secret comics

Cool to Be You

The Descendents' new full length Cool to Be You came out on Fat last week, and since I've already reviewed the 'Merican EP elsewhere, I feel compelled to (briefly) put my two cents in about CTBY.

So... CTBY is a pretty great album. And it's a great Descendents record. In fact, I would say it's one of the best Descendents records, consistency-wise, ever - every Descendents record has had some filler on it, but the high points always made the total package more than worthwhile (Enjoy! and Everything Sucks being the best examples of the phenomena at its most extreme). While past records would have A+ high points and some C or C- lowlights, Cool to Be You pretty much tears along with A/A-/B+ material throughout.

I dunno, CTBY seems less like a self-consciously "separate" Descendents release and more like a unified expression of the entire Descendents/ALL machine - the muscianship and songwriting are tight as hell and seem to just flow... since I only bought it a few days ago, we'll see how it stands up to the test of time.

Also... I have decided to start a Yahoo! fantasy baseball league this year, after my semi-retirement last year. I've got eleven spots open (as of, um, posting this message) - you can check us out and join up at http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com - click on the links to join an already-existing league, the league ID number is 352166, and the password is trumpler.

A Love Letter

Bam! http://www.andanotherthing.com/~minnie/ Pow! http://www.laurakeet.com/ Check it out and learn a little more about one of the coolest people I know, my friend Laura. She and I have been friends since we were in 8th grade, and she is still one of the funnest, sharpest, and most talented people that I know.

Other reasons to laud and magnify Laura? Of course. She consistently makes nice and inspiring comments about my blog, and has even offered to go to a Giants game with me in San Francisco this season... which would be our second Giants game, the first being at Candlestick Park and (also) one of my favorite memories ever - the Giants beat the Rockies 7-1 on a cool and sunny SF summer afternoon, and we had yummy beer and some kind fried ice cream thing with cookies and chocolate of some sort and J.T. Snow hit a home run. Good times... no, great times - and without Laura that great time wouldn't have been anywhere near as much fun. She was (and is) the gin in my vermouth.

So what am I getting at? Simply this - Laura rules, and if you can't do yourself the favor of getting to know her, everyone should at least check out her excellent blog and site.

Twilight Zone at Eckerd's

The sign on the ATM terminal read "No Cash Back." Weird. They take ATM cards, but they don't give cash back...

Since I had come to Eckerd's looking to buy the paper and get some cash back I ask, "Hey, can I get some cash back?"

The cashier stares at me suspiciously and asks, "How much?"

"Ten bucks." I figure it was better to low-ball than ask for twenty.

At this point, the manager butts in on our coversation and declares sharply, "No ten dollars. Only five, twenty, or fifty."

"OK," I say, "give me twenty." So I got twenty dollars cash back. The sign still emphatically proclaimed "No Cash Back."

What a strange world we live in.

SXSW, Books, Things Like That

You make not get all the answers you want/Its better that way

--Corwood

I attended a select few SXSW events, and my reviews are as follows:

--Jandek on Corwood, SXSW Film, Wednesday, Mar. 17 at the Austin Convention Center

This was a great movie. Honestly, I went into it wanting to like it, but it not only met but exceeded expectations. There were some technical difficulties, but nothing that killed my enthusiasm. I figure with a film about Jandek, a few blemishes are part of the package...

Those who aren't familiar with Jandek's music could really get something out of it. It was a love letter (of sorts) to the mystery and art of Jandek, and I think the filmmakers worked very hard not be cynical or to make things easy for us. With Jandek, very little is "easy" but what's there is engaging and worthwhile - that's kind of how I felt about the film. It had a good heart and was well done. Bravo. For more info check out: http://www.jandekoncorwood.com/default.htm

--The Gourds/The BoDeans/Big Star, SXSW Music, Friday, Mar. 19 at the Austin Music Hall

Though I am a Gourds fan, I was mainly there for Big Star. I heard some of the Gourds set, recognizing only "She's Gone Tejano" and "Grievin' and Smokin'" - what I heard sounded good, though. I didn't really pay attention to the BoDeans, but um... I'm sure they were great.

Big Star, on the other hand, were good. Very good. Mind you, I was kind of drunk by the time they hit the stage and everything seemed a little overwhelming. It was good and loud and I would say that Alex Chilton was having a good time. "Ballad of El Goodo" and "When My Baby's Beside Me" were standouts, and my friend Robert came and put his arm around me and sang along to "September Gurls", which was a nice moment. I was glad he was there - as were Ben and Patty and Audra and bunch of other good folks.

And that was it. I didn't see any other shows or movies for SXSW - I read books, went to some parties, watched basketball and The Sopranos, and slept a lot. I also went to the rodeo, which was one of the more fun things of the weekend, but I'll get to that later on maybe. A few of the reading highlights:

--The Miracle of Mindfulness, Thich Nhat Hahn

A beautiful, well-written book about the power of being awake to the world around you and to the present moment.

I'm trying to learn more about mindfulness and meditation discipline, and this book is a great source of practical wisdom - counting your breath being the most useful so far. To be present in the present moment, I count myself in/exhaling and say "I am inhaling - 1/I am exhaling - 1/I am inhaling - 2/I am exhaling - 2..." all the way to 10, and then start over from 1 to 10. If I get distracted or lose count, I go back to 1 and start over. It seems so painfully simple, but it really helps me focus on my breathing and being present with the moment.

--The Human Condition, Thomas Keating

A short book about spiritual and psychological wounds and healing, the need for meditation and quiet, and the breadth and depth of our religious experience in light of the universal human condition. Fr. Keating is (I believe) the abbott of a Cistercian monastery in Snowmass, CO, and sort of a pillar of the Contemplative Prayer movement. This book is more of an introduction to why as human beings we need meditation and contemplative prayer rather than an explanation of any specifical discipline(s). If you have any interest in learning more about specific techniques or disciplines, check out his Open Mind, Open Heart. I have it, but haven't started reading it yet.

--Anam Cara, John O'Donohue

Lent to me by my friend Ben, this book really got me worked up - in a good way. I got all into it and bought copies for other friends, even when I hadn't finished it totally... I found it that inspiring.

Basically, Anam Cara ("soul friend" in Gaelic) is sort of a prose-poem about Celtic life and values - not a self-help book in any traditional sense, maybe more of a "manual of inspiration" in a the sense that Ralph Waldo Emerson's essays were (at their best) transcendental half-time pep-talks... you read it and can't help but get excited to be alive, to look at things in a new and revitalized way, to think about what means something to you. Just pick up a copy and see where it takes you.

--Art and Fear, David Bayles and Ted Orland

Recommended to me by my lovely and talented friend Brea, Art and Fear is subtitled Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking, which pretty much sums up its essential thrust. It is aimed at helping artists recognize and overcome the blocks to making art, including so many of the art-making fantasies and unrealities that I admittedly suffer from.

One of the best points the authors make is that notions of "genius" and even "talent" are totally irrelevant - making art is the only key to making art, and you have to make a bunch of art (most of it "bad" art) to end up with any art that's worthwhile. The book is inspiring and practical and funny and well-written, and I whole-heartedly recommend it.

Johnny Damon part II

Here's that picture that I, uh, promised yesterday...

Johnny Damon

I have too much to write about right now - I don't really know where to get started, so I'll start with Johnny Damon. I'm not saying, I'm just saying... he's turning into the best looking baseball player ever. Watching the BoSox/D-Rays spring training at lunch today, I was just thinking that he's really stepped things up a notch, Grizzly Adams-style. I'm trying to find a recent picture to link to, but no dice so far...

Obviously, baseball season is right around the corner, and once again I have tickets to Opening Day with people invited but no one confirmed to go with. Story of my life... that's one of the key things I miss about living in Seattle. We used to get pretty good-sized groups together from work to go to M's games. Bleacher seats were like $10, and with all the beer and Dippin' Dots you could down, a good time was pretty much guaranteed. Plus you could get drunk as you wanted (or drunker) and take the bus home, no fuss, no muss.

In my current life, baseball is just another albatross around my neck. Just another thing I like that nobody around really cares about - so do I forget about it, move on, get with the program, or do I keep on keeping on in pretty much total isolation, living this life I think I want almost entirely by myself? Is baseball or Jandek or deciding to paint or whatever really worth being alone most of the time? Am I just sabotaging myself by barking up all of these weird/stupid trees? Am I trying to keep people away from me, or does it just happen naturally? I guess I don't know...

At the Library

Wasn't that an old Green Day song? Hmmm... I think so. Probably about having a crush on some girl or something. OK, I remember it now...

What makes me go so insane - that makes me feel so much pain? What is it about you that I adore? Why did you have to leave so soon? Why did you have to walk away?

Oh, well, it happened again
She walked away with her boyfriend
Maybe we'll meet again someday...
someday...

--Green Day, At the Library

There are no girls to have crushes on here at this particular library. All I know is that I need to find a book about Japan or something to kill a little time until my mom gets home and we can talk turkey about my house. I also need to take a shower and change clothes. I haven't bathed in a few days, and I imagine what little deoderant I had on is starting to wear thin. So I feel like I am definitely on top of my game...

OK, no I don't, and I shouldn't be hiding behind sarcasm and so-called humor. Today I'll just feel the uncomfortable and the lonely and the whatever else and be OK with it. I don't wanna hide behind words and whatever else there is to hide behind - feeling and being OK with feeling really sucks some days, but it's all discipline in growth.

I'll admit (some days) my first inclination is that I don't wanna grow, but in my heart I really do. I can make my mistakes, take my risks, win some, lose some, and in the end I want to grow - to be alive, to fall flat on my face, to be a success, to spend the afternoon in the library sitting next to some old man fast alseep and learn, just a little, what it is to be present in the present with a grateful and quiet heart.

Travels With Sebastian

I have been staying at my friend Ben's apartment this weekend, and since Ben's out of town, that means I am rooming with Sebastian the cat. Sebastian is a good, sweet, strange cat. But mostly, as it turns out, he likes treats. I brought a box of goodies home from Mi Tierra in San Antonio last nite, and have since caught Sebastian partaking of the snack box like three times. After I noticed and shoo'ed him away, he was clearly licking his chops... did he take a bite of my cupcake? A lick of my praline bar? A nibble from the coconut Mexican flag?

Without any proof at all, I would have to say the praline bar is most likely. For one, I ate the cupcake last nite whilst watching a nature documentary featuring John Denver and his family on PBS. For two, I think the praline has dairy and the coconut flag does not - and it (the praline bar) is most delicious, so who am I to deny Sebastian the same yummy treats I enjoy? I can handle a little cat slobber, I suppose.

And for the record, watching PBS last nite as I fell asleep on Ben's couch reminded me how likeable John Denver really was. I totally love him, and really enjoyed watching him go on this nature tour of the U.S. As if his epic appearances on the Muppet Show (not to mention Take Me Home Country Roads) weren't enough to cement him a high place in my heart... So there you have it - I'm a John Denver fan, and I'm happy to admit it.

Swimming With Sharks

And if you mean it a lot/I'm talking just to waste my day/I drive a lot/I drive a lot...

--Starflyer 59, "I Drive A Lot"

I live in a big city - and the big city I live in has traffic that's really bad. Especially when it rains. And it was raining this morning... so you drive and you pay attention and obsess over songs and NPR and learn how to hammer things out. If you're ever interested in an online update on traffic hell, check out: http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/incmap/.

What I am learning more and more is that driving in traffic is a perfect reactionary stimulus. Meaning (of course) you have to react to everything going on around you so you don't crash into a bunch of other cars and die, but it's more than that - there's the temptation to get so fucking angry at everyone driving like morons that your head just explodes. If I let it, my ego wants to get totally wrapped up in nobody letting me over to make my exit - serenity and peace falls apart like a cheap suit and I'm not focusing on anything but responding to the things around me. Which induces me to drive like the jerkies I'm all mad at, and the cycle perpetuates itself...

So I try to detach a little and say (or think) something nice to everyone I encounter on the freeway, whether they're driving like a dick or not. Just substitute a hostile reaction with a shrug of the shoulders and forgetting about it. It doesn't always work, but at least I am trying to be open to everyone being in the same boat and not letting anyone else rob me of my peace of mind.

The Marsten House

My office is unbelievably cold today - reminds me of SALEM'S LOT, where the Maine yahoos pick up Mr. Barlow's coffin and take it back to the Marsten House in their truck. They're chugging beers and freezing to death - apparently you hang out around a vampire's coffin, even in the back of your truck, and you get a little chilly. And eventually they ignore their insructions and hastily dump the coffin-box in the basement without locking up, leaving the vampire free to make the first kill of the movie... blah blah blah. I'm sure nobody's interested in a bad rehashing of SALEM LOT's plot.

And yet... to be in my icebox of an office this afternoon, I can't help but feel surrounded by vampires. These desks and phone and computer screens are our coffins, and no one's really alive inside - just waiting for the moment to rise and keep spreading their sickness. I've always been fascinated by the whole vampire thing, so forgive me if I'm taking a weak metaphor a little further than it deserves.

For the record, my interest in vampires couldn't be less Goth. Not that there's anything at all wrong with being Goth, it's just not me. I dunno, my mom was a 6th grade teacher and brought me home this book about the history of vampires when I was in kindergarten and I must have read it like 100 times. I knew all about Vlad the Impaler and Elizabeth Bathory when I was still barely learning first grade math. I even had this cool-ass plastic bat called "Gre-gory the Vampire Bat" which had a clear chest cavity that showed the red blood squishing through his system when you squeezed him.

Anyway, I dig the whole vampire thing - even though today I feel like I'm surrounded by them and their ice-cold coffins. I guess I really like the fact that where there are vampires, there are always vamprie hunters. Good drama, a little suspense, but in the end you know the good guys will win out - it's a little spooky getting you there, but really, vampires have such hokey weaknesses: crosses, garlic, silver bullets, holy water... in the end, how could they not get their ass kicked? I guess they all know that, so you shoot for getting all the evil and whatnot in before the inevitable beat-down.

So what I am really saying? That I want to be a fearless vampire killer, starting today. I'm gonna tear the lid off their coffins and drive a stake through their hearts - I'm gonna re-join the world of the living, and leave this cold, undead world behind.