The Dragon Reborn

15:00

Music to pack it in by;

Live at Shepherd's Bush 31-10-2011 - Steven Wilson
Alchemy (disc 2) - Dire Straits
Scenes from a Memory - Dream Theater
Live at Orion (Baltimore, MD) - Djam Karet
Ghosts - Frequency Drift
Absalom - Stick Men
Herd of Instinct - Herd of Instinct

Hello Victoria
It's so good to see you again
-Dream Theater


I am officially on the mend. Printing stuff out. Pack. The whole tortilla. Run a few errands. Get some food. Make sure i was paid. I got a new book; The Night Eternal, the last book in the Strain Trilogy by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, about a vampire apocalypse. It definitely breaks new ground. Seems like everything i read thses days is a trilogy or an even longer series. At least it's paperback. Carrying Dance of Dragons (hardcover, 1,000 pages) on the Metro was like carrying around a chair.

Mel is bringing a tablet, so maybe i can steal it for a few minutes and blog a quick post or two. I'm afraid i'll go thru withdrawal. Seriously. Sad but true. It's quite the bond we've established over the last 5 years.

In case i forget, Have a happy and healthy 2012!

20:13

Hair has been cut - about 2 inches! That's okay. It's still kind of long and Mum hates it long.  Errands have been run. Class has been cancelled (what else is new?) Much packing to be done. But everything external is taken care of.

Question: What do you say to people after you haven't seen them for a year and a half?


Answer: Hello!

It's not that difficult really. I've been a vagabond since i was 22.

Time to move. Gun in Mouth Syndrome. 

22:54


The Boys fed me and i have clothes packed. Next chargers and the like. Cribbage board is packed. It's the simple things, isn't it?

This Frequency Drift album - Ghosts is fantastic!

sabado


Adios people! See you in a week!

Miles to go....

1:01

Berlin

Big day manana - pack, run errands, get documents in order for the Central European Tour. One last class too. 

It'll be a blast.  Mom, Mel and Jan will travel 7,935 miles to Berlin. Damn baby. That's a trip. I am only flying 1, 161 miles. Then Prague another 220m. Then Vienna another 209m. That's a lot of miles.

FAIR WARNING (part 2)

MIERCOLES


Fair warning to the NFL - Not voting Marshawn Lynch to the NFL is egregious (aka.- suck my balls!).At least 1 TD  a game for 11 games in a row. The team's first 1,000 yd rusher in 6 years. And the only man to rush 100 yards and score a TD vs. San Fran.! Shame on you NFL. The NFL voting is no more than a turd on a stick. This omission is criminal.

The fact that the Seahawks will finish no worse than 7-9 is quite a feet. Next up - A new QB. Maybe they can trade up for RG III.

JUEVES


5 months and 4,000 pages later, i am all caught up with the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin. Now the long 5 year wait for a the 6th one. Then a 7th and he avows to be done. Fantastic stuff. Worthy of comparison to Lord of the Rings, which is really saying something. I guess i need to buy a new book manana.

i don't think i'm bringing my mac on the European Tour. i'll let u know for sure when i decide. Can i really not blog for a week? Will i cease to exist? Disappear into a puff of flatulent smoke? At a minimum, this blog has been as helpful as my best therapist ever, Jane, from back in VA.

VA seems like 5,000 years ago. Maybe it was. I don't think i could properly stand upright back then. Mum was always yelling "Stop slouching!" And i was like, "We all f&%king slouch! Just look at our spines!"

And then Mum would say, "And if everyone else is jumping into a Tyrannsorous  Rex's mouth, would you do it too?!!!"

Some things never change.

Best Albums of 2011

(Markus Reuter, Pat Mastelotto, Tony Levon - Stick Men)











My Top 3 albums of 2011

3. Hard Core Will never Die But You Will - Mogwai
This group mostly does instrumentals, mostly in the 6-8 minute range. Not a lot of solos but just very tight progressions

2. Grace for Drowning - Steven Wilson
As a double album, it's breadth and complexity are immense. It has strings and horns and definately ventures in jazz. Epic and wonderful.

1. Absalom -  Stick Men
This is only a 30 EP that was sold at recent shows in NYC in December (but we geeks can always find stuff on the Internet, because other nerds will post it.) The full album will be released in 2012 i suppose. Stunning. It features Tony Levin on Stick, Markus Reuter on touch guitar and Pat Mastelotto on drums. They are a power trio in the vein of Rush. The music is very different but for a trio, is unbelevable. Vibrant and always taking strange turns, these six songs are amazing.

All else is cool. Just a few days til i see the Fambly!

Taking it Slow

Last Bender Tuesday of 2011 manana. We will be at Barbaroi since J&J's is closed. Just took it slow today. Didn't do a thing. I'm a bit under the weather but i believe i am on the mend. Got to rest up for the big Central European Tour! i'm sure i'll be fine.

Only 60 pages left to read in A DANCE WITH DRAGONS. Then i'll be done til the 6th one comes out, in 5 years or so. It's virtually all i've read since August! 5 months, 4,000 pages. That's some hardcore reading.

I hope you all had as great an Xmas as i did! Next on the slate; 2012.

How can he be saved?

14:58

Lots of people think that the X in Xmas is a secular watering down of the word Christ. You know, “we love to celebrate the holiday but don’t believe in Jesus,” sort of thing. However, this is not the case. The X actually comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of Χριστός. Now, if that’s all Greek to you, Χριστός, of course, means Christ.
www.mentalfloss.com

 Wheww! What a great night! I woke thinking "What day is today? What the hell did i do last night? And then it all came clear.

The boys of the NYPD choir
Were singing "Galway Bay"
And the bells were ringing out
For Christmas day

You're a bum
You're a punk
You're an old slut on junk
Lying there almost dead on
a drip in that bed
You scumbag, you maggot
You cheap lousy faggot
Happy Christmas your arse
I pray God it's our last

-The Pogues
 

Marcondes cooked a turkey. I made a big ensalada with like 9 types of lettuce. The turkey was delicious. It was well cooked, which is really the only concern (because he had never made one before.) But he had a recipe and it was great. He put a Brazilian stuffing inside which was phenomenal (we use this word in Spanish, so it has made a resurgence in my English vocabulary.) But he put the whole thing on a platter with the gravy and potatoes in a platter, before i had carved it (thank you Mum for teaching me how to crave a turkey almost 30 years ago! It has been a much appreciated skill to have throughout my lifetime, none moreso than in Madrid where i have yet to meet a single Spanish person who knows how to do it.) So i taught Marcondes. But first i had to get it on cutting board (It was hotter than Satan's balls, so i had to get under it with a large metal serving spoon). Then i had to untie the legs and take the stuffing out (fucking hysterical!). Then i snapped the legs off, which practically fell off, and carved it. It stayed moist because of the stuffing inside. I would venture that it's been at least 15 years since i carved a bird that had stuffing made inside it. You do need to know what you are doing. And cooking often seems like one of the few things Marcondes actually really knows how to do. He's great and i love him but he has almost no education at all, so he does some stupid shit. But he is a good guy so i don't have much trouble letting all that other stuff slide. 


Cara came over at 22:00. Her Spanish is excellent and we spoke Spanish all night. I am getting better, bit by bit. It's getting easier to express myself. We call her Nicole when we speak in Spanish (her middle name) in the same way that i use Jota with some people who jsut can't pronounce it. Cara means expensive or face in Spanish, which sometimes is perceived as to be cheeky en espanol. Not the easiest name to have. Spanish people all pronounce my name as "hi." And i'm like, Hola, what the hell do you want?

So, i had also bought some Ukranian vodka in a little shop down the street. I told him i wanted something i could drink on the rocks because Cara also loves Martinis. Marcondes asked to mix some in a blender with fresh mango. I had sip, but this was great vodka, so i told him i'd rather drink it straight. He had poured about 1/4 of the bottle into the blender. He then dumped a ton of brown sugar in what was left in the blender. I was ready to take another sip of the mango concoction (without sugar) when he grabbed it off the table and poured it in with all the sugar. He blended it and then taste it and loved it. He offered it to me. I had some and it was vile. "He said no problem. I'll drink it." He got absolutely hammered. He is devoid of common sense about how much to drink. He gets ripped off of two beers. I came back in the in kitchen later and saw he had made more. By now the bottle was half gone. I made myself a martini and he gestured with the blender. "More," he said. "i'll buy you a new bottle tomorrow." I told him not to worry about it but used the excuse that Cara wasn't even here yet to not give him any more. Beside, he was wasted. I didn't want him to pass out on the turkey.

Eudardo even said. "He is very content." I told him he had drunk A LOT of vodka (destroyed very good vodka actually - it was an abomination!) Eduardo said he had told him that maybe he should drink vodka when he cooks from now on. 

So, before dinner we had vodka and some salmon caviar on buttered crackers, just like teh Ukranian man had told me how to make it. It was fantastic. We had a very nice dinner and a very good time. I walked Cara home around 2:00, came home and went right to bed.


Did you ever see the faces of the children
They get so excited.
Waking up on Christmas morning
Hours before the winter suns ignited.
They believe in dreams and all they mean
Including heavens generosity.
Peeping round the door
to see what parcels are for free
In curiosity.

And Tommy doesn't know what day it is.
He doesn't know who Jesus was or what praying is.
How can he be saved?
From the eternal grave.
-The Who




Mum called on the 24th to say Merry Christmas! Always good to hear from the Mum. I swear, it's like i've known the woman forever. She also mentioned that the blog entry about Gabi was hysterical. When you and your mother can laugh about a prostitute turning tricks out of your house, you know you have a good relationship. I reinforced the idea that i really don't think about anyone having sex other than me. So if you are gay or decide to be a prostitute then it really doesn't bother me. We all do what we have to do in this life. Whenever possible, we should all treat each other with dignity, kindness and respect. And that, my dear people, is the true spirit of Christmas / The Winter Equinox.




And lastly, this is my Xmas playlist;

Christmas Wrapping			The Waitresses
River			Joni Mitchell
Utopia			Tony Levin
For Absent Friends			GENESIS
Jerusalem			Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Rivers of Light			Tony Levin
Fairytale Of New York			Pogues (Ft. Kirsty Maccoll)
Happy Christmas (War Is Over)			John Lennon
don peyote			Wayward Platypus
The Rain Song			Led Zeppelin
Christmas			The Who
Broon's Bane			Rush
The Trees			The Rush String Quartet
Xanadu			The Rush String Quartet
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town			Bruce Springsteen
I Believe In Father Christmas			Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Nude Wrestling With A Christmas Tree			Adrian Belew
Father Christmas			Kinks
Mood For A Day			Yes
Entangled			Genesis
Christmassteps			Mogwai
A Christmas Camel			Procol Harum
Easy Skanking			Bob Marley
Can't Find My Way Home			Blind Faith

Thru the Eyes of the Brazil

JUEVES

23:03

Xmas Update

Okay! Cara is going to come over and have dinner with the Boys and i on the 24th. Then, on the 25th, all we Xmas Orphans as we call ourselves will go out somewhere. That'll be fun. I've known a lot of these people a very long time, through thick and thin. Susana, Kelly's girlfriend (Spanish) is planning it. I'll ivite some of the other Orphans. 

Tottenham 1  Chesea 1, 80th minute. There will be a ton of English games over the holidays.  The Spurs are 3rd and Chelsea is 4th. Big game. On Boxing Day, every team plays. The English broadcasters are funny. "How did he miss that...., oh my word!" My word? Seriously? Crazy English.

Frantic finish. Both teams trying to get three points in the standings. But it's a draw. 1 point a piece.

Storms

Did i mention that i think that Marcondes' Brazilian friend, Gabi, who has stayed with us for about two weeks and leaves manana,  may be a prostitute? I don't think i have. Damn! Okay... I've pieced it together over the last week.

But i have to cook dinner first. The kitchen is empty now. Marcondes is with two friends in the salon and Gabi is in Marcondes' bed room with her "amigo," as she puts it everytime she dresses up. She said it and made the universal quotes sign with her fingers when she first said "amigo" to me on Saturday. So tonight i was coming out of the bathroom, i had heard the buzzer, and she ushered me into the room and said hurry hurry, my amigo is coming! She was laughing.

My life is a madhouse. I like living in this flat but it still doesn't mean this place isn't bonkers. And you just have to laugh. It's extremely amusing.

So be it.

My bedroom is next to where they are. So is the kitchen. I don't hear anything (praise Jah!) and i can always hear Marcondes when he Skypes with Brazil. But he's quite loud. Anyhoo, i'm wearing my earphones just in case, because life is a contact sport.

Time to cook tacos! it's 23:18.

 Then i'll come back and tell you why i think G is a prostitute.

She's a very nice lady, first off. And i don't care what she does. I'm sure there are some people that think being a teacher and drummer is the ass end of things. It doesn't matter what other random people think, unless they are law enforcement.

VIERNES 1:44

A New Kind of
Conversation

Well, when i went in to cook, she was stepping out of the bathroom after showering, wrapped in a towel. She came into the kitchen, shut the door and said "Ugh, so ugly. But he paid me."

Aw, way to take all the guesswork out of it. Ha!

Then she poured herself a glass of whiskey over ice and said "I need to drink."

So i ate and was cleaning up and saw that the guy had left. I asked her if she was hungry (she's cooked for us a lot the past few weeks.) She said sure. So i made her a taco and we had a few beers. Her story was incredible. She does it for her four year old that lives with her very poor parents in Brazil. She makes good money. She's so discreet. She dresses so normal unless she is with a client. Then she goes all out, and she has great hooters and hips. The first time i saw her in this tight white slinky dress, i was like Madre de Dios where the hell have you been keeping that stuff for the past week? I didn't even know you had those! She's 48. And she's a really sweet and loving person. She's helped Marcondes during bad times. She's like a mother to him. So in return i guess her lets her turn tricks out of the house when she comes to Madrid. She sends the money home for her daughter, who lives with her parents in Brazil. They are very poor and very religious. She said she wants to write a book someday. I told her i would buy it. Even the hardcover.

So do i now live in a whoor house? Casa de putas? And G and i are friends now. Bygones. And besides, what's a working girl to do?

So I try to say

Goodbye my friend

I'd like to leave you with something warm

But never have I been a blue calm sea

I have always 

been a storm

-Fleetwood Mac

SABADO

Lost Horizons

I've always liked to live in different places in order to expand my horizons. Be careful what you ask for!  Man, i sure have seen a lot in the past 5 years. My whole life really.

And my life is very special because of all of you. I enjoy being able to share my experiences and vice-versa. So if you're not going to have a Puta de Navidad  visit your house this year (your parents are coming and Dad's an ex-cop, the kids are still young, you're trying to save $ with the recession, etc,) you can have one in your home by living vicariously through me. Aren't you lucky!


 Merry Xmas to all of ye and lots of love! 

countdown to Xmas

LUNES 

Music 2011

very disappointing; 

A Scarcity of Miracles (a King Crimson Project)-Jakszyk, Fripp, and Collins. 

And with Tony Levin and Gavin Harrison as the rhythm section, how does this suck so badly? I love this guys but this sounds like Kenny G with a few spacey KC moments thrown in. Alternate title; A Travesty of Mush

King of Limbs - Radiohead

Snore! Is this even music or is it just techno-masturbation?

50 Words for Snow - Kate Bush

Sparse piano and sonic vocals that make up songs of 8, 11 and 13 minutes. It won't just put you to sleep, it'll put you in a coma. I have only one word for Snow - No.

Albums that are in the running for the coveted Top 3 of the year;

2 - Black Country Communion

Green Naugahyde - Primus

Grace for Drowning - Steven Wilson

Absalom - Stick Men

I'm With You - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Great Civilizations - Skysaw

The Great Escape Artist - Jane's Addiction

Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will - Mogwai

Only three hours of class today. It must be the holidays. 

Freaking cold today. It'll  go below freezing tonight. But i have a real wall heater in my room now. Very nice and more efficient with electricity. And it has auto setting, so i just set it for 19 or 20C and it's fine. It turns off when the room is hot. I'm so upscale! It was a good night the night i met Eduardo a few months ago and decided to move in here. Marcondes isn't the brighest bulb on the Xmas tree and his Spanish sounds like French because his pronunciation is awful. So everything sounds Portuguese, which always sounds like French to me.  But he's a really sweet guy. He means well. He's very friendly. Effusive even. 


And less than two weeks from now will be the Central European Tour 2012. That'll be great to see Mum and Mel and Janet. 


The new Mogwai album is impressive. Some great sounds. It's kind of very palatable prog rock. I like it a lot. I'd like this new band, whatever it is and whoever is in it, to have them as a bit of an influence. I don't care if we hardly have vocals. I could see a song or two if worse came to worse. I'd rather not, but it is what it is.  Once i sang all the songs behind the kit when Tamara was waiting for the doctor for hours. It nearly killed me. And my drumming was not nearly as precise. But, if it's just a few songs i sing, i can strip down the drums for those songs. 




MIERCOLES

Class at 13:30 cancelled but i get paid. Yeah! Then class at 15:30, 17:30 and 19:30. Then to J&J's to get Dave's keys so that i can feed his cat, Spez, until the 28. Tweedie was feeding her but he is going to England for Xmas. So, once again, i am the Cat Keeper. I must have been Egyptian in a past life. I love cats. 

Everything you ever wanted to know about North Korea but forgot to ask

Link:Kim Jong il sings 'So Ronrey"

Adios Kim Jong il. No one will miss you. Let's hope his dumb ass son doesn't do anything stupid.

It's Xmas time and now the whole world is on edge while we wait to see what happens in North Korea.

From 1910 - 1945, Korea was occupied by the Japanese. In 1945, It was split in two across the 38th Parrallel, with the Allies getting the South and the Soviets getting the North. The Koreans were never consulted about this (but that never comes back to bite you in the ass.) When the North invades the South in 1950, the Korean War begins. The armistace was signed in 1953. and 60 years later it's still a big fucking mess. Way to go everyone!

And the leaders go like this;

Kim-Il-sung; founder of North Korea and leader from 1945 - 1994

Kim-Jong-il; his son, leader from 1994 - Dec 19, 2011

Kim Jong-un; Kim-Jong-il's youngest son. believed to be North Korea's next leader


i am so happy the family picked Central Europe over North Korea for the holidays.

Clean

15:38

Room is pretty clean. I am clean (showered.) I winterized my long black winter coat, meaning that i sewed on two missing buttons from last winter. I tried to sew the pocket but i fucked that up royally, so i'll just let it be. Now take in laundry, hang laundry and then go to Triskell for a proper English fry up breakfast, full of heart stopping goodness. I'll watch the Spurs play Sunderland in the Englsih Premeirship. Then home. Print some work stuff out for manana and watch the Seahawks / Bears. The Seahawks are mathematically alive for the playoffs but it's not going to happen. This game is huge because it wil give Seattle the tie breaker over Chicago if they both finish 9-7 (the best the 'Hawks can finish.) Then home vs. San Fran, who won't have much to play for, and that at Arizona. And they need some choking from Dallas, NYG, and Detroit. That's a lot of Seattle wins and a veritible Hiemlich convention that need to take place. Do i think it will happen? Of course not.

23:38

Spurs win! Seattle wins! The Giants lose to Washington and The Packers lose to KC! WTF? Good-bye perfect season!

In the Green Room...

Me as a Simpsons character. The resemblance is uncanny. 

15:50

Music to demolish stuff by;
Retrospective (disc 1) - Suzanne Vega

It's the big year end cleaning. We are installing eletric heaters that are very efficient because electricty is expensive as 20 year old French wine here (we buy almost all of it from the France.) Spain produces very little  power on its own.

I fixed the door to my wardrobe. It used to stay shut by a magnet but it would stick to the door. I glued it 3 times have it last less than 24 hours. So, i broke a thick plastic clothes hangar and nailed it to the wardrobe so now it's a latch. Ingenius, if i do say myself.

Bugger! i hate cleaning. Time to clean under the bed where all sorts of shit falls down no matter how much i try to keep the bed against the wall. On the fun side, going out with American Laura and Sarah tonight before they leave for Xmas. It's the Great Guirri Scattering, part 2. Less typing more cleaning!

19:18

Waiting for Marcondes to stop preening in the bathroom and then i can shower and go out. All we had to mop with was amonia and it's nasty shit. Just a little in a big bucket of water burned my throat and eyes. I'll just go buy some new stuff manana. Maybe Laura can give me a natural recipe. She did that when i lived with her.

I've lived with everyone i think. I used to live with you, i think.

The new Stick Man EP, Absalom is 31 minutes that will take your breath away. I also listened to Mogwai's Hard Core Will Never Die But You Will (2011) also has some great moments. It's time to start thinking about the top 3 albums of 2011.  They are Scottish and they are very tight instrumentals that always seem just the right length. Never too long.

Primus, Green Naugahyde (2011), is very good as well. There's also a Jane's Addiction album. I never new existed until i was reading through a list to make sure i hadn't missed anything cool. I will listen to that manana.

The new Fripp / King Crimson project, A Scarcity of Miracles was horrible Kenny G Music. I should listen again, but the few times i did i hated it. Not overly impressed with the New Chilli Peppers album either, but i have to re-listen again.

Luxury

VIERNES   18:56

Music to flip the calendar (off) by;

Signals - Rush
Low Spark - Traffic
Absalom - Stick Men
Out of Exile - Audioslave

End of the Year reports. Three classes have ended for the year. See you in 2012. Everything ends after next week. Not the world (you crazy Mayans,) just classes.

Then Xmas. Then New Years and the Central European Tour 2012 with la familia.

Next year in Israel!

- - -

I just listened to Asia from a 2011 show where they played Only Time Will Tell. How crazy is Steve Howe? He is one of my favorite guitarists. He sounds amazing through the whole thing, just tearing it up. Ahhhh...Asia, a guilty prog rock pleasure if ever there was one. But they had their moments and have embraced their prior bands a bit more over the past two or three years. Steve Howe tours with Yes   and Asia. He's a madman. I saw him solo once, maybe 2005, at The Birchmere in VA, and he said he felt very comfortable on the road because it's how he's lived most of his life. It's kind of bonkers when you think about it but he's been touring almost constantly for 40 freaking years.


SABADO 8:14


Home. Hung out with Gøran, Carla, Lauren and Tweedy at J&J's. Lots of laughs. I left around 00:00 and then came home and slept. Sleep is good for you.

i always wake up early, but i'll go back to sleep. That is the luxury of Saturday.

Straight Lines

JUEVES

The Iraq War is over. 9 years. Gazillions of dollars later and the death and maiming of so many countless people on both sides. And is the place any better off than when we got there? No.

9 years. Another Vietnam. And the point was? Thanks to all of you who fought and lost so much over there. You deserve better.

i watched the movie Dark City (1998) and it bent my brain. It's a cult sci-fi movie. Damn, The Matrix, while a great film, borrowed a ton form this film. The last two Matrix movies were poop on a stick.

time for bed. cold in here. Put heater on low. Warm. Sleeping.

VIERNES

There's a sound
Across the alley
Of cold metal
Touching skin

And you can see
If you look in her window
That she has gone and cut
Her hair again

In straight lines
Straight lines

Those soft golden lights in the morning
Are now on her wooden floor
The wind has swept them through the apartment
She don't need them
Any more
Any more
Any more...

She's cut down
On her lovers
Though she still dreams
Of them at night

She's growing straight lines
Where once were flowers
She is streamlined
She is taking the shade down
From the light

To see the straight lines
Straight lines

She wants to cut through the circles
That she has lived in before
She wants to finally kill the delusions
She won't need them
Any more
Any more
Any more...

But there's a sound
Across the alley
Of cold metal
Too close to the bone

And you can see
If you look in her window
The face of a woman
Finally alone

Behind straight lines
Straight lines

  -Suzanne Vega

Link: Straight Lines, Live 1986

An Xmas Miracle

Another class cancelled that i get paid for. Woo hoo! Socialism rocks! One more class at 18:00. Now i'm going to take a siesta.

Lemmings

16:40

And through the wire You are secure
And through the wire We can talk
And through the wire We can walk
It's through the wire

And through the wire You are secure

And through the wire We can talk

And through the wire We can walk

And through the wire We're clinging like leeches

And through the wire We push out tailor made speeches

And through the wire We get so strange across the border

We get so strange across the border

-Peter Gabriel

XMAS RACE 2012

The mad dash til Xmas continues. Personally, i celebrate it being the shortest day of winter.  Each day after that will be a tad bit longer than the last until Jun. 21. And the never sets in Madrid come summer. But everyone here is in full on Xmas mode; Xmas parties and The Great Guirri Scattering is beginning. Sarah leaves next week, Carolyn on sat., American Laura and Tim next Thurs. The Welsh Pixie leaves on the 23. And seeing my family grows ever closer. 2 weeks!

Another working day has ended
Only the rush hour hell to face
Packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes
Contestants in a suicidal race

-The Police

Quite a year. I became the first member in my family to be a nomad. In case you were wondering, it sucks! Don't try it. 

Frippy went to the Great Litter Box in the Sky. His litter box will never be dirty again. He loved a fresh box. I loved that guy.

I got to teach in the MBA program the Universidad de Europa. That was sweet. And there's lots of work again in general. 

And i found a good flat to live in with these guys.

I am listening to Julie Slick, the bassist. Her first solo album is mad. Phenomenal!

So i had a class cancelled so i finally have time to breath since the weekend. I saw Carolyn for a few drinks cuz it was the last time i'd see her before The Scattering. This will be my 4th Xmas in Madrid. Damn. 

Marcondes stop me in the hall today. "You're growing a beard," he said. "You look very handsome."

Not something one of my straight friends would say, but that's fine. O Brave New World!

My room is warm and my eggs are hard boiled and cooling in the kitchen.

The Road to Nowhere

In a world where almost everything is ridiculous and mad, i actually make  some sort of sense




Lotsa classes today. Last one cancelled. So shower and head out for Bender Tuesday. I better get in the shower cuz i could fall asleep right here.

Marcondes had a friend staying over from Brazil and she ran the cables, so now the Internet is FAST. Woo hoo! I think it was slow because there were three of us on it last night. Threesomes just really don't work for me these days. Especially boy, boy, girl.

I'm so much easier to deal with when i take my meds.

I am filthy and i smell like the hamburgers i just cooked.

The Welsh Pixie said she'd be there. Plus, it's my day.

“Get off your Plebian ass! The show must go on, and that sadly means you. . . are ya hearin’ me, idiot? Now wipe that chicken of yer face and get up on that stage or I’ll stick my hand up your Jaxie (Geddy does a double-take) and put ya up there meself!” - Scottish Geddy Lee Character to the actual Geddy Lee, in the intro video to Snakes and Arrows.

2012

I bought a new planner for 2012 today. I can't live without that thing as my classes and times change every week. The only odd thing is that it only goes up to Dec 21, 2012. Stupid Mayans, they ruin everything.

I'm exhausted. Mondays are quite the switch from the weekend.

The Internet is slow as hell tonight and i can't even watch last night's Simpsons.

Mondays. Sometimes these things happen.

But i will sleep soon. I have to teach Sonia at 11:00 manana. Then Monica, Javi (my 14 year old) and last Miguel Angel. It becomes difficult to keep track of, hence the planner. It's my external hard drive.

Okay. Nighty night.

Oh, and i saw the Giants won. Awesome.

Hang laundry. Sleep.

Down to the Wire

18:11

Take the time to close your                                                            eyes and look around,
'Cause anyone who helped you out
can let you down.
And look out, look out, look out,
the voice is now the choir.
Can you feel it getting
down to the wire?
-Neil Young

Soundtrack of the Weekend;

Live from Earth - Pat Benatar

Live in Boston, 2004 - Fleetwood Mac

Come On Die Young- Mogwai

London (live 2011) - Gazpacho

Test for Echo - Rush

A Farewell to Kings - Rush

Live in Montevideo, 2011 - Stick Men

My 9:00 class manana was cancelled. This means that if i fall asleep around 1:00, and wake up at 2:30, i can watch some of the Giants/Cowboys. This is a MUST win for NY. If they lose they are done.

Early this season, i predicted playoffs for Buffalo and Houston. Houston will get in despite they are losing QB's like they were clay pigeons. Buffalo, with a suspect defense and especially the season ending injury of Fred Jackson (he was on the Madrid Mayhem, my fantasy team!), will not.

And now, the great prognosticator, shall predict the playoff teams with 4 games left to play in the season.

AFC

PITT

NE
HOU AFC Championship Game: HOU / NE
BALT

DEN

TENN

Stupor Bowl : GB (perfect season) over HOU in SnoreFest

NFC

GB

SF
NO NFC Championship Game: GB / NO

NYG

DET

ATL

Picking Houston is dodgey at best, but they are very good defensively and run you to death. So i'm thinking teams try to stuff the run and give Yates a lot of room to work with, or whoever is their only healthy QB by then. David Garrard anyone? Brett Favre? Joe Theismann refitted with Terminator legs?

I had lunch with Cara today. It's been two months at least. She has a new boyfriend (Santiago) and he is very nice and she is in love (hence very little free time.) Good for her!

And i'll continue to see Rosa and the Welsh Witch and we'll see what happens. I am in no rush. The only rush i'm in the mood for is A FAREWELL TO KINGS.

So all is well. It finally got cold here, mostly because the last two days have been 45F and damp. There's been a lot of fog. No rain, just fog. Weird. And it will be foggy for the next two days.

23:39

Sleep soon. Then wake for the game. See how long i last. If the game is a stinker i may be back asleep in 30 minutes.

I spoke to the Welsh Witch today. I texted her and told her that Friday was fun and hat we had to do it again soon. She said she would love to. So that's cool. It was a nice weekend.

Bacchanalia

12:35

Say you will, say you will, give me one more chance
At least give me time to change your mind
That always seems to heal the wounds,

if I can get you to dance 

-Fleetwood Mac

                                                          Conejo a la Plancha

Great time with the lads yesterday. We met at O'Neill's for a beer and then some little quiet bar for cheaper beer, and then to a very busy Spanish Restaurant for a great meal. I had the Revuelta de Setas (eggs with a local mushroom that is awesome) and then conejo (rabbit). It was awesome.

Then another bar. Then another. Then J&J's. I left at 22:00, jumped in a cab, went home and went to bed. I feel fine today. That's a great thing.

I still might go back to bed.

Little Welsh Witch

Great night with Vicky at Barbaroi, Vicente's Bar. Nice gal. She's tiny! She's like a little Welsh witch (i swear Stevie Nicks has warned me about this with a song or something, but i'm going to blatantly disregard her advice. How could that go wrong?) Kind of young at 28, but she's travelled a lot. She spent three years in Japan. Anyway, we had a bunch of laughs. We'll see what happens.

She's from Swansea, Wales. Her accent is cute. So, i think i've made a pixie friend to hang around with.

But enough living in the past. Time to take in my clothes off the line in case it rains (see; dire lack of clean boxers) and shower and go out with the lads and eat and drink all day. It's a dirty job but someone's got to do it. Because if Rick Perry has taught me anything (and he hasn't) it's that can justify whatever you want to do, no matter how ridiculous or discriminatory it is.

Link- Rick Perry - Strong

Strong and wrong
What is God's will?
Onward Christian soldiers...
Or thou shall not kill...

-Joni Mitchell

Sleepless

3:43

Can't sleep. My clock is all out of whack this week with the holidays. Watching CLE - PITT. I just saw Big Ben get sacked. I think he just broke his ankle. Ouch. Shades of Joe Theismann and Napolean McCallum. I just re-watched both of those injuries on Youtube, Horrible. McCallum almost lost his leg. While not as extreme, just now Ben's ankle went the wrong way.

Well, the Seahawks were playing with house money after advancing to the Divisional Round and upsetting the defending Super Bowl champion Saints last year. 

Charlie Batch is the back up. It's seems as if he's played forever. Like Mark Brunnel. 

The Steelers'  throwback uniforms make them look like the University of Iowa.There's a bit too much yellow. 

McCoy just got sacked. 

PITT 7 - CLE 3

And the fog is rolling in.

15:15

Okay! Clean, eat, scour myself, teach from 18:30 til 20:00. Then meet this gal Vicky for drinks at 22:00. She was at Bender Tuesday and asked me for my phone number. Then she texted me. So tonight we're going out for drinks. She dropped a very large hint, so i asked her out.

So life continues to twist and turn in ways unforeseen. But women only find me attractive for two months out of the year (and sometimes it's not even consecutive months!) So, strike while the iron is hot.

And then manana is the J&J's Lad's Xmas Party. We meet at 13:30 at O'Neill's, then curry, then who knows what.

3:43

Can't sleep. My clock is all out of whack this week with the holidays. Watching CLE - PITT. I just saw Big Ben get sacked. I think he just broke his ankle. Ouch. Shades of Joe Theismann and Napolean McCallum. I just re-watched both of those injuries on Youtube, Horrible. McCallum almost lost his leg. While not as extreme, just now Ben's ankle went the wrong way.

Well, the Seahawks were playing with house money after advancing to the Divisional Round and upsetting the defending Super Bowl champion Saints last year. 

Charlie Batch is the back up. It's seems as if he's played forever. Like Mark Brunnel. 

The Steelers'  throwback uniforms make them look like the University of Iowa.There's a bit too much yellow. 

McCoy just got sacked. 

PITT 7 - CLE 3

And the fog is rolling in.

15:15

Okay! Clean, eat, scour myself, teach from 18:30 til 20:00. Then meet this gal Vicky for drinks at 22:00. She was at Bender Tuesday and asked me for my phone number. Then she texted me. So tonight we're going out for drinks. She dropped a very large hint, so i asked her out.

So life continues to twist and turn in ways unforeseen. But women only find me attractive for two months out of the year (and sometimes it's not even consecutive months!) So, strike while the iron is hot.

And then manana is the J&J's Lad's Xmas Party. We meet at 13:30 at O'Neill's, then curry, then who knows what.

Thru the Mist

1:14  VIERNES

Well, that was fun last night. We had a good time. Spoke in both Spanish and English (practice! practice!)  She's a nice gal. Sweet. Independent. So, we shall see what happens. Anyway, i like Rosa. Maybe we'll be friends, maybe something more. I shall take it slow and just see what comes to pass.

Winter Sun Rises over Scotland


Today was the Immaculate Reception but i worked 6 hours. Once again, i woke up going what day is it? Started at 12:00, ended at 22:30.

Listening to;
Live at Lorely (1987) - Marillion
Live in Buenos Aires (2011) - Stick Men

Damn. Me so tired.

Up manana at 7:45. Ugh. Okay, i go sleeping. Have a good night and a pleasant tomorrow.

Tonight's the Night

20:24

Going out for drinks with Rosa in an hour. I have no idea how this will go down, but i suppose i am excited. Looking forward to going out with woman who isn't a pathological liar. Last time was a bloodbath. At worse, she might be a little tame. I know she is nice, a sweet heart. I know she is intelligent. Maybe she's just a nice girl. Could that work? Would i even know what to do with a nice girl?


all will be revealed
-Led Zeppelin

Disorientation

12:12

The Giants lost. GB Marched the length of the field with 54 seconds left to get a winning FG. What's the upside of the Packers going undefeated and winning the Super Bowl you ask?

• -   In your face New England Patriots! 
• -   Brett who?

In some of the best sports related news i have heard in 20 years, the NHL is realigning! They will go back to playing the first two rounds of the playoffs in conference. There will be 4 conferences. And the Caps finally get out of the NHL Redneck division (Carolina, Tampa, Florida, Winnipeg ) and will go back to something resembling the Patrick Division with The Rangers, Devils, Isles, Pitt., Philly and Carolina. Kick ass! All of the teams will now play mostly in their own time zones for conference games. 

Also, if Phoenix has to move, which looks likely at this point, it's easier to make a switch with another team if they move east (Quebec? Hartford? Portland? Seattle? Kansas City? Las Vegas? A second team in Toronto?) If it was Seattle, Portland or Vegas; the team could stay in their current new conference.

Either way, the NHL needs to get back to their roots, before Gary 'the Weasel' Bettman tired to turn the NHL into the Michael Jordan era NBA. They need to sack his weasel ass.

14:57

I am the eggman
At Gøran's Bday party on Sat.


Today is Constitution Day, when the new Constitution was ratified in 1978, 3 years after Franco's death. And thus modern Spain was born.

Yesterday was disorientating as hell.

I went to class at 9:00. I had the student if we'd have class, and he said yes. But his company had canceled class and Soto Mayor never told me. They are a bit unorganized, as are most academies. But then the class at 13:00 canceled late so i get paid. Then Elena canceled and switched to Thursday, which is a holiday for the Immaculate Conception. The i went to J&J's, saw Dave, Kelly and Tweedy, closed the place with Mary (who was bartending) and then went out for another few, walked her to her door and took a cab home.

I woke up and had no idea what day it was? Saturday? Sunday? Wasn't it just the weekend?

 What kind of country has two holidays, in the same week with a space in the middle? And so close to three weeks of holidays off for Xmas, New Year's and The Three Kings???? Drop the Immaculate Conception already. No one here celebrates these holidays as holy days. No one under 60.

And they wonder how the Spanish Economy wound up in the gutter.