Yes indeed, the young ones, bellies full of candy, are sleeping. Time to go watch scary movies.

Never wander alone through mist shrouded mountains.

Our street has been partially pulverized by people who are pocketing money that could probably have been spent on something more important, but wasn't. I awoke this morning to rumbling and the beeping of trucks backing up. It was still half a block away, but I hurried through my morning routine so I could leave the driveway before being trapped by heavy machinery. I made it, but had to go around the block to escape the advancing workers. The same thing is going to happen again when the sun rises today, but it won't matter as much because I have nowhere pressing to be. I hope they pulverize quietly though.

The Dickens has invented a new dance which, for want of a better name, I'll call the Potato Chip Dance. In order to do this, you have to spot a potato chip on the floor, run over to it, jump up and down on it until it's been pulverized sort of like our street, and then get down on all fours and lick it off of the carpet. Repeat until there are no more potato chips.

We carved some pumpkins today, and we'll proudly display them outside so all of the right wing christian fundamentalist wackos can wring their sweaty hands and bemoan the fact that such a vile, satanic holiday is allowed in this country. These are the same people who refuse to believe that all of the "christian" holidays are actually pagan holidays that have been warped and squished into little christian molds. I always get a good laugh when I run across people who sincerely believe that Halloween is somehow evil. To my mind, this is sort of like believing in the tooth fairy. The only thing I wouldn't argue is that it's yet another consumer feeding frenzy, but then again so is every other damn holiday in this country.

It's still my favorite holiday. I like holidays that upset uptight people. Uptight people need to be shaken up on a constant basis. Maybe it will loosen them up.

cds I listened to while anticipating candy: Retsin "Sweet Luck of Amaryllis", Rasputina "The Lost & Found", Grace Yoon & Roman Bunka (w/Greetje Bijma, Trinovox, and Albert Kuvezin) "Earborn", Mahmoud Ahmed "Ere Mela Mela", V/A "Ethiopian Blues & Ballads", Huun-Huur-Tu "Best Live", and Waterson:Carthy "A Dark Light"

Happy Hallowe'ene'en! I like this time of year because I can draw stuff like this and have an excuse.

The wind made an appearance tonight, gathering up masses of brown leaves and whipping them across parking lots. The temperature has dropped as well. It was cold in the shade this afternoon, as I found out while I was drawing in the garden at the museum. Maybe fall has finally fallen.

I didn't get to spend much time at home today (technically yesterday, but since I'm still awake, it's today) because I had to attend a training meeting at work. None of the activities that we were being trained how to do were new to me. I really do think it's time to change my job description in some way, but am not sure how. I was looking over an application for a job with the water company, and reading the supplemental questionaire attached to it, and realizing that I don't have any of the types of experience they seem to want. It's so hard to move sideways into a different kind of job. Not that I necessarily want a different kind of job. I just want the types of jobs I like doing to pay me well enough to live on. hmmm... what to do, what to do? Of course, my tendency to be very passive about searching for jobs works against me.
I just know that on days like today I don't get to spend enough time with Jen and the kids. It seems like I'm always working, but in reality I only work about 35 hours a week. It's just in 4 hour chunks here and there, so it seems like I'm always going to work.

Yesterday, I saw a guy driving north in the southbound lanes on the expressway. Tonight, a guy in an SUV cut me off, and afterwards I just happened to turn into the same parking lot as he did. I think he thought I was going to beat him up or something, because he was quite contrite when I made eye contact with him.

Driving is just a barrel of laughs.

cds I listened to while laughing: The Bevis Frond "Triptych", Scorched Earth "Fed to Your Head", Vasen "Trio", and Bastards "Monticello"

Another slow day at work, which balances out the constant chaos of home.

The pumpkin patch has a jump house and a bunch of toy vehicles for kids to push each other around in. The Dickens hopped into what appeared to be one of those old electric cars. I flipped the switches to see if it was still electric in any way. It wasn't. I used the emergency power - I pushed it around the pumpkin patch, much to the delight of The Dickens. Jen was pushing the boys around in one of the other non-electric cars. The Dickens tired of this after awhile, and made me get in so she could push me. Imagine a two year old in a bat costume pushing a grown man around in a small plastic car. I'm surprised that she managed to push it at all.
Then she found the jump house and had a gleeful time bouncing around. Nate joined in for awhile. When it was time to go, we had to promise her a ride in one of the patch's rusty red wagons to get her to emerge from the jump house. Everything was going well until she realized that the wagon was being pulled towards the van.

If somebody could find a way to harness the power of her tantrums, the energy crisis would be solved for good.

cds I listened to while pondering renewable energy sources: Six Organs of Admittance "Dark Noontide" and "You Can Always See the Sun", Circle "Raunio", Hazy Loper "Yonder, Go!", Volcano the Bear "Volnono", and Corner Tour "The Come On Over"

Cats should run the world.

Today I journeyed to the hellish wasteland that is the outdoor shopping center to get my new car stereo installed. As I waited, I wandered through the desolation, noting that there were people around, but that the place still gave the impression of being empty of life. Maybe it had something to do with the blandness of the stores, which undoubtedly attract bland customers. Maybe we are indeed surrounded by the living dead.
Another problem I have with these shopping centers is that the architecture is so dull. Are these built by the people who failed architecture school? Maybe they're built by the same people who design our prisons and high schools.
The only real sign of life was a mom with a couple of little girls, one of them pushing a doll stroller. They were running along, following the zig zag brick pattern on the sidewalk. Maybe that's the only way to escape the living dead who stumble all about, laden with shopping bags and the weight of too many fast food lunches.

The same thing happened to Rome. Then it fell.

The first cds I listened to on my new stereo: Daemonia "Live... or Dead", Sainkho Namtchylak "Stepmother City Remixes", The Flash Girls "Play Each Morning Wild Queen", Laibach "Rekapitulacija 1980 - 84", Timesbold "Woe be Gone...", and Mahmoud Ahmed "Live in Paris"

Today was as much of a leisure day as we're likely to get. Jen and I celebrated our anniversary by going out to eat, wandering around in the posh part of town, drinking pearl milk tea, finally finishing watching Satantango, and perusing the extras on Bowling For Columbine. In short, we spent a lazy day, because we're entitled to it. We only took Willow with us because she is too young to ask for juice or scream because we don't buy her stuff in every store we visit.
It's hard to believe that we've been married for a year already, although at the same time it seems like we've always been married. Life before marriage has taken on a tinge of unreality. It's even hard to think back to the time before Willow was born. I can't remember what it was like to not share my life with a beautiful wife and four children, the smallest of whom sticks her tongue out because her teeth are coming in and bothering her. She also has a whole vocabulary of heart melting baby sounds, not to mention copious amounts of drool which makes her mouth and hands slick. She plays with toys now too. Jen said that Willow actually cried the other day because she was angry at The Dickens for swiping one of her toys. Crying can be such a versatile method of communication, and it looks like Willow is starting to diversify.

They're going to be tearing up and repaving our road this week. The notice the paving company sent out actually uses the word "pulverize". That sounds noisy. I hope they do the pulverizing in the afternoon, but I have a feeling they won't.

cds I listened to while feeling good about being married for a year: Tarentel "Fear of Bridges", Kemialliset Ystavat "Varisevien Tanssi/Silmujen Marssi" and "Kellari Juniversumi", Worms "Pelican Songs", Present "High Infidelity", and CMX "Aurinko"

Exactly a year ago, we were on our way to Sanborn Park to get married. Happy anniversary to us!

Beware of shadowy figures lurking near stairwells.

I always arrive at the weekend feeling worn out. Thursday usually seems like the low point. Friday brings a couple of hours at Hidden Villa, which, despite the fact that I have to get up too early to get there, seems to help recharge me. Today I led a group of energetic pre-schoolers around the farm. Actually they were ahead of me most of the time because they all liked running. They came from somewhere up in San Francisco, and got the sliding scale discount, which is nice. I think it's the kids from the poorer neighborhoods who benefit most from places like Hidden Villa. We all need places like this to bolster our spirits; to remind us that the world is a beautiful place.
It's quite warm out today. During the night it feels like autumn, but the days have been more like summer.

I tried to get a new cd player installed in my car today, but since it would have entailed leaving the car there well into the evening, I opted for monday. That's always the hard part - the time involved. The physical process of a credit card transaction is easy. I almost wish it wasn't. The disconnect involved is like a cushion between myself and reality. The labor involved in earning money seems so far removed from the whole credit card thing. The interest I'm being charged is just a number on a statement. Maybe I live too much in the "here and now", and should be looking down the road more often. Maybe I should sit down and figure out just how many hours of working for somebody else it takes me to buy things like cd players. Of course, it's the cd player that makes delivering papers fun.

Speaking of spending money, I got the new DVD player in the mail. It does indeed play non-American formats and regions. It seems to play just about everything. I think that's money well spent. Of course, buying things online involves even more cushioning against reality. I need to work on my willpower.

Tonight I bring snakes and bugs to Lexy's school for their Halloween party. It should be fun.

cds I listened to while feeding batteries to my discman: Blyth Power "Gladly Give to Ceaser", "The Bricklayer's Arms", and "On the Viking Station", Kroko "Furia", and Circle/Marble Sheep "Surface/Marble Zone 2 - live"

Yep, my car stereo is toast. I'll get a new one on friday, using money I don't really have.

I've been enjoying the cloud cover at night, and the leaves scudding across the asphalt. The night air has more of a bite to it now. The days continue to be depressingly warm. Have you ever noticed that weather forecasters are biased? Warm/sunny = good. Cold/cloudy/rainy = bad. ... and don't get me started on other mainstream culture/media biases. I wonder how many people would believe that up was down if they heard it from an announcer on TV? Probably more than one might think.

hmmm. I notice that the blogger page isn't displaying fully. I think I'll see if this will actually publish.

cds I listened to on my discman (what, you didn't think I'd have a backup plan?): Anja Garbarek "Smiling and Waving" (this really benefits from being heard with headphones), Ramona the Pest "Contrary Sanctuary", Plasmatics "Coup D Grace", Tanakh "Villa Claustrophobia", Ulan Bator "Vegetale", Tindersticks "Sometimes it Hurts", and Chumbawamba "Readymades"

Here's a couple of small drawings, done in the garden at work, inspired by Bela Tarr's Satantango.

It's those moments when we step away from our routines that we feel most alive.

It may have finally happened. After playing all of my cds, the cd player in my car seems to have died on me. When I was minutes from home tonight, it spit out my cd and couldn't be convinced to play any more. I'll let it rest over night and see if it feels like playing in the morning. I guess I could go get a new one, but I'll always have a special place in my heart for this one because Jen got it as a gift for me a couple of years ago. Shortly afterwards, somebody tried to steal it and failed. They managed to rip the face plate off, but must have been interrupted or just too plain stupid to figure out what to do next. I held the face plate on with tape until M. rigged up a little latch for it. Ever since that day, somewhere in the mechanism there is a loose connection that causes it to squeal intermittently. I discovered that in order to stop the squealing, I have to push on a certain spot underneath. This usually works anyway. Sometimes it turns itself off. The little readout says "goodbye". If I push on the spot underneath, it says, "hello", and turns back on.
We'll see if it works in the morning.

Oh, and I found the key to that damn apartment complex. It was behind my seat.

cds I listened to on a mortally wounded cd player: Cheer-Accident "Salad Days!!", Thymme Jones "Career Move", Noe Venable "The World is Bound by Secret Knots", COH "Love Uncut", The Potomac Accord "Silver Line on a Black Sea", and Damon & Naomi w/ Kurihara "Song to the Siren"

Sometimes gated communities don't get their newspapers. Tonight was such a night for one such community. I managed to lose the little, electronic key that opens the gate. I was overjoyed! I got done with the route fifteen minutes earlier. I did look for the key, of course. I found 35 cents, fingernail clippers, a guitar pick, and an old, non-functioning electronic key under my seat, not to mention the countless rubberbands that litter my car. Maybe it fell out on the ground somewhere. That would be nice.

cds I listened to while not trying too hard to find the key: CMX "Discopolis", Ain Soph "Oktober", Nagisa Ni Te "On the Love Beach" and "Feel", and Backworld "Seeds of Love"

Another weekend full of stuff.

Friday, M. and I went to the quiet burg of Scotts Valley to witness some Swedes, collectively called Vasen, play their instruments. They played in a community center that used to be a Lutheran church. They played viola, nyckelharpa, and guitar. The audience, most of whom seemed to be there not because they were familiar with Vasen, but because they were Swedish and were hungering for a bit of culture from the homeland. We were there because we liked the band, which placed us in the minority. Of course, by the end of the evening everybody liked the band. They were quite likeable, and even told bad jokes between songs in a deadpan Swedish sort of way. Another great thing is that, according to the little program we were handed, it's a Scandinavian tradition to give away free coffee wherever people congregate. This is good, and yet one more reason to consider moving to Scandinavia.
I overheard a guy behind me say that if Vasen weren't musicians, they'd probably be math professors because it takes some "serious brainpower" to play music like they do. The viola player seems to have a good head for obscure historical information relating to the songs (some composed centuries ago) they were playing.
Also, due to the deficiencies of my American keyboard, I have done them the insult of calling them "vase". Their name actually means something like, "essence", or "spirit", but without the proper punctuation (a little dot) over the "a", the meaning changes. Also, due to the deficiencies of my American education, I don't even know what that little dot over the "a" is called.
Another guy, who looked to be somewhere in his eighth or ninth decade, stood up after the concert and pointed out that it was the 14th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake. I still remember that little event like it was yesterday. Apparently a lot of other people do too.

Oh, in case you don't know what a nyckelharpa is, here's a picture:



Sunday, Lexy had his party at the ice skating rink in Cupertino. The last time I ice skated was at that rink, when I was not much older than Lexy. I actually managed to make my way around the rink with a bit of speed (if very little grace), although I did fall on my butt a couple of times. About half of the kids attending the party also seemed to know the rudiments of ice skating. The other half clutched the walls or parent's hands. Nate, who has never before been on the ice, actually managed to do a little bit of unassisted skating. He also did plenty of assisted skating (my arms are still sore from holding him up, as I'm sure Uncle Jay's and Stacy's are as well) Willow, bundled up against the cold, watched from the sidelines. The Dickens stayed home with Granny. Two year olds and ice skating rinks don't make a good combination.

Later on, back at home, The Dickens made up a new game that involved making frog noises and peeking up over the side of the bed at Willow. This made Willow laugh so hard that she got hiccups. Ribbit! Ribbit! hahahaha*hic* Ribbit! Ribbit! hahahaha*hic* over and over and over again.

And, as if that weren't enough, one of our pets had babies! We're willing to adopt them out to good homes, so if you're reading this and you would like your very own Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, let me know. At the moment they're quite small. Indeed, I spent a lot of time locating them all and removing them from the cage they were born in - a cage that they could easily escape from, since they're about the size of small sowbugs at the moment. As adults, they will be around two inches long, and have the ability to hiss quite loudly when irritated. It'll be fun to watch the babies grow. Nate looked in at them and said, "they're cuter than Willow!" I disagreed with him, and then discovered that his criteria for cuteness is based on size. The smaller something is, the cuter it is.

cds I listened to while having no idea I'd ramble on this long: Daniel Littleton & Tara Jane O'neil "Music for a Meteor Shower", Circle "Sunrise", Fred Frith "Rivers and Tides { working with time" (soundtrack for the Andy Goldsworthy documentary of the same name - see it if you can), J.M.K.E "Gringode Kultuur", CMX "Musiikin Ystavalliset Kasvot + 5", and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum "Live"

I'm having another one of those moments where I can't think of anything to write about, but here I sit anyway. I've always been a creature of habit, at least with the little things - my keys always go into the right front pocket of my jeans, my shoes are always by the closet door when they're not on my feet, I blog when I get home from work... This veneer of order amongst the daily chaos frees up my mind to dwell on more important things, such as why opossums never look both ways before crossing the street. I still haven't come up with an answer for that one.

Oh, and I completed my nearly 22 month task of listening to all of my cds, although this doesn't count the few that people have borrowed and not returned, and that one damn cd in "special packaging" that won't open. People should know that rock salt and metal don't work well together. Have you ever seen a car owned by somebody who lives near the ocean? Usually pretty rusty. The same thing happens to metal cd packaging if you put rock salt inside. The only difference is that it rusts shut. I guess I could listen to it if I used a can opener.

cds I listened to with a sense of accomplishment: The McCarthy Sisters at Cold Cuts, Berkeley, 7/26/03, V/A "Progfest '94", Venom "The Second Coming", V/A "The Tyranny of the Beat", and V/A "SFEMF 2003 - East Meets Left"

No, I don't know where this sudden obsession with floating hats came from. The small picture is small because it just wouldn't scan properly.