Oh please - somehow, even this quest for being "sincere" feels ironic.

According to the LA Times, If it's hip and trendy, they're not interested (May require free registration):

The hypnosis of hipsterism is entrenched among many of L.A.'s urban sophisticates, especially those who work in the trend-driven industries of media, music and fashion. But for many twenty-, thirty- and fortysomethings, the appeal of being cool and edgy is rapidly deteriorating. "The last identity you would want to claim now is a hipster," says John Leland, author of "Hip: The History." "It's the worst of insults." ...

Fontana, 42, says that leaving L.A. has brought her peace of mind, boosted her creativity and helped her live more authentically. She recently threw a party at her cabin, where the appeal of getting back to nature — and away from Hollywood — was not lost on the hipster guests. The writers, artists and filmmakers in attendance checked their networking compulsion at the door and engaged in genuine conversation, Fontana says. "They felt like they'd gotten away from what they have to be and could be what they are." ...

Adrienne Crew stops short of using a term such as "new sincerity" but says she's noticed a growing interest among young urbanites to simplify their lives. Crew, a 40-year-old attorney and "brainiac" writing a novel on African American geeks, is the founder of labrainterrain.com, a blog and calendar listing of intellectual events around L.A. ...

"I'm seeing these youngsters who are really looking for expressions of unmediated experience, fun that's not created by consumer culture," she says. A growing trend she sees as a reaction to hipsterism is "granny chic," or social groups centered around archaic hobbies. Stitch and Bitch and The Church of Craft are two Los Angeles-based examples of groups that gather to work on quilting, needlework, paper craft and lace making — in unabashed earnestness.

So unhip is the new hip? The connection to the new "Granny chic" seems misguided - haven't 20- and 30somethings been doing this crafting thing for a while now? Why is it all of a sudden a backlash against everything hip? Anyway, this new "trend" doesn't seem to have taken hold here in Sactown yet, but then again we always have been a few years behind the times in everything we do. (Via Lindsayism).

By the way, re: penguin movies. I think I really just want to be a penguin. Even if it does mean journeying 70 miles in the harshest conditions everytime I want a snack...

This weekend, to-do:

• Tonight - "March of the Penguins" film (first, must go to Wal-greens and buy cheap candy and sodas for smuggling in purposes.)


• Saturday: Pernice Bros. & Jim White in SF


• Sunday? Take your pick: laundry, more unpacking (it never ends, our stuff seems to be breeding out there in the garage), cleaning, yard work, writing, reading ...

I keep forgetting to post this but on Sunday the New York Times magazine had a really good article on chimpanzee retirement homes (requires free registration, blah blah blah - you know the drill).

I want to work at one of these places when I grow up. Hopefully I can bring Cory and the cats. I think Sophie would like to play with the primates.

But seriously, it's a very interesting piece, particularly because it reveals that the U.S. Government is actually making some small token of atonement for its role in over-breeding apes for HIV research.

knit happens

Does anyone out there want a Stitch'n'Bitch knitter's journal? I have one that's free to a good home. Lemme know ...

random hot-ness

Random! Somehow I am the number one Google search return for 1980 Texas heatwave.

Also, I used to have a t-shirt that read: "I survived the 1980 Texas heatwave."

I think that now I need a "I survived the 2005 California heatwave." Of course, it's only July 26 so perhaps I'm speaking too soon.

The good ol' days ain't what they used to be.

Has anyone been to the new/old Bojangles/Cattle Club/Library yet? Is it even open? It looks awful but I guess I'm just being nostalgic.

Well, that and the Library doesn't look like the kind of place Beck would rock out in while wearing a 10-gallon hat on a hot August night when the AC is broken and the heater's kicked on. (Or the kind of place that Courtney Love would yell at people or His Name is Alive would soothe your worries or, well, just pick one of your favorite Cattle Club show(s) and insert memory here).

Now the place is part of that redevelopment going on in the 65th St/ Folsom area. On one hand it's very much needed and on the other hand, it's so goddamned sterile and boring. The lofts are a good but probably overpriced addition and did Sacramento (and CSUS) really need that Starbucks/Jamba Juice center? Oh, but of course it did. (Photo, obviously, nicked from Sacscene.com).

Also: James William Hindle did not rock the chainsaw last night. If the show had been at Cattle Club though he might have.

Also: Bobby Jackson! Gone! While this does not shock me as much as the Webber trade, I'm still disappointed that Petrie had to run us through that whole 'we're not going to trade him' deal earlier this year. Cory says that's Petrie's job, to put on his game face and lead us on and then do whatever it is that's 'best for the team.' Whatever. Just don't fuck with my Brad Miller love because then, I think, it will all seem pretty pointless. If we can't have the cheerful heart and soul of the Kings then we at least need someone willing to throw a temper tantrum or two.

goodbye cruel week ....

The weekend is finally here and as much as I hate the cliche of Thank God it's Friday...well, thank god and all...

Actually, thank god it's Thursday because I'm off work tomorrow and aside from taking Sophie to the vet, I've got a date with the DSL guy and also plan to put my office into some semblance of order (i.e., get all the shit up off the floor).

Will also head out to the park to see Jackie Greene whom I don't really give a fig about, but hey, it's about getting out of the house and being social instead of the feeling shut-in all day. Then, later that night we're going to check out the Golden Shoulders/James William Hindle show at Old I. I'm very excited to see James William Hindle. OK, maybe excited is not the right word. He's not an exciting guy - or at least his soft, Simon & Garfunkle-ish music does not seem to suggest this. Who knows, maybe he'll take to the stage with a chainsaw and we'll all be pleasantly surprised.

Aside from that, in addition to some goofing off, there'll be a valiant attempt to save my roses from certain death. They were burnt to a crisp by the sun before we moved in. I've pruned them back and plan to feed them some tasty rose food tonight. Any other suggestions? There's one lone pink rose blooming right now and it gives me just the slightest bit of hope that all is not lost ...

Or wait, re: Grandaddy, is Jason Lytle singing: "sometimes there ain't no other fucking way"?

That would change things greatly ...

For your next trip, Google moon maps.

sometimes you gotta say there ain't no motherfuckin' way

I'm listening to the new Grandaddy EP, "Diary of Toddzilla" and it's pretty freaky good. A little bit of different and a little bit of the same and 100 percent norcal-valley-flatlands-meets-the-universe.

Also, last night we went to see Me and You and Everyone We Know and I really liked it - even with all of its discomfiting, squirmy moments. The film was impressively written and directed by Miranda July. It reminded me a lot of Lovely & Amazing in that it was this quiet and sad but still very funny film about people trying to make tangible, emotional connections with one another. It was precisely the kind of film I needed to see on a muggy July night in which I was beginning to lose faith in the general goodness of people.

I particularly like this Grandaddy lyric from the song "Pull the Curtains":

Pull the curtains on the night
sometimes it isn't worth the fight
Sometimes you gotta turn it off and you gotta walk away
And sometimes you gotta say this is gonna be the day
...Sometimes you gotta say there ain't no motherfuckin' way

Simple but true, these are words to live by my friends, words to live by....

Things I refuse to talk about anymore this month:

• The weather


• How much equity you have in your house


• Whether the (local, national, whatever) real estate market will bust


• How messy our still-mostly-unpacked house is


• How much I've spent on vet bills in the last few weeks. Stop looking at me like I'm crazy. It's been worth every goddamned cent


• Did I mention the weather?

Lived to tell the tale ...

We survived the Brian Jonestown Massacre show at Old I on Saturday - actually that was a lot of fun. We got to see/hear Anton verbally berate his bandmates and we were able to catch up with old friends.

Except for you, Scott. Happy belated birthday, I hope to talk to you soon.

Still suffering through dial-up over here in the 95822....bah...oh, and the heat. The kill-me-now-and-get-it-over-with-heat.

Sorry for the lack of posts - it's been one hell of a week. Long hours at work, boxes to unpack (and a garage still filled with many more) and the divorce from the old house. We finally cut all ties on Wednesday, turning in the keys and turning over a place so clean and shiny I almost wanted to move back in again. It's like a break-up - as we sorted through the baggage I wanted nothing more than to just walk away - but the goddamned place still had my stuff - and then after the final walk-through I suddenly felt nostalgic and bittersweet. You know, remember when?

But we have pictures and good memories and that is that and it's on to this next chapter. And it's a chapter with central heat and air, so I think we're already doing better in this new relationship.

Now, on to the weekend, during which I will be reading the new Harry Potter book. The entire thing. All 672 pages.

Why? Because I am a geek and I'm getting paid for it. Two very good reasons, I believe.

I am about to reach a new level of tech-induced grumpiness. Neither my Airport router nor the DSL is working. Dial-up is slower than molasses and for some ungodly reason allows me to receive mail but NOT sent it out (WTF??!!).

Oh yeah, and our cell phones don't work inside the new house. Thanks T-Mobile.

Feh.

back to the old house

Just a quick update for now. The last five days have been ultra-hectic and I'm exhausted. The digest version is this:

• We started moving stuff into the new house on Thursday


• We got to pick up Sophie from the vet on Friday. She's doing remarkably well and is now taking a series of four different daily medications PLUS subcutaneous fluids (i.e., it's like an I.V. but goes beneath her skin instead of into a vein) every other day. She's a real sport about that needle and I'm just thrilled beyond words to have her back and in good spirits. Thanks to everyone for the well-wishes.


• After countless truck loads (a million thanks and another 'sorry' to Bobby) and two U-Haul loads, we STILL don't have everything out of the old house. In the seven (7!) years we've lived in that place we've probably doubled our belongings. Like a sponge expanding with water, we've filled its every nook and cranny. I'm very tired of packing.


• At the new house, we've got all the big stuff out but have barely unpacked anything but the barest of essentials.


• Most importantly, both Sophie and Trixie have, after a day of restless displacement, found new spots to call their own:

Sophie, sunning herself behind the couch:

... and, Trixie, Queen of her domain: