Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Huxley

This is my beautiful cat Huxley.


Huxley's a special kitty. I've never met a cat so willing to play at the drop of a hat. She's a happy cat. Always wanting to be happy and make others happy.



Huxley's a tough kitty too. She's battled infections, a serious wound on her foot, and seizures. She's always beaten it. However, it was the disease she was born with that she could never beat.

Huxley died this evening. Her leukemia she was born with finally became too much to overcome. She was young, only six-years-old, but that's pretty old for a cat with leukemia. Huxley was an indoor kitty, but is now in a soon-to-be beautiful new garden. She finally able to be outdoors with the birds and blowing leaves she loved watching all day.



I remember first seeing Huxley. My mother picked her out from the pound as a gift for me. Huxley was very tiny, barely over a month old. She literally could sit in my hand. She was kind of a runt even all grown up, but I've never met a cat with as much personality as Huxley.

I'll miss so much about her. I loved the ways she slept. She could curl up into a basket much too small for her and somehow stay comfortable.


I'll miss the way she would lay on her back and show how happy and content she was with a big smile. Her "cocoon" pose, I'd call it.


Most of all, I'll miss the constant companionship Huxley gave me. She was always at the door to greet me when I came home. After work she would jump up on my lap and rub my chin with her face for what seemed to be forever..... always excited to just be near somebody that loved her back. Everybody loved her back too. I know countless people that say they're not "cat people" but love Huxley. She was something special.
Huxley was always a handful. She had more energy than I did, always. She could be destructive at times. She'd always find strange places to hide, usually somewhere just barely within her reach and way out of my reach. But for any headache she gave me, it was always worth it. She gave me much more than I could have ever given her.
When I first learned she had leukemia, I knew I'd have to prepare for this day. It's not easy though. That day, I decided to do everything I could to make her life the best any kitty could get. I think I did a pretty good job. She was happy and personable to the very end. I'm glad I could give her an ounce back for everything she gave me. Huxley was my kitty. My only kitty. And I loved her the best I could.
I love you Huxley. I always will. You made me happy to the very end and I will always be happy thinking about you. Thank you for everything you gave me. I'll miss you very much, and I will always love you.
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Sunday, July 22, 2007

Late Twenties

Last Tuesday was my 27th birthday. That's officially late twenties, right? Well, it may have been my best birthday..... EVER!!

Well actually I didn't do too much, but it was pretty sweet.

It kinda started Monday. We all went out to a great dinner at the Hill Cafe. (I had the meatloaf.... delicious!!) Then we converged downtown at Sumo San for saki bombs. Late in the evening we met at Baja Bean to finish off the drinking (with plenty of Big Buck Hunter and skiball mixed in).

Tuesday was nice and relaxing and very surprising. Spent most of the day at my co-director's house by the pool. Molly and I exhausted ourselves by jumping on the big trampoline for way too long. The surprises came from the loot I got.

First I got a nice Plan 9 gift certificate from my co-director which I used to get:

Fiery Furnaces - Gallowsbird's Bark
The National - Boxer
Palace Brothers - Days in the Wake

Molly's parents really surprised me with a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate. They really didn't need to get me anything, but it was great. I picked up a ton of great music using my smart shopping skills:

Autumn Defense - s/t
Beck - Midnite Vultures
Broken Social Scene - Feel Good Lost
The Cure - Wish
Serge Gainsbourgh - Histoire de Melody Nelson
Serge Gainsbourgh - L'Homme a la Tete de Chou
Serge Gainsbourgh - Aux Armes et Caetera

That gift was surprise enough, but Molly's gift was a sure stunner. I emailed some suggestions to her earlier in the week, with some gags at the end of the list. Well she got me one of the gags. Imagine my surprise when I unwrapped my gift to find a Playstation 3 staring at me. I thought I was dreaming. Not because of the gift, but trying to figure out how I ended up with the coolest chick on the planet.

Thanks Molly!!
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Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Huge release for me today. One of my favorite bands, Spoon, released Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.

This is one of those few releases that actually gets me out of bed early on my weekend. That way I can get to the store early enough to spend the whole day listening to it. Unfortunately I had a ton of errands to run in the process (well actually, since it's payday, that's not a bad thing). Still I made sure to go to the record store first so I could listen to it while I drove around. And I did. And I love this freaking album.
This might be Spoon's strongest album yet. I was immediately happy to hear a bit more Kill the Moonlight sound leaking through (that's my favorite Spoon album). More than their last album, Gimme Fiction, at least. As much as I loved Gimme Fiction, I guess I was a little disappointed compared to Kill the Moonlight. This latest album, however, sounds like a mix of the two albums. Plenty of piano, crumpled guitar sounds, and just sexiness all around. This band is just so freaking cool. It's the sound of David Bowie, if he was from Austin.
You must buy this album. Get it quickly too so you can pick up the bonus disc, Get Nice! It's quite different from Gimme Fiction's bonus disc. This one flows more like an extra album, coming in and out of tune. It's almost like walking down a street and a different version of Spoon is rehearsing in every building you walk past. Okay, so these songs are kind of throw-aways, but it still has twelve extra songs..... that's two more than the album itself. Also go to your local indie store to get the bonus 7'.
After just one listen, I can easily say Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is rushing right near the top of my favorite releases of the year. As great as Spoon is at their craft, they have definitely perfected their sound with this release. It's just perfect. Perfect length and no snoozers. It's just flat-out an incredible release.
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Tuesday, July 03, 2007

SuSh 07.03.07

It's Tuesday.... my Sunday. The laundry is done. I've played enough Word Mojo to numb my hands. My eyes are blurry from reading most of the day (halfway through Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone?). Nothing on TV. I'm currently working my way through all of the Sopranos DVDs with Netflix, but just finished season one this afternoon and have no more. Still waiting on my Cure album through Amazon. Nothing to do!

Well I guess I could....

Current track count: 8993

1. Weezer - "Pink Triangle [live]" (The Good Life [single])

(By the way, did you hear Weezer is finishing recording their new album?)

2. Feist - "Honey Honey" (The Reminder)

3. Incubus - "Mexico" (Morning View)

(I just had a conversation at the bar Sunday about Incubus. They topped my list of bands I really shouldn't like, but do.)

4. Todd Snider - "I Am Too" (Viva Satellite)

5. Ryan Adams - "English Girls Approximately" (Love is Hell)

(My iPod must be in a country mood.)

6. They Might Be Giants - "Counterfeit Fake" (Then: The Early Years)

(This was on my last Shuffle. Why? It's probably the most annoying song ever!)

7. Bruce Springsteen - "Dry Lightning" (The Ghost of Tom Joad)

(These last three songs..... worst transition ever!!)

8. The Police - "Truth Hits Everybody [live]" (Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings)

9. Superchunk - "Half a Life" (Superchunk)

10. Death Cab for Cutie - "I Was a Kaleidoscope" (The Photo Album)

11. Smog - "Puritan Work Ethic" (Sewn to the Sky)

12. Elliott Smith - "Strung Out Again" (From a Basement On the Hill)

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Monday, July 02, 2007

Pause

The spring's massive music splurge is over after the releases of new stuff from the White Stripes and Ryan Adams. However, there is only about a week for the summer schedule for kick into gear. I'm looking ahead all the way to October. Here's my shopping list:

July 10: Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
July 24: John Vanderslice - Emerald City
Aug. 7: Okkervil River - The Stage Names
Aug. 21: New Pornographers - Challengers
Aug. 21: Rilo Kiley - Under the Blacklight
Sept. 18: Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew - Spirit If...
Sept. 25: Iron & Wine - Sheperd's Dog
Sept. 25: Stars - In Our Bedroom After the War
Oct. 9: Fiery Furnaces - Widow City

From this list I'm definitely looking most forward for the new Spoon, John Vanderslice, New Pornographers, and Kevin Drew. Really only the new Rilo Kiley is the only one I may pass on at first. Should be a nice second-half of the year.

In the meantime, I'm catching up on a bunch of older stuff that I never bothered to get before. As much as a fan as I am, I'm embarrassed to say I'd never bought anything by the Cure. Over the last couple of years they've reissued everything through Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me with a bunch of bonus tracks. However, they are ridiculously expensive and all the bonus stuff is pretty unimpressive (live tracks and acoustic demos.... snore). After perusing their stuff on Amazon, I noticed that all of their un-reissued stuff is really cheap. I picked up their self-titled album from 2004 (pretty good stuff) and The Head on the Door (still waiting on that one) for less than $10, after shipping.

I've been in a real '80's mood lately. I want to pick up some more stuff I'd never bothered on. I want a more complete collection for the Smiths (I only have Meat is Murder). I also really have a nagging urge to start a The The collection. That all depends on the money situation, of course. It all may have to wait at least until after next week. Come on, a new Spoon album is coming out!!
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