"That Girl? I'm gonna make her mine if it takes all night..."
- Gene Chandler ("Groovy Situation")

In an odd twist in the life of "Wit", I saw the Panera Girl tonight.

Many of you have no idea what the hell that means, and thats a good thing. Sufficinet to say, I had a major thing for this girl, secretly, before I left for San Diego last year. Actually, she is the reason why I droppoed the whole "Dreamgirl" issue when I got back from SD. Anyways, I decided I was going to ask her out the week before Christmas\Winter break in 2002. Well, she disappeared. Completely. I didn't see her again until well into 2003 and by then there was so much tension surrounding all of it that I just let it go.

The point of this little pouring of my soul is that it just sparked something in me. My heart was racing as I saw her and for the life of me I don't know why. I'm a complete and total freek. I mean, one second I'm writing down lyrics to a new song, and harsh ones at that, and the next there she is with that cute grin staring right at me. And she's cute too. Not like super-model hottie or anything, but she's cute. She has long brown hair but she's kind of short and extremely poppy. And what's worse is that I always look like a huge fumbling nerd when I see here. There I am reading Computer Music Magazine, listening to my MiniDisc recorder and drinking Ginger Peach tea, and BAM! I'm caught and I've got no where to go.

And now she's going to be on my mind all night. And tomorrow at work. And while I'm working on music or cleaning my room... FUCK!

The real problem with my life is trying to figure out God's plan for me. Because I really hate getting teased with stuff like this.


"WHEN LORD?!!? WHEN DO I GET TO SEE THE DAMNED SAIL BOAT!?!!??"
- Willem (From the movie Mallrats)

She's so malicious and so delicious, superstitious, super suspicious...
- Tricky (#1 da woman)

I'm lagging in the self esteem department today, but I did manage to have a great day at work. It's weird how that works, really. I mean, I hate getting up at 5:30 but those are generally my better days even though I'm F-tired.

I ment to write about this months ago, but I found a really good version of "Because I got High" done by Afroman and The Eels. If you go to the Eels website, there is a collection of videos and it's there at the bottom. Apparently, Afroman is a really good guitar player. I never knew!

It's fall in Ohio, again. Apparently this comes around once a year and don't we all just love it? Yeah, "Blizzard Bill" says there might be snow mixed with rain tomorrow night. Brundage, please kick 'ole Blizzard Bill in the nuts for me, okay?

I hung out with Nicole yesterday after work for some El Zarrape action and also spent an hour at Panera thinking about life in general. Lots of shit on my mind, but nothing you all haven't heard before. I whine a lot...

Five Songs for Today:
Hugh Maseleka - Grazin' in the Grass
Procal Harum - Whiter Shade of Pale
Tommy James & The Shondells - Crimosn and Clover
Tricky - #1 Da Woman
Sex Pistols - My Way

"Regrets... I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention..."
- Sex Pistols
"Why do good girls like bad guys?"
- DMX
"Fire can be our servent, whether it's toasting s'mores or raining down on Charlie..."
- Principal Seymour Skinner (The Simpsons)
"1 Part Peanut Butter, 2 Parts Donkey..."
- Colin (From the blog '100% Pure Beef')

"My sweet Lord... I really wanna see you... I really wanna be with you..."
- George Harrison

What a weekend...

I'm still kind of beat. I had to work at the Grill like nothing ever happened, but that was okay, because I liked being back into my routine. 8:00 AM, dice the veggies, prep the fries, drink my coffee, read the paper, eat my breakfast... You know? There is comfort there.

But this weekend... Wow, wow, wow...

It started, officially, Thursday night. We all went up to get our Tux's at the Franklin Park mall and I got to see a guy wearing a camo-hat and a black tux with no shoes. Classy. there was also a moment of relief as I was sitting in tho food court eating my soft pretzel when, low and behold, Edwards walks up. It was a great moment, because it felt just like the old days.

Friday morning, I got up early and Jeb and I finished the desserts for the Rehersal Dinner. He and I made three cheesecakes (New York, Peanut Butter Cup, and Cherry) plus a carrot cake and these Chocolate Truffles I do on special occasions. After that, Jeb and I met up with Edwards, Larson and E's brother Justin. Jeb and I walked all over looking for Edwards and it turns out he was in Cosmo's... Shame on you Matt... ;)
Anyways, the five of us went over to Skyline and they had lunch. (I personally dislike Skyline, seeing as the two times I did eat there it felt like my ass was on fire.) This is where the first of many great quotes came out:

"I dreamed Brundage cheated on me with Elisha..."
- Larson

After lunch, I went home to clean the kitchen and get dressed for the rehersal. Steve came and got me, and we all hung out at Jeb's waiting for the always-late Joel Larson. After a call to Larson confirmed he had NO idea what time he was supposed to be there, we decided to take off. As we were pulling out of the parking lot, here he comes tooling up the street. Alright, whatever - you know? Anyways, Jeb, Steve, Jamie and I get to the church five minutes late which is no big deal. Larson, Harr, and Edwards all showed up 45 minutes late. Jeb was pissed which got me pissed. I kinda snapped at Larson because when I asked him who's fault it was, he just started trying to explain and wouldn't give me a name.

Moving on, we got the rehersal done and went and had dinner at the Clyde Eagles. Yeah, I know... Anyways, we had Prime Rib and it was F-amazing. Plus we got free drinks! White russians made with Stoli baby! Plus I got Steve to lean over to Edwards and throw out the second great quote of the weekend:

"Uh, hey... Do you know where they keep the teabags around here?"
- Steve

Edwards' whole table cracked up at that one, and if you know why that's funny, good for you. If you don't, it's best that you let it be.
After dinner we had to set up the reception hall. There was a funny moment where Harr and I (Slackers supreme) were hanging out in the hallway outside the bathroom so no one would see us NOT working when Edwards came right around the corner and just started laughing really loud. Yeah, we got caught...

After the rehersal we all headed up to Trotters for drinks. It was pretty impressive, but a little on the crass side. It was a very "guys" experience. All I know is that I said something towards a waitress which I'm kind of ashamed of, but still, it was a really good quote. And no... I'm not going to repeat it here.
At Trotters though, there was a ground breaking moment for the Booty Kings. For the first time ever, there was a picture taken of all four of the original members at once.
Jeb = Fat Tony
Edwards = Vinnie
Baxter = Sal
Jay = Paulie

Around 1:00 AM, Jeb and I and Adam Cook and his fiance went to the Waffle House for breakfast. I was disappointed that E and everyone didn't make it out, but still - there were some more great quotes, especially from Cook's fiance:

"It's like baby food for people..."
- Jamie (Cook's Fiance on eating Grits)

After WH the four of us hit Meijer and then they dropped me off at home. Mario (our new cat) slept next to me that night and gave me a peaceful sort of feeling I don't normally get.

Saturday was crazy. I got all my shit together, the we headed over to Jebs, and from there we headed to... ugh... Freemont. We got to the church at like 12:03, and the wedding didn't start till 3:30. The "all" of us went over to Rallys and had lunch and got pestered by bees, then we went back and got into our tux's. Amazingly enough, not one fruit basket was delivered to our room, but I did pull off one good quote:

"Uh, they came with the tux..."
Me to Jeb's dad on my wearing converse All-Stars

The rest of the afternoon slipped away through stupid jokes, childish behavior, and an episode of Bibleman. (Yeah, don't ask...)

At 3:10, Jeb and I went upstairs and got into this side room up near the front of the church. We were to wait there until 3:30 when the cerimony started. Jeb and I played some Blackjack and talked about what was about to go down. There was a knock at the door, and that ment it was time. I hugged Jeb tight and we walked out. Baxter and Billy and a few other people were right up near the front and I couldn't help but have a huge grin on my face as I saw them and caught their glances. Jeb and I stood at the steps of the stage\alter as each groomsman and bridesmaid walked up. Finally, the maid-of-honor strolled down and I took her arm and we walked up to our places. Then it hit...

Now, before I go on, I just want to say that I don't understand why everyone was complianing that they were too hot. I was covered in goosebumps. Most of it was tension, but I was frozen in place, and as Kristen walked down the isle my entire body got a shiver. There was this amazing orchestral version of Baba O'Riley (by The Who - TEENAGE WASTELAND!!!) that was playing as all of us took our place, and as Kristen came up it was amazing. It got loud and so powerful, and everyone (of course) stood up for her.

The cerimony was quick, thankfully, and there was only one tense moment where I was supposed to hand the wedding rings to Jeb. See, I had practiced the move at least ten times, but at go-time my hands were so cold and sweaty (Yes, Cold!) that as I tried to pull out the rings the entire inisde pocket of my jacket started to come out. I fumbled for a seconds and got the rings out and into Jebs hand. I must have looked like a complete jackass because I know my eyes bulged out, but also I heard a few laughs for the audience.

Then it was done. Jeb and Kristen were married and as one. Congratulations guys, and may God bless every moment of your life together...

The reception was a little odd, by our own making. The roast went down, and it didn't have nearly the impact we thought it would and there was no bridal-party dance, plus I think the photographer was freeked out by me walking around with a teabag hanging out of the zipper of my pants. Tom and Jim Allen were right there as that happened and the photo-guy came rushing up to get a picture of me but noticed I was being a complete idiot and did a Saab-Fast 180...

The evening wound down with Steve dancing (and I mean DANCING) to When Doves Cry and the "all" of us Air Guitaring and slapping hands to You Shook Me All night... Suddenly, it was all over. The place cleared out and everything was done. I hugged Jeb and Kristen and told then how proud I was of them and to be one of their friends. Then I said goodbye to Jeb's mom and his dad and to Kristen's mom and this is where Jeb's mom gets a quote:

"oooh... May God bless you!"
- Jeb's Mom

I hugged Edwards and told him I was sad to see him go, then I watched Harr get digits, then he and I rode home with Steve. I felt drained, but also sort of empty. Like I had missed something along the way. I went to bed at like 11:30 and was out like a light.

I got up Sunday morning at 8:30 and I didn't feel good. Not like sick, just unhappy. It was kind of gloomy out and I just felt a little worthless... or... I dunno, dispicable. I can't clearly say. I baked a cake for Billy and his Mom (It was a joint B-day gathering for them) then I went with Steve to take back the Tuxs. He and I talked, but I must have been a bit of a downer. It was cold and cloudy out and just... I dunno.

That evening, I sat in the basement and worked on a new song called Last Man Standing. I finished it, mostly, and it has a definite Portishead feel to it. It's eerie.
I did feel much better when I went upstairs and saw all of Billy's family roaming around. They invited me to sit and eat with them and I can't tell you how good it made me feel. Just a big old Italian gathering with Lasagne and meatballs and sausage with losts of tomato sauce and breads and wine. Later last night, I sat in the livingroom with Billy and this gorl named Leslie and Billy's boss Norm. We had more wine (There were like 5 or 6 bottles of different wine sitting out...) and we listened to Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. I went to Bed right after Erin and Jermey (Yeah, you guys don't know them...) showed up and that lead me into this morning.

7:40, I got up and went to the Grill and got started working. Lots of smiles and friendly faces. I was back home, in a sense. It felt good to be back there doing my chores. And this ended my weekend on a fairly upbeat note. That and Linda's quote of the day:

"Eat Shit Wally..."
- Linda, my boss, to a customer at the counter

I've got a lust for life...
- Iggy Pop

The wedding is over.
Edwards is on his way back to San Diego.
I'm still single.

(sigh)

Steve and I just got back from returning all the tuxedos. It's a gloomy sort of day in NW Ohio, which is irritating because when I got up this morning at 8-fuck-thirty it was sunny and breezy. Then the clouds rolled on in and the task at hand was depressing enough... Life sucks sometimes.

Hell, even Harr got the hookup at the wedding. What the Fuh? I mean, he deserves it and all -he's a good guy- but man. I thought there might be one other single guy in this group when it was all said and done, but oh no... I just get to look like freek.

My congratulations go out to Jeb and Kristen. They're married now and it's a step in a new direction for the both of 'em. Just remember Jeb, they only pronounce you two things in life: "Man & Wife" and "Dead on Arrival", and you just got one of 'em out of the way.

"Life has it's way of telling you how to say 'no'..."
- DJ Icey
"This is like Baby Food for people..."
- Jamie (Adam Cook's girlfriend on eating Grits)
"Aww, this guy is about to get 'Dixie Chicked'!"
- Lewis Black
"So, Jeb's not a virgin any more...."
- Steve (On the way back returning the Tux's)
"(Sigh)"
- My response

For optimal reading experience, please play "Keep Hope Alive" by the Crystal Method...

Well, this is it. Go time. 3:30 starts what will be an epic weekend of living fast, hard and dirty... Yup, Jeb is getting married.

This afternoon is the rehersal, tonight is our night on the town (Including Trotters and some Waffle House action), and tomorrow is the Big Hit.

But, it's like my Dad always used to said about these kind of situations: Boys, yer all going in, but only 'some' of you are coming back...


"As I say this to you tonight, let us not forget... THERE IS HOPE!!!"
- The Crystal Method

I'm what Willis was talkin' 'bout!

Well, another day is done and filed away.

This is it, though. The last two days, that is. I finished my cheesecakes for the Rehersal Dinner, got my Tux, worked a full day at the Grill and even had a soft pretzel in there somewhere.

Tonight Jeb and I had one of our many walks in the dark, chatting about life and smoking Parliment Lights. I told him how weird this whole thing is. I mean, when Baxter said he was getting married, I thought it was Forever-and-a-year away, but then there I was standing at the alter watching he and Katie kiss. Then Jeb said he was going to marry Kristen and I thought that it would be a long time till I saw that happen, and now here it is.

Tonight it's chilly in BG, and I'm sitting around listening to Daft Punk on vinyl ("Something about us") and enjoying a nice Vintage Port ('94). It's the kind of night where it all starts to make sense, but only for a few minutes - then it's gone. Like, Jeb in my back yard telling me that when I find someone, it's going to be an amazing moment I'd never have seen coming. And, I know he's right and for a few moments I was filled with this extremely powerful sense of Logical Hope, where I saw my own future looking bright... Now, only a few minutes later, I'm back to where I started with this bitter taste in my mouth from knowing my own past and having the desire to not repeat any of it.

This Port has a peppery flavor. Nothing quite like a vintage... Edwards just called and wanted for me to go out with him and Brundage (EL BRUNDAGE!!!) but I'm too drained. Plus there is more work for tomorrow, plus tomorrow night is going to knock me around - not to mention Saturday itself.

Prepare yourselves for the Official Booty King Roast of Jeb Genson... (I think I'm going to make an audio CD out of it and stream it off of my forthcoming website...)

There's a Bad Moon on the rise...

As I'm waiting for the over to heat up to make my next Cheesecake, I figured I'd do a quick post...

First off, as I sat at the Grill today with my trademark "Coffee and a 'Hooters' hat", I picked up the newspaper and thought to myself: You win some, and you lose some...
This came to me as I looked at the front page of said Paper and read the two biggest headlines: (A)Concealed Weapon Ban Not Unconstitutional and (B)Do-Not-Call Registery found Illegal... I'm happy that Ohio has the good sense not to let crazy Bling Blingin' nut jobs carry guns. Especially when you know one of 'em on a semi-personal level and it's obvious that they have a slight "anger" issue. The Do-Not-Call thing is a bit irritating, but I can live with it. If they call, you say no. That's not nearly as bad as, say, some crazy fucker coming into the coffeehouse you might have worked at and pulling out a 9mm pistol. (Long story, but YES it did happen...) So I can cope.

Next up, this whole Separation of Church and State issue is on my mind a little. Okay, I'm going to say it and I know I'm going to take some grief but hey... I think it's right to keep 'em separate. Fair and balanced, to quote a phrase. But this whole "10 Commandments" issue is just ridiculous. It's just a momument people. Let it be. There is a huge difference between seeing a stone tablet as you walk into a courthouse to plead 'no contest' to charges of blowing an undercover cop for crackrock, and to actually having a judge tell you The Lord wants him to give you 30 years for said offense. I mean, what was the worst that might have happened there? You might SEE the monument as you walked by it? Big deal. If you don't like it, just ignore it. It really is that simple. But then again, we're talking about a group of people who can't donate time to charities and such because they're too busy getting signatures for a petition to remove a "religious" stone monument.

Sniff Sniff... Smell that? That was sarcasm...

And, I feel compelled to drop some commentary on a post written at pragmaticdreamer.blogspot.com... Basically, I believe in long distance relationship. I think they can work wonderfully. I used to date this girl from Cincinatti and our three hour distance was amazingly good for us. Every night we talked on IM, once a week we would actually call one and other, and every three weeks I would go down and see her. It wasn't untill she moved up here to BG that things fell apart for us. Odd, huh? Hey, you eat too much sugar, you're bound to get sick. Like this one time I ate a whole bag of Skittles and...

Alright, enough of that...

One day left for Jeb and Kristen, you know. Edwards will be in town shortly, too. This weekend is going to be epic.
In the mean time... I need to make a cheesecake, take a nap, and go get my tux for the wedding. Apparently, as Best Man you need to take this wedding shit kind of seriously...

"...that's what you call 'faith'..."
- From Pragmatic Dreamer

"Lady, yer gonna hafta shut da fuck up, okay? There's no "if, ands, ors, or buts" about this, okay? Try to keep it down. I mean it. I have no fuckin' time... And I'm serious about this... and, and I... I hate to do this, I hate to fuckin' interupt the flow... but, people are actually... and, and... I, I... thee-thee-these things... THEY CAN HEAR YOU! This is a microphone! It picks shit up!! JUST TALK LOWER!!!"
- Lewis Black (Outake from The White Ablum )

It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that "swing"...

I'm, uh... I'm having a situation here... You see, well, wait... For those of you who read this little slice-of-life web journal here, you know my life is saturated with "drama". Earlier this summer, there was a storm like no other I've ever seen. Very destructive for an Ohio afternoon. (If you flip back, it's the very first post in this Blog.) It was a crazy afternoon, back there in July, and when it was all over, there was a trench dug into my sidewalk by downed power lines.

That stood as a reminder to me. Many people remember wars and horrors that left them scared for life. I have July of 2003. And more specificly, I have the sidewalk out in front of my house, still fused with shiney pink reflective glass from when the power lines super-heated the concrete...

Or should I say "had"? As I walked up the street coming home from work, I noticed cones every where outside my house. Apparently, the City has come to fix the sidewalk. I don't know why, but this bothers me. I wanted that crack to be left there. I made a point to look at it every day when I left the house, kind of to remind myself how lucky I am to be alive.

But, alas, it's gone. Just a big empty plot of dirt between the two ends of the sidewalk. I feel kind of cold right now...

***

You know, I've often stated that the only problem with reality is that there is no background music. Like in a movie when the hero comes out and there is a fanfare, or when the villan comes out and you hear something by The Breakup? You know?

Today, I set my entire day to music. A soundtrack of sorts, and it all started with a little Iggy... I got up for work at 5:30. That in itself sucks, I mean... I didn't even know there WAS a 5:30 until I started at the Grill. Nonetheless, I headed out the door with my headphones on rocking out with a little "Lust for Life" action. After I got to the grill, I had my first cup of coffee, and got started working. "My girl" by the Temptations was on, and although I have no woman to relate that song to, it's still very uplifting. But, uplifting doesn't get me throuhg my work-day, there enters CCR and a little "Bad Moon Rising". I also heard some Badfinger, Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickette, and Edison Lighthouse. And lemmie tell you what, I'm really getting into Badfinger. "No matter what you are" is quickly becoming one of my new favorites.
During lunch I heard "Shambala" by 3 Dog Night. I love that song, as it was used in the movie Gotti when Johnny Boy and Angelo went to that Irish pub to whack McBrattney. Yeah, I'm a big movie nerd - I know...

At 2:00, I left work and the headphones went back on. My walk home was set to "War without Duty" by Tomoyasu Hotei. (It's the song they've been playing in the Kill Bill previews!) That song is amazing, Hands down - no questions asked.

I had to get my hair cut today for the Wedding. I got my hair cut kind like Oaknefold, and I figured I'd be listening to "Ready, Steady, GO!" on my way home, but no... I just qued up "Hello Operator" by the White Stripes and was too impressed with the feeling I got to change it. Dirty 70's Cop Show\Porno music... That, and half way home I played "When's the last time?" by Clips and Pharell.

At home, I had to get started on the cheesecakes...
Melissa Joan Hart doing Blondie's "One Way or Another"
Pinewood Derby's "Legacy"
X-ecutioners "It's going Down"
Dance Hall Crashers "He wants me back"
and, "A day in the life of..." by the Homless Wonders...

It's been a long day. I'm tried as all git-out, but I'm plugging along. I could really go for some Sausage and Peppers with Penne, but I know my stomach would be turning later on. So that was the day, minus some good Im'ing with Edwards. In the meantime, I found this cool blog yesterday. Check it out...

Pragmaticdreamer.blogspot.com

"Theme music... Every good hero should have some..."
Bernie Casey in I'm gonna git you sucka

Countdown to armegedon...
- An IM to me from Edwards

You know, it's close now. This wedding business is basically going to consume the whole week for me and I'm not even the one getting married! It's thrilling though, I will admit. I used to hate weddings after going to them and knowing I'll never get married, but now? Going to weddings and being in Baxter's wedding and now being Jeb's Best Man? Yeah, now I REALLY hate 'em.

I'm just kidding.

This week I plan on working every day except Friday. Tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday I have to help Jeb with desserts for the Rehersal Dinner, plus on Thursday we need to go get our Tux's. Friday will be an epic day of sorts... Edwards will be back in town and we will need to take Jeb out for one last drink as a free man. (Hey, we did it for Baxter too...) Last night, Edwards made a prediction that we would be detained by the Canadian Border Patrol on Saturday morning. I'd really like to temp fate on that issue. Jeb said he would kick our asses though, and that we'd have to cough up money for screwing up the picture-taking thingy.

It's all a little draining though, and that is why I may seem a little unimpressed. That and the fact that no one has responded to my job posting (9.15.2003) for a Date to Jeb's Wedding...


On the other end of it all, Jeb and I worked on some more music tonight. Amazing... I had been working on a few new loops in Reason and when I played the first one, Jeb immediatly had an idea for it and threw down to great guitar riffs and a bass line, while I worked in a neat scratch of Method Man & Redman... I'm also itching to work in a few Lewis Black samples. I do have his "White Album" on vinyl so I'd really like to scratch with it a little.

Unfortunatly, because Acid 4.0 Pro is programmed by chimps, our recording efforts got screwed up near the end. We had layed down like 5 perfect tracks, layer them and worked on the levels, when, outta the blue, the tracks we were trying to record were drifting out of time. Like by 2 seconds. And you, much like us, might think to just move them up two seconds but noooooo... It's a gradual shift so at like 20 seconds it was a half-second off, then by 50 seconds it was 1 seonds off, then by 1:10 it was 2 seconds off... It's amazing how easily you CAN notice problems like that. (sigh)

Nonetheless, it was a worthwhile effort that rendered some really good results. The first song we worked on, a Trip-Hop sort of thing with a Velvet Underground sort of guitar groove, sounds so good. I don't want to be vain or smug, but Jeb and I have something good going. Even my mom likes a lot of it...

On a final note, I found out yesterday that there is a movie about the life of Bobby Darin (More, Chubby Clementine, Mack the Knife) being made and -dramatic pause- Kevin Spacey is going to be starring in the lead as Darin and will be directing the film.

I am impressed.

"Memories are made of this..."
- Dean Martin

Okay, apparently I do care how my mixing sounds because I went and really worked my ass off this afternoon till I got it right.

As a DJ, and not a very good one yet, I'm still building an arsenal of records which I plan to fight my wars with. (Man, that just sounded way too cheesy... Like, Roquefort cheesy...)

Bascially, I've been collecting records every time I go to Ann Arbor so as to have something I can eventually turn into a DJ Set. I don't have a genre of music nailed down, nor do I intend to find one. I like the fact that, as this list will show, I am finding ways to mix Drum-n-Bass, Emo Rock and all forms of Electronica and Scratch together. Supposedly that's a No-No in the DJ world, but hey... It's my first day...

Fatboy Slim - Right Here, Right Now
POD - Boom (Crystal Method Remix)
Timo Mass - To Get Down
Rolling Stones vs Lost Vegas - Sympathy for the Devil
Mix Master Mike - Suprize Package
Breakbeat Era - Breakbeat Era
JL - Vision Devine
Dieselboy - The Decent
Filter - Beat Jam
Prodigy - Baby's got a temper
Crystal Method - Busy Child (Remix)
Stisch - Beat Shop
Daft Punk - One More Time (Remix)
Jimmy Eat World - Lucky Denver Mint
Paul Oakenfold vs DJ Judas - The Prophet

As you can tell, there are a lot of obvious hits (Like Prodigy and Daft Punk) and the mix has a slight spiritual twist. (The Prophet, Vision Devine, and Sympathy to name a few...)
This is what it is... Can you dig it?

So, Jeb... Do you want to tell them what happened Saturday night or can I do it?


You know, this morning I went to Panera to have breakfast (Coffee and a Cinnamon roll - What? You think I'm going to Cosmo's for left-over rolls from Thursday or Friday?) and had a little while to sit and think.

It's odd to think that one week from now, Jeb and Kristen will be married. It's odd to think that there is no more Cosmic Rule. It's odd to "think" sometimes.
I started off reading Computer Music Magazine and as usual fell victim to the unbearable gear-lust. (Yeah, I really want a trio of Shure sm58 mics -the ones Bono has always used to record any and every U2 album ever- and a lot of new software. Yeah, even if it doesn't work!) As time rolled by and three cups of coffee later, I put my mind into spiritual mode.

I find myself, more than often, praying for my own spiritual inadequacies and not enough for the people around me. (Like my mom or Jeb and Kristen...) Growing up Lutheran, I've never doubted God being around me or with me, but it's funny that now -at 28- I'm just learning how to talk to God.

So I sat at Panera reading my Bible and getting odd looks. Apparently it's not proper to sit in a public place and read a bible. There is nothing more frustrating that sitting across from a transvestite who thinks I'M the asshole for being a christian.

So I went over to Mad Hatter to browse the Vinyl. I found a 45 of The Bells doing "Stay Awhile" and a good version of "Instanbul" done by The Four Lads. (Yes kids, TMBG didn't actually write that, but did do a KICK-ASS-ED cover of it -refer to Journal Entry THU Sep 18...)

Saturday, though, my Brother and I took my mom out for lunch for her Birthday. It was then that she hit me a very crushing "quote-of-the-day".

"So, do you have "any" single friends left?" - Jay's Mom

No... And thanks for bringing that up...

After lunch, my mom and I went into Perrysburg to get Jeb and Kristen a wedding gift. Shopping is hard work for me, so I just went over to Pier 1, where Jeb works, and made him help me find his own wedding presents. Yeah, I got no time for dis kinda shit, you know?

Then I came home and started mixing. I didn't care how it sounded I just started mashing things together. Fatboy Slim into POD into Timo Mass into the Rolling Stones... Then Mix Master Mike into Prodigy into the Crystal Method. Then I pushed DJ Shadow into Jimmy Eat World into Paul Oakenfold... It all came out sounding pretty good, so it's kind of a downer that I didn't record any of it.

Then there was last night... Which melted into this morning, being coffee and a roll at Panera. Buying Vinyl at Mad Hatter... Typing in this journal...

"Behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you..." Genesis 28:15

Jeb? Alright... Look, if you don't stop talking like a pirate, I'm gonna bust you in your ass all the way to Detroit and then back. And you know how much we all hate Detroit.

And contrary to populare belief, JEB, I am one funny motherfucker.

Oh, yeah... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!

At work today, I was listening to the radio and started thinking about covering songs through the Saint vs Sinner project.

The thing about covering music is that there are rules. Most of them just commen sense stuff, but nonetheless, in a very High Fidelity way, I shall explain...

You can't cover a song that's been done a million times over. It's just not cool. It's boreing and shows just how much you don't pay attention to all the other stuff out there. You can, however, do a cover of a song thats already been covered if the first cover was really bad. Case in point: a cheesy white pop-rapper type named Dino (Anyone remember THAT name?) did a cover of "Ooh Child" by the Five Stairsteps back in '94. Being Cheesy, White, and a pop-rapper, it sucked - there enter The Poises. The Posies did an AMAZING cover of the song on the "Definite Door" ep. Not only was it a true-to-the-game cover, they were able to throw in a small portion of "Tighter & Tighter" by Alive & Kicking too. Then they go and do a cover of "I am the Cosmos" by Big Star which was so amazing that when Big Star got back together to play live at Missouri U in '93, they took Jon Auer and Ken Stingfellow with and recorded Columbia... Yeah. Amazing.
There are many rules along these same nit-picking lines, but I'll leave them for another post. As we move on though, I'd like to tell you which songs I'd like to cover.

"Mousetrap" by Some Velvet Sidewalk - Old school punk, and none of that touchy-queery-cutesy-Blink type punk. I'd like to do it in a Drum-N-Bass style, with lots of distortion on the vox.
"Venus" by Low - Jeb suggested this one and I'm into. Very "chill".
"In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry - This would just be for fun, but tweek it with some good drumming samples and some loops.
"More" by Bobby Darin - This is a classic song from back int he days when pop music relied on a orchestra, a drummer with a set, and a vocalist. This is a fantasy piece but would be so cool to sing on.
"I'll be there" by the Spinners - Just cool, 70's funk with that sly message. I'm into it, although I'm very white. No way I could pull it off. Hell, 3/4 time is hard enough... I just wind up making a mess of the song.
"Vehicle" by The Ides of March - Only if I could get a marching band to play with Jeb on Bass, someone rocking out the guitars and me doing the vox.
"You're the one" by the Vogues - Just a cool old song no one has ever tried. I'd like to do it the way Flea and Jimmy Scott did that cheesy "Love will keep us together" by Captian & Teneels. In other words, smooth it out and make it sinneRSexy...
"Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash - This one I would only do live at, like, a tribute show or something and ONLY if I had a mariachi band with me on stage.
"Who's that Lady?" by the Isely Brothers - No way I could ever do it any justice. Those vocals and that arpeggio part are just amazing.
"East Bound and Down" by Jerry Reed - Yeah, I don't know what to say either, but it's a song about bootlegging Coors beer. Me in a black suit with cowboy boots, cowboy hat, a gold star badge, big mustache and reflective sunglasses? Yeah, it's more of a performance piece...
"Lust for Life" by Iggy Pop - Been there, done that.
"Heros" by David Bowie - Perhaprs the most important song to me ever, I need to reclaim this song's beauty and power since The Wallflowers ruined it for a lot of people. Mainly, me.
"Baby I got Your Money" by ODB - Oh, come on! Me doing a ODB cover would be awesome. Change the lyrics up a bit? You know: "HEY! JOHNNY! BABY I GOT YO MONEY!!!"

See, doing covers is an art that peeople should really take a little more seriously. I mean, this isn't rocket science. How many Stones\Beatles\Zepplin covers must I be subjected too? That stuff mostly sucked to begin with, and your hack version of "Stairway" or "Obladi" isn't going to make me like it any more. And don't give me any static here: Jon Bon Jovi did a cover of "Helter Skelter" and that should be a lesson in itself. Shame on you Jon, you shoulda known better. Now I gotta cut ya...

Fucking upper-management... Check out this memo from "The Suits"...

---

Memo
Attn: Wedding Party
From: Jeb
Re: Limo transportation


This memo is in response to a current job listing that was posted on 9.15.2003.
Due to a limited amount of space in the limo, seating will be reserved for the wedding party only (this does not include ushers).

Dates will not be permitted in the limo as due to lack of space. Only if a member of the wedding party chooses to find an alternate means of transportation to the reception will a seat be made available. The newly available seat will then be available on a first come first serve basis with priority for the ushers.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

---

Just another example of Big-Business trying to screw the little guy.

Yay for Sun Microsystems!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030916/ap_on_hi_te/sun_java_systems

Now get off your asses and make me a non-windows (and certianly NON-mac) DAW so I can kick Bill Gates in the nuts and not have to apologize for it.


Qoute of the Week:
"I digress..."
- Matt Edwards

Job Posting 000010: Date for Jay to Jeb's Wedding

Position Type: Contract with option for Full Time Employee.
Company Name: Jay\Saint vs Sinner
Location: Bowling Green, Ohio
Salary: Negotiable
Date Posted: September 15'th, 2003
Experience: 2 to 3 years in Related Field

Job Description
As Bowling Green's most cynical and underrated male entity, Jay\Saint vs Sinner offeres talented and career minded women the professional and lifestyle advantages not offered anywhere else.

Date for Jay to Jeb's Wedding
Contract with option for Full Time Hire

In this challenging position, the candidate will be responsible for accompanying Jay to Jeb's wedding as his "Date" on Spetember 27'th, 2003. Specific duties include Witty Banter, Dressing nicely, accomidating attitude towards Jay and the occasional smile in his "general" direction.

The sucsessful candidate will have 2 to 3 years experience and posess the following qualities:
(1) Female, age 21 to 30
(2) Not psycho
(3) Willing to openly admit to being Jay's "date"

Jay\Saint vs Sinner features a generous\outstanding benefits package including Transportation in a Limo, Free Dinner, Gentlemently Charm and the opportunity to meet Edwards.

Interested candidated should send a brief resume to Jay\Saint vs Sinner at Email: johnnytao_2000@hotmail.com no later than September 24'th, 2003, referencing JobCode: "Date for Jay to Jeb's Wedding". All qualified candidates will be interviewed following screening and background check.

Jay\Saint vs Sinner
Caring about your Future...

My head hurts.
My back hurts.
My throat feels like I gargled with Comet Cleanser.

Yup, nothing says "Bachelor Party" like the morning-after ailings...

You know, I just got done watching Dateline and, this is good, they did an Expose about Las Vegas being sleezy. Literally, the guy doing the report was shocked and appauled that Las Vegas, know affectionatly to the Booty Kings as the City of Sin, was not a family destination. HAHAHAHAHA.... HAHAHAHAHA, TEE HEE HEE HEE!!!

No, wait, I'm not finished: HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! WEEE MAMA!!!!

Hang on: YA, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA... hahaha... hehehe... oh, boy, that's good...

Please note that my sarcasm might have been a little over the top just now. Sorry 'bout that. It's just that when you let Re-Re's waste my valuable time with redundant stories about how Vegas is not suitable for children, well, you know... I get a little irrate.

So, I'm sure you all want to know about last night. Let's just say, that what happened in Ann Arbor was good clean wholesome fun. It was the drinking at Trotters at 1:40 in the morning when we got back to BG that did us all in. Well, that and a very memorable appearance by EL BRUNDAGE...

Basically, what happened in BG... uh, well... Stay's in BG. Especially once we all head west. (shiver)

I slept till 10:49 today and it felt great. I'm usually up at 5:30 or 7:30 and being able to sleep-in felt good. I still contend that my best night sleep ever was in SD when I went to see Edwards. I was so at peace for some reason. Funnier, still, was that BigE lived relatively close to the SD airport and I was still sleeping like a rock with the planes flying right over. I would crash out at like 10:30 or 11:00 and be up at 8:00 all refreshed and full of "zeal". I guess being 5 minutes from Ocean Beach and having Christy's Donuts right down the block from your apartment must be somewhat soothing.

On the other hand, I found a good way to fuck with your head is to sit around reading "The Screwtape Letters" by CS Lewis while listening to Angel by Massive Attack. That book is wicked, lemmie tell you what. It can really make you realize how self-involved a person can be with their prayers and views on religion. Me, specifically...

On a slightly lighter note, I really want this shirt. Someone buy it for me. Please?
http://www.sonicshack.com/itemdetail.cfm?id=432&cID=9

Tonight is Jeb's Bachelor Party, so I'll leave you with a simple quote to reflect upon:
"And would you cry, if I told you that I lied? And would you say goodbye, or would you let it ride?"
- Bachman Turner Overdrive

Love... is a burning thing... And it makes... a firey ring...
- Johnny Cash (1932-2003)

Well, the Man in Black has left us. And, you know, that's alright with me. I loved his music, but I hated seeing him in so much pain. His last album is amazing, but at the same time so sad. As of lately, I've listened to it a lot. Nothing satisfies the notion of disappointment in ones life like listening to Johnny Cash covering the Nine Inch Nails. Of course, I still think one of his best songs ever was "The Wanderer" which he did with U2 for their Zooropa album. Then again, that album had Brian Eno and Flood smeared all over it. Timeless... So, anyways... Goodbye Johnny Cash, not everyone may like you -and that's okay- but not everyone has spent an evening at the Waffle House (3:00AM or so...) fresh off of a terrible breakup listening to "Ring of Fire" on a classic jukebox with good friends close by. If I ever make a soundtrack for my life, you'll be on it.

I guess, this is all part of the big cosmic plan. Call it what you will, we will all face it in the end. Destiny, Fate, God's Will... People gotta move on, you know? I just hope I get to see you somewhere down the line in a much better place Mr Cash.

So, on a lighter topic. Tomorrow is Jeb's Bachelor party. I'm thinking there is going to be an Audio Record of events that will probably end up going into the grave with me. Great, that makes 2 CD's that I get to be buried with and neither has any David Bowie on them. Sheesh!

And, as a matter of Public Record, Jeb shot off three Quote of the Day's in a row! Check it...

"She's gonna be on you like 'white' on rice..."
- Jeb, refering to Nicole at the Wedding & Reception
"I guess she'll be wearing 'hooker-red' lipstick..."
- Jeb, on Kristen's makeup for the wedding
"This is the ultimate 'Dude-we-need-to-get-back-together' song..."
- Jeb on the song "Return to me" by Dean Martin

Ah yes, September 11'th is upon us once again and for a third-straight year, Birthdays across America get ruined...

You know, this stuff is out of hand.
America the great takes a devistating hit and now he have to strike back in the name of all that is good: Mom, Apple Pie, George Bush and Propellerhead Reason (Version 2.0)!!!

I remember being at Cosmo's on September 11, 2001. I had to open... I was, for one reason or another, not listening to NPR like I always did. I vaugley remember George turning it off so he could listen to the sickeningly over-played Beatles. Edwards was in for a while. Suddenly people just kept saying weird things about New York being under attack. As events unfolded, I kept thinking to myself: "My old man must be spinning like a Turbine in his grave..." (As a former Marine, he made constant complaints during the first half of the 80's about the Middle East and how we were going to have a lot of trouble with them over the next 50 or so years. HE also mentioned WWIII a lot. He was a Marine, what can I say?)
As the day progressed, things got worse. Thousands dead, huh? Oooh, that's gotta suck. Buildings gone? That's not right. Blind Patriotism run amok? Uh oh...
That night, I was in my back yard with Jeb, Jesse and I think Baxter. We sat and smoked cigars and talked about how eerie it was for there to be NO air traffic overhead whatsoever. Pure quiet.
As time has moved on, things have gotten out of hand. Billions spent on a war with who? Norht Korea is threatening us on a near-daily basis with a confimation of Nuclear Weapons and we're kinda-sorta-maybe-close to finding "Some" WMD in Iraq. Beautiful.

I no longer believe in peace among nations.
It's like Tommy Lee Jones said in the first "Men in Black" movie. A person is smart, people are stupid, panic-y animals. The way I now see it, there are two types of people in this world. Crazy, and Not Crazy. Case in Point: A guy stabbed himself and died at a WTO protest yesterday. Fuckin' Crazy... In this corner, we have the crazy zealot christian Right who go on and on about wiping out the Middle East, the tree hugging Left who think we brought this entierly upon ourselves, and in the middle the levelheaded people who recognize that we ourselves made mistakes and now they're coming back to bite us in the ass.
And over there? Somewhere in the middle east? The same thing... Musilums who know that their religion preaches peace and love, and those who seem to be getting messages from Up Above to kill for the Higher Power. Hey, here's a little bit of useful insight for everyone... God doesn't want us to kill for him. I distinctly remember reading that Jesus clarified all of this "killing stuff" back in the good ole days, just before Elvis recorded "Amazing Grace". I dunno, I guess we just need to have one great big world-wide Saturday School\Detention where we all have to write: "THOU SHALT NOT FUCKING KILL" on a blackboard over and over and over. I just hope I don't have to sit near Bush or Sadaam. The troublemakers always managed to take me down with them.

Extremists exist everywhere. You can't hide from them, and you most certianly can't get rid of them. Hell, we put a Pro-Lifer to sleep last week and he was swearing up and down that God was going to set him up in a Condo with Central Air overlooking the great Chasim for doing the good deed of blowing away two people, one of whom performed abortions.
What truey amazes me is how people just don't see how wrong this type of retribution is. Here's how it really works folks: If God has a problem with people doing wrong, HE takes care of it. Not you. IT's like Dennis Miller said: GOD is Andy Taylor, YOU are Barney Fife. Keep your bullet in your shirt pocket.

This doesn't mean I feel we're wrong in all that we do against our agressors. But the sad truth is that in two years, we have failed to move one step forward in securing our land and protecting our people. Seriously! Where is Bin Laden? We sure as fuck ain't got 'im. Where is Sadaam? Ooops! Ya just missed him, why don't you come back a little later on... The war on Terror is good, the failure to produce even the slightest results is what is so terribly heartbreaking.

So what do we do? We sic our lawyers on 'em... Yes, that's right, we Americans are doing what we do best: We're sueing Al Qaeda, Islamic Jihad, Osama Bin Laden and a few others in the middle east and abroad because "they were able to forsee this eminent attack". Brilliant. I'm sure if they show up for court they'll probably get Johnny Cochran and of course we'll allow it because that's just the way it works now a days.
http://biz.yahoo.com/law/030911/8a7e4b0f0992f914da893a98bda5d891_1.html

If I sound a little bitter, you might just brush me off as another un-patriotic bastard who refuses to stand up for whats right. And maybe you're correct... But then again, if this was my gig and I was running the show, results would be produced. Oh yeah, you like Reality TV, huh? Well, tonights special guests are A Car Battery, Osama's Nut Sac, and Christopher Walken with a pair of Jumper Cables. Highest ratings ever. I promise...

Top 10 Things We Would Like To See Happen At Jebs Wedding!

10 - A LOPES standing in the corner of the sanctuary with his back to everyone.
9 - Drew doing the "Truffle Shuffle" during the vows.
8 - Jay or Edwards showing up to the Ceremony loaded.
8 - Jay or Edwards showing up to the Ceremony hungover, unshaved, and in very rumpled tuxedos which reek of cigars and expensive whiskey.
7 - GEE LOPES riding into the sanctuary on a horse.
6 - Donkeyboy crashing the wedding and yelling "MY BRETHREN! THIS DAY YOU HAVE BEEN JUDGED!!!" (In Donkey costume, obviously...)
5 - Wes groping bridesmaids.
4 - Jay showing up to the wedding with a "Fu Man Choo" and a "Mullet".
3 - Marshall asking Kristen how Edwards is doing as she walks down the Isle.
2 - Gullifson smashing a guitar at the "Alter".
1 - Jay taking a hit of Viagra and three shots of Cutty just 45 minutes before the wedding.

"Venus... I can hardley see us..."
- Low

You know, every day at the Grill, I eventually find myself sifting through the newspaper over my 4'th or 5'th cup of coffee. Essentially, I've found myself becoming much more informed about current events that I used to be. I used to hit Headline News and FoxNews Live when I had Digital Cable, but that was all for shit when it comes right down to it. Anyways, today was no different for my routine. I sat down, had my coffee close by, and started absorbing that which passes for news. Today, I laughed a lot for the two stories that really stood out. First, a guy shipped himself in a crate to Texas. Now, that in itself is funny. Who the hell would want to be in Texas anyways, let alone ship themselves in a box? What made me laugh was that the Delivery Guy opened the crate because "there was a pair of eyes just staring at me!". The guy IN the box just stood up, thanked the delivery man and gave him a small tip apparently. Now, that's funny.
Second, the RIAA sued a 12 year old yesterday. Nice. I mean, why not? Instead of finding the shady people pirating music and movies for re-sale, they go and sue a 12 year old. The kid, although an honors student, is hardly old enough to know what this all mean let alone have the ridiculous sum of money the RIAA wants. Fuck the RIAA. For those of you who are as fed up with those pricks as I am, try this solution... I use a program called PeerGaurdian which, essentially does for P2P downloading what a Firewall does for overall PC existence. Specifically, it blocks the RIAA probes which have been scanning peoples PC's over networks like Kazaa or I-Mesh.

http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/story/0,24330,3511270,00.html

This whole thing just pisses me off more and more. I went to see Freddy vs Jason with Jeb and Steve a few weeks back and there was this 4 minute preach-fest on pirating movies. It was just this guy, who claimed to be a set painter but was probably a paid actor, whining about how he and the rest of the crew don't make big bucks and how pirating is putting him out of a job. Well, here's my question to you Mr Painter Guy. How come your asking me NOT to pirate, but you're NOT asking someone like Keannu Reeves or Reese Witherfork to take lower salaries so you won't lose your jobs? I mean, here are two of MANY famous people who make more than 5 million dollars in a years time. Why don't you ask THEM to take a step back for you? No, you couldn't do THAT, could you? If every movie star who made more than 5 million in a year shaved off just 1 million, you'ed have quite a pretty penny to spread around. But that will never happen, because you can fuck with me, a simple consumer, but you would'nt DARE confront the movie star in his private trailer with his champange and fresh fruit, would you? He's in there living the good life for standing in front of the camera while you're living day-to-day for standing behind it. It MUST be the pirates fault though, huh? Oh, absolutely... Whining little maggots...

Yes, I'm in a bit of a raw mood today.
Things, as always, seem to be getting under my skin. Combine that with the more-than-normal amount of disappointments in my life and you've got a winning combo.

On the other hand, Jeb and I walked around last night and I managed to get a lot of stuff off my chest. After a good long walk and a lot of P-funks, Jeb and I wound up in the back yard finalizing the evening's discussion when he suggested we do a cover of "Venus" by Low. I'm really into that. Really.

Aside from that, there are 17 days left for Jeb and Kristen. For me though, I'll still be waiting for the miracle.

"Hey Mr DJ, keep playing those records all night long..."
- Sam Cooke
"Fuckin' crybabies..."
- Me, after listening to a Pro-Union commercial complaining about Wal-Mart

...And we've got all the time in the world for love...
- FLC\Louis Armstrong

You know, Jeb, you're right. I am a wreck. This has been, without a doubt, the weirdest summer of my life. Rules and boundries suddenly seem so vauge! Trisha just had a kid and I would NEVER have thought it would go that far, Baxter and Katie are married, and now... well, it's your turn. And me as best man? Classic mind fuck, honestly. I've never had friends close enough, long enought o be included in a marriage. People move on and out and sometimes that doesn't sit well with me. Needless to say, between you and Baxter, I am honored to have these chances.

Classic Grill Moment:
"Why'd you stop singing?"
Linda, to me after I stopped singing "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis when she crept up behind me.

And, coming soon: The Top 10 Things We'ed Like To See Happen At Jeb's Wedding!

"You can't help who you fall in love with..."
- Ellen (Billy's friend)

Well, Happy birthday to Jeb and, with great amusement, welcome back to the web-journal universe. I have currently lost your webjournal address, but I'll link you as soon as you send it back. I thought it was sewitseams.blogspot.com, but I was wrong...

And, with much anticipation, Trisha had her baby this morning at 9:00AM. "Wow" to that, although now we don't get to see Harr deliver the child when\if Trisha could have gone into labor at Jeb's wedding in a few weeks. I would have settled for Harr KICKING open the door to the surgery room this morning and yelling: "ALRIGHT, EVERYBODY GIT THE FUCK OUTTA MY WAY!!!" and doing the Lord's work.

And, well, here it is, just a little more than two weeks for Jeb... Married... All I know is that the night before the wedding is going to be epic. There will be no further details until the day after when we're all out on bail.

So let's recap....
Jeb's brithday.
Jeb's new webjournal.
Trisha has the kid.
Harr shoulda delivered it.
Pre-wedding antics will be epic.

Edwards - This link is just for you. Jeb, close your eyes...
http://www.video-c.co.uk/frontend/asp/microshow.asp?vidref=benn001&FileType=ADSLprog

OH! And here is a link to the video for "Peppyrock" by the band BTK... If you ever want me to talk to you ever again, forever, you must watch this. (I'll bet that Kristy will get a kick out fo the video...)

http://www.muchmusic.com/music/videofact/index.asp?vfAssetID=2717

"He's speaking in tounges Lois, our son is POSESSED!!! Meg! Start reading at Psalm41 and don't stop till I tell ya!"
From The Family Guy

Well, my congratulations goes out to Jan Bell for winning the "Best in Show" award for the Black Swamp Arts Festival. I saw him last night at the Tom Tom Club show and it was like he was walking on air. Hell, if I won a grand for my hobby, I'd be happy too... I have one of the pictures he took in my living room. He really is a gifted photographer. Funny story though, he had his pictures hanging at Cosmo's a while back and I waited for them to come down so I could buy from Jan directly and not pay a commision to George and Cosmos. True story.

I worked on a set of loops yesterday, which have now evolved into what I would like to be a cover of "Mousetrap" by Some Velvet Sidewalk. Jeb, I need you on Bass for this! I figure I'll do the vox and run it through some crispy-fried distortion and maybe add some Turntable action and we have a hit.

For those of you who don't know, I'm am really into the works of Anthony Bourdain. He's the host of A Cooks Tour on the Food Network, which airs on Friday nights. His book Kitchen Confidential has changed my life, for sure. Specifically, I used to think that all the bad things I did at Cosmo's were, well, bad... but his book re-enforced everything that I've ever felt and wanted out of a good prep/cook/chef job. Anyways, he has a GREAT article in Gourmet magazine this month about this Cruise Ship for rich people. Unfortunatly, the article isn't online at the Gourmet site so I'll leve you with the tagline...

CRUISE SHIP CONFIDENTIAL by Anthony Bourdain
The floor heaves and pitches, but the sirloin is sizzling on the AEG range and the wine is uncorked. It's just another evening aboard the world's largest floating condominium.

What cha gonna do when you get outta jail? I'm gonna have some fun...
- The Tom Tom Club

Wow.

Yeah, just "wow". The Tom Tom Club came to BG this evening and made this whole shitty summer worth while in one hour & half show. I feel bad for Baxter who left like 4 minutes before they did "Genius of Love". But it was way cool when they followed Genius with a cover of Hot Chocolate's "You Sexy Thing".

I just got back from the show, so my head is all over the place. Needless to say, it was amazing. When that classic Roland keyboard sample came up, everyone went crazy. Even I, The Tao, danced. I danced a lot. And, dammit, it felt good.

So, now I'm just going to go through all my old records and listen to some more of the Club and dance all by myself in my basement. Just because I want to and because tomorrow this musical high will be gone.

"Who's that lady? Beautiful lady... Lovely lady... Real fine lady...."
The Isely Brothers

Anyone who knows me knows I have a knack for being involved with or inadvertently creating complex and uncomfortable situations... Case in point, here's a little clip from my day at the Grill...

[Scene opens with Theresa taking an older Customer named Ace his breakfast.]
Ace: Did you make my breakfast today?
Theresa: No, Linda made it...
Ace: (With a huge grin) Oh, I didn't see Linda Lovelace back there when I came in...
[Scene cuts to Linda and I peeling and cutting potatoes.]
Theresa: (To linda and I) Oh boy, I just dropped off Ace's food and he asked if I made it, and when I said no, he said he didn't see Linda Lovelace back there...
[Laughes of shock, all around.]
Linda: ...Lovelace? The one who did that song?
[Linda mumbles odd lyrics. Theresa is silent, and looks to Jay.]
Linda: Who's Linda Lovelace then?
Jay: ...Porn Star...
[Dead silence all around.]
[Jay looks up from Potatoes to deadpan stares.]
Jay: Hey, I'm just SHY... I never claimed to be an Angel...
[Momentary Pause.]
Linda: ACE!!!! I'M GONNA COME OVER THERE AND KICK YER ASS!!!!!!!
Jay: I guess she was thought he ment Patty Lovelace...
[End.]

Today was a lot of moments like that, I guess. I had a Vegas Recall too. They played "Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)" by the Hollies on 93.5 and I was suddenly hit with a vivid recolection of Edwards and I on the highway between LA and Vegas. It's weird but that song really brought out some sharp and funny memories of our trip to Vegas. Andrew WK does that too sometimes.

And let me throw out props to Jake, a sometimes-Corner Grill employee. Last night he worked the 3'rd Shift and when I came in today, everything was done. I had nothing to do today! Normally on Friday's I'm busting my nuts just to catch up what the 3'rd people didn't do and now here I am just chilling out with some Foldgers and all the CG regulars. (Average Age - 73)
I also helped Theresa with her Business Plan today. She wants to buy the Grill from Linda, and, honestly, I want her to also. I'm comfortable working with Theresa and I don't feel there is anyone who could just "buy" the place and live up to Linda's image.

When I got home from work today I took a nice long hot shower. When I was done I put on a pair of jeans and when into the living room and cranked up "Spirit in the Sky" by Norman Greenbaum. It was a thereputic moment or self examination. I'm starting to acheive my Dude-esque status. I have a nice full beard right now, my hair is getting shaggy and I'm settling into a nice, uh... ignorant... uh... well, you know...

On top of that, tomorrow night is the Tom Tom Club show in BG. I'm psyched. Ever since the Breakup died, I've been longing for a good show to hit BG. What? Like I'm going to go see Twist of Nothing or Stylex? Oh, please...

...And we could be Heros... Just for one day...
- David Bowie

You know, Matt Edwards... He wrote a very thoughful and interesting blog entry yesterday. One of those that makes you stop and look around and realize what's what with what all around you. For those of you not in the fold, his web journal is linked from here and you should really start reading it. Anyways, in the first part of his Wednesday journal entry, he put down a lot of basic points on life that gave me a little extra strength both last night and all of today. I myself have been worried about this whole month from front to bacl. My mom's birthday is coming, as is Jeb's this weekend... But mostly I'm all wound up worrying about another friend getting married. Not in a bad way mind you! I'm just tired physically and emotionally from the stress these kinds of things bring. But there is more... My life in general has been a mess for the last 5 or 6 years and in the last two months so many answers have become clear. Baxter and Katie are married and have started a new life. Trisha is having her baby Monday and that's put her life in a new direction all together. Jeb and Kristen will be married soon, and Jeb and I have started working full-on with our music. And of course, me going from the job and employers I hated to a place I feel good about. The grill is sanctuary. I love my coworkers, I love the customers, and I love my job. I bring all of this up, because I think Edwards started it all. He left about a year ago and since then everyone has begun to pick up the pieces of lifes puzzle and put them together. 2003 has been a year of many blessings from God even if some are bittersweet.

Without going too much further, my congrats go to Edwards for taking what he wants, and thanking God for what he gets. It's a good shining example of how to fulfill your dreams but knowing for damned sure who's in charge. It's even showing me how to take the next step forward to accomplishing tasks I've been reluctant to complete.

Like we Lutherans love to say: God is good, all the time...