Okay, I'm Back and Stuff

And I'm going to celebrate leaving Texas with this most excellent Star Wars mashup using the, err, opening of Dallas.

(seen via @beacoupkevin on Twitter)

ps. Speaking of Twitter I'm doing daily polls now... planning to publish results/interesting comments here so please JOIN IN @mspark. Yesterday's "Who would you rather be, The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?" poll had the Stones taking an early and decisive lead but ended up nearly even once the ladies chimed in. DOESN'T THIS SOUND FUN?!

Back to the loafing.

This Week in Walker, Texas Ranger

This happened tonight. I don't even understand.



Chicken bag



Walker, Texas Ranger

Help me figure it out.

In other news... I have a photo on Miles Davis' homepage and Joe Bonsall from The Oak Ridge Boys is following me on Twitter... and told me I'm cool... on Twitter.

Today has been just bananas all around. I totally stole that word from my friend Anna. I can't stop using it.

I will be home - Kentucky style - Saturday night - for six months straight. The happiness that is inside me CANNOT BE CONTAINED! This is the first time I'll be in one place for six months in seven years. I can hardly believe it.

Life's been good to me so far...

What I'm Listening to Right This Very Second - Cool Night

For some reason my inner 10-year old is dying to get out these days. I just wrote a love letter to The Oak Ridge Boys on the SXSW blog and now this...

I used to listen to Paul Davis' "Cool Night" like mad and dream of romance with Andy Gibb and Donny Osmond (though not at the same time - I was 10, people!).

Davis passed away last year and that's probably when I found out what he looked like. NOT WHAT I EXPECTED! But that's what made the late 70s/early 80s so freaking great. You didn't have to look like some kind of Calvin Klein model. You could just be a normal dude, makin' your music, hangin' out, growin' your beard...

Crap, I am officially old.

OMG I Was There - Kind of Blue at 50 Edition

Pictured: George Avakian, Quincy Jones, Rolling Stone's David Fricke and Erin Davis.

I'm so sorry I didn't do a Pick Three for tonight's shows, but a) I'm sure you made your merry way through the night quite well without me talking about That Petrol Emotion and how I used to listen to "Hey Venus" over and over, and b) I was too busy shooting THE COOLEST PICTURE I WILL EVER TAKE.

Not the best. Not the most perfectly composed, but by God, this shot epitomizes the phrase "Respect Your Elders."

Earlier in the blogging season we established that I am not a huge jazz afficionado, but I have a lot of respect for Miles Davis and his amazing legacy. I was fortunate enough to see him in concert in London just two and a half months before he passed away.

Today's Kind of Blue at 50 panel reminded me of the best parts of Davis. It was full of musical education, once in a lifetime stories and a reminder of the rich history that brings us all together here at ye olde SXSW.

When Quincy Jones joined in as the talk was nearly over and proceeded to do impressions of Miles asking Herbie Hancock if he liked his new shoes (an example of their onstage banter) and telling Jones "Everybody knows that's my shit," when he asked him to sign a painting, it was just... totally bananas. The back and forth dialogue between him and legendary jazz producer George Avakian, who turned 90 this week (90! And he was more lucid than half the people I know), was a total delight... one of those rare and special SXSW moments that appear like magic... you can't believe your eyes... but here's the photographic proof.

My goodness, it's 2 am... don't want to make it to 3 am eternal so I'll be off. Back at you in the morning.

(re-post from SXSW)

I SAW WAX FANG TONIGHT AT SXSW

And they were so freaking good. No wonder Tom said they were his favorite live band ever.

Now he's off watching Patrick play percussion with Dan Auerbach and I am... at work.

Boo!!

I am blogging and Twittering up a storm at SXSW. Follow me around there (if you want), and I will try to check back in at the homeslice as often as I can.

(I didn't shoot this Wax Fang video. I found it on the internets!)

What I'm Listening to Right This Very Second - Girrrrl

You might wonder why I have time to torture you with Davy Jones' Brady Bunch appearance.

I'm waiting for our printer to do its mind numbing crawl of one page per millennia... that's why.

This one's for Anna.

MMJ's Tom Blankenship at Marvel.com & SXSW.com

Ok, so I'm just plugging a) another blog post of mine and b) an article that has some words in it but also talks about me.

I've decided it's all about me, you see. That's going to work out really well, I bet.

Just kitten!

I wanted to share the Marvel.com interview because if you know Tom, you know what a huge huge Marvel fan he is so this interview was purty special for him. So, go read it and stuff!!

Also, I made him do my blog feature because I'm lazy and start off by asking people I know to do it. So if you're headed to SXSW or if you want to know three bands he likes right now... go read it and stuff!!

Okay, back to work WHY IS IT SO GD HOT?!!!

What I'm Listening to Right This Very Second - Midsummers Daydream

Rik Emmett I LUV U!!

Sorry this is brief but really, my life is sort of insane right now. The posting might be sporadically as this is the week where hiding under the bed is not an option but my biggest wish.

What I'm Listening to Right This Very Second - Islands In the Stream

When I saw Jim and Nicole Atkins do this at MSG on NYE I thought well... what can top that?!

ONLY BARRY GIBB AND OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN, YO!! Although, I kind of have to be honest here and say I thought Nicole was better. And her face was all hers. What the hell, Olivia?!!

(many thanks to beffery)

An Important Message from Kevin Church

Please read, everyone.

In other news, though the call to Twitter with me has resulted in some of you following (thank you), it's also had the deleterious effect of half naked spam bots following me around to tell me about their new laptops. NOT COOL!

The LP Questionnaire - Marc Maron

I was going to write a pithy intro about Marc Maron and all his many, many, many, many, many, many accomplishments (he was on Conan 42 times!), but he sent me a little mini-bio that is way more amusing than anything I could come up with so here goes...

"Marc Maron is a standup comic, author, actor, radio personality, feral cat wrangler and a Jew. His recent accomplishments include accidentally running over a large Possum in his driveway and then crying AND doing an afternoon Google research project to find out who his ex-wife is sleeping with and then crying. His book, The Jerusalem Syndrome: My Life as a Reluctant Messiah, is out of print and overpriced by vendors who think it might have some collectors value. His two CDs, Not Sold Out and Tickets Still Available are reasonably priced and available. He's been on HBO, Conan, Letterman, Air America and Comedy Central. His new solo show, Scorching the Earth, is a brokenhearted comedy bile fest for the emotionally traumatized seeking relief. He is currently a co-host of the live daily internet video show, Breakroom Live with Maron and Seder, on Air America. You can also do the www.marcmaron.com thing."

See... some might call me lazy, I just call Mr. Maron a far better writer than I. Me?

More evidence here, in his fabulosin LP Questionnaire!!

Name: Marc Maron
Pro Wrestling Name: Fusion Slate. Sounds more like a list of candidates from a political party in the future. (Though I think we may have our first Fusion president now.)

1. Pretend you’re 15. Name three songs you'd put on a mix tape for your girlfriend/boyfriend.
I was 15 in 1978 three songs on a mixed tape:
Wild One Forever-Tom Petty
Watching the Detectives - Elvis Costello
The Jean Jeanie - David Bowie

2. Which evil villain would make the best President? Edward G Robinson as Rico in Little Caesar. "You'll shut up and take this stimulus package, see. I'm the new boss in the oval office, see. You republicans are all washed up, see. Now get out."

3. What was your favorite cartoon as a child? The Roadrunner - it serves as a template for almost all of the romantic relationships in my life. I, of course, am Wile E. Coyote.

4. What superpower do you wish you had? Emotional boundaries-some kind of psychic body shield to keep crazy street people and dangerous women from walking into my soul

5. What would the title of your autobiography be? Explosive Despair - The Way Too Long Angry Life and Times of Marc Maron

This is a repository from my SXSW blog. I gots these things comin' out my ears these days and they are ALL GOOOOOOOOD.

The LP Questionnaire - Janeane Garofalo

Janeane Garofalo is way smarter than me. Way funnier than me. And that's perfectly fine. The queen of supremely dry wit, she embodied a cool that I could maybe grasp for fleeting seconds (and with Criscoed fingers) in my 20s.

I ask LPQ participants to send over some random factoids so I can whip up my little dork city intros. She wrote, "I have chronic back pain and I think I have an inner ear infection."

You know Garofalo from her stand-up, movie/tv performances and time on Air America. She's a political activist, and I always enjoy her appearances on Real Time with Bill Maher (though I seem to be the only person I know who watches that show).

It made my day when I got her responses to The LP Questionnaire.

Name: Janeane Garofalo
Pro Wrestling Name: Red Skye

1. Pretend you're 15. Name three songs you'd put on a mix tape for your girlfriend/boyfriend. 1980- Anything from Joe Jackson's "I'm the Man" album.

2. Which evil villain would make the best President? The one that was the illegitimate president for the past eight years, Dick Cheney

3. What was your favorite cartoon as a child? Kimba the White Lion

4. What superpower do you wish you had? The ability to get a lot done in a day

5. What would the title of your autobiography be? I Can't Seem to Get Anything Done in a Day

Boy oh boy, I can't either.

Hey kids, hope you enjoyed!

Tweeted

I'm on Twitter now... because I so enjoy learning to love things I once hated.

I think you can follow me and my inanity here.

Are you guys twits? Now that I twhirl and ping, twittering doesn't seem so complicated and disturbing.

Let's not talk about how I've set all this stuff up while doing 90 bazillion other things.

Also - poll: 2010... two thousand ten or twenty ten?

I think I need to sleep now.

I Just Sat Through This

So now I'm going to spread the pointlessness. I liked the pi sign, anyway. The rest just seemed like a lot of work to have a beer.

What I'm Listening to Right This Very Second - Seven Nation Army

LIKE YOU'VE NEVER HEARD IT BEFORE!!!

Holy. Moly. Cow.

The LP Questionnaire - Dax Shepard

A Short Film by Dax Shepard


This was originally intended for the SXSW website but then Dax had to return to movieland and isn't coming to le fest.

However, his LP Questionnaire was so freaking funny it had to get publicized somewhere.

I'm posting a short film he wrote and directed and it contains some swear type words so YA BEEN WARNED!

So here you go, peoples. Sorry there's not a witty and amazing intro, but I am about to lose what little brain I have left in these final hours. I think this is what that Europe "Final Countdown" song was all about.

He was hilarious in Idiocracy, he's hilarious here.... Dax Shepard does The LP Questionnaire.

Name: Dax Shepard

1. Pretend you're 15. Name three songs you'd put on a mix tape for your girlfriend/boyfriend. If it were 1990, and I was 15, I would woo my lady with a mix of "Love My Way" by The Psychedelic Furs, "Birthday" by Sugarcubes and "Eye Know" by De La Soul. I might just cheat though, and buy her the Valley Girl soundtrack.

2. Which evil villain would make the best President? I think Lex Luthor would make an outstanding president. He is the ultimate problem solver. "You say Superman can only be defeated by this mythical substance called kryptonite? Uh-uh, and it's not found here on Earth? No problem. I'll have some by Thursday."

3. What was your favorite cartoon as a child? Super Friends was my favorite cartoon. Specifically the episodes with The Green Lantern. My friends and I always argued about who was the toughest. Superman was usually their favorite, but I thought The Green Lantern would destroy him. My understanding of his ring was that it could create ANYTHING, including a man twice as strong as Superman.

4. What superpower do you wish you had? I would like the superpower of turning into Brad Pitt when I wanted.

5. What would the title of your autobiography be? My autobiography would be entitled, Horse Power. If I am ever famous enough to have my own line of celebrity cologne, I intend on calling that "Horse Power" too. It's a very provocative name, and I think it would move a lot of product. I envision the commercial for Horse Power (the Book or Cologne) having me command a Team of Eight Clydesdales from the seat of an old-timey carriage, all while shirtless and agitated.

Thanks for reading. You're cool.

OMG THIS IS TOTALLY NEAT x 1,000,000

Go to there now and have some funky.

Thanks to roommate Andy for this one.

The Fairness Campaign - Senate Bill 68

To Senate Bill 68 and those who would pass it, I say, "WHAT THE HELL? How does this evolve us?!! Who are we as people that discrimination like this is even an option?!!!" I would probably follow this statement with a lot of swear words and possibly some tears.

I'm glad Jim put it so much more kindly and eloquently. He really blows me away sometimes (a lot of times).

"Hello friends. Sadly, right now in Kentucky they are trying to pass some harmful legislation preventing same sex couples from adopting, etc and we are seeing more and more of this kind of hateful action all over the map... Needless to say it is so very important that we all try to look out for each other's basic human and civil rights... I believe that no human being should ever have to suffer discrimination... a loving person/couple should be allowed to marry whomever they choose to love as well as lovingly raise children that need and deserve to be adopted and taken care of. I think if more of us speak out together about these basic civil rights issues perhaps we can move the world towards a greater understanding of universal love, sweet love and treating others as you would wish to be treated. There cannot ever be enough love in this world... Let's make more and more of it any way we can. Please check out the Fairness Campaign website for more info on what you can do.

Thanks, Jim James"

On a personal note, I was raised by white, Christian heterosexuals, and I've touched briefly on how that did not go so well... So, from experience, I have to opine that no home is perfect but love, and just... consciousness... about raising kids goes a long, long way, right? To those who want to give it a go... LET THEM GO!

The argument that these kids will be stigmatized by being raised by gay parents really irks me, too. If people would stop stigmatizing it they wouldn't have anything to worry about, now would they?!!

What I'm Listening to Right This Very Second - Samskeyti

Though I'm tempted to make a joke about how "Samskeyti" sounds like when kids mess up the word "spaghetti," I won't.

I miss Iceland (home of Sigur Ros). All that volcanic rock and blue blue water. Everything felt exotic and clear. A beautiful day and a dinosaur egg and then we were back to reality.

This week kicked the ass that is mine and next week will only be worse. But somewhere in there lies this moment and, you know, a kind of second of bliss.

The LP Questionnaire - Margaret Cho

The LP Questionnaire returns today with one of my favorite comedians Margaret Cho!!

I've long been a fan and not just because of girl power or Koreanism or anything.

Ms. Cho is performing all over the place at the SXSW thing so if you're in Austin (or headed that way), you go to there!

I'm a fortunate type that the badass lady who once did shots of vodka with Gorbachev took time out to do my little survey.

So, without further ado...

Name: Margaret Cho
Pro Wrestling Name: Voluptuous Dame

1. Pretend you're 15. Name three songs you'd put on a mix tape for your girlfriend/boyfriend.

Oh no. 1986!
Total Eclipse of the Heart
Forever Young
Pretty in Pink

2. Which evil villain would make the best president? The Joker

3. What was your favorite cartoon as a child? Peanuts

4. What superpower do you wish you had? I wish I could fly.

5. What would the title of your autobiography be? I Totally Made That Up

Everybody wants to fly... I've never had that desire, I have to say . Unless I could be like Lois Lane flying with Superman or something. That says something bad about me, I think.

The LPQ returns very soon with Marc Maron, Dax Shepard, Janeane Garofalo and other people who are way way funnier than me.

I'm turning into a Cadbury Mini Egg as I write.

'NIGHT!

ps. I confess this is a re-post from the SXSW Blog.

What I'm Listening to Right This Very Second - Don't I Hold You

One of the most lovely, haunting songs existing in the universe right now with one of the most... interesting... videos existing in my field of vision. I have to admit... it's kind of sexy time. In point of fact, is this work safe? I would have to think so considering the plethora of questionable images I'm bombarded with on a daily basis.

I, like many others, have had a long affair of the heart with "Don't I Hold You." I even made the trek down to Fais Do Do by myself in the year 2000 just to see it like I hear it and it was even better then.

Wheat are headed towards Austin town for the SXSW thing I work on. I am going to RELIVE THE MAGIC, PEOPLE.

Rediscovering Old Loves - Subdvisions

I'm still at work. Boo hoo, right? But work doesn't have to suck because I have the internets! Which means I can futz around and post Rush videos... which means I'll only be here later... which means I'm possibly not too bright.

But I'm getting off point. This is one of my favorite Rush tracks and I love that the vid features a guy playing Tempest, the best video game ever!

I used to stand on the fence in my backyard when I was 13 and listen to this song while watching the cars move on in the distance... hoping I could go to there.

Wonderfulness - Patricia Waller Style

Found at ffffound.

See more awesomeness at Patricia Weller's site.

One of Us - Work Is Getting Out of Hand Edition

Gooble gobble, Jamie.

US Airways Flight 1549 Reconstruction

This is just crazytime. People might be tired of Chesley B. Sullenberger, but this re-creation, including the audio transmissions between pilot and Air Traffic Control, is purty amazing.

It's That Time of the Year Again - Frosted Flakes Edition

March is when I'm drowning in work for SXSW so the blogging becomes infinitely sparse. Apologies for this, but I do have some LP Questionnaires coming up with Margaret Cho, Dax Shepard, Janeane Garofalo and more.

In the meantime, I made noises somewhere sometime about posting a Frosted Flakes commercial...



Happy Monday (is there such a thing?)