I’m pretty tired right now, having stayed up way, way, WAY past my bedtime last night. I didn’t even get home until about 1AM, and then I felt compelled to watch a certain football game that I’d recorded while I was out. I only made it ’til halftime (guess I’ll have to watch the rest this morning – which ought to bore Granny to tears), but I still didn’t get to bed until about 3:00, and then I was up at six. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. It was nice to see Floyd Little at halftime (I don’t think I’ve seen him “in person” since I was about 5 years old), and the game wasn’t half bad either. It will be at least a few days before my voice comes back.
Good thing I had yesterday off and got some stuff done, ‘cuz I’m thinking I won’t be good for much today. Especially since I managed to drop the mower deck on my foot (my “bad” foot, too – though, if it wasn’t the bad one before, it sure as hell is now). Fortunately, I took my typical safety precautions and was wearing a pair of sneakers instead of, like, work boots.
As if that wasn’t enough, I managed to somehow hurt the ankle on the other leg. This getting old shit blows.
So I think maybe today I’ll just have to hang out and not play my new guitar. Yes, I bought an electric one as kind of a birthday present for myself (and, no, it isn’t actually my birthday, so no need to send presents – unless you’re bound and determined to, in which case, I’ll post a link to my Amazon Wish List). In fact, I bought a very cheap Fender knockoff “kit,” complete with a practice amp, picks, strap, and a “gig bag” that will be nice when I go on tour. The most important thing, of course, is that it has a whammy bar. I’ve removed the label that proudly identified it as be “handcrafted in China” (made from the finest melamine, no doubt). So now I guess I need to buy a wah-wah pedal, envelope filter (so I can sound like Jerry Garcia), and maybe a fuzzbox. And a bigger amp.
If I could actually play, I would be totally awesome.
But for now, I think I need more coffee (and then go add a wah-wah pedal, fuzzbox, envelope filter, and bigass amp to my Amazon Wish List).
I’m home! I hope I do not have to get on another plane for a long time.
The plane flew from LA to Dallas where the attendant announced all the connecting flights and the gates from which they would leave. However, she said those of us going to NY would continue on the same flight. Somehow this required taking all of our possessions, going from terminal A to Terminal C and reboarding at a gate in terminal C. We got on the same model of plan, it was called by the same flight number, but it was a different plane. But it was not considered taking a connecting flight. I believe they consulted with the NYC Bd of Ed and the NYC subways to develop that distinction without a difference. Very sneaky.
But, I’m home.
Glad to hear you made it back safely, and not too much worse for the wear. I hate flying. Not the flight part, but all the stuff that goes with it these days. When I was doing my brief stint as a word traveler, I learned a couple things. Mostly, go for the aisle seat. Other than takeoff and landing, you don’t get to see a whole hell of a lot out the window on a commercial airline, and the aisle seat makes it easier to get up to stretch, futz with the overhead stuff, and even stretch a leg out every now and again. Plus you can get whacked with the concession cart, which is always fun.
I also learned NOT to wear a belt with a metal buckle, and always wear sneakers (less likely to have to take them off, but easier to do if you need to). Moccasins would be good, too.
Oh, and if you’re a guy with a beard and a ponytail, expect to be selected for “random” searches.
I used to fly almost every month, now almost every year or so. I got out of practice so I do stupid things like mixing blueberries in yogurt to eat now that they mercifully have stopped giving away the crap they used to feed you. They find that threatening for some reason. I wear whatever I want and always take off the shoes and belt. Having a piece of titanium in my hip used to guarantee a search almost every time but apparently some of that invasive scanning equipment has spared me that recently (knock on wood).
Barry Feinstein passed this week. You may not immediately recognize the name but if you look below you might recognize a small fraction of his work. He has a website I recommend you visit to see some more of his photography or Google his name in an image search. One of his children has jewelry shop in my neighborhood that also sells some of his photographs. They have the Brando photo on Page 4 there.
Barry Feinstein, Photographer of Defining Rock Portraits, Dies at 80
Pics dropped off
“Will Kaufman takes a look at folk singer Woody Guthrie’s political activism throughout the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, the Korean War, the McCarthy era, and the Civil Rights era. At this event held by Barnes & Noble Booksellers in New York City, he gave an audio-visual presentation of Woody Guthrie’s life and career, accompanying himself on guitar. Professor Kaufman concluded his presentation with some of the original little-known anti-capitalist verses of the singer-songwriter’s best-known song, “This Land Is Your Land.”
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Guthr
So did ya all know the electric guitar was invented in OK?
Happy strumming, pj!
Didn’t see this mentioned in your Perry tribute:
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/10/rick_perry_niggerhead.php
Hmm. There may be a bit of a dispute on the origins of the electric guitar. I thought it was George Beauchamp.