noos news nooze

So much news, where to start.
After a handful of rejections, my story "Balls, Daddy" got a very enthusiastic yes.
I'm super excited about this one being published.
The journal editor is a visionary and a personality. And, it's a paid gig.
*
For passover last Sunday, I enjoyed matzoh, hummus and wine. L'chaim.
Enjoyed a friends' album release show at Chop Suey last weekend--good people and swell beats. Left around 12:30, and missed a nearby shooting by only a couple of blocks.
Then there was Vito's after work one night. Always a good decision. The swank gloom of the bar, stiff happy hour drinks, the suave pianist crooning the standards.
Now and upcoming--writing. Chopping. Trip planning. Reunions far and farther.
*
Today's music: The Coup

ikons

Rest in power, you sexxy muthafuckas.

hello goodbye

So far I've seen Deadpool twice.
There's so much swerve in the dialogue.
"Fake laugh! Hiding real pain."
Love it.
*

(above) From the bathroom in my shrink's office. You can't expect me not to.

this week I

• ate*worked*slept*read*walked*wrote*shat*talked*came*wept
• guest-starred on 2 friends' new podcast
• helped deliver Cambros of hot food to homeless shelters around town
• tried cold brew coffee on tap and liked it 
• came in 4th at trivia
• drank free margaritas on a sunny day overlooking the Montlake Cut
• met a panhandler with a Wu-tang sign, long-haired, in jeans and a cut-off tee, who said 'hey lady come hang out with me, I'm a bad boy'
• bused, trained, and walked to/from work
• hate-tweeted Metro
• assembled a rowing machine, discovered the r.m. kit was missing one vital screw, and bought a replacement screw from a bad-ass girl at Hardwick's
• chopped fallen cedars with an axe
• listened to a CBC radio show about women traveling alone, and the first 2 callers were men...le sigh
• munched my first asparagus of the season >>swoon<< 

*
Also, Grace Love. How did I not know/hear/love until now? >>double swoon<<

so what do I?

My CEO shrink has been talking to me about acceptance.
In theory, I agree with her.
I had the pleasure to meet a wise person named Subhan a couple of years ago, and he writes often about acceptance and being and now.
Recently: The mind is only interested in the past and the future. And both of these are illusions, that don't exist THIS moment.
*
And then, I read something like this: I never lose. I either win or I learn.
(variously attributed, to Nelson Mandela, or Tupac, or anon.)
*
How to balance accepting with striving and learning?
It's a conundrum to me.

helper

Amidst the clowning on April Fool's day I totally missed these tracks, dropped by Hamburger Helper I guess? I like. Even a veg like me can get into these beats, lyrics, sound--salty.

no flipping

Still sad over the passing of Garry Shandling, I re-read his 2010 GQ interview.
He's been one of my long time favorites for so many reasons--The Larry Sanders Show, "no flipping," "do these pants make my ass look big?"--but others have written more eloquently about him as a comic, mentor, and human being, so please go read: GQ, and GQ.

*
Me, I'm working on acceptance. Of myself, first of all. That's a tough one.
*
In the meantime, check out the Treme Brass Band. I did see them on a Tuesday night at d.b.a. I'm longing for my next visit to the 508.