1. I have just discovered Krampus. How had I gone four decades without encountering Krampus? Suddenly all my cherished holiday memories seem diminished. In case you too have missed out, Krampus is a devil who travels with Santa Claus and threatens the bad children, and sometimes confiscates them in his sack. Sex with women is his weakness, and he is particularly fond of whipping their bare buttocks with a birch switch. Some sort of running of the Krampus is an annual event in some parts of Germany/Austria on December 5th. Somehow this needs to become part of my holidays.
2. I have a new belly button. Before my unexpected appendectomy the surgeon examined the old one and asked if it was tender. I said yes sometimes it was and he said something like "I'll make you a new one as long as I'm in there." I wasn't sure if he was kidding until about ten days later when I peeled the old one off to find a new, pink, more svelte belly button underneath. I keep the old one in a jar.
3. Speaking of things reptilian...we recently accompanied some friends to see the Jesus Lizard. I went mostly for the company and the nostalgia. I'd seen the Jesus Lizard many times many years ago but hadn't listened to them in quite some time despite my memories of some mighty fine shows. Well, the venue we saw them in was probably too big and the show was just alright. I remembered seeing them in some small venues, one show in Los Angeles in particular, that allowed their sound to really shine. No, not shine, suffocate and bludgeon you. In a good way. This bigger venue simply didn't allow for that sort of experience. But I went home and dug out my old Goat record and started listening to it again. I was amazed at how well it stood the test of time twenty years later. Much of the music their peers were making now sounds very dated. Nirvana is a good example. When they come on the classic rock station I am always suprised at how disappointing I find it. It sounds like its historical moment, which is fine, but it doesn't transcend it. So I was pleasantly surprised by the Goat record. It's distinguished by Duane Dennison's guitar playing--far ahead of what the grunge folks were doing: appregiated extended chords are common and the flamenco training is evident--which is supported nicely by the powerful, serpentine rythm section. Add in Yow's strange vocal stylings and the odd narratives his lyrics suggest and you come away with an unexpected cinematic sort of quality. It's still an intriguing listen two decades later.
4. We bought our house in a community I have come to really appreciate and am happy to call home. It's the first time in all my years in the Atlanta area that I've been able to say that.
