And They Didn't, So He Died.

Good news everyone!

The Hold Steady released a new live album (A Positive Rage) this week and it happens to be from a show recorded at Chicago's Metro on Halloween of 2007. This is probably only exciting to me and John Luzar and the few hundred other people who just happened to be at that very show. Nevertheless!

If you're not familiar with The Hold Steady, you should take steps to amend this shortcoming. The Hold Steady are a fantastic band. I recommend The Hold Steady if you enjoy any combination of the following things: cheap beer, Born To Run, pain pills, Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Minneapolis, Chicago, John Berryman, heroin, Charles Bukowski, Joe Strummer, rock and roll music of any kind. However, if you are among the unexposed, I do not recommend you purchase this new live release. Stay the hell away from it, in fact. Instead, pick up the amazing Boys And Girls In America (2006) or the nearly-as-amazing Stay Positive from last summer. The live album is strictly a 'fans-only' sort of deal.

But if you do pick it up, listen closely for the dulcet tones of SMH chiming in on the 'Woah-oh-ohs' of "Massive Nights".

Oh, and their Halloween costumes? Banditos. Complete with fake mustaches, except for the guitarist. His was real.

Well even though I have absolutely nothing of consequence to say today, I am going ahead with the incessant posting. The events of the day were minimal: I went to work, Heidi went to work, Daisy went to gym class. (By the way, if any of you know of anyone looking for babysitting work who lives in Chicago and has a car, please let me know.)

Work was work. Sat box all day. It occurs to me how many elements of my job must seem incredibly foreign to those of you who don't frequent casinos. It's a bit difficult to give the full evocation in prose. Here's a quick quiz to demonstrate the secret language of the casino:
Sean has not held which position at the Horseshoe

• A. Stick
• B. Box
• C. Floor
• D. Pencil
  

If you're not familiar with the terminology, I imagine that question makes about as much sense as "How many licks does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" And thanks to issues of security and the privacy of our guests, there are almost no pictures of me at work in my environment. (What few pictures exist have been taken by surveillance cameras and are the property of the Horseshoe Casino.) Someday I'd like to be able to post a pic of myself sitting box at a crap game; perhaps I shall resort to self portraiture.

Nevertheless, I went to work and did the things I do there. Feel free to stop by someday and observe.

And on a non-sequiturial note, I have been re-watching the first season of Deadwood. Good god I miss that show!

April Fool

I hit a stumbling block somewhere in February and have yet to pick myself up. The major reason I started this blog was to give myself a forum in which I could write without pressure, just get something, if not down on paper then up on the screen. (I don't believe I punctuated that last sentence at all correctly.) But I let a few days go by without posting, and that turned into a week, and then two weeks, and all I managed to post in March was the St Patrick's Day Pants, and you needn't the internet to see those: I'm relatively certain they were visible from space. (Punctuation, I declare your implements devoid of meaning. I shall reclaim and repurpose them as I see fit.) The point being, it's a new month, and under the revised calendar of Emperor SMH the first, it's a new year, and what better time to make bold declarations of commitment.

So.

I hearby boldly declare commitment to this blog.

And we'll see how long I can keep it up.

(That's what she said.)