the word
august 2010
destiny
'Destiny is a feeling you have when you know something about yourself that nobody else does.' -Bob Dylan
august 2010
mind/body
sometimes the illusion gets dissolved, or at least punctured, and something so much more wholesome reveals itself. that's when you start to wonder whether reality is that which looks right or that which feels right. your brain spends all its time denying your heart and your heart spends all its time telling your brain to give it a chance.
and you spend all your time being pulled --stretched-- in two directions. what do i listen to?
and then, suddenly, your heart and mind ally, if briefly, to tell you that the fight between what you think and what you feel is the essential struggle that makes you human.
which sits well with your mind.
and your heart.
august 2010
fuck your iphone
does your iphone have an app that makes you less annoying?
july
2010
waiting for a superman
sometimes, it's just too heavy for superman to lift.
jenny lim
1984-2010
waiting for a superman - the flaming lips
march 2010
enthusiasm for life defeats existential fea
r
s
hout out to the flaming lips. what a cool band.march 2010
yoko
i like yoko ono. i know it's not fashionable to do so, but i think that's bullshit. i think this poor woman got a bad wrap from a bunch of stupid, confused, racist media pricks and now all of a sudden it's a truism that she broke up the beatles and she sucks. fuck that. the woman has made some cool art, been at the forefront of a lot of great causes, and has never had a bad word to say about anyone.
and plus, if you're cool with john lennon, that's good enough for me.
march 2010
undefined
judging by the title of this one it may seem as though i've decided on making one of those one-word-adjective-name cds of pretentious love songs that runs seventeen tracks long and has one of those covers that's a close-up black and white of me staring blankly into the sunset on some los angeles beach.
but that would be incorrect. i ran into this quote today and decided that if it is true i must be a very 'undefined' human being.
'the essential business of being a human being is to be alone and the essential yearning of a human being is not to be alone, and how we make sense of those two perceptions defines us.' -anthony minghella
february 2010
i
chuckled at this pie chart displaying the content of twitter posts by percentage. that is, until i realized such an analysis of my own conversations might quite closely compare to this breakdown.february 2010
my fantasy superbowl
i arrive at a friend's house, having stopped by because its sunday and, well, that's a good day to drop in on people.
my friend reminds me that the nfl championship game is today. we decide to watch it.
the pregame programming comes on. terry bradshaw and howie long maintain a death grip on perspective as they explain some relevant strategic points about the contest while periodically shrugging, '..but with that in mind who gives a shit. none of this matters at all, right?'
the first half of the game is exciting and tense. drew brees and peyton manning are on top of their game. somebody makes one of those diving one-handed, toes barely in the endzone catches that i love.
halftime! keith moon, john entwistle, and roger daultry's voice rise from the dead and the who bang out a kickass rendition of the entire 'who's next' album track by track.
as advertising is illegal there are few breaks in the telecast. between plays the camera usually swings over to each teams' squad of magicians and stunt artists, who create brilliant barnam and baileyesque spectacles for the amusement of the fans. many of these performers are retrained cheerleaders from last year's season who get to, for the first time in their lives, feel what it's like to get attention from males for something other than their tits.
what breaks do still occur consist of short thirty or sixty second pieces written and performed by up-and-coming sketch comedy groups around the country (so much better than some quasi-amusing budweiser ad, isn't it?)
the saints win the game by a single point on a 102 yard kickoff return in overtime. in a post-game interview sean peyton starts to talk about how much the city of new orleans needed this win but then realizes that football does not and should not have any tangible effect on peoples' lives so he doesn't say that. he ends up saying it was a lot of fun to coach in a super bowl. everyone agrees it was fun to watch, as well.
we turn off the game, talk about the good plays for five minutes or so, and then go get thai food.
perfect superbowl sunday.
february 2010
howard zinn
shout out to one of my heroes, howard zinn. howard was one of those few people who, just by listening to him, reminds you what you should be doing with your life.
there are lovers of mankind who say 'let's all get along' and drive around in minivans with obama bumper stickers but there are also those whose lives are dedicated to serious skepticism, resistance, and struggle in the name of justice. progress depends on the latter.
all you need is love.
much love from howard zinn.
and much love for him.
january 2010
prisoner of consciousness
it's not often that someone you suspect might be cool actually turns out to be more than you even hoped upon further review. (does that make sense?) one of those people for me is a very intelligent, very talented man called mos def.
i still can't get my head around this one,
'they've got their little categories, like 'conscious' and 'gangsta'. it used to be a thing where hip-hop was all together. fresh prince would be on tour with n.w.a. it wasn't like, 'you have got to like me in order for me to like you.' that's just some more white folks trying to think that all niggas are alike, and now it's expanded. it used to be one type of nigga; now it's two. there is so much more dimension to who we are. a monolith is a monolith, even if there's two monoliths to choose from. i ain't mad at snoop. i'm not mad at master p. i ain't mad at the hot boys. i'm mad when that's all i see. i would be mad if i looked up and all i saw on tv was me or common or the roots, because i know that ain't the whole deal. the real joy is when you can kick it with everyone. that's what hip-hop is all about. ... they keep trying to slip the 'conscious rapper' thing on me. i come from roosevelt projects, man. the ghetto. i drank the same sugar water, ate hard candy. and they try to get me because i'm supposed to be more articulate, i'm supposed to be not like the other negroes, to get me to say something against my brothers. i'm not going out like that, man.'
the more i know about mos def, the more i like him. but i'm reminded of a quote, from mos def,
'don't pretend you know me just because you know something about me.'
january 2010
a reason to live
food, sleep, empathy, sex, love. not necessarily in that order.
it's funny that the strongest forces within oneself are those which are completely impossible to understand.
january 2010
mlk
today is mlk day. did anyone remember? i'm not sure why we get days like this off. we memorialize the selfless, tireless work of a man by not working. the man gave his life for his cause so we turn his birthday (well, the following monday) into a tool to be strategically utilized in our next collective bargaining agreement.
'i woke up monday morning thinking i had to go to work, but then i remembered! it was a holiday! thank god almighty! free at last!'
january 2010
reggie watts
i didn't believe in love at first sight until i saw this man doing comedy in san francisco a couple years ago. saw him a few times since, including last night. i can't think of any single adjective to describe him except for appealing. what an appealing person.
january 2010
wormhole
lauren was informed that she's going to be a big part of my next project attempt. thusly, it should be called a fallen mighty project. we're recording today.
i'm very excited, for quite a few reasons. not the least of which being that i have great idea for the cover art, which of course can only be realized if the music is actually finished!!
should be a fun day. i think perhaps there is nothing more satisfying, nothing more singularly human, than achieving the alchemy of transforming an immaterial idea into something that can be heard.
and, more importantly, felt.
january 2010
nature vs. nurture
what is it about children who are extraordinarily great at something that we all find extraordinarily hilarious? here's a kid playing a tune by one of my favorite peeps around, craig northey.
january 2010
fallen mighty back
the fallen mighty are back in the saddle. lauren's going to pick up the drum sticks in addition to singing. kind of like phil collins, huh? except hopefully much, much better. we have ten songs and hope to make a cd.
lauren doesn't know yet.
word 2008