“hire me”

that’s the emptiest place in the circle

yeah!

I’m not dead, just playing the part. I’m toying with this idea of “1998 Luddite” where I haven’t been checking my email or keeping my cellphone with me. Wouldn’t it be interesting to take this idea to a further extent? Imagine living a month without internet, only a home phone, etc. Connection and disconnection in 2008 is an interesting topic.

I bring this up because I have been rereading the “R. Crumb Handbook” that I bought a few years ago. (here is a good Terry Gross interview with Robert Crumb about the book). I’m not sure if you’ve been following this blog much, or know me, but I prefer older things to the hot new shit. Sure, I have an iPhone. But I also really enjoy records. I can’t find a modern motorcycle that gets me excited like bikes from 78 and earlier… even though they require a lot of work and I miss the hands off reliability of my Vespa LX. A lot of stuff I own is convenience vs. aesthetics, high-tech vs. low-tech. It is a fun wire to walk. I can enjoy a game on the Nintendo Wii while listening to some 45’s. (I just need to replace that needle).

I bring this up because a quote from the first paragraph of the first chapter of the “R. Crumb Handbook” sums up my conflicted idea of products and items today, so I will share it with you:

As a kid growing up in the 1950’s I became acutely aware of the changes taking place in American culture and I must say I didn’t much like it. I witnessed the debasement of architecture, and I could see a decline in the quality of things like comic books and toys, things made for kids. Old things seemed to have more life, more substance, more humanity to them.”

More humanity to them. I realize that’s what I feel about things that I own that are from a time before I was born. But I also realize that a lot of the things I own from my own lifetime have gained that humanity… that timeworn look that endears me to them. And a lot of stuff that is out today isn’t made to last that long – disposable and thin and not made to soak up those years of wear and use. Like IKEA. I have an IKEA desk. This thing is a piece of junk – easily bought for cheap and disposed of after I move. How many desks have I owned since I was a kid? Not one of them has lasted… I can’t look at the surface and see the ink stain that reminds me of a broken pen, or a ding in the leg that reminds me of moving. They are disposed of, cheap and functional, but they lack any sort of sturdiness to allow the blood and time we spend with them to mix in and endear us to their form. That humanity! I think you all can agree my red vinyl couch (which I will never get rid of) has a lot of personality.

Surrounding myself with particle board furniture and other impermanent things seems to add to an atmosphere of heartless living… if I can’t love my possessions enough to want to keep them around, then I usually replace them with one of two things: something quality or nothing at all. Purging insignificant items is always a cathartic activity! And it’s green, which is so hot right now.

Edit / Update: This post also reminds me of a piece of art in the liner notes from REM’s “Out of Time” that always struck me. The caption follows:

When, after 75 years of use, the marble steps leading into this lobby of this building become worn, they are not replaced or rebuilt, but covered for protection with plates of corrugated iron.

“Don’t elect an old dude President”

History can repeat itself.

Sit back, relax, click and view this amazing, amazing thing.

“You Satisfy Me” Live

People are starting to post videos of the Boston Spaceships shows:

Hearing people sing along gives me the chills.

Austin Spaceships

I’ve been delaying my write-up of Austin because there is just so much to talk about, I don’t even know where to start! If you want the short story – here ’tis:

Austin, Texas is exactly the type of town I wish I lived in, and it reminded me of how much I loved living in a “smaller big city” like Portland.

Would you like the long story? After the break, dear reader.

Austin

Tomorrow morning I head off to Austin, Texas for some serious Boston Spaceships action!

I’m very excited and a little nervous. Excited for the concert – but nervous on what to do the next 2 days. My friend who lives down there has dropped off the face of the earth, so I’m not quite sure where I’ll be staying the 2nd night. But with almost 2 entire days to kill, I’m sure I’ll find a lot of awesome just walking around. I won’t be renting a car or anything, so I’ll be using my own two feet. The awesome news is the hotel I’m staying at downtown is only a few blocks from the Parish Hall where the Boston Spaceships shall be rocking!

Stories and pictures when I return!

Circus Devils respond!

I posted a question on the Circus Devils’ website as I noticed that I liked their album “Sgt. Disco” much more outside of my current place of living. My question and their response:

Robert from Los Angeles, CA: Circus Devils makes me want to move. I want to pick up my things and move because I think Circus Devils’ albums sound better outside of Los Angeles. Can you explain or pontificate?

Dear Robert: Everything sounds better away from Los Angeles. If you want to enjoy music then just get out of there. I also heard that things look better away from LA too. Does having movie stars around make everyone else look ugly? I say move to Ohio. Here, the music sounds great all the time, and a normal, unattractive guy like you won’t feel so bad because nobody living here is in show business.

More hilarity and insight here.

Boston Spaceships’ Brown Submarine

The second song on the “Brown Submarine” is the album’s namesake. It is very similar in tone and lyric to one of my favorite Circus Devils’ songs, Nicky Highpockets (previously written about here).

I love her
She love me
We go down to the sea

Bringing earth
To the air
In our brown submarine
submarine
submarine

Have you dreamed Carolinas
Or drawing a line further under
As the ghost of your notions
The sea crossing oceans
Do you love her?

And the old men in boats
Are the ghosts of the sea
We’ve Nutella and toast
In our brown submarine

 

Some of my favorite songs from Pollard contain “ghosts.” The most poignant lyric from Tractor Rape Chain is “there’s a ghost in my room and he says I better run.” My favorite song from “Waved Out” is Wrinkled Ghost, which also talks about “setting sail.” Download the beautiful demo of Wrinkled Ghost here.

Wherein Guided by Voices always seemed to bring up their proximity to the Wright Brothers and the birth of flight, Robert Pollard loves to go the nautical route with a lot of his side projects. Fading Captain, anyone?

science wins

The flash created the most natural image:

Don’t fall on me!

new camera

I’m not the best with cameras.

Let’s just say it – I break a lot of cameras. They don’t work after partying with me so much, but my trip to Austin necessitated something other than my iPhone, which I’ve been using for almost exactly a YEAR.

Here’s some “fotos.”

For Alex

Two Wikipedia entries:

The Power of Love (Huey Lewis and the News)

The Power of Love (Song from T-Bone Burnett’s Truth Decay)

I don’t know if what I saw was an alien, but the possibility absolutely boggles my mind if it was. Who knew math would unwind the most intricate patterns of man’s doubt?

This all reminds me of a Stephen Malkmus song:

The world passes by in a flash
from the birth of the earth
To the curse of your desperate math

We spell trouble:

T-R-O-U-B-B-B-L-E! 

The universe is so infinite it is almost impossible to suggest that it actually is.

Written at 2:08 A.M.

A collection of CB Radios

CB radios are an interesting phenomenon. When they were first introduced, they represented a cheap way to communicate with people you don’t know – conveying information that may or may not be useful to the particular listener depending on their location.

Soon enough, CB users came up with their own lingo, and the popularity of the CB radio even went on to movies. Soon the general public lost interest and the CB radio quietly settled back to use mostly by highway travelers.

What I love about these CB radio below is that they are “new,” however their style hasn’t evolved much. They are functional and tough – ready for constant use and adjustment as the analog squelch meter moves up and down and channels are constantly flipped. These are heavy duty, quality radios.

The first two radios below are “10 Meter radios” but I liked the look so included them.

All images taken from CB Radios Plus.

Connex 3300 HP

Stryker SR-440HP

Cobra Classic 29LTD

Uniden PC68 Elite

If you are interested in CB’s like this:

The go nuts at the RetroCom CB Museum.

What was your handle? And to my family, you all better chime in and share your handles (even though I still remember them all).

And remember, no horsing around on channel 9.

the home for the blind

I’m getting a cold!

I was going to type everything that pissed me off about my Vespa engine in this post, but then I realized that no one cares enough and I’m not patient enough to do it – so long story short I’m taking it to a friend to fix my gear shaft selector leak. Then a new inner/outer clutch cable and put it back together. I miss riding my scooter more than anything.

This journal has fallen into disarray! Remember when I used to write daily?

Let’s… get… back… to… that.

nutella and toast

Last night at a party I visited some very cute cats – newborn kittens! The host offered me one of the kittens, and I had to decline because I stated that I didn’t have the capacity to responsibly take care of a cat right now. She kept insisting and I said I didn’t have the capacity.

“Stop saying capacity!” she said.

She is right. I was wasting my words. I should have used a new word I just made up: catpacity! I don’t have the catpacity! 

Problem solved!

Working Engines made of Legos

From a post on Dinosaurs & Robots:

This guy made a working V8 32 valve engine… out of Legos. Amazing! The amount of skill and knowledge needed for both engines and Legos is astonishing. My favorite part is the lighted plug wires coming from the distributor cap, showing what plug is “firing.”

Check out the post at Dinosaurs & Robots for 2 more Lego engines.