May 6, 2006

nibbling on seashells in the sand

And where have you been keeping yourself, you may well ask? I'll just widen my eyes as wide as they can go, shape my intonation into an innocent S-curve, and say "around."

Location #1 was the EMP conference, about which other people have already said more and better than I can. (Highlights of the actual conference for me: Sara Marcus on growing apart from Ani DiFranco, Michaelangelo Matos on "Love Child" and his family history, Mike McGonigal on the underacknowledged glories of ELO. Other highlights: karaoke with a drop-a-bomb joke's worth of music critics at a clip joint I will not dignify by naming it--Maria Tessa Sciarrino's "Blue Monday" and Maura Johnston's "You Could Be Mine," oh my x 2; Alex Ross's aerial view of 20th-century compositional music; Indian food with another drop-a-bomb joke's worth; Daphne Carr's "Aura Is So 1936" badges--as she noted, it's funnier if you wear two of them.)

Location #2 was flat on my back with a familial flu. We all pulled through it, although with a few lost days of productivity. (Actually Sterling managed to produce at least 65% of his usual quota of cuteness: the little trouper!) While thoroughly spaced out and immobile, I fell in love with the Mr. T Experience's "Up and Down." It was Lisa who pointed out that it was a Sesame Street cover. The only thing I could eat when my appetite started to come back was the "Tibetan dessert" an East Village restaurant introduced me to: basmati rice, yogurt, raisins, a touch of honey.

Location #3 is undisclosed. Mini-hit parade of my journey here: Mission of Burma's "Donna Sumeria"; Thee Headcoatees' "Santa Claus"; the Abyssinians' "Satta Massa Ganna"; the whole "Call-Me-Kenneth" business in the first volume of Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, the first time the series feels like it's finding what will become its tone.

This month's Salon comics piece is up; this time it's about Civil War, Infinite Crisis, 52 and Free Comic Book Day. And speaking of undisclosed locations: I have foolishly resolved to start an additional blog to rattle on about 52, yoo-arr-ell tee-kay. In the meantime, the official site seems more fun than it really needed to be.

A dream last night: a '60s Candid Camera-like TV show in which a man politely asks passersby for a large, umbrella-covered compass. Sometimes, someone has one and gives it to him.

Posted by Douglas at May 6, 2006 11:24 PM | TrackBack
Comments

Back in the early 90's I was home from college and playing a tape of my college radio show for my parents. The Mr. T. Experience's "Up and Down," comes on and my mom tells me "You used to love that song when you were little." I look at her dumbfounded, having only discovered the song that year, until she tells me the songs' Sesame Street origins.

Posted by: smurph on May 11, 2006 9:12 PM
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