Birthday!

Twenty-seven years and nothing but failures and promises that I couldn’t keep

 

 

 

 

Turning that around, I hope

A Compilation We Will Never See

When Are Lyle Lovett and Bizzy Bone going to put out a single together?

Dylan Spirit

Bushwick Blues is our Simple Twist Of Fate.

Hold on to my handNever let go Never let go We were just two kids acting tough Then we grew up Me, not so much All the other guys that you’ve seen are nothing compared to me Because my love is strong And my heart is weak After all When we first met We spoke so brief When you sang a sonnet I hummed sweet relief Do you recall that night we took the L Out into Bushwick It was colder than hell So maybe there We should have stopped Cause I’m left here feeling like a cop Because my love is strong And my heart is weak After all To the other side of the state’s return I met a young girl Well I couldn’t manage her Because I think of you In every girl i meet It’s no relief That sounds to me just as sweet So maybe I’m the fool for feeling used By the way we kissed that night i though you knew Because my love is strong And my heart is weak After all Bushwick Blues, Delta Spirit

They sat together in the parkAs the evening sky grew dark, She looked at him and he felt a spark tingle to his bones. ‘Twas then he felt alone and wished that he’d gone straight And watched out for a simple twist of fate. They walked along by the old canal A little confused, I remember well And stopped into a strange hotel with a neon burnin’ bright. He felt the heat of the night hit him like a freight train Moving with a simple twist of fate. A saxophone someplace far off played As she was walkin’ by the arcade. As the light bust through a beat-up shade where he was wakin’ up, She dropped a coin into the cup of a blind man at the gate And forgot about a simple twist of fate. He woke up, the room was bare He didn’t see her anywhere. He told himself he didn’t care, pushed the window open wide, Felt an emptiness inside to which he just could not relate Brought on by a simple twist of fate. He hears the ticking of the clocks And walks along with a parrot that talks, Hunts her down by the waterfront docks where the sailors all come in. Maybe she’ll pick him out again, how long must he wait Once more for a simple twist of fate. People tell me it’s a sin To know and feel too much within. I still believe she was my twin, but I lost the ring. She was born in spring, but I was born too late Blame it on a simple twist of fate. Simple Twist of Fate, Bob Dylan

Both of these songs kill me. They are so romantic, so sad, so full of heart. Delta Spirit really hits that helpless feeling when one realizes they have no control over their heart. Dylan really conveys that loneliness and almost obsession that oftentimes comes with love. I love both of these songs even if their comparison is a slight stretch. I apologize for the formatting issues above, it was difficult enough getting both songs in columns, much less getting the words straight. Amateur hour up here folks.

The Best of Bob Dylan

Here are 20 of my favorite Dylan songs, no particular order:

1. Lay Lady Lay- I imagine a young bohemian bedding a woman in a motel of questionable quality named “The Mermaid”
2. Like A Rolling Stone- Just damn good
3. Sweetheart Like You- Knopfler + Dylan=Great
4. Most Of The Time- Thank High Fidelity for this one. Awesome
5. John Wesley Harding- I love how he sings on this one
6. Jokerman- Ever doubt yourself?
7. Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest- “Don’t go mistaking paradise for that home across the road”
8. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go- What a love he must have had to be able to write this!
9. Shelter From The Storm- I think every man needs this every now and then. Every human, really
10. You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere- I love this song. Some of his best songwriting
11. 4th Time Around- The picking on this is great, and the story it tells is very human
12. Queen Jane Approximately- Just good.
13. Boots Of Spanish Leather- Kill. Me. Now
14. Don’t Think Twice- How many hearts has this man broken? And how many people have cried from this during/after a breakup?
15. Tangled Up In Blue- So sad! So hopeful! So epic!
16. Simple Twist Of Fate- So sad and human
17. Idiot Wind- I think this is one of Dylan’s most cutting songs, very funny in an insulting way
18. Buckets Of Rain- “You do what you must do, and you do it well”
19. Corrina, Corrina- I just want to sit in on a hot porch and listen to this on vinyl
20. Girl From The North Country- Cold. Sad. Good.

I’m obviously leaving a lot of songs out. Many, probably because I don’t have the album yet. I need to give Dylan more real estate in my iTunes top played.

08/05/11

How I Spent My Saturday (GRAPHIC!!!)

So this story begins on Thursday. I was driving to a friend’s house when I hit a speed hump, and immediately after, my car starting shuddering and kind slowed down. I slowed and made it the remaining half mile or so to her house and checked it. The tires were all full, so I just left it and we took her car to our next destination. Afterwards, I drove it slowly home, and was able to deduce that either my exhaust had come undone, or I’d broken a motor mount. It was the latter.

My Golf. The engine should be parallel to the lines of the bumper, and not be sitting so low, seen best on the lower right corner

So I parked my car and drove my brother’s, since he’s in Australia. On Saturday, I got down to business. Volkswagen designed Golfs so that the passenger side engine mount was roughly above the engine, and the engine hangs from it, rather than resting on top of a mount. There were two bolts holding the mount in place. One bolt had backed out the whole way, while the other had broken cleanly in half. Over a year ago I had replaced my timing belt, and had to remove the engine mounts. I think I somehow didn’t tighten one bolt enough, and it loosened up, coming completely out. This put a lot of stress on the other bolt, so much that it eventually broke. Luckily, the engine is attached to the transmission (obviously) and there was strong bracing on the other side. When the bolt broke, the motor fell a little and rested on the CV axle.

This is the last picture of my left hand in one piece. Funny that I'm also holding a bolt that was severed by my car.

So anyways, I was able to get the bolts out fine. The motor mount itself appeared alright at first, but upon further inspection, It looked like it needed to come out too. On Volkswagens, this is difficult. Really difficult. After probably 45 minutes, I got the three bolts that held the mount out. The next problem was the mount itself. I jacked the car up, then down, and couldn’t slide it out (that sounds like innuendo). I lifted it again, trying higher, when the engine slipped off the narrow jack. As it fell, it pinched my left pinkie on the way down, between the motor mount and the motor, I guess.

I snatched my hand out of there, both of which were dark gray/black from grease and grime. Quickly viewing my pinkie, all I saw was blood, and white, which I correctly assumed was my fingernail (as in the nail bed… the part of your fingernail beneath/below the skin, further up the knuckle). Being an indebted college graduate and living at home,  I quickly roused my mom, paper-toweled my finger like a leftover biscuit, and put on a shirt (this is the south… we don’t wear shirts while working on cars. Some of us never do.) and left for the Emergency Room.

Both hands were this dirty. Disgusting.

Of course, she drove 5 over the whole way (too slow), and I actually got kind of lightheaded in the car, which was weird. Athens Regional has revamped their emergency room since the last time I was there (also from an automotive repair incident, but that’s another story.), and the wait actually wasn’t all that bad, especially considering that there was a football game going on at the time too. Probably the worst thing was sitting there looking like some muddy redneck.

I waited maybe 20 minutes total, and was taken back and seen by a few nurses, then the doctor. Basically, he did a rough diagnosis, and then put in orders. A bunch of nurses came and gawked, understandably, and I got two nice injections of Bupivicaine, which burnt like crazy for a few seconds. Then, they tried to wheel me in the bed thing to the x-ray room, but I talked them into letting me walk. I’m sure I got grease on everything.

Gross photo alert!

So the overall process was to clean around the wound, clean both my hands (so I could clean and deal with my ragged hand later… Or the cute nurse/tech just wanted to flirt with me [I had a Piggly-Wiggly shirt on and black grease halfway up my arms... doubtful]), and then clean the wound. They irrigated it with saline and then lightly scrubbed it with Betadine. Another nurse did all the actual “fixin’.” She essentially pulled my nail all the way out/off, put the nail bed back in (I guess? Maybe it stayed in or something), stitched that in place (this was the grossest part, obviously. I got to see my literal fingertip.) and then she cleaned my fingernail itself off and put it back in, to serve as a sort of splint to guide the new nail as it regrows, and I guess to protect my fingertip too.

Stitches and blood. I think I lost about two ounces.

So I got I think 4 stitches total, and they also pierced my nail before putting it back, to help it drain. They then put triple antibiotic ointment on it and covered it with tubular gauze. The device that the guy used was really cool. I told him it was elegant the way it was applied. I got a splint too, which doesn’t seem super necessary, since it’s just my last phalange/knuckle, but it does seem to help protect it I guess. I also got an antibiotic shot,  I think it was Ancef? It was offered “in your leg or in your butt;” I took the leg (the manly way, the other would apparently have been less painful). I felt like I was having a charley horse or cramp or whatever. I couldn’t lift my leg for about 5 minutes. It burned really bad for a good 2-3 minutes. I was then discharged with a prescription for Keflex and Lortab 5. Luckily, I have health insurance, but I had a $100 copay, and will also have to pay 30% once they figure out the actual cost. At the time it was estimated at $1300+. With so many people out of work or underemployed, I really can’t complain, but that was really expensive. And I totally understand why too. The service they provided was excellent, and I am grateful that they had it all together there. The nurse who stitched me up did a fantastic job from what I can tell. She said she was a perfectionist about it, and that was comforting. Aside from the fact that I may have a disgusting left pinkie from here on out, it was an overall good experience, considering what actually happened. I felt kind of weird and unsure if it actually warranted an E.R. trip, but after that antibiotic injection and all that technical looking stitching, I think it was. I didn’t have a before picture, but the after actually restored my finger to looking like a finger.

Anyways, my car is still broken. So is my finger. I’ll post pictures of the x-rays and anything else if I get ahold of them. I have to make an appointment with an orthopedist sometime this week, but things actually looked pretty good when I changed my dressing Sunday night. If anyone has some good tips on improving healing times, and quality of the heal, let me know! I’m taking a multivitamin, glutamine, lysine, niacin, and arginine to try and help. I might try colloidial silver soon. I just hope I can get it to heal up quick!

Another Fake Band

How about a punk band, “Hot Compost?”

The first EP would be called Nightcrawlers

Potential Tracks:

Vermiculture Wars

Herbicidal Mania

Violet Riot

Janie is a Dicot

Whoreticulture

Mendel is Dead

Can you think of any other good ones?

I’ll Have So Much To Tell You About It

So this past May, I took the longest vacation I’ve ever done, and it is hitting me day by day how awesome it really was, even though at times it was kind of harrowing/disappointing. My friend Adam and I went to California for three weeks and change, visiting San Francisco, Big Sur, Yosemite, and L.A. I’m still not sure what I think about California; I’m not sure if it has an identity issue, or if it is just so large and plentiful that it almost has no identity.

Anyways, here are some pictures and a playlist.

My first view of The Golden Gate Bridge, from the Fisherman’s Wharf Hostel

Beauty meets decay on Alcatraz

Exiting rugged trails to the beach was surreal

Adam poring over the maps at camp

Nightfall at Andrew Molera State Park

Rodentia

This did not work.

Ubiquitous Yosemite Falls shot

View of the Valley; note the snow covering Half Dome :(

USGS Marker at Yosemite Point

These guys set up a traverse and slackline from the cliffside to Broken Arrow Spire. Craziest thing I’ve seen.

Bigfoot? My first bear sighting, at the base of El Capitan. Quite exhilarating!

It took some coaxing, but I made this jump eventually. This is Adam’s first jump at a spring system at Chantry Flats Recreation Area, roughly 20 miles outside of LA

Selections from my “California 2011″ Playlist

Rill Rill, Sleigh Bells
America, Simon & Garfunkel
Paul’s Song, M.Ward
Walk on the Wild Side, Lou Reed
Empty Hearts, Josh Ritter
Bertha, The Grateful Dead
Grown Ocean, Fleet Foxes
Golden State, Delta Spirit
Loving Cup, The Rolling Stones
Goin’ Back, Devendra Banhart
Hard Sun, Eddie Vedder 

Bear.

I attempted some hiking this weekend, managing only to make the drive up Clingman’s Dome in Great Smoky Mountain National Park, and do the 1/2 mile “hike” to the tower on top. It was cool, but mainly because the weather was terrible, and terrible weather tends to make for good stories.

Most everything was uneventful, but I did see this:

My first East Coast bear! I saw two bears in Yosemite earlier this year, the first was frightening, as we happened upon him off-trail, but the anxiety quickly subsided. This black bear was rooting around on the side of the road; I was able to double back in my car and get a few pictures, from maybe 15 feet away. It was a little larger than a big dog, and indifferent. After years of hiking and camping out here, I have finally observed a legitimately interesting wild animal in the flesh!

Next step: Bear Wrastlin’!

Malaise

Hadn’t posted anything on here in a few weeks I guess. I have been intentionally avoiding blogging, but I honestly haven’t had anything I’ve felt like writing about either. I won’t call it writer’s block, more like life-block.

However, I did get Yeasayer’s first album, All Hour Cymbals, and it is AWESOME. I could listen to Red Cave on repeat for days. Prepare for some introspect on this album, or a playlist with this song featured in the near future.

Lastly, My friend just emailed me this picture he dug up:

Blurry Ed Viesturs!

That’s us with Mountaineering Legend Ed Viesturs! I hardly knew who he was at the time, but for whatever reason, he was at the Atlanta REI,  and we went to go see him. I have a poster autographed by him somewhere, and need to read his book(s). You should too.

Anyways, that’s all I’ve got for now. had a few more ideas rolling around, so I expect some more frequent posting again, ye few followers!

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I think I’ve had a realization today:

I’m not sure if I’m smart, like in the classical sense. I have figured out how to do a lot of things…I can fix my own car, do some web stuff, and a few other skills, but I don’t know if my thinking is that innovative, or if I’m just good at knowing how to find things out. I feel like those of us who are growing up online are having issues with critical thought. I think we think more like computers. A computer doesn’t know how to solve a problem, nor does it remember (obviously one with a hard drive does, but in the basic sense, a computer just computes). But a computer is brilliant at knowing where to look. I think that is the new way of thinking… knowing where and how to look is becoming just as advantageous as actually having knowledge. I don’t know how to change out the timing belt on my Volkswagen, but I looked it up. Granted, I did retain that knowledge, and can adapt it, but I wonder if our brains, on the whole, are devoting more space to knowing how to search, than actually how to do.

Just a thought.