23 March 2007

I’m Somebody Now!

I was the major source for an important news story at Grant Miller Media (probably the source for information in today’s blogcentric world).

Other important news stories to report:

My birthday is Sunday. Celebrate appropriately, with beers hoisted and praises shouted. For information on where to ship baubles and tulips, contact me at the e-mail address to your right.

Work hell ends Monday. Blogging to resume by Wednesday. Seriously. I have four posts in the works.

Happy birthday to me!

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14 March 2007

The Most Fabulous Post of the Week

Dating Rules for Sitcoms rocks!

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13 March 2007

Happy Blogday to Moi!

I started this little corner of the wired world one year ago this evening. At the time, I thought I’d have a handful of readers — Dan, Paul, Jeremy, the sister, a few friends. I never realized people outside my immediate world would care to read about my obsessions. Nearly 300 posts … 33,000 hits from every non-frozen continent … 3,100 peeks at my profile … hundreds of R.E.M. mentions later … and I’ve been humbled.

I’ve made some real friends through the blog, friends here in Atlanta and as far across the country as you can get from Atlanta. I’ve found a few beaux, thanks to a post here or a Google there. And I’ve made several virtual friends, people I’ll probably never meet, but know on so many levels.

This is reading like an acceptance speech, isn’t it? I guess this is my own hall of fame induction ceremony. An inflated sense of self-worth, maybe? Well, hell, it’s my blogday!

I’ve learned a lot — about music and life and politics and books. other parts of the country and the world — thanks to your blogs. I’ve discovered some great writers — thoughtful ones, funny ones, honest ones. And so many folks with whom I can obsess about R.E.M., concerts, and the latest great new album.

Thanks to the blog, I got off my ample a** and ventured back into experiencing the things I love. I saw more concerts last year than I did in the previous three combined. (The concert roll to your right is helping, since locals contact me about shows they want to see, too.) Discovered new writers for my shelves. New movies, TV shows, even a local Shakespeare troupe (beginning rehearsals this week for May’s performances).

I know I’ve been a slack blogger in ’07 … but you wouldn’t believe my workload. Heck, I don’t believe my workload. I’m a couple of weeks from the downslope, so expect daily posts again very soon. You haven’t read enough about R.E.M. lately, have you?

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Will You Still Love Me?

If I tell you I cried throughout R.E.M.’s induction into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame?

When I heard Eddie Vedder had the honor of inducting R.E.M., I thought “meh.” Why Eddie? But who would be better? Kurt Cobain’s dead. Anyway …

Eddie Vedder’s speech was amazing. He said the things I feel. He was funny … he teased at the right spots … and he said a lot of beautiful, heartfelt things. I’m going to look for a transcript (or a YouTube clip) and post it later this week.

R.E.M.’s performance was very good. As expected, they opened with “Begin the Begin,” probably their best rock song. Very good, and it was great again to see Bill Berry back on the drums. Very similar to the Georgia induction performance, but you just can’t get enough of “Begin the Begin.”

Then one for us old fans: “Gardening at Night.” I threw back the rug and danced like it was 1983 again, spinning and spinning to every “couldn’t be arranged” (I always loved how Michael stretches “arranged” into three beats; perfect for spins). The last ten days have been horrible in my world — personally, professionally, romantically — so that dance was a much-needed lift.

I was hoping for the set to close with “Radio Free Europe,” but they needed a Warner Brothers-era tune and ended with “Man on the Moon” (don’t get me wrong; I love the song, but was hoping for something new). They did a good job, but it was exactly like every live version I’ve heard for the last several years. I do enjoy it when Michael yells and stretched out the “coo-wall!”

Don’t get me wrong; I loved seeing the boys perform tonight. It just seems that every show I’ve seen since at least 1999 has opened with “Begin the Begin” and closed with “Man on the Moon” (if not “It’s the End …”). I just wanted another surprise, I guess. But they were great. And Michael's suit was sublime.

And then. Oh, and then. The reason I stayed up, that amazing aural surprise: R.E.M. and Patti Smith together on “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” Patti and Michael were sexy as hell as they shared the mic and snarled the chorus. And how orgasmic was it to see Peter Buck and Lenny Kaye (who’s still so damn cute) and Mike Mills and Scott McCaughey playing together? Brilliant. These are the moments I live for.


That crap about Clapton being God? So not true; I think that’s fellow inductee’s Patti Smith’s job. She f*cking kicked ass during her set, ripping through “Gimme Shelter” — with Keith Richards in the house. Is there any other woman who could pull off that cover? Maybe Chrissie Hynde; probably just Patti. F*cking amazing.

The show closer? “People Have the Power.” (In that something-new-learned category, I found out that Fred “Sonic” Smith wrote the tune; I always assumed Patti did.) Patti, Michael, Eddie Vedder, Ronnie Spector, and Sammy Hagar (yawn) sharing the vocals — Peter and Lenny and Scott and Mike, with Keith Richards, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, the rest of the Ronettes … well, it was remarkable.

Biggest disappointment of the night? To discover that Keith Richards is about Michael Stipe's height. I always thought he was taller. What can I say? I'm a sucker for tall. (Note to Keith: Get rid of the 'stache.)

Most fun moment? When Peter Buck tossed the amp at the end of "I Wanna Be Your Dog." And I think he had a damn good time doing it. Peter's cool. But you knew that.

If you didn’t catch the live broadcast of the induction ceremony, VH1 Classics is running it again Friday night, and VH1 will show it Saturday night.

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06 March 2007

Thank You, Elton

Yes, it sucks being at your desk at 5 a.m., sucking down your second cup of coffee and wondering how you're going to get it all done in time ... but at least the drive in wasn't bad ... zipping through town on darkened streets ... sunroof cranked open ... "Yellow Brick Road" cranked up ... singing along at top-lung level, cracking notes Elton and Bernie never meant to be heard. That's the way to start a day.

Still, I'd rather be in bed.

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05 March 2007

Weird Things About Moi?

The just-too-cute-and-cool Big Shoulders over at Tongue-tied Lightning recently (okay, about a month ago) tagged me to list six weird things about me. Just six? I included some of my weirdnesses on my 100 Things About Me post and Five Things You Don’t Know About Me meme … but my weirdness cup overflows.

Six Weird Things About Me

1. I eat the whole damn apple. The apple core and seeds may be my favorite part of the apple. I have yet to have a tree grow in my stomach, so hush. I also like to crack open a peach seed and eat the kernel inside.

2. I have a scar along the edge of my chin. Having the scar isn’t weird, although I have no idea how I got it. What’s weird is, until I was in junior high, I thought it was the seam for my skin … as if The Good Lord had knitted my flesh Himself. Kind of Silence of the Lambs, isn’t it?

3. I organize the cat food cans. Each label must be facing forward, and cans are stacked by flavor. I then go down the row so that my cats have different dinner every night; I cannot feed them salmon two nights in a row, dammit.

4. My irises are freckled. I’m a freckled Irish freak, spotted all over my body — even down to my irises, which are green with brown flecks.

5. My Christmas card mailing list is on an Excel spreadsheet. There’s a worksheet for each year, going back to 1999. I have thumbnails of the cards in the header (I have three or four different cards every year); under that color I list the dates those cards are mailed to that set of recipients. I also list the date I receive a card from someone. (Dan suggested this one … and many, many more I’ll keep to myself.)

6. I love frozen sweets for breakfast. Frozen cake is the best, followed by cookies with icing, then ice cream. Must come from my Cap’n Crunch mornings growing up.


Whose weirdities am I most interested in today? Let’s tag:

The Haahnster, so that he knows I love him again … a little …
Scrivener, because I know his list will be very cool (damn him and his cool hair) …
Write Procrastinator, because writers are weird and love telling you about it …
http://www.str8jacket.com/wordpress/, because I know he’s wonderfully weird …
KulturFluff, because I’m ready for a new post from her …
• And last (but certainly not least) Coffeypot, because he’s a Coffey and therefore very, very weird.

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