A list that tells a tale

I've been spending a lot of my time on Listal lately, and those of you following this blog have seen me post links to it here. I can't remember now how I first stumbled upon it, but I joined the site so I could keep track of my music and movie collections (I've got my books on there too, but I was already using Goodreads for them). It's been a great resource for that, despite the fact that music-wise it rarely acknowledges lesser-known artists & albums. When that happens, I can sometimes add an album through a connection between Listal & Amazon, but if it's never been sold through Amazon then I'm out of luck.

ANYWAY, for the past year or so I've been creating my own lists of various things. Most have been movie-related, such as my favorite horror movies, annual best-of lists, and movies I hate. I've also posted my share of music-related lists, and there's one that I'd like to share here with you.

Behold: "I was a preteen metalhead". This list details my personal musical evolution, from childhood through high school with a glimpse at what has followed since. I've given a lot of thought in recent years about why I like the music that I do, which albums and artists had the most significant impact on my listening tastes, and this list has given me a means to deconstruct that and present it to others. I really enjoyed this process as it's led to a clearer understanding of where I've been, and I like that I can finally lay to rest the ongoing conversation in my head about my musical taste.

So far, the response to it on Listal has been very positive, and I hope it will continue to gain attention. I have plans for more music-related lists in the future, and any time someone shows interest in those lists I can always refer them to this one to provide a deeper understanding if necessary. And since my lists can be accessed by non-Listal users as well, I can share it with the rest of my friends too, though of course you can't comment on them without being a member. (If you'd like to join the site, let me know & I'll send you an e-mail invite to get you started.) So feel free to bring your comments back here after you've looked at it.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have household chores that demand my attention....

a few things

Back here again. Tomorrow will be my first day having Evie all to myself during the day, as V goes back to the office. She'll still be working part-time for a while, so it's not like we'll be home without her most of the day, but it's still a change and one I'm excited about. Our little girl is getting stronger every day, and she's making attempts to do more than just cry at us now. I'm hoping with her set of lungs being as strong as they are so far she'll be a scream queen some day...that could be cool. Anyway, it'll be up to me to keep her fed and happy during the day now...hopefully it'll go as well as I imagine. She's been really easy to handle so far, so if that continues I shouldn't have any problems.

This week in addition to watching her I intend to get some more boxes taken care of. There's a few in our garage I know I can find places for the contents of...won't be long and all that will be left are the things we want left in boxes in the garage. Since Evie tends to sleep a lot during the early part of the day, that should allow me time to get it done. That is, of course, if we don't both go back to sleep. Heh. We shall see what happens.

Also this week Evie has her first pediatrician appointment, so we'll see how that goes too.

And in addition to the above I'm still working my way through horror movies when I get the chance. If you want to check out what I've watched so far & my thoughts on them head over here. I've still got several left in our instant queue, and odds are I won't get through all of them (especially since I keep noticing ones I've overlooked & adding them). Along with the ones in the queue, the annual Halloween movie marathon is this weekend and on Halloween no less. Since I'm no longer in Dallas where it's usually held, we're trying something different this year. Tommy will have at least one person over at his place, while V & I will be at our place. We'll all watch the same movies at the same time & text our comments & thoughts between us. I still have no clue which movies we're watching though, so hopefully that'll be determined in enough time for us to acquire any movies we don't already have access to. If it all works out as it should then a good time shall be had by all.

Guess that's about it for now. I'll most likely check in again next week. Until then...

a long-delayed update

A lot has gone on in the past few weeks, beginning with moving into our new place. We hired movers, and the whole process took a little longer than we'd anticipated. Fortunately though, they managed to transport all of our belongings safely. We're now mostly settled into our new home, and it's taken a couple of weeks just to get this far. Funny, we were excited about having more space and now that we're here we've already agreed that we could use more than this. Oh well, it'll work for the time being. Hopefully we won't overload the place too much too quickly.

Don't get me wrong though...we're loving our new place. Quiet neighborhood, friendly neighbors, more space to maneuver around our belongings, a kitchen that both of us can be in at the same time without bumping into one another, a yard to hang out in when the weather's nice (which it has been lately), plenty of space to have guests over...all good things. We could use a bookcase or 2 still, and we need to figure out what to do with some things that have been sitting in boxes for unknown amounts of time, but we'll get it accomplished. Especially now that I'll be at home full-time.

That's right, no more temp job. It really wasn't working out anyway. I like the people, but being forced into crummy projects got to me. Plus, even if I wanted to stay, there's no alternative shift for me to work. And after looking into day-care costs, it's just not feasible for V and me to work similar hours, especially for no more than I'd been making. So that brings me to being home, which I'm excited about. I'll keep my eyes and ears open for late-night or work-from-home opportunities, and if I find something, great. But if not I'll gladly stay home with our little girl and take on a full-time job working for her. I believe that'd be a teaching/culinary/entertainment job...looking forward to getting some practical experience in all those areas.

Oh yeah, back to the moving thing...after the movers did their part, we still had to clear some things out of the old apartment. The following week, I was ill. Nothing serious, congestion and cough mostly. At first I chalked it up to allergies, what with high pollen counts and the dust regularly flying around as we packed and unpacked and so on. But if it was solely allergies, then it may have progressed into a sinus infection, as this past Friday and Saturday I ran a fever. I seem to be better now, though the cough continues to linger...fortunately it's nowhere near as bad as it has been. I've been self-medicating, and it seems to have worked. But over the now week-and-a-half that I wasn't feeling well it was difficult to do my share of unpacking and such. I'd do a little and have to rest for a bit before I could move on to another task. Sucked. So yeah, that slowed down our progress a little.

Add to that the fact that V's now working from home part-time, and both of us juggling the little one, and that slowed us down even more.

Yet somehow we managed to pull off having the place looking great by the time my parents, sister, and brother-in-law rolled into town this past weekend. (I give V most of the credit.) My parents stayed overnight and watched Evie while V & I hit up a pair of post-ACL shows. V won us tickets to see The Black Keys, and I'd bought us tickets to see Sonic Youth. Both bands were better than the previous time I'd seen either of them, though The Black Keys were merely OK this time instead of completely dull, and Sonic Youth were simply more enthusiastic this time around. Neither show was Amazing or especially memorable, but I enjoyed both of them. I especially enjoyed spending a night out with V and not having to worry about Evie the whole time.

And I guess that brings us up to speed. Now that it's October, I've got a slew of horror flicks in our instant queue to watch. So far I've only managed 5, but I'm hopeful I'll get through most if not all of them between now and Halloween. Slowing me down on that front is the fact that the fall TV season has started up, and we've got a bunch of shows to watch now (not to mention having just begun watching season 1 of Damages this past week). Which shows, you ask? Those would be: Bored to Death, Boardwalk Empire, Big Bang Theory, House, Community, Weeds, and in V's case Mad Men, which I admit I'm still far behind on (still lingering back in season 1). I think that's all of them. So yeah, lots to watch on top of caring for our baby girl and being entertained by her. Funny how she can't do much of anything and yet still manages to keep us enthralled with what little she can do.

All right, that's it for now....

The birth of Evie

Vita recently posted to the baby blog a detailed account of the birthing process, plus some pictures. For those not following it already who may be interested in checking that out, go here.

In other news, we signed the lease on our new place today. It'll be great to get out of this crummy little apartment and into a nice, spacious 2 bedroom duplex. We'll be moving toward the end of the month, so we'll be plenty busy between now and then! The new place is a little further north from where we are, in a nice quiet neighborhood. As an added bonus, it's right around the corner from a handful of restaurants we like to eat at on a regular basis.

OK, off to eat some lunch....

I'm officially a Dad now

Evelina Michelle was born at 3:07am on 8/27/10. She measured 20 inches and weighed 7 lbs 4.5 oz.

We were at the birthing center for about 12 hours before she arrived. V gave birth to her naturally and her sister Allie & I coached her through it. We also had some help from the midwives who took vitals when necessary, checked V's progress regularly, and gave her instructions on how to push when the time finally came. The whole experience was mind-blowing and tiring for all of us, and the end result is the most beautiful baby girl I've ever seen (I may be biased). One of the midwives pronounced her as perfect, and none of us could dispute her...I also thanked her for giving us a professional's word to back us up.

As you can probably tell from the above pictures, I'm totally in love with her and proud that I could be there throughout her birth. I'm also extremely proud of V for giving birth to her completely naturally the way she wanted to.

Expect more in the near future...I just wanted to post something while I had a chance.

P.S.--It's been brought to my attention that the comments haven't been working. So I changed the design again...hopefully now they'll work.

deconstruction

As I approach the day when my first child will enter this world, and I think about it more and more, something major concerns me. OK, maybe you wouldn't think it's a major thing, but I do.

I'm scared that my child (and other children of mine that may follow) will never experience mystery when it comes to music.

Growing up as I did in the pre-Internet days, the amount of information available to me about music artists (among other things) was limited. I could experience music firsthand by listening to the radio and the albums my family & friends possessed (or gave me). If I wanted to dig deeper into a certain band or artist, I could thumb through magazines or read the occasional newspaper article. Later on, when my parents broke down and got cable I could watch MTV and get more information through videos and interviews. Once I could drive, I could go see a band perform a show. At each show, I might find other bands I liked as well, depending on whom the band I liked was touring with. Otherwise I could find new bands to listen to by picking up an album with interesting artwork on it, or one I read an intriguing review of.

And then the Internet came along and ruined everything.

It didn't happen overnight, of course. But as the Internet grew I could talk to people all over the world about the bands I liked. I could search a variety of websites for news and interviews. Then as artists began fully embracing the web & using it to promote themselves and give fans more access to them, the mystery began to fade out. Now it's almost non-existent.

Don't get me wrong, I see the upside of it too. Now we can all listen to bands we previously would never have heard of, thanks to sites like Pandora and Amazon, through recommendations based on similar tastes. If you're stuck in a nowhere town with crappy radio stations and an absence of live music venues, and you're unable or unwilling to move to a major city, the Internet can provide you with all the music you'll ever need. It can approximate the experience of being at a concert (though it's never anywhere nearly as enjoyable). It can let you bond with others who share your tastes when you're surrounded by people who find your personal tastes to be weird compared to their own. And of course, we all have the option to turn off our access at any time. But many of us don't turn off our access; in fact, it seems we gravitate to the Internet when we have nothing else to do. That's one reason it's so popular to have WiFi connections for cellphones and laptops. Carry your escape route with you at all times.

So now you can find out what your favorite artist had for every meal of the day, whom they're sleeping with, their interests beyond the music they create, and so many other unnecessary details it's difficult to keep track of them. It's led most artists to a point where their fans see them as no different from themselves. The star quality is fading. The mystique that bands like The Doors, Alice Cooper, and Tool once used to lure fans in is rarely present among today's artists. The few bands who seem able to employ an otherworldly air today also remain obscure (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum comes to mind) instead of growing a following of music lovers simply because they're "different." Being inaccessible is now a liability instead of an asset.

And my children are about to enter this world where every musician is just another dude or grrl. They'll see what artists actually look like and know their life stories and idiosyncrasies before they've even had a chance to listen to the music beyond the track they downloaded for free or heard on Pandora. Even if I make a conscious effort to instill an attitude of exploring the music first and avoiding the truth behind it, that doesn't guarantee I'll be successful. We can only point others in the right direction; we cannot force them to walk that way. Hopefully though, if my children are passionate about music I can convince them they don't need to find out whatever they can about every artist. And there's a slight possibility they won't care anyway and I won't need to encourage them one way or the other.

Of course my children will be surrounded with the music I've acquired over my lifetime. When they reach certain ages, I know that I'll hand them the albums that I fell in love with around the same age. Certain albums simply define adolescence and transcend temporal boundaries, and hopefully they'll appreciate them (that too, of course, cannot be forced). And my kiddos will have the advantage of having parents with diverse musical tastes, which I think their peers will encounter more often as well. One of the things that's great about the Internet explosion is that we all have access to every genre, sub-genre, and category you can or can't think of. Hopefully if that goes on long enough all music will melt together into a genre-free existence. We'll simply agree that it's music, and either we like it or we don't. There'll be nothing more to discuss.

Especially after the Internet's been exhausted providing you every detail about the musicians.

New & improved!

First off, as you've already noticed, I changed my design. Feel free to tell me how much you love it. ;)

More importantly, my unemployment is soon to end. At V's recommendation, I hooked up with Kelly Services, the agency that landed her with the company she continues to work for today. I went in this past Monday for some paperwork and took some tests, and they hooked me up with a data entry job starting July 6th. I've been told it's a long-term position, but not how long that means. Of course, the best thing about being hired through an agency is that if I decide I'm not happy there, I can ask Kelly to find me something different. But for now this job should be good enough. It sounds pretty stress-free, the hours are close to what I've been working (8-5), and most of all it means having a steady paycheck again. And with Baby E on the way, the LAST thing I need is to continue drawing unemployment.

Anyway, I wanted to share the news now that it's official. Now I should get some sleep. This is the final weekend of the bowling tournament in Austin, and it's going to be a busy one.

Bands I've seen live

I'm sure I've forgotten some, and Listal doesn't recognize many bands I thought of (especially ones that were never on a major label), but here's my list of bands I've seen live. Just in case any of you are interested.

sitting out the dance

Well everyone, I am no longer employed. This past Friday was my last day to play with the TAKS test, and now I'm taking an unscheduled "vacation" until I find another job. I suppose I should have found a job sooner, but they didn't let anyone know whether they would still be working there until last week, the same week that our current project ended. So a last moment notice doesn't leave one with much time to make other arrangements. Fortunately, I still have the bowling tournament to support me for a few more weeks, which should cover my bills for now. Also, I applied for unemployment, which will further help me survive financially for the time being.

So now I get the benefit of sleeping in during the week, and having a (hopefully very short) break from work while I look for something else. Send all positive thoughts, prayers, and so forth my way as I certainly need them.

As I think I mentioned before, ideally I'd like to find a job I can work evenings/nights and stay home with Baby E during the day while Mommy V works. The trick is finding one that will cover my share of bills & expenses, but I'm optimistic (as usual) about my chances. I'm trying to be patient about it.

Other than that, there's not much news to tell. I FINALLY made it out to a show over the recent holiday weekend to see Denton's mighty Brutal Juice here in Austin. I went alone, as it was an outdoor venue & Mommy V doesn't need to be surrounded by secondhand smoke, but I had a good time all the same & it was good to see them again, especially since for all intents and purposes they're broken up. Tomorrow night I'm seeing Screaming Females, next week I'm seeing Sage Francis, and beyond that any other shows will of course depend on whether I have the money and/or a job by the time they roll around.

We DID order tickets to see the Pixies here in Austin in late September, and we're determined to make it to the show...the trick there will be finding a sitter for Baby E. Surely someone will be kind enough to watch him/her for a few hours while we take a night off to see Doolittle played in its entirety. Surely.

And I guess that's all for now. I leave you with a recommendation: go to your local bookstore, or visit Amazon, or head to the library and pick up any book by Joe Meno. Any of his novels will do, as they are all more than worth the time spent reading them. I just (this afternoon) finished his latest, The Great Perhaps, and I'm still reeling from it, pondering it, feeling its impact inside me. It's an amazing work about, well, many things, but primarily the choice between fight or flight, as seen through the experiences of a family of five in 2004. I'm a big big fan of Meno's work, and I'm trying to share it with the rest of the world...so yeah, go pick that up.

OK then...

for all things baby-related

You will want to head over here: http://giraffe-baby.blogspot.com/

V created that especially for our friends & family, and we'll both be posting to it. The blog also contains links to registries and photos and all sorts of good stuff. Go check it out.

not that anyone asked

Been a while since I last posted...this blog continues to suffer from a severe case of anti-computer sentiment on my part. While I am no longer suffering through a shitrain of horrible essays at work, I am still reading student responses at work, 40 hours a week, and those run the gamut of utter crap to average to highly entertaining. I'm sure the state would be horribly dismayed to hear that the entertaining ones are all from students who refuse to take these questions seriously, but that's the truth of it.

Add to that the fact that my weekends have, of late, been spent photographing lady bowlers. Yes, the state bowling womens championships are held in Austin this year, and it turns out I used to work with one of the dudes in charge of photography during the tourney. So he extended an invitation for me to work for him and I agreed. Which has meant 16 hours per weekend taking pics, uploading them to a computer, cropping them, printing them off, & placing them in frames to be sold. I also have the dubious privilege of gluing the frames together (they're cardboard) and so at present I have a box of them to put together before this weekend gets here. I'm sure it'll arrive sooner than I expect. I suppose I could be doing that now, but instead here I am. Really though, the bowling gig has been mostly fun so far, and essential in helping me maintain my bills. I am thankful for it.

Other than that, well...the giraffe baby continues to grow steadily & spends a lot of time dancing around these days. We have confirmed the baby is ours by its big feet. That picture is from a few weeks ago (maybe a month now? Jesus has it been that long?) so hopefully the feet won't get so big that the baby gets hung up on the way out. Heh. And we've taken to referring to our child as Baby E, due to the fact that regardless of gender the baby's name will have the letter "e" somewhere in it. Ah yes, let your speculation begin...

And that brings us up to the most recent events. This coming Saturday, V and I will have been together ONE YEAR. If you'd told me at this time last year she'd be pregnant now I would have laughed hysterically. And yet here we are, and we're both very happy of that fact. Normally, we'd go out this weekend and celebrate, but as luck would have it I have photography work this weekend. So instead we celebrated this past weekend. Saturday we went to UT to check out the Our Body: the Universe Within exhibit, which was like a crash-course anatomy lesson with actual human samples. Infotainment! Dinner Saturday was hibachi-style Japanese food, which was Tasty. I dig the musicality in their food preparation even more than the visual spectacle it is. Yesterday, aka Sunday, we slept in, then went & got full-body massages together. And now I'm addicted and want to go once a month. Heh. I felt so much better afterward, and I'm hoping regular trips will help work out the knots I've built up over time. Beyond that, we mostly relaxed and enjoyed spending time together without any obligations. We both needed it.

And now we're back to the grind, such as it is. She started a new job at her work, and they rolled out the red carpet for her today. I take that as a good sign. She'll be doing technical writing work now, and I know she'll be awesome at it. Meanwhile I'm looking for a new job because lord knows this one won't last me much longer. So that's fun. And I've got bowling photography now through the end of June at least, with one more possible weekend gig in July. We shall see.

OK, that's it for now. I'll be back when I have more to say...

still alive & kicking

Greetings lovely readers. Just thought I'd drop by long enough to let you all know I am alive & well.

Haven't spent as much time online as I used to due to work. When you spend 8 hours a day reading essays of varying degrees of quality on a computer, the last thing you want to do is hop online and continue looking at a computer screen. Hell, most days I don't even want to read my book when I get home. Instead I've been passing the first few hours after I arrive home during the week playing with V's cat Toby, doing household chores, starting dinner, and/or watching the occasional movie. By the time dinner is in progress (if V cooks, and she typically does) and/or eaten I'm finally willing to subject myself to a little recreational computer use before I make my way to dreamland. Which pretty much leaves me the weekends to hop on here, but since I moved to Austin we've found plenty to keep us busy on the weekends without having to turn the computer on.

There have been movies to watch (both in theatres and at home), walks to take, necessary shopping excursions, outings with friends, and meals to eat at a variety of local establishments. The options for food consumption in Austin are Awesome...so many great places that aren't major chains. I could list them all, but I'll refrain as I'm already itching to be back off the computer again. Just know that the majority of non-home-cooked meals we consume come from local businesses (some of whom get their food from local producers), which is the way it should be.

I'd like to tell you that we've been to a bunch of shows since I've been here, but that'd be a lie. Not that we haven't wanted to go to shows, just that either a better offer for entertainment comes up, or we're too tired to catch a late show the night of, or in the case of SXSW it just doesn't work out. We wanted to hit up some free shows during SXSW, but the first problem there was that many of them took place while we were both working. Then we wanted to go to the Mess With Texas festival, but we came to our senses & realized that trying to get downtown during both SXSW and rush hour on a Friday was a Stupid idea. So then we thought maybe we'd show-hop on Saturday, but when we woke up to find the temperature had dropped into the upper 30s we gave up completely. Maybe next year will be better, but I won't hold my breath.

Anyway, that's all I have for now. V should be home from school soon, so I'm going to spend some quality time with her before I crawl into bed and pass out.

P.S.--Bought 3 new albums this month...the new Liars album I haven't fully formed an opinion on because I've only had the opportunity to give it one spin & I was distracted at the time, but I didn't hear anything I disliked so I'm assuming it's Amazing. Also picked up the new Daughters album, which is blissfully noisy & I'd be disappointed if it were otherwise. The other album I picked up was the new Gorillaz album which I was very disappointed with...I liked a few songs on it, but the rest were Terrible...hopefully through repeat listens the album will grow on me, but I know I don't like it as well as the previous 2 albums. We'll see....

Shows I may go to this month

3/16 - Hank III & Assjack @ Emo's

3/28 - Cursive (opening for Alkaline Trio *yawn*) @ Emo's

...I completely forgot that Scout Niblett was in town last night. Not that I probably could've stayed awake for the show anyway.

And yes, I'm aware that SXSW will be going on between the above dates, but I don't intend to attend any of it. I may find my way into one of the off-site house party shows, but I can't see the sense in purchasing an expensive wristband that doesn't guarantee my entrance to any of the official shows. Most likely V & I will avoid making any trips in the general vicinity of downtown Austin during SXSW...too much chaos to endure methinks.

Other shows in the coming months:
4/15 - Murder By Death @ Emo's (I'm sensing a trend here)

6/10 - Rev. Horton Heat w/Cracker & Legendary Shack Shakers @ Stubb's (mostly for LSS)

6/15 - Sage Francis @ Mohawk

let the unpacking begin

Well it took a couple days, but I have now moved the bulk of my possessions & myself to Austin. I said my farewells to DFW for now, though of course I'll return periodically to visit.

I'll miss my DFW friends, but that won't stop me from making new ones here. V & I need more people to hang out with in Austin, so we'll be putting all new acquaintances through rigorous testing to determine their worthiness of being our new friends. I pity those who fail...

So anyway, I'm happy to be here finally. I've said for years that I wanted to live in Austin, I just needed a good reason to move here. And the time I've spent in this city over the course of V & my relationship has deepened my appreciation for the city & all it has to offer. There's nowhere else I'd rather be than here with her.

Now to get these boxes emptied so I can start enjoying myself properly. Hopefully it'll all get done in time for me to have a few days to relax before work starts next week. That's my goal for now...

forward motion is good

A job offer has come my way & I have accepted it.

Next month I begin work as a grader of this state's student assessment tests, specifically the composition section. I will be doing so on a full-time basis for about 2 months. After that there is a possibility of earning a more permanent place among them, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.

Good thing #1: I finally get to use the degree I worked so hard to earn. Good thing #2: regardless of how long I work there, it should improve my resume & lead to bigger, better jobs in the future. Good thing #3: a weight is lifted off of my shoulders, and off V's shoulders too. Good thing #4: it means I didn't turn in my notice to vacate my apartment on March 2nd for nothing.

Yes, on March 2 I will finally leave my DFW homeland for Austin. This gives me less than 2 weeks to pack my stuff, make some necessary arrangements, & get rid of whatever I can get rid of. As soon as I finish this blog I will be looking into my options as far as moving & storage go.

I'll be moving into V's apartment, which will save us money. We won't stay at her current place for too long, as we'll need more room soon. Plus, it isn't the best of apartments heh. Moving in with her requires me to store the majority of my belongings for the next few to several months, so I'm trying to figure out where to store them and whether I should go with a controlled-climate environment. Anyone with good suggestions on storage & moving company options should comment or send me a message.

I'm also hoping that the weather will be nice enough one weekend soon to have a yard sale at my parents' house. Preferably a weekend BEFORE I move, but if not I guess I could always come back and do it once the weather stops freaking out. I don't know why all of a sudden Texas has decided to embrace winter full-on, but I wish we could've voted against it ahead of time. If you'd like to know what I have to get rid of, ask & I shall do my best to let you know.

So yeah, I have lots to do but I'm excited to finally be on my way. Every week it gets harder for me to leave Austin behind; now I won't have to.

baby giraffe

Well, it's finally happened...I'm going to be a dad this year.

Yep, V is pregnant. She's at 11 weeks now, and both her & our love-spawned parasite are doing well. So we're finally letting people know.

Answers to the questions that inevitably come up from this sort of announcement:

1. No, we're not getting married. At least not any time soon, if at all. She's telling people we're holding out until gay marriage is legal, heh. Which may be true. At any rate, she has to propose to me first. But yes, no plans to do so any time soon. Really, I don't see a need for it other than to satisfy the desires of certain relatives. And that's no reason to get married. I'm committed to her, she's committed to me, & we're both committed to our baby...that's all that matters. Well, that & the fact that we're very happy of course.

2. No, we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet, and we don't plan on finding out until he or she arrives, screaming and covered in goo.

3. We DO know that the baby giraffe will arrive around the end of August. And that V's only having one baby, not twins or a litter or anything like that.

4. No, we haven't decided on any names yet either, but we have been talking about them as of last week. I'll keep you posted on what options end up gaining the most favor from both of us.

5. Yes, we will let you know once we have a wishlist so you know what to get for us if you want to get us baby stuff. Sounds to me like we'll be covered clothes-wise as it already has 15 cousins on her side of the family to acquire hand-me-downs from. (And really, why spend a bunch of money on new clothes for him/her to grow out of?) So that rules out clothes but leaves plenty of other stuff to be bought. There will certainly be a baby shower down the road too, so I'll try to inform interested parties of that as well.

Any other questions? Feel free to ask and I will of course happily address them.

We're both very excited, more so with each new day. And those who have already been informed are also excited for us. We've heard a lot of cries of joy lately hehe. It's pretty awesome.

Now to get myself to Austin...

kill your cellphone

Earlier tonight I saw The Fiery Furnaces play a blistering live set. Their musical prowess was undeniable as they played alternate takes on their own songs. They sped some parts up, slowed others down, and in some cases completely altered songs from what fans would recognize when listening to their albums. It was a beautiful, awe-inspiring thing to behold.

Unfortunately, not everyone in the crowd noticed or even seemed to care. All around me, conversations were carried on as if the band on stage was there to provide background noise for them. Text messages were fired off, and I'd bet money that many of them had nothing at all to do with the show. One guy standing near me even answered his cellphone and shouted over the music into it.

This is far from the first time I've noticed this. It's been going on for years now. Now that everyone has a cellphone, they spend more of their time focused on texting, surfing the web, & the occasional conversation over the phone than they focus on anything else. They go to any event, & every time the phone goes off they snatch it from their pockets, eager to find out who's contacting them. We've let cellphones take over our lives. They're the false idol you carry in your pocket, sacrificing your time and energy and attention while the rest of the world flows around you unnoticed. You think you're better connected to the world, but while you're intent on the distraction in your hand you're missing out on the world in front of you.

THIS HAS TO STOP.

Movie theatres (and no doubt theatres that put on plays and the like) combat the proliferation of cellphone usage by asking patrons to silence their cellphones. Some places will even enforce their rules against cellphone usage by removing violators, but for the most part they don't, and I'm sure many theatres realize their number one job isn't policing each auditorium. But maybe it should be.

Maybe every place that hosts any kind of event should embrace and enforce rules against the use of cellphones, especially during any kind of performance. Cellphone use during a performance disrespects not only the performers but everyone around you trying to enjoy the performance. So at the very least, you should be preventing yourself from using your cellphone. Stop texting, or surfing the web, or calling your friends & family when you're out & want to enjoy something. If the temptation is too great to resist when it's off or turned to silent & in your pocket, leave it in your car or give it to someone else to hold on to for a while.

Better yet, turn it off & cancel your service. Go back to only talking to your friends & family when you're at home or doing something with them. Get online from your computer instead. Because the effects of cellphone proliferation are spreading. It's killing your attention-span. You can't focus on anything unless it's 140 characters or less. If something takes longer than the length of the average commercial, you tune it out. I bet you've already stopped reading this a dozen times to look at text messages or tweets or another website, and you're barely processing what I've written.

That's not good. It's not OK. And you need to change your ways. So that we don't forget how to interact with each other face-to-face. So that every relationship we have is more than characters on a screen or a disembodied voice. So that when we go out somewhere & spend money to be entertained we can all enjoy the entertainment on hand and truly appreciate it.

Who knows, you might even make new friends based on a shared experience. And what might that lead to? A sense of community? A social network that doesn't need a high-speed internet connection and web servers to maintain it? Could we relearn that it's better to talk during intermissions instead of the performance? That just because people can get your attention wherever you are, that doesn't mean you should let them? Could it also decrease accidents and lead to overall improved wellness?

I think so.

Now, don't get me wrong, I have a cellphone too. And I'm not willing to give mine up completely. But I've been making a conscious effort to turn my phone off when I want to enjoy what's happening right in front of me. I do it not just for myself, but for everyone around me so that they too can enjoy what's happening in front of them. Because I figure if something annoys me then it most likely annoys others too, so I'm not going to keep contributing to the problem.

Join me.

near future

Here's the list of shows I hope to attend. All dates in the DFW and Austin area. My attendance will depend on where I am that day & whether I manage to acquire a ticket. As of this post I have not bought tickets for anything.

1/27--The Fiery Furnaces @ Lounge on Elm Street (Dallas)
1/28--The Fiery Furnaces @ The Parish Room (Austin)
2/3--The Residents @ Granada (Dallas)
2/14--Screaming Females @ Emo's Indoor Stage (Austin)
2/15--Screaming Females @ The Cavern (Dallas)
2/24--Henry Rollins @ Lakewood Theater (Dallas)
2/26--P.O.S. w/Dessa & Astronautalis @ Red 7 (Austin)
2/27--P.O.S. w/Dessa & Astronautalis @ Hailey's (Denton)
3/2--Scout Niblett @ Mohawk (Austin)
3/3--Scout Niblett @ City Tavern (Dallas)
3/13--The Flaming Lips @ NX35 Conferette (Denton)
3/20--Fucked Up @ Red 7 Patio (Austin)
3/27--Alkaline Trio w/Cursive @ Palladium Ballroom (Dallas)
3/28--Alkaline Trio w/Cursive @ Emo's (Austin)
4/30--Cheech & Chong @ Bass Performance Hall (Ft. Worth)

Coachella 2010 is NOT on my list of shows to attend right now. I've gone the past 3 years and loved it, but this year's line-up just doesn't impress me. I managed to find 11 bands I'd definitely watch, and of those I've seen 5 before. The rest of those I figure will either tour or else I'll just have to keep waiting. Sunday's line-up looks the best of the 3 days, but since they're not selling 1-day tickets ahead of time I can't definitively say I'll be there. If they open up 1-day tickets ahead of the show I may be flying out for Sunday, but I'm not going to make plans to fly out to California without a ticket in hand & hope that I can get one that day. Especially when my ability to AFFORD the trip is also in question. I'm not very happy about it, and if my situation was different I'd probably say to hell with it & go for the whole weekend. But as it stands it's just not the best idea.

Still job-hunting in Austin, trying to find something to get me there as soon as possible even if it's not necessarily what I want to be doing there. Until then, I'm stuck here in Dallas for the most part. This also factors in to all of the above, naturally. Once I get a new job who knows what I'll get for time off, or even if I'll get any at all, etc. etc. & of course etc.

And as of yesterday my MySpace has officially been given its death sentence. Should be gone soon if it isn't already.

OK, off to dinner now.

neither shotgun blast nor baby steps

in recent months, i've grown tired of the social networking options available to me. as myspace continues to bleed out, i'm losing sight of why i joined to begin with. at this point i have more music artists as "friends" than i have actual friends on there, & since i don't need to be ON myspace to access the music profiles i've decided it's time to move on. those who still desire to be in contact with me can do so here, and those who don't, well, that's cool. good luck & good-bye to them.

this is my new home, and i'm just beginning to settle in.

thus, i'm also abandoning my twitter account. it was fun for a while, but i feel like most of my posts fall on deaf ears. (hopefully here i won't be wasting anyone's time.) with it, the Song of the Day as it's existed for the past few years also perishes. i will certainly incorporate music into this blog as time goes on, and of course i will talk about it thoroughly, but the SotD has begun to feel like a chore. i won't miss it.

the biggest thing missing from the networking sites, i've found, is the interaction. so i'll state right now that if you're reading my blogs i ENCOURAGE YOU TO RESPOND. give me comments, ask me questions, link me to the things you'd like me to be a part of, and so on. don't just read this and rush off to the next thing, whatever/wherever it may be. those wishing their thoughts to be seen only by me can send them via email. if you need an address for me, just ask.

that's all for now. i need sleep.

stay tuned...