Sunday Sunny Sunday

Considering it was the one Sunday a month that I get off, I knew I couldn't waste it. And waste it I did not, although wasted I was. Starts off with a club run in the morning followed by an afternoon Nini's with Jarles, Gavroche and Glace's friend Jen from the East Coast. I'm still feeling the late evening at the I from Saturday, so I start off with Katie's special, and I'm not talking about the breakfast sandwich....straight to Mimosa. It's midway through said Mimosa that Glace enters her, "we should go get drunk today" spiel. This isn't the first time she's played this game.

We decide that given the weather and her visitor, heading to the city is certainly what we should do. Around 3 Jarles, Gavroche, Arturro, Jen and myself head up there, loaded with two travel mugs of Rodkas, and start off at Zeitgeist. Out on the patio, we kill a few drinks, a j, and start up a lively conversation with two guys, one of which happened to be at the Throw Me the Statue show the night before. We chat it up for a while, Gavroche going full bore into his MMM speech, and after a bit more networking we take off for Dolores Park. On warm sunny days in the city, nothing brings out the people like Dolores Park. Everyone's on the grass, drinking, smoking, throwing frisbees, listening to music, dancing and generally kicking back. A beautiful scene. Mau and VMez have joined us at this point, and I sneak off for a few to meet up with The Choosy, T, Tri and a few others who are on the other side of the green. I feel like I have two families.

It's when I'm back with family 1 on the green that I bring out the shots of Patron I had been hiding in my backpack. Glace and I split one and the afternoon gets immediately warmer. We decide it's time to head on, and walk to the Dolores Park cafe where Mau goes inside to use the restroom and the rest of us start debating cab rides to the Marina. The next 30 seconds are probably the quickest decision making I've seen from a group of people.

As we agree we need cabs, and that we'll need two, at that exact moment we see two cabs, heading in opposite directions on 17th. I whistle at one, who sees us and stops, and then I whistle at the second one, who also stops. Of course, they've both stopped at almost the exact same spot, in opposite directions, on a green light, blocking traffic in both directions as we all run and jump randomly into the cabs. But Mau is still in side, Gavroche recognizes this, and all of a sudden, both cabs are driving away, Gavroche is standing on the sidewalk, and we have absolutely no idea about where to tell the cab driver to go. Glace calls Chaz who can't stop laughing on the phone because we just went from standing to in two separate cabs with no set destination in about 20 seconds flat. We decide to meet over in the Marina.

Once there, we take to the green for some frisbee throwing and general sunny laziness. The current mood of the group is pretty faded, as we've been consistently drinking beer, vodka and tequila for the last several hours in the sun. It's time for dinner now, so we head over to Betelnut, who tells us there will be an hour wait, and then skip over to Osha, which can seat us immediately. I sneak away from the table, run down the street and eat a burrito. I order it standard...steak, sour cream, guacamole, cheese. The lady making it is a traditional woman from the looks of her, and when she sees my ticket, I see a look of disdain on her face, and she shakes her head back and forth disapprovingly as she puts the cheese down. I've never been ridiculed for my burrito choice before by the person making it. It's a new perspective...

Back at Osha, it's more drinks and some great food before the cabs take us back to the car and the car takes us back to B-Game. I watch tv while finishing the last mini bottle of Patron...up next...IOWA!

Better Make It Random

After the track meet on Saturday, I have no idea what I'm going to do. Za's on a plane for Seattle, Chaz and Gavroche are at a private birthday party, T's got no set plans, Glass is coming back from Marin and Topher is out at the Giants game. Due to all of these early plans, no one knows what they're doing later, which makes my plan planning a bit dicey. I've talked to PSoo who is on his way over to Elbo Room, so when I get into my car around 10, I decide to meander towards there and see what comes up.

And sure enough, something does. Turns out there's a Throw Me the Statue concert at the Bottom of the Hill that not only had I not heard about, but also wasn't sold out yet. I jet over there immediately and run into KFer, Da, Gavroche, Jarles, and about half of the remaining population of CSU. Bottom of the Hill is where I got to see Ratatat a few years back, and what a good venue for a smaller show and a band of friends. TMTS rocks through a solid set, and afterwards we kick it around for a while. Afterwards, a group of us splits off to go home and the rest of us head over to meet E at the I where the nightly celebrations are in full swing. I won't go into details here, but I will say that E has told me for a while that it's my destiny, and he's starting to look correct about that.

As I leave the club, I start walking to my car to head over to the crepe stand. I put on my music and start dancing in the street, moving towards my car. About 6 blocks down from the club, I realize that the silver cigarette case I carry with me, that has the last j of the evening in it, is not in my back pocket where it's supposed to be. I freak. I backtrack. I walk back to the club and turn around, walking slowly looking along the ground, getting more and more infuriated with the idea that not only did I lose the case, but I lost the last j that was in it. I spend about twenty minutes looking for it before giving up and realizing that I can't let it spoil what was otherwise a very good night. I want to throw something until I get back to my car and find it there, right in the sidedoor where I left it. I spend the car ride from Broadway to the crepe stand dancing and celebrating profusely.

I get to the stand and bury a strawberry/nutella/coconut before heading home. Another night well played.

Birth-Day-Me

Friday night is supposed to be a quiet one. I've got an early track meet on Saturday, so the idea is to go out briefly to celebrate Bini's birthday and then get in bed before I turn into a pumpkin. Half of that goes as planned. Hessica and I scoot up to the city around 8, and head to Do-Re-Mi, a karaoke place in J-Town. When we arrive, I'm immediately taken off guard as the place feels like a cross between a karaoke bar, a brothel, and that scary dungeon place in the movie Hostel. You walk in and there's a guy behind a counter in front of a long hall way with doors on both sides, all closed.

In each room are a bunch of couches, a tv and a karaoke machine set-up. Bini's there (complete with an awesome shirt that proclaims she's, "Better than a vibrator"), along with -Barbara, T, Tri, Za, McButter, Windy, Marge, Bini's brother, Xena, Cattastic and a few others. While I love the group, the karaoke songs start playing, (complete with very odd and absolutely unrelated video clips), and I feel like I've awoken in a sort of personal hell. But what's awesome is that not only is everyone in the room into it (and you don't have to share your karaoke with random strangers), but the place allows you to bring your own food and drink, so everyone proceeds to get boozed. We get a stern talking to at a few points when the attendant walking by outside sees alcohol bottles and tells us to put them away.

At 10, our stay there is over (you book the room by the hour), and the group is on to a dance club to continue their evening. This is when I'm supposed to go home, but we've told Hopper from the LoveShack that we'd swing by the AIDS benefit the I-Vibe crew was putting on with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence over at the El Rincon in the deep Mission. We arrive there and while it's not at all crowded, it's got the same positive and smoke friendly vibe that the Lark is known for on Monday nights. If being out past my bedtime wasn't enough, Hessica buys me a few drinks, and by the time we leave the club, it's late, I need a crepe, and I get about four hours of sleep before heading out to Pacific Grove.

10 Things to Think About on a Friday

What a week! From Skylarkin' on Monday, Ultimate on Tuesday and Wednesday and Colibri on Thursday, it hardly seemed like a week at all. And now, looking forward to a birthday party, track meet and one of the rare Sundays without an open house, I'm pretty excited for the weekend. As you get excited for yours, here's 10 things you can think about...

1) Hard to believe that a bunch of police officers can shoot an unarmed man 50 times and not be found guilty of anything.
2) Ever seen a penguin in a wetsuit?
3) Passenger 57 is soon to be Prisoner #.....
4) If a politician can't defend the water board technique to a 20 year old college student, how do you think he sounds to the rest of the world?
5) Here we go again...more religion in the classroom. But did he really brand crosses on the students?
6) Would anyone ever leave a bar to hook up if they had these? Of course they would, but it's still interesting to think about...
7) This might make me switch from Rodka's (or Raging Bulls as some call them) back to Long Islands...I'm not trying to die from energy drinks!
8) If you're looking for an early Christmas gift idea for me, this could be good...
9) A lesson Paul, George and Ringo learned many years ago...don't fuck with Yoko Ono or the Beatles' copyrights.
10) I wonder, if because they're rich, politicians think that 600 dollars is a lot of money for us little folks, and is actually going to do something to boost the economy. I know mine's going to gas...

Be good to each other!

April iPod Update

{for complete music related posts, see .Evolving.Music}

How do you organize yourself and your music listening when you add somewhere between 50 and 150 songs, MixMatchMusic style, to your collection every month? That was the issue confronting me at the beginning of this year as I reflected on 2007 and saw that sometimes my iPod updates and music purchases (yes, I still purchase music) were erratic and not organized to the best possible use. With that in mind, I concocted a new system this year. As I add songs throughout a month to the library, they stay there. At the end of the month, I organize several playlists...album specific lists that are titled "A: Artist-Album," and an overall update titled "A: Month Update" that includes all songs added since the last update. Then, at some point during the month, the new playlists go onto the iPod, and the old ones are retitled "B:" which keeps the newest stuff at the top of the playlist while also retaining the older updates further down the line.

As it isn't always possible to do an album review for every one I pick up, and I get some amazing music in the course of a month, I've decided it might be beneficial and fun for all if I start a monthly post, "What I'm Hearing," glossing over and talking about some of the music I've been listening to that's good for your ears. With that in mind, here's some information about the April iPod Update...

First, I should start by saying that the 80s revival that has been bubbling up for a while now is most decidedly here. I've noticed, for the past 8 months or so, a steady and heavy influence of 80s synths, drums and instrumentation coming back to the music scene. And in the past 4 months, I've heard an increasing number of groups picking up different styles from the 80s and tweaking them just enough to retain that wistful electronic feel of some of the better songs of the era while omitting some of the more foolish and unlistenable aspects of the original genre.

The Beatles, Let It Be: Sure, it's an old album, and granted most people think of The Beatles now as that quaint collection they have in their library but rarely get into anymore, but delving back into this late album of the most influential band in history (yes, you read that right), offers quite a few gems that have matured over the years. For a while I thought of Let It Be as the weaker younger brother of the other albums, notably Revolver, Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. But hearing these original songs again after so many remakes of most of them (see the I Am Sam soundtrack, Pleasantville soundtrack and others) gives them a fresh perspective. The simplicity of the songwriting meshes perfectly with a group obviously quite comfortable with their musical abilities at this point in their careers. Don't Sleep On: "I Me Mine," "Dig a Pony," and "Two of Us."

To see what else I'm hearing now, go here.

IFPI Screws Musician!

{for all music related posts, see .Evolving.Music}

In an interesting tidbit of musical news today, the IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), has been caught with its hand in the same virtual cookie jar as the RIAA found itself a few weeks ago when it turned out none of the legal proceeds from lawsuits was ever actually going to the artist. In an attempt at a lawsuit on the ubiquitous bitTorrent site Pirate Bay, the IFPI attempted to include the Swedish rapper Max Peezay as someone who had been cheated out of his rightful profits. The lawsuit sought financial compensation to Peezay for his "stolen" music. Sounds like a recording industry union going to bat for an artist they represent, right? Wrong.

Turns out, IFPI doesn't own or have any hold over any the rights to Peezay's music, and Peezay, whose lyrics often support file sharing, never wanted to be included in a lawsuit targeting a file sharing site. In fact, he was never approached, nor asked about his desire for involvement, and has informed the IFPI of such, effectively eliminating him and their claim for $19,000 in lost revenue for his music from their $2.5M lawsuit. The best questions are these: (post continues here)

Pennies From Heaven

This I had to file in one of the "ironic moments of my life" bin...I hate pennies. They're tiny, hard to count, worth almost nothing, and actually cost the government money because it takes 1.7 cents to make a penny (yes, that means every year we lose millions of dollars on pennies not because they disappear in couch cushions easily, but because we pay more than they're worth for them).

Due to this hatred, I've come to throwing pennies away. I throw them in trash cans where they will never be found. I throw them on the ground where other idiots can stop and pick them up. I've even tried feeding them to stray pigeons for personal amusement. So with all I do to combat the existence of pennies in my life, when I returned to my parked car the other night in San Francisco, I couldn't do anything but laugh when I saw this image right outside the driver side door....almost like God said, "you don't want pennies?! Here! Take 'em!!" And no, curious reader, I didn't pick any of them up...

Exploring

After spending all day in baking heat at a track meet, 7:30 pm on Saturday saw me jetting home, showering quickly and doing the fastest scrub to black tie turnaround known to man. After getting home around 7:45, I'm shaved, showered, tuxedoed, rolled up and two drinks deep by the time I hit the city at 9.

The event of the evening is a company party for Glass. They've invited close to 1,600 people to dress black-tie, come and enjoy free food and a completely open bar (well, to be honest, throughout the venue there were about 15 open bars), all at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. For those that haven't been to the Exploratorium, it is a gigantic warehouse style building housing all manner of very fun and cool scientific exhibits and hands-on activities. It's basically a very large playground for kids. But when you turn the middle into the dance floor and then allow a bunch of inebriated adults to roam around, there's no telling what's going to happen.

We get there about an hour late due to my late arrival, and Glass does not shy away from walking in the first entrance she sees, which happens to be the caterers' entrance. We get inside and people are everywhere with food and drink in hand. The food ranged from shrimp and sushi to meat platters and main courses. The bar was completely open with just about anything you would want to drink. Seizing on the opportunity, I tell the first bartender I see to take me to that Island I like....the Long Island. We mix and mingle for a while, sporadically playing games or fooling around with the numerous exhibits available. The DJ is sick, playing almost exclusively mash-ups, the variety of which is impressive even to me.

As the evening winds down, they start closing up the place and everyone pours out into the street to grab cabs to the next destination. Turns out the company has set up guest lists at a number of clubs so I call Maurod who takes us over to Gravity where the place is packed, mainly with people still wearing their tuxedos and masks from the party. We last about 15 minutes there before we decide to get out of the stuffy corporate atmosphere and head over to meet E at the I. Never a bad idea. Of course, in my tuxedo, I do look a bit out of place, but E seems to enjoy this. We get there a bit before last call, pound a drink and get back with Maurod to take us back to the Marina where it's Pizza Pino at 2 in the morning.

Yes, that's me drinking water from a toilet bowl, and no, I wasn't drunk at this point...they had a series of "mental challenges" that included a water fountain in a toilet bowl, a ladder to walk under, etc...meant to show that some people will shy away from these things due to superstition, even if they know from the set-up that it's safe. I obviously don't have these types of concerns...

10 Things to Think About on a Friday

Here we are again...and this time it's the dreaded Friday before Tax Day. But, I'm going to avoid the urge to rant and rave against the IRS (sons of bitches), and simply give you 10 things that you can ponder as the clock ticks closer to 5pm...

1) Considering the evidence, I guess it's a good thing this guy was a principal at a Elementary school rather than his preferred age range of high school...

2) Are people really dumb enough to pay $100 for a shot of coffee made from cat feces?

3) Let me get this straight...Bush wants us to fight terrorists "over there so we don't have to fight them over here," yet wants to bring one of the most deadly and contagious diseases known to livestock from a secure island where it has operated safely for years over to the mainland, near cattle? This makes sense how?

4) Is the approval of torture by almost every cabinet member under Bush really a surprise to anyone?

5) First off, what is a 13 year old doing at a tanning salon? Secondly, why's he going three times in one day? Finally, they don't make tanning salons have staff on site?!

6) To protest, or not to protest, at the Olympic games?

7) I love how this actor, who played R2-D2, gets sick, and the only picture they post in the news is of R2-d2...

8) Is this the beginning of the end for Windows?

9) How much can a swimsuit help in your quest for Olympic gold?

10) And if a swimsuit can help you win gold, can a buried t-shirt stop you from winning the World Series?

OutKast's Big Boi Does Ballet

Imagine the well-heeled, tuxedoed crowd of ballet sharing a sip of champagne with a group of hoodied hip-hop heads ready to crunk. This could very well be the scene in Atlanta, GA tonight at the Fox Theater as Big Boi of the Outkast launches his first attempt at a ballet show.

That's right, you read me...Big Boi of OutKast has teamed with a ballet troupe in Atlanta headed by Lauri Stallings to bring together a fantastic mixmatch idea in the form of bringing Big Boi's hip-hop music into ballet with a show called "big." Fresh off his musical turn in Idlewild, Big Boi was approached by the ballet, and the show that will combine hip-hop and ballet, dancers and audience, is set to kick off tonight with the encore being Boi's new single "Sir Lucious Leftfoot Saves the Day."

The idea is not just to bring a new media look to classical ballet, but to help cross-pollinate the fans of the two, introducing hip-hop to classical ballet lovers and introducing those dance watchers to the vibrant world of hip-hop. The dancers are calling it different from anything they've done before, which I can only imagine is incredibly true. How many ballet dancers have you seen leaping off the stage to crank it in the audience? Whatever the outcome, the fact that Big Boi is willing to branch out into ballet, and Ms. Stallings is brave enough to attempt to choreograph it makes this an endeavor worthy of some attention in a MixMatch world.

MLB '08: The Return to the Park

So what if Barry Bonds doesn't play for us anymore? What do you care that we have a 2-7 record? This is baseball season people! It's about being outside, watching some overpriced players and drinking beer as much as it's about winning, losing and home run chases! While I thought that Thursday would be my first game according to my season tickets, yesterday I got a call from my Dad who had found two free tickets and a parking pass on the bulletin board at work.

Even better is when you find out the free tickets are 16 rows off the field. Combine that with an extra innings win and a walk off home run, and you're talking Spring! Now...about resigning Bonds...

Lollapalooza iTunes Mash-Ups?

{for complete music related posts, see .Evolving.Music}

In a press release today, I read a most interesting thing about the long-running mega music marathon known as Lollapalooza. Founded in 1997 by Perry Farrell to say good-bye to the legend of Jane's Addiction, the tour stalled out on the national level to be revived in a format similar to Bonnaroo, Coachella and this year's Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco. While not a multi-day festival like these, the Bridge School Benefit has been doing much the same at the Shoreline Amphitheater for more than 20 years now.

Of course, the most frustrating portion of these festivals is the opportunity to see a wide variety and assortment of acts, and then never hearing their music or their collaborations again. In recent years, Bridge School has started recording and releasing acts by the artists, but it seems to me that in this day of high quality live recording and digital distribution, it shouldn't be that difficult to release an entire live set from one of these festivals a few days after it ends.

For the charitable festivals (Outside Lands/Bridge School), this can increase the revenue poured into the cause, and for artist-centered festivals, it can help increase their revenue from the show. But really, it's the unique collaborations that happen on stage between dissimilar artists that are usually the highlights of these shows. Tom Waits performing with the Kronos Quartet at Bridge School, Tom Petty sharing the stage with Neil Young. These are musical moments that are incredibly memorable to the audience ("Man, you should have been there when X and Z performed together!") but retaining the way it sounded in your mind is much more difficult over time. This post continues here.

Welcome Back Ultimate!

It's spring and daylight savings time...and that means not only the return of baseball, but the long awaited return to Ultimate Frisbee season. Sure, I play winter league in SF as well, but the games are cold and you're lucky if you play more than 5 due to the constant rain-outs that plague the league. So now, it's back to sunny daylight ultimate in SF (SFUL.org) and San Mateo at the sloppy but oh so fun San Mateo High game on Wednesday nights.

In an effort to bring my level of play in the SFUL league up, I decided that 33-37% of my team's total offense that I've averaged the last few seasons (goals and assists divided by the total number of goals scored over the season) was no longer acceptable for me. I decided I wanted to bump that up to the 40s range. Through two games...Game 1: In a 13-7 win, I scored 6 and assisted 1. Game 2: In a 13-7 win, I scored 8 and assisted 1. Total offense percentage through two games...61.5%

But really, it's about getting out there and throwing the disc around for me. I somehow rarely feel as free as when I'm chasing down a long huck to the end zone, making a cut that breaks someone's ankles, diving to knock down a pass on defense or getting up over a defender for a catch (yes, that's a picture of me...) The sun on my back, the blue sky above, the fresh smell of grass and a frisbee floating down field. This is ultimate.

Warm Glass

Saturday, following another brutally long day at a Livermore track meet, I made my way up to the Marina for Glass' housewarming party. Recently moved in from corporate housing to a private apartment for her and the beast Dixon, Glass was ready to warm her apartment with friends and family...and it got warm.

I show up about two hours late to find everyone significantly buzzed and taking shots of Patron. Unfortunately, a Jack in the Box breakfast (chicken strips, bacon cheddar potato wedges, double bacon Western cheeseburger) and a Taco Bell dinner (two taco supremes, two beefy cheesy melts), the idea of taking shots was not in the realm of possibilities for me.

Glass, her two brothers, Hay and numerous co-workers and friends I hadn't met yet were in attendance. At about 11:30, after having talked for about an hour about going to dance somewhere, we actually manage to start moving out of the house. We decide to head down to Circa. Once there, the majority of the group decided the line was too long and we shouldn't wait, and lead the expedition across the street to another bar. There, going in, are three guys from my former fraternity (yes, I was in one), which is about as random as I could hope to get. But once inside the bar (actually, I don't even make it in, I'm still shooting the shit with the guys I know outside), the group turns around and decides it's too crowded and we should go to another bar. This leads us to KT's.

About midway through the KT's stop, I decide I need to go to the bathroom. Having only been to the one in KT's once though (and that on Golf Night, no less), I'd much rather go someplace I'm comfortable, so I literally run across the street to City Tavern to use theirs. There, I see Chris behind the bar who makes me a free shot which I down before heading back to the party.

At about 1:30, people start heading home, which leads me to Pizza Pino, the site of the infamous KFC fight a few months back. A large half Greco/half Athens later (think artichoke hearts and garlic), I've successfully completed a fast food meal trifecta for the day, and wonder just how my stomach will feel in the morning.

Verdict: just fine. Up next: First baseball games of the season, and maybe, just maybe, Skylark.

Blue Scholars Live

{for all music related posts, see .Evolving.Music}

In all of the concerts of all the genres I've been to, hip-hop shows are by far the most risky to go to. More than most genres, hip-hop shows can be extremely hit or miss depending on a variety of factors centered around the music and the group's preparation. At a hip-hop show, you're usually more likely to encounter sound issues, poor crowd interaction, truncated songs or artists who just didn't put enough time into rehearsing their material, sometimes needing to ad lib or cut songs short because they don't know all the words. Great hip-hop shows consist of a solid mixmatch of a setlist, rappers who know their words and can interact well with the crowd, good music and fantastic energy. Luckily, the past several hip-hop shows I've been to have been on the stellar end of things, and Tuesday night's performance by Blue Scholars at The Independent in San Francisco fit perfectly into this string of good shows.

For those that don't know Blue Scholars, you can check out my write-up of their sound and style in Putting Emerald City on the Map. It's safe to say that they're one of the most musically and lyrically diverse groups on the hip-hop scene right now, and the combination of Geologic's in-depth and personal lyrics with Sabzi's unique and multi-faceted understanding of various genres makes Blue Scholars and Bayani two different and fantastic albums. Of course, having never seen them before in concert, and knowing of the historically wildly unpredictable transformation of hip-hop groups from studio CD to live performance, I went out to The Independent last night not sure what to expect.

What I got was an amazingly positive and energetic set centered around fantastic lyricism and incredibly well put together musical mixes. At the beginning, I was concerned because one of the fastest ways to tank a hip-hop show is when no one in the crowd knows you, and they did not appear to be as enthusiastically received as I would have liked. Being the opener for GZA doing a full rendition of the renowned classic Liquid Swords album, Blue Scholars had their work cut out for them. But from the minute they took the stage, you got the feeling that their energy was going to be a train, and you could jump on or get run down. Visually, the hip-hop of Geologic's baggy clothes and zip-up hoodie contrasted nicely with the more indie look of Sabzi's glasses and button-up shirt. It's a good feeling when one part of a duo introduces the other as "my partner in music."They started with a song that used the guitar rift most recently heard in Green Day's "Hitch a Ride."

For the rest of this concert review, see "Blue Scholars and GZA at The Independent." Below are two clips from the show, although the camera mic distorted the louder portions a bit...

Magnificent Movies of March (9)

Movies slowed down last month, but all for good reason as Skylark was in full bloom every Monday, track season is underway and we had the ridiculously awesome birthday party for T. But, on the positive side, all the movies were excellent, so who can complain?

3: Young Cesar
4: The Lives of Others
12: Bender's Big Score
16: Steel Toes
18: Pulp Fiction
19: Get Shorty
20: Primer
23: Rounders
24: Blood Diamond

School Bus Rocks

The preparations for Saturday night started nearly two weeks ago with Za and Xena’s announcement that there would be a surprise party bus set up for T’s birthday. As the date approached, getting ready got more and more complicated as T began wanting to plan something while everyone around her is trying to figure out how not to completely avoid her plan without giving away the surprise. T, naturally, is one of those people who controls quite a bit of group communication and coordination, so the idea of keeping a surprise with all of her friends involved under wraps doesn’t seem like the most doable proposition.

On Friday, T sends out an email inviting everyone to a BBQ on Saturday starting at 1. Obviously, because we can’t tell T that we’re going to be raging late into the night, we need to show up and be counted for the BBQ. I get there at around 2 to find the Choosy, Blair, Windy and a few others hanging around. Funny thing is that all of a sudden, given the motive and opportunity to lie, people start lying left and right to throw T off, just because they can. Choosy spins a ridiculous yarn about her phone being out of batteries, only to reveal later that that was simply a ploy to let her leave the house. At one moment during the festivities, it’s announced that Lina from the Carol has slipped and mentioned a party bus in front of T, which starts everyone scurrying around wondering if she now knows of the surprise or not. We insist on playing it off as though she doesn’t, but everyone’s pretty sure she does.

Hessica shows up around 830 and Za, myself, McButter, Tri and a few others are playing the “let’s go out to a bar and have a drink or two” decoy game. All the while Za is on the phone with the people on the bus trying to coordinate where they need to go to cross paths with us. T starts getting antsy to get to the Lex, so we start walking. About three blocks from her place, the bus starts coming up. Everyone in our group is watching it, T is walking down the sidewalk completely oblivious, continuing her conversation. As the bus approaches, people start hanging out the window and screaming at T.

She turns to the bus and gives it one of her patented, “What the hell is wrong with those people?” looks that she has. As she’s glaring at them, she slowly starts to recognize one, then two, then more people, until all of a sudden it dawns on her that everyone in the bus is her friend. We start walking towards the bus and I ask her if she’s ready to get on, and it’s obvious at this point that the surprise has been a success because she’s tearing up a bit (which I have definitely never seen). She relates to me later that the slow recognition of the fact that the bus was for her started with, “Who are those dumbasses? Wait, I know some of those people…what are they doing? That looks like fun. Wait a second, are we going over to the bus? Oh shit, the bus is for me.”

The bus has about 30 of us on there, all good friends of T’s from her various walks of life. Kels, Cat, Jacks and Cath, Bini, Danny and others are all there. This bus is a school bus that has been gutted and converted into a party bus. As you walk on, there are no rows of seats, but rather two long benches that run down either side of the bus. In the back, there’s a raised dance floor and there are speakers throughout the bus that you can connect an iPod to.

We make our first stop at the Lex where they’re having an anniversary party of some sort and it’s more crowded than I’ve ever seen it, even though they’ve moved the pool table out of there. This is billed as a quick stop with everyone exiting the bus, heading into the Lex, taking a quick shot of Jager or what have you, then Choosy gets on the mic and tells everyone else to get back on the bus, which pulls up about five minutes later.

For the next several hours, the majority of the trip involves hideously ridiculous amounts of booze being drunk by people with one hand on the ceiling of the bus trying to hold themselves up while drinking and dancing as the bus drives around San Francisco. At one point we ask the driver to take us up to Twin Peaks. As we arrive, Kramer, who’s apparently been chasing the bus all over the city, finds us and joins. As we climb higher and higher, we get to a spot that the driver claims is the top. This sparks an argument between him and Za over what actually constitutes the top, and after some screaming and a cell phone call to his boss, he takes us up further…but everyone is parked up there and there’s not a whole lot of room, so after a few smokes we’re back on and rolling.

The bus then takes us to an Island (I’m still not sure if it was Treasure or the one on the other side of the Golden Gate) where we get out to get a great view of the Bridge and the city. At this point, Drunk is about the only thing anyone is, and as we load the bus again, people start getting over the fact that dancing while the bus is moving is difficult, and start dancing, even as that entails falling on their ass when the bus takes a corner. At one point, the driver hits the brakes fast and the entire dance floor (meaning everyone dancing) slides, falls and ends up in the middle of the bus. He circles the city a bit, circles again and drops us off back in front of the Lex at 1.

At this point, the party fragments. Some of the party heads into the Lex to drink where they left off at the beginning of the evening, and others of us decide there’s no reason to go into the Lex when we can drink on the street. KRigg starts an arm wrestling contest on the sidewalk across the street while Hessica and I smoke js, simultaneously chugging straight from a bottle of pear vodka (despite the fact that I've vowed never to drink pear vodka again). This continues for about an hour or so, which is completely shocking as I have no idea how I manage to stand on a sidewalk in the middle of the Mission, drinking straight from a bottle of vodka and smoking pot without any police interference.

After the arm wrestling, and more pear vodka than probably anyone should drink straight, it’s time for crepes and we load up the cab and take it over to eat. At this point it’s Hessica, myself, T, Za, and Tri. I load up with a banana/nutella/coconut before we get back in a cab and I eat a hot dog and jalapeno chips from 7-11 before passing out on the couch. It was a most excellent surprise party for a most excellent person, and as we're now about to April, it's just about time to kick those BBQs into full gear!

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Thief

Only on a night when I decide to take it easy could I come this close to getting in trouble. Friday night I’m feeling a more relaxed evening, which is good considering that in honor of their last day out of town, Chaz has decided to have a party at his place. Nothing too fancy, just about 10 or so of us playing Beirut. We’re multiple games into it when it gets to be around 1:30 and everyone’s hungry. I agree to jet down to Jack in the Box and Glace comes with me to help carry the order.

On the way, I remember something I need for the next day that I left at the office, and it only makes sense for me to go get it considering we’re driving right near there anyways. I’ve been to my office after hours before, have the key, so it’s not a big deal. I unlock the door and hear the familiar beep from the alarm system indicating a door has been open. Only, instead of only one beep, it keeps beeping. This concerns me. I run up the stairs, the beeping ticking like a bomb counter counting down, get to my desk, and as I’m two feet back towards the step, the full alarm comes on with sirens going crazy. Trying to run faster, I almost go flying down the stairs, I run out the door, come close to breaking the key off in the lock before getting the deadbolt to go (not that that turns off the alarm), throw my stuff in at a very startled Glace and yell, “I didn’t know the alarm would go off!” before slamming the car into reverse and trying to get out of there before I have to explain to any police what I’m doing at the office at nearly 2 am.

10 Things to Think About on a Friday

We're back...another Friday. Another rolling day hurling you full force into the weekend. I don't know about any of y'all, but I'm ready. As in no track meet Saturday/rested to party type ready. To get you even further ready, here's 10 things you can ponder as you wait for 5pm...

1) Just how ridiculous are we getting in our airport screening procedures when you can't get on an airplane with nipple rings?
2) Are you ready to trust Alex Smith again?
3) If you want to see Nine Inch Nails this Summer, get ready to head to Oakland (9/5/08)
4) Can you imagine Lindsay Lohan as one of Charles Manson's girls?
5) If you're a rapper, and you shoot someone, shouldn't you be above crying after being sentenced to jail?
6) What do you think about a judge who makes people convicted in his court learn the English language?
7) You have to love Texas, where a 12 year old can dance in a strip club and the strip club still doesn't get shut down.
8) Don't click on this one if you're disturbed by violent images, but thankfully the monsters who did this will face life terms.
9) Lookout blondes...I'm dyeing my hair red now...
10) It may not be an indication that video games are making children more violent, but it's certainly an indication of just how seriously some kids take these games without understanding consequences.

Here's yet another reason why our city is gorgeous...

Ah, Religion

Thanks to FoxNews and fanatics everywhere, we have just one more example of reasons why people with strong religious beliefs need to be examined. I'm not saying all religion, or even believing in religion is bad...I've known, got along with and befriended religious people in my life. I'm not one to go overboard on any group and deride all of them for the actions of a small minority, but when you look at the religious backings of the current Islamic Extremists, the Bush Extremists, and then people like this doing something to their own daughter, maybe it's time we sat down with our children and talked to them honestly about the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and God....

WESTON, Wis. — An 11-year-old girl died after her parents prayed for healing rather than seek medical help for a treatable form of diabetes, police said Tuesday.

Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin said Madeline Neumann died Sunday.

"She got sicker and sicker until she was dead," he said.

Vergin said an autopsy determined the girl died from diabetic ketoacidosis, an ailment that left her with too little insulin in her body, and she had probably been ill for about 30 days, suffering symptoms like nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetite and weakness.

The girl's parents, Dale and Leilani Neumann, attributed the death to "apparently they didn't have enough faith," the police chief said.

They believed the key to healing "was it was better to keep praying. Call more people to help pray," he said.

The mother believes the girl could still be resurrected, the police chief said.

Telephone messages left at the Neumann home by The Associated Press were not immediately returned.

The family does not attend an organized church or participate in an organized religion, Vergin said. "They have a little Bible study of a few people."

The parents told investigators their daughter last saw a doctor when she was 3 to get some shots, Vergin said. The girl had attended public school during the first semester but didn't return for the second semester.

Officers went to the home after one of the girl's relatives in California called police to check on her, Vergin said. She was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The relative was fearful the girl was "extremely ill, dire," Vergin said.

The girl has three siblings, ranging in age from 13 to 16, the police chief said.

"They are still in the home," he said. "There is no reason to remove them. There is no abuse or signs of abuse that we can see."

The girl's death remains under investigation and the findings will be forwarded to the district attorney to review for possible charges, the chief said.

The family operates a coffee shop in Weston, which is a suburb of Wausau, Vergin said.

The Brilliance of 4th Graders

Thanks to ESPN the Magazine for this one...they interviewed fourth graders from a class in New York City for perspectives on the current state of athletics, which always turns into a good laugh....this is what they had to say...

1) Who was the most important athlete of the past 10 years?
Jack: Babe Ruth. He broke a really big record. I heard about it when I was 3, and I saw a movie about it.
Zack: Lance Armstrong. He was one of the fastest racers ever. But he doesn't ride bikes anymore.
Talia: Mia Hamm. She was one of the first women to go to the World Cup for women.

2) What was the biggest event of the past 10 years?
Zack: Olympic ski jumping. It takes a lot to go down a supersteep hill and then jump in the air with skis.
Andrew: The 2004 World Series, because the Red Sox beat the Cardinals. Not only that, but there's been a curse since they traded Babe Ruth, and the breaking of that curse, which was going on for 80 years, was pretty big.
Anna: The Super Bowl, because almost half the world watched it. I didn't though.

3) What should happen to Roger Clemens?
Immanuel: He should quit steroids. But he should be in the Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds shouldn't. He isn't nice to kids.
Sabina: He should be kicked off his team. He's so strong he's going to knock down all the people. And people can't walk into the grocery store and say, "I want steroids."
Max: They should put steroids near him and put secret cameras in the room and see what happens. He would think they forgot about it and say, "Oh, steroids, I'll take them!"

Getting Real

I've got a few thorns in my side this morning, which is odd because I don't remember laying down in a rose garden last night. Then again, I was coming off three hours at the Skylark, so who knows where I really slept. But where I slept or didn't isn't really my point...I'm tired today of people around this country trying to fool themselves...fool themselves into thinking that extra Twinkie isn't going to make them fatter...fool themselves into thinking that the war is still a good idea...those people that say, "He's the worst President we've ever had, but I'd vote for Bush again." (I promise, I've heard people say that) We need to hang up our inhibitions, break out some honesty, and get drunk on the idea of getting real...Here are a few winners and losers in my book today...

- I'm a bit fed up with people that want to keep treating sex like some taboo or sacred sacrificial lamb. There's a bit too many puritans in this country who think that pre-marital sex, homosexual sex, purchased sex and any other type of sex falling outside the "norm" of married heterosexual sex is wrong in some way. People, wake up, it's 2008. If you don't want to have sex, or a certain type of sex, don't...no one is going to force you...but stop trying to enforce those opinions and beliefs on others. I urge these people to check out just how much healthier they would be if they had some sex in their life. I also would encourage them to get in touch with just how in tune with nature our bodies are, and how ridiculous the idea of taming them is...

- Not surprisingly, there are just as many people out there that want to tell other people what they can put in their bodies as there are those that want to tell others what they can do with them. Our government protects tobacco and alcohol, yet draws the line at pot and other substances it can't control as easily. I'm sick and tired of this. If someone wants to kill themselves shooting heroin into their veins until they lose any desire to do anything else, I think that's a very sad thing, and I wouldn't do it, but I'm not so judgmental as to think I should be able to tell that person not to or in some other way control them.

Luckily for us, there's a few politicians coming around who think that honesty is the best policy. Let me introduce you to Congressman Barney Frank, who this week proposed a bill to decriminalize marijuana, and new New York Governor David Paterson (taking over for recently ousted Spitzer on the heels of his affair with Kristen, which, by the way, I think the brew-ha-ha over further brings to light the stupidity of people's views on my last point) who has no problem admitting that he did both pot and cocaine. What's that? An honest politician? Are there any more where he came from?

- I'm out of time for ranting, but I'll close on our current Executive branch. When Bush flew onto an aircraft carrier and announced in 2003 that the mission was accomplished, it was not only probably the first time he had been in a fighter jet since bailing on his National Guard service, but it also marked one more in the long and sordid series of Bush saying things that aren't true, and being allowed to get away with it. Let's get real, Democrats and Republicans...In 1999, you actually spent time and money seeking to impeach Clinton for an extra-marital affair. Yet not once in the past 8 years have I heard any serious push for impeachment of Bush for exaggerating intelligence leading us into the war, lying about the war being over, authorizing illegal wiretaps, and other examples of general douchebaggery. I mean, shouldn't we be appalled at this point?

That's it for me today. Be good to each other.

Easter Weekend

You have to love Easter...go to the buffet, eat prime rib, made to order omelettes, eggs Benedict, lox and bagels, chocolate covered strawberries, bacon, eggs, fish, chicken, salads...and those are just the things I ate!

Went out Saturday night to Rickshaw. Had a rather odd moment, although it contributed to one of the funnier things I've heard in a bar....I'm standing there, waiting for the bartender, minding my own business, when this girl walks up to me. Now keep in mind, I'm well aware I'm in a lesbian bar...I'm not trying to be flirtatious, or talk to anyone, or heck, to even be noticed. So it shocks me when this girl comes up to me at the bar. She looks at me and says, "I forgot there were guys in this bar...you're kinda turning me off."

The music is loud though...I can't tell exactly what she said, so I lean over, "Did you just say I'm turning you off?" She says yes, to which I respond, "Um...thanks for letting me know," pick up my drink and go find my friends. I was shocked though...one of the reasons I enjoy hanging out in these places so much is that there's no expectation of me hitting on someone. I'm not there to do it, no one there wants me to do it, and it seems like a natural and symbiotic relationship to hang out and not have to worry if some girl thinks I'm flirting or not. I go to great lengths to be unobtrusive, so it was humorous to me that without doing anything but standing at the bar, I was told that...

Next up? Welcome to Ultimate Season!

Parkour

We've seen Parkour recently in a spate of movies including District B-13 and Casino Royale.  It's the amazing art of running everywhere...buildings, trees, stairs, you name it.  I found this video on YouTube and had to share it.  These guys are nuts.  I start training tomorrow.

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10 Things to Think About on a Friday

Can you believe taxes are almost due? Depressing. On the other hand, we're in the middle of March Madness, Lake House season is almost upon us, and I've started smelling BBQs on my way home from work...these are all good things. Here are a few things you can think about today, waiting on the weekend...
1) Who deserves the tip money at Starbucks more...supervisors or baristas?
2) What kind of applications do you want on your iPhone?
3) Do you think they need to change the Eiffel Tower?
4) I love this whole "let's look at non-citizens in the army" thing CNN is doing...recruiting push anyone?
5) How much of this is actual patent infringement, and how much is just a grab at settlement money?
6) Isn't our city amazingly beautiful?
7) How awesome is it that you can watch any March Madness game you want?!
8) Just how fucked up would you be after this many substances?
9) I love when I have trouble remembering who I left the bar with.
10) I'm glad I just replaced all my light bulbs with energy savers!