Getting Involved

March marks the four year anniversary of my brother-in-law Dewey's death. It's crazy to think that it's been four years, sometimes it feels like forever, others like it was yesterday. Dewey fought a short, bitter battle, and ultimately lost his life to Leukemia.

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood and/or bone marrow. According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

An estimated 231,461 people in the United States are living with leukemia. An estimated 44,270 new cases of leukemia will be diagnosed in the United States in 2008.

Many patients suffering from Leukemia seek bone marrow transplants in hopes of a cure. Dewey was in line for a transplant, unfortunately he did not live long enough to have the procedure.

I am writing this post to encourage people to get involved. The US has an amazing organization that catalogs potential bone marrow donors, and is available for dr's across the nation to access in search of potential donor matches. This is known as The National Bone Marrow Registry. Finding a Marrow donor is a hard thing to do, there are many specifications on what makes a "match". But through this organization thousand of lives have been saved. To join, one's blood must be tested, it's actually pretty simple, you just give some blood. Here you can search for blood drives in your area that will be registering bone marrow as well.

The chances of being sought as a match are slim, but even a slim chance at potentially saving a life is motivation enough.
Minorities are greatly encouraged to register, there is a strong pull for possible minority donors. If you are thinking that maybe something in your medical history might make you unable to be a donor, please double check the website, you'd be surprised by how many things do not render people ineligible.

A match for every patient. Hope for every family.
We have a Registry of millions. But we still do not have matched bone marrow donors or cord blood units for all patients, especially those from racially and ethnically diverse communities.
We need more new donors to join the Registry and expectant parents to donate cord blood. With your help, more people will receive a transplant. And more families will have a future filled with hope.

If you feel at all compelled to pursue this, contact me. I'm registered and would love to answer any questions you have.

Thank you.
-JR

To go, or not to go.....

Sooooo.... All of these bands will be playing The Coachella Music Festival this year. It's a three day event of blood sweat and tears, drugs, drinking and nudity, hippy-shit, debauchery, and overall craziness.... What to do? What to do? Tickets are bout $300... Do I dare? That's a lot of buck, but a lot of bang for your buck too..... AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH! So much money! So many good bands! I'm torn.... Maybe I'll wait and see how much of my money the government will be giving back to me, then choose from there? This is when a sugardaddy would REALLY come in handy. (So if you know one, give em my number)

Friday
A Place To Bury Strangers
Alberta Cross
Bajofondo
Beirut
Buraka Som Sistema
Cage the Elephant
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band
Craze and Klever
Crystal Castles
Dear and the Headlights
Felix da Housecat
Franz Ferdinand
Genghis Tron
Ghostland Observatory
Girl Talk
Gui Boratto
Leonard Cohen
Los Campesinos!
M. Ward
Molotov
Morrissey
N.A.S.A.
Noah and the Whale
Patton & Rahzel
Paul McCartney
Peanut Butter Wolf
People Under the Stairs
Ryan Bingham
Silversun Pickups
Steve Aoki
Switch
The Crystal Method
The Aggrolites
The Airborne Toxic Event
The Black Keys
The Bug
The Courteeners
The Hold Steady
The Presets
The Ting Tings
We Are Scientists
White Lies
Saturday
Amanda Palmer
Amy Winehouse
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
Atmosphere
Band Of Horses
Billy Talent
Blitzen Trapper
Bob Mould Band
Booker T
Calexico
Cloud Cult
Crookers
Dr. Dog
Drive By Truckers
Drop The Lime
Electric Touch
Fleet Foxes
Gang Gang Dance
Glass Candy
Glasvegas
Henry Rollins - spoken word
Hercules and Love Affair
Ida Maria
James Morrison
Jenny Lewis
Liars
Junior Boys
Mastodon
Michael Franti & Spearhead
MSTRKRFT
Surkin. Para One (Live)
Superchunk
The Bloody Beetroots
The Killers
Thenewno2
Thievery Corporation
Tinariwen
TRV$DJ-AM
Turbonegro
TV On The Radio
Zane Lowe
Zizek Club
Sunday
Antony and the Johnsons
Brian Jonestown Massacre
Christopher Lawrence
Clipse
Friendly Fires
Fucked Up
Groove Armada (DJ Set)
K'naan
Late of the Pier
Lupe Fiasco
Lykke Li
M.A.N.D.Y.
Marshall Barnes
Mexican Institute of Sound
My Bloody Valentine
No Age
Okkervil River
Paolo Nutini
Paul Weller
Perry Farrell
Peter Bjorn and John
Public Enemy
Roni Size Reprazent
Sebastien Tellier
Shepard Fairey
Supermayer
The Cure
The Gaslight Anthem
The Horrors
The Kills
The Knux
The Night Marchers
Themselves
Throbbing Gristle
Vivian Girls
X
Yeah Yeah Yeah's

Coachella '06

James Whitmore

RIP Brooks......

having one of those days.. or weeks...

The stark nakedness of reality
dances,
Menacingly,
just beyond grasp.

Weaving through
Metaphors
and behind
closed doors

Spinning
and twisting and spinning
Suggestively offering
bits and pieces, but never the whole....

Wanton Knowledge,
so painfully expensive

They say the challenge
offers hope.

The sullen clouds
remind me of those long winter nights
The burning logs
told us stories of better times
When the heat of our passion
moistened the crisp air
And you spoke to me
with such uninhibited certainty
Our minds became one, before our bodies even touched.

always.

Jesus Christo!

"BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — More than 100 chickens, rabbits, rodents, iguanas and tarantulas have been removed from a two-bedroom Buffalo apartment by authorities who needed three vans to cart off the menagerie.
Police officers responding to an animal mistreatment complaint at a South Buffalo apartment found the animals living in a couple's cramped apartment Monday. The animals were removed in dozens of cages and cardboard containers by officers from the local chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The animals included about 100 chickens and rabbits.
The couple living in the second-story apartment has been charged with animal cruelty.
The SPCA is trying to find homes for some of the animals, while other animal rescue organizations are expected to take some."

-This makes me feel like less of a crazy cat lady!

Disconnected.

Do you ever just stare at your phone and hope it will ring? And no matter how hard you will it, how intently you focus, the screen remains blank? So you put it back in your pocket or purse or whatever... but you find that every couple minutes you're sneaking a glance, or imagining you felt it vibrate, and you just can't stop?

Come on!?!

Today I realized that my phone had deleted all of my saved pictures. Needless to say, I'm pissed. Seriously. Its just really bad timing and I'm super bummed. Just more memories washed down the drain. I feel like I'm on the truman show, like someone is orchestrating this, like someone somewhere is laughing at me. I'm done and done.

sunrise....

been too many mornings of watching the sunrise.....

in my head....