avablog

Enough of this hand wringing over the dispensation of one’s filthy lucre. On to more important, relevant matters….

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I always knew there was something about that Fallon kid that I liked. I’m happy that I can now put my finger on it. If you need a reference for these lyrics/backstory, google “general larry platt.”

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Ava went downtown with her Gramary over the weekend to partake of the festivities surrounding a sand castle building competition. One such festivity was a free concert, and, well, you just know Ava’s gotta move. Photo by Gramary:

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This is not a political blog.
I’m not talking about that most fragile of all kinds of hope, the kind that you put in a man to end the appalling policies of his predecessor on unlawful detention and torture. I’m talking about that larger hope, that hope that the next generation — and all generations [...]

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The trick is, you can’t really jump the shark if you were never The Fonz in the first place. I trust at least one of my readers will know what the hell I’m talking about. Fortunately, you don’t really have to know to enjoy this:

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If you hated the Dallas thing I put up recently, don’t bother viewing this; you won’t get it.

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That’s how long it takes us to get from our driveway to Ava’s school in the morning; we get exactly one time through Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” which is Ava’s new favorite song (I don’t miss “Hungry Like the Wolf”). After I’ve backed out of the garage, I start the song, and Ava sings along as [...]

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I love getting a random, hearty chuckles from the Internet. My recent favorite comes — as they often do — from an Amazon review. This time it’s of Danzig’s self-titled debut release, “Danzig:”
Reallly You need a reveiw?, January 31, 2009
By Dean
Buy this album. I just wanted to give it another 5 stars!
It has [...]

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Back in high school, my chums and I spent a fair amount of time listening to music favored by the skater set (we had a 16′ wide half pipe in our back yard — 8′ transitions — that drew all sorts of skaters and bikers from all over the place; the neighbors were thrilled). [...]

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I was originally thinking that there would be maybe two readers here who would have any interest in reading about the trials and tribulations of my home theater/Apple TV setup, but then — as I thought more — I figured, what could it hurt? Don’t click through unless you know what a TOSlink cable [...]

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And by that, I mean I hate people like my friend Ben, who sneakily slide their gorgeous iPhones out of their pockets when I’m not looking. Then, before I know it, I’m staring at this gleaming piece of hardware laid out on some bar table somewhere, and my technolust washes over me like a [...]

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Last night I heard the first cicada of the season. July 5, 2008, Iowa City, IA. As I type this, more are buzzing away over the lilting notes of Jazz guitar coming from downtown. None of which we’d hear with the A/C on….

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Who doesn’t have a minute for Cameo? The little dancer is just a bonus.

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No apologies to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

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We scrambled to get out the door this morning, and in the rush, I left my iPod behind. Not good. And I’d just added about 75 new tunes last night that I was looking forward to hearing. I’ll have to remember to grab it when I’m home at noon today.

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One of the items on Ava’s Christmas list from the very beginning was a guitar. As usual, Santa delivered.

I love how her tousled hair completes the rocker chic look, especially in her fancy Christmas garb. She even has the facial expression down!

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Pretend like she knows all the reindeer names. Also, at about 26 seconds in I flip the viewfinder over so Ava can see herself singing. You’ll note the change in her facial expression (and the bad framing on my part).

I told Ava we could share this video with all her friends, and she [...]

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I was really looking forward to having this disc, too. Since the gift won’t be given now, the CD I wanted was Alice Coltrane’s Journey In Satchidananda.
Mark,
Hello and thank you for your email. I apologize for the incorrect item you received. Unfortunately we do not have another copy available to send out to you. [...]

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