Author: colter

Confluence

Next Tuesday brings new releases by two of my most favorite musicians: Tori Amos and Steve Vai. So much for trying to save money. But I should be able to increase my budget, as I will be getting a roommate soon: Matt Ellinger. Most of y’all know Matt as ex-roommate Holly’s ex-boyfriend, and my occasional partner in duo restuarant gigs. So another musician roommate. This will help save much bank, and expedite the remodeling of the garage into a rehearsal space. And most importantly this will allow me to spend my tax refund on…DRUMS.

Karl Rove is Satan’s Concubine

This is from a Sidney Blumenthal article at Salon.com a couple months back:

According to two eyewitnesses, Rove had shown keen interest in everything he saw, and asked questions, including about costs, obviously thinking about a future Bush library and legacy. “You’re not such a scary guy,” joked his tour guide. “Yes, I am,” Rove replied. Walking away, he muttered deliberately and loudly, “I change Constitutions, I put churches in schools …” Thus he identified himself as more than the ruthless campaign tactician — as the invisible hand of power, pervasive and expansive, designing to alter the fundamental American compact.

This sounds way too…perfect…to be true. It’s the kind of thing I always figured about Rove, yet I can’t imagine he would be so brazen to say these things in public. Must not the Dark Side always remain hidden? It must be getting easier for the Dark Side to walk in the light of day. Certainly Jeff Gannon made it into the White House press corps without much dispute. Fortunately he’s crawled back under his particular rock.

My Radio Was Gone

FM 101.1 The River is no more. KDRE is now some anonymous bland modern rock station. The saddest part about radio is the impersonal departures. You never know when you’re going to wake up one morning and find your favorite station has switched formats. FM 101 was oldies/easy listening, but at least the songs were varied and interesting.

Colter the former shred guitarist now stands with all the old fogies in perplexed disgust at the loss of a great old station taken over by dumb rock, which is more a comment on my disdain for the whiney glossy crap that passes for rock and roll today, than about my age or fondness for oldies.

I Bought a House

I had been keeping this hush-hush for a couple weeks, lest I jinx the thing. But now it’s officially mine. Here are the stats:

Hillcrest, just north of War Memorial
950 sq. ft.
2 bedroom, 1 bath
Living room/dining room/kitchen
Detached garage
New kitchen with fridge, microwave and washer/dryer
Gas range and stove (yay!)
Hardwood floors, new tile in bathroom
Good size backyard

If anyone wants to lend a hand moving, I’ll need help this weekend, so let me know.

Area Satire Website Nails It Again

The “What Do You Think?” section of The Onion is always a dependable source for incisive commentary. Today’s best example comes from the middle-aged lady, this week known as Joy Mattingly, Designer. She had this to say about Condoleezza Rice’s confirmation as Secretary of State:

“Twenty years ago, I never would’ve believed that we’d have a black, female Secretary of State, much less one who was a conservative warmonger, too. We’ve come a long way.”

In other news, happy 50th birthday to Eddie Van Halen. Ed, I can’t say enough great things about your abilities as an innovative player and composer. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then you’re the most flattered guitarist in the world. I do wish you’d quit smoking and drinking, though; if you’re lucky you’ll live to look like Keith Richards, and who wants that?

Eddie Van

A Thousand Words Worth of Pictures

New sprawling, expansive plog today. I thought about dividing it in two, but that’s just more work than I need right now. I’ll likely have even more pics coming next week. I’m not going to tell you of what. But I will say that it’s something very big, both physically and financially.

Special note to Google: Nancy Nolan is an Arkansas photographer. She rules. Put her in your cache already. I’m tired of waiting.

And Now for Something Completely Different

A comedic actor/writer and author makes a very good point.

“The people who want power and money are unfortunately more adept at wielding power than the people who want to make things better.”

-Terry Jones

Salon has a great article with Terry on politics and the state of the world. He brings a very historically informed opinion on today’s issues, more so than one would generally expect from a man known to the world as the guy who directed a very silly movie about Arthurian knights running about with coconuts for horses.

Karma in Action

Some weeks ago I happened upon several copies of World Party’s Egyptology for sale super-cheap at Hasting’s in Conway. 50 cents each to be exact. AND, each copy had a World Party Best-Of sampler attached to it. So two discs, a quarter each. Fabulous albums. I knew that these CDs needed to go to the right homes, so I offered them free to the first takers on the Jellyfish mailinglist. I didn’t even charge for postage. I did it for no other reason than generosity and the fact that seeing great albums sitting in the bargain bins hurts my soul.

One of the lucky winners was a bootleg trader and offered me anything from his collection as a thank you. I chose a DVD of the Grays live at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia. This DVD is so marvelous. I got it tonight and as I’ve been watching it, I realized that I was being karmically rewarded for my acts. The cost of buying and mailing all those CDs was easily worth paying for this DVD. So there you go. Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment weren’t kidding.

Also, in case you weren’t aware, new Tori album coming out soon: