Old Crow Medicine Show

Glo and I caught OCMS in Indy last night. The show was great, could have been a little louder, but still a great show, full of energy, and the venue was cool. The show was a the Vogue NightClub in the Broad Ripple neighborhood. Here is a taste of what we saw.





I think the part I liked best was when everyone would start hillybilly stomping all at once and you would bounce up and down whether you wanted to or not, a Moonwalk for adults.

Also, Gloria and I hit up Country Kitchen, a little soul food spot near downtown. If you're ever in Indy and and in the mood for some southern cooking, this is the place. The place is a dive, but everyone is friendly and the food is satisfying. Lemonade in jelly jars, biscuits and gravy as big around as your head, and fried pork chops that make you want to slap yo mamma.

MLK, Jr. Day 2009

These are Martin Luther King, Jr. quotes culled from the Internet, if you find an inaccuracy here, please let me know:


"A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.

At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies - or else? The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere

Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'

Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.

Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood."

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

And Away We Go

So the trip to Texas was good, it would have been great, but I was sick for most of it. Got to see family and friends, and even made a couple of new friends. Gloria was able to meet up with a childhood friend she hadn't see in a long time. Thanks to Facebook, we've been able to reconnect and connect with folks we thought were out or gone from our lives. I'm now in the process, thanks to Facebook, of meeting up with some childhood friends of my own.

I had another Small Word moment over Xmas Break, two actually. The first, Gloria's long lost friend Cindy, had actually lived here in Indiana (Syracuse) after leaving Texas. Her sister lived in Goshen only until recently, and they have in-laws in the area. Then, as we were making the rounds and saying hello to family, we discovered that one of Gloria's peoples is neighbors with my aunt who lives in Mexico.

Oh yeah, we were attacked by flying ice on our way down to Texas and now have two dents on the roof of the RAV to prove it. If it had been much lower, it would have flown through the windshield and decapitated Gloria, that would have been gross. And sad.

Hmmm, we're in the mood to move. It usually happens once or twice a year, and we usually let things hold us back (our finances are so good right now, i need my graduate degree first, we haven't had a kid yet, family, etc). Neil says if we go out to visit him in Colorado, we won't come back. I wouldn't mind Austin, San Antonio less, but nowhere else in Texas unless it was an emergency. So do I start my MLS in state or do I go online, where I can be mobile, but it's expensive? Hmmm?

Let's have a good year, OK.

Merry Christmas

and so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
the near and the dear ones
the old and the young
a very Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year
let's hope it's a good one
without any fear...

Creative writing opportunity

The SBRMA is offering a creative writing "class." I'm interested in signing up (probably will) and hoping this will get me back into the swing of things. I'm hoping to get at least 2 solid stories out of this. Could be fun, whaddya say, come on, you know you wanna...


http://www.sbrma.org/Winterclasses09.htm

Creative Writing: The Art of the Story – All levels | Instructor: Ann Price | Tuesday | 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. | Member Tuition $51 + Class Fee $10 | Non Member Tuition $64 + Class Fee $10.

Love to read and often think of writing your own masterpiece? Join us, and learn the art of creative writing. Through a combination of group and individual in-class exercises, we will explore ways to generate ideas and develop them into compelling literary works. We will read and discuss samples in class. Students are encouraged to bring works-in-progress.

Isn't there anyone, who knows what Christmas is all about?!

Favorite Christmas movie of all time.

Perfect!

I really don't know what synthesizes the meaning, culture, understanding, environment, etc. of Christmas more than this. Yes folks, this epitomizes, embodies, manifests, symbolizes, etc. Christmas more than the Linus monologue from Charlie Brown Christmas, or shooting your eye out with a Red Ryder BB Gun, or even the Star Wars Holiday Special.

I present to you, Christmas, in all of it's glory...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Soon...

very, very soon!

The 44th President of the United States

Fingers Crossed!

D of the D pix

Dia de los Muertos Party!!!

Party FAQ's

What should I bring?
Um bring whatever you wanna bring. The last person I said that to brought up the point that everyone might bring chips. Well then, we'll eat a shit load of chips!!! Really though, don't make it too hard on yourself. Drinks are good, alc or non-alc. Veggie tray, cheese, meat tray, it's all good.

Can/Should I dress up?
Sure, you know what, if you have a costume you want to wear, wear it! Maybe you have fun wig or crazy mask, sure, to it. I'll have a D of the D shirt on, and maybe if you're lucky, I'll put on my Blue Demon (pronounce it in Spanish though) lucha libre mask. But there is no "dress up" requirement.

Time?
It's a 7, but it's like an open house kind of party, not a scheduled activities party. We do have skulls for you to decorate and/or tissue paper flowers for you to make, besides the food, so it's gonna be first come first served. We'll probably even play a couple of game of loteria (Mexican Bingo).

Altar?
Yep, we're gonna have one. No, it's not a black magic/voodoo thing, it's a venerate the dead thing. So bring a memento (favorite food, object, picture) of a dearly departed soul and you can add it to the display, it's respectful and fun!

Making Sugar Skulls

So we ordered a kit online and started making these a couple days ago. It was really easy and didn't take long, maybe an hour to make about 46. We actually only have about 40 now cuz Marley, our dog with the sweet tooth, got into the skulls today and ate a few. Here are some pix of the process.

Halloween Fun @ Notre Dame

From the Debartolo ND website, it's like $6 a person. This sounds like a lot of fun and I will do everything to convince Gloria that we need to go. I hope you can make it:

Nosferatu (1922); Symphony of Horror

Friday, October 31, 2008, at 10:00 pm
Browning Cinema

Silent film with recorded score by the Devil Music Ensemble
NR, 85 minutes

F.W. Murnau's German silent classic is the original and some say scariest Dracula adaptation, taking Bram Stoker's novel and turning it into a haunting, shadowy dream full of dread. Count Orlok, the rodentlike vampire frighteningly portrayed by Max Schreck, is perhaps the most animalistic screen portrayal of a vampire ever filmed. Nosferatu is an eerie, menacing film that should not be missed.

Dia de los Muertos @ Snite

We can't make that event tonight because I just realized that I'll be working. Craps!!

D of the D @ ND

This sounds like fun, I don't know if we'll be attending, but if a group of folks wants to get together to attend this, let me know.

http://www.nd.edu/~sniteart/edu/public/spec_evnts.html

ND vs. N. Carolina

ND 24
NC 29

It was ugly. ND lost the game, NC did not win the game, there is a difference. Still, faith. They should still definitely beat Syracuse and Washington this weekend. You better call Tyrone, call him! I'm not so confident about the rest of the schedule though, teams are all of a sudden ranked. I still think ND will qualify for a bowl this year.

ND vs Stanford

ND 28
Stanford 21

Well, ND won again, so I shouldn't complain, however, I really think ND should have won by more than one touchdown. And the way they lost the ball with 8 seconds left in the game, hmm, yeah, they still need work. I am glad to see the young guys get so much playing time. They're gelling rather well. I once read that if ND wins at least 7 games in a season they have a contract with one bowl or another to attend. It's looking that way to me now. They'll do well next week at N.Carolina. Go Irish!

ND vs. PU

ND 38
PU 21

It was nice to see the Irish score in the 30's. The first half was a score for score kind of thing, but then ND came back in the second half and Purdue let the game get away from them. ND did have a balanced game, about as much running as passing, more running than last week, that's for sure. I wish I could recap more, but I was busy half the game detonating Irish Car Bombs and stuffing my face. We had some great company over, and I got to laugh at cousin Dave (Purdue Alumni and Staff) for doing the one man wave. Next week, Stanford.