I recently moved to a new state, so I've been missing my friends and band a little bit. Also, I've spent the last few weeks unpacking and looking for jobs so I haven't had much time to geek out with music. Last night I took a few minutes to put my bass guitar rig together. Played the opening bass riff to "In a Minute" rather loudly. It sounded like home.

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Also, the other day, while driving home from work in bad traffic, I may changed lanes perhaps a bit too quickly and I accidentally cut a guy off. It wasn't dangerous, but I guess I did cause him to brake earlier than he wanted to. Feeling bad, I quickly got in the slow lane so he could pass. He got up along side my car and started leering at me. I tried not to laugh (So silly these macho guy!). Macho guy then pulls in front of my car and begins driving slowly. I think "Is coincidence, no? Surely these guy is no so much a jerk as to put on the brakes on purpose?!?! Over silly little traffic faux pas? He is so angry over having to slow down that he drive slower still? No way!"

I test my theory, and get in passing lane. Macho guy changes lanes and blocks my car. I return to the slow lane, he follows, and I drive even slower, which makes Macho Man even more frustrated because he wants me to speed and pass so he can block me. But I have nowhere urgent to be, so I relax and try to choke down the giggles as I watch Macho Man checking his rear-view mirror to see if I'm mad yet.

As I approached my exit, I let off the gas, thinking if Macho Man sees my brake lights he'll take my exit as well and continue his game. I time it perfectly, and hit my turn signal just as he passes the exit. As predicted, he tries to take the exit at the last minute and almost hits the guard rail. I laughed all the way home.

Sorry you are such a big jerk, Macho Man, but I am to laugh at you!

offal wrote:As I approached my exit, I let off the gas, thinking if Macho Man sees my brake lights he'll take my exit as well and continue his game. I time it perfectly, and hit my turn signal just as he passes the exit. As predicted, he tries to take the exit at the last minute and almost hits the guard rail. I laughed all the way home.

Sorry you are such a big jerk, Macho Man, but I am to laugh at you!

You should have indicated (or signalled as you say) at a previous turning so he would have took it and you could have drove on, laughing like a maniac.

Yesterday a friend and I biked to nearby springfield to see another friend's band. This other friend used to be in a band with us, and we all still love each other very much, so even though this friend's new band was hardcore (i will call it "hardcore" because that's what he calls it. It's that music that's popular these days, the kind with the new metal influence and two singers screaming. I believe it's also referred to as "screamo") even though they were hardcore, we were exited to see him singing with a new band.

The first band that played was another "hardcore" band, all kids around sixteen or seventeen. Their music was (unintentionally, I think) a semi rythmical mass of sludge noise. One of the members on stage was the light man. He played a few power strips for the lights taped together on a strap as if it were another instrument. They got less and less interesting

I bit later a death metal band got on, and my friend and I went outside where we saw a U.F.O. No shit, twas a flashing red light and a flashing blue light moving very erratically, too high up to be a model airplane. When we got back, I found myself really enjoying the death metal band.

After that is was fun fun fun watching, and almost being destroyed by "hardcore dancing" which, from what I can tell is the act of standing in a hopefully empty space, flailing and fighting with the air. We couldn't contain our laughter.

The show was at a skate park.

A swell evening.

done here.

Terrainasaur wrote:...A swell evening.

So is there a case to be made here that the popularity of "screamo" music is largely the product of alien abduction? I think this deserves further investigation.

I am young and still ponder the ways of (also young) males sometimes. I had a question so I went through my list of trusty guy-freinds who usually answer such questions but not a one could talk or picked up their phone.

So much for males confusing you on saturday nights. Wednesdays would work better when everyone is in but we don't always get what we want.

I also ate a peanut butter sandwich and nutella straight out of the jar because I was hungry, and now I should go to sleep because I have to be up EARLY tomorrow. Gross.

I shampooed my carpet and now I'm about to watch a Yes concert DVD bootleg from 1975 (a tour I saw, one of my first concerts). Pure fun.

Redline wrote:I shampooed my carpet and now I'm about to watch a Yes concert DVD bootleg from 1975 (a tour I saw, one of my first concerts). Pure fun.

What are you doing shampooing your carpets at two in the morning?

today: in someone's front yard, a tree with a trunk so thick that the sidewalk bubbled out in a U shape to accommodate it.

a while ago: driving home at night on a street with a wide, grassy median, i took a left turn. the changing angle of my car and its headlights revealed a skunk in the middle of the median. as soon as the beam was on it, the skunk tensed up its body and became completely still.

i was feeling reckless so i reached for the horn and gave it a honk. before the sound of my car horn could reflect off the elementary school across the street, the skunk's tail had become vertical like an exclamation point and a cloud of mist had formed behind it (and was drifting across the median).

i cackled like a madman and sped off. as i passed the elementary school, a large crowd of suspicious-looking high schoolers crowded around an SUV in the parking lot gave me evil looks -- as though i'd honked to express my disapproval at their unseen illegal activities, rather than to give a skunk a scent gland workout.

more from today: wife & i drove four hours to my cousin's spread in rural iowa- big family party. my dad is the merch dude for this awesome fella that plays blues guitar & makes gumbo & feeds the poor. so, he had the guy come out & play this party... a real champagne jam. slide guitar, gumbo, a beautiful day, a small pond, ten miles of trees & rolling hills in every direction, good beer (another cousin is a brewmaster in new york), and three roasted pigs.

told my folks that i was going on tour for a month & they had no compunctions about me quitting the not-cushy-but-as-cushy-as-i've-ever-had day job. that was a surprise.

and then drove like hell back to chicago & made it over 250 miles in 3h45m in time for last call.

Last night I was helping some friends move some gear after a show, and -- well first I should explain that it was a burlesque show at a tattooing conference and these friends are all attractive performer girls -- and as I set down a theremin and huge enormous make-up suitcase I farted really loudly. One of the girls said, "Did you just rip one?"

"Yeah," I said. "You know, the bending over, the heavy lifting."

Then she and I walked backstage in complete silence to get more stuff.