Okey dokey. We are going to the Alley Cat Club tonight to hear a band that one of my peeps has just signed on to record at his studio. The Alley Cat is in Underground Atlanta, a place that you usually cannot drag me to. Underground is tres touristy and OTP in nature as a rule.

The history of Underground Atlanta is kinda cool, though. After that mother-fucker Sherman burned downtown Atlanta, it was rebuilt one level up, leaving room for the new sewers and aquaducts. Underground is the only remaining part of downtown Atlanta that was the original street level before the terrorist act of the Civil War.

But the band sounds interesting, D likes them enough to sponser them, and MARTA dumps you out right there, so that's that. Any live music beats DJ kicks in my book and is better than no live music at all. Plus, these Alley Cat chickies look fun as hell.

Hard core sexy tough ass girls at once frighten and fascinate me. This will be fun. If I survive the night, I'll give you guys da 411 tomorrow. Oh yeah, tomorrow is my burfday. Children of Mars act out in strange ways around this time of year. Be afraid...be very...you know.

******Beastie Boys "Intergalactic"

Turn speakers on for this.

This is my fake smile. I whip it out when someone asks me to pose for a photo, when I run into someone I really don't want to see, or when I am in a meeting with some gross, unctuous sales rep. When I am genuinely smiling, my upper lip does not tighten up and disappear like that. I was also well into the gateway third martini.

One martini, two martini, three martini, floor.

"Up, shaken, and dirty" also describes this morning. I got up at 5:30 for some bizarre reason and am after-effected, yet wide awake. This is going to be a weird day.

I crave routine. My morning routine must stay the same for me to have a "right" day. I cannot jump out of bed, into the shower, and out the door. This just does not work for me. I require a long, methodic seque from snooze to the real world.

A) A glass of apple, cranberry, or cranapple juice is essential. I gave up caffeine three years ago.
B) Visits to The Drudge Report, AJC.com, and a game or two of backgammon at Zone.com, in that order, are required to get my brain in gear. Then some porn, if time allows.
C) I lay out the "flat man" of clothes that I want to wear that day.
D) I throw two towels in the drier so they will be warm. One for hair and upper body...one for lower body and feet.
E) I always put my left shoe on first.
F) When I brush my teeth, I have to walk around the house. I can't stand still at the sink for some reason.
G) I check my bag to make sure everything is in the right folder and to make sure the folders are placed in the bag in the correct order.
H) I gather my cash and cards, which must always be on the dresser.
I) My keys must always be on the drier. I have gotten out of bed before in the middle of the night to move them there if I think I may have left them somewhere else in the house.
J) I put exactly 3 quarters, 1 dime, 1 nickle, and 4 pennies in my pocket every morning.
K) I set the security alarm and walk out into the back yard, smoke a cigarette, and walk around the yard looking at every plant, like saying goodbye to them for the day.

I really am a creature of habit, and if my morning routine gets disturbed, I'm a bitch all day. These things all have to be done in this order. Am I just strange? Wait...don't even answer that one. Does anyone else have really strict morning rituals that they follow to feel right for the day?

Peace, T.

adopt your own virtual pet!

Belle, over at Inside The Flame had a great idea for an alternative to the FFFs. I'm brain dead and lazy after the week from hell at work, so here goes the FFFs, Angel Sister Mama Belle style....

1- Belle: What you had for dinner last night?
Biggie T: Porkchops, butter beans, and spinach. (I actually cooked last night. Every meal we have had for a few days came out of a box and said "sauce will thicken upon standing") Ask me about my kick ass spinach concoction some day.

2-Belle: What is your favorite song?
Biggie T: Now that is near impossible to say, so I'll break it down by genre...

Rock...Tie between "Train in Vain" by the Clash and "Width of a Circle" by David Bowie

Standards..."Skylark" by Johnny Mercer, but sung by a female. Bette, Aretha, and Linda just shine when they sing this song. I don't think a more haunting and beautiful sing has ever been written, period.

Country..."He Stopped Loving Her Today" by George Jones

R&B/Soul..."What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye

Rap/Hip Hop..."In Da Club" by 50 Cent

Electronica..."Around the World" by Daft Punk

Gospel..."Move On Up a Little Higher" by Mahalia Jackson.

What song tears me up anytime I hear it?
"Lilac Wine" by Nina Simone. That song, when she sings it, just digs in me for some reason.

What DJ Kick gets my ass on a dance floor every time right now?
"All Night Long" by Stephane Compaugnac.

3-Belle: Other than your blog name, do you have a nickname?
T: I can't think of any. People have always called me "T" though, since I was kid. My real name is Tommy.

4-Belle: How did you come up with your blog name and title?
T: The Doghouse...well...because I loves my dogs. "Biggie T" came from wanting to have a respectible rap name. I came up with it when I was standing in line at Wendy's. Biggie Tea is the supersized ice tea on the menu. I thought it sounded hip hop enough. LOL

5-Belle: What are you wearing right now as you read this?
T: The corporate goons all have to work on one of the stores' sales floors on Fridays, so I am wearing some cool Seven jeans and a black Kenneth Cole stretchy shirt.

******Beck "Black Tambourine"

This is a Louisiana Black Gamecock Iris. I experimented with three in the bog garden last year and they are going nucking futs out there. I have decided to fill the entire bed with these in a mass planting for impact in the 8' x 14' site. This is a difficult location, where drainage is a problem and water stands for days after rains.

These conditions are a sure death sentence for most plants. There is a group of plants; however, that thrive in soil that stays soaked at most times. Their native habitats are situations on the edge of swamps and bogs, and they thrive with wet feet.

I had planned on a mixed panting of several bog plants in this garden, but seeing the amazing results of the Louisiana Irises, I am now going to do a mass planting of 30 of them to fill up the entire bed for impact. I am going to plant one arm of the bog with Pitcher Plants. They are cool as shit and carnivorous.

There are actually lots of other plants available for areas with drainage problems. Here is a really great link to a very informative article and plant listing from PlantIdeas.com about bog gardening in this type of trouble area.

http://www.plantideas.com/bog/index.html

I can't wait to see a mass planting of the Louisiana Irises at the Doghouse.  They grow 36" to 40" tall, are evergreen, multiply and get better with age, and that flower....damn!  Wide hardiness range too...they are reported to be hardy from USDA zones 4 through 9. 

Wayside Gardens...a very reputable mail order nursery and one I have had an extremely good relationship with for years, offers these beauties as bareroot stock.  They almost always ship good healthy plants, and on the odd occasion I get a bad plant from them, they replace immediately and even send some free shit along with the replacement.  Good guys and good business people.

www.waysidegardens.com

Get out there, get your hands in the soil, and nurture some plants. The time spent tending a garden is rewarding and good the for soul and what ails ya, my peeps. Peace, Boss T.

*******Patsy Cline "Walkin' After Midnight"