heathervescent

Ocean and Pines, Second year

At night on the central coast, the pines are darker than the star lit night. I watch orion slide across the sky. I hear the ocean waves breaking on the bluffs below - it blends with the wind in the trees. In the morning four mule deer are browsing in the pine brush as I walk down the hill to the lodge.

In the kitchen breakfast is being made - for at least the 20th time. In the past 4 days our kitchen has not closed. I get a cup of coffee, start a new pot and chat with a friend while she makes gourmet bagels with cream cheese, avocado, onions, tomato and bacon. Munching a bagel, I amble over to the DJ station and put on some old Rolling Stones and join some friends looking at photos from their sea lion field trip (where they captured a sea lion birth!) yesterday. Then I head over to the fire to add some last minute notes to our mailboxes. I look out at the sun on the ocean, breathe in the fresh air and try to remember "the real world."

I know I've got to pack up and return to LA. To call these past 4 days a party is a disservice of the experience. It's a family reunion. It's summer camp. It's 4 days of cooking, classes, nature hikes, wine tastings, hanging out, talking, competing at silly games and celebrations.

Zombie Rock Star Weekend

An audience of over 1000 people (1200 supposedly!) +
Sexy zombie cheerleaders and zombie bananas +
Vincent Price, Michael Jackson and Gwen Stefani +
A killer club in San Francisco (Bootie) +
The corner suite of the Palace Hotel +
Hanging with the friends =
A rock star weekend.

It's not every day you get to a zombie rock star traveling show. So when the opportunity is created, you gotta take it. 1 year of anticipation - 2 days of debauchery.

Photos and videos forthcoming. It was overwhelmingly awesome.

Exploding Cupcakes: Genius

Here is a picture for your mind. Before I create it, take a moment to clear your mental palate. Take a drink of water from the well of silence.

I love cake and I especially love bringing cake to a birthday party. Yesterday I went to celebrate a friend's such date, and I made cupcakes for the occasion. As I was decorating them, I was trying to think what would be appropriate. Frosting bullets? Marzipan firecrackers? An engine block? A wrench?

Well, we dug around and found some most appropriate candles - little red ones. I'm sure you know which ones I'm talking about. Think back to childhood and independence celebrations. They were really there for decoration, but I should have known better - knowing whose birthday it was.

What started out as cupcakes fit for the cover of better homes and gardens, ended up a salt/peter chocolate sprinkle exploded chocolate mess. Frosting liberated from the cupcakes was deposited on shirts, eyebrows and in hair. Not to mention the earsplitting !!BANG!! Yes, not only were the cupcakes on fire when I got there, they exploded all over the guests. They were pretty yummy too.

So, I think I've just added a new weapon to the hbomb arsenal. Here's the haiku Therm came up after I harassed him and Stuart about counting during our conversation.

I'm doing haiku
that is why I am counting
don't fuck with me bitch

I love my friends.

I like the cars that go BOOM!

TikiFkos were playing  "Tigre and Bunny's - cars go boom" mashup and I couldn't help myself. Jenna caught my classic car-b-que activities on film. The "Heather" she is complaining to, is me. Thanks for taking one for me Jenna. xoxo, your BBF (your bad best friend)

oh yeah, and I this was one of the times I blew the door off the car-b-que. Perhaps you can imagine the effect at 3:30 in the morning. The sky lights up with a flash of boom, and then I pull a pizza out of the pizza oven (on the other side). pps. notice the unicorn hood ornament!

The Rainbow Connection

Doc took this photo of Gigsville, yes, that's a unicorn in the front row. Yes, that's a rainbow behind us. Rainbow Unicorn Camp, yay!

A Playa Love Story - A girl, a car and fire

I remember the first time I saw him. It was night on the playa four years ago. I was walking back from the bathroom and I spied his flickering flame. I thought to myself, was that really a VW bus on fire? I had stepped into my ring of fire.

Fko Interuption

We interrupt the two posts in process with this one - of pictures. Buck has his bday party this weekend and received Meat Shorts from Kasey and Vanessa. Totally awesome. I brought a cake for the birthday boy (Sparatacu5 aka Buck.). See how nice it looks? And totally color coordinated as well.

Later, nosebleeds were the rule of the evening. There is more than one make-up artist in the house. And we sang America (by Neil Diamond). Neil Diamond Rules. (Thanks mom!!!)

And here's me sporting my unicorn temporary tattoo! Watch out for Rainbow Unicorn Camp! I'm just saying.

Now back to some serious cognitive science & mathematics yo!
* All photos by kmo (my co-singer in photo 2)
And yeah, I am digging on the purple!

Sadness and Wow

In the same instant I find out about Kurt Vonnegut's death and Kasey's beaver. Sadness and awesome in the same breath.

Do-Ocracy

It's how I do my stuff.

Do-ocracy is a summary term for consensus management on a non-authoritarian, classical anarchist model emphasizing voluntary involvement and actual results, where those with an actual involvement make the decisions.

The practice is also fairly common whenever volunteers are working towards a project together. The lack of a formal command structure or compensation for the work means that each person works on what interests them creating a format of a Do-ocracy.

from wikipedia. Or as Nike put it "Just Do it"

Me an Pinky

Not like the party was boring or anything. Pinky is cracking up at the computer ad in the 1978 Playboy. Me, I'm just reading the intellectually stimulating articles. Oh and big bummer - XT is moving to Texas. See you at Flipside. :( Photo by Kmo.

Connecting

Yesterday I met Capitan Sodium! It was exactly the break I needed. He tried to convince me to come to Flipside... and now I'm seriously considering it. A few more days at SXSW and then back to my Los Angeles. I miss her streaked skies full of vanilla possibilities. I miss her California scent. I miss her pavement, roads traveled by foot or wheels. I will enjoy my travels while I travel, but I dream of home. And I suppose that's true on a meta meta level.

Birthday photos

Here are a couple pictures from my Naked Sushi Party, celebrating the 33rd year of Heather. It was a lot of fun. Thanks everyone! All photos by Kmo. More photos available on request.

80's Ballads good for karaoke

OMG - what a fabulous duet. I love my peoples. I never in a million years thought I would sing this, but it seemed like a good idea last night. And well, everyone was singing along to it as well, so I guess it was a good idea.

And while I'm posting cheezy videos I like to sing - here is a classic. Really, this blasting on the playa drowing out the technoelectronica blip blip was the best ever.

and the moral of the story is...

  and the moral of the story is... 
  Originally uploaded by Splat Worldwide.

David Lynch all the way.

If you think this picture is strange and wonderful. I suggest you check out the entire set.

It's a ticket party!

Ok. This is the only photo I have seen so far from the first bathroom party. Thanks for the fast post Tawny. This photo only shows about 5 or 6 of us. I'm saying, nothing but room!

December 31st, 2006

Remember how I said I wanted to kick ass in 2006? I thought I had that goal slapped down back in May. And then just a few days ago I enumerated a whole lotta ass kicking. But it really came down to the last day of the year. If 2006 before December 31 was ass kicking, then December 31st blew the paradigm out of this world.

It all started on Friday, when I joined a bunch of my friends at a summer camp near Cambria. We moved into our shared cabins, decorated them and headed to the lodge. Someone broke out a keg of Cider (my favorite) and the party started. Food poured forth from the kitchen. Pork Curry was bubbling on the stove, cakes, lasagna, three coffee makers, a tray of baklava, chili, sandwiches, cakes, chocolate brownies and mini carrot cakes. The day was gorgeous, sun setting on twinkling ocean. The moon rising into a clear blue sky. Wedding vows that made me cry. Being at a party of over 100 people where I knew almost everyone. Feeling just as comfortable in a black velvet suit, a banana suit or pajamas. I have never experienced anything like this before. I don't even know how to describe it in words, only the activities.

Sometime after midnight I learned a new meditation technique from Isa, that completely blew my mind. A couple hours later I dragged myself off to bed. Hours later I awakened and headed down to the lodge. About 3pm I teamed up with Zarka and Jane for the annual Gigsville Iron Chef competition. We were given the secret ingredient, but not told what it was. It was a small dried flower - a spice - related to the pepper plant. So Zarka, Jane and I got down to work! I got to work on a spice cake. Jane worked on polenta sausage spiced cornbread. Zarka got down on the quail deviled eggs. We also had spicy filet mignon, amaretto spiced milk and bechamel fennel spiced pasta.

There were two other teams and I admit, I was worried. All the teams were running around in the kitchen furiously for two hours. And then it was judging time. We ended up going last and we blew away the judges taking first place. Thanks to my two kick ass team mates!

Then I immediately rushed off to the fireplace chill area where I was doing my heart's desire workshop. I was frazzled and high from Iron Chef and hot from the fire. But there were 20 people waiting for me and as I started more people showed up. The class was great. I had great questions, everyone got the 6 steps and I was rejuvenated refreshing my mind.  Wow. Mind blowing.

Yet the night was not yet over. I hurriedly  changed into my evening attire (flannel pajamas) and hurried back in time to get slot #4 in the  no-talent contest. I had only a faint inking of what I would do. You see, I had this roll of yellow tickets left over from Barcamp earlier this year, and I wanted to do something with it. So I handed out the tickets, making sure that everyone got one and that it was very important for them to have them for later. Then I enjoyed the festivities. What fun.

At some point, Tawney and Mercury and I ended up with the roll of tickets in the bathroom and that was when the insanity began. What happened next just happened. By the end of the night we had crammed 20 people into the tiny bathroom with us - one came in through the window (that delighted me the most!). There was a footprint on the ceiling. It was the clown car of bathrooms.

I don't remember when that day ended and the new year began, but I do know, that is the most fun I have had in my entire life.

And although that was the end of 2006 - it was also the beginning of 2007 - already well on it's way in it's own direction.

* photo by Wicked Elmo of me icing one of 4 cakes I made last weekend

Let there be Light!

I can't help it. I'm a moth to a flame. I am in love with the earth and it's bare elements. I was going to write that Fire is my favorite, but it's not. I love the ocean, the wind and getting the earth in every pore. However fire brings out something wild in me. It is a drug and brings me - takes me - to another place. A place where I feel the need to build up the fire and then release it. Sometimes that comes by mere tending the fire, coaxing flames from hot coals. Other times it's dumping pallet upon pallet into an already roasting flame. More often than naught, it includes exploding certain flammables. If you ever hear me yell, "Fire in the Hole" you will want to get away from the fire as fast as possible. Recently I've been branching out to other metals that burn bright. A friend recently presented me with at 2 ft brick of magnesium.

This past weekend, out in the desert with about 50 of my best friends, I put that brick into a hot fire. About 30 to 45 minutes later, we saw green pools of light (through the welding glasses). 15 minutes later, the fire was ablaze. The photographs that were subsequently taken did not need a flash.

Then someone had the great idea to pour water on the fire. So we started making water balloons. Someone handed me a water bottle and an idea flashed into my fire soaked brain. I remembered how fire spitters blow fuel out of their mouth to create flames. I have always wanted to do that, but have yet to learn.  But here I was, water bottle in hand, with the primary objective of putting water on the magnesium! What better way to spray the fire?

Photo by Ranger Rugburn. Note the people shielding their faces in the background. And yes, I am wearing a white ball gown. And no, no flash was used to take this photo. Thanks to Jetfuel for the, well, fuel.

ps. Mom, don't worry, I didn't get burned. But I do kind of feel like G-d now. ;)

pps. ha ha Rob Brezsny!
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Lightning strikes somewhere on the earth
6,000 times every minute. A single bolt may carry a million volts and
reach a temperature of 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit. If this elemental force
could be tamed and utilized, it would provide enough energy to raise a
cruise ship six feet in the air. While you won't be able to literally harness a
lightning bolt in the coming week, Aquarius, you could accomplish the
metaphorical equivalent. At least temporarily, you have an uncanny talent
for mobilizing tremendous power that's normally too hot to handle.
Halloween costume suggestion: a relaxed, smiling lightning bolt.

Love letter

Dear Gigsville,

There are few places I feel at home - and with few people. You see, I have this exterior where I appear to be extremely extroverted. I'm really an introvert, I just practice being different. So this morning, straight off the geek dinner high, I open my list email and find Kmo's photos. Then I read beth's email about Decom plans and I remembered Wa's wrestling idea (I dare not type it here, lest we actually execute it). And I am delighted that I am your friend. Gigsville you are so in align with my thoughts, feelings, desires, experiences and attitude that I can not help but be completely and utterly obliterated, I mean, assimilated, I mean, never mind. My next three weeks are yours gigsville. There's not much I wouldn't do for you.

Just saying...

-Heather
ps. I'll bring the magnesium brick.

Beat your own dead horse

Team Gigsville Spirit. Check it out - you can buy your own, below.

Highlight of my life: Wielding a Flamethrower

I'm learning how to run the thing here. Note the flame is controlled by a motorcycle throttle handle. Can you see the ecstatic look on my face? I don't think I've been happier in my entire life! thanks Kmo for taking these pics. I think you just capture the happiest day of my life (so far)!

And yes, I am wearing a full length silver sparkling ball gown.

when dreams come true

I'm standing on a dry hillside. The sun is hot. It's been beating down for the several hours and the wind brings the hot pine smell from the canyons. I love it. It's a warm comfort in my nose. In front of me are three lines of people along ropes. All will be using the strength they have cultivated in their arms and minds. There has been much work to prepare for this day, and I will not pretend that I am a key bolt in the project. I lent my vision, my belief. But this was not my dream.

Ropes creak, tighten, metal groans. Pick-axes and rebar in the dirt as we sit in the shade for a brief rest. A return of hands and the settling of metal as it slowly rises. All quiet except for it's first gurgling breaths. Settling. Counter-pulling. And then three pads of metal rest on the dusty soil of the San Gabriel Mountains, holding up something from a dream.

I know the feeling of a standing ovation. And I've been on the other side clapping many times. I've had my dreams come true. Knowing it even as the dream unfolds. It's just as exciting to experience someone else's dream unfolding. Seeing in their face the radiance of ... manifestation.

There's still a lot of work, planning, transport, preparation and places for things to go awry. But like with any dream, where you've jumped off the cliff, the only step is the one in front of you. That's the irony of the fool card. Yes, you are jumping into an abyss, but that abyss is life.

Not Actually a Literary Evening

What started out as a reading of The Curious Sofa, turned into a catfight. Fun for all was had. I'd also like to point out that both the dress and the pearls were my Grandmother's.

Radio Success

I had a really great time DJing on Theory Radio last night. I arrived all hurried and rushed and worried and somewhat scared. Would I be able to do the handoff? How do I kick the stream? Would I remember all the mixer slides? Therm stopped me after about 2 minutes and said, you know, you don't have worry about starting on time, it's on robo. Doh, I knew that, but for some reason I stepped right back into my radio persona. I started out the set with a nice mix of electronica: orbital, plone, some classic fripp and eno (which lead us to come up with a new nickname for a resident of Theory Labs Eno: Frippin Eno!) Then it was time for my first break. I put the headphones on and hit the mike mute button and started to talk. I was shy (it has been years since I spoke on the radio) and then started to remember it all and the radio voice came out. The only comment I got was that I sounded like a "real" DJ and my level of professionalism was going to raise the bar and if that's the case then I couldn't DJ. By the end of the show I had repented. Here's what Therm had to say:

For the record, Heathervescence got off to a bit of a rocky start with her show - she transitioned smoothly between songs, announced everything played, and was cool and confident when speaking - but by the end of the 3 hours she was thoroughly indoctrinated into "the Theory Way": Saying she'd played "something else, I forget what", not having songs queued up in time, hesitantly announcing what she was about to play and then
playing something else entirely, and so on.

Fear not, fellow DJs, we have successfully prevented the bar from being raised.

Anyway, I'm going to work on getting a regular show and until then I'll fill in and probably join Lucky Dave on a couple of his shows. I'll keep y'all updated and post shows as I know they happen. Rock on!