Monday, May 6, 2013

Crabb Bits: Boone Novy, Iowa City Bargain Hunt etc.

The weekend came and gone, the basement got dried up enough to go to Iowa City for a quick afternoon bargain hunt and Record Collector continues to have a good bunch of folks sorting through their vinyl section although Kurt hasn't had much in the CD department.  Always wanted to hear Nico's Chelsea Girls (Polydor) and it's an odd assortment of songs provided by Lou Reed and John Cale but with more of an orchestra behind her than rock band it kinda floats on by without remembering it much.  3 songs were composed by a young and upcoming songwriter by the name of Jackson Browne but outside the noisy Reed/Cale/Nico 8 minute It Was  A Pleasure Then, it's mostly sad, MOR songs.  But I think I more interested at the dude who dropped 56 dollars on such stuff from The Eagles and a Mike McDonald LP that was up there in the dollar bins for eons. I did find a Dave Baby Cortez Happy Organ on LP.

Housewerks had nothing I needed but did pick up a curio at Crowded Closet, Jim Nabor's alter ego Gomer Pyle Shazam (Columbia later issued as a 2 on 1 CD from Wounded Bird). The only time Jim did Gomer on record, it's in par with Roger Miller, since he wrote 4 songs on this and 3 came from Buddy Edd Wheeler and the arrangements were done by Dave Gates (later of Bread fame) who wrote three songs for this as well.  For country corn it does beat Florida Georgia Line.  Between monsoons Goodwill had a bunch of Kingston Trio LPs and I picked up Here We Go Again and The New Frontier (with Greenback Dollar to which The Townedgers covered twice on the upcoming Soul Biscuits  comp).  And the weather, it started out partly cloudy but down there in Iowa City they got a monsoon of one and half inches of rain in 15 minutes which swelled up the creeks, replenished the standing water in the fields and of course the damn hole in the driver's side of the car again.  From Spring Storm Cunt still in the area and throwing gulf of Mexico moisture big time in Iowa City, I decided I had enough of that and took the long way home.  Thankfully the rain was minimal here.

Cinco De Mayo was a big event and most Mexican places were filled to capacity on Sunday although in Iowa City on Saturday I ended up going to El Ranchero but a big full meal and usually they have the best food but the rice was dry and crunchy and that spells trouble for me.  Sunday, my best friend Russ and his wife Debbie joined me up Villa's Patio for their Mole and belated Christmas and birthday gifts.  After all it was three months after my birthday but better late than never to which they paid for my dinner.  Thanks guys. And for the second straight week at Half Priced Books got to shoot the shit with Tim to which we were chatting up a storm till an old next door neighbor's introduced herself as Lori Seeks all grown up with two teenaged boys chasing each other around the SUV.  She knew me right off the bat, myself I didn't know who she was till she said who she was.

So we are halfway through spring and it seems like we haven't gotten out of winter in some spots. While Spring Storm Cunt could have been just as bad as Spring Storm Bitch (16 inches of snow in Owatonna, the new happening place in Minnesota) I think we topped about 2 inches at most in a three rain soaked day bash.  Things should be okay for now but they're predicting more by the end of the weekend.  The cycle never ends when it starts.

Monday marks one year since Boone Novy passed away and we miss the big guy but it's also a good thing that he wasn't around when the Minnesota big shot made the printing announcement going up there and leaving us to fend for ourselves.  I haven't decided what to get for a anniversary gift for being there 25 years. I'm kinda leaning toward getting a tree planted there in my name, something to remember me by when my tenure is done there.  I look at it as a tribute but also a reminder that if and when the time comes, there'll be a reminder that I was there.  I'm sure I will have a 25 year blog coming up soon.

Ratings, we did pretty good, second best month ever although that 49 views on April 29th really took the wind out of the sails  2nd best blog was First And Last Fashion Show to which I thought would be good enough to put out a sequel but that blog has had a disappointing 14 views in the three weeks I have put that up. There won't be a third installment.  The strangest blog with the most views, The Paraphernalia Blog of 2009.  Mexican Jumping Beans Top Ten continues to bring in the viewers, The Willie Nelson 80 top ten a very disappointing 21 views, the George Jones tribute a lousy 9.  But the First/Last Crabb Fashion Trash Blog did better than both of them blogs.

Futurerama got canceled again by Comedy Central after three seasons and countless bungling by that network.  I caught some of the repeats at times but hell if and when it came on, I never knew half the time.  The Cleveland Show, a spin off of Family Guy got canceled as well although Bob's Burgers and Family Guy and American Dad were renewed.  The Cleveland Show was the less of the Seth McFarlane cartoons although I did watch it on FOX and Adult Swim which may or may not pick that up or Futurerama.  The Family Guy is a love/hate thing, sometimes it's great and sometimes you just scratch your head.

Growing up I was and remain a big fan of Dragnet, the long time crime show to which the black and white series has fallen beneath the cracks (some shows have shown up on cheapo DVD comps) but the 1966 to 1970 era remains the best due to Harry Morgan complimenting Jack Webb's Joe Friday's persona. Dragnet continues to jump around the cable channels beginning with Nick At Nite and then on to Antenna TV and now has resurfaced on Me TV as well as the even longer running Leave It To Beaver.  Married With Children replaces Beaver on Antenna TV.

In a perfect world, I would replace FOX news with Me TV and FOX Business Crap Channel with Antenna TV but our shitty cable company mixes up the CW with Antenna TV from time to time raising my brother's ire.  But then again the only thing I ever watched on the CW was a neutered repeat of The Longest Yard with Burt Reynolds in it.  But then again I don't watch much TV anymore anyway.

It dumbs me down.

No comments: