shooting people

talking with whee

i have no problem casting a huge net here and say that the uk has produced some of the worst bands in recent years, say, ten or so years. i am just not a fan of the wee sound or twee sound or knee or tree or whatever it is. the singers don't sing, they seem to whisper (hello albarn) and the music is just not there for me. when did this start exactly? i dunno and i don't think it is fair to say all uk music is awful but belle and sebastian among others just don't do it for me. these guys do! the mighty CLINIC!


i saw these guys about five or so years ago and they were fantastic! i don't really concentrate on the goofy surgical masks - a gimmick for sure - but the music speaks for itself and this new video is proof. freaky sounding and just aggressive enough to give you a slight jab, clinic put out another great record after kind of slipping on the winchester cathedral lp. i don't like the horrors, the artic monkeys and i will give the good, the bad and the queen a listen thanks to paul s. and tony a. in the band but until then, enjoy CLINIC!

life's the illusion, love is the dream...

ugh, i feel old. this is a feeling that rarely comes across my neurotic self but last night it hit me hard. i decided to put on the tv to a show i don't really like at all, sixty minutes. i saw the "i'm morely, i'm blah and i'm blah" and the briefings on what the features were on, etc. the very first commercial is for AARP and the music is the god damned buzzcocks "everybody's happy nowadays" and i just sink like a ship. wha th fuc!!?? first off, i love many a buzzcocks tune but that is one of my favorites so it hurts that much more. part of me wants to write a letter to the aarp (not an email) and tell them their use of rock and/or roll in an ad is very distracting and noisy...basically come off like some old codger. yeah, that will show them. not.

i did not watch the show and remembered seeing andy rooney when i lived in new york a couple times. he looked to be about 188 years old so that made me feel better. maybe i'm dead.

jew chicksa not shicksa

shaabat shalom y'all...

christ! what is the deal with jewish women...i have found myself in a trance by one in the recent five years or so and a couple more in the last two or so years. one specific woman is sarah silverman. many despise her brand of humor and it is easy to dismiss it as not being p c which i can understand but really, she is so damn funny. i just got this la weekly article sent to me about her and her upcoming show on comedy central. i really like her and have seen her perfomance three times and every time she killed. seattle, go see her next month at the showbox and laugh.

so - back to the jew girl thingy for a moment. my pal gNat goes out with a jew girl, so does my pal washburn (wait, he married her) and i always hear about jew girl this and gew jirl that. when i was living in so cal i did not want to be around them and when living in nyc (the upper west side no less - jewish peeps everywhere) i was living with my vegan, half vietnamese half white girlfren. what is it that these jewish girls possess? i think i know but as deborah harry so aptly sang..."i know, but i don't know".

Brown Ford

when james brown died on christmas day - and damn it, i cannot get that through my head, the GFOS, mr. dynamite, mr. please please please, soul brother #1 is dead...say it ain't so... and then president gerald ford kicked it, many folks started talking about the three's. how famous (whatever) people die in 3's. well, that did not happen did it? i don't think so, correct me if i am wrong. ahmet ertegun does not count unless you are some record nerdlinger (uh, like me). that being stated when people started yapping about the next person to go, castro was tossed out there and that is a pretty safe and good bet for 2007. someone else ponied up another prez...jimmy carter. i say no to that - he's looking great, active and not 93 like ford. jesus, 93. anywho, i actually thought it would be ms. liz as you see her here looking very foxy and washing a dog no less! this thought is going through my head again and i don't like that feeling. ms. taylor is kind of weirdo now (and then too) but she has been in a ton of movies i really dig "suddenly last summer", "virgina woolfe" and "drivers seat". so, hats off to elizabeth...now just don't leave yet without telling the world that michael jackson is the scariest person ever and richard burton was richard burton. elizabeth taylor defines freak sauce...weirdo, scary and totally cool.

really?

holy guacamole...i swear, maybe you tube is saving saturday night live for anytime i want to watch the best of the current episodes, you tube saves the day. 'dick in a box' with that andy kid and jt = hi-fricken-larious! when prince was on last year, i saw both songs in all the purple badness on you tube again. remember the chronic of narnia? ok, enough - here's the latest newest clip and this made me laugh out loud too

throw your weed away!

knocked out...

consider this for a moment...who are you in this picture? muhammad ali or are you on the mat on your back, sonny liston? recently i felt like both men and what a feeling to have knocked yourself out! but wait, the look on ali's face is exactly that feeling i have currently and that is one of triumph, strength and overcoming all the bullshit i created by knocking myself out. last week was muhammad ali's birthday and i completely did not metion it...he was my first and remains my number one hero. happy belated to my main man ALI - !! your picture here reminds me of every single thing i love about you...especially when i recall seeing interviews with you after this second liston fight and you told reporters you were telling liston "get up"!

indeed, get up!

achtung baby

what was the last thing you did not catch when you were not paying attention? last week, within the space of five days i got not one, not two but three parking tickets (two from the same traffic cop, different days no less)!! distracted? sure but better to just say i was lazy...but if anybody has ever drove with me and seen the way i drive and park - it comes as a bit of a surprise that i finally received a ticket. i am notorious for parking wherever i please and not getting a ticket let alone driving sometimes like a maniac. but really, beyond the laziness and going well past distractions, this is more about just not paying attention. things go by when you fixate on one or two or one things...and i do not have myopia damn it. does it take getting parking tickets to wake me up? i'd much rather spend the $122.00 (for the three) on a million other things!! i am actually going to fight one of these and we'll see how it comes out.

meanwhile...i am paying closer attention and i see a lot more than what i was looking at last week. good thing, i nearly lost it after number three...

Ese oscuro objeto del deseo

oh, did i mention the frye museum here in seattle...yes,often. one item of note while visiting last was i saw an old friend jd and she looked great. i also saw some trimpin thing with clogs and two bits which brings a smile to my face but in the bookstore i spyed the book you see above this banter. "film as a submissive art" really gave me an education on the much darker side of cinema. it took me forever to find this book - which i found at the strand while living in nyc close to ten years ago - but now it is back in print. i strongly recommend this book to anybody who thinks they know a lot about movies and cinema. all the heavy hitters are within these pages like antonioni, brakhage, goddard, etc. but he does pay attention to one of my favorite people to ever live luis bunuel. after seeing this outside of my own home has me picking it up again and i realize sometimes i re-read this kind of book and it all seems fresh all over again.

get this book!

oh!

three is a magic number for music...really now - best bands are three with a singer or even better - the trio. dear god, sleater kinney could clean your clock live and they made exceptional records. one thing which always impressed me about them was how their artistic angle was there was no real "art" beyond rock and roll. they embodied rock with blistering songs and no god damn bass. i am not going to compare the two but when one listens to the jon spencer blues explosion and they hit that same groove - that can be just so sweet to the ears and hips. i for one will sincerely miss sleater kinney. from the first time i saw them play to the last they consistantly kicked it out hard and harder than most.

but back to the trio angle. hmmm, how about the jam? so much (if not most) of their music still holds up thirty years later. years ago there was a band called beat happening. the nutty trio who made music i'd rather not try to describe and ditto for that other washington now san francisco freak trio known as the melvins. oh, that nirvana band was mostly and best as a trio! local favorites the a-frames...a trio of mind thumping craziness. are the flaming lips a trio? sure they are! and what about the trio's of hip hop like tribe called quest (starting as a quad), the beastie boys and de la soul? all triple trouble...bring on the three's! anybody who wants to throw rush in the middle of this i am ok with that not because i love 'tom sawyer' but because geddy lee is jewish and i love my jewish rock stars -and i don't mean billy joel and gene simmons. oy!

violent affection

perplexed by being so tired and ready to sleep...i am drawn to scribble some words. and really, only few things are on my mind currently and translating these might not be completely easy. certainly i can express some simple thoughts...like the listening to my morning jacket. everything about this band spells out a band i would not fall for but i have like a ton of bricks. the song i am listening to is "what a wonderful man" from the album 'z' - it is so damn good. i love these guys. oh yeah, i had a bowl of soup tonight, homemade noodles, crazy good dumplings with scallions and white pepper, i totally love the stuff. and sunday is my favorite day of the week...love it! it is long, sleepy and semi-productive. see that fairfield porter painting, god i love that too - as i have mentioned previously, one of my favorite places here in the emerald city is the frye and the f. porter show they had there some time back about 2.5 years ago was sublime. i love his paintings.

can you see where i am going...goodnight!

for how long must we tolerate...

what an incredible day...even if i kinda (well, a lot) despise the democrats this is such a great day for maybe, possibly - a change will come with the house and the senate changing hands. i like nancy pelosi and i love the idea of a woman as speaker of the house. i am feeling good about all of this and feel as though we all need to pay close attention to the coming weeks and months on these newly elected folks...and hold them to the promises made this last election year. look at that bastard cheney...he does not care about you or anything you do. we all must take the time to do whatever we can to stop this war! we all must do something, anything. get involved locally - and let's make some changes along with the people in power. this is a big day.

if we want it.

for elG

for you
from me
with love

her face is like a beautiful modigliani painting and her body curves with the arc of a cubists dream...she speaks like she is on a highway with the words of a storyteller - - her smile radiates and her laugh knows all....she wears jewelry that sparkles with her phenomenal eyes in a fight to the finish
she's got everything she needs but she is not sure what she wants
captivated by all that she is and all that she is, is - elG

porque te quiero.
siempre

rock on and rock off

quickly...name your favorite record from when you were 13...ok, fourteen or fifteen. prior to my hearing x, the clash and any sort of punk rock and/roll, the stones, deep purple, and the always present led zeppelin exisited. especially the latter, zep mattered so much. i had decent taste too for i was still listening to bowie, your krla low rider stuff and al green on eight track in my mothers car but zeppelin was mine (and a kajillion other teenagers too). led zeppelin III remains a huge record in my headspace soundtrack. i hope you like it too after you hit this here download check out song "out on the tiles" - zep perfection. how i post this love of zep while listening to joanna newsom is beyond me but there is some connection...

like a fruit, that's ripe for the picking...

i do not care about the year end as some guide post to reflect on the past 365 days however, i am a bundle of contridictions so i thereby give you an informal list of the best things of this thing called 2006.

where to start...how's about the phenomenal tribe called quest show at bumbershoot this year? ok, it rocked the hard jams like nobodys business. i have always wanted to see tribe and they delivered big time!! i saw lots of decent shows this year but that might be the best along with coco rosie. swimming in lake washington proves to me to be one of the finest experiences about living in seattle. refreshing, exhiliarting and downright cathartic, the lake hits me the right way. when there i run into people i see once in a while and the time down there just says 'summer'. the darger show at the frye art museum...dear god, that was a jaw dropper. i went three times and probably still tripping out. eating at the el asadero taco bus on rainer, the schezuewan (sp) noodle bowl and the kebab house in greenwood were the places to dine - all offer inexpensive, delicioso food all the time yet remain slightly chaotic in their own little ways. my nephews and neice - are simply the best. i love those kids and feel the finest word spoken that hit my ears this year hands down is 'uncle'. friends friends and how they put up with me and my on-going insanity, thank you all. and speaking of, ahem, friends, seeing some go to the wayside was a gift that keeps giving...hindsight always 20/20 eh? reading about sonny liston, bee season, the new yorker and entertainment weekly (did i just admit that) were all enriching. the magnuson-kelly experience in august was lovely and just perfect. so this year has been nothing less that extraordinary and i am so grateful. the best thing about this year? sleeping!

move it or movie it

i see a fair share of movies yet never enough. this year i did ok, not great but ok. same goes for the quality of films this year however i found a couple that really did it right. the first three that comes to mind are pedro almodovar's "volver", the nearly flawless "iraq in fragments" and "little children".

all three demonstrate the power of cinema for me. rich characters in both the feature movies and the doc, "iraq in fragments" showed me something i must remind myself of often - just how small this world is. tired of hearing and reading about iraq? me too but damn it, this movie is a must - not only for the incredible humanity but it clearly is one of the most beautifully shot movies about something so fucked up i ever have laid my eyes on. i have already wrote about "little children" and just cannot encourage you enough to see this fantastic movie! it is still resonating after a couple weeks...clearly shining brightly. almodovar's movies are like gifts for me - always a surprise and really exposing a part of me that i kind of forget exists. "volver" has pedro almodovar giving you his love of ladies (and his lovely ladies) with such compassion and admiration, one watches with complete thrill - !! i am so glad he keeps making such great movies, his consistancy really has to be admired and i for one cannot be happier.

strange but i found these movies fascinating where i did not think i would: "united 93" & "casino royale". hmmm! other films this year i really loved: "the departed", "neil young: heart of gold", "borat", "half nelson", "OSS 117: nest of spies", "heart of the game" & "babel". best movies i have not seen yet: "letters from iwo jima", "pans labryinth", "perfume" among others. most overrated movie of the year: "little miss sunshine" - c'mon, grandfather arkin dies and that sweet child does not have any emotional reaction whatsoever? that still bugs me. omigawd, movies this year i am going to see and i must be nuts: "dreamgirls" & "rocky balboa" - wtf, rocky? well, let me explain...i know someone

me versus me

coffee smells so good but is awful when it becomes part your breath. and i love coffee but have a weird thing about my breath being bad. i want to tell people i know that they have bad breath and sometimes i do, other times i just can't bring myself to do it. do my friends tell me when i have bad breath? betty does. i have another friend who i dine with now and again and he always tells me if i have some residual mustard from a sandwich on the face or something to that order with the silent finger pointing to his own upper lip. aren't we fortunate to have people like this in our lives? i think so but i am so unyielding when it comes to receiving other advice that i wonder how one differentiates between mustard, bad breath and everything else. i hear talk and talk and elicit conversations of all sorts but now i find myself thinking, if i have bad breathe - i tend to keep my mouth shut until i can brush my teeth or i stand at an appropriate distance to best suit my conversationalist. nowadays, i want to keep my mouth shut and i am realizing this prior to my opening and saying anything - how so new of me! and my blog will be taking a turn for that as i write about my favorite movies of the year, jesse paul miller, winters arrival, ferry rides to get a snack and how i want a cat and a dog and another cat. i talk too much but before i forget to mention i

bunny

vashti bunyan. who? vashti bunyan that's who. i was not sure who to listen to last night while eating stir fry with orange cat's bff so i threw on vashti bunyan's second *in thirty years* cd "lookafterring" and it was a perfect for the experience. joni came to mind which seems the only direction you need to go in. ok, wait - nick drake was tossed out there too...and true that. i mention this cd because i listen to so much loud music that sometimes when i have too much on my mind and just that perfect amount in my hands, going slow is the best for me. bunyan sings sweetly and without being too wispy or syrupy - go get this or the above first album by her "another diamond day"...i bet you like.

sueno y moon

hi dean...how's things after luna? fine with me too - actually better than fine, things are great. what made me think of you and the galaxies of the past...? places, songs, and people, er, person for sure. but what exactly does it all mean when the first thing i thought of hearing you recently around turkey day that conjures up this text? sorry but the dream syndicate. at my new favorite blog detailed twang by a mr. jay hinman - he too recently wrote of your influencial quartet and their glorious "days of wine and roses" lp. i "you tubed" (love that!) and found y'all at the whisky *where i saw the dream syndicate play in the years past* doing "that's what you always say". fantastic!

and just last saturday night/sunday morning "the days of wine and roses" was a soundtrack to what turned out to be quite a sleep deprived yet delicious and luscious time. when one is listening to steve wynn sing "when you smile" and you just taste (or dream) that smile he is talking about, it heightens everything at once. at this point, nothing, nobody can save me - not you, not morrissey outside my door (who did not come in to chat - he just sang outside), and the phone did not ring. when you hear the dream syndicate dean, what do you think of? i most certainly get taken back to the the thoughts of the past when i was 20 years old when this crazy great record came out but these thoughts have seemed to be replaced by the most beautiful grey sunday december morning.

fathers and suns

and plants and birds and rocks and things.

southern california. people refer to it with curtains of orange color, el lay or even a cultural wasteland but i big to differ. or, what it is becomes so much personalized and made onto your own. i've seen strip malls with any kind of food one can desire, brown people everywhere, distractions of all sorts, the omni present traffic and sleepy communities where everybody knows nobody. more than this, i can deal with this place like i never have before. i, tourist! and what a wonderful way to visit where one grew up. calling this home is best called "home one time", once - in a time where the same remained however the water was clean, orange groves exisited and the good old days where something parents spoke about. going down memory lane with friends and old neighbors is a bit much for this guy. looking back at the past gives one a navigation point but looking at my niece and nephew reminded me the good old days are happening now. kids don't kid. they live.

*thanks to floyd for the crazy pic of del taco*

j o e y cunyq, cold, koolhaus

so i creep, yeah...just keep it on the down low

i am using shatner, a jew and a candian one at that, to lighten up this blog. his image says it all, "go and download some wierd soundtrack at archer-bullseye or for that matter, go to those links to the left and see what you can find. i'm amazed on what is out there...last week music from polanski's 'fearless vampire killers', popol vuh soundtrack to 'aguirre' and more morricone that one can fathom. or go for a swell fairport convention download at chocoreve...illegal? don't ask me and i am saying it is or it is not. just have fun and dear god, don't download that goonies soundtrack.

il gato nove code....! viva goblin e maestro argento!

411

clowtime is over. time to take cover. while others just talk and talk. somebody's watching where the others don't walk, clowntime is over.

this is the second time this week i am referencing elvis costello lyrics. i am either showing my age or my love of his prose or both. yes, both. still, i find solace in his words above since i am not sure what one, read, me, does with information that they just don't understand yet it involves them. i once asked the writer susie bright about the 'number' question after getting a new girlfriend some years back. i got the question, 'how many people have you slept with other than me'? it was not about telling her the truth i thought, but what she does with the information after i divulge. ms. bright agreed that honesty and being forthright was important but what happens after is touchy (no matter what the number). this dubious emotion came across me last night after a phone call from a friend and it caused some serious insomnia. i'd rather this blog not be some sort of therapy for me or you dear three or four readers, but tell me...if someone tells you something about yourself, how they feel about your friendship and you can't seem to make sense of it, what the hell do you do AFTER they tell you they can't carry on the way it has gone in the past. hell, i am ok with it to a certain degree but there is a nagging feeling i cannot escape. furthermore, i don't think said friend knows either - only known emotion is that it is wrong. well, shut my mouth.

this phone call was after seeing this amazing movie little children. don't read too much about it but do go see it. not often enough are viewers allowed to see characters so rich with emotion and complexity without sentimentalizing, this movie really rang my brain. sure suburbia is an easy target but this fine story exceeds the suburban city limits. kate winslet seems so daring and fearless in her role, one can't help wonder if she is acting at all - she was incredible. everybody was great in this movie! one line from the movie is all i will quote, 'beauty is overrated' yet that coming out of the mouth of a beauty no less! so when ms. winslet's character hears that, she too is not quite sure what to do with that information.

what does that word mean?

my favorite street in seattle is yesler. i like the name, i like where it goes, i like the bus route (#27) and i like i like i like. yes to yesler! yesler houses two of my favorite places: rl's home of good bar-b-que and the samayra center . these fine yoga people are outstanding folks teaching and bringing health to many in the emerald city. hold on, back to yesler and the many changes.

continuing to like seattle can be challenging at best and with the many chnages, read, condos and what not - one must keep a stiff upper lip. this last summer i was out hitting some garage sales when i was on yesler and i saw one in the garage of a new development. two people sat inside, a man and a woman. she was wearing a kexp sweatshirt made to look like a kiss army logo (oh the irony!) and about 35ish while he was just about 40 or so...can't recall what he was wearing. still, they had a bunch of nonsensical garbage, as if they did not have the where with all to 're-gift' everything but instead decided to sell it at a garage sale. wonderful. soon i the protaganist begged some answers out of them and heard him use the "g" word - gentrification. i told him i did not know what that word meant...and kindly asked for a definition. more words like diversity, changes, black, white were spoken by them...i used words like, jewish, micronerd, japanese, foreigners (gasp) and before you know it, i have two new friends that don't like me. when people who are moving into the neighborhood they feel is being gentrified and call out about gentrification, it seems like a chicken/egg syndrome. what kind of emotion was going through the brains of my yesler neighbors during this conversation was unclear. an unspoken truce seemed to be called and i proceeded to go and swim at the lake.

above is a picture of the corner of jackson and 18th, one block south of the mighty yesler. that is the wonder bread (oh the irony pt. II) factory soon to be demolished for more condos and apartments - and a retail center. i am all about positive growth in our city but one must suspend hope to a certain degree when we can only wish for low income housing for the many who need a roof. next up, the goodwill on dearborn and rainer! change is good and good change is better. isn' t it?

secondary modern

i really need to sleep but instead, i am thinking of the most beautiful painting. this one came to mind.

for you elGato.

goodnight.

everyday...not one day EVERYDAY

today is world AIDS day. today? every day is world aids day friends. i used to work many years ago at frederick and nelson in downtown seattle. f & n was a big old marshall fields department store and i look back at many aspects of that job fondly. the one thing i always reflect on was the best boss i ever had in my life, edward. what an exceptional person in every way. kind, gentle, caring, funny and downright good, he showed by example how to be. this was 1988 and my thoughts of edward still remain clear and vivid. i can still see him smile at everybody who he managed like he was your friend and made you feel very much like he cared. edward died of AIDS four years later which i found out by way of an ex coworker and to this day it brings me to unfathomable emotion.

today, there are about 40 million people living with HIV worldwide, and it is increasing in every region in the world. in africa, it is the leading cause of death -- 5,500 africans die each day from this insidious disease. every day is world AIDS day. we can work towards progress but we can only do it if we do it together.

thank you edward.

Sweden!

and yet more...yes, MORE crazy band pictures from sweden!

fotos para ti

Richie is a witch...

the last 24 hours i cannot stop listening to heavy metal. and dead moon. here is to a wonderful turkey day everybody...with some deep purple and dead moon.

54-40 or fight.

Fearless Johnston or Daniel Freaks

day before yesterday was a rainy day. and it rained some more. still, i was up early and the red envelope containing "the devil and daniel johnston" was staring at me and i was peering back. i got it out and away i went on this amazing travel though the life of Daniel Johnston. being a fan on the slightest but most certainly aware level, i found the entire 1:50 minutes of this doc fascinating in many ways. which says a lot due to my not really liking bio pics (which this is not) and i just wasn't sure i was in the mood. still, tea was made and i was riveted. this poor soul of a man is like nobody else and sure there are some characters out there but mr. johnston has a certain naivete that goes though his eyes and his highly expressive face. tragic for sure yet hopeful in some way, i hope everybody can see this great doc. this movie also reminded me that i really like his art work too...with the exception of some staged shots, this was fantastic all around.

later that night i moved from my couch a little to the west and watched another documentary "the fearless freaks". this as you might now already know is about the flaming lips. this too was also quite good however it missed the deeper intimacy that "devil" had. i like the lips and now i like them more after seeing this expose on them - and the 20+ years they have been around. the viewer gets great insight to the Coyne family and the many brothers. fantastic where the name of the movie comes from too! and funny thing too, i think many people get the idea that Wayne Coyne is some kind of nut - like, cuckoo for cocoa puffs nut - but he comes off so together and really super sweet. his music can certainly be nutty and bent but he comes off more like the pied piper with all of us following him as he sings all bloodied or in a bubble surrounded by fur suited freaks. coyne seems like someone i'd love to have dinner with and talk about 'stuff' with...nothing special, just stuff. later that night i went home and pulled out "the soft bulletin" and listened to side 2 since that was the side i placed down w/o looking. it worked and worked well. finally the punk rockers are being documented in movies...!

studio filled with sand, lsd and heartbreak - wouldn't it be nice!

i have a cassette player in my car but don't worry, i also have a five cd changer too. i listen to the cassette more if you include the time spent using it with my ipod adaptor. and i really wanna write about my ipod but i am already bored and so are you.

aren't you?

shuffle friends shuffle! shuffling songs on my ipoop is really where its at. oooh, john zorn, then aretha, maybe some kbd, maybe some ennio morricone...all are within reach however i let it just fly. i was doing that night before last and the song "i just wasn't made for these times" came on and i started to really freak out. god only knows (sorry, had to do it) i have heard that song a million and half times but this time i heard brian and his boys not from the beach sing and i was in a trance. "how dare you!" i yelled. where in hell does this music come from?!?! i'd be far from exaggerating to tell you i almost got in an accident...the car seemed to get out of control and started operating on its own. or, maybe - just maybe i lost control after hearing brian lose control.

shuffled. disheveled.

i got more than you do!

http://www.globalrichlist.com/

now to give some away...

(i know) it's only rock and roll (and i still like it)

wait a minute...you have never heard of the cold war kids? how's about division day? or what about tapes n tapes...they were so four months ago. well, listen away to kexp in our fair city of seattle, they will teach you and so will myspace if you must go there. and do so for this lofty site on the worldwideweb will allow you to see pictures of these tussled youths and even listen to these among countless other bands. it has changed...not things are changing, IT whatever it may be, has changed. and now more than ever IT seems easier to pay attention just as easy as it is to just ignore it all.

i used to not necessarily take pride in knowing somethings about contemporary rock but i seemed to have just lost caring or desire. yes, someone will try and tell me about something or someone - if i was not such a snob i'd really pay close attention too. i think t. "purple" hayes was the last person i know who would talk about new bands and i'd listen to him. this feat was largely due to his unbridled and lovely enthusiasm doubled with his incredible knowledge. yet now i am now so far removed with so many tools to my access as i mentioned above. i'd like to think this is because i am 44 but tis' far too easy of an explanation for someone who still listens to way more music then most and gets so much out of my current blasts with the past. furthermore, independent is a word which is tossed around hollywood when it comes to making movies and it seems to be misused or i just do not get the meaning any longer...and the same goes for music and possibly even more so. i go to www.m-w.com for assistance and get nowhere or no, where? i don't know. is myspace defining independence? i have been pondering this for a smidge of time as of late and really, it all seems trivial when i know i will go home and listen to ornette coleman, led zeppelin, fairport convention or myself say what rev. lovejoy said on the simpsons, "this sounds like rock and/or roll".

Bee See

don't be scared...that is peanut butter and it is cremeux peanut butter. ooh la la, it is not french peanut butter but canadian who for some reason (which we all know) have the audacity to have two languages spoken in their country...and let's hope it stays at two - cultural differences like, say, languages just seem to get in the way of progress. and i digress...for i am here to write about my recent trip to vancouver, canada. i mentioned some time ago i love it there - still do. i also wrote how i got some free canadian money and would spend it there - i did. lovely place. three friends and i went up there with the idea to just do tourist stuff...eat, stay at a nice hotel, see some sights and eat some more then head back. we accomplished it all...great trip...here are some high and lowlights.

this crazy indian place everybody (myself included) talks about eating at vij's www.vijs.ca is there and we went. or, kinda. one of us jumped out of the car at 5:42 to get our name in since they do not take reservations. we ended up sitting down at our table at 7:28. is it worth the wait, well - yes and no. yes, the food is that damn good but no because i personally hate to wait. i was lucky since lively conversation ensued along with an passing by snack in the form of an indian french fry/frite which were hot, spicy and delicious. i guess you all should go there but be prepared to wait. two of us were swarmy enough to eat a veggie hotdog on the street hours before...ha!

stanley park. lovely place even within the confines of ones car - our situation - and the pouring rain. yes, it rains in vancouver and it is quite forboding. nobody was really prepped for a rain walk so we drove and drove some more. not getting out, lowlight. it's hard to look at all that green and not want to jump out at it. next time, i rent a bike.

we shopped and i really wanted to get another hat. nope, ph got not one but two or wait, did she get three? either way, she made up for my desire but i am still with little hair and no hat.

why the peanut butter? we were all hungry upon our arrival in the city and headed over to sophie's cosmic cafe in kitsilano. well known, kitchy and just fine for a decent breakfast. and they have jam packets and pb packets as you see above. well, two overly made up and too much make up gurls are next to the four of us and they just must have been that much more hungry than us. these packets were opened and consumed...maybe three prior to the dishes they ordered arrived. now i cannot recall, did they use their fingers or did they use their spoons? either way, they dug in and we were the captive audience. highlight! and lowlight...

you got the flavor.........

most of my people know i don't drink booze. i kind of miss it yet i am not really drawn to it whatsoever. some friends know it is best i don't drink - like i don't really need the 'liquid courage' to just say and do whatever i please. troubling dear readers, trouble can be lurking so be warned. yet, i like the idea of just getting out of my head and just being turned inside out. this feeling does happen now and then in different forms and though different transgressions and actions so really, alcohol is merely an elixir best for others. And this is not to say i will not ever drink again - i just don't right now or have in many years. i do recall the last times of my drinking, i was drinking nothing but superior, premium alcohol. top shelf but nothing too freaky like $100 scotch but still, good shit for sure. now get this, the last taste of booze that entered my mouth and yes this is an update was BALVENIE scotch last saturday. the smell of the bottle opening entered my senses and it was inviting but not as nearly inviting as the smell as it came closer to me by way of the love child of vivian westwood and alexander mcqueen...where this, ahem - taste came from. clearly this was the best taste i have had in my mouth for quite a long time and overwhelming too. full bodied and delectable in every way i remember. or, maybe it was halloween, maybe gram parsons' brief meeting, or maybe it was just plain desire but one thing is for sure, i want another taste. same scenario, no glass is required, just better timing and i am there.

Nanker Pheldge...!

No good, can't speak, wound up, no sleep.
Sky diver insider her, skip rope, stunt flyer.
Wounded lover, got no time on hand.
One last cycle, thrill freak Uncle Sam.
Pause for bus'ness, hope you'll understand.
Judge and jury walk out hand in hand.
Dietrich movies, close up boogies, Kissing cunt in Cannes.
Grotesque music, million dollar sad.
Got no tactics, got no time on hand.
Left shoe shuffle, right shoe muffle, Sinking in the sand.
Fade out freedom, steaming heat on, Watch that hat in black.
Finger twitching, got no time on hand.

Hey Jerome!

FRIDAY! So here is Bo Diddly...a god walking amongst us.

I love this guy....

happy happy joy joy!

as i write this entry..."you dropped the bomb on me" by the gap band is playing. what an insane song and it makes a great arguement to my bitching that the 80's produced some of the worse music ever. it did but this song is just so damn good! and to keep on the swing of things being so damn good, i am here to profess some shit that is just bringing it all together and working perfectly in this world of ours.

big star's third lp
pictures of my neice and nephew
pickled beets
my new iMac
vij's this last weekend
light rain during a walk
greil marcus, rebecca brown, deb caletti, c.rah, cupcake crumbling, harvest vine!
and this damn dog above who was next to me yesterday while driving up jackson @ rainer blvd

lucky me, lucky you!

bobcat and dogs

last night i saw a great movie...and i think it was great for many reasons. i have a problem sometimes with movies in that the characters are so out of this world - like nobody does what they do and they seem completely out of the human realm of emotions and actions. "sleeping dogs lie" written by bobcat goldwait (yes, that guy) was a honest, unflinching and funnier than shit look at how complex we humans are. and i laughed my head off at the blackest of silliness and humor. the more and more i thought about the movie i came to the conclusion how i just saw an outstanding take on what people do with honesty, secrets and what one does with information one tells their girlfriends, boyfriends, friends, lovers, family and everybody inbetween. again, unflinching and simultaneously touching - this is the kind of movie hollywood can learn from. making characters who are so damned absurd yet share the same things we all share from day to day. and in the absurdity, we see oursleves so clearly and it allows us to laugh at ourselves knowing we all do things which we might regret but it is what makes us so very special. bobcat was at the screening and he was funny as hell too...go and see this movie. the cute girl in the picture is the lead in the movie and she was fantastic! i hope to see ms. melinda page hamilton in more movies soon - !

on a side note - have you ever seen somebody flossing during a movie? three seats away from me some guy was flossing away to his hearts content! my pal Ph spys this guy and elbows me to his attetion...two letters: Ew! she and i are already laughing at the movie and now "FLOSSIE" puts it to a whole different level. and as if that was not special enough, he left the floss on the floor after he and his fanny pack left the movie. lovely.

Folk Music

the el G recently asked me what my favorite bob dylan record is.

i said blonde on blonde. i am sticking with that. next after that, nashville skyline. ask me again tomorrow.

discuss.

advice? everybody has some...

what could be the best advice i have ever got was "don't forget to breathe". i was on the top floor of a church on 86th and Amsterdam - right around the corner of Barney Greengrass in the upper west side of manhattan. i got these wonderful four words from leon maitre my then yoga teacher while living in ny. at first those words muttered from this haitian guru seemed flip, then silly then highly prolific. we all get stressed and overwhelmed and one of the phenomenas that occur during these times is our breathing pattern changes - sometimes stops. not completely but we gasp and don't even know it. i don't want to sound quasi-zen here but i ask all of us to breathe deep. perfection. did y'all get that burrito and nap i asked you to do!?

so that leads me to my latest list of shit i am listening to these days. yesterday i got one of those things at the ballard goodwill >>> leo kottke. no, he ain't no john fahey (who i loooooooooove!) but he is still an exceptional geetar player. as of late i seem to be paying attention to aimee mann, ennio morricone, late seventies stones (black and blue, some girls), replacements, tribe called quest and if i get back my pedro almodovar soundtrack cd back from west seattle, i will go back and listen to that. no rush since i am never at lost on stuff to listen to. tonight i am digging out billy bragg, dengue fever, cecil taylor and maybe just maybe, something to dance to.

BIFF BANG POW!

this weekend i won a record by the CREATION on eBay. two great things came from this purchase, one was the guy i purchased this double lp from was in seattle and he delivered the lp to my home (he went under the name SEXY WIZARD - oooh!). the other thing was it reminded me how cool the CREATION were. shel talmy produced, crazy guitars, semi-snotty vocals make these guys one of those often praised by record dorks (myself included) as well as one of those groups anybody who likes rock and/or roll should love. dig.

body movin'

yes i do this blog at work.
why the hell not? i am listening to wu tang clan (enter the 36 chambers baby...) and thinking to myself how f'd up everybody is these days. people, it is not the end of the world. everything will work out just fine - or, remember what the kinks told us in 1967 'everybody's going to be happy'.

do something good for yourself - buy yourself a treat. go and get a burrito, play some tennis, take a nap, laugh at yourself god damnit and hit the street. remember, i dig you. thanks.

harvey danger

one of the greatest pleasures in seattle is the frye art museum. hands down - this place is a real gem and has been for years and years. http://www.fryeart.org/ i used to live in the first hill neighborhood (which to this day is one of my very favorite neighborhoods) which shares digs with the frye. in my humble opinion, what makes a great museum or gallery is having an exceptional permanant collection and a cuturtorial staff that takes risks. that does not sound too difficult and the frye accompishes both. in the recent past, they have had some impressive shows, fairfield porter (a huge personal favorite), contemporary latino art, mark ryden, a performance by tracy and the plastics among many other fantastic shows and exhibits. it comes with great pleasure to once again sing the praises of the frye with the current showing of henry darger's work. if you know that name - well then stop reading and go or go again. if you don't and are kind of curious, go immediately! upon my second viewing yesterday, i got a moody feeling that was difficult to put my finger on. dargers work is impressive on many levels but what i got most from yesterday was the accessability and humbleness of it all. the entire time i was checking the panels and drawings out, i was holding a friends purse which anchored me - it seemed to have kept me steady while looking at mr. dargers "grand scheme". bring a purse, a bag or whatever and hold onto your thoughts and flow with this incredible show.

i plan on seeing it again before it leaves on october 29 to see what goes on in my noggin after another walk through. my last push: the frye is free, parking is free. this is seattle's museum!

Tusk, Tusk!

about three or so years ago i was at the fremont market trying to find yet more records and i stumbled upon another foxy jewish girl who i *ahem* talked to and hung out with. i'd rather not go into her home smelling like dog (and not a nice smell) or that she easily told me about the anti-depressants that "actually work" for her...and she lived right accross the street from a cemetery - - but i digress for i'd rather mention that she was an unemployed photographer. and a good one too - well, she hipped me to the mighty MASTODON too since she took snaps of her favorite bands also. she pushed me to listen to 'remission' cd and it was good. really good! so i pose a simple question - can Mastondon save heavy metal? i think so and they are currently on tour so me thinks i best go see them since i blew it by not going with the aforementioned jew girl. she talked and talked and talked and talked and talked some more and i recall thinking she was smart, good looking, on anti-depressants but it just did not add up right. what you ask? everything and nothing.

i just want MASTODON to rock!

i moved to seattle in 1988. i was chasing after then girlfren patsy and well, that is enough about that. really all i am doing by framing that time and moment is to highlight some of the *duh* changes that have happened to seattle since then. i lived in fremont...which is the self-proclaimed, "center of the universe". yes, that is dumb, pretentious and every other thought going through your head. i then moved to ballard - the neighborhood slightly northwest of fremont. this was the early 9t's and people used to ask me why did i live out there. i can still recall the time my pal jana gave me a ride home from her and then boyfriend now husband tom's place and told me "you live way the fuck out here - why?". like she was kind of pissed about it. bring this to present day and i hear "ballard is the new fremont" while waiting for a table at la carta de oaxaca in 'old ballard'. i am seriously disturbed by this statement in that what really separates ballard and fremont other than leary way? not a lot in my no-so humble opinion. both have too many crappy bars, not enough affordable housing and when i saw a black person - i nearly fell off my chair...but don't worry, she was under 30! am i being too critical? no, i just think that seattle has some serious identity issues when a resident can think that one neighborhood is the new facimilie of another when in fact they resemble each other in every which way imaginable. hell, they even have the same damn record store - within 3.5 miles of each other. maybe ballard is different in that there is not a thai place around every corner (no thai people) or perhaps ballard is unique in that they have old people and the norge people....oops, that was so 15 years ago of me.

now, can seattle please be the new seattle?