Well, I am tired. And I don't feel particularly great. Sure, I partially blame that on eating curry when I haven't had curry in a few months, but my internal clock, digestive track and sense of time and space is all pretty out of whack.
At least the jabbing feeling behind my left eye went away with some Tylenol.
We moved our stuff out of the house in AZ on Wednesday. One of the movers broke the nozzle seal on the hot water for the clothes washer, so we ended up turning off all the water to the house and then cleaning. We finished with the plumber at 8:30 PM and left our house for the final time.
KareBear arrived Thursday. We ran a few errands and then spent a nice hour by the pool, ate dinner and then got some shut eye.
We left Friday around 1:30 after picking up Doug from the airport and the pets from PetsHotel. Before even leaving PetsHotel we got a phone call from our realtor telling us that when they moved our refrigerator, they didn't properly close off the water to the fridge. This meant that when we turned the water main back on, water slowly dripped out of the wall and seeped into the carpet in the next room rather than pool in the kitchen. This, Leaguers, is why you hire the companies listed as "bonded and insured".
We drove out of town, passing through Tucson and Tombstone, and wound up staying in El Paso for the night. By this point Lucy was going berserk in the back seat, and I didn't really blame her.
We got up at 7:00 and walked the dogs, trying to convince them to go patty. By 8:00 we were in the car. There's honestly not a lot between El Paso and Junction, Texas. So KareBear and I mostly chatted and drove, occasionally yelling at the dogs to lay down. We had to stop about every three hours for gas, to let the dogs out and stretch our legs.
Last night we rolled in around 6:30. Steanso is, of course, partaking in ACL Fest and is, thusly, not around. That hasn't stopped us from setting up The Hop-a-Long Lounge as a center of operations.
Jamie dropped off Jeff the Cat at Matt Mangum's apartment, grabbed Matt, brought him back down to H-a-L Lounge. Literally just off the plane from Paris and then immediately on the road, The Admiral arrived shortly after we did. Cousin Sue appeared and we all went for dinner.
After dinner Jason showed up at 10:30, played me his new Doctor Octagon record and we chatted until fairly late as he came down from his day at ACL Fest.
This morning I had breakfast with JAL and CBG. I don't think all three of us have sat down together since the late 90's. It was fun. I really missed those guys.
Jamie and Doug came from the hotel and we all jumped in the car to see the new house. We couldn't get in today, but we're scheduled for a walk-through tomorrow.
So we're back. It's a new chapter, I suppose.
Despite the curry-related upset stomach and the stabbing pain behind my eye, I'm feeling good. I did some driving today while Jamie and Doug went to a movie, and I still know this town. It's like what they say about not seeing a good friend for years and when you run into each other, no time has passed.
But time has passed. They've torn old houses to build new ones in the neighborhood I used to live in just north of Hyde Park. It's new architecture. Fun architecture. I'm glad to see the neighborhood is a living, breathing, thing.
This morning at The Omlettery our granola waitress butted into our conversation to let us know Backstreet Boys was one of her favorite bands (yes, Backstreet Boys had come up).
This is why I missed you, Austin. I missed your trees and your ridiculous signs up and down Burnet. I missed the Frisco. I missed your hills and your twin devotions to live music and football. I missed the weather changing five times in 7 hours. I missed kids in shorts and cowboy boots and hats walking with their moms up to Central Market. I missed knowing that my loan officer was secretly an aspiring film-maker with a deep knowledge of kung-fu films and what makes Bruce Campbell just work, dammit. I missed knowing Thursday night is (was and always shall be) Mariachi night. I missed people lining up in the rain to show tribute to a one-term fire brand governor as she lays in state. I missed bats under bridges and overgrown oak trees. I missed getting right on 35 to get onto the ramp and knowing that turning onto 290 from Loop 1 is a left exit. I missed picking up the phone and asking a friend to watch my cat for a week and him saying to come by whenever and paying him back with an enchilada and a margarita. I missed rickety metal stairwells and wall-units. I missed an orange tower on Saturday nights and the hope of hundreds of thousands embodied in that edifice of an arena just off the freeway. I missed couples standing in the ice-cream aisle at 10:30 at night looking like they just rolled out of bed and knowing that they've looked like this all day. I missed your gentle hills and your white limestone faces where they cut you to make way for the roads. I missed a million, tiny little details that whisper to me and say "that was where you learned to drive," "That was where you learned to love learning," "That was where you kissed her for the first time," "that was where on that one Tuesday afternoon you cut out early and you and Justin tied one on because it was sunny out, but it was too early in the year to be hot," "That was where you jumped in the water and you thought your eyes would pop out," "that was where you decided you were coming back here to go to school", "that was where you figured out this was forever, and over there by the peacocks is where you made it official."
I missed you, Austin.
You change but you never do. For the third time you welcome me, and for the second time you treat me like we can pick up where we left off. Just put down your bag and grab a drink. And how's all that been going...?
I am glad I am home.
No limits.
No limits.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Uhhhh...
I guess we know how Marvel's Civil War event ends now.
Do not... I repeat, DO NOT... go to this link if you don't want to know how it ends. This isn't a joke. I accidentally stumbled on this today, and, uh... yeah.
Official League warning: You cannot unsee something. This is an image which gives a lot away.
Also, if you want to comment on the image, fine, but...
THE COMMENTS SECTION IS OPEN FOR DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS IMAGE. DO NOT GO TO THE COMMENTS SECTION UNLESS YOU WANT TO READ ABOUT THIS IMAGE.
here. But don't blame me.
Marvel needs to learn to be a spot more careful in how they release images. Of course, you know, this is probably a red herring (so Marvel can drop a FOOLED YOU! later). But, uh... yeah.
I guess we know how Marvel's Civil War event ends now.
Do not... I repeat, DO NOT... go to this link if you don't want to know how it ends. This isn't a joke. I accidentally stumbled on this today, and, uh... yeah.
Official League warning: You cannot unsee something. This is an image which gives a lot away.
Also, if you want to comment on the image, fine, but...
THE COMMENTS SECTION IS OPEN FOR DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS IMAGE. DO NOT GO TO THE COMMENTS SECTION UNLESS YOU WANT TO READ ABOUT THIS IMAGE.
here. But don't blame me.
Marvel needs to learn to be a spot more careful in how they release images. Of course, you know, this is probably a red herring (so Marvel can drop a FOOLED YOU! later). But, uh... yeah.
Schedule
Hi all... here's our current schedule.
Tuesday: Go sign house papers. Finish packing. Clean some.
Wednesday: Movers arrive around 8:00. Move stuff out. Check in to hotel. I think we're taking the pets to Petshotel on Wednesday.
Thursday: Pick up Mom. Sit in Phoenix. Stay at hotel.
Friday: Dialysis for Jamie. Go pick up Doug and pets. Leave Phoenix. Drive to El Paso.
Saturday: Drive to Austin. Try to find Matt Mangum. Go to Jason's house.
Sunday: Jason at ACL Fest. So, I dunno.
Monday: I think we're doing something house related.
Tuesday: I think we close on the house.
Wednesday: Movers arrive. Move in.
Thursday: Curse the poor job I did of marking boxes. Give up. Go to Taco Cabana and gorge on tortillas and queso.
Friday: The world is our oyster.
I assume that as of Wednesday we'll be on hiatus, internet permitting. I'll do what I can.
If you want to get ahold of me, feel free to e-mail me. If you want my cell number for any reason, e-mail me ASAP.
Thanks, ya'll.
Hi all... here's our current schedule.
Tuesday: Go sign house papers. Finish packing. Clean some.
Wednesday: Movers arrive around 8:00. Move stuff out. Check in to hotel. I think we're taking the pets to Petshotel on Wednesday.
Thursday: Pick up Mom. Sit in Phoenix. Stay at hotel.
Friday: Dialysis for Jamie. Go pick up Doug and pets. Leave Phoenix. Drive to El Paso.
Saturday: Drive to Austin. Try to find Matt Mangum. Go to Jason's house.
Sunday: Jason at ACL Fest. So, I dunno.
Monday: I think we're doing something house related.
Tuesday: I think we close on the house.
Wednesday: Movers arrive. Move in.
Thursday: Curse the poor job I did of marking boxes. Give up. Go to Taco Cabana and gorge on tortillas and queso.
Friday: The world is our oyster.
I assume that as of Wednesday we'll be on hiatus, internet permitting. I'll do what I can.
If you want to get ahold of me, feel free to e-mail me. If you want my cell number for any reason, e-mail me ASAP.
Thanks, ya'll.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Comics Comics Comics
Okay: here's the tally
18 long boxes and 10 short boxes.
Plus around 15 boxes of collections/ trade paperbacks/ graphic novels.
It is my sincere hope that Austin based Leaguers will feel free to check out certain volumes from the library at the House of El. What good are all those comics if I can't share them with you good people?
Now, all of that is going to take some organization and time, so bear with me.
Last week's comics were okay.
Some comics I liked:
Mystery in Space #1: Nice art. I love detailed sci-fi space faring comic art. I need to learn more about this Shane Davis guy. The name Jim Starlin should ring some bells as the writer.
52 Week 18: Dr. Fate. Ralph Dibny. Black Adam. The Question. Renee Montoya. Dead Booster. Live Clark Kent, reporter.
This little experiment is rapidly becoming one interesting title. But give me Steel. I was sold on the comic thanks to the promise of a lot of John Henry Irons.
All New Atom #3: Bang! Zap! Comics are for kids! Or maybe not.
Anyhoo, I'm three issues in to The All-New Atom, and it's still a fun comic with an affable hero. I understand that John Byrne won't be offering pencils anymore after this issue, but I think that the book is not so defined that someone else can't come in and have fun with it.
It's an odd thing to see some of Grant Morrison's ideas realized by Gail Simone. At least I have to assume that a Cancer God sounds like something Grant would have dreamed up, but Gail has spun the idea in a way which is probably a little more accessible.
Detective Comics 823: Pini manages to flesh out Poison Ivy in a way I haven't really seen since the animated cartoon. I don't think enough writers ever get past the cheesecake factor with Ivy, but Dini gives us a true villain. Joe benitez's artwork is well matched for the story, even if Robin was drawn four years younger than most artists are portraying him.
Anyway, that's that. I'm off to go seal up my long boxes with packing tape in preparation for the long haul.
Up, up and away.
Okay: here's the tally
18 long boxes and 10 short boxes.
Plus around 15 boxes of collections/ trade paperbacks/ graphic novels.
It is my sincere hope that Austin based Leaguers will feel free to check out certain volumes from the library at the House of El. What good are all those comics if I can't share them with you good people?
Now, all of that is going to take some organization and time, so bear with me.
Last week's comics were okay.
Some comics I liked:
Mystery in Space #1: Nice art. I love detailed sci-fi space faring comic art. I need to learn more about this Shane Davis guy. The name Jim Starlin should ring some bells as the writer.
52 Week 18: Dr. Fate. Ralph Dibny. Black Adam. The Question. Renee Montoya. Dead Booster. Live Clark Kent, reporter.
This little experiment is rapidly becoming one interesting title. But give me Steel. I was sold on the comic thanks to the promise of a lot of John Henry Irons.
All New Atom #3: Bang! Zap! Comics are for kids! Or maybe not.
Anyhoo, I'm three issues in to The All-New Atom, and it's still a fun comic with an affable hero. I understand that John Byrne won't be offering pencils anymore after this issue, but I think that the book is not so defined that someone else can't come in and have fun with it.
It's an odd thing to see some of Grant Morrison's ideas realized by Gail Simone. At least I have to assume that a Cancer God sounds like something Grant would have dreamed up, but Gail has spun the idea in a way which is probably a little more accessible.
Detective Comics 823: Pini manages to flesh out Poison Ivy in a way I haven't really seen since the animated cartoon. I don't think enough writers ever get past the cheesecake factor with Ivy, but Dini gives us a true villain. Joe benitez's artwork is well matched for the story, even if Robin was drawn four years younger than most artists are portraying him.
Anyway, that's that. I'm off to go seal up my long boxes with packing tape in preparation for the long haul.
Up, up and away.
5 Years On
Check the date.
I've already told my "where was I?" story. I leave it to you to dig through the archives. It's not a great one.
I'm not sure what else to say, but to point to the date and remind you that we all said we'd remember.
There have been a lot of documentaries since then. Some of them better than others. Some of them biased. Some of them based on some odd theories.
Two big-budget narrative films have been released (United 93 and World Trade Center).
We've had a flood and more or less lost a city and seen a region devastated.
We've got a war going in two countries and seem to be on the verge of drawing in a few more, depending on the day and the week.
I don't mind the secruity measures at the airport. But I seem to be the only person who has to look for a chair in order to put on his shoes after passing through security. How can that be?
The first responders and the people who cleaned up Ground Zero are developing chronic health problems.
I don't know what the point was supposed to be of this post.
We lost a lot of people on that day. And we've lost a lot more since then. We're probably going to lose more.
Juan was right.
We're now 5 years into the 21st Century.
Check the date.
I've already told my "where was I?" story. I leave it to you to dig through the archives. It's not a great one.
I'm not sure what else to say, but to point to the date and remind you that we all said we'd remember.
There have been a lot of documentaries since then. Some of them better than others. Some of them biased. Some of them based on some odd theories.
Two big-budget narrative films have been released (United 93 and World Trade Center).
We've had a flood and more or less lost a city and seen a region devastated.
We've got a war going in two countries and seem to be on the verge of drawing in a few more, depending on the day and the week.
I don't mind the secruity measures at the airport. But I seem to be the only person who has to look for a chair in order to put on his shoes after passing through security. How can that be?
The first responders and the people who cleaned up Ground Zero are developing chronic health problems.
I don't know what the point was supposed to be of this post.
We lost a lot of people on that day. And we've lost a lot more since then. We're probably going to lose more.
Juan was right.
We're now 5 years into the 21st Century.
Football on Sunday
Despite Peabo's warnings, I went ahead and checked out a few NFL games this Sunday.
As mentioned, I did not have time to read up on the NFL standings this year going into the season. I was a little more aware of what was happening with the Cardinals than in prior seasons, mostly due to the local fervor regarding the new stadium plus the addition of Leinart to the Card's line-up. And this may sound odd, but it was also the first home game I'd seen on TV. All prior games would take place in the open-air Sun Devil Stadium, which meant that you were asking joes like The League to shell out a minimum of $60 to go sit in the nosebleed seats and bake in the sun.
I like football and all, but, you know... No. The Cardinals are also one of the clever teams that erroneously believes that blacking out the game is a good way to sell seats. What the organization failed to understand was that nobody was interested in paying $200 to see a mediocre/bad team lose a game in 100+ degree heat. But we might sit through commercials which would generate revenue.
Anyway, The Cards have a stadium with a roof and HVAC system. It is sold out for the entire 2006 season. And the games are on the air. Everybody wins.
Including the Cards, who looked like a great team for 30 minutes. Not so much the second half, but the first half was stellar.
Looking at some scores around the NFL:
Philadelphia bests Houston 24 -10, proving that the good people of Houston may have been on to something when every single person in town suggested that they should dump their current QB and try for a new recruit in the draft, VY or otherwise. Plus, McNabb is back.
Seattle squeaks past Detroit 9-6, both teams looking pretty bad. And, man, this was a boring game. Seattle apparently forgot that they were ten times better than this last year.
A lot of commentators are going to have to retract early predictions regarding the Panthers this season if the 20-6 loss to the Falcons is any indication.
Frikkin' Jets. I really was hoping for something more from the Titans. Ah, well.
Dallas lost. I didn't see the game, so I have no idea what happened.
And, yeah, Tampa Bay lost. The NFL is taking a while to learn the lessons that any UT fan could have told them: This is Chris Simms, not Phil. Go find Major Applewhite to get someone who can finish a game for Chris.
Sweet mother of murgatroid, how I despise that interception throwing, clutch-choking hoser.
and....
Dear Mr. Favre,
How can I miss you if you won't go away?
Love,
The League
The other oddity of the NFL season: Getting used to the network shake-ups and commentators.
Where the @#$% is James Brown? How am I supposed to understand what Terry Bradshaw is saying if JB isn't there to decipher his hillbilly nonsense? I like Joe Buck. He's a top notch commentator. But Where is JB?
Oh, wait... wikipedia says:
He left Fox at the end of the 2005 NFL season to rejoin CBS Sports, and also to call NCAA basketball.
The NBC Sunday Night team was okay. I like the idea of bringing in everybody's favorite veteran/wacky neighbor with Jerome Bettis. Costas and Sharpe are great, but Collinsworth? Eh.
I guess I'll be curious to see what the Monday Night Football line-up is on ESPN.
Oh, and I confess that I was happy to see Bonnie Bernstein on the sidelines the other day at the Oklahoma game. I think she'll be at the Monday Night football game as well. Bonnie has been haunting the peripheray of the sports casting world for a long time (and haunting my dreams... Say, this just turned into a mini "DITHMTLOD"...) , never really becoming a Michelle Tafoya, while showing ten times the chops of, say, Melissa Stark.
That lady really knows how to nod earnestly while simultaneously holding up a microphone to a sweaty football player.
Despite Peabo's warnings, I went ahead and checked out a few NFL games this Sunday.
As mentioned, I did not have time to read up on the NFL standings this year going into the season. I was a little more aware of what was happening with the Cardinals than in prior seasons, mostly due to the local fervor regarding the new stadium plus the addition of Leinart to the Card's line-up. And this may sound odd, but it was also the first home game I'd seen on TV. All prior games would take place in the open-air Sun Devil Stadium, which meant that you were asking joes like The League to shell out a minimum of $60 to go sit in the nosebleed seats and bake in the sun.
I like football and all, but, you know... No. The Cardinals are also one of the clever teams that erroneously believes that blacking out the game is a good way to sell seats. What the organization failed to understand was that nobody was interested in paying $200 to see a mediocre/bad team lose a game in 100+ degree heat. But we might sit through commercials which would generate revenue.
Anyway, The Cards have a stadium with a roof and HVAC system. It is sold out for the entire 2006 season. And the games are on the air. Everybody wins.
Including the Cards, who looked like a great team for 30 minutes. Not so much the second half, but the first half was stellar.
Looking at some scores around the NFL:
Philadelphia bests Houston 24 -10, proving that the good people of Houston may have been on to something when every single person in town suggested that they should dump their current QB and try for a new recruit in the draft, VY or otherwise. Plus, McNabb is back.
Seattle squeaks past Detroit 9-6, both teams looking pretty bad. And, man, this was a boring game. Seattle apparently forgot that they were ten times better than this last year.
A lot of commentators are going to have to retract early predictions regarding the Panthers this season if the 20-6 loss to the Falcons is any indication.
Frikkin' Jets. I really was hoping for something more from the Titans. Ah, well.
Dallas lost. I didn't see the game, so I have no idea what happened.
And, yeah, Tampa Bay lost. The NFL is taking a while to learn the lessons that any UT fan could have told them: This is Chris Simms, not Phil. Go find Major Applewhite to get someone who can finish a game for Chris.
Sweet mother of murgatroid, how I despise that interception throwing, clutch-choking hoser.
and....
Dear Mr. Favre,
How can I miss you if you won't go away?
Love,
The League
The other oddity of the NFL season: Getting used to the network shake-ups and commentators.
Where the @#$% is James Brown? How am I supposed to understand what Terry Bradshaw is saying if JB isn't there to decipher his hillbilly nonsense? I like Joe Buck. He's a top notch commentator. But Where is JB?
Oh, wait... wikipedia says:
He left Fox at the end of the 2005 NFL season to rejoin CBS Sports, and also to call NCAA basketball.
The NBC Sunday Night team was okay. I like the idea of bringing in everybody's favorite veteran/wacky neighbor with Jerome Bettis. Costas and Sharpe are great, but Collinsworth? Eh.
I guess I'll be curious to see what the Monday Night Football line-up is on ESPN.
Oh, and I confess that I was happy to see Bonnie Bernstein on the sidelines the other day at the Oklahoma game. I think she'll be at the Monday Night football game as well. Bonnie has been haunting the peripheray of the sports casting world for a long time (and haunting my dreams... Say, this just turned into a mini "DITHMTLOD"...) , never really becoming a Michelle Tafoya, while showing ten times the chops of, say, Melissa Stark.
That lady really knows how to nod earnestly while simultaneously holding up a microphone to a sweaty football player.
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