So I went and saw Patty Griffin at the Park West tonight, and she was excellent. The show was fairly low-key (she didn’t even have a drummer), which I normally don’t like, but I let her and Aimee Mann get away with because they’ve got such fucking gorgeous voices you actually want spare arrangements live.

Oh, and Coop, she played an unfuckingbelievable version of Springsteen’s “Stolen Car.”

Anyway, if you like Lucinda Williams or any other alt-country AT ALL, you should really check out 1000 Kisses, Patty’s new album.

So I was flipping through channels, and I came upon a Sheryl Crow concert on VH1, so naturally I watched it. The show immediately following, however, is what got my attention.

It’s called the RedEye. It’s a like combination of Queer as Folk, Sex and the City, Beavis and Butt-Head, and some fairly powerful hallucinogens. There’s random lesbians kissing and shirtless gay guys dancing, bizzare quick little chats about sex, and then they play some videos. But it’s all severely cracked out, with weird camera angles, odd little whip-pans, and digital zooms.

Has anyone else seen this? Or do the rest of you actually do your homework?

The following was sitting in my inbox when I got back from class:

“To All Concerned:

A contractor will be burning the prairie grasses surrounding the lagoon beginning at 1:00 p.m. today, April 17, 2002. This is an annual maintenance procedure administered by Facilities Management. While this procedure will produce some smoke, there is no need for concern. The contractor and Evanston Fire Department are aware of this burn and will be monitoring it closely. Thank you for your cooperation.”

My question is what happens if the fire gets out of control? Are we still supposed to be wondrously unconcerned, staring out as Tech goes up in flames? Wait, that wouldn’t be too bad an idea…

Seriously though, the people who came up with this might want to look into the story of the Lanesboro, Minnesota fire cheif who deliberately set a building near his ex-girlfriend’s apartment on fire in order to come in and rescue her and thereby be a big hero and win her back. Of course, the fire got completely out of control and burned down a significant chunk of Lanesboro’s downtown, and he got busted for arson. The moral of the story: Even fires set with the best of intentions can get out of control.

Besides, I think most of the students probably assume that any large amounts of smoke being blown around the Lagoon are created by the administration.