It's weird; I've come to expect a far lower level of transparency, after eight years with that other guy.
So when I see that President's Obama ombudsman (Director of the Office of Management and Budget) Peter Orszag is blogging about his job and what they're doing to manage the deficit, it's surprising and cool.
Check it out here, if you're into reading; today's [first] post is titled "Discipline, Efficiency, Prosperity."
Part revivalist and part visionary, The Spires of Ventura, California, blend warm indie fuzz with swoony-croony often-thoughtful lyrics that create a nice mellow high. Consisting of husband and wife duo Jason Bays and Colleen Coffey (the fearless leaders of Beehouse Records), and new edition Katie Kindred on bass, The Spires make one of the most exciting and interesting bands in Southern California … yep.
Jason, Team Spires front man and main song contributor, is probably one of the funniest guys I know—along with being one of the most musically inclined. Not only is he an avid Lou Reed fan, from which there is no hiding, but he also massively digs on Bill Evans and Miles Davis. 1. Is there a specific album that had a huge impact on you in your youth that you see as a direct influence on where you are today as a songwriter and a musician?
There have been many records that I can see looking back as kinda touchstones. Records that at some point in my life clicked for me and made me see things differently. Took the blinders off, or just confused me at first. Too many to list but here are a couple.
First came Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. I was just getting into music and didn't really know what was out there except for my father's anemic record collection. He did have a cool 45 of Dick Dale's Misirlou though. That song is still amazing. He had some cool Stones stuff too.
Anyway - One of my friends was getting into punk rock and turned me on to The Pistols and it blew my mind, it's all been down hill since then (financially speaking). I just wanted to be Sid Vicious or Johnny Rotten so bad - I couldn't pick. They where both so cool. They Pistols had long since broken up and Johnny was doing PIL but my 15 year old mind wasn't ready for that. The Pistols had it all. Great songs - they still hold up, great production, danger, cool record art and best of all they showed me that anyone could make music, cool music. Just pick something up and play what you feel. I blame that record for everything that's happened since.
Postscript: They have since become buffoons and a cartoon image of their former glory. Too bad. But they did turn me on to cool music like Wire, Crass, Swell Maps, Ramones, etc...
Next: Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left. I was kinda of over the rock action for a while and someone said that I looked like Nick Drake since I had long hair and gave me a copy of Five Leaves Left to listen to. I wasn't into it at first because I had been conditioned to hate all things folk but it soon took over my life. Calling Nick Drake folk is like calling Garth Brooks country. No bag on folk music, I love a lot of it now because of Nick (Fairport Convention, Bert Jansch ). Nick was heavy and working on another level. I couldn't get my mind around his guitar playing and all those crazy guitar tunings. He has so much power and depth that it's hard to believe he was only 20 when he put it out and almost completely ignored in his day. I guess he wasn't into promotion but who in their right mind is? I would have to say River Man and Three hours are the one two punch - like floating in a blue dream. Joe Boyd's production, or lack of it, is perfect. Pink Moon and Bryter Layter are just as good but I heard Five Leaves Left first. I hope one day I can write a song half as good and half as sad as the songs Nick wrote at 20.
Last but not least The Velvet Underground. I don't remember when or how I got into VU because they were always there. I always knew about them but never really heard them. I feel VU is that way for a lot of people. Cool to mention as an influence but not really an influence - at least not directly. At some point years ago I picked up the first record used - went home, put it on Sunday Morning followed by I'm Waiting For The Man and fell in love. Sunday Morning is such a beautiful and dreamy song to put next to the one about scoring dope. I was like WTF? You can do that. All that wonderful atonal guitar noise was there too and very inspiring - nobody was doing that then. It was the summer of love and VU was in the summer of bummer along w/ Arthur Lee. Plus, they had Andy Warhol and Nico making things even more badass. It was like all the coolest people in NY started a band. It was only later after getting all their albums that I really realized how great a band they really were.
They did it all - noise, pop, country, ballads, and always sounded like VU. I would have to say that Sterling & Lou are my biggest influences for sure. It's like Dylan says: I don't break the rules because there are no rules. VU knew that right out of the gate.
Other albums I would like to expound upon if I had time: Pavement - Crooked Rain Crooked Rain; Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks; Mile Davis - Kind Of Blue; John Coltrane - A Love Supreme; Felt - all their records; The Smiths....
2. When you write a song, does it tend to be about a past experience or a present feeling? Or both...
Sometimes both but often it is about the moment or the mood I'm in. I really try to write as intuitively as possible at first and then go back later and fine tune things. Sometimes songs come real fast and all at once and other times they sit around for months or even years. Then all of a sudden they pop out wanting to get finished. Other songs are kind of like old cars sitting around the front yard that you pick parts off of to make a better songs. I never push them around.
3. Is music art? Are you an artist?
Colleen says that art and music are two different things. Apples & oranges but still in the fruit family. I think that some people that make music are artists. I think Django Reinhardt is up there with Picasso or Hemingway. Coltrane is an artist. I might have written a couple songs that I might consider art but I don't think that makes me an artist. Maybe one day. I have a hard time arriving at places.
4. These days are you more influenced /inspired by music or things outside of music?
I'm really trying not to be influenced by music right now. It can clutter you mind - all those bands. It's hard because I love listening to music. I find a lot of inspiration in old jazz, drawing, Kerouac and his ability to string words together, nature, my band. I am always trying to look around the corner you know. I often just want to get to a certain sound or color in my music.
5. What are The Spires plans for '09?
We are putting out our new record called "A Way Of Seeing" in March on Beehouse and already writing for the next one. Lots of shows, hopefully. Making some groovy new friends. Just doing things The Spires' way. That is to say we keep on keeping on.
Dale Dreiling is definitely an individual. He once told me that his art was "urban". Naturally I would have to agree because I usually run into him drinking wine from the bottle, in a paper bag. He's moved up and down the west coast, searching for the best spot to dwell. For one art installment a couple of years ago, he did a series of Bill Murray paintings, that's right ghost bustin ass, Bill Murray. He's also been known to use money as a theme for some of his work, along with hobos, condemned buildings, and Richard Pryor. Apparently he likes to read too.
1. Whats the best "art-city" on the west coast, and why?
Los Angeles.
More so than whether its the best art city on the west coast or not, I like living here more than any place I've ever lived. I'm not living the ideal life yet, but since living here, I feel I've produced the work thats most true to what I have been striving for, creatively.
2. What makes good art?
Two Charles Bukowski quotes:
"To do a dull thing with style, now THAT'S what I call art"
"Bad taste creates many more millionaires than good taste."
3. If you had a time machine, where/when would you go?
I don't really know, I'm pretty happy to be where I'm at in time and space. Not everything's perfect, but this sums up how I feel: Our past makes us who we are, all we have is right now, and I have hope for the future. You should check out Chuck Palahniuk's RANT, it's about time travel.
4. What was a highlight of 2008?
The Entrance Band show at the Wicked Shamrock in Lompoc.
5. Has there ever been a time when you reconsidered being an artist?
Reconsider being an artist, no. If it’s part of who you are, it would be hard to pretend that it’s not there. More than a few times, though, I’ve needed to take a time out. Not from actual art making, but from the business side of the art world. If that was the question, then the answer would be yes.
Here is the schedule for this coming weekend's class:
Friday February 20th, 2009:
10:00: Quiz 10:30: Intro to the Church 11:15: Conversation with Dr. Hollins: Hospitality: Being Host and Guest in Church 12:30: Small Group Discussion: B. Salter McNeil, "Be a Bridge Builder"
1:00: Lunch!!
2:00: Panel Discussion: "The Pastor & The Therapist: Partnership or Competition?" 3:30: A short wander through the Doctrine of Election
(Don't forget that there is a reception at MHGS on Friday night starting at 5:15. The students that participated in the Artist's Residency over the Christmas Break will be sharing some of their work. There will be food!)
Saturday February 21st, 2009:
10:00: Dr. Ron Ruthruff, New Horizons Ministries, "Table Fellowship in the Gospel of Luke" 11:30: (if time) Small Group Discussion on Boersma, "The Church as the Community of Hospitality"
12:00: Lunch!! (The MHGS Bookstore will be open!)
1:00: Tim Conder, Pastor of Emmaus Way Church in North Carolina & MHGS Board Member. Tim will be leading us in discussions (small and large group) on Church, Sacrament, and the Body Politic. Please read both the Cavanaugh (on the e-reserve on mhgs.edu) and the Yoder (on reserve in the library).
Randall Sena is a bad-ass in more ways than one. He showed up big time on our radar when we first saw Le Petit Protest. He is the front man and behind the scenes guru for that band, which is currently on hiatus. A prolific songwriter by today's standards, his ear for melody and sincere lyrics are right up there with the well known greats. Get him into a conversation about nearly anything and he has a stance on the matter. He has also been know to put his foot in his mouth. Aside from LPP he also operates Certain Sparks, a recording studio in his hometown of Lompoc, California. We asked him 5 questions of the "run of the mill" standard:
1. What got you started playing music? Was it inherited or was it something you discovered on your own, or through friends?
Well, when Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994, MTV began airing replays of Nirvana's ‘Unplugged’ appearance. I was 14 years old when I first saw a video clip for their song, ‘All Apologies’.
The naturalness of the performance, the display of actual emotion, & the bands unkempt sense of style all instantly appealed to me. I was completely awe-struck by this music group that was on my TV and yet, looked like they had just gotten out of bed, this strange crew that played their instruments without making exaggerated faces or employing an over the top sense of showmanship. These guys that seemed “poised, yet totally screwed up!”
Specifically, I can remember being moved by Kurt's unique singing style.
I noticed right away that, at the very least, the music was entirely different than any music I had heard before. And even that, somehow, it expressed the doubt, confusion and hypocrisy that existed in us all.
It was completely transformative and shaped many of my ideals as a young man.
I video-taped the ‘Unplugged’ performance in its entirety and would watch it literally everyday before school. One day I was at school talking about Nirvana when another student over heard me and offered to give me a poster of Kurt Cobain. He told me that he played the drums & even knew how to play some Nirvana songs.
At our first jam session I started to play Nirvana’s ‘About a Girl’, but when those drums came in FULL POWER, rendering my little acoustic guitar & borrowed 10 watt amp virtually useless -MY MIND WAS TOTALLY BLOWN. I laughed for 15 minutes straight! It was maybe the best moment of my life.
I’ve been chasing the silver shadow of that experience ever since.
2. What are the pros and cons of being a musician in Lompoc ?
I’m not sure of any real difference between being a musician here in Lompoc or anywhere else. What excites me about writing and playing music is very personal and has very little to do external forces or geographical locale.
3. What makes a great song?
A great song is memorable lyrically and melodically. It should sound both foreign and familiar. It should exist in a realm just outside of technical prowess.
4. What gets you excited/inspires you? And on the other side of the coin, what takes the wind out of your sails?
I am excited by all of life’s potentialities. I am excited by the realization that almost anything you want to can actually come true! I am inspired as a songwriter by looking in people’s windows, and imagining their stories. I am encouraged by those who have lived and continue to live with dignity, amid all the spiritual rubble.
On the other hand, I am very aware of my own, often self imposed, limitations. I feel very, very down when I spend too much time thinking of all that I CANNOT do. I feel spaced out when I acknowledge that I may not be one of the chosen. The wind is taken from my sails when I see young people turning into their parents and their talents, & charisma going to waste.
5. When you are an old man looking back on your life, what do you hope to see?
I hope to see someone who rose above the murky-murk of day-to-day life; found some fresh air up there, and made a dozen, dancing, dreams come true.
I had this in the comment field of The Misanthrope's piece... but he suggested it get posted as a companion piece.
This video is probably incomprehensible to many youngsters today -- "who is that guy?" "what's that sound?" "what is the guy doing with his hands?" -- but it was one of my favorite things when I was a lad:
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” Ernest Hemingway quotes (1899-1961), writer
There was a man, Martin Tytell, who loved typewriters, so much so that when he passed away back in September 2008, The Economist magazine carried his obituary. I too love typewriters, but it was all I could do to change the ribbon. I realize that last sentence may be over the heads of a number of readers who cannot imagine a world without computers or cell phones, but I am not going to explain it now. From The Economist: …they would sit on the desk with an air of expectancy, like a concert grand once the lid is raised. On older models that keys, metal-rimmed with white inlay, invited the user to play forceful concertos on them, while the silvery type-bars rose and fell chittering and whispering from their beds.
From the blog/website The New Nixon: Mr. Tytell wore a white lab coat and a bow tie while waiting on customers who included writers and journalists such as Dorothy Parker, Richard Condon, David Brinkley, and Harrison Salisbury. Both Adlai Stevenson and Dwight Eisenhower were among his clients. He was sufficiently established to have letters addressed to “Mr. Typewriter, New York,” delivered to his premises at 116 Fulton Street in lower Manhattan. I typed many a concerto. However, I suspect it sounded more like a new violinist practicing and probably read just as badly. One of my longest compositions was the story on the orangutan learning to read. Here is a photo taken while I was on assignment interviewing a woman who was attempting to teach the orangutan how to read English. After this picture was taken (circa 1979-'80), I immediately dashed and locked myself in my car until that ape-like creature was locked up. I was younger in that picture than daughter is today.
I have received a number of anxious emails about the quiz coming up this Friday, so I thought that I would give a little guidance via the class blog. If you don't get this until too late, I do apologize.
First, the quiz starts right at 10AM, so please be on time. We will grade the quiz in class, so no late test takers.
Next. Where to find definitions? I would suggest going to the reference section of the library to look at the Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms by Stan Grenz and friends. It is a good source for the majority of terms on the Vocab List.
Where to find the other terms? There are two different power point presentations from the first weekend of the class. Here is the first one. Here is the second one. Hopefully that will cover most of the Vocab. You can always check on-line dictionaries as well.
The quiz on Friday is multiple choice, so don't panic. It is just meant to help you learn the Vocab for the class. If you don't know your vocab, you can't follow a discussion on theology!
(What is pneuma anyway? Isn't that a kind of drill?)
Not sure if this means we're going to have to buy a new TV... I hope not. Of course, it's starting to get annoying how much of our shows we're missing because of the new screen ratio (we miss the edges)... but the Simpsons just had their first episode in HD yesterday, and darn if it didn't look clearer than usual! The title sequence was totally redone as well, and had lots of new details, including this odd shot with God and Satan angrily confronting one another that you'd've missed if you didn't watch it frame-by-frame on your computer afterward (as I did).
01. Intro (3:07) 02. Serenade For The Renegade (10:23) 03. Definition Of A Dog (11:32) 04. I Mean You (10:32) 05. When God Created The Coffeebreak (8:06) 06. Pavane (Thoughts Of A Septuagenarian) (8:43) 07. Behind The Yashmak (14:23) 08. Believe, Beleft, Below (8:24) 09. Dodge The Dodo (14:22) 10. Round Midnight (9:18)
Conducted Jonas Dominique
Personel
Esbjorn Svensson - Piano Dan Berglund - Bass Magnus Ostrom - Drums Pat Metheny - Guitar Nils Landgren - Vocal
“There was also evidence of misbehavior backstage, ... Stubbed-out joints, copies of Jack Kerouac, a copy of Ulysses in the detritus of the dressing room.” Dick Cavett, writer, former television talk show host
More likely than not, you love reading and writing or you probably would not be poking around here, well, unless you are into all the other crap we post, but in this case I hope to enlighten you by highly recommending a column my Dick Cavett.
Cavett, who frequently writes an online opinion piece "Talk Show"for the NYTimes, has one today that features John Updike and John Cheever when they were both on his talk show. It is worth reading and watching the video clips.
Cupid, n. The so-called god of love. This bastard creation of a barbarous fancy was no doubt inflicted upon mythology for the sins of its deities. Of all unbeautiful and inappropriate conceptions this is the most reasonless and offensive. The notion of symbolizing sexual love by a semisexless babe, and comparing the pains of passion to the wounds of an arrow—of introducing this pudgy homunculus into art grossly to materialize the subtle spirit and suggestion of the work—this is eminently worthy of the age that giving it birth, laid it on the doorstep of posterity. Ambrose Bierce (1842 – 1914?), writer, from “The Devil’s Dictionary”
What kind of misanthrope would I be if I didn’t offer up songs for the day after Valentine’s Day? While everything maybe hunky dory today just remember there is tomorrow, as the optimistic “Annie” sings. So, looking toward tomorrow and the days after Cupid’s day, I offer you a collection of songs for the broken hearted:
The Party’s Over – (when you wake up Sunday you may realize the truth) – Nate King Cole, The Billy May Sessions Cottage for Sale – (my personal saddest song) – Nate King Cole, The Billy May Sessions
I’m Hurtin’ – (a honest assessment without sounding heartbroken) – Nate King Cole, The Billy May Sessions
Don’t Worry ‘bout Me – (“Live at the Sands” offers the best version, but the version on “Where are You” released in 1957 showcases the silky voiced Chairman of the Board) – Frank Sinatra
Thanks for the Memory – (this is not the happy Bing Crosby/Bob Hope tune, if you still know who they were) Frank Sinatra “She Shot me Down” released in 1981
In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning – (this is where you could be in just hours after midnight; this classic captures those lonely hours best) – In the Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra released in 1954
I Wanna Be Around – (this is one of the best ‘you’ll get yours’ songs) – from the Might as Well Be Swing Sinatra and Basie album released in 1961
Now let’s listen to what the rock and rollers have to say:
Almost Hear You Sigh – (every female who has heard this song likes it, including daughter) – Rolling Stones from “Steel Wheels”
Slippin’ Away – (or maybe this was the song every female who has heard this song likes it, including daughter) – Rolling Stones from “Steel Wheels”
Already Over Me – (Mick being a bit melodramatic, but good nonetheless) – Rolling Stones “Bridges to Babylon”
Melt My Heart to Stone – (see, I listen to some new music, this song is very good, but I enjoy the whole CD months before she appeared on Saturday Night Live) – From the singer Adele and her début CD “Adele 19”
Hate it Here – (this is the modern version of Cottage for Sale and strikes me as very sad) – Wilco from “Sky Blue Sky”
Love Stinks – (a bit too commercial for me, but good nonetheless) – The J. Geils Band
You’re Breaking My Heart – (this sums it all up) – Harry Nilsson from “Son of Schmilsson”
This is by no means my definitive list, but just quickly scrolling through my list of music, I thought this would be a good starter list for the realists out there.
This is most fascinating thing I've read about pro wrestling since Roland Barthes.
Wikipedia has an entry on "kayfabe" -- the portrayal of events within the industry as "real," that is, not staged.
This used to be a closely guarded secret, and is still held close to the vest by wrestlers, but these days it's not secret. The article is fascinating.
OK, some of these descriptors are more 'pithy' than others, but it should at least help you to sort through who they are and what they think. Well, kinda. (That is my disclaimer!) Peace, Chelle
1. Augustine: The Spirit is the bond of Love between the Father and the Son.
2. Irenaeus: The Son and the Spirit are the two hands of God.
3. St. Basil: The Spirit is the perfecting cause.
4. Wolfhart Pannenberg: The Spirit is a force field. (NOT like on Star Trek!)
5. Jurgen Moltmann: "wherever there is a passion for life, there the Spirit of God is operating" (Karkkainen, Pneumatology, 126)
6. Karl Barth: the Spirit is always in relation to Christ, mediating Christ (the Word of Christ) to people's hearts OR the dude I wish had a more robust pneumatology...
7. Clark Pinnock: The Flame of Love OR The sex dude... (the definition from the group!)
8. John Zizioulas: Eastern Orthodox. The Trinity as an Ontology of Communion. The Spirit and the Son work in parallel: "The work of the Spirit is not the subordinate to the work of the Son, nor is Pentecost a continuation of the incarnation but rather its sequel, its result." (Karkkainen, Pneumatology, 109)
9. Mary Daly: Radical, separaratist, feminist; post-Christian. (Where is that ax aimed?)
10. Rosemary Radford Ruether: Sexism and God-Talk (throw in a little Feminist gnosticism and you got it.)
11. Karl Rahner: The Spirit has a universal orientation. He talks about 'anonymous Christians', as people who are Christians but just don't know it yet. In other words, the Spirit is at work in them.
12. Robert Jenson: Lutheran theologian who believes that the Spirit is moving Christianity back to being one Holy catholic/Catholic Church. 13. Stan Grenz: We are made in the image of God, therefore we have been created for community. The Spirit constitutes and dwells in the Community of God.
14. Elizabeth Schussler-Fiorenza: Feminist theologian/biblical scholar who rigorously and passionately argues for the recognition of women in the establishing and forming of the Christian tradition.
15. Mark I. Wallace: Green or Ecological Pneumatology.
"Marijuana gives rise to insanity -- not in its users but in the policies directed against it. A nation that sentences the possessor of a single joint to life imprisonment without parole but sets a murderer free after perhaps six years is in the grips of a deep psychosis." Eric Schlosser, author
When I was a youngster when had a milkman (there was no iceman, I am not that old) who would deliver our bottles of milk, he even ran over my tricycle (I don’t recall being traumatized, but maybe the scars have shown up different ways, I suppose it’s all my mother’s fault).
Anyway, the point of this post is that in London, Milkman Robert Holding, 72, delivered marijuana as he made his daily rounds in the town of Burnely, in northwestern England (our milkman didn't at least that I am aware of, maybe he smoked it, which is why he crushed my tricycle). He decided to provide pot to his customers. They would leave their requests for butter, cream, and cannabis. He wasn’t supplying it to the young and hip crowd, no this was for the elderly customers who were suffering from the effects of old age. According to the BBC report, "He said that customers left him notes saying, for example, 'Can I have an ounce this week or can I have an eighth?'."
He said his oldest client was 92 and added: "Word had got out that he was a man who could supply cannabis to those of a certain age with aches and pains and he misguidedly believed he was providing a public service."
Holding pleaded guilty to supplying the drug and was given suspended jail sentence of 36 months.
Great now what are his elderly customers going to do about the pain?
01. Cichy Zapada Zmrok 02. Tam, Gdzie Nie Sięga Wzrok 03. Mania Mienia 04. Szepty I Lzy 05. Przypływ, Odpływ, Oddech Czasu 06. Cyraneczka 07. Piosenka Dla Stasia 08. Are You Going With Me? 09. This Is Not America 10. Polskie Drogi 11. Na Calej Polaci Snieg
