Jack’s a trooper, Jen’s a rock and grandparents are the best hosts to have.

Some links for you…

YouTube: Sleepy Kitty (aaawwwwwww)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsfUX0md_GM

Pathetic Fallacy on Buffalo Hardcore
http://buffalohardcore.wordpress.com/2006/10/18/pathetic-fallacy-demo/

Fantastic hosting at Media Temple – think I might make the switch from Godaddy.com for Wnymusic. Double the money but 5 gazillion times the features (SSH!)
http://www.mediatemple.net/webhosting/gs/

Jeremy Enigk has a new album out – World Waits – AMG hates it
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Ao1jqea184xs7

Firefox 2.0 RC3 is out. Using it now. The tabs look pretty but built-in spell checking for from textareas is where it’s at
http://en-us.www.mozilla.comen-US/firefox/2.0/releasenotes/

Mike Watt – legendary bass player with the Minutemen, among other things, now playing bass for the reformed The Stooges (first album since 1974′s Raw Power)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Watt

Bandwagon
Expect To Fail
Results
Little Things
Gotta Be Heard
Contradictions
Instrumental
Make A Division
Spark Of Life

Coolest thing about this demo was that it was recorded by Robby Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls in their practice space and features Johnny Reznik playing the opening to one of the songs (see if you can pick it out – he really used to be a decent solo guitarist). I played on George’s drumset and was nervous as all hell.

Thanks to Derek Daniels for sending me these mp3s 20 years later – I really appreciate it!

I’ve never been much of a reader, but thanks to a couple of very good friends (Jason and Geoff, who don’t know each other but both share a fondness for Hunter) have kept me in supply of Thompson books. I consider myself lucky to list books like Hells Angels, The Great Shark Hunt, Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas and his only purely fictional novel, The Rum Diaries as books I’ve finished all the way through ;^). I loved all of the books as well as the random Rolling Stone articles and his missives for ESPN.com’s Page 2.

I really liked Terry Gilliam’s take on “Fear and Loathing” (Depp was incredible as usual) but what I remember first was Bill Murray’s take on the man in “Where the Buffalo Roam.” At the time, I didn’t know this was supposed to be HST or that any of those accounts were real (or based on unreal stories), but I loved the movie. Someone once told me that HST wanted Murray dead for making a mockery out of him (a list that also included Gary Trudeau), but if you read his last Hey Rube! entry over at espn.com, I would say they were able to patch things up. If I remember correctly, the movie ends with him doing a lecture at some university, well a couple of years ago I came across a bootleg of a recording of him doing the same lecture in 1977. It’s very cool to listen to him and hear him interact with the students. He was as gonzo as his writings made himself out to be.

The old version of this site, as recently as a couple of weeks ago, featured a logo from the same writing used in many of Thompson’s work by the artist Ralph Steadman. [update: I had to bring it back.] Christ, I even bought Flying Dog Beer because it had the same artwork as his books.

I just can’t believe he took his own life, what a shitty way to go, especially after all the effort he put in to his life. But he will be missed by a lot of people, mostly guys I’m sure who loved to read about drugs, sports, gambling, crooked politicians, and ner-do-well thugs. Count me in that group.

Some early obits:

ESPN | MSNBC | CNN | New York Times

“Those bastards at Rolling Stone” haven’t bothered to get off their asses to pay a little homage to one of their most significant writers in their questionable, journalistic history. How much do you want to bet that he doesn’t get the next cover either?

None of these things affect me personally but when you add things like the constant barrage of budget talks, losing sport teams (wide right, no goal, etc.) and the exodus of the city’s population to the ‘burbs, you can’t help but understand why everyone is so stressed. Just yesterday alone our NHL season was canceled and our football team got rid of its big name Quarterback.

But we’ve got some prospects… Bass Pro is moving forward, looking to set up shop in the old Auditorium, which should be nice. Maybe it can kick-start some waterfront development and we’ll have somewhere to take the boy when the weathers nice.

Regardless, if you’re stressed, just DON’T PANIC!

As of today, we’re starting week 16 and everyone’s healthy and happy. The due date is November 21, 2003 so we’ve still got a few months to go before the big day.

If you know me, then you probably already know the BIG news so Jen and I would like to say thanks to everyone that called and sent cards and gifts. Thank you!

It’s pretty wild to have onesies, rattles and bibs around the house already. In the first few months, not a whole lot goes on and the whole thing about having a child is sort of abstract so having these things around is an eye opener, to say the least.

I’m adding a countdown ticker to the page as well as a voting system so you can cast your vote as to the sex of the baby. And if you haven’t noticed already, there are two new icons to the top-left for changing the background color of this page. Enjoy! And stay tuned!!

Most recently, Tim has been managing David Kane’s projects and was also the producer of the Shredd & Ragan show a short while back.

Tim was an extremely creative, smart and funny man and I always loved talking to him for hours on the phone as he told me stories about the music scene here in WNY from the 70′s and 80s. His overall knowledge of music always astounded me and he definitely was bent on the more obscure artists of the last 50 years…which always made talking to him like listening to Dennis Miller talk about politics.

I am going to miss him very much and it is with heavy heart that I pass along this information to you from his wife Rebecca…

———–
Tim Switala

Father of Dakota Switala, Husband of Rebecca Bernstein, passed away, Friday October, 10, 2002.

We will be having a New Orleans style funeral on Monday October 14th celebrating Tim�s life. Please join us.

Dakota and I want to be surrounded by all of our friends, all of our family and all the people whose lives Tim touched.

Monday October 14th
4:00 pm
Left Bank, Rhode Island, West side of Buffalo (off Richmond Avenue)
We will all meet at the Left Bank and have a New Orleans style funeral to send off Tim followed by music and memories at the Big Orbits Gallery (883-3209, 30 Essex street near Rhode Island and Richmond Avenue)

Join us!

Contributions are welcome in memory of Tim�s creativity and should be donated to:

The Switala Creativity Project
A scholarship through the University at Buffalo to promote creative activities and thinking that pushes the edge of Music, Art and Film-making.

Donations can be snail mailed to:
Switala Creativity Project
University at Buffalo
Box 900
Buffalo, NY 14226-0900

Or given over the web at http://www.buffalo.edu/givenow

We love you all.
———–

God speed my friend.

But what makes me feel good today is the fact that the music that was out in July of 1971 was SOOOOO much better than the music out in October of 1973.

Well, try to have a nice birthday anyway little brother! From all of us.