spacemonk

actually i have found i have not been listening to radio 100 from amsterdam, but some other station - it seems as though radio 100 has been having some legal issues - still great music, though

i was very touched when george harrison died a few months back. although he was not as prolific as john or paul - and definitely lacked their "star" quality (which, by the way, is not necessarily a "bad" thing), i found him every bit as talented as lennon and mccartney, in the shadow of whom, he spent a good part of his career. i remember hearing HEAR COMES THE SUN after coming out of a long period of depression and the song really touched me - it was as though he was singing to me - i still think of that song when things aren't going some well, and it reminds me it won't last forever. the power of pop music can be undeniable - HERE COMES THE SUN is a simple song, to be sure - but it is hearlfelt and has the power to touch and bless peoples lives. it's easy for some to goof on the hippy mentality, naivete and idealism (let's see how well much of today's popular music ages...), but the music of the 60's and harrison made a long term impact for the good to popular music and culture. it is especially easy for some to goof on the eastern spirituality and musical styles that the beatles and others incorporated. yet, the beatles - and specifically george, - should be given much credit for bringing awareness of eastern traditions to the west - so the west can learn from them. i mean, would i be practicing yoga now were it not for the beatles introducing eastern thought and music to the mainstream... anyhow, i got a classic harrison solo cd all things must pass from the library today. it was a classic when released (think one of my older brothers had it while we were growing up) - and they have added some new material - live songs - and an updating of MY SWEET LORD (as beautiful and simple of a song about spiritual yearning as any i have heard). all is bliss...

yup, that's got to be be good old pete w/miles (see prev. post) - he can sure pick a song or two!

amazing how the attitude can drop in a few hours - oh, well, tommorrow's another day - i believe they are playing some electric miles w/pete cosey on guitar on radio 100 from amsterdam- on my planet, that is top 10 material

did about 5-6 miles today between work and class - ideal job - work a little, surf a little, skate a little, eat a little, surf some more, teach some, then home!!! if only i could get some yoga in - perhaps later...

thumb feels better! still hurts, but can move it w/o wincing - so i guess that's a good sign....

about a week back. i picked up LONDON CALLING by the clash. i had that record back when it was originally released on vinyl (double record), but because my tastes changed, never picked it up on cd (tastes change, etc...now i seem to be headed to a second childhood of sorts...). it has been widely acclaimed as one of rock's finest albums ever and i had always agreed with that assessment. listening to it again - 20+ years (WOW) after it's original release, if anything, it sounds even better - rocks harder, more clever - better songwriting - etc...needless to say, i've been playing the crap out of it...

this evening, i stopped at a used cd store and got SANDINISTA! on cd - that was the clash's followup to LONDON CALLING - if anything - this was the clash trying to one up themselves with a 3 record set - which they sold at the time for the cost of slightly over a single album - i never owned this on vinyl, but my cousin did - so i heard it a lot - the standard rap on this one was that there was a lot of good material - but too much filler - after a bit of a re-listen and some re-thinking, i'm starting to get the idea that SANDINISTA! also is a great record - maybe not quite up to the level of LONDON CALLING - but great none the less - that it's sheer volume of songs and styles was part of the point - i'll let you know the final verdict after a few re-listens...

alas, no more FRONTIER HOUSE - i found it very entertaining - the california family was my favorite - the dad was very scary - seemed over the edge - i mean he seemed to freak when the experts in their report indicated the family probably wouldn't have survived the winter - based on their preparations and supplies - c'mon dude, judging by your crib, you're doin' pretty darn well in the 21st century - why worry if you couldn't have made it in the 19th century. it is doubtful that any of the folks from 1883 would have the "survival skills" to survive in today's world - 21st century folks know as much about building cabins as their 19th century counterpart would know about windows xp - it's an evolutionary law - the better adapted a creature is to it's own environment, the less well adapted it will be to another - so, lighten up dude!

the teenage girls in the family were the stereotype of california teens come to life - i constantly had to remind myself that these were real people, not actors - they almost seemed like a parody of the kids from clueless, etc.... they were very cute and i don't want to appear as though i am bashing them - they are - after all, just kids - who were yanked from their normal habitat and put in the middle of the wilderness with - gasp - no nail polish....

the families' little "cheating episodes" - using a salvaged box springs, hiding makeup, building a still etc.... made them even more amusing to me - i mean, you couldn't script a spoiled 21st century family better - not by any means that i would do any better - in fact, i am sure i'd be worse - however, i have the good sense NOT to put myself in that position

as jesus said in one of the gospels, one must be like a child - i think we saw an example of that last night on FRONTIER HOUSE...one of the little boys on FRONTIER HOUSE was very disturbed when they wanted to kill one of the chickens and later one of the pigs for meat. probably for the first time, the kid saw a connection between the meat on his dinner plate and a living, breathing creature - and he recognized the violence behind the meat on his plate. instead of encouraging the kid's first stirrings of compassion for other creatures, his family repeatedly told him - well, that's just the way it is. blah, blah, blah...well, that might be the way it IS, but that doesn't mean that is the way it has to be...it is simply not true that humans need to eat meat - become a vegetarian - while i recognize that being a vegetarian does not remove all the violence from one's life - but it is clear to me that a vegetarian diet is far more compassionate than a non-vegetarian one - that, to me, is hard to argue...

wow - like that one, like, teenage girl on, like, FRONTIER HOUSE sure uses the word "like", like, a lot!!!

which "monty python and the holy grail" character are you?

this quiz was made by colleen

thumb still hurts and is stiff - but i still think it's only sprained - my wife (a nurse) also thinks it is just sprained - but shucks IT HURTS!!! i read somewhere that the falls and injuries you get skating are the karmic debt you pay for all the fun you have ;-)

more fun on the frontier last night - the whiners have started up a still (give them a few more months and i bet they'd be opening a brothel - which i have heard were popular in the old west, so would be historically accurate) - and the obnoxious couple seems headed to divorce - wow - am i more ashamed of pbs for showing this or me for watching?

update:
thumb=hurts
thumb <> broken (i think!)

i think the key to reality tv is to portray most of the participants in a - uh - less-than-flattering light - to allow the viewers a sense or moral superiority - witness FRONTIER HOUSE - on one hand - you have a bunch of clueless, spoiled whiners griping cause they can't wear make-up (i genuinely hope they don't starve to death, or die of exposure, etc... esp. the kids who should not be blamed)...on the other hand, you have a self-righteous smug frontier mama "well, if their starvin' it's their own durn fault..., keep yer cow off our land, or we'll have it for vittles..." i really don't know how the guy and his dad fit into this. they seem to be honest, hardworking, reasonable people. either:

they will turn on us in a future episode

they were casted by mistake

or the producers, for their own sanity, felt the need to cast one group of cool people

anyhow, the spoiled and the smug are each, in their own way, despicable - i like the whiners more than the smugs, but come on, is not wearing makeup THAT cruel of a fate...while the smugs have some legitimate point they couldn't be more stuck on themselves

it always cracks me up to hear folks on these shows griping how hard it is. if the producers of the show kidnapped them and against their will forced them to appear on the show - i would be sympathetic - but they - for whatever reason - ego, profiteering, etc - decided for themselves to come. i don't want to be starvin' in a blizzard milking a cow in the middle of montana - therefore i have crafted my life to avoid such situations - this includes not trying out for shows where my misfortune will be important

perhaps the most bizarrest segment was when one of the spoiled crew demonstrated how a girl could urinate without disrobing - complete with audio -

remember this is on PBS!!!!

the poor girls freezing while milking a cow was hard to watch as well - they had inadequate clothing cause the laundry was not finished - i mean, these ARE real people here who could REALLY get frostbite

anyhow, i get the sense that pbs is sinking low to jump on the reality bandwagon here (or should i say covered wagon) - of course, i plan on watching every minute

news flash

first injury of the year - took a little tumble skating and sprained my thumb. don't think it is broken - can move it around - but it hurts like the dickens. i hate falling - besides the obvious reasons - most of my falls are kind of dumb - legs get tangled - baby giraffe on ice kind of falls - prob. cause of my height - today, as a car went past i went up on one skate to avoid some debris - i do like that all the time, don't know if it's cause i just rotated my wheels, but i went down - not sure how it happened - had wrist guards on, but thumb hit first and was hyperextended - heard a SNAP, but was more of a joint cracking than a bone breaking. went home - changed pants - hole in knee - first time i've had to go home from school to change my pants in quite a while ;-) got ice and ibuprophen - hurts and is stiff - i think i'll be ok - 2 more classes + labs to teach - yuck!

pbs's FRONTIER HOUSE rocks - details to follow!

Take The Scooby-Doo Test!

now THAT's more like it

All in all, you're not a very nice person. Despite this,
people tend to like you. Maybe it's because you're a rebel,
or maybe it's just because you scare them into liking you.

Take The "Which WWF Wrestler are you?" Quiz.
Created by Potman

# posted by Mike : 8:33 PM