Shame, Shame, I know your name.

Shame shame, I know your name.
Current mood: contemplative
Category: Automotive

5 days...
8 days...
42 days...
and sometime in between...
So much is going on around me, and yet, it seems as of late, things are honing in all too clear.
In case you haven't noticed, I haven't written much in a while... my blog site has been bone dry, lack of all inspiration of chatty stories of times happier, more creative, and certainly less bleak, than this...
So where did it all go wrong?
Ah... now isn't that the question!
I digress.
Lately, clarity has been scratching at the window pane of my mind, eloquently knocking me upside the head with obvious signs of rationality.
"HEY!", "STOP THAT!"
I guess you can say that it was some time ago, that I asked... more like told... but the tricky thing about it was... I was told in a such a way that I thought it was my idea! Yes... cheeky isn't it? Yeah... but I was asked to remove my coat and settle down in the house of the domestics... the coat of course being a metaphor for my fucking personality.
I'm the tosser who, for so long, scoffed at the silly dregs who so knowingly handed over their testicles, only to become one of them...
Ah, but you say CJ... you must've wanted to remove your coat... you must've wanted to sit down on that couch of domestication...
You poor, poor fools...
I woke up here... hands tied... my opinion and character choked off, somewhere in a corner.
Look at me now.
I must not negate the times I've had that were good, all in all, I think I've learned to be a bit more patient... and try to examine how I deal with the in's and out's of everyday in this blissful current, that I'm living out.
Peaks and valleys, is what I've heard...
I've heard a lot though... more about how much of a bad person I am than about mountain scape.
Life is a constant hot and cold... right vs wrong... I've been told of the team element that is supposed to exist... at what point do I get to call a personal foul when my teammate takes a cheap shot?
Ah me... things do happen for a reason... but, often, I've been pondering... how we're often given two choices... Do I eat the apple from the serpent, or don't I? And while the purpose behind the disobedience is to learn a lesson in listening to authoritative figures... what about the purpose in not consuming the beady eyed reptile's temptation of fruit?
Something to think about I guess.
I have always been a man who has much conviction for his passions, and is opinionated, on many things... This, I've been told can be a very endearing quality... to which it's yet to be explored, much less appreciated.
How dare I stand up for myself!!!
Shame shame CJ...
That's not being respectable...

In Toronto...

They have free internet in their airports... who knew!? In such this that we live in, nothing and I mean nothing is free anymore. I’ve been to many places around the world that even using the restroom isn’t free; you either have to pay for some sort of item in the facility, or you have to purchase some sort of “bathroom pass”. Even on the washington state ferry systems, the internet they have available is no longer free... I do recall that at it’s inception, the wifi they had available was free but it was only available on limited boats to and from Seattle... They now have internet on all of the boats, but you have to pay, you can even subscribe to some sort of, “frequent internet users club” it’s pretty horrible.
Not in Canada though... they firmly believe that some free little things in life just add that little pep in your step that you need to get through the day, especially when that day includes a 5 and a half hour layover.
So I sit here in Canada, blogging, drinking booze and NyQuil preparing for the final leg of my trip.
I don’t care what some people say, the French-Canadians are alright in my book.... well, my Macbook.
Be well friends... I’ll be seeing you next in Portugal.

Top Ten Albums of 2007 (upcoming Podcast)

Well that time has come ladies and gents... well it came a while ago, I’ve just been too damn lazy to take action and complete a blog, like so many have before me, about the best, this is no opinion by the way, albums of this past year.

We’re going to run this from the ground up... so naturally, we’ll be starting at number 10...

BUT FIRST!!
There are some that didn’t quite make the cut onto the the illustrious “top ten list of 07” but we feel they should be mentioned anyhow...
The albums receiving Honorable Mention this year are:
Pela - Anytown Graffiti
The Shins - Wincing the night away
Blonde Redhead - 23
Battles - Mirrored
Grizzly Bear - Friend
and last but not least
Radiohead - In Rainbows

And to the list-

Numero 10:
For me, I’m going to say... Live @ KEXP volume 3... while this was a great album... (certainly, it made it my top ten) it’s coming in at last place on the top ten list of 07... this in one great compilation and I imagine it was next to impossible for the producers at KEXP to throw together, but, in my opinion, there were some better albums for this past year... 9 of them in fact.

Best song: Billy Bragg singing, “Waiting for the Great leap forward”

Number 9:
She wants Revenge- This is forever.
This band is great, but I feel they could’ve done a lot better on this album this year, it didn’t have that catch that they had with their title album they put out in 06. Still good but not as good as they could be.

Best song: “Written in Blood”

Number 8:
Interpol - Our love to admire.
This band, while it seems they’re turning a little too corporate, they still keep what they had when they first debuted, a sort of raw... we’re going to play whatever they hell we want.

Best song: “No I in threesome”

Number 7:
Maps - We can create
This is such a great album for anything going on in your life... I like to put it on and just relax while traveling on the tube... so great. Thank you maps... looking forward to your next release.

Best song: “To the sky”

Number 6:
!!! - Myth Takes
Everything these guys do is great... I learned from a live recording that they did at KEXP this year that, at times, they have up to 23 people contributing to their sound... also... their name isn’t limed to the sound... Chk Chk Chk... it could be any sound in groups of three...

Best Song: the title track “Myth Takes”


Now we’ve reached it... the elite... the best of the best for the year... the top 5... you’ve heard of them... or maybe you haven’t... but the fact still is... these bands are fucking great.


Number 5:
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
I’d say this is by far their best release of anything they’ve put out. The album hits on so many different levels... with the number 7 track, “the underdog”, which happens to be my favourite... kicking up the pace and excitement of the release...

Best song: surprise surprise... “The Underdog”

Number 4:
Iron & Wine - The shepherd’s dog
I had an appreciation for their work from what they’ve put out before this release... I purchased it reluctantly after I had heard one song, “Boy with a coin”. I say I was reluctant because what I had experienced in the past with this band was that they would put out one good song on a release then they’d kind of half ass it through the rest. I was pleasantly surprised this year with what they put out. Holy Balls was this a good album.

Best song: “Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car”

Number 3:
The Cave Singers - Invitation Songs
This is the Cave Singers debut album... and what a debut it is. I was first introduced to this band at the KEXP BBQ in August that I sponsored back in Seattle. I had the pleasure of meeting the lead singer backstage and he was not only a really humble artist, we seemed to be a genuinely great person... kind of hard to find these days. This is one of the few albums that I have, put out this year of not, that I can honestly listen to from start to completion. Amazing

Best Song: “Dancing on our Graves”

Number 2:
The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
This band in truly amazing... with each release they seem to capture a new sound... for example... the song, “Antichrist television blues” sounds like it’s being sung by, “the boss” (Springsteen)

Best song: “Keep the car running”

Number 1:
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
From start to finish, wow... this album is fucking awesome! Even more so, the fact that the amazing sounds of LCD Soundsystem are created by one dude... incredible.
Picking the best song of this album was next to impossible... but I think I’m going to have to go with this one...

Best Song: “Someone Great”

Honorable Mention: “Watch the Tapes”



Stay tuned for the upcoming podcast by pema and myself on my .mac blogsite

Me... ranting... what's new really?

I stopped by the National Gallery today... and holy balls there is some amazing stuff in there. I got to take a good look at some of the work that Rembrandt painted... of course they had some of Van-Gogh’s work, this being the second time I’ve seen his work in real life, and each time... amazement.
The gallery had some works from the 12-1500’s which were mainly having to do with Jesus... the Lord guy.
You know what I’ve noticed about these paintings... and a lot from other time periods... there’s a whole lot of people just standing around. Take for example this painting I had viewed from the 13th century... “Paul’s brother comes to visit him in Egypt”, while in the center of the painting you have paul standing in the doorway, and who I assume is his brother, kneeling at his feel holding some sort of vestibule of water, then, there are a whole lot of people just fucking standing around... this is a constant thing going on in all of these scenes. Where there really that many people just milling about while no drive, I mean, other than to be in some guy’s painting of course... I would think that who ever was doing the painting of whatever scene would clear out the area save the subjects he was trying to paint... yeah, it’s cool to have some lady pulling an ox in the background, or a maybe a beggar stealing some rotten cheese off of a moving cart, it’s a little artistic vision, I get it... but to have the entire canvas, right to left, filled with people doing various things... I’ve got to say, I’m a little distracted as to why the brother came all this way to Egypt just to kneel down to give Paul some water... which brings up another point... if I was that crazy ass traveling brother, I’d be taking a little bit of that water for myself... hell, I’m the one that’s been traveling all god damned week, I need a bit of hydration Paul, how about you go into your nice cozy house and grab me some ice and one of those ladies with the palm things to give me a slight breeze... brother.
But I guess that’s just me.
Moving on to other things... let me just say, first off, I know that it was looked on as nobility to have your skin the color of milk back in the day, but I’m so glad that whole pale woman thing isn’t happening... not to say that I like when people have that nice orange glow of fake UV rays... well I do, it gives me something to laugh at... but a dark skinned woman is so much more appealing than pigment free kind.
Again, I’m just one person... with just one opinion...

well... many... I have many opinions.

Some reasons for all of us to love London.

First of all... the beer, while it takes a bit to get used to it served room temperature... it’s strong, that of the likes to where I had one pint this evening and I can’t feel my face already... to those of you that know me... that’s of some significance.
So after I had my pint in SOHO... which is an awesome district of central london... I made my way back to the tube station to which I came... oxford circus.
I found an easy way, through a back alley or so it looked... when the actuality came to me that it was a row of strip clubs for men and women a like... then a whole ass-whack of porn shops...
To clarify, this isn’t one of the reasons why I love london, and you should too... it’s just a mere detail among the reasons why...
So... I made my way, late at night back in the direction of oxford circus... I found a McDonalds so I decided I should grab a large thing of chips... (fries) as to soak up some of this brew settling in my stomach... and... who the hell doesn’t love some Mac D’s chips? No one that’s who...
So I couldn’t help but notice... the kids cleaning off the tables and cleaning the general area of the store... wore bow ties... that’s right, everyone was dressed up... as far as the standards as American fast food joints go. My chips came fast, as well as hot and wonderful... a change from their american brothers...
That could be a reason there.
Another true reason... futbol... HELLO!
On the telly all the time... one... and secondly, in the papers... not to mention the ability to go out and catch a match whenever I please... I’d take the outside ranks of the premier league over any MLS team any day.
A English sports update, Cricket really isn’t that bad either... I’m kind of getting into it.
Furthering our reasons... the exchange rate... oh my! Now, it sucks if you’re American and you’re paid on the dollar... which I am... but I hope to move here one day, in the near future and that’s a great thing to look forward to... especially when I’ll be traveling back to the US of States to do a bit of visiting to my kin.
Moving to Manhattan would be a lot easier after we live in London for a good amount... that’s for sure. (We being pem and myself)
I could go on and on... music, fashion... I should note the distinct similarities with the kids here and how everyone looks in capitol hill in Seattle...

Oh yes, another reason... transit here is fast and efficient... hello... the tube... I’ve got my oyster card and I really have nothing to worry about... I top it up online and I have no reason to fret. God bless the Queen.
Stay tuned for the next podcast by pema and myself... she has yet to return from Essex.
Stay cool.
www.web.mac.com/cjgraglia

Born to use a mac

I'm so proud to announce my niece's natural draw to apple... I knew she was a bright kid.

Mother Dolittle, and the dancing likes of my father and niece.

Happy holidays to all of you out there in the blogisphere...
I was able to make it home to Grants Pass, Oregon for the holidays, which hasn't happened in a long time. I've been home here and there, but this is the first time I've been able to make it back for an actual holiday... it's great... but my family is great... I love it.
True to form, my mother has adopted yet another animal into her home. I think it's how she's dealt with her empty nest syndrome. Since I went my own way in life, she's taken in too many dogs to count, a couple ferrets, some birds, a cat, various rodents, and I believe there was a time she was trying to get a goat in the side yard of her old house. If there's one thing my mother can't say no to... it is an animal in need. If only I could perfect the sad puppy look when I was in college... I would've been able to anything.
So my mother moved, into a smaller home which she's more able to live in with her disabilities... even though the place in considerably smaller than her last home, she still keeps the same amount of animals with her.
The newest addition to the family is a black, long haired Chihuahua... and I have no idea what it's name is...
Those of you that are close to me know that my niece is the most precious thing in the world to me... and I like to think I'm equally important to her. Yesterday afternoon I lay on the couch trying to take a nap with some blankets draped all over me... this, of course, was right after I taught her how to kick a ball like a real athlete... (that's a futballer for those of you that are unsure)
Well, this didn't sit well with Baylee. (My niece) She climbed up onto the couch calling out, "uncle"... it should be mentioned that I, in no way, can type out how she actually pronounced it, let alone portray just how adorable she sounds when she says it.
I responded by saying, "Baylee" to which she repeated, "uncle" and this back and forth lasted a couple of minutes.
The thing that I'm most proud of, is her adoration for music... she will dance to any rhythm... and when I say dance, I don't mean that typical swaying which most children do, she full on gets down... air guitar, shoulder movements, stomp dancing.
The funniest thing about Baylee and her dancing, is her grandfather, my dad, trying to entertain her by dancing the same way... thing of it is, Baylee is a little weary of my father because he's a crazy old guy... not crazy like, some old guy locked up in his house, collecting cats and shooing children from his yard... I mean that Baylee just isn't old enough to understand her grandpa's craziness and how cool he actually is. But for now, she gives him glances that pretty much say, "I'm really not sure about you bald guy"... which are the same looks that we all give him really... kidding...
The new life of my niece has made me realize how much all of us are alike... my family... not all of us in the world...
we all sit around... my mother knitting, my father watching football while playing with the cat, my sister reading and texting her friend, my grandmother putting together little snacks for us to eat, while my niece sits on the floor dancing while reciting the ABC's... yeah, she just over a year old... smart kid.
Not to mention, she loves mac... standby for pictures.

Have a happy holidays everyone, whatever your holiday, however your family is.

My virgin ride on a bus, witness to catholic school lawn urination and other family time stories...

Today was the first time in my life I've ever ridden a public bus. I'm completely serious about this... I've been told that I should be a little ashamed of this, but I don't care.
So pema and I parked my car at her house and trotted off to the nearest bus stop to ride it downtown to do some night shooting. (cameras not guns) At first I wasn't that nervous, but as more and more people gathered around waiting I was sure that I'd do something wrong, make some sort of rookie mistake and I've have the entire bus looking at me laughing... pointing... "He doesn't know what he's doing!! What? Is it his first time!?" After that I'd probably hate myself forever...
But, there's no need to worry, I didn't do anything stupid. I put my change into the little change acceptor and I sat my happy self down...
The bus ride into the heart of downtown wasn't that eventful... other than some hooligan bastard children in the back, which would entice the creepy bus driver to get over the PA system and ask them to "shut the fuck up" in CJ terms, he sounded so raspy... like your creepy gay uncle frankfurt, that just wants to talk to you in the game closet at the house of your aunt beatrice.
That story is for another time.
Our journey home was much more eventful!
So, picture me rollin'... yeah, in a bus... sitting there nice and neatly with my camera bag on my lap and my plain looking face, just trying to blend in... enter nice quiet girl holding a brown paper grocery bad from Trader Joes. (Organic grocery store) Well she sits across the way from Pem and myself... minding her own business she relaxes from a long day from working and grocery shopping and closes her eyes. After almost 10 fucking minutes of her arrival, the jackass next to me leans forward to engage our shopping friend in conversation.
"You must be really brown baggin' it today"
"What?"
"You must be really brown baggin' it today."
"What" Our lovely friend repeats while adding a "what the fuck are you talking about?" look on her face.
"No... you must be really brown baggin' it... like brown baggin' it to work, like, you must be really into saving money or eating good."
"This is a grocery bag" Then she closed her eyes, as she was before Capt. brown bag interrupted her relaxing bus time.
He waited a little while longer, my guess is to come up with some more witty conversation, and he engaged her again.
"Well that's a good choice..."
"Excuse me?"
"I've just heard that it's a good store, organic and stuff..."
He badgered her with more riveting conversation about grocery store choices while Pema and I struggled keeping from bursting out with laughter. I loved it! What got me, was how he waited so long to talk to her, and that's what he came up with. Even better was the fact that his ill attempt at wit was completely shot down... and he was stuck floundering in the sea of his sad humor. Poor girl.
So we de-bussed... and we had to walk about 5 blocks before we'd be in the warmth of Pema's home.
While walking home, we saw one of the most perfectly disgusting things ever!
We were passing a catholic school/perish... and we saw, on the lawn standing right in front of a lit window a girl doing some sort of gymnastic stretches, which made pema and I... interested?
Then actuality hit us suddenly... and at the same time...
OH!!! Fucking hell
The young child was peeing... urinating right in front of a church, on a well traveled street, in front of a window that had a fucking light on... all we could really see was the outline of a small girl, attempted a downward dog position very poorly, and what we realized a little after we had been intently peering in her direction... steam rising from the area in which she'd chosen to relieve herself...
I've never felt so disgusting in my life... I'm mean, don't get me wrong, I've seen people pee in public... I've seen people deficate in public... but the people that are usually performing such acts, are also the people that stand on the corner holding signs and asking for my money... they are definitely not doing yoga on a church lawn in wallingford... which until now was, what I thought, a nice neighborhood.
I guess the free peeing homeless have to start somewhere... and that place is the lawn of your local perish...

Perception is reality

God, I'm such a bad ass...
OH! Hello again, it's been a while since I've seen you all... good to be home.
Now you might perceive by the way I started off this blog that I'm going to be ranting about how much I kick ass and how I am knock down, drag out, scare the shit out of you hardcore. For you that think that... I'm sorry to disappoint.
I like to think that I'm a bad ass at times, but the truth is that I'm that guy who turns down his hardcore gangster rap and locks the door whenever someone that is actually "hard" comes by my car, not unlike Michael Bolton in Office Space... Yeah, I'm that cool.
My half ranting comes from what's been happening to me late... and the treatment that I've been receiving makes me wish I were an actual bad ass... not the kind that plays one on television.
As most of you already know, my right arm is clad with tattoos from top to bottom, the "sleeve" type is what it's called in some circles... and I got all "inked up" from a monk in Thailand while I traveled there... pretty bad ass right? I like to think so... then, this past Sunday, my girlfriend and I went and pierced our septum's... (the middle cartilage in your nose).
All I need now is a cut off leather jacket vest thingy and some chains, and I can hang on the corner throwing dice with my rag tag gangster friends. (circa 1953)
I say all this because of how I'm treated regardless of anything else I do.
Perception is in fact, reality.
While I transit around, sometimes I'm required to depend on public transportation, which is where I run into most of my problems... mothers guarding their children while flashing me dirty looks as if I'm a confirmed pedophile... please lady, your kid isn't my type... I like darker hair... kidding
I knew that stuff like this would happen but I never expected to be this caddy.
Oh well I guess.
The only thing I have to say about is... I wish I was as much of a bad ass as people are making me out to be... I wish I was "hard" just because of my tattoos and nose piercing.
If that was the case I'd break bottles of jack daniels over my face just to prove a point at my local hells angles hangout... then flex on 'em all...
"What son? I ride a ducati... got a problem with that? Why you got to be blowin' up my spot like that?"
Man, if only...
I guess all of this is sort of true... of you follow one of my favorite quotes...

"You are not who you think you are... you are not who you think others think you are... you are who you think others think you are."

Which is a very true statement...
That being said... aside from the hells angel brawls and busting bottles on my face... I'm a grade A bad ass...
well not grade A... like grade B... minus...
Where's a printer when you really need to take out all of your aggression... huh?

No Mo Thai-Lan!

So, my trip is officially over... well sans the return home, as I'm currently writing from the Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan. I hate long flights. So many things blew my mind about this vacation for me... first of all... Thailand is great, the people, the places... it would be a place that I would live... seriously.
really there are so many fun things to tell about... our adventure to Koh Lanta [an island in southern thailand] where we stayed at the most amazing resort where the walls in our bungalow opened up as full sized doors... Me getting pulled over and recieved a ticket, to which I had to pay 200 THB to get out of it. Riding elephants in Chiand Mai... seeing cobras... getting tattooed by a monk, visitig all of the crazy markets... riding the water taxis for free.. learning thai... not to mention to awesome 20's party we attended this past saturday that was invite only... it came in a tri fold cardboard carrier where it was written on the inside, "Dress Code" where there was a DVD of the film, "The Great Gatsby"
Picture time!
We're so 20's

there were free drinks... gloves... the miming just happened