Boy, I had a three day weekend and it seems like ages since I've been to work.  Let's see - Thursday I went out for drinks with Xiu-Xiu, The Sent-Down Boy, who was wearing an adorable outfit that reminded me of Pee Wee Herman's suit transformed into a shorts ensemble with a pink, rather than red, bow-tie.  We had a couple drinks and talked about how great Happy Hour is, and how we should meet up for more of them. 

In case you are looking for a store to rent and a savior at the same time....

Friday I went out to the water's edge, or actually across the street from it, to the Deitch project studio something-or-other, to see Nick From The Future and a bunch of fancy art people. 

He introduced me to Ana Matronic again, cleverly doing that "I don't know if you remember Davis...," where the ellipses stand in for "a random person you met once a year or two ago, you know, before you left on your worldwide tour with your rock band" so that she didn't feel silly if she didn't remember me.  She had on verrry dramatic eye makeup and looked super, and I didn't sweat on her or spill a drink. 

I know it sounds stalker-y but I really do think that if we'd met under different circumstances, I'd get along with her because we like the same things.  She lip-synched to an old Bongwater track - not "Chicken Pussy," which would have been my choice, but still, I've heard her quote Sandra Bernhard in her monologue once, and I just KNOW that I had to have been one of only 50% of the fags in the audience that go the refernce. 

On Wednesday, Handsome Mister Goats went to see Yaz(oo) with a friend of his at Termincal 5 - he asked me to go first, but I just never listened to them except for one time my brother made me listen to a track from Upstairs At Eric's - I wasn't impressed, but I doubt I knew it was a woman singing at the time, either, which may have been a tipping point had I realized it.  For you young children, Yaz was short-lived two-person band from the 80's that had two albums but never toured.  A husky-voiced fat lady was the singer, and the keyboard player wrote the songs.  The guy went on to form Erasure, which is essentially the same band but with a homosexual singing the lady parts, and the lady went on to fail miserably in her solo career.  Maybe not miserably, but she wasn't nearly as sucessful alone as she was in Yaz.  Yaz was called Yazoo in England but had one of those Suede/London Suede-style copyright disputes with the name Yazoo in the US.  What am I telling you all this for, anway?  Who do I think I am, the wigglypedia?!?!  I make no claims to accuracy, and that the basic story as I understand it without bothering to actually look it up.

Anyway, so HMG liked the concert SO MUCH that he bought tickets for their show at the Beacon on Saturday night.  He kept emphasizing how fun and joyous it was to see Alison Moyet.  "She looked SO HAPPY!" is what he kept saying. 

One of my very favorite things in the world is enthuisiasm - I don't care what it's centered on, I just always find it interesting and inspiring when someone is willing to share their love for  woodworking or golf or Alison Moyet's emotional state.  Maybe not golf, but still, you do get to know a person well if you hear him talk about his hobby.   In fact, one of my favorite things to say is "I think it's good for a man to have a hobby."  It's easily worked into all sorts of conversations and is especially funny because it's also a line from Psycho.  [Norman's hobby was taxidermy.]  Try it  - you'll see!  It even works as a punchline when you use it out of context:

"The lotion bottle is empty."
"I think it's good for a man to have a hobby."

"George Bush lied to the American people AGAIN!"
"I think it's good for a man to have a hobby!"

Mister Goats was just so excited and happy that it was infectious, and I realized that I have heard several of their ubiquitous songs, it's just that I thought two or three of them were all one long version of "Situation," I think. 

But anyway, that lady sure does have a great voice, and she really did look happy, and we had a really nice time.

Sunday I was exhausted and pretty much played Warcraft all day long, with a brief Rosetta Stone break.  Now I can not only say that "she has an egg" ("konnojo wa tamago o motte imus") but also I'm on the verge of being able to tell you if the egg is blue, white, or "midori," so if I'm ever in Japan for Easter, I'll be all set! 

O-men.