Minnesota State Fair
Went to the Minnesota State Fair yesterday. I ate lots of unhealthy food and saw a lumberjack that was on MTV's Real World. An apt and succinct summary of what the State Fair is.
Basement Jaxx in Mpls
Basement Jaxx are playing in Mpls. at the Quest on September 21. I've only heard bits and pieces of their stuff, but we get so few electronica artists here in town that I'll probably go.
Peeing on the phone
I just saw a guy taking a whiz and talking on his cell phone at the same time. I didn't think anything was that important.
And I'm wondering how he managed to get his pants unzipped and such with one hand on the phone. The man is obviously very talented.
Modern Cafe
The Modern Cafe in Minneapolis is delightful. Check it out if you're in the area.
First day at B-Swing
Started a new job yesterday as a Web Designer with a local Web developer. I'm anxious to get going on some projects.
My new chair rules.
Fatboy Slim live
Fatboy Slim kicked ass last night. He spun for about 2 hours or so and played a lot of great music. The highlight of the evening for me was when he threw on Daft Punk's Around the World....I think I went nuts. Another great moment was his seemless mix of Rockafeller Skank with the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction, which he then transitioned into the Beastie Boys' Body Movin'. He ended the set with my favorite song of his, Right Here, Right Now, followed by Praise You.
I'm very sore right now. And I lost about five pounds through perspiration last night.
Off to see Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim is spinning at the Quest in Mpls. on July 20. I've got tickets, and I'm going to praise him like I should. Whee!
The Great Mother's Day Car-Be-Que of 1999
Finally, a new episode of 0sil8: The Great Mother's Day Car-Be-Que of 1999. The splash screen took forever for me to design...I didn't like any of the others I came up with and this one is just OK. Take some time to click through the pictures though...it's a neat little story.
Rasta mama
On the way home from work today, I came up behind a car that had a vanity plate reading "rasta2" and several bumper stickers featuring Jamaican flags. When I passed the car, I glanced over to look at the driver. Expecting a dreadlocked black man, I was a little surprised to see a middle-aged, heavy-set, bespectacled, blonde woman driving.
Swish swish whee!
I saw the funniest thing on the way to work this morning. The car in front of me lost one of its windshield wipers...it just flew right off as the car was sitting at a stoplight. The driver got out, looking a little perturbed, yet amused, put the wiper back on, and got back in the car.
Fuck the Police
The crap week from hell continues. I fell asleep whilst reading my book in a mall food court over my lunch hour and got rousted by a police officer who told me to wake up and move along. I don't look that much like a vagrant, do I?
The Lost World by Michael Crichton
I started reading again today. I'm going to try and read a little each day over my lunch break...real books, not magazines, newspapers, or Web zines. The Barnes & Noble down the street has a great "bargain books" section that I will hopefully be raiding from time to time.
Today's selection was a hardcover copy of Michael Crichton's The Lost World for $6. Thank god it's nothing like the movie.
Pathetic Vikings
Well, I was right, but I'm not too happy about it. The Vikings got beat. Their offense sputtered, and their defense couldn't hold. Just goes to show you that the best team doesn't always win...just about the only thing you can count on is that the winning team wins. Well, maybe the Minnesota fans & media will have more humility next year if the Vikings make the playoffs again; perhaps treating the playoffs like a step-by-step process and not a forgone conclusion would help.
Noise-snuffing snow
It snowed here this morning, a noise-snuffing snow. The city was actually quiet for once. It was kinda eerie...like the world of the future in 12 Monkeys. I felt like Bruce Willis exploring unknown territories. The Bruce Willis in 12 Monkeys, not the Bruce Willis that banged Liv Tyler on the set of Armageddon. I doubt that Liv has any unexplored territories.
Just like that kid in A Christmas Story
Like an idiot, I put a (really) cold quarter in my mouth this morning. Guess what? It stuck. Luckily, I realized my mistake before it got too attached...just a little bit of my lip came off with it.
Partying like it's 1999
At 4 minutes 'til midnight, they started playing Prince's 1999, just like I had predicted. And I didn't mind....even though I thought I would have. The dance floor was packed and everyone was jumping and swaying and screaming the words to the song.
"Gonna party like it's 1999!"
Actually, it was probably the most fitting venue for the song, the very same First Avenue nightclub where Purple Rain was filmed and where Prince himself used to play.
I did a small piece for {fray}: my resolution for 1999.
Frostbite in the frozen tundra
I got my first ever case of frostbite this morning, and let me tell you...it's not a lot of fun. It happened when I was out in the frozen tundra this morning putting anti-freeze in Nichol's car. In my rush to get the both of us to work in a timely fashion, I didn't put on my gloves - even though it was about minus 10 degrees F this morning - and my thumb got all numb...and not in a good way either. It's just now thawing out, four hours later...most of the feeling is back, and it hasn't turned any funny colors.
Which is good.
That little moment of time
The most perfect thing happened to me this morning. I'm walking down the stairs towards my front door. I stop to look out the little window in the door to see how bad it is raining out. Just then, this girl comes into my frame of vision from the left. Suddenly, she stops short and goes back to take another look at the back of my car...specifically the "kids love satan" bumper sticker. She looks and then continues on, laughing. I thought it was pretty fortunate of me to catch that little moment of time.
Dancing to the Beat Radio
I went a'dancin' last night. Beat Radio is going off the air so they threw a little party at First Ave last night called "Beatoff". It was fun...for the most part...it was a little annoying because of the nature of the crowd. Usually, a techno show at First Ave means a techno crowd; a crowd that comes to dance and experience the event instead of scoping for that night's lay or getting drunk. Instead, last night's crowd was very much the typical bar crowd. Sigh. Don't get me wrong, the music was good (most of the time) and I had fun dancing, but it just wasn't the most ideal atmosphere to deal with when all I really wanted to do was dance.
The Ride is dead
Ladies and gentlemen, The Ride™ is dead. Let's all observe a moment of silence.
What is The Ride, you ask? The Ride was my 1981 Pontiac Bonneville...quite possibly the longest car ever to roll off of the production line. It was huge and a huge crowd favorite. Kids and adults alike came from miles around just to take a ride in it. It brought people together. It loved us all.
But The Ride got too unreliable. Finicky fuel pump. 1 quart of oil every 100 miles. Inoperative gas gauge. One missing "bright" headlamp. No dome light. Missing rearview mirrow. Flat spare tire. Idled too fast. Wouldn't run right in traffic or when it was hot. "Check engine" light on all the time. Clock didn't work and displayed 12:00 when the blinker was on. Clock also displayed 12:00 when the bass was loud on the radio. Leaked power steering fluid. Radio tuner knob inoperable. Broken air conditioning. Among other things.
So it was time to get something else. My "new" car is a 1990 Nissan Sentra, formerly (and solely) owned by a minister. It's not spectacular, but it works well and it's mine.
First day of summer
First real day of summer here. Rollerblading, grilling, and just plain lying around.
A colony of dead ants
I also have a little colony of ants living in my bathroom. They're stealing poison from an ant trap at this very moment. They'll all be dead soon.
