d r o n k / d r o n k

They Are Likely Related

2011-04-25T21:23:00.000-07:00

(First row from left to right: S/A/S/A)

(Second row from left to right: S/A/S/A)

Brother Pete's Latest Expedition

2011-04-17T18:44:00.001-07:00

Mt. Hayes from Pete D on Vimeo.

Might Auto-tune This

2011-02-23T18:11:00.000-08:00

So Intense! So Vivid!

2011-02-03T10:57:00.001-08:00

Presented Without Comment

2011-01-31T11:29:00.000-08:00

Anneke Day 4

2011-01-30T20:07:00.000-08:00

We're told things are at "A-" level.

So far, Anneke's a cinch.

Hi Anneke!

2011-01-27T19:38:00.000-08:00

She was born today at 2:53 am in a fairly intense way.

So far, so good! She likes open E chords on guitar.

It's Like Crafting, Just With Sound

2011-01-18T14:32:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: (Yes, I played the instruments, too)

Normally this stuff stays offline, with good reason. But I built a piece of sound from scratch.

Anyway, this was more of a mixing exercise, just with homemade tracks. Ignore the singing, but check out those levels!

Tyrone Dupois - End of the Day

This was originally written by Doug Paisley (below, right). Check out his album "Constant Companion".

Stunning

2010-05-25T20:48:00.001-07:00

A guy that I was lucky enough to be friends with died.

We worked on the Meth documentaries, a bunch of other local TV collaborations, as well as elliptical buddies at CalCourts. He moved to Washington a few years ago.

I can't really go into what a nice guy he was, because others have done it better. But he was a gem, and stuff like this really makes you realize that life is not fair.

Search continues for killer of Auburn father of two

Guess Who Got To Ride In A Tiny Plane?

2010-05-19T09:11:00.001-07:00

To be exact, a 1954 Cessna 182.

The Sound of Sasha

2010-01-01T10:03:00.000-08:00

You Want To Be In The Band?

2009-12-06T22:34:00.000-08:00

Anybody interested in long-distance (or short-distance) audio fun?

Accordionistas? Folkies? Spoken wordies? Anybody with a mic?

Email you know who and say "I'm in." Could be fun!

SoundCloud: The Tour from SoundCloud on Vimeo.

Glad You Asked

2009-11-13T23:22:00.001-08:00

What's the funniest thing I've seen in a while? It's the "Early Rap Topics" meme that overtook a certain corner of Twitter today. (Better than #slatepitches, which is saying a lot.)

Mixed Media

2009-09-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

Media Item #1: Switzerland

Media Item #2: The Criminally Underated Catherine Feeny

Sara and I were lucky enough to catch Come Gather Round Us in a few settings, including a furniture store and rickety house. They are fantastic. Capital "F."
One of their members, Catherine Feeny, has a new solo record streaming at her site and she's also playing at Mosgo's on October 3rd. Those are high-quality songs, people. Try "The Bell and the Anchor" or "People in the Hole."

S-Pain

2009-09-06T16:23:00.000-07:00

So I bought T-Pain's iPhone app, which is basically Auto-Tune and a few Auto-Tune enabled Karaoke songs. You sing, it pitch-shifts you. This is the first experiment, where I asked Sasha to talk in to the mic. She asks to watch Yo! Gabba Gabba on the iPhone instead. I took that clip, loaded it into Audition, cut it up a bunch, found some beats, and did this.

Carribbean Update

2009-08-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

I got a sore throat, showing signs Sunday. Fever, night sweats, acute pain when swallowing and talking.

By Thursday we were in a hospital where English might be the third most-spoken language. Maybe second. Either way, it amplifies my empathy for ESL speakers, especially parents, in the States.

Diagnonsis: Strep throat. The Dutch-accented doctor sent me along with some super-heavy antibiotics and a "I hope your wife doesn't get that." In/out = 1 hour. Sara's been superchamp about getting everyone cared for.

(As for the whole hospital experience, it was pretty cake. We called, he said come down, we did, and $70 (US) we were on our way. A few months ago I went in for strep and it cost $300. What the hell?

*********

So, that's the c0-dominant force in this otherwise awesome trip! I've been resting like there's no tomorrow, and during Sasha/Mike naps, Sara's been getting her pool/beach time in.

(I finally saw Project Runway and was happy to bid adieu to that freak who made the chicken+egg dress.)

Sara's skin is golden brown, and Sasha has yet to burn.

Normally I'd be all "Let's try Kitesurfing!" and "Let's go get lost!" and "Let's vandalize a McDonalds!" So, in a way, it's a good thing.

Sasha's also been enjoying the beach and pool, in mixed doses. Her attitude towards swimming pools has completely swung around. She really likes playing in the sand.

She also has been talking a lot, for no reason. "Who made that circle?" "There's an iguana...Why?"

We've been making the most of it, and it'd be stupid to complain about purely bad luck (someone remind me of this when I'm not on meds). Being sick is much easier on vacation, and letting it get the best of you is extra-senseless here.

I'm on the mend, and we've still got some exploring to to do! Sara's skin is golden brown, and Sasha has yet to burn. So far it's been a blast, and I'm excited to feel well enough to explore during our remaining time here.

East Boulder Lake, Trinity Alps

2009-08-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

Seventeen more photos.

Grassacre

2009-08-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

Goal: a drought-resistant, hassle-free, unique non-lawn that we can do ourselves on the cheap

The front fence became the walkway, no hardware was bought, and Sara timed the plant sales perfectly.

No watering system, no pesticides. Today I saw, for the first time, bees tapping the flowers.

We're not sure it was a good idea yet. Then again, I felt like a jerk pushing that mower around a lawn nobody used.

Eventually, we'll plant a tree of some sort. Until then, we wait for the rain.

Started:
September 2008

Completed:
August 2009

Wanderlust Festival

2009-07-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

More photos.
New York Times story.

The Wanderlust Music & Yoga Festival had it's inaugural event this year, and the Dronks were lucky enough to go. It was in Lake Tahoe, high up in Squaw Valley's Gold Coast upper lodge. We went with Jess and Sean, hooking up with my folks and the Berris along the way.

The main stage was at 8,000 feet; you need a gondola ride to get to it. Best stage siting I've ever seen. Squaw Valley was beautiful in July.

Overall, it was a really fun show. A first-time event has it's issues, but the lineup was really refreshing. I love High Sierra and all that, but it was great to see bands we hadn't seen before (SJ/DK excepted). It was mostly indie rock, which led to a low twirler presence. Nobody offered us mushrooms.

In fact, it was sort of like being in an REI catalog: lots of outdoorsy Bay Area money and lots of yoga folks. Regardless, the manners were almost as good as the vibe. Sasha was joyful for the whole event: really cooperative and happy. Weatherwise, "hot" doesn't quite capture it, but it was a dry heat. That's good, right?

Day 1. Sasha went to Reno with Oma and Opa while we saw MC Yogi, Mutaytor, and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. We walked right by SJ/DK on our way in and managed to throw a thumbs-up their way. After hooking up with Jess and Sean, we watched former bus-driver Sharon Jones prove that she is the hottest 53-year-old on Earth.

Day 2. My folks leave, and we drive back up to Squaw Valley. Sara's yoga class left her sore and over it.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings were great, including a "Didn't Leave Nobody But The Baby" with Jenny Lewis. Lewis's set was pretty good.

I got a few minutes Gillian Welch after the show for a quick interview. New record underway. What's in the box? "Box stuff."

Spearhead canceled due to Michael Franti's ruptured appendix. Wanderlust pulled a Hail-Mary and got Common to fill in. His set was *awesome,* complete with a Tahoe-specific freestyle. Surprise highlight.

Also nice, a wall-size get-well card for Franti, which fans signed.

Day 3. A quick dip in Lake Tahoe proved fun. No yoga. No way.

The hugely likeable Mates of State, a husband/wife band who tour with their lil' kids, were epic. She plays the keys, he the drums, and they both sing. Belt, more accurately. Another musician helped fill out their shockingly full sound. We were both fans before, but now it's on a whole new level. Sasha, who loves MoS, napped through it.

I had a fun interview with them later, despite some sonic intrusion from a violinist 6 feet away. (Thanks, Andrew Bird.) After criss-crossing their path a while later, it seems that we're "Hi/Bye" friends.

Caught some Broken Social Scene, caught some William Fitzsimmons, caught some Andrew Bird. Also spotted Adrian Grenier (Entourage's Vincent Chase) walking around with a Spearhead man-purse.

We headed out to Yuba City to crash with Chris and Kim Berri. Sasha learned to beatbox ("Like Biz [Markie]!"). The Berris gave us homemade beer and and a bed to sleep in. We watched an extreme-cake show until 1am. Sasha loves Kim. So do we. Chris, too. Also: Shawn who watched Charlie and Eric who gave Casey her meds.

Day 4. Goodbye, Berris! Good people. Rolled out of Yuba after visiting one of the west's best: The Cookie Tree. Respect the CT.
Swam in the Eel. Listened to Mates of State. Came home. We're clean.

Glenn Beck

2009-07-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

In the crowded arena of radio shouters, Glenn Beck unearths a new low at 3:00 minutes into the clip. The aftershock at 3:31 is just dessert.

I'm Not Dead Yet 1.1

2009-07-02T20:57:00.000-07:00

(slight revision)

Short story: I have Strep, maybe MRSA, and an ear infection.

Some reports of my condition, while hopefully well-intended, are exaggerated. This has made life complicated, perhaps unnecessarily. Like, if you told someone you had Swine Flu, you'd have to go through that whole explanation about how pedestrian it usually is. Apples and oranges, but you get the idea.

I'm not an expert, but the doctor gave me no reason for alarm. Neither did my mom, who's a nurse. The doctor even said I could go out in public if I felt up to it. I don't, but it's good to know. I don't want to understate the situation, because MRSA can be bad news. But I'm taking the word of my doctor and my mom, who said "People get worked up about it, but you'll be fine in a few days."
_________

This thing came on pretty quick. I went to Urgent Care this morning because something didn't feel right. Every minute or so when swallowing, it felt like was someone closing their hand around my neck.

"Strep, for sure," said the doctor. "Looks like a truck ran over your throat."

Since I don't know anyone sick right now, it was odd. Halfway through the visit, I rolled up my sleeve and showed him this scab I had from a rugburn last week. "This isn't related, right?"

"Oh my," he said. This mostly-healed abrasion was infected.

So now I'm getting treated for MRSA.

No, it's not confirmed because he couldn't swab the abscess (since it was mostly healed up), but that was his theory. Yes, MRSA is actually treatable.

The doctor said unless you and I press open wounds together, I won't get you sick. Lots of people carry on their skin. It's common, I guess.

But yeah, he seemed unconcerned. My mom was more concerned about the Strep, which kills 400,000 people a year worldwide.

I'm buffing my house to a high gloss with biocide wipes, which may or not be necessary. I'm doing it anyway. Who doesn't like to wipe?

But wait! There's more!

The doctor was checking out my ears for some reason and said I have an outer ear infection. "You like Q-tips, huh?" So now I'm on two separate antibiotics. I'm going to miss Q-tips so much. I'd touch brain if that stupid eardrum wouldn't stop me.

______________

Sara, as always, is taking great care of me. She's making smoothie runs, buying antiseptic chemicals that we normally wouldn't have in the house, etc. She's healthy today, as is Sasha. Fingers crossed. I take care when sick, and feel strongly about containment. I feel better now than this morning, but I'm still running a fever.

In conclusion, this is a good time to rest, eat healthy, drink lots of water, and watch old Colbert Reports.

"Some People Say Rappers Don't Have Feelings"

2009-06-29T20:32:00.000-07:00

"We have feelings.
Some people say we're not rappers.
It hurts our feelings when you say we're not rappers."

-Flight of the Conchords

So, we ("Z" and myself) wrote and recorded a rap until 3:30 am on Friday. That was a new experience.

I knew rap was difficult, but this was a surprise.

I'd post it here, but due to the nature of my job, it's over on my semi-anonymous co-MC's blog.
He's a better rapper than I, and it's got three samples from Clifford.

Go Iran

2009-06-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

If you're going to only click one link, click here.

A guy at work used to do news and did a story on Iran. He said that it was one of the most wired countries in the world.

The election demonstrations are incredible, seeing them live-blogged is equally amazing. Despite turning off text messaging, Gmail, Yahoo, etc, we're still seeing this stuff more vividly than ever.

The stuff that's coming out of Iran (and beyond) is incredible in so many ways: censorship workarounds, Twitter, student bravery, picasa blogs, cops shooting into crowds, even sports coverage. If you scroll down some of those #iranelection feeds to when events were just heating up, it's shocking. A friend in Australia called it a tapestry of dissent.

The other day, someone said something that I'd never thought I'd feel: Go Iran.

Beach Living Has Perks

2009-06-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

It's been fantastic weather, and we had a lil' picnic with the Smiths over at Bay Street.

The surf was really fun, and the kids ran themselves silly.

Also, the surf was really fun.

Palm Springs

2009-04-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

Sara's mom turned 60 this weekend. She lives in LA, so we met her there and drove out to Palm Springs. Not bad livin' out there. Windy as all get-out, but we had a good time. We hit the Discovery Museum, did some shopping, and Sara and I got to go see "I Love You, Man," which was hi-larious.

We fly back tomorrow. Good times.

Postponed No More

2009-04-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

The board fits on the bag.
The gear fits in the bag.
Marine forecast is great.
We canceled last year.
The flowers are out.
No chance of rain.
It's on!

That's Got To Hurt

2009-03-30T18:36:00.001-07:00

"It was Mrs. Crafty, in the sewing room, with the rotary cutter."

Sara recounts the incident over at her craft blog. (She seems oddly proud, like a surfer who's been attacked by a shark. )

What was most creepy, from my view, was when she passed out. Both times, her eyes stayed open as her glasses were knocked askew.

You're right: that's less weird than the fact I retrieved and froze the meaty flesh-filet. Still there in the freezer. Wanna see?

More flickr gore.
________________________

Naturally, we've been comparing injury stories:

Mr. D reports that once, he put a chisel right into the meat of his palm.

Am told Mr. R apparently went into deep his own finger with a power saw. Almost lost it.

I've had my hand opened (and stitched closed) thanks to hobo dogs and river rocks.

You?

Great Shape (for dead)

2009-03-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

We first heard that there was a white shark scare at Camel Rock. I was told Whitey was probably checking out the dead juvenile whale that bobbed around Trinidad before washing up on the right side of Houda point. What? A dead whale?
We're there!

Being whale-carcass afficionados, we went out on Saturday's low tide. Andy, Ava, Zeke and Owen came out, too. The whale was easy to find.

Suprisingly, it didn't have the throat-choking odor that often accompanies dead whales. It didn't smell good, but at least you could walk right up to it without your eyes watering.

Sasha and I talked about how the whale was slowly going back to nature. A surfer said a biology class came out the day before to remove some whale parts; does that count?

While there were some guts scattered about, it wasn't too decayed, probably because it was below the high-tide line. With that, though, is the constant trickle of shark-attracting odor washing into Humboldt's most popular surfing waters.

On that note, a surfer asked me if I knew anything about the recent white shark tagging operation. I knew nothing. He'd heard that someone was tagging (and presumably tracking) white sharks nearby. 10 had been tagged between the mouth of the Mad and Trinidad, he added.

Afterward, we wandered the beach, climbed rocks, drew sand pictures, and enjoyed the weather.

7'4 Fish

2009-03-17T19:06:00.000-07:00

You're nerdy, flat, uncool, funny-shaped, and Deanna thought you were from Ikea.

I love you. Let's go away.

Haircut: FAIL

2009-02-11T19:04:00.001-08:00

Sometime between plugging the clippers into the socket and applying them to my head, the little plastic blade guard fell off.

Of course, I fly out to a work conference tomorrow.

Sicko II

2009-02-10T19:21:00.000-08:00

While Sasha was getting better, Sara was coming down with something. We thought it might pass, but no.

Sara's had this going on for nine days now, which was surely extended by the stress of a sick toddler. Today, she went in to see a doctor.

Confirmed: Bronchitis AND a fever.
Antibiotics: order up.

On the good side, Sasha is recovering well from her infections.

_____________

Down at my work, we've been really lucky for the last several days. We've had a wide range of talent stop by to do their thing. I think we've been scoring big (although I might re-EQ 2/9).

If you can grab podcasts from my work, check the four from February 6-10.

Sicko

2009-02-02T19:58:00.000-08:00

Pinkeye is going around the daycare.
She also has a new ear infection and a fever.

We've been swabbing out eye-boogers since Saturday. For such sick kid, she's being a total champ. Most of the time, she's pretty chipper.

Today, she called handed me a toy ducky and said "Here, Mike."

Sara picked up something funky, too.

Extreme Sports

2009-01-19T21:00:00.000-08:00

Eventually, one of these guys is going to be a meat waffle on the side of a mountain. Until then, this remains one of the most stunning things the internet has ever provided.

Seriously, though. How do you turn?

See more funny videos and Technology Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Who Loves Auto Repair!? We Do!

2008-12-29T20:36:00.000-08:00

(Pardon the lack of identifying details, but we want our options open if we, say, go to small claims court. Which we won't.)

__________

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Attributed to Albert Einstein.

Funny story about that quote....(and by "funny," I mean "$4000.")

So.

My Check Engine Light went on after a trip to the mountains. It was three weeks later that I had a opportunity to take the car in.

I go to a non-dealer shop. They change the oil and turn off the CEL. "We don't really know what that was about." That's weird, but whatever. The light's off, so they send me on my way.

Two days later, the light's back on! WTF.

It feels less urgent this time, so I wait until the next oil change to have it looked at. Now it's June, and this time, we go to the dealer. Actually, my mom goes. They change the oil but forgot about the light, so she goes back that same day.

They "pull the codes" on the CEL, fail to give cause for further inspection, turn it off, and send her home. (Again.)

So...two mechanic visits and even the dealer shrugs it off, I get the hint.

"The car's fine," purred the Universe. "It's probably the Check Engine Light itself." Works for me.

"Good point, Universe, that's happened to me before. Am I wiser than the mechanics? NO. Being a sane person, I shan't repeat this malarkey."

Now, it gets awesome! (By "awesome," I mean "fist-clenchingly annoying.")

__________

My sweet, sweet car, in happier times.

_________

So, months and months go by, and now the car is idling harder. The engine is timid. The light is blinking sorrowfully. Back to the dealer we go.

First of all, the dealer has no record of checking the CEL over the summer. Weird. Paperwork is signed. I go to work.

Two hours later: "Hi, it's the auto shop. Your engine is essentially crushing itself due to misfiring pistons. You want us to see if it's salvageable at all?"

"Wait, what?!?!?" She wasn't kidding. We authorize further exploration, which somehow gets postponed the next day.

Thankfully, someone at the shop goes to bat for us and the manufacturer's rep agrees to cover half the repair costs. This is good! Meanwhile, we check the web to see where we went wrong.

Hey, look! Our make/model/year has a lengthy history of faulty engines. Something about bad aluminum at the engine plant? I know someone with the same car, and the dealer covered 100% of her repair. Our case worker responds that the automaker's local rep offers rebates based on "what kind of mood he's in." Classy!

Furthermore, the interweb is full of stories exactly like ours: CEL comes on, no clue why, oh well. Miles go by, then "Whoops! Your car is dead. You shoulda had that looked at sooner!" Talk of a class-action lawsuit litters the message boards. People are pissed, in large numbers. Sara's fury is intimidating and kinda cool at the same time.

Back at the shop, the labor/parts bill is soaring. My mom got wind of the car trouble, and offered up the last of her meager inheritance from her own mom's passing to help us out. Which is great!

But, how soul-crushing is it that grandma's money is going to solve a stupid car issue? Regardless: beggars, choosers....we're deeply grateful for her help. It's a Christmas Miracle (with a depressing undercurrent)!

Days pass. I bum rides. We stew. We research. They work on it. Charlie stays home every day, sullen and depressed.

"You're probably not getting your car back until after Christmas," they say. K and S generously lend me their car while they're out of town.

__________

The day after Christmas, the shop calls. "Your car is ready." Sweet!

The shop total is over $4ooo. My mom (actually, her deceased mom) absorbed much of the discounted cost. We're still out of money, and now we're even "outer" of money. At Christmastime. Whatever. It's only a car, and I'm so grateful to have it back! I drive away, glad that it's in the past.

Lessons learned:
1. The light goes on for a reason, even if the mechanic doesn't know what it is
2. You can get by without a car, but regular maintenance is better
3. The Universe is a slacker
4. Selectively ignore Einstein, who might not even be the source of that stupid quote

__________

So, I got the car back on Saturday. Today, (Monday), my Check Engine Light flickered back to life.

Zeke Survived A Call-In Show

2008-12-23T21:12:00.000-08:00

Remember that one radio show that's, in my view, simply awesome? Zeke called in!

I've been listening for years and have never called, partially because the host is known for terminating calls with gusto. Imagine stepping into the arena with a wild giraffe on the loose. It could be good. Or not. You just don't know! It's like the Soup Nazi, just funny. You're supposed to get on the air, you make your point, and get out, which he did. The unspoken agreement is "entertainment and efficiency."

Not only did Zeke NOT get hung up on, but survived unscathed. And made a great point!

Quality call, Zeke from Eureka, California. Top shelf.

You Need A Bangin' Donk

2008-12-14T20:28:00.000-08:00

Yes, there are much more interesting things to write about (double-birthday awesomeness, tacky sweater party), but I can't stop saying "Puh uh DONK ah it." Over and over.

Best description: terrifying/amusing. And utterly catchy. Like the Macarena.

Via Fact (and practically every UK music blog): "Ever wondered what would happen if you crossed hard house with happy hardcore with niche with woefully substandard grime-style MCing?"

De-Donk me, please, before this goes international/viral.

Tunnels

2008-11-22T18:21:00.000-08:00

Note to people trying to end cell phone converstations: "I'm losing you, I'm going into a tunnel....hello?" doesn't work in Humboldt county.

We don't have a tunnel, do we? At least, none that I know of, and certainly none big enough to lose cell reception.

There's this one in Marin. There's apparently one on the 199.

Are those the closest real tunnels?

The pride is back!

2008-11-05T17:25:00.000-08:00

Is this what it feels like to be proud of your country? This is awesome! Jess, who is CanadAmerican, said "This is what it's like when you're Canadian!"
Where do they sell American flags?

While I was out watching local politics, apparently there was quite the party at home. I took the recycling out: 4 champagne bottles, 2 wine bottles, a bottle mead, a bottle of Jamesons, and 18 beers.

**

Over at Lost Coast Brewery, normally loud, was dead quiet during Obama's acceptance speech, punctuated by huge bursts of applause.

I'm just so glad that we'll have someone who doesn't openly mock thoughtful discourse. Someone who hasn't made a selling point of drawing lines in the sand.

And thank heavens we won't have a VP who's primary selling point is perky cultural victimhood.

**

I took Sasha into the booth with me, and she filled out the bubbles.
Not usually one for parental sentimentality, I really felt proud to have her make history.

I'm just hoping she's too young right now to remember anything about the Bush years.

Besides the failure of Prop. 8, which totally baffles us (Marriage isn't for everyone? Really?) Sara and I are relieved that common sense dominated on Prop. 2. Not like it was hard call. The goodguy/badguy line was pretty clear. You can't subject a sentient creature to a living hell for the sake of "cheapness."

And seriously, I'm relieved for Republicans. GWB has done you wrong, and alienated everyone along the way. Vilifying intellectuals, along with his myopic, good-old-boy nationalism has only shamed the party. He didn't even walk the talk (small gov't). Now a clear path for a respectable, post-Rove GOP has been laid, and we can leave his man-child immaturity behind.

**

Don't you actually fee like we can reprioritize education, global sensitivity, and respect for the planet?

My only regret about election night is that, since I was working, I feel I still have some group hugs to get out of my system.

Radio Radio

2008-10-27T19:01:00.000-07:00

I can't really explain why I love The Best Show on WFMU so much, other than it's damn funny. It's been hell trying to explain the show, but I know people who would love it. It's, by far, my favorite show on public radio. So I started shoving some clips around and out pops this:

It's not for everyone, and pretty much nobody I know likes it the way I do. It sort of pours the medium itself into a new form. I should really stop now.

Trinity Alps '08

2008-10-12T20:35:00.001-07:00

It was fun. And cold. That's the trip in two sentences. But the cold was a unique experience. It was literally Mt.-Everest-Base-Camp-cold.

We made it from Humboldt Bay to the Trail Gulch trailhead in 3 1/2 hours, and used the remaining twilight hiking up to the lake.

Headlamp hiking? Fun. Setting up camp in the dark? No problem. Setting up camp when it's freezing?

Things you need working fingertips for:

1. Zippers
2. Tent poles
3. Stakes
4. Lighters
5. Stoves

...and so on. It was snowing lightly while we set up.

Secondly, freezing water is a drag. I think that's why my water pump popped a crack. Plus, sleeping with all your unfreezables (contacts, Nalgene, saline, etc) sucks.

Shawn thought it might have been in the teens overnight, including wind chill. Oh yeah, it was windy, too. A tree blew down overnight.

I had a zero degree mummy zipped/cinched up with only a periscope hole to breath through. Charlie was on a mat, under a blanket, which was inadequate. Sorry, Charlie.

Shiver, almost sleep, shiver, cover Charlie, stay awake, cover Charlie, sorta sleep, check watch, think, doze, wake. That was the night.

Charlie popped my Thermarest that morning. I guess we're even.

So, the next day was beautiful. And cold.

We hiked up to Deadman's Peak (7200 ft) and spent the "warm" part of the day up there. This made up for the night, and then some. The view of Shasta was exceptional, the vodka was just right, and the dogs got to rest.

We discussed the difference between misery and suffering, and decided that we were only suffering that night.

On the hike down from Deadmans, discomfort (both general and specific) gave us the kick we needed to say "No seriously, let's not repeat that."

In the end, it was fun. And cold.

For Those About To Murder The Classics

2008-10-02T21:29:00.000-07:00

Almost nobody knew the song(s) all the way through, but these are the awesomest.

No amount of post-production could bring Katsten's vocals up, but it was fun as hell to put "Eru" and "Rockhouse" together for one epic jam.

There actually could be more cowbell.

Let me know if you want the mp3s, you know, for evidence.

Boom Averted/Bangs Achieved

2008-09-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

At least I got the text message. Say the nearby pilot light had found some natural gas, I probably wouldn't have.

But our old electric dryer died, and Craigslist found us a gas dryer. Sara set it up while I went to a show (that's right), but something was amiss.

Sara called Adam, who rolled over and found the leak in the hose. Now we have a bitchin' used gas dryer that is supposedly more efficient. And Sara and Sasha didn't blow up. Bonus! Thanks, Adam!

*********
Speaking of Sasha, I felt that her vision might be compromised by having hair in her face.

After much deliberation and consensus gathering, we finally decided "Hey, let's give her those bangs. If they look stupid, they'll grow out."

But those polled were right: it's fine, and now her hair isn't in her eyes. I want to take it to the next phase: Mullet. Come ON. She won't care.

Naptunes

2008-09-01T14:35:00.001-07:00

I've been trying to record/mix/master stuff during Sasha's naps. The goal: finish a sketch before she wakes up.

Before her nap today:
Me: "I have this idea. Take the heaviness of Portishead and roll up some of the sadness of Old Time."
Sara:" Mhmm."

Since I am an incompetent banjo player, "Naptime 3" contains a sad sample from Adam Hurt's version of "Fall of Richmond."

"Naptime 2" is the result of too much Joe Strummer and Dr. Dre.

Outside Lands Fest, SF

2008-08-26T07:27:00.000-07:00

Pictured, in whatever non-order Blogger arranges them: Mother Hips, Devendra Banhart, Lupe Fiasco, Nellie McKay, Natalie Portman, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. More at the Flickr site.

This Is What It Will Be Like All The Time

2008-07-28T18:34:00.000-07:00

We need a sitter for a just-scheduled, can't-miss show in Arcata.

Should you say yes, you will read Voltaire and US Weekly to this little angel on the couch. Then, she will fashion you an origami bouquet.

Under no circumstances will she cry, need food, or relieve herself. Not without your express permission, that is.

Everything Must Go

2008-07-20T13:47:00.000-07:00

The coalition rounded up at $500 overall. A good time was had: zingers were flung, pizza destroyed, items given new life, and landfill spared. At least two-thirds of the stuff sold.

The good: Mr. T lunchtray, mini-foosball table

The bad: S'mores Presentation set (for use "indoors AND outdoors"), Dianetics

The ugly: that one dude who kept telling me how hot Sara was, plus ironic gradient-fill on one of our signs

The surprise: 10:45 AM is not too early for Gin and/or Tonic.

Semi-Backpacking

2008-07-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, the call was made to change backpacking routes from the smokey, fire-encircled Trinities to the clear-ish coastal Redwood National Park.

I took the opportunity of a short, close-to-home hike to try my hand at ultralight packing. No tent, only the tarp/fly. No toiletry bag, just exactly the few items I'd need. No nothin' other than survival gear (except for the camera, it's case, and a therma-rest sling.) 24 lbs. is the lightest I've ever gone (I'm big, shut up), so that is getting filed under "success." It felt like cheating.

S, K, and N went in early, and I hiked in Saturday morn. I brought a surfboard up and checked the usual spots on the way up to the trailhead. No luck.

Getting my permit at the ranger station, the woman said "You're hiking in from where? You leaving your car there overnight? Bad idea, buddy. It's close to town, and break-ins are pretty common."
"How common?"
"Common. We tell everyone not to park there."

Well, that sucks to hear if you have an impossible-to-conceal surfboard in your car. So it goes. Hike in. Beautiful. Townes Van Zandt sings sad songs until the posted warnings tell me to stay alert because of that one cougar. Silent hiking is also great.

When I found the riverbar campsite, K said that Ian once had his truck robbed at that same parking lot. That sucks to hear, as well. Hmmm. Setting up my ultralight-mode tent proved challenging, in that riverbed rocks don't take tent stakes well. Success attained.

We hone our leisure skills. Swim in the creek, sit in the sun, throw rocks at various targets until our arms are weak. Jokes, laughter, lunch, chill, jokes. Evening approaches. Cook dinner on my bitchin' new ultralight stove (love it!).

After dinner, the love of my carbound surfboard surges forth. I tell S, K, and N. "This sounds crazy, but I think I'm going to hike out. "
S says, "Yes, that is pretty crazy."
"Yeah, but if anyone cruises that lot, my board is the first thing they'll see. And my insurance, well, who knows."

Satisfied with the day, I pack up and hike out. Next time, leave the board home.

High Sierra Recap

2008-07-07T21:10:00.000-07:00

So, now that the bags are unpacked and the wristbands cut off, we're dead. So tired. So. Tired.

This year's High Sierra Music Festival was awesome. Not unlike Michael Franti & Spearhead, it's never a question of if the show's going to be good. It's just a matter of how good. Every year the campsite ("pleasure dome") gets a little cooler, and this year we had extra everything.

Our crew, in order of distance traveled:

April and Larry in from Oakdale via Montana or something
Julie and Brian in from AZ
Jen and Box/Westside Eka
Sara, Sasha, and Mike/Northside Eka
Dawn, Larry, and Jack/ Ferndale
Kim and Chris from Yuba City

This year was smoky. There were wildfires all over NorCal, and we drove through tons of of smoke (and an active fire zone!). The wind pushed it up toward the festival three out of the four days.

It was really great to see old faces, especially when those old faces were either dirt-encrusted or adorned with glowsticks. Or both. Whatever.

The headliners, we didn't seem to care for (excepting Spearhead, duh). But the smaller, newer bands generally ranged from surprisingly good to literally stunning. Sara's favorite band was the gently beautiful EverybodyFields. James Hunter was unreal, as was Abigail Washburn's Sparrow Quartet. Spearhead blew it up, as did NoLa's Trombone Shorty. More props: Langhorne Slim, Ryan Montbleau, Mother Hips, March Fourth Marching Band.

Sasha did great. She's such a trooper. People loved her headphones, which allowed us to get much closer to the speakers than last year.

You know when you're a kid and you go to camp? That what this is. It's Fun Camp. It's where everybody who's randomly friendly to strangers gets together. Good music, freaky people, and total release. Photos here.

HSMF Field Notes and Quotes:

There was a small wedding on the Yoga Thursday night: officiant, wedding party, and all. Instant honeymoon!

This other couple in front of me had semi-discreet sex in the middle of the mainstage's music bowl during Built To Spill's set. (I found this noteworthy, but the campsite crew yawned it off. )

"Nice shirt!" - more than a few people, appreciating the Big Lebowski shirt Zeke gave me.

"Not on the rug, man." - Bumper sticker at Nathan Moore's campsite

"Don't break the seal, dude." - A guy sharing a theory of festival hygiene that relied on not showering or using the bathroom until Monday.

"Chicks dig the funk." -Same guy, bragging about going to Reggae on the River in a moldy tent with sweatlodge blankets. Ironically, he was volunteering for HSMF's shower crew.

"Is that Kashmir?....Alright." - Chris, finally being convinced to go see Bustle In Your Hedgerow

"There was a typewriter solo. It was good." - Julie, when asked about the band Sneakin' Out

"Can I play with your hair?" - Some chick who was really, really into Kim's locks

"OhMyGodOhMyGod!" - Jen, after getting kissed by Michael Franti, who is like totally her boyfriend now

"...and he was all, like, fuckin,' meeeeoooooaaaw!" - Box, admiring Buckethead's guitar prowess

"Preferably with someone who's not tripping out on anything. Or, I can drive your car." - Jill Andrews from The Everybodyfields, asking the audience for a ride to SF

"You missed out, but you'll get your chance to see it." - Joey, bragging about his Jaminator

"We're camping with the Republicans." - April, reveling in the opulence of HSMF's RV section.

"You mean the Shastafarians?" - Little kid at the pool, describing the people from his hometown of Mt. Shasta.

"So do I!" - Topless lady with a "Free Hugs" sign around her neck, after Jen said she wanted a free hug.

"That was smooshy." - Jen, ten seconds later.

Boxing Day

2008-06-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

My (Mike's) mom is in town, which is great. She lets me drive her Prius. In exchange, I showed her the wonders of the Nintendo Wii.

Caption Needed

2008-06-16T19:20:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken by Wilco's lead guitarist, who emailed it to a guy I know, who sent it to another person I know, who bounced it over. In other words, the smile isn't for PR. It's for music.

24% More Coordinated

2008-06-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

Admit it: it's not as funny if she's not pratfalling all over the place.

18% More Balance

2008-05-27T22:41:00.000-07:00

AnOde to Some Code

2008-05-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

Today I engaged in a friendly IM battle with someone doubting the power of Google Reader, so let me just take a sec to espouse it's virtues. Other people like Pipes or iGoogle homepages. Not me. I freaking love Reader, and it works for me perfectly. No, I don't have a deal with Google. It's that awesome.

(Don't understand RSS feeds? You look at lots of blogs, so you need some sort of RSS reader that piles them all up, looks at them for you, and shows you only the new stuff. Then click on one page every day instead of 70 or whatever.)

Recently, it looks like more people are "sharing" items in their Reader, and I can't even say how awesome that is. Y'all who are sharing stuff: thank you. The most interesting stuff comes my way because you're clicking on the little "share" thing. You know who you are.

Yes, oversharing happens with some folks. And yes, I've seen some aggression in the "share with note" feature. I so don't care.

Here's my point. If a piece of code is going to save me hours a week or more, watch my news, keep me updated on my peeps, read what they're sharing, and keep my inbox clear of update-notifications, color me grateful. That means more time doing real life. Best o' both.

In fact, I have that same enthusiasm that hit me when I got my first email account in the 90's. I doubt there's a better way to do what Reader does, but if you know a way, I'll listen. Technology rules.

Free Drum Project

2008-05-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

Maybe a year ago, I started begging publicly for spare drum parts. I used to play in middle school, and it was fun. Why not relive the dream, right?

So, one guy last year had a snare he didn't need anymore. Then, last weekend, I secured a kick drum (rusty), two cymbals, and some sticks. Then, by chance, a rummage sale in Bayside had a kick pedal and cymbal stand. I'm in business, baby!

Workarounds: cat litter box is the snare stand, excercise ball is the stool.

Drums are fun. They really are. The problem is that I suck at them. I've recorded them, and they sound good enough. They sound a lot better coming of of my Reason sampler, due to my near total lack of skill.

You know who really loves my new drums? Sara. I'm. Not. Being. Sarcastic. At. All.

So it goes. I'm on the prowl for more parts. Know anyone?

Still looking for: floor tom, rack toms, hi-hat, hi-hat stand, cymbal stand, and a stool. You know how to find me.

Look out, Jens Henneman.

Last full day today

2008-04-21T00:54:00.000-07:00

Surfed a reef in the middle of Hanalei bay this AM by myself (and a turtle); overhead in the sets. That's about as good as it gets. Checked out Wailua falls later. Meanwhile, down at Kalipaki (photos), the surf looked micro and playful. Surfed there last week; a 30 year old flight attendant drowned there yesterday. How?

Tomorrow evening, after cleaning this place, we fly to LAX/SFO/ACV, red-eye style.

It's been fun here: not too long, not too short. It'll be good to see the pets and even better to get Sasha back on her routine. Yes, it's good to keep them flexible, but man, can I get an "amen" for predictable nap times? Glory be.

Back to Humboldt at 10:30 AM local time on Tuesday.

Hawaiian Sovereignty: Haole-style

2008-04-20T01:15:00.000-07:00

Since arriving, we've heard a steady trickle of talk related to Hawaiian sovereignty. Some of it has been direct (there's a good radio show devoted to it), but most of it has been indirect: a comment here, a bumper sticker there. That's their original flag (not "state flag").

Without going into the whole history, it's your basic colonial imperial story:

In 1893, Queen Lydia Liliuokalani was deposed in a coup organized by Sanford Dole, (the pineapple/banana guy is on the left, see how comfortable everyone in the photo looks?), and supported by US marines. Five years later the islands were annexed. American, Japanese, Chinese, Portugese, and other groups populated the island, crowding the indigenous culture. Statehood followed in 1959, and the Hawaiian-ness of the island has slipped ever since.

So, yeah, that's exxxtreme Manifest Destiny for you. What makes it different from the US's treatment of Natives on the mainland? I don't want to get into "Whose injustice is greater," because there's more than enough to go around. Suffice to say that the relative recency, isolation, and cultural unity of the Hawaiian people are a unique situation.

Can the sovereignty movement take off? It seems to be gathering followers. Apparently there's a Hawaiian government of sorts that's been meeting formally. There are a series of blogs that follow it, and again, bumper stickers, posters, slogans, anthems, etc...it's all in place.

I asked our neighbor here about it. He said that most people who are into it are sort of like voter-fraud conpiracy nuts: right about everything, fighting the good fight, but basically kooky. (Our neighbor, by the way, has lived here since '62 and is pro-sovereignty in a "Sure, that'd be nice" way.)

He also said that any such independence would be fraught with problems, not the least of which that Hawaiian-ness, for now, has racial undertones. Also, the islands depend on the mainland's insfrastructure, food, and funding.

Sara and I have been trying to think of a single reason that Hawaiian sovereignty shouldn't happen, and we've come up with crap: world maps and US flags have to be redesigned, Hawaii might just get taken over by China eventually anyway, economic collapse would lower local quality of life.

On the other, much larger hand, freedom and self-determination are pretty sweet. Same for preserving cultural identity.

It does seem that a lot of these grievances are in the past, and there's not much you can do about that. As for current oppression, who knows. All I know is that, since we've been here, I've noticed that white people aren't doing undesirable jobs (gardener, street sweeper, line cook, busser, etc).

Could total sovereignty work? How would it happen? Given the low profile on the mainland, total independence looks impossible. Maybe they'll shoot for a Puerto Rico deal. The Dalai Lama's only asking for cultural autonomy for Tibet from China, so who knows what Hawaiian leaders think they can/should get. (Speaking of Tibet, there are so many comparisons, I'm not even going list them.)

Either way, are we missing something, or is there a moral wrong waiting to be righted?

So, yeah. Food for thought from some dumb tourists who've been here maybe a month, collectively.

Waimea Hiking, Kohana Plantation

2008-04-18T00:36:00.000-07:00

We took a side trip a few days ago down to the south/west side of the island, which is leeward and essentially arid. The Waimea canyon was our first stop, and yeah, it does basically look like a smaller Grand Canyon.

The next stop was Koke'e State Park, which is the inland access point for the Na Pali coast. It's not unlike the Lost Coast: too steep, remote, and isolated to develop. Big mountains drop down to the coastline. We hiked around in there, and the going was slightly tough. All in all, it was the most incredible trail we have ever hiked, ever. It's that awesome.

After that, we hit up some shave ice, and then it was off to surf Pakala. Someone tipped me that Pakala was the longest left in the world. I don't know about all that, but it was a long, clean, workable wall that A-framed overhead and just kept going. Lots of goofy footers in the water here.

Today was the first day on the whole trip that I didn't catch an overhead wave. The north shore is showing a small swell tomorrow, which means I'll probably try SUP surfing. Today didn't disappoint, though. We took a train through an old plantation, fed some tiny pigs, and went to the beach. Snorkeling rules. I saw an octopus!

Anyway, we keep kicking around more interesting stuff, like the pros/cons of hotel accomodation, Hawaiian sovereignty, and island culture, but somehow we don't blog it. Maybe later. The sovereignty is particularly interesting to us.

By the way, I'm warming up to Jahwaiian music.

Kauai: Pictures

2008-04-14T23:30:00.000-07:00

Kauai: Field Notes

2008-04-13T22:06:00.000-07:00

So we've been driving around, listening to local radio, which has been fun. I'd recommend it to anyone when traveling. Or whenever. Anyway.

There's a whole station of nothing but "Island Music" called "Surf 95.9." I think Joel Agnew (who lives on Maui) works for the radio group that owns it, because I swear I heard his voice on a PSA.

Right now you're like "Island music? Lots of ukelele?" You wish.
Oh my. That music is terrible. Tear-uh-bull.

What's it sound like? Let's start with a pop-reggae base, then:

1. Dumb the lyrical vocabulary down to about the 8th grade (strike 1)
2. Use synthesized horns that do not sound remotely like horns (strike 2)
3. Remove any hint of real percussion, replace with mid-80s drum machines (strike 5)

Jah-waiian, they call it, and it hates subtlety as much as it hates graphic design. Besides rote calls for revolution and one-love, you can enjoy love songs and party jams, with song titles like "Love Song" and "Party Jam."

OK, I guess it's only as terrible as pop on the mainland (New Country Music, I'm looking at you). Just with, like, worse production value and lyrics that scrape out new depths of meaninglessness:

"Haleakala, the temple of the sun....
"We're just having fun. No need to run, no need to packa gun."
(Repeat 12 times)

Oh man.
Right then, I bet the songwriter was like "Let's see....I've got two things that end in 'un' and I need a third..." and didn't rightfully reject the very first idea.

Like anything, it's just another example of the mainstream giving you the dumbest version. There was a killer show on KKCR that had more traditional island music, songs of sovereignty, and some scratchy recordings of old-timey Hawaiian stuff that was truly compelling.

To Jah-waiian's credit, it is relentlessly positive and upbeat, which is preferrable to bad-boy anthems. Also in the "plus" column is that at least it has a local feel. And the station has a strong colloquial sound with Pidgin-accented DJs. It's ad breaks sound full, so it's got support. So, more power to them. We're listening, right?

____

Before leaving, I brought a hat from Target. Twelve bucks to keep skin cancer at bay? Fair enough. Yes, I knew it looked really touristy. Sara has now ruled that it looks *far* too lame, and historically, she often let me take "lame" right up to the limit with nary a complaint.

So, while she was with Sasha, I bought a new hat. Upon seeing it, Sara has ruled against that hat, too. She said it was a "jerkface" hat. Tourist or jerkface, I should stop buying hats. I'm not sure which one is worse.

You make the call:

___

Sasha can now say "Bellybutton" and show you where it is. She can also climb up to the couch herself.

Sara and Sasha finally got some sunny beach time (it's been cloudy/windy/rainy/sunny). I think a little sunburn might have occurred.

Sasha's whole sleeping and eating routine has been pretty rough. Her Girl Interrupted shenanigans just led to a screaming fit at 10pm, which is two hours past her regular bedtime. Supposedly, since we're not killing her, we're making her stronger?

_____

If someone said, "You must eat your way to the bottom of this bathtub full of creamy, crunchy Moana Loa macadamia nuts," there would be zero hesitation on my part. Who doesn't love those nuts?

Kauai: Just The Facts

2008-04-12T00:44:00.000-07:00

Lodging: Townhouse in Princeville, North Shore Kauai
Price: Free
What This Place Kicks: Ass
Example Set By It's Owner: Inspiring
Times Locked Out Accidentally: 1
Attitude: Aloha
Weather: More clouds than sun, with some super-intense rain
Flash Floods Escaped: 1
Amt. Of Rain Leaked Into Rental Car Via Surf-Rack Straps: Approx. 3 Cups
Surf Sessions: 3 1/2, in as many days
Board: 9'6 Hap Jacobs epoxy noserider
Noserides: 3
Mustache Rides: 0
Swell: NW 6 @ 12, E wind (offshore)
Shark Advisories This Week: 1
Shark Advisories This Decade: 1
Sasha Sleeping Pattern: Erratic
Sara and Mike Sleeping Pattern: See above
Most Reliable Pancake: Banana w/ Macadamia Nuts
Wild Rooster Count: Unknown
Closest 6o+ Half-Deaf Groovy Surfer/Diver: Next door
Location of Skunky Odor: See above
Hottest Trend on the Water: Stand-Up Paddle Surfing
Worst Thing Since Surf Leashes (According To Codgers in the Lineup): See Above
Radio Highlight: KKCR (Think tropical KMUD)
Live Music Highlight: Melama Pono Allstars' saw-player
Sasha Lowlight: Mike allowing the usually free-standing baby-framepack to topple over, face-first, in the sand with Sasha strapped in it
Sasha Highlight: Flirting with chickens and catching her first wave
Plans: Zero
Chilling Level (Expressed as a Guitar Amp Setting): 11
Number Of Perfectly Good But Empty Waves: Unknown

Thrilla In Manila

2008-03-08T15:32:00.000-08:00

First Disc Golf game:
September, 1995
First Ace:
March 8, 2008

Every dog has his day.

Sasha Hits The Gym

2008-02-23T16:47:00.000-08:00

The music is in Dutch, in case you were wondering what those clunky/sexy sounds were.

Scott Miller Hates Sasha

2008-02-18T18:58:00.001-08:00

Noted Virginian, songwriter, ex-V Roy, and raconteur Scott Miller has arguably the best piece of band merch I've ever seen.

It's his most popular item, and it's really true. He hates babies. Get your baby-hating onesie here.

Nobody needs reminding that, on the live V-Roys record, Scott Miller is the one that starts the heartbreaking "Sorry Sue" by yelling at the audience: "SHUT UP, I'm being sensitive!"

Subterrenean Trasnmissions From Mt. Shasta

2008-01-27T18:58:00.000-08:00

I guess it's all weird when you step back and look at mysticism, superstition, religion, new-age, or whatever. From a skeptical viewpoint, L. Ron Hubbard's volcano-aliens aren't any more unbelievable than a guy turning rocks into bread or the Dalai Lama's reincarnations. But who am I to judge?

So, we all chipped in and rented a cabin in Weed near Mt. Shasta. And this cabin was awesome! It was also loaded with books, DVDs, and the occasional poster describing what's underneath Mt. Shasta. A whole cult of futuristic aliens!

We all flipped through a book describing this whole deal. Then we watched the DVD of the 2005 Quad-channeling conference.

If memory serves, here's the nutshell of what the Shasta People believe:

The city of Telos is a mile beneath the mountain, and it's stocked with over a million Lemurians, who are in some way involved the people of Atlantis. They look like you(if you're seven feet tall and blonde), except more they're adorned with all sorts of new-age accouterments. These Lemurians are much more evolved than us, perhaps because of the permanent spring in Telos, or maybe it's their amino-acid supercomputers. Or maybe that's where Ashtar from Galactic Command enters the story. Either way, they live in a state of permanent bliss, man. Again, no judgment.

So, I talked about this at work. This woman calls up right as I was trying to clear out.

Her: "I heard you talking about the Shasta thing. I actually went out there for the '95 convergence. It was pretty incredible. On the full moon I swear I saw people coming out of the mountain."
Me: "That's nice, but..."
Her: "And we went out to Weed to check out this woman's TV set. It was totally unplugged but you could see an image of the Virgin Mary."
Me: "Thanks for the story. I have to go because..."
Her: "And the one of the people went to channel with one of the Lemurian priests up on Shasta and just totally disappeared. Never seen again, but the clouds over the mountain really looked like UFOs. It's a heavy place."
Me: "I really have to go now."

Our own non-alien trip was quite nice, actually. The dry mountain air cleared up my drippy nose, which was great. Good company, improv disc-golf in the snow, Guitar Hero III, plus I got some weak-kneed snowboarding in. Sara knitted as much as possible. Good times.

Too Sick To Blog

2008-01-18T09:55:00.000-08:00

Home sick today. This must be what the DTs are like.
But I will point out that Bill Clinton was in Eureka on Wednesday.

I'd say 2000 people showed to fit in a 400-seat room. There was a lot of disappointment outside. Desperation is never pretty, especially when local A-listers are trying to cut in front of people who've been shivering for hours. I saw at least five movers/shakers acting like 3rd graders. That's just fucked up.

Inside, though, it was nuts. People ate it up. Glad I brought a camera.

Lessons learned:
1. Press Access rules
2. It takes a long fuckin' time sweep/secure a room
3. Bill can bring it. 60 mins and no notes, no "ums"
4. Secret Service have "awesome" locked in

Copenhagen In Miniature.

2008-01-09T21:34:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm 31 and I'm just now trying Photoshop. Please, stop laughing. Just because half of our friends are artists doesn't mean you just automatically learn it.

Doesn't one have to go through a period of overdoing everything in sight until the mysteries of Photoshop reveal themselves? Well, that's where I'm at. Binge-filtering like a sailor on shore leave. And I don't even care!

And what better excuse than to try Fake Tilt-Shift photography. I saw some cool examples in the New York Times "Year In Ideas" issue, and then Flickr has a whole group of FTS'ers.

The basic idea is that you take a photo, blur it, color, and do some other stuff to make it look like a tiny model. Who would make a model of Copenhagen? Nobody. Which is why it's extra fun to try and fake it. I took this photo last summer from a steeple in above Copenhagen. Also, check out the mini-airlift.

Rainy Day Crafts

2008-01-07T20:03:00.001-08:00

http://rainydaycraftsbysara.blogspot.com/

Check out my craft blog!
-Sara

New Year, New Look

2008-01-01T17:41:00.000-08:00

Presenting this year's winner of the NYE Mustache Contest.

Behold Eric Oldford's luxurious Chevron: timeless lines, with a touch of southwestern flavor-saving.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T21:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas ruled. Sara's mom and Sasha have a good bond. Almost as good as Deirdre's face in that picture.

Closing In

2007-12-19T09:12:00.000-08:00

Gimme Shelter

2007-12-04T19:46:00.000-08:00

The dudes have abided. Abode. Whatever.

Shelter Cove 2007 was even better than 2006. Sweeter house, Wii, White Russians, the whole bit.

The surf wasn't great for Shelter Cove. Even so, it was still good to be in an uncrowded lineup catching short, fun, slow waves. The Wii was a hit, Eric brought Ted Papenhagen and Coz Worthington, and the Big Lebowski just gets better with age. Thanks to Zeke and Andy for the video.

Youth Rules

2007-11-27T21:34:00.000-08:00

Biology mandates a sort of cuteness-bond from parent to kid. Every parent thinks their kid is cute, if not the absolutely mostest-cutest baby on Earth, in the history of babies. Right?

Keeping that feeling at bay gets tiring, and once in a while, you let your guard down.

Shh...Don't tell Sasha

2007-11-24T17:41:00.000-08:00

First post from Sara!

I knitted this up for Sasha's 1st birthday, coming up on December 10. Made of organic cotton, it reminds me of a ballerina wrap sweater. Now to finish the baby pants I started 2 years ago for her Christmas prezzie...by then they're likely be too small!

Holla

2007-11-22T00:36:00.000-08:00

Sara's 30th kicked ass. If you give out free banjo lessons, you know where to find her.

Waving

2007-11-18T13:05:00.000-08:00

Sasha likes waving. At people, at shadows, at her reflection, at the empty middle-distance in a room (which doesn't mean she sees ghosts, right?). But she'll wave and wave and wave until she gets a wave back.

Walking back to the car in the CostCo parking lot, Sara (on the last day of her 20's) reiterated the point. "She'll wave at anyone. She waves at people who don't usually get waves, people who usually get ignored on the street. Super-old people, bums, whoever. And it makes their day."

___________

Speaking of waves, it was 10 ft. @ 13 sec. this morning at the jetty.

I brought my board, mainly just to humor myself, but didn't go in.

Get your tickets out, we're going to the gun show.

Tender Waveforms.

2007-11-12T18:50:00.000-08:00

There's this show "Radiolab" out of a NY public radio station that is fucking brilliant. If you've not heard it, it's an hourlong documentary show, sort of like This American Life's smarter cousin.

It could be pinnacle of modern storytelling. It's edited is unlike any other show, and if you're not used to it, you have to meet it on it's own terms. The sound is stretched and bent, brushed and scrubbed, hammered and sequined. The sound just sparkles.

So, this week's episode. It's too soon to say "Best Radio Show Of All Time Ever", but it's on my personal list. It's about how they paint with sound. It's like they climbed up my brain and explained stuff back to me that I always almost knew.

This weeks' episode is about the nitty-gritty of editing Radiolab. About how to, say, gut a soundbite for all it's interesting sonic bits. Then how to take those bits, invert them against themselves, and rearrange them to restate the point of the soundbite itself.

Like an audio MC Escher. It's achingly good.

Why?

2007-11-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

I am suddenly obsessed with the Writer's Strike.

Can't quite put it together. We love TV, almost evangelically.
("What, you don't have a TV? Wait, what? You killed it??" Ungh. You don't go slashing canvases just because Thomas Kincade walks the earth. You go to better museums. But whatever.)

Does it make sense? No. But writers do the heavy lifting in entertainment, and get zero credit. So, if you walk by a striking writer, which is very unlikely, give them a tongue-kiss.

Unrelated: Humboldt County is a difficult place for escalator enthusiasts.

And Sasha's fine and about to be a year old.

I Had A Gizzle Tizzle

2007-10-25T23:54:00.000-07:00

Guess who really likes to smoke pot, have sex, and use the word "motherfucker" in lots of different contexts?

I will say that the show was really fun. They blew some speakers within the first 20 seconds of the show, half the mics weren't on, and they were getting high on stage.

Make no mistake: they came to party, and I have never seen a more enthusiastic crowd at the Muni.

Relatives Love Video

2007-10-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

Yu Nork

2007-10-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

Saturday

So, the Friday flight out of ACV was cancelled.

Woke at 4:00 am Saturday to catch the next flight out, which was Sac->DC->NY.

All went well on the plane, no troubles. Except for one thing.

You know when you're sitting outside at a campfire, and your eyes can't help but be sucked in by the flame? How awesome is that? OK, now, instead of being outside, imagine you're on a dark plane, and switch that campfire out with the guy in front of you's porta-DVD. And, instead of flames, make it a live Eagles concert DVD. Not even old Eagles. Farewell show, Melbourne, 2005. Of all the bands. I hope it's not a sign.

So, I step out of the NYC subway at 42nd street, which happens to be Times-Square. Sirens, traffic, mayhem, noise, and kettle corn all over the street (I guess a snack cart got smashed or something). I LOVE travel. Serious.

I'm pretty wiped from what turned into a 13-hour door-to-door day, so I've been walking around New York in a daze. It is, though, Saturday night and the streets are hopping.

Blinking lights and screens everywhere. At Times Square, a guy ten feet away collapsed in a what looked like an epileptic seizure. Here's the thought process as I watch this happen:

First few seconds: He's faking it
:10 seconds: He's not, where's a cop?
:20 seconds: This is a total test of whether or not people stop to help him (which, by this time, several people were on the ground with him.) Where's a fucking cop?
:25 A lady is on the cell calling an ambulance
:60 FDNY sirens close in and help arrives; I split.

Sunday

Perfect, just perfect.

Ran for 80 minutes out to the Hudson, chilled for a few, made it over to Central Park and ran back to midtown. Radio: WFUV, WMFU, K-Rock (which should be W-Rock), and Hot 97. Beautiful fall weather. Crisp and golden.

I had not really planned on doing anything other than going down to Greenwich Village, reading the Bob Dylan book, and finding that street they shot the photo of "Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" on. Jones Street. Steve Earle lives on Jones, too.

Hopped off the subway at Christopher Street. Wandered for hours. Got just lost enough. Read the local edition of the Sunday NY Times.

I found Washington Square Park, which is a landmark if you're into folk music. Read the Dylan book and watched the action: awesome buskers, street comedians (who were funny and racist against everyone, and the mixed crowd was loving it), picnic-ers.

Close the book and walk off the square. 6:30 pm and the light is doing cool things to the trees, so I'm setting up a photo when this guy stops.

Him: "Can you believe it? Right there in the open. Man."
Me: "What are you talking about?"
Him: "That girl. With the glass pipe. Isn't that what you're taking a photo of?"

Turns out I must've looked like the biggest narc ever. I was evidently framing a shot that had a girl smoking crack in it. My bad.

The guy and me talk for a half hour; George was a 40-something bricklayer from Queens. Used to be in the Marines, his baby-mamma lives in NY but he wants to move back to Tulsa, because New York is heading for social collapse. "I gotsta go, man, I gotta buy a new T-Mobile because I dropped mine into a hollow wall. Fuckin' 200 bucks." I never took that photo.

Monday

Murrow Day.

Patrick and me tour WFUV in the Bronx. Holy smokes. Radio wonderland of gear, staff, and perfect, brand-new studios. Rita the music director was hella cool. We come back through Harlem.

The dinner is that night. It's at the Grand Hyatt between Park and Madison avenues. Doesn't that say it all? Tuxedos, TV and radio people everywhere. CNN's, Anderson Cooper, NBC's Brian Willams, NPR's Michelle Norris, but no Fox people.

Getting the award was weird, they shuffled everyone through the podium quickly. A PA came and got me; put me in line. "When you get the award, shake hands with your right, grab the award with your left, pose for the still, and move down to your left." Then they shuffled us off to the green room for more posing, gripping, grinning, etc. They give everyone a bottle of commemorative white wine.

I walked the mile back to the hotel at 10:00 PM.

Strolled through Times Square in my tuxedo, Clem Snide on the iPod, bottle of wine in hand, which totally made up for that Eagles DVD.

Total Pro for hire

2007-09-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

A friend and I were talking about email and IM slang protocol.

He and his wife had just put an ad on an east coast Craigslist board. They were looking for a babysitter. "You gotta see it, it's hysterical. I'm going to forward it to you," he said. I'm fairly flexible on spelling, slang, and informal typing, but this I had to share. (Originally in blue font, I wiped the name and phone number. Otherwise it's unchanged).
_________________________________________

"hi, i am responding to ur ad on craigslist about needing a babysitter. it said u needed some one asap so i thought id email u. about me... well im a 17 year old girl from carver, but am moving to nh, not sure when but within a few weeks and of course id let u know. most people wont even consider temps but i picture it as helping out for a little while so u have a little extra time to find the right person. though im only 17 i have a whole lot of experience and im willing to share them with u and also references. i have my lisence and small car. i have driving experience because i took a car trip down to north carolina by myself and i drove the whole time. that was like a 15 hour drive per day. i thought i was going to be moved to nh by now but i had lost contact with the person i was moving in with so im sticking around for a little while longer. (i got back in contact with that person just we have to look for anothe r place) so i gave my 2 weeks notice at the place i was working at on aug. 10th and my last day was aug. 24th. i am currently out of school but looking to get a GED then going off to college. i have experience with all ages from newborns to special needs adults. (i have been living with and caring for multiple special needs adults since i was about nine) i also am used to caring for multiple children and different behaviors (my mom did alot of foster care while i was growing up) like i said, i dont know how long ill be staying but it gives u an option of making sure u have the right person. if ur interested my name is xxxxxx, my cell is broken right now but my home number is 1 xxx-xxx-xxxx, u can call or email and ill try to get back to u asap! thanx for ur time!"

Kill Whitey

2007-09-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

This (probable)Great White Shark washed up near my work, so I went to go check it out. I knew that some chump had already finned it and it's teeth had been pried out.

It's against federal law to possess any body part of an endangered species. This guy didn't know that, and didn't seem to care that I was recording him.

I asked him what he was going to do with the flesh. "I'm making a sword", said the sharkskin swordsman.

OK Computer

2007-09-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

The information is back.

After over a month without a functional computer at home, our Dell Dimension has stayed "on" for hours.

This is what it took:

1. 6 Phone calls to Dell,
2. A new motherboard
3. 1 misdiagnosis from "Mandi" at Dell Tech
4. Hella patience

But we're back. And it's having it's same old effect on our routine. One of us sits apart from the other (in this, and many, cases, me)in a little room doing things of minor importance. The other sits out in the real world and does real things, wondering WTF the other person is on the computer for. Yay, computers.

"Kill Your TV" bumperstickers bug the hell out of me. Really? You hate TV? More than anything else, so much so that you have to brag about it? Can't put something on there like "Love Your Enemy" or "Infinity Is a Trip"? But I do get the sentiment, especially with regards to computers.

We haven't not had a computer (yes, double negative, so what) in 10 years, easily. Without it, it's so obvious what the impact is. Myspace page needs maintenance. 250 unread emails, most of which aren't really important. CC pollution. Youtube stuff to watch. Blog *cough* needs updating.

But after our excursion into the computer-free lifestyle, I'm happy to report that people out there are surviving just fine. Yes, it sucks at times, especially when all of your phone numbers are in a Google account and you can't price-check motels. But by and large, the negatives of sitting screen-bound on a computer are way worse for us than for, say, TV (which brings us together, and closer to Larry David. He so awkward).

We will work on controlling the real/virtual world balance. Be it resolved. Now I'm going to "hi-five" repeatedly with a nine-month-old on the floor.

Which Way LA

2007-08-31T17:08:00.000-07:00

Mike here. Sara, Sasha and myself have been in LA since last week. We're staying with her granparents, who are feeding us, lending us a Chrysler, letting us do pretty much anything we want, and generally taking extremely good care of us.

Friday: fly down after work.

Saturday:

Go look for a surfboard rental for the week. Turns out renting a board for a week (we're here for 10 days) runs about $230. Yikes. I step into the surfshop next to the rental shop just to poke around before kicking down the dough. Lo, there in the used pile is a slightly dinged but beautiful, 9'3 high-performance tri-fin noserider. Price tag? $195. Sara and I quickly consult the options: how to get it home? Incidental costs with the airline? Leash? Wax? What if it snaps? We bite the bullet and buy it. SCORE! SUPER SCORE! NEW BOARD!

Go looking for surf. We wind up at Sunset. It's the wrong tide, and the waves are inconsistent. But it's warm, I have a new board, and Sasha and Sara are down for beach time. First wave paddled for on the new ride was made. Always a good luck sign. Dolphins in the lineup are also good luck!

Several stand-up paddleboarders were out. This was new to me. These folks look literally like they're walking on water. It's the new/old thing to do, I guess.

(Doesn't Sasha look like Tom Waits here?)

I think we did something else that day, too. Don't remember.

Sara's step-aunts Suzanne and Stacy swing by. Man, they're cool. Seriously. Dinner together was fun.

Sunday:

Wake up at 4:30 (by accident, I was aiming for 5:30) and scoot down to the beach. Surf Rose Ave at first light. First one in the water. Waves are micro beach breaks, but it was still fun.

We drive to Seal Beach with Sara's mom to visit Sara's biological grandmother. She lives at Leisure World, has a thing for TV, and has lots of paintings of dark, stormy waves. I split early to go surf the San Gabriel Rivermouth. The Stormrider guide says that stepping on stingrays and/or sandsharks is a threath. Yikes. I wear booties. Fun, windy, closed out. More standup paddleboarders.

I return to Leisure World to find everbody watching TV. Judy decides to do a grocery run; comes back 1 1/2 hours later. We all watch local news and network TV.

Monday:

We had planned, as a micro-getaway, to go up to Ventura for a couple of days. The drive up included lots of surfchecks. (By the way, Matt Brunner is our surf-advice-contest winner. details later.)

Folks said, "Oh, you got to check out:
"Leo Carillo
"Zuma
"Topanga
"Malibu
"County Line
"California Street/C-street..."
etc

...and we did. We settled on Zuma, which was on the way up. Surfed for an hour or more on my own peak. Closeouts and beachbreak, but it was warm and clear. I think my shorts chaffed all the scruff off the inside of my thighs.

We found a cheap room (at the Vagabond, which was surprisingly vagabond-free) two minutes' walk from downtown and 15 minutes' walk from the surf spot.

Walked around downtown for a bit. Sasha was in a semi-meltdown by dinnertime. I surfed until dark at this spot called California Street/C-Street/Ventura Point/Surfers Point that Matt Brunner suggested. I think he's from Ventura originally, and damn, that was great advice. A mega-long soft right-hand pointbreak. It's the wave on the cover of the North American Stormrider guide, for all you nerds. NERDS! Caught tons of long waves until the full moon was overhead.

Tuesday:

Dawn-patrolled at that same spot. I was in the water by 5:45, well before sunrise, and there were already five people in the water. The third was I caught was the best of the day, except that it knocked my contact out. DAMN! First time ever that's happened to me. Huffed it back to the room for a replacement. 35 minutes later the lineup was full, the sunrise happened, but I still caught some good waves.

We roamed Ventura on foot for the rest of the morning and early afternoon. What a cool town!

Their homeless are a lot like Arcata's homeless: lost, but with feeling. Sara cruised the bountiful thrift shops (my favorite, and I'm not making this up: "The Retarded Children's Thrift Store") and scored bargains a-plenty. The park with the old cannons was nice.

Wednesday:

Sara decides she wants to surf. This request is limited to warm-water, shark-free conditions, so I jump on it. We drive to Malibu in the morning to catch the low tide. We put her on the board and start walking her out into the less-crowded side of the lineup. She gets on the board and I start pushing her toward the wave. For reasons determined later (critters, colder water, rocks, fright), she has a change of heart. So be it. Did I fight? No. I surfed. That's right. I surfed Malibu. Poorly, but I still did it.

That night Wilco was at the open-air Greek theatre. Sold out show in the LA hills, warm and beautiful. I'd never seen a show there, so it was nice to finally experience this venue.

During the show, we get several voicemails indicating that something at home went wrong, is that ok, but don't worrry about it, nevermind, the situation is resolved and all is well. We get involved at the "all is well" point in the situation, so it never happened as far as we don't know.

Wilco play "California Stars" as part of their massive encore.

Thursday:

Disneyland and California Adventure.

Disneyland. It's been too long. Now it will be too long again.

We managed to go to OC during the peak of the SoCal heatwave, which really made life difficult. But we did all the major rides, and still had time for that new park across the parking lot from Disneyland called California Adventure.

An employee told us about drugs and Disneyland. First of all, there actually IS a chamber with Mickey Mouse wallpaper where they let people who took too much acid (or whatever) come down. Secondly, there are at least two big drug days at Disneyland each year: Raver Day and Bat day.

Bat Day is the Goth day at Disneyland. Apparently at 7:00 pm on Bat Day the place to be is on at the Haunted House. When the room starts to descend, the ride host basically says, instead of the normal Haunted House schpeel, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome home!" Everybody whoops loudly. So loudly, this person said, that earplugs would be helpful.

Raver Day seems to be more of a general psychedelic day. "Their favorite ride is the Winnie the Pooh ride, because it's so trippy already." Not having been on that ride, we didn't really believe it. Believe it.

The drag about the end of the day was that we missed a crucial voicemail from the Grampies saying that not only was Sasha not good, but she was crying all day, not sleeping, not eating, and not drinking. It took us over an hour to get to Disneyland, but only 40 minutes to race back.

Friday:

Dawn patrol at Malibu. It's crazy crowded, and I got dropped in on a bunch. But for a non-local, I wasn't really disrepected. Or noticed (I hope).

Shopping at H+M at Beverly center, and first access to the internet(s) all week. Oh, internet.
Off to California Pizza Kitchen to solidify our California-ness.

This whole time, I should add, we've been watching the US Open on a 60-inch Hi-def screen. Kick ASS!

Saturday:

Still super-hot. This whole vacation we haven't really "slept in"; today's no different. I drive up PCH looking for surf. PCH is bumper-to-bummer because, apparently, two cops hit eachother at Topanga and PCH. So, instead of Topanga for the morning, it was Sunset again. Which sucked. 300 people in the water, I surf for an hour and get 3 waves.

Sara's grandfather is intent on teaching us how stock markets work, and has been for years. Today he sat us down for an hour going over various finance-management websites. We got little out of it.

It's at this point that we realize it's nice here, but home is starting to sound pretty good. Don't we have a dog still? What's he up to?

Sunday: 3rd Street Promenade after surfing Bay Street. Not a single celebrity sighting.

Monday: Fly Home. Surf Bunkers.

Trinity Alps

2007-07-23T21:18:00.001-07:00

Other than "I need more of this", there's not a lot you can say to describe waking up next to a mountain lake with your dog and friends. And your friend's dog.

Trail Gulch Lake, Klamath National Forest.

High Sierra Festivaaaaaaaaaal!

2007-07-09T20:15:00.000-07:00

High Sierra '07 ruled. It was Sasha's first, Sara's third, and my sixth. I saw at least 27 bands in 4 days.

This show is one of those events where everyone's a participant. The bands seem to really like the show, and the people take care of eachother. Way better than Reggae, Bonnaroo, Hog Farm, etc. It's just a really positive place to be.

The festival this year was super hot. When we got to Quincy, it was hundo-plus. We saw 110 on a thermometer, which was sort of scary, what with the baby and all. The drive was fine; we stayed in Susanville the night before and somewhere along the way the odometer made a pretty pattern.

Bringing a six-month old into these dirty, noisy, hot, debaucherous conditions demands a little prep: earplugs, misting-bottle, jogging stroller, sunscreen, etc. Her whole life Sasha has been sporting eco-groovy cloth diapers; I'm sad to report that we broke the seal on our first-ever disposable diapers this weekend. Seriously, though. Would you want super-thick underwear on in those conditions? No. It'd be nasty. But as it turns out, disposable diapers work damn well in heat. We just have to buy some "disposable-diaper offsets" somewhere and we'll be good with the green police.

Jen and Box (my co-worker and her husband) got on site earlier than us and locked down a spacious, shady spot replete with coffee table, shade parachute, and parking spot right next to the site.

We got on site by late morning and were set up by lunch. Janet, Joey and Larry showed up shortly thereafter. The CRV has a pop-out folding table built in to the trunk which I've been DYING to use at HSMF. This years' campsite was close to perfect. We were in the "family camp" area, which meant it was slightly quieter and probably less psychedelic than other camps.

OK, so music is why you're supposed to go to these things. Hanging out is a close second, and in my case I had some 'work' to do (artist interviews = backstage/photo pit access). The interviews went great and I can probably use most of both of them (ALO and Xavier Rudd). Larry introduced Devil Makes Three on the main stage and did great.

Best show: Drive By Truckers. Holy shit. Who knew???

Best musicianship: Del McCoury, who pilots his band like James Brown. Sara's big find was ThaMuseMeant.

Also great: Galactic, Brett Dennen, Devil Makes Three, ALO, Budos Band, Leftover Salmon, FutureRock, Les Claypool, Mofro, Thamusemeant, and Xavier Rudd.

Duds: Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk and Chris Thile.

Outstanding freakishness: Portland's March Fourth Marching Band. This was nuts; this band just invades the throng and kicks out party jams. The band doesn't really march as much as they disperse into the crowd so the music is coming from all angles. In this video clip, what you can't see is that all those people dancing were basically passed out on the field. Suddenly, the M4 shows up and within maybe 30 seconds, everybody had sprung up and started gettin' down. I have never, ever seen a crowd of strangers gel into a party so fast.

A word about JJ Grey and Mofro: Ladies love LL Cool JJ. It's musical pheremones, I think. They played a late-night set (midnight, maybe?), and by the second song the whole tent had turned into the bathhouse scene from Caligula. The females *really* enjoyed Mofro's lusty beats, and the males really enjoyed that. I've seen Mofro twice, both times this happens. I don't get it, and thankfully neither does Sara. "He's not that hot." Yeah, totally.

Larry introduced a band, but I chickened out. I was supposed to do a bunch of MCing, but the idea got worse as it became more realistic. No thanks. "Oh, you guys look like you have it covered. I'd just get in the way. "

Anyway, there were way too many little amazements to blog into. You walk around getting compliments from strangers, giving out fruit juice, talking to anyone, staying up as late as you can, and checking out everyone's freak flag. For me, it's tuly one of the most valuable ways to spend time.

I'll leave it alone by saying that for a few days, life was almost completely perfect. And for a few select moments, it was literally perfect.

West swell 2.5 @ 7

2007-07-02T19:01:00.000-07:00

How's Camel Rock looking? Great? Not a great as Powerpoles was yesterday. I promise.

Normally, a 2-and-a-half-foot wave is something you'd not even waste gas on looking at. The forecast was micro, the wind was nil, and the beach was empty.

Turns out there was a little juice behind the swell, which was a clean W pulse. Minus tide, the water was glassy, the waves were waist-high in the sets, and it was just one of those days where you sit outside the lineup in a state of exaltation. Zeke caught some rights and lefts, and I worked on some off-the-lip floaters, 360s, and other shortboarder baloney that normally I'd never be caught dead attempting. Also, the added danger of a rumored shark sighting two days before just added to it.

I'm just sayin', it was epic and tiny simultaneously. (Although we did break my latest mantra: "Don't look, just go.")

__

We're heading out to Sasha's first High Sierra. The lineup is great as always, and it's looking like I'm going to introduce some bands early in the day. Freaky? Yes. Fun? Sort of. Good enough reason to not start drinking until the evening? Definitely.

Anyway, we're both really excited to get back to this show. It's probably our favorite festival in terms of vibe, quality of experience, location, and lineup. (Coachella looks good and Bonnaroo was fun, though.)

___

Lastly, I'm finising up on the first episode of my first-ever temporary side gig. This syndicated public radio show (300+ stations in 9 countries) lost their post-production engineer and needed someone to get them through until they find a permanent replacement. So far, so good. Gary Melton would be favorably impressed with their lack of plosives, EQ, aesthetically-pleasing crossfades, etc.

Spoon feeding

2007-06-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

This week we started non-booby food. Which, while a nice sign of progress, is just another step away from a world in which boobs are required multiple times a day.

Heartbreak aside, Sasha took to the spoon with grace and precision. Most of the food stayed in.

This would be yet another good point to remind oneself that everybody had to learn how to eat. How weird is that?

Also, we had a hint of crawling. At one point, Sasha was seen on the other side of her playpen in a totally different position. No witnesses.

Edward R. Murrow

2007-06-19T19:48:00.000-07:00

That's Ed. He's got a cigarette in most photos. And suspenders. And furrowed facial expressions. If you have to explain "He's a famous journalist", he's probably not that famous. But he's the pre-Cronkite journalism gold standard, a relic from the days when one angle was good enough for America.

A documentary I produced won an Edward R. Murrow award. First it won the "West Coast Regional", then it won the National Award for small-market news documentary.

This is a good thing, to be sure. I think. My point is that it's also awkward. When it aired, it was well-received, but most people missed it.

So, the winners were posted. My boss ran up the stairs to announce the good news. Black-tie awards ceremony in NY in the fall.

It was in the papers. An aunt called from a plane when she found out. Various local newspeople emailed. A neighbor hollered "Nice work!" from the driveway. It's in the trades, and the industry people send nice notes; many bear a surprised undertone. Sara's boss made some sort of congratulatory statement in a staff meeting. Compared it to a Pulitzer, I hear. Let's not go that far.

In fact, let's take it down a notch. Because, when I found out it won the nationwide prize: "Really? Humhm. Cool."

I think that most people have almost no clue what the award means. I am among them.
So, in the end, it's a nice little bonus. Here are the lessons:

1. Now I get it when people say "It's about the story, not us."
2. Now I understand that there are a lot of awards for all sorts of things.
3. Now I have proof that over-editing isn't a total inefficiency.
3. Smoking cigarettes gets an award named after you.

Things haven't been busy or anything

2007-06-12T21:26:00.000-07:00

Mike here.

Ironically, the more you have to blog about, the less likely you are to have time to actually blog.

Ok, so long stories short:

Sara's grandparents, they of generous spirit, took me on a gameshow-sized shopping spree. It was unreal. When they look at the guy that married their granddaughter, they didn't want to see a slovenly bumpkin. They wanted to see a person who's clothes were hole-free. They have now achieved that.

Bonus: I scored flip-flops with bottle-openers on the soles. I'm surpised that the gimmick is actually quite helpful. Who knew?

As a temporary side gig, I might soon be working with an internationally distributed radio program. Then again, I might not, we'll see. It'd be fun to do some super high-tech audio stuff. Nobody understands the joy scrubbing heavy breaths, plosives, and spittle out of somebody else's voicetrack for hours. I LOVE it. I dream about Pro Tools.

The deck project is finally done. Adam and Dustin put in the sliding door connecting our bedroom to the deck, and it really opened the house up (seriously, no pun intended.) The backyard had no direct access, and thus sat virtually empty for the last 20 years. Now, just in time for global warming to flood our block, it can actually be used for recreatin'. Get it while the gettin's good.

Sasha hit the big six-month mark, and is waxing mobility. She conquered sitting last month, and now stand/leaning is all the rage. Sitting is for five-month olds. Plus, she eats anything that she can hold.

Crapplebee's

2007-05-19T11:11:00.001-07:00

Sara and me can go to Rita's and eat for maybe $20. Not bad, good food, local restaurant. But we'd been sitting on this $10 coupon for Applebee's and figured, "Why not?"

OK, two quick reasons: 1) food and 2) almost everything else.

First off, Applebee's "flair" is ultra-realistic. It's like a Hard Rock Cafe, but instead of rock semi-collectibles, it's homey, American junkabelia.

Applebee's Flair Placement Rulebook:

#24: Each picture must be framed and location-generic

#25: For the crown shelving around the perimeter, Flair items must be overlapping each other, forming an unbroken flair trail around the building

#61: Please acquire local, authentic looking flair whenever possible. Fire departments, little leagues and schools are good resources. If impossible, place any local Flair closest to the entry way. Order additional approved flair from headquarters.

Not even the salads were vegetarian! The nachos were dressed lukewarm tube-cheese, and the artichoke dip looked like puke.

We boldly trudge through it. At least the Brewser (how clever!) beer was Steelhead on tap. Turns out it was a $5 beer.

Total price AFTER the coupon was still $32. I would actually pay $32 on top of that to undo the feeling in my stomach. And then another $32 to annul the whole situation. The only good part is that the chirpy waitstaff doted on Sasha. Awwwww.

Here's the thing, though. Applebee's was full of people. People who probably like Applebee's. A table of whitehaired old ladies who play cards for nickels. Some menonites (?) with a newborn. A party of 8. Kevin, the groovy surfing minister, who just got a new 10'6 single-fin longoard. Everybody was so happy and nice. Where was the seedy underbelly? Everything has a dark side, yes? Could it be so one-dimensional?

So, bemoaning the state of family-style restaruant chains not only unproductive, but probably off-base. Something's going on there that I am missing. What is it? Maybe the America from TV actually exists in a stucco restaraunt on broadway.

By the way, a Google Image search of "Applebees" is a good way to kill 10 minutes.

Mother's Day Redux

2007-05-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

Steve and Marigold Haske have this ultra-enjoyable blog. You don't need to know them to like it, but they are basically just like you: articulate, upwardly mobile, talented, devastatingly savvy, all that.

Anyway, Steve said I could repost Marigold's thoughts on Mother's Day. He said!

Being new parents ourselves, it resonated. He also said that I should try and make her look bad when I repost it, so I'll use an out-of-context photo of her.

Take it away, Marigold!
________________________________

Last year on Mother's Day I was about halfway through my pregnancy and I wrote a post entitled Ten Things About My Impending Motherhood That Scare The Bejesus Out of Me.

So this year, I'm going to re-visit that list and see how I'm doing now that Motherhood has arrived.

Ten Things About My Impending Motherhood That Scared The Bejesus Out of Me, But Now Don't So Much, And Why

1. The pee-pee. Never had one and not quite sure how to deal with it.
Well, I should've known that it wouldn't be all that scary. Except when he has really watery poop, because there are a lot of little nooks and crannies around that thing that need to be wiped up.

2. I have a strong aversion to vacuuming and have visions of all of the resulting kitty litter, pubic hairs, toenails, boogers, Cheeto crumbs, etc. that will inevitably end up stuck to Baby as he learns to crawl.
I keep one room of the house very clean, for the most part, and Huck is free to crawl about this room to his heart's content. When I notice that it's getting a little gross, I vacuum. The funny thing is, Huck also has a strong aversion to the vacuum. It scares the crap out of him. He cries and literally trembles in fear. Steve will bring him to another room and hold him while I do it.

3. What am I supposed to do with all of my craft supplies? I have a lot. Like, a lot a lot. Beads and ribbon and wire and glues for every occasion. And I'm no good at putting them away.
They are in a dedicated craft room that Huck's not allowed into. I do crafts in the livingroom after his bedtime, and I put them away when I'm done. Not a big deal.

4. The whole birthing process.
Yeah. That kind of sucked. But it's true that you forget it, because already I think it wasn't so bad.

5. Who will love the cats? And my Sims? Who will love them?
Nobody.

6. I require a lot of attention and affection from Steve. I like lots of snuggley-wuggly-wuvy-yuvies. Sometimes I like to yell, "PAY ATTENTION TO ME!" from across the apartment. I fear my doting husband will dote on me no more.
Hmm. This one is hard to explain. Our relationship is much . . . richer, I guess, now that Huck is here. We have always had a very strong relationship, but it is definitely a whole different kind of connection, being parents together. Something I don't think is possible without a baby. Our priorities are different. All of those worries I had about being too selfish to be a mother are completely non-issues now, because motherhood took all of that selfishness away. If that makes sense. I do miss "couple time" sometimes, though.

7. Dear God, isn't it just going to be so very very very exhausting? Am I going to be just soooo tired for the next eighteen years?
Not nearly as much as I thought it would be. I do have my days when I feel beat down and I need sleep, but overall I feel good. I've said this before, but I continue to amaze myself with my own stamina. Also, honestly, I could care less about being tired. This is funny to me because I've always been such a lazy person. I like napping and vegging out in front of the T.V. and having lots of "me" time. There were so many things I was scared about changing when I found out I was pregnant. Those things were SUCH a big deal. I actually thought I was giving something up to have a baby. Maybe freedom, or maybe unrealized potential. But now that he's here, my entire life is better. Now I look at people who don't want kids, or who are waiting for the "right" time and I think, you are missing out on the very best part of your life, and you don't even know it. So, I guess what I'm saying is that being a little tired is such a stupid thing to worry about. Now go have a baby.

8. Breastfeeding/breast pumping/cracked nipples/engorgement/plugged ducts/nipple confusion.
I was pretty lucky in this department. We had a rough couple of days right in the beginning, and it did sting at the latch on for the first month, but those are minor issues. We're both pros at it now. Incidently, I always knew I would breastfeed, but I never knew how much I would enjoy it. I love the drunk look Huck gets after he tanks up. Plus, nursing releases hormones that make me feel relaxed and content.

9. What about Lost? How will I watch it with Little Billy screaming all of the time? I can tape it or get TiVo, but won't I want to sleep when Baby's sleeping? What about all the important research that goes into watching that show?
This is not an issue at all. Again, it speaks to how priorities change. I still love the show, of course, but it's not a huge deal if I have to tape it and watch it the next day because I need to go to bed. Steve does most of the internet research during his lunch break and will report to me if there's anything major I need to know about.

10. This little bitty person is going to need me more than he needs anybody else. What if I just really screw up?
Meh. I'm good at this Mommy stuff.

Lost Coast trail

2007-05-13T13:13:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous weather, tons of animals, good company. We powered 8 miles up to Big Flaton low-tide sand. Time your tides right, people!

Charlie's feet were hurting sumpin' fierce, but he still chased deer around like a maniac.

Part of the trip was to scope out the waves, which weren't happening at all. Good thing I didn't bring the board all the way up. By the way, bear cans are heavy. Just so you know.

Hard to go wrong on the Lost Coast, no?

People: 3
Dogs: 1
Hours: 36
Miles: 20 (including day hike)

Redwood Curtain

2007-05-06T15:51:00.000-07:00

Shawn's birthday demanded a round on the front 9 at the Redwood Curtain. It was Sara with Sasha, Zeke with Owen, Shawn and Otis, and Charlie.

Perfect weather led to decent scores all around. Some turkey almost clocked us with a wayward drive, yelling "Fore!" right as a landed near us. Besides that, the course was in good shape with a couple of new baskets.

Up at the top of #6, Owen got caught in the Charlie/Otis doggy excitement. Otis was charging down the trail, Charlie on his heels, whey they collided. Time slowed for a second as Otis bowled into Owen. Owen, a welterweight compared to Otis, caught a little air and travelled a few feet before landing butt-first. He shook it off after a little consoloation.

We threw the lake hole just for fun; Zeke and Shawn may have birdied it (if memory serves).

Owen's got a lil' sib on the way, so here he is (at the top of #6) practicing his bro skills on Sasha.

Rowan and Sasha: Height check

2007-05-03T21:47:00.000-07:00

Is this the "yay high"? As in "I remember when you were...." Or is there another yay height? There may be more yay out there. Will monitor the situation.

Yuba lockdown

2007-04-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

One of these teaches math at Yuba High school. The other threatened to do something in a Yuba/Sutter school that would make Virginia Tech look mild.
Chris had to draw the shades, lock the door, and tape the windows while students were doing STAR testing. The students weren't supposed to know.

Anyway, Chris was OK when I talked to him. It's REALLY creepy to glance over at CNN to see that hovering-helicopter-camera aiming down on your friend's workplace.

67 seconds of Hot Tub Disco

2007-04-15T09:36:00.001-07:00

Done and Done

2007-04-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

The bookshelf was a good learning experience and doesn't look terrible, in my opinion. The Huck Flint mixes have been mastered and sound awesome. On the left is Kevin "The Secret Weapon" Porter from HF and on the right is my new hero Martin from Sonic Temple. We had an extended talk about audio fidelity, the kind of talk that would bore a girfriend right out of your relationship. Good times.

Sara learns MovieMaker...

2007-04-10T22:42:00.000-07:00

...on Sasha's 4th birth monthday. Bonthday. Mirthday.

Dang!

2007-04-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

So Huckleberry Flint and I have been semi-consistently mixing their new CD for the last few months. Which is fun and all, but it's just about done. I made the handoff to the mastering guy today.

I had a nostalgic feeling yesterday that there was a Final Exam coming up today, but it's cool. I studied hard. Where's my number #2 pencil? Bring it on!

Anyway, the mastering guy is very cool and broke the news gently: the compression on the mixdowns is too crude. The vocals are too low. The guitars squelch the vocal, and the bass squelches everything.

Dang! Dang! Now I'm walking out of the testing hall with B-/C+ test.

So now it's back in for another late night of mouse-pushing, EQ,cross-fading, multi-band compression, reverb adjustment, and all around normaliztion. And gentle, gracelful compression.

But hey. The dude was nice about it, and honestly, we're talking about tiny, tiny adjustments in the grand sonic spectrum. I though I was a perfectionist, but no. I'm not. Soon, though.

PS- That guy was right. Worked til 2AM and I think it does actually sound better. "You could probably say that every day", said Sara.