Thursday, January 17, 2008

So Much To Say

So much has been going on since I last wrote...where to begin?

First of all, I'm on day 2 of a nice long 5 day stretch of days off. It all happened by accident, when somebody at the Noble wanted to pick up hours and I decided to give them some of my shifts and use personal time. So anyway, long story short, I've got all weekend off. Unfortunately, the J-Dog has to work on Saturday, elsewise we would get our asses on the highway and jet off to Ohio for a quick one.

So I spent all day yesterday working on the set for DOLL'S HOUSE out at HCCA. Unfortunately, there's no place indoors where we're currently allowed to do any building, so I ended up having to work outside on the parking lot. And doubly unfortunately, both of our jigsaws broke, and I forgot to bring our circular saw, so I ended up having to make all my cuts with a shitty hand saw. So the work was slow, and I got less done that I probably could have had all gone smoothly, but I got enough done to feel satisfied. Then I hung around rehearsal a little bit, and got to talk to Pat, which I enjoyed and which I have not had nearly enough of lately.

Other interesting news: my cousin Mark sent me a bunch of his songs. Most of them are just him and an acoustic guitar, sung into a tape recorder (or maybe a 4-track). I haven't listened to them all yet, but I did get a chance to play around with one of the songs this morning, and have posted the results. I think it turned out ok.

Also: my aunt called this evening to tell me that she and my uncle and another aunt and uncle are going to be in the DC area next week, so on Thursday I'm gonna try and head down there to spend the day with them. Should be a decent time.

I've been very happy with the CD's I've gotten lately. Here's a roundup:

1. Brian Eno, Before and After Science. A very classic "Eno" album, half composed of goofy, super catchy glam pop songs and half slow, dreamy synth songs. I only skip one song on the album, and it's a very short song. My favorite lyrics are from the song "Backwater":
But If You Study the Logistics
And Heuristics of the Mystics
You Will Find That Their Minds Rarely Move in a Line
So It's Much More Realistic
To Abandon Such Ballistics
And Resign to Be Trapped On a Leaf in a Vine.


2. White Williams, Smoke. Sounds like someone playing melted David Bowie records. There are a few songs that I skip on the CD, but overall, still pleased with the purchase.

3. Death Cab For Cutie, Transatlanticism. This album is a few years old, and I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I do, but there are a lot of really good songs on this album. Tracks 3 through 5 is my favorite three-song stretch that I've heard since the first three songs on the The Joshua Tree.

4. Radiohead, In Rainbows. I have mixed feelings towards Radiohead. Usually I end up skipping half the songs on their albums and absolutely adoring the other half. With this record, I only end up skipping about 30%, and the other 70% is really solid. On about every third Radiohead album, they end up writing the perfect song, and on this one I think they nail it with "All I Need".



Tonight Jeannie cough-puked tea on the couch and floor. It really wasn't a puke, it was a cough, but it looked like a puke.

It snowed today! After working on music this morning, I drove up to Towson to go to a going-away party for Marlene (who is one of the good managers at the B&N and who is leaving to go to the Bel Air store. Bel Air, Maryland. Not Bel Air, Will Smith.), and when I got to Towson (normally a 20 minute trip that took me an hour today in the snow) I found out that they had canceled the party. So I drove back home, and it took me another hour to get home. People in Baltimore just don't know how to drive in the snow (or rain). But it was pretty. I was on North Charles up near Towson, where it's kinda woodsy, and all the trees were white with snow, and it was pretty perfect. Plus, I got an extra long time to listen to Brian Eno in the car, which isn't a bad thing.


Tomorrow: more work on the set. I gotta find or build a bookshelf and then start working on the window unit. Maybe a trip to Baltimore Stage Lighting, too.