Wednesday, February 28, 2007

i wish the nsf would pay me to go to the ghostland observatory


Ghostland Observatory kicked ass at solar culture last night. One of my students was at the show:

her: this is a little weird.
me: this isn't class! cheers... [tap my Stone smoked porter against her can of bud light... ah, poor uncultured undergrads...)

nopey & surly: dude, I'll give you a dollar if you...

I'm leaving tomorrow to spend the weekend skiing in vail. I've never skied before. Then I get back just in time to give a lecture next tuesday. Then I host a prospective. Then I go to Chile. Methinks I could use a breather.

Song of the Day: Television - See No Evil

Monday, February 26, 2007

"this film should be played LOUD"

I watched The Last Waltz tonight. This film kicks so much ass that it defies all written description. It's Martin Scorcese's interpretation of The Band's last concert at Winterland, San Francisco. If you didn't know, The Band began as the Hawks with Ronnie Hawkins, then became Bob Dylan's touring band, then moved to a commune in Woodstock and started performing on their own. For their last show (after 16 years of touring), they performed with greats like Neil Diamond, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters, Neil Young (above, with Rick Danko and Robbie Robertson, guitarists of The Band), and of course Bob Dylan. The Last Waltz is the filmed memory of the event.

When Rick Danko sings Stagefright, I believe him.

Joni Mitchell is clearly a powerful woman in a man's world.

Neil Young is raw and beautiful, bleeding his lyrics out. Also, I want to grow my hair like him (minus the chops).

And much, much more. They know it's their last show, and they are passionate about communicating their music... it's as if they know that this performance will be one of the greatest ever, even as they're playing. That invincibility, coupled with the passion and the earnest desire to struggle to change the world, is why I love music.

If you love rock & roll, you owe it to yourself to watch this film.

It should be noted that recently, a friend pointed out that I've transformed from a bassist to a lead guitarist. Of course, I play neither instrument (only piano, trumpet, and some harmonica for me): this is just personality metaphor.

I love watching Robbie Robertson play.

Song of the Day: The Band - Life is a Carnival

Sunday, February 25, 2007

and the best supporting mustache goes to...


1. Hiking in Sycamore Canyon (near Nogales, not Sedona) with smoove, #1, nonstop, & hst. Perfect weather for some light wading and boulder-scrambling.

2. BBQ at the diamond & saucy brute's house. This included a new Neil Young cd from the hater, lots of delicious food and homebrew, and the beginning of our apple-smoked maple porter (which I think I'll end up calling smokin' pimp porter).

3. Closing out the day with...
Song of the Day: Paul Simon - Can't Run But

Saturday, February 24, 2007

nomad

Walking around downtown on a sunny February day, among the tourists and blue-headed snowbirds, helps remind me of the good things of Tucson. It's true, I'm ready to be out, but I shouldn't forget that there's plenty here to love.

Happy birthday, dr word. la grizzle, I'm sorry I said you look like an elf... really, it's more like mr clean crossed with a pirate.

Grizzly Bear was a disappointment last night... they were just flat, incomplete. Ghostland Observatory this tuesday should make up for it.

Song of the Day: Moon Boot Lover - Ali

Friday, February 23, 2007

breakdance evolution


Mark it down: optimist club, thursday nights at congress, is the new booty night. Even if #1 and #2 turned into 7's and didn't follow through on the following:

#2: We've already picked out some girls for you.
me: Really!?! Where are they?
#2: Probably on the dance floor. Any girl for you is definitely out dancing.

I love my friends.
And to think, the evening started with free dinner at gentle ben's (reuben-questers, like my brother, should know that there's is only above-average), then poker whilst rocking a hookah at pancho villa's. Next week I'll print out a membership card (from myspace.com/optimistclub) so I don't even have to pay the $2 cover.

I also met a b-girl who claimed to have learned to breakdance at an elementary school in Phoenix. Naturally, I was a little confused. But not confused enough to refrain from pretending I knew how to break. When I came back up, a few drunk people were cheering. Maybe I don't actually need breakdance training to be a real b-boy...

Song of the Day: the Beastie Boys - Johnny Ryall

Thursday, February 22, 2007

most embarrassing story EVER


s-process & OB in the office. Between grading, observing prep, and building materials for my summer-camp-style class labs, I've been spending a lot of time here. Today OB told us a very embarrassing story about a friend of his at Santa Cruz. Naturally, I found it necessary to tell my deepest darkest embarrassing secret to s-process and him:

"So I spent the summer between my junior and senior years of college sleeping on my buddy's couch. It was a great set-up, I only paid like $200 rent, and they didn't even want me to pay them that much, because it was actually my couch, in his living room. But it was a really comfortable fold-out style couch. So anyway, one morning I wake up, and I really have to pee. See, I usually slept in, because I was just doing astronomy research, whereas this other roommate had to get up early and go work at some computer science job. So this guy's in the bathroom, and I really have to pee, so I just go over to the kitchen and immediately start peeing in the sink. Well meanwhile, this guy comes out of the bathroom and walks into the kitchen, to make some cereal or something. I'm still peeing and I start thinking, aww fuck, I've been living here for two weeks and already they're catching me peeing in the sink. These guys are gonna hate me. Well, I finally finish, so I turn on the faucet and splash it around the sink to wash it all down, you know, and then I go back to sleep. That night, when I see the guy again, I ask him, so, did I get up early this morning and do anything weird? I kind of have this weird feeling that I was sleep walking or something... He says, yeah, it was weird, you got up and I heard you pacing outside the bathroom, then I saw you washing your hands in the sink. I say to him, Oh really? Washing my hands, huh? He shrugs, says yep. Though you were kind of splashing the water around, so it was kind of weird. I couldn't believe it. They never really found out that I was peeing in their sink."

Until today, I had kept this all to myself. And I think my living-room-lending buddy doesn't actually read this blog, so the truth may still remain hidden from him.

As you can see, I'm a little short on the deep-dark-secret department. (This is honestly my deepest-held personal secret, although now that the whole world can see it, I guess I'll have to figure out what's on deck.)

I completely forgot about fastnacht day on Tuesday. I know most people call it Mardi Gras, but I always grew up celebrating it with hole-less doughnuts made with lard. Most delicious holiday ever. Although I forgot this year, I looked for fastnachts here in Tucson the last couple years, and I couldn't find them anywhere.

Song of the Day: Great Big Sea - French Perfume

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

scavenger hunting


Items transported by the Great White Dromedary(*) over the past 24 hours. On the left: our new imperial porter, which I recently described as having "the consistency and hue of motor oil... delicious, delicious motor oil..." On the right, supplies for our class activity tomorrow.

Some friends of mine have been discussing things they're giving up for Lent. Hell, I don't believe in giving up anything... except maybe for giving up not having sex.

Last night I saw Pan's Labyrinth. It was fantastic, and I highly recommend it to everyone in the universe. That includes you.

Song of the Day: White Stripes - Expecting

*my car. See how the nickname protects its identity?

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Shatten des Kaisers


Back in PA, used to play a lot of board games with my college buddies. Mostly this was because in the wintertime, it was always cold and gray outside, so there's not a whole lot to do... this was said best in Mystery Alaska: I don't really think about anything... I fornicate and I play hockey, 'cause those are the two most fun things to do in cold weather. Insert football, video games, and board games for those who don't play hockey (like me).

Anyway, since we're scattered across the country now, every once in a while we'll play some game with each other online. It's a decent way to keep in touch. Above is our last game, which I just won last weekend (I played blue). The other players were tin man, sunshine rider, and bag.

Song of the Day: the Badlees - Gwendolyn

Monday, February 19, 2007

observing pt 2


Clouds make good sunsets, but they don't make for good observing. We managed about half a night of observing before the clouds and humidity coerced the telescope operator into worrying about precipitation (refraction by rain on the surface of the mirror or corrector lens is very bad). We couldn't look at my science at all because of 35 mph winds blowing steadily from the south, which are bad for giant 20-foot diameter primary mirrors / glass sails.

AZ weather: 2
action's science: 0

Mountaintops are very strange places when there are gusting knock-you-over winds and it's new-moon-with-clouds pitch dark.

Song of the Day: R.E.M. - Find the River

Sunday, February 18, 2007

looking for black holes, also spruce tips


Observing at the MMT. It's pretty, but cold and windy. And cloudy, since midnight last night. I've been spending my days on walkabout around the mountain, and my nights waiting for the cirrus to clear.

Arizona weather: 1
action's astronomy: 0

Also, my search for spruce on this mountain has proved unsuccesful. It appears that I'll have to buy some spruce essence for the smoked spruce porter I'm brewing next.

Song of the Day: Swan Lake - All Fires

Saturday, February 17, 2007

more triumphant than his ft lowell park knuckleball memorial


Krakatoa returns. Last night, as we went from No Anchovies to Plush to Brooklyn, krakatoa kept a large enough entourage that we basically took over every place we went. He is irreplaceable.

Around 9:30 pm, the hater philosophizes: I'm wondering where this evening is going... I gave him an exceedingly verbose reply (mostly because I was already drunk... I blame the Grand Cru at Local Dough), but I basically said let's plan to have fun and we will. Soon after, krakatoa bought us a round of irish car bombs. Even though he was the guest of honor, we didn't argue with his charity, since while we're still students, he now works for the man. Fun commenced. At one point g-spotter and I decided to make nonstop look impressive, while he was talking to a stranger. In order to appear non-threatening, we decided to pretend that we were gay. Then g-spotter started biting me. I'm sure it all made nonstop look exceedingly impressive. It's hard to say if this was before or after I recognized that there is no good way to answer a woman when she says, [action], you seem to hit on everybody. (For instance, how can that be? am I hitting on you now? does not work. They just counter with the idea that I hit on every woman but them. The hole grows, etc.) It is true that I talk to everybody. And sometimes I hit on g-spotter, and he bites me.

When I have a night like last night, and I fall asleep exceedingly drunk, I continue to have dreams which are basically a continuation of the evening. This sounds fun, but these dreams involve more drinking. Bad news. Even worse than the hangover are the slow recollections of drunken conversations... goddamn I'm stupid.

Next Friday: Grizzly Bear at Plush, and one spruce porter for dr goodall (the self-titled "number whore") if she comes through...

Song of the Day: Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat

Friday, February 16, 2007

all work and no play makes action...


Grading...

Definitely the worst part of being a TA.

At least I'm going to Chile next month...

Song of the Day: The Band - Stagefright

Thursday, February 15, 2007

of montreal, of norway


My camera battery died at the Of Montreal show last night. So, I have no videos or photos of the show (an excellent performance by an okay band), or the man behind john's mom's hot dogs, or the frontman's (frontqueen's?) fabulous costumes, or the Norwegian flag, or the midnight Grill run. Instead, here's a photo of the morning after. Action Jackson does not like having to get up at 7 am to try to finish grading homeworks (unsuccessful). Thoughts floating through my head while biking in this morning:

(6th ave & Pennington, by the bus station) hmm, what's that smell? Wait-- who smokes weed this early in the morning?
(6th ave & 7th st) why the hell does it always smell like sewage here?
(6th ave & 6th st) why does lack of sleep always give me gas?
(6th ave & university) goddamn I'm tired...

Last night I met a summit hut employee... the spider weaves its web... ah, hell, forget it, I'm no spider... instead: the action throws a sheet or something.

Song of the Day: Live - Mirror Song

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

a man needs a maid, or at least a robot which also cleans


I go through roughly 2-week cycles of messiness and cleanliness in my house... i.e., when I clean, it lasts for about 2 weeks, then I leave clothes, books, project supplies, etc. lying about for another 2 weeks before I clean again. I'm approaching cleaning time: here's my living room floor, with the satchel-bag I've been sewing up for the past 6 months and several of the books and magazines I've been cutting up for my other "art" project, my found book.

Proof #38 that I am a bachelor: when I bike home drunk at 3 am, eat some pot roast to try and sober up, then drunkenly spill meaty juices all over my shoes, I clean them a few days later with the same scrubby-pad that I wash dishes with.

Song of the Day: the New Pornographers - The Laws Have Changed

Monday, February 12, 2007

the psyche-up


Whenever I'm going out some place, and I'm in a low-energy state (i.e., lame, tired, etc.), I rock out for 10-15 minutes at home before I leave. With the right playlist, anything is possible. Hell, if you played me the right mix, I'd probably kill a man.

Song of the Day: Beck - We Dance Alone

Sunday, February 11, 2007

more on music


These are 2 pages from the "found book" I've been working on. I created this entry a week or so ago, but it has a lot to do with my conversations about music last night. Today, I created the next pages on "And if I could paint." I'm unnaturally nervous about posting it here, even though I've showed the whole book to a close friend who led me to the whole idea (#1), as well as to a complete stranger who lives in Florida (curegirl). Thes pages are not the most personal, nor are they the best entry... but like all my creativity, the entry is intensely mine, and it's a good example of my self-reflection (which heavy break-ups tend to motivate). I think I'm mostly worried that someone might think it trite, or cliche, when it's more like vomited honesty (at worst, impurely communicated, which I can live with).

Yesterday, the hater mentioned Guitar Wolf. Look at the picture: Guitar Wolf rocks.

Song of the Day: Ben Kweller - On My Way

Saturday, February 10, 2007

top 12 deserted island artists, go


From left to right, what we each want in our music, in one word...
the hater: empathy
#1 draft pick (bitches): zappa
g: [I don't really know, because I was too drunk by the time we hit his CD, but I'd say "wholeness," even though that feels like a cop-out]
nop.bot: the jam
saucy brute: [mostly, she made us ice cream and read a book, but if pressed, I'd say orchestration]
action, not in the photo: rock

I'd like to think that there was a sincere amount of transcendant conversation about music, and what it means for life, love, happiness, etc. And maybe there was, but it was surely accidental. Mostly we just listend to kick-ass music and drank a lot of whiskey. The hater's idea, to take our top 12 most-listened-to artists and present a song from each one, was genius. Here was my top 12:

12. the New Pornographers - Chump Change
11. Wolf Parade - Grounds for Divorce
10. Belle & Sebastian - Sukie in the Graveyard
9. Modest Mouse - Lounge (Closing Time)
8. R.E.M. - King of Comedy
7. Johnny Cash - Girl from the North Country (with Bob Dylan)
6. Rilo Kiley - Portions for Foxes
5. the Hold Steady - Hot Soft Light
4. Wilco - How to Fight Loneliness
3. the Go! Team - Bottle Rocket
2. Sufjan Stevens - They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!
1. Neil Young - Cowgirl in the Sand (live, acoustic)

Friday, February 9, 2007

rockin in the free world, day-to-day


Countdown: 1 week until the triumphant return of Krakatoa.

Match the quote with the person:

a. me
b. surly barnacle
c. nop.bot
d. #1 draft pick (bitches)

1. that's good to know, 'cause she was still on the list for me
2. you forget, I don't actually care about other people, so I can do that
3. but if I call her she's going to think I want to sleep with her... oh... hmm...
4. dude, if I can call the fat girl, I can certainly call [...]

The Mole Hill Orkhestra is pretty good, but they could use an accordion. Tom Walbank still rocks. And I still love Plush.

Song of the Day: The Chemical Brothers & The Flaming Lips - Golden Path

Thursday, February 8, 2007

i don't wear my carhartts often enough


I'm really enjoying teaching this week, while my professor is out of town. This is a photo from the last time I was a teacher, as a canoe guide / trail foreman in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, on the Minnesota-Canada border near Ely, MN. Just like those kids I worked with while canoeing, the students in my class seem to really enjoy learning the material, and I genuinely feel like I'm connecting with them. It means a lot to me.

Song of the Day: Neil Young - For the Turnstiles

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

world's strongest nonstop


We watched the world's strongest man competition for a while last night at CBMN. nonstop: oh, come on, I can lift 600 pounds like that! So 3 of us sat on the couch while nonstop tried to lift one end. #1: wait, I think I felt it move a little...

My testosterone insists that I report that I lifted it fully. :)

Also today, sooz and I promised to do an Aaron Sorkin swap: her West Wing for my Sports Night. Rock!

Song of the Day: Sufjan Stevens - They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

how I feel special


Last weekend I saw a tour going through my neighborhood, so I took a picture out the back window of my car. A few times a week, I see people walking down my street, talking photographs of the houses. In turn... I photograph them.

I gave my first-ever lecture today, for the class I'm TA-ing. It was a success: several students asked questions, and no one fell asleep. However, no one laughed at my characterization of reflecting telescopes versus refractors: long and skinny doesn't cut it for astronomers, we prefer some girth. One of the students even stuck around after class to ask me some extra questions. This teaching thing is totally crescent fresh.

I'm never so happy as when I'm formulating plans... even for minor, inconsequential stuff. Shout out to nop.bot for encouraging that, even if he was flying straight-edge.

Song of the Day: Wilco - Blue Eyed Soul

Monday, February 5, 2007

6th & 6th, and mispronounced names


The meat-pit, at swifty (aka OB) and schemer's house. There were probably 30 pounds of meat, in total, at their super bowl party. My pigs in a blanket, made with delicious bite-size wieners, looked even smaller next to their 15-hour pit-roasted chunks of pig and cow. It was not an event for vegetarians.

I've been wanting to go to more art openings in Tucson for some time, and so I was pretty thrilled to go to an opening last Saturday night. It was even better for having my very own artist / tour guide in #1. While I was checking out a painting of the Chiricahuas, I said to her, see, I've been there, and I think it affects me the same way, but I just wish that I could paint it like that... her reply was more intense than I would have expected:

#1: Dude, you can! Don't say you can't! This one's very technical, you could definitely do it, you'd just need to practice. You could definitely paint like this, if you worked at it!

Song of the Day: Royksopp - Remind Me

Sunday, February 4, 2007

mysteries revealed

Last night, surly barnacle & roller derby queen hosted a special drinking team dinner of lamb, cous-cous-squash, cranberry-pecan salad, and whiskey, abbey ale, port, champagne, and wine (you know it's the drinking team when the variety in beverages outnumbers the variety in food). Here we are discussing how strong surly & queen's relationship is: they've been married for 6 years and have experienced a lot of growth together. I commented: yeah, [surly], your wife makes you almost as happy as retard jokes. However, as you may note from the photograph, there is something far deeper lurking beneath that surly countenance. Something far more telling drives this man. Let's take a closer look:

As the Hoff says: No, you are the retard.

Anyway, here's a nice picture of all of us, minus nopey the photographer:Song of the Day: The Go! Team - Huddle Formation

Saturday, February 3, 2007

"and this is the guy who wants us to call him action jackson..."


I went to a search & rescue volunteers meeting last night. I had high hopes, thinking that this would be a great thing to "give back," a perfect place to hear about new hikes and trips, and a fun way to meet new people. But it turns out that it's just a bunch of old guys with a significant "good old boys" mentality, and the head of training basically told me that the best way to get accepted as a volunteer is to buddy up and play sycophant to him. No thanks. Oh well - there's still volunteering with the sierra club, or the boy scouts, or maybe going back to big brother / big sister...

Last night, no anch, enjoying a mug... After I explained that I don't watch porn because I don't have internet at home, saucy brute: [the diamond]! Did you get internet installed at our house so you could look at porn?

Sorry, heterolifemate, but I think the secret is out. And later, as we discussed the rapid change of a friend as he tries to combat loneliness, another gem from the saucy brute:

saucy brute: I mean, do you remember how hard it is to come home to an empty home? Do you know how lonely that is?
me & nopey: umm... yes

Song of the Day: Wolfmother - Tales

Friday, February 2, 2007

hey little sister, shotgun


[pancho villa and t-bone laughing while they take my money... that's me with my eyes closed in the foreground]

The first steward poker night was a great success... although g & pancho villa cleaned us out. I thought this was america: how do they get off thinking they can take white people's money? My memory is a little hazy on what happened afterwards at booty night:

g: dude, do you remember that girl in the white fur-trim dress-thing?
me: no...
g: yeah, she's the one you almost got into a fight over
me: wow.

Damn you, maker's mark! Nopey's observation: I was thinking that maybe we should have just stayed at my place instead of going to gentle ben's, but I think if we had done that, we would have died.

Song of the Day: Billy Bragg & Wilco - Hot Rod Hotel

Thursday, February 1, 2007

seeing eye puppy


Sooz, la grizzle, and t-bone at nonstop's CBMN last night. La grizzle had been in hiding for a while, and apparently he had an accident either in prison or with a lawnmower while he was in his undisclosed location. What that man needs is a mustache.

Nopey made it back into town last night too. Good news.

Sooz and I talked about puppies for a while... I've been wanting one for a long time, but I keep talking myself out of it because I travel so much. Lately I've been saying, well, maybe once I live with roommates again...But sooz recommended the seeing eye dog puppy program: apparently you can volunteer to raise a seeing eye dog while its a puppy, before it goes to official seeing eye training. This would be a perfect way for me to test-drive having a dog, without the dog getting killed if I fail at it. Unfortunately... the program is only available in the Philadelphia area, near where I grew up. I think it's likely that over the next few months I'll crack and just adopt a puppy from a shelter, then make the lifestyle changes as they become necessary.

Song of the Day: Violent Femmes - America Is