Thursday night, January 31st at Vanderbilt's Flynn Auditorium

"Holding Hussein Accountable"

This will also be broadcast on C-SPAN.

Live video will be available here.

Attend in person if you can.

Bill Marriott's Got A New Brand New Brand

Edition: Our New Boutique Hotel Brand with Ian Schrager

Nothing important here, just three little sentences to share.

I haven't touched my camera since the laptop died. I haven't listened to a podcast since then either.

On the other hand, I've been going to bed at a more decent hour lately.

The Clutch Moment Kid

After trying repeatedly and unsuccessfully to sink a small ball into a regulation height basketball goal this afternoon, my four year old chucked it up one last time as I told him we had to get back home and in from the cold.

Wouldn't you know, the darned thing was perfect. Nothin' but net. Two points. At the buzzer.

She got me.

I have this little song I sing to my daughter. It's very short and it goes like this: "Her name is Arianna and I love her so much."

I told you it was short.

Every once in a while, I shake it up and change the last part to "...and I love her 20%." She always laughs and corrects me and it's always big fun for us.

Except that today she looked up at me with a big grin as I was stirring her chocolate milk and said, "Daddy, I love you 20%."

It turns out that to hear that is 98% hilarious and cute, but 2% of it kind of stings. ;)

Downtime Shuffle

I'm really missing writing on this blog in the soft, quiet hours after work. With no laptop now, it's just the library and the workplace and both frown on what I prefer as the perfect writing conditions: work pants off, t-shirt and boxer briefs on, and a nice beer at my side as my family sleeps just down the hallway.

Anyway, I'll follow in Holly's footsteps (who follows in others' footsteps) and do a quick peek into my iPod shuffle tonight.

1. "Goodbye Mr. Blues" - Big Three Trio
2. "On Our Way" - Christina Aguilera
3. "Ain't No Other Man" - Christina Aguilera (Shuffle must like her.)
4. "People My Age" - John Gorka (Oh, how I relate.)
5. "Widow's Grove" - Tom Waits (I wondered when he'd pop up.)
6. "Devil Weed and Me" - Area Code 615 (That's my step dad playing there.)
7. "Partyup" - Prince
8. "Right Now" - Van Halen
9. "Here Comes The Sun" - Nina Simone
10. "D'yer Mak'er" - Rockabye Baby (From a CD of Led Zep songs played as lullabies.)

Sexy burlesque dancer + Tom Waits music = Perfection for me

"Temptation"

It's all "Step Right Up" at the mall these days.

I did make one mistake last night. I got to Opry Mills early to buy my tickets for U2 3D just in case it was close to selling out. (Not even close.) With 45 minutes to kill, I decided to walk around the mall and see what had changed in the five or more years since I had been in there.

Ugh! It seemed that at every kiosk there was another wannabe carnival barker. Buy something for the pretty lady?, they'd be shouting had I been walking with my pretty lady and not alone. I'd have had a nicer time walking the circumference from the outside in last night's freezing temps.

The drive to Opry Mills had been so nice. Tom Waits' Blue Valentine playing on the CD player, the moon so full and so beautiful overhead... And here I was left saying "No Thank You" and "I'm Not Interested" over and over again and remembering why I hate malls. I don't want your 5-Minute-Massage. I don't need your Information-On-A-Great-Time-Share. And I sure don't want your Whatever-The-Hell-That-Is-You're-Selling.

Next time I'm early for a movie at the mall, remind me to wait in the car and listen to music instead. Or at least just get a beer somewhere.

It's easily the best concert film I've ever seen.

I haven't got the time to really write about how awesome U2 3D was. Jen Chaney at Washington Post summed it up pretty well though.

Some excerpts:

"I have decided to refer to the in-my-face Bono as Hologram Bono. I expect that at some point during the movie he will say: 'Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.'"

"That dude four people back from the edge of the stage? I think he has the same cell phone I do."

"They're doing 'Sunday Bloody Sunday.' And Hologram Bono is not only in my face, he is looking right into my eyes. 'Wipe your tears away.' He is reaching toward my cheek. 'Wipe your tears away,' he sings again. My eyes are notably dry. I feel I have let down Hologram Bono."

"I always wondered what Larry Mullen Jr. keeps next to his drum kit. Now I know: A box of Kleenex and what appears to be a glass of Orangeade."

"It's official: 'Where the Streets Have No Name' is the greatest live song of all time. Okay, 'Born to Run' is a close second. But nothing -- NOTHING -- is better than that slow build in the beginning, then watching the entire crowd bounce in 3D."

I'll add this: There were no just-for-3D gimmicks in the film. While the geniuses at 3ality Digital Production made you feel as much like you were at the concert as possible, they successfully resisted any urges to "throw" anything from the screen at the audience. The only time I thought about moving my head back was when Bono reached out to "wipe my tears away." The rest of the time I just felt something between actually being at the show and having an out-of-body experience (when the cameras were above and behind the band).

I hope you go. It's that awesome.

U2 3D at Nashville's Opry Mills IMAX

I'm giddy just thinking about this. (Check the glowing review in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.)

The not-yet-set-in-stone plan is to see it Thursday night at 9:30 PM. (Or maybe 5:00 PM.)

Anyone care to see with?

It sounds so good.

Click here and listen to Bobby Thompson play "Take 5."

In Tom Waits news...

Tom performed four songs at the Bet Tzedek Legal Services benefit show last night.

• On The Nickel
• Innocent When You Dream
• Come On Up To The House
• Springtime

I don't know if I know "Springtime" or not. I'll have to look around for that.

Also, the late Heath Ledger was slated to star in Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus along with Tom Waits who is playing the devil. Variety reports on the half-completed film.

Thanks to The Eyeball Kid for sharing the news.

Chinese Democracy

While I love that Nada Surf has joked about naming their new album Chinese Democracy just to piss off Axl, I'm really excited about any news of the completion of Axl Rose's decade long project.

I read today at MetalSucks.net that it's completed and it's just a matter of negotiations with Geffen. There have been rumors of the album being released as Radiohead's latest was, via the pay-what-you-like model. Those rumors are unsubstantiated and pretty much impossible. $13 million has already been spent recording the thing and no way will Geffen take that kind of risk on it.

What made me read twice was this: "Profit margin is higher on CDs than it is on digital tracks, so I can’t see the label agreeing to a digital-only or digital-first release."

That surprised me. I figured that the profit margin was always higher on a digital release than on a physical CD release what with all of the packaging and shipping and such. Shows what I know.

Anyway, I admit that as much as I despise Axl (take your pick on reasons he killed the band with his terrible ego), I think he's a great talent. Slash's wonderful autobiography makes many mentions of that fact. I'm ready to be wowed by Chinese Democracy.

In other photography news...

My friend Leesa takes some of the best pictures of the moon out in Big Sky Country. Her latest is here.

Her other shots are for sale here.

For those of you with kids...

Got kids? If you'd like some great pictures taken of them, my older sister is taking her awesome photography skills to the professional level.

Where to click? Vickie Pewitt Photography. Her specialty is outdoor, natural light photography.

The shots on her page are simply amazing.

Coming to Nashville in January and February...

Courtesy of the good people at Pollstar.com, here are some artists I'd love to see who will be playing in our fair city in the coming months:

Sat 01/26/08 Big Head Todd & The Monsters - City Hall

Sat 01/26/08 Foo Fighters - Municipal Auditorium

Thu 01/31/08 Asylum Street Spankers - 3rd & Lindsley

Sat 02/02/08 Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - The Mercy Lounge

Fri 02/08/08 Lez Zeppelin (Great interview with the band here) - The Mercy Lounge

Sat 02/09/08 Blue Oyster Cult ("More Cowbell!")- Sommet Center

Sun 02/17/08 Jann Arden - Exit / In

Mon 02/18/08 Tim Finn - The Belcourt Theatre

Wed 02/27/08 Jonathan Richman ("I Was Dancing In A Lesbian Bar") - Five Spot

Thu 02/28/08 G. Love & Special Sauce - City Hall

From the mouths of babes...

I'm watching Grand Theft Parsons the other night and Ari comes into the room and sits in my lap. The movie makes a few quick references to Joshua Tree. She picks up on her brother's name being mentioned and exclaims excitedly, "They said Joshua's name!"

"You're right," I say. I congratulate her on being perceptive.

Then, she adds, "I wish they'd say my name."

I smile, hug her, and reassure her that I say her name all of the time when I'm talking about her to my friends at work.

She giggles like I've been joshing her and says, "Oh, daddy. You don't have any friends."

I guess I can see why she'd think that. Her mom and I really do need to improve on our social circle. But it feels like a burn nonetheless.

Indignantly, I tell her, "As a matter of fact, I do have friends. Lots of friends even."

She pauses and gives me a look that may be kindness or may only be pity. She doesn't believe her daddy.

"You can play with my friends, daddy."

Well, it is nice of her to share.

You know you're old when...

I was reading the Nashville Scene last night and was perusing the upcoming shows at the Wildhorse Saloon. It's old news now that they don't book primarily country acts anymore. The typical act is the rock that I first listened to when I was a young teenager: Vince Neil, Night Ranger, Styx, etc.

Anyway, I was looking at the ad and noticed a sponsor for one band that made me look twice. Most of the bands were sponsored by Budweiser or Bud Lite; no big surprise there. Foreigner, however, famous for such big radio hits as "Jukebox Hero," "Urgent," and "Cold As Ice" is touring as sponsored by none other than AARP. I wish I was joking.

Live from Public Computer #8!

I'm at the Hermitage library. It's so weird to have no computer at the house right now. I'm at peace with not being able to check emails or blogs or whatever when I'm at home, but it's the little things that pop up that find me feeling the laptop's absence the most. I watch a movie and want to know where I saw an actor before and there's no way to check. My dad asks if the football game is on Saturday or Sunday and I feel the impulse to log on to find out. Log on to what though.

I've handed the broken laptop over to a friend who may or may not be able to fix it. He's helped me out before and the best news is that he only charges me a 12-pack of beer - cheap beer - for his services. We'll see. It sounds like it's likely a lost cause, but like Johnny Cash sings, "I'm busted," and all ideas are on the table.

I also have a desktop sitting in storage that may be salvageable. I can't even properly recall why exactly it's there. Viruses, I think. Anyway, I'm also wondering if when it comes time to buy a new one, if a desktop would give us more for our money. The laptop has been awesome, but we really don't travel enough to need something mobile. We just need the best machine possible for our limited money.

My friend likes Tiger Direct. I live pretty close to a Computer Renaissance. There are lots of options, I suppose. It's blogging from the library until we figure out which way to go.

:)

(It's the downloading of podcasts I miss most.)

The laptop, she is dead.

First went the fan, then went the power supply plug-in thingy. The keys on the far right had been whacked out for a while (Home, Page Up, Page Down, etc.) and now it's just a broken thing on the dining room table.

Looks like it's reading emails at the library for me until we can afford to fix or replace our laptop. No pictures, no iTunes, no midnight blog postings. The good news is that I once before lived a life where there was no such thing as the Internet and I got along pretty well.

Wish us luck getting back to laptop ownership. This might be harder on my wife than on me.

The obvious title is "Maiden Voyage"

What you might already know is that Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson, who is also a pilot, plans to fly the band from city to city on their upcoming tour. The band's plane, dubbed Ed Force 1, is a Boeing 757.

What was reported today is that the plane is being rented out to British Airlines until the Iron Maiden's tour begins. The plane has already been skinned with the band's name on the side and mascot Eddie on the tail. What a kick it would be to be a passenger on that plane! I don't think I'd be listening to "Flight of Icarus" on my iPod though.


h/t Metal Sucks

On WRVU, There's So Much To Love

Click below to listen to the most recent streams of these fine radio shows:

Nashville Jumps
Alphabet
Goodness Gracious
Stylezz of Hip-Hop
D-Funk
Pocket Ninjas

...and so much more!!

Shelby Lynne, Extolling the Virtues of Vinyl Record Over iPods

From the New York Times:

When she’s not on the road, a typical Friday night for Lynne means having some friends over for a bottle of wine and playing records, just as the family used to do in Alabama. “I don’t have an iPod,” she said. “I have a computer that I turn on occasionally. I still have all my vinyl. Sissy” — her nickname for Moorer, who lives in New York with her husband, the alt-country singer Steve Earle — “says she has no room in her apartment for records, but I’d keep mine even if I had to sleep on them. You can’t roll a joint on an iPod.”

Compare and Contrast

Mike takes a picture of his snow in Nashville:


Leesa takes a picture of her snow in Montana:

Biden and Dodd Sing Their Goodbyes

I didn't have an answer prepared. Thankfully, he moved quickly to another question.

The four-year-old: "Where did my little sister come from when she wasn't born yet?"

Me: "Um..."

The four-year-old: Do you want to play Buzz Lightyear with me?"

Me: "Sure!"

I feel ridiculous...

...and that's a good thing. ;)

Small town makes news. Is that such a bad thing?

I don't know the politics of Arlington, Oregon's mayor, Carmen Kontur Gronquist, but I do know that I admire her beautiful physique. I also support her right to a past where, three years before running for office, she took "racy" photos of herself in a bra and panties. Granted, it is fair to debate her wisdom in posting the pictures on her MySpace page.

More than anything, I just respect the hours of sit-ups required to look like that. (Note that if I had abs and biceps like that, I would very rarely wear a shirt anywhere.)



Some facts about Arlington from the town's website (from the 2000 census):

The current population of Arlington is about 524 people.
There are three parks and zero stop lights.
Most residents are between the ages of 45 and 54.

The more I read about Arlington, and the closer to age 45 I get, the more it looks like a nice place to live. The Tourism page boasts beautiful opportunities for activities like windsurfing, golfing, outdoor music festivals, and -- my personal favorite to imagine -- The Indoor Kite Festival.

I hope to make it out there someday.

"Iron My Shirt"

Obama still gets my vote, but points go to Hillary for handling a heckling situation beautifully.

We never win when we go out west.

I guess it's "Go Jags" for me now.

Maybe I'm just getting old?

Two nights ago, I listened to maybe three minutes and ten seconds of a three minute and twenty second song before I could figure out whose distinctive voice I was listening to. I was absolutely ashamed of my little mental block. Thank God I figured it out before the DJ name that band. It was none other than Jack White of his White Stripes singing "I Want to Be the Boy to Warm Your Mother's Heart."

Seriously. I couldn't place Jack White's voice?

The NFL Playoffs are here. What's your protection?

ESPN Page 2's Bill Simmons on the Chargers:

"And even though the coach of those teams is gone (Marty Schottenheimer), he was
replaced by Norv Turner, which was a little like replacing a broken condom with
a busted IUD."

The absolute first reaction is always caught.

Kevin Michael Connolly - The Rolling Exhibition

Today, they'd call Jennie Churchill a panther, or, "Winston's Mom Has Got It Going On"

"He has a future and I have a past, so we should be alright." - Jennie Churchill on her third husband, twenty-three years her junior and three years younger than her son Winston.

My eyes are temporarily bored and unimpressed.

Is it time for a template change? New colors? New font?

New focus?

All Things Jotted Down

"Fool's Gold" by The Stone Roses still sounds cool as hell.

Jane Siberry, who is now Issa, intrigues me. She deserves my full immersion into her artistry. Too bad her website, crisp and clean, simply confounds me for now.

"Dieting for Dollars" It's the economy, stupid.

"How To Look Good Naked" was on Lifetime tonight. I wanted to watch that. Again, again, again... You're beautiful. Stand proud. You look better than you think. We men don't see what you see. We love you and we don't notice your "problem areas."

I'll hit my local library and see if they have the following:

• The How of Happiness
• The Geography of Bliss
• The Loss of Sadness

Singer Sia Fuller has signed with Starbuck's Hear Music label for her release, Some People Have Real Problems

I need to see if I can find East Village Radio online. (Found it!) DJ Mark Ronson, lover of all things horns and producer for Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen, apparently has a show there. His interview on All Songs Considered with Bob Boilen is beautiful.

Back to Bukowski. "Home Run" from Hot Water Music flows through my veins tonight. I'll sleep when I'm dead.

Rodeo bull thief on the lamb.

Truckload of rodeo bulls stolen in downtown Nashville

Titans, Colts. Collusion?

A friend of mine sent me this link. The Titans knew (or trusted) that the Colts would not use their third time-out at the end of the game, thus allowing them to take a knee to claim victory and so enter the playoffs as the 6th seed.

Had the Titans lost, the 6th seed would have belonged to the Browns. Will Cleveland file a grievance with the league?

Nice work for 19.2% odds for the Titans.

Two weeks ago, the Titans, according to one statistician, faced odds at 19.2% at making the playoffs. The good news is that our defense knows how to handle the Chargers in the first round match up this Sunday. The bad news is that our offense, somewhat woeful already, just lost tight end Bo Scaife due to a lacerated liver injury. Here's hoping that Ben Troupe reproves himself when he steps in in replacement.

Who would look for DB Cooper in Hooterville? Brilliant!

The FBI is still aggressively seeking bank robber DB Cooper.

Newscoma wants them to let it go already. Makes me wonder what her motivation is. Methinks I should ask her where she was on the day of November 24, 1971.

Blue princess, blue truck

Chilly Boxer

Not to be confused with the land of the ice and snow...

...but we here in Nashville we'll take what we can get.

As the dogs play, so should the Dawgs.

I have an English bulldog named Georgia who used to play with a former neighbor dog, a Jack Russell terrier named Zoey. It was always awesome to watch these two knuckleheads play together on the hill just outside our apartment building. Georgia, true to her breed, was all muscle and no speed. Zoey was just the opposite. They'd chase each other around and around, Zoey always getting the better of my slow-mo loper.

Zoey's owner always left the leash attached to her collar while we'd talk and watch the doggies play-fight on the green, green grass. Our Georgia finally got wise and figured out that she didn't have to catch up with Zoey, just her leash. Once Georgia got the end of the leash between her teeth, Zoey's ability to go wherever she wanted to go ended. Watching the dynamics of these two animals, figuring out how to play to their strengths, was always so fun and interesting.

I was reminded of this today while thinking of tonight's matchup between the Georgia Bulldogs and Hawaii's Rainbow Warriors. You've got UGA, who runs first, passes conservatively, and plays smash mouth ball as well as anyone else in football right now and you've got UH who plays a strike-fast, run and shoot offense that is likely to score 50+ points in any game. My unsolicited advice to UGA is this: If they are my bulldog and Hawaii is my neighbor's Jack Russell, then they just have to grab that leash and not let go no matter what. Dictate through strength where they may lack in speed.

LA Times speaks the truth.

"Jamie Lynn Spears is not the first teen to have a baby"

She knows...

She knows who drew on the wall...but she's not saying who.

Before you go thinking I'm the mature sort...

...and because there is a part of me that will always be like the 13-year-old boy who giggles inappropriately in the classroom, I found the first two panels of this innocent strip hilarious.

Resolutions? We don't need no stinking resolutions!

I don't smoke. I don't drink to excess. I'm nice to my family and friends and I give strangers the benefit of the doubt.

Here's hoping that 2008 is a great year for you all.