went to an art opening last night and met up with (dj) Lani (with the gaialive radio show) and her boyfriend. we ended up chatting, with a few others, next door at the spitz until about 2. all had their drinks and I had cake. was mocked for not having heard of chocolate biscuit cake. which was pretty tasty. a few hours later, we walked to bricklane for some bagels, and then went our respective ways. I shared a cab with a very nice man who paid my way home even though I had been planning to take the nightbus from where he got out. I have of course forgotten his name, although I think it begins with the same letter as my name. art openings are funny things. too crowded to see the art. smoky as all London functions seem to be. it was mostly photo/2d art, with some installations. My favorites were these large photos -maybe digital- of landscapes that were blurred, but still rich-colored, it felt like you were rolling down the hill in the picture, or spinning on the cliff-edge. blurry but still understandable, like when I take my glasses off.

Nov 20 00 going to expand a little on the election thingy. I voted for Nader. understanding that MA always goes democrat, it was symbolic. I voted in absentia, a week before the election day. I don't think he would be a good president, although he's sometimes an effective activist. His critique is better than his solutions, or rather better than I think his ability to implement solutions is. but the current two-party system is ridiculous, and there needs to be a crack in the walls. now this whole "spoiler" idea I find a bit silly. folks, the real spoiler is the 40% or whatever of people who DON'T VOTE (not even getting into the fact that in some states folks are BARRED from voting -and Gore campaigned for this, I believe). I think Nader's campaign probably mobilized some folks into voting who otherwise would not have. I was certainly much more motivated (although I like to think I would have anyway). it's not like it's a fixed number of voting people and the candidates all have to fight for'em. the huge pool of reluctant and disillusioned voters may be slowly waking up. right the fuck on.

In some ways, I think the current situation is the best that could have happened. I was expecting b*sh to win, and hating it. But I don't like Gore much, although his supreme court appointees would probably have been better, and the climate around race might have not deteriorated the way bush will cause it to. (ending a sentence with a preposition, i know. hush, alla yous). I was supremely unhappy with the whole stinkin' setup, and what happened? the setup blew up! of course, b*sh may likely come out on top afterwards, but like I said below, either way, people are talking in a potentially more constructive manner. I do hope b*sh doesn't win, but g*re's no prize. the prize is dialogue, multilogue, voices in the night.

Nov 19 00 sort of perverse, isn't it, that I'm glad my sweetheart has been ill at home, because he's emailed me three times in four days. but sometimes he's not so good about staying in touch, and if he's stuck in bed next to the computer then hah I get to hear from him. he's not THAT ill, I mean he goes out and then has stuff to write to me about. besides the news.
I'm actually pretty excited about all that's happening in the US now. People who never were interested in politics are starting to get involved. The situation has called attention to all that's wrong with the american voting system and the two major parties. perhaps it will even allow people to think about other ways of deciding than majority rule (about which my friend joseph --and here-- has many interesting things to say, among his other interesting points.) Though especially from the point of view of the supreme court and the cultural climate b*sh is worse than the otherguy, either way in four years the elections will be even more interesting.