Sunday, April 18, 2004
Sunday Sunday Sunday
Sunday - absolutely beautiful, picture perfect day. 82 and sunny and it's still just after 6:00pm. I can't wait for summer. I want to make an appointment to have someone come open our pool, but I think that's jumping the gun a bit. We've god a good 6 weeks before we can feasibly go swimming. A few hours of daylight left. Maybe I'll go outside and read.
BF went to the NASCAR race in Martinsville this weekend. He'll be back tonight. I don't like when he's gone for too long. I'll be glad when he's home. Nice to have a little time to myself though. Not that I did much of anything. Cleaned up the yard, which was still a mess from when they put in the new fence. Spent too much time playing on the Xbox. That Simpsons "Hit and Run" game is tons o' fun. You expect to sit down for a few minutes, but the hours fly by.
Good shows this weekend. The Fleshtones at Iota on Friday. They are still one of the best damn rock 'n' roll bands out there. Jumping into the crowd...the entire band jumping on top of the bar and playing...the crowd dancing and clapping along... That's what rock 'n' roll shows are supposed to be - a big giant kick-ass party. Beauty Pill and Decahedron at the Black Cat last night. I love Beauty Pill. Just listened to their new disc. I like it, but I need to listen closer. I was very impressed with Decahedron. Very powerful stuff for a trio. Great show. I'll definitely check them out again. Go buy their disc. Very light, mellow crowd, which was a nice change from all of the sold-out shows I was at earlier this month.
Stopped by Blowoff for a quick one on the way home. Didn't stay long, but it was a fun way to end the night.
Upcoming shows - Lunachicks@9:30 (although I'm really going to see Washington Social Club). Joan Jett@9:30. Both shows are related to the activities on the Mall this weekend.
BF went to the NASCAR race in Martinsville this weekend. He'll be back tonight. I don't like when he's gone for too long. I'll be glad when he's home. Nice to have a little time to myself though. Not that I did much of anything. Cleaned up the yard, which was still a mess from when they put in the new fence. Spent too much time playing on the Xbox. That Simpsons "Hit and Run" game is tons o' fun. You expect to sit down for a few minutes, but the hours fly by.
Good shows this weekend. The Fleshtones at Iota on Friday. They are still one of the best damn rock 'n' roll bands out there. Jumping into the crowd...the entire band jumping on top of the bar and playing...the crowd dancing and clapping along... That's what rock 'n' roll shows are supposed to be - a big giant kick-ass party. Beauty Pill and Decahedron at the Black Cat last night. I love Beauty Pill. Just listened to their new disc. I like it, but I need to listen closer. I was very impressed with Decahedron. Very powerful stuff for a trio. Great show. I'll definitely check them out again. Go buy their disc. Very light, mellow crowd, which was a nice change from all of the sold-out shows I was at earlier this month.
Stopped by Blowoff for a quick one on the way home. Didn't stay long, but it was a fun way to end the night.
Upcoming shows - Lunachicks@9:30 (although I'm really going to see Washington Social Club). Joan Jett@9:30. Both shows are related to the activities on the Mall this weekend.
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Doctor, Doctor
So I went to the doctor today for a general checkup. I've been trying to get better about taking care of myself, including regular, generic "do you see anything wrong?" checkups. Everything checked-out OK. My cholesterol level is actually low. Obscenely low. I guess I need do go on an all McNugget diet to bring it up a little.
I like my doctor a lot. He's very honest and I'm very comfortable asking him embarrassing questions, which are probably two of the most important things in a doctor-patient relationship. Afterall, he's a doctor, not a psychic. We even talked about orgasms today - in a purely medical sense, of course. (hmmmm - maybe he is psychic afterall - lol.) He knows I'm gay and what my concerns are, which helps a lot. It's definitely worth the 20-30 minute drive to have a doctor I like.
Did my taxes last night. Getting about $4K back. That'll almost pay off my new fence. Cool. wish I had done them months ago. Of course, I say that every year.
Music stuff - I bought the new Franz Ferdinand disc a few days ago and just listened to it today. I liked it, but I don't see what all the fuss is about. I definitely need a few more listens. Maybe something'll click. Beauty Pill and the Fleshtones are in town this weekend. Those should both be great shows.
Going solo to those shows though. The BF is going out of town to the races. That's always a mixed blessing. It's nice to have a little time to myself, but I always end up missing him. He'll be back Sunday night though. I promise I'll be good. :-)
Time for the gym. I'll come back and link a few things later.
I like my doctor a lot. He's very honest and I'm very comfortable asking him embarrassing questions, which are probably two of the most important things in a doctor-patient relationship. Afterall, he's a doctor, not a psychic. We even talked about orgasms today - in a purely medical sense, of course. (hmmmm - maybe he is psychic afterall - lol.) He knows I'm gay and what my concerns are, which helps a lot. It's definitely worth the 20-30 minute drive to have a doctor I like.
Did my taxes last night. Getting about $4K back. That'll almost pay off my new fence. Cool. wish I had done them months ago. Of course, I say that every year.
Music stuff - I bought the new Franz Ferdinand disc a few days ago and just listened to it today. I liked it, but I don't see what all the fuss is about. I definitely need a few more listens. Maybe something'll click. Beauty Pill and the Fleshtones are in town this weekend. Those should both be great shows.
Going solo to those shows though. The BF is going out of town to the races. That's always a mixed blessing. It's nice to have a little time to myself, but I always end up missing him. He'll be back Sunday night though. I promise I'll be good. :-)
Time for the gym. I'll come back and link a few things later.
Who buys this stuff?
So who is actually out there buying this stuff I get spammed with every day? Here are three actual subject lines from some e-mail I got today:
1) Subject: Wann Have Multi-Cum? bix x svep xkcloz
2) Subject: Re: Fw: XEN!C@L, ULTR@M, FIOR!CET C!@L!S, V1AGR0, TR@M@D0L -- accepted worldw1de
3) Subject: Eyoiewp bvy H'y_d_roc_0_d_0`n_e Pain Medicine 0n1ine
Let's take these one at a time:
1) hmmmm - Me thinks me wann multi-cum. What's with the gibberish at the end? It looks like you sneezed on your keyboard. Would you really buy something from these folks? Something that is going to directly effect your penis?
2) This one must require some kind of decoder ring. It looks like it was written by some 13-year-old hacker kiddie. I recognize what's probably supposed to be a clever spelling of Viagra, so I'll assume these are all some form of boner pills. Boner advice from a 13-year-old? Prescription drugs from someone who spells like that? I'll pass, thanks.
3) When this came up, the part after "Pai" got cut off, so there wasn't a single recognizable word on my screen. Who in their right mind is going to see a message with that subject and think - "Hey - this looks promising!"? I'm still not 100% sure what that one is supposed to be.
Yeah - I know these creative spellings are tricks to get around spam filters, but are people really this gullible? I imagine if these people weren't making money, they wouldn't bother with these messages. That means somebody is out there buying this stuff.
Gotta go. My buddy zzcgidkobxvo@cw98973da.com just sent me a screensaver he thinks I'd like.
1) Subject: Wann Have Multi-Cum? bix x svep xkcloz
2) Subject: Re: Fw: XEN!C@L, ULTR@M, FIOR!CET C!@L!S, V1AGR0, TR@M@D0L -- accepted worldw1de
3) Subject: Eyoiewp bvy H'y_d_roc_0_d_0`n_e Pain Medicine 0n1ine
Let's take these one at a time:
1) hmmmm - Me thinks me wann multi-cum. What's with the gibberish at the end? It looks like you sneezed on your keyboard. Would you really buy something from these folks? Something that is going to directly effect your penis?
2) This one must require some kind of decoder ring. It looks like it was written by some 13-year-old hacker kiddie. I recognize what's probably supposed to be a clever spelling of Viagra, so I'll assume these are all some form of boner pills. Boner advice from a 13-year-old? Prescription drugs from someone who spells like that? I'll pass, thanks.
3) When this came up, the part after "Pai" got cut off, so there wasn't a single recognizable word on my screen. Who in their right mind is going to see a message with that subject and think - "Hey - this looks promising!"? I'm still not 100% sure what that one is supposed to be.
Yeah - I know these creative spellings are tricks to get around spam filters, but are people really this gullible? I imagine if these people weren't making money, they wouldn't bother with these messages. That means somebody is out there buying this stuff.
Gotta go. My buddy zzcgidkobxvo@cw98973da.com just sent me a screensaver he thinks I'd like.
Saturday, April 10, 2004
Chicken Sub
Queercore
Since Pansy Division cancelled tonight's show, I decided to head over to the Queercore thing at the Black Cat. No bands or anything, just a DJ. I have to admin I was pretty disappointed. There was hardly anyone there. Probably no more than 20 people at any given moment. But it was great being around other gay people digging hardcore. Talked to one guy who has been to a lot of the same shows I've been going too. He's in a similar situation as me, in that his partner doesn't go to too many shows with him. We may try to hit a few shows together. It would be very cool to have a bud to check out bands (and boys) with. Actually ended up talking to the bartender most of the night. Nice guy. Very cute. Very straight.
Easter tomorrow. Visiting the folks. Typical holiday. Off to Gaithersburg to pick up the BF's mom. Take her down to my parents' house for the day. Then do the whole thing in reverse. It's always fun, but it makes for a long day. I think it's about 200 miles by the time we get home again. It's great that our parents get along so well. Makes things like holidays so easy.
New computer rocks. Gonna hook up the new cam today. Still need to transfer some files from the old one, but not too much. Tax software is next. Nothing like waiting until the last minute...
Easter tomorrow. Visiting the folks. Typical holiday. Off to Gaithersburg to pick up the BF's mom. Take her down to my parents' house for the day. Then do the whole thing in reverse. It's always fun, but it makes for a long day. I think it's about 200 miles by the time we get home again. It's great that our parents get along so well. Makes things like holidays so easy.
New computer rocks. Gonna hook up the new cam today. Still need to transfer some files from the old one, but not too much. Tax software is next. Nothing like waiting until the last minute...
Friday, April 09, 2004
Pansy Division cancels
Dammit. Pansy Division cancelled their DC gig this weekend. I was really looking forward to that one. Gotta love punk rock boys singing about sucking dick.
My new computer is just ridiculously awesome. I can't believe how slow my other one was. You'd think as a computer geek I would know better.
Went to the Green Lantern followed by the Eagle last night. Haven't done that in months. The Lantern was packed, but I guess it always is on Thursdays. Shirtless men drink free from 10-11. Hard to dislike half-naked men and free beer.
Not much going on this weekend, which is a bit of a blessing after last weekend's concert blitz. Probably work around the house and finish getting my computer setup. Still not sure if I'm going to transfer all of my old stuff or just start from scratch.
Oh yeah - got my annual review from work. It rocked. Apparently, they love me - haha. Haven't seen the raise yet. I'm already paid well, so I'll bet it's small. Oh well. Maybe we'll go celebrate that this weekend.
My new computer is just ridiculously awesome. I can't believe how slow my other one was. You'd think as a computer geek I would know better.
Went to the Green Lantern followed by the Eagle last night. Haven't done that in months. The Lantern was packed, but I guess it always is on Thursdays. Shirtless men drink free from 10-11. Hard to dislike half-naked men and free beer.
Not much going on this weekend, which is a bit of a blessing after last weekend's concert blitz. Probably work around the house and finish getting my computer setup. Still not sure if I'm going to transfer all of my old stuff or just start from scratch.
Oh yeah - got my annual review from work. It rocked. Apparently, they love me - haha. Haven't seen the raise yet. I'm already paid well, so I'll bet it's small. Oh well. Maybe we'll go celebrate that this weekend.
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Concert weekend recap
Man - what a weekend. And it's not really over yet. After I see the Darkness tonight, I will have seen 7 shows in 7 nights. That even includes a day off, since I did 2 different shows on Friday.
A quick recap:
3/31 - Ratdog@9:30: Very crowded. Too crowded to dance, even a little. Fun show, but nothing spectacular. Weir can't really win. If he plays too much new stuff, people complain that they wanna hear more Dead tunes. If he plays too many Dead tunes, people complain that he's just living off his past and needs to move on. This night he played a few too many new songs. Good show, as always, but nothing mind-blowing. Scarlet and an acoustic BT Wind were the highlights.
4/1: off
4/2: Dylan@9:30. Dylan is always amazing. The club was over-crowded again. BF had to work late, so we barely made it in time for the show. We got there at 8:10. Dylan came on at 8:15. We were way in the back, which isn't really so bad, considering how small the club is. How is it that I'm 6'1" and still manage to have the only 6'5" guy in the place blocking my view? Dylan was terrific. Just the right mix of old and new. Positively 4th Street, Love Sick, Not Dark Yet, It's Alright Ma.... Sweet.
4/2: Dylan was done at exactly 10:15. We jumped in the car and headed over to the Black Cat to catch Washington Social Club. Goddamn, they're a great band. Nice folks too. They had people videotaping them that night. Not sure why. I love it when the crowd gets into it and starts dancing. Their new record comes out on 5/25. Go buy it.
4/3: Death Cab For Cutie/Ben Kweller@9:30. I had heard some not-so-great stories about DCFC live. However, I was pretty impressed. Lots of energy and they sounded great. I'd definitely recommend checking them out. What sucked was that they were the opening act. They only got to play for an hour. About 1/3 of the club left before Ben Kweller came on. The ones that stayed were really into it though. He was ok. He kind of sounded like a really loud version of Pete Yorn to me. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I was familiar with his material. I left about 6-7 songs into his set. Shortly after the acoustic "Ice Ice Baby".
I went downstairs to Blowoff to sober up a bit before heading home. Only been to that twice, but it's a lot of fun. The only place in town without the typical "DC Attitude". It's nice to be able to talk to people without feeling like you're being hit on, or like they're sizing you up as being worthy enough to talk to them. Kind of a small crowd, but fun nonetheless. As I was getting ready to leave, I spotted Bob Mould and went over to say hi. Very nice guy. Hope I didn't come off like a babbling drunk.
4/4: Dylan@The Warner Theater. I bought these tickets before we got the 9:30 tickets. I toyed with the idea of selling them (at $75/ticket, I could use the money), but decided to hang onto them and go to the show. We definitely made the right decision. I thought this show was better than the 9:30 show. The band was tight as hell and they f*cking rocked. Fantastic.
4/5: The Psychedelic Furs@9:30. I was going back and forth on this one at first. I didn't want to spend $25 to see them, then the club announced a 2-for-1 deal. I bought 2 tickets and sold one for $10, so it really only cost me $15. Short show, but very good. Much better than the last time I saw them. Richard Butler still has all the same moves as the first time I saw him (20 years ago - ugh). He just moves a little slower though - lol. Short show. Main set was exactly one hour + a 2-song encore. They skipped my favorite song (Sister Europe), but that's just a minor complaint. Lots of dancing room, which was a nice change from all the sold out shows I've been to this week. Had a great time.
4/6: Tonight, it's gonna be The Darkness@9:30. This one's gonna be jam-packed crowded. According to the Washington Post, this show sold out in 34 seconds. I know these guys by reputation only, plus a quick listen at one of the Tower listening stations. I haven't even heard an entire song. It's either going to be amazing, or it's going to completely suck. If nothing else, I'll get to see lots of guys in spandex - lol.
A quick recap:
3/31 - Ratdog@9:30: Very crowded. Too crowded to dance, even a little. Fun show, but nothing spectacular. Weir can't really win. If he plays too much new stuff, people complain that they wanna hear more Dead tunes. If he plays too many Dead tunes, people complain that he's just living off his past and needs to move on. This night he played a few too many new songs. Good show, as always, but nothing mind-blowing. Scarlet and an acoustic BT Wind were the highlights.
4/1: off
4/2: Dylan@9:30. Dylan is always amazing. The club was over-crowded again. BF had to work late, so we barely made it in time for the show. We got there at 8:10. Dylan came on at 8:15. We were way in the back, which isn't really so bad, considering how small the club is. How is it that I'm 6'1" and still manage to have the only 6'5" guy in the place blocking my view? Dylan was terrific. Just the right mix of old and new. Positively 4th Street, Love Sick, Not Dark Yet, It's Alright Ma.... Sweet.
4/2: Dylan was done at exactly 10:15. We jumped in the car and headed over to the Black Cat to catch Washington Social Club. Goddamn, they're a great band. Nice folks too. They had people videotaping them that night. Not sure why. I love it when the crowd gets into it and starts dancing. Their new record comes out on 5/25. Go buy it.
4/3: Death Cab For Cutie/Ben Kweller@9:30. I had heard some not-so-great stories about DCFC live. However, I was pretty impressed. Lots of energy and they sounded great. I'd definitely recommend checking them out. What sucked was that they were the opening act. They only got to play for an hour. About 1/3 of the club left before Ben Kweller came on. The ones that stayed were really into it though. He was ok. He kind of sounded like a really loud version of Pete Yorn to me. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I was familiar with his material. I left about 6-7 songs into his set. Shortly after the acoustic "Ice Ice Baby".
I went downstairs to Blowoff to sober up a bit before heading home. Only been to that twice, but it's a lot of fun. The only place in town without the typical "DC Attitude". It's nice to be able to talk to people without feeling like you're being hit on, or like they're sizing you up as being worthy enough to talk to them. Kind of a small crowd, but fun nonetheless. As I was getting ready to leave, I spotted Bob Mould and went over to say hi. Very nice guy. Hope I didn't come off like a babbling drunk.
4/4: Dylan@The Warner Theater. I bought these tickets before we got the 9:30 tickets. I toyed with the idea of selling them (at $75/ticket, I could use the money), but decided to hang onto them and go to the show. We definitely made the right decision. I thought this show was better than the 9:30 show. The band was tight as hell and they f*cking rocked. Fantastic.
4/5: The Psychedelic Furs@9:30. I was going back and forth on this one at first. I didn't want to spend $25 to see them, then the club announced a 2-for-1 deal. I bought 2 tickets and sold one for $10, so it really only cost me $15. Short show, but very good. Much better than the last time I saw them. Richard Butler still has all the same moves as the first time I saw him (20 years ago - ugh). He just moves a little slower though - lol. Short show. Main set was exactly one hour + a 2-song encore. They skipped my favorite song (Sister Europe), but that's just a minor complaint. Lots of dancing room, which was a nice change from all the sold out shows I've been to this week. Had a great time.
4/6: Tonight, it's gonna be The Darkness@9:30. This one's gonna be jam-packed crowded. According to the Washington Post, this show sold out in 34 seconds. I know these guys by reputation only, plus a quick listen at one of the Tower listening stations. I haven't even heard an entire song. It's either going to be amazing, or it's going to completely suck. If nothing else, I'll get to see lots of guys in spandex - lol.
Friday, April 02, 2004
Dylan!
YES!!! My boyfriend managed to get us tickets to see Bob Dylan tonight at the 9:30 Club. Bob Dylan in a friggin' bar. How cool is that?! My BF rules. I cannot wait for this one. I've seen Dylan plenty of times - even from as close as the 3rd row - but this is gonna be amazing! Listening to Blood On The Tracks right now. One of the few albums I own that is absolutely 100% perfect.
Busiest music week I've had in years. Ratdog on Wednesday. Dylan tonight. WSC at the Black Cat tonight after Dylan. Death Cab tomorrow. Dylan again Sunday at the Warner. P-Furs Monday (if I can get someone to split the 2-4-1 deal). The Darkness Tuesday (if they don't cancel). Yowza. I'm getting too old for this. 6 shows in 5 days. Reminds me of my Grateful Dead days. I think my record with them was 8 shows in 10 days. Not to mention the drive from DC->Atlanta->Chapel Hill->DC . Sigh....gone are the days...
I'm useless at work today. Dylan, Dylan, Dylan.
My favorite Dylan lyric:
"The ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face." -Visions of Johanna
Damn. I love that line.
Pansy Division is playing at DC Nine on 4/10. Get your homo-ass out there and support them.
Can I go home now?
Busiest music week I've had in years. Ratdog on Wednesday. Dylan tonight. WSC at the Black Cat tonight after Dylan. Death Cab tomorrow. Dylan again Sunday at the Warner. P-Furs Monday (if I can get someone to split the 2-4-1 deal). The Darkness Tuesday (if they don't cancel). Yowza. I'm getting too old for this. 6 shows in 5 days. Reminds me of my Grateful Dead days. I think my record with them was 8 shows in 10 days. Not to mention the drive from DC->Atlanta->Chapel Hill->DC . Sigh....gone are the days...
I'm useless at work today. Dylan, Dylan, Dylan.
My favorite Dylan lyric:
"The ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face." -Visions of Johanna
Damn. I love that line.
Pansy Division is playing at DC Nine on 4/10. Get your homo-ass out there and support them.
Can I go home now?
