My 9-year-old has an amazing ear for music. I'm not even joking, it's impressive as hell. She can recognize a classical piece she heard in the background of a movie she saw once, months ago, no problem.

And on the other hand, she thinks that Eddie Vedder sounds like Stan Rogers, and that Jack White's guitar sounds like R2D2. Maybe she's right. Maybe my own ears are not as refined and fine-tuned to such subtleties.

Which brings us to the White Stripes.

"Seven Nation Army" came on the radio as we drove home from school, and it reminded me that I hadn't listened to Icky Thump in quite some time. So I popped that in on our way to dinner, because the kid's been on a Jonathan Coulton kick for weeks and, as much as I love the man, seriously, it's beginning to drive me insane.

I make it a habit of telling her a bit about the artist or the type of music we listen to. I can tell she doesn't find it anywhere near as exciting as I do, but I gotta find a way to annoy her somehow, right? I skipped over to track 12 and began talking to her about chord progressions and the structure of Blues Rock.

"I know," she said. "This is 'Catch Hell Blues.'"
"It is, actually... how did you know that?"
"You told me the last time you played it."

Have I mentioned that I haven't played this CD around her in at LEAST a year and a half or two?

She's decided she likes the song, R2D2 sounds or not. I told her she can listen to it whenever she wants as long as her father doesn't catch her saying the title.

Whiskey... it was sort of a dislike at first sight. We don't hate each other, we just... don't like each other. We rub each other the wrong way. Friends keep trying to set us up, but it's just Not Going to Happen.

Unlike Gin, because with Gin it was kind of ugly. We had a pretty intense one-night stand that only led to shame and regret, and I think it's safe to say we downright HATE each other ever since. It's not a jealousy issue. I'm well aware of the relationship Gin has with J, and I'm okay with that. All I'm saying is... never again.

Now, Tequila and I had a reeeeeeeeally good relationship at one point, long, long time ago. I really think Tequila was my first love, and for a while things were fantastic! Wonderful nights with Tequila. And then one day Tequila dumped me unceremoniously, and has refused to take me back, no matter how much I beg. Oh, I've tried. I've tried, inches at a time, little by little, tried to get close to Tequila again. And Every Time, Tequila slaps me across the face and reminds me that it's truly over between us. I've finally taken the hint. It hurts, but I've come to understand that Tequila and I will never again have what we once had. It's done.

Amaretto and I have had AMAZING encounters, but Amaretto just doesn't respect me in the morning. I know I'm a sucker for returning every time, but, seriously. (AMAZING)

Absinthe is a liar and a WHORE.

Rum is really just a good friend. Honest! There's nothing serious going on between us. We get together, hang out for hours, have a good time... okay, maybe we've fooled around a time or two, but it's never gone past that point. I can call on Rum any time, any day, and Rum listens and never leaves me hanging. I love Rum. Rum is awesome. And Rum doesn't get jealous of Vodka, either.

Vodka, I think, is my one true love. Vodka understands that sometimes I need space. That sometimes I'm going to go hang out with Rum or do my thing with Amaretto. It's alright with Vodka. Vodka takes me back no matter how many times I leave, or for how long. Vodka is nice to me the next day. We did have a pretty terrible fight at D.'s apartment that one night, but we've forgiven each other. We're past that night, and I think we're both better for it. I think we both know that what we have is truly meaningful, and that our love can endure the test of time. Vodka's a keeper.

I'm making space on my shelves. Also known as Jesus F'n CHRIST, why do I still own some of these books in my 30s??

I'm boxing stuff up and either throwing it out or donating it somewhere, whatever it takes. If any of these -Lord help you- sound interesting to you, drop me a line here or at knszero@gmail.com and let me know. I'll send them your way.

 

(Alpha by author)

The Vent III Unplugged - Atlanta Journal Constitution compilation

A Time to Choose - Janine Boissard

The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown

The Illustrated Book of Signs & Symbols - Miranda Bruce-Mitford

A Desperate Cry - Carlos Cuauhtemoc Sanchez

The Mayan Prophecies - Adrian G. Gilbert/Maurice M. Cotterell

The Novel Sentence - Robert Goodspeed

Zodiac Unmasked - Robert Graysmith

The Message of the Sphinx - Graham Hancock/Robert Bauval

No One Here Gets Out Alive - Jerry Hopkins/ Danny Sugerman (Jim Morrison autobiography)

50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know - Russ Kick

The Bad Place - Dean R. Koontz

Strangers - Dean R. Koontz

Symbols, Signs & Signets - Ernst Lehner

The Henna Body Art Book - Aileen Marron

Beloved - Toni Morrison

Tar Baby - Toni Morrison

Forbidden Knowledge - Roger Shattuck

Dictionary of Symbols - Jack Tresidder

The Death Gate Cycle [Vol. 1-7 = Dragon Wing, Elven Star, Fire Sea, Serpent Mage, The Hand of Chaos, Into the Labyrinth, The Seventh Gate] - Margaret Weis/Tracy Hickman

Mr. Boston Official Bartender's and Party Guide

 

I also have the French version of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, which is a load of BS because it's a bad translation of the MOVIE, not the BOOK. Pocketback disappointment for a disgruntled hipster teen.

Anyhoo. Have at it or not.

No, actually, I can pronounce it just fine. I don't know what the hell happened, here.

BUT! The Christmas Bridge! A timeless excitement fable! Learn more about it HERE :
http://goo.gl/Fc1dF

or subscribe to Brian's YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/lasterdayfilms

Thanks for sticking around, guys. I love you all.

November 5th, 2011.

Z for Zero.

(Account will continue inactive until then. Rest assured you are not being ignored.)

Tequila and I, we're not friends, see.

We had a tumultuous fling long before I was of legal drinking age, and the breakup was not pretty.  In the seventeen years that have passed since then I've had nights of weakness when begging for a second chance seems like a good idea... and it's not.  It never is.  Tequila's bad news for me, and it's made it quite clear that it doesn't want me back.

Alas.  There is a bottle of almond Tequila in this household, now.  It's a bit like Amaretto's tough biker cousin, and it's been flirting with me as if I wasn't a married woman.  And I like the bad boys.  I do.

Three days ago this almond Tequila and I had a threesome with some pomegranate/orange iced tea from the grocery store (cheap little thing, but oh, so good).  We found, as drunk people sometimes do, the soundtrack to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, on tape, in a box in the garage.  Two hours later I logged onto Twitter and unfollowed everyone before bumping everyone off my Followers list.

It isn't something I decided three days ago.  It was a personal decision, and one that had been brewing for a few weeks.  There is an overwhelming amount of life happening at my face at this point in time, and there are people and things that need my attention outside of my computer.  I feel that I've spread myself much too thin for a long time, and I need the head space to focus properly again.  I love Twitter and I love everyone I've met there.  I've made unbelievable connections with amazing people, connections that would be absolutely impossible anywhere else.  I am grateful as hell for all of you, and for the extremely touching things I've read in the past three days.

I don't believe it is a permanent decision.  I am far too vain to simply delete the account and the 15K+ tweets behind it, and I always intended it to be a vehicle for Zero Override.  I believe I will return to it eventually, but it won't be any time soon.  For now, I need to spend some quality time with people dearest [AND nearest] to me, and I wanted to clear the slate completely before leaving.

I am still around, and still quite accessible and approachable.  There's this blog, there's email (knszero@gmail.com), a good number of you have my phone number and shouldn't hesitate to call or text.

I love you guys.  You've been like family to me over the last two and a half years.

Thank you for everything.

--Zero

THEA GILMORE - @theagilmore
"Down to Nowhere" - Songs From the Gutter (2002)

JANIE CHU - @janiechu
"Less Than Genius" - Roots (2006)

ERIN McCARLEY - @erinmccarley
"Sticky-Sweet" - Love, Save the Empty (2009) 

I'm about to share with the internet what I don't usually share with many people.

I've seen Creed in concert.  Tru Fax, Lord help me, I have.

Not entirely on purpose, and I didn't actually PAY to see them, see.  Back in '97 I was working at the glorious Peachtree Battle shopping center in good ole' 30305, and if you've ever been in the area you may be familiar with the once local-celebrity-hotspot Pasta Vino.

Well.  I'm told it was a sort of celebrity hotspot, I only ever saw Mr. Rich Robinson in his SUV and Cosby sweaters about four times. But word had it that one of the guys there knew a lot of people, and every now and then he'd get tickets to a show and give them to his staff, and the staff couldn't always go and then they'd pass them along to the little people making smoothies a few doors down.

99x was doing some show with Creed and Days of the New, and the only way to get tickets to this gig was to win them.  You had to WIN them, because, I'm guessing, they knew full well that they couldn't get anyone to shell out cash for them.  And the gorgeous Pasta Vino guy with the long dark hair and foreign accent came over to see who wanted this ticket of his, because he was busy that night Not Going to See Creed and Days of the New.  Understandable.

I was working that evening, but hey, it would be something to do after work. It was just up the street at the Roxy, not very far at all.

When I got there Creed were already halfway through, and I hate to say it, but they were actually not as bad as you'd think they would be.  I'm not saying they were fantastic, I'm just saying I expected them to be worse.  I've seen some real crap in my day, let me tell you.

In the interlude between the two bands I overheard bits and pieces of conversations from the people surrounding me, and the common ground for everybody was that nobody had won tickets from the station.  Everybody knew someone, or knew someone who knew someone else, and also, for the most part, they were only there because they had nothing better to do that night.

That's the reality for you kids, radio stations couldn't even give these tickets away.  They had to shove them down their friends' throats.

I digress.

Days of the New were terrible.  This was sad, because I really liked that one song they had on the radio and was almost looking forward to seeing them.  Like a real rock star, the guy at the microphone smashed his guitar at the end of the show and I caught a pretty big chunk of it.  I had it in my room for quite some time, and I think my mother may have thrown it away, because I have no clue what became of it.

To this day it's the only song of theirs I know.  I'm told they have a few decent songs, but I wouldn't know, because I've never listened to any of their albums.  And I own at least one of them, maybe even two -- I'm really not sure, to be honest.  All I know is that "Touch, Peel and Stand" isn't on whatever thing of theirs I have, so I haven't had the inclination to pop it in.

 What's the worst band you've ever seen in concert?

Layne Thomas Staley
August 22nd, 1967-April 5th, 2002 
R.I.P.

 

Alice In Chains, "Black Gives Way to Blue"

 

From 1994's No More Mr. Nice Girl.