28 May 2008

I've had a copy of Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart's "Take Me To God" for about 5 years. Picked it up used, 5 bucks or so. I listen to it maybe once a year, which on average is kinda high actually. It's like techno world music that your reggae dub DJ friend mixed for you. Here's a song from the album:



Anyway, I saw a used copy again and picked it up for a friend and in the process also picked up a used copy of Jah Wobble's 30 Hz collection and it is indescribably good. How he does that with his fingers is beyond me. Listening to his basslines makes me want to play the bass forever and forget about the guitar. And you gotta give props to a man who quit the music business out of disdain and keeps dropping out of successful bands when they start sucking.

Jah Wobble (and Sinead O'Connor and Boy George) interviewed: http://youtube.com/watch?v=N425-qsKGQ8

27 May 2008

the original obscenity

d 5
a ..0
e ....4 5 000

D A 0055xx

Reading pratchett, he does go on about humanism and what humanity means. One of my favorite things he's ever said (or written) is about how all sin boils down to treating people as things. Rape, murder, theft -- they all boil down to "you're not a person, you're just another thing I can use to get what I want".

18 May 2008

who's that shouting? by and by...

Another year coming around. I find myself re-evaluating all the shit, good and bad, come my way. I'm doing OK, I guess. There are some causes for sadness, but overall, I can't complain too hard, really. I enjoy my new job, and despite the death of Vic (or maybe because of?) I am learning more and doing different things, which is something I wanted when I left the old joint. Had Indian for lunch earlier with the dudes from Ye Olde Jobbe and they are in misery full-force. Which sucks. That whole environment is like a kid trying too hard; they want to be a business/enterprise instead of educational/medical -- or maybe they think they should be? -- and they're just stressing the wrong things. Be a hardass about what you expect, don't be a hardass about vanity or chain of command or other bullshit pipe dreams about how to show that the proverbial dick is bigger than the other dudes'. On the bright side, in about 5 to 10 years time, it's going to be SUCH a premier environment (reputation-wise, for their care and tech etc...workwise, meh...too soon to say and things are too fast-moving to be able to pin down.) Relationship stuff's worked out, really. Interpersonal drama-llama visits have been avoided. Old friends come back, Eden's back and I will hopefully soonish find myself making some music with Bunny. I find myself thinking of Cass, wondering if she's doing OK. My phone calls and emails to her are infrequent and I think awkward for her. I'm hoping this is why she doesn't reply to emails. I switched back to winamp for playing music (itunes for the ipod still, but winamp is still awesomer) and the queen cover comes up at the oddest fucking moments. Still, she was awesome and that was aside from having the most amazing tits ever. Skeeter's still pissed at me, but since she won't answer or pick up, I just leave "wishing you the best" messages every 6 months or so. Mils is here today and gone tomorrow, back with the ex she always will have a spot for, which is kinda good, really. Sun's comin' from the tx, and i will be going to tx come august and maybe san fran or canada in the winter? I dunno. The old man's gonna have multiple surgeries done at once but is putting it off until my sister gives birth, I guess in case he dies. I try not to think about it. Maybe let the vacousness of television numb it down; dr who greys anatomy dexter futurama cooking shows. Some days it's just so much and some days you just relish in jumping into the fray, you know?

13 May 2008

11 May 2008

It honestly was beautifully done...

Today I was told that I am part of the problem. Thanks, Little Trouble Girl.

Got my mom a digital camera and made her dinner, camera was a smashing success and I am looking forward to many pictures of her dog, plants, buddhist temple and associated friends as well as family i don't know. Dinner was also a smashing success -- for her birthday I also made her dinner, which was my Porkchops Of The Gods except I accidentally threw in a bit too much hot pepper flakes, so she was kinda gun-shy about me cooking again. But, as I mentioned, I apparently have redeemed myself with: Keema

1 lb ground beef
2 bags peas, ~1000grams total
2 onions, diced
4-8 cloves of garlic, minced or sliced
1/4 of a very large tomato (or 1 small tomato) diced
1 jalapeño, seeded, minced
1 large heaping spoonful of curry powder
1 tsp garam marsala
1 tsp red curry powder
1 tsp red pepper
small bunch cilatro, chopped
1 spoonful ground ginger (or ginger paste, whatever)
1 tsp of olive oil
about a cup of water

oil a large pan, drop the onions into medium-low heat, toss in the garlic after a minute or two (ie, let the onions take a bit more heat than the garlic -- garlic burns easier), toss in the tomato and jalapeño and ping everything with salt to sweat it. Once the onions are shiny but not translucent, get 'em off the heat and onto a plate. Dump the meat in, when it's getting towards brown, break it up and toss in the garam marsala, red curry and pepper flakes, then dump in the peas in. Stir in the water and let it simmer until the water evaporates out and add a bit more. Bring the onion mixture back in and toss in the ginger, half the cilantro while holding the other half as garnish. Let simmer, stirring to keep it from sticking, until the water's evaporated again, say about 20-30 minutes total (you're really waiting for the peas to cook and take the flavor of the rest of the juices in the pot).

Serve over rice, cous-cous or as I did, with a side of pan-seared flatbread and tzatziki, a tomato salad (got the rest of the hugegantic tomato and sliced it, salted it and balsamic-vinegared-it. For jollies I threw in mushroom gnocci as a side, but that was less than stellar with the mom. Protip: mixing the keema with the tzaziki made pure happiness happen in your mouth, I recommend it.

asides: portishead's new album was good so I bought it. Listened to Bill Frissel's "Gone, Just Like A Train" and it still is amazing. Modest Mouse in the car = rock out. Eden's a jerk, I must steal his hat again.

09 May 2008

dream 9may2008

1st dream, 630am: house flooding.

2nd dream, 1130am: first lucid dream in like, 13 years. First I was going down coral way in an office chair, kicking my way down coral way and each kick pushed me waaaaaay farther than it should have, and then on 12th but not really I hang a left and I realize it's Valentine's Day and I don't give a fuck and am laughing and rolling down the street and then the sidewalk and then young punks in love and they are laughing and mocking me and I realize the chair thing is fucking stupid but wait that means this is a dream so I stop kicking and just will myself forward and then when that works just consciously tumble out of the chair forward and fly, but very slow, like flying through molasses and only a foot off the ground. finally I get traction and can kick it fast and hard and I realize I could be getting laid right here and now in my lucid dream, the phone rings and wakes me. cockblocked!

04 May 2008

Set Theory Primer

I just stumbled on a site about Set Theory Primer as it relates to music theory. Which reminds me of my favorite story about music I wrote that no one ever heard.

Bunny called me up, "hey there's a gallery opening, we're doing a music/performance/installation -- the theme of the gallery is Summerian/Babylonian art, they're showing some pieces etc etc"

I dig Sumer, cradle of civilization etc etc and I've read through Snow Crash so I know just a bit more than nothing about their language construction (atonal glosolalia? or some shit. doesn't matter, i'm not writing poetry). So I look up Summerian music. Turns out it uses a 60-tone scale. Because I am S-M-R-T smart, I figure OK, I can make music akin to atonal 12-tone theory pieces, but I have to use 1/2 and 1/4 microtones (ie, bends and half-bends) and viola, 12-tone automagically becomes 60-tone. So I write this long droning piece in an open D tuning and because it would be a bitch to be bending whole chords (although you get some really awesome dissonances, some sonic youth/glenn branca shit going on where the notes beat against each other in the air) I go and get me a slide. So it's like this blues hawaiian indian drone monster thing. It's made of pure, concentrated awesome.

And then the day of the show, come to find out they go on an hour before they said they would and also that the music has been relegated to the alley behind the gallery. Which is OK, since that's where the party people's at anyway. Ran into solo and other people from the wayback.

03 May 2008

dream 3may2008

apartment bldg, behind brysons and over one, but not really - it feels like the apts in little havana, - overcast but not rainy, i am walking through the hallway and i am walking to get a tricycle (the huge adult ones like old people use like abuela gypsy used to have before she got frail before she died) so that i can get shit done because there's a timetable and i need to go home and get stuff and then elsewhere and do stuff and do not want to be here because b is here and there she is in front of me back turned and smoking or trying to light a smoke fucking dammit like when you don't want something to happen and there is happens and all of a sudden it's fucking forgiveness dream wherein she is too proud and bitter and pissed and i am indifferent and this is getting her even more upset and i have fucking shit to do lady i need to go and you are making me sad -- not sorrow, not grief, not even upset, just...hey, bummer man, -- and there's tony, indifferent or didn't notice me or whatever but steadfastly Not My Concern and I am leaving and i suddenly have the fucking tricycle except now it's a bike? and it's that hot stillness before a storm and as i bike down the street the rain starts and i wake