lovin' me plenty

She makes the most of her time for lovin' me plenty
She knows there'll come a day when we won't be gettin' any

Josh Ritter, "The Dogs or Whoever"

Nutrition for dummies

It seems like every day there is another report, another recommendation about nutrition, another fad diet. I've long said that you are better off following what they told you in grade school about the 4 food groups. Well, Jae has been doing a lot of work planning menus, and here is what she has come up. For a meal, take your plate, divide it in half, and then divide one of those halves into 4ths. Fill the half with vegetables, one 4th with protein (meat or beans), one 4th with grain. Repeat consistently. I'm sure its not the perfect diet, but I wager it is considerably more balanced than the majority of Americans achieve.

A boat that loves the rocks and the shore

Bring me a love that can sweeten the sword
A boat that loves the rocks and the shore

New Josh Ritter album on its way in August, _The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter_. I'm excited. You can stream 1 full song and 45 second clips of the others from http://www.joshritter.com/historical/. Above quote is from "To the Dogs or Whoever."

Reading Camus (Ha! Ouch.)

Have you read any Camus? I first read _The Plague_, then _The Stranger_. Much prefered _The Plague_. Right now I'm reading _The Fall_.

Reading Camus is hard for me. There's a line from the "Jaynestown" episode of _Firefly_. Simon says,

"All right. Fine. I'll go. Just... stop describing me."

That's what reading Camus is like.

Dueling wisdom

He who hesitates is lost.

vs.

Look before you leap.

Telefunken

I'm not patient enough to get a good photo, but I think you get an idea of the cool factor.

Jae found the idea in Ready Made, a mag she likes. They had a project where you find an old radio, gut it, slide some PC speakers into it, and presto, retro cool speakers for your MP3 player or computer.

When I said I wanted to do it, Jae thrust her fists in the air and said, "Yes, I've passed on the meme." She told me she knew the perfect place to look for the old radio. She took me to the place in Albuquerque, on San Mateo, known as the Indoor Flea Market. What I found was not a radio. It was speaker. I removed the guts, slipped in some little speakers Jae originally had for her CD Walkman, and we have stylin' audio equipment in the library. The brand name of the original speaker, which is on the front, is Telefunken.

3rd St. Arts, Albuquerque

In, House Concerts Rule, I wrote about my first trip to 3rd St. Arts. Jae goes sometimes for the life drawing, also. Those folks do a great thing for the community with 3rd Street Arts.

Last night we saw local Jenny Gamble, backed by Fitch (short for fiddle b**ch), AKA, Ben Jones. Really enjoyed them. For my money, Ben was the most talented person upfront last night. His solo was the highlight.

The headliner was Wendy Colonna. She was good. She can write a song, and she can sing.

Found website for the opening band of the first show we saw there.

Minie Gonzalez Band
http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.asp?epk_id=105435

union in a visual dictionairy

I had several posts about the word "union." Today I plugged "union" into Visuwords. Neat application. I'm especially tickled at looking at a graphical representation of the relationships between the definitions of "union" because the word itself is about relationship.

Preview _A Betrayal in Winter_

It's been a few weeks since my last Daniel Abraham plug, so its time for another. On Daniel's new website you can read the Prologue and Chapter 1 of _A Betrayal in Winter._ Good book.

Preview

I have loaner copies of the first book, _A Shadow in Summer_. It's also available in paperback, now.

Fierce Friend (2 verses) +

While I was stuck for that rhyme, I did go ahead with a second verse. I also have a title. Inkling of what the 3rd verse might be.

Fierce Friend

Lift your hands to build a wall of thorn and bone
Rise up
Line your stomach with iron, sharpen your teeth on stone
Rise up
Bathe your tongue in acid, cover your eyes with chrome
Rise up
Set your hair on fire, make a whirlwind your throne

Rise up
Rise up

Drag me from the wreakage, blow your breath into my lungs
Rise up
Help me burn the bodies, help me hide the gun
Rise up
Steal us tickets on a fast ship, one that will really run
Rise up
Wrest the wheel from the pilot, set the controls for the sun

Rise up
Rise up

By our strength combined, we climb out of the gravity well
Rise up

stuck for a rhyme

I've got something going I like, but I'm stuck for a rhyme. I've come up with several clever rhymes, but there too clever. Self-consciously clever. I need an organic fit.

Lift your hands to build a wall of thorn and bone
Rise up
Line your stomach with iron, sharpen your teeth on stone
Rise up
Bathe your tongue in acid, cover your eyes with chrome
Rise up
Set your hair on fire, ----blank----
Rise up
Rise up


"Foam" almost works. Like the other rhyming words, its a substance. But if you ask which of these things doesn't belong: bone, stone, chrome, foam, its an easy choice.
I think it also has to be one syllable. I thought about cyclone, but it didn't sound right, and I decided its because its 2 syllables. Blows the rhythm.

Be hip, be a Daytrotter

When I read about daytrotter.com, it partly caught my attention because its based in Rock Island, IL. It's part of the underground, man, the revolution against the corporate media overloards. Some subversive types have scavaged recording equipment and put together a studio. Little known bands travelling through stop and record a 4 song live set. The songs go up on daytrotter.com.

The ultimate question will be, is the music good. I've just scratched the surface of the music there. I've found some stuff I liked. I haven't been blown away. The idea, the gestalt, though, its wonderful.