cool down

If you realize that all things change,
there is nothing you will try to hold on to.
- tao te ching

the last couple of years i've been bombarded with all kinds of advice on life, self-help books (yes, the secret included), one-time visits with therapists, shoulds and shouldn'ts, dos and don'ts. so far, the one piece of advice that i've received from different sources, and actually works, is to aim for the balls when caught in a fight. yesterday the variation of "grab, pull, and twist" was added by someone during a poolside discussion on what to do if found in an attack-type situation.

i'm not sure where i'm going with this, actually.

oh. the thing is, i've bombarded people with all kinds of advice - usually to do with the intricate goings-on between men and women. it usually boils down to acceptance. and that's what i'm saying. it feels great to accept. i'm actually surprised that the one piece of advice that i give out works. like i can't believe it.

so that's pretty much my thing right now. acceptance. not taking anything personal. disinterest in the most beautiful sense of the word. just living a new experience to add to me.

friends and fam are great.

pictures really do the trick for me. good therapy.

julien is rad. spur-of-the-moment for sure, i stayed with him on the rock in monaco for a week. he lives right next to the musée oceanographie - i know i've written about this spot before - where a lot of jacques cousteau artifacts are preserved. it's amazing. there's an open-air cinema next to the museum that's open during the summer. julz and i watched "into the wild" there. my latest fave film. he took me to cannes one night for some plage electronique thing. drum and bass by dj aphrodite.

if you're ever in monaco, it's all about the troisieme vers bar.

something good

this was just outside my window last saturday night. just behind the houses was nit de montjuïc: music, museums, food, and fountain shows from midnight to 3am.

there's always something to smile about.

can i get a democrat, please?

need i preface by saying that i get politics? well, for the record, i get it. i do. before a general election, candidates say things to gain votes from different demographics. the problem i have with this election (and frankly, the last three, as well) is that not only are both the elephant and the donkey going after the god-fearing, lord-have-mercies who cast their judgment rods on us lowly heathens (more commonly known as the christian right or the "evangelical" vote), but they're tooting similar stances on my shit, i.e. my body, i.e. what i can or can't legally do with my body, to these jesus-freaks.

apparently someone in obama's campaign thinks their vote is vital to winning in november. so much so that he just said this today:

"Now, I don't think that 'mental distress' qualifies as the health of the mother. I think it has to be a serious physical issue that arises in pregnancy, where there are real, significant problems to the mother carrying that child to term."

i don't know about anyone else, but to me obama might as well be saying, "I think Roe vs. Wade is crock of shit which ruling needs to be reversed."

obviously, if this dude is our democratic nominee come august, i will vote for him, but what the fuck? at least play the role of a democrat for the sake of your own party. right fam? otherwise, what would be the difference between a republican and a democrat? you know what i'm saying? how is obama agreeing with mccain on one of the most important issues that traditionally distinguishes one party from the other?

i don't give a fuck if this is just some symbolic gesture on homie's part to reach out to the least intelligent demographic of america, i am heated. no man, especially a democrat, should have any judgment in regards to women's issues except to say that they support a woman's right to choose. period. any of you dudes out there have something to say against that, go ahead and try me. i'll give you "mental distress" so real and significant enough to put you in a hospital.

happy fucking freedom day.