JasonUnbound

12/23-27

What have I been up to? So glad you asked. How about a highlight from each of the past few days?

12/23 - Oakland pub crawl by limousine with a dozen boisterous people, half in Santa suits. My first limo ride...in a long while.
12/24 - Christmas Eve Candlelit Liturgy at St. Gregory's, an Episcopalean church in Potrero Hill. My first church service...ever! Only Shenly could've talked me into this, and I'm so glad she did.
12/25 - Mimosas at noon in Joe's hot tub, then dim sum. 'Woo hoo!' cried a fellow soaker, 'California Christmas!'
12/26 - St. Stephens's Day brunchy tea at a certain Irish friend's home, then hooping, then tacqueria, then massive silliness at Ruth's house. Yeah, that's more than one thing, but it all flowed so nicely.
12/27 - Feeling the rain - lots of rain - and working some of the tension out of Jiwon's erector spinae.

Phil & Friends

I went to see Phil & Friends at the Warfield on Sunday night. For those not in the know, Phil is Phil Lesh, former bassist for the Grateful Dead. And the Friends are the musicians he plays with now and then. The band on stage at the Warfield was created only for this run of three SF shows. It was a fascinating lineup, and they sounded great!

Joining Phil, John Molo, and Jimmy Herring (P&F regulars) were Chris Robinson (Black Crowes) on vocals, Steve Molitz (Particle) on keys, Barry Sless on guitars, Tim Carbone (Railroad Earth) on violin, John Skehan (Railroad Earth) on mandolin and Gloria Jones & Jackie LeBranch (Jerry Garcia Band) on vocals.

That's a whole lotta talent. They played mostly Grateful Dead tunes, and while at times it felt to me like a nostalgia act, it was just as often truly fresh and inventive. (Though it did make me want to go home and put on a rippin' Dead show from '73 or '77.) It was also just nice to hear Dead tunes wafting through the fabled Warfield, and very cool that they let 'em play until 1:30am.

But the most delightful surprise of the night was to hear the band take on the Particle song "The Elevator" - and really tear it up! Most of the old Deadheads didn't know what it was, but it sure was a treat for me. :-)

Earplugs

I've been asked why I haven't been writing here as frequently, and whether it's because my life is so boring. This comes fresh on the heels of an interesting thought that crossed my mind. It was: 'When was the last time I did something that wasn't fun?'

I had to really think about it, and decided it must've been ten days ago, when I had a job interview...though even that had its moments. [no result yet, by the way]

My main weekday activities are practicing massage and doing yoga. Weekends mostly dancing and assorted whooping it up. This past Friday and Saturday I went to raging dance parties in San Francisco, and listened to NPR morning programs on the way home. On Sunday night, after hula hooping in the park, I went to a concert at the Warfield.

I took Josie on Saturday night, and it was her first time at such an event. Yesterday I asked for her assessment: She loved the (electronic) music and enjoyed the scene, but felt that it was really loud in there. I told her that it was, in fact, the least loud of my three nights out, but that, then again, I arrived home after each with ringing ears.

Well, you can't say somethin' like that to a PhD in public health and expect to get away with it: I've promised to give earplugs a try, particularly when I feel the need to press myself up against the speakers and let the bass vibrate me. And yes, I really am moved to do this sometimes. What can I say?

Spa night for J

Last night I went to J's and gave her a massage.
F sat on the sofa, watched and drank.

Then H arrived.
J stayed on the table, and H waxed her.
F and I sat on the sofa, watched and drank.

H is a real pro, smooth and quick and with a great tableside manner. She's also one of my favorite people around. But still, if I had labia, I really don't think I'd subject them to that. Yow!

Pak Chae-sam

Offer made, contract signed: Jiwon Shin & David McCann's Enough to Say It's Far: Selected Poems by Pak Chae-Sam will be published by...Princeton University Press. Yay!

Short Cut to Nirvana: Kumbh Mela

Nick and Maurizio's film is opening in Bay Area theaters this weekend!

Nick and Maurizio (who I camped with at Burning Man this year) went to India and filmed the 2001 Kumbh Mela, the world's greatest religious festival, and have spent the last several years creating this film about it. And I can't wait to see it! Look for this weekend's showtimes in SF and in Berkeley. Opening weekend box office is crucial, and will largely determine whether Landmark chooses to take it nationwide. Go see it!

Also, this Thursday (12/9) will be a pre-opening party for the film, beginning at 8pm at Studio Z in SF. Cheb i Sabbah will be DJing....

Sunday fire-spinning in Oakland

There's a new weekly fire-spinning venue in the East Bay: It'll be every Sunday evening at the NIMBY warehouse in West Oakland. This past Sunday was the inaugural, with around two dozen Burners showing up to play with fire in the large warehouse courtyard. I went with Orange, and we took turns spinning her fire-hoop. Others spun poi, twirled flaming staffs, and set off roaring improvised flamethrowers. Fun for children of all ages.

Besides the above, there were two very cool fire-things there. First was the flaming bubble-blower: a tank of propane with a large funnel attached to the end of the hose. Dip funnel end into plate of bubble liquid, and slowly release propane gas, blowing the liquid film out into a bubble. What looks like a normal bubble releases and takes flight. Then someone with a lighter, or a flaming toy, touches the propane-filled bubble...and...POOF! (An instant ball of fire!)

The second very cool thing was not the Bush effigy itself -- which was ceremoniously torched -- but that the head continued to burn for a long time, and we got to solemnly approach and light our hoops and poi from it.

Wanna come? Official announcement from Matt:

Firespinning at NIMBY!
8PM Sundays, starting Dec. 5th
1649 28th St. @ Peralta, Oakland

We could use another weekly firespinning gathering in the East Bay, and here it is! The proprietors of NIMBY have kindly agreed to make the space available to us for a weekly session. NIMBY, if you haven't visited, is a warehouse in industrial West Oakland that rents workspaces and storage to artists, tinkerers and small businesses, and occasionally puts on great parties. The space is HUGE, giving us the opportunity to spin outdoors or in (except when the indoor workspace is occupied with projects). The music can be loud, we can stay late, and the police won't visit! What more could you ask for?

Quick directions: Make your way to the intersection of West Grand and Mandela Parkway in Oakland, near the W Grand/ 7th St. exit from South 880. From W. Grand, turn onto the northbound portion of Mandela Parkway. Go several blocks and turn right onto 28th. NIMBY is partway down the block on the right- look for a large partly open cargo door and a smaller door next to it with a yellow NIMBY sign. If you reach Peralta, you went too far.

"The music can be loud, we can stay late, and the police won't visit! What more could you ask for?"

Indeed!

Massage practicum

My self-guided massage practicum is going very well. I've given full body massages to thirteen people so far. I've thoroughly enjoyed giving each one, and the feedback I'm receiving has been, overall, embarrassingly positive. And I'm learning with every new body I work on.

I intend for each massage to be 90 minutes, but I tend to lose track of time (and the person on the table certainly isn't telling me to stop!), so it sometimes goes beyond two hours. This time-insensitivity is one effect of a fascinating trait that the practice of massage therapy has brought out in me: When giving massage, I am effortlessly super-attentive and focused on what I'm doing. This quality of being fully present is crucial for creating a nurturing and healing space, and so I feel quite fortunate that it's coming to me easily.

But as one whose mind seems to wander endlessly, how interesting it is to find something that can engage me so completely for ninety minutes plus. And unlike the few other things that put me In The Zone, this one is all about giving and healing and restoring another person. It's quite wonderful.

I'm also feeling good about spending more time in my body and less time in my head. Yesterday I gave two massages, received one (as a trade), and did a yoga class. That's around seven hours of being fully in my body, in one day. Then today I gave two massages, and tomorrow I'll give two more, and will receive an acupressure-shiatsu session in trade. I still don't know how I feel about charging money for it, but I give a definite thumbs up to swapping sessions with other bodyworkers.

My dance card is getting pretty full, but if you've read this far, and you're in the Bay Area, drop me a line (jason at jasonunbound.com) within the next week and we'll see if we can schedule a session. Totally free — all I ask for is feedback. :-)

Comments are off

I woke up to 671 new spam comments in my archives. All from different IPs. Incredible. Comments are off until I figure out how to defeat them.

This is only a test

Dear Neighborhood Dogs,

They test the emergency sirens around here at noon on the first Wednesday of every month. It's just a test. You don't have to go nuts when they do it.

Thanks,
Your Neighbor