how serious is it?

about the only thing worse than a bird borne sickness is a bug borne one, i think.

i do really like bugs, though. i realized that just the SOUND OF BUGS descends a lulling hush onto the raucous clamor of this city, consarn it!

halloween promises to be a dicey mess, due to:
a) being sick
b) not getting to see liz as 'gum'
c) sarah working twelve hour days
d) me not having put my toe in the friend pool for quite a while

but i do have a couple costumes in the works.
sunday night should be good because i'm going to queens for a devil's night celebration, at which real life ghost stories will be told and a 'parlor game' will be played. oh, i played a board game there called "arkham horror." if you can admit to have played this game, i will be your instant friend!

*update forthcoming on my continued consideration of warbling female voices, and how they relate to kate bush's strangle-hold on my musical heart. it's an itchy affection i have for her style, one which i fear might have far-reaching affects on my sartorial leanings and activities.
liz might kick me off the blog...
unless i'm "just kidding"

PAN(bread/filler/guy with flute)DEMIC

unfortunately on web browsers other than firefox, all the fancy options that blogger allows for posting seemingly disintegrate into thin air. WTF!!!!!!!!
today i spent lots of time sleeping, and then reading. things read include: 1. harper's november issue's article on phone calls from iraq. prime outrage: our government does not pay for the troops to call home!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2. interview with a professional mourner in harper's 3. most of the george saunder's story
i would like to read the new george saunder's book. i like g.s. alot in fact. i was thinking of being the grandma from sea oak, a story in pastoralia for halloween. other halloween ideas include: gum from the donna tartt novel, the little friend, a russian princess, or a bird with bird flu.
reading list continued: 4. BBC news 5. WHO FAQ on bird flu 6. crudefutures 7. ny times.
i think i have done enough reading to freak myself out for a whole week!
favorite quote from g.s.'s "in persuasion nation":
""just last week, a frazzled overworked new mother rose up against a bottle of red bull that had moved into her home disguised as a giant breast in order to wet nurse her baby,""
apparently some fuckers in the eu (france) were trying to copyright the fragrance of the strawberry. i guess things don't get much better anywhere else either... (this comes as a blow to my euro-fantasy-idealism)

p.s. i am having emotionall withdrawl issues about my computer's absence in my life. this is serious.

myspace prose with merriam webster

live from akron! with denise

*************************

the unctuosity of the gallimaufry of parvenus is an incontrovertible onus- somehow all of them make suitable swanes.

as the minatory corsair pilaged in vain, his diffidence had him speaking with such prolix, the firmament bust.

the broken banns was the bane of dan's existence.

the gustatory girliness of that dumb bitch Harry Buffalo habitue is so, like, fucking jejune.

it's me cathy, i'm so cold

i demand recognition for likening kate bush to axl. with that gutteral decline into ouh yeeeeeaeeaaaehhhhh. wuthering heights on repeat makes me want to start getting familiar with the RenFair circuit. who's with me?!?!?!??!

kate bush = mike oldfield + laurie anderson
kate bush = enya + ninja hagen + (tori amos - my hatred of tori amos)
kate bush = a child choir + twisted sister

shake it off

so i'm really into the new mariah and jay z remix with young jeezy- for one, it really hits a note with my life right now and two, it makes me so happy that jay z hasn't given up his rapping career after all (i was worried with the black album and all). as i have conveyed in the past, mariah will always be engrained in my positive associations.


another sparkling audion gem is kate bush, who i had previously brushed aside as adult contemporary folly. but No. this girl is a genius. in case you haven't heard the song wuthering heights, kate's operatic desperation conveys a whole new definition of the word "passion". yes, kate wrote this song apparently when she was 17. i see this as yet another example of why i have to get off of this couch right now and stop writing this post!!


but, back to kate, this girl kate, she only had one tour that involved 17 costume changes. wow! kate also studied mime, and plays the organ. the song, why should i love you? with prince is almost as good or perhaps better than wuthering heights, definately better than hounds of love And includes an organ!


sometimes kate sounds like axl rose, sometimes prince, sometimes cindy lauper, sometimes a six year old with a stuffy nose. chameleon? chamillionaire?


does anyone else see the similarities between these party dresses? i'm no lord of illusions but.... is that the Same Girl at different parties?

bring bring

so news is just pouring into my brain this week. firstly, the news that my Dad is going to take me to Japan with him in november! i can't really explain the implications of this because it is even more exciting than going to akron (and i know i said i can't really convey how exciting that is). i mean, what's next? Space Travel? i am thinking that this trip is going to be SERIOUS. serious in the way that loosing or gaining a Limb might be serious. i have been learning some things to say in japanese, which is rekindling my desire to learn Lots of Languages. i am also relearning this technique called "Expanding My Conceptions of the World Around Me" that i had temporarily forgotten in this new york induced Retardation. temporary daydream fantasy of the moment: listening to brazilian favela rap in japan. Woah. slow down there, retard.
um, i don't know what to really say about traveling. i lived outside the united states for a while and i was much happier than Now? going to other places and exposing yourself to foreign environments makes you a better Person? i was more interested in the world around me when it made me feel like i was experiencing something New?
But. this is very exciting news. very exciting.
i wish i had a picture of the type of clothes that my dad wears while traveling (and in general- please note the suspenders in this picture) because it might illustrate to you the utter awkwardness of his experience as a foreigner. an example from budapest: Tan Fishing Vest, warm up pants, hiking boots, robber type stocking cap. an example from amsterdam: Hot Pink Winter Jacket that looks like it belongs to a 12yo girl, high waisted jeans worn with belt, dress shoes. i am interested what awaits me in japan.
i really love my dad though, and this dress style is part of his awesomeness. i am totally looking forward to spending lots of time with my old buddy in this other universe called japan. (this will be the most time i have spent with him since the summer after highschool!!!)
the hellmouth: another thing to note about this week is the riot that broke out in toledo, Ohio, while neo-Nazis were protesting "Black Crime" in a predominately black neighborhood. first of all, why The Fuck was a neo nazi hate group allowed to hold a rally/march escorted by police in this country? second of all, what did they expect? for people to not riot? whatever.

HELL HOUSE

sitting around all day inside is Not Necissarily a Good Thing. for one thing it makes you feel a little Disengaged with the world around you. luckily, This was just what i was looking for. i got lots of Things done. for instance, i learned about flannery oconnor and her farm Andalusia. apparently she was really into peacocks and most birds of other feathers. when i was in prague i went to a garden that had peacocks and Owls in a giant cage. the garden was flanked in walls of concrete made to look like stones with monsters coming out of them. i think they also had peacocks at this castle i went to in scotland when i was a little kid, but those memories are, you know, Fleeting. in Any Case, flannery inspired me to rekindle my desire to leave this godforsaken city in search of greener pastures. luckily, this journey is in my near future, when i get to go to ohio. i was notified today that upon my arrival to ohio, we will go to the Hell House- a Farm! now, the hell house is historically inhabited by christians Pretending to be from Hell, but this still makes for the grand Farmlife Experience i was looking for.
i also learned about Dandyism and the difference between Camp and Aestheticism. damn those dandys. what's that mr. show episode called? the velveteen touch of a Dandy Fop? apparently i missed david cross this week (please vote: pro-dandy or anti-dandy!) at work, where he purportedly bought a copy Of His Own Show. if that is not a high point of capitalism i don't know what is. i mean what does it mean to "own" mr. show? i don't know!
sorry to cut things short, but this post is old, so i should just post it!

brighton beach october first

kvass! babka! kishkes! okroshka! shchi! pirozhki! kefir!
(not pictured)

farmers do it in the dirt

here's some pictures from the germantown farm i was talking about before...

will!

pig parts to wheel into the wilderness for creatures of prey.

brandy on drums up in the hay loft.

so

i just figured out how to make gifs. fun.
please stay around for more gifs from me. alex says she is going to make gifs "too" ("they'll be a horse of a different color").

woah.

buenos noches pajaros!

so, i really want to paint on my walls and whenever i tell this to people they wince and look at me like i am crazy. um, i do know how to paint. is it that wierd of an idea?
i am babysitting right now and the guy i work for was asking for a portfolio. do i give it to him? does he want to make me a corporate graphic artist just like him? (has anyone else really looked at the creepy corporate hipster arts mag thats going around town glorifying capitalism as a way to freelance and survive in this world?) will he try to pass me off to some advertising firm? i figure if i give a portfolio of my most crucial work (crucial in the "slang" sense of the word), then it will be up to them to decide. but, i mean, what are you supposed to put in a portfolio if you only want to work the way you like to work? when you submit writing samples, are they supposed to be objective and politically mild? i mean, when i was applying for "real" jobs, my writing samples were all about what's wrong with the united states and how capitalism is ru(i)nning our lives. was that the wrong thing to put in a writing sample if that's what i like to write about?
i guess i should just put stuff out there.
soon. but when!?
aparently george bush wasn't being literal when he said that god told him to do things. i don't know what he's talking about. i mean, is there a fucking devil or isn't there? i was trying to talk to alex about this the other day- you know, the fucking guy with the horns. yeah, you know who i'm talking about. and he's talking about god- the guy UPSTAIRS? yeah. upstairs in heaven. didn't you all see that movie about the guy who was on that show but didn't know it? i didn't, but i know what it's about. you see the sky? that's not really sky. it's just a ceiling. and god? he's up there. because george bush is one of those mutant reptile aliens underneath his "human" skin, he knows secrets, like the ones that god knows.
personally, i think it's absolutely charming when people like george bush or colin powell or donald rumsfeld flat out deny things that were said previously in recorded media, but i guess that's just my taste in men.
whatever. i'm going to paint my fucking walls.

upperstated

farming is great right now! i just got back this afternoon. got there tuesday morning with four friends and there was a giant dead pig waiting! well, the pig was in parts. in the living room we have your normal table full of PIG FAT, waiting to be made into soap (i myself won't wash with PIG FAT, but i guess it's cool and all). the whole house smelled like PIG FAT once the soap started boiling in the kitchen. first day we all cleaned out the giant barn out back because they're going to have a show there in a couple weeks. i swept the shit out of that barn, cause its so fun to sweep when the floor is really dirty, but i swept so much pulverized ancient bird shit powder i almost had respiratory failure.

then the next day me and bobby cleared out all these felled apple trees from the overgrown orchard, for burning once it gets colder. that was hard work and i got covered with scratches. i've never really wielded a machete before and it was really awesome to clear away all the raspberry bushes and stuff with it. that thing is no joke, though! you can take off a toe real easy, or brain your friend something fierce. that tired us out good, and food tastes so good after work in the sun amongst the trees. we ate so many greens from the garden that our bellies were swolled out. then we drank the juice we boiled them in! green monster!!!

oh i forgot to say the first night we cooked a really awesome dinner when there were more people, and i got a special cardamom/orange birthday cake with flowers. cardamom and corriander are my favorite spices and i think i'm gonna get heavy into them again.

so we were stuffed with leaves and raspberries and goat cheese and tahini and i thought i was gonna topple over. colin, the awesome guy who's brother bought the farm after he graduated from bard, put on 'wild strawberries' and we watched it with hot cocoa. then we said goodnite as he was washing the liver and heart of the pig, which were beautiful and frighteningly vibrant and crucial. fuck it, i totally wanna live like that all the time.

i know this is too rambling and sincere, but that's what's going on! i'll post some pictures of the dinner/ PIG FAT when liz gets home and reteaches me to work that infernal camera contraption.

photo essay

so i spent some time with the magicians this week, and they let me see some of their secret eclipse spells becuase that was what was on this week's schedule. remarkably, they seem to maintain an antiquaited aesthetic in such a highly technological age. but magicians don't need that shit.
unfortunately, these pictures don't really illustrate the aspects of time/space travel that i was able to witness during my aprenticeship, but i hope to soon find proper techniques for archiving.
also unfortunately, i realize that i have missed this year's robodock festival. this is the best party that probably happens in the whole world, with *serious* anamatronic agents at work.
anyways, this is all tangential to the true purpose of this post.
thanks guys!

convince me this is the way

so i can tell that i need to work less/leave this city, when all i want to do in my post is complain about the stupid people i have to deal with all day. luckily i can hide in my closet (read room) with r kelly and try to forget that this is my life. i mean, how am i supposed to approach these people when they open the door to my closet? should i pull out my baretta or just pray that they leave me alone? should i tell them they don't have to go no further? unfortunately, i have not dedicated enough time this evening to really aleviating this problem through a thoroughly altered state, but i think my recent bout with food poisoning has left my reflexes at odds with my desires.


most exciting news of today though, is that i get go on ~~~v.a.c.a.t.i.o.n.~~~ to ohio, home of 1. friends 2. my stuff 3. unique thrift stores 4. my midwestern nostalgia. i really can't explain just how excited i am about going to ohio, but to give a little hint, i have carefully planned most aspects of my month around it. for instance, should i watch any cable tv? absolutely not, not until i watch it in OHIO. should i let my heart surge with a glimpse of fall light? no way! save that for ohio.


another good thing that happened this week: stvee vee donated some much needed audiosticious insight that he had saved up all in his hard drive to bring to my underprivileged computer. my computer was a little embarrassed at the initial proposition ("come on, you can take it from the man..." "but..." "just take it ok?")


at this point i need to address to picture above, because it has been in the back of my mind this whole time. ok, so, the python hated the crocodile, so he was like, "well fuck this, i'm gonna eat you, motherfucker," and then the crocodile was like, "fuck you, you fuckfaced python, my spikey, rigid tale is going to rip your ass in half when you try to eat me, motherfucker". in the end, i guess they both won, but the croc gets my respect for not being such a grubber. if only these fuckers could learn to cooperate like these nice girls making braids, they might be able to work things out.
well,


i'm ready - kano
dub love - master c & j
tres tenores - funky do morro
baile funk two - m.i.a./diplo
here i am baby - al green
trapped in the closet pt.1 - r kelly
baby it's you - the shirelles
trapped in the closet pt.2
lovers and friends - og ron c
you are my sunshine - the free design
galang - m.i.a./diplo
kill somebody - b-legit
somebody gotta die tonght - cam'ron
track 2 - diplo live in montreal
take away - missy elliot
my brother woody - the free design
rockin it - fearless four