I stayed with the family this weekend. There was a birthday celebration, visits to a few cousins' homes and watching hockey, basketball, and movies. Some research and writing were thrown in for good measure.

The texts and calls from LJT were great...thanks!

My favorite story from last week was about Mariah Carey's GMA performance. Dlisted summed it up best:

There's definitely a massacre going down at Good Morning America right now. Mimi performed this morning and that shit didn't go well. During "Touch My Body," the back-up track started too soon and Mimi tried to sing her way through it, but you can tell she was boiling inside.

And then about 3 minutes into the performance, one of the back-up singers starts singing her part. Mimi turns to her and sings "Stop singing my paaaarttt...now babbbby..." I hope the back-up singer has made peace with God, because it's over for her.

Hahaha!

GRO was in town Saturday. I should have gone, but just didn't feel like driving. Instead, I stayed in, watched hockey, read a little, wrote a few pages and called it a night somewhere around 3.

The month of May sure came quickly. I am not really looking forward to it. I have something to do every week...and not all fun stuff. I am looking forward to the graduations and weddings I'll be attending. I'm not looking forward to the work-related schedule looming in the background.

I'm getting ready to buy my ticket to Idaho. I feel like I've waited a long time to do so this year, since I had my departing ticket last year around the first of April. Any consensus as to when everyone's leaving/returning?

I'm sure I'll regret not going to sleep early tonight...but the messages I've received from LJT's are worth the loss in sleep. The RRB set sounded great...I hear some Toadies was thrown in the mix. I love hearing the new songs...can't wait for all the upcoming cd releases. LJT's list of performers and the sights and sounds - still not enough to get me to go there. Ever.

I hope everyone has a great weekend...outdoors or in. I'll likely be in a theater at some point for either Harold & Kumar or Baby Mama. I'd also love to see La Misma Luna, but am not sure if it's still showing here. Other than that, I'll be doing a lot of research and writing with the goal of being done by Tuesday. Thus, guaranteeing a night out at the Blue Light. :)

Cotton is King...

If I had a dime for every time my government professor said these words, I would be a very wealthy person. If someone were to ask me what I learned the first semester in college, it would be: There was a time that cotton was king.

Well, times change and Sunday night I watched the latest Independent Lens installment. This week was a look at "King Corn". It may be one of the most entertaining films I've seen on Independent Lens. It was informative, funny and engrossing. I've been searching around the internet to see what was said about the film in its limited release. There are some, understandably, harsh words from people regarding the stats used/announced during the film. I have to say, it wasn't the stats that wowed me. It was just actually sitting and realizing how prevalent corn is in the food we consume (as well as the livestock). I guess I didn't really give it much thought. I thought the most valuable insights the film gives the viewer are the opinions of the farmers themselves. As usual, it all comes down to economics. However, when you have a farmer and his wife stating that they will not eat what they've sown...well, something's not quite right.

The basic premise of the film, from IMDb:

King Corn is a feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation. In King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, best friends from college on the east coast, move to the heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America's most-productive, most-subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat-and how we farm

Go Stars Go

Watching the last period of the Stars game...

I spent the majority of the afternoon at the Lubbock Arts Festival. While I probably would have gone earlier, there was a reason for waiting until today. My five year old niece performed as part of the festival today. It was hilarious. They performed to "I Got You (I Feel Good)." Some of the girls were done, the second they stepped onto the stage. Others locked eyes with their instructor and followed her every move, as she guided them from the side of the stage.

We stuck around to watch the other dance groups. They had a break, we walked around through the galleries set up in the main convention center area. There were a few "Make it and Take it" areas set up throughout the civic center. After a quick stop in, we went back to watch a few performances of cultural dances. The music and dancers were great. As we left to the courtyard, the piano recitals were about to begin on the south side. We ended up spending more time outside in the courtyard/water fountain walking around.

I didn't realize how much time had passed, but the afternoon was gone by the time I returned to the house.

The Stars and Ducks have 210 seconds left in the game... Brad Richards with a great pass and Loui Eriksson scored at the 17:42 mark!!! Score! Modano with an open net goal... Stars 4 - Ducks 1

GO STARS!

it's ridiculous...

Hanging up the phone this afternoon, I felt a twinge of guilt. I simply made known my dissatisfaction with the service I was receiving as part of the maintenance package on my car. I have no idea why, since I only stated the facts of what has occurred in the past three weeks. I guess I would have felt better if I'd been talking directly to the person whom the majority of my criticism was aimed.

I was a total dork and thinking back on what I said was like prep for an oral argument. I think I may have even said I have three major issues with the way this has been handled...number 1: blah, blah blah. My writing prof would be proud. LOL

Oh well, at least I let them know exactly why I had a problem.

As far as my car, there's nothing wrong with it, aside from a squuuuueeeeeaaaalllll when I apply the brakes. It ranks as the #1 irritating noise in my world right now. The brake pads are fine. The rotors, fine. They say it's the tires...uneven wear that is resulting in the offensive sound. The tires are nowhere near requiring replacement. So, I am at the point where I'm going to check around for a second opinion. Maybe it is the tires. However, if I find out something different, the dealership has agreed to compensate me.

_________________________________

Jessica and I talked last night about ACL. All I had to read were the first two words on the lineup: Foo. Fighters. Now, I have to weigh my love of the Foo against my hatred of all things related to outdoor-festivals...#1 being the sun. If we could move this whole thing to Idaho, it would be a done deal.

I know there are tons of other bands that should factor in, but the truth is, they don't. I can see them at other times, likely for longer sets, better venues, friendlier climes. It's just that I've already missed two Foo shows in as many years due to bad scheduling...and I don't want to miss another.

ow.

My head feels as though it's about to implode.

Random:
August Rush and Into the Wild were a great way to pass the time, today. I enjoyed them as much as the first time. Into the Wild still managed to disturb and amaze me.

STARS lost tonight, but still lead the series 2-1.

Another Tuesday night...not at the Blue Light.

While I may miss out on some things, there are times I'm glad to be exactly where I am.



I'll be spending a few weeks at home for a change. I'm missing Oklahoma, and looking forward to a trip out there. However, that will likely have to wait for at least a month. Although, there are some upcoming shows at the WD that I would love to catch.

overcast...

I woke up this morning to a foreign sound outside. It took a few seconds to register what it was...rain. It has been ridiculously dry here since the last small snow storm. The local papers had banners that encouraged everyone to "Think Rain."

It was nice to just listen to the early morning thunderstorm before heading into the office. I have a very light day, but with that looming meeting, I won't have any downtime after work. I hate that, especially knowing that I'll be going directly to the bar afterwards. It's going to be a long night...

How do I get myself into these things?

Rather, that should say, How do I let my dad get me into these things?

I received a call a few weeks ago from a woman regarding a committee that my dad thought I'd be interested in... I can't begin to tell you how wrong he was. Yet, here I am talking to her weeks later, saying I'll go to a meeting next week.

Ugh... The thing is, I have the time to do it, just not the inclination. So, next Wednesday I'll be sitting in a conference room with eighteen strangers
counting...
the...
seconds.
If it goes a minute past seven, I'm out of there. Wade's got a full-band acoustic set that night, that I'm not missing.

Maybe something will crop up in the coming weeks that will give me a Get Out of Jail Free card...