“My lips feel like Cocoa Puffs”

Oh the things we do for a pretty smile. It was the end of 6th grade and I was told I needed braces. My teeth weren’t perfect, but they weren’t horrible. Still, my mom took me to the orthodontist and I was fitted with braces on my top and bottom teeth. The entire process lasted […]

Labor Daze: Part Deux

So despite my bemoaning of the corporate tax laws on my “gifted” day off by my employer, I did have a pretty decent three-day weekend. Friday all of the kids were off doing their own things so the wife and I got to hang out, eat pizza, spin records, and drink. I enjoyed a New […]

The One About The Guy And Those Bose 501s

Hey, did you hear the one about the guy that wanted to set up a vinyl-listening area in his basement family room? Yeah, he already HAS a decent set up in the upstairs living room, but it seems that as he gets older he prefers the solitude of basement dwelling. And being in the basement […]

My Childhood With Robin Williams

Don’t misconstrue that title to mean I knew Robin Williams. I have, in fact, never met the man. I mean, he was on my pajamas when I was 5 and my older brother wore a pair of suspenders based on Mork’s famous ones. But I didn’t know Robin Williams. I did indeed grow up with […]

Sunday Slag

It’s been a pretty lazy Sunday. I mean, I’ve done stuff. I watched some of a documentary about Divine called I Am Divine. I really liked what I saw but had to shut it off as the kiddos started to wake up and they had just gotten into Divine’s history with “The Cockettes” in the […]

Tangerine Dreams and Prog Rock Nightmares

I recently acquired three albums by Tangerine Dream. Prior to these three albums I had already owned four other albums by these German prog/ambient/film score dudes. What does this mean about me as a human being? As a man? In my head it means I’m a well-rounded lover of music. It seems, though, that when […]

The Art of Art

So is there an art to being artistic? It seems like being an artist shouldn’t be an art in itself. The idea of that seems really fake and non-creative in the worst sense. But lately I’ve come across some situations where it seems like being seen as an artist, or playing the part of an […]

Down In Front: Sunday Night at the Drive-In

There are a few things that still exist today that are a direct link to our past; both the past we exist in and the one that existed before us. Cultural significance can be debated all you want(there are plenty of folks who love that s**t.) For me, in order for something to have cultural […]

Music On Vinyl: Making Spins Sound Better

So Saturday July 12th my wife and I were supposed to go to Chicago and see one of my favorite songwriters Jeff Tweedy play at the Taste of Chicago Festival. He was going to play part of the show with a small band(including his 18 year old son Spencer on drums) and the other part […]

Cabin Fever: How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Sunday June 29th, 2014: Day One We left the house close to noon. The kids were pushy as usual. None of them took my Nyquil-laced ice pops I offered them, so the drive was going to be loud. We made our way to the south side of town to drop the family pooch(officially he goes […]