Fact is fiction and TV reality...

Damn

Sleater-Kinney calls it quits.

A very good run - but I honestly felt like Corin, Carrie and Janet still had a lot of life left in them as a band.

Nobody puts Baby Grand in the corner...

Nobody Puts Baby Grand in the Corner ...

It kind of goes without saying that I drank way too much wine on Saturday. Or, perhaps, I drank too many different kinds of wine. My favorites were a Rioja from Spain and a port that tasted yummy with the Freeport Bakery brownies. The whole shindig was fun although they a) ran out of most food really fast and b) it was weird to see Baby Grand playing in the corner of a gym....I kept hoping they'd play something like "Forever Young" so that we could dance prom-style....oh and c) the lights went out at one point which caused mild confusion and several broken wine glasses. That's about as rowdy as it gets at wine-tasting fundraiser. Also, Roach and I tried to scam on the unclaimed raffle ticket items but they wouldn't bite (we did buy raffle tickets and Roach won free tix to the Tower theater, which if you know the story there, is highly hilarious and ironic).

The wedding earlier that day was also fun - despite the cruel, cruel heat. Lucky for everyone, there were misters all throughout the backyard and so we didn't mind at all getting our hair and clothes wet, all in the name of not passing out. Also, there was a gigantic redwood tree that did provide some shade. Also: I love weddings. I'm such a big sap and always tear up no matter what. This one was particularly sweet and simple.

Sunday was kind of lost to errands and chores and stupid yardwork and then feeling sick. But I'll make up for that lost Sunday with a six-day weekend starting Thursday. Can't wait, bitches.

But first: tonight

The Haints are playing that SAMMIES showcase at Marilyn's - 9th & K
Richard March and Aimee Chapman are also playing. $5 8pm, 21-and-over

Be there!

Saturday night...

Tomorrow night is the Freemont Community Garden funraiser. Here's the scoop:

Time: 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday.

Place: The Capital Athletic Club, 1515 Eighth St., Sacramento.

How much: $25 per person in advance at 1522 14th St. (at P Street) and $35 at the door.

Features: Music by Baby Grand, vice-mayor Rob Fong, wine-tastings and yummy food.

Info: (916) 549-4291 or (916) 705-5708.

Wine-tastings from:
Grgich Hills Cellar, Napa
Michael David, Lodi
Emmolo Family Winery, Rutherford
Arbios Cellars, Santa Rosa
Wilson Vineyards, Clarksburg
Wofford Acres Vineyards, El Dorado
Epic Wines, Santa Cruz
Henry Wine Group, Benicia
Youngs Estate Group

Edibles via:
Rio City Café
Aioli
Ink.
Taqueria Jalisco
La Trattoria Bohemia
Freeport Bakery
Tiny's Wine Bar (Coming Soon to 14th and R)

Hail! Hail! Rock'n'Roll

A few months ago we - me, Cory, Kepi & Roach - watched an advance of the new DVD release for the Chuck Berry concert documentary Hail! Hail! Rock'n'Roll. It's in stores now and you should definitely check it out. There's a lot of interesting behind-the-scenes insight into Berry's obsession with money plus some scary stuff that happens during a visit to a prison where Berry once served time. There's also good footage featuring Berry with Keith Richards who organized the concert in question.

In the film, an exhausted Richards described the experience as torture, adding, "He gives me more headaches than Mick Jagger. But I still can't dislike him."

One key scene shows Berry and Richards at loggerheads during rehearsals over the chords for "Carol," one of about a dozen Berry songs covered by the Stones during their career.

"That was a very tough moment," Hackford said, "because it was a humiliating moment where Chuck is taking him to school ... it's like, 'Go ahead, Keith. You're the big rock 'n' roll star. Blow up and stomp off.' Keith just stood his ground.

Read more of the CNN story about the DVD

And speaking of Chuck Berry, the Haints are going to open for him in St. Louis on August 16th! Can't wait. The Ghoulies played with him almost 2 years ago at Blueberry Hill - and now it's time for another trip. You should all buy your plane tickets now because if you have not seen this 79-year-old man rock in person, then you have not seen rock'n'roll. Chuck Berry may be "tyrannical" but he puts on a damn good show. He duck walks like a madman and I'll bet he's not all sore and achey in the morning like I am after doing just a few squats and sit-ups.

While we're in St. Louis we're also going to hit up some key landmarks again: The arch, the City Museum, etc...I'm so excited that even the prospect of the smothering Midwestern humidity is not enough to dissuade me.

Speaking of heat, apparantly the earth is frying itself to a crisp. Or, actually, we are. No surprise there, of course. Insert cliche about Sacramento heat/heatwave here. Insert 'em all - I'm feeling them all. Boo. But yay for the central heat & air we put in our house last year before moving in. Best $5K spent ever.

Last night we decided to celebrate the first day of summer with a trip to Three Sisters for dinner. I wanted to sit on the patio. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

For starters, the service was really slow and inattentive - especially considering how not busy the place was. Second, although our spot on the patio was nice (not too shady, not too sunny) the actual patio itself is in bad shape - at least where we were sitting. It's freaking slanted - which means that the table is slanted and, thus, all of your dishes and glasses are slanted. I had an apartment like that in New York once...that table brought back surreally bad memories.

Oh well, it was cheaper than the apartment. Still, the food was also just so-so - I had the Del Pueblo salad which, in the past, has been quite yummy. It seemed kind of meager last night - like there were some key ingredients missing. I've also decided I don't really like their chips - kind of bland.

At least the Corona was good.

After, we headed over to Tower on Watt Ave. where we both struck out on things we were looking for (both at the book store and record store). Finally, we hightailed it over to Vic's Ice Cream - just in time to grab some mint chocolate chip ice cream right before closing. That was the best part of the night. Mint chocolate chip makes everything better.

Oh - and looks like tonight is your last night to check out The Devil and Daniel Johnston. The documentary is really good - thanks to all the amazing home videos of Daniel. It's so strange and sad - and yet happy too - to see him as a kid, as a teen, as a young man slowly turning into the Daniel we see today. The only thing I didn't like about this film was the occasional device of recreating scenes. Because when you see those reenactments next to the real thing - they end up feeling a little cheap and cheesy. But it's still a fascinating, funny and sad look at an amazingly creative and intriguing person.

More good stuff: The new Christina Aguilera single Ain't No Other Man and the new Joan Jett record Sinner. Check them out!

Anderson Cooper gives me a ...

...fill in the blank here

Totally.

Speaking of the Coop....tonight's that interview with A-Jo.

Check out his shoes...he may be wealthy as all hell, but the boy's got pavement-pounding cred...

I like a guy with well-worn soles..(and a well-worn soul too..)

the funny thing about funny people is that they're funny!

Yes, I TiVo-ed the Britney Dateline special last night. I had to...and then I couldn't sleep until I watched it. And I had to make Cory watch it of course.

The conclusion? Same as it ever was: dumb as a rock and about as deep as the splash puddles on my bathroom floor.

Favorite quote (on why she liked guest-starring on "Will & Grace")

I like funny people - they're hilarious.


Anyway.

This weekend, to-do:

• pool /bingo bachelorette party


• Old I 72nd Anniversary show, Saturday night - come see the Land Park Dolls play first! 9:30pm!


• Also on Saturday, Baby Grand with Dear Nora and The Geniuses! The Distillery! 10pm! Buy me a drink!


• Awesome wedding reception at Old I


• The Devil & Daniel Johnston at the Crest

blinded by the light...

... Speaking of Bush - is it true that the reporter that Bush chided / teased ("it depends on your perspective") for wearing his shades during the this morning's press conference is actually legally blind?

Hmmmm.

insane in the membrane

I have an insane headache right now - probably excerberated by the fact that I listened to Bush's press conference this morning at the ungodly hour of 7:30 a.m. I should know better than to listen to the Bush before 10 a.m.

My favorite worst quote was (and I'm paraphrasing here) :

Leadership is determination.

Is that all it takes? Tell that to the troops - especially the dead ones, tell that to the Iraquis, tell that to the American public, fatigued by economy exhaustion.

...

You all need to listen to the Raconteurs album. I thought I was tired of Jack White's high-pitched drama but when you throw Brendon Benson into the mix, it's suddenly all magically delicious. The whole damn record is really, really good.

OK. Headache. More coffee.

June is the new January

I've definitely been letting this blog lag (die) in recent weeks. It kind of goes without saying that I've been very busy - but I also just don't seem to be handling The Busy as well as I have in the past. I feel overwhelmed and cranky and mostly just really tired.

I'm not really sure how I got by in grad school except for the fact that my social life was put on a major freeze for nearly three years.

So, in the spirit of preserving what tiny shred of sanity I've got left, I decided that June is the new January - meaning it was time for some mid-season resolutions.

First, I had to seriously think about priorities - there's a reason my life feels so cluttered post-grad school: It is cluttered. Cluttered with so many things I want to do / need to do. It's total A.D.D

So, the priorities (the order of which may shift on any given day and these do not include the most obvious ones such as work, spending quality time to spend with Cory.):

Reading
And by this I do not mean leafing through US Weekly. I mean reading books, the New Yorker, more daily papers, etc. If I have to give myself a daily time-out to sit down and read for 20 or 30 uninterrupted minutes, then so be it. I've set a goal of five books between now and Labor Day (this does not include the two books I'm reading right now) This will mean less time spent with the TV and Internets - and that's a very good thing. I just bought a few new books and renewed my New Yorker subscription. I have high hopes for myself.

There are some of the books I'd like to read this summer (no linking because, well, that's not a priority today).

Mark Z. Danielewski: House of Leaves
John Updike: Rabbit Run
Truman Capote: In Cold Blood
A.M. Homes: This Book Will Save Your Life

There will also be at least 2 book club books - but if anyone has any recommendations, bring 'em.

Writing
During grad school I devoted anywhere from 4-10 hours a week to writing. These days I don't have the gigantic "challenging" books (Hi Gertrude!) or the term papers to distract me, so what's my excuse? I need to put writing on my calendar, even if it means giving up a few social activities.

Gardening
After spending 90 minutes pulling weeds yesterday, I have vowed to better keep up with nature. Also, I like the way my roses look when I am not so cruel to them - and how the tomatoes smell, green and sour.

Exercising
It makes me feel better, period and will probably contribute to undercutting that overwhelming feelings. I'm going to look into that Pilates class - for reals this time.

Is this what you'd call self-actualization through blogging? Anyway, it seems like a pretty good place to start.

Also, on a completely unrelated note even Lou-fucking-Dobbs is against a constitutional amendement to ban gay marriages:

I believe most Americans are far more concerned about their declining real wages and the lack of real creation of quality jobs than the insulting insertion of wedge issues into the national dialogue and political agenda.

Because like I said, it's about priorities.