OH HELLO PABLO - 8.18.25
Monday, August 18, 2025
KCMO
Dear Goobers, Weirdos, and Happy Malcontents,
Yesterday’s travel day was long, with a 2-hour delay in Orlando while they dislodged mouse ears from a flap, plus code red lightning strikes within 3 miles of the airport. The delay prevented a lighting-energized tunnel from turning us into a pile of Blue Diamond smoked almonds with melted plastic luggage. We were up at 5:15 in San Jose, Costa Rica and home at 9:00 PM in KC. It was nice to see our guy Pablo, and throw old refried beans out of the fridge. I caught a cold over the weekend and feel super crummy.
got treats?
I am reading Diary of An Invasion by Andrey Kurkov. At this point, early in the Spring of 2022, the bombing has started. Displacement and the chaos of evacuation are starting. I recommend this book if you want to put the Ukraine invasion in context while keeping the company of a generous and fair narrator. Reading the book concurrent with our prez having American soldiers kneel to roll out the red carpet for a dictator was aggravating indeed. Authoritarians stick together, for the graft. It’s like PEO, but the goal is to fuck over pretty much everyone. Now I am out of my depth and you should read Anne Applebaum instead.
Office supply side-note, I just re-loaded my Lamy fountain pen after burning through a cartridge, Rambo-style, on vacation. This slightly coarse paper drinks up the ink. For a while I was using Mitsubishi 9800 2B pencils. I’m always changing up writing implements, but I don’t grab just whatever. Promotional ball point pens can trigger depression. I like to stick with one thing for a while. I’ve also gone through times where I try to write in cursive, but it is a labor and hard to read and transcribe.
I listened to my new Bandcamp finds on the plane yesterday. The song “Out There” by Tex Perkins and The Fat Rubber Band really got me. Also “Real Wild Life” by Ed Kuepper, “Toe Pain” by Ed Cole, “Eternally Yours” by Laughing Clowns, and “The Bedroom Door” by Peter Wilde.
My pal Jeff AKA Jeffro Skull recommends the 2006 Radio Birdman LP on Yep Roc, and tipped me off to a reissue of New Christs on vinyl, available at Green Noise site. (Notice the Aussie rock theme running strong after reading Stranded by Clinton Walker, a birthday gift from Jeffro).
I spent a lot of time at the Green Noise brick and mortar store in Eugene (Hi Debbie!), across from the downtown post office, before Ryder moved it to Portland. He hasn’t owned it in some time, but he started a damn good thing, rock and roll legacy running strong.
