SONG OF THE DAY: Wintertime In Cali

Never listened to XL Middleton before this album came across my digital radar for some reason earlier this year. The only Daft Punk songs I ever liked were the ones that sounded like you were driving a late model van with a bubble window to the roller skating rink somewhere in the greater Los Angeles area around 1985. So the fact there's a dude whose entire musical sound is basically that fine-tuned "songs by Daft Punk Raven actually likes" Venn diagram has been a godsend. So fire up that '83 sparkle purple Dodge Ram van with the diamond shaped black mirror on the back end, push the youtube link cassette into the player, and drive slowly towards Paradise City.

1 M4K3 MY P1LGR1M4G3S...

I make my pilgrimages 
to industry’s rusting mosques, 
and scribble my small prayers 

SONG OF THE DAY: Strange (screwed and chopped)

Explaining the mundane background soundtrack
which makes life less wack – this real life lacking
in actions which maximize feeling mack,
and mostly saturated with slacking
while appearing to be doing. Unreal…
and I didn’t feel like finishing, so that’s it.

L1F3 G4V3 M3 4 H4RD SCR4BBL3...

life gave me a hard scrabble 
philosophy; dad always 
said, “boy, we are survivors” 

1 C4N'T C0NTR0L H0W 0TH3RS...

I can’t control how others 
regard me - their own filters 
distort in good or bad light 

34CH D4Y C4N B3 4 BL3SS1NG...

each day can be a blessing 
or a curse, depending on 
where focus gets directed 

H0P3 T0 B3 S1TT1NG 1N TH3...

hope to be sitting in the 
yard, watching world slowly spin 
round, once I’m too old to “work” 

0VR M4NM4D3 CR34T10NS SH0VLD...

our manmade creations should 
reflect nature, not oppose; 
our souls ain’t industrious 

SONG OF THE DAY: Oregano Flow (chopped and screwed)

I begun a project called Screw Scholarship at my patreon the past couple days, where I'm gonna go through like the first 250 chapters of released DJ Screw tapes. Why? Because fuck it. Why not here instead? Because I don't know, the internet is weird now. I mean, you can get access to my patreon for as low as $1 a month, and I've been posting there nearly daily for the past few months. At higher levels you get other benefits too, and it seems to me my ridiculous world-building shit is worth support. It's really hard to explain exactly what I do as an artist, much less how I use patreon for those purposes. But what I do is unique, and soulful, and worth getting fucking supported. Anyways, this is a random mention of my patreon on my public blog, although mostly that means my sister will read it, and then feel like she has to join my patreon. MICHELLE! YOU DON'T HAVE TO JOIN MY PATREON!

WH4T W3 LVST F0R T0D4Y 3NDS...

what we lust for today ends 
up abandoned in pile a 
couple tomorrows from now 

SONG OF THE DAY: Turn Down Yo Lights

Raven, an Aquarius. I love long drives at the margins of the declining American Empire, and wearing purple surgical masks when buying fried chicken in gas stations in parts of the country I'm not from. My turn ons are walking through train yards and marking things therein, and my turnoffs are people who think they know, and also cops, who are like the ultimate people who think they know. An ideal supper would be an 8-piece dark meat special, spread out over the course of the night, and probably some ginger brews or maybe orange Perriers or I don't know. I don't drink anymore so liquids aren't nearly as important in distracting me from what's going on as they used to be. Do you have a purple porch light? Holler at me.

F4TT3N3D W1TH M4T3R14L...

fattened with material 
burdens, we appear to be 
ghosts, even while still breathing 

CH4NN3L3D 1NT0 C0NSVMPT10N...

channeled into consumption - 
nothing but stoplights on the 
path of self-realization 

ST1LL TRY T0 PR4CT1C3 F1ND1NG...

still try to practice finding 
spirit while cultivating 
joy while surviving each day 

1 ST1LL 0NLY CL1MB L4DD3RS...

I only still climb ladders 
if they promise a brief taste 
of heaven, to fuel spirit 

M0NVM3NTS T0 SVRV1V4L...

monuments to survival 
far more rare than monuments 
for standing on top others 

Nagoya Basho 2021 Honour Tanka Day Eleven: HOSHORYU (8-3)

Shodai the second 
ozeki unseen behind 
Terunofuji 

third-highest ranked rikishi, 
going against Hoshoryu 

another Mongol, 
plus second generation 
sumo combatant 

his uncle was first Mongol 
to attain yokozuna 

Asashoryu's a 
legend second only to 
the great Hakuho 

Hoshoryu's uncle once 
won a year's worth of bashos 

but sumo hated 
a Mongol yokozuna... 
besmirching honor 

a decade later, sumo 
still doesn't love a Mongol 

but Mongolian 
sumo wrestlers dominate 
the sport's top level 

Hoshoryu began training 
as pre-teen, half his life back 

his uncle was still 
a yokozuna, active; 
Hoshoryu learned quick 

this basho completed his 
first year at makuuchi 

to be so young, yet 
show no fear against men like 
ozeki Shodai 

Shodai bullies, Horshoryu 
remained resolute, balanced 

Shodai helped himself 
to handful of mawashi, 
readying for toss 

Hoshoryu calmly returned 
favor with countering grasp 

Shodai's hip toss was 
met with resistance, so he 
stepped to his own right 

Hoshoryu smartly followed, 
but moved his right leg quickly 

one step ahead of 
Shodai, despite following 
the ozeki's lead 

Shodai tumbled to the sand... 
Hoshoryu's biggest win yet 

Nagoya Basho 2021 Honour Tanka Day Ten: KIRIBAYAMA (7-3)

Kiribayama's 
a young Mongol with a year 
at makuuchi 

a mawashi gripping man 
who prefers getting in close 

won Fighting Spirit 
award his first basho as 
at the top level 

these past six tournaments, he's 
struggled to maintain strong form 

day ten, Nagoya 
basho, he got handful of 
purple mawashi 

Kotoeko fended off 
defeat briefly, but not long 

Kiribayama 
got that uwatenage 
flipping victory 

young Mongol's star continues 
to ascend, as he seasons 

M0ST 0F WH4T W3 G3T T4NGL3D...

most of what we get tangled 
up in’s our own creation - 
self-manufactured drama 

TH3 3X1ST3NT14L CR1S1S...

the existential crisis 
of a human being’s to 
balance ego with spirit 

M4NM4D3 CR34T10N'S B33N M34NT...

manmade creation’s been meant 
to rust back to brown Earth, so  
as to not stifle green’s growth 

SONG OF THE DAY: Stoned, Slow, and Rugged

Still sober, but life tests me. On a daily basis sometimes. It's the good days that are hardest, strangely enough, when nothing is horribly bad, and you just feel extra chill, and every cellular memory in your body is like, "wow, what a perfect day to go get fucked up by the river." Oh well. In terms of this song title, I'm still hella slow though, probably slower than ever.

Nagoya Basho 2021 Honour Tanka Day Nine: URA (5-4)

unpredictable 
Ura's a crowd favorite, 
being native-born 

four years ago, he had reached 
his highest ranking ever 

shooting through lower 
ranks, making makuuchi, 
and performing well 

got his first kinboshi star 
at Nagoya four years back 

day nine and ten proved 
to be defining moments 
for Ura's career 

beating Harumafuji - 
a yokozuna - day nine 

earning that first gold 
star honor for win over 
a yokozuna 

it seemed Ura has arrived, 
ready for big-time sumo 

day ten (still four years 
ago), Takayasu was 
his planned opponent 

near the lead, looking to be 
challenger for the title 

that day ten bout though 
changed trajectory, tearing 
his knee ligaments 

multiple surgeries and 
extended lay-offs for years 

multiple downward 
demotions, dropping levels 

each basho he missed

he dropped back down the sumo 
pyramid, near the bottom 

finally returned 
nine touraments ago, and 
has dominated 

won jonidan, sandanme, 
and then juryo this past May 

this basho has been 
Ura's triumphant return 
to the top level 

both knees heavily bandaged, 
showing the scars of his path 

fifteen bouts means that 
winning or losing records 
will always happen 

there is no status quo to 
hide behind within sumo 

kachikoshi hopes 
of winning record carry 
Ura on wrapped knees 

Takarafuji has him 
pushed back, about to go down 

Ura's record would 
tip to the negative with 
a day nine defeat 

even on worse-for-wear knees, 
Ura spin steps left, smoothly 

Takarafuji's 
momentum loses balance, 
falling out face first 

Ura bounces on those knees, 
absorbing more and more shock 

it's doubtful Ura 
will ever win a basho, 
or be ozeki 

but his fighting spirit should 
never be questioned; it's strong 

his fighting spirit's 
obvious any time he 
climbs into dohyo 

those heavily bandaged knees 
are sacrifice to sumo 

Nagoya Basho 2021 Honour Tanka Day Eight: ISHIURA (5-3)

lil Ishiura, 
the green Lamborghini mack, 
relies on his speed 

often counting on first side 
step to tumble opponents 

when henka doesn't 
give him the quick victory, 
it becomes harder 

Ishiura is tiny 
next to most sumo wrestlers 

but he's been on hot 
streak at Nagoya basho, 
here facing Ura 

Ura was once promising 
star, who suffered injuries 

Ishiura and 
Ura struggle for hand grips, 
feeling each other 

Ishirua slaps Ura 
and then powers him out ring 

lil Ishiura, 
whose chankonabe bowl needs 
refilling (no diss) 

he still possesses power 
that would topple you or I 

he's a favorite, 
so seeing him do well this 
basho makes me glad 

makuuchi without this 
scrappy dude just ain't the same 

[the full match]