Tejas Day II:

After dinner last night, I caught the tail end of Railroad's Earth's show at Threadgill's. Railroad Earth is kind of a jammy roots rock band, which fairly heavy bluegrass and zydeco influences. Not many lyrics, lots of swaying in place. I know about them because some of their members used to be in From Good Homes, a band you would have only heard of if you went to an east coast college in the mid-90s and owned several pairs of sandals.

Today I checked in on some old friends, had lunch at the Castle Hill, and need to do about 2 hours of work on the book before the Readerville dinner this evening.

Off I go...

Lone Star State of Mind:

Arrived in Austin today for the Texas Book Festival. Checked into the Omni Hotel downtown, ran into my friend Amanda Ward in the lobby. Invited me to go swimming in the rooftop pool with her and her friend Dao Strom (author of this fabulous book) and Dao's son Lincoln to take a dip in the rooftop pool, 20 stories above the Texas hill country.

I did a few laps after they took off. Now I'm back in my room on the free Wifi, watching the end of Oprah and about to hop into the tub. I'm having dinner with the Browns, Kevin and Jefe at 7:30.

Could life get any sweeter?

Go Mom!

My mom is volunteering for Election Protection. Doesn't that rock?

What's a Wiki?

Finally, a really good explanation, thanks to my buddy Brad Stone via Social Media.

A Knot of 'Yawns:'

Big Yawn is a Washington D.C. based ezine about music. My friend Dave writes a column on movie soundtracks that is very cool. However the site itself is baffling. I guess the center column is a blog, the features/column section is a nondescript list, A DC concert calendar useless to anyone not local. It's crying out for an RSS feed to cut through this shambling mound of content but, so far as I can tell, doesn't have one of those either.

Aya!

Aya De Leon is an inspiration. I was lucky enough to catch her new solo show "Aya De Leon is Running for President!" at Youth Speaks HQ last night. It's a collection of prose poems and spoken word centered on the "If I were president theme..." While it's at times liberally broad as political theater, as spoken word performance, it's tight, smart, and forward thinking. When was the last time you heard a self-proclaimed feminist poet bust on how we need to include men in the movement?

I'm on her mailing list. I will see her perform again.

Sunday Morning Shards #10

A round-up of what newspapers have endorsed what candidates. As of today, Kerry leads Bush 112-69, winning over 28 papers that backed Bush in 2000. Bush has grabbed only 2 papers that backed Gore (via New Media Musings).

I'm writing letters for Mainstreet Moms Oppose Bush.

Have you heard of Alternate Reality Games? It's like the latest thing. Can ya dig it?

The Heart of Cole Valley Festival is today. I love our little neighborhood.

Libraries in Great Britian are in trouble (via ArtsJournal).

I must be a complete sap because, despite the Bulldog seaman jokes, I thought National Lampoon's Van Wilder was sweet. Same with There's Something About Mary and American Pie. Gross-out humor must be lost on me.

I really like this essay which looks at Apple Stores from a design perspective.

I'm headed to Austin next week for the Texas Book Festival where I'll be speaking on a panel about the future of Literature and the Republic. Smart people, loads of books, great food and old friends. I can't wait.

Fine Details:

Devil in the Details : Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood by Jennifer Traig
Jenny Traig lives here in San Francisco, is a tutor at 826 Valencia and is friends with my friend Maggie. Her memoir, of growing up with OCD and converting to Orthodox Judiasm (as the same time and to the hilarity of her parents) is loopy, wild, riotously funny and real. while much of her turnmoil is played for laughs, her tone overall is one of maturity, distance, and calm. A quick little read that I wanted to recommend to ya'll right away.

One Sentence Movie Reviews #20

Bullets Over Broadway (1993): "Real artists rarely feel the need to brag about what artists they are."

Song of the Week #4:

I first heard (Share a Little) Shelter by Miami-based Nuclear Valdez (so named for their friend Valdez who had a horrible temper) on KFOG's 10 at 10. They've got the naive majesty of happy-alt-means-arena-rock begun in the early 1980s by The Alarm and Big Country and carried us through the early 1990s by The Farm and Collective Soul. They've been making an album every several years since the have toured as recently as last year. Based on the infectious little triump of "Shelter", I may have to see what else they've got.

Enjoy!