Music Hath Charms

Last night we went to Freight & Salvage to see Mike Marshall and Darol Anger with Vasen (sorry, don't know how to type the a with the two little dots on top). The whole night was awesome, but the highlight for me was seeing Mike Marshall pull out his mandocello for Borealis. I was virtually in tears. Such a beautiful song. But aside from the song itself, what really got me was the rich, beautiful tone of the mandocello. I was riveted. I couldn't take my eyes off it, and especially when he hit the lower registers, which rang with this deep, growling, resonant bass sound I've only ever heard from an acoustic or upright bass... Man, I was blown away. To be honest, I don't think I've ever seen anyone play a mandocello live before. I wasn't even really sure what it was. I had to google it to be sure. Now I have to play one. I feel incomplete until I get one in my hands. Turns out they're incredibly expensive. So I guess I'll remain incomplete for a while. Or forever.

I Twitter Therefore Please Rob Me

I maintain that people who think they are losing privacy are actually just realizing they never had any to begin with. To wit: I tweet my location and now people know I'm not home. Well guess what... There's about 435342636531613 other ways for people to know I'm not home. Like, I dunno, knocking on my door, or calling me at work, or how about just looking at their watch and realizing that, hey, it's 1pm and this dude's probably at work. Duh. Like before twitter came along it was some unfathomable mystery whether someone was home or not.

I Twitter Therefore Please Rob Me

My Review of SIGG Water Bottle with Screw Top - 32 oz.

REI

More than just pretty, a SIGG water bottle is extrusion-pressed from a single piece of aluminum for seamless, leakproof construction!

SIGG Water Bottle with Screw Top - 32 oz.

My constant companion

Papa Grizz Oakland, CA 8/21/2009

 

5 5

Gift: No

Pros: Leakproof, Durable, BPA Free, Impact Resistant, Good Capacity, Unique Design

Best Uses: Gym, Commuting, Everyday, At work, Hiking, Camping

Describe Yourself: Casual Adventurer

I've had mine for a year now. It's been with me through all kinds of adventures. It fits nicely in my bag, so it goes with me everywhere. The capacity is perfect. No bad flavors or leaching. It's tough. The aluminum dents pretty easily, but as far as I'm concerned the dents add character. I love my bottle. Make sure you rinse it out with hot water and leave it to air dry over night, and you're good to go. Highly recommended.

()

Sleep evades me.

Thoughts of death, memories of days gone by, the faces of friends I've lost, regrets, specters all, haunt my thoughts this night. I long for sleep, but it does not come.

La Morte de Jacko

There seems to be two schools of thought on the death of a celebrity. The response most commonly seen is the "psycho stalker fan" response, whereby a fan with way too much time on their hands grieves the fallen superstar as though he or she were a family member. The grieving psycho stalker fan shows all the traditional signs of a grieving family member, such as wearing black, blubbering like an idiot, lack of appetite, etc.

In the aftermath of la morte de Jacko, I have observed another response. It is an opposite extreme, but an extreme nonetheless, and, I believe, no less strange.

There are those who, in their ardent desire to express their complete non-chalance toward the celebrity (an unusual juxtaposition of feelings, no?) brazenly proclaim that they care not one iota about the celebrity's passing.

I find this second attitude to be almost hypocritical, as most of the "I don't care" crowd seem to want to crawl all over each other in their efforts to prove who cares the least. Odd.

I usually tend to fall somewhere in the middle. Even when it's someone whose art I didn't much care for (as is the case with Michael Jackson with his later work), I at least acknowledge the significance of that person's contributions to the art. MJ, like him or not, was an important figure in music, and his absence will be felt. He made a lot of people happy. That has to count for something. Of those who flippantly dismiss his passing as "another dead child molester," I wonder how many of those same people happily scramble to the dance floor every time "Thriller" starts playing at a halloween party.

Though I wouldn't count myself as a fan, I, for one, believe the world is slightly diminished for his passing.

Who I Am

There's a song by Switchfoot called "This Is Your Life." The lyrics are, in part, "This is your life, are you who you wanna be?" The song got me thinking. Am I who I want to be? Who am I, for that matter? I guess I'm a lot of things. I had to make a list.

I am:

• A follower of the Lord Jesus Christ
• A student of those who have something to teach me
• A teacher to those who have something to learn from me
• An uncle
• A son
• A brother
• A friend
• A writer
• A musician
• A poet
  

In short, I am what the Lord, in His grace, has made me. What more could I hope to be? As I've no doubt mentioned, it is my prayer that He will one day make me a husband and a father, but if He doesn't, I'm OK with that. As long as I am who He wants me to be, then I am who I want to be.

A High Calling

I know that I am called to something higher than merely surviving in this imperfect vessel. What purpose can there possibly be in eking out an existence in a temporary world? To what end do the masses strive and struggle to store up earthly treasures for themselves here in this fragile, perilous, momentary existence?

I echo the question uttered by every humanist philospher who has ever lived: what is the point? The difference is that I have the answer.

The humanist sees no "point" because he seeks it in a narrow, myopic, human view of our existence. But there is something greater. There is Someone greater. He created us in this world for a purpose which will come to its ultimate fruition outside of it. He created us to have a relationship with Him.

Each of us is called to discover this high purpose. There is no other purpose. If one does not seek the Creator, for what then, has one been created?