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Isn’t that a great name for a band?

For Christmas just about all Nathaniel wanted was cash so he could go to shows, so that’s what he got. Problem is I don’t want to be spending money for me to go to shows now that Daniel’s unemployed, and he doesn’t have a driver’s license. Since Dillon wouldn’t go with him to see this band he wanted to see, Animals As Leaders, Nathaniel sprang for my ticket and I took him.

The show was at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go. Famous venue (the Doors played there!) but totally lame. Any venue on the Sunset Strip is lame…but the Whiskey packs like 8 bands on a bill and lets them all play about 4 songs. And some of the bands actually pay the venue to be able to play there.

Some thoughts during the opening bands.

First band (that we saw): Will someone just stick a fork in my eyeball already?

Second band: Bubblegum metal…How much more cookie cutter can you get?…Can I stick a fork in his eyeball?

Third band: Closed my eyes and almost went to sleep.

Animals As Leaders were awesome. I wasn’t sure what to expect since I didn’t know anything about them, but they’re doing stuff I’ve never seen anyone else do. Two guitarists on 8-string guitars, with a drummer, and no vocals. Their songs are proggy/mathy. They have heavy moments and they have soft moments. There were a couple laptops in use too, for samples I think. Or drum loops or something.

It’s always awesome to see a black guy in a metal band. And he rips on guitar.

The crowd loved them, which I was a little surprised by, since they’d also loved some of the previous bands that were like torture to me. There was even a big pit going, which was interesting—I don’t really see their music as something to mosh to.

Sad part—one of the guitarists had intrument/equipment problems, and it took awhile for him to get it fixed. They only played five songs!

Here’s what they sound like:

…about Daniel.

1. When you turn on a video camera, he turns into a goofball:

2. Sometimes, not often, but sometimes, he’ll jump up for no reason and start moving around in a funny way. I suppose you could call it “dancing.”

3. He’s super smart. In all the areas that I’m not.

4. He loves both Fergie and Exodus.

5. His favorite radio stations are KDAY, which plays old school hip hop, and Christian talk radio. He generally laughs at one of them. I’ll let you figure out which.

6. He has recently taken up knitting and makes really cool beanies. I’d post a picture but I don’t have any…I’ll work on that.

7. He makes me laugh.

8. He never does anything halfway.

9. He makes me a better person. As irritating as that can be sometimes.

10. He tries to build up the people around him. Consciously tries. And does.

11. He understands me. He knows that when I need time alone it’s not in any way a reflection on my feelings for him.

12. He’s a good dad. And he tries to be. The other day he was asking the kids what he can do to make them feel loved. The answers were things he already does regularly: hug them and tell them he loves them.

13. He shares my taste for bad TV. Tonight we’re watching Criminal Minds. And we’re excited about it.

14. He’s fearless.

15. He actually likes my cooking. And no, there’s no particular reason this comes after #14.

16. He will occasionally admit to liking a chick flick. But only if it in some way is relatable to us. Isn’t that sweet?

17. He’s got amazing hair. And he’ll do unexpected thing with it, like this:

Get a perm

Bleach it white

Get a mullet

18. Need I say more?

19. He once dressed up as a priest for Halloween, and suggested I dress up as a pregnant nun.

(Actually the pregnant part may have been my idea. But note the black hair–we can’t remember him dying it black, but apparently he did!)

20. He’s my favorite person in the whole world.

21. After 21 years of being married, our favorite thing is still to spend time together. Happy anniversary!

Daniel in high school:

Daniel now:

I’ve only heard it about three times though.

Go Alison!

Last night Daniel and I were watching TV and a commercial for the new movie, Valentine’s Day, came on.

Daniel: “That movie has so many big stars in it and it looks so stupid.”

Me, all disgusted: “That’s cuz it’s about Valentine’s Day. Who cares about Valentine’s Day?”

Pause.

Me: “Am I like the most unromantic spouse ever?”

Daniel: “Yes. And it rules.”

Do you know who this song is about?

It’s about the serial killer John Wayne Gacy, Jr. I tend to embrace the grisly, so I love this song. Another good song about a killer is “Diane” by Husker Du. It’s creepy because it’s told from the point of view of the killer. But Sufjan takes it a step further—he asks what we have in common with a killer. It’s disturbing.

And brilliant.

Here is the restaurant I mentioned eating at during my photo walk around the eastside of Long Beach, a little taco place, where the kitchen/cashier area was barred off from the seating area:

I think that’s all I’ve uploaded so far from Long Beach. That window you see in the back is the walk-up window, you can order from the sidewalk.

We’ve had rain here so it’s been hard to get out much. I went to the park one day with Cat and her boyfriend when it was raining. Here they are reflected in a mud puddle:

It’s rare that we get rain around here. But all last week we were soaked.

I took this picture of a tree and bushes next to a wall that surrounds a gated housing development before we headed home:

I almost didn’t get it because I had to cross the street to get over to it and by this time we were really cold. But it was calling to me. I’m glad I took it. You can see the same wall on the left in this photo:

The park we went to overlooks the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, but you have to climb through bushes to see it.

I managed to catch some graffiti being removed the other day also, when I was on my bike:

That was taken with a fisheye camera.

Here’s a picture Cat took of me driving the truck awhile ago:

Wish I had more to say…I’m pretty braindead today!

In case you missed his farewell on the Tonight Show last night. Very classy. And what he says at the end is very powerful.

We’ve had a series of storms here this week. It’s been really windy and rainy, but nothing too remarkable. Except for the tornado that turned over a boat in the harbor, and another that flipped a (non-occupied) minivan.

When we first moved here, our swimming pool area flooded, but so far it hasn’t been that bad for us. Here are pictures from that past winter:

I’m not sure how long this weather is supposed to last, maybe we’ll get more flooding again this time. But so far we’ve been OK.

Yesterday before the rain started I drove over to Long Beach to take pictures. I wasn’t sure exactly where I was going to go, and I ended up in the neighborhood where my doctor’s office is. I’ve always wanted to walk around there with a camera. When I got there it was lunch time so I stopped at a little Taco place where you can get tacos for a dollar. While waiting at a table inside the little restaurant, I noticed that not only did the windows of the building have bars on them, but the cooking area with the cash register was also barred. Like a little prison cell inside the place. That was my first clue maybe I wasn’t in a great area.

I mean, it’s obvious my doctor’s office isn’t in a great area when you first get there. But this was a little worse than I thought.

I gobbled down my tacos (so yummy) and walked down the block. I saw an old drug store I wanted to get a picture of, but I noticed someone in an upstairs window staring outside with his arms crossed, and I thought, that guy might not be too happy if I start taking pictures of him. Second clue.

As I kept walking down the street, I noticed people in shop windows with their noses practically pressed to the glass, looking outside. There were a couple cop cars on a side street across the street from where I was and the cops were on the corner talking to two men. I couldn’t tell what was going on but it didn’t look like anything major. But people were like crawling out of the woodwork to see what was going on. Third clue.

Then I realized the only graffiti I’d seen was a gang graffiti tag. Duh. Totally must be a gang neighborhood.

So I kept walking down to the next light, snapping pictures of buildings, then crossed the street. There was an empty lot that someone had turned into a garden. It was all fenced and gated off, but from the way some of the planter boxes were decorated, it was obviously something kids were involved in. I thought that was neat. It was also right next to where the cops were. As I walked by them they didn’t glance at me. But I looked across the street and there were people standing in doorways all up the street watching whatever the cops were doing.

Totally reminded me of when we lived in a gang neighborhood and they’d pull someone over on our street. Everyone in the neighborhood would go out on their porches to watch as they surrounded the car with their guns drawn and had the driver exit the car slowly with his hands in view.

Haven’t finished off the rolls of film, so I haven’t developed the pictures yet. I’ll post a few when I do.

I’ve been waiting and waiting for American Idol to start back up. Pathetic, really.

The day it was coming back on, I called Daniel to see when he’d be home. I asked him if he knew what was happening that night. He said, “Uh, the most greatest thing in the history of the world?”

That distracted me. What exactly did he think was happening that night?

“Doesn’t your show start back up tonight?”

He knows me so well.

I was watching tonight and Elijah was strumming on his guitar on the couch next to me. He said something but I shushed him. Then I realized what he’d been doing. “You were just playing along with that singer?”

“Yeah. It’s easy to figure out and predict pop songs.”

Can’t remember now exactly what song it was. Possibly “Summertime.”

And now thanks to one of those last auditioners I have this song stuck in my head:

(Elijah groaned when that guy made it through. He said there are kids just like him at his school who carry a guitar around and “play like this”—he strummed two or three chords softly over and over–”and then they say it took them a year to write it!”)

So far I don’t really have any great favorites, except the Mormon guy from last week and um, I forget who else. The hill billy girl was awesome. Oh wait here she is:

Her singing starts at 1:50 or so. What can I say, I love hillbilly music. Don’t believe me?