Motivation, Movement, Momentum...

(Warning! This might be a little weird)

This blog is about the things we don't talk about... The awkward social silences: The personal moments of hesitation, and the idea of embarrassment. On a small scale, humans are extremely unique and special. But as a species, I have come theorize that everyone experiences life on a similar plane of existence, with a similar set of emotions. Why do we feel embarrassment...? (even rock stars blush from time to time) Human nature is interesting. From eye contact to body language, our instinctual behavior is quite simple to understand. Boys are naturally aggressive and women are their balanced counterpart.
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Watching animals interact is quite enlightening, especially dogs. Sebastian (Sea-Bass) and Justin Martin are the two dogs I am referring too. My friend Jesse is quite close with the dogs, mostly because his cousin owns them. Anyway, Jesse tried to explain how the alpha dog aggressed the the other dog by throwing his weight backward, into him, using his butt. These motions seem intrinsically human, kinda like the way boys push and wrestle for sheer entertainment.
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Trying not to stray from the point of the story, I must,,, (The Point of this blog is to convey a message: "Honesty is the best policy" If something is not funny, don't laugh: If you have nothing to say, don't speak. Be honest with yourself, and nothing will seem awkward. Motivation, Movement, and Momentum has been my mantra for the past two years. But now, I am trying to focus on reality and personal honesty.
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Awkward human interactions are a "dime a dozen"--- especially living in a city like Manhattan.
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From elevator rides to crowded subways, There will always be room for self evaluation.
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This blog is about the moments that we all are programed to forget. This blog is about the feeling you get when someone unexpected, walks into "your elevator"
The moment where you question your every motion, which ultimately translates into an uncomfortable social environment. Any time this happens to me, I immediately think of putting off positive energy which is ultimately an impenetrable forcefield. This is a tool that I learned from a book called "Healing The Earth" which has had a great influence on my spiritual journey thus far.

..........."Can You Feel The Love?"

Here are more pictures from the "Love Gathering" The Bon-Fire was strategically placed about 50 feet in front of the stage. The weather dipped into the low 40's for the evening of the music festival, but everyone raged all night around the fire. There was an overwhelming feeling of Native American tribal rituals, including drum circles and deep vocal chants. (super heady) The picture below includes Taper Steve, E-Dog, and Joe Dupell, just after a tribesman threw an extremely flammable baby pine into the inferno.

Poker Stars

E-dog and I were playing a cash game together in Boca Raton Florida.
This was the biggest pot of the day!

PokerStars Game #8507211546: Hold'em No Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2007/02/18 - 17:53:46 (ET)
Table 'Lykaon II' 6-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: YellowJacks ($80.95 in chips)
Seat 2: hunkyrabbit ($52.65 in chips)
Seat 3: Jimmy Staxx ($54.20 in chips)
Seat 4: relado ($35.90 in chips)
Seat 6: speedynutt ($53.75 in chips)
Jimmy Staxx: posts small blind $0.25
relado: posts big blind $0.50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to YellowJacks [Ts Th]
speedynutt: folds
YellowJacks: raises $2.50 to $3
hunkyrabbit: calls $3
Jimmy Staxx: folds
relado: calls $2.50
*** FLOP *** [Td 4s 3s]
relado: checks
YellowJacks: checks
hunkyrabbit: bets $6.50
relado: folds
YellowJacks: raises $10.50 to $17
hunkyrabbit: raises $32.65 to $49.65 and is all-in
YellowJacks: calls $32.65
*** TURN *** [Td 4s 3s] [8h]
*** RIVER *** [Td 4s 3s 8h] [Tc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
YellowJacks: shows [Ts Th] (four of a kind, Tens)
hunkyrabbit: mucks hand
YellowJacks collected $106.55 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $108.55 | Rake $2
Board [Td 4s 3s 8h Tc]
Seat 1: YellowJacks showed [Ts Th] and won ($106.55) with four of a kind, Tens

"Im Mostly A Pond Fisherman"

Sitting in the Jet Blue terminal, I can't help admire the enormous food selection. I am also gazing and the extraordinary amount of disgruntled travelers relax, due to sheer exaustion. Two days ago, the northeast United States was hit with what we call a "nor-easter" The New York City area only got a few inches of snow to stick, however the storm has made for armageddon-like delays at the airport. The lingering effects are still very visible in the people randomly laying on the ground as if they were at a "Shul-In" (see appendix for details) People have been here for over 48 hours, trying to get on stand-by flights.

My flight was supposed to leave at 10, but is currently delayed until 11:10. I found this information out on the computer before i left, but I was still uncomfortable in the small amount of traffic, in fear of missing my flight. I proceeded to the jet blue kiosk for my boarding pass, and headed for security. This was easily the longest line I have ever seen in this airport. After waiting about 5 minutes I realized that I might be able to cut the line since I technically had a ticket for a 10 o clock flight. (I of coarse knew the plane was late) I looked around with intentions of notifying the proper authorities that my plane was leaving in 15 minutes. Who better to tell than a National Guard Security officer armed with an oozie. I told him the news of my flight, he then turned, and politely interrupted airport security on my behalf. The tall woman he contacted seemed to drop whatever she was doing to assist me, and then provide me with a personal escort to the front of the line. If it wasn't for them, i would be on a 2 hour line instead of writing this blog... = )

I knew the whole travel experience was going to be epic, the minute i left my apartment. My friend Ethan drove me to the airport like a seasoned Nascar Driver. His expert route through Queens made for a very timely commute, by-passing all the traffic on the Van Wyck. (Clam Wyck) The conversation took off when we started talking about our past new years vacation to Florida. (The last time we went to visit E-dog and The Heavy pets.) On our way, we actually missed the Jet Blue terminal because we were laughing so hard. Ethan told me a story about when he used to go to an Applebee's-stlye restaurants and order boneless buffalo wings and dips them into a side order of Artichoke/Spinach dip. One time he actually "ordered it to go. Then he went next door and bought a roll: only to make a buffalo chicken sandwich, loaded with the sloppy spinach dip. wow
We also reminisced about our amazing fishing trip two months back with E-dog. Ethan told me he overheard the captain ask E-Dog if he was a fisherman? E- repllied "I'm mostly a pond fisherman..."

It is currently 12:29 am and I am still in good spirits, even in the anxious airport environment. My main concern right now is the half pint of beer I left at the airport bar. I had to leave it there when I heard a rumor regarding a gate change. As I write this, I just heard an anouncment regarding my flight. "The Ft. Lauderdale flight will be boarding in less than 5 minutes" The terminal just cheered in unison. The people in front of me standing on the customer service line still seem none so pleased. My new aquaintance Simon, whom I met at the bar just informed me what that line is for. As he aimlesley wandered past me, we connected eyes. He said "My flight to Buffalo is canceled" We both smirked... "how am i going to get my luggage back" he said, oh, I guess thats what this huge customer service line is for."

update: its the morning after. Landed safe in Ft. Lauderdale at 5:15 eastern standard time. "Better late than never" Who made up that phrase anyway? For some reason I feel like it was Yogi Berra or something... Anyone?
and yes...still in good spirits, just feeling drained. I am listening to the new Heavy Pets Album "Whale" soon to be released. Lloyds private unveiling of the masterpiece is currently lifting my state of mind. Lloyd just ran out to the store to get eggs, for and old fashioned egg festival. TheHeavyPets.com

Moreover, I wound up sitting next to a beautiful young Long Island girl once we boarded the plane, so I didn't mind when we sat on the tarmack for another hour and a half before take off. I wound up going to sleep at Lloyds apartment at 6 am and waking up at 9am. I never really made it into a deep sleep, partly because Jim Weust was sleeping right next to me, and mostly because Lloyds two kittens are in fact nocturnal. At one point during the night I woke up, and both of the kittens were resting in the small of my back. It was also kinda freaky when I woke up and the cat was two inches from my face, staring at me.

(Appendix) A "Shul-In" is a slumber party in a synagogue usually involving youths.


The picture below was taken during the sunset of this particular day at the "Love Gathering"

For some reason, I think writing right now will be theraputic. In fact, It usually is. I have been writing rhymes, songs, and poems for a while, and recently, about a year ago an aquaintance of mine turned me on to "blogging". I think is a great creative medium to share with the world. I think it was Shanes writing style that drew me to the scene, but also his honesty. Entertainers such as Howard Stern thrive on similar ideals. See for yourself: WWW.Shaniaconline.blogspot.com

My mother encourages me to write. She tells me to write at times when im frustrated. When your mad at your boss or girlfriend you should write what you'd like to say to them, not necessarilly in a blog, = ) but on a piece of paper. It helps, Alot!

Its early february, and bitter cold... Last night we went to the north auditorium of the Y to see Trey Anastasio do a rare live interview. Jonas, Sam, Marni, Mitchoo, Sonny, and Jesse ventured to the upper east side with very little knowledge about what was going to transpire. Well, simple as this...Trey spilled his guts... From the very begining Anthony DeCurtis badgerd trey about his drug abuse problem, Trey took it well, and spoke from his heart. I think he is on a road to full recovery after a recent stint in re-hab. The most interesting point of the night was when Trey explained his "theory" after being asked a very thought provoking question. I paraphrase "If you were a historian looking back on the phish generation, hypothesize on the movement and the jam band movement thereafter... Starting with swing music/dancing Trey muscled his way to the eighties, and explained how "by this time, all the record companies had figured it out a formula to create a pop artist" and just like other musical rebellions in the past, the "phish" movement was in fact a huge revolt againgst; song length, time signature, lyrical content. Trey explained that he was at the right time and place as a mere vessel, to convey the "tones of life" which fueled a movement that disregarded musical conformity. hence, jam bands. Trey also gave props to Phil Lesh while recanting a staggerd thought he actually had on stage with Phil. "This guy can really play this music, Oh yea! He invented it, He was in the Gratefull Dead!"

From there, four of us broke off to go downtown for a latenight gourmet "Snack" As we pile into the X5, I remember saying to Sonny. "Wow, you love Trey. On a scale of 1 to 3, how happy are you? He said "3!" Then Jesse joined in by saying. "how about on a scale of 1 - 50 ?! Sonny said "46" we all said "WoW" Then my stupid ass says "If we got into a no injury car accident right now, what would that number go down to? Sonny said "high teens", but also gave a look that we shouldn't be talking about this.

We make our way to Blue Ribbon Sushi. Ill take the resposibility for blowing the order, but the service was terrible. And even though it was inevitable that I would pay, I was very displeased "lets say" for the manner in which this took place. "Credit Card Roullette" is the game, but my first spin of the wheel was unfortunate. As Mitchel swiped the three credit cards I remember thinking "this was a mistake." Not to call Mitch out or anything, but I think since he was getting away with only paying $26 dollars for food and alcahol. I think he should have stayed out of the negotiation process altogether, let alone be the comandant of the sensitive transaction.

In conclustion, do not talk about car accidents, its bad. Only moments after we left the restaurant, I was rear ended, YES, AGAIN. There was more damage to Jessse's back than the the car, so I wasn't surprised when he was super pissed.

Oh yea! Sonny's happiness level went down to a 17...

ALBY

THIS IS MY FRIEND

Its a bird, its a plane... it's...

ALBATROSS?

: : : : : : : : :

Other stuff:

OK guys, maybe im the only one who thinks this will be funny, but here you go. Think of different phrases that would go great with this picture. I started in the comment area. any other suggestions...?

"RED BARRON COMING IN FOR LANDING" A WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED WHEN ALL ENTRIES ARE REVIEWED BY A COUNCIL OF PROFESIONALS FROM EIGHT COUNTRIES SELECTED AT RANDOM.