Three dollars and 63 cents

They could play at Disney World! Pat would look foxy in mouse ears.

When I was in high school, I saw Sandra Day O'Connor read the Gettysburg Address in Gettysburg. I remember being really excited about the field trip, but my class was in the back of the crowd, and we couldn't hear very well, and I ended up just being really, really bored. Boy, I wish Binghamton still got as many good shows as they used to. I lived there for a few years and am only about an hour away now, and there's not much of a music scene around here anymore.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm a writing professor, so I definitely like books and college towns! I won't have a car, but it sounds like I should be able to find plenty to do in town. In terms of restaurants, whenever I travel, I like to try the local favorites. I'm not a huge fan of steakhouses, since I don't eat a lot of beef, and I don't want to go somewhere really pricey, but other than that, I'm not too picky.

Thurston Moore is listed on the bill for the April 20 show in Northampton. This makes me hate that business writing class I have to teach at 9 the next morning twice as much, since that's what's keeping me from going. You're lucky dogs, those of you who are getting to go.

I'm headed out to Chicago to see them June 3 and am going to hop another train to Ann Arbor the next day. I figured if I'm going all the way out to the midwest, I might as well catch them twice. I'm glad to hear it's a really small venue. It should be a good time. I'd appreciate suggestions of things to do in Ann Arbor for the two days I'm there. I've never been there, so I'm sure I'll find plenty to keep me busy.

I'm not sure--I just read about it in the Downbeast blog a few days ago. None of his "solo" albums that I have are just him, so I'm guessing it's probably with a group. It will be interesting to see who he teams up with this time. He's also on Jeff Gauthier's new album, due out in June, I think. I'm really looking forward to seeing him play with the Scott Amendola Band and with the Singers in two weeks. It will be my first non-Wilco Nels show.

They played Tallahassee a few months after I moved back to the northeast--a day after my birthday, no less! That must've been five years ago by now, though.

$3.42 when I filled up today

Damn, that was crazy. I can't wait to hear the whole album. Nels is headed into the studio next week to record a solo album. I'm pretty convinced the man never sleeps. I wish I had half of his creative energy. I'd be writing a book a month.

I've been wanting to read this for awhile, but the campus library's copy is perpetually checked out, and it doesn't come out in paperback for a few more months. I was pleasantly surprised that it won the Pulitzer. He worked on it for something like ten years. I've heard nothing but good things about it. Someday I might actually finish The Satanic Verses. I've been reading it on and off since November, and I still have about 200 pages to go.

The last time I filled up it was $3.35, but I think it's gone up since then. New York state prices are always higher than they are in Pennsylvania, and the prices in my town are about 10 cents more than they are in Binghamton, about an hour from here, where I used to live. Thursdays are sale day at the gas station up the road from where I work. I'm hoping I can make it until then to save a few cents a gallon.

There's some kind of meeting happening in the conference room across the hall from my office, and I busted out laughing really loudly when I read this. I'll have to think a little more about what I see the guys doing and get back to this thread later.

I approve of anything involving drunk gambling. That's when I come up with my best poker face.

Oh boy, this sounds like trouble. And I mean that in the best way possible. Hopefully I'm 100% healthy by then and can drink at full speed again. (Getting mono as an adult has been just about the worst thing ever!)

Dylan is a better poet than any of the poets nominated this year. It's nice to see him get some recognition, even if it's only an honorary award.

Oh come on. That's no excuse. I'm driving 14 hours

I'm thinking of heading to Ann Arbor after Chicago. I can take the train, and two nights there will cost me what one night would in Chicago, so it won't make my vacation much more expensive.

From Scott Amendola's Myspace page: Jun 1 2008 8:00P The Nels Cline Singers @ The Dakota Bar Minneapolis, Minnesota Jun 2 2008 8:00P The Nels Cline Singers@ High Noon Saloon Madison, Wisconsin Jun 3 2008 8:00P The Nels Cline Singers@ Martyr

I went on TM a little while ago to see if the third St. Louis show is sold out yet (it's not), and the code it made me type was "brilliant Leroy"

When I saw them in Philadelphia, doors opened at 7, John Doe played from 8 to about 8:30, and Wilco was on a little after 9 and played until 11:15.

I'm seeing them three times in the next few months--two sets at the Jazz Standard in three weeks (on a bill with the Scott Amendola Band), then in Chicago in June. I'm really looking forward to getting to see them. Scott Amendola's Myspace page shows they're doing a nine or ten day tour of the Midwest in early June, then going to Europe for about ten days in July. I haven't seen specific dates for either one yet. Scarnella is also on the bill for the Montreal show, I believe. It's part of a big experimental music festival. I'm really tempted to make the trip up to Montreal for that show, bu

That's another good reason not to update my iTunes, then. With as frequently as there are iTunes updates, I expect it to eventually include a program that will feed my cat and reorganize my sock drawer while I'm at work. I love Firefox, and it's good to hear there's a new version coming out soon. There's still a few sites that I have trouble with when I'm on it, though. Netflix, for instance, only offers their instant viewing feature in IE. That's about the only reason I use IE anymore.