oh my god, i’ve just been perusing photo slideshows of the southern california fires. i can’t believe some of the images i’m seeing, pretty scary stuff.

even though i shoulda done the noon, i did the 10 am bikram yoga class today. i’m glad i did, it was a roasty class today and i’m not sure i would have had the strength to make it through the noon. i’ve really been paying attention to how i raise my right arm in every pose—i’ve been doing a lot of compensating! doing everything the right way with my arm really added some strain to my practise. a muscle is trying to develop, but after 39 years, it’s a struggle. hello, muscle, welcome to my body.

it’s kinda strange to not be thinking about my farmers market photos right now! but i gotta admit to being excited about changing the flavor of eye candy i offer you. in honour of the obnoxious list of bands i’ve seen, welcome to part 3 of my rock and roll memorabilia collection—a selection of flyers from jabberjaw.

oh jabberjaw, what a good friend you were to me. in between the masque and the smell was my friend jabberjaw. “back when i was a kid,” it was the only place you could see new, local, indie bands plus secret shows like nirvana and bikini kill and a few others that were way too popular to be playing a tiny, back alley club in a crap part of town. there are some bikram yoga studios bigger than jabberjaw was, and, on a crowded night, you could sweat as much as if you’d taken class!

i think these flyers are all from 1993. red aunts, fireworks, jackknife, 8.5″ x 14″ 2-color printed flyer. jon spencer blues explosion, silkscreen poster, i think it’s 16″ x 20″, this is one of the best posters pablo ever did. i remember coming home and finding 5 of these that had been slid under my door! those were different days, friends, anyway. southern culture on the skids, jackknife, 11″ x 14″ photocopy flyer. that’s brian jones on manson’s face. scots played a 20 minute version of slim harpo’s hip shake that night—oh man, they fuckin’ killed. as they do every night, i remember seeing them at a bowling alley once. “crikey, i could go on forever,” sighed an old man. thanks for putting up with me benders! ~m

This was a headline on my yahoo news this morning: “experts: exercise beats angioplasty for some heart patients”

hmmmmm, exercise is better than a medical procedure? duh. that’s why yoga is the best medicine to be on. bend for 90 minutes daily. repeat until death.

how was your class today? summer is having it’s last hoorah this weekend. ouch. it was another sweaty bike ride to the studio. weekend classes are lots of fun because of all the people. oh my gosh, so nice to practise with so many happy people. i love getting to the studio and having sd say “next to me, next to me.” since her s.o. wasn’t practising today, her yoga boyfriend (me) got to practise next to her. i hit a little valley in my practise because it was a little hot, but i finished with as much energy as when i started.

for all the smiling faces, there were a lot of frowns too. they inspire me to practise even harder because i do this every day and i hear the instructions that they’re not listening to. oh! i almost never do this, but i gotta tell you about the woman next to me. oh my god. poor dear. i think she was a bikram newbie, still conscious about her short, stocky body. she was wearing what looked like cotton capris and a heavy cotton, summer top. oh man, it looked like she had on an oven. she was sweating just as much as i was. i felt so sorry for her, she was not having a good time.

nevermind all that though, after class and lunch on pacific, i got back to my bike and found cookies in the water bottle holder on my bike—oh my god, hs knows how to make me feel special! honestly, that was prolly the highlight of my two years in santa cruz.

since the list of bands i remember seeing will be up for a week, welcome to part 2 of my rock and roll memorabilia collection. when i moved to los angeles in ’88. i started seeing all the punk bands i used to read about in flipside magazine. eventually i fell under the spells of the los angeles noise movement that couldn’t play in clubs. this is from the day distorted pony, die happy, slug and some guy from japan (kk null?) played under a freeway in the long beach/wilmington area. generator party, the directions were vague, no one asked for money, these bands just wanted to play. they couldn’t play in proper clubs, so they did it themselves.

this was my favorite flyer from those days ~ death ride 69, distorted pony and slug. you know you can’t spell distorted without ted and he taught 2nd grade. one day in class, he made his kids design a flyer for their next show. i think he had 30 to choose from and liked this one the best, i don’t remember. the flyer is great, but you were fucked if you din’t know where helter skelter was.

i guess that was kinda the point though, you *were* fucked if you din’t know where helter skelter was. you should click and listen to this 13 minute song by slug, it kinda defines that whole era ~♫~swingers~♫~. slug eventually went from playing under freeways and underground clubs to the whisky on the sunset strip. this was a big night—noise bands in an established hollywood rock club. this would have been a normal night at jabberjaw, but at the whisky? namaste my brothers and sisters ~m

wow, is it hot today—i still haven’t put on a shirt! i enjoyed the sun on my body as i pedaled to the 10 am bikram yoga and worked up a good sweat on the way. i am so lucky i can eat right up until class starts! i had a gang of strawberries and a pluot. have you ever had a pluot? i never did until i moved to the central coast of california. it’s a cross between a plum and an apricot, they come in several varieties, but for the most part they are like a sweet-tart. mmmm, so tasty! i had to eat outside because it was so drippy-juicy. just like me during class though! wow, what a roaster. she din’t even have the heat really cranked, there were just a lot of bodies in the room. this is what august is supposed to feel like, i suppose!

okay friends, how about something different for a bikram blog? my friend sent me a challenge “list 50 bands you’ve seen.” this list isn’t complete and i’ve got 265 bands! keep in my mind, before i started this journey, i was on a different path. in college, one year, i was concert ticket giveaway coordinator at the radio station, the same job my best friend had the year before. we went to a lot of shows back then! after college, i hung out at jabberjaw almost every night they were open, circa 1989-1995. in 1998, i helped my friend put on punk shows at a local lesbian bar in long beach. i’ve only listed bands i distinctly remember seeing. no cover/tribute bands. after the name, if there’s a number, that’s the amount of times i’ve seen the band. if there’s a plus sign, it means i prolly saw the band a lot more times than this, but it’s hard to remember. alright, starting with my first show ever, here it is: 266 bands i’ve seen:

nov. 7 1979, inglewood forum, dynasty tour ~ kiss (3) • motley crue • dokken • chuck berry • dri • across the river(2) • st. vitus • d.i. • doted swiss • sylvia juncosa • lazy cowgirls (10+) • jeff dahl band • creamers • leaving trains • haunted garage (10+) • celebrity skin (3) • nymphs groovie ghoulies (10+) • gwar (2) • death ride 69 (10+) • distorted pony (10+) • blackbird (2) • die happy (5+) • oiler(5+) • ethyl meatplow (3+) • sharkbait • warlock pinchers • hole (5+) • young m.c. • boogie down productions • abraxis • excel • today • nitzer ebb • ace frehley • motorhead • trash can school (10+) • yard trauma (2) • beguiled • mummies • supercharger • rip offs (3) • count backwards • buzzcocks • bad religion (2) • dickies (10+) • circle jerks (3+) • butthole surfers • miracle workers • davie allan and the arrows • social distortion (3+) • 5.6.7.8.s • teengenerate (2+) • thee hypnotics • mudhoney (3) • thee headcoats (3+) • melvins (2+) • L7 (5+) • honeymoon killers • action family • antioch arrow • man…or astroman? • trashwomen (5+) • donnas (2) • astronauts • babyland (5+) • beck (3+) • kicking giant (2) • big sandy and the fly-rite boys • link wray • brian jonestown massacre • sonic boom • spectrum • black angel’s death song (2+) • black halos (8+) • murder city devils (9) • catheters (5) • blacktop • fireworks (2) • red aunts (10+) • gibson bros • 68 comeback (10+) • rocket from the crypt (3) • blues explosion (6) • jesus lizard • rev. horton heat (2) • bobbyteens • paper tulips • bomboras (5+) • verdicts • scarred for life (2) • steel pole bathtub (3) • undead • unsane (5+) • cherubs (5+) • caroliner rainbow (2) • boss hog • calamity jane • crackerbash • spinanes • a dick did • throw rag (15+) • lee scratch perry (6) • sonic youth (3) • die kruezen • nirvana (3) • stp (nyc) (2) • subhumans (uk) • supergrass • beastie boys (3) • dj spooky • kool keith (2) • cheeseburger (3) • cramps (3) • chokebore • chrome cranks • clawhammer • clickitat ikatowi • mdc • waldo the dog faced boy • doo rag (5+) • southern culture on the skids (10+) • demolition doll rods (3) • dwarves (2) • emilys sassy lime • x (3) • duh (3+) • nation of ulyssus (2) • turbonegro • foxations (2) • god bullies • cows • frank black • franklin bruno • refrigerator (2) • pile-up (5+) • buzz (3) • go nuts • helmet • devil makes three • heavy trash • trash can school (5+) • stitches (10+) • flash express • spurts • tad • pee chees (5+) • dead moon • rocket from the crypt • imperial butt wizards (3) • butt trumpet • insect surfers • neptunas (3+) • jack brewer • jawbreaker • j church • cringer • laughing hyenas • urge overkill • les thugs • no-talents • los cincos • lubricated goat (2) • mia (o.c.) • mono men • muffs • makers (8+) • mecca normal (2) • mudwimin (3) • nashville pussy • mono men • nomads • necessary evils • nuerotones • spooky • new bomb turks • old 97s (3) • jimmy cliff • dave alvin (2) • olive lawn • supersuckers (4+) • oblivions • pal walker and the dirtys (3) • phantom surfers (5+) • possum dixon • redd kross • pressurehed (3+) • red temple spirits • ringling sisters • royal trux • vooduo (3+) • wash • le shok (2) • satans cheerleaders (2) • satans pilgrims • sandy duncans eye • sativa love box • 16 • supernova • surgery • devil dogs • tommyknockers • teen angels • that dog • thinking fellers union • loudspeaker • karen black • witchypoo • woggles • severin • zip gun • red hot chili peppers • korn • motorhead • real kids • suicide • ac/dc (3) • anthrax • exodus • whitesnake • quiet riot • dio • slipknot • ministry • uniform choice • white stripes • war • tower of power • devo • andre williams • peaches • tenacious d • strokes (3) • kings of leon • valentine killers (2) • john doe (2) • humpers (10+) • el vez (2) • white zombie • mikey dread • godflesh • prong • cocksparrer • primus (2) • vandals • specials • no doubt • velvet revolver • agent orange (2) • ben harper • cake • candy snatchers • bladder bladder bladder • snakecharmers • hellbenders • dead man’s choir • mix master mike • gears • mentors (2) • goops • reducers s.f. • knitters • pop will eat itself • jonathan richman • gorillaz • human television

for the next few days, i’m going to visually celebrate this list. to kick things off, on the left is the t-shirt i bought at my first concert, on the right is the ticket stub from one of the last shows i went to. see you tomorrow ~m

hey friends, i don’t know about where you were, but in santa cruz, it got warm early this morning! i tweeted that it was so hot already the bikram yoga 4 was gonna be roasty. my teacher even guaranteed it on my facebook page, “oh yes it will be, the noon was a killer!” if you think i’m melodramatic about my practise, she told me she got murdered in the noon! don’t you love the candidness?

practise was everything i thought it would be. my elbows were dripping sweat like a faucet during the second set of pranayama. by the end of class, my head felt like it was on fire. i drank almost all my water, not because i was struggling, but because i was afraid of dehydrating! i was actually pretty strong during the entire class, it was my brain that was melting. class today certainly lived up to morning expectations. roasty? no doubt.

definitely click and enjoy this one from the farmers market. the colours are so complex, the good quality is huge in file size, but worth it. this photo is a little dark in spots, but i refuse to photoshop my pictures in any way. this is a 100% organic photograph, no photoshop, no crop, just all natural eye candy as i saw it. see you tomorrow ~m

howdy sweat friends, where did my day go today? it all started last night when i tried to watch inglourious basterds. after seeing qt on conan the other night, i decided to see if i could find it on the internet. i found a pretty good copy and got caught up watching it. it was too late though and somewhere in the middle i drifted off to sleep.

another morning, struggling to make it to work on time. hard to get pumped up about the day job lately. at least i got to have an amazing class in the middle of the day. my third baker class this week finally lived up to it’s name and i got baked! by the end of class my head felt kinda too hot. definitely a hot one if it was your first day of bikram yoga. they had a good teacher to get them through class though. some teachers stick straight to the dialogue and i know that should be good enough, but it’s not. it can be so intimidating when you’re a bikram newbie, oh my gosh, i remember my first week in the studio! actually, it wasn’t too much different than this week—baker taught all but 1 of the classes! when she helps out the bikram newbies, it reminds me of that week and how much she helped me. don’t worry though, we have a lot of teachers who are great at quickly explaining you into the pose if it looks like you’re having trouble getting it.

another strong class today, my body is really feeling incredible. my right shoulder feels like it’s on fire with new ache and my lower spine is achingly stretching itself. i practise so often and my body was in such bad shape, i almost always feel some kind of new change going on. speaking of change, lamar odom just tweeted a picture of him and his yoga instructor! that’s new for him.

check out that sick ass lakers poster in the background. world champion los angeles lakers! i love it when they say that before each game! i don’t know who his instructor is, but she can give me hands-on corrections any time she wants! quick, change the subject, check out the clouds today, don’t they look cool? i love the swirling action going on! okay, that it’s from me, see you tomorrow ~m

hey friends, you wanna know what i’ve noticed in the past few weeks, as my body continues to open up? in the standing series, i’ve been setting up poorly for some of the poses. like in dandayamana-janushirasana, when we bend forward to get our bikram basket grip under our foot. i haven’t been using my lowest abs on my right side, i’ve been using my upper abs to “muscle” my way through the pose. lately, it’s hard to get into that pose because i can barely work that non-existent right lowest ab. it’s frustrating to relearn a pose, but 99% right, is 100% wrong, right?

today, i confirmed another lame thing about my practise that needs fixing. when i raise my right arm up for dandayamana-dhanurasana, i don’t raise it straight out in front of me. it’s only my right arm, i do a very subtle twist to compensate for my shoulder being totally hunched in. on monday, i kinda got the notion that i was raising my left and right arms differently. yesterday, during second set, i saw what i was doing, it’s almost like a little dramatic raise, if i can berate myself here. today, during first set, i totally nailed myself on it. i brought my arm back down and raised it straight up. you wanna know what? i couldn’t do it as fast and it felt all new and weird as it was going straight up. oh, there’s a lot of tightness in that shoulder. i can’t believe all this time and i never noticed it before.

that was the highlight of my practise, confirming how lame i am! actually, i was glad to finally figure it out. it’s such a small thing, a teacher would be hard pressed to notice it or not write it off as me being a little lazy. and after dandayamana-janushirasana, who isn’t a little winded? i was way strong all class, but even today, after that pose, my heart got beating so fast, i was surprised i din’t drop dead! thump thump. thump thump. thump thump.

this was a nice visual present from the farmers market last week. i super love the way these flowers look! definitely click to see the larger, better quality version. see you tomorrow ~m

son of a gun, we’ll have some fun down at the studio! (sorry, hank fans) well, i hope you’re having as good a day as i am! despite not having a cool office anymore, i still get to bend during the middle of the day, which is the most important part of life anyway.

my dinner was so pathetic last night. not only was it unphoto worthy, but i woke up with my stomach growling. even worse, my back was really looking forward to class. how’s that for a spin? i’ve been enjoying new aches and pains as my back stretches and aligns even more. even though i’m enjoying them, it’s still not fun to get out of bed in the morning.

i thought about doing the 10, but instead @jessibird and i went down to new leaf at 10:30 and i got a half pound of chicken jambalaya. i know most people can’t eat that much right before a noon bikram yoga class, but i’m an exception to the rule. it was another small class, kind of a lackluster group too. everyone seemed a little drained. people were so weak with their sit-ups during the floor series, baker said something about it towards the end, like, put a little energy in it, or something. i knew she wasn’t talking to me, i had so much energy i was ready for another class. there really is nothing like feeling strong in every pose! even if you’re not as flexible or going to the full expression of the pose or whatever, just giving it your 110% for the entire class, it’s an unbeatable feeling.

i don’t think i’ve done a double since may, i’ve really been anxious to work one into my schedule, but i only like doing them back to back. it’s hard to fit a double into my work day. the best day is friday, but there’s always an excuse. this week is the packers game. even if they weren’t playing, the guerilla drive-in is showing man on wire in the san lorenzo park this friday! how fun would that be? see? there’s always an excuse to not do a double. i know i need to lose them, but how?

i gotta be honest with you sweat friends, sometimes i get bored of posting flower pictures all the time, but it’s hard not to when these colours are so amazing. the splashes of pollen on the petals are perfect, they make the picture for me. see you tomorrow ~m