My friend David’s band, Porter St. Revival, played at the Second Chance Saloon on May 1st. We had a fabulous time, staying for all three sets. Here’s a quick photo of the band playing. If you have the chance, you can see them again on June 13 and July 25. David is the guitarist, up front.
Porter St. Revival at the Second Chance Saloon
Diane & I went to see The Kills down at the 9:30 Club in DC. What a freaking fantastic show. They’re my favorite band and this was the best concert I’d ever been seen. The energy between Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince was palpable, as was their connection with the audience. I loved every song they played during their set, plus the three songs in the encore.
The show was opened by Tennessee band the Magic Wands, a male-female band that reminded me of the Kills in how they carried themselves. Their music was okay, and they’re definitely a band to watch develop. I loved their song Black Magic. After they finished, the British band The Horrors played. Punky with an 80s fashion sense. But, after a few songs, I really enjoyed the band and might pick up their first and second albums.
The Kills set list for their show on April 30 was:
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The Horrors played stuff off their new album, Primary Colours. Based on web reports (as I’d never heard the songs before), this is the set list they are currently using, in no particular order:
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I think The Magic Wands played about 6 or 7 songs during their 23 minute set. Of them, the ones I’ve been able to put names to were: Black Magic, Kaleidoscope Hearts, Kiss Me Dead and Teenage Love.
I’ve got a few pictures below from the concert.
The Kills at the 9:30 club
The Horrors
The Magic Wands
I stumbled across an interview with John Ajvide Lindqvist, the author of the novel Let the Right One In. When responding to a question of why he turned to writing horror stories, he said:
Yeah you could say that. I tried to write in other genres and also to write more conventional literature, but it caused me to start struggling terribly with the language, and I tried to behave like… well ’How would a REAL author write? Hmmm… probably like this…’ and I made these heavy, long sentences and it was very concious of style and very bad. And it wasn’t until I kind of allowed myself to try and write a horror story, this genre that I actually know and really love… It took me many years, what was I? 32 or something. When I finally tried writing this genre, it was the first time that I was writing and discovered, ’Good lord – this is EASY! I can do this. I know what’s going to happen next. It’s just about writing the story as effectively as possible. Not worry about the language or that it’s supposed to be literature. I’ll just try to throw in a story that’s as exciting as possible, and heartbreaking, and do it to the best of my ability.
Okay, it may sound like common sense but it is so nice to hear an author say this out loud. I’ve had the same dilemma, struggling to fit a specific genre or write like “a writer” (whatever the fuck that is). I’ve had Mr. Lindqvist revelation myself. But, I can’t stress it enough that it needs to be restated often, maybe before each time you sit down to write because doubt is the greatest killer of creativity.
I’m so glad I ran across this.
I thought my last post was it but I wanted to put these pictures up. The culmination of three cycles of election work. I was involved in VA-05 three times and NY-29/OH-15 twice. I lost VA-05 in ‘04 and ‘06 and NY-29 and OH-15 in ‘06. So glad to have won all three in ‘08. A great way to go out. I’m done with electoral politics, after helping to elect 15 new Senators and 23 Representatives.
Eric Massa (NY-29)
Tom Perriello (VA-05)
Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15)
In my previous post, I celebrated the election of our 44th President, Barack Obama. It’s been 8 days since that glorious night and I’ve been reflecting on my comment about that being a great way to go out with this blog. I haven’t been blogging as much lately, partly due to having a contract that took up a great deal of time over the last few months. I wrapped that up yesterday and will finish out some other volunteer work in the next few days.
So, what’s next? Back to writing. Full-time writing. Working on my novel and potentially a book on my experiences working in the electoral politics arena during the last three election cycles. I think that blogging might detract from my writing, i.e., give me an excuse to burn words here instead of in my novel. While I’ve had a ball blogging, it is very distracting. I think I want to let it lie.
Additionally, I’ve made snide and sly comments to people lately about blogging in general. It’s very egotistical to put out your own thoughts as if someone else just has to know what you’re thinking. You might respond that that’s precisely what I’m planning to do with a novel or a book. For some reason, that seems different to me. Blogging too has evolved, going more mainstream with hip new writers and former reporters working digitally instead of in newsprint. There are still outsider blogs out there, especially in the art scene and local politics. I’ll probably still read those on a regular basis.
And, for those who are interested, I don’t think I’m going to be able to give up my twitter fixation. Microblogging (140 characters or less) is really something I’ve taken to and perhaps a better format than a full-fledged “blog” to convey my thoughts. I’ve always loved writers’ notebooks, little sketches of plot, a one-line piece of dialogue, or an idea for a story written down. I think I’d like to use twitter that way. If you want to follow my tweets, just head over to my Twitter page.
For those who’ve read my posts, and especially those who added a comment, I thank you. To anyone who happens upon this blog, I hope you enjoy it and find something of value to take from it.
Cheers!
MSNBC calls it at 11:00 PM Eastern on November 4, 2008. OMG! Crying and so happy! (Aside: If I end my blog tonight, wouldnt’ this be the perfect way to close it?)
My Maryland thread, primarily focused on House races and Questions #1 (early voting) and #2 (slots).
Wow, it’s finally here. I first blogged about Barack Obama back on February 7th, 2007! I threw my support behind him on March 30, 2007. And now, November 4th, 2008, the time has come to elect the 44th President of the United States of America. And when the polls close, it will be decisive for Barack Obama. I’m overwhelmed that a progressive and charismatic person will be our next President. Here’s a thread for the election today. Note for EV totals, it’s Obama first then McCain, so 7:10pm entry is 3 electoral votes for Obama and 8 for McCain.
Okay, I’ll have two threads today, one for the House and Senate races I’m following, and one for the presidential. This is the former. I figure the latter will have lots of hoots and joy and snarks, so go over there for excitement. Sadly, I think some of the exciting Congressional races I’m following won’t be decided in the near term, even with the second consecutive wave election. Close races in NY, OH, MN, NM and WA may not be resolved tonight. But, fingers crossed and blogging away!
The final strike!
Just reading this blog will give you my thoughts on question #2 on Maryland’s November ballot, which deals with altering the state’s constitution to allow legalized gambling. However, since there’s a question #2, there must be a #1. That question deals with early voting. While absentee ballots are available if you’re out of state, this ballot question addresses opening up early voting to any registered voter, be they in the state or not on election day.
I’d urge Marylanders to ALLOW early voting. I say that since the state and the federal government haven’t made Election Day a holiday. People have to work, and some have to work multiple jobs. Those who do that usually are lower to low middle income citizens. It can be a hardship to make it to the polls, even when they’re open 7 AM to 8 PM. (N.B. Some states are much more restrictive than Maryland.) Working people’s votes don’t (or shouldn’t) count less than those from people who work only one job and are compensated well. If Election Day were a federal holiday, then I’m not sure how I’d feel about this ballot initiative. I believe I’d support it but I’m not sure if I’d recommend that others follow my lead. However, given the current situation, I don’t think we can waver. On November 4th, Marylanders should support early voting.
On Sunday morning (October 19th), I ran my second 5K Race for the Cure up in Hunt Valley, Maryland. This year, Diane treated me to a timed race: an extra $5 for a chip that would give me an official run time based on when I crossed the start and finish lines. The money’s for a good cause (fighting breast cancer), so the extra $5 was well worth it on many fronts. My unofficial race time, based on the clock at the finish line, was about 26:02. Today I found the official results. N.B. My chip time differed from the starter gun time by 5.7 seconds, which is about how long it took me to get from where I was standing to the starting line once the gun fired. Approximately 32,000 people walked, ran and jogged on this beautiful and crisp morning.
| Official time (min.) | 26:00.9 |
| Pace (min./mi.) | 8:23 |
| Overall rank | 448 / 2102 |
| Rank in Men 40-44 | 30 / 83 |
My iPhone playlist for this year’s run:
| Song | Band |
|---|---|
| Volcano Girl | Veruca Salt |
| Stupid Girl | Garbage |
| Pretend We’re Dead | L7 |
| Hey Man Nice Shot | Filter |
| A Girl Like you | Smithereens |
| Zero | Smashing Pumpkins |
| Seether | Veruca Salt |
With the elections less than three weeks away, the debate on Question #2 is heating up. That’s the slots question, i.e. amending the state’s constitution to legalize slot machine gambling in Maryland. The normally very conservative Washington Post editorial page has come out against legalizing slots (today, p. B06). And yes, I do mean the Washington Post’s editorial page which has been drifting (and surging) further right for the last ten years. Also, the Baltimore Sun wrote today that even if Maryland allows slots, it won’t be enough to close the budget gap, something proponents have said is a major reason to support their initiative.
To quote from the Sun’s piece
A year ago, state officials hailed the closing of the so-called structural budget deficit - a persistent gap between revenue and spending of as much as $1.7 billion - after Gov. Martin O’Malley and the General Assembly approved a package that included tax increases, budget cuts and the slots proposal that goes before voters this November.Estimates then showed that when slots revenue fully kicked in, the expected $600 million a year in new revenue would be enough to keep the budget balanced for the foreseeable future.
But in a matter of months, the structural deficit has returned, to the tune of more than $800 million annually for at least five more years, even if voters approve slots, according to projections from the nonpartisan Department of Legislative Services.
Senator Joe Lieberman (Party of One - Connecticut) is at it again. Not only has this former Democrat berated his own party’s choices for President and actively campaigned for the Republican candidate’s continuation of eight years of Bush’s national policy, now Joe’s getting even more involved in other races. He’s contributed money to Republican Senator Sue Collins (Maine) and is now defending Republican Senator Norm Coleman (Minnesota) in his tight race against Democratic candidate Al Franken. The Hill reports on how Lieberman is defending Coleman’s lack of leadership in investigating Iraq, his Congressional responsibility as chair of a Senate committee on Investigations.
Joe’s given a few dollars to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, perhaps trying to have it both ways. If McCain wins, which seems very unlikely now, Lieberman wants a Cabinet post in the administration, probably as Secretary of State where he could compliment McCain’s warmonger tendencies. If Obama wins, Lieberman wants to keep his cushy chairmanship of the Homeland Security committee in the Senate. Unfortunately for Joe, with Dems looking at winning up to 10 seats, they don’t really need him to much. There are currently 49 Dems and 2 independents. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is a great Senator and will continue to caucus with the Dems. A filibuster-proof majority is 60 Senators, and even if the Dems only had 59, they could probably count on a few Republicans crossing the aisle.
So, as I see it, Joe ain’t worth it no matter what. Come November 5th, change the locks and take away his chairmanship. As a matter of fact, can he be stripped of his seniority since his previous terms were as a Democratic party member. Now, he’s only got 2 years under his belt as the Party Of One. Let’s protect the Homeland from Joe.
Yep, I sat through it like so many others. What a painful experience. Talking points passed off as debate, incoherence when monosyllabic replies wouldn’t suffice, the inability to look at the audience unless she was speaking, the condescending smirk whenever Biden spoke. You betcha, America, that’s the real Sarah Palin. There’s great coverage of her speech today: one in the Politico and another that’s a medley piece with video from the Huffington Post.
Palin’s sister was quoted in the Style section of yesterday’s Washington Post saying that the debate prep was like the ultimate college cram session before the “big test.” Palin’s performance lived up to that quote with its incoherence and the feeling that she just didn’t understand a lot of what she was talking about. That’s what cramming does, it gets facts in but not knowledge or understanding.