new memories are up.

http://picasaweb.google.com/actionxjackson (Jealous Again/ Tiger Uppercut/ Grace Alley/ Hammertime)

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Pumpkin tamales with black beans for breakfast. Mhmmmm.

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'Chikn' & waffles.

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"fish" tacos with black beans.

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Tacos! Picadillo de legumbres.

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Apple hill score: blueberry syrup, apple cider, and pumpkin apple butter!

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Vegan cinnamon bunzz!

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House rules.

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Latin Women Pray

Latin women pray
In incense sweet churches
They pray in Spanish to an Anglo God
With Jewish heritage.
And this Great White Father
Imperturbable in his marble pedestal
Looks down upon his brown daughters
Votive candles shining like lust
In his all seeing eyes
Unmoved by their persistent prayers.

Yet year after year
Before his image they kneel
Margarita Josefina Maria and Isabel
All fervently hoping
That if not omnipotent
At least he be bilingual

-Judith Ortiz Cofer

the red wheelbarrow

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside white
chickens

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1134 @ lisk fest

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Bold @ lisk fest.

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1134

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Pizza night part deux. Follow your heart, garlic, & tofurky italian slices.

A co-worker just introduced the idea of the "beavis & butthead do america" road trip. Sounded interesting i must say.

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Today's soundtrack.

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Some pomade samples i got from work. Not a fan after 1st try. Maybe i didn't use enough. Either way it seems like too much hassle, & i am leaning strongly toward just trimming the stache.

on a lighter note...

I did just finish "Wall and Piece" the other night, and feel very inspired to go out an make awesome stencils. Thank you Robin for gifting this to me, it is a great book.

Random acts of doodling and photoshopery coming soon?

Bed time.

Test. Oh dang son. Mobile posting. Another way to waste time & glue myself to my cell phone. Woooo!?

Yosemite

If you've never been to Yosemite (like me, as of just before this last April), then you need to start making plans to go check this place out. They recommend making reservations weeeeeeell in advance (something like 5 months in advance?) because they camping spots go very quickly. I also learned that as nice as it might sound, summer is not the time to go, because it gets so crowded it's ridiculous. But just be prepared to freeze your butt off because it gets cold at night during the winter months. I think it dropped down to about 33 degrees while Robin and I were there with my Bio Science class. The class was given a pass, but otherwise, it was around $20 to get into the valley, and for Robin and I, it was $20 for 3 days and 2 nights. It's well worth it. The views are just mind blowing, it's so beautiful. The pictures I added do it no justice. I have some I took with my digital slr which I may upload some day. The waterfall in the photos is actually 3 teirs tall. It fell two more time above the fall section you see, and the drop was maybe twice as long as the one shown. It's such a great place, but such a bummer at the same time because there are little hints here and there (besides the obvious over crowding) of the pollution that is beginning to kill some of the trees from all the cars that drive through the valley all year. I think the camp grounds are actually closed part of the year, during the heart of the winter months, because of snow, but otherwise I think they're open the rest of the year.

http://www.nps.gov/yose/

Juicy Lucys

THIS, is a Juicy Lucy. After watching Man Vs. Food a while ago, Robin and I got the idea to make these. We had a day planned to go to an A's game this last April with an old co-worker/ friend of mine, and figured that would be the day to unleash these things. A Juicy Lucy is like a super hamburger (in this case, veggie burger). Instead of one patty, you make two, and in the middle, you can but whatever type of cheese you like, then you grill that bad boy up, and when you take a bit out of it, you get a super warm cheese explosion.

Casa Latina

This is a great new spot for me. This place is on San Pablo, maybe a block or two from Gilman St. I really like this place, not only because they have really good burritos and a large selection of sweet breads, but this is the place where I first got to know Robin, so this place has some really good memories for me.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/casa-latina-bakery-berkeley

Underdog hot dogs

Man, this place is great. If you're ever in the mood for a really good vegan hot dog, come to this spot. They've got vegan and non-vegan links, potato salad, and tater tots, along with a bunch of other goodies. Robin and I went not too long ago and both polished of two rounds of veggie dogs. I don't remember exactly what we had, but i know Robin had an apple sage dog for her first go, and I think one of mine was a vegan bratwurst. I don't remember off hand what our others were, but they were some of the greatest veggie dogs I've ever had.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/underdog-san-francisco

Ps. I'm a new fan of sour kraut, and after talking to a co-worker the other day, I was introduced to the idea of putting kimchi on a dog. I don't know that I'm up for that yet, but who knows, it could be good?

Swine Flu!

I saw this the other day by my work.

Peasant Pies

A couple weeks ago I was out in the city for a bit and caught up with Justin and his lady Jackie. They were out gettin' some food and were about to stop by this place called Peasant Pies out in the sunset. These are the same ones you can find at whole foods or other health food spots. If I remember right, I got one with black beans and one with curried tofu. They were awesome.
http://www.peasantpies.com/

Tamales!

I went to the farmer's market one Tuesday @ Todos Santos Park in concord and happened upon this little booth that sold tamales (and only tamales I think). The sign above the booth was fairly vague, it read something like "tamales" in really big letters and gave an address on International Blvd., and that's basically it. I think it was some spot from Oakland. I picked up some cheese tamales and the lady gave me some of the greatest green sauce I've ever had. She had it in one of those big jugs usually used to store horchata or agua fresca. Right after she opened it to give me some sauce, the smell hit my nose. It was so strong and so good. The jug was maybe 5-6 ft away, and it carried over to the window where I was standing it was so strong.

Check it out:
http://www.edibleeastbay.com/pages/farmers.htm

Martinez Shoreline

I was out @ the salt marsh in Martinez taking photos to use for a bio science class I was in. I snapped this one (like every photo on here basically) with my celly cell.

Mara!

Robin and I went over to Dan and Sara's the other night and got down on some Chili's black bean burgers. These are a couple photos of little Mara being ADORABLE! while we were letting our food settle.

"That's a bummer man"

I was at the Chevron on Contra Costa a week or so ago and after I was done pumping my gas, happened to look down and deciphered this great little note. I laughed pretty hard. And you KNOW some stoner had to have a hand in this little gem of creativity. I was just imagining it in my head after I was leaving.

Buttons!

I was @ my mom's house not too long ago and relocated my button collection, so I decided to scan it up and show it off. There are a small handful that are not included here because they are currently in use. I may find homes for these eventually. There are some golden oldies here.

Uncecessary material things

I saw this in the Fuct blog the other day. I do ride bikes, but I'm not some single speed hipster or whatever, I do however dig this bag and would totally rock it, mainly because it has a sweet Symbionese patch on it and it has fuct on it, really big too. I could be a nice day bag? Whatever, haha.

White collar crime

On my way home from school one day I was skating over this bridge and looked down and saw this big piece that wasn't there the day before. I came back a couple days later a went down under the bridge a snapped this shot. I think it's a giant stencil. I dig it (there's even blood spray painted on a little ledge that comes out from the wall that you can't see in this picture, but you can see it well from the sidewalk).

Breakin'

@ school one day I was going to the student store to grab something to eat before my next class and to my surprise, I see these guys break dancing in the quad. There were may 4 guys taking turns. The guy pictured here and one other guy were pretty good, the others, not so good, but one guy could pop old school style pretty well.

Protest pics

Here are a couple shots I got with my cell phone while walking along the Embarcadero. Robin and I ran into Shane and his lady randomly on bart, so it was really nice to see some familiar faces by our side.
This was a weird day for me. I had a lot of things running through my mind about people in general and christians specifically, as well as some things going on in the wide world currently. Overall though, I'm still gad I went, and made my opinion known and took a stance against something I didn't agree with.
I honestly had a new fear of christians after this day. I saw one guy (shown in the bottom picture) who had a long black coat on and was carrying a simple white flag that had a plain black cross on it. The other thing that did it for me were these younger kids (teenagers? give or take) who were walking around in a line of about 5 deep. They were dressed in black slacks and shoes with white button up longsleeve shirts and black ties, and on their arms they had black armbands that read "christ" on them. They looked like nazis walking down the street. I felt the presence of pure hate and judgement. Not cool.

Pre protest food

Another display of Robin's awesome cookery skills. This was some roasted butternut squash, with dope ass garlic mashed potatoes and some greenery on the side.
As you can see (maybe?) there is a poster board on the floor next to the table. Robin and I were about to go protest the "Walk For Life" in the city the next morning. It is a christian based fund raising walk that is anti-abortion. This was going to be my first protest, so I was a little excited and nervous.

Ritos

This rito is from a spot up in Pittsburgh (CA) right by Mecca, called Reynitas (Little Princess) ( http://www.restaurantica.com/restaurants/58754/ ). I stopped by here because I was told they made Gallo Pinto ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallo_Pinto - this page makes it seem as if it is a Costarican dish, but was told by a fellow employee that this is truly from Nicaragua), and I needed some for a presentation I was doing in my Spanish class. So instead of finding some weird americanized version of the dish and making that, I figured I would play it safe, and go with some more authentic stuff.
Reynitas was pretty cool. They serve your traditional burritos and other Spanish food, but in addition, they serve El Salvadorian, and Nicaraguan food.

Homemade Chicago style pizza

This was all Robin's doing, I simply got to help destroy the evidence. We had been talking about going to Zachary's (a Chicago style pizza place in Oakland/ Berkeley which, according to a lady I talked to who was from the windy city, is even better than the pizza she had in Chicago. Impressive? I'd say) for a while, and one night decided to make some pizza. With that in mind, Robin decided to surprise me with a Chicago style pizza. IT WAS SUPER GOOD! It really tasted as good as it looks. We're gonna try to go hiking this weekend and maybe get some Zachery's afterwards. I'm definitely looking forward to this saturday.

Tofu scramble

I think I was on my way home from Robin's on this day. I got off bart and got over to Todos Santos park in Concord and saw the farmer's market was going on, and about a minute into walking around, soon had a craving for a serious scramble. I found some sweet "Tofu Yu" garlic and black pepper flavored tofu (there is a store front in berkeley I still have yet to scope out). I got some veggies and the rest is history. I <3 farmer's markets.

FOOD!

You are about to be bombarded with photos and little stories about what I've been up to. Here is something to eat to get you going.

Souly Vegan!
So, the restaurant itself is closed, but they are currently still serving food @ the lake merit farmer's market in Oakland. The guy I talked to who was serving food said they were going to re-open the restaurant down by Jack London Square. I'm very happy about that.

BATTLE FAMILY BENEFIT

It think this might come out a little small on here, so just in case...
4/3/09 @ The Li Po Lounge 916 Grant St. San Francisco, Ca. $5 9pm

The loss of a friend

On the night of the 24th, a good friend of mine decided to take his own life by jumping off the golden gate bridge. He was in a state of weakness and felt their was nothing he could do to better his situation. I had a moment of sorrow, but that soon faded and I was met with anger, frustration, disbelief, and lots of questions, and I wished so badly that there was something I could have done to prevent this. That somehow I would have run into him that day and caught on that something was wrong, and be able to talk to him, but I know that will never be possible. I've never been in a fight, never wanted to fight, but if I had to (even though I would have been smashed) I would have fought him if it would have just put some sense into his head. He left behind a wife and daughter, his own mother, and so many friends that cared for him, and for what? To escape your problems? Shit happens sometimes. You could have faced your problems and started anew. And the friends and family that really cared for you would be there for you when you needed it. He was a retired skin who was probably as tough as they come. He could dish it out and take it just as well. He could deal with that law and come out alright. But when it came down to the mental fight, I think it was too much for him and just ate him up.

God damnit Ques, I miss you.

Jah World

"Curse to the wicked snakes who try to snatch the truth away
Cursed be the ones who try to take our youth away
Peace to the black, the brown, the red, yellow, and white seed
We don't discriminate man over color/creed
They tried to snatch up our beats, son, and steal our culture
and German Catholics, whitewashing Roman sculptures
How dare you try to deny Allah's intelligence?
Kidnap the truth, and destroying the black evidence."
-Rza

The Invitation

by Oriah Mountain Dreamer (A Native American Elder)

Robin emailed this to me today. This is really beautiful and, I think, represents all that one should try to attain in a relationship. I think when someone finds a special person in their life that this is the core if it all. Nothing else should really matter except one another, and that both are true to themselves as well as their partner.

"It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking the fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your sorrow, if you have been opened up by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let ecstacy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can betray another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.

I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore be trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not a pretty day, and if you can source your life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver light of a full moon, "Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn't matter who you are, or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments."

Random stuff part tre

Here are some hip hop shows I got to check out recently.
This was a show @ the Fillmore with Hieroglyphics. It was a pretty good time over all. I was by myself and didn't know anyone, plus there was wed smoke everywhere and the merch was pretty lame, but I still enjoyed myself. Also, Del was a couple sheets to the wind, so he was making crazy speeches in between songs, and he came back out after the rest of the group left and tryed to keep going, but he was soon led off stage.

This is a shot from the GZA @ the phoenix. He did most of the liquid swords album. This was pretty bunk. He didn't memorize all of his lyrics and he had no energy at all. He would just pase back and forth with one hand in his pocket as he rapped. Killa Priest showed up unexpectedly and made things fairly enjoyable though.

Part deux

I got this from my moms for xxxmas. It's the old school stuff (sarsaparilla - I had no idea it was spelled like that btw. haha) It's made up in Columbia California (an old gold rush town which I had never heard of. see? you can learn a lot from root beer haha) It's got a bit of a licorice flavor that comes through, but it contains no fennel or licorice flavoring. This is made with only 8 ingredients.
Along with this came a bottle of syrup so you could make your own stuff. Just add your own sweetener and soda water. I'm going to try to make a batch of it with some agave nectar instead of a bunch of sugar and see how it comes out.
http://www.columbiacalifornia.com/

Random stuff part 1

The following posts will consist of photos I've had on my phone for a little while/ random things I've been up to.


This is some new ginger beer (Bundaberg) I discovered at the Berkeley bowl a while ago. It's really good and naturally brewed with big pieces of ginger in it.
http://www.bundaberg-brew.com.au/ There are some pretty good looking recipes on there (pancakes, onion rings, and chicken' nuggets?! heck yeah)

Words with meaning

Straight edge is just a name for the human ability to not need, or do without. Straight edge has never been "the straight edge", it is not a goal to be attained, it is not an entity to be worshiped. It is personal, it is individualistic. It symbolizes all of our ability to look deep inside ourselves - beneath the fashion, beneath the music, beneath the social & cultural indoctrination and discover who we are, free from outside influence. Straight edge is not a source of empowerment in and of itself. It is only a starting point of understanding what oppresses our thoughts and our actions. It is the beginning of a self evaluation on ones own terms, that transcends the accepted standards of our material reality.
-Monster X