Olipom lives....

A message from Olivia/Olipom, via MySpace:

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OLIPOMFLATSPOT!! Come by some shit to support!!
OLIPOMFLATSPOT!! Come by some shit to support!!

So we are doing okay, but are starting to really feel the loss of those daily Olipom sales. We've moved a bunch of goods into Flatspot and will be open for business today. If you want to help PLEASE COME BY TODAY AND BUY SOMETHING LITTLE! I feel bad just taking donations, I will get an insurance settlement eventually, but that doesn't help me pay my bills right now, you know.

OLIPOM IS NOT DEAD PEOPLE...SO GO TO OLIPOM/FLATSPOT!!!!!

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Flatspot's at 1115 21st St (near K St.) Time to shop!

Rule number one...

TV reporters: Always check your mic:

Oh no...

I just heard about Olipom.

Shit.

Sophie in motion...

This is what happens when I try to work on the computer...



I'm not productive but I love that cat to pieces...

It's been an emotionally exhausting weekend and I'm supposed to be at the Ghoulies show like, right now, but between a lack of real sleep and remembering that I have to be at work super-early tomorrow, well that didn't happen.

Plus, the alone time was much needed, I believe. Also, being alone means watching the Emmys and choking up, unabashedly, at the sight of Farrah Fawcett (crazy!), Kate Jackson (umm..what happened to her eyes?) and Jaclyn Smith (amazingly gorgeous) together on stage for the Aaron Spelling tribute. I guess I truly am a child of the '70s for getting all teary over seeing my favorite childhood heroines reunited. Of course, considering that they were heroines in TV's Golden Age of Jiggle...well, anyway, we won't go there...

And speaking of heroines, today I got to have brunch with some of my smart lady friends from Mills (and one smart lady friend husband - I think that's a new band name: The Smart Lady Friend Husbands. Or the name of Kathleen Hannah's next band) and the two hour visit was very fun and inspiring and gave me a much-needed spark of creative optimism.

Because of course we talked about Gilmore Girls and food and soaps.

What, you thought we got all Dorothy Parker?

OK, back to the Emmys and, then, to bed...

Casino queen, my lord you're mean...

Not a lot of sleep lately - a vicious cycle perpetuated by too much caffeine and frenzied late-night conversations.

Sigh. A week ago today I was visiting the cute puffins at the awesome, gigantic, totally free St. Louis Zoo. Today I'm nostalgic even for the midwestern humidity.

Some of the trip's highlights:

• Scattered and smothered hashbrowns and a pecan waffle at the Waffle House.
• Riding to the top of the St. Louis Arch at night and watching the baseball game from that amazing vantage point.
• The Casino Queen's dollar well drinks and priceless people watching
• Having Wilco's "Casino Queen" stuck in my head for three days straight...
  
• Chuck Berry!
• Chuck Berry's son buying and wearing a Haints shirt on stage
• Chuck Berry mentioning the Haints - specifically Cory's guitar playing - from the stage
• Chuck Berry!
• Snagging a Porter Wagner / Skeeter Davis duets LP at Vintage Vinyl - for next to nothing
  
• The Levine Hat Store
• The sippable sundae at the Steak & Shake
• The "Highway Man" singalong in the Radisson piano bar...
• Penguins and puffins and monkeys, oh my....
• Bloody marys on a *#!ing plane

Some not-so-good things about the St. Louis trip

• The Sour Hour bartender
• Chuck Berry bailing before we could get autographs
• Nonstop smoking wherever you go...
• That No. Liquids.On.A.Plane rule...
• The claustrophobic woman who freaked out on the ride up to the top of the Arch....

Eventually, I'll have photos...they need to be cleaned up a little and I need a new camera because mine is very creaky and I ended up losing at least 50 photos because my camera kept insisting the files were "unrecognizable" whenever I tried to upload them to my computer.

People are annoying me today so I'll leave you with this quote that's posted on the Google desktop homepage today.

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss.


Also, tonight, at the Crocker Art Museum you should check this out:

Crocker Contemporaries Forum
Time; 6-8pm
Cost: free to members, $10 to non-members
Topic: Punk: Then and Now
Speakers: Kepi (Groovie Ghoulies), Jerry Perry (Alive & Kicking), Paul Imagine (Rock Art Poster Society)

from the Crocker's site:

The second lecture in our Pop Culture Series asks the question, “What is Punk?” Join us for a discussion that will include the origin of Punk, its current state and more. Check out a film with the Contemporaries on Saturday, August 26 to further explore Punk in Pop Culture.

This is a Crocker Contemporaries event, created especially for those who share an interest in the contemporary art world. Learn more about the Crocker Contemporaries.

Program begins at 7 PM. A reception including light hors d'oeuvres hosted by 4th Street Grille and no-host bar featuring R.H. Phillips wines, will run from 6-7 PM.

See you there.

wow

This is so beyond awful it doesn't even need to be mocked...

before the bells

Back from St. Louis - which was awesome, thank you very much - pictures to come. So much to catch up on around here, namely Snakes on a Plane and the State Fair and housecleaning and laundry and book-reading. But, first, must get through Monday. I love the knee-deep pile of mail that was waiting by desk this morning.*

Let the fun and games begin...

*OK, I exaggerate - it really only reaches mid-calf....

Seven years, no itch...

Seven years ago today Laura and Jill were getting ready to treat me to lunch at Cafe Bernardo and then tequila shots at the old Torch Club.

I know, classy! But I wouldn't have ushered in my wedding day any other way and besides, it was a kind of fitting prelude to the ceremony that took place at Old I.

Of course, I did look kind of, well, dazed in some of the wedding photos.

I haven't had tequila since but the marriage is still rockin' - thank you very much.

This weekend was pretty awesome, marred only by the fact that Frank Andrick is really sick and had to miss his own birthday poetry show...happy birthday Frank and get well soon...aside from that, I thought the reading was fun and I was so happy to get to read with Becca. Also, the Buck Owens tribute show at Old I later that night was super-rocking and one of those nights where you look around at all your friends and feel content with your place in life...

...and now, onward to St. Louis where the Haints will open for Chuck Berry! No better way to celebrate our seven-year wedding anniversary...

Saturday night's alright for ....

There'll be 2 sets so drop by if only for a little while if you can....

age ain't nothing but a YouTube video

Wow, more YouTube awesome-ness:

There's been a mini-debate over in the Heckasac comments aection on whether it's a good thing or a bad that Tower is having financial woes.

I guess I'm naive but honestly I'm pretty dismayed at the number of people posting things like "fuck Tower." Yes, some of them are basing these comments on their personal experiences working with the company - and they certainly have a right to such opinions, blah blah blah - but I just don't get how keen they are to take glee in the fact that this company may go out of business and leave hundreds upon thousands of people unemployed.

Obviously I have a very vested interest in Tower's health as a company but I don't think I'd ever find that kind of brutal joy in watching a company go under. Not even if it was Wal-Mart or RJ Reynolds.

In any case, vested interest aside, I've always thought of Tower as a local institution -and I don't see the phrase "local instituion" as a bad thing. Sure they've had numerous missteps and haven't always been the best company to work for- yes, sometimes they've been downright lousy - but I also know they've also made some serious, positive and forward-thinking changes in the last four years.

It's one thing to say that a company should be faulted and you saw this coming and well isn't this just a sign of the times ...but that's not even the nature of those comments. Rather the attitude is just self-absorbed meanness, pure and simple.

It's also pretty disappointing.

OK, Go!

I know you've seen this video, right? Awesome.

gone...

Arthur Lee: 1945-2006

#*%!

I'm really mad that there's not going to be a mother#*%!ing "Snakes on a Plane" screening.

And on that note, Serena and I saw "Devil Wears Prada" last night and it was the best film I've seen in a theater in a while. Well, at least since we saw "An Inconvenient Truth" on the 4th of July...Is that a sad comment on this year's lack of good escapist summer films? Who knows - the film had more than its fair share of cheesy moments and pretty much no depth to speak of, but I still laughed a lot and after a stressful day at work, that was enough.

Plus, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt are awesome - just awesome enough to make up for Ann Hathaway.

Speaking of films - this weekend is the Sacramento Film and Music Festival at the Crest.

Am I going to attend any of it? No, because I'm lame and I have a really busy weekend planned. So go for me and report back on what was good - or bad - please.

Also - this weekend, garage sale ...behind Tower Theater...come buy stuff. Please.