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join us for a languid afternoon's meander thru... 4.28
the minefield that is the mind of d'monquis. There may be a pause while we hibernate for a few days,
had a dream two nights running now that had to do with coding html, dreams without a bevy of womem
of all shapes, sizes & complexions, in varying states of deshabille, which would've made those dreams
pleasantly memorable, but alas, no, none of the lovely sirens present, just ourowndamnedself, a keyboard, blank screen and ...
This Am, whilst enjoying brekkie solo at Walker's Pie Shop, we espied this article in our beloved fishwrap's book review section, and made mention of it at American Samizdat being careful to include some extra linky goodness alongside, but we didn't include the following link, as it has a more "local" angle to it, for an event
scheduled for Noon, 4.29 (tomorrow) and yourstruly regrets that he'll be unable to attend (unless he decides to
declare Monday a Mental Health Day & at this writing, there's a distinct possibility of that.
 we had the opportunity to watch a wonderful film over the weekend, Himalaya;
here's a bit more on it,
& the only thing we've to add, other than our regret at not seeing in the theatre when we had the opportunity, is that thou shouldst make concerted effort to locate a copy of film, now on VHS & DVD, make yourself comfy and watch it. A marvelous story, some beautiful faces, no car chases, no GCI effects, no superheroes, just a few humans, nearly as many yaks and a story about them that will captivate you. Oh, and while we're at it, we also viewed David Lynch's Mulholland Drive, and damned if I can make any contribution of value to the debate re what David's trying to get across in that film. While we're at it, we'll mention that we discovered the DVD of Mulholland Drive to be without Chapter Indexes, so the only way to get back to a certain point in the film was to start over and fast forward thru to desired section, and it was funny, but only for the first two times that we fast forwarded thru the entire disc & had to start over again, after the sixth attempt,
well, one could only pity us. Extra added linky goodness: 10.01 interview w/D. Lynch
perhaps we'll be back with more later...
one word: F R I D A Y . . . 4.26
personally, not such a big deal, as we'll be back here at the j-o-b on monday, but we look forward to a couple of days away. The few of you who have yourstruly's phone number may have noticed something amiss (it's always something...) and we just "enjoyed" our first experience
with Pacific Bell's trouble reporting service in which one never gets an opportunity to actually speak with a human. So, it's just the voice part of the DSL line that I'm having a problem with, but in truth, that's okay, you see, I spend all my working day on the phone with people, providing numbah one customah suvisss, and sometimes, especially upon returning to chez d'monkey, the last thing we want to do is get on the phone again, but damn, last night I really wanted to order a pizza....
now, you all know the ol' silverback's been around awhile...
but the People's Park Riots predate our arrival in the land of milk and honey known as Berkeley CA. Sunday, the park will be jumping, the 33rd Anniversary of People's Park will be happening, Noon 'til 6 (oh yahhh...)
and we'd be amiss if we did not pass this along...
Mark Morford is concerned, as we all should be:
All the while realizing that if there's one thing the world needs right now, it's positivism and laughter and good sex and connective energy and an enlightened populace to counteract the forces that would drag us down to cesspools of thin-lipped white-knuckle rage. Too simplistic? Too naive? Hardly. Peace is always much braver and more difficult than war. Just try it. More
mebbe mo' later, katz & kittezz, but if not,
we wishin' y'all a restorative and enjoyable weekend...
thursday evening, watching c-span... 4.25
came across this broadcast of speaker William McDonough at the National Press Club;
happy day & lucky co-incidence, the speech is available here, courtesy NPR.
I highly recommended listening to the entire broadcast,
it will leave you asking yourself many questions...
extra added linky goodness, inspired by McDonough...
The Great Buildings Collection;
Think Green, more on William McDonough; McDonough & Partners Image Gallery
both from The Sustainable Metropolis
& that's from MetropolisMag
ourowndamnself often stands unashamedly, mouth agape...
at the awesome sagacity of the Texas Tornado, S. Baum,
so, in pure admiration of the man's efforts on our behalf,
we point you in the direction of Ethel of April 25
and we certainly wish his excellent companion Shiva continued good health...
the optimism that surfaced over the weekend...
has rapidly receded into the mists of the past, the reality of the struggle ahead
again the most evident thing on our horizon. For this morn, then, just a few items:
starting off, today's Daily Bleed
Ridgeway, from the Voice, Mondo Washington;
recently in SF to interview G. Vidal, Lewis Lapham Laments;
dated April 8, from Znet, Chomsky interviewed in Australia;
the hottest ticket in Berkeley recently,
E. Costello at the Berkeley Community Theatre,
prompts this next from American Prospect, Hurts So Good;
discovered in a roundabout way that will remain undescribed,
a brief discourse on The Return of the Iron Triangle;
and last, for the moment anyway, J. Carroll, today's column
there are some times that yourstruly wishes his friends,
those closest & of long standing comradeship,
were not so goddamned far away....
oh yah, by the way, most of the technical difficulties
experienced hereabouts recently have been resolved,
so those of you who have been utilizing our cerulean address
to correspond w/yours truly may now do so again...
technical difficulties notwithstanding... 4.23
be sure to drop in on American Samizdat for lots of chewy linky goodness,
and we also point you in the direction of The War in Context specifically for
their link to R. Scheer's "The Palestinian Side Must Be Told".
late breaking chewy linky goodness...
this item caught my eye earlier, from the NYT;
an interview w/author Paul Davies, from The Science Show;
& more from P. Davies from The Mighty Organ.
NOT to be confused with The Mighty Dumbmonkey,
organ size notwithstanding...
from esteemed pal, from way WAY back, J. Griffin
emails us link from Texas Observer w/Michael Moore Interview
super.nu server upgrade & rel. shenanigans... 4.22
making it difficult for yourstruly to receive mail addressed to john@cerulean-graphics.com; also,
related difficulties are affecting the appearance of
dumbmonkey pages & our other efforts like the four twenty post of yesterday, your patience is appreciated
and if you really got to get my attention, mail to achates_jp@hotmail.com
miscellaneous sunday nite musings... 4.21
whew, Laker-dudes retain home court advantage, Big Ben
Wallace (Ben Wallace Is A MAN!) wins Defensive Player of the Year, goes for 19 points, 20 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals as the Pistons whip the Raptors (what a stupid name for a team) and yourstruly spends some of his day preparing very heavily graphic intensive treat for thee,
let it load, it'll be worthwhile, wish you'd been there alongside, alla you, but in particular, ahhhhhh, well,
you know who you are...
oh oh oh, almos' forgot to mention...
thanks to the largesse & generousity of the best little brother in the whole wide world,
who just Friday returned from 2 weeks away, stuck in the frontier that is Kodiak, AK.
Bro K, thanks very much for the wonderful gift of SRV, The Boxed Set;
& yesssss gurlz and boyz,
some primo mp3z are being ripped,
& some folks
may find good stuff heading their way
courtesy those hardworking souls (HAH!) at the U.S. Postal Service...
the Epic/Sony SRV site
f o u r t w e n t y . . .
firstly, the C-Span broadcast of the Washington demonstration's awful,
they should get that camera off the stage and down amongst the participants...
yourstruly took many fotos of our little gathering in San Francisco, let's keep our fingers crossed that most of them will be in focus. Being there was sort of exciting, right from the moment of entering the train station and finding so many others there for the same purpose and it was such a fine day for being part of a very large crowd of concerned citizens.
so, this 4.20, ourowndamnself wants to attach some sort of significance to it, something a little further beyond this (& thanks to Gordon Coale for the yummy linky goodness, our
contribution to confirming info in that story can be found here); we'd be a whole lot happier if perhaps 4.20 might eventually signify the return of a concerned citizenry,
willing to make the sacrifices necessary to focus on the possibilities of peace
and humanitarian activities, then, act accordingly.
running on fumes this Am... 4.19
but just wanted to check in & let the regular visitors know it was well worth the effort to see Gore Vidal yesterday, more to tell you about later over the weekend, especially in re the March & Demonstration scheduled for tomorrow, but for now, am going to pass on these words, brought to our attention yesterday, part of a dissenting opinion by Justice Brandeis in a case known as Olmstead vs. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928);
Decency, security, and liberty alike demand that government officials shall be subjected to the same rules of conduct that are commands to the citizen. In a government of laws, existence of the government will be imperiled if it fails to observe the law scrupulously. Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. To declare that in the administration of the criminal law the end justifies the means-to declare that the government may commit crimes in order to secure the conviction of a private criminal-would bring terrible retribution.
damn, didn't recognize ourowndarnself... 4.18
not sure that we've made any progress hereabouts, sorta avoided strolling thru the ether for a day
or so, easily distressed these days by the shenanigans of our all too highly paid elected officials,
the tenor of the times in general, & we'd like to avoid the simple addition of our voice to the
increasing cacophony, although it must be said, the warbloggers & forces of conservatism and the American
way have increased their level of stridency to, well, it's just damn painful and shameful...
so, for the time being, a blast from dumbmonkey past, circa April 24, '01
(ohh my yesss, there are dead ones a plenty, how tragick!)
and then this next item, a purely & transparently shamanistic move on our part,
to resurrect energy & concerns of decades past, a raretie provided by new friend,
Phil, life partner of old pal Janey-Kakes, Allman Bros. (yah, much later edition of them)
acoustic performance of In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.
& yea, we have been amiss, April, Poetry Month, is nearly past us,
& we've hardly even taken note of its arrival, let alone that it's nearly gone,
so, from Poetry Daily, this really lovely verse re friendship, from a few days ago:
The Seven Friendships
They were friends from the first look
the first day of work and friends
they would remain. Not lovers.
Never, though they thought of things
to whisper about all day.
At night, when they sat at home
hunting for something to say
to their actual lovers,
they longed to be back at work,
where the home life they described
to each other seemed larger,
funnier, more colorful.
They were playful as gods and,
at the same time, serious.
Once, in a car, on the way
to a conference, they worked out
the seven possible forms
of friendship between people
who aren't related by blood.
First: the fortunate friendship
of two who feel equally
attached but not attracted
to each other. No desire.
Instead, equilibrium,
a reliable membrane,
keeps them wholly separate
while holding them together.
You can always tell these two
in the kitchen: they can share
a cutting board — two different
sharp knives chopping two different
vegetables, and no one gets
in anyone else's way.
Second: the friendship founded
on suppressed desire. All
the accessorizing takes
the place of real nakedness.
The servant's invocations
to his master; the master's
adulation of the slave.
Michael Jackson / Liz Taylor —
yes — Regis and Kathie Lee.
Letter writers are the third,
their correspondence floating
safely above and beyond
their problematic bodies
like a vial of scented oil.
They use each other without
apology — an excuse
to shape the simplest moment
into something memorable
ending with "Write soon, write back,"
that frank plea for affection.
Then there is the electric
communion that's awakened
between two people vastly
different in age, like the
dowager one of them knew
who'd had to wait 'til she reached
ninety to meet a young child
she recognized as herself,
the adventuress she'd been.
At long last, the right playmate!
Fifth: the fireproof friendship
that has survived desire.
This includes all the ex-wives
and ex-husbands whose shared grief
unites them as love could not.
They drift back to each other,
grateful for a cup of tea,
for someone who remembers
that their first dentist in Troy
collected brass hose nozzles.
Next, a love of argument —
not bickering or nagging,
but the brainy brakes-without-
pads kind of arguing, no
attachment to conclusions,
no transparent right and wrong,
just the delirious pleasure
of competing for airspace
with someone you trust never
to take you personally.
And the seventh form? Friendship
based on the exchange of gifts,
preferably ridiculous.
Someone would get the idea
to buy odd salt and pepper
shakers, and once he'd purchased
the first set, a whole history
of silliness could begin.
That was when they stopped counting
and pulled off the interstate
on the way to the conference.
They found a small antique store,
Junkian Analysis —
really! — and in the windows
pairs of perfectly ugly
salt and pepper shakers shaped
like airplanes and bowling balls,
Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.
They liked the ceramic clams,
the Taj Mahal in Bakelite;
they loved the milkglass cabbage,
the jaguars, the shooting stars,
the stainless state of Vermont
side by side with New Hampshire.
oh, and by the way,
should you be seeking yourstruly this eve,
this is where we'll be
late breaking linkage from the local fishwrap re G.V.
Author takes on Bush and the U.S. anti-terror campaign
btw, we have emailed the sfgate staff re
the mispelling of Vidal's name,
it will be interesting to see how long it takes for them to fix..."
hail, wayfaring stranger... 4.16
thou must pause briefly & peruse Jon Carroll's column for today;
the Late Spring '02 ralph is now amongst us,
and from the fine minds there,
the Official Ralph Paradox of the Month,
Mastering Gravity
More Good Stuff!
yah, am sick of paying taxes for crapcrapcrap too!
and thanks to the esteemed Mr. Gelwan for that link;
& you'd be sorry if you missed visiting Open Brackets,
and didn't have a chance to appraise Gail's questioning nature...
so, now you can see what we tryin' to do here...
and as a pal wrote this Am, "has kind of a classic look" - - uhhhhh, yah, classic dumbmonkey table layout
complete with linky sidebar, which will undoubtedly be modified; instead of the what you presently see
there (dead links & all) you'll find some sites of a more critical & political nature. The regulars amonst
you are already aware of my bloggos favoritos being distributed in the autre blog & alliance pages, rather
than displayed in the sidebar. As we continue to make this joyful noise, we intend to subject you to some
of our attempts at story crafting, some of the characters, imaginary & otherwise, that inhabit the d'monkey
universe. True, still without permalinks and comments, but that's the charm (hah!) of being a curmudgeonly
& cranky ol' bastid. Okay, sometimes a particular entry may have a permalink (& you'll usually have to guess
which one) but only because the wizard behind the curtain has determined, for one reason or another, that the
particular entry is worthy of permalinkage.
and now for something completely different. Another correspondent writes & reminds me that the playoffs (we talkin' hoops again now, in this case NBA) are about to begin, and there may be a few of you already aware of yourstruly's fondness
for a particular team that started out in Minneapolis some decades ago, recently involved in exciting double overtime
game in Portland, which they managed to lose, but hell, it one very long season, and the part that really counts
starts this weekend. Yah, gurlz & boyz, we talkin' Lakers, and as seemingly invincible as they appeared in the early
part of the season, some of the bright & shiny's worn off, you can actually see some cracks in the armor, and nothing will come easy in the Western Conference, the Blazers, Spurs, and Kings all want a piece of these guys, and when it gets to the W.C. Finals between Lakers & Kings, well, da fellas better watch out, maybe the fact they don't have the home court will spur them on to the championship level of competition they've only shown in brief moments heretofore.
hoops fans only: Late Breaking Laker Item
& the regular season closes out on TNT tomorrow night,
a double-header, w/late game: Kings vs. Lakers
What, No chewy linky Goodness?
well, now that you asked here are two goodies for ya,
A Cowboy's Guide to Life;
oohhhhhh, some of you gonna hate me for this one
Pentagon Disaster Jokes
ahhhhh, it's something different... 4.15
that we are trying to accomplish here, still a mighty amount of tweaking
& fudging to do, so I hope you'll allow ourowndamnself sometime to work out
the wrinkles and ugliness. oh, yah, we considering doing the css layout thing,
and whilst that a possibility before the summer is out, some of ya'z knows
howz we likez to take our time you know, built for comfort, not built for speed
and YESSSSSSS, we are aware of bigtime ugliness in Netscape,
which personally drives me batty, but "all in good time..."
the folly that was April thru Sunday, 4.14
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