The Result of Perpetual Motion

John,

Since brevity is the soul of wit, I’ll try to keep my silly fan letter brief.  Avoiding the incessant, cliche expressions of fanaticism, I simply want to convey my gratitude.  I say “simply” although, really, I don’t find it in the least bit simple.  

When I was a little girl, jazz and blues music fit like a missing piece in my heart…  as if I hadn’t quite been a complete person until The Allman Brothers, Stevie Ray Vaughn and John Coltrane played through my fathers stereo system.  I felt a sense of overwhelming love and certainty when I first heard this music. I felt certainty and, somehow, knowledge that the love I felt was much greater than I could understand at that time.  

Since then, this music has proved to be the rare gift in my life that always feels right and good and necessary for me to live.  

Of course, my love for music bleeds from jazz and blues into other genres: classic punk, folk music, hip-hop, soul, new-age rock… but jazz and blues are the crux, my core, quintessential and vital to my soul.  Music provides me with my passion; nothing would feel as wonderful or be as beautiful without blues music in my life. Normally I would feel uncertain or scared giving that enormous of a role to any single thing… but that is the magnificence.  I feel safe attributing my fervor and lust for life to the sounds of Miles, B.B., and my favorite Clapton, Page & Beck vinyl.  Their music offers the necessary tools for a fulfilling life; they never, ever fail me.

Here is where I lose my voice.

My love for your guitar renders me speechless, a challenge I hope to overcome in this letter.  

Your music has offered me enormous comfort, has articulated my passion for life and has bestowed upon me a larger capacity for love.  Continuum is a sanctuary, my safe haven, and has such immense depth that it contains the ability to grow and change with me through times of heartbreak and loneliness, then love and strength and everything in between.

If Dwayne, Stevie, Miles, Mr. King, Mr. Davis and Mr. Clapton color my world, then your music spins it into vivid motion.  

You’d play all the songs on the soundtrack of my life.   You’re the voice of the generation that I’m so proud to be a part of, and your music represents the basic change I wish to see in the world. I admire you fervently, ardently, to no end, in that undying “I’ve-got-your-back” sort of way.  

So apparently exuding bold, colorful, unceasing love works.  The world is drawn to you because you’ve learned to steep that love into your music and we return the it in this sort of magnificent, continuous, continuum of a cycle. That is what it’s all about.

Thank you for brightening my life and never, ever letting me down.  And sweet heaven, thank you for The Trio.

Modestly and adoringly always,

Erika Anderson

I’ve been so ridiculously involved in laundry, packing, and internet browsing for airplane tickets and Coldplay tickets today that I only JUST found out that Barack Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee. I was sitting there watching MSNBC, fuming at the ugly sight of Senator McCain, when…. Breaking News! BARACK OBAMA IS THE PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE.

There I sat, stiff with excitement, my jaw on the floor, my eyes wide and watery and bright. I was stuck, struck, my insides and my head felt like a whirl of political passion… I didn’t know what to do with myself! So I ran next door to share my excitement with the neighbor boys, who said “Duh” and starred at me all cow-eyed; not quite the response I’d hoped for, but then one of my best friends Andi called me and we squealed on the phone for a good 5 minutes and discussed possible VP candidates the rest of the time. All of a sudden I had this huge moment of clarity. Barack Obama is soon to be our President of the United States of America.

I’m watching the news right now, and here he is. He’s walking out from behind the bright blue curtain toward the podium with U2 playing in the backgroud, his beautiful wife (clad in bright purple) at his side. They are a sight to behold, and I just feel so, so, so proud. I feel so proud of him. Proud of my country, of my generation… It’s amazing when you know that you’re witnessing a historic moment.

In his speech, John McCain used the word “change” 32 times (33 if you count “climate change.”) The backdrop behind him was a bright shade of green with white block letters that read, “A leader we can believe in.” Even Senator McCain has acknowledged the need and desire of the American people for change. Funny thing is, I don’t think McCain knows anything about change… his policies certainly don’t reflect that he does.

Obama’s speech is phenomenal. It’s perfect and passionate and inspirational. Here are some quotes I typed fast enough to capture:

“What you won’t see is a campaign that uses religion as wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon.”

“America, this is our moment, this is our time, our time to turn the page on the policies of the past…. our time to offer a new direction for this country that we love. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people… I am absolutely certain that generations from now we will be able to look back and see that this was the moment, this was the time that we came together to remake our nation so that it would reflect ourselves…”

I can’t believe that after all of this time, after 16 months… since he introduced himself in Boston as a skinny man with big ears named Barack Obama, since the beginning of “Yes We Can!” and now, finally: “Here Is How.” Let’s all just enjoy this moment. The Obama campaign has issued statements saying that they’re going to take 10 minutes to enjoy their victory. And so now, LET’S PAARTY!

Brace yourself for my ADD; this post is going to be all over the place.  Right now I’m watchig The Buzz on Sex and The City and WOWIE WOWIE WOWOW WOAH MAMAAAAA!  Right now I’m going to harness my strong desire to express myself through exclamation points and capitalization and use my words like a big girl.

I am so excited for Sex and The City that when I think about it my heart rate increases.  So excited that I’m wearing my pj’s, my highest high heels and I’ve occasionally been getting up to pose in the mirror, attempting to fasten creative things into my hair (since Carrie Bradshaw will wear almost anything on her head.)  I need a dress and some Manolo’s and I think I’ll need to take off my cheesy french manicure…  I need to buy martini glasses and spanish olives for my girls and me…  I need a cocktail dress… I’ve got my girlfriends, I’ve got my blog, I’ve got the city… what else, what else… Sex and The City…. I’m missing something, I feel like I’m missing something……………………….

Anyway  What’s more: I’m even more excited for tonight!! Flight of the Conchords.  I’m the luckiest girl in the world.

Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day as well…  Not that I’m a player or anything, but when it rains it pours and I’ve got a lunch date and a dinner date on Wednesday.  Sometimes I feel like I’ve dated too much for someone my age… when I say “date”  I don’t mean more than a few with each boy because I usually get scared and hide after that point.  I also refer to the boys as: “that boy.”  As in, “Mom I’ll see you later I’m going out with that boy tonight.” To which my mom says, “I don’t know which boy you’re talking about because you never refer to them by name!”  They’re all very interesting boys though… Judo expert, a racecar driver, a mechanical engineering major, a drama major, a cello player, a skater, an artist, a techy, a jock…  I love meeting new people, they’re all great guys, I always pay for my half of the date (few argue at that  )  Anyway, tomorrow is kind of crazy though, I don’t normally do something like this but hey… both of the guys are kind of players so I figure, well… I figure I can play that game, too.

My mom doesn’t like that I tend to portray this sort of shallow image.  She thinks I’m much deeper than I often lead people to think, and she’s right but I think it’s up to others to discover that.  My wall is my projection of a carefree, wild, independent, flirtatious party girl type and we all have our own wall so I think that’s fine.

I watched The Patriot last night with Tina and I feel a renewed sense of patriotism.  Also, my favorite magazine (The Sun) has a theme of patriotism this month. I guess when it rains patriotism, it pours patriotism.

“Since this is an emergency, all robots now have their patriotism circuits activated.”-Commander Zapp Brannigan on Futurama

Now I’m going to coffee with my friend Anita and then I’m going to make my FoTC shirt and leave for SF at 5 with Bryanne and Leah! YEEEE!

OBAMA:

“You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothings replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate, and they have not. So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns, or religion, or antipathy to people who aren’t like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment, or anti-trade sentiment, as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Bottom line? These comments are not right. They’re not OK to say. I know that Barack is my main man but I need to be fair here… I’m disappointed and surprised, quite frankly. I almost wrote to defend these remarks, but couldn’t bring myself to do it. We all know (of course) people like this exist in middle America, but also in other places, and they also DON’T exist in middle America. Such sweeping generalizations are a pet peeve of mine, which is why I love the Obama campaign; I feel they truly attempt to avoid low political tactic and swift-boating and such and the like. Alas, it’s how you recover from a mistake that counts so we shall see what happens but so far, I’m not very pleased. Boo hoo

On a lighter note, right now I’m drinking wine over a vegetable stir-fry and butternut squash soup. I cleaned my room today, washed all my clothes and (are you ready? I even…) put them all away. I changed my linens to these amazing high thread-count crisp white sheets that I forgot my mom gave to me, and I’m feeling very rested.

Apparently I’m really lucky I got tickets to Flight of The Conchords because the show sold out in 3 minutes. The seats I got for $34 are going on e-bay for at least $250 a pop. Check this music vid, its The Black Seeds from New Zee and Bret makes a cameo appearance:

Also, if you haven’t seen the pictures yet, a baby was born in India with 2 faces. I personally think it’s beautiful in some odd way… crazy/beautiful/strange. This little girl, Lali Singh, is being hailed as the goddess Durga. She can drink milk from both mouths and blinks all four of her eyes at once!

Lastly, a few thoughts of my own… lately I’m struggling to set some boundaries for myself which sounds kind of silly but entirely makes sense. Growing up, more so in my adolescent/highschool years, my greatest gift and also greatest downfall was the lack of boundaries my parents set for me. I won’t elaborate but I got away with too much and I plan on keeping my children closer to the picket fence. Now I’m really going out on a limb writing this in a blog post but that’s OK. Parents? Don’t freak out, it’s how I feel and it’s not bad, merely challenging. In your defense, since (mom) I already know your guard is going up, I think I was born to push the boundaries. Anyway… I’ve always been a good kid, I’ve finally broken away from the black-sheep, “endangered patient,” signature “bad-girl,” or “evil twin” persona my family or others have tried to pin on me (subconsciously, don’t fret) It worked for a while, and sometimes when you’re given a false label you accept it, and that’s OK too as long as you learn to shed it. So I was kind of a wild-child for a bit, I did my own thing and in the scheme of things I never did any wrong but I wasn’t Marsha Brady either.

The downside of this boundless adolescense has passed, though it still sometimes poses a struggle. It taught me to really take a hold of my own. If I want something in life, I reach out and grab it for myself since I know that no one else will do it for me. Some see my trip to Japan as impossible for them, and maybe it is, the difference (I think) is that I don’t see anything as impossible. Even pigs can fly in artwork.

There are, however, limits to my “reach out and grab it” attitude. I have to keep in mind that my wave length is slightly more brisk than most, and sometimes I have to harness my enthusiasm, excitement or passion as it can be overwhelming.

• Life presents nothing but lessons, the hard part is figuring out what to learn from them,
• Life sometimes puts you between a rock and a hard place, but you have to keep faith that it will soon get better, and that it was all meant to happen.
• Life will give to you what you give to it; Be generous, kind, and patient and you will receive such a nature in return…
• When you need help, place your wishes into the universe with positivity and faith, and you shall receive whats best for you (even if it wasn’t what you thought you needed.)

These are my core values, and I’m discovering there is actually a faith based on such ideas.

First I’d just like to say… I look freakin’ HOT today. I do, so I’m just saying that– throwin’ it out there because I want it to be settled: I look really cute on Valentines Day.I want to talk about a few things right now. One of which has to do with love, and the next has to do with politics. So… I’m just going to be honest about Valentines Day. Even though I’m totally optimistic about the whole affair, I must admit that Feb. 14th has a tendency to make even the strongest of us singles feel lonely. It’s the nature of the day, and to deny it would be lying to ourselves. It’s OK though, because it remains that this day is not reserved for couples or lovers, but for everyone and anyone in our lives that we love. So for the solo flyer’s out there, our time for Valentines Day delight will come eventually. In the mean time, I love you. So without further adieu, lets eat chocolate.And, in the realm of politics, I’d like to point out that Barack and Michelle Obama are a power duo if there ever was one. I see them leading our nation as a couple with much more solidity and strength than Hillary and Bill have to offer. We all know the plight of BillHill (not to bring up a sore spot) but I just think the Obama family is amazing. Michelle deserves more credit, too. A quote from her Harvard Law professor:“Michelle was a student in my legal profession class in which I ask students how they would react to difficult ethical and professional challenges,” said the professor, David B. Wilkins. “Not surprisingly, many students shy away from putting themselves on the line in this way, preferring to hedge their bets or deploy technical arguments that seem to absolve them from the responsibilities of decision-making. Michelle had no need for such fig leaves. She always stated her position clearly and decisively.”

“ At almost six feet tall in heels, Mrs. Obama, 44, cuts an athletic and authoritative figure in her tailored pantsuits and skirts. A Harvard-educated lawyer who had been earning $212,000 a year as a hospital executive before she took leave on Jan. 1, she delivers rousing 40-minute speeches — surveying topics as far-ranging as the specific failings of the federal No Child Left Behind education act and problems with the military strategy in Iraq — without the aid of even a notecard.

A doting mother of two, Mrs. Obama has kept crowds waiting with telephone calls to her “little people” — daughters Sasha, 6, and Malia, 9.

Outspoken, strong-willed, funny, gutsy and sometimes sarcastic, Michelle Obama is playing a pivotal role in her husband’s campaign as it builds on a series of successes, including a sweep on Tuesday of contests in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Her personal style — forthright, comfortable in the trenches, and often more blunt than Mr. Obama — plays well with a broad swath of the electorate and has given the campaign a steelier edge while allowing Mr. Obama to stay largely above it all.

“I am trying to be as authentically me as I can be,” Mrs. Obama said in an interview. “My statements are coming from my experiences and my observations and my frustrations.” “

MSN- Susan Saulny

This weekend my dad and my great friend Leah are coming to visit mee!! And perhaps Tyler and Reid, too. I’m very excited. Weekend plans include laying on the beach, hiking up Bishops, partying, grocery shopping, homework but most of all I plan on enjoying the company of my dad and my Leah :)) It’s a four day this weekend and I’m gunna make it count baby!

Right now, this moment is an amazing moment. Before I even went to Japan I knew I wanted to visit the town of Obama because of Senator Obama. And it feels oh-so gratifying to know that I was the first person in the world to put the connection together. While in Japan, when I was telling people I wanted to go to the town of Obama they said, “Why do you want to go to Obama??!” or, “There is no town called Obama!” But LOOK. LOOK!! I’M SO STOKED! This came out today, Wednesday the 13th, in the Japan Times!

For Fukui city of Obama, choice of U.S. candidate is a no-brainer.

By ERIC JOHNSTON
Staff writer

OSAKA — If you’re traveling through Fukui Prefecture over the coming weeks, don’t be surprised if you see signs, posters or even souvenir goods that say “Obama for Obama.”

News photo
This “manga” drawing of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama is the symbol of his unofficial support group in Obama, Fukui Prefecture. ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF THE BARACK OBAMA SUPPORT GROUP

A group of 16 local residents in Obama, a city on the Sea of Japan coast, formed a support group for U.S. presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama last week in the hopes that if he eventually winds up in the White House, he’ll bring not only change to American politics but, more importantly, make Obama a world famous name.

It all started a couple of years ago, after the city heard from local reporters that the senator, upon arriving in Japan, joked with Japanese customs officials that he was from Obama, Fukui Prefecture.

True or not, the story prompted Mayor Toshio Murakami to send the candidate a long thank-you letter in January 2007, explaining the history of the city and saying Obama’s comments, in jest or not, “helped advertise our city.”

Included in the letter was a gift of high-quality chopsticks made in Obama.

Now, however, with Obama a strong presidential candidate and drawing worldwide media attention, residents of the city have taken things a step further. Led by Seiji Fujiwara, a local hotel manager, the Barack Obama support group hopes to stage a number of Obama-related nonpolitical events to raise local awareness.

It has already drawn a likeness of the candidate as their official club symbol for use on publicity materials.

There is even talk of stamping that symbol on souvenir items like Obama bean-paste cakes, with the drawing of his face on top, although Fujiwara said the group will get his permission before attempting to delve into this particular brand of “money politics.”

The reasons for the support have less to do with international politics and more to do with local tourism.

“If Barack Obama becomes president, the name Obama will become world famous, and our city will be known around the world,” said Fujiwara, explaining the purpose of the group’s founding.

Obama is a port town with a 1,300-year history, and was once a center of trade between ancient Nara and China and the Korean Peninsula. Today, it’s known locally for its seafood and nationally for the large concentration of nuclear plants in the nearby Wakasa Bay region.

It is also the home of Yasushi Chimura and his wife Fukie, two of the five Japanese who returned to Japan in 2002, a quarter-century after they were abducted to North Korea.

Asked what his members think of Barack Obama as a candidate, Fujiwara said the group knows little of his policies but is impressed by his rhetorical skills.

“He’s a gifted speaker, and his message of change sounds exciting. It will be a big change for the city of Obama as well if he wins the nomination and is elected president,” Fujiwara said.

THIS WAS (part of) MY POST FROM NOV. 9TH, 2007:

“SOOooooo…Today i made my pilgrimage! Thats right, I DID! And now youre wondering, ”How can a girl who isnt religious make any sort of pilgrimage?” Well, if you know me, you know that i am close to religiously passionate about politics. And today, ladies and gents, I made the trek across Japan to the opposite coast to the town of OBAMA. Beautiful, quaint fishing town with lush green hills, beautiful coastlines, and yummy sea food. They also specialize in luxury chopsticks, so i went ahead and bought Mr. and Mrs. Barack Obama their very own chopsticks from their very own Japanese fishing village. I fully intend on writing them a witty letter and sending them the chopsticks with some pictures enclosed as well.. It was a day to remember… and it was funny how everyone would react when i would express to them my desire for a train ticket with the destination Obama: a middle-of-no-where, nothing-to-do fishing town. ”why she want to go there?!” “

I feel so totally cool right now. Who cares if I can’t tell if it’s really the story, or if its just the Prednisone talking. I am Queen.

And now I’m in the moood for some love! And there are so many cute boys I don’t quite know what to do with myself!

In the name of St. Valentine, I want to make sure all the lonely people out there know that Valentines Day doesn’t have to be a sad, pathetic day. Love your dog, your favorite movie, your best friend, and why not take an opportunity to send a few cards out to those you care about? Give, and recieve. And if you’re the “commercial-holiday cynic,” then no one has time for you… and you’re probably a boy who hasn’t found the right girl yet. When you find the right one, you’ll know that you just have to suck it up on Valentines Day and buy her something sexy.

I’ve just seen a face I wont forget the time and place hes just the boy for me and i want all the world to see we’ve met mm mmm mm!!

When i find myself in times of trouble… Did you know the Beatles song Yesterday is the most covered song in the entire world? Interesting fact. And when the broken hearted people living in this world agree… there will be an answer.

Right now I’m making hard boiled eggs and then I’m going to be brave and go knock on the boys door across the way because they’re fun and cute, and they look like the Ramones or something, and I’m gettin a ride to school with them tomorrow! YAy.

ALSO! Amy bought me my Citizen Cope ticket for my birthday and we’re going during spring break and I’m STOKED!

My ringtone now chants “Oh, oh oh oh Obama! Oh oh, Obama! Obama!” In a playful, musical way. The way I wrote it may or may not read sexually… hmm.

I still love yogurt and bananas for breakfast, just like in Japan.

Today Eva and I went to the Cal Poly gym and I felt so cool since I’m not really allowed inside… I forged my way muahhahah. And might I add that I had an awesome run– intervals for 30 min. i love running but it hurts my toe. So right now i’m going to set up my bike to ride the morning… and I’m really hyper right now if it hasn’t come across in my run-on sentences! Alrighty well… my favorite boy name is Hugo. And thats all, more tomorrow. Maybe my mind won’t be racing and I won’t feel so giddy with boy-craziness.

Today I turned in my first college essay called: Blogs As The Silver Lining in Public Discourse. I’m proud of it ALSO, I sent Barack Obama his chopsticks that I bought for him in Japan. I waited to send them during a time he needed some luck. This is what my letter said:

Dear Mr. Obama,

Erika Anderson
California

How awesome is this presidential race?  It’s history in the making and I’m so excited about it!  The deomocratic candidates keep pushing the idea of “change”, as if it’s only going to happen after theyre in office… but i can feel change already.  Spirits are lifting, the air is more crisp, and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel that is the Presidency of George W. Bush!  For my birthday all I want is Obama paraphernalia… or cash. Who’s picky?

Right now I look like I got in a fight–and lost.  This rash is terribly embarassing and only slightly funny. Walking around campus, I’m certain I’ll inspire a student horror film: [Booming, masculine movie-trailer voice] Where did it come from? NOBODY KNOWS. What’s it’s name? NOBODY KNOWS..! When will it’s tyrrany end?? NOBODY KNOWS!! Coming Summer 2oo8.

Lastly, I just want to express how much I love my Grandma.  Yesterday a curiously thoughtful care-package arrived for me and it was just so delightful to recieve mail.  Nothing like a sweet note from Grandma to get a rashy girl misty-eyed…

I put the website as the title so that you can’t avoid visiting it.

The video is AMAZING and Wil.I.am’s letter expresses how many of us feel about the Obama campaign. I’m so invested in Barack Obama I WILL cry tears of sadness if he doesn’t win the primary.

I feel so inspired right now and for the first time I can do something about it! Since I was in the 8th grade, after September 11th, I felt such a need to be active in politics but there were few outlets for my passion. Every Friday I would stand in front of the city hall with a small group of adults and teachers to protest a meaningless war and a poor president. The feeling I had when George Bush was re-elected could only be described as mild depression. I felt sad and and helpless because I couldn’t do anything about it! I couldn’t vote, and I didn’t understand why something that so greatly effected my life was so out of my hands. I felt angry at my country and the generation above me, I felt let down by their lack of civic responsibility. I say that because I felt that nothing but failure to be informed could have re-elected George W. Bush. But FINALLY, on my eighteenth birthday I got the best present in the whole entire world. Better than any present anyone could have given me, and a present that I cherish as a right, but also as a privilege. A privilege that I can’t take lightly because so many people in the world are without the right to vote! Because I feel this way, I’ve put the past year and a half into researching the candidates and knowing as much as possible about them so that I can make an informed decision. But I have to say, in the end, I’m going with my very first instinct. I had a passion for Barack Obama in the very beginning and I’m sticking to my guns! Honest to god, I’m so excited to vote tomorrow I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight. LETS DO THIS!