The Blog Is Dead (Long Live the Blog)

I can now be found at Spinning In a Miasma: www.spinningmiasma.blogspot.com. Cheers, y'all.

Survey: Desecration or Simply Updating

OK, so we have had this mirror for about ten years. Now I want to repaint the frame, because the salmon/pink color is too Miami Subs. D.Roosevelt says it was created by an artist (David Marsh), and therefore repainting would be desecration. What say you?

Don't Forget The View

The prior post contained a major omission: my favorite new teen rocker band, The View from Dundee Scotland. Here is their hit song, "Same Jeans,"which is about the fifth best song on the record, but has has my foot tapping on many a metro ride.

Quick Notes

Trial prep keeps me from blogging much, but two albums worth mentioning keep catching my ear on the ipod: Modest Mouse (does anyone hear some Talking Heads in there), and John Doe, he of X fame. A Year in the Wilderness is by far the best record by JD since he left X. Enjoy.

No. 23

Last night, I rode home with a trainload of people, a shockingly high number of whom were wearing jersies for the most famous No. 23 playing. By their accounts, he played 20 unremarkable minutes. But they were gratified to see him at all. Few seemed to care that DC won the game, 1-nil. (As with my Nationals, who took two from the Giants this week (and have won 7 games in August already), the team performance was lost in the face of an individual performance . . .)

Someone Call Jimmy Stewart

Sometimes the world can be falling apart and you have no idea.

OK, maybe that's a little melodramatic. But here I was working along today, righting wrongs (at least from my clients' perspective), when this email popped onto my screen:

Company having financial troubles. Not sure if it will survive.

The author -- my mortgage broker -- directed us to email him at home from now on.

Yikes. So, head for Google, and it turns out our mortgage company has been in the news. Its stock tumbled 90% in one day (Friday). It has been having troubles for some time. Today, its CEO announced the company would close Friday.

So, um, what happens to me? I have a contractor who is basically finished the house, and probably would like to get paid.

According to my account manager, there is no money to pay the draw we submitted. The bank ran out of cash.

And now they are closing.

(As an aside, how absurd is it that the only indication of trouble on their website is that they are "no longer accepting mortgage applications." Har.)

I called the customer service line, and the woman answering the phone was, no exaggeration, crying, when she answered the phone. She told me that my customer service agent would be there tomorrow. Somehow, given the news reports, I doubt it.

So, someone call Jimmy Stewart.

During & After

For fun, let's compare the front and back porches during the renovation (click here), to the front and back porches after the renovation:

Exile No More!

Home, again.

My Family Car is Headed to Jammin' Java

The famous Joe McDermott, he of the kids songs that even grown-ups can love, is playing this Saturday at Jammin' Java in Vienna VA at 11:00 am. Some or all of the Roosevelts are going to zip out there for the show once we have moved back into the Great House.

Not only is Joe an excellent musician (D. Roosevelt and I are likely married because of Joe's old band Grains of Faith), but he has a red guitar, named after yours truly. No Joke.

See you there.

Tentacles

Had dinner last night at Hook, a DC restaurant that has as its, ahem, hook, that it serves only sustainable fish. It was a delightful evening, with excellent service matching well-crafted dishes. Dee's appetizer, octopus grilled and served over, get this, a weed, was particularly well presented (though my camera phone photography apparently needs some work).

On Bunting

I taught B. Roosevelt how to bunt today. We started with the feet (as Pops used to say, wrt tennis, Get Your Feet Right for Jesus). Squaring around. Sliding the hand up the bat. Making sure your hand is behind the bat so that fingers don't get mashed. Feigning a real swing to keep the 3d baseman from sneaking in. B. Roosevelt loved it.

There is something particularly attractive about the bunt. I spent a whole season of little league bunting on almost every at-bat. When B. Roosevelt demanded to learn the bunt, I thought back to that season. Why bunt every time? I was not particularly fast, but in those days it almost always worked. I think it must have been swing anxiety that did it. I didn't have to worry about hitting the ball. Most times I could count on the catcher to throw it away.

So B. Roosevelt, for whom lack of self-confidence is rarely an issue, really wanted to learn to bunt. Once he learned, it was hard to keep him swinging. Though I think the home run he hit and the end may have taught him that a full swing now and again is a good thing.

Why to get HBO (post Sopranos)

Flight of the Conchords, a new HBO show, is hi-larious. Here is a clip from the 3d episode from these two Kiwis. Think Rogers & Clark (Ishtar) meets Tenacious D.

Next Up

Brother G. interviews Michelle Obama. As with his interview of Elizabeth Edwards, I was impressed, with maybe one slight exception. I don't think crossing guards get paid. Watch and you'll understand.

Smokin'

"You ever judged?"

Never have three words so swelled my pride. The questioner was the curled cowboy hat wearing proprietor of the Mighty Midget.

He had been spying from his "restaurant," a tiny airstream cabin in Leesburg from which the best bbq ribs (pork, natch) in NOVA are dispensed. I had been caressing the meat off the rib bones, admiring the color, savoring the spicy salty rub, testing the suprisingly thick sauce, and enjoying every minute that the half-rack was with us.

Apparently he was watching me, and asked those fateful words. "You ever judged?" I told him I was no judge, just a BBQ fan. He described how the judges would go through the same slow eat process (appropriately enough for slow cooked meats). Apparently the judges work a lot with their hands. He told us that the rack we were eating smoked for 8 1/2 hours. Just right, as far as I can tell.

But I'm no judge.

At long last

Nats Win! Nats Win!

Nats beat the Cubs today 6-0. (Would Brose say 6-o?)

Dmitri Young, our All Star First Baseman hit a grand slam that had RFK rocking.

But the best part was that after a long long long long long long time and many many many many missed opportunities, I got a foul ball.

As we walked in, I said to B.Roosevelt that I was mad for forgetting my glove. So when the fateful pop up headed our way, I braved it with my bare hands. It may have bounced off my hands, I may have fallen over backwards into the row behind me, and I may have been caught by the kind folks behind me only to have the ball roll in front of my face as I dangled inches from the concrete. All that was a blur. Alls I know is that I finally got a ball.

Vacation Beard

Time to get back to work.

Stanley Park

Pool meets ocean (almost) in Stanley Park, Vancouver BC.

Vancouver Aquarium

We had a dandy time at the VanBC aquarium. A few fotos below, including a few of those ever-popular dolphins.

Jellies. Dude.

I do not know how old the sea turtle was.

OK, no more Nemo references.

Except that B.Roosevelt took one look at a blue fish with yellow tail, and exclaimed, "Dad, look! Dory." The German tourists thought that was hilarious and translated for their children.

Everyone loves those dolphins.

Salmon in Flight

Watch the salmon fly by at the Capilano Regional Park.

Texas Cousins (and friends)

Uncle G. Roosevelt sends these pics of the Texas cousins each posing with a pal.

Gracie with pal Chloe and Kaye's chickens.

Maddie with red-headed bf.

Congraduations

J.Roosevelt at her post-elementary-school-graduation lunch.

4 and 20 until 7/31

Had a lovely Father's Day brunch at Four and Twenty Blackbirds, in Flint Hill VA. We were sad to learn that this fabulous restaurant "in the foothills of Rappahannock County" is closing in July. Apparently the owners are exhausted and ready for something less demanding than a successful, reasonably priced, unpretentious restaurant serving serious food in the middle of VA.

Notable moment at brunch: Jordie taking all of my pan fried trout in exchange for all of her berry coffee cake. We'll have to make it back one more time before the requiem.

Mid-Year Champeen

My mid-year nominee for Album of the Year is unquestionably Grand Champeen's dial T for this.

This morning I just took the rare step--post kids, job, and ipod--of listening to the whole album all the way through. There's hardly a dud on the record. Indie alt-country rock at its finest.

I first noticed Champeen when they were featured on a album of Elvis Costello covers, where they ripped through No Action. (Loyal listeners heard their version of that Elvis classic on THLS 2003.) I bought a full album at that time and was disappointed at how uneven their music was.

No longer. dial T is one of the most consistent set of fast driving (can't say hard driving with all those hooks) 2:40 songs I have heard in years. Although they are aptly compared to the Replacements and Soul Asylum, there is something bigger/older in this records. I can't quite place it, but there is something of the harmonies, song structures, and low tech production that stimulates the Byrds Beatles Who Monkey's part of my admittedly addled musical brain.

Champeen are reputed to tear it up on stage. Listeners will have little doubt of that fact.

Champeen's web presence also reflects a generational (speaking in web time) shift. Their self-named website is completely out of date, and essentially acts as a referral to their myspace page.

At myspace, you can hear them, and find out that their only scheduled show is at the Hole in the Wall, tonight.

Moist Moon Bounce

B.Roosevelt seemed to enjoy the company picnic.

River Dreaming

Went floating down the Shenandoah River for Memorial Day, launching from Harper's Ferry WV. We took the slow float, on account of B.Roosevelt, and it was fabulous. Harper's Ferry is at the confluence of the Potomac and the Shenandoah, and is ridiculously close to where we live. So, if you can't find us at the Great House, come one down the river, 'cause that's where we'll be.

Well-Written Book

I just finished a great book, A Well-Paid Slave by Brad Snyder.

The book tells the story of Curt Flood's legal battle against Major League Baseball seeking free agency for players bound to teams by a contractual provision called the "reserve clause." (Rarely has a contract provided such a compelling villain.) Brad tells an under-appreciated story in grand fashion, and the result is part Seabiscuit, part Gideon's Trumpet, though there is no Hollywood gloss here.

This is a great book, not just for baseball lovers and lawyers. It builds around a theme anyone can love: a man following the example of his hero (Jackie Robinson) and standing up to the establishment at great personal risk and sacrifice.

(I should mention that the author is a friend and used to occupy the office next to mine, though it is hard to find much mention of that era in his bio.)

So, go buy A Well-Paid Slave today.

Back Porch

Tonight, I got to the Great House (B.Roosevelt's name for the Roosevelt Street house) in the early evening, and headed straight for the back porch.

The new back porch stretches from the back of the addition nearly to the fish pond. It is officially my favorite part of the house.

So I headed straight back to enjoy the end of the day. When I went out, it was like the watering hole at sunset -- all the wildlife was out.

I saw a female cardinal, a chipmunk, two rabbits, and several goldfish (OK, they are always there).

So all of a sudden it hit me that rather than landscape the back area, we should leave it wild. Keep it a habitat for all of the neighborhood creatures pushed out of other lots crowded with McMansions.

Our architect says the verdant back yard looks like West Virginia. I think that'll do just fine.

I'm Back

Greetings to my fan. The blog is back.

Thirteen Years

Thirteen years, such a long, long time.

--Alejandro Escovedo

Happy Anniversary to D.Roosevelt. Lucky No. 13.

If you see Kaye

Tell her how much you like her chickens.

Ridonkulous!

Today's word of the day is ridonkulous. The most popular selection in the Urban Dictionary defines ridonkulous as "deserving or inspiring ridicule to the highest degree." I prefer the definition of the variation, ridonkulus, "just like ridiculous, but more intense." That definition has a Gen X Mountain Dew ad flavor to it.

I first heard the word from Tina Fey, my cultural hero, on SNL. I have used it periodically since then when trying to sound as young as I look.

But to my great surprise, it appeared in a column by Thomas Boswell in today's Washington Post Sports Section. Looks like its time for a new hip word choice. . .

ASFS 5K & Fun Run

J.Roosevelt and her BFF tied for 2d in the Arlington Science Focus School 5K in the 5th grade girls category! J was also 10th overall among kids. Woo-hoo!

Dash to the finish

Meanwhile in the Fun Run, B.Roosevelt ran the entire mile, without stopping!

Oh, and don't forget the school board vote today at Kenmore Middle School!

Vancouver Bound!

Our summer vacation plans are set: Vancouver, BC. We have a glorious week to see the sights, climb the mountains, walk the suspension bridges, and ride with tourists to see whales (that would be two summers running).

What should we do?

Low Budget Review: Fountains of Wayne

It might be fair to call me a huge Fountains of Wayne fan. Ever since I first heard Leave the Biker, I was hooked on their geek rock unabashed pop janglings. I like them so much I didn't get annoyed at the rampant overexposure of Stacy's Mom.

So it is with some disappointment that I offer this mini-review of their new record. It is well, fine. There is nothing particularly wrong with it. I don't reach for the trackwheel when a song comes on.

Normally lyrics are not the key to a great song for me. It's the hooks, man. I once read a review of the Gourds that said they could make reading the phone book soulful. Exactly. But FOW seems to have gone one step too far in cataloguing the mundane. They have become the mundane. The hooks are there, and a few clever turns of phrase ("ooh, we belong together/like traffic and weather"), but I'm not moved.

Maybe a few more listens will bring me around, but mostly it makes me want to listen to the older stuff. OK, now I sound like every musical curmudgeon, so I'll stop.

More House Pix

Porch!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a back porch!

My Own Episode of 24

Had about 24 hours in Austin. So naturally, I did a culinary sprint with the aid of my intrepid brother and his family. Here's the rough chronology:

8:03 Schlotzsky's/Cinnabon. Sad to say the Bread Alone on South Lamar closed in favor of Cinnabon. But I also know that those cinnamon treats are a huge hit with the neices, so what's the heck?

8:17 Jo's Coffee, South Congress. Hot coffee. With cinnabons in hand, it was hard, but I resisted the kolaches.

8:59 Las Manitas. Mmmm migas and more coffee. Delightful. Noticed a picture of Ann Richards sitting alone at the counter, oddly enough signed by Meg Ryan. Save Las Mas!

9:47 Austin Farmer's Market. Spent most of the time chatting with chocolate czar Tom Pederson, of the famous Cocoa Puro Kakawa Whole Bean Chocolates. Ate some of a new product, his bits of roasted cocoa bean, aptly called nibs. Nutty goodness.

11:00 Taqueria Arandas. Mostly drank tea, pretended to understand the waitresses' Spanish, and nibbled on chips and tasty salsa.

2:00 Fran's Hamburgers. (OK, three hours is a long time to go without eating, so I snacked on a Cinnabon in the meantime.) Hickory burger and a Dr. Pepper. We narrowly dodged ordering onion rings at the last second. Saw something never seen in all my years at Frans: a salad. Never fear, it came as a side to a chicken fried steak.

I nearly died waiting for dinner, but we finally made it out.

9:45 Fino. RIP the Granite Cafe, welcome tapas place Fino. It was quite tasty and full of the 78703 crowd (even at close to 11 the place was hoppin'). Very enjoyable evening, and the perfect quantity of food after the excesses of the day. The mocha flan was a treat, as was the smoked paprika dipping sauce for the calamari. The star of the night, though, was a lamb cheek ravioli with a brothy sauce. Zoinks.

Not a bad day all in all. I think I set some records somewhere along the way. Of course, all of that food did not stop me from picking up a couple of Round Rock Donuts in the airport on the way out of town the next morning (don't tell my kids!).

Eeek!

Today when I went upstairs in the Roosevelt Street house to see the attic room, I was greeted by a pair of terrified mourning doves. They were flying into windows in an attempt to get out, and it looked like things were going to turn sour quickly.

After an urgent call to the good folks at the Arlington Animal Welfare League (who picked up on the first ring on Easter), we opened all the windows and Dee was able to urge the birds out to freedom.

Now we know what it sounds like when doves cry: me screaming like a frightened child as I dive for cover.

#$%^&* Snow?!

Happy Spring!
Here's a picture of our backyard this morning:

Opening Day

Welcome to opening day. Go Nats!

Still not sure if I will make the game. (Work keeps getting in the way.)

President Bush is not throwing out the first pitch this year. The excuse? He's "in meetings." Surely he is not influenced by last year, when the Veep was greeted with what The Washington Post very politely called "some boos." As the Prez joked recently at the Correspondent's Dinner, those were the good old days for the administration. (The whole joke: "A year ago my approval rating was in the 30s, my nominee for the Supreme Court had just withdrawn, and my vice president had shot someone . . . Ah, those were the good ol' days." Click here for the whole routine -- W was very funny.)

But given the team our new owners have assembled, the politicians may not be the only ones facing boos this year.

By July 4, when the Nats host the Cubs (we have tickets - come on up!), I expect the eternally beleaguered Chicago team to be close to first, while the new! and exciting! owners of the Nats should have us close to last place.

Viva Los Expos!

Cherry Blossom Trek

Living the cliche, we trekked down to the tidal basin for the blooming of the National Cherry Trees.

A cool feature this year, valet parking for bicycles only. (we drove, sadly).

But we did get some classic photos.

More House Pix

Here's T.Roosevelt's room in the attic. Imagine walls, high speed computers, wall-to-wall guitars, and a lock on the door.

Here's J.Roosevelt's room with all the plaster pulled out to make way for insulation and smooth dry wall:

Go UCLA

The Onion said it all.

Spare the Rock

Shamless plug this morning for our friend Bill Childs' kids' music radio show Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child from 8-10 am (eastern) Saturdays on Valley Free Radio (streamed live over the internets).

Bill hosts the show weekly with his daughter Ella (and sometimes Liam, Ella's junior sybling). The point of the show appears to be to play the best in kids music, and by best I mean the most tolerable to adults.

Oh, and to Rock.

So click here, tune in, and rock on.

Chillin

Happy Saturday

Ringtunes

My new phone claims I can use any song as the ring tone. As with everything in my life these days, this presents the torture of seemingly unending possibilities. (To wit: apparently 3,000 choices of faucet style is not enough in modern America?)

So, what is the perfect, oh-so-cool, yet not-trying-too-hard song that could be my ring tone? It should have some connection to the phone, it seems. Also it should not be overly embarassing when it rings in a business setting.

I admit I am terrible at this type of puzzle. My brain immediately refuses to think of anything phone-song related as soon as I need to think of one.

So far, all I have come up with (which I admit to kind of liking) is "Hippy Johnny" by Jonathan Richman, which starts out:

I, called this number three times already today.

But I got scared, I put it back in place. (I put my phone back in place)

I sure don't know if I should have called up.

Look just tell me if I'm out of place.

Or maybe, "Dignified and Old," also by JoJo:

My telephone never rings

She'd never call me

I hate myself today

But I can see through this bitterness and sadness

And so I won't die

Someday I think I'll be dignified and old

I'd have to answer quickly on that last one . . .

What do you think? What is the perfect Ringtune?

Happy B-Day J. Roosevelt

It's J. Roosevelt's 11th b-day!

Tullycraft at SxSW

If I were in Austin for SxSW, I would surely go see Tullycraft at some club called Parish II at 1 am Friday.

Tullycraft are purveyors of excellent indie-pop, filled with hooks, clever turns of phrase, and stories about people you might have known. And they have a good website (though it has been promising a new record for a long time now).

Of course, if I really were in Austin, I would probably only say I was going to Tullycraft, and instead I would go to bed.

Billy Goat Trail

Saturday, J. Roosevelt, B. Roosevelt and I hiked the Billy Goat Trail. This is a fairly difficult hike, just on the other side of the Potomac on the Maryland side of Great Falls Park (technically the C&O Canal National Historic Park).

Here is a video from the New York Times describing the trail.

The BGT meets the hiking criteria that the kids have laid down: a hike must involve scrambling over rocks and traversing precipices that make it impossible for a mother to watch, for fear that one of her children will plummet to an unfortunate end. No walks in the woods for these maniacs.

We made it through relatively unscathed. B's face did become intimately familiar with the shape of one boulder, and J's stomach similarly planted itself on a rock. But all in all, it was a great hike.

greenlight Greenlight

Did you get this month's Greenlight Bite from your friends at Greenlight Magazine? If not, here's your chance.

As you know, T. Roosevelt's sister's company publishes Greenlight Magazine, Your Guide to Earth Friendly Living. If you have not yet checked it out, you should.


You can subscribe to Greenlight (currently free) right here.

What Are The Odds?

OK, math wizards, ponder this one:

Tonight we dined at the Taqueria Poblano. While there, I noticed over the din that they were playing Camera Obscura's "Let's Get Out of This Country." Not particularly unusual, as this was a popular song from a popular record. The restaurant speakers then offered "Sunday Morning," the great Velvet Underground song, performed by Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet.

Now, loyal listeners will note that not only are both of these songs on THLS 2006, but in that order. It's a musical exacta.

When I got home, I confirmed that these two songs were in fact next to each other on my cd. This seemed too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence. Convinced I was finally achieving the musical influence I have always deserved, I headed back to the Taqueria, with J. Roosevelt in tow (so I would look less like a lunatic).

Turns out the very hip (at least now I think so) bartender Brian had put together a mix to play at the restaurant that tracked THLS 2006 for just a brief moment. I must admit I was disappointed that they were not playing a bootlegged THLS 2006 obtained in the vast Arlington musical underground.

So, math wizards out there, tell me: What are the odds?

House Update -March 3, 2007

You can see the back porch and the addition and the two giant windows in the master bed and bath:





...and here's the view from our new bedroom:





...and our new dining room window and the giant holly tree:

I got your blog right here!

My favorite blog is right here.

Happy D-Day

Did I mention it was just D-Roosevelt's b-day. She's one.

Cool boards from the attic, where D. Roosevelt found drawrings and notes from the mid 30s. We are trying to save the boards for reuse here or elsewhere.

New Family Room

Here's the framing for the new family room. This is the view from the new kitchen.

R.I.P. Split Lip Rayfield

My brother writes about the tragic and untimely demise of Split Lip Rayfield frontman Kirk Rundstrom:


Hey, thanks to DKP for alerting me to the sad news out of Kansas this week. A newspaper report is below.

Maybe you fielded a note from me the first time I saw Kirk Rundstrom and Split Lip Rayfield. Holy roly poly moly! (What was that--10 years ago?)
In popular music, it seems, there's rote and mainstream and alternative and mixes too. Then there's invention beyond the categories. Maybe SLR falls/fell there; I'll leave that judgment to fine tuners among us.
For this moment of grief, I'm playing my SLR CDs loud in our Saturday-emptied house. A Kansas-like wind pours through the front door, as if to the beat of a gas-tank bass or a relentless banjo or the zum-zum mandolin or hey-hey-hey four-guys-wailing to harmony best they can--such rich energy, such dark vision, and hope and despair and knee-poppin' twang.

Yeah, zest...

g.

On Lucinda

Started my day with the new Lucinda Williams record, West.

The album starts quietly, with Lucinda taking her time stepping in. Once she does, though, it is unmistakably Lucinda. Hearing her voice is like coming home. It is warmth and memories and a sense of place.

Lucinda binds together many parts of my life. Her 1988 release (Lucinda Williams) may have been the first record that my bother, sister, and I all liked. “I Just Wanted To See You So Bad,” was my anthem as I lived in a closet-sized room (the “Cave”) in Chicago, dreaming of warmer climates, and then of my future wife.

The wife and I would later re-write many of the songs on Sweet Old World to be about our two dogs. Lucinda was the highlight of countless SxSW festivals. She made the cover of THLS 2005 (photo credit: J. Roosevelt), and has graced many many THLS compilations. And she adorned the mantle of the Roosevelt Street house before it was torn asunder.

The new record has met with mixed critical reviews. I thought 2005’s Live @ the Fillmore was a terrible disappointment (2 discs’ worth!). But even if West ends up disappearing into the depths of the ipod, there is no forgetting the first warbles and moans and all that those sounds have meant over the years.

Movie Time

You really should go see Bridge to Terabithia. Then go home and listen to the Steve Songs song based on the book. Really.

Addition photo 1

Here's the view from our old bedroom (before they added the second floor of the addition). Be careful walking out that door!

Check out this photo from U Chicago days. We found this while moving. That's T.Roosevelt (in exile) at QB. My friend Kim Masterson gets the photo credit.

Welcome to Roosevelt Street in Exile

Howdy all. In keeping with the trends, here is our blog. We hope to keep you posted on all developments from our temporary digs in exile.