Month: October 2004

tis the season for my head to explode

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Oh, how I love this time of year. Fall. The leaves change (well, kinda, it’s California), Halloween starts happening (and when did Halloween get to be such a big deal? When I was a kid it was all about kids and cheap costumes – now it’s… Well, fuck it, that’s another entry), it’s no longer […]

Oh, how I love this time of year.

Fall. The leaves change (well, kinda, it’s California), Halloween starts happening (and when did Halloween get to be such a big deal? When I was a kid it was all about kids and cheap costumes – now it’s… Well, fuck it, that’s another entry), it’s no longer hot but still nice enough for motorcycle riding and driving with the top off my jeep.

But then there are the other features of fall. Pollens. Dust. My furnace back in use after being idle all summer. Allergies.

And the kids are back in school. Little petri dishes, schools. “Here, I’ve got extra snot, you want it?” Which means sinus headaches and colds. Sinus infections and coughs. Hell. At least it isn’t like when the first kid was in preschool. Start about the middle of September and that’s it, we’re all sick til spring.

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Most of my Songs are Contraptions

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“Some songs need work; some write themselves. “Came out of the ground like a potato, always the best ones,” Waits says. “Most of my songs are contraptions. Take the head off that doll and screw it onto the side of that washing machine. But the best ones come out just like a litter. I usually […]

“Some songs need work; some write themselves. “Came out of the ground like a potato, always the best ones,” Waits says. “Most of my songs are contraptions. Take the head off that doll and screw it onto the side of that washing machine. But the best ones come out just like a litter. I usually start with two tunes, put them in a room together and they have kids. There are usually two songs that are the parents of the rest. That’s my theory.”

My mother, actually, just pointed out this interview to me.

SFGate’s Joel Selvin, who used to be a terrible pop music critic back in the, what, seventies, eighties, whenever he started, but has turned into a pretty good writer these days, interviewing Tom Waits.

That’s a really good interview. He mostly lets Waits, a somewhat reclusive man, speak for himself, but the writing manages to keep the vaguely surreal, vaguely poetic tone of Waits work. Not an easy thing to do and Selvin pulls it off.

I met Waits once, in Hawaii.

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L O V E & H A T E

elvis3 Comments

How I love hand tattoos.

How I love hand tattoos.

If I could have one tattoo – just one, that’s what it would be. On the hand.

There are tons of different options. The classic swallows or other symbols on the web between thumb and forefinger. Pictures on the hands. Words along the outside edge, which are a military tradition so you could send a message while you salute.

There are a lot of bad ideas for hand tattoos of course. And I really don’t like the wedding ring tattoo idea. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, it just doesn’t speak to me.

There are reasons not to tattoo the hands. First, because of the mobility of that skin, the tattoos break down and fade quickly. The skin moves, it’s exposed to the sun. It’s not a great place for color tattoos or small delicate detailed tattoos.

But more — it’s a commitment. It’s a huge commitment. People with no tattoos don’t know; people with tattoos in hide-able places don’t know. Once tattoos move from places you can hind in normal clothes, it all changes. And it’s not where you think, this line. It’s not the elbows when you’re in short sleeves. It’s not the wrist when you’re in long sleeves. It’s somewhere on the upper half of the biceps or six inches up from the wrists. Because as you move, things show.

And here’s the thing. Once people notice extensive, elaborate tattoos, they treat you different. Not always bad different, in a lot of places you get more respect or recognition for being heavily tattooed. But it’s going to change people’s opinion of you. Forever.

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L O V E & H A T E

Karl ElvisLeave a comment

How I love hand tattoos.

How I love hand tattoos.

If I could have one tattoo – just one, that’s what it would be. On the hand.

There are tons of different options. The classic swallows or other symbols on the web between thumb and forefinger. Pictures on the hands. Words along the outside edge, which are a military tradition so you could send a message while you salute.

There are a lot of bad ideas for hand tattoos of course. And I really don’t like the wedding ring tattoo idea. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, it just doesn’t speak to me.

There are reasons not to tattoo the hands. First, because of the mobility of that skin, the tattoos break down and fade quickly. The skin moves, it’s exposed to the sun. It’s not a great place for color tattoos or small delicate detailed tattoos.

But more — it’s a commitment. It’s a huge commitment. People with no tattoos don’t know; people with tattoos in hide-able places don’t know. Once tattoos move from places you can hind in normal clothes, it all changes. And it’s not where you think, this line. It’s not the elbows when you’re in short sleeves. It’s not the wrist when you’re in long sleeves. It’s somewhere on the upper half of the biceps or six inches up from the wrists. Because as you move, things show.

And here’s the thing. Once people notice extensive, elaborate tattoos, they treat you different. Not always bad different, in a lot of places you get more respect or recognition for being heavily tattooed. But it’s going to change people’s opinion of you. Forever.

Read more “L O V E & H A T E”

Ethay Oronospheremay

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Ok, this is just fucking stupid. And yet, I like it. The Moronosphere, In Pig Latin. Courtesy of the Crapola Web Translator. Hey, it beats watching my football team get slapped around like little schoolgirls.

Ok, this is just fucking stupid.

And yet, I like it.

The Moronosphere, In Pig Latin.

Courtesy of the Crapola Web Translator.

Hey, it beats watching my football team get slapped around like little schoolgirls.

stop thinking, start writing

Karl ElvisLeave a comment

I had a long conversation over the last couple of days, about writing. Julie over at Analyze Julie, she managed to give me one of thoise virtual shakings I need now and then. What she said, in effect, was “quit thinking about it and start writing.” Well, sure. I could do that.

I had a long conversation over the last couple of days, about writing.

Julie over at Analyze Julie, she managed to give me one of thoise virtual shakings I need now and then.

What she said, in effect, was “quit thinking about it and start writing.”

Well, sure. I could do that.

Read more “stop thinking, start writing”