Random ramblings.
The Cat Removal Performance Was Majestic
--------
Ker through the window hissed
But alas, the little kitty got pissed
So Ker left the kitchen
And to a Jo she was bitchin'
The kitty jumped in
JoKer yelled 'Win-Win'
Jo chased the kitty round and round
And into Jo's arms the kitty abound.
And with the momentum of it's leap
The kitty was into the hall thrust deep
And thus, the kitty was removed.
--------
Pinky Be Praised.
Theo - The bookish, sweet one.
Jimmy - The athletic, gregarious one.
Brett - The hot jock.
Freddy-Fred - The bad boy.
The Gonz - The wacky one.
I recently read a book called True And False by David Mamet. It's a book about acting. I read it because my awesome girlfriend is into his ideas about acting, and I'm into knowing about what she's into (I think of the great Samuel Jackson scene in Pulp Fiction about being a vegetarian, about 1:50 into this classic clip). So, while I have no real experience with the subject he's writing about, turns out it's a really great book for anyone interested in any sort performance, or craft, or really just living in general. One of many great passages:
"While you are intent on an objective, you do not have to compare your progress to that of your peers, you do not have to worry about a career, you do not have to wonder if you are doing your job, you do not have to be reverent to the script -- you are at work. Not only is it the simple solution to a seemingly complex problem, it is the right solution. Not only is it the right solution, it is the only solution."
Good stuff. One more for good measure:
"...no one cares what you believe, and if you've got a goal to accomplish you'd best set about it. To deny nothing, invent nothing -- accept everything, and get on with it."
While it's fresh in my head, here's an approximation of the prayer I offered this morning at Glide (the awesome, fun, truly inclusive place where I go and sing):
Good morning, Glide.
Thank you, God, for showing us hatred. For showing us that angry and hateful thoughts and words can all too easily lead to deadly violence. Our hearts and prayers are with the families of Norway. Thank you for showing us that hatred has no face, no skin tone, no religion, no political affiliation. Hate simply happens when someone thinks so certainly that they've got it right that they decide it's okay to take away the rights of others. To dehumanize them. To kill them.
Thank you for showing us addiction, how it can destroy people and families. Years ago, I lost my father to addiction. Yesterday, a family in the UK lost their daughter. Our hearts and prayers are with her family and every family experiencing that loss.
Thank you for letting us feel whatever we feel in the face of these tragedies. Fear, sadness, anger. Thank you for letting us know that, in the face of all of this, we really can still choose love.
Thanks for a place like Glide, where we get to gather and go through these things together. Thank you for a place where the only rule is unconditional love and acceptance, for all of us, in all our failures and glories. May you lift our voices today in celebration and praise.
Will everyone who wants to sing and dance and celebrate with me today join me in saying: Amen. Hallelujah. Right On. Shalom. Salaam. Namaste.
This is some billionaire investor that just left his wife and ran away with his mistress and is jabbering about it on some equivalent of Twitter. While what he did is unquestionably creepy and the whole thing is a surreal train-wreck, I truly love the sentiment of what he's singing (and that he's standing in some pretty place singing it, then posting it on the interwebs). Not sure whether he wrote it or not, but either way, if people actually cherished 'this feeling' more, and in broader contexts than getting laid, we'd all be a lot better off, in every way:
Always facing the whispers of the wind with a heart longing for love
I loathe nothing more than laboring for profane achievements
Who has ever seen mountains of gold and silver last through 10,000 generations?
Throughout the ages, the only precious thing is this feeling.
As were leaving Glide this morning, after singing and hearing some gorgeous thoughts on all sorts of fatherhood, my daughter turned to me and asked, 'is this a hard day for you, because of your dad?'. She, of course, thinks of me more as her father than as my father's son. I realized that these days, I do too. I make a conscious effort to think of my dad on Father's Day, to acknowledge his absence, feel whatever's there; anger, sadness, love. I am a father now, though. I am the father he never was. I am a looooong way from perfect, and I am also a long way from the scattered, confusing legacy he left. I still miss him all the time, and I've released him with love. What's more, his absence has been soothed by my daughter's presence a million times over. Here's to all sides, and being here now. That's as tough a sport as ever there was. I love it.
Every Mistake - A song written for my daughter
Live in Germany with fellow RockDad Ian Love.
----------
Oh my love, how can I say / The things that you'll see, some perfect way
I could tell stories of infinite roads / Fountains of youth, romantic fables
But instead I'll just say it
You're going to make every mistake, sometimes you're gonna fall flat on your face
So just do it with grace, know that I'll be there
And love you while you make every mistake
My sweetest of ones, you're growing up great / Wide open heart, excellent eyes
You're climbing and trying without even trying
Without even knowing what I can't explain
Like when did I get so scared of dying? / It never seemed real
We really leave here
And stranger still, though it seems sad
I'm trying to show you that something is here,
Something so sweet
You're going to make every mistake, sometimes you're gonna fall flat on your face
So just do it with grace, know that I'll be there
And love you while you make every mistake
Of course I wish you all of the beauty / A love never ending, a life without pain
And when it seems hardest and there's no easy answer / Just try to trust me.
You're going to make every mistake, sometimes you're gonna fall flat on your face
So just do it with grace, know that I'll be there
And love you while you make every mistake
Lost, Then Found - A song for my father
---------
Your daddy was a good man
Had a smile that weighed a ton
There was nothing in that man but life
It's all I hear from everyone
The time I should have been there
To see the hero or the clown
But I don't know, seems like sometimes
Some things are best left lost, then found
He grew up on the ocean and loved the open sea
He must've felt alive out there
Alone and strong and wild and free
Even cold and tired, lost and looking for the ground
He should have figured sometimes
The best things in life are lost, then found
Always say the best is lost, then found
Whatever it is you're going through
The best things in life are coming around
The future's just a worry, the past is just a dream
This isn't my opinion, it's only what I've seen
He grew into a soidier and he fought in many wars
The wars at home and wars with psalms
The forgotten war before Vietnam
And I wonder what it felt like
When they handed him a gun
Wonder if he killed a father, wonder if he killed a son
He tried to be preacher, he sort of almost was
But he couldn't find his place in faith
He fought with teachers and fought with God
He never took it easy, he never settled down
He never realized sometimes
The best things in life are lost, then found
Always say the best is lost, then found
Whatever it is you're going through
The best things in life are coming around
The future's just a worry, the past is just a dream
This isn't my opinion, it's only what I've seen
The plain truth is my father died in jail
I wonder what that room was like
I wonder how his busted body felt
But I'll never get to know those things
Unless I get that far down
I guess that's why they say sometimes
The best things in life are lost, then found
Always say the best is lost, then found
Whatever it is you're going through
The best things in life are coming around
The future's just a worry, the past is just a dream
This isn't my opinion, it's only what I've seen
We are made of words. When we see them in new ways, we see ourselves in new ways too.
I've been thinking about the word 'release'. It's not about losing anything. It's about making a new agreement. The only thing that you really need to let go of when you release something, or someone, is whatever agreement you have. Then you make a new agreement. You re-lease.
It's not just one of those incidental things, the etymology seems entangled enough.
I love it when things like this occur to me.
I am releasing my ideas about release.
Anyone who's ever been angry with me, confused by me, disappointed in me or not taken me seriously: If you read a bio of Neil Young called Shakey (and you should, for so many reasons), try and forgive me and re-see somewhere in there. If you like me and/or the music I've made, still, read it. It's closer to the truth(s) about me, good or bad or ugly, than I may ever get to saying. I'm really happy I didn't find it til now, or else I'd be scared I copied it. I never knew how close I've been to Neil. Thought he was all cool and mellow. As it turns out, working middle class chaotic youth crazy parents broken-home entitled sensitive misfit freakout idealist fearful control freak addict mercurial serious fun intense guy. Superficial differences in time period and place, yes, but eerily similar arc and results. Two main things: 1, I never went as far out as him on just about any level, and 2, I'm not a savant genius, nor anything close. Also, an important 3, as to the time/place: he happened to (nah no accidents, I know, just don't get how that works, did the time period make the Beatles or vice versa or both at once?) exist during the zenith of rock and roll as actual vital cultural force, whereas I witnessed and was lit up by the zenith, but existed as a working artist as it all burned out and faded away. It's my own story, doesn't need to be his nor vice versa, helps me be proud in hindsight at least of the ways it's been in my head and some of the stuff I've made, the ways I've made it, that it's helped some people through. Helps me forgive myself for being such a freak, shooting myself in the foot, hurting some people that maybe really cared about me, that I really tried to care about. But the ideas and ideals and the songs were always the safe bet, for better and worse. Makes me want to work extra hard right now to preserve it properly, and make more. How it works as to working with other people as I keep going (to whatever extent I do, in whatever ways), we'll see. Selfish or sweet, who knows. That word selfish. I'll wrestle with it forever. I have no idea where I'm going now, but it's different for reading this book.
Share Article