Say You Miss Me?

Quickly, relating a dream I had last night:

First, in Hillsdale. Sunny. I think I was in art class. Not sure why. So this is going on normally enough.

Then, cyborgs. And lasers. No idea where they come from, or why, but good old Hillsdale College melts away to reveal a dystopian nightmare of steel, machinery and holograms. Some sort of combination of Blade Runner and TRON.

At one point, I shoot a double-barreled laser gun at some ominous television screen, nicking a Big Brother robot through both its eyes and somehow frying its circuits through the screen.

I woke up at some point after this.

Playing on continuous repeat through this whole ordeal— through Hillsdale, during the great cyborg/ android rebellion, and right up to the point where I killed the Big Brother stand-in robot— was "Say You Miss Me" by Wilco.

I would try and deconstruct this but I really have no answers. Mostly just a question: Does Wilco support or reject the pending android rebellion?

Zen?

If we holler loud and make our way...

(...We'd all live one big holiday)

Back from all my holiday travel, and ready for the grind. And it's a new year. Meaning, a new commitment to updating this thing a bit more often. Let's see if it takes, eh?

Playlist for January 6th, 2010:

My Morning Jacket - "One Big Holiday"
Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Matt Sweeny - "My Home is the Sea"
Ha Ha Tonka - "Walking On The Devil's Backbone"
Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys - "Empire State of Mind"
Neil Young - "Don't Let It Bring You Down"
Nick Cave - "Get Ready For Love"

Also, a few links to savor (like Chase + Silliman):

The Stylus Decade
Beer drinking flowchart
Gangs on Indian Reservations
RATM tops the UK music charts (really!)
9,000 words about the KC Royals (proceed at own peril!)
The best sports feature I have read in a long time (Gary Smith in SI)
Boston Globe Big Picture: Best 100 Sports Photos of 2009
Cormac McCarthy does not think highly of Joplin, Mo.
Nick Southall

The sweater must have unraveled

"Blankets are OK, but they can slip and slide. AND, when you need to reach for something, your hands are trapped inside!"

Here's the thing about Snuggies: At first glance it seems like a truly novel idea. "A blanket! With sleeves! Oh my! I never thought of doing that before!"

But wait. Are these people really saying they've never owned or even seen something known as a "sweatshirt"?

Dixon volleyball "Digs Pink"

Got some good photos, I think, but as always my photos always look better before I put them online. The whole gallery is on the Daily Guide website here, there's a partial game story here.

A feature

A new update, since I haven't for a while. I wrote a feature the other day. The photo kind of sucked, but I liked the story. This is it.

Cyclists invade Elbow biker bar

By Jack Hittinger

DEVILS ELBOW— On Wednesday night the Elbow Inn in Devil’s Elbow was a real biker bar. It was invaded by cyclists.

The Hostel International-Gateway Council, based in St. Louis, is sponsoring a “Cycle Route 66” bicycle ride, taking cyclists on Route 66 from Miami, Okla., to Eureka. And the Devil’s Elbow restaurant was one of their main stops.

“I’ve been involved with the Route 66 Association for four years,” Elbow Inn owner Terry Roberson said. “I’ve supported every event thats been down here including motorcycle rides and classic car runs.”

But this is the first bike tour that he’s seen in conjunction with Route 66. And on Wednesday night, the bar was hopping with cyclists eating bar-b-que, drinking beer and playing trivia games.

“This is a real biker bar now,” Roberson said, “‘cause we’ve got both bikers here.”

Read the whole thing here, if you please.

I caught the flu and away I flew.

Bought Wilco (The Album) used for 9 bucks this weekend. Of course, it never reaches the heights of any of the classics, but I listened to it twice in the car on the way back. It's thoroughly enjoyable. I even like "Wilco (The Song)" (click for Colbert show) more than maybe I should. The whole album does smack of complacency, but there are some gems. Nice harmonies all 'round, some Nels Cline shredding, and references to older albums (church bells! They return!) for the hardcore fans disappointed with later output.

I wouldn't buy it new, but used I think it's a pleasant steal.