a sorry excuse for a blogger

i have done quite a lot in the past month... and i haven't updated this thing. what can i use as an excuse?

-my thesis?
-my broken camera?
-chronic fatigue?

all lame. all very lame excuses.


where have i been?

well, everywhere around the edge of this peninsula, basically.

i hosted devin peacock for his birthday on his first voyage to california and i gave him the initial trip to san francisco.

i visited a lot of costume shops to find the perfect look for my ziggy stardust ensemble.





i also have been attending a lot of neighborhood organization meetings in pursuit of a larger demographic for my thesis

i went to the treasure island music festival where all of this happened between the bay bridge and the golden gate:


eric and i took a cab to treasure island (the shuttle line was five blocks long...no joke)

and arrived in time for passion pit, which we didn't need to see up close because they aren't very good live. disappointing.


dan deacon rocked out with his band! apparently it was the first time this tour he'd gotten the ensemble together.

THIS was a show: Deacon makes you wonder why more performers don't break down the barrier between the stage and the audience. He had us form a circle for an interpretive dance contest, twice,
and then crafted the audience into two great tunnels, weaving from the stage to the ferris wheel.



this wasn't the human tunnel, but this was also happening.. monsters line dancing. you know, no big deal.



free art sessions


inflatable lounge areas.






ferris wheel ride!!!

i also saw the Brazilian girls, the streets, dj krush, mgmt (all weren't that impressive)

but then the night really ended with fireworks and a medley of "SHOUT" by girltalk. it was really exciting stuff (especially since i was seated on a man-made pirate ship watching it all happen)



the next day i finally saw beirut. their performance was incredible. zach is such a charmer. i actually saw people in tears. ...um, myself included. he played all of my favorites and then some. it was a great weekend.

grizzly bear, beirut and dan deacon were at the top of my list of treasure island performances. grizzly bear were immaculate, beirut was emotionally engaging and dan deacon was just super fun. it was a pleasure to have been a part of their audiences.













clearly i am a fan.

o and i also found out that My study was accepted for the 2010 Western States Communication Association Convention! I'm going to Anchorage, Alaska.

nuts.

ill be sure to keep you all posted.

love and loyalty

a halloween preview

how ironic that i practice my halloween costume (major thanks to angelo) on my father's birthday when he was the one who got me into ziggy in the first place.



love and loyalty

a checkup

so after my recover i really got into working on grad school. in case you were curious about what i have been up to, here's the latest -

what i did last semester was a quantitative analysis of media consumption patterns, interpersonal communication, and civic engagement (activism). my subject sources were all on the low side of civic engagement, so i was all, "well what about the people that actually do things and, you know, make decisions about healthcare and rights and so on?"

so now i am working with state senators, city hall, and a government sponsored neighborhood empowerment organization and sending my questionnaire to a load of people that ARE politically active, find out where they find unbiased, credible and reliable sources of information (both local and national) and compare the results with civic engagement and interpersonal communication.

the end result will (hopefully) be a guide for marginalized communities to give them the power and tools to become more active for their rights and needs for community improvement and empowerment in case of disaster (THE BIG EARTHQUAKE, DROUGHT, FAMINE, etc.).

something to use as a guide for why this is a necessity is the current condition of impoverished neighborhoods in what used to be new orleans. katrina ruined them and they're STILL piles of nothing. the neighborhoods that had a voice and an active community were able to help each other through the struggle and have been able to rebuild their homes to stasis. i dont want that to happen to residents of other cities that are in risk of natural disasters or epidemics. i want people to have their voices, get the rights and protection they deserve, and to understand how to be effective leaders and members of a community.

making sure they know what's going on in the world is a preliminary necessity in becoming active so, in comes my study.

thankfully, i can still claim to have downtime and living in san francisco helps because it always has something to take my mind away from academia.

love and loyalty