Long Post...take your time!

It has been a while since I posted. Much has happened, but I have not been fully inspired to write anything. Sometimes you just gotta write something.

First off...RADIOHEAD!



Most of you will not fully appreciate the above video. This was a concert that I had hoped to see for many years. I first listened to Radiohead in high school when "Creep" became popular. I bought Pablo Honey. Though it was okay. Basically ignored the next two albums until a college roommate convinced me that OK Computer was one of the best albums ever recorded. I borrowed it, and he never got it back. I listened to it sparsely as well, at first, enjoying it superficially. Somehow, though, I got hold of The Bends, and I was hooked completely. "High and Dry," I recognized somehow. But I just loved the musicality. I was in Nashville at the time I listened to it the most, and that was a time when I discovered the importance of rhythm guitar. At least, good rhythm guitar. And I contend that The Bends has some of the best rhythm guitar ever. Off of this album, "The Bends" is perhaps my favorite song. That's the song in the video above. But I could have an inner debate for quite a while about my favorite Radiohead song.

Among Radiohead fans, there are the "Bends" allegiant, and there are the "OK Computer" allegiant--each fans typically declares one of the two as their best. I'm a "Bends" guy. So is my cousin Blair (who was next to me at the concert and acquired the tickets from a guy named Franklin). More people are "OK Computer" people, I think. Certainly the following albums are great (Kid A, Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief, and In Rainbows), but a clear diversion from their previous albums to more inaccessable to the masses, but innovative, progressive, and artistic. In my world, I want the musicians to be a bit weird or unusual, especially in their approach to writing. But not so much as to alienate the fans. I understand it's all subjective. But Radiohead seem to write such tremendous "art" songs, creating transcendent moods with music, taking pop instruments and creating chords and sounds that stretch the mind and acoustic palate.

(Geez, I'm really flowing here.) All of this to say, it was a great moment for me. They have been quite influential in my playing. You can hear it when I play guitar. I bought a Fender Telecaster because Johnny Greenwood (Radiohead guitar player) played one. I bought a Small Stone Phaser (a guitar special effect) because he used one. As I mentioned earlier, their rhythm guitar style inspired me and changed my approach to playing. Just listen to "My Iron Lung" to hear what I'm talking about--I still love it and it inspires me. Listen to the special effects in the intro, then listen to the chords under the verses. Then this song also shows off Thom Yorke's voice. "Bones"--the simplicity of the guitars in the verse, then the octave jumps mixed with blues during the chorus; Thom's vocals--perhaps the most dynamic, and a very inventive melody. (Note: I'm very effusive with my compliments...must be the coffee.) I could probably over-analyze all of their songs. And most of you aren't interested. So I'll end with a summary statement: favorite band, finally saw them live, great show.



...Since my last posting, the Royals have been no-hit by Jon Lester of the Red Sox, had a 12 game losing streak, and now have won only 3 of their last 19 games, nestling them in
last place in the AL Central. Fortunately, they're in a battle for last with Detroit, whose fans must be even more disappointed. The Royals have a knack for making opposing pitchers look like Cy Young candidates, with some suggesting teams should give a slumping pitcher a start against the Royals to break a slump. I've seen Sidney Ponson look like a magician. Went to my first game when the Twins were in town, and the Royals lack of hitting made Kevin Slowey (who?) look like a stud. They've also sent their best young hitter to the minors because of a lack of production. This really is a talented young team in many ways. Except for hitting, it appears. Their pitching staff has done well, often performing at a winning or first-place level. But too often, they lose close games, especially on the nights when the pitching struggles. They're doing well against the monstrous Yankees, especially Jose Guillen even in a loss yesterday. Right now, they're down 6-3, but they still look competitive. I'll keep watching.

...What would you bury yourself in? Maybe we should ask this instead of, "What would you have written on your tombstone?"

...Chalk these up to something I thought of as a kid and am amazed to see come to fruition. I'd love to try it out.

...aaaaand the Royals have lost now, 6-3.

...really? First, Hollywood people can be so weird, and it baffles me that anyone would listen to their opinions in regards to politics or anything worthwhile besides art, fashion, music and other creative ventures. Second, when is Clay Aiken gonna tell everyone he's gay? Seems like he's treating us like sleuths, like ET with the Reese's pieces, giving us clues like little bits of candy. Just say it! Third, does the fact that she artificially inseminated indicate one or both of them just hate sex? Or heterosexual sex? What can be made of it??

...Thanks for reading. So here's an update, in case you're interested. I finish residency in December. Have been looking at jobs in OKC, the Dallas area, and in Austin. All of which are tempting for their own different reasons. I'm ready to leave KC--just needing a change of scenery.

Show Month

Two down...at least one more to go.

Maybe you have one too--a checklist of things you want to do in life. Some of mine are trivial, others garden-variety, all ultimately personal. This week I've made a strikingly rapid assault on this checklist, having seen two bands I love, and one coming this weekend.

It began Tuesday with The Police...





Great show!! One that you just enjoy and soak in the pleasure of seeing this tumultous trio play the songs from childhood, remembering how I never thought I would have the chance because these guys have a history of not getting along and on-stage fights. They played every song I wanted to hear, except for Synchronicity II, but I'm not complaining. Andy Summers looks every bit of 65, but can still play. Made me think how fun it might be to be the old guy in a band with young, highly-talented players and eventually make it big. A guy can dream, right? A surprising thing was the average age of the crowd. Prior to the show, I speculated average age being thirty, but I would say most were 40 or older. Lots of grey hair there. All in all, great show. My first visit to the new Sprint Center here in KC, which I watched being built from the ground up from my nearby apartment.

And then Wednesday night, Wilco....




This is the second time I've seen them. This time was better than the last show. This one was an outdoor show in Lawrence, KS--a great college, somewhat bohemian, town. They played several songs from Being There--the CD that introduced me to them--which made me very happy. Last time at the Uptown, they essentially played the new songs from Sky Blue Sky and selections from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Ghost is Born. My personal favorites were "Say You Miss Me," "Misunderstood"--which is much better and easier to appreciate live, "Handshake Drugs," and they played "California Stars" from the Mermaid Avenue album with Billy Bragg--one of the great leisure songs. And, its lyrics are written by Woody Guthrie. The whole album was an interesting project, profiled in a documentary that you should rent.

Next....Radiohead...the topper!...

Picher, A-Rod, iPhone

If you're a Yankee hater, here is more fuel for your fire. This guy can't catch a break. I don't think many other players actually like or respect this guy--maybe as a player, not a person. But he's not all bad. My guess is that he's one of those players/people who just doesn't connect well with people. Such a stud athlete, people always wanted to be his friend until he became an adult. Now the people who want to be his friend, he cannot trust--just people who want something for free. Anyway...

I should move to Israel. I'd be envied. Really, the iPhone is the coolest thing. I'm not a gadget guy. And this is such a smart machine. It's my first iPod, of which I have become one of the iPod drones in the world, arriving at work with the earbuds in place. Zoned out. I find it is a crutch for the introvert side of me that really doesn't like things like elevator small talk, forced hallway smiles, and talk about the weather. But I realize the bleakness of a world full of people lost in their iPods--I think of a New York train or Chicago street.

You may have heard of the tornados that hit northeastern Oklahoma a few days ago, killing 6 in the small town of Picher, Oklahoma. What you may not know is that this was perhaps the knockout blow to this old mining town. Because of lead mining, Picher was born. And now, because of lead mining, Picher is dying. The government, after acknowledging the environmental disaster in Tar Creek, is buying out residents homes in an effort to displace them from an unsafe living. This story has been profiled in many places. Notably, I happened to read this article days before the tornado hit. A picture or two says a thousand words. Here is a video featuring a resident of Picher and former miner. (Plus, those of you unfamiliar with the nuances of the modern day Oklahoma accent, you can hear it in the narrators' voices in those features) Another article from over a year ago. There's even a documentary about the small town. This is a sentimental story, not that I have ever been to Picher, but I have driven through so many of these small towns in Oklahoma and Texas. And to think the people were unknowingly exposed to so much lead, but yet the town was sustained by the industry and worked dutifully to support the American industrial machine. So now you can fully understand the story behind the story of the tornados this week--that they struck perhaps the final blow to Picher, OK.

May 6, 2008

...At work I see many people with chronic pain problems.  And this can be the bane of my existence at times.  There are people with actual problems who, whether they recognize it or not, become drug addicted.  Some will blame the doctors for their addiction, saying that the doctors are the ones that put them on such potent drugs with their accompanying rapid withdrawal effects.  This is an interesting article I found detailing a study of demographics of chronic pain.  Of note, I found interesting the associations with level of education and the lack of availability of certain drugs in lower socioeconomic areas.

...How about a feel-good story from right here in Kansas City? I must say, however, that the attention lavished on him from celebrities may be a bit much. But he should be applauded for his efforts. Must be interesting to open up a new world with words at age 70.

...I continue to be shocked once in a while when I meet people who seem by all appearances and behavior to be like me who snort cocaine. COCAINE!! I have come to understand an educated, rational person using weed (know plenty of those), but the cocaine users have really suprised me. Maybe I shouldn't be. Maybe I'm naive. I see lots of patients who smoke crack (some of which surprise me as well, especially their nonchalance). And I see that powder is hitting the mainstream.

...For Radiohead fans, here is a great website. And I owe thanks to the overly obsessive people out there whom I can rely upon for details I love but would never really seek out.

...Finally, congratulations to my old roommate Matt Moreland and his wife Sara on the new addition to their family. They are in China right now picking up their daughter whom they have adopted, and you can follow along.

May 2, 2008

If you have a lot of time to kill, here is a compilation of the Top 50 Greatest Comedy Sketches of All Time, as collected by nerve.com. 50 is a lot. But they really seem to have gotten the ones I like.

So...what would you do? Watch and see what he did.

The Royals are back to their losing ways again. The pitching is doing well, but you can't have an offense that gets shut down by Sidney Ponson!! They lost 2 of 3 to the Rangers--my other team--who are the one team worse than the Royals in the AL.

April 29, 2008

To the web!...

...The newest version of Grand Theft Auto comes out today. And no matter how much my moral core prompts me to feel otherwise, I have to admit that this is a fun game to play. At least, the old ones were fun. Forgive me. Not sure I would spend the money on something like this any more, though.

...Anyone else think that now is about time to stop this thing? If I were Billy Ray, I'd say it's time to shut it all down for a bit, or you're gonna get this, this, or this. And it actually seems as if they are trying to do the child star thing right. But is there a 'right' way anyway?

...So there are apparently people who actually wanna be the body behind the horrible new OU 'mascot'. Does anybody who is a Sooner fan like the horses?

...I'm uninformed and unmotivated, politically speaking, but something just doesn't seem right. And it seems like another industry has picked up on this, too.

...An article here on athletes and smoking from ESPN.com. (And you might notice where I've lifted my new blog style.)

...I like movies, but I don't like every movie, or even most movies, for that matter. So I like to know, if I'm going to spend the time and money on seeing one in the theater, if it is worth it. And this website is the one I've found that seems to give me good information on whether a movie is good or not. Test it and see. Look up your favorite movies on there, or the classics, and check the ratings, and you will see that it is reliable. Just saw "Juno" a couple of weeks ago, partly based on their consensus review, and thought it was great.

Welp, have a great day every one! (all three of you)

Yankees fans are ridiculous

I will leave it to Joe Posnanski, columnist for the KC Star, to express the newest level of Yankee ridiculosity.

Surf on...

-Royals took two of three from the Blue Jays. Meche loses again.

-Just a quick plug for a band from Oklahoma City, Aranda--good friends of mine that I used to sit in with on occasion. It was a huge honor/privilege to sit in with them, because of their talent for singing, Dameon's guitar ability, and song writing ability. They have a new record. If you like what you hear, buy a record! Or go see a show.

-Need a new idea for a diet? Try going to prison. Seems to be working for this guy.

April 25, 2008

So after I posted last week about the Royals, how they were playing well, over .500, and near the top of their division...they promptly have gone out and lost 7 straight games, including both games of a doubleheader yesterday, and are now nuzzling into last place in their division. Seems to be a comfortable spot for them. And people are talking much less about them at work and around town. The excitement is dying down. Now it's going to be more about T-shirt Tuesdays and Buck Nights...still can't wait to get out to a game.

Bouncing around the net...

Wesley Snipes is in trouble for not paying taxes. I need to renew my license plates. I hope I don't get thrown in jail too.

Where did Barry Bonds go? Bill Simmons, one of my favorite columnists on ESPN.com, gives his take.

Saw this t-shirt after searching for more info on my Myers-Briggs test (see recent blog), proving there is a t-shirt for just about everything. I might actually get the baby blue version.

Will someone please come over and bake this for me? In my late night/early morning wakeful periods that I find myself in thanks to my job, I'll catch some interesting shows on the food network. And, naturally, I'll crave some kind of junk food. I've also seen some show where a lady was in a cake baking competition who made a key lime coconut cake !...please find this as well and make it for me.

Finally, before I go to work this morning, the story of a tough and crafty 95 year old woman, from Oklahoma, no less.

Have a great day...

The Portait of the Healer

Healer Idealists are abstract in thought and speech, cooperative in striving for their ends, and investigative and attentive in their interpersonal relations. Healer present a seemingly tranquil, and noticiably pleasant face to the world, and though to all appearances they might seem reserved, and even shy, on the inside they are anything but reserved, having a capacity for caring not always found in other types. They care deeply-indeed, passionately-about a few special persons or a favorite cause, and their fervent aim is to bring peace and integrity to their loved ones and the world.

Healers have a profound sense of idealism derived from a strong personal morality, and they conceive of the world as an ethical, honorable place. Indeed, to understand Healers, we must understand their idealism as almost boundless and selfless, inspiring them to make extraordinary sacrifices for someone or something they believe in. The Healer is the Prince or Princess of fairytale, the King's Champion or Defender of the Faith, like Sir Galahad or Joan of Arc. Healers are found in only 1 percent of the general population, although, at times, their idealism leaves them feeling even more isolated from the rest of humanity.

Healers seek unity in their lives, unity of body and mind, emotions and intellect, perhaps because they are likely to have a sense of inner division threaded through their lives, which comes from their often unhappy childhood. Healers live a fantasy-filled childhood, which, unfortunately, is discouraged or even punished by many parents. In a practical-minded family, required by their parents to be sociable and industrious in concrete ways, and also given down-to-earth siblings who conform to these parental expectations, Healers come to see themselves as ugly ducklings. Other types usually shrug off parental expectations that do not fit them, but not the Healers. Wishing to please their parents and siblings, but not knowing quite how to do it, they try to hide their differences, believing they are bad to be so fanciful, so unlike their more solid brothers and sisters. They wonder, some of them for the rest of their lives, whether they are OK. They are quite OK, just different from the rest of their family-swans reared in a family of ducks. Even so, to realize and really believe this is not easy for them. Deeply committed to the positive and the good, yet taught to believe there is evil in them, Healers can come to develop a certain fascination with the problem of good and evil, sacred and profane. Healers are drawn toward purity, but can become engrossed with the profane, continuously on the lookout for the wickedness that lurks within them. Then, when Healers believe thay have yielded to an impure temptation, they may be given to acts of self-sacrifice in atonement. Others seldom detect this inner turmoil, however, for the struggle between good and evil is within the Healer, who does not feel compelled to make the issue public.

The above is the description of an INFP, my personality type according to the Myers-Briggs test. Another result from my dabbling in self-awareness.

Baseball

So, I like baseball. Here's a blog by Rob Neyer who writes for ESPN. This is one of a few blogs I read about baseball on a regular basis. If you are also a baseball fan, I'd also recommend a couple of other ESPN columnists. His columns lean toward analysis of the game--statistics and such. The one I visit the most is a blog by Buster Olney, but you have to be an "ESPN Insider" to read it (monthly fee, which I gladly pay). His blog is more about keeping a pulse on happenings with every team, filled with links to beat writers in every market, so you get the little details which make following a local team so much fun. In all honesty, that is what makes me enjoy the Royals so much. I can get so much detailed information and analysis on a daily basis here in KC through newspapers, radio, television, internet, and water cooler talk. So, basically, Olney's column directs you to all those things in each baseball city.

I read Sports Illustrated regularly as a kid. Well, not the whole magazine. I would skip to the 2-3 page baseball section to read Peter Gammons, and I would have to say his columns were the greatest fuel to my baseball fandom. These days he writes periodically for ESPN (also an insider feature I believe). If I am correct, he is going to be a part of the Baseball Hall of Fame for writers. And how cool is that for him. All of these guys are essentially fans who focused their journalism careers and writing on the game they loved. I certainly don't envy the life on the road and having to play the political games to get the interviews and the scoop they are required to get. But, as with Gammons, you do something you love long enough, you will end up having success. Imagine that for him...writing about all of these baseball players, and then you also end up in their hall of fame.

When I moved to Kansas City, I began to read Joe Posnanski's column in the Kansas City Star. He's really pretty good. It's fun to try and get into the mind and hearts of the long-suffering Kansas City Royals fans. I say 'long-suffering,' but I am old enought to remember the Royals being a very good team in the 80's. In fact, I was on a little league team called the Royals for one year. I doubt there are many Royals teams in the little leagues around the country anymore. Lotsa Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cardinals, Braves. You can tell that Posnanski has been around for it all, and it's fun to keep up with. Each spring he writes a column about how the Royals will win it all. Which is followed later on (not much later) in the season by a column about how the Royals will never win it all. Good stuff.

I like baseball. Weather's getting warmer. Royals are back in town this week.

Today's links

So, this is troubling. Plus it's an echo of an earlier event.

And, again, this is where I live.

The Royals are young and a fun team to watch. A few young stars with a lot of talent. They lost to Oakland last night. BUT...they are over .500, and they are in second place in arguably the toughest division in baseball. And...they're back in town next week...AND...the weather is warming up. KC summers are nice. The winters...not so much.

Next month, I will be going to this, this, and this. Great month!

Psalm 1

Happy are those who don't listen to the wicked, who don't go where sinners go, who don't do what evil people do. They love the Lord's teachings, and they think about those teachings day and night. They are strong like a tree planted by a river. The tree produces fruit in season, and its leaves don't die. Everything they do will succeed.

But wicked people are not like that. They are like chaff that the wind blows away. So the wicked will not escape God's punishment. Sinners will not worship with God's people. This is because the Lord takes care of his people, but the wicked will be destroyed.

Matthew 15--Jesus speaking
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in me, and I in him...he bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing.

If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them up, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you. By this, God is glorified--that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. Just as God has loved me, I have also loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love; just as I have kept God's commandments, and I abide in his love.

These things I have spoken to you, so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full.


ABIDE
verb (used without object) 1. to remain; continue; stay: Abide with me.
2. to have one's abode; dwell; reside: to abide in a small Scottish village.
3. to continue in a particular condition, attitude, relationship, etc.; last.
–verb (used with object) 4. to put up with; tolerate; stand: I can't abide dishonesty!
5. to endure, sustain, or withstand without yielding or submitting: to abide a vigorous onslaught.
6. to wait for; await: to abide the coming of the Lord.
7. to accept without opposition or question: to abide the verdict of the judges.
8. to pay the price or penalty of; suffer for.


My thoughts:
-The language (as translated at least) is kinda harsh in the Psalm. "Wicked", "evil." It takes much for me to consider someone or something wicked or evil. Perhaps you or others can relate to that type of language. In particular, maybe that author. Currently, I do not see much around me as wicked. I do see bad things and bad people, and bad things that people do to each other. But it doesn't fire me up like that. I guess that speaks more to my level emotions.
-I relate more to the broken branch. What I don't like is the idea of being thrown away. Like I'm such a disappointment.
-At the end of the excerpt from Matthew, Jesus Christ says that he's telling us all these thing to give us joy. Interesting. Joy. I know there are books out there and sermons preached on joy. And certainly, if you know me well, joy has been at a minimum in my life for the last 2 1/2 years. Joy...that would be nice.

Your thoughts...?