I am not on here anymore. Apparently blogger is too much for me. Also, I think the name of this blog intimidates me. It's way too great of a name for my shitty writing ability.

So follow me on tumblr!

http://inaverysimpleway.tumblr.com

Fun times.

Oysters and Wine at 2AM

The always wonderful Songs:Illinois has a post about Polk Miller, born in 1844. The Tompkins Square label is releasing a collection of his music that was recorded in 1909 and 1928. Mark Twain said of Miller, "I think that Polk Miller, and his wonderful four, is about the only thing this country can furnish that is originally and utterly American." I'm really into the MP3 they have available, and will definitely be picking this up.

MP3: Polk Miller - Oysters and Wine at 2AM

Song:Illinois always comes through with great, random music. Here's a great Belle and Sebastian cover by Andrew Phillip Tinton:

MP3: Andrew Phillip Tinton - Dressed Up in You

The Why? show on Thursday night was pretty incredible. The live arrangements of songs from Alopecia and Elephant Eyelash were engaging and just different enough from the albums to keep me constantly surprised. "A Sky for Shoeing Horses Under" and "Crushed Bones" were especially great, and somehow there was the wave during Simeon's Dilemna, a song that is mostly about Chron's disease. It was an insanely fun time.

Im sick right now. It's awesome.

Been listening to a bunch of Denali lately, reveling in the nostalgia and getting ready for their concert in Brooklyn on Friday night. I really wonder how many people will be there at the show. Were the incredibly popular while they were still around? I don't remember really - I know they had gotten a couple of bigger tours right before they broke up, but I dont remember their headlining tours being insanely packed. Don't get me wrong, they fucking rule and I'm really looking forward to this show, I just how it doesn't turn out like when Braid reunited and played Seattle. So few people at that one.

If the Dodgers make the playoffs (magic number is 5) they will play their first round playoff games in either Philly on New York. I will be going, either way, though I am hoping that the Dodgers play the Mets in the first round, because I think the Phillies could beat the Cubs in their first round, and then I coould see the Dodgers in two playoff series. Derek Lowe is pitching today against the Giants, should be a fun game. Go Dodgers.

the skyline is two gazes long

Holly mentioned the band Rainer Maria a few minutes ago, and now I am listening to Look Now Look Again for the first time in a very long time. The lyrics are so optimistic and longing. And a little cheesy. The first two songs are such a sweet one two punch, full of first love, hope, and awkwardness. Makes me feel sort of embittered and old.

I'm going to see Why? and Mount Eerie on Thursday night at the Bowery. I downloaded Why?'s tour CD, Almost Live in Eli's Room, and the arrangements of their songs are just top notch for this tour. I'm a little giddy with excitement for tomorrow night. Plus, it has been six years since seeing Phil Elverum/Mount Eerie/the Microphones live. I feel like the last time was in Redmond, WA, but I cant be sure. Anyways, it promises to be an awesome evening.

TV show season (or as one of my housemates called it, "hibernating for the winter") is upon us, and I am a happy camper. So many shows to set to record! Between the returns of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Californication, Dexter, 30 Rock, Entourage, Pushing Daisies, and How I Met Your Mother and new shows like the new Little Britain and True Blood, I'll have little time for sleep. The sacrifices we make....

Going to Yankee Stadium for the first and last time tonight. In a surprising turn of events, I will actually be rooting for a New York sports team, but only because I'd rather have the Minnesota Twins in the playoffs than the Chicago White Sox, who the Yankees play tonight.

I don't want to be at work today. Well, I havent wanted to all week. Besides the Why? show on Thursday, I think I could do without this week in general.

Socially Objectionable

The more I read about Sarah Palin, the more I dislike her. From a New York Times Article:

Shortly after becoming mayor, former city officials and Wasilla residents said, Ms. Palin approached the town librarian about the possibility of banning some books, though she never followed through and it was unclear which books or passages were in question.

Ann Kilkenny, a Democrat who said she attended every City Council meeting in Ms. Palin’s first year in office, said Ms. Palin brought up the idea of banning some books at one meeting. “They were somehow morally or socially objectionable to her,” Ms. Kilkenny said.

And there's a possibility that this woman will be our next Vice President? Ouch.

Straight Up Cooky

Inspired by Ryan's twitter post this morning, I spent a good hour at work today looking up information about one of historys finest televesion programs: Supermarket Sweep. The wikipedia entry is pretty stellar, but the gem of the bunch is David Ruprecht's (the host!) personal website. When visiting the site, make sure to sign up for his mailing list and pay special attention to the cheesy/awesome photo section. I long for the day when I receive an email from David announcing the return of Supermarket Sweep. I miss it daily.

After a couple of days of reading old livejournal entries aloud with Holly, Ive decided to write more often in this blog, even if it has nothing to do with Presidents or music. Shit, I'll need something new to make fun of in five years from now. I promise not to fill this with the angst and spelling mistakes that so often stuffed the pages of good ol' LJ.

A couple of my friends have mentioned it a few times on their blogs - this Vice Presidential shit is getting straight up cooky! I'm fucking loving it. Let's create an easy to read checklist to help our slower minded friends. Or to help myself, as coming up with complete sentences has been a problem today.

- 17 year old daughter is 5 months pregnant
- Was a member of a party in Alaska for two years that routinely brought up a vote for secession from the Union
- Drunken driving in the past (eh, who hasnt)
- Being investigated for questionable ethics in the firing of Alaska's public safety commissioner
- History of not playing fair to get her way while mayor of a freaking tiny town.

Other than being a member of a party that even thought of secession (thats a soft spot for me. Union Forever, motherfuckers), I guess the other things on the checklist arent that big of a deal, other than calling into question, again, McCain's mental health. I mean, really, did he not think the press would have a field day with all of this? Where's the intene vetting? But that aside, Palin is a horrible candidate for vice president because of her ideas and ideals. She offers nothing new and nothing positive. I mean, shit, I guess you could say that I don't have too much faith in Obama (this comes from a far too intense love for most of the founders and an extreme sense of skepticism of all modern day politicians, the swarmy bastards) but compared to McCain/Palin, Obama/Biden is like Spiderman/Jesus running together.

Shearwater performed for AOL (what?) recently and there's video to prove it. I'd suggest watching the full performance as they are the greatest band on the planet. But I guess if you had to watch just one of the songs, I'd go for "Hail, Mary" as Jonathan makes some amazing facial expressions during the song. Shearwater are in New York at the awkwardly named (le) Poisson Rouge on October 20. Here's to hoping that they pile on the NYC shows for CMJ that week. Fingers are crossed.

I Want a New Drug

Registering for classes without paying for them is one amazingly satisfying feeling. Because I work for Parsons the New School for Design, I get to take classes at any of our schools for free. I've decided to take some undergrad classes to get me back into the swing of things before going for my masters degree, because well, I didn't really like school the first time around. Here's to hoping that my new found enthusiasm for learning can carry over to an academic setting; with the two classes I am taking, I'm thinking that I have a decent shot.

In a week and a half I'll be starting my schooling with a politics class called "American Political Thought" and a history class about the wonderous history of Presidential Elections. With reading lists including the Federalist Papers and the Constitution, I think I'll be mighty happy with my choices.

The only problem is that these are lecture classes, and I wonder how much active discussion will be going on. I'm hoping for some serious discussion for a couple of reasons: besides my obvious love of talking about American history, I have an awesome tendancy to fall asleep in classes that feature mostly lectures. One would think that with age I would be able to curb this "super power" of mine, but my history leads me to believe otherwise.

Oh, and classes take place during work time, so I'm getting paid to go to class. Did I mention how sweet of a deal this is?

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Went with some friends to see Huey Lewis (and the motherfucking) News last night at Coney Island. It was at the same field as the Brian Wilson show a month back, and believe it or not there were more people for Huey than for Brian. What sort of bizaro world is this? He played all the hits, managed to look exactly the same as he did 20 years ago, AND have his group sing a capella. Quite the nostalgia party, let me tell you. I should have brought my Sports record for him to sign. Oh well.

I bought three pinatas for a party we are having tomorrow - a dinosaur, a fish, and a turtle. I havent had a pinata since I was 10.

Brief Update

I've spent the last week or so in Alaska visiting my friend Emily. A beautiful state, did you know that the territory was bought from the Ruskie's (who were afraid of it falling into the hands of the British) by none other than William Seward? He's probably best known for being Lincoln's secretary of state and a man who was a shoe-in to be President before Lincoln came out of nowhere in the convention to win the nomination, and eventually the Presidency. Also(!), the same group of folks who killed Lincoln also tried to kill Seward on the same night, but he, his family, and a bunch of guards on duty fought off the would be assassin. OK, I think I know too much about this guy.

Speaking of dorking out about America, I am going to sign up for my two free classes for the semester tomorrow. I'm thinking of these two classes:

Every Four Years: Presidential Elections Then and Now
American History 1: Revolution to Reconstruction

I'm trying to prepare myself for going to grad school in the spring, but undergrad classes should be a lot of fun too! I may branch out and try to learn about other countries or ideas, but I'm pretty positive that I'll at least be taking that Presidency class. I mean, come on.

I'm off to go see Bob Dylan. And it's across the street from my house at wonderful Prospect Park. Hey, maybe New York isn't so bad after all.