Continueing with Six Feet Under:
Every episode begins with the Fisher's (sorry, that's the name of the funeral home, Fisher and Sons) client for that episode dies. It's not uncommen, then, for the person spread out on the embalming table to wake up and talk to one of the main characters and help them work through whatever life struggles they've got going on in that episode. I think it's an effective and interesting gimmick replacing the recorded voice-over of the the character's thoughts going through their head...
Nathanial Fisher, the father that died in a car wreck in the first episode, pops up and talks to various "live" characters on a regular basis. The last episode that Holly and I watched played out a year later in time since the Christmas dad died. Throughout the course of that episode, each member of the family conversed with the dad about the last time they saw him alive.
I know from personal experience that the dead tend to show up for a long time. This coming February mark 11 years that my own dad passed away. He just didn't wake up one Sunday morning. We're pretty sure it was a stroke.
I don't remember why, but we couldn't have the funeral until pretty late in the week like Thursday or Friday. I was in college at the time, barely married 6 months, and hadn't spent that much time in my home town for quite awhile.
Dad showed up a lot that week. There were a lot of people in and out of our house that whole week. Lots of friends and relatives stopped in and offered their love and support and expressed how much they were going to miss Dad a long with us. I remember all these people sitting around our living room and everytime I'd hear the front door start to open, the thought would flash through my mind before I could stop it: "Oh good. Dad's finally home..." Then, when the door opened, it would just be another friend/mourner to add to our number.
After the funeral, he kept showing up a lot. The strongest was a couple of weeks after Holly and I got home when we went to our first Murder Mystery Party. My dad had always loved Sherlock Holmes and used to watch all those murder shows on TV like, Murder, She Wrote, Father Dowling, Quincy Adams, etc. So, he kept tickling my ear all night long about how much he would have enjoyed this little game. Then, to top it all off, I figured out the mystery! (If you've ever been to a murder party, you know that they're usually so ludicrous and stupid that it's almost impossible to actually figure out the final story.) The whole way home, all I wanted to do was call my dad and tell him about the game and brag to him that something about watching those mystery shows on TV must have sunk into my psyche.
My dad's funeral happened just a month before my very first recording became available. He never heard any of it. I've released 5 albums of my own and have produced a number of albums for other artists. With every one, I so wish to show it off to my dad.
When he died, I had no idea what my life was going to be like, or what my career was going to be. I knew I wanted to write and sing, but I had no idea I'd actually make a bunch of records for myself and others. I had no idea I'd end up producing for other people. These are all things that I want to tell him. I want him to be proud of me. I want him to be impressed with my knowledge of computers and recording and music and songwriting.
Mostly, I'd just like to tell him about it. But the ghost that haunts me, while present, doesn't talk back like the ghosts on six feet under.
10.30.2004
10.29.2004
Six Feet Under
Back in January 2004, Holly and I cut off our satellite TV. When we had satellite, we didn't really know what was going on in the world of TV because we'd watch things like VH1 and Discovery and Comedy Central instead of the networks. Since we don't have those channels anymore, we have watched a lot more of the networks and have realized something: TV Sucks!!!!
This is one of those things that I don't know if a) TV has always sucked and I just didn't know it as a kid (A-team! Knight Rider! Airwolf!) or else b) it truly is more horrible than it has ever been. I suspect it might be a little bit of a) but mostly it's b). Between all the totally lame sit-coms, crappy, over dramatic and un-original reality shows and the next city to be another setting for CSI, there is not a single show that I make a point to see other than Seinfeld re-runs at 11:30pm.
The fact that TV sucks has led me to checking out a lot of DVDs and videos from the library, and when I'm not being as frugal, I've tried some TV shows out on DVD that I can rent.
A couple of months ago, I rented the first DVD of the HBO series Six Feet Under. I'd heard about it, and I knew that critics really loved it, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
It's the story of a family that own a funeral home in California. In the first episode, the father of the family dies in a car wreck on his way to pick up the older (prodigal) son from the airport. The younger, uptight, gay, (good) son fumes when the will of dear dad leaves the family business to both brothers. Prodigal son/brother decides to stay home and help run the business that he ran from earlier in life. Other characters include severely repressed mom, angsty younger sister, psycho genius girlfriend of prodigal son, and policeman love-of-good son.
All that to say, I am in love with this show. It's not for the faint of heart, mind you. Remember, it's an HBO series. Everybody in the show utilizes a colorful vocabulary with the f-bomb and all its forms being the favored adjective/adverb/verb/silence breaker. The good son's homosexuality and conflicts and struggles inherent to that lifestyle are dealt with often and frankly.
In spite of all that, I find the show profoundly provocative. The characters are so believable and the situations that arise in the funeral home are both weighty and human. Many episodes have helped me look at different life situations from very different perspectives and have stirred up memories and feelings in my own life.
Who cares? I think many people have issues with somebody spending a lot of time watching a TV show or Movies or reading lots of books and getting really into them. If you spend too much time considering these things, it can be easily seen as wasting time and being lazy. I would contend that movies, music, books, TV are the art of our culture. True; most of it is crap and is a complete waste of time. But to search out and discover the worthwhile examples of art speaking truly of the human experience seems more worthwhile than many of the things that vie for our attention.
Which is more worthwhile: Gaining some empathy for somebody completely outside my situation by experiencing a movie or "getting ahead" at work? Reading a book or watching a baseball game? Listening to music that inspires and broadens my thinking or watching the Bachelor/Boss/Model/Fear Factor reality show?
This is one of those things that I don't know if a) TV has always sucked and I just didn't know it as a kid (A-team! Knight Rider! Airwolf!) or else b) it truly is more horrible than it has ever been. I suspect it might be a little bit of a) but mostly it's b). Between all the totally lame sit-coms, crappy, over dramatic and un-original reality shows and the next city to be another setting for CSI, there is not a single show that I make a point to see other than Seinfeld re-runs at 11:30pm.
The fact that TV sucks has led me to checking out a lot of DVDs and videos from the library, and when I'm not being as frugal, I've tried some TV shows out on DVD that I can rent.
A couple of months ago, I rented the first DVD of the HBO series Six Feet Under. I'd heard about it, and I knew that critics really loved it, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
It's the story of a family that own a funeral home in California. In the first episode, the father of the family dies in a car wreck on his way to pick up the older (prodigal) son from the airport. The younger, uptight, gay, (good) son fumes when the will of dear dad leaves the family business to both brothers. Prodigal son/brother decides to stay home and help run the business that he ran from earlier in life. Other characters include severely repressed mom, angsty younger sister, psycho genius girlfriend of prodigal son, and policeman love-of-good son.
All that to say, I am in love with this show. It's not for the faint of heart, mind you. Remember, it's an HBO series. Everybody in the show utilizes a colorful vocabulary with the f-bomb and all its forms being the favored adjective/adverb/verb/silence breaker. The good son's homosexuality and conflicts and struggles inherent to that lifestyle are dealt with often and frankly.
In spite of all that, I find the show profoundly provocative. The characters are so believable and the situations that arise in the funeral home are both weighty and human. Many episodes have helped me look at different life situations from very different perspectives and have stirred up memories and feelings in my own life.
Who cares? I think many people have issues with somebody spending a lot of time watching a TV show or Movies or reading lots of books and getting really into them. If you spend too much time considering these things, it can be easily seen as wasting time and being lazy. I would contend that movies, music, books, TV are the art of our culture. True; most of it is crap and is a complete waste of time. But to search out and discover the worthwhile examples of art speaking truly of the human experience seems more worthwhile than many of the things that vie for our attention.
Which is more worthwhile: Gaining some empathy for somebody completely outside my situation by experiencing a movie or "getting ahead" at work? Reading a book or watching a baseball game? Listening to music that inspires and broadens my thinking or watching the Bachelor/Boss/Model/Fear Factor reality show?
10.25.2004
Mozilla and the new plan
Holly and I have been living in the the new world of high speed internet for a couple of weeks now, and life is very good. Although I hated bowing to the evil empire of SBC, I'm loving DSL. Since I am now paying homage to the evil empire of SBC, I've decided to try to thwart other evil empires.
Just tonight, I downloaded Mozilla's Firefox and Thunderbird and I'm going to try them out as my new browser and email client respectively. Not only is this my own little silly way of sticking it to Bill Gates, but I've been hearing about how using any other browser/email client other than IE and/or Outlook significantly cuts down on the crap the internet has to offer. (Mac users tend to bring up this little bit of knowledge as well...)
So many people use the Microsoft stuff, that the scum of the earth writing/distributing/propagating internet popups, viruses, (viri?), worms, hijackers, spam etc generally only create it to attack the MS software. So I'm giving it a try. So far, I'm digging firefox, but I've only been using it about 30 minutes.
Dark Tower Update:
I know I've not mentioned it since trying to get the Boston saga blogged, but I just finished the 3rd book, the Wastelands, this weekend. I'm enjoying it a lot now. For anybody else who read the Gunslinger and has friends telling you to just push through and give the following books a shot: believe them. It's worth it.
Final thought:
Watch out for that stomach flu that's going around! Last Thursday morning, I woke up and my stomach just hurt! I never threw up and never had any problems out the other end, but my stomach has never hurt like it did for that whole day. By the next day I was feeling better, which I guess is one good thing about this stomach flu, it only gets its claws in you for about 24 hours.
Anyway, be safe out there. Take care of each other.
Just tonight, I downloaded Mozilla's Firefox and Thunderbird and I'm going to try them out as my new browser and email client respectively. Not only is this my own little silly way of sticking it to Bill Gates, but I've been hearing about how using any other browser/email client other than IE and/or Outlook significantly cuts down on the crap the internet has to offer. (Mac users tend to bring up this little bit of knowledge as well...)
So many people use the Microsoft stuff, that the scum of the earth writing/distributing/propagating internet popups, viruses, (viri?), worms, hijackers, spam etc generally only create it to attack the MS software. So I'm giving it a try. So far, I'm digging firefox, but I've only been using it about 30 minutes.
Dark Tower Update:
I know I've not mentioned it since trying to get the Boston saga blogged, but I just finished the 3rd book, the Wastelands, this weekend. I'm enjoying it a lot now. For anybody else who read the Gunslinger and has friends telling you to just push through and give the following books a shot: believe them. It's worth it.
Final thought:
Watch out for that stomach flu that's going around! Last Thursday morning, I woke up and my stomach just hurt! I never threw up and never had any problems out the other end, but my stomach has never hurt like it did for that whole day. By the next day I was feeling better, which I guess is one good thing about this stomach flu, it only gets its claws in you for about 24 hours.
Anyway, be safe out there. Take care of each other.
10.20.2004
Boston: The last day and the return...
Monday morning, we got up early and caught a free shuttle from the hotel down near Copley Square. I was pretty excited to see the Boston Public Library, but since it was Labor Day, we only got to see the outside. Copley Square has a little park with some funny little statues of the tortoise and the hare which we took some funny pictures of James and Melissa “riding”. We also saw the Trinity Church (under renovation) and the John Hancock tower. There was also a fountain that we decided we should take a picture in front of so I started looking around for somebody on the street who would take our picture.
There was this elderly couple that looked nice, and after making it clear I wasn’t panhandling, they agreed to take the picture of all of us. It turns out they were from the UK and were just visiting as well. So, I handed him the camera, we posed and…he couldn’t get the camera to work. This took about 4 tries, the last try being my fault because after checking the camera (again) I forgot to set it back to actually take a picture. Anyway, they were a funny couple and wouldn’t you know it: we forgot to take a picture of them…
From Trinity church we walked down to the Public Gardens. It was such a beautiful day with lots of flowers blooming and all kinds interesting trees in the park. We thought about riding around in the Swan boats, but decided that was lame. We made our way to the other side of Boston Common where I waded in the FREEZING wading pool just long enough to say that I did. We then walked around the North side of Boston Common and took pictures outside the original Cheers Bar. We also walked along Common Wealth Avenue and saw Berklee College of Music. It’s strange because it’s just this block of houses on a normal street, but each house has a sign on the door saying what kind of classes meet there. It was weird.
We didn’t have much time left before the shuttle would be coming to pick us up, so we stopped about a block away from the pickup spot to eat lunch at Solas Irish Pub. James and I both had a Guinness and Shepherd’s Pie. I shouldn’t have had the Guinness because it’s just too heavy. The Pie was good too and I thought I was going to burst. I’ve been craving that Shepherd’s Pie ever since…
So, we caught our shuttle back to the hotel, picked up our luggage and took a Taxi back down to the Waterfront where we were going to take a water shuttle over to the airport. Well, first off the cab driver dropped us off about a mile away from where the shuttle was supposed to be. So we were dragging our luggage all along the waterfront trying to find the pickup spot for the water shuttle, which nobody really seemed to know where we should be looking. Finally, we find a sign and find the spot only to find out that they water shuttle doesn’t run anymore! Argh! We could pay $10 a person to have a ferry take us over, but the shuttle didn’t run anymore. We were all pissed off that nobody at the hotel or the cab or anybody told us this information before. So, we had to track back the way we had just come to catch a subway over to the airport. It was very annoying.
The trip back was pretty uneventful. We were all pretty pooped, but we had lots of fun. We’re glad to have friends like the Powers. And that’s about it for the Boston trip. Stay tuned for real blogging soon.
There was this elderly couple that looked nice, and after making it clear I wasn’t panhandling, they agreed to take the picture of all of us. It turns out they were from the UK and were just visiting as well. So, I handed him the camera, we posed and…he couldn’t get the camera to work. This took about 4 tries, the last try being my fault because after checking the camera (again) I forgot to set it back to actually take a picture. Anyway, they were a funny couple and wouldn’t you know it: we forgot to take a picture of them…
From Trinity church we walked down to the Public Gardens. It was such a beautiful day with lots of flowers blooming and all kinds interesting trees in the park. We thought about riding around in the Swan boats, but decided that was lame. We made our way to the other side of Boston Common where I waded in the FREEZING wading pool just long enough to say that I did. We then walked around the North side of Boston Common and took pictures outside the original Cheers Bar. We also walked along Common Wealth Avenue and saw Berklee College of Music. It’s strange because it’s just this block of houses on a normal street, but each house has a sign on the door saying what kind of classes meet there. It was weird.
We didn’t have much time left before the shuttle would be coming to pick us up, so we stopped about a block away from the pickup spot to eat lunch at Solas Irish Pub. James and I both had a Guinness and Shepherd’s Pie. I shouldn’t have had the Guinness because it’s just too heavy. The Pie was good too and I thought I was going to burst. I’ve been craving that Shepherd’s Pie ever since…
So, we caught our shuttle back to the hotel, picked up our luggage and took a Taxi back down to the Waterfront where we were going to take a water shuttle over to the airport. Well, first off the cab driver dropped us off about a mile away from where the shuttle was supposed to be. So we were dragging our luggage all along the waterfront trying to find the pickup spot for the water shuttle, which nobody really seemed to know where we should be looking. Finally, we find a sign and find the spot only to find out that they water shuttle doesn’t run anymore! Argh! We could pay $10 a person to have a ferry take us over, but the shuttle didn’t run anymore. We were all pissed off that nobody at the hotel or the cab or anybody told us this information before. So, we had to track back the way we had just come to catch a subway over to the airport. It was very annoying.
The trip back was pretty uneventful. We were all pretty pooped, but we had lots of fun. We’re glad to have friends like the Powers. And that’s about it for the Boston trip. Stay tuned for real blogging soon.
10.18.2004
Boston: 2 months later: Reader's Digest version
I know. I suck. I've got to start blogging again, but I can't get this Boston trip out of the way. So, here are the things I remember the most from the whole trip:
The 2nd day we went down to Harvard. We ate lunch at a place called "Fire & Ice" which they referred to themselves as "An Improvisational Grill" which basically means it was a Mongolian BBQ, without the pretense of being solely oriental. It was good except we ate outside and I scarily narrowly missed putting something I didn't recognize in my mouth from my plate that turned out to be bird poop.
There was also a weekend long acoustic festival going on at a club/coffeehouse down by Harvard. It was like $8 to get in, and none of us really wanted to spend the money to hang around there a long time, but they had speaker piping music out onto the street and a huge picture window framing the stage. So, while the other 3 spent some time in a Harvard shop, I sat on the curb and listened to a few people. I was most disappointed in that I was completely un-impressed with anybody I saw. Other things I remember about that day: street musicians with battery powered PA speakers, James finding a record store and going nuts, seeing two homeless guys having some kind of emotional argument, lots of Harvard architecture that my feet hurt too much to care about at the time.
That day we walked a lot and my feet really hurt. So, by evening I talked everybody into going to an art theatre and seeing Garden State which I'd been wanting to see, but hadn't come to NW AR yet. I liked it. It was weird in this art theatre that barely anybody got up and left when the movie was over until the very end of the credits. We ate dinner right before the movie at this pub around the corner from the theatre and had just about the worst service of the trip.
Sunday, Day 3:
James and Melissa wanted to go down to "the Old North Side" which is the Italian part of town. I had a canoli (sp?) for the first time for my breakfast from a real Italian bakery. It was a pretty cool neighborhood with the buildings really close together and stuff. James and I had seen the movie "Mystic River" together which was set in this area of Boston, and it was really interesting. I was tired and my feet hurt, so I was pretty grumpy. And Holly wanted me to be in pictures which I am not very patient for, so we had a little spat when I told her I wasn't in the mood to model. It's pretty funny that the one picture she got, I have the most annoyed look on my face.
There were some really cool cement parks and churches in this area of town. We walked through the church that lit the lights signaling to Paul Revere.
We ate lunch at a real Italian restaurant that none of us were really impressed with and I think we were all a little disappointed. We toured The Constitution which is the oldest commissioned ship. I liked all the ropes and wished that I was still a kid and could climb like I used to.
Then we walked back to where we were to be picked up by the hotel shuttle and stopped into The Green Dragon pub for a beer while we waited for the shuttle back to the hotel.
There was some kind of special promotion going on at our hotel all weekend that included free ice cream, free bicycle rentals, and free ferry rides. So, when we got back to the hotel, we ate ice cream and went to rent bikes. Now, James had been resisting this all day because he hadn't been on a bicycle in so long. We finally talked him into it and we all had a blast! The bikes were all kind of lame, but there's a cool walking/riding trail all along the river and walking/biking sidewalks across the bridge and really pretty park all along the trail on the other side of the river coming back. It was a GORGEOUS day and there were lots of people out sunbathing, sailing, sailing remote control sailboats, walking, riding bikes, roller blading, etc. It was a really fun way to see lots of pretty parks and people watch and I think we all would say that was the most fun thing we did on the whole trip. I'd guess that we ended up biking about 3-4 miles altogether. The only problem was that Holly and James complained that their butts were pretty sore that night.
When we got back from the bike ride, we hot-tubbed and swam a little at the hotel, rested, and then went on the free ferry ride down the river. That was nice and relaxing and the city was pretty to see as the sun went down.
Finally, my friend Ezra told me that we should go to eat at Legal Seafood which we did that evening. It was really delicious, but also the most expensive meal we had on the trip.
One more day to go: stay tuned...
The 2nd day we went down to Harvard. We ate lunch at a place called "Fire & Ice" which they referred to themselves as "An Improvisational Grill" which basically means it was a Mongolian BBQ, without the pretense of being solely oriental. It was good except we ate outside and I scarily narrowly missed putting something I didn't recognize in my mouth from my plate that turned out to be bird poop.
There was also a weekend long acoustic festival going on at a club/coffeehouse down by Harvard. It was like $8 to get in, and none of us really wanted to spend the money to hang around there a long time, but they had speaker piping music out onto the street and a huge picture window framing the stage. So, while the other 3 spent some time in a Harvard shop, I sat on the curb and listened to a few people. I was most disappointed in that I was completely un-impressed with anybody I saw. Other things I remember about that day: street musicians with battery powered PA speakers, James finding a record store and going nuts, seeing two homeless guys having some kind of emotional argument, lots of Harvard architecture that my feet hurt too much to care about at the time.
That day we walked a lot and my feet really hurt. So, by evening I talked everybody into going to an art theatre and seeing Garden State which I'd been wanting to see, but hadn't come to NW AR yet. I liked it. It was weird in this art theatre that barely anybody got up and left when the movie was over until the very end of the credits. We ate dinner right before the movie at this pub around the corner from the theatre and had just about the worst service of the trip.
Sunday, Day 3:
James and Melissa wanted to go down to "the Old North Side" which is the Italian part of town. I had a canoli (sp?) for the first time for my breakfast from a real Italian bakery. It was a pretty cool neighborhood with the buildings really close together and stuff. James and I had seen the movie "Mystic River" together which was set in this area of Boston, and it was really interesting. I was tired and my feet hurt, so I was pretty grumpy. And Holly wanted me to be in pictures which I am not very patient for, so we had a little spat when I told her I wasn't in the mood to model. It's pretty funny that the one picture she got, I have the most annoyed look on my face.
There were some really cool cement parks and churches in this area of town. We walked through the church that lit the lights signaling to Paul Revere.
We ate lunch at a real Italian restaurant that none of us were really impressed with and I think we were all a little disappointed. We toured The Constitution which is the oldest commissioned ship. I liked all the ropes and wished that I was still a kid and could climb like I used to.
Then we walked back to where we were to be picked up by the hotel shuttle and stopped into The Green Dragon pub for a beer while we waited for the shuttle back to the hotel.
There was some kind of special promotion going on at our hotel all weekend that included free ice cream, free bicycle rentals, and free ferry rides. So, when we got back to the hotel, we ate ice cream and went to rent bikes. Now, James had been resisting this all day because he hadn't been on a bicycle in so long. We finally talked him into it and we all had a blast! The bikes were all kind of lame, but there's a cool walking/riding trail all along the river and walking/biking sidewalks across the bridge and really pretty park all along the trail on the other side of the river coming back. It was a GORGEOUS day and there were lots of people out sunbathing, sailing, sailing remote control sailboats, walking, riding bikes, roller blading, etc. It was a really fun way to see lots of pretty parks and people watch and I think we all would say that was the most fun thing we did on the whole trip. I'd guess that we ended up biking about 3-4 miles altogether. The only problem was that Holly and James complained that their butts were pretty sore that night.
When we got back from the bike ride, we hot-tubbed and swam a little at the hotel, rested, and then went on the free ferry ride down the river. That was nice and relaxing and the city was pretty to see as the sun went down.
Finally, my friend Ezra told me that we should go to eat at Legal Seafood which we did that evening. It was really delicious, but also the most expensive meal we had on the trip.
One more day to go: stay tuned...
9.24.2004
Boston at the beginning of this month: Day 1
Memories as fast as I can:
Picked up James and Melissa at 4:30am. If you know me, that's weird. Made the flights, flying fun, got there about noon or 1pm. Found out that the arm of the subway that went to our hotel that we planned to get around town by was closed. Finally got to hotel and we're hungry. Hiked to downtown area over a big hill from Boston Commons. I was hungry and didn't want to walk anymore before we got food. So, we stopped in a little Lebanese diner. The weirdest part was about 30 seconds have we got in and sat down, the fire alarms started going off. This little guy kept rushing through telling us not to worry about it and that he'd get it shut off. I don't know how long it was going but it felt like 5 or 10 minutes and it was loud.
From there we hiked the freedom trail. It was cool, and I like reading and learning about the history, but I can look at buildings and tombstones and be ready to move on pretty quickly.
Finally, we stopped in this museum that they'd made out of the Old South Meeting House which was where they started from at the Boston Tea Party. It was cool in there and there were cushioned seats and little headphones you could borrow to listen to this program. So, I guessed I fell asleep for a little while. I'd been up since 4am!!
More of the freedom trail. Met some friends of ours and ate at a seafood place right on the bay. Good food. Good times.
Caught a cab back to the Hotel. James was pissed that we paid $10 cuz he thought it should have been less. Walked across the street and got Cheesecake from the cheesecake factory for dessert. Some idiot from the hotel told James there would be a $3 charge to our room for somebody to deliver some more coffee cups and plastic spoons. James was rightfully pissed by that point. I just went down and took some cups and spoons. Sleep.
End Day 1
Picked up James and Melissa at 4:30am. If you know me, that's weird. Made the flights, flying fun, got there about noon or 1pm. Found out that the arm of the subway that went to our hotel that we planned to get around town by was closed. Finally got to hotel and we're hungry. Hiked to downtown area over a big hill from Boston Commons. I was hungry and didn't want to walk anymore before we got food. So, we stopped in a little Lebanese diner. The weirdest part was about 30 seconds have we got in and sat down, the fire alarms started going off. This little guy kept rushing through telling us not to worry about it and that he'd get it shut off. I don't know how long it was going but it felt like 5 or 10 minutes and it was loud.
From there we hiked the freedom trail. It was cool, and I like reading and learning about the history, but I can look at buildings and tombstones and be ready to move on pretty quickly.
Finally, we stopped in this museum that they'd made out of the Old South Meeting House which was where they started from at the Boston Tea Party. It was cool in there and there were cushioned seats and little headphones you could borrow to listen to this program. So, I guessed I fell asleep for a little while. I'd been up since 4am!!
More of the freedom trail. Met some friends of ours and ate at a seafood place right on the bay. Good food. Good times.
Caught a cab back to the Hotel. James was pissed that we paid $10 cuz he thought it should have been less. Walked across the street and got Cheesecake from the cheesecake factory for dessert. Some idiot from the hotel told James there would be a $3 charge to our room for somebody to deliver some more coffee cups and plastic spoons. James was rightfully pissed by that point. I just went down and took some cups and spoons. Sleep.
End Day 1
9.23.2004
The Force With Me
So, last night after D&D (I got down to -4 HP, rolled crap all night, Margie saved me, we [pretty much lisa who turned into a dragon] killed an army of 1600 ogres, i think i killed 3) Jeff and I got to talking about that we needed to go get the Star Wars trilogy.
I've been wanting it, but I don't need it, and I figured that would make a pretty decent Christmas present. However, I realized that I had a bunch of Walmart gift cards saved up from various taste tests and thought I could get buy with maybe paying $10 for the trilogy. So, Jeff and I went to Walmart at midnight to get it.
When I got to checkout, I handed the girl like 6 Walmart cards that had various amounts on them as I'd used different ones for different things. Some had $3, som $5, at least one had a full $15. Once she ran them all, I owed $.47. I had my hand in my pocket and pulled it out with all the change I had: exactly $.47!
And may the Force be also with you...
9.21.2004
not blog
Here's the problem. I know I should tell everybody about the trip to Boston. I just know that's going to take awhile and I haven't worked up the ambition to tell everybody about it. Because I know I need to do that, I haven't blogged anything else. There you go.
9.02.2004
Boston in the (almost) Fall
Tomorrow morning, 4:30am, we're supposed to pick up our friends, J & M and head for the airport where we're catching a plane to Boston. Why? For fun.
It all started because somebody read about a Lord of the Rings Movie Trilogy exhibit that is at this museum in Boston for a little while. M has cousin or something that works at the museum and got us all tickets, so we're getting to go to the museum for free. Other than that, I don't really know what's on the agenda.
We're flying there, taking a subway downtown and then we'll be getting around all weekend by foot or by bus or something. It will be interesting.
First, Holly and I hardly ever go anyplace "just because". We've traveled quite a bit, but it's always been going and performing with some site-seeing on the side. I'm not even taking a guitar.
Secondly, we've not traveled with other people very much. We've done a couple of tours with my friend Rustin and his wife Marcola, and had a blast. Again, though, we were performing and the point of the trip was career oriented.
J & M are expert travelers and they've taken care of almost all the details. Maybe all of them. I'm just showing up.
Anyway...have a good labor day weekend!
It all started because somebody read about a Lord of the Rings Movie Trilogy exhibit that is at this museum in Boston for a little while. M has cousin or something that works at the museum and got us all tickets, so we're getting to go to the museum for free. Other than that, I don't really know what's on the agenda.
We're flying there, taking a subway downtown and then we'll be getting around all weekend by foot or by bus or something. It will be interesting.
First, Holly and I hardly ever go anyplace "just because". We've traveled quite a bit, but it's always been going and performing with some site-seeing on the side. I'm not even taking a guitar.
Secondly, we've not traveled with other people very much. We've done a couple of tours with my friend Rustin and his wife Marcola, and had a blast. Again, though, we were performing and the point of the trip was career oriented.
J & M are expert travelers and they've taken care of almost all the details. Maybe all of them. I'm just showing up.
Anyway...have a good labor day weekend!
9.01.2004
Stephen King and the Dark Tower books
So, I've been struggling to find a book for awhile. I'm not sure what the last book was that really captured my attention, but I think it was Grapes of Wrath and that was early summer. But, that's usually the case. If I read something really tremendous, I have a hard time finding the next thing to get started on.
I just finished reading a book called The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver because Ams and Jess were ardently singing its (Kingsolver's writing) praises. To be honest, it was ok. I wanted to really be captured by it, but just wasn't. Don't know why.
So, last week, I was talking with my friend, Jeff, who was telling me that he was reading or just finished the latest novel in Stephen King's Dark Tower series.
Now, I've read a lot of Stephen King and really like most of what he writes. However, as I told Jeff, I'd read the first book of the Dark Tower series, The Gunslinger, and it was all I could do to finish it. I knew it was an early novel of King's (I guess it was his first) but I just didn't like it. The character's weren't written well and the story seemed so vague that I just couldn't stand it.
Jeff, as Amber had done earlier in the week, told me to give the series another shot. Yes, the first book sucked, but move on. Jeff also told me that I should consider reading the revised and expanded edition of the gunslinger which was better.
I still wasn't really convinced, but I told Jeff, that he'd loan me the revised edition, I'd consider it. That was about 3am Thursday morning (my birthday).
On Thursday afternoon, some other friends surprised me by stopping by and giving me a birthday present. This was surprising in itself, because they're really barely more than acquaintances. We ran into D&S at Walmart a couple of months ago, and stood and visited for awhile and have been trying to get together for dinner or something since and have yet to hook up mostly because the Shackletts are too busy.
Anyway, the gift bag had a couple of Star Wars figures (D isn into SW, too) a D&D poster, and low and behold: The expanded/revised edition of the Gunslinger!
Jeff told me that Jesus must be telling me to read the Gunslinger and give the Dark Tower series another shot...
I just finished reading a book called The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver because Ams and Jess were ardently singing its (Kingsolver's writing) praises. To be honest, it was ok. I wanted to really be captured by it, but just wasn't. Don't know why.
So, last week, I was talking with my friend, Jeff, who was telling me that he was reading or just finished the latest novel in Stephen King's Dark Tower series.
Now, I've read a lot of Stephen King and really like most of what he writes. However, as I told Jeff, I'd read the first book of the Dark Tower series, The Gunslinger, and it was all I could do to finish it. I knew it was an early novel of King's (I guess it was his first) but I just didn't like it. The character's weren't written well and the story seemed so vague that I just couldn't stand it.
Jeff, as Amber had done earlier in the week, told me to give the series another shot. Yes, the first book sucked, but move on. Jeff also told me that I should consider reading the revised and expanded edition of the gunslinger which was better.
I still wasn't really convinced, but I told Jeff, that he'd loan me the revised edition, I'd consider it. That was about 3am Thursday morning (my birthday).
On Thursday afternoon, some other friends surprised me by stopping by and giving me a birthday present. This was surprising in itself, because they're really barely more than acquaintances. We ran into D&S at Walmart a couple of months ago, and stood and visited for awhile and have been trying to get together for dinner or something since and have yet to hook up mostly because the Shackletts are too busy.
Anyway, the gift bag had a couple of Star Wars figures (D isn into SW, too) a D&D poster, and low and behold: The expanded/revised edition of the Gunslinger!
Jeff told me that Jesus must be telling me to read the Gunslinger and give the Dark Tower series another shot...
8.31.2004
in the muck
Relationships are hard. If you have a relationship and it's easy, that means that you don't have much invested in each other. I think Holly's youth minister used to ask couples (us) when they're thinking about getting married if they've had their first big fight yet.
This is kind of a yard-stick for a relationship, don't you think? If you don't have much invested, or you just don't care that much, wouldn't a big blow-up fight just end the relationship? Why bother with it?
However, a big blow-up and working through it and maintaining relationship through it will probably end up stronger.
Holly and I aren't fighting, by the way. :)
But, at what point do you throw in the towel with a friendship? Is there a point where you realize, "You and I see life very differently. Your point of view continually frustrates me and vice-versa. We've dealt with conflict, but you're still you and I'm still me and neither of us can change who we are to make this relationship better. For that matter, our relationship isn't making either of us better people. I wish you hope, love and peace. Go with God."...?
Or does letting things get to that point mean that something or somebody has been screwing up? I have little patience for passive/aggressive behavior. I work hard to try to keep it out of my own behavior. So, when direct confrontation starts to seem useless, I can bottle with the best of'em. I'm not sure which is worse.
This is kind of a yard-stick for a relationship, don't you think? If you don't have much invested, or you just don't care that much, wouldn't a big blow-up fight just end the relationship? Why bother with it?
However, a big blow-up and working through it and maintaining relationship through it will probably end up stronger.
Holly and I aren't fighting, by the way. :)
But, at what point do you throw in the towel with a friendship? Is there a point where you realize, "You and I see life very differently. Your point of view continually frustrates me and vice-versa. We've dealt with conflict, but you're still you and I'm still me and neither of us can change who we are to make this relationship better. For that matter, our relationship isn't making either of us better people. I wish you hope, love and peace. Go with God."...?
Or does letting things get to that point mean that something or somebody has been screwing up? I have little patience for passive/aggressive behavior. I work hard to try to keep it out of my own behavior. So, when direct confrontation starts to seem useless, I can bottle with the best of'em. I'm not sure which is worse.
8.23.2004
touring
My sister, Celia, just back from a couple of weeks of touring with her friend, Athena. (I'd link to Athena's web-site, but I don't know her last name...)
Also, just received a packet from an indie label/publicity/promotion company out of Athens, GA. It's the sort of thing that they ask you for permission and some money to put one of your songs on this complilation CD that they're going to produce and promote to radio stations, etc.
This isn't really what you'd consider a scam, but is a dubious proposition at least. The only reason I would consider doing it is if I was willing to get out and tour. This is something I've been considering a lot lately.
I've never been East, and the thing is, if you get far enough east, you don't have to drive more than an hour or two to be at a new venue. Probably the most you can expect to get paid at a club or coffee house where you've never been before would be maybe $100. Of course, if you play every night, that's $700 a week, not including tips/CD sales.
There are lots of draw-backs. Price of gas. Being gone. Being on the road. Maybe making $100/day. Praying the van doesn't break down. I'm getting old...maybe I'm too old to be considering this...
Also, just received a packet from an indie label/publicity/promotion company out of Athens, GA. It's the sort of thing that they ask you for permission and some money to put one of your songs on this complilation CD that they're going to produce and promote to radio stations, etc.
This isn't really what you'd consider a scam, but is a dubious proposition at least. The only reason I would consider doing it is if I was willing to get out and tour. This is something I've been considering a lot lately.
I've never been East, and the thing is, if you get far enough east, you don't have to drive more than an hour or two to be at a new venue. Probably the most you can expect to get paid at a club or coffee house where you've never been before would be maybe $100. Of course, if you play every night, that's $700 a week, not including tips/CD sales.
There are lots of draw-backs. Price of gas. Being gone. Being on the road. Maybe making $100/day. Praying the van doesn't break down. I'm getting old...maybe I'm too old to be considering this...
8.17.2004
Just call me "The Computer Master"
So, last wednesday, I sent of the last of the previously mentioned medical terms. Job completed except for waiting for them to send back re-dos. mission accomplished.
With that out the way, I was ready to get focused on and finish a couple of on-going records that I've been recording in and around the money job. Not only that, but I'd be able to sit down and blog without the nagging guilt that if I have time to blog I should be working on medical terms...
First, my CD-RW drive crapped out on me. No problem, I got another CD-RW drive at Office Max probably a year ago that was free after all the rebates. I tear apart the computer and pop that in and turn the the computer back on. Nothing. zilch. nada. el zero. not even giving me any bios/boot stuff. that's bad.
I keep it together, though. I call K, the guy that built my computer about 2.5 years ago. I take it over to his house the next day, and after tinkering for awhile, (and charging me $35!) K tells me the motherboard is fried. ack!
I keep it together. I order a new motherboard. It came today.
Since K decided that he was going to be charging me for what I thought was unlimited tech support until he moved away or I move into a new computer, I decided I could do this.
With the help of my friend, Chris, overseeing and giving advice as needed, I successfully took out the old motherboard and put in the new one. That's all cool, cuz Chris was there if there was trouble. But, as soon as I put the mother board in, I brought the puter home.
Tonight, I've successfully re-formatted my system drive, installed an operating system, hooked up and got running 3 physical hard-drives and a CD-RW, and installed all my PCI cards! Yay me!
No computer's gonna slow me down...
Random Blog # 274
With that out the way, I was ready to get focused on and finish a couple of on-going records that I've been recording in and around the money job. Not only that, but I'd be able to sit down and blog without the nagging guilt that if I have time to blog I should be working on medical terms...
First, my CD-RW drive crapped out on me. No problem, I got another CD-RW drive at Office Max probably a year ago that was free after all the rebates. I tear apart the computer and pop that in and turn the the computer back on. Nothing. zilch. nada. el zero. not even giving me any bios/boot stuff. that's bad.
I keep it together, though. I call K, the guy that built my computer about 2.5 years ago. I take it over to his house the next day, and after tinkering for awhile, (and charging me $35!) K tells me the motherboard is fried. ack!
I keep it together. I order a new motherboard. It came today.
Since K decided that he was going to be charging me for what I thought was unlimited tech support until he moved away or I move into a new computer, I decided I could do this.
With the help of my friend, Chris, overseeing and giving advice as needed, I successfully took out the old motherboard and put in the new one. That's all cool, cuz Chris was there if there was trouble. But, as soon as I put the mother board in, I brought the puter home.
Tonight, I've successfully re-formatted my system drive, installed an operating system, hooked up and got running 3 physical hard-drives and a CD-RW, and installed all my PCI cards! Yay me!
No computer's gonna slow me down...
Random Blog # 274
8.06.2004
the fam
Last weekend, my mom and her husband, and my sister were here. We all loaded into my mom's car and drove over to Tulsa to attend one of our favorite cousin's wedding. In the process we got to spend time with the rest of our favorite cousins and their families and really had a blast.
I only have my sister, Celia, as a sibling. We really have a great relationship and love the chance to spend time together. This particular family is my mom's youngest sister's. Our cousins in that family are an oldest brother (who got married this weekend) and 2 sisters.
Celia and I had so much fun hanging with all of them because we seldom get to see any of them anymore. Not for any reason other than the fact that we are busy. There's 6 kids of these two sisters and both of the families are just awesome. We were talking that this set of cousins are kind of like our "alternate reality" siblings that we only got to spend time with on occasions. Their kids feel like "alternate reality" nieces and nephews.
It was hard to leave. It's hard to have such a short time to try to re-connect with these extended siblings. I want to know them more and their kids more. It's weird that I don't know them more, and yet when we're together we have a relationship. There's no questions about that.
Random blog #37
I only have my sister, Celia, as a sibling. We really have a great relationship and love the chance to spend time together. This particular family is my mom's youngest sister's. Our cousins in that family are an oldest brother (who got married this weekend) and 2 sisters.
Celia and I had so much fun hanging with all of them because we seldom get to see any of them anymore. Not for any reason other than the fact that we are busy. There's 6 kids of these two sisters and both of the families are just awesome. We were talking that this set of cousins are kind of like our "alternate reality" siblings that we only got to spend time with on occasions. Their kids feel like "alternate reality" nieces and nephews.
It was hard to leave. It's hard to have such a short time to try to re-connect with these extended siblings. I want to know them more and their kids more. It's weird that I don't know them more, and yet when we're together we have a relationship. There's no questions about that.
Random blog #37
7.26.2004
"batchin" it
A few blogs ago I mentioned that death sucks. It bites, too. Will, Holly's sted-granddad died last wednesday. He was ready and isn't in pain anymore. That doesn't change the fact that we don't get to see him anymore.
Anyway, Holly left for Wichita on Friday, the funeral was Saturday, and she's staying till Wednesday to just be with her Grammy. I had 4 "gigs" of sorts this weekend between Friday night and Sunday night, so I couldn't go (and my fingers hurt.)
Holly and I have always been different than other couples. Most people, between jobs, kids, etc have to struggle to carve out little chunks of time to spend together. For the longest time, neither of us had jobs and were out traveling and playing together every weekend. There would be times when we were together 24/7 literally. The cool thing is that even with that much exposures, we don't get on each other's nerves very often.
So, here I am without her with me from Friday-Wednesday. We say "Batchin' It" as in "Living as a Bachelor". I'm not very good at it.
There was about 9 months in college, before Holly and I were engaged that we were broke up. (That's another story...) I lived was living in a dorm/house in with my own room and my neighbor, Dean, was a neat-freak and kept the bathroom spotless.
I hardly spent any time in my room, by myself, that whole time. I'd hang out with Dean, I'd got hang out with other girls that were my friends, I'd go flirt with other girls, whatever. Frankly, I spent a lot of time over at Holly's house making sure nobody came got any wild ideas of getting close to her. (Again...that's a story for another time....)
The point is, I wasn't good at being alone then. Holly and I will celebrate our 11 year anniversary in less than 30 days. Do think I'm any better at batching it now?
In some ways, I think I am better at it. Like this weekend, I was pretty busy, so I didn't have much time to think about it. (Although, I'm pretty used to having Holly singing with me, and it's always an adjustment when she's not.) I've got tons of those medical terms to work on and they could keep me plenty busy till she gets back. Of course, these medical terms, like homework, are easy to procrastinate. The motivating factor is that the deadline is coming, and I need the money...
Plus, I've got Petey to keep me company.
Even so, it's weird how much I can feel her not being here.
Anyway, Holly left for Wichita on Friday, the funeral was Saturday, and she's staying till Wednesday to just be with her Grammy. I had 4 "gigs" of sorts this weekend between Friday night and Sunday night, so I couldn't go (and my fingers hurt.)
Holly and I have always been different than other couples. Most people, between jobs, kids, etc have to struggle to carve out little chunks of time to spend together. For the longest time, neither of us had jobs and were out traveling and playing together every weekend. There would be times when we were together 24/7 literally. The cool thing is that even with that much exposures, we don't get on each other's nerves very often.
So, here I am without her with me from Friday-Wednesday. We say "Batchin' It" as in "Living as a Bachelor". I'm not very good at it.
There was about 9 months in college, before Holly and I were engaged that we were broke up. (That's another story...) I lived was living in a dorm/house in with my own room and my neighbor, Dean, was a neat-freak and kept the bathroom spotless.
I hardly spent any time in my room, by myself, that whole time. I'd hang out with Dean, I'd got hang out with other girls that were my friends, I'd go flirt with other girls, whatever. Frankly, I spent a lot of time over at Holly's house making sure nobody came got any wild ideas of getting close to her. (Again...that's a story for another time....)
The point is, I wasn't good at being alone then. Holly and I will celebrate our 11 year anniversary in less than 30 days. Do think I'm any better at batching it now?
In some ways, I think I am better at it. Like this weekend, I was pretty busy, so I didn't have much time to think about it. (Although, I'm pretty used to having Holly singing with me, and it's always an adjustment when she's not.) I've got tons of those medical terms to work on and they could keep me plenty busy till she gets back. Of course, these medical terms, like homework, are easy to procrastinate. The motivating factor is that the deadline is coming, and I need the money...
Plus, I've got Petey to keep me company.
Even so, it's weird how much I can feel her not being here.
7.20.2004
recipe for daydreams
I think I am somewhat prone to be overwhelmed. Whether I have work to do, or a big project or working on a new CD. Those are the personal things, but I also get overwhelmed by politics, the state of the world, the poor and homeless, Holly's step-grandad who is going to die of cancer soon.
Sometimes I think about these things and I just can't figure a way out. The problems and intricacies seem insurmountable.
So I retreat. I do this a number of ways. I read novels and watch movies. Sometimes I just flip through the 5 channels we have, but usually that overwhelms me again because I'm so disgusted with the inanity of 99% of TV. Sometimes I daydream about winning some sweepstakes and taking a week off every month and taking a cruise and wasting away on a beach somewhere.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed at the thought of blogging.
Sometimes I think about these things and I just can't figure a way out. The problems and intricacies seem insurmountable.
So I retreat. I do this a number of ways. I read novels and watch movies. Sometimes I just flip through the 5 channels we have, but usually that overwhelms me again because I'm so disgusted with the inanity of 99% of TV. Sometimes I daydream about winning some sweepstakes and taking a week off every month and taking a cruise and wasting away on a beach somewhere.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed at the thought of blogging.
7.15.2004
7.14.2004
for the love of Sam Phillips
I've said this before: There are not many things that I would say that I am an actual fan. By stating that I am a fan, I mean that even though I may recognize that an artist might put out something less than great, I don't really care. I love and support that artist anyway.
Sam Phillips is one such artist for me. She started her musical career within the Contemporary Christian Music industry of the '80s and was known as "Leslie" Phillips then. This was in the midst of Amy Grant's heyday, but Leslie was edgier. Many referred to her as "the Christian Cindi Lauper" because, compared to Amy Grant, she was a little unusual.
She put out 3 records for her label. (I didn't really like the first, but I kind of liked 2)Dancing with Danger and 3)Black and White in a Grey World) But, after those albums, she was frustrated. Her label kept trying to make her sing happy Christian songs where all the answers are given by the end of the 3.5 minutes of playing time. As I understand it, she was fighting for the position that life doesn't always make sense and the answers are not always easy and God is just plain hard to understand sometimes. Obviously, she wanted her art to reflect that tension honestly.
The story as I understand it, is that Leslie's label said they needed 2 more albums for her to fulfill her contract and then she could do whatever she wanted. Because of their frustration, they gave her a tiny budget for her next CD and introduced her to a relatively unknown producer by the name of T-Bone Burnett. The resulting album, one of my favorite all-time albums, was called The Turning.
T-Bone and Sam not only made a great album, but they got married, too. For the fifth CD, to fulfill her contract, they threw together a "Best Of" with some unreleased demos and a couple new songs, and Leslie walked away from the Christian music industry.
The Turning came out with little fan-fare because the suits didn't expect it to do well. It was kind of dark, nebulous, and was made on a shoe-string budget. It spoke of longing, loss, uncertainty and doubt. Why pump money into promoting it?
The thing is, 20+ years later, The Turning is regarded as (one of a very few) artistic masterpieces ever to come out of the Christian music industry. I've seen it listed on All-Time Top 20 lists by Critics numerous times, both in the Christian music realm and mainstream publications. It's artistic/poetic worth and integrity are virtually unquestionable by those who are knowledgeable of such things.
Just a couple of years after leaving the Christian industry, Leslie, now known as Sam Phillips, released her first of 5 Critically-Lauded releases on Virgin Records and has now released 2 CDs on Nonesuch Records. All of them produced by wonder-boy T-bone and all of which have made her the critics' darling.
So, what does it mean when the local Family Christian Bookstore, while highlighting and marketing WOW Worship 2004, Jump 5, The Purpose Driven Life, and the Left Behind Books to death has dumped a number of copies of Leslie Phillips', The Turning, into a bargain bin for $3 each?
Sam Phillips is one such artist for me. She started her musical career within the Contemporary Christian Music industry of the '80s and was known as "Leslie" Phillips then. This was in the midst of Amy Grant's heyday, but Leslie was edgier. Many referred to her as "the Christian Cindi Lauper" because, compared to Amy Grant, she was a little unusual.
She put out 3 records for her label. (I didn't really like the first, but I kind of liked 2)Dancing with Danger and 3)Black and White in a Grey World) But, after those albums, she was frustrated. Her label kept trying to make her sing happy Christian songs where all the answers are given by the end of the 3.5 minutes of playing time. As I understand it, she was fighting for the position that life doesn't always make sense and the answers are not always easy and God is just plain hard to understand sometimes. Obviously, she wanted her art to reflect that tension honestly.
The story as I understand it, is that Leslie's label said they needed 2 more albums for her to fulfill her contract and then she could do whatever she wanted. Because of their frustration, they gave her a tiny budget for her next CD and introduced her to a relatively unknown producer by the name of T-Bone Burnett. The resulting album, one of my favorite all-time albums, was called The Turning.
T-Bone and Sam not only made a great album, but they got married, too. For the fifth CD, to fulfill her contract, they threw together a "Best Of" with some unreleased demos and a couple new songs, and Leslie walked away from the Christian music industry.
The Turning came out with little fan-fare because the suits didn't expect it to do well. It was kind of dark, nebulous, and was made on a shoe-string budget. It spoke of longing, loss, uncertainty and doubt. Why pump money into promoting it?
The thing is, 20+ years later, The Turning is regarded as (one of a very few) artistic masterpieces ever to come out of the Christian music industry. I've seen it listed on All-Time Top 20 lists by Critics numerous times, both in the Christian music realm and mainstream publications. It's artistic/poetic worth and integrity are virtually unquestionable by those who are knowledgeable of such things.
Just a couple of years after leaving the Christian industry, Leslie, now known as Sam Phillips, released her first of 5 Critically-Lauded releases on Virgin Records and has now released 2 CDs on Nonesuch Records. All of them produced by wonder-boy T-bone and all of which have made her the critics' darling.
So, what does it mean when the local Family Christian Bookstore, while highlighting and marketing WOW Worship 2004, Jump 5, The Purpose Driven Life, and the Left Behind Books to death has dumped a number of copies of Leslie Phillips', The Turning, into a bargain bin for $3 each?
7.11.2004
bad bloggers and an election year
There are numerous reasons why I haven't blogged. Sometimes, it's because I don't really have anything to say. Sometimes, it's because I think, "If I start blogging about that, there's no way that I'm going to be able write a short, sweet blog about that topic..." To be honest, sometimes I don't really want just anybody to be able to get online and know what I think about this or that particular subject.
For instance: Politics. I can honestly say that I cannot remember a single time Republicans/Democrats were discussed in my family when I was growing up. I don't think either of my parents ever even made it known to me whether they considered themselves Republican or Democrat.
And really, what's the point? The fact of the matter is that there are a lot of times (like election years) that I'd rather not align myself with either party. I may agree with some things one party says, but really abhor other things they may be for or against.
For that matter, one of the only things that I'm really sure about
American politics is that both parties have very talented, dedicated publicists and spin doctors who are abundantly capable demonizing opposing candidates and sanctifying their own.
I think the last election that I was paying attention to; I kept seeing particularly mud-slinging ads from one candidate and not from another. This really appealed to me.
Take a common ad that would say something like this:
"Mr. Dude voted AGAINST a bill that would feed 60 bazillion homeless people without any bump in taxes..."
How could anybody vote against a bill like that?
It's been a long time since I've been in government class, but I always have this suspicion that although this may be technically true, the mentioned point was actually referring to something tacked onto a bill that was for something else that nobody in their right mind would vote for.
Like I said, I’m not a political guru. However, I just wish there was some way to know the truth. I don’t want to know all the bad stuff the other candidate has done. I want to know all the good stuff that you want to do and how in the world you think you can do it.
I’ve been thinking about this in my life a lot, too. So many times, it’s easy to think of myself as a good person because of all the bad stuff that I don’t do. What does that matter? I’m making the world a better place by not murdering the person that cut me off? If I did murder that person, that would definitely make the world a worse place, but does my NOT murdering that person necessarily make it better? I don’t think so.
The question, then, is what have I done good? What have I done that I know helps somebody else? And I’m not sure that taking care of your family or helping friend move really even counts for that much. I mean, aren’t we going to take care of the people we know and love? The question is, what have I done to help somebody else just because they need help and I can give it?
I don’t know how I’m going to figure out how to discern in the realm of politics. But, I can start thinking of ways that I can improve the world that I live in myself. Wouldn’t the world be much better if we all did just that?
Whew, this is a lengthy and not very well written blog. I just wanted you to know that I know.
For instance: Politics. I can honestly say that I cannot remember a single time Republicans/Democrats were discussed in my family when I was growing up. I don't think either of my parents ever even made it known to me whether they considered themselves Republican or Democrat.
And really, what's the point? The fact of the matter is that there are a lot of times (like election years) that I'd rather not align myself with either party. I may agree with some things one party says, but really abhor other things they may be for or against.
For that matter, one of the only things that I'm really sure about
American politics is that both parties have very talented, dedicated publicists and spin doctors who are abundantly capable demonizing opposing candidates and sanctifying their own.
I think the last election that I was paying attention to; I kept seeing particularly mud-slinging ads from one candidate and not from another. This really appealed to me.
Take a common ad that would say something like this:
"Mr. Dude voted AGAINST a bill that would feed 60 bazillion homeless people without any bump in taxes..."
How could anybody vote against a bill like that?
It's been a long time since I've been in government class, but I always have this suspicion that although this may be technically true, the mentioned point was actually referring to something tacked onto a bill that was for something else that nobody in their right mind would vote for.
Like I said, I’m not a political guru. However, I just wish there was some way to know the truth. I don’t want to know all the bad stuff the other candidate has done. I want to know all the good stuff that you want to do and how in the world you think you can do it.
I’ve been thinking about this in my life a lot, too. So many times, it’s easy to think of myself as a good person because of all the bad stuff that I don’t do. What does that matter? I’m making the world a better place by not murdering the person that cut me off? If I did murder that person, that would definitely make the world a worse place, but does my NOT murdering that person necessarily make it better? I don’t think so.
The question, then, is what have I done good? What have I done that I know helps somebody else? And I’m not sure that taking care of your family or helping friend move really even counts for that much. I mean, aren’t we going to take care of the people we know and love? The question is, what have I done to help somebody else just because they need help and I can give it?
I don’t know how I’m going to figure out how to discern in the realm of politics. But, I can start thinking of ways that I can improve the world that I live in myself. Wouldn’t the world be much better if we all did just that?
Whew, this is a lengthy and not very well written blog. I just wanted you to know that I know.
7.05.2004
spider man
Went to see Spiderman 2 up in Rogers on the 4th. It's the first time I've been to the theatre in Rogers for awhile. I thought the movie was pretty great. They really nailed the balance of drama/humor/action that is often the case in comic books. I liked Doc Oc as a villain better than Green Goblin.
It's interesting, because I'm really not an expert on Spiderman lore/history, so I don't really know the stories of Green Goblin or Doc Oc. Anyway, I think it's worth seeing in a big great theatre with great sound.
It's interesting, because I'm really not an expert on Spiderman lore/history, so I don't really know the stories of Green Goblin or Doc Oc. Anyway, I think it's worth seeing in a big great theatre with great sound.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)