"the air is humming cause something great is coming..."*

march 25th l.a. 

*stephen sondheim                                                                                         

kindness...

it was pouring down rain in los angeles today and i was caught without an umbrella -- walking along santa monica boulevard, l.a. weekly newspaper over my head, some man stopped his car, leaned over the passenger seat and handed me an umbrella~

(thank you...)                                                                                                                               

quote...

                                                                                                                                       lenin -- mickey -- jesus                                                

"there's nothing more spiritual than rock 'n' roll..." 

                                                                                             

luck

i found this laminated four-leaf-clover when i was about 10...

walking through the grass at valley mill day-camp, i decided to see if i could find one...i did~                                                                                

the underground railroad to candyland

i love these guys because they can be silly and still rock their asses off  --                                                                                     

and what do i mean by silly? i mean, a bass player/drummer in a duck mask, a guitar player in a bright red raggedy andy wig wrapped in a blue headband and a lead singer who loves his sunglasses and the floor!                                                                                                            

since i smashed my back, it's not good for me to move too strenously...but it's impossible not to when they start playing because they just fucking rock...                                                                             

i went to see them last night at the troubador in los angeles: to make it through i held onto the wall and then did whatever spastic movement i could manage...                                                              

can't wait til the next show and thank you thank you for the free pass~                                                                                                         

a belated happy birthday, eva...

i still miss you...                                                                          

november was put on youtube by a woman who doesn't want to mentioned -- at first i thought it was a bit weird, but now i'm glad she did it and i'm more able to share --  can you believe we did this 15 years ago?

love, 

niki

(how old would you be? god, 46, right?...that's even weirder)                 

adrienne armstrong

i don't think enough has been written about the woman who, whether you like it or not, goes by the name mrs. billie joe armstrong. 

so, let's pause, shall we, and pay some respect to someone whose life is about to be turned inside-out and upside-down very very soon --

when i was in the midst of my green day/american idiot fever, i attended a show in atlantic city where billie joe armstrong was participating in a vh1 tribute featuring elvis costello.              

i know, i know i've written about that before, but not this part: i ended up sitting in the row right in front of adrienne armstrong and her friends, but i didn't realize it until i felt this heat, this presence behind me in my blue plastic aisle seat.

i turned around and there they were: a gaggle of pre-teen girls dressed from head-to-toe in green day apparel.

adorable...

that's when i saw mrs. armstrong; the girls had stalked her out and were ready to descend upon her person with cameras, autograph books and cell phones --

i relinquished my seat so they could move closer to her...

she made her way through the aisle after a woman standing next to me called her, and, as she did, i heard some man randomly ask her what she was doing at taj mahal?

she smiled and answered, "my husband is playing tonight." that's it. completely normal in her unassuming jeans and dark hoodie.

she approached the little girls and said, "i have to go talk to some people but i'll be right back, i promise."

i looked at those little girls and thought, 'oh god, i hope she does come back, i mean she promised!'

i knew that none of my adult friends could appreciate the weirdness of the moment; they were long past the point of rolling their eyes whenever i'd mention green day -- instead i turned on my cell and called one of my teenage guitar students, max -- (max has always been a good listener, even to the craziest stuff) --

a few minutes later, adrienne armstrong returned and, with honest affection, she signed the autograph books and took the cell phone pictures with every last one of those little girls...

how about that~