I am a Musketeer. One of three? Yippee. Take the test here. Saw it first at Clickboo.


Category IV - The
Musketeer


Kos and Wonkette are in the CNN news loop.

Fluxblog is so hot right now, I'm adding it to my Hit It! column. The mp3 blog phenomena is very encouraging. I've found more new music through these modern-day fanzines than any other form of media or marketing. I foresee a day (it may be happening already) where major labels attempt to pay off (payola, for us old folks) the bloggers to shill their bands. Or, more likely, a wave of mp3 blogs that appear to be independent and homegrown, but are actually tools of the corporations. History always repeats itself, in one way or another.

John Kerry needs to stop driving boats for a moment, get a personality and some concrete opinions, and make an impression on the few million people that might watch him for a few minutes tonight. I'm really concerned about November. I don't doubt that Kerry, Edwards, and the Democratic Party will do a better job of taking care of Americans on the margin. I know they will. I'm nervous that Kerry will prattle on about minutiae - very important to making the proper decisions - and people will change the channel. I only wish that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were running together; the two of them, Obama in particular, are charismatic, believable, level-headed people. Obama's speech on Tuesday was spectacular - very few politicians can sell me, and I was riveted to the screen during his performance. Excerpts can be found here.

Here's a cute site, make a little mischief for your desktop, or some great little postcards (first noticed here).

I get mail. One of the most asked questions is: what non-dance music do you listen to / recommend? I have to admit, I don't listen to a lot of "guitar" music these days, my ear has been more in tune with electronic sound. There have been some exceptions, however.

First and foremost, Dykehouse. From the Ghostly International website:

Lo-fi meets hi-fi on Dykehouse’s full-length debut for Ghostly International, titled Midrange. A brilliant pop/rock album filled with dense textures and instrumentations, it is all the more amazing for having been recorded solely in the artist’s bedroom on a home computer. Dykehouse (real name Michael Dykehouse) has crafted a postmodern and personal homage to the shoegaze genre, echoing his hero Kevin Shields and the immortal My Bloody Valentine. Midrange at once looks back and forward, echoing high school record collections as well as a future filled with limitless peaks.

Buy the record direct, or from Amazon.

Another decent band is The Cooper Temple Clause. Buy the album here.

I enjoy the British Sea Power CD as well. Buy it here.

There's a new Gerling CD, a little more aggressive than their previous work. They lean more on electronics, but it's good stuff. Buy it here, or at the iTunes store.

I'll mention Metric one more time, buy it here.

One other band I'm warming up to is Stimulator. A two-person operation, very catchy, reminiscent of Garbage or Veruca Salt. Download "78 Stimulator" here, and buy the CD here.

It should go without saying, but please buy direct from the artist or label whenever possible.

This past weekend was pretty hectic, with two Blowoffs. Charlottesville was fine; the torrential rain on the drive over was unpleasant, but a good turnout and sets made up for it. Saturday night was swinging, lots of fun with the hardcore crowd - lots of familiar faces, big smiles and good vibes all around. Sunday was a very quiet, cool, overcast day. Lots of coffee and hanging with pals, a nice way to decompress. More later.

Rich and I have two Blowoffs this weekend: Friday night in Charlottesville, and Saturday night in DC. It's almost like being on tour, but able to sleep in my own bed each night.

Last weekend was enjoyable. Friday, I drove 4 hours to meet my parents, who were visiting at my sister's house. It was a total surprise for the folks, and a good time was had by all. Saturday, back to a quiet DC afternoon in the 'hood, a nightcap or two with Jimbo and friends, and then to bed. Sunday morning, I booked my mini-vacation, spent the day in the outdoors, a late dinner with a pal, and packing up for the trip.

Monday was an uneventful flight, making it into Fort Lauderdale just in time - this is the beginning of stormy season in South Florida, and I saw lightning out the window of the plane as we were coming in for our landing. Bags were delayed for almost an hour, due to the sky-to-ground electric strikes. Eventually, I'm into the rental car and off to my hotel.

Lauderdale is an interesting place. Former crack neighborhoods reclaimed by gay men, a shopping complex with a Gay Mart (yes, I know....), 4 bars, and a couple decent coffee houses with good (and free) Wi-Fi. A fair assortment of restaurants, a really good Gold's Gym (more on that in a bit), a cruisy Publix (supermarket); well, all of Wilton Manors is cruisy. More men on the prowl than you can shake a stick at, in fact.

An old friend of mine from the West Village moved to Lauderdale last year, and, as if on cue, we ran into each other one morning at the coffee shop. It was as if nothing had ever changed, and that was a good feeling, I think. Met a fair amount of interesting people, a few not-so-pleasant types, but overall, a decent bunch of ex-New Yorkers and Bostonites.

Speaking of ex-New Yorkers, I had the best running buddy a guy could ask for in Fort Lauderdale: the irrepressible Geekslut. The man, the myth, the legend - he's real, folks. Stephen and I have been corresponding on-and-off for months; we missed each other at MAL (I wasn't about to go clawing my way to the bottom of the pile to find him), but this week, we finally met on his home turf. We had a blast running around town, and Geek was more than gracious with his time. Some good food (nobody can out-eat me), decent workouts (got my ass beat, but not too badly), a little geek time (Mac OS guys are like that), plenty of coffee, and best of all, some great conversation and brainstorming. I think a good friendship was made this week.



I'm off to the airport.

I am going on vacation this week! Not that I've done anything to actually earn this trip, but I'm taking it. A little ocean sand, some fun in the sun - not too much, though, I have sensitive skin. I'll run down the past weekend while on the plane, and post later. To tide you over, here's some nifty links.

Shameless plug for my friend Caleb Crain. A very wise man.

Shameless plug for my bud Clickboo. Just 'cause he rocks.

Try to find these haunting discs created by William Basinski.

I don't want to go on the Rock And Roll Cruise. (If that link doesn't work, try this one.)

Cute photos of Kelly Slater. A little skinnier than I like 'em, but a handsome face.

Does our business know no bounds? Read all about the Linkin Park lockdown. It's an old story, but an interesting one.

A Sally Mann photo exhibit, if you're in DC this Summer.

If you're in the mood to change your Mac OS GUI, give Shapeshifter a try. I use it to clean up some of the thin stripes in the OS (makes my GUI "flatter" looking).

This is my buddy Ed Ferrara's book. I haven't read it yet, but I'm certain it's a fine read for the genre. I worked with Ed during my WCW days, he was the guy who had the hardest job.

George W. Bush's CV. Scary.

A little test for the men.

It takes 21 days to change a habit. But, it takes no time at all to buy a habit.

Laughter, romance, and rockin' good times are just what the doctor ordered as Elvis Presley plays an inner-city M.D. who falls for social worker Mary Tyler Moore. But this guitar-strumming doc will be playing a different tune when he discovers his would-be girlfriend isn't who--or what--she seems to be! Featuring Elvis at the peak of his phenomenal popularity, it's a hilarious romantic comedy highlighted by the King's unforgettable performances of classic rock hits including "Rubberneckin'," "Let Us Pray," and "Change of Habit".

How about a rabbit out of the hat? Or Habitat For Humanity? Oh, the humanity! How about that.

Today, like other days, Bill Frist comes up short - and here's some back story. He wants to be President, too. Just for the record, gay marriage is not a "vast, untested social experiment".

I wish John Kerry and John Edwards would have voted.

A vast, untested social experiment. My ass.

Good news - for now.

Last night's discussion: what are the five most hateful words in the English language?

Here's a small glimmer of hope for the music business.

(MUTE AUDIO) My vacation? (Courtesy Mike)

The International AIDS Conference is not without the usual controversy.

Yesterday, Waremouse linked to an excellent piece from Orcinus. Rich was talking about the fragile intersection of Art and Commerce.

There are moments when all the little things add up to something much larger than one can imagine. Some people call them epiphanies. I call them "tipping days". When I was younger, I had very little awareness of how delicate a line we all walk. Insensitive, self-centered, egotistical behavior - we are all capable of it, and most of us recognize and sense it when we are on the receiving end. Life is fragile, in the smaller measurements, the briefest moments. Hope can be levelled in a sentence; words are eternal. It is all we can do to get to the next breath without crushing the dream. Between those breaths, the thoughts we should not share, the words that get caught like microbes in an air filter; for if they congregate in great numbers in the environment, a new Plague will materialize.

Shattered trust.
Difficult times.

No medicine chest should be without one. I particularly like the FAQ, so glad to read this information:

Q: Are there bigger sizes of SmartKlamp® available?
A: At the moment we supply 10, 13, 16 and 21 mm; bigger sizes, mainly for teenagers and adults will be available as of next year.

(Courtesy Paul)

A very enjoyable weekend in the 202. The heat was on, and the rain stayed to a minimum.

Thursday, a gaggle of bloggers running amok in the neighborhood. I met up with Chrisafer, Jimbo, and the visiting Dogpoet for a quiet and pleasant dinner. It was my first time meeting Chrisafer and Dogpoet, and found both to be as charming and decent as I had imagined. Some went on to the night life, others retired for the evening.

Friday, Dogpoet and I reconvened for an abbreviated coffee shop crawl. After trading stories, we said our goodbyes, and moved on to our next engagements. I returned to my scooter, only to find it parked at an odd angle (as in different from how I left it). A note stuck into my seat told the story: some delivery truck had backed into it, knocking it over, trashing my trunk case, and most of the left side paint and turn signals. Lovely. Apparently, this note was the second one left on the bike - the truck driver had taken the first one, in an attempt to avoid being reported. It was very thoughtful of someone to leave the second note. Sadly, I have found that trying to gain some sort of compensation, or resolution, for events like this (in DC) only leads to further aggravation. In other words, it's not worth it - DC is no place to: a) have anything nice, or b) find justice when vandalized. I do know the truck company, though.

Met up with Rich, who was pretty upset about his own series of events. His frustration was of greater importance, and hearing it helped me to let go of the bike thing - hey, it's running fine, and that's what's important. I don't care what it looks like, as long as it works. More coffee, a quick stop at the pub, and a burger on the runway. Returning to our respective vehicles, we ran into Waremouse. More conversation and commiseration, and the night is complete.

Saturday finds me finishing this book, and starting a new one. For months now, I'd been in possession of the DVD version of Lost In Translation, waiting for the right moment to view it. Many people had praised the movie, and the soundtrack contained new music from Kevin Shields, so I wanted to be in the right frame of mind. Ran into Clickboo, picked up some microwave popcorn (is there any other kind these days?), and off we went. It was an enjoyable movie - I think it would have been better to see in a theater, though. The music brought back lots of memories. All good ones.

Sunday, more goofing around in the Circle with friends, and then off to see Fahrenheit 9/11. A very effective film, I must say. My first impression was: I knew most of this, but to see it all connected in this manner, so sad. Why are these kids over there, anyway? What the hell are we doing this for? We can't undo it - what a fucking shame. Look what we've done to that country. We manipulate our kids, our citizens, we manipulate Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, means to an end, the fucking end will be Hell to pay, thank you very much for those nice new Saudi Arabia: Allies Against Terrorism advertising campaigns on TV. Makes me sick to my stomach - all of it. My second impression: I want my parents to see this. They will be voting this November.

The correct answer was Demolition Man. Thanks for the numerous corrections.

The new installment of Get Your War On is pretty damn funny. Wait, is that funny, or true? Can it be both?

I can remember being in JR.'s one day for happy hour -- I always went to JR.'s because that's where my friends went. And I remember seeing three guys come in who were obviously leather men. My friends were like "What are those leather queens doing in there? Don't they know they're in the wrong bar?" And I just remember looking at these three men and thinking, "They're uber-men. I like that. I like that a lot."

This is surely true, you will find, as you read this week's MW cover story and interview with my pal Jason, DC's first Mr. IML.

Here's an interesting take on piracy. I had hoped, if the film was successful, that Moore would pay for the pressing and distribution of DVD copies to every American household (a la AOL 9.0). The movie industry will be a little more than concerned about his stance. Jack Valenti's comments at the end are true, but with Lions Gate turning a blind eye to the practice, this film might fuel more flame than originally expected.

“We have accepted for far too long fellow gays who work for horribly anti-gay politicians and thus help those politicians bash our community,” said John Aravosis. “It’s time we stopped tolerating this situation as normal. These people need, at the very least, to be confronted over their hypocrisy, and when we see them in public we ought to tell them we don’t approve."

This story has been a major topic around the neighborhood. I'm not normally for outings, but I'm willing to listen to all sides of the debate. People need to make a living, but when they are in the employ of politicians who are supporting the Federal Marriage Amendment...well, it's a tough call. If the shoe were on the other foot, would conservatives would have any trouble pulling the trigger on me and my kind? Let the shit storm begin.

Yet another health issue.

I love that people love the music in commercials! I don't know if this is my music, but it is so funny! It's like the movie where people drive around LA singing along with jingles on the oldies radio station - am I thinking of The Running Man? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

This is my third summer in DC. The first one was unbearable, moving here and having a hard time making friends. When I originally looked at DC as a possible place to live, it was mid-April 2002. The weather was great, people were out and about, the streets full of people drinking, dining, and socializing. I moved here in June, and most signs of life had disappeared. Like NYC, people tend to leave DC in the summer. The neighborhood seemed pretty bleak, much like it did this Memorial Day weekend. If not for knowing Rich before moving here, and meeting Waremouse, that summer would have been unbearable. I was in Minneapolis for the 4th of July 2002. I was in San Francisco for July 4, 2003. This was the first 4th of July I've actually been in DC.

Thursday, the usual drill. Lots of Blowoff regulars at the Lantern, which seems to be reaching critical mass these days. Some continued on to the Eagle, a nice evening to be out and about.

Friday, happy hour at Windows, followed by dinner with friends at Thai Chef. I always order the JD6 (sushi / sashimi platter). A nice walk in the neighborhood, and an early night.

Saturday, Blowoff. Busy busy! We don't advertise anymore, the word is out. If you're not signed up, send an e-mail, and we'll add you to the mailing list. Great sets, good fun, and a nice scooter ride through the Fellini movie that is U Street on Saturday night after 3 AM.

Sunday, fireworks! Finally, I see the DC display, and it was pretty damn good. I was fortunate to be invited to a party in Arlington, hosted by my bud Clickboo. There were a few bloggers in attendance, and I was surprised at how many people I knew (or at least recognized) at the party. Good music, good food, great view of the fireworks, good company. Caught a ride back to the District with the boys, some of whom were continuing on to Club Five. We drove by a massive line in front of Lizard Lounge night, the streets were full of people! I missed Taint, a fun monthly party in the neighborhood.

Monday, scooter day. Hot, humid, very little traffic on the roads. A quiet end to a very busy weekend.

It was a long time ago.

Summer hours will be posted shortly.

First things first: BLOWOFF this Saturday night. Our mailing list is growing quickly, and after a quick survey 2 weeks ago, it seems there will be plenty of people staying in DC for the long weekend. We are here to serve, so Saturday night, 10 PM to 3 AM it is.

I've been away for a while, and it was a much needed break from the weekday morning blogging ritual. To be truthful, there hasn't been much public information to share. Writing has been chugging along, with mixed results. No performances this summer, I've kept my calendar wide open. I feel like recharging myself these days, spending lots of time with friends and acquaintances, content to observe the movements and thoughts of those around me. I've been chipping away at the same two books for a while. I've become a lazy reader, so unlike my childhood, where there never seemed to be enough literature to devour. Perhaps it has something to do with my worsening eyesight.

Last weekend was enjoyable. Friday night, I went with friends to see The Chronicles Of Riddick. I could not, for the life of me, understand the story line (beyond the basic sort of evil vs. very evil, which seems the norm for action movies). Perhaps it was due to my falling asleep for the first 20 minutes? Anyhow - Vin Diesel, as we all know, is easy on the eyes and ears; the grunting of non sequiturs works for me. The costumes and set designs were great, and the company was good, so a fun night was had by all.

Saturday afternoon, Rich came into town, and we wandered the neighborhood, talking business and congregating with friends. At one point, I realized I had purchased all the items necessary for a cookout, so later in the day, I fired up the grill, and an hour later, dinner for 6. Some went home, some went on to the bar.

Sunday was another glorious weather day, so off to the Circle for more good times with friends both old and new. A fine dinner at Rice, a little Six Feet Under, and the weekend was over. Or was it?

Monday morning, a dear old friend contacted me via e-mail, wondering why I had not taken him up on his offer to host me at the beach. I had no good answer, so I basically got on the road, and was in Rehoboth for early dinner. It's still sort of funny to see people from the DC neighborhood in another setting - I don't do the "DC guys transplanting to Rehoboth for the summer" thing, but I can see why it's a popular lifestyle. Real estate has gone through the roof out there as well - houses that were $150K five years ago now seem to be hovering around $600K. So, as one might surmise, the current crowd is older and wealthier.

A long sunny Tuesday boat ride took all the energy out of me, so after a huge dinner, I was early to bed.

Last night was Homo Bowl 2004, sponsored by CityPaper. It was held at Strike Bethesda, and a fun time was had by all. A lot of familiar faces (DC is getting smaller...), some new acquaintances were made, and I won a DVD of Cyrano De Bergerac by improvising a bawdy answer to a trivia question that stumped the bowlers on our 2 lanes.

If you haven't read it yet, please take a look at Laundry Day by Waremouse - a fine piece of writing. And, it's good to see Joe.My.God back at it, especially this entry. Ain't that the truth? Let the music set you free.