Spoon - The Underdog

I'm feeling this song lately. Good stuff. Great video too.

The biggest thing

Well let's start with the mother of all news. I bought a condo. That's correct, B-O-U-G-H-T. Yeah the housing market is a mess. Our government is as inept as ever. The economy is in the dumper. The Canadian Dollar is worth more than the US Dollar to the tune of if you give a Canadian a US dollar they'll give you 93 cents. That's correct. 93 freaking cents. If I'd actually moved to Canada after Bush got reelected like I talked about doing I'd probably be rich and giggling. Or maybe not.

Truly though the US is a shocking place these days in my mind. The Jena Six issue has finally been solved, all it took was a huge protest and some Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, various other actors/rappers/activists. Of course the event wouldn't have been complete without some white supremacists joining in supporting those poor unfortunate white residents. Surprising, not really. Sick, most definitely. I'd first heard about this event in a Newsweek article. But previous to that I had no idea this occurred. What kind of time are we in where something like this doesn't even get press right off the bat? Instead it's just pushed under the rug.

Genarlow Wilson is another individual I posted about here in the past. On October 26, 2007 he was released from prison on a vote of 4-3 that his punishment was cruel and unusual. If you remember he was 17 and received some oral sex from a 15 year old. It was consensual however in Georgia, if you are 15 you can't even consent to things like that. So apparently her parents would have had to give permission.

Then let's see, what else happened recently - oh yeah some kid hung some nooses in another school. Just today a kid put signs above two drinking fountains stating "Coloreds" and "Whites."

There are also still people living in FEMA trailers in New Orleans. On top of that FEMA has deemed those trailers now unsafe for their own workers to set foot in due to formaldehyde. So FEMA thinks it's ok for normal people to live in these trailers but not for their workers to go in. Excellent.

I call for a do over!!

So, it's been a ridiculous quantity of time since I've done anything here. Which I guess is quite sad and potentially pathetic. My lack of maintaining this got me de-linked from The Moore Homestead blog. I probably deserve it. Plus my content is potentially less reader friendly than the wholesomeness with which they post. What can I say the occasional curse word trickles out of my mouth every now and then if you know what I'm saying. Fuck it though!! This is my place to express myself. If it's a profanity laden post then I'd consider that par for the course.

So in an interest of getting this back up and running...

wilco photos

i'm behind again.




nice face tweedy!!





click any of them to get to the web album.

4th of July-ish

So the last weekend of June the future Mr. and Mrs. Boschen (haha) came up from Richmond and stopped through Montpelier on their way to Maine. They got here at hmmm was it like 7:40am Friday June 29th after driving all night. I was happy to sleep a few extra hours after they arrived. I think we tried to fit just about anything you can do in to about 4 days. We got up Friday went to the grocery store, had lunch, and then hit the Ben & Jerry's factory in Waterbury. Went on the tour had free samples and got ice cream. Came back and walked their dog Preston, then down to Shelburne for Wilco. Amazing concert. Great vibe in the whole place with people of all ages enjoying the show and hanging out. Jeff Tweedy of Wilco even commented about how cool it was that there were so many kids there. I'll get some good photos of Wilco in here shortly.

Parking at Shelburne was nothing short of a disaster but it was still a good time just hanging out in the car bullshitting and bitching about traffic and how idiotic some drivers are. We got back that night and Amelia and I decided we'd be funguys. Nothing short of an adventure there as usual. I gotta say I haven't laughed that hard in a long long time and Most Extreme Elimination Challenge is some funny funny stuff.

Saturday we hit the farmer's market first thing in the morning and then did a little wander around Montpelier. Good times. Then in to the car and down to Mom and Dad's to hang on the lake and go for a boat ride. Great day for a boat ride as it was gorgeous outside. Usaj's were around too so we all had dinner together at Mom and Dad's. Played some games and then actually made it to bed pretty early.

Sunday we hung out with Mom and Dad after a good breakfast and took it easy. No real hurry to get back on the road and over to Montpelier until later that night. So we just read and sat around and talked. On the way home I decided I'd take them over the Appalachian Gap which goes by Mad River Glen. It's quite windy and steep and Amelia wasn't very pleased with how I ran it like a race course. Sorry Amelia.

We got back in time to hang out for a bit and then headed down to Burlington area to see Bob Dylan at the Champlain Valley Expo. Great show once again. Dylan was better than I anticipated and it was my first time seeing him. However, I'd heard some not so positive reviews from other folks who'd seen him recently. Good times. Got back here Sunday night and just vegged for awhile.

Monday we got up and went up in to the park and hiked up to the tower. Normal for me but it's a nice view and you get a good idea of the surroundings which is fun for visitors. So we got back to my apartment and headed down to NECI to get lunch. They were closed sadly so we went to Sarducci's instead. Had an excellent lunch and a great talk about wedding plans.

Excellent visit and thank you so much Boz and Amelia for coming!!

Here we go...

It's looking a little crowded in that nest.


It was June when I last posted so we'll start there. I was home June 24th and we went to the Great Blue Heron rookery, located in Gull Bay. Gull Bay of course being Putnam where the beach is, the boat is, and Usaj's camp. Lake George truly is an amazing place.

The realization that in the next few days you will have to jump.


I just thought this picture might be cool so I took it. I gotta say I like it...


Plus you kind of get an idea of how many nests there are actually are.

I'm a slacker...

Well. You all probably knew that.

802 Music Video

That's right. Vermont's featured rappers dropping a hot one.

Hilarious

click here to see more videos like this

Hmmm

I'm pretty sure my blog has been spammed a few times now in the comments section. Rodrigo made a comment today. It was Portuguese or Spanish, hard to say which. I know one fact though...I can't really read either. I clicked on his link though. As far as I could tell it appears he wants me to buy a customized t-shirt of my blog. Of course for all I know he could have been telling me about some new dope stock that is going to go through the roof tomorrow, some new drug that's not cialis or viagra but does the same thing, or he's a Portuguese/Spanish prince and he's got millions and millions of dollars tied up and if I could just provide him with my bank account number he'd give me 20 million.

So it sounds like I'm going to be real rich in a few days, have an amazing stock portfolio, and never be flaccid again. I gotta say...I'm looking forward to the future!!

Or I'm just going to get a t-shirt with a picture of my blog on it.

Dribble

Let's see. What's been going on. Well the Vermont Mountaineers season has begun. I took my new camera along and got some pics.





Pretty cool!

Unfortunately they lost the game and now stand at 5-6 after today's 4-0 win against Stanford. 2 games back.

The other night I was up at the tower again and got some good sunset pictures. It was cloudy, but nice. I could hear the baseball game going on which was fun and it was clear from the cheering when the Mountaineers had something good happen. I sang Take me out to the ball game ... as I took a few pictures as well. Nice evening.

Wilco - You Are My Face

Song off the new album, Sky Blue Sky.

Toots & the Maytals - Reggae Got Soul

Toots has got soul!! I got to see these guys again on Saturday night at Higher Ground. Great show, excellent energy, and they had the whole place dancing. Great to see them again and when they come back I'll go again. Yes, it's a music video, but that's the song I wanted and the live versions just weren't as good. Either the sound quality was poor of the filming was poor.

Let's see. Been awhile and I've got some posting to do. So I'll get to that today in a little bit. Got my new camera and I'll add some new pics soon.

Headed home this weekend for a graduation party. Should be a good time.

Then the big weekend happens. Boz and Amelia are coming up from Richmond on the 28th - 29th. I'm definitely excited about that and it will be great to see them. It's been a year since I've seen Boz and 2 years since I've seen Amelia. I think that's right. We're going to see Wilco on the 29th at Shelburne Museum and then Dylan on the 1st. Sounds like the start of a great holiday weekend. We'll see what else the weekend holds. I've got a few ideas...

Genarlow Wilson

It appears people are finally getting pissed enough to start doing something. Check out this article from the Huffington Post today. Please follow the link they provide and send the Governor of Georgia a complaint about how truly despicable this situation actually is. I did.

Huffington Post Article

ESPN article with some more information.

Infuriating

So later last week I found this story about this 17 year old kid, Genarlow Wilson, in Georgia who is serving a 10 year prison sentence for receiving oral sex from a 15 year old. It was taped and the 15 year old girl even said in court it was consensual. Yet Wilson was found guilty and the sentence is a mandatory 10 years in prison and he has to get listed on the sex offender registry. They were 2 years apart!!!!!

So Wilson has now served 2 years in prison. They changed the law shortly after he was sent to prison partially because of his case, yet they didn't make it retroactive. So he's sat in jail for 2 years for something I would say nearly everyone did in high school. Maybe not the video taping part. But be real. In the original article they also said if they had actually had sexual intercourse he wouldn't even be in any trouble if I recall correctly.

Anyways a Superior Court Judge ruled today that Wilson can be released from prison. Victory!! Not so fast. The Georgia Attorney General has appealed the judge's ruling. So now he sits in prison still.

Amazing. It's this kind of thing that makes me more outraged than almost anything. What kind of incompetent racist jerk was the original judge who sentenced him to prison or this Attorney General for that matter? As sad as it is, I think it's safe to say that if Wilson were white this wouldn't even have been any thing I'd have heard about. Because he wouldn't be in prison. They would have just said oh it's two kids messing around.

That's despicable behavior on all fronts Georgia. Get your shit together, it's 2007. Ah... racism alive and well in today's society.

Today's CNN article

Jackson Browne is amazing!!

photo courtesy of the Times Argus.

What a phenomenal concert. It was basically a greatest hits show with several other songs thrown in including a cover of Warren Zevon's "Lawyers, Guns, and Money." It's amazing music can bridge so many generations. Pretty cool to sit there and see one of my dad's musical heroes with him sitting one chair over. If only Nate would have been there it could have been a true family event.

Photos weren't allowed, so I didn't bring my camera in. So all I can do is post this photo courtesy of the Times Argus. Here's a link to their article too. Times Argus Jackson Browne write up

Jackson Browne-Running on empty

The countdown has begun. Tomorrow night at 8pm, Jackson Browne, Barre Opera House.

Jackson Browne - Lives In the Balance

Lawrence Ferlinghetti's "Loud Prayer"

Our father whose art's in heaven
hollow be thy name
unless things change
Thy wigdom come and gone
thy will will be undone
on earth as it isn't heaven
Give us this day our daily dread
at least three times a day
and forgive us our trespasses
as we would forgive those lovelies
whom we wish would trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
too often on weekdays
but deliver us from evil
whose presence remains unexplained
in thy kingdom of power and glory
oh man

Colin Hay - Beautiful World

Great Song!!

Scrubs

I find this to be probably either the best or one of the best shows on tv these days. I can't truly explain why, maybe it's the slapstick humor or the surreal day dream scenes that run throughout an episode. Either way. It's damn funny to me.

Plus I hadn't heard this Bell Biv Devoe song in forever. That brings me back to about 6th grade.

Xavier Rudd - The 12th of September

Best one man band ever? Most likely.

If you like this and get a chance to see Xavier Rudd anywhere you should go. It's an experience to see one person create so much music.

Camel's Hump?

yes this is a camel residing in VT. I don't know if he lives in Richmond or Bolton technically.

or

Usaj's new camp

Amazing. I don't think pictures could do justice for the inside. It really is beautiful.

May 28, 07


around July 4th, 06

the Three H's in May?

hazy hot and humid

what it looked like driving over to Putnam from Montpelier on Friday

the Adirondacks are over there, I swear

what it looked like driving back to Montpelier on Memorial Day


yep.

Round Church

...
If I pass out take me to the round church
where echoes resound
and my spirit is found
and when I float high
take my arm and I'll fly you by
the outskirts of town, to a garden that's round
...
Phish - Round Room



Round Church, Richmond, VT

At Home

I came home to mom and dad's last night. We were up at the Carney's partying as Mairead and David were up and headed to a wedding for the rest of the weekend. Plus the Usaj's are here and we unloaded a bit of furniture for their new lake house. I also got a table, for the dining room I'll have some day, from my grandmother. Good deal.

The weather has been incredible for May and we were up over 80 again today after having high 80s the last few days. It might border on a little too hot for me every now and then. As usual Lake George and home are beautiful. Sometimes I feel like I don't realize how truly amazing the area is since I've spent all my life in it. Every now and then I actually sit and realize how lucky people are to live here.

On a side note here's one of the last pictures I ever took in Canton, NY. I was on the little river trail walking around at sunset. Thinking about my upcoming move to Montpelier, VT. It was just some sort of moment of reflection and realization that in several more weeks I'd be in a totally new place starting a new life. So far so good!

Reid Genauer - 40 Reasons

Ray Lamontagne - Hold you in my arms

I tried to find a live version of this song as well. Same issue either shitty audiences or bad sound quality. No matter, the pictures of mountains and clouds are much more pleasing than some of the other videos I've found featuring this song. Great lyrics.

Ray Lamontagne and Damien Rice - To Love Somebody

Damien Rice has a great voice, but here Ray steals the show. Far and away.

Ray Lamontagne - Trouble

Great voice, even better lyrics.

if you're going to San Francisco

So let's see. It was October 05 I guess that I got to go out to San Jose and San Francisco. I had an Informatino Technology dork conference out there. Flew in a day early so that I could go up and visit Liz and Brennan in San Fran. So I checked in to my hotel and bolted for the public transportation. Got to San Fran somwhere around 9pm. Liz and Brennan picked me up and we went to dinner at an excellent Indian place.

Next day we got up and toured San Francisco some. We went down Lombard Street which is in tons of movies and was certainly the curviest street I'd ever been on. We hit In & Out Burger, I had to considering The Big Lebowski is one of my favorite movies.

Then we did some other touristy things like go over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Here's Liz and I.

ALO - Girl I Wanna Lay You Down

It's the music video which isn't what I wanted to put on here. But most of what I'd found has either poor sound quality or assholes in the audience who don't know when to shut up.

Aaron and I went to see these guys and Brett Dennen a few weeks ago now at Higher Ground. Great show. Another band I'm really getting in to.

Phish - Fee 1989

This is why I love You Tube. Man this is an oldie!! They look like kids.

Phish- Waste

Great Phish song. I miss these guys.

Lake George - 4th of July 06

Boz and Ben drove up for 4th of July last year. Good times no question. There was some serious amounts of stupidity, drunkenness, and some phenomenal fudge. Thanks Nahum!!

Look at these two fine bitches!!

I miss my brother!! Oh yeah that's my dad's head in the lower right there, I see my future hair line. Or should I say I see my future lack of hair line.

Here's Dan the Man. This is his parent's lake property in the pics. Where they kindly allow us to keep our boat, and play whenever we want. Thanks Usajs!! They also just built a brand new lake cabin there. I'll get some pics of that this weekend while I'm home. Word is we'll be moving some furniture. I don't know what Dan has in his hands, but from the look on his face, it doesn't appear to be pleasant.

Here is the torn down lot where the old lake cabin use to be. I think the new one will officially qualify as a lake house. I'll make sure to get a pic of the new house now, since I've got this one of the open lot. Oh look the Teal Hawk is in this picture too.

And last but not least, the house I grew up in. Home will never change for me and I can't imagine this house not being in the family. Too many memories to let something like that go.

And here's the view of Vermont and Lake Champlain from the deck.

how big was that starfish?

This is from March 06, when Ben, Nate, Nahum, and I went out to see Dan in LA. It was a great trip. Some parts I don't remember that's for sure. One highlight for Ben, Nahum, Nate, and I was getting totally hammered at Universal Studios where we were drinking long island ice teas out of Krafs. 2 of those each, several shots to which I don't remember the names of, and whatever else the bartender offered us lead to an extremely rough ride home. Dan drives a Pontiac Vibe, so just imagine 5 larger than average human beings packed in there. I remember Nahum dancing to some song but due to my drunken state it seemed as though he was only trying to push on me. We stopped at Chipotle, which is delicious by the way, and I'm pretty sure everyone had a half eaten burrito the next morning still.

Here we are in a bar on Venice beach. It wasn't long after this we wandered the shore and that's where Nate's pic is from too. By the way, I stole these from Ben.

Home endeavors

So I'm thinking about buying a house. I don't exactly know if it's the best idea I've ever had. But I do know that spending more money on rent is completely discouraging at this point for me. I might as well just take $7,000 and light it on fire. Cause that's about what I'm getting for renting. However, houses are what I would like to call.... ah ridiculously priced. When I was living in Canton I explored buying something but not too much. The same house apparently costs somewhere around 1.5x-2x more in Montpelier as compared to Canton. Discouraging.

The Hubbard Park Tower

Hubbard Park is Montpelier's 185 acre park and it's becoming my favorite place to explore.

There is a 54 foot tower within the park that gets you up out of the trees enough to see in every direction. And also allows you to get some phenomenal sunset views, as well as sunrise. However, I'm not typically up early enough to catch those, but it's a goal of mine now to accomplish. It also gets you a great view of Camel's Hump.

My camera only has a 3x zoom which makes it a bit hard to get some good shots. But here's one I nabbed of a recent sunset. Camel's Hump is on the left in this pic, if you can't pick it out. Well... I don't know what to tell you.

Joshua Radin and Schulyer Fisk - Paperweight

Brett Dennen On the Mountain Part 1

Darling Do Not Fear

John Butler Trio - Better Than

This is my blog's namesake.


All you want is
What you can't have
And if ya' just look around, man
You'll see you got magic

So just sit back and relax
Enjoy it while you still have it
Don't look back on life, man
And only see tragedy 'cause

You can be better than that
Let it get the better of you
What could be better than that?
Life's not about what's better than

You can be better than that
Let it get the better of you
What could be better than that?
Life's not about what's better

All the time while ya' lookin' away
There are things you can do, man
There's things you can say
Undo the, the ones you regret
When you're spending today
Get your gaze out tomorrow
And come what may, because

You can be better than that
Let it get the better of you
What could be better than that?
Life's not about what's better than

You can be better than that
Let it get the better of you
What could be better than that?
Life's not about what's better

Oh, I know, sometimes
Things can get hard
But you should know, by now
They come and they go so fast
Oh, I do, why
Look to the other side 'cause I know
The grass is greener,
But just as hard to grow

So all you want is
What you can't have
And if ya' just look around, man
You'll see you got magic

So just sit back and relax
Enjoy it while you still have it
Don't look back on life, man
And only see tragedy 'cause

You can be better than that
Let it get the better of you
What could be better than that?
Life's not about what's better than

You can be better than that
Let it get the better of you
What could be better than that?
Life's not about what's better than

John Butler Trio - Ocean

This is fast becoming one of my new favorite artists. And this clip is arguably some of the best guitar work I've ever witnessed. At about 3:42 on the count down this becomes amazing.

view from the edge

My brother left Monday!!

He's moving to Denver. I don't think he'll ever come home again. I just have this feeling once he gets there that'll be it. He'll love it.

We spent a huge chunk of February together and all of March while he worked on Aaron's house. And it was probably some of the best months I've had in my life since the end of college. It's not always easy to have your friends spread out all over the place and feel like each day you lose touch with them more and more.

I don't really know what I'll use this for yet. Kind of just getting started. There will certainly be a lot of music I'm into appearing on here in some form or another. Most likely pillaged from YouTube.