Blogo De Wilson

the levee breaks

2006-07-03T08:38:00.000-07:00

of course our plane out of the Butte was delayed, but we did get to Denver in time to catch the flight home. Waiting for the plane, I ran into former Amazing Letdown, and current photographer extraordinaire, Diamond Dave Mead. The flight was on time, and we got home sat night around midnight. mandy went to a party to wish her sister bon voyage, I watched some BSG on the floor with the dogs.

Sunday brought a goodbye lunch with sister Kellie and beau Damon; afterwards, The Pea and I set to work cleaning out the garage and home office.

I am moving a desk and lots of books up to my work office. We packed Pea's 4-runner to the brim with books. I planned to unload them today at the office, when lo and behold, a leak had flooded the staging area (aka Chrispi's Office). Chrispi is in Las Vegas, so I can only assume that the flooding of his office is retribution by an angry God at young Mr. Perri's sinful life of gambling.

Because the AC is in the basement, we had to shut it off to avoid shorting it out. We shall see how long we can stand the heat. We have pumps running downstairs right now, so we hope to have it cleared out before the rains come this afternoon.

In other news, Team Wilson and Team Bloom are going to see The Black Crowes tonight at the BAckyard. We may or may not be joined by Eddie K as well as JackBart and YogaGirl. Should be a blast (rain or no rain), especially since we don't have work tomorrow, as we will be celebrating this country's hard won independance. Mostly by being hungover, getting drunk, and blowing up small pieces of the country with friendly explosives.

Got to get to work, lots of catching up to do after vacation. Rock hard.

no yeti

2006-07-01T22:33:00.000-07:00

Friday…we headed to mount crested butte for a ride and hike. We took the chair lift up the mountain, then hiked up for another mile or so. No matter how much you may believe you are in shape, everything is different at 12,000 feet. On the way up, we saw several marmots, chipmunks and picas.

(the pica)

We got to the top of the main summit. Adam decided to make a run over to the adjacent peak. Once he returned, we enjoyed a celebratory bottle of wine. Instead of taking the lift down, we opted to hike 1/2 down the mountain and take a lift down from there. A 3 or 4 mile hike down was tiring, but very nice. After our hike, we headed home to recharge, then out to cement creek for some fishing. As usual, I caught a trout almost immediately. It was the only fish of the day for me. We fished for a few hours. It’s just an incredible place to be, and fishing can really have that zen quality to it.

Crested Butte has a nice theatre called the Majestic. It has three screens, old school style. 4 seats on the left side, 6 on the right. They also have a full bar. Why more theatres don’t sell beer is beyond me. (This also happens to be the same theatre where John Walkup and I saw Pulp Fiction in 1995). Adam, Camille, Mandy and I watched Superman Returns, had a few beers. Movie was good. The first third is really great. After that, it kinda falls apart. The plot doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, there is a lot of wasted time in a movie that is unnecessarily 2 1/2 hours, and Lux Luthor once again gets a girlfriend who is dumb, kinda cute, and has a crisis of conscience? Still, it’s enjoyable. I just expected a little more.

On the way to the theatre, I saw two beavers in the pond by our house.

We came home, decided to skip the hot tub, had a couple of beers, and shared an apple.

Our last day, I woke up and fished the pond by the condo. I caught a nice little rainbow trout; I caught a fish every day we went out, five fish total. Though none of them were what I would call huge fish, this was my first trout fishing experience, so I'm not complaining. An excellent trip.

We head out today, after watching the Portugal/England match. I got $5 on England, Adam has his money on Portugal. We’ll see. Be home soon.

3/5 happy

2006-06-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

went fishing today with Dr. K and adam at the cebolla creek. first cast, and i caught a brown trout. things are going well. we fished for 6 hours or so. i was feeling pretty good, two brown trout and a rainbow. none were over 10 inches, but i was pretty psyched. adam caught 3 fish too, and we were feeling pretty good. til Dr. k told us he caught 13 fish.

we came back to town, met up with the girls who had spent all day at telluride. had a nice mexican dinner, two pitchers of margaritas. The Killians and the girls had enough, so they went home. Adam and I stayed in town, looking for some local culture. we walked around for a bit, then decided to stroll down an alley above the river behind the local bar. as we walked down, the bar patrons started yelling "bear! bear!"

sure enough, a black bear, 3 1/2 feet tall on all 4's, 6 feet tall standing was 20 feet from us. i tried to take a picture with the cell phone. no dice. anyway, that was awesome. so, i've caught trout, seen a bear (which is so unreal) seen a fox. now i just need the yeti and the beaver. i'm 3 for 5. which is well above the mendoza line. some pics for you enjoyment are below.

the marmut

emerald lake

where we fished today

(all photos by adam goncalves)

tomorrow brings a hike to the top of crested butte, and more fishing. all is well. we love you.

the fox and the marmut

2006-06-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

despite some travails, we got into gunnison around 9:45. Camille and Adam picked us up in the pimp mobile - a 1992 blue chevy astrovan. we drove the 30 miles into crested butte and were happy to shower off the airport funk. The Killians (Camille's parents) are 1/10 owners in the condo we are staying in. They get it 5 weeks a year. A computer system determines which weeks each of the 9 partners + the general manager gets the place, but basically they get it every 10 weeks, the weeks just change from year to year. It is three stories, master bedroom on bottom, two guest rooms and kitchen/living room on middle, and a loft. There is a balcony looking out on three mountain peaks. There is a hot tub. It is wonderful. Dr. and Mrs. Killian drove up, and brought their two 9 year old yellow labs, Whitt and Belle.

After we got washed up, Dr. K took us on a 3 hours sight seeing tour up one of the mountains. We saw mountain lakes, lots of beaver dams and beaver houses, and some snow. While here, I wanted to see the following: beaver, fox, black bear, and sasquatch/yeti/abominable snowman. And catch at least one trout. On our drive, we saw a marmut, which looks a lot like a groundhog or chipmunk. And, a fox. the fox was awesome. super awesome. I've never seen one outside of a zoo. this one was huge, maybe the size of a border collie. And we saw what was probably a young bald eagle.

We got home, got ready to go fishing, and a nice mountain thunderstorm rolled in. It rained for about 45 minutes. between short naps on the couch (Belle licked my hand every time i fell asleep), it was pretty amazing to watch the storm roll in off the mountains. After the rain cleared, Dr. K, Adam and I headed to the East river for a little fly fishing. The water is about 50-55 degrees and crystal clear (and i thought barton springs was cold.) The river where we got in is just below a hatchery, so there are lots of small, very wary trout. We walked down further and fished from about 5:30 til 8. Didn't catch anything, but it was a wonderful place to be. Saw lots of birds, got my casting figured out, and got to spend a few hours by myself watching the sunset and listening to the sounds of the river and the birds.

The general store is about 1/8 mile from the condo. It has guinness on tap. i think i may be in heaven. we came back, met the girls at teh store, ordered some burgers, pizza and beers. came home, hopped in teh hot tub, had a few more beers and went to bed. nothing like being in a hot tub when it is 40 degrees outside.

More fishing in store today. The cement creek in the morning and somewhere else in the afternoon. Plus a bluegrass band tonight. it's 48 degrees right now. i got up and sat on the balcony this morning, drinking coffee and reading the sandman. high of 80 today. later skaters.

hoover-villes

2006-06-28T01:07:00.000-07:00

we ganked some blankets and pillows that were supposed to go to a United flight, but I figured we needed them more than those nancy's in first class going to aspen. so, here we are in some corner in the airport, sleeping on the ground like some damn homeless convention, on a carpet that smells of dirt and industrial cleaning oils. kickass. thanks United, you really suck. out loud.

in a bit a of GREAT news, looks like Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel) has come out of his hiding hole. Welcome back, Jeff. We've missed you. Now don't screw up your legacy.

I've been drinking in an airport bar...

2006-06-27T22:52:00.000-07:00

...it's like Christmas in a submarine.

whatever that means.

anyway, The Wilson's are stranded in the Denver airport all night. It's like areal life version of that crappy Tom Hanks movie. except without Catherine Zeta Jones and that really cool guy from the Wes Anderson movies. Apparently there is a softball tournament in town, and they have booked EVERY hotel room in 50 miles. I now hate softball, and, by proxy, Dick Punki. There's a Burger King open and a bar. I'm in the bar. Here is the first draft of the letter I have composed to United Airlines.

2 minutes. 120 seconds. That is the difference between the vacation we had planned and paid for, and the nightmare that we went through instead. My wife and I purchased tickets from Austin, TX to Gunnison, CO with a 2 hour layover in Denver. (Flight numbers 0406 and 7065, on June 27, 2006. ) We arrived at AUS at 4:00, an hour and a half prior to departure, to ensure that nothing went wrong. Our flight was delayed until 6:40, but we were assured we would still have plenty of time to make our connection. Our bags were checked with the promise that both our bags and we would make it to Gunnison that evening. We left the gate in Austin close to 7:00 pm. At 8:05 MT we were on the ground in Denver. We pulled into gate 46 at 8:14. We were in row 6, so we were off the plane as quickly as possible. We sprinted the 15 gates to Gate 61, arriving at 8:20. Our plane was scheduled to depart at 8:28. The departures screen still showed out flight as “boarding.” However, the gate agent told us the plane was closed. Despite the fact that the plane was still on the runway, and that it was not scheduled to leave for another 8 minutes, and that the only reason we were not on time was due to our United flight being late, we were not allowed on the plane. We were told that the doors shut with ten minutes until takeoff, and that nothing can be done. 2 minutes. The gate agents in Austin couldn’t notify the Denver agent and tell them to wait for two paying customers on a plane that holds less than 20 people. The gate agent at our arriving gate couldn’t be bothered to call forward. And despite the fact that the gate agent for the GUC flight knew we were coming, knew our flight in was delayed, and knew we had landed at 8:14, no one could hold the doors on the flight for an extra 2 minutes.

As we watched the last plane of the day leave without us, we were directed to one of several “customer service” areas. Although the gate agent had rolled us over to the next flight (leaving the following day), she told us we needed to go to the customer service area to get our hotel assignment and transportation vouchers. At both customer service areas, there were lines of 100 or more people. Although there were computers and space for 10 or more agents at both areas, only a few agents were present. After an hour of waiting, several agents left their post, claiming, “we have to get home, we’ve been here all day.” As if we hadn’t. When we finally reached the agent it was 10:00. We explained that we had already been rolled over, and that we only needed a hotel and a cab. She quickly told us that there were no hotels available in Denver, and within 50 miles of Denver. She told us that we would be spending the night in the airport, and that we should keep our food receipts and send them in, since there were no food coupons to be given out. Despite the fact that the majority of people in line were there for a hotel, and that they had been directed there by the gate agents, not once did any employee come out and announce that the line was only for people needed to rebook flights, or that there were no hotels. Or that the only restaurant that would be open after 10:00 was Burger King.

To say that we are frustrated is an understatement at best. We both took off half a day of work in order to get to Gunnison tonight. We rented a condo that we did not get to use. We paid for a fly-fishing excursion that we did not get to use. We missed a day of vacation, since, instead of sleeping in our bed, waking up and going fishing, we were forced to stay up all night in the Denver airport, and get into Gunnison at 9:45 in the morning, with no sleep. I understand that delays in the airline industry happen. What I don’t understand is why not one person was willing to assist us in fixing the problem, and making sure we arrived in Gunnison, despite the delay. We lost a day of our vacation, a fishing trip, a night in a condo, and time we planned on spending with friends. Instead, we got no food, no sleep, and no help. 2 minutes. That’s all it would have taken.

At this point, the least you can do refund the full fare we paid for our tickets and the money we spent in the airport. It would be appropriate to pay for the time missed at work, the money lost on the condo and the fishing trip, and vacation we lost, but I know better than to expect that. And you certainly can’t give back the night of our life we lost, stuck in the Denver airport, trying to sleep in shifts on the filthy floor. You’ve ruined a vacation. Please do what you can to fix it after the fact.

so. DON'T EVER, EVER fly United. There are probably 500 people here stuck in the airport overnight. A few agents told us that this has been happening every day since the past year. If only United wasn't teh only airline flying into Gunnison. But they are. Hopefully I'll be fishing tomorrow afternoon. That, or in a Denver jail. Night Night. I have the first few trades of The Sandman, A Cormac McCarthy book and a two episodes of BAttlestar Galactica to get me through the night. The bar closes at 1:45.

The Pea's Nirvana

2006-06-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

well kids, The Pea and I are off to Colorado, - home of Nectar of the Pea - Coors Light. Though we won't be visiting the hallowed grounds that Adolf Coors built in Golden, we will be staying with Camille and Adam in beautiful Crested Butte. I plan on spending the next four days fly fishing and drinking good beer. I can't imagine anything better (well, not that doesn't involve Pamela Anderson and a pygmy goat). As discussed, I really love the water, and standing in a crystal clear mountain stream all day looking for trout is about as good as it gets. Plus, we haven't seen Camille and Adam since Coventry in the fall of 04. If I have internet access, I'll try and rap at you, but I don't foresee it. Please don't rob my house while we're away. See you Sunday. Keep the town brown while we're gone.

runnin on empty

2006-06-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

Woke up sunday morning , still feeling saturday night.

A late night and most of a bottle of 1792 assured that an early morning boat outing would be postponed.

I woke up, mowed the yard, and settled on the couch to watch the tail end of the 1980's classic Three O'Clock High, which has a pretty realistic fight scene between Jerry Mitchell and Buddy Rivell - sloppy, lots of wrestling and punching mixed in.

Andy showed up at 2:30, boat in tow. Steanso bailed. Pea decided to join us, despite some misgivings.

Andy is part owner of a 2003 Air Nautique. It's a helluva boat - 23 feet long, 350 cubic inch engine mounted in the back - a lot like this one, but with lots of speakers, lots of blue, red and white party lights.

We put in at hula hut, and were in the water by 4:00 in the pm. We had lots of fun, listened to some tunes. took a two hour cruise up north - we passed the 360 bridge, sandra bullock's estate, and saw wild turkeys fly over the river. we got far enough north for calm waters, and i tried on the wake board for the first time in 5 years. I was marginally successful, getting up every time, but landing any jumps was a bit of a challenge. the boards have come a long way since the skurfer i learned on. They are a lot lighter and easier to get out of the water, but the lack the stability of the three fin in the back system of the old skurfer. that, plus the elevated rope tie in that Andy's boat has, and suddenly i'm up in the air higher and without nearly as much effort. the downside, at least for me, is that the new boards are double sided and only have one fin on each end. this allows for reversals, but also takes away some of that stability you got for the skurfer. so, on my first attempt at a big jump, i landed face first, knocking my eyeballs to the back of my skull. i got back on the horse a few times, and finally got my feet under me, but the cold water and the fact that i hadn't been pulled behind a boat in 5 years made me pretty tired. i attempted no more big jumps. perhaps a few more trips, and i'll be jumping high and hurting myself again.

At 7:00, i realized we were far from home, and needed to head back. i had plans to see the band of horses, and mandy needed to get ready for vacation. Andy decided to wakeboard home. as i was driving, a sputter. sputter. cough. cough. engine cessation. andy fell down. what's wrong, he asked. i think the engine is messed up. no, were you doing anything weird with the throttle? not unless pushing to go faster and pulling it to slow down is weird...i think you're out of gas. no, the gauge says full. well, dude, i think you're out of gas.

as we floated closer and closer to the rocks, we discovered that we had no gas, we had no reserve gas tank, and only a $1000 ski to use as am oar. so i jumped into the cold, cold water and swam the boat out to the middle. andy opened a beer, mandy flagged down a jet skiier. the jet skier came by, only to have her jet ski die. i pushed her away from the rocks, and finally a family pulled up, and towed the jet ski to her friends, and began a 45 minute tow for us to the Lake Austin Estates. Though the fella on the dock at Lake Austin Estate (LAE) claimed to have been the original DJ for MTV, and the best Dj in Colorado (yeah, i know) I got feelings of Hills Have Eyes. Having given the last of my cash to the towing family, we were without funds with which to pay for the gas offered by the LAE-ers. I called JackBart to come pick us up. JackBart gets the "Friend of the week" award. JackBart loves an adventure, and is always willing to pick up or deliver people at any odd time (at 9 at night at the LAE dock, or 4 in the morning to the airport, for example). We owe him dinner, at least. Thanks, JackBart.

Andy and Rami took the boat in, but we have yet to hear from them, despite a few calls. We hope they are ok.

We got home at 10. On the plus side, we saw lots of owls at the dock. which i love.

We leave for a fishing/hiking trip to Colorado tomorrow. I need a book to read. I am on a run of good books lately, and i welcome your suggestions. The last few books i have read are:

All The King's Men by Robert Warren
Generation X by Douglas Coupland
Already Dead by Charlie Huston
Day of the Locust by Nathaniel West
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
Comics interspersed.

What should I read on this trip? The front runner right now is the last in Cormac's border trilogy.

i thought i hurt getting up sunday. i certainly felt 32 this morning. all those parts of my body that aren't used to getting pulled were screaming at me.

saturday delivers a death in the family

2006-06-25T01:50:00.000-07:00

slept late. had the pea's pancakes for the first time in a long time. wanted to try coffee, even went so far as to pour a cup. nope, stomach not that strong yet. (but strong enough for mexican food 3x since friday). it's funny realizing how your body really tells you what it can handle. in my situation, the things my body least objected to, in order:
soup
rice
beans
bread
caffeine (tea only)
chicken
meat
cheese
alcohol

i expect caffeine in coffee form is next, since it is all i have left. but, it's the scariest one left.

after some work on the new flower bed, af sensat came over for 2/3 of whiskeeto practice. our 2/3 side project's stage name is "hey, someone get those two drunk assholes off the stage."

we had a few drinks,

practiced, then went to steanso's for a drummier practice. plans were made for bowling. we went to cherry creek for dinner. bowling scrapped. games played...the reclusive north american sultry jackass appeared. games ended...

(see andy rock. see steanso hide his "tells")

nanostalgia dies this week. it was a fun outlet to drop reviews for all things multimedia - concerts, records, movies, games, etc. sadly, people got wrapped up in their own blogs and readership fell down to the contributors. i personally felt like the kid who had no place writing there. the other writers all seemed to be rtf majors, and had much more background than i did. still, i liked posting there as well as reading their thoughts. we even got picked up by national media once, and got into a pissing match with a state popular writer. goodbye nano. i will miss you.

from ringo with love

2006-06-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

Now it's time to say good night
Good night, sleep tight
Now the sun turns out his light
Good night, sleep tight
Dream sweet dreams for me
Dream sweet dreams for you

Close your eyes and I'll close mine
Good night, sleep tight
Now the moon begins to shine
Good night, sleep tight
Dream sweet dreams for me
Dream sweet dreams for you

Close your eyes and I'll close mine
Good night, sleep tight
Now the sun turns out his light
Good night, sleep tight
Dream sweet dreams for me
Dream sweet dreams for you

Good night, good night, everybody
Everybody, everywhere
Good night

redemption

2006-06-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

lying (laying? im too tired to think) in bed last night, i was going over all the cases i had set today in court - going over my arguments, figuring out ways to maximize the good traits in my clients and minimize their jail time. sometimes it is really hectic. even when i'm not working, i end up thinking about the cases, strategies, law, etc., no matter how much i'd rather not. it certainly didn't help me get to sleep. anyway, i started to realize that sometimes this job is pretty stressful. a lot is riding on how well i do my job. so, when i headed down to the court at 6:something this morning, i was feeliing a little frustrated, overwhelmed and burnt out.

however, my day at court went REALLY well. the two cases i thought about all night got resolved with the necessary outcome for my client (and what was just, i think). then, a well respected attorney (and one i really respect) complimented me on a case he knew i had handled. which made me feel pretty damn good. sometimes i get really cocky and think i am super lawyer, and sometimes i think i'm just barely floating along. it's nice to be told you do a good job. plus, with few exceptions, i like all the people in my work environment. travis county has a very unique relationship between judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys - almost everyone not only gets along, but most people are friends, despite which side they are on. i seldom work in a hostile environment, even when fighting over highly contested issues. it's nice when you enjoy your job.

since i had no sleep, i'll not be making it to see sonic youth tonite. i'm tired, plus i saw them at thier peak, on the Confusion is Sex tour back in the mid 80's. so that's hard to top. tonight i plan on drinking some nice red wine my dad left at the house, watching some tv or a movie, listening to music (i'm in a stones, clapton, grateful dead kinda blusey mood right now), and taking it easy. hopefully tomorrow i will join steanso on the lake in a sea faring vessel - i havent skiid or wakeboarded in a while, so that would be nice.

sunday - Band of Horses. rock.
peace and love kids.
i wanna be sedated.

rosebud

2006-06-23T02:24:00.000-07:00

man, now i can't sleep. i think i passed my threshold and now can't get tired. i went to bed around 2, read some old TMNT trades, then turned out lights and watched clock turn for a few hours. just writing about that damn dresser got me all worked up, i guess. so, i'll tell you a little more, cause i know how much you care. it was about 5 feet tall (an adult sized dresser for a kid). it had some trim that stuck out about 1/2 up, between 2nd and 3rd drawers (from bottom) i'd grab that, hoist myself up onto the rail, then climb on top sometimes. i bet i fell off that dresser a hundred times. even once i moved into this house, i'd climb on top of it to paint ceilings, change lightbulbs, etc. i fell off that thing as recently as 2001. maybe it's better it's gone. maybe. this is the worst therapy ever.

at this point, do i even try and go to sleep? between 4 and 6 is the worst time to be awake, cause nothing good can happen. i can't do any chores, cause that will wake up the Pea. and going to sleep is just a tease, and makes it hard to wake up. But, a Friday night after a no sleep thursday is always fun. if it weren't for this damned stomach virus, I'd spend tonight on the couch with White Russians and Big Lebowski. I'm sure I'll figure something out. Maybe a happy hour at someplace cheap and laid back (not the Brown Bar - tho that was fun). well, maybe i'll go read some more.

band of horses

2006-06-22T23:52:00.000-07:00

im really digging the band of horses. they're a new band (i think), and they have a sound that reminds me a lot of flaming lips (maybe because of the voice, or maybe because the first track mentions christmastime, which i associate with the flaming lips for some reason) meets my morning jacket (cause of the reverb). I really don't know much about them. I try to get to work early (or just sit in the back room) and start each day reading CNN, Ain't It Cool, various blogs, The Statesman and Pitchfork. Pitchfork has pretty pretentious reviews, but they do get access to a lot of music and cover various styles. I've discovered some really great bands just through reading their reviews. "Who?" you ask...well, I first heard of Dr. Octagon (though I got the Cd from AF Sensat), Fiery Furnaces, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Mountain Goats, M. Ward, Franz Ferdinand, (and more!) through Pitchfork (or through Pitchfork through Gary M.) Anyway, their review of this album made me buy it. It's great - really beautiful and lush. imagine a smoother, echo-ier neil young album (early neil young). you can dig their video from for Funeral here. They're playing the Parish Sunday night. you should totally go. totally. They'll be all the rage at next year's ACL or SXSW.

I'm up late tonight. But, i'm booze free. which is a drag when you're up late. I'm not all that tired, plus I have the phones, so i'm hoping by staying awake, i'll somehow will the phones to ring. I haven't had a good jail release in a month or so, which is a long slump. In all fairness, the first few months were superkickass, but recently, not so much. I still get the calls that wake me up, so that sucks too. oh well. i'm hoping.

i'm also trying to clean out and reclaim the house. Both the Pea and i are pack rats. it's sad but true. We have a 3 bedroom house, but really only use 1.5 rooms. we are trying to downsize, but it's hard. I have some comics stashed in a closet. our parents have gone through that dumping phase where they give you all the shit they decided was keepsakeable. in boxes. so, we have that taking up space and needing us to go through. and throw some stuff out, and keep some for our ratty little kids to look at and throw away later. plus, Pea has inherited a whole bedroom suite (suit?) that is nice, but basically renders a room unusable expcept as a guest room. of which we have few of the overnight kind. Anyway, an incident at a garage sale a few years back has made us a bit reticent to get rid of stuff in a hurry. (it's a long story, but it involved a miscommunication, or lack of communication, and me selling a dresser that i had had since i was 2. i used to pull the drawers out, each drawer a little less than the one below it, climb to the middle drawer, and sleep in there. also, since the dresser ws made in 1976, the drawer liners had this cool bicentennial quarter kind of print. neither mandy nor i realized the attachment i had until 5 seconds after i sold the dresser. as i watched the family load it into the car, i started freaking out. i told her i didn't want to sell it. she said, go tell them. but i couldn't. i asked her to. she couldn't either. i was willing to pay more than they had bought it for. but it was too late. they drove off. i was sad. Pea cried a little. had steanso been there, he would have laughed. but, the new kid was really excited. so there's that).

whew. this is better than therapy.

goodnight.

i miss my dresser. i wish i could sleep in it tonight.

when it rains...

2006-06-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

...water pours out of the wall and into your back bedroom.

Yeah. The Pea and I have been battling a somach virus, The Pea is faring worse than I. After a brief recovery and returning to work yesterday, she woke up this morning at 5:30 with round two. Then, when I got out of the shower, she asked my why there was water pouring into the back bedroom for the wall that shares with our bathroom. I threws oem towels, and headed to work. I'll deal with that later.

So that's nice.

I gave in and made tacos last night. Delicious, delicious tacos. I stopped after four. I don't feel great this morning, but i think it was worth it. Mandy may disagree. She is currently sleeping off a Phenergan pill.

After tacos, I headed to Steanso's to watch the remake of Hills Have Eyes. I don't knw why. I didn't like the original. But, I was in the mood for horror, and there it was. I really never liked the "deformed people kill civilians" style horror (with the exception of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which I don't really like, but does scare the living shit out of me). As opposed to feeling claustrophobic and having most of the blood off screen like TCM, recent movies in this style (Wolf Creek, for example) rely on lots of gore and depravity. Yeah. great. I really wanted to see the girl from Lost get raped by a mutated person. Or see thet mutated person breast feed form Lost girl's sister. I haven't seen Saw or Saw 2 or Hostel. And I don't want to. I like scary movies like poltergeist. and Wickerman. and The Shining. anyway, that's my two cents on that.

I also watched Fire Walk With Me for the first time. I never watched Twin Peaks when it was on, but I borrowed Team Bloom's copy (before they were actually Team Bloom) and watched it during the time i should have been studying for the bar. I really liked a lot of it, and I am surprised it took me this long to see the movie. It was actually really good, and really creepy. Plus, it had David Bowie. And, looks like it was the inspiration for the name of one of the Phish Festivals.

In other news, just as I have decided to hold on to the truck for a while, it turns out I am helping kill polar bears. damn. does it help that I olny drive it 2-3 times a week, less than 10 miles each time? probably not. what to do?

Mavs lose, A Pox on Bloom

2006-06-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

i sit here a ilttle heartbroken (to go along with my guts, which are also broken). The Mavs lost to the Heat in six games. I really didn't expect the Mavs to go this far, I kinda figured their chances at a ring ended 3 or 4 years ago, much like the Rangers' chance ended in the late 90's. So, I'm glad they made it this far. Still, I'm frustarted by the way the game ended.

Why didn't Avery have the guys hacking shaq from around the 4 minute mark? Instead of shaq MAYBE making 2 out of 4 free throws, Wade hit a shot and Posey hit a 3 that really killed the Mavs. The call on Dirk when it looked like Wade hit him around a miinute left was bush league at best. I saw no foul, and certainly not a foul to call with a minute left in the final game of the series. It seemed like the refs tried to make it up with the loose ball foul, but by that time, there were 10 seconds left. Yeah, Dirk definately passed poorly on the (next to) last possession, and the Mavs sucked it up after the 1st quarter. Plus, the crowd was...awful. They might as well have been at home. I am no conspiracy therorist, but I am very sure Stern and the referees as a group are very happy that Cuban doesn't have a ring. The bad calls seemed to favor the Heat in this series. I hope Cuban throws a fit and gets fined some more money. Avery did a great job, and I hope the Mavs come back this far next season.

Bloom, I begged you to shut your hole. I respected you enough to keep my moouth shut when it was obvious the Steelers had the SB in thier grasp. But, no. "I can't affect the game," you said, and just prattled on. May your dirty Pittsburgh teams never make it to the playoffs as long as you or your children live.

I watched 16 Blocks and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang last night. Both were enjoyable. I have a soft spot for Bruce Willis, so that may bias 16 Blocks. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was better, but you have to be very comfortable with interactive directing.

No post tomorrow. Funeral.

my addiction

2006-06-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

I know, on some level, everyone has some addiction. I'm not talking about drinking liquor at 7 in the morning or a toot of the yayo at lunch, but NEEDING those two or three cups of coffee every morning or that cigarette or glass of tea at lunch.

Personally, I drink a cup or so of coffee 3-4 mornings a week. I have tea (and it's usually 3-4 glasses) at lunch 3-4 times a week as well. I have beer or wine at night 3-4 times a week too.

I haven't eaten solid food in two days, or had anything other than water to drink. And you know what I miss the most? It's not coffee, it's not beer or even red wine. It's Mexican food. and i miss it badly. I probably have it in some form or another every other day, if not every day. a burrito or enchiladas for lunch. At least a cheese tortilla for a snack. Tacos for dinner. Today, i left work again early since i was sweating rivers by 10:00. Despite the fact that I have had nothing more that caldo, broth, half a bowl of potato leek soup, maybe 10 black-eyed peas, and water since Sunday night, and have had problems with that, i was tempted today to stop by Taco Bell on the way home. Mandy talked me out of it, and i guess thats good. But I'm jonesing.

I'm aiming for Thursday, but i don't know if i can hold out.

-----
ADDENDUM
-----
i also miss butter. last night i tired to have some bread with the potato leek soup. i bought a fresh loaf of italian white from the market, sliced it open, and it just cried out for butter. so i spread some on. ate a slice. bad idea. oh well. i still love butter

when it comes down do it, most things i love are the good things. good beers, imported or micro-brewed (if i want a drink, and the only beer in the fridge is coors light, i go without). nice wines. rich foods. stupidly expensive coffees. some have gone so far to call me a food snob. i guess i can't controvert, really. except...

oddly enough, the only thing that i love that isn't "good," is mexican food. I seldom eat fast food other than a grilled cheese, but i can't say no to Taco Bell. And i'll try any hole in the wll that serves mexican food. the cheaper, the better. and i'll drive out of my way to go there. go figure.

barfing

2006-06-19T19:57:00.000-07:00

yeah. i woke up around 3:30, stomach revolting. Still, I headed to wrok despite the cold sweats. held it together through a heinous morning, left the courthouse around 12:30. Had soem soup at a place called the Chicken Bowl, came home. slept from 2:30-8:00. just had soem more soup and about to settle in for a movie.

The Pea woke up around 10 or so, and decided to take a quick trip to target for pedialyte and crackers. she claims to have almost fainted, and had to use a basket to support herself. She was horrifed at the prospect of fainting in the Target and having 911 called.

We are on the mend, but at this point, Beck tomorrow night is in doubt.

stupid mavs, stupid overtime

2006-06-18T21:11:00.000-07:00

i need to be in bed, but the mavs can't seem to finish in Miami. so i'm writing and watching the OT.

Can you believe Mickelson's implosion today? it hurt me to watch.

I am keeping my "enjoy the weekends" philosophy firmly in place. Last year it seems like everyweekend i was working on garden or house or something. I don't think i went to barton springs more than twice. that being said, i had lots of plans for saturday. thankfully, the rain derailed them. Instead, i met sigmund, feral andy, the Andy Parker crew at the GingerMan to watch some world cup.

After the match, we piled everyone into the truck and headed to the Springs. The out of towner's were duly impressed. (that's Andy Parker foolishly leaning against the tailgate of a 1970 truck, Sigmund's leg, some part of Tim O' Shea and some copper tubing)

damn, wont the mavs stop shooting 3's?

after the springs, Andy and steanso stopped by for some improptu crack practice. Dr. Palka arrived in his rental pimp-mobile, and we headed to the Market for meat products. We grilled and commensed to drinking. The Pea went out for girls night. Foolishly, she decided to bring the girls back to the house. In my defense, I just want to point out in advance that I had been drinking for about 10 hours when the girls showed up (with some breaks). It was mandy and susan, and Tiffany, whom i had never met. Tiffany was introduced to me as a teacher. Assuming that everyone knew about the AISD teacher getting fired for nudie pics online, my first question was "you have naked pics of you up on the net?" This confused young Tiffany, and set the tone for the next 45 minutes or so. Weedo arrived. 45 minutes later, having discussed the smell of sex, cougars/cougar dens, and yoga, Tiffany and Susan took their leave.

The Pea went to bed around 1:00. Weedo, Dr. P, Steanso and I had some more drinks, and Weedo broke out the cloves. We listened to music, sat in the backyard, and just shot the proverbial shit. It was nothing exciting, but I certainly had a great time. After the storm passed, Steanso and the good doctor took their leave. Weedo stayed until 3:30 or so. I woke up on the floor at the crack of noon (long story) and we headed to Jason's Deli for some quick lunch with Steanso.

crap. Mavs up by 1, 9 seconds to go, Heat ball.

Off to Buda for father's Day. Sadly, the Pea got some food poisoning from Jason's Deli, and started barfing as soon as we got to my folks'. She is not a puker, and hadn't blown chunks in 10+ years. I drove her back home, dropped her off and went back to my parents. Nice dinner with the folks. Back home. Mandy ralphed a bit more, but hopefully is done.

Mavs fouled Wade with 2 seconds to go?

Good to meet you, Pope. Hope you can come back to Austin soon.

Good to see Andy Parker and Steph and Jenn Z and Tim O'shea too. you kids come back when you can't stay as long.

Ellie is joining us on a jaunt to Port A. The EGI is up to 93. In what can only bode poorly for the awesome possum, we have seen Ellie more recently than we have seen the possum. It's been two weeks i think. crap.

Signing off. 1.9 seconds to go.

Rainy Day, Mushroom Pillow

2006-06-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

im gonna drop some quick legal advice on you, in two parts:

part 1: if you get arrested, are lucky enough to get your case(s) dismissed, GET AN EXPUNCTION. An expunction is just another step in clearing your record up. It has all records of your arrest destroyed. Even if your case was dismissed, cops and prosecutors and judges will see that you have been arrested before. And in their minds, a previous arrest is a previous conviction.

part 2: No matter how SURE you are that she is pregnant, NEVER ask your probation ooficer when she is due at your first meeting. NEVER

---------------

ok. it started raining last night and was raining when i woke up this morning. super. we really need it. both the ground and me. i got to sleep in til 9:30 or so, and i think i got some pretty good sleep.

after work i headed to the brown bar (ehhhh) with steanso and some folks froom his office. a few drinks til 8 or so, then picked up The Pea, dinner at hyde park grill, then to Team Bloom's back porch for sipping, listening and talking. Wine was enjoyed by all. Sigmund expertly provided a soundtrack for us: Beck, Television, Rolling Stones, Late Night Tales....we sat in the backyard, enjoyed the nice breeze and talked of all kinds of things, workish and non-workish. we took our leave around 1:30, and a good time was had by all (naturally, I'll say it was the music). it's nice to get off the grass couch now and again. thanks for having us Team Bloom.

Pea and I watched a little Mr. Show when we got home, then off to bed.

The Pea woke up singing Strawberry Alarm Clock, and that has me in a great mood this morning.

A shout out to Nervous Eddie and Big Johnson, rockin in a free world down in Bonnaroo.

Hello to Andy Parker and Steph, Jennifer Zawacki and Tim O., in town for a wedding.

And Dr. P., in town to move his parents out of it.

what did the elephant say when it saw a dead aunt?

2006-06-16T14:10:00.000-07:00

DEAD AUNT. DEAD AUNT. DEAD AUNT. DEAD AUNT. DEAD AUNT... (sung to the tune of Baby Elephant Walk)

Well, it's friday. an up and down week, but a quick one, it seems. This dead aunt thing has me in a bit of a strange mood. to be frank, I'm not all that broken up, but it's weird. She's my dad's sister (thus the "aunt"). Her name was Virginia. She was victim of a hit and run early in life (getting off the school bus) and has been in the state school ever since. pretty much paralysed and toddler-esque. she could recognize people and things she liked, but couldn't do much more than smile and coo. So i didn't really know her. still, it's weird.

in other news, crack practice was last night. and we fumbled around a bit. we may have a new song coming in to play. We have no lyrics yet, and we have expressed a desire to move away from straight profanity, so we'll see how that goes. We also watched some bizarre German music video involving dachshunds and baby girl angels. And then we watched autistic basketball players. Which led to a discussion of retarded kids in our schools. i know you can't say retarded anymore.

I talked to my sister today. Her name is Diana and she lives in the OC. She is married to Ryan. They both work for Fidelity Investments. Which is weird, since they are both mildly retarded (or, developmentally challenged). Here is a picture of them in a field. A deer grazes in the back ground.

rollercoaster

2006-06-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

----week----

M: 1/2 day work. drive to cleburne.
T: 1/2 day work. drive to austin. tapes n tapes.
W: full day work. on call. no money.

-----today-----
jail. court. jeff fahey. lunch. municourt. mojito. worldcup. office. home. aunt died. practice. mavs lost.

it's a werid time in your life when people you know start getting married, the early bloomers at 19-22, most around 24-28 (remember when you started checking ring fingers?) You get the stragglers around 30-35. (this is where the "second rounders" pop up). If you haven't been to their wedding by 35, chances are, there's not gonna be one. Then, the weirder time comes; when the number of funerals you attend replace the weddings you attend. You get the early croakers: at least one high school acquaintance will have a paret who dies, great grand-parents, then the grandfathers; then come the grandmothers, older aunts/uncles, the unexpected parent (or friend's parent) death in their mid-50's: cancer or the ticker. Then it's your aunts and uncles, then parents. hopefully you outlive your kids. then your friend's kids start the wedding cycle. and then you and your friends start dying.

we're under attack!

2006-06-15T06:54:00.000-07:00

The Wilsons have a mosquito outbreak (this is not to be confused with a whiskeeto outbreak - whiskeetoes show up and drink all your liquor, mosquitoes show up and drink your blood and give you Bird Flu or West Nile Virus). For some reason (heat?), many, many bugs are trying to breach our own little fortress of solitude. A click beetle, roly poly, or fly here or there is annoying. Mosquitoes are more than that. They are coming from the pipes/drains/faucets, which really scares me. I think that either we have a Mansquito holed up under our house, breeding little mosquitoes and releasing them through our pipes; we have a pipe leak and they are breeding somewhere in an unseen puddle and coming in through the pipes; or (and i guess this is the least concerning) they are coming in through poorly sealed doors, windows, etc, and once inside, are just going to the pipes/faucets/drains in order to get to water. A massive clean out and window caulking is in order this weekend to determine the above. I am also buying some mosquito fish for the pond, in case the pond is causing more mosquitoes (though I doubt it, as the water circulates at a pretty high rate.)

I welcome your advice (but only about the mosquitoes)

sage advice

2006-06-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

"Ray, when someone asks if you're a God, you say "Yes"!

If you get a cabinet from home depot that contains 100 pounds of pot, and 3 kilos of cocaine, you go to Mexico.

the bands, im sorry chris p., egi

2006-06-13T22:57:00.000-07:00

eddie k picked me up for the show, since i had no car (thanks ed). got to stubbs around 10. (a few of the first shows i remember seeing when i first moved to austin were indoors at stubbs. i had no idea how much to appreciate them-stubss only holds around 200 inside. the shows i saw there early on were: soulhat, jazz madolin project, man or astroman?) cold war kids were gone, the figurines were starting up. Mavs were down by 6, 2nd quarter. teh figurines were from denmark. bass player looked like matt mccounaghy, wooderson era. lead looked like a younger king of leon. they rocked, some claimed they were a one trick pony. maybe, but it was a good trick. upstairs for a drink and to say hi to gary and jackie. mavs up by a lot, 4th quarter. i foolishly, foolishly jinxed the game with a text message, and talk of a sweep. (crispi, if the mavs lose, i'll take you and your lady to dinner as a consolation prize).

tapes n tapes took the stage. the drummer played a cool kit: bass, big snare, big floor tom, a ride, a crash and a hi hat(i think?). the keyboard player rocked a tuba now and again. seemed like they copped all their beats from 80's records. but they played their asses off, and i loved them...check either of this bands if they roll thru your neighborhood. Somewhere in here the Mavs lost. Dirk missed a free throw to tie the game with 1.4 seconds to go. scheiss!

The EGI is up 5. here's how:

cat as excuse for no contact : -1
one eyed cat: +1
one eyed cat named Bill: +1
one eyed cat named Bill who survived being run over (by a car) this week: +1
going to happy hour after work on friday: +1
coming over immediately from happy hour to tejas trail: +1
saying she would not "stay late": -1
because of Bill: -1
high-fiving and yelling during winning moves in games: -1
Backing up and joining the Pea as a bad loser in losing moves: -1
staying late (a gentleman never tells how late a lady stays): +5
the door incident: even

91. Ellie's back in the A's, even though it is an A-. It's still an A, right? It's still great. Unless your parents (or you) are (your own) slave driver(s). Then an A- just won't do, will it? Nothing's ever good enough is it? You lazy bastard, couldn't you have just gotten an A or an A+? You make me sick!

I'm back!

2006-06-13T18:02:00.000-07:00

back from a long morning, but a successful outcome in Cleburne. Much to the dismay of republicans everywhere, an illegal citizen will not be going to prison nor being deported (well, not for this, anyway).

Only a few hours sleep lasty night, thinking about case, strange bed, etc.

Long long drive back and day at office. Plan on blowing it all off with a kickass night at Stubbs indoors with Eddie K and Special Friend Gary Meyer.

Tapes N Tapes and the Cold War Kids. I love a tuesday night show.

Thankfully, according to Chris Sanders and this study, as long as I drink plenty of coffee the morning after, drinking a lot of booze is good for me. perfect

home

2006-06-12T15:57:00.000-07:00

hiya:

it's been a busy few days, and I'm rapping at you today from my old hometown of Cleburne, Texas. Yup, that's right, fate has landed me back here again. But first, a quick catch up. Saturday night after Steanso helped Ellie out the door, I stayed up and listened to some music for a few hours, then watched about half of Life Aquatic. Saturday i joined the wiser half of team Bloom and Steanso at Barton Springs. Then went to a wedding recpetion at the Mercury Hall. Despite the mess from the night before, the lack of sleep and the promise Pea, Steanso and I had made not to stay up late, and not to end up back at the grass couch, a few cocktails at the wedding had us inviting the Whiskeetoes (the people, not the band), back to join us at the couch for some bloody marys and coors lights. AF did unspeakable things immediately upon entering. However, he was forgiven. The awesome possum was a no-show for the second night in a row. Steanso surmises he may have been hit my a speeding volkswagen. We all hope not. Our guests stumbled out around 1:30. Pea and I listened to some music and watchd a bit of The Deadliest Catch. Crabs are both awesome and strange.

My plans to sleep in on Sunday were interrupted early on by a jail call. A transgendered DWI, to be specific. To quote Judge Leonard, "you can't make this stuff up." Since I was at the jail, the Pea mowed the yard. Then she went to the pool with Kellie. I watched some TV, did some laundry, worked out. Pea arrived home, and we journeyed to Vespaio for our State of the Union.

Our State of the Union normally is held at Vespaio, and we try to have it annually. It started there out of the blue, and has seemed like a good idea ever since. Talks of beaches and vacations cut the talk short. A great meal was enjoyed.

Then the Mavs won, and Crispi was in attendance, so I'm sure he was excited, and most likely, obnoxiously enthusiastic.

Today brought my triumphant return to the town of my 6th grade through 12th grade years, Cleburne, Texas. I have a case set here tomorrow morning. My mom was in town Sunday for a baby shower, and she decided to stay over a few nights with friends and ride back with me. I rolled in today to meet with the prosecutor early. That went poorly. The offer is the max. And, better yet, I have no contact with my clients. Tomorrow should be interesting. The only people I know still in town are ex-girlfriends, so I won't be calling them up. You can't buy alcohol in Cleburne, except at Applebee's or Chili's. So I won't be enjoying a beverage. On the plus side, the folks I am staying with have a pool. So i've been there for the past two hours.

Cleburne's weird now. Everyone I used to know is gone. It is growing, turning into a suburb of Ft. Worth. It's weird coming back here as (gasp) an adult, and weirder still as a (gasp!) professional. They have turned my old junior high into the courthouse. I met with the DA in a converted classroom I used to hate. I moved here in 6th grade, so the first few years were a little rough. The junior high has some good memories (first girlfriend) and some bad one (wood shop, new kid)I don't miss Cleburne. I wish I stayed in contact with more old friends. There's no place like home. You can never go home again.

The Long Good Friday

2006-06-09T23:53:00.000-07:00

sorry it's taken so long to get at you. Friday was long, and good, as the title may or may not imply. I couldn't sleep last night, maybe it was the strong Tea at Suzi's, or maybe it was something else. Either way, I took a long hot shower around 2:30, hoping it would let me go to sleep. Nothing worse than turning in the sheets with sticky legs. Shower helped, and I think i fell asleep around 3 or so. Woke up about 5 and a half, fell asleep again around 6:30. alarm at 6:45 was rudely discounted, slept until 7:53. Jumped into shower, shaved, grabbed a starbucks from the Pea, at work by 8:31. After that, I went straight to court, then straight to the bank to sell the car. Everything went well, the kid buying the car (Bobby Cheatham I think) is an ad salesman for the Chronicle, and in a band called The Chapters (again, i think). He and his lady liked the phish cd's in the maxima when they test drove it, and he dug old school Ice Cube. I hope the car serves him well. Back to work, clients, off to lunch with Pea at the Ranch. back to work, busy until Tillman popped by around 4:23. Talked new gambling cases til Steanso took me home around 4:50. Got home, Yea! it's Friday, had some drinks and tried more Sympathy with Steanso. Pea showed up, then Ellie. Ellie's been out cause her cat Bill, a one eyed belle, was hit by a car last week. Lost an eye, and hit by a car, and still a survivor. that's one hell of a cat. a mean eyed cat, if you will. steanso and i journeyed to the market for some sausage and vegetables for grilling. food was grilled. next came the games. womyn v. men. men won round one: taboo. womyn won round two: catchphrase (albeit in a controversy - catchphrase has little official rules). The rubber game was obviously the next step.

"rubber game" in and of itself became a game, as Ellie claimed it had a different meaning in bridge than commonly assumed. I only knew the phrase as a baseball term, meaning the tie-breaker. we were both right. it has never happened before, and, god willing, it will never happen again.

men won cranium, game three. Afterwards we headed to the grass couch for a possum watch. Pea went to bed, ellie home. steasno and i discussed evangelists, presidents. i recall Clinton's exit numbers to be 42%, because of the pardons. maybe i'm totally wrong. either way, i think his exit numbers were the lowest in decades. i think bush will make people forget that, and give clinton his due. we also debated the evil factor of intent. is it more or less wrong if bush believes what he is doing in the mid east is right, versus if he knows it is just for oil? if a televangelist were selling "blessed towles" to followers, would it be any better or worse if he believed the towels really were blessed by god, or if he thought they were just plain old towels? the end result is the same. soldiers die in iraq fighting for something they believe in, or old folks buy towels blessed by something they believe in. both are wrong, and wasting their lives/money based on the statements of leaders. but does it matter the intention? ellie came back, unable to open the front door. steanso led her out, and now i am dropping knowledge on you. that's it. im gonna finish my drink and head out. the three hours from last night should render me sleepy. but i'm getting my third wind. I got a crazy offer for my truck today: round rock express tickets for the clements game. yeah, i'll trade my truck for that. I didnt reply to the guy yet. However, it is funny enough that i am thinking of changing my ad to say "interesting offers considered."

can't sleep

2006-06-09T00:03:00.000-07:00

damn. i've been trying to go to sleep for a while now, but i just can't find my way there ("you go to tired, then make a right")

I'll drop a quick post off and try again.

The Mavs won! thats 1 down...
weedo forwarded me a funny espn take on the finals and pop culture

My review of Season one of Big Love is up here.

my truck is for sale here.

An article today said that iPods are more popular than beer amoung college aged students. (I bet adolf coors is turning over in his grave - iPods don't lower inhibitions and let kids get naked and regret it the next day). Apparently, iPods have an approval rating of 73%. Beer was tied for second place at 71%. Tied with beer was facebook.com. i don't even know what that is. I am out of the loop. No wonder all the cool kids killed themselves at 27. i guess i didn't die before i got old. oh well.

on the plus side, Friday is here already.

2006-06-08T14:43:00.000-07:00

Thursday. Almost Friday. It's been an interesting one already. Started out this morning in court, back to office.

A guy and his girlfriend/wife came to look at the car. First thing he does, slams her hand right in the door. hard. That's no good. So, they take a while and I have to go meet with a client. I threw them the keys and told them to drop them off with Shari if I was still in the meeting. My meeting with new client went looooong (and I don't think she hired us), and the car shoppers were gone when I got back.

Ran out to Del Valle to meet a new client. Learned some fascinating heroin terms. Rigs. Rinse. etc.

Back to the office. left a message with car shoppers. off to dentist.

now, as you may or not be aware, i do have a few obsessive/compulsive behaviors. one of them is constantly wanting to brush my teeth. everytime i go into the bathroom, i want to brush them. And, i tend to brush them hard. So hard, that i was told to get a sonic care toothbrush, cause i was brushing my gums off. so i got the sonic care. used it like mad. gums ok. sonic care ran out of new heads last month, so i've been brushing the old fashion way. i looked in the mirror the other day, and noticed i could see, in my opinion, way too much tooth on my eye teeth. no gums. so i went out and bought some new heads for the SC, and scheduled a dentist appt. it went fine, but i did get a small lecture about my gums. which are sensitive. and getting worn down. apparently you don't need to brush 7 or 8 times a day. they say.

get out of dentist office, and there is a message on my cellular about an offer on the car. looks like we have a tentative deal. i'll find out for sure tomorrow. i hope so...

Mavs play Game 1 of the NBA finals tonight. Should be very intersting, seeing them take on Wade and Shaq. They swept in the season, but one game shaq was out, and the other proved to be a turning point for the Heat. I'm pretty excited. for the mavs, the car, and my gums.

later, kids. take it easy tonight. root for the mavs. take care of your teeth. (and shoes)

Bono vs. Sting

2006-06-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

last nigt was crack practice. I rushed home from work, and started dinner for the band - enchiladas. With some recipe assistance from J.Lo, I boiled soem ancho peppers in broth/water, pureed them, then added some garlic, salt, pepper and cumin, and boiled it down. I flash fried the tortillas, dipped them in the sauce, and filled them with a four cheese mixture - cheddar, monterrey jack, chihuaha, and a little velveeta to smoothe it out. Then i covered everyting in sauce and a little more cheese for good measure, and threw them into the oven. Also put together a pitcher of margaritas, sadly finishing off the nice booze i brought back from mexico.

After dinner, we headed to Steanso's to rock. We played sufficiently evil, with some nice satan invoking lyrics. We even tried to play Sympathy for The Devils. (you know something's wrong when crack is trying to cover a stones song). We closed out with an oldie but goodie, a "make you cry" version of "with or without you." After practice we discussed satan in rock, from the real deal satan worshippers (bands we've probably never heard of) to the guys who did it for show (KISS, metallica, slayer, etc.) In a upsetting show of aging, we dicussed diffeernt grass planting and watering methods, as well as plumbing issues. Then we listened to our practice, and andy stole the show with some alien robot commands. Our next show promises to amaze and offend you on all new levels.

There was some debate on who is more popular with the female fans: Bono or Sting. Feel free to chime in with your insights.

goodbye billy preston

2006-06-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

i'm having to do this way too much lately. Billy Preston is dead today at the young age of 59. Billy was a phenominal Houston born organ player, who had a string of hits in the 70's incluing "Nothing from Nothing" and "Will it go round in circles" (which phish covered). He is probably better known for his work with The Beatles in the Abbey Road/Let It Be Sessions and work with the Stones from 1970-76 ( a tremendous run that included Sticky Fingers, Exile, Black and Blue, Goats Head Soup). He has also contributed to albums with Clapton, Sly and the Family Stone, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bob Dylan, and on and on.

Billy P. was always smiling, and sported a tremendous fro for as long as I can remember. He had a hand in lots of music I love. He will be missed.

59 is young, folks. You only get one shot at this life. don't waste it, it could be gone any day. travel. blow some money. go see some music. make some music. kiss someone on the mouth (preferably someone who won't sue you). read a book. write a book. whatever. just don't take it for granted. no one lies on their death bed wishing they had spent more time at the office.

Grab Let It Be (preferably on vinyl) tonight, and sit back and enjoy yourself.

In other news, crack practice is tonite. it also happens to be 6/6/6. Since there is very little chance of us channeling Billy P tonight (no offense to our organist), i guess we will invoke the dark lord, aka Satan, aka the Devil, the Prince of Darkness, Beelzebub, Belial, Lucifer, Mephistopheles, Karl Rove. It's not so much that we worship the devil, but it is sooo rock and roll, right? plus, Sigmund is pretty adept at making pentagrams.

A super hero in the making, destroyed

2006-06-06T06:08:00.000-07:00

sorry for the lack of posting yesterday, it was a bit hectic. I started off teh day at 3:oo, when i woke up with a spliiting headache on the right side of my head. I rarely get headaches, and almost never where there was no booze involved, so that kinda freaked me out. I thought perhaps the ghost was bothering me, but I listened for voices talking about cheese and macaroni, heard none, tried to go back to sleep. At 4:00, I gave in and went and ate two aspirin. Fell asleep around 4:45. I skipped the dog walking with Pea, slept in til 7:30, and headed to work. Work was busy, but office busy, not court busy - writing letters, getting ready for today, etc. Post work I went to the Market with The Pea, and came home and made delicious, delicious shish kabobs - steak, pineapple, mushrooms, homegrown tomatoes, bell peppers, onions. Steanso joined us as we plowed through another episode of Big Love. I feel very "take it or leave it" with the show. Only two episodes left in the season, so I'll watch, but if it doesn end well, I'm out.

Today I got up early, took dogs for walk, in office to get ready for a few hearings. Reed Shaw (or "Weedo") made me a Tragically Hip mix, which I enjoyed on the way to work. I am in the process of breating 2006 ACL Fest Primer Vol 1, so tha hsould be done soon. Between Waterloo, Cobra Kai and Weedo, I got more new music than I know what to do with. That's a good problem to have, kids. Beats the hell out of hepatitus C, as far as problems go.

Well, Im off to another exciting driver's license hearing.

Enjoy your day. It's going to be an oppressive 97 degrees here today, and into the 100's by the week's end.

Finally, in China this week, a baby was born with three arms. I have always thought a third arm would be so useful. (I actually always wanted a prehinsile tail - can you imagine the possibilities? shift gears, hold drinks, massage your own back, etc..). However, this kid, who could have been the savior of the Chinese people, has had that option taken away. Doctors removed his arm today. Whatever happened to "with great power comes great responsibility?" He could have been awesome. Fighting crime with that third arm? shoooot, those crooks wouldn't have had a chance.

The Break-Up

2006-06-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

As promised, a brief review over at Nano.

does sunday = funday?

2006-06-05T05:45:00.000-07:00

woke up quick, at about noon...

well, really, around 9, but hey, sometimes you just need a little eazy e in your life.

so, crawled into bed around 2, after successfully, but sadly resisting the temptation to watch a movie. woke up slowly, then had some coffee and toast with the pea, and listened to some pancho sanchez and tito puente. The pea headed to yoga, and steanso and I to Barton Springs. Barton Springs was nice, as always, and we ran into Lee and Jon and Kim and Sigmund.

After the Springs, the Pea and I went to see The Break-Up. The Break-Up was a rom-com, and they normally suck. a lot. A big part of The Break Up was about Vince Vaughn's character, and how everyone liked hanging out with him, but everyone always did what he wanted. He never did things other people wanted to do. CrackBass, already a little self-conscious from previous remarks (nay, attacks) of the day, couldn't help but think this applied to him as well. On the one hand, i WAS at a rom-com. On the other, I do tend to apply my ways and wants to things we do. In my defense, I often only do so when no one else can make up their minds, or has a suggestion. I do tend to be vocal about what it is I want, however. I do a lot of planning, and sometimes plans just aren't what you need. ehhh. I'll try to back off. I've said this before, I'm sure. we'll see how long it lasts this time.

Anyway, the movie was good. much better than i expected. MUCH BETTER than X-Men 3. Much. Vince vaughn is funny, and if you liked him in swingers and made, then you'll like this movie. if not, well...i dunno. he was the best part of it. Like Love Actually, everything isn't all wrapped up at the end. and that's refreshing to me. I'll post a full review on Nano in the next few days, if you give a crap. otherwise...

Watched the finale of Sopranos and an episode of Love Monkey. Heading to bed around 11:00, cause I'm not feeling all that well...

Sunday is almost over. three day weekends should be the standard. I like my job a lot, but I don't really wanna go tomorrow. That's why Sundays, in my opinion, are not fundays. Are they better than a monday? sure. But Friday and Saturday got them beat. And a lot of Friday is spent at work, and it's still better, cause Friday night is unlimited. Sunday has that dread factor. can't do anything too fun, cause work is tomorrow.

The EGI is down two points for no contact, despite the fact an entire blog was dedicated to her. She is currently holding on to her B+ status with an 87.

garage sale

2006-06-03T23:22:00.000-07:00

the stupid garage sale came early. friday night i collapsed into bed around 2.5 bells, and was up for the garage sale at 6:45. The Pea hung some posters, my folks showed up to assist, early birds gathered around waiting to be the first to peruse our old stuff. Don the Dragon and I readied the truck for sale, washing it, polishing it with compound. After an hour and a half of repetitive karate training, I decided that wax on/wax off was better left to the folk at genie. so, for $20, they hand waxed the truck. (who was named "senor" at one point, then "krusty", and finally, "senor krusty"). while the car was being waxed, Don and I wandered into a few guitar stores looking for a way for steanso to blow him hard earned money. Then ventured back home. The sale was nearly over, and the old green recliner that had been in the wilson family sinve 1979 had yet to sell. I co-opted it for college. There was a time in my 1st junior year that my roommate, John Walkup) and I refused to sleep in our beds or rooms (I have no idea why). So, for a few weeks, we would alternate on who got to sleep on the couch, and who got the blue recliner (he has been recovered since that time- the recliner, not walkup) one of our dogs has taken over the green chair. the chair is old, and has little to no ass cushion left anymore. However, it is one of max's favorite sleeping holes, and is now covered in dog hair, and to be brutally honest, also suffered some attacks during the pre-housebroken days. In the brutal outside light, it showed it's age. No one bought it. I was reluctant to bring it back in the house, so we put it out on the curb for free. Quickly, the illegally run nursing home from across the street grabbed it. Bye old recliner. you served us well.

After the sale, i headed to see XMen3 with JackBart. Man, it sucked as bad as you've heard. i won't spoil it, but, the dialogue was miserable. The one line I'm still shaking my head at? "I'm juggernaut, bitch." awful.

After the movie came a short nap, then dinner at Maudies. A quick target trip gave Steanso and the Pea the fix they needed, and set up a night light battle for later, then I was home to watch the Mavs clinch their trip to the NBA finals. When we left Maudies, the Mavs were down by 14 points. I figured game 7 was all but guaranteed. Glad they pulled it out. The game was in Phoenix, and one fan had a sign: "|Call this one right, refs" Guess I'm not the only one complaining about the idiotic officiating. (Get your dress ready League. Or, if I get to write three blogs on your site, I am honored to be the one who brings it back. Though I will be writing as you, I will, of course, add soem more cursing.)

We atched some SNL, then headed out ot the backyard to listen to music, the pond, the frogs, etc. Although I do spend a lot of time working in the backyard, I certainly do enjoy being out there. During the day I watch the fish, look at all the new plants growing around the pond, or dropping out of agavebot. At night, there are always forgs, toads, possums, etc, nosing around. Plus, the outdoor speakers allow a little music to drift our way. Even in the summer, once the sun goes down, it's nice out there. It also helps having a friend living across the street. Although Steanso did point out that we are becoming hobbit-like - we don't stray far from home. Perhaps a great adventure soon awaits us. The Pea and Steasno dropped out around 1, I came in for soem animal planet.

Watched about some african ants: crazy colony, guards, termites, etc. and then again about the killer jellyfish in Australia. It's getting late and I'm heading to bed.

off and away

I love eleanor f, do i love the truckosaurus?

2006-06-02T23:30:00.000-07:00

i was feeling pretty craptastic around 4:30 - 9:30 today. Which is weird, as you know how much I love Fridays. As I was discussing with the Pea, just this morning, I still get sooo excited about Fridays. I start getting excited on Wednesday morning, cause, heck, friday's almost here. on wednesday morning, it's already weds, and weds is almost over. I'll go to court in the morning, then its lunchtime, then the day is halfway over. afternoon i'll get ready for tomorrow and return phone calls. then the day is over. then i watch some tv. then its thurs. same as wednesday, but closer to friday. and therefore shorter. Thurs night sucks, cause i am on call. so i normally dont get much sleep. and i don't do much after 5:30. no walking dogs, no running, no drinking, no eating out. no doing nothing that i can't give up in 5 seconds. But, if i make some money, it makes it worth it. Cause i got money for the weekend. Firday morning is awesome. cause when i wake up, it's already friday. maybe i have court, but hopefully not. if not, casual day. Then Friday is like a shorter thurs or wed. lunch is super awesome cause it is friday lunch. i get off, and its friday night. staying up late, listening to music, sleeping late on saturday (which hopefully means til 9, or maybe 10, if i stay up late).
Yeah. I love fridays, so it was a drag i was feeling poorly. Maybe too much caffeine (3 glasses of tea at lunch and dinner, very little water), or lack of sleep, or the ghost, but I had an awful headache. took some astin around 9:30, started feeling better around 10:30. Steanso came over after a gothika viewing, and we all had a cocktail and listened to music outside, then, after the mosquito attacks, inside. we discussed high school teachers and politics, and listened to the Fiery Furnaces. golly, do i love them. still one of the best shows i've ever seen, at the parish. just between the gallowsbird park album and blueberry boat. so a combo of the two. blues, but sped up and angular. the show was 5 songs, each song lasting 10-15 minutes long. I really didn't give blueberry boat a chance, cause it was so different from the first album, which i loved. the EP a few months later bridged the gap, and i listened to blueberry boat again. It is soo magnificent. eleanor is one if my fantasy famous lovers that pea approves of (and, luckily, drew barrymore). If either of them offers to kiss me in public, i think i get to say "ok."

im planning on selling the truck tomorrow (de ja vu, said the rabbit), and thats weird. ive had it for a few years now. i sold my old car to pay off credit card debt, and bought this 1970 chevy truck (supposedly with new engine, brakes, etc..)for 3500, hoping to save lots of money. no, jackass. have put a lot of dough into it. it gets 10 miles to the gallon. it is a v-8. it loves oil. loves it. i hate all those things. but, it is a cool truck. when it works, i LOVE driving it. but, it's like 5 large just sitting in the driveway. that i dont use but once a month. and, my pops lives 20 miles away, and he has a truck i can use anytime i want. so, i sell the truck. sell my car. buy me a car i love in the fall when the new cars come out. but, i do like the old green truck when i drive it. what to do? what to do? i hate having sentimental attachment to THINGS. if you own a rug, you own too much?

tomorrow is another day. it will tell me what to do. (well, it, and the leprechaun) never worry about anything today you can worry about tomorrow.

fiery furnaces. dig it.

winning streak/losing streak

2006-06-02T06:39:00.000-07:00

Well, the Mavs won. and handily, at that. The two technical fouls oaginst the Suns with 9 minutes left to go in the game really sealed the deal. Just like the two non-calls against the Suns did in Tuesday night's game. The refs are just too involved in these games if you ask me. Anyway, I'm glad my Mavericks won. I hav little doubt the Suns will win the next game, and the series will go 7.

In losing streak news, I has the phones again last night, and once again, no jail calls. If this keeps up, I'm gonna have to start pimping out my neighbor, and eventually, myself.

Finally, Blogo De Wilson has learned that one of his close friends is quitting smoking. Congratulations! CrackBass knows how hard it is to quit. I recommend lollipops and popsicles. Congrats on your first week. It only gets better. Now, if only you could get rid of that worthless husband....

Speaking of quitting...

look, Weedo, Steanso, and JackBart -
there's hope

Have a great weekend. Team Wilson is having a garage sale this weekend, much to my dismay. If you want any of our old used shit, come on by.

Rare political post

2006-06-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

Though CrackBass has fairly strong political leanings, and was even a poly sci/history major, I try to avoid ranting too much on here. Steanso does it much better than I do, plus, it's just something i don't enjoy writing about. I enjoy arguing politics, but I generally do so off the top of my head, and my thoughhts seem to flow better orally than in writing. Basically, I don't like writing them down, because it feels more like work than fun. Because of the subject matter, and the often conflicting views, I feel the need to edit and streamline my thoughts on a blog. I know people are going to disagree and attack my views, so I feel my arguments need to be airtight. Suddenly it feels like I'm writing a paper for school. And that's not why I got into this gig.

That aside, SMBloom has alerted me to a Rolling Stone article set to hit the stands this Friday, about the 2004 election. The article is written by RFK, Jr. and describes the "stolen election" of 2004.

I doubt anyone who knows me, or who even glanced at my ramblings, would be surprised to discover that I am not a Republican. Surprisingly enough, I certainly used to be. I grew up in a very conservative (as well as Southern Baptist) household, and in high school, saw nothing to contradict what the right wing was saying. Not until college at Baylor did I start to question the repubs, and I even retained some of those feelings upon moving to Austin in 1997. However, by now I have seen the light. I still have some pretty conservative fiscal views, but I am a liberal. It's true. I may not seem so compassionate, but I guess I am, dammit. I even went so far as to sponsor a Kerry fundraiser in 2004. Shoot, I even had a bumper sticker (given to me by Chris and Hannah) on my truck that said "Bush made me a Democrat." And I hate bumper stickers (all things "sticker" for that matter).

I guess I'm glad this article is coming out. I just don't think it matters. Especially since it is being published in Rolling Stone. I can't remember when RS was a credible news source. Even I read some of thier artcles and discount them, cause they are so obviously biased. And, having been a staunch Republican in the past, I know any Republican reading this article (if they even bother to do so) will write it off as "the liberal media." It's an interesting read. Frustrating. But not surprising to anyone who reads and believes it. And I just don't think anything will come of it. I don't think America cares. Couldn't the Times have picked this up? 60 Minutes? Someone besides RS?

Anyway, check it out. It's worth a few minutes of your time.

In other news, Mavs play tonight. I think it is a must win game. It certainly is the biggest game in Mavs history since the 80's, and maybe ever. Chrispi disagrees.

the horse lattitudes

2006-05-31T12:22:00.000-07:00

Not a particularly eventful day. Again. Post Memorial Day lag, I suppose. As Steasno puts it, we're back in the doldroms. Once again, I wasn't in court, so being in the office all day (as opposed to being in court in the morning and office in the afternoon) really makes the day seem longer. I don't know how all of you desk jockeys make it out there. I'm just too hyperactive I guess (I'm sure it would be called ADDHD these days, but growing up, the teachers always told my folks I was "hyperactive and talked too much.")

The Mavs lost last night, which really bums me out. Anyone watch the game? I half-heartedly watched, figuring the Mavs would blow this one. Still, it seems like the refs/networks/NBA really want this series to go seven games. Mid third quarter there were two pretty flagrant bad calls. One where Nash pulled Nowitski to the ground by his jersey, yet the Mavs were called for a 3 second lane violation, then a no-call where Nowitski was pulled down while going for a rebound at 65-66. Suns went on a 7-0 run after getting the rebound, Mavs never recovered. Not that the whole game can be blamed on the refs. The Mavs did lose by 20 points. And that is just ridiculous. But NBA officiating sucks. period.

I am also trying to plow through the DVR'd Big Love on HBO, clearing the way for Entourage and Deadwood. I plan on posting a review soon of Sopranos and Big Love over at Nano. Hopefully. Anyway, half way through its first season, and Big Love just isn't pulling me in. They have yet to explain why either the men or the women would agree to enter into polygamy. Even the "to propagate the religion" argument isn't mentioned. I just don't get it. But, hey, I ve seen Bill Paxton naked so many times in the series, there had better be a big payoff, so I'm gonna finish it out.

If this isn't enough of me for you, you can check out my latest review of new album lengths here.

The ghost

2006-05-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

Today was a relatively uneventful day. I didn't have court today, so I was in the office, doing mostly office type stuff - phone calls, getting things in order, etc.

Since I have no other exciting news, i will recount last night's ghost story (although Steanso has already mentioned it)

yesterday Team Wilson was low on sleep. After sleeping for about 3.5 hours Sunday night, we woke up Monday and we went to Maudies to eat. Andy invited us to his pool. We arrived, had some beers, Jason cannonballed. Soon we were tired, and headed home.

The Pea and I were in bed before 10:00. In a rare moment of weakness, the dogs were allowed to sleep in our room, Max chose the bed, Lucy the closet. A night of bizarre dreams caused me to wake up every few hours. For some reason, I woke up around 3:00, in time to hear Lucy walking across the floor out of the closet. Mandy woke up around the same time. I realized that I heard a woman's voice, coming form the back bedroom. I didn't know what time it was, so I assumed it was our neighbor Doris, talking to someone right outside the back bedroom window. Only it sounded louder. Like thye TV was on, and there was a conversation going on. Mandy asked me if I heard it, and what it was. I turned on the light, and the voice instantly stopped. Or maybe it stopped before I turned the lights on. But I know for sure that there was no voice once the lights were on. Oddly enough, neither dog barked, which was werid cause they will bark at anything. I assumed maybe a TV was on, but we don't have any TV's in that part of the house. I walked around, and checked computers, radios, etc. Nothing. Mandy thinks she heard the voices talking about Kraft macaroni adn cheese. Which is less scary, but would also rule out a radio going off for no reason, as I 'm pretty sure they don't advertise Mac and Cheese on late night radio. Anyway, we both heard the voice(s), and have no explanation. Any weird studff that has happened in this house in the last six years has been explainable, mostly. This is by far the weirdest (well, weirdest non-Steanso thing). So Mandy is pretty freaked out. I personally don't believe in ghosts, though I'd like to. Huh. On top of which, I had really, really weird dreams. all night. Turns out so did Steanso. Weird things are afoot on Tejas Trail

Nightnight

Memorial Weekend Wrap Up

2006-05-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

The three day weekend is gone. It was fantastic, though they never seem long enough. Sunday we had a small cookout. Big Johnson arrived in town around 2:00, just as I was finishing the flower bed. Despite the clouds, we headed to Barton Springs. Sun came out just as we were arriving, so that was a good sign. We stayed for a few hours, then headed home to prerpare for the cookout. Newlyweds Erin O'Neil and Jason Franz arrived first, followed quickly by Vikki (minus Dan), Team Bloom, and Kate and Judy. Eddie Kaye followed. The Whiskeetoes arrived an hour or so later, after an outing on a mysterious sea going vessel. (shhhh! it's a secret)

(Team Franz, Big Johnson, Team Bloom await grilled meats)

Much food was cooked. I manned the grilling of hotdogs, steaks, hamburgers, fajitas, sausages. Feral Andy Sensat cooked up his famous potato logs. Homemade ice cream was churned. (Here Andy and Mandy add rock salt/ice)

Dan Hamre, fresh from laying wood floors arrived around 11:30. In an unprecedented, shocking (and, to be honest, somewhat offensive) move, the Whiskeetoes were first to leave. Their departure at 11:45 sparked the first fllight, also taking out Team Bloom and Team Franz (a good showing in their first backyard appearance - Festivus doesn't count).

The B team having departed, moustaches were passed out.

At the specially designated hour of 2:00 am, Big Johnson and I broke out the special Sammy Smith Ales.

Everyone had new cameras, so many experiments with timers, low light photos and self portraits were made.and pictures of portraits.

The remaining three non houseguests remained until circa three am (after waiting for cab to arrive). The Ellie Gamble Index is a healthy 89. Pea, Big Johnson and I called it a night around six in the morning.

A good time was had by all (I hope). It was pointed out that I often moon people at parties, as a way of saying goodbye. I tried to disagree with this statement, but was quickly shouted down. I refrained Sunday night, so that must be good. I guess.

Monday involved brunch at Maudies, swimming at Andy's, hotdogs for dinner, in bed by 10:00 pm, and a ghost in the house around 3:00 am. More on the ghost later.

The Ellie Gamble Index (EGI)

2006-05-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

The EGI was created for Eleanor Elizabeth Gamble, around 3:00 am on Festivus, 2005. I first met Ellie through Hannah Temple, at a shower for Hannah and Chris, probably around 2001. Since that time, Ms. Gamble and I have developed a lovely brother/sister type relationship. Ellie will often drop off the map, caring for foster children and other kindly things. Over the years, Ellie and I have had our disagreements: she is a vegetarian, I love meat (and also happen to hate vegetarians); the Kill Bill shirt incident; the correct spelling of women (Ellie believes it should contain a "y" - womyn), the correct pronunciation of "fiery"; etc.

At Festivus last year, I was shcoked to realize that Ellie, normally an early departer from parties, was still present at 3:00 am. At this point, I realized, somewhere in the recesses of my mind, that Ellie had a score. And on this evening, at this time, she was a 98. SM Bloom quickly asked me what the score was, and why a 98? "No one gets a 100," i quickly replied. I have no idea why I said this, but it seeems like such a good idea. the 98 Ellie received that night was shocking, as just a few weeks before, Ellie had dropped down to a failing grade of 65, after sleeping through the annual crack gig - Live At Ruta Maya, 2005. But late attendance and willingness to deal with us at that late hour at Festivus forgave that, and then some.

Since that time, Ellie has gone down a few points, for no other reason than you just can't stay at a 98 by doing nothing. But not too many points. Ellie loses a point or two each week we don't hear from her. She gains those points back by doing something with us, or calling, or emailing. She gets points for staying late at parties. She loses points for being a vegetarian. Etc.

I will post the EGI once a week or so, just to keep you updated. So, you'll know who she is, I have included a few pictures of Ellie.

Is it possible for Ellie to get to 100? Yes. But only by doing one of two things.

2006-05-29T03:11:00.000-07:00

it's been a while since everyone left.

The owl doesn't sleep. he watches when you go

i am max headroom's keeper. he lives within me. if i touch you, you may explode.

yes. this hurts.

it is late or early. why are we still up?

Now it's time to go to sleep

2006-05-28T01:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a long, weird, wonderful day. I swam in Barton Springs, The League is back, my night was good with Pea Steanso and Tom Waits, there are at least 4 hours left til sun up. I say goodnight as a gentle rain falls on Austin.

All is well.

Goodnight.

Day one of my three day vacation,

2006-05-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

and it looks like I have helped kill something beautiful. On the same day I post about not being offended by stuff I say. The League is dead. Long live The League.

2006-05-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

the first night of the three night weekend is gone. alas.

but, it was a great night. The Pea made tacos for the band, including a new entry into the taco field - shredded chicken tacos. I wisely stoppped at 4 tacos. I really wanted the 5th one, but I stopped.

Crack practice went well. We listened to last week's monumental "hey you," and kept the vibe from last week going. Sigmund debuted his new trombone, Silverback. We had dueling trombones. Andy and Sigmund had bone breath and hands. We hung out and listened to ourselves after practice. We all stumbled home around 11:something. I came home and listened to some music, had another beer, watched the Mavs highlights (Steanso has no cable, as he is in a feud with Time Warner and the games are on TNT, and went to bed arround 2. Kickass! The Mavs won.

In other news, I am half-heartedly boycotting The League (this means I will keep looking at his site, but I won't enjoy it). The League has posted a headline over at his blog with giant spoilers for a movie I wanted to see. I am also angered by the revelation that The League has dropped. What the movie has done to the source material is nothing short of blasphemy. Will I go see this movie? maybe. If i see it now, will I be less pissed than I would have been had I not known what was going to happen? probably. But, now I don't have a choice. The League has ruined that for me. I know he is pissed. I am too. And I assume he is trying to punish Ratner and co. by ruining the movie for everyone, and therefore keeping people out of the seats. Most likely, he has done that. Still. League, you pecker.

Finally, absent the above paragraph directed at The League, nothing in this blog is about anyone. These ramblings are just that. I have been told some folks have been offended by my rants. Get over yourselves. This is not about you. It is just some jackass's way of getting shit out of his head so he can sleep. If you disagree with something I say, then post a response. Disagree. Stop reading. whatever. But don't take it personally. These are my opinions. If yours are different, that is fine (I hope they are different). You may be a a yuppie, a Republican, you may have loved Gen X, maybe you hate the Mavericks, etc. I don't care, and you shouldn't either. If I have offended you, well, i dunno. I want to be sorry. Want to. Kinda.

Except you, League. I am thinking up a punishment. I need your address.

I'm off to build the flower bed. Then to the Springs. Then i have tomorrow off. Then the next day!

Desmond Dekker dies (and other forms of alliteration)

2006-05-26T12:10:00.003-07:00

The music world has taken another hit today, as Ska pioneer and legend Desmond Dekker died today. He was probably best known for his top 10 hit The Isrealites (it's loud, so turn your speakers down), but his influence is far and wide. Dekker started out in 1963 preaching good behavior ("Honour your father and mother" was his first single), but that changed in the late 60's as he came out on top of the "rude boy" movement with his first huge hit "007 (Shantytown)". "Rudie Got Soul" is undoubtedly the influence behind The Clash's "Rudy Can't Fail." "The Isrealites" came in 1968, and with it, Dekker's biggest hit, #1 in the UK, top 10 in the states. Even The Beatles jumped on the bandwagon, with thier homage to ska (kinda) Ob-La-Da, supposedly referencing Dekker in the line "Desmond has a barrow..."

He had his next big hit covering Jimmy Cliff's "You can get it..." That's where my limited knowledge of Dekker ends. Except that Andy Sensat and I saw Oysterhead cover The Isrealites in New Orleans at the Saenger Theatre in 2000.

He was great, I'm sorry I never got to see him. Everyone from Bob Marley to The Beatles to The Clash to The Specials to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones to Gwen Stefani was influenced by Dekker. Go buy some of hs music, relax, sit back, let that Jamaican vibe sink in, and devote a few minutes of your day to his memory.

Have a great weekend.

Wo hoo!

2006-05-26T06:42:00.000-07:00

Three day weekend is almost here. As you may be able to tell, i couldn't be more excited.

Practice is tonight, and no work tomorrow - means we can play a little later, and can drink a little more!

Big Johnson is coming into town!

New X-Men movie is out (yeah, it may suck, but still), Maltese Falcon is showing at the Paramount!

Barton Springs everyday!

I had the phones last night - some sleep - calls came in at 11:45 pm($75,000 agg assault bond), 3:33 am (DWI with collision - no bond), 5:16 am (Public Intox). Couldn't get any of these cats out of jail.

Since I was up, Pea nd I got up around 6, took dogs for walk, then went for a run.

Blasted some Loverboy to get the weekend started off right (thanks iTunes).

off to protest taxes.

A quick one...

2006-05-25T14:33:00.000-07:00

Busy again, so here's a quickie....

Mavs lost, and that sucks, but this bet with The League makes it all the more fun. Looks as though one of us will be making some guest blogs on the other's site. Will the guest attempt to write as if he were the other?

Glad to see Lay and Skillings were found guilty. This may seem odd coming form a defense attorney, but I am glad the jury didn't buy their bullshit. 32 years is a damn long time in jail (that is Lay's max exposure, I think - 30 for this and 6 months a piece for some prior guiltys). I know some people think it isn't enough, but if he doesn't die in jail, he'll be pretty old when he does get out.

Had lunch with Chris Sanders at Dirty Martin's - OT with cheese - delicious. Plus rings and fries.

Today's mail was awesome. Got some CD's from the Cobra Kai Dojo (including Gnarls Barkley), plus an iPod AV kit. So Memorial day will be rocking. It's about time for a new mixtape to disseminate to friends - I'll probably stay up all night tomorrow after crack practice and make one - so that's something to look forward to.

Three day weekend is almost here (wohoo!) No court tomorrow, but I do have the phones, so that means taking it easy tonight - no partying. Plus, i have a hearing tomorrow to contest my property taxes.

Peace out.

still waiting...

2006-05-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

look folks -

this is your chance to dole out some type of humiliation to either The League or I. Still awaiting suggestions. You have until 7:00 pm.

Requiescat In Pace - Clifford Antone

2006-05-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

today Austin (and the music community) lost one of its heroes. Clifford Antone died today of a heart attack in his Austin apartment. He was only 56. Over the past few years, Clifford had his share of legal troubles (damn heartless federal drug laws - he was just selling some grass to fund his club), but he was known for his love of the blues, and his club, Antones, has been a Austin landmark for a long, long time. Every imaginable blues legend (as well as jazz, rap, country,rock, etc...) has played at Atones one time or another. I have seen Clifford out at the Broken Spoke almost every time I am there, as well as at his club. He was always friendly, and seemed to thouroughly enjoy both the music and the patrons. He will be missed.

A bet, Gen X

2006-05-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

Well dear readers, the Mavs won their series over the evil empire that is San Antonio. They overcame themselves and thanks to some horrific officiating (even I think Duncan was fouled at the end of the game), the Mavs will be facing the Suns of Phoenix for a 7 game series beginning Wednesday. The League, Steanso's younger, more distinguished brother, currently resides just outside of Phoenix, in the burgeoning metropolis of Chandler, AZ. Since The League was stripped of his super hero status four years ago after an unfortunate and misunderstood incident with a baby giraffe, The League has been forced to take an interest in such mundane things as pro sports, and therefore, the Suns. I care for the Mavericks a great deal. A bet has been suggested between The League and I. If the Mavs win, then The League shall be forced to do something foolish (mowing the yard in a dress, a la The Simpsons, if only Chandler supported the growth of plants); if the Suns win, I shall do something. We are open to your suggestions. We will take submissions and will choose before tipoff on Wednesday.

After cramming what should have been a three hour read into three months, last night I finished Douglas Coupland's Generation X : Tales for an Accelerated Culture. This book has been recommended to me probably since it was first published in 1991. I have steadfastly refused to read it, mostly because I just hated the label of Gen X. However, after Steanso and special friend Gary Meyer repeatedly recommended it, I bit. In the end, I enjoyed the book. I did finish it, although there aren't many books I don't finish (mostly biographies, but I always know how they are gonna end). But, i didn't love it, at east not at first. The language seemed forced. Like Coupland was trying too hard. I really didn't believe any of the characters - they seemed like updated people from The Kool-aid Acid Test, or even On The Road. The cartoons, expressions and new Gen-X words with definitions in the margins were more distracting than funny. Steanso points out that the book was probably a lot more relevant and intriguing when it was written 15 years ago. I agree. I think the problem for me is that the characters purporting to be Gen X, which I thought was a label for those born around 1970-1975, were actually much older, maybe even 10 years older. However, as the book progressed, I came to care about the characters more. I came to relate to their sense of disillusion with the current system, accumulation of goods, environmental concern, etc. Either the forced uber-hip language/writing style became less of a focus as Coupland figured out where he was going with the characters; or I just got used to it. Either way, by mid-book I was actually looking forward to reading it, not just trudging through it. Does the book hold up 15 years later? Definitely. I think it is probably akin to what Thoreau was saying in Walden (which, shamefully, i have never read). The last passage, a three or four page epilogue of sorts was, to me, the most impressive passage of the book. If I were an emotional person, it might have brought a tear to my eye. Read it, or re-read it. It's my recommendation for the week. (not that I have had recommendations for the week before, nor plan on having them again)

ive got no time

2006-05-22T17:08:00.000-07:00

no time for blogging today, kids...went straight from court to a lunch meeting to federal court, to the office. on phone all day with new client and Johnson County DA/clerk's office.

Game 7 of Spurs/Mavs is tonight. Go Mavs!

maybe more later. maybe

for your consideration, here is the car i want, if i ever sell my car. i am on the fence. is this conspicuous consumption? i mean, it is a 4 cylinder car, not some 8 cylinder gas guzzling monstrosity (although we do have a 4-runner, but, we do use it a lot - we have dogs, and tents and camping gear, and friends we haul around a great deal). i want a car that was built for driving. a high performance car. on the one hand, this is a hell of a lot of money. why not keep my car i have now (which i don't really love, but was also half the price)? on the other, I have worked at least two jobs ever since I got out of law school. If i can't enjoy the fruits of my labor, why do it? (and by enjoy, i mean other than the vacations and groceries from central market). is it more ridiculous to get a nice car when i'm 50? will it always be ridiculous to drive such a nice car? my dad's thoughts are that this car isn't THAT expensive, it's no lexus or beemer, etc. But i find that to be a weak argument. it is expensive. just because there are more expensive cars otu there, that doesn't make this one any less expensive. i'm torn. I do love it though.

I just don't want to turn into a yuppie (i'm already in a suit and tie all day, and in austin, thats almost enough). is it still yuppie-ish if you buy the products because of their quality and because you like them, not in order to impress others? i don't know. i'm afraid it is. Am i becoming what i always hated?

2006-05-21T17:28:00.000-07:00

Sat morning came early, after a late Friday night. Got up, grabbed Steanso, went to Maudies for breakfast. Mandy and Alicia waited at Maudies for others to arrive, including Susan. Steanso and I headed to Barton Springs (one of my favorite places on the earth), Mandy, Susan and Alicia joined us a few hours later. Left the Springs around 5, grabbed a snow cone (coconut with cream), headed home. Changed clothes, went to "The Lick" (that's the Salt Lick, for those of you not in the know.)

the gang at the Lick

After filling ourselves with bar b q, Steanso and I headed back to the house, the ladies out for a quick drink. When I got home, I let the dogs out. I don't know who was more surprised, the dogs or the baby possum on the porch. Max and Lucy chased the possum, who did a quick roll and fell into his best routine. Between his acting and my instructions, the dogs left him alone. I ushered the dogs inside, and watched as the possum opened an eye, looked both ways, and left the yard. He came back for a brief encore and photo shoot, perched in a small tree above the pond. Closer inspection shows Max may have tasted a small bit of possum Look closely for a puncture wound, mid body, mostly hidden by a leaf). Could have been messy.

(celebrity possum, hiding injuries behind the leaf)

Mandy and Alicia came home, we watched SNL and part of Super Troopers before everyone fell asleep. I thought about staying up and finishing the movie, but it was 1:30, and Sunday held big plans.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Sunday - my Dad's birthday. Got up, headed out with the folks to the Becker Vinyards Lavendar festival outside of Fredericksburg. I rode out with Don, Mandy with Jajuan. Don and I listend to Dire Straights, Allman Bros, Raconteurs, Mountain Goats, and Harry Nilsson on the ride.

Had a nice meal, at a table of 10.

(Mom and Dad)

The couple next to us were Dr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Vice of San Antonio. Early 70's, he's been a exotic animals vet in San Antonio since the 1950's. World travelers. Hip, hip folks. Look them up if you're ever in SA-town.

(the Vices)

Five glasses of Becker's best wines at lunch meant the Pea was driving me home. I slept on the way, came home, mowed yard, cooked fajitas, called Steanso, watched first half of Hitchcock's Topaz. bedtime.

Three day weekend's a-coming. awesome.

reunion

2006-05-20T08:39:00.000-07:00

Friday night, Alicia Fertita, of Beaumont, came into town. Alicia lived in the Avenue B house with Mandy, Andy, and other Beaumonters when I first moved to Austin, and I spent many hours at the Ave B house, eating Alicia's spaghetti and casseroles. Alicia now designs interiors in Houston, and it's been a long time since we've seen her. She's here for the weekend, so stop by and say hi.

Cleburne alum Erin O'Neil and new husband Jason Franz are back from their honeymoon in Costa Rica.

Kellie Jo had her new beau Damon in town from Seattle.

Alicia, Pea, Kellie, Damon and I started off the evening dining at Doc's on Congress. Steanso respectfully declined our invitation, wisely being scared of the thousands of new UT graduates and their parents who were descending on the city.

From Doc's our group headed to Shoal Creek Saloon to watch Game 6 of the Mavericks-Spurs battle. We were joind by the O'Neil-Franz party. And by the Whiskeetos, Andy and Rami. Andy did a wonderful whiskeeto impression, involving flapping hands, a straw and, of course, maker's mark. Reed T. Shaw popped in for a brief guest appearance (does the T. stand for Thaddeus, like Capt. James T. Kirk?) The evil, evil spurs were victorious, forcing a game 7. I blame the sillt suspension of Terry, as well as Reed Shaw's appearance. Reed showed up for the last minute of the game. The Spurs were only up by 1 point upon his arrival. Things went downhill from there. I also blame the League, for jinxing the Mavs.

Kellie and Damon left. Jinxing completed, Reed went home to his ladies, Meredith and Jen. The bar closed at midnight, so they kicked the rest of us out. We all decided to head home as well. "How about the Tavern?" someone asked.

12:15 we headed to the Tavern. A good time was had by all. Over more drinks, my phobia's were discussed (tape, hair). Pearl Jam, pasties, breast feeding in public, massages, pedicures for men also were hot topics. There will be no Memorial day party at 1801 Bee Caves. We stayed until closing time. We stayed a little past closing time. We were kicked out.

Our little group closed down not one, but two bars. Aspire to that in a few years, new graduates. I didn't see any of you there. you make me sick. What has happened to today's youth?

In other news, I need a new cell phone. I am basically on call whenever I am not at the office, so I have my phone with me all the time. Do I get the RAZR? It's small, which I like, but will it keep a charge? I haven't been happy with my last two Motorola phones. I really like Nokia, but I also need a flip phone. And theirs is huge. Hmmm. Decisions to make.

permanent record

2006-05-18T23:30:00.000-07:00

well, kids, truth be told, CrackBass was a little more off than he let on. CrackBass was deep, deep down in the shit. Lunch didn't really help. Nor did the music. I wanted it to, but it didn't. I came home, tried to take a nap. No luck. Know when you're too tired to sleep? Everything feels uncomfortable? Your skin is sticky. The sheets are sticky? The air is too cold? too hot? too humid? you can't sleep, but you don't wanna get out of bed?

Well, that was me. I wanted to go see the Femmes, but I wanted to stay home. Thankfully, I deferred to the Pea.
"Tell me what to do, i just cant think."
"go to the show. get tired. come home and sleep"
"ok...steans, i'm in"

So Steanso and I rolled to stubbs to see the Violent Femmes. on their 25th anniversary tour. As we listened to them,I realized what a huge influence this band had. They probably will never get the recognition they deserve. But they created a whole new style of music.

Their first record, the self-titled album, came out in 1982. A year after MTV was born. The album was the first time I ever heard depressing music set to an upbeat. They are the reason I now love The Mountain Goats. Heck, the Mountain Goats wouldn't exist without the Femmes.

They were punk rock in a non punk rock way. At a time when punk rock was giving way to glam rock, art rock, new wave, the Femmes came out totally different than anything you had ever heard of. At the time I started listening to the Femmes (10th grade or so), I was already into The Clash - rawer punk rock (but still pretty polished, compared to Iggy or the Pistols). The Femmes changed punk rock from power chords on electric guitars with cheap gear, producing feedback, to clean acoustic music, upbeat, with lyrics full of piss and vinegar, and with outrageous lyrics. Including the F-bomb.

Back to the show. After Blister>Prove, they played a few more hits, then came the change. Gordon dropped the tele, switched to a fiddle. Gospel hour. Suddenly Gordon was talking about playing Austin 30 years before, and started playing "Blue Eyes Cryin in the Rain." Blue Eyes has a special place for old CrackBass, as he remebers listening to Willie and Friends playing through Don's record played as far back as he can remember.

A few weeks ago, Pea, Steanso and I were shocked at how old this record was. I thought I had heard it first in college. But listening to it tonight, I realized I had listened to it much earlier. I remember after my first breakup (with a girl from my church, Ashley M.), writing the lyrics to Add It Up, on a church bulletin, and leaving it in the offering plate. I hoped someone would see it, that someone would assume it was a suicide note, track down my handwriting, discover that the ex-girlfriend and I had broken up recently, and tell her how she had ruined my life.
How very dramatic. (boy, wasn't I a jackass)
Guess it comes back to the fact that I loved the Tom Sawyer dream - seeing your own funeral - how will they react to your death (or threatened death)?

Anyway, the show really took me back. To childhood (Blue Eyes), to angst filled youth (Add It Up), to now.

They closed with Add it Up...

Dropping the F-bomb. Punk(ish) Rock. I think this was probably the first (non NWA) album I heard with the F-bomb on it. At least that you could understand. - This was the song on the album that all the cool kids listened to. So outrageous. So raw. so happy. so sad. Gotta skip past this song when playing it in your parents' minivan's tape player.

Why can't I get just one kiss?
Why can't I get just one kiss?
Believe me,
Somethings I wouldn't miss
But I look at you pants and I need a kiss.

Why can't I get just one screw?
Why can't I get just one screw?
Believe me,
I'd know what to do.
But something won't let me make love to you.

Why can't I get just one f*^k?
Why can't I get just one f*^k?
I guess it's got something to do with luck
But I've waited my whole life for just one...

Day after day...

Just as she's about ready to cut it up
She says
Wait a minute honey I'm gonna add it up
Add it up

The show shook me out of my funk, and I really needed that. Thanks Femmes. Thanks Pea. Thanks Steano. I love you all. (or at least, like you a great deal.)

The Violent Femmes

2006-05-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

When I'm out walking I strut my stuff,
yeah I'm so strung out
I'm high as a kite
I just might
stop to check you out

let me go on
like I blister in the sun
let me go on
big hands I know you're the one...

...third verse, same as the first...

...Just last night I was reminded of
just how bad it had gotten
and just how sick
I had become

but it could change
with this relationship
(de) derange
we've all been thru some shit
and if one thing
I think this thing's begun

tell me now
(what do I have to do)
to prove my love to you

special favors come in 31 flavors
were out of mints, so
pass the life savers
I'm droppin hints
candy for candy-coated tongue

you'd be so good
so very good for me
what do you think?
tell me honestly
I'm (wait-wait-wait-wait-wait)
waiting for you to come

tell me now
what do I have to do,
yeah, to prove my love to you
(I'd do anything)
(I'd do it all)
(I'd do it all for you)
(I'd climb a mountain)
(I'd cross the ocean)
(I'd do it all)
to prove my love to you

back on top...

2006-05-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

...sometimes all it takes is a nice meal and some good music. Our meeting with new client ran long this morning, so co-worker, and newly ambulatory Josh Saegert handled all my settings this morning. Not one, but two contested resets. So, to show my appreciation for his efforts, I took Josh to Sullivans for lunch. We each had 6 oz. filet mignon, spinach, and horseradish mashed potatoes, plus salads. Between that and repeated listenings to the Raconteurs, I am building up steam for the second half of the day. (though the heavy lunch is making me a bit sleepy).

Anyway, I'm back on top. Or, at least on the way.

For your consideration, here is a picture of Mr. Saegert, pre-leg injury days (but, it should be noted, post-indoor smoking ban days). Josh has been out of the rotation since breaking his leg in March, but he too is clawing his way back to the top. Welcome back, Josh. Hope you're back to your LaLa's days again soon.

ups and downs

2006-05-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

well kids, CrackBass in a real sour mood this morning. It's one heckuva turnaround since my exuberance after yesterday's announcement of the ACL Lineup.

First, the Mavs lost. Crack's superjam wouldn't fit onto the stupid myspace page. Then, I was on call, didn't get a wink of sleep, and didnt make any money. I need to sleep. I had to be at work at 7:45 to meet with a potential new client. The new cleaners has been pulling out my collar stays and not giving me new ones. Of course I've been too lazy to go to the mall to buy new ones, so I'm sticking paper clips in there like some ghetto attorney. I need to sleep. Traffic was awful and I was 10 minutes late getting into work. Had to get Josh to take a continuance on an ALR hearing this morning at 8:30. I need to sleep. We already have plans for the whole weekend. I need to sleep. ARRRGGGHHHH!!!

Remember in the crappy remake of La Femme Nikita, where the etiquitte teacher tells Bridgette Fonda to say something like, "I never worried much about the little things"? Well, I'm the exact opposite. It's the little things that always get me.

eating my words,

2006-05-17T17:31:00.000-07:00

and they taste oh so good...

ACL Festival Lineup is here. Bloom's info was correct, and then some. Cancel your plans. Sell your soul. Do whatever it takes to get here.

My highlights are:

Raconteurs
Gnarls Barkley
Tragically Hip (may be the biggest coup of the bunch - though I hear Van Morrison is rare)
New Pornographers
Shins
Explosions in the Sky
Flaming Lips
Ween
Ted Leo
Calexico/Iron and Wine
Stars
Feist (does this and Stars mean Broken Social Scene will play???)
Kings of Leon
Black Angels
Secret Machines
crack.
GoldFrapp
Okkerville River
Wolf Parade
Sparklehorse
The Stills
Cat Power and Memphis horns
Los Amigos
Damian Marley
What Made Milwaukee Famous
Damien Rice (yes, sappy, guilty pleasure - like watching the OC or a Jennifer Love Hewitt movie)
Ray LaMontagne (see above)
Aimee Mann
Matisyahu
Benevento Russo
etc...

and this is just on first glance.

hell yeah!

Cobra Kai - QUIT YOUR JOB, or at least call in sick

Weedo/Steanso/Mono - I need a ONE DISC Tragically Hip mix

I love Austin! I love Austin! I love Austin!I love Austin! I love Austin! I love Austin!I love Austin! I love Austin! I love Austin! I love Austin! I love Austin!

The broken back

2006-05-17T13:16:00.000-07:00

Last night was crack practice. Sigmund's trombone was dead and special friend Gary Meyer was absent, preparing for an interview; so I wasn't expecting much. Also, I have been unhappy with my new bass head, actually liking my old Behringer combo more. But, man oh man, was I wrong. Bloom repaired his bone with some pliers, and we were set. I have been listening to a lot of Mountain Goats the last few days, and they are not what I would call "rockers." Acoustic guitars, strings, some piano. I thought maybe practice would be mellow, or at least my bass lines. Again, oh so wrong - on all counts.

For whatever reason, we came out rocking pretty hard/dark, and pretty tight. I was running bass through the Big Muff on and off, and it really sounded nice through the head/cab. Despite prior attestations, Steanso is really holding the 16th beats, and a line he read to me about the highhat being the time keeper has let me get into a new space playing bass. Knowing it was his old bone's possible last performance Bloom (and later, Andy) really got the most out of the trombone. And Andy's old keyboard through the wah pedal brought some kick ass lofi trippy sounds out. Sigmund's guitar work was stellar. Our first break came after an especially dark jam that ended with Andy producing animalistic yells, causing Sigmund to inquire, "you ok? did you hurt your back?"

Second "set" started out with us switching instruments. We got back to our own gear in time to finish up. We decided to play our first structured song of the night, A. Sensat's "Hey You." 15 minutes later, we all just looked at each other. What we had produced was the epitome of crack - you can check it out at our myspace page or at our .mac site (as soon as Steanso/Andy get the files up). We love it, and listening to it after practice, we were all grins, and even laughing. It may not translate, and if you hear it, you may scratch your head. But, that's crack.

Dig it.

or piss off. whatever.

PS - bought The Raconteurs CD today. I'll let you know.

ACL Fest - early thoughts

2006-05-16T13:12:00.000-07:00

Bloom and I discussed the upcoming ACL Festival last night while watching the Mavs...

For no great reason, i can't help but be a little disappointed at the lineup this year. Seems like each year there has been a show I am just ecstatic to see:

2002 - Wilco (this was right after Yankee Hotel Foxtrot came out)
2003 - Shins and Ween
2004 - (here is where they really started getting phenominal) Trey, Broken Social Scene, Calexico, Franz Ferdinand, MMW, Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, Pixies, Elvis Costello, Wilco
2005 - (and this is the one that spoiled me - it was literally a CrackBass wetdream...) Black Crowes (with Marc Ford), Allmans, Wilco, Arcade Fire, Death Cab, Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon, Spoon, Decemberists, Fiery Furnaces, Bloc Party, Kaiser Cheifs, Black Keys, Walkmen, etc.

...but not this year, at least not yet.

Each year has topped the previous. And these were just bands I liked. It seemed like the lineup was this exciting for everyone, no matter what kind of music you liked. I have never been excited about the headliner (REM, Coldplay, Ben Harper), but that's fine, a lot of people are. This year, the hype was that it would be Radiohead playing. Well, looks like that isn't going to happen. Instead, the headliner is Tom Petty. I like Tom, I hear he puts on a great show, and I've never seen him. But, he's no Radiohead. He will appeal to a bigger audience.

Don't get me wrong - I am excited about a lot of the bands they have announced for this year - New Pornographers, Flaming Lips, Shins, Black Angels. Son Volt and Ben Harper will be fine, but the've played this before (as have Shins). I know the official lineup comes out on Thursday, and maybe I'll be blown away. But right now, there isn't a "Holy SHIT!" band. If they get The Raconteurs - yeah, I'll be ecstatic. I mean, I'll be happy no matter what. It's three days of great music in my hometown. Cool people to hang out with. Possible party at Steanso's one night. Big Johnson in town. See lots of friends at the shows. Etc...

But so far, this is the first year that didn't surpass the previous. And I'm getting spoiled. I just can't help but think that CSE (the Austin based company that puts on ACL and the revamped Lollapalooza) is giving more attention to Lollapalooza this year. Last two years, ACL Fest was arguably the best festival in the states. I don't think anyone can argue that Bonnaroo holds that title this year.

Steanso agrees. with me to some extent. Bloom says I am a pessimist/downer (and this is quite an accusation coming from Bloom). Maybe they will announce Radiohead (or Pearl Jam, or the White Stripes, or Dr. Octogon) on Thursday, and I'll eat my words. We'll see.

It'll still be great. And no matter who they announce, it will sell out soon. Buy your tix kids. Come down. Big Johnson is in the backroom, but you can have the couch (or if, you are hot and single, sleep with Big Johnson).

God strikes back at Big Love

2006-05-16T07:42:00.000-07:00

Apparently God wants to clear up any questions regarding polygamy, now that HBO is trying to make it cool again. He has sent the Plague to Utah.

Weather is unseasonably nice here. Last night I mowed the yard (listening to Deerhoof and The Mountain Goats - who I just can't get enough of), then decided to grill out. Pea and I walked to Central Market, bought supplies. I made her a tiny burger, and I opted for a stuffed burger - thin patty, add some chimchuri pesto salsa, Gruyere, top with another thin patty. We also grilled some squashes. Tried to watch the season finale of How I Met Your Mother (my guilty pleasure), only to discover that the DVR had cut it off halfway, and instead recorded The King of Queens. A few seconds of that shite and I was wishing I had the Plague.

Later, Sigmundo stopped by to watch the Mavs with me, and to curse basketball officiating and try and jinx the Mavs. Pea went to bed early, Bloom wandered home around 11:45. Mavs won, so that's great. However, I am worried about Dirk Nowitzki - he was basically non existent in the 4th quarter and OT. Chrispi puts some spin on it, but I am definitely backpedaling on my claim that he should have been MVP (though he still had 28 points with a supposed rolled ankle).

In other news, Happy Birthday to my cousin Braxton Reed Wilson. Sadly, Braxton's birthday was March 13 (he turned 17). I just happened to get his gift in the mail yesterday. Yeah, I know. I'm an ass. But, I sent him some cool stuff, I think. Braxton is a cool kid growing up in Montgomery, Texas. His dad coaches at The Woodlands, so maybe that's where Braxton goes to school. Maybe not. He is in band, and blows a mean trombone. He wants to play drums. He is deciding where to go to college soon. I am pushing for UT or Trinity (anywhere but Baylor). His mom and dad are Aggies, and are pushing for A&M. Noooooo! (sorry Reed and Chris). Anyway, I have invited him to come visit this summer. I hope he does, and Steanso and I can drag him on tours of UT and Trinity, and corrupt him like his dad corrupted me when I visited him at Colleg Station when I was 17 (he snuck me into the Dixie Chicken and into some Pizza joint, and we drank Shiner Bock in the back corner and played videos games/pool.) For his birthday this year, Braxton is getting:

Dark Knight Returns
Dark Knight Strikes Again
Arcade Fire CD
Mountain Goats CD
Pavement CD
CrackBass Brief History of Punk - 2 CD mix including Clash, Pistols, Devo, Minor Threat, Lagwagon, Pennywise, OpIvy, Ramones, Pogues, NoFX, Dead Milkmen, Dead Kennedys, Kinks, Talking Heads, Stooges, Green Day, Elvis Costello, No Use For A Name, Fugazi, Bad Religion, Rancid. Face To Face (History of Punk available upon request)

Happy Birthday Braxton. I hope you don't read this blog. And if you do, for some unknown reason, I hope not until after you get your package.

Here is Braxton at age 3, I think, with some awesome soon-to-be Cleburne High School graduate.

Mother's Day

2006-05-15T09:50:00.000-07:00

Mother's day has come and gone. The Pea traveled to Beaumont to celebrate with her mom. I had Jajuan and Don over for Sunday Brunch. I went to bed around 3 am Sat night, and wanted to sleep in til at least 9. I thought 6 hours of sleep would do me well (I was tired, and got a lot more sun at the Springs than I had realized)... I still felt bad for Max, so I let him sleep with me (there is nothing in the world Max would rather do than get under a pile of blankets and sleep next to someone. "NightNight, Max" brings Max running to the side of the bed from wherever he was, tail wagging, all excited just to go back to sleep.) I offered Lucy the same, but she opened one eye, glowered at me from the closet, and went back to sleep. Sadly, around 6:15, Lucy decided she had chosen poorly, and barked at me from the edge of the bed. Groggy, confused, I let her up too. 8:00, dogs beginning whining for breakfast. I took them out, fed them. Thought about trying to go back to sleep. No go. Got up. Cleaned house. Played with dogs. Went to Central Market, bought ingredients for brunch.

I made her an omelet (mushrooms, truffle oil, Gruyere cheese), applewood bacon, biscuits. We talked for a while, and discussed house plans, gardens, ponds, etc. A nice laid back Mom's Day.

In her honor, some Jajuan/Jeff stories:

Jajaun was born in a town of 400 or so outside of Abilene. She married her high school sweetheart. They graduated in a class of 24 people. Don went to college in Lubbock, ROTC. Was in the ROTC/AirForce from 1968-77. Jajuan's hopes of seeing the world were dashed when Don got based in ....Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas. damn.

Don was in the airforce when I was born and was stationed in Europe for a few months at a time. So, it was Jajuan and I, hanging out on Dyess AFB.

Jajuan being a night owl, she taught me to stay up late, and we watched Johnny Carson together. We would often have late night meals of sour kraut and sausage. Sadly for Don, once he arrived back, I would often stay up in my room, crying because I was supposed to be in bed, and yelling "Here's Johnny" at the top of my lungs.

Jajuan taught me to cook. As early as I can remember, I was standing on a chair at the cooktop, making pancakes, or cookies, or eggs. Cooking is still one of my favorite activities. And, I'm damn good at it. So, thanks for that, Mom.

She also taught me to garden. We always had a garden, both flowers and vegetables.
Pea and I have carried on that tradition, our backyard a never ending project of shrubberies.

She taught me to appreciate fine dining. When i was still in junior high, she made me (and taught me to make) chicken Kiev, chicken cordon bleu, etc. Just in case I was ever some place and had to order something nice, I'd know something I liked. She also taught me which fork, spoon, knife, etc. to use.

She has always sacrificed to make sure I had it better than she did. And that I saw more than she did. She has always supported me in whatever hare brained scheme I have come up with...

She has done much more. Point is, she's a great mom. Happy Mother's Day, Jajuan.

this is the only picture I have of Jajaun on my computer. It is post swim-meet circa 1981.

Don and Jajuan left around 2:30. Storms threatened all day, not allwoing me to mow teh yard. So I read. And watched basketball. And watched the Sporanos. Then edged the yard.

Steanso and I went to Johnny Carino's for dinner. My first trip. I like the decor better than Macaroni Grill, but the food is not as good. Yeah, it certainly beats Olive Garden, but I haven't been to an Olive garden since 1993, so that's not saying much. I had the Timballo. Described as "A hot skillet filled with spaghetti, marinated onions & peppers, mushrooms, black olives, & pepperoni. Baked with mozzarella & parmesan cheeses. Choice of grilled chicken or Italian sausage, " on the menu, Steanso pointed out that it sounded like something from the Simpsons. I tried it anyway. ehhh. about like it sounds. combo of leftover pizza and spaghetti. I doubt I'll return. Pea arrived home around 10.

Now it's Monday. Stupid Monday.

my day, my list

2006-05-14T00:53:00.000-07:00

yeah. so, it's true. you've heard about it by now. and i'm sorry. it was dumb. I stayed up til 5 this morning. no good. i'm not 20-something anymore. My goal of watching the sun rise at least once a week has taken on a totally differnt meaning. Still, last night i tried to do it. And it was dumb. sure, i had soem reasons. I needed to watch max. I needed to clean the house a bit (yes, bleach was involved - but only to pour down all the drains. but, hey, don't worry - the drains were soon flushed with water to avoid any bleach fume remainders). I need to figure out this crazy myspace fad. I needed to listen to some music. I needed to see if moving the wireless station would provide actual wireless ability. whatever. point is, i finally cashed the chips in, laying on the floor in a pallet, sleeping next to max, with The Royal Tenenbaums playing n the TV. Steanso's call at 10 woke me up.

I obviously got less done than planned. Breakfast with Steanso came at 10:45 at Maudies - two petes tacos (i could only take in one), queso, beans. A nap on the grass couch for 5 minutes. I decided to ditch working on the flower bed for a quick trip to Barton Springs. Good idea. got in the water (head above water or ears plugged with fingers), swam about, sat in the sun, read a bit. Came home, cleaned porch, planted some plants, replaced the filter on the fridge, cleaned off coils (1/3 of list completed?). Called J. Barton Mitchell. "Yo JackBart, lets go!"

Tried to wake Steanso (he was sleeping off the Maudie's virus), headed to store. Grilled steaks (burger for Steanso)(the chimney, may be the best invention of all time), mashed potatoes. Good food. Steanso angry/shocked at high prices from yuppie/hippie food store.
Steanso, JackBart and I met B. Tillman at MoMo's for F 4 Fake. Great show. Where the hell were you? Hung with Charlie for a bit after, JackBart's ladyfriend joined us.

Steanso and I returned to Casa-de-wilson for a backyard flavored water (Steanso's favorite rejuenator), and a discussion about Janes Addiction, 1991 Austin, and high school music scenes. Steanso left.

oh, by the way. The Mavericks won. If they win the championship, Chris Perri has promised to take our whole office to Wink. I haven't forgotten, Chrispi.

It is now 2 and a half hours past morningtime. I am going to bed. (against my will, but with my better judgment) Tomorrow I am having Don and Jajuan over for Mother's Day brunch and hang out time. Thanks to all you mothers! we wouldn't be here without you! we love you.

Oh yeah. After Steanso left, I re-tested the Chimney with the butcher paper the steaks came in. What do you mean? No! I never play with fire. No. I didn't catch myself on fire once while camping. What are you talking about? Leave me alone.

weirdo.

Friday night and jamaican queen's jumpin

2006-05-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

Friday - the prince of days. Friday is definately my favorite day. Friday at quitting time is the furthest you are from having to work again. Saturday is up next, and Saturday is pretty darn great too, but you know Sunday is right around the corner. Sunday had more dread as a kid, because Sunday was pretty much a wasted day, at least fun wise (I am not getting into the pros/cons of church attendance right now). Sunday School at 9:45-10:45, church 11 - 12ish. Get home, shuck church clothes, eat something that had been cooking in the oven on time bake - usually a casserole or roast, in my recollection. If it was football season, watch football. Otherwise, get into "play clothes" and play some baseball or just dig holes in the dirt pile dad had bought last year to spread over the low spots in the yard. Eventually, just when you were getting into whatever you were doing, churchtime would come again - 4:30-5:30 choir, 5:30-6:30 youth group, 6:30-7:30 church, again. Now, Sundays are not church-filled. But, they still have the impending doom of Monday around the corner. My new motto is to do work on saturdays, relax, swim, whatever on sundays.

So, the excitement this friday started early. Picked max up after work. Chris Sanders came by to look at some gardening, and to pick up some software for his computer. While we were standing in the front yard, two kids came walking down the street, glancing every which way. One took off his shirt and they both started sprinting. A minute later, a guy pulled up in a car saying two kids had robbed some lady at Central Market, and had we seen them. I warned the Pea, and Chris and I took off after them. We saw them jump down into a drainage ditch/riverbed, pulled the car over and gave short chase. Chris went back to the car to follow the road around, I continued to run down the riverbed. A few short steps later, I realized that should these kids turn around, I was in deep shit. So, I grabbed a small rock. And walked two more steps. Decided to walk back to the street, and make sure they didn't double back (percy). Two cops rolled by, asked me about the muggers, and drove on. Chris came back, and we went back to the house. 30 minutes later the cop copter was trolling our hood for the hoodlums. So that got the old ticker ticking. So, was it smart or cowardly to turn back? What if i had thrown the rock and hit one of the kids, and hurt him? Would that be bad to do? (I don't really know that they did anything wrong - I didn't see them do anything other than run) Why did I chase after them in the first place? Protecting my home/family? or just being dumb? ahhhhhh. i have no idea.

Pea left, Steano came by. We decided to skip Lemurs, since Max was just out of surgery, and I was tired too. We bought a videogame to play (saw some 8 year old kid's mom buy him Grand Theft Auto), ate at Suzi's, came home. Played some videogames, listened to music. Eddie Kaye stopped by. We hung out backyard, had a few drinks. They have left (quite early, I might add), so here I am. What to do? go to bed? clean house? watch a movie?

Anyway, here is my proposed list for things to do this weekend while mandy is in beaumont. Old Jeff would have demanded that all get done. I will just hope to get most important 50% done.

- put new can lights in the living room ( i have already wired the switches, so this isnt that big of a chore, just have to put the lights in and wire them up)
- change water filter behind fridge
- clean fridge coils
- (if the above dont solve the problem) fix ice maker
- move/mount wireless router so it will work past one room
- finish rocking and mortaring new flower bed
- re plant ferns, etc into new bed
- clean off back porch
- move boxes from garage to appropriate holding areas
- print some photos, frame those photos, and hang pictures
- clean out office so Pea can have area to study for GRE
- clean out guest room for impending summer visitors
- straighten house

ok (so why does it always seem to be, me looking at you, you looking at me, it's always the same, it's just a shame...
thats all

PS - I am so in love with: The Postal Service (and therefore Death Cab for Cutie.) And I have no idea how to feel about it. Ashamed? Proud? Out of my age bracket?

and Shuggie Otis. especially Shuggie. If you ain't listenin to Shuggie, you ain't livin. The man played with Zappa, was asked by the Stones to replace Brian Joens. What else do you want on a resume? Buy Inspiration Information now!!!! If you won't, just email me, and I'll buy it for you (asuming you can provide reason why you can't buy it for yourself)

PPS - thanks to the following for turning me on to Shuggie:

John Prentice Walkup II
Gary Robert Meyer
Sigmund McClay Bloom

It's not a slug

2006-05-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

and it's not water. Nor is it sand. I have eustachian tube dysfunction. (And other than mental, that is the ONLY dusfunciton i have). I was given some anti-biotics (I won't take, unless necessary), some Sudafed-ish pills, plus some nose spray. When I take the nose spray, I am to sniff gently, as to get the spray onto the end of my eustachian tube, but not sniff so much as to get the spray into my throat. Hmmmm. That sounds difficult to me. We'll see how this shakes out.

Max's tail is fine, but he was full of pecans and pecan shells. They were removed. I would imagine he is in some pain. Poor Max. Thing is, we don't really have any pecans in the yard. I picked them up at the end of the season to avoid this problem. I think ol Max has been digging up squirrel pecans. Oh Max.

Co-worker Chris Perri has started a Texas sports blog. Check it here.

It's the weekend. Pea is out of town. I'm sorry to see her go; she normally keeps me (and the OCD) in check. Nights without Pea usually result in me staying up til 3 or 4, watching movies and cleaning the house. With bleach.

On the other hand, when she is gone, I often get to stay up all night watching movies and cleaning the house. With bleach.

Tonight will probably involve going to see The Lemurs at the Parish, or watching some movies. Tomorrow - work in the yard, barton springs, grill out with Steanso and JackBart, and F 4 Fake at Momo's.

Sunday I will spend with Mom and Pop, I reckon.

Have a great weekend. It's what you work for. Well, that and money.

Retraction

2006-05-12T07:01:00.000-07:00

I retract any statements made about flowers for Mother's Day. Flowers are ideal for Mother's Day. Moms love flowers, and your mom loves you. As a matter of fact, I can't think of anything a Mom would want more. Flowers brighten her day, liven up a room, and smell nice. Plus, they are delivered in a timely manner, and oftentimes, with a reusable vase.

I meant in no way to disrespect anyone.

Why the retraction you ask?

Well, CrackBass has been threatened. And, threatened by super-intelliget monkeys.

Did you see The Office on TV last night?

2006-05-11T15:51:00.000-07:00

I didn't, cause I was SEEING JAMES BROWN! Yeah, and it was awesome. The band came out around 9:00. Little build up, James out on the stage around 9:15. In a silver tuxedo. The rocked the house well for and hour and a half. Really brought it all down with "Living in America," from Rocky 4. Told us he loved Austin (Of course) and imparted this important piece of advice - "Learn Spanish!" There you go, straight from The Godfather of Soul to you.

James played the keys, he danced, he sang. He even popped into a cover of OutKast's "The Way You Move." So cool. The crowd was as diverse as I have ever seen at a show. Frat boys and 70 year olds dancing next to each other. After the show, Pea and I headed home for some post-James partying. We hoped to meet up with Steanso, Weedo and Chris "Serial Killer" Griego, but they stopped at Wendy's instead. Nonetheless, Weedo stopped by after Steanso went to bed, and hung out pond-side with the Wilson's until much too late for a school night (1:45 in the a.m., if you must know).

Today was CLE for me - 8 hours of a video'd conference on how to practice in federal court. It was pretty awful - it was mostly geared towards civil attorneys. Surprisingly, the hour long segment on representing appointed criminal clients (if you are licensed in Federal court, you are automatically on the appointment list) was presented by US Attorney's Office prosecutors. They encouraged new lawyers unfamiliar with criminal practice to ask advice about the case from the prosecutor. And not to waste time filing "frivolous motions." And not to call their supervisors should you have problems. And that a trial was just a waste of time, as 99.6% of Federally charged clients were found guilty, and a trial just made their punishment worse. Basically, new attorneys were told to trust the prosecutor's version of the case, handle their clients (who were referred to as "bad people" more than once), and enter a plea. I was shocked.

The last two sections were, thankfully, presented by some local defense attorneys. They straightened out some of the misinformation, but I was still dumbfounded.

Tomorrow is Friday. Which is awesome. It is also Mother's Day weekend, so get your mom something if you haven't already (not flowers, you lazy bum - put some thought into it). Pea heads to Blowmont, so I'm bachelor-ing it. Hope the weather stays as nice as it was today.

(I did dvr The Office.)

James Brown is tonight!!!!

2006-05-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

As you may be able to guess, I am excited. James Brown. Legend. Still kicking myself for not having seen him a few years back at the rodeo ("It's ok to miss things," my ass), everyone said it was a fantastic show. Well, luckily he is here again at Stubbs tonight. Outdoor show, sold out today. I can only hope everyone is as excited as I am. Tickets are still available on craigslist, so if you want to go people, get your tickets now. McCrimmon has scheduled a pre-party at Bull McCabes around 7:00, 7:30....

Last night was the first full fledged crack practice in a while. 5 players, rocking from the Hop-a-Long Lounge. I think we sounded good. I certainly had a good time (the delirium tremens may have helped). Worked out a few new songs. Gary Meyer joined us, adding his telecaster magic. Sigmund's trombone gave up the ghost, sadly. I think it is beyond repair. Andy F. rocked out with his seiko, adding almost vocal-like expressions with the octave bar.

Tomorrow I have the daunting task of wading through 8 hours of Federal Law CLE. yea!

In dachshund news, Max has injured his tail. He cries and I feel bad for him. He has a vet's appointment on Friday. Same day I am having the water forcibly sucked from my brain. I don't think either of us are excited aboout that.

That's about it. Not much exciting happened today. Other than the excitement of building up to James Brown, of course. Lunch with Gary at Angie's (delicious, but coma-inducing). Ran into three prosecutors and former prosecutor Brian Roark. Guess it was just a mexican food kind of day.

Have a good wednesday night, kids. Hope to see you at Stubbs or Bull McCabes...

Concerning the attacks upon Water (or, "A Water's counter-point")

2006-05-09T20:25:00.000-07:00

In the interests of fair and balanced coverage, Blogo De Wilson presents the following Counter-Point to yesterday's Blog.

Hey Jackass:

Where do you get the nerve?

You think you can just roll in here and get any water you want to jump right into the ear with you? You think all local water is just dying to jump into some ear with any jackass who shows up with an empty ear cavity? Think again Buster! I thought you were someone special. I thought WE meant something. But Noooo.

Yes, you did have a beautiful ear...a little old, yeah, but sexy old, like Tom Selleck. You were clean - no wax in you.

Yes, it's true, you were pierced, but it was such an old piercing, and the leftover hole so small...no one would know. You weren't infected. You hadn't tried to stretch your lobe out like some forgotten African tribesman. You were attached to some face, sure. But hey, most lobes are attached.

Anyway, you were there on the beach, acting coy. Maybe the impending storm scared you off, but I doubt it. I think you were getting the courage up to come meet me. Eventually, you did. You came running up, and dove head-long into my ocean. I immediately embraced you. You opened up to me. I flowed right into your heart, the Eustachian Tube, your ear drum letting me slide past into the inner sanctum, like I was Vikki Vale and your eardrum, Alfred.

We bonded. We melded. I thought we had something. I swam around, exploring your caverns and caves. You could only hear me, and I was there for you only.

But nightfall came. And with it, our first fight. Oh yeah. I haven't forgotten. But I have forgiven. Almost immediately the assaults began. Oh yes, I overheard you talking to HER, - "it hurts. I can't hear..." And she believed your story. She suspected nothing of our intimacy. She tried to kill me. She brought Swimmer's Ear, she brought alcohol, she consulted a (witch) doctor, she brought vinegar, peroxide. But I remained strong- our love (and my resolve) only strengthened by our challenges.

You say you want me to leave, but are you sure? Haven't you become accustomed to me? Aren't I everything you ever wanted? I always hear you referring to me - "WHAT? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you, I have WATER in my ear." I know you love me. And I love you.

It's true, we may be over come this Friday. Your "Dr. Blair" may separate us. But I will never forget the times we had. I will never forget our closeness. I will never forget YOU. I will be back. It may be days, or weeks, or years, but someday, when you least expect it, I will creep back in, and you will recognize the warmth, the reduction in hearing,and you will welcome me with open ears, and we will be one again.

I LOVE You.

You are my everything,
Hawaiian Ear Water

An open letter to the water in my ear

2006-05-09T09:23:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry. It's time. This just isn't working anymore. It's been two months, but it seems like forever. We had some laughs, but now it's just time for you to leave.

You were so exotic when I met you in Hawaii. Unlike anything I had seen before. So beautiful, sometimes wild and crazy, and sometimes so calm and relaxed. I submerged myself in you, you swallowed me up, we became one. It was wonderful. But it should have been a one time thing. Short lived. Just a vacation thing at most, but more likely, just a few hours..

But no. You latched on. Refused to let go. Now, JUST GET OUT. I've tried to introduce you to others like you here in Texas. Maybe you could find someone else. I've taken you to Barton Springs, Krause Springs, the Guadalupe River. But you refuse to leave me.

I've showered you with parting gifts - alcohol, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, Swimmer's Ear drops...still, you refuse my attempts to separate us. You are driving me crazy. I no longer think of you with fond memories. Where I once thought of you as the stuff dreams are made of, now all I can think of is the pain you cause me. Often, late at night, as I lie on my pillow, I hear the whisperings that you will leave me. The first ecstatic sensation that you are rolling out. Do I dare dream it to be so? No. Just a tease.

Well, take this as your notice. You have three days. After that, I am evicting you. Dr. Blair will forcibly remove you. Yes, it will hurt. It will hurt me, and most likely you'll end up on the floor, broken. Later to be mopped up and destined to spend the rest of your life in a dirty bucket, filled with week-old pine sol and bleach. Remember your glorious past. You've had ample opportunity to get back there, but you have made your choice. I'm sorry. Goodbye.

It's a slow Monday.

2006-05-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

but, aren't they all?

I'm glad to see that Mission Impossible III is not doing as well as predicted. The movie somewhat interests me, as does the director, and reviews have been good. But I just really, really dislike Tom Cruise. These reasons are numerous, and none of them alone would be enough to encourage such rancor, but as a whole...

The Mav's really let me down yesterday. Boy, what a suck-fest. The Spurs have been playing non-stop for 10 days, had only 36 hours rest between games, and the well-rested Mavs score 85 points and lose? As much as I hate to say it, maybe Nash was the right pick for MVP? The Suns certainly beat the Lakers nicely on Saturday night.

Not much going on otherwise. The stomach is revolting again. I'm on an oatmeal regimen until tomorrow night's pre-band practice taco night. Still recovering from the tubing, I guess.

I want to see Art Brut tonight, but I'm leaning towards "no" right now. It's at Emo's which I don't love, I've never heard any of their music, and I have Crack practice on Tuesday, then James Brown on Wednesday (wohoo!), then I'm on call Thursday. The Pea heads for Blow-mont this weekend, so tonight is my only chance to hang out with her this week. Plus, so. tired.

Hope your Monday is moving along faster than mine.

time to get back to work. Adios, mofos.

Sleeping in.

2006-05-07T21:00:00.000-07:00

After tubing, we made a valiant effort to keep the party going for Feral Andy's sake. Turns out, Kim and Kraber were wise in leaving early. Our attempt was no good. Steanso left first. Then Elf 's stomach rebelled against her and Andy took her home. I decided it was time for an old CrackBass Special - starting a movie at 1:00 and pushing through. Made it about halfway through the commentary on The Royal Tenenbaums (there's another post here about my changing taste in movies, but that is for another time) before I gave up the ghost (well, not THE GHOST, but a smaller ghost). The Pea had nested in the sunken room, so I woke her and told her it was time to go to bed. She decided to shower, as she was feeling poorly - allergies, mostly, some tube exhaustion. As I lay in the bed waiting for her to get out of the shower, every time I would close my eyes, it felt like I was still tubing. I'd wake with a start, worrying I had leaned back and spilled the beer in my lap (I didn't actually have a beer in bed, I was just tube- dreamin). Went to sleep around 1:45. Woke up at 9:30, Pea had returned to nest with dogs. I followed her into the sunken room, laid down on the floor, promptly fell asleep until Steanso called and woke me up. I am ashamed to say that his phone call came at 11:30. 10 hours of sleep. I probably really needed it. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Went to brunch (is it still called brunch at 12:30?) at Curra's. Met JackBart for some photo taking for an upcoming web site (much like voyeurweb, but more law related). My folks returned from Abilene, and picked up Daisy, their wiener dog. Having gorged myself on pork and eggs for brunch, I assumed I would not eat much for dinner. But the memories of Rami's steak at the Gristmill kept popping back into my head. Went to the market and bough a strip, grilled it and had a baked potato. Pea and I printed some pics from our Hawaii trip and watched DVR'd Love Monkey. And that was my weekend. Successful I'd say. I did miss the Ken G. shindig, and that sucks, but the river took longer than we expected. It's OK to miss things. It's OK to miss things. It's OK to miss things. It's OK to miss things. It's OK to miss things.

Pics from tubing...

Steanso invokes satan to bless/curse our venture

Kim chills out. Pea and Elf go for more teeny CL's

Rami pretends Feral Andy is with her

A foot fetishist's dream

Team KraberBloom. Though you can't see it here, Kraber wins coolest shirt award with her original Death shirt

Steanso paddles away from electric eels, pirahnas, and adoring sorority girls/frat boys

I guess this is growing up

2006-05-06T19:58:00.000-07:00

A successful day tubing. Pictures tomorrow. I have been tubing down this stretch of the Guadalupe 10 or 20 times. Only today did I notice the huge cemetary while leaving. That's sobering. Is it because i was less intoxicated than other times (note the word "less"), or because as I get older, I tend to notice the death bed more? Such a huge juxtaposition - in the parking lot are a bunch of 18-20 year old kids, throwing up, talking about how drunk they are/have been, bragging about potential alcohol poisoning. No fear of death and little respect or appreciation of life. 1/2 mile away a lot full of bodies, many of whom would have liked just one more day...

Huh. Either way, a good time was had by all. Gristmill followed a 5 hour or longer leisurly float down the guadalupe with good friends and mediocre beer. Thanks to all participants.

Congratulations to Eleanor Elizabeth Gamble. She holds the dubious distinction of standing up the Tejas Team 2 times in one day...

Feral Andy is enroute to keep the party going. Team KraberBloom has run away, tail between legs.

game on

2006-05-06T08:29:00.000-07:00

Look! The Storm is gone! (again)

two no responses, one no contact, two drop outs, six river lovers. Steanso, CrackBass, Pea, Elf, and Team KraberBloom head out for The Rockin' R today at 11:00. May God have mercy on our souls.

Raindrops keep falling on my head

2006-05-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

and my house (along with some tree limbs), and most importantly, New Braunfels. We've had on casualty already. Will we go tubing? only time will tell...

Cinco de Mayo 1991

2006-05-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, spring. when a youg man's thoughts turn to...whatever. Spring 1991. My junior year. Prom. ugggh. the pressure. the tux (I went with James Bond white - classy). the flowers. the expectations. the money. Anyway - juniors who helped build/decorate for the junior/senior prom were rewarded by being allowed to participate in senior skip day. Senior skip day (in Cleburne, at least) involved the seniors having an awards breakfast - "most likely to...", then getting the day off to go get drunk at the bmx trails or the lake. (Incidentally, due to an incredible girl on girl cat fight at 1991 Senior Skip Day, there was never another school sponsored Senior Skip Day in Cleburne.) Our school motto was CHS SUCCEEDS, and there is no success like excess, especially in a small town, with some old money, trying to be like a big town. You know what I'm talking about, East texas (deb balls, ha!). Anyway, Cleburne's prom was going to be a Mardi Gras theme. Lots of money was raised. Lavish decorations. Rated 3rd best prom in the nation (based on what, I have no idea - I remember the music sucking, and not making out with anyone, but they didnt ask me.)

Prom came and went. May 4th was the big day. Day after prom juniors cleaned up. I came with Doty to clean up day. We were too late to help, but we did get to take home the 3 foot tall ice sculpture of a swan, now looking vaguely like a small brontosaurus. Doty threw it in a cooler in the back of his Camaro, and he headed to the beer store. On the way, Doty explained the necessity of drinking Mexican beers on Cinco de Mayo. He had the fake ID, so who was I to argue? We bought some bottles of beer, corona, I imagine, nestled them on the ice-o-saurus, and headed back to Doty's. En route, we picked up the lovely, older (Senior) Neely Roe. Doty's parents were working (this was a Saturday), so we set up a table in the backyard. Time for "Sink the Ship," announced Doty, and carefully laid a bowl down on the table. It was the last thing any of us would do carefully that day.

Sink the Ship involves pouring beer into a bowl. Next, a bottle cap is floated upside down in the beer. Each contestant must put at least one drop of beer into the bottlecap. He who puts the drop into the cap that causes it to sink must drink the bowl. Not much to it. Oh, of course there is some strategy. The first to go can pour a lot, hoping to make the second person flood the ship. If you want to get drunk, you can intentionally capsize the little dinghy, etc.

By 2:00, we were all quite proud of our Mexican Heritage. Neely had decided it was a good day to get a tan, so she stripped down to her bikini (?), underwear (?), and flopped down on the trampoline. We were in awe. The cable company came to cut off the cable. Cable man climbed up the telephone pole, eyed Neely, asked for a beer. Brent tried to broker a deal involving Neely or the beer in exchange for not cutting off the cable. I can't recall how that worked out. At some point, Brent took me home. I went to bed that evening, feeling somehow closer to my brethren south of the border. Thanks, Brent, for your lesson in community.

As promised...May 4, 1991...yeah.

Agave-Bot

2006-05-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

Here is the aforementioned Agave-Bot. He rules and stands watch over the kingdom that is casa de wilson's backyard, guarding against never-do-wells (well, to be honest, he's not the best guard), and protecting all those inside his kingdom. Learn to love him. He will stand guard til the end of time. If you are not allowed access by Agave-Bot, I suggest a sacrifice of sorts. He is a king, after all. All hail Agave-Bot.

(agave-bot designed and brought to life by Jeff N. Wilson and Chris L. Sanders)

2006-05-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

Look! The storm is gone!

Sorry to keep you waiting out there, but I've had no access to power since last nigt at 10pm. I should have known something was awry when Steanso and I sat down to lunch yesterday at Trudy's - Arcade Fire's "Power Out" was playing over the speakers. Are they so prevalent now that they get radio play?

After work, The Pea headed to Yoga, and I headed to home Despot with JackBart. We purchased mortar for the garden, headed home for some more BattleStar G. Then came the storm. Hard. power out at 10:00, but just in three houses. Steanso was spared, he must be living right. With no power, I did what any red-blooded american would do. Had a glass of wine (but just one - I was on call don't you know), sat on the porch, watched the lightning. (fyi - lightning is approx 50,000 degrees F).

I figured, what with the weather and all, I'd be in for a night of good sleep. I mean, who goes out in this weather and gets arrested? No one, right? Plus, with the power out, it should be nice and quiet in the house/hood. Nope. Police disco lights showed up around 2 or 3. Someone was taking advantage of the power outages. With no noise and the windows open, I could hear every plane, and every train coming down the Missouri Pacific RR (there were five last night). I kept fearing that the agave-bot would topple with the 80 mph winds, or be struck by lightning and come to life. Unable to fall asleep, I ventured out to assess teh damage around 4 in the am. eerily quiet. but nice. Rains came again around 5. I decided to just get up and be done with it. Showere and shaved in the dark, took the truck to work since car was trapped in garage. The wrold's a wild place on no sleep kids. I highly recommend it. Power's out at work too, so I'm dropping this blog on ya from the courthouse library.

Weather's beautiful. Hope it stays nice for the tubing.

Happy Cinco de Mayo. I will regale you with the first Jeff N. Wilson Cinco story later today, electricity willing. Look for a circa 1991 prom picture to be involved.

"I woke up with the power out..." indeed.

Clyde Torres

2006-05-03T22:23:00.000-07:00

clyde is the name of crack's newest member.

Tonight was Crack's threesome practice. andy, Steanso and me. I thought we sounded nice tonight. everyone was really listening to each other. three new potential songs were written. One is about the infamous "cut your face off" "see you next tuesday" my morning jacket incident. It is also partly inspired by the song Hi, How Are You by Brakes. Or maybe they stole it from me.

We also formed our side project country-bluegrass-industrial group The Whiskeetos. Look for a website and album soon.

After rocking, i came home to find the Pea in the nesting room watching some 80's rock show on Austin Music Network (or whatever its new name is). Phil Collins came on - one more night. I love Phil Collins. Man do I love Phil Collins. First concert I saw was Phil at StarPlex in Dallas in 1989. Or maybe it was MC Hammer in 1989. Or maybe Debbie Gibson at Six Flags in 1988. Or maybe Kenny Roger/Dolly Parton in 197?.

But Phil was the first one I was proud of. I even have the setlist. Phillip Baily came out and sang "Easy Lover" with him. I've proudly seen him twice since (one was with Genesis).

I miss the old days when i was "self-employed" and I could stay up all night after practice, recording our practice from tape to computer to cd, and listening to and trying to replay our songs. Boozing and listening til 3 or 4, waking up at 9 or 10, checking on the pond, dogs, drinking some coffee, heading to work around 10, 10:30, taking lunch, heading home around 3:30 or 4:00. I don't miss the lack of money or depression..not much, anyways...

Well, goodnight all. Have a pleasant tomorrow.

no trial today

2006-05-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

yeah, after being kept hostage until 2:45, the court reset my case. 4th time. Guess we'll try again in a month or so.

Crack practice tonite. Mandy is making tacos. tacos are my favorite meal. ever. I should stop after three. I normally make it to 5. That is always a bad idea. But, I just can't stop.

Last night Steanso took me to Outback for dinner. I had the Sweet Chook of Mine (chicken sandwich) - big mistake. Stomach in turmoil. from a chicken sandwich, you ask? oh yeah. no good. Afterwards we journeyed to Target for some shopping. I needed collar stays and shoe laces - they had neither. But, what they did have was a $5.00 copy of Creepshow. Perfect for October's "Scary Movie only" theme. We will be accepting your suggestions for scary movies now through October.

I have had water in my ears for a while now (or else I keep getting it back in there - i seem to go swimming at least once a week). Anyway, it's driving me crazy. I have tried the pouring the following into my ear: swimmer's ear drops, alcohol, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide. No luck. When do i have to go to the doctor? will water in my ear make me deaf? or just annoy the hell out of me? anyone have any alternative home remedies?

Hop in the car kids...

2006-05-03T06:46:00.000-07:00

we're going to Mexico. Presumably in response to the US's attempts to stop the flow of US money to Mexico, Mexico has decided to take US money the old fashion way - by selling drugs to tourists.
Talk about a bad idea. Heroin,cocaine and extacy legal in small amounts? The OD's and kidnappings are going to skyrocket. I am not agianst legalization of some drugs. But, i think the way to do it is to make them state regulated - especially manufactured drugs. Buy smack, disco biscuits or yayo off some jackass on the street and you have no idea what you're getting. The article also states that this will stop low level corruption - stop cops taking bribes for low level drug possessors. Oh yeah. That will stop.
"Look kid, you can pay me $100 and go home, or, I can say you had more than the legal amount and you can hire a lawyer to prove me wrong- your choice"

On the plus side, Mexico is decriminalizing possession of up to 2.2 POUNDS of peyote.

In sports news, Phoenix's Steve Nash, this season's MVP, showed why he will get that award last night, defeating the Lakers and forcing a game 6. Unstoppable in the 3rd quarter. Role model Kobe Bryant was ejected.
Dirk Nowitzki had on off night, since he didn't play, since the Mavericks WON THEIR SERIES IN 4 STRAIGHT.

off to court. later skaters

cleaning up

2006-05-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am set for a jury trial. Looks like there is a 50/50 shot that I will actually be in trial, but I still gotta get ready, just in case. That means watching the video a few more times (it's a DWI case), going over my voir dire, and preparing my examination of the cop and my opening/closing. To be totally honest, I have learned that I am a lot better lawyer when I don't have a script. By the end of my tenure as a prosecutor, I was trying cases after only glancing at the case file. But, there is a lot more at stake here (or, at least I have a client to be responsible to, as opposed to "The State Of Texas"), so I am going to be really prepared. I won't have a script, and I'll try to go with the flow as much as possible, but, I won't be winging it so much.

I also have polished my shoes. I went to get a haircut to tame my locks. When I was prosecuting, defense lawyers always knew I was serious about a trial because I had "jury hair." I guess I'm still going with that. My hair was cut today by the lovely and talented Kellie Gonzales at Anne Kelso Salon. Kellie is my sister-in-law. She has a dog named Buford T. Justice. She has an old pimp style Caddy. She loves all things rockabilly. She dances burlesque every once and again for charity. If you know her and live in Austin, you better enjoy Kellie as much as you can in the near future, cause she is planning on shipping out to Seattle come July. So grab a couple of haircuts soon kids. You'll be glad you did. Meet Kellie at her MySpace page.

If I don't have a trial, at least I'll look good tomorrow. damn good.

I miss

2006-05-01T21:24:00.001-07:00

Since my drowning dream last week, I have been listening to a lot of Jeff Buckley. I have only recently (last 4 or 5 years) discovered him (mostly from The Pea). Never listened to him when he was alive. I don't know if he toured much, but I wish I had seen him (if you don't have Live at Sine you should check it out). With that in mind, I am listing the nine thing I miss most (at least today). Some of these things I apprecaited when they were around, some I didn't know about until they were gone. In no particular order:

Jeff Buckley
My youth/innocence
Pavement
John Lennon/George Harrison
Lunchtime with the League
Grateful Dead/Jerry Garcia
brain cells
Phish
Jeff Mangum/Neutral Milk Hotel

crash! - almost instant karma

2006-05-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

Today I lunched with world famous architect Christopher L. Sanders. As usual, Chris demanded that we eat outside. I have nothing against outside. I even like it most times. But, I wear a wool suit to work. Chris wears slacks and short sleeved shirts. He has a little higher tolerance for the heat in his outer wear. It's not too hot to eat outside yet, but it is gettiing close.

But first, some history. Despite my adamant refusal to pay for cold sandwiches (why pay $7 for something i had to eat all through my elementary and middle school life, and that I could make at home with little to no effort?), last week Chris dragged me to Avenue B Deli. "I know you hate sandwiches, but you gotta go there. The guy is like the soup Nazi from Seinfeld, " said Chris. Hmmm. Well, there was no nazi-ism, though I was careful to follow the rules. My sandwich was unspectacular. My bill was $8 (I got a root beer.)

Well, today Chris' karma was returned.

For today's lunch, I suggested FreeBirds on South Congress. No sandwiches, plus we could eat outside. We prked, ordered out delicious steak burritos, and dined outdoors. As we were leaving, we saw a guy reach over Chris' car, take a furtive look around, then throw a napkin into Chris' sunroof.
Chris politely asked "Hey!"
The napkin dropper turned around - "Oh. Hi. I was just leavng you a note. This car just hit yours, and they went inside."

The witness/good samaritan/napkin dropper gave us his contact info and left. Chris went inside to find the driver. The driver, an AMD worker, taking some AMD visitors to lunch came out. He immediately denied hitting Chris' car. Chris showed him the silver paint on Chris' car, and the lack of silver paint on AMD guy's car, oddly enough at the same height as the silver paint on Chris' car. AMD guy still denied hitting the car. Chris pointed out that there was a witness. An independant witness, even. AMD guy said he had two passengers who were witnesses to no wreck. The cops came. After some bumbling ("If you ever happen to see the car that hit you, be sure and stop them or call us" "Ummm....that's the car that hit me right there." "Oh. It sure is."), APD helped fill out brown forms and blue forms. AMD still denied hitting Chris. At Chris' request, I gave AMD my card and explained that I would be Mr. Sanders' attorney, and that he should please direct all communication through me. AMD looked confused, shocked. We pulled away, and came back to our offices.

So that was kind of exciting.

KARMIC LESSON FOR THE DAY: sometimes Karma may punish you for trying to make CrackBass like things he doesn't like, and though he is willing to try those things, and, until now, remain quiet, he can't be responsible if the universe reacts to the imbalance in his life (as, according to some, the universe does revolve around CrackBass.)

Andy's new pad

2006-05-01T06:22:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning came and went without a call from the Whiskitos, so there was no brunch of fish and eggs. Which was fine - I really needed the sleep. Eventually rolled out of bed, met my folks for lunch at Central Market, Andy called with a heartfelt and sincere apology around 2:30. So, instead of brunch, we headed to his new apartment to hang out by the pool.

I have known Andy for 9 years now. In that time, he has lived in some very interesting place. He has lived with Mandy three times - one of which was an awesome three story house on Avenue B, one had a rat in the oven. Lived in a house on on Hollywood. Lived in a pool house with no air conditioning, lots of cables and indoor/outdoor carpet, lived in a basement that leaked when it rained. I didn't know what to expect.

It's great. Perfect for Andy. Perfect for parties. It is an apartment complex on Westlake Drive. 1801 Westlake Drive, for those of you into google earth. There approximately 30 apartments, 15 on each floor. The apartments are arranged in a 1/4 circle, everyone has a view of the back area, and doors facing the front (which is nicely screened off from the road.) Out the back, the property backs up to a little inlet/stream off of Town Lake. There are a few ramps to put kayaks, canoes, etc. into the water (I'm trying to get Andy to moor the Ass-n-ski out there). There is a pool that is nicely shaded by trees. There are several grills available to everyone at the complex. Some steps lead down to the river. The river flows nicely so as to keep the mosquitos from breeding. Fish swim around and chase minnows. Two Great Screech owls live in the cliffs across the river. Cardinals hop from branch to branch.

(sign above the bulletin board)

The apartment dwellers are equally cool. Like an Austin melrose place. One guy has lived there for 26 years. On girl, an artist of sorts, has three apartments all next to each other - a studio, a living hole, and a guest room. Andy has already been given a house warming plant. They have a bulletin board where they post warnings about the areas harmful wildlife, and info about the owls, etc... The apartments themselves are roomy and clean. Andy is on the second floor, has satined concrete floors and a huge floor to ceiling sliding glass door in the living room, looking out into the back. (There is no balcony off of the door, so don't try to step out there, n o matter how much Andy tells you it is ok.) The backyard does have a very Crystal Lake/serial killer feel to it. But, that's not a bad thing. We hope to film a movie there soon. Head shots will be accepted at the above listed address. Congrats Andy, on your new place. We are ready for your parties.

new bed, dachshunds, late night visits

2006-04-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

Friday night I was on call, so it was destined to be low profile. Dinner with Andy and Rami at Maudie's. Steanso stopped by after viewing Thank You For Smoking. We came back to casa de wilson for drinks on the grass couch. In what will no doubt go down as one of the top 5 moments in 2006, Steanso dubbed Andy and Rami "The Whisquitos" (Whiskitos?) for their propensity of sucking down all of your whiskey. It's true. They do love your whiskey. Andy and Rami left shortly thereafter, either because there was no more whiskey or in order to prepare for a pre-wedding shopping excursion - you decide. Pea went to bed ealy. Steanso and I tried to stay up for the approaching storm, but gave up around 1:00. The storm hit hard around 2:30. I was still up, so I ventured out onto the porch to watch for hail and listen to the frogs. I got called down to the jail around 3:30, and was stood up. awesome. Headed home around 4:30, dogs woke me up around daybreak, and I stumbled out of bed around 7:30.

Saturday's plan was to build a new flowerbed in the backyard. I had previously enlisted my dad - Don "Viejo" Wilson to help me build the bed. He arrived around 10, and we got started. First order was to clean out the pond filter. Then we broke for lunch. After lunch at Dan's (where I saw my Civil Procedure professor, and one of the few professors I liked from law school, Patrick Wooley). Don pulled the old plants out of the bed. We dug a trench for the stone border, then i laid the first row of rocks down. Thankfully, we ran out of mortar half-way through the second layer, so we quit around 4:00. Eddie Kaye stopped by to say hello. We had a few celebratory beers, and sought approval from the straw boss (pictured to the right.)

flower bed before construction

Viejo takes a break

phase two

The Pea and The Iguana spent the day in Buda at the Dachshund races. They came back around 4:00. We all enjoyed a nice dinner of seared meat, brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes. The folks left, and Steanso, Pea and I enjoyed the outdoors, the sound of the frogs and the unseasonably cool weather. We decided it was a nice night to hang outside, so we called our usual late night suspects - Andy/Rami (at a wedding), Team Bloom (girls night/New York), Ellie (in pj's, reading.) Eventually we wandered back inside. Upon checking the mail Pea discovered the new Pearl Jam disc had arrived. No one in the universe loves Eddie Vedder more than Pea. No one. So we listened to Pearl Jam. Then we listened to the Violent Femmes. Surprisingly, the album is almost 25 years old. 25. wow. Steanso ventured home, Pea and I fell asleep on the couch rocking to Eddie V and co. Phone rang. 12:40. Andy and Rami on the way. They arrived, had a beer, Andy promised to make us breakfast Sunday morning - three pieces of fish, fried baco, eggs over easy. He stole the fry daddy and ran home. In bed by 3.

damn

2006-04-30T00:31:00.000-07:00

The Pea just caught me cleaning the bathroom sink. Told me to stop and go to bed. A side effect of being ocd and being an insomniac is that oftentimes, things get cleaned (and sometimes extraordinarily so) at oddhours. After a unfortunate laundry accident a few years back, bleach has been banned from the Wilson household.

I'm sorry, Mandy's shorts.

I miss you bleach, I still love you. Please come back. I can change. I promise.

its been long

2006-04-29T22:39:00.000-07:00

it has been a long couple of days for old CrackBass. 2 hours of sleep on Thurday night. about an hour and a half last night. Went to bed around 5:30 (storm, jail), dogs started barking at resident possum at 6:00, out of bed at 7:30. My dad came by to help with pond filter, and to build a new flower bed. We had steanso for dinner with don and jajuan. Drinks after. I called Ellie and treid to convince ger to come play with us. no go. New Pearl Jam cd came in the mail. mandy and i listened to it. Steanso wanted Violent Femmes. Steanso went home. More Pearl Jam. Andy and Rami are now coming over after a wedding far far away. Ahhh, sleep denied once again. I need to swim or be in water soon. bathtub not cutting it. Mas tomorrow. good night kiddos. CrackBass loves you.

Nostalgia

2006-04-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

huh.

how about this for a weird look into the past. Apparently I took my first swipe at a blog almost a year ago. here is what remains of it. A lot has changed in a year. Andy and Rami are officially a couple. New Orelans flooded. Steanso left a job and got a new one. I have a job. Eddie and Leigh do have a house, and are now married. Wilson Meyer PC never got out of its formative stages.

Lets hope that my current blog will last longer, and will be surrounded by good luk, instead of the bad that surrounded the first attempt.

It's Friday, I'm in love

2006-04-28T07:10:00.000-07:00

Friday couldn't get here any sooner. Despite the fact that I was out on Monday, this has been a long week. Last night I was on call. The phone only rang once, around 12:45, but i really never went back to sleep until about 5:00 this morning, so I feel like im in a bit of a haze...I'm on call again tonight.

That aside, we had another crack practice- trio style - Andy, Steanso and yours truly, last night. Andy chided me for my amnesia on a song that he said I had been playing forever, that it took me all night to remember. We fumbled around wih Walking On The Moon. Andy rapped about dark alleys, and garbage bins, and throwing up in a car.

The dropsy fish is recovering nicely.

We had neighbors Kate and Judy over for dinner last night. Well, Judy ate dinner. Kate is doing the master cleanser (lemon juice, cayenne, maple syrup.) I personally am all for the master cleanser/juice fasts, etc. Sometimes you just need to give the old guts a flushing. Mandy disagrees. anyone? Dr. P?

On a heavier note...

Looks like the girl in the Duke Lacrosse rape case has made rape allegations before. No charges were filed in that case, though three men were accused. Her dad can't remember any details. Nor can any of the cops. The story barely makes sense in the newspaper article...

Asked Thursday if she was sexually assaulted, her father said, "I can't remember." In an interview with the News & Observer of Raleigh, posted Thursday night on the newspaper's Web site, he said the men "didn't do anything to her."

If the woman was assaulted at all, I certainly hope that justice is served. However, it looks more and more like she is lying (at least about who it was). I obviously don't know all the facts, but here is how I see it (based totally on what I've read in the media): There was evidence after a SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse's Exam) that she had been sexually assaulted. However, there was no DNA evidence linking any of the Duke players to the assault (to me, this means that the DNA found on the victim was not DNA from one of the players - so, if she was raped, and it looks like she was, it was by someone not at the party - it happened either before or after she was there). Pictures that are time stamped supposedly show the victim arriving at the party all bruised and intoxicated. Despite this lack of evidence, the DA filed charges on two players (and a third player to be named soon). These two kids were arrested and bond was set at $400,000 each. That's high. Ridiculously high. As an example, bond in Travis County on a manslaughter charge, or repeat offender sexual assault of a child would be set around $100,000. These two kids have spent $40,000 just to get out of jail. They will probably spend another $10,000-$50,000 to defend the case. Most likely they will go through a trial. A public trial.

I think the DA indicted these kids to avoid rioting. Based on what I've read, Durham is very segregated between the rich white students and poor minority residents. There is lots of tension. The press prior to the indictment raised these tensions. The DA had promised indictments prior to the DNA evidence. He felt trapped and had to indict - (in all fairness, it ws a grand jury that indicted, based on evidence presented by the DA, and we don't know what that evidence was).

However, I think this case will do so much more harm than good. I imagine that the defense attorneys will attack the victim. They will bring up her past rape allegations. Tehy will bring up her past criminal history. They will hammer on the lack of DNA evidence. They will hammer on the pictures of her showing up. I don't believe the kids charged are the ones who attacked this lady. And I think the ugly trial that is going to ensue will convince so many more women who are actually attacked not to press charges. I think it will reinforce the fallacy that lots of people believe - that rape allegations are often unfounded and are about money grabbing. This is untrue is most cases. But high profile ones like this, where that is seemingly the case, help thse people justify their beliefs. Having known people who were sexaully assaulted and who were afarid to press charges, this infuriates me. This is the reason they were scared. They thought if they went to the cops, and to a trial, they would be humiliated. And they shouldn't have been. But high profile cases like this make them scared. The DA in this case has really botched the job (again, assuming the story in the press is the only story). Maybe I'm wrong and there is more to the story and he is just playing his cards close.

In the end, I think victims of assault will suffer from this case more than anyone else. And that sucks.

Enough rant. Have a great weekend. Pea and I are meeting The Elf and Andy for dinner. Steanso is wasting his money and time on Thank You For Smoking.

How do you lean?

2006-04-27T14:04:00.001-07:00

Unsure about how to label yourself (politically, that is)?

Take this quiz.

It's quick, easy and fun. (like your mom)

Big Johnson

2006-04-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

Happy (belated) Birthday to Greg "Big" Johnson.

Congrats on another successful trip around the sun. Greg currently works in Houston for KHOU. He makes sure their website is both informative and sexy. Mostly sexy.

(here we see Greg in formal work attire)

I met Big Johnson at Baylor in 1993. He lived in my complex in 1996. When I first moved to Austin, Big Johnson came up for a weekend, and took me to a party to introduce me to some friends he had in Austin that had transferred from Baylor. One of those people happened to be the Pea. Others included Camille Killian , Andrew Sensat, and numerous other Beaumonters. Without Big Johnson, The Pea and I would never have met, or eventually blurred the lines between friendship and lovers while in a Las Vegas elevator. And I probably would never left my oh so lovely apartment on Pleasant Valley that entire summer. (I wasn't really meeting the kind of people I wanted to hang out with at work - I was serving time at the loacl mall, advising shoppers on which Abercrombie and Fitch Flannel shirt would look best with their A&F torn jeans.) So, kudos to you Gregory.

(Greg and some drunken hooligan at 2003 ACL Fest)

Greg is a big music fan, and has joined us for two of the last three ACL festivals (damn you Rita). He is somehow involved in a club down in Houston, so if you're in town and at the Warehouse, be sure and name drop. He has also attended most Festivus throwdowns. He saw Guided By Voice's last show for New Year's Eve last year. He can lift in excess of 200 pounds over his head. He has six toes on his left foot.

We haven't seen Greg in quite some time and we all miss him. He will be here for ACL Festival. Hopefully sooner. He are trying to get him to move to Austin. If any of you need a gorgeous, (mostly) disease-free, music loving, web designer, let him know. Happy Birthday Greg.

New Austin screws me again

2006-04-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

and not in a good way. I received my property tax evaluation in the mail yesterday. Austin, the county of Travis, and, in my mind, Will Wynn, have decided that the value of the land my house sits on has more than doubled in the last year. DOUBLED! Since I have a homestead exemption, the assessed value of my home is capped at a 10% increse per year. However, the actualy assessed value is up almost 20%. Maybe the city forgot that I HAD A WHOREHOUSE ACROSS THE STREET FROM ME FOR 6 MONTHS LAST YEAR. and not even a good whorehouse. See Steanso's blog's comments section for a tour of the whorehouse. Or that now that the whorehouse has been shut down, it is an unlicensed old folks' home. Run, and I couldn't make this up, folks, by the guy who was running the whorehouse. So yeah, I can see why my taxes would go up.

My property taxes are around $350 per month. That may seem low to some of you. It's a nice car payment. It's $30 a day. That's a movie and dinner. Or a movie and a crappy dinner for two. Every day. That means, even once my house is totally paid for, I will be paying $400 a month to the city just to stay in my house. I will be renting the house from the city for the rest of my life. kickass.

Now, I wouldn't be so upset if this money were going to parks, or to a good school system, or even to some decent public transportation. But, last time I checked, schools in Texas sucked, Will Wynn is giving out tax breaks to every jackass big box builder that wants to throw down some concrete and plow down trees, and you can't get anywhere in this town without a car.

I am, by most definitions, new to this town. I moved here in 1997. I immediately knew I would stay here. I have lived in Abilene, Lubbock, Houston, Huntsville, DFW, Cleburne and Waco. Austin felt good. I could still leave Friday Fizz at lawschool on 26th at 4:50, and be home on Oltorf by the time Jeopardy started at 5:00. SouthPark Meadows was a music venue, not a Circuit City. There were trees around The Backyard, not a Lowe's. . There were only two walmarts. Not within 5 miles of each other, but in the whole city. There weren't two Lowes and three Home Depots within 10 miles of my house. North Austin was different than south austin. All that has changed. New Austin is here, or at least coming. The tech bust in 2000-2001 sent a lot of the jackasses back to LA, but Will W. just keeps trying to get them back. (I do not harbour any ill will to those of you who work for the high tech companies, so long as you don't drive a hummer and want more convenience over green space. I do appreciate that IBM/AMD/Motorola employ most of my friends, and 3/5 of the Mono Ensemble.) And I feel like I'm paying for that with my property taxes. And I'm pissed. ARRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!

Protest your proerty values, kids (if you don't know how, talk to John Lastovica. If you don't know Lastovica, pray for guidance.). You have until May 31. Damn the man. And vote for Leslie. Anyone but that Republican in Democrat's clothing.

sorry. i'm calmer now.

Farewell and adieu...

2006-04-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

...to JackBart and Sigmund.

Sigmund leaves us tomorrow to head to the big city to cover the NFL draft. Sigmund, once an aspiring young Syracusian Orangeman with sports broadcasting dreams is back on path to be just that. Personally, I believe it was that endzone interception in 1997 flag football league that both took him off and got him back on the path. Sigmund is the newest writer to Football Guys dot com, your best source for all news football related.

JackBart, an aspiring screenwriter/director hails from Cleburne, Texas, and is a product of UT's fine Radio/TV/Film department. JackBart also leaves Travis County tomorrow to head for the cooler climes of Ruidoso, NM. He will be working on his directorial debut, a sequel, Grizzly Man 2: The Revenge.

Wish them well, and a speedy return.

CrackBass falls in love! The End of the world is near!

2006-04-25T08:25:00.000-07:00

CrackBass falls in love!

I was out sick yesterday, as you may know. Upon returning to work this morning, I found a package. Manilla envelope. Handwritten label. Obviously containing CD's. Awesome! My package from Cobra Kai Dojo (aka The Pope) had arrived. I tore it open with surgeon like precision. Held my breath...and gently poured the contents onto my desk. 4 new CD's (in jewel cases, no less). Painstakingly labeled (on both CD and cover) by The Pope - Editors, Andrew Bird, Pulp, The Black Angels. The experience was great in and of itself, but even better as it reminded me of old times - getting Phish tapes (and later, cd's) in the mail. Or shipping them out. Seeing the covers for the first time. Would they be handwritten or typed? or totally blank? In the case of CD's - would they come in a jewel case? plastic slipcover? paper envelope? All part of the excitement of receiving the music. I have, in turn, sent a package to The Pope. Now I look forward to digesting my new music.
Despite the fact the The Pope described My Morning Jacket as "stoner jam band" music, and would therefore not have ever liked phish, Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

The End of the World is near!

Well, I guess it must be coming. How else to explain the following: today, Sigmund M. Bloom (pictured here) announced he is joining the world of brain cancer subscribers, and has purchased a cell phone. Welcome to the 1990's Bloom. (phone number available upon request)

77 %

2006-04-25T05:48:00.000-07:00

That is my estimation of my recovery. I haven't thrown up since yesterday morning. (Well, i threw up a little this morning, but i caught most of it in my mouth, and it was mostly just a gag reflex from the toothbrush, so that doesn't count.) In what is the best indicator that I was fighting something off, I slept from 1:40 yesterday afternoon until 5:45, then was in bed again around 11:15. Skept through the night. In all fairness, I did take a benedryl and a hot mentholatum bath, but still...

And, I skipped Friday the 13th in 3-D playing at the Alamo Drafthouse last night. Here's hoping it was just a stomach virus, and nothing else. (I do have a cough and itchy ears this morning, but maybe they're from too much sleep.)

PS - thanks for the postive thoughts Bloom , JLO, and works too much. Thanks for the threats Steanso. Kinda

sick day report

2006-04-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

Well, despite my best efforts, I am home sick today. I made a valiant effort to go to work, but I never got any further than socks and my dress shirt. I doubt there are many funnier images than me running to the vomitorium, with dress socks pulled up old man style, dress shirt flapping as I ran to purge myself of whatever alien symbiote has taken up residence.

As recently as last year, I would welcome a sick day. But, I'm afraid the ethics of our forefathers (or, at least my father) are taking hold. That and I happen to work in a small office, and it happens to be a place I love working. Now I just feel guilty for missing work. The only thing keeping me home (besides the love of the cold cold porcelain) is the fear of spreading the alien byrum.

As my insomnia may relate, I do not rest very well. Often a sick day involves me cleaning house, straightening the war zone that I call an office, doing dishes, etc. Not today. I have left the couch on very few occasions. I am watching, between naps, Crimes and Misdemeanors. I really am enjoying it, it is (so far) very like Match Point, which I liked a lot last year at the theatres. Woody Allen really has some issues with marriage and affairs.

I also had a disturbing dream this morning. I rarely sleep on my back, but the couch invites that position best. I drifted off, face up, only to have a dream about jumping into the Mississippi River off of some balcony (and I have no idea why I was doing this.) As I jumped in, I remembered that this was the way Jeff Buckely died. As I went under the surface, I realized why. The Mississippi River of my dreams was very deep and had lots of cross currents. I was under for what seemed like forever. I woke up as, or immediately after, I broke the surface. I sat straight up, with a large gasp for air. I know they say drowning is a calm way to die, but if it is anything like my dream, i have to disagree.

The oatmeal I had for breakfast is staying down. Time to try some dry toast.

aliens have invaded earth...

2006-04-24T05:29:00.000-07:00

...and have started their home base in my stomach. Aftre doing pretty much nothing Sunday, I made dinner and decided to watch some TV and go to be early, so as to be refreshed and ready to face a new week. Dinner was sauteed spinach and mushrooms, mozarella, tomato and basil salad, and some left over garlic/spinach/italian sausage pasta from Thursday night at macaroni grill.

Around 8:30, the grumbling began. Loud enough for Mandy to hear it from across the room. Since then, it has gone poorly. Very poorly. I went to bed around 10:45, only to be woken up at least once every thirty minutes by the need to run to the bathroomand vomit violently. This stopped around 12:30, and changed from every half hour to once an hour. 1:30, 2:30, 4:00, 5:30.

As i sit here, shivering, I start to wonder if I got sick from:

a) the carrot juice I had Sunday afternoon,
b) the leftovers, or
c) from Ellie Gamble (who got it from Chris Sanders).

I bet it is c). I am looking to sue both Ellie and Chris. Any hungry attorneys out there wanna represent me on a contingent fee basis?

I will make a brief appearance at work, reset my cases, and head back home to sleep and repeat the Jesus Prayer until all is well.