Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving again and once again I am thinking of the Pilgrims. Risking everything for a crappy boat ride and the promise, just a promise mind you there were no guarentees in 1620, of something better. I don't agree with their religious beliefs but I admire that can do spirit greatly.

But mostly on Thanksgiving I think of the song "Thanksgiving" and how every year it always seems apt to me (what is it about November?).

"Somehow I find myself
far out of lines
from the ones I had drawn
wasn't the best of paths
you could attest to that
but I'm keeping on

would our paths cross
if every great loss had turned out a gain?
would our paths cross
if the pain it had cost us was paid in vain?

there was no pot of gold
hardly a rainbow
lighting my way
but I will remain true
to those red, black and blues
that colored those days

I owe my soul to each fork in the road
to each misleading sign
cause even in solitude
no bitter attitude
can dissolve my sweetest find

Thanksgiving for every wrong move
that made it right"

-Poi Dog Pondering

Northline Movie-One Step Closer

I was excited to read that the film version of Willy Vlautin's Northline now has a director attached. Courtney Hunt, whose film "Frozen River" won the Jury Prize at Sundance, is now set to direct. I've seen that movie (if you haven't yet you should but bring a parka) and I think it's a good match of director and material. She's more than proved she gets the hardscrabble, knocked about folk and that she can bring the sad the only question is can she get Northline's inherent hopefulness (something missed by non careful readers) across?

Fingers crossed-like all fans of a beloved book no one will be hoping more, or be more quick to criticize, than me.

Screw Tiny Tim (and His Little Crutch Too)

I'm super geeked to find out that Willy Vlautin has a new audio story. Called "A Jockey's Christmas" it tells the story of an overweight, alcoholic jockey.

Doesn't that sound festive?

I can't wait to hear it-if the clips of his reading on YouTube are anything to go by he's a stellar reader. It also includes a couple of songs about racing recorded with his partner in crime, Paul Brainard and it's now available at http://www.willyvlautin.com/.

Updated Info

Looks like the previous info given for sending a holiday card to a wounded soldier was not accurate. (Thanks much EMM!) So I found the following, which is legit. They do, however, need it by December 10th so get cracking!

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capital Heights, MD 20791

This One Is Going Out to the Neighbors

The little joys of apartment living are wonderful and without number. Among my favorites are the super fun, how shall we say? nocturnal noises. Nothing like lying in bed, alone, and hearing what sounds like a Spice Channel outtake coming from overhead.

Now, I have no objections to my neighbors getting some-I firmly believe that neighbors who get laid on a regular basis make better neighbors-more pleasant, patient and just easier to get along with. All I ask is, to steal a line from one of my favorite movies "Broadcast News", the part where William Hurt's character asks, "What do you do when your real life exceeds your dreams?" and Albert Brooks, in one of the the best movie comebacks ever, hisses, "Keep it to yourself!"

A Little Something Nice

You can send a holiday card to a recovering soldier at the following address:

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical
6900 Georgia Avenue NW
Washington DC 20307-5001

I think we can all agree, regardless of politics, on something like this. Like Nike says, just do it.

Never a Grammar Cop When You Need One

So I finally got my new ID today (with a good picture and everything) which allowed me (finally) to get the all important library card.

Happiness! Joy! Much rejoicing!

But I was brought up short when I read the card (yeah, I read cards and such, what of it?) and found the following line, "Responsible for what a minor borrows rests with parent or guardian". Huh? What kinda mixed up mangled sentence is that? This is on the library card remember.

But, that didn't stop me from clutching it tightly to me, doing a lil' happy dance and immediately checking out a lot of books.


Ahhh, books....

A Rare Photo of The Hoyden in the Wild

I Heart Me Some Keith O

If I wasn't already a fan, hearing Keith Olberman's "Special Comment" Monday regarding California's Prop 8 would have made me one. As it is, hearing him say what I was feeling about it so clearly and passionately caused me to both cheer and draft an immediate marriage proposal. He basically hit my two beefs with Prop 8 supporters on the head. Namely:

1) What's it to you? Your rights aren't being curtailed in any way so why do you care?

and

2) No matter your personal belief system, in a world that too frequently seems too dark, how is it ever right to come down on the side againest love?

Of course, these points were made much more eloquently by him (he is a the TV professional after all). If you didn't see it, no matter what side you are on, I encourage you to check it out online. Jouranlism with such heart and fire deserves, no, demands, to be heard.

That's What I'm Talking About

uh huh-oh yeah.

Rock and Roll Weekend

I'm not really sure if calling it a rock and roll weekend is 100% accurate since only a couple of the acts I saw were technically rock and roll but, with a show every night, it felt like the rock "work hard, play hard" mentality anyway.


Night #1 The Rock n' Roll Means Well Tour
The Drive By Truckers/The Hold Steady
Coyotes at City Block, Louisville, KY
October 30, 2008


When I accepted my new job which made my move back to Louisville possible, I made some calls to tell family and friends then went home and immediately bought these tickets. No place to live, but by golly, I had concert tix. And, though I alluded in another post to the resultant prom flashbacks brought on by not being able to find anyone to go with, once I made it there I really wasn't thinking prom. (I'm still figuring out how to go to shows by myself-in places where you sit it's not so apparent and so is more easily done-but in standing only places it can be awkward. I bring my handy dandy pocket notebook so that I have something to do, though I realize it makes it less likely someone will approach me.) Coyotes is too adult to carry any prom vibes and DBT would have been far too cool for Mercy Academy circa 1986. I sat at a table behind 2 of the beer girls (there is one big bar and then a few other elevated stations so no one was too far from or had to wait too long for booze) and was treated to a near constant cheeky display every time they bent over to get a bottle or point out the restrooms. (yowza) Thank goodness they were wearing underwear-of a sort.


The bands were in fine humor, downright ebulliant, which also helped scare away the 'oh woe is me' loser blues. The co-starring tour was their idea so their long distance friendship and admiration could be further cemented and it led, happily, to spirited and relaxed performances. I was glad DBT opened up the catalog and didn't feel they needed to focus so much on songs from "Brighter Than Creation's Dark". (I like it but it's not my fave.) I thought "Lookout Mountain" , "Sinkhole" and "Let There Be Rock" were standouts, especially the last with just the right amount of sermonizing from Patterson Hood.

I was not familiar with The Hold Steady at all but their live show made me wanna get familiar fast. Their music is nothing if not immediately ingratiating. Though their sound is much different in attitude they seemed to have much in common with DBT.

Night #2
Justin Townes Earle
St Francis, Louisville, KY
October 31, 2008

After the embarrassment of bumping into Justin and coming up empty in the words department (previously noted) I was kinda tempted to take it as a sign but I persisted and am I glad I did. (I just need to stop arriving so geekishly early, these things pretty much never start on time.) Justin, with his sideman and partner in crime Cory Younts, put on a terrific show. As one audience member put it, "it put the treat in Halloween". They are both amazing players, it totally blew me away how much and how many sounds just two people can make. Yeah, it was in a parish hall (not what you call an impressive light show but the trophy case made a fabulous backdrop) and my butt started to hurt during the opening act but once Justin started playing, I forgot all the rest. During the dark times last year I leaned hard on his record-I think several of the most melancholy songs are probably now embedded in the drywall of my old studio-and yes, hearing them live did make me cry. On the other extreme, the interplay between the two, and the audience, made me laugh. I wished there had been more people, with only 20 people there it was almost too intimate. (There was no music between acts and with no roadies I felt kinda bad just sitting there, like I should carry an amp or something.) Song highlights included "Lone Pine Hill" (the Civil War song Scott Miller wish he wrote), a new very personal song about his parents that he did not share the title of and a charming 'where did THAT come from?' cover of The Replacements' "Can't Hardly Wait" that made me almost fall, squealing, from my chair. (It's on YouTube, check it out.)I'm still smiling when I think about it. Without a doubt I gotta say seeing this show was the smartest $7 I've spent in some time.