Hey...

Maybe some of you beer-loving scientists can tell me why any other beer consumed post Fat Tire tastes like bananas. I've noticed it particularly with Black Butte Porter and Yuengling Lager, but that observation has been limited by personal experience.

I've been too heavy on the show reviews, so all I'm gonna say about last Saturday's show was that I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you like experiprogpostrock, check out Gunslinger and Pushy Lips. I know, I know, I chose to attend based on the name alone...

Oh, and Seattle? Don't think I didn't notice that your weather has actually been nicer than Nashville's a couple of times recently. You're on my list, pal, so just watch your back.

I saw a saw!

On Monday night we went to a show in a super divey bar with terrible sound, but some friends were playing and a 22 ounce bottle of Fat Tire was only $4. The first band, who I think is split up and reformed and possibly changing their name, but here's the singer, was quiet and pretty, but I wasn't really picking up what they were putting down until the drummer traded in his sticks for a saw. A saw! I've never seen anyone play a saw before. It was amazing how he could get such precise pitch just from bending it. The sound was hauntingly lovely, and he played... at least three or four other instruments during the show, including a violin, a harmonica, and something that looked like a giant harmonica. I found out it was called a bass harmonica. Wacky. The third band, Bankrupt and the Borrowers-- whose myspace page doesn't really do them justice-- are some guys we met in Austin. Easily the best band of the night. Check them out if they make it to a town near you, although I think they might be (out of money) just about done touring for a while.

Tuesday night we went to see the Jesus Lizard, who are touring again after something like ten years of disbandedness. They were really good, but I am not a fanatic, and they weren't good enough for me to stay in the crowded hot sweaty smelly sold-out room, getting jostled by every sweaty loser in the room every two seconds (okay, maybe I woke up a little cranky that day), so I took off after three or four songs. But it was reportedly a great show, and those guys can rock pretty hard for their age, or any age.

So much for this week's show review...

I thought nothing was worse than those skinny hipster jeans

Then I was subjected to skinny hipster jean shorts. On guys. I didn't get any pictures, but I don't think you would thank me if I did.

So far, things have been fairly mellow in Nashville. I've seen a couple of local bands play. Sound and Shape stood out. I got some ethiopian food that wasn't as good as my fave places in Seattle, Chicago and Austin, but it's not the only game in town. On the Fourth of July, despite the apocalyptic combo of thunderstorms and a celebrity shooting, we managed to go out to catch the "last show" from The Pink Spiders, which was tight and energetic. Those guys know how to put on a show.

Even I am bored reading this blog post, but it has been a couple weeks, and I felt the need to reassert my presence on the planet, so sorry, and check out the cool bands...

Later, gators!

Did you know that Gainesville is the home of Gatorade?  Now the name finally makes sense.

We managed to ditch the kids during my last week in Gainesville, so we had some nice relaxed grown-up time of doing whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted.  I will spare you the details, but I assure you, there was shopping, swimming, tanning, beer drinking, grown-up food eating, beach going, and the assembling of many many puzzles.  So with a heavy heart I bid farewell to my Gainesville family, because tomorrow I am headed, once again, back to Nashville.  I just gotta try to get something out of my system...

My day, in two short acts

Auntie:  Who took a poop and didn't wipe or flush?!
Boys:  Not me!
Auntie and Me:  Uh-huuuhhh....
Me:  Well, you're both taking a bath tonight, and I'm not hearing anything about "But I'm not dirty!"

Later...

Me:  Alright, it's bathtime.  Be sure you both wash out your bums really well.
Seven-year-old:  What's a bum?!
Me:  What do you think I WANT you to wash?!
Seven-year-old:  Our butts...

And scene.

This trip continues to surprise me

I never ever ever ever never thought I would be lounging by a pool in Florida, COMPLETELY.  JEALOUS.  of the weather in Seattle.

I also never thought I would be a party to the perpetuation of the tooth fairy conspiracy.

Kanapaha

Last weekend my aunt, uncle and I went to the Kanapaha Botanical Garden. I've kinda been going to a lot of those over the last year, and they weren't all in season, but even if they had been in season, I don't think any would have been as good as this one. My first indication that it was a good place was the presence of a bottle of Off! insect repellent in the entrance building, available for everyone to use. Good idea! The place is huge-- 62 acres total-- and seems to have been carved out of a large forested area. There is a loop path that meanders through the forest, connecting the separate gardens, and is lined with those little signs describing the native flora. The herb garden is huge, with separate sides for edible herbs and scented herbs, and guests are invited to touch the scented herb plants to get all of the scentiness. I could go on and on, but it might get boring, and the gist of it all is that this place is really well designed, and if you are at all interested in botanical gardens, and find yourself near Gainesville, FL, you should most definitely check it out, giving yourself at the very least three hours.

The nannying continues to improve as the boys and I get more used to each other. If anyone reading this is considering getting work in the field of home childcare, I would suggest getting a job that pays in beer and has a pool. I dread the days in which bad behavior forces me to take away pool priveledges, because I suspect I value that time even more than they do, so that is always the last resort. It's so hot and humid down here, you can't just send the kids outside to play, because they can only tolerate about ten or twenty minutes before they turn bright red and sticky...