Quick update

I have to get ready for the last episode of The Sopranos tonight (laundry, vacuum, pizza) but I wanted to give a quick update on Tippy. I'm happy to report that his wound is healing nicely and his famous appetite has returned. I gave him a bath on Thursday to clean him up and he wasn't too happy about that, but otherwise he's back to his perky self.

See?

Do you get HBO with that thing?

My parents were in town this weekend, but it was Tippy who stole the show. I noticed he wasn't eating well and would whine when I picked him up. On Saturday night I did a little looking and discovered some swelling in a not so comfortable place. That landed him an emergency trip to the vet where they said he had an infected anal gland (I know, eww). There was some lancing, and some pain killers and then he came out in this cute little lampshade. He was not a happy camper.

He spent most of the weekend under my bed, and I spent most of it paying way more attention to my cat's backside than I ever thought I would.

So he's been on antibiotics the last couple days and starting to return to his old self. Getting rid of the lampshde improved his spirits immensely. Apparently, he's not a big fan of the Sopranos.

If you ask how I got so bitter, I'll ask how you got so vain

I guess these are my Fridays now. I go home. I feed the cat. I watch the Tivo. I get up earlier than I want to on Saturday. Going out on Fridays is for kids!

My car is fixed again, but there is a constant chance that it may not start at any moment. I have a few ideas of how I might get it started in my glove compartment (thanks Google) but I think Benecio has turned from a loyal friend to and angry tiger. He's a ticking time bomb. I think a new car may be in my future.

If Benecio holds up, I'm going to see Bright Eyes up in Columbus on Sunday. If there's one thing that everyone in Cincinnati agrees on, it's the fact that the two hour drive from here to Columbus is one of the most boring on the planet. It makes the drive from Cincinnati to Indianapolis seem like a weekend at Disney World. (In fact, that's why my parents never took me to Disney World. I'd had the joy of the drive to Indy.)

Anyway, I am willing to put up with this interminable drive for my buddy Conor. I hope he appreciates it. I've heard Bright Eyes concerts can be spotty but I'm guessing Conor will bring his A game when he hears about the lengths I'm going to hear him sing.

**********

I've been listening to today's album for a couple days now and it probably isn't helping my mood. It's the sort of desperate anger that can only be summoned by guys from a place like Winnipeg, Canada.

Of course, I'm speaking of The Weakerthans.

I'm actually a huge Weakerthans fan and I constantly dream of being able to see them in concert (if they would only leave Canada). But Fallow is their first album from 1997, and while it contains hints of the brilliance they offer up in later works, I can't say it's very good all on its own. What makes a Weakerthan? I would describe it as acoustic pop punk layered under an array of metaphors and biting lyrics. Do I sound like a music writer now?

So if any of those words sound interesting, go out right now and buy Reconstruction Site (available at discerning record stores in Canada and amazon.com). You could also buy Left & Leaving, but I would save Fallow for until you're a superfan. Otherwise it's just not worth it.

I'm not ready yet to share the phone or tv set

I know, I know, it's been a long time. I guess I've just been busy. It's all work, work, work here in Eileenland.

Have you seen that Lexus commercial with Elvis Costello? The first time I saw it, at the very beginning, it just has a close-up profile of his glasses and I immediately thought, "gee that looks like Elvis," and it was! I especially like his little giggle at the end.

I think I've also avoided writing because I don't know what to say about Declan's next album (yes, I'm still doing that). It's Faith And Courage by Sinead O'Connor. I seem to be stuck on it for some reason, so I'm going to make this fast and get it over with.

1. The first half of the album is really good.
2. "Dancing Lessons" is one of the best songs ever - seriously.
3. The album gets a little too slow and mysterious at the end.
4. There are too many mentions of "the goddess" for my tastes. Does it need to be in every song? It's like listening for the word "corazon" in a Spanish song.

In other news, my car is in the shop again. It still thinks I'm trying to steal it, but the mechanics don't know where the problem is. It could be a long week. So I hope all of you are having a better time than I am right now. I promise more updates and more albums soon.

In which I fall in love with Colin Meloy . . .

Gahh! What a week, people, what a week. This time last Friday I was making my way to Louisville despite having spent the previous two days with an ice pack over my eyes due to some nasty swelling and a mysterious rash (mangoes may be the culprit).

I wasn't going to let a little swelling stop me, though, because I had a date with The Decemberists. Due to a fluke (or possible computer malfunction) I had second row seats to their show at the Brown Theater. At some point, I had wrangled Jeff into going with me and we made it into town just in time to grab a beer and then our seats.

I've been uncertain about the Decemberists in the past. You may remember that I once called their album, "music for theater geeks" and "pirate rock" so I wasn't surprised when they took the stage in three piece suits and lacy sundresses. What did surprise me was their humor.

Colin Meloy was really warm and made it seem perfectly normal to sing Southern Gothic songs about dead Civil War husbands. The rest of the band seemed to truly be enjoying themselves, too. I guess it was the dramatic nature of their songs that made me think the might be annoyingly self-serious, but I was pleased to be wrong.

Jeff had a good time, too, as we both "screamed like we were being swallowed by a whale" (as instructed) during "The Mariner's Revenge Song." It was a night for everyone to unleash their inner drama geek.

The rest of the week? It was all work, sleep, work, sleep, etc. Let's just say I managed to survive - barely.

Damn you, Klosterman!

Vacations and staffing has me working a day shift at my job these days (well, 10-7 is about as day shifty as I get). This means I should be getting to bed by midnight and up by 8. For normal people that wouldn't be a problem, but years of working 3pm to midnight have left me a seeming inability to fall asleep before at least 2 am. I'm singlehandedly keeping Greenup Cafe in the black with all my coffee purchases.

There are many reasons for this inability to fall asleep but I'm choosing to blame Chuck Klosterman. I'm reading his latest book, and no matter how sleepy I am, I want to read the next few pages of his book more. It's just a collection of old essays and such but I'm totally hooked. I'm probably just using it as an excuse, though.

When I'm not reading Chuck, I'm reading Perfect From Now On by John Sellers. The guy is a little too in love with Guided By Voices and his extensive footnotes were funny at first but now they're getting annoying. Still, I'm liking it, and both books combined have got me thinking.

I think this will all lead to a long blog post in the coming days, but I've been pondering how people in general (and me particular) come to love the music they do. Nobody is born loving obscure sad & British bands, there's always a journey. The music you live usually mirrors the age in which you live, but at some point almost everyone settles into something they like. Think about how you got there, musically, and we'll chat later.

For now, I must try to go to sleep.

Declan rocks again!

Okay, I'll give to the geniuses at Apple. Some guy in strange glasses took Declan to a dark room in the back and got him working again. I'm not sure what he did to him (and I'm not sure if I want to) but it's really exciting to have my old buddy back to normal.

I've had enough of this parade

I have an appointment at the Apple Store tomorrow night, but I think it's just a technicality. I've tried everything and Declan seems to be truly shot. Maybe those smarmy Apple guys can save him, but I'm losing hope.

What goes better with my sad state of affairs than the saddest band out there? Here's the video for the new single from the sad & Scottish boys of Travis. They really know what it's like to lose an iPod.

Declan is sick! (And not in a good way.)

It's a sad day, people. Last night I went to plug in Declan and I was greeted with this symbol:

Now anyone who is familair with Apple products knows that a frowny face is never a good sign. I did some looking, though, and it just seemed that perhaps the battery had just run very low. I left him plugged in and sure enough things seemed back to normal this morning.

But it did not last. Today I was listening to full-charged Declan when he froze up in the middle of a song (that's been happening occasionally these days). When I reset him, I was once again greeted with the frowny face. I don't think that bodes well at all.

I'm going to try a few things tonight and there may be a visit to the Apple store in my future but I'm really starting to lose hope. On the plus side, I could really use a bigger iPod, but Declan and I have been through so much together. Also, I really don't want to spend $350. It's strange but I really am feeling very sad about the downfall of Declan. What will I do without him?

You love my lady lumps

Meggan, Jeff and I watched Florida win yet another national championship last night. Yea, I guess. Meggan's a UF alumn so I'm sure she's happy, but even she thinks it's probably someone else's turn to win.

While we were watching the game, Meggan mentioned Alanis Morissette's new cover of the Black Eyed Peas song "My Humps." She tried to explain it but I couldn't quite get my mind around this whole thing until I saw the video. Now I'm sharing it so you can see the coolest thing Alanis has done since 1995.



While we're at it, you should check out this video, too. The Reds had their opening day game yesterday and it's usually the biggest thing that happens in Cincinnati all year. The mayor got the chance to throw out the first pitch (usually something a president or VP does) and, well, see the results for yourself. I guess this is what happens when you still live with your parents.