Learn To Swim

I'm watching the news. The tube is full of reports of lootings, prison riots, and shootings in NOLA. It's fucking sickening. It's so hard sometimes, even when all these thousands of great people are mobilizing to help, not to feel disappointed in humanity. I've seen reports of carjackings, murders, theft, a cop being shot in the face by a looter, two gunmen shooting into a police station with AK-47s, and arsonists setting buildings on fire. I hate people so much sometimes.

The city is mostly underwater already and the water is continuing to rise, sewage is rising and poisoning the supply of drinking water, the city is completely torn apart, and things are only getting worse. Here's what I'm thinking...

Give up.

The city is below sea level. The only reason it wasn't swallowed by the Gulf long ago is because the levee has been holding the water back. Make no mistake, this will happen again. It's only a matter of time. Why set yourself up for the same problem? There is no way to artificially hold those waters back forever. The city is doomed one way or another. We should cut our losses and get out now, but...

Do it quietly.

Quickly and calmly gather up all the people worth saving remaining in the city. Let the animals have the whole thing. Then blow up the whole levee and sink it all. Give the whole fucking city an enema and don't look back. Rebuild elsewhere.

Ugh... Sorry for the pessimism, but this is really quite tiresome. Best wishes to all the people out there who make everything worth fighting for.

Midwest U.S. = No Hurricanes = Hip Hip!

Barring any (more) last minute insanity, I'll be flying out to Milwaukee in the morning. I need to apologize to all the people I've been planning to get in touch with this weekend. I arrived back from Canada, which was pretty damned cool BTW, and immediately had to start prepping for the storm. Then yesterday I was without electricity, power, and phone service at varying times during the day. Today I'm trying to get set for the morning and ensure that I'll be able to get on the plane. Grrr... We have power, but still no internet at the house, so I'm having to do this at a friend's house in town. My phone is working some of the time, but it's really erratic. So, I'm going to try to make all those calls tonight, but I can't promise I won't get the same stupid system errors. Suffice it to say that we're all fine here and just trying to get saddled up for the next couple of weeks of chaos. I think my uncle and his family are going to come stay with us until they reopen NOLA. Last I heard, they are completely shutting down the city until they can take care of the most pressing problems. Around 80% of the city is still underwater (15' in many places) and the stuff that's dry has been largely blown to bits. Bodies are being spotted floating down the streets. It looks like the city has been ripped apart pretty badly. Very upsetting. Hopefully they'll get everything straightened out before the refugees in the Superdome all go stir crazy and kill each other.

Anyway, hopefully I'll catch each and every one of you soon. Love to all.


Post-script: Philadelphia just added to travelport, leaving Sept. 12. WOOT WOOT!

WTF, eh!

1. I'm off to Quebec City in the AM. Staying ten days, two of which will be in Montreal.

2. I can't speak any French at all.

3. Oh shit.

4. My travel companion does.

5. *sigh of relief*

6. I have flipped over my travel companion. Yes, completely mad. She's so wonderful, whip smart, kind, fun, and absolutely charming in every conceivable way.

7. Oh yeah, she's fucking hot too.

8. It is all but absolutely certain that I will be moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It's only a matter of time.

9. The Apple iPod is the greatest invention of the 21st century.

10. I'm getting my stuff together to do some more recording. I have 5 or 6 new songs I want to record, in addition to the 8-15 I have waiting in the wings for my in-progress demo CD.

11. Once my acoustic demo CD is finished, I'll be bringing the hammer out for some metal type recordings. I'll be putting out calls for collaborators. Prepare yourselves.

12. Portland has no sales tax. WOOT for Portland!

13. I love the films of David Gordon Green. Go watch All The Real Girls (I've been meaning to mention this for quite a while).

14. No, I mean right now.

15. Go on now, shoo...

16. Okay, you can stay, but I'm going to plug some music that I like and you're going to have to just deal with it.

17. The new CD by Open Hand, entitled You And Me, is very good stuff. Waaaay melodic and powerful cool riffage. Groovy.

18. I just downloaded a flock of seagulls song from iTunes, so I have absolutely ZERO credibility when it comes to taste in music at this moment.

19. I miss Laura and Rachel.

20. Hey kids! Go here and torture your friends: Http://www.research.att.com/projects/tts/demo.html

21. I need to pack, but I'm putting it off.

22. I love you all and I'll talk to you soon to fill in the gaps here.

Glass Bird Dream

Walking in the fields and meadows,
in the shadows of the mountaintops

Heard the wind cry out,
longing, shrieking siren-song

Appeared then a great bird, wings a mile wide,
and blanked out the blue sky above,
body all of metal and colored glass, sapphire eyes

Turned downward, twisting dive,
and snatched my body in savage steel talon,
gripped tight

Carried fast across earth and sea,
cold breeze-bite whipping hair in my face,
clouds piercing my lungs, to top of the world,
air thin as a whisper, snow shine, pillow perch,
precipice edge

She lay me gently, tender, softly down,
her nest bed all bright linens, ribbons, silks intertwined

Saw then the egg, cracked in half, surface gleaming
etched gold and gemstones, inside bedding soft and warm,
but the child long since flown

She gazed down as I crawled inside,
curled into red velvet throne-bed

Love me. I'm home. I've come home.

Spread her wings and threw back golden beak,
calling out, sick with love

And the light of the sun blazed down on me
like stained glass windows through her feathers

DKE
8/15/05