caught in the moment.

sometimes it's just wonderful to be blissfully happy in the moment - pictures from a memorial day get-to-gether.

shirley (aka sdlt)

stephanie (aka vernetta)

sarah (no aka) caught in mid-dance

christopher (no printable aka)

music heard while writing this post:

black cherry / goldfrapp

the brilliance of shaw

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” -George Bernard Shaw

from the what the fuck is she thinking catagory...

the insider (an entertainment tonight wannabe) - talking head victoria recano asked jennifer aniston at the break-up premiere:"what was your worst break-up ever?"

ummm... duh i think would be the proper answer.

2464

2464 - that's the number of us casualties confirmed by the department of defense according to the website http://icasualties.org/oif/. if you add in uk and other members of the 'coalition' the total comes up to 2686. that's 2.31 casualties per day since the start of the iraq war.

these numbers of course are completely horrific on their own.

however, and i mean no disrespect to the men and women fighting in iraq, there is a much more troubling number. that lies somewhere between: 37,972 and 42,346. that number is the number of iraqi civilian casualties since the start of the war (according to http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/).

our president (note, the lowercase - its very intentional), who has continually lied to the people of the us (not to mention the world) about the real cause of the war, who has bullied nations into joining this coalition of the willing to fight an unjust war, who has time-and-time again said and done whatever he wants to justify finishing daddies war finally admitted that perhaps he was a little out of line with some of the words he used to bring the world to the edge of war.

from npr.org:

President Bush was asked: "...Which missteps and mistakes of your own [do] you most regret?"

He replied:
"By Saying "Bring it on." Kind of tough talk, you know, that sent the wrong signal to people. That I learned some lessons about expressing myself maybe in a little more sophisticated manner. You know, "Wanted dead or alive," that kind of talk. I think in certain parts of the world it was misinterpreted. And so I learned -- I learned from that.

this from the same man that said his best day as president was catching a perch. all i have to say is what a complete and total idiot this man is. i mean seriously, how shocked was he that people in other parts of the world would misinterprett"bringt it on. i frankly don't think anyonemisinterpretedd that statement. i think it's a fairly plain and inflammatory statement that mobilized a fractured movement into action.

it's inconceivable to me how this man can virtually singlehandedly (along with rove, rice & cheney) destroy the largest global outpouring of u.s. support in history after 9/11 and bring us to the current placement of world-yard bully. had we played our cards right, there isn't a thing we could have not accomplished for the global community after 9/11. had we spent the billions of dollars we've spent on the war on something such as weaning our depenendancy on fossil fuels, we wouldn't be so intrinsically tied to the middle east right now.

lets not pretend anymore. this war was never about removing saddam hussain from power and giving the good people of iraq democracy. this war was always - always about oil and daddies unfinished war.

and to think, all clinton did to get impeached was lie about a blowjob.

it's beyond time to impeach bush. he is a cancer on the united states. his legacy is 2686 and counting.

*the above picture taken from the independent media center (no photographer was credited)

music listened to during the writing of this post:

nothing.

i like music

found this over at http://www.expurgate.nu/weblog/, loved and thought i'd try it myself.
--------------------------------------------------------------
name a song...

...that reminds you of an ex:
"a thousand miles" by vanessa carlton - ok, so i know it's not a great song, but it's a song that reminds me of a moment frozen in time (and i do kinda like the cello break)

...that makes you cry:
"in the sun" by joseph arthur - "cause if i find my way, how much will i find"

...that reminds you of your childhood:
"rainbow connection" by kermit the frog - still a favorite to this day

...that reminds you of high school:
"pump up the volume" by m/a/r/r/s

...that mirrors you too closely:
"downtown" by lloyd cole

...that makes you laugh:
"10 dollar" by m.i.a

...that will always get you up to dance:
"future lover" by madonna

...that you used to hate, but now love:
"shock the monkey" by peter gabriel

...that you love but wouldn't know of if it weren't for a friend:
"more bounce in california" by soul kid #1

...that you like from your parents' collection:
“here you come again” dolly parton

...that makes you think of sex:
the peter gabriel album 'passion'

...that is your anthem:
"regret" by new order

...that is your ultimate love song:
"running up that hill" by kate bush - the line "is there so much hate for the ones we love? tell me, we both matter, don't we?" kills me

...that reminds you of something nasty:
"nasty girl" by vanity 6 - obvious choice? sure. but it's te perfect choice, and it's just plain nasty

...that reminds you of a break-up:
"a thousand miles" by vanessa carlton - actually the memory of a relationship dissolving infront of my eyes while in a truck stuck on a california highway between sacramento and san francisco

...that is held between you and a friend:
"strange relationship" by prince

...that would be your choice for a national anthem:
"this land is your land" by peter, paul & mary

...that changed your life in some pragmatic way:
"biko" by peter gabriel. this is the song that, when i first heard it in high school, showed me a whole new world of music and such. it opened my eyes to rhythm's that were specifically not rock-n-roll (or western) based, but were morindigenousus in nature. now, granted it's not the most "worldly of songs" (especially not in peter's canon), but it's the song that opened that door for me and the song that showed me a whole other world muscially.

...that amazes/inspires you:
"gabriel" by lamb

songs listened to during the writing of this post:

umm. duh. :-)

sunset over lake calhoun in south minneapolis

music heard while writing this post

none, but i should be listening to kate bush's aerial.

hah!

it was strep all along - fuck the staph virus infection thingy. i knew it. urgent care from yesterday just called with the results of the 24 hour test (never mind that it was about 37 hours ago)... so much for staph kicking strep's ass.

hmmm.

however, i'm 1/3rd into my regimen of azithromycin and am actually feeling like a member of the living again. my throat almost feels ok when swallowing, the aches are almost gone - just the headache remains.

however - when one pain goes away, you're left to focus on one you were avoiding.

so round about the time on monday when i started coming down the throat infection from hell, i noticed my finger was starting to hurt. i ignored it.

then on tuesday, i noticed it was getting swollen around the finger nail. i ignored that too.

yesterday, it got bigger - i poked at it, then ignored it.

today, it started to look green. i may not know a lot about medical things (with the exception of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (http://www.itppeople.com/); that i know a lot about), but i know ones fingers shouldn't be turning green.

i went to urgent care (yup, 2nd time in as many days).

let me quote the doc "wow, a massively infected hangnail." - yup, quite possibly the dumbest condition ever; the classic hangnail. then i got a lecture on chewing my fingernails. yea, i admit it, i chew my nails - not sure why, probably stress, or boredom, or convenience - who knows... i wonder if this'll be the ticket to stopping. who knows.

before after

let this be a lesson to you - don't chew your nails. it's a gross, filfthy, disgusting (yet, oddly rewarding) habit.

well that's that - i'm finally feeling better, i'm going to work tomorrow for the first time since monday (and honestly, i'm excited for that)... oh and i ate the first real meal i've had since monday today. so that's what food tastes like, i kinda forgot.

music heard while writing this post.

hey jack kerouac / 10,000 maniacs
in our lifetime / texas
this song has no title / elton john
helpline operator (sick boy mix) / the the
nanny nanny boo boo / le tigre

and the verdict is...

....tonsillitis caused by a staph infection/virus thing-y. good god, i thought strep was bad, this bug could kick strep's ass big time. now, granted, i'm a b-o-p (big ol' pussy) when i'm sick, but this flippin makes me wanna crawl into a spider hole and off myself.... all the fun of strep throat + the aches and pains and headache of the flu (lets not forget tossing-of-cookies)... this is now my new favorite sickness to wish upon my worst enemies.

music listened to while writing this post:
nothing

sick...

.... i'm completely sick (2nd time in 3 weeks). in 2000 i had my spleen removed. now, while the spleen is a particularly usless organ, it does help your immune system fight illness. i've noticed since mr spleen was removed that when i get sick, it's more intense.... last night i hardly slept a wink, i think i had major fever going 'cause my dreams were fucked up in a big bad way. and then throw the chills mixed with night sweats (now that's a hella-bad combo), sore back/achy body, monster headache and one particularly violent toss-the-cookies moment and i pretty much want to die.

i'm horrible at being sick. the biggest baby you ever did see.

music listened to during the writing of this post:

nothing

kingdom of heaven

ok, so twice now as i’m on my way to work i’ve seen this black toyota camry driving to work with this massive biblical statment on the back of the car in vinyl letters. the text read: are you ready to die? no one can see the kingdom of heaven unless he is born again. – jesus. (sic)

now, religious ideology aside, i find it interesting (besides the fact the “quote” is wrong) that this text is in big vinyl letters on the back of a camry that is driven by one of the hottest guys i’ve ever seen. the dichotomy of the message mixed with the messenger is driving me nuts. lets be frank, it wouldn’t be wrong to expect such a message on a car driven by an older-skewing person (more than likely driving with one blinker on and wearing a hat), but a hottie, that’s kinda a shock. not that you need to be old to believe in god, but rarely does one see such a fervent display of religiosity from a guy that could easily be appearing in porn (preferably the leather/kinky sort).

i shit you not, this guy is hot… looks a bit lanky, has dark short hair cut in a pretty fashionable shape, cool sunglasses and on the two times i’ve now seen him – he’s been talkin’ into his cell phone (i’m positive he’s rockin’ the cd player pretty hard too – sepulture, perhaps?). no blinker on, no hat in sight, heck, there’s not even a jesus fish on his camry (speaking of jesus fish, i wonder what he would think of my fish-n-chips emblem – does he think that i am being sacrilegious [hope so], am I going to hell [the gay thing is already sending me there i’m sure], does he wanna do the nasty after a pint and a stack of fish-n-chips [hope so]).

i don’t have a challenge with christianity – in principle i really don’t’. i think the bible is a wonderful book of fiction with some great messages in it (yes, i’ve read it – all of it). my challenge though comes with those evangelicals who feel that need the “convert” those of us who may not share their views. come to think of it, that challenge extends to any religion that feels the need to tell me that i’m wrong or going to hell or damned just ‘cause i don’t believe what they believe. lets say for arguments sake that the christian god is the one true god – and that god did indeed create me from his image. one could argue that as such, he created me with the ability for sentient thought and as such, couldn’t possibly be angry or vengeful for my choosing to explore a different path. i can assure you, i’m quite comfortable with my chances if when i die, i have to defend myself to paul at the pearly gates to gain entrance to the kingdom of heaven.

this concept is one of the things that drove me to explore buddhism. i love that nowhere in buddhist texts does it tell me that i must save the souls of people that don’t share my view. indeed buddhism really could care less in what other people are doing/saying/fucking as long as their living a life at peace with the world around them. i celebrate my friends that are christians, jews and muslims as long as they celebrate and respect that my path has taken me on a different journey.

my frustration with this whole predilection of christianity in american culture extends all over the place. doesn’t anyone else have a challenge with the phrase “god bless america”? i mean seriously, when did americans become the chosen few (i’d be fine by the way with “god bless the whole world”)? also, the pledge of allegiance, until 1954, never had the words “under god” in it. president eisenhower approved changing the pledge on june 14, 1954 saying: “in this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in america’s heritage and future; in this we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war.” never mind the fact that we are supposedly based on the concept of separation of church and state. and what the fuck is a spiritual weapon?

ok, off my soapbox; back to the hottie in the camry – i’m so going to try to drive the same route for the next few days with my digital camera at the ready so ya’ll can check out the quote. It’s spectacularly funny (i specifically like the bit about being ready to die).

on the subject of the kingdom of heaven – some of my favorite lines about heaven:

“you, soft and lonely, you, lost and lonely, you, just like heaven” – just like heaven / the cure
“sky fits heaven so fly it, that's what the prophet said to me” – sky fits heaven / madonna
“if i see 11, u can say it's 7, still i wish u heaven” – i wish u heaven / prince
“if you all get to heaven, say a prayer for the people, who will kill for cross and steeple” – if you all get to heaven / terrence trent d’arby

music heard while writing this post:

32 flavors / ani difranco
sign “o” the times / prince
chemistry / semisonic
condition of the heart / prince & the revolution
fascination street (live) / the cure
bubble pop electric / gwen Stefani
rocket’s tail / kate bush
midnight / yaz
games without frontiers / peter gabriel & kate bush
lucky star / basement jaxx
personal jesus / depeche mode
shake break bounce / the chemical brothers

random sunday post

day 2 of this experiment and time for what will no doubt become the first of many random sunday posts... posts with no theme or common thread, just random thoughts bouncing around in my head.

• so minneapolis/st paul finally got a trader joes. trader joes is like whole foods without the whole paycheck, and a whole lot more festive. now, i was exceedingly excited to get more organic fare at a decent price in minneapolis, but oh my god - twin citieans can be so fucking scary when new stores open. it was like the second coming of the beatles - for those of you in the know, trader joes are not terribly large stores - this one is no different - but sunday night at 5:30 was insane. people everywhere with whole gaggles of children running amuck. normally i'm ok with children, but really - leash laws should be enforced. the store was so packed, the shelves were virtually empty... i'm not kidding, i wish i had the camera so i could show you photgraphic evidence. produce was near non-existent, the meat case was what i would imagine it would have looked like during the dust bowl. not only were the shelves picked over but the crowd was down right rude. i expect more from my fellow green shoppers. whatever happened to peace love and understanding? it was more like get the fuck out of my way while i grab the last bottle of mango salsa. not a pleasurable shopping experience. thankfully, i love me some trader joes so i'll just wait for the newness to pass and wait for the next great store opening to pull everyones attention aways from my beloved trader joes.

http://www.traderjoes.com/

music heard while writing this post:

helpline operator / the the

erotic city / prince & the revolution

rock-n-roll / alison moyet

don't let it get to you / jane child

bankok / brother sun sister moon

baby / lloyd cole

everyday / wendy & lisa

4 the tears in your eyes / prince & the revolution

the hand that feeds - nu dance trax version / nine inch nails

i feel you / depeche mode

9W @ 7:04pm

lil' ol' me

so last night shelley, stephanie & sarah & i went art-a-whirling mainly to see our friends sheri & doug's art but it's always a good excuse to see other emerging talents. art-a-whirl for those of you not in minneapolis, is a annual offering where artists whore themselves to the masses in free shows in warehouse spaces all over northeast minneapolis. for every really amazing artist such as doug forbes (www.dougdforbes.com) and shawn mcnulty (www.shawnmcnulty.com) there are at least 10 really terrible art. and yes, i do know art is subjective - but really, most of this was just shite. really, trust me!

anyway, after whirling, we went to grab a bite to eat at grumpy's - eventually doug showed up with some friends including the guy that runs www.dailytattoo.blogspot.com. this guy kicks ass - not only does he have an AMAZING sleeve, but he created the aforementioned site to commerate ink. gotta love that. we didn't get to talk much, but this is one guy i really wanna get to know better. checking out his sleeve made me crave more ink - phase 1 on my sleeve has been done since october; i am way overdue to finish phase 2 & 3 - on my way to my full sleeve. woof!

anyway, he noticed the piece on my right arm - and posted a quick pic of it to his site (ignore the pasty white boy arm). i'm very honored to be up on his site. he has some great ink posted there. the only challenge, i'm not part of the cult of kore. if you read his post, he talks a bit about tatu's by kore - that woman is way way overrated. not to mention just not very nice. ugg. you couldn't pay me to get inked by her. :-)

my friends are very very fond of reminding me i am a snob. and as much as it pains me to say it, yea i kinda am - especially when it comes to tattoos. my personal philosophy is that you get what you pay for and you should have no qualms about paying for a great tattoo - this is art people! i also firmly believe that you should share a connection with your tattoo artist and i have been incredibly lucky to have two of the best artists in minneapolis work on my ink. ann @ art with a point and trevor @ steady tattoo. two more humble artists you will not find. they ain't cheap either, but the result is so worth it.

but i digress, a big thank you to gonzo for adding me to his site. i'm honored.

music heard while writing this post:

superman / stereophonics

got to get up / siouxsie & the banshees

the womb / me'shell ndegeo'cello

fayth / tori amos

life can b so nice / prince & the revolution

mojave / concrete blonde

9W @ 12:35am

greg dulli & co.

"i hope i see you out tonight and i hope we get it on" - greg dulli/the twilight singers "i'm ready"

so one of the things i referenced in my it is done post is that i love taking cell phone pics at the concerts i go to; the above picture was taken thursday night @ the varsity theater from stage left in the house. the man in black is greg dulli. greg used to front and amazing band called the afghan whigs, when he broke up that band he formed the twilight singers. tts kicked off their new tour in minneapolis and i was front and left for the festivities. truth be told, i prefer tts to taw - greg's a more humble writer with the singers than the whigs - he is more of a wounded bird now and i can appreciate that.

it was a tour-de-force performance from a amazing band live. greg spares no emotion when he's on stage and lay's it all out for all to see. the raw lyrics on their latest album powder burns were perfectly suited to the varsity theater space.

my ears were still ringing well into friday - killer show, if your in the mood for a raw, balls out rock-n-roll show - then find the twilight singers at a club near you this summer.

www.thetwilightsingers.com

music heard during the writing of this post:

toward the waves & i'm ready & there's been an accident & bonnie brae / the twilight singers

9W @ 12:03am

inspiration

there are two people i need to give credit to.... two amazing friends who both inspired me (jen) and kicked my ass (bolt) to actually do the blog in the first place.

jen once ran an amazing blog called moufa is bad (www.moufaisbad.com) - the minute i read moufa more than a eon ago, i knew i wanted to have my own blog. of course, want & desire vs. getting off ones ass and creating your own are two wholly different things. while moufa is gone (both literally and figuratively), it still stands as the single best blog i've ever ever had the pleasure of reading. jen has a new blog (who's address is a state secret) and the voice is the same and the tone still impresses, but i'll always have a softspot for mib.com. moufa, you big boy - rest in peace.

the other inspiration is only 3 days old - my buddy bolt in the hell that is durham north carolina decided the other day to he wanted a blog. did he agonize over the name like yours truly? nope. did he stress that he didn't have a unique template and lots of fancy features? uh-huh. he simply did it. bastard. so i put the previous blogs i'd conceived but never birthed to bed and got off the pot so to speak and created sr...sl. his blog is only 3 days old, but go check it out - if i know bolt (and i do by the way, know him - biblically in fact); he will have some amazingly interesting things to say (not to mention some of the most infuriating, inflaming and down-right "that's just wrong" things to say). http://www.manginamonologues.blogspot.com/

of course, inspiration comes in the form of the blogroll i read on a daily basis.... i'll get around to posting a complete blogroll soon; but in the meantime - these are some of my favorites:

http://www.scott-o-rama.com/
http://www.brettcajun.blogspot.com/
http://www.dooce.com/
http://papabeat.blogspot.com/
http://planetvoenix.blogspot.com/
http://whatwoulddorothyparkerdo.blogspot.com/
http://allanism.blogspot.com/

music heard during the writing of this post:
godzilla / the creatures
left right / the chemical brothers
peek-a-boo / siouxsie & the banshees

9W @ 6:00pm

it is done

ok after threatning to start this blog many many times over - it is done. the blog has been started and aborted a number of times.... always for the same reason - simply put, i don't like doing anything unless it is brilliant. how could i create a blog unless i had my own domain (which i did at one point) or a unique theme (which is still in the work for sl...sr), or unless i had something amazing to post about?

so what the fuck am i gonna do here? short answer, who knows? long answer, discuss life, love, music, beauty, politics, the spirit, tattoos, rock-n-roll, sex, vodka and george bush (or as he will now be referred to as he who will not be named).

so then you may be asking what the fuck does stage right...stage left half to do with this blog? well - my career frequently puts me at either stage left or stage right and i'm a fan of cell phone pics from the house of a bar/theater/stage/whatever - so it seemed fitting that i become sr...sl at this point in the game.

music heard while writing this post:
for the love of big brother / eurythmics
control / traci lords (yes that traci lords)

9W @ 5:17pm