memorial weekend

Dort had me pull off 280 in Daly City as we drove south to the Peninsula. She wanted to pay tribute to her husband at his resting place.

We drove around the big military cemetery looking for the grave. Thousands of little American flags planted by Boy Scouts and larger ones lining the road for Memorial Day flapped in the breeze. The gentle wind, sunny sky and green grass sloped down from the top of the cemetery toward the Bay.

We stopped a couple places. Dort got out and read the names on the white tombstones. Everything looked the same. Finally she signaled me. They had removed the tree that used to show her where her husband lay. Only a flat stump remained.

Dort said she felt better that the tree was gone because the roots made her uncomfortable. I got uncomfortable hearing that, visualizing tree roots burrowing into Uncle Ski's casket.

There are women buried there, too. Dort said they were the wives of service members. I did not ask if Dort would be buried there. She later said the place is full, though, so that answers that question.

old friends, new toilet

I've got mucho news lately. I'm still picking law schools, btw.

• dinner with dad at Joey and Eddie's, used to be Moose's; used to be good.
  
• playing with video cameras at work. I covered a "truck blessing" at Port of Oakland and Burmese protest in front of Singaporean embassy. They're pressuring Singapore b/c they head ASEAN, which can theoretically help cyclone victims.


• locked out of apt. twice. saved by Dort.


• fish dinners at dort's, twice


• Numayr called as he walked home from a party in Manhattan. We agreed that we weren't suicidal, which means we're optimistic people. He asked whether I feel guitly for kicking Mike S. out of What Now My Love without proper notification. I agreed to apologize to Mike.


• Mike S. called on his last night in Boston, as he walked one last time to the train station or something. he was upbeat and perceptive. i was in a funk for some reason and he picked up on it.


• wandering Bay to Breakers, before meeting David and lunching in Darla's and shooting from the De Young Tower.


• dinner with Brian at Naan 'n' Curry after watching a performance by Ascend Dance, a mix of rock climbing and dance. They synced one male-female number to The Mission theme song :). B said he and Corinna will move to Germany in a year.


• saw performances by "scratch guitarist" The Genie and kid rock-ish The High Decibels.


• watched Spencer Nakasako's films Refugee and a.k.a. Don Bonus about Cambodian-American identity formation. boys cry.


• watched Gonzo, the Hunter S. Thompson story at the SF Int'l Film Fest.


• biking the Headlands.

Meshugga Beach Party at Bay To Breakers 2008

The Chosen Surfers rocked out on JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park.

bay to breakers 2008 - USA!

these model citizens yelled "free tibet" after this discourse. then a firefighter made them get down and they didn't actually die doing it. I think that's a beer in the left one's hand.

death by street view

Top 15 Google Street View Sightings
Street View Fun
Blurs to come

Death lurks in my parents' driveway (I blurred the addy):

go green with me

my favorite Green-related musical ventures:

-The Moldy Peaches feat. Kimya Dawson and Adam Green
-Another Green World, album by Brian Eno
-"I'm seeing red" by Minor Threat (I'm colorblind)
-Green Day, natch
-"Moneytalks" by AC/DC

Jet Li and Jackie Chan

brutal, on court and off.

Tom Waits Press Conference

say hi to yr mom for me Tom.

harvest coming

word is, the orange trees in Menlo Park are coming into ripeness. time to pick. anyone want some juicy ones?

mother and son

mother and son
Originally uploaded by Monster Pete

mother and family spoke to Oakland mayor ron dellums after parents feared ICE would raid their elementary school.

ladies night

man i don't know what to say about this company: BigTime. maybe monster pete + the chiefs don't have enough ladies' nights and special reasons to see our band, besides our music.

What Jesus Would Eat

If He were in the Bay Area, where would He feast?

I know He likes His loaves and fishes. The salmon population is hurting, so local chinook is off the menu. I'm sure He would not want anything frozen and transported too far. He had no motorized transportation in His day. Christ's a locavore.

Mercury levels threaten one's health if you eat too much fish from the Bay. Once a month is okay, per NPR. If you are eating out, according to CBS 5, We Be Sushi and Blowfish as well as Whole Foods pass the test.

For bread, He'd probably go to the workers' co-op Arizmendi. Jesus was all about people power, and that sourdough on Fisherman's Wharf is too darn expensive, plus it just sits out getting dusty.

After the meal, He would have to get a good view of San Francisco. He might walk across some water. In Oakland, He'd find Mr. Brians and his new golden wok(search DO THE WOK OF LIFE). But I suspect the Lord could make a wok golden just by peeing on it or some such thing, so He might not be impressed.

If He came over my place, the menu would be simple. Probably salad, pasta, toast and meatballs or stir fry. But He'd get to listen to the new Maven, at which point the devil within would bubble up and out and succumb to the pulsating sounds, leaving the Lord with a full stomach and empty conscience. Then we would find a good, free MIT course to take. I'm thinking kitchen chemistry.

'going commando' no joke, pros say

Real life commandos are reclaiming the phrase, "Going commando." Performing on duty without undergarments is no easy task, U.S. troops say. Hearing the phrase bandied about in popular culture does little for company morale. Check out the news brief.

Frosty needs a visa

Dort walked up to the counter at McDonald's and ordered two "Frosties" the other day, meaning ice cream cones. The young South Asian-looking woman at the counter charged her for some other ice cream item, more than two cones cost. Dort soon found the error, and asked for two "cones" instead.

"Cones" used to be called "frosties," Dort explained later. She ought to get hip to the new lingo, she concluded.

I can't blame her for using the term she used all her life to order a cone from McDonald's. So why should I get irritated when she says all immigrants should "get in line" like her parents, who came the "right way"?

I shouldn't. I'll just tell her calmly, "Our government no longer serves that."

Focus- Hocus Pocus (live '73)

yeah this is good dude. MPTC covers the beginning, lead guitar takes the vocals. we don't do it near this fast though.

menlo pizzle

the weekend was on the peninsula, house sitting with dorty:

breakfasts: Ann's, Cafe Borrone
lunch: In'n'Out (Daly City)
dinners: Pasta?, leftovers
desserts: Starbucks, Fraîche
considered: SCU law but skipped reception day, same for USF.
watched: four-hour Jane Eyre (Masterpiece Theatre), Harry Potter (Prisoner of Alzkabizzle)
hiked: Windy Hill

Kindergarten VP?

check out the original post

This is a streaming MP4 video - you'll need Quicktime 6 or later to view it.

in!

got into USF law. ya-hoo.

got some good music, Simply Saucer's "Cyborgs Revisited." Raucous, spacey, surfy, garagey, poppy, rocky stuff.

they're just a minor treat

• watching "The Russians are Coming" on TV with Dort
BBQ at bro's place to watch stanford women win basketball semifinals
using our new Rebel Xti camera at work
Amoeba music's scan and listen system to preview their CDs for sale. out of 5 or 6 i tried (among them, new Radiohead, autechre, squarepusher) all but one worked.

pseudo bachelor's party 2008

here's a video/slideshow i made in iMovie and iPhoto for B's "pseudo" bachelor's party. it was pseudo because he was already married. they had a quick ceremony to get the immigration papers in order.

The slideshow's rated PG-13. the songs are "California Man" by Cheap Trick, One More Time by Daft Punk, and California by NES (B's former band.)