I never would've guessed that I would open my year with a post regarding this subject. Even just last week my only definite plans for NYE consisted of a quiet dinner at home, maybe a peek at the live fireworks through my kitchen window, and catching most of the festivities on the tube. But then the universe throws a little twist my way, and unfurls this familiar situation into my here and now. And I won't attempt a plea for sympathy by involving you with the details, but I will tell you where I find myself after five days of knowing said twist. After five whole days, three of which were spent together, the twist keeps feeling the need to remind me that it's always better for a relationship to start as a friendship. I agree 100%. But why the need to repeat this fact at every opportunity? It seems more like because the twist is feeling something more and is suppressing or not allowing said feeling to flourish. The constant repetition makes me think I do want more, even though I understood what twist meant the first time. And that's not all. Coz it gets even better...

The Funniest Thing I've Seen In A While

This is comic genius Deven Green providing the hilarious voice-over to 80's soap actress Brenda Dickson's "Welcome To My Home" series (think of it as the ultimate 80's "how to live like a star" homemaking guide). The clips are on YouTube user FuzzyMimosa's page and can be found here: (Part 1) and (Part 2).

Good Music, Old Friends, Free Apps & Buddy Protocols

So the weekend was exactly what I had expected it to be and then some. Not since the weekend that had Frankie Knuckles and the Body & Soul NYC party have I mustered the energy to pull off a full weekend of dancing and carrying on. Of course this time around was a bit more different, since it did involve an old friend who I used to be very close to, Shifted Music's Jay-J Hernandez. I was one of his loyal "groupies" since the early days, braving through many nights in straight club hell because Jay-J always put on one helluva show, and bumped a groove I just couldn't resist. And I'm still a loyal fan to this day, although the years may have put some distance between us (and a few grays on his head!). Oh, and he moved to New York too. But Jay-J is always gonna be one of those people who is a true inspiration to me, and an example what hard work and dedication begets. And this isn't just some public figure, this is someone I've actually spent a good amount of time with. That's why it was important for me to see him during this visit.
This weekend was when I also discovered appshopper.com, a well-designed site dedicated to iphone apps that instantly won me over with their library of one-day-only free apps. Needless to say, I now have eight pages of apps on my iphone, many of them truly useful, and some, well, downright inane. Still, it's a site worth bookmarking on all your gadgets.
On a more personal note, something I try to avoid at all costs and ignore when I feel it coming on, has once again reared its ugly head. I swear this will be the only time I will ever say anything about it. I just hate that it has to get so uncomfortable. If I introduce a friend to another friend and they decide to pursue a friendship of their own sans me, then they should feel free to do it without keeping it on the under. Because the whole secrecy thing just makes it so uncomfortable, and really highschool musical immature. That's it, I said it, and that issue can now be laid to rest.

What We're Gonna Do Is Take You Back

Late breaking news! Tonight, three of San Francisco's most influential house dj's come together for an intimate evening of house classics served just the way we like it. OG househeads are sure to be thrilled with the line-up featuring Jay-J and Julius Papp, best known locally for the Foundation parties as well as their tag-team turntable sessions for Housework at Release, and a true SF house legend, the one and only David Harness (I won't even attempt to mention David's many residencies and parties throughout the years!). This is destined to be one for the history books. I'll never forget the night Julius Papp turned it out on the 2nd floor of the old Club DV8- he had us going nuts! And of course I've always been a big supporter and fan of Jay-J from the beginning, and I still am (as you can see with my recent mentions of last night's party). And the same goes without saying for David Harness, who has been responsible for many a night of "shutting it down" on the dancefloor for me personally, which, judging by the many accolades he's received, seems to be the case for the rest of the world.

So make it out to Mars Bar tonight. Even if you're not a househead. You'll convert, trust.

unproduced promo piece from 2 years ago, with a different lead-in/tagline

Glossary: You, Too, Can Speak Brezsnian

(This article, by Os Davis, originally appeared in Rob Brezsny's website, Free Will Astrology, the only real go-to source for the best horoscopes on the web as far as I'm concerned.)

Ask any acolyte just what distinguishes Rob Brezsny from the typical star-crossed astrologer, and two features are certain to be mentioned: his prose style and his philosophy. Between the two, certain inexpressible concepts key to the nature of macho feminism are bound to overcome the constraints of current linguistic boundaries.

Below is an informed glossary of a handful of uniquely Brezsnian terms; feel free to salt and pepper your own tongue with these goodies in every day life. Hell, if Shakespeare can add 4,000 words to modern English, this alternative philosopher's gotta be good for a couple.

apocalypse (n.) 1. The utter destruction of the order. 2. Revelation, resurrection, or great awakening. 3. Both, simultaneously.

asshole (n.) A dear or beloved person.

disinfotainment (n.) A sociological state caused by severe, oppressive, and usually televisual amusement no longer informative or entertaining. [Antonym: infotainment]

Drivetime, The (n.) Liminal non-spatial wormhole connecting the Dreamtime and Waketime experienced only through a hypnogogic state; The Great Inbetween; the mobius strip-like seam at the heart of the tantric yabyum.

entertainment criminal (n.) One responsible for perpetuating the genocide of the imagination through disinfotainment.

kill the apocalypse (v.) To use humor, to show childbirth regularly in prime time, or to generally spread love and beauty and truth with the intent of overturning the phallocratic powers-that-be.

macho feminism (n.) A male school of thought calling for extreme sensitivity to and reverence for women, while not sacrificing any aspects whatsoever of traditional aspects of the most robust, virile masculinity.

pronoia (n.) The sneaking suspicion that the whole world is conspiring to shower you with blessings. [Antonym: paranoia.]

psychethanatoil (n.) Soul-death due to overwork. Particularly affects Capricorns.

psychevivatoil (n.) The blooming of the soul through work.

radical intimacy (n.) A virtuoso art requiring the mastery of nurturing positive qualities in a lover's personality whilst simultaneously thriving in the glow of the same person's worst qualities. [From the as-yet unpublished Brezsny work entitled The Dictionary of Tricky Love]

reverse panhandle (v.) To generously give of one's own money to passers-by.

shamanatrix (n.) A high-ranking feminist soul sister in the Menstrual Temple of the Funky Grail; one who seeks to kill the apocalypse.

sacred janitor (n.) One who assists in cleaning up after those requiring maintenance of their physical environment or their karmic consequences.

whirlygig (n.) A fact-finding mission entailing steeping oneself with the intention of attracting lessons not really needed and meandering the streets at random in order to strike up conversations with strangers.