"Bad Newz Kennels"

"Bad Newz Kennels".
I couldn't think of a more perfect name for the hellish place that Michael Vick's dogs unfortunately called home...before they were killed for not being good enough fighters for his dog-fighting-money-rolling operation.

I feel ultra sensitive to this issue, not only because of the cruelty of humans towards animals, but because I own a dog breed that is frequently-if not always- used in these types of abuses. Many of you know we own a pit bull....a sweet, mushy, lick-you-lots pooch. But...at first glance, even the most loyal dog lovers may stop cautiously when they meet Zoomer. He looks intimidating if you don't know him. I have even caught Carlos giving Zoomer his hand to sniff before petting him. By the way, you can stop that Carlos. I think Zoomer knows you now.

Although Zoomer adopted me the Sacramento City shelter four years ago, I never thought of what we would take on with pit bull ownership. People cross the street when they see you walking with your dog, they pull over in their cars to ask if you want to breed him, nobody wants to insure you, people nervously try to hide their onslaught of feelings when you tell them what type of dog you own, & parents pull their children closer. Even family can stiffen up when they feel Zoomer is 'too close' to Joaquin.

But...on the other hand...we have found that pit bulls are a great social equalizer. We get instant approval...nods...props...comments of adoration...from gangstas to kiddos, white collar to blue collar....black, white, hispanic...We are able to interact with people on the streets that we likely would not otherwise. Zoomer is the great connector and equalizer in that way. He is an ambassador for his breed. He is a great teacher, teaching us to not make judgements based on popular belief or appearance, teaching others that not all pit bulls are programmed to eat their children, and naturally teaching about unconditional love. Dogs are awesome at unconditional love...both in giving it and teaching us to both give and receive it. I adore cats as well, and we have two of them. But...how many times have you been 'snubbed' by a dog? Dogs don't play that game. They either like you, or they don't. Dogs don't know how to snub. I think this is a redeeming quality to come home to, we get enough snubbing in the world as it is.

Zoomer has converted my uncle Marc from a dog-fearing man to a tolerant friend that Z-dog looks forward to leaning on and getting a good pet from. This is the power of unconditional love in action. You just have to know my uncle to realize how significant this is. The guy fears dogs, but Zoomer no longer. I think he might be a convert. To what? I don't really know.

I openly admit that pit bulls can do harm, and have. But so have people, and the media. Spin, spin, spin...

We are grateful that Zoomer did not ever exist in a place called "Bad Newz Kennels". Our compassion goes out to the dogs that are taken advantage of and abused, as well as their owners for being so disconnected to life & love. And...23 months just doesn't seem long enough.

www.badrap.org

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/not_quite_perfect_mcdonalds_opens

On a budget? You might develop a taste for BBQ shamrock mcgriddles then.

Ben Harper - 'Where Could I Go' - Oakland, CA - 11/17/07

some inspiration from the Ben show we attended.

Ahhhhhh....the 80's...

I grew up in the 80's. From 7-17 years of age was the time I spent in the 80's. The decade of swatch watches, glam-rocker-big-hair-bands, New Wave, aquanet, Breakfast Club, polka dots, American Bandstand, neon, splatter paint, frosty pink lipgloss, blue eye shadow, flashdance, legwarmers, Smurfs, friendship pins, M*A*S*H fortune telling, jelly bracelets, atari, MTV, Ray-Bans, Let's make a Deal, roller skating, pop rocks, wine coolers, the Cosby show, and on and on. Oh yeah, don't forget Oingo Boingo. My first concert in 1987.

I recently relived the 80's at an 80's party my cousin hosted. I found it strangely comforting to dress up in 80's clothing & jewelry, listen to Devo, eat nachos with thick orange wanna-be-cheese-of-some-kind, and pose for classic eighties portraits. I felt a strange loyalty to this decade for the first time. This is the generation I spent the beginnings of my formative years in, I love all the hideousness of the eighties, and have great memories of this period in my life.

What is funny is that my younger cousins were barely rugrats during the 80's, and seriously do not know of Devo or atari. They still pulled off some kick-bootie costumes though. Rad.

thanking Ben Harper

Oh, I loves me some Ben Harper. I first saw him perform back in 1995, when he opened for PJ Harvey at the Warfield in S.F. I have seen every tour since, so I guess you could consider me a fan. Not a fanatic in in obsessed, creepy kind of way...but a passion for how Ben's music makes me feel.

He puts on fantastic shows...and I have occasionally had a very rich and deep experience beyond the average concert...now I'm going to put it out there and border on the goofy by saying that 'a spiritual experience' would describe it pretty well, risking that this could be even less helpful in explaining what I am trying to share. What can I say, the man and the music inspire me.

Recently, Carlos and I went to see Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals at the Paramount theatre in Oakland on November 17th. It is the "Lifeline" tour. I had never been to this venue, and it was the most beautiful theatre I've ever been to. Art Deco, 1931, restored, historical landmark, breathtaking architecture. Fantastic.

The show was amazing. I have to say his best I've seen thus far. Alot was played off of the 1995 album "Fight for your Mind", which is my favorite work of his. An amazing performance of "Like a King/I'll Rise", and a grand finale of "Where can I go" where Ben walked off stage into the crowd to sing acappella. I was very moved during the show on a lot of levels...from quiet peace to rocking out southern Baptist style. If you have not seen me rock out "southern Baptist style", it is quite a sight. I'll leave it at that.

After the show, as we walked in the cool Oakland fog back to our car, I asked Carlos if we could walk to our car by way of the block that the tour buses and semi's were. So, we ended up behind the theatre with about 20 other fans who were waiting in the cold for what appeared to be a sighting of Ben or the band. Something made me stay and wait in the cold. As Carlos and I waited, we watched the roadies do the very strenuous work of loading all the equipment back into the trucks. Slowly, band member by band member made their way out of the theatre. They came over and talked and greeted each of us....I was called 'sweetie' by Juan, hugged Leon who never stopped smiling, thanked Oliver, Michael, and Jason. Kind and gracious guys they were. You never know with rock stars.

It was getting colder....and later....but we remained. I told Carlos, " I think I'm actually going to get to thank Ben". You see, I have always wanted to thank him for his music...but I had never really pursued this in any way. I felt very drawn to continue to wait outside for what I hoped would be an eventual Ben encounter. I didn't want a autograph, or anything from him. It was my chance to reciprocate this time. Two hours since we first stopped behind the theatre, the trucks and equipment were loaded, the city was strangely quiet at 12:30am.

Ben's manager came out, told us to line up and Ben would be out to sign items, but no photos. We got in line with the other 15 of us and then Ben came out to greet. Dressed in a casual sage green velvet suit and a matching cowboy-esqe hat. The first thing I was struck by was his face, a very strong face, and...of course, he is easy on the eyes. I watched him give individual, kind, gracious attention to each person. We then approached Ben and it went a little like this:

I introduced myself. He smiled, looked me directly in the eyes the whole time, bowing slightly to my height, completely present in the moment, not distracted in any way, nor hurried to get into his warm bus for the night. I told him we had been seeing him since 1995 and he proceeded to name the show, venue, and city. He talked briefly of that show and how PJ was " so good to us". He talked up PJ's new album. Carlos thanked Ben for his music and shook hands, while the manager "Skottie" talked to me of PJ and her upcoming tour. I then had my moment...I thanked Ben for his music, we hugged, and he told me "thank you for being you." We then parted ways. I especially remember how soft his velvet suit felt.

Overall impressions? Intense. That's the best word to sum up how he is in person. Ben has a very intense presence about him, yet a gentle light-heartedness as well. I gathered my impression from my experience of him being completely focused on our conversation and exchange. That type of focus and mindfulness is something that can be scarce in our everyday lives, without active effort and practice that is. On the receiving end of this, I realized how powerful that can be.

Blah, blah, blah...enough about Ben. I can die happy now. I would have died happy had I not met Ben, but now I can be a little bit giddier.

www.benharper.net

sharing a park bench with Esteban Villa

Chalk it up Sacramento. Fremont park 16th and P streets. Colored chalk, square park parameters, artists at work, people at play, kids scribbling in squares covered in rainbow dust, music, and community. Carlos, Joaquin, and I enjoyed this event this morning.

As we were strolling on the path leading to the center of the park, we passed two benches with three older Hispanic men and a golden retriever lounging quietly watching the rhythm of the world around them. As we were passing, one man struck up conversation with us and we began to talk with them. The man stated he had created some major murals in Sacramento and was a retired art teacher at Sac State. He introduced himself as Esteban Villa. I instantly knew I was speaking to an ol wise one. He asked me flat out if I was an artist. I hesitated...not really knowing if I am or not....and responded "I would say that art holds a place in my heart." Soon this man invited me to look at a small photo album he pulled from his shirt pocket. He told me to place my coffee down on the bench next to him so I could have both hands to flip through his book. Instead, I parked myself between Esteban and his friend names Rudy--cozily sharing a park bench together. I began to look through the book of sketches he had placed on every page inside.
While I looked the sampling of sketches....punk rock girls, women with flowing hair, faces, and more faces placed on bits of paper, some receipts, some with color, some black ink....Esteban quietly shared little "Villa-isms" with me:

"draw everyday"
"Don't ever stop drawing"
" you have 8 hours to work, 8 hours to sleep, and 8 hours for yourself. Use them wisely, they are all yours. When they are gone, their gone".
"When it's your birthday, ask for boxes of these (pulling a pilot very fine black roller ball pen out of this pocket) "
"Teach him (Joaquin) the colors and shapes"

I was engaged and focused as he quietly shared his work and wisdom with me. In the meantime, Joaquin wandered the sidewalk art, trees, while Carlos chatted with who later became known as Rudy Quellar....who asked me when the last time Joaquin hugged a tree was. I quickly answered, about a week ago. Did you go to those BIg trees? he asked. I replied, " no we hugged a tree at our neighborhood park".
We all smiled and parted ways. We walked, they continued to sit on the benches under the trees.

What I came to find out, later upon researching about Esteban and his friends, is that he was a founding member of the Royal Chicano Air Force.The Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF) is an artistic collective based in Sacramento. Initially named the Rebel Chicano Art Front, the RCAF was founded in 1969 to express the goals of the Chicano civil rights and labor organizing movement of the United Farm Workers. Its mission was to make available to the Chicano community a bilingual/bicultural arts center where artists could come together, exchange ideas, provide mutual support, and make available to the public artistic, cultural, and educational programs and events. www.rcaf.org

Basically he is a Chicano artist legend, someone who walked along with Cesar Chavez. Buddied around with Jose Montoya and the likes. Esteban Villa. It was an honor to share a park bench with him. Had we not taken time to say hello, make eye contact, and slow down, we may have whizzed by this experience that was quietly sitting there waiting to be found.

thank you Esteban. Oh yeah, and the dog's name was Brownie.