El Bloggo del Keef

Here is a picture. It is to make this blog post less boring, and less of an excuse to post a single link.

This apparently just won the Pulitzer for best feature writing. I thought it was v. good.

Pearls Before Breakfast

One of the things that I did with my father when he came to visit last week was to go to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center. It’s a garden and sort of a wildflower preserve a little south of town. We were hoping to see cascades and flourishes of bluebonnets, but were told that due to global warming they had already come and gone in January, not the traditional month of April.

It was still very beautiful.

So tonight Dan, Melanie, Bill, Barb and I all went to the Alamo Downtown and saw a wonderful live performance by a fine bunch of fellows that I never, ever thought I would see live.

And they were amazing. I discovered them in high school and they were a huge influence– much of what I tried to do with the Union of the Hideously and Improbably Deformed was informed and guided by Negativland.

Now I can cross off number six on the list of things I need to do before I die.

Yesterday went swimmingly. Thanks to everyone who thought good thoughts.

Okay.  This is a device that I am stealing from BeaucoupKevin.

I grabbed my iPod, put it on shuffle, and the first twelve or so songs that came up are listed here.

1. Bruce McCulloch - Caller Go Ahead (Drunk Baby Project)
2. Modest Mouse - Whenever I Breathe Out (Positive Negative) (Interstate
3. The Postal Service - Such Great Heights (Give Up)
4. Murder By Death - Ash (Red of Tooth and Claw)
5. Smart Went Crazy - Immutable Beauty (TM) (Con Art)
6. David Lynch - Kubrick (Catch the Big Fish)
7. Kamikaze Hearts - Top Of Your Head (Live at KVRX)
8. Red House Painters - Have You Forgotten? (Live) (The Trials of Darryl Hunt)
9. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - We Call Upon the Author (Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!)
10. John P. Strohm - Where is My Mind? (Dig For Fire: A Pixies Tribute)
11. Bon Iver - Team (For Emma, Forever Ago)
12. Magnetic Fields - 100,000 Fireflies (The Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees)
13. The Angelic Process - The Ruined Life of Someone Better (… And Your Blood is Full of Honey)
14.  Deerhunter - Spring Hall Convert (Cryptograms)
15.  Mose Allison - Promised Land (Back Country Suite)

Now, I was doing this as I was writing, so I did skip some tracks that I didn’t want to hear.  One very long noise track that was not conducive to calming listening.  I’m just letting you know for the sake of full disclosure.  Luckily, I didn’t have to deal with Huey Lewis and the News or The Spin Doctors (who come up with alarming frequency.  And yes, I think that album is not bad at all).

Kevin’s having folks post their daily dozen in the comments, but that seems like a lot of hassle.  I’m interested in what y’all are listening to– that is, the y’all who stuck around after three-plus months of silence– but I won’t force you into anything.

And, for serious, if you would be so kind as to send me good vibes tomorrow (Thursday), they would be much appreciated.

SXSW is over.

It was– how do you say? Ah, yes. Magnificent.

Bill’s blog is much more verbious than mine. He wrote seven thousand words.

I don’t have that kind of verbiosity in my life right now.

But hey– there is hope. If you want to wish me kind thoughts, send them my way this Thursday.

Also, if you want to see more pictures, there are more to see at my flickr page.

Taken around Christmastime, 2007.

I was going through some things the other day, and I found this:

I showed it to someone and they said “Well… did you ever grow up?”

I said, “Well, I don’t know, I guess that depends on how you define ‘growing up.’ I like to think that my dick and fart jokes have have gained some subtlety and subtext over the years.

Last night was the official

UNION OF THE HIDEOUSLY AND IMPROBABLY DEFORMED
CHRISTMASTRAVAGANZA!

That right there is a picture of Dan and Chris playing Christmas songs into a tape recorder, which we then slowed way down for airplay.

You can listen to that here:

CHRISTMASTRAVAGANZA!

Merry Christmas, everybody!