A very, very early announcement

So... Jamie wanted me to tell all of you...

We will NOT be having a Holiday Party in early December this year. LudiChristmas 2008 is canceled. Jamie and Nicole began conspiring, and came up with a new plan.



Instead, we will be ringing in 2009 at League HQ. So, plan on spending New Years Eve with (in no particular order) Jamie, Nicole, Matt (unless he has karate), Mel, Lucy, Jeff the Cat, and yours truly (The League. XOXOXOXO).

There will be frivolity, fun, games, prizes, pontificating, and a 3:00 AM appearance by Jeff Shoemaker, who really knows how to time his arrival for a party.

And you (yeah, you) are invited.

Nicole has also promised to, at midnight, kiss anyone who shows up without a date. Jason is just going to kiss everyone, anyway. With a mouth full of Funyuns.

So, December 31st... ring in the New Year at League HQ. And don't bring beer. We always end up with 2/3rd of everyone's beer, which Jamie then gives to middle schoolers.

We'll get all this sorted out.

Some Stuff for your Monday Amusement

I want to dance with somebody..!

Nathan noted to me that American Psycho is becoming a stage musical. If only THIS were the play they were doing in "High School Musical 3", I might go see the movie.

I kind of wish they'd quit trying to make everything a @#$%ing Broadway Musical. I am sure Brett Easton Ellis is equal parts horrified and delighted with the absurd idea of bringing the book to stage. Plus, you know, the sack of money they're giving him for a book he wrote when I was still in high school is probably easing the pain.

I'm sure the box office success of Sweeney Todd had some part in this show getting funding. But... I don't see this being a big sell to the tourists if they stay true to the book. (Hope they put the Bono scene back in, though...)

The Mighty Marvel Manner

Randy and Simon each sent me this strip. Not everyone is going to get it, but I assure you, its funny.

Cat Fancy

Stole this from Lauren's Blog.

An Engineer's Guide to Cats

ACL Fest 2008 - Day 3

Today had, in my opinion, a better line-up.

We started off with Gillian Welch at the AMD stage (a stage that will need re-tooling next year, as sound bleed from the BMI and Dell stages caused all sorts of havoc). Welch played some of my favorite tunes, and got Allison Krause on stage to sing "Go to Sleep" from the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack. Honestly, it was my favorite set of my ACL experience, but I also have a few of her albums and am biased.

We then headed over to the AT&T Blue Room stage to see "Stars", who I thought were pretty darn good. I think I'd heard them before, or even saw them last year, but I was impressed. Decent set.

We regrouped at the Crack Flag back at the AMD stage for the Neko Case set, which was decent. I'm not sure I'll ever be into Neko Case the way other folks are, but her set (what I saw) was pretty decent. I think, had I not just seen Gillian Welch do more with just she, David Rawlings, and two guitars... perhaps I'd have been more impressed.

We (Julia P., Jason, Greg J. and others) cut down to the Austin Ventures stage to see Heartless Bastards. Honestly, I was a little disappointed, but I'd also built their set up into something pretty big in my head, so, there you have it. They didn't play "Into the Open", which made me sad. And, bands, if you have a 45 minute set at a festival where you're playing before the Raconteurs and Gnarls Barkley, DO NOT PLAY YOUR SLOW STUFF. Not if you want to not be overpowered by nearby stages and more rockin' sets.

Sound bleed seemed to be a far, far greater problem this year. I'm not sure if bands were turned up louder, if they scheduled quieter acts against louder acts, if the air pressure was different... but I noticed dit this year, and I never noticed it last year.

We returned to the Crack Flag positioned at the AMD stage for Raconteurs. I have something more than a passing interest in Jack White and his two main acts, and honestly wish I spent more time getting to know white Stripes and Raconteurs better. And, after the set this evening, I most certainly will be revisiting their stuff.

I basically flipped a coin on Gnarls Barkley/ Raconteurs, who both played at the same time. And, so, yeah... Raconteurs won out, and I felt like I saw a great show. Would love to see them in a real musical venue some time.

I skipped Band of Horses and left, so I could get home and not crawl into bed, exhausted, again as I have to be at work tomorrow.

I, technically, also skipped Foo Fighters, but here's the thing:

I don't like Foo Fighters. I never have. And there were all these rumors going around, like "it may be Foo Fighters final show... EVER."

Which, if I liked them, I might care. But I sort of feel the same about them as I do about Goo Goo Dolls, Blink 182, Maroon 5... All bands for which I have no antipathy, but that I just don't care about. So when you tell me its their FINAL show... well... okay. Enjoy.

Anyhow, that was my ACL.

I will post a few pictures this week.

So when I was walking out of ACL, I overheard a young lady sharing the following with some friends:

God. Austin. This totally reminds me of a joke.
Okay. Okay.
How many hipsters does it take to screw in a light bulb?
(pause)
What, you don't know?

Ouch.

ACL Fest 2008 - Day 2

Well, I didn't make Day 1. Which kills me, because the guy who is probably in my top 3 musicians, David Byrne, played yesterday. But work blew up, and so what are you going to do?

Depending on my source of livelihood this time next year, I'm going to maybe not buy a three day pass, if I go next year.

Today I saw:

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears - who I fully recommend.

Erykah Badu - who played a really nice set of stuff I didn't really know. I had a brief flirtation with the music of Badu about ten years ago, and then lost her debut CD somewhere in my moves since. Anyway, I thought she put on a great live show.

I was going to see MGMT, but I couldn't get close enough without spillover from other stages, so I went to see:

Electric Touch - who claimed to be a local act, despite some sort of UK accent. They were good, and I plan to see if they are as local as they claim.

The Natchito Herrera All-Stars, who played Cuban-style jazz and were a lot of fun.

I wandered over to watch the end of Spiritualized, but wasn't too crazy about what I saw and heard.

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band played, and I didn't like the first part of his set at all, and actually wandered off for a burger, came back, and dug the remainder of the show, including a good cover of "Kodachrome".

Iron & Wine played next, and I kind of got stuck guarding the Crack flag area as everyone else ran off to go hear Iron & Wine across the field. (The lesson, if anyone asks you what you're about to do, always insist you're about to leave). So I kind of missed Iron & Wine, who I wanted to see.

And, Beck closed out the night, playing pretty much his hits, if he has such a thing.

I am tired as heck and am going to bed.

RIP Paul Newman

Paul Newman has merged with the infinite.

We've lost him at the age of 83.

I've only seen a fraction of Newman's work, but, hell... what red-blooded American made it through college without watching "Cool Hand Luke" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"?

For the Ladies: I also have a firm memory of taking a class on "relationships" at UT, and talking about ideals for men and women, and the cacophony that hit the 400 person auditorium when Mr. Newman's image was presented as the ladies went a bit nuts. Well done, Mr. Newman.

There's no question we've lost one of the best who will ever grace the screen. Few actors have been smart enough to follow Newman's lead either in choice of roles or in his example for how he lived his life off the screen (the food line has been able to give $200 million to charity).

You'll be missed, Mr. Newman.

To Infinity, and Beyond...!

Sweeeeeet.

Sure, financial news is dire... but just as the Depression brought us aerial circuses and barn stormers, so should be turn our eyes to the fellow who just strapped a kerosene powered jet-wing to his back and crossed the English Channel.

Here's the article.