tonight ted & i went to the national poetry slam @ filter (formerly the local grind coffeehouse @ damen & milwaukee & north aves)...dave met us there...it was packed...it was nuts...there were three teams competing, from boise, ID, miami, FL, and boston, MA...joe was working the kitchen...poor guy...it's his last day of work, and he had to keep the kitchen open 1.5 hours longer than normal cuz of the slam...



it was cool seeing all the different flavors of poetry...some were humorous & clever...some were political and heated...there was one i liked that had a line in it about spreading revolution by word of mouth...others were more theatrical and even performed in groups...



..it was intense...i think i'll go to more of these things...the national poetry slam started in chicago, and it's bigger than ever, taking over various venues all over town, many in wicker park, such as filter, the note, and subterranean...



...all this just makes you wanna write poetry...not only write it, but say it out loud, the way poetry was meant to exist...all the people...the beautiful colorful people...



...i did a photoshoot w/ dave & ted & the throngs & the buildings afterwards...teddy wanted a beer @ dave's but i was tired so i just walked home by myself...i walked really slow with my camera in position...i love walking slow in our neighborhood...so much to see...like the cracked paint on the pillars of the overpass by my street...who pays attention to this stuff? and yet so much beauty to be discovered...all the different faces and bodies and stories floating around in the summer night air...



...it's all good...



oh...i finally posted the eternals photos from the watchers cd release party @ the metro in may...yeah, i know...i was reminded of my photos when i saw damon & wayne @ the schubas watchers show on saturday...go see the photos by clicking here...

so yesterday was part tres of our friend mikey v's summer bashes, this time thanks to adp, his dad's company, who gave his dad & mum a free trip to italy of all places...mikey lives out in the boondocks, in kildeer, like way over there somewhere...i rushed home on the early train...and just as i arrived at my apartment, i see my dearest jozka on my porch in the rain trying to figure out which damn bell to ring...you see, this party was like way last minute (we just found out about it tuesday), and we had a hard time getting a hold of jozka, it being his days off, and so we had dispatched various carrier pigeons into chicagoland and the internet-hinterland...but it wasn't until i spied the jozka on my steps that i knew he'd gotten the message...poor boy has no phone to even call me toll-free to let me know he'd gotten the message...but it's all good cuz he's coming along...this being his last week in chicago, i didn't want him to miss mikey's party...



so joe & i make it over to trader joe's as teddy's getting off of work...we grab some tuna burgers & chips & salsa & dangerous chocolate chip cookies & drive out to nowhereland...when we arrive some time after 7pm, mikey's there w/ a colleague of his from california pizza kitchen named agustine...he doesn't speak much english and only spanish but is very nice...teddy starts preparing the tuna burgers and joe & i play a game of pool in the basement (joe whups my ass)...in afterthought, i think i could have been more present while teddy was cooking...i kinda just disappeared there...oops...



so phil (teal pheal) calls around 8 and says he's in wisconsin!!! he's been driving nonstop for 24 hours pretty much from missoula, mt where he's been hanging out for the summer w/ brie & john...we were all pretty much aflutter with excitement at the news because we all love phil and missed him the past couple months...phil is the boy of whom teddy has said, 'if i were a girl, i would marry phil'....teddy & i were planning on leaving the party early around 10pm cuz i have to work in the morning, but mikey tells me that he won't let me leave until phil gets there, and i say i don't want to leave until i've seen phil anyways...and so the wait begins...



mikey's other coworkers start filtering in about the time we eat our tuna burgers...a dude named matt comes w/ a melodica...he later turns out to be a pool shark in disguise...some folks i'd met at previous mikey parties are there...still no phil...teddy & i get restless...extremely tired...and moody...we do play pool though, and that's fun...take some crazy photos...by this time, the house is crowded...mikey's got a bonfire going in the yard...at teddy's bequest, mikey produces a bag of miniature marshmallows, and we join joe & a group of girls we don't know around the bonfire...i'm there for only a few minutes though cuz these girls are harassing one of their ex-boyfriends on the cell phone...one of them is particularly brazen, and when she harangues her friend's ex by asking him if he's gonna round up his 'n$g%#r' friends (he lives on the south side of chicago i guess), i could not believe my ears...i understand that i'm in the 'burbs, but it's not exactly janesville here either...it wasn't just that statement...the fact that these girls kept calling this poor boy...he's not even the one that broke up w/ their friend in the first place...i just could not believe people acted like this...i mean, i guess i shouldn't be surprised, considering i'm reading the brothers karamazov and all (now there's some real depravity in that book!)...i know that mikey doesn't know these girls and that it's no reflection on his opinion (he went to school in ghana and is going back later this year, and i know he would be horrified if he'd heard that girl talk yesterday)...so i'm about to blow my top, and before i do, teddy & i leave the group and go find mikey with what teddy calls his 'better friends' on the front steps...



we forgot to take joe w/ us, and later he stumbles upon us and complains that we left him there alone in a school of baracudas...i'm just wondering when phil's gonna get there...about this time, mikey gets it into his head that he's going to don his motorcycle helmet and weild a deflector of sorts (normally used to deflect a ball in an outdoor game) while someone pitches roman candle type fireworks at him...mikey is nuts...we all know this...but he doesn't die, he doesn't burn the house down, and all is good...



and still no phil...i wonder if he's lost cuz mikey told me he'd called from madison, which is only 2 hours away, and it's been almost 4 hours since he's called...we go back in and play pool with augustine who's just learning how to play...it's hard to explain certain things to him because we don't know spanish...but we make do...and he's really good for a beginner...really elegant...



then FINALLY, at half past midnight, phil makes his entrance! i'm thrilled to see him because we've missed him and all, but also because this means mikey will let us go home now...i demand to know why it took him so long to get here from madison, and he explains that he was 120 miles outside of madison when he called...so that explains it...it was good to have phil with us...he'd made it back from missoula in 28 hours, that nut! well, the good news is that he's moving to chicago soon! yay! the city i mean, not the burbs w/ his parents...he's gonna go to art school and teach art at his old high school...that's the plan at least...he also just bought a digital camera so we will have fun taking photos...yay!



we finally left the party around 1am...i literally had to tear joe away from phil so we could go home...but we'll all be together again next week for one more round before joe leaves for ann arbor, and by then john will be with us too...



*sigh*...boy, am i exhausted...and my neck is still killing me...i think i need a chiropractor...



been listening to--

repeater--fugazi

the execution of all things--rilo kiley

the singles--the smiths

in an aeroplane over the sea--neutral milk hotel

to the rooftops--watchers

when we were small--rosie thomas

disintegration--the cure

murray street--sonic youth

waters ave south--damien jurado

s/t--the pixies

happy sad--tim buckley

V.O.L.--VoL

ok i woke up this morning and i couldn't move my neck...1750mg of ibuprofen later and i still can't move my neck...ok, i can move it but it HURTS LIKE HELL when i do...so i choose to walk around w/ an imaginary brace on my neck which means when i turn to talk to someone, i have to turn my whole body...my boss keeps laughing at me...she empathisez with my pain, but she says i still look funny...thanks a lot guys...i feel the love...



i found out today that i really like doing compensation analyses...stuff that requires "what-if" skill...i think i will be a comp specialist! ok...gotta go....

how is it that all the sentimental nostalgic feelings associated with childhood frolics through hills and trees and flowers half a world away can be conjured up by a few measures of an indie rock song? that is exactly what the last 20 seconds of damien jurado's song 'parade' does to me...every time i hear those last measures, i feel the key turn in that faraway oft forgotten room in my heart where i hide my sweetest most innocent memories of my fairy tale life across the ocean...before i knew english...before i knew my multiplication table...before i knew my name would be 'sarah-ji'...before i knew what a computer was...before i knew what a typewriter was...before i knew what rock 'n' roll was...before i knew what air conditioning was...before i knew what america was...

...when all i knew was mom & daddy & grandma & grandpa & big brother & cousins & uncles & aunts...when all i knew was how to play...when all i knew was to how to trust...when all i knew was the truth...when all i knew was simple faith...

...last night i went to see my mom after work...my brother's in korea, so i try to stop by on the days that i drive up to work...while i was there, i found a bible my dad gave me over 20 years ago...i tried to find a photo of my dad to steal, but none of them really were all that satisfactory...yesterday, i found myself lingering in my mom's room, not wanting to leave...i was surrounded by years and years of my dad's stuff...his books...his study notes...just seeing his handwriting does weird things to my heart...

so here's my latest tidbit that i'm chewing on...last night ted & i were listening to dallas willard, some tapes i had of a conference he did @ the oak park vineyard a while back...dallas is the dude who wrote a divine conspiracy, a book i never finished and can't find my copy of any more...i bet pete has it...anyways, dallas was saying on these tapes that god's intention for all of humanity is that we would be so empowered that we would be able to do what we want to do...that may sound misleading at first, but he explained that what he means is that what god really wants is to be able to entrust us with all the power to do all that we dream of without us mucking everything up with that power...it makes sense...dallas also said that god made us to desire to create goodness...deep down inside, that's what we want...to create goodness and beauty and leave this world a better place...it sounds simplistic, but in some ways it is just that simple...

i'm slowly making a dent on the brothers karamazov...i've calculated that it will take me 15 more commute days on the train to complete...the letters are mighty tiny...i'm really fascinated by the characters...these 3 brothers and their irreverant dad...i just read the part where the brothers & dad & others meet w/ father z. @ the monestary...the middle brother's (ivan) reaction to meeting w/ the humble and wise elder was really interesting to me...anyways, i'm only a little over 1/10 of the way through, so it's all quite suspenseful right now...from what i hear, this book is supposed to reveal some sort of theology to me...caleb recommended this book to me last summer when i told him i wanted a book that would explain theology to me...so we shall see...

been listening to
summershine--VoL
either/or--elliott smith
i break chairs--damien jurado & gathered in song

ok...here's the short version:

friday night--watched punch-drunk love @ dave's

saturday--went to the beach & vacuumed (no joke) AND did laundry

saturday night--went to the watchers show w/ boas & 90 day men @ schubas

sunday--went to hyde park vineyard w/ ted & dave

sunday afternoon--went to a welcome home party for a marine, the son of ted's family friends

sunday night--played scrabble @ dave's



and now for the long version:

so friday, when i got off the train after work, it was drizzling in the city...no biggie...the rain was refreshingly cool for an august late afternoon...then as i walked the 6 or so blocks from the train station to my apartment, the sky kept changing anywhere from an oscillating lawn sprinkler to godzilla-sized water balloon guided missiles aimed at my head ...did i mention i chose this day to ignore my little umbrella sitting on my coffee table as i ran out the door in the morning? i was pretty much drenched by the time i got home...surprisingly enough, i didn't mind the rain...i didn't run (i was too tired anyway) or duck into one of the 4 drinking establishments on my route home...i just walked and accepted the dowsing...it was quite soothing, really...



friday night we watched punch-drunk love @ dave's...i've put off seeing that movie for months now, mainly because i plain forgot about it...it was done by the same dude who did one of my favorite movies, magnolia...now i'm not a major film buff by any means, although i do have a facets membership, so i don't know what kind of intelligent commentary i can make about this movie...i have to say though that adam sandler's performance blew me away...the story just makes you wanna cry and fall in love...it reminds me of crime and punishment...and even the brothers karamazov which i'm only 10% done with (dostoevsky is on my top 5 authors list)...adam sandler's character, barry eagan, is an extreme portrayal of the inability to communicate or connect that so many people experience...watching this movie was at times gut-wrenchingly painful...but it was a beautiful experience none the less...



saturday night was the watchers show @ schubas as part of the 5th annual summer on southport music fest...they were opening up for boas and 90 day men...ted & i got there early and hung out w/ ethan the guitarist for watchers...teddy still plans on playing music w/ ethan even though he's not drumming for watchers any more...he loves making music w/ ted and calls him his musical soul brother...it was good seeing ethan again as always...we haven't been seeing him much any more since he stopped spinning @ get me high lounge...it was a crowded show, so i'm glad the show didn't sell out before i got there...we saw all the same people we normally see @ watchers shows...erin, ethan's friend, who works @ the planeterium...she's a lot of fun to be w/ @ shows and not at all a snobby scenester and is all-round sweet...damon & wayne of the eternals were there...andy, the guitarist for okgo and michael's former roommate...he's grown a mustache & i didn't recognize him...he & teddy were talking for a while, and i kept thinking to myself that i knew this guy from somewhere...ran into mike kinsella and his best friend matt...joel, detholz's roomie...libor, michael's roommate, who i haven't seen since the last watchers show...miss mia of the band kim & pandapanda & hostess of chicago's chic-a-go-go, a local cable dance/music show for kids was totally getting down to the watchers's set (she's so cute...and cool...she's my new role model, as she knows how to get her rock on and plays the drums! oh, and she's korean to boot!)...watchers rocked to a full house...i've never seen them play a show in chicago that wasn't crowded...they played a few new songs since the album, including that one i like where ethan does that digadigadiga thing on his guitar...the stage was kinda tiny for michael's crazy moves, but he managed...he plays with the microphone/mic stand like an instrument...



i didn't take any photos at this show cuz ted wanted me to just watch the show with him for once, and i was fine with that...it's a lot of work taking pictures of those guys anyways cuz michael just moves way too damn much for my camera...ted & i were exhausted after the watchers' set, and we sat outside the music room for the boas' set...i have to say though that i really loved what i was hearing...i don't know anything about that band but they really made me want to buy their ep...you may think that's not saying a lot, but i have raised my standards for purchasing cds...i will definitely want to see boas again in the near future...90 day men were awesome too...really psychedelic and nothing like what i was expecting...i thought they were going to be more spastic punk, but it was really melodic and even symphonic...



sunday, ted & dave & i went to church @ hyde park...'than was leading worship w/ the nicholson family band--bethany on vocals, christopher on bass & peter on drums...it was good seeing faces from evanston...although i have to admit i did not even come close to recognizing christopher...there was a time when i was at least twice as tall as him...now, he's got a good head above me i'm sure...we went straight from church to a party out in bolingbrook, where ted was born, to the house of a family friend...their son just returned from iraq and they were throwing him a welcom home party...the place was packed out, in the house and in the yard...i don't think i've ever done anything so suburban in my life...quite a cultural experience...ted's sister lauren was catering w/ her espresso catering service...lauren is a barista extraordinnaire...we love all her coffee concoctions! they're so yummy! she made me this iced thing w/ nuts & whipped cream that was absolutely delish!



anyways, we were totally exhausted by evening when we got back to the city...oh, it rained buckets that afternoon! we hung out @ dave's & made superthincrust pizzas and played scrabble...it was teddy's first time playing and i think dave & i both wanted to throttle him because he kept complaining about not knowing how to spell and he was whupping both our literary asses...he won the game on a double word score on 'TOY.'



now i'm exhausted again and i'm gonna stop now...



been listening to--

my year in review--VoL

taking a chance on chances--troubleman compilation

more motion--trenchmouth