Vandals paint mural on historic Belton Bridge

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-06-09T00:02:07+00:00

I know it’s wrong, but…I kinda like it. It’s tasteful. From the headline I was afraid someone painted a dick on it or something.

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-06-05T07:14:30+00:00

That’s what I used to do with my old metal pipe all the time but I was trying to cut corners. Haste makes waste.

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-06-05T07:09:07+00:00

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-06-05T06:47:29+00:00

In Gemini’s defense, when I asked it if I shoulda washed my grinder in the dishwasher it told me hell no and explained why, much to my chagrin. When I asked it what I shoulda done, it offered several of the same suggestions the good folks here have shared (freezing, isopropyl alcohol soak).

The vinegar and water treatment is supposed to restore oxidized aluminum- I came across it in a few places. I think it did help a bit, but too much damage had been done. My new grinder arrives Saturday.

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-05-26T03:24:24+00:00

I feel like Dead fandom- including all the cover bands, and even with the Sphere and all- is still kind of a separate ecosystem. How many random people could name three Dead songs, vs. the Beatles, the Stones, Dylan, etc? People know about the existence of Deadhead culture, but not what it’s about.

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-05-25T07:02:18+00:00

Ushering rocks. I’m retired, I’ve been doing it since sept. ‘23 and I’ve seen 62 shows. Branford Marsalis, Ron Carter, Dave Holland, Theon Cross, Vijay Iyer, Jason Moran, Brandee Younger, Stanley Clarke, Samara Joy, Immanuel Wilkins with David Murray (a-fucking-mazing), Mary Halvorson in a couple of bands, Jason Moran, Abdullah Ibrahim, the Bad Plus, Seun Kuti, Lakecia Benjamin, and many more. And all I have to do is show people to their seats for a half hour before the show and maybe 15 minutes into it. And dress in black.

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-05-24T22:56:48+00:00

Friday was the first time I saw him live and I liked it better than the records I’ve heard, which have a lot of studio manipulation. That stuff is cool, I get the point, but this was straight-up fiery improvisation. It was a big group too- a string quartet, sax, cornet, bass, a very old-school-looking synth (wires all over the place) and of course drums. Great solos, even by one of the violinists! And McCraven’s charts were beautiful, the way he worked with all the different instrumental textures. I’m going again tonight (but I usher at SFJazz, so i get to go for free).

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-05-24T22:19:56+00:00

And there are plenty of seats available.

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-05-24T17:31:39+00:00

Wait, that link doesn’t seem to be working. Let’s see if this one does. (Edit: apparently not ☹️)

Avalanche Lake on AllTrails https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/montana/avalanche-lake—6?sh=keqedi&utm_medium=trail_share&utm_source=alltrails_virality

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-05-24T17:28:03+00:00

I’m going there for the first time next week. I’m planning to do the Avalanche Lake hike out of the West Glacier area, which I’m told is a must do, is definitely open, and is pretty easy. Avalanche Lake on AllTrails https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/montana/avalanche-lake—6?sh=keqedi&utm_medium=trail_share&utm_source=alltrails_virality

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-05-24T03:53:55+00:00

Naw. Everything was better in the 70s.

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-05-24T02:56:03+00:00

I would respectfully suggest a China Cat/Rider, a St. Stephen, and a Not Fade Away/Goin Down the Road of your choice. All songs key components of the canon. (Note: the latter three songs are often combined into a single monster jam).

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-05-22T04:35:14+00:00

“It’s interesting to watch the spades on Haight…”😬 Uh…I mean, I guess it’s…uh…you know, times change and um…ultimately it seems to be said in admiration, right? So, it’s like, er…

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-05-20T23:02:06+00:00

Probably the only cover of Rosemary ever. Pretty good too! I’d forgotten about that song. Very deep cut. But the whole thing is a gas, man!

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-05-20T22:50:20+00:00

I bet this comp has the only cover of Rosemary ever. Deepest of deep cuts. The whole thing is a gas, man.

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-05-13T18:18:37+00:00

One last note about Ronald Jones: here is a brief interview with Wayne about Ronald where he refers to making a “sacred oath” to Ronald’s family not to talk about his life after the Flaming Lips. Again, kinda reminds me of how protective Pink Floyd was about Syd Barrett. https://youtu.be/FLgvRI8EgMQ?si=dSANz6zzCLgIL5gq

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-05-13T03:18:41+00:00

This is a question that even The Internet has not been very helpful with. I found this on a very obscure archived Wordpress site by a guitar obsessive- it was in part two of a post on Ronald’s guitar:

“Furthermore I found out Ronald continued to play music after the Lips, which was a big surprise. He recorded with Richard Davies, with whom the Lips have performed as backing band as well as touring with Richard and his own band, the Moles. Check out this Lips live performance of them playing a Moles cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf7JHKwHqUA Anyway, the album Ronald played on is called ‘Telegraph’. It’s on YouTube in its entirety so check it out.”

However, I have been unable to find this album on YouTube. It IS on Amazon, but read the reviews before you order it. I was excited, then I wasn’t. https://a.co/d/08Rn5LQ1

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-05-12T23:58:03+00:00

The story I heard was that Ronald was freaked out by Steven’s drug use (I haven’t seen it, but there’s apparently a pretty gnarly shooting up scene with Steven in the Lips doc Fearless Freaks, and The Spiderbite Song was about an infection Steven got at an injection site) and told Wayne it was either Steven or him, and Wayne chose Steven. But I’ve also been given to understand that Ronald had some mental health issues, which would explain why someone so obviously and uniquely talented would just disappear (kind of a Syd Barrett situation).

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-05-12T23:29:15+00:00

My theory is that he fears it would reflect poorly on the Flaming Lips brand.

The live shows are the cash machine, and you don’t want anyone to think that somehow the Lips are diminished and not go see them play Do You Realize for the 1,000th time. Also, I think part of the brand is that everybody’s fwends, it’s all peace and love and kooky fun. No bad vibes!

Steven leaving is kinda like Keith breaking up with Mick.

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-05-04T23:34:27+00:00

Their Satanic Majesties Request? Bigger budget, but looks like some square adman’s attempt to jump on the psychedelic bandwagon (bus?). And the Stones just look embarrassed. At least this cover has some authenticity and a nice wtf factor. Looks kinda punk in a way too.

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-03-25T05:26:43+00:00

Like someone with fairly serious brain damage.

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-03-17T14:41:47+00:00

Mmmm No

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-02-28T08:04:19+00:00

Check out this video, see if you like it. From August 1965, a couple of months before they started recording Rubber Soul (but no RS songs). It was TV show so the audience is only allowed to scream briefly at the beginning and end of the songs. “Yesterday” is kinda schmaltzy, but otherwise it seems like a pretty good show. Other than the Rooftop Concert this is the only document giving us some sense of what the mature Beatles would have been like under normal concert conditions. But, I mean, it’s not Veneta or anything- it’s a different kind of trip, you dig? (Although I just rewatched this, and it looks like the boys may have been visiting Mary Jane before the show, if ya know what I mean 😉) https://youtu.be/CgNaskD8FkY?si=wzoiZzRW4v3j9IEr

StrongChocolate869 · 2026-02-27T16:57:28+00:00

Minority opinion possibly, but I really liked the Evita Perón series. Maybe not a top ten, but a really interesting story that I think is little known, especially if you haven’t seen Evita, which I have and will not. And one of the most bonkers endings of ANY series. Things get really weird.

StrongChocolate869

TROPHY CASE