CC Adcock
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Sum41
A break in the updates for the Jazzfest. I'll be posting pictures in the next few days too, once I get the time to scan them. Tonight I went to see Sum41 at the House of Blues. Heather won free tickets from B97 so that was cool. They had two opening acts, the first was Hawthrone Heights which was pretty good and the second one was Unwritten Law which I didn't like much at all. Sum41 was pretty good, they put on a good show. I'm not their target audience, but I enjoyed their show. Two things stood out from the night and neither were music related. Every other word from all the singers in the groups was M-F this and M-F that. Cursing doesn't bother me but this seemed a little extreme. And the other was that everyone on stage, from the singers to the guitarists kept spitting. Not more than a few mintues could pass without someone spitting to the side. I've never seen this before, I'm sure other singers have spit, but I've never noticed it. Oh, one final note...the bassist from Unwritten Law brought his girlfriend up on stage and proposed to her. She said yes. Wonder what he would have done if she had said no? Than the lead singer sang Green Day's Time of My Life to them. Isn't that kind of sad that you don't have you own song that you could sing to them?
Monday, April 25, 2005
Update Jazzfest Day One
24 is over, so now I'll try to update some more posts.
I didn't get to bed till about three Thursday night. I had to meet Larry, the friend I was going to Jazzfest with, at the store for seven in the morning. I woke up without too much trouble, but had to hurry to get everything together. I was bringing my camera to get some pictures. I was also bringing my backpack to carry things, like suntan lotion, the jazzfest bible from Offbeat, and some other odds and ends. I checked my supply of film, I thought I had about a dozen rolls, but found I only had four rolls of film left. I don't like to have that few, I'm always afraid I'll run out when I need some the most. No food or drink, they weren't allowed in, they wanted you to buy them at the Fest. I got everything, thinking to myself, did I have everything and telling myself yes I did. I headed to the store to meet Larry.
Just as I got to the exit for the store I realized I was missing one thing. My ticket. I was there about ten minutes early, but figured it was easier to go to the store, Larry is one person that is even earlier than me. I got there and Larry was already waiting for me. I tell him I need to go in the store, where I write a check for $25.00 so I'll have some cash, the food booths at the Fest don't take credit. And I also get four more rolls of film. It's nice to be able to get this before the store opens, but since I work there it's easy.
It's a good thing that my house is on the way to where we need to go. We make a quick stop so I can grab my ticket and head out for the trip across the lake. We do a drive through McDonald's so we can get something to eat on the way.
The trip went quick. Larry has been going to Jazzfest for years. When he lived out of state he used to come here just for Jazzfest. I haven't been in over fifteen years. He has a parking spot that is close to the site, but on the street so we don't have to pay. Offical parking site at the fest is $35.00 a day. The Fest last seven days, that would add up quickly.
We get there and get our chairs and backpacks out of his car. We walk past what he says is his ususal spot to enter, he says since we're going to the Sprint stage we should enter the main entrance, it's closer.
It's 8:30 when we get there. The Fest doesn't open its gates till 11:00. So we were a little early. Larry said sometimes they'll open at 10:30, but that was still kind of early. And we weren't even the first people there. It was cool though, we set up our chairs (those collapsable chairs are great) and enjoyed the beautiful morning. The weather was great. As we waited more and more people started to show up. A cab pulled up and let this older black man out, turns out he was blind. He made his way over to stand next to a street lamp and pulled a clarient out and started playing. So we even had music.
By ten the line was starting to get long and by the time it was ready to open the line stretched farther down the street than I could see.
They didn't open the gates until exactly 11:00. While we were waiting, about 10:30 a newswoman from channel 26 and her cameraman came up. They yelled at some cameraman that on the other side of the gate. Evidently they would't let them in yet. Than a crew showed up from channel four too, they couldn't get in either. Listening to these news people complain just made them out to be jerks. The channel 26 cameraman was complaining, telling the channel four guy who must have been new to the Jazzfest, that they couldn't even get on stage to film, "cause of the artists" he said, or should I say sneered it. God forbid that the artist didn't want a cameraman on his stage. I could understand if this was news, than they should have the right to go for it, but this was just entertainment, I say if an artist doesn't want a newsman in his face while he's trying to make music, than that's his right.
Once they open the gate they have tables set up where we have to open all our backpacks and even our chairs to make sure we're not trying to sneak anything in. Even though Larry had told me that the allow cameras in I was a little paranoid about it. It was in the backpack, so if they said no I would just bring it back to the car. But they didn't blink at it. I'm so used to the no camera rule at concerts I guess. Than from the tables we had to go line up and wait till they took our tickets and let us in. At first they weren't going to let us keep our ticket stubs, they took the whole ticket, scanned it and threw it in a box. Now other concerts I've went to that scanned the tickets let me keep the whole ticket. Larry asked about it and they gave us "souveinor tickets" which were tickets with part tore off, like they used to do. Which is good, I wanted to keep my ticket.
Once we were in Larry was off. I was wondering what the rush was. We were among the first in, the place was big, the Fest is held at the Race Tracks. But I followed behind him, he was the pro I was just a rookie.
By the time we got to the Sprint stage there were already quite a few people laying their blankets and tarps down, putting their chairs up, as close to the stage as possible. We managed to get our chairs set up right behind the barricade to the left of the stage. They put the metal police barricades up about ten feet from the stage, creating an empty space between the front of the crowd and the stage, which I found out later was used for the photographers and vip guests to watch the acts.
It was strange, but if you laid your blanket or tarp or chairs down people would respect this as your spot, at least until the final act or two Larry said. Than it would get so crowded if you weren't at your spot someone might take it. I was kind of nervous about that, when we left our chairs and went walking I was afraid we'd come back and either find the chairs gone or pushed to the back and someone in our spot. But to spare you the suspense we didn't. The chairs were there when we got back.
We put the chairs up and sat down to watch some of the first band. It was a group called Liquidrone, their bio said they made music out of all sorts of noise, sirens, bells, whistles, anything. They turned their show into a mini thearte. They had mimes and all sorts of things going on. They actually weren't bad, I wasn't expecting much from what I read about them to be honest. But we figured this was when we needed to do any walking we wanted to, the rest of the acts for the day were ones we wanted to see.
Larry took me on a tour of the site. Virgin had a huge tent set up with probably cds from every act at the Fest. There was a book booth set up too. And tons and tons of food booths. We headed over to the booth to get the offical posters. They sell only a limited number of posters and number them all. There were already lines for the posters. The posters cost $65.oo. I've got posters from the three previous Jazzfests I've been to, so I figured I had to get one from this one.
After getting our posters we decided to get some food and head back to our spot. I ended up getting fried chicken, yeah I could have gotten alligator or oen of a bunch of other unusal choices, but I'm not that much of an adventurer when it comes to food.
So we get back to our spot and our chairs are still there. We settle in, eating our food. They were setting up the next act on the stage. It's amazing that they can change and set up the stages between acts in twenty minutes at Jazzfest but at a concert it takes like forever.
The first act up was Susan Cowsill. For anyone that doesn't know who she is, she was a member of the Cowsills back in the sixties. They were the real Partidrige Family, they were a family that traveled around making music. More recently she was in one of my favorite bands, the Contintental Drifters, a group that was no more. She had just released a new cd, actually her debut solo cd. She was 45 and had been in the music business since was a kid and this was her first solo cd.
I was surprised by how much I liked her act. I don't know why, she sings lead and wrote a lot of the Drifters material. She sings sort of a folk rock type of music. She put on a really good show. She said she was told not to talk too much, they have a very limited set and they keep everyone on time, but she said that was going to be impossible, so she sprinkled her set with a lot of her talking. But it was all very entertaining. For her next to last song she brought out her kids, two girls and a very young boy. The oldest girl was 11, she wasn't her biological child, she was Peter Hosapple's girl, Susan was married to Peter at one point, but evidently she thought of her as her daughter. Peter even came out and played mandolin on one of her songs. The girls sang backup on the song and than Susan said she was suppsed to get off but she was going to do one more song. She launched into the Pretenders' Back on the Chain Gang. The girls moved back a little and started dancing. The older of the two was a real ham, just having a great time on stage.
After Susan Cowsill came CC Adcock. He was someone I wasn't familar with, but Larry said was really good. He played swamp rock. The weather was still wonderful. The sun was out with a nice breeze blowing. It wasn't too hot, you couldn't order more perfect weather. Adcock was good too.
Next up was Sonny Landreth, who I did know. Sonny comes from Lafayette, about two hours from New Orleans. He plays with John Hiatt as part of the Goners. He also puts out his own material. He plays slide guitar and is amazing. Just watching him play is amazing. It was just getting better and better.
Next up was Cowboy Mouth. Now if you've never seen Cowboy Mouth you're missing an experience. Fred LeBlanc, the lead singer and drummer of the Mouth, is full of energy and he doesn't let it idle. He is constantly telling the auidence to scream, yell, jump, bounce, anything. By the time their set is over you've exhausted. During one song they brought out George Porter from the Meters to play guitar and John Batiste to sing. They did two new songs, from a upcoming new cd, either the end of this year or next he said. The new songs were good. One was called Joe Strummer, about the former Clash singer.
The last show was Wilco. I got to see them twice! They started their set out with The Late Greats, one of the last songs they did the previous night. They did most of the same material, but mixed it up from the order of the night before. The did do two of their Woody Guthrie songs. One of them was Nora Lee, one of my favorite songs. While singing the song, he moved over to John Stirrat and the spoke and he laughed. After the song he said he was goind to admit something entertainers weren't supposed to admit, he forgot the second verse, so he just sang the third versed twice. He asked the auidence if anyone knew what the second verse was, but no one answered. He laughed and asked if anyone out there knew any Wilco songs.
Before the show started a man and his son pushed their way up to the front of the crowd, right behind me. The father asked if I minded if his son stood up next to the barricades. The kid had a Wilco shirt on. His father said last night's show was his son's first concert. The kid was around 10. I told him it was no problem. It was fun watching how much the kid was enjoying the show. His favorite song was Spiders and after every song he would say he hoped they would play it. They did play it before the show was over. It was another great show.
During the show I looked back and the crowd was huge. The entire area was packed with people.
After Wilco ended we packed up and headed out. I haven't heard figures yet, but they had to have had a good crowd for the day. There were people everywhere. We made it back to the car and managed to get out of the city without too much trouble. The only downside to the whole day was that the top of my legs and knees and arms got sunburned. But it was a small price to pay.
I didn't get to bed till about three Thursday night. I had to meet Larry, the friend I was going to Jazzfest with, at the store for seven in the morning. I woke up without too much trouble, but had to hurry to get everything together. I was bringing my camera to get some pictures. I was also bringing my backpack to carry things, like suntan lotion, the jazzfest bible from Offbeat, and some other odds and ends. I checked my supply of film, I thought I had about a dozen rolls, but found I only had four rolls of film left. I don't like to have that few, I'm always afraid I'll run out when I need some the most. No food or drink, they weren't allowed in, they wanted you to buy them at the Fest. I got everything, thinking to myself, did I have everything and telling myself yes I did. I headed to the store to meet Larry.
Just as I got to the exit for the store I realized I was missing one thing. My ticket. I was there about ten minutes early, but figured it was easier to go to the store, Larry is one person that is even earlier than me. I got there and Larry was already waiting for me. I tell him I need to go in the store, where I write a check for $25.00 so I'll have some cash, the food booths at the Fest don't take credit. And I also get four more rolls of film. It's nice to be able to get this before the store opens, but since I work there it's easy.
It's a good thing that my house is on the way to where we need to go. We make a quick stop so I can grab my ticket and head out for the trip across the lake. We do a drive through McDonald's so we can get something to eat on the way.
The trip went quick. Larry has been going to Jazzfest for years. When he lived out of state he used to come here just for Jazzfest. I haven't been in over fifteen years. He has a parking spot that is close to the site, but on the street so we don't have to pay. Offical parking site at the fest is $35.00 a day. The Fest last seven days, that would add up quickly.
We get there and get our chairs and backpacks out of his car. We walk past what he says is his ususal spot to enter, he says since we're going to the Sprint stage we should enter the main entrance, it's closer.
It's 8:30 when we get there. The Fest doesn't open its gates till 11:00. So we were a little early. Larry said sometimes they'll open at 10:30, but that was still kind of early. And we weren't even the first people there. It was cool though, we set up our chairs (those collapsable chairs are great) and enjoyed the beautiful morning. The weather was great. As we waited more and more people started to show up. A cab pulled up and let this older black man out, turns out he was blind. He made his way over to stand next to a street lamp and pulled a clarient out and started playing. So we even had music.
By ten the line was starting to get long and by the time it was ready to open the line stretched farther down the street than I could see.
They didn't open the gates until exactly 11:00. While we were waiting, about 10:30 a newswoman from channel 26 and her cameraman came up. They yelled at some cameraman that on the other side of the gate. Evidently they would't let them in yet. Than a crew showed up from channel four too, they couldn't get in either. Listening to these news people complain just made them out to be jerks. The channel 26 cameraman was complaining, telling the channel four guy who must have been new to the Jazzfest, that they couldn't even get on stage to film, "cause of the artists" he said, or should I say sneered it. God forbid that the artist didn't want a cameraman on his stage. I could understand if this was news, than they should have the right to go for it, but this was just entertainment, I say if an artist doesn't want a newsman in his face while he's trying to make music, than that's his right.
Once they open the gate they have tables set up where we have to open all our backpacks and even our chairs to make sure we're not trying to sneak anything in. Even though Larry had told me that the allow cameras in I was a little paranoid about it. It was in the backpack, so if they said no I would just bring it back to the car. But they didn't blink at it. I'm so used to the no camera rule at concerts I guess. Than from the tables we had to go line up and wait till they took our tickets and let us in. At first they weren't going to let us keep our ticket stubs, they took the whole ticket, scanned it and threw it in a box. Now other concerts I've went to that scanned the tickets let me keep the whole ticket. Larry asked about it and they gave us "souveinor tickets" which were tickets with part tore off, like they used to do. Which is good, I wanted to keep my ticket.
Once we were in Larry was off. I was wondering what the rush was. We were among the first in, the place was big, the Fest is held at the Race Tracks. But I followed behind him, he was the pro I was just a rookie.
By the time we got to the Sprint stage there were already quite a few people laying their blankets and tarps down, putting their chairs up, as close to the stage as possible. We managed to get our chairs set up right behind the barricade to the left of the stage. They put the metal police barricades up about ten feet from the stage, creating an empty space between the front of the crowd and the stage, which I found out later was used for the photographers and vip guests to watch the acts.
It was strange, but if you laid your blanket or tarp or chairs down people would respect this as your spot, at least until the final act or two Larry said. Than it would get so crowded if you weren't at your spot someone might take it. I was kind of nervous about that, when we left our chairs and went walking I was afraid we'd come back and either find the chairs gone or pushed to the back and someone in our spot. But to spare you the suspense we didn't. The chairs were there when we got back.
We put the chairs up and sat down to watch some of the first band. It was a group called Liquidrone, their bio said they made music out of all sorts of noise, sirens, bells, whistles, anything. They turned their show into a mini thearte. They had mimes and all sorts of things going on. They actually weren't bad, I wasn't expecting much from what I read about them to be honest. But we figured this was when we needed to do any walking we wanted to, the rest of the acts for the day were ones we wanted to see.
Larry took me on a tour of the site. Virgin had a huge tent set up with probably cds from every act at the Fest. There was a book booth set up too. And tons and tons of food booths. We headed over to the booth to get the offical posters. They sell only a limited number of posters and number them all. There were already lines for the posters. The posters cost $65.oo. I've got posters from the three previous Jazzfests I've been to, so I figured I had to get one from this one.
After getting our posters we decided to get some food and head back to our spot. I ended up getting fried chicken, yeah I could have gotten alligator or oen of a bunch of other unusal choices, but I'm not that much of an adventurer when it comes to food.
So we get back to our spot and our chairs are still there. We settle in, eating our food. They were setting up the next act on the stage. It's amazing that they can change and set up the stages between acts in twenty minutes at Jazzfest but at a concert it takes like forever.
The first act up was Susan Cowsill. For anyone that doesn't know who she is, she was a member of the Cowsills back in the sixties. They were the real Partidrige Family, they were a family that traveled around making music. More recently she was in one of my favorite bands, the Contintental Drifters, a group that was no more. She had just released a new cd, actually her debut solo cd. She was 45 and had been in the music business since was a kid and this was her first solo cd.
I was surprised by how much I liked her act. I don't know why, she sings lead and wrote a lot of the Drifters material. She sings sort of a folk rock type of music. She put on a really good show. She said she was told not to talk too much, they have a very limited set and they keep everyone on time, but she said that was going to be impossible, so she sprinkled her set with a lot of her talking. But it was all very entertaining. For her next to last song she brought out her kids, two girls and a very young boy. The oldest girl was 11, she wasn't her biological child, she was Peter Hosapple's girl, Susan was married to Peter at one point, but evidently she thought of her as her daughter. Peter even came out and played mandolin on one of her songs. The girls sang backup on the song and than Susan said she was suppsed to get off but she was going to do one more song. She launched into the Pretenders' Back on the Chain Gang. The girls moved back a little and started dancing. The older of the two was a real ham, just having a great time on stage.
After Susan Cowsill came CC Adcock. He was someone I wasn't familar with, but Larry said was really good. He played swamp rock. The weather was still wonderful. The sun was out with a nice breeze blowing. It wasn't too hot, you couldn't order more perfect weather. Adcock was good too.
Next up was Sonny Landreth, who I did know. Sonny comes from Lafayette, about two hours from New Orleans. He plays with John Hiatt as part of the Goners. He also puts out his own material. He plays slide guitar and is amazing. Just watching him play is amazing. It was just getting better and better.
Next up was Cowboy Mouth. Now if you've never seen Cowboy Mouth you're missing an experience. Fred LeBlanc, the lead singer and drummer of the Mouth, is full of energy and he doesn't let it idle. He is constantly telling the auidence to scream, yell, jump, bounce, anything. By the time their set is over you've exhausted. During one song they brought out George Porter from the Meters to play guitar and John Batiste to sing. They did two new songs, from a upcoming new cd, either the end of this year or next he said. The new songs were good. One was called Joe Strummer, about the former Clash singer.
The last show was Wilco. I got to see them twice! They started their set out with The Late Greats, one of the last songs they did the previous night. They did most of the same material, but mixed it up from the order of the night before. The did do two of their Woody Guthrie songs. One of them was Nora Lee, one of my favorite songs. While singing the song, he moved over to John Stirrat and the spoke and he laughed. After the song he said he was goind to admit something entertainers weren't supposed to admit, he forgot the second verse, so he just sang the third versed twice. He asked the auidence if anyone knew what the second verse was, but no one answered. He laughed and asked if anyone out there knew any Wilco songs.
Before the show started a man and his son pushed their way up to the front of the crowd, right behind me. The father asked if I minded if his son stood up next to the barricades. The kid had a Wilco shirt on. His father said last night's show was his son's first concert. The kid was around 10. I told him it was no problem. It was fun watching how much the kid was enjoying the show. His favorite song was Spiders and after every song he would say he hoped they would play it. They did play it before the show was over. It was another great show.
During the show I looked back and the crowd was huge. The entire area was packed with people.
After Wilco ended we packed up and headed out. I haven't heard figures yet, but they had to have had a good crowd for the day. There were people everywhere. We made it back to the car and managed to get out of the city without too much trouble. The only downside to the whole day was that the top of my legs and knees and arms got sunburned. But it was a small price to pay.
Update Wilco Show
Ok, I've had a normal day today, just went to work all day and worked eleven hours, so I feel rested as compared to the last three days. So I'm going to try and update the last three days and night, I don't know how much I'll finish tonight, 24 comes on in thirty minutes and I have to stop to watch that. I guess that means I should get started.
We'll start with Thursday night and the Wilco show. Left work early, at one today.I had to drive across the lake to the Westbank to meet my brother who was going with me to the show. I figured I'd stop at Borders on my way and check out the new cds and books. I got home and got online to check the prices for Jazzfest. Today was the last day to get tickets for $25, starting tommorrow, the day of the Fest they went up to $35. So I went ahead and ordered three tickets, one for me for Friday and two for Saturday - my brother was supposed to go with me Saturday. I decided to try something I've never had the nerve to do before, print the tickets from my computer. I've always worried that something would happen and the tickets wont' print and than I'm stuck. Also I've started saving my ticket stubs, I purchased this ticket album online, it's like a photo album but the pages are made to store tickets. Unfortunately I only thought of this in the last year or so, I've thrown away soooo many tickets that I wish I had today. A friend suggested I should try to list all the concerts I've seen, I may try that one day, just to see who I've seen.
So I buy the tickets and go to print them. The computer says error. See I think, it's going to happen. To make this story shorter it turns out that I had an old version of Adobe Acrobat and needed to download the new version to print up the tickets. After that it all worked out great and I ended up with three pages of tickets to the Fest.
Next I headed out to the Westbank. At New Orleans East in front of the Mall there was an accident and it took almost twenty minutes to get by. I got to Borders. I was able to find Maria McKee's newest cd which Best Buy in Slidell didn't have. It's called Peddler's Dreams and is very good.
I got to my brothers and found he had changed the lock on his door. I've always had a key to his house, but I tried all my keys, twice thinking I was missing it, but no key unlocked the door. Luckily I was able to go in his back yard and sit on his bench back there and read the Offbeat Bible for the Jazzfest.
Once he got home we went to get something to eat and than headed to the concert. One thing that anyone that knows me will tell you is that I had to be late. I am early for everything. The concert started at 8, so we were there before 7. We weren't exactly sure where the State Palace was but it was pretty easy to find. We also found a parking garage right around the corner from the site. It was a strange garage, most of it was reserved, but we finally found a spot.
We stood in line for over an hour. Around 8 someone came out and asked who had floor tickets. It was general admission, seperated between floor and balcanoy. We had floor tickets. She came by and punched a hole in our ticket and told us that someone else would be coming by asking for floor tickets and we were to show them our tickets and they would give us a id bracelet. Why they had to punch the ticket first I don't know? Why couldn't they just give us the id bracelet?
It was after 8 when they finally let us in. The State Palace is one of those old movie theaters from the 30s and 40s. The floor had seats about 3/4s of the way up and than a rail and the rest was floor space. We managed to get front row seats in the far left corner.
After we sat I had to go back and check what was for sale. They had a tour poster for the State Palace show, I love getting tour posters for shows I go to. So many bands don't sell them. I've got two for Dylan shows and one for a Springsteen show. So I knew I had to get it. They also had a t shirt for the tour. But of course they didnt' take debit or credit cards. But normally this isn't a problem, everyplace has an atm. Well, not everyplace. The State Palace doesn't. I had thirty dollars, the t shirt was $25 and the poster was $20. So I ran back to my brother and asked him how much cash he had. He had enough to loan me the twenty I needed. So I got my poster and t shirt.
Ok, you're wondering, this is all great and all, but what about the concert? Their opening act was Healthy White Baby which was pretty good. It was a two person group, a guy and girl. I didn't realize until after the show that the girl was the twin sister of John Stirrat, the guitarist from Wilco. She was a member of Blue Mountain. Her music with Baby was nothing like that of Blue Mountain, it was closer to style of Wilco.
Than finally Wilco came on. To say I've been waiting a long time for this show is an understatement. I've mentioned before I missed out on their show last year because Jeff checked himself into rehab.
They started out with Muzzle of Bees and than went into At Least Thats What You Said. They did about four songs with a word from Jeff on stage. Which was cool, I mean, I was there for the music, but I like the singer to talk some, I don't like concerts where the songs are identical to the record, if that's what I wanted I could just listen to the record. I want to hear their interpation of the songs, their mistakes even, make it real, make it come alive.
But after about four songs Jeff started talking. He said this was his first Wilco show smoke free. He was giving up smoking. He said his butt had about 17 patches on it. He said he went swimming the other day and he looked like a quilt.
At one point in the show he stopped and looked down in the audience and asked "Are you all right?" Evidently someone looked faint to him. He told the person, a girl, that she could come up on stage and get some water. She must have been embarassed because she didnt' do it. He joked about it, but told her to be careful. He really sounded like he was worried about her. He did the typical "How is everyone out there tonight" right after that, but than said that they were probably the first rock band that asked that that was sincere about it.
He looked like he was having a good time up there. They did the entire A Ghost Is Born cd (see I was going to say album, but I'm learning) except for Less (you know the song with all the noise). They also did a lot of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I was thinking they weren't going to do anything older, when they launched into A Shot In The Arm. Than when they came back on for their encore they did Kingpin, Misunderstood and Outasite.
They've definitely become a guitar band, wailing away at their guitars. They ended with Thunderclap Newman's song Something In The Air. It was great!
The concert was awesome. It lasted a little over two hours and every minutes of it was great.
We had no problem getting out and back over to my brothers house. I had about an hours drive ahead of me. The drive home was hard, I was getting pretty sleepy but I made it. I was thinking though I had to get up early to meet Larry for Jazzfest tommorrow. And that's another update for later, 24 is coming on.
We'll start with Thursday night and the Wilco show. Left work early, at one today.I had to drive across the lake to the Westbank to meet my brother who was going with me to the show. I figured I'd stop at Borders on my way and check out the new cds and books. I got home and got online to check the prices for Jazzfest. Today was the last day to get tickets for $25, starting tommorrow, the day of the Fest they went up to $35. So I went ahead and ordered three tickets, one for me for Friday and two for Saturday - my brother was supposed to go with me Saturday. I decided to try something I've never had the nerve to do before, print the tickets from my computer. I've always worried that something would happen and the tickets wont' print and than I'm stuck. Also I've started saving my ticket stubs, I purchased this ticket album online, it's like a photo album but the pages are made to store tickets. Unfortunately I only thought of this in the last year or so, I've thrown away soooo many tickets that I wish I had today. A friend suggested I should try to list all the concerts I've seen, I may try that one day, just to see who I've seen.
So I buy the tickets and go to print them. The computer says error. See I think, it's going to happen. To make this story shorter it turns out that I had an old version of Adobe Acrobat and needed to download the new version to print up the tickets. After that it all worked out great and I ended up with three pages of tickets to the Fest.
Next I headed out to the Westbank. At New Orleans East in front of the Mall there was an accident and it took almost twenty minutes to get by. I got to Borders. I was able to find Maria McKee's newest cd which Best Buy in Slidell didn't have. It's called Peddler's Dreams and is very good.
I got to my brothers and found he had changed the lock on his door. I've always had a key to his house, but I tried all my keys, twice thinking I was missing it, but no key unlocked the door. Luckily I was able to go in his back yard and sit on his bench back there and read the Offbeat Bible for the Jazzfest.
Once he got home we went to get something to eat and than headed to the concert. One thing that anyone that knows me will tell you is that I had to be late. I am early for everything. The concert started at 8, so we were there before 7. We weren't exactly sure where the State Palace was but it was pretty easy to find. We also found a parking garage right around the corner from the site. It was a strange garage, most of it was reserved, but we finally found a spot.
We stood in line for over an hour. Around 8 someone came out and asked who had floor tickets. It was general admission, seperated between floor and balcanoy. We had floor tickets. She came by and punched a hole in our ticket and told us that someone else would be coming by asking for floor tickets and we were to show them our tickets and they would give us a id bracelet. Why they had to punch the ticket first I don't know? Why couldn't they just give us the id bracelet?
It was after 8 when they finally let us in. The State Palace is one of those old movie theaters from the 30s and 40s. The floor had seats about 3/4s of the way up and than a rail and the rest was floor space. We managed to get front row seats in the far left corner.
After we sat I had to go back and check what was for sale. They had a tour poster for the State Palace show, I love getting tour posters for shows I go to. So many bands don't sell them. I've got two for Dylan shows and one for a Springsteen show. So I knew I had to get it. They also had a t shirt for the tour. But of course they didnt' take debit or credit cards. But normally this isn't a problem, everyplace has an atm. Well, not everyplace. The State Palace doesn't. I had thirty dollars, the t shirt was $25 and the poster was $20. So I ran back to my brother and asked him how much cash he had. He had enough to loan me the twenty I needed. So I got my poster and t shirt.
Ok, you're wondering, this is all great and all, but what about the concert? Their opening act was Healthy White Baby which was pretty good. It was a two person group, a guy and girl. I didn't realize until after the show that the girl was the twin sister of John Stirrat, the guitarist from Wilco. She was a member of Blue Mountain. Her music with Baby was nothing like that of Blue Mountain, it was closer to style of Wilco.
Than finally Wilco came on. To say I've been waiting a long time for this show is an understatement. I've mentioned before I missed out on their show last year because Jeff checked himself into rehab.
They started out with Muzzle of Bees and than went into At Least Thats What You Said. They did about four songs with a word from Jeff on stage. Which was cool, I mean, I was there for the music, but I like the singer to talk some, I don't like concerts where the songs are identical to the record, if that's what I wanted I could just listen to the record. I want to hear their interpation of the songs, their mistakes even, make it real, make it come alive.
But after about four songs Jeff started talking. He said this was his first Wilco show smoke free. He was giving up smoking. He said his butt had about 17 patches on it. He said he went swimming the other day and he looked like a quilt.
At one point in the show he stopped and looked down in the audience and asked "Are you all right?" Evidently someone looked faint to him. He told the person, a girl, that she could come up on stage and get some water. She must have been embarassed because she didnt' do it. He joked about it, but told her to be careful. He really sounded like he was worried about her. He did the typical "How is everyone out there tonight" right after that, but than said that they were probably the first rock band that asked that that was sincere about it.
He looked like he was having a good time up there. They did the entire A Ghost Is Born cd (see I was going to say album, but I'm learning) except for Less (you know the song with all the noise). They also did a lot of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I was thinking they weren't going to do anything older, when they launched into A Shot In The Arm. Than when they came back on for their encore they did Kingpin, Misunderstood and Outasite.
They've definitely become a guitar band, wailing away at their guitars. They ended with Thunderclap Newman's song Something In The Air. It was great!
The concert was awesome. It lasted a little over two hours and every minutes of it was great.
We had no problem getting out and back over to my brothers house. I had about an hours drive ahead of me. The drive home was hard, I was getting pretty sleepy but I made it. I was thinking though I had to get up early to meet Larry for Jazzfest tommorrow. And that's another update for later, 24 is coming on.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Jazzfest Day Three
I know these posts have been short and not very information filled, as will this one, but I'm too wiped out when I get home to type more than short notices at the moment. Hopefully I'll add more in the next day or so. Today was another great day at Jazzfest. We couldn't have asked for better weather. Today I saw 007, Jon Cleary, G. Love & Special Sauce, Dr. John and finally Brian Wilson. Took plenty of pictures. Ok, shower now, talk later....
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Jazzfest Day Two
Ok, enough great day at Jazzfest. Saw Rockie Charles & Stax of Love, Charivari, Country Fried, Rockin Dopsie Jr, Snooks Eaglin, Brian Stoltz, Buddy Guy and the Meters. I'm sunburned and exhasuted, I promise a better update soon. And pictures. Right now I'm off to bed.
P.S. Heather I got you something from Jazzfest.
P.S. Heather I got you something from Jazzfest.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Jazzfest Day One
Just got back from Jazzfest, this won't be a long post, I'll write a lot more later and have pictures! It was great! A really fun day. I saw Liquiddrone, Susan Cowsill, CC Adcock, Sonny Landreth, Cowboy Mouth and Wilco. I'll fill in on details later, right now I'm exhausted.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Wilco Tonight and tommorrow Jazz Fest
Well, I kind of said it all in the title. But I can't wait. Wilco tonight, they were supposed to be here last year and than Jeff Tweedy signed himself into rehap and they canceled the first five or six shows of their tour, and guess where New Orleans fell. Yeah, missed them last year. But this year I get to see them twice. Tonight they play in concert and than they're one of the closing acts for the Jazz Fest Friday. I will be there both times, Wilco is one of my favorite bands in the world right now, I think they are great! Friday and Saturday will both be spent at the Jazz Fest...some great acts, Cowboy Mouth, Buddy Guy, James Taylor, Susan Tedechi, Susan Cowsill...too many for me to name, but I'm going to see as many of them as I can in the two days. I'll probably only be able to go these two days of the Jazz Fest. I haven't been in over ten years, so I'm looking forward to it.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
24
I've missed the last three weeks of 24, but I taped the shows. Tonight I sat down and watched all three episodes. This is the way I normally watch 24, all at one time. I ususally don't watch it on tv, I wait until the dvd series is out and buy it so I can watch it in big lumps of time. This season I decided to try and watch it as it came out. I was doing pretty good until the last few weeks...but now I'm caught back up. This has been a very good season, very intense.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
What Buffy is thinking
Ok, I know we all just saw this pic, but I couldn't resist, I found out I could add the thought ballon...
New Pope
So we've got a new Pope. Or I should say the catholics have a new pope since I'm not and I don't. But a pope affects more than just the catholic religion, he's as much a political leader as a religious leader. And who do they pick as the pope....the most conservative cardinal in the bunch. (speaking of cardinals and not having anything to do with this subject at all, except the name of his new band is Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, the cd was supposed to be out today but was pushed back to May 3, which isn't a good thing.) I haven't read too much about the new pope yet, but I've seen some reports that he was a Nazi in his youth, if you go down my page to the buzz headlines (at least on this day) you'll see more about this. But even if he wasn't a Nazi (and if he was that opens a whole bunch of other questions) why would they pick someone that is so conservative (I could have said backwoods), instead of someone trying to lead into the new centuries, he's going to try and push any advances back to older times, maybe like the middle ages. At least he's 78 (I think that was his age) so he won't have as long a time to make his mark as John Paul(who while he did do some good things, wasn't the saint everyone wants to make him out to be, well maybe in the catholic religion he was a saint, but he did what he could to stomp out anyone in the catholic religion that tried to change things too much.)
Whenever I hear about the pope all I can think of is a joke by Harlan Ellison (one of the greatest writers in the world if you don't know who he is!) and his punch line "I'm the Pope dammit!"
Whenever I hear about the pope all I can think of is a joke by Harlan Ellison (one of the greatest writers in the world if you don't know who he is!) and his punch line "I'm the Pope dammit!"
Monday, April 18, 2005
Cafe Press Button
I just added a button to bring you to my webpage at cafepress...Happy Hour Comics. It lists all sorts of things for sale using images from my comcis that I've created. You can get t shirts, mugs, totes....all sorts of things with images from Diebold, Lizards, Rocketboys, Two Penguins and even some of the pictures I've taken. Check it out.
Always Tinkering...
I can't help it. It's like I've got some sort of addiction. I can't stop fooling with my site. I keep looking for new things to add or change it's appearance. Hope everyone likes it so far, cause give me a day or two and it'll probably look different. I'm even trying to learn html so I can add things I want to without having to find a site to pull from.
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Bonnaroo
I forgot to mention that finally we got our tickets for the Bonnaroo festival in June. Nick and I are going and it should be fun. Lot of great music and camping out, which I haven't done since I was in boy scouts, but I'm looking forward to it.
Walmart Part 4
Today when I was across the lake, just going into Border's Walmart called. I walked outside with the phone to talk to them. Basically the person on the phone, someone from regional, was very apologetic. She told me that if I thought my car was still having problems I could bring in someplace to have them look at it, and if there were any problems still caused by the oil spill they would pay for it.
I guess this is what I wanted. I am glad that someone finally acted like it wasn't my fault that they left the cap off the oil and than got the engine wet when they cleaned it. But I think I was hoping that they would at least say "Hey, we'll give you a thirty dollar gift card" or something. I spent over eight hours fooling with this mess, eight hours of my life that is gone now. And they gave me a ten dollar gift card, and that was given as payment for the oil cap and just not asked for back, no way was the manger going to ask me for it back after he paid for the oil cap. My time is worth more than thirty dollars, but ten dollars really feels cheap.
It's over, but it still feels like it wasn't resolved all that greatly. But I'll live with it. I'll just have to decide what I want to do as far as shopping at Walmart goes. I know there is no way I'll never shop there again. It's too pervasive, too cheap. In fact I went to Walmart today. I had to spend the ten dollar gift card, I wanted to get that out of the way. I do want to try and spend less money at Walmart, find other places to shop, even if it means a few more minutes out of my way. And I really don't want to shop at that Walmart again...the least I can do is go to the one across town. It might not be much in the long run, since I'm spending money at Walmart, but at least it won't be at that one.
I guess this is what I wanted. I am glad that someone finally acted like it wasn't my fault that they left the cap off the oil and than got the engine wet when they cleaned it. But I think I was hoping that they would at least say "Hey, we'll give you a thirty dollar gift card" or something. I spent over eight hours fooling with this mess, eight hours of my life that is gone now. And they gave me a ten dollar gift card, and that was given as payment for the oil cap and just not asked for back, no way was the manger going to ask me for it back after he paid for the oil cap. My time is worth more than thirty dollars, but ten dollars really feels cheap.
It's over, but it still feels like it wasn't resolved all that greatly. But I'll live with it. I'll just have to decide what I want to do as far as shopping at Walmart goes. I know there is no way I'll never shop there again. It's too pervasive, too cheap. In fact I went to Walmart today. I had to spend the ten dollar gift card, I wanted to get that out of the way. I do want to try and spend less money at Walmart, find other places to shop, even if it means a few more minutes out of my way. And I really don't want to shop at that Walmart again...the least I can do is go to the one across town. It might not be much in the long run, since I'm spending money at Walmart, but at least it won't be at that one.
What Age Do I Act?
You Are 16 Years Old
16
Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.
13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.
20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.
30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!
40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.
Note: For some reason I couldn't paste the code in here, it wouldn't take, so I just copied and pasted my answer. For the record I am a lot older than 16...but this might explain some things...
16
Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.
13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.
20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.
30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!
40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.
Note: For some reason I couldn't paste the code in here, it wouldn't take, so I just copied and pasted my answer. For the record I am a lot older than 16...but this might explain some things...
Friday, April 15, 2005
Sin City
Just got back from seeing Sin City. It was pretty good. Very violent, but the movie is so stylized the violence isn't like watching in a regular movie. I don't care for movies that are too violent or show a lot of gross scenes, but they work in this movie. It's all in black and white with splashes of color. It has to be the most faithful adaptation of a comic book to a movie. I recongnized panels from the comic created right there on the big screen. I can see that it might not be for everyone, but it's not the type of movie you're going to see everyday.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Newer Look!
Allright! I finally managed to get some space to all the stuff that I was putting on the sidebar. Everything was all sort of jammed together with no space and I couldn't figure out how to do it. Looks like I've done it, looks better. Lots of new stuff on the site. Thanks to Red's site where I found a bunch of neat stuff, like the Weather Pixie and the blob (not the disco blob). I've started a link section, so far I've got just one poor little link there, to Jodi's Ramblings....if anyone that has been reading this on any sort of regular basis wants me to link their site here let me know and I'll be happy to, so it won't look so lonley there.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Johnnie Johnson Dead
Johnnie Johnson, the rhythm-and-blues piano wizard whose pioneering partnership with Berry produced such indelible tracks as "Roll over Beethoven" and "No Particular Place To Go" and helped to lay the foundations for rock 'n' roll, died Wednesday. He was 80.
Bike Riding Again
Ok, I meant to post this yesterday, but somehow ending up not posting much of anything. I went bike riding twice now. After work I went to the trace again. This is good. This is my big worry, that once I bought the bike I wouln't use it. That still may happen, but at least I'm off to a good start. This time I brought a change of clothes and my ipod. I got a arm band to hold the ipod in so it's right there as I ride. So I was able to listen to my tunes as I pedaled down the trace. This time I didn't go quite as far, about six miles. My legs were aching more today than the first day, so I figured I wouldn't overdo it. Didn't go today, but plan to go tommorrow. So Heather hurry up and get that bike, I know it'll be easier to ride if I have people to ride with.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Dig!
Just got the new documentary Dig! about the BrianJonesTownMassacare and the Dandy Warhols. Very interesting....some really strange people involved. Was going to write more but just after I finished watching it I started feeling sick. I think I might just go to bed.
Monday, April 11, 2005
Walmart Part 3 1/2
For anyone keeps scoring, I haven't heard from Walmart today. It's been the two business days that I was assured of. I'll give them another day or so, to see if anyone is going to call me. The battle continues....
Cooking
Yes, I am cooking right now. Or actually the crock pot is cooking. But I put all the food in it. I'm always asked "Do you cook?" Well, unless I eat all my meals out I have to cook. Now I will be the first to admit that I eat more than my share of junk food. Cereal is a major food group for me. But now and than I will cook. I'll grab a cook book and find something in it that looks promising. I make a great dip and I make a great chili. I know, I'm ready for the big leagues now, lol. I'm making something called a cheese bake, it's got cheese (duh!), rice, diced ham and a few other things in it. Hopefully it'll turn out decent enough to eat. But I always have a back up plan, I have a box of Captain Crunch in the cupboard.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Bike Riding
I broke down today and bought a bike. I've been telling myself that I was going to buy a bike, but I kept putting it off. The main reason I kept putting it off is that I'm afraid that I'll get the bike and it'll sit in my yard instead of being riden. I have a bad habit of buying things and than not using them.
But I at least used it today. I took it to the trace, a 30 mile trail that goes from Slidell to Covington. No, I didnt' ride the entire trace today. Though my but feels like it right now. From looking at the map on the computer I figure I rode about four miles out and than four back, so about eight miles.
It was fun. Next time I plan on bringing my ipod so I can listen to some music as I pedal. It's beautiful out there, the trace cuts through the woods and bayous.
We'll see if I continue with the bike riding. Or if the bike become a yard ornement.
But I at least used it today. I took it to the trace, a 30 mile trail that goes from Slidell to Covington. No, I didnt' ride the entire trace today. Though my but feels like it right now. From looking at the map on the computer I figure I rode about four miles out and than four back, so about eight miles.
It was fun. Next time I plan on bringing my ipod so I can listen to some music as I pedal. It's beautiful out there, the trace cuts through the woods and bayous.
We'll see if I continue with the bike riding. Or if the bike become a yard ornement.
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Why I Hate Walmart, part 3
Ok, I'm going to try this one again. I had it all typed up yesterday and for some reason it just disappered. I'm almost think Walmart was running this blog.
This is more in my own going feud with Walmart. I wish I could say I would stop shopping at Walmart forever and forever, amen! But I know I won't. It's too convenient and too cheap. It makes it too easy to run in and just about buy anything I need in one stop shopping. But I haven't been there all week and that's a start. Usually a week doesn't go by that I don't find myself having to run in to get something. I'm trying, but I have to be honest with myself and admit that it probably won't last.
Back to the point of this post and my problem with Walmart. Last we left off I was waiting to get paid back for the charge at Goodyear. I let a day go by and didn't hear a word. Thursday I called the insurance company, no one there, but I left a message. A few hours later he calls me back finally. He tells me to go in to Walmart and talk to the manager of the automotive department and she'll take care of me. Oh, boy, the one that treated me so nice at the start.
I go in, get told she's in a meeting. Wait for around fifteen minutes, pacing back and forth. Finally she comes out, I can see in her office, it looks like a friend is in there. No one with a Walmart smock on. This person sits there through all of what happens, so I just don't have the feeling she's work related. So I've been waiting while she talks to a friend. Nice.
She gets my receipt from Goodyear, goes back in her office and gets on the computer. It must have all the information about what's go on so far with me and my car. She asks, and not very nicely either, why I got twenty dollars already? I explain to her that was to pay me back for buying the oil cap and the oil I had to purcahse to get my car running. She pretty rudely tells me that she already had given me a ten dollar gift card. I tell her that I never asked for the gift card, I wanted my cash back and that if she wants the gift card back I will happily give it back to her. She says no
After fifteen or twenty minutes of her on the computer she tells me we have to go to customer service now.
I wait another twenty minutes or so while she is back in the cash office. She comes out with someone from the cash office and some papers to sign. I sign them and than the cash office person tells me that they can't give me cash, it has to be a gift card. I tell her that I am not going to take a gift card. It's at this point that the automotive manager decides to show how good a manger she is and make sure this situation is resolved, she tells me that she hopes everything works out and leaves.
Can these people at Walmart not understand why I do not want a gift card? It's not like I spent my money there to begin with. Giving me a gift card is like me just going in and buying a fifty dollar gift card, since I am still out the money that way. All I want is to end up with the money I started with before they screwed everything up.
The cash person keeps telling me that they can't give me the cash. But the cash is in her hands! She came out with the money. Than she says snidely...."Aren't you the person you got some money out of us already." Take a deep breath I tell myself. Yes, I say, because you messed up my car.
She gives me the money and tells me that they won't give me anymore money. This is the last time she says. Like all this is my fault.
I'm on the phone before I even get out of the store. Calling 1-800 WalMart. I'm not too happy with them either, they were supposed to call back within two days and this is day three. I get hold of someone there and basically tell him everything I've just written. He assures me that someone will get hold of me within two business days, meaning by the end of Monday.
So we'll see what happens Monday.....
This is more in my own going feud with Walmart. I wish I could say I would stop shopping at Walmart forever and forever, amen! But I know I won't. It's too convenient and too cheap. It makes it too easy to run in and just about buy anything I need in one stop shopping. But I haven't been there all week and that's a start. Usually a week doesn't go by that I don't find myself having to run in to get something. I'm trying, but I have to be honest with myself and admit that it probably won't last.
Back to the point of this post and my problem with Walmart. Last we left off I was waiting to get paid back for the charge at Goodyear. I let a day go by and didn't hear a word. Thursday I called the insurance company, no one there, but I left a message. A few hours later he calls me back finally. He tells me to go in to Walmart and talk to the manager of the automotive department and she'll take care of me. Oh, boy, the one that treated me so nice at the start.
I go in, get told she's in a meeting. Wait for around fifteen minutes, pacing back and forth. Finally she comes out, I can see in her office, it looks like a friend is in there. No one with a Walmart smock on. This person sits there through all of what happens, so I just don't have the feeling she's work related. So I've been waiting while she talks to a friend. Nice.
She gets my receipt from Goodyear, goes back in her office and gets on the computer. It must have all the information about what's go on so far with me and my car. She asks, and not very nicely either, why I got twenty dollars already? I explain to her that was to pay me back for buying the oil cap and the oil I had to purcahse to get my car running. She pretty rudely tells me that she already had given me a ten dollar gift card. I tell her that I never asked for the gift card, I wanted my cash back and that if she wants the gift card back I will happily give it back to her. She says no
After fifteen or twenty minutes of her on the computer she tells me we have to go to customer service now.
I wait another twenty minutes or so while she is back in the cash office. She comes out with someone from the cash office and some papers to sign. I sign them and than the cash office person tells me that they can't give me cash, it has to be a gift card. I tell her that I am not going to take a gift card. It's at this point that the automotive manager decides to show how good a manger she is and make sure this situation is resolved, she tells me that she hopes everything works out and leaves.
Can these people at Walmart not understand why I do not want a gift card? It's not like I spent my money there to begin with. Giving me a gift card is like me just going in and buying a fifty dollar gift card, since I am still out the money that way. All I want is to end up with the money I started with before they screwed everything up.
The cash person keeps telling me that they can't give me the cash. But the cash is in her hands! She came out with the money. Than she says snidely...."Aren't you the person you got some money out of us already." Take a deep breath I tell myself. Yes, I say, because you messed up my car.
She gives me the money and tells me that they won't give me anymore money. This is the last time she says. Like all this is my fault.
I'm on the phone before I even get out of the store. Calling 1-800 WalMart. I'm not too happy with them either, they were supposed to call back within two days and this is day three. I get hold of someone there and basically tell him everything I've just written. He assures me that someone will get hold of me within two business days, meaning by the end of Monday.
So we'll see what happens Monday.....
Friday, April 08, 2005
Ramblings
This post is just a bunch of ramblings, sorry to steal your title Jodi but it's only for this one post. As I was pushing that blog button to jump from one blog to another I wished I could read all those blogs in the different languages. It's interesting to see how blogging has such an interest in so many different cultures.
I had posted another long post yesterday about my fun with walmart but it didn't got through and has ended up lost somewhere. I'll re do it, but I really don't want to think about walmart too much right now.
I haven't posted a Week In Media in a long time. Does anyone even read it? I kind of like it, just seeing what I've been listening to, watching or reading for the week, but sometimes it's a pain trying to remember everything.
I've tried putting the medicine the vet gave me in Buffy's ears but she isn't having anything to do with it. There is no way I'm going to be able to put the medicine in her ears. No way, no how.
I finally got the issue of Daredevil that you've read about in some of my recent postings, the one that I keep going to get and either pick up the wrong one or it's sold out. I got it today, with no mishap...and it's good. I was figuring by the time I get this issue I'll hate it just for all it's put me through.
I like the fact that I'm actually making some blog friends on here. There's a few people that seem to read my site and comment on it. And I read theirs. I still haven't been able to make links to their sites on mine yet. I've said it before and I'll say it again, me and computers just don't get along.
Ok, enough ramblings for the moment. Hope everyone has a good weekend.
I had posted another long post yesterday about my fun with walmart but it didn't got through and has ended up lost somewhere. I'll re do it, but I really don't want to think about walmart too much right now.
I haven't posted a Week In Media in a long time. Does anyone even read it? I kind of like it, just seeing what I've been listening to, watching or reading for the week, but sometimes it's a pain trying to remember everything.
I've tried putting the medicine the vet gave me in Buffy's ears but she isn't having anything to do with it. There is no way I'm going to be able to put the medicine in her ears. No way, no how.
I finally got the issue of Daredevil that you've read about in some of my recent postings, the one that I keep going to get and either pick up the wrong one or it's sold out. I got it today, with no mishap...and it's good. I was figuring by the time I get this issue I'll hate it just for all it's put me through.
I like the fact that I'm actually making some blog friends on here. There's a few people that seem to read my site and comment on it. And I read theirs. I still haven't been able to make links to their sites on mine yet. I've said it before and I'll say it again, me and computers just don't get along.
Ok, enough ramblings for the moment. Hope everyone has a good weekend.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
More why I hate Walmart
Ok, I know it's the post everyone's been waiting for. The continuing saga of my battle with Walmart. This all takes place yesterday. After I got to work I decided to call 1-800-Wal-Mart and let them know of my problems with the store. Then I went home for lunch and my car almost stalled everytime I stopped at a red light.
So once I got home I called the number for the insurance company that Walmart gave me. The guy at the other end told me to bring my car in to some shop and have someone look at it. He also told me that he had been trying to get hold of someone at the store to talk to about the report but so far was having no luck. I told him good luck, it took me forever to get a manager and I never did get to talk to the store manager.
I drove to the Goodyears near the mall and had them look at it. I called the store and got Nick to come pick me up.
The problem with the car was that they got water in the distibutor cap. They took it off and dried it out. The bill came to about fifty dollars. When I got back to Goodyears I called the insurance company back up and told the guy there what was what. He told me that he still hadn't gotten hold of anyone at the store, he was trying to get someone to come down and pay the bill. He said he even tried the district manager with no results.
He asked if I'd pay the bill. I told him I didn't like it, I had trouble getting Walmart to pay me back the the $7.50 oil cap. He assured me that he would make sure I got paid back. I really had no choice, they weren't going to let me take my car without someone paying for it and I was the only one around that was willing to fork over the cash.
When i called the 800 number the lady there said someone from regional would get back with me in two to three days. We'll see....
So once I got home I called the number for the insurance company that Walmart gave me. The guy at the other end told me to bring my car in to some shop and have someone look at it. He also told me that he had been trying to get hold of someone at the store to talk to about the report but so far was having no luck. I told him good luck, it took me forever to get a manager and I never did get to talk to the store manager.
I drove to the Goodyears near the mall and had them look at it. I called the store and got Nick to come pick me up.
The problem with the car was that they got water in the distibutor cap. They took it off and dried it out. The bill came to about fifty dollars. When I got back to Goodyears I called the insurance company back up and told the guy there what was what. He told me that he still hadn't gotten hold of anyone at the store, he was trying to get someone to come down and pay the bill. He said he even tried the district manager with no results.
He asked if I'd pay the bill. I told him I didn't like it, I had trouble getting Walmart to pay me back the the $7.50 oil cap. He assured me that he would make sure I got paid back. I really had no choice, they weren't going to let me take my car without someone paying for it and I was the only one around that was willing to fork over the cash.
When i called the 800 number the lady there said someone from regional would get back with me in two to three days. We'll see....
Lost and West Wing
Wow, two great shows tonight. Lost just keeps getting better and better. The death of one of the major characters. A birth and death show, yeah it's been done, but they did a good job of it. Does anyone have any ideas on what's going on?
This has been one of the best seasons in a long time for West Wing. And while everyone saw Santos getting the nomination, was anyone else surprised by Leo's selection as V.P.? So we'll see some of the characters continue into the new seasons, Leo, Josh (will he be the chief of staff for Santos?) ...I think Donna is going to jump to Santos, she'd be perfect as press sec. And CJ is the leak is pretty evident...but will they do anything to her?
I look forward to next season and the race for the president. Actually both Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda would make great presidents. They created two characters that will be hard to chose from, two men that would make great leaders, not like when Barlett ran for re election, his opponent was a moron. I think they've set it up for Smits to be the winner, but you never know, maybe they'll throw us a curve.
This has been one of the best seasons in a long time for West Wing. And while everyone saw Santos getting the nomination, was anyone else surprised by Leo's selection as V.P.? So we'll see some of the characters continue into the new seasons, Leo, Josh (will he be the chief of staff for Santos?) ...I think Donna is going to jump to Santos, she'd be perfect as press sec. And CJ is the leak is pretty evident...but will they do anything to her?
I look forward to next season and the race for the president. Actually both Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda would make great presidents. They created two characters that will be hard to chose from, two men that would make great leaders, not like when Barlett ran for re election, his opponent was a moron. I think they've set it up for Smits to be the winner, but you never know, maybe they'll throw us a curve.
Clinton and Bush
I've been reading Bill Clinton's MY LIFE for the past few weeks. It's one of those books that I pick up and read for a few days than put down and not pick it up again for another week or so. It's an interesting book. What's strange is that as I read it I hear Clinton's voice in my head saying the words. I read it in his voice.
Remember when Regan was running against Carter and he asked something along the lines of "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" meaning before Carter was president? Well, I think about that question now, am I better off with Bush than I was when Clinton was president? No, I'm not.
I'm astounded by the amount of hate that Clinton seemed to conjure up from people. Congress impeached him for having sex in the oval office (which I admit isn't the smartest thing to do) but Bush lies about why we attack Iraq, knowing they didn't have WMDs but saying they do to get us into the war and Congress doesn't blink an eye. Clinton didn't hurt anyone but himself and his family, Bush is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people but we don't think of impeaching him. I don't understand it.
Remember when Regan was running against Carter and he asked something along the lines of "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" meaning before Carter was president? Well, I think about that question now, am I better off with Bush than I was when Clinton was president? No, I'm not.
I'm astounded by the amount of hate that Clinton seemed to conjure up from people. Congress impeached him for having sex in the oval office (which I admit isn't the smartest thing to do) but Bush lies about why we attack Iraq, knowing they didn't have WMDs but saying they do to get us into the war and Congress doesn't blink an eye. Clinton didn't hurt anyone but himself and his family, Bush is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people but we don't think of impeaching him. I don't understand it.
Monday, April 04, 2005
Another Lucky Day or Why I Hate WalMart
This is going to be a long one, so everyone settle in.
If it seems like the last week my luck has been running bad, well you ain't seen nothing yet.
Today I decided to go back to BSI to pick up the missing Daredevil comic. Once I got there I found that it was sold out. So another trip for nothing. Heading back my check oil light came on, right in front of K Mart. So I do a right turn into the parking lot and head into the Big K to get some oil. Once I get the oil I'm back in the parking lot, popping the hood. I raise the hood and it's Ewwwww! The whole inside of the engine is covered with oil. Why you ask? Because the oil cap is missing. I had the oil changed about two weeks ago and they must have left off the oil cap and the oil has just been boiling out of the engine until now it's almost gone.
And where did I get the oil changed at? I'll give you one guess. Walmart.
So I call Walmart from Kmart's parking lot. Too many marts here. I speak to the manager of the automotive section. Guy couldn't be any ruder or could care less about my problem. It's like yeah, bring it in. So I bring it in, rude guy or not.
I get there and find the manager, which is him and a lady. I think he's actually the assitant and she's the manager. I explain the situation, tell him we just spoke on the phone, as polite as can be. I understand things happen, I work in retail, I don't want to be one of those crazy customers that just start yelling and screaming. The lady says find a cap and we'll pressure wash the engine. She says this to him, neither of them has said more than one word to me. He walks off. I watch him go up and down a few aisles, go back in the warehouse, come back out, get her and they walk off. Guess what they probably don't have?
She comes up to me and says "We dont' have the cap here. If you want you can go buy one and we'll reimburse you and than clean your engine." Walks off.
Ok, I'm really happy now. I go get in my car and head to the nearest auto parts store. So far I haven't gotten one "I'm sorry" or anything close to an apology from them. And I have to go get the part. So as the smoke drifts off me I decide to call Walmart again. I ask to speak to the store manager.
One thing in Walmart. You never can talk to the store manager. I didn't realize it than, but I was soon to find out. I ended up talking to an assitant manager. Which isn't even the next run down the ladder, that's a co manager. An assitant is below the co manager.
I explain the problem. She does apologize. Really didn't have a choice, since one of the reasons I tell her I'm upset is because of the way they treated me. Like I was the problem. She says she'll go talk to them while I'm gone.
I get back. The lady automotive manager is there. She tells me "Oh, you left before I could tell you that I'm sorry about all this." Yeah. "Here's a ten dollar gift card for Walmart." Bam, gone again. And this time she left...as in went home I was to find out later.
They take my car and pressure wash it. After about thirty minutes someone comes in and says it's ready. I get in and start to drive away. I didn't even think about the money for the oil cap or the oil that I had to buy. I barely get out of the parking lot and the car stalls. Turn around and go back, this time to the front of the store. I grab a door greeter and tell her I want to see the store manager.
Of course the store manager doesn't come up. It's another assitant, a different one this time. I explain the situation again. I politely tell her that I spent $7.50 for an oil cap that I was supposed to be paid back for but was given a ten dollar gift card. Is $2.50 supposed to make me feel good about all the trouble I've been through. And plus it's like I had to pay for a oil cap that they lost in the first place, cause even though they gave me a gift card, I can only spend it at walmart. So basically I paid $7.50 of the gift card. She's like, on no, that's not right. Let's go back and see what's going on.
That's when I find out that both managers have vanished for parts unknown. Automotive has no management guiding them. She asks me to go get my car and bring it around to the back so we can get it looked at. I do so. I get to the back with the car and now she's gone. I'm losing mangers left and right.
I know what's wrong. They got water in the spark plugs and other parts of the engine. One of the mechanics gets a blower and they start trying to blow dry the engine. After an hour and a half of this they finally say that it's ready now. I can drive it.
While all this was going on I'm inside. I ask the clerk that's behind the desk if the manager mentioned anything to her about paying me back for the oil cap. She says no, she said I got a gift card already. I don't say anything...I just walk away for a few minutes and think happy thoughts.
Now the car is ready. I go back to the counter, the girl that's been working back there is at lunch. I ask the guy back to call the assitant manager that I talked to earlier. He does, tells her it's me and she tells him on the phone that all she can do is give me a gift card, she can't give me cash. I ask him to tell her to come talk to me in person. She can't, she's in a meeting. I ask for the store manger
Of course I wait. And wait. He calls a few times. Finally he comes up and tells me that the store manger went home. Another manger is coming. I wait.
And wait.
Now the co manger comes up to me. At least I'm moving up. I explain the situation again (for how many times now I have no idea). I tell him that I'm not after any extra money, but if the gift card was their idea of trying to make it up for all my troubles it was insulting. All I want is the cash for the oil and oil cap I had to pay for. He agrees. He says he'll get one of his assitants to take care of it for me.
He calls her. And we wait.
And wait.
She comes. It's the first assitant that I spoke to on the phone. He also tells her to get me to fill out an incident report so if anything happens to the car they'll have something on record. And so if anything else happens I have to go through their insurance company.
So finally after more than four hours I drive away with a car that runs and the money I started out with in my pocket.
On the way home I decide to stop for chicken at Popeyes. I order two breasts, fries and a coke. I get home and I open the box. It's cole slaw, one breast and two wings. At least they got the coke right.
All in all, a wonderful day.
If it seems like the last week my luck has been running bad, well you ain't seen nothing yet.
Today I decided to go back to BSI to pick up the missing Daredevil comic. Once I got there I found that it was sold out. So another trip for nothing. Heading back my check oil light came on, right in front of K Mart. So I do a right turn into the parking lot and head into the Big K to get some oil. Once I get the oil I'm back in the parking lot, popping the hood. I raise the hood and it's Ewwwww! The whole inside of the engine is covered with oil. Why you ask? Because the oil cap is missing. I had the oil changed about two weeks ago and they must have left off the oil cap and the oil has just been boiling out of the engine until now it's almost gone.
And where did I get the oil changed at? I'll give you one guess. Walmart.
So I call Walmart from Kmart's parking lot. Too many marts here. I speak to the manager of the automotive section. Guy couldn't be any ruder or could care less about my problem. It's like yeah, bring it in. So I bring it in, rude guy or not.
I get there and find the manager, which is him and a lady. I think he's actually the assitant and she's the manager. I explain the situation, tell him we just spoke on the phone, as polite as can be. I understand things happen, I work in retail, I don't want to be one of those crazy customers that just start yelling and screaming. The lady says find a cap and we'll pressure wash the engine. She says this to him, neither of them has said more than one word to me. He walks off. I watch him go up and down a few aisles, go back in the warehouse, come back out, get her and they walk off. Guess what they probably don't have?
She comes up to me and says "We dont' have the cap here. If you want you can go buy one and we'll reimburse you and than clean your engine." Walks off.
Ok, I'm really happy now. I go get in my car and head to the nearest auto parts store. So far I haven't gotten one "I'm sorry" or anything close to an apology from them. And I have to go get the part. So as the smoke drifts off me I decide to call Walmart again. I ask to speak to the store manager.
One thing in Walmart. You never can talk to the store manager. I didn't realize it than, but I was soon to find out. I ended up talking to an assitant manager. Which isn't even the next run down the ladder, that's a co manager. An assitant is below the co manager.
I explain the problem. She does apologize. Really didn't have a choice, since one of the reasons I tell her I'm upset is because of the way they treated me. Like I was the problem. She says she'll go talk to them while I'm gone.
I get back. The lady automotive manager is there. She tells me "Oh, you left before I could tell you that I'm sorry about all this." Yeah. "Here's a ten dollar gift card for Walmart." Bam, gone again. And this time she left...as in went home I was to find out later.
They take my car and pressure wash it. After about thirty minutes someone comes in and says it's ready. I get in and start to drive away. I didn't even think about the money for the oil cap or the oil that I had to buy. I barely get out of the parking lot and the car stalls. Turn around and go back, this time to the front of the store. I grab a door greeter and tell her I want to see the store manager.
Of course the store manager doesn't come up. It's another assitant, a different one this time. I explain the situation again. I politely tell her that I spent $7.50 for an oil cap that I was supposed to be paid back for but was given a ten dollar gift card. Is $2.50 supposed to make me feel good about all the trouble I've been through. And plus it's like I had to pay for a oil cap that they lost in the first place, cause even though they gave me a gift card, I can only spend it at walmart. So basically I paid $7.50 of the gift card. She's like, on no, that's not right. Let's go back and see what's going on.
That's when I find out that both managers have vanished for parts unknown. Automotive has no management guiding them. She asks me to go get my car and bring it around to the back so we can get it looked at. I do so. I get to the back with the car and now she's gone. I'm losing mangers left and right.
I know what's wrong. They got water in the spark plugs and other parts of the engine. One of the mechanics gets a blower and they start trying to blow dry the engine. After an hour and a half of this they finally say that it's ready now. I can drive it.
While all this was going on I'm inside. I ask the clerk that's behind the desk if the manager mentioned anything to her about paying me back for the oil cap. She says no, she said I got a gift card already. I don't say anything...I just walk away for a few minutes and think happy thoughts.
Now the car is ready. I go back to the counter, the girl that's been working back there is at lunch. I ask the guy back to call the assitant manager that I talked to earlier. He does, tells her it's me and she tells him on the phone that all she can do is give me a gift card, she can't give me cash. I ask him to tell her to come talk to me in person. She can't, she's in a meeting. I ask for the store manger
Of course I wait. And wait. He calls a few times. Finally he comes up and tells me that the store manger went home. Another manger is coming. I wait.
And wait.
Now the co manger comes up to me. At least I'm moving up. I explain the situation again (for how many times now I have no idea). I tell him that I'm not after any extra money, but if the gift card was their idea of trying to make it up for all my troubles it was insulting. All I want is the cash for the oil and oil cap I had to pay for. He agrees. He says he'll get one of his assitants to take care of it for me.
He calls her. And we wait.
And wait.
She comes. It's the first assitant that I spoke to on the phone. He also tells her to get me to fill out an incident report so if anything happens to the car they'll have something on record. And so if anything else happens I have to go through their insurance company.
So finally after more than four hours I drive away with a car that runs and the money I started out with in my pocket.
On the way home I decide to stop for chicken at Popeyes. I order two breasts, fries and a coke. I get home and I open the box. It's cole slaw, one breast and two wings. At least they got the coke right.
All in all, a wonderful day.
Praise
Thinking back on the show. It's weird when someone tells me they recognize something I've written. I always want to call them a liar, I just find it hard to imagine I guess that someone remembers something. I had a few people tell me that they remember Diebold. And one guy said he remembered Claws. I've had someone tell me that they really liked both issues of Claws before, but I've only ever seen the first issue. I did do the script for the second so maybe it did get published, Conquest Press was not the most ideal publishing house at the time. I like it when someone says something good about what I've written, it's just hard for me to accept that anyone has read it, if that makes any sense. Just a little rambling at almost one in the morning when I should be sleeping....
Saturday, April 02, 2005
More Shows?
Ok, after ranting about how bad the show was last night this might come as a surprise, but I'd like to do more shows. Maybe not that one again. I think it would be fun to do some small shows around the area. I don't want to do the big cons, I've been to Chicago and San Diego, unless you're a big name you just get lost. I'd like to do some small shows where I can talk to people and just have some fun. If there's anyone out there that knows of any shows or is putting on any shows in the area, I'm in Slidell, which is close to New Orleans for those that don't know, let me know. I'm willing to drive a few hours, but if you're putting something on in Boston, sorry that's a little far. Or even some in store signings, if there are some stores out there that wouldn't mind having a comics writer that hasn't written anything in a few years at their store...
It's A Wonderful Day (Yeah...)
After I dropped Buffy off at the vet I drove to Mandeville to go to BSI Comics. I hadnt' been in a few weeks and I knew the new Daredevil was there so I wanted to get it. Go in, grab it, look around pick up a few more and proceed to the check out. They run my atm card, first it comes back invalid. They fiddle around, run it again, it comes back declined. Now I'm not like some customers, I work in retail so I know it's not the clerks fault, and I don't scream and yell that something has to be wrong, the card has to be good. I know the card has to be good, I keep a certain level in my account and know that I have more than the twenty dollars I was trying to charge.
I use another card and go out to my car and call the little number on the back of the card. After a few transfers from one person to another I get someone that answers "Loss Prevention." This gives me pause, why am I being transfered to loss prevention, I figured it was a clitch in their machine to be honest, but I just wanted to make sure. The woman on the other end asks if I made a $500.00 payment to T Moblie yesterday. I was more than a little shocked, my cell phone is through Sprint. Luckily they hadn't posted the payment, they had held it and tried to call me but somehow had the wrong number. So nothing got paid, but somehow somewhere someone got hold of my credit card number. We went throught the last few charges she had just to make sure that the others were good. When I got home I checked online and everything else looks good.
The biggest problem now is that they canceled that card. I live on my atm card. I never carry cash. And now I can't get cash anyways, cause my card is dead. They said a new one will arrive in 5-7 days. I guess I'll just cash a check at work, so I can at least get some money for gas. It's a good thing I found out before I went back to pick Buffy up, I dont' carry checks either. My card would have declined at the vets. I wonder what they would have did, keep Buffy? Somehow I don't see that happening, they'd have to keep sedating her every few hours.
One thing I thought of though was how stupid could the person be? If they paid off their cell phone bill, it's going to show a name of who the person was....so hopefully it won't be too hard to catch this person. I don't know if they got the number from charging it someplace local or off the net. I think I'd rather it be someplace local, than finding someone hacked into my computer.
And than the topper of it all. I got home, stopped at Wendys to get something to eat, sit down with my food and comics and of course the first one I'm going to read is Daredevil. I pick it up, open it and realize I picked up the wrong issue. I grabbed last month's issue, one I already had.
Needless to say, this isn't my day so far.
I use another card and go out to my car and call the little number on the back of the card. After a few transfers from one person to another I get someone that answers "Loss Prevention." This gives me pause, why am I being transfered to loss prevention, I figured it was a clitch in their machine to be honest, but I just wanted to make sure. The woman on the other end asks if I made a $500.00 payment to T Moblie yesterday. I was more than a little shocked, my cell phone is through Sprint. Luckily they hadn't posted the payment, they had held it and tried to call me but somehow had the wrong number. So nothing got paid, but somehow somewhere someone got hold of my credit card number. We went throught the last few charges she had just to make sure that the others were good. When I got home I checked online and everything else looks good.
The biggest problem now is that they canceled that card. I live on my atm card. I never carry cash. And now I can't get cash anyways, cause my card is dead. They said a new one will arrive in 5-7 days. I guess I'll just cash a check at work, so I can at least get some money for gas. It's a good thing I found out before I went back to pick Buffy up, I dont' carry checks either. My card would have declined at the vets. I wonder what they would have did, keep Buffy? Somehow I don't see that happening, they'd have to keep sedating her every few hours.
One thing I thought of though was how stupid could the person be? If they paid off their cell phone bill, it's going to show a name of who the person was....so hopefully it won't be too hard to catch this person. I don't know if they got the number from charging it someplace local or off the net. I think I'd rather it be someplace local, than finding someone hacked into my computer.
And than the topper of it all. I got home, stopped at Wendys to get something to eat, sit down with my food and comics and of course the first one I'm going to read is Daredevil. I pick it up, open it and realize I picked up the wrong issue. I grabbed last month's issue, one I already had.
Needless to say, this isn't my day so far.
Buffy at the Vet Again
Today was the day that Buffy had to return to the vet for her ears. Actually it was for her full check up since they really didn't do anything last time, except charge me $130.oo, so I guess they must have done something.
I had to go to my parents to get Buffy, since that is where she spent the week. They just bought a plasma tv, I'm so jealous. And they're giving their old 35" tv to my brother. I told them I could tell who the favorite in this family is.
Back at the vet they decided that the best course of action was to sedate Buffy. I held her while they gave her the shot. I felt so bad watching her after the shot started to take effect. She wobbled around, than laid down and her tongue was hanging out and she kep moving her head back and forth like she was drunk. I really felt terrible watching her, I knew she wasn't in pain, the opposite they told me, but it didnt' look like it.
So after she was sedated they came in to do their thing and I left for a few hours. Coming to pick her up they said she was a perfect patient...yeah, knocked out! Her ears are still bad, she has a yeast infection. They gave me two different things I have to put in her ears, yeah good luck with that, Buffy hates for anyone to touch her ears. It's going to be a lot of fun around here for the next week or so.
And in three weeks I get to do it again, she has to go back for her follow up appointment.
She's being so good now, sleeping right next to me as I type these words.
I had to go to my parents to get Buffy, since that is where she spent the week. They just bought a plasma tv, I'm so jealous. And they're giving their old 35" tv to my brother. I told them I could tell who the favorite in this family is.
Back at the vet they decided that the best course of action was to sedate Buffy. I held her while they gave her the shot. I felt so bad watching her after the shot started to take effect. She wobbled around, than laid down and her tongue was hanging out and she kep moving her head back and forth like she was drunk. I really felt terrible watching her, I knew she wasn't in pain, the opposite they told me, but it didnt' look like it.
So after she was sedated they came in to do their thing and I left for a few hours. Coming to pick her up they said she was a perfect patient...yeah, knocked out! Her ears are still bad, she has a yeast infection. They gave me two different things I have to put in her ears, yeah good luck with that, Buffy hates for anyone to touch her ears. It's going to be a lot of fun around here for the next week or so.
And in three weeks I get to do it again, she has to go back for her follow up appointment.
She's being so good now, sleeping right next to me as I type these words.
Show
Ok, what can i say about the show last night? That it wasn't very good is about the best I can say. I knew going in that I wasn't going to make a lot of money there, but I was hoping to make fifty or sixty dollars, that's what I did last time. I made ten dollars. The attendance seemed to be way down this time. My table was all the way in the back. On one side I had the crazy clothes ladies. I get to my table and they were already there, with half my table covered with their stuff. Than they put a rolling rack out front of their table, right next to mine, so people looking at the rack are standing in front of my table. On my other side was these two girls, one was an artist and the other a photographer. Her series of large prints were "Black Widow Fantasys" about ways she could kill her husband (she wasn't married.) That was the type of show it was, she got a lot of people looking at her stuff. She actually was nice, except for the fact that she spilled her beer over about a dozen copies of my comics. And since it's an Alternative show they feel like they have to have the music up so loud you can't even talk. So when I did get in conversations with some of the people that stopped by it was next to impossible, both of us leaning across the table from each other shouting in each other's ear. So not a good time was had by all, or at least by me.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Quiz
Show is Friday!
Mistake in the last blog....the show is Friday night, not tonight. Sorry about that. But it still goes, come by and see me. The show is from 7 to 10.
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Antigravity Show Tommorrow Night
Tommorrow I'll be at the Alternative Media Show sponsered by Antigravity Magazine. I'll have a table, selling just about anything you would want...copies of my comics, t shirts, mugs, bumper stickers...like I said, just about anything you could want. It's at Twiopera on Tchopetulas in New Orleans. Come by and say hi!
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Haircut
Whoops, another in a line of amusing but dumb efforts on my part.
I've been cutting my own hair now for the past year. I cut it pretty short, using the smallest guide on the trimmer. Last night I decided it was time to cut it again. I picked up the trimmer and started cutting...only to realize that I had removed the guide and had no guide on it now. I was cutting straight from the trimmer.
And let me tell you, that cuts really really short. Kinda like almost nothing but a fine stubble.
I wasn't leaving much hair on my head before, but now....well, all I can say is that it's about as close as it can get and still have something you can call hair on it.
I've been cutting my own hair now for the past year. I cut it pretty short, using the smallest guide on the trimmer. Last night I decided it was time to cut it again. I picked up the trimmer and started cutting...only to realize that I had removed the guide and had no guide on it now. I was cutting straight from the trimmer.
And let me tell you, that cuts really really short. Kinda like almost nothing but a fine stubble.
I wasn't leaving much hair on my head before, but now....well, all I can say is that it's about as close as it can get and still have something you can call hair on it.
Web Page
You'd think it wouldn't be so hard to create a webpage, not with the software. I'm trying to get my webpage back up and running, but everytime I get very far in creating it, the whole thing just clicks off. I don't mind spending hours working on it, if at least at the end I have something to show for it, but this way after working on it for hours I end up right where I began. It's frustrating. I just want to get the web page finished, or better than it is now. Not this blog, but my web page, twopenguinscomics.com, which right now sucks. It shouldn't be that difficult, not with the software, it's all pretty much drop and drag, but for some reason it just doesn't seem to work.
Ok, just take a deep breath and keep going.
Ok, just take a deep breath and keep going.
Friday, March 25, 2005
Dog Day
Well today was an interesting day.
Buffy was scheduled for grooming this morning at eight and than she had a vet appointment at two in the afternoon. Now neither are things that Buffy gets excited about, but she's always been fairly good at them.
The morning started off good. I didn't even have to pick up her leash, I just said "Want to go out, Buffy" and she was at the door, tail wagging. She loves riding in the car. She sits up in the seat and just watches the scenary pass by. She was fascinated by an eighteen wheeler that passed us on our right, she kept staring at it as it passed us by.
She was good until we got in the back where the groomer was. When it was time to go in the back room, she tried to put her feet down and not go, but she ended up following the groomer. I left her to come pick her up in a few hours.
When I got to pick her up one of the groomers said Buffy had bit her. Nothing serious, no skin broken, but still it wasn't good. She never did anything like that before. Now I forgot to mention that Buffy has been having problems with her right ear. She keeps shaking her head and pawing at her ear. That's one of the main reasons for her vet appointment later today. All I could think of was that her ear was causing her problems. They also told me that they were a lot busier and things were a lot nosier than normal.
So brought Buffy home and the vet called, suggesting I bring Buffy in early and drop her off. They said ear swaps take some time and it would be easier if I just dropped her off. So back I go again. I was afraid Buffy wouldn't be as excited to get in the car this time, after her earlier experience. But as soon as she saw the leash she was ready to go and hop in the car.
After an hour or so the vet called. Buffy wouldn't let anyone near her. They suggested I come back and we would see what we could do.
I got there and was able to calm Buffy down and put a muzzle on her. The doctor tried to look at her ears, but Buffy wouldn't let her. She trashed around so much that it wasn't going to work. The doctor didn't want to give her a sedative because Buffy was too worked up and excited, she was afraid it would effect her blood pressure. So we decided to re schedule and they would give her something to knock her out when I brought her, she wouldn't have the whole morning at the groomers to get her excited beforehand.
I felt really bad. Buffy was having such a bad day. She never acts like that. She's never bit anyone. Sometimes she's a little shy around people, but once she gets to know someone she is ususally all over them. After we got home she's been great, sleeping on the floor right under me on the couch. Right now she's laying by the side of my chair as I type this.
Buffy was scheduled for grooming this morning at eight and than she had a vet appointment at two in the afternoon. Now neither are things that Buffy gets excited about, but she's always been fairly good at them.
The morning started off good. I didn't even have to pick up her leash, I just said "Want to go out, Buffy" and she was at the door, tail wagging. She loves riding in the car. She sits up in the seat and just watches the scenary pass by. She was fascinated by an eighteen wheeler that passed us on our right, she kept staring at it as it passed us by.
She was good until we got in the back where the groomer was. When it was time to go in the back room, she tried to put her feet down and not go, but she ended up following the groomer. I left her to come pick her up in a few hours.
When I got to pick her up one of the groomers said Buffy had bit her. Nothing serious, no skin broken, but still it wasn't good. She never did anything like that before. Now I forgot to mention that Buffy has been having problems with her right ear. She keeps shaking her head and pawing at her ear. That's one of the main reasons for her vet appointment later today. All I could think of was that her ear was causing her problems. They also told me that they were a lot busier and things were a lot nosier than normal.
So brought Buffy home and the vet called, suggesting I bring Buffy in early and drop her off. They said ear swaps take some time and it would be easier if I just dropped her off. So back I go again. I was afraid Buffy wouldn't be as excited to get in the car this time, after her earlier experience. But as soon as she saw the leash she was ready to go and hop in the car.
After an hour or so the vet called. Buffy wouldn't let anyone near her. They suggested I come back and we would see what we could do.
I got there and was able to calm Buffy down and put a muzzle on her. The doctor tried to look at her ears, but Buffy wouldn't let her. She trashed around so much that it wasn't going to work. The doctor didn't want to give her a sedative because Buffy was too worked up and excited, she was afraid it would effect her blood pressure. So we decided to re schedule and they would give her something to knock her out when I brought her, she wouldn't have the whole morning at the groomers to get her excited beforehand.
I felt really bad. Buffy was having such a bad day. She never acts like that. She's never bit anyone. Sometimes she's a little shy around people, but once she gets to know someone she is ususally all over them. After we got home she's been great, sleeping on the floor right under me on the couch. Right now she's laying by the side of my chair as I type this.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Help!
I'm trying to add a picture to my profile, but I seem to be having problems as you can no doubt see...or in this case not see. Everytime I try, using Hello, I end up with a picture in the posts for the blog. What am I doing wrong? This is my secret shame, how computers and me don't get along, please don't hate me, just pity me.
Wilco Cap
I got my new Wilco cap in the mail today. Actually my only Wilco cap, sounds like I had an old one. They haven't offered one through their website before, so when I saw they had one now, I had to grab it. I know, I could have bought it when I see them next month, but this way I can be wearing it when I go to their concert. And I can buy other things from them. I've been running around work when I came back from lunch, showing everyone my new cap (I've told you before, it doesn't take much to make me happy) and most people's reaction is "Who's Wilco?"
And my answer is "One of the best bands in the world!"
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
What's New?
What new music came out today? What new DVDs? I normally know what's coming out every Tuesday. After work my first stop is Best Buy, to check out the new arrivals. Today I skipped it and came home. Now I'm wondering if I missed something that I need. New music, new dvds...hard to live without them.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Wallflowers Show
The show last night was terrific. In fact my right ear is still ringing. I was up front at the side of the stage, right next to the stack of speakers. It was a great show. They did all their old hits and some new ones from their unreleased but upcoming cd.
One fun moment: A fan was taking pictures and Jakob smiled and brushed at his hair and made some comment about looking good. Well one of the security people saw the camera, pushes through the crowd and tells the girl that she can't take the picture. Jakob tells the security person that it's ok, let her take the picture. Which makes others pull out their camera phones and cameras to start taking pictures. One guy next to me had a digital camera, the security guard comes up to him and tells him to put the camera away. Again Jakob says it's ok. She says that it's club policy....he tells her he has a band policy. In the end the security guard went away and people took their pictures.
Now I understand that the security person was just doing his job. And most performers don't want people in the auidence taking pictures, they're afraid that the pictures will just get re sold, or that they can't sell their own offical versions. But if the performer doesn't mind, I don't understand why the club should mind.
It was a fun show. Jakob interacted with the crowd a lot. He caught two young girls smiling at him while he was singing and asked them what was so funny. That just set them off, the fact that he noticed them.
He looked like he was having a good time. I hate seeing shows where the performers look like they're having a bad time, like it's just a job. It's more fun when they're enjoying themselves.
Before the show we tried to find someplace to eat. We wanted to try Bubba Gumps, but when we got there it was packed so we figured just to go down to the HOB and eat there. Well, there was at least a forty five minute wait. So we decided let's go see what the wait at Bubba Gumps is. Walked down there...it was an hour and a half. Across the street was the Hard Rock Cafe. Two hour wait. By this time we were getting hungry. We tried Jax's Brewery, but it was a Sunday night and everything was closed. Than we saw a sign for Fatburgers. It was a little hamburger place off to the side. It was kind of expensive but it was pretty good. And Heather ate all her hamburger.
One fun moment: A fan was taking pictures and Jakob smiled and brushed at his hair and made some comment about looking good. Well one of the security people saw the camera, pushes through the crowd and tells the girl that she can't take the picture. Jakob tells the security person that it's ok, let her take the picture. Which makes others pull out their camera phones and cameras to start taking pictures. One guy next to me had a digital camera, the security guard comes up to him and tells him to put the camera away. Again Jakob says it's ok. She says that it's club policy....he tells her he has a band policy. In the end the security guard went away and people took their pictures.
Now I understand that the security person was just doing his job. And most performers don't want people in the auidence taking pictures, they're afraid that the pictures will just get re sold, or that they can't sell their own offical versions. But if the performer doesn't mind, I don't understand why the club should mind.
It was a fun show. Jakob interacted with the crowd a lot. He caught two young girls smiling at him while he was singing and asked them what was so funny. That just set them off, the fact that he noticed them.
He looked like he was having a good time. I hate seeing shows where the performers look like they're having a bad time, like it's just a job. It's more fun when they're enjoying themselves.
Before the show we tried to find someplace to eat. We wanted to try Bubba Gumps, but when we got there it was packed so we figured just to go down to the HOB and eat there. Well, there was at least a forty five minute wait. So we decided let's go see what the wait at Bubba Gumps is. Walked down there...it was an hour and a half. Across the street was the Hard Rock Cafe. Two hour wait. By this time we were getting hungry. We tried Jax's Brewery, but it was a Sunday night and everything was closed. Than we saw a sign for Fatburgers. It was a little hamburger place off to the side. It was kind of expensive but it was pretty good. And Heather ate all her hamburger.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
WALLFLOWERS tonight!
Going to see the Wallflowers tonight. I think I'll wear my Bob Dylan shirt.
Report on how the show was later.
Report on how the show was later.
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Surfing the Blogs
I've just wasted an hour of my life surfing the blogs. Trying to find some that are interesting and that I might even leave a comment or two on. I found one. So many are company blogs or blogs in langauges that I would not even attempt to speak without sounding like an idiot. I like the idea of talking to people on here, maybe even making a few new friends. So anyone reading this leave a message!
Friday, March 18, 2005
Kings of Leon
Last night was the House of Blues and the Kings of Leon. Very good show.
I thought I wasn't going to be able to go, the night before I did something to my back and I could barely move. But I wasn't going to miss it...even though my back was spasming thoughout the concert I enjoyed it.
Very crowded and I was surprised by how well known they were by the people there. Half of the auidence sang the words along with the group. I think this group is poised for breakout, after this month they're opening for U2.
Only regret is that they didn't play Holy Roller Novaciane.
I thought I wasn't going to be able to go, the night before I did something to my back and I could barely move. But I wasn't going to miss it...even though my back was spasming thoughout the concert I enjoyed it.
Very crowded and I was surprised by how well known they were by the people there. Half of the auidence sang the words along with the group. I think this group is poised for breakout, after this month they're opening for U2.
Only regret is that they didn't play Holy Roller Novaciane.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
NYPD Blue
Ok, I know, I haven't posted anything on here for awhile and now I'm posting like crazy. Sorry, but the last week or so I just haven't felt like writing anything. Now I'm trying to make up for it.
Just a quick post: The final episode of NYPD Blue aired last Tuesday. This year was a good year for the show. It has rebounded from a slump that almost drove me away over the last few years. This year wasn't as good as the first four years, but it was close.
The ending of the show was perfect though. No killing anyone, no blowing up the building. But it completed the growth of Andy. I see this series as the redemption of Andy Sipitowiz. Anyone watching this show at the start would never had guessed that Andy would end up where he did at the end.
I'm going to miss this show. And now there's nothing to watch on Tuesday nights.
Just a quick post: The final episode of NYPD Blue aired last Tuesday. This year was a good year for the show. It has rebounded from a slump that almost drove me away over the last few years. This year wasn't as good as the first four years, but it was close.
The ending of the show was perfect though. No killing anyone, no blowing up the building. But it completed the growth of Andy. I see this series as the redemption of Andy Sipitowiz. Anyone watching this show at the start would never had guessed that Andy would end up where he did at the end.
I'm going to miss this show. And now there's nothing to watch on Tuesday nights.
Hollywood Animal
This weekend I was visiting my brother on the Westbank and we went to Borders and Barnes & Noble (I know two book stores in one day, I'm a nerd) and I picked up Hollywood Animal by Joe Eszterhas. It was in the bargin book section and I got it in hard back for $6.98. Nowdays you can barely find a paperback for that price.
Ok, the point of this entry is the book. Eszterhas is a screenwriter for Hollywood. He's probably one of the few screenwriters who most people outside of Hollywood might have actually heard of. Everyone has heard of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Mel Gibson and this list could go on and on. But most people don't know who the screen writers are. Think about it, you might know who directed your favortie movie, but who wrote it?
Eszterhas wrote F.I.S.T., Basic Instinct, Flashdance, Jagged Edge, Telling Lies in America, Showgirls, Sliver, Jade, Music Box, Betrayed and An Alan Smitee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn. Probably a few movies there you might have heard of.
Eszterhas was the highest paid screenwriter working in Hollywood when he was at his prime. More than that he was a star in his own right. People knew who he was.
This is an interesting book, full of lots of inside information about the stars. But it shows a writer fighting to keep his words as they were written. As he tells one director who wants to change his script, "I'm not telling you how to direct, you dont' tell me how to write." He wasn't going to change his words just to make a sale. In a world where the written word doesn't mean much anymore it's nice to know that he believed in what he wrote. I'm not going to debate the merits of his work, some of his scripts I enjoyed a lot, some I've never seen and others are all that great.
Also the story of his Father and how it reflected the movie he wrote but did not realize at the time it was about his Father, Movie Box is interesting reading.
He's not above showing the world his bad side either. He took enough drugs and drink and smokes to almost kill him in the end.
He's living in Ohio now, with his wife and three boys. He doesn't smoke, drink or do drugs. He's become a middle class dad, something that you would never imagine as you read this book he would end up as. He doesn't say if he's writing scripts still or not. His name hasn't been on any movie in a long time, so maybe he's retired.
I have to say I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read, I finished it a few days. If you see a copy I think it's worth picking up and reading.
Ok, the point of this entry is the book. Eszterhas is a screenwriter for Hollywood. He's probably one of the few screenwriters who most people outside of Hollywood might have actually heard of. Everyone has heard of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Mel Gibson and this list could go on and on. But most people don't know who the screen writers are. Think about it, you might know who directed your favortie movie, but who wrote it?
Eszterhas wrote F.I.S.T., Basic Instinct, Flashdance, Jagged Edge, Telling Lies in America, Showgirls, Sliver, Jade, Music Box, Betrayed and An Alan Smitee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn. Probably a few movies there you might have heard of.
Eszterhas was the highest paid screenwriter working in Hollywood when he was at his prime. More than that he was a star in his own right. People knew who he was.
This is an interesting book, full of lots of inside information about the stars. But it shows a writer fighting to keep his words as they were written. As he tells one director who wants to change his script, "I'm not telling you how to direct, you dont' tell me how to write." He wasn't going to change his words just to make a sale. In a world where the written word doesn't mean much anymore it's nice to know that he believed in what he wrote. I'm not going to debate the merits of his work, some of his scripts I enjoyed a lot, some I've never seen and others are all that great.
Also the story of his Father and how it reflected the movie he wrote but did not realize at the time it was about his Father, Movie Box is interesting reading.
He's not above showing the world his bad side either. He took enough drugs and drink and smokes to almost kill him in the end.
He's living in Ohio now, with his wife and three boys. He doesn't smoke, drink or do drugs. He's become a middle class dad, something that you would never imagine as you read this book he would end up as. He doesn't say if he's writing scripts still or not. His name hasn't been on any movie in a long time, so maybe he's retired.
I have to say I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read, I finished it a few days. If you see a copy I think it's worth picking up and reading.
New Day, Same Stupid
Sometimes I can't believe how dumb I am. I purchased the first season of The West Wing on Ebay last week. I received it in the mail a few days ago. I checked it out and discovered it was missing the second disk. I emailed the buyer. No answer. I was getting ready to email Ebay and report my problem, when I went back to the orginal buyer's page to check for the information and discovered down at the bottom of the page (you guessed it!): This set is missing the second disk. Why would someone sell the set without the second disk. It's not like you can buy the disk by itself. I never even thought to look for something like that. I know it's my fault for not reading all the details, but it just wasn't something I would have thought to. The ad reported how like new this set was, how great it was, not mentioning that it was missing the second disk until the end of the page. So now I have the first season of The West Wing on DVD, without a second disk. Which means I'm going to end up buying the whole thing again soon. It was just like throwing money away....sigh.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Sunday, March 06, 2005
No New Post
Ok, now that I've actually had a few people comment on my site what do I do? Nothing. No new posts...sorry, been busy with work and stuff. In fact I think I've slept a total of about four hours in the last 3 days. I have to get the new week in media up and there are some other things I want to post about. I did just buy the new Randy White book, Tampa Burn. This is the newest in the series of Doc Ford novels. If anyone is the "heir" to John McDonald and his Travis McGee books, Doc Ford and Randy White are it. And if you don't know who John McDonald is you need to rush right out and buy some of his books. Anything, the man never wrote a bad word.
Ok, I'll try to write more later tonight or tommorrow, I'm off to eat now. I owe Heather a birthday dinner cause I couldn't make it out with her last night when they all went out to celebrate her birthday...I wanted to but was just too darn tired. Happy birthday Heather!
Ok, I'll try to write more later tonight or tommorrow, I'm off to eat now. I owe Heather a birthday dinner cause I couldn't make it out with her last night when they all went out to celebrate her birthday...I wanted to but was just too darn tired. Happy birthday Heather!
Friday, March 04, 2005
Random Blogging
Ok, today I conducted an experiment. Instead of sleeping like I should since I've gotten about three hours sleep in the last forty eight hours (which may explain this post) I've been surfing these blogs and leaving random comments to people. I've tried to leave comments to people that might actually want to comment back to me, but I apologize in advance if I've left words to anyone that would rather me not have (left words to them that is). This is all in a hope that someone, somewhere will leave a comment on this site so I know that it is possible and that it does get read once in awhile. On a related note, is there anyway to surf these blogs by any type of order, like maybe look for people that all list something in their profile like they have two headed dogs or like blueberries or you get the idea.....or is it just like life, a series of random events.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Site Ring
Ok, I just added a site ring to this page. From what I understand anyone that wants to can connect to this site and it creates a ring, from which others that are just checking pages out can see this ring and jump straight to the other sites. This is good for sites that are familar in content or want to connect together. Anyone out there interested?
Why do I get dumber as I get older?
I was looking through some old magazines and stuff and came across some old issues of SHOPTALK. SHOPTALK was a fanzine devoted to the comic industry. The members were all professional or semi professional, with at least some sort of presence in the field. Actually it wasn't a fanzine, it was what is called an apa. Bascially what this means is that all the members have to contribue something to it whenever it comes out, Shoptalk was once every three months, and than this was collected together by the central mailer and sent out to all the members. We talked about getting ahead in the biz, showed samples of what we were working on, commented on what was done in the last issue....all in all, pretty interesting.
In one of the issues I was looking at I wrote about my purchase of an old car of mine. I found it to be somewhat humorous so I thought I'd include it on here.
You think you reach a certain level of, if not wisdom, at least a certain amount of intelligence with the passage of time. Why do I have to get dumber as I get older?
I know better, I really do. Even at the time I knew better, but I went ahead and did it anway.
Why you ask? Because my super power is that I lose brain cells when I really need them and I become a completel idiot.
What am I babbling about? Since the last entry I went out and bought a new car. Not actually a new car, a used car, but to me it was new, so that makes it a new car, right. Or at least a new used car. Or maybe a used new car?
My faithful Subaru was on its last legs. Almost 150,000 miles and I figured it was time to put it out to pasture. There was at least a thousand dollars of repair bills I was looking at, so I figured maybe it was time to start seeing what I could find in the way of a newer vehicle. I thought if I could find a used car for around a thousand dollars or even fifteen hundred I would do better buying it than getting the Subaru fixed.
My Subaru was something of a legend where I used to work. The back seat was lost in the pile of trash, clothes and who knows what else back there. I kept a rack of ties hanging from the back window so when I went to work I would always have a tie. Once while I was at work the soles of one of my shoes fell off. What was I to do? I went out to my car and dug around in the back seat and lo and behold! What did I find? An old pair of shoes!
Still it was time for something different. And this is where I made my mistake, this is where my brain cells went south for vacation. You know those little used car lots that you find by the side of the road? I can hear everyone crying now: Oh, no, anything but that! Yes, that.
I have found a form of life lower than a lawyer. There can't be a form of life lower than a used car salesman. I would put pond scum higher up on the evolutionary scale than a used car salesman.
The salesman that came out was about as wide as he was tall. I explained what I was looking for as far as price range went. He showed me a few cars and than I saw it. A red Fierro. A Fierro for those who aren't familar with is a two seater sports car made cheaply by Ponitac. I asked how much it was? (There goes more of my brain cells. Who needs them anyway?) He said the best he could go on it was eleven hundred.
The sales office was a small two room building. On the wall was taped an article from a local newspaper. It showed my salesman, along with what I assumed to be his brothers, all built along the same lines as he was, and all three were standing above a pond or lake with their shirts off. The caption read something about these brothers being the belly smashing champions. Why didn't I flee than? (I just received a post card from my brain, they're enjoying the sun in Mexico.)
Does anyone see where this is going? I bought the Fierro. A few days later I was at a book store and I was looking at a book about the value of used cars and I flipped it to the section on Fierros. Guess what it said? I would have been better off buying tickets on the maiden voyage of the Titanic.
I remember the day, about in the second week, the car had already been to the shop the week previous and I assumed that it would run fairly well now. I was coming down the ramp from the elevated expressway and had to cross three lanes of traffic to turn at the coming corner. As the car left the ramp it died. I was coasting to a stop. And I thought I was going to die, because looking in the rear view mirror what do I see? A bus, heading right towards me. For the bus I wouldn't be much more than a speed bump. Luckily it managed to stop before it made me experience life as a pancake.
There was one bit of luck in the spot where it died. On the corner of the road was a gas station.
It was a self service station, so there were no mechanics, but I figured I could push it in and than shoot the car and put it out of my misery. I waited till the light turned green and proceeded to push it. I had to make the turn and than turn once more into the gas station. I don't know how many of you are familar with New Orleans. One prominent feature of the land around here is that it is flat. The highest area in monkey island in the zoo. There are no hills in New Orleans. At least no natural occuring ones. So why did I have to be pushing my car up one of the few man made hills.
It wasnt' a big hill, most of you would consider it a mere bump, but when you have to push a car up a three foot slope it loses its hill status quickly and becomes a mountain. I managed to get it half way up and than couldnt' go any farther. I couldnt' let go or it would roll back out into the street. I was stuck. I might still be there today, holding that car, a new local landmark. "Yes, that's our one hill in the area, and that's the dumb man that bought a Fierro from a local used car lot. I apologize if there are any small children along on the tour, I know how frightening that sounds."
I was lucky. A passing motorist took pity on me and gave me a push with his car. Did I mention that a Fierro is made out of plastic? His pushing the car up the hill gave it a few new bumps and curves.
There was the time I was driving over to my parent's house and coming down the bridge when it died again. All these small deaths were all different causes. I ahve to give the car an A in ints ability to come up with a completely new and different problem every week. It never bothered me with the same problem more than once. It was early, so at least I didn't have traffic to contend with. I can tell you the best thing about a Fierro, they're small and light, so they're not that hard to push. I rolled my window down so I could reach in and steer as I pushed. I got out and proceeded to do just that. One simple word of advice to anyone else that might find themselves in the same predicament, always make sure that your foot is out of the way of the tire. That's right, I rolled over my own foot with the back tire. Has anyone seen any spare brain cells?
I'll spare you all the details. Let's just say I became good friends with the lady at the local Firestone. She knew my voice form the first word on the phone. Too bad she was married, at least the car might have served some useful purpose.
After about a month more of this and finding out that the car had more problems that I could ever hope to compete with I decided it was time to put it to rest.
Ok, there you have it. Not a time when I was using my head for much more than a hatrack. I kind of liked it when I read it though. I could actually write for pages and pages more about that car, but we'll let it rest where it belongs...at the bottom of the ocean hopefully.
In one of the issues I was looking at I wrote about my purchase of an old car of mine. I found it to be somewhat humorous so I thought I'd include it on here.
You think you reach a certain level of, if not wisdom, at least a certain amount of intelligence with the passage of time. Why do I have to get dumber as I get older?
I know better, I really do. Even at the time I knew better, but I went ahead and did it anway.
Why you ask? Because my super power is that I lose brain cells when I really need them and I become a completel idiot.
What am I babbling about? Since the last entry I went out and bought a new car. Not actually a new car, a used car, but to me it was new, so that makes it a new car, right. Or at least a new used car. Or maybe a used new car?
My faithful Subaru was on its last legs. Almost 150,000 miles and I figured it was time to put it out to pasture. There was at least a thousand dollars of repair bills I was looking at, so I figured maybe it was time to start seeing what I could find in the way of a newer vehicle. I thought if I could find a used car for around a thousand dollars or even fifteen hundred I would do better buying it than getting the Subaru fixed.
My Subaru was something of a legend where I used to work. The back seat was lost in the pile of trash, clothes and who knows what else back there. I kept a rack of ties hanging from the back window so when I went to work I would always have a tie. Once while I was at work the soles of one of my shoes fell off. What was I to do? I went out to my car and dug around in the back seat and lo and behold! What did I find? An old pair of shoes!
Still it was time for something different. And this is where I made my mistake, this is where my brain cells went south for vacation. You know those little used car lots that you find by the side of the road? I can hear everyone crying now: Oh, no, anything but that! Yes, that.
I have found a form of life lower than a lawyer. There can't be a form of life lower than a used car salesman. I would put pond scum higher up on the evolutionary scale than a used car salesman.
The salesman that came out was about as wide as he was tall. I explained what I was looking for as far as price range went. He showed me a few cars and than I saw it. A red Fierro. A Fierro for those who aren't familar with is a two seater sports car made cheaply by Ponitac. I asked how much it was? (There goes more of my brain cells. Who needs them anyway?) He said the best he could go on it was eleven hundred.
The sales office was a small two room building. On the wall was taped an article from a local newspaper. It showed my salesman, along with what I assumed to be his brothers, all built along the same lines as he was, and all three were standing above a pond or lake with their shirts off. The caption read something about these brothers being the belly smashing champions. Why didn't I flee than? (I just received a post card from my brain, they're enjoying the sun in Mexico.)
Does anyone see where this is going? I bought the Fierro. A few days later I was at a book store and I was looking at a book about the value of used cars and I flipped it to the section on Fierros. Guess what it said? I would have been better off buying tickets on the maiden voyage of the Titanic.
I remember the day, about in the second week, the car had already been to the shop the week previous and I assumed that it would run fairly well now. I was coming down the ramp from the elevated expressway and had to cross three lanes of traffic to turn at the coming corner. As the car left the ramp it died. I was coasting to a stop. And I thought I was going to die, because looking in the rear view mirror what do I see? A bus, heading right towards me. For the bus I wouldn't be much more than a speed bump. Luckily it managed to stop before it made me experience life as a pancake.
There was one bit of luck in the spot where it died. On the corner of the road was a gas station.
It was a self service station, so there were no mechanics, but I figured I could push it in and than shoot the car and put it out of my misery. I waited till the light turned green and proceeded to push it. I had to make the turn and than turn once more into the gas station. I don't know how many of you are familar with New Orleans. One prominent feature of the land around here is that it is flat. The highest area in monkey island in the zoo. There are no hills in New Orleans. At least no natural occuring ones. So why did I have to be pushing my car up one of the few man made hills.
It wasnt' a big hill, most of you would consider it a mere bump, but when you have to push a car up a three foot slope it loses its hill status quickly and becomes a mountain. I managed to get it half way up and than couldnt' go any farther. I couldnt' let go or it would roll back out into the street. I was stuck. I might still be there today, holding that car, a new local landmark. "Yes, that's our one hill in the area, and that's the dumb man that bought a Fierro from a local used car lot. I apologize if there are any small children along on the tour, I know how frightening that sounds."
I was lucky. A passing motorist took pity on me and gave me a push with his car. Did I mention that a Fierro is made out of plastic? His pushing the car up the hill gave it a few new bumps and curves.
There was the time I was driving over to my parent's house and coming down the bridge when it died again. All these small deaths were all different causes. I ahve to give the car an A in ints ability to come up with a completely new and different problem every week. It never bothered me with the same problem more than once. It was early, so at least I didn't have traffic to contend with. I can tell you the best thing about a Fierro, they're small and light, so they're not that hard to push. I rolled my window down so I could reach in and steer as I pushed. I got out and proceeded to do just that. One simple word of advice to anyone else that might find themselves in the same predicament, always make sure that your foot is out of the way of the tire. That's right, I rolled over my own foot with the back tire. Has anyone seen any spare brain cells?
I'll spare you all the details. Let's just say I became good friends with the lady at the local Firestone. She knew my voice form the first word on the phone. Too bad she was married, at least the car might have served some useful purpose.
After about a month more of this and finding out that the car had more problems that I could ever hope to compete with I decided it was time to put it to rest.
Ok, there you have it. Not a time when I was using my head for much more than a hatrack. I kind of liked it when I read it though. I could actually write for pages and pages more about that car, but we'll let it rest where it belongs...at the bottom of the ocean hopefully.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
