a stretch and a yawn

i'm up for the day. time to make some paintings happen!

the coup happens every year. this year i'm gonna happen with it.

well, the hope is that if i turn in five paintings maybe ONE of them will make it. i'll be happy if it does, and - maybe - not real hurt if it doesn't. i haven't put a lot of thought into it, so i don't think i'll care. i mean, they give BACK your paintings. so, there's that.

so if i get my paintings back, and i've been meaning to paint anyhow and blah blah blah...what's the bad thing about doing this?

judgment. man, do i loathe that concept.

why do i do it? oh! oh! me! me! me! i do it because, like most people, i operate my machine on high-octane praise.

press the lever. turn the key.

you know who's best?

is it me?

my principal principle

would be?

hmm...tired a bit tonight. at least not as sick feeling as last night. whoah...

ever wonder about the moon?

me neither.

max daddy crow

"there are crows outside my window. i think i'm going to die soon."
- kayla jean

i had a crazy dream where i woke up to a headline. in the dream one person did double-duty. you'll have to tell me if this has happened to you...it's like their role switched back and forth. one face turning into the other mid-action, or - i'm just left with a weird feeling that they're one and the same - at least for the moment.

the two people: trent and johnny depp.

it was a lot like the johnny depp from 'finding neverland.'

and trent was there because he brought drinks.

he and i showed up to my cousin's door. jenny, that's her. and trent seemed to do this all the time, brought his bike in and put it where it needed to be and i fumbled around in back like i do when i'm being brought somewhere for the first time by someone who's at home in the area. i lag at the door. take longer getting my shoes off. stand awkwardly at the threshold, does this happen to you, too?

and so - yeah, it's my cousin's house - and yeah: trent's been there before.

so he walks in and jenny's saying hello and she's friendly with him, and i'm just observing. and he offers her a mike's hard lemonade - she accepts - and there's bathwater running. the living room is down a set of stairs and the upper portion of the home - where the entry and landing are, at least, is airier. almost seems like an apartment building. there's a door to the left as you'd head down the stairs and it's in there that the bath is bubbled up.

it's for the kids. and god - there are a lot of them.

she lives in this split-level apartment complex thing but it must be a shoe. she's got so many kids!

and they're all excited to see uncle trent and when i'm bringing my bike in and i don't know where to set it jenny suggests blocking up that doorway where the bath is running. and, for some reason, this will postpone bedtime.

the kids are ecstatic. this is where trent meets johnny. they're all so happy to see him, yet know - as kids must - that his arrival means bedtime will follow an hour behind.

then there's the spinning newspaper. like in old television: it comes spinning into focus, with a headline:

CHILDREN FIGHT ILLNESS DUE TO PREOCCUPATIONS

or SOMEthing...i'm not sure what it said. it was GOOD though. it woke me up happy. i thought about how sometimes we made ourselves sick or well depending on whether or not we wanted to have fun...

that's a good dream. it's 5:30 a.m. i don't care what the posting says.

i'll fill you in on yesterday, later.

a brief morning story

It was about a year ago that my friends and I headed from Minot, ND to the cities. It was winter then and you know how the snow gets. Piles of it. That's most of what I remember, down on Lake street jumping in and out of snow. To and from the car. So our vinyl junkie kicked in and we ended up at Treehouse Records.

It's a great place, if you haven't been.

Well, we're just kids. From a small town. We were looking at Elvis pressings when we heard an argument from the front of the store. A clerk and two older men, embroiled in debate. The subject:

Green Day

The clerk seemed only to be playing moderator in a lax fashion. Interjecting, "Whoahs!" and "Ooo.K.s!" when appropriate. The man in front of the counter on the left towered over his arguing counterpart while the clerk looked on. The man on the right was of slight build with a scraggled home-bum look. There were years behind those features, which was what initially drew us into the conversation - although - it IS a small place and they WERE very loud.

The man on the left: "They were in WINNIPEG. I was up there recording - they put one of MY songs on their first album and couldn't say, 'Hi?'"

"Doesn't mean they're SELLOUTS!"

"Whoah!"

Then, that age old chicken-and-egg question regarding sellout or not reared its ugly twin heads and it all got a bit crazy. We didn't realize they were talking about Green Day until a little bit after that first part, so you can imagine our situation. Crazy! Minneapolis: where the older cats are also the wiser cats.

You could imagine the rest: we watched. It ended. We went our way with some choice Bob Wills 45's...only...that...DIDN'T happen...

Instead, the tiny scraggle-faced home bum got exasperated.

"I'm GOING! I've got to catch my BUS!"

The taller man:

"You get that bus. It'll take you farther than GREEN DAY will!"

We roared in the back. The taller man said his goodbyes to the unexcited clerk. I went to the counter...confused about what had happened, here, in the CITY.

"What was that all about?"

"Oh, well - it happens all the time."

"Who WAS that? Some crazies, right? I mean - he said Green Day played one of his songs..."

"Oh," he laughed a bit now, "that was Grant Hart from..."

"Husker Du!" we cried!

Of course - Minneapolis!

Well...we'd only been a minute at the counter. I left my finds at the counter and three of us ran out into the snow. There he was...

Grant Hart!

We talked for a minute with the legend. Told him I book concerts from time to time in Minot. "That's on the Empire Builder!" Why, yes, Mr. Hart. It is.

He said we should make this happen and gave us each a copy of Good News for Modern Man...

la vida sin conocimiento es muerte en disfraz

life without knowledge is death in disguise.
- blackstar

check the gauges:

the upswing in energy could be a number of things. could be the beautiful weather we've been having. a mild kind of cold, barely see your breath - no wind. the lights hit the ice and this place reminds me of a real city. like minneapolis. i like minot at night on these kinds of nights.

i'd like to be in minneapolis, sometimes, too.

it could also be a head-trip. i'm excitable when i've got a day off. this means i haven't been excitable since we went on tour in december. i haven't had one day away from work or school. day without work? school. day without school? work. and hell, we'll have some days with both. fuck it. you need a character-building experience.

well, not tomorrow. ricardo's going to columbia. it's his parent's fiftieth anniversary. he's worried that immigration won't let him back in. theoretically, this means i may never see him again. he's a very good person. i hope that's not the case. and - who - just who - the hell would teach us spanish then?

so, he's gone. no spanish. no school. no work. nothing. i'm going to do back homework, paint, and start planning a tour...maybe with the crooked gospel?

fuckin' a!

but the upswing could also be the diet. who knows? it's not a diet in the sense that i'm trying to lose weight, look good, or be a part of madison avenue's idea of good lookin' - it's diet like what i'm eating. just didn't want to lose you in there. well, it could be the diet. made an awesome collard green burrito thing. just slices of avocado and tomato and some olives...

it was amazing.

jaz called it a "pocket salad." i thought that was real good.

so i walked down to off the vine. no wine for me. just water. i think the waiter used to teach me math. who fuckin' knows? well, gave sara her poster...it says:

"When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money."

- Cree prophecy. hope she likes it.

sara ended up getting sick. the wine? we'd drank the kikkoman plum before. i'm not sure. and it's her birthday and she was getting sick behind the building when we came out after settling up. i left a tip. darryl had already bought sara's drink.

saw lisa, ron, and the poet jeff skarski. skarski rides a bike. he was stumbling drunk when i found that out. i asked him if he was driving - real serious like. he said - no - i got a bike. and well, then - it was high-fives! i love drunk bike riding. shawn doesn't. but that's just his teeth talking.

walked up to nola's. mitch was worried 'bout missing last thursday's meeting. called himself a flake. he'll make it, i'm sure. people seem interested at least on the surface. who doesn't like helping people? please, no dumb answers to that. it's mackey's birthday tomorrow. so, shit - i had to buy him a drink too. shit i love that guy.

laura veirs is damn good. that's all i'm saying about that. next post will probably be a linkette to a damn fine song.

so, all in all, i've done the challenge for two days. i'm feeling good about it. i saw and well-wished lots of friends, i've got no complaints as i head to bed tonight.

UPDATE:

Anonymous,

To tell which water is raw and which is not they tend to use litmus strips. Under moonlight. During Summer Solstice. On a hill. While the band plays.

a second comment to mr. peanut

UP TO THE MINUTE REPORT:

the peanuts i've been eating are, in fact, uncooked. says so on the package. they're in the shell. there's still bits of vine hangin' off the ends.

for the cynical - of which i'm proudly a part - the package says "raw" a total of three times. one of those being in the ingredients list: peanuts, in shell, raw.

it really does say "uncooked" on the top of the bag. it also has a warning that the bag may - just possibly - contain tree nuts.

a quick look into the interweb brings up an interesting bit of information...john b. sanfilippo and sons seem to either distribute/own sunshine country (the brand i've got) and fisher brand nuts along with some other nuts. they've got every kind of nut available. holy. every kind, that is, except one...

the sunshine country brand raw jumbo virginia peanuts in shell that i have don't seem to make an appearance on their exhaustive list of legumes. what the f, right? anyway, here's the website. and thanks for keepin' me honest.

http://jbssinc.com/

meaty dreams

what a weird night.

a healthy shit and hope: they both float

click title. i dare you.

my first day as a raw-foodist: the lunchroom report

ted likes carrots. so do i.

i have eaten, so far:

1 apple - 110 calories
1 orange - 80
4 bananas - 105 X 4 = 420 (duuuuuuude.)
1 pear - 98
1/2 of an avocado - 150
1/2 of an ugli fruit - 20
1 peach - 73
1/2 of a carrot - 52 in a cup? shoot. i dunno.

it is 2pm. i work in one-hour.

i've been awake since 8am.

there is an H^3 meeting tonight at 7:30.

my total caloric intake is: 1003. much higher than i'd thought it would be. cool!

i also have a miller highlife pounder that bob blake left behind. that will have to wait until this week is over too, dammit.

LATER IN THE NIGHT.

i didn't keep track of much of the rest. lots of peanuts in the shell. unsalted. getting hungry.

charlie didn't have much trouble, i guess. but he's a wrestler. he just got done eating an apple and an orange every day for four months. how hard could this be?

so, i probably made 2,000 calories. my bowels have started making artistic statements. i'm just a grunt away from a picasso at about any given minute.

work was whatever. got lost lookin' for books. same old, same old.

the meeting went really well tonight. jacob made an awesome poster (it will be posted up here soon...) alex and i both started working on infoshop fliers (a "coming soon" flier) detailing what we have planned. workshops. coffee. wireless. bike repairs. lending library. it's gonna be called, "McGruff INK." we worked and brainstormed for nearly three hours!

Cool, eh?

justin's coming to visit soon. totally leet roxxor!

(that last bit was for mcclure)

anyway, bedtime. tomorrow's another day - AND - sara's birthday!

luv,
billy motha fuggin batson - shazam!

ashes to ashes, crumbs to crumbs...

charlie and i stood by the tracks while ted ran round the fence that keeps a rot and two pups from the road. we each finished the pieces we'd already grabbed out of the bag. he handed the bag to me. i saw there were two left. i handed one to charlie. i kept one. i emptied the remains - the crumbs - into my left hand. i spread the crumbs to the wind and as they scattered earthbound we each raised our piece. a small salute. a bit of a send off. pizzeria combos.

tomorrow begins the raw foods challenge. one week. only fruits and vegetables and water. can we do it? i believe: yes.

what else happened today? went to mi mexico with trent. that was alright. top-notch foods. he bought a ratatouille video game. for himself.

worked. that was the same. i'm tired a lot. cancelled a basement show. that sucks. started planning a tour. that's cool. found out i'm not going to mexico this summer. that sucks, and i've still never seen boston.

if i were asked, right now - because that's totally possible - what two things would describe my day they would be...

a) walking ted
b) making plans

those were the things i did today. thank you very much.

click the title to learn about raw foods. good luck, challengers.

a good friend's good poem.

you can catch jeff down at the bookstore's open-mic. i think a lot of this piece...

"Vacation"
by Jeff Skarski

I stepped into his shop that day,
escaping Summer's heat.
Heading down the merchant's way,
to find a bit to eat.

"Hello!" said he, with twinkling eye,
's I stepped into his hall,
I looked, but found no thing to buy,
just beds along a wall.

He said, "I sell vacations, here!
The best there's ever been!
A miracle they engineered
way back in twenty-ten."

He said for just a modest fee,
I'd lie on magic bed,
Wherever I wished, there I'd be,
though only in my head.

My trip, he said, would last a week,
though I'd only lie an hour,
in this bed time was mild and meek,
devoid its frightful power.

I wondered if I had the time,
and pondered where I'd go
I asked if where my thoughts took me
was mine, or if he'd know.

I took the long way home that time,
my parcels under arm,
ice cream from the five and dime,
fresh supper from the farm.

At home I hugged my two young kids,
and kissed and held my wife.
a boy and girl, aged eight and six,
so wild and full of life.

We ate and spoke for quite a while,
of work and school and house.
at gym my kids had run a mile,
my wife had seen a mouse.

I listened smiling t'all they said,
I nodded when I ought.
I spoke only of the weather and
the things which I had bought.

I asked my wife where she would go,
a week spent anywhere.
She couldn't say, she didn't know,
as long's the weather's fair.

I asked of skiing in the north,
or camping in the wood,
would she swim in sandy, sunny ports,
If I told her that we could?

She said she had no answer,
that she wanted only sleep.
Happy just to have her,
I kissed her on the cheek.

Next day I sat behind my desk,
The day was dull but calm.
Each day boring as the rest,
but soothing like a balm.

Morning's light wakes up my brain,
I must be at work soon,
Newspapers while I ride the train,
lunch in cafe's at noon.

Work and eat and sleep I must
with evenings all for rest.
Five days each week for wages bust,
I think as I get dressed.

And then at last comes Saturday,
I take them to the park.
for hours on soft grass we play,
feed squirrels for a lark.

Sunday's peace is wistful,
a lovely Summer's break,
I hold them all the closer
for I know I soon will wake.

I open my eyes blindly,
From tears I freshly cry.
He holds my shoulder kindly,
says "None leave here dry of eye."

"Each one's vacation's different,
and yet they're all the same.
I hope whatever you saw then
will help you to be sane.

A vacation's a different thing
than it was long ago,
They've always numbed the world's sting,
Oh, little did we know."

I say no word, 'cept mumbled thanks,
and pay the man his due.
I open wide his window planks
so that I might look through.

I see the rubble scattered where
the five-and-dime once stood.
I see the buildings shattered. Where
I worked is but charred wood.

What once was my vocation,
Twas my family, this I know.
Now just dust and radiation,
Oh, dear God, I miss them so.

anything else?

branching out. sweet lemons. and humanity.

A musical treat. Play while reading. Michael Franti & Spearhead.
download audio file

I dedicate this post to Ron and Sharon. And the Auto-Doctor. And Micah. And beautiful humans.

The reason that the flier for tonight's event had so many pictures of people on it is explained below.

Today was a swell one at work. Seems like this past week - and this happens about once a month - was a real busy one. Looking back on these posts I see an open mic, I see that Humans Helping Humans had a great meeting (one that I matter-of-factly told Chris Brown about - umm - at least ten times...), and tonight there was an amazing performance down at the good ol' bookstore. Robert Sarazin Blake was the guest performer of the evening, but the breakaway stars were harder to pick out than that. You couldn't just say that he was the big deal. Only one of many. Unsung heroes are everywhere. There was Jody McLaughlin - of the longest running zine around Minot, The Compleat Mother - she helped me find a nail that was jutting out of the hardwood. Recommended a hammer, which I couldn't find. There was Rhonda from Chicago, who couldn't help but remind me to get an email list started, because - as she said, "I'm not from here - but my FAMILY is - and they need to be coming DOWN!" Her enthusiasm was more than beautiful. And about that - B. Smooth - he wrote a poem about being beautiful - "from her head to her cuticles!" All went well with Jazmine, and Lou (great poem about freedoms, a trapped bird, and his daughter's precocious words...) - Brent Braniff (I'm attempting to get permission to post a song for download off of his latest release) was in top form playing with ex-Mapatazy member Ryan Alexander (how did THAT come about? If you know, do tell.) Then remember that moment when Pat Lipps was such a good sport (he was in the bathroom, and I had the crowd applaud his efforts - while he was in the middle of them!) I guess what I'm getting at is it's everybody else - always has been and always will be - that makes these things happen. Ricardo Mendoza and Amina the French teacher were there! Ricardo said, "Como Estas?" and asked me if I needed any help. He carried in a guitar. Micah helped carry chairs from the basement - and back down. Lou did that too. Little things? Not so sure...well, I loved every minute anyhow. The next H^3 (Humans Helping Humans...) meeting is Monday @ 7:30pm. Email me for details.

Joshua Plogue (the vegan-chef - has a zine out that talks about various shows he played in with Behead the Prophet etc. and one of the shows he talked about being a part of was a celebration of EVERYONE - like all the kids who come out would get their five minutes - to talk about THEM! It sounds beautiful. What say you?) Why was all of that parenthetical?

And hey! Buy the new Potential Caskets and Brent Braniff CD's if you know what's really rubberneckin good.

Gotta sleep now. Here's a Robert Blake video treat!

UPDATE: After discussing it with Charlie I've decided that it's O.K. to mention that another really touching moment from the night was when he played a cover of a Fist Full of Knuckles song, "White Knuckles." I hadn't wanted to mention it - for vanity's sake - but, as Charles reminded me - having a blog is pretty damn vain in and of itself. So, thanks Charlie - you played it better than I ever have.

what's up...

download audio file

veo sonrisas en todo

Tonight's meeting of Humans Helping Humans went very well. We created our costumes for recycling action day. I need to get a top-hat. I'm all carnival-barker. Half shark, alligator, half man - and all carnival-barker.

Recycling action day is going to be pretty ridiculous. Look for us. We'll be dressed to impress and puttin' knowledge to the test.

We also started thinking of other ideas. I think we'll play board games at the nursing home. I'll bring my guitar. These are nice things to do.

The infoshop we're planning in the McGruff basement is looking up as well. Stay tuned! We've got a lot of work to do, but that's A.O.K.

It's a good group. A solid core. Contact me if you want to help humans!

I leave you with this:

"Footprint of the American Chicken T-Shirts

Often found in dense urban areas, the American Chicken can be identified by its distinctive mark and complete lack of understanding. However, when confronted with heavy caliber truth and large volleys of common sense, they will often retreat back to their hippie communes while ranting incoherently. This t-shirt will help you identify these radical individuals so they can be avoided when possible and confronted when necessary.

100% cotton, mens sizes small to 3XL"

I can't make this up.

From the website: Life, Liberty, Etc.

by jacob braaten: bears like flowers

goals: one post a day for 21 days. that's how long 'they' say it takes to form a habit.

stay tuned for: more goals.

go to this website: http://youtube.com/user/Netaarb

if you: like the following video.

tonight's open-mic. and passports.

Tonight was eventful, a really great open-mic. The best part was that we had fun. These open-mics all over the place are like really great taco stands. Shit, hungry? Why wait - grab a handfulla-fajita, the kind that comes with friends and green-sauce.

Oh yeah.

Second best was that I got - ONE - count it! ONE! Comment on this here blog, asking if the drawings down there were mine. The answer? Absolutely not! They come from Fables, a comic book of immense appeal. I suggest buying it and scanning it and making your own term-paper comics.

They're a hit.

Also! Otis & James will begin shooting for passports next week! Main Street - and Mexico! - here I come.

Thanks Matt Beer-E.

Luv,
Billy Batson - Shazam!

blue scholars. seattle. shout out.

Theodore Goes to School

Ted asked us to help him fill out his enrollment papers.
Which we gladly did.

He was soon accepted and welcomed graciously with open arms!
That's Ted with Professor Bartowski.

The faculty seemed so proud to have him as their student.

A little apprehensive at first, Ted would end up loving school before long.

He worked hard from day one. He had to.
Don't you hate homework on the first day?
But it wasn't all work - he made some friends, too!

There was, mickey - quarterback for the local football team,

Big Baby Jesus who was really just misunderstood,

and Shackleton, the class clown.
They were all so different...

But, somehow, he brought them all together.

They couldn't have fun for long, however.
It was time to hit the books!


See you next time!

first issue: "of moths in holy clothing"

click on the picture for readable view. i hate that this is a link. dammit!