the power of human emotion

Visited illustration maker this morning and made a portrait of me and dust.



Dustin came out remarkably well.

... you forget truth that lacks lyricism.

If you buy one album this year, make it Joanna Newsom's The Milk-Eyed Mender. This one is going to be on all the best of 2004 lists. She plays the harp and harpsicord and i applaud her for her braveness, as we all groan and roll our eyes, but are eventually won over. It is not all the swooshy heavenly fluttery stuffy sounds we would imagine, but rather a down-to-earth fingerpicking style that is inviting and personal. And her voice is deliciously childish -- at times reminding one of bjork, shirley temple, cat power, or victoria williams, but also unlike anything you have ever heard. And all these wonderful sounds are supported by writing that is clever and riddle-like rhyming its way into ridiculous truths and beautiful fictions. Joanna takes the listener on a trip lush with mealy worms, fern, fauns, toads, seabirds, seafoam, white coats and bones. There are many objects that thread themselves through the songs and give a strong feeling of an (often "alice"-like) wonderland. The gutsy newness of her music is balanced nicely with a nod to traditional chord structures. As she tells us:

This is an old song,
these are old blues.
This is not my tune,
but it's mine to use.

I just spent the last 4 hours reading cockeyed.com . (yes, a bit slow at work today) You must visit this site! I am overwhelmed by what a fabulous person he is. especially with the rest of the world sitting around and watching tv. Don't miss the "how much is inside?" where they calculate how many chip dips you can get out of a jar of salsa. Havn't we all wondered? Great stuff in the incredible projects section too. Hell, it's all great!

there may not be any great worth to all of Rob's projects, but its just so pure and enthusiastic. Been feeling so downtrodden lately, but this may have breathed some life back into me. I've decided, i need to be more like that - making crazy things out of paper mache and dressing in wacky costumes.

I ride my bike to and from work each day. The ride is one of the few most each day when i can count on being alone (i know this is choice my darling, i am not blaming). Isn't it funny that riding through the city passing countless cars and pedestrians is being alone to me? Irregardless, i am not expected to interact with anyone and so I often fall into deep thought, such deep thought that when I get where i am going, i don't remember the physical work that got me there. autopilot. after all, i have followed this route approximately 278 times.

so, when i am alone in my thought world, on my bicycle, riding through the city, i lose sight of the fact that people may be watching (or as the problem happens to be -- listening) and i forget the rules of social etiquette. I've always had a habit of singing to my self while riding my bike. as if no one could hear me because of my state of motion. i am not a fast rider. To those of you who have witnessed me pedal by while belting out "a case of you", i am sorry.

lately, things have gotten worse and i have begun talking to myself. not a tirade, but often just one statement that i am feeling strongly about. what's so bad is that it is always negative and i always phrase it in second person. The other day i caught myself with, "you are not a very good seamstress." probably innocent enough. BUT, today's slip was, "Are you a psycho bitch?" hmmmm ... "are you losing your mind?"

There used to be photographs and movies of Fred here, but I have temporarily taken them down. This is because of a request by Fred's family. Hopefully, things will get worked out between me and them and I will put everything back soon. In the meantime, if you are looking for fred-related stuff, contact me at ricaroo@gmail.com.

Last night I watched the The Triplets of Belleville. I had ordered the dvd after seeing a preview of it before Masked and Anonymous. Masked was pretty good, but not as amazing as I thought it would be with its overwhelmingly talented cast including: bob dylan, luke wilson, jeff bridges, jessica lange, giovanni risbi (wow - what a cameo!), john goodman, penelope cruz, mickey rourke, and more. But, the preview for Triplets was so unusual, I had to see it.

I don't believe there was any understandable speech (some in French) in the whole movie, and yet the plot is for the most part comprehendable. Although my preference is "talking movies" (such as My Dinner with Andre or Swimming to Cambodia), I was seldom bored because of the shockingly extreme exaggeration of characters' appearances.

I must admit I was disgusted through much of the movie. The dog was horribly obese, the bike racers emaciated, and the triplets ate frogs. I could barely watch one long scene where they lick and lick and lick frogs on a stick. Musically, there are some very good moments, especially when the triplets play household appliances as instruments.

All and all, I highly recommend you all see this, with my only complaint being that I didn't always like being interrupted by the occational 3d image (primarily the fake computer ocean).

These poor bikers have tiny waists and huge thighs.

I have always loved Ryan Adams song "Sylvia Plath" and have lately enjoyed Modest Mouse's "Bukowski". So today I began looking for more songs about authors for a mix cd and came across this very helpful site:

Artists for Literacy, only neither of my favorite songs are listed, which makes me think there are probably plenty more out there. If you can think of any left out, please leave a comment!