i need a kamera

for the past month i've been unable to climb due to a back issue. by back issue, of course, i mean that i've had lower back pain that was so bad that, were it not for my extremely high pain threshold, i would be bed ridden. seriously. the 25 minute drive to work had me on the verge of tears many a morning, and not just because i want a new job.

anyhoo. thanks to the wonderful chiropractor that i stumbled across i was able to chalk up again on tuesday. i'm still taking it easy, but i'm on the rock. that brings us to last nite. bwe had a little date nite that i would rank in the top 10 of our date nites, ever. the only thing that could've been better was if i'd remembered to get the camera out to take her picture...

she picked me up at work and we headed to the frist center to see the pulitzer prize photography exhibit: capture the moment. this is all i have to say about the exhibit: go see it, but be prepared. as a human race, we've been very bad to each other in the past 60 years, and photographers have done a very good job of capturing that. it was the most difficult exhibit i've ever seen, and there were pictures that i couldn't even look at. still, go see it.

we needed to hit the mental reset button, so we stopped off at qdoba on west end for a veggie taco and then headed to the climbing gym. i was really apprehensive about climbing with the wife. not because i didn't think she could do it, but because i was afraid of overcoaching, or talking too much or barking out orders or getting frustrated or being the "guy using a sport to dominate the girl emotionally" guy. i mean, climbing is special to me, as is the wife, and i want both to be able to coexist peacefully. i wanted climbing, especially her first time on the wall, to be something that was positive, like it is for me. our relationship is such that i told her all of this and after a very brief "aww shucks" moment we headed inside to sign her up and get her climbing.

visibly apprehensive and nervous, bwe went through her belay lesson; threading the rope, using her brake hand, learning the motions, trying to keep it all straight. i walked off to talk to some friends, just to make sure that i stayed out of it and didn't make her nervous or self conscious(she's not one for being watched...she was a nervous wreck before our 60 person wedding, and not just because she was sticking herself with me.).

once i ascertained that she was wrapping it up, i strolled over for the real test: belaying me while i climbed. this was a test for both of us for obvious reasons: neither one of us wanted me to fall, but if i did, we sure as shit didn't want me hitting the ground. i took it slowly, since she was still getting coached and i wanted to make sure that she could keep up the slack (again, the falling thing). all the way up and all the way down without a problem...

now for the fun part, getting her on the wall. after taking my chalk bag and clipping in, up she went. she was still nervous, but took to the wall like a frickin' mountain goat. up she went, without a slip or hesitation. well, until she got to the top. it took her a few trips up and down to get used to trusting the rope, but she was starting to get the hang of it by the end of the nite. i probably had more issues climbing than she did, but climbing with a brand new belayer is a bit nerve wracking the first time: does she have me? what if i fall? will she freak out and let go of the rope? how badly will this hurt? i'm sure i'll get past it...

we did routes; she never fell. we did bouldering problems; she topped out on her first attempt (that means she solved the "problem"). we went all over the gym and, with each route she ticked off, her confidence grew and her smile widened. as the gym closed and we got ready to leave she said, "i'm gonna need my own shoes," instead of the rentals she'd used all nite. in climber talk that means she's hooked.

i had a handful of worries as we walked into the gym; all of them proved to be baseless. i was concerned that she would hate it. i was concerned that we'd argue. i thought this might be something that we couldn't do together. turns out i was wrong. and in being wrong i discovered something about my wife:

she might not trust the rope, but she trusts me. and that's the coolest thing in the world to be wrong about.

freaky thursday

saw this on a friend's blog and had to play along...it's a semi creepy exercise, as you'll see.

The rules:

1) Put your music player on shuffle.
2) Click forward for every question
3) Use the song title as the answer to the question.
4) No cheating!

The Questions:

1) How am I feeling today? Central Park West - John Coltrane
2) Where will I get married? The Shrovetide Fair - Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring
3) What is my best friend's theme song? Roll - Richard Buckner
4) What was high school like? Pry, To - Pearl Jam (hah)
5) What is the best thing about me?And Your Bird Can Sing - The Beatles (again. hah.)
6) What is today going to be like? Kamera - Wilco (fun)
7) What is in store for this week?Equilibrium - Jay Farrar
8) What song describes my parents? Make the most of - David Mead
9) How is my life going? Christmas All Over Again - Tom Petty
10) What song will they play at my funeral? Money - Pink Floyd
11) How does the world see me? Closer to You - The Wallflowers
12) What should I be doing right now? Rent A Cop - Ben Folds (now that's f'in classic)
13) Do people secretly like me? Driving Sideways - Aimee Mann
14) What do my friends really think of me?Better Get Hit in Your Sould - Charles Mingus (creepy)
15) How can I make myself happy? Witness - Cyndi Lauper
16) Will I be happy? Greensleeves - Vince Guaraldi Trio (from Charlie Brown Christmas...what's with the christmas tunes?)
17) What is some good advice? Needle In The Hay - Elliot Smith
18) What is my current theme song? Silver Bells - Bing Crosby (again with the christmas music...what the crap?)
19) What does everyone else think my current theme song is? Us & Them - Pink Floyd
20) What should I do with my life? Clothes of Sand - Nick Drake
21) What type of men/women do I like? Yeah Yeah - Cyndi Lauper
22) Will I get married? Miss Williams' Guitar - The Jayhawks (nice)
23) Where will I live? night is still - neilson hubbard (scarier than anyone realizes)
24) What should I do with my love life? Spooky Girlfriend - Elvis Costello
25) What will my dying words be? I Think - John Coltrane
~~~
i wanted to, but i didn't cheat. now that you've seen mine, show me yours. put it on your blog and leave me a comment with the link.

caption fun...

(photo courtesy of espn.com. ap photo/michael dwyer)

i couldn't resist posting this photo of pedro "the yankees are my daddy" martinez and having some caption fun when i saw it on espn.com. so here's my caption:

"jazz hands!!"

c'mon, people. show me some caption love...

is that a steel rod in your johnson, or are you just happy to see me?

saw this on countdown with keith olberman and just had to share it. charles "chick" lennon might not be able to hang out in any playgrounds, but he'll always have something to do on a slow nite...

i'm just curious...did he have to testify on his own behalf? how did he prove in court that the "permaboner" was broken ("i'm tellin' ya, judge, it's stiff as a board. see for yourself.")? did he not ask for referrals before having his weenie slinky installed? can he sleep on his stomach? has he contacted the circus?

i could keep this up for hours.


(that's what he said. buh-dum-psh.)


(oh...jd, the french lesson podcast that i listen to is called french for beginners. i think that the "producing" artist is french ecole. hope that helps.)

your weekly to do list...

i don't care if you have to throw some elbows around in your schedule to make time to see this movie, you need to get your butt down to the belcourt tonite at 7p to see the directorial debut of my friend drew talbert and the premiere of his film The Gospel According to Marquee. all indicators are that this will be a very, very funny film. not to mention free...

best wife ever & i went to see an inconvenient truth last nite. wow. i'll have more on that later, but, for now, my advice is: go see this movie. then change your lifestyle.

You have new Picture Mail!

who can resist something from a vending machine called nothern beaver...

You have new Picture Mail!

friday nite's alright for rockin'...on the way to clover destroy clarksville, tn

picture o' the week

picture o' the week. that's right, its a breast cancer sticker that reads, "save the ta-tas.

classic.

pod-diction

or maybe it's an addict-cast. or maybe it should be called pod-crack.

whatever you call it, i'm addicted to podcasts. i can't get enough of them. like a crack head stumbling across the urban wasteland looking for a hit, i wander around the internet, haggard and gaunt (and probably scratching myself), looking for my next nugget of podcastic satisfaction.

i currently subscribe to eleven podcasts. if given more time this week to search for the virtual dens of iniquity known as the itunes podcast "store" or google's podcast directory, i would probably have almost twice that many. how can you resist?

want to learn french? we have podcasts for that. want news about music and culture? hope you packed a lunch. house music? check. drum n bass mixes for running? yup. yoga? got it. wanna be a better climber? right over here, sir. video podcasts? don't get me started...

here's a list of everything i subscribe to:
-channel 101 - yacht rock: the funniest show on the internet. f*ck you, loggins! the 80's can suck it! (wooderson, if you've got your ears on, this one's for you.)
-french for beginners: took french for 3 years. don't remember anything except a bastardized version of the french anthem and bits and pieces of "champs elysses." haven't listened to one episode...
-groovelectric: drum n bass. 60 minutes each of pretty decent music. nice for having in the background at work.
-kcrw's morning becomes eclectic: all things indie. stella, this one's for you.
-npr - all songs considered: like their all things considered show, just for music nuts.
-npr-music: i don't know why they have two shows, but i listen to both...
-paste culture club: podcast version of one of my favorite media magazines.
-pod climber: climbing news, training tips, stories, etc., for those of us who like to hang by a thread (or a fingernail).
-podrunner: tempo setting d'n'b music for runners & spinners. titles like soleburner, groundpounder, & trailblazer let you know that it's wicked fast. like 165 - 180 bpm fast.
-ricky gervais show: it's a shame that guardian decided to charge for the second series of these podcasts, because the first one was hysterical. 3 brits sitting around a room talking about nothing. it's like seinfeld, only funnier.

do you guys do the podcast thing? what podcasts do you swear by?

me & my sled, part deux

i've often wondered what it would feel like to blow a tire while driving down the interstate.

last nite i got to find out.

there i was, tooling down i-24 towards home after dropping off some promo kits when, all of the sudden i hear a pop, like i ran over something. except that i didn't see anything big enough in my headlights that would've made that kind of a pop.

first thought: "some idiot kid is throwing crap at cars on the interstate again."
second thought (immediately after first thought): "nope. that's my tire."

for the record, i didn't officially blow the tire. it's still in one piece. but the tire went completely flat in less than half a mile, so i'll count that as a drastic tire failure. back to the story...

lucky for me i was right at the harding rd/i24 exit, so i limped it on to the shoulder to assess the the damage and determine if i could make it to the shell station across the street so i could put the donut on. 30 minutes and some dirty hands later, i was on my way home with the big tire in the back, the little tire on the road and a tallboy of busch beer in the passenger seat waiting for me to pull into the driveway to be opened (it's amazing how working on a car makes me crave cheap beer).

this is the 3rd time in the recent past that i've had to replace a flat tire in a hurry. i'm getting pretty good at it. so much so that i'm wondering if i might have a future as a tire changer on a nascar pit crew. i mean, really, if i can change a tire manually, with a "roll up" jack and a tire iron in 10 minutes, shouldn't i be able to zip a couple off and zip a couple on in 12 seconds if someone else is doing all the heavy lifting?

long story short: by the end of the day, i will have spent a total of $2000 on my shaggin' wagon in the past 3 weeks, and i've still got to replace my brakes in the next couple of weeks. i could have a coke habit for this kind've money, and not have to worry as much about keeping my girlish figure...

(edit: long story longer...i know that a lot of you guys already own my cd. i appreciate that. i know that a lot of you guys don't. for those that do, if you like it, please tell your friends how much you like it and recommend that they pick one up through itunes or cdbaby. hell tell them i'll mail 'em one if they send me a check for $5 plus $1 in postage. if you have previously considered picking it up and passed, please reconsider. i'm broke like a $5 watch.)

i heart stanley (an open letter to the nhl)

dear national hockey league-

they're still probably passing lord stanley's stein the locker room at the rbc center in raleigh, but already i miss you. it's only been 14 hours since the final horn sounded (not that you could hear it, thanks to the deafening roar of the cane-iacs), but i'm already itching for rookie orientation/camp. do i really have to wait until september? is it possible to extend the draft to something like a 4 weekend bonanza?

thanks for such a fantastic regular season and the best post season in recent memory. thanks for a fantastic game 7 that went down to the wire and had me on the edge of my seat, even during intermissions. i was really pissed that i lost a season because of the lock out, but the hockey (especially during the post season) was worth it. you've still got a little work to do (like that delay of game rule. let's fix that, okay?), but the pieces are there for hockey to move ahead of basketball and baseball in popularity. keep it up.

thanks for bringing hockey to the southeast. thanks for bringing it to nashville. thanks for fighting for us during the lockout so we can believe that, like carolina and edmonton, we too can compete for a chance to kiss the chalise and raise it high above our heads. i know that some will say that hockey doesn't matter in middle tennessee. well, it matters to me and the wife. we love it. it's what we do for entertainment. it's something we share a passion for. it's become part of our identity. we tell people, "we're predators fans," or, "we're season ticket holders." we (okay, i) talk about the day that our kids (that we don't have yet) can play hockey. i dream of the day that i can skate backwards...but that's not the point. the point is that i wouldn't have any of these things if it weren't for hockey. sure, i could tell people i'm a titans fan, or a vanderbilt fan, but i don't think i'd take pride in that like i do when i tell people i'm a predators fan. for that, thanks.

now, about my draft bonanza idea...

house cleaning

i guess i'm not really cleaning, just adding some links (check 'em out) to the sidebar and looking for an excuse to get something off my chest. here goes...

speaking of cleaning house, i just found out that a friend of mine has decided to leave his wife. after she caught him sleeping with someone else.

fuck that. you wanna leave your wife to play the field? fair enough. but at least be man enough to admit it beforehand instead of going behind her back. at least respect her enough to talk with her instead of just...well, instead of being an ass.

i'm hoping that i'm jumping to conclusions and that, once i hear your side of things, i can look you in the eye. for now, though, you've lost my respect, my admiration, and my friendship.

what a hell of a way to start a tuesday...as if the bulging disc in my back weren't enough, now i'm going to feel sick all day. this is really like a bad dream. maybe i'll wake up soon and find that all that's wrong is that i overslept for work due to some awful fucking dream that wouldn't end.

quick hits

run, don't walk...
steven segal and thunderbox will be playing at exit/in on thursday nite. which direction you run is up to you. it might be your opportunity to hear, "i missed. i never miss," in person. it also might be an opportunity to do anything (yes, anything) else.

mama said knock me out...
bands/artists that i'm currently infatuated with:
-jason collett. i saw him opening for...
-feist at the belcourt not too long ago. who is in...
-broken social scene with jason collett. they are in no way related to...
-the oranges band.

look out! here comes...
matt riddlehoover. matt's a filmmaker friend of mine who's been kind enough to work with me on a short film/music video for we r a symphony. turns out that i'm not the only person that thinks matt is super cool and uber-talented. look for him in filmmaker magazine very soon (really). you should also check out his two shorts on strays don't sleep new cd/dvd, which came out yesterday. i was so excited after our meeting last nite that i could barely sleep...the 2 cups of coffee and a coke on the way home didn't hurt either.

now for the interactive part...
what's getting your ya-ya's off? a book, a film, an artist, a band, a candy bar...tell me!

let the good times roll

beginning with today, i am about to get very busy with shows and movies. if you ask me, that's a good thing. i'm usually my most productive and happiest when i'm busy. here's the upcoming calendar of events:

jun 12 (tonite!!) - 8p, NO COVER!!! myspace monday @ 3rd & lindsley. lineup includes dawson, some hot chicks & bob; denitia odigie; emily deloach and yours truly.

jun 17 (saturday) - 9p, $3. christopher pizza company (on demonbreun). cheap cover, good pizza and beer, and 2 acts (me and someone whose name i don't recall).

jun 22 - 9p, NO COVER!!! east side music scene nite at the 5spot. there's something like 10 bands/acts on the lineup. it's possible there's a cover and i don't know it, but even $10 for 10 bands is a sweet deal.

july 6 - 9p, $5. the 5spot. w/perrin lamb and (hopefully) brian ritchey.

july 9 - filming starts for fireflies and roman candles, the full length indie flick that i have a part in. first movie, so i hope i don't totally suck.
--
if it's been a while since you came out to a show, please try to make one of these. the lineup's are great and most of them are on the weekend or later in the week. if you've been coming to shows regularly and digging it, please keep coming and please tell your friends (or better yet, bring 'em). at least half of the equation in music is the audience, and it's always good to have one that's larger as opposed to smaller. you'd be surprised about the difference a full room makes - and not just to the wallets of the bar owners.

that's it. see you at the shows!

in the news...

why not just call it "reality based sex-ed"?

oh my achin' back!

apparently God's punishment for my sins is a bad back.

for the 3rd time in 3 years i'm dealing with back problems so severe that my knees buckle and my breath is taken away. say what you will, but i will trade back pain for a lifetime of childbirth any day.

i'm trying to hold off as long as possible from going to the doctor, since my last visit resulted in me being diagnosed with lumbago. to quote clark w. griswald: "no shit" (that'll make sense if you click the link). he prescribed physical therapy 3 days a week for (i think) 4 weeks. physical therapy taught me that my back problems were most likely due to weak abs and tight hamstrings. so i did core strength and balance exercises. i stretched my hammies.

i guess that's the infuriating and frustrating part. my core strength has never been better, thanks to a good workout program and climbing. my hammies are still a little tight, but not like they used to be (draw a mental image of a flimsy bungee cord strapped over the top of an '85 buick regal holding a mattress, box spring and television to get an idea of how tight they were...). i'm in the best shape of my life (minus the back thing). so why is this happening now? dammit.

surely out there in the land of the blog someone has back issues that they self treat. i'm all ears.

how do you fix a bum back?

it might not be e street...

but i got me a band, kids!

woo hoo!!!!

(details later)

heard it on the x

i don't know how many of you know of a relatively new, internet based radio station in town called xradio. so far as i can tell, they do the best job in town of supporting local music, talking to & about local bands, and publicizing shows.

tonite at 8.30 i'll be doing an in studio interview and performance with daina, the host of the nashville rocks show. daina's been playing some of my songs for the past couple of months and has been kind enough to ask me to come down for a few minutes.

this is my first one of these, so i'm not all that certain what i should expect and i'm a bit nervous (i'm notorious for suffering from foot in mouth disease) about it. please "tune in" to see what the night has in store...

here's a link to the site. just click on "listen live now" to start hearing the broadcast.

(and then tomorrow come back and tell me how i did!)

me & my sled

any of you who have known me for any length of time know that my luck with cars is only slightly better than my luck at the lottery.

all of the cars that i've had since my first car (a purple subaru impreza, God rest its soul) have had major malfunctions whilst in my stable. not your run o' the mill problems either. weird things like doors falling off, fuel pumps (yes, multiple) refusing to work, cylinders or something like that breaking and, the latest problem, an a/c compressor blowing a diode and needing to be replaced 30,000 miles before it should've even been possible. oh yeah, and i have to have a tie rod replaced, too. and that's only two cars, kids.

so, today, i will become the proud new owner of an a/c compressor and tie rod for my 2001 saturn wagon. for those of you who think it might come up in trivial pursuit later, that'll cost a man approximately 15% of what he paid for the car 2 years ago last month.

fuck me.

(for the record, my luck with cars is the main reason why i really (really really) want nashville's public transportation system to be improved. if i could catch a bus to work and around town i wouldn't have to jack with this shit.)

timing is everything

burrito's post about a sheister landlord made me think of a story that i thought i oughta tell. as all good stories go, this one starts with

"once upon a time...

i got a call from the "new office manager" of an apartment complex where i once lived - 2 years after i moved out.

"you owe us a cleaning fee," she said, "because we had to clean the freezer after you moved out."

she wanted the entire deposit (that had long ago been refunded, divided amongst roommates and spent) to be mailed to the apartment complex.

here's how the rest of the conversation went:

"why are you just now calling me about this?"

"well i was going through some old files when i took the job and saw that you weren't charged the cleaning fee."

"really? i'm pretty sure that that freezer was clean when we moved out. i'm not going to send any money without some proof. do you have anything you can send me?"

"we have a polaroid of your freezer. you're welcome to come by and look at it."

"i'm at work anytime you guys are open and live all the way across town. i'm not coming by on my day off. can you make a copy and fax it to me?" (quick on my feet, i wasn't ABOUT to give her my new address...)

"it doesn't copy well."

"well. i think it's the only option."

"i'll try it. what's your fax number?"

i proceeded to give her my fax number at work and waited a few minutes to receive a faxed copy of a big black blob in the middle of the piece of paper and a note that read something to the effect of, "you can clearly see..."

no, no i couldn't. into the trash it went, along with the lady's call back number and any thought i entertained, even for a second, of paying some stupid cleaning fee based on a polaroid that might or might not have been my freezer that i might or might not have cleaned before leaving the place.

needless to say, she didn't call back.

i don't win often when i go mano et mano with the man, kids. but i won that round...

more tales of my rebellious youth (and not so youth) as i think of 'em. now back to your regularly scheduled programming.