BACK TO IT

 I'm feeling good today , so it's a perfect time to get back to the political ranting , but without musical backing . Sorry .

Here's something I found that applies to every country everywhere , because politicians are all fucking corrupt , including your millionaire banker carney . Yes, this time the carney is running the circus .

This is something from the MPCP ( Militarizado Partido Comunista del Peru ).......

The document, signed by the so-called Militarized Communist Party of Peru (MPCP), contains disparaging remarks against former president Dina Boluarte, whom they call a "puppet," and against the leader of Fuerza Popular, Keiko Fujimori, whom they accuse of being a "murderer."

The remnants of the Maoist subversive group accuse the State of maintaining a government that serves interests foreign to the population and describe the electoral processes as mechanisms to "legitimize the new oppressors and slaughterers of the people."

“What is the purpose of the Peruvian Congress? The 130 thugs in suits and ties only serve to establish and approve laws that leave the perpetrators of genocide against unarmed masses unpunished, shield the corrupt, and criminalize legitimate popular protests,” the letter reads. It also attacks the traditional political parties, stating that they are “rotten to the core with corruption.” 

There you have it . This is the real shit .

HELL YEAH

 Practice went great last night . New guitar , working on the newer music , and I managed to sing 10 songs , surpassing what I thought I could do . 

Happiness is not so elusive after all .

AND SO ON AND SO FORTH

 I'm not gonna bother you with a tedious day by day account of my recovery and/or further testing , but suffice it to say that there's a long road ahead of me , even though at the moment I'm feeling really good and optimistic .

I'm practicing with AK tonight , and will push myself to sing at least 7 songs , which shouldn't be too much of a chore , especially since I love it so much .

In the meantime listen to this absolutely amazing collection of  reggae singles put together by Scott Bennett and Scott Henderson .

Listen to it here .

WHAT ??????

 Can this really be happening ???? Can I get tickets now ? Can someone get AK to open for them ? I'm deadly serious right now !

FIRST SHOW IN 8 MONTHS !

 Last night I went to my first show in over 8 months . I wanted to go to both a venue that means something to me , and also to see bands that mean something .

I opted for The Dayglos show at The Phoenix last night , and it was fucking awesome . They were so tight and aggressive , and didn't let up for their entire set . Marc is a fucking beast on the drums . I have so much respect for him . Of course it was amazing to be out in public again , even if both my doctor and my sister would kill me if they knew I was hanging in a small space with such a large crowd. I feel great today and it was all worth it . I almost teared up , barely believing I was at a show again . 

Thank you to The Dayglos , Big Rick , Jym , Clancy , and everyone else who was there .

EXIL

 If you're not listening to Swedish band Exil right now, what's stopping you ?

ONE MORE STEP

 I practiced with AK for the first time in 8 months tonight , and it went far better than expected . I limited myself to singing 5 songs , and I barely sounded like Mr. Burns at all ! My voice was pretty rough by the time we were done , but it was totally worth it and we'll do it again next week. It felt so good to actually feel semi-normal again . Re-learning the newer songs will be easier than I thought it would be . I'm looking forward to every second of this .

Don Denton photo

KEEP ON MOVING

As I've said, living at the apartment was better than staying at The Lodge , although I have no real complaints about it . It just felt more like a real living situation , even with the outpatient things going on weekly .

I was pretty weak when I got there . The first day I walked around the block with my sister, and it exhausted me . Taking a shower made me tired, to the point that I had to lay down on the couch to recover from it . Ridiculous , but very real . I was, and still am , impatient to get back to work and have everything as normal as I can get it . I'm even going to try and practice with AK this week . It'll probably be a short one , but I need to push myself . I keep saying that  my lung capacity is probably like Montgomery Burns' right now .  Smithers ! I'll let you know how it went .

READMISSION

 I got readmitted to the hospital on Sept.23rd ( I think ) , and they started with the heavy chemo almost immediately. The wound care nurse kept working on my foot , and they completed the Bone Marrow Transplant on October the 4th. I was weak as hell, but went for a walk around the ward the day after the transplant. The doctor said he'd never seen that before, but there plenty of days I didn't get out of bed , either. Apparently I was recovering okay , so they sent me to be an outpatient a little bit early , October the 23rd. This time we didn't stay at The Cancer Lodge , but at an apartment the Cancer Society runs on 11th ave. That was so much better. I still had ( and have ) a lot of recuperating ahead of me .

MARCHING ON

 During my time waiting to go back into the hospital, my kids came and visited me for four days . It was so good to see them , especially since I knew I wouldn't be home for Christmas , my first one without them . When it was time for them to go , I bawled my eyes out . It's not something I do , but a lot had changed at that point .

I kept going for long walks , knowing that the weather would get shitty soon enough . I discouraged anyone coming to visit from out of town , mainly because things could change from one day to the next , and I'd hate for anyone to come all the way from Victoria to Vancouver only to have me say that I was too sick or just tired , but I had some great people in town who were unwavering with their optimism and support for me , and of course my sister was always there .

Now take a moment and listen to Public Enemy's Muse Sick 'N' Hour Mess Age .  I love this album , and my cassette from 1994 still plays beautifully .

Good day to you .

JUST LISTENING

 In between errands today , I found time to listen to Southside Johnny & The Ashbury Jukes , and

also James Brown , specifically the greatest hits CD. Get into it .

DELAY AND NEAR ESCAPE

 After being out of the hospital doing outpatient treatment for a month, I was supposed to go back in in early September for harder chemo and my Bone Marrow Transplant . In preparation for this , I needed to have a lumbar puncture , another bone marrow biopsy , and have four teeth extracted , all of which I had done the week leading up to my supposed readmission . Honestly , I wouldn't wish it on anyone . After each thing , the doctor would tell me how well I did , and I was always surprised. I've got an okay threshold for pain , but inside I was not taking it easy . 

And then I got a phone call saying there " donor issues " and my readmission wasn't to be until closer to the end of September . I was fucking livid, especially considering the torture I'd just been through . I ended up asking a doctor what would happen if I just went home and didn't complete the rest of it . He told me it was almost certain the leukemia would come back . No escape for me .

One thing I should mention is the tremendous outpouring of support I received from everyone involved in the Victoria music scene . I helped lift my spirits incredibly . I don't know where I'd be without Scott B. starting that GoFundMe on my behalf , and also all of my co-workers at Cool Aid being so supportive . And of course my sister , without whom I wouldn't have made it .

To be continued....

TODAY'S MUSIC

Today I've been listening to Diana Ross & The Supremes Greatest Hits ,  

and also The Ripcordz " Hey Jerkwad..."  LP , plus Touche Amore's " Lament " LP .

It's been a great day of music so far .

MOMENT OF TRUTH

On the playlist today was Gang Starr's Moment Of Truth   , and also the Hung Up album . All great stuff.

THE CHALLENGE OF WALKING

 Once I was discharged from the hospital, we stayed at The Cancer Lodge , which is like a hotel/hostel for patients and their caregivers. It was decent enough , and food was included . So I started pushing myself to start goin for walks. The first few were difficult , like trying to push a huge boulder up a hill, but they started to get easier as time went on . It helps that I love summer , so my walks got to the point where I'd be moving for 4 hours sometimes, right through downtown Vancouver , through the East Hastings hell , and back . I wanted to see the mural painted for Ashtrey , and ended up walking past it several times . Ashtrey . He was a great person.