MICRO-FICTION: "AZALEA"

I had spent a miserable hour at the Lincoln Park post office, in a line consisting of nothing but miserable people waiting to be served by even-more-miserable postal workers, and pushed the exit door hard enough to rattle it against its frame, grateful to be done and out of there. At 3:15PM, traffic was once again picking up with early-shift workers and school kids leaving for the day, and I hoped to catch my bus up to Broadway before it became...

16 MORE WEIRD RECORD COVERS & KNICK-KNACKS FROM THE VALUE VILLAGE THRIFT STORE IN WOODINVILLE, WA.!

I hope everyone is having a pleasant and reflective Memorial Day across the United States. Do something nice for a veteran today! When you come back from doing that, you can look at these odd things and reflect in a wholly different way. Please to enjoy! This was on sale for TEN CENTS and STILL ended up at the thrift store. ...

MY 10 FAVORITE "LAZY" SONGS!

I've been in a bit of a semi-sloth mode lately...with definite bursts of spring cleaning, sure, but I feel kinda like a lazeball. And this is just fine, I have decided. I think periods of mild hibernation and minimal productivity can be very refreshing, as we are all far too busy most of the time with dumb tasks like driving down the same road for hours every day or sorting mountainous heaps of dirty laundry. Sometimes a little sheer laziness gives...

MORE WEIRD RECORD COVERS AND KNICK-KNACKS FROM THE VALUE VILLAGE IN REDMOND & THE MERCER ISLAND THRIFT STORE!

I sometimes wonder what fellow thrift shoppers think of me, when I am smiling and taking photos of strange crap to show you here. Like, do they think I am checking out things that may be super-rare collectibles and worth money to an unseen buyer? Or that I am stone-cold crazy? I wonder...but I DON'T CARE! Wheeeeee! OK, please to enjoy this lot! Salt Shaker Dog has seen all your crap before. so don't even. ...

17 WEIRD RECORD COVERS FROM THE VALUE VILLAGE THRIFT STORE IN REDMOND, WA.!

Well, my goodness gracious, the hits just keep on comin'! My trip to a nearby VV this past Saturday paid off again, in STRANGENESS! Bless all you weirdos making records! An amusing extra: while I was systematically flipping through the record bins, a group of three teenage boys hovered nearby, watching. "Oh, look! Vinyl! Cool!" one of them exclaimed. I glanced back, and raised my eyebrows at them. "There's probably not too much you'd be interested...

THE MOST POWERFUL LIFE-CHANGING THING ANYONE EVER GAVE ME

Once you pass the half-century mark, you realize that you have an awful lot of memories banging around in your cranium, running into each other, blending, swirling, fading, changing. A few are strengthened, and many are lost. I hate losing anything that is MINE MINE MINE, so I've worked at keeping my oldest memories alive, as best I can. I often take a virtual walk through all my old residences in my mind, feeling textures, smelling scents, seeing...

MORE ADVICE FROM "ASK MISS VICTORIA!"

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18 MORE DUBIOUS KNICK-KNACKS FROM THE VALUE VILLAGE THRIFT STORE IN WOODINVILLE, WA.!

Do you wonder, as I do ALL THE TIME, why people buy the things they do? The more trips I make to the thrift store, the more wonder I feel. Actually, perhaps "deep and intractable confusion" would be a better descriptor. In any case, here's more crap! Please to enjoy! Aw, look at the adorable albino bunny! But not for too long, because his red eyes are really SATANIC LASERS! ...

PHOTOS & SHOW REVIEW: KEXP SONIC REDUCER BENEFIT FOR BETSY HANSEN, HIGHLINE, SEATTLE, WA. 5/1/14

As I prepared to write this post, I thought this: of all the concerts I've been to -- hundreds? a thousand maybe? -- none were more important than this very one, held at the Highline in Seattle last Thursday night. Our little music community here, this lovely, amazing bunch of garage punk freaks and geeks, came together to celebrate a warrior by putting together a partytime-excellent show of her favorite local bands. I don't use the term "warrior"...

I VISITED THE AUDIOLOGIST & GOT A BIG SURPRISE

I thought I had really done it this time. I thought, well, that's it, it's all caught up with me at last. I thought, I'm screwed. It's the secret worry of anyone who has spent a lifetime in and around rock music:  I am losing my hearing. For the last couple of weeks, I have been experiencing some problems with my ears, including ringing, muffled hearing, and sensitivity to sound. Two visits to two doctors offered little relief and not much...