Should You Like the Memoir

{the following is a reprint of a blog post for my book club blog, Radical Period Queer Period}
So we just got done with reading A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father and we'll be meeting to discuss it, but in the meantime, I wanted to shoot off a few suggestions for other books you might like if you enjoyed this one, following the non-fiction, memoir type account.

- This Boy's Life, Tobias Wolff
- About a Boy, Roald Dahl
- Ryan White: My Own Story, Ryan White
- A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace
- Go Ask Alice, Anonymous (Although there is significant debate as to the veracity of this book in its current "non-fiction" form.)

Cyber Punk

{the following is a blog post written for my book club blog, Radical Period Queer Period on 6/5/09}

For those of you who have heard the term "Cyber Punk" or are intrigued by tales wrapping the ordinary idea of the internet with the theory of explorable cyberspace, I've got something for ya. This is also good for anyone looking for a digestable Sci-Fi book to check out before we delve into July's book, Stranger in a Strange Land.

William Gibson is often regarded as the creator of the idea behind cyber punk, and he's a prolific author with a number of incredible novels to his credit. His most well known, his first, is called Neuromancer. I've just finished reading Virtual Light and Mona Lisa Overdrive, both of which are short, fast-paced and intriguing to read. I recommend 'em. Cheers!

A Smattering of Thoughts

{the following was originally posted for my book club blog, Radical Period Queer Period. on 5/3/09.}
After a few months and some arduous reading, I finally finished Infinite Jest this afternoon. This left me with a handful of thoughts, ranging from good to bad and ecstatic to downright sluggish. The good news is that I'm done with it. 981 pages of main story and close to 300 pages of 9pt font "Notes and Errata." It's a workout to even carry around. Of course, the bad news is that I'm done with it...upon second reading, I'm convinced that David Foster Wallace is one of the most gifted writers I've ever read with an ability to craft multiple stories and inject raw observations beyond any author I've experienced.

Good news? I bought the first two books on the list today. Bad news...it cost 30 bucks. Good news is that that's only the cost of three drinks on a Friday night. Not to mention the fact that both of them combined feel like a magazine in my hand compared to the last read.

I've included photos of the covers, in case anyone is interested in identical texts. Though, my assumption here is that I'm the late purchaser and everyone else is halfway done with the book already. The Ishiguro is a Vintage International edition and the Burroughs book is Picador. An interesting site here comparing various editions of Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land for anyone intrigued.

It's interesting the relief I feel at finishing one book and trepidation apparent in starting another. Not just now, but in general. Being so wrapped up in one author's vision, committed to his or her story then abruptly changing to a new voice, texture and pattern of ideas. But I think the current shift scares me a bit more. Infinite Jest isn't a book, it's an experience that wraps the reader in layer upon layer of narrative and philosophy, constantly prodding for the question of, "What more?" I picked it up to re-read following the sad news that Wallace had committed suicide by hanging himself. Now as I close it, I feel a bit like I'm leaving a friendly voice in those pages, abandoning the tale back to the silence of new fiction that perpetuates itself in his death. Incredibly verbose and introspective, Wallace has a style that is in contrast to any I've read. Opening Never Let Me Go, I find the excitement of a new book and a new book club, while also feeling the fear that it will in some way be a fictional let down. I don't share these as positive or negative, merely my thoughts on a new text.

And with that, I embark on Ishiguro, for better or worse.

John 21:25 "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." - The Bible

John 21:25 "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." - The Bible

No wonder people never agree on religion!

10 Things to Think About on a Friday

Hot diggity, what a week! While I did quite a few fun things this week, one of them stood out to me the most...on Wednesday I got back out and played ultimate frisbee for the first time since trashing my ankle on a trampoline back in December. Felt good to be out again, and I'm looking forward to my SF league starting next week. I also had a bit of a late night with Papa G and Spooky doing a 7 mile run (if you don't know, you better ask somebody!) and found out that there's possible termite infestation in our apartment (more to come on that as the situation develops.) For now though, put everything else out of your mind, and rather than pounding coffee shots at your desk to keep you awake, here's 10 things to think about on a Friday.

1) Good news everyone! Comedy Central has seen the demand, and they're coming with a supply of brand spanking new episodes of Futurama for 2010. Only 990 years to go before we catch up with Fry.

2) Very interesting to me that the son of Joe Money, Nick Montana (no, not Hannah Montana's brother you dolts) would skip a chance to play at USC or his Dad's alma mater, Notre Dame, to go play for a Washington team that went something like 1-11 last season. If you want to be SC's punching bag, Nick, be my guest...

3) On the USC front, they finally announced today the progress being made in the investigations into allegations of impropriety in the athletic department. The potential scandal (no current word from the NCAA or Pac-10 on actual results) has already prompted the resignation of basketball coach Tim Floyd.

4) The Iranian presidential election is underway as we speak and there's hot debate as to whether or not Ahminedjad will be able to hold onto his position in light of the gender issues and questions of morality that have come into play. As a friend of mine pointed out on his GChat status, "Americans were stupid enough to elect Bush twice, I don't imagine the Iranians are much smarter." Of course, let's not forget...Bush was only actually elected once.

5) For once, there's a politician who is unwilling to borrow more money when there's already debt. Of course, I never thought I'd be saying "Good Move" to Arnold "The Governator" Schwarzenegger, but I like the fact that he's forcing a discussion and resolution rather than just mortgaging more of our state's future for high interest loans. Of course, I might feel differently when CA services stop disappearing, but let's fix it right.

6) As anyone who has read 10 things before knows, I love it when fact and fiction mirror each other. Think the drug tunnel in Showtime's Weeds was a bit far-fetched? Think again.

7) Any 49ers fan can tell you we've been waiting for a crazy, no-nonsense, back to the grind football coach for years. Looks like we've found him as it was announced today that apparently Mike Singletary brought rookie Top 10 draft pick Michael Crabtree to the brink of tears in mini-camp. Think that made him cry? Wait til he starts trying to catch passes from one of our quarterbacks!

8) I loved the Golden Girls on tv, and I love Beirut, so why would I not love one of the Golden Girls (Betty White) playing Beirut?!

9) Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, one of the pioneers of download for free albums and fan interaction through social websites is hanging up his keyboard. Apparently, there's just too much hate out in the world for the original Pretty Hate Machine.

10) Finally, as I did last week (and probably will from now on), here are some of the more amusing tweets I've read recently:

a) The Crazy Temp was crying in the kitchen.Yes, I asked her what was wrong. This thing I did, asking her. VERY VERY BAD. - @dolanite

b) "'Nora is single because she's weird and says funny things. And because I'm seven and almost as tall as her.' --one of my campers." - @Norasha_nya

c) "In the unlikely event that I'm sober or not mauled by a bear this weekend, i will have a good talk with myself." - @LuPacolypse

That's it from this end folks, have a great weekend, and keep in mind...behind every great man, there's a great woman saying, "Don't you have something better to do? Go away."

The Mateo Show and Unity on Union

So we've developed a new thing down here. Whereas most people live in the city, there are a few of us holdouts who enjoy the better weather, cheaper rent, and ease of getting up to the city that is enjoyed by living on the Peninsula. This weekend, I got the best of both worlds.

On Friday night, Hosin, his girl and myself embarked on what has become known as the Mateo (Ma-Tee-Oh) Shit Show. Basically, this involves getting fantastically drunk locally. It's called the "Shit Show" because more often than not, setting out to get fantastically drunk is going to have that result. One of the things we like about it is that because the apartment is in walking distance, no one needs to drive and everyone gets to go big. Of course, one has to be careful to avoid a few things during the Mateo Shit Show: don't whistle at cops, don't start fights with any locals, and in support of that, don't take Hosin to McGovern's...the place is like a personal bottle of aggro for him.

So we head over to Glow first, which, beyond any other bar in downtown San Mateo is the biggest hit and miss. Thankfully, I only see one girl I know from high school, and I save myself the embarrassment I felt last time when I went up to someone I knew just to say hi, only then realizing that I had no idea what their name was. I avoid her. On the walk over, I had ditched my red cup in the bushes to save for later. When we leave, I get it, but find that a caterpillar has decided it wants to spend its Friday night drunk too and is swimming around, so I toss the thing. McGovern's isn't much better...now, I know I said that we avoid this place to avoid any sort of accidental fight, but the prospect of watching something crazy happen is just too intense, so we usually stop by there just to see what's going on.

From there we moved on to what I'm sure will quickly become my new favorite place, if it can ever get any sort of crowd support. Azul looks like a ridiculous Mexican nightclub, complete with flashy blue neon lights that would be just as at home in some coke-fueled 80s Miami Vice style story line. When you go in, it's what you'd expect...high ceilings, a super large dance floor and lots of black and blue decor. Now, I had been here before during my Cinco de Mayo explorations, but what I didn't realize until Hosin found it the other night was that this place has a very very cool outdoor patio/smoking space. If they could fill in the dance floor a little bit more, that and the patio would make it by far my favorite spot in San Mateo.

From there, it's home, but again, on Saturday morning, I'm still faded! I gotta figure out how this keeps happening to me and a way to bottle it up...how many people would like to skip a Saturday morning hangover and go right to Saturday afternoon faded?

And it's a good thing too because Saturday is the Union Street Fair, which is always a stack of debauchery wrapped in a ribbon of ridiculousness. I start out at Nini's where Katie helps me lay down a solid foundation for the day of drinking that lay ahead. Once out of there, I'm up in the city by the time I finish chewing the two brownies I decided would be a good addition to my day. This means that by the time I park and cruise up to Topher and ChengJ's place, my feet are a good 24 inches off the ground. We put down a few more drinks before going to Bus Stop to meet up with Marc, JK, Glass and a few others. Of course, Bus Stop being on Union, the place is packed, and after waiting in line, getting in and getting drinks, Marc and JK decide it's time to leave. We try to get them to stay, "C'mon, we just got here, give us a break," but they're antsy, so they take off. Not very surprising, but certainly less than welcome.

We stay there for a little while longer, one girl deciding that I look more like a barstool than a person, before we head outside. There, we find the Blue Moon beer garden, where shots of Blue Moon are .25 each. I try to buy 8 but the bartender looks at me like I'm nuts. She says one at a time. I say there's no way I waited in that entire line to get one shot of beer. She puts them both down, Topher and I each pound one and she pours more. I hand these to Mike, she pours two more, we take them and move on. About the time we finish, they're looking to close up the garden, so we move along to City Tavern where our favorite bartenders are working. Here, I'm assaulted by a girl I can only think is both psychotic and alcoholic. It starts when she attacks my shirt, claiming to be an Iowa State student and ripping me as a false fan of Iowa. We get into it, she's getting nasty about the whole thing, and then all of a sudden she admits she's not even from Iowa. I disappear out a side door and leave her with Glass, who thanks me profusely when I get back in. But she gets to repay the favor, as she leaves me with Crazy girl who is now talking what I can only describe as gibberish.

She leaves, Glass and I compare notes, and then 15 minutes later she's back, at the bar, sobbing. It's frightening and prompts us all to leave the bar, with Glass going home to pass out and me heading back to Topher's where we eat some pizza and regroup. They're playing cards and it's starting to look like they won't get out of the house, so I put the drinking shoes back on and head down to the Cloud where E is working again. Thankfully this time I don't cause him to almost be fired, and I don't make too much of an ass out of myself with the waitress. I do, however, look pretty damn pretentious as I sit at the door and card someone that E missed, doing my best "hold card out in two hands and look at it from afar" bouncer impression. It's through this time spent at the Cloud that E and I recognize the importance of "being first," and more importantly, the importance of drunk food at 2 am as we promptly hustle over to the crepe stand to end the night.

10 Things to Think About on a Friday

This week was not messing around. Finally into the routine at work, I've figured out how to blog and look like I'm working at the same time. I got back into the movie swing of things, continued to avoid my laundry and got my car fixed. Honestly though, I think I was faded through Tuesday from my Saturday adventures. With a birthday party for a 1-year old (milk keg stands anyone?) and the Union Street Fair this weekend, I wouldn't be surprised if I cruised through Wednesday of next week. But that is then, and this is now, and now is Friday, so before your boss makes you chuck your laptop at them or you go on a ridiculous rampage through the office throwing nerf balls at other employees while yelling, "think fast!" here's ten things you can think about.

1) Lots of speculation this week on whether or not the Bruno/Eminem stunt at the MTV music awards was a collaborative effort or Eminem getting punked. According to Eminem it was the latter. Here's my question...even for a good laugh, would you really want Bruno's ass in your face? I'll have to pass on that one, but I guess it is better than Borat's ass.

2) Sad news yesterday when David Carradine, the star of TV's Kung Fu (Train carefully, young grasshopper) and Kill Bill was found dead in his Thailand hotel room. Of course, it only now has come out that while it initially appeared like it was a suicide, the rope around his neck and genitals might be more an indicator of some asphyxiation play. If that's the case, it's still sad, but at least the man died doing what he loved.

3(00)) Randy Johnson a.k.a. The Big Unit (if you think about the name in combination with the nickname, you wonder how it ever made it past censors) threw for his 300th pitching win yesterday for the Giants. Already a Hall of Fame career, Johnson has a World Series ring and MVP, multiple Cy Young awards and nearly 5,000 strikeouts. Cheers to him.

4) Scary thing that in a world of GPS, radar and constant Facebook updates from anywhere that an entire airplane with 200 people can just disappear with less than a trace. Thoughts go out to the families.

5) I'm sick and tired of Big Brother. Having police around all the time is what it is, but the proliferation of cameras all over everywhere is starting to have me spooked. Now, not only are they bumping revenue and enforcement with red light cameras, they're working to have SPEED cameras installed on freeways. I always thought there was something oxymoronic about speed limits on a road called a FREEway, but do we really need to have cameras everywhere?

6) In a follow up to my comments on the tragic and needless shooting of Oscar Grant at BART in January, news came down this week that the officer who shot him is being charged with 1st Degree murder. I've seen the video, and the horrific and deliberate nature of it certainly says pre-meditation to me.

7) I had no idea that Jay-Z's last album came out on 9/11. But learning of it, I'm not sure how I feel about his plans to release his next album on 9/11. So should we avoid that day in remembrance or am I simply being too sensitive?

8) Megan Fox is in the latest British GQ talking about how guys are "weak. Like puppies." I don't mind that. What I do care about is the fact that she says she'll be the first person in line to buy a pack of joints when marijuana is legalized. We'll see just how weak I am if she gets in my way when it comes time for that. I'll see you in line, Fox.

9) Would you rather be a ferret or a hamster?

10) To finish it off, how about some of my favorite tweets of the day, either because they were hilarious, disturbing, or hilariously disturbing:

a) From @aimee_b_loved: I bet the world's second-greatest dancing xylophonist cries himself to sleep every night.

b) From @LuPacolypse: looking for brittney spears circus inspired menswear. Any suggestions? Link me please. Need purchasable at SF stores.

c) From @DCDebbie: Whenever the hotel elevator says "going down" I get misty
eyed and remember the failings of an exbf

d) From @phyllisstein: I'd like it if whatever demographic these commercials are supposed to appeal to would kill itself.

e) From me: Highlighters+Numbers=boss"I love to pay people who know how to think."Know how much you pay me to tweet? http://twitpic.com/6ok5o

That's it folks, have a great weekend, and remember, don't kill all the spiders...some of them eat the mosquitoes that bite you!

Last Saturday, Just for Kicks

When I started Friday afternoon dancing in the Bart station, I had a feeling it was going to be an alright escapade. In the past two weeks as I've settled into a commuting routine, I've come to enjoy the rhythms and motions of the back and forth from the two ends of the line. The coming and going of each train, the off and on at various stations (and people at Glen and Balboa Park are not messing around) and most of all the motion of the car, which I need to fight from putting me to sleep. The mornings or afternoons following a late night are for napping, and the rest is split about 80/20 between books and music. On a good ride I'm getting around 100 pages done, which is a fantastic turnaround from my previous reading diet of 0 pages a day for longer than I'd care to admit.

But in between stops, the music is just low enough to let the wind of the tunnels and the clatter of the trains seep through like an additional instrument. The too-loud phone conversations or murmured parental instructions from a nearby seat are transitory cameo vocals. The people watching is fantastic between reading material choice, wardrobe, make-up application and mental pre-occupations. When I get home, Gavroche volunteers to DD for the evening. I meet some neighbors from down the street for the first time and we're off.

We start in the Marina where we part ways, Gavroche heading off with Vic as I make my way to Topher and ChengJ's place where they're embroiled in a new drinking game they've started called Democracy. It's a mash game of Beirut, Flip Cup and Kings. It's interesting to say the least. When we finish, they head to City as I get over to the Cloud to see E where he's been working for a few weeks now. Now, I'm in a pretty nice cloud by the time I get over there, and the rum and coke I'm handed contains a few promises of more to come. Of course, with E, heated conversations are the norm and before long we're going back and forth. So he's obviously surprised when one of the other workers at the place comes up to interrupt our conversation and ask him why he's holding an underage ID. Now I feel horrible because I feel like I might end up costing him his job due to lack of attention on the door while I engage him in vibrant discussion.

I leave promptly after and head back up the block where the groups of Gavroche and Vic and ChengJ and Topher have briefly merged. It is brief though as most of the group has vastly different ideas of where to go. A stop at Eastside a moment later and after last call it's into the car for crepes. I wake up Saturday morning, in my jeans on the bed, and still buzzed. Gavroche picks me up for Nini's where Katie again surprises me for breakfast, and contributes to the start of a ridiculous Saturday by rolling me out of there with four Mimosas. By the time we get home and get ready, it's time to pack road drinks and we're at Caltrain heading up to the Giants game. For some reason, it takes forever due to some strangely long delays at stops. On our way to the stadium, someone decides to throw something out of their window and damn near soaks Gavroche.

First home game of the season for me, which is odd considering how many games I usually get to in a season. Odder still that I've been to an A's game first. Za hooked these tickets up and we meet up with her in the bleachers before meeting up with Marc who brings down other tickets to get us into the club level where Topher and ChengJ have already made themselves at home. We've got two flasks in the backpack, which beats the hell out of paying 10 bucks for a watered down cocktail. Because we've taken the train, we've already agreed to make it a Mateo Stumble Crawl kind of evening.

After the game, I'm convinced that we need to get on the Express train because it bypasses every station from the city to San Bruno. We get on, only to find out once the doors have closed that the first stop is actually San Carlos. Big win for me. Off at San Carlos and back on to San Mateo, we head back to the house and play a few games of Beirut before heading out. It's on our way out the door that we run into Hosin and Jamie who are coming back from a late dinner, so they join us as we make a tour of bars that are sadly a bit on the dead side for a Saturday night. McGovern's is mildly dead, Mr. Pizza Man isn't any better, and I have to salvage losing 10 bucks to Gavroche (who made me bribe him to go out.)

On to Glow where we cap off the night in fine fashion by deciding to hand me, already going strong since breakfast, more cocktails. Nice show, that, because it leaves us walking home with me whistling. Now, I enjoy my whistling. Especially late at night, on an empty street, at 2 in the morning. Which is all well and good until a cop drives by and thinks I'm whistling at him. He makes a U-turn and drives up to us. "You need a taxi or something, why were you whistling at me?" He's none too pleased with me. I know it's not a good idea to say, "Is whistling illegal?" and I'm only saved from doing so when Gavroche jumps in and tells him, "No no officer, my friend was just whistling, it wasn't at you." He drives away, but it's a close call and gives me another reminder not to backtalk to police officers no matter how innocent your transgression.

So there you have it. A city outing and a Mateo shit show sandwiching crepes, Nini's and a Giants game. Pretty good. Preeeeety preeeeety preeeeety. Pretty good. Obviously from the pictures, I was feeling the sepia and B/W. Up next? Birthdays, Union Street Fair and ideally, soon, a bit more Lake.

Remix Dan the Automator

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

While Dan the Automator may not be a household name, he certainly should be. There's not many DJ/Producers that can helm 4 well-regarded projects, make numerous advances in cross-genre mixing and matching, and still remain under the radar. Ask a majority of radio listeners who Dan the Automator is, and my guess is you'll get 70% blank stares. On the other hand, ask those same listeners if they know who the Gorillaz are, and 95% will know and relate their memory to "Clint Eastwood" or "Tomorrow Comes Today." It's the nature of the music industry and the "listen to this new pop" radio society that fans love a group but can have absolutely no clue who makes up that group. So for those 5% and 25% groups respectively, Dan the Automator was behind the Gorillaz.

But that's not all. He was a driving force behind Handsome Boy Modeling School, a hip-hop collaboration with Prince Paul that included guests such as Sean Lennon, Mike D of the Beastie Boys and Miho Hatori of Cibo Matto. He served as the producer for Kool Keith (Dr. Octagon) and DJ Qbert's well-known album, Dr. Octagonecologyst. Add to that his credit as the main man behind Lovage, a collaboration between Kid Koala, Mike Patton of Faith No More and Jennifer Charles of Elysian Fields, and his full on production of Del the Funky Homosapien's revolutionary concept album Deltron 3030 and you have one well established producer who has worked with some very big names.

Feeling left out because you haven't gotten to collaborate with Dan the Automator? Fret not. Click here for the rest of this post and to find out how to remix one of Dan the Automator's songs.

Live Concerts

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

While fans will listen to CDs, turn on talk shows and read reviews to get to know more about their band, one of the most important facets of the music industry for any group is the live concert. Not only is it one of the largest revenue streams for artists, above the music royalties (although, if you think about it, this is about as twisted as paying 16M a year to Barry Bonds while a teacher or fire fighter makes under 100k), but it's one of the most seminal ways for an artist to grow their reputation and fan base. Of course, what you hear on a CD that has been produced, mixed, mastered and tweaked by any number of sound professionals isn't necessarily what the group will be able to present during a live performance, so it makes the judging criteria even tougher for listeners.

Take Hip-Hop for example. 75% of all hip-hop shows I have seen are garbage. Rather than fully rehearsing songs, artists will perform the first verse, maybe two of a song before launching into the next radio single. More often than not, the back-up singers are there because the rappers constantly forget lines and need someone to fill in the gaps for them. Furthermore, rather than put on a show that gets the crowd moving and dancing through sheer enjoyment of the music, most artists will constantly fall back on crowd gimmicks, "Put your hands in the air, wave them back and forth," and other involvement tools of that nature, forgetting that if they rip the microphone, the audience will do what it feels, which is way more important than having them wave one finger in the air.

But Hip-Hop isn't the only genre where live performances come up flat. Wide is the range of artists who just can't translate themselves in a live setting in any way that resembles the studio work that they've patched together with the help of numerous technicians and producers. Songs come out unrehearsed, or the band is incapable of reproducing the sound. Even worse is when artists, dealing with personal excess or some sort of stage fright, get completely obliterated with substances on stage and turn into a mess by the end of their set. But who puts on the greatest live act? Is it the group that can seamlessly reproduce their album note for note, or the group that can take something stationary and make it into something much more on stage?

Take for example the Rolling Stones. They've been touring for around 40 years now, and I've seen them in concert twice. While the crowd is into it simply from a historical and pop standpoint, and I think the energy these guys give, even past their prime and middle age is solid, it doesn't come off as anything I couldn't hear by listening to an old recording of theirs. On the far extreme are groups like The String Cheese Incident and Phish, which jam and improv so much in their concerts that one is left to wonder if they even have a CD with tracks on it. But let's not forget consistency. If you go see three shows by a group, a great group will give you three different shows that were all excellent. But some of the best artists happen to be inconsistent on stage. Take Del the Funky Homosapien for example. He might be one of the most talented lyricists and freestylers in rap, but all the times I've seen him, he's hit or miss. Either he's on that night and no one on the stage can come close, or he's not and he fades into the background.

So what makes an incredible live band? For the rest of this article, click here.

Movies of May (6)

May just about crushed me. I had to rebound from the IRS taking their pound of flesh from me, all to turn around, need to find a new job, and then study relentlessly for the CSET. Needless to say, I didn't have time to watch many movies. I'm truly hoping that the month of June can bring me a little more celluloid pleasure.

4: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
15: Quantum of Solace
23: Bender's Game
24: Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
31: Terminator Salvation

Fire Dancer

The first weekend at the Lake House was a good group of people, but pretty low-key overall. Between P, Madre, myself, Sis, Hessica, Mr. Glass and the new roommate (Sis's, not mine), it was a nice, relaxed (but maybe a bit less partying than I might have hoped for) weekend. However, it was extremely notable for one thing: fire dancing. One of my Sister's old college roommates showed up with her current boyfriend who has been learning how to move around while swinging nunchucks with little balls of fire at the bottom. Both evenings of the weekend, he made use of the new sundeck (imagine a deck like the others, only 10 feet above the water and looking directly out of the cove and into the lake) by getting out on it and putting on a fire show for us. Enjoy the videos!

10 Things to Think About on a Friday

This week started off right with a three day weekend and the first Lake House of the season (blog post and videos to come.) The weather was beautiful, the new deck is awesome and summer has started off in grand style. I closed out the last of my coaching duties last night with our annual end of season Potluck, then went to my first book club meeting. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday night at home working on the team movie. Now? June is knocking on our door this weekend and I intend to swing that door wide, hoist up my bottle of booze and shout, "Come on in Summer!" Of course, before you can go gallavanting around Fleet Week or the city for something else this weekend, here's 10 things you can think about on your way out the door. Cheers!

1) As a Sci-Fi reader, I've been wondering this for years...dude, where's my future technology? Ties nicely into the book I just finished and would recommend to even non-sci-fi readers, Ancient Shores by Jack McDevitt.

2) As the social media sphere moves from Facebook to things like Twitter, Flickr and others, it's getting harder and harder to keep track of all your pages. That's where an app like Zensify comes in...I might need to try this one.

3) A word of advice...if you're going to do something completely illegal, like rob a bank, don't brag about it on your Myspace page!

4) In addition to upholding the spiteful, ignorant and completely ridiculous Prop 8, judges in California this week upheld a ruling to allow mandatory DNA samples taken from people who are arrested but not yet found guilty of a crime. Gattaca is just around the corner...how do you feel about your right to genetic privacy?

5) Speaking of Prop 8, one of the few silver linings in that cloud is how vocal celebrities have been on the subject. The latest to speak out is David Hyde Pierce from Frasier, and more power to him! Equality now.

6) Not even good samaritans are catching a break these days...after giving a homeless man a place to stay, Charles Rogers got beheaded for his efforts. Doesn't the murderer realize he's just ruining it for everyone else?!

7) Let me get this straight...California is going through a monumental budget crisis. Because of this crisis, Schwarzenegger wants to close 220 state parks to save $70M, but isn't seriously moving forward on Ammiano's idea to legalize and tax pot, a cash crop worth between $1-2 BILLION per year? Am I missing something? Elsewhere in the country (Mississippi), the government has a huge stash of their own...for research purposes.

8) They say truth is stranger than fiction...but what happens when the truth is identical to fiction? Like this story about a cop shooting an off-duty cop in New York...The Wire in real life.

9) For you photo lovers out there, here is an impressive set of photographs taken in and around Saddam Hussein's palaces in Iraq, which have been used by US military personnel as bases. A true juxtaposition of the old and the new, the native and the occupiers.

10) Gotta love it when the old school rappers keep on rapping. That's what 43 year old "Wild Thang" singer Tone Loc was doing when he passed out on stage during his gig...

And that's it from this end folks. Don't forget to wear sunscreen!

May iPod Update

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

{for last month's new music update, click here.}

What an amazing month for music! May's iPod update features over 200 songs of genres from shoegazing indie pop to hard core rap. While not all the artists and albums made the cut for this version of What I'm Hearing, the best things did and I'm proud to bring them to you. Furthermore, several of these albums are available for free download and I've included the links to them here. New music, download links?! What more could you ask for?

Au Revoir Simone, Still Night, Still Light: When I first reviewed Au Revoir Simone's 2007 release The Bird of Music (WIH, Vol. 9), I talked about the potential that their sweet sounds could become too sticky without the proper balance. Happily, I can say that on Still Night, Still Light ARS loses none of their charm while actually increasing their skill in finding a nice balance in the electro-indie pop-shoegazer triangle. At times sounding like a slightly more fleshed out Elysian Fields and at others like a less depressed Postal Service, this trio puts out easy tracks that range from joyous to melancholy without missing a beat. The female vocals are breezy, seeming to hang over the music, which through synths, keys and drums all working together, become stronger than on the previous album. ARS seems to have found their musical niche, nicely contrasting the sweet with the bitter, and sounding more comfortable with the balance throughout. Don’t Sleep On: “Shadows,” “Knight of Wands,” and “Another Likely Story.”

Chubb Rock and Wordsmith, A Crack in the Bridge: While hip-hop and rap seems to be on a definitive futuristic trend with the likes of Black Eyed Peas, Kanye West and Kid Cudi surfing the radio waves, this duo out of the East Coast seeks to bring hip-hop back to more standard roots. Relying on tried and true production and lyrics that are more about having a good time than sporting bling, Chubb Rock and Wordsmith have crafted a mixtape prelude to their June release Bridging the Gap that strips away the pretension of hip-hop in favor of sounding good and having fun. Chubb and Wordsmith have a nice contrast to their voices and delivery, an important part of a hip-hop duo. With a deep voice and an almost trudge-like delivery, Chubb Rock sounds patient on the microphone, willing to move with a beat easily. On the other hand, Wordsmith’s voice is higher and his delivery quicker, allowing him to change the feel and tempo of a song simply by rapping. I’ve been listening to Bridging the Gap for about a month now, but you’ll have to come back in June for that review. For now, A Crack in the Bridge provides a sampler of the type of music you can look forward to. Don’t Sleep On: “Back In,” “Top of the World,” and “The New Street Kings”

Cunninlynguists, Strange Journey, Vol. 1: Cunninlynguists have to be one of the hardest working and simultaneously one of the most under-appreciated hip-hop groups today. Hailing from various parts of the state, the trio of Natti, and producers Kno and Deacon the Villain have released 6 albums since 2001, only actually having them released through a distribution company in 2003. But that hasn’t changed their approach which relies on interesting and introspective lyrics, excellent production and a splash of a grim feeling that it’s not ever going to happen for them mixed with a sense of humor that seems like it doesn’t matter if it does. On the first of two Strange Journey albums, the group looks at life on the road and the state of the music scene among other topics. The retro hooks combined with the modern beats provide the three with a solid foundation for their words, which whether talking about music, women or rapping far outshine anything available on the radio today. Whether you like loops or lyrics, this CD is a hit. Don’t Sleep On: “Don’t Leave (When Winter Comes)” featuring Slug of Atmosphere, “Spark My Soul,” and “Lynguistics,” a live version of one of their most well known songs.

Del the Funky Homosapien, Stimulus Package: The good news? Del’s got a new full-length album out, and it’s free (click on the album name above for the download link.) The bad news? For fans accustomed to the cohesive whole of Future Development (production help from Opio and A-Plus), the visionary approach on Deltron 3030 (produced by Dan the Automator) or the stellar lyrics that grace his work with Hieroglyphics, Stimulus Package is going to fall short. And the problem is that this kind of collapse is completely avoidable for Del. When at his strongest, Del’s intensity on the mic and ability to craft ridiculously great lyrics make him one of the best rappers on wax. However, all too often (this album and The 11th Hour as examples) Del isn’t content to just be on the microphone and opts to pursue the full musical production on the album as well. This is a mistake. It’s not to say that Del’s production is bad, but it is stagnant. There’s nothing much new in the beats here. For the most part, the tracks feel like repackaged West Coast beats from the ‘90s. Now if that were the case and the rapping remained vintage Del, the beats wouldn’t make a difference. But instead, the focus on production seems to detract from his focus on his rapping, and Del comes off sounding almost generic as a result. One need only look to his best work to see that he’s at the top of his rapping game when the lyrics and flow are his focus. His rapping on last year’s N.A.S.A. album outpaces anything contained here, and my hope is to see him collaborate with other producers on future work, because when he’s at his best lyrically, he’s virtually untouchable. Don’t Sleep On: “Hardcore Punks Can’t Take It,” “And They Thought That Was Hell,” and “Get It Right Now!”

For the rest of the music I've been listening to this month, click here.

10 Things to Think About on a Friday

It's been a while, but as promised, I'm back with a vengeance, and today that vengeance takes the form of 10 wickedly awesome things for you to think about. It's Memorial Day, which means the return of summer, the Lake House, BBQs and hot party tracks from rappers who will be gone by next Memorial Day.

So wherever you happen to go this weekend, I'll be sitting back and having a cocktail or three for you. Cheers, and remember to use warm water before shaving.

1) Well, we never claimed the government was good at keeping records, and now they proved it. Apparently, a 2TB hard drive containing personal information from the Clinton Era has gone missing at the National Archives. Wonder if Lewinsky's number was on there...

2) Immigration and both the benefits and strains it brings to our economy are always hot topics. I was surprised to find this article about a school in Texas where 70% of the student body commutes daily from Mexico.

3) I wish they had this when I was a kid! Now Lego is putting out Frank Lloyd Wright sets. For the 6 year old future architect in your home...

4) If the rumors are true, a new iPhone could come to market in July. With some of these reported features, it might be time for me to think about upgrading...

5) Always kinda shocking to me when former athletes sink to horrendous lows following the end of their career. Ryan Leaf's career as a football player wasn't all that solid, but still sad that he's being charged with burglary of a controlled substance...

6) In anticipation of the Lake House this weekend, it's time to revisit a few of the past visits. Check out this one, this one, and this one.

7) You don't want to see Jack Bauer mad. Or, for that matter, Kiefer Sutherland. Apparently his alter-ego has gone a bit to his head, like a few weeks ago when he head-butted someone at a gathering...

8) Sad to think that even on a show I don't care about, American Idol, the outcome might have been changed by one of the contestant's sexuality. Sad if true, America.

9) The speculation about the King of Pop's return to the stage has started anew with the announcement that the start of the tour will be pushed back 5 days. He hides his face in a mask to the media, but is going to do 50 live shows? Interesting.

10) I always like to see the citizens fighting back. This time, it's music consumers who are bringing a counter suit against the RIAA asking for all the money they've collected to be returned. Just go buy your music and support the artists folks, then you won't have to deal with the RIAA.

That's it for me folks...time to get the May iPod update in order so I can have fresh tunes at the Lake this weekend. Enjoy the sunshine!

Ant Food (Old)

In searching through books for research for my exam last week, I came across a Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry I had used for one of my college courses. It had a poem in the front, so I thought I'd start today off with that. Here ya go:

Let me cover my meaning -
There are times in which the sun rains down,
heavy on me,
and the deep breath of fresh air,
Filling my nostrils warm and pure,
And my smile,
Ear to ear,
Soaks me to the last layer of skin,
Letting me walk,
Dripping joy on the sidewalk,
bits of sugar for ants to seek out,
lap at
and beg for,

Sucking greedily at the joy
that I spread like sticky sweet oceans
Over the continent of Earth,
like yellow and fuscia blossoms
tossed to the winds.

Watch me smile,
Watch me drip,
Then watch me melt.

M.I.A.

Wow. Talk about a busy few weeks. Not only did I go over two weeks without getting a new quote of the day up, but I failed on last week's 10 Things to Think About on a Friday, and missed the week before as well. But I can't say it hasn't been worth it, because while I've been letting the blog fall into a state of minor disrepair, it was all so I could get everything in my actual life settled into place again. Now, I'm back, and it will undoubtedly be with a vengeance...let me catch y'all up.

Most of you will already know that about four months ago I was told that I was going to find a new job. After looking at a ton of possibilities, some good, some not so good, I came to the realization that while I had been very comfortable in my job, I hadn't been happy for quite some time. Some of this was due to the money, but most of it had to do with working for a boss that was an absolute maniac. (No folks, I'm not talking about my step-dad!) She was rude, short, stressful and was referred to around the office as "Scary." Basically, she made it her job to make my life unpleasant everyday in any minor way she could think of.

I then decided that after looking around, I didn't particularly want to stay in Real Estate, at least not the way it was going. Things were stressful there as I wasn't sure what else I was going to do, and time was getting shorter. Then, on April 29th, the day before my last day at the old job, I found a new one. I took some time off, got situated, and started in here on the 11th, and after only one week I can say definitively so far so good. The job I've gotten is a temporary position as the Executive Assistant to a HR rep out in the East Bay. Long relaxed in a five minute drive as a "commute," I've been pleasantly enjoying my morning commute to Pleasanton. I'm finding it a bit harder to get up that early in the morning, but once I'm moving, it's all energy. I love people watching on BART, seeing those coming on and getting off as I ride the length of the line, and the extra dedicated reading time everyday has been positively uplifting. Something about being among the mass commuters, feeling the train breathing around me brings me a sense of joy and modernity. On the way home, I read and nap. Incredibly enjoyable.

But the stress wasn't over quite yet. As I started the job, I had to stare down the barrell of a standardized test, a 5 hour affair that was to test my competency in English. So while I started work, I withdrew socially to study. Of course, the job and the studying were continually broken up by track, which was winding down in the season and rapidly approaching league finals. On Thursday, we had league finals and my team repeated as League Champions. When we won last year with 6 teams in the league, we didn't figure we'd have a real solid chance at a repeat this year as the league went to 13 teams, but we managed to pull out a crazy win by 3 points. As our JV team won the first JV Championship for the league, we are unanimous girl's champions. Then, Saturday, I took the exam, and now I feel like I once again have some space and time to breathe, relax and get back to getting my online affairs in order.

So be on the look out...I've got some new interviews, a few book reviews, and lots of new music coming up. This weekend, after I finished the exam, I went straight to Topher's place where I promptly started drinking. I wasn't sure if I was celebrating how I did on the test, or just how I felt about being done, but when he and I started taking tequila shots, ChengJ, Foster and Paulo just kind of moved out of the way. On their way to City, we decide to stop in and have a drink with E who's working his door job at the Silver Cloud. Of course, Topher, who lives in the Marina, tells me he knows exactly where we're going. We then proceed to walk 5 blocks in the opposite direction. Thinking that we may be going the wrong way, I call E who informs me that it was actually one block from where we originally started.

We get over there and I order some drinks from the bartender. When I tell her that E wants to put it on his tab, she gives me a very unpleasant look (because she knows that it pretty much means "free.") I try to win her over with a 7 dollar tip, but I don't think she cares. Topher, who at this point is a bit loopy, sips a bit of his drink before I have to finish it for him. I finish most of mine before we decide it's time to move on to meet back up with the rest of the folks at City. I think E is confused when we leave so quickly, but then again, we weren't really planning on a 30 minute hunt for the bar when we set out.

Back at City, ChengJ is talking about the bar with a few women. I feel like I might get sucked in to the conversation, decide to avoid it at all costs and jump out the window to smoke. Feeling much relieved, I head back inside where the women ask me if I'm "ok." I'm a bit confused...sure, I'm ok, why would they think I wasn't? "Well, you didn't talk before." My response to this is, "just because I chose not to talk doesn't mean I was unable." They think I'm being rude and go back to talking to Cheng. I head over to a table where Topher and I compare notes and realize that even having only had one drink a piece at each of the bars, we are completely and utterly trashed. We hang onto the table like it's a life vest that might save us from drowning.

After leaving, we head up the street and avoid the pizza line in favor of the hot dog stand. I'm told that I absolutely must have a lemon chicken hot dog, which, I'm pretty sure may have saved my life and helped me avoid a wicked hangover. I wake up in my clothes on Topher's couch, the bun of the hot dog still in my hand. We compare more notes on the balcony and realize that when a) you don't pay for any drinks in the bars, b) you don't throw up, c) you're plastered, d) you get home ok and e) you have a nice post-midnight snack, the night has to be categorized as a major success. We head over back to City with Sonia where I take advantage of the free mimosa with brunch before heading back to the Peninsula. It's about 100 degrees out and a soda sounds refreshing, so I stop in at Nini's for a few rounds. I'm wrapping things up when Dawson, Johnson and @pdxblazersftw show up to have lunch.

After I leave Nini's I make a housecall to see the moms who are hanging out at the pool. Don Po hooks up some home made guacamole and we have a few beers which makes it quite an enjoyable day in the shade. After getting home and hanging out for a bit, it's unbearably hot in my apartment so I take a stroll to get some Cold Stone ice cream...cake batter with kit kat bars and graham cracker pie crust. And that, my friends, pretty much gets you all up to speed. I look forward to getting back into the daily routine of quotes of the day, the weekly things to think about on a Friday, and all the random crazy fun I like to share. Should be good times to come this summer! As someone might say to Kotter, Welcome Back!

10 Things to Think About on a Friday

So this week I wrapped up the job, went to two-a-day distance running workouts and landed another job. Right. Under. The. Wire. Gainfully employed, I can no go dancing into the sunset of April, welcoming today's May Day festivities. Need some new music this month? I've got you covered. I don't have anywhere to be but practice at 3pm, but if you're stuck in the office til 5, here's a few things you can kill some brain cells with. Happy Friday folks!

1) I loved the ending of the Sopranos on HBO. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't want to see a full length movie.

2) Twitter keeps making the big headlines. Here in the Bay Area, Brian Wilson and Barry Zito both got themselves in a bit of hot water...Brian Wilson, as a result, is no longer on Twitter. Don't worry though, you can still find Sarah Palin tweeting.

3) Top Gun star Kelly McGillis has come out of the closet. Kinda takes away from that scene knowing that she was probably not all that into it...

4) Looks like Obama is going to get his first crack at naming a Supreme Court justice in his first year in office...David Souter is retiring. Mr. President? He had no comment.

5) Even if you aren't an NBA fan, most people can get excited by the fact that of 6 games between the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls, 4 games have gone to OT, including last night's triple OT. That's 7 OT periods through 6 games. Want more overtime? Game 7 is in Boston on Saturday.

Speaking of Saturday, check out this sports line-up: Kentucky Derby, Boston v. Chicago game 7, Manny Pacquiao v. Ricky Hatton. Even those not into boxing will want to watch the fight after they check out HBO's four part mini-series (available On Demand) Pacquiao/Hatton 24/7.

6) I love JoePa over at Penn State...a true icon of college football. He's now pushing for the Big 10 to expand to 12 teams. Visionary.

7) If you're looking for some free new hip-hop, here's Del's Funk Man.

8) The fight raging over the BCS and a college football playoff is raging in Congress. We want playoffs, Obama wants playoffs, isn't there a way to make the playoffs the bowl games?

9) It's Follow Friday. @spookygrimm @alankhalfin @dynamics @pdxblazersftw @azavi big ups yourself!

10) And for those we can't follow, I'm wondering when we're going to see @jenglace @mcella @chengj @hessica @kalice and @emilisq take on the world of Twitter.

Cheers folks, and remember, dry your hair before you go out in the rain.

Movies of April (8)

Yes, that's Hannah Montana on the list. I didn't have a choice...democracy on team movie day for the high schoolers wins. Other than that, a fantastic month of movies. I always relish the chance to watch Amélie again. If you missed The Ice Storm, I highly recommend it.

1: Real Genius
2: The Ice Storm
7: Monsters v. Aliens 3D
13: Hannah Montana
14: Taking Lives
23: Amélie
26: Fight Club
28: Burn After Reading

April iPod Update

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

For the new music recommended in March, click here.

Hard to believe it, but this is the 1 year anniversary of the "What I'm Hearing" posts. Last April, I embarked on a mission to bring quality music, both mainstream and not, to readers looking to expand their musical vocabulary beyond the monosyllabic songs pumped ad nauseum from radio towers across the nation. As has been the trend, this month is no exception to the rule as I found a good number of fantastic new artists. As always, all of these artists can be found on iTunes for purchase. This month's iPod update consisted of 63 songs spanning hip-hop, DIY and electronic. Enjoy!

Brother Ali, The Truth is Here: Originally introduced to the underground hip-hop scene by Slug of Atmosphere, Brother Ali has worked with producer Ant and had his albums released by hip-hop stalwart Rhymesayers. A converted Muslim and Caucasian albino, Ali frequently faced questions of his race early on due to voice, delivery and moniker. On The Truth is Here, his fourth studio album, Ali uses alternatively jazzy and bumping Ant produced beats to explore issues of race, social and economic divides and his adjustments to life in light of his growing success. While 9 full length tracks, this album is billed as an EP preceeding a full album release to come this fall. One thing is certain, the disc doesn't listen like an EP. Thoughtful, introspective and lyrically deft lyrics keep the listener entertained while Ant's production of top-notch songs outshines the cookie-cutter beats saturating mainstream hip-hop. Ali's style varies from aggressive spitting on tracks like "Philistine David " to laid back delivery on the album's opener, "Real As Can Be." Beyond all of this, Ali's scope encompasses a variety of questions with universal significance. When he asks, "Can you tell me, what language do you laugh in?/The human reaction of smiles and cries/what language are the tears when they're falling from your eyes?" it is not a question intended to divide in the style of Babel, but rather to point out the similarities we share as humans. An intelligent, varied and musical foray into hip-hop. Don't Sleep On: "As Real As Can Be," "The Believers" (feat. Slug) and "Good Lord."

Filastine, Dirty Bomb: Formerly a member of ¡Tchkung! out of Seattle, Grey Filastine, upon the break-up of the group, has gone on to explore global sounds in experimental electronica. On his February release, Dirty Bomb, Filastine mashes glitch, hip-hop and industrial with sounds from Asia, Europe and the Middle East, including cameos from overseas musicians. The textures are dense and layered, sheets of sound that have no one city of origin, making this album a true global citizen. Hand drums, zithers and traditional chants find themselves side by side with throbbing bass lines and electric blips, all finding their places here in the hands of a producer adept at finding harmony between cross-cultural sounds. While some of the tracks can become repetitive, the majority are well fleshed out and driving. In "Singularities," the beat is built up, deconstructed and then slammed back down in grimy fashion, an example of excellent production that runs throughout the album. Don't Sleep On: "Singularities," "Strategy of Tension," and "Bitrate Sneers."

For the rest of what I've been listening to this month, click here.

"Misogynistic" Hip-Hop Lyrics (in Aesop Rock's "Daylight")

[Disclaimer: The following is a lyrical discussion and analysis that looks at gender roles, gender attitudes and diction choice within hip-hop in general and Aesop Rock's song "Daylight" in particular. If you are uncomfortable or in any way close-minded to an honest dialogue about any of these issues, please do not read any further. The full text of the lyrics to the song are at the bottom, and a link to the song is here, should you want to examine and listen for yourself.]

I sent out a quote yesterday and was surprised to see a Twitter follower I had conversed with many times on a variety of subjects unfollow me as a result. As I had blocked out the profanity in the lyric, I was curious as to what prompted the disconnect. Her response when I asked what happened was:

"I didn't want to read misogynistic rap quotes on my Twitter, like I don't get those messages everywhere else. :P"

A pretty harsh thing for me to hear, especially given that I try to take a good deal of care in acknowledging that my audience comes from all backgrounds and walks of life and I like to be, unless consciously trying to be otherwise, non-offensive to the widest cross-section possible. I think what I should start with first, when about to engage in a discussion of this extent, is a simple definition...let's look at the accusation of the quote:

Misogyny: hatred, dislike or mistrust of women
Misogynist: a man who hates women

At this point, you must be wondering what kind of filthy, horrendous, patriarchal and utterly degrading line I must have sent out. Surely something along the lines of the song that I love to hate, "superman dat ho" or the massively inappropriate and inescapable club track "Lollipop." These are songs that show some serious hatred and lack of respect for women. The quote:

"Life's not a bitch, life is a beautiful woman, you only call her a bitch 'cause she wouldn't let you get that p***y." - Aesop Rock

And it got me to thinking...what about this quote is misogynistic? For starters, the quote isn't about a woman or women at all. The lyric is based on the popular metaphor, "Life's a bitch." Now, the argument can certainly be made (and I would agree) that this popular metaphor is misogynistic. It's a colloquialism used to equate the negative parts of life with a derogatory term for women derived from the noun for a female dog. This is, of course, if you choose to take the word literally. Some would argue that the movement to slang of the term (see "bitchin'" as a good thing) softens that blow, but for the purpose of this analysis, we'll assume the harsher meaning is implied.

So to start we have a misogynistic metaphor for life as the basis of the lyric. It's a negative and pessimistic metaphor, but one could argue that in the context it is most often used, it looks more spitefully towards life than towards women. Of course, going back to the "harsher meaning is implied" baseline, the implication would be that the phrase is hateful to both life and women equally.

However, in the quoted lyric, the misogynistic (i.e. hateful) message of the metaphor is flipped. Aesop in this line is not saying life is a bitch, he's saying the exact opposite: that "life is a beautiful woman." In the song, his anger is reserved for those that don't treat life with the respect it deserves, and therefore by extension of the lyric, the respect he feels women deserve. He mentions "the result's a lowlife counting on one hand what he's accomplished," and his greatest disdain comes at the end when he's asked by someone who hasn't seized their life if he has seen their "little lost passions" and he responds, "yeah, but only when I peddle past 'em." In these lyrics, Aesop is hateful not to women, but to those who disrespect their life enough to call it a misogynist term.

Of course, we have to look at the full quote as my reader saw it, and it does end with "she wouldn't let you get that p***y." I'll point out here that in my quotation, I did and continue to block out the majority of that word as I recognize it as one that can be felt and interpreted in a pejorative context. Were I to have no sensitivity to the use of the word, I would have written it out. While it is simply street slang for "vagina," it does have a derogatory connotation that was clearly recognized in the censoring. The intent of the use of the term becomes the question, and for that it is a case of context.

Were the lyrics to be referencing a woman or sex, the word would most certainly be misogynistic in value. However, the word here is tied to the earlier metaphor and in this case used to denote the joys and pleasures of life to someone who is complaining of their failure to achieve and experience them. At this point, it becomes a question of an individual's personal feelings towards the word, but also more importantly their feelings towards the context and how they interpret the author's use. The thought that gnaws at my brain is whether this person read and understood the quote as Aesop Rock meant it, or if simply seeing that word was enough to cloud the meaning of the rest of the quote for her.

It also brings to mind the question of Twitterability. When limited to 140 characters, is it smarter to stray away from something that takes too much explanation? Keep in mind, in order to respond to the accusation of misogyny I had to step far outside 140 so I didn't come off as disrespectful of her concern and opinion. "All due respect, but I think you're wrong," isn't the path to a clear and open communiqué. The quote, especially when coupled with the chorus of "All I ever wanted was to pick apart the day/put the pieces back together my way," has always left me feeling hopeful, respectful and fervently energetic towards life.

Would the quote have made more sense and been therefore less offensive had the entire stanza gone out?

"Life's not a bitch, life is a beautiful woman,
you only call her a bitch 'cause she wouldn't let you get that p***y -
Maybe she didn't feel y'all shared any similar interests,
or maybe you're just an asshole who couldn't sweet talk the princess."

With the next two lines, the before ambiguous intent of the original quote becomes more clear. By addressing the person who is calling life a bitch as an "asshole who couldn't sweet talk the princess," the entire context of the p-word is altered. Not only is life a beautiful woman, but in the second portion life gets upgraded to princess. Revered as such (again - life, not women - must remember we're talking metaphor here), that the asshole would set such a crass, base and lustful goal devoid of any real commitment is in the end disrespectful only to himself because it is the foundation of his personal failure. The lack of commitment is furthered by the "sweet talk" nature employed, rather than a serious and respectful approach. While the metaphor is life as female, if one were to want to examine them in the context of relationships, my analysis would be that Aesop Rock here is promoting a respectful and thoughtful approach rather than the commonly held hip-hop view of women as objects.

Unfortunately, a simple breakdown of that stanza and the reasons why I don't feel it should be taken as misogynistic may only scratch the surface of this reader's reaction. It is a direct interpretation of the words and the way I analyze their meaning within the song, grammatically and metaphorically, as ones that do not promote hatred of women. While this is literal and I believe to be analytically correct, it does not take into account the entirety of my education and therefore the possible reason this quote might have been viewed negatively by my reader. In the larger picture of Feminist theory, it could be the very personification of Life as female, thereby ascribing gender, that my reader read as misogyny.

Within a language construct framed by patriarchy where gender is indoctrinated in the way we learn to speak, delving to the deeper reading of the basic articles can be beyond the thought of some. But it's there, this grammatical gender divide, every day, from the things we teach children to the way we address our possessions. Take for example Mother Nature and Father Time. Or simply the way someone talks about a car saying, "She's a beauty." A car is an object and yet is often referred to as a female object.

I'm not bringing this up to get into a drawn out explanation of how the very influential nature of gender within the English language helps further shape and extend ideas of patriarchy (which it does.) I bring it up merely to demonstrate that even if the quote is taken as a positive description of life and the respect that it deserves in the form of a "beautiful woman" and "princess" as opposed to being viewed as "bitch," another perspective found in Feminist theory would view it as, at the least questionable, and on the other end despicable, that life needed to be tagged with the gender to begin with.

Finally, I'm left to wonder whether, knowing all of this, and recognizing that I had thought it out to such an extent, this particular person would have still unfollowed me. Would the recognition of the censorship and perspective that I take all of these theories into account brought deeper thought about what those 140 characters contained? Who knows. But I'm glad it got me thinking this evening. I hope it did the same for you.

One thing did sting...the passing off of Aesop's lyrics as rap. Of course, while Aesop Rock is certainly of the rap and hip-hop genres, I think most people would agree that his lyrics have more in common with poetry than what you expect to hear on a rap album. Here are the lyrics to "Daylight."

"Put one up for shackle-me-not clean logic procreation.
I did not invent the wheel I was the crooked spoke adjacent,
While the triple sixers lassos keep angels roped in the basement,
I walk the block with a halo on a stick poking your patience.
Y'all catch a 30 second flash visual
Dirty cooperative med platoon bloom head-trip split ridiculous
Fathom the splicing of first generation fuck up with trickle down anti-hero smack. Kraken.
I pace me game for zero hour completion cretin, splash.
Duke of early retirement picket dream,
American nightmare hogging the screen.
I'll hold the door open so you can stumble in if you'd stop following me 'round the jungle gym.
Now it's honor; and I spell it with the 'H' I stole from 'heritage'
Merit crutched on the wretched refuse of my teaming resonance.
I promise,
Tempest tossed bread with a bleeding conscience
See, the creed accents responsive but my spores divorced the wattage.
And I'm sleeping now (Wow!)
Yeah the settlers laugh...
you won't be laughing when your covered wagons crash,
you won't be laughing when the buzzards drag your brother's flag to rags,
you won't be laughing when your front lawn's spangled with epitaphs,
you won't be laughing.
And I'll hang my boots to rest when I'm impressed ,
so I triple knot 'em and forgot 'em,
His origami dream is beautiful but man those wings will never leave the ground,
without a feather and a lottery ticket, now settle down.

All I ever wanted was to pick apart the day, put the pieces back together my way.

Slacker bound intimate tabloid headline with a pulse shimmy 'cross the centerfold,
Enter dead time engulfed; divvy crumbs for the better souls,
When 7 deadly stains adhere the blame to crystal conscience,
the result's a lowlife counting on one hand what he's accomplished.
Link me to activism chain, activate street sweep,
Plug deteriorating Zen up in pen dragon
I hock spores coursed by the morbid spreading of madmen (Alley Gospel)
Sinking your Lincoln log cabin and Charlie Chaplin waddle
I could -
Zig, Zag, and Zig 'em again before the badge gleam sparked in my brick wall windows,
Another thick installment of one night in Gotham without the wretched
'Houston we have a problem,'
Attached to the festive batch of city goblins
Who split holiday freaks on a box cut cinema high road bellow;
head gripped watch red bricks turn yellow.
Sorta similar to most backbones at camp Icarus
where all fiddler crabs congregate and get pampered for bickering.
Life's not a bitch, life is a beautiful woman,
you only call her a bitch 'cause she wouldn't let you get that p***y.
Maybe she didn't feel y'all shared any similar interests,
or maybe you're just the asshole who couldn't sweet talk the princess.
Kiss the speaker wire,
Peter pacifism peggin' threshold
Stomach full of halo kibbles,
Wingspan cast black upon vigils,
Here to duck hunt ticker tape vision and pick apart the pixels.
I got a friend of polar nature, and it's all peace
You and I seek similar stars but can't sit at the same feast
Metal captain
This cat is asking if I seen his little lost passions,
I told him 'yeah, but only when I peddled past 'em.'

10 Things to Think About on a Friday

Heading into the last week of April, it was a relaxed 4/20 (although I heard that the Skylark was absolutely bananas) and a relatively low key week where I focused on some important administrative duties like looking for a new line of work, renewed my D.RE license and registered for the CSET in May. All slightly less than fun stuff, but if it gets me where I need to go, right? But heading into this last weekend, with no open house, it should be a good one. Definitely two days of Nini's. And as for you? How about 10 things to mull over in your mind before 5pm rolls around?

1) Seinfeld is coming back! Well, kinda. As per earlier reports, filming has now started on the new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO, and the multi-episode arc features the entire cast of Seinfeld as themselves. Hilarity is sure to ensue.

2) 4/20, while being a day of glee and happiness for many, is actually a sad reminder for anyone closely tied to the Columbine killings. What I found interesting was this article that discussed the myths surrounding Columbine and how many of those myths have never been debunked in the public's mind. For instance, did you know that neither of the killers were actually a part of the Trench Coat Mafia? For those that would like some less serious 4/20 thoughts, if you missed Stewie and Brian and their musical duet "Everything's Better With a Bag of Weed," check it out.

3) I was just coming to grips with the suicide of David Foster Wallace, the unreal author of Infinite Jest. Sad then to have to now mourn another fantastic author, J.G. Ballard, who died this week. While many of you may not have read any of Ballard's work, my guess is you've watched it...he's responsible for Crash (the Spader/Hunter one about sex and car crashes) and Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun (also the movie that launched Christian Bale's acting career.)

4) I couldn't wait any longer than I had, so last night I watched Amélie again. I'm simply floored, every time I see it, by the beauty and wonder in the film. It makes me laugh, smile and cry all at the same time, and just hearing the soundtrack on my iPod makes me want to watch it all over again. I was looking for a reason to write about it, and Audrey Tatou provided that today. Apparently, there's quite a bit of uproar over the movie poster for her most recent release, a biopic of Coco Chanel. Apparently, Chanel was a 50+ cigarette/day person. The poster had Tatou smoking a cigarette and was banned by the major metro ad company. They then replaced it with this much weaker poster. I thought the French liked to smoke?

5) According to this recent British study, Beer Goggles don't exist. That's not what I see happening around 1:45 in the bars when everyone starts pairing off and then slowly backing away when the house lights come up...

6) Here's a genius plot, and yet one more reason why I have always wanted an identical twin...these two get out of every parking ticket because they claim, "I wasn't driving the car, HE was!"

7) I heard once that "the only second chance you get in life is the chance to make the same mistake twice." Not so for these two high school football teams. After leaving the field in 1993 with a 7-7 tie, Gatorade and a bunch of others have geared up to replay the match with the same players on the same field to get a clearcut winner. Guess they won't be making the same tie mistake twice.

8) An interesting look at what CNN considers to be a gradual opening in the door of acceptance for women to date other women. But if it's becoming so socially acceptable and mainstream, why is the mainstream still fighting equal rights for marriage equality? Seems like people want their homosexuality racy, but not legally justified. Shame on them. But, whether homo or hetero sexual, here's an interesting piece on the perceptions, myths and potential truths of redheads (including that they're likely to have more sex per week than blonds or brunettes...)

9) After completing the regular season with the best record, the San Jose Sharks are one game away from completely flopping out of the play-offs to an 8 seed. They got together and thought they'd try to be the New England Patriots of the NHL. How about playing with some fire guys? If they can outfit President Obama's Blackberry with super special NSA encryption technology, you can find a way to win 2 more games to tie the series.

10) I've wondered why I can stay up late, get little sleep and still keep moving. Looks like it has something to do with being a night owl and having a good circadian rhythm. Bam!

That's it folks...remember the Golden Rule...he who has the Gold, makes the rules.

10 Things to Think About on a Friday

Good God man! I have no idea why I just started with that, but I liked the sound of it and it kinda came flying out of my fingers, so I'm going to go with it. This week was a mixture of the good and the bad, the pleasure and the pain. On Monday, I felt like scooping my eyes out with a wooden spoon as my team voted to go see Hannah Montana. On Wednesday, I felt like my heart went into the microwave as I paid most of my money to the government. I then tried to ease my sorrows out at the 7 Mile with E and Coach. Yesterday, I was told that my ear ache is from stress, not an ear infection, and then I went to relieve some stress at the Academy of Sciences. Pictures will be up on that soon. Tonight, it's up to the city for a bit for Bini's birthday celebration and then home to get ready for the all day meet tomorrow. But before any of that happens, there's 10 things that I'll propose you ponder before the weekend comes.

1) The voice of our generation and the basis of football video games, John Madden, has retired. This will make Al Michaels unbearable to listen to.

2) Looks like Obama wants to build us a high speed rail system. Question 1: Can we stop it from being the bust that the Taggart line became once the government took ownership? 2: Will this push include more regional transportation growth? 3: Why'd this take so long when Japan, France and Spain all already have this?

3) I knew the fraternity I was in at USC was going downhill when I deactivated from it for moral and ethical reasons. But I really never expected it to go this far downhill with a report of a drugging and sexual assault at a party this week.

4) There's nothing I like quite so much as an argument getting reframed so that other people can be persuaded. Here's an article giving a conservative argument for the legalization of same-sex marriage.

5) If you're a fan of photography, you'll enjoy this new National Geographic toy that creates scalable photo mosaics out of user submitted photography.

6) This woman just had the luckiest day of her life...she gets shot in the head, goes downstairs and makes a cup of tea.

7) This guy, on the other hand, isn't quite so lucky. If you're 27 and you look like you're a toddler, not only will it be hard to meet girls, but even a real ID will probably be passed off as fake.

8) Heard this song out last night and the DJ was kind enough to post it for download. Check out "Chris Isaak vs. Fatboy Slim."

9) I had never read about this before, but apparently the unthinkable is true...Beatles music might just sound better in Mono.

10) Finally, in a sinister dictator question...would you rather be Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez or Ahminejad?

That's it folks...remember that nap time is important.