I'm still alive

It seems like I'm beginning most posts now with the phrase "It's been a long time since..." The only excuse for it is that I'm getting lazy. There are things to post about but just getting myself to sit down and write is the hard part. I'm hoping to write something up about all the terrific shows I have been to in the last week--three within a week--Josh Ritter at the El Rey (I know the El Rey is redundant but that is its proper name), the Walkmen at the Glass House in Pomona (yay, SGV), and Cold War Kids/Tapes n Tapes at the Echo. All terrific and fun shows. I have a couple of pictures from the Walkmen show and quite a few from the Echo.

Here are a couple:


Cold War Kids getting an assist from the lead singer of Tapes n Tapes


Cold War Kids repaying the debt

If that wasn't enough I also have three more shows to check out in the next week. I won tickets today to Friday's Neko Case show at the Henry Fonda Theater (not my favorite venue) and I also have tickets for Be Your Own Pet this Sunday at the Glass House and Band of Horses at the Echo, again, next Friday. After that I plan on taking a wee bit of a break. I need to start looking for a job.

I also need to write about the Mud Run this past weekend. Hopefully I'll have pictures of that event to post soon.

Other than that I have just been working at my boring job.

They are runners too!

I love it when I find out that my favorite artists also love doing things that I enjoy.

I was reading the July issue of Runner's World and got to the end and saw a picture of a good-looking bloke. It dawned on me that it was Josh Ritter, a terrific singer/songwriter, whose The Animal Years is one of my favorite albums of 2006. He ran the Phoenix Rock n' Roll Marathon in January and posted an impressive first marathon time of 3:32. Not only is he a great artist, he's also a great runner. I'm catching his show in LA this Friday, a show I've been eagerly awaiting for two months. His albums are highly recommended!

Then today while surfing the web for more information about Sufjan Stevens's upcoming album (Stevens is just about my favorite artist right now), I came across this tidbit from the Asthmatic Kitty website. Sufjan Stevens's brother, Marzuki, finished 20th in this year's Boston Marathon. His time was 2:20:11. How amazing is that! It qualified him for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials. Reading things like these inspire me to strive to be a better runner.

On another note, congratulations to all who completed this weekend's San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon!