Band discovery of the moment

Very cool new band from New Zealand: Breaks Co-op. Seems they had one of the biggest hits of 2005 in Australia. I'd describe them as a trippy update of Crosby, Still & Nash in the best of all possible ways. The song "Settle Down" is pure excellence..see lyrics below. "The Otherside" also totally hits the best notes (it's the one that was the big hit down under). Their CD is not yet available in the US, but you can hear some of their songs on their website: www.breaksco-op.com. Definitely worth checking out!

Settle Down

(I love you)
Saw you on a tightrope, falling every time
Never looked so graceful, dancing with your life
Had I known the outcome would I have cut the wire?
Seems the more you suffer too, the more I settle down

God you're looking perfect, reigned in silent days
Really was it worth it, to see you on display?
Shame it never hurt me, to stand by you and say
Seems the more you suffer too, the more I settle down
Seems the more you suffer too, the more I settle down
Seems the more you suffer too, the more I settle down

Place you on a mantle, shower you with praise
Make you feel important, digging your own grave
Have you sucking lemons, laugh at you on stage
Seems the more you suffer too, the more I settle down
Seems the more you suffer too, the more I settle down
Seems the more you suffer too, the more I settle down
Seems the more you suffer too, the more I settle down
Seems the more I hate you too, the more I settle down

I was a backseat brother, tryin to do it undercover 'til you told me to change my ways
Now I'm a cheerleader for the end of deceit that you practise to leave me amazed
And if I say that I love you it don't mean that I trust you or the way that you use the phrase
You were my next door neighbour 'til you did my girl a favour
Now it's you that's just a phase

If it all works out in the end that you and I cannot be friends
A day goes past, a day not ends that I don't think of you

If it all works out in the end that you and I cannot be friends
A day goes past, a day not ends that I don't think of you
(I hate you)

Numeric sequence...

Just created a piece of "art" for our upcoming punch card art show. I'll post a link to it soon... But somehow I was struck by the concept of the constellation Orion: the Hunter and a sequence of dates and numbers: 1066 1492 1776 1984 2001 9/11 911...

1066 - Norman conquest of England changed the English language and culture
1492 - the "discovery" of America by Columbus
1776 - the United States becomes independent from the British Empire
1984 - George Orwell's chilling novel about the "future"
2001 - a space odyssey
9/11 (2001) - destruction of the Twin Towers in New York
911 - universal emergency phone number

I'm sure there are more relevent sequences of numbers, but these seemed to stick in my head for some reason. Kinda heavy, I know. I suppose I could have also included 1966 for my birthday and the release of the Beatles' Revolver...we all live in...a yellow submarine...sky of blue...sea of green...

Read this every day!

Before I head out for the weekend, I want to encourage all three of my occasional readers to read Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish every day. He makes a lot of really good political points. Have a safe and happy weekend. I'll be thinking of you all when I visit my mom back in Lowry, Minnesota.

Rock on: \m/ \m/

Lyrics of the moment II

"You Could Be Happy"
by Snow Patrol

You could be happy and I won't know
But you weren't happy the day I watched you go

And all the things that I wish I had not said
Are played on loops 'til it's madness in my head

Is it too late to remind you how we were
And not our last days of silence, screaming, blur

Most of what I remember makes me sure
I should have stopped you from walking out the door

You could be happy, I hope you are
You made me happier than I'd been by far

Somehow everything I own smells of you
And for the tiniest moment it's all not true

Do the things that you always wanted to
Without me there to hold you back, don't think, just do

More than anything I want to see you go
Take a glorious bite out of the whole world

Lyrics of the moment

"Obstacles"
by Syd Matters

Let's say sunshine for everyone
But as far as I ... can remember
We've been migratory animals
Living under changing weather

Someday we will foresee obstacles
Through the blizzard, through the blizzard
Today we will sell our uniform
Live/Leave together

Blizzard

We played hide & seek in waterfalls
We were younger
We were younger

Shelf life

I was reading something online where the writer described the relationship with his ex saying (rather too philosophically, in my opinion) "some things just have a shelf life." Hmm. "This relationship best before date on carton."

I hate that I'm at a point where so many of my friendships and relationships are seemingly nearing the end of their shelf life. It's particularly difficult for me because I tend to have a smaller number of very close friends in whom I invest a great deal, and it always takes me so long to build new friendships to the point where I feel comfortable.

I've tried very hard to stay in touch with so many people on so many different levels, but distance and time always seem to take their toll. It requires a great deal of effort, and I guess I'm on the short end of the stick. It's hard to maintain any kind of relationship when those involved see each other so infrequently. Everyone's grows and changes in gradual steps, but if you don't share time together you each have increasingly less in common.

Four things have caused my recent introspection and, perhaps, emotional wallowing (I will discuss two).

I spoke with my mom the other day. She's been having some health problems lately and lost my dad earlier this year. As she was going through some old photos, she was struck by how many of her lifelong friends have passed away. My parents basically moved only once after they were married and that was when they moved off the farm to settle into an apartment about 3 miles away from where they had lived for over 50 years. They never had to leave their friends, although their relationships all changed over the years. I've completely started over three times - when I started college, when I graduated and moved to Crookston, and when I moved to Sioux Falls. Each time has been more difficult to do than the previous. Still, I could relate to what mom said, since she's lost so many of her friends. At least I can still call most of mine, so I guess that's something.

A few weeks ago I went to see friends back in Crookston and a few weeks before that to see friends in Iowa. In many ways we picked up where we left off, but it was different. I can't say that I didn't enjoy the visits -- I did -- but it was too temporary. I came back to where I live now and the relative social silence. I know I can't go back, nor do I want to move back, but I miss the friendships. Phoning it in with a visit every 8 months or so isn't quite the same.

Okay, I will write a little about the third thing... another formerly very imporant friend got a new job and is moving to a new place. I sent an e-mail to congratulate this person, and I know it was received. But silence. I honestly don't know what I said or did to merit the lack of response...although our friendship was strained by an event in December. But I really tried to reach out in a conciliatory way.

Might as well do four... Today I received a short e-mail from a very close friend whom I hear from increasingly infrequently. It was so short and almost impersonal that it felt almost like it was from a random stranger. Funny (in a strange, sad way), becase at one time this person was one of the most important people in my life.

It's hard not to feel somewhat valueless when these kinds of thing happen. Is it a kind of slow, passive rejection or just the way life is? I guess the shelf life is nearing expiration on many of my friendships, and I don't know how to renew them. I really hate that. Really. If anyone reading this made it this far, sorry for the pity party.

Republican Jesus...

On the Colbert Report tonight I learned that (loose quote): "Telling people what Jesus said is small government; doing what Jesus said is big government." I know it's a comedic fake news program, but I found a lot of truth in that. No matter what the Religious Right-eous have to say (and they have a lot to tell us about how they think we should all live), I don't believe Jesus was a republican...

Dare I say it? Okay, I'll hazard it: my guess is that Jesus was a socialist or even, gasp, a communist! Egads! Think about it, though. Redistribution of wealth, giving everything to the poor, spending time with those who were marginalized in his society, healing the sick without asking for payment. I wish those on the radical right would care about these things instead of who one should be allowed to marry and what one should do with one's body.

On a side note, Jesus' General has some similar and more biting things to say in his blog.

Asking the right question...

So, watching one of the Sunday morning news shows (I honestly forget which one), there was a discussion of the religious right co-opting certain phrases like "pro-life" and "gay marriage" and using those loaded phrases against the liberal side. Who doesn't think life is a good thing? (Well, those same religious right-eous folks who support the death penalty, and I'd also add who isn't for choice, but perhaps that doesn't resonate as well - but I digress!) The commentator added, "gay marriage naturally calls to mind gay sex, and many people just can't deal with that." Probably true.

Instead, the commentator suggested that we ask the question "Do you want the government to be the source of your morals? To control your body or tell you whom you can or cannot love and marry?" Think about it. Any liberal would say no, and any true "the-best-government-is-less-govenement" Republican would say "hell no!" Framing it with these questions certainly brings it to the core issue, doesn't it?

Funniest line in a long time...

I've been watching all the episodes of season 1 of The Venture Brothers, an animated satirical take-off of shows like Johnny Quest and the Hardy Boys. It's been on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim for awhile, and I was eager to get all the episodes on one DVD set. I was watching the bonus holiday episode, "A Very Venture Christmas," when I heard one of the funniest lines in a long time. Hank tells Dean "That gay albino is hitting on your not-girlfriend." I love this show!

Not only is The Venture Brothers filled with fanboy references to comics and other 70s sci-fi shows, but it also balances with fully realized character development. Dr. Venture is an insecure pill-popper. Brock Sampson (a bizarroworld Race Bannon from Johnny Quest)is his disinterested bodygard who never uses a gun. The next door necromancer is reminiscent of Marvel Comics' Dr. Strange. And Dr. Venture's arch-nemesis, the Monarch, is a bumbling supervillian whose squeeze, Dr. Girlfriend, has a deep voice with a distincly east coast accent. And the situations are damn funny!

I'm eagerly anticipating season 2 on Cartoon Network on June 25.