The american dream

This is it, baby. I'll be away for a couple weeks, soiling my soul, or whatever's left of it, with fine desert dust and the soot of a thousand fires.

Fiction with russia may spell trouble for us

That's an actual headline from today's NY Times, minus an "r" and a period or two. If Google would let me use more words in headlines, I would have titled this something like "Example #45,890 that humans are an incredibly violent and stupid species of monkeys too violent and stupid to survive for long on this here earth" or "What the fuck is wrong with Republicans? Can they really be that fucking stupid? Is there anything they will not do to maintain power? example #64,876."

I mean, why, oh why, are we so hepped up to install a missile system on Russia's borders? To bring back the cold war? The only rational reason I can think of is to have a seriously scary enemy. Not just another enemy. A seriously scary enemy. The goat fucking al quaeda losers just aren't scaring the real 'Mericans like they used to. But fucking with Russia? Yea, that'll do the trick. Duck and cover motherfuckers. And vote for the tough guy (by tough we mean cowardly tool, you understand).

Is there anything positive that we, as a species, have accomplished that the Republican's don't want to roll back? Anything? Please, help me out here. I'm at a loss.

Bring back the Berlin wall. Only this time without the art.

The Jouvert vibe

Revisiting these West Indian Days photos is really making me regret not being there this year. Taken as a whole, I can't think of a more interesting festival. It starts wit the innocent beauty of the very young, ends with the mature beauty of older folk, and passes the night in between with drinking, dope and sex in the streets. Ya just gotta be there to have any hope of understanding. Well, I'm living. I'm learning. Next year I'll shoot for the definitive.

57th and 7th

Practice, practice. Unfortunately, I'll be missing the West Indian Day festivities again this year. But anyone in New York on Labor Day weekend should consider it. Catch the Children's parade on Saturday, up where it starts (somewhere near Utica and Eastern Parkway) and walk the route to the BMA. Then get up very, very early on Monday morning, or just stay out and party all night on Flatbush (chuckling recommends) and participate in the Jouvert parade. Don't wear any finery though. You are likely to get painted or slimed in some way or other. Then, If you can really hold your liquor, get by on very little sleep and you are a masochist for over-commercialized crap that's not altogether uninteresting, go to the regular West Indian day parade on Eastern Parkway. If nothing else, you can always flip off Mayor Bloomberg. I usually miss that one, but I'm not saying you should. Just don't mistake it for the main event. When done right, I'd consider rating West Indian Day weekend as New York's number 1 experience, though of course there are contenders, more contenders, a hell of a lot more contenders -- it's fucking New York -- contender city, so you may have your own opinion. Still, it's definitely up there. Next year I'll make it a point to be in the city and show you.

Heads and holes