185: Shake A Fist

Check out this sweet xylophone I just got:



Sure it was only $1.50, but it was a good use of work expenses. I already used it in this minisong for this week: "Symbol or Signifier". That one's really out there. Sorry, I had to deal with the cards I was dealt. There is a meaning to that.

Less confusing is last week's minisong: "We Flock". Used the now-sent-away acoustic on that one. Woohoo!

184: In The Storm Of The Eye

Strange times a-brewin. Turns out my pet scan revealed zero evidence of reoccurring lymphoma. Ditto for my orbital CT scan. This news, while somewhat a relief, does nothing to explain the pink fleshy mass hanging out in my left eye. (does the phrase "pink fleshy mass" make you as uncomfortable as it does me?) Hence, the recommended treatment = nothing. We play the waiting game. I go back in a month and we see how it all looks. And there you have it!

Hey look, I'm selling an old acoustic guitar. It's the one i've had here at work to write minisongs etc. But i'm trying to dually liquidate and make more room in my room. More room for the room. My main guitar will then come here where it can sit in the corner of my (good) eye and tempt me.

I hate the Grammys. It's just the epitome of cheeseball I rarely agree with any of the nominees and i almost never agree with the winners. Some of the categories I don't even understand. Admittedly, i was one of those folks that resolved to never watch another Grammy show after Metallica lost to Jethro Tull... This is why I enjoyed Amy Winehouse's set (and acceptance speech) last week. Other than maybe Kanye, she's the one loose cannon, unpredictable and thus, exciting in such a stale saccharine ceremony... I've been listening to her a lot lately...

What kind of fuckery is this?

183: Deleted?

I really don't know how all of this works but I guess Braid & Hey Mercedes are possibly in danger of being deleted from Wikipedia? That doesn't seem right, does it?

In other news, I have a doctors appt today at 4 to talk about my most recent scans.

182: Only Slightly Less Than I Used To

I need to liven this place up a bit. Hang some colorful curtains or something.

In 6 minutes, I'm interviewing Headlights for UR Chicago.

Here's this week's mini-song: "Fine, I'll Go"

181: Ugh

The absolute last thing I wanted to happen is a big fat pity party and that's why I mentioned it as more of an aside than a major news story. Lymphoma seems like a big scary word but thankfully for me it wasn't so bad to get through last time and this time even the opthalmologist wondered if it was even worth treating at the moment... I'll find out next Tuesday and then we'll know once and for all how long this will take. Not worth a batted eyelash. One mentions a word like "battling" and it implies i'm completely incapacitated, huddled up in a hospital hooked up to an arsenal of machines. Not at all. I feel as good as I did last week, last year, and at the beginning of 2006... Btw, I'm playing Feb 22 at the Courtyard Cafe in Champaign and then March 15 somewhere in Minneapolis with Somerset!

180: Second Time Around

OK, a few bits of good/fun news first... Last week's minisong was called Look Up! Feel free to download and enjoy...

Also, I've participated in this great project started by my good friend David (formerly of Jet By Day and presently of Coyote Bones) called Telephono. It's basically the fun old game of Telephone but with pieces of music! He sent me a guitar riff, I built stuff around it and then i passed it to Owen. He worked it and passed it to a friend in Italy and so on and so forth. Listen to all of the songs here! Many many more to come on that front.

Last bit of good news... I am going to be actually buying a HOUSE with a partner. A two flat in Chicago with a basement (hopefully), yard, garage... the works. It's a huge investment mentally (gulp), physically (gulp gulp), and financially (gulp gulp gulp) but i'm fucking ready. I'm ready to finally care about something. See this blade of grass here? I love it and I will take care of it because it's mine... This also means that i WILL have a place to put that old rusty rotted out tin can of a jukebox. My collection has been saved for the time being! However you know how bills get... and this leads me to my one bit of bad news.

The lymphoma is back. Thankfully not with a vengeance. It's manifested itself in my left eye. So... it's back to the scanning board. Had two on Friday. An orbital CT scan and a PET scan. If it is indeed only in my eye, then i'm going to argue for a lesser treatment than last time. My side effects with Chemotherapy 2006 were almost non-existent but that's not to say that it didn't still totally suck. So there's that.

In a completely non-related story, I saw No Country For Old Men yesterday and i really loved it. I'm no spoiler so i'm not going to give you my interpretation of the events... until it wins Best Picture.

179: Cloudy

It has been a terrible morning for about 10 different reasons. Blogs by nature are a vehicle for complaining but i don't want to complain so i won't. I will however say that "Friends and Family February" has begun. Not a moment too soon, my friends.