On Monday evening I took to bus, in 60-degree weather, down to DC to spend the holidays with my parents at Brett & Amy's. I started reading the excellent and fantastic The Holographic Universe on the trip.
Brett and Amy's apartment was full with all sorts of new baby gear, so they'd asked for no presents, but my mom still insisted on getting Brett "a little something"...
Danny lives down the street from me in the East Village. I met him back in October of 2004 when I was living out in San Francisco and a buddy told me I should go see his band. I arrived at the studio and found Danny busy...
Speaking of fringe science, I spent a better part of the rest of the evening trying to use my mind to spin this tiny paper umbrella underneath a wind shield.
While walking Maddy through Tomkins, we briefly paused to admire this hunk, you know, just hanging out in the dog park all casual. Probably waiting to meet an OKCupid date.
Her: "The dog park? Sure! That would be a great first place for us to meet. How will I find you there?" Him: "Oh, you'll see me."
Back in Whistler later that evening, Grant and I were eating dinner outside when we watched a stumbly drunk dude briefly slow down and and artfully pee his name in excellent cursive before lurching onward. Nicely done, Brett!
Not only is Grant the kind of friend that drives to the airport at midnight to pick you up, unfurl a flag and feed you Canadian donuts, he also stocks the car with exoctic local delicacies like ketchup-flavored potato chips!
Five-and-a-half hours later, I arrived in Vancouver to find Grant awaiting me with an unfurled Canadian flag and a box of TimBits, Tim Horton's answer to the Munchkin.
Took my parents out for dinner around the corner at Gruppo and fell in love with this!
Strawberries & Pecorino Crostini on toasted ciabatta bread, topped with pecorino cheese, fresh strawberries, fresh basil, and white truffle honey. Fuuuuuuuuuu.
Three photos of my "aura" taken over L to R:
7/15/13
7/27/13
8/10/13
The area above my head represents what I've been thinking / doing the last three days. The area on the left, represent the past three weeks. The colors on the right represent the energy / thoughts that are likely to come into your life over the next three weeks As in the future! The area over your body, represents your physical vitality.
Comparing the three photos, you can see some interesting changes over time, as well as some interesting things that don't change over time (namely, the "black spot" over my right shoulder).
1. Air (Yellow) represents mind and thoughts, the ability to think.
2. Water (Blue) represents emotions.
3. Fire (Red) represents will, the ability to direct your thoughts and emotions towards action on the physical plane.
4. Earth (Green) represents all the materials on the physical plane that the three subtle-elements interact with.
5. Space (White), or aether, represent the "5th element" and it is the "background canvas" or "cosmic lattice" that the "material earth" is projected upon.
While I believe that the "five elements" actually related to a funamental truth about the structure of matter at the microcosmic level, I also really like how in alchemy they're used as a metaphor for the ingredients of human experience.
The Horsemen are drawing nearer
On leather steeds they ride
They've come to take your life
On through the dead of night
With the Four Horsemen ride
Or choose your fate and die
Here's a close-up of my photo. After your picture develops, the woman there explains how the colors that appear in your photo relate to the things that you been thinking about and doing. I came and total skeptic and left dying to read more about how this thing works (I ended up visiting the house of the inventor when I was out in the Bay Area a few months later - but he was away at a conference!)
I was feeling all gunked-up inside after getting divorced and after trying a variety of things, someone suggested I try reiki. I wasn't very optimistic about it, but decided to give it a shot. I booked a session with Brian and was really amazed at his ability to rid my body of the feeling of "stuckness" I was holding. After a few really interesting sessions, he encouraged me to take his "first degree" reiki class.
After BBQ, a bunch of different people played music. And then after a few songs, the musicians invited kids and anyone else who wanted to play music up to join them. I wish every party had this. It's so weird that we mostly listen to recorded music at parties instead of make it.
...and failing in the best way possible. Every time she'd fall asleep her head would go ALL the way back and for a brief glorious moment she'd look like a human PEZ dispenser and then when she'd wake up, she'd snap her head upright. SO. FUCKING. FUNNY.
Backstage after the performance had finished! The piece was totally wild. It started with Theresa in a white-dress and lovely make-up. Her hair was pinned-up in an elaborate "beauty pageant-style" hair-do that concealed a bunch of large ink-filled balloons!
Grant and I emerged from backstage, carrying Theresa in a chair and set her down on a large sheet of paper in front of the audience. After we cleared away, a photographer approached Theresa and started taking a series of close-up portraits of her like they doing a fashion-shoot. She made uncomfortable smiles and posed for his camera. A minute or two into the "shoot," she acted like she was playing with her hair, but she was secretly popping the ink-filled balloons! As she popped each balloon, a gush of jet blank ink seemed to appear from nowhere and would stream over her face and onto the white dress.
The performance ended with the the lights suddenly turning off. Now came the part that we'd spent hours rehearsing! Grant and I had to go out in the darkness...
The other was an investigative journalism piece for Penthouse! "The Squirt Meister: There's a masseur in New York City who says he can provoke female ejaculation in any woman. Our lucky reporter took two volunteers to test his claim."
We hid out from the hoi polloi on the rainy-roof where Leigh turned the blankets the hotel had laid out into snowstorm chic. (Bonus points for her drink balanced on the fire box in the background!)
...and then swam across the "The Split" the body of water that divides the southern, inhabited side of Caye Caulker from the uninhabited and undeveloped northern half of the island. I explore on my own for about 30 minutes, but then got nervous about accidentally surprising a crocodile and decided to swim back over to where the rest of the humans were.
