my marching fuzz folk hero

maybe just because i'm in the zone of listening to his music, but i feel like lots of things i'd like to say, he's already said better than i ever would have been able to. that's amazing, considering he's only had two albums to his name, and not one since '98. jeff mangum, the man, the voice, the guitar, the lyrics behind neutral milk hotel, creates amazing music, and stirs up fantastic feelings of happiness within me. if ever i were to write a movie script (ha), i would ask him to score it. it saddens me he hasn't come out with a follow up to in the aeroplane over the sea. but that's okay. because i love that album, and i'll listen to it for the rest of my life. i think it'll be the first vinyl i'll listen to when i get home. followed closely by the decembrists - the crane wife. or tool. ha.

as i prepare to go home after my extensive 8 1/2 week tour of the far east - and prepare to board an airplane for the 15th time (seriously) - i'd like to leave with a few lyrics from one of his songs, conveniently the title song of the album.

and one day we will die
and our ashes will fly
from the aeroplane over the sea
but for now we are young
let us lay in the sun
and count every beautiful thing we can see

what a beautiful face
i have found in this place
that is circling all 'round the sun
and when we meet on a cloud
i'll be laughing out loud
i'll be laughing with everyone i see

can't believe how strange it is to be anything at all

neutral milk hotel - in the aeroplane over the sea

what the pho-ck is an ass hose?

an even better, more perplexing question is how the hell have i survived for twenty-five years without one? the answer: delicately.

i have no idea what the actual name of it is, but in vietnam, people use a water hose instead of toilet paper. well they use toilet paper, too, but it's to dry only. okay, sounds a bit over the top, and flat out weird, right? not true; it's actually ingenious, and households around the world should adopt it as a necessary practice for overall comfort and effectiveness. no more smear. no more clogging due to excessive paper use. you feel great after taking a grove, which is the way you should feel anyway.

it won't work in america, though. half the population's too fat to hit their ass hole with a hose anyway. ha.

going out to a birthday party right now.

koh phangan full moon party - kickin it in thailand

well i've been in thailand for a week now, and on the islands for six days. i was in koh tao until this morning, living it up snorkling, drinking, chilling, and tattoo-ing. (will post a picture of that later). sunsets every day on sairee beach, frisbee in the ocean, parties on the beach, fire spinners.

this week has been one of the best of my life. if i had known how awesome the island was, i actually would've liked to stay in koh tao longer. like maybe a month or two. eric saw two whale sharks while scuba diving yesterday. sadly i'm not certified, so i'm a bit jealous. but yeah, it's certainly not perfect, but it certainly was amazing and a thing to remember. i'm definitely coming back.

this morning we jettisoned off to koh phangan; tonight is the full moon party, a cleverly named party that happens on one specific beach in koh phangan every full moon. it's low season right now, so apparently only about 8000 people are expected to be there. i'm stoked.

mmmm, i like thailand.... errr, at least the thai islands. thai girls are cute, thai guys are cool (though territorial and aggressive at times -- i may expand on that later..), they're cheap, beautiful, and the weather is spectacular.

but the internet is expensive, so i'm getting off. i bid you adieu.