I wish I knew what the hell this video is from! I personally can think of a million different videos from the 80's that are a lot worse.

classroom doodles

this is hilarious! I love how he says the guy who tried selling him the house was really trying to make him focus on the granite in the kitchen, but Lil Wayne's all "I don't even care"
OR, "I am the originator of the word bling"

I was gonna make a post about how Calvin taught me how to love Elvis, but I gotta bike across town to eat some grits!

but I thought I'd say that BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA was a cool movie as a kid, but as an adult it is a lot funnier. Kurt Russell rules. John Carpenter's soundtrack is awesome.

Harry S Truman
did you know that "S" is literally his middle name?
no period.

by Benjamin (duh)

Something very strange just happened. I had been suffering through a good sized migraine since seminar yesterday at 4 p.m. all the through the night and until I got to work had started organizing e-mails and responding to people's problems... when BANG!... de ja vu hit me like an avalanche. It wasn't exactly de ja vu though, it was a memory from a dream that I had 3 years ago... I am sitting at my desk, writing e-mails, eyes scanning the surroundings, and in the dream something very different happens after this, a very big change in my life. I don't think I'm a nostradamus or anything like that, but I do have these future dreams that always give me the willies and they're always about the most boring shit. Maybe, if I can just open my mind up to use it full potential it'll be just like that Christopher Walken movie the DEAD ZONE. which is an excellent movie by the way (Patrick Lang's favorite). but in the end he dies because he has a brain tumor or something. I'd rather just drown. geeze, dark afternoon. I could use some sunshine, exercise, and a fucking delicious burger today.

this might be one of the more obscure tunes in rock 'n' roll history

A while back I read about the Jail Bait LP by Andre Williams in the Incredibly Strange Music Vol. 1 book that Calvin lent me. You know that instant when you're reading the description of something that sounds immediately appealing to you and you know you've unearthed some sort of gem that will find a special place in your heart? Well, I do. I ended up hearing "Pass the Biscuts Please", "Pullin' Time", and "The Greasy Chicken" (the only songs featured in the entire 13 volumes) in the compliations that WFMU put out as the Lux & Ivy favorites. WHOA! I remember thinking "damn, this is the slowest most rockin' roll I've ever heard!" when I first heard "Pullin' Time".

About 2 weeks ago Calvin "Death" Johnson lent me his copies of the Jail Bait LP, some weird Jon Spencer Blues Explosion + Andre Williams collaboration 12" e.p., a Norton album that was recorded in the '90's of the songs from the 50's (which I didn't really dig), and a handful of 45's! There were all these weird rhythms, really sincere yet truly raw sounding vocal ballads, and this trebly guitar that floats in the back ground and lingers in the forefront of your mind. I ended up making a tape and finally giving Calvin his stuff back, and I figured I'd never get my hands on any of that vinyl. Rainy Day had ordered stuff for me back in December '09, but it wasn't what I was looking for... until today! Adam calls me up at the office saying they got 4 volumes of these weird bootlegs that were exactly what I was looking for! YES! Life is getting more and more complete with every record I have to listen to.



I think it's probably important to point out that the guy ended up producing hit records all over the USA from the 60's - 70's and in the 80's he was totally down and out, living on the streets. Apparently he is still touring (I think he played SXSW last year? maybe 2008?) and he has a book coming out... kind of a detective pulp fiction looking book. The guy is pretty old now and he is super raunchy... but whatever. I love his music from the 50's and his narratable style of singing has given him the title of Father of Rap! That's pretty debatable, but in some of his songs you can definitely hear the early roots of rap.

There is a certain "growth" on my right arm that has been bothering me for the past few years & I'm beginning to realize I might should have it looked at. At one point (2005?) I thought it was a wart and I used all kinds of different acids and topical ointments but the bastard would not die. Lately, I find that there's a pretty little pattern where the thing gets scratched or pinched off subconsciously while I'm watching suspenseful entertainment or sitting in class. It usually bleeds a bit, sometimes I'll put Hydrogen Peroxide on it, but then it just goes right back to it's bumpy, white, eroded, cancerous looking self and I get nervous. There's no way that the thing will kill me. I am way too clumsy not to die by something else like tumbling down Mt. Rainier, biking accident, etc.... OH! remember that time I drank a fifth of Tres Generacions tequila with Dan Meyer at the Vic's House and I was listening to the Gypsy Kings? There was a wild dance party in the living room and I was the only one there. I saw Dan leaving the house through the six small windows in the front door and to draw his attention back to the "dance party" I decided to bang to the rhythm of the music on the front door... when BIFF BANG POW! my left hand went through the window and without thinking (in my tequila vision) I pulled my hand right back through the shattered hole and PPPHHHTTTT a tall blade of glass that remained went straight into my wrist at a 45 degree angle... deep. so bogus. worst night ever. I remember I really thought I would die. Even worse, the girl I had a huge crush on (who lived over at the Diner House) came over to view the sad spectacle of a dying neighbor. I remember she was wearing a big black wig for some reason and someone was drinking a Sparks, maybe 2 people, and there was talk of going to Rang Dong. I insisted on listening to depressing post rock music because that's how it feels to listen to that music... like you've been stabbed in the wrist by your house!

Geeze, times were tough back in the day. It's a good thing it's 2010. What a year! Ever since that dark dark night in 2005... I've always slightly felt like the living dead. Sometimes I wonder why I don't take more chances and party hard every day and tell people to "eat shit" more often when they really deserve it... I'm like an old man zombie. I just like staying at home with my cats and records and lady friend and kitchen and instruments and stuff.

I'm truly sorry. I don't know what I'm saying here.

It might be possible that I have coordinated a rendezvous between my Mother and Uncle John before a trip to Ghost Ranch, New Mexico. They haven't spoken since I was in high school and it's been a real drag for everybody. Not only my Mom, but my Grandmother too has had very little communication with John. I hope I can mediate this meeting accordingly. Regardless, it's better that it's happening now rather than never.

Ness & I have almost caught up with the end of LOST Season 5. We just finished DEXTER Season 3, now I am watching DEXTER Season 1 (which rules), and soon we will watch MACGYVER! Also, MEERKAT MANOR is some excellent TV that is narrated by Sam from Lord of the Rings. That show is reality TV at it's finest. Ah, television... but on the computer! We finally got some internet here at 609 Thomas St. and it's already put a damper in my studying habits.

Fox gettin' some BBQ! This picture rules!

I can't get this tune outta my mind... I guess I just miss my baby.

I also love this song by Prince Buster:

Smokey & his best friend Rat Boy

Ness' paper mache birds at the craft fair

Mykey & Margaritte, gettin' hitched in 2010! whoo-hoo!

LOCAL EYES PART I

Rachael Lang

Vanessa Wade Lang

Mykey Arthrell

Margaritte Knezek

Joel Augustus Brazzel

Sara Calland

Emily Beanblossom

I recently got into HOT DICE / FARKEL and found a travel set for $7 at Wind Up Here. Mykey introduced me to this game, yet Ilya is encouraging me to turn this into a gambling kind of game to make it a bit more interesting.

Here's Mr. Ilya M******'s thoughts on FARKEL:

"the cosmic significance though, i fully believe in that. there's a certain zen aspect to the rolling of the dice, as well as the cruicial strategy of deciding whether or not to keep pushing your luck with each subsequent roll or to just end your turn and potentially let the next roller capitalize on your score (or roll your "karmically tainted" dice and lose their turn!).

theres a strong 'trust your gut' factor at play as well. you learn your limits, as well as the limits of your good fortune, as well as whats ethical and whats unethical. you rarely roll a score you don't in some way deserve. do not toss the dice in the wrong frame of mind, or with the wrong intentions. respect the game and it will respect you. beware: dont let this knowledge lull you into a sense of 'zen complacency', as the lazy are always eventually punished.

in farkle, as in life, both the human propensity for greed and the capacity for infinite patience are tested with very real consequences. only the strong and benevolent of spirit and mind will succeed in the long run."

"if you really wanna make it 'interesting' start putting up money for each game. like everyone throws in a dollar and plays for the whole pot. then, smoke some pot to imbue each dice roll with cosmic significance. there are no coincidences in farkle. justice is not blind. she's just resting her eyes."

who wants to play for money money????