Something Out of Nothing

I just finished reading “The Butcher’s Masquerade” by Matt Dinniman 📚

A good friend of mine recommended the Dungeon Crawler Carl series and I was hooked from the first chapter of the first book. I just finished book five while walking my dogs this morning and I was cracking up and tearing up at the same time! The audiobooks are so entertaining, the voice acting and sound effects are great! Jeff Hays from Soundbooth Theater provides the majority of the narration. If you enjoyed Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, you’ll love the Dungeon Crawler Carl series.

Now on to Book six “The Eye of the Bedlam Bride”.

Another year older. This morning when I got up, I decided that would hike up Sun Mountain at sunrise; it was simply gorgeous. It’s definitely a challenging hike. It’s only about a mile and a half, but it can get pretty steep. I had to pause several times to catch my breath; I’m still acclimating to the higher altitude here. It’s also about a mile from where we’re staying so I decided to walk to the trail head. The walk there is fine, but I was pretty worn out on the way back. It was totally worth the effort! the views of Santa Fe and the surrounding mountains are amazing. I hiked to the peak once before, last time we stayed here and it was equally beautiful.

I’m enjoying some fresh pipe tobacco from a local shop I found and reading Fevre Dream on the patio or our B and B. Trying to not think about work. Most of the museums we wanted to are closed today, so we decided to take it easy. Maura’s inside painting, listening to music. Maybe it’s a hint of what retirement might look like!

Three months ago today, we adopted a second dog from KC Pet Project. Our other dog, Rosie is a little neurotic; she doesn’t like to be home alone. She also loves to play with other dogs. So we thought getting her a friend would suit us all. Rosie and Gus hit it off pretty quickly. They love to play and cuddle and make the most adorable pair. We frequently receive compliments when we walk them.

The folks at KC Pet Project told us about the three days, three weeks, three months rule with adopted dogs, which has proven pretty accurate. In the last week or so, Gus has finally realized this is a permanent place for him. He seems very happy in his new home, and we are thrilled to have him be a part of our family. Welcome home, Gus! 

We’ve been trying to see one of our favorite bands, Low, who were touring for their latest album, "Hey What,” until very recently. Maura bought me tickets to see them in Davenport, Iowa, for my birthday. We drove up, excited to finally hear some tracks off their latest album live, and the show was canceled due to COVID-19. We had a fun time in Davenport anyway, but it was a huge bummer. The show was rescheduled, and we planned to return to Davenport; we even booked the hotel, and we both came down with COVID. We found out they were finally going to come to Kansas City, opening for Death Cab for Cutie (weird match-up, in my opinion, but whatever). We bought tickets, but that show was postponed, and Low was no longer going to open. It seemed like we just weren’t meant to see them again! We did see them once several years ago at the old Record Bar when it was in Westport (we could walk home from there!) But the latest album was simply stunning; I still get chills and tear up when I listen to it. And I can’t help but turn it up a little too loud.

Alan Sparhawk’s and Mimi Parker’s harmonies over the cacophonous instrumentation and drums were, well, kind of beyond words. I really can’t do the albums justice here. It may not be for everyone, but I LOVED where they were going. Don’t get me wrong, they were (were! 😔) prolific; they didn’t create an album I didn’t like. You definitely have to be in the right mood for some of their early stuff, it can be very slow-paced, but it’s just as beautiful. The latest albums were getting a little more gritty and experimental, which contrasted wonderfully with their voices. Go ahead, listen and listen loud. I bet you will be moved. 

Sadly, we will never have the chance to see them perform live again; Mimi Parker died today after having fought ovarian cancer for the last couple of years. Alan posted the news and was instantly heartbroken. Partly because we’ve been trying so hard to see them over the last year or so, but primarily for her and Alan. I can’t even imagine what they went through and what he’s going through now. They worked so well together. Their music is beautiful, incomparable; there will be nothing like it in the world again. I love listening to their records via streaming, but live music was the true experience. That’s true for most musicians, but it was especially true for them. Farewell, Mimi Parker, and deepest condolences to you, Alan Sparhawk. Know that your fans are there for you.

So we drove to Davenport yesterday to see Low. It took about six hours with stops, not bad, but enough to mess with our backs. I like roadtrips with Maura, we talked and listened to some new tunes on the way up - the new Jack White is pretty good! Once we got to town, we settled into our hotel, then walked around to check out the downtown area. The venue - the Racoon Motel, was right down the street from where we were staying. Next door to it, we found a record shop, Ragged Records, where we found a nice little haul.

We grabbed some dinner at the Front Street Brewery, and I checked the Racoon Motel’s Facebook page while we were waiting on our food. The show had been canceled due to a couple of positive COVID tests. We were seriouly bummed. I’ve been imagining hearing Low’s latest music live for months and we were just hours away from doing so. The show was rescheduled for another Friday in July, which we will make work. We figured we were here so we might as well make a night of it, so we asked our waitress about other spots to check out nearby. She did not dissapoint; there are some pretty great bars in downtown Davenport. First, we figured we should check out the venue since we had come all this way, so we grabbed a beer there, commiserated with the staff, and checked out the stage - it’s a small area; it’s going to be very loud (in July)! After that, we went to a bar with a perfect name: Devon’s Complaint Dept.

They mixed some great drinks, and the bar had a cool retro vibe. We’ve been trying to get out more lately, but I can’t remember the last time we went bar hopping! It’s kind of a shame that we had to drive all the way to Davenport, but the drinks were tasty and way cheaper!

Meanwhile, back at the hotel, we discovered that it was hosting a youth dance competition. There were many families with young girls in way too much makeup and glittery outfits. I’m sure they were having the time of their lives, but we didn’t particularly enjoy the noise levels. The hotel has a central atrium around the rooms; they were very loud and echoey. They were running around until pretty late, which was so much fun for us after a night on the town! We ended up playing Low’s latest album in our hotel room mostly to drown out the noise.

The next morning, I woke up early, as I always do, and walked along the Mississippi. It was a nice walk, though it made me wish that KC had more down by our river front. I never knew that Pelicans like to visit the river this time of year, but I saw several of them!

While it was a huge bummer to have the show rescheduled, it was good to get out of town for a bit. I guess we’ll see you again in July, Davenport, Iowa!

Anyone that knows me well, knows of my love for both music and humor. No one combines these better than “Weird" Al Yankovic. In my mind, it’s not my birthday until I hear his “Birthday Song”. Sadly, the lyrics ring truer every year. If you haven’t heard it, or it’s been a while, give it a listen:

The contrast between what should be a happy, carefree day and the realities of the world and the absurdity makes me strangely joyful. 

American Greetings (sorry Hallmark friends) has an app out called SmashUp that allows you to send custom messages from celebrities to celebrate your friends and family. “Weird” Al just announced that he had several SmashUps available and I just had to check it out. The resulting video makes me incomprehensibly happy:

I’m not going to get too sappy and deep about being middle-aged. I really just wanted to share something that made me happy today. Maura and I are going to get out and about today to celebrate our birthdays. Our wonderful but somewhat anxious dog is in daycare and she’ll be there overnight so that we don’t have to worry about her and what she might be doing to the window blinds. I hope all is well with everyone reading this. It’s nice that Spring is finally at least trying to make an appearance and that, at least for now, the infection rates are staying low - which brings right back to the song at beginning of my post. We’re living in some strange times, but there are still ways to find happiness. 

Speaking of ways to find happiness, my wonderful wife surprised me today with tickets to see one of our favorite bands, Low in Davenport, Iowa. Their latest album, “Hey What” is an emotional powerhouse, seriously, chills and sometimes tears, every time I listen. I’ve been trying to imagine hearing them play it live but now I won’t have to! I can’t wait!! 

It’s loud, sometimes grating but the contrast between their beautiful voices and the loud distortion-filled music is amazing. Again, if you haven’t heard it, sit with it a while: 

Thanks in advance for all the birthday wishes on social media, texts, and calls! Hopefully, as we slowly rejoin society and get out more, we’ll see you all soon! 

I am in line to get my second dose of the Moderna vaccine. The process has been pretty smooth both times. I was done in less than an hour last time and the line is moving pretty well this time.

It feels good to get this done. Hopefully we can put all of this behind us soon and get back to something resembling what we were used to.