No, I Don't Think Madonna Is A Great Genius Part Deux

So, you'll notice I posted a You Tube embed of some footage of Madge on the cross. I've been wanting to see just what the spectacle was that's caused indignation and outrage on the part of various religious groups.

Funny thing is .... the 14 seconds I post here aren't really very interesting at all. My thinking is it's the scale of the show that causes all the controvery and at this point that's about all Madonna's got to work with. Afterall anything broadcast on three mega screens hanging above a huge stage is going to look staggering. The sheer size of images overwhelms the audience not the content itself.

I watched a couple of other excerpts posted to You Tube from the Crucifiction tour just to make certain I was giving the Material Girl a fair shake and I have to say I'm sticking to my guns.

She's vapid and played. Listening to her sing 'Like A Virgin' wearing what is supposed to be bondage gear while standing on top of a horse sadle and grasping a pole while footage of horses running appear on video screens behind her is - well - just plain boring.

So let it never be said that I didn't give the girl a chance.

I'm going to find this this weekend.

Here's the All Music review:

"Piazzolla was nearing the end of his distinguished career when he performed this concert in Switzerland in 1989; he divided it between playing classic material and debuting compositions. The first half was devoted to songs from the 1950s to the late '80s, while the second portion featured new material titled "Tango Nuevo, Nuevo." Each section was marked by swaying, hypnotic bandoneon solos with full lines, elegant melodies and romantic passages. This wasn't issued until a year after Piazzolla's death; it's a wonderful reminder of his greatness."

Here Are Your Heroic Search Results

Somebody help me out.

As previously posted, I lost my domain some months ago and if you recall while I was none too pleased with the way the loss went down I was okay with letting go of the domain itself and moving on with life.

My old domain administrator informed me that the domain was snagged by some squaters. Okay, I thought, stacia.com isn't getting used but it's in someone's clutches. There's not much I can do.

What this does not explain is why if you do a google my name *or* stacia.com the first result is this:

"Here are your heroic search results
Tits, Busty Naturals, BigNaturals, Big Naturals Tits, Big Naturals, Naturals Tits, Big Tits,
www.stacia.com/"

While mine are in fact natural (we'll leave the issue of size out of this), I find it slightly disturbing that these are the freaking first results.

How the hell do I change this? At least when you google my first and last name combination!

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I found this on my way home walking through Noe Valley last Saturday.

No, I Don't Think Madonna Is A Great Genius

Madge's new tour kicked off and apparently she opened it on a jewel encrusted crucifix.



Who the fuck cares?

Yes, I know, you think Madonna is an amazing business woman, a marketing genius, afterall she's reinvented herself over and over again; she's found religion and motherhood.

Again, who the fuck cares?

She's a trendoid on steroids with a big budget, marginal at best taste, a penchant for stirring up shit and then running away all the while sporting borrowed accents and performing vapid music.

*whew*

Now that I've gotten that off my chest.

If you want big box mega chain type entertainment I reckon she's your gal and you'll pay for her production - I read something about $400/ticket.

Just goes to show money can't buy you depth; Madonna's artistic integrity and insights rank in the kiddy wading pool range as far as I'm concerned. You'll just be watching her wade around in one while wearing designer bathing suits.

Awwwwwwww - Freak Out

In an attempt to soothe my soul I'm listening to a little Chic.


All that pressure got you down
Has your head spinning all around
Feel the rhythm, check the ride
Come on along and have a real good time
Like the days of stopping at the Savoy
Now we freak, oh what a joy
Just come on down, two fifty four
Find a spot out on the floor


Was disco a western form of Zen or what?

Getting Past The God Question

It would seem that the question of whether or not God exists is and continues to be a gigantic obstacle for humanity at large.

You would think that a species responsible for all the brilliant, creative applied intelligence would find a way to deal with the god question but alas we have not. I write this rather glibly knowing full well that there are scads upon scads of people who will debate, argue and kill over the God question today and for days to come. And this is exactly why I think it's sad that we have not gotten past it.

The point of God is connection from within to that which we are all apart of. Bottom line. End of story.

Einstein wrote about it in the language of science.

Jesus's disciples wrote about it in the language of the storytelling.

I think for the record I would call it an intimacy with the wonders of simply being alive.

But the longer we/you/whomever agonizes over believing or not believing the longer we/you/whomever is standing in the way of that intimacy and all of its riches amongst which is awareness that leads one to self realization. All it takes is dropping the question, getting quiet and turning within. That's it. Easy as a sack of potatoes.

Nuff said.

I Got Accepted

Got the news late last night that I've been accepted into the Ananda Meditation Teacher In Training Program that is scheduled for the end of June.

It's a 9 day intensive up in Nevada City on the 1,000 acre grounds of Ananda Yoga And Meditation Retreat center.

I am very excited about this. I've never done a multi-day intensive sit let alone training. Should be very interesting.

New Music (To Me) Thursday

Mission Creek Music Festival is this week.

I missed but would have loved to have heard:

The Dead Science

Ocs

Meric Long

If you wanna hear a rough mix of one of the tunes I played/sang on last weekend go here:

Craig Zaretsky

It's the first track, entitled 'Sweaty Palms'.

That's a wrap!

Coffee And Not Smoking Cigarettes

It's been just over a year since I gave up the smokes; took me 4 years of gradually weening myself off of them but I did it.

So now I am up, having had a cup of coffee and no cigarettes, so again I type. I type to keep my fingers moving, mind focused and energy moving. It's not a bad habit by any stretch but you know it looks a little compulsive at times.

So what's happening this week .... I'm thinking about attending a Meditation Teacher In Training intensive. It is a goal to teach meditation and I want to do it non-denominationally. I've no desire to battle the stigma of religion; I'll leave that to somebody else.

I'm going into a recording studio on Saturday to record some parts on a new friend's tunes; it's been a really long time since I've been in the studio. I think it's going to be fun. We sat down and came up with some parts over the weekend and it was as it can so often be very simple and easy. Ahhhh - music - my heaven and my hell. Such a wonderous gift that has put me through so much growth and so much grief. Kind of like life .....

Drunk

If I was still a smoker I would be hanging my head out a window somewhere exhaling from an American Spirit. But I am not/am no longer and thus I will write.

I am drunk - not from the spirits of alcohol but from the spirit of excitement. This - an age old 'problem' for yours truly is no easier to deal with now than it was 10 years ago when I would spun up in a frenzy madly call my friends looking for some kind of release valve, hoping that chatting to them would suffice.

When I feel the rush of excitement whether the cause is a new idea, great song, some personal stride I've hit, love, lust or terrific news I have a tendency to just wig out. Chemicals rush through my body instantly creating a host environment for my mind that is teeming with distraction.

Often I feel totally incapacitated.

It doesn't seem fair - excitement should be a welcome emotion, right?

It makes me f-ing crazy.

I am very excited about this release!

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Parts & Labor Live At The Bottom Of The Hill

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TV On The Radio Live At The Independent

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TV On The Radio Live At The Independent

Corporate America Still Lacks Genitals

I own a Scion Xa - the car belongs to Toyota's Scion product line that is aimed at 20 somethings who don't have a lot of cash but do have a lot of need for individuation. I bought mine because it gets 38 mpg on the freeway, it's got a small wheel base, great visibility and a hatchback.

When I purchased my Xa I was excited as I'd been living on the peninsula without wheels for 6 months and generally hating life as a result. My nightlife was non-existent and while I love bicycling I was getting tired of biking against the wind along the Bay Trail to get home from work everyday.

What I wasn't super keen on was the Scion marketing stuff I ran across after having purchased my Xa. As I learned that Scion was sponsoring hip hop tours and graffiti competitions something smelled fishy. I wondered if Toyota had the balls to really pull off associating its cars with a culture that is at its roots is raw, dirty, DIY, and generally anti-establishment. I imagined Scion would end up looking ridiculous associating itself with subpar labels who were desperate for sponsorship and willing to ditch their integrity for corporate mullah.

Over the year and a half that I've driven my Xa I've mostly ignored the Scion ad campaigns and sponsorship that I've run across; that is until I read Leah Garchick's column today at SFGate:

"You can thank Robin Williams for defending genitals on Hayes Street. Scion cars, hoping to seem hip and happening, hired San Francisco artist Shawn Barber to curate a week of a monthlong series of "Dashboard'' art shows at a Hayes Street gallery. Barber selected works from about a dozen artists, including three who drove up from Los Angeles for Saturday's scheduled opening.

But on Friday, as the work was being unpacked, a worried Scion rep decided that some pieces were too racy; she ordered them out of the show. Stephen Malbon of Malbon Brothers Farms, the New York ad agency that produced the show, said the company worried about people visiting the gallery with children. He said one work included a couple just after sex, and another was a bird's-eye view of a woman standing on her head doing yoga. (I looked at some of the works at juxtapoz.com but couldn't see these images.)

In the ensuing discussions, artist Kevin Llewellyn brought his friend and patron Williams for a preview look-see, and the comic's clowning around persuaded the Scion rep to soften her stance just a little, Barber said. At least one private part remained in public, said Barber, but 12 works were removed by opening time.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Justin Giarla put on a one-night show of that "Censored Art'' at the Shooting Gallery on Larkin Street. There was a good crowd, but Barber said Monday the whole experience had been "very frustrating.''"

What offends me most is this - if an advertising agency Scion paid to make ads created some campaign featuring half dressed women sporting cleavage to the nines suggesting sex they would probably run it. But an artist's creation that is explicit and clear is far more threatening. I don't get it - when is the country going to wake up and realize that titillation in advertising is often times far more destructive than sex expressed through art, music, film etc.?

Fuck Toyota - I have half a mind to have naked bodies painted all over my Xa - there's my individuation.