i’d rather be in haena   

…not because Ford wanted us to move on, but because the rat who caused it was Ford’s buddy.

Happy Ghoul Year.

Well, anniversary blogging, anyway.
A year ago I was going into my second week of housesitting in Kilauea, Kauai. The island was packed with holiday tourists so I was staying off the roads and away from the beaches and trails, agreeably hunkered down, caretaking four cats on a five-acre landscape farm.
It was definitely one of the best and most interesting times I’d experienced.
This week the waves on the west and north shores are 25 feet and more. Sunburnt mainlanders are being asked not to drown.
I’m going back to the same gig this June. I’m hoping the five months will pass quickly.

Utopia, live on German television, 1977, performing “Singring And The Glass Guitar.” I guess they couldn’t fit the pyramid, fountains, wind machine, fire jets and sphinx– and tiny Stonehenge model– into the studio.

Remember, after drums stop…then comes bass solo. And keyboard solo.

And the best is always last.

Todd Rundgren with Ethyl. Live in Liverpool 2005.

Just because you have a persecution complex doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.
Actually, in this case, though…

Yes, YOU.

I keep telling Mark that I’m tired. Dogeared. Exhausted. Used up. He leans on me and I get nothing back. Nothing.
I know, I know; it’s always about my needs. But god. Something has to change.
I keep telling him that I can’t figure out if his writing is the product of too many creative writing courses…or not enough. That his propensity for obvious and lazy pop-culture regurgitation and sledgehammer smarm makes me queasy, and that I can no longer read more than one paragraph before retching.
I’m sorry, Mark. Yes, we’ve been though a lot together. But I can’t take it anymore. I guess I just care too much. It’s over.
I’m sure you and thesaurus.com will be very happy together.

Ever a patron of the arts, Bill Gates muses on how to support artists with lifelong grants (or something) instead of trying to protect their work with digital rights management.
Is this a veiled reference to Microsoft “donating” a dollar from the sale of each Zune player to Universal? Does Gates really believe that a significant portion of that dollar is really ending up in artists’ pockets? I’d bet a buck that at least twenty cents of it is going to the RIAA to shut them up.
Anyway, when I hear the words “Microsoft” and “buy out,” used in the same sentence as “artist,” benevolence isn’t the first concept that comes to mind:
Homer Simpson: I reluctantly accept your proposal!
Bill Gates: Well everyone always does. Buy ‘em out, boys!
[Gates' lackeys trash the room.]
Homer: Hey, what the hell’s going on!
Bill Gates: Oh, I didn’t get rich by writing a lot of checks! [insane laughter]
This part killed me:

His short term advice: “People should just buy a cd and rip it. You are legal then.”

I bet the people at Microsoft’s just-launched Zune online music store are shaking their heads.
Oh, and can someone please post a video of Gates’ expression when he walked into the room and saw the convened bloggers all using Macs? Please?

Garden Island article