Run Rabbit Run

Send me cute

2011-01-27T09:53:00.005-06:00

I have soooooo much to do to prepare for performances this weekend... I am stressing a bit. Videos like the one above help calm me when I am like this. If you have any.. send em my way. I'm sort of in that mindless entertainment mood (as long as it features fur balls) Yet again, I am reminded of an episode of Southpark featuring , "Animals close up with a wide angled lense!!!" LMAO

I discovered this band awhile ago. Ok Go. Super creative, check em out!

Turn me to stone

2011-01-26T09:19:00.005-06:00

This weekend I had a gig at the Halloween and party expo at the George R. Brown Convention Center. That place is massive. I had only been there a few times for Nutcracker markets and Comic-cons (very good people watching at those by the way). Who doesn't love to see overweight white guys in their late 30's donning the attire of their favorite sexy female anime character?

The Halloween Expo was very different from my past visits to the GRB. For one I was working, and the event was a playground that, for the most part, I could only stare at while frozen in place. That's because I was contracted to be a living statue for the 3 day event. It's an interesting way to study people... (being a statue). Either they do not realize you are real and you hear the strange things they say when they believe no one is listening, or people knowingly treat you as if you actually are an object; commenting on your looks and attire as they would a mannequin. Now for a little racial profiling... black people are universally hilarious. They lost it when they noticed that I was "real," hopping and hollering about. You can imagine my difficulty in keeping a straight face here. Hispanics were more spiritual and took individual pictures of each family member next to me, I presume because I was an angel. I have to say... I kind of get some enjoyment out of almost making people pee their pants... Weird?

In having to stand still for so long (three 45 min sets each day), I pondered about what it must be like to be a statue, or soul trapped in one. I imagined being positioned in some lovely plaza in Europe, trapped inside a statue with my gaze forever fixed in one direction and my body frozen forever. Because of the muscle fatigue, I also considered the possibility of feeling the strain for an eternity, yet appearing zen and stoic. Strange things pass through my mind when I'm idle... Being a statue was actually extremely entertaining. I enjoyed the sociological aspect and the challenge to see if I could just be still and shut up. I can!

During one frozen set, I heard a chick's voice saying "Oh hi! Hello there!!! Hi!, fine then...!" to which I could not move or avert my eyes from their fixed position. After she passed, I could see it was Bridget, the playboy bunny from the Girls Next Door. She happened to be at the event because she is launching a costume line. I'll admit, especially after seeing her in person, that woman is HOT. Of course I would be frozen when she is trying to talk to me.... lol

Build me a box

2011-01-21T13:49:00.007-06:00

I need one to retreat into sometimes... you know have a personal moment.
It helps too, that people want to stuff me in one anyhow. For an upcoming event... I actually got asked whether I would come down (from the fabric) in between each act or if I had a box I could crawl into!!! Seriously??? ---Quick crawl in there honey! We don't need you right now! We will call you out again soon!

People just don't seem to understand what they request sometimes... a week out from an event people want 5 wardrobe changes and different color schemes and other nonsense. They think you will just have what they are asking or it's no problem for you to go and just blow major cash on more costuming. It's truly amazing how little understanding people have of performance art... On a semi related note:Check out this band of rag-tag prostitutes... MY GOD I've seen better moves on an infant crapping his pants....

Seeing this monstrosity I feel slightly guilty to complain about my gigs at all!!! I am blessed to have classy and appreciative clients (although very demanding) every time I perform. I'll see if I can just negotiate a water bottle and some peanuts up there in my box. ;)

This guy knows what to do with a box!!
Hilarious ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDCk4q_4YCM

I'm back!

2010-11-16T20:13:00.005-06:00

For those that actually read this blog...

I'm so sorry I have neglected this for so long. As the last blog adeptly described , I have been off going balls to the wall 24/7. You will all be pleased to know that I am kicking ass and taking names (or just making good grades and doing well at life in general).

Let's see.. to catch us up to speed here..

There's been a lot going on! ::takes a sip of Harp Lager::
Sorry, I'm a bit ADD now. It's hard for me to sit still anymore. At the moment I'm just watching my brother shoot zombies. He's protecting me from all the scary Nazi zombies that... (It's Call of Duty-Black Ops)

OK KIRSTEN FOCUS!

So on November 6th, I had a performance at the Hobby Center on stage with Planet Funk. I choreographed a piece for the show, which was broken up into 4 segments throughout the performance. It was an (AHHH ZOMBIE!!) awesome experience and I've met many new friends from performing with Planet Funk. I have another performance with Planet Funk coming up in December (Finals time) so I'm not sure if I can fully commit, but I'm giving it a try.

Here's a short video from the show

Ready ... Set..

2010-08-30T18:13:00.006-05:00

Go.

At any given moment.. I am probably aerial training, hoop training, in class, in the lab, bugging Travis to make me food, picking fluff out of Tsunami's ass or getting a half productive night's sleep. I am loving my use of time these days. Yet, I have noticed, that those who possess multi talented greatness never sleep. I am fortunate enough to have more than a few superhuman-like friends. They have each inspired and gave me the swift kick in the pants I needed. So here I am. I have changed my whole life. I remain insanely busy much of the time. But the thing is, I sleep. I get about 7-8 hours of sleep (that is lying in bed at least) each night.

The truly productive people I know don't.

I want to maintain a tight grip on my 7 hours in bed at least, but maybe I'll try six.. maybe wean my self off.... Ok. This sounds absurd.

On another note, I had a great weekend. A local radio station, KTRU (Rice Radio) is going off the air soon. It's been a student run since 1967. Sadly it's been sold to KUHF, a local classical and NPR station. My buddy Michael, who runs The Vanguard asked me to sing with his band live on Friday. I'm pretty sure I sounded like a more goatlike version on Stevie Nicks... but hey... to be fair I heard the tune only twice before performing it live. I had lyrics scrawled on a sheet of paper and tried to remain in time with the much slower tempo than the original tune. How's that for excuses?! Either way I had fun. Rice University has a very unique environment. KRTU is no exception. Sometimes they play completely intolerable screeching and buzzing sounds that amount to nothing but a cacophony, other times it's genres like Indian, indie or local artists. You never know what you might hear.

The Miller had the Chinese acrobats this weekend. They sucked.
No! Seriously people they were mesmerizing. I can't on even the smallest level feel cool after watching that. I'll never be able to bounce a soccer ball while laying on my back on a column and toss it to another girl a second later catching it with my feet still bouncing. I'll never be able to hula hoop, standing on a rola bola (picture above) while balancing a stick on top of another stick and a ball. Again... to be fair , I wasn't taken from my family at the delicate age of 4 to train for this stuff. I'll do something awesome anyhow you watch Chinese!!! You may be about to rule the world, own American ports and debt... but we still have the nukes so suck it.

Have a great week everyone!

Game Changer

2010-08-20T12:53:00.003-05:00

Announcement!

I got into graduate school!!!!!!!! I will start on Monday! I am so incredibly excited I can barely think. For awhile now I have been spinning wheels, neglecting half of my intellect and ability. NO MORE.

I am going 100% balls to the wall into my academic and aerial passions. No more time wasted. No more potential wasted. No more working just to pay the bills.

This calls for a celebration.

My batteries are totally recharged.

To the one who believed in me; I have never in all my life received such random kindness. I won't forget it. I'll make you proud.

Here is more random bunny hoppyness to illustrate how I feel:

String me up

2010-08-12T08:32:00.011-05:00

As an acromaniac- (my own word stemming from acrophobia, an extreme fear of heights AND a new word I am substituting for aerialist because it is more accurate), I am always looking for new places to hang from.

I have always had hangups (ha! no pun intended I swear) about calling my self an "ist" anything... vocalist, artist, biologist.. whatever. It just feels pretentious.

So this ACROMANIAC wants to be rigged from skyscrapers, ancient ruins, construction equipment, trees, bridges ... I could go on all day. A buddy of mine sent me some images this morning that inspired. Those acromaniacs up there look fantastic don't they? Dressed for the occasion and all. Read more about this aerial dance here.

Let's forget completely about logistics for a moment and dream. Imagine hanging here...

or here.

or here.

And for a hair-raising blast from the past...

WORD.

2010-08-09T13:24:00.005-05:00

I hope you can find time to watch this quick video of what Steve Wynn, prominent Vegas casino owner has to say about the U.S. government and economy. If you are tempted to demonize, moguls like Steve, think again. Guys like this are heavily tapped into the American economic trends and projections. Their livelihood depends on it. And since it does, he's decided to transfer 1/2 of his Headquarters to Macao. We are living in an era of irresponsibility and rash shortsightedness, a time when our government has completely bamboozled the tax payers, when the arrogance of our incumbent representatives and White house reign.
Our economy cannot sustain this, our political system cannot, our tax payers cannot. The day is coming that we will wake up and be owned by China. Populism is destroying our nation. When will we remember that we are a REPUBLIC and not a democracy? Does anyone see the dangers in neglecting the standards of the republic? Does anyone even recall that we are in fact a republic?

We are witnessing the assertion of individual state's rights. Arizona's immigration bill 1070 is merely the beginning.

Bright Lights, Queens and Gaga

2010-07-29T12:25:00.006-05:00

The Lady Gaga in Houston concert was amazing this past Monday. She had two concert dates, one Sunday and one Monday (both sold out). I was lucky enough to go!

Let me first add this disclaimer: I am not a fan of most pop music nor do I attend "big event" concerts very often.

Lady Gaga, however, is an offer I just could not refuse. The woman has a certain wild magnetism that I respect. She's is unequivocally her; uncompromising, strange, real and vulnerable. I adore it. Her music is catchy, exigent and fun yet with layers of dark and significant meaning once you strip off the rhinestones, vinyl and cousin it motif. She uses all of these wacky decorative trifles, which puts off so many in effort to force her audience to gaze past the facade. Don't get me wrong, these pieces of outrageous garb are in fact "her" but they serve to attract and repel those who choose to really look or not.

Which begs the question... what if we looked like what we truly are all of the time. Who would it repel? attract? I respect a straightforwardness like that. Layered and decorated in homage to our absolute and most unique true self. No compromises, no filing down the rough edges. I think many have been conditioned to believe that loud clothing and behavior are defense mechanism or distraction from one's true identity. But in most cases, I will disagree. So many, of the people who are called freaks are living lives beyond much of what others can imagine. It is liberating and vital to be genuine, whether that is stoic, shy, adventurous, cautious...and so on.

"People watching" at the concert itself was entertaining. You had lots of Gaga imitators. As entertaining as this was, I could not help but think they had missed the point. When I look at her, I think of a celebration of individuality. So doesn't it defeat the purpose to want to run around as a clone? Meh. That's just one girl's opinion. So when you look at the below image of me and think "Gaga never wore that!" ,now you will know why.

I had a blast during the show. It was an amazing production that did not disappoint in the least. From what I hear I am lucky we missed the opening act, some drag queen band who stripped off his clothes and offered sexual favors. For the record, i heart drag queens, but ones with talent. I thoroughly enjoyed the fake blood, robodragon and cousin it costumes. The very very best though was when Gaga settled down to play Speechless on the piano. If you haven't heard that tune, I highly recommend.

When we were leaving, a drunk guy stumbled behind me saying "Oooo lady Gaga, will you sign me!" I had simultaneous thoughts- " Damnit I dressed differently so that-" and "Fuck, I knew I should have brought a sharpie!"

8 days in España

2010-07-26T13:07:00.009-05:00

I have just returned from Spain, contrary to how I thought I might feel about returning to Texas... I'm ecstatic to be home.

Spain has a VERY different culture from anywhere I have visited before. The urban folks in Madrid have a very chic and proper look to them during daylight hours. In the summer it is bright outside until well after 9 pm. From these same demure figures emerge night creatures more wild and flamboyant than their daytime counterparts. Men here make no secret about their attraction for the opposite sex, hollering, licking their lips, even pinching girls they find attractive. Women seem to behave much the same way.... more on that later..

Aside from the Prado and Plaza Mayor, I found Madrid to be rather lackluster. Maybe it was just that I stayed in the modern side of town and did not have as much time to explore the city as I would have liked. Still, Madrid was my first taste of Spain and exposure to the different pace of the Spanish. First, the Spanish truly do have siesta time. I thought maybe this was an antiquated idea, nullified by the modern era where most work indoors with air conditioning. Wrong. Stores promptly closed around 2 or 3 pm, office workers hurried home not to return until 6 or so. I suppose it is because of this break, that they do not eat dinner till 10:00 or 10:30. I saw many children out with their parents well past 1 am in the plaza.

If you are a ham lover, Spain has got it. No matter where you go, gas station or fancy eatery, you will lift your chin to find charming pig carcasses hanging from their hooves in endless rows above. Seriously. Sit back, have a glass of wine and behold the skinned swine legs. Pieces will be stripped off for you on demand. On our first night in Madrid, My mom and I stumbled into what I will refer to as an extremely authentic eatery near plaza mayor called The Boheme or something like that. Not a word of English was spoken anywhere in the place, but we got by. We spent nearly $90 on steamed garlic mushrooms, an iceberg lettuce salad and a plate full of floppy bacon/ham and cheese.... oh yeah and my one glass of red wine. We did enjoy our time there though, it was a bustling and happy place; clearly a family cafe, cave like, decorated with old family photos and images of the city's past. From what I could tell, there isn't really such thing as what we think of as a typical bar in Spain. You have cafes, some Irish pubs (thank you Jesus), lounges and discotheques. I made sure to find an Irish pub within walking distance of every hotel we stayed in. I literally had Google maps printed out ahead of time. I'm not sure how I foresaw my desperate need for the Irish pubs, luckily Jameson was quite popular in Spain. :)

From Madrid we visited Granada, and the magnificent palace gardens of the Alhambra. Granada was the last a Muslim stronghold in Spain before the Christians drove them out. The gardens and palace were breathtaking.

I had never before seen Muslim architecture in person and the intricate carvings and mosaics which covered every inch of the palace. After the Christian invasion, King Charles V did not destroy the chambers of the Nasrid Dynasty but instead elected to build onto the Alhambra in his own European Renaissance style. It was a stark and fascinating transition literally from one room to the next. Our guide walked us past the Court of the Lions, which was covered by scaffolding, plastic and walls which he said was "under renovation." A couple that I met on the tour who knew a lot of Alhambra history was puzzled by this and had expected to see the fountain of lions, twelve to be exact. They pulled the guide aside to ask why the fountain was not visible. As it turns out, the lions were opened up to see how the water flowed to them. Modern archaeologists did not understand how the water flowed through each lion's mouth. In trying to discover this, they broke them and have not been able to figure out how the Moors achieved the marvel. The guide clearly wished to gloss over this bit of information as he turned off his speaker to answer the couple's questions and whisked us quickly by. In the Alhambra, I was fortunate enough to stand in the very room where Christopher Columbus was chartered by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel to discover the new world.

After Granada, we ventured on to Costa de Sol to a charming tourist beach town called Torremolinos. The food was amazing, the mood was relaxed and the beaches of the Mediterranean were immaculate. I could have done without the rows of topless overweight senior citizen ladies.... but hey. Torremolinos was my first contact with the Gypsies. Yes actual Gypsies. Our guide made definite sure to tell us ," You justa do not makea the eye contact with them, they will try to offer you rosemary and reada you palm for your future. But you already know your future. It tis on the itinerary. So you justa keep walking." To which my Mom tugged on me saying, " You hear that Kirsten?! Don't talk to the gypsies." The first gypsies I saw were just as Pedro, our guide, had mentioned. Holding rosemary and asking to read my palm. There was another though, next to them on the beach, a young sand castle artist who was making a Sponge Bob castle. I made a point in front of my Mom to talk and flirt with him a bit. Pedro also mentioned chocolate. He colorfully said , " You may be offered to buy what they call chocolate, it tis drugs. Not even good drugs, justa powdered sugar or baking soda. So do not waste your money." Well advised ha ha... I was never offered the chocolate anyhow. With some other young tour members, I visited the discotheques of Torremolinos. They were posh, on the beach with lounge sofas and beds outside, surrounded by curtains. Some had go go dancers, always a good DJ (some of the music was Spanish, some trance/techno but mostly American hiphop and pop). Seemed no matter where I went I could not get away from that miserable Katy Perry tune about California hussies. As I mentioned before, guys made no secret about their attraction for girls. Many brushed up against me, grabbed me, blew kisses (ick). What I found most entertaining was the behavior of one female in particular. When a buddy and I went down to the bathroom, we were waiting in the inevitable female pee-dance line and we noticed a hysterically drunk Spanish chick in front of us. She was doing that Spanish wavering holler thing and molesting every dude that walked into the bathroom. The advised ones were cupping their balls when they walked past to avoid being accosted. Right before she got her turn in the ladies room, she dropped her martini glass, shattering it on the steps in front of us. Funny role reversal... the dudes actually looked a little scared! The clubs in Spain rage on from 1am to daylight. I turned in at 4:30 that night and could not bare going out the next.

From Costa de Sol, we visited a sherry bodega. What a treat that was. You could smell strong fragrances of sweet sherry wine fermenting in the oak barrels. At the end of the tour we got to sample 4 different types of sherry ranging from dry to very sweet. We sat at a table with some rambunctious Aussies and Kiwis who had to be dragged from the sampling room by their wives when it was time to leave. The tour bus was a riot for a few minutes after leaving the bodega and then everyone had a nice nap. We were on our way to Seville. Easily the most charming city we visited in Spain. What an incredible place. We toured gardens with large phycus trees and a huge cathedral with Columbus' tomb. Columbus was buried several places before his final resting place at the cathedral in Seville, it was said that he traveled more after his death than before. Picture below.

At night we went to a nice dinner and flamenco show by the Plaza de Toros or bull fighting ring. Rarely have I seen dancers with such passion. One of the male dancers feat moved so quickly I could not even see them. We were told that the dancers were gypsies also. I suppose they were the lucky talented ones. When we passed urban housing (actually almost every city we visited), Pedro spoke begrudgingly about the Queen building housing for the gypsies. The buildings looked like asylums or hospitals with tiny windows. Tapestries and clothing hung on lines outside each one. Just as Pedro was talking about their housing, unemployability and lifestyle the coach passed by a gypsy man unzipping his pants to pee on a tree (facing the road and waving to the bus). Yippie! Culture! Spain was different than I imagined , a culture shock for sure. Fun, disgusting, and filled with history. Not sure if I will ever return... but it has left an imprint.

I am exhausted now, suffering a bit from jet lag. Spain is 7 hours ahead of Texas. I actually threw up on the last leg back to Texas and went back to work today on 3 hours of sleep. Yes. yes. poor me. Screaming toddlers next to us were a delight, but in their salvation, their mommy handed me a baby wipe after I used a couple barf bags. Lucky kids. Mommy saved you. This time...

This last photo is for you Brandi! You would have killed for these shoes.

I'm going to Lady Gaga tonight, so no rest for me yet! Peace kids!

More bumps , bruises and bites

2010-07-13T08:08:00.006-05:00

But I am still alive....

I am thinking of copying my best friend and fellow blogger's side bar widget by featuring a picture of me from each week. Of course, Brandi's is cute and features her in an adorable outfit. Mine will be a variation on that.... It will be called "My current condition." I will display proudly all the new scrapes, bumps, bruises, lesions, lacerations and whatever other notable injuries I come by.

I have not decided what the purpose of this is... to prove how tough I am , or to inspire myself to be more careful (yeah right) , graceful (doubtful), or just simply document my stupidity. Hope it entertains.

This past weekend, I had a fire hooping performance at The Voodoo Lounge in Galveston. The set up to the place was pretty unique. The entire lounge was covered in Balinese decor. It had a media room lined with silk curtains, beaded pillows
and lanterns. There was some silly fantasy movie on with people skipping around in renaissance peasant clothes. Across the hall from the media room was another lounge room where the focus, I assume, is intended to be on people immediately in the room with you, given no tv with movies, sports etc., coupled by the fact that all sitting places greatly resemble a bed. A little reminds me of this place.

Aside from the lounge and media room, The Voodoo Lounge has your typical bar set up in one segment; stools and high tables leading to dance floor, outdoor tiki deck and restaurant. Last Saturday was especially packed. Turns out the owner, used to own the legendary Balinese Room before Hurricane Ike swallowed it. If you haven't heard about the Balinese room, you should read about it here. It boasts a rich history of illegal gambling; attracting patrons like the rat pack and headliners such as Peggy Lee and Frank Sinatra. The Voodoo Lounge reminds me a lot of its ancestor; a winding, compartmentalized hideaway, with a different theme and tone to each room. Aside from the mosquitoes, the outside tiki deck is a fun atmosphere. Giant orange and red canvas-like material above carves shapes reminiscent of sails. Underneath these sails is where I performed my fire show. Despite being surrounded by about 15 citronella tiki torches, I received 60 or so mosquito bites. And, like all gigs I perform on the cement... I earned two new pretty bruises. One for each knee! Also, a small scrape on my elbow, which is more annoying than painful considering it affects EVERYTHING I do. Want to rest my elbow on my desk... burn, place my arm on the center console ... sting, decide to scratch the bites next to it... bleed.

On the positive side, it looks like I will have a regular slot at the lounge a couple times each month. As sad as it is... I may need further convincing to go and get a performance pad to spare my knees. Seems it does not matter whether I'm on the ground or off... I am kicking my own ass.

That's Miss Secret Agent to you

2010-07-06T12:10:00.006-05:00

Photo above by Shawn Welling

Yay. A new week. Pardon my enthusiasm... I'm suffering from a benadryl hangover and general exhaustion. In desperate attempt at 11:30 last night to pop two benadryl and get some sleep, I failed... and suceeded only at making myself a zombie for today.

The holiday weekend was nice, but it has come to my attention that I. am. tired. I am just plain tired of going out, tired of throwing parties, tired of attending parties, tired of being social. I suppose the heat of summer has something to do with this, not to mention the endless stream of random activities I find myself doing everyday.

So what nonsense did I get into this weekend....

Got asked sort of spur of the moment on Saturday to shoot a scene in a film. I had to laugh a little when the director asked me to come play "a sexy bond girl/FBI agent," fearing I'd make and instant parody out of the whole thing. My task was to slide down a rope and light a cigar of a fellow FBI agent after beckons me near by screaming "AGENT FULLER!!!!" Of course, I have learned to expect the unexpected with these things, and the special rope I was to slide down was nowhere to be found. Rope I was supposed to slide down:

So the director pulls out this massive industrial firehose as an alternative. Depiction of actual prop:

Let me tell you; firehoses are not meant for climbing. It was next to impossible to get a grip on the thing, given its diameter, stiffness and abrasiveness. Trying to climb it, I could have nearly clocked the actor playing the other FBI agent in the head with the aluminum (or steel or whatever it was) nozzle. Somehow though, I did not, as I climbed up out of the shot, just in time to hear my character's name called to slide down the hose, light his cigar and slither by out of the scene. Thank god. I really did not want a speaking part, but the director suggested I say something provacative to the agent before darting away. Now, I did all of this in black booty shorts, thigh high black boots and a black vest. My thumbs and inner thighs are in tip top shape. Scraped absolutely all to hell. I suppose I'll spare you that photo.

Please file your concerns with me and not Agent Fuller formally. I accept chocolate, whiskey and massages gladly.

Rainy Days

2010-07-02T14:07:00.007-05:00

We have been having a stint of rainy days lately.
So now I am romanticizing over rain.

Hope it disappears by the 4th though... I'd like to enjoy the day outside.

Epic Weekend

2010-06-29T08:13:00.011-05:00

This was a wildly productive weekend for me. It was a whirlwind of fun, pain, heat, wind and law breaking.

Friday was karaoke with friends, Saturday I had a silks photoshoot downtown over the Bayou. We set out around 4:00pm, the most sweltering part of the day to rig my silk from a bridge. My photographer buddy, Rad Sinyak, had previously scoped out what he thought might be a perfect location. Upon arriving we were greeted by a couple vagrants. One chimed " Oh wow ! See ! See! I told them you were a model when you walked up. Hey, wut u gonna do wit dat thing?" To which I answered, "Well I plan to climb it." The bums proceeded to ask a few other random questions (rightly so, I was invading their home)... I think they were fascinated but looking at me as if I'm from another planet.

Travis (my roommate/rigger/ all around awesome friend) took the initiative to walk up the sloping facade to the old railroad tracks. I watched him walk through what was clearly living quarters. From behind me I hear a bum say, "That's cool, just walk through my bedroom." My head snaps around and I apologise... blushing. Honestly, at that point , I was unsure if the group really were bums. They appeared clean, their clothes were normal... one donned a button up short sleeve shirt, sneakers and Vietnam Veterans hat. The other guy was fishing with his little boy. I'm still unclear on whether or not the man and his boy were homeless.

Travis begins to check the rigging points, every one of which made us nervous scaling a particular piece of old railroad had not been maintained in decades. We had to ix nay our plans to use track number one. Luckily, track number two, still very much in working order was just a few dozen years past the first. However, our best rigging points looked to be on the other side of the Bayou, the best path being directly through the Bum/Vet's bedroom. I gestured to the path through his room and he nodded mentioning that he had cut a foot hole for easier climbing. I made my way up through makeshift tools and utensils, surprisingly crisp, clean articles of clothing and sticks holding them. The photographer remained on the cement bank, by the water, looking hesitantly up at the situation. I knew he had no level of interest in treading through a hobo's makeshift shanty under a railroad bridge. After a few seconds, he relented and walked up the slope. We crossed the old track to the other side and found our way to a glorious, sturdy, new perfectly positioned railroad bridge. Victory! While the photographer, sets up the shot down below, I argue with Travis about the height and positioning whining, "There's just no way it's long enough!" He continues to work ,drops it down and proves to me that it is.

These images by photographer extraordinaire , Rad Sinyak.

The entire shoot, I wasn't much thinking of the alligators down below,the cement or more specifically, falling. I was waiting to hear the telltale signs of an approaching train or perhaps sirens. None of those misfortunes occurred and we finished up feeling pretty accomplished. I was dehydrated and exhausted so decided to take the first path up through the brush to the street that I saw. BIG MISTAKE. In a matter of 4 seconds I was covered head to toe in hundreds of the smallest prickliest sticker burns you can conceive. Smooth. Would have made a great picture. Wish I had snapped one of that. UPDATE **** Rad did take a picture after all! Here is that little gem...

I whine and laugh all the way to the car and stand behind a blanket Travis held stripping down completely to change under the interstate bridge downtown. Those bur covered tights and leotard are still sitting on my bedroom floor... Fishing out hundreds of tiny, painful burs has not yet seemed appealing.

After going back to the studio to shower and review a few pictures, Travis and I head over to my friend's warehouse just across the street. They were preparing for a party that evening held by the CCSD (Connoisseurs Club of Smoking and Drinking). Brilliant. They would be holding their annual lounge formal that evening. Looked like too much fun to pass up so we decided to attend. It had all the makings of a great party, boasting an open bar with liquor and cigars, great music , good lights and eclectic crowd . We stayed till 4, (stopped drinking at 1:30, chill out) and had an all around good time.

So did this chick.... she danced for 3 hours straight and hung out like this for a bit outside.

Sunday I had another amazing shoot with Shawn Welling. Just so happens he had a cord de lisse (circus rope) that I got to play with. We ventured out to the same location as Saturday, in hopes of rigging it up from the tracks. Alas, this time there was a train preventing our doing so. So we took a promenade under some interstate bridges and around the tail end of the train to scope out other locations. We found a tractor which proved to be a lot of fun and just as soon as we came to an alternate rigging location (plan B), the train started to move! Score.

So I rigged the cord up from the tracks and played around a bit. Dusk was coming so we relocated to a field positioned perfectly in front of an unobstructed downtown skyline view. I did some light fire spinning, mostly to get some photos, so no impressive tricks here but the video has an interestingly random story to it. (considering we really did not plan a thing) Just happened that Shawn had a rope from and old show, got lucky enough to take a walk and hop on a tractor, wasting just enough time for the train to leave just as we got to our desired rigging point. The video below documents this excursion of our daring endeavours downtown. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ7rOhWT7N4

Jim Henson may be dead...

2010-06-24T15:04:00.007-05:00

But there is still a puppet master ruling behind the scenes.

All of this talk about “insulting the president/vice president and administration” got me to wondering. Has there been any precedent to a general undermining or speaking ill of the administration he serves? Either answer, yes or no, would be compelling. In my opinion, General McChrystal and his staff were right to question even criticize white house policies outlined in this controversial article. If a general feels his hands are tied to fight a war successfully, shouldn’t a patriot speak out? What’s this nonsense about “respecting the office?” It’s a good thing Nancy Pelosi, Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama “respected the office.”

If Pelosi can say things like :

"Bush is an incompetent leader. In fact, he's not a leader,'' Pelosi said. "He's a person who has no judgment, no experience and no knowledge of the subjects that he has to decide upon.''

Hilary Clinton can say:

"There has never been an administration, I don't believe, in our history more intent upon consolidating and abusing power to further their own agenda,"

And about Patraeus in 2007

"The reports that you provide to us really require the willing suspension of disbelief,"
She went on to criticize General Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker as "de facto spokesmen for a failed policy."

Barack Obama can say:

“Here’s what we know. The surge has not worked. And they said today, ‘Well, even in September, we’re going to need more time.’ So we’re going to kick this can all the way down to the next president, under the president’s plan.” 2007

Yet in 2010 decide to name the architect of the surge, General Patraeus to head up the War in Afghanistan saying:

“He has my full confidence and I am urging the Senate to confirm him for this new assignment as swiftly as possible.”

Funny… how things work out that way.
In case I haven’t made it apparent, I have no level of trust for politicians. Republican/ democrat/ libertarian. All habitually talk out of both sides of their mouths until it seems we are staring at a Capitol Hill and Whitehouse full villains transposed directly out of Batman.

Who’s to save Gotham city now, when the public is misled and political parties are an illusion?

5,6,7,8

2010-06-18T12:02:00.008-05:00

Oh man…. I’m rusty. It’s been 5 whole years since I took a dance class… Sad coming from a dancer of 17 years. The last time I attempted attitude turns, pirouettes, etc. was when I lived in Dallas. I did a weekly lyrical jazz class at Texas Women’s University, which is by the way an amazing school for dance.
I can warm up with the best of em’. I’m not lacking in flexibility these days… I’m just not so used to the floor anymore. I recall always being a bit dizzy doing turns, but yesterday at the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company, I was brought to the brink of near certain vomit. Still, I think I made a valiant attempt to hold my own with the 17, 18 year olds in the class. The Met was just as I remembered it (I danced there as a kid).

The studio has this charming urban feel to it, ornamented by brick walls, high ceilings, chipping paint, and missing ceiling tiles with insulation falling out. The same dance posters still hang in the dressing and break rooms. This one being one of my favorites.

It has been more than ten years since I have been there. I wonder how many times I danced through the ghost of my former self. I am definitely out of practice and rusty, but it felt great to glide around on the floor again. With all the high flying I have been doing, I wanted to try my feet at sacheing at bit. Actual floor contact!
The instructor was kick ass. He had a cool choreographic style and impeccable taste in music. Back in the day(circa 1994-1999), every jazz class had to feature Janet Jackson in the warm-up and of course some Amber or some Paula. Seemed every class was required to play that housey techno crap and 90’s hip hop/ jazz featuring trumpets (for the record I loved it). So glad to see we have moved on from fog machines and rhinestones and big hair… Oh wait… yes… studs, French bobs, boobs emanating sparks (and fog) are much better!

Who remembers this tune?
Or this one

Jazz anthems of the 90’s.

See ya later...

2010-05-30T11:19:00.002-05:00

This week a 10ft alligator was found on the feeder road (that’s frontage road for anyone outside of Houston) of the East Freeway. Poor gator was thirsty and desperate and figured he might find a baby pool, or a pool with a baby or maybe a standing water near a sewer… Anyhow, the gator’s search was fruitless and he ended up being snagged and euthanized by the game warden. Prior to his capture, he was surrounded by 6 or so squad cars against the curb and would not budge. All manners of photography, flashing lights, rubbernecking etcetera showered the gator before his eventual demise.
And here’s the kicker… the meat will be donated to the local homeless shelter. Wonder if they will make some gator jerky…. I WANT SOME GATOR JERKY!!!

As genius as I thought this conversion was… (donating the slain alligator meat to the homeless), apparently it’s quite common. When searching for the story on Google, I found that this is quite common practice in Florida.

Do they donate the skin to poor, needy young ladies who would like a new pair of boots or ottoman to rest said boots?

Silking at The Vanguard

2010-05-18T21:58:00.004-05:00

Did a silk show at The Vanguard art space a few weeks back.
It's really an amazing venue... with high ceilings. Very essential. It's an art space that showcases musicians, performing artists and visual arts. Most definietly a vibey/arty place. This particular show happened to be on the same night as
Ill Fated (a hip/hop ,street type group) which made for a rather hilarious yet interesting combination of artists... If you can even imagine me... and hip/hop ghetto/street rap. Nice. Here are a few shots from that show. Actually, this is the first silks piece I have choreographed.

Sometime, I'll get good video up of this piece.

What do you think of my bright purple zebra shorts? They were much less bright with out the camera flash.......

I left my heart

2010-05-15T19:22:00.004-05:00

In Cocoa Beach.

After my second visit to strip A1A of Florida, I think I have fallen in love.

People there have a certain genuineness, a slower pace, passion and lack of need to rush or over analyse. I made several new friends, discovering charm and random generosity so unexpectedly. Between incredible circus training and the final epic launch of Shuttle Atlantis... I may take awhile to return to earth.

Mirror Mirror

2010-05-13T09:06:00.002-05:00

This is a lovely one no?

But do you see your face reflected back in it?

Don't flatter yourself; you won't be featured in this blog.

But have a very nice day! :)

The answer you've been waiting for!

2010-05-03T09:00:00.008-05:00

If you can make sense of the above chart, then run don't walk to contact General McChrystal. The answers to all our Afghan war woes are somewhere contained in the above diagram. Kudos to you if you have the answer. All I have been able to come up with is very similar to the following:

"I saw this a couple days back and had no trouble at all figuring it out. Simply stated in layman terms it says the Afghan war can be solved easily with the use of 4 nuclear weapons. In a broader scope it says all of the middle east problems can be solved with the use of no less than 23 but no more than 28 nuclear weapons.
Glad I could clear that up for you."

That was the statement in response to the article that I sent my good friend, Joel. He has a way with words, no? And a certain compassionate delicacy that would make even Stalin blush. I respect that.

But seriously, does anyone have a better solution than this? Of course, better being used loosely and to mean that we actually win this war? It is incomprehensibly absurd to believe that we can win a war that has waged since 642, that no one has been remotely successful in quelling (including the Russians). Here is a real time counter of the cost of both the Afghan and Iraq wars. Can we justify the hands tied, $$$$$ blowing, B.S. power point strategies we are using? Even Joint Forces Commander, James N. Mattis exclaims " PowerPoint makes us stupid." PowerPoint???!!! PowerPoint... really? When I read the above article, I was not completely astounded to learn that generals spend much of their time watching presentations to summarize, "explain" and strategize for engagement.

If you have ever seen a PowerPoint presentation, then you know it gives a complete ignoramus the ability to appear knowledgeable on a topic of which they have almost no understanding. PowerPoint is the epitome of what you can do to "wing it" in the 21st century. Bullshit has existed since probably before 1 A.D. , but never before folks has it been so pervacious as to wholly invade our military strategy. Technology, in so many cases, provides the false perception of understanding. In actuality, this is presentation of misunderstanding which spends billions of dollars and wastes thousands of American/ Joint Forces lives. My opinion of the Afghan situation is not unlike Joel's. If we want to WIN, we know how to do it. The U.S. has settled the score successfully in every past attempt using the nuclear method. We have maintained nuclear stability with Russia during the cold war without actually using nuclear weapons. The delicate equilibrium or equal threat of bombing each other into the stone age inspired a point for point appeal to build arms which were very unappealing to actually use. See Nash Equilibrium. So realistically, there are two practical uses for nukes. Building them to intimidate is one, but that alone is not enough. Maybe it's time to launch a few. Winning however is not an option by any other method. So , what do you think it will be? Nukes or billions more wasted?

I have a pretty good guess....

April 15

2010-04-15T15:07:00.004-05:00

I'm 25 today.

Even with all the random excitement and sometimes rather lavish opportunities I have been afforded, I figure I need a new lease on life. I know that I need to adopt a more zen attitude toward life and the events , specifically excitements and disappointments it hurls our way. I have been for some time, thinking about the concept of "zen" and how to apply it to my daily life. Today I read this blog post by a Buddhist blogger with the Houston Chronicle.

It came at the most synchronistic time, as epiphanies often do. Still, in the past I have found myself having these epic realizations then ignoring, rejecting and slipping back to the "status quo." What I am searching for now is a way, perhaps a dose of conviction to stand by something that is neither assured nor completely clear. I suppose the word is faith. Not faith in the traditional sense though, faith that life's experiences will inherently lead me through a compassionate and thoughtful existence.

As a child (even adult) my passions, goals and directions have regularly changed. Somehow, I am fundamentally the same. There are parts of me that should remain static, but I am seeking change. I want to adopt a zen sort of attitude, taking the data plots of my life and connecting them in a pattern that I will one day recognize as beautiful, righteous and contributory.

Do you have a question that needs answering? Try the I-Ching. Put considerable thought into your question and you will be surprised at the relevance of the answer.

Hidden Truth

2010-04-08T10:56:00.006-05:00

In the past few months, I have abandoned completely my old conventions, media sources, talk radio programs and routine thought. I'm going through my notions, beliefs and bias with a fine tooth comb, which has cause somewhat of a political identity crisis. But I must, however uncomfortable it makes me, search for the truth. Especially when life presents us with potentially generation changing events.

I'm tired of the platitudes presented in our media, both as it relates to politics and entertainment. I have zero affinity for what is rousing, comfortable or sensational to believe. I am simply truth searching. In saying that, I enjoy reading The New Zealand Herald. New Zealand, a pioneer country like the U.S. in many ways has a unique and much more objective scope and world view. They don't have the same levels of bias, pandering and far throws of the spectrum leaning absurdity seen by American and other media outlets.

What is so unique about New Zealand? What puts them in their rare position as a first world, innovative and information savvy society? It's difficult to say for sure, but I believe it has a good deal to do with their independent spirit, founding principles, economy and tax structure .

New Zealand's history parallels that of America. Disputes with natives, trade, power struggles between Britain and France. After the great depression, radical socialist reform sprouted with the rise of "The Labor Party" to a full pendulum swing by the 1980's to free market economics, touting a deregulated financial market and removal of controls over foreign exchange. Wikipedia mentions: "Subsidies to many industries, notably agriculture, were removed or significantly reduced, as was tariff protection. The marginal tax rate was halved over a number of years from 66% to 33%; this was paid for by the introduction of a tax on goods and services (GST) initially at 10%, later 12.5%, and a surtax on superannuation, which had been made universal from age 60 by the previous government."

These changes propelled New Zealand to a seat in the global economy. However, with the massive deregulation, a shift occurred from an industrially driven economy to a financially driven driven economy which caused job loss and a strong divide between haves and havenots. The country has made a shift in the past 15 years. Having an economy driven by a heavy and powerful service sector grossing 68.8% of the GDP.

New Zealand has lighter taxes, more economic freedom and is considered one of the most free market capitalist economies on earth. New Zealanders enjoy a high level of life satisfaction (the highest as rated in 2007) and it has gone from the lowest per capita income of a developed country in 1982 to one comparable to countries in Southern Europe in 2009.

Enough of all this for now, my real reason for writing this blog is to feature this article. An example I consider to be an informative and reliable look at Obama's "rules of engagement" as well as directly connecting the dots of what can only be called RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM to people who should rightly be called TERRORISTS.

I have found that truth is so muddled here in the U.S. that there are few truly objective voices/sources judging each action and event individually. (Of course that is difficult to do in the throes of political passion) Many of us develop our biases and adjust our thoughts and actions to align with those without ever playing devils advocate with ourselves. The Kiwis (New Zealanders) seem to somehow posses the ability to report and think objectively more so than other media sources.

The point of all this is; if you are not afraid to challenge yourself and possibly shake your own notions... then fact check, seek alternative sources and seriously contemplate issues. You will be much closer to the truth of a matter. I'm positive noone ever gets the whole truth all the time, but you get much less following one thoughtless path.

The truth, often lies somewhere in the scattered bits of the foggy middle ground. Saying that, I'd like to clarify that I am not using "middle ground" in the conventional "compromising" sense. There is effort and thought required to find truth. Amidst shock jocks, liberal journalist Obama worshipers, over enthusiastic Palin promoting Fox anchors, our plastic faced aloof congress and angry hordes of citizens on both sides we witness mostly stupefied puppets, scooting around like pawns maneuvered by forces and motives none have objectively examined. Forces which have little real interest in those whom they manipulate.

New Goals

2010-04-01T08:54:00.003-05:00

Ok, so if I want to take my training up a notch... I have realized that I will have to take up contortion. The problem is, the mere sight of photos of the stuff grosses me out! I know it's possible to take the art just as far as I am comfortable with but it seems the only limit to human bendyness.. is our own skeletal system. So once you cross one threshold, it would be difficult to say "meh I'm good here." It's kind of a strange endeavor to want to pursue something that impresses and disgusts you. Ha, I think that applies to other aspects of my life as well, but we won't go into that.

My aerial instructor, Amy, asked me to start putting together a hoop class for this summer. For too long I have been idle in skill level , so I'm not very satisfied with myself in the hooping realm right now. To be fair, I have been majorly focusing on aerial work instead. But honestly, once you are able to spin the hoop on everything from your chest, legs, knees to tips of your toes... the only place left to go is contortion.. or add 12 more hoops... I think I'll go with contortion first.

Throughout my life as a dancer, I have grown accustomed to 30 minute or perhaps one hour of stretching time per day. From what I am reading about contortion, it requires a minimum of 3 hours of stretching per day, a completely different breathing pattern, elimination of indulgence in alcohol and a generally more masochistic attitude than most consider healthy. I'll take your well wishes, warnings, pleads and prayers now. Thanks.

Underwater with James Wiseman

2010-03-23T13:24:00.002-05:00

A few weeks back, I had another opportunity to shoot with underwater photographer James Wiseman. We had a great shoot (despite all the floating debris in the pool). Myself, James, another model (Mars) and makeup artist Tara Ward all collaborated for this shoot. James was training another underwater photographer who flew in from Hawaii to learn the trade.

There are some awesome shots that I won't post here (very NSFW) but for what I can here they are:

A day in Clovers

2010-03-23T12:29:00.003-05:00

Tsunami and I spent a gorgeous sunny day in the clovers a couple weeks ago. They are growing tall all over the island that I live on. Here are some pictures I wanted to share.

Her friend Cebi

My very own...

2010-03-23T11:58:00.006-05:00

Awhile ago my roommate delved into some expert rigging in putting up my aerial fabric. We visited a local hardware store and boaters resale shop to get materials for our unique rigging point off of our 40 ft high roof. Our house sits on stilts and what's better than to hang 20 feet of red aerial fabric from the rooftop overhanging our front deck? Guess you can gather that I am not much afraid of heights... Contrarily, silk burn (similar to rope burn) is a definite nemesis.

My roomie is very crafty, he knows how to as he says "acquire" stuff. He likes to say that everything he needs , he can eventually get for free (directly given to him or scavenging strangers curbsides). I have witnessed his ability to "acquire" things in various situations. In the last hurricane , he scored a band saw, drill press, air compressor, a couple kegs (from a local bar that literally crashed into our park)... the list goes on.

We are in the process of remodeling our house so it's a virtual death trap right now. Nails popping out from door frames, Travis' absent minded left hand saws jutting out from my window seal, endless amounts of drywall dust, spewing coils of extension cord stretching from one end of the hallway floor to the other... On the bright side, I finally have an actual door to my room! My own caution or lack thereof I suppose didn't save me from falling into a turkey fryer on our top deck a week ago. The night before we had a seafood boil and the damn thing was still outside collecting bacteria when it decided to jump up and put a 3.5 inch slice across the bottom of my knee. I'm not exaggerating even a tad when I say that I could not have had a run in with a more contaminated and jagged item in the WHOLE HOUSE! After creating a murder scene from the top deck to the bathroom and washing out my gaping wound, Travis put butterfly closures on my knee. I had never had stitches, so in attempt to spare myself that fun, I decided it would be best to "sleep on it." HA.

The next morning I woke up with this zombie wound and all the lovely gore you see here convinced me that I needed stitches after all.

Gosh, if there is a lesson to be learned here.. it's that I'm clumsy when cleaning/standing around/ BSing... but not getting drunk and wrapping myself up in silk 20ft high.

STS-130

2010-02-03T10:17:00.004-06:00

I'm ecstatic to be supporting the launch of the Space Shuttle, Endeavour here at KSC in Cape Canaveral, FL. The crew of STS-130 will be delivering a robotics control room and the Tranquility node to the International Space Station.

I'm going to be posting launch pics from Sunday, February 7th.

Endeavour will launch 4:39am EST.

A stroll

2009-12-23T13:05:00.002-06:00

Love this idea. A bed of clovers with an ice pack underneath!

Office Holiday Party

2009-12-04T14:09:00.008-06:00

There was a door contest...

and I won! Here's my door

Dom's door was looking pretty hazardous...

So we added some warning signs...

Fest

2009-11-26T14:05:00.002-06:00

More from the Rabbit Hole

2009-11-18T10:05:00.002-06:00

Funky Formal

2009-11-17T13:21:00.006-06:00

Went to an amazing party last week. Clark's Annual Funky Formal. Here are some rather candid shots from that night...

Fort Hood

2009-11-06T12:00:00.004-06:00

A guy walks into a 7-Eleven early Thursday morning and buys his usual breakfast hash browns. Unusually though the clerk notices he is wearing Muslim religious attire. The clerk resolves to ask him why to which the man replies, "I just do this sometimes."

At his Killeen, Texas apartment the same morning, the man hands out copies of the Qur'an to fellow residents. Some residents notice him cleaning out his apartment.

A few hours pass. It's 1:30 p.m. and our next scene contains the man at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center brandishing two handguns exclaiming "Allahu Akbar" just before he fires the weapons killing 13 and injuring 28.Three minutes of mayhem pass before Officer Kim Munley arrives on the scene and trades bullets with the man leaving Munley wounded and the man comatose.

At first details of the attack were scant. Headlines serving merely as death toll counters and disclaimers denying terrorist ties. Nothing was released about the suspects race or religious affiliation. When his name, Major Nidal Malik Hasan was released all focus was cast on his position as a military psychiatrist. A doctor and soldier recently notified of his upcoming deployment to Iraq. A tone was set describing the hardships soldiers face upon deployment, the lack of sufficient mental care provided to military personnel and the irony of this shortcoming alongside his post as an Army Psychiatrist. It became apparent that few were willing to face Hasan's true motivations.

Today, information continues to surface regarding the the radical nature of Major Hasan; Blog posts heralding suicide bombers among images of him donning religious attire the same day as the shooting. His facebook has been taken down. An air of secrecy has quickly enveloped the details of Hasan's personal life. And with this I'm forced yet again to question government and media integrity. In the age of viral political correctness , we are handicapped from rational thought processes and bullied into silent submission. We don't report what raises the hairs on the back of our neck. More worrisome still, we don't even register the warning signs. Is anyone going to ask the tough questions? When and how can we punish those who refuse to do it? I am willing to stand up to those who would silence me. Will you?

“Fear has its use but cowardice has none.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

President Attacked by Rabbit

2009-10-21T15:02:00.004-05:00

Yes. That's a real headline. If it doesn't ring a bell for you; don't despair. It just means you are part of the younger generation, like myself, spared by the disastrous Carter Administration. When I came across the story, I was overcome with giddiness and joy, not because a former and rather objectionable President was "attacked by a rabbit" (ok maybe a little) but because a rabbit had made it into the headlines with him. After all, my blog is devoted to politics, mayhem and rabbits... I'm here to tell you, no story could be more relevant to this blog.

The story begins on a swamp in Jimmy Carter's hometown of Plains, Georgia on April 20, 1979. The president had decided to take a leisurely solo fishing expedition that afternoon and fell prey to what was referred to as a "swamp rabbit" which was "hissing menacingly, its teeth flashing and nostrils flared" and literally b-lining toward the President's boat. Unlike most, I am more than familiar with a rabbits ability to swim, hiss, growl, purr and do an array of other things people don't generally associate with rabbits. But the fact that Jimmy Carter was not only victimized but photographed during such an attack is pure insatiable comedy fun. Frozen in time as a testament that even rabbits knew this guy was a hack. According to secret service and the white house photographer, Carter was flailing around splashing the ore into the water trying to ward off our fuzzy friend. And according to these same sources was pretty shaken up by the whole event and pleaded with his staff not to leak information about the attack. His press secretary later divulged that, “The animal was clearly in distress, or perhaps berserk. The President confessed to having had limited experience with enraged rabbits. He was unable to reach a definite conclusion about its state of mind. What was obvious, however, was that this large, wet animal, making strange hissing noises and gnashing its teeth, was intent upon climbing into the Presidential boat.”

So here's the count folks

Rabbit 1
Carter 0

For Paisley

2009-10-20T09:11:00.006-05:00

Enjoy the Silence

2009-09-17T08:42:00.008-05:00

Oh where oh where could our watchdogs be? Oh where oh where could they be?

Someone made them sleep, now you hear not a peep…

Oh where oh where could they be?

What has happened to our media; those who call themselves watchdogs?

When Charlie Gibson is conspicuously unaware of the looming ACORN scandal, when damn near the entire media has ignored the 9/12 March on D.C. , what are we to think of our watchdogs? Did someone give them doggie valium? Have they become fat and lazy from milk bones and bacon?

Gone are the days of the growling, protective, faithful dogs sniffing to uncover scandal, injustice and newsworthy events regardless of who or what they expose. Today our “watchdogs” serve only one master. They no longer answer to We the People.

Welcome to your Orwellian new doggie house. It comes standard with hammer and sickle doormat.

If they won't show you these inspirational images, I will.

Please watch this video. A cool montage of the 9/12 March of Washington.

Come fly with me

2009-08-20T12:33:00.010-05:00

At capcom in Misson Control

I had the amazing opportunity a couple of weeks ago to go on a personal tour with astronaut Jerry Ross to a few key hotspots here at JSC. We toured the shuttle and international space station mockups, the Apollo and current mission control centers and the shuttle motion base.

It is astounding to see how our astronauts live and work in low orbit. As impetuous as it may sound, the shuttle controls and compartments looked archaic. Startrek expectations aside, this faithful old-timer appears even in its ersatz form ready to retire. So I have no qualms about bidding farewell to our three mammoth starships Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavor. But of course, not without paying considerable tribute. Here’s to 127 flights and counting!

For your boos boos

2009-08-19T20:50:00.005-05:00

So. I have been meaning for awhile now to discuss this matter of the healthcare bill and the tsunami of passions arising from just plain old grassroot citizens like myself. No matter how you weigh in on the issue, have you ever seen the Speaker of the House call citizens angry mobs and Astroturf. I don’t know about you, but I’m genuine grass baby. Not Astroturf . I live, I breathe , I grow, I think and when necessary I do my part to dispel tyranny. I do not yell, I do not pitch fits. I have written letters, signed petitions and have been actually reading this bill. This is not just an issue of higher taxes. It’s not only a matter of a government run public option. I am one of those who believe in preserving as much liberty and individual choice as possible. We cannot continue to barter away our right to make our own decisions, mistakes or victories. The danger in this bill is MUCH more insidious than most even choose to acknowledge. This piece of legislation is a power grab that will give our government ultimate power over us, our doctors and existing insurance companies. We are being told that the government only desires to “create healthy competition” to “drive down the cost” of health care. Tell me, when it is literally written into the legislation that:

1. ALL employers must enroll new employees in the government health system ,PG 145, Line 15-17

2. The creation of a national ID health card and a comprehensive federal database containing streaming data on every American's personal financial records, PG 58

3. PG 59: The federal government accesses your bank accounts for mandatory funds transfers.

4. PG 85, Line 7: Limits what private insurers can offer.

5. PG 124, Lines 24-25: Bans companies from suing the federal government, bans the entire judicial system from hearing any cases on the legitimacy of this blatantly unconstitutional socialist health care takeover.

6. PG 167, Lines 18-23: Imposes 2.5% income tax penalty on any privately-insured individual who fails to get "adequate" private insurance.

7. Pg 241, Line 6-8: Mandates that all doctors be paid the same, regardless of specialty.

8. PG 354, Sec 1177 - Rationing of care for special needs people.

9. PG 30, Sec 123: Establishes a government committee that decides what treatments/benefits you can receive.

10. PG 298, Lines 9-11: Imposes penalties and fines on private hospitals for readmissions after initial treatment you get.

11. Congress/White House is exempt and does not have to use the government run option.

Can we really argue that this is the better option for Americans?

Folks… I could go on all day. This is just a very short list of the atrocities that are in this bill. If I could ask you to do anything; I only ask that you educate yourself. Don’t get swept up in tempers or sensationalism. Just read and verify like your liberty depends on it.
It does.

Go here to see what A Union member did to a man at a town hall protest.

And here to report my “fishy” statements to the white house.

Silky Silky

2009-08-02T22:35:00.004-05:00

Had an informal photo shoot today in silks class...

Just wanted to share with you all!

Attack of the Killer Space Rabbit!

2009-08-02T22:30:00.002-05:00

Isn't she a beauty?

Hubble 3D

2009-07-19T09:57:00.004-05:00

Recently, I have had the privilege of working at Johnson Space Center in the astronaut office. It's an amazingly unique and tight knit community.
Where to many , the space program has become mundane, I am reminded everyday of the splendor and technical complexity of each and every mission.

On my first day, I got to watch the shuttle launch for STS-127. It was especially thrilling because I was sitting in a room full of astronauts. I had TONS of questions, but the room was completely hushed .... I wondered if it was just par for the course for them to passively watch, but my perky coworker Brooke informed me that they were actually nervous. She explained that until the boosters separate from the shuttle, there wont be much of a sigh of relief. Which makes sense.... it's amazing how much we take for granted about the launches and NASA in general. I noticed some foam fall off and graze the side of the heat shield tiles which scared the crap out of me. Again, I noticed the room remained oddly subdued. Brooke said she could hear a few small gasps but told me that this event occurs nearly every launch. Once , I was a passive observer listening or watching from home, today, I'm biting my nails on the edge of my seat..surrounded by people who do this for a living.

Thursday, I was given tickets to go see the Imax footage the astronauts shot while repairing the Hubble Space Telescope. The crew of STS-125 personally narrated the 8 min 3D film as the audience watched the magic behind those attractive 3D glasses on the Imax screen.
I have seen 3D Imax, but never one that came close to this experience. Viewing the grandfather telescope, the astronauts suspended in the darkness around him with the earth rotating in the background was breathtaking. A full full length 3D Hubble experience will show to the general public in March. I will DEFINITLY go!

Ghana

2009-07-11T12:21:00.003-05:00

Africa, it seems is still no closer to and probably even further than it was mere months ago from achieving political democracy and a stable economic market as achieved by other continents since the rises and falls of social and political movements like monarchy, progressivism, industrialization, communism, fascism etc... Are the G8, the big players in the world ecomony , the first to industrialize, or those who colonized the new world to blame for African struggle? Partly? Maybe? Soley? After all, these fiendish giants took advantage of, traded, sold and tormented the less fortunate of the continent during their rise to power and modernization. So much could not have been acheived, lest it were carried on the backs of slaves. Have we forgotten that this is a phenomenon seen in all "Great Societies." That any and all who rose to major power and influence did so by enslaving and victimizing those they considered less civilized and weak. Have we forgotten Rome? the Ming Dynasty? Egypt?
Often, it is not one racial group who initailly takes control and advantage over another. In some instances of the African slave trade and others, we find that peoples of the same race sell and completely initiate the market for the trade as a result of tribal struggles. Victors sell their prisoners of war to traders/buyers who in turn transport and sell them to their owners in positions of servantry or indentured servitutude.
Every racial and many ethnic groups have been victimized and used by another or their own since the dawn of man.

Is that how we are to define ourselves? By enslavement, struggle, weakness, victimization?

So now, in our modern world, post revolution and industrialization, I try to imagine myself fawning over a American/ German/Irish/Cherokee blonde woman being politically glorified by her sub ethnic group.
Excuse me if I find it hard to attach myself to any such affections for someone that I do not align myself with ideologically. Our emotions can take us powerful places, some painful, some ecstatic, but we cannot forget the truest part of ourselves in a myriad of ardor .
It is our innermost beliefs that we live by and how we treat others that we must pay attention to. Remember, it is not the talk, but the walk that matters.

The white on black or black on white struggle over simplifies one of the most important issues facing all civilization. To rid ourselves of such opportunistic evils, we must recognize that the color of our skin represents the smallest part of who we are as societies and individuals. Neglecting to do so we further cast ourself into senseless resentment and discrimination based on ignorance alone. We must suture up our wounds , stop continually agitating them as they bleed before the knife REALLY cuts.

The only thing worse than being victimized, is basking in eternal victimhood.

Phantom

2009-07-11T11:00:00.002-05:00

Went to see Phantom of the Opera for the first time last night. I had seen bits and parts before. Of course I knew most of the music too. Must say, it was a really impressing production. The above is a shot from the Masquerade scene. Too bad I didn't take a picture of my hair last night. It was curled Marilyn Monroe style. Maybe next time.

Casting call!

2009-07-10T11:36:00.008-05:00

This my friends, is about the only thing I approve of that this man has done as president.
Oh, yes and funding stem cell research. That too.
But this! Does it not just eclipse all the maddening and seemingly naive moves this guy has made for the past 171 days?
I've come to a conclusion. This man truly is playing hard ball. What, with all the late night show appearances, booty checking, commercial filming for recruiting his "citizens army" and Special Olympics bashing, I'm having real trouble keeping my pawns on the board. I'm seriously considering hiring his teleprompter. And his PR person. And Joe Biden.

Honestly, I'll definitely need Biden or someone equally as eloquent with his impeccable timing and phrasing if I'm going to have any chance at winning the affections of hippies, environmentalists, feminatzis , welfare recipients, illegal immigrants, Hollywood, elites, and the media.

Any volunteers?

Job description:

1. Just make sure you "have my back" so to speak

If I say or commit to something ludicrous , just make sure you one up me with in a day or two.

2. Make apocalyptic statements regarding economic and foreign policy affairs.

When my soft spots are showing please broadcast ad nauseum that I have inherited nearly irreconcilable problems and that my adversaries are just testing the waters.

3. Compare me to Kennedy, Reagan and Jesus.

4. Don't acknowledge my past ties, cronies and tax/property shenanigans

If my dirty laudry is being aired out on the white house lawn, could you please wash and fold that?

K Thanx!

Tsunami

2009-07-09T16:04:00.002-05:00

To all who plan to read this blog regularly; it is imperative that you meet Tsunami! My love, my baby, my last shred of sanity in a gray furry package!

Step right up!

2009-07-09T15:07:00.005-05:00

COME ONE COME ALL! Smile, pick a number and come get yourself a healthy dose of socialism!

Come hither people! Have you ever wanted

Free Health Care ?

Free Mortgage Payments?

Free Gas?

Redistribution of your wealth?

Honestly, I invite any and all to attempt to defend your comrade on this issue. Any takers?

Born Again Blog Virgin!

2009-07-09T14:33:00.007-05:00

And...................... it's gone! My blogging virginity that is!

I have finally decided to join the hordes of cyber zombies in this self indulgent ritual called blogging. But it is important to note, that I "blogged" way before it was called blogging. So I'm not entirely fresh meat...

I was on one of the first generation blog/ diary sites called Open Diary starting in 2002. I considered posting that site here so you might get a look at some of my teenage angst, but the dang site is an ad hooker in the worst way these days. Any attempt to move your mouse resurrects about a billion pop out ads offering to scan your computer or build virtual bubble eyed prostotot dolls. Does anyone intentionally click on those things???

Ok , applause people for the newly re-deflowered blog virgin!