Spin 'round, 'round baby

Julian loves to dance and sing when Ian plays guitar. If you can't get enough of Julian's spinning antics, you can see another video later today over on my YouTube account.

Our evening with My Morning Jacket

My Morning Jacket played Stubb's on Sunday night, and neighbor friend Katie and I gathered the energy that was left after our already intense weekends and headed downtown. Glad we pushed through the 3-hour set, much of which you can see though this set of YouTube videos. A little too ethereal and jam band at times, but in all a fantastic show I'll surely remember for awhile.

Patty Griffin's 'Be Careful'

Patty Griffin sang a really beautiful version of "Be Careful" at the KUT Live show on Friday night at the Austin City Limits studio. I didn't grab the whole song, but you can still feel the grace with which she sings.

The boys are back in town

Ian and Julian were in Waco for a few days this week, which left me alone in this house for more hours than I've been alone here since Julian was born (not much of an exaggeration, even with the long days of work I had this week...). Toddlers don't leave you much space or time for yourself. It's just a fact that parents of young ones grow to accept. I fight it still (Putting him down for a nap at 9:30 instead of 10 or ignoring his shouts of "mom" that start 20 minutes after we both go down for a nap, for example.) but there's little use. He's interested in everything in the house except his things. The DVDs are particularly of interest, especially since he's figured out how to reach the eject button even though it's as high and far from his reach as we can get it. Friends, babysitters, even family members — everyone but fellow newish parents — have a hard time really understanding the attention and energy required to tend to, much less entertain and educate, a 19-month-old.

That's where Ian gets the super gold stars. I've officially decided that staying at home with Julian full time is not anything I'd want or would be capable of doing. It's getting to the point where Ian, too, is having to make the conscious decision to continue with the current childcare situation. We've been talking about finding somewhere for him a few days a week, which I hope will happen in the next few months. It would be good for everyone in this house to have some more time to him or herself.

My time away from the child is taken up pretty wholly with work or work-related activities. Thankfully, that also means I've been eating some fine food and meeting some fabulous people. I even got to go to the circus this week! That food price story on Wednesday ended up being more work than I thought it would be, but it was worth it to try to explain why some of H-E-B's prices have dropped amid the largest food price increases since 1990.

Thanks to neighbor/sound guy Pat, we got to see the lovely Patty Griffin last night at the Austin City Limits studio on the UT campus. It was a great show; the live rendition of "Bad News" kicked ass and her last song, which she wrote for a graduating class, brought tears to my eyes. Sunday is My Morning Jacket, which I'm having a surprisingly hard time finding a partner to go with. Triste. They are too good to miss.

It's been a while, mixtape. Good to hear you.

I think the last mixtape I made was for Ian not long after we met, which was three years ago today, or so we figured. (Love makes memory fuzzy, you know.) I realized there have been plenty of good songs from the past few years that I needed to compile.

So here you go. A mixtape from me to you.

Stipeful

Oh, Michael Stipe. How you still have it. I really love this single off their most recent album Accelerate, but I think I love even more that they've posted the original video data online and are encouraging listeners to re-edit the video for "Supernatural Superserious."

REM has been together longer than I've been alive, and even though they are on a major label, they are coming up with some of the coolest stuff in the industry. No, they aren't the first band to do this, but this is right up there with Radiohead giving away In Rainbows.
Users are given an artist's work and encouraged to do with it what they please. REM also agreed to let NPR stations across the country broadcast their show at SXSW last month. And they're even giving great interviews to Terry Gross on Fresh Air. They're all over the place, working the media and letting the media work them.
So. Very. Smart.

I am excitable

No life-changing news so far this week. I'm actually kinda glad. I'm still getting used to the "Hey, I saw you on TV" that I've been getting at H-E-B and around town, and I'm having a hard time sleeping for all the ideas spinning in my head for this new job. Oh, and Julian's a little blossoming Einstein, too.

He's got all these genius babies to look up to, and now he's adding his own adorable contributions. He rubs his hands together when you turn on the faucet or say "Wash your hands" or "Clean." He points to the sky when he hears the birds, and I've even seen him sign "plane" when one soars overhead. He's got "more" down and, like Jenny posted recently, I can't help but agree that all I want is more of him lately. (And when moms talk about this concept of unending joy their babies bring, don't think we don't get frustrated and burnt out like everybody else. Just those feelings fade pretty quickly when they pull some charming stunt as simple as a smile and a hug.) Julian's just irresistible to me these days.

OK, enough with the kid-gushing. Here are some cool things I've come across lately. I wrote some captions for a photo package about an interactive photography installation in downtown Austin. It's called "I AM _____" and the artists ask you to fill in the blank. You'd be surprised at the responses.



See more photos here.

And only time for one more cool thing. Bon Iver played SXSW and the kids all flipped.

Here's why:



Julian's March photo gallery to come tomorrow...

Looking out from inside the Observatory

An election day that will surely end crazier than most days around here begins as many days lately have: me sleeping in 'cause I get home late from work, waking up in time to put Julian down for a nap, eat breakfast and think about going back to bed. It seems like the schedule around here has been sprint-crawl for a few weeks. From a lazy day when I don't leave the house except to go to work, others when there are a thousand things to do (wedding invitations, anyone?) before I step foot in the office. My two online classes are overlapping these next few weeks. It doesn't really matter how well I do in either (one's a headline-writing course; the other is for HTML), but I don't want to just blow them off and do poorly. So I've added a few more things to my plate and my body's readjusting to the extra work.

It's a give and take, though. I'm still halfway through Middlesex, progressing a page or two at a time before something comes up that I have to take care of. I've been relying on easy-to-throw-together meals lately, which means I haven't been eating or cooking like I want to. Julian and I did manage to watch the season 3 finale of Lost yesterday (wow! I love that show!), and Ian and I have arranged a few dates in the past few weeks, the most recent of which deserves it's own paragraph.

Ghostland Observatory is an Austin band that blew up a few years ago after a performance at the ACL Fest. The duo plays pretty awesome electronic dance music; the lead singer wears his hair in Willie-style pigtails and evokes Freddie Mercury in a very good way. We saw them at a CD release party for their new album "Robotique Majestique" at the newly renovated Austin Music Hall downtown. We danced and danced and danced. Damn, it was a good time. Members of the Longhorn drum and horn line came out at the end, at which time I promptly freaked out and danced some more. Felt good to get out to a show. We don't do that as often as I'd like, but when we do, it's a good time.

Before the show, Ian and I hit the Tiniest Bar in Texas, in honor of the recently Coloradofied Blythe. She's started her new reporting job at a newspaper out there. Seems happy about the move; I'm so glad for her. She's an adventurer whose adventure here had dimmed. It was time to take on something. We all miss her so. Work just isn't as fun without her. I keep thinking she's on vacation and she'll be back in a few days...

Anyway, here are a couple Ghostland songs for your to enjoy (or to decide you hate. The first song here is their big "hit" from the last album. The second is a new single of the new one. Having listened to all of "Majestique", I kinda prefer the older stuff.)





And a little Julian to get you through the day:

The good, the funny, the ugly

A few things from the past few days:

The good:

Musician Marketa Irglova's acceptance speech Sunday for winning an Oscar for best song. She and Glen Hansard accepted the award for "Falling Slowly" from the movie "Once."

Hi everyone. I just want to thank you so much. This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling, and this, the fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to hold this, it's just to prove no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible. And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don't give up. And this song was written from a perspective of hope, and hope at the end of the day connects us all, no matter how different we are. And so thank you so much, who helped us along way. Thank you.

The funny:



The ugly:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry was interviewed by Deborah Solomon of the New York Times Magazine this week. I'm not allowed to make comments on politics here, thus the text of the previous post removed, per ethics policy at work, but I will provide you a snippet of the interview.

Let’s talk about your new book, “On My Honor,” which draws on your experience as an Eagle Scout and champions the values of the Boy Scouts of America, to whom you are donating your royalties.

Yes, to their legal-defense fund.

Which has been fighting the A.C.L.U., to keep gays out of the scouts. Why do you see that as a worthy cause?

I am pretty clear about this one. Scouting ought to be about building character, not about sex. Period. Precious few parents enroll their boys in the Scouts to get a crash course in sexual orientation.

Why do you think a homosexual would be more likely to bring the subject of sex into a conversation than a heterosexual?

Well, the ban in scouting applies to scout leaders. When you have a clearly open homosexual scout leader, the scouts are going to talk about it. And they’re not there to learn about that. They’re there to learn about what it means to be loyal and trustworthy and thrifty.

But don’t you think that homosexuals might also be interested in being loyal and thrifty?

The argument that gets made is that homosexuality is about sex. Do you agree?

No.

Well, then why don’t they call it something else?

Did you know that there are no term limits for governor in Texas?

No biting, Julian

Julian's been growing and changing a lot these past few weeks. When I got back from New York, he was giving high-fives. Then, Ian got him to start saying "yes," which really sounds more like "jes." Only now is he getting the hang of what it actually means. He still calls most four-legged creatures "do" and both mom and dad "da." Ian and I have a theory that he does know "mama," but that he'll only use it around Ian. It's a case of "mama" being The Name That We Do Not Speak in my presence. He points to himself when you ask where the baby is and claps whenever he hears applause. He's backing himself off the bed and furniture, but isn't quite crawling on top. No back teeth just yet, but I know they are on their way.

His teeth have been a little bit of an issue this week. We've been watching Ruby while Sarah's at school and Aaron's at work, and Julian has taken to biting Ruby on
occasion. I've only caught him once, but I know it's happened a few times, either at their house or ours. My first real instance of feeling guilty for my child's behavior.

But something I'm not feeling guilty about is shutting down the milk factory. It wasn't as much a decision as I thought it would be. I pumped when I was in New York, but when I got back, Julian just wasn't as interested. He and Ian had been getting along fine with just cow's milk. I fed him once or twice when I got home from the trip, but then just stopped. Breastfeeding has been easier to let go of than I thought it would be. The bond that it helped form between Julian and me is still there. He got all that goodness from the milk. I feel really good about the whole experience, almost enough to forget the milk letdown (ouch!) or the leaking or the biting or the unique feeling of being a milk factory. Almost.

That's all I can think of right now that's new with Julian. He's waking up around 7:30 these days and still taking two naps, but I've heard they may start to drop one of those right about now. But then how will mommy take two naps a day?

_______________________________________________


Totally unrelated note: I have a query for you, Southwest Missouri readers. Do you remember a compliation/sampler album that Z 95.5 came out with in the mid-1990s. from KTOZ 95.5 FM? It was Z 95.5 then (now it's Alice 95.5), and was a killer radio station, wasn't it? (Cue Rachel rolling her eyes.) In my memory it really showcased the alternative scene way back then. And in junior high, one of the DJs came by a career fair and gave out these sampler CDs with everything from Desperately Wanting by Better than Ezra to Counting Blues Cars by Dishwalla to If God was One of Us by Joan Osbourne and artists such as Geggy Tah and Everclear. Now, I could be mixing us some of the artists on the playlist, but you get the idea. And I'm thinking/hoping you got one of these albums, too. I lost mine some years ago and would do anything to at least figure out what songs were on it so I make my own playlist. One of the songs I know for sure was on it is Love Songs by Fleming and John, which I present to you for this St. Valentine's Day. (Oh, and if you know anything about that album, give me a shout, or at least verify that I'm not crazy and it did exist.)




Tell me that story again, the one that has no ending.

Since you've been gone...

While I'm at the musical confessions, here's another: I love Kelly Clarkson. I'm late to the Kelly game, but Ian really made me listen to Breakaway and I must admit how hard I fell. Since U Been Gone is a helluva song; we can thank Linda Perry for that. But, damn, does Kelly Clarkson have the pipes to pull it off. I'm wondering when a song like this every really gets old.



Yup, she's a badass.
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So the Baker-Smiths have taken the little rascal off our hands for a little while today. What did I choose to do with my kid-free hours? Sew random things that I'll probably give away for Christmas. It was awesome. Here's a glimpse of what I've made lately.




Those are oven mitts/puppets for my nephew Michael. Right now, he puts his socks on his hands when he plays in his toy kitchen. ("Hot, hot, hot," he says over and over as he opens and closes the oven.) I also made a sling for my niece Jenna, but I'm afraid it's going to be too small. You think when you're making kid stuff, 'Oh, I'll just make it smaller,' but this is the second children's thing I've made lately that's turned out borderline too small. Crap. There's nothing I hate more than having to use a seam ripper.
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I caught most of Project Ugly last night. Once again, nothing spectacular. I liked 2/3 of the winning collection, though. They had to use old trends in three new outfits. Of course, the guy who had to work with shoulder pads lost. What an awful idea those were. I wonder if that will be one of the few trends in history that never makes a comeback...

Strawberry Wine

Country music has a very dear purpose in my life: to remind me of going to high school in Aurora. Who I was there. What I felt was important. What I loved. What I thought my life would be.

At least once during every trip home, I find myself at a country station, singing along to Faith Hill or Martina McBride. I was a full-fledged country fan between the years of 1998 and 2001. You name a Top 10 hit during that time and I could probably give you a lyric. I saw Alan Jackson, folks. So now, a few years on, I'm completely out of touch with popular country, but I catch a glimpse when no one is looking. Car rides back home. And in Austin, late night TV when Ian's fallen asleep on the couch before I get home.

I saw last night Brad Paisley has this song "Letter to Me" that's all about not thinking that high school was the best time of your life. I haven't had any doubt about that for a long time, but watching that video takes me back to when I was the one who couldn't live past Friday nights. And breaking up after a few months felt like I'd never breathe again. Front porches, tail gates, mom and pop shops. First loves, first losses. Unanswered prayers for God's sake.

The nostalgia that kind of music, with those kinds of lyrics, stirs up is why it's so popular, I think. For people who thrive on budding adulthood rather than the real thick of it, that is. For people who have not much more, "Seventeen" by Tim McGraw (which I thoroughly enjoyed when I was 17) really hits home. I embrace a token amount of nostalgia, but I've spent so many years distancing myself from that life, who I was then. I can only take so much before it feels too close to home. I start to feel the holey fabric of Rawley's red and black #12 jersey. I see the digital readout of the Subaru GL10. I smell the mill, the band room. I hear my lockers slam and Coach Heman yelling at us to hit the court. Small town high school life is rife with succulent cliches.

I guess it's no wonder, then, that there is an entire genre of music dedicated to rekindling your memory of this period of your life. When you didn't really have a clue, but you didn't really have to.

Anybody got any Deanna Carter?

I feel it all

We are headed to the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex today for some quality family T-day time. Getting a late start, as you can tell. That's what happens when you have a dog to drop off and a load of laundry to do. I'll try not too hard to focus on the fact that we're breaking rule Numero Uno of traveling Broyles style: Do not burn daylight. Clearly, we're already http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifa Knox-Broyles household. We won't leave before noon. Unheard of = yes. Something I'm just going to accept and make the most of = yes.

Did y'all like that Golden State song? I'm a big fan of sharing music and new artists, so I'm going to try to post more songs on here. I love this so-called Web 2.0, where the goal is to give Internet users access to the tools they want/need to make the Internet work for them. Imeem is a perfect example. I googled "John Doe Golden State" and found exactly what I wanted: an mp3 with an option to embed the file and player on whatever page I wanted. People do the same thing with Myspace; I just use the Web site instead. Today, I go back to Imeem (See what happens when you deliver a product that someone wants? An instant fan and invaluable word-of-mouth advertising. Erin would be proud.) and dig around. I quickly stumble upon Miss Feist herself, who's been enjoying quite the surge in much-deserved popularity after this recent album, "The Reminder." Girl snagged herself an Apple commercial for chrissake.

Here's one of my favorite tracks off the album and you tell me what you think.



Been feeling pretty good lately. After that spate of sickness/fussiness from the kid, our momentum is back. Ian's been recording a lot lately. He's got some killer tracks laid down for some of those songs. "Very Phil Spector" he's calling his recording style. Old Phil Spector, right? Too bad most people of my generation will only know him because of this murder he's accused of. The Wall of Sound was his idea. Everything from hip hop to modern country uses it these days. All those layers of music on top of one another. Just makes things more interesting, more engaging. Ian's doing a really good job of that with his album. I even caught him using a capo to turn an electric guitar into a mandolin. That crafty kid.

Music is really both a curse and a blessing for him. Tortured artist is so cliche, but damn is it true. Recording can either put him in the best of moods or the worst. He just wants it to be so perfect.

.....

damn, since I started writing this post I read a refusing-to-nap Julian two books, gave him a bath, fed him some peaches, put away the dishes, filled the dishwater, burned the crap out of my thumb and two fingers, stepped barefoot in peaches and realized exactly how much work it will be to take the family away from home for two and a half days.

My initial cheery disposition has been sucked from me (temporarily, I hope). Maybe I'll remember to pack some more in addition to the hundred other things a good mom is required to remember to ensure we make it through the end of the trip, everyone fed, clothed, well-rested and intact. Uff.

Wish me luck.

Golden State

Please, dear readers, listen to this song. John Doe, formerly of the band X, sings alongside Kathleen Edwards. Their heavenly harmonies and emotive lyrics have been making me play this song over and over and over since I first heard it awhile ago.

Babbling

I can't believe it's taken me this long to discover babble.com. The site's very cool, very hip creators have self-proclaimed it the "The magazine and community of a new generation of parents," and though I admit how interesting and relevant I find the content, it does scream hipster. (And in the work/social circles I find myself in, this is as pejorative a term as any.) Skinny jeans notwithstanding, you have to marvel at the intriguing collection of columns/blogs/essays they present.

Exhibit A: "Breast friends"
#Pondering the idea of breast-feeding your soulmate's offspring.

Exhibit B: "The Over-Parenting Crisis" by the woman who wrote the book "Attachment Parenting" way back in 1999.
#About the over-ambitious attachment parenting movement that is having major unintended effects on kids whose lives are disinfected, micromanaged and fretted over from Day 1.

Exhibit C: "This is the part where I name drop"
#Hanging out with Dave Grohl-the-daddy not Dave Grohl-the-badass-lead-singer-of-the-Foo Fighters.

I'm very intrigued by the idea of pitching stuff to them. But what stuff? This blog? That essay I wrote back in the spring? Maybe this is the swift kick in the rear I needed to start writing more seriously again. We shall see what comes of it.

Anyway. Babble.com. Check it out if you're interested in parenting methods.

If you are interested in modern, melancholy photography, I have two recommendations.

Bluejake.com
#One of the founders of Gothamist.com keeps a photoblog of the architecture and intrinsic beauty of a forgotten side of New York City.


3191
#A year of mornings, captured by two friends who live 3191 miles apart.


And don't forget. PostSecret is updated on Sundays. Ya know, if you're a PostSecret kind of gal.

Pots o' gold

Listening to the new Radiohead album, In Rainbows, right now, the one that’s been in the news lately because the band is giving digital versions of the songs away for free on on its Web site. Well, to me it was free. You can pay what you want (in pounds, nonetheless. And at $2 to the pound…Makes me think of the time I bought the Darkness' retro big hair 80s album — with the mega hit of 2003 “All you need is a thing called love” — a total of three times. Yes, I spent roughly $60 on this album. Was it worth it? Yes, if only for the feeling of fitting in with the British crowd that owning the album gave me. And that is one killer song. I digress…). I did a lot of moral calculating in regard to how much I would pay, or if I would pay at all. I decided I’d pay through my own little barter system with Radiohead. They’re too busy being superfamous music gods to notice, of course. But my karma conscious was getting to me. So I figured I’d do something that I deemed equal in value of what I’d pay for the album in a record store. Pass on the goodness. So, what is worth 10 songs? (Songs that turned out to be really, really good. More on that later.) As much as an entire screenplay? An afternoon for free babysitting? Designing another poster for work? Or maybe just a well thought out blog post about the situation, the band, the music?

I’d love to have a chat with those Radiohead boys about this. Would they say about the exchange of art for art? Is it a fair deal? Not nearly as many people will read this blog as who will download their album. It took them infinitely longer to record that album than for me to type this entry. What about art for good deeds? Maybe I should give money to KUT radio, the local NPR station that has been spinning lots of Radiohead tracks this week in connection with the album’s release. Wonder what Thom Yorke and his buddies had in mind.

And it’s not like they need any more fans. I think they really just want to share what they have felt compelled to great, just like we all do. That’s why blogs are free. That’s why YouTube exists. When people talk about the democracy of the Internet, that’s what they are talking about. You don’t need a record label or a book deal to put your goods out there. (I’m going to start a blog list soon, and I’ll share some of the fountains of creativity I’ve found on the net.)

But here’s what I’ve got for now. This album is really something I’m happy to have, so I’ll share that with others who might be interested. You may not have listened to Radiohead before (I’m a relative newbie, too), but they are giving you this great chance to start. Or at least try ‘em out. They are hoping that you’ll take them up on the offer that your time spent listening to their songs is worth at least what you’d pay in a store. That listening to their songs is worth the time it takes you to do so. How much are you worth an hour? Or 42 minutes, rather, in the case of In Rainbows.

It’s an interesting marketing plan and I hope it works. The music industry desperately needs a change. Good for Radiohead for offering a solution. It works for me. I really like this album. Maybe you’ll really like something on this site. Maybe you’ll enter your own little barter deal with the kiddos (or Kid-A-dos :)) and have a listen yourself.
 alb