The kiddos have been bugging the heck out of each other this morning. Which, of course, means that they've been bugging the heck out of me.
I finally had enough and sent them to his room to play, but that meant only that they were bugging each other in a smaller shared living space. After hearing way too many little arguments, I played the part of angry, frustrated parent and separated them. He to his room and she to hers. They are not allowed to play together because they don't know how to play together nicely.
They don't know that I know this, but they are now playing quietly together in his room. They're being exceptionally nice and quiet so that I won't hear them and separate them again. I'll let them win in this little exercise in deceit. Everything's peaceful and calm for once.
Thank goodness this weekend is Tennessee's 2008 Sales Tax Holiday. I might be able to save some pennies when buying an anniversary card for my beautiful wife. This Sunday will make it six years she's been my bride.
We're broke but very much in love. Just like romantic characters in a good Bon Jovi song. Or in a Tom Waits song. It depends on which of us is in control of the stereo.
"Hold On"
Tom Waits
She closed her eyes and started swaying
But it's so hard to dance that way
When it's cold and there's no music
Oh, your old hometown's so far away
But inside your head there's a record that's playing A song called 'Hold On', hold on
Babe, you gotta hold on
Take my hand, I'm standing right there
You gotta hold on
That total solar eclipse that occurred early this morning but was too far north for most North American eyes was featured live over at NASA TV this morning.
The best music blog in Nashville, Out the Other, gave me cause for a smile tonight. Its latest post shares a couple of tracks from the new Brazilian Girls record. While the first song, "Good Time," didn't really do too much for me (a good Brazilian Girls song, but nothing all that extraordinary), "Ricardo" has inspired in me some great interest in hearing the rest of the album. As of right now, it's my favorite Brazilian Girls song. Easily.
I'm pretty lucky, too. AT&T Blue Room is once again bringing Lollapalooza to the Internet for anyone who is interested in watching.
While I do have to work Friday night, I've got the rest of the weekend off. My lovely wife can read the below schedule and make note of certain blocks of time indicating my extreme interest in exercising sole ownership of the laptop.
Have fun and enjoy some free music. I do love The Blue Room.
A question for my readers:
Are there any bands I haven't placed an asterisk next to that I really must hear? Watching the brilliant mayhem that is Gogol Bordello at Coachella earlier this year made me a fan of theirs. Surely, there are some here who I'm not already familiar with who will knock me out.
All times are E.T.
Friday, August 1st:
01:15 PM Holy F*ck
02:15 PM Rogue Wave
03:15 PM Yeasayer
04:15 PM The Kills
*05:15 PM Gogol Bordello
06:15 PM Mates of State
07:15 PM Bloc Party
08:15 PM Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
*09:00 PM The Raconteurs
Saturday, August 2nd:
01:15 PM Margot & the Nuclear So So’s
*01:45 PM The Ting Tings
02:30 PM Dr. Dog
03:30 PM The Gutter Twins
*04:30 PM The Go! Team
*05:30 PM Duffy
06:30 PM Jamie Lidell
07:30 PM DeVotchka
08:30 PM Explosions in the Sky
09:30 PM Broken Social Scene
*10:30 PM Wilco
Sunday, August 3rd:
01:15 PM Kid Sister
02:15 PM The Whigs
03:15 PM Office
04:15 PM Chromeo
*05:15 PM G Love & Special Sauce
*06:15 PM Blues Traveler
*07:15 PM John Butler Trio
08:15 PM Flogging Molly
*09:15 PM Love and Rockets
10:15 PM The National
I've been listening to nothing but the All Songs Considered podcast of the absolutely marvelous show by Tom Waits at Atlanta's Fox Theater. It'll make believers out of the curious. Watching Tom Waits in concert is not like watching just another concert; it is to take part in true theater. Listening to his band take his songs to another place, hearing good songs given such exploratory treatment by worldly-wise musicians is to watch the stories of the songs' colorful characters through the eyes of their own relatives instead of those of a distant but observant stranger.
I relaxed in my workplace locker room tonight, all clocked-out and with time to kill, lying on a bench and hearing what that lucky Atlanta audience heard on the 5th of July. "Good evening," he bellowed to an exuberant crowd, and the show began. I closed my eyes and smiled. Good evening, indeed.
Every minute of the 140-plus minute show is beautifully paced, perfectly performed, and so warmly received by rain dogs like me.
My dad lost his phone the other day. In a mix of helpfulness and greed, I offered him my phone as a replacement so that I could inherit my wife's Razr that she no longer needed since she just upgraded to the Blackjack II. I know that the Razr isn't exactly famous for being much good, but it does look kind of sexy and my wife had never had any issues with it at all.
So I give my dad my working phone, my SIM card into the Razr and I'm good to go. Within one day of owning it, it just stops working. Just like that. It shuts down for no reason that I can tell. Great. Now I have no phone and I'm early enough into my latest contract that I can't get any deals on upgrades anywhere. Now I have no phone. We went to the AT&T store last night but everything was way expensive. (I kind of liked the LG Shine, but no matter.)
For how long will I have no phone? It's hard to say, but it's going to be tough with our car situation. I depend on the kindness of coworkers for rides to and from work and now we can't coordinate easily. However, there is a small ray of hope. My wife, in the several months that she owned the Razr, never turned it off. She'd charge it nightly, but she never shut it off allowing for a full battery charge. So there's a possibility that it's just a battery issue. The AT&T store was out of batteries last night but we might check Batteries Plus on Nolensville Rd. tomorrow.
If that fails, I guess I could ask my dad for my phone back and let him solve his own lost phone issue. Heck, he might have even been eligible for a free upgrade in the first place. But I felt like such a nice guy giving him mine. So much for that. I should have just given him the sexy Razr.
Good times as always. Anyway, here's "No Phone" by Cake. If for the title alone, it just seems appropriate.
I love AT&T Blue Room. I don't get out to shows like I used to, but the sting of life is softened by webcasts. So far this year I've seen quality portions of Coachella, Bonnaroo, and The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. In three days, I'll be able to kick back and watch bits and pieces of Lollapalooza.
(As much as I go on about how awesome AT&T Blue Room is, I wonder if the good people at AT&T would be so kind as to replace my broken phone with one that is not. Just a thought.)
I love this story of New York doorman Richard Randazzo, who won $5 million in the New York Lotto. I'm pretty sure that if I won that much money all at once, I'd give my bosses a quick two-week-notice and be on my way to doing whatever I want for a long time. Not him though. Not in New York. He wants to buy an apartment in the building where he works but the only one available right now is selling for $10M. So he's keeping his job since the prize is only taking him halfway toward his goal. As the New York Post noted, he's "a millionaire who opens the door and hails taxis for millionaires."
There's just something about that doorman's dumb luck that appeals to this doorman/bellman/shuttle driver. Of course, things are taking typical turns at his workplace. Coworkers are saying that he's not showing up for shifts like he should and he retorts by saying that they're just jealous. He contends that he's a loyal and dedicated employee, replying to charges from his boss that he spends too much time outside and is wearing short-sleeves when the uniform requires long-sleeves. Randazzo called off recently due to a "pressing matter that required his attention," but was spotted later that day playing blackjack at the Taj Majal with his new Swedish model girlfriend.
Nothing wrong with that. Resign, get fired, enjoy the money while it lasts. I know I would.
