for current monkey biz go HERE getting some dick...     4.14 he said, provocatively... "whatchoo talkin' 'bout Willis?" ahhhhhhhh... our esteemed guitar playing brother in Austin Tx has weighed in recently w/a post enlightening us on who is getting some dick and deservedly so... mid-month reminders read American Samizdat & visit The Daily Bleed now, read it again personal note of thanks to SJG of plep for linkage provided that led to our discovery of Autodafe.org

fridays at the fishwrap classifieds... 4.12 are always an adventure, what w/the weekend deadlines & all, may not have an opportunity to revisit and provide you with yummy chewy linky goodness, but there's a lot of that you can find elsewhere, without much trouble. yourstruly would be amiss if he didn't point you to this piece of nutritious linkyness provided by the esteemed Texas Tornado S. Baum; also, here's a link for something that's become a regular stop on our daily rambles. possible explanation for our occasional confusion? Researchers Uncover Brain Patterns That Differentiate Humans From Chimpanzees

will someone please take me...     4.11 to Shopsin's 'cause I really want some Chicken Tortilla Avocado Soup

on the train ride home yesterday...     4.10 there was this family of six, two young boys, one 3 (possibly 4), the other, oh, 6?; mother and father, who carried babe in arms, wee infant, sleeping the entire time yourstruly spent observing indirectly, and la Abuelita, yes, they were from somewhere south of the border, you know how sometimes it takes one to know one? What caught my attention initially was the beautiful serenity in the man's face, and the way he held his child, with both arms, his fingers intertwined, there would be no taking his child from him without his consent. His face an impassive mask, defined and chisled cheekbones, a full mustache, and the slightest of skinfolds at his eyes, giving his countenance a somewhat, ummm, asian cast. We all boarded at the Powell St. station, and they continued on after we exited, likely they were riding to the end of the line, so to speak, at the Richmond terminus. The boys were extremely well behaved, all were nicely dressed, boys wearing sweaters they removed once we boarded, the youngest wearing a t-shirt featuring Pikachu. The father wore a western hat, straw, light colored; workboots, not sneakers or dress shoes. They had such a wonderful dignity to them, oh, the father in particular, and there was a moment, much later, when I turned to look at them again, and the sight of him holding his child that way, the sight of his hands (I imagined for a moment that they were my hands, they looked like my hands), fingers intertwined, that my eyes began to tear, not certain why. Before we left the city, a large group of teenagers boarded, shepherded by their teacher and a couple of other adults, and filling much of the car, and when casting a glance at the family I'd been admiring I noticed no sign of disapproval or discomfort, they simply observed dispassionately, even the young boys, watching as the noisy and very active group of 20 or so came aboard, playfully pushing upon one another amidst occasional shrieks & laughter as they located seats, no doubt dividing into cliques & furtive partnerships (oh yah... the teacher was a real cutie too!). ennyway...     okay, fessin' up here, I did begin to spend some time observing the lovely young woman directing her charges home from their field trip while keeping a discreet eye on the family, but I'll not waste our time describing her, instead mention the way the two young boys observed those teenagers, the concentration on their mother's face as she sat reading a section of newspaper (the classifieds), the immense and quiet dignity of the father, who seemed so comfortably at ease there, the babe in his arms, his two young boys nearby, his mother and wife (pretty certain it was his mother, the features of her face were mirrored in his, particularly the cheekbones, chin, the set of their lips), and not at all out of place, on the bart train home, after spending the day in San Francisco. You can likely imagine the many things that passed through my mind as I observed them (and shame on you for imagining some of the things you are imagining me imagining --- HUH? --- about the lovely high school teacher), where they might have come from originally; what does the father do to make ends meet; how long have they been in the states & has all of that time been here; their hopes for those children & how allied those hopes are with all the trouble, pain & heartache they must have had to endure to come here and make a life for themselves so far away from home. In my mind it would be unusual for a person like myself, of mixed heritage, like many of the rest of us, in my case Hispanic-American Indian and Eastern European (Slavic, possibly Czech, possibly Polish, some mystery surrounds the surname) alongside some unknown herbs & spices, to grow into adulthood in this day & age, particularly on the Left Coast, Califa in particular, and not be aware of Richard Rodgriguez and his work. Perhaps ourowndamnself's too inclined to allowing too much credit be given serendipity, but finding this NYT item re R. Rodriguez this Am is what prompted me to tell you about the trip home yesterday now rather than later, possibly never.

‘I always feel on the side of the loser’     4.9 yah, it's me again, w/a mention of N. Chomsky & No, to you fools & idiots out there, Mr. Chomsky is not my god or idol, simply a man I hold in high esteem for his willingness to investigate in order to satisfy his own curiosity, along w/that willingness to share what he has learned and discovered with those of us with far lazier habits. So, without further ado, and yah, we know, it's from 1992, but as timely now, as it was then. N. Chomsky, interviewed by John Pilger, BBC2, 11.25.92 this next, with apologies, I've been derelict... Palestinian Solidarity Demonstration Sproul Plaza, Cal Berkeley, Today; & mark thy calendar! Saturday, April 20th, All over 'da place; Sat, 4.20, Locally got organization? holyboy...     can Joanie really be 61? NYT link: Joan Baez Remembers High Times, High Stress: & whilst on the periphery of the college of musical knowledge: from Esquire On Line: Lucinda Williams; What I've Learned ahhhh, approaching the end of the working day... rain in the local forecast, and yourstruly has tomorrow off. Skepticism as a Virtue buona notte, amici mio...

seems we've little to say...       4.8 am actually feeling rather overwhelmed by wanting to say a lot, yet not knowing exactly where to begin, so, for the time being, perhaps just point all of you in the direction of This Sinking Ship of Fools along w/a tip o'the ol'red fez to Mark @ woods lot for the heads up. oh, & this next thing too, jessferdahalibut... The Ironic Times & personally, I don't know the guy... but i love him like a brother. J. Carroll contemplates a dire situation oh oh oh, and this guy too! for pointing us in the direction of this... shit. if i keep this up, i will be TOTALLY DEPRESSED by the time i'm on the way home

ohhh...     d a m n . . .
oprah ends the book club

ourowndamnself wishes yourowndamnselves
a damn fine weekend!
keep in mind DST kicks in this weekend...

damn. imagine our dismay...       4.5 upon reading this ugly news via the L.A. Times. some of the more recent & regular visitors hereabouts are not likely to be aware of the great affection yourstruly has for the Eastern Sierras, so here's a link that will clue you in on why that airport is a Bad Idea... likely we'll see more of this kind of thing UC Berkeley's conflicts mirror Mideast's pain Tension growing between Jewish, Palestinian students some hoops related nonsense: proof that zombies/the living dead exist.

the social ramble ain't restful...       4.4 think it was Satchel Paige who said that, yourstruly's living proof of that adage, sort of an adventurous day yesterday, ourself & amiga hied ourselves out to the Marin Headlands for a visit to the Marine Mammal Center. yessss, it is true, it was ourowndarnself who cut the visit a bit short as the afternoon was nearing the beginning of the rush hour and the ol' silverback just cannot handle that traffic (especially when a bridge crossing is involved) w/the same aplomb that he used to. We did make it back to chez d'monkey to rest up a bit before heading to the city to see CGT, and got caught up in the drama of the Lakers/Nets game, Lakers coming back from 19 down to make a contest of it, but too little, too late. Decided to drive into the city, just because we didn't feel up to walking back to the Bart station from the Great American near midnite, and thought we were going to arrive a little late, due to our fascination w/the ballgame, but fortune smiled on us (we thought "s'okay if we late, CGT will be playing second on the bill and we only miss part of the first act" and damn us, we have got to start paying more attention) we found a parking spot a block away, and plenty of tickets were still available. There was a larger crowd than I remember seeing the last time, and I shared a table w/a pair of strangers at first, before deciding to stand at the bar, which I did once I realized that CGT was the opening act! Merde! Sacre Bleu! Holy Smokes, Bullwinkle!!! ourowndamnself had been considering driving in later to purposely miss the other guys, who we imagined were the opening act. Damn, there's no fool like a d'monkey fool, I'm telling you. Didn't matter in the end, it was another very fine show by the fellas, in trio format again, just 3 guys, 3 guitars, and despite the fact I am feeling a little fuzzy around the edges this Am, am very happy I went. I took a few notes that I'll compare w/some other folks later as the tour progresses (last nite was opening night of tour) & opening act status not withstanding, man, can these guys play. Wish you'd been there w/me. oh, no we didn't stay for the second act, whoever the hell they were, we weren't interested... some reason to celebrate locally Berkeley Public Library (main branch) Reopens Saturday! Art Deco gem set to reopen... A Building Brimming w/Creativity libraries loom large in the legend of l'marquis d'monquis...

Happy Second Anniversary!
to the esteemed C. Jensen & BookNotes

that boy needs therapy...       4.3 yesssss, he do! April's (the month, not the gal, goshdarnitall...) here; appears CGT's in town tonight, again at Great American Music Hall, and you know yourstruly will be there. If anybuddy w/in shouting distance of d'monkey wants to hook up to see the show, drop us a note & if you already launched the headlining link, and wonder who dat is, well, this link is for you oh oh oh, one other thing, 'fore we go... thy should'st be reading, particularly these days, Ethel the Blog; The War in Context want to express my appreciation for the back-up provided by the esteemed Dr. Menlo when some sparks were flying yesterday over at American Samizdat in re some postal worker in florida... "a mind is like a parachute" indeed... vaya con dios amigo... (accent on the VAYA as in getdafuggouttaheah w/that trite shit)

March
snuck in like a lamb, roared out like a lion...