(Image courtesy of the Joseph X. Burke Michigander Archives.)

Before I get into it, check out the author’s name on that book. “Gary Barfknecht.” Now that is a name. Got a good sound to it.

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Flying back to Portland today. Down to Chicago, then all the way out to Portland. I’m all juiced up on the iPhone, with a couple documentaries loaded up.

Another great visit home. Not too much to mention other than a handful of very relaxed days around the house, hanging out with Mom and Dad. Needed it after that fall design season.

I usually work while I’m back here. Not too much this time. Surfed the web a little, read some stuff, slept in, collected some inspiration for upcoming projects, and tinkered on a couple open projects. Off the radar, pretty much.

When I get back, I’m going to go ape-shit and tackle all the open projects with a ferocity seldom seen in Southeast Portland. Watch out.

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DAYWRECKER WARNING: The Vintage Ad Browser. Dangerous stuff. I’ve been in and out of the 1960s and 1970s stuff all morning. (Jeremy Firth almost took down his whole January with that one.)

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THE KIND OF STUFF THAT KEEPS ME GOING: Uncle Tupelo’s final album Anodyne on vinyl. Finally. This one never was pressed back in the day, and it’s been a whole in my collection since I started hoarding records a couple years back. That hole is filled. Weird.

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OVER IN EUROPE, A COUPLE MONTHS BACK: Willy and Dan from Richmond Fontaine doing “The Boyfriends” in the mid-day Vienna sunshine. Pretty cool stuff.

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SERIOUSLY, IN THE LAST 10 SECONDS OF 2009: A+L. I can still see that flash when I close my eyes, some days later. Up close and hirsute.

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ON THE PLAYER:

01. Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne
02. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Year of the Horse
03. The Hold Steady - Separation Sunday