you should really buy this

I am currently listening to what could be my favorite Daniel Lanois song... "Frozen" from the album "Belladonna". I'm in the middle of my workday, amid salary negotiations and keeping pretty busy. But when I hear Lanois play that pedal steel with the syncopated reggae beat in the background, all I can do is simply stop in my tracks. The pedal steel is heavenly... the melodic accents swoop in and out and flourish with moments that make you tingle, and the drums sound like they are played on the desk next to me.. lively and full of electricity. I'm not sure I've heard a better Lanois instrumental track... It's crucial.

Try it for yourself, buy the track from itunes (click here to buy). It's track number ten.

If you don't like it, I'll give you your dollar back. There it is... the Rustified Guarantee.

Peace

24 hours in boulder

BOULDER is one of those small western liberal towns filled with, well, conservative white liberals. If you can find a dive-bar in Boulder besides the Outback saloon, I'll give you 20 bucks! But underneath the expensive eateries, beautiful mountains, and craft breweries lie many stories to be told. Stories of trips to the emergency room to get stitches after defeating a mountain lion with my own two hands, crazy friends with thick eyebrows, eastern european immigrants and their food in denver, and deer chasing falafel. Here we go...


MIKEY "HE LIKES IT" SUN
Friday - 9:00 PM... err, 10:00 PM... maybe 11 PM?
He loves everything, you can't bring him down, and if you're talking about living the crazy life - look no further than my friend Mikey. Mikey works at the Southern Sun Brewery (previously mentioned in another post), and is quite possibly the jolliest man I have ever met. Seth Williams, watch out! Not only is Mikey always happy, but he always gives me free beer. Score. Oh, and when he says his birthday party is starting at 9 PM, he actually means that it sure as hell won't start at 9. I think it's a mysterious formula that actually decides when the party starts, a formula involving illegal substances... and I sure as hell know not to show up at 9, or 10, and hmm... maybe 11 if I want to start the party. But you have to love Mikey, b/c, well, he's Mikey!


MOUNTAIN LION VICTORY - TAKE ME TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM
Saturday - 12:30 PM
So, yeah man, I was, like, climbing this gnarly mountain, and this huge giiiinormous mountain lion crept up on me... let's call him APACHE and i slit his throat and he retaliated and swiped his claws through my flesh and i, like, pulled out a this rad knife I bought at REI with this sweet serrated blade and razor hook and lifetime warranty and I totally gouged his eyes out, choked him with my bare hands, and then dragged him a whole effin mile down from the mountains and and through my neighborhood and then drank hoppy beers with my friends on my deck while we celebrated with national camera crews taking pictures as I raised a toast in honor of my mighty victory. Actually, I was washing dishes and a pint glass broke, slit my palm, and required 5 stitches at the emergency room.



ORTHODOX FESTIVAL - FOOD, EASTERN EUROPEANS, MORE FOOD
Saturday - 5:00 PM
Four hours after accidentally slitting my hand, I'm ready to hit up the Orthodox food festival in Denver. By Orthodox food, I mean Eastern Orthodox... like Russian, Serbian, Polish, and most other Eastern European ethnicities. Also, Greek and African Orthodox thrown in b/c they attend the local parish. See, I am the product of 2 Slovak immigrants (my great-grandparents), so I grew up eating staple eastern european foods like pierogis, cabbage rolls, and kielbasa. So, when I get a chance to have some good "hunky" food, I am all over it! And let me tell you right now, it was carpathian heritage bliss. Not only the food, but I stepped inside the local Orthodox churched filled with all it's icons, rituals, incense, and eternal time (as our friend said, when you step into the church, your watch doesn't mean anything - you're now on holy eternal time). This was the faith of my great grandparents... the faith of my people, and it was good to be home. And that hot Serbian girl... now we're talking... she can make my food, shares my ethnic and faith heritage... can we just get married or what? I'll see her next Sunday, uh huh.


IS THAT A DEER EATING MY FALAFEL?
Saturday - 8:30 PM
After returning from Denver, I stopped by the garden plot to water my plants and pick some zucchini. What I ran into was a group of new friends drinking mojitos under the makeshift mountain gazebo and a deer taking an evening stroll looking for some falafel (it's Boulder!). I had a drink, met some new people, and ran into some local wildlife... i gotta say it was a good day. Oh did I mention I went fly-fishing this morning? And I'm making garden- grown zuchini parmigiana?

That's 24 hours in Boulder...

i have the hops for hops

For some unbeknownst reason, I currently have an insatiable thirst for hops. Maybe it's the hot summer and the search for the perfect thirst quencher... maybe not. Anyway, hops gives beer flavor. For example, pale ales are beers with a lot of hops... an example of a standard pale ale is sierra nevada. it's not super bitter, but definitely has a bite.

So, with that i recommend the following three beers for your enjoyment. Try them and let me know what you think... you should be able to find any of these at a specialized liquor store.

1. Stone IPA from Stone Brewing
2. Hazed and Infused from Boulder Beer
3. Hop Ottin IPA from Anderson Valley

PS: I guess colorado is like grad school for beer lovers. it seems to be the case. damn hippies!

hot as balls

it's been hot in boulder this week. very hot.

as a middle-aged irishman once said to me at the old brazenhead pub in dublin...
him: you know how hot it is in arizona?
josh and i: how hot?
him: (pause - looks us in the eyes) it's ... FECKIN hot!
so, that's how hot it has been here: absolutley feckin hot.
104 feckin degrees hot.
i live in a kiln.... anybody have a schmock? what?

it's been a while since i've posted anything, so here are some thoughts:

1. i'm getting a promotion at my job (tech company). this should be a good move for the time-being, and will allow me to pay off some bills (this one goes out to los angeles!) and save some money to be used for a very noble activity (travelling!) of my choosing.

2. real estate. not many of my friends in boulder or los angeles own houses... it's all about renting b/c they are so expensive in these markets. but nashville... even if i never move back there, it seems like things are growing like crazy and i should seriously look into this as an investment. we'll see.

3. snowboarding. so, i'm struggling to replicate the benefits of surfing. i think it was the one exercise that i actually enjoyed. basically, besides getting on occasional streaks of sit-ups and pushups, i'm not that into pushing myself to run or whatever. not very fun. so, i'm thinking about some options. water polo. anyone ever play? it's competitive, you swim a alot, it looks pretty exciting. right??? but definitely snowboarding... i'm thinking of getting a season pass this year and trying my hand at transitioning from the water to the snow... but this won't start for 3 months or so.

4. amante coffee. one of my new favorite places (could it be the very fine ladies?)... it's a bar, they serve coffee. it's a coffee bar, they serve liquor. hip enough to visit at night, chill enough to relax in the morning. love it. http://amantecoffee.com/

5. revision. screw a feckin house. i could travel the world with that kind of money. shit... toss the house idea. i'd rather spend a year hitting up every place from new zealand to the blue coastline of croatia, to eastern europe checking out my roots in slovakia, drinking absinthe in prague, finding the ralston clan in paisley scotland, taking taxis in the neon glow of tokyo... now we're talking! let the good times roll!

well, take care everyone. come out to boulder and visit! plan that boarding trip!

PEACE

Cops Arrest Bridge Trolls in Boulder

Here is why the rest of Colorado thinks Boulder is crazy, check the link below.

Boulder bikers, joggers confront bridge trolls

Excerpts from the article include:
"several joggers encountered a modern-day variety of bridge trolls in a park"
"he was a troll and claimed the bridge as his own "
"apparently having neither a piece of gold nor a goat "
"Boville told police he had taken a single tab of LSD, and Hibbs had taken two tabs. "

Wow. Bring some gold the next time you visit... this is ridiculous.

mini photo gallery

hello my people,

here are some pictures that i took that you might enjoy.

click to enlarge.






the ryman
(nashville, tn)
2003




erie aflame
(port clinton, oh)
2006



the residents of the windsor
(nashville, tn)
2003



j.r., griffin, caroline, donnie
(nashville, tn)
2003


blame it on the elevation
(telluride, co)
2006

my photo published on whygo.com

hey all,

another one of my photos was published on whygo.com, a travel website. check out the entry for Sunday July 9th on their website, or click on the picture above for a screenshot.

guest blog from seth

So here's the deal. Southern California is now just Thern California.
The reason: Rusty, also known by many as Ralschtolium, has
beatnik'd and reggae'd his way to the little mountain town of Boulder,
Colorado, while taking the "Sou" with him. The day he left, he shoved
a fish taco in his tennis shorts and took a dump on Santa Monica
Boulevard, waving his farewell to a town of plastic money and
pavement. As much as I miss the damn fellow, I also appreciate and
respect the fire in his hair and heart that has shaken him to follow a
path carved by his creator and his desire for a good pint and
flyfishing. As the days pass and the dessert heat drips from my loins,
I raise a tall, warm glass of horchata to the man who kept Bruno's
Pizza in business and set sail for a town that held more the breath
and melody of his soul.

Even overtop the western mountains, I can still hear a faint hum of
the reggae singing his name...

Seth

announcement: alex beh in the new york times

brotally beh himself has made the biggest newspaper of them all, the new york times. you might know him from combining "bro" and "totally", or you might know him for his passion from film and music... but now you should know him as one of the few in the world who has been interviewed in this prestigious newspaper. He's quoted in a great article about Rob Bell, a leading progressive Christian Spirituality thinker.

check it out: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/08/us/08minister.html (requires free registration)

also, check out:

www.brotally.com, http://blog.myspace.com/alexbeh

lake erie via port clinton, oh

"ripple gait"

(click on the picture to enlarge)

here's a picture i took last week at lake erie.
it was a fantastic week with my family,
including my grandfather who is dying of cancer.
every night we would watch the sunset,
amidst lots of laughs and wonderful moments.
here's a window into the week, with a little magic.
the gait is leading towards the sun.

guest blog from daniel

TO SUCKLE THE DOUGH THROW

Citizens everywhere are discovering a new state of social consciousness.
"What is so pleasing about picking up a ball of pizza dough
and hurling it at the most innocent looking bystander
in a twenty yard radius?", you may ask yourself.
Indeed, it seems ridiculous to countless confounded Americans
that the mere sight and sound of a dart of flour and water
smacking righteously against an unsuspecting,
recently bathed and cosmeticized cheek
could elicit such joy.
And yet millions have found satisfaction by the execution of this ritual,
and the satisfied smiles of those such as the participants shown here lend credence to its
subtle power and purpose.
As they, the dough junkies themselves, suggest,
perhaps for one to question the significance thereof
simply points to the fact that one has not tried it for oneself.
Reversion is the term many scholars have come to know it by,
while hosts of common street dwellers continue to evolve its diction:
"pelting", "numbing", "doughing," or simply "doing the dough".
No one is sure just quite how this phenomenon came about
or even how to precisely define it,
but experts all agree it spawns from an innate desire
to act approximately as one did as a third grader.
No deliberation necessary,
simply grab a ball and launch,
sit back and watch the curvaceous honeys flock
to give you attention,
as the shit, quite literally, hits the fan.

Live from the Dank Palace,
I'm Maniel Dankovitch...Ron?

guest blog from caroline

bob seger is my biological father. top that, dude. top that.

a vodka on ice in your honor. don't forget the lime. i certainly didn't.
here's a lil' something with nothin' but love....
night moves and 72.

what?!
are you serious, clark?
yes, i'm serious. she's 52, and not bad for 52.if rasta's working on his night moves in the summertime,
the sweet summertime,
he's in love, not far from it, just young and restless and bored,
we're all getting our share,
and working on our night moves.

we'll be back one day. we'll all be there.
nashvegas or new york or the east coast.
it the same, and it's all part of the game.

here's to the game and to the seedy and to the best of friends,
liner