Spy Magazine informed my late youth in re: the Cheato
Back in high school and briefly thereafter, I was fascinated by the snarky coverage of our grifter-in-chief by a sardonic and bitchy NYC publication. Behold…
Ride that sexy pony...
I've been waiting for over 30 years to see Shudder to Think live. I finally got to see them, twice in one day. They played a great fest-set at Riot Fest’s 20th Anniversary as well as a late show at The Cobra Lounge. I'm hoping to see them at the Black Cat in DC if the terrible government can go back to work. I also have tickets for the SF show in November.
A column from many years ago…
This is from an old column that I had in the wonderful Anderson Valley Advertiser. I’m not sure if tit works for non-subscribers…let’s see…
We are the new Beat Generation
Let’s start with this remarkable discussion between Studs Terkel, Allen Ginsberg, and William S Burroughs.
I feel like this is very much predicitng the current discussion that Bernie Sanders is leading about a shift from consideration of the left vs the right to the top vs the bottom of our current culture.
The Redwood Bar is red hot - aka The Return of The Wreckin’ Ball…
It’s no secret (aka nobody cares) that my favorite bar in Los Angeles has been the Redwood Bar x Grill for quite some time. It’s a frequently friendly pirate ship sitch near a crappy walk of a tunnel and not so far from the Disney whatever theater. It’s smallish, but the kitchen is usually open. Anyway, they are loading all of their live sets onto StupeTube and I can’t get enough. I mean, seriously. I was in LA last weekend and didn’t even hit the bar since I can see all of the bands from my place in Cap City Califas.
Remind me to tell you about the time (probably around 2014) that Craig Robinson ate two back to back dinners next to me at the bar.
Ask me about the Mythological Horses skandoo that we experienced when the wife was with me and, uh…reached out.
Back to the point. New Zealand’s Sisters Doll just did a great schlocky job and invited folks to the guest list at the Viper Room for tomorrow night! Tell them that Dirty Dan sent ya! Honestly, they played this little bar and grill like it was The Roxy. Good on ‘em! I need to start working out. These dudes are ripped!
Other recent sets that I enjoyed include Righteous Babe artist Kristen Ford and the Assembly. Her bass player is a cool IG follow also. You’ll need to watch it to figure that one out for yourself.
Don’t miss classic legends such as The Knitters! Mike Watt (We’ve been separated for far too long)!
Another semester down…
I’ll assume you do not know. I am currently enrolled in a local law school and am 3/4 of the way toward obtaining my Master of Science - Law degree. The MSL degree will not make me a lawyer. I do not wish to practice law. I am in my 50s. I need a bit more authority to establish the seriousness of my commitment to the compliance work and various other pursuits that I find meaningful. It appears that an MSL does make this impression. Additionally, the return to school has modernized my skillset.
One interesting aspect of being a student at an advanced age is the new twist on procrastination. While I once may have neglected my duties by “dropping out,” I now find solace and comfort in studying programming languages such as Haskell and/or Plutus. I work on programming drum patterns in MIDI. I read and interpret Tarot. Cleaning, however, is not a distraction that I have found helpful. I am relieved of class obligations for the next few weeks and hope to spend time with my family, compile an app on the Cardano blockchain, publish a saleable country song, and maybe read a book.
All the while, I’m committed to performing at my salaryman job. At this point, others are so underperforming as to make it pretty perfunctory. I’m starting to think that some folks Dont Wanna C Me Rich.
Sun, Moon, and Rising Signs
I’ve always considered myself a Libra. It’s my Sun sign, and I’m on the last day before Scorpio. In the cuspy sense, I imagined that I was all for balance until I was out of balance, at which time it was likely stingers all around. In the post-Covid era, I was subjected to a terrible co-worker. Their awful ways caused me to do a lot of introspection, and I returned to Tarot and I-Ching for daily guidance to keep my head somewhat level while feeling attacked.
As you may or may not know, tarot has planetary assignments, and these frequently utilize an astrological shorthand to group influences for consideration. In a nutshell, I wanted to see if any YouTube tarot people had anything interesting to add to my daily mix. I discovered a lot of comedy. I found a lot of paranoia. I came across a lot that seemed dating-related. I weeded through a lot of folks without much usefulness. I mean, duh…it’s tarot and astrology. One should expect to find a land of hacks and fools.
But, I have enjoyed Paul over at Dove and Serpent Tarot. Over the past few years, he has tinkered with his delivery schedule in minor ways, but he is prolific. I found myself cross-watching the signs of others in my life to see if, in retrospect, there had been any helpful signs that may have helped me to avoid impending and avoidable circumstances. One surprising thing I learned was that my Moon and Rising signs are both Leo. I had never related to these aspects. It was a fresh set of readings to cross-watch to test Paul’s “Hm, he sorta nailed it” quotient. Well, people…I’ve got to say that this guy nails it frequently.
Willow, weep for me
it was said that coyote came upon the willow and asked why it always stood in the creek shaking so. it just makes me feel good, replied willow. coyote jumped into the water to give it a try, the water rose up and washed him away and he was dead. blue jay reanimated him, but that’s neither here nor there.
"Digging for roots in the warm springtime gave a feeling of being part of the beautiful natural world. It was healthful and invigorating, while the delightful hours passed until it was time to pause and have a good bellyfilling picnic lunch of acorn meal mush, roots, tubers, and maybe a cooked rabbit or [musk]rat. All about, the birds were singing, and many interesting animals and insects could be watched, especially by children, who helped their mothers until they got tired." -- Elsie Allen, 1972