Steve Seel has been gone the past few days. Where has he been? On a European vacation, and he's currently in Scotland. He send us a little update about his trip:

Greetings from Glasgow! It's the end of my second full day in Scotland - and yes, not only have I tried the haggis, I actually had seconds. But, I'll save you that story for another time. Scotland's national referendum for independence happens today, and if it passes, it will be one of those rare times in history that one country separates from another completely peacefully. Kind of a staggering concept to contemplate.

As luck would have it, our scheduled plans (which we made many months ago) have us leaving for Ireland on the very day that the vote for independence is going to take place here in Scotland (the results won't be in for some time - they have to get the ballots back from the Orkney Islands by boat). However, we've had a chance to get a sense of how things might go, and I have to say, we've definitely encountered much more enthusiasm in our hosts for the prospect of separation than for remaining with a united Great Britain. Apparently, this has come of a shock even to the Scots; just a few weeks ago, those polling "yes" (for independence) were polling way behind the "no's" (or as the anti-separation posters say, "no thanks" - an oddly uninspiring slogan, wouldn't you say?) Today, the polls are neck and neck. However, when you look around, just about all you see are big, blue "YES!" signs, in the windows of homes, shops, and cars. There are Scottish flags hanging from balconies all around, and honestly, not a whole lot of Union Jacks.

Holy Belle and Sebastian! Is this country of kilts seriously just about to split-off onto its own, after centuries and centuries of English rule?

Earlier today, traffic was unusually heavy with pro-independence demonstrators pouring into the city when we were returning from a day-trip to Edinburgh. A rally filled with "yes" supporters started earlier in the afternoon in George Square here, and they say that it's young people who are responsible for a lot of the swing toward "yes" in the polling. We've certainly seen a number of hipsters with "yes" shirts in the streets, but it's definitely a cross-generational thing, too. The colorful, poetic gentleman who served up our haggis last night with a few ritual remarks by poet Robert Burns was into the idea of independence. So was our 60-something guide who led us on a tour of Edinburgh Castle today. Still, he said he was having a hard time with it, and wouldn't know until the actual moment he cast his vote.

The ages and ages of history that led up to this moment are complicated - centuries filled with battles, blood, and beheadings (whether you choose to watch Braveheart or to read something a bit more in-depth, you can find far better summations on the matter than I can offer, heaven knows). But as I said, it looks like something enormously significant could happen here today, peacefully.

So today, play some Jesus and Mary Chain or some Glasvegas, cue-up some Teenage Fanclub or Camera Obscura, and give a "slainte" to the legions of Scots who go are going to the polls to make a decision that, significantly, can't be undone. When was the last time you had to do that in a voting booth?

Yesterday we played:
Travis "All I Want to Do is Rock"
Belle and Sebastian "Dear Catastrophe Waitress"
Bay City Rollers "Keep on Dancing"
Glasvegas "It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry"
Camera Obscura "Do it Again"
Big Country "In a Big Country"
The Fratellis "Chelsea Dagger"

What did we miss out on yesterday that we should play today?

Songs Played:

Teenage Fanclub - "Start Again"

Chvrches - "The Mother We Share"

The Waterboys - "Fisherman's Blues"

Franz Ferdinand - "This Fire"

The Jesus and Mary Chain - "Sometimes Always"

The Proclaimers - "500 Miles"

Skids - "Into The Valley"