(Taylor is my pal from Wash U.) The Beat goes on! Well, Maddux had to get worse at some point. That and the fact that the Cubs suck. The season draws to a close. It's too bad. There are games being played right now that I care so little about that I, despite my boredom, … Continue reading Drunk e-mail I sent to Taylor
Author: johnbrandall
John Randall is a writer living in Missouri. His interests include camping, running, walking, cutting and burning wood, messing around with magnets, foraging, and listening to podcasts, many of them about baseball.
Driving Along A Highway In Missouri
Alright, um, it is 19:28 on June the 10th, 2004. I just drove by a mailbox that said Paul Brewer on it. I just drive by mailbox #175. I look over to the left, I’ve got hills, I’ve got the rolling hills of central eastern Missouri. Lots of trees.
But also rain. So, a grey sky is what I see. The road is pretty windy, and it’s wet. In some places there’s been some standing water. Um, no cars either in front of me or behind me right now. Although, I have had cars both in the front of me and behind me.
I saw a little blue sky out there in the distance off to the southeast. Which is basically the direction I’m heading. Take a look at the compass…goin around a curve. Been in the car for at least thirty-six minutes. That’s the time I’ve got. I’m heading south right now and it’s 68 degrees Fahrenheit outside...
Full story here...
Ray on Books, Dreams, and Drinkin’
R: I haven’t figured out Motorcycle Maintenance yet. It’s probably because I’m only halfway through it. It seems like he says so much. And then today I noticed I’m only halfway through it, and I’m like, “Oh, yes.” Cause it’s such easy reading. Like the point’s…. I don’t know what’s going on. It’s this guy who’s like, he writes technical manuals.
J: Mm-hm.
R: And he’s on this motorcycle trip with his two friends and his son. And he keeps referring to this guy called, um, Phaedrus. P-h…like Greek thing. And supposedly this guy, like, lived in the fifties. What I think it is is that the narrator was this person. And he got electroshock therapy, but he doesn’t remember it but he kinda does a little bit, ya know?
J: Mm-hm.
R: And he was, like, cause like, the son will reference like, “You used to teach here.” Type stuff. And so like, I don’t know the whole deal yet, but like, it’s basically, like, this guy’s journey. Like, he’s a philosopher and doesn’t know it type of thing. And he feels this presence, and it’s him...
Find the full dialogue here...
Two Guys, Two Games—Act I
by John R and Ray W (J and R are sitting in comfortable chairs. J has the remote and is looking for a baseball game on TV, going through other non-baseball channels quickly.) R: Right? But then you’re like, we got Pedro goin’ tomorrow against Clemens and we’re gonna win this one. And then Pedro’s … Continue reading Two Guys, Two Games—Act I
Watching Twin Peaks
A: You know that painting I was talking about at the coffee shop?
J: (John has a quizzical look)
A: Nevermind. I’ll show it to you at some point, but we’re not going to talk about it. I’ll fuckin have to write that down, otherwise I’ll forget about it. They took down my favorite painting in that place. It’s gone.
J: (Burp)
(From the television, the idyllic “Twin Peaks” theme starts up)
A: I looked up shit on Joan Chen. She’s pretty much been like a standard actress for like the last three decades.
(Both of them laugh)
A: Hasn’t done anything of worth, but ah, like, she did some shit on cooking last year, for the holidays…(laugh) I’m gonna get this out before this comes on. (laughing) Oh shit. But she directed something that’s supposed to be really good. That’s all I really wanted to say. Ok.
(The show is now in progress)
A: That’s that old lady, the log lady.
J: No, that wasn’t the log lady.
A: Fuck it, I really am not going to be able to watch this.
J: That’s…
A: Directed by Tim Hunter…? Fuck.
J: Who’s that?
A: Did you ever see that before? Maybe it’s just this episode.
J: It’s probably…
A: Fuck. Do you know who Tim Hunter is?
J: No.
Go on ...
Into Eden
IWarlocks sip on potent teasand wipe their hands across their knees.As Grandpa fixes whirled peas,a moustached man decries, decrees. Wait a sec, I’ve gotta sneeze—these god-forsaken allergies—might you grab a kleenex please?It’s something in this desert breeze. Outside, it’s just about to freeze.The needle sticks on thirty-three degrees.Afresh, afresh, the budding treeswill, like peaches, die … Continue reading Into Eden
My Pet Computer
My humanity begins whenI treat this computer like a person. I restart it when it needs a boost.Just like using ECT to scrape gunkfrom the gutters of our brains. Or, I put it to sleep when it needs a rest,taking care to let it lieneither too long nor too often. Because, like everyone else,it needs … Continue reading My Pet Computer
Complaint at Age 26
I won’t liebut I’ll come closeto comitting a crime.Which do you prefer? Your happiness?Or, me honest but behind bars? A downfall is thatno one ever explainedwhy I should put your happiness before mine. Because you got me here?I said, “Thanks.”I send Christmas cards. Y’all tell meto enjoy lifeto have a nice weekendto do what I … Continue reading Complaint at Age 26
Things I’ve Googled
akhnilo
amy huntington block jenner
antique wedding rings
austin “house of nuts”
aveland, halsted chicago
back pillow
barthelme kind of writing
bas bleu book dart
basketball star “Roof Top”
berlin chicago belmont
book without any e’s
book value 1998 jeep grand cherokee
Cabernet Franc
Caribou Ferry schedule
carmina burana mp3
carnivale second season DVD
cracked feet, cure
current hit streak
chicago best house music
chicago cheap sunglassses michigan ave.
chicago liquor store
chicago place blues
chicago place buy beer
dancing rabbit ecovillage
dao thai restaurant
darts
deacon blue
draught house austin
earth day 2005
eeyore independence
egg foo yong
einstein’s bagels
ethan allen
farewell and goodnight lyrics
fedora nova scotia
filene’s basement michigan avenue
fish & chips
four countries quartet
galway bay 500 diversey
game scores baseball
guildhall, Vermont 05905
gum biddie
hefeweizen list
heritage harbour house inn
hiroshima taph
hookah 2057 w. north
hubbard cigar espresso
Independence Brewing
independence Brewing austin
isaac suggs
isaac suggs bolingbrook
isaac suggs tech
james tate allen tate
jameson
jazz station
jeremy taylor jenner
jones art austin
k/bb ratio
kaiser jewelry jefferson city
katrina refinery safety
kermit roosevelt
kwiat
lady start chicago fire
lance niekro joe phil
language iceland
led zeppelin lord of the rings
life times elvin jones
lost next new episode...
Triage
Put down your forcefield, sugar.
I grew my hair this way for you.
Do you see the skin of which I dreamt?
Torn to and fro, it reveals pools of co-habitation.
Supplies like bread, and soda, and diapers.
I can get these things for you — free-like.
We’ll have a hot time in the old city tonight, sugar.
For which do you care more — bourbon or gin?
Don’t spin your way out of here, not just yet.
I’ve got ways to free us from this island of dark sweat.
The canoe of opportunity, carved for me and you.
This town has never been a finer sculpture of mud and chemicals.
The skies have charmed it free of its alcoholic businessmen.
Let them comb hotel-room carpets looking for lost contact lenses.
We shall take our moldy crown in the throes of lineage, having outlasted
plaided Acadians, discombobulated Americans, and fur-trading French.
Dredge this lake, and you'll know the ways of a queen.
The Feds, the governors, the mayors:
they hold no quarter for us now.
We don't stand in line for them.
They stand in lines for us.
JBR.com 