Rage Against The Puffy Parkas

It was Girls' Gab Night at my house and Deb and Fini were coming over to sip rum and coke and talk about guys. Just then I got a reminder call from Josh Labovitz that his brother Jake is playing that night with his band, "Scorned Flesh" at The Cobalt, a teenage, punk club in the valley. So we bundled up, headed out and ventured into a world populated by purple Mohawks, multi-studded leather leggings and black face paint.


Josh (in white shirt), friends and Me.

Our plan was to blend. When "Scorned Flesh" took the stage I grabbed my camera and hunkered down to get an artistic shot of Jake through the drums. I stood up to find myself engulfed in a sea of moshers. By this I mean concentric circles of punk rockers slamming into one another. Thankfully, I only had to smack two or three children in the throat to gain my freedom.


Jake Labovitz

Jake is an amazing drummer and although this music will not be quickly making its way to my iPod, I do appreciate the speed and complexity of the drumming. Great job, Jacob!

COMEDY at ROCKS



The comedy scene at Rocks, 801 State Street is picking up speed and rapidly becoming the place to be in Santa Barbara on Wednesday nights. This week's show featured my Weezy & The Swish podcasting partner, Laura Swisher with headliner, Eric Schwartz. It marked the first week I was able to take enough extra breaths to video blog and here is the result. (click and watch)




Weezy & The Swish


Me, Melissa Paull, Laura

Our guest on the podcast was Melissa Paull and we had a blast with her. To hear the show, go to Weezy & The Swish, click and listen. Last week the studio was chock full of women as we welcomed Tig, Ruby Wendell and Martha Kelly. Things sometimes got approximately, and often got specifically this goofy. (click and watch)




Fans on the Weezy & The Swish Message Board are calling that show the funniest Podcast ever. After 82 podcasts, could that be possible? Tig's Mom thinks it could be.


Ruby Wendell, Tig, Laura and Me

Happy Winter. Be well and Happy!

New Post for a New Year

My blog taunts me. I cave to its derision and begin to type. My fingers fighting to find the keys through a filmy fog of haunting distractions, like a dingy at sea bound for the lighthouse yet tossed playfully at first and then menacingly towards a current of temptation and betrayal.

Can you tell that I read a couple of novels over the holidays? I’m just finishing “The Mermaid Chair,” where a married woman falls in love with a monk. Delicious.

I love to read for many reasons including that it does not require electricity. My power was off for 24 hours. I could have lit a single candle, but instead, I cursed the darkness, fired up three flashlights, loaded my bed with blankets and then dove in with the books. I woke up at 5:00 am, frozen and watched the sun come up. (see above) Then I drove over to my sister’s and sat in front of the heat vents.


Joanna and Charlie

My cousin Joanna and her boyfriend, Charlie were in town for New Year’s Eve. We went to Ojai and worked a puzzle. This is about the time you should ask yourself why you’re continuing to read.




Comedy Nights

Kyle Cease at Rocks, coming tomorrow, Thursday, to Bricks

We had two great holiday weeks at both locations, Bricks and Rocks and although the college kids were gone, there were many revelers who stopped in to enjoy some comedy. Comedians who performed included: Bradley Lewis, Sadiki Fuller, Matt Champagne and Peter Berman. Upcoming guests include: Kyle Cease, Sebastian Maniscalco, Ruben Paul, Pete Gray, Eric Schwartz and my podcasting partner, Laura Swisher. If you’d like to see the complete schedule, click here…

Weezy & The Swish


Matt, Fritz, Me, Frazer, Laura

We took one week off from our podcast, Weezy and The Swish, over New Years’ week but our most recent show features Frazer Smith with a pop-in appearance by Fritz Coleman. It’s podcasttastic. Please enjoy this video blog...



Have a wonderfully fulfilling New Year!