Hi. I used to use this blog a lot more than i do now. I don't agree with much of what i've posted here, but such is the nature of time. :) My instagram & facebook are likely to be more up to date.
Yesterday in Madrid 500,000 people took to the streets in protest. Here is a video of a full orchestra playing Betthoven's "Ode to Joy" live at the protest. The chants they say at the end translate to "These are our weapons! These are our weapons!" Un. Real. :)
I made a (mostly) moombahton mix. What's moombahton? It's hot summer music to me, and i had a blast putting this together. It allowed me to get a few of my old favorite tracks in the 111bpm range on a mix along with some hype new tunes. The mix, "Minibahton", is dedicated to John Reinhold
32 tracks in 36:45 mixed in Ableton with a Vestax VCI-100
So a friend of mine, Janus sunaJ (who happens to be quite a scholar of mysticism, particularly gnosticism & hermeticism), asked me to make him a mix of "armenian, sufi qawalli, persian, malian, balkan & morrocan music". i've been tinkering on it this past week and of course added in some other cultures... some tuvan, romani, indian, andalusian, egyptian, kenyan, japanese, native american, etc...
it's become a sprawling 5+ hour mix of beautiful music from around the globe, loosely based around a concept of an initiatory meditation journey. i had quite a lot of fun with it. i hope you enjoy listening as much as i did. each "disc" is approx 75 minutes long. i recommend downloading all 4 and listening to them in order (accompanied by your favorite person & favorite sacrament!)
Michael's Meditation Musicspt. 1 "the surface is scratched"
✓ huun huur tu - prayer
✓ unknown west africa - Karamako
✓ Armand Amar - Song of the Red Dervish
✓ unknown sufi - Ferahfeza
✓ Istambul Oriental Ensemble - Basbasa
✓ Talvin Singh Taksim - Master Musicians Of Jajouka
✓ Sheik Yasin Al Tuhami - Qalbi Yuhaddithuni
✓ Claude Chalhoub - kaa
✓ Nass el Ghiwan - El Gasba
✓ Debashish Bhattacharya - Sufi Bhakti
✓ Shivkumar Sharma & Zakir Hussain - Raga Kedar, Gat In Ektaal
✓ Madjid Khaladj - Dayre
✓ La Notte - unknown
✓ Zakir Hussain - Where deserts meet
✓ Musafir - Moria Badnawa
✓ unknown african - Anklung
✓ Boubacar Diagne - Laye Laye
✓ unknown south african - Domba
✓ unknown sumerian - Hurrian Hymns, 19 And 23
✓ Hideaki Kuribayashi - Shouhin 1
i kind of can't get enough of juke. i'm playing a lot of other music right now, but what i want to listen to is juke.
i've been mining this stuff for a while and it's amazing... particularly the footworking stuff (the more abstract sub-laden tunes for the dancers more than the run-of-the-mill booty house tunes). it can be abrasive at times, but having seen it go down live i love the energy and i think the style is worth trying to appreciate... it could be compared to bmore club stuff, and has isn't that far off the more hyper dubstep tunes... but it's nearly 20 years old... and has a whole culture of dancing.
o.k. so... some links...
if you know nothing about juke watch this first... this track like many juke tracks features a short vocal sample cut and pasted into a main instrument sound (in this case, bob marley...)
dj rupture wrote a short post on juke, but more importantly upped THIS.
also... i packed up a few mp3s i found... mostly weirder footwork tracks... & not the straight juke stuff. the tunes are:
DJ NATE - "back up kid", "my heart" & "3peat" DJ RASHAD - "teknitian" & "In Da Club Before Eleven O' Clock" DJ ELMOE - "Where yo ghost at, Where yo dead man" & a bonus Kill Frenzy remix that appeared on Kingdom's mix for low end spasm that has some juke vibes to it.
local rock hoodlums, the hood gang, have a new song and video out. well done folks! i'm a tad late on posting it, but it was in honor of the year anniversary of the king of pop's death...
they're a real blast... definitely one of the highest energy shows you will ever attend. Sneaky Mike, their front-man is a party animal and spiritual force. also, my buddy miguel plays sick aux. latin percussion with them. he has a few projects of his own that are worth hearing too... anyway, the hood gang gets mad props from this (usually) non pop/rock fan...
it's been a while since i posted any hot music. pardon that. life, and all... here's all the tracks below .zipped up on mediafire... but read! learn! click! (and when you can, find these artists and get them some money...)
first off, the best track of 2009 for me was undoubtedly James Blake's "Air & Lack Thereof". i'd think the tune had been hyped enough, but both DJ Ripley & DJ/rupture were unaware of it, so clearly it needs more props... besides having an excellent title, the tune is massive. and beautiful. and abstract. and melodic. and poised. it has great negative space, indecipherable voices and unbelievable humming bass. do it the favor of listening to it on your deepest system... better yet hand it to the deejay at a club with a look that says: "right fucking now".
He's been off in a few more directions, made a hot remix of an untold track (that while annoying at times, is amazing in sets), pop remixes under an alias, a new tinkery solo release that diplo and others have taken notice of, and an e.p. with airhead that contains this far out gem:
For me, the producer of the year for 2009 was Eskmo (Shackleton for 2nd place? 2562 for 3rd?) Watery, squishy bass, trudging along with humor, power & a sense of play. I've had a lot of fun going back into his early catalogue, with techy tracks like "process" & "willow grail" and the pots and pans freakout of "san fransisco: the rhythm". Late in 2009 he dropped this next tune, which combines a lot of these elements with a touch of his occasionally ascendant sonic drama. Wait for the late drop when the music box has been wound enough to spring:
I don't have a ton to say about this next tune other than it has mined the vein that rustie opened up to new levels of 8 bit deviance. the tune "goulash" from the same e.p. is probably the better tune overall, but the opening is so alienating i didn't want to punish anyone with it. De-quantized to the max:
In a somewhat similar vein, though much smoother, is this one-off piece of brilliance from the diverse (and prolific) musical mind of mark pritchard. while pritchard has cranked out funky afrobeat sampling house jams, this 8 bit piece of swagger is a whole different animal. the vocal makes it a detroit booty tune, but luckily the sexual drama it plays out is very equal opportunity and dance-floor-centric. wind your butt! BIG TUNE at my parties...
This next one is the farthest off my normal playlist... at 120 bpm, it's the only tune on this list out of the (holy!) 130-140 bpm range. it's synth filled and a touch cluttered, but it's got a sense of funk and groove that's infectious, walking & somehow restrained. Tune worked great at a recent fashion show i did... Don't know much about Mono/Poly, but i also like their tune "Beatles Bitch". A tad repetitive by the end, maybe, but they're working it slick.
What's left? Monster bass. Another not to insult with your puny laptop speakers, this widdler tune (like almost all widdler tunes) features great sound design, a darkness flecked with tongue-in-cheek mood-lightening moments and cataclysmic sub-bass movement. Another artist I was a touch shocked Ripley & Rupture hadn't encountered. Big producer, in my opinion, just pure dubstep. The second drop in this one is the real prize. Squicky. Icky. Sicky.
All right... last one. This tune has so much going for it... Kuduro-influenced rhythmic structure, bright African guitar samples, Bassline house bottom end, great vocal cut-ups, and a tight, fast-paced phrasing that makes it a banger on every dance-floor. hell, i played this at all three of my last gigs to great effect, including the fancy wedding. Débruit. Get hip. One of my blog-crushes, Wizards are Better, have a nice little primer on the man with a ton more mpfrees...
that's all for now... someday i'll have to post some of the not-dubstep-at-all music i've been listening to, but i know i have to satisfy those bass fiends out there first... yinz get twitchy! I don't know how I'd get through the cravings without torrentech... i'd guess i'd just have to spend a lot more money at boomkat.
Well... so much dancing & fun... DJ Ripley & DJ/rupture both played my monthly D.J. night (awesome, the both of em...), checked out the Tomb Crew with my favorite local deejays, and i've been going nuts on the resurgence of tribal percussion in dance music... but it was seeing a Chicago juke video that reminded me of my promise to Olivia of Zafira Dance Company to write a post about my the influences on my dancing... While i can't do all of these moves, i can do a lot of em, and i try to combine them into a fusion that reacts to the diversity in a great deejay set. note: the music in these videos is somewhat secondary... i picked 'em for the movement primarily...
first, wicked fast juke dancers to set the mood. pure gold.
so the club is packed, you have to move, but how? here's some kuduro dancers, which interest me because they dance at 140+ b.p.m., a tempo range that's very au courant...
the guy at 1:59 in that kuduro video blows my mind... love that walking in place shit... anyway, speaking of kuduro... get some legwork tips from this one... swing those knees!
there is some arm and hand miming in that one, but really no hand and arm work is complete without peeping the master himself, flattop...
here's another with terrible audio, but a bit longer... he's really the best popper/locker/strober i know of... very flexible, too... does some yoga-like stalls...
that movement is really all about isolation... working different sections of your body without moving the others... something any tribal style bellydancer knows all about... Mel here kind of does what i'm talking about... though a bit more fluid obviously than a pop-locker... i've seen her perform with her partner from Kassar some way slower shit than this, which is my real fave.
here's another... it's again similar to (but not as good as) the utter badass slowness one might have seen from the mid 2000s Zafira girls... I'm sure they still rock that style occasionally, though it's been more raucus and balkan from them lately. Note: if you're looking for great bellydance troupes and links, start nowhere but this collection (right at the top are the women of Zafira, our local tribal style geniuses...)
while it's a bit more ass-centric, the dutty wine is another of these isolation-based dances. based in dancehall culture, it's a farily sexualized dance, that non-the less gets some real props in my book from a skill level. humorously, the wiki cautions that "Some doctors have warned against performing the Dutty Wine, claiming it may cause serious muscle trauma, and ligament damage." this white boy is unafraid.
to me this all starts to get combined in liquid dance, or basic rave dancing... before going too deep into the liquid stuff... let's start with a fairly clubby version of breakdance one finds at the better, more cosmopolitan dancing events. I saw this woman at DEMF 2007, and she's still great on youtube.
but yeah... liquid... often made fun of, but pretty fucking cool anyway... it's an adaptation of tai chi, and is all about continuous, fluid movements, often very arm & hand oriented... he's doing tiny bits of "tutting" here, too...
this guy's a bit stiff and isn't moving the rest of his body much, but this is a great example of the basic hand movements of classic rave dancing. i swear this evolved because of the tightly packed dancefloors that don't allow for wild arm movements...
there are two dancers in this next one, and while they incorporate a ton of pop-locking and other breakdance styles, there is a liquidity here that's great... especially the second dancer. don't be fooled by how much of a dork he seems at first... mad skills!
ok... some details. my dancing also contains some small details i think make a big difference... i take a cue from kathakali dancing in terms of face control...
hands: tiny fluttering movements that complete the tighter areas of the body's natural spiral... the belly dance name for it is "lotus hands" i can't find any better examples of this, but she basically does it. I'd like to think my version of this is cooler... a lot more cascading individual finger movement...
fingers: this guy does some finger tutting, which is really fun... i use tiny bits of these actions...
directions: the dancer has a lot of axes to work with... in this clip from james brown's pilot t.v. episode, future shock, this guy at 3:15 is dealing with time in a mostly 90 degree way, but with a ton of moxie and funk...
feet: while we're with james brown, he does some great sliding footwork in this video early on...
feet: of course, there's always michael's footwork...
someone has adapted the moonwalk to the breakdancing style "gliding"...
i do a think where i glide in a circle with my feet basically never leaving first position, but i can't find anyone else doing that. i realize i'll have to step up at some point and upload a video... it will take goading... anyway, interms of other dancingthen there's the stuff that i don't even pretend to incorporate, but i find terribly inspiring... there's the lindy hop:
and of course really bad ass breakdancers... my buddy jubz had some videos of aerialists that youtube has never bested, but here's an amazing windmill compilation i found:
even further there is the not-exactly dance movement that rocks my world, like capoeria:
sometimes the music makes me move slowly, like in tai chi:
and sometimes it's all about spirit... "duende", as flamenco would call it. maybe it takes just being goofy, just being energetic or whatever, but you have to feel it. here are some Rajasthani dancers (who feel it!) from the spectacular film, Latcho Drom:
P.S. (i'm sure i forgot some AWESOME dancing that I love... and some that isn't even my thing but still rules... so feel free to leave some more tips in the comments... i'll update this post if anything is really crucial!)
things are awesome. i've got a new daughter, violet ember gyre. two of my all-time favorite deejays are coming into town soon... i 'm fixing up a 95 year old house on an acre of woods within pittsburgh city limits. replaced nearly all the utilities, removed lead & asbestos hazards can now cook, clean, wash & sleep there... play with the children.
also dojo. carpenoctem. u know who u r.
i'm going to try to use the internet less so i can blog more, so look for more action soon at the event blog & here... i owe the back catalogue of that veiled gazelle retagging... i have tons of mp3s to post, and the sister mix to d.d.d. .pdfs, book reviews, recipes, photos of the house, theory....
in the meantime you can join me on facebook. note: my facebook links feed in here up top...
Mochipet - Get Your Whistle Wet (DJ Sep & Jason Short Dub Mix Feat. Juakali)
Von Magnet - Mostar Angels
madera limpia - la lenta (schlachthofbronx remix)
Tony Allen - Awa Nare (Bonde Do Role remix)
Busy Signal - Da style deh (Douster Dagga remix)
Malente, Dex - Gipsy Kings feat. Analogik
Stereotyp Meets Al-Haca - Nu Styling (feat. DJ Collage)
Com.a - Ghetto Magic
Guns N' Bombs - Riddle Of Steel (Original Mix)
Workidz - Work It (Glitch remix)
DJ Sega - Paper Planes (Philly Club remix)
DJ DEEKLEIN - Dont Smoke Da Reefer (Twocker's Superskunk Re-Rub)
DJ Quest & Eskmo - Speakers Corner
DJ Blaqstarr - Shake It To The Ground (Claude von stroke remix)
Bounce Camp - Big Dancin
Zero DB - Bongos, Bleeps & Basslines
Toadally Krossed Out! - Toads Theme
Dorian Concept - Color Sexist
A-Trak - Say Whoa (Boys Noize remix)
Jack Beats - What (Foamo Edit)
Bok Bok - Nntf09
dj tameil - get silly
DJ tim dolla - We Are Ur Friends
Hot City - Head Work
Akufen - Deck the house (Herbert stops like this mix)
BRACKLES - Sutorîto Faitâ
Gucci Vump - Sha, Shtil!
Wiley - Eyes Of The Lord (Prod. By Nathan Retro)
Horsepower Productions - special 131
2562 - Flashback
Faltydl - Bravery
Illyah & Ltd. Candy - Fight the Formation
it's a fun, summery mix for mid-winter. clean your house. dance out of your clothes. it's 130 b.p.m. but not without bass-weight. one oldie, but mostly instant hipster classics.
also, thanks to the party liberation front podcast / rva magazine for requesting the mix in the first place... sorry it took so long, and it's only pt.1! pt.2 will take it up a notch (10!) to 140 b.p.m...
so i listen to part 1 of an interview with mitch horowitz on the (occasionally goofy or dull) occult of personality podcast (which is also sometimes fascinating). a little while later, i notice mitch horowitz is guestblogging over at boingboing. he has an article up on the occult and hip hop there, which links to a piece on npr, which has an excerpt from his new book, "occult america". the piece on npr discusses the influence of 5-percenters/nation of gods and earths on hip hop artists, as well as how they differ notably from the nation of islam movement. i first delved into 5-percent material through the wu-tang manual, written by rza, but mos def, busta rhymes, rakim & big daddy kane are all affiliated with the 5-percenters. they utilize a system of "supreme mathematics", including the 8th degree, "building", which is definitely a word i hear most around emcees... "let's sit and build for a minute." insha'allah we will! this all makes me want to go back and listen to old mystik journeymen albums to see if i can decipher any occult truths!
but for real, most of the great musicians (or artists or thinkers) ply some sort of spiritual dimension to their music (or art or thought), even when they mock it in the same breath... so the article seemed kind of obvious to me... but notable still for the fact that these idea seem more mainstream, more present in pop consciousness...
saul williams, whose self-titled album is littered with occult reference
Played two great parties this week... my opening night at the brillo box (beautiful!) and the very fun down n derby roller disco at belvedeere's (fun!)... the first was a great night... there had been g20 clashes in the streets all day, so the music leaned a bit radical, while still international and dancey... the second was a great opportunity to play all the house, techno & more funky tunes i came up on. props to vince and crew for a great event with good vibes. i'll def. be back.
Burnt Freidman & the Nu Dub Players - pater noster Burial - Gutted Manitas de plata - Track 05 pandit shivkumar sharma & ustad zakir hussain - Raga Kamod, Gat In Jhaptaal Unknown Japanese (Splendeur du koto) - Piste 6 Dembu - Dagusa Dirarey Ompeh - Effutu Area in 12 Boxcutter - kab 27 Beem - Is This the Future? (feat. Daniel Dermes) Hugh Mundell & Augustus Pablo - Run Revolution A Come Kinski - Badunk Gadunk Mos Def - Revelations Illyah & Ltd. Candy - Fight The Formation Wary - Sallama TONY ALLEN - Asiko tlen-huicani - Track 13 Unknown Indian (4000 years of musical heritage) - Track 23 Nouvelle Vague - Guns Of Brixton Yo Majesty - BUY LOVE Henry & Louis featuring Steve Harper - Rise Up (DJ Pinch Remix) The Spit Brothers - Roll And Tumble (Bakir And Dubsworth's VIP Mix) Danny Breaks & DJ Adlib - The Sound
11:11pm - 12am 1st dance set
Cypress Hill - When The Shit Goes Down DJ Vadim - Your Revolution (feat. Sarah Jones) Major Lazer - Hold The Line (DJ C Remix) Monaster - Pour Toi Julieta con los Nuñez - Viernes Cultural (Dick el Demasiado Sabado Cultural remix) Los Daddys - Cumbia Negra Tifa & Natalie Storm - Talk Of The Town Nicolette - No Government Watcha Clan - Balkan Qoulou Balkan Beat Box - Habibi Min Zaman (Mr. Tune Remix) Michel Cleis - La Mezcla (Original Mix) Madera Limpia - La Lenta (Schlachtofbronx remix) Erick Rincon - Magdalena (Exclusiva Gales) Busy Signal - Da style deh (Douster Dagga remix) M.I.A. - Bamboo Banga Douster - TASSPé dead prez - Warzone (with Pete Rock) Mohommad Reza Mortazavi - Travel Fever ROB - Make It Fast, Make It Slow Fambo - Unknown (creepa riddim) the coup - laugh/love/fuck and drink liquor Afronaut - Hencho En Casa (feat Hector Calderon - Landslide vox mix) Rodrigo y Gabriela - Diablo Rojo Dr Meaker - Bad Boy Calling (Rob Smith's Festive Road Remix) Ekstrak - Mass Dampers Unknown Sufi - Müstear
12am - 1am - Pete Pandemic's set...
1am - 2am 2nd dance set
Mr. Marcus & The Hollow Sisters - unknown (prison jam) Dead Prez & Outlawz - How U Like That King - Dont Taze Me Bro (DTMB) Filastine - Desordenador Borgore - Foes (16bit Fuck Hoes Remix) Clouds - Too Much Digital Mystikz - Anti War Dub Iration Steppas & Dan Man - Too Much War Jahdan Blakkamoore - jahdan_blakkamoore-the_general_(original_mix) damian marley - We're Gonna Make it Schlachthofbronx - Good to go Krazy Baldhead - Revolution (Para One remix) Buraka Som Sistema - New Africas pt. 2 dj tameil - get silly Joker and Ginz - ReUp Meat Katie & D. Ramirez feat Odissi - Stop The Revolution (dubfire mix) Daft Punk - Revolution 909 Dorian Concept - Color Sexist Matthew Dear - it's over now Claude von Stroke - Who's Afraid of Detroit ricardo villalobos - Ichso Ellen Allien & Apparat - Metric Beat Pharmacy feat. mutabaraka - wata Shackleton - Death Is Not Final (Feat. Vengeance Tenfold) Kromestar Vs Hatcha - fuel head Emalkay - My Story The Widdler - Positive_Vibes_(HD4000_Remix) Untold - Discipline Burnt Freidman & the Nu Dub Players - life is worth dying for
Soulphiction - B2.What's Your Name Matthew Herbert - Gang Of Boys Willie Colon & Ruben Blades - Plastico (Bugz in the Attic Remix) dJ food - Break Boxcutter - Cosmic Parent Boxcutter - Mp Post Funk Trus'me - 12:12 Mike Monday - 11 11 (Original Mix) FALSE - Love Letters Isolee - Pillowtalk Bloc Party - Where is Home? (Burial Remix) Burial - Distant Lights El-B Feat. Rolla - Serious (Locked On) Artful Dodger - Movin' Too Fast (New Version) Horsepower Productions - special 131 mj cole - Never Say Never (Duncan Powell mix) akufen - radio shuffle Moodymann - Freeki Mutha F cker Troubleman - Strikehard Richie Hawtin - shufflephunk Patrick Dawes - crispy duck [Akwaaba Rmx] Cooly G - Floating Ark - E-Cone (Akufen Rmx) THE EVASIONS & GARY'S GANG - Wikka Wrap Chuck Love - Funkinwitdasystem - Original Mix Aaron Roberts - Soul It As Funk - Scud Bloom's Velcro Bonus Mix Angie Brown - Movin Up (Stupid Fresh Mix) Kyle Watson - Setup - Original Mix Solid Groove & Sinden - Red Hot Solid Groove & Sinden - Gotta Get Up__Original Mix Armand Van Helden - Illin N Fillin It (Lee Mortimer's Wearhouse Music Remix) Chris Grant - The Jimmy Jam - The Sound Republic's Government Cheese Mix Kenneth Bager - Fragment Seven (Les Fleurs) (Jesse Rose Remix) luke vibert - Disco Bus Luke Vibert - House Stabs Junesex - Who Wants Freedom Isolee - Enrico Felix Da Housecat - What Does it Feel Like (Röyksop dmx) DJ Mujava - Township Funk (Radioclit Remix) DJ T - Funk on You (Original) A Made Up Sound - Sunday mouse on mars - Send Me Shivers mr. oizo - Patrick 122 DJ Kue - Fuk It Up DJ Mehdi - I am somebody (paris version) Diplo - Veni Vidi Vici (Diplo Remix)
11:30pm - 3am - DJ Royale's set...
thanks to negrophonic, dutty artz, ghetto bassquake, masala, mashit, mad decent, palms out, heatwave & mr. jennings for tipping me to some of the tracks i played... keep up the ill curation, folks. props to torrentech for keeping the dubs coming. and of course respect due to all the artists... they make deejaying such a pleasure. If anyone has any trouble finding more information about any of these artist's i'd be happy to help pass along what i know...
the first mix is called "dubstep a to z". it's a simple and quick concept mix... a challenge to my flexibility. each artists name starts with a, b, c, d, etc... in order. certain songs were picked for me because i only had 1 "x" artist and 1 "y" artist... other letters i had limited choices so i had to build the mix based on what worked for what was there. it's a pretty chill dubstep mix... not a lot of pummeling... i wouldn't exactly call it ambient, but it's percussive, textural and skankin'. i'll definitely do more of these if i could find some more "x" and "y" artists!
the second mix is called "pummeled". this mix is short, dirty and VERY heavy. full contact bass-sauce mixed high and noisy... some of the blends are a little sloppy and or adventurous, but i think it fits the style... this mix was an outlet for my interest in more aggressive sounds that are absent from the a-z mix. i tried to capture the essence of a small but dedicated dancefloor of dubstep fiends... sweaty, raucous and LOUD. not for the faint-hearted... especially the end!
13 tracks. 21 minutes.
tracklist is as follows:
kromestar vs. hatcha - "twin towers"
the widdler - "froggy style"
ultrablack - "you need jesus"
guns n' bombs - "riddle of steel" (12th planet & teaLong remix)
max ulis - "soundkilla"
ganja white night - "strawberry cough"
borgore - "guided relaxation dub" (edit)
noah d & babylon system - "examination of time" (VIP mix)
NOTE: none of these mixes contain any of the tracks on "tower of babel" which is my dubstep inspired opus mix... that mix wont progress until i work out some bugs with my ableton setup. but some day! in the meantime i hope you enjoy these mixes, and let me know what you think about them.... and come see me play records!
it's been a long time since the last digest... a lot of current events have passed, scandals, debates, triumphs, miseries... i'm not going to touch on most of them... but only share with you the fragments i collected in the meantime... just things i dragged into the ever-over-flowing folder of "blog ideas" on the bookmark bar... blogging has been a weird fit for my current efforts, and there has been much talk and some action on quitting the internet around me... BUT, i feel the flame hasn't died quite yet... and we'll see where this shrouded deer leads us next.
SEX: i continue to be interested in finding a way to fit sex into this blog. i enjoy it being mostly family friendly... but there's something to the eroticism of brian's blog that helps counterpoint the brutal truths and mystic bliss. apparently obsession with sex goes back some ways. anyway, as erotica goes, mod fetish tends to be more artful and interesting than most, but is mostly just photos of naked women... i guess there's just a big part of me that would rather be naked at burning man... and that's about all the sexual openness i can muster for the moment.
BABYLON, POLITICS : the g20 is in pittsburgh soon, and that fucks with me... mostly because i have some outspoken anarchist youth using my first floor to feed people and have meetings, and cops love to fuck with innocents. grr. obama - he releases some important secrets, blocks other important secrets. i could do a whole post just on how complex my feelings are about obama and the new senate... among the issues are the "two" wars... the cronyism going on that he campaigned against, and the fact that the soldiers are still being told to "hunt people for jesus". (of course the bush era version of this was far weirder... really, really weird.) after 5 years, portugal's drug decriminalization has produced some seriously positive results. did you know that as many people are making their living from blogging as are from being lawyers? old bomb scars. face transplant successful (warning, graphic images) here. old castes in newly revealed maps... constant police brutality. how will the newspapers survive? there's no huffington post without the new york times, so can the grey lady stay alive by being a non-profit? REX84... yuck. and google beware.
HUMOR: stephen colbert in iraq... i had profoundly mixed feelings about the whole thing, partially because apparently conservatives don't realize stephen colbert is joking (seriously!) laura and i were hurting from laughter watching this old snl thing. this may not be funny to some, but a lot of people got weirded out when amazon dropped all of it's search results for gay and lesbian books, but it may have just been one lone hacker making a "point" facial hair contestants. mark twain motivational posters. funny silhouettes. married to the sea.
VIDEO: parkour (first 7 seconds AMAZINGZOMGWTFAWESOMESOX)... free running... speed stacking... psychedelic yoooooouuuutube... and now witness a baby give a fiery sermon. it's not what you say, but how you say it, apparently:
PERSONAL, POINTSOFPROCESS: mixing dirty was named as a tie for mix of the year. I've got a brand new deejay night, which i'm gonna call "The Garden of Earthly Delights". Way more details (and previews of the gorgeous flyers i made) coming. as i've been blogging less, i've mostly been tossing little tidbits on facebook. i post compelling images in an album called "incarnations", and some art in an album called "art i like" Some links that probably aren't here are here on facebook. maybe i'd have more time to blog if i had a monkey babysitter. but seriously... kids are awesome. i love my son... he's such a joy... and we're having another in february. but then that's enough. two will do... i'm travelling now to take him to see his 6 grandparents... which is why i have the leisure to blog. pittsburgh too hot! i-man haffi cool out, up on the mountain top...
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