Southpaw Jones

Is This Interesting?
Thoughts/feelings that just might not matter:

May comes to a close today, and we are almost halfway done with 2007. Seems like such a fresh year to be so old.

Matt the Electrician and I had a great time at Café Mundi last night with a fine crowd of listeners. I experienced one of those odd moments as a singer/songwriter when I had to do some editing after starting a song without thinking.

I’ve got this tune Sewing Machine, which appears on my CD, Bedroom Demos Vol. 1: Zero Demand. It’s about becoming accustomed to, fond of, and dependent on emotional and physical abuse. Not usually a fertile field for fun folk-pop songs, but I think I pulled it off alright, and it’s damn fun to play.

So I start it off with the first verse, “You could run my lips through a sewing machine…”
Second verse, “You could push my hands through a shredding device…”
Third, “You could force my heart ‘cross a cheese grater blade…”

It was right about there, in that third verse that I remembered the content of the fourth:

“You could ring my neck with a tightly wound noose
And I’d still find a reason to hope for a truce
Yes, hope is a thread that’s just broken loose
Somewhere at the top of that tightly wound noose.”

Well, if you’ve been watching the news, you know that there was an awful murder-suicide in Texas involving a depressed mother hanging herself and her four children. Only an eight-month-old child survived.

It’s an awful thing to think about, especially at a light-hearted acoustic show, so I decided to leave the verse out just before I actually sang it. I recalled feeling similarly strange about it back when Saddam Hussein was hanged months ago.

I thought I was writing about something archaic that you only see in westerns, something that never happens, like someone getting their lips sewn together. I guess I was wrong. Folks have often called my songs weird and twisted, but dang it all, the world out there always has me beat.

God bless those poor children.

Remind me to tell you about my song Tokyo causing earthquakes in Japan.

Quotopia
Freshly-picked quotes from the ol’ reference collection:

If you think your boss is stupid, remember: you wouldn’t have a job if he was any smarter.
John Gotti

Online Museum of the Week
Very Small Objects:

Rhyme Time!
One clue whose answer consists of two rhyming words:

Compel a Scandanavian.
Highlight here for answer: [force Norse]

Abi Tapia’s America
Our wanderlusty songwriter offers a view from her lens:

Homemade Obama Shirts!

Thank you, come again!
southpawjones.com
southpawjones.net
myspace.com/southpawjones
E-mail southpaw@southpawjones.com
©2007 Southpaw Jones. All rights reserved.

Is This Interesting?
Thoughts/feelings that just might not matter:

I invite all gracious readers to participate in the Public Radio Talent Quest, specifically by voting for my entry. It’s a little 2-minute piece that includes an extravagant theme song and some chatter splatter from yours truly. Check it out here:
http://www.publicradioquest.com/node/767
With enough votes, I could advance to the next round, then the next, then blah, blah, blah, maybe get to create a pilot of my dream radio show. Please do take a second to register and vote. I’m making this final push before Round 1 ends on June 2. That’s Saturday! Spread the word if you like, and thanks in advance.

Austinites, come on down to Café Mundi tonight, where Matt the Electrician and I will be playing only waltzes that do not contain the letter Y.
That’s a lie, but this is true:
8 pm is the start time. Boo!

Wednesday, May 30th, 2007
8:00 PM
Matt the Electrician & Southpaw Jones
Cafe Mundi
1704 E. 5th St
Austin, TX
512-236-8634
http://www.cafemundi.com

Quotopia
Freshly-picked quotes from the ol’ reference collection:

I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning to sail my ship.
Louisa May Alcott

Online Museum of the Week
Very Small Objects:

Rhyme Time!
One clue whose answer consists of two rhyming words:

Ornamental feathers on a sweeping tool.
Highlight here for answer: [broom plume]

Abi Tapia’s America
Our wanderlusty songwriter offers a view from her lens:

Better wear flops to walk on this Florida Gulf Coast beach. Ouch!

Thank you, come again!
southpawjones.com
southpawjones.net
myspace.com/southpawjones
E-mail southpaw@southpawjones.com
©2007 Southpaw Jones. All rights reserved.

Is This Interesting?
Thoughts/feelings that just might not matter:

I’d rather not be back at work right now, but at least I have a roof over my head. Maggie and I spent Saturday and Sunday nights at the Kerrville Folk Festival.

I should include that we intended to go out Friday night as well, but we got skerred off by weather reports. “Weather.com! Accuweather.com! National Weather Service! They all say it’s going to rain all weekend. Heavily!” Knowing the tendency of my tent to leak (and how) and having experienced the Kerr-mud that is bountiful after rain, I agreed with Maggie that we shouldn’t risk it.

We went to see Year of the Dog, directed by Mike White (the king of awkward) and starring Molly Shannon. It was great, funny, and touching, even for non-dog-lovers. Go see it today on your lunch hour. Your boss won’t notice. He/she is under a spell/curse.

So a movie and some food and some friends made for a great urban Friday night, a Friday night that was decidedly…

…rain free.

Saturday morning was nice and dry as well, if a bit cloudy. It made us strong in our resolve. Strong like President Bush. 50% chance of heavy rain? Well, then, 50% chance of crispy-fun bliss, then! We shall pack up and go!

We were so glad we did for so many hours. We checked in at the volunteer booth, found our crew leader Dr. Ben, ate some dinner, watched some main stage music, reunited with old friends, and explored. It wasn’t until about 3 am that the rain began. We did everything we could to waterproof the tent, but we were on low ground that was already saturated from a week of off-and-on rain. It was only a matter of time before the black, cold water found our corners, our sleeping bags, our feet, our clothes. It was a rough night, and it rained pretty hard for four hours. We couldn’t exactly escape to the car, because traveling the hundreds of yards through mud seemed impossible in the dark. Especially considering that we didn’t want to fall into it. Some folks didn’t mind falling into it. Among them I am not.

At dawn, we did make the trek to my car to get a few hours of sleep. The following 24 hours were an emotional roller coaster. From community to calamity. Dry relaxation to wet stress. Conversation to condensation. Pushing through to pailing water. That’s just the way the Kerrville Folk Festival is. You bond with wonderful people through voluntary suffering. Had it not been wet, it would have been hot, and had it not been wet or hot, well, folks might not have been as eager to help, share, commune, and distract through song-sharing and game-playing.

Yesterday, all I wanted to do was get home, clean my car, take a shower, and eat some BBQ. Today, walking back into the office, I wished I was in a wet tent.

Quotopia
Freshly-picked quotes from the ol’ reference collection:

It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent.
Dave Barry

Online Museum of the Week
Very Small Objects:

Rhyme Time!
One clue whose answer consists of two rhyming words:

Slightly wet outdoor living situation.
Highlight here for answer: [damp camp]

Abi Tapia’s America
Our wanderlusty songwriter offers a view from her lens:

The Grove Arcade in Asheville. There were no video games inside.

Thank you, come again!
southpawjones.com
southpawjones.net
myspace.com/southpawjones
E-mail southpaw@southpawjones.com
©2007 Southpaw Jones. All rights reserved.

The Gazette shall return in full tomorrow.

Yes, “rain all weekend” is the forecast on every channel, every weather site, especially in the hill country, where we were planning to camp. I don’t want to reconsider my plans, but the weatherman on TV this morning said, “Reconsider your plans.” That’s a message for people traveling to stay in places with roofs and foundations, not to mention us folks with flimsy tents and granola bars! So I don’t know what I’m going to do. Finally venturing to see Spiderman 3 doesn’t sound like a bad idea, even though no one seemed to dig it.

Anywayz, the regular Dot Net Gazette will return on Tuesday. Have a super holiday weekend!