Is It Possible

Kim was involved in a minor accident last Friday. No one was hurt. A woman ran into the bumper of our parked Rav4 and dinged it up. The woman was going to have a baby in the coming days, and this was the second fender bender she had...IN A WEEK!

Kim being Kim took insurance information from the person but didn't call the PoPo. Then the husband of the woman who hit our car (uh, that lived in the house that Jack built) called and gave us his personal information saying that he would pay for everything rather than going through insurance. The plot thicks

Sort of

Kim gave me his name and address and I googled him. He taught at the University. That alone gave me no reason to trust him and the promises he made my wife over the phone. Then I studied his academic pedigree. He received one of his degrees from Princeton in 1989. I told Kim, "He's smart enough to get an advanced degree from Princeton and decent enough not to become an investment banker. We'll give these people a chance."

I'm glad we did. On the day Kim brought the estimate to their house the wife was able to introduce Kim and Alex to her newborn daughter. Kim let the wife know that if her husband went to Yale I'd have called the insurance company. Her older son and Alex had a good time playing. Then she asked Kim, "Is it possible to become friends with someone you've hit with your car?"

With my beautiful wife and her loving heart...anything is possible

Establishing a Web Presence for the Perons

Very few people at the office on Tuesday. Joe and I drove out for the visitation only. The office manager wanted Joe to be able to come back and be available for the people who were not going to the visitation or the service. I was Joe's ride and going for the visitation seemed like the right thing to do. Coming back to our offices upstairs and working for the rest of the day made things easier for me, I guess.

Not that the world should be about making things easy for me. Our late friend and his wife had many people come out to pay their respects. It's important for everyone to do these things in their own way.

Rock practice later in Sugar Grove. We played great. It was good seeing those guys again. D told us he might be going to Argentina for work. I said, "What're you doing, building a website for the Perons?"

Tonight I did some bills, moved the picnic table for Kim, took a long walk and cleaned the basement. Our reward, as a family we went out to Twins for all you can eat pasta.

It was good to eat out and laugh as a family. We had to take our Rav4 to Jim's Auto Body earlier today. There is actually a wonderful story behind that, but it can wait for tomorrow.

Here's Where We Are

I'm not sure if I know where I am, let alone where other people are, but the following may or may not be what I need to do by the end of this weekend...

Friday I had my meeting with Brian and it was productive. Hopefully by next Sunday Brian will have some stuff to show me re: the layout. To get to this point I need to (by the end of Sunday) email to Brian - THE FINAL TRACK LISTING FOR KISH (which means I have to make sure to fix and finalize all my titles on the laptop holding all the tracks) - - - - - AND I NEED TO EMAIL BRIAN THE CREDITS FOR THE RECORD AND THE LIST OF LINKS

...need to take advantage of the time I have this weekend for the new MOI submissions but I cannot do any of this before solidifying these things with Brian and get the KISH site going

ALSO SET UP MY NEW LETTER AND SUBMISSION FORMAT FOR SPECTRUM, KNIGHT (double check and see if they are snail mail only) AND A FEW OTHERS

GET RACCOON SHORT STORY UP AND READY FOR SUBMISSION TO MCSWEENEY'S PER KJ - SHE IS THE BEST

Getting a Little Worse

I don't know if things are getting worse with the work situation. We all miss our friend. People are laughing a little more. Lisa and Matt had their baby this week and that was good news that everyone needed to hear. One day that baby will run our shipping department.

On the recording/Old Kish demo making front I don't know if I love what I did at Larry's on Tuesday. I'm gonna start cutting the songs a different way at some point next week. Maybe I'll try and do some work with Joe on this. More on this, that and the other thing later.

Here are some things from the upstairs machine that I need to get out and then pull back immediately because I am a little crazy.

Yeah...a little



- - - - - - - - - - - --- - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - -



His was the perfect swing. Power, speed and poetry met at the ball to send it ripping through the sky. Of all that was immaculate in William Honey’s motion, it is the finish that cuts itself deeply in the mind of this observer. Hands come to rest on the right shoulder, eyes rising to track the result and begin calculating the next play. The remains of the tee bounce at his feet. There may not be redemption in a golf swing but there is something like glory in the trajectory of its object. A small, white comet bifurcating the blue and white expanse stretching before all of us in the gallery, my mouth opened every time I witnessed this man practicing his art.
Whispers of a West coast golf prodigy named Honey began when he was fifteen. Those whispers, that name, all seemed born in Heaven for guys like me. Men who live for sports and make their living writing about it wait our whole lives for something like this, for someone like him.

His college events received more coverage than some of the less celebrated pro tournaments. Once he turned pro, any tournament he played, mattered. Why wouldn’t it be the case? He drove the ball farther and straighter than any of us thought possible. The fairway was his second home. His blade sung in the grass. His first professional caddy claimed that certain iron shots


Later in the hotel bar I wanted to say out loud, ‘How could some crazy person get past all the security? How could something like that happen?’ But the part of me that has already digested greater horrors, even if they were experienced second hand, understood that no one knows how any of these things happen until they do. After the event, everyone becomes an expert. I was there for this moment and I will never be an expert on William Honey or the terrible thing he suffered.

While it was happening, as one of their number did what he came there to do to, the gallery cried out and scattered. Only after security tore one man from another did the crowd slowly return. They stood there as the men subdued the attacker and took him away. They stood there and looked down, as William Honey’s blood ran from his face and chest, dampening the fairway cut with the greatest precision.

Beer and Grease

Last night of the Scrappers' season. 9-3 on the year. Coach Craig and Dennis brought in another fine year of instruction along with a record above the Mendoza line. Baseball triumph was celebrated by a trip to Portillo's for beer and grease.

Hey, the kids worked hard. They deserved it.

Maybe it is a good thing I am writing this in private these days.

Back At It

...or on it, or somewhere around it.

Slogged thru work on Wed then drove out to Elgin to add one song to a potential Live OKB set demo CD I am making. Now whether or not I can find people who will actually play these things with me is another matter entirely. Either way, it needed an intro


Thank you for the kind words
How did you find me now
It's a record revolution
Guess I'm glad I stuck around
And every day is a big night out
Every day is a big night out



Thrilling SOX game on the road in Seattle. Gavin matched King Felix Hernandez inning for inning. The SOX even got the lead in extras but Bobby blew a 2nd save opportunity in a row.

Ozzie will be patient with Bobby as long as he needs to be...my prediction is at some point this year Bobby will not be the closer and it will be Santos as 7th inning setting up the set up man guy, Putz as the set up man and Thorton in the 9th. We will see. Hope I am wrong. Hope they all pitch great in the roles they currently hold.

As for me, I am day to day.

Work or Works

Work has been hard this week and it is only Wed. It's a strange combination really. Until this week, it has never been hard to walk into our office. I almost hate going there. At the same time, I never felt closer to my coworkers.

It's entirely possible that I am an idiot.

I'm trying to decide if these two pieces are separate works

...or is it separate pieces of work


Strings to Sleep

She winds the thing she thinks she needs
The time to sleep to breathe to find
The thing she needs

To see the string she needs the time
To sleep to breathe to find
The thing she needs

To sleep



THE STRING

SHE WINDS
THE THING
SHE THINKS
SHE NEEDS
TO SLEEP

SHE NEEDS
THE TIME
TO SLEEP
TO BREATHE
TO FIND

TO FIND
THE THING
SHE NEEDS
TO SEE
THE STRING

SHE NEEDS
THE TIME
TO SLEEP
TO FIND
THE THING

SHE NEEDS
TO SLEEP

Hit It on the Bounce

Kim and I did some dealing at the bank on Friday, borrowed the SuperEconoline Van from the hardware store (thanks Trix) and brought home our new old couch. It looks beautiful. Cookie was so excited she jumped up on it and peed a little.

Saturday morning was a big catch up day for me. Bills, bills and making sure I can pay for our trip to New York. I can.

I think.

My reward for all the hard work (when you're me, addition and subtraction can be taxing) was taking Alex to see Despicable Me at the old timey movie theater in Sycamore. We shared a chocolate malt at the crazy soda shop next door before the flick. Yeah, my fat ass probably didn't the ice cream, but my soul needed the healing that only time with my child brings.

Love that boy.

Sunday, things almost got off on the wrong start with the little family. We all almost fell into some bad, whiny patterns. Amazingly, we all pulled it together at the same time and got our collective asses (would it be asses?) to Mass. Later in the day Alex and I spent much time and not so much money at the driving range. Almost hit the van on the fly a bunch of times.

Only hit it on the bounce once

Received some terrible news about a coworker and a beautiful guy over the weekend. He deserves better to have the details plopped out here in my blog...especially since there is much that is unclear to me. Matters of life and death are too important for my pointless speculation and conjecture.

I'll save that for baseball.

They rush into silence
Those who can't make peace
In a world of violence

May you find rest, friend.

Twin Killing

...in that the SOX take the first against the Twins and drop the next two so the title of this post isn't even appropriate in the metaphorical sense. Great.

Trying to make up for a lost week of work (on the music front). It is frustrating because with my book I am in the process of collecting rejection notices. That isn't so bad because the rejection comes from strangers who make their living in the book business. It is perfectly acceptable for them to reject my work.

It is the delays and obstacles in the so-called "DIY" music portion of my creative efforts that are so frustrating. Needing friends (who I love) to help me work carries with it too much extra shit that is potentially damaging to the friendship and the output. Taking steps to always have a backup plan so as not to face the mild to moderate demoralization of this past week.

Nothing will ever make me feel better about the things that make me feel bad. I know making music can't magically do that. But always having something to do and not be frustrated by people who have their own, bigger concerns is the goal here. Side stepping these obstacles, no matter what the cost will go a long way towards making me feel life is a little more manageable, if not better.

Os Mutare

Parts of this week sucked major ass. Family is ok, some good things happened for friends and I am happy for them.

For me, creative shit about as demoralizing as the last days of the not so great you know whats. That's pretty fucking bad. I must be a colossal dumbass to not find a way around this stuff by now.

Changes are gonna have to be made so I don't keep making the same mistakes.

Sort of feel bad, but I am running out of time left to waste.

Dead Yankees

Some think George Steinbrenner may have been the greatest villian in the history of baseball. The thought being his belief in the "star-system" and paying any price for the best talent turned baseball into a monstrosity played by multi-million dollar egomaniacs and the only person with a bigger ego was Steinnbrenner himself. He had all the money, a legendary temper and fired those who displeased him, the moment they fell out of favor.

But I think that guy represents many of our great game's realities. Professional baseball can be a dirty, greasy business played (on the field and in the front office) by hard men. Numbers measure success - all sorts of numbers. Runs, wins, percentages, dollar signs, attendance figures etc...

Steinbrenner wanted to win, no matter the cost. Hey, if that's your thing, go for it. Being part of a championship baseball team and being an ass in the process is better than most of the cumswillery put on the American public by its legion of famous douchebags.

Steinbrenner may have been as big a douche as anyone but at least he was famous for something cool like baseball rather than wearing a black t and jeans and criticizing people for not being able to sing shit songs on tv.

Unlike many of the idle and pointless celebrities, Steinbrenner made his mark on an American institution. His life has come and gone, the game of baseball goes on and generations of fans will have opinions about his place in baseball history as villain, hero or irritant. Baseball fans, for better or worse, have longer memories than those who follow the regular gristmill of fame. That's something, I guess.

And today in the great beyond, either the saints had to shave their beards, trim their sideburns and now wear pinstripes, or the guy in charge of Hell's air conditioning just got fired.

Ok, T'm watching the All Star game and Jeter is still using that weird ghost tape of the late Bob Sheppard to announce each plate appearance. I'm getting sick of these damned, dead Yankees already.

From Pretty Bad to First

IN A MONTH!

Somewhere around the first week of June, my sources (a local sports radio talking guy...ok, so I have no sources) indicated that the WhiteSOX were a couple of phone calls away from trading AJ and that action would begin a more general sell-off of SOX players thus writing off the season.

Everyone had written them off. I had written them off, even though I though the way the team was conceived was solid (in the off season). A bowl off shit can look good in the offseason if it has a good scouting report so I was content to think that my previous faith in the club was ill-conceived from the onset. Oh, who else wrote off the SOX? The SOX front office seemed poised to write the team off in that they were looking to send AJ to Texas.

Stupid Texas.

This is all before the last 30 games or so...where the players on the field proceeded to win 25 or 26 of the last 30. Forgive me for not knowing the exact number. Relative to how they started, it seems as if they've won every game they played the last month. I don't know where the team goes from here and, to be honest, I don't care.

To see the team I love play with poetry, with excellence, with this kind of passion...when they started off so badly - - is enough.

Hoping Against Hope that I am Not the Damned

This week Kim and I received several reminders this week how precious love is and how important it is to celebrate all we've built together. That's part of what life is. Seeing the reminders that help you recognize the value of what you already possess - - so much of our leaky jar culture focuses our attention on what is out there for us to obtain, what others have that we might want...

All a bunch of bullshit, if you can't cherish what you have...

Drove Alex to see my folks on Sat. Kim and I paid for our couch from one estate sale joint and picked up this insane but wonderful pleather chair from a second, second hand place.

Waitaminute...how many hands is that?

Those who know me know that I find furniture fucking fucking boring. But I do love my wife's taste. We're doing our living room in colors that match Cookie laying on her favorite blue blanket. That is an idea just weird enough for me to get behind

in full force

Everything was coming up ed and Kim today. The minute we got the chair in the house and closed up the back of the Rav, a gentle, sweet-smelling rain began to fall on us. I put my arm around my bride...

Kim: "We are really working together well this summer."
me: "Yeah, I know. It's pretty fucked up."

Eduardo's for dinner. The waitress did not know what an Old Fashioned was, but she was nice anyhow. Kim wasn't drinking (just in case) so I was drinking for both of us. See, it's that kind of teamwork that makes a marriage successful.

Picked up some chocolate cake from the Hillside and ate it as we watched the Last Station. Didn't finish the movie. Anniversaries aren't all about dinner, drinks and movies eh

Went to bed late. Kim read Magnificat (note to self, never form the Magnificat Ambersons lest I be excommunicated with extreme prejudice) I am nearing the end of The Beautiful and Damned

I guess I am the damned

Finished the Italian Job

although nothing was reported in the Italian press...take that Burlisconi - I ain't even gonna try to spell your name right.

What do you think of them apples?

I hope to hell Burlisconi does not read this blog

And fuck him and my spellcheck

sorry

Alex did everything mom asked tonight, on the first time. It's not easy. The nine year old mind is easily distracted, especially when you have an imagination like our beautiful boy.

But he got it right and really helped out the little family.

God Bless you Bugar

Lament for Jake Peavy's Arm

Think we found a trumpet teacher for the boy. He's been in front of my eyes (or in my list of facebook friends) all along. Going to Poc's later this week to find him a rent-able/respectable ax and then going from there.

Scrappers and SOX continue their winning ways. The Brothers Swaff are really teaching these kids some baseball.

Practiced with the boys last night so didn't see the part of the game where Jake Peavy threw a pitch, his arm got all goofy and he walked off the mound and probably straight to the DL.

I, for one, am still glad Kenny took the chance on the Peavy trade...

although right now I am even more glad that they did not guarantee the last year of his deal. He could be done for all I know. Herm knows more than me, I will leave it to his magic training table.

I don't regret losing Clayton Richard. He's had a good year for the Padres but remember, he is in a pitcher's park in an easier division and league. By the way, just look at the AL Central, they don't look as bad as everyone said (including me) at the beginning of the season.

Point is, if Hudson approaches some of the projections, or at least is a positive unknown for the SOX they can keep things going in the right direction.

If not, this strong run could be in jeopardy. So much of the SOX success this year has been predicated on pitching. I'm going to go check out Joe Cowley for more info.

More from me on this...later

Please to Meat You

Fun time yesterday at WTG and Trix's. Ate way too damned much and drank about the same. Messing around with the final running order for Kish, added the new track but maybe dropping two things. At this point, trying to prepare review copies I want people to judge this record on its best stuff.

That's where I am at and I think it is a good place to be.

The final running order (maybe)

1. The Irrelevant in the Room
2. Virginia
3. Night of the Walkers
4. Imported Wine and Soul Food
5. We Can Always Get Away
6. Harvest Here
7. Clean Needles
8. Anyone Left Standing
9. Shitty Little Guy
10. Two for the Stoned
11. You Think He Saw a Ghost
12. Or, Three to Get Some Money
13. Francesca
14. Electrons and Where they Go to Hide
15. Me and Her? We Were Two Ships Sinking in the Night
16. Zephyr and Boreas
17. Traveling Kishwaukee Riverside Blues

SOX seal the deal against Texas and I have nothing to say about Congress going home without extending unemployment benefits.

I won't be pissed until I need 99 weeks of unemployment.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Game of Golf

Thanks and much love to the Canaday family for giving Alex his first set of golf clubs. We picked them up early Saturday, bought some balls and went to Prairie Pines. The kid made some good shots, and more importantly we spent time together. So much going on this summer - we haven't had as much time as I would like to just hang out, father and son.

I played terrible...over-swinging, ball spraying all over the place (everywhere but the fairway)

Taking him out for this game of golf helped illuminate, for me, the general problem of parenting. How can I help the boy with this game when I can't even play it myself? I guess the point is, we were both there together...

Trying

Home Sterch

...not stretch. I think "sterch" describes the living I've done this week better than any actual words might

Wed - the Srappers rediscovered their winning ways even as the SOX struggle against the Royals this week (who I think the Scrappers could beat)

Sorry SOX and Royals

Thurs - I worked on "You Think He Saw a Ghost" at Larry's and I am hoping this will bridge the gap between "Anyone Left Standing" and "Two for the Stoned"

We'll see

Friday, Family Movie Night - THE ITALIAN JOB (the original with Michael Caine)