I'm actually cleaning my room today. I'm going places, so don't hold me back, baby.
gimme some doggone room up in here. Show the Lake some respect in this. He deserves a bit.

One thing at a time, Suckers.

1) Sign up for classes at MCC (work out loans)

2) get a job.

3) change soaps. that one in the showers gives you a rash.

4) clean your room. (including the cat vomit)

5) Successfully mooch gas money off of parents.


Yes kids, being Tom Lake is that good.

So Sounds Are Active (LA based record label and home to Soul Junk) has a new website up, with all kinds of new stuff on it. Theres so much information, it will probably satisfy my musical nerd urges for a good month (I lie). Example: did you know that Slo Ro, is married to folk singer Liz James, and is producing her new LP, due out on Asthmatic Kitty Records soon? Neither did I till this morning! There are a ton of videos on the website as well, and apperently theres some sort of contest with hidden numbers in the various video clips. As if I wouldn't have watched every one anyways.
Sounds Are Active is one of my favorite labels, for the sole reason of having Soul-Junk and Bizzart on their roster (and dripping of bootleg, independent, pirate, hipster, cool). But now, as if every single one of my readers (single? one?) has not allready crapped their collective pants, the big news is that Sounds Are Active is co-releasing a compilation record with Asthmatic Kitty records. And its only a dollar. And it has, a new Soul-Junk track on it. I never thought I would ever hear a Sufjan Stevens song on the same cd as a Soul Junk track, but lo and behold, for only a dollar, I will hear just that. (Hold me) The track listing, because I know EVERYONE wants to know, is as follows.


Asthmatic Kitty Side
01. Sufjan Stevens - All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!
02. Half-Handed Cloud - Let's Build A Planet
03. Viva Voce - Red D-Lish
04. Liz Janes - Guitar Guitar
05. Castanets - I'll Be Just Where You Are
06. Sufjan Stevens - Happy Birthday
07. Half-Handed Cloud - Pressing Into It
08. Liz Janes - Vine
09. Viva Voice - Welcome Mat
10. Half-Handed Cloud - Here's A List
11. Sufjan Stevens - Year of the Tiger
Sounds Are Active Side
12. Deneir - Random Object Subject
13. Patagonian - Hands in the Face of Time
14. Xn. - gone home early (Omid Remix)
15. Vla Hemia - Break Loose
16. Soul-Junk - Nova (Evig Poesi Remix)
17. Bizzart - Pink Summer in Hell
18. Melk the G6-49 - Henry
19. Create(!) - Three Butterflies, Seven Mockingbirds
20. Constantine, Levin, Phillips, Schlarb, Shadduck - Two Planes for Elliot Smith

Even if you don't know, or care about any of the artists above, just look at all the words and try to imagine what each one sounds like. Odds are your probably right. Or you could go to Soundsareactive or asthmatickitty, and freaking find out.

Showering brings me together with myself. you know?

So my brother showed me www.explodingdog.com the other day and i was blown away. It's not a lame, flash cartoon site like it sounds, but its actually a strange, crappy artist who draws pictures for sentances that his fans send in. Sound stupid? it sometimes is. Its also at times, dark, funny, and in odd, small, little ways, moving.

One day I'll have a job, you'll see.

There is a new mewithoutyou song on purevolume.com called "January 1979". Its off of their upcoming album called "Catch For Us The Foxes". How wicked is that?

There is a sweet interview with Sufjan Stevens at PitchforkMedia.com
Sucker MC's everywhere are recognizing his songwriting skills that hopefully are starting to pay the dang bills.

It's like a dance.

but it gives more than it takes.
You'll lose time and energy but you will slowly spin inside.
Until one of your organs is facing another it has never seen before.
The gall bladder turns to find the stomach has been behind him all this time.
The pancreas meets the kidney.
you won't know this of course, you will just feel an odd sensation,
maybe an aching, or several small sharp pains.
as you innards shift, and meet their new friends, or enemies.

Then you might feel a tingle, or a small prick.
as something inside of you discovers his new best friend

has been behind him all his life.

So since ive been back to Rochester, I have seen the Village, and Napolean Dynamite.
My word. Go see these movies now.

1) despite what certain people (some but not all, residing in Illinois) say, The Village was very well made. The characters are well developed and the plot is very original. M. Night is one of the most consistent directors around. Respect him.

2) Napolean Dynamite redefines "off-beat comedy" with more quirk, and dry humour than anything else I've seen. (except The Royal Tenenbaums, and Punch Drunk Love) This movie is like a strange, little cousin to the afformentioned films, with a lead character that is the funniest thing to happen since ... the last really funny thing. Represent.

So I happen to be back.

Its very good to see the Rochester again. I had a garbage plate for the first time in a month and let me tell you, grease has never been so welcome, sliding down my throat, along with meat and patatos, and whatever else.

here is a link to a couple of photos of me in illinois, I will be adding others as soon as i get a scanner working around here.

Tom in Illinois

Let it henceforth be known, that I, Tom Lake will be home at nine. On thursday. So you, should totally be there. Obviously.

Some open questions to some of my friends:

J-Broc, J-Breeze, Juice, or Brice: When exactly is that leadership conference thing? i cant remember even though Mick called me and told me. I'm planning on leaving a few days before that. Oh and whats your livejournal address? or link? cuz i can't find it n stuff.

Andy: Do you have an email address that you check? cuz i definitly sent you an email to be read with your eyes n such. Much love.

The Preacher is absolutlly unstoppable.

He posted an article about charismatic Christians that needs to be read.

www.RealLivePreacher.com

(The Preacher does happen to swear occationally, while I don't reccomend swearing, It usually does not subtract from his messages, and to be honest, if my pastor has a problem with swearing, I would really like to know, rather than have him cover it up.)

(anyways check out the freaking site its earth shattering and every other great adjective that Paul Ganguly throws around like whatever)

To answer Andy's question, I commited a horrible sin today, and placed myself and many others in danger, perhaps causing your half of the heart to itch so bad. The sin was simple... I Tom Lake performed, and subsequently desecrated, the most sacred of suburban rituals. I drove a riding lawn mower, mowed my uncles entire lawn, and the back feild, while waving to neighbors and passerbys. I feel horrible about it. At the time it seemed so right but now it stings and stinks of sin.

im going to go shower.

An open, private letter to some of my friends

Jim: try not to suck.
Jeff: (black ver.) tie a knot in it. (kidding, i miss you dog.)
Jeff: (new brighter white ver.) Think of me when you write your first hip-hop mandolin song entitled "the stomp of western europe meets the tough part of the turkey leg".
Andy: my broken half of a heart is fading. and with it, my memories of you. Go to the bookstore for me, and for goodness sake just look at lakeshore for me if you go by there.
Sean: the first part of my letter to Andy will be the title of a new song. think about it. now sing it passionately. there it is.
Kate: I'm going to go camping in Iowa later this month. How could I not think of you, running into a golf store, seemingly stoned out your mind, yelling IM FROM IOWA!?!?!
Em: please go to lakeshore and tell the Decemberists new Ep "The Tain" that I will be back sometime later this month to purchase it with zeal. Please?
Paul: see my days are cold without you... and im hurting by and by, and i just cant seem to find my way back to you again. (the september equation cd is pretty good. its kind of like quirky, glitchy, skipping electronic micro-music. Nothing like Sufjan Stevens "enjoy your rabbit" junk which has been bumping here for a while... but still.)

Dear paul/emily/kate/andy: could ya'll post a comment and give me your addresses so I could send you guys some letters? that'd be swell. Look forward to hearing from all of youse. [not neccisarily limited to the friends mentioned above]

Hey you all.

I have totally, extremely made it to Rockford.
There are giant department stores and farms here.
almost back to back.
its crazy.
mad I tell you.
the locals have strange tastes in food, and humour.
But sweet mother do they drink good coffee.
i mean. this stuff is jamming.
so yea, i'll probably email you guys individually later, when i get this whole AOL thing worked out. and am not lazy.
stay tuned for day 2...

"the one that came after the first...."

Top Ten Reasons to Shop at Hot Topic
*some language is used here rather coarsly, just to let ya'll know, well worth it however.

Stop and think about how your two biggest toes, touch eachother.

Try moving them up and down, you feel that friction?

When you sleep tonight, think about weather or not you have the 1st toe on top, or the 2nd. Or do you have them side by side?

When your nervous, or anxious, do you fiddle with your first two toes? Just kind of wiggle them?

Doesn't that just irk the heck out of you?

I've been noodling around with some online games lately. I've discovered a genius game designer named On who runs a bizarre site called www.eyezmaze.com. He has some of the most original and incredibly entertaining games I've ever come across. The concepts alone are worth checking out. Heres a rundown of some of his stuff.

Tontie ver. B: a game that uses the number pad to the right of your keyboard to thwack one eyed tonties that pop up a series of trapdoors that correspond to the numbers. Absolutely addictive. I haven't come close to beating this thing.

Grow! : a game that consists of nothing more than a globe that you place objects on. Each object affects certain other objects, causing them to "level up" and morph into different things. You have 12 objects and each has something like 7 levels to get to. Good luck.

Zip Bear Town! : a site he made for some incredibly weird Japanese TV show or something. There's all kinds of weird things on here. A list of characters, movies, and games that are indescribable and entirely in Japanese, which makes them hilarious to play because it's mostly guesswork. I figured out how to play one of them sort of... but I don't know the name of it.
I dare you to click on this music video thing. Imagine if I made a cartoon about some care bear telletubbie. It would be much like this. God help us all.

Vanilla ver. B : A game where you stack these tree monsters on top of eachother every time you click on them from top to bottom. Where you click them determines how they lean... Should they sway and touch the wall, you lose. See how high you can stack them! yay!

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I hope you all can appreciate the depth of content and meaning inherent in his/her work.

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