Let's all kill each other.

Yes, it's Perfect Duluth Day paintball. It's your chance to gut-shoot your favorite (or least favorite) PDD blogger. Details later.

First Avenue, Leinenkugel's in plastic cups and you.

Peter S. Scholtes has the cover article this week in the City Pages. It is an oral history of the infamous First Avenue. I cut my young musical teeth there and it continues to change my life. I was briefly interviewed for the article (everybody was invited to) but didn't make the final cut. After reading the finished piece I am embarrased that I even accepted the offer to share my thoughts.

You can pick up a real copy of the City Pages at the Electric Fetus.

Fun with Science!

Here's one anyone can try! Paint with oil based paints for a couple of hours, sleep in the room next to the wet paint and enjoy the hours of nightmares to follow. Last night I was being chased by Death Eaters but little Harry Potter saved me. Thank you Harry!

It's About Time

I am currently putting the final tweaks on the most-anticipated Web site in the history of the Internet, slimgoodbuzz.com. I'm still not satisfied with the banner at the top, but other than that, it's holding together, I think.

I want the site to be as interactive as possible, without too much clutter or redundancy. The ultimate goal is to have the regular Goodbuzz readers speaking up about the things they drunkenly care about (i.e. whether Slim is "way off" or "spot on").

Anyone who wants to throw any ideas my way will be enthusiastically greeted. I'd especially appreciate it if anyone knows URLs to sites by area bars, or other inebriation-based attractions, local or otherwise.

The hazing will be painful

Unidentified Flying Weiner

Our Official Anthem

Right-click HERE to download "Come to Duluth (If You Want To Be An Alcoholic)" by Vinnie & the Stardusters, from The Duluth EP by Shaky Ray Records.

Shaky Ray Records
923 N. 12th Ave. E.
Duluth MN 55805
shakyray@aol.com

FORE!

Hey Gang,

So were are on for the Croquet Tournament/ Picnic.

Time: Sunday, August 31 1PM and on

Place: Top of the water reservoir at 15th Ave East above 6th St. In case of rain or police raid, we will find an alternative site.

I have 2 croquet sets and a badmitten set. Starfire and I will be mowing the course this morning.

Please bring: Food, drinks, coolers, lawn chairs, frisbees and other outdoor toys/games.

I will provide a barbeque grill, a couple of tables, potato salad, chips and salsa and corn on the cob. James Moors will bring a shade canopy.

For those who want to bring Growlers, please remember the Brewhouse does not sell offsale on Sunday (or any other bar in Minnesota).

Any questions, suggestions etc please call 724-4794 or my cell 390-4794.

Eric & Patty

John Lee at Harvard?

One of you, specifically John Lee, will spend most of your time just hanging out in your car eating nachos. You will all come back from time to time to this beautiful campus for reunions, and ask the question, "Does anyone ever know what happened to John Lee?" At that point, he will invariably pop out from the bushes and yell, "Nachos anyone?!" At first, it will scare the crap out of you. But then you'll share a laugh with your classmates and ultimately look forward to John jumping out of the bushes as a yearly event.


--part of the Will Ferrell commencement speech given at Harvard this year. The rest of the speech is here.

Thanks Chuck.

Who wants to be Mayor?

Sure he is a bit of a weenie but I think Greg Gilbert is best for the future of Duluth. Have a chat with the candidate tomorrow at the NorShor Theatre from 5-7PM. Ask him what he thinks about golf courses or movie theatres.

Down with Herb, he doesn't approve of homos.

Croquet anyone?

So, my friends Eric and Patty want to have a Croquet party on Labor Day weekend. What day is best? I am wide open, but the world does not revolve around me, yet. The games will take place on the reservoir at 15th Avenue East. There will be some mowing prior to the event and help will be allowed.

Oh, I am hooked on the board game called "Settlers of Catan." Please help me.

Barrett or Lumpy. If we include the word Duluth in every post, will our Google standing in that search improve? Duluth, Duluth, Duluth and Duluth.

Interesting ...

Tomorrow (8.26) is the release party for this thing--a remix album featuring Low, Both, the Dames, Amy Abts, Greg Cougar Conley, etc.--at the 'Shor. Does anyone know any details? I know that audio and video recording devices are encouraged. But other than the Hi-5 blurb, I haven't heard much. Xaq's site and blog make no mention of it.

a wonderful evening.

A crazy couple of days.

Sad news. 2 women died in a fire above the North Star bar in Superior Wi. The family of my friend Liz owned the bar and apartments which makes the news even more sad. The North Star was always a great place to have a drink and they would even have music there once in a while. My band Father Hennepin played a Halloween show there one time with Giljunko and Lifter Puller.

Scary news. My place of employment was robbed yesterday. There was only one person there at the time when a woman came up the back stairs and handed a note to M saying "give me all the money and we won't hurt you." She (the robber)also shoved something very gun like in M's back while guiding her to the till. M escaped shortly after the money was handed over and was not hurt. WHAT THE HELL! Broad daylight, downtown Duluth, MN.

On a lighter note. I scored a really cool old star sign at a garage sale yesterday. It used to be on the top of the Dewitt-Seitz building in Canal Park. Needs a new cord but all the light sockets are intact and it will look great on my wall.

I also got to drive a Mini Cooper yesterday. People really look at you when you drive one of these.

Now I am going to go Kayaking with Tom and Kerry. Have a good day.

Heads Up!

Low will be playing 2 shows in Minneapolis at the Triple Rock Social Club on October 16th-17th. I don't think it is a very big place and it will undoubtedly sell out so if you are interested, get your tickets early.

The cool air feels nice.

Our hero Chuck.

God Bless the patriotic bus.

Nice dive.

What a wonderful day in Duluth. Thanks again to Chuck and Sharyn and their friends for making us feel at home in the big city of Minneapolis last night. We got to Bryant Lake Bowl just in time to see Chuck's Blogumentary and laugh our asses off. We blew off the rest of the movies due to a lack of seating and the high temps in the sold out theatre. We did however enjoy a couple of Bell's Amber Ales on tap in the bar. Sharyn of Mass Distraction sighted us first and came over to say hi. When Chuck came out of the theatre I felt like a Rock-n-Roll groupie waiting backstage. After everyone snapped photos of everyone else we made plans to go to the new Chipolte on Hennepin Ave. It was built on the site of the old Embers at which I have had several drunken bar-rush meals. I prefer the Chipolte.

Chuck and his significant other did not make it to dinner but Sharyn and her friend Allison did and we whooped it up until it was clear we must head north. 3/4 of us had to work today. The trip home went quickly but damn my eyes started to get tired. The highlight of the late night drive was an old mix tape that Lumpy and I made at the Brewhouse years ago.

There is the first hint of Fall in the air today but the water is still warm and the flowers in my front yard are in full bloom. Later.

Chuck Heads.

Other possible titles for this post.

Chuck-a-rific.

Chuckpolte.

Chuckdown.

Any Chuck will do.

Chuck index of 104

Seriously I had a great time on our trip to Mpls. for the screening of Chuck's Blogumentary in progress. My digital friends are now analog. More in the morning, uh, later this morning.

Road Trip anyone?

Chuck from Chuck's Blogumentary is having a Blogumentary work-in-progress screening at the Bryant Lake Bowl in Minneapolis tomorrow from 7-8:30PM. We would have to leave by no later than 4:30 and get home when we get home I guess. I have room for 3 in my car if anyone is interested.

How to have fun with your own body

I found this over at a blog I visit, Defective Yeti. I am completely entertained.

Do this:

+ Make clockwise circles on the floor with your right foot;
+ Now, without looking at your foot, use the index finger on your right hand to draw the number "6" in the air.

Did your foot change direction? Yes it did, you liar.

Surf's Up!

Should I feel bad about having a great time swimming in the waves of Gitchee Gumee while the Coast Guard was searching for the body of a 21 year old just a mile down the beach? The riptide was pretty strong and I would not suggest swimming in those conditions unless you are pretty confident but when you catch the perfect wave and surf it for 20 yards there is nothing better. Be careful out there!

On a lighter note. I have some better measurements on Enger Tower. 8 sides, 10' wide and 51' high. That is alot of bedsheets. If you have any to donate to the project or if you want to go on a thrift store shopping spree let me know.

Gymmen er ferdig
svett er ben og arm
kaster av meg klæa før je ær i garderoben
går i dusjen - vatne er varnt når je æ varm.

Vi står å skravle litt
"siste gymtimen iår"
...vatne i bassenget er aldri så varmt...
å je har enda itte bade nakjin i år.

Men Lars Gunnar jobba å
han er itte mindre sliten
dusjen hass er itte kall den hell
han ser mot bassenget, mæ smil i øua
sien: "Ska vi ta et bad, ell?"
Ingen protestere, nei
Snart er det flere i bassenget
Ingen treng å spørja meg.

"Dæ va gått" sa alle sammen
når vi påklædde att sto
det var kaldt å godt å nervøst
tenk om noen plutsli slo
opp ei ta alle døren
lærern ell kanskje jenten
vi svømte nakjne i bassenget
en god følelse - vi alle kjenten.

Men dætta var inne
Tenk på stranda:
Mæ bris som puste.
Mæ sol som slikke.
Mæ flere lærere å jenter.

-Bjorn Smestad

i warned you.

The B-52's have cancelled their Duluth show due to low ticket sales. Sorry Fred.

What the hell?

I admit it. I am addicted to this Blog and Blogging in general. I check it more than i should and I am constantly thinking about what to post later. I also check our hit count meter more than a man should and I am amazed at how many people come to us based on the search "Skinny Dipping Pics." Is it a summer thing? Is it because they know how much I love to skinny dip?

Well, tomorrow I promise to include some actual "Skinny Dipping Pics." We must live up to our potential.

GROWLERS RULE!

snakes.

i'm on a week-long break/vacation/whateveryouwannacallit right now, but thought i'd throw this out there really quick...

i was at this bar last night on Haight Street called the Toronado (my new favorite bar in San Francisco), sort of a mirco-brew beer bar kind of place. i took a look-see in the juke box and what was there but 'It's The Black-Eyed Snakes.' i dropped a 5-spot in and played the whole album.

it's a small, small world.

I'm Canada baby.

You're Canada!

People make fun of you a lot, but they're stupid because you've got a much better life than they do. In fact, they're probably just jealous. You believe in crazy things like human rights and health care and not dying in the streets, and you end up securing these rights for yourself and others. If it weren't for your weird affection for ice hockey, you'd be the perfect person.

Take the Country Quiz at the Blue Pyramid

Gobble Gobble, Moo.

We did it. LumpyG, Ca-chee and I did it. We went to Gigli and thank god for good friends to share such a horrible movie. We were lucky to be the only folks in the theatre so our running commentary did not annoy anyone.

On the positive side Growlers are legal in Minnesota now and the 20 minute J. Lo yoga scene will have your sides splitting with laughter.

Go to this movie. You will regret it but then we can laugh about it for years.



*Oh, I made a video a while back for the Black-eyed Snakes and you can see it here.

I wanna see Gigli.

I don't know why. I don't like Ben Affleck so much nor do I give a cat's ass about J. Lo but I want to go see Gigli. Who's in?



I am free tomorrow night and Friday night unless my father comes to town. I'll bring the pocket pals.

New Black-Eyed Site

Just a quick note to say that the new Black-Eyed Snakes site is nearly done. If any of you "wordy" types can scan it looking for dangling participals or fragmented malipropisms that's be great! Email me with Mistakes, Content or Random Vicious Diatribe.



secret entrance to new website

Cabin Rules.

Things I like about cabin weekends.

1. Jumping off the dock at a full run. Please check the water depth before you jump.

2. Skinny dipping.

3. Getting up early and making the first pot of coffee. I did not do this but I was the 4th up and enjoyed that first pot.

4. Having dinner at 11PM with candlelight and the sound of Loons.

5. Falling asleep to the sound of laughter and beer bottles being opened.

6. Sneaking away to the quiet part of the island and listening to the wind.

7. Naps.

8. Reading the last 10 issues of Cabin Life.

9. Hiding the evidence.

10. Packing up, the final swim and the long drive home on back roads.

Hot Dog!

Howdy folks! Finishing up my 2nd coat of kitchen paint so I can pack and go to Lake Vermillion. My friend Sue has a family cabin on an island and we are going to make trouble there. I am in charge of the snack foods and fruit for 16 people. Sue said to lean toward the salty snacks instead of the sweet.

By the way there is a hot dog stand in the park above the freeway during the day. Not sure about his schedule but I have heard good reports.

Have a great weekend.

Brilliant.

from "A Philosophy of Dust" by Anthony Bukoski

"The entire city of Superior, my neighborhood included, is a classroom for the study of failure. The curriculum for the Study and Analysis of Heartache comes from our citizenry's heavy drinking. We're Scandinavians, Slavs, and Indians of all makes and models. The curriculum is also tied to our living on the shore of the largest freshwater lake in the world. Lake Superior alters our weather for the worst, makes us ugly. Step out the door, see old newspapers blow down the streets in a lake wind, wipe dust from your eyes, go to the Palace Bar, Isle of Capri, Captain Cliff's Night Club, Lost in the '50s, Al's Waterfront Tavern. Find the locals lined up for an eye-opener at eight in the morning, and that, to a sensitive former academic like me, is Hard Knocks. When you can't find work and need to get yourself more depressed, listen in the hallway of your run-down flat for the neighbor guy to strike his wife or she him. Add gray skies. Add fog, and in winter and into late spring, throw in bitter cold, and that's how it is in Superior, Wisconsin, at the Head of the Lakes. Every day I take a refresher course in how to be a loser."

Forgive me. It was free and I was curious.

audblog audio post

first day.

today was my first day as an intern at 826 Valencia, which i can honestly say was the most fun i've ever had in a day of work.

some highlights:

* gave several people a good mopping.

* got lard all over my hand when rescuing a spyglass from said fatty substance. after being greasy nearly all day, my skin on that hand is now silky soft.

* the kids today participated in a workshop on espionage. they had to dress up in a disguise, and find the two agents of Captain Rick that were lurking around the store. at the signal of, "it's hot out today," i handed the budding spies granola bars.

* met Dave Eggers. he seemed very bemused and bewildered by all that he has spawned. nice guy, very soft spoken. reminds me of a friends' older brother from when i was younger. i didn't have the heart to tell him (yet) that i think his revision of "You Shall Know Our Velocity" compromises the emotional integrity of the original (though I won't go as far as to say the new version 'sucks.' but almost.). i would advise everyone to read the first McSweeney's version, which is excellent

* hob-nobbed with the good folks that put together the Believer and McSweeney's Quarterly. can you say 'inside track'?

* had my official staff Polaroid portrait hung on the 826 bathroom wall. oh, the glory.

in a week, i'll start working with the kids and also doing some production stuff for the 826 Quarterly. this is the best job ever.

tim

p.s. hey Sharyn, if you want an offical 826 pirate eye patch, drop me a line-- they're a bargin at $4, and i'd be happy to take one to the post office for ya.

Burnin' up, burnin' up for your love

Flames. This city is full of 'em. They're everywhere...on the brims of hats, on the hoods of trucks, climbing up the legs of shorts. This city is on fire! Hot! Hot! Hot! [ouch!]

Do it for Paul.

Read this. Any ideas? I have long been a fan of Jim Walsh and this is a great idea.

B-52's need you!

The B-52's are scheduled to appear in Duluth, MN. at the DECC on August 28th. That is a thursday night and I have heard from a reliable source that the show is in danger of being cancelled due to lack of presale tickets. Come on people, I think we can do a little better than that. Get out and buy your ticket today so I don't have to go to Mpls. to see the 52's.

Last time I saw them in the "Love Shack" heyday the concert was cut short because the dancing in the balcony of the Northrop auditorium threatened the folks below us. Chunks of plaster were rumored to have come loose.

So get out and do your bit for the Rock Lobster, your city needs you and you know you want to go.

p.s. Paul Lundgren knows of a sure fire way to sneak in to the DECC auditorium. Give him a call if you are broke.

so many cars.

As I ponder whether or not to sell my car I can't help but remember all the others that have come and go.

1. '84 Honda Civic. My first car, purchased for me by my mother. I drove this car over 80,000 miles, was on my second engine and finally destroyed it in a weather related car accident on I-35W.

2. '80's Mazda GLC. This was the replacement car for #1 and was purchased for me by my father I believe. Good car, should have kept it longer.

3. '80's VW Rabbit convertible. My first and only convertible. Took a great road trip to Austin, TX. one time and got a bad sunburn.

4. Old VW camper van. I was the third owner of this fine van. I Was going to live in it for a summer but ended up moving to Duluth where the hills were too much for the old beast. Took a great Southwest road trip in it before finally selling it to a Deadhead who just got out of the Peace Corps.

5. '89 Toyota pickup 2WD. Really great truck with low miles and excellent body. I wish I was still driving this beauty. I sold it after the first big snowstorm when I couldn't make it up the hill to my house.

6. '89 Toyota Landcruiser. This was by far the nicest vehicle I have ever owned. It drove through any amount of snow and I put a great car stereo in it. It lasted a whole year before I got sick of the payments and gas prices.

7. U.S.P.S. mail delivery van. The one with the steering wheel on the wrong side. Bought a car seat at a junk yard for the other side. Really fun car to drive in but a TOTAL death trap at highway speeds.

Just the beginning folks.

I may be crazy.

I want to cover Enger Tower in bedsheets. I have a plan but i need lots of old bedsheets. More details to come soon. I will also need people as crazy as me to pull this off.

This is a lucky dog.

Someone loves this dog a little too much.

another one bites the dust

steve walks warily down the street
with his brim pulled way down low
aint no sound but the sound of his feet
machine guns ready to go
are you ready
are you ready for this
are you standing on your own two feet
out of the doorway the bullets rip
to the sound of the beat.

Hail, hail the gangs all here.

After some marathon last minute cleaning and yard work I was actually ready for the arrival of my family. We had dinner at the Brewhouse and then went for a skinny dip(my nephew anyway) at Brighton Beach. The rumble of thunder was could be heard in the distance as we toweled off.

Now my nephew is going to bed at the hotel and I am picking records for the Starfire Lounge.

Here comes the storm!

Scramble for the....

Well here's a perfect duluth, actually superior, day! Please note Chris Godsey and Tony Dei(ie?)kins doing thei(ie?)r signature 9th hole scramble at the Shaky Ray golf deal. I have to say that this was the very first time that I've ever played golf in RL. And in this regard, Lumpy is correct, RL is over rated. I had a blast with my homie(ei?)s but the club house at Nemadji is the biggest buzz kill since tinfoil chewing competitions at a periodental convention. Now I truly know that whitey must die and thank god(dog?) that pass to US customs as a "questionable" looking dark person.

dog.

five names my roomate's dog is called other than his name, which according to the breeder is actually 'Vatan' but was deemed too complicated and changed to Burks:

1. The Dude
2. 'Ol Piss-Paws
3. Captain Surly
4. The Random Shitter
5. The Biting Guy (when he lays on his back, lets the whites of his eyes show and bites at anything within radius)

maybe i'll try to post a pic of the Dude later.

t.

My house is covered in DUST

The kitchen project is plodding along but there is an end in site. I have scaled back my grand painting ideas from three colors to two and the main wall color is going to be Yellow Marigold, #2155 in the Benjamin Moore paint book.

The new Ripsaw has Alan Sparhawks tour diary from the Low/Radiohead tour and you can read it here.

Tomorrow is Family day. They will arrive at 2PM and we are going to the beach.

job, kinda.

call me a hipster wanna-be, an idiot or a writer that loves kids... but I just applied for an internship at 826 Valencia. i'd teach kids creative writing, sell piracy goods and oh so much more. do i have a chance in hell of getting the job? who knows, but i'd be a good gig, so everyone cross their fingers for me.

starfire, you're one of my references. you better say real nice things, pal!

t.

Kitchen project update.

Plan on any home project to take 4 times longer than you think it will and to cost 5 times as much. The current kitchen project is actually going very smoothly thanks to Lefty my former roomate and current renter. He is a proffesional painter and I snagged him for a day. He insisted that I fix all the cracks properly so it took a bit longer to mud than I thought but the Kitchen will look great when it is finished. I will not have it done for the arrival of my mother however and I have to come to terms with that.

On a more fun note, Father Hennepin my band had a practice today for a show on Friday night at Pizza Luce. We are playing the Chris Monroe art opening post party. Jim Hall starts at 8:30 then us at 10PM and finally Fattypants a local, all-girl-dyke band. I love them. I am also making like 40 gallons of Potato Salad for the reception, maybe my mum will help, she taught me how to cook after all.

I am going to hit the hay so I can get up early and paint.

Anybody ever heard of these guys?

Coffee-in-Duluth

I stumbled across them while searching Duluth things.

Kitchen Project procrastinator

Work was extra warm today so a picnic at the beach and a cooling swim have kept me from hitting the paintbrush. I have the colors picked however and most of the prep work is done.

I met the owner of Aerostich Riderwear today, they make protective riderwear for motorcyclists and put out a kick-ass catalog with everyting you could ever want for riding on 2 wheels. Bullseye does a lot of printing for them and one of my favorite things is running orders out to the their shop in the West End. They are celebrating 20 years of business this August with the "Very Boring Rally".

I have to get to the hardware store now. I need primer.

I can make this joke because I'm from West Duluth...

People are meeting tonight at 7 o'clock at Mr. D's to talk about the Denfeld High School situation. Gee, I thought that happened every night.

By the way, this site may be #1 on Google for "skinny dipping pics," but as I learned from a recent hit, barrettchase.com is #1 on MSN for "free nude pictures of Rhonda Shear."

Duluth does N.E.

So last week when Lumpy and I set off to NE Mpls we were a week early. This week we were 5 hours late. Will we ever learn?

Upon our tardy entrance we heard the final chords of the Ashtray Hearts who were one of the bands I really wanted to see. When we headed indoors we were promptly greeted by Mr Lindquist and he was seated by Nate Starke, a Duluthian also playing. After buying Mr Lindquist a Screwdriver we set upon seeing some tunes. The sets were mostly all 20 minutes or less so you could not dally much lest you might miss something. My favorite set of the day was Sirr Cuss, an all girl band with a gitar a saw, drums and an accordion. Couldn't make out much of the vocals but they moved me none the less.

A majority of the attendents were in their 30's and several of them had kids aged between 7 weeks and 4 years. Pretty much like Duluth,MN. We headed out before Seth Hogan or Mike Nicolai played but it was nice to get home before midnight. I have a kitchen to paint in the AM.

Night.

I am starting to get a complex.

I am getting dangerously close to a Perfect Duluth Day.

1. I worked at Bullseye.
2. I had a Happy Hour beer at RT Quinlan's.
3. I finally hauled the stage risers I borrowed for the Homegrown Music Festival back to the Tap Room.
4. I went for a very quick swim. The water was amazingly cold.
5. I am currently taking a break from scraping wallpaper off of my kitchen walls.
6. I am listening to Loretta Lynn while performing #5.
6. Hoping to go see Brian Joens at the Brewhouse.

a joke

Q: What is brown and sticky?

A: A stick.

Joke by LumpyG.

My mother gets here in a week and my brother and sister-in-law and nephew.

Pics as promised.

Here are 8 of my pictures from the Low/Radiohead tour. I only have two pictures of actual Radiohead members but I think I would get in trouble if I posted them. Enjoy.

1. A window in Florence.
2. Chris, the Low sound guy and a very funny man.
3. Hollis standing by a Radiohead box. I really dig road boxes and I would love to have my casket made out of one.
4. Zak in his favorite T-shirt.
5. A bike that grabbed my eye.
6. Another bike that grabbed my eye. I took many photos of bikes.
7. A sunset with Hollis. This was in Florence and the view kicked ass.
8. A low family picture. This was in Ferrara and our hotel was next to a castle.

Water Report

I had my longest Brighton Beach swim this year. Lundgren, LumpyG and I took a dip in Gitchee Gumee on a tip from another local swim fan and water temp watcher. Mr. Lumpy performed a near perfect shallow dive entry and Mr. Lundgren impressed us with his killer tan.

Post swimming festivities were performed at the Lakeview Castle. They mix a mean Caucasian and the price is right. There was talk of pressing on to a bowling alley in South Superior but that will have to wait till another day.

I am going to start scraping wallpaper off now in hopes of painting my kitchen before my mother arrives next week.

Did I mention the North East Folk Festival is this Weekend?

So LumpyG and I headed down south for the NorthEast Folk Festival this past Saturday and when we arrived at Grumpys we were shocked to find out that it is this coming weekend. We made the best of our predicament (see post by LumpyG) and good times were had with Liz, Brian and Puddin'.

So this Saturday we will make the return trip and hope for sunshine and more good eats at Holy Land.

night.

Back up and Running.

After a long day of calling Charter Cable support about my new cable modems failure to perform, I just fixed it myself. So now I just need someones scanner for an evening and I can get those Low/Radiohead pictures up on the site.

Other items of note.

My good friends Rod and Rebecca had a baby girl on Saturday. Her name is Lillian Graf St. George and she is very happy and healthy. The whole labor lasted 3 hours. That is how babies are born in cars.

My other good friends Ted and Ann had a daughter 10 days ago or so. Her name is Harriet and she is also healthy and happy.

Congratulations you breeders!

I'm a Photographer now.

I have my Low/Radiohead pictures in and I will scan some ASAP for your pleasure.

Road Trip

Hello from the Lincoln Park Wash-n-Web. My quilt and large blankets needed a bath and my Internet access at home is on a brief vacation so here I am in the wonderful West End of Duluth doing 4 loads of laundry.

Later today LumpyG and I are heading to Minneapolis for the North East Folk Festival hosted by Baby Grant Johnson. It is at Grumpys Barand it is outdoors. I have been trying to find any information on the web about it but have not found any which means it should be great. I did hear a piece on public radio's "Word of Mouth" and I know that Seth Hogan and the Ashtray Hearts are playing. I believe it starts at 5PM, say hi if you see me.

Oh by the way. We will have our 1000th hit today. Thanks for stopping by.

2don't list

I thought I'd share my to don't list as an initial "hi how are ya". Actually I look at this as a kind of service because I was thinking Starfire's kitty was a bit under shaved..especially if he wants to go
skinny dipping and take pics

Baci 2dont:

1. Don't ever use the internet from the Chester Creek Cafe and expect to be able to play EQ. It's so unsatisfing to have your 48th level ranger wood elf entirely un-able to defeat the spectres from that island in the Oasis of Marr. Besides, appart from the mythical overtones of the game, the hippies are very confused by the whole thing.

2. Don't go to Canada on Canada Day..unless you actually are a Canadian. It's a bittersweet holiday with minor celebrations in pullbarns and lots of leftovers.

3. Don't stock up on elbow grease.

4. Don't Expect Brad until 45 minutes after you plan to meet with him...but when he's there...he's THERE, actually later on you come to find that he actually WAS there the whole time talking to Heimer.


5. Dont worry about not fitting it all in. Let some of it spill out and make the floor messy.

6. Don't call it "Skinny Dipping" when it's really "Chubby Dipping" or even "Fatty Dipping".

We're number 1!

Well we did it. We have achieved the number one ranking on Google for the search term "skinny dipping pics." I can't tell you how proud I am of all of you.

To Do List.

Now that I am home I must attend to the following.

1. Mow the lawn that has not been mowed in 12 days.

2. Update the tabs on my license plates.

3. Pay the 19 dollar ticket for not taking care of number 2 earlier.

4. Go skinny dipping in Lake Superior and take pics.

5. Pet my kitty.

i am so f%$#@ing tired

Back on home soil. Thank God and Northwest I'm home. All of our flights were on time and I was searched 3 times. If you were wondering, a hole punch is legal to travel with but you will be searched.

I am so tired I will finish this later today.

night night.

Go for the Gold, Baby

Now that we've climbed to #2 on the Yahoo "skinny dipping pics" search, it's essential for me to make this post, so that the words "skinny dipping pics" appear a few more times in the blog, which will perhaps push us to #1. By the way, #1 is a blog called It's Trouble by FCSuper, who is not nearly as proud of his position as he should be.

Here is a list of other phrases I'd like to include, just to attract more search engine pervies:

1. Atkins-compliant food sex
2. Vic Tayback's prostate
3. insectile bestiality
4. DTA sex
5. Sally Forth naked
6. semen-coated wedding ring
7. slowly removing her Tweety Bird "What Part of No Don't You Understand?" T-shirt
8. smothered in Campbell's Tomato Soup
9. Left Behind pornographic parody
10. Subway Jared "sandwich"

I apologize. When you work as a smut peddler, sometimes you become desensitized to both filth and low-grade humor.

last meal

Just had our last Radiohead catered meal. Most of us had the Pork but the Fried Chicken was the winner of the night.

Hollis and I spent some time walking around the promenade (the hallways which go in a circle around the stadium. is that what they are called?) Anyways, I got a Bull Fighting poster for Karla who finds the Matadors very sexy. I also sorta almost bumped into Thom Yorke while playing with Hollis and he gave me a very funny look. I can't help but look at famous people differently.

SO tomorrow night I arrive home at 9:30, just in time to head down to the Starfire Lounge. Maybe I will see some of you there.

Hail to the Thief!

lake monsters.

things seem to be getting a bit weird over in China, with whole flocks of lake monsters being sighted. it's time for Lake Superior's Pressie ("one of the world's most seldom seen lake monsters") to step up and claim a bit of spotlight from her Scottish and Chinese cousins.

the most recent, and my personal favorite Pressie sighting:

"In the middle 1990's, during the summer, fishermen watched in horror as a large aquatic animal pulled a wading buck deer under (leaving only it's severed head) near Point Iroquois, Michigan."

remember that on your next late night skinny dipping outing, Starfire.

no shoes

well just got back from my Madrid stroll and the Camper shoe store was closed for siesta. i bet you feel real bad for me. It also looks like 30,000 people could fit into the bullfighting ring. It is HUGE. More to come soon.

scotty

Madrid

Good morning from Madrid. We made some changes in our plans. We were going to take 2 days to get from Nimes, France to Madrid because it is a 12 hour drive but decided to do it all in one day so we could spend some time hanging out in Spain. I am glad we made that decision now but it was one hellofa long drive. We hit the road by about 9:30 yesterday morning and the oven was preheated to about 350 by noon.

Suddenly about 200 kilometersout of town the temperature dropped down to about 17 degrees celsius. Jackets were pulled out that had migrated to the bottoms of everyones bags. This morning the temp is still cool and the sun is as about as bright as I have ever seen.

Our hotel is just 2 blocks from the Bull fighting ring where the show will happen tonight. Hard to believe this is the last show and at this time tomorrow I will be on my way to Amsterdam-Mpls and then home to Duluth. This has reallty been a dream trip.

Nice to see so many new posts. Hi Tim and Jerree! I also am getting quite a kick out of the Doty pictures in place of the missing blogger pics. I will not miss him when he is gone.

Well I am going to head out and take the Metro into the center of town now. There is a Camper shoe store with my name on it. Everything is much cheaper in Spain and I love shoes.

bye-bye.

five books.

five books on my nightstand in various stages of un-read-ness (or already-read-and-reading-again-because-the-author-added-sixty-pages-to-the-second-edition-goddamn-him, in Eggers' case):

1. 'You Shall Know Our Velocity' | Dave Eggers
2. 'Pattern Recognition' | William Gibson
3. 'Radiance' | Carter Scholtz
4. 'The Shape We're In' | Jonathan Lethem
5. 'The Autograph Man' | Zadie Smith

dig that snazzy html action.

rusty.

my html is a bit rusty, so before i potentially embarrass myself i'm going to try to post a random link.

Preparing to Negotiate

Today I really need to know ... what should the rent be on a two-bedroom apartment in Duluth? A newly remodeled, extremely quiet, all-new-appliances, all-new-lighting-and-plumbing-fixtures, no-neighbors, all-utilities-included, regular-washer-and-dryer-in-the-basement, off-street-parking-with-garage, immaculate-yard-and-garden-that-is-nice-but-also-the-tenant's-responsibility, sort-of-smallish type of apartment. I know what a good deal would be, but where is the line between expensive and unreasonable?

Low Fan Linkage

This is nice. The rest of the site--Mass Distraction--is good, too. And, of course, there's a weblog.

I especially like the photography. What a friendly site--thanks for linking to us, Sharyn.

10,000 fans can't be wrong

Low is playing, the air has cooled a bit and the Lavender plant near me smells like heaven.

Anyone out there go to Green Man? Just wondering how things went. The only news I have is that the weather was great and there were many folks there. An inquiring mind wants to know. LumpyG?

Radiohead Box.

Happy Bastille day

We made it to Nimes. Last nice was spent on the edge of Nice, France and we did make it to the Mexican restaurant that we had been to before. They didn't fail us. I had the Chicken Enchiladas with Mole sauce and mmm mmm good. Right now I am in the dressing room outside of the Coliseum that Low is playing tonight. I can't believe that every venue just gets better and better. I think there may be 10,000 kids at the show tonight but Hollis and I will be at the un-airconditioned hotel. I sure hope we get out of the 90's.

Right now there are 3 people waiting to use this computer so I bid you adieu.

later.

scott**

Beaming with Pride

I'm very happy to report that we've been getting hits by someone typing the words "skinny dipping pics" into search engines. I'm even happier to report that if you do type "skinny dipping pics" into say, Yahoo, Perfect Duluth Day is ranked #6.

I am stuffed.

Just because there is alot of food to eat doesn't mean you have to eat it. This is a lesson that I try to learn over and over again.

Today was pretty slow. Remember what I said about being able to deal wit the heat? Well now I am not so sure. The humidity and heat picked it up a notch today so the planned bike ride was turned into short walks. Hollis kept saying "I can't take it so long" and I cant say I blame her.

So in between walks I spent a bunch of time watching the Tour De France. Today was the longest stage of the Tour and the first big mountain day. Lance and the Postal team led the Peleton all day but finished 6 minutes or so behind the winner. Mr. Armstrong remains in second place 2:34 behind the leader, a Frenchman whose name I can't remember.

Tomorrow is a day off and we will be driving to Nice, France. Last tour we spent a night there too and we are looking forward to returning to a Mexican restaurant that made some of the most memorable food of my life.

Now I am going to take a shower and relax.

till next time.

scott-starfire-lunt**

Ferraro, Italy. I just may move here.

I am sitting outside of the Radiohead production office listening to the last song of the Radiohead set realizing that Thom Yorke is one hell of a singer. I caught more of their show tonight than I have so far and it dawned on me just how much he sings. He is practically holding a note for nearly the whole 2 hour show.

We are in Ferraro, Italy by the way for the first of two nights and I think I may move here. The language is gorgeous, the city is perfect and I could handle the heat. We set off from Florence at mid-day after rescuing my digital camera from the restaurant we ate at last night. The drive went quickly, maybe because of the Harry Potter book I am caught up in or maybe just because it was only 90 miles. As is our custom we stopped for coffee at a gas station along the way. The gas stations in Europe are so much better, you can buy REAL food and get a decent cappucino.

Our hotel for the next two days is literally right behind the stage and very cozy. Tomorrow I am hoping to take one of the hotel bikes for a ride about the city. More about Ferrara. In my limited 10 block walk all I can say is WOW. Hollis and I went strolling during before Low took the stage and everywhere you look is perfect. I will try to post some pictures tomorrow but you really just have to come here to believe. The streets are paved wit small rocks that are just a handfull in size and irregular. Along the side of the very narrow roads are a smooth strip for riding bikes. The greatest thing about all of Italy is the shutters which people pull shut in the morning to combat the days heat. After about 5PM things start to cool down and the shutters are flung open to let in the coolness. By 10PM the air is perfect and there is always a slight breeze to wash away the days punishment.

What else? Oh beyond our regular 4 rooms in the hotel we have an extra suite for the dressing room and if you look out the window you can see the 6000 plus Radiohead fans pushing towards the front of the stage. On two sides is an old castle and the other sides are made up of our hotel and another one. The folks in the other hotel had the BEST view around for the show. I will try to capture this on my camera and post tomorrow.

I best be running now because the Radiohead office is closing and I am not sure if they will shut down the connection. Sleep tight and go to Green Man if you can.

lovelove

scotty

Lee, you're making it seem like we're all bored in Duluth. Hey, no matter where you are in the world, you gotta make your own fun, buddy.

Hello.

Back on the Radiohead bandwidth again and we are staying next door to a castle. More to come.

In the interest of accuracy add 7 hours to the time of post to make up for time zone differences.

day off

Well after 2 hard days of work we have a day off. The Radioheaddies may have packed up and headed north but we have stayed put in Florence. I am happy to report that the U.S.A. (me) has emerged victorius against Great Britain(tour manager Matt) in a 4 length hotel pool swim challenge. The race was won in the turns so I would like to send a big thank you to all of my swim coaches that made me work so hard on technique. I believe there may be a challenge later this evening with Mr Zak Sally getting into lane 3. I can beat that skinny Bass player anyday.

So show number 3 was awesome. Chris the sound guy has finally got the hang of mixing these outdoor shows and the band has a new found confidence. Alan was real chatty with the crowd last night and those Italians were eating it up. Low has been rocking it out a bit more than usual but they play the quiet ones too. I would say that 80 percent of the audience was really into listening and the whole crowd was quite respectful. AT one point I heard a request shouted out from the Radiohead tent for "Dinosaur Act" and when they did play it Colin ran up to the side stage and sang along. He said it was his favorite Low song.

Everybody has really been great to us and I will miss the Italians when we head off to France. Speaking of France the entertainment industry is currently on strike. That includes the stage hands and we may run into some protesting. The striking Frenchmen tried to stop a Rolling Stones show from happening yesterday but I believe the show went on as planned.

I guess that is about it for now. Tonight we are all going to dinner at 6 if anyone is in the neighborhood. Traditional Tuscan fare is our goal.

Oh the new photos at the top of the page were from the backstage area. Damn we are lucky. I wish everyone could be here.

Oh one more thing. The Tour De France coverage here is fantastic. They cover every stage from beginning to end on at least 2 channels and one is in English. I don't mind listening in French though.

scotty-the rawk nanny

He's a Photographer Now

Notice that the photos at the top of the page have changed to Starfire's photos of Florence, Italy. To see them larger, click here and here.

I'll post 'em when I get 'em. These shots are beautiful, but where are the people? The citizens of Duluth are jealous of your endeavors, Mr. Starfire, and need to see more skinny rock-star arms in order to be appeased.

God Bless Radiohead.

They have a wireless connection setup backstage and I am using Alans Mac with Airport to post this right now. Low just finished sound checking "Fearless" and life is real good. Now I can theoretically FTP photos as they are happening. Maybe I will just be a good nanny.

later

Hello. The timer says I have 11 minutes left and these foreign keyboards drive me nutty. Speaking of nutty, I had some Nuttela on my Croissant this morning. MMM-MMM good.

So we made it to Florence o.k. the drive was supposed to take 4 hours but really took 5 1/2 and there is no air conditioning which is not a problem if we keep moving. It is a problem when we get stuck in traffic. But really I am not complaining. The Florence shows are on the top of the biggest hill and the backstage area has a panoramic view of the city. I still don't have a good feel for the layout of Florence yet so I can't give you any landmarks.

We are all starting to feel a bit more comfortable with the Radiohead crew and band. Colin has been extra nice to us all and I even saw him singing along with the Low songs.

Highlights.

-Sitting on the stage with Hollis while the whole crowd of 6000 plus sang along on "the Lamb"

-Eating Gnocci with Pesto sauce while watching the sun set over Florence.

-Sittin on stage listening to In Metal and having Hollis fall asleep in my lap.

-Italian Coffee.

ONly 2 minutes left. I will try to get some more time soon. Right now I am going to dip in the pool.

out-----

Good morning from Bergamo, Italy.

Most of you are snug in bed while I type this. Today is our second full day of Radiohead mania and it is going very well. I really had no idea what to expect from these shows but I am happy to report things are pretty good. We arrived pretty early to the venue yesterday which was an enclosed Track and Field type of place right next door to a Football arena. That is soceer to us americanos. We were given our tour laminates and shown our dressing room which is normally used as a press conference room after football games. We decided to check into the hotel and kill some time until sound check.

Bergamo is a beautiful city and very clean, at least what I have seen is. The weather is in the 90's but the humidity is low and it cools off at night. The Italians have been wonderful to us and of course the food is great.

When we went back to the venue Radiohead was finishing up with there sound check and they sounded real good. As they came off the stage they all welcomed us which made me feel a bit more comfortable. I still feel like I shouldn't quite be back stage but I will get over it.

Today we are heading to Florence where they will play 2 shows and then we have a day off to explore and walk and see art and culture and drink wine. Yeah.

I am having fun getting to know Karla as well. She is a really great person who writes speeches for a democratic goverment type guy in New York when she is not off playing music. He may even be running for mayor i guess. Well it is almost time to head out of town so have a great day and I will update when I can.

Cacophany Forever

I found this link today over at Chuck's Blogumentary about the rising trend of "flash mobs" in NYC and now Minneapolis and San Francisco. Flash mobs are the shit--a large mob of strangers, usually numbering from 100-200, congregate at a particular place at a particular time in order to act out some sort of weirdness. At the last one in NYC, around 150 people showed up at the rug department at Macy's and told the clerks that they were a communal group from New Jersey, and that they were interested in purchasing a new "love rug" for the warehouse in which they lived.

A few months ago, I talked on my blog about cacophany societies, which are dedicated to spreading weirdness by throwing strange gatherings such as "bad Santa Claus outfit" parties, or by stunts such as filling teddy bears with cement and leaving them around town.

I need more free time.

I am in the home stretch of packing and preparing my household for two weeks on its own. Yesterday was suprisingly great. I normally dislike any sort of holidays except Thanksgiving, which is my favorite. I rode my bike to my favorite beach and dipped in the ice cold waters of Lake Superior. I even enjoyed watching all the families stuff themselves with light beer and hot dogs.

Last night was spent with friends on a deck with a million dollar view. We could see 3 different fireworks displays and several illegal displays as well.

Now I must finish packing. I will be using this site for my Low tour diary entries. I'll try to get some pics of the Radiohead guys.

take care.

Nudity

After the Low show and Starfire lounge last night several of us headed down to Park Point for the time honored tradition of late night skinny-dipping. This is occasionaly brought to an abrupt end by a visit from the man. We were only having a bonsai fire but the wine was gone and dawn was threatening to beat us on the head.

Low rulez.

I have seen many Low shows over the years but tonight they were firing on 9 cylinders. Mr. Zak Sally even busted out some dance moves. Italy here we come.

seeing Lumpy's photo on the left sidebar there reminds me just why he's the wind beneith my wings.

Low tonight. 8PM-Spirit of the North Theatre.

Just got home from the Low sound check. Karla Schickele of Ida and Beekeeper is performing with them. Karlas dad is Peter Schickele of PDQ Bach fame. Hope to see some of you there.

i sure hope Starfire's not having premonitions about my death.

Things I could do when I was 17, that I can't do anymore

• Eat an entire box of Honey Comb cereal.
  
• Bench press a whole lot more than my own weight.
  
• Tolerate Bono.
  
• Fantasize about Eleanor Donahue from Father Knows Best.
  
• Spend hot summer days jumping off a Tarzan rope into Lester River, instead of sitting at a computer terminal.
  

8 Things about myself that you may not know.

1. I am from Austin, MN. home of Hormel. When they kill the pigs, there is a very oppresive smell in certain parts of town. I like that smell. I also like the smell of a good skunk spray on a humid summer night.

2.In 6th grade I was appointed to the crossing guard patrol in the midst of a pornography scandal. Several quality patrol members were fired after looking at a Playboy. Little did they know I was the one who brought it to school. I still feel a little bad about it.

3. I have completed one Ironman Triathlon. I was 17. You can do anything when you are 17.

4. My goal is to have all of my furniture on wheels.

5. I prefer my Tuna packed in water over oil.

6. I keep track of all my gas purchases. Miles-location of purchase-price per gallon-quantity-total amt.

7. Red is fast becoming my favorite color. Orange is still #1, Green #2 but that red is winning me over.

8. I have had premonitions of peoples deaths. Watch out.

What are you talking about? Technology isn't scary at all.

Right now, the office so dark it feels like it's night. There are crows fighting in the alley outside my window. I've got no work in my inbox, a screen full of blog in front of me, plans for a lunch date, and I'm wearing a shirt with a picture of the space shuttle on it. Life is very, very good.

These are a few of my favorite things.

1. Hoof Mints
2. No Depression magazine
3. The Meat Purveyors
4. Zebra Cakes
5. The Scud Mountain Boys

more faves to come.

spending time with friends at their home is better than spending time at bars.

Triplexuals

Barrett is wondering if Triplexuals exist anymore.

love

starfire

Good morning. I have a feeling I won't get anything accomplished today. My plane for Europe leaves on Saturday and I have a mile-long list of tasks to complete. I guess I will start with some lawn mowing. must-tear-self-away-from-computer.

Duluth finally has phone sex commercials. I can move now.

Viva Las Vegas. Why do I always have that last beer?