Have a happy tomorrow forever

Just wanted to send a quick shoutout (isn't that what the kids say?) to Andrew!
Hope you have a painless move and a fruitful and fruity life in San Francisco!



Thanks to Bill and Derek for the pics!
(Why is my mouth always open in pictures? Oh yeah, for penises to go in!)

Tonight, tonight

Just a quick reminder that Scott Heim will be reading from his new novel We Disappear tonight at the Elliot Bay Book Company at 7:30pm.

Keith, maybe Risa, and I will be there. Would love to see you there. We'll be having cocktails and burgers beforehand at McCormick and Schmicks on First Avenue.

Hiatus

Today sucks.

Monday is Tennille's birthday. Be sure to drink green beer in her honor.

I'm taking some downtime. A week. Maybe two.

Review of Skull and Bones (finally) coming upon my return.

Pics from Scott's book tour, I'm sure.

In the meantime, download OKDJ12a

I call it 12a because I just beat matched. I was going to mix some, but it ended up on my device for listening purposes. Then the lazies got a hold of me.

Its a great workout mix. Really banging. Got a breather toward the end before the final stretch.

Um, can't remember all the tracks off the top of my head, but I know the following are on it, maybe in this order, but probably not:

Robin - Be Mine (Dusty Kid mix)

Circulate - Rex the Dog

Chicken Lips

Some amazingly sick Drama Society remix of a Tiefschwarz track

Alex Under

The Black Dog

Metro Area feat. Erland Oye

Armand van Helden - I Want Your Soul (TV Rock remix)

Francois K - The Road of Life

Obviously, there's some more, but I don't have the track list in front of me. I think I've been needing the big room sound to compensate for my lack of leaving the house. Fortunately, some of those urges will be quelled in late April and early May.

See you guys when I get back.

No one ever says, "I want to be a robot when I grow up"

Well, maybe some people do

Quick Politics

Hey, look! Its a regular old person who's had thoughts so very similar to mine.
[Article]

Dear Rental Market,

I've followed you around enough to know that this year and well into the next, you can expect your vacancies to grow and your prices to drop.

Our sluggish economy is partly to thank. So is all that new construction. I'm also guessing that a lot of those people who signed on for a condo in a recently converted apartment building are getting mad that all the other condos are vacant and for rent.

So its a renter's market. Please, don't tell me differently, I read Craigslist everyday.

So since things are in my favor and a certain guy and myself will most likely be looking for a place in the not-too-distant future, let's lay some ground rules.

First of all, anything north of 100th cannot be more than $1/sqft.

I'm talking to you, Galleria near North Seattle Community College. I don't care what your amenities are--no amount of amenities is going to justify living that close to Aurora, Northgate, and I-5. Sure, you're just $100 bucks above my standard, but that's $1200/year, and you clearly are not worth it.

Any sort of home that has been converted into a du/tri/quadplex--your rent should be 33% lower than your competition. The home is obviously old. The other tenants, no matter how congenial, will invariably be loud--whether they are clomping above you, getting it on next to you, or showering beneath you.

This place has been listed for well over two months and the price keeps dropping. Based on its location and the fact that its a quadplex, I expect to see its price drop to around $925/mo before it gets some renters, but they could even hold out til $875 or so. The original asking price for it? $1125--haha!!!

Anything in West Seattle, unless on Alki beach, should be roughly $200 cheaper than its city counterpart. Crossing that bridge sucks, and every West Seattle resident knows it.

Lake City is not hip. If someone has to live in Lake City, they should be paying next to nothing, and getting a ton--exercise room, pool, additional storage, free internet, and incentives to move in.

Westlake is not better than Eastlake, so reign in those prices. Places like the Neptune think that just because they are new and offer a rooftop garden, cardio center and media room, they can charge top dollar. Compare those prices with a place like Illumina which is just a stone's throw across the water--and closer to Whole Foods I might add. Which prices look good to you?

So, all that being said, most of all, I want a place that I can call home for a few years--until Phil finishes school and gets a job he enjoys and we can afford to spend ridiculous amounts of money on a mortgage.

So if for some reason you see a place, preferably in the Crown Hill, Whittier Heights, Ballard, Phinney Ridge, Fremont, Wallingford, Greenlake, Greenwood area, that's around say $975 let me know, m'kay?

And it might be nice if that place allows dogs.

I love you more each day,

Tim Gunn! (And you, too, baby!)

But HOLY FREAKING CRAP! I've always been enamoured of Mr. Gunn, but this video clip has to be like the cutest thing I've seen in a while!

I love at the end when Heidi is relentlessly tickling Tim and he's giggling like a school girl!!!!!

(And the walk off is good, too.)

Stuff and other stuff

Ok, its time for one of those catchall posts--

First off, if you didn't notice, the countdown timer on the right sidebar now says, "In Stores Now" for Scott Heim's trippy, dark family affair We Disappear.
I got my copy just over a week ago. I've been reading it on the bus on the way to work. If you know me, you know that it takes just the right author or just the right mood to compel me to pick up a book. I enjoyed the opening of the book, but now I'm in the meat of it--just started chapter 5--and I find myself putting it down occasionally and just processing.
The basic story is a guy goes home to visit his mother with cancer. She has a preoccupation/obsession with missing children, and he has a meth addiction.
What the story is about for me, so far, is how we can hold up pictures of ourselves as children and try to write the story of how we have become who we have become. And the part of that that is hard is that the child has disappeared and the people who remember the child remember him differently or want to keep him as their own. The whole time these ideas are being addressed, they're couched in sort of paranoid meth addicts' fever dream, and also in the dementia brought on by treatment for cancer.
As dark as I'm making it seem, though, it is not without humility and humor. For example, one passage has the narrator describing vapor trails across the Kansas sky and how they change from white to pink to red with the setting sun. The description becomes more and more lavish until the trails are the claw marks of an angel trying to escape heaven. Then, a couple paragraphs later, he makes fun of his outlandish descriptors for a tomato--and inevitably comes back to just referring to it as a tomato.
So, I'm not done with the book yet, but I wanted to remind you to go out and get your copy today. Scott will be reading at the Elliot Bay Book Company on March 20th.

He just started his tour--check to see if he'll be reading near you!
He has also graciously agreed to answer a couple questions from me for this ol' site! Yippie!

Also, I wanted to point you to a new weekly at Havana. TJ Gorton aka American Athlete has a new weekly there. It should be tons of fun. Its disco based and the name of it is "Studio".
Click the picture for more info.

Last night was the innaugural night and I would have let you know about it sooner, but I've been slacking in my blog duties.
If you're not familiar with Havana--its up on the hill. Kiki has a Thursday night there that is quite a bit of fun. The place can be too self-conscious and the layout isn't that great, but a good time can be had.


Speaking of music-y stuff, local act The Fascination Movement, half of whom I read regularly at Red Room NW, recently signed to Aube records and put out their first release which features vocals from one of my all time favorites, Marc Almond. The release actually came out a while ago, but like I said, I've been slacking in my blog reading lately. Anyway, great track. Dig the Peter Hook-y bassline and, of course, those vocals.

Oh, and Matt bought me a ticket to Sasha and Digweed! (Thanks, Matt!) April 22nd at the Showbox SoDo (aka best soundsystem in town)

And I'm caving and buying a ticket for Ellen Allien and Sascha Funke. May 1st @ Chop Suey for Broken Disco

Super

More reasons why Obama scares me:

Hagle.

NAFTA.

Race baiting the superdelegates.

Farrakhan.

Oh, and his poor judgement and his inability/unwillingness to use his positions of power to affect change.

Don't get me wrong, Hillary scares me, too. But I don't see her straddling the center trying to make everyone happy--and in doing so, using racism, homophobia and anti-semitism in her campaign.

Decisions

I'm torn.
Do I go with the bracers that have +7 Mp5 and a socket or the bracers with Spell Crit and more stamina?
Either way, I'm still the baddest ass paladin in the guild.

Past time

When I heard about the death of Lawrence King, I thought that everybody had heard about it; yet, when I spoke to someone about a shooting at a school, they immediately thought I was talking about NIU.
In case you weren't aware of this tragedy, he's a six minute piece from the first mainstream source to really address what happened.

Hits keep on comin'

Preach on sister

And seriously, don't you want four years of Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton as opposed to four years of Fred Armisen as Barack Obama?

However, I do like how prObamans are railing against Armisen and calling his impersonation unfunny, etc. He had the facial tics down and his continual looking down on Hillary was spot-on. Who cares if when he opens his mouth he blows the impersonation? (Slow down more, wait for applause more.) The words he was given to speak were actually pretty funny--and if I find a clip of that, I'll put it up, too.

Stop by on your way home

Thank gawd for blawgs.



Jason alerted me to the Great Performances showing of my second favorite musical, "Company."



I've posted about the show and this production in particular.

Apparently the show aired tonight and I totally missed it.



That's ok, though, because its coming back on Friday at 2 in the morning.



Guess what you get to watch this weekend, honey?

Biscuits, gravy, and cruising

The newest cruisey spot in my neighborhood on Saturday afternoons is clearly the Original Pancake House.

Go for the carbs, stay for the eye candy.

Seriously, I thought I was the requisite homo up on Crown Hill. Earl and Bucko get Ballard, I'm just north of 85th, so I'm Crown Hill. Turns out there's lots of 'mos amblin' around Crown Hill. At least six, not including servers, were making eyes at Phil, Matt, Bird, and myself on their way to the bathroom. Matt and Bird were straight-ly oblivious, but I had to put arm around my man's shoulder to mark my territory.

So back to politics because that stuff is always on my mind.

My mother, who would have voted for John Edwards for President, is backing John McCain--but only if Barack Obama runs. If the vote comes to Clinton and McCain, my mother will skip her first election in a very long time.

My mother is one of those women who holds Hillary up and pastes stories onto her as she sees fit or as suit her political needs. She is worried, she says, about just who Hillary has for advisors and who she would choose to fill her cabinet.

Then I asked my mom the tough questions--can you name the positions in the presidents' cabinet and who currently fills them?

Silence.

Well, she has faith in her president, and that is what really matters.



My mother and faith. If wonder if she recognizes how restricted and small her life has become because of her faith.

Faith in the president.

Faith in the south beach diet.

Faith in Jesus.

Now, back to my complete disillusionment with the DNC. Change is just sloganeering and Clinton is just beaten down.

Sara Whitman over at the Huffington Post puts it best.

The message of hate is getting through to our kids, loud and clear. It's okay to
kill someone who freaks you out because they don't fit a gender role to your
liking.
That is, if they haven't killed themselves.
Ten years old and
full of so much shame he hung himself. Is anyone listening?
In my LGBT
community, we argue about who is more pro LGBT rights, Obama or Clinton.
It's been days since Lawrence King was shot dead. Neither candidate has
issued a statement or said a word. The national media has done a complete pass
on the story.
Both candidates make me sick. Don't worry. I get the message,
loud and clear.
Just one more dead faggot.

American politics while I am alive will always be about straight men.

Actionable

So I was lambasted by some people I know and love for my views regarding a certain junior senator and his actoins. They called my words a character attack (just for saying that he hates the environment). Which is fine, really. My views are mine and just because I don't buy into the audacity of hope, I am pariah among my contemporaries. And if sloganeering and posturing gets people who would otherwise never be involved in politics to show up to a caucus, then truly we are witnessing a great rebirth of democracy.

Now, back to that guy. The one who shakes your hand and takes your money, but won't be seen in a picture with you. The one who defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The one who hires anti-gay bigots to rile the religious south, but takes huge payouts from gay constituents. Yeah, back to him.

How's his voting record?

Thanks, Adam.

By the by, just finished an amazing one-two punch at social conservatives:

American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America

and

Conservatives Without Conscience

Both are highly recommended.

My (non-pornographic) dvd collection, not including televsion shows

91 titles

From All that Heaven Allows to A Zed and Two Naughts
Keep the River on Your Right, Last House on the Left
Blue Sunshine, Sunshine
Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, INLAND EMPIRE
Videodrome, Eastern Promises
The Royal Tennenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
CQ, Lost in Translation
Disco Godfather, Disco - Spinning the Story
Dottie Gets Spanked, Velvet Goldmine

Most Pretentious:
tie - The Collected Short Films of Maya Deren, The Collected Short Films of Jan Svankmejer

Least Pretentious:
Dragon Wars

Commentary:
There are many holes in my dvd collection, including many of my favorite films. I own a lot of movies I have only seen once. I have purchased many mediocre movies but find myself purchasing less now that I can send movies to my Tivo from Amazon.

We Disappear On Tour

Scott Heim will be touring for his newest novel We Disappear.
He'll be reading at the Elliot Bay Book Store on Thursday, March 20th at 7:30PM.

Here's a list of tour dates on his Facebook page.

And here's a little promotional video that his publishers helped him make.

Take your feel-goodery and shove it

So, I don't know if I've made it clear on here, but I don't like Barack Obama.

I don't like how he continually distances himself from the gay community, then tries to make it up by mentioning us on MLK Jr. Day. Plus, one of his spokesman is an anti-gay bigot. Way to pick 'em Barack!

I don't like that he is socially conservative.

His dust-up with my future ex-husband Gavin Newsom shows me exactly the type of politics he's playing--the kind that says, "I'll take your money, I just don't respect you."

And he's taking a lot of the gays' money.

Then, he hates the environment. I know, what you're thinking, he got a 97% positive review from some environmental agency that I can't source right now. Big whoop! His dedication to liquified coal is diametrically opposed to his energy plan. (But secretly what its really about is big business and if you didn't know it, Obama loves getting in on that noiz.)

And speaking of his energy plan. What a joke! Does he even have people who look at budgets construct his plans? There is no way Mr. Obama plans on balancing the budget. Four more years! (Of fiscal irresponsibility.)

So now we get to the real-deal, deal-breakers for me.

His health care plan is the sux. National Health Insurance Exchange? That idea is so awesome! It works so well in Massachusetts. That's why babies don't die in Boston, because everyone is insured. And I'd just like to bring up budget again--where the crap is he getting all this money? If Barack is actually able to accomplish what he says he can, we are looking at a future falling deeper and deeper into debt.

Now, let's talk war. Bring the troops home immediately, one or two brigades at a time. Super. Force a new constitution. Fine. Words, words. If he is as persuasive as he was with his arguments against the war, then Iraq will never have a new constitution. Hey, at least our troops will be home.

Now, seriously, go to the two sites.

Read what each has to say.

Tell me which one just sounds like pipe dreams and wishful thinking and which one sounds like they actually have a tangible plan.

Bonaroo '08

Reasons to go . . .
Uh . . .
Nope,
Huh-uh,
No,
Gross,
As-if,

Ok, maybe Brian Posehn.