From Twitter 07-29-2009

• 06:39:59: Getting ready remains the bane of my existence.
  
• 06:40:19: @TheRealTavie I can't say I even know what they're talking about.
  
• 06:45:08: @eehouls I've had jobs that did, but they seem to be a thing of the past now.
  
• 06:45:31: @poisonyoulove I think that happens to everybody, but I couldn't tell you why.
  
• 06:49:21: Work makes sleeping a chore instead of something to be savored.
  

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It's a killing party, and you're all invited

Last night, bethje and I went to see Neko Case at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. This was a pretty big, swanky venue compared to others at which we've seen Neko in the past. The first few times we saw her were at the Tin Angel, which is quite small, so she's definitely moved up in the venue world. It's kind of weird, because most of the musicians I like have been playing venues of around the same size since I first starting seeing them live. It's cool that Neko is getting more attention from the public, but I do miss the more intimate shows at smaller places. Then again, the Kimmel Center has much more comfortable seating than the Tin Angel, and we were right up front.

The opener was Jason Lytle, who was all right. His music didn't really hold my interest, but it wasn't bad, and he had a pretty good voice. Neko is always a good performer, and she and Kelly Hogan got in quite a bit of amusing between-song banter, including a running gag about the School of Soft Rock. The set was very heavy on songs from Middle Cyclone, and I'm not sure it included anything from albums prior to Blacklisted. I would have liked to have more earlier stuff, especially since Furnace Room Lullaby is my favorite album of hers, but Neko is hardly the first musician to eschew old songs in favor of new in her live sets.

Jungle Love

I recently watched this review of Jill of the Jungle, a game that I totally remember from when my brother bought the Shareware version. Since our sound card back then wasn't very good, we didn't get the music or the voice samples (no "Girl!" for us), but I did enjoy the game. I mean, how many other games are there where you can turn into a phoenix? Well, maybe there are a lot, but I haven't played them. There were two sequels, and I remember the second, Jill Goes Underground, as being my favorite, if only because you descend into "Heck" and kill an assload of demons with a buzzsaw. The third was Jill Saves the Prince, a deliberate attempt to reverse the trend of male heroes rescuing helpless princesses, in which the Prince of the Jungle is kidnapped by giant green lizard men who want to bulldoze the jungle and build condos. I'm not sure who would buy a condo from a bizarre reptile-human hybrid, but maybe they planned on using a middleman. Incidentally, if I remember correctly, the Prince was just as white as Jill, the lousy descendant of European imperialists.

Speaking of white people in the jungle, I finished reading the original Tarzan of the Apes yesterday. I didn't love it, but it held my interest all the way through, and I enjoyed learning the details of Tarzan's unusual background. It took me a while to read, though, due to my unemployment. Yeah, you'd think I would have MORE time to read when not working, and I really do, but I usually choose to do other things. When I'm working, on the other hand, breaks are usually for reading. One thing I noticed is that Edgar Rice Burroughs made the common mistake of having lions live in the jungle, when they're actually native to the savanna and grasslands. Also, I wonder if I should try reading any of Burroughs' stories about Mars. Regardless, I'm now reading Robert Rankin's The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse, which I quite like so far.

Also, happy birthday to speciesof1!