ANNIVERSARY
June 25, 2006
One year of marriage. Alaina and I have officially survived the first year and are beginning the second today. Good work, team! That day was, to be completely cliche, the best day of my life. Really and truly, it felt so good to make that commitment and then party all night with friends and family. So much love from everyone. Just Joy. I strongly recommend it to anyone for the sheer natural high, not to mention that if you want a meat slicer, someone will buy it for you! I coudn't be happier with my marriage. I know I'm lucky to have such a good wife. She treats me good and I treat her good, so we make each other happy. It's simple. If you are both willing to give yourself to the relationship, then you will both receive so much more from it. 2>1+1. Greater than the sum of its parts, a good marriage is worth a lifetime. And you can quote me on that. This marriage will never end. I know the "reality" is that 50% end in divorce, but I promise; to myself, to Alaina, and to you, that this marriage will last forever. As long as we both shall live, we will be together.
BOOTSTRAPPING
June 22, 2006
Blogs are an important new media. They are the voice of the people and are accessible to anyone with an internet connection. We bypass the traditional heirarchy of media filters in speaking our minds and hearing others. Blogs have quite an effect in politics and the arts (see my June 4 entry on Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!) and while I won't delude myself into thinking that my readership is very big (it's quality, not quantity of readers, thank YOU) I might believe that if you've read more than one entry, you may trust me. Would you believe me if I said I like my music better than anything else? I may be slightly biased because its like having my own kids -- obviously I love them more than anyone else's kids -- but I really love making and listening to my music. It's me. And not to gloat, but I like me. A lot. So I'm going to promote my own music here -- bootstrapping, if you will. Here are a few tunes I made recently. Have a listen and if you would be so kind, let me know what you think. Bonus points if I've never met you before!
Send me an email: sjt@supergood.org
MOVIES
June 21, 2006
I went to see two movies in the theater today, which I don't think I've ever done before. I had three hours to kill (timeicide) on the upper east side so I chose to commit it while watching Pixar's "Cars", which is very entertaining and of course, feel goodifying. You know, it's about changing your character to make the right choices and choosing team over self. That is an important lesson, but we're talking about animated cars here, unlike the second movie I saw which was also about the exact same thing, but which framed this morality play in terms of humanity and our relationship to earth. "An Inconvenient Truth" stars Al Gore as a travelling crusader educating the world on our imminent self-destruction. He pulls together a very convincing argument for global warming pushing us to the brink of disaster. While I have never doubted that this issue is serious (unlike some politicians) this movie demonstrates how quickly we are moving towards irreversible harm to our only home. It is truly scary. Please educate yourself and everyone else on this issue, because the only way we will be able to make a difference is if we communicate and unite. Seriously, people, let's save our planet.
SUMMER
June 20, 2006
It is officially summer in New York. The heat is on and the ACs are in; The sun is bright and the air is light; I'm taking Fridays off. It feels nice!
Maine was spectacular. Alaina and I went up to Mt. Desert Island to spend some time at my family's cabin. Words are useless in describing the joy that I experience there. It feels so different from my daily routine in New York, where activities and schedules abound. I am so content to just sit on the deck overlooking Frenchman's Bay all day and enjoy the serenity. We spent three days there and also managed three hikes in Acadia National Park; up Beech Mountain, up Dorr Mountain and around Great Head.
Beech Mountain has a fire tower on top and is a great lookout spot, plus we discovered a trail that opens up to some even better scenery.
Dorr Mountain has a great ladder trail straight up and a nice leisurely walk down along the ridge. We were also lucky enough to do this trail with our good friend Bob Wohlsen, who is the father of Pete, Mark and Andy. This great family recently lost wife/mom Rosemary to cancer and have been an inspiration to me in how to cope with these situations and how to take as much good as possible from the circumstances. They are full of Love.
Great Head is the perfect Maine rocky coast.
I would recommend that you visit as soon as possible.
TAKE A BREAK
June 12, 2006
I'm leaving technology behind for a week. Sort of a "modern-man-reverts-to-prehistoric-lifestyle" type of experiment. I will be visiting an outpost of precivilization: Maine, where I hope to survive solely on instincts and money. This may very well be my last blog entry, so I hope you have enjoyed reading my musings... I feel like I should say something important here, so here it is: BE GOOD.
Nil-Nil
June 10, 2006
How can a game that ends with no scoring be exciting? If you saw Trinidad and Tobago tie Sweden today, you would understand. T n T, the smallest country ever to qualify for the world cup, played the highly favored yellow team to a dead draw. And they were celebrating like they won! Their goalie -- the second stringer who was only playing because their regular starter injured himself during warm-ups -- was out of his head, making one incredible save after another, AND they played the entire second half a man down for a red card. That is what I call inspiring football. Obviously, the chances of them winning the tournament are slim, but we can all dream...
I've never been to Trinidad and Tobago, but I love the music that comes from those islands, called SOCA (the team nickname is the Soca Warriors). It is incredible dance music that has a very unique flavor to it. It is instant party music. I'll bet they're playing it loud in T n T today.
FOOTBALL
June 8, 2006
I love football. American football, that is. I obsess over the New England Patriots and have a slightly embarassing man-crush on Tom Brady (see also yesterday's entry). They have given me plenty to cheer about over the past few years and I devote my Sunday afternoons in the fall to this team and their sport. But let me say that there's a new football in town, and I'm jumping on the bandwagon. The World Cup begins tomorrow and I am thrilled. This tournament is the focal point of the world for the next month, and I want to be a part of it. I can't claim to care about any MLS soccer teams, or follow any other international leagues, but I will be watching, no matter who is playing. Real football is perhaps the most beautiful sport ever conceived; so simple is the concept, so graceful and awe-inspiring are the athletes, so intense and meaningful is a goal. And this is truly a world stage -- the World Series is such a complete misnomer and the Superbowl determines the champion of a sport that is only played here (CFL and NFL Europe being the minor leagues) -- The World Cup attracts the attention of the greatest number of people on the planet.
While I would love to see the Americans win the World Cup, I would be happy seeing almost any team take home the trophy, provided they inspire the world with their play. So give me great games and a deserving champion and I will insist that this event is humanity's ultimate competition.
GAY
June 7, 2006
This is my forum. I refrain from engaging in political discussions for most of the day, feeling that my baby music classes are an inappropriate environment to discuss complex and divisive issues, but I can say whatever I want here. There's something that's been bothering me for some time now, and it just won't go away, so I guess I'm going to have to take a stand.
Gays SHOULD have the right to marry.
If you agree, then you can skip right to the end of this entry.
If you disagree, then read on...
Honestly, what's your problem? Why does the idea of same sex marriages really bother you, and if it does bother you, it definitely doesn't affect you at all because you're obviously not gay,
or at least you've decided to play it that way,
and yet you need to say
that gays aren't OK?
It's not your life;
you can still have your wife
just let everyone live
and turn your hate into love.
DO YOU REALLY WANT TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES TO PROHIBIT GAY MARRIAGE?
If you do, then you should hit www.nogaymarriage.com
If you don't, then join me in opposition to this hateful and discriminatory movement.
Love,
Me
NOBU FOR PRESIDENT!
June 6, 2006
Sat next to Alexandra (daughter of John) Kerry tonight at Nobu. Totally ridiculous, I know, that this is becoming an annoying name-dropping gossip column, but I had to mention it. I actually went to school with her as well (Park School) so I had to include her in the blog, because, well, that's what we bloggers do. Want to see something funny? Google her name and peep the images...
But the point of this entry is really just name-dropping Nobu. This is not a restaurant that I frequent often. In fact, this was my virgin experience there, courtesy of a wedding gift from Dave McCabe. Alaina and I were completely blown away by the food (because that's what we were there for--not celebrity sighting). I can't really describe it other than to say it made me really wish I could cook, or even just cut raw fish. Serious flavor explosion in my mouth. My brother is a chef out in Seattle -- Andrew Taylor, maybe you've heard of him... This blogger highly recommends samlping his fare at The Rover restaurant. Now if he blows up to Nobu Matsuhisa fame within the next few weeks, we can trace it back here... But seriously, he is an amazing chef and never fails to create incredible tastes that make me wonder if I should be cooking instead of playing music. Something about GREAT food... I live on pizza and pasta, but every once in a while I get a taste of something really special like tonight. In the end it's all the same, making food or making music, and we all strive to be the very best at what we do; to reach out to our audience and give them a memorable experience; to inspire them to greatness; to make them enjoy their life a little bit more. Thank you Nobu.
MY CLOSEST CELEBRITY
June 4, 2006
Hung out with Lee Sargent last night. How awesome is that? You know who Lee Sargent is, don't you? He plays in Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! Anyway, me and Lee went to high school (Milton Academy) together where he and his twin brother, Tyler, played in a great band called Flood. Fast forward 10 years (reunion in 2 weeks). Clap Your Hands happens and they blow up overnight. Literally, according to NPR, over the course of two weeks; an obscure blog mentioned them one day and over the next few days more and more blogs picked up on it, thus generating some major buzz and voila: 250,000 records sold. If I'm not too late too jump on that blog train, count me in. They are a great band and just starting a two week tracking session for their next album today. I look forward to hearing that fruit.
I think it's amazing. Our culture is so influenced by our internet-connectedness. What an awesome resonsibility I have then in my communications... I promise that I will be honest with you always.
I was thinking about this blogging gig that I've hired myself for and I laughed when I realized that this is exactly what Doogie Howser, MD did at the end of every show. Thought you might like to reminisce with me...
YOUKILIS
June 2, 2006
Wow. I just wanted to thank Kevin Youkilis for hitting a two-run homer with two outs in the top of the 9th to beat the Tigers 3-2. Really, that's why I love baseball and sports in general. Moments like that to celebrate.
Full disclosure: I live in Brooklyn, but cheer the teams from my boyhood Boston. After years of misery, we have had some amazing fortune recently, celebrating three Patriots Superbowls and one (HUGE) Red Sox World Series. Why would anyone be willing to suffer for a game? I asked myself this many times in my life before experiencing (first-hand, at the Superdome) the Patriots' first championship. Then I understood. We get out what we put in. We give it meaning in our lives and victory, be it a championship, a game, or a clutch home run, is meaningless without our own emotional investment.
But hey, that's true about everything in life. What emptiness we feel without attachment (zen ideal?) I don't think we need to search for meaning, I think we just need to create meaning. Make it Matter.
IN THE BEGINNING
June 1, 2006
The Blog is born. It's time for words. There are some things I'd like to tell you if you'd care to listen. So if you want to hear it, this is the spot.
"What's new?" is the conversation starter, and I'm going to assume you've asked, since you're reading this. When my friend Ethan asked me that question yesterday, I told him I wanted to start a blog and he said "What's that?"
It sort of blew me away that he didn't know what a blog was, but when I tried to explain it, I didn't really know what to say other than, "it's a web site where people write stuff... they usually update it regularly... it can be about anything..." Not really too specific, but I guess it probably describes exactly what this will become. If there is any common theme to the content, it is only that I have chosen to write about it. So read on, and see what matters to me.
Love. It's the only thing that really matters. Do you feel love? For whom or what? I love my wife, Alaina, and our families. I love our friends. I love music and teaching. I love art and creativity. I love technology. And I love you for reading this.
Love is the Purpose and the Purpose is Love.
But Hate abounds. Sometimes it even takes hold of me, usually when I read about the terror our government is wreaking around the world.
Iraq is Whack!
No more occupation and subjugation!
Shall we end this horrendous offense against humanity?
Or will we allow it forever into eternity?
"it always has been and always will be"
is a poor excuse for passivity.
I know writing rhymes won't solve the problem, but sometimes it helps me cope.
I want to thank you for reading this, my first blog entry. I would encourage you to tell me your thoughts, because I need a little dialogue to go with my monologue. sjt@supergood.org.
Please come back and visit often, because I am committed to this communication, and I intend to continue it until the end, when (spoiler alert) I die.