One gift I received on this trip back to Kansas was unexpectedly moving.
I received my late grandfather's black leather jacket and a pair of matching gloves. I'm the only one in the family who can wear it -- he was 6 foot 4 and I'm 6 foot 1. Everyone else in the family is shorter and thinner.
It was his coat in the last few years of his life. I remember watching him put it on, and thinking it was a pretty cool coat for an older guy. It reminds me of a pilot's jacket, which was probably intentional. My grandfather trained to be a parachutist in World War II.
But now the jacket comes to me. I'll think of him whenever I wear it.
This is the archived edition of a blog kept from Nov. 24, 2002, to
Feb. 29, 2004, by Clay Wirestone.
The original description: "From the overstuffed mind of writer,
editor, cartoonist and crank Clay McCuistion comes a blog full of
-- well -- stuff. And things."
Monday, January 6, 2003
Watched out
Family film viewing notes for the day.
Mother and sister enjoyed Back to the Future DVD.
Sister couldn't stand The Young Ones.
I watched some of the "work-in-progress" version of Beauty and the Beast that comes on the Disney special edition DVD of the film.
Mother and sister enjoyed Back to the Future DVD.
Sister couldn't stand The Young Ones.
I watched some of the "work-in-progress" version of Beauty and the Beast that comes on the Disney special edition DVD of the film.
More Giants
A week or two ago, I wrote about the first half of the first disk of Dial-A-Song -- the two-disk retrospective of They Might Be Giants. Here are comments on the rest of disk one.
Man, It's So Loud in Here
A somber techno-pop tune that channels both 80s new wave bands and the godawful club music of today. To say the humor is dry is to say the Atlantic Ocean is kinda wet.
We're the Replacements
They're not really. But this fannish song says they are.
Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) (Live)
One of the band's "educational" tunes. It's a cover version -- the original was on a record of science-themed songs from the 50s or 60s.
Your Racist Friend
Another Flood track, this song frustrates me. While the tune is catchy and the production shiny, the Johns seem to be trying for something profound in the lyrics. It doesn't quite work.
Bangs
Silly, but catchy. The song's narrator enjoys a girl's bangs. As in hair. Bangs. Yeah, I know. It's silly.
Snail Shell
The John Henry album marked a turning point for TMBG, as they recorded as a full rock ensemble for the first time. This really opened up the sound of their songs, and this track is an excellent example.
Twisting
The group tackles a 60s-style surf tune, with lyrics about a dysfunctional relationship.
Another First Kiss
Pure pop perfection. "Another First Kiss" is low-key and tuneful, and it can be swamped by the bizarre concoctions that surround it on this disk. But taken on its own, this is a delightful and apppealing track.
They'll Need a Crane
A repetitive tune, with a surprisingly downbeat message.
The Statue Got Me High
Not much to say about a song like this. It's genuinely surrealistic. The trick to it, and what makes it quintessential TMBG, is that it's sung with the same amount of conviction as "Another First Kiss."
(She Was A) Hotel Detective
An earlier song, showcasing the group's lo-fi roots.
Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head
Do I dare? Can I manage it? Should I actually put my hand inside the puppet head? The Johns want me to. Not sure if I can manage it yet.
I Palindrome I
The disk winds up with this John Henry track. It has the cheerfully evil opening line ("Someday mother will die and I'll get the money") and a catchy, interlocking chorus. A fitting end to a disk meant to showcase their best-known and most appealing songs.
Man, It's So Loud in Here
A somber techno-pop tune that channels both 80s new wave bands and the godawful club music of today. To say the humor is dry is to say the Atlantic Ocean is kinda wet.
We're the Replacements
They're not really. But this fannish song says they are.
Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) (Live)
One of the band's "educational" tunes. It's a cover version -- the original was on a record of science-themed songs from the 50s or 60s.
Your Racist Friend
Another Flood track, this song frustrates me. While the tune is catchy and the production shiny, the Johns seem to be trying for something profound in the lyrics. It doesn't quite work.
Bangs
Silly, but catchy. The song's narrator enjoys a girl's bangs. As in hair. Bangs. Yeah, I know. It's silly.
Snail Shell
The John Henry album marked a turning point for TMBG, as they recorded as a full rock ensemble for the first time. This really opened up the sound of their songs, and this track is an excellent example.
Twisting
The group tackles a 60s-style surf tune, with lyrics about a dysfunctional relationship.
Another First Kiss
Pure pop perfection. "Another First Kiss" is low-key and tuneful, and it can be swamped by the bizarre concoctions that surround it on this disk. But taken on its own, this is a delightful and apppealing track.
They'll Need a Crane
A repetitive tune, with a surprisingly downbeat message.
The Statue Got Me High
Not much to say about a song like this. It's genuinely surrealistic. The trick to it, and what makes it quintessential TMBG, is that it's sung with the same amount of conviction as "Another First Kiss."
(She Was A) Hotel Detective
An earlier song, showcasing the group's lo-fi roots.
Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head
Do I dare? Can I manage it? Should I actually put my hand inside the puppet head? The Johns want me to. Not sure if I can manage it yet.
I Palindrome I
The disk winds up with this John Henry track. It has the cheerfully evil opening line ("Someday mother will die and I'll get the money") and a catchy, interlocking chorus. A fitting end to a disk meant to showcase their best-known and most appealing songs.
Sunday, January 5, 2003
So then
As a committed diarist (that means I keep a diary, you sick-minded people!), I've jotted down the events of my life for the last dozen or so years. I thought I'd reproduce my entry from 10 years ago today. I would have been 14 years old, and a student in grade 8. I apologize for the fact I was so boring. Explanatory notes are in brackets.
January 5th, 1993:
Howdy do there! How are ya? Novel writing was not so prolific today. I simply didn't have the time! Managed to make it to page 92 though [Was working on the first draft of a preteen comedy novel titled How to Put on a School Play and Survive. Work was progressing reasonably quickly at this point].
Gym floor flooded, so classes are in cafeteria.
Gave name for character to Ms. S. Need to change. [Had a large part in the yearly assembly put on by the school's history teacher. She wrote little skits, and put me in the production as the character linking them all together.]
Went to bell choir [practice] tonight, had math homework. Book report due tomorrow. Will write in homeroom. Also day of meeting about show before Channel One. [Was about to start working on a news program about the middle school. The show would be broadcast before the 15-minute educational news program known as Channel One.]
Ah well, time to go. See ya!
January 5th, 1993:
Howdy do there! How are ya? Novel writing was not so prolific today. I simply didn't have the time! Managed to make it to page 92 though [Was working on the first draft of a preteen comedy novel titled How to Put on a School Play and Survive. Work was progressing reasonably quickly at this point].
Gym floor flooded, so classes are in cafeteria.
Gave name for character to Ms. S. Need to change. [Had a large part in the yearly assembly put on by the school's history teacher. She wrote little skits, and put me in the production as the character linking them all together.]
Went to bell choir [practice] tonight, had math homework. Book report due tomorrow. Will write in homeroom. Also day of meeting about show before Channel One. [Was about to start working on a news program about the middle school. The show would be broadcast before the 15-minute educational news program known as Channel One.]
Ah well, time to go. See ya!
Style file
Vocabulary note
Messages of love and grammatical correctness from a twentysomething copy editor.
Icon -- Originally, a religious symbol of one kind or another. It's since also come to mean an emblem or symbol.
Iconoclast -- A person who attacks the established order of things. It can also mean someone who attacks religious images -- or icons. It's east to see how the word attains its current wide usage, generally referring to someone out of the mainstream.
Thus, if someone says a painting or song is iconic, she means that the work of art has come to be symbolic -- representative or an era or a standard. If something is described as iconoclastic, that means its something that goes against the icons of a culture. That "oclast" puts the two words in opposition.
It pained me to hear a radio host refer to a song as being "iconoclastic," the other day. He was speaking about "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," the song by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg that came to represnt both the movie it came from -- The Wizard of Oz -- and the performer who sang it -- Judy Garland. The song should thus be defined as "iconic."
That's that.
Messages of love and grammatical correctness from a twentysomething copy editor.
Icon -- Originally, a religious symbol of one kind or another. It's since also come to mean an emblem or symbol.
Iconoclast -- A person who attacks the established order of things. It can also mean someone who attacks religious images -- or icons. It's east to see how the word attains its current wide usage, generally referring to someone out of the mainstream.
Thus, if someone says a painting or song is iconic, she means that the work of art has come to be symbolic -- representative or an era or a standard. If something is described as iconoclastic, that means its something that goes against the icons of a culture. That "oclast" puts the two words in opposition.
It pained me to hear a radio host refer to a song as being "iconoclastic," the other day. He was speaking about "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," the song by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg that came to represnt both the movie it came from -- The Wizard of Oz -- and the performer who sang it -- Judy Garland. The song should thus be defined as "iconic."
That's that.
This is ironic
George Lucas recently appeared on an episode of Just Shoot Me.
Thus confirming his coolness.
Thus confirming his coolness.
Saturday, January 4, 2003
Gift-tacular goodness
My list:
He-Man toy
My beloved sister got me this. A new, highly detailed version of the '80s classic. I used to have many of these toys. I don't remember them looking this good. Think of the fun I could have had, if these toys somehow fell into a time warp leading into 1985!
New Yorker Page-A-Day calendar
I needed a good daily calendar. Now I have one. Complete with funny and incomprehensible cartoons.
Bound journal
Daily planner and pen
Greenish sweater
My favorite color. On one of my favortie articles of clothing.
Onion collection
Perhaps the coolest gift of all. A boxed set containing the three volumes of humorous news reporting issued by the Onion, the revered satirical newspaper. (See the link to the right of this page for instant gratification of your Onion desires.) Includes Our Dumb Century, Finest News Reporting and Dispatches from the Tenth Circle.
Now I feel kind of guilty I got everyone rather cheap gifts. Perhaps when I'm making real money I can get them something posh. Like a tin of antacid tablets.
He-Man toy
My beloved sister got me this. A new, highly detailed version of the '80s classic. I used to have many of these toys. I don't remember them looking this good. Think of the fun I could have had, if these toys somehow fell into a time warp leading into 1985!
New Yorker Page-A-Day calendar
I needed a good daily calendar. Now I have one. Complete with funny and incomprehensible cartoons.
Bound journal
Daily planner and pen
Greenish sweater
My favorite color. On one of my favortie articles of clothing.
Onion collection
Perhaps the coolest gift of all. A boxed set containing the three volumes of humorous news reporting issued by the Onion, the revered satirical newspaper. (See the link to the right of this page for instant gratification of your Onion desires.) Includes Our Dumb Century, Finest News Reporting and Dispatches from the Tenth Circle.
Now I feel kind of guilty I got everyone rather cheap gifts. Perhaps when I'm making real money I can get them something posh. Like a tin of antacid tablets.
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