GOOD MORNING

*edit*
yesterday was the COLDPLAY concert. don't ask me how it was or to post any pics b/c a) i don't know; and 3) i don't have. i bought my ticket last week and was looking forward to seeing them play for the second time in europe. the concert started at 3:30 and was to take place at Goffertpark in Nijmagden (?). but it had been raining all day and there were 2 opening acts, so i thought i could go a little late. i also had no clean socks so i attempted to do a quick load of laundry before heading out. when i pulled my socks out of the washer, they were still soaking wet and we don't have a dryer in the apartment. so, i stuck them in the microwave--it took 4 attempts at 2 minutes each to get that measly pair of socks marginally drier. i ended up getting to Centraal Station at around 4:30, and went up to the ticket counter to get on a train. and it was then that the nice attendant politely informed me that Goffertpark is not within metro/tram distance from Amsterdam, but in fact 2.5 hours southwest by train. it's practically hugging the German border! i knew i had missed the show, so two tears in a bucket...muthafuckit. the only reason i'm irked is that i just threw away 50 Euro on the account of my idiocy. to make things right, i've decided to punish myself for the next week, by revoking my thoking rights.

calling all Iron Chefs:

FACT.
i know how to cook a total of 4 dishes.

FACT.
i eat 3 meals a day.

FACT.
there are 7 days in a week; 365 in a year (not counting leap years)

~Please contribute any recipes that you might know to the "Help-A-Brotha-Eat-More-Than-Shoarma" foundation. vegetarian dishes will be accepted on the basis of individual merit.

Note: vegans need not apply. damn communists*.

*not ALL vegans are communists. just most.

i gotta say it was a good day.
so after complaining about being stoned & bored to Janice, yesterday, i motivated my ass and went out to Paradiso for "Bassline", a hip-hop nite. i had no idea what to expect, but i've gone out clubbing solo only a few other times in my life (in Hong Kong & Amsterdam), and they've all been debaucherous in a bad way. but i had the greatest time last night! imagine, if you will, a cathedral-esque building, housing 2 floors, ginormous overhead projection screen, 5 full bars (with sweatshop priced drinks), and 1000+ young lovelies all dancing to the sounds of hip hop and dancehall. it was like a rave, minus the shitty music and shirtless meat puppets. as soon as i stepped in the doors, i felt this breeze of familiarity wash over me, and i was immediately placed back in my element. it reminded me of my days back at Brown when i played to a crowd of 800+ in Sayles, for LGBTA's "Sex,Power,God" and "Star Fuck" parties. and yes, i brought the noise & the funk. i get a noticeable amount of eye contact in the US when i'm dancing but i guess an asian in amsterdam with a modicum of rhythm is considered "woa". neither the guys nor the girls knew what to make of me. it was fantastic. 8 googleplex eProps to Janice for lighting the fire under my ass. you were right. i didn't leave the club until 5 (it ended at 6). smiles all the way.

today, one of my flatmates, Clemens, is cooking weinerschnitzel for everyone. yum. and it looks like my holiday plans are stoned & set. i mean set in stone. my brothas from different mothas, j-rock, damo, & mase, are rolling into the Dam on the 13th. we're picking up our rental car on the 17th, and from there we'll be rocking these spots like aftershocks:

luxembourg, san sebastian, salamanca, madrid, seville, marbeilla, granada, barcelona, a wee bit of the french riviera, and a wee bit of northern italy (to kick it with anotha brotha, Alex)

fathers, hide your daughters.

To whom it may concern:
For all y'all tryna make yo way tru Amsterdam dis summa, dis shit right hea is my "tentative summer itinerary". peep dis:

*out of town from July 20--Aug 4; possibly even a few days earlier
-thinking of traveling to South of Spain (i.e. Majorca, Ibiza, Barcelona)

In all seriousness, let me know if and when you're traveling through Amsterdam, so i'll know. if the dates don't work, maybe we'll run into each other in Spain. ya smell me? Pass it on.

one day soon,
brian

first day of class is tomorrow. i haven't been this excited since elementary school. now where did i put that lunch money? i joined a gym near school-it's all fancified and shite. instead of membership ID cards, they have a handprint scanner. and all the workout benches/machines have faux leather--they play house & techno over the loud speakers ("hey fun boys! get a room!). this weekend, my apartment community is having its annual multicultural music/food festival. might as well check it out-i can see it right outside my window. i'll have something more interesting to say once i'm fully settled in. check out the website for the festival--cute animation.

www.torentijdfestival.nl

i'm on some other-worldly sleeping schedule at present--i wake up between 6 & 7 AM and reluctantly start my day. the rest of amsterdam doesn't start functioning until at least 10AM, so i'm left to my own measly devices until a reasonable hour. it's about a 15-20min. metro ride into the city centre/school, so the past couple of days, i've been riding into the city to take care of loose ends (e.g. opened my bank account today) which doesn't take all that long. i usually eat lunch/dinner out there and then catch a train back late afternoon/real early evening. by the time i get home, i'm spent. i take a knap and wake up around, well, around now--10PM. now i have to think of something to do to fall asleep in a few hours, just so i can return to the same short bus schedule. it's groundhog's day, i tell ya. groundhog's day. tomorrow, i think i'll try not to smoke after i'm finished with my errands. maybe that'll help. but it's such a triumphant bookend to my tasks.

i have a meeting tomorrow to find out more info on taking dutch language classes. i'm excited. i also bought a ticket to go see COLDPLAY perform at Goffertpark. when i'm in the states, i like going to movies solo. it's nice and relaxing. since i haven't the concentration to decipher movie times out here, i figure going to a concert solo is the next best thing.

one thing to note: my xanga page could very well develop into nothing more than a blog to celebrate the beautiful bounty of Dutch female backsides. forget the monuments and architecture--someone needs to start a bike tour that takes you around to all the public spaces where one can find choice photo opportunites with these fine specimens of budunkadunk. i want a tour guide to tell me the history of the dutch booty. i'd like to know the evolution of nutrition and activity regiments that have helped shape the state of dutch booty, today. you know the moment when a poorly articulated personal preference develops into a full-on tacit requirement? well, my last few days have been punctuated with many an aforementioned moment, and i would like to state, for the record, thusly: no booty, no bidness.

the defense rests.

*addendum* it's a small world after all. it's a small world after all. it's a small world after all. it's a small ass world~~~en route to the ticketing office today, i ducked into a store to stock up on smokes. i was waiting in line, people watching in the meantime, and i saw this guy that i went to summer school (ASA) with in Amherst the summer before my senior year in high school! i never forget a face. it all came back to me-the guy was from amsterdam! i remember that he didn't speak all that much english, and he's kinda unique looking [refer to exchange student character in the movie "can't hardly wait"--'ood you like to touch my penis?']. even back then, he looked like a businessman/professor packaged in 5 feet of 17 year old body. he looks the same. he's aged into his age?

SPACELAND PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS
LA WEEKLY MUSIC AWARDS
Thursday June 26th
Henry Fonda Theater

FREE SHOW!
* doors open at 7:30pm, no line-ups before 5pm, first come first serve!*
(go to http://www.laweekly.com/lawma03/ to download a ticket that
guarantees you get in!)

Musical performances by:
ELLIOTT SMITH
KOOL KEITH
OTEP
THE 88
MINIBAR

Special guest DJ's: Frosty, Daedelus, Nobody, and Carlos Nino

Hosted by: Abstract Rude, Aceyalone, and Busdriver

For this year's edition of our annual music awards, 30 local music writers
were given the task of selecting the best L.A.-based musicians. Our
nominees were chosen on the basis of quality, regardless of commercial
success or relative obscurity, with an eye toward emerging artists we feel
deserve praise and encouragement for their efforts. Thus in several
categories we have higher-profile, internationally prominent artists
competing against worthy artists working at a more grassroots level.  Each
nominee was chosen for high achievement in music this year or for the great
music they've given Los Angeles over the years. As usual, the superb
abundance of musicians in L.A. made it a hard job to narrow the field down.
As always, every nominee is a winner. -- John Payne

NEW ARTIST
Midnight Movies
Minibar
Moving Units
Jennifer Nash
The Sharp Ease
 
BEST ROCK BAND
Alaska
Earlimart
Fatso Jetson
Radio Vago
The Warlocks
 
BEST HARD ROCK/METAL BAND
Audioslave
Black Label Society
Otep
Queens of the Stone Age
System of a Down
 
BEST POP/ROCK BAND
The Dagons
The 88
Metric
Rooney
The Tyde
 
BEST PUNK/HARDCORE BAND
The Distillers
400 Blows
Go Betty Go
The Stitches
The SuperBees
 
BEST RAP/HIP-HOP ARTIST
Abstract Rude
Aceyalone
Busdriver
Jurassic 5
Kool Keith
 
BEST JAZZ ARTIST
Billy Childs
Alex Cline
Henry Grimes
Charlie Haden
The Stacy Rowles Sextet
 
BEST COUNTRY ARTIST
Dave Alvin
The Idaho Falls
I See Hawks in L.A.
Garrison Starr
Mike Stinson
 
BEST CONTEMPORARY BLUES/ R&B ARTIST
Blue Shadows
Café R&B
Cody Chesnutt
Kim Hill
The Soul of John Black
 
BEST SALSA/LATIN ARTIST
Francisco Aguabella
Conjunto Jardin
Cumbeley
Ricardo Lemvo
Bobby Matos
 
BEST INSTRUMENTAL BAND
Future Pigeon
Insect Surfers
Languis
Orchestra Superstring
Planet X
 
BEST NEW-GENRE/ UNCATEGORIZABLE ARTIST
Books on Tape
Kraig Grady
Gwendolyn
Akira Rabelais
Phthalocyanine
 
JAZZ EMINENCE AWARD
Bobby Bradford
Benny Carter
Teddy Edwards
Anita O'Day
Gerald Wilson
 
POP/ROCK LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS will be awarded to
Hal Blaine
Los Lobos
Sparks
 
BEST WORLD MUSIC/ RECOMBINANT ARTIST
Blay Ambolley
Rocky Dawuni
Pejman Hadadi
Najite Olokun Prophecy
Adam Rudolph Go: Organic Orchestra
 
BEST ELECTRONIC DANCE ARTIST
Dntel
Mount Sims
Ray Makers
Seksu Roba
Supreme Beings of Leisure
 
BEST DJ - MIXMEISTER
John Kelley
Cut Chemist
Daedelus
Madlib
Nobody
 
BEST DJ - SELECTOR
The Bud Bros.
Frosty
DJ Haul
DJ Logic
Marques Wyatt
 
BEST RADIO SHOW
Rodney Bingenheimer,
Rodney on the Roq (KROQ);
Rev. Dan's Music for Nimrods (KXLU);
Nic Harcourt,
Morning Becomes Eclectic (KCRW);
Doug MacLeod,
Nothin' But the Blues (KKJZ);
Derek Rath, Cosmic Barrio (KPFK)
 
BEST ROCK/POP SONGWRITER/COMPOSER
Damon Aaron
Jon Brion
Eleni Mandell
Elliott Smith
Simon Stokes
 
OUTSTANDING CLASSICAL ENSEMBLE/ARTIST
California EAR Unit
Martin Chalifour (Principal Concertmaster, L.A. Philharmonic)
Robin Cox Ensemble
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Los Angeles Philharmonic
New Music Group

so i'm in amsterdam, now.
i'm basically all moved in--all i brought was a suitcase of clothes, my laptop, and a case full of computer related hardware. my bro, chris, and his woman, kyuri, came from paris to visit for a couple of nights--they just left this afternoon. so, some info on my neighborhood:
it's predominantly made up of recent immigrants from west africa, india, china, etc. they had this huge street market/bazaar on saturday, and it was unbelievable! there were so many people out and about and to see the rich tapestry of ethnicities and to hear the harmony of living diversity, made me smile for miles. this place is so alive! then, i had a hankering for korean food, so i took chris and kyuri on a trek to find Arirang, the one korean restaurant i had seen in passing the last time i was here to visit. well, in typical fashion, we got lost. but fun lost. not frustrating lost. then we went on an 1.5 hr. evening cruise around the canals of the city, which was soothing. all in all, a ridoncaconc start to my year.

chris & kyuri outside my apartment.


me & kyuri: "Yah hoh! Chajat-da!"

who wants sunshine?!?!?


we do! we do!

i board a plane in 9 hours. it's infuriatingly ironic that i spend my last night in the presence of the one person that could make me want to miss that flight.