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Dentist and Taxes

That's what I did today. Sounds awful, right? Nope!

OK, well, it's never fun to have pointy metal tools poking around at your teeth, but I don't have any cavities or anything, so kudos to me for my adequate dental care. Plus my friend Nancy Cashman was my dentist. She works at Silver Lake Dental. I met her when she was in dental school, but this was my first time seeing her "dentally" (she's been done with school for a little while now). She did good. I recommend her to anyone looking for a cool, skillful dentist with tattoos that they can talk about bands with.

Next stop was Fox Tax at their brand spankin' new office in Northeast Minneapolis. I usually just do my taxes myself (and my dentistry--jk), but my friend Alyssa Fox had so convinced me of her awesome tax skills, that I gave her a try. Wow! Biggest rebate ever! Give these guys your taxes, it's worth it. They specialize in helping musicians and artists get the biggest refund possible.

So, basically, what could have been a terrible day turned out to be pretty awesome thanks to some nice friends with awesome skillz. Let's hope the awesomeness continues when I go to work this evening...

And don't forget to pass on your awesome skillz to your friends, you just might help them turn what could be a terrible day into an awesome day, and they just might return the favor sometime.

More Chunks of Web

One more reason to avoid casinos.

One more reason to avoid doctors.

The top 20 websites.

If you really want to rock the vote, check this out!

Sagging your pants is just one more way of giving in to the Man.

Young student's documentary leaving audiences stunned.

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Chunks of Web + RSS made easy

Feel like being financially responsible for once in your life? Don't have a retirement plan yet? Losing control of your budget? You can get free advice from a professional financial planner today only. These guys normally charge $100-$250 per hour, so this is a rare opportunity.

Some things are just easier when you're brain damaged.

65 year old woman fights off mountain lion with a ballpoint pen! What?!

I already knew Keith Ellison was pretty awesome, but will he be so awesome that he will impeach the president? That might be the only thing that could restore my faith in this government...aside from maybe...oh wait...it's illegal to say that...

Hmmm...a 5 cent penny? My mind is blown.

Don't let this kind of stuff scare you. Not only do they never win these cases, but even though the media makes it seem like a lot of people are getting sued for file-sharing, the fact is that only a teeny tiny thimbleful of people out of millions and millions actually have to deal with this. you are probably more likely to die in a plane crash or get struck by lightning.

OK, pregnant ladies, not to put any pressure on you or anything, but if you don't chill out, your baby will be stupid. So stop stressing!

******************************

I know what you are thinking. "How is it that Oren seems to spend his whole day on the internet looking for all these websites?" The answer is, "I have a lot of freetime." But there's more to it than that--or rather, less to it than that. I use RSS. A lot of you might know what that is, but if you're asking yourself "What the hell is RSS?" I'm going to keep it really simple, because it's too easy to get wrapped up in the technicalities and lose interest.

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication". It's just a way to view info from all the sites you find interesting, all in one place, so instead of going from website to website searching for info, it all comes to you. You can track news from a particular source, or about a particular subject, you can keep up to date on your buddy's blog, or pretty much anything else you can think of. The possibilities are endless for what you choose to subscribe to.

There are also a ton of possible ways to gather all this info, but in the interest of not confusing you, I'm going to send you to only one place. I'm not necessarily endorsing this as "the best," but it's the one I use and it's incredibly easy and versatile. You can even access it from pretty much any mobile phone, plus if you already have any kind of google account (like gmail, for instance), you are already setup and ready to go.

Just click on this link:
http://reader.google.com

Once you've setup your account, start looking for that little orange symbol in the far right side of the address bar of your web browser. When you are at a site you want to stay informed about, click on the little orange symbol, or look for a link labeled "RSS" and you are all done! Now you will get updates right in your google reader account, so you don't have to check in on all those different websites anymore, they come to you!

St. Paul is getting a little weird.

When in Midway, watch out for attacking flagpoles!

Remember to warn your cute little puppies to be very careful about accepting treats from strangers.

Around the web

How to use email, even if you think you already know how to.

18th Century Robot with memory and writing skills (Seriously. This is crazy.).

Bands: easy way to get your gigs online.

Fans: easy way to track where your favorite bands are playing.

The Hype Machine keeps track of songs and discussion posted on many popular music blogs.

Why Minneapolis Street signs are different colors.

For all you book nerds out there. Do people still read those things?

More for music junkies.

Keep your brain sharp with Folic Acid.

Chalk another one up for dumb criminals. It doesn't get much dumber than stealing GPS units.

When you get your taxes done, say no to the instant tax refund loan.

OG Picks of the Day

-I think therefore I am [smarter than you{if you don't think you are smarter than me}]. Here's evidence.

-Here is a cool website where you can learn languages by meeting people from all over the world who also want to learn languages and teach each other.

-"...the new Northeast Beat, a blogging and citizen journalism experimentaimed at celebrating, and scrutinizing, Northeast Minneapolis cultureand community."

-Amazing hip hop group, Kill the Vultures, bring rap music to a new place on Thursday at the 7th St. Entry with a brand spankin' new album. Here's a review of the new CD by Nate Patrin in today's City Pages.

-Tsunami in Japan? Hard to say.

-Most people know where they stand on abortion, but where do you stand on killing your baby after it's born?

-They may be a bunch of yellow-bellied chickens, but at least they know how to talk it out.

-New airplane technology spurs wave of bird discrimination.

-You can just feel the electricity in the air!

-Yet another reason that "I have a headache" just isn't a good excuse.

-"Listen, young lady, for the last time! Eat your vegetables! You don't want your grandchildren to have golden fur, do you?"

The latest

So, for those who didn't already know, the St. Paul mayor's office is trying to boost downtown st. paul as an arts & culture hot spot. As part of that initiative they have recruited me to work with Station 4 in order to make it a nightlife "hot spot." Right now we are still in the preliminary stages--meaning that I don't actually officially have a role yet, but we are having lots of meetings, and looking at spreadsheets, and talking to an architect/designer, and basically hammering out exactly what I will be doing and to what extent. It's really exciting!

I really look forward to the whole thing, and I hope that my friends are supportive of this project, and come out to see what's up once things start rolling, and I hope all my favorite bands will come play there.

This doesn't mean I am leaving the Turf. I am happy there, and I feel like part of a community, and i really think things are moving in a positive direction there. We have lots of awesome shows coming up over the next few months, and I hope to see you there soon.

I know some people might think it's weird, like I'm competing with myself, or something, but lots of promoters work with multiple venues. It's the nature of the biz.

I also plan to continue working with developmentally disabled adults. So, I guess I'll be going back to having 3 jobs. Or, I guess if you see this as an "expansion" of OG Presents, which it essentially is, I suppose it's still just 2 jobs, but probably 45% more work. I won't be nearly as busy as when I was working City Pages as my third job and putting in 17 hour days, though...I am saying to myself with fingers crossed.

Planning to drive down to St. Louis this weekend to see my buddy Brendan. Haven't seen him in a while, and he's been through some shit lately. He always comes up here to visit, so it seems only fair that I should go down there once in a while. I always have a fun time in St. Louis, it's a cool place. hopefully nothing will cause me to not go this time. I was supposed to go for the long weekend last week, but at the last minute I remembered that I was a key element of the setup for an elaborate surprise birthday party at the Turf Club for my friend Peter on Friday, and there was so much awesome cool fun stuff going on all weekend (including Portia's amazing birthday party on Saturday) that I just couldn't leave.

My Favorite Picture from the Trip

Home Sweet Home

I'm back in St. Paul again, and let me tell you, it's good to be back. It's a nice feeling to be in a place where you feel like you belong, where you can go out to familiar places and see smiles on familiar faces. I'll be getting back on the Turf Club train now, and hope to slowly but surely confront the mass of over 1000 emails I have in front of me. Please don't be offended if you don't get an immediate response to your booking requests, and don't necessarily expect a response if you sent me one while I was away. I recommend resending, but please please please don't go overboard. None of those people who send me emails over and over and over are helping their cases in the least.

I will also immediately return to my work with developmentally disabled adults, and I look quite forward to it.

As for City Pages, I will not be returning to them in the capacity of Listings Coordinator. I loved working with the people there, but the position could not be kept open for me for such a long time, and as I didn't find the job to be a very good fit for my interests and temperment I will not attempt to get the job back even if it is still available.

I do, however, have a stronger interest and a greater confidence now in pursuing some work in writing and photography, be it journalism or some other form. I feel fairly inspired and ready, and have been struck with the incredible luck of already recieving a request for a freelance piece with a local publication less than 1 day after returning. More news on that as it happens.

In the meantime, I'll go back in time a few days and finish the story I began upon my arrival in Merida, Venezuela. The writing between the lines below is what I have already written, after which will be the continuation:

________________________________________________________________________________

Two days ago, I said goodbye to Susanna, who left Venezuela this morning to begin her long, roundabout journey back to Hong Kong. I got a ride from a member of the China Club in Caracas, they were all quite nice people and really went out of their way to make sure I had a good trip. I was dropped off at the bus station, where I had previously gone to purchase my ticket. On my ticket it said my bus to Mérida would leave from gate 8. I waited a long time, in a ridiculously long line, only to find that the bus at gate 8 actually went somewhere else. I asked someone what to do, and he said that since my bus wasn´t at gate 8, it must be at gate 16. I wasn´t sure what his logic was, but I suspect his suggestion was based on the fact that 16 is a multiple of 8, and thus would be the next logical choice.

Fortunately, on my way to gate 16, I was skeptical enough to keep my eyes open and saw that in fact my bus was at gate 13. I ran over to the side of the bus, worried that I may be late, only to find another line of people waiting to stow their luggage underneath the bus, a task I am always hesitant to do, but it must be done.

There were three compartments to stow the luggage in, and the attendant seemed to have some sort of system to decide which bags went in which compartment. Through my observation, I deducted that he was putting all the backpacks and soft bags in the rear, which seemed like a good idea to me at the time, so that all the hard luggage wouldn´t crush the contents of the soft luggage. I proceeded with my smaller back pack into the bus

Then began the "12 hour" journey.

As you may guess from my use of quotation marks, 12 hours was sort of a rough estimate. Unfortunately, due to ridiculously long meal breaks, and no less than 2 flat tires, we didn't manage to arrive in Merida until a good 16 hours later, during which the insides of my small backpack experienced a PINKSPLOSION of generic pepto/bismol all over my stuff.

I finally got off the bus, just happy to have reached my destination, and was lucky enough to be the first person to get my luggage back. It seemed a little damp, but I didn't really think twice about it, since I remembered the ground outside the bus when I loaded my stuff was a little wet. I put on my big back pack

_________________________________________________________________________

, took a look at my guide book, and started to decide what to do next, specifically, which posada (guesthouse) I would choose. As I peered up from my guidebook, I saw a fellow traveler who looked like he wanted to start a conversation. I said hello to him, and we small talked a bit. He was from England. His girlfriend approached us carrying her backpack with a somewhat disgusted look on her face.

"What's that horrid smell?" she said. We both shrugged. I didn't really think about it, as horrid smells are a fairly common thing in Latin America, and spending a lot of time thinking about it didn't seem to me to be either productive or entertaining.

Unfortunately, upon discovering the source of the smell, I found myself to be utterly wrong on the former count, as it turned out that the smell was coming from the very bags that we were wearing.

Turns out the toilet on the bus had leaked onto the baggage compartment below it!

Apparently, the system to decide which bags went in which compartment that I had pondered before, had nothing to do with whether the bags were soft or hard, nor was there any intention of "protecting" my luggage in any way. The rear compartment, below the toilets, was for gringos.

Realizing that there was nothing anyone was going to do about it, we decided our best course of action would be to quickly find a place to stay and get cleaned up. We worked together on this project, as we had now bonded in our misfortune.

(can you tell I've been reading a book from the 1600s? I feel like it's rubbing off on my writing a little bit...for better or for worse. The book is Moll Flanders, by Daniel Defoe--not to be confused with Willem Dafoe, who may or may not be a writer, but is certainly not from the 1600s, although I'll bet if he is a writer, he writes like he's from the 1600s. I don't know why, he just seems like the type.)

We looked through the guide and found several places to our liking, being both affordable, and well recommended. We found a taxi together and headed towards our first choice. This place was full, so we went to another. Also full. The next was full as well...as was the following. The one after that? Full.

We finally found a place that wasn't in the guidebook, but had two rooms available, but as we discussed whether or not to stay there, one of the room got snatched up. We decided immediately to take the one room that was left and share it among the three of us, lest we find ourselves destitute and streetbound, and immediately set to the task of cleaning the nasty odor from our "kit" as the brits call it.

My bag cleaned fairly quickly, as it wasn't so badly hit, and Matt's hadn't really gotten wet somehow. Marrianne's bag however, would not come clean no matter how hard she worked at it. In the meantime, we set up a reservation for a couple days later at one of the posadas we preffered, and began to inquire about getting a guide to take us to Cataumbo.

While we were there, I noticed a girl that seemed vaguely familiar, but I paid no mind, as it seemed improbable that I would see anyone I knew on my first day in Merida, Venezuela. As we started towards the door however, she approached me and asked if I was from Saint Paul, MN, as she said she had recognized my voice. I was quite shocked, and told her that, yes, indeed I was, and saw that she was wearing a Heiruspecs shirt. I decided to stay and chat and told my new British friends I would find them later. Turns out that not only had she at times heard me on the radio, but in fact she, and her boyfriend who was also there, had both gone to Central High School as I had, and surely had countless other things in common with me, as Saint Paul is not such a large city.

As we chatted at this posada we were joined by a friendly couple from Athens, Greece, and several employees of the posada (including one friendly guy, nicknamed Grillo--grasshopper in English-- who would become my guide to Catatumbo a few days later) , and had a great time chatting and drinking until late.

I didn't see my new friends from Saint Paul again before I left, but hope to see them whence they return home in 9 odd months.

As I cannot bear the strain of writing in this formal manner, I shall end my recounting at the very point upon which I have writ above, and leave thee to know well that which I have completed my journey of seven weeks in strangelands upon finding my home in a mightily fine condition, and feeling a wellness which I hope continues to be carried with me through future days. I may well continue this new found expressional device brought to us in Modern Times by the vastness of technological fortitude, thought by many to be Apocolyptic, and by others yet to be the saving grace of Civilisation. Time will notify those who are Present to Discover it's Truths, but in the meantime we must forge our paths in order to seek that light which shines e'er so bright by the Torch of Knowledge and Gooodness.

And stuff.