well, the burnt popcorn incident would've blown over quietly if nobody had used the microwave today...since that is not the case, the pantry once again smells of burnt popcorn...they need to figure out a better bag or something to prevent popcorn from burning to a crisp...or require that people who buy microwave popcorn have a shred more intelligence than people like, say, myself...

so anyways...saturday afternoon after the photoshoot at the pulaski park fieldhouse, i went to go see my friend john b. who has been working on building a solar powered electric truck for about as long as i've been friends w/ him, which is like over four years...john taught me everything i know about databases that i didn't already know intuitively...he let me pirate all his code for work...we used to share an office together 5 months out of the year for a couple years, and we would talk for hours and hours about anything and everything under the sun. john is the one who introduced me to environmental issues and eating vegetables in mass quantities. i would also have to credit john for shaking me out of my slumber those years when i was floundering about not knowing who i was. he really challenged me to think critically for myself...i don't think i'd be where i am now without his influence. he's been a huge support for me these past several years and we always have a ton of fun...like when he introduces me to his friends as his love child from back when he was serving in viet nam.

anyways, john has the distinction of having the only solar powered apartment flat in the city of chicago. and i was there when he had his solar debut party when he pulled the switch from ComEd to sunpower. so saturday afternoon, john was finally putting the engine of the electric truck he's been slaving over back on the chassis. this was another one of those milestones, so of course i showed up for it. there were a couple people there filming the event and interviewing john for a documentary that a show on the A&E channel is doing on john because he's such an interesting person. did i mention he's also a master ceramicist? and can play the piano? and speaks fluent french? and is an outfitter for wilderness canoe trips to quetico provincial park in canada's boundary waters? i went on a week long canoe trip w/ john a few years ago, and being in the wilderness like that changed my whole perspective on life. i was the only girl on the trip, but good ol' john didn't let me play princess...he made me do a little bit of EVERYTHING, including portaging a canoe all by my little self. thank god it was the shortest portage on the trip. yeah, it's about time y'all met john...he's a pretty important figure in my life.

after the solar roller event, i went to the garden lounge, the coffeehouse @ the evanston vineyard that my friend chris langill runs. i credit chris w/ putting me on the track to discovering indie music back in the day. it's been a while since the last coffeehouse, so this was kind of a new season opener. it was totally packed! i couldn't believe it...it was more crowded than wedding receptions that have taken place in that space...it was a cd release party for andi & i, a husband and wife indie folk rock/pop duo. andi, the wife, has one of the most soulful voices i've ever heard. i love hearing and watching her perform.

it was quite a varied show, opening up w/ andy young on hammer dulcimer & al on guitar playing some celtic music...then andi joined them...and later mike choby the most amazing bass player ever (he inspired me to take bass lessons) got on stage...then the drummer (tim?)...then the keyboard player...it was a full band, and they got pretty funky...they actually did a version of kung-fu fighting w/ the disco ball spinning around...and in between, there was a lovely song that al sang for andi (tupelo honey by van morrison) and even an andi impersonation contest which was pretty hilarious. i had to leave just when things started getting funky (funk rules!) because i had a chinupchinup/appleseed cast show to go to @ the empty bottle. all in all, though, i'd say it was a smashing success of an evening.

i missed chinupchinup, which is ok cuz i see them like all the time. i'm sure they played well. they were pretty tight when i saw them a couple months ago. rt was there already talking business w/ chris from chinupchinup when i arrived for the show. i didn't really get much of a chance to talk to him cuz he was busy talking business, i guess. but he did watch appleseed cast w/ me cuz i wanted him to see their drummer play. i LOVE ac's drummer! he is soooooooo NUTS!! i inevitably end up just watching josh the drummer because he's so frickin' mesmerising!! i swear, i think he drank an entire gallon of water during the show--he was drinking out of a PITCHER. i'm always scared he's going to go into cardiac arrest, the way he plays and all...his performance alone was worth the price of admission...but then you add on top of that the absolutely beautiful guitars...and the keys add a nice spacey touch...it's all good...pete missed the show cuz his flight got in late, and the roads were all snowy...next time though!

serene is starting another tour wednesday...unfortunately, jesse's not drumming w/ them cuz of stuff going on at home...i'm soooooo bummed...this means i'll have to go out to seattle sometime soon to see him...and if i don't go to SXSW, i'll have to DEFINITELY go to seattle so i can see ian too. i just got an email from him telling me i gotta come and hang w/ the fam...i totally totally want to!!! if i go to SXSW, i'll go on thurs night, make it in for the arena rock records showcase and see ian and his band...and there are so many others...damien jurado...IDLEWILD...death cab...etc etc etc...speaking of idlewild, they're playing the double door on 3/21!!!! eeek!!! an idlewild concert i can WALK TO!!!! i ran into my friend butta, chicago's bootleg master, at the appleseed cast show, and he gave me a heads up on it. i'd given him a mix cd of idlewild songs at the last appleseed cast show. oh, remember that song i wrote about my buttons last week? well, it turns out butta wrote a poem about buttons too! but he calls them pins. is that weird or what!

ok. that's it for now...