Yeah, I live across the bay from San Francisco, a couple of miles south of Oakland, but my job takes me all over northern California each day.

I've been following some of the (weather) reports from out there and am in awe of what I'm seeing. The big news that I'm seeing for today will be up to 8" of rain in southern Cali, but your area sure got rocked. I saw reports of 70 mph winds there!!

Hunker down and enjoy your weekend.

Wow, blibble, that was some ordeal.

With all that rain today in So-Cal, I bet the Chargers and Titans are glad they're playing tomorrow...although I understand Sunday will be soggy too.

Hey Bibble,

I've been seeing the news on the storm. So far Nothern California has really gotten pounded. We had rain yesterday and it's expected the next two days, but nothing like what you've had thankfully. I think we may be getting the "outer edges" of the storm.

Anyway, I'd hate to have a driving job in this weather. I'd be way to nervous. Glad you're home. Enjoy your time off and be careful if you do go out.

TIS

Robert Duvall a/k/a Tom Hagen was born this day in 1931 in San Diego, CA.

I didn't realise he was 77 i thought he was only in his 60's..

I picked up Hendrix's Band of Gypsy's on vinyl the other day, and it is absolutely godlike. Kudos to whoever owned it before I did, it's in tremendous shape... Not a single crack or pop on the entire album, and it has to be about 30 or 35 years old...

Anyway, it's official. Band of Gypsy's tops all three studio albums he did with The Jimi Hendrix Experience; listening to the album on vinyl just opened my eyes to how biased I was towards it in comparison to his work with the Experience.

It's mindblowingly (yes, I make up words now) experimental for its time, and I actually think I'll go pop it onto my turntable now.

This from the man that once referred to me as "anal weather girl"?

Blib, Glad that you made it through ok. Sounds unbelievable.

I feel exactly the same way, although it's not a very fashionable preference, is it? "Changes" is awesome, but "Machine Gun" is fucking beautiful stuff. The entire album is, for me, my favourite Hendrix work.

Machine Gun is wonderful

I didn't know you were a Hendrix fan, Mick.

Anyway, I feel Band of Gypsys is his strongest... I mean, the band is just very interesting, the way they go about a live performance. The way they experiment with the music cutting in and out, constantly withering down to a nearly inaudible level, is very original for the time the album was released, not to mention they do it all live, which sort of creates a very atmospheric environment. The first two tracks are amazing, as are the rest. And, personally, I think it's just a downright sexy album, if that makes sense. I don't know, I just think it has sort of a sexual energy to it which isn't present, or at least as heavily present, on anything The Experience ever did.

If I were to clump both of his bands together to simply rank Hendrix's core releases, I think it'd look like this at the moment:

1.) Band of Gypsys (1970)
2.) Axis: Bold as Love (1967)
3.) Electric Ladyland (1968)
4.) Are You Experienced? (1967)

I don't know, maybe swap the last two, depending what sort of mood I'm in... If I want some really heavy psychedelic-rock, I go for Are You Experienced?

Oh, by the way, here's a great pre-heroin addiction interview with John Frusciante on the topic of Hendrix, and there is a bit on Machine Gun in there.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=y5ZQfI7oKnY

That's a GREAT find, LLC. Thnx for sharing. Gina sent me a clip of him (Jimi) playing with his teeth - which I wouldn't have thought possible, but seeing is believing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JecyHi0YAw4

That whole video is mesmerizing

Oh yeah. I find Band of Gypsys so preferable because of its sparse sound, more soulful rhythms and (as you said), the live, "echoey" vibe.

That's wonderful.

Yeah, well, as Frusciante says in the interview I've posted, since Hendrix was in a bad mood that night, his anger really comes out in his playing and adds something to the music.

Yesterday at 09:39 PM AHHHHH! School & Other Stuff
Longneck

My online courses resume tomorrow for Indiana State University. I'm a Business Administration major. Procrastinator that I am, I haven't ordered my books yet so I'm already behind.

Bah, I don't like school, everybody says I'm smaht and should get all A's but I don't try to get A's. I see school as the obstacle to getting what I want, which is a nice high paying job in an office getting paid more than I should for the work I do.

I don't know, grades just don't seem to matter to me, it's more of what I learned rather than memorizing a bunch of answers and forgetting them afterwards.

Last semester I didn't do so hot, it was a hard semester. 18 credit hours (6 courses), working 40 hours at one job, and 20 at another, got married, lost my son, and so on. I managed to get an A in the class I needed it in (for my core business GPA) and an F in a business report writing class, a couple c's and I think a D. Oh, and an incomplete from my favorite teacher ever who was incredibly understanding. Horrible semester.

My last day at the supermarket (the 20 hours a week job) was today so that makes me happy. It was an okay job until the manager stole $211K and from that point on every day you had to prove you weren't a criminal.

So I will have just the 40 hours a week and 4 classes and a half. The half is the incomplete one from last semester. The job I work at for 40 hours a week is pretty easy. I help this old guy shower, get dressed, and make his breakfast. Then I give him a snack in the afternoon. In between I'm hanging out, helping him if he needs anything, etc. So I can work on my classes a bit there.

I am about to print off my syllabuses and start ordering my books, I just felt the need to procrastinate for however long it took me to write this.

DeNiro makes an offer we can't afford.

January 8, 2008 -- De Niro's price A NIGHT in the house of Robert De Niro won't come cheap. The TriBeCa titan's Greenwich Hotel is throwing its doors open April 1, according to Newyorkology.com, and the hotel's Web site is asking patrons to put out $725 for one night in a standard room. The site also notes the hotel has "75 rooms and 13 suites with amenities such as Tibetan silk rugs, Moroccan tile, Siberian oak floors" and free Internet and iPod docks. A rep for the hotel told us, "We are taking reservations, although we have not announced an opening date yet."

$725 a night? For a standard room? Again I say
What other amenities besides the one included I wonder??? I can imagine it's beautiful, but I can't imagine ever being able to afford it. He must be thinking it's more for the rich and famous hu? I would like to see pictures of it though.


TIS

In my opinion, the most reasonable "high-end" hotel in Manhattan is, by far, the Grand Hyatt, on 42nd Street at Grand Central Station. Most of the time you can get a standard room for about $200 a night. The rooms are immaculate, the staff bends over backwards for you and the location is superb.

I tried to book that Hyatt when my niece got married last summer. It was $500 a night. Sucked.

I've stayed at the Sheraton on 7th and 51st for $199/night. It was the perfect place to stay when enjoying the wine dinner at Cite (stumbling distance).

We used to go stay at The Waldorf, but that has gotten out of control. Just a few years ago, we could easily get a suite for $269/night, and they would throw in the breakfast buffet, too. You can't even get a standard room for close to that now.

$500 a night, Babe? Really? Wow!!

I stayed there just last month. My brother and his wife and kids wanted to come spend some time in the city during the Christmas season and we only paid like $200 a night, and it was the weekend!

The Sheraton on the Westside is very nice. So is the Hilton on 54th and 6th.

So for the past couple weeks (except holiday festivities) I've been working on this DVD project for a client. It was to go out today the latest via FedEx overnight for tomorrow (Wednesday). He needed it for his trip out to California. I was all done last night, then he said "sorry, 1 more change" so I'm like, "no problem, I'll give you 'til tomorrow afternoon (today) for any last minute changes then I'll send it out." Around 1PM I start burning the finals -- I run over to the FedEx drop box to get supplies (they didn't have what I needed), but noted the last pick-up time was 5:45PM -- no problemo! -- and go back home.

Came back, got it all packaged up, and then wrote out my to-do list of errands since I had a few to do: check my PO Box, get my 5 gallon water bottles filled up, drop off the FedEx package, stop at the bank, check up on my folks' house (another list) as they just left for Florida, stop at liquor store ( ), and that's it. I got home a little after 6PM and my heart dropped when I saw the freakin' package on the kitchen table!!! I'm like shitttttt!! I grab it and rushed off to the nearby FedEx-Kinkos (not sure of their pickup time, but I think it was 6-6:30PM). If it was 6PM, I'm screwed! Bad enough it was almost 6:30 -- and it was already pre-paid so I might have to schmooze them a little to just drop it on their pile of out-going -- if it was still there!

I pull up at like 6:25 and see the FedEx truck right in front of the store!! WHEW! I handed it to the driver literally a minute before he sped off!!! (I just checked online, and the last drop-off at Kinkos was 6PM!!!!)

Yes, I absolutely do (continue to) believe in guardian angels!!

But you made it to the liquor store on time. Glad to see you have your priorities set.

Damn straight!

Wow, I wasn't expecting a happy ending here, but I am glad it was Geoff. You're right about guardian angels. I think we'd all have a memory of some kind in which we really felt we "lucked out."

Anyway, you deserve a good nice drink.


TIS

Geoff, Geoff, Geoff. Why do I get the feeling that you are one of those people that drive off with his coffee cup on the roof of his car???

What's wrong with those type of people? Hmm? Just....curious...

Seems like it'd be more fun to do it on purpose...



Oh, and I think this picture is perfect evidence of who supports the striking writers the most: