L9 Tourism is Fuct

What can we say about a country, a people, that doesn't seem to care about average people? Doesn't care about death? Doesn't care about suffering or injustice or accountability? How is it that an area totally and utterly devastated thanks to human ignorance and stupidity can be so far from the hearts and minds of average Americans until some very attractive and famous individuals decide to make it their pet projects?


Are we for real? These two assholes can make everyone pay attention? It's not enough that 1,800 lives were snuffed out? Fucking drowned in their homes? Tried to survive for days/weeks in the rubble of their homes, their city, without medical help because our dumbass president and that asshole Brownie (the "head" of FEMA, who never had a single day of emergency relief experience) waited and pretended they didn't know Katrina would be a big deal? Nonsense.

And now, all of a sudden, tour vans, in the tens per day, more than ever, drive by (which, by the way, is ILLEGAL), taking pictures of the new Make It Right homes (so out of place, looking like country bumpkins lost in the big scary city), while all around them is evidence of a residential graveyard, complete with bare concrete slabs, empty lots, grass higher than a one-story building in some instances. Not to mention our Common Ground house, smack in the middle of the Make It Right installation, which people bypass as if we're not even here. CGR has been on the ground almost since DAY 1, doing the work, and more, that Brad and his money is involved in, sweating, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, until recently living in squalor. Who the fuck is Brad Pitt? People don't care about human suffering unless Brad says so?

Sure, it's important for people to see what's going on and to tell their friends about it and to care. But seriously, L9 TOURISM IS FUCT. The human race is fuct. God damnit.

A Mixed Bag 10/29/08

Never has there been a forum for so much shit and nonsense as exists in the deep recesses of the internet. Clearly, I could devote an entire blog to the topic of random internet videos and probably never air them all. There are, of course, gems within the quarry, little golden nuggets of quality watching that you will show to friends, who will show to their friend, and so on, and so on. Whether they be music videos, hilarious antics, or even just hot chicks pooping into cups (no, I actually haven't seen the whole video...I shut it off after that first glimpse of brownness), some videos must be seen. Thankfully, this blogger will never, and I mean NEVER, tell you to watch cup poopers. No matter how hot the chicks.

Pearl Jam "Evolution"



AMAZING moving art by Blu



Ninja Cat!!



Whitest Kids You Know "Indiana Jones at Rock n' Roll Memorabilia Auction"

TV Picks 10/29/08

As someone who enjoys his share of that nasty T-word (television) I want good things (ratings, critical acclaim, success for all involved in their future projects) to happen to the show. Sure, things like global hunger, the loss of the wetlands, or mercury accumulation in fish may matter more in terms of real importance and long-term quality of life of this planet. Honestly, I worry about those things too. Believe you me, I loose sleep over the second-by-second fleeting nature of the southern Louisiana wetlands. But I also like watching TV. Sue me.

And so, it is fitting that I start this, let's say, bi-weekly "column" of my picks with arguably one of the best shows in television history: The Wire.

Set in urban Baltimore, The Wire is an all-encompassing, engrossingly complex look at everything from politics in city hall to the politics ruling the streets, from learning in the public schools to learning in the drug filled, crime-ridden projects. We travel five seasons through the drug game, the cash-strapped and desperate ports, politics, the public education system, and the media, who see some, report even less, and spin the whole thing in the search for a Pulitzer. All throughout, though, the drugs and the streets are front and center.

You may have heard The Wire mentioned as a show to watch. You may have given it a shot, only to leave frustrated that the dialogue wasn't easier to decode or even that the plot movement was just too slow. Go back. Give it another look. This show contains some of the greatest writing, put to screen by really fantastic actors, actors that, unfortunately, won't have material this good to work with for the rest of their careers. Because they really are quite good. And a lot of actors in The Wire are not that at all: just locals picked out from amongst the streets, the "real" streets, put on camera and given lines to say. Yet another wonderfully unique quality to the show.


Whether Bodie (pictured with McNaulty), Omar, Bubbles, or Daniels, the characters make this show. You find yourself sympathizing and worrying for the safety of drug dealers. Murderers. Crooked union bosses. Thieves. But you care. You ache. You want them to stay alive and out of jail just so they'll continue in their society-corrupting ways and remain on the show.

I've been re-watching all five seasons for a little while now and it's just as good as the first time. Looking for something to do for an hour or so every few days? Watch The Wire. Download torrents of the show for free on many different torrent sites (really really easy to do and FREE) or you could rent/buy it from a store. Your call. Not quite convinced? Watch this scene, the WHOLE scene please, and tell me this isn't the best, smartest show in history:

I Like It Cause I'm White?

As I sit utterly enthralled in the funky break beats flowing through tiny headphones into my ear drums, my body is warm (partially from the three layers I'm wearing) from a certain delicious beverage I am enjoying...coffee. Specifically, I've recently been enjoying cafe au lait, which I learned yesterday is regular coffee and steamed milk, as opposed to a cafe latte, which is espresso and steamed milk. And at a reduced price, comparatively, of about two dollars, the cafe au lait is my now and future drink of choice.

Coffee, why do I love you so?

Is it because you have been enjoyed by men and goats since the 9th century? No.

It is because you are one half of the best relationship in the world, coffee and cigarettes? No (and especially since quitting smoking, again, one week ago, no).

It is because you are sometimes FairTrade certified, making the drinkers of said certified beans feel better about themselves? No.

It is because I am white. Yep, white people like coffee. No if ands or buts about it. And in that vein, I bring you the #1 thing that, apparently, white people *like myself) like, coffee: (courtesy of Stuff White People Like)

There is no doubt that white people love coffee. Yes, it’s true that asians like iced coffee and people of all races enjoy it. But I promise you that the first person at your school to drink coffee was a white person. You could kind of tell they didn’t enjoy it, but they did it anyways until they liked it - like cigarettes. White people all need Starbucks, Second Cup or Coffee Bean. They are also fond of saying “you do NOT want to see me before I get my morning coffee.” White guys will also call it anything but coffee: “rocket fuel,” “java,” “joe,” “black gold,” and so forth. It’s pretty garbage all around.

A Man Of His Word

With out further ado, here is RJD2's video for "Work It Out" featuring Bill "VirtualProvocoteur" Shannon.



Pretty sweet, huh? For more antics and projects, visit Mr. Shannon's website, www.visualprovocateur.com, which comes complete with this description of the "art" that he creates:

The dance I perform is pretty much my own invention...I dance in the street when I walk in the street...the whole street watches me walk down the street...I weave traffic like a bird flies among the herd...I stop traffic when I fly. And that is why I am an artist...to make things work, to have no expectations...to just follow my soul and stay true to people in the most profound sense of staying true to myself.

Blaahg Blog

The original idea with this second new post was to show you a bad-ass music video of a dancing man on...crutches. But you won't get the video, nor a link to his website, nor a description of what he does, the "art" he creates. No, you won't get any of these because our good friends at Blogger decided to make it exceedingly difficult to post video (at least for an unexperienced blogger like me). I'm gonna consult the manual (i.e. Flushy McBucketPants) and be back tomorrow with said content.

New Beginnings II

For real, this time. A new layout. A new title. A new url. New content. New influences. New shoes. More to come.

New Beginnings

Time seems to flow at different paces depending on where geographically one finds oneself. The cadence of life, the ever ebbing, constantly progressing rhythm of the world feels different in Jerusalem, New Orleans, Beverly Hills, and New York City. Upon returning to one's home, feelings of separation and disillusionment can become intensified. I suppose that is normal after a long absence from home. It also doesn't help to be have a debilitating injury which has persisted for a few weeks now. I feel as if I am hanging out, because I am, in a place which needs more than my time. It needs my sweat, my diligent attention and work. Planning seems to lose some of its meaning when there is no immediate action.