over the last week, I read a few books. "Arthur & George", "Songs in Ordinary Time", "Skywater", "The Book of Ruth", "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" and "Water for Elephants". They all came in a box from my mom. They were mostly pretty good. I really liked "Water for Elephants". "Skywater" was sad. They were all kind of sad. Populated by sad people and grotesque people and thieves and liars and alcoholics.
Last night I started an American History text book published in 1911,1917,1920 by David Saville Muzzey. It's pretty incredible. I mean, to read it. To read the attitudes of the time, held in this old book. If you ever want to see how much progress we've made as a country in our ways of thinking about non-white people, read a history book from the early part of the 20th century.
I'm talking about paragraphs like this:
"21. The Northern Tribes....They had a great variety of games and dances, solemn and gay; and they loved to bask idly in the sun, too, like the Mississippi negro of today." (pg 20)"
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
southern oregon teen idol
I dunno.. is that what it's called?
Tam's daughter is in it again this year. She didn't really want to but got goaded into it by a snotty parent that was not her own. The parent issued a challenge in a rather rude manner, akin to "Not going to the dance because you can't wear the same dress again?". Yah that kind of rude. I wish it was okay to slap the shit out of people like that.
So the kid took the bait and is in the Top 3 in week 4. Snotty Parents kid fell by the wayside after round 2.
Tam's kid is as close to my own kid as I'll probably ever get. I've gotten to watch her grow up from age 5. She has always been engrossed by music. Bad Company was one of her favorite bands when she was 6. She plays guitar, plays bass, sings, writes music. She's just a super-talented, super-smart kid. She was around bands from the time she was 7 and has sung in front of a huge (for Coos Bay) crowd or two at the Fun Festival and the County Fair with ML when she was 10 or so. She knocked 'em dead with Aretha's "Respect" at the Fun Festival. She doesn't have that irritating broadway show style or Mariah Carey clone voice that so many girls have. She sings from her feet, I swear. She hits the notes and doesn't bother wavering around them or anything like that. She has a really strong voice. She's a blues singer, whether she knows it or not. She's even got that strut.
This year, I hope she can win. Because I'd love to see her leave the Snotty Parents (and so many of them are) with their jaws on the ground. She's had an unusual upbringing that I know some people tsk tsk over but she has the right attitude- that it isn't her problem if certain people don't like her. She's been working since she was probably 12, helping her mom at the shop and down at the farmer's market in the summertime. She has goals, she has steps laid out to meet those goals, and she attains them. I totally admire her for that (seeing as I lack that gene myself).
So I really have no doubt that she can win the thing. I know why she didn't the last two years and it had nothing to do with talent, but politics.
Anyway kiddo, I know you stop in here once in a while, and I'll drop in on your myspace page later, but hey - big giant stupid hippie hug with a side of squeal, otay? I'm stoked you consider me one of your moms.
Tam's daughter is in it again this year. She didn't really want to but got goaded into it by a snotty parent that was not her own. The parent issued a challenge in a rather rude manner, akin to "Not going to the dance because you can't wear the same dress again?". Yah that kind of rude. I wish it was okay to slap the shit out of people like that.
So the kid took the bait and is in the Top 3 in week 4. Snotty Parents kid fell by the wayside after round 2.
Tam's kid is as close to my own kid as I'll probably ever get. I've gotten to watch her grow up from age 5. She has always been engrossed by music. Bad Company was one of her favorite bands when she was 6. She plays guitar, plays bass, sings, writes music. She's just a super-talented, super-smart kid. She was around bands from the time she was 7 and has sung in front of a huge (for Coos Bay) crowd or two at the Fun Festival and the County Fair with ML when she was 10 or so. She knocked 'em dead with Aretha's "Respect" at the Fun Festival. She doesn't have that irritating broadway show style or Mariah Carey clone voice that so many girls have. She sings from her feet, I swear. She hits the notes and doesn't bother wavering around them or anything like that. She has a really strong voice. She's a blues singer, whether she knows it or not. She's even got that strut.
This year, I hope she can win. Because I'd love to see her leave the Snotty Parents (and so many of them are) with their jaws on the ground. She's had an unusual upbringing that I know some people tsk tsk over but she has the right attitude- that it isn't her problem if certain people don't like her. She's been working since she was probably 12, helping her mom at the shop and down at the farmer's market in the summertime. She has goals, she has steps laid out to meet those goals, and she attains them. I totally admire her for that (seeing as I lack that gene myself).
So I really have no doubt that she can win the thing. I know why she didn't the last two years and it had nothing to do with talent, but politics.
Anyway kiddo, I know you stop in here once in a while, and I'll drop in on your myspace page later, but hey - big giant stupid hippie hug with a side of squeal, otay? I'm stoked you consider me one of your moms.
cash in hand
aaaahhhhh.... some of the pressure is off.
Yesterday I got my first copyediting/proofreading job in hand. $75 worth. To check over is a manuscript for a book of poetry.
Poetry! How to proofread it?! Shouldn't be too hard. I'll look through it, see what the style is and mainly go for glaring spelling errors. Grammar can slide. Since my favorite poet of all time is ee cummings, I'm somewhat already on that plane as far as whacked out usage goes. Far and wee!
The author has invited me to their film society meetup, also, because she is looking for writers, musicians and anyone else that gets glued to a movie in any form. She also thinks the script writers would be happy to have my services available. She is also going to bring me to a local Women in Business meeting and see what happens there.
Also, while waiting in the parking lot at safeway yesterday I picked up a paying bass gig in September.
ALSO(!) I have been added to a list (consisting of two other people) a local attorney has for legal transcription.
See, I knew something would stick. I just had to keep throwing stuff. Throw it out there, then stand around and look good.
Yesterday I got my first copyediting/proofreading job in hand. $75 worth. To check over is a manuscript for a book of poetry.
Poetry! How to proofread it?! Shouldn't be too hard. I'll look through it, see what the style is and mainly go for glaring spelling errors. Grammar can slide. Since my favorite poet of all time is ee cummings, I'm somewhat already on that plane as far as whacked out usage goes. Far and wee!
The author has invited me to their film society meetup, also, because she is looking for writers, musicians and anyone else that gets glued to a movie in any form. She also thinks the script writers would be happy to have my services available. She is also going to bring me to a local Women in Business meeting and see what happens there.
Also, while waiting in the parking lot at safeway yesterday I picked up a paying bass gig in September.
ALSO(!) I have been added to a list (consisting of two other people) a local attorney has for legal transcription.
See, I knew something would stick. I just had to keep throwing stuff. Throw it out there, then stand around and look good.
Friday, July 25, 2008
and last night's jam...
it was kind of hit and miss. It was hot as fuck in that bar. I played drums first set. And I probably lost a pound or two in sweat. Then played bass. I had let this guy play my bass. He was irritating, demanding, high-and-mighty. I wanted to punch him. He finishes playing and I checked my tuning. Good lord. A full step flat on all the strings except the D, which is down a step and a half. Fucking jackass. This after he spent 15 minutes tuning it, which probably wasn't necessary because I tuned it before I went down there and it stays in tune. Stupid asshole. He's never touching it again. And I'm pretty cool about letting people play my bass.
So, played for a set or two and then someone wants to play Hotel California. Which I hate. And hate it enough that I can't even stand to listen to it long enough to learn it, so I don't know it very well. I'm not playing it. The guy gets all huffy. Dude, he plays it every fucking week, at every fucking jam, every damn gig he plays, and it still sounds godddamn horrible when he plays it. I don't know if it's his tone or the timbre he likes to have his git set at or what, but it's like nails on a chalkboard to me. Painful. Makes my ears hurt. And still he wants to play it, even after hearing "No fucking way" from me 3 times. I'm, as usual, the only bass player there. Apparently I'm one of the few that anyone likes playing with, too. Which is nice.
But yeah it was a damn sauna in that place last night. Which makes me grouchy and irritable and then having to listen to the one guys screeching guitar tone and the same crap he ALWAYS plays.. I wanted even moreso to punch someone. I spent most of my time outside. But lots of people gave me compliments and that's always nice to hear.
And i have to add this. Just because you play louder than everyone else doesn't make you a good guitar player. Loud is really only good when you have the tone to back it up. If your instrument sounds like an elephant on crack, best to keep your volume down or risk looking like a total asshole. Jeeezus. Running your 20 watt amp with a handful of tubes in it at full volume doesn't sound as good as the guy next to you with a Marshall 4 x 10 run off a J-series amp on 2. It just doesn't. Face it. And walking off in a huff because you sound like fartz.. well that's just fucking funny if your older than 12.
So, played for a set or two and then someone wants to play Hotel California. Which I hate. And hate it enough that I can't even stand to listen to it long enough to learn it, so I don't know it very well. I'm not playing it. The guy gets all huffy. Dude, he plays it every fucking week, at every fucking jam, every damn gig he plays, and it still sounds godddamn horrible when he plays it. I don't know if it's his tone or the timbre he likes to have his git set at or what, but it's like nails on a chalkboard to me. Painful. Makes my ears hurt. And still he wants to play it, even after hearing "No fucking way" from me 3 times. I'm, as usual, the only bass player there. Apparently I'm one of the few that anyone likes playing with, too. Which is nice.
But yeah it was a damn sauna in that place last night. Which makes me grouchy and irritable and then having to listen to the one guys screeching guitar tone and the same crap he ALWAYS plays.. I wanted even moreso to punch someone. I spent most of my time outside. But lots of people gave me compliments and that's always nice to hear.
And i have to add this. Just because you play louder than everyone else doesn't make you a good guitar player. Loud is really only good when you have the tone to back it up. If your instrument sounds like an elephant on crack, best to keep your volume down or risk looking like a total asshole. Jeeezus. Running your 20 watt amp with a handful of tubes in it at full volume doesn't sound as good as the guy next to you with a Marshall 4 x 10 run off a J-series amp on 2. It just doesn't. Face it. And walking off in a huff because you sound like fartz.. well that's just fucking funny if your older than 12.
haze
ready to float/paddle/paddle like crazy. Sleeping bag, tent, change of clothes, toothbrush...checkcheckcheck and check.
respirator. ?
Damn near need one.
the day started clear and warmish. I brought home a stray from the jam last night and we and one of his friends spent the morning drinking coffee and giggling. Then I dropped them off at the Safeway to begin their own grand adventure. 1 o'clock I was at le dentiste as scheduled.
I came out at 2:15 and you couldn't see Hogback. You couldn't see KAGO hill. You couldn't see a mile down S. Sixth street. Wind blowing from the west. Where the fuck is the fire? Go look online.. where the hell can you find info about fires? Nothing in InciWeb. Nothing in nifc. WTF? None of the TV channels have anything online. None of the local papers or radio stations do either. Hello? I'd check the Tay-Vay but our cable is off.
We're putting in at Frehn ranch (not sure if it's Frane or Frehn, but there you are), which is westish of us. Hope it isn't what's on fire.
respirator. ?
Damn near need one.
the day started clear and warmish. I brought home a stray from the jam last night and we and one of his friends spent the morning drinking coffee and giggling. Then I dropped them off at the Safeway to begin their own grand adventure. 1 o'clock I was at le dentiste as scheduled.
I came out at 2:15 and you couldn't see Hogback. You couldn't see KAGO hill. You couldn't see a mile down S. Sixth street. Wind blowing from the west. Where the fuck is the fire? Go look online.. where the hell can you find info about fires? Nothing in InciWeb. Nothing in nifc. WTF? None of the TV channels have anything online. None of the local papers or radio stations do either. Hello? I'd check the Tay-Vay but our cable is off.
We're putting in at Frehn ranch (not sure if it's Frane or Frehn, but there you are), which is westish of us. Hope it isn't what's on fire.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
well that was pretty damn cool
I went down to the engineering company today to see my picture.
Is that effing tardlike of me or what?
Anyway, there it is a the top of the stairs, the first thing you see when you come into the office. Kind of a thrill to see that. Kind of like the first hit of crack kind of thrill, actually. The one that ends your life as you knew it, because after the first one, you just spend all your time trying to get it back.
Is that effing tardlike of me or what?
Anyway, there it is a the top of the stairs, the first thing you see when you come into the office. Kind of a thrill to see that. Kind of like the first hit of crack kind of thrill, actually. The one that ends your life as you knew it, because after the first one, you just spend all your time trying to get it back.
on a wall
a few weeks ago, my friend called me up and asked what kind of resolution the camera got. The engineering company she works for needed some shots of one of the buildings they worked on at OIT, one that could be blown up to 20 x 60. Mine would do it. So we went over and I got probably 50 pictures from various angles, then handed over my card so they could pick one. Normally I'd go through and at least pull the ones that were terrible, but they needed it in a hurry.
And they really liked two of them, but one is hanging on their wall in the office now (my name is not on it yet, but i guess she's still working on it) and it may go into a brochure.
So that's pretty damn cool. I think.
And they really liked two of them, but one is hanging on their wall in the office now (my name is not on it yet, but i guess she's still working on it) and it may go into a brochure.
So that's pretty damn cool. I think.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
where's my mind
Ok i guess since no one told me the actual date of our rafting trip this year, I can let my self off the hook just a little. It's this weekend. For some reason I was thinking it was in August some time.
Which threw a wrench into my works. I intended to play a shitload of Toadies on my show this weekend. All I have. Some 60 songs or so. In honor of them touring and putting out the new album and all.
I will have to console myself with just jamming it on the acoustic on the banks of the mighty Klamath on Friday and Saturday nights I guess.
I was really looking forward to just playing the Toadies. It's rare that I have three straight hours to devote to just listening to a catalog of a band I love. Owell. Next Saturday morning.
Which threw a wrench into my works. I intended to play a shitload of Toadies on my show this weekend. All I have. Some 60 songs or so. In honor of them touring and putting out the new album and all.
I will have to console myself with just jamming it on the acoustic on the banks of the mighty Klamath on Friday and Saturday nights I guess.
I was really looking forward to just playing the Toadies. It's rare that I have three straight hours to devote to just listening to a catalog of a band I love. Owell. Next Saturday morning.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
The Toadies are coming! The Toadies are coming!
Not to Klamath, of course.
But they will be in Sacramento, San Fran and Portland. So I'm scheming ways to get to see them. It'd probably be in Sacto, because it's closest.
Also, The Toadies have a new album out, called "No Deliverance". The single is up on their myspace page.
Good stuff, Maynard.
But they will be in Sacramento, San Fran and Portland. So I'm scheming ways to get to see them. It'd probably be in Sacto, because it's closest.
Also, The Toadies have a new album out, called "No Deliverance". The single is up on their myspace page.
Good stuff, Maynard.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
pleased with myself
And it's ok to be pleased with one's self on occasion.
I dusted off some brain cells and pulled 7 or 8 New Model Army songs out of my acoustic yesterday. I learned them back when I first got a guitar (about 2 years after I got my first bass) and only come back to them once in awhile, like if I'm jammin alone on the porch or something. Their music still has a profound effect on me, 23 years after first hearing "51st State". It comes back easy. I know the music backwards and forwards, knew it before I learned to play it. Know all the words for every song on every album from the Vengeance album/EP to Strange Brotherhood. There have been albums released since Strange Brotherhood, but I don't have them.
When all my records were stolen from me in Arizona, the ones I was bummed out the most about were the NMA ones. Didn't care about the Metallica ones on Metalblade. Didn't care about the colored vinyl Misfits singles or the green double-live UK Subs album. Didn't really miss the BGK or Ill Repute. But to this day I am still angry about the NMA being taken. By a jackass ex-boyfriend who thought Jackyl and Love/Hate were the epitome of good music.
I dusted off some brain cells and pulled 7 or 8 New Model Army songs out of my acoustic yesterday. I learned them back when I first got a guitar (about 2 years after I got my first bass) and only come back to them once in awhile, like if I'm jammin alone on the porch or something. Their music still has a profound effect on me, 23 years after first hearing "51st State". It comes back easy. I know the music backwards and forwards, knew it before I learned to play it. Know all the words for every song on every album from the Vengeance album/EP to Strange Brotherhood. There have been albums released since Strange Brotherhood, but I don't have them.
When all my records were stolen from me in Arizona, the ones I was bummed out the most about were the NMA ones. Didn't care about the Metallica ones on Metalblade. Didn't care about the colored vinyl Misfits singles or the green double-live UK Subs album. Didn't really miss the BGK or Ill Repute. But to this day I am still angry about the NMA being taken. By a jackass ex-boyfriend who thought Jackyl and Love/Hate were the epitome of good music.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
RCR pictures
The batch of the riders is up first. This is my favorite one. Click on it to see the whole picture.
Good times with Rip City Riders
I was out at their wangdang doodle yesterday for NINE hours. I didn't expect to be there that long, but there it is. The jam band played for two hours and then we let the final band use our PA so we were kind of stuck there til they were finished.
But it was great! Great music, great bikes, great cars, good food, jolly people, freestylers on ramps...
I got assloads of pictures. I will deal with them later.
It was hot as hell on the stage yesterday when we were playing. The band before us boiled even more than we did. The stage faced west. So that's all anyone needs to know.
But it was great! Great music, great bikes, great cars, good food, jolly people, freestylers on ramps...
I got assloads of pictures. I will deal with them later.
It was hot as hell on the stage yesterday when we were playing. The band before us boiled even more than we did. The stage faced west. So that's all anyone needs to know.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Who wants a clean house
Sometimes when I'm actually home during the daytime and don't have to do anything, and can spend an hour or so turning my brain to mush in front of the Tay-Vay, I'll watch "Clean House", with Niecy. Of course, I should be cleaning my OWN house... but the fact of the matter is that I am a shit-ass housekeeper and it's all I can do to keep our little house looking even moderately presentable. Luckily, most of our friends are also shit-ass housekeepers so the embarrassment factor isn't too high. And it never fails that immediately after vacuuming, one of the cats will pop out a big ol' hairball in the middle of the floor. So sometimes I wonder what the fucking point is anyway. Who's great idea was it to put carpet in houses in the first place?
But I like "Clean House". I like it because, hey, it makes me feel better about my own lack of cleaning skills. One does not have to bushwack their way from my front door to my kitchen, or step over piles of stuff, or follow trails through the junk. There is no coating of unidentifiable funk on our stuff. Weird smells are passing, not permanent. We own a Kirby G5 and we use it. Ok, well, *I* use it. The carpet is a sort of uniform dinginess, but part of that is that we live next to a freeway and the particulates and dust gets tracked into the house- no matter how often I sweep the porch and walkway. It's just a fact of life.
I try not to bring more stuff into the house. For the most part, I have succeeded in reducing this to almost nothing... a mere trickle. And I am one who used to grab stuff off the side of the road with the idea that "I can do something with it". I even go through the crap once a month and give it away. I'm always giving shit away. Man, I haven't even seriously started in the garage yet, either, but there is always a box by the door filling up with stuff to contribute to someone else's junk habit. I don't want to deal with a garage sale, either. What I see with garage sales is that the shit floats from sale to sale, anyway. The people who used to live in this house had a garage sale every weekend, I guess. For the first six months we lived here, there were people banging on our door at weird hours on the weekend wondering where the damn garage sale was. I don't know! It isn't here! Shove off! And some of the passive-aggressive neighbors (how I hate people like that) with "It would be nice if those people still lived here and had their garage sale". Get the fuck out of my yard. Right now. (of note- I rarely respond to passive-aggressive behavior. I busted the smart half on it the other day. He didn't realize it was what he was doing. With me, you had better tell me straight up what you want, or I ignore you.)
So, thank you Niecy for the constant reminder that it isn't so terrible in my house. It isn't so great, but it isn't bad.
But I like "Clean House". I like it because, hey, it makes me feel better about my own lack of cleaning skills. One does not have to bushwack their way from my front door to my kitchen, or step over piles of stuff, or follow trails through the junk. There is no coating of unidentifiable funk on our stuff. Weird smells are passing, not permanent. We own a Kirby G5 and we use it. Ok, well, *I* use it. The carpet is a sort of uniform dinginess, but part of that is that we live next to a freeway and the particulates and dust gets tracked into the house- no matter how often I sweep the porch and walkway. It's just a fact of life.
I try not to bring more stuff into the house. For the most part, I have succeeded in reducing this to almost nothing... a mere trickle. And I am one who used to grab stuff off the side of the road with the idea that "I can do something with it". I even go through the crap once a month and give it away. I'm always giving shit away. Man, I haven't even seriously started in the garage yet, either, but there is always a box by the door filling up with stuff to contribute to someone else's junk habit. I don't want to deal with a garage sale, either. What I see with garage sales is that the shit floats from sale to sale, anyway. The people who used to live in this house had a garage sale every weekend, I guess. For the first six months we lived here, there were people banging on our door at weird hours on the weekend wondering where the damn garage sale was. I don't know! It isn't here! Shove off! And some of the passive-aggressive neighbors (how I hate people like that) with "It would be nice if those people still lived here and had their garage sale". Get the fuck out of my yard. Right now. (of note- I rarely respond to passive-aggressive behavior. I busted the smart half on it the other day. He didn't realize it was what he was doing. With me, you had better tell me straight up what you want, or I ignore you.)
So, thank you Niecy for the constant reminder that it isn't so terrible in my house. It isn't so great, but it isn't bad.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
house in hua hin
My dad just sent a note over that he and his lady friend bought a nice little pad in Hua Hin, Thailand.
So, yeah, really, must get more income so we can go visit.
So, yeah, really, must get more income so we can go visit.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
4th of july pics
I got the pictures of the blues society jam band put up at our KBS myspace site:
KBS on MySpace
And here are fireworks pictures I took:
KBS on MySpace
And here are fireworks pictures I took:
bro not crispy
yay Rude called last night to let me know he was back from his first firefighting gig of the season. He worked out of a base camp in Chester, CA (between Susanville and Redding on HWY 36. I think he may have been on the Corral Fire but not sure, forgot to ask him last night, he was just checking in and letting me know he was all right. Like, I'm a mom or something. lol.
Pretty neat guy
One of the coolest people around town that I know lives in a trailer court on the weird side of town (off Wiard street, which, although I know it's pronounced "Wy-ard", I will always call it "weird"). He's a disabled Viet Nam vet who served as a medic. Last year he decided to turn his life around and stopped taking the gnarly pain killers (methadone, oxycontine and morphine) that had been prescribed to him, took up swimming and biking and has made some great progress with his health. He also has it in his mind to be energy-independent and is working on various things to achieve this. He makes his own wine and rigged up a giant swamp cooler to cool his trailer. Giant, as in, the swamp cooler was probably on an office building before he got it, and now it sits outside his little trailer and blasts cold air in like nobody's business.
Yesterday I went over to say Hi (which I hadn't done in almost a month) and have a conversation and see what his newest deal was. Turns out he's been running a hydrogen generator on one of his cars to augment the gasoline. The experiment vehicle is his Trooper, but he also has an older Suburban with a 400 ci engine in it that he uses to haul stuff around in. My guess is that in town the 400 gets about 8-10 mpg. His mileage on the Trooper increased by about 8 with the small, homemade hydrogen generator. He put both of the generators together that he has for me yesterday and man it is something to watch. I didn't have the camera with me or I would have documented it all.
I'm going back over there over the weekend probably because I do want to document this thing.
Yesterday I went over to say Hi (which I hadn't done in almost a month) and have a conversation and see what his newest deal was. Turns out he's been running a hydrogen generator on one of his cars to augment the gasoline. The experiment vehicle is his Trooper, but he also has an older Suburban with a 400 ci engine in it that he uses to haul stuff around in. My guess is that in town the 400 gets about 8-10 mpg. His mileage on the Trooper increased by about 8 with the small, homemade hydrogen generator. He put both of the generators together that he has for me yesterday and man it is something to watch. I didn't have the camera with me or I would have documented it all.
I'm going back over there over the weekend probably because I do want to document this thing.
Monday, July 07, 2008
tastiest place in town
Two!
One is the dollar taco stand two blocks up the road from us. It's been there a year and today the smart half wanted mexican food so I told him to make a run up the block and get a cheap taco or six. He came back with a pounder burrito that was $5 and apparently worth every dollar. Even better because it's so close.
the other one, a downtown mainstay for two decades, Swan's Bistro. My first time in there today. Owned by my fellow crazy people. They crammed me full of food, poured a 40 oz iced latte down my gullet and then booted me out the door for good conversation and enjoyment of sunshine. GO THERE! They make those wonderful tea-marbled hardboiled eggs. One of the cooks spent years in Asia and came back with mad cooking skillz. it's the only place you can buy crepes in this town. Hellz yeah. My new hangout.
One is the dollar taco stand two blocks up the road from us. It's been there a year and today the smart half wanted mexican food so I told him to make a run up the block and get a cheap taco or six. He came back with a pounder burrito that was $5 and apparently worth every dollar. Even better because it's so close.
the other one, a downtown mainstay for two decades, Swan's Bistro. My first time in there today. Owned by my fellow crazy people. They crammed me full of food, poured a 40 oz iced latte down my gullet and then booted me out the door for good conversation and enjoyment of sunshine. GO THERE! They make those wonderful tea-marbled hardboiled eggs. One of the cooks spent years in Asia and came back with mad cooking skillz. it's the only place you can buy crepes in this town. Hellz yeah. My new hangout.
Where the hell can I find some of that?
Recently a friend sent me a link to this article, Big Pharma is in a Frenzy to Bring Cannabis-Based Medicines to Market"
(on a side note, I hate references to "Big" anything. Oil, tobacco, pharmaceuticals... almost as much as I hate the much overused and beaten to death phrase "Wake-up call" and firmly believe that journalists, politicians and other useless hacks who use these phrases ought to have their mouths duct-taped and a smear of Vicks vapo-rub placed under each eye as well as on their upper lip, while someone chants all the wake-up calls at them through a bullhorn, a foot away, as the chanter hits a helium balloon every 90 seconds)
Anyway- speaking of useless hacks, we can add Britain's PM Gordon Brown to that slimy hole filled with total morons, as he says "I don't think that the previous studies took into account that so much of the cannabis on the streets is now of a lethal quality and we really have got to send out a message to young people -- this is not acceptable," (here, but also quoted in the first article.
Gordon Brown, as if you'd ever come across this, but if someone can find me, or anyone else, even ONE instance of someone smoking a j rolled of modern, "lethal" pot that resulted in that person dying on the spot, please forward it. Not someone who got in a deadly car accident while stoned and drunk. Someone whose death was a direct result of one dose of lethal marijuana. Similar to a heroin or cocaine overdose.
Find that, and my opinion of politicians might change just a little bit. Til then, shit-spewing, hand-in-my-pocket-taking-my-money-away, bullshit artists all, they shall remain. And a note to other politicians who are talking out their asses about things they know nothing about- sirs, better to keep your bonehole shut and be thought a fool than speak up and remove all doubt.
(on a side note, I hate references to "Big" anything. Oil, tobacco, pharmaceuticals... almost as much as I hate the much overused and beaten to death phrase "Wake-up call" and firmly believe that journalists, politicians and other useless hacks who use these phrases ought to have their mouths duct-taped and a smear of Vicks vapo-rub placed under each eye as well as on their upper lip, while someone chants all the wake-up calls at them through a bullhorn, a foot away, as the chanter hits a helium balloon every 90 seconds)
Anyway- speaking of useless hacks, we can add Britain's PM Gordon Brown to that slimy hole filled with total morons, as he says "I don't think that the previous studies took into account that so much of the cannabis on the streets is now of a lethal quality and we really have got to send out a message to young people -- this is not acceptable," (here, but also quoted in the first article.
Gordon Brown, as if you'd ever come across this, but if someone can find me, or anyone else, even ONE instance of someone smoking a j rolled of modern, "lethal" pot that resulted in that person dying on the spot, please forward it. Not someone who got in a deadly car accident while stoned and drunk. Someone whose death was a direct result of one dose of lethal marijuana. Similar to a heroin or cocaine overdose.
Find that, and my opinion of politicians might change just a little bit. Til then, shit-spewing, hand-in-my-pocket-taking-my-money-away, bullshit artists all, they shall remain. And a note to other politicians who are talking out their asses about things they know nothing about- sirs, better to keep your bonehole shut and be thought a fool than speak up and remove all doubt.
the quiet
When taking those pictures at the wildlife refuge I had to also stop and listen. Because there was silence, except for the sounds of the birds. Living next to the highway in town is noisy and you get used to it, but to enjoy near-total silence is always a treat. It makes my ears ring.
In the spring the bird sounds are louder, more raucous, and there are a lot more different birds. The geese are always especially loud, and the ducks. You'll hear the occasional crane or heron making noise, or a cow mooing nearby, the blip-blip-splash of someone on the water catching lunch, or the scraw of predatory birds. This time of the year, the population at the marsh is changing. The mating is finished for the most part, the little fuzzy birds are not quite so little and fuzzy but still grouped with moms and little families.
But now, when it's hot and desolate and still, the marsh is mostly quiet. There is rustling in the tules, some splashing, the whoop-whoop sound that the wings of a big bird flying overhead make.
I would suggest to anyone traveling up or down the I5 in Oregon to get the hell off it and get on the 97. It's prettier and you can stop and check out things like the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. You can also stop and see the Butte Valley National Grasslands.
Personally, every time I have to drive on the 5, I think to myself, "Fuck I hate this particular freeway and just about every stupid fast-food town that dots it".
In the spring the bird sounds are louder, more raucous, and there are a lot more different birds. The geese are always especially loud, and the ducks. You'll hear the occasional crane or heron making noise, or a cow mooing nearby, the blip-blip-splash of someone on the water catching lunch, or the scraw of predatory birds. This time of the year, the population at the marsh is changing. The mating is finished for the most part, the little fuzzy birds are not quite so little and fuzzy but still grouped with moms and little families.
But now, when it's hot and desolate and still, the marsh is mostly quiet. There is rustling in the tules, some splashing, the whoop-whoop sound that the wings of a big bird flying overhead make.
I would suggest to anyone traveling up or down the I5 in Oregon to get the hell off it and get on the 97. It's prettier and you can stop and check out things like the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. You can also stop and see the Butte Valley National Grasslands.
Personally, every time I have to drive on the 5, I think to myself, "Fuck I hate this particular freeway and just about every stupid fast-food town that dots it".
Camp Tulelake
Whenever I get out to Tulelake I try to stop at the camp. You can't go on the grounds, but you can stand at the fence and take pictures. Out of some 30 buildings, I guess, there are maybe 5 or 6 still there. Camp Tulelake was a sort of overflow camp for the larger, main camp at Newell.
George Takei was at the main camp with his parents.
George Takei was at the main camp with his parents.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
CA 161
I had to run out to Tulelake early this morning and took the opportunity to take my time and get a few pictures. This is one of my favorites I got this morning.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
all the days
Yesterday went pretty great. I didn't play, but I'm alright with that. I didn't really want to play anyway. I wanted to go see what there was to see. Got a lot of pics and some videos and handed out some flyers and schmoozed. Tomorrow will be the first day in a week i'll be able to sleep in past 9, probably. hope so, at least.
see, yah, nothing too exciting.
see, yah, nothing too exciting.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
4th of july
welp. nothing particularly spectacular planned on our end. I will be playing with the blues society on the courthouse steps throughout the day, starting around 10AM. That thing turns into a big old parabolic bowl around 3o'clock. It just cooks your ass.
They close Main street at 8 or 9AM so we have to get all the eq down there and unloaded around 7:30 probably. weeee! At least it'll be cool. Like, soopa cool. I love the mornings here in the summer. If there was anything to do here at night, I'd go back to being nocturnal and then just sleep in the daytime.
They close Main street at 8 or 9AM so we have to get all the eq down there and unloaded around 7:30 probably. weeee! At least it'll be cool. Like, soopa cool. I love the mornings here in the summer. If there was anything to do here at night, I'd go back to being nocturnal and then just sleep in the daytime.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
math post #7 (probably)
It's still just mostly incomprehensible scratchings to me.
I think I must be in a weird place. I do well at whole number, basic math, which is why I didn't go into MTH10. But I'm struggling with MTH20, which is probably the equivalent of high-school pre-algebra.
I work on a concept, work on applying the concept (through the problems and study guides in the book), then flail stupidly when actually doing the problems and come up with answers so far off the mark I can't even imagine what the fuck I was thinking or where it all went to shit.
When I do my homework and check it over on my own, I'll still come up with 10-15 wrong out of 40 when we go over it the next day. If the Smart Half goes over it with me after I'm done, I get maybe 3-5 wrong. So I am having him go over it with me. I don't see the mistakes. Because I don't understand it.
We're heading into complex fractions right now. And, it's like, crap... all these numbers and lines and rules and if it's negative you do this and if it's two negatives you do this and to divide you flip and multiply and make it small and ok well you lost me there. I really pay attention in class. I write all the rules down on their own page and look at them before I start homework.
I think I get it for 30 seconds and then nothing makes sense.
But I'm going to pass the damn class.
I think I must be in a weird place. I do well at whole number, basic math, which is why I didn't go into MTH10. But I'm struggling with MTH20, which is probably the equivalent of high-school pre-algebra.
I work on a concept, work on applying the concept (through the problems and study guides in the book), then flail stupidly when actually doing the problems and come up with answers so far off the mark I can't even imagine what the fuck I was thinking or where it all went to shit.
When I do my homework and check it over on my own, I'll still come up with 10-15 wrong out of 40 when we go over it the next day. If the Smart Half goes over it with me after I'm done, I get maybe 3-5 wrong. So I am having him go over it with me. I don't see the mistakes. Because I don't understand it.
We're heading into complex fractions right now. And, it's like, crap... all these numbers and lines and rules and if it's negative you do this and if it's two negatives you do this and to divide you flip and multiply and make it small and ok well you lost me there. I really pay attention in class. I write all the rules down on their own page and look at them before I start homework.
I think I get it for 30 seconds and then nothing makes sense.
But I'm going to pass the damn class.
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