Here is a piece I wrote for Randomville that did not get published because competing sites had already published similar articles.
5/14/09- The NINJA Tour came through Albuquerque this evening on a beautiful night in the desert. The weather was in the low 60s and stayed there through the remainder of the show which I, and the rest of the crowd were very happy about.
I arrived there a little late but got there just as the first band, Street Sweeper Social Club, began to perform. Street Sweeper Social Club is Tom Morello’s new band and they set the bar high for the night with their energy and enthusiasm. You really couldn’t ask for a better opening band. A lot of people are already beginning to talk about how the band is “not as good as Rage Against the Machine”. Who the hell cares? Their lead singer, Boots Riley, might not have the fire of De La Rocha but what he lacks in passion he makes up for in charisma. He was great to the crowd and it was great to see him dancing, and sometimes rolling around the stage. A few songs into their set, they covered “Paper Planes” by M.I.A. and replaced the gunshots on the chorus with distorted guitars and the sound of the cash register with harmonics. It was a great cover. At the end of their set, they offered a chance for a fan to come back stage and meet them by texting “Street” to a number that they then provided. I texted them but was not chosen. I guess you can’t have everything. But it’s not a problem because I greatly enjoyed their set and began to think that they just might steal the show from the two remaining bands. How wrong I was.
I need to take a moment here to applaud the stage crew that worked at Journal Pavilion in Albuquerque because they were hands down the best crew at a concert I’ve ever seen, which is saying a lot. It was only a mere 20 minutes before Nine Inch Nails took the stage and they must have felt the energy from Street Sweeper Social Club because they came out fierce and explosive. On the opening song, a riotous version of “Somewhat Damaged”, Trent Reznor and company did everything they could to trash the stage from throwing mic stands and guitars all over the place. It was great to see. There was no slowing down either. Throughout their 20-plus song set, they never once played a song that you could label as “quiet” or “slow”. Towards the end of their set, they played “Head Like A Hole” and it was wonderful to hear thousands of people scream “I’d rather die than give you control”. Before their closing song, Reznor began to talk about how it was great that so many fans had stuck with the band over the years and that after this current tour the band was going to take an “extended break”. I don’t know what to make of that statement but if this tour is the last the band ever plays, then they must be determined to go out with a bang. I can honestly say that it was the most explosive set I’ve ever seen.
Once they finished, it was only another 20 minutes (seriously, this is unprecedented) before Jane’s Addiction came out. Before they began to play, they showed a clip from the movie, The River Wild, where Kevin Bacon talks to a kid about Jane’s Addiction and the kid remarks, “Wish I could’ve seen them before they broke up”. Perry Farrell and crew came out and Perry Farrell yelled, “Good evening, Santa Fe!” Oops. However, the crowd didn’t mind and Farrell apologized later on in the show. Although people have always thought Farrell to be odd and eccentric, the one thing that I’ve always admired about him is his happiness and enthusiasm, as he’s always smiling and dancing around with the crowd. Halfway through the set, they played “Been Caught Stealing” and a fan jumped on stage and began to slowly dance around Farrell. Farrell yelled, “You better bring it if you’re gonna be up here” and danced around with the man for awhile before security shooed him offstage. The band hasn’t lost any speed, as all the members of the band have seemed to improve at their instruments. It’s still amazing to watch Dave Navarro, Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins play as they’re all virtuosos at their instruments. The highlight for me though, was when they played “Mountain Song” which got a big reaction from the crowd. I think a lot of us were waiting for that one.
All in all, it was an amazing show and it has set the bar high for the rest of the summer. If the NINJA tour is coming through your town, do yourself a favor and go see it. You might not get another chance to see anything like it again.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The Food Network Foray
There comes a time in every unemployed person’s unemployment when things take a strange turn. For bizarre and often unknown reasons, the person always begins to create a routine that becomes more important than everything else in their life. By keeping the routine, they create a sense of normalcy when what is actually happening is far from anything normal. They need the routine. It means everything. It is everything. This is how I came to know the answers to all of the great questions of life by religiously watching the Food Network.
While that statement might be a little hard-to-swallow, it is easier to see once you have watched it as closely as I have. There are statements throughout the various shows of the Food Network that could apply to all of the great questions of humanity. Why are we here? According to Marc Summers’ Unwrapped, there is a company that now makes organic cotton candy. This could also be read as: We are here to help create a utopia where people can strive to not only make things better but to learn from the mistakes of their past so that they can create a better future. This is why organic cotton candy not only tastes better but is also better for you rather than enlarging areas of your body that you do not want to enlarge. What are the most important things in life? According to Sunny Anderson’s Cooking For Real, it is fun, time and flavor which could also mean: It is important to enjoy life and experience all the ups and downs of life before our time is up. Who knew that food could be existential?
Whether I’m watching Guy Fieri eat cheeseburgers the size of his head or Alton Brown explain the science of the steel in common cutlery, there are always lessons to be learned. Duff Goldman has taught me that anything is possible, specifically in regards to making amazing cakes but also to other once-thought impossible challenges. Will America ease tensions with North Korea? All Kim Jong-Il needs is a large cake from America based on some aspect of his life portrayed through cute fondant caricatures. It could show him ordering people around, acting totally insane, etc. He’d love it. Will humans ever have world peace? Yes, provided that there is a cake as big as the moon that incorporates a fountain, staircase or some kind of moving element, preferably a spinning penguin. Will humanity ever repair the tear in the Earth’s atmosphere? Yes, provided that there is a crap load of fondant.
Though I’ve spent every single night for the past few months watching various Food Network shows, it never makes me any better at cooking. As the wonderful cooks and chefs offer loads of tips and tricks in the kitchen, I always think to myself, “Huh, I need to try that” before getting up and going to Wendy’s to order a spicy chicken sandwich. I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve watched informative shows on how to cook healthy meals while surrounded by leftover bags and large, empty cups from a plethora of fast food restaurants. They're like empty but all-too-present vessels of failure.
So, what does this tell us? Cooking food can offer the secrets of the universe as long as those secrets don’t have to do with actual food. Sure, they offer useful information but unless you are sitting with a pen and pad, furiously scribbling down extensive instructions, or if you happen to have a memory like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, there is no way that you will remember it all. Instead, you get different pieces to hundreds of different puzzles that you will never be able to put all together. I’ve learned how to put a rub on ribs, but know nothing about what to do after that. I’ve learned how to sear a steak, but do not know how to add flavor. And while this is unfortunate that I could learn everything but still know nothing in regards to food, I’m much more interested in learning about the universe. Or maybe I just want someone else to cook.
Whatever the reason, the next time you are wondering about the world around you, don’t pick up Kierkegaard or Socrates, Nietzsche, or Kant. Turn on your television to the Food Network where the real philosophers reside whether it’s Paula Deen, Bobby Flay or the earthly angel, Giada de Laurentiis. I might be crazy to think all of this nonsense about food and existence but…..another episode of Iron Chef America is coming on and I’ve been desperately wanting to know when human beings will be able to fly. And if Masaharu Morimoto has anything to say, it’s probably soon.
While that statement might be a little hard-to-swallow, it is easier to see once you have watched it as closely as I have. There are statements throughout the various shows of the Food Network that could apply to all of the great questions of humanity. Why are we here? According to Marc Summers’ Unwrapped, there is a company that now makes organic cotton candy. This could also be read as: We are here to help create a utopia where people can strive to not only make things better but to learn from the mistakes of their past so that they can create a better future. This is why organic cotton candy not only tastes better but is also better for you rather than enlarging areas of your body that you do not want to enlarge. What are the most important things in life? According to Sunny Anderson’s Cooking For Real, it is fun, time and flavor which could also mean: It is important to enjoy life and experience all the ups and downs of life before our time is up. Who knew that food could be existential?
Whether I’m watching Guy Fieri eat cheeseburgers the size of his head or Alton Brown explain the science of the steel in common cutlery, there are always lessons to be learned. Duff Goldman has taught me that anything is possible, specifically in regards to making amazing cakes but also to other once-thought impossible challenges. Will America ease tensions with North Korea? All Kim Jong-Il needs is a large cake from America based on some aspect of his life portrayed through cute fondant caricatures. It could show him ordering people around, acting totally insane, etc. He’d love it. Will humans ever have world peace? Yes, provided that there is a cake as big as the moon that incorporates a fountain, staircase or some kind of moving element, preferably a spinning penguin. Will humanity ever repair the tear in the Earth’s atmosphere? Yes, provided that there is a crap load of fondant.
Though I’ve spent every single night for the past few months watching various Food Network shows, it never makes me any better at cooking. As the wonderful cooks and chefs offer loads of tips and tricks in the kitchen, I always think to myself, “Huh, I need to try that” before getting up and going to Wendy’s to order a spicy chicken sandwich. I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve watched informative shows on how to cook healthy meals while surrounded by leftover bags and large, empty cups from a plethora of fast food restaurants. They're like empty but all-too-present vessels of failure.
So, what does this tell us? Cooking food can offer the secrets of the universe as long as those secrets don’t have to do with actual food. Sure, they offer useful information but unless you are sitting with a pen and pad, furiously scribbling down extensive instructions, or if you happen to have a memory like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, there is no way that you will remember it all. Instead, you get different pieces to hundreds of different puzzles that you will never be able to put all together. I’ve learned how to put a rub on ribs, but know nothing about what to do after that. I’ve learned how to sear a steak, but do not know how to add flavor. And while this is unfortunate that I could learn everything but still know nothing in regards to food, I’m much more interested in learning about the universe. Or maybe I just want someone else to cook.
Whatever the reason, the next time you are wondering about the world around you, don’t pick up Kierkegaard or Socrates, Nietzsche, or Kant. Turn on your television to the Food Network where the real philosophers reside whether it’s Paula Deen, Bobby Flay or the earthly angel, Giada de Laurentiis. I might be crazy to think all of this nonsense about food and existence but…..another episode of Iron Chef America is coming on and I’ve been desperately wanting to know when human beings will be able to fly. And if Masaharu Morimoto has anything to say, it’s probably soon.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Don't Let Me Down
I was kinda down yesterday and I decided to watch some videos on youtube and I came across this video and I love it and I can't get it out of my head so I thought I'd share. This is a song called "Don't Let Me Down" by the Beatles and as you see in the video, it was one of the songs from their famous rooftop performance. Even though I have almost all of their albums, I had never heard this song before. I guess it was a b-side to their Let It Be album and was released on the Let It Be Naked compilation. I love seeing them play together cuz you can just see how much they liked to do it, how John and Paul always look at each other and smile. Its good to see and makes me reminisce about playing with my band. It really helped cheer me up so maybe it will do the same for you. Enjoy.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Because Boxes Make The Best Forts
I've been feeling nostalgic for the good ol' days when everyday was funny back when I was a teenager so I thought I'd tell you a story from those days.
One day, I must have been 16, my friends and I, bored with the summer days and tired of the same old stuff decided that we wanted to build an amazing fort like we did when we were kids. This sounds more difficult than it sounds because you can't just use anything. You need big boxes and to make your life easier, finding big boxes that are all the same size is a good idea. We had no idea where to find these but since my friend's parents worked at Wal-Mart, we thought that that'd be a good idea of where to start.
We went to the Wal-Mart and found out that they DID have boxes and they were free but that we had to come at 6 in the morning and you had to just take what they gave you (meaning they would be all different sizes and shapes). Disappointed but not yet dissuaded by the idea, we thought well, we'll just buy them, I mean, how much can a box cost? Actually quite a lot, which we found out quite quickly. I think it was around a dollar and thirty cents a box, and to make a really good fort, we needed at least 30 boxes. Being poor teenagers, we decided that this would not work either. We didn't know what to do and were about to give up when my best friend all the sudden said, "Wait. I know what to do. Let's go back to the van and I'll tell you what to do."
In those days, my mother had a purple mini-van which I drove everywhere. I didn't have a car and my friends didn't either so my mother's purple mini-van was our only mode of transportation. We were so cool.
So, we went back to the mini-van and my friend instructed me to drive around to the back of Wal-Mart. He pointed to a storage closet that was on the outside of the building. He said, "I remembered that they store boxes over here that they plan to re-use. When I say go, me and him (my other friend) will get out and grab these boxes and we'll jump in and you hit the gas." I started laughing and I was about to protest the whole idea but we were already to the closet and before I knew it, my friend had yelled, "Go!" and jumped out and started throwing boxes in the car. They couldn't keep it together though. All three of us were dying of laughter and the two throwing the boxes couldn't even get any boxes cuz they were laughing so hard. They finally finished and jumped in and yelled, "Go! Go! Go!" to which I slammed on the gas and sped off.
I realized pretty quickly though that nobody had saw us so I slowed down and went the normal speed. I kept it that speed all the way back to the house. When we got home, we took all of our boxes to the back yard and began assembling. They were easy to put up because they were all the same size but we realized pretty quickly that it wasn't going to work. We didn't have enough boxes. The dream had been to build a fort big enough that I could walk through standing up straight. Being that I was 6'2", we needed quite a lot of boxes. We barely had enough for one wall. So instead, we set them up and then jumped into them.
But it didn't matter. The fun was in the journey. I really think that even if we had had enough boxes to finish the fort, we would have got bored with it pretty quickly. We were 16 years old. What were we going to do in a fort?
We were so happy with our victory. All we had REALLY wanted to do was to do something different and out-of-the-ordinary, to break from the norm and the beaten path. We had achieved that and to this day we all still remember it vividly.
One day, I must have been 16, my friends and I, bored with the summer days and tired of the same old stuff decided that we wanted to build an amazing fort like we did when we were kids. This sounds more difficult than it sounds because you can't just use anything. You need big boxes and to make your life easier, finding big boxes that are all the same size is a good idea. We had no idea where to find these but since my friend's parents worked at Wal-Mart, we thought that that'd be a good idea of where to start.
We went to the Wal-Mart and found out that they DID have boxes and they were free but that we had to come at 6 in the morning and you had to just take what they gave you (meaning they would be all different sizes and shapes). Disappointed but not yet dissuaded by the idea, we thought well, we'll just buy them, I mean, how much can a box cost? Actually quite a lot, which we found out quite quickly. I think it was around a dollar and thirty cents a box, and to make a really good fort, we needed at least 30 boxes. Being poor teenagers, we decided that this would not work either. We didn't know what to do and were about to give up when my best friend all the sudden said, "Wait. I know what to do. Let's go back to the van and I'll tell you what to do."
In those days, my mother had a purple mini-van which I drove everywhere. I didn't have a car and my friends didn't either so my mother's purple mini-van was our only mode of transportation. We were so cool.
So, we went back to the mini-van and my friend instructed me to drive around to the back of Wal-Mart. He pointed to a storage closet that was on the outside of the building. He said, "I remembered that they store boxes over here that they plan to re-use. When I say go, me and him (my other friend) will get out and grab these boxes and we'll jump in and you hit the gas." I started laughing and I was about to protest the whole idea but we were already to the closet and before I knew it, my friend had yelled, "Go!" and jumped out and started throwing boxes in the car. They couldn't keep it together though. All three of us were dying of laughter and the two throwing the boxes couldn't even get any boxes cuz they were laughing so hard. They finally finished and jumped in and yelled, "Go! Go! Go!" to which I slammed on the gas and sped off.
I realized pretty quickly though that nobody had saw us so I slowed down and went the normal speed. I kept it that speed all the way back to the house. When we got home, we took all of our boxes to the back yard and began assembling. They were easy to put up because they were all the same size but we realized pretty quickly that it wasn't going to work. We didn't have enough boxes. The dream had been to build a fort big enough that I could walk through standing up straight. Being that I was 6'2", we needed quite a lot of boxes. We barely had enough for one wall. So instead, we set them up and then jumped into them.
But it didn't matter. The fun was in the journey. I really think that even if we had had enough boxes to finish the fort, we would have got bored with it pretty quickly. We were 16 years old. What were we going to do in a fort?
We were so happy with our victory. All we had REALLY wanted to do was to do something different and out-of-the-ordinary, to break from the norm and the beaten path. We had achieved that and to this day we all still remember it vividly.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Prayers Answered
I woke up this morning and looked outside and saw a whole bunch of snow clouds in the sky and realized that it was freezing outside. I got online to check the weather reports and saw that it was snowing over where we were supposed to have our campout tonight. Even more important was that the roads were getting bad. I called my partner and we decided to cancel the camping trip. Honestly, its a bit of a relief. I was worried about my car making it because its kind of old and beat up so I'm glad that I don't have to forge icy roads and whatnot. Thank you for all your prayers and support! Apparently they worked, in one way or another.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Say A Prayer
I need everyone to say a prayer for me. Tomorrow, I'm taking four 11-year old boys camping for the night. I'm the assistant scout leader and my partner will not be able to go so I have to take them. Luckily, three of the four boys' fathers are coming so that will be nice to have some help. We're going to Bluewater Lake which is about an hour and a half outside of Albuquerque. I'm just hoping my car can make it and that we can fit all of the boys and the gear inside. It'll be tight. I'm worried about so many things but I'm trying to reassure myself that everything will be okay. If anything does go wrong or we forget something, we just have to suffer for one night, right? Anyway, do me a favor and pray for me. Pray with all of your fervor. I'm gonna need it. I'll report back afterwards.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
I Dreamed A Dream
My wife showed me this yesterday and I saw it again today and thought I'd share it with you all. Some of you have probably already seen this but for those of you who haven't, its a real treat. Such a beautiful song too. You'll have to follow the link because they disabled people's ability to embed it onto their pages. Anyway, enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY
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