Tumblr if Anything At All

Pretty much been off line for the last couple months. Not sure what that means, but just in case anyone stops here and wonders what is up, I direct you to CPSLAND over at Tumblr.

Who Needs Banks?

Conversation upon arriving home last night and finding five dollar bills and singles drying on paper towels in the kitchen.

Me: What’s up with the money?

Neats: It’s The Engineer’s.

Me: OK. Why is it on paper towels?

Neats: It was wet.

Me: How did it get wet?

Neats: You really want to know?

Me: (preparing to hear about how he dropped his wallet in the fish tank): Yes

Neats: I told them that if they want to pitch in some of their money, I would take the boys to Game Stop.

Me: Uh-huh.

Neats: The Engineer immediately said “just a minute,” put on his shoes and ran outside.

Me: Why?

Neats: (barely able to finish through the impending laughter) To dig up the money he buried in a plastic crayon box out in the backyard.

Neats: Obviously it wasn’t waterproof.

Obviously.

BLOG (aka: Banal Litany Of Goings-ons)

Well, it has been days, nay, weeks since I posted last and let me be the first to say that you are welcome. I mean really, there just has not been all that much to say, and most of which there is, would be whiny drivel for the most part.

I could have told you about how long the grungy illness I had lingered (in fact, I am quite sure it is just lying dormant but still very much ready to spring back into action at the littlest provocation--like, say, Spring).

I could recount that I have been so busy at work that I hardly seem family or make it to any events and when I do my mind is still swimming in what has not been done. Or I could have pointed out that while I am so busy I am not out in field fighting one of the many, many crazy right-wing politicians who are out to gut any semblance of a government that benefits the people as a whole, because I need to take care of the petty, bureaucratic details of our operation my tallents are too valuable. Okay, that isn't fair, I do get to at least try to figure out how to reason with the crazy right-wing politicians led by the Great Orange One in the federal government. So there is that.

I could note that as a result of said illness and said work, I haven't bought any new music or, as a result, listened to any. Nor have I made any interesting new dishes to tell you about.

I could take the high road and talk about anticipating baseball, gardening and light--but really, haven't you heard enough about that?

Or, I could get quit being lazy and actually try to write about what is happening in this country and why it seems overwhelmingly depressing, but that would take so much work and who really comes here for substance anyway?

No, you wouldn't really want any of that now would you? I didn't think so.

Hell in a Handbasket

Look peeps, I would post more, but right now the world sucks. Yeah, yeah I know--what about Egypt? Whatever, out with the old in with the oh-slightly-less-but-not-all-that-different new. And here at home we have a whole bunch of bat-s*#t crazies in the states trying to take advantage of the economy to do (more) real damage to the working class. And don't get me started on higher ed--get ready for severe drops in financial aid, more people fawning over for-profit colleges who are fleecing students, and people who have never even been in a classroom telling us how to educate students. I could go on, but let's just say I have been too busy (and pissed) to post.

Is it baseball season yet?

Confessions

Dear Blogger:

I have a confession. I have been playing around with another platform. I know. I know. I said that after the last time I flirted with another platform--and I came back with my blogger-tail between my legs--that I wouldn't ever leave. But this time it's different.

What? No, of course I am not talking about Facebook! Don't get me started on all the reasons I don't want to invest time and share information in that stinkin' space.

No, it is not Twitter. You know I actually love the Twitter, but I have never hid my affection for the bird and I have also told you I would never leave you for 140 characters. I mean c'mon, the Twitter feed is right there on our site!

Well, it is just that this platform is kind of a nice cross between all those status driven sites and you. And, well, it does all this arranging and organizing and resizing and stuff--oh and the templates, they are so many and interesting. Oh sorry, too much information, right?

Okay. Okay. It's Tumblr! That is what I have been goofing around with! I'm sorry. It just started out as a little exploration and the next thing I knew I was hooked. Yeah, I know that no one is following me, but it is fun.

There. I said it. Are you happy?

I am.

Willing Spring

Yes, we still have the rest of February to get through and even some of March probably, but then, then dear friends we will be planting and soon our salads and what not will come straight from the good earth. In fact, we will be planting sooner to get all those little seeds popping in the toastiness of our house.

Now, upon doing a seed inventory it became clear that we had a pretty good stock, which is good news. Unfortunately I had been rifling through my Seed Savers catalog of a couple weeks salivating over what new varieties to try. Ultimately, we just picked out a few items--greens, a couple new tomato varieties and some cold weather root veggies--just enough to satiate my ordering desire. How could I not?

You Go Back in There and You Get Me a Generator Hi!

They were heading into their third day of no power thanks to Commutagedon which had arrived in the DC area a couple days prior. Sleep had been cold and fitful that night and the three boys looked like even school would be preferable. There were a number of things that needed done that Saurday morning, but the first item on the agenda was to deal with the fact that the woodpile was getting very low--too low to make it another 24 hours. So the husband prepared to go find fuel.

"The Home Depot for a generator perhaps?" suggested the lovely but tired wife.

"Come now, we just need to make it a little longer--the power has to come on soon" responds the stubborn and not-so-straight-thinking husband.

The husband heads out and returns with a load of wood that should carry the family through another day. "Didn't you go to Home Depot?" asks the wife. "Yes, but generators are really expensive and I talked with a friend who made me realize it would be quite a bit of work to get it hooked up to run the furnace. And did I mention they are expensive?" replies the husband.

After a few minutes had passed. "Let me ask this" the wife asserts more than asks. "If we had the generator could we at least run a space heater or two and couple appliances to get by so we don't have to sit by this fireplace and breath smoke* for another day and then when it is warmer get it set up so the next time the power goes out we are ready? Could we do that? Could we?"

"Get your coat son" says the husband to his eldest boy. "Why? Where are we going Papa?" he asks.

"To buy a generator, son . . . to buy a generator."

"But I thought you said they were expensive and by the time we got it working . . . "

"Get your coat son."

And the family lived happily ever after as the generator was purchased, hooked up (with friend's help) and the heat began to flow.

The power was restored three hours later. The husband smiled.

So did the wife.

___________________________

* This is not to case aspersions on our fireplace, which is beautiful and efficient and kept us toasty through most of this ordeal.

Happy Sixth Birthday to The Captain!

Friday Haiku

Corners not yet seen
Work. Winter. Persists. Baseball . . .
Propels me forward

3 Dids / 3 Didn'ts

So while I did write about a bunch of music I loved (or at least recommended) as part of my year end extravaganza, I did not write about any albums that I listened to but was not necessarily impressed with or was ambivalent (since you know, I try to be positive here). However, there were a few.

For example, I was excited about the the new Jose Gonzalez trio, Junip, but their summer release ultimately didn't move me. I was hoping for a bit more richness from the accompanying musicians--particularly percussion. That happens on a track or two, but in the end, I would just as soon have heard a Gonzalez solo album since the added musicians really didn't change the feel of the songs and it took away from the solo acoustic guitar feeling.

Another album that didn't meet expectations (although I kind of saw this coming) was Jenny Lewis' new effort, Jenny and Johnny. Just too much self-indulgent psychoanalysis without music that could compensate. Anyone else besides me hoping for a Rilo Kiley reunion?

And then there was Josh Ritter's latest effort, So Runs the World Away. Now I had intended to write about Josh Ritter at more length since he as an artist I have been catching up with, but never got around to it. I had become quite taken with The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter thanks to Nelson and moved on to So Runs. Now this album is not necessarily a disappointment and I keep coming back to it so it has the best chance to be a turnaround album for me, but it is just not immediately an album I took to. There are some wonderful songs and I appreciate the darkness of the album, but we will have to see.

Now at the same time, a host of albums came out in 2010 that I did not get to, but still hope to. Some are just obvious that I will, but haven't. For instance, I didn't pick up the latest Spoon effort which I will-but that was in part because I was still diggin' all the older Spoon I had recently discovered. But stepping past the obvious--here are three artists I am planning to check out who are all relatively new.

First up is Mumford and Sons who were all over the year end lists and topped Paste's Best New Bands list of 2010.

Next up is young Sarah Jaffe from Texas who many are watching for both her voice and her songwriting.

And finally, The Head and the Heart who NPR picked as one of five bands you should have known in 2010.

Who else should I have listened to that I didn't and who can I not worry about?

On Being Sick

So there was a time in my life that getting sick, even getting the flu, had a kind of pleasure (I know, you want to talk about my real illness now). Seriously, I have semi-fond memories of being a kid, curled up on the couch, watching bad TV, mom taking care of me, funky fitful fever dreams as you doze in and out of sleep all day and night and, of course, missing school wasn't all that bad of a thing (although that changed as I got older). And even when I got older I didn't mind that feeling of your body telling you it is time to shut down for a little while as work and other responsibilities passed you by for a while. But this week, as I have fought some gunk, it just isn't the same anymore.*

First off, there are children which means that I am absolutely no help on that front (luckily Neats hasn't gone down yet). This of course is not helpful for someone who easily succumbs to guilt which of course makes me stressed which is no help at all.

Secondly, and speaking of stress, work has simply changed and there is just too

much of it. Add to that the fact that our office is small enough that everyone has a full plate of their individual stuff and when one person goes down, the others get slammed. Again, guilt, stress, and the cycle continues.

Third, technology is just no help here. I basically have my office at home and am not the kind of person who can just ignore what is sitting there in front of me. For instance, while I did take two 2-hour naps today I still managed to read the nearly 100 emails I received today and send nearly 70 of my own. Of course, the relationship of how sick I am to how much work I do requires some sort of pretty graph that I am too tired to create--suffice it to say it would most likely look like a roller coaster in which as soon as I start to feel better, productivity goes up resulting in starting to feel worse.

Finally, of course, being sick just makes me feel old and out of shape--guilt, stress, yada, yada. So off to another 12 hours of fitful, feverish sleep where I hope to dream of warmer weather, less work, baseball and gardens.

* Have to say that as I woke from a fitful nap on the couch and smelled dinner cooking including cornbread and homemade applesauce and heard the boys running about, I was actually back in that moment for just a second.

A Clever Boy

So The Artist had been reminding us fairly frequently before the holidays that we had the Lemony Snicket A Series of Unfortunate Events DVD from Netflix waiting to be watched--and he was ready to do so. The hold up was due to our totally unfair parental rules of not wanting The Captain to watch the movie with the two older boys as we thought it was a bit dark for The Captain's young and good mind. As a result, we had yet to find the time when the older boys could watch it. But alas that finally happened on New Years Day.

After they finished watching it, I asked The Artist what he thought and he gave me an unconvincing "okay." When I pushed a bit about whether there was something he didn't like, or did he like the books better, or what, he said:

"Well, the books are called A Series of Unfortunate Events and so nothing really good happens--and it is just that the movie changed it around so there were happy endings and that would have never happened in the books."

Clever boy. Apparently only young children who read books can handle this reality.

Red-line or Polar Express?

So we still have Christmas trees in our house given our lazy/rock-band day after Christmas before the scheduled-to-the-max Cleveland friends and family tour, but I am hoping that is to my benefit. See, tonight I got on the Metro at Union Station tonight as always, but alas when I got off at Silver Spring I couldn't find my Metro fare-card. More accurately, I reached in my coat pocket--a coat I have had for about 15 years--and found a hole.

Now I knew there was a hole, but what I didn't realize was that "said hole" had grown large enough that a Metro card would slip through it. So there I was reaching in my pocket like the boy in the Polar Express looking overwhelmingly sad at losing the first gift of Christmas (not to mention how would I get out of the Metro?)!

Of course, life is not as interesting as a classic children's tale. The Metro station dude barely let me begin to spill my tale of woe when he gruffly told me to go out the emergency gate (I actually believe you could ride Metro for free if you wanted, but that is another post). And I won't need Santa Claus to return my lost card because Metro actually has an effective phone-based help line and they solved the problem immediately (so that is where the money goes!).

Still, I am hoping for a note from Mr. C tomorrow morning under one of our trees. I promise to fix the hole in my pocket!

Hope You Had a Rockin' Christmas!

Hope your day was lovely, safe and warm. Ours involved:

• early rising
• wonderful and thoughtful presents given from and to brothers
• a wonderful lazy flurry of snow in the morning
• tasty French toast with buttery, spiced pears and apples
• a toasty day-long fire
• the usual putting together of stuff that took longer than expected
• leftovers for lunch (see the putting together part)
• a trip to the urgent care to confirm (sort of) second case of strep in the house this week and then finding a pharmacy that was open
• A big ole standing rib roast with a garlic/horseradish/herb paste along with roasted potatoes, mushrooms, garlic and onions, haricort verts and red peppers and a salad topped with pomegranates and pine nuts.
• And of course, there was still plenty of rocking going on!
  
  

The Hustle and Bustle

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am sentimental sap when it comes to Christmas. More specifically when it comes to the whole holiday season beginning with Thanksgiving, running through Christmas with the lazy winding down to the new year. I love everything about it (just about). I love all of our family traditions from our tree raising traditions, to cookie making, to train and light watching, to the music and cooking, to the actual day of Christmas itself. And then all the little things seem to be all the better during this season.

A fresh dusting of snow is somehow a bit more magical in December. The slanting low light in the late afternoon as the sun settles in and the lights emerge for the long dark night. Fires somehow seem a bit more romantic. And clementines--I love clementines in December after a warm meal, but before the cookies! Okay, so I really am a sap.

Now that said, I realize that lately the I don't enjoy the season as much as I used to and have wondered why. But this past week as The Captain struggled with a bout of bronchitis, I realized what the answer was (and how obvious and predictable it was). See, he came down with it the night before we got a few inches of snow last week--the first of the year. And as we all headed out to work and school, I was cheering him up saying that he got to hang out at home, cuddled on the couch by the tree and watch the snow come down and it reminded me of a Christmas my sister and I were both sick the week before Christmas and how much fun we had in the long run being home that week--yes even illness is better at Christmas.

The point was that I realized I used to spend a good deal of time basking in the things I love about the season and now I spend most time running from one moment to the next. That is, of course, the natural reality of working and having a family who all have activities as well, but it gave me pause and made me realize that even with all that happens in our busy lives, there is time to be had. Now that time comes at the expense of other things--namely not trying to get everything done and done perfectly--but that is really worth it particularly when it comes to slowing down and focusing on what is important.

I don't mean avoiding all the hustle and bustle--that is in some way very much a part of the charm of the season--but rather setting some things aside for the time being and recognizing that often, less is more.

Terribly obvious and trite, I know, but I thought I would write that down to help me remember. Now will someone kindly send me this post next year just before Thanksgiving next year?!

Hope you all are finding some time and space to bask in the season with your loved ones!

The End of the Year Music Review / Holiday Shopping Recommendations Extravaganza

I know that some of you have been seeing all the year-end best of lists that are piling up out there and saying sure I can see Paste’s list or NPR’s or Spin’s, but when, when will we get a list from cpsland? (Actually some of you are probably just wondering if there was ever going to be a post that is about anything other than why I never seem to get around to posting anymore.)

Others are probably thinking that I am cutting it pretty close as you wait for the list so you can do your Christmas music shopping for your loved ones—you are waiting on me, right?

Others are thinking—I guess I could wade back though his blog and find each music review and decide what to buy (after all given how infrequently he posts it shouldn’t take that long), but damn, it would be nice if someone would just remind me of which ones he liked all in one place.

Others are wondering if there aren’t some discs out there that perhaps I have been secretly listening to, but not blogging about (surely this must be the case given his blogging rate as of late).

Others probably just Googled “extravaganza” and randomly ended up here. Welcome.

Okay, so here we go—my short list of albums I would recommend. Some I discussed early this year. Some I have not found time to write about. And there is even a hangover from last year that I never got around to. Bottom line, these are all “albums” that hold together all the way through.

• First up, because I don’t think you will see this one on any of the big name lists and I really just love these guys, is Frontier Ruckus with Deadmalls and Nightfalls. I like this album even more now than when I first reviewed it. This is a great gift for most because it is one of those bands that is just getting discovered by more and more folks so you can look like you are on the edge (well, sort of).
  
  
• Leaving Michigan and heading over to Brooklyn we find two other albums that ate up huge amounts of my listening time this year: The National’s High Violet and The Walkmen’s Lisbon. Both got my attention and admiration earlier this year—here and here--along with everyone else in the universe. But don’t let the success of these albums scare you away, they are both solid from start to finish and will surely be pointed to when people look back and talk about the Brooklyn sound from the early 2000s.
  
  
• Now in a similar vein as these slacker-esque-indie-singer-song-writer-rock bands (that is a compliment), comes the new album by Deerhunter which I have yet to write about. As you can tell from the reviews over at the big board, Halcyon Digest is a solid album that delivers on its name. As Pitchfork notes, this “is a record about the joy of music discovery, the thrill of listening for the first time to a potential future favorite, and that sense of boundless possibility when you're still innocent of indie-mainstream politics and your personal canon is far from set.”
  
  
• Speaking of critically acclaimed albums that I have yet to write about, let us not skip over the new Arcade Fire album, Suburbs. I almost didn’t put this on the list, because even though this is clearly their best album to date . . . and in many ways it eliminates some of my ambivalence about this talented group . . . and the angst over everything the suburbs stands for is more in line with my own angst . . . I somehow still feel something holding me back. Perhaps all the praise and first place finishes this album is receiving? Not sure. But the bottom line is that one way or another, this album is worth a listen and no one should be disappointed to find it in their stocking.
  
  
• Shifting gears to the alt-country side of the world, Justin Townes Earle’s new album, Harlem River Blues, is wonderful. I am not convinced it is good as Midnight at the Movies which I loved, but the focus on New York and really the first three songs are just about as good an opening as you could ask for. As PopMatters not so subtly puts it:

It takes balls of steel to write country blues about the Harlem River, living in Brooklyn, and working on the Manhattan subway line as if one were singing about rural life in the Appalachian hollows. Justin Townes Earle confidently writes and performs these 10+ songs as if he’s singing about life back in Tennessee instead of the Big Apple, and does this so damn convincingly that you believe him. It’s a neat trick, and a tribute to Earle’s artistry that he does this so well.

So for you honky-tonkers out there, this is a definite pick-up.

• Now at this point, I feel like I am writing an awful lot about albums I love, but haven’t bothered to write about—isn’t that helpful. So let’s jump back to a summer favorite that I have also been recently revisiting and still really enjoy (and isn’t it time for a woman lead in this list any way?). I am speaking, of course, about The Mynabirds, otherwise known as Laura Burhenn and her band. As I noted this summer, this is a wonderful country-gospel-blues Stax-like album with Burhenn imitating just about every female vocalist out there while still holding her own identity. Neat trick—you should check it out.
  
  
• And really, this can’t be a full list without some jazz, right? So, for absolute sure, anyone who has not picked up Ten by Jason Moran and his trio should. Right now. It may not be as hard in its boppin as Black Stars or as mixed media as Artist in Residence. It may not be as thoughtful or as stride as Modernistic. And it isn’t live. But it is all of those things in a wondrous mix of modern jazz set in a long tradition of jazz that celebrates the bands 10 years of work together.
  
  And speaking of the traditions of jazz, I never wrote about Vijay Iyer’s critically acclaimed album Historicity last year—despite the fact that it topped many a list for the year and is well worth it. This is a complicated and dense album—you will be amazed at the sound a trio can produce, but the point is, you will be amazed. So for any jazz lovers who happened to miss these two great albums—take care of that lack right now.
  
  

Okay, so that is definitely enough—I mean really, the staff here is pretty small. There are a bunch of albums I have listened to this year that didn’t make the list—but really it isn’t very holiday-like to write about things not to buy, right? I mean, artists need to earn their keep too.

Here is hoping you all have a great holiday season—even are already having one given how late I am here. Let me know which albums I should have checked out that I didn't--I already have a list going, but would love to hear your thoughts. I will save my resolving to blog more for the new year!

Tis the Season

We here in cpsland hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are enjoying the beginning of the crazy, fun holiday season. We are in the midst of our traditional holiday launch leaving me considerably off-line although there is some activity over at the Brothers K for family and friends.

Hope all are safe and warm--back soon with some recommendations for musical gifts from this year!

12 Stages of Conference Speaking

The Sales Job: This is where someone tells you about this session at a conference and how they need someone who has the knowledge and expertise on this ever so complex topic and the only person they could think of was you. “It has to be you. Will you present at our conference?”

“Aw, thanks, I mean, okay, sure” (blush, foot shuffle).

Denial: Stage two immediately ensues and you forget that you have agreed to present.

Mild Irritation: Stage three involves suddenly realizing that a dark cloud has been forming over you and you realize you have been touchy and mildly irritated and you are not sure why until you remember that you have agreed to present at this conference which is only a week a way and you have not done anything to prepare.

Deep Denial: Despite the conference only being a week away you manage to suppress thinking about it under the rationalization that you have far too many pressing things that must get done first.

A Bout of Professionalism: The presentation is only three days a way now and really, it is time to act like the professional you are. So you begin to pull together your notes, check on information, look for new data, but really you have three days yet.

Panic: One day out and it is definitely go time. The reality that you will be in front of folks the next day drives you to get finally it together (kind of).

The Mirror Stage: You present in the next few hours and while you have lots on paper, you really have not said a word out loud and it feels like you are about to deliver the most boring lecture in the world. Yes, it is embarrassing, but you realize that if you don’t practice this thing, you are never going to figure out how to say what you want to say and not be a rambling idiot. So you close the door and give that bad boy a run through which of course leads to frantic revision.

The Jumanji Stage: As you head to the presentation, you begin to invent possible scenarios by which you still will not have to present: A blackout perhaps? Or maybe all conference attendees got food poisoning at lunch? Or perhaps someone was playing Jumanji in the building and the room you are presenting in was overrun by wild animals and no one dares return!

Acceptance: You arrive, no natural catastrophe of fantasy stampede has occurred and there are, in fact, people there to hear what you have to say. You are introduced and now there is nothing to do but accept what you have done and must do.

Schizophrenia: You begin and realize that this is not actually anything that is really all that challenging. You are surprised that people have, in fact, chuckled at the jokes and seem engaged in what you are saying. Then, suddenly, you realize that you are thinking about the fact that you are presenting at the same time that you are presenting which then makes you worried that you are not saying what you think you are and now there is a third layer of meta going on . . . breathe, present.

Relief and Resale: Presentation over and, suddenly, all is better with the world. “That was a great talk, I can’t thank you enough. We could really use you at our conference, do you think you could present for us in a couple of months?”

“Aw, thanks, I mean, okay, sure” (blush, foot shuffle).

The Walkmen Getting it (Really) Together

For the last several weeks, while this blog has been silent on the matter of music, several discs have been receiving significant listening time here in cpsland, but none has been listened to as much as the latest effort by The Walkmen. Lisbon, which actually came out earlier this fall, is, in this writer’s humble opinion, the best album this band has released to date.

Now some will disagree on the grounds that this album has continued down a path the band has been taking toward slower, sparser, and quieter tunes. True, this album is no Bows and Arrows in terms of rock intensity, but many of the same qualities are still present, just toned down and more nuanced. The songs have more variation and textures, more space and ultimately are more lyrical.

When I first wrote about The Walkmen, I explained that I simply did not get them at first, in part because lead singer Hamilton Leithauser’s approach seemed to always be slightly off—off tune, off tempo—unconnected with the driving music underneath. It was accepting that tension between vocals and music that was key to coming to appreciate what the band was doing.

That tension is still there to a certain extent on Lisbon, but it only in your face here and there on rockers like the opening song “Angela Surf City”—which Pitchfork reviewer Tom Breihan puts on the top of the heap of Walkmen songs with “The Rat” and “In the New Year”. More often, that tension is resolving as many of the songs on Lisbon are crafted with the vocals wholly integrated into the song and Leithauser’s singing is simply beautiful (all the while maintaining his edgy, flat. slacker sound).

That is most clear on the back end of the album which slows down with each song. Who would have ever thought these guys would have a song called “Torch Song” (which is actually sung at the pace of a torch song)? They do—and, in fact, they seem to be getting comfortable in this new skin. As Leithauser’s sings in “While I Shovel the Snow,”

For now I’ll take my time
For now, I can’t be bothered . . .
There is no life like the snow life

That can only mean one thing. There next album is going to be a blazin’ rocker.

Until then, I highly recommend this album with it mix of mid-tempo rockers and slow burners—I predict it will be one that you come back to repeatedly. For samples, I was tempted to give you the closing title track which is a great reflection on the everyday and then that wonderful opening rocker (allowing you to enjoy that wonderful disc-replay- rollover), but decided on two others.

First up is a “Blue as Your Blood” which perhaps reflects best all the band’s talk about the album being influenced by early Sun Record recordings, but more importantly is a great example of the sparseness of many of these songs which also maintain their unique mix of guitar, drums and vocals. And then, I couldn’t help but share that “Torch Song” in which the band seeks a song to slow down all the madness. Leithauser moans that he doesn’t know that song, but, of course we are listening to it.

Blues As Your Blood
Torch Song

Go buy the album.

Someone Is Trying to Tell Me Something

I have written before about my experiences with movies on planes and the not so subtle messages they seem to send to parents who travel for work. So, today as I left my family to fly to the west coast (again) for work I thought someone was trying to protect me when it became apparent that the headsets in our row didn't work so we would not be able to listen and therefore watch the in-flight movie. Just as well, I was deep into reading Spooner by Pete Dexter. But then I started running into passages like these:

Spooner delivered the town's morning newspapers, beginning two hours before school and in the winter it was often still dark when he finished. Once in a while a garage door would open as he walked past, and he would stop and watch as the car slowly emerged, the wife behind the wheel . . . driving the breadwinner off to the train station. Most everybody worked in Chicago, twenty-odd miles to the northeast. The husbands . . . stared poker-faced out the car windows as their wives backed out of the driveway, expressions deadened into some joyless exhaustion . . . as if the world had been drained of taste and color and even the notion of escape.

Out on the [baseball] field, a boy with an enormous head was laying a fresh chalk line . . .Calmer [the father] thought it wouldn't be such a bad thing to lay chalk lines. He was catching himself at this all the time lately, picturing himself trading jobs, usually for some kind of work that would be finished for the day when it was finished for the day, that would leave him time to rest and read. Other jobs, other lives. It was strange how often it came up.

Perhaps I will try the movie on the way back.