Grateful Monday

Witnessing the ordination of a new minister yesterday reminded me of how grateful I am to have found a home in a liberal religious community. The conservatives (my how they have co-opted that word!—just as the Bolsheviks took that name after winning a slim majority in only one vote) would have you equate their brand of conservatism with being religious. It simply isn’t true.

So for all my friends at Live Oak, I’m am blessed to have found a group of people whose concern for their fellow humans doesn’t end at the birth canal.

Nekidity

Without the ’stash, I feel like I have “some bovine perspiration on my upper lip area.”

Photo by: Suna

For the first time since I was 17, my upper lip area is nekid. I was in shaving in the shower this morning, when I realized my flavor saver was the last vestige of my pure gray beard. Something came over me, and I decided to remedy that omission. Now I find the warm, moist air flowing over my skin very distracting. Maybe I’ll get used to it in a few days. Otherwise, the growth comes back.

The ride in to work this morning was really strange. My upper lip felt wet the whole way. It is funny how people noticed the absence of the ’stash immediately when it took days for the absence of a beard to sink in.

---

Suna noticed as soon as I got home. Since she is not a big fan of facial hair, she praised the barren patch above my mouth. Later, she took the amusing picture posted here.

Mother’s Day

I started Mother’s Day last night by giving Suna one of the presents I bought for her. My niece has started a soy wax candle making business, and I ordered some stuff from her. Last night I gave Suna two rose-scented candles. Beccano cleaned the whole house for her. I think she appreciated that more than anything he could have bought, especially since she knows how much he abhors housework.

We skipped church this morning because the choir had to perform at an ordination service this afternoon. That was really great. Ministers from all over the country who knew our intern were there. Some of them were really good speakers.

The minister from his church in Boston told a really uplifting story about embracing a near death experience and finding god in her child. She was swinging over a waterfall when the branch broke. She tumbled about 30 feet to land sitting in a shallow at the base of the fall. Her daughter, who was playing in the sand on the bank, looked up and welcomed her back into the world of the living by saying, “Hi, Mom,” as if her mother always simply appeared at the base of a waterfall.

After the service, we went to Mesa Rosa for dinner. The kids were waiting for us when we arrived. We all ate well and had a really good time just being together. Afterward, TubaBoy gave Suna a really funny card and an apple-pie-scented candle. I brought out the second half of my gift—a set of merlot-scented candles in a wine service. My niece donated the wine service, and made the candles. Unfortunately, nobody thought to take pictures.

Finally, I hung the wooden blinds in the front room.

I miss my mom.

Bats in the Belfry, Birds in the Pond

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live where you could see sites like this? Photo by: Suna

I’ve been looking into ways to continue to make a little money once my current contract with ALE ends. With the economy going south, I have been a little worried about the availability of other contracts. So, I’ve been doing some research.

The first thing I am reminded of—I actually learned this lesson a long time ago—is that the only people who make money from the advice found in entrepreneurial magazines and conferences are the publishers and speakers. I am amazed at the number of ads claiming that you can make ludicrous sums a week by doing nothing and without knowing anything. I am reminded of a Far Side cartoon where a shady character is offering a book for sale to a 40W bulb—the title Double Your IQ in Two Weeks Or No Money Back.

In the day, my parents made a bit of money fixing up and selling old houses. I have the skills for this endeavor, and I know what to look for. The mistake I’ve made in the past was trying to live in the house and do the updates on a shoestring after work. That approach is a recipe for stress and failure. Over the past few evenings, I started doing research on houses that I could afford to look at with this purpose.

Today, Suna and I made the trek through the Hill Country to look at three of the most likely prospects. One was unfindable (the GPS kept trying to route us through closed gates), we decided not to bother with the second, and the third was in a neighborhood that was way too scary. So I have determined that I can’t afford to approach this investment the way I wanted—a very disappointing result. I will just have to be patient and keep looking for an opportunity.

The best part of the day—other than spending time with Suna—was the getting out of the city. We saw some amazing sites, including the wader pictured here. The birds were worth the cost of gasoline.

Friday’s Feast

Appetizer: When someone smiles at you, do you smile back?

Usually, I’m a friendly guy. I laugh a lot, and it’s easier to smile than frown—or so I’m told. But when people smile, I always think of the words of Jackson Browne:

Everyone I’ve ever known has wished me well

Anyway that’s how it seems, it’s hard to tell

Maybe people only ask you how you re doing

’Cause that’s easier than letting on how little they could care

Or maybe the The Undisputed Truth:

Remember a smile is just

A frown turned upside down

My friend let me tell you

Smiling faces, smiling faces sometimes

They don’t tell the truth, uh

Smiling faces, smiling faces

Tell lies and I got proof

Cynical much?

Soup: Describe the flooring in your home. Do you have carpet, hardwood, vinyl, a mix?

There is a mix of carpet, vinyl, and tile. We would like to change the carpet over to wood, but with the dog, tile is probably the winner there.

Salad: Write a sentence with only 5 words, but all of the words have to start with the first letter of your first name.

Which first name? My real one or the one I go by?

• Ernest’s efforts evoke earnesty everywhere.
• Love lengthens life—lust less.

Not my best work.

Main Course: Do you know anyone whose life has been touched by adoption?

Yes.

Dessert: Name [two] blue things.

• The sky (sometimes)
• The Hot Shot Flying Insect Killer can

Landscaping, High School Band, and The Greencards

New Edging, Established Bed

Photo by: Suna

I finished putting in the edging around the front flower bed nearest the house yesterday afternoon. I stopped on the way home and bought the remaining 17 stones. Then over the course of the afternoon, I carried them from the truck and laid them on top of what I already had down.

If that doesn’t seem to be a full afternoon’s work, it wasn’t. I was working from home, so when my brain would cloud over, I would go downstairs and move a couple of stones to clear my head. It worked, too.

Beccano prepares to play.

The other big event of the day was going to the bad concert. The high school has four fully-populated bands, and we listened to them all. The top band sounds professional. The band TubaBoy moved to because he didn’t want to work so hard sounds like a college-level band. The band Beccano is in as a Freshman sounds like a very good high school band. The lowest band is for students who picked up their instruments late.

We had planned to go see The Greencards afterward. Suna had even won free tickets, so we would only have had to buy one. But the powers that be decided at the last minute to start the concert a half-hour late. By the time all of the bands were finished, we didn’t have time to get there. Sigh. Beccano really wanted to go.

Album Review: Long Road out of Eden

Eagles (2007). Long Road out of Eden Photo source: Eagles

Behold the bitten apple, the power of the tools

But all the knowledge in the world is of no use to fools

And it’s a long road out of Eden

—Don Henley, Glenn Frey,
and Timothy B. Schmit

It seems like forever since Eagles released a studio album. I know Long Road out of Eden has been out for a while, but I just got around to buying it. I didn’t buy the later release with the two bonus tracks, but I can’t complain about a two-CD package with 20 songs for $11.47 plus tax—only about 60 cents more than they want for the download.

Now that I have listened to it all the way through, I must say that this album is just nice. If you’re an Eagles fan, you gotta get it. If you simply like the band, there is nothing outstanding here—other than the harmonies that made them famous in the first place; this is a worthwhile addition to your collection. If you dislike Eagles, why are you reading this?

One thing that is different in the harmonies—perhaps it is just the production quality since Eagles is now its own label—you can now hear distinct voices on many of the tracks. On older recordings, I could hear individual parts but not voices. On this effort, I hear both.

The 20 tracks are all solid. I can’t even say anything bad about the tracks I don’t really care for. The production quality is excellent. But only a couple of them reach out and grab you by the neck and make you listen. Still, the trademarked Eagles cynicism rings true throughout. This is not an uplifting album.

Each of the singers is featured on at least one track. Joe Walsh even has one on each disc. I like Joe.

Book Review: The Quickening

Bell, Art (1997). The Quickening: Today’s Trends, Tomorrow’s World. New Orleans: Paper Chase.

Photo source: Library Thing

This post concludes my second and final attempt to read The Quickening. This time I made it almost half-way through. I barely finished the first chapter on my first attempt. While Bell is one of my favorite late-night loonies, his rambling, disorganized style is much better suited to radio at 2AM than print.

Note: “The quickening” has nothing whatsoever to do with highlanders, immortals, or swords.

It doesn’t help Bell’s case that I am reading about his prognostications a full decade after publication, but the predictions are so whack that I probably would not have been able to finish this book had I read it when it was “fresh.” Bell’s thesis seems to be that the future is happening faster and faster, that the world is developing a global economy, and that nobody is in control. Tell us something we didn’t already know years before you wrote this book, Art.

Choir Service

I am feeling much better, thank you. The choir rehearsed on Saturday to make sure we were ready to perform the service on Sunday. Last Wednesday, I had nothing over a C#. Saturday, I had an F# back. Unfortunately, we practiced so much that I only had a D on Sunday.

Still we sounded good. I loved the way the final chords rang in the sanctuary when we finished loudly.

I hope to get a copy of the recording of the service. I know people were taking pictures. If anyone is kind enough to forward one to me, I’ll post it here, too.

We performed several numbers in a variety of styles, and there was only one that I really detest. “I Sing of Brooks” (The version we did even left out the references to Mab and the fairy king.) is a stitch craft sampler. It is as if the composer wanted to write a piece to show all of the techniques he knew—regardless of if they made musical sense. He throws polyrhythms, key changes, and meter changes together in a migraine-inducing hodgepodge that would have been better left forgotten.

Thankfully, most of the numbers we performed were at least listenable, and some were very good. A couple were even interesting.

Grateful Monday

So that brings me to Grateful Monday. Today I am grateful once again for music—even music I don’t care for. I am glad to be able to sing well enough to participate in the choir (even if not everyone agrees) where I am exposed to all kinds of music. Only by listening to enough music can we define what we like by understanding what we don’t. We have to listen to a lot of music to understand what we like, as opposed to what we are merely accustomed to.

Friday’s Feast

Right on time this week. Woo!

Appetizer: What was your favorite cartoon when you were a child?

I honestly can’t remember one. I remember several, and, of course, my “favorites” changed over time. Here are a few in roughly chronological order (as best I remember):

• Casper the Friendly Ghost
• Clutch Cargo
• Speed Racer

There was also one about Johnny something, who had an Indian friend and a dog named Bandit. When I was in first grade, I named my dog Bandit after the cartoon character. By second or third grade, I had pretty much stopped much stopped watching cartoons (except on Saturday mornings) until Scoobie Doo, Where Are You? came along. It may have been the most influential cartoon to air. Unfortunately, WB has taken Scoobie’s success straight to the bank. I can’t find a single link to it that doesn’t involve product marketing.

Soup: Pretend you are about to get a new pet. Which animal would you pick, and what would you name it?

I’d get a rock and name it “Rocky.” Get it? Huh huh. “Rocky” ’cause it’s a rock.

Sorry, I was channeling GW for a second. Bur seriously…I’d get a…gee…I guess I really don’t want another pet right now.

Salad: On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy getting all dressed up for a special occasion?

1.

Main Course: What kind of music do you listen to while you drive?

News, mostly. Otherwise, I keep my MP3 player on shuffle. My music collection includes:

• ABBA
• Johann Sebastian Bach
• Johnny Cash
• Deep Purple
• Solas
• Steeleye Span
• 3 Doors Down
• Frank Zappa

Dessert: When was the last time you bought a clock? And in which room did you put it?

It was several years ago. I bought a digital alarm clock for the bedroom. The LEDs were so bright I had to tape two layers of solar film over them. I could still almost read by the amount of light it emitted. So I kept it under the bed so I could sleep.