August 11, 2008
I've Moved
Dear Readers:
This blog is no more.
I am now blogging at the NEW BillColrus.com.
The posts collected here will live on in archive format until I can figure out what to do with them.
Thanks for stopping by,
Bill
Posted by colrus at 7:00 AM | Comments [0] | TrackBack
July 10, 2008
Where I've Been or Wake Up, Sleepy Blog
I just noticed that it's been more than two months since my last blog post.
How about an update?
Melissa and I moved. We now live in a house on a street off of Hixson Pike. It's 16 minutes closer to work, and, well, much closer to everything else. Sam loves the yard, and we've already met a few of our neighbors. (New pics of Sam will be online soon, by the way.) We are happy.
Work is good. They keep me busy, and I can honestly say I like my job. I'm also picking up the occasional weekend catering gig with Beth and Pete. Fun, as always.
I'm having ANOTHER yard sale this Saturday. This one will feature all the stuff we thought we still needed/wanted, but no longer do.
Newspinion.org died a quick death. Sorry, my heart wasn't in it. To follow up on an earlier post, I am, however, still planning on doing some spiritual writing online, as well as revamping this site.
Also...
While I have been lurking in its shadows since before its launch, I suppose I should officially mention that most (if not all) of my Chattanooga-based blogging will now be done at Chattarati.com. Perhaps all the commotion will get me posting more than once every eight weeks.
Posted by colrus at 6:14 PM | Comments [1] | TrackBack
May 7, 2008
Items I'll Soon Forget to Mention Unless I Mention Them Right Now...
Last week, due to the unbelievable generosity of my wife's family, my little family was able to join them on a seven-day cruise from Miami to San Juan, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten. We took Carnival, which was MUCH nicer this time than the last. We ate a lot. Slept a lot. Swam a lot. And explained to a lot of folks the reason why Sam was wearing a cast.
I'm pretty sure that 1 in 4 of those people thought we were abusing him. As a matter of fact, after about the fourth day of telling people that "he broke his arm playing soccer with his cousins" and getting mean looks, I wanted to start telling them that "he just wouldn't listen." Of course, I would be in a sweaty Caribbean jail right now if I'd done that. Sam got his cast off today, by the way.
The trip was great. We even saw Chelsea Clinton (for about 20 seconds) in San Juan. She was there helping her mom campaign. A tour guide was telling her about how Mayor Dinkins donated cobblestones to San Juan. Chelsea seemed bored.
I have video of the encounter, and about another hour and a half of moments from the trip. I took a bunch of pictures, too, some of which I hope to post by the weekend. I may even whip up an extended post about the trip.
Former fellow Pulser Angela Tant is once again a co-worker of mine. She started working with us as a copywriter while I was on vacation. I didn't have much time to talk with her today, though, as she, I, and the rest of my department are pretty much slammed right now. The good kind of slammed, though.
We are having a yard sale in a couple of weeks. Baby stuff will dominate the inventory, but other, interesting, non-baby items will be available, too, as we are purging and consolidating as we search for a new place to live off of the mountain.
My sister, brother-in-law, and perhaps niece and/or nephew are coming to visit for Memorial Day. My brother-in-law just returned from a tour in Iraq, and hasn't yet gotten to meet Sam. We plan to show them all that Chattanooga has to offer. So look out, Towing and Recovery Museum!
Softball update: We split a doubleheader tonight. I went 5 for 5, though, with a double, a triple, three runs scored, and two runs batted in. The key? Showing up to play unbelievably tired.
After driving home from Miami yesterday, and working all day today, I should have skipped tonight's games. Of course, I should be sleeping right now, too, and I'm blogging, so... Wait, on second thought, sleep sounds nice. Goodnight, all.
Posted by colrus at 1:48 AM | Comments [0] | TrackBack
April 16, 2008
My (Amended) Future in Blogging
A quick announcement...about my earlier announcement...
This blog is staying put. For now.
• While I am creating a new BillColrus.com, which will serve as a resume/personal life/personal projects reference site, it won't be done for quite some time. This site will continue to act as my main blog in the interim. I will be tweaking it, however.
• Though Newspinion.org, my new news and opinion site is now live, my possible involvement in another kinda similar Web project might signal its early demise. (Timing can be odd sometimes, can't it?)
• I am still also developing a spiritual study and discussion site. It's formulation, objectives, and approach are, yes, still being ironed out, but it's a topic I've been wanting to write about for awhile, and I'm still excited to do so.
• The Chattanooga Film Blog remains -- and will continue to remain -- deceased.
• Also, I am now twittering. (See right.)
If you hadn't noticed, I enjoy blogging about what I'm gonna blog about.
Posted by colrus at 12:03 AM | TrackBack
April 3, 2008
My Picks for Most Beautiful North Shore Locations
1. Ziggy's.
2. Krystal.
3. That building where Melonhead's used to be.
4. The Small Business Development Center.
5. The vacant Northside Lunch building.
6. The vacant floorcoverings building at Coolidge Park.
7. The vacant Pruett's building.
8. That parking lot where Tubby's used to be.
9. The Nautilus Building.
10. The vacant Electric Mouse building.
I would like to personally state my relief that neither the Coolidge Hotel nor the condos on Stringer's Ridge were built. The absence of these developments marks sensational community efforts to preserve the beauty of the North Shore area.
Posted by colrus at 9:43 AM | TrackBack
March 17, 2008
And the Whole World Goes Green!
Not growing up Catholic, I admit my knowledge about St. Patrick is limited.
What I do know, however, is that while he may be regarded by some as the patron saint of Ireland, he's regarded by many more as the patron saint of drink specials.
Posted by colrus at 11:55 PM | TrackBack
February 14, 2008
Poll: Which Would Be a More Boring Place to Work?
While in Pigeon Forge a couple of weeks ago for a marriage conference, I stumbled upon a shopping center that is home to -- not one -- but TWO of what would have to be the most dreadfully boring places on the planet to work.
Trouble is, I can't decide which would be more boring.
Would it be Wallet Works?
...or Mr. Tablecloth and MORE?
Please make your case in the comments below.
Posted by colrus at 11:52 PM | TrackBack
December 25, 2007
Linus Knows
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October 29, 2007
Two in Four
After spending most of my life wondering what it would be like if the Red Sox won the World Series, they've now done it twice in four years. This one was a tad anticlimactic, though. All of them will be that way after what happened in 2004, I'm afraid. (I'll still take 'em all, though.)
I really like my new job. It's taken a couple (or so) weeks to get settled in, and I am doing just that. My most effective training method? Staying really, really busy.
It's a little disconcerting when you have to leave the English language to find your favorite album of the year. While critics are split (those whose reviews I've read so far, that is), I am a big fan of most everything Cafe Tacuba has ever done, and rank this latest disc alongside "Re" as one of their best ever.
In other music-related news, I have decided to sell the vast majority of my record collection. I can always use some extra money, and I've also realized that I am not really all that emotionally attached to the discs the music is on as much as I am the music itself. And since all of the music can be kept in digital format on a variety of handy storage and playback mediums, the discs themselves are taking up space and money. I'll likely keep some, but I'm going to sell most of them -- some on eBay, some at McKay's, etc.
I have trouble sleeping on a really big pillow. I like smaller pillows. The closer my head is to the bed -- while still having a pillow underneath -- the better I sleep. Sorry. Just had to share.
More pics of Sam to come soon. The boy is almost one. Where'd the time go?
Posted by colrus at 2:03 AM | Comments [2] | TrackBack
September 28, 2007
One Day Removed and Moves
So, one day removed from my tenure as editor of The Pulse and what did I do? I went to a surprise birthday lunch for a co-worker at The Pulse before stopping by my former office for a bit to check on a couple things. The newspaper business, as Chicago once sang, is a hard habit to break.
Tonight's Office premiere was solid, even if it was a tad more subdued than I'd expected. Thanks to my handy-dandy DVD burner, I've already watched it twice.
My new, Word Press-powered blog is nearing completion. In addition to a blog, the NEW BillColrus.com will feature an extensive PDF archive of my written work and (eventually) assorted audio and video clips. My dad has already sent me some sketches he did for the banner header.
I am carving regular, weekly book writing time into my schedule. If I can commit to doing nothing but working on the book for, say, a mere two hours each week, I should make some decent progress. All my literary-type acquaintances should expect regular requests to "look this over, will ya?"
In case you didn't know, I am now live on Facebook. Look me up. MySpace? Not so much anymore.
Posted by colrus at 3:37 AM | TrackBack
September 2, 2007
My Day in Sports
1. Attended today's Braves/Mets game in Atlanta. Mets starter Mike Pelfrey, who was 0-7 coming into the game, dominated the Braves with a combination of 96-mile-per-hour fastballs outside the strike zone, and 82-mile-per-hour sliders also outside the strike zone. Mostly in the dirt. The Braves got two hits all day.
(Highlights: Watching Jose Reyes steal -- and then get picked off -- second base. Watching Carlos Beltran homer and, later, FLY around the bases for a triple. I love home runs, but triples are more fun to watch.)
2. Saw that Michigan lost to Appalachian State. Laughed repeatedly. Then got out my calculator to figure out how badly Appy State is going to beat UTC.
3. Watched some of the Vols game at Cal. If the Vols' defense had actually been able to attend the game, UT might've had a shot.
4. Caught the last inning of Clay Bucholz's no-hitter against Baltimore. It was only the SECOND START of Bucholz's big league career, the Red Sox won 10-0, and they maintained their five-game lead over the Yankees. I always sleep better when the Sox win.
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August 31, 2007
So, I Talked to Mesh Last Night...
Seriously. I did. On a phone.
He says hi.
Eventually, we hung up.
He had to go to a screening.
I had to go to bed.
Posted by colrus at 10:43 PM | Comments [1] | TrackBack
August 30, 2007
Aunt Frank
Though slightly less chuckle-worthy after just watching Ken Burns' film about World War II, I just rediscovered this little tidbit I tossed off as part of the "Community Calendar" section of this year's April Fool's issue of The Pulse:
“The Diary of Aunt Frank”—A man is trapped in a closet during World War II. 8 p.m. Encore Theatre.
Ah. Jokes.
Posted by colrus at 11:04 PM | TrackBack
August 21, 2007
Blogunited and It Feels So Good
So many things a-happenin'... Where to start?
The Pulse has a new office. We are now located in a converted warehouse block on Rossville Avenue. The place screams alt weekly. We're still unpacking, but when all is unpacked, things will be sweet. (Except for the rancid fumes of the chicken factory across the street. Those are decidedly not-so-sweet.)
Sam. Photos. Soon. I have at least a couple of months worth of photos of Sam to post online, including his most recent J.C. Penney shoot, and various trips to various states to visit various friends and family. The boy has four teeth, just turned nine months old, is almost walking, and is currently speaking (what sounds like) a combination of Chinese and German. He also regularly says "dad" and "mom" -- although we're still a little unclear as to whether he knows what he's saying.
BillColrus.com will soon undergo a rather large transformation. One of the reasons I haven't been blogging much lately is that I have been constructing a new blog/site via Wordpress. In addition to a new blog, the site will also feature video and audio clips from my various past and present projects, as well as a rather extensive archive of my printed work. I hope to have the site live in a month.
Just in time for September's fifth anniversary of the premiere of "On The Other Hand," you will be soon be able to order (at an almost-free price) the long-awaited "Handful of On The Other Hand" compilation DVD. I'm putting together a trailer for it as we speak, and my plan is to have ordering information available when the new site launches. You may also hear something soon about a release party...
I interviewed Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish today. All I can say is that he was super cool. Next week, I'm interviewing Ken Burns.
If you've never been, the Wilderness Theatre in Trenton, GA is highly recommended. We went last weekend. Not only was it great to watch a movie under the stars on a warm summer evening, but the concession prices were very reasonable and the bathrooms were ABSOLUTELY IMMACULATE. And VERY WELL air-conditioned.
---
Current Diversions
Watching: Air Guitar Nation
Reading: Stiff by Mary Roach
Listening: Scraps by NRBQ
Posted by colrus at 12:43 AM | Comments [3] | TrackBack
August 5, 2007
Blog Like a Log
Yes, I know. My blogging has dropped off. This is not for lack of interest. I actually have much to blog about, and I don't want to disappoint the seven people who read this thing.
Give me a couple of days. For in a couple of days the magic will return.
And in a couple of days you will say, "Well, that actually wasn't all that magical, jerk."
And I will say, "I know. You are a sucker."
Sigh.
Posted by colrus at 3:54 AM | Comments [2] | TrackBack
July 24, 2007
Make a Hitler Reference, Lose Your Argument
Works every time, kids.
(Actually, I think her whole argument WAS her Hitler reference. Sad.)
Posted by colrus at 4:32 PM | TrackBack
July 8, 2007
My First Trip to the Octagon
I watched the Ultimate Fighting Championship tonight for the first time ever. My brother-in-law got it on pay-per-view.
I could definitely get into this. Especially if they spent less time getting each other into submission holds on the canvas and spent more time just beating the ever-living crap out of each other.
Posted by colrus at 12:31 AM | TrackBack
June 30, 2007
Manute Bol Walked Past Me at the Airport
While my just-completed nine-day Connecticut vacation was chock full of tidbits worthy of extended comment and description in a later post, one item has to be mentioned immediately: Former (unbefrigginlieveably tall) NBA center Manute Bol walked right past me at Bradley International Airport this morning. Bol lives in West Hartford and was, presumably, on his way back home.
No, I couldn't get to my camera fast enough to take a picture.
Yes, he is even taller in person.
Yes, weird stuff like this happens to me all the time.
Posted by colrus at 1:00 AM | TrackBack
June 18, 2007
Monday Miscellany
One of the premiere alt weekly writers on the planet, Tara Servatius, now has a blog. Check it out. Tara writes for Creative Loafing in Charlotte, and also hosts a talk show five nights a week at WBT.
Riverbend is over. Despite the fact that its lineup failed to fully jazz an intense music snob like myself, I have to say that $37 wasn't a bad deal for a pin that you could've used to attend each night of the festival if you'd wanted to. We're still wading through the aftermath and some ongoing discussions around the structure and purpose of Riverbend itself, but as for the talent on hand this year, it was worth the money.
In addition to attempting to convince our advertisers to boycott our paper, folks that are unhappy with what we print will sometimes go around town grabbing up any and all copies of our paper that they can get their hands on. This practice of theft (and, yes, it is theft) is supposed to, I suppose, keep people from reading something "bad," "wrong," or "damaging" that we've written about them or someone they know. This has happened on at least two occasions in our close to four years in business and, reportedly, happened again recently. In all cases, including the most recent one, we've stood by the stories the thieves took issue (and issues) with (and containing).
Though we'd love to catch and prosecute the offenders in these cases, it's a bit hard to do so. More importantly, however, the thieves' actions are just plain stupid. Our Web traffic is always increasing, and unless the thieves can steal all of the copies of the Internet that are floating around, our work will be read. Plus, big bunches of papers missing from our racks is good for our circulation numbers, helps bring in advertising revenue, and lets us hire more writers that'll undoubtedly write more stories that certain folks won't want other folks to see. If people don't want the light of truth to shine on their corruption, they should, oh, I dunno, stop being corrupt. How about that?
Posted by colrus at 11:37 PM | TrackBack
June 4, 2007
Wanna Revive One of Chattanooga's Dying Strip Malls? Bring In a Steve & Barry's
Visiting my sister in Charlotte this past weekend, we took a trip to Steve & Barry's, the super discount department store chain that's currently catching fire across the country. I first heard about the chain in a piece on ABC's 20/20 featuring the "Starbury" shoe line, endorsed by the New York Knicks' Stephon Marbury. The shoe line includes a variety of styles, all of which are priced at $14.98, and which was named as one of Business Week's "Products of the Year" for 2006. Marbury was interested in launching the shoe line, in part, because he wanted kids to know that good shoes didn't have to cost a lot.
Now, while Consumer Reports says Starburys are "not that great" for serious basketball players, they do say that "they seem to be a well-made shoe, and for $15 dollars are definitely worth a try." More than half of the players in Consumer Reports' study said they would wear them off the court. Ben Wallace will be launching a line of shoes through the store this fall, and Sarah Jessica Parker is launching a clothing line through Steve and Barry's this week.
The Steve and Barry's business model is aggressive. They seek out bargain leases in dying strip malls for their retail locations, do virtually no advertising, have no online store, offer modest employee salaries, and save on purchasing costs. According to their Web site, they "focus our energies to make sure sweaters for your family don't cost more than a tank of gas or this week's groceries."
My first impression: Steve and Barry's resembles a cross between The Gap (in terms of store appearance) and Old Navy (in terms of clothing quality). Also, like the Starbury shoe line, all of the clothes at Steve and Barry's are extremely affordable. (Cargo shorts and khaki pants were two for $20. Polo shirts were $5.98.)
While we didn't buy any shoes during our visit, Melissa and I bought several pairs of pants and shorts, and a variety of shirts. We each wore several during our stay. We were both very pleased in the style and comfort level of the clothes. (The clothes also held up very well after an initial washing.)
A store like Steve and Barry's would do very well in Chattanooga. We have plenty of empty retail space for the company to choose from, and the prices would be appealing to a community that's currently flooding the Wal-Marts and Targets looking for bargains on clothes.
The closest Steve and Barry's to Chattanooga is in Antioch, just outside of Nashville.
Posted by colrus at 5:15 PM | Comments [1] | TrackBack
May 28, 2007
Don't Rush a Kid
We had our yard sale on Saturday. Our nephew, Bryce, spent the night Friday night and helped to price items -- including some of his own that he brought to sell.
As was expected, people started showing up roughly an hour before our advertised start time of 8 a.m. We ended at 4 p.m., but didn't have a single shopper after 1:30. Perhaps it was the abysmally hot weather, or the fact that it was a holiday weekend.
We sold a modest amount, certainly enough to have made the endeavour worthwhile. Bryce sold about half of his items, too, stating when it was over that he thought "we did pretty good."
The only mildy frustrating point of the day happened when the only child who stepped foot on our lawn the whole day was rushed by his parents. The boy was very young -- so young that I'm not sure he's really gotten the grasp of how money works yet, and was trying to figure out whether he had enough money to buy a couple of toys from Bryce.
Well, after he left, we realized that he'd actually only paid for half of what he owed. This was probably because his parents -- ready to leave -- got in the car and were turning around down the block while he finished up. He panicked, rushed to pay, and met up with his parents at the car.
A few minutes after they'd all left, we realized that he'd left his wallet with all of his money in it. All four dollars of it. With no way of tracking him down, we all hoped he'd come back to get his money. He never did. It kind of tears us up to look down at the wallet just sitting there on our counter. I'm not sure what we're going to do with it.
Posted by colrus at 4:14 PM | Comments [2] | TrackBack
May 15, 2007
Tuesday Randomness
So... Today...
1. Sam cried all day. He was still cute the whole time, though. He's not crying now. Mommy's presence might -- no, definitely -- has something to do with it.
2. Got the Mike Keneally hat. and Boil That Dust Speck reissues in the mail. Just. Freakin'. Amazing.
3. This blog will soon be moving to WordPress. The new blog will have audio and video pages, as well as an archive featuring oodles of my written work.
4. As was previously reported, my return to a (somewhat) normal schedule has enabled me to resume completion of the OTOH compilation DVD. Final edits will be done at home, while DVD menuing/mastering and commentary recording will be done at Lazy Bear (aka Ryan's room). I think I'm gonna sell the discs for, like, $8 a piece. Or maybe I'll just give them away. Along with the 50 or so OTOH bumper stickers I recently found in a box.
5. Jerry Falwell died today. Many are mourning. Some are rejoicing. In related news, I thought Robert T., Mary Ann, and (Highland Park's) Dr. Bouler all did a swell job on "Live and Local" today.
6. I had chinese food tonight. I don't like chinese food as much as thai food. Not even P.F. Chang's, although I do really like P.F. Chang's.
7. I have grown to strongly dislike the following Internet slang terms: "teh" and "woot." I'm not sure why.
8. The Red Sox lost tonight. I mean, they had to sometime.
9. In wake of Imus' firing(s) -- and subsequent similar firings of other radio hosts -- I can't help but come to two conclusions: 1) We need more voices these days, not fewer and 2) Call me strange, but unless a radio host's voice paralyzes me, rendering me unable to change the channel, I'm just not gonna get that offended by what he/she says; no matter what he/she says. I suppose I'm strangely tolerant of even the things I despise. (BTW: I just put one of my Imus CDs up on eBay.)
10. We are planning a road trip back home to Connecticut in June. With the current price of gas, I'm guessing we'll have to shell out about $300 just to get there and back. Still, that's cheaper than flying. Or if we had to power our car with bottled water. (Do the math.)
Posted by colrus at 11:09 PM | Comments [7] | TrackBack
May 10, 2007
Back to Normal?
Yes, one day short of Sam's six-month birthday, it seems that Melissa and I have finally settled into some semblance of a normal life again. It took a while, but we've gotten our routines down and are aggressively planning for the future. Melissa is quitting her job in order to spend more time at home with Sam. We are exceedingly grateful to our cousins Shannon and Jason, and to their kids Bryce, Leila, and Jacob for helping us through these first few months, but getting up extra early to drop Sam off and getting home extra late from picking him up each day has taken an exhausting toll on us in a number of ways. While things will be tight financially at first, other things will be better for us with Melissa staying at home, and we're looking forward to the challenges our new life will bring.
In addtion to taking care of Sam, Melissa is tending to some household projects she's been wanting to get to for quite some time. She is also selling Mary Kay on the side, and we're going to have at least one yard sale. We're also going to unload a bunch of stuff on eBay. We simply have too many things we can do without.
Things at The Pulse are hectic and somewhat in flux, but manageable and promising. We are trying new things, tweaking our existing format, and re-evaluating the organization as a whole in order to maintain a healthy level of financial and creative progress. I'm excited to see where we'll go.
On the "other projects" front, I am slowly getting back up to speed on the "On The Other Hand" DVD, the Lord T. and Eloise video, the book I've been working on, and the songs I've been writing. With our semi-normal home schedule, I can realistically plan on getting some of this stuff done.
I'm also digitzing a mountain of audio tapes containing old comedy bits, radio appearances, old band demo/rehearsal/gig recordings, audio projects, and other sonic gems that are slowly oxidizing into oblivion.
I have two fantasy baseball teams this year. One is in first place. The other is in fourth. I had crazy-good drafts, and should do well for the duration.
More later...
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CURRENT DIVERSIONS:
Listening: Pink Floyd: Meddle
Reading: Mountain Man Dance Moves: McSweeney's Book of Lists
Watching: FRONTLINE/American Experience: The Mormons
Posted by colrus at 12:38 AM | Comments [1] | TrackBack
February 21, 2007
Bush Likes Ribs, Which Reminds Me...I'm Shooting a Rap Video
In case you've suffered head trauma recently and just now came to, the President of the United States was in town today. Joe has a tidy round-up of local bloggers who blogged about it.
The President's motorcade pulled RIGHT UP to the entrance at Erlanger where I pick Melissa up from work every day, and the Secret Service searched her department's offices for contraband and other items of concern. They didn't find any.
In addition to his regular stops, the President stopped at Porker's for lunch.
Less than a block from my office.
Man, I could've seen him twice.
I don't have much to say on the subject of his visit. He came. Some people fawned. Some people protested. He spoke. He ate. He left.
I'm not his biggest fan, but any time a sitting president visits your town, it's OK to admit that it's kinda cool.
OK, now THIS is big news. Memphis aristocrunk rappers Lord T. and Eloise -- featuring former Chattanooga Outlook editor, Robert Anthony -- are playing Rhythm and Brews next Thursday night, March 1. Also on the bill is the Pnuma Trio.
Lord T. and Eloise's debut album, Aristocrunk, received an "A" rating from the Memphis Flyer, and is currently an Editor's Pick at Blender.com. (I ran a brief review on it this week, too.)
I urge you to attend this show.
Also, Chris and I will be filming their set. I will be using the footage to edit a video for their song "To My Ladies." Should be fun.
Posted by colrus at 11:15 PM | TrackBack
February 15, 2007
The Intimidator
So, I just realized that I just watched the entire ESPN movie about Dale Earnhardt. How did I get sucked in? Maybe Barry Pepper is to blame. I've always liked his work.
OK, this is random: Organization is key. The more you organize your life, the better your life will be. And the more free time -- or time, in general -- you will have.
Each week, I compose a day-by-day spreadsheet with my work duties: articles that I need to write, editing tasks, managerial tasks, etc. As I finish each task, I check it off. My goal each day is to finish both that day's tasks and the next day's. Sometimes, I can. Most times, I can't. But, by press day, it all gets done. And my life is less stressful.
It takes about five minutes to compose my task list each week, and it relieves about 10 hours of stress each week. Task lists can be done for home, too. Just make sure that you budget some "do nothing" time, too.
I am officially in book mode. Yes, I am actually currently writing a book. Do I expect it to be published? Yes. But probably by myself. Via one of those online dealies. I don't really care. I view it more as an exercise in discipline, and a way to share our richly entertaining family history. If some people are curious enough about the finished product to spend money on it, well, that's wonderful. I'll just give all the money to my son, anyway. Yep, he's got me like that. Already.
My brother-in-law is officially in Iraq. He is keeping an online diary here. I'm still having trouble processing the fact that he's actually there. 11 more months to go.
A February 9 excerpt from his online diary:
For the sake of security and confidentiality I can not reveal the details of what happened to me today. My team and I were hit with an attack today. No one was hurt and we made it back to our camp. We assessed the damage and checked everyone out. Thank God no one was hurt. We all agreed that this is wake up call for us that we are really in a war zone and that we must pay attention as best as we can. For me, I pray before we go out and I pray before we come back in. I know God has my life in his hands. We have sophisticated weapons, equipment and trained staff but my peace relies in knowing God is in control. I am not saying I am not afraid. I'm just saying that I have to rest in the knowledge of that to have peace so that I can do my job.
Posted by colrus at 1:03 AM | Comments [1] | TrackBack
February 11, 2007
When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around
Seeing The Police open tonight's Grammy Awards (man, I post a lot about music), the residents of this planet were confronted with a sad, startling fact: The Police have wasted a lot of time not being The Police.
(For my money, Zenyatta Mondatta was always their best album.)
Even in his coolest moments since leaving The Police, Sting has never been as cool as The Police.
Here's "Demolition Man" from Ghost in the Machine. One of my faves.
Posted by colrus at 10:37 PM | Comments [1] | TrackBack
February 5, 2007
YouTube and Deerhooves
I was interviewed last week by WDEF's Joe Legge for a piece they're running tonight at 6 p.m. about YouTube. I hope I don't sound as dumb as I felt or looked. (Yes, before you ask, they plan to air their YouTube piece on YouTube.) The interview happened as a result of Joe's discovering the video I posted of a certain song I recorded about a certain local town...
The new Deerhoof album is REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY good. And Ernie agrees.
I have begun writing a book(?) of essays. The essays will recount certain hilarious and/or intensely painful personal/family stories. A rough title: "The Mouse and the Barbecue Fork." All the stories are true, though I haven't decided whether I will change names in order to protect the, um, embarrassing.
Posted by colrus at 8:12 AM | Comments [4] | TrackBack
January 19, 2007
Dear Rosie O'Donnell: Please, I'm Begging You, Shut Up
I had to snap out my blogging coma to implore that Ms. Rosie O'Donnell, currently of ABC's test of viewer wills The View, shut her pie hole. I'm not referring to her spat with the equally obnoxious and dead pelt-coiffed Donald Trump, but instead to her outrage over the treatment of those auditioning on American Idol.
We are currently in the midst of SEASON SIX of American Idol. There are no more surprises -- for either the viewer or the contestant. Audtioning for the show is voluntary, and if those auditioning a) are surprised that weren't picked or b) outraged about comments the judges made about them, they have nobody but themselves to blame. They also haven't been watching the show for any of the first five seasons.
Frankly, I've actually started feeling bad for the judges this year, as the combination of attitudes and ghastly performances could make anybody crazy. Also, keep in mind that we are watching but a minute portion of those who audition in each city. I would venture to guess that 99 percent of those that don't make it are told so in quick, polite tones.
How About the Weather, Huh? Yeah, from what I hear it's bad all over. In fact, I was thinking about the weather this morning as I was scraping some global warming off my car.
My dad, stepmom, nephew, and his girlfriend are coming to town tomorrow. This will be the first time they will have seen Sam. While contemplating things we could do while they're here, I remembered that the O'Reilly World of Wheels will be in town -- you know, the one featuring the Texas Bikini Team. Please, somebody, tell me: What is a "bikini team"?
Words. Recently in The Pulse, I've interviewed Ralphie May and Isaac Hayes, reviewed Robert Fripp's Exposure reissue, and took the city to task over its questionable marketing of the proposed homeless campus.
Blog Changes. I am adding an "About Me" page and a link to my fickr page. I'm also going to revise my blogroll and links and place them on separate pages. Wow. Exciting.
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December 3, 2006
He'll Never Meet His Grandmother, But He Will
The baby is good. Other than having his days and nights mixed up, Sam seems to be a happy and (as his doctor calls him) "perfect" baby. He eats a lot, sleeps in quick bursts, and seems to like it when I bounce him on my knee and pretend that he's Verne Troyer in that Geico commercial. He seems to like rap.
Melissa and I sleep when we can. This has affected my work schedule somewhat, as I have been going into teh office later than usual for the last couple of weeks -- and working more from home -- but I fully expect my schedule to get back to normal over the next couple of weeks. Melissa is on leave until the end of January.
Oh yeah, the birth... While I've uploaded a fair share of pics of Sam for all to see, I've been kind of quiet concerning the actual birth of our son. I'll try to run it down quickly.
At 2 a.m. on Saturday, November 11, Melissa's water broke. While it wasn't messy, it was only an hour after we'd gone to bed, so we got our stuff together and took our still-sleepy selves to Women's East. (Women's East is a GREAT place to have a baby, by the way. The staff was amazing and the atmosphere is EXTREMELY laid back and comforting.)
We checked in easily and soon fell back to sleep. As the contractions increased, however, so did the pain Melissa was feeling. Not being able to sleep or stand the pain, she received an epidural well before dawn, and would spend most of the morning asleep.
At 2 p.m., Melissa was dialated a full 10 centimeters and started to push soon afterwards. While she didn't feel much pain, she did get tired easily. She kept going, however, even when the nurse informed us that the baby was coming out nose-up. After two hours of somewhat futile pushing, this gave us two options: we could try to deliver naturally with the aid of suction and forceps, or we could have a c-section. Melissa didn't want to have a c-section, so Dr. Steele was brought in. (A FANTASTIC nurse named Vounette had been helping us deliver to this point.) A mere 15 or so minutes and a few pushes later, Dr. Steele -- who replaced our normal doctor (Dr. Newman) who had to take her state boards that week -- applied suction and used the forceps to deliver the baby. The cord was slightly wrapped around the baby's neck, so instead of allowing me to cut the cord, Dr. Steele quickly passed Sam over to the nurses who quickly checked him out and cleaned him up. He cried pretty much immediately.
While my generally weak stomach kept me from watching Sam as he was being born, I saw him immediately as the doctor delivered him. Sam was pale, covered in blood, squirming, and crying, and I almost lost it. He was pretty much the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, and with Melissa having a miscarriage the last time around, I can't describe how elated I was to have a healthy baby. I've been floating ever since, and am having trouble remembering life before parenthood -- as weird as that may sound.
Minutes after he was born, Sam was swaddled and passed to me. I brought him over to Melissa, who began to tear up. She held him, then did the rest of her family. Melissa's mother, cousin Shannon, and our sister-in-law Heather were all in the room for the birth, and all helped greatly. Melissa's father, Shannon's husband Jason, and Melissa's brother Dan soon came in, and we all took turns smiling and holding Sam. It was a great day.
After two days -- and bunches of visitors -- we took Sam home.
But what about my family? One of the most moving aspects of the day Sam was born was that, in addition to also being Melissa's cousin Shannon's birthday, it was also the same day -- November 11 -- that my mother passed away on in 1997.
Shortly after Sam was born, it hit me that he was going to the first of my parents' grandchildren that my mother would never get to meet. Later, on the phone, my sister Tracy pointed out the matching dates. (For some reason, for the last few years, I'd been thinking that my mom died on November 7.) Tracy put it best when she said that Sam's birth had taken a bad day and made it a great day. While my mom won't know Sam, he will likely feel a special connection to her. And his birthdays will likely lead to us telling him stories about her. I think it's also safe to say that she would have spoiled him like crazy.
My sister, brother-in-law, and niece are coming to visit this week. My dad and stepmom -- who are waiting until Christmas is over to shut down their store in Connecticut -- are coming at the first of the year. Plans are still being hashed out for us to hook up with my other sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Not only is my family bigger, it's more spread-out. Hopefully, Sam will meet everybody before he starts shaving.
And then there's the truck... A week or so before Sam was born, Melissa and I were making plans to buy a car from a friend who was moving out of town. When Melissa told her mother, Melissa's mother told her not to buy a car. Her brother then called and told her the same thing. The night before Sam was born we found out why.
Melissa's brother bought us a truck as an early Christmas present. A 1996 Isuzu Rodeo. A guy on his job had it and wasn't using it much. Dan had everything fixed on it, took all the seats out and cleaned it, and even had a CD player installed in it. Needlessly to say, we were quite blown away and are EXTREMELY grateful. Dan said he did it because he'd never finished making payments on an old Volkswagen Beetle he'd bought from me in, like, 1994. Frankly, I'd completely forgotten and hadn't really minded in the first place. The car was a headache. Dan wound up totalling it, I'd gotten decent financial aid that semester, and it was REALLY no big deal.
Anyway, the truck is great and very helpful. Not only can we hold onto the money we were going to use to buy a car, Melissa can drive our Camry. I wanted to get a second car because I didn't like the idea of Melissa being stuck on the mountain with the baby and having no transportation. Now, we don't have to worry about it.
Also...
At the same time I'd been looking into getting a second car, I'd also been shopping for camcorders. We'd gotten a handful of Target giftcards -- enough to buy a camcorder. I'd gone into the store, jotted down a few that caught my eye, then went home to research them. I'd picked one and was planning to go back and get it when, on the way back from Provino's on the night before Sam was born, Dan and Heather gave us a camcorder as ANOTHER early Christmas present. At this point, I was pretty much speechless. And I was able to shoot about an hour's worth of footage the next day.
The day my son was born.
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November 6, 2006
No Baby Yet
We are still waiting for the baby.
We are both having trouble sleeping.
We want the baby to be here.
If the baby doesn't come on its own, the doctor is going to induce Melissa on the 13th. I will post any updates as they happen.
While you're (and we're) waiting, be sure to vote tomorrow!
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November 2, 2006
Soon 'til Sam
Last Friday, we went to the doctor. He said the baby would be here within the week. It is now two days away from being a week. So, the baby should be here soon, yes? Please?
Melissa is now on leave from work. This means I can sleep 45 minutes longer each morning. I could be wrong, but I think this will work wonders for my energy level. Until the baby is here, that is, at which point I'll be dragging a bit, I'd venture to say. So, the whole sleeping later bit will last, like, two days.
I'm getting a little concerned. I pretty much listen to ONE CD, and ONE CD only these days. EVERY day. It's a brand new mix of Sugarplastic tunes that I compiled, and I've pretty much been dissecting it each day in my car. My only real conclusion so far? I would kill to be able to write and play stuff like this. I recently received an E-mail from Ben Eshbach, the band's front man and founder, who says that they are working hard on their next album.
My brother-in-law Roy recently received word that he will be stationed in Baghdad City after the first of the year. He'll be training the Iraqi Army and riding on convoys with them. He is more than enthusiastic and proud to serve. I, on the other hand, am now aggressively re-examining my convictions regarding a myriad of global socio-political issues.
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October 24, 2006
A Few Quickiedings
1. I have succumb to the pressure and have begun pimping out -- AND USING -- my MySpace page. I've been doing my most of bloggage over there as of late, which isn't much, though, as the whole "gonna be a dad any minute" thing is taking up a bunch of my time. The main thing I like about MySpace? You can, like, make friends with everybody! Did you know that Will Ferrell and Dog The Bounty Hunter are now BOTH personal friends of mine? And they don't talk about Bob Corker or Harold Ford AT ALL! Sweet!
2. Speaking of the Senate race, most people are missing a key point: Bob Corker and Harold Ford hate each other.
3. Another key point?: Harold Ford speaks in bullet points.
Example:
Hi, Harold. How are you today?First, you should focus on you. Did you eat a good, balanced breakfast?
Second, are your clothes ready to go?
And lastly, America wants you to have a good day.Oh, OK. Cool. Thanks.
4. Being opinionated and a Red Sox fan makes me a classless tool. OK. I'll go with that. Sure. I'm sure other things contribute, too, though.
5. I've been re-watching PBS' "Eyes on the Prize" this week (I taped it as it aired the last few weeks), and I've noticed a subtle-but-important thing: Julian Bond should narrate more things. And, oh yeah, lots of Democrats in the South used to hate -- and sometimes kill -- black people. I don't know what the Republicans did. They didn't talk about them much in the film.
6. My cat has $97.20 bladder infection.
7. My neighbor is in the hospital. She's 85 and was dehydrated. The doctors want to keep her a few extra days. After the mail started piling up in front of her door, and I heard no sounds coming from her apartment, I thought she might've, well, you know. I called my friend/landlord to come over and check on her. She wasn't there. She'd already been taken to the hospital. That's good. The thought of her falling and not being being able to get up and, well, you know, was awful. Now that I know she's OK, I can do laundry as late as I want (we share a laundry room between our two units) and I can brush up on my tuba. The walker she left in the foyer is freaking me out, though.
8. I still haven't eaten dinner.
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October 16, 2006
Warriors, Here's What I Did Yesterday-ee-yay
Oh, the fun!
Yesterday we had our FOURTH baby shower -- albeit a mini one, but a nice one nonetheless.
Since my computer desk will now share a room with a baby, I have removed most of the clutter, dusted it and am looking for a snazzy three-panel room divider to, well, divide the computer desk-havin' part of the room. All should work out.
I also hung some pictures yesterday, am going to re-hang some curtains and am filing tons of papers, files, receipts, etc.
Let's see... What else?
Oh, yeah...
The Pulse won -- for the second straight year -- the "Best Entertainment Publication" award at Saturday night's C.I.A. Awards. (Though I couldn't go, Ted called me from the awards to tell me about it.) As always, we're very grateful and honored to be recognized.
I talked with Ernie last week. We are going to get together very soon to record. We'll start with one song and see what happens. If you didn't know, in addition to being an engineer for a local company and a writer for our paper, Ernie is also a band.
Last week's episode of The Office was the funniest of the season so far.
That is all.
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October 12, 2006
Subtleties in Voice
George Carlin touched on "finding your voice" in our recent interview with him:
See, you’re mixed up when you’re young. You really don’t know who you are yet. You don’t find your voice for a long time. I found [that to be true], for me anyway. When you find your voice, then you know who you are. For years, I described myself – because I’ve been doing this for 50 years, now – as a comedian who wrote his own material. Because I was proud of that. Not every comedian did, and it was a special mark of being different. Then, one day, I found out that I was a writer who performed his own material, and that changed my whole way of looking at myself and my work. I suddenly had grown up. I suddenly had matured into a writer who had two outlets: one is the books – and that’s only been the last ten years – and the other is the stage shows. The stage shows got better after I discovered that. There’s more texture in them. There’s more stuff there. There’s more to get your hands on.
Good, good stuff.
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September 21, 2006
Wal-Martastical
Since I was told that there are people a) actually reading this blog and b) suggesting that others should read it, I guess I should wow y'all with this week's exciting details from my life...
The new Wal-Mart at the foot of Signal Mountain opened today. I ran into Brian Edwards there. He bought some stuff. I bought some stuff. Brian, Melissa and I talked in the parking lot for a little while. We all agreed that we should have dinner some time. Then we left.
When I die, I'd like the following to be inscribed on my tombstone:
It is one thing to believe that policy A is better than policy B. It is something very different to believe that those who believe in policy A are wiser, more compassionate, and generally more worthy human beings than those who believe in policy B.Turning the empirical question of the results of policy A versus the results of policy B into the more personal question of a wonderful Us versus a terrible Them makes it harder to retreat if the facts do not bear out the belief.
If the choice between policy A and policy B is regarded as a badge of personal merit, either morally or intellectually, then it is a devastating risk to one's sense of self to make empirical evidence the ultimate test.
This passage is from Thomas Sowell's August 23 column, "Left and Crime, Part II," which was reprinted in today's Times Free Press.
I'm currently wading through the following new releases: The Bob Newhart Show Season 4 DVD set (genius), The Office Season 2 DVD set (also genius), TV on the Radio's Return to Cookie Mountain (I'm really trying to like it) and DJ Shadow's The Outsider (all over the map, but mostly disappointingly awful).
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September 15, 2006
The Ikea Lamp Commercial, Air America and Dog
Some quick thoughts before I sleep.
This IKEA commercial -- done by Spike Jonze -- is 3 or 4 years old, but still fantastic. We used watch it over and over around the PFilm offices...
So, Air America is struggling. When HAVEN'T they struggled? My main thought regarding their troubles is this: You have to have more than just a deep, abiding hatred for George W. Bush in order to create a succesful talk radio network. Yep, that's pretty much it.
Dog "The Bounty Hunter" Chapman was busted. While I'm not clear on all the particulars in the case, my love for the show will likely not be altered. I can't help it. And I want the theme song to be my new ringtone.
Good night.
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September 14, 2006
Kittens, Racoons, Fire and Babies
Catching up on last week's personal happenings...
Having a writer get written up all over the globe will always put you behind a few days, I find.
---
Well, the baby's room is coming togther. We had the carpets cleaned and I assembled the crib. We are now decorating the room and de-messifying my at-home office space, which takes up but a scant portion of the baby's room.
Last Thursday night, I was awakened by a squeaking sound outside the porch door. I found some vicious creatures. I took a picture of them the next morning. They belong to our neighbor.
(Click for a bigger view.)
Friday was the launch of Chattanooga Parent Magazine, the second publication launched by The Pulse's parent company. A brief, celebratory shindig was enjoyed at the Meeting Place that night.
When we got home, a racoon came up to the patio. My cat, Emmy, just stood there and watched him.
(Click for bigger view.)
Saturday, we went to two birthday parties, the second of which was held at Ichiban in Hixson.
Fire!!!
(Click for bigger view.)
We then joined the birthday family for the most riotous game of Taboo, ever.
On Sunday, we got to see Casey and Linlee Baugh's baby, Avaleigh. She is very tiny and very cute. (I won't post any pics without getting permission first.)
That's not all that happened last week, but I'm too tired to type any more about it.
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September 5, 2006
Cavities and the CBS Newsytime News
So, I started off the day by getting two cavities filled, and wrapped it up by watching the second half of Katie Couric's debut as the anchor of, as my buddy Brian has dubbed it, "The CBS Newsytime News."
I don't know what to think.
I do know that Morgan Spurlock's Hulk Hogan/Randy "Macho Man" Savage reference was so odd that it distracted me from the point of his entire commentary. Something about the importance of free speech.
The show also teased the new Vanity Fair cover, featuring (finally!!! yay!!!) cute pictures of the cute Suri Cruise, and a piece by Steve Hartman showing how American high school students can learn compassion by drawing portraits of third world orphans.
Then, Katie did a quick rundown of famous previous anchorperson sign-offs, including Ron Burgundy's "Stay Classy, San Diego."
She hasn't come up with hers yet.
Look out, NPR. CBS is gaining on ya.
I don't want to call the carpet cleaner guy I hired a liar, but he's a liar. While he was a nice guy, cleaned my carpets very well, and charged me a fair price, his prediction -- that my carpets would be dry within six hours -- has turned out to be woefully false. It's close to six hours since he left, and the carpets are still almost as wet as they were when he left. And that's with three fans blowing on them the whole time.
I'm going to call him again, though. These carpets really are clean. And I'm a patient guy.
Look, I mean it. LaLa.com is very cool. So far, I've received a ton of CDs, and have gotten rid of a bunch. It's sort of like Netflix, eBay and McKay's all mixed together. Try it.
Speaking of music, you owe it to yourself to pick up The Incredible Bongo Band's "Bongo Rock" album when it comes out next month. You've undoubtedly heard the track "Apache," quite possibly the most sampled track in hip-hop history. (Download it here.)
The rest of the album, highlighted by a sweet, laid-back cover of "Pipeline," is great, too.
---
CURRENT DIVERSIONS:
Listening: Mercury Rev - All is Dream
Reading: Brain-Terminal.com
Watching: Harlan County, U.S.A.
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August 29, 2006
Fluin' It Up!
I left the office around 9:30 this morning, went to Wal-Mart to buy some flu supplies (juice, soup, fruit, etc.) and promptly slept on the couch from about 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. when Melissa needed to be picked up. I have to admit, being home sick while my very pregnant wife is at work is a tad unsettling. The thought of my wife being at work once the baby is here is also very unsettling. I'm sorry to offend the progressive types around here, but I am 100 percent in support of stay-at-home moms, and if we can find a way to make it happen, Melissa will be one, too.
So, Robert T. Nash is now a full-fledged member of the talk radio schedule. I have to admit that I am intrigued by the show -- almost as intrigued as I am that callers seem to have such an issue with a talk host who has, um, attitude. Media higher-ups tend to get tense when people complain, but as a former KZ-106 staffer mentioned on the air today, people aren't listening if they aren't complaining. Granted, that's not the only time that people are listening, but last week, when Robert and Mary Anne got into an almost-heated discussion about Robert's demeanor towards callers, the phone lines lit up.
The only other constructive criticism I can offer is that Mary Anne should take the gloves off more. Seriously, go for it, girl. I remember one morning back in 1995, when I was living back up north, Steve Somers and Russ Salzberg of WFAN were having a literal shouting match on the air. Don Imus, also a WFAN personality, played clips of the altercation repeatedly the next morning, saying, "Folks, if you can get your hosts to have a fight on the air, well, then, that's just about the greatest thing ever." I was listening to Imus while I was painting an old victorian house in Essex, CT at the time, and almost fell off the ladder because I was laughing so hard.
Anyway, I think "Live and Local" has a chance of sticking around for a while.
Dave Walters needs a liver transplant. Three benefit shows have been set up. The first one will be this Thursday night at Rhythm and Brews. Please attend and give if you can.
Dave is a fantastic pianist and one of the nicest people I have met in this town. He played alternating Friday nights at 212 when I worked there. His jazz trio also played our Sunday brunches, as well as my wedding.
Dave and I would chat about all kinds of stuff (I remember drooling when he talked about his baseball card collection) and I would slip him a "request list" whenever he played. The list would be all over the place -- horrible, horrible songs that I knew he wouldn't ever play -- and he would laugh as he looked it over.
The news of his medical condition is somewhat of a shock, and I hope all works out well. Maybe we can raise some money for him, ourselves, Chattabloggers?
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August 27, 2006
Could Somebody Please Remove This Jackhammer from My Skull?
I am now almost three full days into what I'm guessing is the flu. It started late Friday afternoon, was a contributor to Melissa and I leaving the Of Montreal show early (sorry we couldn't hang, Ernie) and has completely destroyed my plans for a productive weekend.
Some quick things to mention before I stumble into unconsciousness:
1. My fantasy baseball team made the playoffs.
2. Watching Bob Newhart award The Office for "Best Comedy" at tonight's Emmy's was comic nirvana for me.
3. The Red Sox are not going to the playoffs.
4. I am quite pleased with LaLa.com.
5. I could be mistaken, but my child (if his in-womb kicking is any indication) is going to be a ninja.
6. I have two more pieces to write before we go to press tomorrow night. This is going to be interesting.
7. Word Play was good. It's playing at the Bijou this week. If you're like Melissa and I, you'll be the only people in the theatre.
Posted by colrus at 11:24 PM | TrackBack
August 16, 2006
Editing, Pondering, Pointing and Kashad
We're entering the home stretch. The OTOH DVD project is darn near completion, darnit. To prove to you that I have actually been working on it, Mr. Ryan DiGiorgi helped me stage a couple of dramatic reenactments during today's hurried lunchtime editing session at the Lazy Bear bunker.
This is me pondering my next editing decision.
This is me pointing out my next editing decision.
I'm excitedly awaiting the completion of this project. Ryan said I should charge people $5 per copy. I told him I should pay people $4 a piece to watch it. So, yes, some things still need to be worked out.
Speaking of Ryan, he and Logan have started shooting Killing Elvis. The movie will be on the short side of feature-length, and quite the unique effort for a town like ours. I'm VERY interested to see the final product. And not just because I have a (very) small role in it.
Here's a shot of the film's star, Kashad Moore, during a recent shoot:
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August 11, 2006
Catching Up Wit' Y'all
Ah, the Chattablogs server seems to be acting like the Chattablogs server of yore, so I will post things this evening until I pass out. Good? Good.
25 or 30 more people showed up this time around to see the California Guitar Trio at Rhythm and Brews on Monday night. Joe Lance, Ernie Paik and myself sat mesmerized all evening -- as is customary at a CGT show. On his show today, Jeff Styles wondered if I taped the show. I didn't, but I wish I had.
The setlist was similar to last year's Chattanooga shows (with a bit more Whitewater material) with ONE BIG EXCEPTION.
"Freebird."
Yep. After an encore of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" as requested by a few of us in the crowd, they lit into the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic. It was quite astonishing.
Here's Paul Richards' diary entry about the show.
Here's Bert Lams' diary entry about the show.
Here's Hideo Moriya's roadcam entry about the show and their visit to town.
It is especially good. I love Hideyo's roadcam entries. The pictures of food always crack me up.
The Red Sox just lost their fifth game in a row, getting swept in Kansas City by the, gulp, Royals. The sweep comes on the heels of losing the last two games of the series in Tampa Bay. There are roughly 50 games left, so the season's not exactly over, but the Sox are sure playing like it is.
Want a cool T-shirt? Check out TheNoog.com. Good stuff...
My new column officially has a name. After much brainstorming and discussion with my inner circle (consisting of my cats and my wife until she falls asleep from boredom), I've settled on "The Yankee Peddler." Why "The Yankee Peddler" do you ask?
1. I grew up on a street called Yankee Peddlar Path. (Though "Peddler" is the AP Stylebook-approved spelling.)
2. I'm a Yankee, and by openly labeling myself as such in a town like Chattanooga, some readers will instantly dislike me and argue with every last thing I have to say. This is a good thing.
3. I like to sell things. In this instance, ideas.
4. I'll get to wear a tricorne in the byline photo.
5. "From the Editor" just wasn't getting it done.
A "Yankee Peddler" column should appear in print in the next week or so. Unless it doesn't. The columns will appear here, as well. Unless they don't.
Speaking of in print, Blair Hickman's piece on World of Warcraft has shattered all previous Web traffic records for a single story on our Web site. Prompted by discussion on WoW messageboards across the globe, people are flooding to our site thsi week to see what all the fuss is about. And many are leaving comments.
I could be wrong, but next week's planned cover story, "World of Go Outside," probably won't be as popular.
The baby is kicking like crazy these days. He's due November 6 and we're going crazy in anticipation of his arrival. I refinished his dresser and his room is filling up with stuff. Fast.
His first name will be Samuel (we'll call him Sam) and, after considering many suggestions, I think we're going to settle on William as a middle name.
But that could change.
I still might be able to talk Melissa into any of the following middle names: Adams, Clemens, L. Jackson, L. Mankowitz, Hagar, Goldwyn-Mayer or "The Butcher."
I'll be posting an account of our recent vacation in the next day or so. Complete with pictures.
That is all. Good night.
Posted by colrus at 12:23 AM | Comments [2] | TrackBack
August 8, 2006
Back from the Beach
In case you were wondering, oh four readers of BillColrus.com, I was, indeed, on vacation last week. I am now back. Blogging will ensue.
Posted by colrus at 12:24 AM | TrackBack
July 29, 2006
Josh and Ernie and Ken and Music
This one's all music...
Adrian Belew's engineer, Ken Latchney, passed away Friday. I saw Ken in at last two Belew shows I went to, and have enjoyed numerous projects he was a part of over the years. As a result of Ken's passing, Friday night's Robert Fripp/Adrian Belew ProjeKct 6 show in Nashville was postponed. My thoughts and prayers go out to Ken's family and friends.
So, the California Guitar Trio is coming back to Chattanooga. I interviewed Trio member Paul Richards this week, and we both agreed (though me a bit more forcefully) that it would be nice if more than 40 people (the amount that came to their Rhythm and Brews show last September) showed up this time -- especially considering the rapturous response they received at their Riverbend shows in 2005.
Catching up on Paul's online diary entries, I found this brief account of catching Wilco live that'll probably appeal to you hipster types:
I went to see Wilco. Touring with Wilco as their current guitarist is Nels Cline. This guy is amazing. I was so glad to be able to see him play, excellent sound and very creative playing.
The second installment of Joshua Daniels' PulseCast: Music Edition has been delivered into my eager little hands. This one is SO good, that I am going to post it on Monday, some two days early. Though you can probably find it before then if you do a little, um, digging.
Listening to the podcast, I think I've finally zeroed in on an accurate description of indie hero Sufjan Stevens: Elliott Smith in a good mood with a banjo, a horn section, friends and an obsession with geography. If that appeals to you, buy his record.
Having Josh join Ernie Paik and myself within the small group of music freaks at The Pulse has been nice. All three of us are fond of discovering and sharing new music, though when any of us has enough time to properly soak it all in is beyond me. It's gotten to a point for me that I will permanently discard a CD if I don't like in the first two minutes, because I know there's always something else to listen to just inches away -- and when most of the music that's foisted upon us is, let's face it, crap.
Two discs that I'm listening to that aren't crap: Illuminated Manuscript by Cale Parks and Kill Them With Kindness by Headlights. Oh, and Ernie's Spap Oop Compilation 4.
Posted by colrus at 1:12 AM | TrackBack
July 26, 2006
Lance Bass is Gay
It's official. Lance Bass is gay.
...which makes the following bit of satire I wrote for the Chattanooga Outlook back in 2000 all the more creepier:
Why I Love Lance from 'N Sync
From the Chattanooga Outlook, July 28, 2000
The "Boy Band" is alive and well. A terrible phenomena which seemed to disappear ten years ago with the not-quick-enough death of the New Kids On the Block, has once again spread like a plague, infecting every record store window, Billboard chart, and teenage girl's fantasies.
But as much as I despise the recurring "Boy Band" craze, I have to shamefully admit that this evil monster of pop music marketing has sucked me in, too. One day, while watching VH-1, I met my fate. And his name is Lance.
As I sat there in my T-shirt and boxers, it wasn't just the beautiful words or the sophisticated music of 'N Sync that appealed to me. It was the total package. When you watch one of their videos, you can tell that they've truly lived the lyrics to their songs. It's tough to find a band as sincere as this one. They literally jump off the screen with "good feeling" and encouragement. At one point, I put down my bag of Combos, got off the couch and started groovin' along. I threw my hands into the air, waved them like I just didn