Timeout Called.

Greetings, folks! The Arena Apothecary is taking a VERY brief hiatus. (Seriously, I'll be back in like a week. Please don't erase this from your bookmarks or RSS feed or anything. Thanks.) I've got other, music-related things to tend to that really should have been tended to a long damned time ago, and it's time to get those ol' proverbial ducks in a row. It's going to take pretty much all of my time/creative energy and (hopefully) transpire in a very compressed space of hours, so there's not going to be anything left over for this space.

(Besides, you're going to be media-saturated with Peyton Manning and Bracketology predictions that never work out anyway for the next week. Honestly, the thing I'd probably be writing about this week if I could wouldn't be the Big Dance or where Peyton ends up, it'd be the NBA trade deadline, which I suspect not all that many of my readers care about in the first place.)

Meanwhile: you should absolutely check out these other fine areas of interwebs excellence:

Brand New Kind Of Photography
My friend Ags runs a phenomenal site where she takes a lot of very pretty photographs and writes about what she's shooting. It's mostly bands, but also lots of baseball, and occasionally other eclectic stuff as well. If you like compelling images and whip-smart, stream-of-consciousness discussions of good drumming, jangly guitars, and two-seam fastballs, this is for you. Enjoy.

Joe Posnanski
Or as my friend Laura refers to him: Joe F^$% Posnanski. (She means that in the best superlative sense. Which, well, duh, because JOE F$%&^ POSNANSKI)

Looper's Delight
Something I haven't messed with much recently, because I've been on a southern-roots-y vector musically for the past three years, but this is the internet bible if you enjoy the use of looping (this includes everything from DJs to Keller Williams, so it's a broad patch of musical territory). Dig it.

The Fearless Songwriter
My buddy Timmy is the most persistently, relentlessly creative person I know. Enjoy his adventures and musings while exploring the alchemical art that is writing songs.

And, if you haven't checked them out before, my three favorite NBA sites:

The Basketball Jones
Hoops-obsessed Canadians who run daily podcasts and write hilarious blog posts.

Hardwood Paroxysm
The spiritual (and possibly metaphysical) descendent of Free Darko (RIP). Now with even more meticulously detailed analysis and intelligent snark. These guys are the jam.

Ball Don't Lie
Because ball doesn't lie, people. IT NEVER LIES!!!!

See you in a week. Thanks for reading.

"These songs are true, these days are ours." - Paul Simon