Feeling Reckless

I made a promise to myself when I started this blog that I wasn’t going to bitch about the quantity, quality or themes of my writing here. I’m not doing that. I have noticed that I’m writing less in the blog but making up for it elsewhere.

Tons of new songs…

Again, this is not the same as saying that I’m writing good songs but I’ve said it before and don’t mind repeating it: I write like most people eat, fuck, and work. Sometimes I do it well and sometimes I do it poorly – but I have to do it.

I am so glad the big Bears game is Sunday night and not ABC Monday Nite Football (since there is no more ABC Monday Nite Football). Even in the championship years, the Bears laid some big eggs on Monday night. The worst was that William Perry fumble on the goal line vs. the hated Hellway Broncos. I never was a fan of a guy who was famous for being fat…even I could do that (and I may be on my way). After Dumbass Ditka gave him that ball for a TD that mattered – that was it for Captain Fat Ass in my eyes…I wanted Manute Bol to kick his ass in that boxing match.

Anyway, the Bears have a fresh start for big prime time games – so good luck to ‘em.

I’m still more wrapped up in baseball (mostly because I’m an idiot). I will be cheering so hard for the Tigers or the Yankees to break through and win it all. Never liked the A’s and it doesn’t have anything to do with Frank T playing there. It has more to do with NPR. Maybe I’ll blog about that another time.

I will also be cheering for whatever American League team makes it to sweep the National League team. I will be tested if the fucking Twins make it. I’m not sure what I hate more, the Twins or the National League. I guess if the Reds played the Twins I would cheer for the Reds – just for my pal the Sultan. His passion for baseball is more than admirable in my book.

- - - - - - ------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Feeling Reckless

Lonely
Broken
Sad eyes
Open
Restless
Feeling
Restless
Feeling
Reckless

Humbled
Older
All this
Over
Restless
Feeling
Restless
Feeling
Reckless

Reckless

Rut's Happening

Whatever else is happening with my life, I am sure of this – I am in no danger of getting into a rut anytime soon. Don’t get me wrong, a rut sounds nice right about now – but with my new work schedules, writing schedule (dis and other shit) kindergarten bus driving schedule, letters of rec to write, students to meet (the Dept has strong armed me into taking on two more days of office hours in the evening, they do not give a shit that I work 8 hour days) and Nietzsche kids that are full of enthusiasm…benefits to play this weekend and general shit around the house that I have been blowing off all week…

I don’t have time to take a breather

Or send out more breather review copies which I should’ve done weeks ago

Or send out that 2nd Ambersons CD to the other guy from Cali.

On the Ambersons front, some people from work who’ve heard about the band asked me to bring in discs. The old, blah, blah we’ve heard the name and the puking but never heard any of the songs. I brought some (Monday)….

One of the gals said today: “I listened to Current. I give it a B-“

Maybe she missed a career as a rock critic. I’ve always thought of us as a B minus sort of band. If there were any A’s to be handed out it was the good times had by friends in the DeKalb Metropolitan area.

A’s? – DAMN YOU FRANK THOMAS!

Whoa, where’d that shot at Frank come from? I’ve got no reason to be bitter.

Joe Crede added himself to the list of bigDrag’s friends.

Not a bad week so far.

Long Cold Winter

It was great to see the send off Sox fans gave our heroes after the last home game. While it wasn’t so hot to find out how the Sox were officially eliminated from playoff contention last night, I have enough good memories of this year to hold me through the long, cold winter. I think the Sox made a semi-conscious decision to capitalize on the good will and extra attention (at least locally) brought on by the World Series. They went for power (Thome)…let Joe Crede and the Gooch swing for the fences more…took the general approach that chicks and kids dig the long ball. They would be more of a home run hitting team this year and it helped them draw almost 3 million…and the kids who were there will remember some of those big blasts. That will pay dividends in years to come. I believe that the Kenny Williams/Brooks Boyer(sp) regime has done so much for the popularity of the francishe that I cannot praise their work enough.

What I will remember most about this season was going to the park, seeing it full, and hearing the roar of the crowd when the WS clips came on Tyrann-O-Vision before the announcement of the starting lineup. I know DC and others will continue to bitch about the noise and the video – fine. Beyond the introductions, there was energy in that place that I have never seen before. Everyone standing for the last three outs (for the games I went to that weren’t won with walk of hits in extra innings – WAY TO GO ALEX CINTRON!) The Old New Sox park looked like the Tidal Wave from Great America. The greens and the blacks and the general renovations of Sox park now have made it a wonderful place. My kid says he’s had dreams where we were back in Sox park. That’s all you want, isn’t it?

I am a little sad that the Sox can’t repeat, but not surprised. I am not saying that in a bitter way, and if I hear any fuckery from so-called Sox fans about how they still needed to “prove” something to you just save it. You don’t know baseball if you think the Sox had to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke. There are NO flukes in winning the World Series. Period. Guys had career years and beyond (esp. the bullpen which officially blew up this season)…and the Sox had good luck. It’s what makes winning the World Series so difficult (I think, not like I’ve ever won one). You need to get the right bunch of guys (at the right stages of their careers and in their contracts), lead them the right way, they all have to play out of their minds for two very different seasons (see the ATL braves, pretty good for 162 games, not so much for the playoffs/WS)…nobody gets hurt and you need luck (sometimes that includes stealing 1st base on the most questionable of calls).

God Bless you Chicago White Sox. Have a good off-season with your families and friends. Thanks for a great two year run.

I will return to baseball at the end of the regular season so we can all make fun of my preseason predictions.

Bite Me Childressss!

Brad C you stupid piece of crap. G'wan ahead and use a challenge for the spot of the ball douche bag. That's why you helped the Eagles win how many super bowls????

I want to see the Bears hand it to the Purple Penis Eaters...after all the pain another team has inflicted on my beloved WhiteSOX. Chicago fans should want to see the Bears inflict punishment on the Vikes...even the cubs got screwed by the Minn baseball team. They got Joe Mauer, you got Mark Prior.

Do the math.

Tornado-Cum-Emergency

The DK tornado-cum-emergency siren went off right as I left work tonight.

The good news is Kim and Alex were actually at home in the basement. Kim has a run of 6 straight tornado warnings where she’s been on the road. Ok, maybe not six but something like that.

I was so glad when I heard her voice on the phone. Drove home in this shit – but it wasn’t bad. I couldn’t see the last two blocks due to aluminum tubes of rain.

Aluminum tubes, do you know what you can do with aluminum tubes?!?!?!

Called ChrisB tonight. I was glad to hear that he was not swirling around in the middle of a tornado trying to play gutters and aluminum siding as they were flying past him.

Aluminum siding, do you know what you can do with that?

Chris and I have a mutual concern we’ve been talking about and I am really frustrated with my inability to come up with any good suggestions on this front. This is another one of those instances where regular readers of this blog remember me quoting chapter and verse of testaments old and new…but now shit is coming down and what am I going to DO about it. St. Paul was right when he talked about faith being empty without works…or, at least you need works.

…and not just to draw people in to the faith to exploit them whatever…

You really feel empty without the works – the results…doing some good with what you believe.

Again, I am not using the blog to beat myself up. I don’t do that. I believe beating yourself up is the work of the Devil and if there is a real Devil that touches us – he does it the most – not when we’re jacking off or yelling at others in traffic (possibly simultaneously)…

…but rather when we compile our sins and shortcomings and say ‘See, I am shit. God made shit when he made me.’

So, I am not doing that. But this situation requires…I dunno

I just wish I had more to offer.

Enough about this. Everyone is probably sort of curious but generally bored when I make these kinds of entries.

That makes all of us.

More later.

Ethics & Rock

Most people my age that live in this part of the world have been chattering about the Touch & Go 25th Anniversary thing. I didn’t go. I hope people had a good time. I think there was a lot to celebrate – especially seeing some of the people on the bill that hadn’t played together in a long time. Thinking about that music again brought back great memories…and some of those bands never went away in my head or on my daily rotation of rock in my headphones or in my office computer. Hell I’m listening to the Slint record as I write this.

What I say next is going to sound like me being a wet blanket…but let me make it clear that I have nothing against celebrating the MUSIC that the record label in question put out over the years. It is more than worthy of note – and not just because Hey Judester was a cool record when I was in college. Again, there is much worth remembering and celebrating from the Touch and Go catalog.

I watched that stupid Touch & Go promo film on You Tube and it made me want to fucking puke. Everyone talking about the ethic – ethos – whatever the fuck of the record label and the handshake deals – and how musicians and promo people and interns were all equal and how they were all expected to treat each other.

By the way, I’m all in favor of treating people from all walks of life with respect (I don’t always do it, I can be a fucking prick) – but I think this is the way humans should operate (both from a religious perspective…and there are even arguments from the field of evolutionary biology that sort of support this “morality”)

But to listen to Steve Albini drone on about Corey Ruske(sp??) and what the Touch and Go ETHOS is…and how someone could go from the audience to being in a band to being involved in distributing these records

PUH-lease!

Really, who gives a rat’s ass?!?! All this talk about ethics and rock…

Having a mission to carry the torch for this music – and this attitude…

A scene that promotes creative expression and dignity…

That’s not the business of record labels.

And when we hear the bass player of the Nekrons (CR himself) talk about the novelty and worth of the Touch and Go business model – I am here to say thanks to him for putting out this great music…

…but also to say “Shaddddup about your business model butt munch!”

Oh, and to say, “Remember how you got sued by the Butthole Surfers?”

Happy 25th Touch and Go, now shut up and get back to the rock.

I’ll try and do the same.

A Simple Request

The next time we falsely arrest and torture a Canadian, can we please try to make sure that it is Neil Peart?

Think about g bushy, ok…

Winter Sucks Ass

To my friends who are SOX fans:

Do not be heavy of heart as we watch these last two weeks. The replays from last night’s loss to the Tigers are on as I write this. It was a nightmare to see what Frank did over the weekend. And now Maggs w/ two homers…

Maggs was my favorite Sox player when he was on the team (and one of my all time favorites). Every time Alex and I saw the Tigers at sOx park, I would cheer Maggs when he came to the plate (not if he got a hit of course). The SOX could not resign Maggs – it was not a mistake letting him go. They also could not resign Frank (certainly not for the money he was worth after last year which was shit – that’s what the A’s are paying him). Good for both of those guys doing well.

Sox fans, we couldn’t have it better these last two years and please don’t forget it. Don’t give me any of that shit that the SOX aren’t playing with fire or swagger. You don’t win baseball games with those things…you win with timely hitting and by NOT hitting into 3 double plays and no amount of swagger can create or prevent those things.

Also remember, when the SOX made their stretch run last year there were all these question marks with the Bears so everyone who chose to, could enjoy the World Series run…this year when things look tough for the SOX we can at least enjoy what the Bears are doing at the beginning of the season (seeing Rex play QB like it’s a video game).

Sadly, this is the way the SOX have ended most seasons in the last ten years. The homers have run dry (you can only win so many games with three run home runs). But one thing we can carry with us is that they have been in it most seasons and now two years in a row. Coming off the WS victory I know a lot of folks’ expectations were high. Mine weren’t up there (because I remembered what helped the Sox last year wasn’t big boppers as much as guys having career years – Neil Cotts – Cliff Polite – Scottie Podz)…and other stuff that I’ve talked about so much that it is pointless to repeat.

I’ve loved this year’s team to because I think they’ve faced adversity with determination (and without some of the weapons and advantages they had last year). They are battling two teams in what most people agree is the best division in baseball.

I am not burying the Sox because nothing is over yet. I still believe miracles are possible, because this team has pulled off many of them – even this year. They trailed and came back to win in every game I attended this year. This is just a secret note to my SOX fan friends. Don’t let these struggles dampen your love for this team – they are still worth loving. Don’t let the words of others get you down. We may only have two weeks of baseball left. Let’s enjoy ok – winter sucks ass.

Where's My Hook?

Alex had a two day sleepover at our house and it’s been a fun weekend. Took the boys to see Everyone’s Hero - - - Alex’s idea.

He said: “Can we see the baseball movie, can we Dad, huh can we?!?”

At first he sounded so cute like Leave it to Beaver…except after taking two boys to this movie it cost like $40 bucks.

Fucking Ward had it so easy.

Ok, I’m sure June didn’t know what a blowjob was, but still $40 bucks for a movie, popcorn, candy and video games?!?!?

You feel totally fucked after that.

We played to our strengths Saturday nite. Kim set up the tent in the yard and had a fire going. I told the totally hackneyed hook guy story to Alex, Zack and Kim as the evening ended. It went a little something like this:


Me: Not long ago, not far from here, on a night like tonight a crazy criminal with a hook for a hand escaped from prison?

Alex: Why was he in prison?

Me: um, the police caught him stealing candy from a candy machine.

Zack: How did the police catch him?

Me: um, he got his hand stuck in the candy machine.

Alex: Is that why he had the hook? Did he have to cut off his hand like Aquaman?

Me: Sort of, Aquaman wasn’t stealing candy but…

Zack: How did he bust out of jail?

Me: He dug his way out with the hook.

Kim: Wait a minute honey. Are you trying to tell us that they allowed him to keep his hook while he was in jail? Don’t you think that would be the first thing they’d confiscate?

Me: Not necessarily, his lawyer in the plea agreement got the judge to let the crazy criminal keep the hook. His self esteem would be damaged if he had to serve out his sentence as a uni-dexter.

Zack: What happened to the candy?

Me: It melted all over his hook.

Kim: But he didn’t have the hook when he was stealing the candy. What gives?

Alex: Is the hook guy real?

Me: I wish he was. He could end Daddy’s pain.

Alex: That was a good story dad.

Me: Thank you.

oooooooo

It’s the end of a loooong week.

You can tell it was long week because of all the o’s in the word long. I ended the loooong week the right way. I went to the Buena Vista tonight. My plan was to take the boy and rent a cart. It turns out that Kim arranged for Alex’s friend Zack to come over and spend the night.

That’s ok. The boy needs to have time with his pals too and I need to walk my fat ass around the golf course. I played pretty well and had a nice time text messaging DC Liar. How’s that for me being a little dippy mamby bamby boy - - golfing and text messaging. If it makes anyone feels any better, we were text messaging about bourbon.

I guess the actual bourbon would make us all feel better.

Tension and boobery from all corners are making g bushy look like a venerable statesman of some repute these days.

HOW THE HELL DOES THAT HAPPEN?!?!?!

I think Reggie Bush is taking a page from g bushy’s playbook. When all the evidence is presented blah blah blah you’ll see that there was no impropriety, everything is like I said it was and I will be vindicated.

I don’t care enough about indiscretions in college football to say anymore. If someone can get someone else to give them $100,000 and rent in this life – who would stand in the way of such a thing?

Estabon Loiza toes the rubber for the A’s against his old team, my beloved SoX. He’s the first Mexican born player to win 20 games in the major leagues. He did it a few years ago as a member of the WhiteSoX.

If he keeps pitching like this tonight, I hope someone asks to see his green card.

By the way, look for the Lion and Elephant my space page. Greatest My Space Page ever!

Comes Great Responsibility

Welcome Back to School night for parents at Alex’s school. His teacher is wonderful. She asked all the parents to sit at the kids’ desks and draw a picture for their girl or boy. Then we put the pics in the corresponding kid’s mailbox. Alex has a mailbox.

I drew the HULK.

Saw a friend from back in the day that has returned to town. Her son is in 3rd grade. We shot the shit and tried not to talk while the principal was talking. It’s so played out – blah blah blah – but I really felt like I was back in school at this thing tonight. Maybe this happens for parents because on some level this is the way we have a little more empathy for our kids…

…or maybe it’s just a selfish reaction – even as Daddy with responsibilities to help my son make these first steps outside the home – I’m still thinking of me.

Poor me.

Poor me, my ass.

I’ve got it pretty good…even the shit I went through when I was younger, at least it was interesting shit.

Alex wrote his first word (that wasn’t his name) on the dry erase board.

SPIDERMAN

So proud of that kid.

We were talking about the origin of Spiderman tonight before bed. I told him about what Spiderman learned after gaining his amazing powers. That with great power…

(I guess we’ve read the comic a lot because he finished the phrase)

“…comes great responsibility.”

I did good work on the Adams intro tonight. There are paragraphs that will have to be inserted later but slow and steady…

The Nietzsche class went well last night. I gave the kids Quiz One. I may be working on some lecture topics in the context of this blog. That will make some tune out and I’m sorry for that. But the blog has completely replaced my day book. Again, I know this sounds f’in pretentious but I write because I have to – and what I have to…and this may be the only place for me to toss out a few scattered thoughts about “On Truth and Lie…” and going from the end of the “Uses and Disadvantages of History for Life”…and back to Nit’s dissertation “The Birth of Tragedy”

We’ll see who’s bored. Maybe someone here’ll teach me a thing or two.

Freddie or Not

Alright, Freddie G had a one hitter today.

...then he went out and pitched a pretty good game for the WhiteSOX.

Ruh Roh

My Cousin Mike has returned to the bloggosphere. Here:

http://olekobe.blogspot.com/

I’ll put a new link on the side tomorrow or something. My family is cleverly plotting to take over the internets, better known as Ted Stevens Fancy Series of Tubes. Ok, I think we already ran that thing into the ground (and Chris, DC, Dev etc were a helluva lot funnier about it).

Oh, but I think my family should take over the internets (*hint hint aka goo…get your blog going sis, you are the smart and talented one – she can actually sing folks).

We were the fucking Osmonds at family parties.

Uh, that just doesn’t sound right.

Anyway, my new dissertation writing schedule is going well. I have organized my notes and John Nash stupid amount of outlines and put together a decent abstract. It’s like the fifth one I’ve written – but fuck, you try condensing 200 pages of horse shit into 3 paragraphs with simple declarative sentences.

Ok, DC can do it, but that’s part of his job man, and he’s a good writer. I just like hearing the sounds of my keys clack.

Not that you sick bastards!

So there’ll be shit going up on the American Heretic blog. It’s part of my profile for those interested. I’ll put the fifth draft of the abstract up either tonight or tomorrow.

I hope everyone had a terror-free September day.

I’ll admit that I thought of the firefighters today. I thought of that unexplained feeling of goodwill I had towards everyone (that Olekobe described)…

…thankfully those good feelings have subsided.

A guy claiming that he just got out of the hospital and his blood sugar was low asked Paul H and I for either money for food or a cigarette. I don’t smoke anymore. Paul gave him a smoke and some candy.

I didn’t do shit.

I’m enjoying watching Jose pitch tonight. I hope he’s got his arm angle stuff figured out. His family’s safe, Castro is whacked out on pain relievers – Contreras shouldn’t have any worries.

Oh, anybody who has a My Space page, send the address to this e-mail:

floatingbasemented@gmail.com

I want you to be friends with bigDrag.

We need your love.

No comment on g bushy and the battle for civilization.

September 10th

Five years ago was the last September 10th that was just a date and not an expression that was made up by the mindnumbingly stupid expression/perception makers. It seems that there are a variety of different sources preparing to commemorate, possibly even celebrate (or never forget) what happened on September 11, 2001.

I’m not sure what there is to commemorate. I’m not sure what I have to say to people who would argue that America’s perception of themselves and the world changed forever that day. There is no doubt in the days (and maybe even a few weeks) that followed those horrific events, Robert Downy Jr. could’ve odeed (sp? Jeanz? Keef Richards? anyone) while sucking transvestite dick and no one would have taken much notice. Strangely, I had that thought at the time and thought the world made a bit more sense to me.

Sure, American soil was attacked in a shocking way. Thousands were dead…and those firefighters…

I remember watching and couldn’t believe then (and still can’t believe now) that anyone went into those buildings. I still thank God that there are people in this world so selfless, or with such a sense of duty that they would run into two skyscrapers that looked like they were going to collapse. I have no idea what valor like that is like and I still pray from time to time for them and their families.

So maybe they are worth remembering. But as far as the attack on the homeland, I’m not sure if the events at the WTC evoke the same emotions in me as the McVey (not the people from Fleetwood Mac) attack on the OK City fed building or the attack on the Pentagon. In a more real way to me, those attacks were an attack on our general government and as a result more of an attack on me than the collapse of WTC I & II. Maybe this is selfish and weird.

I cried when I CBS flipped over and showed the Pentagon in flames. I don’t think it is a “class” thing with the workers at the WTC – I’m not a big class talker. Dave Chappelle deserves to be rich – he’s funny and talented. People who sell advertising on the radio deserve to be rich. They have successfully convinced people to “buy air.” C’mon if you’ve figured out a scam like that – you deserve everything you get, good and bad…

…so too with the workers at the WTC. I had nothing against them for being rich (the folks that were rich) and I certainly did not think ‘serves ya right you rich fucks’ when the buildings crashed down.

Ever since the attack on the WTC in the early 90’s I always thought that those buildings were doomed. Certainly in the days, and years following the attacks I never said ‘huh huh I told ya so’ what a stupid and insensitive thing to say. I think this might be the first time I’ve said this to anyone besides my wife.

Five years later this country is not galvanized in the way some thought it would be. It is also not “more divided than ever” as some liberal pundits would have us believe. It just is. My instinct is g bushy has had this divisive effect on America and his supporters have certainly used and abused the events from that day to lead to the current state of affairs.

Now of course the smack shooting dick sucking death of Robert Downy Jr. would certainly make the top story of everything, everywhere.

We’re up to our guts in the Middle East but this too was inevitable following the end of the Cold War. We had the unfettered opportunity to “do shit” there…so we did. That’s how power works in the history of the world. This is not to say that power absolutely defines history and events. The fact that I could be such a ball bustin’ bitch on our reasons for going to war suggests that I believe there is a standard besides raw power for judging the actions of a political entity such as ours or any other you’d care to name.

Everyone now knows that the g bushy crowd was planning to go back to Irack…and was talking this talk all the way back in 1998. Professional Dorks like Paul Wolfowitless just said that ‘Sept whatever was a teachable moment’.

Fie on that!

What is worth remembering is how some people treated each other in the days and weeks that followed those events. People were stupefied…and I didn’t feel my road rage as often. Not an uncommon experience by the way – there are others who’ve said similar things.

What is worth celebrating? I think our country could’ve gone down a much darker road regarding religious hatred and the suppression of rights. I know there are many who would say we the people have already had too much taken from us. I’m not sure I agree. I have an interest in bringing gels and cells on an airplane…it’s not clear that it is a fundamental right. If the Patriot act has spies looking at my library card…so be it. I’m spending a lot of time researching the political life and works of John Adams. Maybe they’ll conclude I’m in favor of the alien and sedition acts.

So my fellow Americans, have a good day tomorrow. You still live in a world where some political actions seem to be the work of the Devil himself (I prefer to laugh at those who engage in such activities because the Devil can not bare scorn and laughter)…

You still live in a world where heroes can lay down their lives for friends and strangers alike.

I’ll leave it to my friends who are bigger football fans than I am to blog about the Bears’ win. It was a nice distraction from the SOX game.

Good luck to all of us.

9-9 Boys

Special birthday wishes going out to the 9-9 boys. bigSoda, PDawg and Robbie much love from me and mine to you and yours.

Yes that you sick bastards.

My beautiful bigSky has been illin’ the last two days but I think she’s feeling better. We may actually go on a date this weekend. My folks are going to spend some time with their grandson, the big kindergartener. God love them.

Thank you Lord for being with my niece Riley as she went through eye surgery this week. The little sweetie is doing fine. Kim talked to her sis tonight.

The last of Alex’s mice died tonight. Hoku, you brought us a lot of yuks…especially when you peed on DC Liar’s hand.

Yuck.

Just kidding.

Snakes on a Red Sox Plane

I’m glad our secret detainment centers around the world have been “outed.” – not Abu Grabass “outed”! Actually the secret has been out for ever. Remember the non-denial denials when the airplane watchers had notebooks full of landings of the Boston Red Sox private jet in Prague and the Hague and Lugiblanna (I’m Slovenian I should know how to spell it)…I’m sure Theo wasn’t scouting any Jordanian 2nd basemen. Ok, I know that is wrong on so many levels.

Just an aside on the Hague. What makes that fucking joint so special that it deserves a definite article adjective in front of it's name?!?!? Are there other Hagues that ain't so hot but the citizens of THE the Hague want the rest of us to know that their Hague is the Hague?!?!?!? Are there hater Hagues or pretender Hagues?!??! We get it already you live in Hague. The name ain't that great anyway - keep it.

Where did all this hostility against the Hague come from?

Ahem, let's not forget the non-denial denials about rendition etc…the non-mollifying mollification of angry Italian government officials (who now seem very happy to lead an international expedition into Lebanon of all places)…

The only thing I’m pissed about is that I thought my tax dollars were going to keep our secret prisons a secret. What the f? What would f’ing Stamos say?

Probably booom-ditty bip bip on some Wal Mart bongos.

No bD practice tonight. D is sick (sick of listening to me drone on about blah ditty blah-ditty blah). Actually I probably got him sick at the starter castle gig.

Back to g bushy. I know my tone re: the current administration may sound like it is shifting since the 32 day bomb-o-rama between the Israeli regulars and Hezbollah (in my spell check by the way) forces. I don’t think it is any shifting of principles on my part. I’ve always tried to make sense of our seemingly senseless activities in IROck. I’ve said my thing on that…everyone I talked to thought it was a load of horseshit (even my dad, who has always supported the war).

Fine.

I’m interested to see how the g busy speech from yesterday plays out in this tension between the three “separate and distinct departments of government” (actual language from the Fed Papers…this separation of powers comes to us more from the progressives)

No, not Yes.

Hamdan (sp, jeanz, Judge Ito, anybody?) set the wheels in motion – forget the endorsement of the Geneva Convention in the opinion of the court…what’s more important to me were the “instructions” to the Congress to not be a bunch of pansies and draw up legislation authorizing or doing something re: the tribunals.

This is sort of laughworthy (as opposed to Jeff Foxworthy who is rarely laughworthy)…

One branch of the government is telling another ‘C’mon, grow a pair and don’t let the other branch of govt push you around’

The You Tube School House rock clips includes the lesser known Three Ring Circus song, listing some of the powers and make up of the three separate and distinct departments of the American government.

Three ring circus indeed.

I'm thinking about starting a petition to rename DeKalb - the DeKalb.

Who's with me?

More Love

Kudos to the Old Dog for finishing the bigDrag My Space page. Go here and be afraid:

http://myspace.com/bigdragmusic

OK, there’s no reason to fear our My Space page. For those of you who hate My Space, the floating Basement is coming soon and will mark the end of those spaces.

Happy birthday D.Lee – nice way to celebrate it. I had a hard job to do last night. I had to tell Alex that his favorite pitcher, Baaaaad Bobby Jenks had a baaaaaaad hip and was going home early from the road trip to have an M.R.I.

The boy looked at me, his lip quivered a little and said: “Baaaaaad Bobby Jenks can still play for the White Sox can’t he daddy?”

“Sure son. He just has to see a doctor to make sure everything’s ok. They want to let him come back.”

“Good,” said Alex.

Much love to the PDawg – I gotta give you your My Morning Jacket record back. Everything sounds great…except I can’t download Wordless Chorus without a skip in this one part. That’s ok. I love that song. It reminds me of my favorite Eurhythmics (in my spell check by the way) track I’ve Tried Everything.

See, this is exactly why I shouldn’t recommend records. I have a favorite Eurhythmics song and I think I first heard it on some dopey soundtrack.

Pathetic.

Oh, I’ve got to copy the Wrens.

PDawg giving me the love and I’ve got to give something back.

Friendly Fire

Most of…if not all of the readers of this blog know about ChrisB’s Fledgling Times. It is one of the blogs that got me started with all this crap – so blame him along with DC Liar, the Old Blogster and elisenator (if she was still on the blog-o-sphere). I finally got off of my e-ass and added a link to Chris’ blog on the side – and not just because there are some cool clips of me shooting obsolete technology.

Also I wrote about our weekend show in the wilds of Plainfield. Fun time. I still love the rock (even after all that it’s done to me). You can find those unsolicited thoughts at the bigDrag blog.

Still trying to make the link to Devin’s blog work. I don’t understand what I am doing wrong. Maybe he’s fucking with me for all the text messages saying “I’m htmllling”

I deserve it.

Modern Times

I hardly ever recommend movies or music to people. Movies. If I like a movie I get so excited about it that the person I talk to about said movie either is disappointed or just plain annoyed by my enthusiasm.

Music. I’m a terrible fan of music. That may go too far. I don’t seek it out that hard and I don’t carry the torch for too many records…insisting that you can’t call yourself a music fan if you haven’t heard blah blah (or Iggy Pop’s Blah Blah Blah for that matter). I’m more like the Scottie Pippen of music fans. Everything is ok when I just sit back and let it (good music) come to me. Fortunately I know a lot of Michael Jordans.

Maybe that’s the thing with me, I’ve got good taste in friends.

Stating my limits as a judge of good records is not false modesty but honest honesty. I don’t hate much and I know I’ve liked too many records for all the wrong reasons. I’ve thrown myself into the record making process a few times in my life (unnecessarily…but that’s what you do when you’re in love) and I’ve lost some perspective on records, songwriting and what they’re supposed to be.

These things are so mish-mashed in w/ what I am, to talk about such stuff (for me) is like saying ‘Boy that pancreas sure secretes the proper amount of juices and helps regulate the things it's supposed to’

I’m sure I sound like a pompous ass…but critiquing someone’s songs (in a way) is like me saying something good or bad about their limbic system.

The point is not to be pompous (even though that’s how I sound) but rather to say that if I’ve accomplished anything as a music fan, I’ve started putting things in order and enjoying stuff in the best light – part of living not the sole reason for it.

This week is something of a holiday for me. The new Bob Dylan record is out. I’m having a blast listening to the record and ignoring the print. What could they possibly say?

By the way, this is not to say I think music critics serve no purpose. Critics good bad and otherwise (I’m critiquing the critics now?...Now that’s absurd)…but these folks have turned me on to some great music and at least given me some shit to talk about with my friends who know more about these things than I do.

Back to Bob Dylan. His last record (Love and Theft) has become one of my all time favs by the new, old Paw Rugg. This one is like Love and Theft Part II (or maybe it’s not, I dunno) but I’m starting to enjoy it for all the same reasons. I don’t care to celebrate how far Dylan fell in the 80’s and part of the 90’s...how far he's risen from the crap ashes

I LIKED WIGGLE WIGGLE!

…and Brownsville Girl...like Sam Shepard, I’d see anything with Gregory Peck in it.

When I was a kid, Cousin Mike gave me a copy of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. I remember listening to it in my bedroom and saying to no one in particular: “Oh, you can write a song about anything you want. It doesn’t even have to make sense. Cool.”

The rest of course is less than history.

My love of words comes from Bob Dylan.

Lyrics
Prose
Poetry
Grocery Lists
Arranging words on the
page

Yeah it’s that kind of party and time that we all stick our collective dicks in the mashed potatoes.

In some of the print on Modern Times that I didn’t ignore, Dylan said that he feels like he is in his middle years right now. I don’t know about that. It sure takes balls for Captain Heart Fungus to talk that way…but c’mon that’s part of what we should love about Dylan (see, I’m talking like one of those pricks now)….

He’s got balls the size of Tennessee. Everyone loves an old coot with balls. I’m sure near the end he’s gonna be all Walter Brennan, holding his new record next to a campfire with a rusty coffee pot by his side saying: “If you don’t like it, make it yer own damn seff!”

Dylan’s stuff makes me laugh, cry, angry, self-confident and riddled with doubt and guilt. I’ve felt like the insignificant center of a universe full of meaning in a collection of lines and images (some that guy just pulled out of his talented ass)

And the minute I get so wrapped up in the music that I think I want to follow the guy who invented garbalogy and steal BD’s dogshit…I’m reminded of the good sense of an interview with Dylan that I was lucky enough to pay attention to…

“I’m just a song and dance man.”

Or to quote Steve Martin: “I’m just trying to make the rent…for the next 25 years.”

But in this world that Bob Dylan’s created…half real life, half show biz there have always been wonderful things to hear, remember and even pass on…

“The skeletons play their harmonica keys in the rain” – I mean, what the blip does that mean? I dunno, but it sure is a cool thing to say.

“You can always come back but you can't come back all the way”

“And every one of them words rang true
And glowed like burning coals
Pouring off of every page
Like it was written in my soul
From me to you”

“The sun’s not yellow, it’s chicken!”

I look at my five year old, think of…

“May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift”

I start to cry like a five year old.

…and I know there will be a dark moment in my life (hopefully not near the end) when I will remember the words:

We live and we die
We know not…why
But I’ll be with you when the deal goes down

God bless you Bob Dylan. Your music helps me to see what is possible and what is realistic. Keep up the good work and try not to croak for awhile if you can help it.

I could go on but it’s late and I’ve already listened to Modern Times 3x’s today. Like Bob Dylan, I’m getting older and I need my rest. There’s fun to be had this weekend and I’m gonna have it if I can overcome the Sick of Moltar. Maybe that’s the only sort of recommendation I can give re: this or any record. No need to overdue it. Art is best if ingested in the context of life and life has to come first. If you live your life you can enjoy good stuff and not get everything inverted…placing too much stock in the words of showbiz wingnuts trying to make the rent for the next 25 years.

Everything in its right place.

I think Thome Yorke said that.