A Lot of Stuff

It was a busy weekend. The memorial and reception for my cousin were held at the nursing home where my great-aunt resides. It was a comforting service.
The lady in the picture above used to live across the street from us when I was in the 3rd grade, now she lives in the same home as my great-aunt...small world, eh?

I had to report to the temporary agency today to pick up the paperwork for a one-day job tomorrow- as I pulled into their parking lot, a cloud of white smoke billowed out from underneath the hood of my car. That's generally a sign of trouble.

I was relieved when I opened my hood and saw green coolant sprayed all over the engine compartment. That meant that it was most likely a broken hose, an easy fix even for me. On closer inspection I found two dangling, leaking hose ends, one of which had a 'do-hickey' attached to it that was supposed to join the two hoses together...one of the connector stems had broken...fuck...at least I'm lucky that it happened in a parking lot and not the highway.

I reported to the office and got my papers- I'm to be the 'Team Lead' at a foreclosure auction tomorrow night, probably selling the homes that I was forced to approve loans for during my stint at Bank of Generica-the pay is $20 an hour, which is better than most temp assignments and nearly 250% as much as I made as a stagehand...anyway, the office manager was very nice to me, she loaned me a screwdriver so I could remove my broken wotsit and even gave me a ride to the parts shop! Very kind, she was. I will do good work for her.

We arrived at the shop and I ran inside and plopped the broken doo-dad on the counter, told the parts guy that it came out of a 1990 Volvo 780 and that I needed a new one, whatever it was. He told me it was called a 'heater valve' and a new one would cost fifteen bucks.
Deal!
My boss drove us back to the office and I plugged the new piece into my system, poured a gallon of coolant into it and waited.
No leaks.
Turned the engine on.
No smoke.
Rockin'!



--------------------------------------------------
Sunday I finally managed to get back on the air. It was my first broadcast from our new studio- the Gospel Dude overslept again, so I got to start my show a little early, fine by me... man, I love our new broadcast booth!
Here's a pic of our crackerjack Jazz DJs Mike and Giz enjoying the new digs:



------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The New Breakfast Snob, Sunday March 9th, 2008


Tangerine Dream- On Crane's Passage
When I arrived at our dark, empty station I found a robot at the helm. Perhaps some melodic electronica will ease us back towards the human element.

Gong- Hymnalayas
I have extra time this morning...playin' long songs! Gospel Dude walks in, tells me that his cell phone didn't adjust it's clock and he overslept. Tsk. Snooze and lose.
I think I'll play a ten-minute song now...

Yes- Starship Trooper
The station had a huge pile of CDs that were being given away to make room for new ones...I grabbed this CD from that pile since no one else wanted it.
I think that I might be the only prog-rock enthusiast at the station. *sigh*

Savoy Brown- Take It Easy
Good advice from Kim Simmonds and Co. If something breaks, find the problem and fix it. Don't worry and don't freak out...it took me 41 years to figure this out.

Moody Blues- Eyes of a Child/Floating
As I progress in my sobriety I am continually amazed at how often I see old things in new ways. This old music speaks to that.

King Crimson- Epitaph
"If we make it we can all sit back and laugh"
It's not all fun and games.
A nod to sorrow.

Gong- You Can't Kill Me
Defiance!

Genesis- I Know What I Like
Another prog-rock CD that no one else wanted. Score!

Ray Manzarek- The Gambler
Former Doors organist's first solo album...his singing kinda sucks, but this 1974 recording is fucking great anyway. I might be the only DJ anywhere who keeps it in his rotation.

Faces- Ooo La La
'Nuff said.

Cardiacs- Mare's Nest
This band has everything I like , including a reverence for my own initials, ABC. I once saw a cut and paste of one of my playlists posted on a Cardiacs forum that is named after this rather 'in-your-face' song. It was a moment of validation for me.

Jethro Tull- Queen and Country
Still one of my all-time fave bands...Tull's War Child LP is timeless, which is kinda sad, since it's such an angry album.

Joe Strummer & Mescaleros- Get Down Moses
No moment of silence for Joe today- instead lets have five minutes of rawk!

Pretty Things- Defecting Grey
This 1967 single was deemed to be "too weird" for commercial success...it contains what may be the first-ever recorded example of what is now called "Heavy Metal".
Overdriven tubes and tape saturation, oh baby!

10,000 Maniacs- Grey Victory
Natalie once crashed at a house that I shared with a bunch of weirdos...she didn't crash with me though.
*sigh*
She did leave a grey ring around the bathtub, however.
(When you are on tour, you get dirty-no disrespect meant.)

The Kinks- Here Come The People In Grey
"...to take me away."
Muswell Hillbillies is one of the best albums of all-time. Just sayin'.

Claanad- Why Worry?
"This is not the way"

Captain Beefheart- Happy Love Song
She said, baby, how long is your song?
I said, baby, as long as you want it to be...

Alan Parsons Project- Cask Of Amontillado
Beware of people named Allan.
DJ Allan playing music by Producer Alan based on the story by writer Edgar Allan...time to run fer the hills! If you weren't so entombed, that is.

Eleanor Shanley- Road to Glory
What do Vikings have to do with Ireland? Quite a bit, actually.

Damien Dempsey- Hold Me
Dempsey is fookin' brilliant! I'm on a one-man crusade to promote him in America. My request to his label for CDs is still unanswered. *sigh*

Damien Rice & Christy Moore- Lonely Soldier
A sad song of war. Moving stuff, really.

Loreena McKinnett-Dark Night Of The Soul
There will be bad times and those times shall pass.

Damien Dempsey and Sharon Shannon- Norwegian Wood
I wish I could explain this...maybe one day. *sigh*

Anuna- Sleepsong
Fifteen hours later, a nap.



Goodnight!