the pope & the silver castle

dear friends,

thanksgiving weekend! days off! days off!

for you in other countries where thanksgiving is huh?, t-day is not a day about pilgrims & indians. don't let the marketing fool ya. no. it is the thursday in november where everyone has an excuse to gorge themselves until they pass out, clutching a drumstick, with a trail of gravy drool on their tranquil faces. how great is that? an eating holiday! no gifts necessary!

as for the dark side of thanksgiving, you know the whole, give us food, nice natives & we'll give you blankets, slightly used, thing? that's usually not so much on the menu. being 30% mapuche indian myself, I look forward to the sole media mention, usually "a hey, remember those people? we're sorry, let's eat!" editorial. sad, eh? buffy the vampire slayer did an excellent thanksgiving episode where the ghosts of indians came back to kill whitey for decimating them. buffy felt conflicted about the whole thing, they have a right to be murderous after all, but she destroys them anyway because as everyone's favorite bleach blond vampire, spike, points out, "that's what conquerors do." as in, they annihilate. man, I miss that show. it was pointed. like a pointer.

anywho, this immigrant does believe in the thank you part of t-day as well as the eating part, so thank you people who read, comment & write here. I like you. you are nice. keep the recommendations comin', in the comments or in the posting. I ain't choosy.

so yeah, I think I've been watching more telly than listening to music lately SO because I am work hours busy & time off lazy, here's a playlist for you of 24 songs courtesy of the little monkey ipod set on random, with absolutely NO explanatory remarks (well, hardly any anyway). should YOU have any comments about these songs, as in "you listen to THAT?" or "this song makes me think of playing ping pong with griffins", then hop to it!

1. what I'm trying to say/stars
2. cinderella backstreet/peter laughner
3. temptation inside your heart/the velvet underground
4. in this hole/cat power
5. let's get lost (live)/elliott smith
6. the same old rock/roy harper
7. the get a way/pretty girls make graves
8. within you, without you/sonic youth
9. aganju/bebel gilberto
10. I'm not angry/elvis costello
11. where there's woman/captain beefheart
12. do it all over again/spiritualized
13. cadence & cascade/king crimson (someone's been adding the flute rock to my ipod, I swear)
14. strings of nashville/pavement
15. sobredosis de tv/soda stereo
16. epilogue/most serene republic
17. do you love me?/nick cave
18. the razor dance (electric)/richard thompson
19. I'm that type of guy/ll cool j
20. cloudberries/super furry animals
21. gold/spandau ballet (YES! HA HA HA! this song is truly my one admitted guilty pleasure. it's so AWFUL, it's brilliant!)
22. baby stick around/joe jackson
23. terrible things/beauty pill
24. little bird/the white stripes

tomorrow, while I make mashed winter squash, bacon & thyme potatoes au gratin, cornish hens stuffed with wild rice & walnuts & a radish, celery, spring onion, boston & romaine lettuce salad, the monkey shall be putting up the mp3's (plus a special bonus track! fancy!) as well as his track by track response for the delayed but finally finished guitarmy project on his site. wish us luck! & have a happy holiday weekend!

love, d