sarge is my new hero | 12:46 AM >

Alright, so let me try this again.

You see, this is rather Dolby, this style I'm displaying / Somewhat bonafide, on the side, up, okay, and / finally you're hung-up, your dopeness is full / *clears throat* please excuse, yo, turn it up a decibel

Wait, that was the wrong thing to try. (R.I.P., Black Sheep.) So. Another month, another set of odd adventures. This isn't going to be in chronological order.

There was the wedding. These days I tend to view returning to the States with a certain kind of dismay, which is a feeling almost wholly dependent on how the tiny airplanes upon which I make my conveyance are wont to dip and dive at the most inopportune of times. (Have I mentioned recently how much I hate flying? Yes? Oh, alright then.) The wedding itself, though, was very nice, and everything you'd expect of something Steph had her hand in -- beautiful, quick, and relaxed enough to not be stressful. ^_^ I got to see Beanie (whose wedding I go to in a few days) and Beena (no relation). I got to dance with women under the age of 60. It was a good trip.

While there Nick and Abby (who were gracious enough to have me stay with them again) gave me some lavender oil, which apparenly helps people sleep (it's something I'd yet to try in my tilting at the windmills of insomnia). Well I'll say this: it works. I think I've had about five or six nights, in a row, of uninterrupted sleep of six hours or more. Naturally I'm exhausted.

A few weeks ago a Katiekat and I decided we were going to make a pact. We've started having a goal each week of one finished piece of art, based on a topic chosen Sunday or thereabouts. When other members of our crew like Ken found out (I think I can say "our" crew now, even though I haven't really been a part of the larger circle all that long), some of them wanted to join in too. Now there are six of us -- myself, KatieKat, Denise, Ken, Wil, and Phoebe -- and we're on our third week. While we sort of agreed to, generally, keep our stuff in the circle, I did want to link to my piece for last week's topic, drag. It's a music clip and the curious can listen to it here. It's only 48 seconds long and not really all that exciting, but it excites me because I discovered some things while making it that could allow me to make some of the other songs I've had kicking around in my head. Oh, and to answer the obvious question: yes, both of those voices are mine.

I tell you the above because without knowing the players stories often get boring.

Friday night I got to hear Phoebe play her violin as backup to the voice of one JP Sunga, pictured above. Good show. Personally it's always interesting to her a violinist play non-classical stuff (especially as part of a band in something more pop-y), and when it comes to JP I think I said it best during the gig: he reminds me of a young, male Tori Amos. It's the strongest notion I got watching him as his fingers danced across his Korg, even though his lyrics never really got as dark as Tori's and not once did he mention killing a waitress. Anyway, if you see him on a bill anywhere in the Toronto area, it's worth going out to give him a listen. And you all know how picky I am with music, especially when it comes to male vocalists.

A week or two ago I went to this talk at the Free Gallery on Queen West, a talk on Gay Muslims and their experiences. It was intended as a follow-up to a picture set called "Conflicted" by local photographre Asad Rahman. The photo set was brave enough, considering, and I thought it was very nice of the subjects to come out and to talk with everyone. The bit that I found the most interesting was an idea I'd never had before: I asked, since there is every possibility that the Qur'an was mistranslated (as was the Christian bible from ancient Hebrew), why they didn't attack the Muslim distaste for homosexuality from that perspective. The answer was that, as God proclaimed that she would protect the sacred texts that most believed them to be infallible, so instead they had to attack the intolerant beliefs using the text and showing that the same words are interpreted differently in different parts by the same scholars. It was also noted by an audience member that homosexuality does not have a punishment detailed in the Qur'an, while other things that are deemed "wrong" do.

To be sure this damnedable thing posts, I'll sign off here and leave you with two things. The first is my new favorite toy, Pandora. I think I'd heard about it before and only given it a cursory glance; now that I'm able to play with it for real I'm totally enjoying it. (Just don't type in The Breeders -- someone was smoking crack when songs like them were chosen. Veruca Salt is much more palatable.) The second, as John Stewart would say, is your Moment of Zen:

edit: Dear lord, this band has the Best. Name. Ever.