Autumn Souvenir

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Nature v. Nurture , originally uploaded by ccsbandwagon .

-Man, what news to wake up to. I don't have the immediate access to news that I once had, but an early-morning walk to the coffee shop revealed the happenings in Chile. When I saw the number 8.8, my stomach immediately dropped. I can't recall ever hearing of a quake of that magnitude. It looks like Chile had the largest quake in the past 110 years in 1960 with a 9.5. Last night's quake ranks fifth. Thoughts are with the folks down there. -I bought Damien Jurado's new LP yesterday Hoquiam yesterday. It's a collaboration with his brother, and two listens, proves that Jurado's still on a roll. Beauty. -There is a temporary dog-adoption center one block from me today. Could it be the day? -I was in Amoeba yesterday and it looks like Stephin Merritt is guest DJ'ing at Amoeba-SF at 2pm on Sunday. I will be going to a screening/Q&A of the Merritt documentary on Sunday night. -This song by the Everybodyfields playing via my iTunes right now is very, very nice.

Imagine if we lived in a country where the collective masses absorbed the gravity of this and acted. Chomsky writes: January 21, 2010 will go down as a dark day in the history of American democracy, and its decline. The editors of the New York Times did not exaggerate when they wrote that the Supreme Court decision that day "strikes at the heart of democracy" by having "paved the way for corporations to use their vast treasuries to overwhelm elections and intimidate elected officials into doing their bidding" -- more explicitly, for permitting corporate managers to do so, since current laws permit them to spend shareholder money without consent. Nor does Michael Waldman, executive director of the Brennan Center for Justice at N.Y.U. School of Law, exaggerate when he writes that this exercise of the radical judicial activism that the rightwing claims to deplore "matches or exceeds Bush v. Gore in ideological or partisan overreaching by the court. In that case,

Hey There , originally uploaded by ccsbandwagon .

The Bus , originally uploaded by ccsbandwagon .

Via Centro's Site : We need your help! We are looking for people to host shows on these dates in or near these cities. Tue Mar 30 : Houston, TX Wed Mar 31 : Baton Rouge, LA Thu Apr 1 : Birmingham, AL Fri Apr 2 : Nashville, TN Sat Apr 3 : Atlanta, GA Sun Apr 4 : Athens, GA Mon Apr 5 : OFF Tue Apr 6 : Brevard, NC Wed Apr 7 : Chapel Hill, NC Thu Apr 8 : Wash DC area Fri Apr 9 : Philly, PA Sat Apr 10 : NYC / Brooklyn Sun Apr 11 : Boston, MA Mon Apr 12 : OFF Tue Apr 13 : Montpelier, VT Wed Apr 14 : Burlington, VT Thu Apr 15 : Buffalo, NY Fri Apr 16 : Bloomington, IN Sat Apr 17 : Chicago, IL Sun Apr 18 : Madison, WI Mon Apr 19 : OFF Tue Apr 20 : Minneapolis Wed Apr 21 : Saint Louis, MO Thu Apr 22 : Springfield, MO Fri Apr 23 : Denton, TX Sat Apr 24 : Austin, TX Please get in touch if you want to host a show. We’ll make this as easy as possible for the hosts. All you have to do is let us borrow your living room for a couple of hours and in return you’ll get 5 free tickets for friends and

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, originally uploaded by ccsbandwagon . The most important find of the move. I hadn't seen this in years. This was my first Wilco show and their fifth overall. They played to a small crowd in Somerville, MA. After the show, all members signed my "menu." This was a life-altering night for me. When Tweedy took the stage solo for the encore and opened with "Gun," well, I was transformed or something.

This article in Salon sums up one of the main reasons why I left the democratic party. I volunteered for two presidential campaigns due to policy positions that I thought I actually shared with the democratic party. Boy was I taken for a fool.

“I have lived through much, and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness. A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one’s neighbor – such is my idea of happiness. And then, on top of all that, you for a mate, and children, perhaps – what more can the heart of a man desire?” -Tolstoy

Moving Day , originally uploaded by ccsbandwagon .

Most Days , originally uploaded by ccsbandwagon .

'radio king' , originally uploaded by ccsbandwagon .

And it's with the Cairo Gang, which means more Emmett Kelly, which means more greatness. The promo video, is, ummm, worth watching?

I saw about 80 shows on this tour back in New York and up-and-down the East Coast, but this set list is downright absurd and causes me to at least mull a set of nude jumping jacks. Wilco @ The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA, May 10, 1997 Misunderstood Red-Eyed & Blue I Got You (at the End of the Century) Someone Else's Song Why Would You Wanna Live Forget the Flowers That's Not the Issue Someday Soon New Madrid What's the World Got In Store (Was I) In Your Dreams Shouldn't Be Ashamed I Must Be High Passenger Side Screen Door Hotel Arizona Monday Dreamer In My Dreams Kingpin Outtasite (Outta Mind) The Lonely 1 Sunken Treasure Gun Oklahoma USA Henry & the H Bombs Color Me Impressed I Wanna Be Sedated Paranoid Ziggy Stardust Box Full of Letters Casino Queen We've Been Had

The Essential Scott Miller Lie I Believe Good Morning Midnight Freedom's a Stranger No Regrets Dear Sarah Goodnight Loser Daddy Raised a Boy For Jack Tymon Fade Away Guess I Know I'm Right Is There Room on the Cross For Me I'm Right Here My Love Yes I Won't The Rain Testify Angels Dwell Virginia Way / Shenandoah Breakdown

Family , originally uploaded by ccsbandwagon .

, originally uploaded by ccsbandwagon .

Interesting take: The perverse truth is that, in some ways, the Obama administration is in greater violation of Geneva than even the Bush-Cheney administration. The Bush-Cheney administration denied - absurdly - that it ever conducted torture. President Obama has clearly stated on many occasions that it was torture. Geneva requires every government to investigate thoroughly and promptly all such acts of torture and bring the guilty to justice. Cheney could claim there was nothing to investigate - so he was in the clear. Obama, having conceded torture, has no such option. The current refusal of the president to investigate the torture so prevalent in the previous administration may make sense from the narrow political perspective of Rahm Emanuel. It is not worthy of the seriousness and integrity of president Obama and it is not worthy of the United States of America. To my mind, exposing and ridding this cancer is more important than holding every single person criminally responsible. A

I've made five mixes for my local coffee shop. Just about every time I stop in, which is about 27x/day, one of my mixes is playing. No joke, I have witnessed the owner, Mohammed, singing along to The Jayhawks' "Tampa To Tulsa." I mean, could there be anything more satisfying than that? Well, I guess a chicken parm. Since I'm having a parm at a friend's house tonight, I'm kinda covering all bases. Since they've literally been playing my five mix CDs over and over, Mohammed, and one of his staff members, Greta, have been begging for more music. And today I shall provide that. Alamo Square Cafe, Volume 6 "Here and Now" Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey "Tougher Than the Rest" Camera Obscura "Round Eye Blues" Marah "Burn Today" Frank Black "Walls (Drop D) v.3" David Bruinooge "A Razor Town" Jason Isbell "3 Rounds and a Sound" Blind Pilot "Find the Out" Slobberbone "Miriam

I've never had much of an issue with Google. They offer up pretty seamless and straightforward tools and are constantly working to "help" us better structure and organize all of our crap. Oh, I know there are privacy concerns, but if you're writing all of the place, posting pictures, commenting on blogs, well, your privacy's already out the door. Don't blame it on Google. Like most companies that grow and grow and grow, they're finally starting to turn that corner that's just too much. I remember when Starbucks was getting started. The rooms were cozy, the staff kind and the drinks were tasty. I used to stop in often. Aside from a "business" meeting, I can't recall the last time I stepped into one of those stale dumps. Google, since it's online, has an easier time of keeping its omnipresent status behind a curtain. But their true colors are starting to show. Recently they jumped into challenge Apple on the iPhone, and as far as I can

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I have now been without television for a few months and I can't claim to miss it one bit. I mean, I've never seen an episode of Lost, American Idol, FOX News with Some Freaks, that show with Jersey Shore Jovi's or the Joan Rivers Show so there was really no use in spending the bucks. I now get HBO stuff via Netflix. It's working out quite nicely. In about two weeks I will move into a new apartment and not only will the TV remain off, but I'm adding internet to that growing list of dependencies that need to be shed/curtailed. When I need the world wide webnet to write my grueling Huffington Post pieces or to check Yanks transactions I can cartwheel on over to the local coffee shop. You see, this apartment allows dogs, and despite not having a "day job," I am actually surprisingly busy. Add in a dog, and I really just need to erase the morning and evening b.s.-time spent looking at Paul Krugman photos and Coffee Creek videos from '89. My bookshelves are

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I arrived an hour early thinking that the place would be mobbed for Rawlings and Gillian Welch. Much to my surprise, it was a normal mid-afternoon crowd. About 45 minutes later, after losing myself in vinyl stacks, I look over by the stage and it is packed. I hauled on over and find a good spot one row back. At just a minute or so past 530, Rawlings, Welch, that dude from the Old Crow Medicine Show and two others literally walked through the store and right onto the stage. Rawlings was all smiles as he looked at the folks filling the aisles. One microphone. Two acoustic guitars. Whatever kinda guitar it is that Rawlings plays like it's coming from the heavens. Stand-up bass. Banjo later. Maybe something I'm forgetting. They opened with the jubilant "Monkey and the Engineer." The room erupted as it ended. Five musicians playing Americana or folk or rock n' roll, with a fierce passion. Later came the beautiful "Bells of Harlem," the stunning "Ruby&q

I think it was around Thanksgiving when I overheard a group of teenagers in my local coffee shop ripping into Facebook. "It's just not cool anymore," one said. Everyone at the table seemed to share the sentiment. These words echoed what I'd hear at tech conferences, music events, social gatherings, etc. a few years ago with respect to MySpace. And look at what happened there. I'm not saying that Facebook will suffer the same shelf-life as MySpace, because it won't. MySpace was a cluttered mess full of spam, widgets, impossible to load pages and just a clutter of junk. People grew tired. MySpace did little to correct the problems, and still hasn't. Even musicians, their supposed "bread and butter," are starting to remove their MySpace pages from album artwork and band sites. Today, or maybe it was yesterday, Facebook rolled out another redesign. I mean, really? I can understand upgrades and such, something that MySpace didn't do and ultimately

I've been a bit lax on this blog of late, which, as the few who read know, is quite rare. A lot going on, I suppose. Moves, a sudden surge of writing, exercise, and just other life stuff that creeps up and takes the days away. Some things on my mind that should cover the gaps of the past week or so: What a joy to see the Saints win the Super Bowl. Sometimes sports really do matter, and for the city of New Orleans, this mattered. The Who were very awful. Van Morrison's Moondance is truly a great record. I should have a dog within a month or two. This is very good news for me. So many life changes that I really can't tally them or even comprehend them all right about now. I'm going to head over to Amoeba this afternoon to see David Rawlings and Gillian Welch. Beautiful. Don't forget Haiti. Condolences to my friend Lori. I'm about done with the first season of Dexter. I was about to give up after episode 4 as the acting was starting to bother me, especially the wom

The Ticking Is the Bomb by Nick Flynn, Memoir, 2010: 7.5

In Minneapolis a few days ago. Screw this, I'm moving to MN.

photos, laughter, the moon, doors, voices, dogs, records, frames, stories, roofs, quiet, herds, cows, dolorean, shades, ocean, golden gate park, baseball, cincinnati, minneapolis, pacifica, soul, son volt, everly brothers, wind, rain, henry miller, maps, water, coffee, yamo, animal care & control, thunder, grass, smiles, friends, neil young, jimmy carter, nami, the wrestler, bob dylan, running, emotion, days, pt anderson, will oldham, san francisco, brooklyn, dishes, farms, driving, ease, sky, harmonies, wood, jukeboxes, curiosity, patience, CDs, cameras, animals, oxfam, fences, diners, sebastopol, crater lake, hotels, connecting, repairs, wisdom, spirit, blankets, buildings, parks, clouds, phono, paint, windshield wipers, gavin bryars, books, stairs, tiny desk, woody guthrie, big star, serenity, bbq, garages, birds, moments, up, bottle rocket, november, cliffs, insight, apologies, rest, peter sellers, obama, 11th avenue, duboce park, this song,.. .....

Why, if gays are allowed into the military, Chambliss said, soon the armed forces will allow all sorts of other things. Like what? "Alcohol use, adultery, fraternization, and body art," said Chambliss.

This is how much I spent at Amoeba Records in 2009. I reached this number solely by pulling receipts from Amoeba bags (which I never throw out because I'm totally into the environment). Many purchases aren't included here as I often bought something and didn't need a bag. Add in my subscription to eMusic, which comes to about $240 and direct purchases from numerous artists, and I should receive some sort of Lifetime Achievement Award, especially given that I did not have a day job for the majority of the year.

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, originally uploaded by ccsbandwagon .

, originally uploaded by ccsbandwagon .

There are things in life that are great. Herein lies one. I would argue that Vol. 1 of the Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs is one of the best records of the past 25 years. I picked up the three-disc set at Waterloo Records in Austin in 2000 and still listen to it often. I listen to tracks from Vol. 1 every day. Ten, errr eleven, years later, Merge is set to release this magnificent set on 10" vinyl. It's just a bit shy of $100, which means that I won't be getting it unless Mom surprises me, which she probably will, but man, what a beauty. Description from Merge: The story has it that Stephin Merritt came up with the idea for 69 Love Songs while sitting in an elegant midtown Manhattan gay piano bar. He originally planned for it to be a live musical revue, performed with a rotating cast of singers in the plush hotel bars and cabarets of New York City. 69 Love Songs was released in September of 1999. Fans and critics were ecstatic and 69 Love Songs became one of the most

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