Ghost House LSI Hand-held game

Just pulled out my Ghost House, an "LSI" game from 1985, which I bought in Tokyo at the time. This was pre-Nintendo, Sega, etc. It was very exciting to play at the time, but of course, it was completely novel. And the game itself designed so nicely with the relief goblins on each side of the screen whose eyes glow red while playing.

Ran on 2 AA batteries. A little boy goes around zapping ghosts and goblins who try to get him! Woo-hoo!

Pulling out the Japanese toys....

I've started going through my immense Japanese toy collection and pulling a few items to sell. It's like archaeology. I start at the surface---the toys that I have lesser a connection to now, 27 years since I began collecting. Thanks to the internet, I've been able to see others' collections and the accolades they have gotten for their collections. Many were my customers back in the 1980s.

There is a certain flood of sensory memories, revisiting the boxes, the smells, the colors, and the names. Names of robots like Mackerel, Cabarov, Soltic, Ironfoot...all evocative of a chapter in my life when I was going to Japan to find toys like there was no tomorrow.

More to come, as I learn more about the current state of Japanese toy collecting.

I'm starting with my Dougram 1/144 scale collection (above).

Never Make Left Turns

I love this story from Michael Gartner, president of NBC News and a Pulitzer winner for
editorial writing. About his father and mother:

My father never drove a car. Well, that's not quite right. I should say I
never saw him drive a car. He quit driving in 1927, when he was 25 years old,
and the last car he drove was a 1926 Whippet. "In those days," he told me when
he was in his 90s, "to drive a car you had to do things with your hands, and
do things with your feet, and look every which way, and I decided you could
walk through life and enjoy it or drive through life and miss it."

At which point my mother, a sometimes salty Irishwoman, chimed in:

"Oh, bull----!" she said. "He hit a horse.""Well," my father said, "there was
that, too."

So my brother and I grew up in a household without a car. The neighbors all
had cars -- the Kollingses next door had a green 1941 Dodge, the VanLaninghams
across the street a gray 1936 Plymouth, the Hopsons two doors down a black
1941 Ford -- but we had none.

My father, a newspaperman in Des Moines, would take the streetcar to work and,
often as not, walk the 3 miles home. If he took the streetcar home, my mother
and brother and I would walk the three blocks to the streetcar stop, meet him
and walk home together.

My brother, David, was born in 1935, and I was born in 1938, and sometimes, at
dinner, we'd ask how come all the neighbors had cars but we had none. "No one
in the family drives," my mother would explain, and that was that.

But, sometimes, my father would say, "But as soon as one of you boys turns 16,
we'll get one." It was as if he wasn't sure which one of us would turn 16
first. But, sure enough, my brother turned 16 before I did, so in 1951 my
parents bought a used 1950 Chevrolet from a friend who ran the parts
department at a Chevy dealership downtown.

It was a four-door, white model, stick shift, fender skirts, loaded with
everything, and, since my parents didn't drive, it more or less became my
brother's car. Having a car but not being able to drive didn't bother my
father, but it didn't make sense to my mother.

So in 1952, when she was 43 years old, she asked a friend to teach her to
drive. She learned in a nearby cemetery, the place where I learned to drive
the following year and where, a generation later, I took my two sons to
practice driving. The cemetery probably was my father's idea. "Who can your
mother hurt in the cemetery?" I remember him saying more than once.

For the next 45 years or so, until she was 90, my mother was the driver in the
family. Neither she nor my father had any sense of direction, but he loaded up
on maps -- though they seldom left the city limits -- and appointed himself
navigator. It seemed to work. Still, they both continued to walk a lot. My
mother was a devout Catholic, and my father an equally devout agnostic, an
arrangement that didn't seem to bother either of them through their 75 years
of marriage. (Yes, 75 years, and they were deeply in love the entire time.)

He retired when he was 70, and nearly every morning for the next 20 years or
so, he would walk with her the mile to St. Augustin's Church. She would walk
down and sit in the front pew, and he would wait in the back until he saw
which of the parish's two priests was on duty that morning. If it was the
pastor, my father then would go out and take a 2-mile walk, meeting my mother
at the end of the service and walking her home. If it was the assistant
pastor, he'd take just a 1-mile walk and then head back to the church. He
called the priests "Father Fast" and "Father Slow."

After he retired, my father almost always accompanied my mother whenever she
drove anywhere, even if he had no reason to go along. If she were going to the
beauty parlor, he'd sit in the car and read, or go take a stroll or, if it was
summer, have her keep the engine running so he could listen to the Cubs game
on the radio. In the evening, then, when I'd stop by, he'd explain: "The Cubs
lost again. The millionaire on second base made a bad throw to the millionaire
on first base, so the multimillionaire on third base scored."

If she were going to the grocery store, he would go along to carry the bags
out -- and to make sure she loaded up on ice cream. As I said, he was always
the navigator, and once, when he was 95 and she was 88 and still driving, he
said to me, "Do you want to know the secret of a long life?" "I guess so," I
said, knowing it probably would be something bizarre.

"No left turns," he said."What?" I asked."No left turns," he repeated.
"Several years ago, your mother and I read an article that said most accidents
that old people are in happen when they turn left in front of oncoming
traffic. As you get older, your eyesight worsens, and you can lose your depth
perception, it said. So your mother and I decided never again to make a left
turn." "What?" I said again. "No left turns," he said. "Think about it. Three
rights are the same as a left, and that's a lot safer. So we always make three
rights." "You're kidding!" I said, and I turned to my mother for support "No,"
she said, "your father is right. We make three rights. It works." But then she
added: "Except when your father loses count." I was driving at the time, and I
almost drove off the road as I started laughing.

"Loses count?" I asked."Yes," my father admitted, "that sometimes happens. But
it's not a problem. You just make seven rights, and you're okay again." I
couldn't resist. "Do you ever go for 11?" I asked.

"No," he said." If we miss it at seven, we just come home and call it a bad
day. Besides, nothing in life is so important it can't be put off another day
or another week."

My mother was never in an accident, but one evening she handed me her car keys
and said she had decided to quit driving. That was in 1999, when she was 90.

She lived four more years, until 2003. My father died the next year, at 102.
They both died in the bungalow they had moved into in 1937 and bought a few
years later for $3,000. (Sixty years later, my brother and I paid $8,000 to
have a shower put in the tiny bathroom -- the house had never had one. My
father would have died then and there if he knew the shower cost nearly three
times what he paid for the house.)

He continued to walk daily -- he had me get him a treadmill when he was 101
because he was afraid he'd fall on the icy sidewalks but wanted to keep
exercising -- and he was of sound mind and sound body until the moment he
died.

One September afternoon in 2004, he and my son went with me when I had to give
a talk in a neighboring town, and it was clear to all three of us that he was
wearing out, though we had the usual wide-ranging conversation about politics
and newspapers and things in the news.

A few weeks earlier, he had told my son, "You know, Mike, the first hundred
years are a lot easier than the second hundred." At one point in our drive
that Saturday, he said, "You know, I'm probably not going to live much
longer."

"You're probably right," I said."Why would you say that?" He countered,
somewhat irritated."Because you're 102 years old," I said.

"Yes," he said, "you're right." He stayed in bed all the next day. That night,
I suggested to my son and daughter that we sit up with him through the night.

He appreciated it, he said, though at one point, apparently seeing us look
gloomy, he said:"I would like to make an announcement. No one in this room is
dead yet."

An hour or so later, he spoke his last words:"I want you to know," he said,
clearly and lucidly, "that I am in no pain. I am very comfortable. And I have
had as happy a life as anyone on this earth could ever have."

A short time later, he died.

I miss him a lot, and I think about him a lot. I've wondered now and then how
it was that my family and I were so lucky that he lived so long.

I can't figure out if it was because he walked through life, Or because he
quit taking left turns.

Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you
right. Forget about those who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said
life would be easy, they just promised it would most likely be worth it.

ANDY HANSON: 1932-2008

A really good friend has passed away. A friend of hundreds here in Dallas, but I always had the feeling we shared some private joke together. I'm sure he gave others that impression, too. Andy was a regular in my toy store Right Brain/Left Brain from the 1980s to 1990s, and we always had a shared humor about odd Japanese toys I'd bring in. He was an inveterate and eccentric collector--just my type--and we shared a same kind of outsider view of living in Dallas. I've read other blogs about Andy that said he never spoke unkindly of the thousands of people he covered in his years as a photographer at the Dallas Times Herald forward. Maybe not "unkindly", but not uncritically. He had a sharp sense of himself and the often unreal social situations he found himself in. But, there was not a kinder, sharper more beautifully eccentric man in Dallas, and seeing Andy always gave me some hope that Dallas wasn't beyond salvation from superficiality.

The most prolific photographer I've ever met, Andy took photos of the Beatles 1964 visit to Dallas, Walt Disney and Ray Nasher looking over plans to build NorthPark and too many more to enumerate. I'm including a photo he took of Mance Lipscomb that I bought from him in the 1980s, along with some other photos including one of Lightnin Hopkins. I remember being impressed that he even knew who Mance Lipscomb was.

A friend of mine called the police when Andy didn't show up at the State Fair on the last day. Ironically, I had decided to go by myself and make one last trip to the Fair on that last day, to have that one last corny dog and root beer. It was a lovely day, Big Tex standing against the big blue field of sky. Wish I could have toasted Andy that day.

Andy, I enjoyed every conversation we had--from toys to rubber stamps, odd facts and stories that always seemed to come up. I'll miss your face out and about, reminding me that every Dallas social gathering had some salt of the earth with your presence.

IN HIS DREAMS....

Haven't blogged in a while. Too busy keeping up with all the great political commentary. Here's my two cents (sorry for the poor photoshop skills).

SPAM POEM

I took the subject headers from some of the spam I've received recently and made a poem.

FROM MR BANGALI, URGENT,TOP SECRET AND CONFIDENTIAL

Your girlfriend is pleased
You will make her 5 times a night
A small thing that makes your lady happy.
Vgaira for you!
Sensation news for you. fowls china.

Private message for you. cooped pion.
Do you mind? :)))

DNC Rules Committee Compromises on Florida & Michigan: Clinton People Go Delusional

Like a political geek, I watched most of the 6 hours of the DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee on Saturday. Tell me to get a life, okay? But, really, I found the inner workings of the Party fascinating, and I think they did a great job with a messy situation.

Afterwards, I received an email from the Hillary Clinton campaign and went to their site to read their statement. I encountered one of the most shocking and despicable stream of invectives, as I read the blog comments on Senator Clinton's website. Never have I seen so many venomous, hateful, destructive angry emails. These Clinton supporters were practically spitting their words out. What was sad was that the majority are claiming they will vote Republican this year if Hillary is not the nominee. Or they say they will write her name in. Sad. I tried posting a comment to ask for people to calm down and to think reasonably. Of course, the Clinton webmaster would not post my comments, only the rabid ones denouncing the Democratic Party, the DNC and everyone else BUT Senator Clinton.

I find it hard to believe that anyone who would vote for Hillary in the first place would travel ideologically to an anti-choice, war-prone Republican who would seat 9 Scalia's on the Supreme Court if it were his choice. They would vote for a candidate who has NO national Health Care plan. Really. Does this make sense to anyone? I try very hard to see the logic. I'm hoping it's just that they're so disappointed their candidate won't have enough delegates, that they have to turn their anger on Obama.

But why not channel that anger at the Michigan and Florida legislatures? They're the ones who broke the rules and subjected their voters to the DNC punishment. I guess it's true that Democrats are just as susceptible to passing the blame as Republicans.

And furthermore, where is Senator Clinton in all this? Doesn't she have some calming and reasoning words to communicate to her constituents? You have to come to the conclusion that she wants the anger and vitriol.

I had to email one of my favorite people, Donna Brazile, an undeclared Superdelegate on the Rules & Bylaws Committee, who ran Al Gore's 2000 campaign and who is a major Democratic Party adviser. You see her often on CNN, and she is always right on with her comments and political observations. I emailed to congratulate her on a job well done, because I noticed that someone on the Hillary blog had posted the email addresses of all the Rules & Bylaw committee members and I was sure they got so much hate mail, it would sicken you. I congratulated her and the rest of the committee on a job well done under really impossible circumstances. I told her that I knew she was going to be getting a lot of venomous emails. She replied, "If only you knew the hateful, scornful and vile emails. It's sad."

Sad. Yes, it is. Once more the Democratic Party insists on shooting itself in the foot. If I had had any inkling of support or sympathy left for Senator Clinton, including acknowledging the possibility that she's been treated in a sexist way, well, it's gone now. Her judgment is showing.

SIMON'S CAT

Thank you to all my friends who sent condolences for Edie's passing. My sister sent me a YouTube of "Simon's cat", which made me want more of his cartoons, and I found this one! This guy has got a really fabulous feel for cats.

My Cat Edie, 1993-2008

Little Edie is gone. Born on Easter 1993, and passed away the day after Easter 2008. She was a sweet little cat who kept the house lively, and was a nice companion, even if it meant what could I do for her. Her brother Eddie passed away 2 years ago. They were chosen as kittens by my son and daughter as children, who are both now in their 20s, and have lives of their own. So, Edie was the last connection with their childhoods, in effect.

I still come home with the reflex that I will see her or hear her come to greet me. She is really missed.

Maybe An Adult President Finally?

Obama's brilliant speech in Philadelphia the other day was such a breath of fresh air, and will be regarded years from now as one of the great political speeches in American history! After 7 years of listening to a President who has great difficulty speaking in consecutive complete sentences, and saying nothing intelligent in the process, we just got to hear a politician speaking to racism in this country, as if he were talking to adults. You must listen to the whole speech, as he thoughtfully lays out an historical and complex issue that has mostly been swept under the rug by politicians and white Americans.

Vote for Obama. Let's put a complex, circumspect intelligent adult in the White House!

The Forgotten War in Iraq

While Obama and Hillary waste their time firing barrages at each other, McCain is going around the country touting the success of the "surge". The press has practically stopped covering the war, so there is no opposition to his misinforming the American people. The surge is not working. Read this article from by Adriana Huffington for more sad details.

What brought me over to the Obama side, when it came down to it, was Hillary's vote to go to war. In my view, she used bad judgment, and although she tried to back pedal once she was a Presidential nominee, her explanations have never held water. What is not so well known is that, in the days leading up to the vote to go to war, Senator Levin proposed an amendment that would have put up two further safeguards to check Bush's executive power to declare war on Iraq. It would have required the UN to declare war, and it would have required Bush to go to Congress and explain why diplomacy would no longer work, before declaring war. But Hillary voted AGAINST it. This is damning, in my book.

But now, with our soldiers over-taxed, billions of dollars wasted, the Iraqi government failing to live up to the benchmarks, and McCain talking about being there 100 years, it just can't get more dismal, can it?

Come on, Obama! Wake up and smell the IED fumes !

Post Texas Primary Thoughts

I worked at my election poll yesterday from 6AM to around 11PM (I caucused afterwards). They combined 2 precincts into our election poll. I closed our vote counting machine. We had 1124 voters that day (10 times the 2006 Primary). Obama won exactly 40 more votes than Clinton, so it was close. In the caucuses afterwards, Obama was apportioned 36 more delegates to Hillary's 24. It was a lot of fun to work, because everyone was so energized. I recommend it sometime. It's a really fun way to get involved in the political process, to see the diversity of people who live here, and get a greater insight on how the country functions (or doesn't).

I'm beginning to get nervous about the election, though. I see that there is a chance that, if Obama wins the nomination, it could end up like McGovern in '72 (my first Presidential election to vote in). We trounced the establishment in the Texas Caucuses, treated the older politicians as if they were worthless, went for the "candidate of change" and the nation ended up electing Richard Nixon. Obama has little real experience, and in the instances where both parties made compromises and passed legislation, it was McCain who was at the center, and Obama was often apart by himself opposing "the center". This is powerful ammunition for the Replicants (my new name for the party).

The one substantive reason for supporting Obama, to me, is the war issue---I think Hillary's vote was political at the time, and not made out of any conscience. This gives the edge to Obama for me. But, we are idealists, and we know the Replicants are social Darwinists. They will use every dirty trick. I heard recently that McCain has gotten support from the "Swift Boat Veterans" group.

I'm also concerned that if Hillary gets the nomination, the Replicants will make a play on "Clinton fatigue". Personally, I myself want someone new in the White House. Hillary is not new, and neither is McCain. Both are old school; both play games; both take money from lobbyists, who already have too much influence in Washington.

For those of you who support Obama, you're going to have to support him all the way to November, if he wins the nomination. He won't be able to coast on the back of the "movement" we now see. So, get ready!

Obama: This is Our Country

News today that Hillary's campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle has "stepped down", on the heels of losing in all 4 weekend primaries. Peggy Noonan asks the question whether Hillary knows how to lose graciously, and is the first person I've heard declare Obama the Democratic nominee.

Clearly, Obama is a movement and practically impossible to stop or derail. What I love about his candidacy is how he really dispels the notion that "experience" is what matters most. Experience is what McCain and Hillary are about, and both just come across as people who look backward. We learned a devastating lesson about this with George W. Bush, who appointed a whole slew of "experienced" people--the evil Dick Cheney, the maladroit Donald Rumsfeld, to name a few. And when he had an experienced person who actually knew what was going on--I think of Richard Clarke, then ex-White House counter-terrorism adviser--he ignored him. Who knows if the next President can even undo this in two terms?

The first Presidential election in which I could vote was McGovern and Nixon in 1972. McGovern was an "outsider" and anti-war at the time we were mired in Vietnam. It was the first time I realized that war wasn't always a necessary evil. Obama is the first candidate I've seen since that time who doesn't exude politics as usual, whose very thought and speech patterns flow in another direction from the brand of thinking we get from the others. Hillary's constant macho talk about fighting, most often, the "Republican attack machine"; McCain's droning accusations that the Democrats will "surrender to terrorists". (Nixon characterized McGovern as the "acid, amnesty, and abortion" candidate.) Obama has broken that pattern and given us the opportunity and hope of re-shaping the paradigm of our country. Our country. It's really nice that those words have started to have meaning again. I feel like we're going to get it back!

Bush has robbed us of the sense that this is our country. Good riddance to Bush--the fear mongering; the anti-intellectual, "God-guided" decision-making; the ignorant, U.S.-centric, ideological weltanschauung. As far as I'm concerned, Bush just traded substance abuse for God abuse.

With Obama, the hope is that sanity will once more come back to this country. Our country.

(Photo used with kind permission of Philip Cloutier.)

OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT

I've been following the Presidential race, without feeling particularly inspired by any candidate. If I leaned any particular way, it was toward Hillary Clinton, because I wanted Bill back in the White House, and the Clinton's are politically savvy. And I believed they were in touch with the people at the same time. Whatever the criticisms of them may be, they're NOT George Bush, nor are they like McCain or Romney. That alone is worth the vote. However, as I listened more and more to Obama, in speeches, in the debates, I started getting this real sense of the possibility of a President who thought outside the box. I remember the same sentiment with John F. Kennedy, even as young as I was in 1963. Obama has brought extraordinary number of the young vote and the independent into his campaign, people whom I feel are the most disenchanted with the political process. The more I listened to him speak, the less enchanted I became with Hillary. And then when Bill started injecting "race" into the discussion by comparing Obama's win in South Carolina to Jesse Jackson's win in 1984, that pushed me over the edge. Obama has nothing to do in belief nor political thought to Jackson. The comment was out of line.

Please take a look at Obama's website. Donate $25 or $50. The Clinton's are a well-oiled, well-financed political machine. The Republicans WANT Hillary to run, because she's the most "beatable" candidate. They're going to raise the specter of Bill's administration to scare conservatives into voting Republican.

Think outside the box. Support Obama.

Old Friend Resurfaces

A few weekends ago, my longtime friend Hills came up from San Antonio with Caralyn, whom we've both known since high school. My family moved in next door to Hills when I was 5 and we've been friends ever since. Caralyn I met in 1968, and she introduced me to Donovan's music. Really, she was the first hippie I'd met. Anyway, Hills and I have always kept up over the years, but one of our very best friends in those formative years, Rob, we hadn't seen since then. Rob is the one who turned me on to Dylan. I was over at his house, and he had just bought "Another Side of Bob Dylan" and told me I had to listen to it. I remember when "Blonde On Blonde" came out, Rob and I went to U.V. Blake Records, and sat in one of those listening booths where they pipe in the LP of your choice. We were particularly awed by "Stuck Inside of Mobile (With the Memphis Blues Again)" and laughed at all the cymbal crashes at the end of the song, that wouldn't seem to end.

He's been living in Ft. Worth for the last 25 years, and is somewhat reclusive. But he came to see us that weekend, and it was almost like we hadn't skipped a beat in the last 35 years. He's had an interesting life. A few years ago, Rob quit his engineering job after an epiphany that he wasn't really enjoying his life. He is now making the most incredible clocks, which you can see at this website.

When Rob was an engineer, he had to get top security clearance from the Dept. of Energy to do some work for the government. He was told it took about 2 years to get clearance, but he got a call to come to Washington 2 weeks later! When he walked into the office, they handed him his clearance. Turns out, he was involved in a Viet Nam war protest at Texas Tech University in 1970, and the FBI had had a file on him ever since! Man, my own friend on Nixon's enemy list!

Trinity River Toll Road Post-Election Thoughts

A few words on the vote last Nov. 6th, when Dallas voters narrowly okayed the toll road in the park. A lot of my friends have called or emailed to say how sorry they were that the anti-toll road side lost, but I'm not worried, nor was I really that upset (I'm used to voters lacking the intelligence to look at an issue beyond what their politicians tell them). Just because the vote turned out that way, doesn't mean the toll road will be built. In fact, I don't think it will ever be built. The Army Corps of Engineers is not going to approve a highway in a flood plain just because voters okayed it. Nor will the NTTA (North Texas Tollway Authority) suddenly be able to come up with the engineering and environmental requirements necessary for approval What voters okayed, was that the city could proceed to try and build it. The vote didn't eliminate all the hurdles that have to be jumped to get the first highway ever to be built in a floodway in this country approved.

In any case, TrinityVote hasn't just thrown up their hands and walked away. About 30 of us showed up at the first City Council meeting after the vote--in your Yes! t-shirt--to make sure the rest of the council didn't try to beat up on Angela. And we'll continue to monitor the progress of the toll road. Check out the Trinity Vote blog to see how the false promises, deceipt and lies the Mayor, the Dallas Morning News, the NTTA and other city officials made during the campaign have slowly started to unravel. For one, the Morning News sat on information damaging to the Vote No side for a month prior to the election and only printed it after the election was over. James Ragland just wrote about a "private party" Leppert held for the all the councilmembers (except Angela Hunt!) as a thank you, and held at Ross Perot, Jr.'s condo at the W. Journalists were not allowed.

Once again, we have a greedy, self-interested Mayor and City Council, with the sole exception of Angela Hunt, of course. But our grassroots movement came close to defeating them. It was an historic vote. Despite the fact that the Vote No outspent us 20 to 1, and had on their side both U.S. Senators, a U.S. Congressman, State Representatives, 13 of 14 City Council members, the Mayor, two Dallas ex-mayors, every Chamber of Commerce and business organization in the city--they could only win by 6%. It was an extraordinary experience working on this issue, and, as I said, it ain't over yet.

Photo Shoot

I've been shooting music posters for 2 days. Some are so large, you can't show the scale with a digital image. I was trying to shoot a delayed image and stand by this one, so you could see how large it is. But, the delay was set for 2 seconds, and I couldn't get into position in time. So, why am I posting this? I haven't had time to blog lately, and I just kind of liked it.

A Message from Bob Dylan about The Trinity River Park: VOTE YES! on Nov. 6th

Mayor Leppert Would Force Feed Dallas Voters If He Could

Has anyone noticed how many visuals the toll road proponents keep rolling out? First, the one back in 1998 depicting a tranquil park scene with sailboats on a lake. Then recently the animated version which Brad Watson on Channel 8 showed was a fantasy by interviewing the Army Corps of Engineers, who in turn stated that nothing has been fixed. In other words, any pictures are pure imagination.

Now the latest version. Anyone attending the debate between Angela Hunt and Tom Leppert at Rosemont Primary was treated to a large rendering of the toll road and park sponsored by the North Texas Tollway Authority, the company that will build and own this toll road. It shows a section of road next to an expansive park with dozens of strollers and cyclists along park paths. On the toll road itself, I counted SIX CARS on their rendering! SIX CARS, folks, and these cars were probably just trying to find the exit into the park so they could enjoy the tranquil watercolor trees and pathways.

Furthermore, Mayor Leppert keeps touting that former Dallas mayors Ron Kirk and Laura Miller, Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, former council member John Wiley Price and all the current council members, save the lone intelligent one (Angela Hunt), have joined together to support the toll road in the Trinity Park. Someone told me that when a bunch of politicians get together and tell you how to vote, hold on to your pocketbook.

Summer's Gone???

Wow. The summer's over and not one blog entry since June. Just way too busy.
Saw Wilco Friday night at the Palladium in Dallas. Better than ever. I think Sky Blue Sky is the best album yet. The sound was great, the band in top form. And great songwriting aside, their musicianship is awesome to hear. These guys are some extraordinary musicians.
The set list was almost like a Wilco's greatest hits:
Wilco
9/14/07
The Palladium Ballroom
Dallas, TX

Set 1:
Shake It Off
A Shot In The Arm
Side With The Seeds
You Are My Face
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Pot Kettle Black
Handshake Drugs
Impossible Germany
It’s Just that Simple
Misunderstood
Jesus, Etc.
Too Far Apart
Walken
I’m The Man Who Loves You
Poor Places
Spiders (Kidsmoke)

Set 2:
Red-Eyed And Blue
I Got You (At the End of the Century)
Hesitating Beauty
Hate It Here
I’m Always In Love
Outtasite (Outta Mind)

encore:
Heavy Metal Drummer
Hummingbird
On And On And On

Was able to get a recording of this, too. Impossible Germany is my new fave.