Recent Blog Posts: Bakotopia

Social networking is cheaper than therapy

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:44:44 PDT

Daily I need my fix of social networking. Whether its on the site I run at www.WhereMomsConnect.com , www.Bakotopia.com, or www.twitter.com . I need my social networking fix like I need coffee and oxygen. Maybe not in that order. It's therapeutic and much cheaper than therapy. Lately my "Armed Chaise Lounge" has been twitter.

Some of you may already follow me at www.twitter.com/bakomom. Twitter is a micro-blogging network. I'm completely addicted. It's a place where I can randomly post my thoughts with only 140 characters. It's brilliant and makes me laugh.

I have decided I should keep a journal of my Tweets as they call them for those that don't twitter. Here is a link to my journal. Some of these tweets are not for the weak. Some are not for the prude. Not for the self-righteous. I hope you enjoy my random thoughts. I will update as I tweet! :)

Mommy, give me independence...

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:44:24 PDT

At one time, my 22 month old daughter would dig into the trash like a dumpster diver. If I turned my back for a moment she would pull out of the trash what she thought were treasures. Yuck!! Therefore, for safety purposes and to save my sanity we went through the pain stacking, multi-hour task of putting child cabinet locks in place. Now, with reluctance of watching my lil “baby” growing up, I took the child safety lock off the trash cabinet door. My daughter thinks she is a big helper and now puts her trash in the appropriate place. For some this may not be perceived as a big deal. For me it marks a pivotal point of my daughter growing up and wanting her independence. Doesn’t she remember all the previous days when she wasn’t so independent? Days spent crawling and babbling. Days spent needing me to sustain life? Those days appear to seem long forgotten. Although, I’ve seen evidence of her growing up before, I choose to ignore it. Today is just another day I’m realizing my daughter is growing up much too fast. I’m not ready for her to grow.

All other cabinet locks will remain in place until I’m slowing ready to give her more independence.

www.WhereMomsConnect.com

Chinese Lanterns

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:26:34 PDT

I played at the Pagan Pride Harvest Festival at Stramler Park a couplr/three weeks ago, and I finally got around to posting a video from it on the toob....

It was a super cool and super mellow event with very nice people and a lot of interesting things going on. Kinda like a rennaissance fair without the drama. I really had a great time playing there. The sound was done by one of the other artists on the bill, Hauk, and I think he did an excellent job.

This song comes from a day when I was hiking around the desert, and I stumbled upon an outcrop of geodes. I have some land out there in the middle of nowhere, between a wilderness area and a bombing range... I used to go camping out there a lot with my kid and howl at the coyotes and listen to Art Bell on the radio. Chinese Lanterns are a beautiful pink wildflower, also known as Desert 5 Spot, and Painted Ladies are little orange butterflies.

Chinese Lanterns

Lost Hills

There's a halo around the moon

Riding high upon the desert wind tonight..

Clouds are rolling in from the West,

So high above the fire light.

I found a crystal, shining in the sand,

Wile walking through the hills of mystery.

Chinese Lanterns, glowing in the sun,

Light my way.....

In a circle of stones, a fire glows.

Incense rises to the sky.

For many long years

We have watched those flames

Dancing through the night..

I found a crystal....

I met a painted lady

In a cloak of many colors upon the trail.

She could not stop to talk

And upon that Western wind she set her sail.

I saw an Eagle, floating on the wind,

While walking through the hills of mystery.

He sees everything, underneath the sun,

But he won't tell....

Somewhere in the night, my old friends

Sail their ship across the sky.

I hope they don't get lost.

I'll set my crystal out to guide their way...

I found a crystal, shinining in the sand,

While walking through the hills of mystery.

Chinese Lanterns, glowing in the sun,

Light my way.....

"Thanks for listening....."

Let's write a Halloween story, yo!

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:55:18 PDT

I saw this idea posted on another website, but responses were low.

So, in the tradition of the web, we're going to "borrow" their idea and see if we can do better (don't worry, we know 'em).

"Let's write a Halloween horror story, shall we?"

It goes like this - I start it out, and you continue the story by adding a sentence or two (or more) in the comment section. Easy, right?

If we get enough comments going, we'll PRINT the story in the next issue of Bakotopia magazine (yes, you will be listed as a contributing author). Let's see if we can get this thing going...GET CRAZY, ODD, SICK, NON-PC, AND ???

If it gets dorky, you save it! LOL!

A Bakotopia Halloween Story
(We'll change the title depending on how it goes)

By ?

The witching hour was indeed upon us.

Unlike previous years, we were determined to get the crap scared out of us this Halloween.

It was all about getting sick and twisted in Bako, and we couldn't have asked for a better night.

To begin our trip into the unknown, we decided to start by visiting...

ACTRESS/DANCER NEEDED FOR PLAY!! (small part)

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:30:23 PDT

We need to find someone ASAP to play "Vicki", a go-go dancer, in the upcoming play "The Boom Boom Room" which opens Nov. 7th. The part is small. Contact me ASAP please!!

hugz,

Brandy

"Dance like EVERYone is watching!"

Elections are like..

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:38:25 PDT

*Annie, this one is for you! :)

I posted this back in February, but I found it while looking for another post and thought I'd repost it for all of your viewing pleasure.

While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies. His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the man.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."

"Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the senator.

"I'm sorry, but we have our rules." And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake
his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne. Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises...

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

"Now it's time to visit heaven."

So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."

The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell."

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.

I don't understand," stammers the senator. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning.....
Today you voted."

NEEDED! someone to play the part of 'bartender' (no lines) for upcoming play..

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 09:20:36 PDT

We need to find someone to be the 'bartender' in the play "The Boom Boom Room" which opens next month. There are no lines. You would only appear in two short scenes. Please contact me ASAP!

ALSO.. we need to find someone to play the part of "Vicki", a go go dancer. A few lines, may only need to be in the play for one weekend.

hugz,

Brandy

Watch Calcaneous Videos From Guthrie's Alley Cat Show

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:57:43 PDT

Watch the new videos from the Calcaneous performance outside of Guthrie's Alley Cat on Friday, October 3, 2008. They blistered through a wall to wall metal blues set of originals and covers such as Drop By Drop, Ode To The Soldier, Proud Mary, and Train, Train.

Watch the entire Calcaneous video library at:

www.YouTube.com/CalcaneousVideos

Visit the offical Calcaneous website at:

www.CALCANEOUS.com

Stay tuned for upcoming Calcaneous concerts and videos!

Advice and stories mostly useless

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:18:48 PDT

Victory is mine

Went to Karaoke at the double tree had a great time. Not because of the music. But because I got to fart on Brian Brown 3 times. The music was so loud he never knew. Niiiiiice.

Credit card debt

It took me awile to figure out how but I've managed to pay off 5 credit cards. Try this system and tell me if it works for you.
1) Make sure you can afford all your minimum monthly payments. If you can't look into bankruptcy. If you can go to the next step.
2) Don't take on any new debt. You won't get ahead if you keep making the debt pile bigger.
3) Pay your minimum on every card except the one with the lowest amount of debt. You then take every spare penny you have and put it towards that one card. Repeat this step every month until it's paid off. You might have to tighten your belt and eat ramen a few times a week but it's worth it.
4) You should now have more money to go to your next lowest amount.

I think you can see how it goes from there. Like I said I knocked out 5 credit cards doing this. I hope to have my credit cards all paid off by summer next year. Let me know if it works for you.

Is Repo worth the price?

Ooooooh yes. First of all the entire opera isn't on the CD. Second if you listen to opera or musicals you will hear a few familier things. For example the song Infected does sound a bit like something from Bare or RENT. But I have to say it's not only the most unique soundtack I've ever heard it's good. I mean really good. It is fresh new and it rocks so hard. I'm even more excited about the movie now that I've heard the music. I can't wait to see it. I've waited so long to see something truely new in musical theatre or opera and it looks like I might finally.
I've still got some copies if someone wants one. Get ahold of me.

Spider Baby update

I've entered it into a Fringe festival in Fresno. Try saying that 5 times fast. Wish me luck.
Still trying to get the dialogue edited for the radio play. Much harder than it seems.

Holy Crap!

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:37:27 PDT

Am I that far out of the loop? Where'd all these good photographers come from?

When I first moved back into Bakersfield four years ago I was disappointed with the local scene. Yes, there were the long-standing pillars of studio portrait photography and the experienced staff of The Californian were snapping away their weekly shots, but I never saw younger, talented, fresh-style photographers anywhere.

I walked into Borders today and noticed a small coffee table full of local material. The only place I frequent that carries Bakotopia is Daphne's and I haven't been there since the new issue came out so I picked one up. I also picked up the Southwest Voice, Mas, Bakersfield Life, Soul Bakersfield, and B.I.C. I was excited and disappointed to see some great photographers that I didn't even know where out there.

Jessica Moncrief, Greg Nichols, Holly Carlyle, Studio 13, Joseph Gomez, & Pilar just to name a few.

Excited because I'm not competitive. I don't look at good work and see it as a threat to my business because I don't have one. I love photography! When all the elements come together its beautiful. I devour the latest copies of jpg and Rangefinder, it just feels real good to see local talent shaking things up.

Disappointed because I feel I'm missing out. I often talk about my college days when all the photographers would be working tirelessly trying to improve our craft. Networking and feeding off each other. I don't have much time anymore. I guess its a good thing in some ways. Due to a number of reasons I've started to take alot out of my life that doesn't either improve me, or help me improve the lives of others. Its a good new focus. With my photography it means I've been able to do stuff I really want or use what I know in ways that will impact the lives of others.

/If you have a way in mind, let me know.

Sarah Palin is a cold blooded killer

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:12:41 PDT

Sarah Palin is a cold hearted killer that supports the cruel sport of Aerial Hunting of Wolves...............Watch the video and see for yourself............

Dumping Grounds

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:46:39 PDT

I think this is part two of my anniversary series, but I can't remember right now. Of course I guess I could stop and look but what the hell. Here we go:

ok at this point we're in Santa Barbara, I think? Or Solvang.. can't remember.. but there's this "street performer" (translation=bum looking for handouts) and his trick was, he has a rat that is sitting on a cat, who is sitting on a dog. You know, the whole "peace on earth" type theme or whatever. So we decide to take a picture of it... of course this dumbass dude cuts in front of me and effs my shot up. So then the next screen shot I get is THIS

the street performer dude, says, "OH GREAT!! Take a picture of THAT, why don't you?"

hahahah OMG everybody started laughing.. I was so busy trying to get a picture that I wasn't paying attention to what they were doing.

SO here you have it. Even when you're trying to spread peace on earth, you still have to take time to take a dump. LOL

Music you need to check out....

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 13:00:10 PDT

The Killers - Human

Sam Sparro - Black and Gold

Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes

Beck - Gamma Ray

Freemasons - When You Touch Me

The Weedpatch Gazette

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:41:34 PDT

Among the many reasons people envy those of us able to live here in the Kern River Valley is not only the clean air and water we enjoy in this part of the Sequoia National Forest, the marvelous fishing and lack of traffic, the lack of crowds when shopping or attending to other business but also the abundance of birds and butterflies, so much so that people from around the world come here just to be able to see such a marvelous diversity of these beautiful creatures. And while pollution elsewhere in so many parts of America threaten both people and wildlife the very abundance of birds and butterflies testify to the quality of our environment here in this very special place.

However, while not considered beautiful we have an abundance of turkey vultures and the 14th Annual Kern Valley Autumn Nature & Vulture Festival here in the Kern River Valley was held on September 27-28. When speaking of vultures most can be excused for immediately thinking of politicians, however that is ameliorated somewhat here in the valley because of the great number of actual turkey vultures in the wild, sometimes in such large flocks overhead right here in Bodfish Canyon as to make one think the sky had suddenly turned cloudy.

The Kern Valley Sun: The Turkey Vulture Festival had its beginnings when locals Terri Gallion and Sean Rowe, under the auspices of the Kern River Research center, began formally documenting what is considered the largest turkey vulture migration over a single location north of Mexico in 1994. The event is now the focus of the annual two-day event that monitors a consistently healthy bird population. “We’ll see an average of about 30,000 vultures annually along the migration route in the South Fork Valley,” says Alison Sheehey, Outreach Program Coordinator for the Kern River Preserve, “with a good day count being about 4,000 birds. Our counts are also critical to the ongoing military activities in the area. A group of 4,000 vultures can pose a serious problem to aircraft, and we furnish information to the military to help prevent any potentially catastrophic contact with the birds.” The Kern Valley Turkey Vulture Festival is sponsored by Audubon–California, Kern River Valley Revitalization Committee, and Friends of the Kern River Preserve. The Audubon organization is dedicated to protecting birds and wildlife and the habitat that supports them. “A lot of people come out for the vulture festival,” says Sheehey, “but we have many activities going on at the Preserve year round, including our work with hummingbirds and migratory butterflies, like the Painted Ladies we see coming through the area. Come out and pay us a visit. We have a new visitor center now being built, which should make things even nicer in the future.”

In these most uncertain of times I am grateful to God for things like the Annual Turkey Vulture Count, a kind of sanity in the midst of so much seeming insanity. And while they are equated with death vultures play a vital role in cleansing the earth of carrion, but someday there will be new heavens and a new earth and there will be no need of vultures since death will be swallowed up by God’s plan for our future, a future where neither death nor anything unclean will any longer have a place in the scheme of things.

It is understandable there are people that envy those of us able to live here in the Kern River Valley, but I pity those that have no faith in God wherever they live. How very bleak their lives must be to have no hope beyond what this world has to offer, to have no hope beyond the grave, and because of this lack of faith and hope in God and a hereafter spend their lives much like politicians and other of the Devil’s servants attacking those with such faith and hope.

The Credit Crisis / Amazing prophecy from 1982! / A hardcore ...

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 02:02:55 PDT

... fan of the band, Tower of Power, invites you to listen and shake it up around the room a bit ...

My sis and I had a really good time tonite rockin' out to this very golden oldie. Chased away some of our doomy-gloomies (my previous blog mentioned that she may have lost her 401K since it was banked through AIG) ...

'course, if my neighbors were watching through the window, they probably thought we were ... ummm ... who cares ... we had a beer, laughed and danced around my living room and had fun.

Monday comes soon enough for all of us.

Sigh ... I ♥ this band forever ... doubledare you to sit still and not at least tap your toes while listening ... :)

Here's the lyrics:
"Credit"
as performed by
Tower of Power
{ Bass guitar intro }
Go and get it
With your good credit.
Go and get it
With your good credit.
You can
Do the town.
Paint it up red.
Don't worry about a thing,
You don't need no bread.
Go and get it
With your good credit.
You can
Dine in style.
Live like a king.
Keep the spirit flowing.
Ain't no big thing.
Go and get it
With your good credit.
(begin refrain)
Create a flash
With that plastic cash.
You don't need no green
To make the scene.
(end refrain)
Go and get it
With your good credit.
Check it out!
Go and get it
With your good credit.
You can
Pay your bills.
Cop a tailor made suit.
Sign on the line.
You don't need no loot.
Go and get it
With your good credit.
And I will show
you what to do.
You can
Rent a car.
Fill the tank with gas.
Cruise to the limit
Without no cash.
Go and get it
That's a fact Jack.
With your good credit.
Yeah, I like it like that.
{ refrain }
Go and get it
With your good credit.
I got to take
it with me.
Go and get it
With your good credit.
All you got to do
is charge it!
{ sax solo }
Oh yeah!
Go and get it
With your good credit.
Go and get it
With your good credit.
Impress
Your friends
Do it to the max.
And what do you know
You don't need no scratch.
Go and get it.
With your good credit.
Lookey here,
lookey here,
lookey here,
lookey here.
Burn your ribs
Like ya done a lot
of talking.
That need a second look
And take a honey suckle
Mother ain't no fool.
Go and get it
With your good credit.
Now you know what to do.
{ refrain }
I'm trying to tell you.
Go and get it
With your good credit.
Try one, try big,
try to take it
with me.
Go and get it
Go and get it, get
it, get it, get
it, get it, get
it, hey!
With your good credit.
I like it, you
like, I like it,
they like it,
yeah!
Go and get it
With your good credit.
There's no doubt about it.
Go and get it
With your good credit.
Don't leave home without it.
Go and get it
With your good credit.
There's no doubt about it.
Go and get it
You're gonna need it.
With your good credit.
Don't leave home without it.
Yeah!
Yeah!!
Yeah!!!
Yeah!!!!
Yeah!!!!!

Musicians: Michael Jeffries, Marc Russo, Emilio Castillo, Greg Adams, Stephen 'Doc' Kupka, Mic Gillette, Willie James Fulton, Mark Sanders, Vito San Filippo, Chester Thompson, Lenny Pickett

Transcribed by D.E. Gogerty