As many of you know, I'm a beer aficionado (or, as it's more commonly known, an alcoholic). I like to try new craft beers, and do so regularly. And because of my crippling OCD, I keep lists of what I've tried and how it was, just in case I'm at a bar and they have [...]

I'm glad to see yesterday's post is stirring some discussion in the comments section. It's been a while since one of my "Top Ten" lists actually caused readers to feel one way (or another!). I guess I'm just happy that readers feel anything at all when they visit this page. Oh God, I'm so pathetic. I hate being an insignificant little blogger! Fuck! • Here's a sobering article from TIME Magazine called "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin." Lucky for me I hiked Runyon Canyon this morning and came home to this article. Now I feel [...]
Oh man, what a horrible day. Today was to start my five consecutive days of working open-close, and I woke up to a $3,000 tax levy from the IRS. Bank account frozen for the next 21 days? Check. Funds already removed in anticipation of transferring to the government? Check. Surprised Evan upon discovering that the problem stemmed from a famous incident in 2006 that is still a touchy subject? Not at all. I just hope this one gets worked out soon. After that...big changes. Softball last night ended in a bitter defeat. I'll write the recap when I [...]

The desert surrounds. All arid and bare. This throat is dry. These eyes have tired. It is warm. Summer approaches. Golden orb in blue expanse. Cloud formations like none before seen. Little rodents cross paths. Lizards scatter when foot touches dirt. Swarms of bees test passersby. A red/brown snake five feet in length flicks its tongue at me. It's black eyes never waver. These sounds can not be properly captured. This air and these insects and all this life cannot be pictured. I needed to be alone with my thoughts today. I couldn't stay there, uncomfortable and bare. No more [...]

Neil Morris & Charley Everidge - Banks of The Arkansas/Wave The Ocean ( buy ) (1959) I told you in a previous post that you'd soon hear again about Sounds Of The South , a 4-CD box set of field recordings made by Alan Lomax during his journeys in 1959 with Shirley Collins. The material on this compilation already appeared on 7 lps that were published in 1960. I've heard the first 2 cds so far, and they are a goldmine, as I expected. I'll focus on the first one today [...]
It's not uncommon for Americans to go over to Europe and ride the rails all over but most haven't ridden this nation's rails extensively. From September 7 to 10, 2003, for three and a half days I rode trains from Boston to Emeryville, changing trains once, in Chicago. I moved to California on those trains. I had known Boston as home for four years and Pittsburgh before that. Three thousand miles away, the Bay Area was almost a complete unknown. It was to be a time of new friends, new living arrangements, new streets, a new school, [...]