2003-03-31 | 12:13 a.m.

corduroy licorice tripped the light fantastic. the dance troupe, known for modern dance incorporating illumination devices, was entering the stage when corduroy stuck his booted foot in their path.

***

from the l.a. weekly newspaper article about comedian larry david's wife and her fight for fuel-efficient cars:

"though the u.s. possesses only 3 percent of the world's natural reserves, we use 25 percent--20 million barrels of oil a day. 40 percent of that for cars. meanwhile, tailpipe emissions is the number-one contributor to global warming."

the u.n. has reintroduced the "oil for food" program, which will hopefully more directly benefit the innocent citizens of iraq in the near future. if washington wants to spin things now, they could say that the thirsty way the u.s. gulps oil is actually a humanitarian act. just in case dubya needs a handy slogan for the program, i was thinking something along the lines of:

"the more we oil we waste, the more food they taste."

"big-ass vehicle, big-ass oil consumption, big-ass heart."

***

i drove through an intersection near a federal building in l.a. that often plays the homebase for demostrations of all kinds. this weekend, there were three corners' worth of flag-waving "pro-war" people against one corner protesting it, although the anti-dubya corner did have its own drummer. a cluster of chatting cops stood in the shade nearby in case something went down and cars going by emitted honks of approval.

while waiting for the light to change, i noticed a sign one of the war supporters was holding. it read: "U.N.ecessary." well, if that don't beat all. first off, that's an ignorant opinion if i've ever heard one. secondly, isn't that sign a bit outdated now that the mayhem is in full swing? we're you just too unmotivated to come up with a new sign since your last demonstration? lazy and ignorant, together at last!

finally, isn't it the U.N. that is going to start mopping up the humitarian disaster resulting from operation iraqi freedom, which at this point is only providing iraqi civilians freedom from food, electricity and running water? if the U.N. is U.N.ecesary, i guess U.R. personally going to make the sacrifices it takes to help the victims? N.O.? i thought so.

***

in times like these, comfort is hard to find. i have, however, stumbled across a band called the sea and cake (another kcrw radio find). their sound is a bit hard to describe. shimmery, kinda sweet without being cloying, satisfying and soothing with a bit of a breezy swagger thrown in for good measure (pun intended). listening to their cd called "one bedroom" over the weekend helped calm my frayed nerves. one of the stand-outs on the album is a cover of david bowie's "sound and vision." i escaped into the snazzy bubble of their smooth sound and smiled for awhile.

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