poppydawn

And for God's sake, don't make them in colors other than orange, yellow and white. Don't tinker with the flavors, either. Candy corn shouldn't taste like caramel apples, watermelon, or anything else fancy. It should taste like pure sugared crap.

Those socks were so awesome that I stretched them so she could wear them with her spider costume last year.

Dick in a Box is always appropriate.

When my daughter was about that age two years ago, she was a piece of candy corn for Halloween. I made it from a Sewing for Dummies pattern, which is still available. It was pretty easy, even for a non-sewer like me. If you go with it, just make sure you don't leave your kid in just the hat without the rest of the costume. He'll look like the youngest member of the KKK.

Interestingly enough, I read somewhere (how's that for a rock-solid reference) that Laura Bush is very interested and involved in Mayanmar, and has been for a while. Now, what "involved" entails, I have no idea, but at least someone in the White House is keeping an eye on the situation.

 

 

Damn, that almost sounded like I like her or something. Sheesh.

I heard something along those lines on NPR yesterday morning. I was half-asleep at the time and couldn't find anything on their website about it. But yeah, the lil' lady has some interest in the situation, apparently.

Pink Floyd or The Police?

 

I suppose either could be pretty frightful.

Danzig.

I've got lots and lots of travel goals, since I've yet to make it overseas. The UK, Italy, Provence (all the locales a former chef needs to visit), India, Greece, Morocco, Vietnam, Thailand (particularly the northern part).

I've been to some interesting places stateside, mostly on road trips. My husband's from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which might as well be on another planet. Very unique part of the country. I spent a lost weekend in Uncertain, Texas once. Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, the Everglades, Rocky Mtn. National Park, Mesa Verde.

I've also been to Detroit more times than anyone who doesn't have relations in that city should visit.

Hey, maybe we should invade, and have a regime change, and make their country into a democ - oh, oops.

Myanmar has oil? Let's go!

Make sure you have plenty of Spooky Friends on hand!!

 

Around here, Spooky Friends Peeps are issued as rewards for peeing in the potty. For my three-year-old, of course. Although I sometimes reward myself with them when I pee in the potty.

I also stayed up until 1:30 this morning playing the Guitar Hero version of "Mother". Frightful, indeed.

Tweedy dedicated one of the songs to a girl (Melissa or something like that), and one of the girls in that group said it was for her. Pretty disappointing that she had a song dedicated to her considering she had been facing away from the stage talking for most of the show.

I somehow missed that dedication, but will listen for it when I finally get the show loaded onto my iPod tonight. He dedicated "Sky Blue Sky" to anyone from Belleville at the show, which made me too deliriously happy to do anything but grin like an idiot.

Tapers are great! I'm really looking forward to reliving the show tonight.

if it doesn't effect americans most people don't care it seems....

And if it doesn't threaten American $$$, a regime can be as horrible as it pleases.

Vibes and prayers for the monks and everyone else brave enough to stand up for freedom.

Hi! Thanks for the kind words. It's funny you mention the bowl haircut guy...I didn't realize from where I was that that was his haircut...I assumed he had headphones or something...and then I looked at the pic and realized...no, that's hair!

 

You should say hi at the KC show, poppydawn! (Think you said you're going to that one?)

Thanks, Donna! You are very kind. But you are the master, my dear. (I have one of you looking particularly during soundcheck...think you were trying to tell me and Ms. Chris to get to the front! )

Oh, that was definitely his real hair! We walked by him when we were approaching the back of the stage, before we realized we were about to walk into the sound check. We were fascinated by him!

And yes, I'll be at the KC show with my husband, an old high school friend, and her husband. I've never been to Crossroads before, and I'm hoping it's a better venue than City Market. We're planning to get in line early. Alas, my pink hair will be mostly gone by then, so look for dark brown with hot pink highlights and come say hi!

Couple of Glenn:

 

(think I've been spotted...oops)

 

How amazing was that sound check? If you saw a big girl with pink hair on the sidelines, that was me.

Excellent shots of Glenn. Much better than the ones I got. And you got the guy with the bowl haircut and track shorts! My friend and I kept trying to get a photo of him, but none of them turned out.

Second day of autumn, and it was in the 90s in central Missouri. My daughter and I are returning to Illinois tomorrow, and cooler weather is following. I can't wait! I want to sit on my front porch, drink coffee, knit socks, and listen to my iPod while getting chilly.

My daughter is three and a half, so this autumn is going to be lots of fun. This is also our first autumn in our new (to us - built in 1928) house. We're going to decorate the front porch and christen the fireplace (our first one ever!) as soon as it gets cold enough. I've also to got get cracking on someone's Halloween costume. She wants to be a butterfly this year. Last year, she was a spider. Next year, she'll want a muzzle of bees.

My wicked in-laws will be visiting this weekend. To keep them entertained in a way that doesn't require making awkward conversation, I think we'll go to the pick-your-own apple orchard. I made applesauce last year. Tasted fantastic, but it's a hell of a lot more work than I feel like doing this year. I've got an easy, tasty recipe for spiced apple cider jelly, which I might make once the local cider's available.

Hm. Maybe I should suggest applesauce-making to my mother-in-law. Once she gets elbow-deep, fake an emergency and bail.

October's going to be awesome! It's beautiful in this part of the world in October. Gorgeous colors along the Mississippi. Nevermind the road trip I'll be making across Missouri to see Wilco and Andrew Bird in Kansas City the weekend of the 12th! The weekend after that, which happens to be my birthday, I'll be road tripping to Memphis, which is an amazing drive in autumn. Lots of music-related fun (with absolutely no trips to Graceland!), and I'll get to see a friend who lives in Germany and only comes stateside every few years. Weekend after that, I'm throwing a Halloween party for all of my friends with kids. Apple-bobbing for the tots, pumpkin ale for the grown-ups.

Sounds great . Pat played on Mysterious Production of Eggs, here's hoping they bring Andrew out on violin on Jesus, etc.

 

--Mike

Ooooooooh, I hadn't thought about that! Goosebumps just thinking about it! I haven't made my request for KC, so maybe I'll do that.

Awesome!!!

I saw Andrew in St. Louis last spring and he was great. It had occured to me then that he'd make an excellent Wilco opener. I'll be at the KC show, so I'm thrilled! Although I really did enjoy Dr. Dog.

I keep forgetting that I have the Mac Wilco widget. That counts, right?

"The Filth and the Fury" is on right now.

-Numbered litho from the March, 2006, St. Louis show

-print from this week's Columbia, MO, show.

-all the CDs and most of the promos

-2 shirts (sizes 4T and XS, both for my daughter since t-shirts fit me funny)

-all my ticket stubs

-The Wilco Book

-Sunken Treasure DVD

-a drumstick autographed by Glenn

-quite a few show bootlegs

-purple radiator sticker on my truck

-skull tote bag, which I almost always have with me since it's where I stash my knitting.

-lots of photos I've taken at shows. This is my current favorite:

(My friend Kristina and me, hanging out at sound check last Wednesday. I've already ordered the 8x10 print.)

Well, I have read the Rolling Stone review, and it reads, "After a hundred listens or so, you start to notice that even the lyrics, not always a Wilco specialty, are pretty excellent", which I know is some form of a complement, but is actually an insult in the fact that a "hundred" listens is what it needs to appreciate the lyrics. I'm sure that most of these critics are saying that relative to the music the lyrics are "sub-par" but to the common reader the interpretation is that Wilco's lyrics are not a strong suit, and I really dislike this style.

I read that same review, and I was so disappointed. The reviewer, Rob Sheffield, is usually on-target and I was so surprised for him to say that Wilco's lyrics are not their strong suit.

Like the music, the lyrics are more complex than the usual drivel. That's one of the reasons why I'm so hooked on them. I like having to listen to a song more than once to fully get what's being said.

I can't begin to pick a favorite. I love the clever wordplay in songs like "Kingpin". The first verse of "Shot in the Arm" has incredible imagery. Lately I've been picking "Sky Blue Sky" to bits, since it's about Main Street in Belleville. Since I happen to live on Main Street in B'ville, I've gotten a little obsessed with trying to find the inspirations for the words.

If I had to pick a favorite, lyrically, I would probably have to go with "War on War". It's a long story as to why. The short version: listening to the song while going through a rough period in my life, it suddenly made sense to me after years of listening to it. Around that same time I saw the "Austin City Limits" from 2004, where Jeff talked about how the meaning of lyrics come partially from the writer and partially from the listener, which was certainly what I had experienced with "War on War". I know what the lyrics mean to me, based on my experiences. I'm sure they mean something different to Jeff. That's the beauty of music that goes beyond discussions of what to do with the junk in one's trunk.

grapes of wrath

I finally read this a few months ago. How I managed to major in English without reading it, I have no idea. I'm glad I finally did.

I'm muddling through the sixth Harry Potter book out of some misguided sense of obligation. I can't say I'm getting much out of it, but I'll probably finish it and the final one because ... I don't know ... it's the law, right?

If it's a black Mary Jane, I'll probably wear it. My current favorites (with my favorite hand-knit socks):

My concert-buddy posted about the show on her blog, and included a couple of short videos she shot. It's here.

I shot a few little videos, too, but haven't had a chance to watch them. If they're decent, I'll put them on YouTube tonight or tomorrow and share the link.

I've been to lots and lots of Wilco shows. When Jeff mentioned playing Columbia long before most of Wednesday's audience was born? I was there. This show was, without question, the best I've ever seen. Truly amazing.

Around 4:00 that afternoon, we were wandering around downtown and happened into sound check. The gates weren't up yet, so they were letting people come and go. Absolutely awesome! I'm not sure how much we missed, but we got to stand directly in front of the stage. Bonus: they played "Box Full of Letters", "Wishful Thinking", and "A Magazine Called Sunset". We got to exchange pleasantries with most of the band, and I scored an autographed drumstick from Glenn.

I was able to take quite a few photos, which was great because my photos of the actual show turned out horrible. Fine with me, because then I was able to quit obsessing about taking pictures and actually focus on the show. My sound check photos are here. And yes, Jeff was wearing the hat then, too. And I wrote about the experience at length here.

"Sky Blue Sky" was definitely the highlight for me. Well, one of many. "I Got You" was the song I'd requested at Roadcase, so that was a thrill, too. During sound check, I told (okay, hollered) Jeff that we'd come from Belleville to see them. When he dedicate SBS to the Bellevillians in attendance, I got a big nod and grin from him. I can't explain why it was so blissful. I guess it was a combination of a great song, acknowlegement, and shared experience.

The show was so damn good that it prompted me out of years of lurking on Via Chicago! That's pretty fucking good.

Can't wait for the KC show, although I have no idea how they'll top Columbia.