Orange Gearle

family, friends, politics, music and technology... that's what it's all about

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

happy halloween to me

After this picture was taken this afternoon, I headed to Madison for the Dylan concert. That’s me on the far left...in the back...I’m a rock star on the weekends…as far as you know. My kids totally believe me…I’m horrible.


Wisconsin is a beautiful place. I may need to move here someday. But first I think I’ll visit sometime in December. Oh wait, I am visiting sometime in December. There’s this band called the Dirty Shirts that’s playing December 2nd. I think I’ll give them a whirl. I have yet to be at a musical event in Madison that I didn’t love. However, Wisconsin might be too cold, I dunno. I am a wuss when it comes to cold. I guess I’ll find out in December.

I almost didn’t get here. Tons of reasons, but most recent was the fact that my mother and father’s basement flooded yesterday. Yes, seriously. A water main break or something. But my mother, bless her heart, knows how much I really wanted to be here, and insisted that I make the trip. THANK YOU MOM!!


Anyway the drive was pretty good. Uneventful. The best part was the sunset. I should’ve stopped to take a picture, it was glorious.

The big question: Did I find the hotel? Yes, I found the hotel. Free wireless even.

In anticipation of either no parking or just your basic Halloween FREAKS, I decided to take a cab to and from the concert. Good call. You all know how impatient I am, and I think that trying to locate a parking spot may have been….well, it may have put me over the top. ☺

The cab driver dropped me off and I nearly sprinted to the door. It was cold. I got up to the entrance, showed them my ticket and realized that the bar code had fallen off the ticket! Seriously. So they sent me back to the ticket booth and I had to stand there FOREVER (or like maybe 8 minutes) for them to give me a replacement. It wouldn’t have been that bad except they weren’t talking to me and telling me that they WOULD replace it, so I was freaking out inside.


I entered the arena and found my seat. HOLY SHIT. I was way closer than I thought I’d be. The thing about getting a SINGLE ticket is, you can get a decent one!! Two years and two days ago, when I saw Dylan with The Soul Mate ( ☺ ) we weren’t FAR away at all...but today I was closer. If you are reading this Charlie, (yeah right) I would say I was a bit closer to the stage than we were in Carver, and in the center. Keep in mind y’all, I’m 5’0”, so seeing above the crowd is a bit of an issue.

I don’t care what anyone says, I will never admit to calling The Soul Mate from the floor of the arena. The thing that SUCKS about going to concerts alone is the obvious, no one to share it with. Plus, who the hell likes Bob Dylan as much as me anyway??? Only him, as far as I can tell. Ok, so maybe I called him, but I won’t admit to ANY tears afterwards. I know, I shouldn’t have called him. I really needed to see Bob without him for once. I liked Bob before him, I needed this concert to TAKE BOB BACK. LOL, that’s just funny….but true. I’m very disappointed that I made the impulsive decision to dial.

Anyway, The Foo Fighters opened. They didn’t suck. When I say that, it’s not the same as when my daughter says “He’s SO not ugly” (and the guy is hot). I literally mean, they didn’t suck. ☺ They weren’t horrible. But I was so excited for Dylan to get out there and play that I definitely decided that an hour was way too long for them to be on stage. I went to the little girls room, and then bought a pretzel.

He opened with Maggie’s Farm. I love Maggie’s Farm. I stood on my chair. The smell of cannabis filled the air immediately. Funny, She Belongs to Me was next. I always thought I’d buy Charlie a trumpet for Halloween and a drum for Christmas someday. Seriously, I thought about it. I know he’d find a way to use them in his music. And you fucking know he’d learn to play them in about 2.5 seconds.

Of course I made friends. I always make friends. I have no idea what there names are, but there were two not ugly guys that sat behind me that helped keep the don’t-stand-on-your-chair-don’t-take-pictures-
don’t-use-your-cell-phone natzis away from me. I was only asked to get off the chair once. Geeez…what’s up with all the RULES’n’shit????? And were the HELL were the cell phone natzis when some malevolent force of nature was forcing me to dial that phone number???? Ok, I’m done beating myself up about it. We should still be friends, that’s all. I liked him LONG before I loved him….and I’m moving on – get over it and talk to me already. And he’s the only one that I can talk to about music. FUCK.

I only had to wait until song number 5 to hear one of my favorites from Modern Times called Rollin’ and Tumblin’. Have I mentioned how amazing his band is???? The guitar on Rollin’ and Tumblin’ was awesome. That song was immediately followed by a great version of John Brown.

Gosh, I wish everyone I love could’ve been there….and that they would enjoy him even half as much as me. They way he pronounces his words CRACKS ME UP. I love the guy. My brother says that he hates him live. I just don’t get that. (He also votes Republican, which I don’t get, either). Tonight while I was listening I was thinking, “Does he ever get sick of playing Tangled Up in Blue?” And he might….but it’s different every time, so maybe not. ☺ That’s part of his charm, IMHO. And why is it that half the crowd doesn’t even know it’s Tangled Up in Blue until the chorus? WTF? Shouldn’t they be fans??? Maybe that’s just the half that was there to see the Foo Fighters?????

Some others included Highway 61 Revisited, When the Deal Goes Down and Workingman's Blues #2 (the last two are from Modern Times). He also did another of my faves, Blind Willie McTell and ended with Summer Days (which was the last song he did before the encore when I saw him at Carver in Iowa City AND when I saw him at the Kernel’s ball Park last summer, too).

The encore: Thunder on the Mountain (from Modern Times) and Like a Rolling Stone, ending with All Along the Watchtower, of course.

I don’t dance, and it was hard to sit (well stand) still.

This was a very good decision for me to keep the pact with myself and come to this. And Bob is mine again. LOL

As I walked out of the arena, with my two new friends (names unknown, mind you) I realized that I had a voice mail message. Remember the infamous JEFF (my only ‘friend’ in Madison)? Well, it was him and I think we are going to have lunch tomorrow. Don’t worry, I won’t tell him he’s beautiful. ☺

Bob and the band after the encore...pointing to the people in the crowd with costumes.


UPDATE: Here's a link to a review from The Capital Times.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

toad-aly suck-sational story

Seriously, this isn’t a story from The Onion. While I was checking my usual online news sources, I found this very unusual story about a dog’s drug addiction. (emphasis mine)


"We couldn't keep our dog's addiction a secret any longer," Laura Mirsch says. "The neighbors all knew that Lady was a drug addict, and soon the other dogs weren't allowed to play with her."

*snip*

"She seems to have outgrown the wild toad-obsessed years of her youth," Mirsch says, "and now only sucks on weekends."



Read the story here or, even better, listen to the complete story with ever-so-appropriate music in the background here. (and yes, one of the songs does happen to be Dylan…but I suppose he has so many songs that you could find at least one of his songs appropriate for almost anything). If it doesn’t make you giggle…you need to suck a toad.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

number eighteen




Caption contest??? :-) Happy birthday, Koala Lou!

Saturday, October 07, 2006

just another day

Isn’t it funny how birthdays are really just another day? I mean really…they are just another day. Fall is full of birthdays for our family. My nephew hit the big 30 in September, my father hit 72. In a less than two weeks I will be ½ my father’s age, and the next day my daughter will be ½ mine. Tomorrow we will celebrate my brother’s birthday as a family. A new baby was born just a week ago, and her big brother’s birthday is in a few weeks.


"Each day seems a hundred years long,
but the weeks and the months just fly."


I suppose when you aren’t exactly where you want to be, or expected to be in your life, and you’re closer and closer to that next birthday…well, I suppose that’s when birthdays are more than just another day. They’re much worse. (Can you say mid-life crisis anyone?)

It’s been six months. I decided it was time to get back on the horse. I’m back at the personals thing. Why? I have no fucking idea.

It’s been an emotional week, and today was no exception.

Two years ago, as my 34th birthday approached I went to CSPS to see Andrew Bird. It was simply amazing. I’ve never seen anything like him. When I saw him two years ago, I knew I liked him….I thoroughly enjoyed the concert….but I didn’t notice his striking looks at all. My focus was elsewhere.

I met Zoot’s parents for the first time that night. We’d met just moments before the concert began so there wasn’t much talking. I won’t forget how cute his mom was after the show….it was a Friday night, after a long week, and I had to get up early and teach piano lessons. But after the concert….Kathy said, “So, where are we going next??” She was ready to go out on the town! I excused myself and went home. But I knew that we would be good friends, Kathy and I.

Anyway, that first time I saw Andrew Bird, I was completely taken back by his talent. I cannot even put into words how extraordinary this man is. But by far the best part of the concert for me that night was watching Zoot listen and enjoy himself. My eyes were on Zoot’s reaction to Andrew all night. Although we weren’t even dating at the time, it was that night that I knew I loved him. Interesting that I bet he doesn’t know that.

Tonight I saw Andrew Bird again. He was even more amazing than the last time. It was a very different atmosphere, however. Still at CSPS, but the place was PACKED and it was full of college students. I felt 100 years old. ☺ And of course I went alone. But it was so unlike anything else….his music is completely unclassifiable. I’ll link to a couple of his songs within this diary, but I’m telling you it will not do it justice…seeing him create music in front of your eyes is part of the art of his music. And really, it is truly art.


He’s beautiful. He’s intelligent, creative, weird, and even his crooked teeth are attractive. Funny how I missed his beauty the first time.

He opened with one of my absolute favorites…Sovay. Seriously, who else puts Don Quixote, Ride of the Valkyries and the words vagaries and proclivities in one verse -- and it works???


Sovay by Andrew Bird

I was getting ready to be a threat
I was getting set for my
Accidental suicide
The kind where no one dies
No one looks too surprised
Then you realize
That you're riding on the para-success
Of a heavy-handed metaphor
And a feeling like you've been here before
'Cause you've been here before
And you've been here before
Then a word washed to shore
A word:

Sovay, Sovay, Sovay
All along the day

I was getting ready to consider my next plan of attack
I think I'm gonna sack
The whole board of trustees
All those Don Quixotes in their B-17s
And I swear this time yeah this time
They'll blow us back to the seventies
And this time they're playin Ride of the Valkyries
With no semblance of grace or ease
And they're acting on vagaries
With their violent proclivities
And they're playing ride
Ride of the Valkyries

Sovay, Sovay, Sovay
All along the day




I’ll leave you tonight with a song that I’ve heard a hundred times, but it really hit home tonight…Here's Why?



Why? by Andrew Bird

Why? Why'd you do that?
You shouldn't have done that
If I told you once, I told you three times
You'll get your punishment when you
Show me your crimes

It's not a spell or a curse you put on me
Or the way you smile so tenderly
But how I wish it was your temper you were throwing
Damn you for being so easygoing

I thought that time would tell
My sins would provoke you to raise some hell

Not a chance
Whatever happened to fiery romance
Oh how I wish it was those dishes you were throwing
Damn you for being so easygoing

No, don't give me that line
Don't try to tell me inaction is not a crime
Can't you see what kind of seeds you're sowing?
Damn you for being so easygoing


Seriously, inaction is a crime, and damn you for being so easy going.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

the debate

Last night was the first of four debates in the Iowa race for Governor. In my opinion, Culver “won”. However, David Yepsen’s opinion differs, slightly.

I was surprised, actually. My amazement was not due to the fact that I think Nussle would make a better governor. On the contrary, Culver is my man. I was taken by surprise because Nussle has been in the spotlight of Congress for 16 years. Washington tends to give politicians that “polish” that can fool so many. And debate is probably not one of Culver’s strengths. It was expected by most that Nussle would “mop up the floor with him [Culver]”. That was certainly not the case.

My daughter and I decided not to cram into the actual event at Kirkwood. We went to the Dem. Headquarters, instead. I was glad. MediaCom set up a cable feed for the evening, and someone donated a projector. So, what looks like it could be a big screen TV in this picture, is really – the wall. We would’ve had to be quiet at Kirkwood. We could cheer and boo at Headquarters. And we did…along with other Culver supporters.


The first question was about negative campaigning. Nussle didn’t even answer it. In fact, Nussle didn’t answer a lot of questions. Culver answered all questions in his allotted time, with Nussle frequently blabbing about unrelated material (some of which were just LIES) and had to be ‘cut off’ by the moderator on several occasions. Culver was much more confident than I have seen him in the past, and I liked it. He called Nussle on several…uhh….he informed Nussle that he was misrepresenting the facts, several times. Bruce Aune, the moderator, even said (after the first question) “I’m going to give each of you 30 more seconds to answer the question since the congressman didn’t answer the question at all.” (very loose quote – but he nailed him).

Patty Judge also made an appearance at Headquarters after the debate.


Hollyanne is using this event as an “artifact” for a cultural event…so we took a couple of pictures of her…for proof.




Unrelated: It’s October 3, and there is a little girl in her backyard (adjacent to my backyard) running through the sprinkler in her swimsuit. WTF?? It hit 90 degrees today, I think.

Also unrelated: Zoot has a some good stuff over at his place, if you are interested.

Monday, October 02, 2006

RIP iPod

Any chance that my iPod making a whirring sound, getting really hot, not wanting to shut off and flashing a folder icon with an exclamation point could be a good thing?? I think it's time my iPod rests in peace, don't you?

July 2004 - October 1, 2006

In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to the buy-orange gearle-a-really-cool-new-80GB-iPod-with-pictures-and-video fund. In the mean time, I am also accepting iPod loans for this weekend's 5K that I am running. I may have to pull out due to technical difficulties. (I'm really not sure I can run w/o Bob, Steve, and Paul)