Blogpsot = Amazing Bible Studies

So, I came onto Bring D.A. Noise to check out my fellow Blogger Kern's page, but a weird thing happened when I clicked the link. I didn't get his blog. I got a poorly-designed wacko website, boasting Amazing Bible Studies, the mega-site for Christians. What the hell? I know that Kern is constantly writing about the American Family Association and their excessive use of scare tactics to manipulate and bully people into promoting their despicable agenda. So, instinctively, I thought that the AFA hacked his site.

Well, as it turns out, when I was adding links to other blogs, I inadvertently transposed the p and the s in blogpsot (there, I did it again - curse the demon of carpal tunnel), I mean, blogspot. That was the cause of the problem. As it turns out, I made the same error in linking to Bob Mould's blog as well and the same page came up. Ooops. But, the irony of this happening is uncanny.

So, web surfer, beware. If you mistype the word "blogspot," you might be tempted to check out some amazing bible studies. What was funny about the site was that a pop-window floated across the screen, claiming that you won a new plasma tv or something. That was funny.

New Game! Liberal Political Sudoku

I recently discovered a new political blog courtesy of Michael from the Gay Bloggers Tribe, called Irregular Times. Latching onto the insanely popular Sudoku puzzle craze that's sweeping the nation, the folks at Irregular Times sporadically post their own spin on the Sudoku puzzle, the Liberal Political Sudoku.

In this game, just as in regular Sudoku, nine letters are given with the same premise. Each letter must be present only once in each row, each column, and within each set of squares, without repeating. But, there's an added twist. There is a clue at the bottom of the puzzle with a political anecdote or riddle that can be spelled by unscrambling the nine letters you are given.

For your amusement, the most recent edition of the Liberal Political Sudoku puzzle can be found here. I've not completed this yet so I don't have the answers. That's your job. Enjoy!

New Photo

In an attempt to change my profile photo here at Bring D.A. Noise, I ended up having two photos post in this manner. I have no friggin' clue how that happened, but found it slightly amusing (anything is amusing after the kind of weekend I had) so I am leaving it this way. Enjoy. See you next time.

My New Blog: Isolationist Noise

Today I am launching my new blog devoted to my exploration of experimental music and art, entitled Isolationist Noise. As with most people, I'm obsessed with music, amongst other medias of art. But, music and writing are my two main passions. In recent years, however, the desire for creative fulfillment disappeared over time, replaced with disillusionment. With the introduction of The Artist's Way into my consciousness, the desire is making a comeback. The drive is in me to become creatively fulfilled. Isolationist Noise is meant to document the recovery process by way of exploring the music I love, along with the desire to finally bring the miscellaneous attempts at creative output to fruition. Without further ado, Isolationist Noise can be found at:

http://isolationist-noise.net/noiseblog

Have no fear! Bring D.A. Noise is not going away, not in the least bit. Since D.A. Noise focuses on my thoughts with respect to popular culture, politics, and religion, I figured that Isolationist Noise is not really the conduit by which I want to discuss them. Unless these topics are discussed as related to experimental music or my creative output, pop culture, politics, and religion won't be discussed here. So, please continue to read Bring D.A. Noise.

As already mentioned, Isolationist Noise focuses on two areas:

1. Creative Recovery/Creative Exploration: Isolationist Noise will document the process of recovering from the creative blockage. I'm using the book The Artist's Way as a guide for getting through the frustration of blockage and reinvigorating my creative growth. For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a writer. However, up to this point, physical circumstances and inner turmoils have drained me of any creative motivation. The motivation and confidence is now slowly coming back, but still needs a lot of nurturing. That is one of the main focuses of The Artist's Way, in that part of the creative recovery process requires the nurturing of the inner artist. Your inner artist, just a physical human being, starts out as a baby and grows as time passes. The lack of creative nurturing as a young artist-to-be grows by either family members or friends instigates the creative blockage. With the proper nurturing of the artist child, the artist's creativity grows over time, awarding the artist for their hard work later down the road. So, with Isolationist Noise, I plan to document creative works in progress.

2. Exploration of Experimental Music: Music has always inspired my creative endeavors. I wrote poems which were influenced by sounds, particularly the music of SWANS, Coil, and Throbbing Gristle, amongst others. With respect to the blog's name, the term Isolationist came from "Isolationism," which was used as a term to describe a subgenre of Ambient music. Also referred to as Ambient Industrial music and Dark Ambient, Isolationism can be either minimalist and atmospheric in tone, or on the harsh side, can be claustrophobic and/or excruciatingly brutal. In 1997, Virgin Records released Ambient 4: Isolationism, the 4th and final volume in their Ambient music series, which featured tracks by Thomas Koener, Godflesh side-project Techno Animal, and Seefeel, amongst others.

Before the release of Ambient 4, I started to become interested in drone and noise music, starting with the first time I heard the drone masterpiece, Soliloquy for Lilith by Nurse With Wound. Drones are featured prominently in isolationist-sounding music. The first "isolationist" record I acquired in my collection was Motion Pool by Main (fronted by Robert Hampson, formerly of the band Loop.) On the back sleeve of the cd, the words "drumless space" appears. Drumless space is an apropos way to describe Isolationism. Another "isolationist" band that strongly influenced my interest in this genre of music is the amazing, but short-lived project known as Seefeel. Their phenomenal recording, Succour, ranks in my Top 10 for all-time favorite records.

Then, of course, the word noise comes from, again, my interest in unconventional music. With Isolationist Noise, I intend on reviewing new experimental recordings that I purchase along the way. I also hope to discuss how experimental music has inspired my creativity and other aspects of my life. Isolationist Noise is about the experience of exploring new and interesting music. Isolationism and experimental music have also played a role bringing the desire to create back to the forefront of my function in life. I'm slowly becoming more and more inspired to write in recent weeks, which hopefully will culminate in a fruitful creative life.

I'm also beginning work on Isolationism, my first full-length collection of writings. I haven't written any original pieces in a long time, but hope that will change. Many partially realized ideas are swimming in my head for new writings. I prefer to write in the form of poetry and stream-of-consciousness, but desire to experiment with prose poetry and creative non-fiction as well. Isolationism, the book, is also meant to be a tribute to the music that inspired me over the course of the last 15 years of my life. I also plan for works in progress to be documented as well as the eventually incorporation of interviews with people that inspire me and live show reviews and photos.

For now, the design of the site is going to be simple, based on an already created WordPress theme template. The simple design best reflects, in my mind, what isolationism means to me: dark and stark. As time progresses, I plan on updating and personalizing the design of the site, but manuevering through instructions on how to use WordPress' interface and functions has been difficult. So, I'd like to become more familiar with using WordPress and its processes, as well as, read more about coding in XHTML and working cascading style sheets (CSS) before I think about modifying the design. With that in mind, please stay tuned and I hope that you like Isolationist Noise.

WTF??????

So, I did not know this, but apparently, famous actress Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (otherwise known as Will Smith's wife) has a new band. Little did I know that this band, Wicked Wisdom, performed at OzzFest last year!?!?!? OZZFEST?!?!?!? WTF?!?!?!?












Seriously! Wicked Wisdom is a metal band. They performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight. I switched back from Letterman after the Goldfrapp performance to eyewitness Jada Koren (as she now goes by) attempting her best "Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath" impression. Imagine Jada suddenly fronting Sunno))) or the Melvins or some other form of clusterfuck. Whoa, dude, that's fucked up, man! The song performed, Bleed All Over Me, drudged and droned over the course of slightly more than three minutes of metal goodness (that's left for interpretation.) In the end, I thought, "Whoa, dude!" Whether that's a positive or negative comment, that's left up to interpretation. One word summarized the experience: Clusterfuck!

Despite the clusterfucking I'm feeling in the aftermath, I found that I actually enjoyed it. This brings her coolness factor up a notch or two. I'm actually embarrassed to admit that last sentence. By the way, she's on Blogger, too.

Forthcoming

Hello All (2 of you):

I honestly can't contain the excitement growing in my cells for what I'm about ready to announce. I've documented in recent weeks my strong desire to return to the days of explosive waves of creativity. As a matter of fact, I don't even remember the last time I felt I had any of those aforementioned waves. Simply put, I've been uninspired. However, as I slowly work my way out of the abyss, I'm starting to become inspired again on the blogging front. Aided by Ashley's aptly-timed recommendation of the Artist's Way, my longing to write is returning to my soul. In order to facilitate this, I decided to make some changes with respect to Bring D.A. Noise.

On Monday, with freshly acquired funds, I acquired a new domain, with the intent to return to using WordPress. With WordPress, I'm allowed more flexibility in the design and layout of my blog. Since I'm not well-versed on HTML, XHTML, and CSS, web design is an elusive concept. Up to this point, this made me apprehensive about creating my own website. But, on the other hand, I like having the ability to categorize my blog entries for easier searching capabilities and organization. Also, there are way more templates and themes to choose from for layout.

Have no fear, though. Bring D.A. Noise on Blogger won't be going away. The plan is to use this present site as an archive of previous blog entries from various sites, including entries all the way back to the days of LiveJournal. The focus points for most of D.A. Noise's energies pertain to musings on various subjects dealing with current events (from the worlds of entertainment, politics, and pop culture, although the lines for all three now blur together.) Besides this, D.A. Noise will document my study of the principles discussed in The Artist's Way. With that, I will write a summary of each week's topics as well as work my way through the activities at the end of each chapter. I sincerely hope that this does not bore anyone. Worse case, boredom ensues for approximately 12 weeks.

Now, I come to the new and (hopefully) exciting part. Besides Bring D.A. Noise, I've decided to create a new blog by way of the almighty WordPress. One of the main ideas behind the new blog is to create an outlet for documenting my creative output that may ensue as the creative blockage dissipitates. Another purpose of the new blog is to document the exploration of new and innovative music that inspires me to create in the first place. In the last ten or so years, I've developed an interest in challenging experimental and unconventional music, which I've always wanted to explore more and document the exploration along the way. Hopefully, new opportunities and sources of inspiration will develop by way of the new blog.

*Please note the clue in the next paragraph as to the name of the new blog in Boldface*

To start out with, the focus of the website is solely on the blog. During this time, I plan to use a pre-created theme for the layout. As I become more familiar with the WordPress blogging program, a new layout will be created and the blog will become a full-scale website. In the future, I hope to have interviews with influences as well as the documentation of creative works in progress. In the end, this website will be the impetus for commencing work on my proposed first collection of writings with the working title Isolationism. I'm not quite ready to announce the address of the site as of yet, as I want to input links and post categories, along with creating a profile of myself. I hope to present the link to the new site in the next few days.

That's all for now. As always, stay tuned!

The Uber-Bitch is Back!

Flipping through channels on a dull Monday night, television-wise, brought me to the vomit-inducing news reporting that Fox News is so famous for. Tonight, on Neil Cavuto's Your World, the New York Times bestselling author and uber-bitch of right-wing punditry, Ann Coulter, acknowledged that, in theory, this is the Democrats' year to potentially take back the House of Representatives or even the Senate (clearly, a back-handed compliment.) However, when Mr. Cavuto asked her if she could actually predict if they will succeed or not, she balked. "I can't say statistically state by state," she claimed, while subjecting us all to her horrible "hair-don't." At least, Hilary had the imagination to change hers every once in a while.

Then, we found out that she has a new book coming out, Godless. Apparently, liberals are godless, too. At the end of the interview, she was asked if she would ever run for office. She responded with an emphatic "No." Thank you, God!



















Spawn of Satan??? Scarrry!

Godless comes out June 6th. Lucky us.

By the way, is it just me, or does it seem like she loses at least one piece of clothing with each subsequent book cover? Let's just hope the Ann Coulter sex book never happens! I mean, look what it did for Madonna.

Moussaoui LIVES (For Now)

The verdict in the Moussaoui trial came in this afternoon: LIFE in prison. After the verdict, the LCD (lowest common denominator) of humanity gleefully left the courtroom, proclaiming that "America has lost! I won!" Ummm, excuse me, if you call spending the rest of your natural born life in prison a "WIN," then there must be something wrong. At this point, I'd rather see him rot in prison for his complete disregard for the 3,000 plus humans that lost their lives on that dreadful day and for the millions who survived and are still living. Most likely, these people are going to be out enjoying the rays of the warm May sun, sitting down for dinner with their families, going to rock concerts, and the many other activities and freedoms that us Americans get to enjoy. On the other hand, the "Moussaoui Messiah" gets to eat prison food, watch his back for other prisoners (most likely Americans themselves) that want to break his face and kill him, and possibly peruse the prison's library, burying himself in law books and educating himself on how to appeal his sentence (as his own attorney.) Sounds like shit loads of fun. I'm extremely jealous of him. Ummmm.....not really.













Is he the Real Winner???

The Artist's Way: An Introduction

For as long as I can remember, I'd always wanted to be a writer. I dreamed for the day where every day I had the ability to inhabit local coffeeshops in whatever city I lived in on a daily basis to write and not have to work a mundane, exhausting job. I still dream for this day to come. But, in the meantime, I've had no choice but to firmly plant at least one foot on the pavement of reality. Sometimes, though, that reality really really sucks.

I've spent the last several years and the three cities that I've lived in partaking in sporadic spurts of immense creativity poring out of my body and soul. Recently, however, I've felt that I've lost my motivation to create. I know in my heart that I am capable of extensive productivity in the frontier of creativity, but my mind, with its occasional bouts of neuroticism, I'm creatively useless and uninspired. I've felt that my recent attempts at creatively have not been aesthetically appealed, repetitive, and monotonous in nature. I've rationalized that my lack of confidence in my writing ability is the result of laziness and lack of motivation. There's a part of me which believes that recent bouts of work exhaustion have also played a factor in my lackadaisical approach to recent creative efforts.

My frustration with these issues came up in a conversation I had last fall with my dear friend in Olympia, Ashley. She suggested that I checked out a book that she's used to help her with channeling her creativity. The book she recommended, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, proved to be extremely helpful to her in the recovery of creative energy. Based on her recommendation, I purchased this book on a rainy afternoon around Thanksgiving. Sure, I will try it, I said to myself, without much hesitation. At this point, I'm open to just about anything.

Divided into twelve chapters, The Artist's Way focuses on different characteristics that are most often lacking in an artist's consciousness as the artist struggles to maintain his/her creative motivations. These deficiencies most often lead to creative blockage. These focal areas are:

Week 1 Recovering a sense of safety
Week 2 Recovering a sense of identity
Week 3 Recovering a sense of power
Week 4 Recovering a sense of integrity
Week 5 Recovering a sense of possibility
Week 6 Recovering a sense of abundance
Week 7 Recovering a sense of connection
Week 8 Recovering a sense of strength
Week 9 Recovering a sense of compassion
Week 10 Recovering a sense of self-protection
Week 11 Recovering a sense of autonomy
Week 12 Recovering a sense of faith

The exercises in the end of each chapter allow the participant to place the concepts presented into context, with respect to how they apply to the participant's creative situation. In addition to these exercises, Ms. Cameron also presents two other activities that should be incorporated into the recovery process.

Activity number one, the Morning Pages, ideally takes place every day, where the participant is asked to write three pages of writing in the form of stream-of-consciousness. The idea is to write whatever comes to mind, unabridged and uncensored, without much thought put into it. When the Morning Pages are completed each day, the participant is then asked to put the writing away and not look at it again. The primary purpose of this activity is to empty the brain of extraneous thoughts, feelings, and emotions that may be festering inside, causing brain drain and potentially blocking the creative flow.

Activity number two, the Artist Date, asks the participant to set aside a couple hours once a week to take the "artist child" in you out on a date, just you and your "artist child." No one else is allowed to accompany the participant. The Artist Date potentially creates new sources of inspiration and motivation for the artist to prosper.

I went through this book for the first time earlier this year. The ideas Julia expressed throughout this book were right on the ball, aiding in the development and maintenance of my creativity. However, towards the end of the book, I discovered that even though I was reading the book on a weekly basis, I wasn't actively participating in the creative recovery process. To further exacerbate the problem, the toll work has taken on me physically and mentally in recent weeks didn't make the recovery any easier. In particular, when the subject of addictions (such as workaholism) presented itself, the light dawned on me. I've fallen prey to the addiction of workaholism, although, it wasn't the act of constantly working that was the issue for me. In reality, the truth was, I was running myself down to the ground, carrying the weight of what I perceived to be the expectations of my superiors as well as trying to keep up with the transitional period we're going through at the law firm.

Shortly after finishing this book, an idea came to me. This blog had been neglected by me since the end of January. Up until recently, this blog felt boring and uninspired. Then, I thought, wait a minute. Why don't I go through the Artist's Way a second time while documenting the process using the blog. So, with that in mind, I decided to incorporate the Artist's Way into my blog.

Here's how this will work. At the beginning of each week I will introduce each chapter and summarize the concepts raised in the chapter. Then, over the course of the week, I'd complete the exercises in the book as blog entries as well as document my artist's date for the week. At the end of the week, there will be a Check-In entry, where I'm asked a few questions to summarize what happened over the course of the week. Since I'm in the middle of the first week, I'll combine the Check-In and the Chapter summary in the same entry.

Current List for May 2006

Now that I am back blogging again, I thought that I'd list my current favorite items of interest in the areas of listening, reading, and other stimuli. April is drawing to a close, so bring on the May flowers (as the age old adage goes)!!

Favorite Record of the Moment:

Out now! The latest in the Bugged Out! series comes to you, courtesy of the self-coined "unique" Miss Kittin. As with every Bugged Out! set, there's one disc devoted to the uptempo rhythms of a night on the town, while the other disc is devoted to the bedroom dj in all of us. Last year's mix, by current sensation Erol Arkan, impressively melded today's hottest club sounds, while slowing it down for the second disc with the uberchill of 60s easy listening classics and the glam 70s prog rock. At the same time, Arkan also throws in a little M83 for good measure, while closing it out with the blissful trance pop of the Spacemen 3. Miss Kittin, on the other hand, chooses to keep the same pace over both discs, making for a stellar smorgasbord of clash-free electro soundscapes alongside rave classics like Don't Go by the Awesome 3. The "chill-out" disc effectively melds D.A. noisily (get it?) hard clang of the classic Aphex Twin remix of Curve's Falling Free, with the icy cold chill of the Two Lone Swordmen mix of Saint Etienne's Heart Failed (In the Back of a Taxi.)

This edition of the Bugged Out! mix best reflects Miss Kittin's recent dj gigs of last year, most characteristic of her mix set from last year's Sonar Festival in Barcelona, where she pulled out one of my personal all-time favorite techno classics, the formidable The House is Mine by Caspar Pound's Hypnotist moniker. Are you looking to relive the good 'ole days where you wore that pacifier on a chain around your neck and baggy dress-length, rainbow-striped t-shirts while walking down today's streets with the iPod and ear-buds? Well, this is the ultimate soundtrack for your journey to the dancefloors of 2006.

Listening: The next 9 (in no particular order):
Ellen Allien and Apparat Orchestra of Bubbles
Matmos The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth
Ladytron The Harmonium Sessions (limited edition tour ep)
Massive Attack Collection (limited deluxe edition)
Fe-Mail Blixter Toad
Larsen Seies
Final 3
Black Sun Productions operettAmorale
Duncan Vainio Vaisanen Nine Suggestions

Other Listening:
Wire Pink Flag (re-issue)
Leaether Strip After The Devastation
Supersilent Supersilent 1-3
Ladytron Witching Hour/Extended Play
V/A Rune Grammofon Money Will Ruin Everything
Mogwai Mr. Beast
Daniel Menche Concussions
Spunk En Aldeles Forferdelig Sykdom
Spunk (remixed) Filtered Through Friends
Organum Sanctus
Covenant Skyshaper
McLusky Mcluskyisms
The Hope Blister Underarms and Sideways
Stereolab Fab Four Suture
Cocteau Twins Lullabies for Volaine
V/A MSF Benefit Not Alone
Current 93 How He Loved The Moon (Moonsongs for Jhonn Balance)
Nine Inch Nails Every Day is Exactly the Same ep
Klutae Hit & Run
Morrissey Ringleader of the Tormentors
V/A American Gigolo 2 Mixed by Abe Duque

Current Reading:


















Other Reading:
The Artist's Way Julia Cameron
Money Will Ruin Everything Rune Grammofon
Writing Down The Bones Natalie Goldberg
Wreckers of Civilisation - Coum Transmissions & Throbbing Gristle Simon Ford
The DaVinci Code Dan Brown
In Beauty Zadie Smith
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert Pirsig
Howl Fifty Years Later: The Poem That Changed America Jason Shinder (Editor)

Overtime at Work: LOTS of it!

Most eagerly anticipated event: A VACATION (FINALLY) to New Mexico for 4th of July

Forthcoming Items of Interest:

Film:
The DaVinci Code
United 93

Live shows:
Architect [Haujobb side project] (The Vogue, May 3)
Slow Music with Bill Rieflin, Hector Zazou, Robert Fripp, Peter Buck, and friends (Showbox, May 6)
Goldfrapp (Showbox, May 11)
Modeselektor (ReBar, May 19)
Mogwai (Neumos, May 23)
Ministry/Revolting Cocks (Showbox, May 28)
Sonic Youth (Moore Theatre, June 30)
Legendary Pink Dots (Launch Pad ABQ, July 2; Berbati's PDX July 10; Chop Suey SEA, July 11) A Silver Mt. Zion/Carla Bozulich (Neumos, August 18)

Forthcoming records:
Carla Bozulich Evangelista
Peaches Impeach My Bush
Legendary Pink Dots Your Children Placate You from Premature Graves
PTV3 (Psychic TV) Hell is Invisible...Heaven is Her/E
Sonic Youth Rather Ripped
Throbbing Gristle Part Two MAYBE SOMEDAY

Another Scandal in the Literary World

Earlier this year, the author of the book A Million Little Pieces, James Frey, was crucified by the media (particularly by loud-mouthed, right-wing talk radio hosts) when the truth came out that he "embellished" certain facts in the book to make the story interesting. Under normal circumstances, that is not so much of a problem, unless your finished product is categorized as non-fiction. Pieces gained notoreity when the queen of talk show entertainment, Oprah Winfrey, made it a selection of the month for her famous book club.

Speculation about the questionable credibility of Frey's story later surfaced a short time later, spawning a phone call from Oprah herself into Frey's interview on the Larry King show to defend the book, proclaiming that his "story of redemption resonated with her." When Frey fessed up a short time later, the shit hit the fan! Boy, oh boy, it sure did. On January 26th (my birthday), Frey returned to the Oprah show for a public display of ridicule, spearheaded by the duped talk show host herself. The fallout from the incident left a bitter taste in the mouths of many in the literary community, calling into question the integrity of authors.

Now, three months later, another up and coming fiction writer by the name of Kaavya Viswanathan, a Harvard University student, is in hot water, being accused of plagarism. Her critically-lauded debut novel, How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life, has been pulled from stores by her publisher, Little, Brown and Company, when it surfaced that certain passages were plagarized from a series of novels by another author, Megan McCafferty. These passages "unintentionally minicked," nearly word-for-word (as Viswanathan maintains), passages from Megan's novels, Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings.

In light of this new scandal, Frey's "alleged crimes" pale in comparison. While Frey was guilty of misrepresenting embellishments as truth, at least he did not blatantly plagarize another author's work. In reality, I'm curious to know how many non-fiction books actually feature subtle fabrications and other embellishments in the interest of making for original storytelling. Unfortunately, Frey made the mistake of getting caught in the heat of the lies and deceit. In turn, he was demonized and vilified in the media for his misgivings.

His deceit culminated in an intense backlash, resulting in legal action, raised by "duped" readers of the book. Some readings even recommended the book to friends, while psychiatrists and mental health experts encouraged patients to read the book. As a result, consumers sued for fraud in droves, demanding compensation for money spent on the book as well as "wasted time." In my mind, not only is that going overboard, but it's just plain stupid. If "wasted time" becomes the standard for which compensation is based on, then people might as well be able to sue the major TV networks for "wasting viewers' time" for worthless trash on the airwaves (I'd like to sue for the waste that is ALL reality TV). While we're at it, can we also sue radio stations and the major record labels for wasting our time and polluting our bodies with air waves emitted as a result of ALL the shitty music they produce and manufacture for public consumption? (I'd like to sue for being subjected to Britney Spears and Korn, amongst others.) Where would it end? People already believe that us Americans are too much of a litigious society. Allowing the ability to legally pursue compensation using the standard of "wasted time" would only make things worse.

On the other hand, the allegations against Viswanathan have harsher ramifications for the accused. The author misrepresented her writing style as being her own, when in reality, the style mimicks the style of another established author. Maybe the error of judgment on Viswanathan's part could be attributed to youthful ignorance or a lack of literary knowledge, but the truth is, her actions are unconscionable. On the other hand, part of the responsibility for this egregious lapse of judgment should fall on the editor of Opal Mehta. I'd like to believe that the editor should be responsibilty for fact-checking as well as checking for potential plagarism from other source material. (As an aside note, albeit minor, the English student that I'd like to be has recently an increasing number of typos in books that I've read recently. This really surprises me. I've only just begun to notice this problem.)

Am I being too picky? No, I don't think so. As a reader with an interest in English literature, I have a reasonable expectation of accuracy in literature on all levels, spelling or otherwise. I may not be likely to sue a famous author over such errors, but I believe accuracy should be part of the responsibility of a professional, bestselling author. I'm interested to see how this story develops. As mentioned earlier, the book has been pulled from shelves, while legal action is being contemplated. I expect that standards for accuracy in literature may change in the aftermath of this latest literary controversy.

TONIGHT: Dining Out for Life 2006

Tonight is the 13th annual Dining Out for Life fundraiser, a nationwide event sponsored by AIDS-related charities (Lifelong AIDS Alliance here in Seattle.) Every year, this event raises much needed money for people living with HIV/AIDS. Over 150 restaurants in the Seattle area are participating in this wonderful event, with portions of the proceeds going to the Lifelong AIDS Alliance. They are an incredible organization that have done wonderful things for those in need throughout the Seattle area. They also sponsor the AIDS Walk annually, this year's coming up on September 9th. So, if you're looking for something to do, while helping out a wonderful cause, please partake in your local Dining Out for Life fundraiser.

I've participated over the last few years in Minneapolis as well as Seattle, and eagerly anticipate a great meal at the Greek restaurant, El Greco in Capital Hill. I recently enjoyed a great Sunday brunch there with my good friend, Ashley. Good times in the name of great food and worthy causes. Bon appetite!

Retooling time for this blog thing

It's Confession Time here at Bring D.A. Noise:

I've been bored...bored to DEATH with life. Life has this funny way of playing mental tricks on you when you least expect it, almost rendering you to the point of numbness. This past winter, just like past winters, signs of vitality in my soul are slim to non-existent. I wonder why I get into these unshakeable funks, which lead me to bouts of isolationist thinking. I've been anti-social of late, choosing instead to plug the headphones into the iPod and keep to myself. It's blatantly obvious that I have not blogged in over two months. Recently, though, I've been missing this blog so thought that I'd get back to business. As my co-worker/blogging friend, The Kern, can attest to, I've recently expressed several ideas for things to write about. However, they never ended up seeing the light of day.

What's my problem, anyway? Is it the lack of inspired writing? Lack of confidence in my writing abilities? Lack of focus? Fear of rejection of my writing? Well, ultimately, I chock it up to utter laziness. However, I want to change that. With change in mind, the plan is for the Bring D.A. Noise blog to retooled and revamped. For the time being, I will continue to blog using this Blogspot addy, but, will eventually return to WordPress. I'm also thinking of renaming my blog as well. The name of choice at the moment is "Spunk Action." At this point, don't ask me what inspired this name choice because I'm not going to tell you. *wink wink*

What's been missing from my blog is a sense of focus. When I first started blogging (with LiveJournal), I never clearly defined the main objectives of why I blogged in the first place. A specific purpose wasn't set in stone. My writing was based on whatever I felt like writing at the time a particular post came into being. How can I make my blog an unique experience for myself and its readers? I did, however, tell myself that I wanted to veer away from what other gay bloggers were writing. I didn't want to write about crushes on high school jocks or experiences with drugs and sex. That's boring to me.

With that in mind, I came up with the idea for the current incarnation of my blog, Bring D.A. Noise. With this idea, I wanted to document my experiences with discovering and delving into non-traditional, unconventional, and experimental music. At the time, I thought "What a perfect idea for a blog!", particularly since I am such a big music fan. Writing about music most other people don't know or understand is a great blog idea that stands out from other "queer" blogs. However, when I did write about music, the writing was bland and uninspired. That bland style of writing resulted in the deterioration of confidence in my writing ability. Then, I got bored and lost interest in writing. Also, struggles with depression didn't help matters.

As recent as a few days ago, I sat down and put some thought into what kind of a blog I'd like to write. My desire for a clearer definition of my intentions for blogging was long overdue. As I thought about this, my earlier idea of writing about my exploration into experimental music creeped back into my consciousness. After further thought, there were other things that I wanted to write about. In the end, I came up with three main objectives that I'd like to accomplish for this blog.

1. What I'd like to call "The Usual Suspects": The usual rants, raves, observations, anecdotes, revelations, moments of self-realization, and random acts of "bitching and moaning" about the current state of the country I live in and the world around me. This has always been a part of my blog, but I'd like to take these ideas to a new level of interest and excitement.

2. Experimental music exploration: Detailing my "journey" (yeah, yeah, yeah...I know it's a cheezy and an extremely overused term, but I don't have any better words that come in mind) through the "adventures of modern music," as the British magazine The Wire proudly endorses. Writing in the style of a music review, I'd like to document artists that continue to fascinate me and adventurous music.

3. My Artistic Recovery: Documenting revelations encountered while walking through the artistic recovery process, by way of the incredible and thought-provoking book, The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron. More to come on this in future blog entries.

All in all, I anticpate increased blogging activity on my part over the course of the next several weeks, ultimately culminating in a new blog address and design. So, stay tuned (and THIS TIME, I MEAN IT.)

The "Current" List for February 2006

In no order of importance:

Music
After The Devastation - Leaether Strip (Alfa Matrix)
The Ape of Naples - Coil (Threshold House)
The Life Pursuit - Belle & Sebastian (Matador)
Live at Astoria, May 14, 2004 - Throbbing Gristle (mp3)
Filtered Through Friends - Spunk remixed (Rune Grammofon)
The Men Album - The Living Jarboe (Atavistic)
Heat - Colder (Output)
Tender Buttons - Broadcast (Warp)
Tonight The Monkeys Die - Low remixed (Chairkickers Union)
Operetta Morale - Black Sun Productions (Divine Frequency)
En Aldeles Forferdelig Sykdom - Spunk (Rune Grammofon)
Endless - VVV (Mute)
Witching Hour - Ladytron (Rykodisc)
The Days of Mars - Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom (Astralwerks)
Shipwrecked Radio Vol. 1 & 2 - Nurse With Wound (ICR Distribution)
Crime and Dissonance - Ennio Morricone (Ipecac)

Books
Deliberate Prose - Allen Ginsberg
Queer - William S. Burroughs
Our Lady of the Flowers - Jean Genet
Don Quixote - Kathy Acker
The Artist's Way - Julia Cameron

33 is the New 40

At least, that's how I felt this past Thursday, which marked my 33rd birthday. Even though, I haven't quite felt up to par mentally, I still believe that this is going to be a great year. I'm determined to make this a great year. I haven't been in much of a blogging mood. Don't get me wrong - I thoroughly enjoy blogging, wholeheartedly. But, writer's block can be a real bitch, allowing skepticism to reign supreme in my brain. Anyway, I am determined now more than ever to remain optimistic and hopeful that the mental funk will go away.

2005 Year End Review: Mysterious Skin

Am I the only person on this planet that is sick to death of hearing "Brokeback Mountain this, Brokeback Mountain that...?" Am I the only one? Well, I was sick to death of hearing about it since the "Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhall portraying gay lovers" hype began over a year and a half ago. It's been that long. SERIOUSLY, I DON'T CARE. I still want to see it, just for the sake of seeing what the hype is all about. I don't doubt that seeing Jake Gyllenhall is a giant orgasm waiting to happen. That, I can not dispute (just take a look at the shirtless and bald Gyllenhall in Jarhead....enough said.) However, it makes me completely livid when other, equally deserving films get overshadowed due to the uber-over-the-top hype of "straight actors playing gay characters in a gay-themed film" schtick.

Gregg Araki's latest flick, his adaptation of Scott Heim's wonderful novel, Mysterious Skin, is my favorite film of the year. Simply put, Mysterious Skin is, by far, Araki's strongest and most mature of his films to date. Approaching the topic of child molestation is a tricky task for anyone to take on without the potential for sparking a little controversy. However, Araki proves to be up for the task. Araki adds his signature to the already beautiful, yet heartwrenching story by continuing his use of lush, atmospheric ambient shoegazer rock. Even though Heim's novel doesn't necessarily elude to a particular musical reference point, the film's score by Harold Budd and ex-Cocteau Twin guitarist Robin Guthrie fits perfectly with the overall mood of this film.

The performances of everyone involved are wonderful throughout Mysterious Skin. But, this film belongs to veteran Third Rock from the Sun actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt. His portrayal of the sexually confused and vulnerable Neil McCormick carries this film. Unfortunately, Gordon-Levitt's harrowing performance has been virtually ignored by the viewing public and Oscar voters alike, which is par for the course of independent filmmaking. Elisabeth Shue (as Neil's aloof, yet loving mother), Brady Corbet (as the sexually-abused Brian Lackey, who blacked out, convinced that he was abducted by aliens) and Michelle Trachtenberg (as Neil's concerned best friend, Wendy) also turn in what I believe to be Oscar-caliber performances. Mysterious Skin didn't pull in the $$$ that Brokeback Mountain is pulling in right now as we speak, but that should not deter anyone from taking a look at this film.

Previous Araki films, such as The Doom Generation and Nowhere, are not really known for their stellar acting performances. However, Mysterious Skin changes everything. Here, Araki comes out as a promising filmmaker that has a lot going for him. Araki plants himself permanently on the map of independent filmmaking. Film connisseurs and music lovers alike must check out this touching and wonderful film.

2005 Year End Review: Live Show Highlights

What year-end review is complete without a look back at the great shows that I saw in 2005. Experiences range from fire alarms being tripped during performances to return-to-form comeback performances from mainstay alternative artists to irritating mosh-pit inducing harmonics from audience members falsing believing themselves to be great singers to partaking in a goofy rendition of "The Hokey-Pokey" and a game of "Limbo" during an encore, and just about everything inbetween. So, here it is, my favorite shows of the year (in no order of preference):

1. Frozen Rabbit, May 2005 at Capitol Hil Arts Center: Blissful ambience from experimental performer Phil Western (who collaborated with Cevin Key (Skinny Puppy) on Cevin's ongoing side project, Download). About 20 minutes into the set, Brian (who ran the now-defunct online label, Flesh Eating Ants) accidentally hit the fire alarm, causing a mere 20 people (including staff working the show) to exit prematurely out of the venue. Firetrucks arrived approximately 30 minutes later. After this minor delay, Frozen Rabbit finished their sonic journey without further trouble.

2. Dead Can Dance, Sept. 17th at Paramount Theatre: After 7 years apart, the magnificent duo of Brendan Perry and Oscar-nominated performer Lisa Gerrard graced their presence in Seattle. The eagerly anticipated return of DCD sold out every single show on their spring European tour. As walys, their music was incredibly gorgeous, almost like they never disbanded in the first place. Their 2-hour set included a few new songs (at least they were songs that I didn't recognize) like Crescent and Hymn for the Fallen, which further sealed their fate as being one of the greatest live experiences ever witnessed. The haunting How Fortunate The Man With None brought tears streaming down my face. This show is one of a few shows that I'll never forget. The performance was recorded and made into limited edition live recordings. Of course, I bought a copy. How could I not?

3. Bauhaus, Oct. 14th at Paramount Theatre: 80s Goth rockers returned for their second reunion tour. Their set contains all of my favorite classics, such as Kick in the Eye, Bela Lugosi is Dead, She's in Parties, Swing The Heartache, and more. Despite the fact that vocalist Peter Murphy was dealing with a bout of sickness, Bauhaus never ceased to disappoint throughout the entire show. Double Dare, to my disappointment, was not performed, but that didn't detract from their overall performance.

4. Bob Mould, October at Neumos: See Thurs. Dec. 29th @ 8:21 a.m. blog entry

5. Chicks on Speed, Nov. 14th at Chop Suey: The art electro-rock trio Chicks on Speed put on another fun performance at Chop Suey. Of course, they played their rendition of Cracker's Euro Trash Girl, which is my favorite song from CoS' repertoire. This particular contained one of the more interesting and fun encores I've ever eyewitnessed at an electro rock show. Vocalist Melissa led a rendition of the Hokey Pokey song, which brought an excited display of audience participation. A free-spirited game of Limbo soon followed.

6. Antony and the Johnsons, two shows - April at On The Boards, Seattle and Sept. at the TBA Festival, Portland, OR: Antony brought his charisma and beautiful voice to two incredible performances this year. The first performance was at On The Boards, where Coco Rosie, William Barinski, and Devendra Banhart opened (unfortunately, I missed the opening performances because I was dinking around downtown, losing track of time). All of them joined in for a song or two during Antony's set. Antony's hauntingly beautiful vocals mesmerized everyone in the room with a graceful sadness. Antony proved to this fan that he is genuinely gifted, a bright star gracing the dark clouds of the current musical landscape. The second performance was part of Portland's annual art festival sponsored by PICA (Portland Institute of Contemporary Arts), the TBA Festival, which also brought Diamanda Galas' two incredible performances in 2004. Unfortunately, Antony was struggling with being under the weather, which made this second performance a short, but equally powerful performance, ending the set with my 2nd favorite song of the year, the haunting and gorgeous Hope There's Someone. That show was also where I met a nice woman by the name of Mary, whose enthusiasm of seeing Antony made the evening a perfect affair.

7. Neurosis with Jarboe, January at Neumos: The beginning of 2005 finally brought me my first Neurosis musical experience. In support of their Eye of Every Storm release and their collaboration with ex-SWANS vocalist, Jarboe, the ferocious sonic performance of Neurosis was one of the more powerful performances of the year. Jarboe joined in midway through the main set, starting with the incredible song Within. Jarboe's intense vocals added a new dimension to the Neurosis sound, while holding her own with the noise rock titans.

8. Wooden Octupus Skull experimental music festival, Sept. at ReBar and The Baltic Room: Review forthcoming

9. Adult., Nov. 16th at Chop Suey: In support of their newest release, Gimmie Trouble, Adult. (with the addition of newest member, Sam) rocked the crowd at Chop Suey with Nicola Kuperus's snarling vocal stylings and synth punk rock hooks. Sam proved to be a much welcomed addition to the Adult. sound, while Nicola displayed her best Siouxsie Sioux impression on new and old Adult. tracks. When their electroclash hit Hand To Phone was requested, Nicola politely declined, which didn't remotely surprise me. She engaged the audience with her mesmerizing vocals while whipping around on the floor with her diehard fans. Adult. never ceases to please their audiences with their unique brand of electro punk.

10. An Evening of Improv with Bill Rieflin, Peter Buck, Robert Fripp, Hector Zazou, Matt Chamberlain, November at Crocodile Cafe: This unique improvisational supergroup entertained its audience members with three long ambient soundscapes, lasting between 25 and 40 minutes a piece. I never thought that I would see these phenomenal musicians all together in one place. This performance was one of my favorites of the year. The grooves and atmospherics created were slumber-inducing and mesmerizing in scope.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Self-Loathing Queer Has Now Left This Body

Any year can have its ups and downs, but for me, 2005 was not one of my better years. As a matter of fact, if I was more of a drama queen (that fact can be debated at will by anyone), I'd tell you that 2005 was the worst year of my life. In certain respects, that would be true. The hardest thing for me was the assault and the aftermath that I endured on and after February 15th. Conversation with my mother over the phone on her birthday should not have centered around blood gushing from my head and bruises on my knee. That was one of the hardest phone calls that I ever had made. My attack, which was basically over a stupid fucking cellphone, resulted in medical bills that took forever to be covered by insurance with $$$ still owed; pain and suffering; and fallout and subsequent hatred for Sprint. Their collection agency is coming after me to this day, but I hope to resolve this over the next couple of months by paying them so that I can move on.

2005 was also the year where I struggled with sadness and depression. I've been fighting these demons for years, but nearly took over my mind and body completely over the summer and the beginning of fall. Manifestations of the above took on the form of doubt, loathing, anger towards certain people and situations, utter contempt at certain factions of the local community (i.e. the "goth and darkwave" scene, the gay community, and "holier-than-thou hipster mentalities"), and downright hatred of myself. I've never attempted suicide before, but came close on a few occasions this year. In particular, June through September were the worst months.

However, my point of awakening did eventually occur when I finally said to myself "Enough is enough!" My main problem is that I continued to allow myself to be negatively impacted by these frustrations. I allow these thoughts to continue. I allow myself to feel down. Now that I think about it, as Kent put it during an argument during moving time, I did like to complain. I allow people and circumstances to bring me down and make me resentful. I've never quite come to the point of complete self-acceptance of my mind and body. My self-acceptance consists of the following things:

• I am openly gay to those on a "need to know" basis as well as with friends.
• I weigh 175 pounds (give or take a few) on a good day
• I value respect more than popularity.
• I don't waste money on $200 pair of jeans or $70 t-shirts, nor do I weigh the level of my self-worth based on how much I don spend on these things.
• I don't benchpress 300 pounds, nor am I emaciated. I eat what I want to eat and feel no guilt for it.
• I love experimental, industrial, most forms of electronica, some indie-pop music....fuck that labeling bullshit....I like good quality music, not mundane pop music made for the sake of mainstream consumption. I hate Britney and Hilary Duff, much prefer Cher as an actress, firmly believe that Whitney is definitely whacked on crack, and despise mainstream "rap metal" such as Korn and that ilk.
• I love to write and will continue to do so as long as I live.
• I am fascinated by creative people and find geeky guys with glasses and close-cropped beards sexy. I also have no qualms with admitting it to most right-wing moronic pundits and hypocritical, mean-spirited "Christians.

The list goes on and on and on, but you get the point. I've hated myself inside and out for far too long. I've endured far too many years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds on this self-implosion which is aided and abetted by biased opinions of those who are not in the know of me as a person, nor are in the right in the first place. There comes a time when you finally stop the insanity by saying "Enough is enough." For me, now is the time for me to defenstrate the "self-loathing queer" half of my dual personalities out of my body. I am determined to make 2006 the best year of my life, almost at all costs.

Truthfully, I could not have gotten through 2005 without the love of my close friends and the caring folks at my place of employment. I'd like to, in particular, thank the following folks: Jessica (my best friend of 15 years); Ashley, Jeanne, and Soren (my dear concert-going friends in Olympia); co-worker/fellow blogger The Kern (see blog of the year entry); Glory, Wendy, Cheryl, Wilma, Dianna, and Marlene (present and past secretaries at my employer); and Kent (my housemate), despite several arguments and disagreements over the last 14 months). At the end of the day, I have a great situation right now here in Seattle that makes life worth living.

The title of this blog entry contains the theme of 2006 for me. Here's to the new year - may it be a prosperous time for all aspects of the mind and body for everyone.

Goodbye, Rainier Beach! Hello, Sanity!

So, the big weekend finally came and went for D.A........Moving time. At first, I wasn't too thrilled at the prospect of trying to find a new place to live smack dab at the end of the year during the holiday. Now, however, I'm greatly relieved that my roommate and I have left the ghetto when we did. Going 5 weeks without a working furnace sealed the deal for the both of us. A lesson learned saved us further trouble down the road. Don't rent from friends. DON'T DO IT. They weren't my friends beforehand so I really didn't have anything to lose, other than thousands of dollars in rent paid.

On the other hand, this weekend didn't go quite as planned. The moving out part took a lot longer than I was hoping. We finally left the abyss four hours after we were supposed to be out. When picking up the rental truck and getting some last minute items, we were nearly accosted by Hispanic day laborers loitering around the SODO Home Depot. Three guys opened the passenger door. I thought that we were getting carjacked. The slumlords also tried to bring people in to replace the carpet on 11 hours notice. My roommate, Kent, said fuck no. An altercation ensued, and I spoke up when I should not have. In the end, though, they lost that battle.

We don't think we'll hear the last from the slumlords, but they have nothing on me. I never signed anything so they can't come after me for anything. I am out of $7,700 in rent, with nothing to show for it, other than an empty wallet, a couple scars on my head from my assault in February, and hours lost due to stress and/or dread faced over not wanting to go home late at night. I can't get those $$$ back, but I am greatly relieved to know that I may never have to set foot in Rainier Beach ever again unless absolutely necessary. I am not a spiteful person so I don't expect anything other than making sure that Kent doesn't get screwed over in closing costs by those bastards. If you're going to manager a piece of property, get the fucking sense to know what your legal obligations are before you decide to become landlords. Studies show that rocket science is not required for property management.

Yesterday, we survived the move into our new apartment in Capital Hill with huge sighs of relief. The new apartment is in complete disarray, but that is to be expected on the first night of the move. We could not have completed the move without the assistance of several people: Jonathan (our extremely nice and much better organized LANDlord - note the lack of the word SLUM); Dave, Michelle, and cute little Abby (Kent's brother-in-law, sister, and niece); Joanne (Kent's friend who helped store a few things overnight); and Kendra (Kent's friend who supplied us some boxes courtesy of her local liquor store). Abby was so cute and very well-behaved as she carried small items into the new apartment. She called me Uncle Matt and told me she loved me, which about brought me to tears. She is so cute!

With our new location, huge bucketloads of stress are lifted from our shoulders. Kent is in walking distance to school. I don't have to take the bus if I don't have to (which means that I will never really take a bus), unless I'm unusually lazy one day. I can walk just about everywhere that I need to go. That makes me a happy boy. I am the type of person that wants to get from A to B without interference and too much stress. I don't want to be stalled by stupid people that never have change ready, certain people who confuse themselves for TuPac Shakur rapping loudly on the bus, spontaneous AWWF Smackdowns involving canes and walking sticks, muggings in February, and horrible cellphone on the bus etiquette to prevent me from trouble-free travelling.

So, here's to a great and less-stressful year in 2006. Finally, I'd like to bid adieu to Rainier Beach and dipshit slumlords! Good riddance.

Denim for Satanists

This article completely made my day. Fashion-conscious atheists are rejoicing on Swedish street corners at the newest trend in hipster fashion. Eventually, Cheap Monday denim jeans will grace the legs of hipsters in Seattle's Capital Hill. Have you had trouble finding the perfect gift for the Satanists you know and love? Well, your troubles are over. Before you know it, Jake Gyllenhall will become a Cheap Monday celebrity spokesman. Who knows, these jeans may even spark yet another cheesy and judgmental form letter from _________ (insert favorite Christian watchdog group here). Here here!!

Happy Last Friday of 2005 (to Bring D.A. Noise's 2 readers)!