The Good, the Bad and the P.I.T.A.

Here's some music to help set your head right. This is from the Sunday night MiLkDrive show at Momo's with Warren Hood filling in for Noah. It's a cover of David Grisman's EMD.



It's been a hectic and exciting week, including some excitement of a kind I don't like. On Thursday, I hauled both cats to the vet. Henry just needed a routine weigh-in, but I was worried about Jax and him vomiting clear stuff - a red flag for heart disease and some other serious problems. $300 in tests later, and it's looking like it's just a hairball problem. Well, I am relieved. I just deposit my income straight into the vet's bank account.

On Friday someone hacked into one of my sites and put some fraudulent banking crap there, (some was German and some Italian) the German bank security people were alerted, and in turn alerted me, the band, a well-known record label, a well-known entertainment promotional company, the Secret Service, Interpol... and I felt like all hell was breaking loose. After a day of nail-biting, password change and searching for the bad files, I felt like everything was settled down -- then the next day the stuff returned! So I got rid of it [AGAIN!] and now just hoping that security can be increased to fix this. grrr. It doesn't appear that they want to alter our site, just use our server to conduct their dirty business - and I hope they can be stopped - soon.

On Saturday I was tasked with finally getting everything ready for the tax guy, so no fun there, especially with frazzled nerves. My appointment is on St. Patrick's Day, and the pot of gold at the end of rainbow is going to go from our bank into Uncle Sam's. No refunds for us. It's been a long time since I enjoyed the soothing relief of getting a nice check in the mail.

I've also been frantic in figuring out our party schedule for next week. More last-minute stuff turned up today. Then, when the time comes, we will just wing it and do something unplanned. That's how it goes.

If you liked the music in the video at the top, here's another tune. This one is more grass and less jazz. The tune is familiar, but I don't know the name of it. Whatever it is, it's mighty fine.


Tags: Music - Austin - Texas - Texas Music

Happy Pi Day

This is a cork pie trivet, a Pi pie trivet, to help celebrate March 14 (3.14), a.k.a. Pi Day. Now, we know that π r² (pie are square) is the area of a circle, but a square pie trivet is silly because pie are round - or at least pie *plates* are round, causing the pie to be round, and pie-holes to be generally round too.

I learned Greek when I was a kid, and don't remember a lot of it, but can vouch for the fact that the correct pronunciation for the Greek letter known as π is "pee," just like the corresponding English "p." But, if you start talking about the value of pee or saying pee are square, people will think you are nuts or just generally to be avoided - so the correct pronunciation becomes the one that's commonly agreed on.

March bands

Austin has this little festival in March - it's called SXSW (South by Southwest). OK, I'm kidding. It's humongous, huge, really big. There are 3 parts to it and they overlap days: Interactive, Film and Music. Film has already kicked in and the Music Festival officially starts on Wednesday, but the parties will be in high gear by Tuesday. The number of bands playing officially is probably around 1,900 and there are plenty more who will be playing at day/side parties thrown by magazines, record labels, PR firms, Rachael Ray, Perez Hilton, etc. They are mostly free, and many provide free beer and sometimes food while the music plays. It completely takes over the town. Yes. I love it and have been trying to plan my schedule for about 3 weeks at least. We are daycrawlers, unbanded and unbadged, wanting to see old favorites, people we wouldn't normally get to see, and people we never heard of before (new favorites).

Here are some of the best resources I'm using, as well as looking up people I want to see and trying to figure out where they will be and when. None of these list everything.

Showlist Austin
Done Waiting
Austin 360
Do512
Austin Chronicle
Oh My Rockness
Austin Metro Entertainment
Yahoo Unofficial SXSW
Officially listed parties
KGSR morning concerts

I regret that I will not be able to see the free show of the Decemberists and Gomez on Tuesday night. It goes too late and I am planning on seeing The Greencards at 7am on Wednesday (yes... AM) and it will involve city busses to avoid parking headaches so it's an early one. If you want to see the Decemberists and Gomez free, be at Waterloo Records on Monday at 10AM - one ticket per person.

Some other (free) highlights for the week: Gary Louris and Mark Olsen (ex-Jayhawks), Shearwater, hopefully Sarah Jarosz, Or The Whale, Ben Sollee, Hot Club of Cowtown, Billy Harvey, Fastball, sooo many more. Just reading through the lists of band names is entertaining, band names are just funny. Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. Shitty Carwash. Ringo Deathstarr. Olympic Ass-Kickin' Machine.

Yes, this town does celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but it's eclipsed by all the rest of it... or rather... it's mixed in. Hoping that great weather will be there as promised.

Purrsday Night - Henry the Cable Guy

Henry's new favorite place to sit. This subwoofer behind the TV vibrates just right, it's very dusty back there so it worries his folks that it will be bad for his asthma, plus it makes it extra difficult to medicate him.

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Cats - Catblogging

Chapter 3 - Oh How She Could Yacki Hacki Wicki Wacki Woo

Here's part 3 of my low-rent travelogue that follows this one. After we were denied the opportunity to join my dad at Johnston Island by the Air Force, he was transferred to Hawaii in 1956 and we were soon to follow after being temporarily stranded in San Francisco waiting on the Air Force's "ride" -- I don't remember where we stayed or for how long, but I know my mother was HOPPING mad at the Salvation Army over something, I think it was because they turned us away when we were broke. I will also never forget her story about ordering some Chop Suey in a restaurant there, seeing something in it that looked a lot like a tail, and when she asked the waitress what it was, she replied "salamander."

I was about to make my first airplane flight, and it could have ended up being much more memorable (in a bad way) because one of the engines caught fire while we were over the ocean. Somehow we managed to land in Hawaii and it was not by raft or helicopter so disaster was avoided.

The video above (which is someone's modern video, but nothing has changed about it) provides the sound track for this post, it's one of the songs (with dance moves) that I learned while living there - and I may have driven everybody crazy singing The Hukilau and Honolulu Hicki Boola Boo... or maybe not. It really was just one loooong party where people wore their swimsuits all the time and were either dancing, drinking, singing, playing an instrument, or all of the above.

Here I am trying to play my ukulele with some of our neighbors.

There's my record player on the floor, add some refreshments and some Hawaiian garb and it's a party.

We lived there no more than 2 years and I was about 4 when we left, so I don't have the usual type of touristy memories. My mother and grandmother had told me that a praying mantis would spit tobacco juice in your eyes, so I remember trying to get back to our apartment when I saw that I had to pass what seemed like a giant praying mantis, so I was frozen with fear and couldn't get past him.

More of the neighbor kids, probably other military kids. That's me sitting on the ground. I've never been much of a ham.

I also remember being absolutely horrified at the sight of hot lava. I mean, how many kids get to see bubbling molten lava in person? I developed a great fear and fascination with volcanoes. I never visited another one, but found the story of Pompeii to be one of the scariest things I ever read.

My mother at the beach, looking stylish in 1956. She was naturally very thin. I didn't inherit that trait. She actually used to drink those weight-gain concoctions but they never worked.

You had to have a muumuu. I still have this one. It's probably valuable. All I need is a buyer.

My mother, dressed up and sitting by the Banyan tree.

I very seldom saw my dad when he was not in uniform, but here's an exception.

and here's me wearing the same outfit (not just a matching outfit - the same one)

Except for the gigantic tobacco juice-spitting bugs, the bubbly hot molten lava, and getting a really short haircut, Hawaii was one of the nicest places we were assigned to live. I'd love to go back someday.

The next Chapter will be about the Florida panhandle and living on a chicken farm. For previous installments, click on the "lifestory" label.

Going for broken

If you've been thinking of picking over the bones for electronics at Circuit City, it's good to know ahead of time that you might be buying a box of broken crap without being able to get your money back. Circuit City isn't letting people open and inspect the contents of the boxes that they are buying, and there are no refunds or returns.

...a little riskier than those pillow shams in the "fire sale" at Linens 'n' Things.

Push the button, Frank!

Tonight we're going to a live performance from the crew of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (MST3K) at the Paramount. This endeavor is called Cinematic Titanic, and it's Joel, Frank, Trace, Mary Jo and Josh. The other half of the gang (Mike, Kevin, and Bill) formed RiffTrax - so it still continues but we really miss the TV episodes. We even went to the 1996 Electric Bugaloo Conventio-Con in Minneapolis with some 4,000 other bot-crazed fanatics. We've been in a serious cutback on entertainment spending lately because of the stinking economy and all, but really couldn't stay away from this (so we will be in the cheap seats but still in the house)

If you don't know MST3k, it is worth a YouTube search.

We have a local troupe who kind of ripped off the concept of the show, and called themselves "Mister Sinus Theater," and proceeded to get sued by MST3K over the name they picked. It seemed really stupid to me, all they needed to do was change the name, and who really enjoys getting sued by your idols? Anyway, Mister Sinus eventually ended and went on to re-form as Master Pancake (now how hard was that to do, eh? different name.). The Pancakes (like the Sinuses before them) do live movie riffing shows with costumed sketch breaks at the Alamo Drafthouse (a.k.a. "the best theater chain in the world"), and the fundamental difference is that they choose well-known movies. A lot of the movies they pick are actually ones that I think are good and not what I would call riff-worthy.

I don't know what movie the Titanics will roast tonight, but I'm sure it will be highly riff-worthy, and I'm hoping to a meet and greet too.

ADDENDUM: This is the movie they did:

Dynamite Brothers, a Kung-Fu Blaxploitation movie with a *very* low budget. The show was great, and the Paramount was nearly sold out despite there having been practically no advertising at all. There was a meet-and-greet, as hoped, and I got to complete my autograph set on a couple of items.

Purrsday Night - I don't see a cat, do you?

Tags and links: Friday Ark - Cats - Catblogging

Ditto that!

Create your own satire apology letter to Rush Limbaugh on this site posted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). It's funny watching the Republicans squirm in fear of their great leader.

(There's a SEND button on it, but unfortunately I don't think it goes to Rush, but I suspect rather to the DCCC so that they can add you to their mailing list.)

I don't think the Repugs are faking it, they really *are* sorry.

I wonder if it also repels mosquitoes?

... possibly... but it wouldn't be worth it.

Outdoor mall using Barry Manilow music to pacify or drive away unruly kids.

They're just tryin' to be friendly

Saw this crazy video on Olbermann. Unbelievable! And there's water in the sink. And it's a real cat!

It's hard to stop with just one monkey and cat video, so here is a cat getting delousing. Those monkeys just love spiffing up the cats, don't they?

This one is having a different reaction to one unsuspecting puppy.

Universal Health Care - it's Time

Yesterday, we attended a music benefit for someone who had surgery, an employed person who did not have health insurance, and needed help paying for the bills. There are lots of Benefits like that in this town, I don't have any data on it but it seems like the majority of benefit concerts are held for the purpose of helping out a fellow musician or musician-friend who has no health insurance and can't pay the necessary medical bills. Those are the lucky folks - the lucky uninsured, that is. Most uninsured people who run up medical bills don't get benefit concerts thrown for them, and can end up losing everything over an illness or injury.

This is one of the things that reaffirms my belief that health insurance should not be connected to employment. As long as the two are dependent on each other, our health care system will be broken. What about people (or their spouses) who have lost their jobs, or people who are employed without health insurance because their employer can't afford to provide it?

There is a LOT more of that going around these days than there was before this financial crisis, and it's hard enough to afford health care even with insurance.

March roars in

It seems that Spring is here. It got up to 91° on Friday, then near freezing Friday night, and Saturday it was only around 60° with the wind blowing hard, gusting between 36 and 56 mph depending on your area. The wind blew the trunk lid of the car down on my head while I was putting something in it, even though Mr B was trying to hold it open (no injuries!). It was really difficult to walk against the wind. We managed to get blown into the the Austin Green Living Expo in the morning, into Koriente for lunch, and the new Farmer's Market on Manchaca.

In the afternoon, we went to the Grand Opening of Recycled Reads, which is connected to the Public Library and gives them an opportunity to make some money to help support themselves in these tough times. Watched Jon Dee Graham (above) and Jesse Sublett play a few tunes, and got a whole bag of books and a video for only $9 (the books were priced $2 for hardbacks, $1 for softcover and $1 for video). This is the video we got for a buck: Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes (2001) starring Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter and a cameo by Charlton Heston (uncredited) as Dr. Zaius. OK, I had drawn a near-blank on this one and had forgotten it existed, not to mention having never seen it. It looked like it might be a turkey, which is usually worth a dollar gamble. I have linked above to the wiki entry on it instead of the imdb, because the history of the making of this movie is fascinating with all the twists and turns and weird trivia, even an Oliver Stone factor. For once thing, it says that Tim Roth turned down the role of Severus Snape in favor of this role, and I have to say that although I love Alan Rickman, Tim Roth is MUCH closer to what I would have envisioned for Snape. I doubt if most people would agree with me, but that's my opinion. I loved Paul Giamatti in this, and have to say that when I see Kris Kristofferson in a movie, all I can think about is him as a musician even though he's a decent actor.

After one viewing of this POTA and without seeing any of the special features, I would say that it's not as big a turkey as expected, but the ending did baffle me. In fact, it was sometime today that I finally came up with a scenario that makes sense for it (time travel is such an open-ended brain-boggler - I love it).

Soon, we are headed over to Momo's for a benefit (one that lasts from 3pm to closing time, although we will only be there for maybe 3 hours). Should be good, even if the patio is going to be a bit chilly for a bunch of Texans.