2005-12-13 - 0:47

Playing xylophone on your sister's ribs

As I mentioned in my last update, I managed to catch the DJ set from Buck 65 when he was in town. Unfortunately, I missed the boat on his spoken word performance, getting shut out at the door after waiting an hour in line. That was my own fault for not lining up earlier. I guess Buck has come a long way in a short time. A few years back, I'd see him play to a handful of fans at Babylon, so it's still a surprise to me if I'm not front and centre at his now-packed shows. Not even making it inside was a shock. I guess that's what happens when he plays a free show promoted by one of the universities.

The other drag is that I could have been on the guest list if I had heard of the show earlier. Unfortunately, I missed the notice on his website. That site had been so poorly maintained that I stopped reading earlier this year. (It had a terrible Flash interface and it often missed concert dates.) Of course, the old mailing lists are also kaput, so there was no help there. Don't they realize that I'm an old man now and out of the loop, so I need technology to keep me informed?

Also on the missed concerts list are Calexico/Iron and Wine, since a Montreal trip was a bit too much to fit in; Kiss Me Deadly, due to schedule conflicts; and Carolyn Mark, for absolutely no good reason at all. I've gotta start seeing some shows again in the new year. (I have Feist tickets, at least.)

On the plus side, the would-be Buck show was my last bout of freezing my feet off, since I finally overcame my cheapness and bought a good pair of boots. It hasn't been too cold yet but winter is on the way.

That also means Christmas is fast approaching; and we're pretty geared up for that. The inflatable Homer is in full effect on the lawn, lopsided though he may be. I also picked up a tree a couple weekends back. Since we're going away early, we decided to put the tree up early, too. We'll see how healthy it looks when we get back; but for now, I'm enjoying it.

Perhaps as a means of making up for some questionably tacky Christmas decorations in the front room, we added a nice looking mirror above the fireplace and hung a bunch of albums along the hallway. Since I don't own any vinyl, Laurie made the choices, mostly settling on mutually appreciated artists, like the Dirty Three and Songs: Ohia. She even picked up the Death From Above 1979 album, so either she's coming around on the band or she just likes the elephant look. We're still on the hunt for a few other selections, so if you ever see Maggot Brain on vinyl, be sure to let me know.

Did I mention that we saw Walk the Line a while back? I thought that it was excellent. I love Johnny Cash and don't really like movies, so take that how you will.

Not too much else is on the go lately, other than the usual get-togethers for board games. With only a week to go, it looks like work is going to wind down on a relaxed note this year, rather than the usual bout of deadlines and stress and cursing that has marked every previous year. Next year will likely start with some very annoying code to push through but I'll be sure to give it no thought when my vacation starts this Saturday.

J.