Tuesday, September 28, 2004

 

Jeff Buckley---R.I.P.

Right now I'm at work, got my headphones on and listening to the song "Mojo Pin" by Jeff Buckley (from his album "Grace"---which is a must-have for any real music fan).

He had perhaps one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard in my life. Unfortunately, he accidentally drowned in May 1997. He was only 31. It was such a tragic day. I remember watching the news and thinking "Damn, it's such a shame... Such a loss to the music world".

"Grace" is 10 tracks of pure genius. This album really shows his vocal capacity. Each track is different. Resembling at times a soft-sung Robert Plant, capable of dizzying arabesques to mellow Blues-y moods, to art-school noise, to choir-boy sweetness...

Honestly, his rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" could possibly be the most gorgeous and heart-breaking song ever recorded.
It gets me every time. Every time.

--Sigh--

Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you guys (whoever you may be). Give y'all a bit of musical insight in case you have never heard of him...

Have a nice day.

Saturday, September 25, 2004

 

Weird Weekend

This weekend I managed to hit:
A Wedding
A Birthday
And a funeral...

In three consecutive days. In that order...

These three events, included the obvious emotions.
Awkward joy, extreme joy and grief. In that order...

Of course, nothing is that basic.
There are so many "in-between" emotions, such as the ones you get when you:


With all those factors combined, I think I went through the entire spectrum of human emotion...

Allah Kareem.
Everything will work out fine--it always does.
So with that thought, I will leave you...

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

 

Words Have Failed Me...

Oh My God
Oh My God...

I just watched the most stunning piece of cinema I have EVER seen in my life...
Something I CANNOT believe I haven't seen until now...

I just had the pleasure of viewing
"The City of Lost Children"

This film (from the directing team of Jeunet & Caro--known for "Delicatessen" and "Amelie"), is quite possibly the most striking (and inspiring) film I have seen...

You have seen nothing like it, and probably never will.

Honestly, I am so blown away, that I can't find the words.

I think I'll be back in a couple days to edit this post, so I can do this film justice...

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

 

Norse Mythology...

I was reading about Norse mythology and check this:
They used to believe in something called:
"Ginnunggap" (gi-nun-gap)
Which is the "Yawning Void" that existed before the creation of everything (including the Gods).
It is what was there before anything was there at all.
"Pre-creation" if you will.
I love the wording of it---"Yawning Void"
That's beautiful.
Sit down for a minute and REALLY think about what it means.
A yawning void before all of creation.
What a perfect description.

I can't get over it...

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

 

Kalifornia...

I just recently watched the movie "Kalifornia" (about 12 years too late).

I just have one thing to say:

Brad Pitt is fiiiiiiiiiiine (even as a White-trash-psychopathic-serial-killer).


Sunday, September 12, 2004

 

Politically Correct...

Ok Everybody...

Let's play a little game I like to call "Senseless Acts of Political Correctness".

Apparently....Los Angeles officials have asked that computer manufacturers, suppliers and contractors stop using the terms “master” and “slave” on computer equipment, saying such terms are unacceptable and offensive. (LOS ANGELES, California [Reuters] )

Did you guys hear about this??

I mean seriously...

Stupid over-political-correctness.

For a laugh, I suggest you check out:
http://www.funny2.com/dictionary.htm
(a politically correct dictionary--very funny)

Among my favorite definitions are:

Failure: "Non-traditional success"

Mugging: "Unforeseen funding of the underclass" (or as i like to call it, the "involuntary contribution to the profession-deficient")

Fat: "horizontally challenged: person of substance"

Pissed off: "Satisfaction-deprived"


Aaahhh...The 21st century and its Linguistic Loopholes--You gotta love it.

So that's my two cents...
Or should I say my two "least value-effective American metallic monetary denominations".

Hugs & Kisses, (bodily expressed & lip-enhanced affection)

Ugh...


Friday, September 10, 2004

 

9/11

I am posting this today because it seems appropriate...

It's a poem (which later became a song) by Ani Difranco.
It was written back in 2002 for the 1-year anniversary of September 11th.

Here it is, in its entirety:
--------------

"Self Evident"

Yes,
us people are just poems
we're 90% metaphor
with a leanness of meaning
approaching hyper-distillation
and once upon a time
we were moonshine
rushing down the throat of a giraffe
yes, rushing down the long hallway
despite what the p.a. announcement says
yes, rushing down the long stairs
with the whiskey of eternity
fermented and distilled
to eighteen minutes
burning down our throats
down the hall
down the stairs
in a building so tall
that it will always be there
yes, it's part of a pair
there on the bow of Noah's ark
the most prestigious couple
just kickin' back parked
against a perfectly blue sky
on a morning beatific
in its Indian summer breeze
on the day that America
fell to its knees
after strutting around for a century
without saying thank you
or please

and the shock was subsonic
and the smoke was deafening
between the setup and the punch line
cuz we were all on time for work that day
we all boarded that plane for to fly
and then while the fires were raging
we all climbed up on the windowsill
and then we all held hands
and jumped into the sky

and every borough looked up when it heard the first blast
and then every dumb action movie was summarily surpassed
and the exodus uptown by foot and motorcar
looked more like war than anything i've seen so far
so far
so far
so fierce and ingenious
a poetic specter so far gone
that every jackass newscaster was struck dumb and stumbling
over "oh my god" and "this is unbelievable"
and on and on and i'll tell you what, while we're at it

you can keep the pentagon
keep the propaganda
keep each and every tv
that's been trying to convince me to participate
in some prep school punk's plan to perpetuate retribution
perpetuate retribution
even as the blue toxic smoke of our lesson in retribution
is still hanging in the air
and there's ash on our shoes
and there's ash in our hair
and there's a fine silt on every mantle
from Hell's Kitchen to Brooklyn
and the streets are full of stories
sudden twists and near misses
and soon every open bar is crammed to the rafters
with tales of narrowly averted disasters
and the whiskey is flowin'
like never before
as all over the country
folks just shake their heads
and pour

so here's a toast to all the folks who live in Palestine
Afghanistan
Iraq
El Salvador

here's a toast to the folks living on the pine ridge reservation
under the stone cold gaze of Mt. Rushmore
here's a toast to all those nurses and doctors
who daily provide women with a choice
who stand down a threat the size of Oklahoma City
just to listen to a young woman's voice

here's a toast to all the folks on death row right now
awaiting the executioner's guillotine
who are shackled there with dread and can only escape into their heads
to find peace in the form of a dream

cuz take away our playstations
and we are a third world nation
under the thumb of some blue blood royal son
who stole the oval office and that phony election
i mean
it don't take a weatherman
to look around and see the weather
Jeb said he'd deliver Florida, folks and boy did he ever

and we hold these truths to be self evident:
#1 George W. Bush is not president
#2 America is not a true democracy
#3 The media is not fooling me

cuz i am a poem heeding hyper-distillation
i've got no room for a lie so verbose
i'm looking out over my whole human family
and i'm raising my glass in a toast

here's to our last drink of fossil fuels
let us vow to get off of this sauce
shoo away the swarms of commuter planes
and find that train ticket we lost
cuz once upon a time the line followed the river
and peeked into all the backyards
and the laundry was waving
the graffiti was teasing us
from brick walls and bridges
we were rolling over ridges
through valleys
under stars
i dream of touring like Duke Ellington
in my own railroad car
i dream of waiting on the tall blonde wooden benches
in a grand station aglow with grace
and then standing out on the platform
and feeling the air on my face

give back the night its distant whistle
give the darkness back its soul
give the big oil companies the finger finally
and relearn how to rock-n-roll
yes, the lessons are all around us and a change is waiting there
so it's time to pick through the rubble, clean the streets
and clear the air
get our government to pull its big dick out
of the sand of someone else's desert
put it back in its pants
and quit the hypocritical chants of
freedom forever

cuz when one lone phone rang
in two thousand and one
at ten after nine
on nine one one
which is the number we all called
when that lone phone rang
right off the wall right off our desk and
down the long hall down the long stairs
in a building so tall
that the whole world turned
just to watch it fall

and while we're at it remember the first time around?
the bomb?
the ryder truck?
the parking garage?
the princess that didn't even feel the pea?
remember joking around in our apartment on avenue D?

can you imagine how many paper coffee cups would have to change their design
following a fantastical reversal of the New York skyline?!

it was a joke, of course
it was a joke
at the time
and that was just a few years ago
so let the record show
that the FBI was all over that case
that the plot was obvious
and in everybody's face and scoping that scene
religiously
the CIA
or is it KGB?
committing countless crimes against humanity
with this kind of eventuality
as its excuse
for abuse after expensive abuse
and it didn't have a clue
look, another window to see through
way up here
on the 104th floor
look
another key
another door
10% literal
90% metaphor
3000 some poems disguised as people
on an almost too perfect day
should be more than pawns
in some asshole's passion play
so now it's your job
and it's my job
to make it that way
to make sure they didn't die in vain
sshhhhhh....

baby listen
hear the train?

Thursday, September 09, 2004

 

FUH2 !



Yes...That's me giving the finger to the Hummer 2 (H2).

Go to
http://www.fuh2.com
Then click on "submissions"...

This site is dedicated to "flipping the bird" to this gas-guzzling monstrosity (The H2 Salute).

Here's the lowdown (in their words):
The H2 is the ultimate poseur vehicle. It has the chassis of a Chevy Tahoe and a body that looks like the original Hummer; i.e. it's a Chevy Tahoe in disguise.

The H2 is a gas guzzler. Because it has a gross vehicle weight rating over 8500 lbs, the US government does not require it to meet federal fuel efficiency regulations. Hummer isn't even required to publish its fuel economy (owners indicate that they get around 10 mpg for normal use). So while our brothers and sisters are off in the Middle East risking their lives to secure America's fossil fuel future, H2 drivers are pissing away our "spoils of victory" during each trip to the grocery store.

The H2 is a polluter. Based on G.M.'s optimistic claim that it gets13 mpg, an H2 will produce 3.4 metric tons of carbon emissions in a typical year, nearly double that of G.M.'s Chevrolet Malibu sedan.

The H2 is a death machine. You'd better hope that you don't collide with an H2 in your economy car. You can kiss your ass goodbye thanks to the H2's massive weight and raised bumpers. Too bad you couldn't afford an urban assault vehicle of your own. Or could you...?

The H2 is a tax loophole. Under Bush's new tax plan, business owners can deduct the entire cost of their $55,000 H2. If you are in the highest tax bracket, that's a tax savings of nearly $20,000! The government rewards you more savings for buying an H2 than you'd get for buying an electric car.

So, if you see it our way, tell a Hummer owner what you think and show 'em the bird. If you do, send us a picture--we'd love to post it on our site.


I completely agree. This "urban assault vehicle" aggravates the hell out of me.
So, seeing as how we have loads of them in Kuwait, I decided to go out H2 hunting (I submitted these images). They should be posted on their site soon.

I hope that this provides a little "environmental-awareness" and a little humor...

Enjoy!

Monday, September 06, 2004

 

Song of the day...

I just recently purchased the album "Collections" by Tracy Chapman. I highly recommend it.

Right now I am listening to: "Telling Stories"

Such a lovely track...

(lyrics)

There is fiction in the space between
The lines on your page of memories
Write it down but it doesn't mean
You're not just telling stories

There is fiction in the space between
You and reality
You will do and say anything
To make your everyday life
Seem less mundane
There is fiction in the space between
You and me

There's a science fiction in the space between
You and me
A fabrication of a grand scheme
Where I am the scary monster
I eat the city and as I leave the scene
In my spaceship I am laughing
In your remembrance of your bad dream
There's no one but you standing

Leave the pity and the blame
For the ones who do not speak
You write the words to get respect and compassion
And for posterity
You write the words and make believe
There is truth in the space between

There is fiction in the space between
You and everybody
Give us all what we need
Give us one more sad sordid story
But in the fiction of the space between
Sometimes a lie is the best thing
Sometimes a lie is the best thing


Friday, September 03, 2004

 

All Hail Eris!

As I am writing this, I am listening to:
"Sometimes Always" by The Jesus And Mary Chain (JAMC for short) feat. Hope Sandoval (the singer of Mazzy Star).
Such a light-hearted track. Reminds me of my 1st year in college... Oh, the nostalgia...

Anyway, my post today has nothing to do with that.

I shall now discuss the most bizarre piece of literature (if you can call it that) I have ever had the pleasure of reading...

It is called :

"Principia Discordia, Or, How I Found Goddess And What I Did To Her When I Found Her"
(Wherein is Explained Absolutely Everything Worth Knowing About Absolutely Anything)

Yes that is the actual title.

I actually have a copy of it.
But you can read it all online. Go here and click on "read the book"
http://www.principiadiscordia.com


Here's the lowdown:
First of all, this is not a "traditional book" in any way (there are many pages with just images/graphics which seem to all have been compiled haphazardly).

(Here's a brief description from the actual website):

In 1968, virtually nobody had heard of this wonderful book. In 1970, hundreds of people coast to coast were talking about it and asking the identity of the mysterious author, Malaclypse the Younger.
Rumors swept across the continent, from New York to Los Angeles, from Seattle to St. Joe. Malaclypse was actually Alan Watts, one heard.
No, said another legend -- the Principia was actually the work of the Sufi Order.
A third, very intriguing myth held that Malaclypse was a pen-name for Richard M. Nixon, who had allegedly composed the Principia during a few moments of lucidity.
I enjoyed each of these yarns and did my part to help spread them.
I was also careful never to contradict the occasional rumors that I had actually written the whole thing myself during an acid trip.
The legendry, the mystery, the cult grew slowly. By the mid-1970's, thousands of people, some as far off as Hong Kong and Australia, were talking about the Principia, and since the original was out of print by then, xerox copies were beginning to circulate here and there.
--Robert Anton Wilson


I'm trying to get Kuwait on the map... So hustle hustle and start readin' people! (Plus, I'm dying to meet anyone who has read it).

It's creative, hilarious, blasphemous and everything in between.

Note: One must be familiar with Eris--the goddess of discord (google it up if you have no idea what I'm talking about).

Among my favorite quotes:

"Bullshit makes the flowers grow---And that's beautiful".

----------------

1. Catholicism: No meat on Fridays.
2. Hinduism: No meat of beef.
3. Judaism: No meat of pork.
4. Islam: No meat of pork.
5. Discordianism: No hot dog buns.


----------------

There are so many... I could go on and on.

You may not agree on the insanity in this book, but I guarantee you will have a good laugh. (you'll see what I mean once you read it)

Note II: This is NOT a book for the following:
Skeptics
Naysayers
Beardos (bearded fundamentalist weirdos)
The weak of heart
The weak of spleen
People who have no sense of humor

It may very well change your life.
You have been warned...

FNORD!

Wednesday, September 01, 2004

 

Music: My Fuel...My Fire...

"Without music life would be a mistake" --- Friedrich Nietzsche

I couldn't agree more...

Here's a peek inside my head at the moment.

My new favorite cd:
James Lavelle--Global Underground--Romania #026
Damn it’s good.

--------------

Song I was just listening to in the car:
The Closest Thing- by The Juliana Theory
best part is the following line:

"the closest thing to perfect, but the farthest thing from me"

--------------

And here's the "Random song of the day":

iieee - by Tori Amos

Lyrics:

With your E's
and your ease
and I do one more
need a lip gloss boost
in your America

Is it God's?
Is it yours?
sweet saliva

With your E's
and your ease
and I do one more

I know we're dying
and there's no sign of a parachute
we scream in cathedrals
why can't it be beautiful?
why does there gotta be a sacrifice?

Just say yes
you little arsonist
you're so sure you can save
every hair on my chest
just say yes
you little arsonist

With your E's
and your ease
and I do one more

Well I know we're dying
and there's no sign of a parachute
in this chapel little chapel of love
can't we get a little grace
and some elegance?
no we scream in cathedrals
why can't it be beautiful?
why does there gotta be a sacrifice?

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