New G A L L E R Y update!

Seems before I moved to Seattle, every time I heard someone mention Ballard, it was followed immediately by "... of all places." Such as, "There was a punk showcase last night. In Ballard, of all places." Or "I went on a really hot date. In Ballard, of all places." Or, "we scored some really good crack. In Ballard, of all places."

It sounded like Ballard was full of surprises. Needless to say, I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into this place. Turns out that this Scandanavian neighborhood of Seattle hosts some seriously cool establishments and beautiful watery views. Oh, and the Tractor Tavern is there too, where we saw Andrew Bird and the Damnwells play. (Not together, silly.) Plus there's apparently a local obsession with bunnies, some enormous outdoor art installations, a farmer's market, and lots of good doorways and windows. Look.

It's exhausting looking this cute.

Today I had to take down the "NaNoWriMo Participant" icon that was holding residency above my calendar to the right. I'm not ashamed and I do not hang my head in defeat. I've decided to take a different creative direction that does not involve writing a novel in 30 days. Just forcing myself to attempt it gave me quite a few things to think about. The past few weeks have been full of me Thinking About Things; I've been on a headspin that's shaking up beliefs I've held self-evident for decades and making me reconsider the ways I've gone about my daily life. Frequent epiphanies, surprisingly strong convictions, and general discontent have merged into quite a brainful of chaos. I'm sorting out the voices one by one.

I was looking for a new photo for the top of my site. It was the little picture of downtown Seattle since April. I started fooling around with this picture that Mon Frere took of me at the top of the Space Needle. It's one of my recent favorites. As I was working with it in Photoshop, I realized how clearly it was beginning to look like I was behind bars.

There was the beautiful landscape -- the sparkly city and almost-sunset, Mt. Rainier showing her colors, and me jailed, in a cage, looking at it all from a distance. It's the last image I want for myself. Especially today.

I was talking to my beloved Nathan Bright Autumn Sky who called me from his green hills of Maine, and he asked how Kobie was doing. I said, "He's fine... I think he's just happy that he's not in a cage anymore."

And Nate said, "Neither of you are."

To hell with Macs!
from Objective Christian Ministries:

Hypnotically encased iMacs trick unsuspecting computer users into accepting Darwinism

"Take for example Apple Computers, makers of the popular Macintosh line of computers. The real operating system hiding under the newest version of the Macintosh operating system (MacOS X) is called... Darwin! That's right, new Macs are based on Darwinism! While they currently don't advertise this fact to consumers, it is well known among the computer elite, who are mostly Atheists and Pagans. Furthermore, the Darwin OS is released under an "Open Source" license, which is just another name for Communism. They try to hide all of this under a facade of shiny, "lickable" buttons, but the truth has finally come out: Apple Computers promote Godless Darwinism and Communism.

But is this really such a shock? Lets look for a moment at Apple Computers. Founded by long haired hippies, this company has consistently supported 60's counter-cultural "values". But there are even darker undertones to this company than most are aware of. Consider the name of the company and its logo: an apple with a bite taken out of it. This is clearly a reference to the Fall, when Adam and Eve were tempted with an apple by the serpent. It is now Apple Computers offering us temptation, thereby aligning themselves with the forces of darkness.

This company is well known for its cult-like following. It isn't much of a stretch to say that it is a cult. Consider co-founder and leader Steve Jobs' constant exhortation through advertising (i.e. mind control) that its followers should "think different". We have to ask ourselves: "think different than whom or what?" The disturbing answer is that they want us to think different than our Christian upbringing, to reject all the values that we have been taught and to heed not the message of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Given the now obvious anti-Christian and cultish nature of Apple Computers, is it any wonder that they have decided to base their newest operating system on Darwinism? This just reaffirms the position that Darwinism is an inherently anti-Christian philosophy spread through propaganda and subliminal trickery, not a science as its brainwashed followers would have us believe."

Day Two, NaNoWriMo. 7:14 AM. Already I'm at the rotunda in the Health Sciences Building at UW. I'm not usually even awake at this hour and yet here I am already. I wish i could say valiant intentions swept me up and inspired me to bound out of bed this morning, but it was more realistically a crawl towards the door, visions of gingerbread lattes dancing in my head.

On the topic of gingerbread, I miss fall. Or more precisely, I miss New England fall. There's nothing like it. And if there was a time for me to get homesick, this is it. Last fall is still so vivid in my mind -- the sweet-tartness of cranberry walnut bread from Au Bon Pain, early crisp apple-cented mornings walking to Harvard Sq., the newly-released Death Cab for Cutie album Translatlanticism that I listened to relentlessly on chunky headphones that kept my ears warm. The crunch of leaves in the silence between songs. I wore my favorite oatmeal scarf yesterday because it was cold, and I remembered how poorly wool and water mix. My old way of doing things will not work in Seattle. The leaves are changing but it's different. Today it's cold and raining. I like the rain. But it's not the fall I've known for the past 27 years.

It's election day. I hope you are all voting. I already voted. This city was mad about voting this year. You could register to vote at all the cafes and concerts. At the Rilo Kiley show last month, they had a screen and projector showing frame after frame of anti-Bush images and statistics involving "...what if everyone at this show voted?" There's the Future Soundtrack for America on the radio and the Moveon.org people banging on doors and everyone trying to get us "Gen X'ers" and "Gen Why?s" to vote. Every other lawn, door, window or car on my street has some mouthful of bile for George Bush. At the Bright Eyes show last week, Conor Obherst thanked the people who had sent him flowers before the show, but he said if you wanted to really show the bands you loved your support, vote for John Kerry on November 2nd.

So it's time for espresso and to end my little finger-warm-up for the morning and actually get to work on the whole novel thing. What a novel idea. (doh!) I'm totally not going to be able to do this. I can tell you right now.

In the words of Josh Ritter, "They say some prophecies are self-fulfilling, but I've had to work for all of mine."

I uttered three dangerous words this Monday morning at 7:30 AM: "Grande, extra shot."

I am inspired to do whatever it is I'm not supposed to be doing. Last week I tried to get up at 6:30 to go running in the cold dark and the thought of just being able to write instead was the most comforting idea ever. This morning getting up at 6:30 to write made me want to go running. I don't know what to tell you.