May 22, 2007
 
                                                
 
Springtime brings all the wonderful bits of the world back into view.  Things like the leaves, flowers, color, fresh cut grass.  Unfortunately it also brings out some bad stuff like bugs, heat, and apparently, in our little town the warmer season has also brought out two assholes.
 
The first one is an old man.  He's gotta be scorching the birthday cake somewhere in the bonfireous vicinity of 80 candles, and he delights in standing on the sidewalk yelling at people.  Now that it's warm enough for him to venture out, he's taking his seasonally-pent-up anger and venting it upon the residents and tourists of our small historic town in the form of opinionated rants.  Don't you dare jaywalk within sight of him or else you'll get the chiding of a lifetime like Kari did the other day.  Her simple walking across an empty street evoked him to spew:  "Do you want to DIE today?  Well?  Do you?  You're what's wrong with America today!  Do you want to DIE?"  Wicked nutters.  Yesterday I heard him yelling at some tourists who were doing nothing more than quietly walking down the sidewalk and window shopping.  I'm excited about the possibility of having a run-in with him...well, after a more realistic thought, I'd probably just awkwardly ignore him, but hoo-boy, you can bet that I'd come up with a zinger of a snappy retort an hour or so later.  That'd show him. 
 
The second asshole is actually more of a year-round annoying-type guy, but, like squirrels and other rodents, he's much more active in warmer weather.  Here is his recipe for an incredible night:
 
Ingredients
- One 10-year old Chevy Blazer. 
- One kickin' stereo. 
- Two mid-to-late 90's hardcore gangsta rap cds.
- One bandana
- One pair of Oakleys
- One limitless gas card
- One small New England town with a downtown that's only two-blocks wide.
- A desperate need to try and reclaim and re-live one's teenage years.
 
Combine the cds with the stereo in the Chevy Blazer.  Turn volume all the way up.  Tie bandana on head to cover bald spot.  Put sunglasses on face.  Drive around the small town at a zesty 50% faster than the posted 20 mph speed limit; ensuring that you gun your engine whenever possible to make certain that the people deafened by the rap music know for sure that you're there.  Leeringly lean out the window at each and every person you drive by.  Repeat for three hours each day, and two hours each night.  Ignore all stop signs.  When out of gas from the hundreds of laps around town and the constant revving of the Blazer's engine, leave town just long enough to refill the gas tank, but be sure to return as soon as possible. 
 
One day Kari was walking around town and asked a nearby police officer about this Chevy Blazer guy.  He told her that he's been driving around town like this ever since he got his license at age 16.  He went on to say that the guy is in his 40's now.  Damn.  This piqued my curiousity and it almost makes me want to talk to the guy and find his reasoning for his actions.  Does he see himself as a modern-day Patrick Swayze trying to wake up this sleepy little town?  Was he jilted by some girl twenty-something years ago; so, like a cursed soul, he's doomed to spend eternity driving around the three streets of Lenox, Massachusetts in an attempt to woo and win over his former love, all the while locked in a doubly cursed, brakeless, Chevy Blazer with a broken stereo, a cd that's stuck inside, and no way to lower the volume?  Is he a really really bad music promoter?  We may never know.
 
Well, on second thought, we might actually know after all.  A few weeks ago he came peeling around the corner and leaned his face out to leer at us, but he had forgotten to put on his cool shades.  We now know that the sunglasses are more for our protection than for his, because man, the dude looks like frickin' Skeletor.  I vote for "B", the cursed soul option.  He's like an escapee from a Stephen King book.  Someday when I have nothing better to do, I'll hide in a grassy knoll with my telephoto lens and see if I can get some pictures.  That way you can partially share in the horror as well.
 
The other night we went to a local restaurant and saw a great band called Just Jane.  Part blues, and lotsa rock.  Totally check them out.    
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  Los Bunkers - Ven Aqui
 
 
 
May 21, 2007
 
                                      
 
I found my camera cable!  I now blame me (since it was cleverly hidden in plain sight on my desk).
 
I would write oodles and poodles about lots of stuff, but this puppy is very upset because he's tired and it's hours past his bedtime. 
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  The Innocence Mission - Keeping Awake
 
 
 
May 20, 2007
 
Wow, I've got a veritable ton of new pictures to post, but sadly I can't seem to find the cable for my camera.  I blame the puppy. 
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  Morphine - Honey White
 
 
 
May 13, 2007
 
Tonight Kari and I were standing on the back porch of her shop taking a break from planning/moving stuff around in her shop when I found myself staring up at the stars.  I found that I've been doing this a lot lately, which probably has a lot to do with the story and research for my book. 
 
When I was a kid, my father would drag me outside on what seemed to be the coldest nights where he would point to jumbles of dots in the Lite-Brite sky above and try to teach me the names of each star, planet, or constellation.  I was like 10, and all I cared about was going back inside where it was warm and a lot more interesting things to do than look at boring old stars.  It's funny how 20 years can so completely change one's mind.  Sadly, he isn't around anymore to show me what I'm now ready and willing to learn. 
 
But I digress...tonight when I was looking up at the stars, I saw an honest-to-goodness satellite.  The third time in my life that I've seen one; what appeared to be a faint, yet solid dot of light that perfectly glided across the sky at such a slow pace that you would never notice it unless you were just staring up at the heavens as I was tonight.  It took a minute because it was so faint, but I managed to point it out to Kari, up there, in the southern sky, just above those two stars that seem to be about a thumb and forefinger apart...and right at that moment, with both of us watching it, there was a bright flash of light and it was gone.  No more satellite.  For a second I thought it might have been a meteorite, but those are much quicker and have streaks of light as they burn up entering the atmosphere.  This was a satellite one moment, and then *poof* gone the next.  Weird.   
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  Eartha Kitt - C'est Si Bon    
 
 
 
May 12, 2007
 
The night wedding.  Holy fun.  It was supposed to start at 7:30pm, but we waited another half hour for more people to show up.  It was almost a completely different crowd of people from the day ceremony, which was the more formal of the two.  The two main things that made this one less formal was the location (in Rumpy's Tavern, the basement bar of the Village Inn), and my outfit (I traded my pants for some shorts). 
 
                                           
 
When there was about 50 people there our friend Maurice started the festivities with a Mary J, Blige song, after which, he launched right into "White Wedding".  During an extended solo in the middle, he introduced the marrying guy, Stephen, followed by the groom of the hour (me), and then he introduced Kari.  With each introduction, the three of us ran into the room like rock stars, amid the jubilant din of cheering and applause.  The pictures of Kari and I didn't come out because we were running much too fast into Rumpy's to get married for a second time.  Stephen, however, is an actor and loves the attention, so here's his picture:
 
                                           
 
In case you're wondering why Stephen is carrying a Harry Potter book, allow me to explain.  When he and I were hanging out in my apartment before the first wedding he was looking at the piece of paper that had his speaking part for the wedding on it and suggested that it would look more official if he hid the paper in a large book.  Since he happened to be hopelessly engrossed in book five of the Harry Potter series, that was his book.
 
After we did the vows, Maurice launched back into "White Wedding", and Kari and I made a hasty exit, only to return a few minutes later through a different door to enjoy the party.  Because of his stunning performance at our wedding, it looks like he might be getting his own night of singing at Rumpy's!  Hooray for Maurice!   
 
Apart from the cupcakes, the kickin' music, the dancing, and having the best time, one of the highlights of the evening was Stephen's dance.  The randomized playlist on the iPod was just starting some INXS song, (it was either "Need You Tonight" or "Devil Inside") much to the delight of those dancing, when the song stopped and was replaced with the "Watch out here I come, come, come, come...", beginning of the famous Dead Or Alive song, much to the annoyance of those dancing who were just getting into the other song.  Then everyone saw Stephen's arms wrapped around one of the columns in the room and then he really got into it.  It was hilarious and stunning and just plain wow (sadly, there aren't any pictures of him spinning on the floor like a crazy 80's breakdancer).  If you weren't there, you totally missed out.   
 
Plus my car got totally wedding-ized by those crazy Minnesota girls.  It was a loud drive to breakfast (and then the car wash) the next morning with the cans rattling behind us. 
 
        
 
        
 
Check back to my Flickr account since I have lots more wedding pictures to post over the next few days.
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  Regina Spektor - That Time
 
 
 
May 11, 2007
 
                                      
 
So yeah, last weekend Kari and & tied the knot and got married.  Twice!  (just to make sure it stuck).
 
It was a beautifully sunny morning and I was up at 7am, despite the fact that a group of us were out late at dinner with family, and then drinks later on at the Lion's Den.  Everyone else seemed to be running behind that morning, but we managed to get everything we needed brought over from the apartment to the Village Inn where the wedding would be.  Good thing the Inn is only four doors down from our apartment.  I had a spot of trouble when I went to go print the vows and discovered that we were out of paper for the printer (oops!).  I put lined notebook paper in the printer and the whole time was thinking, "Please don't jam, please don't jam, please don't jam...".  They printed fine and everything was good. 
 
I moseyed on over to the Inn about an hour before the wedding and hung out with some friends and family until word came down to the lobby of the Inn that Kari was ready.  So, with about 25 close family and friends in attendance, we got married in the front parlor of the Village Inn.  It was great.  Afterwards, we went outside and started the backdrop picture project where we took pictures of everyone there in front of a large piece of fabric that we got from an Easthampton, MA  fabric dealer we saw at Eastworks when we were there a few months ago (plus, we see their ad in Bust every month as well [yes, I like to read Kari's copy of Bust magazine - what's it to you?]). 
 
Later, all of the out-of-town people pitched in and helped to decorate Rumpy's Tavern (in the basement of the Village Inn), while Stephen, our marrying guy (he's the suave guy below looking like he's in a commercial for fine whiskey), put the finishing touches on the soundtrack for that night's dance part-ay.  Kari, Amanda, and I went to the grounds at Shakespeare & Co. to work on our very neat-o, experimental, official wedding portrait picture.  I still have to take a good picture of the finished picture, but here's the work-in-progress to tide you over until then.     
 
Tomorrow:  The night wedding.
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  The Smiths - Oscillate Wildly
 
 
 
May 10, 2007
 
                                     
 
Just uploaded the first batch of our wedding pictures to my Flickr account.  I still have a bunch more to go through and edit, so look for those in a day or two.  Until then, please enjoy these one two sets. 
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  Better Than Ezra - In The Blood
 
 
 
May 6, 2007
 
                                      
 
Yesterday we got married!  More about it later.
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  The Magnetic Fields - The Book Of Love
 
 
 
May 2, 2007
 
                                      
 
Been busy = not many updates.  But that's ok.  My birthday was on Monday, and while I'd like to thank everyone who got me presents I do have to politely say "Enough already!" since it's kind of tough walking around the apartment with every nook and cranny is stacked floor-to-ceiling with gifts.  I truly appreciate this gesture from my millions of adoring fans though.  Really.
 
With my birthday over, I can now focus on the main event of the year...our wedding!  Yes sir-ee, we're getting married this weekend.  If you haven't gotten one of our fancy-ass invitations then you either aren't quite important enough, or your spam filter blocked it (or you are important [horribly important!] but we didn't have your contact information).
 
So yeah, we're terribly busy with last-minute wedding stuff, picking people up from airports, etc, etc, etc, so look for a big ol' update sometime early next week.  In the meantime, I leave you with this. 
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  Dear Leader - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (live)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

                                                                    © 2007 Eric Nixon.  All rights reserved.