what hast thou wrought, er, um, bought

Latest CD purchases:

7. Stars of the Lid -- Carte-de-Visite
8. Labradford -- Prazision LP
9. Aidan Baker -- Pendulum
10. The Young Gods -- Knock on Wood
11. David Bowie -- Space Oddity
12. David Bowie -- The Man Who Sold the World
13. David Bowie -- Lodger

Knock on Wood contains studio renditions of the songs performed on the Young Gods' acoustic tour. There are plenty of live clips from that tour on YouTube--start with this one and go from there. Very subdued compared to their normal electric concerts, but still intense.

enjoy your stay

Dreamed last night that I was the manager of a hotel in Purgatory.

greenery

Not a particularly exciting picture, but I figured that many of us could use a little green right about now.

you are number six

Another online purchase:

6. Stars of the Lid -- Gravitational Pull Vs. The Desire for an Aquatic Life

renovating

Thanks to Steve for the word technoopid and for motivating me to overcome my own technoopidity.

Meet the new blog, same as the old blog.

sleeping giant ii

discs three, four, & five

A few new online purchases:

3. Susumu Yokota -- Magic Thread
4. Mark Kozelek -- The Finally LP
5. Mark Kozelek -- 7 Songs Belfast

series one

quote of the day

The scrotum is the devil's tobacco pouch.
-- Billy Connolly in An Everlasting Piece

glow ii

keeping count

Back in 2007 I began keeping track of all of the CDs that I was buying. By March 3, I had hit twenty-eight and then stopped counting, partly out of laziness but mostly out of embarrassment: my music obsession seemed just a tad too obsessive.

So why then am I starting to keep track again in 2009? Well, to paraphrase Frank Zappa: who cares as long as it doesn't cause a murder. My vices are few and could be worse. I kicked off this year's spending spree yesterday with two used purchases:

1. Blue Oyster Cult -- Tyranny and Mutation (remastered)
2. Be Bop Deluxe -- Axe Victim (remastered)

For those about to collect, listen, and rock, we salute you.

embrace the random xxx

See what's on the ever-changing menu of the surreal
Mezzacotta Cafe. Here's a sample:

Today's Menu
~
Lentil rinds
~
Fowl samosas
~
Home style warthog bisque
~
Hawaiian key limes
~
Shelled rice cracker au vin

happy new year

personal high points of 2008:
--attending awesome concerts by Trouble, Iron Maiden, Fish, King Crimson, and Peter Hammill
--spending nine days on my own in San Francisco (and I'm going back in July 2009, yes!)
--securing a home equity loan before the banks began their downward spiral
--starting to use said loan to improve the house (ongoing project for 2009)

personal low points of 2008:
--weight gain due to poor eating habits
--occasional reappearances of my shadow-self, the hurricane

Overall, there were definitely more highs than lows for me this past year. I still struggle with bouts of depression; however, I have enough resources/strategies now to keep the damage to a minimum, with less drama and less trauma. I have no idea what 2009 has in store for me, but I'm sure that I can handle it.

Happy New Year, everyone!