lisa, "The Girl on the Stairs", and besides calling her down to the stage to collect her prize, he later gave her another album. It was quite odd when later, as he was collecting email addys for band releases, he asked me, "You guys have the same address, right?"
Oh yeah, so you hit on the girl THEN think she's muh woman?! Seems me and Gerty-boy needed to step outside and discuss ettiquette. That or property rights, one.
But we didn't. And I got one of their albums, even if *I* had to pay $5 for it. But I did get a free sticker.

The night was elsewise pretty grand: I got a free beer and played a great new 80s videogame (Some racing game where you're a yellow car collecting flags and being chased by red cars. You can use a smoke screen to stop 'em! Anybody know names?) John, the singer from NE, knew Lisa and her fanzine, Thunderpants. Admit it. You love the name. He volunteered to make a disc for the second volume. This is where I blunder into the scene. John leaves with Lisa pondering making a new one and me volunteering (begging? "Really, I've got degrees in criticism and writing! I write reviews!") to help.

And now some sundries:

Book of the day: Ummm. I've been eschewing real books lately in favour of decade-old Dr Who novels from Virgin and BBC books*: I've gone through Last of the Gaderene, Love and War, The Scales of Injustice, First Frontier, The Tomb of Valdemar, Blood Harvest and am currently reading Nightshade. I've been given a copy of Pynchon's Mason and Dixon, but it looks so massive and daunting there on my nightstand I hestitate to pick it up.

Word of the day: Contre-temps. A very me Gallicism I've been using of late, meaning literally "against-times". A good description of a social conflict between a scandal-inducing disagreable and a snide look. Sort of the penetrating, low-level effect that would send undettes through Society.

This post brought to you by: The Magnetic Fields cover of Bowie's "Heroes", "Come Back from San Fransisco"; Kings of Convience, "Toxic Girl"; Sondre Lerche's album "Faces Down"; and The Eaves.

*As they STILL haven't gotten any in the US since last May...

I am Going through a Period of Extended Llew-absence

This explains a lot.
*sighs*

Ignore this.

I need to post it somewhere I won't lose it.
It certainly has nothing whatsoever to do with a boy in a band. Oh no.

http://www.indyweek.com/durham/2001-12-12/live.html

Oh Yeah?


What type of Indie are you? (now with pictures)
brought to you by Quizilla

He's Small.
He's Skinny.
He's Indie

I am of course in love:
Sondre Lerche.

Though I must learn how his name is pronounced.

That is all.

I'm Back. And It's About Time*

So. Internet connection is up and (somewhat) running. Something causes my computer to crash at inopportune times. Frequent inopportune times. But still, my mIRC program seems to work most of the time. Yay #sinister! (Yeah, I'm back to #1 in the stats as well). That's the most important thing, really, with this being a second.
I can't check my email, but I can do that at work.

So what's been up?
It was the Week of the Shows. I saw a show every night for close to a week. The Mercury Program/Mono at Go! Studios, The Weedeaters (featuring Ken Mosher of the Squirrel Nut Zippers and Robert Sledge of Ben Folds Five) at the Cave, Pedro the Lion (See below) at the Cradle, back to GO! for the Neins, Jett-Rink and Sorry About Dresden (another local show) and then back to the Cradle on Saturday for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. It's been a bit too long to do any good reviews, but J'adore Jett-Rink. Viva (recently voted the best performer in the Triangle) is the singer of this punk band and I love, love, love them. They have Dr Who-esque keyboards... their description, not mine... and a sound all the kids adore. And as for Viva's writhing, leaping, crowd-joing performance, it's pure rawk swoonage matieral.
And Neil, the Record Shop boy was there, so I spent a great deal of time hiding. And drinking Miller High Life. Hey, yo: It's the Champagne of Beers.
So, generally, that week was smoking, drinking and being a Chapel Hill Scenester. And yeah, I did wait hours to see Stephen Malkmus after the show. Talk about your Hard Living causing Grizzled (but cute) looks.

I went home for Mother's Day and quickly repaired Elsewhere for Recovery.
That elsewhere being Hendersonville, NC, the new home of le Llew. I took Highway 64 out to visit, so I passed beautiful mountian top vistas, the gorgeous Lake Lure (where they filmed Dirty Dancing) on a perfect Spring day -- the water was a aqua-green like the ocean in high summer -- as I zipped around mountian curves at an excessive speed. I went through little towns (Bat Cave** or Chimney Rock) with the radio blasting Gloria Estefan's cover of Turn the Beat Around with the windows down and singing at the top of my voice. I realized I made the town of Chimney Rock gayer than it had ever been.
I wound up eventually at the little lake across from Laura's snoozing and watching ducks til she arrived. We mooched around her new complex casing, in essence, the entire joint. "I want /that/ chandelier!" I was pleased at the influence I've had on the girl's criminal instincts.
Then we cased the town. Nervous as I was to run into the Idiot Steve ("I'll roller blade uphill the wrong way up one-way street!") we decided to inspect the local mall. There was a little Christian book store (fish mints! scripture cookies! christian urban music! sodomizable indie-esque Xian boys!) and a disturbing kid with the mesmer stare and a lust for human blood. Well, presumably. We ran away too fast to be sure. You would, too.
We ate -- whilst it was fine pizza, alas there was no tale to tell about the waiter, Zeke -- and went to buy paint. Violet Puff. I realized it was the most domestic thing I had ever done with a girl before. This was made definite when we ran into one of Laura's acquintance, as I'd hate to say a girl with that many freckles was a friend. She peered at me like I was meat. That or a marriagible man in an Austen novel. I want to plant one on Llew just for effect, but discretion stayed my hand. Or lips, rather.
Then we went back to chez Lou's. I felt all like Hyacinth Bucket, thinking "This places has such... possibilities for entertaining!" I can't wait to see the Luv Shak, her extra bedroom kitted out as a Make Out Heaven, with velvet flock wall paper and a heart-shaped bed and red shag carpet. Sinister Spin the Bottle, here we come!

Life, since then, has been predictable dull. I work. I sleep. I practice piano and listen to the mix CD I burned and try to remember what I put on it at 3 am. I went to a really bad party (So... You're Gay. What's that like?) last night. I missed the Belle and Sebastian gig in Glasgow last night. I work early tomorrow.
Bleurgh.

That's enough for now. Tomorrow, when I'm bored and don't have weeks to catch up on, I'll return to the usual headings and supply all the links this post needs.
Chow.

*For those of you (Most) who don't get this, this was the BBC Tagline for the Dr Who Telemovie with the Pertwee Logo. (Dr Who, Time, Geddit?) 'Cept the Radio Times fucked it up.

**Alas, not nearly as exciting as you'd expect. Not one single teen-aged ward named Dick clad in tights or a unitard. Or even any amusing bats. Pah.

So.... What did you do tonight?

I saw these groups: Esther Drang, Stratford 4 and Pedro the Lion.
I talked to the leader of PtL about what they want to hear played on the radio.
Actually, it was Night of the Emo Kids. I was by Far the Oldest About that Night. I discovered they'd got the old school video game Crystal Caves in and played that at length (and got the High Score and All).[ And played them all through the opening acts. Yeah, so the Stratford 4 desperately want ot be the Cure from 1993...]
The Major used to take me to the Little General Convencience Store on a Friday night to play 75 cents worth of Crystal Caves when I was 4. It says something -- I dunno what -- that I got further tonight than ever with him around, even drunk as I was. Also, I was 18 till I knew its name was actually Crystal Caves and not Bentley Bear...
They also had Galaga and Ms Pacman, also old particular favs.
Then I met Pat.
He left his home in Charlotte to see Pedro the Lion. He got a flat tire on the interstate, like 6 miles from the Cradle. He needed help.
Oh yeah. He was 17. As in High School. As in: I'll miss my final exam tomorrow morning! As in: "The Smiths? Who? And who are this Belle and Sebastian you keep nattering on about?"
{As opposed to the Dirty Old Scotsman I also met -- from Glasgow, who was, well, old and dirty)
We met a ramdom dude who gave them a new tire (Gave!) to drive back home with.
Lucky, lucky pretty boy (with curly black hair and all) who didn't meet a dirty old man who'd take advantage of them.
Sad, sad old man who didn't press his advantage, really.

Sigh

So still no internet connection at home (I have service now AND the modem, but the software necessary for proper installation doesn't like my aging, idiosyncratic computer) and I lead a boring life* so nothing to post about really.
On the plus side, it's almost my birthday so I'm planning that festivity. Also, I bought 3... 6... 9... Seconds of Light on vinyl and a Merge Records comp (for $6, people! 20 great songs for $6!!) AND I have free tickets to see The Butchies (no, I don't know who they are either, but Kimya Dawson from the Mouldy Peaches is opening. Also I have this odd belief there might be a gay indie boy to pick up there tonight, for some reason**).

*When I'm not hanging out with the Essex Green or the Pinkslips, as I have this week. Yep, right after the show we all went along to Lantern and drank. We talked about their show in Scotland (E G is a side project of two people in The Ladybug Transistor) and they knew Gordon, my favourite bartender in the world, once again proving he is Damn Cool.

**They're all over the place in Chapel Hill, apparently, but damned if I can find one.

Scenester, Hipster
Indie, Emo

So remember this post about me being mistaken for a Ryan McGinty indie-type model? (26 Feb)
So the Raleigh News and Observer finally got around to printing the story that evolved from that fiasco. They were really pissed I wasn't one of those kids, so I'm not actually in the story but it sums of the local scene with amusing precision: "You can be on a high horse in a one-horse town." He he.
Actually, they do a pretty piss poor job. Chapel Hill, local scenester paradise gets the short end of the stick and the OCSC gets a "granola" description that is so not true. But still.
If you want to be a hipster, apparently one must read this.
But be prepared to laugh your proverbials off.

You Probably Heard Me Cum From There

My cross between sex and drugs returns after a fucking year:
Dr Who books return to US.

If you missed my radio show, You Are A Sucker!

It was officially my best ever. It made you shake your big ole butt, lie back in the summer sun, rock like a girly punk and croon along softly at 3 am in the rain.
I'm so posting the flowsheet when I get it back.
Course that takes THREE MONTHS!

I Forgot

So Laura is Officially the funniest person I know. She claims to have been very tired whilst watching Queer as Folk and I believe it. The distinctly graphic sex scenes apparently didn't phase her (yeah, like she's the only girl in the world who likes watching Gay Porno) but she made no real mention of them. What did she comment on, you may well ask:

Laura *watches the hott 15 year old try to score with an older guy*: Why doesn't he try to get boys his own age? He'll spend the rest of his life trying to do that.

Jay: *says nothing for 7 minutes because he's laughing so hard he gets oxygen starvation* He he... *gasp* He he... Oh wait. There was a Dr Who reference just then.

PS: Laura, the next episode, he gives a boy a handjob at school.

The only thing I don't like about that show is how much sex is going on. Specifically, these guys can't take a step without falling into some guy's mouth. Me, I can't pay people to get it. Maybe the blind thing will evince the odd pity fuck.

Hint, Hint

How to tell I'm not really listening.

Brian: So... I saw you at the show the other night.

Jay: Fine. How are you?

Brian: You really like them, right?

Jay: Oh, it was my friend Laura.

Brian: I SAID: You like them, right?

Jay: *very sweetly* You obviously have no sense of discretion or self-preservation or you'd have walked away by now.

Brian: *backs off slowly*

Yeah. I don't like being ditched AT ALL, yo.

PS: I made one tiny change to the site that cracks me up. Can you spot it?

Buy Some Violets, Guv?

I'm selling flowers on the corner of Rosemary and Cameron* because that's the traditional occupation of Blind People.
My poor eyes were burned out on my innocent perusal of Ms Laura Llew's site. Apparently, she went around taking pictures of some fat ugly boy and is claiming it's me. Bah! He DOES have some cute boots, though.

*No, this intersection technically doesn't exist since the roads run parallel, but it is mentioned in a cute Ben Folds Five song ("Kate" from Whatever and Ever Amen) so I'm going there.

Dammit, Yo.

SOMEONE had better confess this Miss Crush nonsense. It's driving me crazy. And not the cute, mumbles to self and rambles to others crazy, but the vicious sword weilding kind.

Nothing Much

Umm, Laura came to see the Delgadoes. They (both) rocked. We shamed a waiter. We ate pizza at Peppers. We laughed at Damooo.
Um, I'll talk about all this later, when I actually have a computer that works.
Also, I bought a really keen Delgadoes Baseball Tee.
Further, I bought Stars' (Star's? I'm not sure on this point) album Nightmusic, which contains my favourite ever cover of This Charming Man.
I'm illegally using the boss' (I am sure about that one) computer. Again. Which is a very bad idea. See here if you didn't get this poignant Sinister post vingette.
Okay. Work computer is funk-some. As opposed to funky. Go here instead: http://www.missprint.org/cgi-bin/anylistsearch.cgi?query=putney+common&list=sinister&smode=Phrase

His Eyelashes were the bars of a gilt cage

I'm reading Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth right now. It's great. My current financial and personal life make me keenly aware of what the heroine, Lily Bart is going through. We think very, very much alike and seem to have our emotions run parallel as well. Anyway, there's that for what it's worth.

And since Mark asked

This week's theme seems to be excessively nerdy Dr Who references and that's all the Putney Common thing is. BBC books -- well, their contracted author Paul Magrs -- have introduced this great new character over the past few years, called Iris Wildthyme. She's a bad parody of the Doctor. First of all, she was an old, fat whinging woman who wheezed around in a gin-soaked stupor lusting after the most current Doctor. (Not a difficult thing to understand). Then she changed into a Bond-esque, gold lame-catsuited blonde bomshell. She's always accompanied by very pretty, sexually ambivalent boys.

Anyway, her TARDIS is stuck in the form of a doubledecker Number 22 bus to Putney Common, as seen here. Note the presence of noted snappy dresser and great hero, Jon Pertwee also on the cover. Actually, this is a great book noteable for featuring deadly robotic sheep.

She's also in this book, The Blue Angel, and this book, Mad Dogs and Englishmen. The first has a very pretty glass boy on the cover and the latter is remarkable book, featuring giant talking poodles with ray guns, vicious parodies of George Lucas and J R R Tolkein and Noel Coward as the bad guy.
Seriously, you gots to look at these covers.

And, just for the record, here is a picture of Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor. He is cute.

Update, Part II

" You lucky thing, someone has voted for you in the
Sinister list crush you sexy devil! Now all you have to
do is register a crush with the same person and you find
out WHO and eternal bliss will be yours.

For details see:
http://www.missprint.org/sinister/crush.html

Miss Crush x "

This is someone's idea of a joke. Now, who did this and why?*


*If you actually have a real crush, you poor dear, I'd go out, buy a wild badger, name it "Jay" and give it a hug. Our reactions are virtually the same.

PS: Whoever is visitor 2500 (I'm on 2496 now, I think) gets a secret prize!

Update

*peeps out from under bed*
*turns on Storytelling album*
*fetches Dr Who: The Book of the Still**
*returns under bed*

*For anyone interested, I don't really have this book as I haven't had any new Dr Who book since LAST JUNE.

Also, I work everyday except Monday and Friday, 1 to 9.**

**One word, cheese boy: Email***

***Further proof that "de tongues of men be full of lies" [Henry V, Act V, scene ii]

Go Away!

I'm not blogging today because the world is big and mean and confusing and I am very small and all I want to do for the rest of forever is hide under my bed and read old Doctor Who books.

I Bump My Head When Worlds Collide

So, I'm slowly becoming quite depressed at a) having been unceremoniously dumped and unaware why, b) being extremely poor and broke and -- cocomittantly with b) -- c) missing Spoon Saturday night.* I have retreated into books: I'm currently readinf The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, who may just be my favourite author and the first ever Dr Who missing adventure novel, Goth Opera (it's about vampires).
However, I laughed out loud, an extreme rarity of late, while reading the first chapter. The exchange of two vampires in Manchester looking for food:

Madeleine: I fancy someone famous. How do you think Morrissey's blood would taste?
Jake: Like Milky tea, love.

I further giggled when I say the novel was from 1994, the year a certain Minx once considered travelling back to and losing her virginity to Mr Milky Tea Blood.

I also remembered that a chapter in another Dr Who book was called "Hatful of Hollow". Nerdiness ends here.

Word of the Day: [Courtesy of The House of Mirth and especially for Ms Sarah] Benedick: a young Bachelor OR a recently married long-term bachelor, depending on your source. It either comes from Benedict from Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing or it doesn't.
Ah, the vagarities of the English tongue.

Also, I'm considering becoming a Lesbian. I'm narrowing down my choice for a Life Partner. My current picks: Kristen Idleberry, Caitlin Pigtails, Laura Llew. Technically, I should pick Llew as we already ARE engaged. I got a dowry and everything.

And Just for a Minute, I Was Sure I Was Laura Llew

I went to court today. (I lost, for those of you into mere mundanities, if over $1,000 can reasonably be called a mundanity.) But oh! the people I saw!
It was in Hillsborough, the county seat for Orange County, where I used to live, (I live in Durham County now) which unlike Chapel Hill is amazingly like the rest of North Carolina. I got the courtroom very early, since I had no idea where it was and desperately wanted to be on time -- I had nightmares the night before of bench warrants and angry bailiffs and the Orange County Correctional Facility. I sat off to a corner by myself and amused myself quietly by listening to my prosecutors prepare their case.
So of course, Bubba and Tommy Joe in the requisite camoflage jacket, overalls and John Deere mesh caps (yes, I thought about stealing them, but only cause they bitched for about ten minutes that they couldn't wear them inside) sat down right in front of me.
To my great unhappiness, I never learned what their case was about, other than "just a feeble attempt at extorsion. They ain't got no proof. No Goddammed Proof." They talked very loudly, just short of a bellow, while the rest of us just whispered in the presence of Justice. They mocked their accusers loudly and then planned their revenge. "I'm gonna set up a pig sty right next t'thuh property line and they ain't nothing they can do, so long as I don't use them pigs for profits." "That's right, Bubba, long as it's on agricultural/residential land." "Yeah it is.They rezoned roundbout the time Ella passed on." "Yeah, yeah. I remeber to that now." And how he was going to rebuild some car engine that rattles windows and leave it on for hours.

Mine was the first trial, alas, and was done and over in 2 minutes. Judge: "Your defence, son?" Me: "Umm. I don't have one. I owe the..." Judge: "Judgement for planitiff. Next." I promptly worked out a repayment schedule with the lawyer and went home for a nap, so I never heard the trial of Bubba and Tommy Joe, and man! I am kicking myself. You can't buy entertainment like that.

"But if they don;t see the quality then it is apparent that you're going to have to change or you're going to have to go with girls. You'd be better off..."

I hate boys. I thought I met a really, really nice one recently, but it was All Lies. I got ditched two nights in a row and then he didn't call the night before my trial when I really needed him to. I'm thinking of joining a charterhouse. In the mean time, I'll satisfy myself by being bitchy to Brian, the boy whereof I speak.

And quickly, as I'm late back to work...

I finished Thus Was Adonis Murdered (great!) and am now almost done with The Highest Science. I start The House of Mirth tonight.
Dr Who of the Day: Frontios.
I don't know what's up with my internet connection. I hope it gets to working soon.

My Apologies

Nothing interesting has happened to me lately. I've finished up the moving process and gone to work.
I won $10 by being the cafe employee of the month.
I go to the optometrist tomorrow.
Whee.

(My radio show is still Fridays, 8 to 10 am, GMT. PLEASE listen and call in or email.)

My Mind Is In The Gutter, Or At Least On The Loading Dock

I've noticed in the past two or three days there are lots of cool places in my store to make out on the down-low, yo.
I also know exactly why I've noticed.

Low-key Hokey

Not completely unrelated to the above post, there are SO many cute boys who work in (well, one) or come to (lots and lots) my store. I coined the above term as I was silently drooling over this adorable guy I delivered coffee to (dark curly hair! glasses!), trying to keep from exclaiming "Oh my hokey*" at the top of my voice and thinking "Be low-key, yo**."


Teething Troubles

So I moved yesterday. And wasn't it fun?
No.
The Major all but killed my bed (My bed, o sweet refuge! How I love it!). And this was the least of the day's trauma. I'm about to be swallowed by all my crap and just short of repenting of all worldly goods except Indie Pop vinyl and Doctor Who novels from 1977.
The biggest pain is no Internet connection. I'm hoping to fetch one Friday, when I get paid an can a) pay off my checking account overdraft so as to b) use my Visa-endorsed check card to get an ISP.
This means short blogging from work. See also above.

Quote of the Day: Brian: "Who needs Four copies of Wuthering Heights?"
Me: "Well, there are some pages stuck together in the Heathcliff descriptions."

*Indicates possible Llew over-exposure
**Yeah, I really do think "yo" in my head. Sad, isn't it?

I Want A Chapter In My Town

One of the things that makes Cat and Girl so cool is the whole concept of Hipster Scouts*.

This is their sash. It is cool. I'm drafting IGP into the Hipster Scouts so I can have a friend in them.

*I am at work and my [illegally downloaded] copy of thew Hipster Scout toon is on my computer at home. It will be posted.

In other news, Cursive tonight, Of Montreal and the Sames tomorrow night. Yip.
Also, I am grossly unprepared to move tomorrow.

Sigh

One day, I will go out with a boy on a first date and we will have a wonderful time and he will kiss me at the end of the night.
Yeah. It'll happen.

I said "WHAT?"

Last night, despite feeling ill, I went to a show a Go! Studios. I was supposed to meet a boy there. He didn't show up but I knew enought people there to have fun. But Go! is tiny and I forgot earplugs and, coupled with stopped-up ears from my plague, shouting "WHAT? I CAN"T HEAR YOU!" has been the order of the day.

The Show

It was started by Kill Rock Stars group The Quails from San Fransisco. They were quite good, in a girly/shouty/Sleater-Kinney way. Vocals were split between to the two girls who shouted their stuff with gusto. Umm, I didn't see the whole set (fashionably late, you see) but I liked them. I'll play them on my show. Actually, what was best about them was this: I didn't /know/ I wanted to hear something that rocked that hard, but I did. It was exactly right for what I needed.

The next act was called Hella. They were also from California, from Sacramento.They're also on Kill Rock Stars (as are, oh... Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, Mary Lou Lord and Xiu Xiu). I didn't care for them. They were two guys -- guitar and drum. No lyrics, not much melody. The technique was incredible, granted, I mean these boys can play, but it was like pieces from an exercise book. There was nothing to like, really, and nothing to do but marvel at their skill. But like poor Baroque composers, that's all you noticed. No soul.
I did notice the crowd during their set. There were maybe three or four dozen people there, all decked out in IndieCool clothes. I was intrigued by the girl in the plaid skirt and cardigan in front of me. She had perfect Indie hair. There was also the boy I dubbed "Stephen Patrick Morrissey, aged 19, is alive and well and living in Ornage County." There were the very dull dykey lesbians with mullets and flannel shirts, the cute boy working the door (and I do mean Working the door), Viva (who Doesn't Know Me*), Kate, IGP's roommate and the Quiet Dude who leaned in the corner and didn't say a word. What amused me most was Jay's Rule No 3: there are no average-height Indie Kids. All the short people were in the front and the tall people (Viva most noteably) in the back, all arranged very sweetly.

The Aistlers Set was the headliners, so they went last. They rock. Hard. Two guitars, bass, keyboard (swoon) and drum kit, with glockenspiel and trumpet thrown in. Amy, one of the guitarists, played trumpet and guitar at the same time, which I thought was impressive. I once proclaimed them "Pure poppy goodness" on air and it's true, although as per their site I should thrown in "post-punk" as well. Everyone bopped; everyone danced; everyone had a good time. It was fun. They played new stuff. They played old stuff. The girls cracked each other up. At one point Jen told Amy "You're so cute tonight!" It was sweet.
(I talked to Jen in between sets, before I knew she was in the band. She was gear!)

Book of the Day: I finished Cold Fusion. They killed the Patient. I was shocked. (It's hinted she was the Doctor's wife, you see.) The destruction at the end was amazing. A whole fleet blown up.
The characterization remained great, each Doctor doing his typical thing. Doctor 5 is worried about the Patient and her TARDIS; Doctor 7 about an alternative race of Time Lords and their entire Universe. And in so doing, mucking up each other's plans. There was great tension when the Doctors met, since the Fifth is the Quintessential Nice Guy (he wears a cricketing costume, for Christ's sake) and the Seventh is an evil plotter. The ending is apropos: Forrester, the 7th Doctor's companion, decks the younger Doctor into amesia.
Anyway, it was interesting to see how the violence that surrounds the Doctor and often is ignored is highlighted with a single shot.

Dr Who of the Day: A t-shirt! At work! Like a really old one: it had the old diamong logo (pre-1979) and was distressed and perfect! On a girl! Red shirt, yellow silk screening! I asked her how she got it (gift years ago from her father) cause I SO wanted to buy it. Off her. Right then. But I didn't cause I was broke.
Le sigh.

Word of the Day: "Beraht" It's an Anglo-Saxon word that means umm, sort of 'bright and shining or notable'. It's a particles that goes to make up lots of names: Albert, Cuthbert, Dogbert, Egbert, Filbert, Gilbert, Herbert, Norbert, Robert were the ones I could up with quickly.
What's your name mean, then?

This post brought to you by: "Owls Go" by Architecture in Helsinki. An Australian band that Phil the World Traveller sent me. It's actually a bit Aislers Set-y and B&S-y. I am in love. Wanna hear? I'll be playing them soon on air, but I've got two mp3s for you, if you want.
Dude, Ask for it!