05.13.07
For MOM
Today is the one day of the year we make a special point of celebrating mothers and I would like to take this opportunity to thank my mom for being so amazing. Raising children is a challenge and requires good choices at all times; my mom always made great choices for me. She taught me good values and provided me every opportunity to grow, gradually giving me freedom to make my own decisions as a a responsible individual. Today I understand right and wrong because of her love and devotion, and I wish that everyone could be so lucky to have such a wonderful parent. (Don't mean to exclude you, dad. Check back on June 17) Thank you mom for inspiring me to live my life well. The only way I can ever give back what you've given me is by making you proud. I owe you my life and am truly grateful. I love you.
And for all Moms out there, you are doing the good work of humanity. Thank you for dedicating yourselves to the most important job. By raising good children, you make the world a better place. Love makes Love.
05.12.07
Baby Loves Disco
I got to MC a dance party for Kids today. Founded by a father of two kids that took my class, Baby Loves Disco has turned into a national phenomenon, with locations in thirty cities. The concept is simple: host a dance party on Saturday afternoons in a sweet club (in this case, Element in the lower east side); play music and let kids play. They gave me a mic and I danced hard for three hours. It's great to get paid for something I love doing...
Subway Musicians
For two months in 2002, I collected videos of subway musicians. Every time I rode, I brought my camera and asked these musicians if I could include them on my website. The thirty videos here are a tiny fraction of the performers who have ever played underground, but I think they are representative of the immense subterranean talent in this city. Public and free, subway performers provide a very diverse sampling of music from around the world, which is what makes New York such an incredibly vibrant place to live. All walks of life are represented here and music is as culturally definitive as anything. To have this aural stew pulsing through the veins of our city is truly special and we are fortunate to witness the breadth and beauty of humanity every day. I hope you enjoy these videos, but more importantly, I hope you recognize the supergood qualities of a busker's life.
05.11.07
jPod
Douglas Coupland's novel jPod re-imagines the meaning of a book. Brilliantly meta, Coupland himself enters his own fiction and tells an outrageous tale of bored computer programmers creating a more exciting life for themselves. Random thoughts and hilarious escapades make this a thoroughly enjoyable experience. It is truly a fun read.
Early Sox
The Red Sox are playing good baseball right now. I have certainly enjoyed watching Daisuke pitch. It seems like he can make the ball do anything. Josh Beckett is 6-0 and looking like a superstar, and let's not forget our ace, Mr. Curt "That's My Real Blood on the Sox" Schilling. Plus, Papelbon is the best closer in the majors. There is more than enough offense to win games, and today they stand at 22-10. Yes, it is early in the season, and the Sox have a habit of hitting hard times later, but if I can't enjoy it now, when will I? For now I feel very good about this team. See you in October?
05.03.07
Central Park
I spent a few hours in Central park yesterday enjoying a nice spring day. I also made this recording with my guitar and a Zoom H4 Handy recorder. What a fun toy. In the past 10 years, recording has been completely revolutionized as computers have made home studios a reality and now portable recorders put it all in a tiny package I can travel with every day. This was recorded raw and completely improvised in the Park yesterday, then edited today on Pro Tools.
VETO BUSH
Bush called the Congressional war spending bill, which set a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, a "prescription for chaos and confusion" and that to "take fighting directions from politicians 6000 miles away" would "impose impossible conditions on commanders in combat." How depressingly laughable. Does he not realize that HIS decision to make war in Iraq was the prescription for chaos that created impossible positions? No. I know he knows what he's done and that there is no winning this war. And that makes it so much more cruel.