Hey guys,
I'm sure you are well aware of the horrific events which continue to occur in Myanmar following the devastating cyclones last week. There are nearly 30,000 confirmed deaths and the toll is expected to rise to nearly 50,000. In addition to the initial destruction wrought by the cyclones and subsequent flooding due to rivers being cut off by debris and dams erupting, and of course the need for food, shelter, clothing, and medical care resulting from such a disaster.
My friend Christian, a former monk who lived and studied there, is organizing a fundraiser on May 25th to help these beautiful people. Proceeds from the event will be distributed directly to where it is needed most by the monk under whom he studied. As the Chinese government is blocking traditional sources of aid to the region this will be one of the few effective means by which to actually help. Below is the e-mail he sent with all the details. Please, if you can stop by, volunteer, contribute (money or products/services) to the raffle, or participate as a sponsor or performer contact Christian at infinite_bliss@mac.com or me and I'll pass along the info. Hope everyone is doing well and I hope to see many of you on the 25th.
Peace,
Woody

Hi all my dear friends. I'm sure you've all follow the heart-breaking
news from Myanmar.
I traveled there two years ago with a Buddhist monk from Japan, so
this really hits home.
The Burmese are some the sweetest, gentlest people I've ever met.
So needless to say, I feel compelled to help, whatever way I can.

I'm helping organize a fundraising event to raise money for the
relief efforts.
The event will be held on Sunday May 25th at the Electric Lodge in
Venice.

The will be live music, art for sale, hot and cold herbal drinks,
raw chocolate, green-energy drinks, snacks, and a kick-ass Raffle!
Anyone that would like to contribute in anyway please contact us at:
Larisa: larkgallery@gmail.com
Christian: infinite_bliss@mac.com
We are looking for donations of yummy snacks, and more great items
for the raffle.

CONFIRMED LIVE MUSIC FOR EVENT:

Lisbeth Scott - singer/songwriter -
www.lisbethscott.com / www.myspace.com/biomusique

Heather Lauren - singer/songwriter -
www.heatherlauren.com / www.myspace.com/heatherlaurensong

Da Vinci - singer/songwriter – www.myspace.com/davincimusic

Kendra Kessel – singer/songwriter – www.myspace.com/kendradkessel

Jon Pearson - storyteller - www.createlearning.com


CONFIRMED ITEMS/SERVICES FOR RAFFLE
Cds from all the Artist's performing
Acupuncture treatment Jeremiah Krieger - www.easternmedicine.cn
Massage treatment - Mateo - myspace.com/teopath
Stretch Therapy/Personal training - Kendra Kessel - www.kdkfitness.com
Yoga lessons - Louise Whitehead - www.goldenbridgeyoga.com
CDs/Movie Poster - Chrisopher Young - www.officialchristopheryoung.com
Raw Bliss Chocolates - Hillary and Christian - infinite_bliss@mac.com
Green Superfood - Billy's Greens - www.billysgreens.com
Cds from all the Artist's performing plus others:
GuruGanesha, Santam Kaur

If you have something you'd like to add to the raffle, let me know!


HERBAL DRINKS:
Hot and cold herbal drinks - Dean Thomas- www.shamanshack.info
Green-energy drink - Billy's Greens - www.billysgreens.com

RAW CHOCOLATE AND MORE YUMMY SNACKS!!!
More info to follow!

If there's anything you'd like to donate for the raffle and the sale,
let me know.
If you wish to help on the 25th of May, or put up fliers/posters next
week, send out an email blast,
invite your friends and family, strangers, your extended myspace
community: forward this message on!
THANKS!!! You're all AWESOME! Any and ALL help is welcome!!! Send
your prayers for those in need.
Myanmar needs our help!

If you'd like to contribute to the in ANY other way, please let us know:
Christian at: infinite_bliss@mac.com
Or Larisa at: larkgallery@gmail.com

Hey there boys and girls (and undecideds)!
It's another scorcher up in here. The mercury in my fish thermometer is topping the 100 degree mark today. They had the water misters on in front of the Trader Joe's this morning and there was a big ol' golden lab pupster parked right under neath. He had a look on his face like "shop all day, mama... I'm fine right here".
It has been a roller coaster of a week already. The leg is getting better every day and I'm starting to get around without the frankenboot, all of which is good. The other day I got a great phone call from Miss Debra Wilson (she of Mad TV fame) that was like laugh therapy for my soul. She always puts things in perspective for me and every time I speak with her I walk away feeling great about life and myself. Unfortunately, 5 minutes after our phone conversation I found myself being chased down the street by some schmuck with a gun (and a small penis, no doubt) who jumped out of his Jaguar (see: small penis) all pissed off because I wouldn't charge oncoming traffic to make a left turn. I'm not sure how getting out of his car to chase and or shoot me was going to hurry his progress but Guido the killer pimp apparently thought it would make him feel good. It did not make me feel good, though. I find it difficult to drive with adrenaline shooting out of my orifices. I lost him in traffic and all ends well. But geez!
But, then I got home to find a really lovely note from an old friend from high school reminding me of a time I helped her through a tough time back in the day. It immediately brought me back to a good place and put a smile on my face. Thanks Shari! In with the good...out with the bad. Inhale... Exhale... So simple in theory. Sometimes more difficult in practice, but getting easier.

Random Thought #1: Thomas Edison was afraid of the dark.
Talk about turning a negative in to a positive. Damn. Food for thought.

Sadly, I also found out this week that a friend passed away at far too young an age, leaving behind his wife and 2 kids. It wasn't sudden or very surprising but devastating none the less. At least he is finally at peace. Be well Mike.
One more bit of sad news. My awesome Aunt Peg, who, incidentally, is also my godmother, was diagnosed with lymphoma and begins her chemo treatment today. Light a candle, say a prayer, shoot her some rock star mojo, dance naked under the moon or whatever it is that you do to send good thoughts to those in need. I know that she would appreciate it. And speaking of appreciation, the Board of Education back in Maryland showed theirs by honoring her on Wednesday for 45 years of service in the Howard County school system. She rocks like that. Here's a picture of her and me at my grandmother's birthday a few years ago:
Random Thought #2: Most Americans would vote against the Bill of Rights if it were presented to them in a referendum. I can only assume these are the same voters that gave us 4 more years of Bush and kept Jason Castro on American Idol for so many weeks.

Speaking of politics, though, and moving on to some good news, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that California is now the second state to finally crawl out of the dark ages and officially legalize gay marriage. The religious and political right (no offense to my republican friends, I love you all) are already circling the wagons to get enough signatures to place a ballot on the November elections to amend the state constitution to make it illegal for same sex couples to marry and strip millions of their equality. They are also building quite a war chest ($10 million) to fund the initiative through TV ads, newspapers, etc. Oy! What's the big deal? Gays and lesbians deserve to be just as miserable as straight married folks. And hey, if you really want to stop gay sex let 'em get married. That's usually when sex stops for the straight folks. Now there is a bad side to this ruling. Unlike Massachusetts, California has no residency requirement for obtaining a marriage license, meaning gays from around the country are likely to flock to the state to be wed. Great. Like traffic isn't bad enough already...
I just want to give a shout out to the justices who voted in favor of the decision 4-3.
In the decision, drafted by Chief Justice Ronald George, the court ruled: "In light of the fundamental nature of the substantive rights embodied in the right to marry — and their central importance to an individual's opportunity to live a happy, meaningful, and satisfying life as a full member of society — the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all individuals and couples, without regard to their sexual orientation."
OK, enough politics!

Random Thought #3: You're more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than a poisonous spider.

I'm gonna sign off and get ready to go to Molly Malone's for a night of hot music from three great singer/songwriters: Travis Howard, Austin Hanks, and Levi Kreis. Before I go, though, I want to wish a Happy Birthday to funny man Scott Ryan and my local music hero, Rob Giles. HAPPY B-DAY guys.
That's all folks! Be well... be happy... be anything you want to be.
Peace!

Happy Mother's Day! For those of you who are mothers, have mothers, have had someone else's mother, or have simply been called a mother... well you get the idea. Mom's rule! I called my my mommy today (my grandma, too) and wished her the most beautiful of days. And reminded her, of course, that if it weren't for me she wouldn't have this particular honor... or the lovely lavender home spa treatment I sent her. She reminded me that if it weren't for me she would have the honor of owning a snazzier car and a house on the water and would probably have been retired by now. But "thanks for the bath salts, dear". So, I guess we're even. By the way here is a picture of my mother when she was a little girl. Adorable:

Random thought #1: Banging your head against a wall consumes 150 calories an hour.

I just realized how long it's been since I've written. You must have been terribly worried. I know how co-dependent you can be. It's really not healthy but I love you for it. Though none of you actually sent me any letters, e-mails, or faxes stating how much you missed my musings, I have no doubt that you wrote them and I appreciate your decision not to send them for fear of disturbing my privacy. As such, I shall try not to leave you dangling in breathless anticipation for so long in the future.
Now on to bigger and brighter things. My leg is healing very well. I have received the okay to start walking around without the frankenboot for small stretches and, so far, that's working well. I mainly take it off around the house and wear it only if I'm going to be out and about for long stretches. It still tends to ache if I'm on it too long.

Random Thought #2: Sleep deprivation, which has reached epidemic proportions, is akin to drug abuse in the way that it dramatically lowers competence levels and causes aberrant behavior.
Hmmmm... Maybe the Bush administration just needs to take a nap.

Yesterday, I spent the entire day at WorldFest. It's LA's largest Earth Day Festival and it was one big crunchy-granola, peace-love-harmony, warm and fuzzy, groovalicious, eco-fantastical, animal-saving, tree-hugging, tofu powered, hippy hotbed of wonderment. I was there supporting by friends at self centered, an amazing grass roots group whose goal is to inspire people to get selfcentered by spending some time each day tapping in to their authentic inner-self. I know, I know, pretty hippy dippy for a smart-ass like myself. And no I didn't drink the water and I'm not going to drink the Kool-aid either. I've been meditating for about 3 months now and it's really amazing. I just found these guys a couple of weeks ago through a good friend of mine who is a massage therapist and I really dig what they're doing. A meditation inspired revolution? Beats bombs, right? Anyway, I hope you'll check them out by clicking here.
Speaking of awards shows... What? Who said that? Wow, let's do some mental backtracking. I was thinking how much I like meditating after yoga, which is sometimes strange because for some reason yoga tends to make me horny, and then I thought well maybe that's natural... I mean some people, like Sting, do tantric yoga to increase there sexual stamina, so maybe I shouldn't ever try tantric yoga because I certainly don't need anything else putting me in the mind to make whoopie, and by the way, Whoopi just got tapped to host this year's Tony Awards... oooh, and speaking of awards shows (see, ye of little faith!), I have a friend that is nominated for an award as best new stand-up comedian. And you can help him win! Such power! And we all know that power is an aphrodisiac... oops, I digress. Where was I? Aphrodisiac, sex, power... Bill Clinton? No...oh yeah, awards! Please vote for my friend Scott Ryan by clicking on the words FREAKIN' FUNNY!
How can you be sure he's actually funny? With a website called scottryanisfunny.com he'd better be. Now, you may not know him yet but trust me on this one and just vote. Do it twice if it feels good. Besides he's a fellow Marylander (the definition of cool) and his B-day is May 16th. Send him some love and vote. It's cheaper than a card!

Random Thought #3: An Alabama court upheld a ban on the sale of vibrators, ruling that there's no constitutional right to an orgasm.

No, I'm not addicted to sex. Perhaps it's just in the air. Anyone else out there feeling the urge more than usual. Please drop me a line in solidarity or rebuttal. As long as we're talking about sex, though, let me mention some sexy music... My buddy, Rob Giles, is one of the rockingest, most talented, super sexy, groovalicious, songer-singwriters on the scene and if you are lucky enough to be in the LA area anytime soon check him out on Monday nights at Molly Malone's on Fairfax. All kinds of cool cats are dropping by to play in his sandbox, so stop by and have yourself an eargasm to start your week off right. And if you aren't yet familiar with Mr. Giles' musical stylings check him out on iTunes or on his Myspace page.


Okay cats and kittens, time to start prepping for my big week ahead. So many exciting things in store that I can hardly wait to get to them so I can blog it out for you. You're welcome. Ha! Have a great week. You know I love you all. Now spread it around. Word to your mutha...
Peace and hugs!