Out on a walk today, and came upon this guy. 'tis the season!

Okay, I am a California native and all, and so I understand the need for plentiful snowpack, but ugh, when will this rain end?

I suppose there's something to be had for all the rain.

Look at this green hillside and wildflowers near Gorman, shot on the way back from a weekend with good friends in Redlands.




















Lovely.

(taken with my new lame-named but cool as hell iPhone app, Hipstamatic -- so much fun.)

Currently reading A Single Man, which was a great book to begin in the Jewel of the Inland Empire. The bungalow and farmhouse architecture of Redlands, as well as the late 50s/early 60s town vibe, the conservative populace, and the warm days full of orange blossom breezes and hazy, palm tree horizons really added to the book. Now I can't wait to see the movie.

Echo and the Bunnymen, The Fox Theater, Oakland, 10.22.2009. I had a smile on my face all night.



















First in line! And so worth it -- was on the rail.

The orchestra (in the back) that was brought in for the Ocean Rain portion of the set played like the devil was after them:















But they were probably just afraid of Ian McCulloch. Seriously. There was a point when Ian merely pointed at a roadie offstage, and the touring bass and rhythm guitarists between them visibly jumped. He also told various persons in the audience to fuck off at least twice. And yelled obscenities at the lighting folks. And told the audience he liked wearing sunglasses because it meant he couldn't see them, and he liked it that way. But then you see him finish singing 'Stormy Weather' and he smiles to himself and says, "I just love singing that song" and you just love him to pieces for being so curmudgeonly.

I know, I'm gross.

Here's Will Sergeant and Ian McCulloch. I wonder if they still can't stand each other. Each never looked at or acknowledged the other and stayed exactly where you see them for the whole set. Will still kicks ass on the gee-tar. Some things never change.















And Oi: Ian McCulloch at 50. He had such a gorgeous gorgeous voice, and dammit, he still does when he wants to. When he sang "screaming from beneath the WAA-AA-A-AA-A-AVES" during 'Ocean Rain' you could hear his limitations but he fucking nailed it. The secret? He was sucking down cough drops and Remy Martin, but no smoking onstage. Anyway, his voice was just fantastic. I can't help but feel everyone should hear him sing live, if you can bear his disdain for you and the rest of the audience. He's a charmer, that one!

But the sad thing is, the man sang with his hands in front of his face the whole time, with the lights directed at the audience. The verdict in the front row was vanity. C'mon, we know you were really beautiful when you were young, and we also know you're not 25 anymore! Get over it! So, that said, this is the closest one gets to a face shot.















Dammit, one of these days I'll get myself a press pass and take some decent photos. Then again, I was on the rail, which was 10 feet from the stage, which should have contributed to photo decency. But as you can see the lighting made the iPhone limitations even more apparent (EDIT 10.24: it seems it was the same for the pros too). Wouldn't have mattered anyhow -- we were repeatedly warned NO FLASH or the show would be cut short. Ian Ian Ian. :)

Anyway, GREAT show, loved and savored it like it was something you get to see only a few times in a lifetime, highly recommended. Are there really only 3 dates in North America? Shame.



See you at the barricades babe
See you when the lights go low joe

Redeemed!

Sunn O))), front row and center at The Independent, San Francisco, 8.9.2009





















































Epic.

For more (and okay, non-iPhone and just better) photos, check out Trevor's pics taken from the same vantage point but with a fancy-schmancy camera here.

Back from a gorgeous, perfect weekend in my hometown. Packed a TON into a few days. Feeling really blessed right now to have such good friends and family, and to hail from such a beautiful place!

We started the weekend off with a drive out Italian Bar Road to take in the sights and spend some time with our good friend J.

Look at this gorgessity:















I-Bar is well known for its active and abandoned mining claims; on our hike we came across a few abandoned and waterlogged shafts:



















We were heartened to see that the PG&E ditches and the Stan were full and free-flowing. Our hike meandered along a tributary of the Stan and ended at one of many spectacular waterfalls:



















And then this being I-Bar and all, J ended up being a good samaritan and putting his tow strap to good use:



















That night we went to the casino with J and his mom to watch a comedy show (more tragic than comedic, but hey free Cokes) and then I won $20 in the nickel slots! Righteous.

On Friday, Trevor and I skied the best snow of our lives at Dodge Ridge:















17 degrees at 9 am! The wind was like ice, but the snow was all icing sugar.

Friday night I cooked dinner for my mom and my man. Afterward, we went to grab a beer with J at our favorite hometown haunt, and found there was, of all things, a rave going on:















Luckily we were able to cheese in just for a drink w/o the cover. Normally we go here to see hillbilly punk shows, and consequently know everyone in the bar; this time we knew not one soul. We just kept thinking: this is Tuompton -- where do these people come from?

Saturday saw us heading home into a traffic backup on 108 that extended for miles. After an hour of waiting where we moved a quarter of a mile, we called CHP and they told us there was a massive accident at LaGrange turnoff. At least a 2 hour wait. Never before have I been so grateful to be a local (and have an iPhone) -- we u-turned and went the back way through the Red Hills. I'd never really driven the backwoods of Chinese Camp before, but I knew we could get past LaGrange turnoff from there somehow. Not only did we discover a new place to hike, but a 20 minute detour popped us right back out onto the highway not but a 100 yards ahead of the accident, and on our way home.

Sunday we went to see Watchmen. I was very impressed. Perfectly cast, and well-edited from the comic. Alan Moore should be proud.

If only all weekends could be so magnificent. Makes Monday bearable!

Woohoo for the inauguration, hey? I'm sure y'all watched the festivities, so I won't go into how wonderful it feels to be an American right now, or how Obama's inaugural address and first day in office were absolutely inspiring. All I will say at this point is that I'm glad my president is not only inspiring, but also so NICE.

January 20th was a good day.

January 21st was also a good day. Trevor and I got up early and took BART and Muni into San Francisco to take advantage of free admission day at the newly renovated California Academy of Sciences, located in Golden Gate Park on the beautiful Music Concourse.

Holy smokes, was it crowded! But it was totally worth it. Definite highlights were the T-Rex and (87-foot!) blue whale skeletons, the Living Roof, and the Morrison Planetarium -- where we saw the most amazing digital show on the cosmos on their tilted 75 foot diameter projection screen. It felt like we were flying through the universe. Highly recommended!

Though the planetarium absolutely blew us away, of course the Steinhart Aquarium was the big draw. Gorgeous sea creatures, many that I had never seen before in person.

Some favorites:

Beautiful little jellyfish















Creepy nautilus -- it's like it's getting ready to jump out and suck on your face!















Morays



















And of course, penguins! The penguins are African penguins, and they are situated at the end of a vast hall of really cool African dioramas. The approach is striking.















But the most fascinating animals in the aquarium were these small endangered fish from Australia, leafy and weedy seadragons. They are apparently very difficult to obtain, and must be procured through approved captive breeding programs. The aquarium had been on a waiting list for two years!

These little creatures were mesmerizing.

Weedy seadragons (and random German tourist)



















Leafy seadragon















And hey, what do you know? My crappy iPhone camera did alright next to Trevor's new toy, a Canon Powershot -- a new toy which was, incidentally, bought with credit card points. And here I thought that stuff was a scam!

Anyway, another exciting, excellent day in a week full of excitement and excellence.  Here's to a terrific weekend.

YEEEEEEEEEEE!

Saturday was the day that happens every couple of months or so when I take a mammoth thrifting trip to San Francisco and hit the flagship Goodwill in SoMa and then coast along through the Mission, stopping in at Thrift Town, on my way to the Ocean and Mission Goodwill in the Excelsior District.

Sorry about the non-scenic view of the last link -- it seems StreetView isn't quite down yet with the Excelsior District. Pity, because besides being a home for tons of ethnic restaurants and shops, there are always some cool things to see there.

Like today, for instance:






































BTW, have I told y'all lately that I am loving my iPhone? I love having internet, email, texting, mobile, and a frikken camera yo!

I know, I know --I quote Mr. Lynch: "It's such a sadness, that you think you've [taken a photograph] with your fucking telephone!"

I am so riding the train to douchedom.

It seems I may have dismounted from the low-tech high-horse for good.

Wait for it...

I now have an iPhone. Me, of all people. And yes, it is so insanely cool I don't think I quite know what to do with it, or myself.

It's the end of the world as I know it, and I feel fine. I think.

David Lynch says so much more about what's wrong in our industrialized world in this little snippet than many do in an entire essay:



Get real, indeed!