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gordonzolaHello LJ friends. I’m back in town and have so much to write about I don’t know where to start. First off, thanks to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
motel666, queenbeanna, and goodbadgirl for helping to entertain me in Seattle, Sara and Steve (too cool for LJ, those two) for hosting me for a night in Portland, and all the other people without an online presence who took me in or otherwise amused me.
Much will be coming in the future, including, but not limited to:
-Why I’m over punk houses
-Ideological problems with "Thomas the Tank Engine"
-Musings on "The Left" and the anti-war movement (If you haven’t readjactitation’s piece here you should right now
-Grand generalizations about Portland and Seattle
-Why Goths amuse me
-The cheese schmoozefests and related events I’m currently attending
But the first thing I’ll write about is the drive. Nothing really makes me feel more American than driving a huge white Pontiac Bonneville (free upgrade from the compact I reserved) 800 miles in a day. I’m not saying that in an ironic way either. I really do love it. And since I brought about 30 CDs (I try to over pack in every aspect of my vacations) it was a loud and fast drive too, my favorite kind.
So loud, in fact, that I blew out one of the speakers with my "Too Popular for their Own Good" mix CD. In the same way that I like to listen to Hank Williams and Wanda Jackson when I visit Germany, I figured that since I’d be traveling through some of the whitest parts of the country I needed the equivalent of KMEL (outside SF read as "Clear Channel urban format station") to help keep things in perspective. I think it was "How Many Licks?" by Li’l Kim that did it. All of a sudden, no more bass.
Luckily, I’m punk so I was well prepared. If there ever was a musical style that disdained bass it’s that of my chosen subculture. And while it’s satisfying to pull into rest stops with the bass thumping so loud that the bathroom trolls come outside to see what’s going on, I think the constant short-fast-loud cut an hour off my trip by raising my adrenaline level. Driving down I-5 at 85 MPH screaming along to Blatz* just made me so happy. . . I felt like I had finally relaxed after a week off of work.
Unfortunately, there’s that hard-to-rationalize, nagging thought that my (and most Americans’) ability to find such joy in driving alone is, on more than an individual, consumerist level, one of the reasons a whole bunch of people are going to die in Iraq very soon.
Sigh.
* Confidential to The Punx: I bought the new/old Blatz/Filth CD in Portland that packages all their records onto 2 CDs. I came to the conclusion that if you think of yourself as punk, and you don’t love Blatz, well, you must have no heart. "Homemade Speed", "Lullaby", "Fuck Shit Up", and "Berkeley is my Baby and I want to Kill It": pure classics.
motel666, queenbeanna, and goodbadgirl for helping to entertain me in Seattle, Sara and Steve (too cool for LJ, those two) for hosting me for a night in Portland, and all the other people without an online presence who took me in or otherwise amused me.Much will be coming in the future, including, but not limited to:
-Why I’m over punk houses
-Ideological problems with "Thomas the Tank Engine"
-Musings on "The Left" and the anti-war movement (If you haven’t read
jactitation’s piece here you should right now-Grand generalizations about Portland and Seattle
-Why Goths amuse me
-The cheese schmoozefests and related events I’m currently attending
But the first thing I’ll write about is the drive. Nothing really makes me feel more American than driving a huge white Pontiac Bonneville (free upgrade from the compact I reserved) 800 miles in a day. I’m not saying that in an ironic way either. I really do love it. And since I brought about 30 CDs (I try to over pack in every aspect of my vacations) it was a loud and fast drive too, my favorite kind.
So loud, in fact, that I blew out one of the speakers with my "Too Popular for their Own Good" mix CD. In the same way that I like to listen to Hank Williams and Wanda Jackson when I visit Germany, I figured that since I’d be traveling through some of the whitest parts of the country I needed the equivalent of KMEL (outside SF read as "Clear Channel urban format station") to help keep things in perspective. I think it was "How Many Licks?" by Li’l Kim that did it. All of a sudden, no more bass.
Luckily, I’m punk so I was well prepared. If there ever was a musical style that disdained bass it’s that of my chosen subculture. And while it’s satisfying to pull into rest stops with the bass thumping so loud that the bathroom trolls come outside to see what’s going on, I think the constant short-fast-loud cut an hour off my trip by raising my adrenaline level. Driving down I-5 at 85 MPH screaming along to Blatz* just made me so happy. . . I felt like I had finally relaxed after a week off of work.
Unfortunately, there’s that hard-to-rationalize, nagging thought that my (and most Americans’) ability to find such joy in driving alone is, on more than an individual, consumerist level, one of the reasons a whole bunch of people are going to die in Iraq very soon.
Sigh.
* Confidential to The Punx: I bought the new/old Blatz/Filth CD in Portland that packages all their records onto 2 CDs. I came to the conclusion that if you think of yourself as punk, and you don’t love Blatz, well, you must have no heart. "Homemade Speed", "Lullaby", "Fuck Shit Up", and "Berkeley is my Baby and I want to Kill It": pure classics.
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no subject
Date: 2003-01-21 07:41 am (UTC)Driving across the country is one of the best ways to get a little peace of mind, isn't it? Now you're making me want to hop into my car and go...
no subject
Date: 2003-01-21 05:57 pm (UTC)yep, there's no denying it. I think I've driven across 6 times but not since 1993.
As for war, I'm not taking it upon myself, don't worry. Just reflecting a little on it. I'll have a little more detailed explanation below when I have a little more time.
Re:
Date: 2003-01-22 06:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-01-22 08:02 am (UTC)I once saw that prairie dog, the world's largest Buffalo, and "Salem Sue" the world's largest Holstein cow all in one glorious day.
Re:
Date: 2003-01-23 06:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-01-21 08:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-01-21 08:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-01-21 09:20 am (UTC)my teeth are ok. i have to go back to my dad's for the second part of my root canal and hopefully to get my other cavity filled and i could really use a cleaning. i'm nervous about the root canal. i haven't been taking my antibiodics to clear up the infection which was what was making it hurt so bad before. i'm a fool, i know. but when the pain isn't there i forget to take the medicine. does the second part hurt more than the first because the first hurt really bad. so bad that i had to get a couple more shots of novicaine straight up into the broken tooth!
no subject
Date: 2003-01-21 11:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-01-21 08:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-01-21 08:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-01-22 05:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-01-21 11:23 am (UTC)xoxo Candy
no subject
Date: 2003-01-22 08:07 am (UTC)heh heh.
Why goths amuse ME
Date: 2003-01-21 11:36 am (UTC)Re: Why goths amuse ME
Date: 2003-01-22 08:09 am (UTC)damnit
Date: 2003-01-21 11:59 am (UTC)has it really been that long?
now i'm upset.
Re: damnit
Date: 2003-01-21 05:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-01-21 12:34 pm (UTC)And let's take apart that oil thing a little. Yes, there's something about promoting that driving alone in a gas-guzzler that is connected to ridiculous oil over-consumption (which is only part of resource over-consumption in general), but do you really think it's drivers who are the main over-consumers? Of course you know that it's industry. That doesn't mean that there's not a cultural component, but do you really think that your love for your car and driving alone is what's driving the war, or was that just a little tease for us?
no subject
Date: 2003-01-21 08:19 pm (UTC)I don't think that. It was more of a whimsical thought (while driving during the weekend of all the big protests) that took on more weight due its placement at the end of my entry. But, I do find it interesting how things can become cultural. Living in the USA which has made individual auto travel more attainable than anywhere else on the planet, both through wealth and lack of the mass transit options that other industrialized countries have, has tied together the image of the lone, fast driver and feelings of freedom, peacefulness, and desire for many people, myself included. That this country can use up so much of the world's resources to make this even possible, and without much individual sacrifice or privilege, is the issue surrounding this and most wars.
But there are no individual solutions to this. And I do love my driving.
sigh
Date: 2003-01-21 06:23 pm (UTC)Re: sigh
Date: 2003-01-21 08:06 pm (UTC)If you or P want an LJ I can hook you up with a code. I still can't believe you're not in Petaluma.
Re: sigh
Date: 2003-01-22 09:49 am (UTC)Miss you much, my dears...
xxooJacco
Re: sigh
Date: 2003-01-22 02:40 pm (UTC)I thought that hat was long gone!
I had called the Lucky 13 the day after, but didn't think to call
you, and I was so busy with the move, I didn't have the opportunity to get it anyways. I loves me that hat. And it is cold here (-8* last night) so I could use it. I have Scott's xwife's old Brooklyn ski hat she left at our old place in Novato a long, long time ago, and I actually sleep in it sometimes, BRRRR.
I will email Gordonzola our snail mail add, since I don't have yours. I have pix from his bday party as well that I will send,
and I have plenty of pix of the house, the town, us, etc.
I've been digging thru boxes & finding all sorts of interesting pix from the days when developing was free. Maybe I'll just scan them & burn a disc when I get the chance. Many pix of the girls when they were babies....they are teens now.(I'm much too immature to have kids this old - what happened?) Pix of our bar in Novato, Mendocino, drunken MIA friends, it's a walk down memory lane...
Thanks for holding onto my furry hat.
Glad we could see you before leaving the state.
Hope you'll be visiting!
Love,
P
Re: sigh
Date: 2003-01-22 10:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-01-21 11:38 pm (UTC)At least two of these were on the mix you made me (the one that helped me survive Texas). I should find it - I think the Berkeley song might have a different resonance now.
Glad you're home.
no subject
Date: 2003-01-22 08:05 am (UTC)"if this is such a mellow place, WHY DO I FEEL SO MEAN?"
no subject
Date: 2003-01-22 06:45 am (UTC)...and everyone just dreams of themselves anyway, don't they.
no subject
Date: 2003-01-22 08:04 am (UTC)and they say that the change can come from you, but it should have come long ago.
no subject
Date: 2003-01-24 05:34 pm (UTC)