we saw a family of four of these yesterday.



eagle rays they be.

tonight we ate at aloha mix plate. good local food. i had the look fun. it was. we then went to town and had a little walk and saw a rainbow and a sunset. we will come home tomorrow.

i just finished lolita earlier today. now i am starting in cold blood. lolita was for book club. in cold blood was because i wanted something for my last couple days here. i'm slowly going through some stuff that i should've read a long time ago. i plan on skipping the boring things though because life's too short to pretend to be smart, or prentend to be trying to be smart or learnededd. making fantasy baseball trades is way more fun. sometimes. we leave in a day or so. this makes me sad. real life. shrug. i'm starting a tv show though and i have a baby and wife. these things are good. we went and saw the batman tonight because jack has a lot of grandparents around right now. it was way cool. sirius totally died and then didn't. it was so wack. heath ledger just totally...

so come to the barbie cue. it is sunday.

we are still in hawaii. robyn is giving jack food and i'm making my igoogle page more rad. the parents went on a drive to upcountry leaving robyn, jack, and myself all by our lonesomes. we've taken turns watching the baby and relaxing by the beach. robyn is finishing her vampire book and i am finishing the book club book of the month. we also spent some time in town under the banyan tree. we met an old man from australia and ate sushi. really the best and freshest sushi is from the market. i've been a little light on the poke this trip, but all in all my raw fish intake has been decent. i almost bought some look fun noodles to make look fun when we get home. i'll probably pick them up tomorrow or the next day. oh well. home soon. boo hoo.

so, we are on the home stretch. i think we get back to los angeles on friday, but i'm not counting. we've had a fantastic time. a lot of the same old, same old, but seeing as the same old (fresh fish- raw and cooked, snorkeling, surfing, reading, writing, sitting in the sun, etc.) rules, we've really had a gas.

nothing much major. robyn's dad got stung by a jelly fish. we saw a rare monk seal. jack doesn't like sleeping. the dodgers made some trades i kind of like and kind of don't. nothing else really. time for a shower and aloe.

i'll put up more pictures i guess sometime.

here are some beaches with people.

hawaii is still fun. jack decided to not sleep last night so i am tired. very. we played dominoes late last night and i recorded two songs with jayson. the belts leave today. this is sad. robyn's parents come in some time next week i think. i'm just reading a lot and snorkeling and whatnot. nothing out of this world, just your usual relaxing awesomeness. i may make some coffee soon. we're going to mix plate for lunch to eat good hawaiian food. and we may go surfing again soon. like today. robyn's birthday is tomorrow. we will probably do something fun. oh, and the dodgers made a dumb meaningless trade. ned colletti and joe torre bug. here is my analysis via fire joe morgan. they wrote the words that were in my brains:

Dodger Fans, Rest Easy

There's a steady hand at the helm of your ship. A hand that wears a cowboy hat. A hand that also wears snakeskin boots. Ned's hand.

What's that? You just traded a 22-year-old catcher with a .994 OPS in 2008 and a pitcher with 335 strikeouts in 262.2 minor league innings for a defensively challenged third baseman with a career 106 OPS+ who turns 35 in a month?

And he's a two-month rental?

Relax -- there are good reasons for this. Excellent reasons. Reasons like -- Ned, you want to take this one?

"Casey Blake is a gamer," said Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti.

See? Don't you feel better now? What, you need more? Ned's got more.

"I think we improved the club," Colletti said. "Blake's a grinder with great character, a passionate player."

That's not all, Dodger fans. In addition to the privilege of trading away two talented prospects, you'll get the added benefit of continuing to block the progress of Andy LaRoche, who's racked up an .898 OPS in 1796 minor league at bats, has been heralded as a top prospect for what seems like hundreds of years now, was projected by PECOTA to OPS something like .850, and yet can't seem to ever be good enough to play in more than a handful of games in a row for the Dodgers. Ever. (LaRoche, by the way, has awful numbers in the majors this year, but he's been incredibly hit-unlucky (BABIP of .200) and he's walked more than he's struck out. Plus -- dude. The guy has gotten all of 59 at bats. Angel Berroa has gotten 89 at bats for Joe Torre's TerribleVetSquad already.)

It's not like Carlos Santana and Jonathan Meloan are sure things. Santana is kind of old to be in High A (and he's in the hitter-friendly Cal League), and Meloan has been terrible as a starter (though he should be a reliever anyway). But we're talking about giving them away for two hundred-some-odd at bats of Casey Blake. .336 career OBP Casey Blake. Bad defender in an already defensively suspect Dodger infield Casey Blake. Gamer Casey Blake. Grinder Casey Blake. Beardy Casey Blake. Casey Beard.

So yeah, I guess if I had to give this trade a grade, I would give it an A-. The only reason there's a minus is: there now appears to be a gamer surplus in the Dodger clubhouse. What happens when a team attains such a dangerously high gaminess quotient? Will Juan Pierre grow a thick, Baron Davis-style beard to prove that he's more of a gamer than Blake? What if Jeff Kent shoots himself in the foot with a crossbow just so he can play through the pain of a crossbow wound and be hailed as the gamiest Dodger of all? What if Nomar turns himself into a 5'6" white guy, and then Broxton transforms himself into Brett Favre in retaliation, and then Hong-Chih Kuo tops them all by becoming the ultimate gamer: a 5'6" Brett Favre?

I think the answer to all of these questions is: the Dodgers and their fans win, that's what happens. Casey Blake is the key to the World Series. Ned, you're a genius.

we have now been here a week. this is the first morning where i think nothing is wrong with my body. i will continue to take the strep medicine, though as it has made me who i am today.

we are playing a lot of dominoes and swimming in the ocean and reading. i am writing too. and reading. wonderboyz. a rock autobiography. the human comedy. lolita when finished.

made the annual trip to the whaler's museum. i will visit five more times this trip. i took jack. i hope he becomes a whaler some day.

i am trading like mad in fantasy baseball. propose a trade and i will accept. not. only if it will make my team stronger like the wind that is dolly. in texas.

word.

i have to go to the doctor today. i think i have strep or mono again.

the rio bravo and jayson belt are playing a sweet fun show at the key club on august 23.

buy a ticket!

first day. so far. got up early and wrote. robyn went for a jog, but my toe was still hurting so i stayed behind. we just finished a walk. i tried jogging a little. tomorrow i'll give it the full go. on the walk we ran into a man in blue board shorts. he was walking from his place about a half-mile from kahana sunset. after we ran into him we started talking about the baseball all-star game. nearing the beach we ran into a man wearing a 2008 all-star game t-shirt. my dad said nice shirt. san francisco giant announcer jon miller turned and said, "thanks."

now jack is napping and we are reading and stuff.

my toe hurts. jack is on the floor. we leave for hawaii tomorrow. i will surf and eat poke. i will probably also eat other raw fish and read books.

im watching round midnight. it rules. dexter gordon stars. you should watch it. we will go to long beach today. im not sure what ill do down there. maybe play whiffle ball. this movie makes me want to move to paris. but then i think back to paris and realize i didn't really dig it as i did roma. rome was more like the west. dry and dusty. we were actually in paris this time last year. or was it rome? we ended up with an extra day in rome because of a terror threat. someone tried to board a plane with a raptor in their pants.

im drinking coffee. hopefully my next cup wont taste burnt. it probably will. hopefully i will see more of my friends who live in other states. i think i may catch them all before the end of summer.

i should really play more piano.

this french guy in the movie has become friends with dexter gordon. i want to be friends with dexter gordon. my baby might start crying soon. when he does, i will pick him up. like now.

im watching darjeeling limited. i'm a bit over wes anderson right now, but i don't hate it. we saw wall-e tonight. it was fun.

if you want, buy a ticket to see randy newman on the 2nd at the hollywood bowl. we will be there. there also may be a jamout happening on saturday for people who can play instruments and sing.

summer rules.

here is a link to my amazon wish list. my birthday is on the 6th. i will be 28. i never thought i'd make it to 30. we'll see.

link.

tomorrow is the last day of school. it has been a better year, but i am tired and ready for summer.

my summer will consist of the following: remodeling a house, going to hawaii, hanging out a little. it will be busy and over before i know it.

happy father's day to me. jack bought me this:



i am happy.

1. we had a fun practice in long beach last night.
2. it is friday.
3. we are doing stuff to our new house like ripping up carpet and tearing down walls.
4. i will have a father's day this weekend.
5. i will jog and stuff today.

jack eats.





oh... and if anyone wants to come to my birthday celebration at the hollywood bowl july 2, you can buy tickets via ticketmaster. randy newman will be playing songs and the dodgers will be celebrated.

we started jack on solids. by solids, i really mean liquidy mush. he seemed to really enjoy it. we made him two bowls. one plain and one with arby's bronco berry sauce mixed in.

yesterday my mom and i took down the cottage cheese ceiling in the living room of the new place. things are starting to look rad. today she's taking down the rest of the cottage cheese. then we start the demo process.

today we're finishing mr. smith goes to worshington.

we had a nice weekend. friday, we went to bakersfield and saw people we hadn't seen in a while. it was nice and we ate hamburgers. saturday, we went to the new house and began tearing things up. we got through two of the rooms and uncovered some sweet hardwood. that afternoon we went to j. patterson's b.day for a bit (until jack started not wanting to be there), and that night, matt pool and i hung out with matt o'brien at the new house. matt needs people. good people and prayer.

sunday we went to church. book club. band practice. my taco.

church was alright. book club was fun (i made cool new friends). band practice= two new hit songs. my taco= some really delicious pork thing in a hot chile sauce.

we got home too late to do anything (actually it wasn't too late- i was just burnt).

now i'm in class getting things together for the end of the year and watching mr. smith goes to washington. one of my students said jimmy stewart looks like keanu reeves. a different student, confused, asked if jimmy stewart was in the matrix. i said yes. then another student said he was ugly. i said be quiet. she said, what? it's true. i said be quiet again, but louder and more grouchy. she then said sorry mister and got back to work.

not much new. finishing up school stuff and everything. hot fun in the summertime.

went to the dodger game last night with jayson, m.pool, and nate b. it was fun. we made many jokes and talked about stories. road stories and such. anyhow. i didn't run, which was a bummer, so i'll have to go three times around today. i'm also maybe going to write some music with andy, but i'm not sure exactly.

we went up to big bear with the pools. last time i was there i crashed my car. this time was much more fun. we played some cards, drove around a little, did some fishing, relaxed, and dealt with issues of the gut. everything was amazing and needed- except for the issues with the gut. i think i might have an ulcer maybe. i'm not sure. all the signs are there- i won't go into detail here, but i may have to go get my insides checked out. worry, stress, apprehension, and too much coffee probably caused it to occur.

in other news... nothing.

i went to bed last night in the middle of lost. i read some spoilers in the morning. shrug. i guess it's cool. i now have a paper to write before we head up to the mountain. whatever. i'm like so over it. i'm also like so burnt out on like everything.

UPDATE:

my birthday is just around the corner. you should buy this for me.

i got to school at 6:40 only to find robyn's keys in my pocket. so, instead of getting time to prep, i had to drive home and give her the keys. when i got back to school, i had a student threaten to beat me up. my students have actually been rad this year- he was an opportunity transfer from a different school in the district new to class today. i have no idea why they decided to put him in my class for the last few weeks, but a few weeks turned into a few minutes after the altercation (and a subsequent altercation with a PO wherein he threatened to beat him up as well). anyhow, all was wacky and now all is good.

i don't think i have to barf this morning- though i still have no floss. i haven't flossed since sunday at the pools'. i stole some from their bathroom, though it was out in plain view. i need some badly. robyn, if you're reading this, you should go be good wife and buy me some. i will reward you later.

i'd like to go see the wild bunch tonight, but i may have to stay back and finish something for a deadline. it'd be a bummer to miss, though.

i also found these pictures of john wayne looking eerily like my father at the same age.

i am eating a pear and strawberries and listening to billie holiday sing about that ole devil called love. it is good.

my day started out not so good when i found myself unable to floss. my teeth feel tight and dirty. yuk.

i almost barfed earlier today. i'm not sure why. maybe i'm going through the change of life.

now i will read a book to pass the time at lunch.

on thursday we went to disneyland with the pools. we stayed in a hotel thursday and friday night. it was sweet and rad. we rode buzz lightyear like 13 times and learned secrets from high school kids. we also saw karen and dave (and dave's family). it was nice for jack to say yo to the aunt and uncle.

then on saturday, after eating at coco's, we played a show in long beach. it went really well. many friends and poets and artists were there making things nice and enjoyable.

sunday we hung out at the pools for a bbq. it, too, was quite fun.

today i will work on stuff, though i need coffee first. i might also jog a couple times around the lake.

i left my phone at home. not cool. now i can't call my bookie at lunch.

anyhow, disneyland tonight ought rule. there's the possibility of some delicious mrs. knotts, but we'll have to see.

in other news, i got my coffee for free this morning because i had to wait a few minutes for it to brew. now, i've three dollars burning a hole in my pocket. my morning will be complete if they have pigs in a blanket here at school. if so, i will be happy and filled with joy.

i watched a tom petty documentary last night while minding jack. it was really good and it made me want to be in the heartbreakers. they get no respect. i also bought a roy orbison song that was featured. it was sweet.

then i tried to write, but almost fell asleep at the keys. i need to work some nodoz back in my life.

we're also playing a show this weekend. go here for more info.

bye.

i had this cool dream where matt pool and i were playing for the yankees in the world series. i think we were both rookies or something, but i was as i am now, it wasn't like i was a prospect or anything. joe torre was the manager and he had me pinch hit against chien-ming wang who was pitching for the other team for some reason. i remembered taking a ball and a strike, before flying out deep. i was pretty excited that i'd actually made contact, before realizing that just making contact wasn't really a good thing in the majors. matt came up after me and hit a homerun to tie the game. he kind of looked like a surfer version of david ross or matt nokes. i was happy we'd tied, but bummed i'd flied out. i thought there was an "i" in team. i also remember joe torre chatting with greg on a yankee blog. he was in a really good mood and greg was one of his good friends.

i started brideshead revisited. i like it i think. we have testing today. i should use the time to work on homework. i also think i might barf. i'm not sure why as i don't feel sick. that is all. bye.

fun weekend. went to ventura with the pools. ate some sushi on friday. saturday we went to the beach for most of the day, saw the parson redheads at a ventura in-store, ate burritos, and played a benefit concert. after the concert, we ate ice cream and cookies and laughed at jokes. sunday we made a nice breakfast amber invented. it was very nice. then i helped record a dodger podcast. when we got home matt and i slept for a few hours. then we went to poppo's. he gave amber and matt rocks. now i'm at work.

so the guy running for dean at my school brought us donuts and candy bars this morning as bribes. i was planning on my breakfast being two bananas, but instead it became a glazed donut and a nestle crunch bar. i'm not sure if i won or lost.

today we're heading up to ventura with the pools. maybe a little sushi. maybe a little narnia. maybe a beach day. maybe a rock show.

that is all.

the searchers was fantastic. i ended up flying solo, which was fine (though i saw some friends from around that made the night cool). one of my favorite things to do is see movies by myself and with the baby, i haven't really been able to see movies at all- making this a rad occurrence on all accounts. with afi doing this screening series (and with movie watching at a premium) i may forgo all upcoming new releases and just catch the screening series when i can. butch cassidy is next week and the wild bunch the week after. i'd rather see the wild bunch if i had to choose (if i can get out to see either). they're also showing grease and jaws in sherman oaks. i hate grease, but robyn loves it. jaws would be fun though. in other news, i may hit up that jackie robinson thing this evening before practice. i also need to jog and work on my movie. if i'm feeling spicy, i may start pumping iron. okay. bye.

so, the excursion to the autry was a success. matt and i saw many a cool western thing. i liked the paintings- they wet my appetite for the searchers tonight. the searchers is maybe my third favorite behind donovan's reef and the quiet man... maybe. we'll see after tonight.

nothing much else. i had my taco yesterday- four al pastor tacos and a quesadilla. when i was finished i went for a run around the lake and almost barfed. it reminded me of high school when i would eat tri-tip sandwiches, or in-n-out, or steak & hoagie before basketball training workouts. it was fun in the sun. if you're ever in ventura, you should eat at steak & hoagie. it rules. get the fries. they put them in a double bag so the grease doesn't run through.

UPDATE:

i think i might take jack here this afternoon:

ONGOING THROUGH 2008
The Baseball Reliquary presents William Robert Steele’s Ebbets Field Replica, an exhibition of Jackie Robinson paintings (including Michael Guccione’s "Jackie Robinson Icon"), and a display of Negro League memorabilia. Jackie Robinson Center, 1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA. Free admission. Hours are Monday-Thursday, 8:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.; Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; closed weekends (open by reservation). Further information, phone (626) 791-7647; for directions, phone (626) 744-7300.

... anyone want to come?

last night i went down to spaceland and saw people i don't get to see too much. it was really nice.

today, i am giving the CST. i told my students yesterday that today i'd give them all "candy sugared treats"- little do they know... ;) HAR HAR HAR. Zerch.

this afternoon, if all goes as planned, i will be taking my son and matt pool to the gene autry museum of western idolatry. should be vapid and gross. not.

in other news... i went to my taco last night, but it was closed. as a fall back, i got robyn taco bell and myself mcdonald's.

robyn sent me an email about the full house episode she was watching this morning...

highlights include:

Kimmy says to Mr Tanner: "Hey Mr. Tea-Bag."


And then later in the episode;

Danny says to Joey (because joey is practicing ballet to improve his flexibility, and he is acting like a squirrel): "Watch those nuts!"

i get "watch those nuts" as a sort of joke, but mr. tea-bag?! best. from now on, instead of dude or man, i will refer to everyone as mr. tea-bag. 'sup mr. tea-bag!

my brain is done and i am tired.

paul depodesta has a blog now. it seems pretty neat.

poppo got me a bunch of good tools today. my old tools were stolen along with a lot of other nice things from my garage. now that we're buying a new house, i'm going to need tools. lots of wrenches, a drill, a hacksaw set, table horses, everything really... very excited.

now i will take jack upstairs. i hope he doesn't wake up. i'm burnt.

jack slept better last night. robyn swaddled him again. we were able to watch the office and lost without interruption, which was a nice little change. the office was pretty dry. it's been pretty dry since coming back from the break. they need to make it comedy again and buy my spec. in my episode dwight secedes from the union. i even wrote in a funny scene where he shoots a bunch of people in the office. if they were smart, they'd buy it and put it straight on. but they're not. they're a bunch of onions.

in other news... the weekend starts today. later today to be exact. later today i will be packaging cds. tomorrow, we may go to ventura and we may stay until sunday. i've really nothing else to say. i'm listening to chopin and now i need to get a warm-up together.

last night i went to a thrilling dodger game with my dad, phil (check out phil's ride here), and jayson. the team is now tre and cero when i am at the ballpark. imho! here's jack on opening day.



UPDATE:

ballad in plain d just came on. what a nice good song. listen to it today. now im listening to frank sinatra sings for only the lonely. id forgotten to load it into my ipod. it is very very nice.

i am drinking my coffee at school. it is good. i like it very much. i need to get to work. last night amber brought us my taco for dinner. it too was good. it made me happy. after, we watched an episode of seinfeld. it was the one with the whiz. it made me laugh. the guy who played the whiz is also on carnivale. i think that's how you spell it, but i don't want to look it up. i am reading andre dubus and all the king's men during silent reading. i like them both very much. i've been listening to a lot of impressionist music like ravel and debussy. it makes me happy. it reminds me of bill evans. debussy once got mad when someone said hey you impressionist jerk, he responded and said "i am trying to do 'something different' – in a way realities – what the imbeciles call 'impressionism' is a term which is as poorly used as possible, particularly by art critics." we have so much in common. he is so dreamy. that's totally how i feel about the art of life. like when i'm making robot voices with a cheech accent while driving myself to work. or like when i do other things. word. out.

i had a fun weekend. met up with the parents in santy monica yesterday. it was fun. on saturday we went to the zoo with keith and karen. then we made tacos and robyn and karen played video games. i dont really like video games very much, but they do.

this week i've a dodger game tuesday and we need to have practice. there's also a couple birthday parties on saturday and a mother's day on sunday. if anyone is up for dodgers on tuesday, let me know. i'm also giong to see the searchers on the 14th. i will probably be going by myself unless people are interested. okay. bye.

my wife is the best wife in the world, but she'll be even better than best if she lets me go see the searchers at the archlight on may 14th at 8:00. they are screening a bunch of the top 100 afi films. some suck and some don't. of the some that don't, the searchers is near tops. monument valley never looked so sexy. sha-bang!

i spent yesterday with jack. it was probably the longest i've been with him without robyn and it was quite trying (though very rewarding). there's not much to really go into... it was just tough. i respect robyn much more for it. though she does have a secret weapon filled with milk that will usually make jack quiet and content. the milk weapon isn't a cure-all, but it usually works better than me singing what raffi i can remember.

robyn and amber are going to go see a free screening of baby mommy tonight. i get to play mister mom with jack, though andy may come by and hang out. if he doesn't, i'll probably go to a museum or something. jack needs some culture. i went jogging with him yesterday. it wasn't so bad actually. we're going to play racquet ball tomorrow morning at the YMCA. I usually play in a foursome with Los Angeles legends Fritz Coleman, Shotgun Tom Kelly, and John Wooden, but Wooden has a pancake breakfast at Children's Hospital so Jack will have to be our fourth.

my screen test is up on hobosoul. check it out if you DARE!!

Everyone is asleep. I had a yummy meal of fish and potatoes. I fried the potatoes in olive oil, chili powder, honey, garlic, and dill- and the fish I fried in some sauce from Hawaii with ginger. It was good. Robyn and Amber ate ice cream before dinner. I had chocolate milk for dessert.

Now I will sleep.

There is also a post on hobosoul.

jack has been crying more and more in the middle of the night. it used to be the case that he'd cry, we'd take him from his crib, shush him a bit, and let him sleep next to one of our warm paternal bods. it seems, however, that our warm paternal bods have lost their appeal. in an effort to give robyn some much needed time to herself, i'm going to start taking jack on afternoon adventures. this week i plan on visiting the lacma and a free art exhibit presented by the baseball reliquary. The baseball reliquary exhibit will feature (among other things) a replica of ebbets field, an exhibition of jackie robinson paintings, and a display of negro league memorabilia. i'm really hope a few of these things are on display as well.

other afternoon adventure ideas include: the autry's western fling, observatory, the zoo, fishing the la river, the free old pasadena film festival, dodger stadium championship tour, hollywood's tragic history tour, the museum of tv and radio...

any other ideas? anyone want to come along?

401

i saw sly stone last night. he was two hours late and crazier than brian wilson, but he ruled and i'm very glad i saw him play. friday i had a screen test for my whaler movie. vern wanted to make sure i could act and, low and behold, i found out i could. thusly, i am now a whaler. my next goal is rick dubois.

in other news, we've put a few rio bravo tunes up on the myspace. i am happy with them, though it is now time to start on blonde beards and black panthers part duex.

i think that's it. we spent a lot of time trying to stay out of the sun and keep jack happy. he's sleeping now, so i think we may've won the battle. maybe.

i'm going to go write something fun on the hobosoul site now.

...lastly... i think i know funny, and i know everybody likes flight of the concords, and in the past i've said i liked them out of thinking i should... but i've come to the realization that they are as funny as margaret cho and good burger the movie's baby. they are about as funny as if family guy and margaret cho had a baby that was delivered by a doctor who was the movie good burger during an episode of friends while the people on friends watched the movie mad money and ate blood sausage while reading bill plaschke write about why he likes oil rubs from juan pierre.

i also almost got in my first fight last night by yelling at a man who was saying bad things about sly.

tired

robyn is nice and usually deals with jack in the night. last night, though, i got to bed a bit later because of the dodger game and took the jack shift a couple times in the night. robyn still had him for a long amount of time, but man... i'm tired and my eyes burn.

i ought to be getting a few things together, but i need to wait for my mind to expand a bit.

in other news. nothing. bye.

UPDATE.

nothing too important actually. i went on stereogum to read about music i don't listen to (though they did have fun mentions about both radiohead and my morning jacket, which, oddly enough, i do)... and the stereogum webosite made mention of nbc going green for the week... which is really funny and lame... then i went to try and calculate my carbon footprint, but really all i was doing was trying to see if there would be a way to calculate the carbon footprint of my farts... then i became a genius and decided to create the website www.carbonfootprintfartmeasure.com. i will make it today and fill it with loads of google ads and matt bethancourt or matt obrien will make some scam of a fart calculator and i swear i'll be rich super quick and leaving my carbon feet printys all over the beaches of cancun and the glasses of glownig drinks with salt and papaya.

my birthday presents

my birthday is just around the corner (july 6th to be exact). if you want to be awesome, please buy me one of these yakov smirnoff glow in the dark shirts. they look like they might make up for the complete and utter disaster that was my scam of a captain eo shirt i bought for $30.00 on ebay.

in other news...

we're in ventura, about to head to santa barbara for the afternoon. after which, we will see our friends the matt and hailey and tomorrow we may go try and buy scalped tickets for mudcrutch at the ventura theater.

that guy

so it took me until about 7:15 this morning to realize i put on pants that still had a pair of boxers from a few days earlier stuck in the leg. they started coming out my pant leg on the way to the office to check my box.

we're watching something that has to do with anne frank. i'm getting over a nasty cold, so the timing couldn't be better.

in other news...

we're having another open house today. we should (if all goes well) be able to be in our house by early june. during the first bit of remodeling, we'll probably be living in ventura some. living in ventura will not make for a fun commute, so i may just sleep on the floor of the new place.

in other, other news...

i'm getting over being sick and jack is adorable and robyn is nice.

ollie johnston... dead.

here.

day is done

saturday night. robyn's putting the baby down. i'm listening to debussy, which i found out is different from da' bussey (a gary bussey cover band). it is however nice and i like it for writing and such.

this week was wild and tiring. we're getting to the end of making our album. this is my favorite, i think...

life in the west by rio bravo

Fandalism Free MP3 Hosting

... but the other guys like a few of the other ones better.

anyhow, this week was nuts. i had grades due. an outline for the script. some stuff to do on the whaler short film that we're shooting in may. and a show.

i also was quite affected by this. please don't make jokes i might make as the person was a friend, a colleague, and i've reason to believe students may have found this blog. it's not a secret as it's easily googled, but it's really bummed me out and made me sad.

oh, and we put an offer in on a house in silver lake. now we have to sell this one. i think i already told people as much.

things are looking up though, as i just purchased two sweet tickets to see sly and the family friggin' stone with my pa. i hope my son likes going to baseball games and concerts with me. it'd suck if his act of rebellion was... ah, i don't want to jinx it. whatever he rebels against will be cool i suppose. but then if i think it cool, he might not rebel... i don't know anything any more. maybe he'll rebel against being lazy in his twenties. and then i could maybe go back in time and learn something from him.

okay. bye.

Zoey's Show

When?: Tomorrow April 5th
Que Tiempo?: 8:00
How much?: $10.00

Fun times will abound in Ventura. Here's the link.

moving.

yesterday we found out a house we were interested in had fallen out of escrow sort of (it's a little complicated). anyhow, by the end of the day we made an offer. we went over with handyman mr. pool and his wife to see what we might be able to do to make the house a little (and by little, i mean a lot) less grandma. while we were looking around the place, the real estate man came by and told us our offer had been accepted. crazy.

now we have to sell our condo. we were going to have an open house sunday, but we may move it back a week to better prepare.

the new house is also in silver lake and it's a really fantastic deal, which was why we had to jump. we're in a little neighborhood just across rowena- walking distance to nicky d's type area.

here's a link...

happy.

Rafael Furcal, SS
Andre Ethier, LF
Matt Kemp, RF
Jeff Kent, 2B
Andruw Jones, CF
Russell Martin, C
James Loney, 1B
Blake DeWitt, 3B*
Brad Penny, P

(...cute baby in snow below is also happy)

in the snow

hey

im watching the baby and the ruttles. are the ruttles funny? jury is still quite out.

if you're not doing anything on the fourth of july, i will be celebrating my birthday at the hollywood bowl... the hollywood bowl will be celebrating 50 years of the dodgers in los angeles with the philharmonic and... wait for it... ... ... randy newman!!! playing baseball songs.

not much else. we're playing in ventura next saturday. jack is cooing a lot. we're looking to move. probably in the same neighborhood, which means another little while in los angeles. should be fun. life's wild man.

i also start school. national university. i will be paying for my credential, i guess. i just had some good pizza. we can't eat it much because when it comes out as robyn's milk, it upsets jack's stomach.

i am sore

from ultimate frisbee.

good thing it is easter. i will heal faster.

concert time!

matt inspired me. i've saved most of my concert tickets- presumably for this moment. and because i'm ocd.

first concert:
ray charles at the ventura theater. i was eight or so. to me he was the "you got the right one baby" guy. i fell asleep during the opening comedian. and woke up during hit the road jack.

middle school:
ray stevens, jim stafford (both fantastic country novelty geniuses), and the same christian bands matt saw mostly because of hume lake and not by choice. i would've seen more concerts i assume, but the tv toons artists rarely toured.

high school and beyond (in no particular order):
bob dylan was the first. other dylan shows (dylan and willie @ the el rey, dylan and phil lesh, dylan and merle haggard, dylan solo in bakersfield, dylan with asleep at the wheel in bakersfield, dylan and paul simon @ the hollywood bowl)
johnny and june (thousand oaks)
steve miller band
john stewart (one watching, one playing with)
willie (el rey, bridge, 4th of july picnic ventura w/ leon russell)
gordon lightfoot (2)
u2 (2)
stones
paul mccartney (2)
old 97s (2)
james taylor (3)
doobies/ george thorogood
jon brion (many: w/ gillian welch and david rawlings, b. tench, grant lee buffalo, fiona apple)
the roots
common
mavis staples
ray price
smothers brothers
tiger woods benefit w/: the eagles, hootie, and brian mcnight
van morrison
taj mahal
petty
greg allman
daft punk
brian wilson
bright eyes
rufus wainwain
eric burdon at linda mccartney's memorial in santa b
arcade fire
levon helm
"beach boys"
beastie boys
marty stuart and porter wagoneer
beck
wilco (many)
jeff tweedy solo
jonathn richman
billy idol
billy joe shaver
larry gatlin
richie furay
chris hillman
charlie daniels
john doe
cwk
x
social d
eric clapton
john fogerty
dr. john
dave alvin
phish
dick dale
dwight yoakam
garth brooks
huey lewis
carol king
elliott smith
granddaddy
elvis costello (2)
emmylou
everly brothers
flaming lips
frank black
bobby vinton
glen campbell
jackson browne
jens lekmen
jimmy buffett
charlie pride/ dixie chicks/ sawyer brown (after party for the CMAs)
os mutantes
john cale
keb mo
kings of leon
robert plant
the who (2)
lucinda williams
lyle lovett
skynyrd
mouse and the billionaire
nitty gritty dirt band
peter case
roger waters
thom york
randy newman
richard swift
rio bravo
ryan adams
steve earle
supergrass
traffic (sort of)
dick van dyke
poncho sanchez
bridge schools: CSNY, Willie Nelson, Wilco, Indigo Girls, Counting Crows, Incubus Dashboard Confessional, James Taylor, Ryan Adams, Tenacious D, Thom Yorke, LeeAnn Rimes, Jack Johnson, Vanessa Carlton, Crazy Horse, Pearl Jam, REM, Dave Mathews, Ben Harper, Tracy Chapman, Billy Idol, Jill Sobule, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beck, Dave Mathews Band, Foo Fighters, Tegan & Sara, The Who, Pearl Jam, Sheryl Crow, Green Day, Billy Corgan & James Iha, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams and Brian Wilson
gram parsons benefit: jim james, keith richards, nora jones some others...
cwk
the red west
we barbarians
dj death face patterson
dmh
supertones
jerry seinfeld (2)
robin williams
fred arminsen
gallagher (sp?)

and i think some more that i forgot.


---
bonus: people my dad saw that make me jealous:
jimi hendrix (many)
janis (many)
moby grape
captain beefheart
james brown
woodstock
doors
the band
altamont (including a stabbing/ and the burrito brothers)
and many more...

rocky mountain hygh

we're in colorado. we've eaten at the cracker b. chicken and dumplings, mustard greens, fried okra, fried apples, and biscuits. yum.

we've also jogged, relaxed, played in the snow (movies to follow), watched movies, and hung out with robyn's parents. it has been nice.

we will be going to ventura on wednesday.

there's also a new post up at hobosoul.

bye.

splish splash mish mash

watching. reading. listening. farting.

house.
the hero with a thousand feces.
some gordon lightfoot this morning. and cannonball.

i kind of took the day off from writing yesterday and just chilled. i did a little late at night, but not much. it kind of felt a little weird. im very much getting used to my schedule of work, work, work... fun work, but still work... playing with jack, running, making music, writing movies, watching movies, cooking dinner... it keeps me busy, but i like being busy.

we'll be going to colorado for a few days, which will be a nice reprieve. calm. movies. some snow. reading. etc.

busy is the week...

ive a busy week. tonight is mellow, as is tomorrow, but ive many an assessment to give and many a parent conference to attend and many a colorado to visit and many a paper to grade.

that is all.

shhh...

is what i just said to my class. we're listening to solo monk. they're doing a free write to start the day about plants that talk. i'm trying to take care of a bunch of official school/ credential/ life stuff. we're doing a budget today. maybe. or maybe we'll push it to tomorrow.

i've been running a lot lately. it's been nice. i also may extend my lent past lent. we'll see. i get a lot more done.

jack's cool. he was up when i left, which means robyn is probably up now. my mom comes on tuesdays and thursdays to watch him while robyn goes to school. it's a nice arrangement. she takes the train. i think she's made friends.

yesterday we ate honey chicken and watched children of men and seinfeld. i liked everything about children of men but the message, which was a bit lame. the chase was cool though. i like chase, running from danger movies a lot right now. and seinfeld.

when robyn and jack went to bed i edited my the office episode and finished my whaler short. the whaler short is about a whaler from another world who, after being swallowed by a whale, is transported to silver lake. he eventually becomes a famous indie rock star who sings sea shanties. it ends with him taking credit for slip sliding away. you can read it over at hobosoul.com.

i'm also in a band. we're almost done making a record. we will give it out for free because we are hippies.

i will watch before night falls tonight and read something. i am very busy, but it is good, constructive busy. i like being busy. it makes me tick. tock.

thus, my life in a nutshell.

jack takes hold

sick to my stomach

via dodgerthoughts...

From Diamond Leung of the Press-Enterprise:

Joe Torre declared Nomar Garciaparra the favorite to start at third base over Andy LaRoche. "Being the veteran guy, he has the inside track in being the starting third baseman," Torre said. Torre said he could tell LaRoche has been a bit anxious during the intrasquad games.

This might be a motivational tool for LaRoche, or it might be reality. But the end of March is still 32 days away. A track is just a track, and the outside track is still a track.

and juan pierre is still living in left field with an inside track on being the most useless left fielder in history. i am a redsox fan now. or at least a fan of my fantasy team(s). ned colletti can go sit on a used scalpel.

Mouth Guard

I get a mouth guard tomorrow for my teeth grinding. I'm only supposed to wear it at night so it probably won't be that creepy. The bell just rang, so I should be getting to grading and whatnot from the time out of the classroom last Thursday and Friday. Nothnig else.

sunday, sunday, sunday!

im watching that show on the travel channel with the guy who goes weird places and eats weird things. it is really cool.

i have band practice soon. we are cleaning up a bit. jack is sleeping in his swingy thing. i may write soon.

survey!

from darrens silly baby blog.

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. pizza maker in whittier
2. concessions vendor
3. roadie
4. janitor

C) Places I have lived:
in order
1. ventura
2. biola
3. whittier
4. los angeles

D) TV Shows that I watch:
1. the office
2. the lost
3. the seinfeld
4. the hbos

E) People who e-mail me (regularly):
1. vern/ jeff
2. my bands

F) Four of my favorite foods:
1. sooshi
2. pizza
3. a lot of other things

G) Four places I would rather be right now:
1. vero beeches
2. roma
3. hawaii

H) Four friends that I think will respond
1. billy's friend gill
2. wollet or whatever his name was who lived with jayson and andy

I) Things I am looking forward to:
1. nothing this is dumb.

what im doing

ive stopped with the "what im reading, watching, listening" thing on the sidebar because i feel its a little silly sometimes. however i do like to occasionally see what my friends are into/ reading/ etc... it gives me a little picture into their lives.

because of this. and because ive got a moment...

reading: just finished the diving bell and the butterfly. very nice. id like to see the movie.
watching: seinfeld season 4. like the simpsons, seinfeld really doesn't get going until season 4. i also got caught up on the office on the nbc.com
listening: a lot of country. ive been writing to ravel and sad jazz. and listening to sixties and seventies pop rock and soul for musical inspiration... billy preston, the rascals, etc... so much so, that i hadn't taken a trip down the country highway and its quite doing me well.

long weekend

corned beef and belts fun friday. santa monica jogging, parents saturday. hangout, music, pools sunday. not sure about today. more jack pics.

hippie teacher am i

it's break. we're listening to the pretty things. rocking out actually. some kids are painting my bulletin board to make it look cool. some are doing homework. some are looking up pictures of chairs on google images. i was just shown a bicycle chair for office use. now red foley is on. rocking out less, but still cool.

and, occasionally, i think they learn things.

tracking guitar today at andy's. writing in the evening. probably making rosemary broiled shrimp, black beans, and kale for dinner. okay. bye.

nothing from nothing

is what we're listening to right now during break. now the bell has rung. bye.

obsession

robyn and mike s. say i'm going overboard on the porch about fantasy baseball. i explained to them that one cannot go overboard on an obsession, as obsessions are for going overboard. robyn then told me i was acting like someone broke up with me. and the i am acting like one who can't handle it. maybe so. maybe so. but she also thinks $50.00 is steep.

mike said i'm in danger of people thinking i'm going crazy. dare i say... so what?

anyhow, in other news, i'm making some meat and potatoes. jack is eating mother's milk. and we will be watching the best little whorehouse in texas later.

fly-fishing the la river

nice saturday

got up early with a crying baby. walked around the house some. did a little writing. a little baseball fun. a little more writing. set up a baseball league. doesn't look like i'm hanging out with iwerks jr. oh well. did a little cleaning. listened to some leadbelly. going to eat some lunch. take robyn to a meeting. write and hang out with jack. go to see friends. go to bed.

moo

thanks for coming out last night. we had fun, though the real concert was the back room jam at the baby grand (man, that could be taken so many different ways). anyhow, thanks and be praying for the pools.

happy lint. i gave up the juice.

!!!!!!

saturday afternoon i'm going to sit down with the son of this guy at imagineering in glendale. i will be asking him if my vision of a crazy land created by a family friendly entertainment company is at least somewhat accurate. im giddy as a school boy.

made me smlaugh

funny article about tom candiotti having jeff kent beaned to help his fantasy team.

on the agenda this week

ah, busy week. we're starting a new semester, which is always kind of nice. i like starting fresh, putting up new bulletin boards, organizing reading books, creating new power points, etc. teaching is fun. it's not my dream job, but it'd be in my top five i think.

watching the corner. reading a new book of steinbeck short stories i bought off ebay (furst edition, written in steinbeck's blood). trying to finish a movie. might be meeting with ollie johnston and the son of ub iwerks for research purposes. again with the taco sauce if this happens to happen. basically, i'll be meeting lb and sellers. in the flesh. possibly. fingers crossed.

and, show wednesday at hotel cafe. 7:00pm. $10.00.

and matt bethancourt bought my son the coolest thing ever. i will post a picture soon.

so-----

im working real hard on my movie when i realize my blog needs to be completely rewritten as jar jar.

and my life became complete. and the sun rose in my dead eyes.

oh mesamesa mesa jar jar say only jedi is way. marreid to mesa woman for 49 trigabot. don mesa tell wife me?

soup

jack and robyn come home today. tipee. tipee. yip.

what a weekend! or... what, a weekend?

my weekend was this... garth and huey friday. late afterfun. lazy saturday. goodtime writing session with hobosouls. sunday featured the coen brothers, a very something spike jonze, and an evening viewing of no country with vince vaughn and sleep.

today: clean house!, make things nice, write, maybe jog.
tomorrow: taco tuesday, some music with andy.
wednesday: wife and baby come home on a ghost clipper from days of yore.

i'm going to take a sabatical from internet for a few. i think i may give it up for lent save for a few important things.

okay, bye.

he came, he conquered.

last night, in all his bluesy rocktastic glory, huey lewis joined garth for two sweet rock songs. i went bezerk!

my weekend with chris, the coens, and funzoneextreeeeme!

tonight's hangout needs to start a little earlier, as i'm now going to the ten o'clock chris gaines show at le stalpes center. booyah. come by for some preshow cocktails and if you're mike sycz, i'll have a bed pulled out and a key waiting. ;)

anyhow, tomorrow i'm recordind during the day and working on movie stuffs in the evening. seeing as i'm pretty busy all weekend, sunday afternoon i may have a champagne brunch of sorts if people want to come by.

UPDATE!!!

it looks like huey lewis may play with him. him being garth brooks. and yes, i do mean like that.

UPDATE 2!!!

via aquarium drunkard on the levon helm midnight ramble...

...The Zealous Records crew was invited up for a Ramble last April. It’s pretty amazing. The whole town comes out to help run things (park cars, security, sell baked goods). They all wore t-shirts that say “Helm Land Security”.

His property is beautiful and the shows are held in his barn/studio. Very woodsy and upstate New York feeling. Levon is as warm and inviting as you would expect. A pretty legendary character.

People basically hang out and there is lots of interaction between different musicians. There are also some amazing old photos from the Band days hanging throughout the studio. Everyone in the crowd was very laid back and there were no instances of stalker-style fans, which was surprising considered everyone was allowed to bring their own alcohol and what ever else they felt like ingesting.

my wife and child are leaving me

for the weekend. hooah! they're going on a trip to hawaii. i'm staying home and working. sound even? no. white man's burden, i guess. anyhoo, not much to report. there is a slight chance that i might be going to a screening of no country with a q and a with the coen brothers after- the moderator being spike jonze. if this happens my brain will explode and taco sauce will come pouring out my ears.

tuesday morning

ive got that song sunday morning stuck in my head, but with tuesday morning being the lyric sung by neocon tranny nico. im a lot less tired than i should be after last night. jack was very fussy all day. my mom was there to help though, so we were able to keep our sanity somewhat.

anyhow, the show was really fun last night. thanks to everyone who came out. it was nice playing again after a long time. as always... check out blonde beards and black panthers for all your rio bravo needs (including, but not limited to: formal and informal apologies, tour diaries, and various recommendations). what rick steve's is to hippie dropouts, blonde beards and black panthers is to los angeles guitar rock.

day off

today there is no work. only relaxing allowed. and we have a show tonight.

mama mia!

nick hornby interviews david simon (the show's creator)

interview with creator simon.

what do real thugs think of the show?

top moovies

here's my top 6. im luke warm on there will be blood. overhyped.

in order best to almost best.

ratatoutou.
no country
bob dylans dream
eastern promises
superbad
bourne

Milk of Good

I try and leave the house as quietly as possible these days. The routine goes as such: I leave for work when Jack is generally quiet. He seems to sleep from about 4:30ish to 6:30ish (though Robyn might disagree on the length). I usually email Robyn at about ten to find out she only slept for an hour or two and that he woke up right after I left. When I come home, I grab something to eat, wait until he's done feeding and hold him while Robyn sleeps or takes a bath. This is when I usually watch movies. Yesterday's fare was No Direction Home and No Country for Old Men. This lasted until 7:30 (when Robyn woke up from her nap). I then went for a jog (running- and NoDoz- help the energy), came back, and started making dinner while robyn pumped milk. We finished dinner at about 9:00. Robyn then nursed Jack while I started a rewrite. She came up at about 9:30 and handed him off to me. I went down stairs and wrote with one hand until about 11:00 (finishing the said rewrite while rocking him), checked some internet, and then watched the first half of There Will Be Blood until about 12:30. When I took him up, Robyn nursed him and began her off and on shift that lasted until around 4:30. I pushed sleep until 6:00 before waking up to shower and leave- which brings us back to the quiet morning of not wanting to wakey wakey the baby. Thus, not making breakfast or a lunch (which I should really prepare the night before) I stopped at AM/PM on the way to work to purchase tre Tiger's Milk bars and a V8 Splash. One for breakfast, break, and lunch. I also took NoDoz.

tour diaries and wife jokes

hey friends. don't forget to check out blonde beards and black panthers for rio bravo tour diaries and wife jokes.

in other news: i'm going to put up some more pictures of my son today. I promise. nothing interesting here really. i watched a midsummers night sex comedy last night. it was stupid. i think i'm a little out on woody allen right now. maybe i need to watch one of his good movies again to restore faith. woody allen is falling into the same pit as vonnegut. a little too cheeky for me these days. i need good hard drama. good. hard. dra-ma.

hang me up to dri.

like so cool

if anyone is up for it, i'm going to do a mock fantasy baseball draft on mock draft central soon. let me know.

the rio bravo (or at least the latest incarnation) has shows coming up on january 21 at silver lake lounge (free, 9:00) and february 6 at hotel cafe (10.00, 7:00ish- bring a date for a romantic evening of power rock).

more jack pictures soon.

con error

im watching con air on tv. isn't there a conair blow dryer? i i always wondered if that was where they came up with the idea for the movie. this is a very funny and bad movie. it is also awesome.

i've had a fun few days off. that is all. baby about to get fussy.

hey

i've saturday school tomorrow. i had a roobin for dinner. jackson is making us tired and cranky. but he's very much worth it. i've got a lot of work to do. i am a grouch right now.

sick

i think i'm getting sick. maybe. i kicked it last time with a healthy dose of airbourne supremecy and mind power. the last week, i've been eating some of the world's healthiest foods in an effort to rid myself of weight and poisonious chemicals. i need to be healthy now that i'm a dad. today, for instance, i had nonfat yogurt for breakfast, unsalted raw almonds and driet apricots for a snack at break, an apple, two oranges and more almonds for lunch, two waters and two packs of emer'gen-c. i'm also going to start running with ryan around the lake asap- though i think he may leave me in the dust as he is a partial marathon man these days. anyone else want to join?

best

some dodger blog i've never heard of did some projections and came out with the following (he did a realistic and "best case scenario", i am only putting up the best case scenario because it would make the dodgers the best). i agree with everything to the awesome best extent.

Player Projections

Hitting
Key - Batting average/homeruns/RBI/runs/stolen bases/obp%/slg%

Catcher: Russell Martin
Best Case - .303/25/111/98/25/.385/.515

1B: James Loney
Best Case - .335/32/125/86/2/.390/.560

2B: Jeff Kent
Best Case - .310/26/100/83/2/.381/.520

3B: Andy LaRoche
Best Case - .285/20/75/75/10/.377/.480

SS: Rafael Furcal
Best Case - .291/15/67/120/33/.351/.420

RF: Matt Kemp
Best Case - .350/40/128/103/32/.383/.601

CF: Andruw Jones
Best Case - .270/51/130/105/10/.362/.575

LF: Andre Ethier
Best Case - .310/22/94/88/5/.368/.481


Pitching
Key - ERA/WHIP/K/wins/BAA

SP1: Brad Penny
Best Case - 2.97/1.28/157/20/.244

SP2: Derek Lowe
Best Case - 3.03/1.19/165/18/.242

SP3: Chad Billingsley
Best Case - 2.91/1.08/225/22/.211

SP4: Hiroki Kuroda
Best Case - 3.29/1.27/164/15/.240

SP5: Jason Schmidt
Best Case - 3.38/1.22/205/14/.253

Relief Pitchers
Key - ERA/WHIP/K/Saves/BAA

Setup: Jonathan Broxton
Best Case - 1.86/0.95/114/28/.199

Closer: Takashi Saito
Best Case - 1.29/0.66/96/48/.143

Billingsley is the new black. Kemp is the new Willie Mays.

back to the grind

not that grind, mr. pool ;). hooah!

anyhow, i picked my first fantasy baseball team on a mock draft the other morning. it auto picked the first three rounds, netting be arod, ichiro, and peavy. the rest of my team went as such.

c: mccann
1b: adrian gonzales
2b: jeff kent/ placido polanco (both picked very late oddly enough)
ss: johnny peralta
3b: arod
of: ichiro, kemp, new japanese cub, hermidia, justin upton
dh: frank thomas

p: peavy, cole hammels, verlander, matsuzaka, ian snell, rich harden, jeremy guthrie, matt garza, clayton kershaw

rp: gagne

so-so. i could trade a good pitcher for another outfielder though. okay. back to work.

2000 ate

i'm watching godfather part deux. i watched part uno last night. deux is much better.

if anyone is interested, i've a couple new sites up.

one for the rio bravo: blondebeardsandblackpanthers

and one for my writing. i might also put up funny home movies like darren if i can think of anything.

the links are on the side somewhere.

2008. the year of breathing easy.