spacekadet

This book is wonderful! And it's all here!

From David Newman...

This is a book which belonged to my great-grandmother that I have enjoyed since childhood. I noticed the copyright had expired in the US, so I scanned it in so everyone can read it. The two-color gifs are small (under 10k) and should load very quickly even on a slow connection. I have transcribed the text as well, but it doesn't stand very well on its own; the special thing about the book is Woods' terrific rendering of the birds and plants.

technorati tags: books | systematics | nature | birds | plants

Posted by monica at 09:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been enjoying David Byrne's new radio station all afternoon.

Highlights include:

"Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" - The Arcade Fire
"Staging of the Plaguing" - Cornershop
"Keeping Up" - Arthur Russell

He even includes the classic "You Say He's Just a Friend" by Biz Markie!

It's on iTunes Radio under "eclectic", or link to the stream from his site.

Posted by monica at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by monica at 12:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Don't ever watch the movie, Boxing Helena. There is an obvious reason why this is the only movie that Jennifer (daughter of David) Lynch ever made. It's awful!

Other than that 107 minute mistake, Easter Sunday has been real. I'm full of veggie chile and feelin' fine.

We went graffiti hunting this afternoon (see candycorn), then out for some beers, which reminded me that:

You can take the girl out of Austin, but you can't take the Austin out of the girl.

Or something like that.

It's hard starting over in a place I've already lived. It's hard coming back to the things I love, only to see them in a new but often heartbreaking light. It's hard seeing myself from Austin's shoes, 'cause sometimes I don't like what I see.

It reminds me that I have a lot of growing up to do, and that's just a little too much reality for an Easter Sunday!

Also reminds me that beers with friends on an orphan holiday is the best!

New musical discovery today: Sondre Lerche. (Thanks, Steph!)

Also, made my own granola out of

It was mostly successful but a little soft. Note to self: next time, be patient and keep it in the oven extra long!

The first of many adornments to my iBook, a Gama Go sticker:

Posted by monica at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

i had some incredible feedback to my post about the Sean Costello + Hubert Sumlin show at Antone's during SXSW. thanks so much for the kind words and the wonderful encouragement. i'm still reeling from the show!

many thanks to Sean's webmaster for the praise and the link love on seancostello.com.

this April, Sean's playing in Georgia and PA... if you're in the neighborhood, go see him and be moved!

Posted by monica at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I started my new job this week at an e-learning power house. I get to call myself a "writer". I also get to learn Flash and help build websites, something that I've always loved. I may even get to do some cool math. The best thing is that I get to be creative! So far, I've been hard pressed to find anything wrong with the company or position (aside from the excruciating process of getting settled in). I work with young people who are energetic, creative, and enthusiastic about their jobs. I'm in a great location, walking distance to the capital where I can have picnic lunches and bask in the sun on its wonderfully thick and shorn grasses. The company is growing rapidly, and the electric current of change is like an ionic musk in the air.

Or is that merely the hiss of punctured soda cans?

After all these years of grueling through grad school, tormenting myself over my inability to find a thesis, I finally found something to get excited about. My dwindling enthusiasm had me scared to the point that I'd feel physically ill when asked about my 'career goals'. It's good to be confident again. And it's especially good to be optimistic about the future.

So it looks like I'll be in Austin for a while then. I can think of far worse fates.

technorati tags: career | jobs

Posted by monica at 09:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Link to the photo album.

technorati tags: sxsw | photos | electriceelshock | thebravery | austin

Posted by monica at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've never been into astrology, but the timeliness of my horoscope according to freewillastronomy.com is uncanny:

"All human beings should try to learn what they are running from, and to, and why," said James Thurber. Judging from the astrological omens, Cancerian, I think this is the perfect time for you to take his advice very seriously. You're in position to see things that are normally invisible to you, including secrets you hide from yourself and truths you have studiously avoided knowing. Maybe you don't think you're telepathic, but I assure you that right now you at least have the power to read your own deep and mysterious mind.

(Thanks for the link, Marcella!)

technorati tags: astrology | horoscope

Posted by monica at 03:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Don't be shy, it's just a heavy metal show."

I'm at Mojo's, having just had the fortune to stumble upon the Electric Eel Shock set outside on the patio.. EES is a self-described "shocking Japanese heavy metal monster from JAPAN!" Totaly high energy guitar fest. The drummer played completely nude except for a sock covering his you-know-what. The show was a rock spectacle, and at 3pm, it provided a far superior boost to the coffee. (What's really looking good is the Pilsner Urquell and a deck chair.)

Tags: sxsw

Posted by monica at 04:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So Elizabeth emails me about a blues show at Antone's on Wednesday night, the first night of SXSW. I told her I'd probably go along, thinking to myself "I'll go if it's no more than $15".

I got to the venue a tad early. Cover was $25. Quite a stretch. Rachel and Dave were talking about seeing the Soul Coughing guy at Buffalo Billiards, so I walked over there and found out that the cover was $10.

My mind was mostly made up, but as I went back to Antone's to meet Elizabeth, I got a strange feeling that the Antone's show was going to be pretty good. So I said to Elizabeth,

I've never been into blues, but the first set changed my mind. Sean Costello was HOT. People talk about music being "sexy", and I never knew what they meant until now. He was so passionate. I felt the same way the little girls must have felt when they first saw Elvis' girations on stage. It really moved me. The way his body swayed and his face contorted was as expressive as the sounds coming out of his mouth and guitar. His original work was excellent, but I'll tell you this: I never really heard Bob Dylan's "A Simple Twist of Fate" until I heard Sean sing it last night.

At the end of the set, Antone (THE Antone) came on stage to say "people ask me what's happening in blues right now, and I say 'Sean Costello'".

After Sean's set, some rearrangement took place. Then Sean returned to play a set with Hubert Sumlin. Sean's really young. Hubert's ancient. The juxtoposition was fantastic. Hubert is apparently quite famous, regarded as the best guitarist EVAH by Jimi Hendrix. Even though he was old, he rocked the house. But the best part was how ecstatic Sean was to be playing with such a legend. Sean would occasionally stop playing his guitar to point ecstatically at Hubert while he jammed out a killer guitar solo.

A couple songs into the set, legendary Blues pianist Pinetop Perkins shows up to jam with them. It was great. The guy must have been 85, but he played and sounded like he was 25. Amazing. The energy was wild, but familial, like old friends reunited.

Here's the kicker: all of the sudden, ELVIS FUCKING COSTELLO shows up on stage to sing a song with the boys. Incredible! And I was maybe 10 feet away. He was so awesome, wearing his scarf and coat like he just popped in. I was so excited I almost peed my pants! THEN Antone comes up and says "thank you Elvis Costello, and thanks also to Robert Plant for coming to see the show!" Yeah, Robert Plant was in the same audience I was in. Fucking CRAZY.

So, like I said, this is what SXSW is all about. And that's the best damn $25 I've ever spent.

Sean Costello's "Simple Twist of Fate": [ mp3 ][ stream ]
Hubert Sumlin's "Look What You've Done": [ mp3 ][ stream ]

Video clips: [ clip 1 ][ clip 2 ][ clip 3 ][ clip 4 ][ clip 5 ][ clip 6 ]

Note: I don't think Sean and Elvis Costello are genetically related.

Tags: sxsw

Posted by monica at 01:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

How do I choose???

SXSE Party in East Austin
When: 1pm - 7pm
Where: 3810 Sycamore
Bands: Ethan Azarian, The Gourds, John Roderick, The Letdowns, The Aoostle of Hustle, What Made Milwaukee Famous

Saint Patty's Day Celebration
When: noon - midnight
Where: Mother Egan's Irish Pub
Who: Tea Merchants, Ptarmigan, Jeff Moore, Chatham County Line, Ed Miller & Rich Brotherton, Austin Irish Tenors, Silver Thistle Pipes and Drums, Clickety Cloggers, Irish Dance Center, Austin Irish Tenors, The Weary Boys, Cluan, THE THROWDOWN (Cluan and The Weary Boys), Seth Walker

Soundtrack of Our Lives
When: 2pm
Where: Waterloo Records, 600 N. Lamar
What: free muzic!

Gorillaz Listening Party
When: 3-5pm
Where: Red Fez, 209 W. 5th
What: open bar, snacks, iPod giveaways, dangermouse

Tags: sxsw

Posted by monica at 03:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The definitive guide to free music events taking place during SXSW.

Tags: sxsw

Posted by monica at 01:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SXSW is here, and the buzz is tangible. I don't have a music badge, or a wristband, but I'm going to brave the odds and attempt to get into a few shows.

Here are tonight's picks:

8pm - Sean Costello @ Antone's

9pm - Hubert Sumlin @ Antone's

10pm-1am - Hang with Eliz, catch up with Rachel perhaps

1am - Drempt the End at Redrum

2am - GHOSTLAND: SXSW AFTER PARTY!! @ SAKE ON SIXTH (OUTSIDE)

If I had a wristband or a badge, I wouldn't dream of missing the Sleater-Kinney show at Emo's at 1am. Alas!

Tags: sxsw

Posted by monica at 01:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Looking at the sock monkey on the kitchen table, it's so obvious to me now what went wrong during my pictorial demonstration of "monkey see, monkey do" during that fateful game of Cranium.

Michael and I won, regardless, but still . . .

A few items of note have been happening. Once again, no time to expound beyond a simple list.

✓ Owen Wilson sighting at Guero's (he's grown his hair out since The Life Aquatic).

✓ Discovered a melted socket wrench in the oven.

✓ Made some very exciting sandwiches: "Roasted Vegetable Sandwiches with Marcella's Marinated Tofu Supreme". Or as Marcella calls them, "Oven Roasted - Flavor Blast Sammiches". Whatever, they were fabulous. Homemade by us, devoured by... us.

✓ Had a picnic, which included all of the elements of a successful picnic: lake view, clear skies, good food, airborne paper plates, monkey in the middle, beer.

✓ Applied for some jobz. YAWN. Boring. Move on...

✓ Had some amazing Spinach & Tofu Enchiladas with a Verde Sauce, courtesy of Marcella. I am so lucky to be living with someone so culinarily gifted and generous!

✓ Saw the film, Flashdance, for the very first time.

Posted by monica at 10:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lots happening and I wish I could just barf out all the details out at once, but this could take a little time. In summary:

✓ did happy hour at the Crown
✓ met up with lia
✓ drank Fireman's #4, the best beer evah (even better than warm London bitter)
✓ ate great soup
✓ saw Napolean Dynamite
✓ ran 5k
✓ visited with jess & stacy

details soon. but for now, i'm a slave to public transport and must be off. zip!

Posted by monica at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by monica at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am running in the Fiesta 5k Fun Run this Saturday. It pairs with the Go For the Gold 10k. East Austin, baby. ROCK ON.

Posted by monica at 08:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This is kind of cool.

I'm hanging in Shipe Park, laying on the grass, hydrating, writing. What can I say - I got curious.

I opened my laptop and there are TWO open wifi networks coming from the surrounding houses.

How freakin' cool is that?

If I had more battery power, I'd make a regular thing of haxx0rbating from the park.

There are definitely things to love about Austin.

(Random aside: the whole laying-around-a-park thing makes me feel kind of homeless.)

Posted by monica at 05:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The list of cities I'm looking at for jobs . . . environment is everything.

Any recommendations?

Posted by monica at 04:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Yoga Yoga is putting on free Yoga Classes at Republic Square Park every Wednesday during the month of March. Check it!

If you're like me - unemployed and in need of a good stretch - it may be worth a go. Karen recommends it... see you there!

Posted by monica at 04:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How do you like the new look and feel of my B-log?

The middle column will soon link to a photoblog I've been working on. Stay tuned!

Posted by monica at 03:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm in the Metro coffee shop biding time til' my interview and - funny ironic! - they are playing my favorite song by the Magnetic Fields, a song whose theme is way too familiar...

but it's not raining at all in Austin. it's warm again. and i'm wearing a skirt!

Posted by monica at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It's Saturday morning, around 8:30am. You're up a little bit too early for having been up so late, but going back to sleep just feels so boring. You find relief in your clear head, and feel rewarded for laying off the drink (and the ensuing midnight snack) the night before. Your wearing your most comfortable pajamas, which make it easier to get out of bed. You get as cozy as possible because the house is empty and you're feeling kind of lonely.

Enter the slippers and the robe.

You start up the kettle, turning it off just before it whistles (no one likes abrupt noises in the morning). Black tea, with 1% milk. The oatmeal's heating up in the microwave.

Mornings like these you need music. Something soft, maybe a little sad (it's that empty house thing, again). Music to mentally make-out to.

I found my morning music on KGSR in the raspy voice of Mr. Ray LaMontagne. His song, "Trouble", reminded me of a folk-infused Otis Redding. It's wonderful, and available on the internet through the magic of streaming audio. He has a couple other songs available, as well. I sense a relaxed theme. Slow, mellow heartbreak.

And would you believe he's playing on March 8th in London at Scala? He started out in New Hampshire, made big enough to sell out a show in London, but I had to come all the way to Austin to discover him. What is that? Not irony. Just dumb stupid luck.

Trouble...
Oh, trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble
Feels like every time I get back on my feet
she come around and knock me down again

Posted by monica at 03:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SXSW is coming, along with the likes of

and a slew of other bands that are probably fantastic but unknown to me. If I can swing it, I think I'll volunteer. Meet new people. The Austin Way.

Last night I went to Trudy's with some math friends. Yeah, it's fucking weird to be back. Will I ever be able to sip margaritas outside on the deck of Trudy's again? Will I ever again hunker down at the Crown with a pitcher of beer and nothin' to lose? Not like I used to. A door has definitely been closed, and going back is like "moving back in with your parents", as Dave so beautifully put it.

Posted by monica at 03:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This morning at the bus stop, I started reading Swann's Way, the first volume of Proust's In Search of Lost Time (is that a fantastic title or what!?). The book starts out with a dialogue about the narrator's dreams and that bizarre, often confusing state of consciousness between sleep and wakefulness. It reminded me of my dream last night: I was back in the plane, touching down in Austin, watching the sunset through the window. The plane, as it landed, bounced, and the sun bounced with it, up and down, above and beneath the horizon. I thought of Monet's florescent sun, which reminded me of a list I made on that very plane trip that had me bouncing on the runway: Things I Will Miss About London. At that particular moment, I felt akin to

#7. Free museums

The book is fantastic, so far, but not a light read. I think it requires more concentration than the bus affords.

Just a couple days back and though my spirits are roughened by the agony of the job search and the longing for loved ones abroad, I am feeling physically revitalized. There are occasional sleepy bouts that I associate with jetlag. But already I feel my waistline deflating as the pub in me dissipates across the river Colorado (so long, half-pints, I bid you a fond farewell, I shall miss you, especially at lunchtime!). I ran along Town Lake this morning, something I'd been looking forward to. The air was so clean! And am I hallucinating, or is the color already returning to my cheeks?

Was Tim right: is Austin my spiritual home?

I don't know about that. But I do know that my day has been so classically Austin that I almost feel nauseous. Beyond the run, and after the Spiderhouse, I had lunch at Wheatsville (inspired by a random run-in with Michael C), the cooperative hippie grocery store. I ate my vegetarian tempeh-based chile outside on the patio, while 4 lanes of traffic whizzed by to my right. While I ate I read the Chronicle, Austin's free entertainment magazine.

After lunch I wandered up to yet another coffee shop to check my email, from which I am currently recording this diatribe. There's a woman at the counter talking about her "holistic dentist". "It's more expensive but it's worth it." She's also wearing some kind of hand-woven shawl thing and cowboy boots. She's now talking about some herbs that do something helpful for the "woman's menstrual cycle" (as opposed to the men's menstrual cycle, a scary time of the month indeed). She may even be one of those rare breeds of people who are actually from Austin, born and raised.

I've already randomly bumped into 3 people I know. Austin is so damn small. I forgot about that.

Posted by monica at 03:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Gutted. Freaked. Giddy. Goofy. Tired. Loopy.

Just a few words to describe how it feels to be back.

Got in last night. I miss the interweb, but not as much as I miss Tim to whom I've been writing an ongoing e-mail which will be sent once I make it to one of Austin's wonderful free wifi coffeshop hotspots.

Here are some exerpts, from yesterday and today:

It's been an incredibly long day and yet I feel that very little time has passed. I think I am very jetlagged, but I wanted to write some things down for you before I crash.

The flight went off without a hitch. The plane was far from full, and I had all three seats to stretch out in. I did not sleep on the flight - I felt like I had much to do. I stuck some last-minute things in the moleskin, and made a good effort at filling it, but fell short a few pages. I finished "Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". It didn't move me as much as I'd hoped. In fact, I didn't really like any of the Greek Philosophy bits at all (75% of the book). But I did enjoy the bits about motorcycles and his story (that is, his present dilemmas verses the bizarre tales of that psycho Phaedrus). I give the book 2 stars.

When I got into Austin I noticed several things: warmth, cargo shorts, sandals, cowboy hats, bad hair, fat people, and the butchest horde of gay men I've ever seen. Straight (er, not so much) out of a Texas Gay Porn. If you can imagine that (think buzz cuts and mustaches).

Marcella & Ginger were at the airport waiting for me. They rock my world. The weather in Austin is, as the pilot on the plain said "ummmm pretty much near perfect". We went to a place where we could sit outside and have tacos. I have once again reaffirmed my assertion that corn chips are the devil. I tried my first fish tacos, and they were yummy. The air here ... I forgot how different it is. It's a little humid. But nice.

...

After food I heard from [Tim]. ... All day, since arriving, I wanted to talk to him and share things ("Tim, it's my first fish taco", "Tim, did you hear her accent??", "Tim, look at the stars!"). I'm sad now!

...

I sat on my old couch and watched David Letterman on my old TV. That was kind of surreal.

...

Oh yeah, SXSW is coming - Pedro the Lion and Vienna Teng will be here.

...

Writing this part on Tuesday morning... 6:55am. Jet lag!
...

I just re-read what I wrote yesterday and it feels weird to be talking about tacos and SXSW. Austin has a way of sneaking up on you, and before you know it, you're "in it". You know what I mean.

...

Sun is coming up now ... the sky is beautiful.

...

9:23am

...

Most definitely going to have to find a bike or something. Walking to the HEB on Riverside sucks so much ass. Parking lots and the smell of fast food. It's appalling. But I now have:

Oatmeal
Raisins
6 eggs
spinach
carrots
tuna
corn tortillas!!!!
1 onion
1 clove of garlic

The view from this side of town is fairly cool; for a second I thought the capitol building was St. Paul's (well, not really, but you understand the analogy). That new superhero high rise building doesn't look as cool now that I've lived with the gherkin.

...

I don't want to alarm you but, it's not even coat weather here. I wore a t-shirt and a (thin, cotton) long-sleeve shirt on my walk through Austin sprawl. By the time I returned, I had a slight sweat on!

...

And then, a tree roach in the baggie drawer. Perfect!

Posted by monica at 03:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)