Bright Ideas - Three (Power) Ring Circus
Greetings, cyberspace! Lots to cover this evening.
Ring 1 - Me and You and a Dog Named...Aristotle.
Wife, canine and I made it home just fine from visiting my inlaws. Aristotle is having no trouble making himself at home, despite leaving us in completely different surroundings. I'd say the dog's doing just fine after being bounced from Metairie, Needsville, Rochester, and now Clarkston. Heck, as a human being just thinking about all that gives me a headache.
I always wanted a dog growing up, but never did due to health concerns. Aristotle belonged to the wife for years before we wed, and I'd often hear him yipping in the background while the future missus and I were trying to advise each other on a long-distance call. When we first met, face to fur, Aristotle's reaction was to lick me. Rumor has it he bit or growled at most men he was introduced to.
Can you get a better reaction than pet approval? That's got to be nearly as good as a smiling father-in-law.
I always wanted a dog growing up, but never did due to health concerns. Aristotle belonged to the wife for years before we wed, and I'd often hear him yipping in the background while the future missus and I were trying to advise each other on a long-distance call. When we first met, face to fur, Aristotle's reaction was to lick me. Rumor has it he bit or growled at most men he was introduced to.
Can you get a better reaction than pet approval? That's got to be nearly as good as a smiling father-in-law.
Ring 2 - Power To The Peepholes, Right Arm
John Lennon was killed 25 years ago today. Those of you who know me or have looked at some previous postings may know I'm pretty keen on his old band.
It's only been in recent years that I've come to appriciate Lennon the artist. Frankly I always liked McCarntey better, but that was probably because I saw Lennon more as an ex-junkie who flipped out on the mother of his child and went on a freak bender with a Japanese woman who used art as an excuse to call attention to herself.
Maybe. And maybe Paul's an egocentric pothead who's married a one-legged model 'cause he can't hang with not being "fab" anymore.
All I know is that over time, John became comfortable himself and set a good standard on how to be a human being. He was honest, wrong sometimes, but never apologized for who he was. Hell, it a world of posh British accents he was proud of his Liverpudlian scouse.
I came across this article about former Lennon gal-pal May Pang. As the forgotten woman in John's life, she certainly had a lot of good things to say about the party guy Lennon. It's a good read, and can be found here.
Finally, there's this discussion from my favorite of sites, Plastic.com. Twenty-five years after Lennon's shooting, is he still relevant? I suppose it's a fair question. How many Scritti Politti fans are still out there? Or O-Town, for that matter? Even John himself thought he and the Beatles were being "big headed" when they considered lasting ten years.
The answer of course is yes. Plastic contributor nmiguy is correct - everything John cared about, save skiffle music, is still revlevant. Even skiffle has Mungo Jerry's "In The Summertime" to point to.
Peace is still relevant. Love is still relevant. Paying attention to how we treat each other, how we feel, and the right to say these things is still relevant. Even if they weren't, a lost Lennon track called "Grow Old With Me" was the tune to my wedding dance. Just thinking about it makes me smile, and being happy with my wife is the most relevant thing I can imagine.
We all shine on.
It wasn't always this way, and this is the single thing that most outsiders fail to understand about New Orleans; a hurricane warning is usually just another excuse for a party. Yes, I'd had older friends tell me about Hurricane Betsy, and I'd gone through things like Hurricanes Andrew, Ivan, and the flood of May 8th, 1993. Heavy rains and flooding waters usually meant you were stuck where you were, so over time it became tradition to plan ahead and hunker down with friends. You see, flooding waters also meant schools and most businesses would be closed, so there was no excuse not to stay up all night watching geeky sci-fi, playing games, or noodling with computers until the power went out. Booze was optional.
Welcome to the Hurricane Parlor, friend. There's always room for one more, we can sleep a couple in the back, and don't mind the noise from the people playing Chez Geek up front.
Until the wee hours of Sunday, August 28th, I had no reason to think anything would be different when Katrina came. We'd grab the dog and his cage, load them into the car with a change of clothes, my nebulizer, some Magic: The Gathering cards, and the wife and I would hunker down at Dudley and Esther's sturdy home on Claiborne avenue. Sherry would be there, Gary and Rachel, maybe George and Alexis, possibly even Aaron on an every-other-month trip back from job hunting in Austin.
When we left at 8:00 that morning, it never occurred to me that this would be the storm that pulled us apart instead of giving us a reason to stay together.
It's only been in recent years that I've come to appriciate Lennon the artist. Frankly I always liked McCarntey better, but that was probably because I saw Lennon more as an ex-junkie who flipped out on the mother of his child and went on a freak bender with a Japanese woman who used art as an excuse to call attention to herself.
Maybe. And maybe Paul's an egocentric pothead who's married a one-legged model 'cause he can't hang with not being "fab" anymore.
All I know is that over time, John became comfortable himself and set a good standard on how to be a human being. He was honest, wrong sometimes, but never apologized for who he was. Hell, it a world of posh British accents he was proud of his Liverpudlian scouse.
I came across this article about former Lennon gal-pal May Pang. As the forgotten woman in John's life, she certainly had a lot of good things to say about the party guy Lennon. It's a good read, and can be found here.
Finally, there's this discussion from my favorite of sites, Plastic.com. Twenty-five years after Lennon's shooting, is he still relevant? I suppose it's a fair question. How many Scritti Politti fans are still out there? Or O-Town, for that matter? Even John himself thought he and the Beatles were being "big headed" when they considered lasting ten years.
The answer of course is yes. Plastic contributor nmiguy is correct - everything John cared about, save skiffle music, is still revlevant. Even skiffle has Mungo Jerry's "In The Summertime" to point to.
Peace is still relevant. Love is still relevant. Paying attention to how we treat each other, how we feel, and the right to say these things is still relevant. Even if they weren't, a lost Lennon track called "Grow Old With Me" was the tune to my wedding dance. Just thinking about it makes me smile, and being happy with my wife is the most relevant thing I can imagine.
We all shine on.
Ring 3 - True Katrina Tales: The Truth About Hurricane Parlors
It's been months since Katrina hit, and we're still grappling with the new realities of our life - a new home, new friends, new rules. All while our old friends and old home seem to be languishing in some way.It wasn't always this way, and this is the single thing that most outsiders fail to understand about New Orleans; a hurricane warning is usually just another excuse for a party. Yes, I'd had older friends tell me about Hurricane Betsy, and I'd gone through things like Hurricanes Andrew, Ivan, and the flood of May 8th, 1993. Heavy rains and flooding waters usually meant you were stuck where you were, so over time it became tradition to plan ahead and hunker down with friends. You see, flooding waters also meant schools and most businesses would be closed, so there was no excuse not to stay up all night watching geeky sci-fi, playing games, or noodling with computers until the power went out. Booze was optional.
Welcome to the Hurricane Parlor, friend. There's always room for one more, we can sleep a couple in the back, and don't mind the noise from the people playing Chez Geek up front.
Until the wee hours of Sunday, August 28th, I had no reason to think anything would be different when Katrina came. We'd grab the dog and his cage, load them into the car with a change of clothes, my nebulizer, some Magic: The Gathering cards, and the wife and I would hunker down at Dudley and Esther's sturdy home on Claiborne avenue. Sherry would be there, Gary and Rachel, maybe George and Alexis, possibly even Aaron on an every-other-month trip back from job hunting in Austin.
When we left at 8:00 that morning, it never occurred to me that this would be the storm that pulled us apart instead of giving us a reason to stay together.
NEXT ENTRY - True Katrina Stories Chapter 2: "Amateur Meteorology at Home"
posted by The Green Lantern @ 9:24 PM
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