It was the best of times . . .

. . . A Tale of Two Brothers

It was the best of rides.  It was the worst of rides.  One brother, who taking abode on the far distant coast of the country from where up he grew, decided to gather his various possessions, which up until this date, had been stored mightily by his family in a personal storage facility in the latter mentioned locale.  The other brother, of a combination of sheer kindness and selfish adventure, agreed to accompany the first in ye olde Penske van with aforementioned possessions, on the trip by road to the adopted home of the first brother.  So off they went.

The second brother’s primarily-desired adventure was to visit the gravesite of Alferd Packer, a convicted cannibal and Civil War participant. The first brother did not share equally the enthusiasm of the first in this adventure and went to no great lengths to portray any.  In fact, he did not want to deviate from the straightest route home to make this stop at all.  But the second brother would not be swayed, and was kind and humorous in his discourse about the desired adventure, so much so that the first brother could not openly object to the deviation.

Upon arrival, and well ahead of what would have been assumed to be an average rate of such travel by such means, the two brothers arrived at the burial site of Mr. Packer.  Heretofore the first bother took it upon himself to write to his father.  His dispatch read as below:

“So we’re here.  Spencer doesn’t know where the grave is and the cemetery is covered in goose shit.”

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It's a new experience. . .

 . . . a new sensation.  It's a feeling I never, or at least rarely, even considered.   I'm not talking about mushrooms or any type of ingestible substance.  I'm talking about saying goodbye to two of your children who are driving ACROSS THE COUNTRY!!

You prepare for it, both by packing and psyching yourself into acceptance.  But when the day of departure finally arrives, you find that you're never prepared quite enough.  


Very strange sensation, to say the least.  (As I write, they may be in Ohio.)

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Freedom . . .

. . . involves making decisions. . . 

 
(from A JOSEPH CAMPBELL COMPANION
© 1991 The Joseph Campbell Foundation

". . . Actually, there were times when I almost thought - almost thought - 'Jeez, I wish someone would tell me what I HAD to do,' that kind of thing.  Freedom involves making decisions,  and each decision is a destiny decision.  It's very difficult to find in the outside world something that matches what the system inside you is yearning for.  My feeling now is that I had a perfect life:  what I needed came along just when I needed it.  What I needed then was a life without a job for five years.  It was fundamental.

As Schopenhauer says, when you look back on your life, it looks as though it were a plot, but when you are into it, it's a mess: just one surprise after another.  Then, later, you see it was perfect.  So, I have a theory that if you are on your own path things are going to come to you.  Since it's your own path, and no one has ever been on it before, there's no precedent, so everything that happens is a surprise and is timely. . . "

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Makes one feel powerless. . .

. . . doesn't it? 

(from http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/317046#ixzz1iKPl65rD )

". . . CNN reports Barack Obama "reluctantly signed a defense authorization bill, saying he was concerned about some in Congress who want to restrict options used by counterterrorism officials." Even before the bill was signed by Obama, there were mixed feelings on NDAA. The bill only has a 2 percent approval rating on a poll conducted by OpenCongress.com. Only 8 people support the bill out of 395 voters. Another poll, of 397 people, conducted by PopVox gives the bill a 9 percent approval rating. One of the more controversial aspects of the bill involves the ability for the president to detain United States' citizens. According to The International Business Times, "The bill affirms and codifies the U.S. President's authority to indefinitely detain in military custody anyone, including U.S. citizens, suspected of terrorism or supporting terrorists." In a statement released after the signing of the bill, Obama says, "I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens. Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a Nation." Even though Obama signed the bill he does not agree with everything that's included in the bill. "I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists," Obama said. CBS news reports, "If Mr. Obama violates any of the provisions in the bill, Congress could challenge the White House in court, which would have the final say in any dispute." The $662 billion bill also includes tough sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program and allocates money for the military. NDAA was sponsored by Howard McKeon Republican Representative from California. The bill was introduced on April 13th.

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Real fusion. . .

 . . . (from http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p168988). . .

 One of the few producers to pursue a real fusion of jazz and house music, Frenchman Ludovic Navarre began recording in the early '90s using various aliases (Subsystem, Modus Vivendi, Deepside) for a range of French imprints. St. Germain debuted in 1994 for Laurent Garnier's F Communications label and Navarre released his first album, Boulevard, in 1996. Featuring trumpeter Pascal Ohse, the album worked as a hybrid of American R&B and jazz with the growing French house scene exemplified by Garnier, la Funk Mob, and Dimitri From Paris. Tourist took the concept further with Navarre working post-production on a fuller complement of musicians and earned release on Blue Note. Navarre has also remixed such varying artists as Björk, Pierre Henry, and the Suburban Knight.

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Just sayin'. . .

 . . . come on out if you have the chance. . .                   

                                    A RARE PERFORMANCE BY Baltimore's Iconic "OHO"

                                                                                       Connell Patrick Byrne

Who? OHO (Jay Graboski, Dave Reeve, Ray Jozwiak with guest vocalists Lisa Griffee and Kelly G), Easy Cowboy (w/Matt Rose), Jason & The Butchers and El Sledge (+)

What? Shlongtasm 2012; each band will perform a 25-30 minute set

When? 9:00 PM till closing, Friday January 20, 2012

Where? Joe Squared Pizza (133 W. North Ave. at the corner of North Ave. and Howard Street, Balto., MD 21201; phone: 410.545.0444)

Why? To celebrate El Sledge (+) manager, Dan Long, to rage against the dying of the light (“It’s a cold stare at humankind masquerading as happy beer-hall music—Lift your flagon to this, you f*ck.’”-Stan Ridgway), ingest some delicious pie, & to quaff steins brimmed with delicious, foaming hops-infused beverage.
 www.ohomusic.com

Happy New Year.

CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR, by OHO from Bricolage

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'Cause you got to have. . .

. . . friends. . . 

For a chubby little (but not to remain so in comparison with my contemporaries) boy who didn't always quite feel like he 'fit in', I was extremely comfortable and quite content with those other aspects, situations, or 'worlds' to which I would retreat when I was ostracized. Not that I was literally or frequently ostracized by my peer group throughout childhood, let me must say that I did not feel that I always BELONGED.

I had what I considered to be a reasonable number of friends in whose company I reveled many a long, hot summer afternoon.  Timmy Buckley, from two doors away in our block of row-homes in the Eastern part of Baltimore County just past the city-line, my BEST friend.   But I also enjoyed the company of, singly or sometimes in groups with various of them,  the three Bodell brothers, Keith Smith, Jimmy Theiss, Joey Markwordt and on occasion, Ronald Weber.  Never a greedy person, I thought then as I do now, that this was a sufficient number of friends.  And they were good friends on whom I could rely for some good, old-fashioned kid-play.  Later, in school, new friendships would develop and likewise some of the older ones would dissolve.  But such is the way of the world.  Right? 

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