Eels with Smoosh at the Fillmore

Posted on by
Reply

[Eels concert poster]A few words about the opening act. Smoosh [official site / allmusic bio] is a duo of sisters from Seattle, aged 14 and 12. They played at the Fillmore in San Francisco. This is an awesome way to spend one’s summer vacation.

What makes an Eels show great is that it’s going to be unique, almost by definition. The studio albums incorporate a substantial amount of electronics, which E doesn’t try to repicate live. Additionally, this tour is featuring a fourth member of the band. “Member of the band” might be a generous description. Krazy Al came on stage wearing a black t-shirt with “SECURITY” on front and back. At first, it seemed he was only on stage to look intimidating while E and Co. rocked the opener, Shoe to Drop. It wasn’t long though before he became part of the act, bringing E a phone mid-song, then put on a full blown martial arts demonstration. In addition to the visual and background vocals, he provided supporting percussion with lead pipes and bells. He even jammed on E’s guitar for a few minutes in the middle of “Guest List” while E went off-stage and later handled the keyboard as well. Other highlights of the main set were a solo variant of “Last Stop: This Town” and a gospel choir-esque “My Beloved Monster.” During the encore, Smoosh came back on stage, danced around with Krazy Al, and provided background vocals. It was a scene.

Continue reading →

Disconcerting

Posted on by
Reply

I was at the Cal Eye Center yesterday for a contact lens fitting. The way it works is that an optometry student does the exam, then the attending doctor comes in to confirm that the student isn’t completely wrong. Anyway, after the student found out I work in the chemistry department, he gave high praise for Steve P., who is one of the organic instructors. He then added:

“I think that was the only science class I ever did well in.”

Well, better that he did well in one science class than zero before judging my eyes healthy.

Honda Civic (51st St., Oakland)

Posted on by
3

Stache has been telling me about this car for more than a year. The car has Alaska plates and seems to appear in Oakland sporatically, so I’m glad I was able to catch it. The detail in the beading is quite remarkable (third picture is more closeup). I didn’t get a very good picture of the interior, but it’s covered in butterflies as well.

[Click for larger image of the Honda Civic (51st St. Oakland)]

Continue reading →

What’s the population of fools in the United States?

Posted on by
4

In contrast to our 16th President, according to our current President: “You can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on.”

This is a fine policy if, that is, there are enough people that you can fool all of the time. I don’t know what that number is. Fortunately, PollingReport.com has the answer:

A Quinnipiac University Poll asked registered voters nationwide, “Thinking about the United States presidents we have had since World War II which one would you consider the best president?”

28% – Ronald Reagan
25% – Bill Clinton
18% – John Kennedy
7% – Harry Truman
5% – Jimmy Carter
5% – Dwight Eisenhower
3% – George W. Bush
2% – George H. W. Bush
1% – Gerald Ford
1% – Lyndon Johnson
1% – Richard Nixon
4% – No opinion

I would have thought it was higher, but there you have it, 3% of America is fooled all the time.

Continue reading →