PlayadelSoul and His Oversized Piehole

It has been 15 years since Liz Phair released the album, Exile in Guyville, and it has been recently remastered and rereleased, which has led me to listen to it, non-stop, for the last week.

I remember when I first heard this album. It was love at first listen. The lyrics were like I had never heard, and the guitar work, while basic, was powerfully moving. It was rock and roll, angst and hope mixed in a blender and then delivered by the girl next door. My first impression was that these words could not possibly be coming out this angel’s mouth.

6′ 1″

I bet you fall in bed too easilyWith the beautiful girls who are shyly braveAnd you sell yourself as a man to saveBut all the money in the world is not enough

I bet you've long since passed understanding What it takes to be satisfiedYou're like a vine that keeps climbing higherBut all the money in the world is not enoughAnd all the bridges blown away keep floating up

Its coldAnd roughAnd I kept standing 6'1" Instead of 5'2"And I loved my lifeAnd I hated you

Its cold, out thereAnd roughAnd I kept standing 6'1" Instead of 5'2"And I loved my lifeAnd I hated you

or

Divorce Song

And when I asked for a separate roomIt was late at nightAnd we'd been driving since noonBut if I'd knownHow that would sound to youI would have stayed in your bedFor the rest of my lifeJust to prove I was rightThat it's harder to be friends than loversAnd you shouldn't try to mix the twoCause if you do it and you're still unhappyThen you know that the problem is you

And it's true that I stole your lighterAnd it's also true that I lost the mapBut when you said that I wasn't worth talking toI had to take your word on thatBut if you'd knownHow that would sound to meYou would have taken it backAnd boxed it up and buried it in the groundBoxed it up and buried it in the groundBoxed it up and buried it in the groundBurned it up and thrown it away

You put in my hands a loaded gunAnd then told me not to fire itWhen you did the things you said were up to meAnd then accused me of trying to fuck it upBut you've never been a waste of my timeIt's never been a dragSo take a deep breath and count back from tenAnd maybe you'll be alright

And the license saidYou had to stick around until I was deadBut if you're tired of looking at my face I guess I already amBut you've never been a waste of my timeIt's never been a dragSo take a deep breath and count back from tenAnd maybe you'll be alright

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2akK4tYSwY&feature=related

The album stayed on heavy rotation in my house, for a year, only to be replaced by Whipsmart, which didn’t provide the sophmore slump experienced by many whose first album was declared a masterpiece.

Supernova

I have looked all over the place, But you have got my favorite face.Your eyelashes sparkle like gilded grass and your lips are sweet and slipperyLike a cherub's bare wet ass ...

'Cause you're a human supernova,A solar superman.You're an angel with wings of fire,A flying, giant friction blast.

You walk in clouds of glitter and the sun reflects your eyes.And every time the wind blows, I can smell you in the sky.Your kisses are as wicked as an F-16And you fuck like a volcano and you're everything to me...

'Cause you're a human supernova,A solar supermanYou're an angel with wings of fire,A flying, giant friction blastYou're a giant, flying friction blast

'Cause you're a human supernova,A solar superman,You're an angel with wings of fire,A flying, giant friction blast ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTv_zkPVcEM&feature=related

During these couple of years, I had the chance to see her live, a few times. I do believe that these were probably some of the few concerts where I actually tried to make my way up front, and stood there like a 12 year old girl at a Jonas Brothers’s show, singing along with every word.

Then, she vanished.

But, she came back. Married, if I am not mistaken. Had a baby, as well. It changed her. Some claimed it made her soft but, to me, she just grew up. Her music was still good and relevant to me. She released Whitechococlatespaceegg, in 1998.

Polyester Bride

I was talking, not two days agoTo a certain bartender I' lucky to knowAnd I asked Henry, my bartending friendIf I should bother dating unfamous men

And Henry said, "You're lucky to even know me.You're lucky to be alive. You're lucky to be drinking here for free cause I'm aSucker for your lucky, pretty eyes."

And then he said, "Do you want to be a Polyester Bride?Or do you want to hang your head and die?Do you want to find alligator cowboy booths they just put on sale?Do you want to flap your wings and fly away from here?"

I was sitting, not two days agoFeeling lonely 'cause I'm just feeling lowAnd I asked Henry, my bartending friendWhy it is that there are those kind of men

"Princess, do youReally want to flap your wings and fly...Because you've got time."He keeps telling me, "You've got time."But I don't believe him"You've got time."I keep on pushing harder...I keep on pushing farther awayBut he keeps telling me, "Baby, baby, do you want to be a polyester bride?""Do you want to flap your wings and fly away from here?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z36Z0Fo-7zQ&feature=related

Her latest releases have been panned by many longtime fans as being “sell outs”. I would venture to say that a “sold out” Liz Phair is better than 99% of anything else out there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xG3KH8syKg&feature=related

As I said, I have been listening to a lot of Liz Phair, these days. I believe that music can play an important part in our lives. It plays a bigger part in mine than it does with the majority of the world. Liz Phair has taught me a lot about women and how they think and feel. I am grateful for that and thought I would share. Hope she finds a new fan, somewhere out there.

Back to more Indiana, next time out.

My friend, Rick, posted this on In The Roo.  Andy and Jen do some really good work with stray animals in Playa.  This is a labor of love, and they are wonderful people.  If you are reading this, could you please take the time to register and vote.  It only takes a couple of minutes and could mean a lot.  Thanks.

Susie (a cardholder since 1978… errr…2000 ) received an email from American Express about a project they are sponsoring.
She responded to the email and the rest will tell you what you need to know.

We need as many nominations as we can get to share in the prize package
Do we have a good chance? Who knows? But it’s worth the effort, don’t ya think?
Send the link above to everyone you know. The Shelter needs your votes.
If we get tons and tons of votes, well…this is how the prize is awarded.

We may not provide drinking water for the children of Africa, but I think the Peanut Shelter offers a hell of a lot to this community.
Just so you know, if you aren’t an AmEx cardholder, you will have to register as a guest. I don’t think AmEx is a huge spammer, so we should be safe providing our email address.
Vote People!!!!
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Hurry…nominations end September 1st.

Disclaimer: Blog.com has decided to deny me access to the font name and size, so who knows how this will look. Maybe they are taking cues from playa.info and are looking for a cut.

Anyway, after a good night’s sleep, we awoke to some rather chilly (for us Mexicanos) temps. That didn’t deter the kids from watching one of their new movies (I think it was Teen Titans) before breakfast.

Today, we were off to visit my grandmother. At 96, she rocks. She is an inspiration and I told her so. She has raised some good kids who in turn raised good kids (well, my sister at least. ;)) who are now doing their best to raise good kids. What better legacy is there?

After some time with Grandma, we took off back to Wabash. As I had spotted a Dairy Queen on the way into town, it was time to reward the boys for behaving so well (or was it me that behaved well? I can’t rememember). As it seems customary to do so, I include a menu in my trip report.

We had Waffle Bowl Sundaes, which are pictured at the bottom left. Spectacular, and just the start of a week of good stuff not available to us, in Playa.

The rest of the day was spent shopping at WalMart and The Big R, where we found lots of summer clothes for next to nothing. Of course, you buy enough at next to nothing, and it turns into next to something, which is where we ended up.

The next day, we decided to tour around Wabash. Here are some shots. My sons love Abraham Lincoln (thanks to his appearances in The Fairy Godparents TV series), and were pleased to see a statue of him. Like most boys, they also like anything to do with firepower, so the war museum was of special interest, as well.

This concludes Part 2.

Won’t bore anyone with the transportation details but, suffice it to say that, we ran into the normal delays and airline excuses coming and going.   Led to some unplanned running on the way there and some hours of boring delays, on the way back.

After our day of travel, we arrived in Wabash and settled in for the night.  We had plans to visit my aunt and uncle at their lake home, on Sunday.

Took these photos on our last day, but will start with them.  This is where we stayed, which is where my grandmother lived before moving into assisted living.  Very quiet, and lots of room for the kids to play.

The field rotates, on a yearly basis, between corn and soy beans.  This year, it was soy.  Indiana sweet corn is the best, and we saw miles and miles of it.

The next morning, we woke up and headed to Lake Maxinkuckee, where my aunt and uncle spend their US time.  They also have a house in Isla Mujeres.  We could have spent the whole week, here.

They have a wonderful home surrounded by beautiful flowers.  I couldn’t do it justice with my camera.

The lake is very big, and we decided to go out on it and check out what the neighbors were up to. 

These neighbors were probably out looking for someone to clean all those windows.

Benji drove for a bit, until he wanted to go “super rapido” and discovered the throttle.

Along the way, we cruised by Culver Military Academy, which is a private school (obviously).  My aunt told me that 40% of the students are foreign, and many of them are latinos.

On our way back, we had to gas up and Benji decided it was a good time to pose with his new sunglasses.

We made it back to land, where our private transport was awaiting.

We made it about 30 feet when the kids saw the tree swing.

My uncle cooked up some NY strips, my aunt made some side dishes and we spent the rest of the day vegging in front of the TV, watching the Olympics and catching up.  A great day.

And, a great dog.  This is Sam (Samantha).  You won’t find a sweeter canine.

My family and I have not been back to the States in over two years, so we decided to take a trip, this Summer, to visit my grandmothers. Both are well into their 90’s, and we figured that there might not be too many more opportunities for them to see the kids. My parents are going to meet us there, and we are all pretty excited.

Although our destination isn’t the most exciting of places, I have fond memories of Indiana. Both of my parents grew up there, my dad from Wabash and my mom from Logansport. The two towns only separated by the town of Peru.

Wabash is the more famous of the two (you know, the Wabash Cannonball and the Wabash River). As you can see, it was also the first electrically lit city.

It is the type of town referred to as “fly over country” and would be a poster child for Middle America. People love their country, and celebrate it as often as possible.

It is also the home of the Ford Meter Box Co.. If you ever look down, on the street, and read the water meter (which most people don’t, I imagine), you are likely to see this.

I spent many a Summer in Wabash, and have very fond memories of life there. When my family returned from living in England, for 5 years, I lived with my grandparents for a semester of school. It was during the winter, and we did a lot of ice skating, ice fishing and sledding. It was also the first and only time I ever saw a demonstration by the KKK (which, unfortunately, was founded in Indiana). My cousins and I did not know any African Americans, but we knew we didn’t like the KKK. We spent the afternoon strategically firing snowballs at the 5 or 6 racist fucks that were spewing their hatred from street corner. We weren’t alone, either.

We will also be visiting Lake Maxinkuckee, which is a very large and beautiful lake. It is where the Culver Military Academy is located. Last time we were there, we were able to watch the Notre Dame football team practice, as this is where they do their preseason practices.

We will also be visiting Logansport, which is a little bit different from Wabash.  Years ago, it was a lily white town.  When the meat plant opened, a lot of Mexican immigrants made their way to town to work.  You can even find Bimbo products, in the local grocery store.  We will probably go to Sunday Mass, in Spanish.

A lot of time will be spent in WalMart, K-Mart, Target, Sears and any other stores we can find to buy clothes for Playa. As it is the end of Summer, in Indiana, we hope to score some cheap summer clothing (year round wear, for us). The kids are excited to play putt-putt, and I am looking forward to eating some good Indiana corn on the cob. In any event, we are off this Saturday. Nowadays, I feel like a foreigner when I am in the US. I automatically say “gracias” at the check out line, and get nervous going through immigration with the family. Despite this, I want my kids to get a taste of Americana and to see their bisabuelas, before God calls them home.

Report when I get back.