Win Pizza in Tuscany

Win A Tuscan Bike Tour in Bicycle Coalition of Maine’s Super Raffle

Augusta – The Bicycle Coalition of Maine’s 2011 Super Raffle features a grand prize of a VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations trip to Tuscany, Italy. Valued at as much as $3,145, the 10-day trip includes roundtrip airfare from New York to Italy plus accommodations, sightseeing and world-famous Italian cuisine.

The lucky winner will be able to join one of VBT’s 2011 Tuscan Coast or Tuscany by the Sea tours. Both trips feature:
· Small groups (14-20 people).
· Eight nights at comfortable hotels and unique accommodations such as a country resort or an agrihotel with a private wine cellar.
· Excursions to places such as an ancient castle, an olive oil mill or a pastry-making lesson.
· Free use of a VBT custom bicycle and helmet.

Both trips are rated as easy to moderate bike rides, with daily distances ranging from 15 to 45 miles. VBT provides bilingual guides, maps and a fully equipped support van. The raffle winner may choose departure dates between March and November 2011, subject to availability.

Everyone who purchases a raffle ticket will receive a T-shirt featuring the Bicycle Coalition’s new logo. Tickets may be purchased for $50 each at www.bikemaine.org/store/raffle-tickets or by phoning (207) 623-4511.

A total of no more than 200 tickets will be sold. The raffle will be held on the first day of spring, March 20, 2011. For more information, please visit www.BikeMaine.org.

Mr. Lower East Side Pageant Wednesday! 10pm!

Tomorrow, Wednesday, is the annual crazy Mr. Lower East Side Pageant at the Bowery Poetry Club hosted by Reverend Jen. at 10pm! Come and see men compete for the glorious title..There is a talent section, a swimsuit and evening wear one just like the crappy one you see on TV..BUT these people are all funny and insane in a great way and it should be fun..So come out though it's gonna rain and shit..Just by being there, you become a judge! It's only $5 you cheap bastards! Just kiddin'..you know I love you all..in a strictly platonic way. When I am drunk.

Looking Back Over 2010...

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ~Howard Thurman






Snowshoeing, "Tumalo Mountain," Bend, OR., 11/2010




Reception Party thrown for Stan & I, by Liz Coleman & Tom Herron, 11/2010 ;-}





Married the love-of-my-life, Stanford Davidson, at "Dillon Falls," Bend, OR., 11/12/2010




Rope-climbing at the "CrossFit" Halloween Party! 10/2010





Hiking/Climbing, "Smith Rock," Terrebonne, OR., 10/2010




Handstand Push-Ups, "CrossFit," Bend, OR., 10/2010




"Flagstone," slab climbing with Liz & Randy, 09/2010





"Providence Bridge Pedal," Portland, OR., 08/2010




"Night Climbing," Bend, OR., 08/2010




Rafting "Big Eddy," Bend, OR., 08/2010




"Oyster Urban AR," Portland, OR., 08/2010




"Trek" Dirt Series, Women's Mtn. Bike Camp, Bend, OR., 07/2010




Surfing, Short Sands, Cannon Beach, OR., 07/2010



"HERA Climb 4 Life/Climb 4 The Cure" event in Boulder, CO., 06/2010




"Spring Chicken AR," Redmond, OR., 05/2010





Yoga, 03/2010





Bouldering, "Waime'a Bay," N. Shore, Oahu, 02/2010




Surf trip to the N. Shore, Oahu, 02/2010





Sierra, My Alaskan Malamute, passed in Jan. 2010. She'll always be my best girl...R.I.P., sweet girl...xoxoxo

"JUST MARRIED"

Almine Barton & Stanford Davidson, married at "Dillon Falls," Bend, OR., 11/12/10





"There is no salvation for the soul but to fall in Love.
Only lovers can escape out of these two worlds...
This was ordained in creation.
Only from the heart can you reach the sky:
The Rose of Glory can grow only from the heart."
--Rumi

Another Biggest TV ever dumped and someone loses their religion.

Hello Dorks! Here are some weird pics to astound you or put you to sleep. I am very upset by how cold it is already and how my cool winter jacket was stolen. Now I have to search for one just as awesome or the fashion police will write about me and TMZ will make fun of me. Like last time this happened..Oh wait, that was Paris Hilton not me. Eh, whatever.

We have a religious statue that someone threw out..I think it's creepy how it's facing the wall. Like the Blair Witch Project or something. Then, right where the OTHER huge TV was thown out that I blogged about months ago..ANOTHER TV like thing was dumped! How many do they have? Is it even a TV? Or a time machine or a black hole which nature abhors? I love east 9th st. Weirdest block ever.

Then, a now prized possession of mine..A signed print of my album where R. Crumb apologizes for the eating disorder he thinks he gave me. I told him I had it long before I met him but he won't believe me.

Next blog will be all about a big show we have on December 2nd at Jalopy Theater to celebrate the release of John's 3 Cd Boxed Dust-to-Digital set, Baby How Can it Be? which I promoted a few days ago. It'll be available for sale at Jalopy and is on Amazon right now. The discs are freakin' amazing and if you don't buy it you have mental issues. We will be accompanied by Pat Conte and Ernesto Gomez that night who are incredible.

Screwed Again

The taxpayers of Springdale are about to get screwed AGAIN.

Apparently, the Chamber of Commerce membership drive hasn't been going as well as they hoped because yesterday, (11/23/10) Chamber Cheerleader Steve Caraway reported that Mayor Sprouse has included a request in the proposed 2011 budget to bump up the contribution to the chamber organization an additional $50,000.

 In the same article:

"The mayor’s budget estimates general fund income at $27.62 million and expenses at $27.69 million, a shortfall of $60,000."

The Mayor says:

"I regret that we're unable to include compensation increases in my proposed 2011 budget."

It doesn't take a genius or a calculator to see the easiest way to make up the shortfall. Why would we even consider increasing the Chamber's pot to $227,500 a year when they have refused all requests in the past to show us where they are spending our money? Do they need a dictionary to know that a self-appreciating newsletter is not an invoice?

Do you have an opinion on the proposed 2011 budget? Let Mayor Sprouse know. dsprouse@SpringdaleAR.gov
Phone: (479) 750-8114

Who Dares Question Authority?

For those of you who missed the Springdale City Council meeting on November 9, I urge you to suffer through it. Perry Madoff announced that the money the Chamber of Commerce receives from the City, Advertising and Promotion, and Public Facilities will be now be dedicated 100% to a newly created Economic Development Division, which he claims is separate from whatever it is the Chamber does. No longer unemployed, Lance Eads thinks he is in charge of this creative new way to fleece the taxpayers without their knowledge.

During this meeting, Alderwoman Kathy Jaycox asks Madoff if the Chamber will present the invoices some people have been asking for to the council for review. The President/CEO was visibly defensive, condescending, and downright rude to Mrs. Jaycox. No other member of the council said a peep.

This is beautiful.

You are constant
And fearless--
And despite the darkness threatening to consume your whole,
You send your face to the dirt.
And there in the rain and the earth
And all the beautiful complexities of grit,
You see why I can never join you.
Under the gardens of darkness you dig your tunnels
While I take in the sunrise above.
At last the rain stops and I am clean
And though the sun will never reach your face--
In muddy caverns
I still find your passionate ruin entrancing.
And I will keep your place in the sun.

~ By Shawna Howson.

JOhn's Dust-to-Digital Comp is out now!!!

So, John has this 3 cd disc comp out NOW of 78's from his amazing collection! This is the shiznit and makes a great xmas gift or if you're a jew you can get one for days on end..3 CD's of amazing old time music!!!! You will rue the day you were born if you don't buy this shit.

Here is a promo video for it..John made me be in it looking fat and hungover..which is how I feel today. Because last night was insane and I went to bed at like 7am..then had a bunch of shit to do.

AnySlur, here is the promo video and I will also provide links to the Amazon website. It's a mix of love songs, lust songs, and songs of contmpt.. Dust-To-Digital have won Grammy's for their reissues in the past..Help make this one a winner so I can go to the Grammy's and punch celebrities when I'm drunk on the free booze. I beg of you.

Here's the Amazon link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0042DN4OA/ref=s9_simh_gw_p15_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0PHE687YY3YNZA2BDRXR&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

Not Sure.

Lately I've been thinking about..well, just things in general. Friends. Work. Last night I met some of my college friends whom I'm still very close with. Being with them seem so easy and effortless. We got close because of the things we had in common, real friends who have been with me for the past five years or so.

You know you reach a point in your life: when you feel like you're doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results? Or when you feel like meeting new people is exhausting rather than exciting because you're tired of the small talk but the not-so-new people aren't exactly the ones that keep you inspired?

I found it far easier to meet and talk to people that I truly was interested in knowing when I was back in university. Somehow the 9-6 routine does manage to take away the excitement of making some real friends, one with which you don't have to be superficial with.

Work life is so different. Your friends are your colleagues whom you see everyday in the office environment, who you share your lunch breaks with. Take those away, and what's left?

I don't know. I'm kinda rambling. Not sure what I'm getting at. Maybe I just miss college days. Being an adult isn't as merry as it seemed.

Just read whatever I write and keep quiet.

This week has been quite entertaining as far as weeks go..then again I am easily entertained like when I watch that freaking Yule log for hours upon hours giggling like a madwoman. Shall ye NEVER burn Yule log? It's a Christmas miracle! And no, they don't run it on a loop so shut the hell up!

Okay, maybe I had some wine tonight but I needed it cause everything is so nuts lately..Everyone I know has decided to have mental breakdowns at the same time or something..and death is all around me which makes me want to enjoy my own life more and just be around good people I honestly care about.

AnyTaint, here are some pics for you, constant readers and stalkers alike. We have some Mars Bar fun, Crazy Dave and I, my friend Mike and me, Jerry and I actually getting along..Biker Bill with his new hat by Ray's, someone got a Mars bar tat, someone had someone take a pic of their butthole...and a MYSTERY box! Who knows what's in that package! If you see something, say something or the terrorists have won...a slap-chop! Why should cooking be made easy for them?

Smiley.

Ray's now sells veggie burgers and other random shit.

Been busy the past few weeks..finishing new CD, seeing old friends..doing way too much drinking. Whee! However, now i'm back in the saddle again(YES-THAT'S A HINT THAT I STILL NEED A PONY!!) and just submitting for acting shit and running around taking pics of weird shit to delight and appall you all. Lost an old friend yesterday..too much death lately. If I am stuck on this dying planet, you all are too until I say so! Yeesh..

AnyHell, here are some random pics...Peace Proctology Glove, Me- drunk eating drunkenly in bed at like 8am, Penis nose, a tree growing fluff..and yes, Ray has veggie burgers now! And Apple Cider.

Another Week.

Whenever I meet someone new, or in that phase or just getting to know someone, I always like to ask a lot of questions. How do you know someone otherwise, right? So I thought, I can do it here. The problem is, aside from probably 2 of my family members, nobody else actually reads this. (Speaking of which, I have to ask my sisters when was the last time they logged in here) So sad. The story of my life.

What's sadder is asking a question and having myself answer it! But what to do, right? Anyway, I come across a blog in another person's website with some interesting questions. So here's what I'm gonna do. Whenever I feel like it (read: have no more interesting subject to write about), I'll post each question and we'll see.

For someone with lots of opinion (and unable to shut up), this could be fun. You can answer it too and we'll..um, get to know each other better. (although I'm already in first-name basis with both my sisters. How 'well' do you want us to get?)

(You know I'm kidding, don't you?)

So, yeah! Let's get that on next! But first things first, I just would like to write some updates in the past week. Work? You really wanna know? Well. It's going fine, I suppose. I love my customers and all, but sometimes I'm so frustrated I wanna just scream on top my lungs: GIVE ME A BREAK! It's bad enough that these days I have to always work on Saturdays when I'm not supposed to, but even on Saturday night, or on a Sunday, I keep getting calls and texts from customers.

Alright, alright. I'm gonna stop right here. I'm gonna end up complaining more than I should if I continue. So let's move on, shall we? Over the weekend I started watching season 8 of 24, which is pretty good! My friend was really awesome for burning the complete season on CD. I think I have to treat him dinner or something. I've started rereading Harry Potter again. Last night we watched the 7th installment on DVD again so it seems right to read the last book before the movie comes out next week.

I also impulsively booked a ticket to Hong Kong for next year!

I know, it's so not me to be impulsive, but I did it!

I'll get nervous thinking what I'm gonna do if I really have to travel alone, so I'm not going to. It's still a couple months away so I figured there's plenty of time for my friends to join me (or me to chicken out?) It's exciting though!

Met some old friends on Friday night which was really fun!

Hope you had a nice weekend too and we'll catch up soon! ♥

Pics from Sophie Crumbs Gallery Opening

Well here are a mess load of pics from Sophie Crumb's art opening at the gallery in SOHO last week..Her artwork is pretty freakin' incredible and talk about worlds colliding. Shit! My parents showed up and met Robert and Sophie, plus Sturgeon from Leftover Crack and various other artists and squatters. It was packed and I hear people are still going there to check out her work-it's up through December I think. DCKT Gallery at 195 Bowery and Spring St.

Last week was really fun for me-seeing people I don't see that often..running around like a maniac til the wee hours of the morning..going to gallery events..Eli Smith was over and interviewed Robert Crumb about 78's..and John and I did a few songs that will be on Eli's Down Home Radio Live podcast..I will link that when it's up-it was a pretty interesting interview.

Now shit is back to normal for me..well, normal for ME anyway which is vaguely close to the opposite of normal I applied for tons of extra work..like any job that came up. I am willing to play a midget, an old black lady, a balding, middle aged man..Yeah, I'm THAT good dammit!

The pic above is a sketch Soph did of me on a placemat at a Jewish Deli in mid-town..in about 5 minutes..