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| Tape and Cardboard This is it. Finally. Say goodbye to this blog. And hello to the new blog. Change your links, reset your rss. I'm moving over to my new home at Spear And Magic Helmet. 
And if you don't get the reference, go get yourself educated, clown. | | |
| Shorn 'nuff The slow creep of Age will occasionally tap you on the shoulder and remind you of its presence. I was most recently tapped on my birthday in December. In conversation with a friend several states away, who has not seen me in person in quite a while, the comment was made that I should not worry about getting old and "going bald". Going bald. Not "losing my hair" or "aging gracefully": going bald. Like, "Hope you enjoyed all of those follicles, because they're soon going to find another place to reside, and it's probably the drain in your shower" going bald. I still think of myself, and am frequently reminded, that I'm still a young pup. Baldness would be the thing that would tip me over from looking my age (or perhaps younger) to "he's younger than he looks" territory. This was cause for minor panic, as well as some ruminations on the passing of time. I realized that my standard joke about how my drivers license picture makes me look sixteen is funny becaue I'm ten years removed from the year I learned to drive. I've found kids that I used to baby sit on Facebook, and they're not underclassmen. Plus, I'm closer to thirty than to eighteen, and by a significant margin. So I guess I'm an adult, and it's going to stay that way for a while. Back to the hair thing: when my hair is longer, it can look suspiciously like a comb-over because of my new hairline. Not good. Last thing I want to do is be this guy. But because of the silly cowlick I've battled since the early days of my youth, I've always had hair that tended to flop over like that. (who licks a cow, anyway? or stands still long enough to let a cow lick them? I need answers!) So last night, I set out to see if I could come up with something potentially less embarassing than my current hairstyle. Say what you will about politics and everything, but gay guys know hair, and they know guys hair even better. For the past three plus years, my regular hair stylist has been a middle aged Chinese woman; I'm pretty certain I was one of her few male clients, and definitely one of the few under forty. Every time she cut my hair, I think she thought I was heading to an audition for a revival of the Dick Van Dyke Show, because I came out styled with some 1950's looking monstrosity. She was always good for propping up my ego by telling me I was cute, and was one of the early proponents of The Beard. Still, she wouldn't know a young-looking haircut if it came up and stole her entire collection of Paul Fredrick styling products. So I went to Xzavier last night. No, that's not a typo. Crimes against the English language aside, Xzavier did a heckuva job coming up with something that brings out my features and works in both professional and non-professional contexts. So without further ado... 
Pro 
Non-Pro Yeah, that's more like a twenty six year old in denial. | | |
| Mailing It In Those of you who have read this blog since its inception know that I usual take the whole month of December to compile exhaustive lists of movies and music (mostly music) that I liked in the preceding year. Well, I'm terribly behind in this task and frankly a bit uninspired. To come up with a list of songs that were particularly meaningful to me this year would be an exercise in wound-reopening that I'd rather not undergo. Moreover, my best albums list would look approximately like what you'd find on a real music blog or Rolling Stone, minus the overwrought prose and snooty attitude. So I think that the best way to go about this is to just recommend 10 or so albums or songs that I found to be fun this year, and call 2006 done. When I move to Wordpress (the epic announcement from a couple months ago), I should be able to post the mp3s of these recommendations, but until then you'll have to find 'em yourself. The List of Things 1. The Hold Steady. I can't stand Bruce Springsteen. Anyone who extols Jersey as a place worth more than five minutes of consideration is probably chemically imbalanced/retarded. He does write catchy songs, though. If only there were someone making music that sounds like The Boss, without all the overearnest pretension. Enter the Hold Steady. Trade out Tom Joad for drunk college kids as the subject matter, and you've got a go-anywhere party CD with heart.
2. Shooter - Robin Thicke featuring Lil Wayne Damn, I love this song. Blue eyed soul from the son of a sitcom dad paired with Dirty South verses from a kid who may well be the best rapper in the mainstream scene? I'm there. Plus, the story it tells sounds like a some bizarre Tarantino/Michael Mann mash-up.
3. What Made Milwaukee Famous Remember how I really, really wanted to like the Strokes, but couldn't? Replace their New York snobbery with good natured Texans doing their best Brit-rock impression, but keep the jangly guitars and some of the angst, and you're good to go. I can't wait to catch them live sometime soon.
4. Do You Realize?? - The Flaming Lips Music has incredible power. This particular song buoyed me and destroyed me this year. I used to get goosebumps in a good way when I heard it, and when I heard it coming out of my phone a couple weeks ago (signifying the arrival of a text message) it sent a chill up my spine that no horror movie could come close to approximating. This song is the most beautiful ghost to ever haunt my life. And I can't stop listening to it.
5. TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain I saw these guys live before this album came out, and was amazed at how well the material from their first full length album translated live. Now that I know the new material better, their return to Houston in April will be even better. Plus, anyone who can get David Bowie to sing backup vocals deserves major props.
6. Explosions In The Sky Oops, this isn't my "Most Anticipated Concerts of 2007" list, is it? Whatever. Best chill music I've ever heard. Unlike the creepiness that is Sigur Ros, these instrumental wonders from Austin leave you feeling hopeful and optimistic without saying a word. March cannot come soon enough.
7. Sufjan Stevens Duh. This entry should encompass not only the wonderful Christmas collection he released this year, or the fun Illinoise B-sides collection, but also his live performance, as witnessed by yours truly back in September. Sure, it was the most emotionally devastating concert I've even been to, but the venue, crowd, and band dynamics could not have been more perfect. Easily the best small-venue show I've ever been to, and second only to U2 overall.
8. Disruption...Sharks - Ethan Durelle Vesper's favorite driving song. Also, the song most improved by hearing it on a good sound system. A big, distorted, hollering mess with a creeping sense of dread throughout. Even more fun live when Chris is screaming into his guitar pickups. Can't wait for ED's return in 2007.
9. The Lord's Prayer - Eric Priest Don't bother googling for this one, because you won't find it. To the best of my knowledge, Eric hasn't recorded this arrangement of the Prayer yet, but he better find a way soon. Absolutely the most heartbreakingly beautiful and invigorating song I've ever heard on my way to the Communion table. I'd lobby Leo and Clay to have it every week, but that ain't how CTK rolls.
10. Mute Math Somehow, I didn't know about these guys until the early fall. Man, what a mistake. Electro-rock that features an unironic key-tar? Get me season tickets. Fun live show, great attitude, simultaneously catchy and meandering. It's like they made a rock band just for me!
So there you have it. No Joanna Newsome (why do I care if she only uses instruments that predate the wheel? give me a catchy chorus, woman!), no Gnarls Barkley (because I have nothing to add there. if you don't have the album, you're an idiot.). Just the stuff that was constantly in my head this year. Have a fun and safe New Year's, and I'll catch y'all later. | | |
| Introducing Vesper
So the other epic thing is still in the works, but not yet ready for the light of day. But the mini epic has begun, and is in full effect. Without further ado, allow me to introduce you to the new lady in my life:
 Her name is Vesper (thanks to Daniel and Katy~*), and she's a 2005 Mini Cooper S. For those of you stat heads, she's got the Premium, Sport, Cold Weather, and Convenience packages, a 6 speed automatic transmission, 168 horsepower, and a hair trigger. She's more fun than driving should be.
 See the self-satisfied smirk? That's my highway face. The permagrin comes on when I hit the twisties.
If you want a ride, call me. I found out tonight that she will accept four people in relative comfort for short trips. Long trips should probably require a co-pilot, as my fifteen hour sojourn from Nashville proved beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Vesper seems like a reliable chick, not prone to inexplicable mood swings or fearful skittish behavior. She's basically the perfect girl. Everything is as it should be. It's really hard to sit here and write this as she sits outside, begging to be driven more. I'm resisting the temptation. For now.
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| Frankenstein Wastes A Minute Of Your Time 
Build grill! Grill make fire! Fire BAD! Wait, no. Fire GOOD! Fire cook meat! Meat GOOOOOD! After that, I suppose it's worth mentioning that there will be two big announcements in this space within the next couple of weeks. Well, one announcement is big (like epic) and the other is more mini epic. | | |
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