Who knew the number of people that google the lyrics to Pat Green's "Let Me"! Holy cow...
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Election Countdown: 4 days!
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I am ready for the weekend.

Friday: Halloween Party at the Blue Light w/Charlie
Saturday: Sara's baby shower, a trip down to New Braunfels for some MMC
Sunday: a trip up to Waco for WB Benefit and then the drive home

I'm so glad I'm going to be gone for game day. I have had my fill of commentary about the Texas/Tech game. Traffic is going to be a nightmare around campus. They're blocking off all roads leading to Memorial Circle to make way for ESPN's College GameDay crew. That should be fun.

I picked up The Host today from the library. I wonder if it's as fast a read as the Twilight books. (21 days until the movie!) I think I've convinced my cousins and my sister to go watch it that Friday. Although, I still think Cedric Diggory rather than Edward Cullen when I see Robert Pattinson.

one week...

Can I just say how glad I am that this election season is in the home stretch? Try as I might, I still read some comments incredulously. It's not the attacks on substantive matters, it's the debasing of others with generalizations and personal attacks. 7 days...

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After reading Ryan's latest post, I began wondering when did I first hear Ryan Bingham? I can't remember. It's been a few years. I remember a day in the parking lot of the Starplex (or whatever it was called back then) with everyone and Wishbone Saloon making an appearance. How long ago was that? I get my PG concerts confused...I can't distinguish the big Dallas/Houston shows anymore in my mind. I do remember seeing Stoney play the VIP tent that day. I'm almost positive that was the Dallas show.

Anyhow, I want to say that it was just before then that I actually became aware of his music. I'm sure it was through Joni at one of the Clubhouse Concerts. I have vivid memories of a more recent Clubhouse Easter Sunday concert (2005) with Randy and Brady playing...and who should happen to be at the show? Ryan and Stoney. That was a great show.

Even though I can't quite remember the specifics of it all, I have great memories of past shows/encounters with his music. Just this past week they re-aired the appearance on Late Night. Today, he'll be recording his appearance on Austin City Limits. That's quite a leap from the show at The Spoon here in LBK.

I headed out to the Blue Light to meet Jessica for Ryan James' show. We had a great time...and so did he. Hahaha! RJ's onstage comments were priceless. The place was packed, great crowd out to see the show. I ran into a few unexpected people out in front and then walking around trying to get to the game room. Afterward, we looked at some baby pics and checked some dance moves. This was almost as entertaining as the show itself. The only downside of the show? Ryan behind the drums = No Ryan dancing while covering "Pink Cadillac"! 

Saturday morning, I woke up entirely too early. I picked up Jessica early in the afternoon to go to the wedding. Veronica looked great and Manuel looked equal parts nervous and giddy. Jessica and I were commenting on how we hoped he didn't lock his knees up there. The weather was beautiful, the wind held up until they made their exit from the church. 

We headed to the reception downtown and followed the final minutes of the Texas game via iphone and blackberry updates. The last 49 seconds were painful. My nieces and Ben entertained us for the remainder of the reception. Ben's hypothetical toast would have played great in front of their high school crowd. If only he didn't censor himself. 

The plan for Saturday night was to head out to the Daiquiri Lounge to see Benn's band. First, I had to stop off by the bookstore. I get a call, asking where I am...there's drinking going on. This leads to the following text message exchange:

Eric: Where are you?

Me: Bookstore on a Saturday night. Woo!

Eric: Bookstore?! You better bring your ass!

Me: Yeah, yeah...I'll meet y'all there

OK - I fully intended to go. I made the mistake of stopping at my sister's house. What can I say?Her yawns were contagious! I left her place a little before 11. I came to the intersection and chose to turn right instead of left towards the bar. That led to even more text messages throughout the night. I. was. beat. 

I haven't done much of any consequence today. I'm looking forward to this week, though...another trip looming.

I'm regressing...

I sat and watched Soundstage on PBS tonight. I was as happy as a teenage girl to see Dashboard Confessional as the week's performers. Hearing Chris Carrabas made me happy tonight. It was a happy coincidence, I listened to the Unplugged 2.0 cd the last part of the drive home today.

Plans for the weekend:
* Ryan James @ the BL (2x in one week!)
* Manuel & Veronica's wedding; maybe head back out to the BL afterwards?
* Lay low Sunday, maybe catch up on some reading

Quick trip down to Austin for work. I stayed for the Ryan James/RK show at Hill's...nice bonus. It was great to see everybody. It had been too long since I'd seen some of them. We got one step closer to resolving the case. RK had a nice acoustic set (I loved that they played "Black & White"). It would have been great, minus the multiple d-bags in attendance. Sarah tried to hold down the fort as long as she could. (hahaha) I'm not even going to go into my monumentally stupid decision to pack an OU t-shirt. Yeah, that didn't draw any attention... Thank goodness tomorrow's Friday...it's been quite a week.

let me be the one who sets your feet upon a road where you've never been....

Tons of new music the past month or two and I am just now getting time to listen to a few of them. I keep neglecting the new for the familiar... When you find something you like, it's hard to break away, right?

Anyway, I can't tell you how great it is to hear Ray LaMontagne's Gossip in the Grain cd. It's a definite change from most of the stuff I've been listening to lately. I still haven't managed to listen to REK's Marfa show he has up for download on his site. Nor have I listened to Todd Snider's Peace Queer more than one time through. I keep going back to RK's Bulletproof, or RK in general and RRB's latest with a little Rollercoaster thrown in.

The one thing that surprises me is that I cannot stop listening to PG's single, "Let Me". I can't tell you how good it is to have PG back in my ears. Whether the song is from 2 months or 10 years ago...it's been getting a lot of play on the ipod. I finally broke down and bought the single off Amazon yesterday. Remember what I said about familiarity earlier?

I started a new book this week, The Betrayal: The Lost Life of Jesus. It's a novel written by two archaeologists. Sounds thrilling, right? Here's the description from Amazon:

There is an alternate story of the life of Jesus. One the early Church fathers found so menacing they outlawed the books that documented it, ordered them burned, and threatened anyone found copying them with death. International bestselling authors and award-winning archaeologists Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear put more than thirty years of exhaustive research into this fascinating novel.

In A.D. 325, Brother Barnabas is a student of the ancient holy texts. These books paint a portrait of Jesus that is radical, heretical, and irresistible. In the writings of Mary Magdalene, Phillip, and James, Barnabas finds clues to a secret he must protect at all costs. But the Ecumenical Council of Bishops has just declared his cherished books "a hotbed of manifold perversity." Emperor Constantine has decreed that the documents must be burned and that anyone found copying them will be executed as a heretic.

Barnabas's monastery is attacked. Brother Barnabas flees with his trusted companions, but they are being followed, for the True Church cannot allow them to find the most sacred place on Earth. In fact, it will do anything to stop them...

The endnotes alone are worth the read...which is where I learned some new facts.

It was great to see everyone last weekend! I don't have much planned for this weekend besides dinner and a night out for my cousins' birthdays. Something interesting usually happens, we'll see what happens this year.

I hope you have a great weekend!

I have a PDR deadline coming up on 10/24 that, apparently, I am not too worried about.

It's been a slacker's paradise in the office today. I can't believe we're actually open. I don't recall having to work on Columbus Day while working here. Oh, well. I can't actually call what I've done today working. A few phone calls to the DA's office; phone conference with a judge and a few proposals drafted. I'm bored bored bored.

Next week looks a little nasty, but I think I'm going to be able to move some things around to accommodate my plans. That is, if someone would ever *gasp* make an appearance in their office... Grrr. I don't even want to get into how ironic it is that I'm having problems with this particular office. If I was allowed to deal directly with the assistants, all would be golden...

Kings of Leon's Only By the Night is rocking...if you like their sound, you'll love the new cd. It's been yet another distraction today.

With the election less than 30 days away and many calling the election already, I start getting uneasy. This isn't due to what pundits are shouting or any late-breaking news. It's the thought in the back of my mind... You know that for all the support candidates receive leading up to Election Day, the percentage of people who actually show up to exercise their right to vote is going to be lower than you think it will. I don't understand it. I can't wrap my brain around letting others have a say in your life (to whatever degree), while you stand aside. Regardless of which candidate or party you support, I hope you make a visit to your polling place on Nov. 4th.

The courting of the young vote has been more apparent this time around. I think it's all fine and dandy that there are more young people registered to vote in this election...blah, blah, blah. However, what good is it to be registered if you don't actually show up to vote?

I was watching the Late Late Show earlier this week and Craig Ferguson had an outstanding monologue regarding this subject. The entire segment was great, but FFWD to 6:25 if you're interested in hearing his thoughts on the subject. To hear someone like Ferguson, a new citizen to the United States, speak about the power of voting is something you'd hope every person learns in a basic civics/government class.

Odds & Ends

- Becky and Brady took Nolan this weekend to 'sit' for some pictures. Avery took the photographs, and they came out great. You can go to Photography by Avery to see the pics. Nolan's pics are in the first post on the page.

- Remember all that rain a few weeks back, when the stadium (along with other things) was flooded? Well, the result has been a boom in the mosquito population. I cannot wait for the first freeze!

- As I drove to Denton last week, I took highway 114. It's much shorter than taking the interstate and I wasn't in a real hurry. I was passing through all these little towns that are still left with entire fields of standing water. I have no idea what the recoup time is for something like that, or what the long-term effect will be. I was astonished at how many 'lakes' I came across driving 114. I did see a huge statue of a gorilla out in the middle of one of these new lakes...bizarre, to say the least.

- Bambi almost killed me driving to Denton. I'd forgotten about it until the next day. I was somewhere between Seymour and Decatur. The car in the oncoming lane flashed its brights, I guess to call my attention to the deer. Well, the only thing they succeeded in doing was calling my attention to their lights. Then I flash back to the roadway in front of me to *just* miss the backside of the deer. Too close...minor panic attack...all was good by the time I got to Denton.

I woke up at the insane time of 3:55 a.m. I fell asleep last night without seeing the final fifteen minutes of Skins and Mad Men is still on the DVR. Apparently, I was worn out. From what, I have no idea.

I don't have too much going on this week in the office. The trial concluded Thursday afternoon, going just a little longer than I thought. Now, I'm tying up some loose ends on a few other cases.

I'm looking forward to the trip to Dallas on Friday. Although, I'm a little jealous that Jessica is going to be seeing Ryan Adams on Saturday night. Wouldn't you know that the first time Hayes Carll stops in for Raidergate we'd both be out of town?

Here's to a good week and I hope I get to see some of you this weekend.