Okay, so y'all know I've been seeing a new acupuncturist who is giving me something that smells and tastes like pee pee to drink for part of my treatment.

What y'all don't know is that I'm also on a detox diet for the duration of this treatment. I am supposed to abstain from:

sugar
caffeine
alcohol
beef
pork
fried food
rich food
spicy food

And, it goes w/o saying -- my occasional yummy Nat Sherman.

Which, you know, pretty much means abstaining from MY LIFE.

But the funny thing is, the tea I drink twice a day actually helps me not crave this stuff. And I've lost 5 pounds. So it's all good, right?

You would think so.

Today we went to a poetry reading at McNally's, home of the best damn Guinness pour this side of the Bay. And good god, I almost cried because I couldn't have one.

So, today, an ode -- to all the foods I've loved before:

Alcohol:


















Sugar (my ultimate chocolate bar):


















Rich and Fried and Pork (homemade pork gyoza at Rikyu):














Caffeine (Blue Bottle espresso):














Sigh.

Where's the spicy food? Forget it -- that one actually hurts too much to post anything. I regularly eat so much spicy stuff that the evidence would just be a picture of me with a big grin. So sad.

Check out my good friend from high school, Carissa Barnett, as she plays an archaeologist for the Disneyland show Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Stone Tiger:

This is why I shop at thrift stores!

Not that I've ever found something on this scale, but a girl can dream. I do get lucky on the small scale, usually via quality vintage pieces from high-end designers. I've also found a lucite purse or two.

But I long for my high school thrifting days, because it is getting much more difficult every year to find quality vintage at a decent price. This is because it is true what the article says: the folks at these shops are getting more skilled at recognizing the good stuff. But this also leads to overvaluing too -- hence my recent shock at a faded 80s Lacoste sweater for $25!

I also love to blame eBay for the influx of people who prowl the stores and snatch up anything and everything that could possibly sell for more than a dollar. Where's the love?

Today the cool air hitting my face smells of smoke and salt, like Japan. Today I could have rode my bike around forever.

Boris at Amoeba Records in Berkeley, 6.22.2008














There was so much smoke! But I love this shot:














Pre-smokeout: the thoroughly amazing Michio Kurihara thoroughly brought the psychedelia. This guy is awesome to watch!














Boris at The Independent last year (kickass show!). This is 'Furi' -- watch Kurihara blow your mind at about 2:10...



Love his bow at the end. Love him!

Om Nom Nom Nom.

Oh Denver, I will never forget.














Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy! -- Eric "Cobra Kai" Baus

If you're like me, and you 1) live in the US, where we routinely send banned beef bits to countries who outlaw those bits (nevermind what US consumers are getting in their ground beef), and yet you also 2) love dairy products, then be sure to check out the Dairy Report and Scorecard from the The Cornucopia Institute.

I've been avoiding "organic" behemoth Horizon for a while, but this clinches it (all emphasis mine):

Unlike the majority of all organic dairy farmers in the United States, who concentrate on the health and longevity of their cows, caring for them from birth, the Dean/Horizon Idaho farm sells off all their calves. Later, presumably to save money on organic feed and management, they buy one-year-old conventional animals on the open market. These replacements likely have received conventional milk replacer (made with blood—considered to be a "mad cow" risk), antibiotics, other prohibited pharmaceuticals, and genetically engineered feed. Many practices on a farm of this nature put ethical family-scale organic farmers at a competitive disadvantage.

Very helpful, and eye-opening, as well as a reminder that you don't get quality for nothing.

Hooray!

I'm not so naive to think this was purely the result of grassroots organizing, but I don't want to be so bitter to think that it came about solely because even the Richie McRichersons were going to get sprayed. Let's just be happy it's been halted!

The U.N. Security Council convened in New York today and decided to seek action on sexual violence in war.

Opening the debate, [U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice noted there had long been dispute about whether the theme was a security issue and hence something the Security Council was authorized to address.

"I am proud that today we respond to that lingering question with a resounding 'yes'," she said. "This world body now acknowledges that sexual violence in conflict zones is indeed a security concern.

"We affirm that sexual violence profoundly affects not only the health and safety of women but the economic and social stability of their nations."

I know -- it's unbelievable that there has been debate about this being a security issue, given the way rape has been documented as a weapon of war for as long as there has been historical record. NGO groups like The Global Fund for Women have been working on these issues with other NGO women's groups on the ground in war-torn countries since their inception, and they know exactly how much of a hindrance to "economic and social stability" the weapon of rape has been and continues to be.

I have to tell you that I'd become very bitter and hopeless about the U.N. ever taking any action, and it is about time. I just hope they walk the talk.

This makes me so happy. Now is time for cake!

Oh my, look what my new acupuncturist gave me to boil in a gallon of water:














Yeeee! No more pre-made formulas for me!

I knew this guy was the real deal the second I walked in his office -- degrees/licenses in Chinese, complete with those little black and white Communist passport photos; cramped, packed to the gills space that looked more like a storage room than a place for medical procedures; a no-nonsense, super practical demeanor which meant he interrupted talking with me about my treatment in order to answer his phone. And most telling...everywhere you looked, paper towels.

Old school Asians love paper towels. Today my acupuncturist even used a paper towel with a rip in it as a stand-in for a disposable face rest cover on his massage table. I was stoked at his ingenuity. You know how much the real thing costs? At least $12 for a 50 pack. A roll of paper towels? Maybe $2.

In addition, my face rest was made of a block of foam with a crudely cut hole in the middle. Ugly, sure, but comfy.

Paper towels, practicality, and penny-pinching -- that's right, represent!

But lest you think these ghettofabulous touches were indicative of bad business, au contraire -- my acupuncture was top-notch, and my massage was better than some I've had at spas (and it was half the price, yo). And I got a personalized bag of crazy shit to boil down into sludge and drink twice a day.

Yes!

It's a good day in California.

If you're a sop like me, be sure to check out SFGate's wedding album. I cry with joy every time I open it up.

At Watercourse, Denver, Colorado.

What? What?!?

Oh.

So, Denver.














I think Trevor sums it up nicely.

Big love to Eric, Noah, Sara, and Lucas.

And while we were gone -- here is a review of Rarer and More Wonderful.

Colfax and Washington, Denver, Colorado.

Colorado beckons. We're on our way tomorrow! And Trevor shall be reading in Denver in support of his book, Rarer and More Wonderful, this Saturday.

Via Noah Eli Gordon...

Please join us for a house reading and party on Saturday, June 14th.

Things will begin at 7 pm.

Feel free to bring snacks, beverages, and friends.

Readings by Barbara Barg, Bhanu Kapil, Bin Ramke,
Danielle Pafunda, and Trevor Calvert

1014 E 10th Ave
Denver, CO 80218

YEEEEEEEEEEE!

Weekend wrap-up...

Trevor's reading Friday at Pegasus for Rarer and More Wonderful was fantastic! Many thanks to the friends and other folks who came out to support his first book, and for extending the celebrations later on at Jupiter.


















For folks who couldn't make it, you can pick up Trevor's book at Scrambler Books. And there will be more reading dates to come!

Saturday was Adrienne and Tobin's wedding at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga. Bride was stunning in a strapless corseted wedding gown with a lacy dress train. With pearls in her hair, she was reminiscent of a mermaid. Groom walked in to the Imperial March, cello-style. Nerds! The wedding was gorgeous and brilliant, just like the bride and groom.














Sunday was to be a day of rest, but lo, Chris' siren's call of BBQ and beer in the afternoon was too much to resist -- as was the requisite game night, now with pad thai.

Good friends, good times, good living, here in the Bay.

Home now. Going to bed.

Now they're some sad things known to man
But ain't too much sadder than
The tears of a clown
When there's no one around

As my friends and I are celebrating the confirmation of Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee, here is a very good essay on How Hillary Clinton Lost Me -- and a Generation of Young Voters.

Funny and sad how it was Obama in his own nomination speech who praised Clinton with the very things she should have been campaigning on.

Also, speaking of politics, check out Ballotpedia. I was super impressed with not only the coverage of what's happening in U S of A state-to-state politics, but the sections on particular states -- with articles on the history of propositions and the like, as well as up to the minute news on what has been approved for the upcoming ballots.

California Hub at Ballotpedia.

Tagged by Mark, and he decrees:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to.

Yay! I love this kind of stuff.

1) 'Tengo la Voz' by Nortec Collective

I bought The Tijuana Sessions, Volume 3 years ago on a recommendation by one of my favorite musicians, David J, and then promptly lent it out to a friend who lived out of town -- without uploading it to iTunes first. I just got it back, and this is the first song on the album. Reminds me of summertime!



2) 'Hold the Line' by Toto

I recently bet a friend a burrito that this song was by Foreigner.

Le sigh.



3) 'Oh Yoko!' by John Lennon

Three things:

a) People always want Trevor and me to dress as John and Yoko for Halloween.

b) I really like Yoko Ono.

c) Trevor has put this on many a mix for me over the years.

You can really tell how much John loves her in this song. I was in Trevor's workplace yesterday and he played this song -- which is one of the reasons why I can tell he loves me.



4) 'Buzz Saw' by Xiu Xiu

The first song on an album I'll be buried with, I never paid much attention to 'Buzz Saw' because in comparison to the rest of The Air Force it seemed so simple and unassuming. But I've been revisiting this album lately and this song is a perfect introduction to the impending maelstrom -- simple honesty and controlled angst punctuated with jarring percussion and just the slightest little noise.

Live it's phenomenal, but watching it on Gootube can't do it justice. Just buy the album already!



5) 'Don't Stop Believing' by Journey

I've been hearing this song a lot lately in the ironic hipster bars I seem to frequent, and I'll just say it: I loved Journey when it wasn't cool to do so, I love them now that it is, and I will love them when they are again yanked from the jukebox in favor of Lawrence Welk and gluing pubes to your face or whatever ironic cool thing the kids think of next.



6) 'Harper Lewis' by Russian Circles

When I got Russian Circles' new album, Station, a few weeks ago, I listened to it incessantly. They're on my mind; this defines them for me.



7) 'Here I Go Again' by Whitesnake

When the weather warms, it means getting outside and taking roadtrips. This also means I actually remember to grab the face of my car stereo so there are tunes. Inevitably, this means Trevor (un)intentionally garbles the lyrics to many songs that end up on the mixes we make for said road trips. It always comes back to that "twister" that was born to walk alone.



Since I have some readers who don't have blogs, rather than tag 7 bloggers only, I tag Jack, T-Zone (what's rocking your socks in Asia?), The Stresstaster, and...YOU! Non-bloggers, please let my universe and Google know what's rocking your world by posting in the comments.