Halloween 2015

Having passed another Halloween weekend which is super-busy time at my job, it seemed like a fitting occasion to return to the blogosphere. Had a very successful event Fri the 30th with cover band sets of Descendants, Clutch, Rolling Stones and more. What a great audience, neat-o costumage and most importantly, killer tributes. Had never heard Clutch - heavy stuff. Sat the 31st I did not work the show but did have the displeasure of resetting the bar Sun morning. Cathy said it was the busiest night we have ever had! I could sorta tell..

Been doing what I can to keep my Mom safe and surviving on her own in her Baraboo apartment. In Sept she was diagnosed with throat cancer. At 89, chemo is not an option so it has been radiation treatments 5 days a week for a month to kill the tumor that is making it difficult for her to swallow. Just took her to the last session on Monday. She got a diploma and congratulations from the staff there. Says she is finding it easier to swallow and is taking enough mushy and liquid nutrition now. Better times are ahead.

Brother Hal is on the road managing the merchandise for Stevie Wonder. Will be back round these here parts by Thanksgiving.

Dearest Hannah is running the sound for a play at Broom Street Theater. Will be attending a performance soon. Only 2 weeks left! Pumpkin carving has happened, much to my delight:

Made a pot of black beans (from raw beans - usually wimp out with canned) and they turned out well. Bean burritos were enjoyed Sunday with H and last night for 'leftovers'. Certain foods tend to enhance methane production in the digestive tract and I do prefer well cooked black beans for being low on the gas production scale of consuming said legumes. I soak the beans overnight and simmer for at least 3 hours with onion, garlic, cumin, basil, cayenne and light salt. Just salty enough to not taste weird but not as crazy salty as store-bought corporate brands. The canned Organic varieties are good tho and low salt. I usually get Full Circle for quick TexWiscoMex. Filling out the Flour tortilla rolled tube of delight: monty jack cheese, rice, Newmans salsa and sour cream. Oh and a little Sriracha.

Gomeroke is now FREE on Tuesday and I'm off shortly for the door sitting gig soon. Hoping we have a good turnout tonight. Mathew had over 70 last week, so I remain hopeful,

Sure would like to be playing drums or percussion again, but nothing on the calendar at this time. There may be a reunion of the electro-acoustic + visuals quartet with Gregory, Darwin and Mark in Mpls after Thanksgiving as schedules and venue booking allows.

listen:
the song Freeze Frame in a store
that is all

read:
Isthmus
NYTimes
insurance docs

view:
PBS News Hour

halloween 2012

Fennimore vacation

Nice little 'stay-around-Wisconsin-cation' last week with Hannah to Fennimore and points west. We had an air conditioned room (with double-wide hot tub!) here:

and part of the deal was a gift certificate to their oddly named restaurant:

Nice room and Hannah enjoyed her dinner choice. And they didn't mind her speaking aloud, which is a good thing. My chicken fillet was overcooked, tho still tasty. We fared better in dining at the Family Style diner a couple blocks up the road.
Thursday morning it was off to Wyalusing state park near Prairie du Chien, about a half hour away. Nice scenic drive there and Hannah was invaluable with spotting signs and keeping me from taking wrong turns, mostly on the way back. The vistas from the upper campgrounds were wonderous. This looks like the park to camp in, if such an adventure happens this or subsequent summer. The campsites are nicely spread apart and all. Would like to hike along the river valley next time.

 Sweetie and gal relaxing and unplugged, ahhh. About the unplugged part - none of the rooms at the Fenway had phones (!) and their WiFi wasn't useable. To top it off our Vir gin mo bile cels had no signal in the area.
The hotel bar was nice (that is until some crooner chick held forth Thu nite) and pulled coupons off the place mats at the diner for free cocktails both days. Did buy my first beer - Capital Amber in a frosted mug, mmmm. Part of the deal on the room was a complimentary bottle of wine and an Italian Pinot Grigio ended up being good and hit the spot on Thursday. Not much interesting exploring to do in Fennimore during the weekdays but their was a 'Steak Feed' advertised for the weekend! Railroad Museum closed. Huge thrift store on the next block visit yielded a new swimsuit for H. This place looked interesting, but was locked down:

Couldn't resist 'preserving' the sign's drawing, the only folk art within view

heavy weather taday

listen:
 bowling in heaven, prolly lotsa strikes!
 Kate Bush - The Dreaming
 Dub Trio - IV

read:
 Nat'l Geo magazine (natch)
 Maximum Ink and other obits, sadly with many heavy losses of late.
 Notably, the great Levon Helm..
 Carl Hiaasen - Hoot

view:
 'Connections' - 1978 BBC series  with science historian James Burke.
 making of Lynch's Blue Velvet
 MeTV
 Jackie Chan- The reluctant spy (?)

From time to time, I've mentioned The Gomers in this blog.











Not nearly enough to give them credit for all this marvelous band does to enrich the lives of those of us who dwell in Madison. The Gomers host a live-band karaoke show 6 times a month at my place of employment. It's about the only gig I look forward to when I peddle down the Isthmus to sit in my spot at the nightclub entrance. Founder and old friend Biff has maintained a considerable web presence, so I'll not be a repetitive old fart with any of that. It's all here, and more!

Pal Gregory recently asked what selections singers are likely to bust out with on any given night. Here's a setlist from last Friday's happy hour show:

set 1
The Beatles - I Will
Led Zepplin - Ramble On
Bowie - Space Oddity
Derek & the Dominoes - Layla
U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Simon and Garfunkel - America
Allman Bros.- Midnight Rider
Arlo Guthrie - Coming Into Los Angeles
Led Zepplin - How Many More Times

set 2
Queen - We Will Rock You/We are the Champions
Frampton - Show Me the Way
Tom Petty - Breakdown
Stones - Sympathy for the Devil
Helen Reddy - I am Woman
The Beatles - The Ballad of John and Yoko
Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge over Troubled Waters
finale/band intros/thank yous with quotes from Yes and Van Halen

A representative sample of what the Gomes and singers get down with, and believe me it's entertaining as all get out. Good times!

listen:
My Bloody Valentine
XString Quartet
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Summvs
Richard Thompson - Amnesia

read:
China Miéville - The City and the City
Emulator 6400 manual

view:
Super 8
Dexter season 5

DIY DTV antenna

more DIYery - a cheap antenna built today, to finally recieve 'free' TV @home reliably:


























design from:

Makezine Blog post link


all the madison stations are now being recieved with clear stability, at least when the weather is is also clear.


listen: 92 The Mic

view: In the Line of Fire (Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich!), Law and Order. Arrested Development season 2

read: local papers (CT, Isthmus, Onion, Eastside News), Nat'l Geo, Smithsonian

deckscape 2 & dinner with Cliff

The storms passing through WI making for some interesting sky views from the deck this week.

































Hannah and her pop Cliff and I went out for a very tasty Chinese dinner last night before he flies off today for 3 weeks in Indonesia. We had a great meal and nice chat. After dropping her dad back at the family home, we took a walk around the hood admiring the gardens and unique homes and occasional sky views.






































Capped off the evening with snuggling, a dvd and more snuggling. Nice day!

view:
The Wild Blue Yonder (Herzog)