The Potato Barn

The Potato Barn Has Moved

2009-10-28T06:37:00.000-07:00

We're now over at Wordpress!

thepotatobarn.net

Thanks, looking forward to seeing you there.

thepotatobarn.net

That's enough of a break

2009-10-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

OK, we're officially at the one-month point of hiatus, which means it's time for a return of The Potato Barn.

There's gonna have to be some changes around here soon. Like I have to link to Duganz's new blog. And I'm considering a move to Wordpress.

Big news: trying to figure out what to do next. That's it. All of it. Wish I had more for you.

Oh. I went to Jersey. It was awesome.

Urban Wildlife

2009-09-09T07:41:00.000-07:00

So I'm walking around my neighborhood this morning, around 7 a.m. Sure, it's early-ish, but the sun is up, commuters are hopping buses or driving to work, and airplanes are rumbling through the sky from Portland International (which is a mere 3.5 miles from my house). So I felt fairly certain that I wouldn't encounter any large, angry animals.

Wrong. There's a neighborhood raccoon that I've seen twice now, and today he stared me down as I walked past him. He's a big fella, gotta be around 30 pounds or more. I'm not scared of animals, and certainly not of cute little raccoons, but I'm suspicious when they start coming out in the day. That means it's probably rabid. And that it's got little rabid babies that will do its rabid bidding.

Welcome to the neighborhood. I also saw a slug the size of a cigar. I hate them so much.

A new home, and dragging my sorry-ass feet

2009-09-02T22:54:00.000-07:00

Right. So, I'm alive and well in beautiful Portland, Oregon. I have a lot of thoughts, and a lot I've wanted to blog about, but quite honestly I'm tired, I don't have a comfortable chair to sit on while at the computer, and I'm still tired. But I did have an appearance on the Portland Mercury's Web site today. Check it out here.

Thanks for your patience. One day, this will be a real blog again.

Behind the curve...

2009-08-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

I had an awesome idea for a blog, something really interesting to say, but I forgot what it was. I am alive and well in McMinnville, for those of you still reading. Keep an eye out for sweet places to live in NE Portland. Thanks, all!

S

A gig

2009-08-21T15:06:00.001-07:00

Well, sort of a gig. I got an internship with the Portland Mercury! Woo! Seriously, I'm pretty stoked. I start in September, and I can't wait to get settled in PDX. Downside: it's unpaid. But everything else is an upside: I get to live in Portland. I'm close to Whit. I can work on developing my own story ideas and voice as a writer. I don't have to work at a daily newspaper. So yeah, I think the good outweighs the bad.

Sorry for the lack of updates. They'll probably be pretty sparse here, too, since I'll be heading to the wedding of one Mr. Pat Duganz and one Ms. Alisia Muhlestein in Anaconda, Mont. I'll be live-tweeting the event @sfbreslin, so get your Twitter accounts while they're hot!

Hope all is well for everyone. I swear as I get more settled (and get my computer set up and my own Internet again) the updates will be more frequent.

Peace,
S

Oh yeah, I have a blog!

2009-08-18T12:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I've been busy having fun in Oregon. And by "having fun," I mean I've been preparing for the rest of my life. Not exactly sure how I'm doing that, but as my good friend Bill Oram said, "Every day of life is a job interview." Right now I don't think the interview is going too hot, tho...

Speaking of hot, Whit and I went to Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument this weekend, which was really freaking cool. Walked around on these things called hummocks (which is an excellent Scrabble word: two Ms, an H, a K and a C!). You can still see this broad debris field from where all the rock and ash and mud and houses and trees and bridges and pretty much everything was washed down the riverbed. Mother Nature is one tough broad.

More later, perhaps.

Les Paul, and what I've done with my life

2009-08-13T13:29:00.000-07:00

Les Paul did a lot. His brilliant guitar playing alone made his passing newsworthy, but the man pioneered multitrack recording and overdubbing. He also invented the solid-body electric guitar, and Gibson's Les Paul model is the guitar to own. Period. I have one, and it's not my favorite guitar, but it does anything I need it to do flawlessly and consistantly well.

Then there's me. I feel I can relate to Seinfeld's George Costanza when he said, "If you take everything I've accomplished in my life and condense it down to one day, it looks decent."

But yesterday, I did something to add onto that decent list: I got my sister to join Twitter (@katebreslin). Kate is not a joiner. And she's certainly never followed my lead. So I feel pretty cool.

I'm in McMinnville again, trying not to distract WAB while at work. We'll see how that goes.

Tweet.

2009-08-12T08:27:00.000-07:00

Ugh. I started Twittering. Or Tweeting. Or whatever. I have a huge problem capitalizing "tweet" so I'm not going to do it anymore. I don't think Twitter does, either, so I guess it's fine. sfbreslin is my Twitter name. Have fun. I'll try my best to do the same.

The bears didn't eat me!

2009-08-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

I survived Yellowstone. I know I say this a lot and rarely follow through, but pictures and story will follow.

When I got to the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library today to hit the Intarweb for some quality surf time, I went directly to Slate, which had all sorts of interesting-looking articles today, like this one about God and evolution. Or this one about Indian casinos. Or this one about babies. All of them I want to get into and read in their entirety, but right now I'm amusing myself with this gem from the Portland Mercury. Seriously, if you're at work and looking to waste some time, this will make you laugh so much your boss will wonder why he or she is paying you. And then you'll get fired, and you can come hang out with me in the library in your spare time, of which you'll have plenty.

Headed back to McMinnville soon. But for now, biding my time mowing my mom's lawn and getting around to reading serious articles. Hooray news! Oh, and I get to finish Slate's End-Of-America series! Man, I missed Slate.

It's the end of the world as we know it...

2009-08-04T06:19:00.000-07:00

Slate is doing an interesting series (when are they not?) on possible end-of-the-United-States-as-we-know-it scenarios. You can read all 144 of them here.

Some of them are frightening (like super volcano Yellowstone blowing its top). Some are political (one-party/one-person rule). And some are just silly (cell phones really do cause brain cancer and we all die). But what struck me about the series is Slate's decision to publish it.

Yes, there will be detractors that say Slate is a representative of the anti-American elite leftist media. And there will also be detractors that say the authors and editors aren't taking the project seriously enough (another possible scenario is death by robots). But I like their approach. Sure, it's probably way too early to call the good ol' U.S. of A. down for the count. But I do agree that all superpowers do fade from glory, if not fall from grace. So why not at least start the discussion?

Plus, it's a fun read. Just like going to see an apocalypse flick, it makes us think of how we would persevere in a doomsday scenario. It lets us be the survivor struggling to find his love ones or gunning down the bad guys.

That's right. I'm promoting escapism as news.

Likely won't be any updates for a while, lest I find an internet cafe next to a buffalo chip at the park. Keep it real, y'all.

S

Welcome back!

2009-08-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

Apparently my tent is within range of WiFi, but it's sporadic and the signal strength isn't that great. And typing an entire blog entry on my iPod got very very tedious. So I gave up. Hooray for quitting.

I'm heading to Yellowstone National Park tomorrow morning for some fishing and guitar playing and general escapism that doesn't involve an overpriced movie ticket and a bag of popcorn. My plans are pretty loose, but I'm probably gonna stay until Monday. Don't expect any blog updates until I return. If I can remember which box I put my camera in, I'll bring it and take pictures. If not, I'll try to have a minor run in with a bear so I can show off some cool scars...

That's all I got for now. Weekend was good. Unproductive as always. Woo-hoo!

S

50 Posts!

2009-07-31T07:39:00.001-07:00

Congratulations! You've made to The Potato Barn's 50th Post! Please collect your prize at the door...

OK. I lied. There's no prize. Just this funny cartoon.

The news was a-crawling yesterday with Obama's beer meeting with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and James Crowley, the officer who arrested Gates for breaking into his own house. Ugh. If Obama plans to interject himself into every little misunderstanding that hits the news, it's gonna be a long, unproductive four years.

I spent my first night in Kyle's back yard, and it was pretty comfortable on account of Kyle's unmowed lawn (thanks for being gimpy, buddy!) and the fact that my tent is awesome. Downside: Kyle lives right by Community Medical Center, and someone had the audacity to require helicopter transport to the hospital at around 3 a.m. Woken up when the helicopter took off, woken up when it landed. I need to get those cool headphones that people at airports wear.

Anywho, I'm off to Mel's to wash some cars! Keep it real, y'all.

I'm back home?

2009-07-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I moved out of my apartment, got a ton of stuff in storage and more in the back of Subie-Q (my lovely, sweet, reliable Subaru Outback). So yeah, homeless. It's fun so far, but it's only been an hour. I'll be staying at Kyle Boe's. Or my mom's new place in the Rattlesnake. Or somewhere fun. Like here. Or maybe here.

But it's good to be back in Missoula. I'm gonna be playing guitar, cleaning cars at Mel's for some extra dough, and hopefully getting ready for a gig somewhere. We shall see. Damn economy.

Thanks to all who keep reading.

Hot Hot Hot

2009-07-28T11:52:00.000-07:00

In McMinnville, Oregon, it was 105 yesterday. Supposed to be that way today, too. While one would think I'd be thrilled to spend my day in an air conditioned library updating my blog with long-form prose, my brain has melted to mush. It must be solidified and re-formed with the assistance of ice cream.

Back to Missoula tomorrow, I promise a more substantial update will come soon.

In the meantime, enjoy this chilling scene.

Walking on broken glass...

2009-07-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

There's a radio commercial for Montana Glass that's been playing pretty often here, and the background music sounds a lot like Annie Lennox's "Walking on Broken Glass." I kind of doubt it's an actual sample of the song, or that anyone from Lennox's camp or BMG was involved in this song. Maybe there's copyright infringement.

Undoubtedly, I'm the only one who cares.

In any event, I'm headed back to Oregon for a few days to see Whit, then back here to finish up moving out of my apartment. Pretty much everything's gone except some clothes, a guitar and amp and some cleaning supplies. Hope the weekend has been nice to all. It's hot here.

Oh Jersey, how I love thee!

2009-07-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

For those who haven't heard (and still read this blog), prosecutors rounded up more than 40 people in a corruption sting yesterday in New Jersey. State represenatives, mayors, and religious leaders were part of this big ol' network of illicit activity that apparently involved trying to sell a black market kidney. What a world.

I feel bad because I haven't really been paying attention to the news, only found out about this because I happened to be listening to NPR when the top of the hour news brief came on. Whitney was telling me about the government's Cash for Clunkers bill, and I had no idea about it. I know Obama wants to overhaul health care, but damned if I know what his plan is or why people support or oppose it. Considering I'm one of the millions of uninsured Americans (even this guy is losing count), I should probably at least know a little about what this plan might do for me.

In part, I blame not having my computer set up at home, but that's not really that legit. It's me. My interest level has waned a bit.

The sad thing is, no matter how little time I spend actively consuming news, I still get a lot of it. I daresay I'm more in touch with the world than a large precent of the population, and that scares me. I'm not even trying, and I still vaguely know what's going on.

Still, at least I do limit myself to a couple Web sites and newspapers. It's not like I try to read everything like some people.

Moving on down the...well, whatever

2009-07-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

It's just after 4 p.m., and it's 97 degrees in Missoula. Weather like this makes people do a lot of things: they go to water parks, sip margaritas in the shade, crank up the AC in their offices, or go to Wal-Mart to stock up on box fans.

I decided to move most of my stuff out of my apartment and into storage. I've just got a couch, a chair, a bed and a small table left. Some clothes and toiletries, too, but those are coming with me to...wherever I go...

With homelessness looming, I thought I'd take my mind off of things by starting a Twitter account. I've been pressured by some to start one as a way to keep in touch with people, but I'm still not ready to go down that road. My excuse used to be my aversion to narcissism, but I've gotten over that. Now I'm just being lazy and telling myself (and everyone else) that I don't have a computer so I couldn't update my Twitter account that often. Of course, I know it's done via cell phone, but I couldn't see what others were saying to me... I don't think... I have no idea. Clearly more research needs to be done.

I wrote a song last night called "The River" which is even more depressing than the Springsteen song of same name, though not nearly as good. I got started writing another this morning, but moving my stuff took precedent. Alas, work gets in the way of other work.

That's all for now. Perhaps I'll get some sort of theme going on this blog sometime soon. We shall see. But regular updates are theme enough for me right now.

Goals

2009-07-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't played guitar in a few days. You'd think that after getting a kickass Telecaster, I'd not be able to to put it down. And generally that's true, but I've been packing up my apartment recently, and somehow in the shuffle of getting my stuff all boxed up I've left Diana alone in her case (named after this song).

So, in an effort to play more guitar and get back into the musical swing of things, I've decided to try writing a song a day. It doesn't have to be the next "Cherry Cherry" or anything. Just a song. That'll also get me writing again, which is something I've sincerely missed. And lord knows I've got the time to do it now.

Maybe I'll record some stuff and post it here. We'll see if anything good comes of it.

Hey Pretty...

2009-07-21T08:52:00.000-07:00

Man, it's been a while. I'd like to say I've been busy doing other stuff, but that's not really true. I've been goofing off on the East Coast, goofing off on the West Coast, goofing off on Montana's rivers (and managing to catch a few fish in the process).

But despite my best efforts, the world kept turning. I graduated from college (in just a hair under a decade!), took a train from Montana to New Jersey, watched the World Champion Philadelphia Philles get kicked around by the last-place Baltimore Orioles, got a tattoo, turned down a job, helped the super-awesome and mega-lovely Whitney Bermes move to McMinnville, Oregon, crashed a canoe, had my life threatened by a crazy person on the bus next to me in St. Regis, Montana, passed out during the new Harry Potter movie, bought a guitar, and discovered the secret to eternal happiness (bacon). Oh, and The King of Pop died.

So let me bring you up to speed: I'm unemployed. My lease is up in 10 days and I don't know where I'm going next. My girlfriend moved to Oregon. If my car breaks down, I can write a damn good country song.

But it's summer in western Montana, and the trout are rising...

The bitchiest blog ever

2009-03-02T12:52:00.000-08:00

This is entirely about coffee.

1) The UC Market: you've got a half dozen carafes, and you brew one drinkable blend of coffee, your French roast. Seriously, everything else is shit, and everyone knows it, which is why there's never any French roast when I go in to get a cup of coffee. Get rid of the Market Blend and whatever other swill you try to pass for decent and just brew the French roast. I'm tired of this shit.

2) To everyone who works at a coffee shop: just because I don't want room for cream in my cup doesn't mean it needs to be brimming with coffee that's approximately 204 degrees. I appreciate you wanting to give me the most value for my dollar, but my fingers are already torn up from playing guitar constantly. They could be spared a scalding every once in a while.

3) Flavorings: I don't ask for them often, but when I do, I'd still like to taste the coffee that makes the base for my latte. There's no reason to add four tablespoons of caramel or vanilla or anything else. If people can't taste the flavoring with one teaspoon, they need to get their taste buds checked.

Sorry. I've had a rash of bad experiences lately. I think I should switch to tea.

S

The Ocean

2009-02-23T11:17:00.000-08:00

I was in a bookstore yesterday, flipping through one of those coffee table picture books that big stores always push. This one was on marine life, and honestly, the ocean has got to be the scariest place in the freaking world!

For now, let's leave out sharks, because everyone knows they're scary. Instead, we'll start with something even more obvious: you can't breath in the ocean. At all. But you know who can? This guy:

That's a hairy anglerfish. Seriously, it looks like something Dr. Seuss would've come up with if he had done meth instead of writing children's books. It says on Wikipedia that the hairy anglerfish is essentially invisible because its red skin cannot be seen at a depth of 3,300 feet, which is where that fella resides.

Then there's the cuttlefish, a mollusc that is more closely related to the clam or oyster than any fish, but whose eyes are some of the most highly developed in the world, can reshape and see both forwards and backwards. Their eyes develop before they hatch, and can actually see outside their eggs before birth. They can also change color:

There's no end to the amount of incredibly weird things living down there: sea dragons, moray eels, giant squids, colossal tube worms and the largest living thing ever, in the history of this whole freaking planet:

OK, maybe the right adjective to use about the ocean is incredible, rather than scary. Still, none of these creatures are anything I'd like to get too close to, and all of them haunt my dreams. Usually they have the voices of mean elementary school teachers. I hate my subconscious. But the ocean is sweet.

Hope you're all doing well.

S

Happy/Angry Journalist

2009-02-18T08:13:00.000-08:00

I've been applying for journalism jobs recently. I'm not trying to limit my self geographically: I've got apps going out to Alaska, Oregon, Nebraska, New York and Sierra Leone. But the job market is less than stellar, so I've taken to visiting other sites on the Web.

Sites like angryjournalist.com, which my good friend and mentor Alex Strickland told me about. It's a site where people (journalists) can anonymously bitch about the state of the industry. It'd be hilarious if all of it weren't so painfully, painfully true.

But I try to be optimistic, so I sometimes visit happyjournalist.com, where people can extoll the virtues of our trade, all those things they teach you in J-School about the First Amendment and the need for an independent media...

Blah blah blah, you can guess which one I spend more time cruising...

That's all I got right now.

Choose your own blog-venture...

2009-02-12T18:04:00.000-08:00

OK, so I had two ideas for this blog, and I'll let you pick which one you want to read. The first topic will be Songwriting, and the second topic will be Dinosaurs. So without further ado...

SONGWRITING!

When it comes to music, I'm kind of a turd. I'll dismiss acts like John Mayer as trendy crap, but I'll relish in pop by Gwen Stefani. I'll love Tom Waits for his originality, but be turned off by most acts that veer off a well-worn track. I want something I feel like I've heard before, even when it's something that blows me away.

Consequentially, I think when I write songs I tend to steer toward the center, play it safe. Just take a basic I-IV-V rock progressing, throw a minor chord in here and there and some lyrics about a car and call it good. It's like I suffer from Bob Seger Syndrome. And I hate Bob Seger.

I don't know if I lack the courage to try something new, or if it's just the know-how. Sometimes I'll get drunk in hopes that in my impaired state I'll screw up something and it'll sound cool. If that works, I never know because I forget what I did by the time I've sobered up. The only option for preserving my ideas is to record my drunken ramblings, and no one needs that.

Anyway, I'm probably my own worst critic, but I've been feeling kind of stuck in a rut as far as songs are concerned, and hopefully writing about it will help me break out of that.

Onward to the next topic...

DINOSAURS!

I know it's probably a pretty lame topic, but dinosaurs are freaking awesome. Honestly, dinosaurs might be the best argument for Intelligent Design: who but God could come up with creatures so sweet?!? If I could have any dinosaur for a pet, it'd be a velociraptor named Kenny. I'd feed Bill to him.

Fishing, Facebook, and other Fascist Frolickings

2009-02-09T13:23:00.000-08:00

Ice fishing is a hoax! We don't catch any fish, spend too much time drinking, and risk ending up like these fools. Pretty much it's an excuse to drink beer in the middle of a lake as opposed to on the shore. And make up awesome games.

Which brings me to our next topic: Facebook. Alex and John both put awesome pictures up from this weekend's excursion, but I couldn't see them cuz I deleted my Facebook. My friend Jen is now Facebook friends with my mother, and there's a rumor that my grandmother has just created an account. So I'm torn: do I reactivate my account so I can see all the awesome pictures, or do I stick by my stance that Facebook has just gotten way too inclusive to be fun?

Answer: I remain away from Facebook because John Cribb bet me $20 that I'd rejoin before Jan. 1, 2010. And $20 is $20.

Other than that, the weekend was pretty good. Tried to stay out of trouble, but failed. Oh well. Valkenberg isn't playing this week due to the fact that we couldn't get a slot at open mike night. We're sorry, loyal fan.

S

An update for the sake of it...

2009-02-05T08:49:00.000-08:00

1) The Boss's halftime performance at the Superbowl: lame. Seriously, the ref coming out and throwing flags at him? WTF? All my friends are complaining about the crotch slide into the stage-level camera, but that's classic Bruce. Tooling around with the lyrics to Glory Days is not. C'mon, buddy...

2) Ice Cream: it's awesome. I just got a pint of Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup (complete with salmonella, I hope!), and it might have changed the way I view ice cream. And life. I also tried Big Dipper's Maple Bacon. That changed the way I view ice cream, too. But not for the better. Keep working on it.

3) School is going. Only 66 more class days left. Woo!

4) Ice fishing this weekend. Hopefully more productive than last time.

5) Twitter: Yep, not gonna join. My life isn't interesting enough to update a blog more than once a week, so it's certainly not going to maintain a mini-blog several times a day. Sorry.

6) Gerrity's writing a column from Scotland. It's actually funny. If you don't know Gerrity, throw yourself a party because you, my friend, are one of the ones who might make it out of here alive!

Peace.
S

Valkenberg rocks!

2009-01-28T12:30:00.000-08:00

Alex and I played open mike night at Sean Kelly's on Monday night, and it totally rocked. A lot. We're thinking of making t-shirts that say "Valkenberg rocks the house... and the senate."

That's right, we're huge nerds.

School is scholastic-fantastic. Only 71 more class days left. Not that I'm counting at all.

Wrote a pretty cool song yesterday. Needs some tweaking, but it'll be posted up here sooner or later. Actually, screw that! You wanna hear it? Come to Sean Kelly's next Monday. It'll change your life.

Speaking of life-changing, I'm reading Bob Dylan's autobiography right now, and there was a line I wanted to share, because it's changed my life: "Sometimes all it takes is a wink or a nod from some unexpected place to vary the tedium of a baffling existence."

How did this quote change my life? I'm not sure, but it will. I can feel it.

Oh! Another shameless plug! The Women's Center is hosting a drag show on Friday night to benefit its Valentine's Day production of The Vagina Monologues, and they're auctioning off a date with me as part of a fundraiser. So come to the Badlander and bid for me! Or someone else. Or just give the Women's Center money. They're good people.

Till later.

S

Right. Blog.

2009-01-26T12:13:00.000-08:00

First day of school. My last first day of school, so long as all goes according to plan. I've got a lot in my head right now. I'm sure it will all come out in due time. Either that, or I'll throw my guitar out the window of my Subaru as I drive into some really lame sunset.

On a fun note, my good friend Bill Oram got a kick out of this article. Maybe you will, too.

Stay real. Keep checking back for new stuff. I promise it'll come.

S

Here we go again.

2009-01-13T07:15:00.000-08:00

Last night saw the debut of my new two-man band, Valkenberg. For a complete explanation of our name, check out Alex Sakistan's blog. Alex is the mandolin player extraordinaire, and we both sing some mean harmonies.

OK, we're no Lennon-McCartney. But we had fun. Apparently video exists of this debut performance. Maybe this video will make it onto the Intarwebs...

Video blogging

2009-01-11T22:10:00.000-08:00

I've said it many times before and I've meant it, and I mean it now: video blogging is the pinnacle of narcissism. Seriously, blogging itself is pretty self-absorbed. I mean, who cares what I have to say? But throw in having to look at me and hear my voice? That's just cruel.

But I feel bad that I haven't been updating in a while, and it's mostly because I've been writing songs and playing guitar like a crazy person. I figure that's a legitimate thing to blog about, but I can't exactly explain the song very well...

So without further ado, here's my ugly mug singing a song I wrote called "Nothing's Changed." Feel free to leave comments about how goofy I look/how much the song rocks.

On hiatus

2008-12-30T09:17:00.000-08:00

I'm in Oregon right now, have been for a few days. Expect loads of pictures when I return, probably to be posted on New Years Day.

Sledding!

2008-12-25T15:44:00.001-08:00

OK, so the title of this post is a little misleading because we actually just used inner tubes, but the theme remains the same! Awesome times with Eleena Fikhman, who despite her best efforts did not fall off her tube. Enjoy the photos and videos!

On this video of Eleena sledding, please excuse the heavy breathing behind the camera. I just ran up the hill. I'm not as fit as some people...

Merry Christmas...again!

It's that day. You know, the one between 24 and 26...

2008-12-25T07:14:00.000-08:00

I'd be lying if I said I was super excited about Christmas. I'm not. I don't really get pumped about gifts or huge meals or the idea that everyone has to be kind and cheerful to one another for one day before we all go back to being bastards again.

But enough of being a bastard on the one day I'm not supposed to be! Christmas is not a time for being bitter. It's a time to eat food. And be happy. And drink nog. And to hang out with super-cool people that I haven't seen in a while.

But most importantly, Christmas is a time to go sledding. Barring any trips to the emergency room, look forward to pictures here.

Merry Christmas.

Music

2008-12-17T17:02:00.000-08:00

So on Monday night I played Open Mic Night at Sean Kelly's, a bar in downtown Missoula. Played some covers, one of my old band's songs, and an original that I think still needs work but my friends said they liked. I haven't played in front of people in a long time, so I was pretty damn nervous. But by the last two songs I seemed to loosen up a bit, so hopefully that's temporary. Gonna have to do it again next week.

Got all my Christmas shopping/shipping done today! Bout time, huh? I feel like now I can enjoy the holidays a little now that I don't have that hanging over me.

That's all for now. More later. For real.

Remember when?

2008-12-09T08:54:00.000-08:00

Yeah, remember when I updated this regularly? Those were good days...

Seriously, I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. Trying to get some stuff done for finals, and spending too much time with my guitar. If I'm ever feeling stupid, I'll make a video of myself playing guitar and post it, thus killing the two proverbial birds with one stone.

Portfolio-ed

2008-12-04T06:26:00.000-08:00

Well, it took me a while, and I only got 3 hours of sleep, but my portfolio is done. It's not the best in the world, but it'll get me a passing grade in the class. I can't ask for much more...

I look like a character from Questionable Content.

Time out!

2008-12-03T14:04:00.000-08:00

Since when did Baldy come out with a new album? I thought all she did these days was theorize on the feasibility of time travel...

P.S. Please click on the time travel link. You'll be glad you did.

Sorry...

2008-12-03T13:03:00.000-08:00

for the lack of updates. Been pretty busy trying to finish up my portfolio for my drawing class. It's actually the most stressful thing I have to do this finals season, but damn is it driving me nuts. If you're lucky, I'll post some of my awful, awful artwork...

WTF?

2008-12-02T05:31:00.000-08:00

I didn't think I'd ever blog about the weather, but it's December. It's 6 in the morning, and it's Montana. Could someone please tell me why it's 41 degrees?

I still hate football.

2008-12-01T07:38:00.000-08:00

Ok. Fine. That's a lie. I don't hate football.

But just because I've been to three games this season shouldn't give anyone the impression that I actually like the game. I mean, what fun is there in standing in the cold for three hours watching guys pile onto one another?

I always despised the game. I could never tell what was happening, who had the ball, why the players would just fall into a pile and call it a sport. But more importantly, I hate that football is so strongly attached to higher education. The University of Montana is an institute of higher learning, yet football games consistantly sell out while academic departments struggle. I know it's not a zero-sum situation, but I can't help but think academics wouldn't be hurting so much if UM didn't devote so many resources to the Griz.

Anyway, here's what happened: my buddies John and Bill are huge sports nerds. John played football in high school. Bill just loves sports. A lot. I mean, he loves the games, the fans, the weird stats the sportscasters announce that have absolutely no bearing on the game action. He loves the players, the cliche thrill of victory and agony of defeat. He thrives on it.

Anyway, I lived with these guys for a year, and by virtue of being around them a lot, I picked up a lot of knowledge about how the game is played. Despite my strong efforts, I've managed to retain quite a bit of it. And when I'm at a bar or there's a game on at a party, I'll find myself glancing at it trying to figure out what's going on, and what the teams are going to do next.

OK. Fine. So it was a casual thing. We weren't committed, me and football. We could see other people. I mean, I'm a Phillies fan, so football is just passing the time until the Phillies and I can be together again. Right?

But, like all casual relationships, someone ends up getting attached. Somebody ends up at the Rhino after Thanksgiving dinner ignoring his companions so he can find out if the Eagles won that day, watches the game highlights repeatedly, feels a certain sense of pride when the score flashes up on the screen.

Dammit.

Thanksgiving. For real.

2008-11-26T23:16:00.000-08:00

Another reason I'm thankful this year: I'm glad we live in a country where power changes hands peacefully, where we're relatively safe from terrorists and insurgencies and separatists (random psychos still abound, but no one's perfect). I'm scared for the good people of Mumbai, and my thoughts are with them this year.

Gobble. Gobble. Gobble.

2008-11-25T07:40:00.000-08:00

First off, an enthusiastic shout-out the The Potato Barn's first follower, the intrepid Rachel Cook. Rachel was the design editor for the Montana Kaimin while I was editor last year, and after receiving a degree in journalism she immediately went to Cambodia to work for the Lutheran World Federation. She's chronicling her travels on her blog, Cook-ing in Cambodia. Check it out.

So Thursday is Thanksgiving, the last day of sanity before shopping-mall Santas start invading my subconscious and the laughter of children starts to become eerily similar to the sound of rusty nails in your gas tank. It's the biggest Sunday of the year: a day to relax with family and friends, eat some good food, maybe go bowling. But it's followed by a month-long Monday morning.

But somehow, that doesn't seem to dampen Thanksgiving the way I always think it will. Maybe it's the tryptophan in the turkey (more likely it's the wine), but Thanksgiving warmth never fades throughout the day. The weather always sets the tone for the day's festivities: a sunny day will mean a pick-up game of football or a hike up the M, a chilly cloudy one means staying inside and getting a head start on leftovers while drinking hot cider. The day always seems to work out.

I think it's because it's a lot like Christmas, but without presents. People put way too much emphasis on what to get for who, and take it way too personally when they got a gift they don't think is fitting. Thanksgiving doesn't have any of that.

So, I know it's two days early, but here's what I'm thankful for this year:

1) Family, near and far

2) My friends, again near and far

3) Good music

4) Gullible fish

5) The sun, especially when it decides to show its face in Missoula

6) Food. Especially food cooked with garlic.

There are others, but those are the big ones. I'll probably update this again before the holiday, but if I don't then I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving.

I am literate!

2008-11-24T07:35:00.000-08:00

Literate in American Civics, that is. I took this civics quiz on American history and structure of government, and I answered 31 out of the 33 questions correctly (93 percent)! I feel pretty cool about that, considering the average American scores 49 percent and the average for college educators is 55 percent. Go me!

The two questions I got wrong were on tax policy, which I don't think I'll ever understand, but I'm really happy with myself for doing so well. What a good Monday morning pick-me-up. All of you should take it and post your scores. That'd be super.

S

The Boss

2008-11-21T15:45:00.001-08:00

We talked about tonal models last Friday in singing class (which has been canceled by our teacher more times than I've skipped all my classes combined), and discussed our musical and vocal inspirations. It may be cliche for me to say it, but I can't think of a musician that's had a more profound influence on me than Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen.

I wish I could just attribute my man-crush on The Boss to geography alone, but that kind of proximity loyalty is more suited for hometown sports teams than for artists. Alas, it is so much more...

Perhaps the best place to start is with his songs. The man's capacity for storytelling puts him in an echelon of songwriters with the likes of Bob Dylan and Woody Gutherie. He's often compared to John Mellencamp for his focus on the struggles of blue-collar Americans, but that comparison misses the point of many of Bruce's songs. Where Mellancamp's heroes are pure and beset upon by an evil world, Springsteen's characters accept some responsibility for their struggles. They knock up their girlfriends, they run with Hells Angels and drug dealers and mobsters. Sure, they're all likable enough. But they make real mistakes and respond realistically. You can relate.

From a musical standpoint, his songs sometimes border on overwhelming. His ability to consistently assemble world-class musicians speaks to his ambition and his status as a musical visionary. There's never empty space in his songs, especially in recordings with the E-Street Band. It took me years of listening to "Born to Run" before I noticed the subtle wah-pedal guitar over the bridge. And Springsteen's music has long been allowed to merge multiple styles together, thanks in part to longtime E Street guitarist Steve Van Zandt (alias Silvio Dante) and his bottomless knowledge of popular music.

But Springsteen's most overlooked genius is the one I most admire: his skills with a guitar. He doesn't really allow himself to shine on studio albums, but on live recordings he dominates the stage most when he abandons the microphone and pours his energy into that beautiful Fender Esquire. I've seen him live twice, both times in Philadelphia, and he always took the longest guitar solos that blew me away more than when I'd seen Pete Townshend, Neil Young, Pearl Jam or even B.B. King. He's mastered jazzy licks, blues riffs, hard rockin' solos, slide guitar and intricate folk fingerpicking. In live recordings, especially over the past decade, Springsteen's managed to find a soloing style I've never heard before, one that allows the notes to sear into one another as they bleed over the other instruments before settling into the total sound. I can't quite explain it, but you can see it in this video of American Skin (his solo starts at around 4:00)

All of this really has nothing to do with why I listed Bruce Springsteen as a tonal model in my singing class. I think it's because--to be honest--The Boss's voice isn't much better than mine (no offense, Bruce). But where his vocals lacked clarity or beauty of tone, he made up for in pure emotion and honest lyrics, coupled with flawless musical performances by himself and his band on relentless tours. I try to do the same when I sing, but it never comes out quite right.

Okay, that's more than enough love on a guy pushing 60. Here's a video of "Atlantic City," possibly my favorite Springsteen song. Enjoy.

Really? No, REALLY?

2008-11-21T06:04:00.000-08:00

Word on the street is that President-elect Barack Obama is seriously considering Hillary Clinton for the Secretary of State position. After a bitter primary season followed by an apparent snubbing for the VP spot, it seems odd that a) Clinton would be willing to take it; and b) that Obama is reaching back to so many seasoned Washington veterans after running on a platform of change.

Of course there's something to be said for taking advice from rivals and those more experienced than Obama. But being one of those coveted "youth voters," I tend to think of Obama as my generation's president, and selecting old-school big-wigs like Clinton and Tom Daschle seems like he's willing to wage the same political battles of my parents' generation (no offense, Mom and Dad).

Beyond that, Clinton has primarily focused on domestic policies and how to improve the lives of everyday Americans, most notably through health care reform. It seems to me like she would've been more comfortable at Health and Human Services.

That said, as First Lady, she traveled to 79 countries, more than any other First Lady. To be fair, that is an informal diplomatic post, though not one that requires making serious policy decisions with unfriendly nations.

I'm not saying she's ill-suited for the job. I'm just saying she'd be better suited somewhere else.

We'll see...

S

MIA...

2008-11-20T22:46:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates today. Everything about the day was pretty damn blustery. Tomorrow will be better.

Thanks,
S

Real change, or a photo op?

2008-11-19T11:22:00.000-08:00

I gotta say, I'm a little disgruntled by Obama's appearance with Sen. John McCain. Rather than actually sitting down with McCain behind closed doors and discussing the serious problems our country faces and how to reach compromises on various policy decisions, Obama used McCain as a prop in a presidential-esque scene that clearly made McCain horribly uncomfortable.

Maybe there was some closed-to-the-press meeting, and that's good. But Obama isn't campaigning anymore and he doesn't need to flaunt his bipartisan efforts. It's distracting and using McCain like that probably alienated more Republicans than it attracted, chief among them McCain himself.

A visitor

2008-11-18T09:12:00.000-08:00

I can't say who's coming, or why, but someone very super awesome is coming to Missoula. Better than Obama, or Clinton, or Clinton or even Nader.

It'll be a blowout. Everyone who is anyone will want to be seen with this person, buy this person a beer. Perhaps, if you're really in the know, you'll find out the where and the when and--most importantly--the who.

But you probably won't know unless you keep reading The Potato Barn.

Stay tuned...

My Cabinet picks

2008-11-17T11:33:00.000-08:00

All right, I know Obama doesn't care who I think should be Secretary of State or Secretary of Choosing the Presidential Puppy, but I feel like my political beliefs are at least as valuable as Matt Damon's, so here goes:

Secretary of Defense: Tony Soprano. He's ruthless when he has to be, but he tempers that ferociousness with an analytical mind and obsessive deliberations over strategy.

Press Secretary: Jon Stewart. Hands down. He'd spend most of his time berating the media, and it'd be a good way to kick-start the post-honeymoon Obama and the press have enjoyed over the past 21 months.

Secretary of State: Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer. He's big on foreign relations, he's big on energy reform, but mostly, he's big on himself. I mean he really loves himself, and I know he thinks everyone else will, too.

Secretary of Energy: Al Gore. This is actually my only serious suggestion. I know he's been mentioned for Secretary of State, but I think he'd have a lot more influence and be able to do a lot more good for the country and the planet if he oversaw the start of a major overhaul of our energy policy that moves away from fossil fuels for good.

Secretary of Education: Mick from Rocky. He got that whiny boxer into shape in just one montage, so there's no reason he can't get our kids to eat lighting and crap thunder.

Attorney General: Barack Obama. He's a lawyer, right? This would be a great way to show he's not afraid to eliminate extraneous federal posts and take on more work himself. This can be his first incision with his budgeting scalpel.

That's all I got. I know there are more cabinet positions, but I've got other stuff to do...

What happening?

2008-11-17T06:11:00.000-08:00

I watched The Happening this weekend, the M. Night Shyamalan movie about some strange event that forces people to go rapidly mad before they find a way to kill themselves. Let me tell you, not the feel-good movie of the holiday season.

I hadn't heard anything to amazing about it when it came out this summer, but I still keep hoping that Shyamalan will turn out another Unbreakable-caliber movie, so I rented it while all my friends went to the football game.

I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying that 90 minutes of watching people find the most available ways to end their lives is simply overwhelming. By the time the end rolls around, I felt so emotionally drained that I thought I'd never be happy again...

Wow. Shyamalan has made the film version of a Dementor. And Dwight Schrute is my Patronus.

And wow. I really am that nerdy. Happy Monday.

It's Friday...

2008-11-14T15:16:00.000-08:00

Spent the afternoon cleaning up stuff. Exciting life I lead, huh? There are works in progress which will be posted soon. Soon-ish. Probably Sunday.

S

Morning.

2008-11-14T05:55:00.001-08:00

Gotta study. It's going a lot like this.

More later.

S

A thought-provoking question

2008-11-13T16:35:00.000-08:00

Earlier in the Kaimin office, a writer asked me "How many sea gulls could you fend off using only your bare hands?" We decided that "fend off" meant that you had to be able to walk away from the encounter. No weapons, no running away. You gotta take 'em down.

Being from New Jersey, I'm pretty comfortable with the fact that the flying vermin of that state are much tougher than I. After thinking about it for a while, I decided that my upper limit would be about seven. Most people said something between five and 10 sea gulls. But not my good friend Alex Sakariassen. He thinks he could take on 23 birds.

So I'm taking up a collection to travel to Atlantic City, New Jersey, with my good buddy Alex. When we get there, we'll tape Doritos and Wonder Bread to his body and turn him loose on the shore. Let's see how well he does.

I think it'll go something like this.

It keeps happening...

2008-11-13T08:36:00.001-08:00

I am tired of this happening. I don't see what's so hard about football players not kicking the crap out of people. And I don't see why UM hasn't done something about this yet.

President Dennison is going to retire one day, whether he likes it or not. This will be his legacy.

I wasn't going to do this, but...

2008-11-13T06:17:00.000-08:00

CNN.com has really become embarrassingly bad. Granted, I think over the past couple of months they've gotten better, but I attribute that to the incredible amount of real news.

But recently, there's been a trend to bump up stories like this one about the Austrian guy who kept his family locked in the basement, or this one about the ongoing spat between Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston over Brad Pitt. Or this one about a wedding photographer who ran off with the couple's photos. These stories range from tragic to odd to just silly, but they all have something in common: they impact a small handful of people.

Seriously. Like 10. Maybe 20 at most. Maybe these stories leave you puzzled, or shocked, or amused, but you've likely forgotten them in a couple of hours because in no way does this information impact your life.

It's this tendency toward shocking news or fluffy human interest pieces that contributes to the public's distrust and dislike of the media. And it destroys credibility. The media is charged with providing thought-provoking information that helps us understand the world around us, and instead CNN gives us the news version of Barney the Dinosaur. And I won't even go into their on-air personalities...

I don't want this blog to be an ongoing media critique. But it's something I've noticed for a while. So there. I'm done. Something better later. I promise.

Welcome.

2008-11-13T05:49:00.000-08:00

Got the blog title from Kurt Vonnegut's Bluebeard. I'm not sure where this is going to go, but I like the title. Keep looking for something worthwhile, soon to be posted once I get a shower and decide what I'm doing with this blog.