Sliding Rock
Back in May Austin and Miho stopped in during a trip down for Aaron Dunham's wedding. Austin wanted to go hang out in the mountains and invited us to come along for a day. It was cold and rainy, but it ended up being a lot of fun. And also the location for one of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life. We spend most of the time at Sliding Rock, which was not technically open yet. (Oh. And it was cold.)
I guess there had been some big storms or something... So this big freakin' tree that we were standing right next to just cracked right in half while we were standing there. It chopped another tree in half and fell square across the rock. Had we arrived 5 minutes earlier, we probably would have been sliding on the rock and squished. 5 minutes later, and we would have missed watching this tree plunge to its death on the smooth rocky surface below.
Obviously I was too fat and old and slow to actually get that on camera, but here are some photos of the trip anyway.
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I've never figured out why it is cool to take pictures of people while they are driving. This is what happened tho.
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Usually, from this angle, you should be able to see the rock.
Instead, you see the newly fallen tree...
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You can see it better here...
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This is just the pool that you fall into at the end.
Way behind Austin, Allison and Miho are walking in the water.
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See? There they are...
Crazies.
Did I mention it was cold?
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Austin got bold and sucked the gut in...
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And eventually everyone got wet.
Which is not a sexual reference to Austin's gut.
As far as I know.
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Never seen an albino squirrel before...
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Miho (I think) took the pictures of this waterfall on the way back out of the park.
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Not only did no one get hurt...
But everybody actually looks pretty happy.
Even with me in the picture!
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I think I mentioned that it was cold... we all tried it anyway...
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Labels: Allison, Austin
Radiohead (and Liars)
EDIT: Direct downloads of 192kbs mp3's of this show are over here
Saw Radiohead last night at the Verizon Ampitheater in Charlotte. Managed to get there about 2 hours early but had to walk around the parking lot and drink Captain and Sprite by myself b/c Allison was stuck at work...  Tried to wait, but it wasn't going to work, so I went in to catch the opening band. Knew they were opening, but I never looked them up... I suppose that, since Deerhoof opened in Amsterdam, that I was going to dig whoever it was. And that worked out. I had a video, but I deleted it to save room for another Radiohead song instead. I still have a shitty 1GB memory card in my camera... But they were cool. Except that they finished, and Allison was still sitting in the car.........................
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But she did manage to show up with, really, just seconds left before Radiohead came on. Frightening... but everything worked out in the end. She's funny looking in this photo.
Oh yeah... and just before Liars went on, I finished Memories of My Melancholy Whores, and it was awesome and really at all the kind of thing I thought I'd like. Like the ending isn't typically a kind of ending I'd appreciate, usually...
Not now...
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 I think this is probably my favorite photo... He was crazy dancing all night. I tried to do that too, but now I just hurt and no one much thought I was very cool. Which is best. We were row 12 behind the pit, far stage right. I think we were maybe slightly closer than the last time, but I think I would have preferred to sit a few rows further back and to be closer to the center. Wonder how those seats are allotted, actually... all the way down the middle and then to the sides? hm... regardless. It was still awesome, and we were still plenty close. :)
I don't really have anything insightful or interesting to say... there is very little I would have changed... setlist was fantastic, sound was great, light show was great, Allison made it in time... So I'm going to not say anything and just post the photos and videos.
(Oh... I would definitely pay another $75 to see that again.)
((And there was some stupid review about Radiohead/In Rainbows/Previewing the Show in Creative Loafing this past week. It was dumb. It sounded like "Radiohead are so past their prime." or "In Rainbows is a weak effort from a formerly great band." Something like that. It sucked.))
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 Tried to grab one more picture as they were leaving the stage, but I was still all shaky from the sound or the movements or something, so everything was blurry. This is still kind of... cute, I guess.
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I start to film pretty much every song that gets played... and then stop if I don't like it or something... so it's always pretty random or luck-of-the-draw as to what I end up actually getting and keeping. There There showed up pretty early... I guess it's not "cool," but I still really like this song, and I kept the video of that. Got Myxomatosis the same way, and it's badass enough for me as well, so I kept that and, given the size of my tiny memory card, I was done with the filming. The sound kind of sucks, which is too bad, b/c it was actually just about perfect when we were there... So it goes...
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Labels: Allison, Charlotte, concerts, music
new songs...
Couple of things...
Went to see Silent Weapons play at "Charlotte's Underground" tonight. Some place that used to be, obviously once you're inside, a strip club. It was huge, and the stage was enormous, and the sound was really good, but it was one of the crappiest places I've been for a show. The door guy totally grabbed my ass and gave me a pseudo-wedgie. The bar is cash only. They only let you get one drink at a time. I ordered a "Guiness Draft" (as advertised above the bar) and received a Guiness from a can poured into a glass. Eliza used the plastic gun that she always uses, and some dude pulled her off-stage immediately after the show to bitch and moan about how they could send her to jail for having the gun or something. Got a 6 oz vodka & red bull... six dollars. Ugh. It had potential, but ended up just sucking. Definitely don't plan to ever go back there again. Just brutal.
Aside from that... Scott was here last week, and we managed to cobble together a few songs.
The first song is, as I understand it, a sort of love song to Raven...
The second song is, as I understand it, nothing.
I was working on something else last night and today. Allison came over later and agreed to sing someting on it. We came up with this.
Also, after Eston told me to fix the vocals, I played with the production on this "song" I did a long time ago.
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Labels: Allison, concerts, filboyd studge, music, Scott
Ring it in Stupidly
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I guess that, while I'm posting terrible random pictures, here are our terrible random pictures from when Thomas decided to grace us with his presence for a few hours before going back to China.
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I am 98% certain that I took this photo. It is a fairly normal photo of fairly normal looking people doing fairly normal looking things. (losing at Crainium) I am also 98% certain that I did not take any other photos this night...
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How Sweet. Pretty sure this was Allison's doing. Apparently someone broke my sweet bone, so I can be pretty sure I had no part in this.
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Obviously I didn't take this. But, sadly, I suppose I start the offensiveness by blinding everyone with my head. I wish I could turn that into a super power. Also, Allison's hair is totally pink. Crazy that it looks all orange here...
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lol!!!!!!!111 They think they can win!
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c'mon... pleeeeeeaaaase let us win :(
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Let me think about it...
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hah! no, you'll never win!! :-p
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grrrr... I will eat you!
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pssh. Whatever.
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Right. That's over. Almost. I'm sorry to have subjected anyone not involved to the photographic evidence of... well... of whatever all of this proves. Which might be nothing. And that might be worse than proving something really bad. (*shhh*... it actually proves that Thomas is voting for Fred Thompson)
And, lastly, this proves that I don't know what to do in front of a camera... *sigh*
Oh. And we did win, btw. technically.
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Labels: Allison, Brooke, Thomas
Silent Weapons & Bang! Bang! @ The Milestone
I was planning to write about this long ago. Really, I was. Sarah bitched at me last night for slacking off on my quickness tho, so I'm trying to make up for lost time. Now it's one month later, and I hardly remember what happened. I do recall being pretty psyched to be at The Milestone again. And pretty ashamed for not being there more often. But I was also pretty psyched to see The Silent Weapons play in a place with good sound. Sadly I've got no audio/video from that night... I tried, but the lighting was so freaking low that making videos was just silly. And yeah, so I really don't remember any details past what I just said. Dammit. It must be the drugs. So, I guess mostly, here are some photos from their set.
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The one in the middle is my favorite. But it only beats out the one above b/c Jason is standing in front of Josh.
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Uhm... and I just poured the Rum & Sprite I was drinking into a clear class. I think I forgot the Sprite.
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Allison also had recently dyed her hair purple. This photo got me kind of famous. myspace default photo famous. And, dammit, I hope that I actually took it and not Sarah and that I'm not just forgetting yet another thing. Regardless. The purple was sweet. Then this other thing happened... later...
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 As is often the case with shows in Charlotte, the crowd was, sadly, rather sparse. I suppose it's slightly understandable this time as it was a Tuesday night. With a new band from Charlotte and a band from Chicago. I really wish I'd had some recording of the show, cuz this was absolutely the best the actual sound has been.  I like being able to hear Eliza sing. I think she looks great, but, ugh, I ALWAYS just want to hear her better. It was much much much better at The Milestone than I've heard it before. Given, of course, I've only heard them at SK Net and the Bucket Shop (which is now NOTORIOUS for shitty mics...), but still. I do recall being glad that the levels sounded better and that I could hear Eliza. Dammit, I wish I could remember more better. I do know that I often feel that I'm just waiting for a wall to come down when I get to see TSW play. I really like what I hear, but I just have this feeling that it could *sound* so much better. It'll get there. The songs are really fucking good, and everything happening on stage is pretty sweet. (and, damn, Josh knows his way around the equipment on stage.) Anyway. It's good. But totally has a lot of room to get better. A lot of very fillable room. It'll get there. And it's great fun to watch it progress. Also, I'm eating Cheetos. mmm. But the other reason that the lack of bodies on the floor was sad was b/c this random band from Chicago called Bang! Bang! was actually really fucking cool.
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But before I get that, here's the last photo. Of Eston. Because he's completely a diva and would be pissed if I didn't post. Well... not pissed. I've seen Eston pissed. I don't think I've quite gotten that far on his bad side yet. <3 Eston.
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 From what I've heard since, Bang! Bang! is actually quite the popular band up Chicago way. They've certainly got more friends than filboyd studge... The lighting came on for this show, and I probably should have recorded something, but I had no idea what to expect, so I just listened and watched instead. What a novel idea. It was this kind of punk/pop thing that leaned more towards the whole punk thing instead. And I thought it was really badass. If I wasn't so poor, I definitely would have bought a CD. (speaking of which, why the hell aren't Silent Weapons CD's for sale at shows??)  Anyway. I kind of think this is the kind of thing that I might get tired of if I were to try to listen to it for an extended period of time. Not that that makes it less good... just not exactly what I'm looking for long term. For a random discovery as a band that happens to be playing with another band that I like? Wow. Maybe one of the best one of THOSE bands I've heard in a long long time. They had a really good stage presence too. Cuz it completely seemed like they were just having a great time. I don't think I've ever heard a cymbol solo before either... And the guitar string broke, so we got the Flying V. And it all happened like everyone there were just friends having fun. the fact that I recall that may or may not have anything to do with something I find missing in day-to-day life. Hm. Although I'm getting old and boring and bald and rarely venture outside the safe confines of my apartment to discover anything unknown, I'll keep my eye on this band... maybe they'll play somewhere near a stop of the new light rail. Or, hell, maybe they'll come back and play with The Silent Weapons again. I really liked it.
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Jack Flash
Jason, dude! You're always in the way!
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Gretta Fine
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Nick Kraska
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Although Holster was actually headlining the show I, yet again, missed their set. Allison had to work early, so we took off after Bang! Bang! had finished up. But the end of their set certainly worked out for the end of the show. I know there's a video of this whole thing floating around somewhere b/c the guy next to me was holding his phone up recording it all. I don't really remember exactly how it happened but they, somehow, managed to get all the prettiest people in the crowd up on the stage for a nice little dance party to send things out. Of course I didn't join, cuz I didn't want to make anyone feel bad. With my skillz. But that's good for everyone else who is a dude b/c it means that I have a couple of photos. So there's that. And there's my awful awful words that are simply here to fill space b/c I have these pictures, and I didn't want to do nothing with them.
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Labels: Allison, concerts, Eston, music
Dave Eggers
I first became aware of the Novella Festival of Reading in 2003 when I saw that Neil Gaiman was coming to town. Got the tickets, and I was on my way to see him read for the 2nd time. I guess I was kind of an insensitive douche at dinner tho when I said something mean about little kids. Or something like that. Regardless. I ended up going by myself just in time to see Neil walking back across the street from the Smelly Cat coffee shop signalling the end of the reading and the beginning of the signing. I could have gone in, I suppose, but I didn't. I dunno... I just didn't.
But this time... I saw that Dave Eggers would be speaking, and I didn't want to miss it. I'd only read his first novel, but I really really liked it. (Thanks, Scott... and Cindy?) Before going I picked up his most recent as well as How We Are Hungry. I planned to read at least one before the signing, but I am lazy. Or just easily distracted. So, of course, nothing was read by me.
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I imagine it's true with everyone about most everything... I always seem to believe that I am the average demographic for people who like the things that I like.
 So I was pretty surprised and amused tonight when a vast majority of the people filing in were substantially older than me. Grandparents old. I have a difficult time believing that more old people than young people identify with and enjoy A Heartbreaking Work... Having gotten partially through What is the What, I can see why Eggers would also appeal to an older crowd. Or, as Allison suggested, perhaps these were just people who were attending most or all of the Novello events.
Of course, that's neither here nor there. So Dave came out a little bit late looking... more or less... like I thought he would (should?).
 It was great fun to watch him stand there. In lots of ways it was like I was looking at myself. He's so freaking fidgety and nervous looking; I feel like I used to do that when I used to have to stand on stage and say things to people in school or whatever. Luckily for everyone that doesn't happen anymore. Once, in middle school, I got in trouble for refusing to lead the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance. Eventually they made me do it tho. I started with the Calvin and Hobbes version of "I pledge allegiance to Queen Frag and her mighty state of hysteria." Then I just stood there. Fucking assholes. I do not know why I remember that... nor why I decided to share it now. sdlkgjasdlkg.
So, Dave. This thing occurred the weekend for Halloween partying in downtown Charlotte. While Dave was talking there was this incessant thumping in the background. Turns out that there was a huge Halloween party right across the street from the auditorium. Lots of near naked people running around getting drunk. And here we are listening to an author talk about Sudan. I'm only minorly bitter about my lack of desire to lose my inhibitions and do crazy "fun" stuff with lots of other random people. None of this seemed to bother anyone else tho, so that's good. Although, between the techno-fly bass drums and Dave twisting the cap to his Coke on and off and on and off in the microphone, it was kind of like being at a rave. Except without the glo-sticks and dancing. And drugs. And lights. Actually it wasn't like being at a rave at all.
It was like being in school again. Which, oddly, was really awesome. This most recent book (What is the What) was so very obviously his current pride-and-joy. It was really cool to see how happy and excited he was about this thing. Especially when compared to how self-deprecating he was regarding Heartbreaking Work... The "lecture" portion of the talk ended up being Dave mostly telling the story of how it came to be that he was the author of this book. Much like HWoSG is fictionally auto-biographical, WitW is fictionally biographical. I don't know if Dave would agree with me or not, but (I am now halfway through the book since I first began writing this post) the two books seem very stylistically similar to me. Both are written from a first-person perspective and both attempt to stay historically accurate in a general sense while being aware that the details are often lost to time and, therefore, imagined by the author. The most interesting story, I thought, was how he actually arrived at the decision to write the book this way.  There was a phone call that initially put Achak (who is the main character in WitW) in touch with Dave, which led to meetings, which led to him accepting the job. Having been trained as a journalist, he initially approached the task as a journalist. As an outside observer attempting to tell history. After two years of frustration, he said that his excitement for the project had waned b/c he just couldn't make the story work with this stylistic choice. He felt that he was inserting himself into the story too much and that he was depersonalizing the tale. His initial self-imposed deadline for completing the book was one year, and he believed that it would have been better to just cut his losses and pass the project to someone else. But, before making that final decision, he said he realized the he could write the story from Achak's eyes except that he knew he'd have to make up the details for the novel to be readable. In relating this anecdote to us, he made it pretty clear that he was embarrassed to even be bringing up his new idea. But he called Achak and told him how he wanted to write the story and asked if it was ok if he took artistic license with the details of his life. Achak just laughed at him and said that's what he thought Dave had been doing the whole time..
Suffice to say, the book got written and doing so really made an impression on the author. He travelled to southern Sudan several times during the course of writing the novel and seemed to have become very close with several of "The Lost Boys" of Sudan. A few of the guys who had been relocated to the States were in attendance as well and one guy (David something... I only remember b/c Dave answered questions posed to "David" until he realized that they both had the same name... that was funny) helped field the audience questions. And Dave was excited to have the audience questions. Except for the one or two about HWoSG... he just became so embarrassed anytime that came up. The word "staggering" was used to describe something else, and he just kind of crumpled on stage, "Ugh... there's THAT word again." But the questions about Sudan and the history and Marial Bai. He obviously loved. He seemed at ease when he felt like he was teaching people about stuff that had very little to do with himself. He was proud to be able to bring this story to people who never would have experienced it in such a personal way before. It seemed really easy for him to get into the history and the causes of things in Sudan (and Achak's life), and it was pretty inspiring.
 Even though he never read a passage from the book and spoke very very little about the only book of his that I'd actually read, I still very much enjoyed it. I wish, now, that I had read the book prior to this lecture/Q&A thing since, naturally, now is when I have questions I want to ask. And because he totally revealed a pretty major plot development... I'll spare you on that one. But getting to hear the how-it-came-to-be story, seeing the photos of the actual places and people involved, and hearing and seeing the emotion put into this book by the author has really made reading it a much more enjoyable experience. I mean, I guess it's more enjoyable. Impossible to empirically prove, but I'm sticking with my hypothesis. And now I'd really like to find a cause outside of myself into which I could lose myself. But the closest I came was searching google for jobs in Sudan for about a week. Turns out that you can't really get paid to do that stuff. I'm such a stupid American consumer.
Also, when I was writing notes to remind me of what I wanted to say about this thing I wrote this down:
It's easier to not feel something that you do feel than it is to feign a feeling you don't really have
I wish I could remember why I wrote that, but it completely escapes me now. I guess it's also a pretty obvious truism tho, so perhaps it's best that I can't remember what I was gonna say.
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I also thought these things were funny.
This event happend at Imaginon which is this totally badass place for kids to hang out off of the public library downtown. I'd have loved this when I was little and pure and not so damned jaded. And I probably would not have found it odd that these sculptures pictured at right are the first things that would have greeted me when I walked in the door.
But now it amuses me.
I suppose that's all I'll say about that.
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I would be remiss were I to write all this crap and not drop a link to the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation, which attempts to help relocated Sudanese as well as rebuild war-affected towns and villages in Sudan. (and from whom I stole this picture of a sunset in Marial Bai) Check it out.
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And here are the signature pages from the three books Allison and I had signed
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A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
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How We Are Hungry
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What Is the What
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Labels: Allison, Books
Femme Fatale
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They did this well... figured I might as well toss it up here too... enjoy...
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Labels: Allison, Eston, music
Charlotte ComiCon
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Ok... I'm going to try this again... I guess. I hate computers.
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Right. Mini-report on the mini-convention. This was the first time I'd been to a comic book show as a "dealer" instead of a random guy walking around with no money. Which was good on so many levels. There was so much stuff there that looked really great. Comics Planet had a rack of beautiful EC's, which were WAY out of my price range. So I actually bought nothing. Which was strange for me in addition to good. But the whole thing was a lot of fun... Allison helped me all day, and Bryan stopped by to check it out and even paid the $3 to get in. His presence, of course, is what led to all the picture taking.
How freaking cute is this? If any significant portion of the comic book collecting population was female, I think I would have seen sales rise during this particular depicted period of the day.
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"Za-Zow! Buy some comics!"
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"For instance these moderately high-grade but totally not rare at all X-Men issues. Acts of Vengeance... what could be better?"
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"Or buy something totally different... or nothing at all... It's not like I care anyway."
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So... here's Allison and most of my backboard (or whatever it's called)... Comic collectors can definitely be single-minded in their task. How else can you explain the lack of purchases off of that board with her as the sales pitch?
I reckon you can see some of the stuff that's underneath in that other picture. I spent a lot of time putting things together in sets and marking them down, so I was glad that at least one person (the guy in blue) picked up a few complete runs of stuff.
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"Marvels are on your left, DC's are on your right; everything else is underneath."
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"Marvels are on your left, DC's are on your right; everything else is underneath."
If I say that one more time, Allison is going to go nuts.
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"Marvels are on your left, DC's are on your right; everything else is..."
oops... yep... there she goes...
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So... what sold? Iron Man. I went in with a near intact run of Iron Man from 64 up to the beginning of the current series and left with hardly any IM issues at all. Several people left with 1 or 2, but several more left with big chunks of the series. Which confuses me a bit...
Recently, on the best news show in Charlotte (as voted on by me), the sexiest woman in Charlotte (as voted on by readers of Creative Loafing) spoke with some old guy who dealt sports memorabilia. Apparently, once OJ started being a douche, the values of OJ collectibles quite rather plummeted. When Tony Stark decides to start being a douche, however, everyone wants his stuff. Not-a-douche = people who don't punch Captain America in the face. Perhaps that is art's big "fuck you" to life.
- "Hey Life. This whole sincerest form of flattery thing? It's over. It is done. Fuck you."
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Perhaps I should note that I, personally, am actually more of the life-imitates-art kind of guy. Art is where people dream, right? How many people dream of the status quo? If you think everything is great right now, you're just not looking hard enough. Go paint a picture.
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What else... Everyone was pretty interested in the Albedo 2, Primer 2, and TMNT 1, but I had them priced too high to sell. Which, honestly, was kind of the point. I just wanted people to come talk to me. And maybe buy some other stuff, but those are my best comics, so you only get them if you wanna pay me a LOT. :) I think that, maybe, one guy looked at the CGC Magnus 1, and no one looked through the Valiant boxes at all. I didn't really promote that they were available tho, so that's ok. Hopefully when the new Valiant stuff starts coming out, some of the old stuff will pick up again. But probably everyone is thinking that. I was also surprised that nobody picked through the fairly large number of Captain America issues I brought. Steve Rogers >>>>>> Tony Stark. And he's dead. You know, "comic book dead." But I still thought people would be interested. Especially when all that Iron Man stuff started going out the door...
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I wish that I had seen more kids tho. I got a few from the 10-ish year old demographic, and I was able to find something for all of them. I think/hope that I gave them a good deal and that they're happy with what they got. Finding a few issues of Transformers for a little guy and giving him one for free might have been the most fun sale.
And the freakiest thing was having someone ask if I had Fantastic Four #132, and I'm like, "Sorry, I think the oldest I have is #115 and then it jumps to 182 or something." My actual oldest issue? #115. The next actual oldest issue? #182. I don't even like FF that much.
But it was all fun. Even wheeling all those boxes back-and-forth. Allison was a huge help in bagging and unbagging and rebagging stuff before the show as well as with getting all the boxes alphabetized. I'm kind of OCD when it comes to the alphabet... And an OOOLLLLDDD friend from high school, Richie Ritter, showed up the night before for a concert in town and helped with the alphabet and helped a lot with putting all the boxes in the car. Very cool.
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Oh... and I just remembered... See how there are comics on the front of all those boxes in the pictures above? And how that one box on the far right has nothing? It used to house the current Jonah Hex #1, and I was asking $2 for it. The dealer setup on my left (I forgot his name, dammit...) bought it from me for $2 before the show started and put it out on his table for $3. *sigh* I guess that's smart business. I don't think he sold it tho... and I totally stole his idea for folding the table cloth up under the boxes on the table so that the ones under the table were more accessible, so it's all good.
Meeting people as a "dealer" just kind of felt different from meeting them as a potential buyer. I guess that should have been obvious. But it was a lot of fun to see things from the other side. I really liked meeting the guy to my right... his booth was as poor to moderately busy as mine was, so we got to talk a bit. I think I got invited to present at his ZombieCon show in Greensboro; if they get Rob, I'm so totally there. I think I also got asked to present in Greenville as well as at the next Charlotte show in December. I'm not sure I have enough stuff to make it worthwhile, but, if I do, I'll definitely go again.
And I almost forgot... a couple of guys that I sort of "met" on the CGC boards came over and said hi, which was really nice. I only remember Sal's name at the moment b/c I was trying to remember too much as it was, but it's kind of neat to see that it can be a "community" instead of just a bunch of random guys together.
And Shelton stopped by to say hi as well, which was super nice. AND Rick and Dave (the promoters) couldn't have been nicer, more helpful, or happier to have me there.
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Weird. Did I just post an entire entry without being a negative dipshit asshole?
I think I did.
(except for that art thing, maybe, but that hardly counts.)
I also just realized that there aren't any pictures taken from my POV behind the table. That's annoying. I should have thought of that...
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Very very very late update... this picture of Allison was just floating around... can't remember why it was where it was and was not on here. So here you go.
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Labels: Allison, Comic Books
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Hey, look... a post where I'm not just quoting other people...
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There was one post-"concert" photo that I neglected to post, but only b/c it happened the day after... Allison and Scott and Raven sitting around my house. I feel so... popular. Life Goal #1: Check.
Also... unless I'm greatly mistaken... the contents(?) of that table are ("contents" is one of those plural/singular nouns things that sounds like the subject/verb doesn't match, right?) interesting. Or funny. Or not. But maybe I just wanted to talk about the finer points of the word "contents."
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A few weeks later Brooke graced us with her presence for a few hours while visiting these fine united states (NOT a proper noun in this case). She chose a good night since Wednesdays are Wongdays at 300 East. As I understand it, Dustin has actually been to 300 East but has no idea what a wong is. These, Dustin, are Wongs. They contain some alcohol.
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The most amusing thing about this place is its bathroom doors. There are no words written. No pictures of people in dresses or jeans. None of those circles with a symbol on them that are supposed to mean "man" or "woman." Not even a "V"-shaped space b/t Jesus and Mary Magdalene signifying the sacred feminine. Just some dogs. Before you can take a pee, your drunk ass must correctly locate and identify the dog sporting a rock-hard boner. Then. And only then. May you pee in peace.
Now that I think about it, it would probably actually be worse if it was all limp.
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After successfully completing the Ordeal, you are at least rewarded with a porcelain potty complete with easy-access ashtray. The only place I've ever been that encourages smoking in the boy's room.
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wow. I am so about to cry.
I just spent the last many hours writing a report about the comic convention... I opened myspace in a separate browser window to look up a profile, and ALL of my IE windows crashed. I so fucking hate myspace.
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Labels: Allison, Brooke, Raven, Scott
filboyd studge @ the Bucket
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Right. So Scott came into town this past weekend, and we knew what we were gonna do, by God. Get the band together. With Thomas filling in our rotating bass player slot. But then Thomas went to China of all places b/c he hates us. Moo Goo Gai Motherfucker. Or maybe that's Japanese. I don't know. Regardless, Eston said he'd take the job since we were the best band he'd ever heard...
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Scott says my recall is fading... he might be right. I'm pretty sure that Allison and I started everything off... we played Aeroplane Over the Sea again for Scott and Raven. We really wanted to do it like Dustin, but we're not quite good enough. But it was still quite serviceable since Allison is such a good singstress. I bet there are pictures somewhere, but I don't have any... then Eston did his solo intro stuff to, you know, butter-up the crowd. The opener has to suck so that the headliner sounds awesomer. (Yes, open mic night can have a headliner... even if they play in the middle.)
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I can only imagine that Eston and Sarah are missing from this incredibly cute shouldabeenatriology set o' photos b/c Bryan doesn't know Sarah. Which is too bad.
But so it goes.
<---- me & Allison
Scott and Raven ---->
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But anyway... there weren't actually many photos on my camera of things that actually happened during the concert, and I don't feel like screen-cap'ing the video. So this is pretty much all I've got as far as still images go. I had to lighten them in Photoshop, but I like the red tint that was naturally there...
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heh... And Raven praying at the altar of studge.
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I'm feeling narcissistic today... I'm pretty sure these photos mean that I done good.
Plus, it's almost like I'm smiling.
And I really like that first one. For obvious reasons. It so totally makes it look like I'm not even anywhere close to going bald.
Allison says I look like a child molester.
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This here is the closest thing I have to a picture with everyone in it... You can barely see Sarah over Brian's left shoulder... Allison's hitting on Eston behind Scott and Brian, and Raven's trying to avoid the whole thing by keeping her eyes closed. I guess she's kind of like an ostrich that way.
I guess I'm not in this picture... nor is Judith... nor is Bryan... I don't think I knew anyone else that was there tho. Except, of course, for Christy the lovely bartender.
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Scott trying to look all academic after the show...
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And then hanging with a friend who is unknown to me. I think this dude's name was Matt...?
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And then there's this Raven girl. She lives in New York. On the morning of the show, she was in New York. On the afternoon of the show, she was in New York. An hour before the show, she was in North Carolina. Rad? Yes. That's pretty freakin' rad. I'm pretty sure this photo says, "Holy fuck, I am so freakin' happy to be at Jeff's Bucket Shop right now!"
And I reckon that's Sarah and Eston there in the background again.
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And this is Allison and Raven acting happy after the show even tho the only thing either of them really wants is for filboyd studge to never stop playing ever.
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And I suppose that just leaves us with the last few obligatory band photos...
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Well... and then, of course, the video of the whole thing that Bryan cooked up for us...
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Labels: Allison, bryan, Eston, filboyd studge, Raven, Sarah, Scott
The Fiery Furnaces
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Despite a plethora of cool releases in the recent past, (read: NIN, Spoon, White Stripes, Interpol.....), I've not really done a very good job of following music lately. We'll chalk it up to a lack of funds. But now Continental Airlines and Chase Bank USA have joined forces and given me the ability to earn my way back to Amsterdam by buying a bunch of crap I don't need. Or crap I do need like food and tires on my car.
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Regardless, my most recent frequent-flyer-miles purchase involved a pair of tickets for the triumphant return of The Fiery Furnaces to my musically shallow city. Last time I got to see this band was a few months prior to the release of 2006's Bitter Tea. I went in a Fiery Furnaces virgin and came out struck more by the opening band (deadboy and the Elephantmen) than by FF. This time, however, I'd let Bitter Tea sit in the car stereo for a few days, I had my recording stuff, and I was prepared. Hell, I got there almost an hour before doors opened b/c I forgot this was Charlotte, and I thought that people might be lined up for the show...
but that's neither here nor there. dios. The Fiery Furnaces. I will now talk about them both.
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Opening band was a pleasant surprise. While it wasn't my thing as much as deadboy was, dios was a lot of fun and turned out to be a fantastic choice as an opener for The Fiery Furnaces.
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Their website, however, is fucking terrible... The lead singer reminded me (quite a lot, actually) of a South Carolina band called A Decent Animal, but that's about all I can do for comparisons. Everything was super-tight with a fantastic amount of ambient noise, and the drummer was a fucking BLAST to watch. It was just the right mix of painful groove and groove rock that neither put me in a mosh pit nor put me to sleep.
While not a jam band by really any stretch of the imagination, it almost could have been. I had a hell of a time noticing when most songs ended and the next began. I even recorded the thing, and I've been struggling fruitlessly listening and re-listening trying to find where to chop the 40-odd minute set up into individual tracks. It's not that everything sounded exactly the same, but everything fused together so well that pinpointing that moment where things changed is just proving to be impossible for me. Not that it really matters. I really enjoyed the set, and I would definitely go see them again. If anyone who reads this knows this band and would like to help me track the show, I'd be grateful... I'm here.
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<-------------
dios breakdown takes next to no time at all... the stage crew gets everything ready for the main act, and Allison checks my equipment for me. (that is not a euphemism)
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While waiting we meet new friend and fellow Orange Peel/Arcade Fire/Sonic Youth/Pearl Jam fan Darryl... but what's up with everyone and the earplugs?
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And, so then... The Fiery Furnaces
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Caveat: **If you want a really good review of The Fiery Furnaces, I implore you to check out Scott Shupe's review here on CrazyTalk.**
I'm just going to end up rambling and not really saying anything meaningful.
So here we go... As I mentioned, I'd been spinning Bitter Tea in the car for a while, and so I thought I was totally prepared. I was going to know the songs and the words and the beats, and I was going to be soooooooooooo cool. Then they actually started playing... "Little Thatched Hut"... a song I definitely know... kicked off the first half of the show, which ended up being entirely devoted to songs off the new record. And I hardly recognized it. Bitter Tea clocks in right at 80 minutes, and they played a pretty healthy number of tracks off the record... plus another equally long "set" devoted to older stuff (and one brand new song). The entire show was almost exactly as long as the record. Everything was blisteringly fast. Combined with Eleanor's voice often being submerged under the sonic wave sent forth by the rest of the band (I had no idea Jason Loewenstein was playing with them!!), I found myself completely lost.
But that was great. And hopefully part of their plan. Very little stage banter... No breaks between songs. Just continuous sound after sound after sound. Although I was trying to pay attention to my computer and searching for familiarity in the music, I couldn't help but getting lost in everything they were throwing out to the crowd. Every single song raced off the stage like the damn place was on fire... lyrics were left out, but not Eddie-Vedder-I'm-Trying-But-I'm-Too-Drunk-To-Remember-All-My-Words style... it was all very calculated.
Also not a lot of stage antics or really much movement at all. The whole show was 100% about the sound. You really just couldn't get away from it - there was nothing to really distract you from just being there and listening... actually... I guess I take that back a little bit. I have no idea what in the world the point of this was, but Eleanor and the lead singer from dios did end up tossing a softball back-and-forth near the end of the show. Dustin (comic-book guy) Harbin was there begging for the softball but was met with a simple yet firm shake of the head that said simply, "I don't think so." She's smart.
So, yeah. I liked it. Not that I've become a huge Fiery Furnaces fan now or anything, but I'm very very glad that I got to see them again with a little bit of knowledge in my head. I'll be picking up Blueberry Boat the next time I see it at Manifest, and the next time they're at The Visulite (God, please don't go to the Neighborhood Theater...), I'm totally there.
And now I have to completely rethink my stance on hating bands that tour with two drummers.
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I really did not intend for this to be so long... I did record the full audio of the show as well as some video. I was standing next to this girl when Eleanor handed her a copy of the setlist, and she was nice enough to let me copy it down. That turned out to be a Godsend as I desperately needed that when I was tracking out this show.
Anyway. For the media-minded of us... (If I'm wrong about the names, let me know, and I'll fix it)
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Labels: Allison, concerts, music
This really is kind of getting out of hand. I think I used to have a life, but I might be wrong... Regardless... here are these things...
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I was thinking about that girl from the Cosby Show singing this song in High Fidelity... I think they pulled it off quite nicely... although I'm really baffled how I, as the suggester, did not receive a dedication.
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The light's kind of shitty in that one... sadly... naturally other people are more thoughtful than myself... so when I got up to torture people on stage, the lights got turned on... which is also sad... kind of. I think everything would have been a lot better if the only thing you could see was the light bouncing off my head onto the mirror ball.
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I'm available for parties. But only ones where I get to jump out of a cake.
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So... there's that... but, more importantly, there's this. I've never had anyone beat in number-of-times-doing-karaoke, but I think it's actually statistically more rare to see Brooke Moody on stage... I think Charlie intentionally fucked this up the first time just to make the moment last... Much to the chagrin of the guy at the bar...
What's sad is that there's a mild chance that I actually have interesting things to say... But, fuck that... I have karaoke videos. Labels: Allison, Brooke, Judith, music
The Arcade Fire
Last week, I didn't go to work past Tuesday. I, instead, hung out exclusively with people I like. Partially in a town I like. Partially at a concert I liked. Doing all that liking was scary. Here are some photos. I'm saying everything that I type right now in the back of my head as though I were Hank Hill. That is also scary. I do a terrible Hank Hill.
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These are pictures of me getting destroyed in the new expansion for Apples to Apples.
By Kennedy.
And Allison.
Also... the comic book store that's on Biltmore (or Broadway? I can't ever remember which side of the street is called which thing unless I'm there) sucked. Except that they had Apples to Apples. You shouldn't work in a comic book store if you aren't well-acquainted with Bone.
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And this... dammit... seems like there's always a picture of Bryan's ass whenever we take pictures of anything. And not to compare Brooke to Bryan's ass in any way whatsoever... but the picture of a person taking a picture of the person taking the picture of... Gay. Like Bryan's ass.
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Not that I have anything against gay people...
Of course. |
We kind of pushed it a little too close with the eating and missed half of the first song by The National. Which was annoying for me. But not as annoying as for other people. As far as I know. I had gotten the new album prior to the show, which made things much much better since they mostly played new stuff. Musically or whatever, they weren't extremely deep or cutting-edge, so knowing the songs helped a ton and made it a lot of fun. The dude can scream. I was surprised. Especially since I described the new record (multiple times) as perfect sitting-at-home-alone-on-the-couch-in-the-dark music.
The lighting, however, was really really low... While I have a few photos, I couldn't even get the lighting up enough in Photoshop to make them worthwhile, so I will spare you.
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And then the Arcade Fire... The setlist was really really good. Lots of new stuff, some old stuff... and very few slow sad-bastard songs.
We were sitting right in the middle in the 2nd balcony row, which was ok for me, but not for those who require glasses.
Nor, apparently, was it ok for my camera and my stupid shakey hands. Nothing really came out that great at all, but some of them at least weren't completely terrible...
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I can play a C-Major scale on all of the above instruments... Yes, I'm that amazing.
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I like how the screaming guy is pretty much in focus. If everyone on stage would have just stayed still the entire time, all of my pictures would have been as amazing as my C-scales.
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<-- Ahhhh... young love...
(Is that really two gay jokes in one post? Maybe I do have something against gay people, and I just don't know it.)
hmmm... -->
And why does everyone else look happy, and I look like a retard? There. I made fun of retarted people instead of gay people that time.
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And, lastly, here's the first encore song that Arcade Fire did. The girl sitting in front of me left for some reason, so I was able to jump down a row and use the balcony rail to hold the camera still.
Well... kind of still... Labels: Allison, Brooke, concerts, Jen, Kennedy, music, Thomas
Brooke & Jen: crazy runners
As I said... it snowed... Brooke didn't have to teach, and Allison got out of work, so I reckon that seemed like a good enough idea for a party. type thing. I didn't really plan on having any photos. But Bryan has this thing for my camera, so I ended up with almost 100 pictures. I edited as best I could. You're welcome.
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What the fuck. Another party? Do you remember how drunk I was last night? You guys are ridiculous.
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- Ok, fine... I'm in.
- Holy shit. Why do I always get drug into this crap? You guys are lucky it's so damned cold in Boone.
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A party? Can we make fun of Bryan when he inevitably does something ridiculous? I am so there.
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Wait a minute... we weren't supposed to start drinking yet? What kind of "party" is this..... fuck it. We'll look cute anyway. Because Bryan handles that camera so well.
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This is what happens when you get old. Getting drunk while playing a game is a nice side-effect. As opposed to the actual point of the game. Or, perhaps if I was more honest, playing a game is a side-effect of getting drunk. The point of this is simply that you no longer get to play "drinking games."
Wow. I'm sorry you had to read that.
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hmmm... yeah. fuck it. I'm out. Enjoy your bored games. Some of us have real jobs. Kind of. Losers.
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Seriously. You guys are lame. I'm going to lick myself now.
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Wow. What was that Dog's Eye View song called again?
I hope no one gets that...
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Hmmmm... Now how do I put things back together...
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I know! I'll reach for something at the same time as the new girl and make her blush!
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(See? That totally worked)
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Oh yeah... Even *I'm* smiling... try to explain that away...
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- I am so glad to be on the winning team...
- And I can't believe you guys traded me and made me replace Brooke. This is bullshit. But this party is still too awesome to not smile.
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This? This is Jen. We are snacking.
(I didn't know you got the munchies from drinking)
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Sadly, this is the only photographic evidence that Bryan even attended. Apart from the nine million photos he himself actually took.
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Thomas knows something that I don't... those Chex Mix? I had no idea...
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They make you fly.
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I don't know how I survived that aerial assault. Nor how I managed to live through knowing that I caused all these people that I like that kind of mental anguish by making them sit around my house for that long. Only Brooke was the smart one.
Maybe someone else can take care of this damned football thing that's coming up.
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Labels: Allison, Brooke, bryan, Charlotte, Jen, Thomas
Back to London
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After we were in Amsterdam for about a week, we went back to London for the weekend. I don't like London. I didn't like it the last time I went, and I didn't particularly like it this time. Amsterdam is a MUCH nicer place to visit. And not just because the pot is legal. But I digress...
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The first night we were there, we went straight to a pub to eat. Allison had a beer . Well, we both had a beer. Actually beerS. And they weren't actually that expensive... considering that everything over there is twice as expensive as it is over here anyway. Stupid USA. (have I ever mentioned anywhere that I really REALLY fucking hate george bush? Not that it's necessariliy related, but still...) Somehow we managed to start talking to some guys that were sitting behind us... in particular, this guy named Victor. (I might be spelling it wrong... if so, that sucks, and I'm an ass.)
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After a while, Viktor's girlfriend Alie (I also might be spelling that wrong... I totally suck) joined us as well... After a few, they invited us into their abode which was this SWEET pseudo-underground apartment thing just a couple of blocks from the bar. I have no idea how late we stayed there, but it was LAAATE. I only know that I didn't take any pictures for some reason, lots and lots and lots of alcohol was drunk, and it definitely made me like London better. Even tho Victor is from Amsterdam (that's how the conversation started!) and Allie was from South Africa via Saudi Arabia. Cool. CityBag. If you hear of it, it's Victor's. Hopefully.
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After crazy night out with our newfound foreign friends (where WE were the foreigners), we managed to actually wake up and try to do something... or go somewhere... which turned out to be more difficult than it should have been. We couldn't quite exactly figure out where we wanted to go... and, when we did, we didn't know what bus to take. And then it was kind of raining, and Allison had her hair all cute for later functions of the day... I tried my best to save it with this make-shift hat. If you see this in London today, it was our fault. (The same, I suppose, with weird chopped up sideburns) Allison posed for three photos - The Wistful Look, The Pensive Look, and The Suggestive Look. Magnum? What's Magnum?
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After some debate, we (probably *I* b/c I'm an ass) decided that we should walk down to the British Museum. Which might be my favorite place in London.... They had this here rock as well as a bunch of dead people. Really really really dead people.
Last time I was there they also had a bunch of old books and a copy of the Magna Carta and... just stuff that I couldn't find this time. A guide or something overheard us talking about the Magna Carta and said that it had been moved to the British Library about 4 years ago. Suck. I was definitely interested in seeing that and some of the old Shakespeare stuff again.
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Oh. And they had this on display too... I have no idea wtf that is supposed to be, but it's got to be the ugliest display in the entire museum. Which, I suppose, is saying a lot considering there's that picture of the gooey rotted mummy above...
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After hanging at the Museum for a while, we met Victor and Allie again at a Dutch Pancake house for bitter balls and pancakes. Somehow we didn't get pancakes when we were in Amsterdam... although we did have waffles and ice cream and cherries. Holy shit. Maybe the best thing I've ever put in my mouth. (I think I can say that with a straight face.) Anyway... we hung out with them at this place which was really quite good and Victor made us have sweet pictures taken of ourselves...
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Having had enough of the silliness, we headed back to the hotel to get ready. Allison's boss was kind enough to give us money for (what turned out to be) this really really really really great restaurant called Asia de Cuba. (14 St. Martin's Lane... I don't know why I remember that) It ended up that we didn't actually HAVE to dress up, but we did. We were hot. Kind of.
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I didn't even drink a lot, but I somehow managed to end up looking like this after the meal. (damn, it was good!)
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In an effort to get rid of all that awesome food, we zapped on the Underground down to the Tower of London. It was kind of sad that it was so dark (for us) b/c we couldn't photograph much. The easy thing to photograph was, naturally, The Tower Bridge.
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As we walked around the Thames, we took about a zillion pictures. Most of bridges. Here's only a few...
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'tis London Bridge... at night. Walking around the Thames at night really only affords one photo opportunities of bridges...
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And these were at the end of the Millenium Foot Bridge on the North side of the Thames on the way to St. Paul's Cathedral. You can't see Allison very well, but I thought it was a neat idea for a picture.
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While we were walking we came upon this play that was just kind of randomly happening near the banks of the river. I don't know what it is, and we didn't stay very long, but I thought it was neat that you could just happen to come across a play.
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And then we had to leave. This is Allison demonstrating the saddness at the airport. We were supposed to go back and see Allie and Victor, but we tried calling four times and had our money taken or the phone was broken every time. It sucked; definitely would have liked to have hung out once more before leaving. Ah... bygones, Allie... bygones.
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This is now the longest journal entry ever, and I refuse to proofread it. Especially since I'm already pretty sure I spelled both names wrong. And I don't know if sarcasm translates well into Dutch. Labels: Allison, London
Amsterdammers
and here we go again... a little less exciting, maybe... but they are what they are. These are from the day after Pearl Jam. There should probably be more pictures b/c we saw other cool stuff, but the battery in my camera was dying, and we couldn't find a US power convertor anywhere... The one we brought with us was supposed to work in England only. Even tho it didn't actually even work there... ellipsis.
Right. Even though there are many pictures of Rijks, we actually didn't go in. We went to Van Gogh this day and then spent too long just wondering about. Rijksmuseum was closing when we went over. (But the Rijksmuseum is FAR more impressive than Van Gogh from the outside) The next day, however, we did go... but my camera was dead. Which is too bad, b/c all of those white tents you can see in a few of the pictures were around a reflecting pool kind of thing in front of the Rijksmuseum... and, the next day, they were filled with incredible spreads from different local restaurants. I've been to street parties or whatever, but NONE of them compared to this. It all looked like real mini-restaurants inside the tents. Just ridiculous. Lots of people, some music, a couple of people riding wake boards in the reflecting pool... right. Some cool stuff that I wish I would have photographed. Que sera sera.
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This is actually the first place we went in Amsterdam after getting our stuff to the hotel. We just didn't take a picture of it b/c we were in too much of a hurry to find our awesome pizza place.
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And this apple was "free" with our breakfast in the hotel. I'm, err... kissing it. Because it tasted like the place in the last picture. Yep.
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This is the entrance to the Rijksmuseum... that's all there really is to say about that.
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And this big ass "IAmsterdam" thing was just kind of out there...the reflecting pool is behind it. I dunno how Allison managed to take this shot and have only me in it. Kind of cool. Fuck everyone else! :)
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And this is just a far away shot from across the big green field that's in front of the IAmsterdam sign. I just thought it was pretty to have that sign with the entire width of the Rijksmuseum behind it. And it is.
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These three are all just some kind of random pictures from inside the garden that surrounds the Rijksmuseum. There were more, but I'll spare you... mostly.
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This hill looked pretty neat due to its triangular nature. The picture's not as cool as I thought it'd be. This is at the far other end of the big green field in front of the IAmsterdam sign.
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And this is actually back in the gardens. I don't know what the hell she's doing.
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And, lastly, for total randomness... here's a street corner in Amsterdam. Back near our hotel. Sweet.
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Labels: Allison, Amsterdam
Pearl Jam in Amsterdam
It seemed to work last time... so I'll try again. These are the select few that didn't look like total complete shite from the Pearl Jam show day... at least the ones I haven't already posted.
I apologize now for the copious amounts of blur.
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These two were in front of the Neuwe Kirche (spelling?) before we left for the day... they're dumb, but also kind of funny. Kind of.
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And these... These are the golden tickets... and the pink wristband... which was SUPPOSED to get us way up front... but landed us in the middle/front instead. dammit.
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Everybody. In blue. I almost didn't put this cuz of how blurry it is, but it's the best one, sadly, that I got of the whole band.
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Eddie doing something weird... I think that's his signal for "Give me all of your money."
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And Ed and Jeff...
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Also was close to not making it, but there were so many of Mike that were almost good... I decided this one would go. Even though there's no "action." As it were.
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Lots of attempts to get something good of Matt. But, damn, drummers are difficult... This sucks but was the best I had. Matt and Stone's back.
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If this was a LITTLE less blurry, it would be really awesome. Pretty classic Jeff pose regardless.
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Another, shittier, full band shot. But Ed's wearing the george bush jacket and, if I recall, just took to stomping on the bushy mask that just got thrown on the floor. EXCELLENT. :)
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Eddie and Jeff again... mostly b/c Ed's actually kind of clear in this one.
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Mike finally decided to come hang out on our side (I'm sorry, but Stone is not as much fun to watch)... so this is Mike. Along with that guy who keeps making the band sound worse. grrr...
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Labels: Allison, Amsterdam, concerts, music, Pearl Jam
KMFDM
Friday the 13th, and I've managed to secure a pair of tickets to some industrial music down the street in a nice dark dirty loud club. yeah. KMFDM. I remembered they was fun, but I'd forgotten how much fun. And not really any bad luck befell me. As far as I can recall anyway...
I wasn't too psyched to see CombiChrist as the opener as I'd never heard them and any band with an "Army" is kind of lame, but they put on a GREAT show. When's the last time you were at a show with two drummers, a DJ, and a lead screamer? Cool. Their lyrics mostly sucked... although some were trying to be poignant... I think there was one about how rape is bad. Duh. (Disclaimer: Schmakt Dot Com says, "Don't rape people.") They also came out wearing masks... which is also kind of lame... but they didn't totally gimick it (can I use "gimick" as a verb?). Masks were tossed into the crowd after the 1st song and weren't used again. I fear that the energy at the live show will not transfer to a recording well at all, but I still might pick up the record if I find it for cheap. Photos were kind of difficult, but here are a few...
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Drummer on the left (on the kit)
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The whole band... mostly
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Drummer on the right (on the stand-up djimbae (or something))
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Oh yeah... and here's us before we went...
Allison looked pretty hot.
I kind of look like a muppet.
And then there was KMFDM... I had a ton of cool picturs of Sascha K, but it was mostly because he looked like badass with his blonde mini-mohawk, so whatever I took looked kind of cool. Terrible time with Jules b/c he was behind the pole, Steve wouldn't stand still... and, well, there are always problems with drummers. Sorry. That was a waste of time.
The show was fucking fabulous tho. Sascha and Lucia both sounded great, and the mix was really really good too. With Allison in tow, I managed to stay out of the mosh pit. Which meant I could actually watch the show more. And hanging out with her drinking and watching the funny people was definitely awesome. But there's something about going to a concert and not coming home with at least one major bruise that doesn't sit right with me... They played a pretty damned long Set 1 with a 3-song encore and then another single-song 2nd encore. I was, first, surprised that it wasn't another full 2nd set as it wasn't THAT late and then, again, surprised with the 2nd encore. That was cool. Especially since people started leaving after the 1st set. Whatever.
They played Hau Ruck, which is the only thing I REALLY wanted to hear. Figured they'd play it and they did, so I was glad. Got versions of Light and A Drug Against War as well. Not on the top of the must-hear list, but still cool nonetheless. Oh. And we sang happy birthday to Jules. He seemed happy. I definitely would have gone back for a 2nd night show had there been one. Or even travelled somewhere if it was closer than Atlanta. And not Atlanta. Anyway. Photos. Here.
I was going to caption those, but I don't think it's necessary.
Enjoy. Labels: Allison, concerts, music
Rembrandt Residence
uhm... and here are a couple of more... I'm really going home after this...
It's the front of our hotel (Allison wasn't ALWAYS standing in front of it) and the view from the front door across the canal.
Labels: Allison, Amsterdam
And here's two more b/c they're stupid and funny and stupid.
We were going to see Pearl Jam.
I would like to be going to see Pearl Jam right now.
I can probably make it to Australia... hmmm...
Or maybe even Bridge School... I wouldn't be FORCED to watch Dave Matthews, I don't think...
Labels: Allison, Amsterdam, Pearl Jam
well, shit.
motherfuckers are trying to blow up planes again.
Planes that I want to ride on in a few weeks. shit.
Now that that's out of the way. Here are some more dumb photos.
This is the tee for the eleventh hole at Davidson. My disc is supposed to be in it, but I think it's behind the tree.
And Allison and Fuzzy in her newly "furnished" apartment Labels: Allison, Disc Golf
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