I’m blog blocked. For the life of me, I can’t think of anything to say, but in an attempt to breakout of this writer’s block… I’m just going to write whatever comes to my mind. Scary.
I like the TV show American Gladiator. Its utterly moronic, lame, cheesy, probably completely unredeemable, but I like it. My kids like it and its something my wife and I watch with them. Now that I think about it, I watched the original show back in the early 90s too, with Nitro, Lace, etc., even when Cheap Seats made fun of it, I still liked it.
Nine days ago my 18 year old son, Ben hugged me so hard he broke a rib on my left side. You think I’m joking. I’m not.
I like the music of Elliot Smith. I find myself going back to his songs over and over and he’s one of the artists that gets better with time, that you actually get more into his music the more you listen to it. He was a very angry, bitter man who battled depression, alcoholism and drugs for years and his lyrics had their share of anger and rage and four letter words. This is strange for me, because usually I have ABSOLUTELY no tolerance for such language, but with Smith, I don’t know, it never seemed like a show, it seemed real, all too real in fact. He was one of those rare rock stars who really did hate the rock star lifestyle (there seems no end to those who CLAIM to not be into the rock star world, but their lives beg to differ). Smith put a kitchen knife in his own heart October 21 2003, RIP.
Every container of humus should come with a free tic-tac.
I love my work as Resource Pastor at Calvary Church Of Santa Ana.
The lyrics to Brian Wilson’s utterly brilliant and classic song “Love and Mercy” seems particular apropos considering everything going on in Kenya right now.
“I was lying in my room
And the news came on TV
A lotta people out there hurtin’
And it really scares me
Love and mercy that’s what you need tonight
Love and mercy to you and your friends tonight”
I like to do house cleaning. My kids do not.
The worst movie that I can remember seeing in the last ten years is Mr. Magoo, hands down. Or maybe Men In Black II… or maybe Stepford Wives. It’s a tough call.
I love to read the sermons of George Morrison (1866-1928). He is probably my favorite writer right now (though Frederick Buechner is tough to beat). Morrison was a preacher who served in Glasgow Scotland from 1902 until his death. I just finished two of his sermons on The Cross and they are wonderful, powerful messages (maybe I’ll write more about them sometime when I actually stop and think about what I’m writing). One is entitled “Love’s Argument” and the second is, “Cross Bearing.” I will probably read them ten more times before the year is over. I need to be reminded of their message at least that often. They should be required reading FOR THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE!!
Beagles are smart dogs, but can be easily tricked into stop barking if you just suddenly whistle real loud. It kind of blows their minds and they forget what it was that was so important that they should bark at it FOREVR!
Lastly, (this is not news) but two bands that confirm to me that often the worst music gets all the airplay and sometimes the best music often gets little or no attention are the Australian band “Augie March” and the band “Midlake” who are from the Denton Texas (where my mother went to one year of college in 1944 btw). They each have released three CDs and except for Midlake’s first, they are all completely amazing CDs and I would recomended them to anyone who likes great music. It is MHO that Midlake’s last CD, “The Trials Of Van Occupanther” is some kind of brilliantly odd timeless masterpiece and close to a perfect record. Augie March are equally brilliant. As The Donald would say, “They should be HUGE!” I think people will be listening to both of these bands long after today’s cookie-cutter formula money making fad bands (is ever an end of it?) are long gone.
Okay then. That’s enough run on sentences and random thoughts for one day.
That was a little scary… it’s not pretty in there