Countdown: One Week

Although I'm still feeling quite unprepared for this upcoming ordeal, I do actually want it to happen, regardless of what some stupid volcano in Iceland has to say about it. My ex-girlfriend was supposed to go to Budapest yesterday and her flight was canceled. That was followed by a slew of nightmarish calls to airlines and such. I hope that doesn't happen to me. Or my American cousins, whom I'm meeting in Lviv. I just want the volcano to get it all out of its system and let me fly, which of course is something I hate to do. But it beats walking.

After Hours

Les Sinners. Go go Trudeau

Hey look! Special guest Derek Smalls! No, actually that's a real Canadian guy from 1968, singing a tune that I'm assuming is about Pierre Trudeau. Except for those daffy character voices, it's pretty catchy - just like leprosy. OK, so yesterday's offering was from 1967, so you can see just how much these kids have changed over the course of a year. All they had to do was to stop shaving and getting haircuts! Of course, they didn't get any better. They just looked slightly hipper.

Trivia Triumph!

Last night, the Christ Punchers returned to the Kangaroo & Kiwi to prove to all that our victory there several weeks ago was no fluke. Long story very short: it wasn't. We won. Victory once again felt like defeat until they announced the final scores. We had a very competent team with two guest stars from Kathleen Turner Overdrive (soon to be Kentucky Fried Panda). This achievement stands in contrast to Dr. Al's and my efforts on Tuesday at Buckley's. Granted, there were only two of us and I'd forgotten how to play the game (specifically, you can double the score of a category you do well in by circling a joker on the answer sheet), but we finished seventh. Yeah, the best thing about us was our name: FartDate.gov. But last night was a different story. We were, as you know, the Christ Punchers and we've just about figured out the quizmaster. When he asks a certain question (generally about science), he's not really interested in the right answer, but instead, he wants the answer that most believe to be true, even though it isn't. There were several like that last night. We caught on late to that, though it didn't matter, because we won anyway. I guess there were 10 or 11 other teams all told. So that's it for me at the K&K till at least June. I'm sure they'll be fine with that. There's nothing worse for open competition than a team that wins all the time. People stop showing up if they know they don't have a chance, no matter how drunk/funny the quizmaster is. For league play, however, constant winning breaks the will of your opponents. That begins again next week - in fact, it's the night before I take off.

He Strikes Again!

This is on Blanchard, between 2nd & 3rd. I detect no artistic evolution so far.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 26, Part 3

...More coming down. It looks like they'll be close to finished tomorrow.

After Hours

Les Sinners. Penny Lane

As long as we're doing translations, I thought I'd include this French-language version of the Beatles classic. Hey, these Quebecois youngsters are trying! But they're no Beatles. Heck, they aren't even the Animals! Apologies for the wonky sound.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 26, Part 2

And it continues to come down...

Et tu, Adams?

Walking by the grand old Adams at 3rd & Bell this weekend, I witnessed this sad sight:


Both of its entrances have been gated. As some may know, I'm against doing this. This is a neighborhood, not a fortress. On the other hand, I can see how those doorways practically have neon signs hanging above them reading: "Sit here and fall asleep" and "Please smoke crack here," but as somebody who lives in an ungated building, I'll tell you that not living behind bars is better. Sure, people will sleep and do assorted other things in the doorway, but such occurrences have grown increasingly rare. Putting myself in the Adams' shoes once again, I can see them doing this in anticipation of the Bell Street Park and its increased foot traffic. But is this really necessary? I mean, they've survived gateless since 1915, through World War I, through the worldwide flu pandemic, through the roaring twenties, through the Great Depression, through World War II, through the Cuban Missile Crisis, through the social upheaval of the sixties, through the free love of the seventies, through the invasion of Grenada, through the First Gulf War, through the grunge revolution and through the unfortunate George W. Bush administration, only to close themselves off from the rest of the world at this moment. Is there something I'm missing here? I mean, are things worse now than during the crack epidemic of 2001? Well, they've done what they thought was best. And that's too bad.

McGuire DEATHWATCH - 1

The scaffold is still there, but it is none of our concern. We're solely interested in the demise of this unfortunate building. The dwarf army which formerly toiled on its slopes has been discharged. They are heading to their homeland to graze their flocks and serenade their womenfolk. The tenant evacuation has only just started. It will continue for the next few months. I wonder what it will be like for the last person to leave. I've always had an Omega Man fantasy, so that's why I'm curious. After it's vacated, they'll call in the goblins to strip the structure of its valuables and then the end will come. I'm pretty sure they're not going to implode it, although it would be spectacular. There are too many other buildings standing too near to it. Even though demolition engineers take pride in their focus and accuracy (I've seen all that stuff on Discovery), I'm afraid that the explosion needed to bring this baby down will do terrible damage to the surrounding structures. The only alternative is to take it down piece by piece. I think this presents a great opportunity to document the McGuire as it steadily disappears from existence. Heck, I might even start a separate blog for the occasion. So that's how things stand for now.

Coming Soon to the Moore!

Spelled backwards it's "Margaytirn." Although slightly easier to pronounce, we'd probably still have trouble remembering it. OK, so this is yet another Indian act on tour here in the States. And I say welcome! It's nice that so much Indian culture is stopping off at the Moore, even though I have caught none of them. Well, that might just change this weekend. Nrityagram is a very highly-regarded dance ensemble that combines traditional and modern dance. If I can score a cheap ticket, I'm totally there.