Transcendant music video, by David Helpling and Jon Jenkins

One of the best parts of working with the artist-run music label Spotted Peccary Records has been meeting the other recording artists on the label. Check out this impressive new music video:

The Knowing (LIVE) – David Helpling and Jon Jenkins

On August 25, 2008, David Helpling and Jon Jenkins were joined by long time friend and collaborator Matthew Stewart for a rare live performance at the University Of California San Diego. Some of the best moments of that memorable evening were released on the BEYOND WORDS – RARE LIVE TREASURES limited edition CD – available at deepexile.com. This video footage, shot by Joe Abreu, documents the very same performance of “The Knowing” that appears on the BEYOND WORDS – RARE LIVE TREASURES disc

4-20 Time to consider legalization and taxation of Marijuana

Bee on Lupine
The time has come to consider legalizing and taxing Marijuana. Sure, it’s easier to ignore this problem and go along with the status quo, than to come out for change. But it’s my blog and I can say what I want. There are already a lot of states that have made it totally legal and medically legal. there are medical dispensaries in texas, medical marijuana texas is doing good work and no one is getting hurt. If you would like to try marijuana then you can by getting a ohio cannabis card, it may help for medicinal purposes but it may not. A lot of consumers that are looking to purchase a more raw product, would head to an online retailer like rocky mountain dispensary, but not use it entirely for the medicinal values others would.
Since what we are doing is costly and doesn’t appear to be working AT ALL, I think it makes sense to try another way. I imagine public figures everywhere struggling with this idea. It’s better to get along and go along. But that doesn’t make it the right thing to do. I sense a rising momentum for this idea from the blogosphere, but that may be all there is to it. Still, major newspapers are printing articles like this:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/43237522.html
which actually expresses my ideas about the subject better than I can. Even our own local newspaper has hinted at the idea. Which is something at least. It’s time to stop enabling organized crime in Mexico, and making criminals out of local potheads and medicinal users. The hypocrisy of allowing some intoxicants to be legal, and others out-of-fashion to be made illegal, harms our society more than the drugs. Sure the tax revenue would be fine, but the real good would be to reduce the damage to our civil liberties and societal fabric. I don’t advocate drug use, but I fear drunk drivers more than addled potheads, and this foolishness must end. We are harmed by the illicit grow operations in our forests, and by the costly criminalization and imprisonment of the people whose only crime is to themselves. Our current failed drug policy is turning the border into a narco-state. It has come to a point where the law is creating more problems than the subject of the law. California State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano wants to change the law. If you agree, you should tell our local Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa that you are open minded to new ideas to attack this old issue. But then, it’s always easier to go along and get along….

Extreme autos race one another at the Redding Dragstrip

Dueling jet cars
There is something utterly visceral about watching two jet powered cars race. You have to be there to feel it. Last night, these two “cars” spooled up, and took off down the track at over 200 mph. Afterwards, there was a moment of stunned silence in the crowd, like we all couldn’t believe what we just saw and felt. Then, an exhilarated cheer, almost in unison. We all turned and looked at one another as if to confirm “Did you see/feel that too?” I was laughing so hard. What sort of looney-tunes do you have to be to strap yourself onto a ROCKET, and then race somebody?
Dueling jet cars
You think your job is tough. The two track workers you can just see, crouched toward the left of this shot, are literally sandwiched between two plasma plumes of death!
Dueling jet cars

Where the rubber meets the track on Kool April Nites

Jet car
Hope to see you at Kool April Drags this evening, and over the rest of the weekend. The weather is supposed to be perfect.
 car
I’m only a casual fan, but I run their website. This event is their biggest of the year, and with dueling jet cars after dark, no less. Definitely worth coming out. They’ve made a lot of track improvements.
 car
This is oldest continuously operating dragstrip in the US. A longtime Redding tradition.

Where our taxes go

Yesterday was painful, but not as painful as it would be to live ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE PLANET. Still, this chart is worthy of your consideration. Be patient after clicking on it. It took a while to come up.
Tax chart

Escapee from Turtle Bay found hiding on our porch

Turtle
We ran across this hardened escapee from Turtle Bay. Perhaps Turtle Bay is like Pelican Bay, and escapees should be considered dangerous.
Turtle
We live along the Sulphur Creek watershed, so it was a clear path to freedom for the smelly escapee.
Turtle
Did I mention that it smelled bad? Don’t let that smiling face fool you.

We took the Bullet Train to San Diego

Bullet train

We spent a few days in San Diego after taking the Bullet Train out of Redding. It just took a few hours. I remember when it took all day on I-5 back in the bad old days. What a great trip. The train was really nice, and we met some cool people. San Diego has a terrific Light Rail system. Look at what they’ve done to their cityscape HERE. We even took the Red Car to Tijuana for an afternoon of fun.
Bullet train

The Red Car is quaint and fun, but not as nice as our Green Car system that stretches from Shingletown to Whiskeytown. Of course, the best part of any trip is coming home to Redding. Our NicholsMelburg&Rossetto designed train station is one of the nicest in the world.
Bullet train

Of course I’m making all this up. I was thinking about this as we started getting so many e-mails this week about trying to beat down the proposed SCRIP (formerly Fix 5) building fees that are ostensibly meant to pay for widening I-5. Widening I-5? Are we maybe preparing for the wrong scenario here? They have “freeways” ten lanes wide in the Bay Area and they are still jammed. What if we had a decent rail system like they have in Europe? Why is that Europe has a better transportation system than we do? We are spending trillions of stimulus dollars and all we get is widened roads? I’m feeling really gyped. Where is the vision that built Shasta Dam? Our leaders today spend big, but think small.

Band debut at Bombay's Monday April 6 @ 8 pm (note new time)

My friend Craig Padilla has lately been playing keyboards with longtime Redding guitar rockers Innerworkings. They are doing their first live gig with this new lineup at Bombay’s, opening for a band called Highlight Bomb and 2 other bands. $5 cover. Check out some excerpts of their new music at the image:

Band logo

On another more immediate musical note, there is a podcast you should listen to if you like spacemusic. This one features Craig Padilla and me, along with Zero Ohms from our CD Beyond the Portal. You can listen from your browser if you don’t have an iPod. Are there people who don’t have iPods? Well anyway, its a very nice sampler of this genre put together by TC from the Netherlands, and is 47 minutes of cinematic atmospheres. Well worth a listen just to hear TC’s Dutch accent as he describes our music. Click on the image below for the podcast, and find more at http://spacemusic.nl
Spacemusic logo