Good Food, Good Friends, Lots o’ Laughs

Y’all are just going to have to excuse me and John H for a bit, as our newfound mutual admiration society is liable to make others want to throw up for a while. But we just had so much fun last night out to dinner with our mutual friend here in Memphis, Phil – who, two weeks ago, we had no idea the other even knew – I know I’m just positively gushing about what a great guy he is. No wonder he attracts such fabulous blogwives and has other lovely bloggers simply smitten. What a great guy! Oh, I already said that, oops.

I had to get more dressed up than initially planned ‘cos I learned earlier in the day a former co-worker had had a family member pass away, so I made a quick stop at the funeral home to pay respects on the way down to the historic Cooper-Young neighborhood, where we were all meeting. Cafe Ole’ is my fave Mexican restaurant in town and I’ve probably eaten there a couple hundred times since the first week it opened years and years ago, so that turned out to be an excellent choice.

The Hutchmo was waiting outside on the sidewalk, and it might well be that I walked on inside when I first got there without stopping because the guy on the sidewalk looked much too young at a glance to be who I was looking for. Seriously! And he has been far too kind and complimentary towards moi (I should have shown up in my daily work uniform of t-shirt and sweats – shorts in summer – bare feet, no makeup, and glasses, heh). In any case, we were both later bitching about how our friend Phil, who I’ve known about 15 years and John has known nearly as long, has not changed an iota since either of us first met him. He looks EXACTLY the same, it’s almost scary how much.

Anyway, we had a fine time, the wait staff probably hates us since we sat there for well over four hours, and I just laughed and laughed and laughed. The two of them were hysterical together, and contrary to rumor, they weren’t monopolizing the conversation and I did get several words in edgewise between giggles. Really I was just happy to be up and walking and talking at all seeing as how in three weeks I still haven’t slept but just a little bit, so being able to form a coherent sentence at all and not look totally like some zombie out of Night of the Living Dead was sort of an achievement anyway.

I think John and I were dying to talk about music and blogging and bloggers and some other stuff we didn’t want to bore Phil with (which doesn’t explain why Phil and I probably bored him to death with legends and tales of our nutty crew here in Memphis), but that’s okay, there’ll be other opportunities, especially since I intend to miss no more Nashville blogger meet-ups/meat-ups. I think we did all three manage to get into a fair amount of technocomputergeekbabble, which would probably have bored anyone else within earshot but we dug it. The group of friends down here in Memphis used to tell lots of blonde jokes at my expense back in the day, but my not-so-secret weapon in defense was the fact that I could take apart and put back together and redo a computer just as fast or faster as any of those techguys I hung out with.

In any case, it was a great evening, was more like meeting an old friend than a new one (which I’m sure is going to be the case often the more other bloggers I meet), and I thoroughly enjoyed the good company and the laughs. Thanks for hanging out with us, John!

I was also happy to have gotten in and out of Cooper-Young without having even looked in the windows of the House of Mews, which is a cat adoption place down there. I have frequently looked in the windows, but even though it’s been open many, many years, I have never set foot in there and only been near it when it’s closed. I know better, I would be wanting to walk out of there with 15 more cats to go along with the too many I already have. Well, I would grab another one or two to take and give to Sista because you know how much she loves cats.

So now on to hopefully meet up with some more fabulous bloggers in the coming weeks and months! It’s starting to look like the Lynnster Christmas Tour (with the Momster in tow, but she’s like really cool) may be making some quick but quality time stops at several exits dotting I-24 and I-40 on the way back west from Chattanooga the day after Christmas, unless the Mothership just happens to be open, and then again sometime in January somewhere in West Tennessee. But definitely planning on getting back up Nashville way and just hanging out for a day or two after the holiday madness, and not missing another big meet for sure. So maybe see you then, or see you later, I hope!

But Luke, Not Ready Are You

I have heard, or read, three great lines in the last 24 hours and, it figures, I can now only remember two of them. First, from one of my major idols, David Bowie: “Any list of advice I have to offer to a musician always ends with, ‘If it itches, go and see a doctor’.”

And then there’s the writer Joe Queenan, who for an article in the latest issue of Movieline magazine spent a day walking around New York dressed and talking like Yoda, and then later decided to use Yodaspeak on some unfortunate telephone solicitor and annoying cell phone user: “Now I had stumbled upon the solution. Talk like Yoda. It would drive them right up the f***ing wall.” Aces.

I wish I could remember what the other quote was, I’m sure it was equally amusing. So anyway, no, I am not planning to go to any of the umpteen midnight first showings of the new Star Wars flick all over the city tonight. I hope I don’t know anyone who has been camping out for weeks to see it.

Anyway… my eBay feedback rating is now up to 181, this would be so cool if only everyone I had sold to had bothered to leave feedback too and then it’d be like 300-something… maybe I should call them all up and talk like Yoda, yes, that’s it! No, just kidding.

So, have I mentioned lately that my favorite show right now is Ally McBeal? I tried so hard not to like this show in the beginning and, granted, missed the majority of the first season, but come this season I’m hooked. It is the funniest hour on TV at the moment, I have never laughed so hard in my life as I have these last Monday nights. Fish lately has been the biggest crackup and the judge in last night’s episode suddenly turning into (Memphis’ very own, mind you) the Rev. Al Green just about gave me a stroke. If you haven’t been watching wait ’til the reruns, don’t start in the middle, but mind you, few TV shows make me literally fall off the loveseat in spasms of giggles – which really scares Dobie – like this one has the last couple of months.

Since I work in an office of two (which, if you’re counting, makes me just one) I’ve been trying to get my co-worker to watch it and she refuses, saying that every time I get her watching another TV show it gets canceled… Twin Peaks (undeniably the best TV show ever, at least in the first season), American Gothic, and now the fall of Melrose Place… I pointed out to her yesterday that maybe it’s her and not me, seeing as how they only get canceled after she starts watching them… I did succeed, however, in getting her to watch the Stefan the Frog episodes of Ally a little earlier in the season.

And speaking of Melrose Place, I’m really annoyed because Amazon.com is hosting the auction of hundreds of MP props and stuff that are being auctioned off for charity, and I’d already scoped a couple of things I wanted, but apparently a zillion exceedingly rich folks are buying up stuff because there’s now nothing left in my price range, sigh. When I last looked the leopard print sheets from Amanda’s bed were up to over $4000!!! Insane (but great for charity). I reckon I’ll be out of luck on the lamp I wanted, or anything else. And I am seriously mourning the demise of the show, I don’t know what I’m going to do without my single weekly dose of trash TV every week, I guess I’ll just have to start watching Jenny Jones at 3 a.m. every night or something.

I’m thinking I had some other important announcement to make but darned if I know what it was now, other than my plumbing’s finally fixed and I’m sick of tornado weather already, and I’m sure neither of those were important announcements.

I got coerced into doing this psychobabbular (yeah, I’m making up words again) thing over the weekend where one of the things you had to do was make a list of whoever’d been your favorite people in the world (since I mostly like folks this took me an incredibly long time) and then make a list of people you hate. Well, I don’t really hate anyone except for a psycho ex-roommate from my college days (can we say, Single White Female with Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh?) and I don’t really hate her, just feel sorry for her really. So then I was told, well, okay, then, make a list of people you extremely despise then and I was like, okay, I can do that. Oddly this list (if I ever had one before) has grown and, odder still, some who were also on the favorites list appeared on this other list as well. What does this mean, I asked Yoda… no wait, that’s not right, this wasn’t The Phantom Menace… (giggle) Anyway, I asked Not Yoda, and was told the key to everything was letting go of all those resentments and some other psychobabble and I’m like, yeah, uh huh. Hey, resentment and general overall bitchiness has made me the dangerously hilarious chicklet I am today, I’m all for happiness and crap but not at the risk of being remade into a blonde chick with the personality of a Stepford Wife, eh?

Anyhow… well, not much else to report other than the Momster is doing pretty great, one-armed and all, the weather is so-so (too hot and too much rain). And this past weekend I became even more tired than ever of burying friends and reminding myself that whatever I’m annoyed and frustrated about, it could always be so much worse… as well as being more than a little annoyed that apparently only John & I, and a few way-way-back faces from an old scene, could be bothered to attend the funeral, but I reckon that’s resentment best left alone without spending much energy on. (shrug)

In any case, a fond goodbye to Hays, a wild man with a good heart… and with that I am off because I’m dead tired, so don’t anybody be calling me and rousing me from nappage…

Maybe I Will Never Be All the Things That I Wanna Be

Greetings & salutations… well, it’s the last day of April, what’s there to say. I believe I forgot to mention that The Commercial Appeal is currently not on my good list, having published my letter to the editor last weekend but having edited it to the point of practically misquoting me, and I am not all too happy about that.

Seems to be Gripers all over the local media of late… seems like I hear John Cosper on the radio on Rock103 any mornings I’m not listening to Howard Stern.

Anyhow… I’ve been bopping all over the Web this week when I’ve had time and getting really bored with everything but my eBay auctions (gotta love folks who’ll pay $20+ for a teeny tiny little Barbie hat!), and Nathan, if you don’t update your website pretty soon I’m going to get severely more bored and we don’t want that. Me complaining about unupdated websites might be verging on the pot calling the kettle black but at least I have updated a little in recent weeks.

The rain has finally stopped, which is good because I was getting a little tired of 70 lb. neurotic half-Dobermans on my head every night, plus now maybe that we’re not totally saturated anymore I can finally mow the yard and the neighbors will stop hating me. (Well, I guess not all of them do, seeing as how none of the neighbors on either side have mowed theirs either.)

Anyway, I’m keeping busy and stuff… to try and clear some cobwebs outta my head, among other things, I have, believe it or not, fairly recently joined a certain 12-step program (and no, I’m not on drugs or drunk…) Greg Breit said he thought he’d never see the day I, supremely jaded cynic that I now am, would deign to set foot in any 12-step-type meeting, plus he said I was too snobby, but yup, I’ve done it and I’m happy with it. I say anything that improves one’s mind is a good thing.

So I’ve been busy with that, and stuff, and I’ve got about a million chores to be done, and I probably should go to bed now, come to think of it… still can’t share my possible Westerberg news with you yet, but believe me I’m on top of it and will be as soon as I’m given the go ahead to do so, if it happens – it’s pretty kinda neat and I’m certainly about to bust to shout it out loud, but patience must prevail a bit longer. And hey, if you wanna see what I did one day during my vacation in February, click here (sorry, link is now gone). That was pretty cool. Gotta go, ’til later & May…

Feliz Navidad

I am attempting to get in the Christmas spirit now that, thanks to Ed, I have little Christmas lights blinking on the top of my screen. It certainly does help that the tropical weather took a quick heave-ho today as the temperature finally dropped many degrees between this morning and this evening.

I have decided, however, that I am never gonna get caught up… I am so inundated with have-to’s at the moment that I just can’t see much catching up getting done before the holidays. So, bear with me… if you hear from me you hear from me, if you don’t that means I’m under a pile of all kindsa junk so please understand. Come January I can maybe have my life back again…

So, I bought the entire set of talking Taco Bell chihuahuas today and placed them in strategic positions around my desk at work. They are precious except that they’re missing the eyebrows, which really is what (to me anyway) makes the Taco Bell chihuahua. I’m going to point the Christmas one at everyone who comes in my door and make him say “Feliz Navidad, amigos!” I’m sure this will make me very popular around my building.

And, my pet peeve of the day is people who try sooo hard to impress others they forget to be themselves.

Well, that’s it for me for now – gotta get to those have-to’s – if you need something else to do today go check out The Mad Memphian’s page by clicking here (sorry, link’s now gone). He cracks me up. Later…

She’s a Goddess

Well, nothing much, it’s rainy and nasty in Memphis and still kinda hot and just kinda blah today. I was unable to tear myself away from slumber this morning and wound up going into work about 11 a.m., which served to remind me that no matter what all annoys me about my job situation, the fact that I pretty much have the freedom to do as I please is maybe worth some of the other headaches.

I’m on the verge of reading Rebecca Wells’ Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, which being about a group of rather off-the-wall Southern women seemed to pretty much have my name on it, and when I get a little time later I’m finally going to hit Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches books, I think I’ll save them for a little later on this winter when I’ll have more spare time and can devour them all in less than a week, another habit.

I must be no longer unshockable… a Lynnster Award of some sort should go to Phil Arnold for sending me the only URL that’s ever made me literally sick, ugh (and no, I don’t remember what/where it was). The guys I’ve been hanging with here in Memphis for years, better known as the Gripers, have oft passed around all manner of disgusting GIFs and URLs and all such stuff, I have pretty much seen it all and rarely batted an eyelash, but this took the cake. And no, this doesn’t mean send me more…

Well, that’s about it for now from here, much to do and little time to do it in, other than to say kudos to moi for winning a bet against the unbelieving masses… one small expression of wondering expressed by one of the old West End bunch regarding one of our number whom no one’s heard or seen from in at least eleven years led to a bunch of disbelief and (mostly male, big surprise) posturing via e-mail that I couldn’t do what I said I would do, which was to find this guy. We have this sorta circular e-mail going around between 20 or so of us – i.e., one person writes their junk and sends it along to the next, who sends it to the next and so on and so on – because all the separate e-mailing going on was just getting out of hand, well, this came up and every single (and male) soul kept blabbing that it couldn’t be done, I couldn’t do it, blah blah blah. Bless my little puppy Greg B.’s heart, the only true believer, who said, and I quote, “Lynnster doesn’t miss a (expletive deleted) thing on the ‘net, she’ll rule.” Ding ding ding, 48 hours later I’ve not only located the target but am $75 richer for it thanks to a bunch of non-believers who, surprisingly, put their money where their big fat mouths were, for once. (snicker) I am the Goddess of All Things Web. Gotta go for now, see ya…

I Don’t Think So

September is upon us, I am sooo happy (sarcasm). Well, actually, fall’s my favorite so that’s cool… I just miss things, that’s all.

You guys should see my hair! Thanks to a local pal with a quickcam (even one that works & wasn’t dropped into a cup of coffee, go figure), I got to spend a little phone & video time with my fave curmudgeon across the Atlantic who pronounced, “Wow, you look almost… normal.” (Excuse me, what did I look like before??!!) Like I said, this is probably as close to being a brunette as I’ll ever get, it’s taking a little getting used to, but it’s OK. (shrug) Probably one of those cases where it’s really not as much of a big deal as it appears to me, but I’m still a bit shocked every time I look in the mirror right now.

Onto other things… so, I was going to answer some e-mail last night but got sidetracked by what had become a growing pile of snailmail and some intense reprobation of an entity that charged my bank account unauthorized, which I’ll not name at this point (but you better believe if they don’t fix it fast I will)… I wound up paying nearly 100 smackers for a (again, unauthorized) $29.95 charge due to overdraft fees, needless to say I am more than just a little furious. Beware those ever-present 30-day trial offers, folks… seems even when you cancel ‘em, some of ‘em don’t get the picture. Grrr.

Well, anyway, that probably expended my allotment of fury for the week… so, sorry Stef and anyone else, e-mail later in the week hopefully.

Next, looks like Dobie, who’s probably already one of the more famous dogs on the Internet, may get a shot at becoming even more famous… as I mentioned last month, I won a pretty cool gift certificate to Amazon.com via Webstakes. Of course, if you win something, you have to go thru all the rigamarole of giving them a picture and/or some quote and all that kinda junk, which I did. Well, from the looks of my e-mail, it sounds like the Webstakes people were duly impressed with the cuteness of my fairly useless canine, so be watching their site for the Dobester’s goofball face to maybe grace their pages, hehe. Technically I could win, let’s see, seven more prizes and just send another picture of a canine or feline every time and have the whole Zoo on there!

Let’s see, what else… I have some really terrific Replacements news! A very reliable source has informed me that a ‘Mats tribute album is to be coming out before too long in Australia, and my fave former Hoodoo Gurus guitarist Brad Shepherd and some cohorts have cut “Alex Chilton” for the album… pretty swell, huh?!! That news made my week. I am hopefully getting a copy of this CD when it’s available but will be sure to let all interested parties know how they can get their hands on one when it’s out… the aforementioned very reliable source has already heard the track so this definitely isn’t just a rumor.

In more news, as everyone I’m sure knows, Northwest remains on strike, right after I finally get my frequent flyer stuff in the mail (Murphy’s Law…). From all reports the Memphis airport is just about comatose, seeing as how Northwest makes up something like 83% of air travel in and out of Memphis. Surely the Pilots Association did not foot the verbal bill for the interview one of their senior pilots gave The Commercial Appeal last week, discussing things like how he makes $10,000 a month and that just wasn’t enough… I understand the paper got all kinds of angry and annoyed calls after that appeared.

Coffee Update: the Swiss Almond Chocolate has quickly outdistanced the Butter Rum as my current favorite, and I don’t even like chocolate, but this is good stuff! I guess it’s a little late for me to stop drinking coffee for the summer now, so I guess I’ll just set my sights on next summer and have a nice little Swiss Almond Chocolate fall & winter. (big smile)

More stuff… Memphis wasn’t lucky enough to get the new Howard Stern TV show broadcast here, but there are some (wink) who may be interested to know this little fact… I forgot that I have a pal who owns a satellite, and said pal just happened to mention the other night over Huey burgers that he taped the show in its entirety and has duly promised to make yours truly a copy. Let’s give a big round of applause to our man in high technology, Phil Arnold! And finally, another round of rousing applause for secret web pages that make me laugh out loud… (I suppose this is kind of funner, on some level, hehehe…)

Well, that’s about it for now, folks, my ISP is down for some reason right now so I can’t play Bingo so I guess I’ll go to bed. (giggle) This should be enough to last a few days if it must, ‘cos it may be Thursday or something before anyone hears from me, since I’m thinking about going to see 54 tomorrow night, plus I’m getting geared up for my still-undecided what-to-do-about this weekend, so it may be next week, even. If I only had about eight more hours in every day, I’d be just fine… ‘night, me.

Ouch! Don’t Desert Me

Whoever heard of breaking/spraining a finger while one is sleeping, but by gosh, I think I’ve done it. Sigh.

So Sunday was my planned day for catching up some things… like my e-mail… but meeting Ed & Phil for drinks and dinner at Huey’s out east on Hickory Hill last night kinda blew that whole idea. But that’s okay, I had probably the best Huey burger I’ve ever had, yum! There’s also this cool little duo that plays out there sometimes (and I guess at the other Huey’s too) called Duren & Howle that does some Beatles and Dylan and some other cool covers, they are very good (which was why I went out there in the first place). We also saw this cool little sorta-jazzy sorta-something else band called The Space Heaters (who also play all Huey’s) that was pretty good, they played one of my fave Rickie Lee Jones tunes (“Weasel & the White Boys Cool”) so I was fairly impressed, but it was getting kinda late by then so I knocked off, came home, and promptly fell asleep (I swear I have narcolepsy or something…).

So this will probably be pretty much it for August… I’m trying to decide what to do about Labor Day weekend, I’ve got about five or six options, one of which is whether to go to Athens or not, so depending on what I decide to do I may well not be around & online too much this week or catching up… not that it matters, I think I’m being somewhat boycotted anyway. (giggle) So, ’til September (probably, unless I get seriously inspired later today)… and remember, no matter how much you may think your life sucks, mine sucks worse. (snicker) Ciao & all that…

Burnin’ Up

It’s hot, hot, hot, hot, HOT. 90 degrees or something like that today and just plain blasted hot. Last time I looked it was still May and it was still supposed to be spring… what is wrong with this weather? Does that mean it’s going to snow in Memphis in August? Stay tuned… still working on some more Bookstore pages, maybe they’ll be up later, but remember, you can search for and buy anything from Amazon.com via the Zone. (OK, so I’ve gone commercial, so bite me.)

I forgot to mention, I think, that my great big fat cat Dare turned 12 years old in April… who I just had to move from the desk again. What is it with cats & computer keyboards?!

Which reminds me, I forgot to tell this tale about Baby and Dobie’s annual trip to the animal doc… seeing as how I have to carry Dobie the Wimp up and down the steps, I always take them one at a time unless I have some lucky soul to go with me… well, Baby and I are waiting in the waiting room, and there are some people there checking out, and one of them asks me if Baby’s a Rottweiler. (No, she’s a Doberman.) They nod their heads and then one, in a rather ominous whisper, goes, “Dobermans are mean, baaad dogs.” Giggle. Well, that probably lost something in translation I guess, but anyone who’s ever had the good fortune to meet my girl knows what a weenie of a big baby and lap dog she is and knows how far from being any kind of threatening, menacing canine presence she is, heh.

So… I heard John Cosper trying to win Eric Clapton tickets during the Drake & Zeke show on Rock103 today and they wouldn’t let him win them since he runs their website, sorry dude, IMO, you was proverbially robbed.

And thank you, once again, Northwest Airlines, the airline that has cruelly addicted me to cheap airfare. Every Tuesday night at midnight (or soon as I remember it thereafter) there I am, like an airfare junkie, checking to see where I could go that weekend for practically pennies. I don’t wanna go to Baton Rouge, Jacksonville, Greenville or Dallas, whiiiiine. Coulda been to NYC or Atlanta or Detroit or Philadelphia four billion times this year but a West Coast ticket? Twice, and one of those was to San Francisco. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrowl. Fate hates me. It for now, later…

She Eyes Me Like a Pisces

(NOTE: March 1998 entries have been moved from an old site of mine in a big chunk for the sake of convenience… sorry & thanks – L.)

03/01/98: It’s March, finally – finally – and time to start a new Wall with a clean slate. I don’t intend for this Wall to change too very much, some things definitely will, much to the relief of some, including me. If you missed Friday’s extremely looooong entry, it’s disappeared, but in reality you probably didn’t miss much anyway, so don’t sweat it, although thank yous and other expressions of appreciation to the many friends, family, acquaintances and others that are the main reason I really bother to ever put up anything here on any regular basis in the first place were sincerely meant. I still don’t understand why people who talk to me virtually every day, sometimes more than once, complain if I haven’t updated this page in a while, but hey, that’s pretty cool. (One of the cool advantages, to moi, about having erased an entire entry is that KC & Scott are here in Memphis right now and they didn’t see it and they’ll be all upset that they missed something… bwahahaha! I probably shouldn’t mention that they were included in it, but I just did on purpose, of course.) Anyway, the entire West End bunch is here in town right now, one snoring on my couch as I type, and since nobody but the non-living is missing from the entire crew, I don’t guess I have any news to report right now ‘cos they’re all here, other than to assure my mother that I didn’t get drunk, tattooed, or arrested, but then there’s always tomorrow night! (Actually I gave up part of my planned evening to take care of a personal matter, so that only left me half a chance of getting drunk, tattooed or arrested anyway). The biggest news about this weekend is that Rockin’ Robin Roberts is here and we’re all happy about that because we rarely get to see this always-busy chick. Thanks to Stevie for giving me a ring during the Booker T & the MG’s show at Bluesville the other night, I’d wanted to go but decided it was just too hard to drive to Robinsonville and back on a weekday night, but I got to hear live what I wanted to hear thanks to Cellular One of Memphis. Also, for those who haven’t heard, it looks like the Oilers have decided to opt out of their contract with the City of Memphis early and defect to Nashville to play this fall. Bye-bye Sunday afternoon traffic jams on my street, and Oilers, don’t let the door smack you in the butt on your way out. If I’m going to throw my money and support behind a Memphis sports team, I’ll gladly support the minor league RiverKings hockey team, rather than a football team who’s just using this city as a pit stop while their brand new stadium’s being built in Nashville and didn’t really want to be here in the first place. Anyway, that’s it for now, kiddies, ciao ’til whenever…

03/02/98: Well, Sunday night marked Apocalypse Wow’s swan song after two nights of merriment and the usual craziness… I’ll be putting up some notable stuff, thanks, & such like that later on this week on the AW page. Memphis Weather Notes: It got cold again. Why???? (pout) Well, my only other big thing of today is my rediscovery of some old Velvet Underground album tracks I had forgotten that I’m so excited about I could spit, and started to type some here, but then I didn’t want to bore you non-musical types with all that gushing. I’ll be back later. Happy Monday!

03/03/98: I’m still pretty wiped out but hanging in, mainly just wanted to drop a line to all the West End folks who’ve left Memphis now and say thanks for coming down this past weekend. KC & Scotty & I, as well as JJ Edwards and the other Apocalypse Wow heathens, started kind of planning the whole shindig about a year and a half ago, initially thinking it’d just be a little reunion of a small circle of friends. The fact that virtually everyone, and many more including some big surprises, came to share in the fun, zoomed the whole weekend far beyond any expectations we’d previously had. It was fabulous to see you all & we hope it won’t be another over a decade before we see some of you folks again. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, last weekend was a big two-day get-together and throw-down for one faction of my buds from college days, music-types and whatnot, as well as the last time the band I’ve been messing around with the last year and a half or so played together, as (the younger) folks have graduated and are off to parts elsewhere. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 130+ people showed up before the weekend was thru, and it was just a real kick. Hopefully I will have pics to put up soon and do some updating on the Apocalypse Wow section of the site soon as I have some free time, so eventually we can all look back on some of the highlights of the weekend as well as having a place for remembrance of the truly fun things that were New Religion and its somewhat bastardized offspring A-Wow. Right now I’ve got a bunch of other catching up to do, so I wouldn’t even look for anything ’til later in the week or later. In other news, looks like I am headed homeward in a couple of weeks as the Latimer clan is throwing the annual birthday bash for me, Chuckie, Cole & Dadzo, and I finally get to go this year… and this year’s a very special one, as it’s the official “32″ birthday for Chuckie, Cole and I, and you Camdenites who think hard enough should know what that means… here’s a hint, we’re going to set all the clocks in the house to 10:32. So I should have lots of funnies and maybe pics for the Hometown pages later on… catch y’all later, and again, thanks to all the West End gang for coming, communing, not complaining about how loud the music was (hah) and helping send KC, Greg and JJ off with a bang. It might have been Memphis but it darn sure seemed like Nashville and West End again for a coupla days!

03/04/98: Darn it, I just got a text bite RE musicians in e-mail today that I found (of course) hugely amusing, and I can’t in all tact quote it or I alienate the majority of my friends, my sweetie, and most former sweeties… sigh. Kudos and a virtual high-five to the sender tho, you know who you are were you reading… made me literally fall out of my chair laughing. I guess it would have gone unappreciated by the masses tho, chuckle. So it’s raining cats & dogs again in Memphis and it’s cold again and my huge case of spring fever basically went right out the window. Seems like lately the drivers in this town are getting nastier and nastier on the whole, especially when the weather sucks, and seems like the nastiness has just escalated ever since Channel 5 News did that bit on road rage a month or so ago… what, all you people saw that and you thought it was cool or something? Sheeshamonga. Next, I wish some of you folks who took off for parts elsewhere after the weekend would have taken a couple of ragamuffins with you, because the two Siamese twins are rather being a pain in my butt. The Adventures of KC & Scotty in Memphis, Day Four: bumming around in guitar shops downtown, buying a way cool vintage guitar I would marry if it had legs, calling me at work at 2 in the afternoon to crow about it, eating Huey burgers without me, calling me at 4:45 in the afternoon to crow about that, spending most of the evening in some, um, gentleman’s club out in East Memphis (and, retarded tho they are, having enough sense not to call me and crow about that), but then calling me at 3:30 in the morning when I have to get up and work the next day: “Hi Lynsey. Whatcha doing?” Grrrrrrr. Luckily they’re Miriam’s problem tonight (there are some who may remember Miriam from a long-ago story entirely unfit to print here, heh), if all plans go as planned they won’t be mine & Josie’s problem again until the weekend (Josie: “And you’re leaving when, KC?” Heh.) No other news, but I did go see Great Expectations this week. That’s all for now, folks, stay tuned for more of The Continuing Adventures of the Idiot Twins, I’m sure there’ll be more to come…

03/07/98: Not much reportable this week, I’ve mainly just been sleepy a lot and the weather’s stunk… snow flurries one day, rain most of the rest, killer thunderstorm another night, all kinds of fun stuff, my spring fever remains dormant. KC & Scott continue to bug me with late night phone calls and the like, tho not last night when I needed to wake back up, slimeballs. They haven’t done much worth reporting since earlier this week either but then again Scotty has been working so I guess that’s OK. We’ll be hitting the town with Miss Jo Walker tonight and tomorrow so maybe something exciting to talk about by then. Anyway, there’s more music shows coming up in the Memphis section of the site, and I either screwed up or there was a venue change for some Tommy Stinson shows in the Northeast… Tommy plays at The Pontiac Grille in Philadelphia tonight, March 7th; The Iota in Arlington, VA, tomorrow, Sunday, March 8th; and T.T. the Bears in Cambridge, MA, March 10th – go to Yap Yap for more details and info. As for the Memphis show news, my favorite Memphian, Alex Chilton, comes to play with The Box Tops at Six-1-Six later this month, so I’m happy about this… “children by the millions sing for Alex Chilton when he comes ’round…” Umm, I guess that’s about it. I’ve got a new section or two coming up on the website soon so be looking, otherwise, see ya later.

03/08/98: Fine end to the weekend as the rain Sunday afternoon held off just long enough to allow one last communion with Boone’s Farm and pretzels on the cobblestones at the riverfront downtown, KC & Scotty & Josie & I toasting our missing and wishing we could turn back some clocks or at least make the day last a little bit longer. Forgive me a little moroseness, I am attempting to get used to the fact that, in a few hours, for the first time in more than twenty years, my compadre, conscience, nemesis, bane of existence, best friend and virtual right arm, Kevin “KC” Callicott, will no longer be within a few hours’ drive of me. A little nostalgic story here (not that anyone who cares doesn’t already know such as this, but allow me my soppiness for the moment, giggle)… when KC & I were kids we didn’t much like each other, as preteen girls & boys are wont to do, but we admittedly always had some sort of bond, even tho most of the time in those days was spent on various pranks on each other (hey, some things never change!)… like the time he snuck into my room, stole the light bulbs out of the lamp and put pancake syrup on my sheets under the bedspread (and yes, I found out too late), or the time a bunch of us girls snuck into the cabin and stole all his underwear. And then there was the time he almost drowned me at that infamous swimming hole up on Monteagle Mountain. And many more too numerous to recount here. His sister and I were always closer in those days, and KC & I play-hated each other up through most of our respective high school years. In later, post-adolescence, years, we sort of wound up together by fate, totally by accident & unexpectedly, over a game of quarters in one of the West End clubs and have rarely been apart much since… always within a little driving distance anyway. I have often jokingly referred to him as “the best boyfriend I never had”, and we’ve both been known to recoil in horror when people have mistaken us for “a couple”, but the bottom line is, boyfriends and such come and go, but you can’t just go out and find great, right-on-the-mark friendships so easily. This is a big, big change. I could have a little pity party for myself here this week, everyone’s little worlds change but Lynsey’s, ya know… (“opportunity knocks once and the door slams shut…”). But it’s okay, this was a really hard decision for KC to make, partially because of me, and that’s something I well appreciate. Ask me in a week or two and I’ll probably tell you you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone, and you better appreciate what you have now ‘cos tomorrow things may irreversibly change, or you get hit by a truck, or so on and so forth. The online world has certainly made the world a lot smaller, which is a blessing in this case, but in another way my life as I’ve known it is pretty much over now… time for, like, a new life, whatever that means. I know all our other friends around online as well as all of you who’ve read and enjoyed KC’s goofy stuff wish him the best, as do I… I’m just not quite sure what I’m going to do without my right arm yet. Forgive a little melodrama & public grieving here… I made a promise that no one but me would shed any tears, but that promise was only good for Sunday only. (snicker, sniff, whine, sob, sniff…) So happy trails, my friend who’ll probably see this long about Tuesday or Wednesday… I’ll raise a glass of Strawberry Hill for you and Jase this summer down on the cobblestones alone. For the rest of you folks, never seen the sunset on the Mississippi at the Memphis riverfront? Ah, you know not what you miss. Pretty gone now, over & out….

03/09/98: OK, it is so blasted cold in Memphis today it’s unreal, the buttercups are shriveling up and dying, I’m annoyed, I didn’t want to go back to work today, and what’s more (here comes the rant… I already got these frustrations out once today, but I thought it deserved equal time on the Wall simply because I find it so preposterous)… today I find out that for the last 24 years, the government thinks I am a year older than I really am (couldn’t have picked a better week for this to come up, no doubt). Let me explain… I was trying to electronically file my tax return this year, but it kept bouncing back due to a birthdate mismatch in the IRS master file. I finally get around to calling the IRS today, where a (very nice!) employee informed me they get their information from Social Security, so I call Social Security, and after giving just about all info short of my blood type, I learn that, yep, ever since it was keyed into the government’s system in 1974, the U.S. government thinks I’m a year older than I am (whiiiiiine). Now here’s the real kicker… I have been working, paying taxes, and paying into Social Security itself since, oh, about 1978 when I was but a young little slip of a not-even-teenage girl… wouldn’t you think this birthdate mismatch would have come up sometime in the last 20 years??? I am just kinda amazed and dumbfounded. And no, it’s really not a great big deal, tho it’s probably going to bring me lots of nice paperwork headaches to get it all straightened out, I am just kind of amazed that in 24 years, the majority of which I worked, paid taxes &, of course again, paid into Social Security, this just now comes up. Plus if they were going to screw it up, they could have at least made me a year younger instead. Your tax dollars at work folks… sigh. Grrrr. In other news, the Apocalypse Wow page is dragging along, you guys can look for it in a week or two maybe, I’ve got too many other irons in the fire this week. Sayonara!

03/10/98: I used this as a Usenet sig file for a while last year and always dug it, I just thought I’d put it up again ‘cos I kinda missed having it around and don’t feel like changing the site’s official quote right now: “Life is too short so love the one ya got/’cos you might get run over or you might get shot…” (Sublime, 1997) Well, hey, it’s true!!! Happy Tuesday everybody!

03/11/98: Just a tidbit or two… well, for one thing, you ex-Memphians and ex-Tennesseans living elsewhere would not believe how cold it is here right now. I mean, come on, this is March for crying out loud. I can finally relate a public congrats to Robin Roberts & Walker Breit, who announced their engagement while here in Memphis last week… had to keep it quiet until this week ‘cos Robin hadn’t told her family yet and her brother reads this page religiously. So congratulations you two, and we’re all taking bets on who’s going to win the geographic battle (they’ve been living on opposite coasts for about the last decade now). Let’s see, what else… my good buddy Cole passes along his hellos to all the Camdenites out there in cyberland; Molly the Destroyer Feline has apparently taken an interest in redecorating my walls; and that’s about it, it’s just plain too cold to do anything including think or write, so I’m off for now. Oh, and special thanks to Northwest Airlines for adding insult to injury this week… grrr, sigh, Murphy’s Law, and all that. My CD player dies, a host of other things go wrong or at least kinda rot, and I hereby declare that this week officially sucks. Later people…

03/17/98: Ides of March are behind us now and St. Patty’s Day is here. Thanks to all who made this past weekend special, the week rotted, the weekend was destined to be a bummer for many reasons, but all in all it turned out kinda okay. Minorly depressing but mostly cool. And I got to spend part of it with my three favorite ‘big brothers’ so that was pretty cool, a little toasted and a lot musical. Chuckie, Cole and I thoroughly enjoyed celebrating our collective b’days together – AKA the JBird birthday, as clocks were set on 10:32. Johnny and I put some great stuff down on tape unless we were too toasted to notice how bad it was, I dunno, I’ve got 4 1/2 hours of tape to sift thru sometime soon, not to mention about 7 or 8 hours’ worth of A-Wow tape. Unfortunately the tape had run out during some of the original stuff this weekend, and I have a sneaking suspicion I accidentally taped over what was an excellent Allison Road. Oh well. Now I’ve either contracted something horrible or am suffering an extended and really bad hangover, but I remain among the living, for now anyway. Hometownish news… hmmm, I didn’t learn much except for the fact that my little ‘brother’ Alex and his lovely girlfriend Carla have now gotten engaged, congrats to those two, make me feel really really old why don’t ya. Other news, I guess everyone’s okay. I haven’t heard any news items this past week or so and I’ve been bogged down in my own angst anyway, so I’ll close until I have more things newsworthy to report. I do have the lineup posted for the Mid-South Music Festival 04/24/98 on the Memphis page now, so you can click here to check that out if you wish. Otherwise, I bow down to Jagger/Richards and say, “You can’t always get what you want/but if you try sometimes you might find/you get what you need…” Bye bye, so long, farewell, sayonara, auf wiedersehen, Cheap Trick, and all that.

03/18/98: Notes from the “Why Didn’t I Think of This Earlier?” department… ok, so I’m a little behind the times, I just recently discovered Internet Phone… which is probably bad news for KC, but he’ll live and like it. I am somewhat amazed, folks, I’ve been turning my nose somewhat up at the various ‘net phone programs thinking, awww, it won’t work that well, and am now eating my words. Once you get used to it, it’s pretty darn cool, and best part – free calls, yeeha, my long distance bill will drop even more, yay. I kid you not, it works tons better than I’d thought it would and is just really really cool. Now my long distance bill won’t have to eat into my travel funds, yay. In other news, well, there is none, I’m getting no sleep and nothing done this week but that’s okay. I know I owe bunches of e-mails and please bear with me… my schedule for the next couple of weeks is pretty tied up, it’ll be hit and run with me for a little while as far as being online. Talk to you all individually soon, and have a great rest of the week! I leave you tonight with a word from Ray Davies, he of the (IMO) ultimate Sixties band The Kinks (another nice thread in alt.music.replacements for a change…): “I wish my life was a non-stop Hollywood movie show…” Hmmm, well, I guess it kinda has been. ‘night folks and happy day after St. Pat’s Day…

03/19/98: Hey! I’ve got some good news hot out of my e-mail box… it would seem that Greg is in the process of arranging a little acoustic gig with Mssrs. Breit & Edwards and myself in April down in Oxford. I’ll pass along more info as I know it, in the meantime I am kinda excited about this because it’ll give us a chance to do some silly Sixties and Seventies stuff that didn’t quite fit into the Apocalypse Wow repertoire. (We’re thinking Apocalypse Whoa! would be a good moniker for this endeavor, but we’re open to suggestions.) Otherwise, it’s hot again… weather, will you please make up your mind?… and I have too many things to do this week, with the exception of being awake at 3 a.m. updating web pages, of course. BTW, I’ve got new addresses/phones for KC, Greg and JJ for anyone interested, if I haven’t sent them to you already, holler at me. Later and bon soir, sweet prince, whoever you are…

03/20/98: Mmm, just one of those days/moods. It’s supposed to get cold again this weekend… grrr. Some quick b’day thanks… thanks to my way cool mom for the new headphones (a necessity for any self-respecting rock chick trying to kill off what’s left of her hearing after all these years) and the other stuff and dinner, and thanks to E. & R. for the… drum roll please… 50+1 CD changer… am I gonna have fun with this baby. Yes, some women want diamonds and jewelry, I want computer parts and stereo equipment, giggle. Well, not much else to report. Yes, I know I’m behind on my e-mail really bad… I need about eight more hours in each day right now. Off for now, words of wisdom for the day: a good day is the day you finally figure out just exactly what it is you need and what you don’t need. Or something like that. Off to snooze and hopefully a weekend of near-comatoseness, folks, I am tired. Ciao ‘n stuff…

03/21/98: First of all, Happy Birthday to my kid sister, Andra! She’s old enough now I’d best not be saying what birthday this is, like her big sister is probably about ready to stop having birthdays (which means next year we’ll be the same “age”, heh). One of the truly great things about my birthday is that within two weeks, various friends, like John & KC, and ex-boyfriends turn a year older than me so that makes it all somewhat worthwhile (KC’s b’day is on April Fool’s Day, as if that should surprise anyone). Anyway, trying to catch up around here after several weeks of being behind, actually the website’s the only thing that’s stayed caught up. A plug here for Memphis-based Northwest Airlines… if you haven’t checked out their CyberSaver fares you should, it’s an unbelievable deal, click here to check out their website, tho I’ll be putting up a link soon (as well as reorganizing the Links section of the site in general). There’s at least one U.S. city I could have been to four times since New Year’s, all four trips total for under $450, and that ain’t a bad deal, not that I went but it’s still a good deal anyway. They’ve also been putting up some unbelievably cheap international fares from Detroit & DC too on occasion, so really it’s worth checking out every Tuesday night at midnight (which is when they put up the new fares for the coming weekend). Hope all my friends, foes & loved ones in the Southeast are staying warm, this weather is truly psychotic and I personally am freezing to death. Ciao ’til later…

03/22/98: It has been a particularly not-great weekend (nobody’s fault but my own), and I am going to have to clean house like a madwoman for the rest of it and the next couple of days, one of my least favorite tasks of all. (No, KC, it’s not what you think.) So maybe I’ll catch you all at some point this week, in the meantime, enjoy my misery… I hate housework with a passion. Lastly, I decided the non-’Mats song of the day is Marshall Crenshaw’s “Whenever You’re On My Mind“. Bye-bye problem children, unintentionally ignored friends, and other such folk…

03/24/98: Happy birthday, John Cosper, happy birthday to you.

03/25/98: This is turning out to be a really really bad week, so I’ll talk about something happy instead… like how much I dig my new 50+1 disc CD player! With that plus a brand new high-tech set of headphones, I am just in electronics heaven basically (like I said before, some chicks like diamonds… give me computer & equipment!). Anyway, well, I needed to be doing about forty billion other things tonight, but I wanted to set up the CD so I could have it going while I did those forty billion other things, so I got kinda sidetracked picking out what discs to put in it. Then after giving a quick listen-thru to the Marcy Playground disc and Devo’s Freedom of Choice (which I haven’t been able to find in Memphis, thanks for putting everything on sale last week CDNow), I start loading it full of CDs. It goes without saying, probably, that almost every Replacements and Gurus CD I own is in there… which took up almost half the disc space. So I fill it full and then hit the shuffle button… OK, I guess since it has most of my favorite CDs in there, it was inevitable sorta, but so far I have been totally excited with the order it’s run in so far, especially with the first two – for random choices, I was kinda awestruck (& happy). Here’s tonight’s musical adventure thus far at press time for anyone interested, starting off with: Bush, Everything Zen; T. Rex, Mambo Sun (KC, isn’t that the coolest?!!!); Ramones, Sheena Is A Punk Rocker; Grateful Dead, Box of Rain; Devo, Freedom of Choice; The Replacements, Mr. Whirly; Violent Femmes, Blister in the Sun; Hole, Softer, Softest; The B-52s, Devil in My Car; The Dead Milkmen, Where the Tarantula Lives; The Replacements, We’ll Inherit the Earth; REM, Superman; Jimi Hendrix, Gypsy Eyes; KISS, Ladies Room; The Beatles, The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill; The Replacements, I Hate Music, and then I Don’t Know; Lenny Kravitz, Sittin’ On Top of the World; ah, it just goes on and on. I am happy. You friends o’ mine that have had changers for years can kiss my butt, I’ve never had one and I’m darn excited about this so bite me. In other news, I have about killed myself cleaning house tonight (it’s OK, really, I do this what, once or twice a year maybe in a few hours of sheer panic) and am going to work on two hours’ sleep today, so pray for me… or maybe pray for anyone who has the misfortune to cross me today, heh. And I’ll be tied up most of the rest of the week. So anyway, I’m not going to be able to do any updating for a while, but you all have enough to play with for a little bit. There’s a couple of new sets of pics on the LynnsterCam page, click here. And I’ll see you all later, if I live thru today, that is. Hope everyone else’s week is better than mine.

03/28/98: Go see As Good As It Gets. It’s my favorite time of year in Memphis with all the trees blooming and the breezy warm spring air. And that’s all I’ve got to say at the moment.

03/29/98: More adventures with the new CD player, god I love this thing. First shuffle of Sunday afternoon gives me first The ‘Mats Merry Go Round, then a choice cut off Bowie’s Ziggy album, then the Smithereens Drown in My Own Tears, then a two-fer R.E.M. (Harborcoat and Don’t Go Back to Rockville). I’m sorry, I know you folks who have had superduper high-tech CD changers for years think this is silly, but I am just totally digging it. Weird week/weekend… of all the hundreds of restaurants in Memphis, my ex and I are at the same one on Friday night, isn’t that strange. What else… well, the weather is bee-yoo-tiful, perfect spring in Memphis, about time to be spending all my time down on the river and downtown again, I luv this city in springtime… even tho KC & Hack have abandoned me (whimper) and I have no one to go hang out down there with (sniff). This is like the most wonderful, perfect time of the year to be down here in Memphis hanging out, before it gets so unbelievably hot and humid and gross. Speaking of things such, anyone who might want to go to the Mid-South Music Fest (my preference this year) or this year’s Beale Street Fest with me this year might oughta give me a shout soon. Oh well… the hacienda is spotless (yes!) & I have time to putter around goofing off again totally guilt-free, so I’ll see you guys later on. When I’m not playing my new CD-ROM game of Sorry and killing everyone at it because I am the Sorry Master (Mistress?). It’s way cool. Maybe even catch up on e-mail, wouldn’t that be a hoot? Ciao ‘n stuff…

03/30/98: Cool things first… first of all, cool things about spring/summer being here (well, it feels kinda like summer…)! Shorts, hanging downtown, mondo air travel (my god, I love airplanes about as much as I do nice hotels), music festivals, tennis every weekend, honeysuckle, wow, all kinds of things. I’ve got a huge case of spring fever. As much as I love winter and fall (and I do), I kinda hibernate during the winter and now I am out of the cave so to speak. Got the bike out for an hour every day and being all Miss Healthy & Exercising now. I’ll be on a spring fever rush until July or August or so when Memphis becomes the grossest most humid city on the planet again for a few months. More cool things… seeing as how I had to straighten up the spare room last week, I had to do something about the various & sundry Xmas loot (yes, KC, I know I’m awful) that had been sitting in there for months and here’s the great thing – I’d forgotten what some of them were so it was like Xmas all over again! Me being the addicted candle collector, I am tickled pinkish about some way cool candlesticks I got and how they look in ze living room du Lynnster, not to mention the fact they darn near match this cool art deco candelabra I got someone for a wedding gift and wound up having to keep (those of you who need to know the story there will find out soon enough). Plus I got this great other candle from my cousin and her husband. If I can ever find an extension or something for the quickcam maybe I’ll snap some pics, ‘cos this all just looks terribly cool and I’m like excited about it all. (No, it does not take much to make me happy.) Even more cool things… extra special thanks to someone (I’d better not name names I guess, somebody might get mad) for sending me the ultimate coolest Replacements shirt on the planet, which was actually designed and made by Mauro Magellan of the Georgia Satellites, clothing can not get much cooler than that! Special thanks also to Mark C. for the two more Gurus shirts I requested that came with the most excellent bonus surprise in fabulous Gurus from Coogee in November photos, you are ‘da man! I was absolutely coveting one of those shots that someone had posted on the Web and now I have one of my own, yessssssss! Also Happy Birthday wishes to Thomas G., who’ll always be older than me! I myself continue to resolve to never grow up nor be a grownup, who needs it, not me. Uncool things… not worth mentioning. The only really uncool thing about spring itself is the fact that now I’m going to have to mow the yard again, which I haven’t done since, oh, mid-October I guess, so there’s that, but I’ll live. By the way, there is a tremendously funny & good cover article in this month’s Memphis Magazine on Kevin Kane, written by funny dude Dennis Phillippi, check it out Memphis & interested people. Ciao for now…

February Stars

(NOTE: February 1998 entries have been moved from an old site of mine in one big chunk for the sake of convenience… sorry & thanks – L.)

02/01/98: Mmm, let’s see, what’s on the agenda for February… (the Graffiti Wall’s one year anniversary, woohoo!). First off Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens (in town this weekend) good; The Presidents of the United States of America (no, not Clinton, people) bad. What have I got against this now-breaking-up, or so I heard, band? Well, I’ll tell ya, they have released a remake of The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” – the answer to the “What was the first video ever played on MTV?” trivia question – and it’s driving me up a wall every time I hear it. It’s sans electronics, mainly, just guitars ‘n drums ‘n stuff (hmmm, sounds like a couple of mostly-cover bands I know), and actually it’s not bad, per se. Maybe it’s the obvious faked British accents (“…we cahn’t rewind, we’ve gone too far…”) coming from a very American band, or something, I don’t know, it’s just bugging me bigtime. Maybe there are just some things that shouldn’t be messed with and remade… like, what if Bush covered The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”. Or No Doubt doing Clapton’s “Layla”. Or Van Halen with The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” (oh, wait that’s already happened, snicker… no, I am not coming down on Van Halen! Sheesh, you people don’t know me too well…). I realize “Video…” is a relatively silly ’80s New Wave hit that wasn’t even really that much of a hit, but hey, this is my youth we’re talking about here… you don’t see anyone messing with “Great Balls of Fire” or “Jailhouse Rock” or “A Hard Day’s Night”, now, do you? Well, I’m painting myself into a corner here, and there have been some very good covers of some very famous tunes, yes, but my point is, if you’re going to cover a well-known song, make it your own. If you’re American, don’t go around singing “cahn’t” just because you’re covering a song by a bunch of Brits. Yes, I’m getting really annoyed by very piddly little things but I’m a female, I can do that. So, anyway, not much other news for now. Keeping busy, busy, busy, and very, very happy. Special (public!!!!) hugs ‘n thanks for everything ‘n smooches ‘n stuff to Scott, who’s kept me sane and entertained… third time’s a charm (ya think?) and distance is a four-letter word. And now it’s not really a secret anymore, is it? (I guess it depends on how you look at it…) Oh, who cares, pfffft on secrets. Toodleoo ’til next time, problem children…

02/02/98: Headaches galore for a Sunday yesterday but I’m still here. The Hyperactive Berserk Kitten Twins trashed one of my favorite breakables yesterday, they’re still here too but treading on way thin ice. Sigh. Happy late birthday to my Other Mom, I’m a little late on everything so far in 1998. And hope you’re happy now, Scott, the only reason I’m still up at five in the morning is so you’ll have something new to read today, hehehe. Ahhhhhh, I’m not complaining (like I would have gone to bed early anyway… yeahsureright). Good night everyone – for a coupla hours anyway…

02/06/98: “The sole deed I find truly unforgivable is being humiliated by those I ever trust not to do so. Be it public or private, it matters not.” (from Letters Of Lord Byron) And here’s another, a repeat from last month: “Your exile and your hell is self-imposed and lives only in your head/’t will be too late morrow and for all you know you may be dead/I choose to live and laugh today instead.” Hmmm, words to live by. – L., who’s mad, bad, and dangerous to know.

02/07/98: Well, I’ve spent a good bit of this week inadvertently killing computer equipment and then repairing/replacing the damage… those of you who have known me a very long time will remember the blue-paint-all-over-the-keyboard episode several years ago, well, this was worse (but at least I didn’t kill my keyboard this time). Suffice it to say, a new Trackman Marble and a new power center later, the home of The Lynnster Zone was back in action by midweek. (And here’s a plug for Logitech… I wouldn’t own any other trackball, even if I did have to drive all over town, from here on the edge of Midtown all the way out to Hickory Hill, up to Cordova, and finally to Raleigh, to find one… you computer stores in this city suck, and thank goodness for Sam’s or I would have really been raging.) I sorta touched on this on the Music page already, but anyhow, I have been dogging new alternative pretty bad lately, but I have to hand it to Third Eye Blind for their new single, “How’s It Going to Be” (you know, “How’s it going to be when you don’t know me anymore…”). This one’s a must for any hopeless romantic who’s had to say goodbye to someone they care about, even if someone new’s come along to be happy about, so you should all give this one a listen. Let’s see, what else… well, the snow missed us here in Memphis and I guess I’m glad about it, except it might have been a nice change of scenery, then again until I put a few more years on my present car I’m not going to be too excited about ice on the streets. I guess that’s about it for now. Thank you’s for this week to Becky for the package that the US Postal Service ate that never came, it was the thought that counted, girl… my mom for always being the coolest… and Scott for being the one that came along. Catch y’all later…

02/14/98: Happy VD… I mean, Valentine’s Day (heh) to everyone. Not much to report this week. Another Byron quote in honor of VD, I mean, Valentine’s Day…. “I would have waited forever, you refused to ask”. I’ve got to get my butt in gear to get out of town this afternoon, just sending quick VD, I mean, Valentine’s Day wishes to everyone, especially the one responsible (that would be you, S.) for making sure I had a nice one for a change… only the second Valentine’s Day in my life that was ever any good, usually they all suck. Catch y’all after the weekend…

02/17/98 (revised): Nice weekend out of town, needed it. Here’s a surprise (sarcasm intended) – I changed my hair again. Yep, got tired of the blonde-blonde, needed a change, gone to the dark side again… well, not all that dark, not as dark (nor as red, thank god) as a year and a half or so ago, but not Malibu Barbie blonde anymore either (hey, it’s called Sand, you get the idea). Might even get darker if I can stand it (i.e., Sandalwood). We’ll see come summertime. Now, aren’t you glad you dropped by the Graffiti Wall today? (snicker) Well, if you’ve been hanging out here very long, you know hair is a very important issue around here anyway. Other than kittens breaking more breakables around the house, not much newsworthy news. So, while driving back to Memphis this weekend, I decided to make some Valentine’s Day resolutions since I usually don’t get around to making New Year’s resolutions (as too many of you know, I’m always late regarding most anything pretty much). I haven’t made very many yet, but here’s a few… #1, catch up on the 200+ e-mails sitting in my box (yes, I know I’m a lazy slug). #2, never write e-mail that takes fifteen (non-consecutive) hours – yes, you heard me right, fifteen hours – to finish again… talk about a day wasted, that’s an understatement. (And no wonder I have 200+ e-mails sitting in my mailbox.) #3, don’t date any blonde guys. (Okay, I know that’s pretty biased coming from moi, but hey, it’s just this thing…) #4… um, I can’t think of a fourth. I’m sure there were more, maybe they’ll come back to me later. Okay, so I’m busy doing various little projects I’ve been meaning to do for months, and right now I’m watching the 10-volume The History of Rock ‘N Roll, and am at this moment on the Guitar Heroes tape of it… Alice Cooper, KISS, Townshend, the Allman Brothers Band, all kinds of cool stuff. Next up will be the Punk volume, featuring some vintage Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop, the Ramones, more cool stuff. Wait, I think there’s another volume between the two, another Seventies volume or something… oh well. Again, aren’t you sooo glad you dropped by the Graffiti Wall today? (snicker again) Yes, I could be catching up on e-mail right now, but I’d rather do something mindless like screw up my website and besides, everyone knows I have the attention span of a flea. So, hi all you folks I owe e-mail to. (giggle) So… um… did I mention lately how much I love my new HP deskjet? I had the best time making valentines one night last week. And hey, hiya Scott. OK, I’m being silly now and I guess I’ve covered most of my bases for today and Steven Tyler and Todd Rundgren are speaking on my TV screen, so I shall split for now. Hasta – Lynnster the not-as-venomous…

02/17/98 (again): Oh, I forgot a few things. Couple of you former Tennesseans asked me to let you know about available jobs in the area, but guess what, one of you changed your address (write me Greg B.) and I lost the other one, so, FYI, number one, the Gibson Guitar plant has finally broken ground in downtown Memphis off Beale Street, and if I’m not mistaken they’re taking applications now… I haven’t checked, but I suspect you can contact them via the Gibson website for more info. Second (and this is especially for you GB), my ISP, iXL Memphis, has some new job openings posted on their website: (1) Unix System Administrator/Application Developer; (2) Web Programmer/Database Developer; and (3) Customer Service Technician. They had the Web Programmer/Database Developer job posted last week with a $50K salary, so some of you broke people (GB) might want to look into it. Also – some of you people who are planning to come to Memphis really need to get in touch with me or KC, specifically Greg, Caro & Walker Breit, and Rockin’ Robin Roberts. Time’s a-runnin’ out and you’re going to be on your own if we don’t hear from ya. OK, I’m outta here – Lynsey the B.

02/18/98 (revised): So I’m driving home listening to the radio… “Here is the money that I owe you/So you can pay the bills/I will give you more when I get paid again…” and I’m thinking, “What? My ex-boyfriends are writing songs now?” (well, with the exception of the one who does write songs for a living…) Oh, I guess I probably shouldn’t say that, only one owes me money, anyway, thanks Everclear for a good laugh with their new song, “I Will Buy You A New Life”. Hyperactive Feline Kitten Twin Update: Maggie, who I thought was my wild one (and has been breaking all kinds of breakables lately, maybe she’s just a klutz) is actually being good (she’s a very happy girl)… it’s Molly, my sweet quiet kitty who’s turned into the devil herself. So far she’s learned to open three out of eight drawers in a big chest of drawers in my bedroom; she’s been hanging from the ceiling; she’s just gone nuts. By the way, for you Memphians that don’t know, there’s a South Park gathering every Wednesday night at one of the sports bars (now I can’t remember which one) to watch the show… I’m so busy taping it every time there’s a new show I haven’t been yet, but maybe soon. So anyway, I think it’s about time for me to hit the Memphis Music Hall of Fame for a fourth time, matter of fact. Anyone wanna go with? Call me, we’ll like, do lunch, preferably ribs across the street, says she who has been ribless for a couple of months now. I hereby leave you with the words of Memphis’ own Alex Chilton, when with The Box Tops… “Gimme a ticket for an airplane…” – preferably to L.A. Later – L. the De-Fanged.

02/18/98 (yet again): Telephone quote from KC, the man, the myth: “In the face of being bitchy, The Lynnster always backs down eventually.” (chuckle) ‘night, problem children.

02/19/98 (revised): Ever in search of something interesting to do, I think Josie & I have settled on a movie and another trip down to the Memphis Music Hall of Fame on Second across from The Peabody again this weekend, if certain Nashvillians wish to join us, please do (Saturday, I think). It’ll be my fourth trip there since last August, but let me tell you, there are few better ways to spend a day… tons of vintage blues video & audio, tons of Stax & soul video & audio (Sam & Dave, Otis, Booker T. & the MGs, Wilson Pickett, Isaac Hayes, oh, my heart just pounds), as well as a fair representation of Sun offspring and The Box Tops and, well, it’s just the coolest, and more guitars and all kinds of stuff to look at than you can shake a stick at. (And then there’s the vintage guitar shop next door, but that’s a whole ‘nother story, sigh…) Anyway, I think that’s a good plan. They tell us today that out of 17 days in February here in Memphis, we’ve had all of two sunny days, that probably explains many things right there, we’re all sun-deprived. Now, I love rainy days with an extreme passion, but man, there’s a limit. Next, I have just two very important words to say on the subject of ’80s music: The Cult. God bless Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy, I rest my case. Anyway, must be off for now… With a ‘night and a (smirk)…

02/21/98: “I’m looking through you, where did you go? I thought I knew you, what did I know? You don’t look different but you have changed… I’m looking through you, you’re not the same.” (Lennon/McCartney) Rubber Soul, my fave Beatles album second only to the White Album…

02/23/98: Finally got out this weekend to see Titanic and all I can say is, maaaaaaaan. What an absolutely fabulous flick. The last hour of the movie is simply incredible, and the whole thing is just amazing. Do yourself a favor and go see it while it’s still on the big screen (which will surely be a while with all the Academy Awards it’s garnered), this is really a must-see. Anyway, I’m also hoping to catch Great Expectations this week or next weekend too, thinking this will be another good one, certainly won’t top Titanic tho. Well, let’s see, what else, got semi-suckered into another cat… that would be me, tell me tales of kitty woe and I’m toast. Poor little baby (I say “little” facetiously, he is a big big boy!) is declawed and has been out on the streets for who knows how long getting beat up, but that’s OK, now he’s safe. No name yet, if you have any (reasonable) ideas feel free to e-mail me with them. You know, someday I may very well have no pets (interesting…) but I think they’re worth more to me than much of anything else in life, and I do mean anything. They love you unconditionally, they never complain (well, except about baths and such, or Dobie complaining because I won’t let him in the bedroom), and they never turn their backs on you. Truly a great thing in life. Anyhow, let’s see, not much more to report at present… former Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson’s band Perfect is putting on some Monday night shows in March and early April in L.A., and Tommy himself is doing some more solo acoustic sets: Thursday, 02/26 at The Uptown Bar in Minneapolis; Thursday, 03/05 at Coney Island High in New York City; Saturday, 03/07 Upstairs at Nick’s in Philadelphia; Sunday, 03/08 at The Iota in Arlington, VA; and Tuesday, 03/10 at T.T. the Bears in Cambridge, MA. You can click here to go to my pal Becky’s official Perfect website, Yap Yap, for more info and details. I am seriously considering hitting one or more of the East Coast shows so look for my little blonde head if you are in attendance, don’t know that I will be, but you never know about me. That’s about it for now, problem children, I’m still pretty psyched up on Titanic and not feeling like hitting the sack, but since it’s Monday, I guess I’d better. Ciao and tra-la-la and all that.

02/24/98: I will kinda be glad when this month is over, February and Valentine’s Day usually have rather adverse effects on my psyche, probably ‘cos I always had such sucky Valentine’s Days almost every year, seems like most of my relationships since adulthood usually fall apart right before the dreaded Black 14th… and what relationships don’t disintegrate around the dreadful VD usually crash and burn right before Christmas. I guess the good thing about that is, whatever wonderful Christmas presents I’ve bought for whichever intended, I get to keep myself (and they’re always cool, being that I’m such a cool present-buyer). Well, anyway, I’m glad Valentine’s month is close to over and looking forward to that Most Important of All Months, you know the one – March! (giggle) So I don’t have much news since all I’ve done since the last time I made an entry is sleep and work. I am reading a really terrific book right now tho… it’s called Cheese Chronicles, by Tommy Womack (Eggman Publishing, 1995), hence the new quote on the main page. I picked up this book practically by accident at Bookstar one day last summer and was just flipping thru it, and practically fell over on the spot when I started noticing names and places I knew, because the book is the story of the never-quite-off-the-ground career of one of my favorite bands from college days in Middle Tennessee, Government Cheese, of which Womack was a member. The subtitle of the book, appropriately, is The True Story of a Rock ‘N Roll Band You Never Heard Of, and one of my other favorite Nashville Underground artists, Bill Lloyd, has this to say about it on the cover: “Tommy’s funny, poignant account makes you realize how universal this story is. If you’re a musician or just a rock ‘n roll fan, there’s plenty here to identify with. One of the best-written, most entertaining rock ‘n roll diaries I’ve ever read.” Now, of course, I am really biased about it because I was around there and then (the band was actually from Bowling Green, KY, but were hometown boys of the Nashville circuit) but this is just a great read. Any of you music types who grew up in the Seventies and Eighties will just love it (and probably spot yourself somewhat painfully in it, heh). You can probably find or order it from your local Bookstar or Barnes & Noble store, or you can order it direct from Eggman Publishing at 2909 Poston Avenue, Suite 203, Nashville, TN 37203 or calling 1-800-409-7277. This is simply a terrific read. Next on my reading agenda is plans to re-read The Great Gatsby and also Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, possibly my favorite book ever. Other than that, not much to report, lots of news soon tho. Keep hanging on my every word and don’t touch that dial…

02/26/98 (revised): Kind of inundated at the moment but I’ll be back on a normal chattery slide in due time. Dreadful rain here tonight, bah humbug. Good thing this month’s Graffiti Wall is soon erased, this has been Lynnster on, oh, 4 or 5, I guess, I’d hate to see Lynnster on 10. (smirk) Bye-bye, all you problem children near and far…

02/27/98: Beeeeeeyootiful week in Memphis this week, for the most part, and today was the best – dogwoods a-bloomin’, buttercups all over the city, and I’ve contracted the biggest case of spring fever on the planet. Unfortunately if those who are in the know know, we’re due for more cold weather and rain come tomorrow, but that’s okay, this week was worth it all. In other news, it was nearly a day to mark down in history as I had an all-too-close brush with a lunchtime accident that has left me with a nice-sized laceration where my tonsils used to be (sorry to disappoint, KC, but I can still talk, heh). Unfortunately this rather icky brush with the emergency room comes on the eve of a gig and another after that and I’m not quite sure how I’m going to handle this, but for the moment Chloraseptic is working wonders. A quick public congratulations to John & Jen Cosper on the birth of their son, Jonathon. Finally, a not-that-great night’s sleep and sleeping on (whatever) does some strange things to one’s perceptions, and in the light of day on this fair Friday, all I can really do is (shrug), tho with a smile, of course. Things are weird all over but I reckon we’re all going to be okay, folks. By the way, everyone, New Kitty still doesn’t have a name, I’m open to suggestions. More to come later…

02/28/98: The month is over, this Wall has been much revised and partially erased, and I’m decidedly happy to see February go, good days aside. I’ve, unscientifically, concluded that a majority of us, myself included, have a case of winter cabin fever and sun-deprivation that’s making us all, myself included again, flip out or something. Onto March, this Wall hath ended.