Friday, October 31, 2003

aka D Rock the Cream Colored Ninja

well, apparently, I have the best Wu-Tang nickname in the land.....

more later when I gush about how great willie nelson's Red Headed Stranger album is....

Thursday, October 30, 2003

there were cars parked from wall to wall

the smoke cleared, and the skies were a little bluer today. as the sun was going down it hid behind a cloud and shot those visible rays of light over the top that you know carry good will or the spirit of a benevolent god, and that you only see driving through the empty country on a long road trip. i smiled.

it's finally fall/winter here. smells as crisp as it can for southern california. it's as cold as you could expect it to get when you're standing next to a palm tree. happy helloween, by the way. do you have a costume? is it probably a bit too subtle for most people to get? will it take frustrating explaining? i hope so....

"I'm all the things you can see through the aleph"
"I'm the tracking shot from the beginning of touch of evil"
"I'm what you least expected"
"I'm a werewolf. you can't tell? fuck....i should have gotten more fake hair."

I'm going as donnie darko in his halloween costume. so if people don't get it at least it's still a costume. they'll just think i'm wearing a grey hoodie cause it's cold. it's a hard lesson I've leaned about high-concept or esoteric costumes: always have a back up plan. so, what's yours?

Monday, October 27, 2003

i have tried, in my way, to be free

Yesterday afternoon I went to brunch in malibu with my parents. we drove to the beach not along the coast but up towards ventura and then down through malibu creek canyon. as we shot down the canyon toward the ocean, a deep red cloud hovered in the sky out the right-hand window (to the west, essentially.)

brunch was surreal. we were eating on a patio overlooking the ocean. to the west, our right as we looked out, the dark cloud blocked the sun, which shone through deep yellow and blood orange like a two hour apocalyptic sunset. 100 yards to the east, another fire was creeping down and out of a nearby canyon and was threatening to break further. The PCH, the highway that runs along the coast of california, was closed, and for the two hours we sat eating two red planes would fly a quarter-mile out from the shore, dip down to scoop up what must have been thousands of gallons of ocean water, then spin round and head back toward the flames.

the smoke itself hung (and hangs) like mist or fog in west LA; it would appear peaceful like an early evening on the coast of maine or a cool san francisco night were it not so hot (and only as long as you didn't know the world was burning). Because we lost an hour of light at night thanks to daylight savings time, it's hard to decide whether the creeping darkness is due entirely to the smoke cover or if the shock of losing an hour of sun contributes as well. All I know is that there is a menacing presence in the sky. It feels like something out of the old testament, somewhere between the 7 plagues and the destruction of sodom and gemorrah.

when i washed my face last night before bed, the grime and ash that had covered my face and was swirling into the drain of my bathroom sink made me think of Ginsberg's Sunflower Sutra.

the air is dry and harsh, the spectrum of light is off, and i haven't slept well for days. cheers, everybody.

Friday, October 24, 2003

Space storm coming to Earth

friday afternoon, and everything's broken. we could get a free dress rehursal for a terrorist attack:

Scientists say they expect it to be the worst solar flareup to be felt on Earth since a storm in 1859. That storm caused telegraph wires to short out across North America and Europe.


wear your aluminum hats, folks. it's level orange.

Tuesday, October 21, 2003

Bush optimistic as U.S. deficit hits $374 billion

now who's giving aid and comfort to the enemy? this is real:

Even Osama bin Laden jumped into the discussion, based on last July's White House estimate.

In an audiotape broadcast Saturday by the al-Jazeera television network, the al-Qaida leader lauded reversals he said the United States had suffered since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"They also witnessed a budget deficit for the third consecutive year," bin Laden said, erroneously referring to the two straight shortfalls now recorded. "This year's deficit reached a record number estimated at $450 billion. Therefore, we thank God."

Monday, October 20, 2003

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

News

Roxanne Jekot, who has put much of her professional and personal life on hold to work on the issue full time, puts it even more strongly. "Corporate America is very close to running this country. The only thing that is stopping them from taking total control are the pesky voters. That's why there's such a drive to control the vote. What we're seeing is the corporatisation of the last shred of democracy.


and in other news:
I didn't think that that many people took public transportation in LA, but the MTA mechanics' strike has doubled my morning and evening commutes as people are forced onto the road. ugh.

hopefully the grocery clerk strike will force more people into smaller local or specialty food stores so they don't have to cross the picket lines. there are some great little markets all over the place.

I'm going to start seriously unloading some vinyl on e-bay. i've been living check to check for too long, and I don't really need that jay-z album or the LL 12". they're dope, but I never listen to 'em. who wants some lee donaldson LPs? a pair of super cue-burned Chic "good times" 12"s? everything must go. everything out the door but sigue sigue sputnik. i mean, last time I weighed it, my vinyl weighed 1/2 a ton. seriously, i need a chiropractor. and when I'm prepping for the DMCs and I NEED to get that aboriginals 12" for my routine, I'll just have to go out and spend the loot then. I mean, 5 $20 overdraft fees in 24 hours is a great story to tell at the bar, but I have to live this shit.

I believe I can fly. I believe I can touch the sky.

go red sox. lets go cubbies.

confirmation on that silverlake gang war article below: the shooting that opens the article happened 5 feet from kerri's front door.

I am a halloween genius. you'll see.

Monday, October 13, 2003

Fucking USA

amused/horified
and misadventures of

cem is out of asia and into the middle east and wow. required reading.
Pete's Corner

holy shit. ham told me that "Pete's Corner" was blowing up and I didn't believe him but then I went there and damn, was he right. laugh out loud funny. five stars. cheers, poppy!
LA Weekly: News: Silver Lake Gang War

The shootings in the first paragraph happened across the street from my friend Kerri's place.

Tuesday, October 07, 2003

I'm a cop, you idiot!

i just voted. no on recall, no on the two ballot measures, and bustamante as the replacement candidate, just because his name is so cool. i figure that with a name like cruz bustamante he has to be either:
a) a secret agent
b) a super hero
or at the very least
c) a world class fencer.

"My name is Cruz Bustamante. You recalled my governor. Pepare to die."

and then BAM! Old rolly-polly cruz got moves!

"Ahm gohnah tehhminate you, Cruz!"
"Do what you will, Shwarzennegger, but I know something you do not!"
"Wahht is daht?"
"I'm not left handed!"

Monday, October 06, 2003

eBay item 3628832408 (Ends Oct-02-03 14:02:08 PDT) - New Folder for Windows XP Professional

awesome.

also, thanks to everyone that came out saturday night. I had a great time. hopefully we'll be able to do it again soon.