Exploring Music

I study the violin. My teacher is Luan. She has been here ten years from Shanghai and is married to a sick old Armenian man.

I teach Luan conversational English and she teaches me conversational violin and Mandarin. She gives me relationship advice but makes me promise not to tell my girlfriend.

I like the Chinese songs she teaches me. They are more fun than the Suzuki, Western (Handel, Vivaldi, Bach) finger-benders. The slides and trills of the Oriental music sooth my nerves. The high notes make my fingers climb the neck and step daintily, taking the body of the violin in my palm. I owe the violin shop all kinds of money for the rental instrument, which I have not paid for in months.

Today, I finished my lesson as the girl after me and her mom looked on. The girl is around 4 years old, with medium brown curls and a 1/10 size violin. They are both very cute. Her dark brown eyes stare at me intently like I'm on trial and she's the judge. I need to play violin to keep from thinking about lawyering all the time.

I played her violin the other day. It was miniature but sounded and looked great. I guess size isn't everything. It depends on how you use it.

Palin 2012 and My Reason for Being

and this



I'm totally obsessed with PalinAsPresident.com. What will I do after the election? Lack direction and a funny place to retire to online.

Motorcade caught on tape on Lake Street

Guess who's in town:
A. Your mom
B. Sexy Sarah
C. Tina Fey
D. Diane Feinstein

ack ack ack

plane flying over boats

This is an FA-18 Hornet's approach of Alcatraz Island just before striking the key missile placements of a group of ex-US military specialists-turned-kidnappers seeking to restore honor to their fallen comrades.

Oh, wait, that was The Rock.This was just the Blue Angels.

america's next top model

been enjoying life as much as school allows.

• movies - the firm, vanilla sky, mary poppins, the cable guy, control room (doc), who killed the electric car? (doc), smart people, volver


• blue angels and the presidio on bike with britt


• jack in the box (near the bus station in SF - this place is in another dimension), in'n'out, hamburger haven on clement, chevy's, pizza at 24th and potrero in the mission with Keith


• keith's new apartment at 22nd and harrison is rad, empty, and cold. anyone looking for a place? he's got two extra bedrooms.


• I acted as an agent for my friend trying out for America's Next Top Model. We stood in a hot line for hours down on Powell and Market. She was fantastic, and Britt and I were her fans. The girls really wanted to be on TV, dancing with the CW sign and all. Aw.

art is in the house

my girlfriend britt fancies herself an artist. i think she's pretty good.

"in love, in san francisco"

"Brittany Flower"

in the trees

trapeze baby i'm up in the trees
tight rope walk it, yeah come to me
don't mean it to be hard / i'm just naturally tall
you can fly here while the others fall

skydiving is for the rich and the cool
me and you are jumping in the kiddie pool
i'll take you for a swim at your own risk
then i take you under for a lesson in bliss

no fancy meals its do it yourself
bisquick, tea and throw on your belt
coming and going all day long
no privacy until its dawn

at the inn at the inn, they come and go
me and you is all we know
at the inn at the inn, we feel safe
dishes and clothes all over the place

keith comes to town, chris is down
mike was here, and marc's around
its brian and corinna and oliver too
mia, tina and james and my family--just a few

at the inn at the inn, they come and go
me and you is all we know
at the inn at the inn, we feel safe
strutting around like we own the place

st. great

The new Metallica record is great. The solos make me jolly and the palm-muted four-tone sixteenth note loops (i.e. the part just before the 7-minute mark of the new "The Day That Never Comes") find a special dark place in me and live there like warm, wet trolls brewing alcoholic soup with steam and smoke rising out of chimneys into the cold afternoon. These are really long songs btw, with a median duration of 8 minutes or so. There are some nice chords in "All Nightmare Long." Kirk Hammet studied jazz at San Francisco State so he knows his fretboard. I also liked Suicidal Tendencies back in the day, so Robert Trujillo's bass is welcome addition. Suicidal actually opened for Metallica when I saw them in like 1996, along with Candlebox. hehe.

Afternoon coffee is great. that's one thing i enjoyed in bolivia, having the coffee lady come around every afternoon with your favorite cup. they drank it pretty sweet, generally, but for some reason it was a much better, richer, fuller sweet than our saccharine selections. Not sure why. But coffee makes more sense to me in the afternoon, when you have time to enjoy it and a full stomach to combat, than morning cuppa joe. Who has time to stop for coffee in the AM? Certainly not me.

What's facebook for? Keeping in touch. I think it's silly that companies would force you to join. If you see peoples' faces every day, why would you want to see their facebook too?

volcano! - Africa Just Wants to Have Fun

fantastic... aaron takes a walk in the park. he says he didn't get a cold, despite singing half naked in the rain, but did get "plenty of bug bites."

Also, he adds, "that milk smelled like ass. milk sux." well, it looks good on you.

Way Down Low in Soma

the penny dreadfuls, dustonius maximus, the obsessors at Beale Street Bar, Thurs. Sept. 11

Cheap live entertainment in San Francisco is hard to find without either a giant wait or no parking. For its well priced offerings and generous cocktails alone, the Beale Street Bar in SOMA demands attention. But its architecture too draws your eye. Surrounded by shiny, tall, buildings, the squat two-story structure with its moat of patios and parking lots makes a statement. Not one but two staircases, one of them circular, make their way to the rooftop stage. It's survived redevelopment and is here to stay.

The show cost $5. It was worth every dreadful penny. The Penny Dreadfuls opened with their mix of rock'n'roll, emo, punk and pirate tunes. They were very energetic. The vocalist Brian, who my girlfriend says is "pretty hot," is a journalism major at the Univ. of Nevada-Reno. The band hails from the "biggest little city in the world." Some say they're too emo, but I think they don't whine too much. They spin pretty catchy, energetic anthems.

Next up was Dustonius Maximus, presumably named for lead songwriter Dustin. The new band plays largely instrumental, jazzy, rockish, ska-ish songs. Kincaid (sp?) fronted with a lyrical trumpet, alternating between bluesy and jazzy and high and low. He actually smiled a lot, too. He and sax player Dan did a nice backing vocals job on one song, a rootsy Jamaican/Chris Murray/Jack Johnson type chill out island riddim, ska/rocksteady thing. The most fun, though, was the closing cover of Tom Waits' "Down in the Hole." Dustin's low voice easily slips into the gravely garble of Waits, and the arrangement was respectfully playful. Dustin actually lives not far from the crooner, in Petaluma, Calif.

The Obsessors closed the show. Ducky my pal played drums. The lead singer got in the crowd's face, and the guitar section - one gorgeous white Keytar played by an equally gorgeous woman (think Lisa from weird science, the TV show), and a straight-out-of-the-80s rocker dude with long hair and a white Flying V - backed her up with brass knuckles.

boli looks for new via

Three American ambassadors to Latin American countries were expelled in the past week or so. bolivia, venezuela and honduras. the first two i understand - the US is none too pleased with indigenous-people-liking, state-power asserting honchos with their hands on plenty of gas reserves -- petrol in Venezuela and natural gas in Boli.

Bolivia is seriously threatened with secession of the eastern states. They are the ones rich in oil reserves. They oppose Evo Morales, the first indigenous leader of the country's history, who wishes to spread the oil wealth to some of the indios, the indigenous inhabitants of the western states.

My friend Numayr sent me a PDF of propaganda from Bolivian politicos aligned with Evo Morales, the coca-leaf-grower turned president. Incidentally, Morales spoke to our class when I studied abroad there in 2001. The PDF doesn't show much proof of US conspiracy in the secession of the eastern states, but gets the point across that Goldberg, the former ambassador, has a little too much knowledge of how to split up states for coincidence. He played a lead role in the breakup of Serbia/Montenegro and Kosovo.

here's a decent commentary in Alternet from some Venezuelan gov't PR hack

mightymorphin night ranger

Friday night is geek night at the Presidio Inn. Check out our latest creation.

mightymorphin night ranger
Originally uploaded by Monster Pete

playing conductor

School is cool, not too hard. at least not yet.

I went to the SF symphony with Dort, to the community "All Concert" for senior groups. Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) picked out a somewhat experimental program, in keeping with the philosophy of the city, he said. We explore "new ideas and languages" through listening to music, the conductor said. The program began with Lontano for Large Orchestra by György Ligeti, which Dort correctly identified as movie background music. "Sinister," she called it. Ligeti's music has appeared in Kubrick films like The Shining and 2001, according to the program. I liked it.

Before the cacophonous piece started, MTT hummed a lick he said we'd hear in the piece. He has a good voice. Who knew. I never heard the melody, though.

I wonder if Metallica will ever play with the SF symphony again. Somehow I doubt it.

The next piece was more conventional, a bit jazzy. It was Concerto in D minor for Two Pianos and Orchestra by an "urbane, insouciant" Parisian, Francis Poulenc. Sisters Katia and Marielle Labéque played grand pianos across from each other. One was more showy than the other. I tried to imagine which I would be. I'm a gemini, though, so I get to be both.

The second half of the show was just one raucous Prokofieff opus, Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Opus 100. It was all brass and drums, with some clutch reed and flute loops. If you doubt its badass-ittude, just know that it won the Stalin Prize in 1946. When it debuted the year before, gunshots of celebration could be heard as Prokofiev raised his baton to start the performance; Soviet forces had just crossed the Vistula River en route to victory over Germany.

No encore needed.

On Weed

"Sometimes, San Francisco works really hard to maintain its reputation." - Chris S., upon smelling marijuana smoke as we left the Giants baseball stadium.

Court date

As my girlfriend defaced a 100-year old structure in the gorgeous hills north of the Golden Gate Bridge, a park police officer stopped his SUV on the nearby road while looking in our direction.

This date just took a turn for the worse, I thought.

But, like most things lately in and around the Presidio Inn on Lake Street, the good times continued to roll.

The Giants scored enough runs to win Wednesday night. I took in the game at AT&T Park with Chris, the Inn's most recent guest, along with friend Jake and his bro and bro's wife. The sauerkraut Italian sausage was great, but the bun lacked moisture. Chris said the veggie dog was okay.

Me and babeskins and Chris and friends ate at Herbivore on Valencia St. on Thursday. We were exceptionally late, which the married couple didn't appreciate, though they had beers, and each other, so I don't see the big deal. I had the vegetable lasagna. It was a little spicy and the cheese (fake) was not really very creamy, unfortunately. But it was filling. Babeskins got the ravioli, again, spicy, but pretty filling and good. Food came quick. Chris's vanilla milkshake was good but i wouldn't pay 4 whatever for it, and it wasn't very thick. The salads were great. I'd probably go back there with other vegan eaters.

Finishing law school for the week, I settled in at the Inn on Saturday. Today, I went on a date. It started with an errand, taking back Legally Blonde and Borat to the video store (remember those?), and got better. Jamba Juice (Razzmatazz with soy for me) and then the Marin Headlands.

Skins and I had already exited the vehicle once in the Headlands, taking in the breathtaking views of the entire Bay Area. The second time we parked, we did so with the intent of checking out the outlying gun turrets and bunkers overlooking the Pacific Ocean's entrance to the Bay.

We got an unexpected history lesson after my GF wrote "I (heart) Pete" on the wall of a bunker.

"These are 100-year-old structures," the park trooper told us, and defacing them is a felony. He took our IDs to check our criminal histories, and asked us repeatedly whether we had weed, reefer, marijuana, or alcohol -- you know, "IPA, PBR," he said as I opened my trunk to be searched. If he weren't an officer of the law, I'd say he was jonesin'.

We didn't have any warrants out on us, the car checked out, and the marker was washable ink, meant for writing on windows.

"Have fun," the officer told us, as he handed the marker back.

And did we ever. We petted some horses, drove through a one-lane tunnel and then hit Sausalito's main drag. On the rocks near the bay, I did my best to give my girlfriend crabs. Those little suckers wouldn't sit still long enough for me to grab them, though.

The Bridgeway Cafe served us hamburgers, juicy with strong buns. The staff was friendly, and once the SUV moved, our sidewalk table had a great view of the sunny Bay.

A butterfly fluttered past us as we walked to my car. Stopping by the water's edge, not wanting the date to end, I tried once again to get crabs, but failed. Oh well, maybe next time.

summer movie round up

The Dark Knight (2008) -See RealGoodBuddies

Clueless (1995) - See for stoner humor, Alicia Silverstone (whither?), computer-assisted clothing ensemble choices, and heavy doses of before-its-time environmentalism, in the form of global warming and Pismo Beach Disaster Relief work.

Gummo (1997) - See for parentless Kids, self-destruction and depressed Southern life. Directed by Harmony Korine, who wrote the Kids screenplay. The backstory is that a town destroyed by a tornado still suffers its effects, with father- and mother-less children, etc.

I like the idea of a look back at a neglected town, but this movie leaves me feeling pretty hopeless. You get the feeling these people did not exactly have perfect lives before the event. There are touching moments, like when quiet Solomon works out with jury-rigged dumbbells in front of his basement mirror while his mother tap dances in her deceased husband's tap shoes. This movie makes me miss basements (see Chicago). But the only time Solomon smiles is while he sweet talks a mentally-handicapped girl he (or maybe his friend) paid to screw. I'm not sure what lessons I'm supposed to take from that.

The film makes good use of music, specifically black or death metal, arranged to cat-killing scenes. It was scary.

Wherever I may (not) roam

SF Chron: Singer's metal fence has heavy impact in Marin

I dreamed about seeing Metallica last night, then I see this in the news. It's a sign. Don't go to Marin.

tao of pilaf

tao of pilaf
Originally uploaded by Monster Pete

yin yang. i made dinner for my gf. we had pilaf, mandarin orange chicken, cream corn, and leftover pizza. plus vino (barefoot pinot grigio). dessert? rocky road peanut butter cookie sandwich. mmmm.

society

Empty Room Society, with Security:
Coatholding Society (dan's just a guest member):