don’t call me a backpacker…

Evolution (Burning Man time lapses) from Delrious on Vimeo.

(love the pirate ship ride part of this video)

and here are my photos

So, I have an adventure coming up next week…

Ever since I moved to the Bay Area 12 years ago, I’ve had friends who went to Burning Man.   The Maxham family, Kym, Rus and Mark, friends from back home were already heavy into it in 1997, as were my east band musician friends, Idiot Flesh playing it annually.  Interest was piqued, but it seemed a little over the top for my (slightly) conservative sensibilities.

Fast forward a few years, I was in a comfortable relationship and boring job, got tired of hearing so much about Burning Man every year, tired of seeing people in pink fur and cowboys hats, hated dance music, and generally had become a curmudgeon.  My partner agreed, we weren’t that interested.  The thought of spending a hot summer week in the desert with a bunch of dirty raver hippies, enduring dust storms and miserably extreme conditions with little to no amenities sounded like about the WORST thing imaginable.

I have however, always given it due respect that it is a pretty amazing and pure people-driven event.  Even as they have had to ‘incorporate’ to continue running it, only because it gotten large beyond belief and some order has to be kept.  No corporate sponsors, no commerce, a focus on art and music… and hedonism.  A city is built for a week of partying, then torn down and gone.  I have many friends who hate it, but many people I respect (like my friend Cynthia who took the photo below) say there’s nothing like it in the world.  People come from all over the world to experience it.

What changed for me?  I don’t know really, a bunch of stuff.  My world travels played a part for sure, friends to go with, days off needed badly.  Having developed more of a “you only live once” mentality, this year seems like it’s finally the time.

A lot of work has gone into getting prepared for this the last few weeks.  You could just show up with a few gallons of water, sun tan lotion and not much else and have your needs met, but it’s a lot more fun (and comfortable) to grab the bull by the horns.  That’s part of it all, it’s fun, I am enjoying it.  Even better, I’ve heard that ticket sales are down (a good thing, I predicted weeks ago that this would be the first year attendance declines) and the conditions on the playa are relatively good.  So I’m excited.

Outside of that though I’ve been feeling pretty uninspired, uncreative, and stuck again.  Some things have been great, but other things are not doing it for me.  Music has stalled out again and that always puts me in a foul mood, although I have some potential things brewing.  I haven’t really taken many days off work since new years and that may have more to do with it than i want to admit.  So we’ll see how this whole Burning Man thing goes, full report and pictures to follow.

But first things first.  I obviously didn’t make the Top 50 (of 30,000 entries) to win the 6 month job in Australia.  Oh well, you can’t win if you don’t play.  Honestly, Australia is one of the last places on my list to go.  Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to go diving on The Reef.  But the rest of it?  It’s the United States in the south Pacific, with less culture and worse food.  pass.

For years now I’ve wanted a tattoo, especially during and after my rtw trip.  I was searching for some Indonesian designs but couldn’t come up with any good ones.  So it’s never been a matter of would I do it, just finding what I would feel strongly enough about doing.

If I was going to do it, it would be something completely one-of-a-kind.  Something culturally significant and interesting.  Not half-assed or small.  I’m not much into word tattoos.  And since I’m not an artist, I’d better find a good listening artist that would work well with me.

I realize now it’s a better thing to tell people what it is before they see it.  Unless I’m trying to get a strong reaction, heh.

It’s a Dia de los Muertos mermaid.  The idea struck me one day when I was thinking about one my friend Adrienne’s paintings.  It hit me, mermaid tattoo, aquatic life has become a big part of me, culturally awesome and relevant to several facets of my life, the southwest, the caribbean, colorful, celebratory, and most of all, dead.  In addition to those things, it represents marking the first half of my life being done. Reminding me of the good, the bad, the mistakes and not to repeat them.

Here’s how the plan came together…

And here it is currently, but still need to add more water and fish. and then, who knows?

Finding the artist was a challenge. I tried a guy at a shop I heard was good, I liked his art the best of the artists.  I booked a session with him before I left for Honduras, he had about a months wait anyway.  When I got back, he’d lost the picture copies I gave him to work from.  not good.  then his drawings looked terrible, he wasn’t getting the style I wanted at all, even when I said “I want it exactly like this!”

My friend Tom then recommended Tanja Nixx, a friend of a friend who owns the famous Lyle Tuttle shop in north beach.  He said he wanted her to do his next tatt, and that women tattoo artists are better listeners and would probably be what I needed.  Also that she’s German, so she’s detailed, haha.  I looked her up and her art matched the style I wanted a lot, she’s done Dia de los Muertos tatts, and she’s a traveler!  The style of it being Central American folk art is not something you see often in tattoos either.  but that’s exactly what’s nice in my opinion, i needn’t go down the list of overused, cliche’d, tattoo art.

So she’s worked out great and I love it.

What else is going on?  Taking Spanish class again and it’s kicking my ass.  I almost dropped it, but got B’s on both tests so I’m kinda hanging in there.  But truthfully i’m lost.  I’m also taking a 30-day hiatus from booze and first dates.  A spring cleaning and detox.  I’ve never done one before, and my health and liver could use it after the last several months.

Still doing lots of yoga and running more too.  Been super busy between work, gigs, rehearsals, social life, class, yeah.  All in all, not bad.

Traveling… want to hike Machu Picchu with my friend from Honduras.  Anyone want to go?  If that doesn’t look imminent, I may do a quick trip to Oaxaca to house sit, or I don’t know, Argentina.

So I might as well review this Fall feast of music.  Crazy how this happens, where all these great bands, plus 2 more shows i wanted to see (My Bloody Valentine, Sigur Ros) but passed up, in such a short span.  Now we’re back to famine .

Let’s start with last week and go backwards…

A very rare and special show with Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, and Jim Keltner. For those not in the know, not only are each of these guys legendary in their own right, this was the rhythm section for one of the greatest roots rock albums ever, John Hiatt’s ‘Bring the Family.’  Then they made an album together called Little Village in 1992.  This ‘thrown together’ trio they just called Guitar-Bass-Drums.  Anyway, Keltner is one of my favorite drummers, and he rarely plays live shows anymore.  I’d seen him once with Bill Frisell but it was in the cavernous Masonic Auditorium and was hardly inspirational.  I took Kate to this show, and this time we got to see and hear him up close and personal in my favorite venue in the world, The Great American Music Hall.

The show was a benefit, and the surprise guest was Elvis Costello! So that was cool.  He did a couple of songs duo, and then joined the trio for their encore.

The show was as expected, a little loose and thrown together, but totally amazing.  They pulled songs from all over the map, Nick did a lot of the singing, very very cool.

Also last week at the Great American… Deerhoof!  One of the greatest bands of the … well, ok maybe that’s a bit much – one of my favorite bands, and undoubtedly one of the most important, original, and prolific bands of the last decade.  I hear them as Led Zeppelinesque melodic riffage meets Brian Eno quirkiness, with Satomi’s amazing broken-English poetry over the top hinting at Japanese noise bands.  Sooooo consistently good.  They were just kicking off a huge tour for their 9th album (not including EP’s and live albums!)  They were all over the new material and sounded great.

Then there was Calexico at the Fillmore.  A band I used to love love love from their first 3 albums.  There last 3 albums though have really lost me musically though.  They’ve tried “branch out” and not pigeonhole themselves in the “border” sound they do so well, but the result is more mediocre indie-rock sounding stuff.  I realized you could see it coming: when the bass player was on the upright bass, the song was going to be good; when he picked up the electric bass, you could head to the bar or bathroom.  They put on a good show, but I’ve kind of given up on hearing the great stuff they did early on.

Back up to the week before… two nights in a row at the Fillmore with my friend Adrienne.  We had planned on going to The Silver Jews to celebrate 1 year of being friends, but I made a last minute decision to get tickets to the last of the 3 night stand of SPOON. I called a guy on Craigslist who was selling in my work hood, and after I got him on the phone, we realized we worked in the same building!  Clearly, it was meant to be.

(that’s the only one that’s not my photo) Spoon is an indie pop band from Austin that is at the top of their game right now after some great albums.  I figured it was a not miss show, and it was fantastic, even if the audience was about 80/20 fans/posers.

The Silver Jews were pretty much as expected.  Awesome, awkward, and understated.  He is such a quirky songwriter and his personality totally matched, i.e. rarely looking directly at the audience… what a weirdo, haha.  The band was all Nashville guys.  Hardcore fans of the band, we saw one guy writing down the set list in between rocking back and forth like Rain Man.  It was a nice show and again kinda rare as this band doesn’t tour a lot.

I shouldn’t complain about “famine” now, there is always something interesting going on here… and THAT *is* why I live here.  I have an actual gig next week too, shock!  Nothing big, just a benefit show with Tom Heyman.  Time to work on some holiday travel plans I think.

Considering how crappy my spring was, summer 08 was a nice improvement.  Work was a bit stressful there for a while, but I survived the major migration and have more responsibility now.  I’ve played very little music, but I’ve been super busy socially and made a lot of new friends this summer which was needed.  I ended it with a great Labor Day weekend (always a nice, sunny, and quiet weekend in SF) that included yoga (my first class with the famous Rusty Wells, was amazing), a hot day on the beach (SO rare), bbq’s, and buying a new car!

This new car thing was getting to be a thorn in my side.  I’d been working on it for months trying to make the best decision.  Finally I was out of time as my registration was expiring, and the computer died on my damn Jeep so I couldn’t pass the smog test. 

My new car is functional, fuel efficient, and SEXY!  How sexy???  watch this:

The newly redsigned Subie Forester.  It’s less like a wagon now and more like a sporty SUV.  So much so in fact I caught a Porsche Cayenne owner checking it out the other day!  So here’s the real deal, as I was driving it off the lot:

Travel plans… Hmmmm. No idea, other than Ecuador is still simmering in my head, and I have an invite to Iran.  yes, Iran… for a wedding, rather soon, too soon in fact considering the red tape and possible problems with getting a visa there.  Which reminds me I need to renew my passport as my 10 years is up on my current one.

The parents are coming for a visit this week.  It will be their third visit to SF since I’ve been here.  Going to do a day of wine tasting for sure, and possibly my first ever trip to Alcatraz!  wooohooo a tourist in my own city!

…especially when you are escaping the arctic wint-, errrr, arctic, foggy summer of San Francisco! I headed south for a long weekend of sun, football, and friends.

I’m not a big lover of the City of Angels, and it’s over-abundance of automobiles, but I usually head down once a year or so for whatever it’s got in store for me. It treated me well this time around. I have to say again – PRICELINE dot com RULES for hotels. 4 star hotel ($200+ room) for $90 a night.

Mainly, at the risk of outing myself as the severe football geek that I am (to those who don’t already know it,) I went to see the Dallas Cowboys training camp in Oxnard. Mah Team, gearing up for a big season, so close to home makes a nice getaway.

This is how close you get to watch them practice :

I also got to spend some time with my Dallas/SF/LA friend Leslie Marie, and my percussionist friend Erin. Funny enough, we realized I was introduced to Erin exactly 2 years ago by her sister last time I went to Oxnard. Leslie and I ran around Echo Park and downtown LA, as well as seeing the Cowboys on Saturday. Erin supplied my first visit to the very mellow burb of Pasadena, which I had no idea it was so close to downtown! I also hit up Hoagie Hut in Ventura on the beach in between Monday’s practices. Now I’m watching for myself on HBO’s series Hard Knocks

On another subject… it’s so weird how 35 has been this turning point for my body. Never had many health issues until this year and well… let’s just say this year has been “the year of realizing I’m old.”  Despite taking care of myself, I realize I have to take even BETTER care of myself.  check it out.

Things have been crazy busy, and crazy in life… as you could probably tell.

So busy recently in fact I’ve had to resort to wash ‘n’ fold laundry service for the first time. 22 bucks for someone else to do 2 loads of my laundry?!?!? Holy shite. I need a girlfriend. Oh wait, those are waaay more expensive.

So what the hell has been going on? My last (crysis) blog post has my friends calling me ‘emo.’ Hah! I’m not emo, I’m just embracing my dark side.

In May I went through some pretty dark and difficult times. I was not myself at all. Some of you know, some don’t, I’ll leave it at that. I got out of this all by basically turning my life upside down and inside out for an entire month. All the normal stuff I would do I didn’t feel like doing anyway. I just listened to and bought new music, did some reading, hung out with close friends, left dating on the shelf for a while longer, went back to therapy, and replaced several addictions with my new addiction – yoga.

A big part of this credit goes to Kate, who when I was at the end of said difficult time, told me to go with her to yoga class. This bhakti flow class was incredible, i was drenched in sweat, and the teacher Andrea was amazing. Her mellifluous voice both talking and chanting was that of an angel. It became Sunday morning church. I was so incredibly focused I was kind of shocking myself. I had better balance on one foot than a lot of other people around me, and did really well considering my lack of experience and my current state. At several points I found myself fighting back tears, but I guess that’s what the kleenex boxes are there for. Two weeks later I told Andrea it was a life changing experience for me.

I had tried yoga maybe 3 times in my life before, but I was kind of resistant to the idea of it, the hippie vibe, exposing your workout and your body in such close quarters… the whole thing. But my heart and mind was needing something new, something profound. I’ve been going ever since. After 1 and a half months there’s such a huge difference in myself physically and emotionally.

Don’t get me wrong though… I’m not walking around flaunting my yoga mat, and NOT becoming a hippie.

In June I went home to host my parents 40th wedding anniversary with my sister. Things went really well, everyone had a great time, and it made me thankful to have my family and old family friends all there and healthy. My mom told me the day before she’d never had a party thrown for her, and if there’s one person who deserves a party it’s my mom.

At work, things are good but crazy busy also. The last few weeks I had to overhaul our company network (140 people, over 300 network devices) pretty much single-handedly. This past weekend was the big changeover. I’m exhausted. I’m not complainin, I like a challenge, and as I told a friend, I like to be the hero sometimes.

Socially things have been a lot better than in the past few years as well. Lately even on nights when I have nothing going on, or have someone flake on me, I’ve had someone else pop up and be like, “wanna grab dinner?” That’s really all I ever wanted.

On getting old… heh. I went to the doctor yesterday. Long story short, I need to lose 10 (more) pounds and get my blood pressure down. But I don’t have to stop drinking to do this. $1000 in insurance money and 3 trips in for various tests to find out this valuable information I already knew. Thanks doc.

All in all, considering the things I’ve seen going on in the world around me, things are looking up.

Such bullshit, not to mention an enormous waste of MY tax dollars – all for a photo op. That’s the bottom line, all that matters is a photo Op.

Highway patrol just called it on live TV the “decoy plan at the Embarcadero.” Ooops.

What a joke. Was it worth it??? When there’s such an outcry over a stupid symbol going through the streets of a city, that they have to dupe everyone for it to be a success, with a military level escort? Kind of defeats the purpose huh? Why are we doing this? How can they say this was a positive experience?

‘I have every reason to believe this was a well developed plan by Gavin Newsom and his chief of police in conjunction with the government of China and the US State Department,” City Supervisor Peskin continued. “It was designed to please the government of China and give them the TV footage they want to portray to their people. The bottom line is that Newsom has deceitfully and repeatedly misled the public. Frankly, these are the tactics that the Chinese government uses on its people.”

So here’s my photo op you bastards:

Snapped a few photos on my way to get coffee. Hundreds of Chinese and Tibet (and about 10 Darfur) supporters already out and yelling. At 10 AM, they are just getting warmed up, but this should be an interesting day here to say the least.

“- The Olympic flame arrived in San Francisco from Paris early today under cover of darkness amid security typically reserved for head-of-state visits.”

Can you believe this shit?

In case you don’t know dear readers, the notorious Olympic torch on its arduous journey around the world will pass right by MY OFFICE TOMORROW at 1pm!!!

We’ve got water balloons and super-soakers cocked and loaded. Just kidding, but I will have my camera. I see almost NO WAY this doesn’t get cancelled. There’s no way we’re not going to see a similar scene as in London and Paris. I do not expect it to pass through San Francisco quietly. One of the runners has already backed out due to safety concerns. What a joke this has all become. Nonsense.

For the record, my stance on this whole issue is the same as most protests. I think it’s good to bring worldwide attention to China’s long and illegal occupation of Tibet, and their human rights violations. Is it going to change anything? Probably not. And is this really any better than the Bush administration’s occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and human rights violations by the CIA? Not really. Why don’t people put some energy into that?