Category: Music

What a bleeping day

To preserve the dignity and privacy of those involved, I will not recount some of the events of this evening. Nobody was injured, the cats are fine, and I won’t speak for Jeff but I would describe my current mental state as “spitting out feathers”.

Jericho was fine; I heard my first ever submarine shanty, which really is a fine thing to be able to say, the other performers were wonderful, Ballyhooley was great, they did a kickass version of Wraggle Taggle Gypsies and one of them plays uillean pipes ver’ well.  And there was an octave mando and more fracking pipes with holes in ’em than you imagine one guy lugging around.

Paul and Keith showed up, and just as promptly, disappeared, due to scheduling issues. I hung til ten but I had to get the car back to Joyce Station.

One block north of Joyce Station, and may the laws of probability and a pterodactyl’s left great claw be thanked that I had my back turned to this jackass, I heard a guy who hawked up a throat oyster so big that it was carrying a cell phone with ease – I heard the sucker bounce on the ground – and then he made an even MORE incredibly loud noise which sounded like somebody trying to clear a vacuum cleaner hosepipe jammed full of liver with a toilet plunger, and I must repeat, really loud. Reverberating between two buildings, drowning out the car noise. Score one for the human capacity to be really fracking disgusting.

New Puppy (Migraine better thanks….)

Dave @ OneLegWest has posted pics of his puppy Max’s first day at home. Check out how happy Jake is to see the new arrival….

I feel so much better and the sun is shining so delightfully that I’m off to Jericho tonight.

Did I mention the whole fam damily was over last night for a spaghetti dinner? Keith and Paul brought Caesar salad and corn bread, and Katie brought her sweet self and picked up her blankie from G’ma. Then we watched Buffy (Darla gets hers, the first time anyway). Happy Sigh.

Oh oh oh, I forgot to mention, I’m getting a FREE RIDE to Victoria for next weekend’s Pondfilk!! Dalai Jarmo just dropped by to say they are taking off at hours ungodly on Saturday morning to go see the tallships. Obviously I’ll chip in for gas so it won’t really be free, but Me Happy! It will be a most convivial crew, and they’ll just drop me off at the Harbour.

Every time I get a migraine these days I think happy thoughts and it goes away. Sometimes the happy thoughts involved nudity, but a lot of times I think about my friends and family and the happiness just wells up like a magical fountain.

Goodbye George/Hullo Darwin

My happiness at attending the Hilario Duran Trio got wiped outta my heart when I found that George Carlin died yesterday.  However I am still happy about meeting Darwin.

Some explanation of the pics.  The first is a CP train the Luddite owns.  He let me touch it.  Considering that I break things by scowling at them, this is amazing.  The second is of course Alex and the newish Darwin, who is the piggiest baby ever until you remember that he’s at the three week growth spurt stage, alternately ravenous and exhausted.  This was literally the first time I got a SFW shot, because, well, he WAS EATING NON STOP.  Anyway, Darwin made out like a bandit both in terms of food and prezzies.  The cat is the cat shown previously, this time on a roof across the alleyway, and the tea towel, if you look at it hard, looks like a girly version of Cthulhu.  You’re welcome!

Sonic treats and domestic life

Jeff and I had the identical reaction when we heard this.

See if you can guess what it was.

The rest of the site, starting here is quirky, laid out by an amateur (NO, I have no pretensions to excellence wrt web layout, thanks) and easily killed 15 minutes as I browsed through the odd instruments.

LTGW dropped by with Darwin’s previously paid for prezzie and hung out for precisely one beer, and just like an English play, he cleared the door moments before Tom and Peggy dropped by with a lesbian mystery manuscript for my editing eye (written by a third party), and Tom consumed two of the previously unmentioned chocolate hazelnut biscotti I made up last night and cooked this morning and Peggy dispensed a hug.  Oh, and Jeff and I did a shop starting at about 8 am this morning and I did laundry today and made up burgers which Jeff cooked and then we watchd Buffy S1E4 and before that Jeff took me to Brentwood and I finally ditched the Telus modem so they can stop charging me for it and picked up more beer.  Oh, and I made split pea with ham soup today and now Jeff’s (this unnecessarily graphic description of my cooking’s effect on my brother’s digestion is cut upon the insistence of all right thinking people) but he’s forgiven me because I cut up strawberries. This paragraph has been brought to you by the Temporal of Bureau Distortion.

The cats continue to be healthy and demanding; they appear to have stopped running up and down the damned halls at night.  Is there a connection between this fact and locking them out at night?  There could be!

My back feels better. I am so craving cigarettes though, it’s dreadful.  Nothing stays easy for long.

I am having a wonderful and productive weekend so far.

The Dandy Warhols

I am so so glad I went to that show.  I danced like an idiot, talked a bit with Doug and Jeff, and Whoo hoo hoo! as a line from one of their songs (NOT SAFE FOR WORK, ‘KAY??) goes.  The best live shows are a sonic cleansing, and that it definitely was.  The Upside Down, who opened for them, redefine rock meedy-ock.

As for the venue, Richard’s on Richards has no doors on two of the ladies washroom stalls.  The place is getting torn down soon and there is ZERO maintenance happening.  Jeff’s description of the men’s room was a costive making horror.

The Buffster has landed

Mike was over for dinner last night and Jeff, Mike, Keith and I all watched the first episode of Buffy. So resign yourselves to many many fluffy Buffy references over the next while, unless Jeff decides to bail on the whole enterprise, in which case I’m going to watch my fave episodes again anyway.

The other day Katie says she and two girlfriends brought some guy they’d met in a bar back to her girlfriends’ place to chill. I’m sure he thought he’d died and gone to heaven – three cute chicks, woo hoo – and what did they DO? Watched the Buffy musical Once More with Feeling YET AGAIN, audience karaoke style, and creeped him out so badly he ran away. You’re welcome.

Dandy Warhols tonight! I can hardly wait. Nothing skedded for Thursday, the Luddite on Friday, Baby Shower on Sunday, Hilario Duran on Sunday. June is shaping up to be a busy and happy month.

I think I figured out why I’ve been so blue of late. I just passed my second anniversary of screwing up my back (which is better the more exercise I get, surprise, surprise) and I’ve noticed that my body remembers these life events, even if my mind doesn’t. Anyway, I don’t feel blue at the moment, which is a distinct plus. Thoughtful, yes, but even the greyness of the skies can’t bother me, because Keith showed me this last night. Don’t watch if you’re grossed out by cartoon violence.

Not much to report

Jeff and I went shopping last night in an attempt to ensure that Peggy and Tom do not go hungry tonight. Pork chomps! Pork chomps! I got a running commentary from Jeff about the complete insanity of the shoppers and the store, and forebore commenting that ‘you should see it when the new Harry Potter book is out, that would amaze you.’

So…. ever see a baby dance to a banjo???

Another kind of baby, to trigger blubbery gushing.

I am in the midst of a hormonal zugzwang at the moment. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, perimenopause sucks a radioactive mop.

Lady Miss B (and Joe) are having a lovely party tomorrow at “Hackerfish Manor”. I am very much looking forward to seeing Dr. Filk, the folks and the house, in that order more or less; Lady Miss B is recovering from knee surgery as part of the ongoing rehab from her scooter accident, moving and holding a party all more or less at the same time, so once again her energy, which, closely parsed, looks like insanity, continues to stupefy me. And she writes lots of songs, go to her website and listen, especially this and this and maybe this too if you have time.

I’ve been thinking, and I don’t want to call the magic house of geeks “Geek House” any more. I want to call it “Geekhaven” partly because of Trollhaven (see archives) but just because it’s more, you know, aesthetic. One day, I will go to Geekhaven… doesn’t that sound nice?

Jericho

Jericho Beach Folk was loads of fun.  Cameron Latimer was really good, but his dobro player and upright bassist were superlative.  No names for them unfortunately, but there can’t be TOO many dobro players hereabouts who are dead ringers for Joss Whedon.

Luddite comes by this evening.  He has been fighting with raspberries and apparently winning.  This is good, cause his raspberry bushes are very large and he’s been tending them for over a decade.  In fact, one of the first things he told me was that he was a very big raspberry fan, which I found entirely charming.

Oooo

You ever get the feeling that you MUST learn what the lyrics are?

I have had the worst 7777ing case of “mondegreen” for the last 6 weeks or so.  The playlist on my MP3 player currently includes the B52’s Love Shack.  Towards the end Cindy yells ….. something.  Honestly, I knew it wasn’t Tanned and Rested, but that’s the only thing my auditory skills could make of the syllables.  It’s actually Tinned roof, rusted.  Now how the hell was I s’posed to figure that out?

Keith here for supper, to pick up the coffee maker and AGAIN forget his taxes (something he’d stop doing if he ever read this blog and learned the manner in which his uncle was mercilessly mocking all but his split screen geekery) and of course I haven’t done mine, so I can hardly lampoon anybody.

The low ebb continues.

The downstairs neighbours’ dog jumped on me.  Basically if the dog sees me it jumps on me.  There’s nothing mean or threatening about it, Meadow’s an adorable dog, just really really poorly trained.

Spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner.  Crudites on the side.

I hear crying from the basement.  Now yelling.  Certain areas of the downstairs resonate more than others.

It’s hard to practice.  I’m going to give the guitar a whirl and see if it stayed in tune.

I cross post a review of the Willie P Bennett event

Our Tribute to Willie P. Bennett last week was a HUGE success thanks in no small part to organizer John Caspell.  John brought together a great lineup of local musicians to share their personal stories, anecdotes and of course, the songs of Willie P. Bennett.  We had a full house for this event and it was a great pleasure to not only have heard from those who knew and loved the man but also to introduce his music to a new generation of musicians and fans alike.  Special thanks to musical contributors.  (And then it lists us…)  Dr. Filk forwarded it to us and I thank him.
I am up dreffle early this morning.  My back is hurting.
Keith is at the grandparents’.  I called him as my spidermom sense was tingling, and I was rewarded with a candid melange of contradictory emotions about school, life, and the universe.  Katie was supposed to turn up last night.  No call, didn’t answer the phone.  On the other hand she was supposed to be working, so I’ll probably hear about that later.
Work was actually fun yesterday.  We recited our mantras many times.  “We’re all about the process” and “The suffering is optional” and “Fire fire fire!” and “Facts and data!”
I just opened my Telus bill.  They owe me $30… I wonder if I’ll ever see it, now that I’m going to work in the morning in part to support Rogers.  I also wonder what I am supposed to do about my old modem.  My bits of wonderment occur to me.
I can’t find my resume.  Ack.  I actually need it!  Now to see if in my pile o files I have a hard copy.  Ah, the joys of moving!

LMB writes a traditional ballad

And fails gallantly.

I got to the end and thought – gonna have to learn that one.  That will make a nice companion piece to Judith Hayman’s song about signing your donor card. Or maybe we can start a thread of public health messages…
Last night helped Kopper orgalize and shove furniture around.  It took me 20 minutes to get home from her place!  Amazing what making your connection will do for your timing.  For my pains I received a spice rack, which I needed.

As predicted, the furniture was assembled and in place when I got home, and the barbeque was set up.  I am going to learn to char meat!  That is if I can touch it, we all know about the keepers of the sacred flame…. Guys and Q’s.

Continue reading LMB writes a traditional ballad

various

  1. The Willie P Bennet Memorial event went off hitchless, magnificent, and a credit to the participants.  Goddess bless the James Bay Coffee House and all who frequent it! Paul and I got through the set without embarrassing ourselves and Paul received praise for his fingerpicking.
  2. Peggy showed up the second we cleared the door of the coffee house.  I hugged her twice, I was so happy to see her.  And she crashed her at my folks’ and then I got her to the ferry for the 7 am (which was the reason she crashed here, because if she’d stayed at Pondside that would have been somewhat harder logistically).
  3. Yesterday after we made town I saw the Pondside crew and met a small horde of Devon Rex cats.  I didn’t understand their charm until I met them.  I nearly kidnapped Spice; what a cat!  Suki recognized me and sucked up to me something fierce.
  4. I gave Juliana a copy of the Interfilk auction video I took in January.  w))t!  No, you may not see it.  Private. Also screechingly hilarious.  Ha.
  5. John introduced us to the Blue Nile, an Ethiopian Buffet restaurant on Head Street in Esquimalt.  Man, the food was AWESOME and I am so glad to have had njera again. That is some seriously great bread.
  6. My folks are doing famously and we and Paul are going to head to Granny’s place and have lunch with her today, and then leave for the ferry from there.
  7. All in all so far this weekend has been a spectacular success and I wish I could put the feeling I got when I saw Peggy in a bottle and uncork it whenever I feel sad.  I thought my heart would burst with joy when I turned and saw her with her best mischievous expression. 
  8. Peggy brought Tom’s blackberry jelly, two jars.  Loki pronounces himself well satisfied with a house guest who only appears to deposit blackberry jelly on his kitchen table (he didn’t see her as we were in late and out so early).
  9. Did I mention the Willie P memorial was a rousing success?  That was, after all, the point of the exercise.  But it seems that we may weave extra happiness into our days by availing ourselves of the fleeting opportunities as they pass, and by feeling grateful.  I know that I’m very, very grateful right now.  For my health, my family, my job, my friends…. and frankly, screw the weather.  You can’t have everything.