These things I believe

(I believe in sharp cheddar, strong coffee and rare beef)


I believe that deep, raucous laughter - the kind that makes you snort - is good for your health.

I believe that married people should still make out.

I believe that there's intelligent life on other planets, and that they're ignoring us

I believe in the healing powers of chocolate

I believe women with curves and a bit of a wiggle are sexy

I believe in taking naps on the couch with the television on

I believe that "The Exorcist" is still the scariest movie ever

I believe fiercely in the statement "No Gods, No Masters"

I believe ketchup is underrated

I believe that everyone should know how to do something with their hands, to create something.

I believe that the crux of America's problem of racism is between Af Ams and white folks.

I believe in slow food.

I believe that bacon is worth the price of eternal damnation (can't claim this witticism as my own - I saw it on a t-shirt).

I believe that white folks come in many colors - pink, purple and grey, to name a few

I believe that athletic competition is a good thing, but unfortunately, fans are too 'fanny' and professional athletes take themselves way too seriously.

I believe in eye contact and polite greetings; in holding doors open for people; in talking about the weather in elevators with strangers; in being nice - and that 'nice' does not equal 'phony.'

I believe that Americans are way too obsessed with the lives of famous people

I believe that the smartest people are the ones who are not afraid to ask questions when they don't know the answer.

I believe in Marshall Amplification

I believe in gravy

I believe that people who don't like cats are worthy of suspicion

I believe Kevin Garnett is the best basketball player in the NBA

I believe the best buzz involves a few drinks, a little weed and the company of someone who makes you laugh

I believe that conversation is a lost art

I believe that germs are everywhere - so just deal with it

I believe that Angus Young is god

I believe in Apple computers

I believe that you let other people make you mad

I believe that hetero men should not be afraid of their own nipples

I believe in non-fiction

I believe in the blues scale

I believe in foreplay

I believe that Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" is the greatest rap song ever

I believe that reason and logic are underrated and get a bad rap

I believe in 'both/and'

I believe that real men cry -- (and not just when their team loses)

I believe that my parents love me with all their hearts

I believe in sharp cheddar, strong coffee and rare beef

I believe that man created god in his own image - that's why there are gods to match nearly every culture on the planet.

I believe humans are BOTH good and evil

I believe people should not be afraid to question their own deeply held beliefs -- and mine

Predictions for 2007

(oh fer cyute)

I'm going to rub the crystal ball for a second and take a stab at some prognostications for the big 07:

First a few easy ones

-some celebrities are going to get married and then divorced after a few months (paris hilton, the world is looking at you...)

-a bunch of people are going to die in Iraq

-Minnesota sports teams will fall below their potential and disappoint their fans.

-i'm going to turn 40 freakin' years old

A few more daring predictions:

-Rosie O'Donnell will get a bad case of ass cancer

-SNL's Rob Schneider makes a bigtime comeback by breaking into serious film by playing a gay jewish holocaust survivor.

-President Bush will get caught kicking his dog Barney on the White House lawn and the video footage will break hit-records on YouTube

-Jesus returns to earth and bitch-slaps Pat Robertson shouting, "you're fired, bee-yotch!" Then goes back to heaven but first tells everyone to carry-on as if he'd never been here.

-the U.S. Surgeon General will release a statement finally verifying what everybody really suspected all along, "Everything causes cancer. So eat whatever you want."

-The vatican will reveal that the anti-christ is walking the earth, and yes it is Anderson Cooper.

-A new serial killer will begin stalking, killing and eating celebrities. Nicole Ritchie and Lindsay Lohan will not be afraid. Not enough meat there, you know.

right now...

CNN is reporting that Saddam Hussein has been executed.

Right now, I'm having a beer with my feet up on the couch. Here's to you, you sick, tyrant beyotch...

U.S. troops are on alert for an uptick in violence as news of the dictators death spreads.

What? Like there's going to be MORE violence?

How could there be more?

CNN also reports that there was dancing around his body after he was hanged. And that the execution was filmed, so there's going to be video.

Good lordy...

(the painting is Annunciation by El Greco - 1570-1575)

This is an excerpt from an AP story which ran in the Strib today, (12/23/06)

"An overwhelming majority, almost regardless of backgrounds and religious convictions, think angels are real, according to an AP-AOL News poll exploring attitudes about Santa Claus, angels and more.

"Belief in angels, however people define them, is highest — almost universal — among white evangelical Christians, 97 percent of whom trust in their existence, the poll indicates. But even among people with no religious affiliation, well more than half said angels are for real."

There's a quote that I love about democracy that goes something like this: "Democracy is the belief that the majority is smarter than just one person."

I think it accurately sums up why the folks who don't believe in fairy tales, Santa, the virgin birth, heaven and hell, the great father in the sky -- and those who believe that religious beliefs shouldn't restrict personal liberties (like marrying the consenting adult that you love) -- constantly get shouted down in the public marketplace of ideas.

I think the quote also highlights how intractable the problem is. There's an overwhelming sense of entitlement on the part of the majority who believes in angels, demons, gods, etc. that feels like the government is supposed to uphold their religious sensibilities and validate them by making laws that uphold those beliefs.

I don't care what you call it...

...I still dig this time of year.

I think there's plenty of evidence to show that humans (at least those of us above the equator) have always celebrated at this period on the calendar. Why not have a big festival that features lights and food and gifts around the solstice, the shortest 'day' of the year? And for that matter, why not have another big shindig in the springtime that highlights the joys of rebirth? Like with bunnies, and eggs and Jesuses rising from the dead?

I guess it's just as easy to believe that a bunny can carry around a basket of eggs and hide them from children...

Anywho, bring it all on. I like a party. Why quibble over where it originated?

And I'll say Merry Christmas to you or anyone. I don't care. And you shouldn't either. Not a xtian? No big deal. You can say happy hanukah to me and I won't care. Hell, say Happy Solstice and I'll return your salutation.

This time of year means different things to different people. To some it means the birth of Jebus. To others it's the story behind the oil and the lamps and the lighting of the candles.

Oy vey.

And to people like me, the season is about shiny objects, little gifty gifts, family gatherings with a lot of food and drink, snow, listening to Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis, Nat King Cole and Brenda Lee sing Xmas standards, watching the Grinch; and to me, the ultimate Xmas music, Vince Guaraldi's score for the Peanut's xmas show.

Oh yeah, and it's also cool to get three days off of work.

Sweet...

Lazy Sunday...

cold chillin' on the couch with my bitch Beans.
feet up in socks, sweatpants and a t-shirt
won't get up until halftime of the second football game

i'm a better napper than rapper
but this is church for me son
i worship the gods of chillin'
or lords of laziness - i won't get off the couch
until i'm done.

word.

another reason why i love the internet

i love the internet because where else can you find a person who had dedicated an entire blog to the pork tenderloin sandwich.

heh

check it out

http://web.mac.com/davydd/iWeb/Site/Pork%20Tenderloin%20Sandwich%20Blog/Pork%20Tenderloin%20Sandwich%20Blog.html

kewl movie

Starship Troopers

I got home last Saturday night late and turned on the TV and lo and behold one of the kewlest movies ever was on.
Here's what I love about it. Special effects are great. Especially in the scene in the picture above. The movie is a bit cheesy. Especially at the beginning. I won't try to explain the movie to anyone who hasn't seen it. But briefly: All these great looking people start out as gung ho young recruits in the military as the Earth as it battles against, well huge, wickedscary bugs who live on the planet Klendethu, or something.

The bugs send a big meteor to hit the earth and destroys Buenos Aires.

Of course, the humans are whipped into a fervor and they boast that their going to squash all them bugs. When they arrive on the planet they realize that they underestimated the bugs and they get their asses kicked. Then the movie gets real dark from there.



And I'm not the only one who loves this movie. Earlier this week, I was (long story short) sitting in a hallway at City Hall waiting for the council to finish up a meeting. Waiting with me are several news folks, including a cameraman from a local station who starts talking about Starship Troopers. He loved it for the same reasons I did.

small world huh?

...hard to carry on...

(grunting and gasping for breath)...feel like I'm walking through quicksand...(whew)195 lbs too much weight on my frame...too much damn food...not enough excercise...why does pork taste so freakin' good?

(guk-whoo!) ... don't even want to know what cholesterol number is...or blood pressure...

damn dreadlocks weighing me down...must cut hair...must drop 20 lbs...(wheezing)...while i'm at it...need to get rid of stuff i don't need...way too many t-shirts and coats...old sweaters from the 80s...

(skronk!) ...knees beginning to buckle under weight of holiday stuff...haven't bought any gifts...fear of disappointing loved ones pushing down on shoulders...

(argh-kak!)

...will try to muster energy to make to do list...but can't find pencil...@#$#!

Some observations...

First, Beans is the cutest dog ever.

The women who work at that liquor store on Lake street near the Arbys always look bored and never look you in the eye.

The dudes who work at Hums smell like B.O.

There's nothing convenient about the S.A. on Lake street and Aldrich. Everytime I go in there to buy just one thing and there's someone in line in front of me buying a bunch of lottery tickets.

There's no need for live music in the lounge at 5. It's just too dang loud.

30 degrees actually feels warm.

Car repairs rarely cost under $100. And on the rare occasion that one does, celebrate it.

My highlights and notable events of 2006:

(Dude, I got a Marshall stack this year! -- photo courtesy of Collin Lyle)

(In no particular chronological order or rank of importance)

Sold the house in North Minneapolis and moved to Lyn Lake area.
Thanks to the move, instead of more 911 calls about drug dealers and large groups of teenagers fighting in the street, this summer was full of bike rides, walking to nearby bars and restaurants. A nice change of pace.

Saw my folks
I flew out to Denver to see my folks and celebrate my mom's 63rd birthday with them. What else can I say? A guy always misses his mom. And it was great getting the chance to hang out with the old man, too.

Venus
Full Stack recorded our first full-length CD, 'Venus'. We spent a lot of long days in the studio. And it paid off. I know I'm biased but the disc sounds f-ing brilliant.

New Orleans vacation
Mecca and I spent five lovely days eating, drinking and taking in some great live music in the Big Easy. We also met some very proud people who wore their love of their great city on their sleeves. They were glad to see visitors and we were glad to be there.

Lowlights
Beans the wonder dog got diagnosed with diabetes and went blind this year. A definite low light. However, this amazing animal is such a trooper. She gets around just fine - of course she bumps into things from time to time -- and she does the things she likes to do, bark, eat, bark, sleep, bark, go for walks and bark some more.