Another Music Review

Although I was stunned, and my very reality shaken to its core, the last time I presumed to review music, I will attempt to do so again.

Artist: Neko Case
Album: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

Ms. Case's style is described by the All Music Guide as Alternative Country. That may be true, but don't let the the "Country" part of that label scare you off. You won't be assaulted by the typical brainless country stylings you can hear on any country radio station.
No, Case sounds more like a solo Indigo Girl, with more dirt under her fingernails. Or, Mazzy Star, but more upbeat and gritty rather than ethereal. Her lyrics are interesting, her delivery and accompaniment perhaps even more so. And, throughout it all, the country influence does crop up, but it never wears out its welcome.
I don't know what the ticket situation is like, but she's playing the Gorge this weekend:
Sat 5/27 George, WA @ Sasquatch Festival

Unbound by Convention

My wife is nothing less than a genius. Besides being almost unbearably sweet, funny and lovable, she has a gift for invention, which I have come to truly admire. Earlier I may have scoffed at her ability as mere blunders, slip-ups or mistakes. Increasingly I am envious of her ability to generate something useful out of thin air. And she does it instantaneously, which is utterly amazing. I would have to sit down at my desk and contemplate the problem for hours, days or weeks to achieve what she can in the space of an instant. And that is assuming I could achieve it at all!
What I'm talking about is her gift for coining words or phrases. If you haven't witnessed her process, you may be inclined to dismiss it as "malapropism" as I once did. However I believe now that it is a gift, and it's results should be treasured like diamonds harvested from the darkest deepest mine. Lewis Carroll asserted that such an ability (as he was also blessed with) was the result of a mind so perfectly balanced that it is able to draw upon two words that approximate an idea and combine them into one word that truly describes it.
So, inasmuch as I have decided to treasure these gems, and since I have the memory of a lobotomized gnat, I need to document them for posterity.
After scrolling through pages and pages of "Free" stuff on craigslist, and whittling down the list of must-haves to some church pews, a few slabs of marble, a pallet of bricks and some patio furniture, Heidi talked to me about it and we decided the patio furniture was really the only practical thing to pursue; the others having merit but also each the fatal flaw of being uncomfortable, heavy and heavy respectively.
The next day, she received a reply from the person who had advertised the patio furniture. His claim was that he had received 223 responses overnight and that now the patio furniture would be awarded to the first person offering $50.
Heidi thought it was probably still a good deal, but on principal she decided it would be best not to bid again. In her words:

"That's just not right. I'm not going to deal with someone who offers
something for free and then, when he finds out there is more interest, tries to
reniggle."

The two most obvious contributors to this new word are:
renege, which means: To fail to carry out a promise or commitment
and niggle, which means: To be preoccupied with trifles or petty details.

Reniggle, then, as this story should make clear, is the perfect word for the act of failing to carry out a promise or commitment due to preoccupation with trifles or petty details, which, by the way, was precisely what the man was guilty of. After all, he could easily have awarded the furniture to the first responder. I'm almost certain his e-mail software enabled that ability. But, he became greedy. He could perhaps be considered a greniggler (greedy reniggler), if I may try my hand at word-generation.

This post was written in this combination of voices:
20% George Emerson
40% Cecil Vyse
30% Jerome K. Jerome
10% A.A. Milne

Pop Quiz

Does anybody else do this:
Move the kitchen-sink water faucet so that it pours down the side of the sink-divider, in order to make less noise?
Or is it just me? Just curious.

Jamey's First Big Tooth

Jamey's First Big Tooth
Originally uploaded by King Cnut.

Jamey G. Zimmerman's first big tooth peeks out.

Tilling

Tilling
Originally uploaded by King Cnut.

We borrowed Uncle Pete's tractor to till for our first garden in our new house.
We're planting today. Lots of corn and lots of a whole bunch of stuff.
Fall is going to be hectic around here. That is, if we can remember to water everything.

View Property

I don't know if you have been paying attention, lately, to Mt. St. Helens, but there is great news. The crater is refilling. A giant rock fin has emerged that is approaching the lower edge of the crater rim in altitude. If this keeps up, we may, in about 30 to 100 years have a view of the tip of the mountain! Woohoo! Of course I don't know how tall it will have to get before we actually would get a view, maybe another thousand feet, maybe another 10 thousand. But I like to think I'd be considered a canny real-estate investor by future generations.
All jokes aside, check out the volcano-cam. You can just see the lump in the back that is the 'fin' that is being talked about in the news.
http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/

Polystichum munitum

Hunter S. Thompson

Arthur S. Thompson

 

Three Peas in a Pod

 

Jamey Blowing Bubbles

Jamey couldn't be bothered to dress in 'outside' clothes. He was just too excited to get out and blow some bubbles. 

Horse-Picking

I've always liked picking racehorses by name alone. It can be a challenge, when you can hardly look at a sports publication without the odds prominently posted. One worries that the lure of a more probable win might affect one's inner sense of 'name-coolness' if you will. However, this year's Kentucky Derby field has so few candidates with enjoyable names, the choice, for me was relatively easy.
Sinister Minister pretty much blows away the competition in the name department. The only fault with that name is that it tries perhaps a bit too hard, gets a little campy, but better that than to step out on horse-racing's world stage wearing a moniker with no more color than a bowl of Malt-O-Meal.
Lawyer Ron, Bob and John and Showing Up are not inspiring. If they should chance to win, the owners should be ashamed of themselves for marring the recordbooks with such flavorless names. After all do you really want to see Bob and John on the same list as Seattle Slew, Secretariat and Sunday Silence? C'mon! There should be a commission on Accountability in Naming with the power to fine those suckers.
No, the name is important. There are one or two clunkers on the list of previous Derby winners, but the consistency in name-quality is obvious and makes it obvious to me that picking the horse by name is much more rational than going by odds.
Luckily this year's field is not completely devoid of strong-runners with decent names. However the strongest, IMHO, is Sinister Minister.
This ESPN columnist almost completely agrees with me. I'm not sure how he puts Cause To Believe above Sinister Minister, but oh well.
http://msn.foxsports.com/horseracing/story/5578960

4: Sinister Minister — Terrifying name. Though it sounds a bit too much
like a late 70's hair band, you've got to think horses like "Jazil" and "Brother
Derek" shake in their horseshoes when they hear the name "Sinister Minister"
announced over the PA system. With a name like Sinister Minister, this horse
should have a huge organ-based intro (preferably done by the band Boston), and
should come out in a black cape. If you really want to get creative, go WWE, and
give it an evil trainer that looks like Bobby,
"The Brain" Heenan as well.
Chances of Winning: Horrifyingly Good.

Tip Of The Day

Emmylou Harris is awesome.
Listen to Red Dirt Girl, Stumble Into Grace, or her new collaboration album with Mark Knopfler.
Emmylou used to be pigeon-holed into the Country genre, but on these latest albums the music is only there to support her beautiful, woeful voice, which is a much better plan for such a talented vocalist. Also, she's writing her own lyrics on these recent albums; another smart move.
Research her history, there was a relationship with Gram Parsons early in her career. Then listen to "I Will Dream". Goosebumps on your neck yet? NO?! Try this: Watch, or recall the movie Walk The Line, and then listen to "Strong Hand (for June)" from her Stumble Into Grace album.