Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Wash.

A church down the road from my house in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood was written up today in Salon. I don't know how many people belong to the church, but it is huge. This is a fascinating article about a fascinating phenomenon. We'd all wondered about this church where you see hundreds of people streaming in every day, carrying bibles (shades of my Baptist days), wearing jeans, beards, and granny dresses.

"Father's Day and Mark Driscoll is blessing babies. A stocky, square-headed figure in a black shirt and jeans, with a leather cord around his thick neck, Driscoll stands against a backdrop of a giant brushed steel cross and a phalanx of electric guitars, praying over the "lovely wives and godly husbands" lined up on the stage of Mars Hill Church. Located in a former warehouse in Seattle's hip Ballard neighborhood, where drive-through espresso joints out-number churches ten to one, Driscoll's megachurch is a sprawling industrial space of corrugated steel, painted charcoal and muted taupe. "

To read Lauren Sandler's story in Salon, click here.
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Ambien awakens persistent vegetative state victims??

Ambien can reanimate people from a vegetative state. Jamais Cascio in today's Boing Boing writes: "The story, in today's Guardian, is just mind-blowing. The common sleeping pill zolpidem, sold in the US under the name Ambien, can reverse serious brain damage and wake up patients in persistent vegetative states!

"In 1999, five years after Louis's accident, she suggested to Sienie that the family's GP, Dr Wally Nel, be asked to prescribe a sedative. Nel prescribed Stilnox, the brand name in South Africa for zolpidem. "I crushed it up and gave it to him in a bottle with a soft drink," Sienie recalls. "He couldn't swallow properly then, but I helped him and sat at his bedside. After about 25 minutes, I heard him making a sound like 'mmm'. He hadn't made a sound for five years.
"Then he turned his head in my direction. I said, 'Louis, can you hear me?' And he said, 'Yes.' I said, 'Say hello, Louis', and he said, 'Hello, mummy.' I couldn't believe it. I just cried and cried." Click here to link to the full story in The Guardian.

Zolpidem seems to work on comatose patients about 60% of the time....trials are beginning in Africa. But get this: the drug companies are not all that excited about it. Why? The patent on Zolpidem has expired (thus the $$$ opportunities are limited)!

I imagine that every person in a vegetative state around the world is about to get a dose! And why do we need clinical trials? These people are brain dead. What do you really have to lose?
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The Band & The Last Waltz

Richard Manuel

When I wrote earlier about my 47 favorite movies, I forgot one. . .Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz (which gives Scorsese three on my list).

Robbie Robertson

I have been re-immersing myself in The Band, a band of excellent multi-instrumentalists with great roots songwriting, three outstanding vocalists (Danko, Manuel and Helm), and a great guitarist/songwriter.

The band got their real start backing up Toronto's Ronnie Hawkins (whose cover of Bo Diddley's Who Do You Love? is a highlight of the film, along with Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and Dylan's performances). The Hawks left Hawkins, and were Bob Dylan's back up band on that tumultuous tour when he "went electric" in 1965. They backed him up again in the early 70's (where I saw them in Vancouver, British Columbia). The Band went on to sell millions of records, and received massive critical acclaim. An early hit was "The Weight," (also included on the Easy Rider soundtrack. . .one of the earliest rock soundtrack movies).

Garth Hudson

Rolling Stone magazine named them the "Band of the Decade." The Toronto Star's (in their old home town) called them "the seminal American folk-rock troupe of the late 1960s and early 1970s." One critic called them "The Smithsonian of American rock and roll." And the record producer John Simon said "It's simple: The Band changed popular music. It was never the same."

Levon Helm

The restored movie includes surround sound on the DVD releases. Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Emmylou Harris, Muddy Waters, The Staples, Ringo Starr, Ron Wood, Dr. John, Paul Butterfield and Ronnie Hawkins all came to play and pay tribute at the Band's final concert. This was a band that was indeed far greater than the sum of its (excellent) parts.

Rick Danko

Emmylou Harris said "The Band had always been my idea of a perfect band."

Buy the CDs and DVD if you love rock and roll. If you have Comcast Digital, The Last Waltz is currently appearing as a free on-demand movie.
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Lyrics to Joni Mitchell's Coyote

These lyrics to Coyote are from Joni's Hejira album. . .the first record on the downside of the bell curve. She had just had a megahit album, Court and Spark, and her sales were now in decline. She was, however, at the height of her power as a composer, singer, and lyricist. Buy this record. And Blue. And the Hissing Of Summer Lawns.

COYOTE

No regrets, Coyote.
We just come from such different sets of circumstance.
I'm up all night in the studios
And you're up early on your ranch.
You'll be brushing out a brood mare's tail
While the sun is ascending,
And I'll just be getting home with my reel to reel...
There's no comprehending
Just how close to the bone, and the skin, and the eyes, and the lips you can get -
And still feel so alone.
And still feel related
Like stations in some relay.
You're not a, a hit and run driver, no, no,
Racing away.
You just picked up a hitcher,
A prisoner of the white lines on the freeway.

We saw a farmhouse burning down
In the middle of the road,
Where in the middle of the night,
We rolled right past that tragedy
Till we pulled into some road house lights
Where a local band was playing.
Locals were up kicking and shaking on the floor.
The next thing I know
That Coyote's at my door.
He pins me in a corner and he won't take "No!".
He drags me out on the dance floor
And we're dancing close and slow.
Now he's got a woman at home.
He's got another woman down the hall.
He seems to want me anyway:
"Why'd you have to get so drunk and
Lead me on that way?'".
You just picked up a hitcher,
A prisoner of the white lines on the freeway.

I looked a Coyote right in the face
On the road to Baljennie near my old home town.
He went runnin' through the whisker wheat
Chasing some prize down.
And a hawk was playing with him.
Coyote was jumping straight up and making passes.
He had those same eyes just like yours -
Under your dark glasses,
Privately probing the public rooms,
Peeking through keyholes in numbered doors
Where the players lick their wounds,
And take their temporary lovers
And their pills and powders to get them through this passion play.
No regrets, Coyote,
I just get off up away.
You just picked up a hitcher,
A prisoner of the white lines on the freeway.

Coyote's in the coffee shop.
He's staring a hole in his scrambled eggs.
And he picks up my scent on his fingers
While he's watching a waitresses' legs.
He's too far from the Bay of Fundy
From appaloosas and eagles and tides.
The air conditioned cubicles and the carbon ribbon rides
Are spelling it out so clear:
Either he's going to have to stand and fight,
Or take off out of here.
I tried to run away myself,
To run away and wrestle with my ego -
And with this flame you put here in this Eskimo -
In this hitcher -
In this prisoner -
Of the fine white lines -
Of the white lines -
On the free, free way.
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Elvis Costello interviews Joni Mitchell

If you're interested in what happens when two of the greatest minds and greatest talents in rock get together, check out Elvis Costello's article and interview with Joni in the November 2004 Vanity Fair. I know some of you are saying "dude, that's so two years ago," but, here it is, if you're a troglodyte like me, and missed it the first time around...
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Craig's List Seattle Sex Scandal, or, why your husband's penis is now appearing on hundreds of internet sites

One week ago today, Seattleite Jason Fortuny and a buddy executed a heinous prank. They copied a hot/hardcore sex ad from another site (along with the sad explicit photo) and placed an ad on the Seattle Craig's List as a "Women Seeking Men" ad. [Editor's note: While this article is "safe for work," the word penis in the title may negate any verbal gymnastics and laying between the lines performed in the story that follows. The links contained within this story are, however, most assuredly not safe for work].

Fortuny then published every single response , with their photos (in some cases, including photos of the responder's penises) and their personal data (names, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, and worst of all, their written responses). The trollers then invited readers to help identify the responders and add additional data. . .piling ignominy on the embarrassment, all the more because it was a sick ad, requesting rough trade, bondage, and humiliation. The original ad clearly originated from someone deeply involved in S & M.

Jason received 178 responses to the bogus ad, along with 145 photos. He would have received many more, had Craig's List not taken the ad down numerous times. Fortuny has been assailed on all fronts, from threats of violence to having his own personal information published. The New York Times interviewed him last Friday, and Wired magazine called him a sociopath. Lawyers are now threatening to sue, and even criminal action has been proposed. The story has now been propogated all over the internet, to dozens, and now, hundreds of web sites and blogs.

Was what Fortuny did outrageous? Sure. Do I think it was wrong? I don't know. Here is a link to Fortuny's ad, which contains other links to emails he has received from the "victims," including wives who saw (and heard about) their husband's emails, and beg Fortuny to take them down.

This is twisted on so many levels, and like a train wreck, it is pretty interesting to watch. The link also includes the names of the responders, along with their personal information. Some morons even used their work emails to respond, including one person from Microsoft.

A quick perusal didn't turn up anyone I know. If you live in the Seattle area, you might find your co-worker, professor, friend, that weird clerk at the 7-11,or even husband's, or boyfriend's name here. If you're lucky, you might find your boss smiling, showing his pride and joy to all the world.
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Insurance For Alien Abductions

A German attorney has decided to bolster his bottom line by filing state compensation claims for people who believe they were abducted by aliens. Jens Lorek bases his claims on a German law that compensates kidnap victims. . .Terrestrial kidnap victims.

"There's quite obviously demand for legal advice here," Lorek told Reuters by telephone. "The trouble is, people are afraid of making fools of themselves in court." Click here to read the Reuters story.
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Painting: Menage a trois - Secretary Condoleezza Rice, Vice-President Richard B. Cheney, President George W. Bush

Cllick image to enlarge
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Painting: The Grey From Zeta Reticulon

click the painting to enlarge
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Painting: The Grey from The Tenth Planet

click painting to enlarge
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Dean Ericksen's dream!

Regular readers may recall Dean's Ericksen's earlier appearances on All This Is That. . .the most recent one is here. He sent me and another friend, Tanya, his dream this morning for explication.

Naturally, I imposed a most scurrilous (and Freudian) interpretation on the dream. But I'll leave it to to y'all to judge for yourselves. . .

"OK. So, it all starts when I’m invited to a big party (a wake? It’s hard to tell) at Frank Sinatra’s house. Frank’s house is in Redmond [Wash.] . It’s large, but not moviestar-large; it’s in an upscale new development. There’s a big front yard covered with chairs for the guests. The only celebrity that I can see is George Burns, with his stereotypical cigar and check-coat. I expect to hear some crooning from the microphone, but nothing much is happening. "

"Apparently I have a backstage pass, as I find myself wandering around in Frank’s modestly appointed home, mixing with random people, and eating pistachios from an ashtray. A woman introduces herself to me. She is Frank’s grand-daughter; she is about seven-feet tall. It’s not long before I find myself getting busy with her on a pile of cardboard on Frank’s patio. The logistics of this coupling are non-sensual, mechanical, absurd. My heart is just not in it."

"Anyway, I pull myself together and wander back in to the house. A Mafioso grabs me by the arm and says that Frank would like to see me. I’m led to a door, and told by the man not to make fun of Frank’s little sister. The door swings open and Frank is sitting on a huge leather chair in a smoking jacket. Next to him on a stool is a porcelain statue of a Victorian-age girl. Frank begins to laugh maniacally and his face turns the color of a pomegranate. "
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Painting: Where is Fidel Castro?

click painting to enlarge

Where is Fidel anyhow? The last I heard, he was on the mend, and had lost forty pounds. The last photo I saw of him, he was wearing a snappy Nike [tm] warm-up suit and sprawling on what appeared to be some sort of chaise lounge.


This undated photo released Tuesday Sept. 5, 2006 by Granma,
the official publication of the Central Committtee of the Communist
Party of Cuba, shows Fidel Castro, who said, in a statement Tuesday
that he has lost more than 41 pounds since he had intestinal surgery
but added that the "most critical moment" was behind him. The
statement was accompanied by photographs of Castro during his
convalescence.

Yesterday, the President of Bolivia, a long-time friend of Castro, visited him in Cuba. "Morales' surprise visit came a day after Castro released a statement saying his stitches had been removed and that he felt well enough to receive "distinguished visitors," despite having lost some 41 pounds since the surgery."

So, why do I keep wondering where Fidel is? I'm not sure, but I do know that since I was very young, he has been part of the fabric of my life. There may be other world leaders in power as long as Castro, but he's been in power since January 9, 1959. . .since I was five years old. He outlasted De Gaulle, Churchill, Hailie Selassie, Kruschev, Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, and Reagan. Forty-six years in power! He's been persistent, if nothing else.
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