I haven't been making regular entries this week because I'm married now! In celebration of this new state of being, I've taken the week off, thus breaking the routine of writing entries after work. The wedding happened perfectly. We got married by a very nice judge, Erica Yew, in the midst of a majestic redwood grove. Just about everybody we invited showed up. Faun Fables provided the reception music, and did so perfectly. In addition to playing all of the songs we asked for, Dawn and Nils even played songs I had intended to ask for but had forgotten about. Sophie, Lexy, and I danced.
Jen looked beautiful, of course, wearing the dress that Jane made and crowned with flowers. Jane also made Sophie's dress, which was perfect. It went well with her wings. Our parents have now all met. The cake was wonderful, as was the specially ordered ginger ale. Thanks to everybody involved for making the day such a success. I could go on, but since everything went so well, it's probably pretty dull reading for the casual surfer.
At the end of the day, Lexy fell in the pond.

now: Gry "Public Recording"

I'm taking all of next week off of work. If I scrutinized our financial situation, I might change my mind, so I'm not going to look too closely. Every other time I've taken a vacation, I've travelled out of the state or country and arrived home more worn out than when I started (and, needless to say, much more impoverished).

Jen's dad has a Texas handshake.

We're forming a union this weekend. I am most pleased. The next time I update this page, I will be wearing a ring. ...and a few extra pounds because of the cake.

cds listened to while anticipating wedded bliss: Einsturzende Neubauten "Strategies Against Architecture II", Hoven Droven "More Happy Moments...", and The Gathering "Strange Machines"

now: Pantaleimon "Trees Hold Time"

I must not have gotten the memo. Everybody else was out walking pairs of white dogs. The first guy I saw had a couple of good sized, long-haired dogs. They looked askance at me as I drove past. I thought little of it until about ten minutes later when I saw another man walking another pair of white dogs. This time they were tiny, little more than rat sized. What brought these people out at one in the morning? Was there indeed a memo instructing people to exercise highly visible pairs of canines? I will never know.

Ten minutes after this, a lawn tried to steal one of my shoes. I hopped and slid for a moment, trying in vain not to let my exposed sock come into contact with the muddy grass. In the end, I toppled onto the lawn. When I regained my footing, still awkwardly hopping, I could not see my shoe. It took me a few moments to discover it about ten feet away, looking like it had tried to escape. I grabbed it and shoved it on over my soaked, muddy sock. Yet another private moment spewed out onto the internet for everybody to see. It's not as cool as actually being there though. ha ha.

The house is resisting our efforts to whip it into shape for anticipated guests. I'm pretty tired. I think I'll go to bed.

Animals spotted tonight: one opossum, two skunks, and eleven egrets.

cds I listened to while dealing with the moistness inside my right shoe: Nausea "Extinction - the Second Coming", Einsturzende Neubauten "Tabula Rasa", and "Ende Neu" Birdsaw "Born Messy", and Ani Difranco "Living in Clip"

now: cd of songs we selected for the wedding, thoughtfully assembled by M.

I got paid good money to slice apart a pumpkin and scatter its innards all over the place. Children converged on the mess and began pounding at it with various utensils. Soon everything was caked with stringy, dried pumpkin goo. Memorable quote from a mom of two children who refused to leave the table: "they're so interested in this because they're not allowed to make messes at home." This same mom seemed to think there was some other sort of pumpkin that one used to actually make food. Surely the ones in the patches are just for playing with. People are odd.

I went to San Francisco with my new tires to find and converse with the recently returned minstrels. They engaged in minstrelry and then we discussed the wedding, where they are to engage in yet more minstrelry. The problem of a P.A. system was brought up, and solved moments later by the fortuitous appearance of a very tall man with his hair separated into three distinct sections. This man agreed to provide a P.A.

Then, women wearing the undergarments of our ancestors made an unholy racket on their cellos. We clapped.

Animals spotted tonight: Two Night herons, one nervous raccoon, and ten egrets doing what egrets always do in the middle of the night: sleeping in trees.

cds listened to while enjoying my new tires: Beasts of Paradise "Gathered on the Edge", Einsturzende Neubauten "Faustmusik", "Interim", and "Malediction", In Gowan Ring "Exists and Entrances Vol.2", Birdsaw "Haunted by one Question", and Coil "Moon's Milk", "Bee Stings", "Amethyst Deceivers", and "North" (a.k.a. spring, summer, autumn, and winter)

now: Anja Garbarek "Smiling & Waving"

Two ways of looking at the same event:

1. I would end up with a flat tire during the night before I have to go to all three jobs and a gig. Dammit! This kind of thing always seems to happen at the most inconvenient time. I'm going to be soooo busy tomorrow.

2. There's always a reason for everything. My tires are so worn down that I poked myself on the steel tread while taking off the wheel, which means that I should get off my butt and replace them I might not have noticed the tread poking through if I hadn't taken off the wheel. The steel is only showing on the inward facing side. It's better to have a blowout while driving at ten miles per hour through a trailer park than it is to have one on the freeway. I'll just go get new tires tomorrow instead of going to Hidden Villa. They can get along for a day without me. I don't even have to set my alarm for any earlier.

I looked at it the first way for about a minute.

animals spotted tonight: one skunk (evidently there not all holed up for the winter yet) and nine egrets.

cds I listened to while driving around on three wheels and one doughnut: Steve Von Till "If I Should Fall to the Field" (I was looking up at the moon as it peeked through the low-lying clouds and appreciating how the autumnal feel of this cd was enhancing the evening when I heard the tell-tale flup flup flup of my air-less tire slapping the asphalt), FM Einheit "Prometheus/Lear", Alexander Hacke "Filmarbeiten", Ani Difranco "Little Plastic Castle" and Beasts of Paradise "Nobody Knew the Time"

now: Savina Yannatou "Mediterranea"

I once saw a man with so many calluses on his hands that they didn't look human. In addition to this, it looked like the calluses had been shredded, giving his hands the texture of one of those cross-hatched breakfast cereals. I wonder what he did (or does) for a living. It is this time of year that my own hands start to give me problems. Over the years, I have found that cold weather, in conjunction with newsprint, leads to cracked and bleeding hands. I tend to go through a lot of band-aids during the cold months. I'm reasonably sure that a couple of times I've inadvertently delivered band-aids to subscribers along with their papers. As I type this, my hands are in pretty good shape. There are a lot of dry patches on them that will give me trouble during the coming months, but there are no fissures.

I cleaned the frog cage today, so he'll have everything looking and smelling its best when he slows down for the winter. I'm still not sure exactly what kind of frog he is. He's a treefrog, but not a local variety. I think he might be a Cuban tree frog. He used to be the mascot for an algebra class. They even had the poor taste to name him Algefrog. I guess they got tired of him, because somebody donated him to the museum. Since he's antisocial and incredibly quick, it was determined that he would not make a good museum frog. This is why he now resides on top of the dresser behind me. I've had him around two years now.

Outside, the full moon scatters its borrowed light across the night.

cds I listened to while getting hit by moonlight: Ammer/Einheit/Haage "Apocalypse Live", The Gathering "Superheat" and "if_then_else", Coil "Stolen and Contaminated Songs", and Ani Difranco "Up Up Up Up Up Up"

now: Ani Difranco "Reckoning, Revelling"

Another work week draws to a close. It's starting to get cold outside at night. I am impelled to wear something besides a t-shirt. The leaves are falling. I think the tree in our backyard has a hidden stash somewhere. As I raked earlier in the week, I looked up to see the tree almost devoid of leaves. As I raked earlier today, I once again looked up and saw roughly the same amount of leaves. Maybe we're being punished for not watering more often.
Jen got to hear the baby's heartbeat today, and all is well. We've created a somebody. Of course, Jen has to do most of the work at this point. It must be such a strange feeling to be pregnant. The projected due date is May 8th. A spring baby.
Sophie has discovered the comic delights of smacking people on the nose. It's probably my fault for laughing when she does it. It's hard not to laugh though, because everything she does is cute. She ate a foil wrapped candy today without taking off the foil. Cute. She pulled apart Nathan's peanut butter and jelly sandwich and stuck the pieces to the kitchen floor. Cute. She tried to eat the flower arrangement on the table. Cute. You get the idea. I think it's a survival mechanism. What would happen if babies were ugly? If you're small and helpless, it is to your advantage to get people to fall in love with you. I could listen to Sophie for hours as she emphatically explains things in a language I don't understand. As I left for work, she was sitting contentedly inside the dryer.

Animals spotted tonight: The Night heron again, and the egrets (seven of them) again. There was also a large bird, possibly an owl, who flew away before I could identify it. It looks like the skunks have made themselves scarce for the winter.

cds I listened to out in the cold: Andreas Ammer/FM Einheit "Radio Inferno", Ani Difranco "Not A Pretty Girl", Pendulum "We're too Small to Lose Each Other", Melvins "10 Songs", and Blixa Bargeld "Commissioned Music"

now: Stephen Kent "Family Tree"

At the museum the other day I was having a discussion about Madagascar Hissing cockroaches with some kids. Not really expecting them to know (they all looked to be under ten years of age), I asked if anybody knew where Madagascar was. None of the kids knew. One of the parents piped up in the background, "it's off the coast of Chile, isn't it?" I replied that it wasn't. It soon became evident that a good number of the adults didn't know where it was either. Somebody finally got it right. Another adult said, "so it's near the Galapagos islands then..." This would, of course, put the Galapagos islands quite some distance from their actual location off the coast of Ecuador. I wonder how much this lack of knowledge amongst the parents ends up stunting the knowledge of their children. I can even remember teachers I had in elementary school who got facts wrong. Then again, not knowing where the Galapagos islands are can be understood. The world is a big place, most of which is ocean. There are thousands of islands out there.
Not knowing what the Galapagos islands are, however, cannot be forgiven. I still remember the incident clearly. I was in a bookstore, and I overheard a child asking his mother about a particular book. I turned and saw the mom holding a large, coffee-table book called "Galapagos". I think it had a Marine iguana on the cover. It appeared to be some sort of photo essay on the islands.
The kid looked up at his mom and asked, "what does "Galapagos" mean?"
The mother smiled down at her child and replied, "I dunno. I think it's the name of the photographer."

I should have said something, but I didn't. I was too shocked.

That was years ago, but still fresh in my mind. Earlier today, I saw a man almost get hit by a large, rusted old pickup truck. He was walking across the road carrying something - car parts, maybe... He stepped right into the path of the oncoming truck, causing the driver to stomp on the brakes. As I passed by, I overheard the man yell, "you can't harm me! I'm Superman!"

I hadn't recognized him without his costume. He really blends in with us average, everyday folk. I guess that ability can come in handy when you're fighting those crafty supervillians.

Animals spotted tonight: one Night heron, nine egrets, and one very confused little gopher.

cds listened to while trying to spot more superheroes: Nick Drake "Bryter Layter", Dunwich "Il Chiarore Sorge Due Volte" and "Eternal Eclipse of Frost", Dvorak "Symphony No.7, etc.", Earth "Extra-Capsular Extraction", and Eden "Healingbow" and "Gateway to the Mysteries"

now: Popul Vuh "Agape-Agape"

Our wedding rings came in the mail today! In a week and a half we'll be wearing them. Jen will be my wife. I still have moments where it all seems like a dream. Time just slips by and the world changes under our feet. This is definitely a big change in my life. I welcome it, and Jen, with open arms. We are not two halves pressed together to make a whole. We are two wholes joined together to form a bond even more durable than the rings we'll be wearing on our fingers.

Tuesday is lengthy for me. It is the only day during the week where I go to all three jobs. The tour at Hidden Villa today consisted of ten first-graders. Most of the roosters where slaughtered in the past week, so the one I've caught the last couple of tuesdays is now food. I caught one today who needs his spurs trimmed. In the cow pen, I coaxed a small fence lizard onto my arm for the kids to look at, and then we got the treat of watching the cows make some pies. The kids were a bit grossed out. In the past, I've gotten kids involved in pushing bits of straw into the cow pies, causing them to resemble low-rent porcupines. Not today. No playing in the cow flop for these kids.

It was slow in the garden at the museum. Sam, who visits the museum on a regular basis with his mom and little brother, was interested in one of the snake books. Since he can't read yet, I was telling him what kinds of snakes he was looking at. When we came to the garter snakes. He looked up and asked, "what do they guard?"

Jen and I have gotten the house and yard into better shape over the last couple of days. We are also the proud owners of two new bookcases. It took me the better part of an hour to assemble one of them. It now squats in the corner behind the lamp, filled to the brim. The other one waits to be assembled. There will still be piles of books even after this one is filled. This is how it should be.

I hope they catch that sniper bastard soon and take away his toys.

Animals spotted tonight: One large skunk, and eight egrets.

cds I listened to while getting pissed off about the proliferation of guns in this society: Calexico "Scraping" and "98-99 Road Map", Ani Difranco "To the Teeth" (not one, but two brilliant anti-gun songs!), Amy X Neuburg & Men "Sports! Chips! Booty!", Mark Growden's Electric Pinata "Inside Beneath Behind", and Lights In A Fat City "Somewhere"

now: Seven Percent Solution "All About Satellites and Spaceships"

As newspaper carriers, we often get what are euphemistically called "service requests". These are, more accurately, complaints. Here's a funny one:

Attn: Sub call to report that it's raccoons in area. Please double bag daily and put Wall Street Journal between the two car's in driveway (so raccoons can't find them).

These complaints are always written in what is euphemistically known as "hurried english". This one is more legible than most. I took the liberty of spelling out all of the silly abbreviations. I left the poor english intact.
I wonder if they really think that putting an extra bag on the paper and making a half-assed attempt to hide it is really going to deter raccoons. Raccoons are pretty smart creatures, as is evidenced by their ability to read the Wall Street Journal. Of course, their taste in reading material leaves something to be desired.

Animals spotted tonight: The same damn Night heron, one opossum standing very still in the middle of the road, and sixteen egrets.

cds I listened to while hiding papers from raccoons: The Gathering "How to Measure a Planet?", Coil "Scatology" and "Horse Rotorvator", and Ani Difranco "s/t"

now: Retsin "Cabin in the Woods"

Why it is futile to argue with the christian right:

While waiting for the truck tonight, I had the great pleasure of entering into a debate on the subject of evolution vs creation. This is sort of like entering a debate about abortion rights. Nobody is going to have a change of heart, no matter how eloquently you argue your side. Anyway, our resident Jerk was maintaining that evolution was silly, and one of my other co-workers was frustrating himself in trying to argue the opposite side. Jerk's main argument had something to do with cars, and how they were made by people. He went on to say that since people were so much more wonderfully complicated than cars that some higher power must have made them. At that point, I tried to explain the concept of evolution to him because he didn't seem to have a firm grasp on it. He replied with some sort of twisted analogy about how cars wouldn't evolve if you left them someplace for billions of years. I tried to explain the difference between inanimate objects and living things, and told him that his analogy was senseless - that even if cars were living things, a single car would represent a single human life. Now, most reasonable people know that evolution doesn't happen in a single generation. He kept blindly mouthing the same point, maintaining that living things were "greater" than cars, so they must have been created, rather than being the end product of evolution. Deciding to mess with him, I asked him to define "greater". He thought for a moment and replied that it meant something of more importance and value.
Then I asked him what was more important - his car or an ant. By his "logic", he would have to say "ant". He didn't reply. I knew what his answer would be, of course. His car is so damn important to him that he always parks it really close to the building so that it's in the way of just about everybody. I remember another carrier bumping it with a handcart. This nearly sent Jerk into shock. You'd think somebody had offed his granny the way he was shouting.
The truck showed up at this point and we all got to work. It's probably just as well. It's hard to win a debate against somebody that illogical. It's fun trying though.

Also, I wish people would just shut up about sports. Why do newspapers and radio stations devote so much time to a bunch of overpaid, bad role models kicking, throwing, or hitting little balls around on the grass. Are we to believe that this is news? Sometimes sports stories take up more space than the real stories. SPORTS ARE NOT NEWS. What if every other type of entertainment got equal space on the front page. Would we have rundowns of concerts, art shows and the like taking precedence over stories about what the president is doing to the country. What is going on with the world these days? I don't know, but Biff Brutus scored 5000 points for his team, and likes to eat twinkies when he's not kicking balls around. I also know that he gets paid more money than most people see in a lifetime. For playing a game. In addition, I know that he uses product X to combat jock itch, wears Y shoes, and brushes his teeth with Z brand toothpaste.

Unfortunately, I can't find my state on a map, and I most certainly don't know where Iraq is. I think it's somewhere near Australia. Don't the aborigines live there? Aborigines are people who sit around a lot. I saw it on TV after the game. The president is smart and he knows what's best for me. I've got five flags on my pickup truck. It's hard to see around the one I've got glued to my windshield, but if I lean out the window I can still see well enough to drive. Leaning out the window helps sober me up a bit too. The TV tells me to drink beer. I believe my TV when it suits me to do so. My TV is good. It thinks for me. God made me. I am great...

Nighttime birds I spotted while listening to a cd called "Nighttime Birds": One Night heron, and six egrets.

cds I listened to while trying to see around that darn flag on my windshield: M.D.C. "Shades of Brown", Melvins "Lysol" (actually not entitled anything because the makers of Lysol made them remove the name from all copies of their cd - I restore the title here to piss off Lysol), Calexico "Travelall", Nick Drake "Way to Blue - an introduction to Nick Drake", and The Gathering "Nighttime Birds"

now: Coil "How to Destroy Angels"

Why I am a defensive driver:

Every so often, as was the case tonight, I can just tell that a car approaching the intersection on a red light is not going to stop. This means that I, with the green light, run the risk of driving directly into the path of this scofflaw. Tonight, I waited until the approaching car was just entering the intersection, pulled forward, and leaned on my horn. The other car came to a halt in the middle of the intersection. I steered around the front of the car and saw that the driver, a young, somewhat shellshocked looking lady, was still talking on her little phone. I loudly instructed her to HANG UP HER FUCKING PHONE! Okay, maybe not the most intelligent way to start a dialogue, but it sure felt good. I didn't stick around to see if she complied, but I'll bet she didn't. Now don't get me wrong, some people can manage to talk on a phone and drive at the same time. I manage to fold papers, put them in bags, and throw them all over creation, all while driving. I manage to eat dinner while driving down the road every night. That said, I don't like talking on a phone while driving. The couple of times I've tried it, I've found my attention someplace beyond the confines of my car.

Earlier, the slowly swelling crescent moon snuck behind a thin layer of clouds. The motion and relative transparency of the clouds made the moon look like it was smoldering. Does anybody else ever notice this stuff?

Even earlier than that - the yellowjackets aren't even waiting for the bees to die before eating them. That's kind of mean.

Animals spotted tonight: nine egrets, and one hopping katydid.

cds listened to while looking both ways before crossing the street: Ani DiFranco "Like I Said (songs 1990-91)", Sally Doherty "s/t", "Empire of Death", and "On the Outside", and The Gathering "Almost a Dance" and "Mandylion"

now: Sally Doherty and the Sumacs "Black is the Colour"

It was pleasantly cloudy today. The clouds covered most of the sky, painting it grey and white. The whole thing probably deepened to oranges and reds at sunset, but I was otherwise occupied so I can only imagine what it was like.

I'm thinking of all the ways I have justified buying such a large quantity of cds over the years:

1. I'm going to get this eventually, so I might as well get it now.

2. Hey, this store donates a portion of its proceeds to helping save the rainforest. What a great cause!

3. I'll just get this band's whole back catalog to save myself the trouble of having to come back to get the rest later.

4. It's my friend's band. I'm helping my friends!

5. It's on an independent label. I'm helping independent labels!

6. I don't have any cds from this country yet...

7. The people who own this record store are cool. I'll buy lots of cds here to ensure that they stay in business.

8. It's a limited edition. If I don't buy it now I might never see it again.

9. Well, dammit, I just need more cds with banjos (or nyckelharpas... or bodhrans...) on them.

10. Hey, this cd is cheaper than food!

11. It's a benefit cd.

12. I worked some extra hours this week, so this is extra money...

So you see what I'm up against. They're all valid reasons too. I just recently sent some money to the Snowden Environmental Trust, which got me a Dar Williams tape. I'm helping the environment! I'm sure everybody has ways to justify their excesses. The first step towards recovery is to realize the ways we justify things.

Animals spotted tonight. three tree-climbing raccoons, one jaywalking opossum, and seven sleeping egrets.

cds that I probably had really good reasons for buying: The Gathering "Always...", Doc Wor Mirran "Garage Pretensions" and "Fressing Heads", The Ass Baboons of Venus "Spanking the Species" (I got this one absolutely free for being an extra in a movie called "Legend of the Waterbreakers". As of yet, I don't think it has been released. Starring ex-girl as perpetually pregnant rock stars. We got to help keep the babies in. Don't ask.), Coil vs ELpH, and In the Spirit of Crazy Horse - Songs for Leonard Peltier

now: Sally Doherty and the Sumacs "Sleepy Memory"

Today was day number two for me at Hidden Villa. I had a group of ten kids, two of whom were scared of most of the animals. Even the chickens. I caught the same rooster I caught last week, and he did the same thing again - crowed with indignation. When I put him back, the other roosters beat him up for being slow enough to get caught. I'd better stop catching him or his days are numbered. I lifted over the little wooden foot bridges and found a baby alligator lizard and a black widow. The kids really liked the lizard, but were a bit uncertain about the spider. Later, I found a little tree frog and everybody liked it. Even the timid kids.
It was pretty hot today, and by the end of the tour, at least a couple of the kids were whining about being hot and thirsty. Feeding them borage flowers didn't seem to help. I left them with their snacks and went to the museum.
I built a structure out of Kapla blacks in the Zoom Zone and timed how long it was before somebody knocked it down. It was so slow today that it was a full two hours and twenty minutes before it tumbled down under the hands of a very guilty looking girl.

Meanwhile, out in space, an 800 mile wide globe makes itself known. It is in orbit out beyond Pluto, and it circumnavigates the sun every two hundred and something years. Expect George Bush to declare it as "evil" in the next few days. Funds will be diverted into the space program, and an armada will be sent out to meet it. Maybe they'll tell us it's the Death Star to keep us riled up enough to vote for Bush in the next election. If this happens, it would be no more transparent than the crap he's already pulling.

Animals spotted tonight: One Night heron, one skunk, and nine egrets.

cds listened to while thinking that Night herons are odd birds: Dirty Three "Ufkuko" and "Ocean Songs", Heartbeat - Voices of First Nations Women, Dissecting Table "Zigoku", Doc Wor Mirran "Lasher" and "The Music of Blood"

now: Dar Williams "I Have No History"

I haven't bought a cd in weeks. This is akin to a practicing alcoholic saying s/he hasn't had a drink in weeks. I made a decision to cut down on my consumption for a number of reasons. The first one is that I've had my hours cut at both of my jobs, and money is getting a little tighter. The second one is that I'm starting to become overwhelmed by the number of cds I have. The ongoing list at the bottom of each blog illustrates my attempts to listen through my entire collection. I started doing this in january, and I'm not even halfway done yet. I'm also going to be a father sometime next year. I'm already a stepfather, but I'm not totally financially responsible for Lexy, Nathan, or Sophie. I think my priorities are starting to shift in light of my impending fatherhood. I really have invested a lot of energy over the years building my music collection. I wonder what I could have accomplished by now if all of that energy had been invested elsewhere? Let's see if I stay on the wagon or not. This seems like a time to grow. I feel different somehow. More free.

animals spotted tonight: two raccoons and fourteen egrets

cds listened to tonight (note: no new ones): Chu Ishikawa "Tetsuo", Die Cheerleader "Filth by Association" and "Son of Filth", Coil "Windowpane", The Gathering "Downfall - the Early Years", and Dirty Old Man River "The Saddest Movie Screen"

now: Lila Downs "Border"

I got a female hissing cockroach on friday, so that we can have the joy of watching it give birth, and the additional joy of watching the babies grow. Later, Matt and I went to see Lila Downs at the Brava theater in the Mission district in S.F. She has one of those deep, honey-velvet type voices. Sort of like June Tabor, except she does Central and South American style folk songs instead of english ones. She also looks strangely like Frida Kahlo. Her percussionist was playing a cajon, which is basically a wooden box with a soundwell. We have one of those at the museum, but this is the first time I've seen one played professionally. The various musicians did solos, which I usually find a little annoying. This time it was okay, because in addition to sax, harp, bass, and percussion solos, there was a juggling solo. A really good juggling solo. I like that! The audience was on its feet by the end.
After the show, we went to Matt's house and, with flashlight in hand, poked around in his shed for black widows. We managed to get one into a little plastic cage without too much difficulty. I figured this would be a good bonus at the spider workshop I was helping out with on sunday.
Saturday, Lexy had a birthday party (his sixth) at the park, featuring a really tough pinata, a large amount of chocolate cake, and a lot of new toys that got stuck in trees. I still have a sizeable gouge in my right arm from getting down the air-powered plane that Jason got him. Sophie got really messy and ate lots of cake.
On sunday, Jen got to go to a lingerie shower. I heartily approve! I went to the museum and helped facilitate the spider workshop. The children in attendance were all around Lexy's age. I read them Eric Carle's "The Very Busy Spider" and showed them an assortment of arachnids. I brought the Pink-toed tarantula, the Tucson Blonde tarantula, the Black Widow (to show everybody what the only dangerous local spider looks like - surprisingly enough, a lot of people have never really seen one of these), the Tanzanian Giant Banded Tailless Whip scorpion (biggest name, smallest creature), the vinegaroon, and the Emperor scorpion. The children then made their own spiders out of pre-cut circles, fabric, and an assortment of "eyes" and "legs" made out of various things. Everybody enjoyed themselves. I'm giving more thought to doing this at schools.

Tonight, less than an hour ago, I got pulled over yet again. This time it was in sight of our house. Apparently I have a brake light out. The cop asked if he could search my car. I mulled that one over for a moment and then let him do it. I asked his partner if they made a habit of searching cars they stop for non-functioning lights. She said they did, because of the time of night. I somehow think that is bullshit. If I had been driving a Lexus and wearing a suit I bet they wouldn't have searched the car. They probably wouldn't even have pulled me over. Haven't they figured it out by now? The people in the expensive cars and the suits usually have a lot more to hide than the people with long hair and torn jeans driving filthy Nissans. It looked even dirtier with all of those cop lights shining on it. And what is that damned spider web stuff all over the back of my car? Maybe the spiders were having a people workshop. At any rate, they didn't find anything. Maybe I should put mouse traps in my glove compartment so that next time they will... Can you tell I'm a bit irritated? I feel like I've been profiled. At least I didn't get a ticket. If I was a criminal I'd try to look like George Bush. Nobody would think I was intelligent enough to do anything wrong. hmmm... maybe that's how he got where he is today. It sure fooled me. I didn't think he had a chance in hell of becoming president. If it wasn't for his connections he'd probably be working the night shift at a gas station. Okay, enough ranting for one night.

Animals spotted: six egrets, one tiny little baby opossum, and one skunk.

cds listened to while looking suspicious: Ulali "Mahk Jchi", Pale Nudes "Soul Come Home", Fomoflo "no.11" and "Slug & Firearms", Tone Dogs "The Early Middle Years", and Der Eisenrost "Armored Weapon"

now: Jorg Thomasius & Doc Wor Mirran "The Sound of Silver"

I ordered pants for the wedding this week because I'd look pretty funny getting married without pants. I also ordered a strange bug this week because... well, because I could, dammit. I hope my discovery of internet invertebrate stores doesn't open a whole new can of worms (so to speak). My bug, a Tanzanian Giant Banded Tailless Whipscorpion, arrived today. He came tucked among the folds of some slightly damp paper towels inside a plastic container, which was inside another plastic container inside a box full of packing peanuts. He also came with his own lunch - an even smaller plastic container full of micro crickets. If you ever want to ship live bugs, take notes.
He is a small arachnid with impressively long front legs. He can fold them up so he doesn't trip over them when he walks. Like his name suggests, his legs are indeed banded. I fixed up a living space for him and fed him his lunch. He immediately sprang into action and gobbled up some crickets. Seeing his speed, I decided that I probably won't hold him much. He would be hard to catch if he got away.
In other invertebrate news, I found that I have competition in my efforts to collect dead bees in the museum garden. The Yellowjackets like to eat them. I saw one today munching away - "gorging themselves on the recently deceased," to paraphrase the hit song.

Outside, it is cool and pleasant. The leaves are starting to fall.

Animals spotted tonight: Did you guess skunks and egrets? Two of one and ten of the other.

cds, always cds: Finntroll "Jaktens Tid" (polka metal!), Amy Denio "Birthing Chair Blues", v/a "Tulikulkku", The (EC) Nudes "Vanishing Point", and Marta Gudrun Halldorsdottir & Orn Magnusson "Islensk Bjodlog" (this is an approximation, since there are no icelandic characters on my keyboard)... (like you care...)

Now: R. Carlos Nakai & William Eaton "Ancestral Voices"

I led my first farm tour of the season on Tuesday. They've smoothed out the dirt road leading into Hidden Villa, and covered it with some sort of dust retardant. Other than that, things haven't changed much. The gourd tunnel in the garden, which was just a wooden framework the last time I was on the farm, is now a mass of gourd vines. I crawled through with the kids, enjoying the earthy smell and the feel of dirt underneath my hands. We pulled up carrots and consumed them. One of the younger goats tried to eat my beard. I caught a rooster who, full of righteous indignation, pecked me and then started to crow. Perhaps he had forgotten to do this at dawn and was making up for lost time. The bees are back in the hive, and the kids crowded 'round to observe. Duckweed covers the pond, as it always does. This time nobody mistook it for a lawn. I still remember one boy who jumped right in, and spent the rest of the day rather moist. I found a large Jerusalem cricket under one of the little foot bridges. One boy really wanted to find tarantulas. He was disappointed. It's great to be back.

The nights are getting colder, and the air has that autumn smell. Smoke and memories.

Sophie likes the Louis Wain prints hanging up in the hall. She now says "cat" and will point at the pictures when asked where the cats are. We should always know where the cats are.

Cat is not sure about the man. The man is always trying to make friends. Silly man. Friends always must have food. Man has no food. When will man go away? Cat must prowl.

animals spotted: two skunks and twelve egrets. ...and Frankie the cat.

cds I listened to while being glad that the papers weren't three hours late again and that the rollover accident was on the other side of the freeway: Coil "Musick to Play in the Dark - Vol.2", Ethereal Travel "The Mad Cartridge", Fear of God "Within the Veil" and "Toxic Voodoo", and Kronos Quartet "Night Prayers"

Now: Joanne Shenandoah "Warrior in two Worlds" soundtrack

The newspapers were over three hours late tonight. "Electrical problems" It was refreshingly windy, and there was a nice crescent moon smiling down on me as I hurried along. My cd player is acting up on me. Time to go to bed.

Animals: two skunks up past their bedtime, and fifteen + egrets buffeted by the wind while they slept.

cds: Demi Semi Quaver "Golden Animal Head", Amy Denio/Pat Graney Dance Company "Tattoo", Amy Denio "Greatest Hits", Coil "Musick to Play in the Dark - vol.1"

now, to lull me to sleep: Time Machines

There it squats, in the darkness of our garage. It took three people, a pallet jack, and a large truck to get it here. It used to hold tropical fish, and it is lined with decorative rocks. It is made of plexiglass and has it's own metal stand, complete with an arcane assortment of wires and tubes... and a small, plush frog attached to a spring. We're thinking of setting it up in the backyard and putting tortoises in it. Temperate tortoises, of course, as tropical tortoises would get terribly cold, which would make them testy and temperamental.
These are the kind of fringe benefits I get from working at a children's museum. Of course, at the same time, they appear to have cut my hours. That makes two jobs with decreased hours. I really love the extra free time (which allows me to be typing this at 3:50 in the morning), but money is becoming a little more of an issue. I've started cutting down on my one real vice - buying cds. I've obviously got enough of them. It's the adrenaline rush of finding a new cd in the store that always traps me. Before I know it, I've spent a hundred dollars or more. I've decided to visit the cd stores less often. I don't know if I can quit cold turkey or not. That's probably not the wisest way to go about it. Maybe if I just stick to the limited issue cds - the ones that I won't be able to find later... Just social drinking... one more cigarette... I can quit any time... ha ha.

animals spotted tonight: one katydid, two skunks, and fifteen egrets.

cds that I didn't buy recently, but enjoyed nonetheless: Death In June "Cathedral of Tears", Deep Turtle "There's a Vomitsprinkler in my Liverriver" and "Rip-off Dokumento", Demi Semi Quaver - two different self-titled cds, one of which is an anthology collecting previous releases... I'm so confused. I wish I knew Japanese.

Now "hey, I bought it used! I'm saving money!: Joanne Shenandoah/Lawrence Laughing "Orenda"