so i am sick. really sick. i managed to pick up some mutant form of a cold while i was in mexico last weekend with krimpdaddy. i tried to refrain from whining and complaining about it in my blog, but it sucks. luckily, i think i am getting better. nonetheless, i am going to lay low all weekend and take care of myself. no exciting plans for me this weekend. none whatsoever. i've already missed two and a half days of work thanks to this sickness, and i am determined not to miss any more.

aside from the actually wanting to go back to work, i have to get better because... (drum roll please) i will be in south africa in less than three weeks!!! the planning process is going really well. in the most non-spike fashion possible, i actually planned out every day of my trip for over half of it. in more normal-spike fashion, i am going to wing the last part of it. i might end up in durban. i might end up in mozambique. i will go wherever my travel bug (and budget) takes me. i have some really sweet stuff planned. i am literally going to be "running to the end of the earth" at the cape of good hope. i am going to see african jackass penguins. i am going to visit a township and the apartheid museum to try to gain a taste of south africa's dark histroy. i am going to visit a cultural village. and... i am going to spend three glorious days in kruger national park seeing african wildlife IN THE WILD (i have a thing about seeing wildlife in the wild). this is going to be a rite of passage in many ways for me, a trip of a lifetime, my first journey into sub-saharran africa (or really africa in general. the tip of morocco barely counts.)

so i HAVE to get better for this!

but i have a number of events planned before i spend my first night under african skies. for one, krimpdaddy turns 35 next week and we have some festivities planned for his birthday. there are STA drinks to be had (with my peeps). the coup is playing a free show in berkeley next week. and of course i want to visit with friends before i leave california for three and a half weeks. also, there are those indigo girls shows in illinois (which is a stop over for me, en route to africa) with cornfusion and rayster (west coast crew in the hizzy!).

so i have a whole lot to get better for before africa too.

i need healing vibes. i am determined to get better fast. i didn't fuck around with this one at all. i have been drinking my orange juice, taking my advil (to keep my fever at bay) and cold medications, and resting. for the first time since i came down with this hideous illness, i am starting to feel better tonight. i am still not taking ANY chances. i am laying very low this weekend. no drinking. no partying. no smoking. in fact, i don't really plan on leaving my house before monday moring aside from the occasional starbucks run. if my friends want to see me (which many of them do ;) ), they need to come to my germ infested lair. ;)

so that's the lowdown. i leave the us on 5 february. i can not believe i will be on african soil so soon!

the coup is playing a local (hometownish for them) show at the independent in san francisco. the coup is by far my favorite hip hop band, and the independent is by far one of my favorite smaller venues in san francisco. sounds perfect, right? one problem. i'll be in fricken los angeles that weekend visiting my grandfather.

damnit. something always seems to go wrong when i want to go see the coup.

i just took a big, fat vicodin to help me sleep. i'm not in much physical pain (at the moment), but the emotional pain is h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e at the moment. i miss my little tuxedo ball of fur so much that i feel like i'm ready to have a melt down.

anyway, here's some meme fun to attempt to temporarily keep my mind off everything.

from heymiddleground:

If you comment on this post, I will choose seven interests from your profile and you will explain what they mean and why you are interested in them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so that others can play along.

heymiddleground gave me:

atwli: it's just an abbreviation for all that we let in, the indigo girls album that was released in 2004. LJ wouldn't allow me to have something as long as all that we let in in my interests. i have all of the indigo girls studio albums listed as interests.

east asian studies: my major in college. i focused on japan (actually, i know VERY little about china and korea). i <3 my college major. it was a bit wacky (especially in the late 90s), and i got to take some amazing courses. i even got to go live in japan.

lonely planet: my favorite series of travel books. as a travel adviser, i often get asked which guide books i reccommend. i always say "lonely planet," because i find them to be the most informative and culturally sensitive. also, they give a nice range of places to stay (from ultra budget to higher class). one of my dream jobs is to be a writer/photographer/reporter for lonely planet.

pasta: my favorite food. i love all of the varieties and diversty. that one's simple.

polar bears: before i went to alaska in august, alligators and crocodiles were my favorite wild animals. being in alaska, and researching polar bears changed that. polar bears are amazing. not only are they the most dangerous (and cutest) bears, but they are also a great poster child for global warming, something i care about deeply.

the coup: my favorite hip hop/rap band. they're from my hometown (holla oakland!), and they're mega political. they're indie hip hop artists. and if you happened to be at an indigo girls show this past summer, you heard them. their song, "my favorite mutiny" was on the girls' 'stage setup' mix CD. check them out, yo!

waffle house: oh how do i profess my love for the small, yellow restaurant that litters the landscape in the south? open 24-7, i can eat their waffles (pecan), grilled cheese sandwiches, and raisin tost with apple butter anytime (ok, anytime i happen to be in a place with a waffle house). plus they have their own selections on their jukebox. i <3 the "waffle doo woop." ;)

list your 10 favorite artists in no order. do this before answering the questions below:

(i used a scrambler thingy)

1. three5human
2. brandi carlile
3. indigo girls
4. the coup
5. amy ray
6. girlyman
7. u2
8. snow machine
9. catherine feeny
10. 1945

What is your favorite song by 9:
"hurricane glass"

What was the first song you heard by 6:
"hey rose." before they ever opened for indigo girls, and right as remember who i am was coming out, they made a one-song guest appearance at an IG show in new jersey. that show was booted, and i got the bootleg, and "hey rose" was on it.

What is your favorite song by 7:
"stay (faraway so close)"

How did you get into 10:
they're on daemon records, and as a general rule, i give all daemon bands a chance.

What is your favorite song by 5:
since #5 is amy ray solo, and not amy ray as an indigo girl, i will NOT say "world falls." my favorite amy solo song changes all the time. for a long long long time it was "chiapas bound." then it was "on your honor." "put it out for good," "pennies on the track," "let it ring," and "johnny rottentail" have all held this honor as well. right now i want to say that it's probably "sugar tongue" because the lyrics are fucking amazing, and it raises so many important issues for activists.

How long have you been listening to 1:
since they've been "three5human" ;)

What is your favorite song by 4:
hmmm... probably "laugh/love/fuck." but that's a hard one.

Have you seen 3 live:
once or twice... ;) or umm, about 150 times.

What is your favorite song by 1:
again, so hard to choose just one. maybe "georgia." or perhaps "yesterday's girl." or "genocidal youth"?

Do you have any merchandise by 9:
just CDs... i didn't buy a tee shirt when she opened for IG in the UK because i knew i'd never wear it.

What is your favorite song by 2:
"happy." and "cannonball," for obvious reasons.

Which song makes you sad by 5:
"covered for you" and "lazyboy" make me cry. especially live.

What is your favorite song by 3:
haha... i already kind of answered that. "world falls." easy. (and i have so many other "second favorites," but "world falls" is... me.)

List all of the band members in 4:
boots riley and dj pam. e-roc used to be a part of the coup.

What is your favorite song by 8:
"old tin roof."

What do you NOT like about 7:
how big they are. i've seen them live once, and i'd like to see them live again, but i do not like stadium concerts.

What is your favorite song by 6:
again, hard question. can i name one from each album? good, 'cause that's what i'm going to do. "maori," "kittery tide," and "good enough."

Have you visited 1’s official website:
yeah, sadly it kind of sucks.

What is your favorite song by 10:
"aurora borealis"

Which of these bands have you added on your Myspace:
indigo girls, amy ray (she is my #1), girylman, the coup, three5human, catherine feeny, and brandi carlile. 1945 and snow machine (many of the same members) don't have a myspace. :( and U2 is so big that there are a lot of faux myspaces for them. i don't care to find or add their official one.

the coup is playing san francisco for one of their first post-bus crash shows.

1 march at the fillmore, bi-atches.

i am so there!

i'm a member of audiography, a music sharing/reviewing blog that has a weekly theme. i usually lurk and hardly ever post, but i had the urge to write a post for this week's theme, "music from 2006." there are a few downloads in my post, and unlike most of my music spam posts, this one contains more than just a long list of sendspace file downloads.

( this is my post from over there )

first of all, happy birthday wishes to jesus. i don't know about y'all, but i'd be pissed if today was my birthday and everyone gave presents to each other and forgot about me!

last night was quite fun. today i am kind of paying for it, though. i am having a low key christmas, so that's fine. the cats are eating their special christmas dinner (WET FOOD!) and are playing with their new toys (christmas gifts). prince of darkness seems more interested in the packaging than the cat nip toys themselves. he's such a sober boy! frisco is pigging out over there - i am sure frisco, my bulemic cat, will eat too much and puke later.

enough about the cats! here's my 2006 loot list. keep in mind that my friends and family aren't as into christmas as the majority of the american public. i never got a shitload of presents as a kid, and that continues into adulthood. that's fine by me. as y'all know by now, i'm not a fan of consumer whore december. but here's the list:

two stuffed alligators/crocs
a stuffed flea named harold (who will be doing a photo shoot next week)
two gift cards to borders
a gift card to barnes and noble
two gift cards to target
the coup's party music CD
moose munch from harry and david
the best gift EVER!!!
loads of holiday cookies
makeup from the body shop
a donation to honor the earth made for me
money, money, money

all in all, a good year for christmas presents. i am touched that someone made a donation to honor the earth in my name. that's fucking awesome, and that's what christmas should be about!

anyway, right now i'm just relaxing. later it's a late christmas dinner with the LUF (lesbian urban family).

so a few weeks ago, one of my favorite bands, the coup, was involved in a horrible tour bus crash. i've known about this for a while now, but this morning i got another message on myspace asking for help. they're in a really dire situation and they've been left with just about nothing. they really need all the help they can get at this point.

( read more )

please post widely.

when i got home tonight, i was too drunk to go to bed (at least to go to bed and NOT wake up with a nasty hangover). so i flipped through a copy of rolling stone while laying in bed. when i was sick, someone with very good intentions (but a bit off target) got me a subscription to rolling stone. anyway, this was the "best of 2006" year end edition. pink's "dear mr. president" got a shoutout as a "political song" (as did "babyletshaveababybeforebushdosomethingcrazy" by the coup, but more on that later). there was a small blurb written about it. interestingly enough, there was no mention of the fact that she recorded the song with the indigo girls. nothing. umm, that's kind of an important piece of information. the three of them together kind of make the song. i think amy strained IG's relationship with rolling stone by recording "lucy stoners." not that rolling stone ever paid attention to them before stag was released. and not that i think amy shouldn't have recorded "lucy stoners," because i don't. that is a fucking good song and go amy for telling rolling stone "fuck you." i'm sure she's not the only artist to feel that way. so anyway, that was just an observation.

on the flipside, rolling stone really liked the coup's 2006 release pick a bigger weapon. it's nice to see the coup getting a shoutout.

i am still very drunk. i will go back and read this post in the morning to see if it makes *any* sense. at least i can type...

i am going to see the coup at the indy tonight. i am so excited! i love the coup and the indy is one of my favorite san francisco clubs.

politically charged rap music = love!

(no, really i'm not making these up)

amy and emily released a new playlist for itunes on the itunes store. it got an "explicit" warning. nice! THE INDIGO GIRLS GOT AN EXPLICIT RATING! hee heee hee. anyway, if you have itunes you'll have to check it out as i can't copy and paste from it, but here are the tracks:

1. "my favorite mutiny" by the coup from amy (seriously, go amy! i LOVE the coup! i'm seeing them on tuesday. and if anyone doesn't believe that i have deep love for the coup, please see my last.fm page!)

2. "hypnotized" by ani difrance from amy

3. "coal to diamonds" by the gossip from amy

4. "drain the blood" by the distillers from amy

5. "pancho and lefty" by townes van zandt from amy

6. "one" by mary j. blige and u2 from emily (of couse. emily loves da mary j!)

7. "world spins madly on" by the weepies from emily

8. "sexyback" by justin timberlake from emily (and no, i am NOT making this up. here are her comments on the song: "this guy has just got it going on!")

9. "best i ever had" by gary allen from emily

10. "around my way" by talib kweli from emily (dude have i mentioned lately that i LOVE that esal loves rap? cause i do. cause i love rap too!)

i know everyone's sick of my indigo girls setlist/photos posts. sorry about that, but i am on tour (with a nice week off! YAH!). ;)

i've completely neglected the fact that girlyman is playing like five bay area shows in a few weeks. i was in for berkeley for sure (of course), but tonight i decided that i'll make the trek down to santa cruz, with friends, to catch girlyman there. i won't be able to go to the san francisco show at cafe du nord because i'll be in southern california catching the indigo girls at another indian casino that evening (pecking order....).

honestly i haven't been listening to a lot of girlyman lately. while i'm excited to hear their new stuff, it's not a "I MUST HEAR IT NOW!" thing. in fact, i have decided NOT to listen to anything new by them so i can hear most of their new stuff live for the first time. i like girlyman (a lot), but i don't LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE them, so i can wait.

speaking of which, i made a top 10 list of my favorite musicians/bands in some kind of order.

1. (and far ahead of everything else) indigo girls/amy ray solo (thank god my favorite musician solo is 1/2 of my favorite band. i'll NEVER be forced to decide between going to an IG show and an amy ray show. ha ha ha.)
2. three5human
3. nineteen forty-five/snow machine (they can share #3 because they're basically made up of the same people)
4. the coup
5. too $hort
6. girlyman
7. michelle malone
8. danielle howle
9. e-40
10. uhhh... i can't decide between a few, so it will have to be a top nine. ;)

so that's what's been on my ipod lately.