Gainfully Unemployed

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again… I am the busiest unemployed dude you know (or don’t know). But who needs a “real job” anyway?

It seems like these posts are getting fewer and further between but I haven’t given up yet and I neither do I intend to. I’ve just been a busy little bee lately with tons of new projects that just keep adding up. But I’m not complaining, not one bit!

So here’s what I’m working on these days:

Chicken & Whiskey

That’s my band and my most creative endeavor. As a drummer, I’m used to the background, providing the rhythm and leaving the creation to the song-writers but this time I get to sing. Well not sing so much as scream, I have no singing voice to speak of but I do okay. It’s a completely different animal to try and sing while you percuss (is that a word?) It’s like throwing another limb into the mix and it’s trickier than you might think. Writing lyrics is hard too so for now I just repeat shit.
We’ve had a good run so far. It usually takes a while for a band to book out of town shows but our first two were in Gainesville and St. Augustine, respectively. We’ve only played Jacksonville twice and our next show is July 28 at Doozer’s Pub with Republicorpse, Time To Die, Buff Clout, and National Dairy. We’ve also played Pensacola, Savannah twice and hopefully Orlando real soon.
So far the feedback has been phenomenal, despite our many fuck-ups and the occasional technical difficulty. Just yesterday we played a fest in Savannah for the 4th and the sound guy turned us off during our last song. Apparently there were some kids returning from some kind of dolphin tour during the middle of one of Big Dunn’s colorful impromptu segues. It was fun though.
Be sure and hit up our MySpace page to hear our crummy home recording and stop by Burro or catch us around town to snag a Florida Is For Haters shirt. We’ll be printing new ones tomorrow with a gnarly design by Dylan, your favorite boozehole bartender (the image up top)!

Burro Bags

Before I moved back to Jacksonville from Afghanistan, I spent a lot of time learning about all the cool shit that was going on here while I was gone. One of them, of course was Burro Bags. Even from 10,000 miles away, I could tell Matt and Chris were onto some serious shit and made owning one of their custom bags a top priority upon my return. In September of last year I had them make me a bag out of one of my sea bags and desert cammie uniforms. It turned out awesome and I still take it with me almost everywhere. Fast-forward and here I am working (and living) as part of the Burro family.
In an effort to enhance online sales and marketing, Matt and Chris sought the aide of GoFresh Design to build a better, more functional website. It looks incredible but takes a bit of work to keep current. Enter me. It is my esteemed pleasure to contribute to the success of the Burro brand through managing all of Burro’s online content, including the blog and Twitter feed. I’ll be tackling the MySpace page and setting up a Facebook page in the near future. Believe me when I say that we are going to be taking things to the next level and beyond as time goes by.

EU

Some time ago, Kellie from EU interviewed Tom and I about JaxScene. While in the photo pit at Harvest of Hope this year, Kellie approached me about doing an album review and I jumped at the opportunity to further refine my writing chops (and get my hands on advance albums). Since then I’ve been writing regularly for the monthly about everything from biking to nightlife to comic books (in this month’s issue). But my main area of focus is music, both local and on a global level. I am constantly running around doing interviews, listening to music, and checking out shows to bring what I feel is the most comprehensive music coverage in Northeast Florida. I have my own page now on the website with all the articles I’ve written and hopefully, very soon we will be launching an all new music page with the help of a very talented cat you call know. But I don’t want to spoil the surprise just yet. Suffice it to say, this thing is going to be big, no EPIC! I am envisioning it as more than just a resource but a portal for the Jacksonville music scene and I couldn’t be more excited about it and the platform it will provide for this city’s talented artists.
I’ve also set up a Twitter account (@eu_music) solely dedicated to the Jacksonville music scene that I update as much as possible about shows each night and other interesting little tidbits.

Urban Jacksonville Weekly

This is my newest endeavor. As I mentioned before, in preparation for my return to Jax I was trolling the interwebs and Urban Jacksonville was the place that turned me on to almost every cool thing I’ve found in this city. So when Joey asked me to be a part of the weekly podcast, I couldn’t refuse.
As “producer” I will be managing the interactive side of things, interfacing with listeners and commenters while Joey, Tony and Jonathan do their thing. I’m sure I will be adding my two cents from time to time and I’ll also have a little segment on upcoming music-related events. If you haven’t seen (or heard) this yet I strongly encourage you to check it out and join the dialogue. No one else in Jacksonville is taking such a unique approach to moving the city forward and I am proud to be a part of it.
Tune in every Tuesday at 5:30 to watch the show or you can subscribe to it on iTunes to download the audio.

As you can see, it’s been a busy summer but that hasn’t stopped me from having the most rad time possible. In the four years I’ve lived in Jax, this is the first summer I’ve spent stateside and so far it’s been incredible.

Adios amigos!

The Riverside Twitter Heckler

If you are a fellow tweet-aholic such as myself and living in the Jacksonville area, you’ve no doubt been exposed to the antics of @RiversideAsFuck. This guy/girl(?) has it out for fixed gear riders, hipsters, indie kids, haiku, jorts, beards, bloggers, recessionistas and anyone who does anything cool, hip, faddish, or otherwise.

Here’s some examples:

• Someone called me a poser just b/c I leach onto all this cool stuff other people did 1st, that i had no interest in until they did it. PSSSH
• Were uniforms issued 4 the bike race?Is that why I saw 8 people ridin fixes w/ mohawks, jorts & old ass shirts w/in 2 minutes of each other?
• I’m going to start screen printing my homework instead of typing it. Then, even my teachers will know what the fuck is up.
• Did I mention how cool my beard is? It takes a lot of talent and skill to grow facial hair, you know. so LOOK AT MY FUCKING BEARD!
• Bet noone went to as many bars as I did last night: shanty,eclipse,burrito gallery,steamworks,square1,TSI,& o’brothers.

Rest assured that if you tweet something, RAF will spin it and make you look like a dickhead. In his/her own words:

“No one like the dude/who enters the room/and shows you your own ass/but fuck it those are the facts”

I don’t know if it’s the same person or not, but there is a Riverside As Fuck? quiz out on facebook as well. It’s supposed to tell you just how Riverside you are but isn’t very accurate. According to RAF’s tweets, I most certainly am but the test says I’m Jax Beach, so WTF?!

I can’t tell if this person is an asshole or just someone with a great sense of humor, but it certainly does make me chuckle sometimes, even when it’s directed at me. I sincerely hope it is the latter because the only thing worse than people who do shit just because it’s the cool thing to do are the people who refuse to do things just because it’s the cool thing to do.

Diablo OUT!

Music Coverage

Good news boys and girls!

Yours truly has signed on as a contributor to EU Magazine to write about shows, local music, and some album reviews here and there! I’m pretty excited about it as it means I will have more access to that which keeps me sane, musica! Look for my album review of the new Decemberists record in next month’s issue of EU and check the website often for more-than-monthly coverage of the Jacksonvile music scene. If you want me to check out your band or do an interview, just get at me.

Tonight I’m heading to St Augustine to cover the Vetiver show at Cafe Eleven. Looks like it will be a good time so come holler if you’ll be there.

Here’s a little blurb from the interwebs:

Vetiver – Chrysopogon zizanioides (previously Vetiveria zizanioides) is a perennial grass of the Poaceae family, native to India. The name comes from Tamil. In western and northern India, it is popularly known as khus, giving the earlier English names cuscus, cuss cuss, kuss-kuss grass, etc.[1] In Marathi it is called Wala (वाळा) Vetiver can grow up to 1.5 meters high and form clumps as wide. The stems are tall and the leaves are long, thin, and rather rigid; the flowers are brownish purple. Unlike most grasses, which form horizontally spreading mat-like root systems, vetiver’s roots grow downward, 2–4 meters in depth. Vetiver is closely related to other fragrant grasses such as Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon citratus), citronella (Cymbopogon nardus, C. winterianus), and Palmarosa (Cymbopogon martinii). Though it originates in India, vetiver is widely cultivated in the tropical regions of the world. The world’s major producers include Haiti, India, Java, and Réunion.

Oh shit, that’s not about the band. Here we go:

…Tight Knit’s arrangements are rather tightly wound, with the album’s soothing vibe finely calibrated enough to excuse an outlying foray into languid funk (“Another Reason to Go”). Former Vetiver collaborator Devendra Banhart once proposed the term naturalismo for the music coming out of San Francisco’s modern folk scene…

So there you go. Also might be covering The Ting Tings show later this week at Jack Rabbits, so stay tuned!

How To Party In A Recession

For a while there, the economic crisis/recession was something that only bothered me when I looked at the state of the two mutual funds I bought right before everything went to shit. Being in the military, for all the bullshit, long hours, and danger, does provide a steady paycheck and if you know what you’re doing, a pretty decent amount for someone my age.

But I am feeling it now, yes sir!

It’s been a process but I’ve learned to shake quite a bit of that old consumerism off and I’ve learned how to eat and have a good time on a lot less money. And in a way, I kinda like it. There was a post on Urban Jacksonville a while back about the positive results of the recession in terms of people getting out of their houses and meeting their neighbors for a change rather than spending money entertaining ourselves. That really stuck with me and I’m starting to see it in my own life now.

Initially I made the obvious move to drink nothing but sub-$3 beer. That was the easy part. I bike as much as possible. Some mornings I feel like sleeping and extra 15 minutes and driving instead or make excuses about the weather but I still buy a lot less gas. I eat far less meat now and I actually end up eating better by buying fresh cheap produce at the Farmers Market. Love that place! For the most part, I’ve figured out exactly where I need to be and what I need to be doing on most every night to maximize the fun per dollar ratio. And the great part about that is sometimes I don’t have to spend a dime.

One night a week a group of us get together and have “Family Dinner” where we take turns cooking a big peasant-style meal at each others houses. It’s never fancy but it’s always a good time. Sometimes we hit a pub later on and others we hang around talking and drinking all night. And it’s honestly probably the most fun of the week. I’ve been going to a LOST watching party at some friends’ house on Wednesdays that usually includes a decent size group of people just hanging out and watching engaging television and shushing each other when something crazy happens or the commercial ends. On Thursdays we ride bikes through the city after midnight and watch bike jousts or grab a Tecate at Shantytown before last call. Another friend of mine hosted an impromptu dinner party/get-together/porch party just tonight and tons of people showed up. It was awesome.

And then there are tons of free events going on all the time. Art Walk is Wednesday and I know I can find my friends and see cool art and hear good music in the OLB for nothing. Super Fun Fest is coming up soon and is completely free by its very nature.

Granted, I’m still going to throw down the dough when something like Harvest of Hope comes through, but I actually kind of enjoy the effects of being broke among the broke. I know that many of the bar and restaurant owners would prefer us to spend money in their establishments, but it is what it is. And if it gets bad enough, you guys are more than welcome to party with us!

Oh, and here’s that article I mentioned from Urban Jax. Man I wish I pulled those kinds of comments!

Freeform Freakout!

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I posted a flier for a show both on here and on JaxScene for a show that went down last night and I was right, it was a ton of fun! I’d doubt anyone went to the show as a result of my blogging but they should have.

So last night at the laundromat on Park and King, a few noise-bands got together and put on a free show. I had no idea what to expect from this and that certainly didn’t include people actually doing laundry and listening to crazy experimental music. But that’s what went down and it was pretty awesome.



First, the music. I’ll be frank, it’s not for everyone. If you can’t handle acts like Animal Collective, then seriously, stay away! But if you appreciate experimentation and find beauty in chaos then you would have enjoyed yourself thoroughly. A casual observer would probably scoff at Telepathik Friend’s rapping over psychedelic beats and intentional mike distortion or roll their eyes at his helmet made of day-glo pipe cleaners, but they aren’t paying any attention to what is really going on. It’s all the more evident when Guardians of the Thickets sit in a circle of sorts and hammer out all kinds of insanity. If you do pay close enough attention you will hear the order emerge from the chaos. Even though the girls are hitting the bass drum with anything from a ladle to a branch from the tree outside, there is a distinct and recognizable rhythm. The bearded guitarists’ drone riffs reminded immediately of the dark 60’s-inspired music that is really taking hold in Austin and LA right now. Making such music is actually a lot harder than it looks. What is most admirable about it is the all-out rejection of classical tonality, chord progression, rhythm, instrumentation, etc. It’s all about the moment but it transcends simple improvisation. Getting distortion from the mikes, the sounds of the dryers turning, that stick from outside, and dragging the guitar against the linoleum are all elements of the music that make it impossible to reproduce. And therein, to me at least, is its beauty. It’s all about the experience and you simply have to be there to get it.



So what struck me most about this experience was simply that it was happening. Right here, a few blocks from my house. That this is still possible, for people to come together and throw an impromptu show away from the standard dives, in Jacksonville and more specifically, in Riverside, fills me with hope. And this is exactly why the Southbank will never become the new Riverside! There, I said it.



One more thing. Maybe I’m just lucky because I have no real responsibilities at the moment and can enjoy the freedom of doing whatever the fuck I want, but it’s time to get out there and DO STUFF! A free show built on so novel an idea and in such a bizarre location should, if nothing else, pique your interest enough to at least check it out. There is so much going on in this city that nobody seems to really care about. If I can find all this great stuff to do, then so should anybody. So get your ass out there and support anything and everything local you can. Especially music. And support non-local music too and maybe some better bands will come through. So I’ll see you tonight at Los Campesinos! over yonder at Jack Rabbits. You are going, right?

Some Flyers, Etc.

Here’s some forthcoming events you may or may not be aware of yet. People spend a decent amount of time making pretty flyers to promote their events so here they are for maximum exposure.





Had a great time at Wu-Tang last night. For the most part anyway. It was very cool to see local artists like Tough Junkie, Willie Evans Jr., and Rob Roy get such great publicity. And let it be known that they did a great job keeping the crowd moving before the Wu FINALLY took the stage. And also let it be known that Plush screwed the pooch with the whole microphone situation. It was pretty embarrassing to have a high-profile group come to a town that many similar acts skip entirely and have them perform with hissing, popping, overmodulated mikes. Nevertheless, it was thrilling to see these true pioneers and legends in the flesh, even if minus ODB (R.I.P.) and Method Man.

On another note, I just finished an interview with EU who are doing a profile of JaxScene for the February issue. I mainly talked about the JaxScene Network and what our goals and such are with the whole project. While I’m on the subject, I’ll say that one of my goals for the new year is to get as many local bands as are willing to get on board and use the site to promote their music and their shows. Hopefully this will help fulfill Mr. Marchy’s Nostradamus-like predictions for seeing a resurgence in local band activity. If you have a band and would like more info on how to participate, leave me a comment, or better yet, catch me at the bar and buy me a beer (PBR is just fine with me).

The Pull List: 11/12/08

Guess what dudes? I love comic books. And since this is my blog I’m starting a new posting of picks from my weekly pilgrimage to the comic shop.

I picked up this week’s stack from Strange Adventures in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, a great shop by all accounts. Here we go…

Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: Treachery #3 (Marvel)
Treachery is the third mini-series based on The Dark Tower series of books. I used to think King was kind of a hack with a knack for quantity over quality but I’ve since changed my opinion. The Dark Tower is his magnum opus and the comic book rendering of it is faithful, gorgeous, and delightful. Wether you are a new recruit or an old fan, this series is hot!

Stephen King’s The Stand: Captain Trips #3 (Marvel)
I was fairly convinced that The Dark Tower was the best of what King had to offer but I was willing to give The Stand a shot after learning it was a major inspiration to the creators of my favorite TV show, LOST. At over 1000 pages, it is a prolific novel that took me about five months to read. This adaptation is accurate as well but not quite as visually stimulating as The Dark Tower. Still a good way to get your fix though.

Galveston #1 (Boom! Studios)
What can I say, I’m a Native Texan, so when I spied with my little eye a comic book dealing with a piece of Texas history I couldn’t refuse. The Cassady-esque cover by Jeffrey Spokes is a little misleading. That and having two separate artists on the inside is distracting to me. The first few pages drawn by Greg Scott are a bit rough but promising but the follow-up by Todd Herman just strikes me as sloppy. The plot of Jim Bowie and the pirate Jean Lafitte’s adventures in pre-Revolution Texas seemed like an awesome idea but the execution leans a little towards the comical which I found off-putting. I’ll hang around to see where it goes out of shear curiosity and blind loyalty to the subject matter.

Green Lantern Corps #30 (DC)
The Sinestro Corps War has been by far the greatest far-reaching event in comics in quite some time. There was sufficient build-up and now the after-effects are just as exciting. Every Lantern title is building up to the next event and the tensions are high on Oa and throughout the universe. This book brings up some interesting points on the power of love as a source of good but with the potential for evil. We also get the newset addition to The Book of Oa and it will probably ruffle some feathers.

JSA Kingdom Come Special: Superman One-Shot (DC)
The original Elseworlds Kingdom Come book was what got me back into comic books after a long hiatus. Alex Ross’ art blew me away and all the imagination and complexity that went into the story let me know that there was still a place for me in that world. So when the signs of a melding of the Kingdom Come Universe and the regular DCU began to appear in the Justice Society of America relaunch, I was so full of fanboy glee I thought I might burst! I wasn’t able to follow the JSA title as closely as I would have liked but you can always count on a one-shot to give you a good story without having to know every detail of what’s going on around it. That and this one is written and drawn by Ross so booyah! JSA is one of the best DC books out there and with Geoff Johns at the helm it can hardly do any wrong in my eyes.

Batman: Cacophany #1
Not being able to follow the flagship Batman or Detective Comics titles and Grant Morrison’s taste for the bizarre has distanced me from being up to date with the current RIP storyline so I was all about a good old-fashioned Dark Knight story. And the fact that it’s penned by none other than Kevin Smith didn’t hurt a bit. Very pleased where this story is going. New villain and an appearance by Deadshot have the makings of a great arc/mini-series.

The Cleaners #1 (Dark Horse)
Dark Horse books are like a breath of fresh air in this age of muddled continuity and endless crossovers from The Big 2. They have so many great titles and continue to come out with new and exciting stuff that pushes the envelope in the comics industry. With no notion of what this new book was about, I was drawn to the clean white cover splattered with blood and very pleased with the result. Whilst reading it I got the sneaking suspicion that there was much buried beneath the surface storyline and was proven right, albeit subtly, in the final frame. Definitely going to follow up on this title.

Alright, that about does it for this week. Thanks for indulging and feel free to comment on your opinions of these books and anything I may have missed this week.

That Just Happened!

OMG, it’s really real isn’t it?

America has spoken and we are ready for change. Finally, after 8 years of piss-poor leadership, the clouds have broken and a golden ray of hope is shining down on us.

It sounds overdramatic but if you think about it, it truly is a new era in America. Over the years we’ve gone from being one of the most beloved and respected nations to a punchline in the international community. In my travels I’ve seen it first-hand. We should never cater to other countries and make decisions based on their opinion of us, but you can’t be a world leader if no one respects you. Our reputation has been dragged through the mud, but no longer. There is a reason why most of the global community wanted Obama to win. Other countries know the influence we have and the power we hold and they want a qualified person leading us just as much as we do. And now we’ve taken the first step to rebuilding this great country of ours into the symbol of hope and democracy that it began as.

I know it won’t be easy but it still feels really good. Not just being able to claim the winning team but feeling confident that the decisions our new President will make will be in our best interest and the interests of the world at large and not as the result of string pulling from large corporations and personal vendetta. And enough with the Socialism and terrorsit accusations already. If you haven’t figured out that all that was fear-mongering and name calling aimed at the uneducated who are too lazy to do the research to prove otherwise, then it’s time to wake up. Watch closely and you’ll see the Washingtonians who made those claims are still going to work with both sides in the coming years because they know that the campaigning is all a game and now that it’s over it’s time to get down to the real work at hand (at least I hope they will anyway).

I really hope that people on both sides can accept this change, put aside their differences and be a unified America again. Things are about to get ugly and we need to work together to get through this. I’ve heard a lot of dumb shit come out of people’s mouth from both sides over the past 18 hours or so and I hope that it stops or at least abates soon so we can get on with the work that needs to be done. So, as a general rule, if you are about to open your mouth and what is coming out has been said on the news or in some bullshit chain e-mail a thousand times, just shut the fuck up. Seriously, election season is over and I know I’m not alone when I say that I’m sick of the talking points and Joe the Plumber and the slogans and all that other horseshit. Let’s talk issues and let’s talk progress!

I’m really curious to see if all the mud-slinging that has gone on in the past few years will continue. The neo-con talking heads love to label liberals and independents as anti-American for not supporting the Iraq war or GWB in general. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we’re about to prove you wrong! You see, we never hated America. Au contraire, we love the shit out of her. But when our government tricks us into going to war, engages in fear-mongering to gain control and steals our personal freedoms, we get a little upset. And we aren’t so petty as to rally behind images or lame country songs to prove our patriotism. So we tell Washington that we’re angry! And that, my friends, is the strongest form of patriotism there is. That is what democracy is all about. And now we have a government that we can believe in, one that will listen to us, and by us I mean the people, not just the liberals or the Democrats.

And by the way, we won’t call you un-American if you don’t support the President. I, for one, will be the first to cry foul when I don’t like a policy or decision because I have fought for the right to do so. It’s your right to dissent and I support your ability to do so, even though you chastised me and called me names when I did. Not bitter, I promise.

So please, even if you didn’t vote for Obama, at least give him a chance. You might be surprised at the result. We can only do this right if we all work together and I pledge to you, here and now, that I won’t be a dick about the next Republican who gets elected President. So long as he is not a total douchebag at least

Barack the Vote!

Hey, look at that, it’s Super Tuesday already! Hopefully you were smart enough to early vote and saved yourself from the election day chaos and long lines. But if you didn’t, now’s your last chance, and let’s be real – this one is worth putting up with a little chaos.

Pretty obvious who this cat is voting for. I’m full of HOPE and ready for CHANGE, but honestly all I care about is that you get out there and vote for your candidate of choice and let your voice be heard. And you can even get some free shit out of the deal!

I don’t know how it is for the rest of you but I can actually feel the world changing lately. It’s subtle and easy to overlook with all the distractions we’ve filled our lives with but it is definitely there. There is an energy about and I see it in people’s faces and I feel the electricity in the air when they get excited. And it isn’t all just about Obama, it’s everywhere. Maybe it’s the recession that is causing folks to reevaluate their needs and what truly matters in their lives or maybe it’s some wacky astrological cosmic rays cooking our brains. Don’t know, don’t care. Fact is, nothing significant has happened on a social level in this country in about 40 years so I’d say we’re about due.

The economy may suck but it’s a pretty awesome time to be alive.

A Disclaimer of Sorts

Greetings friends. I thought I’d take a little time to make some announcements and explain a few things about this site, what’s been going on lately, and what’s to come.

First off, as I mentioned previously, I am now a contributor over at JaxScene. I met Tom a week or so ago and he invited me to join the team after reading Jack’s Jax. His site is a hell of alot prettier than mine and gets a lot more attention so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of it. I was a little leary at first because I enjoy and appreciate meeting people who have read the site and associate me with it, but my main objective is getting my thoughts and opinions out there and sometimes that means sacrificing a little of the credit and control to be heard.

That being said, I fully intend to keep doing this site but with a slightly different focus. From now on I will be posting event coverage and photos on JaxScene and writing about all the other cool stuff here. I’m considering some name and style changes to this site, but one thing at a time people!

Now down to the nitty-gritty…

Call it proactive damage control or a preemptive strike or whatever you want. In my coverage of events, issues, etc, I intend to be completely subjective. I’m not going to give you “just the facts, ma’am”, after reading what I have to say you’ll have a pretty good notion of how I feel about something. That’s the beauty of blogging in my humble opinion. I (we) don’t have sponsors or advertisers. There is no money involved and noone pulling the strings telling me (us) what to write. As such, when you come to this site or read my posts on JaxScene you are going to get pure unfiltered, uncensored, unsolicited, unadulterated (and a couple of other un-’s)opinion and commentary. “Straight from the streets”, as they say.

That being said, I do like to keep things positive. My mission is to get people excited and motivated about the things that are happening in Jacksonville. If I can expose someone to something new or help out a business or establishment that I believe in, I feel I’ve done my part in the grand scheme of things. But ultimately I also want to make things better and that means providing a little constructive criticism into how to improve and explore some lessons learned. So if you host an event that I cover, you might not like everything you read, but know that I write what I write with the best of intentions in hopes that you will consider what I have to say the next go ’round.

Allow me to close by saying that I am no expert, I am merely a humble observer. I’ve never even attempted to open a business, host an event, or create something to show the public. My hat goes off to anyone with the desire, drive, and fortitude to put themselves out there like that. In fact, many of the people I’ve met over the past few weeks have inspired me to search for my niche and give it a shot. Well, maybe when the economy picks back up again. Until then I intend to learn what I can from you all and remain your faithful blogger-at-large. There are many great people out there who are motivated and passionate about making this city even better than it already is and I take pride in counting myself among your ranks.

Peace.