time and relativity and other shit like that...

so yesterday, time seemed to fly by. i got to work, and before i knew it, it was 3.

today is the total reverse...it feels like this day has gone on forever, but it isn't even 3 yet.

so why does that happen? i can't be the only one it happens to. does it happen to you? what the hell causes this? anybody have stephen hawking's phone number so we can figure this out? because we need to be asking him important questions like this before he is gone.

in other ramblings, i've been reading a book called "God and the New Physics". i'm not very far along, and i've actually had this book for like 10 years and never went past page 11, but i'm making a go at it now. anyway...right now, the author is talking about matter and anti-matter, and how you cannot create one without creating the other. this creates a problem for the creation of the universe, because when matter and anti-matter meet, POOF! they wipe each other out.

turns out, at VERY high temperatures, like there would have been at the Big Bang, as matter is being created, there is 1 part-per-billion more matter created than there is anti-matter. so, for every billion "balls" (i like to think of matter in terms of being balls for some reason...)...for every 1 billion balls of antimatter that appear, there are 1 billion-and-one balls of matter. now, that don't seem like a whole lot, but at the rates of creation we're talking about during the big bang, it would add up pretty fast...trust me, this scientist said it, so it has to be true.

but, all of that leads me to this...are there anti-people? like, is there someone out there that is the total exact opposite of you, and if the 2 of you meet, will you disappear in a poof of pure energy? OR...maybe for every billion people created, there is one anti-person created, and so there are like 10 unlucky folks wandering around the earth right now (5 people, 5 anti-people), who have no idea that when they run into each other, it will not be pretty.

or maybe not. i don't know. i was just really wondering about that whole time thing.

an interesting weekend...

well, this weekend was certainly one to remember.

i went to the circus friday night, despite the fact that i don't really care for the clowns...they sort of freak me out, really. it was the first time i'd been to the REAL circus, the ringling brothers circus. before that, i'd only seen some shitty little circus that used to come to our middle school.

i had a good time, despite the clowns.

saturday was one for the books. a former classmate and very good friend throws an annual gathering at his place of business to welcome the community and just say thanks for choosing to do business with him. i rode over with a couple of friends and met up with many more there. the evening was filled with good food, good stories, good live bluegrass music, and good cold beers. we all hung around until about 2am, and if the evening had just ended there, it would have been a full evening. however, there was more to come.

rather than try to retell it here, i'll leave it to my lovely fiance, since she has already posted it to her blog.

it is the first post (August 20, 2006) located here on her blog. enjoy

adding some old posts...

i used to have a blog posted, maybe 2 years ago, but the place i had it posted just kind of went away, so i'm rebuilding everything here.

anyways, be sure to take a look at the archives now, as i've added posts from way back. i set the date on them to the actual date they were posted...you can see i was pretty sporadic about posting then, too. =)

buford pusser...

on august 12, 1967, in McNairy County TN, Sheriff Buford Pusser, of "Walking Tall" fame, and his wife, Pauline, were ambushed while driving...his wife was killed, and Buford had his jaw shot off. those who comitted the crime were never caught.

i thought i'd post the lyrics to a song by one of my favorite bands, the Drive-By Truckers. it is a song about Buford Pusser, kind of told from the perspective of someone on the OTHER side of the law. this band really kicks some serious ASS, and i got to see them in-person last week in Cincinnati...it was awesome. anyways, here are the lyrics:

Artist/Band: Drive-By Truckers
Lyrics for Song: The Buford Stick
Lyrics for Album: The Dirty South

Now Sheriff Buford Pusser's gotten too big for his britches
With his book reviews and movie deals
Down at the car lot making public appearances
For breaking up our homes and stills
I know he likes to brag how he wrestled a bear
But I knew him from the funeral home
Ask him for a warrant, he'll say "I keep it in my shoe"
That son of a bitch has got to go
That son of a bitch has got to go

Now they lined up around the block to see that movie
And crying for his ambushed wife
Marveling about about shot eight times and stabbed seven
Some folks can't take a hint
They say he didn't take no crap from the State Line Gang
What the hell they talking bout?
I'm just a hard workingman with a family to feed
And he made my daughter cry
Said he made my daughter cry

"Watch out for Buford!" is what they keep on telling me
But to me he's just another crooked lawman up in Tennessee
He gets a new hot car to keep us on our toes
And that ridiculous stick where the press corp. goes
And some big time Hollywood actors playing him on the big screen

"Watch out for Buford! He's shutting down our stills and whores"
But it ain't like he's all that different from what was there before
It wouldn't take my man long to do the job
Just a partially sawed through steering rod
And I wouldn't have to worry about the good Sheriff anymore
Now the funeral's got'em lined up for twenty blocks
No one liked that SOB when he's alive
But the ruckus he began keeps a spreadin' like a wildfire
Not sure if I'm gonna survive

Hit an embankment doing 120 on a straight-away
The Lord works in mysterious ways
They'll probably make another movie, glorifying what he done
But I'll never have to hear them say
I'll never have to hear them say

Watch out for Buford

the black crowes...the first of many posts.

i posted this on amorica.org and wanted to share it here.

i've only seen the crowes 3 times...in '90 at rupp arena in lexington, opening for zz top, and that was a large crowd. saw them in '97 at riverbend in cincinnati as part of the furthur festival, and that was a nice crowd (though hard to guage, as i think even most of the people that had pavillion seating ended up out on the lawn getting tall).

i saw them this year in louisville, with becky, at the palace, which is a small venue, and it was packed. we will be going again to riverbend in a couple of weeks.

all i know is that it makes me sad that i wasn't able to attend more shows throughout the years, and i can only hope that this band stays together, in this form, for a long, long time to come. they are one of the last true rock and roll bands playing music today, and when they go, there will be an awfully large hole to fill.

i think that a lot of people have let them slip off of their radar after they didn't follow up "hard to handle" or "she talks to angels" with the radio friendly material they wanted to hear. i have a couple of friends that just couldn't stand any of the records outside of SYMM. i tried to pull them in, but they just got locked into the songs from that first album and weren't willing to open up to the rest of the stuff.

SYMM was a GREAT album, as far as i'm concerned, and while there's this little part of me that wants to dismiss it or not like it, just because it is the one that was popular, that is just silly and petty. "twice as hard" is still one of my absolute favorites, and when they played "jealous again" in louisville, i almost lost my freakin' mind.

i think it happens a lot that some fans get alienated on a band's 2nd album because they expect it to be just like the first one...pearl jam is a good example. because there wasn't another "jeremy", a lot of people that loved the first album just dissed the 2nd one and never came back for another listen.

my friends that dismissed southern harmony now think that some of the best crowes songs are from that album, and neither of them has been able to stop listening to the recording of the louisville show that i gave them. something interesting is that their favorites from the louisville recording are songs that they hadn't even heard before. one of them is going with us to the cincy show, along with his wife, and i just know after that, they are going to be completely hooked. him even more than he is right now.

i'm not sure what the band could do any differently to try and encourage folks that think the only 2 songs they ever recorded were H2H and she talks to angels to give some of the other music a chance. i will admit that when amorica first came out, it wasn't my favorite, but now, it is at the top of my list.

i just hope the crowes keep touring for years to come and just continue to play great rock and roll music, converting people all along the way. i think they are growing as a band, and i think all the jams that people are talking about this year are a sign of that growth. i could honestly see them start to pick up a lot of the folks that followed the dead as time and tours go on and start to position themselves as THE premier touring band in this country. it ain't gonna happen over 1 or 2 summers, but i think it can happen.

anyways, this year has been my complete rebirth as a crowes fan. the passion never went away, and i never stopped arguing with anyone that would listen that they were the only band left that was making true rock and roll music...but seeing them in louisville just did something to me that was beautiful and sublime...my love for this band was renewed, and i witnessed the birth of a new fan...becky, who had never really even listened to them before, got completely absorbed by the whole vibe of the show right from the start when they lit the incense on stage before the band took the stage, and she fell absolutely in love when they played "title song".

so no, they may not be making a whole lot of money on this or any other tour...but really, if it was just for the money, i don't think they'd even be touring at all. and i think they are gaining some new fans along the way...because honestly, as incredible as they are on a studio recording, it cannot hold a candle to being right there...it has warped my mind, and i just want to follow them everywhere now.

but when it all comes right down to it, i'm just glad to know that they are out there every night, playing good rock and roll music in a laid-back, funky-ass vibe.

what more could you ask for?

t-lee

i just posted this over at amorica.org, a community board dedicated to the black crowes, and i thought i'd just use it as my post for this evening.
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ok...i know that posting ANY type of thread talking about watching rockstar is a prime target for a, "you know how i know you're gay?" reply...but here i go.

me and my fiance were watching tonight to see who got the boot. it isn't great television...i'm not sure it is even good television...but there are just so many of those "train wreck" moments, where you want to turn away, but you can't...so we watch, and tonight was no exception.

everybody that sang tuesday night was pretty rough. there were a few exceptions. the girl from africa, dilana, is just interesting to watch and sort of captivates the crowd. i also liked the little dude with the makeup...lukas. he sounds sort of rough, but in a good way. the fella from down under, toby, was also pretty good, and got the encore tonight.

but enough about the "good"...it is the bad that keeps me coming back, and with this show, you get it from both the contestants AND the judges.

there's some chick on there from puerto rico, zayra, who did some strange-assed, seizure-and-synthesizer filled rendition of the kinks "you really got me". my fiance referred to her as "penelope cruz on crack."

last night, the judges gave her a hard time, asking if she'd ever even heard any of their music, to which she replied that she'd been in diapers when they played.

they gave her a chance tonight to comment about what she'd said, and she told them that she respected their music, blah blah blah...all of them caved when they get their chance to stand up for themselves...but anyways...she said she grew up listening to their records, playing their 45's.

dave navarro decided that he would make a joke about 45's and records, explaining how they were round and flat and people played them and they don't make them anymore...to which tommy lee, god love him, jumped in and said, "they turn at 45 revolutions per second."

dave navarro then replied, "exactly! score one for tommy lee."

yes. score one for tommy lee.

the weekend has arrived...

well, this was a short week, but i feel like it has taken forever. i'm not sure why, but i've felt so tired every night this week. i hope this doesn't mean i'm getting old. maybe it is just my body's internal clock adjusting to my new routine. having a "real" job and having to get up to go to it in the morning after not really having that routine for such a long time has been tough. it is STILL tough, even after almost a year on the job. i wish i could get by on like 4 hours of sleep.

lots of times, i don't even think of things i want to work on until like 10 or 11pm, and by then, even though my mind is ready to go, my body says, "time to sleep." it kind of sucks.

speaking of sucks...summer tv is just a wasteland. we got into a routine over the course of the regular tv season of watching certain shows. we don't really watch a LOT of tv, but we have our favorites. mondays you've got two-and-a-half men and csi miami. tuesday has scrubs and SVU, and briefly had the brilliantly funny sons and daughters, which abc was too braindead to keep on the air. wednesday, i'm not really sure what was on. i think we sort of fell into that top chef show on bravo. late in the year we also tuned in to csi: new york. thursdays were great. the dvr was working overtime, with my name is earl, the office, csi, and survivor...definitely the most active tv night. after that, we didn't really watch anything until sunday, when law and order: criminal intent and crossing jordan came on. i also had the sopranos, which becky never really has gotten into.

now, there's been absolutely nothing since like the middle of may. thankfully, deadwood started back up on hbo. it is one of my favorites. however, weeknights have been completely empty. this week, rockstar: supernova started up. we really enjoyed the inxs version last year, and we were looking forward to this one. after the first shows, though, i gotta say that more of these contestants are bad than good. tommy lee is just a mess, and dave navarro is almost as bad. i'm sure we'll keep watching, because there isn't really anything else on, but it ain't great.

there was some other crap ass show on spike last night, called raising the roof, or something like that. it is some semi-reality show that is just awful. tv really is a mess. an unexpected couple of shows have popped up, however. lovespring international on lifetime and man bites dog on comedy central. they both have some very, very funny moments, and i think they've got potential...which means they probably will get cancelled after 4 showings.

well, i've complained about tv enough.

we are going to start trying to crank on our t-shirt site pretty soon. we are working on a design/layout for it right now. we have a pile of funny shirt ideas. we just have to get the site online and start selling them. i don't know how good it will ever do, but i can't wait to at least give it a try.

maybe it will make enough money to help pay for a new car. my car is just not acting good right now. i know that we have to get something else soon, but it is sort of a catch-22 situation. we like to go out and do stuff, but we need dependable transportation to do that...but if we get dependable transportation, we won't be able to afford going out and doing as much stuff. so, i'm trying to talk myself down from the upcoming 2007 jeep wrangler unlimited that i so very, very much want, into a 2004-2006 model. i know it is more practical....but look at this thing...

well, more on that another day. it is almost midnight, and i'm getting sleepy. i'm going to try and knock out another post on the amorica.org message board. it is a black crowes fan board that i just joined. as you will learn as we go along, i absolutely love the black crowes. i plan on sharing some other bands that i think deserve way more spotlight than they are getting, and i'm sort of making it my mission to hunt down some more.

together, maybe we can save music.

my first picture post...

last week, me and becky drove down to berea for her friend billie's wedding, and we both had our cameras, so that we could try and catch some good shots. while the girls were all getting made up and having hair fixed and whatever other wedding day things they had to do, i was reading up on the different settings on my camera. i've had this damn thing for months now, and i still don't know all that it can do.

after the wedding reception, we went back to our room at the boone tavern, and i tried experimenting with some different settings on the camera, mainly leaving the shutter open for an extended amount of time. this shot was taken out the window of our room, with the camera resting on the window ledge. i used the self-timer to activate the shutter, and i set the time to 20 seconds. i really like the effect, and i want to get a remote/shutter release switch so that i can experiment with leaving it open longer to expose darker scenes. anyways, i'll post a few shots here and there, but i'll mainly keep them in a gallery on my web site.

blogging, day 1 (sort of)

well, i'm ready to try this again, for real. there are so many times that i think to myself, "wow! i really need to blog that!", but if i don't sit down and do it right away, i forget about it. after a while, the moment just doesn't have the same feeling anymore, and the words to describe it have left my mind.

i plan on making a real attempt at putting this blog to use from now on. there are just too many moments and thoughts that i need to get out...maybe it will help unclutter my brain...probably not, but we'll see.

so, look for more posts coming very soon and often...really.