Today's song of the day is a live version of "Going Missing" by Maximo Park.
11.30.2010
11.29.2010
song of the day - Baby What's Wrong with Me plus 2 more
Today's song of the day is 3 of them from The Cynics.
Baby What's Wrong with Me, Girl Your On My Mind and Get My Way
Baby What's Wrong with Me, Girl Your On My Mind and Get My Way
11.28.2010
11.27.2010
11.26.2010
11.25.2010
song of the day - Ode to Joy
Today's song of the day is a bit of "Ode to Joy" from Immortal Beloved. My favorite scene of floating in the lake of stars.
11.24.2010
11.20.2010
The Gila Monster in the Bathtub
The gila monster in the bathtub was not only scary to look at, but as it turns out, was also a highly venomous endangered species. A gila monster is a big lizard. I think of it as a small monitor lizard rather than like the cute little lizards I would catch and play with outside my house in Phoenix as they innocently did their little push-ups in the sun. Monster is a good description for this particular bathtub critter and I have always thought of the monster as a “he” so I will refer to him as such.
His skin was a series of little black, brown and white bumps forming dramatic bands and splotches. He was held up by squat legs that jutted out sideways at roughly 90 degrees ending in funny little fingers. Held up is probably not the right term because the belly seemed to rest directly on the bottom of the bath tub. The gila monster moved by wriggling and twisting its middle from side to side in a slithery, snake-like way. He had a black tongue that flicked in and out of his mouth. And as I remember, this gila monster was big. He took up more than half the length of the bathtub.
How, you might ask, did the gila monster get into the tub? It wasn’t for a bath and that is for sure. As it would happen, a knucklehead put him there. One of the many knuckleheads my dad surrounded himself with during my childhood. And this was an Arizona knucklehead. This means the fella had a pickup truck and a gun. It was with this gun that the Arizona knucklehead shot something he saw moving in the desert. Shot his eye out he did. The knucklehead blinded that poor old Gila Monster.
My first contact with the bathtub Gila Monster was when he was thrashing wildly in the back of a pickup with a lowered tailgate. It was early evening and we were going to dinner at one of my parent’s friend’s homes. I remember walking up the dark driveway, the truck under the circle of amber from the street light above, and seeing quite a few people standing around the truck bed. I immediately tried to join them, but my dad, being taller, saw what was in the truck and put his hand on my shoulder to pull me back. I didn’t really get to look in the truck that night. But I did listen to a kind of thrashing. I heard my dad scoff as he pulled me away. He was probably muttering, “knucklehead”, or “idiot”, or something more choice and less suitable for my six year old ears.
The gila monster stayed in the back of the pickup until the next day when he was somehow transferred to the bathtub at my dad and grandpa’s shop. The shop was actually a house in Mesa, Arizona where my family tried to run an aluminum siding business. Western Living was the name on the building. I remember the logo was very nice and professional. My dad liked to point it out whenever we drove past. He was very proud of the logo and the sign.
Somehow the knucklehead had convinced my father to allow the gila monster to be placed in the tub. I think he may have done it without my dad’s knowledge. Because really, who would want a blind gila monster in the only bathroom in his place of business. My dad didn’t even like dogs.
The monster remained in the tub, for at least two weeks, when someone decided to make up a story and call Animal Services. This resulted in a description of the animal and the realization that this was both a dangerous, poisonous lizard, something a kin to the venom of a rattlesnake and also an endangered and protected species. What impressed both my dad and the knucklehead was the large fine levied for injuring or killing an endangered species.
The threatened fine and the knowledge that the monster in the bathtub was venomous spurred my dad and the knucklehead into action. This is what I heard happened. After two weeks of indecision, someone put the gila monster in a metal tool box with a gas-soaked rag. They killed that poor, giant, bumpy, blind gila monster.
And I wonder, all these many years later, why I still think about that gila monster in the truck, then in bathtub, then finally in the tool box. I still somehow feel bad about him trapped in that metal coffin because the knucklehead was shooting in the desert.
His skin was a series of little black, brown and white bumps forming dramatic bands and splotches. He was held up by squat legs that jutted out sideways at roughly 90 degrees ending in funny little fingers. Held up is probably not the right term because the belly seemed to rest directly on the bottom of the bath tub. The gila monster moved by wriggling and twisting its middle from side to side in a slithery, snake-like way. He had a black tongue that flicked in and out of his mouth. And as I remember, this gila monster was big. He took up more than half the length of the bathtub.
How, you might ask, did the gila monster get into the tub? It wasn’t for a bath and that is for sure. As it would happen, a knucklehead put him there. One of the many knuckleheads my dad surrounded himself with during my childhood. And this was an Arizona knucklehead. This means the fella had a pickup truck and a gun. It was with this gun that the Arizona knucklehead shot something he saw moving in the desert. Shot his eye out he did. The knucklehead blinded that poor old Gila Monster.
My first contact with the bathtub Gila Monster was when he was thrashing wildly in the back of a pickup with a lowered tailgate. It was early evening and we were going to dinner at one of my parent’s friend’s homes. I remember walking up the dark driveway, the truck under the circle of amber from the street light above, and seeing quite a few people standing around the truck bed. I immediately tried to join them, but my dad, being taller, saw what was in the truck and put his hand on my shoulder to pull me back. I didn’t really get to look in the truck that night. But I did listen to a kind of thrashing. I heard my dad scoff as he pulled me away. He was probably muttering, “knucklehead”, or “idiot”, or something more choice and less suitable for my six year old ears.
The gila monster stayed in the back of the pickup until the next day when he was somehow transferred to the bathtub at my dad and grandpa’s shop. The shop was actually a house in Mesa, Arizona where my family tried to run an aluminum siding business. Western Living was the name on the building. I remember the logo was very nice and professional. My dad liked to point it out whenever we drove past. He was very proud of the logo and the sign.
Somehow the knucklehead had convinced my father to allow the gila monster to be placed in the tub. I think he may have done it without my dad’s knowledge. Because really, who would want a blind gila monster in the only bathroom in his place of business. My dad didn’t even like dogs.
The monster remained in the tub, for at least two weeks, when someone decided to make up a story and call Animal Services. This resulted in a description of the animal and the realization that this was both a dangerous, poisonous lizard, something a kin to the venom of a rattlesnake and also an endangered and protected species. What impressed both my dad and the knucklehead was the large fine levied for injuring or killing an endangered species.
The threatened fine and the knowledge that the monster in the bathtub was venomous spurred my dad and the knucklehead into action. This is what I heard happened. After two weeks of indecision, someone put the gila monster in a metal tool box with a gas-soaked rag. They killed that poor, giant, bumpy, blind gila monster.
And I wonder, all these many years later, why I still think about that gila monster in the truck, then in bathtub, then finally in the tool box. I still somehow feel bad about him trapped in that metal coffin because the knucklehead was shooting in the desert.
11.19.2010
11.16.2010
song of the day - If I Should Fall from Grace with God
Today's song of the day is The Pogues' "If I should Fall from Grace with God".
11.15.2010
song of the day - Everything'll Be Alright
Today's song of the day is Joshua Radin's "Everthing'll Be Alright.
11.13.2010
Purple is for Alzheimer's Awareness
Last Sunday my family took part in the Los Angeles Memory Walk to raise money for the search for a cure for Alzheimer's. I have been personally touched by this disease as have many close friends and family members. It was a great day. My family raised over $1,500, my team raised over $10,000 and the walk raised over $650,000. These are my son's arms. I am proud of him for sticking it out.
Thank you to all who supported us and all who walked!
Thank you to all who supported us and all who walked!
11.11.2010
poem of the week - Litany by Billy Collins
I really like this one. Thanks again to Irene who gives us our weekly spoonful of poetry:
You are the bread and the knife,
the crystal goblet and the wine.
You are the dew on the morning grass
and the burning wheel of the sun.
You are the white apron of the baker
and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.
However, you are not the wind in the orchard,
the plums on the counter,
or the house of cards.
And you are certainly not the pine-scented air.
There is just no way you are the pine-scented air.
It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge,
maybe even the pigeon on the general's head,
but you are not even close
to being the field of cornflowers at dusk.
And a quick look in the mirror will show
that you are neither the boots in the corner
nor the boat asleep in its boathouse.
It might interest you to know,
speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,
that I am the sound of rain on the roof.
I also happen to be the shooting star,
the evening paper blowing down an alley,
and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.
I am also the moon in the trees
and the blind woman's tea cup.
But don't worry, I am not the bread and the knife.
You are still the bread and the knife.
You will always be the bread and the knife,
not to mention the crystal goblet and—somehow—the wine.
You are the bread and the knife,
the crystal goblet and the wine.
You are the dew on the morning grass
and the burning wheel of the sun.
You are the white apron of the baker
and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.
However, you are not the wind in the orchard,
the plums on the counter,
or the house of cards.
And you are certainly not the pine-scented air.
There is just no way you are the pine-scented air.
It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge,
maybe even the pigeon on the general's head,
but you are not even close
to being the field of cornflowers at dusk.
And a quick look in the mirror will show
that you are neither the boots in the corner
nor the boat asleep in its boathouse.
It might interest you to know,
speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,
that I am the sound of rain on the roof.
I also happen to be the shooting star,
the evening paper blowing down an alley,
and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.
I am also the moon in the trees
and the blind woman's tea cup.
But don't worry, I am not the bread and the knife.
You are still the bread and the knife.
You will always be the bread and the knife,
not to mention the crystal goblet and—somehow—the wine.
11.10.2010
11.09.2010
11.06.2010
11.05.2010
Poem - Not Waving but Drowning by Stevie Smith
Always upbeat, or I mean never upbeat, Irene has shared another poem:
Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.
Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he's dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.
Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.
Stevie Smith
Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.
Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he's dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.
Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.
Stevie Smith
11.04.2010
Song of the day - Crazy
Today's song of the day is "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. This is a live version, and quite a bit slower than the song you are used to, but just as hypnotic.
11.03.2010
song of the day - Black Milk
Today's song of the day is Massive Attack's "Black Milk" set to The Spy Who Came in from the Cold with Richard Burton.
11.02.2010
song of the day - Keys to Your Heart
Today's song of the day is "Keys to Your Heart" by The 101ers. It's set to a montage of Clash and Joe Strummer photos who had a thing about being photographed in lockers, cabinets and on shelves. It's a great tune.
11.01.2010
song of the day - Blindsided
Today's song of the day is Bon Iver's "Blindsided". It has a quiet, spare and layered sound. It stayed with me after I heard it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)