dad gum it

so, like, i had another half a post that got cut off of the last one because fucking blogger sucks shit. and of course i have no clue what all was in the other one. frustrating. more talk about the same stuff i think. some commentary on mead, i believe. and a bunch more on that germanic paganism business. if you're really curious about it, i'm sure you'll be able to fill yourself in on the finer points. oh, and then it got into gnosticism. i'm sure that many of you would have appreciated a little digression on gnosticism, but too bad. if you really wanna know i guess ask me. my question was if anyone knows of any figure in the world of relatively respected academia who publishes much on gnosticism. also, don't believe anything you read about gnosticism in mainstream publication articles on the book of judas.
alright, i think i'm over it now. as you can see, you missed a lot... good news on the front of the finest vee-nahl. made a trip out to the corner record shop after not seeing anything i really got excited about at vertigo. heresy, i know. but the truth is that corner really has a lot better diversity and a lot of stuff that is in better shape. a little more of a collector feel. plus the place doesn't draw the same crowd. i didn't see anyone at corner whose ass i thought deserved kicking. come to think of it i dont think i saw anyone other than the dude working. who was really nice and not pretentious. imagine that. just cause someone forms opinions about music they don't assume that then those should be codified into conventional wisdom. anyway, some good scores, first of all music from big pink, which herm was talking on last time i saw him at vertigo. a canadian stones import with the best "greatest hits"-ish collection (being the stones there will never be a definitive one, fuck forty licks) name ever: sucking in the seventies. the point is, its got beast of burden. but it doesn't have this one song i really want to track down that i don't know the name of. and i can't very well make music noises on the blog here, so be glad you don't have to hear me go 'do do do do do do do' 'bum bum bum bum bum bum' like some other people do. point is, it has mostly spoken word lyrics really low mostly with a little 70s stones falsetto and a kick ass base line. just puttin that out there. also scored maiden's '85 classic "powerslave". that's right, bitches. they had a ton of really good maiden vinyl, piece of mind, number of the beast, killers. will probably have to pick up some more at some point. i was interested to see they had a four record set from rock in rio like 3 years ago. just kinda funny to me that they would still bother to put that out on vinyl, but hey, we'll take it. but probably not buy it for 45 bucks. finally and most importantly an addition to the floyd vinyl: momentary lapse. really dig that one and my cd copy is fucked and get this shit, as far as i know, its actually out of print. i'm sure it'll pick back up or did when floyd was gettin more press a little while ago. so pretty happy with all that.
this stop at the record store was actually accomplished on a whim on the way back from some old school miniature golf. played upper and lower at loeschner's (sp?) and damn was it nostalgic. i really love that place. and i love that it hasn't really changed at all. makes me happy for some reason. they were playin some good tunes down there too, lots of beach boys, another nostalgic experience for sure. interestingly enough, also heard the weight, which is on big pink. but its not the best one, for the record. no pun intended there.
i almost never remember dreams, but i recall a bit of one from the other night. i kept ordering shots of tequila. i was like damn, i hate tequila, i'm wasted, and this is really nasty. then i kept getting more. that's all i recall in particular. then i woke up, all upset that i had to work in the morning. then i remembered it was saturday, not sunday, and i was very very happy about that. point is, happiness is very relative. on that front, i saw this sticker with a pretty sweet obi wan kenobi quote, something like you will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly upon our point of view. wondered if anyone could put that in the context of the films for me though, i have no idea when he says it or to who or why. so let me know. i know you know. also in the request section, the name of that motown kinda song or who its by, 'my world is empty without you, babe'...
so step up to the plate folks. help me out here. especially on academics specializing in gnosticism. i know everyone but me is up on that shit. so in exchange, i offer some valuable beer information to one and all. obviously it is hot as hell wherever you are when you are reading this because it is hot everywhere in the country right now. although i've never been a big fan of this brewery, they have my favorite summer beer this year, chicago's goose island brewery "summer ale", i think they call it. it's a kolsch, and damn is it good. very very refreshing. admit it, you're sick of oberon anyway, and you should have been drinking witsun in the first place. this kolsch isn't quite central air, but damn, its close. crazy delicious, as they say. widely available, shouldn't be too tough for most of yall to find. yeah, i said yall. i think that should be accepted as a word. unless someone else can propose a better second person plural for the english language. if they can start to get away with publishing advertisements and so on with PLURALS WITH FUCKING APOSTROPHES then they can start dealing with yall. fuck those fucking extraneous apostrophes. really don't like them at all. so don't do it, please.
heard about this guy at the university of wisconsin... the guy with the 9/11 thing goin on this year. and they're freakin out about it of course, but from the sound of things its not the school itself getting after him, which is cool. not surprising that there is some hubbub. but it really pisses me off as it is coming at a point where the mythos surrounding all the events of 9/11 is starting to be preserved, archived for future generations in the form of feature films. maybe a videogame sometime, pull survivors from the rubble, then take your same character to afghanistan to hunt down and actually catch osama. i'm sure the reality will change a little to make the point a little more clear. i've got my own opinions, but either way, the point is that the reaction you get out of people when you question the legitimacy of the "accepted facts" of 9/11 just makes me even more nervous. i don't think most people will ever find out exactly what happened, but it really doesn't seem like it was looked into enough by anyone worth listening to. more questions than answers, but all they're interested in feeding people is answers. the ones "everyone knows". fucking crock, and you're not even allowed to question it. although this guy at wisconsin i dunno. i hoped it would be someone with a rep who was tenured who was doing this. seems like this guy is just setting himself for a bunch of bullshit academic shit talking. oo, only bid on the job, not track, blah blah, not published in this, must be some whack job. and it seems a little personal. its not like the US gov't is gonna hear about this guy's class and be like, alright, you got us, we did it. they're never gonna admit it. ahh i can't even take it, don't even want to think about it any more. if you haven't seen it, track down 'in plane sight'. good shit.
also, please look into my untimely demise. they probably won't admit to that either.

hezblowah?

i was having a heck of a time with some headlines in the 'ol press yesterday. they're typically bad, but half of it was all perception anyway. so at first someone was telling me about this guy who was from somewhere in west michigan who was in jail in california for killin some girl and apparently had all these pictures of other people he claimed he killed. sounds like he got a few of em. serial killing is making a comeback i guess, some other guy is claiming bunches again too. i guess the eighties are gradually coming back. i was kinda skeptical at first cause i had read a bunch of stuff about henry lee lucas and how he hadn't really killed anyone but his mom (who had it comin). but i guess some of these people were pros. anyway, someone came in with a paper and i noticed the top headline claimed 'model killer will spend life in prison'. the phrase model killer struck me as kind of bizarre, but given the discussion we were having about this guy being a legit pro killer, it made good sense at the time. i noticed later that it was model's, not model, but hey, i had gotten my laugh. in a related article in which i did not misread the headline, this guy's ex wife claimed he was "worse than Lucifer". if you want an explanation on why that's hilarious, fuck you, you don't have a sense of humor. however, the best headline of the issue was related to the constant crisis in the middle east: 'hezbollah deals blow to israel'. i lost it. things are bad enough over there, but now they have to throw coke into the mix? at least now america has a major interest at stake. i mean its not that obvious of a fucked up headline, but its not that not obvious, is it? c'mon, BLOW. they even made that movie a couple years ago. and that recoil article about man addicted to movie 'blow'. people know these things. well, apparently, some people...
also in recent news, they just executed another inmate in south america. this at the same time as the UN has asked the US to halt executions. that's right, the same UN that is asking iran to cut a bunch of shit out. guess who is gonna get the sanctions. and guess who is actually killing people. oh yeah, the UN also wants the US to getrid of its secret bases. i really enjoy how secret bases have been making headlines for a couple months. how fucking secret is it at this point? we know what we're up to. so does everyone else. anyway, this guy they killed claimed to be a follower of asatru, which is some form of reconstructed form of germanic paganism. certain forms of it are supposedly gaining popularity

been a long time...

but did you really want to hear my running commentary on world cup games a couple days late at a time? probably not. on the other hand, this other stuff is just as useless. but hey, it's at least something. i've been lazy in all regards, not just the blog. that's right, exactly like i said i wouldn't be. but i did it. again. can't be helped. what's to be said anyway? it's really hot. wow. how many times must this be repeated? the beer, however, has been good. made a visit to kraftbrau and was quite pleased. also stopped in at the hideout the other day. the esb tasted sooo goood. and a lot like caramel. tough call between the ipa and the esb. been lazy on the brewing too. not all my fault, but got a couple that gotta get in the bottle asap. i've actually been on a big cider kick. might look into brewing up that stuff as well. hopefully it doesn't take as long as the mead. gonna be waitin on that for a while now still. ah well. i heard bell's eccentric cafe has a cyser right now (mead made w/ apples) and i'd love to find a good excuse to head down there. what i really need to do is brew. finished this book on radical brewing by randy mosher, really good stuff. about 30x more types of beers than i had ever imagined. mostly ridiculous stuff produced by historic circumstance. fortunately, we don't HAVE to drink it, but hey, we could. if we felt like it.
went to chicago to see phil and friends last week. say what you will, but it's at least a step up from going to go see jerry garcia band today. that has to be the only band i know of named after someone who was, but is obviously no longer in it. anyway, it was a really cool show, was at the charter one pavillion on northerly island, which really is an island. just has a land bridge to it now. it's where the planetarium is, right near the shedd. has a small public beach, but most of the island is just flat brush stuff like i'm used to seeing in michigan. it was super cool just to walk around on an island feeling so secluded but being so close to all of chicago with some really cool perspective on the skyline. looking out on lake mich from there was neat too because a lot of the boats on the water were coming in or going into the huger marina between the island and the shore. some really ridiculous boats. one pirate one, one bigger than a performance hall with some unidentified flag on it. we suspected lizards. speaking of lizards: all dick devos ads, the motherfucker never blinks. check it out. be aware. lizards, dude.
also went to the taste of grand rapids recently. fortunately, it was not a project to try and decide if grand rapids had a taste, what would it be, and then they make you lick something that supposedly tastes like grand rapids as a whole does. rather, a representation of some pretty decent cuisine. i had a good time, but i had never realized how extensive awards ceremonies for barbeque competitions are. the awards were being handed out from the time i got there until the time i left, over an hour. and now, best briskit... xo asian cuisine had some good stuff, as did judy's dry saloon. i was surprised to see that they allowed nationwide chains to show up, but whatever. there weren't too many, but it just seems odd to promote an event as unique to a city and then allow places that are anywhere with enough population density to support a constant turnover in workstaff.
also discovered a new bob dylan song i really dig. that doesn't happen too often anymore. not because i've heard all of dylan's stuff (that is some accomplishment), but because i feel like i know most of the stuff from the time periodsthf his i've really enjoyed. the tune is bob dylan's 115th dream (not to be confused with his 49th beard). very silly stuff, sort of along the lines of stuck inside of mobile with the memphis blues again, but a slightly more coherent narrative. even stranger is that the song is on bringing it all back home, which i know i've heard, i just didnt recall this tune in particular. lot of good stuff on that album. anyway, i got a laugh out of it:
I was riding on the MayflowerWhen I thought I spied some landI yelled for Captain ArabI have yuh understandWho came running to the deckSaid, "Boys, forget the whaleLook on over yonderCut the enginesChange the sailHaul on the bowline"We sang that melodyLike all tough sailors doWhen they are far away at sea"I think I'll call it America"I said as we hit landI took a deep breathI fell down, I could not standCaptain Arab he startedWriting up some deedsHe said, "Let's set up a fortAnd start buying the place with beads"Just then this cop comes down the streetCrazy as a loonHe throw us all in jailFor carryin' harpoonsAh me I busted outDon't even ask me howI went to get some helpI walked by a Guernsey cowWho directed me downTo the Bowery slumsWhere people carried signs aroundSaying, "Ban the bums"I jumped right into lineSayin', "I hope that I'm not late"When I realized I hadn't eatenFor five days straightI went into a restaurantLookin' for the cookI told them I was the editorOf a famous etiquette bookThe waitress he was handsomeHe wore a powder blue capeI ordered some suzette, I said"Could you please make that crepe"Just then the whole kitchen explodedFrom boilin' fatFood was flying everywhereAnd I left without my hatNow, I didn't mean to be nosyBut I went into a bankTo get some bail for ArabAnd all the boys back in the tankThey asked me for some collateralAnd I pulled down my pantsThey threw me in the alleyWhen up comes this girl from FranceWho invited me to her houseI went, but she had a friendWho knocked me outAnd robbed my bootsAnd I was on the street againWell, I rapped upon a houseWith the U.S. flag upon displayI said, "Could you help me outI got some friends down the way"The man says, "Get out of hereI'll tear you limb from limb"I said, "You know they refused Jesus, too"He said, "You're not HimGet out of here before I break your bonesI ain't your pop"I decided to have him arrestedAnd I went looking for a copI ran right outsideAnd I hopped inside a cabI went out the other doorThis Englishman said, "Fab"As he saw me leap a hot dog standAnd a chariot that stoodParked across from a buildingAdvertising brotherhoodI ran right through the front doorLike a hobo sailor doesBut it was just a funeral parlorAnd the man asked me who I wasI repeated that my friendsWere all in jail, with a sighHe gave me his cardHe said, "Call me if they die"I shook his hand and said goodbyeRan out to the streetWhen a bowling ball came down the roadAnd knocked me off my feetA pay phone was ringingIt just about blew my mindWhen I picked it up and said helloThis foot came through the lineWell, by this time I was fed upAt tryin' to make a stabAt bringin' back any helpFor my friends and Captain ArabI decided to flip a coinLike either heads or tailsWould let me know if I should goBack to ship or back to jailSo I hocked my sailor suitAnd I got a coin to flipIt came up tailsIt rhymed with sailsSo I made it back to the shipWell, I got back and tookThe parkin' ticket off the mastI was ripping it to shredsWhen this coastguard boat went pastThey asked me my nameAnd I said, "Captain Kidd"They believed me butThey wanted to knowWhat exactly that I didI said for the Pope of ErukeI was employedThey let me go right awayThey were very paranoidWell, the last I heard of ArabHe was stuck on a whaleThat was married to the deputySheriff of the jailBut the funniest thing wasWhen I was leavin' the bayI saw three ships a-sailin'They were all heading my wayI asked the captain what his name wasAnd how come he didn't drive a truckHe said his name was ColumbusI just said, "Good luck."
good luck, indeead, mr. columbus. although i still personally want to know why he didn't drive a truck. could have saved us all an awful lot of trouble. for all the complaints though, i must admis simply it i have no personal worry about hezbollah harming me. the god damned press had a ridiculously dumbed down q and a about the current conflict in the middle east. looked like it was made up for fourth graders. and the problem was not only that it was overly simplistic, but some of the stuff they say is just plain unsupportable by raw data. add it to the long list. of course the press also printed a cartoon implying that bush is getting the last laugh on his axis of evil claim from a couple years back. right. i guess he really knew what he was talking about. boy were we way off when we made fun of him. i know i feel bad. also, can someone please explain to me what the hell is ironic at all about 'that shit' having to stop? not getting it. astounding grasp of literary devices from a man who rarely speaks in complete, much less coherent sentences. dear god: please damn it.
well, nothing earth shaking. i've got a bunch of lame material also saved somewhere on the computer. maybe i'll throw some of that up sometime. well i can't believe you checked back. thanks. joke's on you i guess. oh, also, i've noticed that i am seriously running low on shirts. i am currently accepting suggestions for all types of upper body wear. i eagerly await the advice of my public. indeed. go tigers.