Boo Ghostie!

Boo Ghostie!

Happy Halloween! Are you still standing? barely? I know the feeling. But tonight it's time for the one-two knockout punch you've been begging for! It's The Burlington's Halloween party featuring such excellent DJs as The Prairie Cartel, Maradona, The Burlington Collective and ... oh, hey, me! It's quite the budget busting deal they've got going on too, since twenty bucks American gets you all the PBR, Burlington Beer (quite excellent), well booze, and spiked Halloween punch you can drink.

Seriously, there is no better deal in town.

Here's the charming flyer they worked up for tonight. Make with the clicky on the image to enlarge to more easily read without resorting to magnifying monocle.


So I will see you tonight, no?

Man, I should have taken tomorrow off work, huh?

Hello Boo Kitty!

Hello Boo Kitty!

It's Halloween!


(I totally stole this from one of Betsy's friends I've only met twice.)

The truth about drummers.

The truth about drummers.

Boy am I glad this came out before everyone sees me drum this weekend. According to The Morning News:

In rock and roll, no one except other drummers can tell the difference between an excellent drummer and a terrible one. It's a fact. The greatest rock band in history, the Beatles, had a drummer who couldn't tap out the Frasier theme on a Pringles lid. At the height of their popularity, Def Leppard's drummer lost one of his arms in a car accident and nobody even noticed. The White Stripes' drummer is a nine-year-old girl.

Read the whole article on how to find a drummer for your band. And allow me to thank my lucky stars that the rest of America's #1 Sweetheart wasn't privy to this information earlier, or i would have had to buy a sweet van in order to get into the band.

Credz Miles for directing me to the original article.

Salvation cake.

Salvation cake.

I'm having a bit of a crap day.

I got to work to find my account is overdrawn -- WAY overdrawn due to bank overdraft fees -- and I had no idea. It's been so long since this has happened it took me off guard. I guess I spent more than I thought I did over the past week? So now I'm skint until my paycheck hits my in-box in the next day or two. I'm actually more pissed at myself than anything for letting this happen. Aren't I supposed to be an adult who is at least nominally able to keep track of these things?

And then there's a damn construction crew 20 feet away from me making the most god awful noise. They've been here for over a week. My back is in knots. It's impossible to work in these conditions. I wish I could work from home again, but I kind of need to be in the office in case any snags pop up on my project but GODDAMMIT that construction crew is driving me nuts!

The only plus to the day? Someone brought in cake. Beautiful, over-frosted, store-bought cake. So I had a huge piece. I reckon between the gym this morning and the 2+ hours I'm sure to be playing drums tonight it'll even out.

And believe me when I say I think that piece of cake saved my sanity.

Halloween traditions.

Halloween traditions.

Oh yeah, if you are a local and were bummed Local H didn't do a Halloween show at Double Door this year, cry no more since Scott Lucas and the Cold Space are playing Debonair tonight. Fun!

Deadlines and the joy they bring.

Deadlines and the joy they bring.

So I've been working under a couple of deadlines over the past week or so. One was a protracted one, made pleasant by a healthy editorial back and forth that resulted in my finished product being much stronger than it was when initially submitted. I'm excited about it and will be sure to let y'all know when it's available for your perusal.

The other deadline has been at the 9-to-5, working on a project in a capacity mostly outside my usual field of responsibility, but it's been a good experience. It's always nice to flex different capabilities in the workplace, so I welcome any chance to do so, since it just helps me become better at, and more valuable in, my job.

I do feel as if I've been running full steam ahead for a couple of weeks, now, and admit that next Sunday --- after all my deadlines are met, and all my DJ gigs and rock shows are behind me -- I'm really going to enjoy unwinding a bit. At the same time, I'm the type that thrives on an overstuffed schedule that challenges and stimulates on a near constant basis, so I'm aware that the second I get some free time in which to breath, I'm just going to start jonesing for the next wave of new stuff to keep me busy.

Until that next wave, expect me to bury myself in the pile of New Yorkers that has been piling up over the last couple of weeks, unread, and inducing guilt.

Barely recovered.

Barely recovered.

Running on all cylinders. Thanks to everyone that came out to make The Burlington feel like a house party again. Special thanks to old friends that stopped by, I never get to see folks like that as often as I'd like. Then it was off for a quick day-trip to Michigan on Saturday before rushing home to see Rudy's transform himself into Boy George. And Sunday was spent doing 9-to-5 work, running more errands, and ended with a marathon band practice in which we covered the set with ease and then set out to hammer down a deceptively simple new one. Afterwards I did some more 9-to-5 stuff and finally fell asleep sometime around the middle of Michael Corleone's courtship while on the Italian lam.

Reset counter to zero. Time to go again!

P.S. The pumpkin pictured is meant for humorous purposes only. I assure you no actual puking took place this weekend. My friends and I are professionals, after all!

The most important thing you will read today.

The most important thing you will read today.

Let's keep this quick. I know all of you want to get your workday done so you can start drinking and not stop until next Thursday A.M. Christmas for adults!

Anyway, tonight you WILL go to The Burlington. And if you don't, I'm not gonna listen to your sobbing when everyone else is telling you how super-ultra-awesome it was. And, again, here's the fun poster Gina made. Copy it to your site, send it to your friends, make t-shirts out of it, do whatever ... but most importantly SHOW UP TONIGHT!


And, to show my appreciation beforehand for your imminent attendance, a song.

MP3: Glen Danzig "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)"

Oh, you're still here? O.K., here're some wombats.


Now, go away ... until tonight!

Jack versus Tony ... it's on?!

Jack versus Tony ... it's on?!

Saul Williams + Trent Reznor + Free = The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!

Saul Williams + Trent Reznor + Free = The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!

Fader is releasing the Trent Reznor / Saul Williams collaboration The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! free of charge in DRM-free 192 kbps MP3 format. If you want a choice of formats, or you just want to directly support the artist, you can shell out $5. The album will be available for download November 1, but you can pre-order now.

In some ways this is awfully similar to the Radiohead model, with a few improvements. First of all, the higher baseline kpbs encoding is nice, but I really like the fact that if you pay, you can get the download in whatever format you'd like on up to FLAC.

Secondly, I don't think this is physically coming out, so it won't be viewed as a leveraging ploy / future CD-sales tactic. In fact it'll probably give Williams more recognition than he's (ever?) had. This is not just due to the sales model, since obviously Reznor's involvement is pretty noteworthy ... especially given his own recent outspoken disdain for the Major Label model of distributing music.

I'm liking these changing times.

Almost there ...

Almost there ...

This week at my 9-to-5 I'm working on one of those projects that's sort of tedious and time-consuming. One of those where all your attention gets sucked in, you look up and realize that 4 hours have passed since you last looked at the clock, yet you feel like you barely made any progress. And of course it's on a project with an unmovable deadline, so I'm working as fast as I can. For a guy like me, who likes to get things completed quickly and efficiently, it's a bit frustrating. There is an upside though; my workdays speed by, and that sort of balances things out.

But the weekend is around the corner, and it promises to be a doozy. Halloween is like Christmas for adults, and it looks like people will be celebrating it non-stop from Friday through Wednesday. Maybe they should just make it a national holiday and give everyone the next half-week off? My plans are still forming, but the one place I know I'll be twice is The Burlington. I'm spinning a full set Friday night, and I'll be DJing with a number of the other regular DJs, including The Prairie Cartel guys, on Halloween night. I'll give you more details about each on the appropriate days.

And we're just about a week out from the first America's #1 Sweetheart show in, geez, almost two years. And the first show ever with Tom on keys and me behind the kit. Not only are we sounding pretty durn tight, but we're comfortable enough now that Keep is brining in new songs this week that we just might be able to hammer into good enough shape to play them at the show. Not bad considering that when we started it took us about two months to get a song down. We're learning!

And finally, don't forget to swing by Liar's Club tonight to see my compatriots in crime do the Bomb Squad Thursday thang. Tonight's villains include the lovely duo of Amber Waves and June Cleavage, joined by the dashing Vinyl Richie. They'll be spinnin' it old school, yo. And new school. And not-even-thought-of school. Rad.

Metaphorical headache.

Metaphorical headache.

Some mornings, it just does not pay to wake up. Nothing like really bad mojo to kick off your day.

The only thing that can make this day worse is if those Oak Park construction guys are pounding away with a jackhammer RIGHT OUTSIDE MY FUCKING WINDOW.

Update: Well what do you know? The day got worse.

Last night, Jim Steinman saved my life.

Last night, Jim Steinman saved my life.

A lot of you probably have no idea who Jim Steinman is, but I bet every one of you has heard his work. If you've listened to early Meat Loaf, or pumped your fist to the overbearing bombast of Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse Of The Heart," you've heard Steinman's writing and production work. He specialized in stuffing his songs with ridiculous instrumentation, an obscene number of drum fills, and lyrics bursting with the sort of prose one would usually find in a notebook belonging to a teenage fan of renaissance faires.

And I fucking love it.

I've mentioned before that Streets Of Fire had a big influence on developing some of my nascent musical tastes when I was a young 'un, and Steiman wrote and produced the two songs sung by the movie's heroine. On the album they were credited to Fire Inc., but that was just a name given to a bunch of studio musicians ... there never was any actual Fire Inc.

I've included both songs from the soundtrack below, and when you listen to them, really marvel at the balls it must've taken to actually put these things together. "Nowhere Fast" has what seems like a dozen separate sections before the chorus even kicks in, and right when you think things can't get any grander, epic, or ridiculous, the choir-led coda of "Godspeed" takes it one notch higher. And "Tonight Is What It Means To be Young?" Jesus, just listen to the lyrics. They're awesome.

So, yes, both songs are kind of silly, but at the same time they're so earnest, and Steinman just goes so balls out throwing every studio trick he know into the mix, that they remain two of my favorite songs, ever. And I'm not being facetious. I mean it. I love these songs.

MP3: Fire Inc. - "Nowhere Fast"
MP3: Fire Inc. - "Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young"

Is Radiohead above the backlash?

Is Radiohead above the backlash?

I read last week that Radiohead's management admitted that the online release was a well thought out ploy in order to boost the band's CD sales. And I've been shocked to see that no one seems to care even though this sort of goes against the whole "Radiohead is changing the industry!" rallying cry. I still feel it makes sense to digitally release an album right away since leaks will inevitably occur, and that Radiohead was right to do so with a "pay what you fell" pricing scheme. The album was gonna get out there, so if the band made any money off it before it leaked that was pure gold.

So I still think the band is doing the right thing, and is changing the way the industry does business. I'm just a little disappointed that their reasoning is based more in the way things have always been done instead of being as truly forward-looking as we were all giving them credit for being.

Le Burlington.

Le Burlington.

Liar's Club will always be home to me, but The Burlington is a now a close second when it comes to places I love to DJ. Friday night was a blast, and I'm sorry to anyone that had to wait in line due to the capacity crowd! I'm doing it again this coming Friday, so get there early to insure you get a good spot! The mix was one of my wilder ones, since it's been a while since I could really DJ with the gloves fully off, and it seemed like everyone dug the tunes. Hell, even the bartenders were shimmying a bit! Look for me to turn the heat up a notch this week as I try to outdo myself.

Also, I think I might be doing a shorter set there Halloween night for their party, but I'll let you in on the details of that as it develops ...

Anyway, thanks to everyone that stopped by last week, and I hope the folks that didn't will be joining the party this Friday.

Ruminations on Rachael, including an MP3, and a shameless plug.

Ruminations on Rachael, including an MP3, and a shameless plug.

I haven't really written much about Rachael Yamagata, and what I have written tends to stick strictly to reviews of her music and previews of her performances. I've had lots of people ask me to write more about her, but I think that when a friend becomes famous you tend to grow overprotective of them. Considering Rach was like the little sister I never had, I'd say that was certainly the case in this instance.

However her name has been popping up more and more lately, so I've been thinking about her more. My little brother pointed out that she did an interview with Mandy Moore recently -- which really is a good read since it dispenses with the usual back-and-forth in favor of a more revealing look at how Moore actually operates -- and I keep hearing murmurings that her new album is coming out in the near future, though I've been hearing that for over 6 months now, so who knows.

I don't really get to talk to Rach that much anymore. Aside from a couple of "catch-up" emails a year we don't really get to talk, which is too bad, but that sort of thing happens even with friends who still live in town, a couple blocks away from me. It's just sort of the natural progression of things. There was a period of time where all we would do is have hours-long conversations late into the night, and now I think our last spoken conversation was at my birthday party last year. Or was that the year before? Time flies.

Anyway, I dug out some old demos of hers that never saw the light of day. One batch is a bunch of recordings she did with Chris Holmes, some of which showed up in her later released stuff in a slightly less gritty form. I can't really post them or share them, since they were given me by the artists involved and I don't think they were ever meant to see the light of day. What I can share, however, is a track off her first demo, since that got passed around, and at one point Rach was giving them away at her solo shows, so I think it's safe to share it.

The track, "Super," was in regular rotation in Rach's early sets. I didn't give Rach her first solo show, but i do think I gave her the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th solo shows! It was fun to watch her go from playing to an audience of 9, including me and two of her bandmates from Bumpus, to playing sold out shows. Due to timing constraints I haven't seen her the last few times she came through town, and I admit it might be a little weird to see her playing the Metro to a sold-out crowd of Rachael Yamagata fans, but I'm sure she's still terrific on-stage.

Anyway, "Super" is a little poppier than some of the stuff she's now better known for, and I think it was maybe one of her attempts to write a "guitar rock" type of song. It's a little simple, but in this case I think "simple" is perfect for the song.

Before we get to that MP3 though, it is now time for me to shamelessly plug my appearance at The Burlington tonight! I'll be DJing there from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m., and I expect things to get out of hand at my new favorite bar in Chicago. It's been a while since i've done an extended solo set, and it's been a REALLY long time since I've DJed somewhere that the phrase "everything is game" actually applies. Most bars sort of have a "sound" they want you to adhere to in varying degrees. Some like Cobra, is super narrow in their definition of what's allowed, and then some, like Liar's Club, simply have a "No Michael McDonald" policy. At The Burlington I've heard everything from the "Superbowl Shuffle" to Jens Lekman. It should be hottt. Here's a flyer Gina made for the next two weeks, though if all goes well I'll probably be there a little longer.


And now, here's that MP3 I promised. Maybe I'll play some of that Chris Holmes produced stuff at The Burlington tonight? Only one way to find out.

MP3: Rachael Yamagata "Super"

O.K., I can admit it.

O.K., I can admit it.

I kind of wish I was actually seeing Van Halen while they're in town. It was too pricey for me, but I bet the show's a hoot.

Justice'd out.

Justice'd out.

Trying to write a review of last night's show, but can't reboot my brain long enough for it to function and actually pull together a coherent sentence. Judging by the time, and my late start, I'm guessing this A.M. glitch will probably end up defining my day.

Wish me luck.

CMJ.

CMJ.

Yeah, totally not feelin' CMJ this year. Even the folks I know are only attending because they feel they, or artists they rep, need to pay lip-service to the event.

Remember when these "discover new talent" indie music festivals actually meant something? Yeah, I kind of miss those days too.

An odd benefactor.

An odd benefactor.

So I joined the "Ticketmaster Live" FaceBook group a few days ago to take advantage of the credit for 5 free iTunes downloads. And I download a few songs. And the next day iTunes drops it's DRM-free pricing. So for once I actually have Ticketmaster to thank for something, because if I had paid for those tracks I'd be pissed as hell right now!

In other news, I'm going to see Justice tonight. I previewed the show on Chicagoist a while ago, and the far-before piece was done purposefully since I knew the show would sell out (and it did) and I wanted folks to get their tickets while they could. Now I'm getting emails from friends both near and close trying to use me to get into the show. I wish I did have that much pull, since nothing makes a dance-rock show better than being surrounded by people close to you, hopping up and down, and sweating all over each other, but I don't. If you can find a way in, or score a spare ticket I recommend attending though, it should be lots of fun.

To get you in the mood, here's a track by the band Justice wishes they were. I originally snagged it from Discobelle, one of my favorite sites for discovering new dance tracks and cutting edge sounds from the rhythmic underground.

MP3: Daft Punk "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Live 2007)"

These girls are a bunch of stooges.

These girls are a bunch of stooges.

Well, I've certainly never heard this song quite this way before.

Hmmm ... what to write about today?

Hmmm ... what to write about today?

Well, I did a dandy job procrastinating on a number of matters last night, but I do feel good about mapping out one story I'm working on and getting to bed super-early so I could be up super-early this morning. Which in retrospect was probably kind of stupid since I'll be out late tonight due to band practice, and will be out late again tomorrow for Justice at The Metro. Damnit, I should have slept in!

Aw, who am I kidding? When I'm up, I'm up, and there's nothing I can do about it, so I may as well get some more writing done and head early to the gym. Which reminds me, I've had a bunch of folks approach me when I'm out to congratulate me on losing weight, and they all seem amazed I've been doing so as quickly and consistently as I have, so they ask me just how I did it. Well, I've already told everyone how, but I think the connection folks are missing is that I changed my diet AND kept my regular schedule of working out. I'm sure you can lose weight doing one or the other -- though in my experience only working out regularly just barely seemed to stem the increasing poundage tide -- but if you want real results I heartily recommend the one-two punch of watching what you eat while ramping up the quality time spent sweating on a treadmill or under a weight-stack.

Man, this entry sure didn't end up how I thought I would. Oprah, I'm ready for my close-up!

Monday morning business brief.

Monday morning business brief.

Had a lovely weekend, save one tense blow-up moment, and got lots of work done on the Michigan farmhouse. Photogal and I built a huge bonfire and disposed of most of the old branches we cut down earlier in the summer, along with quite a bit of broken furniture and the wooden portions of junked farm machinery we inherited with the land. At one point Betty the Beagle made a jailbreak and ended up rolling around in something incredibly foul smelling, necessitating an emergency bath session. Last night we returned home and I then sped off to a particularly strong and energizing band practice. i think we're gonna be totally ready and rarin' to go by November 3. The only question is; is everyone else ready for us?

I suspect I'll be relatively quiet and/or brief here the next few days since the 9-to-5 is keeping my mind busy, and when that's not on, I've got a freelance assignment I'm on deadline for, and I'm one of those guys who collates research slowly and then bangs everything out in the few days before the piece is due ... it's just how my mind works best.

Oh! Don't forget that I'm DJing solo at The Burlington this Friday and next Friday! It's my favorite new bar in Chicago, and I really want to make a good impression / throw a good party so I'm counting on everyone I know showing up, making requests (even thought the LiteBrite sign by the booth specifically says "No Requests"), and dancing their little tushies off.

"Tushies?" Oy vey, what is becoming of me in my old age?

Three random things.

Three random things.

Let's keep this brief so I can go get some coffee and lozenges.

• This guy? If I was a girl I'd date him!
• Cure for a slow Friday? Green Day's Dookie. Damn I forgot how much I love this album.
• Friday's should end at 1 p.m.

That is all.

Friday Funny.

Friday Funny.

Remember when comedy was subtle and well thought out? No, you probably don't.* Remember Bob Newhart's stand-up? Again, probably not. Some of you probably remember his two (or maybe you only remember one) television series, but I'm guessing there is maybe 0.06% of you that are familiar with his stand-up.

Well, that made up statistic is a crime we should all rectify, and to motivate the masses to become more familiar with the Newhart (no, not the Newman) less traveled, I offer up this stellar reenactment of a typical day at a school for bus drivers.

MP3: Bob Newhart - Bus Drivers School

*This is not meant to malign a number of current comedians who are incredibly smart and funny, I just don't think the general populace has heard their stand-up.

It just gets sadder and sadder, and it's time to stop paying attention.

It just gets sadder and sadder, and it's time to stop paying attention.

So I'm listening to Britney's new album, appropriately titled Blackout, and man oh man does it suck. And this is coming from a guy who has actually defended her music in the past. ("Toxic?" Fucking genius.)

But this new one just fails and fails and fails. Most of it sounds like music you would hear in a Polish dance club in 1997, and the samples are just pitiful. Someone should tell Brit-Brit that you do not create a song simply by singing over the complete backing track for Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams."

It seems she can't devote her full attention to anything right now. Not music, not her kids, not remembering to wear panties ... this list just goes on. I think it's time to remove her forcibly from the public eye. Everyone just stop paying attention to her, now. Maybe then she can painlessly disappear and get her shit together before she completely and irretrievably explodes.

Lowest low point? "The Sin City Rap." Brit actually manages to rap worse than her ex-husband, and I honestly didn't think that was possible.

Jonny Greenwoods, guest DJs, and the Summer cold in the Fall.

Jonny Greenwoods, guest DJs, and the Summer cold in the Fall.

First of all, allow me to extend a hearty congratulations to the papa of all -ists, with their amazing "get" of an interview with Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood yesterday. He talks about the new Radiohead disc and the new P.T. Anderson soundtrack he's working on. Awesome. Read the interview and if you dig it, Digg it.

This evening I'm back at Liar's Club for my last October appearance; Lisa and JB will hold down the fort in the following weeks since I'll be DJing The Burlington the last two Fridays and don't want folks to get tired of my face by seeing it too many times a week. My guest this evening though, will be DJZZ (whom some of you may know as Lizz or Superbird). DJ Cowbell may also make a rare appearance. Expect a non-stop dance party. Last time Lizz DJed with me at Liar's we had all sorts of complications due to a band playing that evening that everyone forgot to tell us about, and we still managed to get folks on the dancefloor. In fact we were so good the band was scrambling to break down their gear and save their instruments amidst a chorus of dancing feet.

Balance is important and since the front end of this post is heavy with the good news, here's some bad news to keep everyone leveled out. I've got that damn Summer cold again, only now it's October! At first I thought it was just because I smoked too much and got too little sleep while camping over the weekend, and while I'm sure that didn't help I have also discovered a lot of folks are suffering from the same malady as I am. So load up on you vitamins, OJ, and sleep so you don't end up feeling as miserable as yer ol' Uncle Tankie.

Of course I also hear shots of Maker's Mark ingested at Liar's Club on a Thursday evening are good for staving off infection as well, so maybe you should skip the OJ and just do that instead.

Justice enlists some really heavy hitters.

Justice enlists some really heavy hitters.

Check out the backing band.


That rules, but for every Justice, there is an injustice.

In Rainbows .. available now! With liveblogging!

In Rainbows .. available now! With liveblogging!

15 Step
Getcher hip-hop on boys, including the trademark Yorke yowl.

Bodysnatchers
A rocker, but in the "anthemic" sense, a la "National Anthem." Get it? Anthemic sense? Whatever ... next song.

Nude
All I can say? finally.

Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
The title would lead one to believe this is a throw off track .. but it's not. In fact it's a slow builder in the vein of King Crimson. That is if Fripp when knew when to hold back, which he doesn't. A great bridge too, by the way.

All I Need
Mmmmm ... bass keys. Nice and claustrophobic. Slowly expands,. but never really resolves itself.

Faust Arp
Think "Row Your Boat," if "Row Your Boat" was sailing on the seas of paranoia. Also, file under folk tinged disaster.

Reckoner
I've heard this before ... the band is beginning to repeat themselves. But at least their cribbing from some of their best moments. Creepy, subterranean, folk.

House of Cards
A distant cousin of "Pyramid Song," only with a taste of The Bends.

Jigsaw Falling Into Place
Oh! Now we're back in OK Computer territory? I suspect this is the one that will have have fans wetting their pants. Aside from the inclusion of "Nude" of course/

Videotape
And again, a taste of the past, sort of "Exit Music."

Overall, well worth the four bucks I paid for it -- with is twice what the band would have made from a physical copy sol through a label.

Color us pleased androids.

BTW: The downloading process? Seamless, super-quick, and painless.

So exactly what time is it when one says "tomorrow morning?"

So exactly what time is it when one says "tomorrow morning?"

This just arrived in my inbox:

THANK YOU FOR ORDERING IN RAINBOWS. THIS IS AN UPDATE.

YOUR UNIQUE ACTIVATION CODE(S) WILL BE SENT OUT TOMORROW MORNING (UK TIME). THIS WILL TAKE YOU STRAIGHT TO THE DOWNLOAD AREA.

HERE IS SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THE DOWNLOAD:

THE ALBUM WILL COME AS A 48.4MB ZIP FILE CONTAINING 10 X 160KBPS DRM FREE MP3s.

Back in the saddle.

Back in the saddle.

As one might expect after a long weekend, sans Internerd, I returned to civilization feeling mentally refreshed, if a bit physically rundown due to a late-Summer cold (in October!) brought on by consecutive late-nights and truly excessive numbers of cigarettes. It's not my fault though, do have any idea how cheap ye olde cancer sticks are in the sticks? Mind-blowing.

After a day of working at home -- and it's truly stunning how much more work I seem to get done when I'm home, though I guess that's probably Catholic guilt driving me for fear someone at the office would think I'm slacking -- and writing some stuff up for Chicagoist ahead of time, and two workouts at the gym yesterday, I'm feeling like I'm back on track. I have a few upcoming deadlines, some self-imposed and some set by freelance assignments, so I'm feeling a definite sense of purpose, and am feeling particularly fruitful. That should reflect well in my writing.

I think part of the reason this is happening now is because we now have a full-time EiC at Chicagoist. She's been good at rallying the troops so I can focus on A&E stuff -- one thrilling side-effect of that is that I actually get to discuss their ideas with them ahead of time since I'm not busy trying to edit the whole site with my fellow Associate Editor -- while at the same time putting pressure on me to up my own posting frequency*. My quota used to be two posts a week, and while that's still my "official" quota, I've found myself exceeding that on a regular basis. The effect has been one I should have expected, since it's genetically tied into the reason I post here daily during the work week: when forced to churn out content no matter what, you often start looking in unexpected places, or start leaving your safety zone, and the results are often pretty exciting.

Sometime people will ask me how I come up with something to write every day, and my honest answer is that I have no idea. All that I do know is that writing is a discipline, and this is the best way that I know of to keep the needed mental muscles limber and ready to go.

Also, it doesn't hurt that I can start a post, go off on a tangent, and hit a conclusion that has nothing to do with my intro!

*Loyal readers have probably also noticed I've been contributing a little more often to donewaiting too. w00t!

It was a long weekend.

It was a long weekend.

Camping in New Glarus was certainly eventful, but I'm waiting to get some photos back from fellow campers before writing about it. I picked the wrong weekend to forget my SLR at home!

Here's a taste though, with the Gay Dance Party 2007 Nearly-naked (and sometimes fully so) DJs.

It's a brightening day.

It's a brightening day.

Since there is no WiFi in the woods, I'll be silent all weekend, but I'll leave you this to dance around in your underwear to.

You're welcome.

MP3: Weezer "Brightening Day" (b-side)

Old 97's ... nearly perfect.

Old 97's ... nearly perfect.

I have decided that the Old 97's album Too Far To Care might just be one of the most perfect records ever. Seriously. It6's up there in Ziggy-land, Quadrophenia-ville, and Pet Sounds-central. Oh, and Nothing's Shocking.

It never gets old.

It is time, for stormy weather.

It is time, for stormy weather.

Actually, hopefully not. Today we embark for The Grand Guignol Camping Trip 2007.

Big questions this year?

• Does Rudy know Wisconsin has outlawed the use of hair product?
• Does Donna Balls realizes the showers there are run by chipmunks with buckets?
• Does Keep know there's a beartrap in our tent?
• Does New Glarus have the faintest clue what it's in for?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Craziness and kittens.

Craziness and kittens.

How did I almost forget that I['m DJing at Liar's Club tonight with JB as we celebrate Lisa's (that's Ms. Amber Waves to you) birthday! OMG! OMG! OMFG!

Be there!

And now, cuteness.

There really are worse things to complain about.

There really are worse things to complain about.

Since I got outed about the whole weight-loss thing (thanks Sweet Lou!), I guess I can now share with you the one downside to Project Slim Down While You Still Can 2007. Clothing.

Right after my birthday I found some jeans I loved. Two different styles, actually. I'm the kind of person who, fashion-wise, sticks with what I like (shut it, JB). I've been wearing the same style of boots for over ten years now, wear many of the same t-shirts -- when they fit -- I've been wearing since college, and so on. In fact, when I find something I like (and pants and shoes are the most troublesome items in this area) I tend to buy them in twos or threes. Those boots I like? I've been wearing my current pair for three years, even though Photogal bought me a brand new pair for Christmas ... two years ago.

So in July I found these jeans, and bought a couple pairs of them. I bought them kind of tight, since I was beginning to realize that baggy clothing was making me look even huskier than I actually was, and was super happy with them.

Well, now they're all baggy! For a while I kept washing them and drying them trying to make them shrink, until I realized that I was shrinking further than they were ever going to. So now I'm stuck with clothing that is starting to look a little baggy again. And I refuse to buy any more clothing until I get down to the same weight I was at 24, and that's still about three months off.

The bright side of the situation is the new t-shirts that are back in the rotation after a decade of hibernation! (Although this vexes Photogal, because it means her t-shirts are no longer off-limits and I keep snagging those as well ... heh heh. In particular I love her vintage Clubhouse* "All My Heroes Are Whores" t-shirt.)

Pictured: One of those t-shirts recently brought back into rotation

*The record store that used to be next door to Metro. Photogal worked there back in the '80s.

Be my Hero(es).

Be my Hero(es).

Between Betty the Beagle recently deciding to attack our cable cord (and I haven't had time to run to Comcast to get it replaced), and the simple fact I've just been busier than words can convey, I've missed all of this season of Heroes. In the past I would just download episodes (legally!) through iTunes, but since NBC and Apple have decided to have a slapfest, that's no longer an option.

Is anyone out there recording them that wants to share DVDs of the episodes with me? Or does anyone have them in digital form so I can watch them on ye olde iPod or computer? I tried watching through NBC's viewer, but the fucking thing is useless and keeps freezing and rewinding, and I just don't have the time for that.

Help turn Tankboy's morning frown upside down!

Hey, jerkface!

Hey, jerkface!

To the little fucker that keyed my car yesterday, I hope your fingers fall off like over-ripened, rotting fruit so you can never grasp another set of keys and aimlessly deface anyone else's property.

Sincerely,
Tankboy

P.S. That wasn't you, Steve Johnson, was it?

I always suspected as much ...

I always suspected as much ...

So Shatner did sell his soul ... I knew it! (Click the image to see what I'm talking about.)

Try as I might to avoid using a title like "Buggin' Out," or something like that, I secretly capitulate by referring to it in this headline.

Try as I might to avoid using a title like "Buggin' Out," or something like that, I secretly capitulate by referring to it in this headline.

The person that came up with the marketing plan for Bug should be fired, and maybe they already were. Never have I seen a movie so grossly misrepresented to the public. I don't blame folks that went to see it expecting a generic splatter-n-screams horror movie about bugs for leaving the theater feeling cheated and lied to too. I don't blame those folks one bit. And I am very upset that (those) marketer(s) who tricked people into thinking that was what the movie was all about, because it means most folks completely missed a really excellent and psychologically taut movie about inner horror.

Luckily I had heard a couple honest reviews of the movie when it first came out, so I went in expecting to see a film, based on a play, that tells the story of what happens when one man's obsessions flare out of control and engulf the people around him. It is a spine-tingling concoction driven by an incredibly gifted group of actors; the primary trio of Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, and Harry Connick Jr. (who was so deep into his character I only sort of peripherally recognized him).

William Friedkin directs, and while he employs a few camera tricks to unnerve -- a scene where Shannon dresses at a slightly different, and quicker, film speed than the one covering Judd induces a delicious queasiness -- for the most part he depends on minimal set pieces and the terrific script in the hands of the actors. He constructs a piece that does what most translations can't, as it transmits the immediacy of the stage and couches it in the expanded world allowed through film.

Bug truly is a modern horror movie, and I think it should have been presented as such from the very beginning, because it was unfair to trick the public into thinking otherwise. A bait-and-switch, used with such an excellent film, can only disappoint both sides of the creative process; the public is upset with a movie they weren't expecting, and the filmmakers are cheated out of a chane of allowing their excellent vision to stand for itself.

Endlessly ironic.

Endlessly ironic.

I just realized how unflattering the photo in the post below is. Heh. At least it shows off my forearm ...

Coming clean.

Coming clean.

So I had been trying to keep this a teensy bit under wraps, but when the girl working the Bon Mots merch table Friday noticed I had lost weight, and it turned out she knew how I had done it, I reckoned there was no reason to keep mum any longer.

So when I saw my doctor for my yearly physical just before my birthday she said I might want to watch my weight. I wasn't fat, but over the past couple years the pounds had been accumulating, and I am at the age where it can all go downhill pretty quickly. So she recommended I try WeightWatchers and I was immediately confused ... didn't women do WeightWatchers? And weren't there meeting involved? It's not like I wanted to join AA for fat people, right?

Turns out the reason my doctor recommended the program is because it helps you keep track of what your eating and how much of it there is. It's about changing habits, and if you follow their Points system and their Flex Plan, you still get to eat whatever you want. Literally. Plus, you can do the whole thing online now, and only attend meetings if that's your thing. It's not mine.

So, since my birthday party at the end of June I've lost 30 pounds. I now weigh less than I have in years and years, and my goal is to get down to what I weighted ten years ago. It's not that far off.

So, if you're looking to lose a little weight, it can be done. And it can be done without cutting out all carbs, or eating only carbs, or eating nothing but bananas and peunts, or following any other fad diet. And it really makes a difference. I fit into clothes I haven't worn in forever, and all that time at the gym is actually starting to show since theres no longer so much detritus between my muscles and my skin.

So call me girlie if you want, make fun of me if you want, but if you're anything like me, and want to make a change before things get out of hand -- or maybe already are and you really want to try and reverse the damamge -- hopefully my success can prove that anybody really can lose a bunch of weight relatively simply.