Salt Lake City PO

Here's the latest installment, Lees.  I happened to be reading this little paperback and it conveniently fell apart just when I had almost come to the end of the stories, so I thought I would give it a new lease on life.  I meant to send it before we left for Texas but got a little side tracked with packing and all.  On the way to our connecting flight, a mail box was spotted and so the card, with any luck, will have been processed through Salt Lake City's mail sorters.  I am hoping they aren't super wacky about what gets through the mails and what doesn't.  Don't forget to check the back for the secret pull tab!  :)

Done

It's about 1:30 am and I'm a little afraid to go to sleep as the shuttle is picking us up in a couple hours. We saw the last show. It was good. The opening guy, a local, was real young, and kept you guessing about where he was going with his stuff. Mostly squirm-worthy material, but generally funny. Then was Andy Kimler (?) who I've never seen before but seems very familiar. Mr. Spontaneity or so that's his shtick...Mr. Off-The-Cuff. Very funny. After that was someone named Mary Lynn something from a tv show. She was unpolished but had a few good moments...and then of course the headliner. He's quite charming so that made up for having heard most of his material on the podcast over the last couple years. I'm glad we went. It was a good way to end this trip. I did a ton of walking and lived to type this blog post. We were very bad vegetarians and had some very good BBQ, including ribs and brisket. I observed a public swimming pool made by damming a pretty blue green river. Some art was seen, some Gutenberg bibles and many Segways. I cannot figure this place out. As far as I can tell, there are two main camps here: Greeks and hipsters and not much in between. Other than that, it's very difficult to say what is going on here. Maybe it's just me and I need to get some sleep?

Replying from Walnut Creek Central

Oh, quick note. I think Maron is still in Austin, if you want to check his schedule. There might be a more accessible venue coming up. The one you described sounds like the coming of the comedy apocalypse and I'm glad you missed it too.

I've never been to Austin, only Dallas and San Antonio. Do you remember the Alamo? I do because that's where my ancestors lost a HUGE chunk of land. Imagine if Texas were part of Mexico. How interesting. My Grandfather upon entering the U.S. from Jalisco first worked as a ranch hand in Texas. He was a horseman, apparently and supposedly a good one. He said the racism was too hard to deal with, so he moved to...Arizona. Where he was a copper miner. Eventually he followed my Grandmother to San Francisco where he worked in...an asbestos factory. I can't help but feel that a lot of his later health problems stemmed from that first experience in Texas, and so on.

I've heard that Austin is a very cool city. I hope you're getting some good grub and micro-brew. There's lots of comedians running around town right now, so check into that. There's probably some Purple Onion-like activity going on even as we write.

Take care,
L

Austin oddities

Hi Lees! We're here. I'm actually sick and lamenting not having taken airborne before deplaning. I don't know that I've ever been to Texas before but can't really say much about it as I'm currently tapping away on a four poster bed in the semi-darkness of a pretty nice b and b room. Sounds racy, but trust me, it isn't. We missed mm's show last night at a "rock star" bar (a very nice local grad student called it that) not far from where we're staying. When I looked up the place the pictures revealed a mosh pit crammed with frat boys in cowboy hats around a swimming pool. Suffice it to say I felt ok about skipping that one. Then, this morning, just for kicks, I looked at twitter and the tweets were going nuts over him and I was even more relieved we'd missed it. Somehow I feel much more secure listening to the podcast. I know. I am a wuss. His fans here seem rabid, though...maybe it's just Texas? I finally read your email about that baby-voiced banjo playing guest. So funny! I watched the YouTube clips you sent...have you ever seen Radio Days? If you get a chance, watch the part where Mia Farrow is taking locution lessons. Hark! I hear the canons roar. Is it the king approaching? Last but not least I sent you the latest installment from the airport in the land of Moroni. Is that plural for moron? Let's ask Mitt, shall we? D

This weather is dynamic

Hi Deat-

I thought I'd try the blog idea on blogger this time. I'll try and figure out how to make you an administrator and such. There are some issues with blogger regarding video embedding and photo sizing. There's always something.

The weekend got into the 90s. Today it's in the 60s with fog. I know everyone writes about the weather when they get stuck for a topic. But I think the weather is worth considering. When people deny the  theory of climate change, and then experience drought conditions followed by unseasonal monsoons, I always wonder how long they'll continue to ignore the obvious weirdness in the air. Decades? I'm hoping SUVs at least will go the way of the Hummer, the Gremlin, the Pacer—fading into the past during our lifetimes.

I watched a lot of TV last night. Sunday night seems to be the ultimate in programming with popular shows going up against each other from 8 to 11 pm. It's driving TV addicts to distraction. Last night I flipped between Celebrity Apprentice and Mad Men. I'm recapping Apprentice on my blog and Mad Men is the ultimate in water cooler programming, so I must watch both! One of the older characters and founding member of the ad agency on Mad Men took LSD last night and that scenario combined with the absurdity of Donald Trump doing a "reality" business show, provided for my own psychedelic experience. Television as muse.

The tiny Republicans and their hell mouth

The tiny Republicans I sent—they're kind of based on real people, but not really. They remind me of this TV show (naturally). An evil and megalomaniacal demon on Buffy The Vampire Slayer was terrorizing Buffy and her entire town. When their confrontation finally came about, it turns out that the demon was only an inch high and had a comical, squeaky little voice. He is stepped on, like a cockroach. Climactic!

I went to Barnes & Noble this weekend to look for some art technique books. I never know what I'll find in a big bookstore. There were a lot of acrylic-painting books but I've checked out a bunch of those at the library this year, so I was more interested in mixed media and I don't know what else. Stuff I can't find at the library, I guess. After many searches on the shelves I found one mail art book! I was so surprised. It's by two ladies from San Francisco and it's pretty good. Kind of a history/primer, which is what's lacking in the mail-art publishing business, I guess. I also got a little book of color titled, "The Little Book of Color." Short histories of paint colors—how they were made and shades of today. Good ol' color.

Hope you are all well. I put out all our summer items, like a hammock and chairs and umbrella and now it might rain again. Yo, climate change.

-Lees