TOTAL CON

I am obsessed with Total Control band of Melbourne, Australia.  They are pleasurably/painfully unavailable having released one of my favorite records this year and not touring in support of it.  I would've driven many hours to see them, too.  ALAS! Sometimes it's nice to be deprived of something when you want it.

ALL of their releases are good.  All of them.

BAND THAT NEVER WAS

Late last month, ATM + I went to Memphis - again - this time to see The Clean. For a good minute, as I watched them perform, I wondered if they were sauced or if this is how they do it? They played a lot of the songs I know and love. It was suitably lo-fi and just the right amount of embarrassing. They ended strong having members of the opening bands NOTS (of Memphis) and Boogarins (of Brasil) join in the fun and playing Tally Ho.

Me + ATM, post-show. I just quit cigarettes forever here:

This is going to be a foode + drinke-heavy post because I'm on this super strict dietary regimen with KMHD, so just allow me to recall the goode ole days here.

We stayed in a hotel downtown instead of Midtown or East Memphis, so instead of driving to our usual haunt Otherlands, we decided to find a coffee shop within walking distance.  We discovered Tamp & Tap, my new favorite thing about Memphis.  The coffee is kill-er.  It fills the space behind your face with pleasantness.  I recommend their pour over brew.  

Our current model for eating in Memphis requires us to: 1. not eat typical Memphis cuisine (bbq, fried chicken, Huey's, etc.),  2. sometimes resume our ever-continuing search for the perfect club sandwich, and/or 3. simply try a new place. I've always seen and admired the Bon Ton's neon sign and, after a quick scan of the menu, we discovered we'd be hitting all the marks.

Photo by R Virus

This club was not cut into four triangles, wasn't held together with cello-topped toothpicks, or even on white bread, but still gets high marks for good grilling and thick-cut turkey.  Fries were good, too, and they had vinegar for me to sprinkle on them.  ATM spoke highly of their eggs benedict.  Add Bon Ton Cafe to the YES list.


From Memphis, we drove down to Brandon, MS to celebrate ATM's mum's birthday. That evening, we went to Saigon Restaurant in Flowood.  It's your standard Viet restaurant with decent phở and vermicelli bowls, but one thing they have going for them is that they serve bánh xèo.  Most Viet restaurants don't serve that.  In fact, the only other place I've had it in my life is my aunt's kitchen! If you get the chance to have some, do.

On the way back home, we stopped at The Dock in Lake Providence, LA, something I've wanted to do for years.  It's a bit pricey, but it's yr chance to get a fantastic shrimp poboy before you're out of Louisiana territory.  Lemonade is good, but I suspect it's from a mix.  It looks like it'd be a cool place to hang out and drink beer on a Saturday night.  Here's the boat 'parking lot' out back:


Here's an exciting thing: my nephews got a new boxer puppy! She's a lovely little creature!
There were a lot of people at my in-law's house that weekend, so she'd sneak into our room and hide under our bed for quiet times.  Almost made me want a dog. 


See what I mean?

BREAKDOWN

A SIMPLE DESIGN

Gonna have to order this new The Juan MacLean track album. Gorgeous.

GRUMBLING FUR

Here lately my favorite thing to listen to is Grumbling Fur's new album Preternaturals. I'm still waiting for my vinyl to be shipped over from the UK - can you believe the shipping rates these days?! - but you can stream it right now. Their album Glynnaestra, released only a year ago, is pretty fantastic, too.  

Harmonized vocals, sweet lyrics.  Too true. 

Billy Bragg at the legendary White Water Tavern

Thursday before last I got a message from KMHD that said something like "Billy Bragg is playing a free show at WWT tonight."

A free, impromptu show with Billy Bragg?! I knew word would get out pretty quickly, this being (N) Little Rock + all, and I really wanted to witness, so I came up with a plan to rush home after work, eat a spoonful of peanut butter for supper, dress down + go to WWT to claim a spot.

It was every bit of lovely even though it was a very hot night + the A/C was broken. The people were jam-packed into that small steamy venue. People I haven't seen in years came out of the woodwork. Everyone was all smiles + hugs. Billy Bragg was fantastic + inspiring. Here's a man that speaks my language, which is a comfort.  I found it especially adorable when the crowd sang along with him in an English accent. Good show.


Photo by Everett

HE'S THE GREATEST DANCER

2 MPH WEEKENDS

Back 2 School:


"New" design for spice tins:


Latest kitchen updates:

COMMON PEOPLE

ESCAPE VELOCITY

I was saying to ATM how easy it is to fall into the ol' Chicago/New Orleans routine which makes exploring new places (Boise, Idaho?  Thee Badlands?) and getting to far-flung places like Seattle difficult.  You need more time and $$$ to achieve escape velocity, things we're generally short on.

We're canceling our October trip to Chicago and using that refunded money to put towards an Xmas holiday in Seattle. I've not seen my beloved cousin My Tam since she's recovered from cancer, which is fucking shameful.  I am forever grateful for social media for keeping us in touch, but I definitely need to be near her.

!!! played in town last Saturday.  This is a stupid thing to say, but we go way back.  There were some years where !!! and Outhud came here annually for some days to hang out and to play some of the most memorable shows of my life.  Both bands share members, so they were never here at the same time (or were they?) and the details become fuzzy looking back. Did all that really happen? Anyway, great show.  I became a space cadet and danced, which is rare these days.  The line-up has changed some - again - but it was wonderful to see Nic, Gorman + Mario.

KMHD, Nic, ATM + Everett, all 10s:


Lovely Blair had a few of us over for post-show drinks + noshing. After awhile, she handed me a book and pretty much was like "you must".  I obliged + read it in four hours the following Monday.  It was Judy Blume's Summer Sisters. I couldn't put it down!  It's the perfect paperback poolside read, although being flung on a couch, barefoot, with just a t-shirt and cutoffs is acceptable, too. I'm glad Blair put into my hands a book I'd never pick on my own. I'm to pass it on to KMHD; it's regrettable that I didn't get it to her before she went off to the beach.

The book I'm reading now, Escape Velocity: a Charles Portis Miscellany, is a pleasure. Pure sugar. This past Thursday, I went to Big Orange to sit at the bar, sip, and read. I'd like to think it was Portis' writing and not the numerous Sidecars that was making me chuckle out loud. He speaks my language. It doesn't hurt that he's from Arkansas.  With that, there's an unspoken understanding, one that even I, a daughter born in Fort Smith, Arkansas of foreign and Yankee parentage, am privy to.  The book isn't a novel, but as the title suggests writings and observances while being on the beat for newspapers and lengthy compositions for magazines. I'm not even halfway through this book, but I'd recommend it on what I've read thus far, whether you're a Portishead or not.

My best gal, Brittany, slinging, taking good care of me:


Photo by George Probst. Please look at his album for awesome shark photographs.


We were in the neighborhood, so KMHD + I popped in to say hi to our dearest VWW. I miss him so much it hurts:


Just a wee reminder that I'm not a writer, but I do try. Not very much, but there is some effort.  No editor in sight!  Please remember that.

STAND BY ME

IN AND OUT OF SIGHT

I just read that the Horrors may've cancelled a lot of their US tour, including Chicago. Waiting for official word, but it's looking that way. Was so looking forward to it.

4th/New Orleans

Two Thursdays ago, we drove to New Orleans, stopping a bit more than halfway in Vicksburg, MS for some zzz's.  To ensure that we'd be sidled up to a bar in NOLA to watch the GER v FRA World Cup match, we left Vicksburg just after sunrise. 

The Mississippi River from the banks of Vicksburg, MS:

When we rolled into town, our first stop was the Croissant D'Or to get properly caffeinated.  I love the interior of this cafe.  You can tell that it was once the home of Angelo Brocato's:

From D'or, we needlessly hurried over to Fritzel's on Bourbon St. for some World Cup viewing. We pretty much had the joint to ourselves for 95% of the match, which was lovely. Geaux Die Adler!

Photo by ATM

When the match was over, the sports-adverse Lorenza, Collin & Jonathan magically appeared and whisked us off to Tan Dinh, this wonderful Vietnamese restaurant in the Westbank. We were all so hungry that we ordered loads of things, all of it first-rate.  I opted for the vermicelli bowl instead of my usual pho; I'm so glad I did, I haven't had it in ages and it revived my love for the dish. I've had it thrice since we've been back.  Anyway, we thoroughly stuffed ourselves, which brought on some drowsiness.  We - sans Lorenza - made our way to Collin's place in the Freret neighborhood and took some hot, uncomfortable naps. There were two A/C window units set to 80 degrees, struggling to cool the 1000 sq. feet. in a shotgun layout.  It didn't help that Collin's roommate, who went back home to Maine and whose room we were using for the duration, had her ceiling fan rotating in the wrong direction.  In case you didn't know, fellow southerners, it needs to be counter-clockwise during the summer months.  Be sure to clean the blades before you change directions or you will send dust chunks flying everywhere.  I laid there, tossing and turning, tryna get comfortable, wondering if I'd be able to sleep the next couple of nights. Eventually, I got up whilst everyone else was still snoozing, found a broomstick, turned off the ceiling fan, reversed it's rotation, and turned it on top speed.  Sent dust everywhere, BUT, it was notably cooler.  I closed the kitchen/bathroom area off, which helped the A/C make some progress.  We brought our own box fan and it wasn't long before we had a nice, cool wind tunnel going.

View from Collin's porch. I saw wild parrots three times!

It being the 4th of July, we all agreed that we didn't want to hang with the masses for the celebrations, so we got some beers and relaxed in the grass by Bayou St. John. Because New Orleans is so flat, we could see the massive fireworks being shot off the barges on the river.  Somehow, it was a cool, lovely evening.  It was a very happy moment for me.  It would've been a perfect night for a super long bike ride.

I woke up early the next morn with Jonathan + Collin to have breakfast because the former was leaving town to go back home to Little Rock and the latter had to go to work.  At Cake Cafe , they have endless coffee refills (A+++) and unforgettable doughnuts, so it's been added to our list of go-tos.

ATM + I had the day to ourselves, so we visited our usual haunts and had lunch at our super-favorite Parkway Bakery & Tavern.  After that, we decided to explore and hang out in the Freret neighborhood and catch more of the World Cup (NED v CRC) at Publiq House, down the street + around the corner from Collin's. Tico tico! Pura vida! That match was a bit of a heart breaker, wasn't it?

Day-drinking leaves one super tired and hungry. Having felines around is such a comfort. This one is named Louise:

Such a beautiful face:

Waiting on Collin for supper. Since we had a long drive the next day, we made it an easy evening of dinner at Sake Cafe (sublime sushi, tuna tataki + rolls, but way too much Chihuly glass adornment), dessert at Angelo Brocato's, checking out Collin's workshop, then bed. The day-drinking definitely took the wind from our sails.

I love neon signs forever and ever, amen:

First time having spumoni:

Collin's workshop:

Collin was already at work when we arose early the next morning.  We decided to get breakfast in the Quarter at Clover Grill (Clever girl!) on our way out of town.  I love places like this.

Not haunted:

Fast forward: we came home to this!

THE LETTER

RAP QUOTES

TO TURN YOU ON

GAME LOVE

THE NEW LURK

Zach and I are sealing a photo of ourselves into the kitchen wall.

HOME IS WHERE

I didn't expect to be so hands-on + involved with the current kitchen project which includes demolition (fun), discovery (exciting), clean-up (not fun),  and drywall + electrical work (TBD - we're doing that today). I'm very happy to be at this particular point in the timeline. Even when I'm standing shin-deep in a pile of drywall, dust everywhere, dehydrated, dreaming of a cold beer + shower, I've got a big (gritty) grin plastered across my face.  This is good.

We've put up with a kitchen that is not only unsightly, but we probably shouldn't have prepared food in there. Alright, it's not that bad, but when you've got exposed pipes, exposed sub-flooring, no counter space or storage, non-functioning lights or light switches, and wallpaper that vibrates when you gaze upon it, well, yeah, hand me that hammer.

The pleasant surprises lurking behind the drywall include beautiful brick, a door that leads nowhere, old maths + charming wallpaper:

After this stage is complete, we will be building shelves in the pantry + closet. What a relief it'll be to get all of this kitchen stuff dispersed throughout the house stored away properly.  From there, we start saving money for the new tile floor. Sometimes, I get a little overwhelmed by home ownership. I become filled with doubt + dread. These days, I'm giving ATM and myself credit for seeing the bigger picture. This house is awesome.

Happy Birthday, VWW.

EVERY1'S A WINNER