On Love

Confessions of an Apollonian dream-life within a Dionysian dithyramb. Warning: heartsickness and sappy love songs ensue.

I had a dream the other night that I fell madly in love (and it was the good reciprocal kind of love) with some foolish geeky boy in a popular band.

I don't know what band it was, or what kind of band. It wasn't a real band or referencing a real band. The boy wasn't anyone I know, nor have I ever seen. He was a purely invented dream character. He wasn't that attractive or anything, but for some reason he was crazy about me, and I was crazy about him.

It was doomed from the start. The first time I saw him in the dream he was asleep in a bed with a 15 year old girl. He went on tours and had groupies and all that shit. I knew this. I didn't care. And it wasn't the "not caring" of the blind denial and defiance variety (i.e. this is fucked but maybe, maybe, maybe he'll change and/or it'll work out this time fucking insanity) but the not caring of full awareness, acceptance, and a two-fisted embrace of the Moment. I knew it was only gonna last for a little while, and that was okay. In the dream, I knew we had two weeks. And this was good enough. It was worth it. I wasn't concerned with tomorrow or the future or what it means and will we get married and how will it work. When he showed up in the dream, I was overjoyed and it was fun and wonderful. When he went away, the dream went on in other directions. I wasn't forlorn and lonely and scared and suspicious and fearful... I was simply doing whatever I was doing.

It was a good dream.

Permission was granted to be in love for a while last night, in my sleep. It was one of the greatest dreams I've had in a long time. Simple. The magical thing about it was the feeling. It was so good. I got to have that feeling you get when you're just crazy about somebody, and you know they're crazy about you, and you're not sweating the future of what it means or what it will be. You're just filled with light, and letting the love out with total abandon and there's a feeling of so much fucking joy you think you'll burst. The feeling was so fragile and vulnerable, but in a playful way. Like a shining wet bubble, it had a short but glorious life span, and the whole thing just passed by like the sound of a distant giggle on the breeze. A most glorious dream.

I've been working a lot on cultivating fearlessness when it comes to matters of the heart. I'm sick and tired of feeling shame, shame, shame. All the time, for no reason, or for good reason. Whatever the reason, I'm done.

I asked Jesus in George Marshall chatbot what love was... and this is what that AI muthafucka had to say:

"Sometimes I think love is just a biological urge. Other times it seems like a spiritual quality. Love, unlike energy or matter, seems limitless."

I love this world... however...

I am reaching a wall, a serious roadblock, in my ability to communicate and my fear of intimacy with the world at large. I hide. I have been having strong desires to place my head in a door jam and slam the door on my head until it is a bloody mess. I'm not kidding. I am hungry for the real and am doubting everything in my mind... I have got to get through this fear. Fear of being an idiot, fear of having nothing to say, fear of opening my mouth and having nothing to offer but puke and farting noises. It must be okay. Fail better, more, with joy. Fail. Shamelessly.

My physicist friend says that I lack faith. Faith that there is something for me here, now... in this dimension.

Belief in Transcendence is an insult to what is.

I am a big phony and I hide behind revolutionary and dangerous SOUNDING ideas that I am very comfortable with... just as I became a master of self-derogatory humor to pull off the seeming appearance of Radical Honesty without having to get to close to my true self. I have built walls around my thoughts and feelings and I am working on busting 'em up. I need help. I need correspondence. And I need to stop having any desire to impress others in any way, so I will admit, up front, that I am a fool. And I'm not saying that to be cool. I am a selfish ass. I know this.

I also suffer from profound spiritual hunger. But I am too much of a coward to sacrifice myself completely to the immolating flames of humility. The smashing of ego is the most painful prospect ever... August Strindberg described it as "spiritual suicide."

"What was it you said that was so gall-darn brilliant?
I’d give anything to remember how you put it so beautifully!
I just can’t seem to remember any of the wonderful
things you say! gee, that’s funny!

You have the most interesting way of seeing things!
Imagine! Approaching the whole world like a cold toilet!
I can’t remember exactly how you worded it at the time,
but I have the distinct impression of paying close
attention. like a child does…

there is no pain greater than your pain there is no
laughter greater than your laughter there is no reason
to believe that what you are doing is not the greatest
act there is no person I’d rather fumble about with
these are only some of the things in discovering in
learning

how is it when I see you coming I am not struck down
dead trampled on killed a hundred times by my own purple
meanness baseness eaten and my flesh pecked off by birds?
Why is that? I think you told me once."

(from a poem by Gordon Torncello)

So... after all that:

Love is?

Anyone?

Anyone?

(this is a strangely repeatedly applicable old piece of writing I did that seems to keep coming back in waves of profundity... thanks to Miss Lisa Dee for reminding me of it this morning)

Bakersfield

In the ladies room at "Fishlips" in Bakersfield the door on the handicap bathroom won't lock and the toilet of the "general" john won't flush.

Somehow this feels significant.

Goodness gracious, I'm GRATEFUL!

i woke up this morning all a'glow with excitement to hit the road for a cash'd out show tonight. this is a good thing, cuz there is always a 50/50 chance, it seems, that i can view a situation either as a great opportunity or a total pain in the ass. :-)

TODAY i'm feeling good. perhaps this is because it's day 3 of my birthday challenge. perhaps it's because i just had a full day by myself in my own house to hang out in my underwear and do yoga in the living room. perhaps it's because i had a fantastically intimate and wonderful talk with my best friend miss lisa dee last night. perhaps it's a lot of things. perhaps it's because my heart is bursting with a love i can't control, and don't really want to. perhaps, perhaps.

the main awesomeness is that i am making a living (meager though it may be) making ART in one form or another and TODAY i get to crawl into the cash'd out van and drive to San Luis Obispo to PERFORM. and then I get to do it all again tomorrow!

upon my return, i've got quixote rehearsals, evangenitals rehearsals, and now I have the honor and privilege of playing the upright bass in odious ari's awesome ensemble! it's a wonderful life.

my 34th year on earth is right around the corner and it feels like my blooms are blossoming. i feel good. i feel strong. my heart is getting some massive exercise in the ways of FEELING. i am that i am, and it's awesome.

life is a gift, and i feel that in my bones. i say thank you thank you thank you and yes, yes, and always yes.

Birthday Countdown

Today I commence my "Birthday Countdown Challenge"

I, Juli Crockett, hereby declare that I will do my yoga, pilates, mediation, and bass practice EVERY DAY betwixt July 1st & August 1st, the day of my entry into the breathing world (this lifetime).

I gotta get READY for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. For 2 - 3 gigs a DAY for 2 weeks straight! For playing upright bass (or possibly guitarron) in the orchestra of my own sweet play, The Dawn of Quixote! For being 34 years old and having the time of my friggin' LIFE! I gotta SHAPE UP before we SHIP OUT to Scotland!!!

While I focus on that, perhaps y'all could help me raise enough money to house and feed my cast and band while we're in Scotland? We've got 13 days left to hit our goal of $9999 (which would JUST pay for all of our housing and put food in our stomachs) so anything you can do -- donations, or just help spread the word -- is GREATLY appreciated!!!

Click here for more info: http://ping.fm/UZZTz

Much love,
Juli

Juli C & Lisa Dee on the RADIO

Evangenitals (& Evangina) co-founders Juli Crockett & Lisa Dee are gonna be LIVE on the Lyrical Venus Radio Hour at KRUU-LP 100.1 FM on Tuesday June 30th -- EARLY -- 7am California time!!!

Tune in online at http://www.kruufm.com

Read the full story here: http://ping.fm/kzejR

Love,
Us

:-)

Been a long time been a long time been a long...

Amanda Palmer is an inspiring woman. I like her style. Thank you, Mayson, for turning me on to her dope article about how she made $19,000 in 10 hours on Twitter. To anyone who still bags on Twitter for being useless, read this:
http://mikeking.berkleemusicblogs.com/2009/06/23/how-an-indie-musician-can-make-19000-in-10-hours-using-twitter/

This has been an exhausting week, and awesome. Had two really good fundraisers for our Edinburgh trip (House Party & Yard Sale) and the Kickstarter action is starting to pick up. We're coming up on 2 weeks left till our deadline, and we're a little over 25% of the way to the goal.

SO MANY PEOPLE keep telling us that they are planning on donating... and we are now telling people that NOW IS THE TIME! It's is a lot of money we're asking for... but there are a lot of people on this planet of ours, and if a bunch of 'em gave us just a few bucks each, we'd be golden!

So, if you're one of the ones who are waiting, the time is NOW: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/635470598/dawn-of-quixote-rides-to-edinburgh-fringe-fest

Seriously. RIGHT NOW!

We're whipping the show into shape for our big Castle Green fundraiser. My MOM is coming to town to help out. We're trying to figure out all this crazy new stuff like how to rent amps and upright basses for our shows in the UK. We've got gigs booked in London, Glasgow, and Edinburgh for the band... it's unbelievable. Such an exciting time. It's hard for me to really wrap my mind around the fact that it's all HAPPENING. And it's all happening NOW.

In the midst of it all, I got a ton of shows with Cash'd Out before we leave. Busy, overstuff, jalapeno popper good times.

Matt Ticciati (new bass player) from Fairfield, Iowa has proven to be a HUGE blessing... he's been instrumental (no pun intended) in helping compose the original score for the Dawn of Quixote.

I'm doing a radio interview early Tuesday morning on "the voice of Fairfield and beyond" KRUU 100.1 FM for the Lyrical Venus show (http://www.lyricalvenus.com). The host, Heather, is a friend of both Ticciati and Evangenitals drummer David Hurlin, who also hails from that zany TM town. Should be a good'un, and she's gonna sneak preview some new Evangenitals tracks on the radio. Woot woot!

If you want to listen in, you can do so at: http://kruufm.com

love love love this life
juli

On Doubt...

"Only those who doubt really believe, and those that do not doubt are neither tempted against their faith nor do they truly believe. True faith maintains itself in doubt; from the doubts which are its food it nourishes itself and conquers itself, moment by moment, just as true life nourishes itself on death and renews itself second by second, in a continuous creation.

A life without any death in it, without any unpiling in its continual piling up, would be a perpetual death, the repose of a stone. Those who do not die do not live; those who do not die at every instant, to rise from the dead on the instant, do not live; and those who do not doubt do not believe. Faith is maintained by resolving doubts, and again resolving those further doubts which are suggested by the resolution of previous doubts."

(Unamuno, Our Lord Don Quixote)

What can WE do for YOU???

I know it may seem that we're continually asking YOU for stuff: come to our shows, listen to our music, join our fan pages, tell your friends about us... and now, just GIVE us money to help us get to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland this August!! So we thought we'd ask...

What can WE do for YOU?? What do you WANT from US?!?!

Prizes and Rewards?

Over on our Kickstarter Fundraising Campaign, we can create any reward we want... or rather, that YOUKickstarter project page, and I'll see if we can make it happen! want. So, what's holding you back? What would you like to receive for your donation to the Quixotic cause? Just let me know by responding to this email or commenting on the

Check out the current prizes and donate safely through Amazon, here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/635470598/dawn-of-quixote-rides-to-edinburgh-fringe-fest

Promote Your Business at the World's Largest Arts Festival!

In yet another effort to diversify our various fundraising schemes, the Evangenitals are creating our own GREEN souvenier programs & fliers for our on-the-streets and in-the-theaters promotions in Edinburgh and we're selling AD SPACE to organizations who would like to support our show and advertise to an international, arts-loving, tourist crowd.

If you or anyone you know has a business that may be interested in advertising to the estimated 2.6 million folks who come to the Fringe Fest (or at least the THOUSANDS that we will be giving fliers to), please send them this form:

http://www.julicrockett.com/publicfiles/evangenitals_ad_rates-1.pdf

Evan-Junk Removal?

On Saturday June 27th the Evangenitals and the Dawn of Quixote cast are having a GROUP YARD SALE to raise funds for our trip. This week the Evangenitals are offering free "junk" removal for our LA-area friends who would like to donate STUFF for our yard sale. We have cars and trucks and are willing to come pick up anything in decent condition that you may be willing to part with. :-)

And now.... some Upcoming Events!

Wednesday June 24th - 10pm

**Mayhem a Go Go**

Comedy, Burlesque, MAYHEM! w/ The Evangenitals and Mel Bain

@ Blue Cafe in Huntington Beach

http://thebluecafe.com/huntingtonbeachhomepage.htm

$5

Friday June 26th - 8pm

FRINGE FEST FUNDRAISER/ART-HOUSE PARTY! Featuring the music of Odious Ari, Henry Bermudez Trio, Cousin Junebug, Evangenitals, and Cactys Fire!

@ York Studios, Highland Park

http://www.evangenitals.com/calendar.html

$5-10 suggested donation, Broke? No worries! Come anyway!

Cheap booze!

Wild dancing!

Saturday June 27th - 8am

EVANGENITALS/QUIXOTE SUPER YARD SALE!

Right on Los Feliz Blvd, between Griffith Park Blvd & Riverside (south side of street, on Los Feliz & Arbolada) -- come buy our stuff! donate yours!

Thanks for helping a dream come true.

Much love,

Juli & the Evangenitals

The Impossible Dream???

AHOY!!! You have probably heard already (and you will most likely hear it again!) that the Evangenitals are going to SCOTLAND in August for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival!

We Need Your Help!

We have started a video infomercial and fundraising drive on Kickstarter.com (powered by Amazon). I would like to encourage you to pledge ANY AMOUNT that you can to this project. Our goal on the Kickstarter site is $9,999 which will help us to cover all of the transportation costs for the show -- airline tickets for the band & cast, shipping of the sets, costumes, instruments, etc.

You can pledge as little as $1 or as much as you'd like! We must hit our goal by July 14th in order to get ANY of the $ (otherwise, you will not be charged for your pledge) so EVERY $1 HELPS!

Here is the link: http://ping.fm/bL46p

No Cash? You Can Still Help!

If you can't give any money, you can help in other ways by using the "SHARE" tools on our Kickstarter page (below the video) to help spread the word!

http://ping.fm/NgCxV

Donate Your Frequent Flier Miles!

Some folks have lent a hand in the form of donating their FREQUENT FLIERS MILES to the band to help us buy plane tickets! If you have some extra miles laying around that you'd like to donate to the Quixote project, please respond to this email and LET US KNOW!

Come to a Show!

All proceeds from our shows in and around town are going toward the trip (as well as our album/t-shirt sales, etc) so ANYTHING YOU DO to support the band supports our trip as well.

Upcoming Dates:

Wednesday June 24th: 10pm
Evangenitals in "Mayhem a Go Go" @ the Blue Cafe, Huntington Beach

Friday June 26th: 8pm
Evangenitals/Quixote Fundraiser at York Studios, Highland Park

Saturday July 12th: 2pm
QUIXOTE gala performance at CASTLE GREEN, Pasadena

Its showtime for Cash'd Out at the Belly Up! Its a full house and the energy is ELECTRIC!!! :-)

Evangenitals on the News!

A few of the Evangenitals (Matt Ticciati on guitar, Andrea Baker on fiddle, and ME on Upright Bass!) did a quick promo spot on Channel 11 Good Day LA news this morning for the Lummis Day Festival!

Click here to check it out!



Yes... we were super tired getting up so early after last night's show with Antioquia at Fais Do Do... but we were totally excited to play a little gypsy groove on the news in support of Lummis Day. :-)

I'm going to Scotland and I need your help!

The Evangenitals & cast of Juli Crockett's "The Dawn of Quixote: Chapter the First" have been invited into the OFFICIAL program of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival... but we need YOUR HELP to get there!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/635470598/dawn-of-quixote-rides-to-edinburgh-fringe-fest

In order to facilitate donations through a trusted source, we've started a fundraising drive on Kickstarter.com (powered by Amazon) -- the catch is, if we don't hit our fundraising goal of $9,999 by the deadine (July 14th) we don't get ANY of the pledged money!

That's right, all you have to do is PLEDGE money right now... so if you're brok at the moment, NO WORRIES... you won't be charged until we hit our goal on July 14th. :-)

Please visit our profile over on Kickstarter.com, check out our video infomercial, learn more about the project, and consider making a donation to the quixotic cause!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/635470598/dawn-of-quixote-rides-to-edinburgh-fringe-fest

ANY AMOUNT that you can give, from $1 to $9,999 would be enormously helpful!

THANK YOU!!!

Much love,
Crockett, Quixote & the Evangenitals

Today was a VERY good day!

After launching late last night, we got *5* backers in the first 24 hours of the "Send Quixote & the Evangenitals to Scotland" Kickstarter campaign totaling $225! On day ONE! Many, many thank you's go out to the 5 brave souls who were the first to donate and get us 2% closer to our goal!

If we can keep that up every day till our deadline, we'll hit our goal of $9,999!

Please help spread the word and help us by using the "share" options on our Kickstarter profile page, telling your friends, posting our links and widgets, and generally spreading the news in any way you can!

Oh, and don't forget to DONATE! Every $1 helps!

Click here to see our infomercial:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/635470598/dawn-of-quixote-rides-to-edinburgh-fringe-fest

In addition to all THAT action, I picked up the our new Evangenitals bass player who will be filling in for our dearly beloved Keith Lubow who is going to be pursuing other creative goals at this time. Glory be! We the Evangenitals always support the following of one's heart and passions! ONWARD!

His name is Matt Ticciati, and he's a former band mate of our drummer, David Hurlin, ALSO of Iowa.

They were in a wild funk band called "Spermwhale" (http://www.myspace.com/spermwhaleband) back on that side of nation, and as fate would have it, 3 of 4 members of Spermwhale now reside in the greater LA area! Do you smell a reunion in the air???

Matt has heard the call of adventure and left his native Iowa to come and try his luck with the Evangenitals!

Lisa Dee came over and we made some boss vegan stir-fry. After dinner, we played Evangenitals songs into the wee hours of the night. It was a great 1st rehearsal. :-)

Tomorrow night he meets the FULL band down at Bedrock Studios and Echo Park, and FRIDAY night he meets the PUBLIC!

We're playing a 2 hour in-store at Rhino Records in Claremont on Friday from 8-10pm, and Saturday we're playing the Rose City Rocks Music Festival in Pasadena (Old Town Pub stage) at 4pm. It's a whirlwind, and he's getting jumped in.

From the way things went tonight, I'd say he's gonna be A-OK! ;-)

Small Steps

I bought a brand of toilet paper tonight called "Small Steps".... what they MEAN by "small steps" is that, being recycled toilet paper, it is a small step toward healing the planet.

What *I* think about while using it is that it is somehow some sort of toilet training tool for tots.... as that is what "small steps" in relation to anything toilet-related makes me think of, it seems. :-)

NEW EVANGENITALS MUSIC ON MYSPACE!!!

In the heat of the night, I've gone ahead and posted a SNEAK-PREVIEW of some of the tunes from the new Evangenitals EP we're cooking up over on Myspace. Remember Myspace? :-)

We are so darned excited about the new recordings, I just couldn't wait another SECOND to share them with you.

So please, give 'em a listen and LET US KNOW what you think!

http://www.myspace.com/evangenitals

Tell your friends, tell your mom... the new stuff hath risen!

Chewing my nails in anticipation of your feedback,
Juli & the Evangenitals
julio@evangenitals.com

Strange Fruit

This is an odd time for me. One of those periods where so much is going on, yet it feels like Nothing is happening. (Nothing IS happening!!)

I'm on the road back to LA from a weekend playing with Cash'd Out in Vegas. The opera I'm directing goes into Tech Rehearsals this week up at CalArts and its super-long days and nights of rehearsal until that's over.

Immediately after the opera closes, I hit the road to San Fran, Portland, and Seattle with Cash'd Out.

I've had a stinky cold and cough for weeks, and sang a bunch of shows (and recorded a tune with the Evangenitals!) in this sad state.

I'm so friggin' excited about all the new music the Evangenitals have been recording, our new website that's in the works, and the prospect of some bigger and better gigs. Although the transition time is KILLING ME!!! I'm a real momentum addict, and its hard for me to stay focused during all this "behind the scenes" work and not get freaked out by our empty calendar. I love to PLAY, and if I could I'd wanna do it every day. We're trying to actually execute some semblance of a STRATEGY, though, and that requires some patience... A virtue which I paradoxically seem to have a ton of and none at all, simultaneously.

My mom recently came out for a visit, and that was awesome. I've been watching episodes of Deadwood, which I friggin' LOVE, I'm re-reading Unamuno's Sepulchre of Don Quixote and considering writing my first Philosophical Essay for publication on "blinking"... Which is exciting. I'm going back to Improv classes when the opera is over to finish the program at iO WEST. I'm missing New York and loving LA. I'm nostalgic for the future. I'm impregnating my own brain and about to bloom. Strange fruit coming into season.

I love you. :-)

- Juli

Quiet before the Storm

There's been a hell of a lot going on in my world lately. But somehow it doesn't really FEEL like it. I've discovered a strange equation... if the Evangenitals aren't doing a lot of shows, then I don't feel like anything is HAPPENING. :-)

The FACTS are quite contrary. In many ways, I've never been busier. I'm directing an opera, performing in Cash'd Out, in rehearsal or recording or band practice or traveling every single day of the week. But it's not all the Evangenitals, so much of it doesn't seem real. Weird, huh?

The Evangenitals have just recorded our best music thus far, and it's being mixed and mastered as we speak. We're stepping into the studio once again on Sunday for ONE MORE SONG that's going to be used in a video for The 1 Second Film that's going to make even the hardest hearts feel all squishy inside. We're working on a new website that is looking GOOD and a new logo that makes me feel truly understood as a human and an artist. It's freaking great!

Alas, much of that work is all BEHIND THE SCENES, though, and I'm dying to get it all our THERE into the WORLD to SHARE it with all of YOU!!!!

Soon.

Soon.

It's like Guns and Roses said.... just a little patience. :-)

- Juli

HEROES FOR AUTISM!!!

PLEASE SUPPORT EVANGENITALS EXTENDED FAMILY MEMBER DON SHORT AND THIS AMAZING CAUSE!

Friends and Heroes,

Here comes the big push...
www.heroesforautism.com has finally arrived, please check it out!

Don Short and I founded Heroes For Autism in November, and together with many other people, we have been working night and day to produce something really special. I honestly feel it’s the best work I’ve done, and I’m proud to share it with you.

Tickets are now on sale, and so I’m asking for help. We need to sell 1000 tickets, and this can only be done when we join together.
I am thankful some people have already committed to selling 10 pairs of tickets to benefit this fundraiser. I encourage (implore) you to help out in a similar way. We will gladly recognize on the website anyone who has sold a bulk of tickets.

The show is going to be an amazing night of world class art and music, and it’s going to help a lot of people who deal with the difficulties of autism.
I truly hope you can be part of it in some way.

If you have any thoughts or questions of any kind, please let me know.
Thank you!
Greg



Greg Cohen
310-463-6277
gcohen@heroesforautism.com
www.heroesforautism.com


********
Autism is the fastest growing disease in America today.
It affects more people than pediatric cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined,
and occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups.
The numbers are staggering: 1 in 150 children
The cause is unknown, and there is no cure.

Heroes For Autism is a one-night only, high-profile celebration of art and music in the name of autism.
NBC's Heroes and Autism Speaks have come together to host a silent auction, featuring mixed media artwork
by its cast and crew alongside artwork by artists who have autism. The evening includes a VIP cocktail
hour and performances Wendy and Lisa’s all-star band, and the celebrity Band From TV, featuring Hugh Laurie, Greg Grunberg, and James
Denton, among others. The star studded event, scheduled for April 19th at the Avalon, is designed to raise
awareness about the epidemic. All money raised will go to Autism Speaks, with a focus on art therapy.
********

The Roof is on FIRE!

Check out this awesome video VLOG of The Evangenitals playing on the roof of The 1 Second Film's "Road to Oprah" bus at the recent Jalopy art show at Side Street Projects!

Webbbbbbb'd Out

I've been looking at websites for the past 5 hours and I'm tired as hell. The Evangenitals are working on a wild new website to launch with our super-awesome new EP that we're working on, and I decided to take a trek through cyber-space to see what some of my favorite bands were doing, as well as some of my not-so-favorite bands who happen to be getting a sh!t-ton of traffic. :-)

Many a website hath passed before my moist eye holes in the past few horas. On the "bands I love" roster, there's David Byrne's really cool site, the B52's semi-awesome colorful site, Ween's new "cleaned-up" site, Gogol Bordello's insane den of navigation, Devendra Banhart's incredibly frustrating but kind fun front page, LOW's clean-cut mormon temple of cyberspace, Shitake Monkey's awesome corner of wilderness that I could get lost in for a good while, Weezer's straightforward business, and Beck's completely baffling art piece (that keeps re-directing me to the current album site).

Britney Spears has the highest traffic band website in the friggin' WORLD, it seems. It's a bit of a mess with ads and such, but has a personal feel, decent layout, and the whole she-bang is powered by Buzznet. The next most popular site, so far as I can tell from Alexa, is U2. A much cleaner aesthetic, emphasis on black, gray, and red. Decent.

And while we're on the U2 tip... I'm kinda reeling from their usage of a Sugimoto photo for their new album. I friggin' LOVE Sugimoto with the quiet intensity of a deceptively dormant volcano that's about to burst on an unsuspecting village. I have not yet forgiven Bono for his appearance in that "Across the Universe" movie impersonating some Ken Kesey wannabe and singing "I Am The Walrus".... that movie was completely ludicrous and made me want to chew off my own toes. I actually had a dream the other night wherein I was telling Julie Taymor just HOW awful I thought the film was. This, of course, would be truly bad form in REAL life as we are on the Board of Directors for the Collaboration Foundation. Bottom line is that the film has truly scarred me in some deep way that I don't yet understand. Perhaps I'm just still in shock and it was actually brilliant. Doubtful, but possible... and it's always a fine idea (for me) to suspend any final judgment, as my mind frequently changes along with my moods. If I saw the movie on whilst on the rag, I'm sure I'd love it. And cry :-)

I am officially fried. Happy daylight savings to you all!

Love,
Juli