Category: Uncategorized

Nothing quite like running face-first into post-vacation awfulness on the first day.

First, in the department of huge business-related drama that is bleeding over into everything else, I direct you to my latest Adamant blog update.

Second, tells me that she’s discovered that the evening she’s set as my birthday party is apparently also going to be the evening of the Charlesworth post-Heartland de-frag party. Lovely. So, of course, the choices there are: 1) have it anyway, and deal with the fact that some folks just won’t be showing up; 2) combine it and have it at Charlesworths, which means that there will be some folks there that I’m not particularly close to, thereby diluting the birthday factor; or 3) just cancel the damned thing. Yeah — not so much liking the birthday-as-source-of-stress thing.

Third — while I was at Heartland, I was notified that the powers-that-be at KCRF want me to come aboard as the Lord Mayor. As a person who remembers Tommy Atkins in this role, and how much he helped shape the day for his fellow performers, this is a HUGE temptation for me. Unfortunately, on the other side of that is working for folks who scuttled my stage show, and all of the usual bullshit that would inevitably result…plus my own physical limitations. To say that I’m conflicted about this would be a massive understatement.

Thankfully, I have been given a mantra which allows me to vent the frustrations of the above-listed issues: “Fuck a bunch of that.”

Doesn’t solve anything, of course. But still.

Back from the Festival as of last night.

I was going to post a bunch of quotes that had stuck in my head (“Fuck a bunch of that”, “Tick on your junk”, etc.), but looking back now, I find that they would only speak to the social aspect of the week, which, while extremely enjoyable, pales in comparison to the emotional and spiritual experiences that I had.

I don’t often talk about those things — I realize that. They are intensely private to me, and I prefer to sit comfortably behind a screen of humor, sarcasm and word-play. Do not, however, mistake my usual mockery for a lack of belief, or a lack of reverence. It’s just that I find it hard to speak in those terms, even to friends.

Over the past week:

• I worked palpable magic for the first time in well over a decade, which filled me with sensations that I had forgotten almost entirely.
• I performed a solo ritual that gave me a much-needed cartharsis, and allowed me to let go of a connection that was bringing me nothing but pain.
• I connected emotionally to several individuals with a vulnerability that would have normally scared me to death — but I came out of it strengthened.

There is so much more. I find it impossible to summarize. I do wish that it was easier for me to speak like this, without the “cleverness” — and I am thankful for those that put up with my usual manner.

So much more that I want to say. I need to learn how.

This is very interesting.

I read a story in today’s edition of Salon about a website called Prosper, than enables person-to-person lending to circumvent banks and credit card companies (click the link to read the story — if you’re not a Salon subscriber, you’ll have to sit through a brief sponsor ad. Ironically enough, today’s sponsor is VISA).

There’s more info, how-to’s, etc. on the Prosper site itself.

You put up a request for how much you need, and the interest rate you’d prefer. Lenders (individuals, for the most part) bid with how much they’re willing to lend you, and the interest rate they are comfortable with. The site then combines the lenders with the lowest rates into a single 3-year loan. You get the money, and every month, your payment is automatically deducted from your bank account, and sent to Prosper, who splits it, and sends it to each of your lenders. You could, conceivable, have a 5K loan made up of folks who each lent you 100 bucks, for example.

It’s a very cool idea, and another way of using the internet to circumvent the corporate bullshit that has pretty much screwed our everyday lives.