Seasonal Affective Disorder

These sappy sentimental christmas songs are totally frying my brain. I wish there more than four of them so that KOST wouldnt have to play the same songs over and over again. the fact that the same four songs are performed by the same four "artists" does not dispel the monotony. These sixteen songs are programmed with a fascist iron fist that would have made Mussolini proud.
I have some serious reservations about the content of these holiday season songs. "I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", warbled by the pre-pubescent King of Pop, was, in retrospect, a clear indicator of his severe emotional problems. Like The Who's Tommy, the poor boy witnessed something so traumatic, so heinous, there was no recovering from it. His brothers' refusal to believe him only served to add abandonment on top of the betrayal. Each of the eight times per day i hear this song, my hand positively twitches to call child protective services.
I still don't know the name of the next song, but it goes " do you hear what I hear", ad nauseum. I question the values put forth by the lyric' " a child, a child, shivers in the cold, let us bring him silver and gold." Why not give the kid a freakin' blanket, for crying out loud? what does a baby need silver and gold for? his college fund? Another example of throwing money at the problem, or the the outright, blatant materialism that has rendered christmas into the repulsive, violent free-for-all that has people exchanging blasts of pepper spray more readily than cards.
"Baby, it's cold outside" has nothing to do with christmas, and everything to do with sex. I have no problem with that. It's a really cute song, opprtunistic douchie guys macking on girls is what makes the world go 'round. The main problem with this selection is that it makes the other songs, i.e. Mariah Carey's "all i want for christmas is you" seem even more sucky , in comparison than, than they actually are.
The last song I will comment on will be "Have yourself a merry little christmas" by The Carpenters. This reading of the piece by the late, great Karen was probably intended to be "earnest"and "reflective", but instead comes off so flat-affect as to conjure up images of the gaunt, doomed, and anorexic Karen eschewing the christmas ham for yet another serving of salad and iced tea. A merry little chrstmas indeed. FML.

Conflict-A-chick OR my visit to Chic-fil-A

I hate the South.  Many of my closest friends happen to be from The South, but as evidenced by the fact that they are here and not still there, they obviously arent sold on the region either.  As an elitist Jew from New England, I hate Hate and am prejudiced against Prejudice. The Book of the Law states that "the word of sin is restriction." As a Pagan and Hedonist, I believe everything and anything goes (in moderation) except for murder and stealing, and even then I am Pro-Choice and feel like Robin Hood had the right idea. So, there are no absolutes in my worldview, which makes for a lot of confusion, an abundance of drama, and the inability to please everyone, including myself. FML.

A fast-food  chain known as Chic-fil-A has expanded into southern California in a big way, and all my southern expatriate friends, gay and straight, are performing cartwheels pf joy at the sudden availability of their wares. Chic-fil-A is apparently a Christian operation, shuttered on the Sabbath, and notoriously anti-gay. In spite of this, my southern gay freinds still wax rhadsodic over fond memories  of chicken nuggets slathered in Polynesian Sauce. The loudest voices against the chain are my activist friends Mito Aviles and Chadmichael Christian Morisette; although I admire the pair and lend my support to their causes,  they are vegan, and could never be seduced by the aroma of animal flesh no matter how noble the purveyor. My curiosity aroused, I climbed aboard my little electric scooter, and ventured off to the newly-opened Sunset and Highland store to see for myself what the fuss is about.

Arriving at High Noon, My little scooter bypassed the traffic jam of cars waiting in queue for the drive-thru and woefully insufficient parking lot. You can either drive-thru, get it to-go, or eat outisde at one of a handful of small tables. The building itself is aparently one oversized kitchen. There are four stations for ordering. The menus are well-organized, attractively presenting the chain's numerous permutations of chicken, chicken, and still more chicken. They offer a breakfast menu, and an array of sides and deserts, including cheesecake. Beverages feature tea and lemonade, which I wanted to try, but reluctant to transport on my scooter.The customer service is excellent. Like Starbucks, another behemoth I love to hate, they ask your name and attatch it to your order. You are never just a number at Chic-fil-A.  I ordered one spicy chicken sandwich, a chicken club, a small side of waffle fries, and a small side of cole slaw.  The bill came ro $13.25. The food arrived at the pick-up window with impressive speed.

Upon arriving home and plating the food, I was amazed at how pretty it was. The sandwiches looked nicer than they did on the menu. Crispy green lettuce, thin, flavorful tomato slices, tasty, aromatic bun, and the chicken itsef...well, it exceeded expectations. Probably the tastiest and most perfect fried chicken I've ever eaten. The waffle fries were fluffy and yummy. The slaw, although it resembled the KFC version, tasted really good. In short, this truly was the best fast-food I've ever had. My husband was impressed as well, downing the club sandwich with no complaints.

 I suppose you might say I drank the kool-aid, or in this case, the sweet tea, but in all honestly, I'm sold. Chic-fil-A rocks. My question is,  it  necessary to be thecratic and reactionary in order to produce delicious, visually appealing, and  reasonably-priced food on a mass scale? I've been a foodie for most of my nearly half-century on this planet and I must say, no other fast-food chain comes close to what Chic-fil-A offers in terms of customer experience and quality. I can only hope that Chic-fil-A will raise the bar for the industry.  I do prefer to feel good about those to whom I give my business. 

On the Kelly Thomas matter

Two Fullerton police officers have been charged with involuntary manslaughter and the use of excessive force. The drama is just beginning; Rodney King revisited.

Police brutality has been an ongoing issue forever. Police are just like everyone else. Except they have guns and big sticks with which to beat you upside the head. And they have an impossible job dealing with societies' ills that society has no vested interest in solving. No doubt the deceased did nothing to deserve execution at the hands of a uniformed mob. He was just a convenient punching bag/scapegoat when they snapped. That there wasn't one of them to take a step back to say "enough" is my question. I guess more "sensitivity training" is in order.

Obit for Jani Lane

Heard the news about Jani Lane yesterday; the former Warrant lead vocalist was found dead in a motel room in Woodland Hills, the latest casualty of the music industry machine.

He was not a happy man. He complained loudly and bitterly about the commercial exploitation of his song, "Cherry Pie", which became a meme that was the bane of his existence, and in his mind, the death of his career as a serious artist.. Never mind that "Cherry Pie" was the only Warrant song that I ever liked, because it was catchy, fun and deceptively simple in the way that only a skilled musical craftsman can deliver.

"Cherry Pie" didn't take itself seriously, whereas "Uncle Tom's Cablin", and "Heaven" did. "Where The Down Boys Go" was "Bye Bye Love" by the Cars with different lyrics. How could they get away with that, I often wondered. In an era of cheese, Warrant was less cheesy an Poison, for example, but a whole lot less fun. Until "Cherry Pie"... Wherein Lane penned a perfect pop song, no mean feat.

Lane lost control of his vision, his career, and apparently, a whole lot more. He turned to alcohol, which seems to be the answer to all of life's problems. Born John Kennedy Oswald, a most unfortunate moniker, he lived up to the name and pretty much did himself in. Another artist might have had taken a novelty hit like "Cherry Pie" in stride, rather than resenting it. One needs to take whatever successes we can get. Fate can be a capricious little bitch.

Lane was 47.

Video for "Quicksand" by LorE Denizen Project

Just Sayin'

So I'm wending my way thru the teeming sea of humanity at Hollywood and Highland when some rapper guy pushes a CD in my face, because, of course, you can tell just by looking at me that gangsta rap is my favorite thing in life, right up there along with torture porn.
Strike One.
" You like music?" he asks. "That's me!" he bragged, in a rapperly manner.
"I have my own CDs"' I replied, handing it back to him. In fact, I wished I had one of my own CDs to give him so we could do an across-the-board trade, and each have a colorful new beer coaster to take home.
"Are you from England?" queried Mr. Rapper, the easy tourist dollars apparently obscuring both the map of Israel on my face as well as my Boston accent.
Strike Two.
"Don't you like music?" he persisted, as he handed the CD back to me. I scanned the packaging and saw that he was also on iTunes. He obviously went thru Diskmakers, just like I did. "it's five dollars. Come on, help me out".
Strike Three.
"I have my own CDs I need to sell."' I countered, handing the laser-inscribed hot potato back to him or the second and final time.
As I made my escape past Elvis, the Transformer, and the busload of easily-impressed tourists from England, I wondered how many CDs he manages to sell in a day. Is this a viable marketing strategy? I'd rather perform on the 3rd St. Promenade, and let the people hear me first and make up their own minds.
Just sayin'.

On what makes a True Friend

I am blessed to have a handful of True Friends, some of whom I spent time with this weekend. As I reflected on what makes these relationships endure, the answers became clear.

A true friend is interested in you, not only in what you can do for them, but in YOU as a whole person. A true friend values your friendship, and will demonstrate this by creating time to spend with you. A true friendship is a two-way street. A true friend won't want to leave you feeling hurt. A true friend will be in tune with you enough to be proactive, and think things through to avoid conflict and misunderstanding. A true friend will care about your feelings, and when conflicts arise, which they invariably will, as we are all human, will care enough to be open to discussion, and be motivated to seek a mutually satisfying way to work things out.

If any of the above is missing, then you weren't really friends to begin with

True Friends WILL have ups and downs together, but will be able to look back on things and laugh. True friends support each other in their growth and development, celebrate each other's triumphs, and console each other through the rough patches. It's a relationship.


You can't go by what people say, you have to look at what they do.

Love is action. People can say a lot of pretty words, and some people can talk a great game, but those words are hollow, empty and meaningless unless they are followed up by action.

Sometimes the action required need only be a simple gesture. It's the little things that mean so much.

Sometimes you really want to be friends with someone, and so you try to be friends, and you think you're getting somewhere, but if you find yourself asking why is this happening, and that happening, or -worse-why does this KEEP happening? ,-after you have made a sincere effort to address it, then the bottom line is, you weren't really friends to begin with..

Focus on the people who appreciate you. Be a true friend to them. Love, nurture, do, and care. Create as much beauty and harmony in your own little corner of the world as you can.

I want to be a true friend to my friends. if you harbor any secret resentments against me for any reason, as I know that I am far from perfect, then by all means, talk to me about it so I can clean it up with you.

LorE Denizen out. Always happy to share what little I know with others.

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