yesterday i went to the beach with amba lantz, KP and baby bear, and i even went swimming. even though i didn’t get whipped around by waves crashing over me it still ruled. i think i haven’t swam in the ocean in at least three years, which is crazy.

the ocean is really big. really really big, and obviously there’s insanely huge and old things at the bottom of it. we only saw tiny tiny fishes, which were encircling us in schools as we just stood there looking at them. i’ve never seen such things at the beach, and it’s easy to treat such an apparition as a blessing, like seeing a rainbow or a six-legged cow, but probably there was something totally harsh herding them towards us with gnashing teeth and the dead eyes of a predator. but at the time it was like a rainbow and for that matter it still is “it was like a rainbow”. i mean, not for no reason do we abstain from looking a gift horse in the mouth, but it’s also possible to behold the mouth and live. also lots of things happen for almost no reason. GEEZ! let’s just agree that shiny things are nice! also on an unrelated topic salt is good.

this morning me and sheryl ann began our donut odyssey, in which we are going to all the donut places in town. mike’s friend erick is really into donuts, and sort of opened our eyes to the donut scene, or rather to the idea “let’s go inside the donut place rather than just eat out of the dumpster”. big up! full report forthcoming.

scott reber- this morning i was listening to your “seven branched larch boughs” cassette and at one point i forgot i was listening to it and thought i was listening to an air conditioner, until i remembered that i don’t have an air conditioner. there was a great moment of confusion when i realized that i was still sweating. it’s hot out and it looks like “it looks like it’s going to rain” but then it doesn’t. i hope you’re having fun on tour!

for previous pages see the category “comics“.

a great weekend i will herein document as inspiration for the ages.

friday there was a birthday party for my mom, which was great, and my aunt made strawberry shortcake, which tastes good. afterwards i went over to casino night on castle st, a money-losing affair that was ok because it was a fundraiser for the artichoke co-op. blackjack, mah jongg, roulette, bean counting game, stuff like that, and mz made a slot machine out of a refrigerator box, with himself inside, yelling “you lose!”. there were also both kinds of drinks, and appetizers from duck yao, and gentle dan burke crooning in the background in the style. i played blackjack mostly and everyone around me was winning but i was losing because such is my nature (and there are worse things to be than “unlucky at cards” (although i am frequently those things as well)). it was also a birthday party for a variety of people including dan o, so happy brithday dan o, and happy birthday anna louise.

saturday there was a super kick-ass show at discovery channel. i played first and it worked– i felt ok and played some newish songs (actually old songs i kind of forgot about), and did some funny messing around and didn’t even really forget anything which i’m always worried i’ll do (and often do). unmanned ship was next, they are a two-piece bass drums mid tempo riff ensemble, and they totally ruled. after them was eyes ears nose, who are on tour with unmanned ship, and consisted of the dudes in unmanned ship and three other people. they had a real sunny sort of AM gold sound that i didn’t find that interesting, but that’s ok, who am i anyway? next was matty popchart, who broke a string early on but it worked out as it put him in the sitting down fingerpicking mode. he even did a fingerpicking instrumental, which blazed in a fahey style. and closing off the night was best friends forever, who ruled so hard i almost couldn’t take it.

BFF is three people- bri and jess, who both sing and play guitar/keyboards (bri) and bass (jess), and joe, who plays drums. the general vibe is intense and inspirational friendship– all the songs are about romance, but in a way that is more about telling your best friends what you want to say to someone you have a crush on than it is about actually talking to the person. if that makes it all sound defeatist, well, it’s not– it all just kind of puts everyone on the same “brassy dreamers” team. and the music’s really dancy, it rules.

slept over at forbes st and in the morning me and BFF and MPC drove to the go go for pancakes and hanging out, then to check out the store and do business. later in the day i got stung by a bee, which kind of ruled, and went to see the simpsons movie at the drive in– it was good.

i honestly spent all night almost writing up a huge thing on the old little archie comics– about how the art is totally different- darker and more detailed, about how the plots are harsher with weird adventure and the romantic angles are even more openly fucked, about how little archie comics use adventure stories to remind you that being a kid is constantly at the excitement level of foiling smugglers and subduing an escaped gorilla. basically, a big up for little archie. it’s sort of a shame to throw a few hours worth of writing away, but ultimately all this essaying was taking me out of the game and not leading me a navigable path to the important conclusion of the night, which is that everyday is still a damn gorilla, everyday is hiding in an oil drum from a mercenary, and the difference between us and most people is that most people are (or pretend to be) archie, and we are little archie– different simultaneous facets of the same jewel; closer-to-the-void versions of retconned milquetoast supplanters.

i actually love huge edits like this, and find them enormously satisfying– the other day i wrote for 4 hours for a new zine and then replaced it all with one word: “hi!”.

last night after work me, getzendanner, and gas can all packed in the minivan out to turners falls MA, where bromp “he’s the king” treb lives, to see a show. yes, we saw the brompasaurus himself, resplendent in vibrant green pants and a cool haircut with more salt in it than i remember. he set up the show. playing the show was uke of spaces corners county (formerly uke of philips) and tumble cat poof poofy poof, plus two local acts. the first act was called “flaming dragon of middle earth“, they were totally epic. 100% domepiecing with a fussy and dictatorial teenage lead singer in a wheelchair- “this next song is about charles manson, it has vocals and guitar and drums and trombone and you (points to trombone player) play the drums and there’s backup vocals and a mosh pit. THERE’S A MOSH PIT.”. what can i say? there was a mosh pit. i guess the only thing they have recorded is an 8cd box set they’re about to drop, which i promise i will get a few of for the store. after them was jeremy latch and friends, who sounded donovany. tumble cat brought it down into a quiet spell with an actual quiet spell- starting by taking pictures of the teeth of people whose teeth were bothering them, with the implication that music is the healing force of the universe. his set was in three parts. josh plays tape players but it isn’t straight musíque concréte, it’s active and lifelike and twitchy and grows like kudzu and there are also gameboys (there’s a gameboy). for an encore he listened to the theme from rocky on headphones and sang along, daring to get even intenser than the music (which was the theme from rocky, i feel compelled to mention again). ug, i love that guy! after TCPPP was UOSCC, singing and squawking and wearing cut off jeans short enough that the pockets hang out, and big mud boots. the secret’s out of the catbag, so i’ll say it- we’re doing a split record and joint tour next spring, uke of xyz and me, and i’m really psyched on it. it’s early enough in the planning stages right now that we’re trying to decide on a theme for the record- so any ideas let’s hear them.

after the show i was charming and we tried to get thai food but the place was closed (it was late). it was my car plus josh TC and crystal ree and we got pizza instead and played the jukebox, pretty sweet. the pizza we got was round but cut into tiny squares, which i think was more a product of our number than local custom, but it’s not like we were huge in number, but anyway it worked out pretty good i think. also it was greek style- way greasy (pun) with the crispy crust and pronounced likelyhood of taking off all the cheese on a slice with the first bite, so tiny pieces made this less of a problem (it happened more but it was less of a problem each time and altogether was more less of a problem than it was happening more). in conclusion, i had a great time in turner’s falls. i liked everyone i met and everyone there i had already met i already liked. also, if you’re in turner’s falls looking for a discrete amount of pretzel, the liquor store sells them 5¢ a rod. not bad at all.

tonight was billy blue at gilrein’s, establishing a monthly trend. i did what i did last month- i tried to draw the guitar player (pete henderson)’s world-league guitar face. this time i got jambuck, MZ, and little andrew all to try it too, and i feel like we got closer, but it’s really hard. he’s got a real lemon pucker with lots of pain and joy swirled in.

which reminds me- jon shirley, since it’s been cold again a little i’ve been wearing the flannel shirt you left at the store. it makes me really happy because the smell is a real grampa smell - cigarettes and mold in a drafty house.

what do you think, we’re all asleep out here? been working on then giving up on certain internet schemes, went to the recycling center with JVW to get parts for a space city i’m building on the ceiling of HBML, eric YF took me and a bunch of folks out for ice cream boats (”YF” stands for “your friend”), maybe i did sleep a little, when it rained, but if i did, it was nice. new art show is up at the store, all cool drawings by jeff “noise nomads” hartford. he made a catalog for the show too, and it rules. stop by and pick one up. also i finally installed the soundtrack element of the sun ra solar myth planetarium- it’s two walkmans playing different sun ra songs controlled by an ingenious device with tiny momentary pushbuttons on a turtle’s back that turn each one on, or both at once. it’s further mesmerizing, and now people hang out inside it a lot.

i’m working on a zine for the 1st anniversary of the store, should be epic, sick, etc. if i ever finish it. i wrote an introduction that was going going going about the history of punk inspiration in worcester going back personally through the firecracker and the space and the go go and the WAG and then abbie hoffman and birth control and sacco and vanzetti and emma goldman’s ice cream shop, then i replaced 80% of it with a single word sentence - “Hi!”. too big a task for right now’s attempt at a nigh-overwhelming amount of curious detritus, plus what’s my attack- to talk about influence or be the influence? wild dogs v. intellectual snobs?

last night’s show in boston was pretty fun, although it was on amory st, not armory st, so after getting super lost and finally finding armory, we made some calls and headed forthwith to amory, which, we learned, was a stone’s throw from where we stopped for directions and tiny pies right off the MFin bat. the show was at robin and nadav’s house, and there was enough people there that any more would’ve been uncomfortable. i missed dan shea’s performance, which was a shame to be sure, as he has a boston accent i could listen to forever. dan beckman played gloriously as always, picking and brushing an acoustic guitar and he sang the song about chickens. stay at home ramblers played bluegrass with fake accents, and even i had a good time playing and carrying on, talking too much, and swearing more than expected. it was sure nice to see everyone i like, and i got dan’s new record and then left it at the show with the beautiful diorama that shanna made for the upcoming HBML diorama show– no disrespect dudes, sometimes it seems i’m just a brain fart away from oblivion.

lots on my mind as you can well tell. duck yao is tonight and i even have a date with an amazon. but scooby doo if i don’t have a lot on my mind. big paragraphs written here and erased while awaiting the resolution on some weird 400 server errors, and i realize this is a lightening quick turnaround even for me but i think i’ve got a new angle now and this was the best part of previous drafts for posterity rather than clarity- “a power to construct any omelet imaginable coupled with a particular appreciation for unbroken eggs forever.”. ha! buck up, ya baby! scooby doo…

the heat is on at the store finally but the heating guy said the heater won’t last the winter. again: ha! waiting for the dude this morning mike and i were talking about growing out big florida beards. his reasons are his own– as for me i’ve been entertaining the notion of diving into the regular misanthropy, misery, and scoundreldom that a beard brings out in me, and maybe coming out the other side. you might say, “jacob, if you don’t like getting wet, stay the hell out of the river.”. well, i can’t come up with an appropriate response, as i’m late for an earring show. c ya!