Warshington D.C.

OOOGli! Total soaked coming into D.C., but the roads were flat, and we a very fast, sort of. We got to Robbie's just before he had to go to work. Showered up, dried off, then we went to eat where Robbie was working, the Logan Tavern. After that we stumbled around northern D.C., saw "Into the Wild", and walked more until Robbie got off of work, and then stumbled some more. Our next day Sam and I went to get some lunch fixings and came back, and Robbie's land lord was changing his locks. It was an odd scene, because none of Robbie's roommates were home, and the landlord didn't trust us until we called robbie. When Robbie got out of work, we went to see "Darjeeling Limited". Two movies in a row, phew! Then we got good and soaked walking back. Rainrainrain! give some to California! Saturday, Sam and I finally got to the free museums when the rain cleared. The crowds were out, unfortunately and the natural history museum and the air and space museum were like Chuck E Cheese's! So many people! so many camera's and flashes. I took a few pictures, but felt so awkward that I had to stop.

The Giant Sloth is one of my many spirit animals!

After that we met up with Robbie and wandered the city more. We will probably be heading out tommorow for somewhere in Virginia. See you soon!
Sam and Zak

Baltimore and more

Our last night in Philadelphia, Sam and I cooked green curry, which wound up being more brown than green, for Brendan and a bunch of friends. After feasting and talking to all the good Philly folk, I played a show in Brendan's living room. The show felt pretty good, I think I'm getting the hang of playing with this tape. I was also able to make a dub of my accompanying tape, which is a relief. Sam and I set off the next morning in good weather. South of Philly was beautiful fields, but a lot of hills.

We got a bit lost and underestimated our trip. We pulled into the Susquehanna State Park in the dark after riding 88 miles. The park was closed, but not locked, so we stayed for free!

We found a place to stay in Baltimore with a group of MICA students through our friend Barry, so we headed out early in the morning. Unfortunately we could find no water in the closed camp site, so the first leg of the trip was a bit uncomfortable. We got into Baltimore around three and waited outside of the CopyCat building for Rachael, Barry's friend. Rachael let us into her loft space and we met most of her roommates, Kit, Cole, Jeremy, and Madeline. After settling in we met Ariel for dindin at an Ethiopian restaurant nearby. The food was great, and I love eating with my hands! afterwards we visited Malcom at his new metal shop. He was sharing the shop with two friends, Tim and Mario, who had a chimney sweep business. The shop was an autoshop, and the landlord had just retired the business. A fire cabinet and a huge air compressor among other things were left behind. Malcom was installing some outlets in what would be an upstairs office. Pretty exciting! Our next and last day in Baltimore began with a visit to the abandoned suit factory behind the CopyCat building. Rachael and Kit were looking for some fabric that they knew to be stashed somewhere in the factory. The gate was easy to slip through, but the doors and windows had recently been boarded up. Apparently some filming for the show The Wire had been done in the factory, and all entries had since be sealed, but I was able to shimmy up a pipe and hop in a second story window. You can see the busted window in this shot.


Kit, Rachael, and Sam stayed down below, while I tried to find a lower entrance. This didn't work out and I eventually gave up and climbed back.
Sam and I then went off on our own to find fixings for a dinner. When we returned, Rachael and Kit had decided that they really needed to get some more fabric from the suit factory, and had enlisted Cole in the endeavor, who knew the whereabouts of the fabric. We went back to the spot, armed to the teeth with flashlights and other apparatus. Cole and I hopped up to the window and made our way to the fabric room. After kicking a hole in a door panel, we found ourselves in the suit room. It was a very beautiful and eery sight. Rows of sewing machines sat dormant below giant hangers, still holding a few suits. Most of the suits however had been taken of and tried on by previous visitors. I tried the closest coat on the rack near me. It was a big wool houndstooth trenchcoat that fit except for the shoulders, which were too broad. Beyond that room, was a room stacked six feet high with rolls of suit fabric. We grabbed all of the Bill Blass satin that we could, and headed out, I still wearing my ridiculous coat. At night, Sam and I cooked some soop with cannelinni, tomato, kale, and many strange variety of mushrooms that the girls had got from their job at a mushroom stand in the farmer's market, while Kit and Rachael sewed up the fabric we found into a great sheet, to be made into a tent for a Weedsnake dinner they were hosting. The tent was so big, it looked like a luxury parachute!

After dinner I played another show with burning of sage and candles and so forth. Good feelings were had. Meesh Meesh looked on approvingly.

The next day we set out in the rain for Washington D.C. We stopped at the MICA mail room and I sent off my trenchcoat. Someone is getting a present soon!

Philly, Pencil-vein

Slogging through rain and hills, we made it to Philly, just as Brendan (Solid Gold) was getting out of work. We had some dinner, and then Luren and Alex came by. We were sitting about listlessly when the rain started coming down in buckets. Never ones to let a moment go to waste, Sam, Brendan, and I got down to our undies and ran into the street to frolick in the rain. Whooping and yelling, running and jumping, we elicited cheers from the girls upstairs and the bar across the street, and quickly the attention of an undercover cop car. The officer asked us our business, and I told him "enjoying the rain" which was truth. He told us, "get inside or I'll take you in". We went inside. After a bit we went for a ride in Brendan's roommate's car, who was away, to Brendan's studio, but our travels took an unfortunate twist.
KABLAMMMO! Crossing a side street we were t-boned by another car! NO ONE WAS HURT! thank god. It happened quite slowly actually. The lights from the other car came too close, tires squeeched, and my head bounced of the passenger window a couple of times. We were pushed onto the other curb. Everyone got out a bit dazed, but completely unscathed. The other car was completely fine, but ours was done for. these pictures are from the next day, in the lot.


Poor Luren was the most upset, as she was driving her good friends car, but the safety of all people involved brought some perspective. Thanks Volvo! We waited for a police officer for while, though we were passed by a number of cruisers, and then for a tow. Philly is a crazy town (this experience is not indicative). The next day was much more laid back. We visited Brendan's studio at PIFAS (Philadelphia Institute For Advanced Studies). What a cool place! Like an artist shanty town in a warehouse.



A bunch of the 17 artists at PIFAS had built strucural roofs on their studios and had set of roof spaces

Later we biked down to South Philly, made lunch at B's work, and then went to visit Luren at the Naval Yard, where her office (free peoples, a clothing company owned by Urban Outfitters) was located. We had some ID troubles at the gate, but Luren came to meet us and we road passed the dormant navy ships to an abandoned suburb, that had been used to house naval officers and their families.



A number of the building had burned down, and looked beeeeyoutiful.


The whole while planes were flying low overhead, to land at the airport.

We then went to visit Urban Outfitter palatial cafeteria area in what must have once been a foundry-like spot for the the navy.

That night we went back to Brendan's studio where there was an opening of their resident artist, K-Fai, with cat people, cat people installation, a cat man singing songs, and a cat people's film adaptation of Othello. After the catting, Jimmy Cozens and his band boogeyed down for us.

After that we visited another studio space with a skate ramp, a dog, and a drunken ex boyfriend making a scene. We left quickly, to got to more studios. There is a lot alot a lot of cool studio spaces it seems in Fish Town, where brendan lives. We were very sleepy after all that! Tonight I am going to play a show at Brendan's. The Man with No Brain, siging out.
Love and Hugs

All Heart and No Brains

We decided to escape from New York via Staten Island, and so we hopped on the free ferry. We were escorted by a coast guard boat with a mounted machine gun, obviously they knew we were on board. One of the ferry crew members told us (dundundun, foreshadowingggggggg) that the outer bridge on the south end of Staten Island was pedestrian friendly. We road the 15 miles down to the bridge, only to find it totally un-bike-friendly. I became quite discouraged after talking to a sarcastic and wholly unpleasant bridge authority man. We began asking trucks for rides, and made a sign, and even offered forty bucks in exchange. Our lack of preparation for this contingency struck me when I noticed I was wearing my "The Man With No Brain" teeshirt, and riding a bicycle with a heart flag pinned to it. All heart and no brains indeed! After a lot of failure, and even an attempt to rent a UHaul van, we went into the Home Depot parking lot, and our first attempt brought us together with Russ, a truck mechanic at the Fresh Kills waste facility, (biggest human structure in the world). Russ threw our bikes in the back of his pickup and drove us over the bridge, which he had no need to cross. He let us off in Perth Amboym, New Jersey, and took a picture with his cellfone, and emailed it to me. Russ is a life saver! thanks again.

We took some direction in Perth Amboy from an excessively talkive fellow who proved to be a reliable navigator, more thanks. We pulled in around 5:30 to Sean DiIanni's ancestral home. His mom made us to feel at home, and we hopped in the frigid pool for a cool down. We made some din from local vegetables, and then played some Halo 3 with sean's younger brother Mark, and then watched the copy of Transformers that Edgar had burned for us before we left. More Thanks. Thanks DiIanni's! Philadelphia... comin up.

Shame on You!

When you stepped through to the Coyote Moon Children! The big apple was not as impenetrable to bicycle as one would imagine. Sam and I headed down from Hastings on route 9, through Yonkers, which at points was rather messy, and we were in Manhattan before I even realized it. We got a bit lost in Southern Manhattan trying to find the Brooklyn Bridge, but as you can tell from my quintessetial tourist shot, we found it, and soon found Sean and Simone and Edgar's place in Park Slope/Windsor Terrace.

Our first day in Brooklyn Sam and I sanded primed and painted Sean and Simone's room in the morning, then Sam went to see Rex, a fellow bike shop veteran. I painted a bit more and went to lunch with Sam and Rex at a vegan restaurant in Brooklyn. After eating enough for two, Rex gave us a rather well informed tour of the town. I went back to Sean's full of food and Knowledge, the greatest food. That evening we got some pizza with Sean and waited as his roommates and friends slowly rolled in. I played a show for the folks in the apartment, and Sam went out with Rex.

Day the next. We went about sight seeing. Rex took us to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens where we met Caleb who tends a portion of the gardens there, one being the Curiosities and Poisons garden. Mmmmmm hemlock. Caleb graciously showed us around a bit, and then we wandered off by ourselves.

In the arid room we found that the words of the prophets are actually written on the succulent walls

Sam stuck around with Rex for the rest of the day, and I went to visit Nicole at her bar in Green Point. This looked like a great idea on my painfully undetailed subway map (keep in mind I was biking), but the reality was a little different. After getting lost in the Williamsburg industrial park, I finally found Green Point Ave. I hung about with Nicole as she slung drinks at the locals, and met a couple of friendly Fordham law students. I left Green Point at around 9:30, feeling confident in my ability to find my way home. Two hours later I found Sam, Rex and Caleb in Park Slope. I have no sense of direction.

Day the last.
We said goodbye to Sean, Simone and Edgar. In the street we posed as our alter egos and coerced a frightened passerby to take a picture.

Brooklyn Zoo!
next stop, Sean DiIanni's parents house!

Wastings on Hudson, Near Slobs Ferry!

After burning holes in the soles of our shoes, dancing till the wee hours in Tivoli, Sam and I embarked for Hastings on Hudson to stop at Eliza's. As usual, I fabulously underestimated our trip. Sixty miles? Probably not. 83 was the final number, and as we dragged ourselves up the last hill before Eliza's house in the darkness, I heard a familar whistling from a car behind me. Eliza and her mom were just coming home. We have perfect timing. At Eliza's we made a giant sloppy pot of chili, which we shared with all sorts good folks who came by. After which we went to a small hidden beach on the hudson, which was passed very closely by the occasional metro north train, a beautiful sight in the dark. Eliza started a roaring fire with using ancient knowledge and fire breath. To begin the festivities, we slew an ogre and burned his club.

I played a show for Eliza, Sam, the metro north, and the roaring fire god, who brought tears to my eyes as I played. It was a cherished experience. The next day we spent roaming the woods and town of Hastings, gardening, singing, eating and laughin, and Eliza gave us the scallywag's tour to all of the deliquent monuments, her purple hand prints, secretly planted all over town. We ate dinner that night with her family for her brother's birthday, who along with a friend was bleary eyed from editting their epic movie "Glory at Sea" for the sundance flimflam festival. We left the next day after saying goodbye to Eliza, Slightly, and the myriad of plants and snails that abide in her home. Brooklyn Ho!

It's Been A Long Time Baby

WE HAve Missed You InterWeb! Slowly I will trickle in the great relating of our recent travails. THe rest of our Tivoli stay was delightful. Ailey is turning her friend(ly) drawings on the third dimension, and she was kind enough to donate a few very excellent pieces for the set of the CoyoteMoonChildren show which was held in her kitchen. Sam made an Owl effigy, perched in an intricately carved cardboard tree.


The audience that night was put under a powerful spell by the majestical set.

Even Maida Thereeza was moved to ecstasy!

Sam and I spent one more day in Tivoli meeting the strange folks and seeing the sights. Our Last night in Tivoli we danced till we dropped at the local watering hole (hole being the key operative term), and woke up for our longest ride, quite underested. We are very silly people. Good to see all, Ailey, Abby, Maida, Jessie, Devon, Nadia, Daniel, and all other good folk!

Interim Report

Outside of Northampton we ran into some heavy hills, and a very long descent that brought tear to my eyes (literally). We then to the Jacobs ladder trail which for most of the morning was a slow but steady ascent, but after reaching the summit, it was smooth sailing almost all the way into Great Barrington MA, a 60 mile day. Once in GB, we stopped at the coffee shop, to see if we could find a place to stay. After a few attempts, Sam found a spot just outside of town in a field that had been cleared by a tornado years ago. We stopped at the food store and the beer store, and headed there to make camp, ignoring the no trespassing signs. In the words of Woody Guthrie, "on the backside it didn't say nothing". We are finding out more and more that this land was made for you and me, and only confused and disgruntled people will tell you otherwise. After a hairy scramble down a steep muddy path, Sam and I found ourselves in the open field, our shoes turned yellow from some pollen in the grass, and surrounded by more leviathan hills. We cooked rice and beans, drank a few beers and listened to Sam's Devendra/Newsom mixes and passively one'd ourselves with the expansive landscape. That night it rained heavily and we couldn't sleep much, though our tent kept us entirely dry (miraculous!).

In the morning the rain had cleared and there was a tiny snake where we had cooked the night before. I named him Sir William for reasons unknown even to me. We ate our left overs and packed up.

The biking from Great Barrington to Tivoli was quite flat, but the rain gave us an opportunity to try out our rain gear. Here's Sam and his enormous carbon footprint.
We ride petrol pedalers!

We rolled into Tivoli in the afternoon, and after dinner, hung out on Ailey's amazing porch with her amazing roommates, Maida, Abbey, and Jessie.

Tomorrow night I will once again perform, this time at Ailey's. Come one come all!
adieu friends, hope all is well in your infinite worlds!

Hills Like Leviathan

Sam and I have reached yet another cluster of human coexistence, at 41 Broadway, in Tivoli NY, Ailey's crib! Sam is reading his new(ish) Murakami while we wait once again for laundry to dry. We are very filthy people.

Our stay in Northampton with Flannery was longer than expected and terribly enjoyable. After spending a morning with no under(where?), Sam, Flan and I ate dinner with some of the 10-e house who were staying around for their brief fall break. Some sort of delicious vegetable soup (food is pivotal to my coping with the passage of time). After dinner we all crawled through a tear in a bathroom screen onto a small tar covered roof and I played a coyote moon children show in appreciation for the house's hospitality. There was much sage burning and yowling at the stars.

The next morning Flannery woke up, per usual, at some ungodly hour and set about her school work, while Sam and I were left to stumble about create what havoc we could muster. We were greeted first thing by a large red tailed hawk sitting calmly in the lowest branch of a tree we were walking under on Smith Campus. We tried to take lame cell phone pictures, but i won't waste your time. Iccarus (the hawk) was unperturbed by our oggling. When we had goggled at Iccarus long enough, we took a walk along the river that runs into Smith campus. By the river, Sam set about making a small reed boat, and was just picking things up and inspecting them, when we were greeted by a wet Husky puppy, who jumped on both of us in excitement. The dogs owner was friendly like his pet, and asked us if we knew anything about Cape Cod. We told him we had heard of it, and that it was best only to visit on a full moon and a full stomach. He thanked us for our knowledge and passed on. We returned our attention to the boat Sam had just finished, in which we placed all our previous night's dreams in, and sent it on its way to the ocean of dreams. The boat eventually got stuck in an eddy and Sam decided to scuttle it with a few carefully placed rocks rather than leave our dreaming to be stolen by any passerby, or river otter.
As we walked further on, we mucked about in the splendor around us, discovering and forgetting. I stumbled upon an acorn, firmly stuck in the membrane between this world and another, while Sam noticed a squadron of leaves, drilling in formation.


As we left the river, Sam, for a brief moment, was possessed by a forest spirit, considerably frightening the passing Smith faculty.

When Flan returned to us from her ivory tower toiling, we got some beer and lazed about on the lawn by her house. By and by our canine friend Loki walked by with her friend Luke (as he introduced himself)and Luke sat down to talk, while Loki cavorted about. Luke was a talkative young English teacher at UMASS, from San Francisco. He was a little bummed about the snootyness of general Northampton community. He thought that having money to live comfortably should give folks a more amiable demeanor. He briefly described a story he was writing a story about a fellow who becomes brainwashed by Peace Pagoda monks. He invited us to go contra dancing, but we never got around to it. After a completely sating meal at the Peoples Pint in Greenfield we turned in for bedrock sleep. Sunday was our original proposed departure date, but we pushed it back some more. That morning i went down to the lake by myself and was visited by Iccarus again. She swooped down onto a lamppost as I walked under. She told me that everything that could possibly happen is happening. I believe her.


As afternoon progressed in it irretrievable manner, Sam, Flan, and I drove to the Montague Bookmill, I in search of Marco Polo's Travels, the others in search of goodness knows what. The day was bright and we hung about by the river. There were some kids smoking drugs further downstream, but we looked a lot weirder, though there was a boy in a skirt among them.

On the road back from Montague i looked out the window of Flan's car at the sloping sun and the western Massachusetts landscape. We had been talking in Providence about Moby Dick, and perhaps it was on my mind, but the green crests of hills looked like Melville's leviathan's, and I thought of the small towns scattered throughout as the tiny whaling shell's, with their mates and harpooners, locked in endless pursuit. Certainly those hills will not dive before Queequeg, Tashtego and Dagoo are buried in New England green. The radio, playing Tom Waits' version of "Goodnight Irene", seemed to be playing a crackling lullabye to this strange landscape.


Back at 10E house we met a strange creature known only as a "guitiger". Here is a detail of his metamorphosis.


For our last night, Sam and I took the remaining 10E house members out to the pond for a fire kite making class.

After a number of successful firekites and a possible beaver sighting we turned in for the night. We slipped out early the next day under the cover of gloom.