they cut it out two days before christmas. some mean little bacterium..reproducing itself like a warren of rabbits on a mixture of speed and aphrodisiacs. now i have a frankensteinish slash meandering across my abdomen like a halloween costume gone all wrong.

the surgeon, the first time i saw him, kept asking me if i had ever "been cut"?. having grown up in the country, spending many a days crashing through brambles and such, i was confused how such a trivial thing could hold relevance. i now can say in no uncertain terms that i have been cut. when they took the staples out 10 days after surgery, the wound ripped open because of a pocket of fluid that had built up behind it. i wish i had not seen that.

now they have decided to leave it open. to let it heal from witihin. i am heavily bandaged and rebandaged each day. it doesn't hurt really, but there is the gnawing reality of what i saw. it eats at my psyche.

Recent stuff.

It feels so good, so warm, so fulfilling.

that is all.

I'm waiting for my coffee to brew. But in the meantime, I'd like to pose a question that perhaps someone has an answer to, and perhaps, someone has an opinion about.

Namely, we have the largest navy in the world. It's really big. Unlike our army, it's literally bigger than any of the other substantial powers combined. We have a lot of ships. They're fast. Even the frigates are super-deadly, and they represent an enormous amount of force projection.

So...

With our wartime president, and the soon-to-be-disenfranchised neo-cons really worried about the world not perceiving us as badass, whale-sodomizing cowboys, why is it that...

We haven't drifted in a squadron to produce some Coral Sea mayhem off of the coast of Somalia. I mean, imagine the kind of deterent effect that would have on piracy if news feeds carried nothing but a bunch of American ships of the line surrounding torched, ships sinking to the water line, as the squad of intensely fearsome looking vessels punched, and ripped their way through the waters off Somalia. We haven't we seen them - or more importantly - why haven't the pirates seen them piercing through the pluming wreckage of obliteratered pirate vessels like silent, monolithic couriers of doom? Why haven't we shelled these so called pirate enclaves, they say they're only pirating to feed their families - well, why not take away that impetus? Then, after we've chased them down on the seas, why not summarily execute pirates to the waves?

Sure, it sounds like adolescent, violent fantasy. But, it just dumbfounds me. We have hundreds of billions of dollars of the most lethal hardware ever conceived this side of the atomic bomb floating around. We have the opportunity to show that international community that American force is still to be feared while still being capable of reaching good ends. But we do nothing. It's not like there's a Somali government to offend. Instead we've allowed a bunch of starving assholes with 2nd hand rpgs and rotting AK47s play capture the flag to their heart's content.

I'll never understand this administration. They wasted 6 years fighting the wrong war. They've always gee'd when they should have haw'd. So systematically have they gotten things wrong that it's almost like they're psychic in reverse. This leads me to the conclusion that, not only should we never have gone to Iraq, but, right now, the only correct thing for us to be doing is reenacting famous WWII Pacific Theatre Battles in these areas of piracy.

In ancient times, an area of the mediterranean stretching from the straits to Judea, from North Africa to Dalmatia, was cleared of pirates by authorities using glorified row-boats.

I was just thinking. They treat the Sea Shepherds worse than they treat the pirates. There needs to be an end to this mollycoddling of pirates.

Merry Christmas, Killoggians. Jake and I are sitting at the gate. ORD to MSY. I am looking forward to a break in the weather. It's 4 degrees here and 74 in Slidell. That's a 70 degree difference we'll be experiencing. Well, barring any more o'hare runway accidents anyway.

I hope everyone's having a great holiday celebrating whatever it is you celebrate. I'll be here for another hour, so feel free to respond with your best experience of the holiday so far. Let's make things all cheery, shall we?

i will be in the area from feb 26th to march 3rd. i am shooting a wedding in Baton Rouge on the 28th... i think i will be in BR from the 26th-28th, then go to new orleans from the 1st to the 3rd. who will be around? tell me who has moved back to BR/NOLA!

also i will be in Austin for SXSW, March 18th - 22nd if anyone lives in Austin or will be at SXSW.

also i will be going SOMEWHERE april 4th-12th, as that is my spring break. i am not sure where yet. convince me!

Recently I shot several furniture items for a local Baltimore furniture designer who probably doesn't want Killoggs to come up in their Google results, so they will go unnamed. They are wonderful pieces, and it was fun to photograph them - and challenging. You can see one above, or check out my flickr for more.


Blisspop @ 9:30 Club f/ Tittsworth, Nadastrom, Blaqstarr

  
  
  

Friday I shot Blisspop at the 9:30 club. It was a pretty wild party, with a photo area for saucy photos courtesy of BYT. It was good to hang out with Dakota (and watch him roll around with Ms Claus). Good times.

Check out the whole set here.

baltimore round robin tour.

  
  

It was an interesting night - Sonar was transformed into a huge art installation. Band/theater troupes/entertainers/performance artists took turns performing for just a few minutes at a time, so you never knew where to go next. It was pretty exciting! I drank too much. I wish I had gone to the second night!

Click here for the whole Round Robin set.


Tradition Dies Here final show @ the Black Cat



Last week I went down to DC to catch one of my favorite bands from the "old days" of Maryland Hardcore (the early 00s), Tradition Dies Here. Mikey is leaving town for a year or two to travel the world so they had this show in case it is the last one. Good times, old friends. Good luck Mikey!

Click here for the full Tradition Dies Here set.

Following in the footsteps of last years "Personal Best Photos of 2007", I have compiled a list of the favorite photos I took this year. Click the link below to see what I came up with, and if you are really bored you can click here to see all the ones that were in the running. Feel free to pick your faves in the comments, and especially feel free to link to your own best of 2008 posts!

Okay click here to see the list!

PS I actually compiled this about a week ago so there are probably a few other things I would have added had I waited til the last minute. C'est la vie.

probably not, but here are a bunch of photos i have been meaning to post...

The Chase reunion show @ the Corpse Fortress.

  
  

Saturday night I trucked down to Silver Spring to venerable punk house/venue the Corpse Fortress to catch the reunion show(s) of The Chase, Breathe In Breath Out, At Best & Timber. It was awesome, I hadn't been to a punk basement show in so long. I got moshed a bit, and was slightly nervous about having my gear in the "pit", but it went well and was a lot of fun.

Highlights included the girl who lived there loudly hinting that everyone should get the fuck out of her house and no one listening, all the sing-a-longs, AFP from the Chase demanding that the Chase replay parts of songs over and over, the wall of death, and me convincing Ari Goldman that the box of free records was actually a donation box, then realizing I just conned Ari!

Click here to view the whole the Chase reunion show set!


Night Marchers @ the Ottobar

   
   

Last night I saw the Night Marchers (ex-Rocket From The Crypt and, I believe, Hot Snakes) play at the Ottobar. They put on a real good show and even passed out beers for people in the crowd to shotgun with them...


NYC trip: CMJ, My Crew Be Unruly @ Love, hanging with friends…


    
    


A few weekends ago (right around the same time my laptop died, thus the long delay), I made it up to NYC for CMJ, and to hang out with friends. Even though I had a badge (thanks, Citypaper), I didn't make it to many sanctioned events... the highlights for me were the Unruly Records/Senari bash at Love, Ponytail's performance at the Fader Fort, and of course just hanging out with friends. Click here for the fun NYC set.


Fool's Gold Tour @ Ottobar, Baltimore



The other week I worked the Fool's Gold/Scion/Taxlo show at the Ottobar (with Jokers of the Scene, Trackademics, Nick Catchdubs, Sammy Banannas)... met several of the people at Fool's Gold, who were all really nice and awesome, and checked out the various artists. It was a good time. I felt like the crowd was sort of confused when Trackademics started, as if they didn't expect some live hip hop at this show, but what can you do? Click here for the full Fool's Gold set


Halloween 2008.

   

I didn't make it to any haunted houses this year :[

But I did check out a few bars, and then ended up at Sonar, for Taxlo's annual party... saw a few costumes, talked with a few friends, saw Chris Devlin from Spank Rock DJ... Click here for the full Halloween set

Next year I need to hit up the Haunted Mill.


Deep Sugar f/ Little Louie Vega @ Paradox


   

I've started working with Ultra and Lisa, who have been throwing the Deep Sugar nights (and running the Deep Sugar record label) for years now. The first show I shot for them was Little Louie Vega @ Paradox... now, house music is not traditionally my thing but this party was really fun. Everyone there was having such a un-self-consciously good time, it would have been hard not to enjoy myself at this.

Check out the write-up (that I contributed photos for) at BrightestYoungThings.com. Then check out the full Deep Sugar set here.


Sinden Soundsystem @ Sonar, Baltimore.


   
   

Last week I checked out Sinden (from London, creator of that "Hit me on my Beeper Beeper Beeper Beeper" song) at Sonar. I was expecting a DJ set but he amped it up - there were THREE MCs, all British, along with him, and special appearances from Rye Rye (they did "Hardcore Girls") and Blaqstarr. It was a pretty great time. Dave Nada and Scottie B also performed, a pretty full night.

THEN, after the show I realized that the Homosexuals, who I had seen play at SXSW earlier this year had played next door, and I had missed them. :( But Bruno, the singer, ran into me and either remembered me from talking to him at that show, or mistook me for someone else and we chatted and he even gave me a rare record:



A good night! Check here for the whole Sinden set.


Dan Deacon & Gavin Holland @ Hirshhorn Afterhours, DC



A week or so ago, I dropped by the Hirshhorn in DC to see Dan Deacon. I decided to go because I love Dan, and I figured this show, since it was at a Major American Art Museum, would be staid and reserved, with glasses of wine and DEFINITELY NOT with people mobbing Dan or stealing his equipment or stealing his famed green skull. I was wrong on all counts, as you will see if you click here.


Mad Decent Tour (Diplo, Blaqstarr, Rye Rye, Boy 8 Bit, more) @ Sonar, Baltimore


   
   

Thursday? Friday? Wednesday? ... they all sort of start to blend together, but anyway, SOME DAY LAST WEEK, I went to Sonar to see the MAD DECENT TOUR, featuring Diplo, Boy 8 Bit, Blaqstarr, Rye Rye, and several acts I unfortnately missed. It was fun, they had a pretty creative "booth" setup for Diplo, some great dancing and some pretty awesome pizza and hot dog mascots. We did a group photo to recreate the tour poster, and all in all I had a pretty good time for someone that was basically a sleep zombie... click here for the full Mad Decent Tour set.


CULT photoshoot.


              

A week or two ago, I did a photoshoot at my friend JP's boutique in Baltimore, CULT. It was really fun, we just goofed off for an hour or so, and though it was chaotic, I think I got some good shots. Check out the full set fo CULT photos. I will be posting more from this photoshoot tonight or tomorrow, too, so check back.

Also visit the store, it's on Charles between Madison and Read, in Mount Vernon.


MICA Experimental Fashion Show, Kegger

  

Saturday I shot the Experimental Fashion Show, Kegger, at MICA. Not sure I understand the name, though the presenter tried to explain it. You can read more about the event here, look at the flyer here, and of course... Click here to view the full fashion show set!

Going on six complete days without power/water/flush toilets/phone/central heat. At high point 675,000 in NH and Maine are without power. Thank God for the wood stove.

Power went out last Thursday at about 10PM. Friday was OK - drove to work past hundreds of downed trees but no power there so I hung up Christmas decoration in my office. Went to candlelit Christmas Party. Fun. Saturday I moved all food into coolers and put on back porch. Temps well below freezing. We muddled through.

Sunday went to friend's house to shower for first time in three days and steal food. Then watched football at friends on other side of town who had power (bastard). Stopped to get river water in large tubs so we have water to flush stinky toilets.

Monday, it is all getting tiring, especially since temps are now above freezing so I need to go get ice for coolers of food before work.

Tuesday, I've had enough.Still nothing at home, Email and Internet don't work at work so I have to fix all that shit. Firewall is dead. Wife orders another one. Talk to neighbor on way home and she says that power is up - so meet Annie at brewpub in our town for food and Jack Daniels. Get home late - power is off again (utility company says oops) and house is at 57 degrees. Shit - have to pump up wood stove and stay up until house temp is reasonable.

Today - snow and freezing rain. Drop dog off at day care. Drive to gym to shower and shave. No breakfast. Long time to get to work. Get call on way to work from veterinarian that dog has stolen a fleece glove from girl at daycare and swallowed it. No undergoing retrieval process. I am past my limit of what I can deal with.

Stuck at work to install new firewall. Beat and tired. No Christmas shopping done, no tree, no house decorations. I hope we have power when we get home. I need many drinks.

PS - Sorry to push Josh down the page

sorry guys! i know you were all excited about it but we had to take it down for some tweaks!

we will probably bring it back in a few days once i get the kinks worked out.

I haven't been posting much lately, but when I do, I like to make it count...where it counts.

Seriously, bullshit. Humans were not meant to live in these conditions.

Since I left the Post, I've been working on building my freelance business.

Along those lines, I'm planning to launch a Web site offering advice to new managers. I envision a fairly basic site with a blog. This site will also help support a book on the same topic. I'm looking for someone with a good eye for design and online branding, as well as the technical side.

E-mail me at maryslayter (at) gmail.com if you are interested, and I'll send you the details you would need to spec out your bid.

I also welcome recommendations for good designers any of you have worked with.

BUY EVERYTHING I OWN THIS SAT @ YARD SALE OTTOBAR BALTIMORE
12-6pm
OTTOBARS LAST MINUTE HOLIDAY FLEA MARKET
COME BUY EVERYTHING SO I CAN BUY MORE STUFF FOR MY LOVED ONES
YAY COMMERCE
PS BECAUSE of finals week I have had little sleep I have been up all night friday night NO SLEEEPPPP
so I will be MAKIN DEALSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
XOXO
Sonny
ps I am starting to hallucinate so arrive early before I pass out

In New Orleans? Come to our opening at the new gallery, there will be cake! Show is up through the 21st. Here's your chance to see me in a tutu! More info: nolafront.org


WHAT: Another Prospect: Round 2
WHO: Hot Iron Press, Michell Levine, Andrea Ferguson
WHERE: The Front, 4100 St. Claude
WHEN: Saturday, December 13th. 6pm-10pm.

*Another Prospect: Round 2 will be open during regular gallery hours: Th-Sun, 12-5, through Dec 21




Kyle Bravo and Jenny LeBlanc of Hot Iron Press present OPEN PERIL, a new collaborative “printstallation” in which the pair combines printmaking with dance, wind, and water to create a fluttering watercolor landscape. OPEN PERIL examines the synergistic, destructive, and transformative effect of natural forces on the environment, with an eye cast toward man’s role in causing, coping with, and capitalizing on nature’s effects.

Now it's sleeting. They've closed bridges. My cats are dumbfounded. My tomato plants are early casualties. And yet, exams go uncancelled.