I believe I've posted this before, but it bears repeating...

Our enemies are innovative and resourceful. But so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people. And neither do we.

-gw bush.

fucking fuck you fuck FUCK fuck fucker FUCKFUCKFUSDAKvd'osADFL;KSJG;LAKS DGASDGASD BNUSH

Labels: george bush

I just finished Brian Wood's Demo during lunch.

Really really good stuff. I'm glad that it got away from the "adolescents with superpowers" thing and turned more into just "adolescents." The last issue was teary in its sappiness before it got to the end. The end which, I suppose, was meant to be even more sad just kind of tossed me out of the story tho as I just couldn't relate. Or I didn't get it. Or something. It was a nice poem tho.

Labels: Comic Books

I forgot!

The illustration for how American Indians look at the past/future was awesome.

We always think of the future stretching out in front of us with the past behind... but the other illustration was MUCH better. The future comes at us from behind, and the past stretches out in front. We can SEE where we've been, but where we're going is always a surprise.

That's a terrible way of describing it, but you get the idea. It was sweet.

Labels: Books

I did it. All finished.

Since I've sounded rather harsh lately... I should definitely go ahead and say that the book was amazing in that it promotes much thought. Whether I thought the points were right or the narrator was an ass or the methods were wrong... whatever I thought, it was making me think. So. Kudos for that.

As I was rolling through the arguments against Aristotle and dialectic, I found myself more intrigued by the ideas presented than I had for the entire preceding 350 pages. The showdown in the classroom b/t Phaedrus and the teachers was great. And, while I admit my ignorance on the subject, this section certainly felt dialectic to me. Of course, I'm of the evil Church of Reason but, for me, the whole point would have been better made had it actually used the methods of thought it was attempting to discredit.

This "review" piece is going to be a little more haphazard than others...

Nailing down the Greeks as ones who killed a way of thought was pretty damned interesting. Allow me to play the devil's advocate for a moment and pretend that I believe in social Darwinism. It would stand to reason (hah. "reason") that the dominant thought of any given period in time is the dominant thought for a reason. Because it WORKED. And yes, I see an inherent flaw in that line of reasoning. Just b/c something worked 2000 years ok, it doesn't mean that's the best thing for us NOW. Nor does it even mean that it's the best thing upon which we should build our current way of thinking. But that's human nature! Always forward! Yet perhaps we've gone too far ahead without revisiting our past. And perhaps it does need to be done. One little deviation in thought thousands of years ago does, of course, result in a huge deviation between the two resulting lines today. That's obvious and stupid to say.

I like that the narrator did go back before the Greeks tho. Again, back to Ishmael, some of my favorite parts there were the discussions of the assimilation of peoples and thought into the more "dominant" people and thought of the time. It was nice of the narrator to bring that up - even though it was only in passing.

I'm not really sure how to wind up my thoughts about the book. I think that's a testament to how interesting the ideas presented really are. There was no final, "ahhhhh..." feeling when it was over. No real closure or happy ending. It was totally sad to read the afterward. I don't understand why he doesn't mention his other son tho. Even after that jab in the afterward made me realize just how real the story really was, I still had a hard time caring about the actual narrative... the trip. I just really wasn't interested in the relationship b/t the narrator and son. I wasn't interested in whether or not they made it to the ocean, and I didn't care if he sent Chris back on a bus or not. Although the language was very poetic and VERY descriptive, I still never got involved in the story that was being told. I found it distracting and I would have much much rather just read a third-person narrative of Phaedrus's story. I imagine that this style and the process of writing was rather therapeutic for Pirsig, but it didn't really make for engaging reading for me.

All-in-all, I'm glad to have read it. I like the way it made me think about things... as well as the simple fact that it did actually make me think about things. And maybe that was the whole point of it all anyway. Cool.

Thanks, Brooke. Thomas... sorry, man. I should have believed you. I imagine my lack of excitement could be disheartening, but I did find it a very worthwhile read.

Oh. And the one thing I'm sure that I learned? I NEVER want to take a cross-country trip on the BACK of a motorcycle. Never.

Labels: Books

I'm not sure I've actually quoted from the book yet... I'd like to do so now:

"Parenthetic elements were unexplainably inserted inside other parenthetic elements, equally unexplainably inserted into sentences whose relevance to the preceding sentences in the reader's mind was dead and buried and decayed long before the arrival of the period."

awesome.

also awesome in a non-ironic sense.

maybe not "awesome" but at least really damned cool.

Labels: Books

holy fuck-me-running shit on a toothpick.

I had so many words typed here... and then I thought I remembered how to make umlauts on the Mac... but I didn't... and it killed the page and good-bye post. Dammit.

I suppose I'll try again in a much much abbreviated form.

(FUCK!)

I believe I was just rolling on and on about gumption and gumption traps... And how these ideas, as presented, just aren't that exciting. I suppose the originality and importance of this is the way in which the ideas are presented. It's just not sitting well with me tho. I find myself reading about "Gumption" in this new important way but just thinking how that's little more than focus and... some word that I had earlier but have now lost. Just keep trying, I guess. So that was all fine tho... and then we get into "gumption traps." (gumption traps??) I'm certainly more than familiar with the whole idea of I-have-to-take-the-whole-thing-apart-AGAIN?! I can't count how many times I've spent hours running wires through ceilings and down walls only to finish - only to be faced with a whole new problem... You want the TV where? Now?? All motivation is completely drained. That's a trap that I feel like most people would discover quite quickly and easily throughout the course of their life. And, in so doing, the idea of that trap becomes very real... much more so than having read it in a book... (I think the narrator would agree with me.)

There was a bit about Egoism as well... and yeah, I certainly suffer from that, but I think that I know I suffer from it. While I usually give into it at the first pass of solving a problem, if I fail, it's not very difficult to step back and wipe away what I thought I knew about the problem and come at it from a different angle. And boredom... well, he finally came to it... this is certainly the gumption trap that's getting me in regards to finishing the book. And I've got coffee! Boredom, he says, often springs from Egoism... and maybe that's true with me in this case as well. But, while I see the value in reviewing the familiar, I feel like I'm reviewing the familiar in an overly complicated way. I'm not necessarily picking up lots of new ideas... just different ways of coming to conclusions at which I have, often, already arrived. But whatever. I'll stick it out.

Oh. I think I'm chronologically out of line now, but there was also the exposition about "value rigidity." I full heartedly agree with the narrator about the value (hah... ) of losing (or, at least, loosening) ones value rigidity when facing a problem or a new idea. (Are you listening politicians and you religious nuts who already know it all??)

Before I destroyed my words, I was trying to figure out something about the third yes-no option... "mu." The narrator describes it as both not yes and not no. While what I'm about to say may very well be a notion the author is trying to smash, it's pretty classically logic that ~x = x. Is it just a language thing that makes me want to say that ~yes must then also equal yes? Perhaps, but I'm going to run with it anyway. When thinking about the "mu" state, I couldn't help but wonder, every time, if the state (as described as "not yes and not no") would look the same if it was "yes and no" instead. Or "as well." I find it more interesting and satisfying to imagine something in being in two opposing states at the same time than in the inverse of those two states at the same time. I was going to talk about Schrödinger here, which is when I mashed the wrong open-apple button. Now I got smart and just copied it off Google. (See? I don't mind approaching a problem from a different angle!) Anyway... I suppose that's all I wanted to say. Just make the comparison. I want to toss Heisenberg in there somewhere too, but I can't really force it to fit. Maybe I'll remember that later and someone else can make it fit.

Just flipped back through... there was one point that I really wanted to hear about... the "funeral procession" mentality. That's something that I know quite well, and I was looking forward to hearing the narrator's take on that... Then, of course, the chapter ended, and I got nothing. *sigh*

I suppose I'm done writing now. And about 50 pages from the end. Hopefully one more post and I'll be done. It's been interesting and entertaining and helpful and frustrating to write my thoughts down daily. It is certainly helping with both retention and actually thinking through fleeting ideas I had while reading. I tried doing this a bit with Karamazov, but I failed to see it through to the end. Sucks. But I gave Austin an earful about it, so that will have to suffice.

My $4 block of two hours on the Net in the coffee shop is now expiring. The more I read this book and the more I write, the more pretentious I think I start to sound. Dammit!

Fini.

Labels: Books

I suck.
I definitely had PLANNED on finishing Zen last night, but b/t dinner and WAY too much Guitar Hero, I read nothing.

I did, however, read more of Demo in the car while waiting on slow ass KFC to give me my damned food. It's hot. Only on story 3, but very very good so far. Thanks Brian...

I forgot where/when this is from, and I can't find it on the Net... so I'll assume I was right when I originally copied this from somewhere to somewhere else as far as the attribution goes...

"It's my fuckin' life, let me be as weird as I fuckin' want!" - Eddie Vedder

Labels: Pearl Jam

Yesterday was new comics day and ended up including dinner out, so I failed to meet my goal in the book... still hoping to finish it by tomorrow.

Which, as I've come to understand is indicative of my lack of understanding of one of the points of the book. Often the narrator will note that it's the journey not the arrival at a destination that is the most important aspect of a sojourn. Sojourn. Can I say that?

I just crossed over page 300 and realized that, whenever I'm reading a book, hitting the last 100 pages is always rather thrilling. I'm almost finished! Things seem to move quicker as the end is within site. And it's a great feeling. But completely contrary to what it is I'm supposed to be learning. Of course, that idea has been expressed many times in many ways... Most likely in fortune cookies. Perhaps ones written by Homer Simpson. Or perhaps not. But I'm not enjoying the journey. I want the payoff. And I want it now. I didn't want to go to Davidson. I wanted to have gone to Davidson. I don't want to write an interactive report for vacation days at work. I want to have written an interactive report for vacation days at work. Nor do I want to teach Sunday School. I want to have taught it. And that's probably enough illustration of that point.

How to get around that? To break the point from Zen & MM, it's focus. Focus on what you're doing. Keep your eye on the ball. As it were. Exist in the now. How many times have we all heard that? And yet it's so illusive. Especially in today's capitalistic more-is-better society. The idea is expressed in the book as "nonselfawareness." What sucks is that I only *think* that's the term he used. It was something very similar. And something rather poetic to describe the whole keep-your-eye-on-the-ball idea. I liked it. Just relax. The lack of selfwareness is illustrated by an artist/mechanic/scientist/whatever working on something. Some object. Some goal. The narrator insists that, to achieve Quality in the endeavor, the actor must lose the dualistic nature between himself/herself and the object upon which he/she is acting. That's, maybe, the most Zen thing I've stumbled upon in the book. "Be one."

How does one do that? I've got other books to read, dammit. I just want to finish. I've got reports to write... I don't really want to write this post - I want it DONE. And, shit, I've got posts to make - do I really need to write this report? And even, once the conclusion that I *do* in fact need to write this report is reached, it doesn't stop me from sending bits and pieces of whatever is left over of my consciousness into a million different directions. Which is bad, I suppose, for my work. And relationships. I can't count the number of times I've heard, "Are you listening to me??" Well, yes. I'm listening. I'm just also thinking about how to beat Cowboys From Hell on the Hard level in Guitar Hero. And about where, exactly, Megan's going to end up in the next issue of local. And whether or not I really want to do this whole City Council thing. Is it multi-tasking? Or, in a less sterile business sense, is it ADD? Or am I just that insecure about the present? Fuck, I dunno.

I'm certainly not trying to write in defense of my way of thinking. Or lack of ability to think. Or a series of apologetics as to why I can't grasp the concept of nonselfawareness. It's just difficult. And I think a lot of it is directly caused by society. Everything is so fast and so important and flashy and, well, transient. Don't miss anything! I've been trying, more and more, to live by the axiom that you always regret the things you didn't do more than the things you did do. In hindsight, that is true for almost every mark down the line. Not to say that I haven't made mistakes. Because I certainly have. And, of course, if you really look at it, that statement becomes difficult to process and very difficult to prove. After all, isn't every act of doing also an act of not doing?

Odd that I can feel so loquacious at this point in my musing after having read only a few pages this time. And perhaps that just illustrates another point the book was trying to make. When writing or thinking or attempting to solve a problem, start small. Want to find something new or original? Looking at generalities or trying to comment on large bodies of text will, almost inevitably, lead to repetition. I guarantee there's nothing I can say, in a general sense, about this book that hasn't been said before. But about a single point? A single point as viewed as only a person with my EXACT experience can view it? There's the breeding ground for new thought. In the details. And then build up. As with any path, a small deviation becomes and enormous gap the further you go from the original point of departure.

Shit. That last mess is meaningless. I'm going to go try to concentrate on the present now. And write a new report. Where would I be if I couldn't meld good old javascript and vbscript... Now if I just had an eye for color and design I could, you know... make more Quality.

Labels: Books

I had good thoughts last night. I was liking the book more... and now I've lost them.

One thing I'm slowly remembering is the conversation in which the narrator attempts to determine the difference between objective and subjective "Quality." Whereas, previously, he was using "Quality" to divide perceptions into "Romantic" and "Classical" he began to see Romantic and Classical instead as dividing Quality into two different ideas. The problem being that Quality should have been an absolute. The solution to this problem was simply that Romantic and Classical interpretations of Quality were just two different ways of looking at the same Quality inherent in an object. Your definition and reaction to Quality is based on the sum of your life experiences. I'm saying that poorly and, honestly, it's not really an idea that is THAT amazing. In fact, it's been fairly commonplace for me. What was really great, however, was the way in which he described it. For much of the book, I've found the language tedious and pretentious (as I've said), but this section really started to turn around and come off as more concerned, if anything.

I still don't really give a damn about the story itself, however. I suppose that the "real life" things going on are supposed to be a metaphor for the philosophical journey... not that they necessarily match chronologically... but I can see where it's going, I think. I find it particularly interesting that they didn't climb to the top of the mountain. As they were coming down, the narrator seemed to reach the pinnacle of Phaedrus's thought... which, it turns out, didn't go quite far enough. So I think I caught that metaphor. And I think it's where I let myself try to see the narrative more as an illustration of the philosophical discussion. Not something I was ready or willing to do at first.

The bits about non-Euclidean geometry were kind of neat but also kind of passe, as we were talking about that in high school physics. Not that we were supposed to be, but we did. Where I'm at, right now, is believing that the point of these past 250 pages was simply to illustrate Einstein's point that everything is relative. If this ends up being a treatise on relativity in philosophy, I'm not sure I'm going to be too stoked about it. I suppose that, instead of just saying that everything is relative, Pirsig is probably saying that the Taoist relative point-of-view is the most valid. And one to which we should aspire. Which is certainly a better and more definable position. But also one which I'm not sure I can get behind. We'll see... It's getting better.

Labels: Books

Her interview on BBC Newsnight...

since when was the idea that plastic bags are garbage become a "crazy religious belief?"

American and Christian destiny? Is it really Jet speed, steaks on the electric grill, hot showers, and night skiing?

Ann Coulter was a journalist dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb

One thing I meant to say about Zen and Motorcycles is that I am, certainly, a member of the Church of Reason and, most assuredly, one of the ones the narrator would admonish for my inability to "free my mind." As it were.

Also, in my comparisons to Ishmael, I don't intend to say that the authors are attempting to illustrate the same Point. Only that each is utilizing the same pathway to a different end. I am tempted to say that they are, in fact, arguing opposite points... but I will have to finish Zen and reread Ishmael before I can make that claim.

Labels: Books

And now back to Zen. Or motorcycles. Whichever you prefer.

I suppose I'm getting into it a little more. A little. I've just cruised past Part II as father and son are climbing the literal mountain and father is doing his shtick and telling us all about mountains of the soul and the infinite number of paths available to traverse them.

Before this, we got a glimpse into the teaching years the cause of his (I suppose) insanity. Quality. What is it? He laments the fact that you can't define quality outside of one thing's relationship to another thing. My immediate response? Dude's fucking lost it. Quality, being an adjective, is, by definition, not something that is defineable outside of its relationship to something else. So... that kind of pissed me off. Even though I can see that his perception of what the secratary was saying about "teaching Quality" would have been more "romantic" than "classical"... It still seems silly. But I guess I'm ok with it.

The other big part I got through (seemingly) is the narrator trying to explain changing the roots of an idea instead of the branches. The just kept going back to Ishmael for me. I know Quinn was publishing 20 years later... and I imagine Zen was probably part of his literary upbringing... but he does a MUCH better job of explaining this idea. (one that SHOULD be obvious but isn't) He says it slightly differently (and it may have been in The Story of B... I can't recall)... but you have to change HOW people think, not WHAT they think in order to make any real changes in the world. Well, yeah. Teach a man to fish and what not...

Anyway... I'm trying to read this book somewhat outside of the context of myself. So as not to make anachronistic comparissons to non-contemporary authors. And to, perhaps, see this as something that changed the way people thought which, in turn, opened the doors for people like Daniel Quinn to put their thoughts on paper. The author (or, at least, the narrator) is still coming off as awfully pretentious. The language doesn't even sound like he excepts the reader to completely understand. And, so far, the narrative is just getting in the way of the philosophy. (Although I do have faith that this issue will be resolved for me by the time I finish the book.)

Labels: Books

I guess I'm allowed to post this... This is my own transcription of the video letter from Henry Rollins to Ann Coulter. Pretty funny, I thought. :)

Original Video

Letters From Henry

Dear Ann,

You used to be fun. At least funny. At least gently and amusingly insane. But, girlfriend, you've changed. The thousand yard stare you've acquired in the last couple of years says, lonely nights, too much wine, and insecurity about the future of your career. Where to now my sweet fascist? Another one of your silly books? More hilarious appearances on Hannity and Colmes? Bill Marr has to be tired of you by now. You're anything but stupid, and by now you must see the writing on the wall. You'll never have a real place with the Beltway-in crowd as they see you as a Northeastern hickoid pro-wrestler NASCAR type with a degree from Cornell. I mean really, Ann, where can it go from here?

Ann, I think I have the answer. In fact, I know I do. I want to hire you Ann. I want you to come and work for me. I want you to be my Ann Friday. My housekeeper, beekeeper, floor, chimney and mine sweeper. My window-washing, grocery buying, dinner cooking, obsequious submissive cocubine-domestic. You will laugh at my jokes, celebrate my victories, and lament my failures. You will praise my friends and vow great harm on all who oppose me. You will treat me like a god, a guru, a mentor, and the best night in the sack you've ever had. You will carry my bags, wash my cars, walk my dogs, and turn your savings over to me. You will massage Susan Sarandon's aching shoulders, whip up vegan delights for Hanoi Jane Fonda, and loofah Barbara Streisand's stretchmarks. But most of all, Ann, you will just shut the fuck up.

I can offer you a life of obedient servitude on my compound. In your time with me, you will learn much. You will learn that America is made up of people of all races, walks of life and sexual orientation and that it's all ok. You will learn to be patient and kind. You will learn the meaning of the word respect and memorize every line of Caddyshack. You will listen to the Ramones, Black Sabbath, and the Brides of Funkenstein. You're a figure of fun, and I plan on having fun with that figure. You will learn who your daddy is, that's for sure. But mostly, Ann, you will just shut the fuck up. C'mon Ann, you fuckin' psycho. Let's do this. -Henry

I suppose it's the hip thing to talk about now, but holy shit...

Connie Chung

please sign:

http://www.petitiononline.com/ncopec/petition.html

It's ridiculous for NC to require that many signatures just for an independant candidate to get on a ballot. Ridiculous.

After having Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance recommended to me for years by one person I like and respect, it was recommended by a second person that I like and respect, so I picked it up. I suppose, first off, why is this unfair? Well I'm only about 150 pages into Zen... and I plan on making comparisons to another book that I haven't finished - A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. And I'm going to pretend to know everything about both books dispite the fact that I'm only about 1/3 of the way through either of them.

The narrative of Zen begins and proceeds through the first couple of chapters in a way very reminiscent of what I was reading in HWoSG. Only not as entertaining. There's some travelling in both. One by a father/son and the other by two brothers... the older of which acts like a father to the younger. I already know, for certain, that HWoSG isn't "On the Road" or anything. It's primary setting isn't inside a car. Or on a motorcycle. But the relationships b/t the two travellers in each pair were so similar I had a difficult time remembering who was who.

So far, everything I've written has been total crap... My main point was to note the difference in tone of the two books. HWoSG just meanders and winds its way through life seemingly without any grand purpose. Z&AMM comes off as very pretentious and directed. In something like Ishmael, I felt like that approach was ok due to the fantastic nature of the narrator. If we were to suspend belief enough to believe that a gorilla was talking to us, it felt pretty natural to allow that gorilla to preach. In Zen, it's just a dude. A dude with, so far, no sense of humor and a very high opinion of himself. I definitely plan to finish it, but the more I read, the more I find myself wishing that I was reading about someone else.

Labels: Books

I'm really starting to like President Chavez...

Everyday I become more convinced, there is no doubt in my mind, and as many intellectuals have said, that it is necessary to transcend capitalism. But capitalism can’t be transcended from with capitalism itself, but through socialism, true socialism, with equality and justice. But I’m also convinced that it is possible to do it under democracy, but not in the type of democracy being imposed from Washington.

Hugo Chávez during his closing speech at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. January 31, 2005.

We have to re-invent socialism. It can’t be the kind of socialism that we saw in the Soviet Union, but it will emerge as we develop new systems that are built on cooperation, not competition.

Hugo Chávez during his closing speech at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. January 31, 2005.

Labels: Capitalism

I heard back from the head of the county's Democratic party. While I'd *like* to run unaffiliated, it certainly seems more difficult. Maybe I should contact the Republican party too?


...

...

Are you laughing yet?
I am.
Guffawing, even.

I have a goal. I want to run for City Council in '08.

That seems attainable, doesn't it?

I should make friends with some cops. and maybe some republicans too, I suppose.

I am shocked Zach & SOV...

he freakin' did it.

well... is $373 away at the time of this writing with several hours to go... no way he wouldn't just donate the last $300 himself if he's this close. It's over. Damn.

and on another somewhat related note... I finally got and read Channel Zero: Jennie One. It just took a few minutes over beers at Mad Dog, but I really really enjoyed it. At times I missed having Brian Wood's art, but Becky Cloonan's art worked very very well for the story. It was a great intro to the events that occurred in Channel Zero but I definitely think that it works better to read Channel Zero first and Jennie One second. Obviously I can't do both for any kind of empirical evidence, but I can't imagine Channel Zero having quite the same effect it did had I already read Jennie One.

I wish I wasn't so late on this bandwagon... I really want one of those Make Them Listen t-shirts from, like, 5 years ago... can't even ebay the bastards now.

Anything else? Probably not.

Nine Inch Nail tomorrow. 4th row center.
Cool.

Although I still think the new album is subpar.

Labels: Comic Books

From the new book Armed Madhouse by Greg Palast (recommended to me by way of Brian Wood's website).

Original Link

The GOP seemed to get awfully lucky with registration switches to the Republican Party in critical counties in swing states. There were the switches in "Little Texas" in New Mexico, and an amazing number of Florida college students, at least 4,000 of them, mostly African-American, who switched to the Republican Party a month before the November 2004 election.

However, Ion Sancho, the non-partisan elections supervisor in Tallahassee, became suspicious when he received a registration switch from one new Republican: his stepdaughter. Look at this signature; it's not a bad forgery. The students, it turns out, thought they had signed a petition to legalize use of marijuana for medical purposes. Covered over by the "legalize pot" sign-up sheet was a registration change form. The form requires two signatures. The second signature was forged, copied from the one obtained by the "pot" fraud. The students, doubly registered, then lost their right to vote altogether. Elections supervisor Sancho immediately called the cops, but Governor Jeb Bush's state police informed him that they would be too busy to investigate until after Election Day. They never did.

In Ohio, it was much simpler. Statistician Anthony Fairfax discovered that Black voters were twice as likely as white voters to have their mail-in registrations simply rejected. In Congresswoman Katherine Harris's district in Florida, Democrats found that, though they submitted registration forms on time, they were entered on the voter rolls only after the deadline, barring them from voting in the Presidential race.

Oddly enough... this book, though released on the 6th is still unavailable at Barnes & Noble in the Charlotte area. Yet Coulter's new "book" has floorstands galore. Sweet. I special ordered a copy tho... hopefully it will show up soon.

Labels: Books, george bush

This is for Dick.



"Why do I keep fuckin' up?"

Labels: george bush

Driving is fun, sometimes. But expensive... damn. I thought I'd have enough time to listen to all of the Pearl Jam studio albums before I actually got to Annapolis. But that didn't work out. Luckily, I got to skip the last few songs on Binaural and only play the ones I liked on Riot Act, thereby leaving the new S/T as the only record I didn't spin on the drive up. Awaiting me after the 390 minute drive were three nights of... well... debauchery... Starting with what is, apparently, the best Mexican in Annapolis (i.e. Margaritas)... downed a pair of those and then downtown for some bar hopping and expensive beers. Unfortunately, I have very few stories to tell. There was one girl who kept eying everyone who walked in the door. I thought Kennedy had her nailed for sure. You know... so to speak. But it didn't work. She's a bitch. If I recall correctly, the cab ride home was uneventful but let to one member of our party redecorating the bathroom. After which, we went to the dock with some sweet sweet Coronas and talked about things that were wrong with the world and then yelled at Scott by way of this new fangled thing called a "telephone"...... While the first full day afforded Tyler and myself the opportunity to saunter around downtown Annapolis, eat at Ruth and Chic's Deli, and search for national secrets at the Naval Academy, night two saw only Kennedy and myself heading back to downtown Annapolis. Dinner and drinks on the water. It was very romantic. Until I posed the question, "Dude, the Pearl Jam show is TOMORROW, right? Not tonight?" At which point stomachs sank and cellphones began ringing. And noone answered. I resorted to calling ticketmaster... "Uhhh... what time is the Pearl Jam show in DC? Cool. That's tomorrow, right? Thanks." So that was nice. And allowed us to go bar hopping again. And for me to play poorly at Cricket (Darts, not the British thing) yet still roar to victory. Twice. dum-dum-dum. And that was, pretty much that. For the first time in, like, 8 months or something, I actually watched a little late night TV and then took to bed. (Has anyone ever heard of some guy called Jon Stewart and the Daily Show? That shit's funny.) ....... Day Three. Tyco arrives with plenty of time to get ready, chill in DC, and get to the show. Yet we somehow manage to dick around Annapolis long enough going to McD's and the bank that we had to go back to the house to refill the beer cups. And get my phone. But this time we remembered to toss the bottles of Captain and Skyy into the trunk. Finished the drinks on the way to the train station, refilled, and got onboard. Got to the MCI Center a couple hours ahead of time and decided to just wait in line... and take turns walking back and forth to McDonald's bathroom to refill the beer cups. Two Yuenglengs were casualties of war as we were forced to leave them behind to get inside quickly enough to snag some show posters. And thank God. These are seriously sweet. (and on ebay for $150?!?!?!?!? wtf.) From the show, all I can really recall is screaming. A lot. And I now have a bunch of bruises from something. Opening with Release was badass and exactly what I was hoping for. Despite the presence of Betterman, Small Town, Man of the Hour, and Come Back, it was a great show. Encore 1 was mildly disappointing (Man of the Hour, Masters of War, Small Town, Come Back, Alive), but the last encore more than made up for it with Comatose, Leash, Fuckin' Up, and Yellow Ledbetter. I haven't heard YL live before. Nice. I guess that's all I'm really saying. Oh. Except that Wasted Reprise -> Life Wasted was frickin' beautiful. oh yeah... also... that I really did not enjoy My Morning Jacket. I don't know if it was the fault of the sound guy, the beer, the band, or my aural preference. I thought they were decent on Austin City Limits, but I don't like "Z," and I didn't enjoy the live sound. Although it looked like they were probably doing cool stuff on stage. It may have also been due to the fact that I REALLY wanted Sonic Youth to be opening instead. This has been an exercise in indulgence and I dearly hope noone wasted their time reading this far down. This isn't even interesting to me. I just felt like typing.
Oct. 29, 2007: Tyler sent me these photos a while ago, but I just scanned them in last weekend. I'm pretty sure they're from the night of the show...

Labels: concerts, Kennedy, music, Pearl Jam, Tyler