step child

for the longest time i used to think portland, or was some nice place to visit but once i left, i felt better that i was returning to seattle. nowadays, i am on the other side of the fence as i love to go there and i want to go all the time and not leave until i have searched every corner. and this is a new feeling but it was pushed over the edge with this article from day before yesterday's nytimes. earlier this year i visited 3x and all three times i hit some amazing dining places, purchased some great records, shoes and saw a great show by lucinda williams at the amazing crystal ballroom! so, this is not just about food but what i think portland has is that it has clearly defined itself as not being seattle or vancouver. and hell if i am not happy that i am in the middle here in the emerald city. so, no longer do i get excited that portland has no sales tax and people pump your gas...call me lewis and/or clark as i instead look forward to more adventures there. very soon too - maybe really soon.

more later!!

edmunds

there are some things you cant cover up with lipstick and powder, i thought i heard you mention my name, cant you talk any louder ? dont come any closer, dont come any nearer my vision of you cant get any clearer, oh, i just want to hear girls talk! i got a loaded imagination being fired by girls talk but i cant say the words you want to hear...

sunday morning

i love the feeling of relief. last sunday morning i got one after a long, long, really long saturday day and night. this relief started when i was at the el adadero on rainer ave. when i got a call...hearing a calming voice really helps soothe the nerves and as much as this sounds nuts, hearing someone who is less than soothing also has the same affect - or at least this time it did. what a relief to hear someone else frantic and cranked up...not me, not until saturday night. so, my fancy francy and i snacked on some mulitas (dear god - this might be the most delectable thing ever), some ceviche and tacos before moving on to bigger and maybe better things. saturday night was such a nutty pace with some (one) pot shah, tanG and ike the dog - i was glad to see sunday morning.

feeling a bit overwhelmed...try slayer or find someone who is that much busier than you will ever be.

all down the line...

w
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k
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deck parties and seeing blue and read. maybe some david cronenberg but a lot of nothing. and aminal corrective.

vanjewver, bc

did i mention i saw "knocked up" and loved it. i did but did i mention i saw "super bad" and loved it even more!! oh crap, that movie rules. i so love this push in humor that is simultaneously crass and touching. judd aptow & seth rogan are a one two punch right now in the cinema world and they are making god damned funny movies. after i watched "the 40 year old virgin" i thought, 'they have it' - it being their finger on what has been missing in comedies. i am not talking about buddy/action movies like "rush hour" which are humorless or adam sandler movies that are just downright bad...i watched one of his movies on a plane ride back from istanbul and it was great because it put me to sleep! what i saw was so unfunny with one of these most annoying people as a co-star, drew barrymore. these guys write guy humor that is so wrong it is right. and back to seth rogan...love him! i heard this guy on the radio recently and he had a canadian accent (love it)after all, he is from vancouver but he also had this incredibly funny stoner laugh. and yes!!! he is a stoner - uh, he is from vancouver after all. this is the kind of guy i can hang with...

this nerdlinger jonah hill along with michael cera (also canadian like rogen) aka george michael are total crack-ups too. i jonah and seth can be brothers with the jew-fros and just idiotic looks on their faces. i went to hebrew school with guys that looked like this but none of them were funny. these guys make me laugh...i hope they can continue to do so for a long time. so, go see "super bad" - movie of the year! so far...

earache my eye m

i don't like technology, i love it. no, i hate it. wait, both!!! my cell phone and i are like mortal enemies and when it comes to using the computer - or needing it, i still find that i have this on going love/hate thing. fun isn't it *not really* - but the beautiful thing is that technology is changing rapidly and that makes me kind of adjust and change too. sure, the love/hate remains but where am i in the middle of all of this? soon, not dealing with it like i used to.

so that leads me to townes van zandt...oh, he's such a great singer! i love him and you can too downloading this amazing record "the late, great townes van zandt". wait, this did not come out after he died but years before in 1972. e n j o y - !

meeting of the mindz

the view from the deck at my apartment is so nice. i sit outside and look at mt. rainer, lunar sightings, beacon hill and the baseball and football stadiums. incredible really! and i want to continue watching stuff from this point of view for it reminds me of the simple things. i love eating outside (thanks kak!) even if it is uncomfortable but soley because i find these two things about food remain somewhat true; 1. eating with your hands is fun and food almost always tastes better and 2. eating outside can be soooooo relaxing.

i mention this because i am being pulled across the world and as of late, i want to just quit my job, leave this point of view, move to san francisco and wear a sweater in august. i am going to try and find myself in vietnam and s.e.a. this january or february. when i come back - - then i will decide about this view. or my viewpoint in general.

i want a dog.

zombie flanders

after much chat about music this weekend - and i am going to post my rants and raves about bumbershoot soon - i came to realize i have not been too inspired as of late. it got me to thinking about music that does knock me out every single listen without any pause or thought. almost a month ago i posted a tribute to nusrat fateh ali khan and now i am going rave about someone i never saw perform live. i have maybe two or three regrets about not seeing a performer or band - one of them is without a doubt and probably the biggest slip up i have made seeing tons of music, the mighty FELA KUTI. and i was recently listening to his "mr. follow follow" lp and it was just freaking me out. so insane, so inspiring and so god damned beautiful. i think everybody should listen to fela - - - so, here is fela's zombie lp for your flavor.

he played the olympic auditorium in the mid-eighties when this dofus missed him...uh, twice i believe. what was i thinking? or, what was i doing that made this glaring omission? either too much weed then or just too much which has me forgetting but let's not have regrets, let's listen and get off our asses!

do it to it.

there is only one thing worse than a hipster

and that is a hipster my age - soon to be 45. still, this video is pretty damn good.

jg means jew girl

doesn't this just make you happy? here we have my girl jay gee check, check, checking out the beastie boys (look carefully) and is oh so happy! i love this photo as it transcends the "being there" shot at a concert or event. to me it has more of an eyewitness effect that creates such emotion...i love it! i just had to share this one.

which reminds me - didn't i say i was taking lots of fotos these days? yes, below please find another shot. of course those in seattle know that is the koolest haus in our fair city, the downtown public library. i have waxed poetic about how much i love this place and just had to drop yet another bomb and say that with my driving by this place m-f, i find it to be one of most beautiful buildings in our fair world.

i have been undertaking photo taking in the past couple weeks withOUT good results. and i plan on taking more in and posting some soon.

it was fine at the time but the laws have changed...

memories are funny and i don't want to think too much about the past other than a reference tool. yet, as i mentioned how last week i received a letter from a friend i have not spoke to in, uh - 22 or so years. how old are you? that is right - 22 years ago! and no biggie although i have yet to contact him. and this picture you see...a friends old place on a sunny day one year ago to this day when we seemed to talk and see more of each other (she also moved from this noisy yet sweet apt less than one month after this snap). but things get in the way or we get in the way - meaning, friendships/relationships expire. memories can't wait and memories live on. so, do i contact this guy and 'catch up' or do i just send an email, thank him and ask him how the hell did he get my address!? i bet he got it from here. i checked out some names, ok - a lot of names and there was a lot of addresses, phone numbers and year of birth. weird? not really when you get to think about it. orwellian? sure, i will buy that. all in all, i am just not sure what to do with 22+ years passing and reconnecting. i do not go to high school reunions for that very reason.

the past has passed.

everything happens to me

japanese record buyer...lake swimmer...thelonius monk...mozzer - snoozer - breakfast...ali y kristy not kristy ali...bestest...roky...tanG & shah shah!...

"despite all our efforts, things will get better" - will rogers

feel

a couple of you have asked me "what's up with the downloads"? i still don't know and after my earlier posting today - i'm breaking it down again to another d/l of one of my favorite records ever. yes, i say that a lot and often to the point where it really loses its own juice but damn it, big star has a place in my heart that is indescribable. backed with tons of way back machine feelings (hello, i got this record close to 27 years ago!) and some of the most heart felt lyrics ever, this - the first big star lp along with the other two el pee's by these guys just never stop to amaze. i recall seeing alex/chilton at al's bar in l.a. in 84 or so and i the wide eyed hopeful was thinking he'd do songs like "el goodo" or "thirteen" - instead he did not do one big star song. and he looked like he was pissed off the entire time...i loved it. bastard. so, hit the link here and listen to memphis lx and his co-horts in all their glory.

and after this weekend, i feel like i'm dying...i'm never gonna live again

old and stupid + young and stupid = stupid stupid

last week i was dining on some crepe, soup and bun with my pal named rome and she said something funny that is resonating...she said "you are making too much of this". the "this" part is not important (remember, we were sharing food) - just that somethings are more important then others and i think we inherently know which are and which are not. how the hell do we get off track then if this intrinsic edge falls apart?

about a half hour ago, we just got out of the lake for a nice swim after some jamaica made by same said friend. while out there, she told me, she would save me if i was to feel like i was going to drown. and not to worry. emotions can be funny that way because now i got to shower and get that lake off me, she needs to finish making challah, grand hallways, drowning, etc. i ask myself, most things are rarely a matter of life or death...what is? what is?

so, that leads me from one of my favorite people to one of my absolute fave musicians in the whole wide world, van morrison. geez louise, i have written about him before but this live recording (in two parts no less pt. 1 and pt. 2) showcases van in his just his pitch perfect best in 1970. what does this have to do with vietnamese food, lake swimming and right from wrong? everything! and nothing.

death from above and below and along side

often i get asked...what was the best concert you have ever seen. in fact, i just got asked that recently and i said the same thing i say everytime, "i have many best concerts" yet i always return to one which is when i saw nusrat fateh ali khan perform at the university of washington. to this day my mind is completely blown away by the grace, the power and pureness of his music. i recall my friend hParker telling me about his concert and how tickets were on sale at wall of sound record store...we left the spot we were standing at and purchased them immediately. it was like yesterday i was looking at the tickets and amazed i was going to be able to see such an amazing artist - little did i know i was going to see something much bigger than i anticipated.

the concert was simply mesmerizing. quickly i was hypnotized by the polyrhythms, the harmonium, the handclaps and the yelps from the audience everytime nusrat spoke. people were dancing and it was so filled with joy and happiness, i turned to the pakastani lady sitting next to me and asked "why are people so excited" looking for an answer beyond the obvious and i got it...she told me "these songs are so old, i have not heard them and i can remember my mother playing them for me when i was young" - and friends, she was not that young herself. nusrat and party would start playing and people would leap out of their seats clapping and reaching out to the sky! i was so moved by the music and the surroundings, tears came to my eyes. it was that damn good!

nusrat fateh ali khan died ten years ago to this day and two weeks after fela kuti died - - god, i felt like the wind was taken out of my sails. let's all remember nusrat and fela and their greatness!!

40 love

last week my activity partner and i went to play some tennis. what a funny game in that i find it is such a social time for us which is funny because we do spend a lot of time together doing other things but this time our game was a late endevour so we did not incorporate a meal, a drink or anything. she picked up on this and so we got much chatting in that it left me with the impression that tennis is not a vehicle for excercise only but for close time. i recalled the last time i was playing with a different pal...he talked about such a variety of things we never get to talk about when around his wife or when i am working next to him (not neil). so, now i want everybody to learn how to play tennis as it has become my bar, my drinking hole - my social time. since i rarely (read, selective) invite friends over to my home so the tennis courts will work! i feel a sense of accomplishment.

which leads me down this path? communication comes in so many forms these days...phones, email, texting, instant messaging.....letters and cards. i still get a letter here and there from my dad but yesterday i got a letter that kind of has me thinking. i will tell you the end of the letter first, a suggestion for me to contact this guy by email, a phone call or another letter. that is what happens when you have not spoke to someone in probably, uh - 22 years! i got a letter from someone i went to high school with and now what do i do? i guess one just says thanks...? you tell me.

brenda or blendah

you know what just makes me happier than the happiest of prozac people in this world currently? ichiro. he is so fun to watch, he is all baseball all the time...and everytime he is up to bat, someone around me comments on his weird stance, his pulling up on his jersey or maybe they comment on his sick swing but no matter what, he rules. currently, the m's are enjoying a tie for first place in the wild card race and that too makes me pretty happy.

you know what makes me saddder than the saddest teardrop? just hearing that your friends are going through a tough time. and that is maybe testimony to my good ears but i am hearing a lot of that lately. i hope you and you and everybody else has a wonderful something soon...and don't let it get you down.

so last weekend there was dancing in the street...zev was playing 4t5's on the street in fremont, a*garcia was hitting the groove with her new shades, people were digging the scene with the gangster lean and damn it, good times, good times. then there was this issue about weed smoking during the day along with parmesan and chocolate...lovely if you are in high school or overworked. touche! i am jealous.

i was also in lake washington on saturday. that is where all my thoughts slip out of my ears and into the water never to be found again. one thing i noticed about lake washington and swimming that seems to be an on-going thing, it is very wet.

hi to francie pantsy, ralph lauren the swimmer and that bike rider who's name i cannot recall right now...you are awful and awfully cute.

d I Y means do it yrslf

note to la SWEET >>> nice foto. great, sexy shoes.

for everybody else here's what songs i have been listening to these days:

"damn right i'm somebody (pts. 1 and 2)" fred wesley and the jb's
"clek clek boom" voltair
"bird flu" m i a
"people's parties" joni mitchell
"the return of evil bill" clinic
"she's always in my hair" prince
"live with me" rolling stones
"impossible germany" wilco
"magic mountain" john fahey with cul de sac
"kamakazi" pj harvey
"justice to the people" the upsetters
"you go your way and i'll go mine" bob dylan
"unsatisfied" the replacements

have a nice weekend you guys! next week - baseball, drugs, devil in the red dress, kombucha, dancing in the street , bianci bike babe and thunderbird!

hennes och mauritz

here is a picture of my pal megchops...she is pacNW through and through but she knows how to dress. most of my best dressed pals are not from here...my best dressed chums are east coasters transplanted to the land of blah dressing. not to say i am the best dressed man...even though i think i look great 90% of the time. but i digress.

are you familiar with h&m Stores? i have some clothes from this chain - they started in europe and i like the inexpensive, nice looking clothes they sell. they have been expanding in the states and well, they are opening a store in seattle at the u-village (uh, duh!) in spring of next year. does this mean people will actually get out of their fleece and birkenstocks and wear nicer clothes? we shall see yet i feel that change has been happening but only slightly. maybe h&m will help!!! now go and check out pike pine for some more seattle fashionista action.

swede like candy

thanks woody.

nobody is born with good taste, its aquired. and how it is obtained is through another lead, maybe a book, maybe a person you know or maybe a friend or family member...that is usually the case for me. yet, how i got to know ingmar bergman and his movies was through woody allen. he lead me down that path not due to his style or his making 'bergman-esque' movies (and fellini-esque for that matter) but his chosen admiration in print. seeing "annie hall" and "manhattan" at the ripe ages of 15 and 17 made me feel more in touch with real filmmaking and although i was fortunate enough to have parents that loved film an awful lot, these were my discoveries. so, woody allen spoke so highly of bergman, his style and his writing that i did not 'get it' until i was in my 20t's watching "wild strawberries" and just getting blown out of the water by the expression, the imagery and the humanity. astounding. i must confess in that i have not seen a lot of bergman movies as he has a ton...but he has left me with a deep impression. and back to woody for a moment - he went as far as even using his cinematographer sven nykvist (seen above with ib) and his "crimes and misdemenors" (a personal fave) pays such a homage to bergman one might view it as too close but i think both of these guys stand alone. i want to write more about ingmar bergman but i best leave it up to you to seek out. go to the library and if you did not get any antonioni films, get those also.