To end is to begin

I'm experimenting switching from Blogger to Tumblr. If this is the most recent post you see, then you know that the experiment has been successful so far.

Roswell is still RosHell

Yesterday I had a long drive, from Albuquerque to Pecos (TX). I
stopped in Roswell for lunch.

I had heard that Roswell was a more interesting town since the series
of the same name. But I can't see it. It still has a dull, oppressive
air. There's a local McCain/Palin office a block from where I took
this photo. Roswell is still flat and ugly. And the UFO/alien-themes
businesses all appear to be out of business (like this comics shop) or
struggling. At least my green chile cheeseburger from Sonic was edible.

Ruh roh!

Coffee, Whole Paycheck Style

I love developing patterns for my day-to-day operations. But sometimes
those patterns become ruts, and they need revisiting.

Going to Uptown Espesso after lunch is feeling like a rut. It would be
better if their coffee were better. I've been to the SLU Vivace a
number of times, but it's a schlep.

Today I remembered that Whole Foods has an espresso bar. So I thought
I'd try it. It's pretty good! Better than Uptown or (God forbid)
Starbucks. Not as good as Vivace. Exactly as I expected.

That's a pumpkin behind the latte, but you can't tell due to the
crappy photo composition. Apologies. :)

Always look on the bright side of life (conclusion)

Bleah. That didn't help. But here we go, finally some good news!

Always look on the bright side of life (cont'd)

That wasn't very reassuring. Let's try the Weather app...

Always look on the bright side of life

Let's see, it's kind of a Blue Monday, isn't it? The iPhone isn't
forthcoming with good news when I click on the Stocks app...

Sunday cookin'

Like Tina Fey's Sarah Palin, I don't like to pronounce the g's at the
ends of words. I also don't like that I've gotten so far from cooking
regularly. I really enjoy cooking. It's such a shame that I don't do
it as much as I used to. And with the economy the way it is, I'm
really stupid not to do it. But I've Bern spending nearly every
evening hour focusing on book club reading and my various music
activities.

So a couple of weeks ago, I stopped everything early on Sunday evening
to cook. I made sure to double recipes to have leftovers for work. It
was really easy, and I found myself eating things I wouldn't
otherwise. It is turning into a weekly ritual.

Tonight's meal was a tagine of cod with fresh heirloom tomatoes, olive
oil, cumin and cinnamon, with some Albarino added, plus rainbow chard
and rice. Plus more Albarino to drink. I made the tagine in my tagine,
which I bought a year ago at Crate & Barrel to make a lamb tagine for
book club. Most of the time it just sits around looking pretty.
Hopefully it will now begin earning its keep.

All in all, a fabulous, healthy dinner. Yes boys, I can cook. Another
reason for you to be beating a path to me RIGHT NOW.

Somebody in this house likes M&Ms!

As another long week draws to a close, Astro Kitty and I share a
tender moment of asphyxiation, in between articles from Food & Wine.

Saturday music

My friend Nick was amused that I managed to squeeze Mahler and Akimbo
into the same evening. At 8pm, I was onstage at Benaroya with the
Symphony Chorale singing Mahler's 8th, easily one of my favorite
choral works I've ever sung.

A quick costume change and bus ride later, i was on Capitol Hill to
see Akimbo play their tenth anniversary show at King Cobra. Since the
headliners weren't on till midnight, I had plenty of time to hang with
Nick, as well as other friends/girlfriends/parents/members (Jon & Nat)
of Akimbo. Jon's mom, in particular, was fabulous. Cheeky. And she was
selling band merch before the show!

Akimbo played a very exciting, very loud set. Now that I think about
it, high decibel levels were common to both concerts.

Is that my finger on a can of PBR?

Why yes it is. But that is not my PBR. I am not hip enough to drink
that shit. I am the owner of the vodka tonic to the right.

Working lunch

This is how I spent my lunch yesterday. Singapore Noodles with a side
of Mahler's 8th. I feel pretty good about the Symphony/Chorale's prep
work for tonight's first performance of this big work. But I'm also
reminded why I left the Chorale in the first place - too little time
for polishing pieces other than the over-performed Messiah and Ode to
Joy. I'd much rather sing Mahler every year.

The grapevine ate your baby

A couple of years ago, I cut down one of the two Orion grapevines
growing over my pergola. I thought I had cut it back far enough that
it would not regrow.

I was wrong. For two years now, Stubby has been reborn as a tenacious
ground cover. I don't really mind, except that it twines around
everything in its path. It has swallowed up my pathetic Miss Kim
lilac. It grabbed the legs of a deck chair. It attacked a dying
Arbutus unedo. And now it has pulled a flowepot off the deck.

Next year, rather than fighting it, I may let it have its way as the
dominant groundcover. Or I may come to my senses and hack it back yet
again.

Absolutely appalling

Everyone is concerned about Sarah Palin's lack of foreign policy experience, but John McCain has his own issues. He thinks that Spain is in Latin America.

Here's the full story, in Spanish:
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/candidato/republicano/compromete/ver/Zapatero/gana/elpepiint/20080918elpepiint_9/Tes

And here's a link to the audio of the interview (in English).

As someone who spent three of the best months of my life in Spain, I can just imagine the cynical glee with which our Spanish friends read this interview in El País. (Readers give the article 4.5 stars out of five.)

Teak oil

I spent part of this past weekend sanding and applying the first coats
of teak oil to my front door. I was going to just paint it. I figured
refinishing it for the third time was too much trouble. But Emily
reminded me that paint wouldn't last much longer, and the door has to
be sanded regardless. So I bit the bullet.

It's not going to look as good as the last time I refinished it. The
door has just suffered too much damage from its west exposure. It
would behoove me to extend the door frame to accommodate a storm door.

I know everyone else already knows this stuff, so back off!

I recently bought my first couple of iPhone apps. That's right, PAID
MONEY. I bought Guitar Toolkit and the SpeakEasy voice recorder. It's
amazing that there are multiple competing apps that do these things! I
expect these little apps will come in very handy with the songwriting
and the guitar practice. The latter really suffered this week, what
with Symphony Chorale, RCB and [band redacted] practice every night.
But not tonight! Must. Practice. Guitar.

I also downloaded the Remote app to control iTunes on my laptop. That
should be a very sweet app, and it's free!

Now if they will just develop an app that allows you to use the iPhone
as a video camera without having to unlock the phone, my taste for
apps will be satiated. For now. Until someone informs me of another
function my significant other is capable of (since my iPhone is the
closest thing I've got to an SO at the moment).

OZ Mania!

My RCB friends Richie and David have told me several times that I need
to see Orkestar Zirkonium. Last night I finally attended one of their
shows at Columbia City Theatre.

Wow! OZ was easily the most fun I've had at a concert in at least a
year. The musicianship was incredibly high. I felt like I was in a
Balkan bar, especially at the end, when those of us in the back of the
theater were clapping and dancing in time with the band.

The source of my best dining experience in Seattle

is moving.

Cleaning house

Today I found this short video I took back in the summer of 2004. It was the last time I was in Europe. This video was from the part of the trip where I was visiting my college buddy David Liso near his home in Saxon, Switzerland.

JACKPOT!

Finally, decent, cheap ethnic food nearby! Except that it's been there the whole time. I just didn't know about it. I have been complaining for months about the dearth of good lunch options in SLU, and then a couple of people told me that there's "great pho" next to the Greyhound Bus Station on 8th & Stewart. Turns out that the pho in question is Pho Bac, a place I've heard about for years but never realized was in this location.

My pho was much better (and cheaper) than the over-anised stuff I had last week at Black Bottle. The broth was tasty. Salty. Maybe not quite as complex as Than Bros., but then again "complex" pho is not pho.

Pho Bac is in the Greyhound terminal. It is a bit strange. But then again, I should be so lucky to get off the bus in an unknown city and eat like this in the station!

Everett Has the Gays

Or at least it did this weekend. I spent part of Saturday night at The
Castle in Everett, where Kate was having her birthday. It wasn't quite
the bang-up affair we'd anticipated. A charity drag show had taken
over the main bar. We were banished to the pool-and-darts section. It
wasn't so bad. I played one partner game and won.

Here is Kate showing off her pool skills.

You will comply. Resistance is futile.

There is a heckuva lot of construction going on at SLU. It's fun watching construction workers munching salads (with arugula, no doubt!) at Whole Foods during my lunch break.

This building project kind of freaks me out. I don't know why. It's certainly not the biggest building going up in the neighborhood. I think it's all of that blue and orange, and all of the equipment leaning against the building.

Slog didn't care

I took this photo of a temporary sharrow painted on the Ave. Am I
wrong, or is this too much gay? It looks like the city's Bike Master
Plan is also a piece of the Gay (male) Agenda!

I sent this to Slog, where it was promptly ignored.

My neighbor Emily

Tonight I went to hear my duplex mate Emily sing six songs at Kobuta
Garden. She was fabulous. That year of graduate opera training in
Wimnipeg has clearly paid off. I think composer Byron Au Yong was
impressed as well with Emily's gutsy delivery, accompanied by water
percussionist Stuart Mc Leod, at four different locations in the
gardens.

Lesbo? Lesbi friends!

Yesterday I went as my friend Topher's date to a lesbian wedding,
sorry "commitment ceremony," in Issaquah. It was a lovely, steamy
affair. Topher did a fine reading. The reception was nice and cool.
Topher and DJ Colby B chatted about great DJs who have played, or will
play, in Seattle. Colby is one of those people to whom I get
introduced over and over again, but we can never quite remember each
other.

I just finished reading Mark Jacobson's essay about a man disguising himself as a zombie to sell DVDs of his ultra-low-budget Bed-Stuy zombie flick. I can dig it. I identify with - and have been guilty of indulging in - relentless self promotion. 

The essay reminded me of a boneheaded thing I did a couple of years ago. Against my better judgment, I sunk some money into a locally-produced horror film. It's not a great film by any measure. It's unlikely that I will ever recoup my investment. What was I smoking? you may well ask. 

I'm still asking myself. Was I tipsy when the story idea was laid on me? Yes. Was I feeling on top of the world, confident that my picture would appear in Slog the next day? Yes. Did I find that I was still reeling from the remnants of a crush on the best city councilmember Seattle never had? A bit. Did I have money to burn? Not exactly. Was I terribly impressed with the rough cut of the film that was lent me? Not really. Was I delusional? I don't understand the question . . .

Funny how our occasional bouts of star-stricken madness are tempered with the worst jolts of real life. I was saddened to read last week that the (very nice) guy who wrote the film and who gave me such a good spiel for financing his film was gay-bashed last week in Belltown.

RideCivil video on KING5

I make an ever-so-brief appearance in this story KING-5 TV did on last Friday's RideCivil. RideCivil now has its own blog!

Kid-friendly

Saturday I hosted book club and saw the Stay Up Late Show starring
Rebecca Davis. And took no photos, apparently. Sunday, I went to Dave
and Aki's BBQ. Never have I seen so many content, happy babies. Caught
up with a number of BBers I hadn't seen in awhile.

RideCivil

So Friday after work, I rode to Westlake Park for RideCivil. It's a
bike ride that seeks harmony among cars, bikes and pedestrians. There
were about 30 of us. Dave, the organizer, says that this is three or
four times better than any turnout to date, no doubt because of all
the hubbub over Critical Mass recently. KIRO-TV interviewed Dave
before we took off on our ride. We rode towards Puoneer Square, up to
Broadway, Eastlake to South Lake Union. That's right, back to the SLU
Block Party for me. Aqueduct was playing when we arrived, which was
cool. We had one beer before the six of us remaining ended up at Paddy
Coyne's. We talked bike politics, locally and nationally. I rode home
with Dave most of the way, which was fortunate because my headlight
burned out on Dexter. I borrowed Dave's Frog light. He was such a nice
guy. He wrote about the ride for BikeHugger over the weekend.

Controlled, not chaos

Who would have thought that my lunch on Friday would be paid for by
Paul Allen? Not exactly, of course. Vulcan created the space for the
SLU Block Party. But the participating eateries had to pony up their
wares for us workers. I was pleasantly surprised by how low-key the
whole thing was. And did I mention free??

If it's Thursday, it must be guitar lesson day

Thursdays I take the bus to work rather than riding my bike. I bring
my guitar to work with me so I can go directly from work to guitar
lesson.

There need to be a trash can and a recycling bin near the bus stop.
Without them, this pile of rubbish behind my guitar will continue to
grow.

Bikes bikes bikes

Just as I published my last post, I saw that Bike Commute Tips Blog ran an article about another company which sells Dutch bikes, this one based in Vancouver (BC). More intriguing is the brief mention of Breezer Bikes, which attempt to combine European comfort/versatility with the American need for lighter bikes with more gears - the kind of bike that can climb hills.

But waitaminnit! I already own such a bike. I've owned such bikes for over fifteen years. They're called hybrid bikes, and every bike company worth its salt now makes them. My current hybrid is a Kona Dew Deluxe, and despite some documented flaws, it is the best bike I've ever owned.

A little impractical in hilly Seattle . . .

. . . but these bikes are amazing. The come from a company called Dutch Bike Co. Seattle, and I found out about them from Cyclelicious. (Photo courtesy Henry Cutler of WorkCycles.)

The Dutch Bike Seattle blog praises Portland and Chicago as great (or soon-to-be-great, in the case of Chicago) bicycling cities. Meanwhile, it rails against the "elitist cycling egos" of Seattle and many other cities.

Amen to that. Anti-elitism is part of the reason why I'm joining RideCivil tomorrow.

Stuff I See

Yesterday I had to go to REI during lunch to get a replacement bolt
for my bike cage. I of course stopped by Vivace when I was done, where
Zach the barista thanked me for brightening the store or something
like that. He's a very sweet guy, the sort of Seattle guy whose sexual
orientation is a mystery to all until/unless he chooses to reveal. He
hasn't, at least to me. But I digress. I and my nonfat iced latte
walked back to the office by way of this mural. I've probably passed
it a dozen times without really noticing it. It's nice.

Went to see "9 to 5" at the ReBar last night, where Rebecca Davis and
Scott Shoemaker stole the show.

Update on Kobe beef burger

Yummy, but not really worth a 30-minute wait. Next time I'll go way
early.

Finally, it's happened to me!

I was supposed to meet my RCB buddy David for lunch today @ Skillet,
but he had to cancel. But I've had this lunch date on my calendar for
days and wasn't about to miss my opportunity to experience this
increasingly famous "street food" fir myself. So I hopped on the SLUT
and rode to 9th & Denny, and I walked up a couple of steep blocks to
Boren. Only to wait in a slow-moving queue to order. And a sit in the
parking lot. Which is where I continue to be, waiting for what had
better be a damn fine Kobe beef burger!

Exotic and erotic

If nothing else, my garden has some great flower displays. Right now
both the Crocosmia "Lucifer" and the lilies are putting on quite a
show. I have always read that Asiatic lilies are easier to grow than
trumpet or Oriental varieties, but the Asiatic ones I planted a few
years ago were almost absent this year, while the fragrant and
supposedly fussy Oriental varieties did just fine. I'm sure my lilies
don't get as much food as they would like, but I did try to help them
out by dumping the rest of my bulb food on them last week.

Yesterday was a busy day consisting of laundry, a BBQ hosted by book
club buddy Michael at Magnuson Park, and a very intense and focused
practice of Dream's song "Slow Poison" with Sean, Kaley and JHT. Today
I went to see "Wall-E" with my book club buddy Bailey. The movie was
impressive and very sweet. A bit like these lilies.

Noodles and Cheever

I am having little luck paying less than ten bucks for lunch. Today I
hit the Noodle Ranch in Belltown. I have never been there for lunch.
It was as I remember - decent food, friendly service, a bit slow. I
had Udon, which was much better than "Bullet Park," the John Cheever
novel I'm reading for the non-drinking book club. I'd heard of Cheever
but knew nothing about him. The book is what I'd call Hemingway in the
suburbs, though that really does a disservice to Hemingway. There's
lots of men drinking and fighting and making love, but there are too
many asides and loose ends and just bad writing. I suppose I should
Google what others think of Cheever and his book...

Cascade Garden

I love the P-Patch in South Lake Union, and I've been going out of my
way to walk by it during my lunch hour. Today, as I was returning from
Vivace, I saw a group of schoolkids leaving the garden in an orderly
fashion, each one wearing a bright red vest. I would have taken their
picture, but I was afraid of being mistaken for a pedophile. So I'm
posting this shot of daisies instead, despite the overabundance of
midday sun.

Food, drink and music

The still-unnamed band didn't practice this weekend, as RCB played at
Tacoma Pride on Saturday. I got a ride south with Jonathan, and Alex
joined us as well. I was amused to find a Conn organ sitting on the
front lawn near the festival; here's Alex showing it off with angular
aplomb.

We also played Bellingam's Pride parade this weekend. And so ends
marching season! It's been way more fun than I expected, and I've
gotten to know a number of band members I never would have otherwise.
And finally, rejoining the band has allowed me to recruit players for
our band's inaugural gig, which also happens to be my birthday and my
20th anniversary of moving to Seattle.

Not a school night

and band practice was canceled, so I hung out with Astro Kitty for a
bit. Outside. It was the first time she'd been outside in many months,
and I think it was a bit overwhelming for her. And as for me, I was
horrified to see all the weeds and overgrowth in the front garden.
Good thing I'm not having a Fourth of July party!

Tom Douglas' Empire

Today I took the SLUT downtown for lunch. I was interested in trying
Serious Pie, the pizza joint around the corner from the Dahlia Lounge.
But the pizzas there seemed to all run at least $14. So I went to the
OTHER Dahlia-associated spot, Dahlia Pastry.

I had a very nice hot sandwich - baguette with chorizo, arugula
(bland) and queso fresco. Prices here are still a bit high to make
this a regular lunch haunt, but I'd like to come back on a weekend for
fresh pastries on the morning.

Sunday Gay Shame

Sunday I played with RCB in the Pride Parade downtown. I didn't think
it was so well attended, but I read that the police were estimating a
crowd of 400,000.

Afterwards, I probably should have stayed and enjoyed the festival,
but again the crowds thing. I went home and took a nap instead. Then
after practicing guitar, I went to the Hill, where I waited in a 45-
minute line to get into the Cuff. Which was fun as long as I hung out
near friends, like book club buddies Bailey and Michael (pictured
here). It's the one day each year I feel compelled to take my shirt
off, temperature permitting.

Saturday at Artopia

Saturday after band practice, Kaley and I drove to Georgetown for a
bite at Stella (great pizza, slow service) and to take in Artopia. The
layout was better than when I went to last year's music festival, but
the crowds were still enough to bug me.

One of the events was a drag race among souled-up powertools. Kaley's
friend Beth was working the event. I really wanted to see out-of-
control saws and nailguns terrorizing the populace. The closest it
came was a tool that crashed and burned, slightly and literally, after
it went through the ring of fire. Here is the ring pre-accident.

Coffee @ SLU

Still haven't found anything to compare with Trabant, but Tin Cup
tastes pretty good. A slight step up from Uptown Espresso, though the
atmosphere isn't as conducive to hanging out or chatting. Both are
very close to my new office.

First in a series of Dreams

Last Saturday was the first time Kaley and Jason and I got together
with the brass to run through my arrangement of Dream's song, "Slow
Poison." Arranging it took me hours and hours; as I told Kaley, it was
definitely a catharsis to listen to it over and over, in excruciating
detail, transcribing it note for note.

The result will be, I hope, rather extraordinary. I want to record it
as much to send to Dream's friends and family as to show off all of
the work I've put into it. I think it is something he would be honored
by.

Sunday non-drinking book club

Which is not the same thing as saying we never drink; a trip to
Portland which was partially documented in this blog would attest
to the fact that these boys know their way around a cock...tail. As
for cocks, all but one of the guys in my "other" book club are fans.
The odd man out is the wedding-banded Stephen, shown here showing his
best friend Bailey a little love.

Sunny weekend

Yes, I know it has been several days since it was the weekend, but
I've been busy dammit!

Here's another photo from the pep band's appearance at a charity
softball match on Capitol Hill. Doug is one of my closer friends in
the band.

Dykes vs Drag Queens

Today was a really good day. I made peace - more or less - with a guy
who essentially dumped me for someone much younger, I had a great time
hanging with Rodney, and I had two very good music experiences - one
practicing with the brass on Dream's song that I've arranged, one
playing with the Renegayde Pep Band at a fundraiser in Cal Anderson
Park. I'm actually a little sunburned: unfathomable just a couple of
days ago.

I took this photo of Miss Phoebe aka Brent of RCB, Gabrielle and some
other unidentified chick at the softball game. None of us were smiling
like this last week, when the headline of The Seattle Times read,
"Colder Than Siberia!" Fuck dat.

I like STIFF

I like how it has multiple meanings, good and bad, most of which were
applicable to me, and my friends, this past weekend.

The meaning that sticks today is the most basic, least ambiguous one.
My back is stiff. I spent too much time hunched over my laptop. Too
little sleeping in a lumbar-beneficient manner.

I haven't seen any of SIFF this year, or STIFF either.

Not dead!

I am happy to report that my Kousa dogwood is now thriving, since I
started watering it regularly, and since we've had such a wet spring.

Meanwhile, I've been working hard at practicing the guitar in
preparation for playing/singing at my birthday party in August. It is
a good workout for me brain to do something totally foreign like learn
a stringed instrument.

Not paying enough attention

Have the Penguins caught up with the Red Wings, or is the series over?
I don't really want to know, I'm sure. In any event, my Sidney Crosby
baseball cap works on so many levels. Here's my RCB buddy Natalie
wearing it last night at CC's.

Moron band camp

Here's the artist formerly known as Velveeta Jesus right after
blessing a sinner (me) with a sparkly silver bindi and spray cheese.
Not only did you have to be there, you should have been there.

Five years of lovin' it between the covers

Here are Scott and Kirsten modelling our brand new book club t-shirts.
We are total geeks.

More book club

Sarah and Phyllis were in good spirits on Friday night as well.
Julie's painting makes it look like there is some thought bubble
action happening over Phyl's head.

Another weekend, another book club

Here are Kirsten and Cindy this past Friday night. I don't think
they're discussing the book ("Music for Torching" by A M Holmes),
because pretty much everyone hated it, except me.