The "Quote of the Day" on my Google homepage must repeat every year, because I'm sure I've seen this one before.
Nevertheless, it's so true:
Happiness is always a by-product. It is probably a matter of temperament, and for anything I know it
may be glandular. But it is not something that can be demanded from life, and if you are not happy you had
better stop worrying about it and see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness. - Robertson Davies
Check out the rest of the videos I took here. I
managed to escape without a sunburn thanks to liberal application of SPF 50 sunscreen and a hat, but the
allergies were another story. Apparently, Austin is unofficially the allergy
capital of the world. It hit me so hard I was sneezing constantly and wishing Tylenol made a "snot
buckets" formula. But I had a blast. I can't wait to find out who will be there next year.
Other concerts I've been to recently include Ryan Adams & The
Cardinals, The Ting Tings, and Weezer. The Ryan Adams show was at Verizon Wireless Theater. It
was my third time to see him and he's one of those artists who sounds even better live. They played a lot of
songs from their new album. I saw The Ting Tings at the new Houston House of Blues. I was not impressed with
the place as a restaurant nor as a concert venue, but the band put on a good show. My only criticism would be
that the amount of effort the two band members put into constantly jumping between instruments and grabbing them
from roadies at just the right point in the song detracted from their performance a bit. Would it be THAT bad
to add an extra member for touring? The Weezer show was at Reliant Arena. It was my second time to see them
live. Highlights include a note-for-note perfect
performance of Pink Floyd's "Time" and about 30 local amateur musicians playing a variety of instruments
(guitars, flutes, saxaphones, trumpets, tubas, hand drums, etc.) with Weezer themselves just singing for a few
songs (here's Island in the Sun). Even funnier was
Rivers pointing to a couple people to play the solos in the songs.
I'm going to see Of Montreal on Tuesday night. They were
amazing when I saw them the first time last year, so it should be another good show. Their new album is a bit
schizophrenic, but who really wants to listen to a band who becomes formulaic and fails to evolve? Speaking of
new music, I grabbed the new Ryan Adams on vinyl
(complete with a bonus 7" and alternate cover art) last night. And I can't get Matt & Kim's new song "Daylight" out of my head.
It's perfect to crank up while driving around with the windows down and sunroof open this time of year.
The guys from Guest Room Records in Oklahoma City/Norman have a
podcast called "Shoes Are for Work". They play about 10 indie
rock songs in each episode and discuss new releases. I highly recommend it if you're a music freak like I am.
And now, the running update. My marathon training has been going well since I picked up some SLS Compression Sox (AKA dork socks) a
little over a month ago. My calves/feet are a lot less sore after running with them and they make longer runs
much easier. Props to Brett for mentioning these on his Zen &
The Art of Triathlon podcast. I've also taken his suggestion of doing 10 pushups for every mile on my
shorter runs. Running six miles and doing 60 pushups in less than an hour is manly. I dare you to say
otherwise.
I did a 20 mile run a couple weekends ago in about 3:30 and burned 3919 calories (that's more than a pound!)
along the way:
That was a semi-relaxed pace, so hopefully I can finish the San
Antonio Rock N Roll Marathon next weekend in 4:15-4:30. Since this will be my first marathon, I'm
trying not to be too concerned about the time.
I guess that's enough for this variety pack of the life and times of Andy. Maybe I should post more often so
each entry can have a topic and a meaningful title. Hmmm...something to consider...
I hightailed it out of Houston last Wednesday when it was pretty clear Ike was gonna slap us around. Unlike most of
those trying to evacuate, I eschewed the ever popular I-10 and I-45 routes for Highway 6. I followed that up
through Waco and then hit I-35 up to my parents' in Oklahoma City. Along the way, I enjoyed another non-Dominican
cigar and cranked the tunes.
Since I've been in OKC, I've made the most of it. Power was out in our office, so I didn't do any work until
Tuesday. I hit Guest Room Records on the north side of
town where I picked up the Black Kids' "Partie
Traumatic", Hot Hot Heat's "Make
Up the Breakdown", Ryan Adams' "Follow
the Lights" EP, The Cure's "Staring
at the Sea", and Pink Floyd's "The
Wall" on vinyl. While I love my Cactus, Guest Room is a helluva store. They also have a store in
Norman, home of my alma mater, OU (Boomer Sooner!), which I plan
to visit on my way out of town.
Last night, we watched some friends' band play happy hour at Mickey Mantle's downtown. After that, we ended up at Buffalo Wild Wings for karaoke. It's been quite awhile since I
did it, but I rose above the mediocrity of many of my fellow karaokers (okay, so that may not really be a word)
to deliver an animated performance of John Michael Montgomery's "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)".
I'm so ready to head back to H-Town, but dreading the stench in my fridge. I still have no power, but luckily
Jamie snagged us a place where we can stay for a couple weeks if necessary. As Bobby Bare
said, I'm "going back to Houston Houston Houston".
I haven't blogged for about three weeks! While I have the occasional reader, I don't think anyone's had to deal with
a huge hole in their lives as a result of my absence. I could blame it on the heat or the fact that we're now more
than halfway through the year and I've taken a total of one day of vacation so far. But I guess I don't have any
real reason other than I just didn't feel like it. So what have I been up to? Mainly, I've been doing the work
thing, going to concerts, trying to stay on my marathon training plan, and hanging out with Jamie. (Incidentally,
the optional comma before the "and" is known an oxford comma
and is also the name of a bad ass Vampire Weekend
song...)
I guess I'll start with the concerts. I saw Harry and the Potters @ Walter's on July 8. If you're a fan
of the Harry Potter books and haven't heard of this band, check them out! All of their songs are (loosely) based on
the books and they are hilarious! Here's a video I took of "The Weasel". That's a guy in a squid costume jumping on
stage to play the drums:
This past Friday, we saw Tilly and the Wall play at the Engine Room. Jamie is a big fan and while I've heard a few of their
albums, I really like their latest, "O".
Before this album, their percussion consisted of a tap
dancer. Yep, the only indie rock band I know of that has a tap dancer. With "O", they added a drummer to
reinforce the tap dancing. Here's the song they opened with, "Too Excited":
A local band called Wild Moccasins opened for Tilly. Like the Young Mammals, this
band is another set of whippersnappers with buckets of talent. Who knew Houston had music of this caliber? I thought
all we had given to the music world was sizzurp, grills, and Mike Jones' phone number ad
nauseum.
My running has been going well. A couple weeks ago, Jamie and I set out midday for a 14 mile run
in the Bayou Park/Memorial Park area. The heat was almost unbearable, but I did manage to finish. Jamie, being a bit
more sane, cut her run short and logged eight miles. We decided that we would start our long run early this morning,
so we set out around 6:45 am. We ran from my place to Terry Hershey park and ran through the park for a bit before
turning around to head back. I did 17 miles in three hours and 13 minutes. Jamie turned around at mile seven so she
did 14 miles. Overall, I felt pretty good, especially considering that I burned 3500 calories (that's a pound!)
along the way. After the run, I ate the first of many post-run meals and took a well deserved nap. And now, I'm
heading to the fridge for some well deserved beer...
The Stone Temple Pilots concert this past Saturday ROCKED! See my
videos on YouTube for proof, you skeptics. I didn't see them "back in the day" so it was great to finally
get the chance. Only two things could have made it better - new songs (where are they, guys?) and reasonable prices
for beer (they were $10 for a 24 oz Shiner). But as I said before, I'm not much of a ranter so I'll leave it at
that.
Here's "Dead and Bloated", one of the most rockinest (that's my "Aww yeah!" a few seconds into the
song):
I just got an email from Sound Stage Direct, one of my favorite
online record stores, which said the vinyl LP record is 60 years
old today (invented June 21, 1948 by Peter Goldmark).
I searched good ol' YouTube and found the video below which does a good job of providing some history about the
format as well as some insight into how exactly records are made. Very interesting...
Jamie I saw Mates of State this past Thursday at Warehouse Live. I've really been digging their new album, Re-Arrange
Us and it was my first time to see them live. For only two people, their unique combination of keyboard,
drums, and vocal harmony makes for a nice, full sound. I picked their latest up on vinyl, which overflowed my record
collection into its 2nd crate.
Here's a
video I took of "Get Better" and "Think Long":
Jamie surprised me with the Fearless Critic's guide to
Houston restaurants and since I've been wanting some Korean food for awhile now, we checked the reviews and
decided to try Bonga the
other night. I lived in Korea a couple times as a kid when my dad was stationed there, so I was familiar with a few
of the dishes. We shared bulgogi and kimchi, two of the most well-known. It was great to try something
new and the review gave us confidence that we wouldn't be disappointed. We weren't. The guide gave it a grade of A-
and I have to agree. Very tasty stuff at a reasonable price.
We met some friends at Onion Creek for dinner last night, mainly because I wanted to try Saint Arnold Divine Reserve #6, a limited release beer
OC has on draft. This edition is an American Barleywine and
for those of you who aren't beer geeks, think of running to the record store when your favorite band puts out a new
album. Only replace record store with Spec's and album with limited
edition microbrew. In other words, something to get excited about if you're into such things. The beer weighs in at
a hefty 10% abv, so a couple pints was all I could endure in one sitting.
This morning, I wanted some
non-corporate coffee, so I decided to stop by Cafe Artiste for some. I was very
disappointed to find the parking lot empty and a "For Lease" sign in the window. That was such a great place! It
will be missed...
Once again, I packed a lot of fun into the
weekend. Jamie and I went to the French Kicks concert at Walter's on Friday night with some friends. Houston's own Young Mammals (formerly The Dimes) opened and made me a fan
almost instantly. It was my second time to see the French Kicks and they put on a great show yet again.
I
took it easy Saturday. I got a humidor for some quality cigars I
recently procured and then paid another visit to my music mecca, Cactus
Records. There was a DJ spinning classic blues records at Cactus and Saint Arnold once again provided free beer. I sipped a beer as I flipped
through the new records. I had planned to get the Spoon records I needed
to complete my collection (I already had Ga
Ga Ga Ga Ga and Series
of Sneaks), but was also excited to find Born Ruffians'
latest as well. So my collection now includes:
So other than the hard to find Telephono
& Soft Effects, my Spoon vinyl collection is now complete.
I finished the weekend off with a
10 mile run at Terry Hershey park. It was my first time to run there and the rolling hills were a nice change from
the flats I usually run. I averaged about 10:30/mile, which is a little slower than I'd like but I took one minute
walk breaks every eight minutes to avoid wearing myself out. I finished up with 2100 calories burned, which I
promptly started replacing with a Chipotle burrito and some Saint Arnold Amber. I'm beat but feeling pretty
accomplished. Off to bed to now to sleep like a baby...
Today I stopped by my local Sport Clips to get some more shampoo. Yes, even shaved heads need to be washed with
quality shampoo. Trust me, it's that much more important when people can see every inch of your scalp. I go with the
Paul Mitchell Tea Tree
stuff. At first, I liked it for the tingly sensation, but I guess my head is way too cool for that now
because I don't feel a thing when I use it. But my hair always looks great (ha ha ha, I know) so I continue using
it.
As I perused the shampoo selection and various sizes, I noticed a 1L mega size alongside my usual
500ml size. Since there were no prices on them, I asked the girl behind the counter what the price difference was
between the two sizes. She told me, and even though the larger size contained twice as much as the other size, the
price was a little less than double. I said something along those lines more to myself than to her and she said,
"No, it's three times the shampoo." I was a bit confused by her statement because I learned the metric system in
elementary school and 1L = 1000ml = 2 x 500ml. I pointed this out and she said, "Hmm, I learn something new every
day." To downplay my intellectual superiority and to make her feel better for not knowing, I said, "Well, if you
tell people it's three times as much, maybe you'll sell more." Now I wonder to myself whether she'll do just that or
try to impress people with her newfound knowledge of the metric system...
Yes, it's been over a week yet again
since my last post. If I actually had some readers, this would be a bad thing. But since I don't, I guess it doesn't
really matter much. If anyone does read this drivel, please leave a comment so I can feel good about myself.
Actually, I don't need anyone to make me feel good about myself, but it would be nice to know you're reading
this.
I, like hundreds of other people yesterday ventured out to Bayou Park for the grand opening of the
Lee and Joe Jamail Skate Park. For those of you who
haven't been following its construction, this is a FREE public skate park just outside of downtown. I dabbled in
skateboarding back in 6th & 7th grade and still hop on my board from time to time to ride back and forth like
I'm cool. I really feel like the old guy at the skate park, but the kids don't seem to mind and I try to stay out of
their way. I didn't skate yesterday, and instead joined the crowd around the side of the "expert" bowl. We were
treated to demos by some of the top pro skaters, most of whom I didn't recognize since I followed the sport much
more closely "back in the day". But none other than Shaun White
(Olympic gold medal snowboarder, aka The Flying Tomato) was there only on a skateboard. I felt very
privileged to see him in action. Awesome!
In other news, Jamie and I saw the Old 97's at Meridian on
Friday. They played a bunch of songs from their new album. There was even a wedding proposal on stage during the
sugary sweet "Question". I'm liking their new album more and more each time I listen to it.
I also saw
the new Indiana Jones movie over the weekend. It fit nicely with
the others and seemed to prepare Shia LaBeouf to take on the role of Indy in the next movie. I guess we'll see. My
only beef with the movie was the odd ending, but it is George Lucas, after all.
I finally managed to try
some of Southern Star Brewing's beer at The Flying Saucer over the weekend. Southern Star is a new brewery up near
Conroe that was started by a guy I know from my homebrew club and one of his friends. I tried their Pine Belt Pale Ale and really liked it. Hop nectar,
for sure. Good luck, guys!
