This week, I am obsessed with words. Particularly, I want to know the words that we are tied to. For example, I have a strange association with the word 'shame'. Inexplicably, the word connotes a feeling of gnashing teeth every time I hear it. I'm most-fascinated with words that nag me- words that carry such weight, I fall in love with them.
The word that currently fills my peripheral vision is 'gloaming'. I had heard the word a few times, but two years ago, as I was re-reading Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, I came upon the word and it inescapably burned into my mind. I had read Tolkien's trilogy twice before so I had surely read it before. Yet I was caught. I found myself injecting it into conversations and searching for opportunities to weave it into my writings.
It is defined in The New Oxford American Dictionary as a "twilight; dusk". The word is from Old English and from the Germanic word for 'twilight' and the word 'glow'. As Tolkien wrote it, and I imagine it, gloaming is that fleeting pause in breath between day and night. The world feels mysterious and full of anticipation. Dawn carries the pause to the nervous anticipation of a new day, while the gloaming possesses a reckless, Dionysian bent to it. Perhaps it is the way I feel at this point in my life. It is where I live- a space dancing along the edge of consummation. As I stand at the edge of another great life change, I peer through that mystical, gloaming light and wonder if, perhaps, despite the best-laid plans, I can glimpse the forces that will carry me on another unexpected journey.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
Kenny Rogers scares the crap out of me
Man, my fellow bloger just creeped me out. I looked at that Kenny Rogers video, but I didn't have the sound. Creeeeeepy boy, What kind of puppets are those? They were the same kind that they used in that Genises video, and the same kind that were popular in the mid-eighties, when they had one of Ronald Regan that was showen on T.V. like seven billion times. Creepy then, creepy now.
Frisbee golf, man I love that game. It's FREE, which apeals to my cheap assedness, it's outdoors, which dosen't make me mad, and it's FREE. oh yeah, by the way it's free.
I do a little disk throwing with a few guys who are MUCH better then I am and they bring thier dogs. WOW, I have pictures, enjoy
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Top 4 Fourth Week in May
1) Cloud Spotting and generally paying more attention to the sky. So it is storm season now on the great plains. So in the afternoon we are getting some fairly big storms coming in from the northwest. I don't know much about clouds I am still learning to identify them. I found this web site from the cloud appreciation society helpful...they have a manifesto...and why shouldn't they. We also had our spring influx of big huge water birds like the pelicans and the night herons. So there is very good reason to keep your head stuck up in the air...keep your mouth closed though. Oh and this is a night heron:
2)Swan Swan H REM-- REM was terribly important to me from that awkward 15 to 18 year old period. I used to play Life Rich Pageant over and over at the record store. Which I am sure was super annoying. I had never seen this video before. Michael Stipe looks well a little dorky. Enjoy it anyway.
3) Monty Don-- Okay so our garden is taking off. The problem is that gardening just doesn't have a lot of male role models. Further more there really isn't any super cool garden dudes. Like Tony Hawk for skateboarding. So I was real pleased to find Monty Don's book called The Complete Gardener. Monty is really into gardening like a rock star really is into his drugs. He has great passage where he talks about his love of his really expensive shovel and double digging. Anyway if you are actually gardening this year instead of wimping out to go on some exotic trip to let's say Peru I'd pick it up.
3) Monty Don-- Okay so our garden is taking off. The problem is that gardening just doesn't have a lot of male role models. Further more there really isn't any super cool garden dudes. Like Tony Hawk for skateboarding. So I was real pleased to find Monty Don's book called The Complete Gardener. Monty is really into gardening like a rock star really is into his drugs. He has great passage where he talks about his love of his really expensive shovel and double digging. Anyway if you are actually gardening this year instead of wimping out to go on some exotic trip to let's say Peru I'd pick it up.
4) Anatomy of Murder-- I watch this movie on vacation. It is brilliant. The original novel was written by future Michigan Supreme Court Justice. I know a little something about trial law and I wish I could channel Jimmy Stewart sometimes. However, I am not that tall.
Friday, May 18, 2007
The Gambler Deconstructed
Small town Nebraska circa 1981 country was big: Alabama, the OakRidge Boys, and, of course, Kenny Rogers. Kenny with his mane of black/sliver hair and awesome grizzly man beard was a thoughtful almost philosophical artist in comparison to, "Oh play me some mountain music..." or some song that went "Elvira om-popa-uh-ma my hearts on fire for Elvira". No Kenny was laying down advice from his high perch on the popular culture mountain and all the kids on the bus knew the words by heart to The Gambler.
Okay so yesterday I heard this song on the radio. I just sort of stumbled on it. I still knew all the words. And alls I've got to say what kinda cockamamie advice is that. I'll tell you what kinda advice that is...it is the kind of advice you get from near dead degenerate on a train smoking cigarettes and begging for whiskey. Or in other words not very good or even comprehensible advice.
Let's look at the advice the dying sage whiskey grubber gives before he dies in sleep:
"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em.
Know when to walk away, and know when to run.
You never count your money, when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin', when the dealin's done."
Not much advice for a two minute ballad, but when you separate the wheat from the chaff that is all you get. There is the hold'em/fold'em advice; walk away/ run advice; and there is the countin' advice. What clearly stands out about the hold'em/fold'em advice and the walk away/ run advice is that it is all very, very, very, very vague. I'd say it is not even helpful. Maybe the gambler could have gave some more tips about when to run perhaps and maybe some examples of what is hold'em situation. I think the song says a little more about Kenny, than "the gambler", that Kenny could be hoodwinked by this old guy that only wants his whiskey by vague sayings he perceives as wisdom. And further Kenny thought this advice was sooooo important he had to record a song about it. Now there is the countin' advice, you shouldn't count your money when your sittin' at the table. Okay that is flat out stupid. You probably should know how much money you have when you go gambling because you may not be counting much when the dealing is done because you made a bunch of dumb bets not knowing how much money you had following the gamblers advice.
Okay so yesterday I heard this song on the radio. I just sort of stumbled on it. I still knew all the words. And alls I've got to say what kinda cockamamie advice is that. I'll tell you what kinda advice that is...it is the kind of advice you get from near dead degenerate on a train smoking cigarettes and begging for whiskey. Or in other words not very good or even comprehensible advice.
Let's look at the advice the dying sage whiskey grubber gives before he dies in sleep:
"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em.
Know when to walk away, and know when to run.
You never count your money, when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin', when the dealin's done."
Not much advice for a two minute ballad, but when you separate the wheat from the chaff that is all you get. There is the hold'em/fold'em advice; walk away/ run advice; and there is the countin' advice. What clearly stands out about the hold'em/fold'em advice and the walk away/ run advice is that it is all very, very, very, very vague. I'd say it is not even helpful. Maybe the gambler could have gave some more tips about when to run perhaps and maybe some examples of what is hold'em situation. I think the song says a little more about Kenny, than "the gambler", that Kenny could be hoodwinked by this old guy that only wants his whiskey by vague sayings he perceives as wisdom. And further Kenny thought this advice was sooooo important he had to record a song about it. Now there is the countin' advice, you shouldn't count your money when your sittin' at the table. Okay that is flat out stupid. You probably should know how much money you have when you go gambling because you may not be counting much when the dealing is done because you made a bunch of dumb bets not knowing how much money you had following the gamblers advice.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Top Five the 3rd week of May
Went on vacation and... well my life got all messy... but I am back here is my top 5:
1) Happiness: I thought a lot about happiness while on vacation. Not the hey-I-am-feeling-great-today-kind-of-happiness but the Aristotle's view of happiness-- which a little more about contentment and well being. I am re-reading this book called Creating the Good Life : Applying Aristotle's Wisdom to Find Meaning and Happiness by James O'Toole. It sort of an Aristotle for dummies-mid-life-self-help-book. I really have enjoyed it. The reader digest version is this: the true test of happiness is will you be happy when you look back on your life from your death bed. You know little regrets. You spent your time wisely on good things. And also you should create some sort plan so you won't be full of regret when you eventually end up on your death bed. Of course this all gets a bit heavy and has made me feel guilty about playing hours of mine sweeper.
2) Not watching the freaking news. I realized I have an utter disdain for the local news. I've noticed more and more that it just makes me anxious. This morning on the local news I learned that there is rapist on the loose; children fall out of apartment windows; and somebody starved a seven year old to death. I understand that all of these events are tragic and we as humans are drawn to tragedy. It is all to overwhelming. In a big metro area stuff statistically is bound to happen...but do we really need this magnifying glass we call the news. Here an article from John Stossel (the guy with the mustache on 20/20) that kinda illustrates my point.
3) Yo La Tango-- Gots to love them. I think they have been around for like trillion years. But I love their new album "I am not a afraid of you and I will beat your ass", which in addition to a fairly good album title is also a great motto for your crest of arms--should have one of those things. Here is a nice video...if you can't get you tube just think of your favorite Yo La Tango song and hum it for a couple of minutes...or listen to any bumper music on This American Life.
4) Civil War on Great Courses-- I've been listen to college courses on tape for awhile now. I am really a geek. Anywise my background in science so when it comes to history I am as they say, inexperienced but willing to try. The Civil War was a real gap in my understanding of U.S. History. This course is great. I recently read Confederates in The Attic and I think that is great place to start to learn about the Civil War also the Ken Burns Special that aired a few years back.
5) Poem of the week:
This Is Just to Say
by William Carlos Williams
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast.
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
1) Happiness: I thought a lot about happiness while on vacation. Not the hey-I-am-feeling-great-today-kind-of-happiness but the Aristotle's view of happiness-- which a little more about contentment and well being. I am re-reading this book called Creating the Good Life : Applying Aristotle's Wisdom to Find Meaning and Happiness by James O'Toole. It sort of an Aristotle for dummies-mid-life-self-help-book. I really have enjoyed it. The reader digest version is this: the true test of happiness is will you be happy when you look back on your life from your death bed. You know little regrets. You spent your time wisely on good things. And also you should create some sort plan so you won't be full of regret when you eventually end up on your death bed. Of course this all gets a bit heavy and has made me feel guilty about playing hours of mine sweeper.
2) Not watching the freaking news. I realized I have an utter disdain for the local news. I've noticed more and more that it just makes me anxious. This morning on the local news I learned that there is rapist on the loose; children fall out of apartment windows; and somebody starved a seven year old to death. I understand that all of these events are tragic and we as humans are drawn to tragedy. It is all to overwhelming. In a big metro area stuff statistically is bound to happen...but do we really need this magnifying glass we call the news. Here an article from John Stossel (the guy with the mustache on 20/20) that kinda illustrates my point.
3) Yo La Tango-- Gots to love them. I think they have been around for like trillion years. But I love their new album "I am not a afraid of you and I will beat your ass", which in addition to a fairly good album title is also a great motto for your crest of arms--should have one of those things. Here is a nice video...if you can't get you tube just think of your favorite Yo La Tango song and hum it for a couple of minutes...or listen to any bumper music on This American Life.
4) Civil War on Great Courses-- I've been listen to college courses on tape for awhile now. I am really a geek. Anywise my background in science so when it comes to history I am as they say, inexperienced but willing to try. The Civil War was a real gap in my understanding of U.S. History. This course is great. I recently read Confederates in The Attic and I think that is great place to start to learn about the Civil War also the Ken Burns Special that aired a few years back.
5) Poem of the week:
This Is Just to Say
by William Carlos Williams
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast.
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
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