Sterling Jack!!

Here he is, Sterling Jack Blake, the newest edition to the Blake and Kidwell family. He's fourteen weeks now, and just about the greatest kid ever. All smiles, all the time. And quite good looking, that makes three for three of good-looking kids. I though there's usually an ugly kid in every family. The only noises he makes is whenever he tries to tell us something and when he sneezes. I'm excited I got to visit Banaise and Amy on my time off between jobs. Start the new one on 10/22/07: Forensic Engineering. Sounds cool, we'll see.

Here are some other great scenes from a normal day with these kids. Sam is five, Sawyer is two, Banaise is 31. No pics of Amy yet, she's been sick, feeding, or just plain busy as heck the whole trip. They're doing great and I'm having an awesome time visiting them. I also have a couple that I haven't processed yet of the whole bunch (RAW). Those'll be put up in a little while.


Saw-Saw had to keep telling Coop "No no no no no" when carrying around a muffin. Not such an easy target huh Coop?


Here is the Chevy Mini-Silverado. Sam and Sawyer's ass-kicking truck. They cruise the backyard 3 or 4 times, until someone gets hurt, or until they get bored. Saw can sit shotgun all day.


What else is there?


Sawyer


Sam talked with Diana on the phone.


We went to a great park in Tulsa, and took a quick picture of everyone in front of a weird tree.


Dragged Lola around the park for a while.


Got back in the car and passed out. It was a great day.

KEXP Seattle

This is a great radio station based in Seattle. I swear, I need to visit Seattle someday. The more I learn about the city, the more I am attracted to it. Great music, art, ocean, whales, hiking, skiing. What more could you ask for?

http://kexp.org/splashv3.asp





(Source of photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcwphotos/)

ACL 2007, Good.

Four friends from Denver, four friends from Austin (Sam, Kristen, Becca and Brian), my sister Riley, plus D and I had the privilege of enjoying a ton of shows all weekend long from September 14 to the 17th at Zilker Park in Austin, TX. Here's the low-down: The people were great, the beer and bathroom lines were short, there was a fire that injured a couple people, I'm pretty sure that Bob Dylan played "Tangled Up In Blue" and "Like a Rolling Stone," Wilco kicked ass, weather wasn't too hot, dry, or dusty, and we had an awesome time. Here are some pics from the weekend:










More to come later, back to work for me. This procrastination is killing me.

The White Stripes Cancel ACL!!!

I hope the medical reason isn't too serious, but I'm very sad about not being able to finally see Meg and Jack perform. Here is their latest album in lieu, "Icky Thump."

Vampire Weekend, Hi-DIve July 25, 2007

I accompanied a friend of mine to see these four guys at the Hi-dive on Broadway before I had a chance to listen to any of their music. I was completely suprised. With a name like "Vampire Weekend," you'd expect a NY goth band mumbling about their life's misfortunes, yuppies, starbucks and other corporate injustices (Not that there's anything wrong with that). But their sound was the exact opposite. Four flip-flop and Loafer wearing Columbia grads with a great ear for melody. They derive much of their sound from Paul Simon (Graceland), Reggae, Buffet, backed with an african beat. They've introduced their sound at the perfect time, there are very few indie bands out there that have anything near their sound. The band consists of:
Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij, Christopher Tomson, and Chris Baio.
Here are a couple of samples:

Lez Zeppelin

Four good looking girls covering Led Zeppelin tunes? I'm in. These four Yankees rocked the Blue Bird August 22nd, real well. Set list included Black Dog, Whole Lotta Love, Achilles' Last Stand, Bron Yr Aur Stomp, Dazed and Confused, Good Times Bad Times, Houses of the Holy, Kashmir, and other greats. http://www.myspace.com/lezzeppelin

Lez Zeppelin consists of:


Sarah McLellan- Vocals


Steph Paynes- Guitars & Theremin.


Lisa Brigantino- Bass, Keyboards & Mandolin


Helen Destroy- Drums & Percussion. Whom I didn't get a picture of before I had my camera nearly seized. Apparently a SLR is a professional camera, thus making you a professional photographer. Even if you just have a blog to share pictures of your dog with your family.



The talented foursome exceeded my expectations. Helen Destroy had Bonham's beat to a tee, Steph even had Page's mannerisms down (the solos, the strut, all perfect with the guitar at her knees), and the sexual appeal... Lez or not Lez, they were a great Zeppelin cover band.



I recommend spending the $15 to go see these 4 the next time they pass through town (I didn't forget Grant, I'll pay you back). They've been touring for the past 2 years, and they head to Europe in November to introduce their sound to the east. Good luck girls, thanks for the great night, keep Ramblin.




-Spence

Lola Conquers Arapahoe Lake Trail

7.5 Miles, 6 hours, and two thousand vertical feet (so says I). She kept up with Cooper the entire way, greatest Maltese I've ever met.



Cooper did too, and he's got the pose at the top to prove it.

Here's a shot of Arapahoe Lake



That little yellow spot is a tent. We're pretty sure he's been up there for a while, we watched him reel in a couple of trout for dinner.

This American Life

If you haven't listened to the Chicago-based public radio show "This American Life," give it a listen.

http://thislife.org/Radio_Archive.aspx

Hosted by Ira Glass, the show airs stories from journalists, both professional and amateur, that relate to different subjects the one-hour program focuses on. If you're looking for great stories to listen to during your workday, this is the program.

August 11th, 2007

Denver- It was a beautiful night in Denver the night Craig and I brought in our 26th birthday with some 15-odd friends planned by a Miss Diana Prieto and soon to be Mrs. Lynn VanNice. It started with a beautiful sunset and ended with a public display of drunken goodness.

The first stop was Diana and my personal residence where we partook in a fierce battle of beer pong and a couple of mediocre games of beirut. K-lausis Kevin took on Malacious Mitch, but I can't remember the victor.

From the basement, we took to the lanes of the Lakewood Brunswick Zone where the 15 party-goers split off to 3 teams. It was close for about two minutes, then the booze took over.

Still Obsessed With Sky Blue Sky

So, I got the Wilco album about... well two months ago and I can't get over the arrangements quite yet. Nels Cline has become my new guitar idol with his perfectly creative solos. Check out the videos below for an awesome exhibit of the collective passion that is Wilco.


Wilco- Glenn Kotche quick interview, "Impossible Germany", and Jeff Tweedy interview.


Wilco- Jeff Tweedy interview, "Please Be Patient With Me".

I even went as far to purchase the same fuzz pedal that Nels Cline has raved about on his page. It's the ZVex Fuzz Factory, see pic below. The fuzz factory is capable of all sorts of controlled ordinary and extraordinary fuzzes and sounds. http://www.zvex.com/vexter.html
It's really added a new dimension to my solo basement jam sessions (haven't taken it live yet). I don't think Diana or the dogs appreciate it as much as I do...

I need more Wiffle Ball!

I saw an HD program on a Wiffle Ball tournament somewhere in Texas and went out to buy a wiffle ball set the next day. We played a couple innings last night in the rain and had a blast. Here is a clip to keep us going each week. I think we've got room for improvement on the pitching side, take a look at those curve balls!