I've got a list of demands, written on the palm of my hand

I was looking up my astrological chart and noticed this little gem.  Vanessa, take note.  I think this sums me up well.

Mercury is in 26 Degrees Sagittarius.
Your mind is very curious and inquisitive, always seeking information on a wide variety of topics. The broader the subject matter (philosophy, science, religion, metaphysics), the more it will appeal to you. You prefer to deal with abstractions -- the small but important details associated with any subject tend to slip your grasp. You are known for being blunt, honest and truthful.

Jupiter is in 26 Degrees Scorpio.
You love to dig deep beneath surface appearances in order to find out what is really happening. A persistent researcher, you are very interested in the psychology of any situation. You tend to become overwhelmed by the complexity of what you uncover, however, and that makes you a bit gun-shy about explaining things to others. But you must learn to try to communicate as best you can because what you know is really very valuable to others.

 Well, I haven't posted for ages.  And it seems at age 25, I quit bloggin, which is too bad.  But regardless, here's a post about an upcoming night I'm djing.  My last gig with Sarah brokenleg at the Taproom was awesome!  Everyone was in such a good mood and the music was bumpin'.  I hope all is well and I miss my friends (all 7 of them) who have moved to far-flung places.
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Peter​ and I have throw​ toget​her a littl​e show calle​d (​(​bounc​e)​)​ Why? Well,​ becau​se we like you. Becau​se it's going​ to be broad​cast live from the Jackp​ot throu​gh KJHK,​ the first​ thurs​day of every​ month​.​ I've been liste​ning to some fat funk groov​es,​ so I'm gonna​ play those​ and some dance​hall while​ Peter​ holds​ up the soul and early​ dance​hall end.

And if you get in on this early​,​ you can help decid​e the drink​ speci​al for the night​,​ besid​es Maker​'​s Mark.​ Just let me know.​ Whate​ver sells​ the most CAN BE THE NEW DRINK​ SPECI​AL.​ Vodka​,​ more whisk​y,​ beer,​ you name it.

Peter​ and I will spin,​ and invit​e along​ some of the most inter​estin​g,​ yet no-​gig-​havin​g dj's Lawre​nce has to offer​.​

Oct. 2nd
Jackp​ot Loung​e
Lawre​nce,​ KS

I'm having complicated thoughts about the book, "Spook: Science tackles the afterlife".  It is based in research studies and science but the conclusions talk about social implications.

I keep trying to go into it here, but it gets muddled every time I try.  I think I think in big spiraling circles.

Hey, party in Lawrence time, right?  It's almost stop week and everyone is starting to drink heavily to get through the week.  In that spirit, There's gonna be a house party @ Leola and Johnny's house tomorrow, May 3rd.  It'll be a little early, so come by and get your drink on before you go out.  It'll start around 9 or 10pm with a PBR Keg (and a few bucks for cups) and djing by Peter and I.  All monies made go to Solidarity.

call me for an address.

Belinda, you should come out cause lord knows when I'll have time to see you again.

-Kimberly

I have more gigs than I can shake a stick at, but almost no time to practice.  Too bad.

So last night went swimmingly and I was quiet excited/hella nervous to dj.  I spent most of the day putting music together, and then was put on the spot when Chetan had to work the door and there was no punk rock bingo.  I almost had a heart attack, but guess who saved me?  Peter.  (He was gonna spin anyway).  I spun for a while, and he came a little later to the Jackpot.  After he got on and played some snoop dogg (exactly what the KU crowd had been waiting for all night) he and I played funk and soul for hours afterward.  We have such similar tastes.  He has more beats and I have more rock and we compliment each other nicely.  We are going to create a funk/brazilian/dancehall/r&B/soul night by the end of the summer and rock it out from there.  Where are we going to do it?  I dunno.  I wish the Gaslight, but really, a lot of people are turned off by that venue cause it's over the bridge.  Too bad.  The taproom is okay on the weekends, and I'd love to land a gig at the Replay.....when I have more chops.  Don't worry, I'll get there, but the music fans there are tough.  So I guess we'll putter around for now and play at the Jackpot.

Speaking of which, Peter and I are playing this Friday at the Jackpot (4th), probably the early spot, somewhere between 9 and 11.  Or 8-11.  Whatever.  There is a very, very small possibility that we are not going to play (someone has to double check on the gig for us), but so far everything is a go.

Come out come out come out!

Also, probably because everyone was hella drunk, but I got hit on more than, well, ever.  At least 3 different people in one night.  Damn.  I guess I know where this is going.  But I'm usually too tired after dj-ing to be any fun.  Try me in the afternoon, people.  Afternoons.

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My African drum group, Kuade, is also performing this month

April 4 - Leid Center
April 22 - Spencer Museum
April 26 Spencer Museum outside

On the last one, KU is supposedly having an art fair and we are playing for that.  It's the best time for folks who are students to check us out.  You know, drums are the basis for dancing and this is some of the most amazing music I have ever played, besides Holst's "The Planets" Symphony.  This group has taught me so much and I am grateful.  Much love - will see you folks out there.

  Note: All performances are in Lawrence, KS

A lot of you all have been asking about my dj-ing since the last Punk Rock Bingo night. It’s once a month and the next one is this Sunday the 30th, Jackpot, 8:30 pm. I play a mix of punk, solid rock ( A/C D/C -"TNT", T-Rex, Richard Hell, MC5!), and then into dance, funk, and soul. I have some future plans on making a funk/soul/old rock/brazilian/dancehall night, but those are just in the works. Hit me up if you’re interested.

Kuadde, the African drum group I am in is performing all over campus in April.

April 4 - Leid Center, probably around 7pm, KU campus
April 22 - Spencer Museum of Art - Ku campus - 5pm
April 26 - Spencer Museum, between 1-5pm - Art fair?

I think there is an art fair on April 26 on campus, or so I’ve been told, and we are hella, hella loud. If you hear us on campus, come find us. It’s probably the best opportunity for you all students to check me/us out.

I watch a lot of DVD movie extras, and it seems like movies at least have one thing going for them: people have to create a theory of life when they make it.  Oh, it could be no more than the movie "Shazam!", but usually people put a little more thought into it than that.  The theme of choice has popped up from "The Wiz" to "Pan's Labyrinth".  The format in movies like these set up obstacles in front of a person or group of people, and as we watch them react to the cards they are given, we analyze their choices.  Either they succeed or they miserably fail but learn something.  What a vague phrase, "to fail but to learn something", but I can think of no other sentence as appropriate to attibute the idea to.  I've been hearing this again and again, but why does it matter now?  I think I was straight up looking for the answer and what I found was both the question and the answer.  Most of the movies I have seen about a sense of humanity and choice have presented me with this: who we are depends on the choices we make and have made.  I want to add a phrase to that idea - "the future is unwritten".  Ooo, we're cooking now.  This is where movies end and we do a Le Tigre ("get off the internet, we'll meet you in the streets").

In honor of learning my damn lesson this time, I have recentIy set up myself to choose wisely.  Tonight feels good, and right now,  life feels like year end-retrospective of what I shoulda done last year.  In other words, I've accomplished so many things I have really wanted and it's only March.

See you at the shows.

Just that.  When I think about it, I get nervous and the pit of my stomach starts to twist, and I know this quest is for real.  I wanna meet Cat Stevens before I die, or before he dies, so that I can stand in the presence of his beautiful voice. If I was really lucky, I would be able to listen to his chest while he speaks, but he seems deeply religious and this is probably out of the question.

Well, I finally did it. I can see the Mars Volta twice more on this current tour, which is close to what I've been thinking about for years.  I wanted to follow them around on part of their tour, but who has that kind of money to blow?  They're playing St. Louis on the 17th, and then Chicago on the 20th of April, so I bought tickets for both and I'll figure out how it's all going to work out when Megabus puts up it's tickets.  Hope I can get a ride out to the show in St. Louis, Marta will probably give me a lift.  Regardless, I'm a bit nervous about St. Louis.  Wish me luck, I'm real excited!

Boo.  I'm depressed on more than one level, but not utterly so that I can't function. It's just that things aren't much fun and I'm having a hard time being nice.  I don't want to be seen by anyone, and I sure as hell don't want to go to work.  The things that are suffering are my confidence in being a musician, being musically productive, and therefore I overeat to compensate.  My bed on the floor hurts my body and I have twitches when I think of going to work.  I can't stay up late and drink anymore because I feel like complete shit afterwards.  And did I mention I'm constantly semi-cold?  It's quite uncomfortable.

We all have our bad times, but I just feel like I'm complaining too much because there's nothing to be done about my foul mood.  Besides getting over it, which isn't going all that well.

And did I mention the music?  I spent an hour on a part that basically keeps the beat in a song I'm practicing and when I tried to play with the music, I still got off count.  Granted it's much harder than the western music I'm used to, I just feel like a fucking failure.  An hour.  Will I not be able to play?  Of course I can, you all say.  Just keep trying.  Yeah, but after things like that, I get kinda upset because I'm not making progress.  And I get upset because I thought all that was stopping me was my lack of practicing and here I'm proving myself actually incapable of doing some of the simpler tasks as a drummer.  And that's even more depressing because in a group, the drummer should theoretically have the best sense of time.  Yes, I overwhelm myself, but if I ignore it, it's no better.

I will keep trying through the summer and will probably make some progress, I just fear a time when I won't have a teacher/someone who knows what they're doing to help push me to be a better musician.  I'm not ready to leave the nest yet.

p.s.
It spoils the show when the musician is grumpy from start to finish.  I'll try to work on it so that I'm happy about the shows I do and not grumbling about it.

I took some liberties with some of the ingredients, or perhaps I should say, modifications.  I don't care for potatos, the main ingredient in this curry, so I substituted other roots - parsnips and carrots.  Cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds are used for for intense and roasted flavor, but I was stuck with powder versions and added those just before I made the paste.  Hmm, after toasting the chile peppers, the cooking the onions in the same pan, I blended that into paste.  It's possible that my stomach got very upset because of this onion paste, or that I mixed lime juice and yogurt, or that the yogurt was spoiled.  Or too much dairy.  I didn't have curry leaves, which have a lime flavor, and I added yogurt because it made sense with this curry dish.  In the end, at least half this dish was modified and unlike my past creations, this turned out excellent.  Were it not for the intestinal pain, I would dare make this again.


Potato (parsnip/carrot) Curry
1 lb of potatos (parsnips/carrots)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
2 dried spicy and chile peppers
1 onion, finely sliced
3 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
5 tbsp water
8 Curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp desicated coconut
salt to taste
(1 Cup yogurt)

I will give the directions to this recipe because I'm sure it's quite good besides the doom I made, but will do so only on request.  I lack the motivation, currently.

Keeping ones priorities straight helps if they are correct in the first place; here's a simple rundown of mine

-Just wanted to make a comment about going down the rabbit hole with some of my friends.  Getting to know people over a long period of years is more rewarding as time and experience passes

- One of my favorite things to do to relax is to play with one of the cats outside and drink coffee

- Talking shit or just sharing music

- Dancing

- getting drunk, from time to time

- carefully planning and executing delicious meals

-getting scandalous

It's my new motto.

Last night was my first offical gig at the Rock 'n' Roll Bingo @ the Jackpot.  Sundays are always chill and I have to say, I had a very good time.  Besides sound issues (figuring it out how loud or not loud to be), I was much more relaxed than I thought I'd be, and I got compliments by my friends for my music choices/spinning techniques.  It looks like this will be a Sunday night once or twice a month, so I think I found myself a dj gig.

But I need a name.  Not dj Kimbo.  Anything but that.  I'm terrible at naming things, so I think I'm putting a call out to you all to come up with something.  Apparently there are "rules" as to what you can and cannot name yourself.  Rules I don't know about.  I thought DJ anarcho-funk was a hilarious joke dj name, but according to everyone else, ever, it is an awful pun that shouldn't be allowed out in the daylight.  Okay.  Fine.  Your turn.

Belinda talked about making a food journal where you discuss food, recipes, and techniques.  Since I love to cook and under utilize this journal, I've decided to do a food journal for my own amusement.  And perhaps yours.   I tend to improv on recipes, so I'll let you know if I improvised some deliciousness or made a disaster.



Moroccan-Spiced Fava Bean Stew

I make a lot of "one pot" dishes to save time and effort, and this one absolutely takes the cake.  I adore fruit, all spices that start with C (Cumin, corriander, cardamom, etc), and fava beans! This stew also is filling, unlike a lot of other broth based veggie soups.  The ones that make you feel cheated as a vegetarian.

With this recipe, I tend to leave out the peas, add cardamom, a little bit of cayenne, and not worry if I have mixed dried fruit.  Cranberries and raisins will do.  I also tried canned green beans.....eww.  They're already soft and putting them in a soup accentuates that softness in a disgusting, mushy way.  I don't recommend it.

1/2 cup mixed dried fruit
1/4 cup raisins or dried currents
1 taplespoon olive oil
1 lg yellow onion
1 large carrot, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp curry powder
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatos, drained

8 oz chopped green beans
2 cups veggie broth
1 1/2 cups cooked or 1 15 oz can of fava beans, drained
1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed

fresh cilantro or parsley

    1.  Place the dried fruit and raisins in small heatproof bow.  Add boiling water to cover and soak for 20 min to soften.  Drain and set aside.
    2.Heat olive oil in large suacepan over med heat.  Add the onion and carrot, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 min.  Add the garlic, cumin, and cinnamon and cook, stirring for 30 seconds.  Add the tomatos, green beans, and stock, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until veggies are tender, about 20 min.
    3. Add the favas, peas, fruit, and salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer, uncovered, until the flavors are blended and the desired consistency is achieved, about 10 min.
    4.  Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

In fantastic news, I might (empasis on the might) get Kid Sister booked around Lawrence.  The future will tell all!

www.myspace.com/kidsister

Also, mix tapes will be made this weekend and sent out sometime NEXT week.

 

The wave of the future:

Chicago Juke: Flosstradamus (sp), Kid Sister, and independent Hip-hop from Chi-town

The Mars Volta.  But I've been lovin' and hypin' them for years and you all still don't listen.  You just don't know.

Saul Williams - "Niggy Tardust", his new release.  Check out his single, "Bloody Sunday", fuckin' great song + dance floor XTC.

Punk'n'soul!  Funk, hip-hop, dead prez, the coup, the wu-tang, and all the like have hit the people, and it's about time Lawrence, KS takes this new, mutated version nationwide.  I mean, all the punks and all that punk has turned out to be goes out to the SOUL nights in Lawrence to dance.

The instrument, the djembe.  It doesn't need someone to represent, it just is.

Now, I've been trying to tell all of you what is the new, the now, the genuine love in music, and now you know.

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So, I've made a mix that has been in my head for a while, I just didn't realize it needed to be a mix.  It's almost done and is still in rough form. but I'll run it down for you.  If you want a copy (only in cassette cause I'm mixing it live! and don't have the technology to do it otherwise), let me know.

Side 1

1)Hawk and a Handsaw

2)Amputecture Intro - The Mars Volta

3)Santana - The Love Divine

4) TV on the Radio - Staring at the Sun

5)Verve unmixed - Nina simone

6)Kid Sister - Control

Side 2

1) Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - Deux ex  Machina

2) Afrobeat Compilation misc song

3) Santana - A Love Supreme intro

4) Om Hip-Hop collection - Go Left

5) The Mars Volta - L'via

6) Saul Williams - Bloody Sunday

My life seems so private.  I still tell everyone everything, but yet, I feel so private.  Like I'm sharing some secrets with some people (music making) and some secrets with other people ( the actuality of living and working) and then there's my own music world where I figure out my deepest secrets but won't share them.  boo to that.  I'm all about sharing the right thing at the right time so perhaps there's no one around on the same musical page as me.  Not that there's no one as "good" as me, just that there's no one on the same thought track as I am.  Perhaps that's true, perhaps it's not.  I just don't know because I'm not done creating it.

So, I've also been really interested in using stones for meditating, but have my doubts.  There are many people who use them to great success, but then again, they may not actually do anything.  It could be the human process projected through them.  I want to believe, but thus far things aren't happening.  But, I also feel silly for wanting to believe, so that's probably blocking me.  Also, I feel like a using them hippie.  Just add it to the list of things that others don't approve of.

last but not least, check out the new Saul Williams "Bloody Sunday" video!  Probably on Youtube by now.  You know, if you're wondering why the hell I rattle on about him all the time, maybe you should save me the breath and check out his work.  Out of the dozen or so people I've talked to, I've only heard of one person who didn't think he was worth their time.  So odds are, he's the shit!

My mom told me recently that she worries that I'm easily influenced, specifically referencing my last housing exploits, and that I should be careful in relationships.  It hurt to hear that, we all like to believe we're strong, but she's a bit right.  I come with open expectations to most situations and get trampled from time to time.  It's either that or be an asshole who can't give anyone an inch.  I don't have much of a middle ground, although I've really tried.

Hence me joking that I'm a delicate little flower.

I know when I'm getting into situations that aren't for me or really compromise my values, but how I handle that, let my opinions be know and NOT get ridiculed (a type of trial by fire administered by the group)m is another thing.  The shit that people talk on you floats around your name for ages.  People don't forget.

So I go quiet.  Or I leave.  Or I say something and am not witty enough to banter with someone's bullshit  (once again, I've tried to win at these fucking games , but at this point,  one had better say something slayingly witty or else you're done for.  I've found that it's better not say anything at this point).  Hate being bad at these games.

On the upside of being "open to interpretation" (that's what I call my state of being), I can really go with the flow of a situation, access the players, and hopefully create something that is mutual and interesting.  That's always my goal and what I think the point of hanging out with other people.  So I suppose in pursuit of that goal, I'm gonna lose big at times.

But really, I'm not doing bad.  My current friends have the same rules to the friend game and we have the most amazing times.  Now if I could be in a bands will of them (there are about 7-10 people), my life would be perfect.  All but 2 don't play instruments, so that's out of the question.  But damn, imagine the damage we could do if they could play.